Always Plan For The Worst

The following week brought a few revelations. Heather did have sex with Randall and had not been on any sort of birth control nor did they use a condem. Heather was a complete and utter mess but with the help of her friends and their support she decided to play it cool and take a pregnancy test when it was appropriate. Theresa was already on the pill but already there were whispers around school that she was a complete slut and that she had sex with everyone watching. Theresa ‘acted’ slutty but she had only slept with one guy ever before Alan though she wouldn’t say who that was. There were rumors that is was Harry himself but no one dared say that outloud where others could hear nor to Harry’s face.

There was also something happening with Peter. More importantly he found something at Osborn Corp. And he gave it to her father. When Serena asked about it, her father told her pointedly that ‘it was none of her’ concern. And when she went to Peter and asked he simply said to ask her father.

The Tower also received another visitor. Logan had brought a woman named Natalya Sokolova back with him. Ofcourse she couldn’t get many details from anyone but the woman looked...hunted? Bitter? Sad? It was not easy to tell. Only that, like Pharaoh at one time. That she was to stay away from her. As if the tower, her ‘home’ had become some kind of half way house for mutants.

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“Isabella, we need to talk,” Tony said and moved to close the doors to his office. He could see Serena and Tony cuddled together on the large recliner watching a show but Serena lifted her head up and their eyes met briefly as he closed the door.

He turned and Isabella was at her desk going over the latest SHIELD reports. Few of which involved Natalya herself. “Honey, we need to talk,” Tony said seriously and Tony was almost never serious.

Isabella was not happy about Natalya being brought into her home and this was her home. While the other members of the team could come and go as they pleased this was her home and the only home Serena had ever known. While she didn't know everything, she knew enough to know that Natalya was dangerous...very dangerous. Logan had been sent by SHIELD to kill her, but instead he had spared her life and then brought her back here. Steve had had a very long discussion with Natalya and, though he wouldn't reveal any details about what had been said by either party, he had seemed to come to the conclusion that Natalya was not past all hope. Natalya had secluded herself in her room and would only talk to Logan or Steve at this point, though she clearly preferred Logan. Of course Director Fury had been furious when he discovered that Logan had not done his job, but he couldn't do anything about it because the Tower was deemed a sanction. He did, however, threaten to kill her if she got out of line. As Fury put it, she was their responsibility now.

Isabella looked up at her husband when Tony walked into the office where she was looking over Natalya's files. She frowned when she saw how serious he was. Tony was almost never serious so whatever he was about to tell her she probably wasn't going to like.

"What's wrong?"

“It's quite possible that Norman Osborn has been trying to reproduce the soldier serum,” Tony said gravely as he moved up to the mini bar and made himself a drink. As he poured he continued. “Peter has been instrumental in getting us this information but I fear he might have put himself at undo risk for it. I should never have enlisted him for something like this,” Tony said and turned to face Isabella. “His formula is off but he’s not very far off. Close enough to be dangerous and far enough off to be even more dangerous. If this ever got into the wrong hands…” Tony said and took a long drink. “We’d have an army of crazy Natalya’s running around,” he said bluntly.

“The question is, what do we do about it?” Tony asked. “If we try to shut him down and fail, we’ve tipped our hand and expose Peter. If we do nothing and he succeeds or someone finds out about this, everyone’s in trouble,” he said but it was clear he was leading to something. Something he just hadn’t said to her yet. Something he knew she wasn’t going to like.

Upon hearing that Norman Osborn might be trying to reproduce the super soldier serum Isabella's face paled. She and Tony had known Norman for a long time. They weren't friends exactly, but acquaintances. She knew that Norman liked to push the envelope and was rather competitive with Tony, but she never would have expected this from him. She super soldier serum could be extremely dangerous and if the right person wasn't chosen it would just enhance their bad, or violent, qualities.

Isabella listened to the rest of what Tony said and then got up and walked over to the minibar and poured herself a glass of bourbon. She took a long drink and then looked at him. "Whatever you are going to tell me just tell me Tony."

“Well, we now have the means to do things...covertly if necessary. But I wanted to run it by you first,” he said even though he knew what her answer would be. She didn’t like Natalya and once again she had been overruled in her own home. That was beginning to take its toll on her even though Pharaoh had endeared himself to her since. Natalya had just came to the tower and was dealing with some deep-seated emotional issues. Tony though was a pragmatist. And just as their need for someone who could sneak into places...besides Cap, a person like Natalya arrives, literally on their doorstep.

Isabella downed the rest of her drink as she realized what Tony was suggesting. She put the glass down and then walked back over to the desk and picked up the file and handed it to him. “This woman has severe psychological issues. She’s unstable and we don’t even know if we can trust her yet. Plus, she also has the Super Soldier Serum running through her veins. If he found out about that and was able to get a hold of her blood then he could actually replicate the serum.”

Tony shifted quickly to take hold of Isabella’s wrist. “Will you keep your voice down?!” He scolded. “You’ll frighten the kids,” He said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. “Then Logan as well then,” He suggested all but ignoring what she just said. A very valid point but he often did that when she had valid points he didn’t want to acknowledge right then.

Outside in the living room Serena knew her parents were arguing. Peter was engrossed in the baseball game but it was nice to cuddle like this openly. Peter was on his back and Serena was mostly on him, her head resting on his chest and shoulder. His arm was around her back and he was rubbing her ass every now and again.

“What do you think thats about?” he asked. Obviously he had great hearing.

Isabella was not happy about this, but Natalya wasn’t known yet and one of her skills was espionage and intelligence gathering. Thankfully, Logan wasn’t well known either. “Fine, but Logan has to go with her to keep her in line. How are we going to get them in?”

Serena was content to just lay there against Peter as they watched tv. She was snuggled up next to him and she could feel his hand as it caressed her back. She looked at Peter and then glanced back at her father’s office. “I’m not sure. Dad looked upset about something though.”

Peter was thankful she hadn’t made the correlation that he might have been involved in some way. He was very good with chemistry and he was far from stupid. With the complexity of the formula, the chamber he the fact that he had seen the military there personally he could guess to what it was all about. He kissed her forehead and then when she tilted up he kissed her lips.

“We’ll have to air drop them in and take out the security on the roof. We’ll need everyone to pull this off. Pharaoh can blind cameras and scout for them and we are transport and evac” he said and finished his drink. He rubbed his chin a moment as he thought about it all. “Serena will want to come but I don’t think she’s ready yet. Can you convince Peter to stay while we’re gone?” And she’d know why he suggested that. In case things went badly. It would be good for Peter to be here as well,” Tony said. “Cap can pilot the third suit,” He added.

Serena had in fact made the correlation that Peter was involved, but she had decided not to say anything. She knew he wouldn't be able to tell her anything and she didn't want to put him in that position. For the moment she was just happy to be in his arms. She felt him kiss her forehead and she titled her head up to look at him. When he kissed her she closed her eyes and kissed him back.

Isabella still wasn't sure about this, but they didn't have much of a choice. If Norman Osborn was trying to replicate the Super Soldier Serum it could be catastrophic. They needed to put to a stop to this. Natalya wasn't on the team yet. She was technically just staying at the Tower for now, but taking her on a mission would at least give them an idea of if she could even be considered...in the future. There was still quite a bit that Isabella wasn't sure about in regards to her.

"I'm sure Peter will be fine staying here with her," she said, not even thinking about the fact that they would be left alone in the Tower. She was too focused on Natalya and Norman Osborn. "Are you sure we can trust her?" she asked, meaning Natalya.

“Trust? After 21…” he began but Isabella cut him off, “22,” She said as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Ok, after 22 years, I can’t trust you in a shoe store,” He said honestly but by her look it didn't go over very well. “The goal is what we’re after here, babe. Do you not think I know about the risks?” he said actually getting annoyed with her. “If we fail because we hold whatever assets we could have used back, where will we be then?” He asked.

Peter touched her cheek and then brought his hand down to her side and then her hip. He smiled almost shyly at her as he squeezed her hip bone and pulled her suggestively into him. He saw her eyes change and he giggled as he let her go and chuckled as he lay back in the chair.

Isabella sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She then looked at Tony with a softer expression. "I'm only trying to protect my family and I consider the rest of the team a part of my family. Natalya hasn't earned that trust from me...yet. But I'm willing to keep an open mind about her. I do trust Steve's judgement after all....yours though..." she teased with a little grin.

Serena's body began to feel warm as she felt Peter's hand on her hip bone. As he pulled her on top of him on the chair she felt her body really warm up. She looked down at him for a moment and then kissed him for a long moment before shifting back over to the side. Her parent's could walk out of her father's office at any time and she didn't want them to find them in such a compromising position.

"Do you want something to drink?"

“Sure,” Peter said with a smile and watched her get up. At the same time Tony came out of the room and saw Serena moving toward the kitchen. “Serena, your mother would like a word with you,” he said then moved up toward where Peter was.

“Peter we’re going to move on the information you gathered. I’d really appreciate it if you’d remain here until we get back,” he said as Peter got up. “Hey...you guys...need some help?” he asked. But Tony had expected this. “No Peter, you need to remain here while we clean this up. Spiderman’s dead still, remember?” he said. “If we fail you’ll be the one to finish it. You and Serena,” He said. “So you watch over her while we’re gone, alright?” He said.

“I will sir, uh, Mr. Stark,” He said.

“Serena, close the door,” Isabella asked and did that thing with her hands she did when she was a little nervous.

Serena was over at the refrigerator grabbing two sodas when her father suddenly walked into the kitchen. She glanced at Peter when he told her that her mother wanted to talk to her. She nodded and left the sodas on the counter and walked into the office. She closed the door behind her as her mother requested but remained standing.

“Is everything alright?”

“We’re...going on an op tonight Serena, an important one,” she said as she moved to take her hands into hers. “I wanted to tell you that...your father and I do not think you are ready for this one. I wanted to tell you myself and you know how your father is. He can deny you nothing,” She said with a smile.

Serena listened to her mother and then nodded. “I know I’m not ready yet, but maybe one day I will be ready. I’ve been training more with Kate. Is Peter going to go?”

Isabella crossed her arms and regarded Serena a moment. “No, Tony is asking him to stay here until we get back,” She said finally. “This is important Serena but whatever happens you can’t allow Peter to leave here...not until we get back. No matter you hear don’t let him leave as Spiderman, is that clear?” She asked.

Serena could tell from the look in her mother’s eyes that this was very important. She nodded and looked at her. “I won’t let him leave, I promise.”

Meanwhile, Natalya was in her room laying on her side on her bed. She heard a knock at the door and knew it was Logan. Little did she know Tony had already spoken to him. “What is it?”

Logan had begun to take personal responsibility for Natalya. He could tell right away she was battling some pretty intense demons and she didn’t have a friend in this world. But he saw something in her. Something beyond the violence and the torture she endured during her creation. She was a woman underneath it all. Someone who would definitely bite the hand off of anyone that attempted to feed her. It would be up to her to come to him and he just made himself available. He opened her door, he never knocked and though it bothered her at first now it was just how he was. She owed him and instead of taking what he was owed from her flesh. Like most men would do. He held back his desire for her and he never told her why.

He leaned forward on his forearms as he regarded her. He nodded. “Get your gear and suit up, we’re going on an op,” He said. Ofcourse Tony had given her new gear. He had sized up her abilities just days after she got here. She didnt move immediately and Logan frowned at her. “Tick tock princess,” He said and closed the door as he stepped away from her room.

Kate wasn’t in the Tower at the moment, she was on a mission for SHIELD. She appeared on Steve’s sat phone and he smiled at her. “You’re getting a tan at least. You sure you’re not on some vacation with some other man? I think you know by now that I'm a very jealous guy,” Steve said. “I don’t like to sleep alone,” Steve said in a softer voice. “You sure you can’t tell me where you are or what you’re doing? Is it dangerous?” he asked though with SHIELD it was always dangerous.

Natalya didn't know why Logan had decided to spare her life that day. He had had her trapped and she had actually be frightened. He was the first man she had ever faced who had not been afraid of her and that she had not been able to kill. Leaving the SSB hadn't been easy, but it had been that or be killed by him.. However, now that she was away from the SSB's grasp on her she had begun to realize that they had been strangling her. Without missions and jobs to complete she was left alone with just her thoughts and memories and none of them were good. Her loyalty to the SSB was slowly starting to turn to hate, especially towards Tatiana, her creator. Natalya felt alone and realized that she didn't know who she was when she wasn't fighting someone. There were a lot of things she was going to have to figure out and it was going to take time.

She looked over at Logan and her dark eyes regarded him and took in his form. Logan was handsome, if in a rugged sort of way, but there was something beyond that, that she could not put her finger on. Perhaps it was because he had given her a second chance that she felt a connection to him. She blinked and looked visibly surprised when Logan told her that she was going to go with them on an Op. She sat up and then sat there a moment before getting up and stepping out of her room. All the suits and equipment were stored together. She followed Logan down there and found a black bodysuit and matching boots. The bodysuit was made out of a nearly bulletproof material, but was still lightweight and stretchy enough to allow her to move without hindrance. Beside the suit there were thigh pistol holders, along with two devices that almost looked like bracelets. They were based off of the gauntlets she had been wearing when Logan had tracked her down, but these were updated. They still contained grappling hooks, but they also contained tear gas pellets, explosives, a radio transmitter, and the ability to deliver a high frequency electrostatic charge. Once suited up she looked very bit the fighter she truly was.

Kate had gotten pulled away on a SHIELD mission a few days ago. Coulson had called her in the middle of the night had she had been forced to leave. She couldn't tell Steve anything about the mission, but was able to video chat with him via satellite phone. She gave Steve a little smile when he admitted that he didn't like to sleep alone. "I don't like it either. I will hopefully be back in a few days. I wish I could tell you where I am or what I'm doing, but you know I can't." She decided not to answer his last question. All her missions were always dangerous, but this one was particularly dangerous. "I'm being safe. I'll be back soon. I promise. I...I miss you."

The team began to assemble near the large tv in the living room. Tony and Isabella were there with their suits on but their faces exposed. Tony had a 3d map of the building on the tv. Peter and Serena were allowed to view all of this as a training exercise. “Steve, call up suit 21A. I’ll take Logan, Isabella will take Natalya and Steve, you take Pharaoh,” he said. Natalya gave Serena and Peter a cold, neutral look and she stood next to Logan as she silently took in the presentation.

“Pharoah, we’ll need you to fool the cameras and ill discharge the water vapor so Logan, Steve and Natalya can come down into the building. The elevator shaft does not appear to have security so I’d recommend that to descend down to the 5th floor. Natalya your job will be to access their computer server room. This flashdrive will seek out all data in their system pertaining to the OZ formula that Mr. Parker obtained for us. Logan you go with her incase she has trouble accessing the server room,” he said though it might be clear as to why he chose a chaperone for her. “Any computers connected to the network will have that data erased as well. Steve, take the micro charges i’ve provided to you to destroy that gas chamber. They will spread a caustic acid that will destroy the chamber and dissolve 60% of its components. “Isabella and I will remain on the roof for evac and rear guard,” He said. “Any questions?”

Serena hadn't been informed of exactly what was going on, but as she listened to what her father said and looked at the 3d map she quickly realized that it was Osborn Corp. She glanced over at Peter and knew then why her mother had told her to keep him with her. He worked for Mr. Osborn and clearly he had been the one to gather this information. If this mission failed then Peter would be targeted as the person who leaked the information.

Serena looked over at Natalya and for the first time got a good look at her. Natalya was quite striking to look at. She had long, dark hair and dark eyes and looked quite...mysterious. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she listened to the plan. Natalya wasn't exactly used to working as a part of a team. She had almost always worked solo. However, her job was intelligence gathering, which is something she was used to doing. Natalya glanced at Tony when he mentioned that Logan was to go with her. Clearly, they didn't trust her yet and she couldn't exactly blame them, nor did she fully trust them either.

"What's the OZ formula?" Natalya said, finally breaking her silence.

Logan wasn’t at all pleased to play babysitter in this. He knew no one trusted Natalya and that she trusted no one. But he knew she’d do this. It was an opening for her and a way to use her abilities besides. He kept his mouth shut though he wanted to grind his teeth.

“That is not information you need to know Natalya,” Tony said and Steve shifted toward her. “The mission is to destroy the formula, not retain it in any way. Is that clear Natalya?” Steve asked pointedly. Peter stirred at the tone in his voice. Obviously Steve didn’t trust her a whit either. Logan rolled his eyes. “I think she’s got the jist,” Logan said in a rasp. He hated briefings and wanted to just get to it. Steve’s gaze didn’t falter though and he asked again. “Are we clear Natalya?” he said so coldly that Peter thought the temperature of the room had dropped a few degrees.

Natalya dug her nails into her arm as she looked at Tony and Steve. She clenched her jaw and narrowed her gaze at the two men. Serena actually took a step back she wasn’t sure she wanted to mess with Natalya...ever. “Yes,” she replied in an icy tone that indicated she would probably rather Logan have killed her that day at this point.

Logan leaned in toward her. “Easy, don’t do anything I’ll regret,” He whispered but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. “Ok then, everyone to the helipad and bring the harnesses,” Tony reminded everyone. This was an unusual type of approach but they’d all be flying low and trying to not be noticed in a jet isn’t very easy. Isabella came up to Serena and hugged her.

“We love you Serena, you’ll know if it goes badly for us,” She whispered and kissed her cheek. Tony would not do that nor say those things. He was always confident of success until it all went badly. He did smile and nod to her though and give her a reassuring smile.

Peter and Serena watched as they each piggy backed one of the team and they all launched up into the sky. Peter sighed a sigh of regret. He felt he could have been of help. He knew the building pretty well, was very sneaky and had a feeling that The Green Goblin could make a sudden appearance. And he wanted another crack at him.

“Well,” He said in exasperation. “I guess us ‘children’ should go watch a show or something,” he said. Obviously annoyed they couldn’t go along. He moved toward the Living room away from her.