☆.｡.:* i.iii .｡.:*☆
SLEEP NOW

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HONESTLY, LEXI WAS STARTING TO regret promising to stay in the quinjet. She was sitting in front of a few holographic screens showing different camera angles fed to her from Jarvis, a comm in her ear, listening and watching what was going on outside in the snowy forest of Sokovia. And despite what should have been excitement at being on her first mission, Lexi couldn't help but feel bored stuck inside the quinjet.

Why? Well, she was stuck sitting there while she watched everyone else get to kick ass and have fun beating up Hydra thugs. The teenager was being given just enough to do to keep her from not getting up and being even more tempted to leave.

It didn't stop her leg from bouncing and it didn't make her any less anxious about what they might find inside the base.

Lexi watched as her father flew closer to the base and opened her mouth to warn him that there was probably some kind of protection, but never got a chance as he flew into the shield and bounced off.

"Shit," Tony swore.

"Language," Steve answered. "Jarvis, what's the view from upstairs?"

"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield," the AI answered. "Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken."

"Could have told you there was a shield when Dad bounced off of it," Lexi said.

"Loki's sceptre must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defence without it," Thor said. "At long last."

"'At long last' is lasting a little long, boys," Natasha said.

"Yeah, I think we lost the element of surprise," Clint said.

"Can we stay focused here? This is a rescue mission, not a hangout," Perseus said.

"Wait a second. No one else is gonna deal with the fact that Cap just said 'Language'?" Tony asked.

"I know," Steve sighed. "Just slipped out."

"I'm not surprised," Madeline said.

"Focus, Mads," Perseus said.

"Sorry. Focusing."

A few more minutes passed in relative silence, and Tony deployed the Iron Legion to protect the nearby city from the fire it was taking because of their battle. They knew that Strucker wasn't concerned with civilian casualties, so it was up to them.

"Hey," Madeline finally said, "the first one to find Strucker gets a cookie."

"Fuck yeah, a cookie," Perseus agreed.

"No fair, Cap promised me cake when we got back," Lexi said.

"No one's getting anything unless we all get through this mission," Steve said.

"Clint!" Natasha explained.

"What's happening?" Lexi asked.

"We have an Enhanced in the field," Steve told them urgently.

"Clint's hit!" Natasha told them. "Somebody want to deal with that bunker?"

Lexi finally managed to get an angle on what was happening. Clint was down, a wound in his side that Natasha was already beginning to dress as the bunker near them continued firing at them.

"Who's close?" Lexi asked.

The blonde watched in amusement as the giant green form of the Hulk drew the fire of the bunker and then rammed clean through it, effectively eliminating the danger.

"Thank you," Natasha said.

"Stark, we really need to get inside," Steve said.

"I'm closing in," Tony said.

Pulling up the aerial view of the base, Lexi noticed something and smiled. She zoomed in on it to be sure and her smile widened when her suspicions were confirmed.

"Dad, there's a particle-wave coming from below the north tower. If you hit that thing, you'll bring the whole shield down," she told him.

"Jarvis?"

"Miss Quill is correct."

"Great, I'm gonna poke it with a stick."

After doing a loop around the base, he fired a missile at the source of power and Lexi watched as the whole thing slowly fell and gave a little cheer.

"The drawbridge is down, people," Tony announced.

"Clint's hit pretty bad, guys. We're gonna need evac," Natasha told them.

"I can get Barton to the jet. The sooner we're gone, the better," Thor said. "You and Stark get the sceptre."

"Copy that," Steve said.

"I'll be ready for them when they get here," Lexi said.

"Get the sceptre," Thor said.

"And for gosh sake, watch your language!" Tony mocked.

Steve sighed. "That's not going away any time soon."

"No, it's not," Madeline agreed.

"I'll remember it forever," Perseus said.

"I have committed it to memory," Lexi said.

Lexi watched over the cameras as the other Avengers that weren't occupied or injured headed into the base below where Tony was, knowing they were going to be meeting up inside to look for Juliet. Soon, they would have her. They would have to.

"We're locked down out here," Natasha told them.

"Then get to Banner," Steve told her. "Time for a lullaby."

At that moment, there was a heavy thud from outside. Lexi was hesitant at first, but after checking the cameras, she stood up and told Jarvis to open the back access of the quinjet. As the door hatch lowered, she saw Thor carrying Clint bridal style, a roughly bandaged wound on his side clearly visible to them. Lexi gestured Thor over to where he could put the archer down but before she could go over to help, her father's voice in the comms distracted her.

"We got her. We found Juliet."

"Is she alive?" Lexi questioned immediately, almost not wanting the answer.

"She's alive. But there's another girl here, another... prisoner. I think it's Josh's niece. Madeline and Perseus are bringing them back to the jet."

Relief washed over Lexi and she collapsed back into her seat. Juliet was alright, she was alive. She was coming home. And they'd found another girl with her, to boot. Two rescued innocents. Felt like a successful mission in her book.

"We have a second Enhanced. Female. Do not engage," Steve said.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Lexi turned back around in her seat to face the cameras. She looked for the female that Steve had indicated he saw, but she couldn't see anything on the cameras. Her brow furrowed.

"I've got Strucker," Steve said.

"Looks like Steve gets the cookie," Madeline said.

"Man, I wanted that cookie," Perseus complained.

Distantly, the blonde heard her father's voice in her ear, but the words didn't resonate. The angle they had on the quinjet to see anyone sneaking up on them was showing the two figures of Madeline and Perseus touching down in the snow, each with a girl in their arms. Lexi's heart clenched and she quickly pulled the comm from her ear, rushing out to the back access just as they reached it.

Lexi helped ease the two girls down to a sitting position against the outer wall of the quinjet. She found a pair of light blankets and wrapped one around each of them, smiling as she tucked a strand of hair behind Juliet's ear. Her brown eyes were open, but barely and she looked pale and weak, her dark hair a mess. Placing a kiss on the top of her sister's head, Lexi reluctantly moved over to the other girl.

Based on what her father had said, Lexi could guess that this small, hyper-aware blonde sitting next to her sister was Olivia Bowman. Tony knew her uncle, Josh, who worked for Stark Industries and whom he'd gotten closer to after Juliet had been kidnapped. Olivia looked less like a science experiment and more like a child soldier than Juliet did and Lexi could guess why. While Juliet had only been in Hydra's torturous clutches for around four months, Olivia had been with them for nearly three years.

"Hey," Lexi said softly. "You're Olivia, right?"

"Yes."

"My dad and I are going to get you back home, okay? Back to your uncle. He's been really worried about you."

Olivia studied her face for a moment like she was searching for something. Then she simply nodded curtly at her.

"Here," she said, reaching for the blanket that was half around her. "Let's pull this up a bit more so you'll stay warm."

Lexi tightened the blanket around Olivia, cautious of how uneasy the young girl was, and made to step back when a pale hand caught her wrist in a weak grip. Following the arm back to Juliet, Lexi took her hand gently and gave it a squeeze before placing it back in her lap and adjusting the blanket around her back to how it was.

"You're okay, Jules," Lexi told her. "You're on your way back home."

The brunette made a small sound of protest and tried to reach for Lexi again which made her heart clench all over again. She knew what Juliet was asking and she didn't even need to say the words.

"Alright, kid, you sure know the way to a girl's heart, don't you?"

Settling down beside Juliet, Lexi wrapped her arm around her sister and let her curl into her chest. Lexi rested her chin atop Juliet's head and gently started rubbing her arm, consciously keeping her breathing steady, knowing it would be reassuring to her sister.

"It's okay, Jules, you can sleep now."

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an. and on that adorable note, I close the chapter. I really like this chapter as you get to see all of the characters interacting.