Chapter 49 || Like Old Times

AYOOOOOO

Jayce POV

My chin smacks into the floor with a painful thud, a groan crawling its way out of my mouth as I sit up, shaking my head like I'm trying to knock the hurt away.

"Watch out, that floor really comes up fast."

I glance up at Natasha and narrow my eyes, tilting my head with a smirk under my new mask but I notice a rip in the fabric on my arm.

"God dammit!" I curse and huff while I flip myself up to my feet and throw a punch but she blocks it, as I figured.

Although, she has her eyes on my arms now, and I've always been quite stealthy with my feet, despite her just tripping me.

I step forward quickly, placing my left foot behind her right leg, all while using my right arm not being squeezed to death by her hand and slicing it through the air until my palm comes in contact with her sternum, forcing her backwards until she hits into my foot and falls.

Before her body can hit the mat, I hold her just above the surface and tilt my head, "What was that?"

Natasha breathes out a sharp puff of air and smiles, the sweat on her forehead and neck making this sparring session all the more hot.

"You got lucky."

"And you ripped my suit."

"Another test-drive failure? You're off your game, Parker."

I pull her to her feet and take my mask off with a frustrated huff, "I don't get it. It should be impenetrable. It's the 3rd trial run I've had."

"What's so different about this suit than the one you had with Stark?"

Chuckling, I shake my head, "With Stark he helped me configure my new suit. My original suit back when I was riding solo before all this Avengers crap was made up of sweatsuit material, cotton, then the spandex but..."

"What was the most recent one made of? Before the disband?"

I look down at the monitors and the voice-control machinery and click my tongue, then clap my hands together, "Jayce, you are a genius."

"You're welcome," Natasha mutters and I smile, kissing her cheek and walking over to my work area.

"Ayo, JANIS! Play time!" I clap to awaken my AI I formed the other day. J.A.N.I.S. Otherwise known as "Jayce And Natasha Intelligent System", but she doesn't know that.

"Morning boss. Training go well?"

"Very well. Can you start up the coffee for Natasha and me? Actually, a whole pot. Once Rogers comes back from his run he'll want some."

"And for Miss Maximoff and Miss Belova?"

Natasha walks over and hums, "Looks like they're having some morning tea already."

I frown and look to her but she just smiles and nods out the window. Following her gaze, I spot the redhead and short blonde sitting outside, talking and laughing at something on Yelena's phone I got and programmed for her.

Wanda's been showing Yelena all of her favorite television shows. Friends has quickly become all I hear in the living room all day long. She got Yelena hooked.

And I can't name a time these past few weeks where those two haven't been in the same room together.

"Would you look at that. Young love."

With a snort, Natasha pats my shoulder and walks into the kitchen where the coffee's brewing.

"Alright, JANIS. Let's make a suit. The Parker 3 was a dead-end. We need to try something else. Pull up all the models."

On a hologram, a bunch of models pop up, my spider logo enlarged on some, small on others, one literally on my mask.

I close my eyes and sigh, "We need new material. And I'm thinking we go more hardcore for this one. Something more bulletproof."

A mug is placed on the desk right beside me, along with my glasses being slid onto my head. I smile lightly and nod a thank you as Natasha kisses my cheek and walks over to the batons I've finished for her two days ago.

"Are you talking about the Iron Spider suit, boss?"

"Iron Spider? That sounds fancy," Nat wiggles her eyebrows at me and I flush but shake my head, "No no no. It's a prototype, that's the mono-atomic iron alloy crystal merging add-on suit, nanotech. It's a bonus, not the headliner. Let's go with...ah. Cast urethane tech. JANIS, pull up a model for me. Bullet resistance percentage, durability, flexibility."

"On it."

I cross my arms over my chest and run my fingers through my thankfully shorter hair. Wanda's a true blessing sometimes.

Natasha stands up and watches as the model appears and JANIS reads off all the percentages and statistics to a near perfect score. Higher than the past models, much better than my usual go-to spandex.

"Model successful."

I spin the model around and zoom in on little details, smiling proudly at it and crossing my arms over my chest once again.

"Look at you," She nudges me and I chuckle, "Alright, JANIS. Let's make this suit. Don't forget gliders, insta-fit feature, GPS, iron spider nano tech suit activation, and visor in the helmet with the HUD screen. Can't have the suit without you."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, boss. Starting suit-build."

My eyes lock onto the progress bar while the suit starts getting stitched together as the door opens and the loud footsteps of Steve Rogers enters.

"Your suit's ripped."

"Shut up."

He releases a low chuckle and Natasha turns to him, "Coffee's in the kitchen."

"Thank you."

I bite the inside of my cheek, lifting one arm to rest under my chin as I impatiently wait for the suit to be created, red main color with black accents.

"You gonna show me this Iron Spider suit of yours?"

My eyes roll while I tap on the screen and swipe, pulling up the blueprint of the suit and expanding it in front of us. She stares at it in awe, "Metal?"

"Nano-tech metal. Made from the mono-atomic iron alloy crystal. Hard as nails, but will crawl its way up my base suit as an extra layer of protection. That is true bulletproof, neural-reactive interface–" "I love you, but speak english."

"Right, sorry. It responds to my mentality, my thoughts. If I want the suit to materialize, the base suit and JANIS responds and it forms around me, along with if I need another feature, such as the pincers, a new tool I came up with. Like four giant iron spider legs. Comes out the logo in the back and will soften any fall, help with faster climbing, acts as an anchor for hard holds or pulls, all that fun stuff."

I wave my hands dismissively as if it's the most simple thing to understand, but Natasha just looks completely lost.

"I understand mission commands, most computer controls, and battle tactics, but I do not understand whatever the hell you just explained, especially not with you speaking a million words per second."

"Sorry," I chuckle and Steve comes back in with a tablet, determination plastered on his face.

"What you got for me, Rogers?"

Natasha stands at attention, Yelena and Wanda coming inside while Steve pulls up reports.

"Reports of a hostage situation, witnesses said culprits were last spotted on the edge of a rainforest in Morocco."

"How many hostages?" Natasha asks as she looks at the news reports.

"6. All female."

"How old?" Wanda mutters and her eyes meet mine, a dark haunted memory washing over her from hearing my HYDRA story. I don't let it touch me right now, I just swallow and listen for Steve.

"Around 6-10 years old."

"Great! Let's go kill some people," Yelena grins and pulls out her knives but I raise my hand, "Easy. We need a plan. We can't just go ransacking a whole forest. We need to find them."

Wanda keeps her eyes on the tablet before closing them and thinking, focusing, probably trying to connect to one of the girls. By the look of frustration and worry on her face I assume it's not working so I just sigh and Natasha walks to the war table and taps on the map,

"JANIS, full view."

The map turns into an interactive globe and Natasha highlights Africa, zooms in, then Morocco.

"My bet is lone Red Room agents, taking young girls."

"My thoughts exactly. Dreykov ever have a weird brother? Son maybe?"

Natasha shakes her head and blinks slowly, "No. But odds that every single person working for him was at the Red Room at the time of his death is minimal. There were more henchmen when we were cycled through...more people to torture us..."

When she trails off, I can see the trauma resting behind her gaze, and she purposefully doesn't look at me which only leaves me more concerned and worried.

What is she not telling me?

"Romanoff, Belova. With me. Wanda, Parker. You stay behind, in case something local pops up."

I nod and Wanda smiles gently at me before Natasha comes over and tilts her head, "Kiss for good luck?"

We kiss briefly and she holds my cheek gently in her palm, gliding her thumb over my skin with a soft gaze resting on me, blanketing me with her warmth.

Leaning my head down, our foreheads touch and she closes her eyes with a feather-like smile, "It's you and me, Parker."

"It's you and me, Romanoff. Now go kick some ass and save those kids."

When we pull apart, there's a mystery behind her eyes, and I can tell that she wants to open her mouth, but Steve says, "Alright, let's suit up."

I study her for a moment, trying to read between the lines, look behind the curtain, but like the trained assassin she is, the veil goes up and she sidesteps, "Batons ready?"

"Yep," I clear my throat and take them, following her to the locker room where she starts getting dressed. My eyes note Wanda helping Yelena place her weapons around her suit and in her vest while Yelena rubs her forehead with a light laugh at something Wanda said to her.

Yelena then smiles innocently when Wanda holds up throwing stars with a raised eyebrow, "What? They are fun. Put in bottom right." She taps the pocket and Wanda chuckles, "I don't know how I feel about you running around with throwing stars. No killing if it is not necessary, do you understand?"

"You're such a mom," the blonde Russian huffs, then allows Wanda to zip up her vest while I tap Natasha to signal for her to turn around.

I place the batons in the dual holster on her back and make sure they're secure before reaching into her locker and pulling out the glocks I got her.

"Missed doing this stuff. Feels good getting back in this routine," My voice comes out light, trying to have a moment without other ears listening in as I lock the glocks on her thigh holsters, checking that the knife I got her in London is secure before smacking her ass lightly.

She turns with a smile, "Just like old times."

"Damn straight."

"Alright, let's get to the Quinjet. We'll go over tactics on the way. Romanoff, you good to fly?"

"Ay ay captain," She smirks lopsidedly and kisses me one more time before following Steve out to the hangar.

"Lena, seriously, no killing unless necessary," Wanda scolds, causing the shorter girl to pout and huff, "Fine! I won't kill." She talks away but I spot her fingers crossed behind her back, making me laugh with a shake of my head as they all disappear behind the closed door.

Wanda claps her hands and sighs, "Let's just hope your girlfriend keeps that one on a leash."

"Oh trust me, if anything, Natasha's gonna try to one-up her. Those two are always competing."

"Steve will enjoy that."

We walk back into the lab and Wanda glances at the suit, "Suit's done. Looks good. Better than that ratty suit you got on. Stitchings are off," She pokes the stitching on my arm and glances at the tears, making me groan, "Yeah I know I know."

"JANIS, suit's done?"

"Suit complete boss."

"Brilliant. Maximoff, what do you say, wanna help me take this puppy for a spin?"

I pull out the suit and helmet, grinning at the gorgeous, flawless design.

Wanda laughs and crosses her arms over her chest.

"You really think you can take me?"

Her eyes glow a dark scarlet red mischievously before she walks to her room and shouts, "Be ready in a minute!"

I take my suit off and pull the new one on, slapping the spider logo in the middle and breathing out a sigh of relief as it tightens itself to a perfect fit around my frame. So beautiful. It's perfect.

My hands hold the helmet, fingers tapping the eyes as I make my way to the training room, pulling it over my head and sniffing it, "Ah JANIS, I love that new car smell."

The HUD visor comes up, analyzing every inch of the training room, labeling all the equipment. I turn when I sense Wanda coming and the visor labels her, along with her fighting stats.

"Looks good on you. Let's see the new tricks, Parker."

"This won't be like old times, Maximoff. I ain't going easy on you."

Wanda laughs and closes the door, stretching her arms and legs in her leggings and sports bra, smirking, "It has been long time since we were locked up together. I have learned my own new tricks."

With that, she lifts me with just a flick of her finger and tosses me, making me screech but JANIS kicks in the pincers, catching me before I smack into the wall.

"Spider legs huh? That's new."

"Oh you have no idea," I chuckle and stand up, the legs retracting into the suit.

I shoot a web at her but she shoots her little wiggly woos to deflect the attack, making it latch into the wall. Knowing she's feeling cocky, I use the web to pull myself to the wall, running along the stone and leaping off, shooting a web at her feet from behind before she can catch up to me and yank it, laughing as she falls.

I land above her, staring down at her with a smirk beneath the mask before she breathes out, "Fair play."

Her eyes glow and I dodge the move when a ball of red energy blasts up towards me. I web up her hand, making her eyes widen before I pull her towards me and kick forward towards her stomach but Wanda catches me with her other hand, flying up and bring me with her.

"No fair!"

"Should have thought of that."

She throws me and I catch myself after my back hits the wall, shaking my head of the spins and widening my eyes when I see a wave of red magic barreling towards me.

Instantly, the iron spider suit materializes and I jump away, just getting the outskirts of the blast that tosses me but once I hit the ground, I barely even feel a thing.

"The hell is that?"

"Iron Spider suit. Nanotech, you like it?"

My body flips up to my feet, holding my arms out and turning like I'm giving her a fashion show, causing Wanda to smile and shake her head, 

"Your technologically advanced brain continues to surprise me."

"Why thank you. Now, bring it Maximoff."

"You asked for it."

She comes at me and I dodge each punch she throws until she blasts me backwards. I backflip onto my feet, shooting mid-air at her stomach, pulling her closer while she yelps, then I grab her and hug her tightly into a chokehold.

"Still think you can win?" I chuckle, feeling prideful of myself until I see a gust of red, noticing Wanda shooting the red through herself until it hits into me, shooting me to the wall and making me grunt as I crack the stone, the sound of my iron suit clanking against the wall.

"The hell did you learn that?" I gasp and she shrugs, "Long time ago. Ultron times. You just never saw it firsthand."

"Well it's impressive."

"Thank you."

We go like that for what feels like such a short amount of time with the fun we are having, but it's been 2 hours by the time we're worn out and exhausted.

I lay on the mat, Wanda laying beside me, both of us catching our breath while staring up at the ceiling, smiles plastered to our faces after that ridiculously fun sparring match.

"You've gotten stronger. More controlled."

Wanda smiles even wider and sits up, "Thanks. Yelena's been helping."

"Yelena huh? How's that going?"

She helps me to my feet and the iron suit dematerializes while I take off the mask, walking us to the kitchen for some water.

"What do you mean?" Wanda frowns as I toss her a bottle, leaning against the fridge while I open and practically chug mine, running my fingers through my sweaty hair.

"Oh come on. You get all smiley around her, constantly flirting, blushing when Yelena compliments you. You like her."

My best friend's eyes widen as she chokes on the water in surprise of my words, slapping her hand to her chest and using her magic to clear her throat of the stuck liquid.

She looks at me with the same wide eyes, "I-I do not."

Her head shakes, eyes snap down to the water as she fiddles with her fingers around it, making me laugh and toss my empty water into the recycling bin, "Oh please. You can admit it. Just didn't know you moved on from Vision."

"Vision is a good friend. And he stayed with Stark. I admit nothing."

"Oh yeah?" My phone buzzes and Wanda watches as I open it and smirk, "It's from Yelena."

"What'd she say? Is she okay?"

Seeing her worried expression makes me snort and laugh out loud, "Relax. It was a joke. It's Nat. They found the hostages, pinpointed them. Heading into the rainforest now. But hey, at least I know how you feel about our little Belova. I'm gonna let Natasha know."

"Jayce Cameron don't you dare!" She reaches over the counter but I step back and grin while typing back to Nat until a red hue surrounds my phone and it goes flying into Wanda's hands.

Her eyes are pulsating with red magic and her expression is freaked, like she's just been caught committing a crime. Wanda opens her mouth to speak but then clamps it shut and swallows, tapping on the sides of my phone before closing her eyes and placing it down on the counter, dropping her chin into her hands.

"I don't know what's happening. When I first met her on the Raft she wasn't scared of my magic...she admired it. Thought it was beautiful and 'cool'. I've never had someone react like that at first encounter. They're always asking these questions, looking scared. 

Even if they say they're not I can hear their thoughts and they are always worried I'll hurt them. The only person who wasn't scared besides Yelena was you and Vision. But Yelena's different. I don't know...I like how she makes me feel, like I'm not some threat, I'm not this all powerful being...when I'm around her I just feel like Wanda."

Without her even realizing it, her fingers glow red and a flower pot filled with dead flowers blossoms and comes back to life with beautifully fully grown red and white lilies.

A warm and proud smile crosses my face when I see that, the last time I saw something like that was when she came back to her cell at the HYDRA facility after being tortured for days. I saw them bringing her in and one of the nicer guards let her hug me.

Once we hugged and Pietro joined in, she sprouted flowers all around the hallway, a feeling of safety and relief overwhelming her.

That was when I attacked some guards after and started making sure they tortured me instead of her and Piet.

"You should tell her how you feel."

Wanda frowns when she looks up at me but I just gesture towards the lively flowers, making her eyes widen and a blush form on her cheeks. She rubs her lips together and swallows deeply, "I'm scared."

"The Wanda Maximoff is scared?" I chuckle and she tosses me an irritated glance before sighing, "The last time I had feelings for someone and told her about it...didn't exactly go my way."

My eyes rest on her guiltily, not even realizing the hurt I must've caused her when that little event happened and when I chose Natasha. No matter how good Wanda was to me after, how she supported me and helped me, she was still hurting.

"I-I'm sorry Wands–" "Don't be! It was a childhood crush, you were the only one that wasn't Pietro who protected me and cared for me, helped me whenever I needed the help. All I have ever wanted was for you to be happy. You were so heartbroken over Gwen, I rarely saw you smile for years, but then you met Natasha. She makes you happy, you deserve that kind of movie-type world-stopping love."

All I can think about now is just how grateful I really am for Wanda. I got to HYDRA first after being taken and I didn't speak. Even when Wanda and Pietro arrived I was quiet but they grew on me quickly and after about 6 months I started talking to them. Before that I would just listen as they talked, sometimes I'd hum in response. After a little bit, I allowed Wanda to communicate with me telepathically until I wanted to actually talk.

She said she felt my mourning, my grief, my guilt, and my anger. She wanted to help me.

And now here she is saying all these things, all the joy she has for me finding a love that makes my heart go alight with bright flames.

I reach over and take her hands, smiling down at my best friend, "You deserve it too."

Her green eyes go soft and warm, tearing up just a bit and she smiles at me, then nods gratefully, both of us feeling an overwhelming amount of comfort and appreciation until the radio goes off.

Frowning, I reach for it and raise the volume, listening as I hear a woman speaking to the police.

"JANIS, translation please."

"Gang activity has been reported on the streets of Riga, Latvia. There's been assaults, robberies, and harassments for the past few weeks. Witness has reported spotting men in ski masks and black hoodies."

Wanda looks at me and shrugs, "Guess that is our queue."

"Just like old times, Maximoff. Suit up. I'll start up the car."

"Got it," She nods and heads off to the locker room while I breathe out joyously.

Just like old times.

__

A/N: Ahhh Janda moments :)

Welena Baximoff cute moments <3

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