Hi there guys. I know, I took forever to upload another chapter. Again. I'm an asshole, okay? I'm working on it.
But seriously, I kept getting writer's block for this damn story. It's fucking frustrating. But I just punched that writer's block in the face, and I think the next chapter might just be the last one. Jesus, this story is going to be short. Even shorter than Nothing Left To Say. Weird.
REVIEW REPLIES:
hidansgirl1234 - Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I did make it pretty feels-y, didn't I? Awesome. Just what I was aiming for. :)
stinkysox - No, Ellie didn't have a relationship with Coulson. But Elena did, Ellie's mom. I'm not saying that becuase I think you're stupid, I'm saying that to be perfectly clear on what I was writing. Not just for you. Because I think I made people confused. Please don't be confused. And about the updating soon...I'm an asshole. Just say it, it'll make me feel better to know that at least one person is mad that I haven't updated.
Please enjoy this chapter guys. And please. Don't kill me.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything Marvel related. Only Ellie. I swear.
The way Thor yelled, the pain you heard...I couldn't think of anything else to describe my frustration, the hurt.
She'd left me with no answers. The only answers I received left me with more questions, and wanting to know more about SHIELD. It was making me re-think my thoughts on accepting Fury's offer.
Thor was handcuffed and being dragged away from the hammer within seconds. I went to chase after him, but Adam had grabbed me by the arm, and insisted on taking me there himself.
"Why are so dead-set on helping this guy? He just looks like a psycho to me." I slapped Adam's arm.
"He is not a psycho. He's just a person, like you or me. All he wants is his hammer. Is that so bad?" Adam paused, looking me in the eyes with furrowed brows. I sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you everything. Just-help me help him. Please?" Adam was hesitating. He didn't want to. But he caved.
"Fine. But you owe me, Stark. You owe me big time." I grinned, grabbed his face, and kissed him. I pulled away just as quick, and skipped off to my car.
"I'll be back!"
"He's in jail! He's a criminal!" I rolled my eyes, sighing.
"You didn't see what we saw, Erik." I argued, with Jane standing by my side. Darcy gasped, as she stopped on a page in the book Erik had brought back from the library.
"Look! Look, it's myeuh-muh." Jane moved to stand behind Darcy's other shoulder, and we looked at the book, me with a frown on my face.
"Where did you find this?" Jane asked, looking back up at Erik quickly, and then back to the book. Darcy kept her gaze on Erik.
"The children's section. I just wanted to show you how silly his story was." Jane looked at him, even angrier than she had been.
"But you're the one who's always pushing me to chase down every possibility, every alternative." Erik sat forward now.
"I'm talking about science, not magic." Darcy pulled off her glasses. Oh shit. Here she goes.
"Well, 'magic is just science that we don't understand yet.' Arthur C. Clarke." Jane quoted.
"Who wrote science fiction." Erik said, correcting her.
"A precursor to science fact!" Jane argued.
"Is some cases, yeah." Erik corrected her.
"Well, if there is an Einstein-Rosen bridge, then there's something on the other side." I spoke up.
"Yes, and advanced beings could have crossed it!" Jane yelled once more. Erik and Jane were starting to remind me of Dad and I. We'd always argue like this over projects, but we'd act a lot more like children.
"Oh, Jane."
"A primitive culture like the Vikings might have worshipped them as deities." Darcy stated simply. I smirked. Damn, was Darcy good.
"Yes! Yes, exactly. Thank you." Darcy hummed in recognition. Jane turned back to Erik. Then all three of us girls were looking at him. Erik sighed, looking defeated. I smirked.
And I was still smirking as Coulson appeared, with Erik and Adam by standing my side.
"Hello again Phil. Can I call you Phil?" He smiled, nodding slowly.
"What is it that you want, Ellie?" So we were getting straight to business then. Great.
"His name is Doctor Donald Blake. I was hoping you could release him into the hands of his co-worker, Doctor Selvig here." I gestured to Erik.
"You have dangerous co-workers, Doctor Selvig." Erik spoke up then, taking the reins from me.
"He was distraught when he found out that you'd taken all of our research. That was years of his life, gone! You can understand how a man can go off like that. A big faceless organization like yours, coming in with their jackbooted thungs and-" He stopped, when Coulson shot him a look. Erik raised his hands in defense. "That's how he put it."
"That still doesn't explain how he managed to tear through our security."
"Sterioids! He's a bit of a fitness nut." Erik said it with a smile. He was looking well. Damn good lying, for someone who wasn't me. The agent at the computer called for Coulson, and I heard the beeping. They knew the ID was fake. But Coulson still put on a smile.
"It says here that he's an M.D."
"Well he is! Or, or he was. He, uh, switched careers and became a physicist." He was stammering. Shit, not good. Not good at all. I decided to take over for him.
"He's a brilliant physicist. He's a wonderful man, he's a man in pain." I sighed. Coulson smirked further.
"Agent Q, take them to Doctor Blake, would you?" Adam nodded, and led us to Thor. It was past the complex I'd been in. Thor was in a room surrounded by two-sided mirrors. He looked miserable.
"Oh Donny, Donny, Donny! There you are." Erik went first, and lifted Thor up by his forearm, smiling at him and patting his back. "It's gonna be alright, me and Ellie are taking you home now."
We were out of the complex in seconds, heading towards my car. I could feel Adam's eyes on me, along with Coulson's. I was still on edge, thinking that any second, my cover was going to be blown. And then I'd be in even deeper trouble.
"Doctor Selvig!" We all stopped. My eyes went wide. No. No no no no no no no. "Just keep him away from the bars." Phew. Okay, so that wasn't going to happen.
"I will!" Erik called, and we kept walking.
"Where are we going?" Thor asked. Erik just looked at me questionabley.
"To get a drink."
I took another swig of my drink, and looked up at the television, my interest peeking as I saw what was happening at the Expo. And scaring me to my core.
"Dad." I muttered under my breath, eyes wide when I saw what was happening. Pepper. Happy. Rhodey. Natasha. Why am I here? I should be there, helping, keeping the people I care about and love safe.
Someone slapped a hand on my shoulder, and I turned, my eyes wide with worry, and fear. I couldn't fight it, not when it came to my family. Thor frowned at me, along with Erik.
"Are you alright?" I nodded slowly, gulping down the rest of my drink.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I just remembered I have a call I have to make. I'll see you guys later." I left a tip on the bar, and rushed out the door, locking up my car and then walked down the street, somewhere they wouldn't expect me to go. Somewhere secluded.
I whipped out my phone, and dialed Natasha's number, my gut knotting further and further the longer it took for her to pick up. Five rings, and there she was.
"Who is this?"
"Where's Dad? And Pepper? Are they okay, what's going on?" Natasha reassured me as soon as I spoke, keeping my calm.
"They're fine. They're safe. Tony's handling the situation with Rhodes, they've got it under control." Okay, so he was in danger. But he wasn't dead. That's good. That's a good sign.
"Did it work? Did the reactor work?"
"Tony's vitals are looking fantastic. Your idea worked. He's better than ever." I let out the breath I'd been holding, leaning against the building I was near and slid to the ground, clutching the phone tightly. "How are you? Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm...I'm fine." Natasha could hear it. I'm not okay. Not really.
"Don't be afraid to call me. I won't tell anyone. I promise." I bit my lip, sniffing.
"Okay. Thank you, Natasha. For everything."
"It's been a pleasure, as always. I'll see you soon, Ellie." I shut the phone, clutching it in my hand and curled up against the wall, pulling my knees up to my chest.
Dad was fine. So was Pepper, and Rhodey. Everyone was fine. No one was dead, except, hopefully, Whiplash. And Hammer. I fucking hate that guy.
"What are doing down there." Adam. Of course it was Adam. I looked up at him, shrugging.
"Oh, you know. Solving the myseteries of life. Drinking my troubles away. Care to join me?"
"What, so you can corrupt me? Haven't you heard? You're a troublemaker, Ellie Stark. One of the biggest there is." I laughed. Adam smiled, holding out a hand. I accepted it, and let him pull me to my feet. I almost fell over, but Adam grabbed me around my waist, keeping me upright. His touch was like nothing I'd felt. It was like some sappy romance novel, and I refuse to say how it felt because it was indescribable. All I knew was that I wanted him to kiss me, and never let me go.
And he did. He kissed me. He didn't let me go, not once that night. I forgot all of my troubles. I wasn't sad, not for a second. It felt wrong to forget, but at the same time, it felt like I finally did something right.
I was in love. I'd always been in love with him, the way he spoke, the way his eyes told a story I only ever dreamed of hearing. I'd only ever seen him as my tutor, but now that I knew the truth, my sanity was flying out the window. But not with my clothes. Yes, I said that he didn't let me go. But he refused to do anything with me other than sleep. It was the most gentlemanly thing any guy had ever said to me. And I fell for him even faster.
I'm just digging that hole deeper and deeper, aren't I? Fan-fucking-tastic.
Erik and Darcy were sitting at the table, Erik dropping something into his water. Thor and Jane were cooking together. And I have to say-one of the most adorable things I've seen in my life.
"Hey hotstuff. What took you so long?" I smirked, riasing my eyebrows at Darcy, who laughed as quietly as she could. I pulled up a chair, and Thor set a plate in front of Darcy and Erik, who both thanked him. Jane turned to me from the stove.
"Hungry, Ellie?" I shook my head.
"No, I ate before I got here." A smile appeared on my face when I thought about breakfast. I still couldn't shake the Adam feels off. Darcy raised an eyebrow at me in turn, and so did Jane.
"Is there a reason why you're smiling like a teenage girl?" I shook my head. Darcy was still suspicious, but she knew it was girl talk reserved for later. "We're talking later. Period."
"Yeah, sure, whatever."
"It's a beautiful theory, Jane. But you won't be able to convince the scientific community of any of it. Not without hard evidence." Darcy and Jane had poopy diaper faces now. Great. Thanks, Erik.
There was a knocking on the glass door. And when Thor turned, someone yelled, "Found you!" The rest of us turned. Darcy, Erik and Jane's jaws dropped. The mug Erik had shattered on the floor. I just shrugged.
"My friends!" Thor yelled, hugging the guy who had yelled, and all of them were laughing.
"This is good! This is good." The prissy looking one said. Erik muttered an "I don't believe it." I was just waiting to see if they were pyscho. And if they had some sweet fucking weapons I could mess with.
The one that yelled turned to us, pardoning himself, and introduced him and the other three as Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. The men and the woman were still laughing.
"My friends." Thor slapped his hand on the Asian's shoulder, looking between them all. "I've never been happier to see anyone. But you should not have come." The big, one that yelled guy frowned. Now I realized that he looked like a dwarf, but wasn't actually short. Like a giant/dwarf man. Yeah. Giant Dwarf Man. Asian. Prince Douchey. And the badass Lady Sif.
These people REALLY need to stop laughing.
"We're here to take you home." Prince Douchey said. Thor shook his head, his eyes growing sad.
"You...you know I can't go home. My father is...dead because of me. And I must remain in exile." Wait, what? Oh shit. Why didn't he say anything? Fucking asshat.
"Thor, your father still lives." Badass Lady Sif said.
Thor's sad expression dropped. He was pissed.
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUN.
I headed to the double doors with a frown, when I noticed a storm-rigth about where Thor had first shown up. The others followed me, and I frowned, meeting Adam's eyes as he stood on the roof.
"Was someone else coming?" Darcy asked. I grabbed my phone from my pocket, as it vibrated.
Ellie, if there's any time for that suit in your trunk, it's now.
My eyes went wide. He did not just suggest that.
And now my phone was ringing. Great. I rolled my eyes, but accepted the call.
"What."
"Did your father send this thing here? Has he built anything, have you built anything?" I frowned, my brows furrowed. I started to head towards my car.
"No. I haven't made anything here, Coulson, I don't have the technology. I don't know about Dad, though. I don't think he has. He's been too busy trying to stop Whiplash, and developing the arch reactor. Why do you ask?"
"Because there's something here, and I don't know what this thing is, but it's big." I bit my lip, as I stared at my trunk in frustration. "Ellie, if you have a suit, and I know you do, we could really use a weapons expert right now. Please."
But what about just being Ellie? What about me, what about what I want? I could feel the eyes of the people I'd grown to be friends with staring at me. They didn't know. If I just sat back and let someone else handle things, maybe, just maybe they would never have to know.
But then I thought about the people. About the innocent people, who could be hurt because Ellie Stark refused to put the suit on and step up to the plate. Because Ellie Stark was a coward.
I groaned. "Oh, fuck it." I popped open the trunk, stood up in it, and pressed the button with my toe. The trunk became the same thing Dad had in his workshop, and it assembled, covering me from head to toe. And then I was jumping out of the trunk, getting the feel of it in all it's silver and black glory.
"Ellie?" I turned, looking over their faces. Erik's was lit up in realization. "I knew it." He muttered. Darcy was staring at me, muttering a "Woah." Jane was betrayed. Thor was just frowning at them all.
"You're Ellie Stark. You're Ellie fucking Stark." I bit my lip, but dropped the face mask, and took off running before I started to fly. It was exilerating, and terrifying, and making me laugh all at once. I see why Dad liked it so much.
This is the most fun I've ever had.
