In today's update, we see a side of Beth I've not yet had chance to show- her ability to take charge of a situation. For me, this chapter is where Beth really shows her development, and I really felt the likeness she has to Steve. I even had to remember at one point that it wasn't Steve's speech I was writing!
We also get to find out Beth's SHIELD code name in this chapter- I really hope you like and approve of the name I chose! It took a lot of planning as I had to other names in mind, but you'll discover in another chapter the reasons why I went with the final option.
On with the show!
...
May 4th 2012. Somewhere in the air. 5.15am.
It took a few seconds for Beth to realise that she wasn't unconscious. Instead, her vision was blocked by the fabric of Thor's clothing. As she'd been flung, he'd somehow managed to wrap his arms around her, protecting her from the brunt of the impact as they hit the wall behind them. Vaguely, she heard Steve tell Tony to put on his suit, before his voice became louder.
"Beth!"
"I'm okay- go!" she called back as she extracted herself from Thor's arms with a groan. At least her earlier instincts about his reflexes were right, and she was very grateful for that.
Steve vanished out of the lab, all but shoving Tony out the door with him. As orders were fired left, right and centre in her ear, Beth stood up and surveyed the damage in the room, muttering a curse to see the gaping hole in the floor.
"Rogers." Fury's voice said over the comms.
Both Beth and Steve replied, making the director pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Female Rogers. Agent Rogers. Codename: Enigma. That Rogers."
"For God's sake, I told you to stop calling me that ten years ago, Nick."
"I don't care. At least I have the right damned Rogers now. You okay to take point so I can focus on keeping us in the air?"
"Yeah. kick some ass."
As Fury gave a noise of acknowledgement and signed off, Beth glanced over at Thor to see a look of contemplation on his face.
"Thanks for grabbing me back there."
The only sign she got that he'd heard was a slight incline of his head, his frown deepening.
"You think this is why Loki didn't seem to mind us taking him?" she asked.
"I don't think. I know." Was his sombre reply.
The sound of a roar erupted through the Helicarrier, and Beth's blood froze.
"Has anyone seen Nat?" she asked over the communications, worry for her friend increasing.
The reply was a barrage of negatives. Her stomach dropped.
"Oh, God."
"We must find them." Thor commented.
Beth gave a sharp nod before switching to the comms once more.
"Right, Steve and Tony focus on that Engine. Thor and I will focus on Nat and the Hulk. Everyone keep your comms on, I want to hear everything."
After the other pair confirmed they'd heard, Beth and Thor jumped into the same hole the other two had been blasted into, Beth worrying her lip as she scouted for the other agent.
"There! Nat!" she shouted as they watched the Hulk slam his hand into the redhead's side, sending her crashing into a wall.
"I'll handle him; you get to her!" Thor called over the roar of the Hulk as he prepared to attack Nat once more.
Beth nodded and raced forward, wincing as Thor connected with Hulk in a sickening thud, both of them sent through a wall and sprawling across the floor. Grateful that the Hulk's attention was diverted, Beth crouched next to Nat, noticing the woman was breathing heavily, pain evident in her features. Beth flicked on her comms to alert the medics, but Nat shook her head, signalling she just needed a time out.
"Hey Enigma." The redhead teased, one eyebrow quirking up in anticipation of the blonde's reaction to the code name even as she gasped for air.
Beth gave a frustrated sigh, blowing her bangs out of her face.
"It's a shame he didn't succeed in knocking the bitch out of you. How badly hurt are you?" she asked, leaving no room for bullshit.
"I'll be okay, just need a minute." Nat replied, voice shaky.
At that moment, Beth overheard Tony and Steve talking about the engine, with Steve worrying about Tony ending up shredded. Frowning, Beth glanced once more at Nat, evaluating her friend before making any decisions.
"Fury, any updates on the Hulk?"
"We have an aircraft about to assist Thor right now." Was the curt reply.
Satisfied that situation was being taken care of, Beth focused on the rest of the team.
"Okay. Nat, take a few to collect yourself. Tony, get the engine going as soon as you can. Steve, cover him until I get there. I'm going to find Clint and try to stop him if I can then head up to you guys."
Immediately, Steve's voice came back to her, pausing her mid-step.
"Has anyone checked on Loki?"
Cursing, Beth swivelled and took off down another corridor, her faith in her brother's ability to keep Tony concrete. It was as she passed the control room that things went haywire once more. A cry from Maria Hill had Beth dropping to the ground as a second explosion sounded, sending shrapnel showering down on her back. She hissed as a piece of metal sliced through her pant leg. A quick glance confirmed that it was only a flesh wound, so she scrambled to her feet and hid in a crevice in time to avoid being shot by oncoming enemies. To her side, she could hear shots and shouts from Fury and Hill. One shot bounced of the metal above her head and she yelped.
"Nick, if you could please refrain from shooting at me, I would be very appreciative!" she called out, ducking to shoot down another enemy.
He didn't reply, but the bullets ceased firing her direction, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief. She took down the last two soldiers before continuing on to make sure Loki was still in place. She was almost at the room when the Helicarrier suddenly jerked, almost knocking her down.
"Engine one has now been shut down." a voice said over the speakers.
"Sir, we've lost all power in engine one." Came Sitwell's voice in her ear.
"It's Barton. He took out our systems. He's headed for the detention level. Does anybody copy?"
Beth was already off like a shot, desperate to reach it before Clint. Nat's voice made her pause for a second, concern taking over.
"You sure?" she asked.
"Yeah. You get to Loki; I'll deal with Clint." Nat confirmed.
"Copy that. Tony, Steve, how's it looking at your end?" she asked on the way, realising the Helicarrier seemed to have stopped descending.
"Your brother likes to take his time, doesn't he?" The billionaire responded, his voice sounding strange.
"I'm literally hanging on a wire in the middle of the sky! I'd like to see you move faster!" Steve yelled back.
She was surprised to find herself grinning, as it sounded like they could really do with help, but it quickly dropped from her face as she entered the detention room in time to see Loki press the button to release the cage he'd been in from the ship. Her eyes widened as she realised Thor was inside.
"No!" she cried, but it was too late. With a shared look of panic from Thor, he was gone.
It was then she noticed Phil on the ground, bleeding heavily from a hole in his chest. At that instant, her surgical training over-rode her military training and she flew over to drop to her knees next to him, not caring about Loki at that moment. Phil looked at her as she ripped his shirt open, a pleading look in his eyes.
"We need to stop him." he whispered as the God mockingly smirked over at them.
"I need to save your life first." She argued.
"It's a pointless endeavour. You should just let him die." Loki tormented.
"You shut your mouth." Beth spat, having to override every muscle in her body as they clenched in readiness to attack the smug looking bastard.
Loki looked stunned by her venom, as if he couldn't comprehend the fact a mortal female had spoken in such a way. Beth didn't care, more focused on her friend than the fact she could be the God's next target if he chose to take offence at her words. As she began trying to stem the bleed, Phil turned his attention back to Loki who had begun walking away, deciding the intrigue he had towards the woman was stronger than the urge to put her in her place. Preferably on her knees at his feet, licking his boots before he slit her throat. 'Later' he told himself. He had more pressing matters to attend first.
"You're gonna lose." Phil said, forcing the God to pause and look back.
"Am I?" he asked, his tone amused.
"It's in your nature."
Loki began to walk closer once more, each step mocking the two humans on the floor. Beth swiftly drew her handgun from one of her ankle holsters and raised it towards Loki's head, her other hand still pressed down on the bleeding wound even though she knew deep down it was a losing battle.
"Your heroes are scattered. Your floating fortress falls from the sky. Where is my disadvantage?"
Beth glared at him as he glanced at her with another smirk. It was so tempting to shoot him in the face, but a cough from Phil had more blood escaping his chest, oozing out over her hand. She sucked in a breath, torn between keeping the gun on Loki and dropping it to focus on Phil.
"You lack conviction." Phil replied, voice getting weaker.
Another breath pushing more thick, warm blood out of his body. The gun in Beth's hand dropped so she could try and find where the major damage was. Screw Loki.
"I don't think that I..."
A blast sounded, accompanied by flash of bright light that had Beth wincing, and Loki was sent through the wall of the detainment centre.
"So that's what it does." Coulson spoke, voice even weaker than before.
His hand fell limply to his side and Beth found herself blinking back tears as his eyes started to grow unfocused.
"Hey, come on Phil. You'll be okay."
"No I won't. You will, though. Now you have Steve. You're smiling again." he breathed.
She felt a sob building up as she fought to save him, but with no supplies or backup, she knew it was already too late. In her ear, she could hear yells from Tony and Steve and the cheer as they managed to fix the engine, but she didn't care. A movement beside her alerted her to Fury's arrival. The director dropped next to her, taking the weapon from Phil as Phil apologised.
"Just stay awake."
He looked over at Beth, seeing the tension of her lips and bloodshot eyes. It made his heart clench, but he forced it aside to keep the dying agent conscious a little while longer. The medics were almost there.
"No, I'm clocking out here."
"It's not an option."
Phil flashed a glance at Beth, nodding to signal she could stop. He'd accepted his fate. It took all her willpower to pull her hands away, tears falling freely as he spoke once more to Fury.
"It's okay, boss. This was never gonna work, if they didn't have something to…"
A few seconds later, he was gone. Genuine pain coated Fury's face and Beth stepped out of the way as the medics arrived, angry and heartbroken that they were too late. She excused herself before Nick had chance to stop her and made her way down to a quiet section of the ship, unable to hold back her sobs as Fury's voice informed everyone of Coulson's demise. Hearing this, Steve and Tony made their way back to the changing area, Steve simply stripping the top half of his uniform off, changing into a long sleeved shirt of a similar colour while Tony stepped out of his Iron Man suit. The pair never said a word to each other and when Fury walked in, the air could be cut with a knife.
"We need to talk." He said, ignoring the looks the men sent him as he swept back out of the room before following him.
Steve didn't fail to notice that he and Tony were the only ones at the table, but from the demeanour of the director, he didn't say anything until after Tony abruptly upped and left.
"Where are the others?" he asked.
"Thor and Bruce fell from the Helicarrier, so we have no location for them. Natasha is in the infirmary with Barton and I also don't know where Beth is. She was with Coulson and disappeared just after the medics arrived."
Steve sucked in a breath, hearing what the director wasn't saying; that his sister had tried and failed to save Coulson. He gave the older man a nod of acknowledgement before approaching Hill and asking to borrow her earpiece. He hoped Beth was still wearing hers.
"Beth, it's Steve. Where are you?"
Following his words, there was the sound of tapping on glass. He glanced up, seeing Beth standing at the sole surviving window of the lab, a look of pain on her face. Wordlessly, he handed back the earpiece and jogged up to her, scooping her into his arms the moment he entered the lab. She leaned against him, breath and shoulders shaking, but he could tell she wasn't crying. He rubbed the material of her jacket, knowing she would have come to the lab to recover it and been relieved to see it had survived the blast.
"I'm going to kill Loki." she eventually said, once she'd composed herself.
Steve released her to plant a kiss on her head. The rage in her eyes surprised him. He was aware she was fond of Couslon and from the brief moments he'd seen her around the agent since they'd been picked up the previous day, they'd seemed to almost have a father-daughter bond. He'd honestly expected more tears and sorrow from her. As if reading his thoughts, she gave a wobbly smile.
"I'm beyond sad that he's gone. He was a great man and mentor. He didn't treat me as anything less than his equal and was always there to talk to. I'm going to miss him terribly, but before I do, Loki needs to pay. Then, I can grieve." She flashed a wry grin. "I'm not going to break down like I did after Edward and Bucky died. I'm stronger now."
For the first time since waking from the ice, Steve saw it. The steeliness that came with someone so used to their way of life, nothing could shake them. She truly was as strong as she appeared. The realisation both delighted and unsettled him, making him hope with all he had that though she was hardened, there was still a part of the woman from the 1940s who loved to dance and laugh until she cried.
"We should find the others." Beth suggested, after a brief pause.
He didn't reply, throat thick with emotion. He simply nodded and followed behind as they made their way in the direction Tony had gone.