Deception || Steve Rogers Daughter

Chapter Twenty-One

The car ride was silent, no one spoke, and they all sat like stoic soldiers ready for a fight. Even Jean didn't look at Emma again after sliding into the passenger seat of one of the many vans that had lined the base.

Somehow, they had all infiltrated the building the night before. Which allowed so many agents to flood in when the time was right. If they could do that in a few hours, could they really do that to any base? Was anyone safe anymore? Had Hydra finally cracked the barrier that everyone hoped they wouldn't. 

When the group eventually made it to the base, the situation wasn't much better. Emma was roughly escorted out of the car and down the dark halls of the hell that she'd grown up in. Her brain started to go off the deep end the further they traveled into this base. Memories of tortures, other kids, and the screaming filled her mind. God, the screaming was the worst. 

When they finally ducked down the last hall, Emma's blood ran cold. There, near the door, stood three people that she'd hoped to never see again. It seemed they were all smiling at her as the group, Emma, her mother, and two agents, got closer and closer to whatever was behind that door. 

A cell? A holding chamber? Emma's thoughts began to jumble together as the panic set in. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

SHIELD Base
Same Time

"Steve! Going gun-ho on the situation will surely kill you and your daughter before you can get through the doors!" Clint shouts while slamming his fist on the table so he could be heard over the arguments around the room. Since Emma had left with Jean and the other Hydra agents, the group had moved to the largest conference room on the base. 

Fury and Coulson left to shut down the base and put everyone through another screening test to ensure total safety, as well as call other SHIELD bases to prepare them for the inevitable purge of Hydra. 

"She's my daughter! How could she have been so stupid? That's exactly what Jean wanted and Emma just played into-"

"Steve." Tony sharply warns. "It's exactly as you said, she's your daughter, and she saved everyone. You saw it as much as anyone in that room, your wife was not going to leave without her even if there was blood to be shed. Emma did the bravest thing she could've, our only thoughts should be how to get her back and how to keep this from happening again." 

Peter look around the group in awe of Tony. Sure, he looked up to him and thought he was pretty smart, but that...that small speech was impressive. Pushing hope inside of the teenager in the darkest depths of his soul, not that he really had anything dark. He did cheat on one of those tests last week but everyone else was doing it so he didn't see the harm. May would've killed...no no Tony would've killed him if he failed. 

Peter's watch buzzes, pulling his attention away from his thoughts, causing him to do a double take. It was a notification about Emma's heart rate, which had skyrocketed in the last ten minutes. Peter had completely forgotten that they both set up a system with connecting watches. He got notifications about her well being and she got some about his. It was an incredible stroke of luck.

Peter taps his watch, still ignoring the rest of the group, and sends three vibrations. It was their signal, showing that the other was there, and that everything was going to be okay. It seemed that they used it a lot in the past few days but now felt most important. The seconds ticked by as he waited for a response before he almost slapped himself. She was with Hydra, how would she be able to respond without getting caught?!

His thoughts were interrupted by three vibrations coming back. Peter almost screamed from excitement. She was there, she was still alive, and she was sort of available to communicate. Peter would never speak ill of Stark tech, which was where these watches came from, but now came the hardest part. Well, besides trying to get her back of course. Peter had to find a way to continue to communicate with Emma through words, their codes were limited because they'd usually move to phone calls. 

Maybe he could get Tony to add some quick modifications from his computer...or someone even better. Someone who was available on standby.

The guy in the chair. 

Hydra Base

April, Grant Ward, and Igor Hemlock sat at the end of the conference table. Jean and Emma sat on the opposite end with the two agents on either side of the doorway, as if to keep everyone from running or just one person. Emma.

Emma didn't know where to look. The girl that betrayed her? The man that aided in her tortures and training? Or the guy who was behind it all? Igor was the one that gave her the powers. The one that tortured her to the brink of death, brought her back, and started over again. Emma couldn't even look at the woman who claimed to be her mother. 

All of this was just wrong, she shouldn't be here. Why had she avoided Steve so much? Regret and guilt found it's way into her heart alongside the fear. If she ever got out of here, connecting with Steve was going to be her top priority. As well as finally getting the confidence to kiss Peter. There were so many 'firsts' that she wasn't going to be able to experience. No...she couldn't think that way, she was going to get out of here. Even if it killed her. 

"So, I guess the main order of business is how we're going to go from here." Jean clears her throat while crossing her arms on the table. "I've gathered you all because you aided in raising my daughter to become the best that she could be. I want to use that again, get the patriotic stuff out of her mind just...without all the blood. If we want her on our side, I don't think bashing her head repeatedly is going to cut it."

She was trying to take the motherly approach in the only way that Jean knew how. By stating that Emma was off limits for the torture, thinking that would be something to sway Emma. Maybe if she acted the part long enough, she could fool them into trusting her. Then, Emma could find a way to communicate with the others. 

April had done it for years, so why couldn't Emma? 

Her wrist buzzes again and Emma sneaks a quick glance to see it was from Peter. There was three letters but it was all she needed to know that they were planning on their side too.

IWU

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Letter meaning will be talked about next chapter. You can take guesses but it's actually pretty stupid lol....

anywho thanks for reading !!!

-Author Out