Flashback 5: You Didn't See That Coming?

Here we are, the Easter eggs for 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' are beginning! There are more, if my memory serves, but this one was the funniest to write. You didn't see that coming?

Enjoy!

Flashback 5: You Didn't See That Coming?

Aurelia Tempest stood on one of the many balconies outside of the Sokovian base, savouring the few minutes of silence. As S.H.A.D.O; her life was hectic, always in the pursuit of a victim. A victim in which the assassin tried to spawn most efficient way to kill them- it was always best to get rid of them quick.

But as Aurelia Tempest, she could breathe, be human. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, feeling pure air enter her lungs through her nose, and opened her eyes as it exited through her mouth.

This was nice.

She hardly got moments like this. Hardly got a second to stop and think about what she'd done, how far she could still go. Not to mention take in the amazing view.

As Aurelia observed on that first day which she'd arrived here, the base was surrounded by mountains. They weren't the Himalayas, but they were tall enough to intimidate eager mountain climbers.

The weather had warmed greatly since her arrival, but she guessed she'd just have to wait a few more weeks before the twins out to train outdoors. Speaking of, the two Enhanced had progressed extremely well in their training sessions.

Wanda, not surprisingly, had excelled with her abilities. Though Aurelia had asked her to practice the whole 'worst fear' trick on her again, (partly so that she could see her vision again, and partly so that she could improve,) but Wanda had vetoed the idea. She didn't want to cause her friend any more harm.

"Come on Wanda! I'm Aurelia Tempest, the assassin S.H.A.D.O! I can handle a little mind games!" Aurelia so often complained. The brunette would always shake her head, "I told you Aurelia, it shook you too much. I know it works, that is all I need to know."

The assassin crossed her arms, and stamped her foot loudly like a toddler demanding a lolly, "But Wanda!"

However, one of the best times of Aurelia's day lay in the final minutes of their sessions.

She had never experienced 'girl talk' before, since the majority of her acquaintances were male. The assassin found that her stay at Sokovia had made her realise how little social experience she had.

"I hate to ask this, but, why do you hate Stark so much?" Aurelia asked. She had wanted to tell Wanda about the origins of her hatred for S.H.I.E.L.D for some time now, but couldn't bring up the guts to just blurt it out.

Wanda looked down, pulling out a loose strand in her dress. "It's alright if you don't-" Wanda shook her head, "No, it's just hard to begin."

"We were 10 years old, having dinner; Pietro, me and my parents. Then the 1st shell hit us. It hit 2 floors below, and made a big hole in the floor. Our parents went in, and then the building started to come apart."

"Pietro grabbed me, and together, we rolled under the bed, anticipating the 2nd shell. The second shell hit not too long after. But it didn't go off. It just...sat there, 3 feet away from us, and on one side 'Stark' was painted. When the raid finished, every effort to save us, all those shifts in the bricks, I thought, 'this will set it off.' We waited for two days for Tony Stark to kill us."

Wanda tugged at her dress again,either embarrassed or enraged at the experience she'd been exposed to. Aurelia put a hand on her shoulder, "You did good, Wanda. My experience wasn't exactly like yours." Aurelia sighed and launched into her own story.

"I was born in the Guangdong province in China. I know that I don't look it, but they knowmy parents were from America. Anyway, S.H.I.E.L.D got word of a potential threat, to be specific, an Enhanced, 3 in fact. So, they sent agents in to take them out."

"I was born whilst they ransacked the town, killing everyone who didn't give up the information. When they reached my cottage, they killed my mother, and either left me for dead or didn't notice. Afterwards, HYDRA came in, and as Whitehall was inspecting our cottage, he heard a baby cry. He picked me up, and took me in. So here I am."

The Enhanced nodded and, besides the tone of their conversation, smiled, "Good job on surviving that." Aurelia shrugged, it was so odd that they were congratulating each other for such bleak circumstances, but them being 'odd' didn't even begin to cover it. "Please, I was a few minutes old."

And if Wanda's sessions were fun, Pietro's were just as fun, if not more. Where else would she be able to kick the ass of someone so built?

"Welcome to combative training," Aurelia rejoiced, trying to ignore the cold air penetrating her jacket. "I'm so excited," Pietro answered sarcastically, crossing his arms again.

He really needed to stop doing that so often.

The assassin began to circle him, ignoring the ticklish feeling that grin was giving her, "I'll be teaching you exactly how I was. Essentially, it's combined into several steps. I'll only be able to teach you so many, since I was taught over several years and you have a few months. Either way, you're going to know a lot."

The eldest Maximoff grinned, "And then I'll be able to go in the field?" Lately, he'd been asking that a lot; he seemed to be racing out of his skin to go. No pun intended.

"Perhaps. It's not up to me to decide. That's all Von Strucker," she sighed. If the decision was hers to make, Aurelia would send him out as soon as she left. "So what are we doing now?" Pietro asked uncrossing his arms, and Aurelia silently thanked every known higher power.

"The first lesson I was taught; never let your guard down," she remarked, once again, dropping to her knees and tripping him. That move never got old. The assassin stood over him, grinning evilly, her shadow making his hair appear black, "You didn't see that coming?"

Pietro let out his hand, and she lifted him up, with only a little struggle.

Once standing, he chuckled, "'You didn't see that coming?' That should be my catchphrase."

Aurelia laughed, but immediately wiped it off, "Pietro?" He smiled mischievously, blue eyes alight and curls bouncing. Her heart melted a little, how could someone around her age manage to look like they were so endearing? How could Pietro make her heart melt so fast?

"Yes, Aurelia?" Pietro beamed. She laughed, looking down at the symbol of HYDRA. "What is the lesson I'm teaching you?" she inquired. That endearing grin crumbled slightly. "Oh," was all he managed before she landed a kick to his gut.

At least, she would have landed one of her best had he not sped away in time for the assassin to only brush his stomach. "Oh, come on!" she yelled to Pietro across the room where he had zoomed to.

The Enhanced chortled, his laugh exotic thanks to his accent. "You never said I couldn't use my abilities," he chimed, cerulean eyes wide, trying to look innocent.

"Can we please try to refrain from their use?" Aurelia requested, tightening her ponytail. Pietro sped back to her, though not without pinching her side cheekily. "Seriously?" she whispered, though that wasn't to say the assassin enjoyed it. "What now?" he asked. "We continue fighting, and you try to beat me. Without your powers."

Pietro's mouth dropped open, hands swinging like tree branches by his sides. Clearly, he had come to rely on them too much. "What?"

She laid a hand on his arm, grinning softly. "Don't worry, Speedy. Once you can beat me without your powers, you can use them. Think of it as...extra motivation."

It was true, besides, training someone with as much wit as Pietro was hard enough. With super speed- that would be as hard as taking down S.H.I.E.L.D. The elder twin scoffed, running a vexed hand through his fawn ringlets. "As if I don't want to take down Stark enough," he trailed off, "Why do I have to not use my powers anyway?"

"If HYDRA can create people with superhuman abilities, they would no doubt create the technology needed to shut them down. It would be handy to know how to throw a punch without your speed to tug you along."

Despite her well-thought out answer, the eldest of the Maximoff pulled a faux offended face. "My powers tug me along?" he questioned.

Of course he would answer with something like that, what else would Pietro do other than pull either a sarcastic or witty remark?

She laughed quietly, shaking her head, but ignored his question. "Come on Maximoff. Let's go."

During that first lesson the two continued to spar, throwing punches, kicks, and sometimes the assassin tripped him just to be annoying. Aurelia made note of his fighting style along with making sure she didn't end up with her back on the training room floor and Pietro's shadow over her.

Over the session's course, the assassin made account of his steps before punches, constant attempts at a roundhouse kick and his only just tolerable eagerness to land a hit. Her mind thought of several ways to teach him the same training she received, and what steps she could teach him.

By the end of the that first training session, Aurelia had mapped out Pietro's entire training regime.

Finally, Aurelia checked her watch and found the end of Pietro's training had come. "Ok Speedy. We're done for today." Breathing hard and sweating, the elder Maximoff let down his fists and sighed, "Finally. It won't get worse then this, no?"

Noting that her laugh sounded not unlike those in an asylum, Aurelia answered, "It depends." The Enhanced held back his growing hair, breathing slowly starting to normalise. "Depends on what?" he inquired.

The HYDRA agent had to admit, Pietro Maximoff was starting to grow on her. Or perhaps he already had a while ago. Either way, Aurelia was liking this banter.

"A few variables," she answered cryptically, her pitch higher than usual. "What variables?" the Enhanced asked, adjusting the positioning of his ragged shirt- if it could be called a shirt. Aurelia decided to not answer.

"What variables?" Pietro asked again, louder, "What variables, Aurelia!" The assassin laughed, its echoes ringing across the somewhat dark room. "You'll know soon enough, Speedy. Soon enough."

By the end of that training session, Aurelia knew she was going to grow to love both twins.

~~~

"Aurelia!" Hunter called, his voice mixed with his Romanian accent, pulling her out of her thoughts as she stared at the landscape surrounding the Sokovian base.

In the time that she had spent here, thinking of everything and nothing, the foliage grew gilded from the setting sun. Aurelia looked back at Hunter Appleshade's approaching figure and smiled, they were due for a session, she remembered, and an almost imperceptible glance at her watch let her know that she was late. Oops.

"Coming, Hunter," she called back, though her thoughts were dominated by red energy and blue blurs.