Expecting the Unexpected

Chapter 20

Emily couldn't go fall asleep for weeks after the incident. It wasn't because of what happened, well, not completely anyway. She couldn't sleep because she knew Red Skull was still out there and she hadn't told anyone about him yet. She needed to tell someone about him or else she would drive herself crazy about it.

During the time that Emily was supposed to be asleep, she filled it with tinkering on a device that would camouflage the arm until the end of eighth grade, then she'd be homeschooled. It didn't take her long but she had to hide the cloaking device so no one would see it and turn it off. So she placed it at the base of her shoulder, underneath her shirt at all times.

Ethan and Jason knew the whole story- well, minus the Red Skull part- about what happened to the brunette. They were the only people at school that knew and Emily was determined to keep it that way. So it wasn't any surprise to them when she sat down one day at lunch with a serious expression on her face.

"Why so serious?" Ethan joked, trying to imitate the Joker from The Dark Knight trilogy. Emily rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Em, what's gotten into you?"

"I-" She hesitated, questioning herself if she should tell them or not. "I didn't tell you everything about what happened." She confessed, looking down to her food. Jason wrapped his arm around her and Ethan smiled softly. "I left out the part about who did it." The two boys shared a look.

"But you said it was HYDRA that did. . . you know." Jason gestured to her arm which didn't look any different from before everything happened thanks to the device she made. Emily nodded.

"Yes, and they did, it's just. . ." She trailed off, biting her lower lip. "The head of HYDRA is responsible." Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Who-" Jason mouthed 'Red Skull' which shut him up. Jason hugged Emily tighter. Though they weren't together and didn't appear to be getting together anytime soon, Emily always found comfort in the blonde boy's arms. She found them strong and protecting and she just wanted to be wrapped in them all day everyday. But they weren't together much to her dislike so she couldn't. But, hopefully, one day they will be together. "Oh. Em, I'm so sorry." Emily shook her head.

"What happened happened, I don't care about that. I'm more concerned with the fact that he's still out there." She explained. "It's not exactly like I killed him before I left." Jason nodded. "But he's a threat and I-" She paused. "-I was the only one that knew about it." Ethan's eyes widened.

"You mean your parents don't know?" He whisper-yelled. Emily nodded. "But they're the Avengers." Emily rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak but Jason cut her off.

"You'd be surprised by the amount of stuff I can hide from the X-Men." He commented. Emily smiled slightly. Jason turned to face her. "But whatever you need me for- whatever you need us for, we'll be there." Emily's smile grew.

"Good. Because I think I have a plan."

~~~

It was Emily's turn to host their daily study sessions which was perfect if they wanted to jump start the plan. Instead of doing their homework like they were supposed to, the three teenagers started working on their superhero business. Emily was try to trace the location from where the suit came and picked her up, Jason was stitching a secret camera into his suit so they could catch it all on video, and Ethan, well, Ethan was laying on Emily's bed eating a bowl of potato chips.

"Ha-ha!" Emily cheered, jumping up from where she was sitting on a chest in front of her bed. "I got the location!" Jason smiled warmly though she didn't see it. He loved when she did that, got all confident over something she achieved. He loved the way that you could see the change in personality in her with everything she did. He thought it was just because they were so close. Or it could've just been because he loves her but doesn't want to admit that to himself or anyone else yet.

"Great!" Ethan cheered along with her with a mouthful of chips. He swallowed first before continuing. "You done yet, Jay?" Jason, who was still lost in thought, got pulled out upon hearing his name. He started to nod.

"Yeah." He answered. "Yeah, I think so. We might want to check to make sure it works first." The blonde suggested. Emily and Ethan nodded but the three just sat there until Emily motioned for him to change. Jason pulled the suit closer to his chest in embarrassment.

"Oh my god." Emily complained with a roll of her eyes. "Just change. It's not like I haven't seen it before. I live with a bunch of dudes. As long as you're wearing underwear, I'm good." Jason rolled his eyes as he tugged on his shirt before pulling it off over his head. Emily and Ethan stared at the thirteen year old's muscles as he moved to take his jeans off. The two brunettes never realized how chiseled the blonde's abs were until then. It wasn't like the three never worked out together or anything, it was just that they never cared before. But now, now they couldn't look away.

"Uh, guys?" Jason asked, catching how intently his friends were staring at him. Ethan cleared his throat and looked to the empty bowl of chips whereas Emily blushed and looked the other way. Jason smiled slightly, tugging his suit on over his hips, and blushed. Ethan looked up and caught it, his embarrassed expression saddening. When Jason was done putting on the yellow spandex suit, he turned on the camera, Emily turning on the monitor for it on her laptop. "What're we seeing, Em?" Emily typed away at the computer before a clear image of herself, Ethan, and her bedroom was on screen.

"Us." She replied with a smile. "Clear as day. It works!" Jason and Ethan smiled.

"Great. Now hit record." Emily did as told before turning to Ethan.

"Go suit up."

~~~

Emily, Ethan, and Jason had flown (Ethan having wings built into his suit like his mom Hope Van Dyen and Emily being able to fly with her suit, Jason on her back) to the location Emily had pinpointed so it didn't take them long. Jason's camera was recording everything it saw so they could hand it over to SHIELD. They weren't crazy, they weren't planning on taking down the HYDRA base themselves, they were just going to go in themselves and figure out what Red Skull was plotting, then they'd hand over the footage to Fury for him to send out agents to take down the base.

"Alright boys, let's show them who's boss." Emily commented before heading towards the door she left from, switching to incognito mode which made the suit darker to blend in and lighter in weight so her boots wouldn't make a sound. Jason smirked before entering the base through a different door. Ethan entered after Jason but went down a different hallway.

The three each went down different paths so they could explore more of the base. Emily didn't find much down hers, just some blueprints for the arm they made her that she stored against her leg in her suit. Jason ran into a couple agents that he knocked out with no problem. It was Ethan that found Red Skull talking to his second in command and called over the rest. Jason and Emily got there seconds later and Jason recorded it all.

"We need to find that girl." They heard Red Skull snarl. "Who knows who she already told about us. Her father being one of them." Jason inched closer so he could see Red Skull.

"Actually." The second in command started to correct. "Captain America is her mother." Red Skull scowled. "But that is beside the point."

"Once we find Miss Stark we can continue the Winter Soldier protocol. We need her if we're going to annihilate the Avengers from the inside out." Emily froze. Jason and Ethan looked to her sympathetically which she hated; she didn't need their sympathy because they were going to stop Red Skull. Jason reached out and grabbed her arm.

"I think we've got everything we need." He told her. "Let's get out of here." Emily nodded.

"Yeah, let's-let's go."

~~~

The trio delivered the footage the next day to Director Fury himself straight away after school. Emily was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet as he, Agent Hill, and Agent Coulson, who was presumed dead, watched the video. If they didn't believe the kids then her whole life could unravel right from underneath her. And she wasn't ready to just give up on the life she's fought so hard to maintain.

Fury finally paused the video as it got to the part where they were flying home and looked up at the three. Emily inhaled sharply as her heartbeat increased drastically. Hill and Coulson shared a knowing look.

"You did good, kid." Fury complimented. Emily let out the breath she was holding. Jason squeezed her hand with a smile on his face. Ethan watched their interaction with slight jealousy. "I'm impressed."

"So you'll send my parents and the team out to stop him?" She asked. "Or-or a couple of agents to put an end to his scheming?" Fury had a ghost of a smile on his face.

"No." Emily's eyes darted to the man's face, her hands trembling. "I'm going to send you three back there along with back up to take him down yourselves." Emily calmed down, smiling slightly. Fury grasped her shoulder. "You did the right thing by telling the two you trust most about him and what you three did was remarkable and responsible for a couple of thirteen year olds. The three of you showed the true makings of becoming a great superhero team." Fury elaborated. "I'd be proud if I were you." Emily's shoulders dropped.

"Thank you Fury. You won't regret sending us back there." Fury gave her an actual smile before they left. Hill turned to him.

"You trust them?" She asked. Fury nodded.

"Have you forgotten who her mother is?" He asked her.

"No, but I-" Fury cut her off.

"If she is anything like her mother then she will do the right thing. I have faith in that girl along with Peter. They'll be the best heroes New York has ever seen."