The Witch

Chapter 14

It's now 2014. Clint is off with his family. Natasha, Steve and I still work together. Rumlow and I never did have that rematch. Like always, I'm up and out getting ready for whatever Fury wants me to do. No surprise that he had me working with Nat and Steve. He felt Steve was a better role model for both of us than Clint was. Nat and I got our missions before getting in her car and driving off to the place Steve likes to run at. We pulled up to see him talking to some guy. Nat rolls the window down while I climb into the back seat of the car.

"Hey, fellas. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil." Nat asked. I chuckled at the look Steve gave her.

"That's hilarious," Steve said with no humor in his voice.

"Oh come on Steve, you were technically a fossil when you were frozen." I said from the back seat, making him look at me. I knew he was about to say something, but he stopped himself. I saw his friend looking at Nat and the car.

"How you doing?" He asked. I rolled my eyes and kept my mouth shut even though I really wanted to tell him that he was no Joey Tribbiani.

"Hey," Nat replied, clearly not interested.

"Can't run everywhere." Steve said as he got in the car I just ignored the rest of the conversation. Nat was soon driving away and towards the airstrip to meet the STRIKE team. Once there, we all got out and got on the plane. I conjured our suits as the pilots closed the ramp and started the plane up. Rumlow was watching me. Since moving to DC, we have worked with the STRIKE team. Unfortunately, Rumlow was the team's leader.

"Take a picture, Rumlow, it'll last longer." I commented without looking at him. Nat and Steve both looked at me when I said that. They had no idea of my history with Rumlow.

"I already did Swan." Rumlow replied with a smirk.

"I bet it came into good use while you were under that rock." I stated back, Rumlow chuckled and shook his head at my comment. Knowing I was trying to get under his skin.

"When's that rematch?" He asked in return. I looked at my wrist as if I was looking at a watch.

"Hmmm let's see, I'm pretty busy right now but I could fit you in, in like never." I said while dropping my arm and rolling my eyes.

"You just scared your lose." Rumlow taunted back. Nat and Steve were watching the two of us while the rest of the Strike team had gotten used to our banter.

"You couldn't beat me when I was 18 and you sure as hell can't beat me now." I taunted back, letting everyone know a small 5 foot 18-year-old girl beat him in a fight., at the same time, letting Nat and Steve in on how long I've know Rumlow.

"I told you back then that I let you win." Rumlow reminds me not wanting to take the hit to his ego.

"But did you? Or is that what you told everyone so your ego wasn't ruined?" I asked back. I saw Nat quickly hide her smile and cover her laugh. Steve, on the other hand, just shook his head but I could see the amusement in his eyes. Before Rumlow could say anything back, Steve saved the day and grabbed his attention. Getting Rumlow to tell him about the mission.

"The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star. They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, 93 minutes ago." Rumlow explained.

"Are we sure you're not a pirate, Rumlow? Grow your hair out, slap an eyepatch on you could so pass as one." I stated from beside Nat, She chuckled while Rumlow glared at me and Steve shook his head before turning and looking at me.

"Focuse Violet," Steve commanded. I saluted him before leaning back against the plain wall.

"Any demands?" Steve asked. Rumlow told him a billion and a half while I rolled my eyes. I had a suspicion that Rumlow and the STRIKE team weren't really our friends. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my connection with Loki. I sometimes found myself taking comfort in his mind. He wasn't all that bad. He had never planned to give the Tesseract to the other guy. I looked through his eyes to see he was still in his cell in Asgard. He was just reading, paying no attention to the other people around him. I was pulled from his mind when a vision struck. I watched as a guy with a metal arm stalked towards Fury's car. I opened my eyes and looked around to find myself still on the plane. Steve, Rumlow and Nat were all looking at me. They all seemed ready.

"Cap, Widow, you got this? I need to go speak to Fury." I said as they watched me. Nat raised one of her perfectly done eyebrows at me, wondering why I was bailing on the mission. I knew Steve wondered too but wasn't going to question me. Rumlow, on the other hand, had other ideas.

"You can talk to Fury after the mission," he claimed. I rolled my eyes and teleported myself to Fury's office, completely ignoring Rumlow. Fury wasn't in his office, which was fine with me. Purple mist soon filled the air, searching the room looking for bugs. My magic found three different bugs. I left them there wondering who had bugged Fury's office. I then teleported myself to Steve's and my apartment. I let my magic flow out to see if there were any bugs here as well. I wasn't surprised to find five different bugs. I quickly disabled and destroyed them. These ones I knew Fury had placed. I knew from the moment I found the bugs in Fury's office that SHIELD was no longer safe. I teleported myself to Clint's barn. No one in the team or even SHIELD knew about this place. Just Clint, Fury, Hill, Nat and myself knew about Clint's family. I let my magic look for bugs but found none. I smiled and walked out of the barn. Cooper was running around playing with a small Lila. Cooper stopped when he saw me. His face brightened and he ran over to me.

"Sissy Jade!" He yelled, gaining the attention of Lila, who was still running around. I hugged Cooper before squatting down and catching Lila as she threw herself at me. I picked her up and smiled at the two kids.

"Hey guys, where's your dad?" I asked Cooper. He shrugged before pointing towards the house. I smiled and nodded, I sat Lila down and looked at the two.

"Well I guess it's a good thing I didn't come to see him." I said to the kids, who giggled before Cooper taped my shoulder, telling me I was 'it' before him and Lila took off running. I chuckled and took off after them. I was barely running, letting them get a head start. Lila screamed in excitement seeing I was playing with them and chasing after both of them. Her scream got Clint's and Laura's attention. I grabbed both kids before walking over to Laura and Clint who were watching us. The kids were laughing non-stop. I sat them down and sent them off to play. They gladly ran off to go play some more.

"It's good to see you again Jade," Laura said before going back into the house. Clint shook his head and looked at me. I was still in my suit from the mission.

"What's up?" He asked after a few minutes.

"Fury's office was bugged." I said to him. He scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. We walked into the house and before he could even say anything I let my magic out to make sure there were no bugs there. When I came back empty handed, I sighed in relief. Clint seemed to be relieved as well.

"No bugs here, thank god for that." Clint said while sitting down on the couch. I sat on the chair and looked at him.

"That's not all, the only reason I went to Fury's office to check anyway was because I had a vision. Someone is going to try and kill Fury. Not only that Rumlow is trying to gain my attention again, but his actions and mind speak to different stories." I tell him. He seemed confused now. He knew I could easily read someone's mind if I wanted to. What confused him, though, was why I felt the need to read Rumlow's. He sat for a few moments thinking before saying anything.

"I never liked Rumlow. Something always seemed off about him, but I don't think he would be the one to try and take out Fury." Clint said, coming to the same conclusion I had. I shook my head.

"Not Rumlow, someone else, someone more powerful than Rumlow and Fury. Someone who could easily get the world council on their side." I explained to him, he took my words in before he shook his head, not agreeing with my thoughts.

"Pierce would be the only one that is more powerful than Fury and I know it's not him. Fury and Pierce are good friends. He wouldn't try to kill his good friend," Clint argued. I shook my head, not agreeing with him.

"I don't agree. They may be good friends, but think about it, Clint, people in power want to stay in power. Fury is gaining more power every day, Pierce probably don't like that. He could easily take Fury out." I explained my thoughts to him, he was about to answer me when the two kids came running in. We both looked over at them, stopping our conversation. Lila automatically ran over to me and climbed into my lap. I looked at Clint, who seemed to be thinking my words through before he met my eyes and nodded.

"Nap time, Little miss Lila." Luara came in and said, she walked towards Lila who yelled no and held my neck tighter. I sighed and shook my head.

"Come on Lila, I'll take you to your bed and I'll even read you a story." I told her while I stood up. Luara thanked me before sitting down next to Clint. I walked into Lila's room and laid her on her bed. Cooper walked into the room knowing I wouldn't read them one of their books, but I would instead tell them the story of my family back home. I tucked Lila in before sitting on the floor beside Cooper.

"Okay, so let's see. What story should I tell you today?" I asked them to see what they would say.

"Forks!" Lila exclaimed, with Cooper nodding. I rolled my eyes but decided to tell them about my friends back home.

"Okay, how about I tell you about my best friend Paul and his friends?" I said to them. They nodded in agreement. I started to tell them how Paul and his friends are a lot like the Avengers. But instead of the world, they protect their small home. I told them all about the spirit worriers, knowing they believed them to be just stories and nothing else. Once Lila was asleep, Cooper and I left the room. Cooper hugged me and thanked me for the story before going to his room, while I walked back down to join Clint and Luara. They were on the couch talking when I walked in. Luara smiled as I sat back down.

"How'd it go?" She asked me. I shrugged.

"Kid was out like a light before I ever got to the good part." I told her, she chuckled and shook her head. They both knew I had never read their story books but instead just told them stories. Luara got up and hugged me before walking up the stairs to check on Cooper.

"So what's your plan?" Clint asked me, getting right back on topic.

"I'll have to talk with Nat and Steve, but I'm pretty sure between the three of us we can come up with a plan to stop Pierce." I told him. He shook his head, knowing I wasn't about to let him leave his family at that moment. He deserved the down time and he deserved to be with his family for a bit.

"Fine, but keep me updated. If you need me, you call me." He said. We both stood up and hugged before I teleported myself back to Fury's office just to find Steve there talking with Fury. They both jumped when I appeared out of no where.

"Where have you been?" Steve asked. I just placed my finger on my lips letting him know I couldn't say it there. He nodded understanding, as did Fury. I looked around before I walked over to the metal filing cabinet and pulled one of the little bugs out from behind it, I placed it on Fury's desk. He seemed pissed off that his office was bugged. Steve looked confused but now understood why I hadn't said a thing yet. I told them to continue their conversation as if they never knew about the bugs. Fury nodded and looked at Steve.

"You're wrong about me. I do share. I'm nice like that." Fury said as he stepped into an elevator with Steve following behind him. Fury looked at me, then looked at the bug. I knew he wanted me to place the rest of them on his desk before leaving. I nodded just as the elevator door closed. I pulled the rest of the bugs from their hiding spot and placed them on his desk before I teleported myself to Steve's and my apartment. I changed into leggings and a tank top before walking out of the apartment. Sharon Carter was walking out of her apartment when I came out. I nodded hello to her just as she did me. We walked down the stairs together. Sharon and I never really talked but she seemed like a cool person. I knew she liked Steve but wasn't going to make the first move.

"You know Rumlow goes around telling everyone you have a crush on him and that's why you wont accept his rematch." Sharon finally spoke up. I rolled my eyes.

"Rumlow thinks I have a crush on him. In all honesty, the guy gets on my nerves, he's hiding something and he's pissed because I won't play his game." I told her, she smirked and nodded her head.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you. If you don't fall for Rumlow's BS, then you can't be too bad." She said with a laugh, I chuckled and shook my head. We are in the lobby of the apartment building now.

"Nice talking with you, Sharon." I said before walking out of the building. I walked over to a coffee shop and grabbed a coffee before walking towards the park. Life was about to take an interesting turn. I sat down on one of the benches and closed my eyes, breathing in the fresh air. I kept my eyes close, just enjoying the sunny day, when I was struck with another vision. The guy with the metal arm was being strapped to a chair before having something placed between his teeth. I could almost feel the electric course through my body as it did him, causing him pain. I opened my eyes knowing no matter what happened, I had to help him. I was getting these visions about him for a reason. He needed my help. I looked around before conjuring my staff to me. I held it in my hands and looked into the purple crystal ball. Willing it to show me the man with the metal arm.

"Longing, Rusted, seventeen, daybreak, furnace, nine, benign, homecoming, one, freight car." Someone said in Russian. I could see the pain in his eyes as they said the words, but he never showed an ounce of emotion.

"Ready to comply." He replied back almost roboticly in Russian. I watched as Pierce and Rumlow walked into view. I sent my staff back to Clint's barn before standing up. I knew Fury was in danger, but I also knew he could take care of himself. I looked around, wondering how long I had. The sun wasn't setting yet. I had about an hour before it actually went down. I sighed, knowing I needed to go back to the apartment, but I also needed to find the man with the metal arm. I walked back towards the apartment like nothing was wrong even though I knew differently. Once in the apartment, I quickly changed into jeans, a tank top and a hoodie. I then left the apartment once again.