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MAL STOOD IN front of the familiar house, trying not to focus on her nerves. She didn't even know if Eve would help, and she couldn't blame her if she didn't want to risk her life for this. Mal's phone vibrated in her, and she snapped out of her thoughts to look down at the new text message.
Are you okay? Love you.
Mal smiled slightly at the message from Tony, her heart warming. She missed him, especially because it had been nearly a year since she'd seen him in person. But she couldn't tell him what was happening, she couldn't drag him into this.
"Mal?" Mal's head snapped up at the voice, her eyes meeting Eve's. "What are you doing here?" She asked, frowning softly. Mal was suddenly thankful that Eve lived alone.
"Can I come in?" Mal asked quietly, and Eve took a moment to notice that Mal was shifting uncomfortably, glancing over her shoulder every now and then. She was nervous, on edge. Mal was also covered in dirt and ash, her face smeared with it.
"Yeah, absolutely." Eve moved to the side to let Mal in before shutting the door, locking it behind her. "What's wrong, Mal?" Mal shifted nervously, sighing.
"There's something wrong with SHIELD, Eve." Mal began, not really knowing how to explain it, or how Eve would take it.
"It's HYDRA isn't it?" Eve whispered out, making Mal's eyes widen.
"How did you know?" Mal asked, fearing the worst. Could Eve be HYDRA? Did she come to the wrong person?
"Fury, before he, uh, died," Evie stumbled over her words for a moment, sighing. "He told me that he was worried something was going on inside SHIELD. He said that if anything happened, I should delete all data and blueprints for our work in the computers, to go dark. He didn't say it out loud, but I got a letter this morning saying HYDRA has infiltrated SHIELD, signed and sealed by Fury himself." Eve explained, her lips pursed, hands wringing together. Mal took a moment to process everything, nodding slowly.
"Okay. Look, Eve, I know what I'm about to ask is a lot, and you can say no, but I need your help. We need your help. You know SHIELD's systems inside and out, and if anyone can get us through that, it's you." Mal pleaded, eyes wide as she looked at Eve. After a moment, she shrugged with a smile.
"Let me pack a bag."
–•–•–
After Sam had allowed Mal to use his shower, she sat with Steve, Natasha, Sam and Eve in the kitchen. Her blonde hair was falling down over her shoulders, a bit of a mess, but she couldn't be bothered to fix it. Eve frowned, standing up and moving behind Mal, pulling her hair back and beginning to tie it back into a French braid. Mal let her do it with a playful roll of her eyes.
"So, you're telling me that you're, like, a superhero? A real, genuine, Battle of New York superhero?" Eve gushed, making Steve and Natasha look at each other in amusement. "How come you never told me?" Mal laughed softly, smiling.
