Monsters

One misstep, you're mineAnd you better stay clever if you wanna surviveOnce you cross the lineYou'll be wishing you would listenWhen you meet your demiseAh, ah, oh, oh

Your heart hits like a drum(Oh, oh, oh, oh)The hunt has just begun(Oh, oh, oh, oh)-Ruelle

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Oslo, Norway; 4 June, 1996

Tessa felt like an idiot in the outfit she was wearing, which was saying something considering she dressed up in a skin-tight carbon fiber suit most of the time when she was outside of the bunker. The sleek, black pantsuit looked amazing on her, truly, but she felt so out of place that she half considered just storming the NEXUS and forcibly getting things done rather than being covert about it.

Her only comfort was walking beside her clad in a suit of his own, his dark hair pulled back into a tight, neat ponytail tucked beneath the collar of his blazer. There was absolutely no hiding the build of the man, but he didn't have to look like anything except pure muscle today.

Tessa and her Soldier both wore identification badges around their necks, cards proclaiming them actual Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Word had been sent ahead of them to alert the hub of their arrival under the guise that they were investigating a breech that S.H.I.E.L.D. picked up on their radar.

Checking into the place had been no easy feat, but it certainly was nothing compared to some of the locations they could have been sent. As yet, cyberterrorism wasn't exactly common on the tongue of the world. Soon enough, the clicking of Tessa's boot heels and her Soldier's dress shoes were sounding on the tile of the place as they were freely guided into the heart of the building and deep beneath the surface of the ground floor.

"It's amazing you were able to pick up such a small signal, Agent Barnes," the man spoke, his attention on Tessa who had taken the surname of her lover for the operation. Not even James was the wiser right now, and he didn't need to be. "We went back through with a fine toothed comb knowing what we were looking for and still only found remnants of what was once there. It makes us jealous of your technology."

The man's joke pulled an easy but fake smile to Tessa's lips as she continued to walk alongside both men, her smaller frame right in the middle of them but commanding more presence than either did right then.

"Perhaps one day," she stated with a smile toward him that made jealousy stir within her Soldier for no reason at all. "Until then, we will continue to be the buffer between the world and those looking to destroy it."

The blond man gave her a smile then lifted the same courtesy toward the large man who walked on the other side of her. The Winter Soldier gave him a thin-lipped smile and single nod that didn't quite reach his eyes, but at least he didn't strangle the man right off the bat.

"Your, uh, partner," the man said, a friendly smile still on his lips. "He doesn't talk much, eh?"

"I talk," came the rough voice of The Winter Soldier. "I reserve my words for important things."

And with that, the three of them fell into an uneasy silence that carried them all the way to the elevator and then into the car that began downward at a steady clip once they were inside.

"Have you noticed any strange activity in other areas of the mainframe?" Tessa asked, her arms crossing beneath her breasts as she turned to give the man her full attention and a set of furrowed brows that meant all business.

"No," he stated immediately. "None whatsoever. It's like someone just left breadcrumbs behind, like they wanted us to know they were there, that they could breach our firewalls and security."

"Hm," Tessa responded, her fingers softly tapping on her arm.

The Winter Soldier stood almost still at her side, though Tessa knew he was acutely aware of where the man was situated in the elevator and how to kill him at the drop of a hat without ever rumpling Tessa's hair in the process.

"Well, at least we have specialists on the case now," he continued after a moment, a sliver of concern passing over his features as he caught the steel blue stare of the man who stood at least a head over him. "For that, I am thankful."

Another tight smile was given from the Soldier, but he turned his eyes ahead toward the doors as his heightened senses picked up the subtle changes in pressure and the gradual slowing of the car that would take them into the bowels of the building. Tessa, at least, waited until a normal person would have felt the slowing before she pivoted her body forward again.

Tessa uncrossed her arms from her torso and adjusted the blazer that was fitted for her small frame so that it covered the holster of a weapon she'd willingly given up when they checked into the security office.

The Winter Soldier took a moment to watch Tessa, his eyes admiring the way she stood, the way she was dressed and the unusual softness of the makeup she wore today. He knew her head was worse than it had when they arrived, and neither of them could explain why, but the man within couldn't help but admire the lover he couldn't remember entirely.

A soft puff of air spilled into the elevator car as the doors slid open, the breeze downright cold as it wafted through the cavernous floor of servers that kept this place running at peak efficiency.

With a smile to their guide, Tessa motioned with her hand for the man to go ahead so that she and her partner could bring up the rear. As he passed through, Tessa followed but she let her arm casually brush against her Soldier. He paused long enough to register it before falling into step behind her, his gait adjusted so that he wasn't overcompensating in order to hide the weight of his left arm.

The Winter Soldier wasn't a ghost story for no reason; he was a chameleon and could blend into any situation. With a track record like his -- and even with a titanium arm -- he had to be able to disappear in plain sight.

The walk from the lift to the center of the hub seemed to take forever, but the vastness of it was enough that it kept Tessa's attention, both at the overwhelming size of the place as well as the singularly spectacular, blinding buzz of electricity that hummed in the elemental realm of her soul.

This place alone could have easily explained why her head was throbbing the entire way here. Having grown up accustomed to the low presence of technology in Siberia, having such a concentration of electronics in one place and the data flowing in and out was exhausting.

Not a word was uttered by any of the three as they made their way to the computer banks that managed the input/output of binary flowing through the place.

"Please," the man stated and stepped to his left to give way for Tessa to step forward into the semi-circle of computers.

With a nod of her head, she closed that distance and raised her hands up to the main keyboard that seemed to be shared by the multiple monitors on display. Without a second of hesitation, Tessa let her fingers fly across the keys with soft clacks punctuating each downward stroke of digits.

She followed the plan perfectly, accessing the data stream and seeking out the breadcrumbs left behind by the mystery hacker who had gotten into the system. In all, she spent more time slowing herself down than it would have taken for her to get in and begin their exact mission, but they had to get out of this without drawing any attention to themselves. The NEXUS had to believe that the hack came from outside, so that was the exact endgame that Tessa angled toward.

Thirteen minutes into her session there, The Winter Soldier could feel his hair bristle on end as Tessa slowly began gathering in static around herself from the copious amounts of electricity littering the air. He wasn't the only one who felt it, though. Their guide as well as two others felt it as well and glanced toward each other, every single one of them reaching toward the anti-static cuffs constantly worn around their wrists. Tessa was wearing one too, though it would do nothing to stop her.

The Winter Soldier also wore one around his right wrist, but he also had a left sleeve that was lined with electrostatic discharge cloth that would protect his arm from the blast that Tessa would have to gather up in order to blow the electricity throughout the building. They couldn't chance him needing to calibrate once all was said and done. It would blow their cover, and they absolutely could not do that.

Once Tessa had gathered sufficient power into herself, she sent out an electromagnetic pulse that plunged them into sudden and complete darkness. In the moments before then and when the generators kicked on to support the servers, her Soldier stepped forward soundlessly and pressed the data stick into its port. His body shifted nearer so that he would be able to pull it free as soon as the power came back up.

"What's going on?" Tessa asked, her body remaining absolutely still there where she'd been standing. She even let her fingers remain poised over the keys as if she'd been caught entirely unaware.

"I ... have no idea," came the voice of their guide from behind her. Since they were underground and the darkness was complete, no one moved from where they had been. Without backup lights that ran through the generators, they were at the mercy of the electricity starting back up. "For your own safety, please just remain where you are. The generator should be back up so- ah."

Just as he announced it, Tessa drew her power back into herself and let it dissipate while the generators finally were allowed to turn back on. The instant the computers began rebooting, the virus was drawn into the flow of data and their job was complete. From there, it would spread on its own, and Operation: Insight would take its first steps into infancy.

Just like that, her Soldier pulled the stick free and slipped it back into the pocket of his blazer as slate blue eyes lifted to take in the momentary light show provided by the power returning into the vast room. No one was the wiser. Their mission was complete, for all intents and purposes.

"I think it might be imperative for your technical people to assure that there was no breech when the electricity went down," she stated as she turned to the professionals and stepped back away from the monitors to relinquish her control of the moment.

"Yes," their guide said. "I think you are correct, Agent Barnes. We thank you for your time, and will reschedule another visit for you once we're assured nothing is wrong."

Tessa gave a pleasant smile and nod of her head.

"That is most appreciated," she stated then motioned back in the direction from which they had approached. "Would you rather us show ourselves out or...?"

"Yes," he stated after a moment. "I think that might be best. I apologize for the wasted visit."

"No need to apologize," she assured in a voice that was far too smooth. "Thank you for your time. S.H.I.E.L.D. will be in touch. I hope you're able to figure out what has happened."

Even her Soldier gave a nod to the others before falling in at the side of his partner to head back toward the elevator. She was sniffling softly, something he caught onto almost immediately, but he said nothing at all until they had exited the building and were en route back to their landing zone.

Before he could even offer his voice, she was reaching up and brushing her finger against her nostril, blood smearing along her skin. He had never seen her bleed from using her abilities, so to say The Winter Soldier was concerned was the understatement of his elongated life.

As it turned out, the electromagnetic pulse she'd sent out had fried most of the electronics in a mile radius of the NEXUS hub. She hadn't intended for it to reach beyond the building itself, so even Tessa was shocked by the street lights that were no longer functioning and the cars that now sat idle on the roads since their computer chips were completely fried.

"Your arm?" Tessa asked, but she never halted her movements at all.

"Still intact," he responded, his fingers moving to idly fasten the buttons of his blazer while they casually walked back in the direction of the transport. While the act was so mundane, it did its job in showing that even his fine motor functions on the arm were still functioning as they should. "I am more concerned about you."

"I will be fine," she stated, sniffling again as she felt blood slowly trying to ooze from the confines of her nose. "I'll tend it once we get to the aircraft."

They would be there until nightfall, so she would have plenty of time to nurse at a bloody nose until their covert window opened to allow them out of the area. 

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 If only things ever went according to plan.

Once they reached the abandoned building and made it through to the courtyard, both The Winter Soldier and Tessa made their way into the transport to change clothes and so that Tessa could tend to her bleeding nose.

A set of rations were used for a meal while the two of them waited for nightfall. Tessa even checked in with Ivan to let him know that the mission had been a success. He would be the one to let her father know. Tessa couldn't stand him anymore and refused to talk to him unless she had to.

It wasn't until dusk was falling that their confidence in their covert task took a huge hit. The Winter Soldier was assuring the balance of the cargo while Tessa was writing down initial readouts from the flight console so that it didn't have to be done once James was finished in the back.

The courtyard they'd been occupying all day was still and quiet the entire time. There hadn't even been a breeze to toss any trash about. It was a break in that calm that was caught by the periphery of her vision and made her lean forward a little to glance up toward what she first thought was a bird flying by.

It ... wasn't a bird. It was a man.

It was a tall man who was floating, his maroon cape billowing around his black-clad legs. The rest of his body armor was almost entirely the same color as well. The only exceptions were his gloves and boots which were both black with hardly any shine to them at all. Atop his head sat a helmet in that same maroon but closely fitted against his skull and down along each cheek. It left only enough skin exposed that Tessa was able to tell he was middle-aged and handsome.

Stony gray-blue eyes peered quizzically down into the windscreen of the canopy, locking with Tessa's and holding the look for the time being. Wordlessly, he moved one hand forward, palm up, then curled his fingers upward only twice as if requesting that she join him outside of the aircraft.

Quietly, Tessa gave a stunned nod of her head and rose from the pilot seat to make her way back toward the cargo ramp of the aircraft.

"We have company," she said in a hush as she passed her Soldier. "Stay here, stay quiet, stay frosty."

Then out she went before James could question the words that she said.

Heavy combat boots scuffed the pebble-strewn ground as she exited and turned to make her way around the side of the aircraft, curious eyes lifting back to the man who was now floating downward to land without sound upon the ground before her.

"Well," he said with a pleasant, deep voice. "Hello, little one."

She wasn't a child, but she didn't think he was referring to her age. Rather it was her size that he referenced. Tessa didn't take it personally. She could feel the power radiating off of this man, and she wasn't about to rile him up with that attitude that came so easily to her lips.

"Hello," she stated, soft features curious as she tilted her head and studied what features she could make out right then.

"Was that you earlier?" he asked as if she would know exactly what he was referring to. "That electromagnetic discharge that shut down half of Oslo?"

Tessa shifted some, her arms coming up to cross uncertainly against her midsection.

"Uh," she started then cleared her throat. "Yeah. That was me."

His thin lips formed a secretive little smile, and he gave a little nod of his head.

"That was quite a feat, my dear," he said, his smooth voice offering her praise without hesitation. "You are quite powerful."

She only nodded her head. The man reached up and lifted the helmet off of his with practiced ease. It revealed the rest of his features which were no less handsome if Tessa was perfectly honest.

"Who are you?" she asked softly.

"My name is Erik Lehnsherr," he stated and shifted the helmet to be held in one hand down at the side of his thigh, at least for now. "But most of our people know me as Magneto."

"Our people?" she questioned then straightened soon after. "You mean other mutants?"

"Yes, my dear. Other mutants," he humored her with a gentle, almost playful smile tickling the corners of his mouth.

Tessa wasn't sure how to play this moment. Her Soldier could hear her heart fluttering within her chest, and he could hear everything, but he made absolutely no movement.

"I've only ever been around a couple of other mutants," she stated, icy blue eyes searching the more grounded color of his own. "And it's been a while."

"And why is that?" he continued with his questions. "Do you not prefer the company of your own kind?"

A blink was given. Her immediate thought returned her to Jasper, Alberta and another man who decided to segregate mutants in another way.

"Well," she began, her brow pinching some. "I just haven't had the opportunity to run into others, really. I have been rather isolated my entire life, not only from mutants but society as a whole."

"That is a pity," he watched her, genuinely touched by the idea that she had lost out on so much of what the life of a mutant could actually be. "Who has forced you into this isolation?"

"My father," she stated without a second to even take a breath.

"And who might he be?" Erik pressed with his questions.

"An asshole," Tessa stated with a smirk coming to her lips.

"You could come with me," he stated simply and raised his free hand up toward her as if truly expected that she would simply slip her hand into his and run off into the unknown.

"No, I cannot," she said and kept her hand loose at her side.

It was about that time that deeply programmed protective nature brought The Winter Soldier around the side of the craft to just show himself there in the background behind Tessa. He was in his combat gear, his metal arm and its bright red star on full display. Lehnsherr dropped his hand back down to his side.

"Well," he took in a breath as he regarded the other man -- the ghost story -- then turned his eyes toward Tessa. "You certainly look the part of Hitler Youth, don't you."

For a moment, Tessa was utterly confused and blinked rapidly as her brain attempted to connect dots.

"You consort with what remains of the Nazi Rogue Science Division, yes?" he asked, his voice taking on an edge that was slowly replacing the warmth that had been there moments before. "HYDRA?"

"I was born into it, forced into it by my father when I mutated at thirteen," Tessa responded, her body shifting in a manner that she was between this Magneto and the Soldier behind her. "And he once fought against the Nazis themselves, so before you begin to presume anything further, choose your words carefully, Mister Lehnsherr."

That tiny smile curled the corners of his mouth again, and he looked almost fondly on her as she showed her feisty side through the words she spoke. As for her blocking his path to The Winter Soldier, it was precious, but he knew he could shred through her with only an afterthought if he wished it.

"I mutated in the warm and welcoming confines of Auschwitz, my dear," he stated with a sting to his words. "Don't seek to lecture me on anything until you've seen the horrors of dragging dead bodies out of gas chambers on pain of death yourself."

Tessa couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped her, the sound infuriating the older man immediately.

"You are a fool if you believe HYDRA is a picnic," she ended the words with a smirk and just as she felt the metal hand of her partner moving to rest against the lower curve of her spine. She hadn't heard him move.

Erik eyed the Soldier warily as he moved up to the girl's back, his eyes narrowing slightly. Tessa felt James' titanium hand curl into a fist in reaction to something, but his fingers were soon back where they had been against her.

"Interesting," Magneto stated, his head tilting a little as the titanium arm of the man didn't respond to the call of the maroon-clad man's abilities.

"Listen," Tessa stated. "We aren't here to bother you. We were here for a mission. We've completed it, and now we're going to be leaving. You go do ... whatever it is you do, and we'll do the same."

Lehnsherr's lips pinched together and he gave a brief grimace before speaking again, "No, that just won't do. If HYDRA has one mutant, they have others, and I cannot allow that. We are superior beings in every way. Humans with powerful toys will not stand in the way of our rise, and they will not hold our people hostage."

Tessa blinked some, her brow furling into a pinch of disbelief at the way he worded what was said.

"Can you even hear yourself? You sound just like the Nazis spouting about their eugenics and master race," she sneered, no longer on the fence about the powerful man who stood before them.

"Wrong words, little girl," his free hand was flung upward, palm toward Tessa.

In a fraction of time that Tessa couldn't have calculated on her best day, she was encased in an electromagnetic field then flung violently backward across the entirety of the courtyard until she crashed through a low window on the ground floor. So unexpected was the act that Tessa had no time to react, no time to brace herself and now she was crumpled with blazing pain soaring high through her entire body.

Her Soldier on the other hand had sprung into action and leapt forward, his metal fist punching the helmet in the man's hand and causing it to clatter away. His flurry of punches set Lehnsherr on the defensive, and Tessa could hear the scuffing of boots against the ground somewhere in the fuzzy buzz that was now her hearing.

It was only moments before the sounds seemed to be returning to her at a louder volume, though even that didn't seem to be exactly the case. There were other sounds added now, metal clashing against metal, flashes of energy that illuminated the dark space with a pinkish light where Tessa was currently down.

Then there were hands on her out of nowhere and she spun to her bruised and aching back, hands jerking upward to call electricity to her in almost an instant. It took only a moment -- enough time for her to register the familiarity of the face above her -- but that moment was enough to halt her discharge.

"Easy there, cher," came that smooth, Cajun accent. "No need to get all bent outta shape with ol' Remy. I'm just tryin' to help ya up."

"Remy..." her breath spilled out of her on a disbelieving tone of relief.

For the moment, she let her arms fall to the glass-littered floor on which she laid. Remy's tall frame continued to kneel at her side, his auburn hair spilling forward in a manner that reminded Tessa of her Soldier. She never in her life thought she'd run into Gambit again, and seeing him here and now was one of the biggest moments of relief she'd ever felt.

Before anything else could be said, more glass shattered and a ball of muscle and metal hit the wall nearby. Plaster erupted into a dusty fall of debris. As the body connected to the ground, a grunt and a growl spilled from the primal throat of the wolverine she hadn't seen since Canada.

"Logan," Tessa sat up slowly, assisted by Remy while strobing, pinkish light punctuated the growing darkness inside of the abandoned building.

"Hey, kiddo," Logan grunted out, adamantine claws scraping the floor as he got back to his stocky height to look down toward her. "I'd love to catch up, but you and Bucky need to get the hell outta here. You're in way over your heads with this one."

"Yeah, no shit, Logan," Tessa quipped back, her face filled with concern.

"Don't start with the attitude, kid," he smirked but couldn't hide the amusement in his eyes as he looked down at her.

Remy offered a hand just as Logan did, and Tessa took both so they could pull her up to her feet. It was the Cajun that let his arm move to loop against her belly to support her until she was able to stand on her own, though.

"No kiddin', though, cher," Remy said softly, his red eyes darting toward Logan as the Canadian darted back out to join in the fight again. "We'll distract him as long as we can, but you get your guy and get the hell outta here, oui?"

"Will you be okay?" she asked with genuine concern. It was heartwarming.

"Ah, cher, you know Gambit better'n this," he drawled out, a charming smile curling over his lips. "We got backup comin', but you gotta get goin'. They might not letcha just leave like us."

A pinch of her brow was given, but she nodded her head. Gambit paused a moment to press a kiss to her cheek before he pulled away and darted out to join in the fight with the others.

Finally, Tessa hobbled over to the broken windows and climbed back out into the darkening night. Dusk still allowed enough light that Tessa could make out what was happening.

Magneto was taking on The Winter Soldier and a woman with purple hair, pinkish-purple energy protruding from her hands. She was fast and skilled and more acrobatic than most people Tessa had ever seen. Logan was scrappy as ever, but his downfall was the metal skeleton that was easily captured by the extremist they all now fought. Blessedly, he healed quickly. Gambit was not only fast -- as they already knew -- but he packed a wallop -- which they also already knew.

Limping, Tessa made her way over toward the transport so that she could start it warming up while everyone else was engaged in the fight. Unfortunately, it distracted her Soldier enough that he was sent flying into the side of the aircraft with a solid hit that knocked his senses askew.

When Tessa was exiting the transport, movement overhead caught her eye briefly, a shimmer of something, a glint of glass caught in the sun on a minuscule level. The next thing she knew, utter chaos erupted around them.

Blue smoke, a teleporting devil. A sudden flurry of weather bringing in a blanket of fog and charging the air with atmospheric change. A sudden searing pain that erupted through Tessa's mind before she could even register that someone had sent a blast of telepathy through her brain.

They had to leave, and they had to do it now.

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Posted: 24 August, 2021