Rogue (An Avengers Fanfic)

Chapter 27: One Step Closer

Steve, Falcon, Nat, Wanda, Hawkeye and I were in the new S.H.I.E.L.D HQ (created after it was infiltrated and destroyed by HYDRA) searching through files, looking for any information on either Mia or Layla Miller.

"Are we sure she's even in here?" Hawkeye asked.

"Nope, we're not sure of anything," I clarified. "But this is the only place that I could think of. Anyway, shouldn't you be at home looking after baby Nate?" I asked with a smile. Nathaniel Pietro Barton was the newest addition to the Barton family and the team practically worshipped him. However, now that he was a few months old, Hawkeye was officially out of retirement and an Avenger again.

"There has to be something here," Wanda said, idly flipping through file after file.

As we continued in silence, the door suddenly opened and in walked Fury and Hill.

"Uh oh, we're in trouble!" Hawkeye stage whispered, making the rest of us laugh. Sometimes, when we were all in S.H.I.E.L.D, it felt like we were back at school trying to pass exams and stay out of trouble.

"What are you all doing here?" Fury asked, looking at each of us in turn. Every pair of eyes turned to me, as if saying 'Rogue, your turn!'

"Um, everyone's helping me to look for... something," I said cautiously. I didn't know why I was keeping our mission a secret, but something told me that if I told Fury, he'd convince me not to look for her. He looked at us again.

"I'm sorry about you and Stark," he said apologetically.

"I'm not!" I said with a smile, hiding how hurt I was feeling. I hadn't confirmed that Stark and I had broken up but apparently good news, bad news, or any news, travelled fast.

"I'm resisting the urge to say 'I told you so'," he continued.

"So is Nat," I said with a smirk, gesturing to her.

"No way, I'd never say that!" she gasped in fake shock. "I might think it, but I'd never say it!"

Then we heard Wanda's sharp intake of breath as she got flustered and dropped some files onto the floor in her corner of the room.

"What?" Hill asked her suspiciously.

"Nothing. Nothing," she said quickly, scrambling on the floor to pick up what she'd dropped, not looking at any of us. Fury and Hill looked at each other, obviously thinking the same thing.

"Hey Fury, have you ever heard of a 'Layla Miller'?" Nat asked him.

"Just out of curiosity," Steve broke in.

"Uh, she sounds familiar. Why?"

"No reason!" I said, a bit too quickly, probably making him even more suspicious than he already was.

"Is she... alive?" Falcon asked.

"I don't know! Who wants to know?" Fury responded. We all stayed silent, loyalty buzzing around the room. He waited for a moment before giving up. "Don't screw shit up. Don't do anything stupid. Don't die!" he recited, leaving the room with Hill in tow.

"Did you find something?" I asked Wanda, running over to her.

"I think so!" she said, handing me a file with the name 'LAYLA MILLER' printed on the front. I immediately took it from her, opening it up, hoping to find some more evidence that she was who I thought she was.

"There's an address," Steve said, reading over my shoulder.

"Should we go?" Falcon asked.

"Can we really just turn up on her doorstep?" Hawkeye asked.