#ch ; nick fury

[tiredassmage]

something something the best revenge is being the best dressed motherfucker in the room or whatever~

#swtor #swtor screenshots #ch: tyr #they can't forcibly make me do a flashpoint at almost midnight get outta here #i'm so tired sleepy (and so is this poor man) #he's so infinitely done with this galactic war business when can he leave #when is the game going to let tyr pull the nick fury moment he deserves #smth smth i recognize the dark council has made a decision #and given that it's yet ANOTHER stupid ass decision #he's elected to [expletives explosions blaster fire etc etc] #blasts back in black from the dropship stereo #one day tyr is just going to lay down in the middle of a meeting and fold up like a vampire and refuse to contribute #flat fuck friday embracing or whatever

[anki-of-beleriand]

Bad Liar ch. 15

Summary: Life is about lessons, and Wanda has been learning some harsh facts that had define her life and taken her to a place in which she was given a second chance. Then, all of a sudden, she meets you, and she realizes why it's easier to lie to yourself than to accpet what's right in front of her.

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff/ Female!reader - America/Kate - Mentions of past Vision/Wanda - past Natasha/Reader - Some Female!Reader/Carol Danvers - Mentions of Natasha/Maria being married

Warnings: Slow burn - Enemies to friends to lovers - Mentions of abusive relationships - Toxic relationships - angst - drama - mentions of abuse - violence - mentios of abused and sexual assault - more tags as the story progress.

Author's note: They needed to find a way out, but it turned out to be a deathly way to deal with the current confrontation.

This chapter was really hard to write because I didn't want to focuse too much on the violence but I did want to put the tension around everyone. They are not agents or people with superpowers, so perhaps their reactions is tied up to what they had seen in movies and who they are more so that because of that expertise. Guys, we are almost there!!! Please rmemeber English is not my mother tongue so forgive my grammar, spelling and funny mistakes, hope you like this one.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18

Chapter 15

Five minutes to midnight

You let out a groan, your body weighted you down and the world in front of your eyes was spinning out of control. You opened your mouth, but no sound came, only the ragged breathing that created a piercing pain on your chest.

Wanda 

Her name came into mind, and soon after panic rose in your mind. You needed to move, and fast, Wanda was outside and she was in danger. With great effort you tried to sit up, pain clutch at your arm and the office spiralled in front of your eyes. You held your head, taking a deep breath that made you open your mouth in discomfort.

You tried to evaluate the damage, your legs were left mostly unharmed, but your midsection, your arms and your head had been harmed quite badly. You grimaced trying to stand up holding onto the table, your eyes closed for a moment before you found the broken mobile on the far corner. Staggering towards the place, you let out a cry when you tried to grab the mobile. The screen had been crushed, and the normal functions of the phone were not available for you.

“Tony.” You rasped out, “Friday call Tony.”

The mobile flickered, the sound was not good and suddenly it just turned off. You dropped the article turning around, it would be up to you to get help. You dragged yourself to the door, each step a painful reminder of the fight you held with the man.

Your hand lifted to the panel to call for the elevator. You waited, taking slow breaths, trying to hold onto your sanity while thinking about Wanda. About your family.

“Y/N!!!!” 

You let out a whimper, turning around fast made you crash against the wall. your eyes went wide, and relief soon filled your expression when you noticed Maria coming towards you with the security detail of the building and Nick Fury.

“Maria, Wanda…” you started watching as everyone started checking the floor, Fury held you up with Maria cupping your face, completely pale and trembling.

“Wanda…you didn't tell me…” you groaned trying to glare at the woman, but Maria shook her head.

“I wasn't supposed to, Y/N. Natasha made me promise, it was to make sure Wanda's secret was safe…”

You shook your head glaring at Maria and Fury, “if anything happens to her…”

You groaned again, tears coming out of your eyes, Maria’s lip quivered while putting your face in her hands.

“I'm sorry, they already sent a search and capture warrant with Wanda's car description and plates.” Maria tried to soothe your worries; Fury nodded to the lift where a pair of paramedics came in ready to assist you.

“America, Billy and Tommy…”

“I sent someone over there, everything is being taken care of.” Fury placed you on the floor slowly, the stern glance firmly in place.

“He said something to you, anything else that may help us in our search?” 

You shook your head letting the paramedics do their job, you tried to wrap your mind in what was happening, the officials and security looking around the place.

“I just wished you had told me…” You mumbled tiredly; your attention turned to the two men attending to your wounds. “How bad is it?”

“I think we need to take you to the hospital,” one of them started checking the bruises and the general stated you were in, “some bones may be broken but we cannot be certain unless we take some x-rays or…”

“No, I need…I need a computer.” You replied shaking your head, lifting your face to see Maria there, “call Tony.”

“Y/N I think…” Fury started but your eyes shot a heated glare towards the man.

“My family is in danger, Fury.” You motioned to the paramedics so they could help you up, “you need help, and right now Tony and I are your best hope, you got us into this mess, you better pray to God that this ends well…”

Fury held your stare with his sole eye, he pursed his lips tempted to say something against your plan but you were probably right. He nodded curtly, with Maria already making the call to Tony; you let out a breathy cough shivering while motioning to one of the medics to come closer.

“I need something for the pain, but not to leave me out of it, do you have something like that?”

He hesitated glancing at his partner then at you, “we’re not supposed to….”

“Don’t worry, I will take full responsibility, just…give me your best drug I will need it.” You mumbled making your way to the closest lab, you sat down in one of the chairs while turning on the computer.

“There are two patrols driving right now towards your house, they will be there in twenty minutes,” Fury entered the room with you, his eye glancing curiously at the screen, “Tony is coming over, he will be here in ten. What exactly are you doing?”

“This man…I know you guys want him for the deals he is making but, Maria, how bad is it going to be for Wanda? I need to know everything.”

Fury and Maria glanced at one another, you hit the table with your fist glaring at the both of them while pointing to the screen.

“I can hack into her mobile and his, I can put a tracker on them or the car Wanda is using, but I need to know everything! I need to know she is going to be fine! That nothing is going to happen!!”

This last part was said with tears welling up in your eyes, “tell me you don’t think this man is going to hurt Wanda or Billy or Tommy or even America…and I step aside…”

Maria clenched her jaw sitting right beside you turning on another of the computers, “what do you want me to do?”

Fury huffed putting his mobile out and typing really quick before making a phone call, you winced with your eyesight getting blurry every once in a while, but your fingers moving decisively over the keyboard.

________________

Wanda drove in silence, her mind completely blank reflecting what her face was trying to convey. The world passing her through was moving in slow motion, Wanda could not feel anything at all, she was just going through the motions with the weight of Vision's hand on her thigh gripping her tightly to the point she could almost feel the bruises he was leaving on her.

For a brief moment Wanda played with the idea of crashing her car against a tree or a wall. She could actually spot a couple of places that could work for her plan, she knew that whatever happened her boys would be okay. She liked to think that you wouldn't leave them alone and that maybe Natasha would also come forth to help them out. But Vision cut her hopes off when he punched her thigh pressing the barrel of the gun on her ribs.

“Don't even think about it,” Vision spoke in a dangerous whisper, the cold anger sent shivers down Wanda's back, “if we're not there by the time the clock strikes the six, Agatha will make sure our children join us in death.”

“No…” Wanda held her tongue before she could say something else.

She was not surprised that Agatha's name came into play in the conversation. The young woman had known that their neighbour had been playing on Vision’s side from the very beginning. At first, Wanda had fallen for her good-natured smile and the complicity she came by on that first meeting, it took Wanda some time to realise that all her secrets and mistakes were being told to her husband by the very woman she thought was her friend.

Soon, Wanda discovered Agatha enjoyed her suffering while also flirting with Vision and making her children's life impossible. The fact that, at the end of everything, Agatha had come forth to be with Vision in such a predicament was not a surprise at all.

“Yes, Agatha is a good pet, I have to admit that much.” Vision said offhandedly, he turned to Wanda and this time around his hand drew circles on her thigh going up and down until he was grinding Wanda's crotch pressing his knuckles harshly. 

“But you, my love, have the most exquisite moans and tears I have ever seen in a woman,” he clenched his jaw when Wanda grimaced holding back her disgust but unable to hide it from his eyes.

Wanda let out a groan when he hit her hard on her thigh, he did it again, and again, and again until Wanda almost lost control of the wheel.

“Look where you are going, my love, or the kids will suffer. Now you are going to take your punishment quietly, like a good wife, are you not?”

“No.” The word came out of nowhere, it left her lips with more strength and conviction to what she actually felt at the moment.

Wanda flickered her glance through the rear mirror, Vision was left dumbstruck never before having heard such a tone of voice, or that strength behind his wife. He was so tempted to hurt her, to teach her…but, he leaned back on the seat if the car chuckling darkly.

“Sooner or later, my love, you will bend to my will.” He cocked his head pointing to the road, “for now, drive faster, we are almost there and I'm dying to see my kids.”

Wanda clenched her fist tightly around the wheel, she tried to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. Her mind was screaming in pain, confusion and terror, she was trying desperately to give of a signal to one of the cars moving past her, she was trying to make faces or make sure anyone could see the state Vision was in. But it was as if the world was deaf and blind, for a moment she let go of her thoughts, and soon enough she thought of you. 

The panic that had risen inside her went limp for a moment, the memory of your smile and your words almost made her smile. She held onto these memories, while trying to quiet down her worries. She remembered Vision's words, the story of you laying on the floor in a pool made of your own blood.

And now, she was driving to her home begging and hoping that perhaps America had decided to go to her place with the twins or opted to take them out to someplace.

She could only hope, though. 

With a heavy heart, and fear she drove down the highway trying to make sure every camera on the road could take a good picture of her and the wounded Vision sitting by her side.

Time, all she needed was time.

__________

Agatha Harness stood by the window, her fingertips caressing the soft texture of the curtains protecting the intimacy of the house. She smiled, the two cops that had parked in front of Wanda's home had finished the inspection on the property talking through their radios before making their way to the car. 

She turned around to see America and Kate tied together on the ground while Tommy and Billy had been frozen on the sofa. The little boys were trembling, each one of them wearing the signs of the struggle they tried to put up when they came across the woman.

The ordeal had been far too easy, nor America or Kate knew of her, and by the time the twins were ready to scream she had put the weapon against the Bishop heir. Now, all she had to do was wait. 

“I don't suppose your sister keeps the alcohol in the living room, right?” Agatha put a hand on her cheek, her eyes gleaming mischievously at America who was glaring at her. “Yes, I think a house filled with teenagers would make her think twice about the storage of the alcohol.”

America struggled against the ropes on her hands, she lifted her chin in defiance only to be soothed over by the side glance from Kate and the whimpers from Tommy. Agatha rolled her eyes approaching the young teen, her fingers mapping out the features of the young woman.

“You are quite the beauty, Missy, just like your sister,” Agatha lifted a brow walking towards the closest table that held a picture of you and America, “I can see why Wanda fell for her. I have always suspected Wanda was odd, but never imagined she was into women. Tsk, no wonder she could never please Jarvis.”

The woman strolled around the room taking notice of the different objects adorning the living room, the pictures and the technological gadgets, the expensive furniture and the layout of the house. Without a doubt, you had money, and Agatha could appreciate the sleaziness behind Wanda's actions to get you wrapped around her finger. Too bad this wouldn't last,at least at the end you would be grateful that her and Jarvis would free you from such an arrogant, and quite dangerous individual.

The mobile she brought with her rang three times, her face lit up picking up the gadget from the table before turning to the twins.

“Well, boys, I hope you are ready because daddy just got here!” She exclaimed happily clapping while rushing to the sofa, she tried to put a hand on Tommy's shoulder but Billy slapped it away. 

“Nos, Billy, don't be like that,” the woman slapped Billy under the muffled protests of America and Kate, she glared at the boys before grabbing both of them harshly. “You two will behave, you will go out there and greet your dad and then we will be on our way. There is a long trip waiting for us, and your dad has made a great effort to make this perfect for the family.”

America winced under the biting pressure of the ropes on her hands, she felt the slashes on her wrists and the burning pain running up her arm. To her left, Kate was just breathing with her eyes, the only indicator that she was scared. America felt like an idiot, she knew it was her fault the woman had entered the house that this freaking woman had trapped them in and then dragged them to her house so the police couldn't notice they were missing. Many thoughts were crossing her mind, she was thinking about Wanda that was looking so beautiful that day, with hope and happiness at being on a date with you, she thought about you perhaps back at work ignorant of what was happening. America wished she could do something, but her fight against the binds on her wrist had caused a lot of damage and she couldn't risk anything foolish that would endanger Kate, Billy or Tommy.

Agatha fixed herself pushing the twins forward to the door, she put on a big smile while opening the door. America's breath caught in her throat when her eyes fell on the figure of Wanda Maximoff and Edwin Jarvis. Both of them wore the signs of struggle, blood and bruises covering their bodies but whereas Wanda was scared with her green eyes falling on her children then on America; Jarvis was looking enraged.

“Jarvis!! What happened to you?” The other woman ran to her lover, but the man dismissed her pushing her and Wanda away to greet his children.

“Billy, Tommy, my boys,” he opened his arms waiting for the greeting of her children, his expression changing into one of anger when the boys didn't move from the spot, if anything their eyes went wide open sending glances to Wanda.

“Is this the way I teach you to greet me, boys?” Jarvis never lifted his voice, he spoke calmly, softly with a hint of coldness in his voice.

Wanda nodded at the twins, and after a moment of hesitation they came to Jarvis hugging him with trembling hands. Jarvis smirked ruffling their heads harshly making them wince under the pressure.

“That wasn't so hard, was it?”

The man limped inside the house closing the door behind him, he pushed Wanda further into the house before settling his eyes on America and Kate. He raised a brow quite amused at Agatha who smiled back.

“They were in the way.”

“Indeed.” Jarvis sat down on the sofa, his eyes falling on America for a long moment before pointing at Wanda, “now dear come sit here, we need to talk about the future.”

Wanda held back her facial expression, she tried to conceal the disgust she was feeling at the thought of her sitting on Vision's lap. The man path his thigh three times, and Wanda knew she would need to comply or else, this would end up badly. With some reluctance, she stepped forward knowing America and Kate were looking at her shaking their heads while Tommy and Billy cried silently sitting on the chair in front of them.

“Now, dear, we're going to talk about the future and your misdeeds,” the man passed his hand through Wanda's uncovered knee, his eyes gleaming in lust ignoring the open frown from Agatha.

“You see, Mrs. Y/L/N,” he said directing his attention to America, the young woman scowled but said nothing, “I gave everything to my wife, I took her in when no one else loved her, I educated her, dress her, I have her children, a house…and what does she do? She leaves in the middle of the day and takes my children with her. Why? Because she is a bad woman and a bad mother, and she is always defying me and going against my wishes, even though she has been mine since the very first time his father sold her to me.”

Wanda felt her lower lip quivered; the fear she was experimenting soon mixed up with the anger his words were fuelling. The muscles on her arms and shoulders tensed, her fingers twitching trying to form a fist she still didn't dare to throw to the man that had his hand on her thigh. The young woman was trying with all her might to look for a way out, her eyes found those of America and Kate and she regretted the moment she hid the truth from you or rejected the idea of this ever happening. But, what she regretted the most was dragging you and your family into this mess.

Would you still love her if something were to happen to America?

Would you still want Wanda after all of this?

Wanda needed her kids, America and Kate safe, she let her eyes wander around the room before turning to Vision. Nausea raised inside her throat, her heart almost stopping with the shiver of sheer repulsion as she lifted her hand to cup Jarvis face.

The man let her eyes wander back to Wanda, he had not lost his scowl but now there was curiosity in his gestures. He raised a single eyebrow, his lips curling slightly when he spotted the fear and submission in Wanda.

“Are you going to apologize?” He asked Wanda nodded, opening her mouth only to close it again.

The words tangled themselves on her throat, Jarvis snorted lifting his hand only to wrap in around her neck.

“You will have time for that for now I think we need to go.” He grabbed Wanda tightly making her stand up while he did too, letting out a groan of pain.

His face was swelling slowly, while the eye you had hurt was bleeding profusely. Wanda stepped back when he almost fell down, but the man held onto Wanda before straightened up.

“As fun as this has been,” Jarvis turned to America and Kate, “we will leave, I'm sorry about your loss, but surely you understand that when you mess with a taken woman the consequences may be…deathly.”

America opened her eyes, they stinged with unshed tears just as her struggle against the ropes started again. Jarvis smirked when Wanda shook her head, and desperation filled America's face.

“I'm sure you will thank me, once you are able to come upon such a good inheritance.” The man stepped away from Wanda going over to where the twins were sitting, he grasped their clothes pulling them to him harshly making them yelped and Wanda almost went to their rescue. Agatha was right on top of her stopping her before pushing her to the entrance door.

“However, if by any chance, Y/L/N survive then…you may let her know that I make sure to take my wife in body and soul,” Jarvis continued with his rant, “and that the last thing she did before the end was scream my name.”

Kate clenched her jaw trying to hold back her tears, America was still struggling trying to get free to get to her phone. Her mind wrapped around the idea of you being dead or badly wounded without any help.

Jarvis pushed his family to the door, and he was about to close the door when his ears caught the sound of guns getting ready to fire. He turned around only to see five police cars parked on the street cutting off the exit. He snarled, grabbing his own gun and pointing it to Tommy. This time around Wanda did react by hitting Agatha on the face while going to Tommy, she stopped dead in her tracks when Vision pressed the barrel on Tommy's head.

“Are you ready to risk it, dear?”

“Vision, please…take me, just…take me, leave him alone.” Wanda begged, her voice trembling with her eyes wide open.

Tommy started sobbing with Billy gripping his brother wide eyed with tears streaming down his cheeks.

The moment of tension grew amongst them, Vision ready to risk everything to get out of the situation alive. And everything would have ended in tragedy if it wasn't for his phone that started ringing. The man blinked a couple of times confused, he kept the gun pointing to Tommy while also grabbing the phone with a hint of annoyance and curiosity. 

His brows got lost on the hairline, with his lips twitching back while the skin around his cheeks tensed. His eyes went quickly to Wanda who was struggling with herself ready to grab her children, Vision huffed, pressing the green button while locking his glance with Wanda.

“I am very surprised to see you survive.” His voice dripped sarcasm, a hint of anger tainting his words.

“I can't say I was left unaffected, but my people were nearby,” you trailed off holding whatever else you wanted to say to the man while fear gripped your heart tightly, “but your failure is not the reason I call you about.”

You winced when Peggy Carter and James Logan glared at you while pointing to the script they had set up for you. The man at the other end of the line chuckled darkly, the scream from Wanda and Tommy almost made you drop the phone.

“I wouldn't call it a failure if you are at the office and I am at your home with them, and your sister.”

You clenched your fists tightly, wincing when the effort tensed the bruises in your body.

“Touché.” You took a deep breath, the words leaving your mouth with a bad taste, “I have a proposal for you.”

This time around Vision was looking extremely interested, he didn't lose sight of the police patrols or the people surrounding the house. He could see everyone waiting for the action while he spoke with you. His eyes soon drifted to Wanda and the kids, before settling in Agatha who had her own weapon tightly grasped on her left hand. He weighed his options, the tension kept growing and he knew any moment now a team of negotiators would arrive to control the situation.

The end of this particular chapter of his life wasn't looking bright, and he hated that he let himself be caught in such a foolish action. He contemplated his options, but your voice soon brought to the table a most suitable deal.

“Kingpin sold you out for a pretty good deal of money you stole from him,” you let out a raspy cough, the pain shooting electric spasm through your body, “you know what will happen, jail would be your grave.”

Vision narrowed his eyes, nodding to Agatha and Wanda to go back inside the house, his hand never wavering while pointing the gun to his son. He frowned, noticing that not since the phone call had anyone done or said anything, no one had dared to even approach him or try to talk him out of the threat. Vision’s mind started working fast through the different possibilities and ways in which he could get out of the situation. Your words had made his blood run cold, a shiver of sheer terror went through him knowing that his previous associate knew of the embezzlement of the money he had done while working for the man.

How did you know him? 

Did he really rat Vision out?

“He is a practical man, and I'm a woman of business. Why do you think the police have done nothing to try and take you out and away from my family?”

“Perhaps they are afraid I could keep my promise of putting a bullet in my son's head.” Vision retorted, you sighed in exasperation and the man was really tempted to put the bullet in your forehead.

“You are not an idiot, they won't do anything unless I say so. Money can buy a lot of things, Jarvis.”

Jarvis was starting to feel tired, his head was hurting and his eye was actually killing him. The sight on his right eye was getting blurry and with every minute that passed his body felt heavier and sensitive on his skin.

“And how much does your sister and her girlfriend cost, Y/N?” this time he turned to America who was torn between relief and fear. 

“Enough to make an effort and call you back.”

“What about the life of my children and Wanda?”

This time around he could hear the intake of breath on your end, he smirked tilting his head until his eye was mocking Wanda.

“Ah, not that much, I see. Don't worry, I don't blame you, if she did this to me, imagine what she would do to you.”

Wanda was trembling, her arms limped at her sides. She had her eyes on her children, forgetting the tears rolling down her cheeks or the ability to move, her only concern was to get Tommy and Billy out of the situation she was in at the moment. Wanda blinked, turning to Vision wrapping her mind around his words, soon she understood who was behind the line talking to him and her heart almost stopped beating at the relief she felt knowing you were alive. How did they end up in such a mess? How was it possible that Vision had access to you? Or that he had found her and the twins?

So many questions, and Wanda was trying to gather her strength to fight. She could live with the idea of her dying or being taken away by Vision but her children…she had left the man to make sure they could grow in peace. They would have a chance.

Wanda waited with her heart at her throat, and her mind moving through different scenarios while Vision continued talking through the phone. 

The room was only filled with the sound of Vision's conversation with you, everyone had their eyes on him waiting. Making time.

Jarvis snarled into the phone, finally giving into his own pain and sitting down. Sweat rolled down his forehead, her hand was trembling while holding the phone against his ear.

“I am a businesswoman, Jarvis, so I have a proposal.”

You took a deep breath; you had rehearsed this speech before but it didn't mean you felt comfortable saying it out loud. Peggy nodded curtly at you; Logan was talking on the other line while Fury was snarling orders to two different teams right outside the van you were in. You waited to hear the laboured breath of the man at the other end of the line, your mind going to your sister, to Wanda, to Kate and the twins. You should have been stronger, you should have hit first and ask questions later, you should have…

A hand placed softly on your shoulder; Tony offered a single smile shaking his head. Your lower lip quivered but the man shook his head placing a hand on his chest before pointing a finger at you. You nodded, turning to face Peggy once more.

“I have resources, I have money…more than you can even imagine.”

“I can imagine a lot.” The man stated before adding, “but right now I am imagining my freedom, and my life…with my family, of course.”

“You don't need the kids, but you need Wanda and Agatha.” You made a face, scrunching up your nose paled and nauseous, “they can be bred and I can get you someone suitable for your tastes.”

Jarvis chuckled darkly, he glanced at Wanda putting his phone out of his ear and putting the conversation on speaker.

“Are you really telling me to leave my children and breed my wife again?” Jarvis smirked when Wanda's expression faltered at those words, “how fast is the affection you held for her.”

“Again, I deal with business, not so much emotions. I needed a good time, and Wanda offered that.” You closed your eyes before continuing, “I have a jet ready, a country without extradition and the means to make you rich, give you a new life and stop Kingpin from torturing you after you decided to steal from him.”

Wanda couldn't help but lowered her eyes at your words, she was confused but she also knew there was something else behind what you were saying. She had to hope, she had to wait. Jarvis shifted on the sofa, for the very first time since this whole mess started he finally took into consideration the woman that had come to him into this mess. Agatha approached him tentatively, her hand brushing his hair away from his face.

“Do you think it is true? Do you think she is offering a good deal?” The woman was not so sure, she had seen you beside Wanda and the twins, you looked pretty much in love with Wanda and this was a little fishy for her, but so far she had let Vision's lead the way and was not about to contradict him.

Jarvis tilted his head glancing with his good eye to the woman, he grabbed her by the hair crashing his lips to hers.

“What is the catch?” Jarvis finally asked and you chuckled.

“Let my sister and Kate Bishop go with the twins, the police are not going to stop you once you leave the house with Wanda and the other woman.” You stated flatly, your eyes burning with rage, “I will be your bargaining chip, they won't dare to hurt me or intervene in any way, and you will have access to my power, my money.”

Everyone in the room went silent, America opened her eyes shaking her head in disbelief with Kate frowning. Wanda felt dizzy, her heart dripping to her feet while she tried to wrap her mind around what you just said. Jarvis weighed his options, his good eye flickered to the kids and the teens, undoubtedly they would be too much dead weight to carry around while trying to get away from the police. Wanda was the easiest option, she and Agatha would obey Jarvis's instructions if necessary while also a great source of amusement for him. Besides, you were offering something equally interesting: yourself.

Could this be a trap? Yes, of course, but Jarvis bet he could play his cards carefully and get away with it. He could get freedom, money, and a new life.

“You have yourself a deal, Y/N but I will put the conditions to ensure I'm not double crossed.”

“Very well, tell me what conditions do you have?”

___________________

No one was speaking, your hand held the kevlar best with your eyes examining the article closely. Fury and Tony waited patiently for you, pursed on your lips telling the two men you were not convinced about using this for the mission. The bulletproof vest was body contoured built to adjust to your torso to offer the best protection, it was a near-fit of military engineering.

Still, you were not convinced.

Jarvis could notice the article, and everything they had been working for could fall down in a second. Besides, Wanda's life depended on you doing your job well.

“I won't do it, Wanda's life is still on the line.” You fault out refused the item putting on your jacket, your eyes glancing from Tony to Fury.

“Y/N, this is a dangerous mission and you're a civilian, you're being sent because…” Fury started for the tenth time, you lifted a single hand shutting him immediately, much to his surprise. 

“You got me and my family in this mess while keeping the identity of this maniac a secret.” There was a heavy huff behind your words, your stare hardening as you continued, “don't try to patronise me with this, you messed up and you need me, so I'll do this part my way.”

Fury rolled his sole eye ready to fight when Peggy Carter entered the trailer, her sharp eyes pinning you to the spot. 

*Everything is ready, are you sure you don't want the protection?” She asked curtly, you shook your head and after a second of hesitation Peggy nodded.

“Your car is right outside, you have your phone and the tracker and the teams are getting ready.” The older woman hesitated before stepping closer to you, “your sister is doing okay, she is being looked after by Hope and Natasha, the twin and Ms. Bishop is doing fine though a little scared.”

“Thank you for the update.” 

“You know the plan?”

You nodded curtly; the older woman smirked her eyes twinkling smartly at you.

“Then, let's move it.”

Jarvis had chosen an abandoned military station in the midst of a forgotten highway. The place had hosted the secret service working against the Nazis back in the 30’s, night was already there the lights of the cars had disappeared almost forty minutes ago while the radio finally gave in to the lack of signal. You drove fast, as fast as the speed limit and your car allowed it, your heart had not stopped beating with a constant thud with your mind going over and over through the plan that you had been subjected to by the authorities.

New year was closed now.

And Camp David was just around the corner.

The place looked empty, the gates had been opened recently and you could see a car parked in the distance the lights still on. Your body trembled with anticipation, the pain of your wounds pulsating through your senses keeping you awake while the night engulfed the place in a dark, and sinister silence. The car came to a stop with the lights falling upon the form of Edwin ‘Vision’ Jarvis, who was wearing the signs of the fight you two engaged in hours ago. Tension is quite obvious, the fact the man trusted you enough to come here without any questions was enough to tell you he was desperate. As much as you were.

The door of the car closed with a dry thump; your eyes shifted to Wanda who was sitting by the passenger’s seat trying to hold onto the tears while Agatha had a gun to her head. Vision smirked when he realized you kept your word of coming alone, of giving into his demands and getting him closer to the escape he needed to have his freedom filled with money and pleasure.

“You kept your word.”

“I am a woman of my word, Jarvis.” You replied limping towards the man, his smile grew nastier noticing the pain and the effort it took you to make your way towards him.

“So it seems.” Jarvis nodded to the car, and in that moment your eyes crossed for the very first time with those of Wanda. Something inside you stirred with violence, you wished you could go to her and comfort her, to tell her the children were fine and that everything would be fine.

But you couldn’t, and what you did was to drift your stare to go back to Jarvis.

“Very well then let’s get this over with, you and I need medical attention and I already have someone in mind.”

Without any warning he lifted his hand wrapping it around your neck and squeezing hard, “I think you are in no position to order me around.”

You lifted your chin holding onto his eyes, he made sure that his hand never left your throat until your face turned into a nasty red colour and your eyes filled with tears. He kept his grip on you, growling while putting his face closer to yours.

“Jarvis, please!” Your heart fluttered tenderly when your heard Wanda speaking, and you couldn’t help the curve on your lips when the man let go of you.

You took a deep breath massaging your neck, your eyes gleaming with anger and defiance, an expression Vision would have a pleasure to take off of you as soon as you kept your part of the bargain.

“I hope you know that if you double cross me or if you try something against me nor Agatha, Wanda will end up with a bullet in her head.”

You clenched your jaw tightly, nodding curtly while nodding towards the car. Jarvis snorted pushing you hard against the car opening the driver’s door.

“Come on, time is of essence right now.”

The car smell like blood and sweat, your eyes found those of Wanda and for a brief moment you could see the doubt in her green eyes, you could sense her fears and the uncertainty of the whole situation. Agatha huffed hitting Wanda with the gun, she then turned to you making a face of pure disgust.

The car was put into motion, you glanced out of the window while giving the directions to the closest private airport. Without a doubt, Jarvis knew his way around the seclude parts in the country, and while he didn’t fancy to have anyone know where he was about to go, it was quite obvious for him he needed you and this place to get away from the authorities. He didn’t trust you that much, if the police had arrived at your home he knew they would be looking for you and him after the scene at your place.  

Jarvis drove fast, erratically showing the signs of exhaustion and pain that had been consuming him all through the afternoon. You could see him losing the battle against his wounds and the state he was in, just as you could notice the craziness consuming the woman sitting beside you with the gun tightly pressed against Wanda’s head. The silence in the car was only interrupted by Jarvis ragged breathing, and the engine of the car.

Soon, and after more than an hour of driving you saw the gates leading to the private airport. The place was empty, the guard that was supposed to be watching over the gates was absent though the security hut held onto white light flickering from time to time. Jarvis stopped the car holding onto his grunts before turning his eyes to you.

“Well?”

You frowned leaning forward, your head turned left and right shrugging.

“The guard is not supposed to leave his post.” You commented softly, a sigh left your lips with your eyes flickering to Wanda, “I can try and see…”

“No, Agatha, give me the gun go and see who is in there and open the gate.”

Agatha hesitated before giving in and handing the gun to Jarvis, the man enjoyed the control he had over the women in the car. Not only did Wanda obey without protesting and was now as she had always been, quiet and submissive, but Agatha was ready to comply with all he needed and wanted and you…well, you were smart, you did nothing to jeopardy your security and that of Wanda, with time Jarvis would make sure to correct your sexual deviation while submitting you to him.

The place looked empty, though Jarvis could see the workers of the night shift filling out the hangars, small cars moving in and out before settling for the night. Everything looked quite normal, a night in a private airport in which charter planes waited for a new trip, you shifted in the back seat glancing around the place while directing Jarvis to the last entrance.

“When is the plane schedule to leave?” Jarvis asked glancing back at you through the rearview mirror, you furrowed your brows putting your phone from your pocket before handling it over to the man.

“Five minutes to midnight.”

“Why? Why so late?” Agatha asked with tension dripping from her voice.

Jarvis quirked a brow, he too was quite interested in the answer to such a question. He had never known of a plane to take off at such an hour, his eyes went back to the road taking close attention to everything and everyone making sure no one would dare to stop them.

“We need to justify the flight, I told the pilot I was needed it in Paris for a meeting.” You replied shrugging, “I told him I didn’t want to wait so he got the permissions and that’s the latest we could get.”

“Permission? I thought that you could fly whenever you want.” Agatha furrowed her brows, but it was Jarvis the one who laughed shaking his head.

“Don’t be an idiot, we need to ask for permission to take off, it’s not like grabbing a car or anything like that…” Jarvis then shrugged, “I did think it would be faster…”

You huffed rolling your eyes, “no, flying it is far more complicated than driving.”

“Very well, do we go in or stay outside?” Jarvis was approaching the last Hangar, he lifted his eyes to you.

“Let’s get in.”

The place was lit up by the white and yellowish lights of lamps hanging from the ceiling; the gate was completely open with the nose of the plane pointing to the runaway ready for the trip. Jarvis exited the car walking around to stretch his hand to Wanda, the young woman hesitated enough for him to lean in and gripped her forearm tightly. You tried to step closer but Agatha stood by your side pressing painfully the barrel of the gun on your ribs.

The place was alone, but the plane had the cabin door open with the stairs down waiting to be boarded.

“Look at the efficiency of your lover, dear.” Jarvis whispered in Wanda’s ear, “soon, you will know pain, and I won’t let you die until I have taken new children off of you. Until you are begging me to end your life.”

Wanda shivered clenching her jaw while keeping her eyes ahead of her, you shifted letting your eyes wandered around before settling on Jarvis. Out of the corner of your eye you saw movement in the cockpit, Agatha narrowed her eyes shifting uneasily at the silence in the room.

You worked hard on what you were supposed to do, Jarvis needed to go inside the cabin with Agatha but Wanda was a problem. You saw movement inside the plane once more, and you could feel eyes on you.

“We can wait inside the plane,” you suddenly offered, your voice trembling while you grabbed the phone, “I can call the pilot asking where he is.”

Jarvis frowned turning to you, “why is he not here?”

“I don’t know? Maybe you can ask him when he comes,” you replied harshly earning yourself a hard hit from the gun Agatha was holding, you were seeing stars while trying to hold onto your consciousness.

“I would hold back my tongue if I were you, Agatha doesn’t appreciate rudeness, much less if it is directed against me.” Jarvis commented approaching you, he snatched the phone off of your hands narrowing his eyes he tried to see that your communications were being done with the pilot.

He read the messages, his hand clenching into the mobile when he caught sight of those messages you had exchanged with Wanda.

“Very well, I think I need a drink, I hope you have a good whiskey inside.”

You scowled lifting your chin, “I do.”

Your heart was beating really hard, so far you had only seen one gun and it was the one that Agatha had been flashing all night threatening Wanda and then you. Your eyes drifted quickly to the cockpit and then to the back office in the Hangar. Your muscles tensed in anticipation, counting in your mind so as to distracted yourself from the growing anxiety inside your chest.

You followed Jarvis who pushed Wanda ahead of him, then he went behind her and Agatha staggered behind you. From the moment she arrived to the airport, Agatha had felt uneasy; there was just something so…strange about this. It was so easy, without any unwanted encounters.

Silence filled the place, you took a deep breath.

You trusted Fury and Peggy and all the forces that had filled out your building were capable of doing what they said they would without harming anyone. Your eyes flickered again to the cockpit window, this time around you could see the reflection of someone wearing military gear inside, then the swift movement in the back office and you knew you would need to get to Wanda before Jarvis could do something.

Behind you, and totally forgotten, was Agatha.

The woman that had obsessed over Jarvis, ready to do his biding as long as she got to enjoy a piece pf affection from him. She grabbed the gun, her eyes going big as saucers when they caught sight of someone inside the plane.

Everything happened in a second.

Wanda and Jarvis crossed the threshold of the plane’s gate, with you almost putting a foot on the stairs when the woman shrieked for Jarvis to come down. She grabbed you by your hair pulling hard, while Jarvis having heard and understood the meaning behind such a scream grabbed Wanda by her neck punching her several times on the ribs and abdomen making sure his grip on her was tight almost to the point of choking.

“GO! GO! GO!”

You grunted struggling against the older woman, your elbow finding her abdomen hitting her hard until she had to let go of your hair. You heard more than saw the screams and heavy footsteps moving towards you, you turned around hearing Wanda’s gasp and tiny scream for help.

“NOO!”

Agatha screamed and then, you stood there…

You didn’t even register the sound of the gun.

But you felt the bite from the bullet, the burning pain running through your body. And then, you knew no more.

______________________________________________________________

Next Chapter: Wanda can't sleep, the twins don't know how to deal and America is trying to hold it together. What is the price of happiness?

#fanfic #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x reader #wandaxreader #female reader #imagine wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x female reader

[use-your-telescope]

When Everything's Made to be Broken - Chapter 2: And You Have Every Right to be Scared

Summary: Theo ends up on SHIELD's Radar. Loki ponders his place among the Midgardians.

Author's Notes: First chapter with Theo POV! This is a much lighter chapter than the last one. Hoping to post Ch. 3 on 10/22, but it depends on how helping my parents move next weekend goes (I have it written, but having the time to post is another thing. If you enjoy, please reblog!

Content Warnings: None!

Word Count: 3,843

Read on AO3 | When Everything's Made to be Broken Masterlist

Song: Some Nights (Intro) - fun.

There are some nights I hold on to every note I ever wrote Some nights, I say "fuck it all" and stare at the calendar Waiting for catastrophes, imagining they'd scare me Into changing whatever it is I am changing into... And you have every right to be scared

It was really easy for Theo to pretend there wasn’t a sudden infestation of shadow creatures attacking Earth until she was locked in a dirty subway car beneath New York City with a horde of them.

Sure, she saw the recent news reports about their appearance in New York, not to mention the videos of different organizations struggling to fight them. Hell, at work she had treated some of the people who came into the Emergency Room after getting into a tussle with the little terrors. However, she was perfectly content to ignore the reports, the calls from Nick Fury, the stalking by Maria Hill, and the pestering by her Mémère to put her abilities to use by helping eradicate the beasts. 

Nick Fury may have done her family a favor a while back, but they already repaid it tenfold. It was no secret that he always kept tabs on Theo, but she assumed it had less to do with him calling on a favor and more with ensuring someone with abilities like hers was always monitored. 

If anything, the more Fury insisted on cornering Theo “to talk,” the more it seemed like Nick Fury had forgotten that Theo swore off everything affiliated with her powers. Theo was a civilian. She left that life behind, trading it in for stethoscopes and scrubs, and she was not about to go back. There was nothing that the Director of SHIELD could offer her that would change her mind. Besides, the hippocratic oath specified that Theo would do no harm, and if she really wanted to push Fury’s buttons, she could argue that the oath could apply to shadow creatures, even if they were eldritch horrors.

Well, that was what Theo told herself. In reality, she was content to ignore the shadow creature problem until a pack of the little monsters barged through the steel door of a subway car, snarling and slithering and reeking of death. Running crossed her mind, until one of the damn demons launched itself at Fran, the little old woman with the perfectly permed hair and smoker voice who always rode the subway back from her poker night at the same time that Theo was on her way home from work. 

Hippocratic oath be damned, Theo was not about to let Fran die right after she won $200 from Eddie (who from what Fran had told her over the course of many train rides, sounded like an absolute asshole). Fran needed to live so she could celebrate, which meant the beasts needed to go, and Theo was the only one around with the skills to exterminate them. 

A bit of strategic maneuvering among the chaos ensured that no one saw Theo activate her powers. Not even five minutes later, the subway car floor was littered with the dust of what was once the pests; she may have chosen to abstain from fighting, but after all that time combat still came to Theo like it was second nature. When all was said and done she slipped into the crowds, deactivated her powers, and returned to the scene, pretending to be just as shocked as everyone else.

In the days following the confrontation, the video of her singlehandedly obliterating the entire pack had gone viral. Even though Theo’s powers altered her appearance so a casual acquaintance could not identify her, anyone who knew about her little secret would instantly recognize her. Unfortunately, Fury and Maria were among the select few who knew exactly what they were looking at. After the video got out, the pair were somehow even more incessant in their attempts to speak to Theo, to the extent that she had to start relying on back doors and climbing out her fire escape to avoid them.

When the other members of the cover band Theo played in noticed her aversion to taking the main exits, they assumed she had a stalker. It certainly didn’t help that there was now a table of middle aged men in suits at every bar gig, standing out like a sore thumb amidst the younger, more casually dressed regulars. The only reason they didn’t call the police was because she eventually made up the claim that Stark Industries was recruiting her for their hospital that they just opened in Avengers Tower, so she was trying to make it less obvious to the people around her that she was being observed.

As far as lies went, it was terrible  - certainly not one of her best - but somehow they believed it.

It was a bit harder to avoid the SHIELD agents when she was at soccer practice. They sat in their vehicles, parked far enough away that none of the other players noticed. Sure, it made Theo wonder if there were times other creeps sat there watching their practices, but she never brought it up. Her team had just qualified to play in their rec league championship, so they needed to stay focused. 

A week after having to talk her bandmates out of calling the cops, Theo came home from a bar show to find Maria Hill accompanied by a collection of SHIELD agents in her apartment. The stalking was one thing, but entering her private space? Theo was moments away from banishing them to an alternate dimension, even if it meant she’d be in deep shit later on. 

Before Theo could unleash her temper on the uninvited house guests, Maria uttered a phrase so startling that even Theo was rendered speechless. 

“Director Fury wants to speak with you immediately - it’s about your parents and your sister.”

Cause there are some nights I hold you close, pushing you to hold me Or begging you to lock me up, never let me see the world Some nights, I live in horror of people on the radio Tea parties and Twitter, I've never been so bitter…

Two decades prior, had one inquired whether Loki could imagine himself living his life anywhere besides Asgard, Loki would have laughed at the preposterous nature of the statement. 

In his naivety, he believed Asgard to be the golden realm, the very definition of a Utopia - why would one wish to live anywhere else? Certainly, other realms had their charms - Vanaheim’s lush landscapes always provided a peaceful retreat, and visiting Midgard to cause lighthearted chaos was a childhood pastime for both Loki and Thor - but why would one ever wish to live anywhere other than the realm of the Gods themselves? 

As he sliced through another of what could best be described as “shadow beasts,” it occurred to Loki that the Norns had a rather cruel sense of humor. How else would he be in his current position, residing upon and working alongside the Midgardians to protect a realm which he was once sent to conquer? That morning, he was summoned to fend off a multiversal threat unlike anything he’d encountered among his many travels. The day before, he represented New Asgard at an international summit on environmentally sustainable food production practices. He had lived upon Midgard for over half a decade, with no sign of leaving any time soon.

Had someone informed younger Loki of what the fates had in store, he would have collapsed to the ground in a fit of relentless, all-consuming laughter which was so intense that one might think him mad. 

Alas, Asgard was no more. The few Aesir who survived Ragnarok were brought to Midgard, to establish a new civilization on the very land where Odin uttered his final words. No sooner had the Aesir landed on Midgard were they called into battle, facing off with the Mad Titan himself, Thanos, as well as the Black Order. More Aesir perished in a truly intergalactic battle which barely succeeded in preventing the Titan from achieving his goal - eliminating 50% of all living creatures in the universe. 

When the dust settled, the once mighty Aesir were reduced to a mere shadow of their former glory. They struggled to make sense of the tragedy, to attempt to rebuild without any of the tools which allowed the Aesir to thrive in the construction of Asgard. 

The initial reaction to Loki’s presence in the realm he once terrorized was not kind. Had it not been for Thor’s advocacy and Banner’s testament that Loki was acting under duress when he attacked New York, Loki would have been banished from the realm, if not outright executed. Whether he deserved his brother’s arduous defense, Loki was skeptical, but without an alternative for where he would go or what he would do, Loki was forced to accept the support.

Selfishly, he was grateful for his brother’s foolish sentiment, though he would rather hug Sutur than admit it aloud.

Preparing the Midgardians for what to expect when Thanos would inevitably arrive, as well as fighting alongside the Midgardians to defeat Thanos brought a tenuous truce. He no longer endured harassment when venturing beyond New Asgard, but scandalized whispers followed him as if they were the shadow of his legacy - a legacy of destruction, of embodying the monster which parents told their children of at night, of betraying those who he claimed to love. Those nearby would put forth a concerted effort to avoid crossing paths with the trickster, providing him a wide berth wherever he went.  

While the Midgardians were unafraid to hide their distrust, the attitudes which the Aesir held towards Loki were more difficult to ascertain. Perhaps they were conflicted; the time which Loki posed as Odin was among the most peaceful and prosperous that the realm had known, though it was at the cost of banishing the Allfather to a care home on Midgard. Banishing the Allfather led to Odin’s passing, which brought the return of Hela, and eventually caused Ragnarok. Though prophesied, it was not a stretch to argue that Loki’s actions served as the catalyst for the demise of thousands. And while Loki ensured the salvation and evacuation of many Aesir by piloting the Statesman to Asgard, it never should have reached such a state where evacuation was necessary. Sure, he unleashed Sutur and ultimately ended Ragnarok, but that was simply a matter of finishing what he started. 

Then there was Loki’s involvement with the interruption of Thor’s coronation, the invasion of Jotunheim, the banishment of Thor, and the killing of his father, Laufey. All of which led to his involvement with the Mad Titan and the Black Order - a time which Loki had no interest in revisiting, but caused irreparable harm to many people and multiple realms. And though most were unaware, Loki could be traced back to the death of Frigga - had he not informed Kursed where to find Jane, the Allmother would have remained alive. He may have nearly sacrificed himself to protect Jane Foster, but one heroic moment was nowhere near the atonement required for his past actions.

The search for atonement was how Loki found himself fighting alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. 

It had been Thor’s idea. The oaf believed that joining the Avengers would cast Loki in a positive light and improve his reputation, which would be important if he were to remain on Midgard and ruling New Asgard by Thor’s side. Additionally, joining the Avengers would provide the younger prince with a means by which to continue practicing magic, as well as access to knowledge and resources which might satisfy Loki’s more scholarly nature.

The case Thor put forth was not terrible; perhaps a lesser being would have been swayed. However, neither of the reasons he provided were the cause of Loki relenting to the constant pestering about assisting the Heroes.

Loki viewed the agreement to join the Avengers as reparations, or paying his penance. He did not expect the Avengers to welcome a villain into their midst, much less a monster - he certainly was no hero. If anything, he expected them to view him as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. They would be civil towards the Asgardian, and in exchange he would provide whatever assistance they needed while maintaining a safe distance.

That was years ago. In recent days, Thor swore the Midgardians had come to love Loki, though Loki was hardly convinced. Sure, the Midgardians no longer made a point to avoid the younger prince wherever he went; if he was out in public with Thor, from time to time a passerby would approach and ask for a photo with the trickster instead of the God of Thunder. The media relished opportunities to interview the God of Mischief, during which he turned on his charm and played the reporters like a fiddle. It was all a show. Loki knew that it was a facade, an illusion - a part he played in the elaborate scheme of things. Still, there were moments where he allowed himself to dwell on what it might be like to truly belong, to know he was not alone. 

A flash of movement in the corner of his vision caught Loki’s attention. He turned to find Maximoff unleashing a blast of chaos magic on a pack of the eldritch vermin which had overrun the streets as of late. She offered a bright smile and wave; Loki allowed one corner of his lips to quirk upward as he nodded at her. 

Even if his responsibility was little more than to play a part, there was something to be said for the recent challenge which occupied the Avengers’ time. Shadow creatures, for lack of a better term, randomly started appearing in New York, attacking random civilians and destroying anything they touched. 

In the many years since Loki had adopted Midgard as his place of residence, never had he encountered a situation quite like this. All efforts to identify the origin of the beings had been futile. The creatures were not like anything encountered by any of the Avengers, Loki included, and even among the seemingly endless supply of information available to the Avengers, no record of similar creatures appeared anywhere. The magical aura which emanated from the creatures was quite distinct from anything Loki had encountered before.

And yet, the prospect of a challenge that not only required skill in battle, but a certain intellectual pedigree brought a spark that he had not felt in quite some time. Perhaps it was an antidote to the drudgery. 

Or, perhaps it was a chance to prove to himself that he was in fact worthy of the title of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” 

He didn’t dare dwell on the thought.

And you, why you wanna stay? Oh my God! Have you listened to me lately? Lately, I've been going crazy... And you, why you wanna stay? Oh my God! Have you listened to me lately? Lately, I've been fucking crazy...

She must have lost her mind.

Flanked by a pair of SHIELD security guards, Theo cursed herself for agreeing to go with Maria. Really, she must have lost her mind - that was the only reasonable explanation that Theo could come up with for her lapse in judgment. After all, everyone in her immediate family was dead, and they had been dead for a long time. If she couldn’t bring back the dead, there was no way that anyone affiliated with SHIELD could. 

What could Nick Fury possibly want to speak with Theo about regarding her parents and her sister that hadn’t been discussed long ago?

When she considered the situation, it was more realistic to assume that there was probably some treaty that Theo broke by using her power. Given she wouldn’t come willingly, they must have realized they needed to lure her out so they could lock her up - even if the Sokovia Accords were no longer enforced, it didn’t mean people were still a bit put off by anyone with… abilities. Again, another reason why she had no interest in using her powers.

Along the cool tile floor, Theo’s black oxford shoes clicked with each step. The sound echoed off the sterile halls, while harsh fluorescent lights illuminated the path forward. Staring ahead, Theo had to stop herself from snickering when she realized Fury’s bald head actually shined under the light, as if he polished it for the occasion. 

What would happen if Theo told them she changed her mind? Would they grab her and drag her into whatever interrogation room they undoubtedly had set up for her? Would they skip the interrogation and toss her into a cell? Or would they let her slip away?

Probably the first option. Maybe the second. The third was laughable. This was SHIELD they were talking about; they probably had some kind of ward on the entire compound to restrict any special abilities.

No, it was too late - she had come too far, and she couldn’t turn back. She may as well play along and see what they wanted. If nothing else came from it, she was curious to see what on earth would be related to her family.

Then again, Curiosity killed the cat… or some shit like that. 

Well, nothing managed to kill her yet, so it was safe to say that curiosity probably wouldn’t be her cause of death.

Arriving at their destination, Maria scanned her badge to unlock the steel door. Fury entered first, not even offering a nod of acknowledgement to Maria. With a tense smile, Maria gestured for Theo to enter next. Theo forced the closest thing she could offer to a smile before following suit.

Based on the hallway they just exited, Theo expected an interrogation room to await her. Instead, she was greeted by black leather chairs with high backs, which surrounded a relatively small table constructed from metal and glass. A projector dropped down from the ceiling, pointed at a screen on the opposite end of the room. There were no windows. Pale gray walls echoed the metal finishes found throughout the rest of the SHIELD facility.

A conference room. 

“Sit.” Fury gestured to a chair, though he didn’t make any effort to sit himself.

Keeping her eyes trained on the director, Theo cautiously lowered herself into the seat.

“I thought you were done fighting.” Fury began, crossing his arms and glaring at Theo. 

“I thought you could control your interplanetary invasions better, but if it’s between having to fight versus watching little old Fran get ripped to shreds, I’m protecting Fran.” Leaning back in her seat, Theo crossed her arms and returned Fury’s glare. “You know that I want nothing to do with this, so why won’t you leave me alone?”

“We understand that you want to be a civilian, but you know more about shadow creatures and the world they come from than anyone else,” Maria answered, taking a seat across from Theo and folding her hands together atop the table. “We wouldn’t be trying to enlist you if we felt we had other options to stop them.”

“So you lied about having something I needed to know about my family so you could get me down here and beg me to help?” An incredulous laugh snuck out of Theo as she shook her head. “That’s low, even for SHIELD–”

“Your parents and your sister are alive.”

With seven words, Nick Fury rendered Theo speechless. 

It wasn’t possible; there was no way they were alive. Theo was there - she saw their blood spilled on the cobblestone streets, empty eyes reflecting back a city engulfed in flames. Their final cries still rang in her ears on the darkest nights.

Searching his face for proof that he was trying to trick her, Theo only found the harsh glare and narrowed eyes that the director cast at everyone around him. 

Fire coursed through Theo’s veins at the audacity of Fury’s claim; that he believed he could fool her was almost enough to make her leave right then and there. 

“Bullshit.” Theo clenched her jaw, her hands balled into fists as they remained in her lap. “You know as well as I do that they were killed in the massacre—”

“Proof.” To make his point, Fury slapped a manila folder down in front of Theo. “They may have been in the massacre, but they weren’t killed.”

Biting back her ire at Fury for the moment, Theo turned her attention to the contents of the folder. Photos, partially redacted communication records, measurements of their magical signatures, all relatively recent - her mother, her father, and her sister. 

An avalanche of thoughts cascaded in Theo’s mind. If this was the case - if they were really alive, how did they survive? Where were they now? Why hadn’t they tried to contact Theo, or Mémère, or the council? 

Theo drew in a deep breath, holding it for a five-count, then released it slowly.

“This doesn’t make sense,” She said, scanning over the documents yet again. “If you know they’re alive, where are they? Why aren’t they here?” 

“Here’s the deal: you help us with the shadow creature invasion, and we’ll help you reunite with your family.” Rather than answer Theo’s question, Fury leaned forward, folding his hands together and resting them on the table. “Work with the Avengers to investigate and eliminate whoever’s at the center of these invasions. If you do, once you’re reunited with your family, we’ll leave you alone.” 

“Wow, that seems rather manipulative, don’t you think?” Theo drawled, her tone unapologetically sharp as she glared at the pair of SHIELD agents across from her. “Withholding my family from me in exchange for my services?”

“We’ll need to work together in order to reach your family anyways,” Maria pointed out with a small shrug.

“You help us, we’ll help you.” Fury pressed.

Some people believed in fate. Some people believed in destiny. Theo didn’t believe in either - while she had been placed in positions where it seemed like she had no choice more times than she could count, she knew that she, ultimately, was the one who decided her path forward. At times, the decisions were obvious, but there were plenty of decisions made that kept Theo up at night. 

This was one decision she was not ready to make.

“Give me two days to think it over,” Theo countered. “I’ll find you when I’ve made up my mind.”

Two days was reasonable - she needed time to do some research of her own, figure out what parts of the situation Fury was holding off on telling her, and weigh the risks of agreeing to the proposal. 

Then again, if they were alive… What did she have to lose?

There are some nights I wait for someone to save us But I never look inward, try not to look upward And some nights I pray a sign is gonna come to me But usually, I'm just trying to get some sleep... Some nights!

Tag list: @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @thedistractedagglomeration @lokisgoodgirl @simplyholl @mochie85 @coldnique @lokixryss @gigglingtiggerv2 @infinitystoner @loopsisloops @mischief2sarawr @crzyplantladyvibes @buttercupcookies-blog @vickie5446 @wolfsmom1 @sarahscribbles @loki-cees-all @the-lady-amphitrite @tripleyeeet - let me know if you want to be added!

#loki fluff #loki angst #loki #loki fanfiction #loki smut #(eventually) #when everything's made to be broken #WEMTBB #loki x oc #loki fanfic #loki marvel #loki mcu #avengers AU #slow burn

[catws-anniversary]

We're a third of the way into our event and the incredible creations just keep coming! Send some love to these creators for Day 3 of our 10-year anniversary celebration.

THEME: SHIELD

For Reasons Wretched and Divine (Ch.3) by @mandyyvibes [fanfic, m, polyamory]

Corruption inside of SHIELD by @buckys-wintersoldier [fanfic, steve/reader]

Prompt: Compromised

i'm so sorry by @gyokujyn [remix, nick fury, steve rogers]

Compromised by @stuckyfingers [fanfic, e, hydra trash party, steve rogers]

Prompt: Favorite Scene

it is cold by @gyokujyn [remix, bucky barnes]

What's wrong with being confident? by @metalbvcky [gifset, steve rogers]

Prompt: Surprise Visit

ghost of you by @howliesbarnes [fanfic, t, steve rogers]

Inseparable on schoolyard and battlefield (Day 3) by @voylitscope [fanfic, steve/bucky]

Surprise Visit by @ace-bucket [fanart, steve rogers, natasha romanoff, sam wilson]

Prompt: The Triskelion

Verses for Winter (Day 3) by @between-a-ship-and-a-hard-place [poetry, steve rogers]

Building by @nekoannie-chan [fanfic, t, brock rumlow]

Prompt: Weapons

"They Call Him the Winter Soldier" by @vostok3-ka [poetry, steve rogers]

either way i'll be leaving you bleeding by @gyokujyn [remix, bucky barnes]

Other works

The Man on the Bridge by @endlesstwanted [fanfic, t]

Jambalaya Leftovers by @endlesstwanted [fanfic, g]

Barton Versus Romanoff by @endlesstwanted [fanfic, g]

Russian Little Spoon by @endlesstwanted [fanfic, t]

Not Suitable for a Date by @endlesstwanted [fanfic, t]

#catws10 #ca:tws anniversary #fandom events #participant reblog #ca:tws #catws10 masterlist #march 28 prompts

[marvelstarker-mha98]

The Runaway Distance Life Of A Little Stark Ch 16: A taste of your action

Pairing: Tony Stark & daughter!Reader, brock rumlow vs reader, Nick fury & alexander pierce, Friday & reader, Natasha romanoff & nick fury vs Alexander,  pierce, Steve rogers & Maria Hill, Steve Rogers & Sam wilson Summary: After reveal, reader fights Warning: Flashback, fights, blood, bullet  Co author with: callikc

Tag:  @venomsvl  @geeksareunique​

Previous

-2013-

A year had passed since the Battle of New York and things in the city were just about getting back to normal.

The major landmarks had been reconstructed, more housing had been built to shelter those who had lost everything, and the losses sustained that day had been mourned. The Avengers were also a well established group now, everyone knew their names.

It was seemingly a normal day in the tower. Most of them were wandering the halls - save for Natasha who was on a mission of her own and Tony who was somewhere else - and it was Steve who found something that piqued all of their interest.

In Tony's personal space was a picture in a frame. The frame itself was brand new, meaning it was frequently looked after, but the picture was much older. It showed a girl of perhaps fifteen years of age who looked strikingly similar to someone they all knew. "Why does she look like Stark?" Clint asked, speaking everyone's mind. "She seems familiar." Thor said, certain he'd seen someone like her before. "She does." Bruce agreed. "Does he have any living relatives?" Steve questioned. "Wouldn't we know?" Clint asked. "I mean, the Starks have always been famous. And arrogant. You'd know if there was more than one." "He's never mentioned a girl." Bruce said. "There's probably a reason for it." "I'm asking Pepper." Before anyone could stop him, Clint was off. The other three shared a glance before following suit and going all the way up to Pepper's office. She was sitting at her desk going through various paperwork, probably for Stark Industries.Steve politely knocked on the door and she looked up, a friendly but intrigued smile on her face, before waving them in. They filed in one by one, filling the space easily. "Are you guys okay?" Pepper asked. "We require information." Thor stated. "What kind of information?" "In Stark's office there is a picture of a girl. What is she doing there?" "Straight to the point." Clint mused. "I applaud you." "Oh..." Her smile faltered. "I don't think that's a good idea." "Why? Who is she?" Steve asked."It's a complicated story, and I don't think I should be the one to tell you." "She's important to Tony, isn't she?" Bruce asked, a lot less demanding than his friends. Pepper hesitated, but nodded. "She's young, though. Unless he's into schoolgirls, it's gotta be-" Clint cut himself off, eyes wide. "Don't tell me he's got a kid." Her look said it all.  "He has a daughter?" The four avengers exclaimed at the same time, as shocked as each other. "How?" Bruce questioned. Clint smirked a little. "Well when two people love each other very much, stuff happens." He gave him a very unamused look. "Look, it's a sensitive topic." Pepper said, getting their attention again. "She and him weren't very close, and she ran away. Tony tried to find her for years but there's no trace anywhere." "What are the odds she's still alive?" Bruce asked.  "I don't know." She sighed. "I hope she's out there somewhere, we all do. Just... I think it's best you ask Tony for the whole story." "Come on." Clint said. "Time to solve a mystery." "Thank you, Lady Pepper." Thor said as the group once again followed Clint. After asking JARVIS where Tony was hauled up, they eventually found him hiding away in one of his many labs. He was working on one of his gauntlets, probably fixing something neither of them wanted to even attempt to understand. Clint, who seemed to have taken the lead on their little side mission, knocked a very melodic pattern on the door, causing Tony to glance up. Unlike Pepper, who greeted them with a smile, he looked indifferent and reluctantly moved away from his workstation to pull open the door.  "Yes?" He asked, waiting expectantly. Clint grinned. "We have questions." "You want a medal, Katniss?" "Whoa. Dial down the hostility for a second, will you?" "I was kinda in the middle of something." "And we won't take long-"  "Maybe we should discuss this another time." Steve offered, Bruce and Thor quickly agreeing.  "Oh, no, no, no, no." Clint insisted. "I'm too curious." Tony just looked bored. "Alright. What's up?" "We have used our above average intellectual abilities to deduce that you, Stark, have been hiding a secret." "Barton, you guys have the intellectual abilities of a teaspoon." "Okay, I'm going to conveniently ignore that horrific insult and cut right to the chase." His jokey demeanor faded. "We know about the kid." "What kid?" "Yours." The mood change was enough to make anyone uncomfortable. Tony's face dropped and his indifference quickly became a mix of surprise and anger. "I don't know what you're talking about." He shrugged. "Tony, we saw her picture." Steve said, his tone a lot more gentle than Clint's had been. "We got Pepper to tell us who she was." For the first time around them, he seemed genuinely uncomfortable, as if the mere mention of the girl was bringing back a lifetime of bad memories. "What is her name?" Thor asked. He didn't say anything for a minute, his face stone cold. "(Y/n)." "Lady Pepper mentioned she ran away. Why would she do that?" "Because I was a terrible father." "Tony, that's not true." Bruce tried to say. "You wouldn't know." He snapped. However, he quickly regretted it and sighed. "It's a long story." "We've got time." He scoffed and motioned for them to enter his lab. He let everyone get comfortable, as well as himself, before beginning to explain. "When I went missing years back, I left her behind. She was so much like me that I guess I got scared. I wasn't there for her. When I discovered it was Stane who organized the whole thing, he told me she'd discovered it too, and that he'd put a hit on her. I think she always wanted out, but that was the final push. Every day I blame myself and every damn day I miss her more than you'll ever understand. She just..." He tried to think of good enough words but it all came short. Instead, he lifted a hand to something around his neck, an intricate looking necklace. "This is all I have left of her." "I'm so sorry, Tony." Steve said. "I know words alone aren't enough, but we'll help you. We'll help you find her, whatever it takes." Tony didn't respond at first. He didn't particularly like Steve despite having saved the world together, but he did appreciate that gesture. "Why?" He asked. Steve smiled. "Because we're a team."  -Present Day- "(Y/n)..." Steve mumbled, his eyes wide. "She's been alive this whole time?" "Iron Man has a kid?" Sam questioned over comms, just as shocked. "She's been missing for years, we thought she was dead." "Well from what I just saw, I'm pretty sure she's alive and kicking." "It's..." He honestly didn't know what to say. "Hill, did you know about this?" There was a moment of pause before her voice also came through. "Yes." "Why didn't Tony know?" "It was at her own request. She didn't want him being in danger because of her." "Did y'all miss the part where she's got a glowing scepter?" Sam asked. "The hell is that about?" "It was the tool of a man playing a god." Steve explained. "Sam, can you get (Y/n)'s location?" There was another brief pause. "Got her. She's in the labs, 21st floor." "Find her and help her. Make sure she's safe." "You got it, Cap." - In the conference room, everyone had fallen silent again. No one knew quite what to say after seeing the one and only (Y/n) Stark announce her resurrection. Natasha broke the silence first. "You hid her from him for six years?" It was obvious to anyone that Fury knew all about it. Hiding someone and giving them a false life was textbook for him, no one would have expected any less, and he didn't exactly look shocked about it. "After so long." Pierce stated, smiling cruelly. "We finally have her."  "No, you don't." Fury argued. "You never will." Natasha was focused on the director with a hard gaze. Even she was struggling to believe what they'd just heard and seen. How could the girl who made most of their weapons be Tony's daughter? How had no one noticed when it now seemed so blatantly obvious. Why did you do it?" She asked. "She asked." Was all Fury replied. "But Stark-" "He didn't need to know." "He mourned her every day. The least he deserved was to know she was alive." "It would have comprised everything." As the two argued about it, Pierce glanced down at his hand where a small device was hiding. With it, he alerted a certain STRIKE commander about (Y/n)'s presence, along with orders to capture her and the scepter. -(Y/n) POV- You looked at the scientists in the room, all three of which were staring at you in complete awe. But you didn't have time to stop and pose. "Look, you're in danger if you're within thirty feet of this thing." You warned, motioning to the scepter in your hand. "You've gotta go." "What about you?" One of them asked, his voice trembling. "This is my final mission. Fury asked me to protect this thing, so I'm gonna." You opened the case again, putting it inside. "FRIDAY, find an escape route." After a moment, the voice filled your ear. "The ventilation system leads right outside the building." "Okay." You picked up the sealed case and looked at your company. "The vents connect to an outside system. If you want to get out in one piece, that's the way to go." You helped them open up the hatch and immediately the first two ran for it. The third, on the other hand, hesitated as he turned to you. It was the one you'd terrified by almost shooting him. "What if they catch you?" He asked. You shrugged. "I've got weapons." "But you don't have a suit." "Not every hero needs a suit to save the day." "But..." He trailed off, looking around the lab until he finally spotted something. "Take this." He held what looked like a bazooka gun. It was a surprisingly bright thing, with a circular slot at the top and at the end, meaning its rounds would be circular, much like your smoke bombs or acid balls. "It's not much but I hope you can use it." The scientist said. You nodded, thankful. "I appreciate it. And sorry for almost taking your kneecap off." A shy smile appeared on his face. "It's all good. Be safe, Miss Stark." With that, you parted ways. You ran with the case in hand, going for the top floor since it was the last place HYDRA would expect you to run. They'd probably have agents at the lower exits, not the top. However, it didn't mean no agents were lying in wait. You encountered a group of seven at first, all of whom trained their guns on you the second you came into view. They didn't waste a second and sent a hailstorm of bullets after you. You barely survived, sprinting for the corner and taking refuge behind the wall as the sound echoed. You dropped the case on the floor and grabbed the bazooka with both hands, loading it up with an acid ball first. Then you waited for the sound of reloading before peering around and pulling the trigger. The ball shot from the end and catapulted itself at the group, taking out two in one. The man and woman it hit screamed in agony as their flesh burned and hissed. By the time the other five had time to process, you'd already loaded up a smoke bomb and fired that too, blinding them. Remembering the brief training you underwent with Agent Hill during your initial stay at the Triskelion, you started by leaving cover and performing a graceful cartwheel, only to catch one of the agents with your foot and stagger him. You spun around with the bazooka still in one hand and backhanded him with it, sending him to the floor. In a movement so fluid it seemed like the same second, you smacked a female agent with your new gun. She stumbled forward from the impact and that time you went for an uppercut, sending her flying back instead. She crashed into the wall with a yell.  Moving on to number three, she took a swing at you but you dropped to the floor, instead sliding across and taking out her legs. You swung the bazooka with both hands that time, her now unconscious body sliding across the floor to join the others. Number two was next. You jumped to your feet as he ran at you, looking for a way to win. You spotted it with the wall and charged right back at him, rebounding off the solid structure at the last minute and using your entire body to take him down as you crashed into him. Once you were on the floor, you delivered a sharp punch to his face and knocked him out cold. Number one was last. He grabbed you from behind and lifted you up with an arm around your neck. You tried to fight but he was stronger than you, at least while he was in control anyway. He tried pushing you into one of the walls but you held your hands out to stop the contact. As his grip loosened at the premature stop, you took advantage and kicked off the wall with your feet. Then, with his grip released, you spun around and kicked him square in the chest, knocking him down. You picked up the bazooka, which had been dropped during the altercation, and brought it down on his head several times until he stopped moving. Breathless, you ran back to the wall you had hid behind at first and picked up the case again, continuing on your way up the building. Halfway up a set of stairs, you ran into a HYDRA agent cornering a SHIELD one. With no time to reload the bazooka, you raised your empty hand, the one that was decorated with the watch. You performed an intricate hand motion before suddenly several darts flew from the device, planting themselves into the HYDRA agent's neck. He dropped like a stone and the SHIELD guy stuttered a thanks that you were too quick to hear. You didn't stop, not until you finally reached the highest level of the Triskelion. Even then the only reason you stopped was because you felt a sudden burning pain in your shoulder as a bullet went through it. You collapsed to the ground, the case free of your grasp as it slid into one of the rooms. "What the hell?!" You gasped, gripping your bleeding wound. None other than Rumlow was approaching, his gun in hand. "I caught you, Campbell. Or should I say Stark?" You rolled your eyes, not in the mood for sarcasm, and tried to stand. It didn't work so well and you merely stumbled through the doorway where the scepter had gone. Rumlow followed, laughing at the state of you. He put his gun away to take the bazooka from you. "Not so tough now, huh?" You winced as the pain in your shoulder started to magnify. "Don't tell me your fighting technique is 90s one-liners. I don't have time for that." He laughed a second time. "Do you know how long we've waited for this? To finally take you out?" You raised a brow. "You're only taking me out if you're the one buying dinner." He scoffed. "You're just like Stark, you know that?" "Yeah." You forced a smile. "Sucks, doesn't it?" "Don't worry, we'll be the ones laughing... At your funeral." "Dude, again with the corny shit." When he went to retort, you leapt into action and took him by surprise, reaching for the scepter case. Rumlow grabbed you before you could, forcing you to stand on your feet. In retaliation, you threw a punch, but unfortunately he caught it and swung the bazooka, hitting the side of your face. The pain was like venom, burning everywhere. "Was that necessary?!" You yelled. Rumlow seemed to have finally shut up, however, and focused more on action. He hit you again and went for the case himself. You spat some blood out of your mouth and jumped on him from behind, arms around his neck. He made a sound of surprise but quickly backed into a wall, forcing you to let go. Then he threw the bazooka and grabbed you with both hands, lifting you off the ground before throwing you at the glass table in the room. It shattered on impact and you groaned in pain as tiny shards cut your skin. Rumlow grabbed the structure of the table and tossed it to the side, straddling your waist as he held you down with one hand and pressed his thumb into your shoulder with the other. You screamed in pure agony as more blood squirted from the bullet hole. "Daddy won't save you now." He spat, going for your throat. However, before he could choke the life out of you, someone else arrived on the scene and pulled him away. The stranger punched him several times until he was winded and then turned to you, offering a hand.

(This is the bazooka that reader is using)

#Tony stark #tony stark x daughter!reader #ironman #sam wilson #falcon #steve rogers #captain america #Nick Fury #maria hill #natasha romanoff #Black Widow #mcu #marvel #avengers

[saiilorstars]

ch.13: The Lost Pieces 

Steve Rogers x OFC fic • squeeze your eyes for a Bucky Barnes x (2nd) OFC

taglist: @ocappreciationtag​​​​​​​​​​​​ @arrthurpendragon​​​​​​​​​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​​​​​​​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​​​​​​​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​​​​​​​​ @gloryekaterina​​​ @averyhotchner​​​ @foxesandmagic​​​​​​​​​​​​ @lenonizi @kmc1989​​​​​​​​​​​​

Story Masterlist • Seren’s Masterlist• Chloe’s Masterlist​​

Also available on Fanfic ○ Ao3 ○ Wattpad

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

Maria Hill was the savior that no one had expected given their streak of luck lately. But she showed up with a game plan that she explained in a very rushed manner as they headed to some secret base not too far outside the city. She assured them that those inside were people they could trust, and she had to reiterate that to Seren when the latter saw a medic approaching them. Natasha was still nursing a bullet injury in her shoulder and given the severity of the blood she was losing, Seren didn't make it harder. Besides, she had other things to worry about.

"I need some tech — a control room — whatever you have to help me locate Chloe." She was right on Maria's tail and actively searching for a room before Maria even answered. "We need to find Chloe as fast as possible!"

"We'll find her, but I think you'll want to see someone else too," Maria said, sounding oddly confident too.

Seren didn't quite care for it right now, honestly. She couldn't find it to be confident with just about anything right now. Their track record as of late was just awful. "Unless it's God himself — because I have a few questions to ask him — I'm not quite interested, Maria. I need to find Chloe."

"Follow me, guys." Maria picked up her pace and said nothing more, leaving the group with no choice but to follow after her. They followed her down some dark corridors until they came into a dimly lit room where the last person they were expecting was lying on a bed in pretty bad shape...but alive.

Seren became a statue. It took two seconds for Steve to go from surprised to irritated. Natasha was relieved. The only one who didn't understand was Sam.

"About damn time," Nick Fury said to a room full of wide eyes.

There wasn't a word spoken for minutes except for the medic giving Natasha instructions for her injury. Eventually, Fury was the one to break the silence. He did so with a long list of his injuries.

"...lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache…"

"Don't forget your collapsed lung," the doctor reminded him, as if he needed it.

"Oh, let's not forget that. Otherwise, I'm good."

"Good?" Seren nearly snorted, still unable to pull herself together from the shock. She was trying to remember to be a decent person and not lose it like she very much wanted to.

Natasha was a lot more calm about the situation, and neither Seren nor Steve were surprised about that. She was always the best at controlling her emotions. She looked at Fury cautiously like he would disappear if she blinked. "They cut you open, your heart stopped…"

"Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."

"Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?" Steve asked, despite already presuming what the answer would be. Like Seren, he was keeping himself calm and surprisingly was doing a better job at it than Seren. He kept glancing in her direction and she was actively avoiding all of their eyes.

"Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful," Maria replied.

"No," said Seren abruptly, shaking her head. "Even if that wasn't the endgame, you still wouldn't have told us anything. And that's the truth." Nobody could ignore the sour resentment in her voice. "Because another truth is that you only tell the full plan to those you trust and clearly," she let out a bitter chuckle, "we weren't on that list. Except for Chloe, of course, and even then..."

"Agent Soul—"

"I'm not 'agent Soul' anymore," Seren snapped. "I never was, apparently! Because SHIELD never existed! Because the whole time there were moles everywhere and even when you did know about them, you didn't tell anyone, Fury!"

"I couldn't tell anyone, Seren, because—"

"Because you didn't trust us!? Are you serious!? Me!?" Seren laughed. She saw Steve reaching for her shoulder but in her anger she stepped away from him. She focused all her attention on the one man who, from her perspective, had a lot of the fault right now. "I've worked my entire life for you and you didn't trust me enough? You doubted my loyalties!?" She started laughing again and brought a hand up to her mouth. "You must be kidding me right now! You gotta be!"

There was a long silence in the room after which everyone except for Seren looked at each other. Steve gazed specifically at Fury with a 'she's right' look. Fury all but rolled his eye and let out a big breath.

"Yes, alright, you have a point but I did what I could," he ultimately said, not that Seren appreciate it. It wasn't what she wanted to hear. I couldn't risk them taking SHIELD's highest agent."

"I could take care of myself," Seren muttered. "Obviously today I'm off my game for reasons beyond my control."

"But that's just it, Seren, I had no idea where to start," Fury said. "I didn't know who was part of the moles and who wasn't. Not even Atria could tell."

The mention of Seren's grandmother put the woman even more on edge. "Excuse me?"

Steve's eyes fell shut. This isn't getting any better...

"My grandmother knew about this?" Seren walked up to the foot of Fury's bed, eyes blazing with newfound anger. "She knew and she didn't say anything!?"

"She couldn't say anything if she didn't know anything, Seren," Fury said. "All she would have done is make you panic. If it's any consolation, she didn't know about this when she brought you on. It was until later and by that time, you were so deep in SHIELD that there wasn't any point."

"Oh, there would've been a point," Seren said. "Because if either of you had told me, maybe Chloe wouldn't be where she is now. With HYDRA."

"That's not on you, Seren," Natasha cut in. She thanked the medic for helping her out and slid off the bed to rejoin the group.

"Yes, it is! I brought Chloe straight to HYDRA! If I had known that there were moles, I would've done things very differently!" Seren's angry eyes were shining with tears. "But now she's out there, God knows where, and I need to find her!"

"We will find her," Steve assured her. He was finally able to claim one of her hands and held it tight. "We're going to find Chloe, we're going to find Bucky too, and this time we're going to make sure that HYDRA goes down."

"Winters was always a target but I never thought it would be like this, much less from who," Fury said. He shifted in his bed to sit up better. "My best guess was always the tech piece she absorbed."

"What could Hydra want with a Hivemind?" Natasha wondered. "Chloe was never able to fully understand them. Nor them to her."

Seren stiffened when she recalled Sitwell's words.

'Hydra lost one of the pieces years ago. The dormant piece can't be activated until they have the other.'

"There's two pieces..." She said with a heavy alarm. "Sitwell said Hydra lost the other piece years ago. The one that HYDRA has couldn't be activated without the other...and now they have Chloe..."

"Wait, wait, how would they activate that piece if Chloe's already absorbed the other one?" Sam asked. "She told me that SHIELD tried taking out her piece but it was impossible."

"It still is," Maria confirmed, having been present for many of those attempts.

"So if they can't take her piece out...then they're going to try to..." Seren gulped as dread filled her chest. "I need to find her!" She had only turned halfway when Fury called her to wait.

"We'll find her but we need to make a plan first," he said.

"With you?" Seren's sharp tongue wasn't something they heard very often. Then again, seeing Seren close to losing it wasn't a very common sight either. Today was an exception for many, many things. She now gazed at her former boss with ire in her eyes. "For what? You want me to work for you like the clueless puppet I've been all my life!? No!"

"Seren—"

"No!" Seren stopped Natasha in her tracks. "You always said that I needed a backbone and so here it is! Words cannot describe how awful I feel right now — how stupid I feel! I mean, how the hell could I have been so blind!? How could I have not seen it before!?" She looked at Fury again. "You just stood there and let all this happen! You couldn't trust SHIELD but what about the Avengers? What about the Initiative I worked my whole life for? The people you managed to get — you didn't think about telling us then!?"

"You were barely a team as it was," Fury reminded her of her own thoughts before. "Even Rogers was more than reluctant to join."

"But I was there!" Seren yelled. "I was always there, Fury! I saw the walls of SHIELD bases than my own home! But you let me keep working in the dark! You let me bring an innocent girl into this web and you let her stay in it! And now you want me to jump back into my role as naive Agent Soul? Ha, I don't think so!" She spun around and stormed out of the room.

For all the attention that Steve suddenly got when Seren left, he didn't really feel as awkward as the others. He gave a small shrug of his shoulders as he met Fury's gaze. "I would just be grateful she didn't go supernova..."

~ 0 ~

Chloe struggled every now and then with the agents behind her. Her wrists had been bound with special cuffs meant to negate her abilities. Apparently, while SHIELD had developed a special pair for Seren, HYDRA had been working alongside with the project on a similar model just for Chloe. Wasn't she just lucky...

"Where the hell are we going?" she demanded from the pair of agents. Of course, just like the last time she asked, nobody answered her. "Where did you take the others?"

No answer.

They pushed her into some building, a bank by the looks of it, where she found a much heavier load of agents waiting for her. As brave as she wanted to be, she couldn't deny her racing heart nor the fear that was growing inside her. She was outnumbered by the dozens. The thing about always being on the run is that she was not used to facing heavy numbers like this. Hell, she wasn't as skilled of a fighter as her friends, definitely not like Seren. She was a runner, Seren was a fighter.

Now here she was, facing the shadows that had been after her for so long. She had plenty of faces to match said shadows.

And she was afraid. She was alone and so very afraid.

She dug her heels in the floor, forcing the agents behind her to physically push her forwards. She, in turn, put all her efforts to slowing their pace. "I don't want to go anywhere with you!" she yelled. "I want to see my friends! I want to see Seren!"

"Why, so we can blow her brains out right along with yours?" She heard Rumlow's voice ahead of her. She stopped fighting against the agents as he approached her.

Disgust etched across Chloe's face as she looked at him. "You wish you could get that close to her. She'd wipe the floor with you. And that's if Steve didn't get to you first." She smirked for a brief moment before Rumlow made to smack her across the face. She instinctively flinched but for some reason, Rumlow didn't go through with it. "Where...where are the others?"

Rumlow's lip curled into a deep scowl.

Ifthey'redeadthentherewouldbenoanger—

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut and groaned with the sudden blast of words in her head.

Hadtheybeenkilledtherewouldbeatotalsatisfactiononhisface—

"Stop, stop, stop," she whimpered.

—buttherewillbeaguaranteed100—

"I said STOP!" she yelled.

Rumlow laughed, making her open her eyes to see the grin on his face. "I always knew you were damn crazy, Winters."

"Shut up," she muttered.

"She's not crazy, Rumlow. She's gifted." Alexander Pierce arrived on the scene with his own flock of agents behind him. He smiled towards Chloe like she wasn't being detained against her will. "She took a little longer to be ready but that's alright. HYDRA is nothing if not patient, especially with its greatest assets."

"I am not your asset," Chloe spat. "Where are my friends? You didn't kill them. He" — she nodded at Rumlow — "would've bragged about it already. But instead he scowled."

"Did you deduce that on your own?" asked Pierce, eyes already studying her in a way she absolutely hated. "Or was it them?" For her own safety she would stay quiet. "Tell me, do you know what they are? Where they're from? It must be magnificent to have an entire race in your head."

"Not as much as you would think," she said. "It gets loud."

"Well, it's all your fault, really. Nobody asked you to stick your nose where it didn't belong," Rumlow said with a sarcastic smile. "But you've always been annoying like that, haven't you?"

"And you've always been second best, right?" she countered with a smug smile. "And in case you're wondering, I deduced that on my own." Rumlow's face fell before she finished. He made a move against her when Pierce shut him down.

"Stand down." Pierce's word was law by the looks of it. Now it made sense to Chloe why she wasn't really hurt (beyond the emotional trauma). Pierce wanted her for something. "Your friends, as you say, escaped but it won't be a problem. We have powerful weapons, after all."

Chloe stiffened. Her eyes roamed the hallway. It was abandoned judging by the dirt accumulating on the walls. But it was dead quiet. Her eyes started glowing blue. Pierce watched with an almost fascination. Up until now he had only heard from their infiltrators in SHIELD what their Hivemind looked like inside Chloe Winters.

And suddenly, the glow in Chloe's eyes faded and she was back in the present. Her eyes flickered back to Pierce with the sense of new knowledge. "You have him here, don't you?" She asked what she already knew. "This whole time, the ghost you had following me was the supposedly late Sergeant Barnes."

"The Hivemind again?" Pierce's lips stretched into another clean smile.

"I was there when his mask fell...but yes, the Hivemind helps connect the dots. He's here right now. So what do you want from me?"

"They haven't told you, then?" Pierce seemed to take extra satisfaction learning her disadvantage. "Let's walk," he motioned to her.

She raised an eyebrow at him, hoping that every part of her body was screaming that she hated him. The agents behind her, however, shoved her forwards. She stumbled a few steps until she was able to reclaim her balance. She swallowed hard and raised her head to walk alongside Pierce.

"The piece that you absorbed when you were a kid, didn't you ever wonder why you couldn't fully connect to the Hivemind?"

Of course she had but in the beginning, she was just terrified that she had a piece of tech in her body in the first place. "What the hell was it doing there in the first place?"

"Ah, mission gone wrong," Pierce rolled her eyes. "Decommissioned the agents who failed there. The tech pieces were left behind from an old mission in the 60s. It took us forever to find them but imagine my reaction when only one piece made it to my hands?"

Chloe suddenly felt a tiny bit of pity for the agent in charge of that mission. "What did you want with them?"

"It was HYDRA's hope that we would learn how to wield the pieces correctly. We didn't know they were part of a Hivemind until we examined the piece we had."

"What did you think they were before?"

"Nobody knew except that they were alien," Pierce said. "And you'll understand that anything foreign can always be of value if wielded correctly. HYDRA takes anything it can and this wouldn't be an exception. So even when we only had one piece, we made it a priority to figure out what the tech could do. But unfortunately, we soon realized that we didn't have anything without the other piece." Pierce finally looked at Chloe, who gulped. "It was even more unfortunate when we learned where the piece had gotten to — into. A clueless girl that one of our own agents brought to S.H.I.E.L.D."

Chloe looked away. Seren. Seren had unknowingly brought her to the very organization that would try to kill her later on. "You wanted to kill me—you tried to kill me several times. What, did you expect to yank it out of my corpse?"

"Initially," Pierce said without a care of Chloe's horrified face. "But that was before we got all your test results. When SHIELD conducted its initial tests on you, HYDRA learned how the piece had fused to your body. It is now part of your body, meshed with your DNA. Even if we had killed you, we wouldn't have been able to salvage the piece you absorbed. We would've damned ourselves."

That's why they stopped trying to kill me, Chloe realized. They needed me alive. "But...but you started following me? What for? And trying to kidnap me?"

"If we could not take the piece back, we had to at least make sure we could harvest its power regardless of its whereabouts. But you turned out to be one smart cookie." Pierce stopped in front of a gated door. "Fury never shared the statuses of your missions. There were no reports of it either. You were hard to find, Miss Winters, and that is very impressive for someone on Hydra's list."

"I don't feel very honored," Chloe moved her arms a bit to remind them of the very special clamps on her wrists. "In fact, I feel more like a prisoner which" — she bobbed her head — "I'm sure is what Sergeant Barnes has probably felt this whole time too."

"The cuffs are merely precautions," Pierce said with a smug smile Chloe wished she could wipe off with her powers. "You need to understand first."

"Forgive me if I don't understand the people who have made my life miserable for the past 8 years! I lost my family because of you people! I couldn't go back home anymore! They think I ran away! I lost everything!"

"For a good cause, our cause," Pierce remained uncharacteristically calm despite the shouting in his face. "You're young, you don't understand what we're trying to do."

"My age doesn't define whether or not I understand good and bad. I am more than competent to decide what I want and let me tell you that being here is something I don't want. What I would want is to get the hell out of here and see my friends—scratch that," she nodded towards the gated door, "I would like to take that poor man with me and get the hell out of here!"

"You're here to serve us now," Pierce's voice took a more natural hard tone. That's the one Chloe thought would be more his style. "You don't say 'no' to HYDRA. I know your limits, Winters. We've studied them right alongside SHIELD, make no mistake of that."

Chloe's eyes flickered to the agents surrounding them. "Why am I here?" she asked. "What are you going to do with me?"

"Connect the pieces, what else?"

"No," she shifted her gaze to the gate. Her eyes took on a soft blue glow. "That's not why I'm here. You could've done that anywhere. I'm here for another reason."

Peace. He's under duress. They cannot control him.

She straightened herself up and looked directly at Rumlow. "Open the gate," she commanded, much to his shock.

He scoffed at her. "In case you forgot, you're not in charge."

She cocked her head at him. "Open. The. Gate."

Just as Rumlow's face twisted with anger, Pierce spoke up. "Open the gate, Rumlow. She understands now."

Rumlow's head snapped in his direction. "But she's not—"

"Open it," Pierce reiterated, tone cold as ice.

Rumlow's jaw clenched but he went around the pair to open the gate. A scientist was coming up to the other side when the gates opened up.

"He's erratic, sir," he fumbled with Pierce, especially when he saw Chloe. "I-I don't know…"

"She'll know what to do," Pierce said with such a certainty that brought more nerves to Chloe. She sure hoped she could figure out that 'what' part in the span of the walk there.

Eventually, she was led into a room that couldn't possibly be filled with more agents and scientists. For a split second, she got the gist of Seren's fear of doctors. All the prodding and the experiments they could do with nobody to stop them. Only in this case, the "subject" wasn't a Celessian but a human man.

Not completely human, don't kid yourself Chloe.

She stopped as soon as Piece did—this would be the only time she would fall in line with him—and looked ahead. All the pictures in the world wouldn't compare to the sight of Bucky Barnes today. He didn't look a thing like the museums portrayed him as. Steve would always say that Bucky had the sharpest of looks and a charming smile. Chloe often agreed with him when she saw the pictures but not today. Today, he looked like a man with a blank slate.

He seemed beyond exhausted in his chair. His eyes were low and detached. His bare shoulders rose every now and then with a visible breath but Chloe suspected that he was too tired for even that. His hair was long enough to almost reach his shoulders and it looked in dire need of care. Chloe's eyes lingered over his metal arm that rested idly on the arm rest. Whatever damage Natasha had done to it earlier was gone. But she still couldn't get past the ugly red that marked the connection between the metal and his flesh. She wondered if it hurt all the time...

"Has he been here the whole time? With Hydra?" she found herself asking as if she would be privy to any answers.

To her surprise, Pierce did give her a response. "His work has been a gift to mankind."

"He...he died," Chloe shook her head. "He's been dead since 1940 — you've had him since 1940!?" She was absolutely horrified at the idea of just how long Bucky had been (no doubt) tortured since then. "Decades..."

"He has a bit of a head-start than you, of course. But he'll be a great teacher. And you will make a good ally."

"A what—?"

"You can see the future!"

"I can't really—"

"You would help devise the Winter Soldier's plans and execute them. Together, you'd be unstoppable and thus make HYDRA invincible."

Chloe let out a humorless, loud laugh. "I will die before I become anything of HYDRA's!"

"Funny, that's what Barnes said in the beginning too. Least that's what the reports said."

Chloe swallowed very hard and whipped her head in Bucky's direction. He's a ghost of who he once was. It terrified her to think that she could end up like him. "N-no..." she took a step back and bumped into Rumlow. She turned and saw the other agents stepping towards her. They had surrounded her and blocked off the entrance.

"You are here to do a job, Winters," Pierce said. "One that you will do a lot in the future now. SHIELD kept a good record of that ability. Peacefulness."

Chloe sucked in a breath as the Hivemind started whispering in her head. The fight. It's left him troubled. Chloe glanced at Bucky again. He looked like he was in an endless struggle. "The fight...he's starting to remember, isn't he?"

"He can't remember what's not true," hissed Pierce.

Chloe's head snapped in his direction, looking rather indignant on Bucky's behalf. "You're joking right?" Now instead of fear, all she felt was anger. HYDRA was prepared to act like they didn't kidnap and brainwash a whole man for decades. If she had the power to give him even just a little piece of all those memories, then she had a duty to at least try. "I need my hands," she said firmly.

Pierce glanced at the agent holding the key and nodded at him to go ahead. Chloe was perfectly still as the agent stepped up to uncuff her.

"I'm sure the Hivemind will tell you that your chances of escaping here are very slim," Pierce warned when Chloe was free. "Rest assured if none of my agents catch you, he will," he gave a nod in Bucky's direction.

Chloe had no doubt about that. She took in a breath and stepped towards him. Her fingers danced on her sides the closer she got. "Sergeant," she decided to go with for the moment. She doubted he remembered his own name right now anyways.

"He hasn't been that in decades," Rumlow said.

"I don't think I asked for your opinion," she snapped and came to stand in front of Bucky, though leaving a cautious distance for the moment. "We met before at the attack on the bridge…"

At the mention of the bridge, Bucky's eyes finally lifted from the floor. Chloe held her breath for a moment. Even the shine of the blue eyes that Steve talked about were gone.

"The man on the bridge…" Bucky said, his voice gruff, "Who was he?" She would know. She was on their side. She was always on their side.

"Don't answer," warned Pierce on time because Chloe had been just about to do that.

"You send him to kill Steve and you don't even have the courage to tell him who he is?" She shouldn't be surprised. HYDRA were made up of cowards. "Maybe you're not as brave as you think."

"Agent Winters, you seem to think like you're in control but I assure you that you are not," Pierce's face hardened. "You figured out what you're here for, now do it."

Chloe turned away from them. She met Bucky's gaze and had a very limited time to think of what to do. It wasn't like she had options to begin with. "I'm Chloe." She said, maybe it would matter if someone gave him a name. After decades and missions like these, she doubted Bucky recognized any of the agents with a name. "I, um, I think we've already met...in a way. But, um, that fight on the bridge—"

"Agent Winters—"

"—left you very, uh...tired, right?" Chloe smiled nervously at Bucky. He, in turn, remained blank. "I can help you." It was harder to go on when all Bucky did was stare at her. He had to be calculating her moves. If only he knew that she had zero moves right now.

But in truth he was placing her. She was the mission that he didn't understand right-away. She was the mission that, in a way, allowed him to rest. There was never any fighting for her missions, never any kind of encounter with someone. He just watched from a distance and reported back.

Now she's been captured. He knew what that meant for her...what could come next.

"...run." His quiet whisper managed to elicit a sharp gasp from Chloe. It even startled the rest of the room. The Winter Soldier hardly ever spoke when he wasn't addressed.

Chloe's shock wore off as she realized what he tried to do for her. Her expression softened. "I can't," she replied to him. She smiled sadly at him. "I...I have to stay here. But if I have to stay here, then I at least want to help you. I, um...I have an ability that, um, well...it's known to ease the mind. I won't look through any of your memories. I only want to help calm you down. I just need to touch your temples." She gestured to her own temples with her glowing blue hands. "May I?"

"Why are you asking? Just do it already," one of the scientists told her.

Chloe's eyes flickered to them. There was no point in being incredulous bug she couldn't help it. "Just because you all chose to violate his body and his every thought, doesn't mean I'm doing the same!" With that, she shifted her gaze back on Bucky.

He hadn't moved, not even an inch, he only stared. At the very least he could be trying to figure her out, which was a fair thing to do. She was a bit too bright for his usual interactions. As much as he thought, he couldn't understand what her purpose was. Everyone around him had a purpose, whether it was to fix him or give him orders, but everyone had a purpose. It all typically came down to make him more efficient.

"You have the Hive Mind..." He remembered, and watched her face pale. Was her Hive Mind like his metal arm? Her "advantage"?

Chloe wasn't surprised that he knew that. "I do," she nodded, "But I only want to help you. I know a thing or two about having your mind violated. And it's also because of these people."

Bucky's eyes flickered to the others. Chloe took that as a win. He was listening. She reached for his temples only for him to seize her wrists. She flinched then heard the shifts of the weapons behind her taking aim on Bucky.

"Stop!" she told them. She tried not to budge as much under Bucky's tight grip. He was rightfully suspicious of her. She doubted nobody before her had ever used a "good guy" tactic on him. His eyes frantically searched hers for any sign, a clue, of what she would really do to him if he allowed her to touch him. "If you don't want it, I won't do it," she eventually said to him.

For a second, he lost his grip on her. It was evident that he'd been expecting anything but that. He turned his head towards the others; the weapons were still on him.

Chloe followed his gaze. "Lower them," she ordered. "You want me to do this, then lower the weapons. Otherwise you'll have one dead Hivemind and bye-bye evil plans."

With that logic, it was only time before the weapons were gone.

It was almost bemusing to see the shock on Bucky's face when it happened. Chloe smiled slightly at him. "Can I?" She gestured her wrists still bound by his hands.

The shock wasn't enough to cover his expression when she asked for his permission. Because of that, Bucky gave a slim nod of his head. Now he was curious and that was a novelty. He hadn't been curious about anything in...he didn't know how much time had passed.

Chloe's smile widened with his nod. She just wished her hands wouldn't shake so much. You are way out of your element here. No matter. She had to push through.

Bucky was still as a statue when her hands reached him. As much as he despised foreign hands on him — he learned to hate it once he got the gist of what typically happened whenever somebody touched him — he still didn't move. He did note, though, how unusually soft her fingers were. And gentle. That was entirely distinctive from the others.

She looked at him with a light that nobody else possessed. It made him curious again — and the novelty came again — about what she would have to do for Hydra. It also made him feel sorry for what was to come because no matter what was coming, it wouldn't be good.

"Just think," Chloe whispered to him. She was very slow when it came to pressing her forehead against his, closing her eyes. Usually, she didn't do this step but given the amount of years Bucky had, she needed to go big. She often did it with Steve as well and he had that gap of 70 years in the dark. She was grateful that Bucky didn't immediately shove her away. She could feel his nervous breath and definitely felt the subtle moment in which he flinched at the closer connection. She just hoped that she could keep his trust going. "The uneasiness, the questions, think about that and feel the ease that I'll send through."

Bucky had not closed his eyes, wanting to be alert as much as possible, though it really didn't seem like Chloe was going to try anything. She seemed very different from everyone else — she was. All the scientists around him were always rough and brief with him. Yes, he was enhanced to withstand 'rough' but it didn't mean he liked it. Chloe was very far from that. Her fingers were so soft pressed against his skin. She smelled so nice too. And the best part? She genuinely wanted to help.

Chloe focused all her power on Bucky. Never had she tried so hard to make it work. While Bucky had no idea what was supposed to be happening, he felt it. It was strange. His mind, as fuzzy and conflicted as it was, started to shift. Every thought, no matter what it was, was dissolving to allow this wave of serenity to wash over him. How could this woman be producing that level of calmness? As much as he had planned to stay alert, his eyes fell shut. For the first time since he could remember, everything dark around him slipped away. He knew nothing but sweet bliss and calmness.

And it was in that sweet bubble that he saw flashes. They were quick, disappearing almost as soon as they showed up, and very fragmented. Voices filled his ears, unknown but at the same time very familiar. And then he saw him. The man from the bridge. He was smaller, but the same face. They were an old street—

"That's enough," came Pierce's order.

Chloe's fingers pulled away from Bucky's temples and she pulled back. She met his gaze sheepishly. "I hope it helped you," she said honestly. He seemed surprised, and a bit troubled again. Maybe she hadn't helped him...

Bucky looked at her with wide eyes. "The man on the bridge...I knew him. You...you showed him..."

"I didn't..." Chloe said nervously, glancing back at Pierce. The last thing she needed was for him to think she was showing Bucky images of his past life. "I can't — I can't actually do that..."

Bucky was sure of what he saw. "He was there. And..." The voices he heard now began to sound a lot like the man too. "Who was he?"

"You met him earlier this week on another assignment," Pierce answered him.

Chloe looked back at him, her eyebrows knitting together with incredulity. "You can't just wash this over, you know. He will figure it out."

"It's been seventy years, Winters."

"So this is the first time they met again and look at what's already happened?" Chloe gestured towards Bucky. He was clearly trying his best to remember. "As much as you can brainwash with your high tech, the brain is a complicated thing. It's surprising."

"I knew him," Bucky said, inadvertently proving her point.

Chloe very quickly confirmed it. "You did!" After that, she had agents coming to retrieve her. She thrashed and yelled at them to leave her alone.

Bucky watched her with new curiosity—it was almost becoming familiar to him in a way. Being curious. Despite her loud yells, she seemed confident about what she was saying. He did know that man.

Pierce walked up to him while Chloe was forced to stay a good distance back. "Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped the century, and I need you to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning we're gonna give it a push. But, if you don't do your part, I can't do mine, and HYDRA can't give the world the freedom it deserves."

"What!?" Chloe's face scrunched. She knew that it was in her best interest not to speak but when had she ever been prudent about anything? "What kind of bullshit is that—"

"ENOUGH!" Rumlow pulled out his gun and pressed it against her temple. "I swear to God, Winters, say one more thing!" Chloe naturally recoiled from the cool metal on her skin, but being restrained didn't help get very far. "You don't have to die but we can sure as hell find a way to shut you up."

The natural fear in her whimper brought Bucky to make his conclusion that she was most certainly not like the others around him. If that was the truth then she had no reason to lie. She said that he did know the man on the bridge.

Pierce cleared his throat to remind him that he was still waiting for a response. Bucky's eyes left Chloe to meet the man's. "But I knew him," he insisted. He hadn't been certain about anything in a while, but now he was. "I did."

Pierce shook his head. "Winters, your little act is going to cost you."

Chloe made a face. "But I didn't—!"

"Prep him," he ordered the scientists.

"He's been out of cryo-freeze too long," one of them said.

"Then wipe him and start over!"

Chloe watched the people around them hurriedly move to do whatever Pierce instructed them to do. "What...what are they going to do?" She could see that whatever it was, Bucky was no stranger to it. He seemed ready for it but with a deep, and genuine, fear. She got the idea why when clamps shut around his arms. "Woah, woah, woah, wait!" She pushed herself towards them, forcing the agents around her to hold her back. "Leave him alone! It's my fault! I did it — leave him alone!" Her eyes started glowing a radiant blue, causing the agents to scramble to cuff her again.

Pierce was out of patience. "Implant the other piece," he commanded.

"What!? No!" Chloe's eyes widened with horror. "N-n-n-n-no!" The agents started pulling her away and as much as she fought, she couldn't stop them. "NO! NO! PLEASE DON'T! NO! NO!"

Bucky heard her screaming as she was dragged out of the room. It triggered a few more memories of himself in very similar situations. Endless screams just before the torture began. It was his last thought before his hell started all over again.

#ocapp #marvelocsdaily #allaboutocs #ochub #fyeahmarvelocs #marvel #avengers #mcu #steve rogers #steve rogers fics #steve rogers imagines #steve rogers x oc #captain america #captain america fics #captain america imagines #captain america x oc #mcu fics #mcu imagines #mcu ocs #marvel fics #marvel imagines #marvel ocs #avengers fics #avengers imagines #avengers ocs #winter soldier fics #bucky barnes fics #bucky barnes imagines #bucky barnes x oc #oc: seren soul

[auroralwriting]

Hurts Me (ch. 1) ౨ৎ

loki odinson x oc!fem!avenger

synopsis: falling in love with the god of mischief was unintended for the gentle avenger, and loki didn't intend to fall in love with a human, like his brother.

this is a story i’m publishing on wattpad! go read! (or maybe i’ll also keep posting it here, too…)

Liana Angeli had the pleasure of meeting Nick Fury when she was just fourteen. Discovering a teenager with the ability to feel people's emotions and physically heal them was an incredible feat. When she did so in the park, well, it freaked out some parents to say the least. Her group home had taken a little field trip, and once the adults found out about Liana's.. abilities, well, they were quick to give her to SHIELD.

Nowadays, Liana spent her time with her friend, Nat, learning combat, going on missions, and healing her and her other friend, Clint, when needed. She enjoyed being an agent, especially because she didn't have to be a spectacle.

"Agent Angeli,"

Liana looked up from her desk. Today she was assigned desk work, her absolute faaavorite. Not. There stood Nick Fury, but he actually looked slightly concerned. Nick never had that look in his eyes, never.

"Fury, what do I owe this visit?" Liana asked, turning around completely in her swivel chair. "You got a case for me?"

The director looked nervous. Too nervous. "There's.. been a situation. I'd like you to come with me so I can explain."

Liana stood up from her desk, pushing in her chair, and walking swiftly behind Fury. She wasn't going to lie, she was really nervous. Talking privately? A situation? What was going on?

───※ ※───

"No!"

A chair flew across the room, probably closer to the ground and less aggressive than Nat would've be thrown it, but aggressive nonetheless. Clearly, Liana was not taking Fury's news well, but how could she? He just gave her the worst news of her life.

"Liana, if you could calm down, we can discuss our plan of action." Fury negotiated with the furious young girl.

Spinning around, Liana's eyes were wide. "Plan of action? What happened to busting down the damn door and shooting?" SHEILD was really good at that plan. It was Liana's favorite besides spy or undercover mission.

With a hand over his face, Fury sighed. "Liana, he's a God, for, well, God's sake." Fury threw his hands in the air. "We go in there, guns ablaze, and then what? What happens if he walks out? Then what, we're all defenseless!" Fury had a point, but Liana didn't want to see it. Panic seared through Liana's veins. Clint was gone. No, Clint was brainwashed of all things! By a God, a Norse God. Why couldn't it have been Hades?

"So.. what do you suggest?" Liana's hands fell on her hips, staring at Fury expectantly.

"Well," Fury started, passing over a file to Liana, "I'm thinking we put together a team."

Liana looked at Fury blankly for a moment before she started a fit of laughter. "A team?"

"Yes, a team." Fury reached for the file Liana had yet to open. "A team made up of Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, eventually Clint Barton, and you." Fury set down the file. "I'm calling it The Avengers Initiative."

Liana's laughter was long gone. Was Fury out of his damn mind? A team? Of, what, agents, billionaires, old men, and weird scientists? What the hell was he thinking? This was no way to get back Clint.

"And you're serious?"

Fury's eyebrow raised, "When am I not?" Okay, good point.

With a hand running through her hair, Liana nods. She gulps down her emotions, looking to Fury. Maybe a team wasn't a horrible idea. "Alright. When do I get to meet the rest of my team?"

Fury looked down at his watch. "Ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?! Wait, I'm last to know?" Liana angrily asked. "How do random people get to know before me? I've known Clint for years!"

"You had paperwork I needed done." Fury shrugged. Liana could have pummeled him right there. Pft, paperwork.

───※    ※───

"Nat," Liana breathed heavily, hugging her friend. "Did he tell you? Clint's been-"

The Russian nodded solemnly, eyes casting aside, unable to look directly at Liana. Maybe it was guilt, maybe it was fear. "Yeah, he told me. Don't worry, Lia, we're gonna get him back. He's gonna be okay." Natasha took Liana's hand in her own.

With a nod, Liana then looked up to see a quinjet land on the helicarrier. She was told Steve Rogers, the Man of Ages, Mr. Red, White, and Blue himself was coming from the quinjet.

"Do you think he's ever flown before?" Liana whispered to Nat.

Natasha looked at her with humor, "Liana, I'm pretty sure he's been on a plane before." Liana held her hands up in mock defense. The door opened, and out walked the man himself: The Star Spangled Man with a Plan.

Liana smiled when she saw Agent Coulson next to Steve. "Agent Angeli, Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers."

"Hi," Nat smiled before looking to Phil. "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face-trace."

Coulson nods and walks away, leaving Steve with the two agents. The trio began to walk. " It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" Liana jokingly asked. Hopefully he's not too old to understand her joke.

"Trading cards?" He asked.

"They're vintage. He's very proud of them." Natasha chimes in.

As they enter the huge helicarrier, Liana finds herself staring at a man, shyly observing while attempting to stay out of the way. This must be Bruce Banner. If Liana remembered right, he was the Hulk. She'd seen it on video once, Hulk's rampage. Banner seemed the complete opposite, a sweetie.

"Dr. Banner?" Liana called. Bruce searched for the source of the voice, smiling softly to himself when he saw Liana's face.

"Ah, Dr. Banner!" Steve said as Banner approached.

Steve and Bruce shook hands, "Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming."

"Ma'am?" A voice called. Liana spun around to see one of the ships crewmates behind her. "We're moving in just a moment. It would be wise to strap in."

Taking initiative, Natasha looks to the boys, "Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe."

"Is this a submarine?" Steve looked a little excited. He was like a little puppy.

"Really? They wanted me in a submerged, pressurized metal container?" Bruce looked slightly upset, but then, the ship takes flight, surprising the two men. "Oh, no. This is much worse."

Liana put her hand on Bruce's shoulder calmingly. She could sense his worry. "It'll be alright, this place is heavily reinforced. I doubt the big guy could take it on." Bruce smiled softly.

"Agent Romanoff, why don't you show Dr. Banner to his lab." Fury suggested.

As Steve and Phil began talking about his card collection, Liana gasped as she observed a computer. "There! We got a hit! Sixty-seven percent match. Weight, cross match, seventy-nine percent." She called while reading the screen.

"Location?" Phil asked.

Liana squinted to read carefully. "Um, Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's.. not exactly hiding."

"Captain, you're up." Fury looked to Steve. He nodded and left. "Liana, you're going to be our first source of intel. Ready for an undercover mission?"

#loki fluff #loki fanfiction #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki x oc #loki #avengers #avengers oc #avenger #thor ragnarok #the avengers #loki fanfic #mcu loki #marvel fic

[darsynia]

Trust Fall | Ch 15a

ARC image by Eury Escodero | gif by (I think) @kevinfeiges

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Summary: Tony/OC, ‘terrorists made us fall in love;’ IM1 timeline. In this chapter, Emory has a power-filled confrontation with Nick Fury, and Tony decides to look up the agent who left his phone number with Pepper.

Length: 3,631

Taglist: @starryeyes2000 @raith-way @arrthurpendragon @themaradaniels @starksbf @chickensarentcheap @tiny-anne

Excerpt:

Fury walks over to stand in front of her, a move that she reads as a concession to what she’s said despite his uncompromising words. He slides the phone into his pocket and pulls a Blackberry device out instead, taps it a few times, and starts reading. “‘Emory Autumn. A kind, accommodating young woman whose propensity for loyalty can be both an asset and a drawback. She is likely to respond obediently to medical and moral necessity.’”

Emory blanches at this, particularly at the word ‘obediently.’ While accurate, it feels fairly bleak as a summary of her hard work managing Rory’s life.

Fury holds up the device. “My analyst also predicted that you would shift allegiance from Ms. Fall to Mr. Stark. Do you disagree with that, as well?”

It’s on the tip of her tongue to tell him that the manipulation he’s attempting is so obvious it could be taught to his rookie agents. That is probably the point, though.

Tony would lean into his own assessment, play it up, but his would include things like confidence and conceit. Leaning into obedience isn’t Stark-like at all. So what would Tony say, here?

Fuck politeness.

Chapter Fifteen: Disinfectant

“You have been lying to me ever since I woke up,” Emory says to Fury. “Why should I believe you now?”

“So, don’t,” Fury tells her, shrugging and sliding one hand into a pocket of his trenchcoat. “Walk out of here, pick up your life. Three, maybe four weeks from now, you’ll feel sick. Maybe it’s the flu. Maybe not. Maybe that is why there’s a note in the paperwork you got along with the shots. The one that says to get back in contact after four months.”

Emory can’t help pushing back. “But, I didn’t buy them. I don’t have--”

“I do.”

“Convenient,” she observes with a thin smile. Inside, her mind is racing. Tony had warned her about consequences just like this when he’d tried to stop her from taking the injection, but she’s not completely under Fury’s thumb yet. They’d dressed her in scrubs for the flight. Would the medics have kept the piece of paper in her bra with Yinsen’s address on it? 

Emory can’t do anything about that right now. The familiar phrase floats up: This is a problem for tomorrow. What can she find out while Fury’s in the room? She’s watched spy thrillers. This is the moment when a bargain is struck.

The problem is she’s not a spy. She’s barely a protagonist. People don’t write stories about the unknown girl kidnapped with the billionaire. They write stories about the billionaire. Thinking about Tony shrugs a layer of power to life, just enough to give her the strength for this new role she’s been cast in. Emory throws back her blankets and stands up to head toward Fury, walking past him with her heart in her throat. Channeling Tony’s outrageous confidence, she leans her back on the false wall, drawing up one leg to set her bare foot flat against it. Letting out a breath that she hopes doesn’t look like a release of terrified tension, she turns her head to look at him.

“So, you’re saying we can help each other?” she offers.

Fury nods solemnly. “We can.”

“So why all the lies, what did you think the benefit would be?” Emory asks, frustrated. ‘Why all the lies’ would have been punchier, and she can picture Tony standing behind her murmuring something about overdoing it. The surge of happiness she feels just thinking of him adds another layer of power, but this time it adds to her audacity, too. The Emory who flew to Afghanistan with Rory Fall would never have the guts to just ask these kinds of questions. “You can’t figure out what my powers are unless I’m awake, can you? That’s why I woke up here, instead of on the plane.”

Fury’s voice is cutting. “Can you safely travel in an airplane?” The emphasis he places on that first word tells her what his conclusion is.

“You’re fishing,” Emory accuses, her anger pushing her off the wall. The way it wobbles tells her it’s far more flimsy than she’d first thought, just like Fury’s plan. “Did you really think you’re going to reel me in with this approach? With lies, threats, and false fronts?” 

“In a word? Yes.” His phone rings from his pocket, and Fury steps aside to answer it.

As she takes in his admission, Emory realizes what must have happened. If Fury looked into her life at all, that research will have led him astray. She’s not Rory’s meek little shadow anymore. And even when she was, Emory had commanded respect from the people that mattered. She’d kept Rory Fall from self-destructing for years behind the scenes, all subtly enough that even Emory herself hadn’t recognized her own worth.

It’s hard to see yourself as a doormat when someone like Tony Stark stands up to men with guns to save your life. It’s easy to gain confidence when he delays building the helmet that would keep him alive to make you something protective instead. Of all the people in the world, Tony Stark has said he loves her, and that’s the kind of thing that makes a girl want to prove she’s worth it.

The power she’s flooded with from those thoughts is strong enough to ripple around her, ruffling her hair.

Fury walks over to stand in front of her, a move that she reads as a concession to what she’s said despite his uncompromising words. He slides the phone into his pocket and pulls a Blackberry device out instead, taps it a few times, and starts reading. “‘Emory Autumn. A kind, accommodating young woman whose propensity for loyalty can be both an asset and a drawback. She is likely to respond obediently to medical and moral necessity.’”

Emory blanches at this, particularly at the word ‘obediently.’ While accurate, it feels fairly bleak as a summary of her hard work managing Rory’s life.

Fury holds up the device. “My analyst also predicted that you would shift allegiance from Ms. Fall to Mr. Stark. Do you disagree with that, as well?”

It’s on the tip of her tongue to tell him that the manipulation he’s attempting is so obvious it could be taught to his rookie agents. That is probably the point, though.

Tony would lean into his own assessment, play it up, but his would include things like confidence and conceit. Leaning into obedience isn’t Stark-like at all. So what would Tony say, here?

Fuck politeness.

“So you’ve commissioned a profile of me. That means you know my job was basically all PR, and as a PR professional? Your first impression sucked. But, your report is right, I am kind. So, want to try again?”

It’s more polite than she’d intended, but some things are just ingrained.

“All right.” Fury smiles, and it’s the most authentic expression she thinks she’s seen so far. “We need your help. People are dying, people with no recourse. Embedded in that serum is a dependency that either nets the scientist who created it money or minions. When he doesn’t get either, the world ends up with desperate, dying people with the power to act in terrible anger.”

It seems ridiculous to ask what she can possibly do to help while she’s sheathed in multiple layers of invisible energy, but she’s gotten accustomed to the unusual over the past few months. “So, not to flog the fishing metaphor, but am I meant to be the bait for whatever you’re planning?”

“You’re no worm, Miss Autumn. You’re the golden nugget,” Fury says, looking at her appraisingly. “You’re physically non threatening. Your capture with Stark was well documented, which will help in persuading this guy you’re legit. The fact that you haven’t resurfaced at the same time as he did implies that you may already be suffering from the sickness built into the serum.”

She’s listening, but her power buildup is probably starting to be noticeable. There’s only so long that she can play with the ends of her hair without it looking suspicious, and it’s not like she can constantly toss it to make up for its magic-induced buoyancy. Fury continues, but she can tell that he’s caught on that her behavior is masking something.

“Rough plan is to see what you’re capable of, get you some rudimentary training. You’ll contact the scientist with a sob story that your contacts are unwilling to provide funds for your poor decisions, you’re at his mercy, and so on. Truth is we’ll be there as backup, and once you’re in, you’ll hang back while our team completes the mission.” The confidence in Fury’s voice is almost contagious, but there are two things Emory had noticed in his run-down that conflict with her priorities.

“You want me to stay here. Long term.”

“Yep.” Fury’s tone has turned flippant, almost condescending. It’s enough of a shift that she is immediately on guard. “Now would be a good time to demonstrate your abilities. I imagine if you’re able to control them well enough, we could be persuaded to alter the living situation--”

The man’s been direct throughout every part of their conversation, and now he’s prevaricating. There are levels to his behavior that remind her of her early days with Rory, the way everyone they met seemed to have multiple motivations. They’d needed to either figure it out or get out. Emory needs to think fast if she is going to gain permission to breathe (or live) freely. She refuses to spend four weeks confined to this room with its stupid fake wall and obscured window.

Would they rebuild it, if it ‘just so happened’ to be destroyed? That’s a valid question, given that she’s already gotten to the point of shedding energy. Above her, the ceiling tiles are shaking in their housings, drawing Fury’s attention.

“‘Demonstrate your abilities?’ You must be pretty sure of what they are, if you’re not worried about being mind controlled or having your blood boiled as you stand there,” Emory points out. Fury simply stands still, looking at her.

The door opens, and Nurse, or rather, Agent Kate walks in, stepping close to Fury to speak to him privately. She has shedded her nurse’s clothing in favor of what’s essentially a black catsuit. Emory has a moment of unreality as she pictures herself in such a garment, but that’s just the thing.

If this were part of Rory’s seven-episode soap opera run, it would be time for her character to break out and head toward her lover at all costs, and to hell with this shadowy government agency. Fury’s report on her is correct, though. She is swayed by the moral argument. She wants to help.

But she won’t stay in this room.

Emory closes her eyes, picturing Tony in a rich looking bedroom looking out over the ocean. Fury had complained that Tony was blocking access to some of her files, meaning that he’s either hacked them or he’s gotten in touch with her family to do it for him. He’s still looking after her, which at least makes that part of Fury’s plan a very welcome lie she’ll have to convincingly tell.

The surge of energy these thoughts bring sends her hair whipping around her head. The headlong, inevitable feel of the wind’s tug fills her with a nervous excitement that she can’t peg as good or bad. Emory plucks a few small packages of air to send spiraling around her body, because even if she’s right, and Fury was encouraging her to do something drastic, Agent Kate will definitely try to stop her. It won’t be much protection, this cyclone armor, as Tony had called it, but it’s something.

Before she loses her nerve, Emory gathers all the force she can muster and propels a wedge of air toward where the false wall meets the ceiling, but it doesn’t budge the wall at all. Instead, the bulk of the energy forces its way up into the weak points of the drop ceiling and blows out all of the ceiling tiles in the entire room.

Emory can see someone rushing towards her, so she desperately pulls in everything she can access and sends a rushing wave of power into the ceiling to crash down between the window and the false wall. The force of the blast dislodges the wall from its mooring, scooping it up to send it rocketing sideways towards her. At the last second, Emory projects a barrier around herself as she throws herself to the floor. The angle of the shield launches the entire collapsed wall up and over both herself and Agent Kate.

Emory is dazed for a few seconds, but then Kate is on her, reaching for her wrists before being knocked sideways by the arcing air Emory had set up to protect herself. She lifts her head to see whether the woman is okay, but Fury steps in to block Emory’s view.

He nods.

All of her energy is spent, and a dampening fear is rising up in her throat, threatening to choke her. The last time she’d felt this way was when she was buried in the sand she’d riled up and spun to stop Tony’s fall. Emory had tumbled between the ridges of lifted sand, losing all understanding of where up was-- until she’d heard Tony’s voice. He’d sounded so desperate as he’d shouted that he loved her, selfishly demanding that she had to survive for his sake!

Just thinking about Tony’s declaration is enough to reinvigorate her. Emory nods back at Nick Fury, pulls a wide column of air around herself like a cloak, and launches both it and herself toward the window. The leading edge of her cocoon of air breaks the window when she’s a few feet away, and Emory projects the broken glass safely out and away from the room and herself.

The second she crosses through the window frame, she starts dropping like a stone. It’s terrifying, but Emory’s got Tony’s voice in her head. I love you! Spin yourself out of there! Fight! The open air around her is fodder for her power rich hands, and she gathers it, layering the air around herself until she’s no longer falling but rising. It only takes a little bit of adjustment to figure out how to manage her rate of climb, with Tony’s words ringing in her ears and her triumph at escaping confinement yet again to bolster her.

As if she’s obeying Tony’s exact words, she spins in midair, but that gives her a good view of her surroundings. The building is on a narrow stretch of land protruding into a river, but the structure itself blocks her from seeing the far bank. Emory almost feels drunk with the giddiness of this controlled float, enough to direct herself back toward the large window she’d escaped through. She drifts right up to the open space and hovers there.

Fury is standing up against the empty window frame, looking out at her, with Agent Kate beside him. He’s got his hands on his hips.

“Thank you,” he calls out to her. “It was about time to remodel this suite of rooms.”

Without really thinking it through, Emory snaps, “Glad I could do your dirty work for you, I guess.”

She still wants to help, but not if this is the kind of partnership they’re going to have. The biting sting of having been manipulated causes her to dip slightly in the air, but Emory pulls in another ribbon of air to counterbalance the feeling of shame.

“You look a little down, Miss Autumn. Don’t worry-- we could get this boarded up by the evening.” Fury’s expression is hard, but there’s a gleam in his one eye that tells her this is a challenge. Emory’s heard of ‘power creep’ before, but she never thought to apply it to being in over her head more and more until she’s drowning!

Emory’s so discouraged at the idea of having to be trapped in that room that she forgets herself and drifts too close to the window. Agent Kate stretches out to try to grab her, presumably to drag her back inside. Emory pushes off hurriedly, and Agent Kate smirks and shrugs.

“Barton’s in position, right?” she says, her gaze locked to Emory’s. Fear freezes her in place for a few seconds, but she’s got a deathgrip on the memory of Tony looking up at her after they’d ended their kiss and saw the vortex of sand and dust swirling around them. That look of pride, affection, and respect she’d seen in his face is a power generator of fairly epic proportions.

“Locked and loaded, yes,” Fury says pleasantly.

“I hope you also have a bead on your next possible dupe, because all tranquilizer darts will do is reset your current plans to zero when I hit the ground, you know that, right?” she says, her voice tremulous.

“No darts, just an offer. Quid pro quo.”

Emory looks up at the roof a few stories above them. There are a few seemingly random protrusions visible at the edge of the building, but no people visible. She’s pretty far from any other rooftop or shooting location, but by the time it would matter, there wouldn't be anything she could do about it anyway.

“I can stay somewhere reasonable?” she asks, pushing away a feeling of unreality. She’s hovering in midair beside a huge agency complex she’d never heard of before, negotiating with a one-eyed badass about her participation in a covert operation against a mad scientist. ‘Reasonable’ has long since flown the coop.

Fury nods.

“I want contact with my loved ones.” As she says this, Emory wonders if Rory would consider herself one of those people anymore. Their bond has obviously suffered (and not just due to the kidnapping), but she still cares about Rory, even if the intensity of that care has changed. Taking care of Rory had carried Emory into a life that was distant from her parents and family out of necessity, but she’d never gone this long without talking to them.

“Within reason.”

A stab of dismay weakens her hold on the air swirling around her. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“This guy tracks his buyers. Your name is linked with his in news reports. You can’t pick your life back up and still claim financial hardship with any kind of credibility.”

She’s sinking, and instead of being available to bolster her when she most needs it, Emory’s layers of power are dissipating in the face of her fear. Desperately, she fills her mind with the picture of what she and Tony had spoken of looking forward to while plodding along in the hot sand after they’d escaped. It’s enough to surge up to where she was before.

Fury’s holding out his hand to help her back into the room. “We’ll talk about it, if it’s that important.”

“It’s not my job to find the compromise anymore,” she says stubbornly. Every molecule of her body is screaming at her to find safety, but she’s grown used to pushing past the edge of what feels right. “I want to see Tony. In person.”

Agent Kate is speaking into her wrist and turning to walk away from the window, but Emory refuses to let herself get distracted.

“Seems you found your courage in that cave, but this is something I can’t give you. We need you to be apart for this to succeed.”

The words are like a death knell.

Emory throws her arms out beside her, reaching, begging for the air to listen to her commands, but she’s out of control, shooting up above the window on a last burst of dying energy. She reaches for the edge of the building, feet away, and sees that there is a person standing there. He’s got a giant black recurve bow in his arms, drawn back to point at her. The arrow doesn’t look like a tranq dart, but that wouldn’t matter now. Terrifyingly, she starts falling.

“I’ve got you!” a voice shouts as her cushion of air dissipates around her and she gathers speed. 

Above her, the man shoots-- not at her, but back at the roof, twisting in midair as he does so. He’s speeding toward her, moving much faster than she is, his arms outstretched, and he uses them to grab her in a bear hug right as they collide. Emory’s winded, as much from fear as the impact, but she struggles, gasping, as she thanks him.

“Don’t speak too soon, we haven’t bottomed out, yet,” he says, his voice in her ear sounding strained but amused. There are multiple clicking sounds, and Emory realizes that while she was trying to catch her breath, her rescuer had been strapping part of his harness around her.

The mechanism he’s wearing to arrest their fall kicks in seconds later. The jolt tears a scream from her throat despite her best efforts.

“Right there with ya,” the man says, groaning.

Rhodey is on Tony’s side.

After triple-checking to make sure he’s muted, Tony leans back in his chair and listens quietly on the multi-line call. That Rhodey’s doing this at all is a testament to how angry he was when he found out that Emory Autumn was ‘commandeered’ and taken to D.C. instead of California. There are probably laws set up to prevent a private citizen (civilian contractor, really, at least until they cancel his ass for not making weapons anymore) from listening in on military business, but that’s not Tony’s problem.

“If it’s a matter of national security, why were we not notified of the danger, given our close physical proximity to the subject for extended periods of time during the rescue?”

The response to Rhodey’s question is so disrespectful Tony sits up in his chair so he can hear his friend put the kid in his place.

“Don’t you invoke 9/11 and aircraft safety to me, young man! I was involved in Operation Vigilant Guardian that morning. You’re going to tell me on whose authority this was done, on what shift, by which commander, and you’re going to give me your name so it’s your ass on the line instead of mine when I pass this information along. Yes, you do that.”

Rhodey systematically works his way up until he’s speaking to someone who claims that they’re a liaison to the ‘Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.’ All they’ll do is take a message, but the name sounds familiar, so Tony sets down the phone he’d been listening in with and reaches into his pocket.

The card Pepper had given to him in the car is from the same agency.

Tony scrambles to hang up the phone so he can dial the number.

Next chapter, Tony meets Phil Coulson, who is not at all what he was expecting, and Emory is given a place to stay in the Triskelion.

#tony stark x oc #tony stark fanfiction #tony stark x original character #tony stark imagine #iron man fanfiction #iron man #iron man x oc #iron man x original character #mcu #mcu fanfiction #mcu fanfic #marvel #marvel fanfic #tony stark #series: autonomy #ocfairygodmother #fyeahsuperverseocs

[arlana-likes-to-write]

okay hi again!! just finished reading ch. 12 of lightning bug & holy shit- there was so much i wanted to talk about!!

fury and r’s dynamic is kinda like having that one cool uncle! between r being let into overwatch and having them still tease fury with his name & fashion sense, it’s really neat!

sometimes i forgot r is still a kid bc of her behavior around everyone but damn- it really is a trauma thing i’d like to think so. like the whole thing with the closet and how that was their place to hide away and also towards the end when r mentioned getting used to the feeling of being full/eating meals. r really been through it as we’ve seen now and in previous chapters!

it’s nice to see pepper being like a third??? mom to r while wandanat are away & i felt like when r was being open and vulnerable with her- talking about not wanting to lose them bc they’re all they have also makes me realize how much r has gone through and how they’re a kid.

also… just some of the scenes i really enjoyed:

yelena leaving the candy bar bc how thoughtful 🥹

pepper stepping in and putting the mom hat on

america and r are homies fr haha

kate bishop has golden retriever energy and it’s funny to see when helen scolds her despite not being cleared

wanda noticing r’s powers having a moment 👀

there’s probs more but that’s what i remember off the top of my head! thanks for writing this & it’s really good! also sorry for how long this is haha!

Thank you for reading it! I loved writing Nick and reader's relationship and I can't wait to show you more of them together. There are two moments that show how wise the reader is going to be because she had to grow up so quickly. She's lived on the streets since she was 9 but before that her parents were awful to her.

When I first drafted this idea Pepper wasn't going to be as important to the reader that she is now but I like how it's going so far.

Writing any scene with the reader and America is so much fun and I love writing their dynamic change.

Kate Bishop has big golden retriever energy. But we love her.

Thank you for reading! Next update will be tomorrow!

#arlana answers #lightning bug #modedddd ask

[theladybarnes]

NO STRINGS ON ME - CH.5: ULTIMATUM

“'Cause you don't see me. And you don't need me. And you don't love me. The way I wish you would. The way I know you could”

▸ summary: things get more intense as lines are finally drawn ▸ characters: steve rogers, tony stark, clint barton, vision, & wanda maximoff ▸ word count: 5,788 ▸ warnings: angst, lots of canon dialogue ▸ series masterlist

Dinner surprisingly went peacefully. Tony and you had clearly been both annoyed by Steve enough that you made a sort of divide. Staring at which friend would sit at which side. At first a part of you felt childish resorting to that, but that didn’t stop your heart from beating fast when it looked like Natasha was going to sit by Steve. She stayed neutral by pulling up a chair to sit by Layla over at the kids table.

 Bruce had been pretty oblivious to it all and took a seat beside Steve, making Tony frown for a moment before he shrugged it off to tamper with his phone. Checking for updates on the recent Hulk search. Steve had of course decided to sit right across from you, picking up his gaze now and then to try and catch your eyes. You at least were successful in avoiding him throughout the dinner. That is until you both caught Clint and Laura share a quick sweet kiss, making you both seek out the other. 

 “We have to plan our next move.” Nick Fury, coughed. Bringing the end to the casual dinner and business back on the table. Which you were very much thankful for, considering all the topics you currently wanted to avoid. While a few of you helped clear up (Tony suddenly disappearing from the seat beside you of course), Fury helped himself to a snack, letting you guys in on Ultron updates. 

 “Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he’s building something. The amount of vibranium he made off with, ..I don’t think it’s just one thing.”

 There was always the chance he was either going to use it to create a stronger army, or worse, a stronger body. The way most of the guys were able to take out the iron legions that he stole, it’d only make sense to make himself more sturdy.

 “What about Ultron himself?” Piped in Steve, making you steal a glance at the sound of his voice. Tony, who noticed your gaze, waved you over to where he was, handing you a dart to play with rather than finishing up the dish you had been drying.

 “Oh, he’s easy to track. He’s everywhere. The guy is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit.” 

 You had to bite down on your lip from the dirty joke, not expecting a comment like that from Nick Fury of all people. “It still doesn’t help us get an angle on any of his plans, though.” He added, looking down at his small snack.

 Tony threw a dart, insisting on starting a game with you. “Is he still going after launch codes?” You took your dart and angled it to the left a bit, hitting the circle closest to the center. Earning a glare from Tony as Fury went on.

 “Yes, he is. But he’s not making any headway.” That was both a relief and worrisome thing to hear. If he had access but did nothing right now that was good. But it was worse that he had access and decided to use something he had up his sleeve, which was probably worse than nukes.

 After Tony went again with his dart, you threw your second one, knocking his dart out of the way as you hit the dead center. “I cracked the Pentagon’s firewall in high school on a dare.” He pointed out, making you roll your eyes. 

 “You also nearly got arrested for that from what I heard. Genius plan, Tony.” He pushed you a bit for that, knocking your face against the beaded door that you stood by. Fury, not caring about your small petty fight, went on with the conversation.

 “Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that.”

 Steve seemed to be drawn back in now. “Nexus?” The only time you ever heard about Nexus was during your time in the academy back in SHIELD. They promised the small group of you a chance to visit the place, get a look at what future jobs you could be transferred to eventually. But that plan went out the window just two years later..

 “It’s the world internet hub in Olso. Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth.”

 You couldn’t help but let out a dreamy sigh at Bruce’s explanation. Without realizing that it caused a few heads to turn and look at you. Blushing a bit, you shook your head, trying to move the beads to cover your face a little bit. “Sorry, it just sounds like a dream.”

 Natasha beamed over at you, giving you an affirming nod at your statement. Tony, now seemingly just as interested in the place as you are, patted a hand on your shoulder, silently agreeing with you. “Just give me five minutes in the place.” He whispered. 

 Clint, having heard Tony’s comment to you, brought back the attention. “So, what did they say?” 

 “He’s fixated on the missiles. But the codes are constantly being changed. 

 “By whom?” THWIP. 

 A flying dart nearly pierced between you and Tony, causing the both of you to jerk your heads to the side. 

 You both turned around to catch Clint giving a proud shrug. Obviously proving that he’s the better marksman at this little game the two of you had been playing. 

 “Show off.” You scoffed, glaring at the man. Tony, mirroring your face, grabbed Clint’s darts and placed them back on the counter. Taking him off the board. 

 Eventually, the conversation turned more serious, bringing the group to gather closer around the table. Ultron was planning something big, something that you guys had to figure out how to stop or at least how to battle against. With an insufficient body, there was no telling how many versions of himself that he made. 

 Fury was right about outwitting the bastard. The only clue you could pick up was that whatever he had planned next, would be a bigger evolution than just a humanoid like body.

 Bruce, being the actual smart one as always, piped in with the most helpful sort of insight. 

 “They don’t need to be protected.” He stared down at a drawn photo on the table, making you peek over Tony’s shoulder to catch sight of a yellow butterfly. “They need to evolve.” 

The rest of you simply stared back at him, piecing together that much information. “He’s going to evolve.”

 “How?” Fury inquired, tilting his head at the doctor.

 “Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?”

  It didn’t take long for a plan to form up. The group needed to divide and conquer. Taking care of different areas in order to stop Ultron from fully being a physical being. Whether it was bolts and vibranium, the power behind the body would be too much to handle. 

 Tony was quick to insist you join him to Nexus. Promising to make it worthwhile. A part of you was ecstatic to not only visit the place, but do something you loved with Tony. The other part couldn’t help but worry over your friends. Wondering if maybe backup was needed. 

 But like everything else lately, Steve turned down that notion before you could even open your mouth. Reminding you that you were still technically on injury and should do something that you’re familiar with to help out. Which felt a little backhanded, but he wasn’t entirely wrong. 

 “I’ll take Natasha and Clint.”

 “All right. Strictly recon. Sprout and I will hit the Nexus. We’ll join you as soon as we can.” You glanced over at the two, trying not to sound a little mad that they had such bossy attitudes about what you were going to do. But considering you weren’t on their team and just temporarily helping, you didn’t have much say anyway.

“If Ultron’s really building a body…”

 “He’ll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot.”

 Frowning at the thought, you finished gathering up your things before you walked over to stand in between them, looking over at Steve warily. Noticing the familiar disgruntled look on his face. 

 “You know, I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me.”

 You couldn’t help but scoff a bit at that, shaking your head at his snide remark. “Another thing you can’t seem to get past. You should probably work on that, Cap.” Despite feeling proud for the jab back at him, you had to pinch the side of your thigh from changing your tone when you noticed the slightly hurt look spread over Steve’s face. Even Tony raised a brow at that.

 Fury thankfully slid in time to head off, interrupting the three of you. “I’ll drop Banner off at the tower. You mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?”

 “She’s all yours. Apparently.” Tony noted. “What are you gonna do?”

 Fury, cool as ever, gave off a simple reply “I don’t know. Something dramatic, I hope.”

 Watching as he left, Tony took the distraction nudge you with his elbow, nodding over at Steve before he clapped the blonde’s shoulder. Parting with a simple goodbye as he walked over towards the stairs to ready the ride for Olso. 

 “I don’t want to leave with us fighting.” Steve sighed, leaning in to speak more directly with you. “If something happens, I don’t want either of us to have said something or leave with doing something we regret.”

 “Maybe you should have thought of that before you brushed me off five hours ago, then tell me you had a vision about a girl that you’re still not over from seventy years ago, and then boss me around like I’m your employee.”

 “Scout, it wasn’t seventy years ago for me. Time for me is different.”

 “And these past four years didn’t change your mind at all?” He reached over to try and cup your cheek, wanting to give you a kiss or something that could fix this. But any contact caused you to flinch. Making your snap your head away from his hand. 

 “Be safe.” Is all he could murmur to you, settling on pressing a gently finger to rub at your cheek before he marched out of the home. Leaving you feeling guilty, but even more upset about all this.

 “You know, he was frozen at one point, but I don’t think anyone can handle that kind of cold.” Tony quipped, taking slow steps over. When he finally came back to your side, you didn’t hesitate to pinch at the back of his elbow Earning you a high pitched yell from the older male.

 “Mind your business, genius.”

 Before he could retaliate or tell you off, the two of you sobered up as you heard the small sounds of Laura and Clint saying their goodbye. Obviously in all this drama, the two of you didn’t remember that Clint had a lot waiting for him back home. Something that made you feel bad for not thinking about when it came to pairing up for the mission.

 It isn’t till they both share a quick kiss that the two of you look away, heading towards the door when you hear Clint part Laura with some final words. “Remember, if you need me, I still have Barton comms on me.”

 The two of you can’t help but pause in place, jaws dropped as you both heard what he just said. “Oh my God.” You whispered, looking over at a very much amused Tony as he feigned clutching his pearls. “He’s totally copying us.”

 “I told you! Completely copying.” 

 What you both didn’t seem to notice was the sound of Laura’s laughter as she closed the front door to the home. Watching with a grin as the team climbed aboard the quinjet.

  The trip to Norway was not easy on you. Though the quinjet cut down the amount of time it took to get to Norway, the two of you couldn’t help but feel more exhausted the moment you landed. 

 A small group of the employees there that were star struck by Tony instantly flocked over as soon as the doors finished opening. Greeting you both so warmly as they never had quite the guest before. 

 Per usual, Tony fluttered around the peacock he thought he was. Giving peace signs to any sort of cameras that flashed up at him before he asked to go into the main control room.  The two of you were short on time, but you felt sort of bad from stopping them from getting in a few questions with your brother. Settling for pulling out your tempad from your bag to try and sneak your way into their system.

 It was all glorious of course, seeing all the machinery and inner workings of the Nexus. You’d definitely have to come back when the world wasn’t about to end. The control room itself felt incredibly immense the more you stepped in. Making you awestruck for a moment. “I feel like a power ranger right now.” 

 “Please, you could be better than that.” Tony said, rolling his eyes. “Right now you could be an avenger. Get all the right kind of attention I think you deserve.” Two of the assistants stole a quick photo op behind Tony’s back, making you cringe at the amount of spotlight someone like him could get. 

 “Yeah, no thanks.” 

 Shrugging his shoulders, Tony stepped up to the small control board, twinkling his fingers as he looked over the keyboard. He pressed a few keys, tapping the screen to life when he began to think aloud to himself. “A hacker who’s faster than Ultron. He could be anywhere, and this is the center of everything.” He gave you a slightly worried glance. “We’re just two people looking for a needle in the world's biggest haystack.”

 A curious Nexus employee stepped forward, wanting to see for herself just what Tony had in mind. “How do you find it?”

 “It’s pretty simple, you bring a magnet.” Shaking your head, you notice another photo op happening again and move in to cover your face by resting it on Tony’s shoulder. Reading the encryption he started to type in. 

 “I’m decrypting nuclear codes. And you don’t want me to.” He sang as he typed in more playfully. The showboating always made its appearance when strangers were around. “Come and get me.” 

 Leaning up, you read over the starting line before raising your hand to stop his movements. “You’re going with your Iron maiden attack?” A small hint of pink spread over Tony’s cheeks at your question. Making him lean in closer to you for privacy. 

 “Yeah, kid. What’s the big deal? It’s my go to key.”

 “I know it is. But have you given a thought to the fact that Ultron might know that too?” Inching forward, you delete the beginnings of his decryption before looking back at him. “By now we both know he’s smart enough to have set up alert systems and firewalls to any sort of virtual attack we can do.”

 “…Shit. I didn’t think of that.” He muttered, trying to go through his repertoire of keys he can use. Giggling at having a small upper hand for once, you reached deep into your pocket and pulled out a harddrive. 

 “I have been working on this for a little bit now. Wanted to have something I can use more globally when it comes to detection.” Placing it into the palm of his hand, you watched as he booted up the drive, reading over the program diligently. “I made it to try and find that ghost of ours easier. But considering how bad Ultron is ghosting us, now seems like a good time to use it.” 

 He didn’t waste time starting up the program. Watching with a grin as it loaded up perfectly. “Wow, it’s actually working perfectly.”

 “Like a magnet?”

 “A giant one.” 

 He wrapped his arm around your shoulder, pulling you in close for a side hug. “You did good, kid.” 

 “Didn’t even need to hack into the pentagon for it.” 

 “Hate to break it to you, but that’s exactly what we’re doing now.” 

 “…shit.” 

 It’s only about twenty minutes later that you two are bidding goodbye to the staff, thanking them graciously for their help before you’re back in the air on the quinjet. You’re happy that things seemed to be going according to plan. For once things were looking hopeful. 

 “Tony, Scout, come in. Are you guys done at Nexus?”

 You reached over for the comms link, replying back to Clint. “Hey Clint, just got back in the air. We got what we needed. Everything okay?” 

 “No, we need you guys to come back a little faster.” 

 “What’s wrong?” 

.

“Ultron’s got Nat.”

  The trip back to the tower felt painfully long after you received word from Clint. He was able to make it back with the cradle, but with Ultron having taken Nat, it didn’t feel like any sort of win. All you could do is worry as you anxiously bounced your leg in your seat. 

 It didn’t help that on your end with Steve the comms didn’t seem to be going through. Somewhere along the line the connection dropped. You had to bite down the guilt that came up your throat at the reminder of your last moment with him. Worried if something might have happened to him as well.

 Bruce had everything prepared and waiting as you two finally arrived. He straightened up when the two of you began to enter inside his lab. “Anything on Nat?”

 “We haven’t heard. But she’s alive, or Ultron would be rubbing our faces in it.”

 His words were only slightly comforting, making you wince at the idea of what he could be doing instead of simply just killing her. 

 “This is sealed tight.” Clint noted, hopping off the cradle as he looked it over. The four of you surround the object for a moment, staring down at the machinery.

 “We’re gonna need to access the program, break it down from within.” Bruce sniffed, tampering already with the screen in front. Tony nodded his head, pushing his hands inside his pockets before he glanced back to Clint. Who looked a lot like how you felt right now.

 “Any chance Natasha might leave you a message outside the Internet? Old-school spy stuff?”

 Ideas could almost be visibly seen as they began to stir inside Clint’s head. “There are some nets I can cast.” He tapped your shoulder, motioning for you to follow him. “Yeah, we’ll find her.” 

 Giving Tony a hopeful look of confidence, you turn on your boots and make haste at following Clint towards the stairs. Possibly to his work station which he’s dubbed his ‘nest’. 

 Instantly the two of you perched yourself onto desk chairs. You, searching up any sort of camera sightings or traffic lights of the directions that Ultron could have taken Nat. And Clint, looking up old servers, transmitter signals, and even as far as some local news channels for unusual sightings. It was the perfect mix of old school and new school. 

 You were so focused on the screen at one point that you didn’t seem to notice Clint had been watching you fondly. Making you smile bashfully. “What?” You laughed. 

 “It’s nothing. Just think it’s a shame we never got to work together at SHIELD. Training you was always a blast, but we really could have done some killer work together.”

 Smiling at your friend, you nodded in agreement. “We would have killed it.” 

 “We would have. Now let’s kill it at finding, Nat.”

 Soon after the two of you put in all your energy looking for her. When it became clear that your end was soon more of a dead end, you took to watching over Clint’s shoulder. Noticing him focusing on a single signal before a pleased smirk spread over his face. “Please tell me you’re smiling because you got something.”

 “Not just something,” he placed the headphones over your ears, writing down something on a pen and pad. The sounds of beeps in a repeating pattern were all that you heard. “I found her.” 

 “Thank God!” You sighed in relief. Before he could reply back, the sound of muffled yelling could be heard upstairs. Along with clanging and the sound of machinery shutting down. “What the hell?” 

 Clint reached under his desk for his gun and walked over towards the skyline above the lab. From your distance you could barely make out who else had gone in there. Squinting for a second, Clint’s confusion turned into a frown as he sent one shot into the glass above. 

 Pietro, the male Maximoff, had fallen through, looking up at Clint with confusion. The older male pressed one foot against his chest as he taunted the speedster. “What? You didn’t see that coming?” 

 The sounds of glass and Tony’s repulsor were all that you needed to hear before you crossed the room to the stairs, catching just in time to see Steve pick himself up from the ground and Wanda send off Bruce.

 “What the hell is going on?!” You yelled, rushing over to Steve. “Are you okay?” Checking over his face, you make sure to see that there wasn’t any red in his eyes. With Wanda around there was no telling what she’d do to the group.

 “Lover boy’s pissed, Sprout. I’d back off.” Tony yelled from behind a luggage crate. 

 “What?” The confusion grew even more intense when Thor slid in the room. Intense and tired, he shot up onto the cradle, holding his hammer in the air.

 With one collective shot, he slammed a surge of thunder into the cradle. Sparking it up to overload in power. It’s silent for a moment, that is until the machine explodes, sending Thor flying. The power of the explosion caused pieces of the lid to fly out across the room. Making Steve pull you aside to block any debris against you with his arm. 

Suddenly in a red blur, a figure kneeled out of the cradle. Shocking the group as they all stared in awe of what had just come to life. Something about them felt ominous, and powerful. Right when you were about to ask who that was, he shot straight forward at Thor.

 “I don’t want to kill Ultron. He’s unique and he’s in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So, he must be destroyed. Every form he’s built, every trace of his presence on the net. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others.

Maybe I am a monster. I don’t think I’d know if I were one. I’m not what you are, another not what you intended. So, there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go.”

  “I cannot believe you went ahead and created another sentient robot!” You yelled, smacking Tony over the head with your hand.

 “Stop hitting me!” He hissed.

 You mimicked him, giving him a smack to his arm this time. “Stop hitting me! How about stop trying to make things?!”

 “Look, at the time it seemed like a smart idea. We needed someone to beat Ultron. He was getting stronger than us and..look, it ended up working out great. We got an ally!”

 The two of you glanced over to where the Vision stood. Unclear what you could even call them considering they were part JARVIS, part Ultron,Tony, Bruce and Thor. And apparently really powerful thanks to that stone that was attached to his forehead. The Vision seemed to sense being watched and turned over to the two of you. Stepping- correction, floating over to where you guys stood in the back of the lab.

 “Miss Stark, I’m sorry if my actions earlier frightened you.” The voice was a clear perfect version of what JARVIS sounded like. What was familiar and comforting growing up, felt a lot more distant than you would have liked. 

 “It’s okay.” You chuckled a little, not really sure how to talk to them. “Glad to have you on the team, Jarv- Oh wait. What would you like to be called?” You asked softly, not wanting to offend them in any way. 

 “Vision..I like Vision.” 

 “Okay, then I’m glad we have you on the team, Vision.”

 Tony, who was still miffed at the slapping he had just received from you, scoffed at the interaction before muttering how he had to set up a new AI. Thor approached the two of you next, giving your head the usual pat he does when he greeted you. “I must speak with Vision for a moment, Little Lady. You better prepare for battle.”

 Nodding your head, you head over towards storage lockers. Going to find one of Natasha’s tactical suits you could hopefully squeeze yourself into when a blur pushed you aside. Pietro, having taken Natasha’s red jacket gave you a wink before he stalked off. “Jerk.” You scoffed, moving to reach in the locker.

 “Scout, we need to talk.” 

 You choose to ignore the voice behind you, finding the suit you were looking for. “Sorry, Jiminy Cricket, I gotta go help save my friend.” Steve’s large hand reached over to close the locker shut, causing you to turn around and face him finally. His large build had you up against the locker, which usually would be a hot thing, if he didn’t have the ‘Captain’ look on his face.

 “He did it again, sweetheart.”

 “I’m not getting into this with you. If Vision being able to lift up Thor’s hammer isn’t good enough to show that the creation was for the greater good, then I don’t know what to tell you.” Trying to move out of the way, he placed his arm on your other side keeping you boxed in. “Steve, as much as I’d like to play around with you. I think we should stick to that three minute warning you ordered.”

 “That’s what I want to talk about next..”

 “What? You want us to leave later?”

 “No, I want us to leave in three minutes.” You opened your mouth to ask what his deal was when he cut you off. “I want you to stay here.”

 The anger instantly bubbled up inside you, making every part of your body heat up in the fury that you felt right now.  Despite all that’s going on, he still wanted to play this game where he thought you were some hopeless girl, who couldn’t even help on the recon part of a mission. But now with the situation getting worse, and your best friend needing to be saved, he wanted to go back to holding you down.

 “I can’t believe you would even suggest- No, I can’t believe you would even think I would stay here with all that is going on, Steven. The people of Sokovia are in danger because of Tony..because of us. I owe it to them to try and help save them.” 

 A red blush swept over his cheeks when you called his full name. There hasn’t been a point in your relationship together that you two had this much tension and anger, but it’s all the two of you seemed to be good at these days. In the back you noticed Pietro horribly trying to act like he wasn’t listening in, but you didn’t care if you had an audience.

 “It’s not something I want. But this isn’t just us battling HYDRA. These are actual killing machines and you’re…” he couldn’t seem to find the word he wanted to use. “They won’t hesitate to kill you and with your injury, there’s no telling how well you can do out there.”

 “Cut the crap, Cap. You don’t think I’m good enough to fight alongside you.”

 Shoving him back, you make your way over to the locker in the back that had your usual belongings and grab your boots. “I can assure you that my leg is feeling better than ever and I’m going whether you like it or not.” Steve settled with sitting down on the bench rather than boxing you in this time. His brow knitted together as he looked over your leg. 

 “Scout,” When you didn’t stop reaching for your items, he reached out to stop you. “Please stop.” His tone was hard, but laced with a sadness that you couldn’t quite figure out why. “I need you here. If you’re out there with us, then I’ll worry about your safety, I’ll be unfocused. I need you to have my back on this.”

 “You have a lot of nerve saying that you know. Implying that this isn’t like HYDRA when you’re literally trusting them more than me to guard your back?” You feel another pair of eyes on you and you really try hard to ignore the twins still lingering around. “Think about what they’ve decided to work for, what they joined. They belonged to the same organization that has hurt so many people. People like your best friend.” 

The brunette’s face came into your mind, reminding you how they treated Bucky down in that bank. Shaking your head, you glanced to meet Steve’s eyes. “You expect me to sit back here and let them be the ones helping you and my own brother? You really think I’d trust them like that?”

 “They weren’t around for all of that. They want to change, they’re the ones who wanted to stop Ultron first when they discovered what he wanted to do with the cradle.”

 “That doesn’t mean they weren’t for the destruction of the avengers!”

 “No, they did not want that exactly..”

 “Right, just Tony. In case you forgot, I happen to care about that guy.”

 You release your arm from his hold and make your way to go and change when another hand is wrapped around your arm. Frowning, you turned to face Steve again only to be shocked to see Pietro frowning at you. “Oh.” You gasped, unsure why he stopped you. 

 “We had our reasons..But we see now that we have a bigger enemy. Ultron has to be stopped. Let us be civil.” He reasoned, seeming to understand a little about your feelings on this. 

 “Let her go, Pietro. She’s going to do whatever she wants anyway, right?”

 Wanda popped out from behind him, moving to circle around you almost. Not wanting to be trapped in one of her vicious visions again, you stepped away from them. Needing the breathing space. “Right, I do what I want.” You said, giving a tight lipped smile. Getting out of the locker room, you barely made it out to go to the private office before Steve caught up with you.

 “Scout, I’ll get on my knees and beg if you’ll stay.”

 “Steve,” you sighed, reaching out to grab onto his forearms. “Please don’t ask this of me. Understand why I need to do this, why I can’t just stay.” He leaned in to press his forehead against yours, making you close your eyes as you tried to get through to him. “If you make me stay..you’ll lose me, Steve.”

 “Please don’t say that. It’s unfair.”

 “Making me stay behind when all my friends and family could get hurt or worse is unfair.”

 “But I could lose you either way...”

 Pulling back, you stared up into his eyes. “You don’t have to. You only need to trust in the fact that I can do this. That we can work together as a team. Like last time, honey.” He closed his eyes at the pet name, seeming to enjoy the softness in the tone you used with him. “Steve, I love-“

 “Who is Bucky?”

 The two of you stilled in place, almost turning frozen at the name before you glanced to the side. Wanda, who followed you both had a curious look on her face. “What did you say?” Steve asked slowly, looking at you briefly. 

 “She mentioned your best friend and when I couldn’t figure out what that meant, a sudden thought popped into her mind..The man with a metal arm, is that him?” You couldn’t help but gulp at her words, not sure when you even thought about him hard enough that she would sense it. 

 “Stay out of my head, bitch.”

 Her green eyes flickered with a fury before she waved her hand. “Your thoughts were loud enough for me to get the idea. As soon as she mentioned him it was all that ran through her mind.”

 “What are you talking about?” Steve huffed, getting worked up again. “Scout?”

 “I don’t know what it is that she means, honestly. I thought about him because he’s your friend, they’re HYDRA. I guess the run in with him came up in my head?”

 “That’s not what I mean-“

 Something on your face must have given Wanda a change of mind, whether it was because of your fear, your hurt, or maybe she just decided she wasn’t amused by making the fight worse. “I just wanted to know who he was because we don’t want to hurt anyone anymore. Not even your brother.” She ended, clapping her hands together. “In case you needed to be assured of his safety. And I’m also here to inform you both that the wheels are up in a minute.” Nodding her head, she quickly took her exit.

 “You were thinking about Bucky..”

 “Well, one of us has to. Since you suddenly changed your opinions on people that work at HYRDA. Maybe we should find Brock Rumlow and see if he’s up for joining the battle?” He sighed again before he nodded to himself, seeming to come up with a perfect reply.

 “I’ll play by your games then, Scout. Stay or else it’s over.”

 “You can’t be serious.”

 He shook his head, heading in the direction that Wanda did. “I am. I’d rather you stay here and hate me, than love me and possibly get hurt. You’re not enhanced, you’re not an iron man, you’re a girl who’s got a big heart and a bad leg.” 

 The tears you did not realize you were holding back on were now spilling freely onto your cheeks. Hating the idea of this being the fight that would put such a heavy ultimatum in your relationship. “Steve, don’t do this..”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t risk losing you too.” Without another word, he strode off the hall, leaving you without the chance of picking whether to stay and fight for love, or go and fight for life. The choice was made for you the moment you heard the sounds of the quinjet leaving.

A/N: I can’t believe we’re almost done with this movie! Steve is..LOOK, I love steve but he’s gonna be a little bit of a jerk in this movie. I hope y’all forgive me V_V

TAGGED REQUESTS: @justanothermagicalsara

#steve rogers x reader #steve x reader #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers imagine #future bucky x reader #nsom #marvel imagine #marvel scenario #marvel fanfic

[hesitate9]

The Enchantress

Ch 4

5 years later.

It was the year 2011. A heat signature came across the computer screen of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. S.H.I.E.L.D. was formed by Peggy Carter, Howard Stark and Colonel Phillips after the death of Captain America.

“Sir!” The agent frantically went to his superior

“Yes, Agent?” He asked

“There is a heat signature on my screen and it’s coming from below the sea.” The agent said and they hurriedly rushed over to the monitor.

“Get me Director Fury” The superior ordered the agent

“Yes sir” The Agent replied

“Sir, Director Fury is on line” The Agent said and handed the phone over to his superior

“Agent Coulson, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Nick Fury the current head of S.H.I.E.L.D. asked

“Director, we have found a heat signature below the surface of the sea. It seems to be coming from a human. It’s not that strong but it’s there” Agent Coulson replied

“Start an extracting process. No one can survive in the waters of Artic specially in the Winter” Nick Fury said

“Yes sir” Agent Coulson replied and cut the line

“Listen up, everyone new mission. You see this heat signature displayed on your screens right now we must extract it!” Phil Coulson told his team.

“Fish, get the equipment ready,” He said

“Grant, May get ready for extraction” he ordered

“Ruby, keep an eye on the heat signature. Monitor it” Coulson said as everyone got to their tasks.

Grant and May getting ready in Scuba Diving equipment equipped for going into cold waters, Fish getting the equipment ready and Ruby monitoring the heat signature.

The Quinjet was lowered so Grant and May could jump into the water. They were handed a device to track the location of the heat signature. May leading and Grant following her they came across an ice block. They started boring a hole in the ice block with the drilling equipment they had and attached a hook at both sides and some nylon ropes. The tucked on the ropes and along with the ice block they were pulled out of the water.

Grant and May were immediately sent to change clothes and then to Jemma in the medical ward.

“Fish, Ruby take the ice black and put it near a heater but make sure the water doesn’t drip down into the Quinjet’s system.” Agent Coulson ordered.

Within a few hours the Quinjet landed near the Triskelion in Washington D.C. Agent Coulson went inside the room where the ice block was kept and when he entered the door a small gasp left his mouth and he stands there for a few minutes just staring at the ice block.

“What is taking so long Phil?” Nick Fury asked

“Phil?” Nick asked and looked at the place from where Coulson couldn’t move his eyes from and when he saw what Agent Coulson was looking at his eye widened and his mouth hung open. Not many times had Nick Fury been in a state of shock where his mouth hung open but this surely was because the person in the Ice Block was none other that Captain America. Still in his original captain America uniform with a few bruises on his face. He stood there in his glory.

When Phil and Nick came out of their trance, they immediately shipped the National Hero inside the Headquarters.

“Nick!” Alexander Pierce the Secretary of the World Council and Nick Fury’s old friend called him

“Yes?” He asked

“Why did you tell Coulson’s team to do the extraction now we are behind schedule” Alexander said

“I’m glad. I did” Nick said

“Why?” Pierce asked and Nick pointed towards the place where men working on melting the ice around Captain America all led by a brunette clad in expensive clothes.

“Captain America” Alexander Pierce whispered

“Yes” Nick Fury said and looked at the defrosted Captain.

“Well, popsicle has melted better to keep him in a hospital room and decorate it with a 40’s theme so he doesn’t freak out.”  Said Tony Stark. The owner of Stark Industries and son of Howard Stark an old friend of the Captain.

“Thank You for your help, Tony we will transfer Mr. Rogers to his medical ward.” Nick Fury said and Tony nodded. He bid them both farewell and left.

“Why don’t you see to Captain America’s arrangements and I’ll go in my office and make sure that this news doesn’t leave till he is ready to come in front of the world” Alexander said and left.

He walked inside his office and closed the door he picked up his phone and called one of his trusted men.

“Wake the asset and tell him to train the girl. Captain is alive” Alexander said and cut the phone.

Rumlow who was in his office at S.H.I.E.L.D. picked up his phone and heard a voice on the other side.

“Wake the asset and tell him to train the girl. Captain is alive” and the phone cut.

Rumlow ran out of his office and went to his boss and asked for a leave due to some family emergency. He was granted a month’s paid leave and he left the office. He called someone in HYDRA and in a few hours, there was a helicopter landing in front of him. He sat on the helicopter and flew to Siberia.

When he landed there, he was greeted by Jasper Sitwell.

“How is the girl doing?” Rumlow asked Jasper

“She is doing well. She is ready for the Super Soldier Serum” Jasper said

“Get her. Ready and wake the asset. He has to train the girl” Rumlow said

“But he wouldn’t agree to it” Jasper said

“He will he cares for the girl and doesn’t forget if not for the sake of the missions he will train her to make sure she can defend herself.” Rumlow said

“Yes sir.” Jasper agreed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

<< Ch 3

Ch 5 >>

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[adnauseum11]

Northern Attitude Ch 9

“Me too.” She breathed and he looked up at her, her pulse already fluttering under his palm. She shifted above him, moving her legs to bring her hips into better alignment with his. Mac kissed him as her weight settled onto him, making him groan into her mouth, tugging on the base of her braid again. His hands were slow, making a meal out of getting her free from her cardigan and tracing the shape of her body under her shirt. She broke away from his mouth with a gasp when he tweaked her nipples, making her back arch. Logan used the opportunity to tug her shirt over her head, throwing it without looking. She looked down at his intense face, his palms cupping her breasts, her bra tugged low. His eyes were locked on her dusky pink nipples, inches from his face. She watched as his eyes fluttered closed and his mouth wrapped around one tightened bud, her palm instantly cupping the back of his head to keep him close. He groaned against her skin, the sound and vibration making her nerve endings sing. He leaned back, releasing her hard nipple with a pop and undid her bra, tugging the useless fabric from her body and throwing it in the same vague direction as the rest of her clothes. She bit her lip as his eyes stayed locked on her tits and tugged on his hair hard enough to finally break his concentration, the pale ring of blue nearly obliterated by the dilated black of his pupils.

Northern Attitude (48110 words) by Ad_nauseum Chapters: 9/? Fandom: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel (Comics) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Logan (X-Men)/Original Female Character, Jane Foster/Thor, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Clint Barton/Laura Barton Characters: Logan (X-Men), James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Hank McCoy, Bruce Banner, Charles Xavier, Kurt Wagner, Pepper Potts, Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster (Marvel), Sam Wilson (Marvel), Matt Murdock, Nick Fury Additional Tags: no beta we die like women, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes Needs Therapy, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Avengers Compound, Protective Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Captain America Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson is a Gift, Protective Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson Friendship, Frenemies Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson, Sam Wilson is not here for your shit, Human Disaster Matt Murdock, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Past Bucky Barnes/Natasha Romanov, Alcoholic OFC, Depression, Suicide Attempt, Canada Olympic Women's Hockey Team Ensemble, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Feels, Genius Tony Stark, Sassy Bucky Barnes, Sassy Steve Rogers, Logan is a Softie (X-Men), Protective Logan (X-Men), martial arts master Logan, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Shameless Smut, Original Character(s), X-Men References, Alternate Universe - X-Men Fusion, SHIP DARCY LEWIS WITH ALL THE THINGS, Therapist Sam Wilson, I'll Probably Keep Adding Tags, Medical Doctor Hank McCoy, Mental Health Issues, Logan has forgotten more about combat than you'll ever know, Logan in love is a dangerous man, hello unstoppable force, meet immovable object, Hockey, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Spy Natasha Romanov, Penis In Vagina Sex, Cunnilingus, Blow Jobs Series: Part 3 of The Labyrinth Song Summary: As former Olympian Mackenzie Drouin tries to navigate life as a new amputee, her freshly minted boyfriend is reluctantly drawn into another intrigue. With the Winter Solider needing intervention before being cleared for field work again, the Avengers are down not one, but multiple members. They turn to Logan for help in filling the gap - only to have things go even further off the rails when worlds collide.

#a03 fic #a03 writer #sometimes i write things #smutty things #escapism #fictional men are better #i have lost control of my life #this stupid fic kept me alive in 2023 #logan howlett #am I doing tagging right? #dialogue is my favourite #smut #smut is fun too #wolverine

[marvelstarker-mha98]

The Runaway Distance Life Of A Little Stark Ch 9: New Friends

Pairing: Tony Stark & daughter!Reader, Nick fury & reader, Steve rogers & Reader, Bruce banner & reader

Summary: Reader meets a few familiar heroes for the first time and watching the news

Warning: fluff & breaking news Co author with: callikc Previous  next Tag:  @venomsvl  @geeksareunique​​

It had been a while since the Avengers had formed. Over a few months now.

You felt a sense of longing every time you saw your dad on TV or in the papers; it hurt more each time. Part of you had forgotten why you were running, but the other part was still as scared as ever. Sometimes it gave you a headache just thinking about it, so you stayed away anyway.

You were in your lab now and just messing about with everything. You looked for improvements, and faults, and to keep yourself busy. You were talented at making weapons which weren't surprising considering your family history.

However, as you glanced out the window, you almost choked on your coffee upon seeing none other than Steve Rogers and Nick Fury outside. You awkwardly glanced around for signs of any other Avengers but thankfully it only appeared to be the captain.

You took a very drawn-out breath before putting the coffee next to a sandwich you had on a clean counter. You straightened your jacket and brushed your hair down before walking out of the door.

You approached, keeping a calm appearance. "Morning, boys."

Fury turned to you. "Captain Rogers, meet Agent Campbell. The genius behind the new suit."

"It's a pleasure," Steve said, shaking your hand. "Thank you for the adjustments."

"No problem." You smiled. "The old one was a little, well... Old. I added some modern tech to give you every advantage I can."

"I appreciate it."

As you talked, Fury excused himself, leaving just you and Steve in the hallway. Eventually you moved into your lab so it was quieter.

"So, how is the new world treating you?" You asked, picking up the coffee on the counter.

"It's... New." Steve said, shrugging. "I guess the cars are different, so are the clothes and the technology. Even the food is overwhelming sometimes. We just used to boil everything."

You nodded in understanding. "It can't be easy having to adjust. If it helps, I think you're doing pretty well. I know I'd be freaking out."

"Thanks." He smiled. "I've been using the Internet a lot, trying to catch up."

"That might take a while." You told him. "But you know, there's these movies I really like, the Mummy series. It's mostly focused on Egyptian history but it's still fun and is actually pretty educational. If you've got the time, I'd definitely recommend it."

"I'll keep it in mind. Thanks. Again."

The two of you shared a laugh and you set down your coffee. "What else do you do? I mean, other than the whole Avenging gig. Any hobbies? I like making things clearly."

Steve looked around the lab, taking everything in. "Impressive. I'm afraid I don't do anything nearly as fascinating as this. I just draw."

"Hey, that's pretty great. Got a preference?"

"Not really. But I do like landscapes, I guess."

"Maybe you can show me sometime. Ooh, wait, that reminds me." You turned and rummaged through your stuff, eventually taking out something to show him. "This is an Ipad. It takes some getting used to but you can draw anything you like on it with a whole bunch of tools and styles. If it's too much too soon, I get it, but if you feel like giving it a shot, I'm more than happy to help."

But instead of looking uncomfortable or unnerved at the prospect of the tiny electronic device being capable of drawing whatever he wanted, Steve actually smiled again. He looked grateful.

"Maybe I'll take you up on that." He said.

You put the Ipad down and clapped happily. "Great! I've got a bunch of stuff to do today, but I'll work on it with you tomorrow if I can."

"Yeah, I'd like that. You're doing a lot for someone you just met, Agent Campbell."

"Please, call me Ellen. And I just think it's gotta be tough coming into a world you know nothing about. If I can help, I will."

"Well, as someone who has nothing left, your kindness is appreciated."

You nodded, smiling sadly. "You're not alone anymore, Captain. Even if everyone is gone, you've got a good team now. The Avengers. You might not be a family yet and you might have disagreements in the future, but at least you'll look after each other."

-

A few months later, you were on an extended lunch break. Usually, you had two hours, but you decided to screw the rules and take four instead. After all, it was your lunch, not SHIELD's.

You picked up your usual coffee and sandwich at the small cafe by a quaint little park. It was a beautiful place with children running around, benches in and out of the sun, towering trees, breathtaking flora, as well as a shimmering pond in the middle. You'd stay all day if you could.

You stared at the clouds rolling above for a good five minutes before noticing a very familiar person only meters away. Your eyes widened, surprised.

"Dr. Banner?" You asked before you could stop yourself.

He turned around and caught sight of you, seemingly surprised someone recognized him. "Yes?"

"Oh, uh, hi. My name is Ellen."

Even though you'd been using that name for years and built a persona on it, you couldn't help wishing to be (Y/n) Stark again.

"You're an expert on gamma radiation, right?" You asked, thinking you might as well continue the conversation before it got awkward.

"Oh. Yes." Bruce nodded. "Do you follow my work?"

You could hear the nerves in his tone and you suspected he thought you would ask about the Hulk like almost everyone else did. But you didn't want to stress him out like that because when he wasn't the Hulk he was still just a normal guy.

"Yeah, actually. I mean, the highest known frequency wavelength of electromagnetic radiation? It was fascinating when I was a kid."

"Really?"

"Yep. It can manifest as waves or particles and comes from the radioactive decay of nuclei. I used to get my dad's assistant to quiz me every night for months."

"Impressive. How old were you?"

"About seven, I think."

"That's young." He commented. "Did you study Villard or Rutherford first?"

"Rutherford. I thought I'd learn about alpha and beta rays while I was at it. I know it's not what most people do, but I'm actually better at digesting information if it's just thrown at me instead of picking it up bit by bit."

"No, I get that. I actually looked at the Rutherford and Andrade notes first too. It made more sense for looking at the energy spectrum after. And for the spectroscopy."

"Exactly. What's your opinion on the deflection theory?"

"Well, I think it depends on the density of the magnetic field the rays are faced with. If it's high, then the theory fits, but if they're too low then of course it won't work."

"That's a good point. You know, it's nice to talk about this with someone. Wanna be besties?"

Bruce laughed softly and nodded. "Sure."

"Yay." You smiled. "Seriously, though, it was great meeting you, Dr. Banner."

-

The next few weeks it turned cold thanks to December weather. Your breath became misted and the snow was already falling. You'd spent the day ice skating with Peter, Ned, and their families. Afterwards, you all went to the holiday markets and watched the lighting displays.

You'd finished the Christmas shopping after saying goodbye. You'd even got Fury and Agent Hill something. After all, they'd helped you adjust to being a brand new identity in a brand new setting so the least you could do was give them something meaningful.

You dropped the bags in the corner of the living room and threw a blanket over the pile in case Peter visited and accidentally stumbled upon them. After that you shrugged off your coat and jacket and took off your gloves before switching on the TV. A news channel flickered on and you slumped down on the couch to watch.

You weren't expecting to see your childhood home pop up. And especially not with the headline 'MANDARIN ATTACK: STARK PRESUMED DEAD'

You were on your feet again in a second, the remote still clutched in your hand as the news channel played footage of a missile colliding with your old home and completely destroying it. Half of the structure fell into the water below the cliff and the other half collapsed in on itself.

Pepper could have been in there. Your dad... Your dad was.

"After Mr. Stark, otherwise known as Iron Man, made a very bold and confrontational declaration to the Mandarin and shared his home address, sources reported that several missiles struck mere hours ago, decimating the home of the billionaire. Ms. Virginia 'Pepper' Potts and reporter Ms. Christine Everhart were found clear of the wreckage but Mr. Stark's whereabouts remain unknown."

"No..." You collapsed to your knees, a cry slipping past your lips.

"Some say this disaster is of Mr. Stark's own doing and that the consequences are his alone to pay. However, one question still remains... Where is Tony Stark?"

"Dad?" You whispered, the color draining from your face. "No, please."

It felt like you were on a roller coaster about to drop over the edge. The same raw terror and panic that shot through you when you saw him carry the explosive through the Chitauri wormhole spread in your body again.

You felt stuck. The news was like mere background noise as you stared at the picture of your dad on the screen. You sobbed as emotions overwhelmed you.

You froze up when the crying made your head spin. You felt powerless against everything, the shock taking over completely. The world started to go blurry and spun.

Before you knew it, everything went black

#Tony stark #ironman #tony stark x daughter!reader #tony stark x daughter reader #nick fury #steve rogers #captain america #bruce banner #hulk #mcu #marvel #avengers

[saiilorstars]

ch.9: And It All Came Crashing Down

Steve Rogers x OFC fic • squeeze your eyes for a Bucky Barnes x (2nd) OFC

taglist: @ocappreciationtag​​​​​​​​​​​​ @arrthurpendragon​​​​​​​​​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​​​​​​​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​​​​​​​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​​​​​​​​ @gloryekaterina​​​ @averyhotchner​​​ @foxesandmagic​​​​​​​​​​​​ @lenonizi @kmc1989​​​​​​​​​​​​

Story Masterlist • Seren’s Masterlist• Chloe’s Masterlist​​

Also available on Fanfic ○ Ao3 ○ Wattpad

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

Steve followed Rumlow all the way to SHIELD dead silent, not having anything to say despite Rumlow's subtle attempts to get him talking. Knowing what he knew now, Steve knew that SHIELD was not the place to be honest. It was infested with liars and moles and double intentions and the worst part is that he didn't know who was who. He couldn't take the chance right now. Chloe was on the verge of a mental breakdown and Seren was only just escaping death now. Natasha was still in the gray area, truthfully.

He got into his stealth suit, his intuition just telling him it was better to be prepared in case anything happened. He was led to Alexander Pierce himself who was talking to a very familiar agent (just another reminder of the lies).

Sharon turned to leave Pierce and regarded Steve politely, even asking him how Seren was doing. Only out of gratitude for helping him save Seren, he answered her. He still kept his tone short and he did not look at her. Luckily, Sharon took the hint and continued on her way.

"How is Agent Soul?" Pierce asked once they were alone.

"Doing better now," Steve replied. She was practically kicking to get out of bed and back to work; she was back to her normal self. Still, he didn't add anything extra. He remembered Seren mentioning that the World Council wasn't exactly fond of her and her work.

"Good, that's good," Pierce nodded, leaving behind the subject soon after. "Well, I know introductions aren't very well needed from your end but I'm Alexander Pierce." He shook hands with Steve.

"It's an honor," Steve said quietly. What else could he say?

"The honor is mine, Captain. My father served in the 101st. Come on in." He led Steve inside his office and soon showed him a photo of himself with Fury. "That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met. When I was at the State Department in Bogota. ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was deputy chief for the SHIELD station there. And he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, 'No, we'll negotiate' Turned out the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement, and what did they find? They find it empty. Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil. He saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter."

Not telling someone what he was going to actually do sounded exactly like something Nick Fury would do. "So you gave him a promotion."

"I've never had any cause to regret it. Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?"

Well, at least Pierce was direct. Steve would give him that.

"I don't know," Steve replied.

"You know he had the apartment bugged at one point?" Pierce saw the horrified look on Steve's face and took it as the answer. "Agent Winters made him take it down but Fury only allowed it on the condition that special Agent 13 take up an undercover post next door."

"That I knew," Steve said, "Because Agent Soul informed me once she found out."

"Mm…" Pierce didn't seem that surprised. Steve suspected that Seren's inability to fall in line with the lying part of the job is what made her undesirable in Pierce's mind. "I want you to see something." Pierce picked up a tablet on his desk and showed Steve footage of Batroc in an interrogation room.

"Is that live?" Steve asked, genuinely curious as he watched a SHIELD agent painlessly try to get information out of the man.

"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers."

"Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line."

"No, it's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer. And then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts, the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech."

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Steve said just as Pierce handed him a file.

"Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 14-35 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick, his mother lived at 14-37."

It took only a second for Steve to realize what Pierce was getting at. "Are you…are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?"

"The prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death."

And as much as Steve was irritated with Fury, he just couldn't see that being the reason. Fury was everything you believed, except a traitor. "If you really knew Nick Fury you'd know that's not true."

"Why do you think we're talking? See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry. Captain, you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?"

"He told me not to trust anyone," Steve said, "As well as Agent Winters."

"Mm, I wonder if that included them both," Pierce said with a small frown. "Agent Winters was also asked to make herself present." Steve started noting the growing irritation in the man's voice. "She takes too much liberty just because she's under — was under — Fury's direct orders."

"I asked her to stay with Agent Soul," Steve said, now really patting himself on the back for making Chloe stay behind. Something wasn't sitting right anymore and the further away they were from SHIELD, the better. "I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse me." Something in his mind was yelling at him to get back to the hospital as fast as possible.

"Captain," Pierce's call stopped Steve by the door. "Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone. Tell Agent Winters to report herself immediately."

Steve nodded. "Understood." Not in this lifetime. He picked up his pace down the hall to leave.

~ 0 ~

Seren was done lying down. As much as Chloe told her not to, Seren pushed herself into a sitting position on the bed. She wasn't stupid. She took the opportunity as soon as Natasha stepped out of the room for a moment.

"Alright Chloe, whatever you need to say, say it now or I swear to God that I'm gonna get out of this bed right now!"

"Seren, please don't over-exert yourself," Chloe came around Seren's bedside to get her to lie back down but unfortunately, she was no Steve Rogers and so Seren easily shoved her away.

"Enough with that!" Seren practically yelled. "I am not lying back down, I am not just going to stay here and do nothing while God knows what is happening out there!"

Chloe panicked when Seren started swinging her legs to the side of the bed with all the intentions of getting up. "Okay, okay, okay!" Chloe threw her hands in front of her. "I'll talk but just — put your — please stay in bed!"

"Then talk," Seren said through gritted teeth. "Who the hell killed Nick?"

"I-I'm pretty sure it was the Ghost—"

"I don't know who the hell this 'Ghost' is!" snapped Seren. "But I'm willing to bet that you already told Steve because he had this look on his face that I..." She shook her head. "And I'm trying not to feel offended because we've known each other longer than you've known him."

Chloe sighed and started pacing in front of the bed. "It's not good, Seren. It's really not good."

"I can tell," Seren said, gesturing to Chloe's current act. "What is going on?"

Chloe stopped pacing for a moment to meet Seren's waiting eyes. Her stomach was in knots. Steve was right, she had to tell Seren everything but how? Years worth of secrets were about to come to the surface and all of them were going to hurt her best friend. "You know that I'm very grateful with you, right?"

Seren sighed. She knew a tactic when she saw one. "Yes..."

Chloe licked her upper lip nervously. "Then you know that no matter what, I do not regret meeting you."

Seren raised an eyebrow at Chloe. "Why do you say that?"

"You have to understand that if I didn't say anything before is because I truly thought — I truly believed — that keeping you in the dark was the better option. I didn't want to put you in more danger and I just didn't want to disillusion you with something that has been your entire life."

"'Disillusion'?" Seren frowned. "Why-why do you say that? What didn't you tell me about?"

"Just remember that no matter what, it wasn't all fake and that there are people who truly adore you and appreciate all your work," Chloe said, stopping her pacing to face Seren. "Like me—"

"Chloe—"

"—and Natasha, Fury, definitely Steve—"

"CHLOE!"

"There's moles in SHIELD!" Chloe blurted and for a long while, there was nothing but silence.

Seren's lips parted as she gasped with Chloe's words. Very slowly, but surely, her eyebrows pinched together and her nose scrunched. "What the hell did you just say?"

Chloe passed her hands through her hair, hoping that she wasn't going to sound as crazy as the story was. "There are moles in SHIELD. Too many to count and we don't know who's one and who's not except for me, obviously you and Steve, then Natasha and Maria. Fury, of course is a given."

"What?" Seren glanced at her monitoring machine and wondered if the meds had affected her hearing.

"It's true, I swear," Chloe said once she realized what Seren was thinking. "There's moles within SHIELD and some of them, or maybe all of them, have been trying to hurt me ever since I joined."

Seren's eyes flickered to Chloe. "Excuse me?"

Chloe sighed. "Ever since I joined S.H.I.E.L.D., somebody—people—have been stalking me. In the beginning, they tried to kill me but then they stopped. They just...watched. I knew they were there, no matter how much I traveled. They wanted to kidnap me, I knew it. There were subtle attempts but they hadn't tried to kill me anymore until today."

"Oh my God, I am going insane..." Seren went to rip out her monitors from her fingers when Chloe pushed her hands away.

"No, stop! I'm telling you the truth!"

"What!?" Seren exclaimed. "You're telling me that the place I have worked for since I was a kid, basically, is filled with liars and murderers!? Stalkers!?" There was absolutely no way to describe what she felt and Chloe was conscious enough of the fact to not be offended that for a split moment, Seren didn't believe her. "I-I have worked there my entire life. I have—"

"I know," Chloe sighed. "You have given so much to...to people who didn't deserve it. And you have no idea how sorry I am—"

"No," Seren gritted her teeth. "This isn't...this isn't happening, no." She shook her head.

"I would have told you but...Fury thought it would be best to keep the circle between just us."

"Fury?" Seren frowned. "He did this?"

"He helped me, Seren," Chloe said before Seren started throwing any accusations around. "He made sure that only he knew the exact locations of my missions. It's why they were always spontaneous and all over the world. He had to keep the moles out my business."

And then something struck Seren's mind, something that she had dismissed because she felt compeltely awful for ever doubting in the first place...

"Do you realize that you've been working here for years and you didn't even know that your Agent Winters has little, almost nothing, to prove that she actually works for S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"That's impossible," Seren said flatly. "I've written reports about Chloe over her time here. In fact, I was the one who brought her to S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place. I've seen her grow up from a teenager into a young woman."

"Yeah? Well there's nothing to show for it."

"Stark knew..." Seren mumbled. Her hands fell one either side of her and gripped the bed. "Stark told me this the first time we met. He told me...he told me that your record had very little to show that...that you worked for SHIELD." She raised her head to see Chloe's guilt-riddened face. "And then I went—" she pointed at herself, "—and got your file out and it was—"

Chloe nodded. "It was filled with all your reports about me." Seren was shell-shocked. "Yeah, I...I knew that would happen. Fury, he...he—"

"He fixed it," Seren said sharp enough to make Chloe wince. "He lied. Oh my God..." She brought her hands up to her hair. "I hate liars and you...you have been lying to me for years?"

"Seren, I didn't want to, I was...I was scared. I'm sorry!" Chloe swallowed hard. "I truly thought that this was the only way to keep you and everyone else safe. It's why I never contacted my parents again, why I kept my visits to my aunt and cousin very short. But I never thought that...that they would try to hurt you."

"What?"

"It was a mistake of targets. Seren, the cyanide poison was meant for me, not you. My chocolates were poisoned, I know they were. They had to be. Cyanide kills humans. You just got lucky you're not entirely human."

"Cyanide poisoning can be reversed if treated on time," Seren recited by memory. "SHIELD is very thorough with training. That's the training I was taking as a frikin teenager. Because that's where my life has been..." She didn't want them but tears were pooling in her eyes. "They were trying to kill you...or kidnap you..."

"It's the tech piece and the Hive Mind," Chloe said quietly, her own eyes glistening with tears. "It's gotta be. I touched something I shouldn't have and the people who owned the tech want it back. There's always been something wrong but we never had the evidence to support it."

"You could have said something," Seren gritted her teeth. "I have always defended S.H.I.E.L.D. from everyone, including my own family! And now they may actually be right!?"

"I'm really sorry Seren—"

Seren raised a finger to stop Chloe. "You have been lying to me for years?" Chloe nodded silently. Seren brought her hands to her forehead, pulling back her hair as she took in a deep breath. "I brought you in...I wanted you to be safe. But instead I brought you into more danger…"

"Seren, it's not your fault," Chloe quickly said. "You are the least culpable party in this. Whatever has happened at S.H.I.E.L.D….you have always been the best of it. You...you're Stardust. You saved my life—"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes!" Chloe exclaimed. "Because if you hadn't found me, those people might have kidnapped me a long time ago. I may not have made it."

Seren stayed quiet. Chloe looked close to crumbling. She looked far younger today, almost like the 17 year old she found in the abandoned building. But she was also furious. She was furious at everything around her.

"I'm sorry, Seren," Chloe sniffed. "I know I shouldn't beg you not to be angry with me because I deserve it. I deserve your anger but you're the only person I have who I can really trust. My family hates me and I can't imagine where I'll be if you end up hating me too!" She got down on her knees in front of Seren and grabbed both her hands. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Seren was gently pulled with Chloe's sobs but she didn't say anything. She was speechless, and yet her mind was spiraling with so many different thoughts and feelings. The whole time she thought she was doing something good for the world, she could have been doing someone's dirty work instead. She gave up so many years of her life — some would say her entire life — and now she comes to learn that it was all for nothing?

"Chloe, get up," she ordered. "First of all, it's a hospital, the floors are disgusting — get up." She shook her hands until it forced Chloe to get back up.

Chloe's entire face was stained with tears. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. You have every right to hate me."

"I don't..." Seren let out a heavy breath. "I don't hate you, Chloe. I can't. But that doesn't mean that I'm happy with you right now. Or anyone else for that matter."

Chloe wiped her tears with the backs of her hands. "You should only be mad at me. Nobody else knew, except for Fury of course."

"And Natasha? What about Steve? I mean, that is why you two were acting so strange before he left."

"Oh God no!" Chloe panicked when she saw new ire flash across Seren's eyes. "Neither of them knew! I just told Steve the truth and that was only because he and Natasha basically cornered me. But I swear that Steve didn't lie to you. He told me that...that I had to tell you. Either I did, or he would. Don't get mad at him because of what I did."

Seren swallowed hard. "He didn't lie?"

"No," Chloe said, quickly bending down in front of Seren again. She took both of Seren's hands in hers. "God, everything is already so wrong, I don't want to ruin anything else for you."

As angry as Seren was, and she was, she couldn't help the heavy feeling that settled in her stomach knowing what she knew now. "That...that's my entire life," she whispered. "My whole life has always been about SHIELD. All the countless arguments with my parents...my mother and my grandmother hate each other because of this. Because of me...because I worked for them..."

Chloe began to shake her head. "N-n-n-no, this isn't on you. It's not even on Atria. Some bad people decided to infiltrate something that was supposed to be good."

"Yeah, but..." Seren's expression began to crack and suddenly the anger that was once there was quickly being replaced with anguish. "Chloe, that's been my life! My—my—!"

Chloe started to hear the monitor beeping and realized Seren's pressure was rising. "Oh God, Seren you have to calm down!"

"I can't!" Seren cried. "SHIELD is a whole lie! You've been — you've been stalked for years, almost killed! Everything I know is a lie!" And then she panicked when she thought about the implications it meant for others. "Oh my God!" Her eyes widened. "My parents! My-my phone! Where's my phone!? I have to tell them what's happening!"

Chloe continued to hear the monitor practically raging at this point. "Seren, I'm begging you to calm down! You're still not completely well—"

"I DON'T CARE!" Seren then looked at her hands and started ripping off any monitors attached to her.

"No! Stop that!" Chloe hurried to put things back on her but she was no match against Seren's strength. Seren would push her hands away every time and rage about her phone and getting to talk with her parents.

Natasha came rushing in with a 'what the hell is going on?' and immediately went to help Chloe put Seren down. "God, Winters, what the hell!?" Natasha couldn't help but blame Chloe just a little bit. "She's supposed to be taking it easy—"

"I know!" Chloe exclaimed, already ridden with guilt about everything else. "But she's—"

"Screw this, and sorry in advance, Seren!" Natasha quit trying and ran out of the room again.

"Get off me! Get off!" Seren continued to yell against Chloe's hands. A few seconds later, her fears returned in full-fledged form as a few nurses came rushing into the room. "N-n-n-n-n-no!" She immediately pulled her hands away from Chloe.

"Wait, wait—" Chloe was shoved to the side by one of the nurses and as she tried moving on them again, Natasha came back inside. "Natasha, what—"

"It's for her own good!" Natasha said, yanking Chloe to her side.

"That's for her own good?" Chloe said incredulously, gesturing towards the chaotic scene of nurses trying to put Seren down.

Seren screamed and thrashed against the nurses, begging for them to leave her alone. One of the nurses managed to inject her with a sedative and little by little, the cries and thrashes slowed. Seren's words slurred and finally, she fell unconscious.

Chloe felt completely awful. As soon as the nurses left, she hurried to Seren's bedside. "I did this...I did this to her...I told her everything..."

"Gave her a crisis," Natasha said, coming up to the foot of the bed. Chloe glared at her. "Don't look at me like that, Winters. She was going to have a whole breakdown and neither you nor I are strong enough to keep her down."

"What are we going to tell Steve when he comes back and he sees this?"

Natasha shrugged. "Exactly what I just said. I'm sure he'd rather have her here then rampaging down the block in her state. Besides, Seren's metabolism runs faster so the sedative won't last as long."

"And if she wakes up in another crisis?"

"Then we'll do the same thing."

Chloe ran a hand from her forehead through her hair. "This isn't how things were supposed to go. What the hell do we do now? I'm supposed to go to SHIELD..."

"No you're not. Not until Steve gets back and we know exactly what's going on. Until then grab a chair and make yourself comfortable." Natasha started making her way out of the room when Chloe called to her.

"What are you going to do?"

"Get a snack," Natasha said, "Maybe some gum," she said before disappearing.

Chloe had no idea what to do so she grabbed the chair in the room and pulled it close to Seren's bedside and sunk down.

~ 0 ~

Lately, Steve felt like he was running faster than ever. He couldn't reach the hospital any sooner and he had done everything to get there as fast as possible. He practically fled SHIELD and to avoid any trackers on him, he abandoned his stealth suit and grabbed some normal clothes. He wanted to appear normal but that was impossible given how he dashed down the corridors. He couldn't help it.

SHIELD was coming after him and no doubt Chloe. And where was Chloe right now? With Seren.

His anxiety calmed for a brief moment when he saw Natasha standing outside Seren's room keeping guard. He gave her a slight nod then stopped at the vending machine just two doors down. He looked down at the choices and...panicked. The USB he'd stuck in there wasn't there anymore. Before he could even think about where it went, he heard footsteps draw behind him followed by the distinct sound of bubblegum popping. He looked up and saw Natasha's reflection on the vending machine. She blew a bright pink bubble with her gum and popped it like nothing.

After everything he'd gone through, everything his friends and girlfriend went through...Steve snapped.

He whirled around and seized Natasha's arm. He dragged her down the end of the hall and shoved her into one of the small break rooms, straight up against the wall. "Where is it!?" He demanded.

Even through all that, Natasha wasn't at all phased. "Safe," she barely uttered when Steve slammed her on the wall again.

"Do better!"

Natasha had never seen him that irate about something, nor that aggressive. "Where'd you get it?" She said curiously. Her mind was working up some plausible reasons for this behavior. "What happened at SHIELD?"

Steve towered over her. "Why would I tell you?" He was well aware that she was studying his new change of clothes.

"Fury gave it to you," she worked it out. "But why?"

"What's on it?"

"I don't know—"

"Stop lying!" Steve snapped through gritted teeth.

"I only act like I know everything, Rogers!"

"I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates, didn't you?" Of course as soon as he asked the question, Steve knew that she didn't.

For a brief moment, Natasha allowed her bewilderment before she reclaimed her coolness. "Well, it makes sense. The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so do you."

"I'm not gonna ask you again…too many people have been hurt because you all keep lying."

"It's a game, Rogers. We all have to play it in this line of work."

"Not everyone," Steve said, eyeing her until she admitted that the 'game' had not been played by every single employee.

Natasha barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "We get it. You like Soul."

"Natasha, I swear to God—"

"I know who killed Fury." The certainly in Natasha's tone brought Steve to a pause. "So does Winters, she just doesn't know it."

Steve's brows furrowed. "The Ghost?"

Natasha nodded. "Winters told me everything and I realized who she was talking about. Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years."

"So he is a ghost. A ghost story," Steve almost rolled his eyes. He needed facts right now, not stories.

"Don't be fooled," Natasha said. "Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me." Natasha lifted part of her shirt to reveal a scar on the side of her stomach. It couldn't be faked. "Soviet slug, no rifling. Bye-bye bikinis."

Steve was dead silent. She wasn't a mole. "Yeah..." he stepped back from her, "I bet you look terrible in them now."

Natasha wanted to smile. "Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried." She raised the USB for him to take. "Like you said, he's a ghost story."

Steve took the USB from her. "Well, let's find out what the ghost wants. I'm pretty sure it has to involve, at least partly, a scared blonde with an alien tech piece in her head. Stalking her?"

Natasha shrugged. "First step in a long plan."

"Maybe. But I'm not interested in learning what the next step is."

"What happened at SHIELD?" Natasha made a clear point of looking Steve over with his clothes. She heard him sigh. "Not good?"

"Very," Steve said, letting his head hang low. "Chloe can't go back there. I'm going to take her and get out of here before they think to look here."

Natasha raised an eyebrow at him. "What? And leave Seren here?"

"I hate it but I need to keep her safe and out of this."

"I hate to break it to you but Seren know everything and she didn't take it very well..."

Steve looked at Natasha for a moment. "What do you mean...?"

Natasha didn't say anything but her face spoke volumes. Alarmed, Steve bolted from the break room and hurried down the hall to reach Seren's room. He ran inside and found Chloe sitting beside an unconscious Seren in bed.

"What happened!?" He looked at Chloe who quickly stood up. He moved around her to Seren's side, lowering to her level.

"I told her everything," Chloe said behind him. "And she..."

"She had a breakdown," Natasha finished for her.

Steve wasn't surprised by the news. He was almost mad with himself for not being there when it happened to help Seren get through it. He passed a hand through her hair, sighing to himself. "I'm sorry, Seren." It had to be hard finding out the truth about SHIELD.

"We had to sedate her," Natasha explained. "She was freaking out, trying to get out of here."

"And I'm sure the sight of the doctors must have really helped," Steve said, glancing back at the woman with a slight edge in his face.

"We did what we had to," said Natasha while Chloe ducked her head.

"How long has she been out?"

"Couple hours now. If you want to run, we can wake her."

"Run?" Natasha frowned.

Natasha ignored her and told Steve that Seren metabolized sedations quicker. "Waking her up would speed up the process."

"I don't..." Steve rubbed his forehead. He only had two options and neither of them were sitting well with him. He was supposed to help Seren and neither option would be helping her at all.

"If she wakes up and finds out that you ran without her, she'll never forgive you," Natasha said like she'd read the thought off his head. Steve glared at her, but she shrugged and stuck to her stance.

"Wait, running from what? What is going on?" Chloe demanded an answer from either one.

"SHIELD is coming after me because I didn't give Pierce what he wanted," Steve said. "And then I was attacked by Rumlow and his STRIKE crew. They want you too, Chloe. We need to go."

"Oh god..." Chloe pushed down a lump in her throat. "It's started..."

"And if you two run, it's only a matter of time until they reach Seren," Natasha continued to advocate for the unconscious agent. "In her state, they could do so many things to her..."

Steve scowled. Absolutely not. "Natasha, get her some clothes. Chloe, get her things. We don't have a lot of time."

Natasha gave a nod and quickly left the room. Chloe went to Seren's belongings left on a table in the corner of the room. Steve then started taking off the monitors off Seren's hands while gently trying to wake her up.

"C'mon, Seren, just wake up for a little bit, please?" He shook her a bit. "Just a moment, sweetheart, and then I promise you can go back to sleep again." He slid an arm under her neck and another under her legs. "Chloe?"

"Ready!" Chloe rushed to him.

Steve had no choice but to lead the way out with Seren in his arms. They met Natasha halfway down the hallway and then together hurried towards the elevator. Naturally, the sight of them caught various employees' attention.

"Winters, what are you doing?" Natasha muttered as they hurriedly reached the entrance of the hospital. She had already scared off a few employees trying to near them and she was ready to continue it but the fact that Chloe was making time for a text message was a bit over the top.

"Seren may have been frantic about things but she did make a point about her family," Chloe said, briefly meeting Steve's glance. "She wanted to tell them to be careful and I...I think she had a point now. If SHIELD is coming for us, and we have Seren now, what do you think they're going to do to her family in order to get to us?"

Steve didn't have to think too much to know the answer. "Do it. But keep it brief. Let them know that Seren's safe with us." He led them down a small hallway just at the entrance. "And tell Rebeca too. Seren's team might be in danger too." He stopped in front of the women's restroom. "Natasha?"

Natasha had thought just like him and got on it. "Yup. Chloe?"

Chloe quickly sent a brief joint text to Seren's grandmother and parents. She then sent another message to Rebeca and dropped Seren's phone on the phone, stomping on it for good measure. Meanwhile, Steve let Seren's body down between Chloe and Natasha and the two brought her inside the women's restroom for a quick change.

Steve kept looking around for anyone suspicious and thankfully nobody showed up. He was relieved that when the women returned, Seren was semi-conscious. She was blinking in a dazed manner, and tired. He felt awful and that was still an understatement.

"She's not entirely there," Chloe said as Steve helped Seren stay on her feet. He was basically keeping her up by the waist and even then he had to still lift her on their way out of the hospital.

"How'd you get her to wake up in the first place?" He asked curiously.

"Rough..." Seren mumbled the word and leaned her head on his arm. "Natasha..."

Steve sent a look towards Natasha. He thought about asking her what exactly she had done to wake Seren up but he quickly decided that knowing the answer would probably make him feel worse.

"Where exactly are we going now?" Chloe asked once they were on the street.

"We need to figure out what your ghost friend wants," Natasha answered her and ignored Chloe's confused glance.

"You say 'friend' like I had a choice in the matter."

"It's the fact that you weren't killed that worries me," Natasha said and that time, Chloe's head whipped in her direction.

"Uh, thanks?"

"The Winter Soldier murders, so that begs the question as to why you weren't put on the same hit list," Natasha explained. "What do you have that the others didn't?" Chloe didn't need to ponder about it. "And" — Natasha continued before Chloe even opened her mouth — "why was it so special that they didn't just rip it out of you?"

Chloe's eyes widened in horror. Steve didn't blink. Leave it to Natasha to ask the cold hard questions and out loud. He had thought about it too but didn't want to freak Chloe out more than she already was.

#ocappreciation #marvelocsdaily #allaboutocs #ochub #fyeahsuperverseocs #mcu #marvel #avengers #captain america #steve rogers #steve rogers fics #steve rogers imagines #steve rogers x oc #marvel fics #marvel imagines #marvel ocs #mcu fics #mcu imagines #mcu ocs #captain america fics #captain america imagines #captain america x oc #avengers fics #avengers imagines #avengers ocs #oc: seren soul #oc: chloe winters #fic: alignment

[userpeggycarter]

Fury's weapon of choice? Lesbians.

#marveledit #natasharomanoffedit #caroldanversedit #nickfuryedit #natasha romanoff #carol danvers #maria hill #nick fury #marveladdicts #marvelheroes #bbelcher #chewieblog #useroptional #* #marvel #mcu #ch: natasha romanoff #ch: carol danvers #ch: maria hill #ch: nick fury

[fablesrose]

OKAS XXXIII

Description: Y/n, a girl who seems to have found her calling. Being a SHIELD agent is like a dream come true. With a friendship starting to form with the Avengers, she’s the Queen of the world! What could go wrong?

Pairings: Avengers x reader, Loki x reader (eventually)

Warnings: fluff, angst

OKAS Masterlist~Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The days were getting better. I think.

Food was a blessing. I haven't had real food for seven years; I should have cherished it.  Luckily I had the biggest pile of breakfast food I think I had ever seen placed on my plate.

"Are you going to eat all of that?"

I glanced at Steve, then back at my plate, then back at him, then at my plate.

I never answered him.

I've been living on smoothies for the past six months, then before that, I wasn't even sure if what I was eating was food. My stomach was probably not as big as it once was.

Despite this, I dug in anyway. I had forgotten how good food was, even though I've been out of that cell for a few meals now. I just kept eating to the point where I didn't notice everyone else coming into the kitchen.

"Hey Y/n, I wanna introduce you to the rest of the team," Tony placed a hand on my shoulder making me jump.

I quickly swallowed and wiped my mouth clean, "Okay."

He went around the room giving me names one by one.

"This is Vision."

He had red skin and didn't look human with a yellow stone in his head.

"He's an android."

Oh.

"That's Sam." Tony pointed at the man leaning against the counter eating a bowl of oatmeal. He raised his bowl in acknowledgment. He looked nice enough.

"You've met Wanda and Bucky."

I nodded at them. Wanda didn't look at me, but Bucky waved.

"Rhodey is over there." He lifted a hand. He looked older than the others, closer to Tony's age.

Tony looked around the room, "You'll meet Peter later, he's at school."

There was a blur of blue light that came from the hallway that headed towards the fridge before coming back to sit at the counter.

"And that would be Pietro, he's the guy you sparred with. He and Wanda are twins. Any questions?"

"The last time I asked a question under normal circumstances I got kidnapped seven years ago, so I'm good." I looked at Pietro, he looked a little tired, but otherwise alright. "Hey, nice to finally officially meet you, sorry I almost killed you the other day."

He glanced up at me, "Can't say I return the pleasure, and uh, thanks."

"That's fair."

"That was awfully nonchalant of you." Loki took the seat next to me, stealing a piece of toast. I was nearly full, so I didn't mind.

"Hey, I would have said the same thing if I ever got an apology from you."

"I have apologized."

"I don't remember it."

"You've said it yourself, you've forgotten a lot of things over the last seven years."

I tilted my head, "I'm pretty sure I would have remembered if you ever apologized. That would be cemented in my brain."

Loki hesitated, "I'll admit you weren't quite... in your right mind when I did it."

"Oh?"

"You were high."

I thought back, "Which time?"

I heard a snort from somewhere in the room; I had forgotten people were there to listen in.

"You were given a sedative for one of your checkups after the... incident."

"Ah. Still don't remember it."

He sighed, "Fine, I'm sorry."

I smiled, "Thank you."

There was a pause where I took another couple of bites of my breakfast.

"So, anyone wanna tell me the story behind that?" Sam said, looking absolutely baffled.

I side-eyed Loki, "Do you wanna tell them, or should I?"

Do we have to tell the story?

Come on Lokes, it's a funny story!

I don't find it that funny.

Oh, the God of Mischief, otherwise known as chaos, doesn't find a story, where he makes some chaos, funny.

...

"So who's telling the story?"

I glanced up at Bucky before looking back at Loki. He looked slightly uncomfortable.

"I guess I am." I slid the rest of my plate away from me, officially full.

"I'm not staying for this." Loki started to stand before I grabbed his wrist.

"Oh no, you don't. You're gonna sit your ass back down and listen."

"I could just teleport away, you know that."

I looked him dead in the eye, "But you're not going to."

He grumpily rested his head on his fist and didn't reply.

I looked around the room, making sure everybody was there. "Alright, so it goes like this. I'm just coming back from an infiltration mission, full-on Hydra gear, the whole setup. My superior, Agent Brian Fletcher-- how is Fletcher, by the way?"

Tony answered, "He's retired, got a nice cabin in the northwest."

"Good for him."

I continued the story, putting in a few more comedic details than there were. Tony and Loki looked at me suspiciously but didn't say anything.

"And so I'm lying there, can't breathe, and I'm just like, 'You son of a bitch, what the heck?'"

The room erupted in laughter. I looked over at Loki who had a small smile on his face while he looked at his hands on the counter.

I finished the story with grace and excused myself to my room. Social interactions were exhausting now and I still had to get used to "normal life." It was nice; having friends was nice. It's been a while since I've had some.

I lied on the bed--no, on my bed. The lights were dimmed as I tried to recharge a little bit. The bed was soft, I just sunk right into it, but it was almost too soft. Seven years of sleeping on a cot that was only a fraction better than the floor can do that to you. I couldn't get comfortable so I eventually lowered myself to the floor, sitting up against the side. The memory of the cots had stirred something in me.

"Hey, Jarvis?"

A voice that was not Jarvis answered me, "Jarvis has been incorporated into the android Vision on the team and is no longer in service. My name is Friday, is there something that I can help you with?"

I thought on it and mumbled to myself, "I guess his voice did sound familiar." I sighed before asking, "Do you have access to recovered Kingdom files?"

"Yes I do miss, what would you like me to look for?"

"Jasmine Okoro."

Friday paused as the AI searched the files. It then produced a hologram of the file in front of me. Friday began reading it out loud, "Prisoner D2- Jasmine Okoro. In facility from April 2010 to May 2014. Status: Deceased. Occasion of death: Duel. Final Opponent: Asset D1-The Queen. Results-"

Friday kept reading through the report, but I stopped listening. I just kept reading the status and the final opponent over and over.

I killed Jasmine.

Something under my skin started to feel unnatural. More than usual I should say.

"Friday, where's the nearest fortified room? Like a panic room? And the fastest route to get there."

I barely heard its instructions, but I made it there and locked the door behind me. The walls were white concrete and not entirely smooth. I stumbled to the center of the room before collapsing on my knees.

I forced myself to look at my hands as ink sprouted from my fingertips and spread up my arms. These hands killed my only friend while in hell. I pounded my hands against the ground, trying to make myself feel something. Something beyond the unexplainable feeling of my skin.

Eventually, it wasn't enough and I had to release even more. Spears shot from my fingers and shattered against the walls, but I still needed to release more. The anger, the despair, and maybe there was a bit of jealousy there too. She didn't suffer as long as I did. Most of it was the guilt and the grief that seemed to rot my insides.

A cloud of soot exploded from my body with such force that I could hear it hit the walls around me. I collapsed to the ground, trembling and exhausted. This was the first time I had used Noxy's powers. I'm not sure how I felt about it, and I was too tired to care.

Tears streamed down my face onto the ground and I shut my eyes tightly, cradling my hands to my chest. Everything felt empty, my mind, my heart.

I had never been more grateful that there wasn't a thought in my head.

~~~

Loki sat at the counter while everyone else finished their breakfast and dispersed to work on their own tasks.

"That's not really how that story goes is it?"

Loki glanced over to see that Pietro was the last one in the kitchen other than himself. "No, no it isn't."

"What's the truth?"

Loki smirked, "You're asking the truth from the god of lies?"

Pietro's eyes looked weary, but sparked in amusement, "We all know you're about as honest as the rest of us."

A glass of water appeared in Loki's fingertips, "I guess that's true enough, young one." He took a sip. "The truth is, is that I almost killed her that day. She had just gotten her big break to fulfill her dreams and I threw her back to the bottom of the ladder with that severe of an injury."

"And she's able to just laugh it off with you never really apologizing until now?"

"You'll find she's like that." He paused, "Understand, that she will apologize to you as many times as you require of her, but-"

"I get it," Pietro interrupted, "Y/n's got more pressing matters on her plate than a sparring match gone slightly too far."

Loki watched the young man appraisingly, "Quite right, thank you."

The room was quiet for a moment before Loki started to notice some faint noises. His eyebrows wrinkled as he tried to decipher what exactly the sound was and where it was coming from. He looked at Pietro, "Do you hear that?"

"The thumping? Yes, but I figured that was just tired hallucinations, but I guess not."

They both stood and started wandering, trying to identify where it was coming from until there was a louder sound, loud enough for them to feel in their feet. They paused and found that it had gone quiet.

"Friday? Where was that coming from?"

The AI recited what room and they found their way without much hurry, only a bit of curiosity.

They found the room and found it to be locked. Loki turned the knob without too much trouble after a wave of his hand. He cautiously peeked his head through the door to see if it was safe. Once he came to the conclusion that nothing was going to attack him he opened the door wide enough for Pietro to follow. Loki's eyes landed in the center of the room where he saw a huddled form.

It didn't seem to be moving.

Loki rushed to the figure and his breath of relief caught in his throat when he realized that it was Y/n, despite the fact that he saw she was breathing.

"Is she okay?"

Loki looked her over, "I think so... She appears to be sleeping. I can't find anything wrong."

"Well that's good," Pietro sat down on the concrete, "say, Loki, do you remember what color this room used to be?"

Loki subconsciously ran his finger along the floor before lifting his eyes to the ceiling, "I'm not entirely sure, but I do know it wasn't stained black."

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