Chapter Ten - Call It a Daymare

She was screaming in her dream and she was screaming as she awoke and that unbridled terror was the only true constant between the two. Her throat was raw and bloody by the time arms came around her.

"Whoa, whoa, kiddo, what's wrong?" Terry murmured into Ariel's hair. "Talk to me."

"I, I— There's so much fire," Ariel choked out. "I couldn't stop him. I couldn't— I let him die!"

"You didn't. You did nothing wrong," Terry said firmly. "Listen to me. You did absolutely nothing wrong at all."

"I . . . don't believe you," Ariel whispered.

"You should, sweetheart. You should."

"I think she had the hots for you, Stevie."

He groaned. "No, stop that. I think that from now on, I'll just stick to dancing with you. I've never been that uncomfortable in my life." He stepped out of the elevator.

She giggled, stumbling out after him. "We're home!" she announced loudly.

Tony looked up from his spot on the couch, controller in hand. "Welcome back. Ugh, you brought Steve."

"Charming, Stark," Steve said, smiling. "Really."

"How was dancing?" Bruce asked.

Ariel beamed. "Great! As it turns out, I am awesome at it. You should come next time, Brucie."

"I, I'm not sure that's a good idea. I get nervous around large crowds, and I have two left feet."

"Right." She smiled. "Well, then I'll just teach you here, then, okay?" She dropped down onto the couch next to Tony and smoothed out the skirt on her dress. "What are y'all up to?"

"Super Smash Brothers," Clint grunted from the floor. "C'mon, just— C'mon, man! I had you there!"

"Ooh! I wanna be Bowser!"

"He is not available!" Thor boomed. "I am Bowser!"

"What? I'm always Bowser!" Ariel pouted. "Fine. I'll be Kirby."

"Oh, no good. I'm Kirby," Tony said.

She scowled at him. Then she reached over and plucked the controller from his hands. "Problem solved."

"Hey!"

"You can be Peach."

"I don't wanna be Peach."

"Then you can be Samus. She's kinda got her own Iron Man suit going on, right? Steve! You should play! Who do you wanna be?"

"Um, I don't— I'm not familiar with this. What is it?"

They were interrupted by JARVIS said, "Agent Hayward, you have an incoming video call from Director Coulson."

She blinked. "Oh, uh, okay. Tell him to hold on. I'll answer it in my room."

"He would like Thor to be there as well."

"Oh." Ariel motioned to Thor. Then she dropped the controller in Tony's lap and got to her feet. "We'll be right there. Why don't you guys go ahead and explain this all to Steve?" She followed Thor to the elevator. "My floor please, JARVIS." She glanced at Thor. "You know what this is about?"

"I believe I do. I spoke with both the good director and the Allfather about establishing a proper diplomatic channel between our two realms."

"Oh." The elevator opened and Ariel led the way into her own room. She picked up the console ball sitting on her end table and set it on her coffee table. Then she sat down. "Go ahead and bring up the call, JARVIS." Then she squeaked when Thor sat down, making the cushions she was sitting on jump.

A holographic screen appeared above the ball and Coulson showed up. "Hayward, Thor."

She smiled. "Director."

He paused and raised an eyebrow. "You look nice, Ariel."

She beamed. "I went swing dancing with Steve. Thor said this was probably about diplomatic relations with Asgard?"

"Precisely. We would like to establish relations between Asgard and both SHIELD and the Avengers. As you are part of both, I decided you'd be the best for the job."

"Wha— Me? Why me? Why not . . . Steve? Or Nat? Or Clint?"

"Well, Steve might be a good speaker, but he'd crack under the stress of diplomatic negotiations. We can't risk that. Natasha's previous history with diplomacy has always involved manipulation and, quite possibly, assassination. I don't think that would go over well. And Clint is . . . well, Clint."

She sighed. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"You can do this. I wouldn't have decided on you if I didn't believe in you."

"I agree with the Director, Lady Ariel. You have a brilliant mind, well suited for complex and intellectual discourse."

"I . . . . Thanks, Thor." She took a deep breath. "Okay, then. What do I have to do?"

"Thor will familiarize you with Asgardian customs, history, traditions, and so on. I also have a lot of information I'm sending over. You have two weeks to prepare. The two of you leave on the 29th. Any questions?"

"Um." Ariel blinked. "So like, do I wear a suit?"

Coulson chuckled. "Hardly. Thor has communicated with SHIELD's costuming department about Asgardian wear and they're preparing several outfits for you. You'll go in on the 20th for fittings."

"Right. Um, okay. When's the info supposed to get there?"

"Should be there in the morning. I'd suggest you get plenty of sleep. You have a lot to go over." He smiled. "Good luck."

"Thanks."

The video disappeared and Ariel stared at the ball console instead. Thor put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm honored to be working with you."

She glanced up at him and managed a smiled. "Thanks, Thor," she murmured. "I, uh, I think I'm gonna get a shower and go ahead and go to bed. So I'll be well-rested tomorrow morning."

Thor got to his feet. "Of course. I'll inform the others of your new assignment." He smiled and left.

Ariel went through her shower in a haze, washing out the hairspray that Natasha had loaded her with in order to keep her hair up in its Forties style. The water ran hot at first, but then the cold shocked her back into awareness. She stumbled out and pulled on her pajamas before crawling into bed. JARVIS lowered her lights and her nightlight flickered on. Ariel drifted off to sleep.

Only to wake up screaming two hours later. Ariel bit down on her hand again until she managed to stop and waved off JARVIS's concerned. Then she stumbled into her bathroom and blearily bandaged herself up again. "I'm fine, JAR," she mumbled, stepping into her slippers and shuffling out through the hallway to the elevator. "Main floor," she rasped.

"Of course, Agent Hayward," JARVIS said softly.

When the elevator opened again for her, she stumbled into the kitchen. Ariel yawned and filled a kettle, setting it on the stove.

"Ariel? What are you doing up?"

She jumped and whipped around, snatching out the knife she kept at her hip. Then she focused in on the figure in front her.

"Whoa! It's just me. Just Steve."

"Oh." She licked her lips. "Sorry." She tucked the knife away. "What are you doing up?" Then she frowned. "You're still dressed."

"Yeah, well." He lifted the empty popcorn bag he was holding. "Cleaning up. The others headed to bed just a few minutes ago, but Clint and Tony had a food fight so it was a mess out here."

"Oh. Okay." She moved to the cabinets and took out a mug. Then she pulled out the canister of hot chocolate powder. "You want any?"

"Uh, sure. Thanks." He threw the bag away and went back over to the couches, where he started gathering up the empty bowls there.

Ariel got out another mug. "Whipped cream?"

"Please."

Ariel busied herself with making their drinks while he finished up. Then she joined him at the table and set a mug in front of him. "Drink up."

"Thanks."

She sat down and cradled the hot mug. "So, um, Thor told you about what Coulson wants me to do?"

"Yeah. Sounds like you'll be great at it. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

She nodded and they fell into a comfortable silence. She finished her hot chocolate and just stared down into her mug, dreading the idea of going back to her room and returning to those nightmares.

Steve got to his feet and took her mug. He moved to the sink and started rinsing them out. Then he motioned to her. "C'mon."

Ariel blinked and looked up. "What?"

"I said c'mon. You can stay in my room tonight." He held out his hand.

"Really?" Ariel bounced to her feet and took his hand. "Thanks."

When they got to his room, he waved towards the bed. "Go ahead." He dug through his dresser and pulled out some clothes. "I'm going to take a shower." He disappeared into the bathroom.

Ariel snuggled down in his bed and took a deep breath, letting the light filtering under the door comforting her into drowsiness. She was just drifting off when the door opened and she jerked in her sleep.

"Just me," Steve murmured to reassure her, leaving the bathroom light on and the door open just a touch. He moved over to the bed and slipped in beside her. "Go to sleep," he mumbled, curling around her.

"Mmm. You're like a giant teddy bear," she yawned. "Night, Stevie."

She'd known he'd been there for about an hour, but she didn't acknowledge him until she finally dropped down onto the bench clenching a bottle of water. "Can I help you?"

"Just checking up on my equipment. It's treating you well?"

"Yep." She weighed the collapsed staff in her hand. "I'm loving them. Thanks again."

Tony beamed. "Great. I'm already working on some ideas for improvements." He held up the tablet. "Was watching for flaws and stuff while you were working out that a better uniform could help with."

"Huh." She grinned and set down her water bottle. Then she dropped her staff next to it and rose to her feet. "C'mon. We're gonna spar."

"What?"

"I said we're gonna spar. That way, you can see it all up close. Plus, it's good practice for if you're ever caught outside your suit."

He eyed her for a long moment. Then he hauled himself to his feet with a groan. "I'm not exactly dressed for it."

She eyed the sweatpants and hoodie he was wearing. "Lose the hoodie and you'll be fine." She moved over to the mats. "Let's go."

Tony groaned and peeled off his hoodie, revealing the black tank he wore beneath. Then he shuffled after her. "I fight just fine."

"Maybe," she conceded. "Hit me. I'll be doing defense only. Get in a solid hit on me and we'll call it quits."

He stepped onto the mat an eyed her. "Fine. Okay. I can do that."

It was when he hit the mat for the sixteenth time that he moaned and didn't move to stand back up. "You're just teasing me at this point," he groaned. "You know that there's no way I could hit you."

"I'm going easy on you," she said, fixing up her ponytail. "You just have a lot of work you need to get done until you'd ever be good at fighting outside your suit."

"Well excuse me for not being—" He waved a hand at her and climbed to his feet. "Whatever the hell you are."

"Okay, rude. C'mon, I'll make you a smoothie. It'll help replace all those calories that your old man body needs." She grabbed his elbow and steered him towards the elevator. "How do you feel?"

"You said you were only gonna do defense," he whined.

Ariel squinted at him for a long moment. "That was defense, Tony."

And then the alarm went off.

"JARVIS," Tony barked out. "What's going on?"

"SHIELD has requested assistance. There are robots attacking Manhattan."

"Robots attacking—" The elevator opened and Tony stepped out. "I'll get my suit. JARVIS, take Ariel to the quinjet. Have everyone meet us there."

"Yes, Sir."

As the doors closed, Ariel pressed her fingers up against her beeper to focus. "JARVIS, what do you know?"

"The robots seem to be a mixture of attempts at recreating a drone version of the Iron Man armor while utilizing chitauri materials and technology."

"Shit," Ariel growled, leaving the elevator and pushing her way towards the jet.

JARVIS sounded almost amused when he said, "Aptly put."

"The others?" she asked, stopping briefly by the armory locker and making sure she was plenty stocked as far as bullets and her other weapons went.

"On their way."

She slipping out a com and turned it on before fitting it in her ear in favor of her beeper, which she stored away in her pocket. She heard the door open and glanced back. "Ready?"

"Are you?" Steve asked, frowning. "You aren't supposed to be in combat for another few months."

"I don't return to SHIELD for another few months," she corrected. "I'll be fine, worrywart."

"You better be," Clint said, clapping her on the shoulder and jogging up into the quinjet where he immediately situated himself in the cockpit. Natasha cast Ariel a smile and followed.

"Code Green only," Steve reminded Bruce as they walked up the ramp alongside Thor.

Bruce nodded, pulling at the sleeves of his shirt. "Of course."

Steve met Clint in the cockpit and the ramp closed as Ariel ducked inside. "Stark's meeting us there. Take us out. JARVIS, do you have any information on who's causing this?"

"Unknown, though I do believe I have a location. The abandoned observatory."

"That's the source of the drones?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Got it." He fit his com in. "Stark, you on?"

"Roger, Rogers."

Steve shook his head, but his lips twitched in a smile. "I want Iron Man, Thor, Blink, and Hawkeye to do damage control. Stop the drones and corral them as best as you can. Limit casualties. Black Widow and I will search for the source, and whoever's doing this. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Ariel finished tying her hair back in a fresh fishtail braid. "Hawkeye needs to start high up, Thor and Iron Man can switch on their own, and it'll be best if I start low."

"We'll drop you first."

"Aye, aye, Captain!"

"Approaching the— Holy shit!" Clint swung the quinjet to the side to avoid the drone that dove at them. "We're here!"

"Blink."

"Got it. Lower the ramp." She moved forward.

"Parachute?"

Ariel eyed the drones below them and shook her head. "No. I've got an idea." And then she jumped.

She heard a hiss in her coms that she just knew was Clint. But then she tackled the drone and locked her legs around the robot's hips. "Let's go for a ride," she muttered. It bucked beneath her and she buried her hands around its neck and reached for that well of power that had been bubbling inside her for god knows how long, but that it had taken the scepter for her to see. It shocked through her fingers and the metal crumbled beneath her.

Her stomach dropped as they began to fall and the launched off of that drone towards another one, swinging out her bo staff. A twist and a click and it extended, a spear splitting out of the end. She stabbed it through that drone and swung herself around her it to throw herself towards another, twisted her bo staff again to retract the spear and release its hold on the second drone. She leapt off and landed on the ground in a roll. "I touched down," she said into the coms, just before swinging around and dismantling another robot.

"Good," Steve buzzed in her ear. "Hawkeye, you ready to drop?"

"Aye, aye, Captain!"