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-yesiamweird
Isabella Marcone sat with her arms folded across the black onyx SHIELD table resting her head on her right arm. With the force of her chin, she was probably self-inflicting a bruise on her forearm, but she honestly hadn't a care.
As to the events that had just been played out, all Agent Marcone wanted to do was sit at the table in the somewhat quiet command center alone...Everything seemed to be, well, calm to say in the least.
This moment truly inspired the term, "calm before the storm" she thought taking in a deep breath. Moving her legs to cross the right one overtop of her left, she winced feeling the familiar pain throbbing from her right thigh.
During the attack with the Hulk, she had mindlessly forgotten that her SHIELD uniform was not fitted correctly leaving her medium sized waist and hips strained in the outfit. Now that her body had calmed from the adrenaline rush, the pain reminded her of her humanly and most certainly her non-superhuman strength.
Sitting her head up into the air and then huffing her back into the plush cushion of the black leather chair, Bella heard a group of footsteps walking down the hallway towards the table. She only grunted when she observed who the group had been.
"Commander." Bella replied standing from her chair and nodding her head. Her look had been stern looking into his one good eye. Then she looked to the two men at his side, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. "Gentlemen…" She nodded to each one and then turned pacing out of the room without another word.
As she walked down the hallway, she managed to hear slight echoes of her name, "Marcone! Bella!" Coming from Captain America…but she refused to answer.
Stopping in her tracks, Bella looked down to her feet, her hair messily shadowing her sad and pathetic face. "Mom…" She whispered to her boots and then flipped her hair out from her face continuing forwards.
"You would probably be better talking to a wall, Captain." Furry responded to Rogers' call for the young agent. "She's having a moment."
Rogers and Stark took a seat at the table bowing their heads. They too felt this 'calm before the storm' sensation Bella felt merely moments ago. Fury pulled something from out of his trench-coat pocket holding the object carefully. He lifted his head up to Steve throwing the deck of bloody cards across the table. "These were in Phil Coulson's jacket…guess he never did get you to sign them…"
Bella mindlessly wondered down the hallway of the Hellicarrier not really caring where she would end up. Even if she were to fall off the damn ship, she wouldn't care at this point. Her world, her life, everything she had done and worked for seemed meaningless.
Eventually, Bella stopped just before she ran into a pole. Lifting her eyes up from her spot focused on the ground, she groaned in annoyance to the place her feet had taken her back too.
The room Coulson had died right in front of her.
She looked to the wall, still smothered in his blood and then griped the railing afraid she might have thrown-up from the sight, or throw herself over into the pit below.
"Goddamnit!" She yelled out shaking the sturdy metal railing trying to release her anger consuming her body. Is this how Bruce felt? She had to admit, she would really like to turn super Hulk right about now and just destroy this blasted ship to the ground.
She stopped her frustration on the innocent rail and soon the sound of her heavy breathing filled the quiet room.
"Mom…I wish you were here. You could tell me what to do…what to say…how to act in this situation…" She thought about her mother's stories from the war in Iraq. Even her mother had lost allies in battles, but Bella was not in the Army. She wasn't a solider…and neither were Liz or Coulson. It just wasn't fair… "And then to hear Coulson say something about Dad…What does it mean, Mom?"
She closed her eyes trying to visualize an image of her father but nothing would come to memory. He had left her and her mother when she was 10, but even before that he had finally asked to marry Celina when Bella was 6. She only spent a distant 4 years with the man that gave her life…
How strong of a woman Celina Marcone had to be…to tell her daughter at a young age why she didn't have a daddy. And then to finally have one, but then tell the little girl that her daddy is a mean man…She visualized her mother's almost perfect face. Her square jaw line and short black hair. Her smile, often referred to as being masculine, with the two dimples Bella had grown to love since she first laid her eyes on her mother as an infant. Her mother had the hardest job of being both a father and a mother for Bella.
And she wouldn't take back any moment she had ever spent with Celina Marcone.
Opening her eyes, she stared back to the wall with the blood from Phil Coulson… He knew her father. Whether it was on good terms or bad, somehow Phil knew the man and even compared him to her just before he took his last breaths.
Earning a groan and a frustrated hair grab, Bella shook her head closing her eyes. She was beginning to get a headache from everything.
Just then, a set of steady footsteps made their way into the room as well. Looking up and through her hair, Bella watched carefully as Tony Stark made his way in front of the woman. "Sweet cakes?" He offered her a smile but then lifted an eyebrow when she didn't respond.
The two stood there in silence only hearing a low rumble of the ships engines until another set of footsteps entered from behind. Stark lifted his head pass Bella towards Rogers in the corner. "Captain." He muttered with a nod and then focused back to the female. "Bells I-"
"Do not call me, 'Bells', Stark!" She raised her head crossing her eyebrows at the man. "Liz was the only one to call me that, so… stop…" The anger in her voice managed to disappear at her last sentence.
The three stood in silence once again, until Steve could no longer take the tension thickening in the room. "How long had you known her?"
Bella looked to the blonde man, who figuratively had his tail between his legs hoping he wouldn't be reprimanded for his question. Bella sighed and looked into his blue eyes. "Since I joined. She was my best friend. My only friend. I didn't have time to party and get into trouble when I went to college. I had to finish as fast as I could, I didn't have money and…" her words faded not wanting to tell these men she had only just met her whole story. "Coulson was a good friend too…"
"Was he married?" Steve looked kindly to Bella.
"No," Stark responded after the scolding agent refused to answer. "Well, there was a cellist, I think."
"I'm sorry...He seemed like a good man," Steve walked closer to the young woman attempting to comfort her by his position.
"He was an idiot," Tony half-assed a chuckle looking towards the now glaring amber-haired woman.
"Why? For believing?" Bella muttered out annoyed by his attitude.
Tony only shook his head as the captain walked towards him. "For taking on Loki alone-"
"He was doing his job." Steve muttered through clenched teeth indicating with his eyes towards the woman to his back.
The genius scoffed. "No, he was out of his league! H- he should have waited!"
"Is this the first time you lost a soldier?" Steve raised an eyebrow now catching Bella's attention from behind.
"We are NOT soldiers." Bella pulled Steve's arm back from Tony barely. A superhuman he was indeed. Even when he wasn't trying, Bella could almost barley move him. "Coulson and Liz were NOT soldiers. I am NOT a soldier! And I am NOT marching to Fury's fife!"
"Well, neither am I…" The captain placed a gentle hand on Bella's shoulder but she quickly shoved it off walking away from the two gentlemen down the hall way.
Rogers was about to chase after the woman as he noticed the saddening look in her eye when she had mentioned the word 'solider' but instead Tony Stark held him back. "Just don't Cap…" He muttered looking as the young woman walked away from his sight.
"Fury's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now we've got to put that behind us if we want to get thisdone." Rogers looked back at the well groomed man and then continued, "Now, Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list-"
"He made it personal," Stark cut into the captain's statement walking towards the hall Bella had just walked down. "To us and to her…"
"That's not the point-"
"That is the point! That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?" Tony looked to the ground walking forward, lost in his own thoughts.
"To tear us apart…" Steve retaliated not understanding the meaning of the whole situation.
"Yeah, divide and conquer is great, but, he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us…he wants to be seen doing it…he wants an audience." Stark looked to the blue eyes of the Captain understanding the situation the group had been put in.
"Right, I caught his act in Stuttgart." Rogers nodded slightly still not fully understanding Stark's realization.
"That's just the previews. This…this is opening night. And Loki, he's a full tailed diva. He wants the flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered-" Stark stopped his thoughts. "Son of a bitch!"
Blinking away the tears in her grey eyes, Bella once again mindlessly walked down the hallway not caring where she would end up. After a few strides and minutes of walking she found herself in front of an opened door looking through to see who was behind it.
Widening her eyes, she quickly threw herself back against the wall not believing the sight she had just witnessed. "Was that really Natasha and Clint kissing? Or is my head just playing tricks on me?" She ran a nervous hand through her hair now turning her head towards the squeaky door.
"Isabella?" Natasha raised an eyebrow at the woman's distressed state and offered her a hand in.
"Marcone." Clint stood from his position revealing a slight and embarrassed smile. "Good to see you still in one piece."
Bella nodded her head still with her back and neck plastered on the wall. "Yea, good to see you too." She replied nervous.
"Please…you look upset." Widow offered her another nod inside finally pushing Bella to walk into the infirmary with the two.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be interrupt-"
"You weren't" Natasha smiled with her plump red lips and then looked to Clint who only gave an expressionless face. "Are you okay?"
Bella only shook her head watching Clint walk towards the bathroom. "No…I just…Loki…" She groaned resting her forehead in her palms while the red-head patted her back slightly.
"Seems like he's screwed everything up around here." Clint's voice spoke through the door. His voice had a hint of annoyance and humor behind it.
About to speak, Bella had been cut off by the closed door of the room being pushed aside. "Time to-" Steve Rogers entered looking back at the two female agents staring at him as if he had interrupted, which technically he had… "Time to go." He shook his head finishing his previous statement.
Natasha tilted her head slightly confused. "Go where?" she asked.
"I'll tell you on the way," Steve responded catching a glimpse from Bella's eyes. "Can you fly one of those jets?" He looked back to the red-head.
Bella stood up, "I can!" She yelled a bit loudly walking in front of Rogers. Hopefully this could be her moment to have revenge on Loki. No, an agent in her position should not be out fighting with the superheroes, but she needed this moment to release all the anger built up inside of her.
Steve and the other's knew this as well.
The door to the bathroom interrupted the Captain revealing Agent Barton, "You're going to need two pilots. I can too," he nodded to Bella and then to the opposing man.
The last time Steve had seen this man, he had been under Loki's control. He looked skeptical to Widow who only nodded her head as a confirmation of Barton's psychological state.
"You got a suit?" Steve questioned the man.
Barton only nodded, "Then suit up." He ordered and then looked to the amber-haired female, "You too."
Bella smiled, "Already suited, Captain!"
After Steve had hilariously kicked out the Agent working on the jet they were going to steal to face Loki's army in New York City, Bella and Clint climbed into the cock-pit seats readying themselves for the flight.
"Stark?" Bella called out as the suited Iron Man attempted to get a head start from the Jet, "We are going to be receiving on channel 22, communicate with us on there." She nodded putting a small earpiece communicator in her right ear. She then handed Clint and the other two the small circular ear piece.
"Got it Sweet Cakes." Stark nodded and then his iron mask disguised his face as he jumped from out of the jet and into the air. They had planned on attempting to get Stark to distract Loki and then try to stop Selvig from completing the portal while the others made their way in the jet. Yes, a jet was fast, but not as fast as Iron Man and JARVIS.
"What is this?" Steve questioned picking up the tiny black earpiece from Bella's hand. She only giggled and tapped to her right ear showing him how she had put in on. "It's a way for us to communicate if we get separated. I have extra in case Thor or Bruce show up…" She turned back griping the steering stick nervously. "I hope they are okay…"
"They are big boys." Clint snorted flipping a few switches, "Bruce may be a little moody, but he can handle his own…I don't know much about the other As-guard, was it?" He looked to the young woman trying to give her a pep talk. She nodded to his statement attempting to clear her mind from the others.
"Hold onto your horse's folks," Bella started the engine and then flipped a green switch to start the thrusters. She looked to Clint once again and then back to focus on driving the complicated jet, "3-2-" but the jet had taken off right before Bella could utter the word, "one".