Chapter 212: Semi-Aftermath. 2015 CE

[Sokovia]

The Avengers Team A had just finished the subjugation of the HYDRA base. The extraction team were swarming the place, taking over the assets of the base one at a time.

The group; Captain Rogers, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, and Bruce Banner were in this operation.

Rogers, Romanoff, and Banner were just chilling around, waiting for the extraction team to finish their thing. Suddenly, Stark landed beside them, still in his armor.

“Oh boy that was fun.” Stark commented. He then turned towards Banner, who was lying on the ground covered in a blanket. “What happened to him?” 

“What do you think?” Branner grumbled.

“I thought you had sessions with the gorillas?” asked Stark again, his suit opening up.

Banner just sighed at the comment. “Yeah, well, it isn’t working so far.”

Stark hummed, sitting cross legged on a chair. “Natasha had to babysit you again?”

Natasha just shrugged. “I wouldn’t call it that.”

“It’s humiliating.” Banner rolled his eyes.

“You haven’t accepted the monster in you yet, Mr. Banner, that is why it is not working.” a voice suddenly sounded from behind them. All of them turned, and saw that it was Isaiah, typing away on a tablet. “Anyway, I think that’s about it, good work everyone. Although, we got two enhanced individuals here, so the extraction team needed a little bit more time.”

“You mean those twins?” Rogers asked in concern. “How are they?”

“They are fine, captain.” said Isaiah. “They will be transferred to one of our facilities for rehabilitation.”

“You mean brainwashing?” Stark jabbed. “You know, you know all about us, yet we don’t know much about you. What is your organization really about? World domination? New World Order? Wait, are you guys the illuminati? If so, I want to join.”

Isaiah just stared at Stark for a little while, before speaking. “No, we are not the illuminati Mr. Stark. Let’s focus on other topic, we have also recovered Loki’s Scepter, and I am here to tell you, Mr. Stark, that King Grodd has authorized you to have a look at it, on the condition that he will be with you while doing it.”

Stark groaned. “Great, the last thing I need is the king of the simians to babysit me.”

“Thank you, agent.” Natasha smiled, ignoring Stark’s rant. “How about the other targets?”

“All of the targets have been hit, Agent Romanoff.” said Isaiah. “Also, I think we should talk in private, Agent, it concerns your… familial matters.”

Natasha frowned. “Right now?”

“Whenever you want.” Isaiah smiled weakly. “Anyways, all of you can go to the shuttle, we’ll be finishing in about an hour.”

—

Two individuals were sitting inside a room, they looked similar to each other, but one was a woman, and the other one was a man. They had a power dampener around their wrists, as both of them are enhanced individuals.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a woman walked inside. It was Cleo, already changed to a more formal attire. The twins were staring at her with hate, as if they wanted to bite her head.

“Good afternoon.” Cleo smiled as she sat in front of the two of them. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Cleo, and I’m here to talk to you both about something.”

“You want to brainwash us? Make us work for Stark?” scoffed the man, whose name is Pietro.

“No, not really,” said Cleo. “I just want to ask you two about something, why work with the people that experimented on you? Did you go willingly? Or…”

“Yes, we volunteered,” said the woman, Wanda.

“Why?”

“Why? Are you really asking us that?” said Pietro accusingly. “Americans bombed our land, invaded our country, killed our kin, and you ask us why?”

“They gave us a chance to fight, so we took it.” continued Wanda. “What are we going to do? Sit around? Let the Americans keep oppressing us?”

“Yeah, well, if I were you, I would do that too.” Cleo gave her a smile. “But you’ve been played.”

“Meaning?” Pietro asked.

“The organization you’re working for, HYDRA, is the cause of the political turmoil of your country,” said Cleo. “While the US can be blamed for their invasion of your country, they played right into HYDRA’s plan.”

“I don’t understand.” Wanda said. “What is their plan exactly?”

“To incite war around the world.” Cleo answered. “And from the chaos, they wanted to control what’s left of it. Afghanistan, Columbia, it’s all in the archive.”

The twins went quiet for a minute, not saying a thing. But then, Pietro spoke out. “So what do you want for us? You want us to work for you now?”

Cleo shook her head. “No, of course not Mr. Maximoff. I’m here to give you a choice. Once you get out of rehab, you can go back to your country, but because of your sensitive situation, we will always watch you, so that you won’t go rogue.”

“And the other one?”

“You can train your abilities with us,” said Cleo. “You will not work for any country, you will work for the benefit of the whole of humanity.”

“And this organization includes Stark?”

“Unfortunately…” Cleo sighed. “But don’t worry, you will rarely meet him.”

“What about our country?” Wanda asked. “You will just leave it in shambles?”

“Your countrymen are wary of outsiders, we understand that,” said Cleo. “Right now, we have convinced the US to pull their military from Sokovia, and the UN is giving humanitarian aid for the rest of the year, as well as helping with the rebuilding of cities and towns.”

Cleo then looked at the time, and saw that it was lunch time. “Ah, it’s lunch time, your meal will be delivered shortly, as for the decision, you can think as long as you want.”

She then stood up, tidying up her uniform. “Good afternoon then to the both of you. I trust you can choose the right choice when the time comes.”

Cleo then left the twins alone, giving them time and space to choose.