"Loneliness has always been with me, with me,
Maybe we don't have to be all alone."
-The Fray, "The Fighter."
That next morning, Paisley had quickly learned that being in the same room as both Coulson and Steve Rogers was extremely uncomfortable. She didn't know who she felt worse for; her babbling superior, or the man out of time, struggling with the technology he'd been given to go over, and having to deal with said superior's extremely… disconcerting chatter. Steve had just gone over Banner's file, which was one of the few to strike his interest. He'd paused at both hers and Stark's- Tony's because he was the son of someone whom he'd once known, and hers because she was sitting right across from him. Phil Coulson hovered, and Paisley really, really wished she could be watching this all. That was one of the things she'd missed about having eyes that worked; watching body language. She'd always dabbled in anthropology and people-watching, and she'd been known for decoding people in her prime.
"So this Dr. Banner was trying to replicate the serum that was used on me?" Captain America asked, looking to the two agents before him.
Coulson nodded, clearing his throat with a delighted sparkle in his eyes. "A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key in unlocking Erskine's original formula."
The Captain let out a soft hum as he perused the data before his eyes. "Didn't really go his way, did it?"
"Not so much." Coulson shrugged, "though, when he's not that thing, the guy's like a regular Stephen Hawking." Yet another awkward silence, and another smirk on Paisley's face. Coulson, come on. After noting Steve's confusion, the senior agent quickly re-phrased. "He's like… a smart person."
"Oh," Steve nodded, his tone of voice indicating that he was only pretending to understand.
Coulson changed the topic quickly, hoping to strike a better note with his idol. "I gotta say, it's an honor to meet you, officially." Paisley cringed, feeling the uncomfortability heading towards them like a semi truck. "I sort-of met you; I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping." Steve gave Coulson a look of complete bewilderment and light amusement, and Paisley nearly choked. "I-I mean… I was, uh, I was present while you were unconscious, from the ice. You know, it's really… It's just a… just a huge honor to have you on board." She inwardly laughed, grinning at his loss for words. Steve let out a light chuckle, and stood to observe what lay before them. She was glad they had seemingly forgotten her; she had always been happier as the observer.
"Well, I hope I'm the man for the job." He responded, his words heavy. She could tell that he'd been through a lot recently.
Coulson nodded, with a wide grin. "Believe me- you are- absolutely. Oh, and we've made a some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input." The last bit held every ounce of fan-boy pride that Phil could muster.
"The uniform?" He questioned, pausing as if in thought. "Aren't the stars and stripes a little old-fashioned?"
Another pause; this one wasn't uncertain or argumentative, but more thoughtful. Reverent, almost. "With everything that's happening… the things that are about to come to light… People might just need a little old-fashioned."
This time, Paisley couldn't agree more.
It wasn't long after that when they arrived, greeted by Natasha Romanoff. "Agent Reynolds," She greeted Paisley, who nodded with a light smile. They both held looks of loss and fervor- they were both here for Clint. "And you must be Captain Rogers." She turned to greet Steve, who had a light blush on his face as he looked to the beautiful Russian.
"Hello, ma'am," He nodded, holding out a hand that she promptly shook.
"I'm Agent Romanoff," she introduced. "You know, it was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon." Paisley giggled, as if to say, 'he already has.' "Did he ask you to sign his trading cards yet?"
Steve raised a brow. "Trading cards?"
It was Natasha's turn to laugh. "They're vintage- he's very proud."
Before they could usher in more of the conversation, another approached. Steve turned to the man, who was slightly shorter than the others, and fairly unassuming. He fiddled nervously with his hands, looking about with shifting eyes. "Dr. Banner," the Captain called out, nodding to the man with another outstretched hand. Must have been the main greeting of the forties.
Bruce Banner took the gesture with a firm grip. "Yeah, hi. They told me you'd be coming." He sounded distant, like he wasn't really happy to be there. Paisley couldn't blame him.
"Word is you can find the cube." Steve told him.
"Is that the only word on me?"
"That's the only word I care about."
Bruce seemed to appreciate Steve's wanting to keep on task, and the fact that he didn't shy away like most others around him. They walked around, flanked by the two female agents. "Must be strange for you… all of this."
Steve shrugged with a light smile as he clutched to his brown leather jacket like a safety blanket. "Not really. This is actually kind of familiar."
The structure started shaking, and deck hands started to run about, securing oxygen masks on their faces. Natasha and Paisley halted knowingly, and it was the blonde who spoke up. "Uh, guys? You might want to venture inside, and soon. It's going to get pretty hard to breathe."
The Captain and the Doctor both widened their eyes at this, and peered over the edge. "Is this a submarine?" Rogers asked, almost sounding excited.
"Really?" Bruce questioned, exasperated. "They want mein a submerged, pressurized container?" Paisley chortled, and it wasn't until the structure began to lift in to the air that the men realized what was happening. "Oh, no. This is much worse."
They briskly went inside, as it ascended hastily. As they stepped indoors, the large airship vanished in to the clouds, and the two newcomers surveyed the place in awe. Bruce paced the grounds timidly, and Steve looked awestruck as he approached Fury, pulling out a ten-dollar bill before handing it to the intimidating Director. The inside was vast, covered in technology of every sorts. Steve had never seen such a place in his life- the only thing that even came close was the old HYDRA ship he'd crashed all those years ago. Sadly, for him, it'd only felt like weeks. "Gentlemen," Fury welcomed them with a smirk as he stuffed the slip in to his pocket. "Thank you for coming."
"Thanks for asking nicely," Banner scoffed. "So, uh, how long will I be staying?"
Nick Fury drummed his fingers on the metal rails around the deck, watching his agents with a close eye before turning to face the Doctor. "Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear."
Bruce nodded, shrugging off his jacket. Paisley had to commend the two for not protesting this whole endeavor completely. Had she been willingly asked to do this, instead of pushed in by her longtime friend, she would have unwaveringly denied. "Gotcha. Where are you with that?"
Fury motioned to Coulson to explain, crossing his arms. Phil looked up from a monitor, a few feet away. "Oh, we're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops… if it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us." Wouldn't that take a while?
"That's not going to find them in time." Natasha sighed, voicing Paisley's concern. Bruce nodded in agreement.
"You have to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?"
Fury shrugged. "How many are there?"
"Call every lab you know," Banner instructed. "Tell them to put their spectrometers on the roof, and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster-recognition; at least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?" What had he just tried to explain? There's a reason Paisley wasn't a scientist.
The Director nodded. "Agent Reynolds- would you show Banner to his laboratory, please?" Her heart raced. She felt like a kindergartner who'd just been picked to recite the alphabet on the first day of class. "If you're able." She sighed, frowning. Should've expected the Fury tagline to ruin an excited moment.
"Yes, sir." She nodded, turning to a hallway. She'd been on the Helicarrier so many times, she knew exactly where to go- vision or none. Twenty paces down the hall, then a right. A couple more lefts, and voilà, it'd be there. It helped to be able to hear sound waves at abnormal frequencies. "Right this way, Dr. Banner." She motioned, and he followed.
She was glad to be away from all the agents, especially Fury, and she could tell that Bruce was, too. When they were a good way down the corridor, he let out a tense yawn. "Well, this place sure is cozy." He joked. She cracked a smirk, nose wrinkling slightly.
"Yeah, well, at least we have Fury to tell us bedtime stories and tuck us in at night."
He chuckled, throwing his jacket over his shoulder as they took the right. "I'm Dr. Banner," he said, and she nodded as if to reply, 'I know.'
"I'm Agent Paisley Reynolds." She told him with a smile. Left.
"I hope you're not as worried about the Other Guy as everyone else is," he breathed, and she shrugged as they hung the last left. Just a little more to go.
"Not like I'm an expert, but you seem to have it under control. No incidents for, what, a year?"
He nodded. "And counting." They halted at a glass door, and Paisley motioned to it.
"Access code is your hand print," she said, before returning to the conversation they'd engaged in. "Give yourself a bit more credit, though. I feel like you'd do just fine without being so reserved."
He smiled an followed her instructions, the door sliding open. "Thanks."
They both stepped in. "No problem. Oh, and if you need anything, you can just page me through the headsets or another agent. Simple, really. I'm the only fun one here, so remember me." He chuckled, nodding.
"Hey, uh, one more thing…" He called after her as she'd turned to walk away.
"Hm?"
Bruce was extremely analytical by nature; he'd kind of figured things out through the welder's glass strength glasses, Fury's comment, and her reaction to sound. "What Fury said… are you?"
Ah, if anyone would figure it out, it'd be him. She scratched the back of her head with a sheepish grin. "Can I trust you?" She joked, and he nodded as she pulled the glasses from her face. Her eyes were a glossy whitish color, devoid of color or sensation. He nodded, hypothesis proven correct. "I don't let many people know, so you'll have to keep it a secret."
"May I ask why? It's a secret, I mean."
She shrugged, sliding the pair of shades back on. "I'm just an agent. I don't want any special treatment."
He smiled, nodding. "I understand. See you later, Agent."
She gave a slight wave before turning back around. Paisley hadn't minded letting the Doctor in on her little tidbit- he needed someone to trust in the group. If she shared first, he was bound to be more comfortable. That, and it wasn't entirely a secret, just something she didn't outright tell everyone she met. She had never really been ashamed of her blindness; it was just something people naturally saw as a weakness. Not that she viewed it that way, not at all. But, others did, and she didn't want to be viewed as a charity case. In fact, the only ones that knew outright were Fury, Natasha, Clint, Hill, Coulson, and now Banner. She was lucky to be in the company of those so unbiased; none of them ever treated her differently than any other. Well, Fury did like to give her a hard time now and then… but Hell, that was just the Director. She was proud of herself. Even if that included what some would call a crippling disability. Especially with it. She'd seen the world before she went blind. It was a cruel place. After she did, she considered herself lucky. She could no longer judge so harshly on appearance like she had in her childhood. She only heard voices. She heard people. And for that gift, she was honestly thankful.
It was hours later, when all but Banner were in the main control room, that news was heard. Coulson was standing by the Captain, gibbering on about his love for him, and Fury was standing tall above them all. "… I mean, if it's not too much trouble," Coulson, looked to him, his gaze full of admiration and wonder.
"No," Steve shrugged, blasé. "No, it's fine."
Coulson was evidently pleased. "It's a vintage set- took me a couple of years to collect them all. Near mint, slight foxing around the edges-"
His spiel was cut short by the alert of all the computer monitors, attracting one hundred percent of everyone's attention. Paisley stood, sauntering over to the gathered group. Fury looked to the group of recruits with a furrowed brow, waiting for a report. Senior Agent Sitwell brushed through, peering over. "We got a hit! Sixty-seven percent match. Wait, cross-match, seventy-nine percent."
Coulson crooned his neck to get a good look. "Location?"
"Stuttgart, Germany." Sitwell evaluated, "28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding."
Fury smirked, looking to the two members before him who were practically ready to go. It was show-time, and they'd just gotten the lead they'd been looking for. "Captain, Reynolds… You're up."
Wow, I honestly didn't expect to crank this chapter out so fast! Thanks to all the reviews, follows, and favorites! You guys keep me motivated. :)
This chapter doesn't have any Tony in it, so sorry. But it's actually one of my favorites. This sets up some more of Paisley's views and her friendship with Bruce, which will develop more later. In the next chapter, we'll be seeing her fight! I'm really excited, and hope you guys are, too.
So, thanks for reading! Drop me a line with any comments, critiques, etc. that you may have.
-Caroline.
