Alexia felt as though she was spinning, or was it the room that was spinning, either way, she felt nauseous. She whimpered pathetically as she began to open her eyes.
"Whoa, someone get a bucket, she is about to hurl." The plastic basin was placed in front of her just in time as she was violently ill.
"You didn't see that coming." She looked up at the silver haired man in front of her, his thick accent confused her slightly, she did not know if she knew him. He was winking at Barton.
"Yeah, yeah, smart ass." The archer shook his head. "Good call." He slapped Wilson's arm.
"What can I say, I know that look, all new cadets to flight programmes lose their lunch a couple times before they get their wings. I'm going to get her a few saltines, they help settle her."
"Lady Alex?"
"I feel worse." She groaned. "I feel like I am on fire and freezing cold at the same time."
"Is Dr Banner finished analysing that blood yet?" Thor asked worriedly.
"Little longer Big Guy." Came a shout down the hall from Stark, who made his way back to the living area.
"She requires aid."
"It's been five hours since her last paracetamol."
"I don't feel sore, I feel sick." She groaned.
"Yeah, the vomiting gave that much away." Barton made a face as the smell came toward him.
"Shut it." Loki snapped, Barton took a step forward. "It is not as though she is doing this to purposely irritate you."
"What has you so defensive of her when you are so willing to annihilate the rest of us huh?" Barton demanded. "What makes her so special to you?"
"She is treated differently by your kind for something beyond her control and is then subjected to torture as a result and your concern is with regards me?" Loki snarled.
"Enough Loki. Barton, perhaps you and I should go and see if we can get some wood for a fire." Thor suggested. All too willing to get away from Loki, Barton stormed from the room, followed closely by the blonde god. "I know you do not trust my brother, and after everything he has done for you, I cannot for one moment blame you, but please my friend, I beseech you, do not cause tensions with him with regards that at this time."
"There is something odd going on, and brother or not, you know it too."
"Yes, I agree." That took some of the wind from Barton's sails. "He was tortured by Thanos, I told you this did I not?" Barton gave a small uncaring nod. "I have seen the manner in which he treats her, it is different to how he treats the rest of you Midgardians but there is reason for it. He understands what it is like to not be part of normal society."
"Meaning?"
"He is not my brother by birth."
"Yeah, your parents adopted him, you said."
"My father took him from a land that my own despise, and whom he was reared to hate and fear. Midgard has taught you all to hate and fear those different to you also, those like Lady Alex, he sees the similarities and sympathises with them."
"Thor, I get you want the guy raised as your brother back, but I am telling you, the guy who tried to take over Earth is not capable of such things as compassion and sympathy."
"I know you have seen the darkness of my brother, but I know him to be capable of good also. There was a time that were you to have met me, you would have thought the same of me, I was selfish, arrogant, and I thought you all beneath me, but I changed."
"Really?" Barton looked at him.
"The time I came to Midgard first, and tried to get Mjolnir back, you were aiming an arrow right at me, back then, had you and I spoken, I would not have been as I am today."
"And you think he is not trying to warp her?"
"I cannot see any evidence to suggest such wrong doings."
"I still do not trust him."
"I am not asking you to my friend, but I am asking you to not try and cause issues as he aids Lady Alex, she is weak at present, and with Dr Banner close, we do not need her becoming agitated, for fear we may unleash the beast." Barton simply nodded, there was no need for further motivation, the last thing any of them needed was for a Hulk-Out. "Thank you."
"Yes well, as soon as this is all over, I am going to take a vacation."
"What is a vacation?" Thor enquired.
"At this stage, were we both to come face to face with one, we would be equally stumped." Barton clapped his shoulder.
"I do not understand." Thor frowned, disliking that he was not able to comprehend the term Barton had used. They entered the house again and were met with a grim faced Stark and Banner. "What news is there, what is happening?" Thor looked between them.
"There is nothing we can do to help her, her blood needs to be allowed to replenish and she, well she is not like us anymore."
"In what way?" Captain America asked as he joined them, his arms folded.
"Her DNA is different, usually in humans there are four nucleobases, cytosine, guanine, adenine and thymine. She has a fifth. And her chromosomes are slightly different too, there is an extra pairing."
"So technically, she isn't actually a homo sapiens." Stark stated. "That is how SHIELD has been getting away with this. JARVIS hacked the files, as soon as they prove the test subject has these differences, they are not deemed to have human rights and therefore can be experimented on til death."
Wilson stared in disbelief at what they said. "They do this on a technicality?" Banner nodded. "I think I'm going to be sick. Man this is wrong on about twenty levels."
"So how do we get her blood to replenish?" Rogers asked.
"Well, she is O positive, but it's not like we can just walk into a blood bank and take some." Stark stated.
"Why not? Show me the nearest one; I'll be in and out in ten minutes." Barton offered.
"She may react badly to it, if it is so fundamentally different from the blood flowing in her; it may make her more ill." Banner explained.
"Or cure her." Stark added. "Or poison her."
"How was anything you just said helpful?" Rogers asked bemusedly.
"It was only meant to explain, whether you found you useful or not is none of my business."
"Have you told any of this to Lady Alex?" Thor asked.
"Not yet, from what we gather she is gone back to sleep, with nothing in her stomach, she got pretty weak again and dozed off, with her guard assassins and God, she seems to be sleeping off most of the narcotics they pumped into her." Stark explained.
"And Coulson?" Barton queried.
"I'm not sure we can tell him too much, I mean, can we actually trust him?" Stark questioned.
"He is in as much crap as the rest of us now, more actually. SHIELD will want his ass for taking his kid out of there." Barton argued.
"But she was only there because of him in the first place too, and from what JARVIS showed me, he was willing to ship her half way across the world before even talking to her. I really am not feeling like sharing too much with daddy dearest."
"Didn't you have a strained relationship with your father?" Barton challenged.
"Yeah, guess that means she and I have that in common, workaholic fathers who just don't give a damn, I knew there was a reason the kid and I always got on." Stark rambled.
"She's popular, isn't she?" Wilson commented. "I mean, Bucky isn't leaving her side and he doesn't even know her, Stark is going sass master, Thor is going all 'Protector of the Realms', Hill and Coulson have effectively lost their jobs for her, hell even I am cooking for her, and lets not even get started on her being the only human to ever get Loki to give a crap."
"You just know she was one of those 'no friends all study' kids at school though." Barton added as he walked inside, sick of standing in a hallway with his arms filled with logs. He walked through to the room where Alexia was still sleeping on the sofa, a warm blanket over her and went over to the fire place. "Anyone got a match?" Silence was the response. "Wonderful."
"So nothing can be done?" Loki turned to face those entering the room. "She will not be able to contain it until she recovers fully."
"Any idea how to, I dunno, let it out safely?" Stark questioned.
"She would have to be far stronger than she is at present." Loki replied factually.
"In Asgard, when a child is ready to use magic, they have a tutor who contains the magic as they learn to unleash their potential." Thor commented.
"I am powerless, remember?" Loki gave a sarcastic smile. "I am of no use on this front."
"But can you teach her to unleash it carefully, in little bursts?" Stark asked him.
"I am unsure what it is she even does, and she is even less sure, it is a gamble to say the least, but as she is so weak, if she were to try and unleash it purposely, it may well be dangerous."
"How had you planned on getting her to unleash it later in your little lessons?" Coulson spat.
"I had not intended on getting her to, not until she even figured out what it was." Loki stated boredly. "Contrary to your beliefs, I do not tend to go playing around with the first weapon I find and start randomly pressing buttons, hoping it will do what I wish, I analyse and calculate. Ask Thor, it is how we are trained." Thor nodded his agreement. "Speak with her when she awakens, if you get her to keep down food, I can see her attempting such in a few days, she is more attune to it now, that will aid her."
"What did you find from the blood tests?" Coulson asked. Stark left the room, choosing not to be part of it.
"Her DNA is fundamentally different, we know nothing of how to deal with the differences, so it is too risky to do anything other than get her to rest and recuperate naturally." Banner explained.
"Fundamentally?" His voice fearful.
"Yep, is there an echo in here?" Stark came back into the room, a scotch in hand. "And guess what JARVIS was able to dig up and tell me. No one? The genetic alterations are a result of abnormalities in the males XX or XY chromosome."
"Meaning what?"
"A kid inherits these things, from their father. So everything she has been through." Stark pointed to Coulson. "You are the reason she is like this."