Leave Out All the Rest – Linkin Park

Chapter Six

"Any luck?" Shiloh entered Dr. Banner's lab stood in near the two scientists, watching them work.

"Finding the Tesseract? None. Hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D? Almost there." Her head snapped toward the direction of Tony. Sure enough, he was standing in front of a computer that was pulling up several classified files.

"Have you lost your mind?" She nearly screeched, "You have no authority to do this."

"All the more reason to do it, sweet cheeks," Tony smirked, "Besides, you know you're dying to know all of S.H.I.E.L.D's dirty little secrets. Especially about why they want the Tesseract so badly."

"They're using it for sustainable energy, everyone knows that." Except, even she didn't believe her answer.

"Tony's been in the clean energy business for about a year, why wouldn't they call him in, if that were the case?" Bruce suggested. Shiloh shook her head. Had her father been lying to her the entire time?

Walking closer to the computer, her eyes watched as file after file was cracked. There were so many secrets here; even she didn't know them all. And Tony had a point. They were all dying to know the secrets of the organization that had called on them to save the world.

Unable to continue looking at the screen, Shiloh turned to leave, only to run into Steve. The look on his face let her know that he had been listening. When their eyes met, there was a mutual need for answers, but they wouldn't find them there. Silently, Shiloh walked past him and hurried down the hall. Though she gave no gesture to follow, she knew Steve was right behind her.

Opening a door labeled 'Restricted Access,' Shiloh led Steve down several flights of stairs, into a large storage area.

"I don't even know what we're looking for." She looked at Steve, who was also at a loss.

"So we just look."

Separating in order to cover more area, they began to silently search the stacks of crates. As she pried open each box, Shiloh felt relief when she would only find uniforms. She thought the best of her father, and honestly didn't want anything to change that. Her father was Nick Fury, though. He hadn't spent the last eighteen years hiding her, but also hiding things from her. She was one of his dirty little secrets, and she was willingly going along with it.

Recalling Steve's words from the day before, she remembered how she felt when she spoke to Loki the final time. She had ripped into Tony, claiming that they were a team, but had been lying to them the entire time about who she really was. Though she never had any intention of joining Loki, she was still a traitor.

"Shiloh? Are you okay?" Her thoughts dissipated as she remembered she was supposed to be looking for S.H.I.E.L.D's secrets. Chuckling to herself, she realized she'd already found one a long time ago.

"I'm fine, I just…" Steve stopped his searching and walked over to Shiloh, wanting to hear what she had to say, "I want to tell you something."

There, now she needed to take the next step. She actually had to tell him.

"Okay, tell me." He was standing really close now, and Shiloh found that it had suddenly become very difficult to breathe. Nevertheless, he was here and he was listening.

"You were right, you know, when we talked yesterday. I haven't been completely honest with you guys, and it's because I haven't been totally loyal to you." She looked away to avoid his piercing gaze, "It's not that I don't want to be on this team, I really do. I fought so hard to be here, and I realize that some things are going to come to light, with S.H.I.E.L.D and all. So now is as good a time as any to come clean."

"Shiloh, you're rambling." Her eyes snapped back to his and she realized he was smiling, "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

She could? As she considered trusting Steve, the night before played out in her mind. He had come to make sure she was alright before she went into to interrogate Loki. He wished her luck and stood near the door the entire time, in case she needed him. When it was all over, and Loki stood somewhat put out that she wouldn't be back to see him, Steve had taken her hand and led her away from the hostile Asgardian. He'd walked her back to her room, and asked her once again if she was alright. She assured him many times that she was before he would finally leave. They'd said good night and she shut the door.

What she didn't know was that he'd waited until she was sound asleep, before he finally went back to his living quarters. Steve wanted her to trust him, because he saw in her the same kind of person he saw in Peggy Carter, seventy years ago. She was strong, defiant, and confident. It was a pretty good combination, in his opinion.

"The thing is Steve, Director Fury is…" She trailed off as her eyes caught sight of something behind him. As she made out what it was, disappointment flooded her, "Director Fury is not who I thought he was."

Steve turned to see what she was looking at and his eyes landed on a box with the word 'Tessaract.' Walking over to it, he pried it open to reveal a crate full of guns specialized to harness the power of the cube. Pulling one out, he turned back to Shiloh only to see her storming off towards the entrance.

"Shiloh, wait!" He took the gun and hurried after her.

Shiloh ignored Steve's cries as she headed towards Dr. Banner's lab. As she walked, she could her someone yelling. Upon listening closely, she realized it was Loki.

"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Drakov's daughter, Tugenov, the hospital fire? Yes, Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer... PATHETIC! You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away! No, I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear! And when he wakes, he'll have just enough time to see the work he's done, and when he screams, I'll break his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!"

There was a deafening silence after the last word, just as Shiloh entered into Dr. Banner's lab. Tony gave her thumbs up and she realized he had successfully hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D's systems. She was about to speak with Natasha, Thor, and her father walked in, both on the defensive.

"Dr. Banner, we think you should take a break." Natasha suggested, but Bruce shook his head. Shiloh could see him becoming increasingly more irritated as the minutes passed.

"Just let the guy blow off some steam, jeez." Tony interjected.

"You know well he can't do that," Steve had entered the room and had taken on a defensive stance.

Natasha made another plea for the Doctor, but he ignored her, instead looking at her father, "What exactly is Phase Two, Director Fury?"

As she predicted, Fury made no attempt to answer. She wasn't going to stand there and let him lie, but before she could speak, Steve laid the gun they found on the table.

"Phase Two is all about using the Tesseract to make weapons! I thought you brought us together to save the world, not bring you a weapon!" All eyes were on Fury now, as he angrily pointed at Thor.

"Phase Two wasn't about you. It was about him."

"Me?"

"When the arrival of a visitor from another world confirmed that we are not alone in this universe, people got worried." Fury explained to everyone in the room.

"Our race means no harm, only peace! " Thor argued but Fury shook his head.

"But you're not the ONLY race in the universe!"

The room erupted into argument as everyone tried to justify the use of the Tesseract as a weapon. Feeling a headache coming on, Shiloh leaned against a table and looked over at Steve who was arguing with Tony and then to her father who was eyeing Dr. Banner with fear. Silence fell over the room when they realized Dr. Banner was holding Loki's scepter.

"Dr. Banner, put down the scepter." Fury's voice pierced the silence as Bruce snapped out of whatever trance he had been in and looked down at the weapon in his hand.

"Sorry kids, I guess you don't get to see my party trick today." He moved to walk past them just as the computer began to beep, indicating that the Tesseract had been found.

"We found it?" Shiloh barely had time to form the words as an explosion rocked the entire Helicarrier.

Falling to the ground, Shiloh let out a gasp of pain as her head hit the hard floor. Slightly dizzy, she tried to stand but only succeeded in nearly falling again. This time, Fury caught her.

"Shiloh? Look at me, Shi. Are you okay?" There was another explosion that sent Bruce and Natasha through the floor and separated Shiloh from her father.

"DAD!"

Every Avenger within hearing distance froze as that one simple word cut through the air followed by the roar of the unleashed Hulk.