ASCENDANCY / P. MAXIMOFF

lion's den

The streets of New York were busy.

In that place they could be anyone, or perhaps no-one at all. The people flowed like rivers, never stopping for obstacles but swirling around them.They have no use but to be observant in the deafening silence. On those wide avenues with wilted trees, their leaves curled and blackened in in the August heat, the buildings towered on each side. A hundred years ago Ana could expect it was pretty, the golden light on the sandstone architecture, built in the days when curves and design weren't considered superfluous. Even the street-lamps were dreamt by an artist, built by an engineer following the the teachings of a scientist. On days like this, crammed in with more bodies than she could count even in a photograph, Ana tilted her head to the sky. The empty blue gives her the strength just to walk at the pace of the crowd and bottle the claustrophobic panic inside her chest.

But she was walking unusually slow, almost robotically, as if her brain was struggling to tell each foot to take the next step. It was as if she were in a stupor; like someone under hypnosis in one of those cartoons she used to watch as a kid. Though it was Ana leading the three of them to the safety of her and Fury's rendezvous place, Pietro had to keep tugging her along, so she would not get stuck in the crowd by herself. He didn't blame her for being out of it, she had watched the people she loved get beaten down and captured and then told she was next. He just wanted to get the three of them to safety.

"Keep up, princessa," Pietro mumbled, slinging his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close, mirroring the action with Wanda. He leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Where are we headed?" He asked.

"What the hell happened to no questions asked?" Ana snapped, breaking out of her stupor. Pietro rolled his eyes and sighed, so used to Ana yelling at him it didn't even phase him anymore.

"It's right here," Ana muttered, steering the twins to the right into a bakery that was currently empty, and for good reason. Steve had taken Ana here once.

The bakery looked like a cow shed from the outside all wooden with a corrugated roof. When it rained on that tin they pretty much resorted to a crude mixture of sign language, pointing and mouthing words to make their purchases. The floor was no longer the dirt of the barn it had been, but was now grey flag stone, albeit with some straw spread around for rustic effect. The benches were weathered raw timber and the bread was hearty grains and seeds, whole wheats and rye breads. But if you had a sweet tooth they sold the best cinnamon buns money could buy. Not only that, but they harbored S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that were being threatened or compromised. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. had disassembled, more than a few agents took shelter in the bakery now.

The woman at the counter was young and beautiful, with strawberry blonde hair and curious hazel eyes, looking at the trio with a funny look on her face. She was sat on the counter tapping furiously on her phone and only looked up when they approached the counter. Pietro looked at Ana and waggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Welcome to Melbury's Bakery! How may I help you lot today?" She asked. Ana broke away from Pietro and Wanda grabbing a menu off the counter , trying to look like she was pondering.

"I need an Angel Food cake, a Devil's Food Cake, and Turnover," Ana told her. The girl, who's name tag read Meredith , looked at Ana with familiar eyes.

"What kind of turnover?" She asked.

"Cement Turnover, please." Ana replied, causing Pietro to snicker in the background.

"Welcome back, Miss Dmitriev. I hope all is well. Director Fury has been waiting inside for a few minutes," Meredith greeted Anastazya, pressing a few buttons on the cash register and allowing the wall to open up.

"Cement turnover..." Wanda mumbled, before her face broke out into a wide smile. "That is clever." She said, following Ana into the hole in the wall. Pietro stopped in front of the girl and winked, only to be dragged along by Ana.

"Stop it, she's married!" Ana hissed. Pietro waggled his eyebrows again.

"In Sokovia, that doesn't stop anyone."

"You're terrible."

Ana rolled her eyes and approached what looked to be a giant produce freezer, the metal door locked. She flipped open the key pad and typed in the code.

1-2-3-4-5-7-8-9-0

The freezer opened up and revealed a large room buzzing with conversation and laughter, music playing in the background. The room was filled with about 15 ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents guzzling down alcohol and eating bar food, yelling at the TV screens that displayed the latest football and baseball games.

"Seriously?" Pietro asked, shaking his head and following Ana inside.

She spotted Fury immediately.

"Sorry we're late-" She apologized.

"You're damn skippy you are late! Sit down," Fury ordered them.

Ana plopped down on her ass and sighed in relief. She hated walking.

"These are Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, the twins from HYDRA," Anastazya introduced them.

Nick held out his hand and grinned devilishly. "Hi, I've heard awful things about the two of you."

The twins looked mortified as he shook their hands.

"Enough pleasantries," Ana said, clasping her hands together and sitting up. "All of the Avengers are captured Fury, Ultron is after our asses, and there is no one left to help us but you. We can't get them back and defeat him by ourselves."

"I'm sure I could contact Sam Wilson, and James Rhodes, which would be helpful in terms of muscle. I can call Agent Maria Hill for intel and equipment, but that is all I can give you," Nick sighed. Ana pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"It's better than nothing, but we need to leave here with Sam and James. We can't go back out there in Ultron's sights without some back-up," Ana told him. Fury looked behind her and smirked.

"I may have already called them."

The twins and Ana whipped their heads behind them and looked at the two men who had entered the room, both dark skinned with dark hair, bulky and tall. War Machine and Falcon, their only allies as of current.

"So, I heard Tony got his ass in trouble again," James chuckled, crossing his arms.

-

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