"How closely did you read Emily's file?" Steve casually asked Sam as they returned to the apartment after their morning run.
Sam shrugged. "Saw she was from South Carolina. She's got a helluva lot of degrees. Why?"
"No reason," Steve said innocently. "You want first shower?"
"Yes," Sam said fervently, and headed straight for the bathroom. Steve headed for the kitchen. Coffee had little actual effect on him, but the smell and routine was soothing.
The door to the apartment opened. "So I was just chatting with your neighbor," Tony Stark said conversationally, as if he hadn't just massively invaded Steve's privacy.
"Haven't you heard of knocking?" Steve demanded, torn between annoyance and amusement.
"Have you read her file?" Stark asked.
"Very thoroughly," Steve replied emphatically. If Stark had found the same information that he had, he'd understand the implications.
"I need you to help convince her to join the Avengers."
Steve looked straight at Stark. "You aren't serious."
"I am deathly serious, Captain."
"Did Fury put you up to this?"
"After a fashion," Stark replied. "He put the information well within my reach. He had to know that I'd make full use of it."
Steve had to admit that this was a fair point. Emily's background had been made readily available to them all; it just took a little digging.
"Why do you want her? Last I checked, you weren't much of a team player," Steve said.
"I can play nice when I need to—and in this case I really need to." Stark looked directly at Steve. "Have you looked much at the footage of these aliens we're dealing with?"
Steve shook his head.
"I have. I've watched it over and over, frame by frame. Usually when we deal with aliens we're hilariously outgunned. In this case, I think we might be…out-evolved."
"Explain."
"I'm not sure I can. These aliens are…some are canine, some are feline. Others appear amphibious or reptilian. All are hyper-intelligent and ridiculously strong for their body mass."
"How can that level of intelligence exist with an equal level of diversity?" Steve asked in alarm.
"They must come from a planet more bountiful than ours—which of course raises the question of what they stand to gain here. My point is, I won't be of much use against them, being made of metal and all. You and Banner might do better. But what we really need is someone like Emily."
"I think I understand," Steve said, frowning. "She can empathize with them on a level that we never could…"
"More than that. If it comes down to it, she can imitate their fighting style precisely—and improve on it vastly by tapping into whatever Earth has to offer. I tried to convince her to go to the zoo, but no dice."
"Did she tell you why she's in D.C.?"
"She said she wants a normal life."
"And you don't think we should respect that."
"Not at the moment, no. We need her. The Avengers need her, Earth needs her."
I need her. Steve pushed the thought away; he'd hardly known her a month, for crying out loud.
Sam emerged from the bathroom, water dripping down his neck. "I thought I heard you, Stark. What's up?" They shook hands.
"Emily's a mutant and Stark wants her on our team," Steve said bluntly.
"A what? How long have you known?"
Steve didn't answer.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"It was need to know information," Steve said.
"And now you know!" Stark put in genially.
Sam glared at both of them. "I am not happy about this," he announced. "How did you find out?"
"It's all in the file," Stark said innocently.
"That's bull crap. I read that file."
"How thoroughly?"
"What?"
"Listed under her educational credits—which are substantial—is a passing reference to the Xavier Institute," Stark explained.
The light dawned on Sam's face. "I can't believe I missed that." He looked expectantly from one man to the other. "So, what can she do? Why's she need to be on our team?"
"She can, ah, tap into animal consciousness and take on their abilities for her own purposes," Steve explained as succinctly as he could.
"So what the hell does that mean?"
"Friday night she started doing bird calls, and the birds talked back."
"Where was this?" Stark asked curiously.
"We were on the National Mall," Steve said shortly.
"Just the two of you?"
"Yes," he admitted reluctantly.
"Dammit!" Tony exclaimed. "I owe Natasha twenty bucks."
"What?"
Sam started laughing.
"We've a running bet about when you two would….fondue? Isn't that what you call it?"
Steve's face was bright red. "It wasn't like that," he grumbled. "We were just…sitting."
"Sitting," Stark echoed. They both looked at him expectantly, and Steve realized he wasn't getting out of this unscathed.
"We got tired of the club, so we went outside for some air," he said.
"Well, that's boring," Tony complained. "However, it does mean that Natasha owes me twenty bucks, rather than the reverse. Much better."
The door to the apartment opened again. Emily stormed in, apparently intending to rant about Tony, but she halted dead in her tracks when she saw the three of them clustered around the table.
"Shit," she said, and turned on her heel. Tony beat her to the door and held it shut.
"We need to talk, princess."
"We don't need to talk about anything," she snapped. "Let me by, Stark."
"C'mon, Emily," Sam said reasonably. "Just sit down for a minute."
She whirled on them. "I will not sit down. You don't know what you're asking! You don't realize what'll happen!"
"To who? You? We're more concerned about what might happen to humanity," Stark said callously.
Without warning, Emily turned and spat in his face. Stark yelled in astonishment and wiped his face with his shirt. "It burns!"
"Spitting cobra," she said shortly.
"How'd you get it that fast?" Sam asked in astonishment.
She sighed heavily. "I've been repressing it, but when I woke up this morning I was…fully charged, we'll say. Every animal in this city is currently in my head."
Steve looked at her in alarm. "That sounds crowded."
"You have no idea," she said darkly.
"She spat on me!" Tony exclaimed.
"You deserved it," she said coldly, and turned for the door again. Amazingly, Stark blocked her path again. "You really want to mess with me, Stark?"
"No," he retorted. "I want you to mess with them."
"I can't do that," she said.
"Can't, or won't?"
"Both."
"I don't believe you."
"Well, I suggest you closely examine your faith." She tried again for the door, but Stark wouldn't budge. She sighed heavily. "Don't forget you're asking for this," she said.
Tony Stark waited expectantly. Emily calmly lifted him several feet off the ground with one hand and tossed him aside. Stark crashed into the table and groaned. "Fire ant," she stated flatly.
"That hurt," he complained.
"Good," she said.
"Cut it out, Stark," Steve said, as the idiot got up and rushed her again. She whirled around and body-slammed him, knocking him out of the way. "Rhinoceros."
Stark tried to struggle to his feet, but she pinned him down with one foot. "African elephant. You are messing with the entire animal kingdom right now." She was eerily calm.
"Good," Stark said. "It's about time they started pulling their weight in protecting this planet."
Emily leaned into his face, opened her mouth, and roared. Sam covered his ears; Steve took several steps back. The sound was deep, guttural, primal…terrifying.
Stark was unfazed, or pretending to be so. "That's cute," he said. "Give me a chance to put on my suit and we'll see what you can really do."
"No," she said. She stepped back and allowed him to stand. "Leave me alone."
She stormed out of the apartment and slammed the door, which promptly cracked in half. "Shit!" she exclaimed from outside. "Sorry! Blame the rhino!"
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Steve demanded of Tony, wrenching the broken door off its hinges and following Emily back to her own apartment.
"Emily," he started.
"Just leave me alone, Steve," she said. She wouldn't look at him. He strode to her, grabbed her shoulder, and made her face him. Her eyes were full.
"It's okay," he told her.
"No, it's not," she said, and a tear spilled down her cheek. "Last time I…tapped into this, a lot of people died. People I cared about. Once I start, I can't stop it. I'll…lose control. Lose my humanity. Don't you get that?"
"No, I don't," Steve said. "I'm not a superhero; I'm just a lab rat." She managed a watery smile, and wiped her eyes furiously with one hand.
"I'll do whatever else Fury needs me to do for this case—mission, whatever you call it—but I can't do this. Not because of a principle or anything, but because I can't…lose myself. Not again."
"You won't lose yourself." Steve put his hand under her chin and made her look directly at him. Her cheeks were pink, and he was surprised to see her pupils dilate visibly. "I'll be with you, every step of the way. I won't lose you, so you don't have to worry about it."
"It doesn't work like that," she said sourly.
"Sure it does."
"No, Steve. It doesn't." Suddenly she hissed violently, her eyes wide in fear. She immediately clapped a hand over her mouth and flushed. "Sorry. A…a snake just died."
"And you felt that?"
She nodded. "That must be awful," Steve said softly. "To have that many voices in your head, and suddenly they aren't there anymore."
"I feel their pain," she whispered. "I can block it out most of the time, but not always."
He couldn't stand the pain on her face anymore. He pulled her into his broad chest and wrapped his arms tightly around her. He couldn't keep her safe from herself this way, but the protective gesture made him feel better.
She held herself stiff for a moment. It had been a while since she'd gotten a real hug. A shudder ran through her slender frame as a squirrel got hit by a car. Steve rubbed her back soothingly, and she gave in to the sensation of being comforted.
Emily relaxed into his embrace, setting her mind free. The creatures of the city called out to her, demanding her attention. She enveloped them all, as Charles had taught her. It was a relief, really. Her hands tingled with sensations: bark, cement, water, air rushing between her feathers—fingers. She focused on the feeling of the fabric of Steve's shirt, soft and pliant under her fingertips. She focused on the hard muscle beneath the shirt.
Amazingly, it worked: she could feel all the animals, but their voices were not so insistent in her head. She could call upon anything she needed at any moment, but she was lodged firmly in her own consciousness, her own body. The body, she remembered, was being held by Steve Rogers. As if a hug could really help things.
Too practical, too animal, she told herself. It was a nice gesture. She managed to extricate her arms from where they were pinned against his chest and wrap them around his muscled waist. She rested her cheek on his shoulder and sighed.
"Better?" Steve murmured into her hair.
"Much better," she said fervently.
