CHAPTER 8
Fire. The world is on fire. No.. wait. That's just me. Noelle could feel every inch of her body burning. It ached. It flared. Her soul tried to relocate but found out it was trapped. Pain everywhere.
Noelle checked her own aura and found it to be spotted red and orange. What happened? She tried to remember, but came up with nothing but fog. She expanded her conscious and found another being close by and several more farther back. A beeping noise caught her attention. Opening her eyes, she found herself on a hospital bed. Machines were hooked to needles in her arms and pads on her chest. Her eyes found a figure in the corner, huddled in a chair. From the way he slouched, she knew he must be asleep. Lieutenant Johnson. Why is he here? She fiddled in the sheets and found the remote to call the nurses. Immediately after pushing it her room was flooded with them. One face she remembered. "Hi, Noelle!" Lauren's sweet face smiled at her reassuringly. "How are you feeling?" The other two nurses began scanning her body with machines.
Noelle croaked, "Who let the Hulk get ahold of me?" She smiled and so did the nurses. She also noticed Johnson had woken up in the commotion and was giving a small, but concerned smile. She winced when another lightning strike of pain happened and the others looked at her concerned. When it passed, she asked, "Really though, what happened?"
Lauren sat in the chair beside her bed. "Agent Coulson told us that you healed a man's eye, but when you were done you blacked out. They brought you here, but that was about 4 hours ago." Noelle nodded. She began to pull the covers back from her. Lauren put a hand out to stop her. "Woah there, what do you think you're doing?"
Noelle pushed her hand away. "I have to check on the others. They may have gotten hurt in the fight." She began to pull the pads from her. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Ms. Norris." She looked up to find Lt. Johnson staring at her intently. "The others are safe. You need to rest." She glared at him.
"Fine, but I want to see them. I promise I'm fine I'll just need some time to get my energy back." The Lieutenant looked at her skeptically.
"Let me at least get you a wheelchair and take you." They each stared at each other, but neither budged. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders.
"Deal. Just let me go see them." The nurses started to unplug her. Noelle looked down at her hospital gown. As Johnson walked out, she yelled at him, "And please get me some damn clothes!"
After a few minutes, he came back with a wheel chair and a bag of clothes. "These were what you were wearing when you came in. We got you a fresh set. Your.. underthings were cleaned and put in here, too." Noelle groaned when she saw the blue and white uniform. Snatching it from his hand, she made her way to the bathroom.
Getting dressed felt like pure hell, but Noelle somehow managed to slide on the outfit. She stepped outside and found Johnson holding her boots. "Thanks." She said and quickly pulled them on. The movements felt like fire, but she didn't want him to know and so kept her face blank. Once they were on, she moved to the waiting chair.
"All right Mr. Sourpuss, I'm ready to go." She heard him give a small sigh of frustration before they began to move. She waved at the nurses and yelled 'thank you's to those she saw. Johnson hit the button for the elevator and pushed her inside.
Once the doors closed, Noelle tried to ignore the awkwardness. But she couldn't resist. "So… Why were you waiting on me to wake up?"
She felt him stiffen. "I'm sorry if that bothered you, ma'am." His tone gave away that he did not at all care if it bothered her. "I went to thank you for healing me and was told you had been hospitalized." He paused. "I.. Assumed that you would need my assistance when you woke up." Noelle wanted to call bullshit, but decided to let it be.
"Well.. Thank you, Lieutenant." She did mean it, even if he was bossy.
"Yes, ma'am."
She scowled. "Please don't call me that. Makes me feel old, you're not even much older than me." She glanced down at the wheel chair. "Actually, you pushing me in this makes me feel old. So let's cut one of those at least. Call me Noelle."
"I.. If you insist. My name is Bryce. You can call me whatever you want."
Noelle gave a small smile. "I was pretty fond of Mr. Sourpuss. But I guess Bryce works, too." She sensed him relax slightly and she hoped he had at least given a tiny smirk. She felt a small victory every time she cracked his granite face.
The elevator doors dinged and he pushed her out. They went down a familiar hallway and through the big glass doors. Noelle was met with familiar faces.
"Oh my gosh, what happened to you?" Natasha got up from the round table where she, Rogers, and Banner were sitting. Noelle blushed when she saw a familiar, very attractive alien man standing and staring at her. Why is Thor here? She turned her attention to Natasha's question.
"Oh… Just had to do some work." She tried not to give too much information. A healthier person would have been totally fine doing what she had done. "How about you?" Noelle did a mental check and found them all fine. "What happened with Loki? Also.. Not to be rude, but isn't that his brother?"
They all glanced at each other. Thor smiled, "He's adopted." Noelle chuckled.
She hesitated, then started again. "I know I'm not really on the team, but after seeing what he did, I really think I need to know what I'm dealing with. What if you call me in to heal and he's still there? Or what if.."
Natasha interrupted her. "Don't worry, we'll fill you in. Come join us." The agent glanced up at Bryce. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I can get her from here." Johnson stepped back and gave a small salute.
"Yes, ma'am." As he turned to go, he gave one last look of concern to Noelle.
She flashed him a smile. "Thanks, Bryce." He nodded and left. Natasha started to wheel her to the table, but Noelle held up a hand. "Hang on, let me get up."
"Are you sure?" No. Her body told her that moving sounded like a horrible idea, but she didn't want the men to consider her as a weak link.
Noelle pushed herself up, feeling every muscle ache. "Yeah, it was their idea anyway. I'm just a little sore is all."
She was glad when the agent didn't push her about it. She sat down in a chair between her and Bruce. Once she got settled, she gave Natasha a smile of reassurance. "See? Just fine."
The look she got back said it wasn't as believable as she had hoped. Natasha smirked. "Of course, I've trained you well." The two gave a small laugh. "Well, as promised I'll fill you in." She turned to a nearby screen and pulled up an image of Loki. Noelle squinted and realized he was in a glass cage. "As you know, Loki attacked a town in Germany last night. Thanks to his brother, Thor, we have managed to capture and contain him." Noelle made eye contact with the giant man. His face betrayed no emotion, but he returned the small smile she gave him. Natasha continued, "Fury just spoke with him and didn't gain much, so now it's time to game plan."
They all turned when Rogers spoke up. "Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor," He gave a small nod to the other man, "what's his play?"
The Asgardian crossed his arms. "He has an army called the 'Chitari'. They're not of Asgard or any other world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."
Most of the team nodded stoically as if this was the most usual situation. Noelle stared wide-eyed and flushed. Steve spoke up. "An army..From outer space?" He and Noelle exchanged the same bewildered look. Thank God I'm not the only one who's in way over their head.
Dr. Banner, who had been staring intently at the table in front of him, ignored the question. "So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."
This got Thor's attention. For the first time since Noelle had laid eyes on him, he showed some emotion. "Selvig?"
Banner nodded. "He's an astrophysicist."
Thor crossed his arms. "He's a friend." Seems like Thor might need to invest in a new circle of friends. She did feel for him, regardless. Having lost her own friend, she couldn't imaging one working for Loki.
Natasha finally spoke again. "Loki has him under some kind of spell," She stared at the corner of the room. "And one of ours." Noelle squinted at her friend, trying to read her. The other woman turned and caught her eye. Her face returned to its naturally-granite position, using Noelle's curiosity as a reminder to keep her personal life hidden. Guess she'll tell me when she's ready.
Her attention was brought back when Rogers spoke again. "I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here."
Noelle's attention snapped. "Wait, he's HERE?" Her eyes swept the group for answers. "Are we sure that's a good idea to have such a dangerous crazy man,, on an airship... miles in the air?"
Banner was the first to answer her. "You're not wrong, it's not the safest idea. But we need to keep him close. Plus, I don't think we should be focusing on him. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell the crazy on him."
Noelle snickered, but her face went blank when Thor's tone got serious. "Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother."
Natasha spoke up, though not maliciously. "He killed eighty people in two days."
"Like I said, he's adopted." This time Noelle couldn't control her laugh and let out a loud giggle. The giant man looked at her distastefully, but her smile was contagious and his good nature eventually won over the expression on his face.
Banner, having again been lost in thought, spoke. "Wait, Iridium. What did they need the Iridium for?"
Just then, the doors swished open and a man walked in. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, yet his demeanor spoke of high status. "It's a stabilizing agent." Well alrighty then, smartass. Behind him walked Agent Coulson. Noelle laughed internally at how ridiculously plain he looked in the room full of heroes. But then again, she had even less room to talk. The man turned back to him, finishing their previous conversation, "I'll fly you there. Keep the love alive." His large personality began to consume the room. He spoke again as if to finish his original thought. "Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D." His attention fell on the hulking figure of Thor. "No offense Point Break." Noelle blurt laughed before she could suppress it. " You've got a mean swing. Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants it." Noelle watched as he then turned to look at the crew below them, his attention problems being almost palpable. "Uh, raise the mid-mast, ship the top sails." They only stared at him or ignored him.
"Oh don't worry," she piped up, suddenly more bold to speak. She smirked at him. "I already had the top sails shipped an hour ago." He stared at her, clearly unused to someone returning his humor.
"Ah, well good then." He stuck his hand out. She shook it. "Tony Stark. Also known as Iron Man. Sorry, I'd ask your name but you're clearly slacking at your job because that man," He swung around, pointing a finger, "is playing Galaga!" Noelle gasped in mock surprise. The young crew member frantically clicked at his screen. Tony smirked, "Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." Again, Noelle couldn't control her burst of laughter. The rest of the team stared in a mix of annoyment and bewilderment. Again, his attention skipped. He covered one of his eyes with his hand and spun in a circle. "How does Fury do this?"
"He turns." Noelle swivelled her head to find the impressive commander woman from before.
He nodded somberly back. "Well, that sounds exhausting." A slight pause, then he was back to yet another previous conversation. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily." Out of the corner of her eye, Noelle saw Natasha shift. One of our own.."Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube."
The agent woman spoke again. "When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?"
The face he returned to her was nonchalant. "Last night." He glanced around and was met with blank stares. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction theory papers? Am I the only one who did the reading?"
"Sorry, I was too busy watching paint dry." Noelle shocked herself by again letting her sassy humor bubble out. It had been months since she had been so forward with it.
"Well, when I remodel my next mansion I'll call you first."
Steve Rogers interrupted their humor, clearly having been lost in strategy. "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?"
Banner answered him. "He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulumb barrier."
Tony used his new expertise to answer. "Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect."
Banner's eyebrows furrowed. "Well, if he could do that he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."
"Finally!" Tony exclaimed, "someone who speaks English."
Again, Noelle and Rogers shared a bewildered glance. "Is that what just happened?", he said.
Noelle whispered indiscreetly across the table to him. "Nerds…" He smiled broadly and nodded his head in mock agreement.
While they talked, the two "nerds" shook hands. The respect between them was almost visible. "It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner." Tony began. " You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And you know, I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."
The table chuckled, including Banner. "Thanks".
The good feelings were interrupted when Nick Fury walked in. While Noelle definitely could feel Tony's domineering attitude in the room, Fury's very being commanded their attention. His black trench coat sweeping behind him, he went to the middle of the room where Noelle had first seen him take command. "Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube." Noelle wasn't sure how well Tony would respond to the not-so-subtle hint, but Fury redirected his attention. "I was hoping you would join him." The two domineering personalities remained relaxed outwardly, but Noelle was very conscious about the war waging between them.
She was grateful yet again when Rogers broke the tension. "Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon." Noelle was thankful she had read his biography recently enough to remember that HYDRA was the evil organization he had battled against.
Fury answered him, "I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.
Thor looked at him, clearly confused. "Monkeys? I do not understand."
Rogers shifted in his chair excitedly. "I do!" Embarrassment at his overexcitement sent him back into a relaxed slouch. "I understood that reference." Noelle smiled hard at the proud look on his face.
"Well, look at the old man showing up us youngsters." Noelle fired at him, again flashing her good-natured smile so that he understood she was teasing.
"Young lady, I don't want to hear it from you. You're basically still in diapers."
Noelle was taken back by the fact that he returned her humor. She blurt laughed again. "Fair, Captain, very fair."
Tony Stark shook his head and looked at Banner. "Shall we play, doctor?"
Banner nodded enthusiastically. "Let's play some."
The two lovebirds walked out and down the hall to Banner's lab. As they left, Noelle happened to catch the young crew member Tony had called out turning his computer back to Galaga. Nice.
Rogers watched them go, then stood. He nodded to the women and then at Fury. "I'm going to go try to touch base with some old contacts. They may know more about this." With that, he left.
Fury turned to Noelle. "Ms. Norris, I heard of your work in Germany." She blushed, thinking of her blackout. He gave her a small smile. "Very impressive."
She nodded back at him. "Just here to please, sir."
He gave a small chuckle. "I believe you have earned a break." His face turned somber. "I'm afraid that will have to wait. I have a favor to ask of you."
Her curiosity peaked and she glanced at Natasha. The woman shrugged her shoulders in response. "What do you need?" she asked hesitantly.
"Agent Romanoff has informed me that your training has come along considerably. She also has informed me that you have refused to fight." Noelle has a sinking feeling in her stomach. "You saw the devastation Loki caused. This team," he gestured to the chairs, "is a powerful one. But none are as powerful as what I believe your powers can become. We may need you if Loki's plan plays out."
Noelle slowly shook her head. "Mr. Fury, I'm sorry but.."
"Let me finish." His deep voice boomed, though not menacingly. "I have a proposal for you." Noelle couldn't dream of one good enough to get her to fight using her powers. She had already done so much damage with them. "If you agree to train with Agent Romanoff and the others on honing your powers, you will be offered a house on a private island. Fully staffed, yours only, with transportation available to anywhere. You'll never have to lift a finger again. The offer is yours even if you never fight, as long as you promise to train and be willing to fight if we need you."
Noelle wasn't sure when her mouth had fallen open, but her jaw was nearly on the table. She snapped it shut and her mind whirled. She had thought the Helicarrier was the best possible place for her to be, but the picture Fury painted made her want to faint. It was too good to be true. But reality again took hold. She made eye contact with the intimidating man. "That..that sounds wonderful. Beyond wonderful. But there's no way I could ever hurt anyone again. Not after what happened."
"I understand your predicament, but we aren't talking about a small amount of danger." His tone showed that he clearly did not like to be told "no". "This is the world at stake. You would be wise to remember that."
Noelle began to bite her lip. Natasha suddenly spoke up. "Noelle, we really need you."
Noelle made eye contact with her friend but was forced to look away at the earnesty she found there. Shit.
She let out a long sigh. "Fine. But I don't agree to your deal just yet. I'll train with Natasha, but I want the option to say no when the time comes without that hanging over my head."
Fury smacked his hands together. "Then it's settled. Training starts tomorrow. Until then, you've earned some rest."
He swept back out of the room in the same tangible way he had entered it. Noelle and Natasha remained sitting quietly for a long while before Noelle spoke. "Natasha."
The other woman looked up. "Yes?"
"I'm stuck here." They both laughed and Natasha stood. "Alright, guess I'd better get you a wheelchair then."
When she left, Noelle slumped even further in her chair. What have I gotten myself into?
Ok so we are finally getting farther into the movie. Which means more action woo! But I am slowing the scenes down slightly in order to be able to have scenes that I would like to incorporate. The movie takes place over only a few days, which is not very much time. Ill let you know what I've changed at the end of each. Thanks again for reading :)
Chapter 9
Back in her cabin, Noelle sat cross legged on the floor. Her hands together over her heart, she sat deep in meditation. In her mind's eye she could see her aura sitting on the floor. It glowed a swirling mix of red and orange; proof that she had overworked herself in Germany. She counted her breaths to keep them even as she tried to heal her own body. It resisted at first, but slowly she could feel it giving in. After an hour, she had finally cooled herself down to a mix of orange and yellow.
She stood and stretched, popping nearly every joint she had. Ahh, thank God. She still felt terrible and knew she needed sleep, but with so much going on with the team she felt like she needed to stay ready for anything. She looked around her room for something to keep her awake. As she was deciding, Fury's voice intruded on her thoughts, "The offer is yours even if you never fight, as long as you promise to train and be willing to fight if we need you."
Noelle shivered at the thought of having to use her powers to destroy. But… I guess it will keep me awake. She didn't know what to wear for training her powers, so she opted for her favorite: comfortable dress, leggings, and boots. Easy to move in but not as unflattering on her as the skin tight ensembles the rest of the team wore. This time she chose her favorite a black dress and boots, but with purple tights. She had always hated purple, but as the color for chronic illness awareness she felt the need to represent it wherever she went. With how she felt currently, she definitely knew she had issues. She grabbed a bottle of water and headed to the training room. As she made her way through the familiar halls, she shut out the auras of others and got lost in her thoughts. What a day. Being responsible for the world's most notorious heroes had never quite been on her to-do list, and being on the team with them had most definitely not been on there either. I'm not even powerful enough for that. If I do get thrown into a fight, I'm fairly certain they'll have to scrape my ass off the concrete.
She rounded the corner to the gym doors and slowed. Wait… What am I thinking? She couldn't exactly use weights to train her powers.
She sighed at herself for not thinking it through, but walked through the doors nevertheless. As they opened, she was greeted with a familiar sight. "Well, Johnson, good to see you up and around."
The man stopped wailing on the punching bag as soon as he heard her voice. Noelle was fairly impressed with how immediately he turned to granite. Maybe that's his superpower… Turning into stone. He nodded at her. "Ms. Norris."
She frowned at him. "Thought you had caved on calling me Noelle. I can go back to making up my own nicknames for you if you prefer."
He glared back at her teasing smile. "No. I only let my mother call me Mr. Sourpuss."
Noelle's eyebrows flew up in surprise. "Bryce… Bryce was that a joke I just heard?"
He shrugged his shoulders and went back to the suddenly important job of beating up a punching bag. Noelle laughed hard, shocked beyond belief that he even knew what humor was. She walked over to a machine near him, but not so close that he could take a swipe at her, and leaned against it. He refused to acknowledge her and continued to kick and punch aggressively. Noelle was impressed that he was barely breaking a sweat. In the most smug voice she could muster, she said, "Johnson, I'm pretty good at what I do. But you have proven me wrong." His punches came just as furiously. He knew by the look on her face that she was about to mock him, and she liked it. "I did a full scan of your body and didn't even come close to finding a funny bone. Guess you showed me."
Bryce punched the bag so hard that it flew backwards violently. She knew she had flustered him and she loved every second of it. As her attention fell to the violent movement of the bag, Bryce took the opportunity. In one swift movement, he had picked her up, spun her around, and placed her firmly but gently on her ass. Her first reaction was surprise, but it quickly turned into an only semi-serious anger. "Excuse you!" He began to laugh at the look on her face. She crossed her arms and glared at him. She glared for a long while, but his laugh was distracting and eventually she laughed with him. She stuck a hand in the air and he helped her up. In her laughing, Noelle didn't realize he held her hand for much longer than necessary. Only once she looked down and saw it did he quickly turn back to granite and yank his away. Noelle's favorite tactic for awkward situations was to ignore them, so she smiled at him. "I'm sorry my humor intimidates you so much that you had to be violent."
His face relaxed slightly. "It's not that I'm intimidated. It's just that I felt you needed something to wipe that smug look off your face."
She laughed again and shook her head. "If that's what you say then I'll believe you." She made sure her tone heavily suggested she did not believe him. "So, question."
His eyebrows lifted. "Shoot."
"I'm supposed to train my powers, but if I do it here I'll destroy the place. Do you know if they have a better place for it?"
He thought for a moment. Noelle blushed slightly when she found herself studying his face. She was snapped out of it when he answered. "Yeah, actually there's a separate arena for the heroes. Follow me I'll show you."
He lead her out the doors opposite of the way she came in and down a series of hallways. I sure hope I can find my way back out again. She knew even as she thought it that she would be totally lost. After several twists and turns, they came to some doors almost identical to the ones at the gym. When they opened, Noelle was surprised to see an empty room. "What is this?"
Bryce pointed to a console on the far corner of the room. "I'm pretty sure we use that to activate it." The two made their way over. On it was a single, square panel. "Put your hand there." Noelle looked at him skeptically but did as she was told. As soon as her hand touched it, a female voice boomed over unseen speakers. "Welcome, Noelle Norris. In order to begin training, please enter a code name." Noelle looked at Johnson with a sense of panic. "What do I choose?"
He shrugged at her. "How about 'Healer' or something about your powers?"
She shook her head and thought. After a few moments, she said louder. "Code name: Aura."
Johnson nodded reassuringly. "Good one."
The female voice responded. "Welcome, Aura. Which of your powers do you wish to train today: healing or other?"
"Other, I guess."
"Selected: other. The training will begin on the easiest setting and progress to a harder level as you defeat your opponent. The program will begin to adapt to your powers in order to create a program for you. When you wish to end the training, say 'End Training'. When you wish to begin, say 'Begin'. Are you ready to begin?"
Noelle looked at Bryce. He nodded and said, "There's a viewing room, I'll wait for you until you're done."
"Don't judge me too much, it's been a long time since I've done this."
He laughed a little at her concern. "Seems like a chance for me to get even since you judge me constantly."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, shut up I do not."
His smile cocked to the side smugly. "If that's what you say, I'll believe it." He laughed again and exited the room. Noelle looked around the empty room and panic began to creep it's way into her head. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. While she most definitely didn't want to fight, she didn't want to always be afraid of herself. Steeling herself, she gave the command. "Begin."
Instantly, the room began to change. In front of her appeared a man. A knife was in his hands and he looked at her menacingly. She was shocked to find that he had an aura. She did a brief scan and realized he was made of atoms, though they made only a mimic of a true human form. How is that possible? How much does this program know about me? The female voice gave the instructions, "Training objective: stop assailant." Her hands began to glow yellow before she realized that she wasn't supposed to heal him. The man began to run at her and she panicked. Suddenly, the light around her hands darkened, becoming like a purple mist around her hands. She concentrated on his aura and mentally told his "atoms" to break his legs. She heard a snap and the man's face twisted in agony. He fell mid-run and screamed. Noelle looked on in horror. She began to back away. I can't do this. Before she could end the program, the man stood and two more identical copies of him appeared. Again, they all had a bright yellow aura. The computer voice spoke again. "Level: 2. Training objective: Stop assailants." Noelle began to sweat. I have to be smarter about this. Her hands, glowing purple, began to darken until it seemed that a black mist surrounded them. She concentrated on all three of their auras where the brain was. At the same time, she pulled the energy from them. All three collapsed to the floor, dead. Much more humane. I have to remember that, just in case.
Training levels 3 through 6 went the same way. Each level added more men until she was fighting 20 at once. Thankfully, killing them by killing their brains drained very little energy from her and she could do all of them at once. At the end of level 6, the floor was littered with the dead. They all disappeared, just as the last ones had. But instead of more appearing, she found a new scenario. The room was pitch black. Dark, oppressing black. She could barely see her hands in front of her face , even when she made them glow as bright yellow as possible. "Level: 7. Training Objective: defeat the enemy." Noelle looked around but still saw nothing. Without warning, a fist came flying from the darkness and hit her square in the jaw. She went sprawling to the floor. From her training with Natasha she knew she had to get up immediately. She jumped up and then regretted it, her head spinning. How am I supposed to beat someone I can't see? It was only then that she realized she had closed out the auras from her sight as the number of men had grown. It had become so much of a second nature that she hadn't done it consciously. Opening up her mind, she was immediately greeted by the bright aura of her enemy. He circled her now, waiting for the moment to strike. Now that she could sense him, she used the same tactic as the first levels and killed him quickly.
Two more levels of the same pitch dark; the men multiplied more quickly this time and in only two rounds she was back to fighting 20 men at a time. Thankfully, she could sense them just as well by their auras and it went as easily as the previous levels. After defeating the last of the twenty, she turned to prepare herself for more men. Instead, she found herself in an entirely new scenario.
She stood on a building and in front of her was one of the men. "Level: 10. Training objective: save the child." Noelle looked around puzzled, seeing only the man.
A child appeared next to him. A little girl. Suddenly, the man grabbed the child and ran to the edge. He held the child over and she began to scream. "No!" Noelle screamed as the man laughed at their terror and dropped the child. Noelle reacted instinctively and jumped over the edge after her. She caught the child by its foot and tucked her into her body, with her back facing the ground. As she fell to what she knew would be her death, she thought of Bryce having to watch her die. I'm sure his face would stay just as stone-like as always. Suddenly, she had an idea. She concentrated on her own aura and told her body to harden like stone. Immediately, they began to fall faster and her body stiffened. She closed her eyes and they hit the ground hard. It jarred her teeth, but her body no longer felt pain from the impact.
It took Noelle several seconds to open her eyes. When she did open them, she found herself staring into the eyes of the little girl. They were electric blue and reminded her of Bryce's. Noelle opened her arms and the girl crawled out. As she set her hands on the ground, she found that the pavement had formed to her shape. She tried to stand, but her movements were slow and rigid. Oh, I forgot to change myself back. She concentrated her energy and commanded her body to return to normal. As the hardness seeped out of her, her limbs lightened and she felt light as air. It sent a shiver up her spine to feel so different in her own body.
In a short time she was able to stand. Doing so made it look like she left a shadow behind her in the concrete. She circled slowly, looking for where the child had gone, but realized that the room had reset to black. Her body no longer felt heavy as stone, but she could feel how much of her energy had been zapped and she was already in a weakened state. Her shoulders drooped and she decided it was time to end it. "End Training".
The computer voice answered back, "Training Terminated. Statistics posted to file: Aura." The room lit up as brightly as when she had first entered and she made her way to the door. Outside, she found Lieutenant Johnson waiting on her.
She frowned at the look on his face. "What?" He continued to stare at her searchingly. She got more annoyed. "Uh hello, can I help you?"
His focus changed and his face hardened again, though not as severely as before. "Norris, you are one scary lady."
She punched him lightly on the arm. "Remember that the next time you try to fight me then." Her smile caused one to spread out on his face.
"Oh, I don't think I could ever forget what I just saw in there." His eyes focused on her jaw. He grabbed her face gently. "Speaking of, we probably should get some ice for you. You're starting to bruise." His touch was electric, and Noelle wasn't quite sure what he said but nodded anyways. She had always been a big fan of personal space, so she wasn't sure why she was letting him get away with it. Or why she didn't pull away. Bryce was the first to realize he was too close and pulled back. "Sorry, it's just a massive bruise."
Noelle touched it and winced. "What kind of simulation is that?"
"Something Stark invented. Fury was pretty excited to get his hands on it." He turned and lead her down the hallway. "I don't know the technology behind it but if Stark invented it, it must be pretty intense."
As they walked, Noelle focused on her aura and healed herself. She could immediately feel the swelling go down. After several hallways she didn't recognize, she became puzzled. "Where are we going?"
Bryce turned around. "To the hospital.." his eyes fell on her chin, now healed. "...of course." He looked slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, I forgot you could do that."
She laughed, and then blushed. "My bad." He shook his head and began leading her down more hallways until they reached some that looked more familiar. Within a minute they were back at her room. Another awkward silence. "Well, thanks for showing me the training room. Sorry you had to watch all that."
He shook his head. "No, that really was incredible. If that was just a few levels of your talent I can't even begin to imagine what all you can do." He stared at her intently.
She blushed and shrugged. "Well.. it's no big deal. Thanks again." She turned and opened her door. "Hope to see you around."
He smiled. "Count on it."
Well after chapter 9, I officially have over 1,000 views! That's probably not a big deal but I feel like it's not bad for my first time actually publishing a story. Thanks for all the comments, they mean a lot to me. I'm a big fan of when you turn into a green commenting monster (that was so lame I'm sorry). Please keep telling me your thoughts, some of them have helped me decide what to write. :)
Chapter 10
Noelle stood in her empty entryway. A small smile that she couldn't explain stayed on her face no matter how hard she fought it. She looked around, trying to remember what she was supposed to be doing. Wait shit! I'm not supposed to sleep yet. She shook her head and opened her door. She wasn't exactly sure where she was going, but her body was screaming at her to sleep and she knew any moment of rest might lead to hours of sleep. Too many hours of sleep where anything could happen to the others. She walked through the halls aimlessly, looking for either some form of excitement or a place to get a snack. Or both, she wasn't picky.
She made a turn and slammed into something hard. The force of the impact knocked her backwards and she braced herself on the wall behind her. She felt strong arms steady her.
"Woah! Sorry there, ma'am." Noelle looked up and found Rogers staring down at her.
She blushed, less from the proximity to such an attractive man and more because of her carelessness. "Sorry, Steve. Don't know where my head was." She righted herself and he stepped back. She noticed he was wearing his suit still. "Where are you off to?"
He glanced around, slightly nervous. Weird. "Oh, just trying to check out the ship. Get my bearings." He leaned against the wall. "Better question is what are you still doing up? I heard about what you did in Germany, shouldn't you be resting?"
Noelle shrugged. She knew he was misdirecting her from whatever conversation he didn't want to have, but he was right. "I don't want to be passed out if anything happens. Especially if someone gets hurt."
He looked at her with concern. "Norris, you're no good to us if you're worn out."
Noelle snorted slightly and gave him a serious look. "That's my secret Captain, I'm always tired." She winked and he chuckled.
"Whatever you say, squirt. Just try not to fall asleep while you're still standing."
"Thanks, Dad." This one got a glare.
"I may be old, but I'm definitely not old enough to be your dad."
Noelle's eyes betrayed her sassy comment before she'd even made it. "Sorry. Whatever you say, Gramps."
He rolled his eyes at her and pushed off the wall. "I can tell it's going to be interesting being around you." He turned back down the hall and she laughed over her shoulder as she walked the other way. Bonding with Captain America. Mrs. Betty would throw a fit if she knew. Thinking of her sweet friend still brought a deep ache in her heart, but she was beginning to be able to think of her in a positive way. Less hurt.
She kept taking more absent minded turns until she found herself passing Banner's lab. She glanced inside and found both Banner and Stark working. Noelle watched for a moment, studying the look on their faces. Each of them stared at a computer screen, looking tired and frustrated. Noelle realized that they probably hadn't left in hours. Suddenly, she had an idea. She hid out of their sight, where the wall met the glass of the lab. While she didn't know them very well, her jokes with Stark earlier made her think he needed a humor break. She broke her mental barrier and allowed their auras to enter her sight. Again, she saw Banner's as the weird green- yellow aura. Stark's was even more interesting. She knew about his device that was keeping him alive, it's glowing was hard to miss. But she could actually see the pocket of energy where it was in his aura; a bright white spot in the middle of his yellow. She concentrated on Stark, knowing better than to mess with Banner, and began to manipulate his atoms.
It didn't take long to complete her masterpiece. She peeked around the corner and waited. She watched Stark turn to ask Banner a question, and held her breath as Banner turned to answer him. Banner froze and stared at Stark's now bright green hair before beginning to chuckle. Tony's face looked puzzled, until he caught his reflection on a nearby screen. Now it was his turn to laugh and he ran his fingers through his hair. Noelle took her chance and entered the lab nonchalantly. The two started laughing harder when she entered. She faked surprise at his new make over. Raising her eyebrows at Banner, she gestured to Stark, "Do I need to leave? I don't want to catch what you're spreading."
Banner smiled and rolled his eyes at her. Stark's lit up, "I can't wait to Hulk out for the first time." He turned to Banner. "Tell me, where do you shop for your Hulk-pants? I'm going to need a fitting."
Noelle played along, "You're basically living every girl's dream. A whole new wardrobe! How fantastic."
Tony snapped his fingers, suddenly serious, "Speaking of new wardrobe, I have a surprise for you. Come with me." Noelle looked at him questioningly but followed, waving at Banner as she left. He led her down the hall, where she took the opportunity to change his hair back. Not before making sure he got a few stares, of course. After several halls and doors, plus a slightly awkward silent elevator ride, they stopped in front of a door. Tony placed his hand on the square beside it and it popped open. Inside, Noelle was astounded to see several boxes of equipment, mostly parts of Iron Man suits. Tony walked over and pulled up a screen.
"Where are we?" She asked, amazed as ever at the situation she had found herself in. People from Arkansas weren't typically invited to secret superhero rooms.
A man's voice answered her back. "Welcome, Ms. Norris. Pleased to finally meet you." Noelle whipped around but saw only Tony. "Sorry to startle you. I'm JARVIS,Mr. Stark's.."
Tony interrupted him. "Butler. He's my computer butler."
Noelle wasn't totally sure, but she thought she heard the computer sigh. "Yes, I am his computer butler, as he so eloquently put it."
Stark snapped in her direction. "You. We have some details to work out."
Noelle cocked an eyebrow at him. "Details for what?"
He looked her as if she should obviously know the answer. "You're suit, of course."
Her eyes widened. "My what?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "Come on catch up. Fury told me about you joining us to fight.."
Noelle interrupted, "Possibly going to fight. Probably not."
He continued as if she hadn't spoken. "He also informed me that you are like a small, baby bunny if anyone gets close to you."
Noelle started to object. "I am not! I've been training with Natasha and.."
Now he interrupted her. He held up his hands in mock sympathy. "Which is great, you know, as long as it's one regular person attacking you with no weapon. But what about if it's a hundred not-regular guys with weapons? We need to get you some protection in case one of us can't be there."
She looked at him skeptically. "Fair. But it takes enough of my energy just to walk in my own body, let alone walking in heavy armor."
He walked from the screen he had been working at over to a wall. "JARVIS, show Norris here what you've been thinking." As some holograms appeared before her, he continued. "He's been scanning you since you entered the room, so we have your measurements." Cool. I think.
JARVIS spoke up, "Yes, so let's begin." Noelle looked and saw glowing twins of herself before her. Each had on a different outfit. "To your right is an idea based off of one potential fighting style." The hologram showed her in almost Viking-like armour, similar to what she had seen Thor wear. "While it will restrict your movement, it will keep you protected from powerful opponents." Noelle didn't think she liked the idea of not being able to move around. Apparently, the look on her face showed what she was thinking. JARVIS paused, then continued. "So not that one. Moving on. This next one we have created for complete body coverage, but still allows for flexible movement." It showed her in a full body suit, like one Natasha would wear. "It's made of the same material many of the others wear. Breathable, but tough as a diamond."
She cringed, clearly seeing the difference between how Natasha looked versus how she looked in a body suit. "I like the idea behind this.. but maybe a little less form fitting." She chuckled and blushed.
"Noted", JARVIS continued. "Let me brainstorm."
The holograms disappeared and Noelle glanced at Stark and gave a small laugh. "Sorry, guess you didn't realize how picky I was when Fury asked you to do this."
He shook his head at her slightly. "I'm still changing my suit. It's really not a big deal. JARVIS is a genius, because, well, a genius made him. He'll get it perfect for you."
Noelle nodded. "Thank you for doing this, but I'm still not sure I'm going to need it. I had promised myself I'd never use my powers to hurt anyone again. I mean, of course I realize what's at stake here, but it's not like I can just forget what I've done." As she talked, she walked around the room, admiring his work. "What you do is cool and helpful. What I do… it's deadly to everyone. Not just my enemies."
Stark stopped working. He seemed lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly, he clapped his hands together. "I've got it! JARVIS, do a full scan of her, including her clothes."
JARVIS responded. "Yes, sir. Already done. I believe I know exactly where you're going with this."
Tony began to adjust things on his screen. Suddenly, a hologram popped up before her. She took a step back, startled. But she leaned in once she got a closer look. "Stark, is this a game? That's the exact thing I'm wearing!"
His eyes gleamed at his own genius. "Exactly. I'm going to make your armor look like your everyday clothes. Some minor tweaks of course, but that way you won't have to worry about adjusting to it! I'm brilliant, I know."
Noelle smiled giddily. "Well, I can't argue with that. It's perfect! Seriously, thank you so much."
Tony nodded. "If you're going to help us not die, I'd better help make sure you stay alive." He gave her a half smile. "Go get some rest kid, if we need you I'll tell them where to look. You're armor will be ready by tomorrow."
Noelle smirked at him. "Well, I guess it's a theme around here to try to be my dad." She yawned aggressively. Ok body, I hear you. "But apparently you aren't wrong. Thanks again. Really." She turned to go and he waved at her. She waved back and called over her shoulder, "Stay out of trouble so I can rest some."
An hour later found Noelle finally in her bed. It would have been sooner, but she had gotten lost twice trying to find her way back from Tony's lab. She thought back on her day and smiled. What a whirlwind. What have I gotten myself into? She frowned, thinking about why some of the events had happened. She really didn't want to fight. Loathed the idea of it. But knowing that she could be even just a tiny bit helpful in keeping the team alive should Loki strike was swaying her opinion. It's not that I'm a great fighter, but I could at least stand there and heal them while they fight. If she did that, she wouldn't have to hurt anyone except the few who got close to her, if any did. It sounded perfect. But Noelle wasn't sure if she'd even be able to keep herself alive.
She fell asleep that night, still warring with herself. Little did she know, she'd have to make a choice very soon.
