A/N: I wasn't aware of this at the time I wrote the last chapter, but this one is longer than the last one. Sorry. I had, at the time, had this split up into two parts and after re-reading it I thought it would flow better as a giant, 6000 word chapter (the author's note at the bottom is also long, whoops).
Anyway, enjoy. Shit kinda hits the fan.
May 4, 2011
Helicarrier
Steve hadn't seen Libby since they landed. She had said something about putting on a shirt and sweats and then she disappeared. He had had changed from his spandex into a plaid shirt and jeans, and then was lead to the main control room.
Fury personally saw to Loki's containment, and Steve watched with Natasha and Thor as they conversed.
"Well let me know if real power wants a magazine or something," Fury retorted as he walked away, and Loki smirked to himself.
"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce asked them.
"Loki's gonna drag this out-"
"The fun has arrived!" Libby sang loudly as her and Tony entered the room, Phil right behind them. Everyone turned to watch, and some immediately looked away. Maria rolled her eyes.
"Oh, please," Maria rolled her eyes. "It's only fun for you."
"Duh," the mutant agreed.
"I mean it, keep love alive," Tony said to Phil. "Don't tell me you started conversing without us. After all, we're the smart ones." Tony walked around towards Bruce. "Well, besides Banner over here. It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."
"Thanks," Bruce was unsure if he was really complimented or not.
"Aw, he likes you," Libby coed. "Nice to see you again Green Giant."
"Likewise," Bruce made eye-contact with the mutant for a split second before looking away.
"No hard feelings, Blondie," Libby told Thor. "I had a job to do."
"Dr. Banner is only here to-" Fury said as he walked in, pausing when he saw Libby. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be taking the day off."
"I am," Libby said. "But I have another job, remember? I'm Tony's assistant."
Fury looked from Tony to Libby, and then back again.
"You're what?"
"Well I had to get a new one after the last one turned out to be a spy," Tony explained while giving Natasha a bitter look. "For the record, she admitted to working for S.H.I.E.L.D. on day one, unlike some people."
Steve felt a twinge of jealously. She told him but not me? Why? Unless-
"We're not allowed to tell our assignments that we work for S.H.I.E.L.D.," Natasha explained. "They're less likely to think we're spying on them that way."
"Libby didn't spy on me," Tony defended.
"Did you spy on me?" Steve asked her. He meant to say it quietly, but everyone at the table heard him and watched. Libby shifted in her seat.
"Nothing to spy on," she honestly answered. "You're an open book. We can talk about that later, we have bigger problems. So, does anybody besides me have a plan?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Natasha furrowed her brows.
"I always have a plan," the mutant retorted.
"So what's your plan?" Fury asked. "I hope it doesn't involve you talking to Loki."
"Well it does," Libby said. "He'll talk to me."
"What makes you so sure of that?" Thor asked her. "You do not know my brother, nor do you know what he is capable of."
"And you don't know what I'm capable of," Libby told him flatly. "I may not know your brother but I know his type. Hell I am his type, trust me I've slept with plenty of men like him."
"Please don't talk about your sex life when I'm in hearing distance," Tony clammed his eyes shut.
"Why? You were so eager to know all about it a few hours ago."
"Okay, so before that conversation continues," Steve quickly attempted to change the subject as he shifted in his seat. "Loki won't be leading an army from here."
"So who's leading his army then?" Natasha asked. "And from where?"
"Well if he's planning on using the Tesseract, he'll need a power source," Tony said. "He's got the iridium-"
"Which will be a stabazling agent-" Libby added.
"Which now that he has Loki can open a portal of some-kind and keep that open as long and as wide as he wants," Tony finished. "Everything else he needs Barton can find easily."
"Or Voltage, for that matter," Fury added, his eye on Libby.
"Don't look at me, I don't think she's involved," the mutant quickly defended.
"Who is this Voltage?" Thor asked as he stepped closer to the table.
"A very powerful and vengeful mutant," Libby answered. "She tends to rock on the evil side."
"Tends to?" Natasha laughed. "She is evil."
"What can this Voltage do?" Thor asked. Libby flicked her wrist and a hologram of a blue mutant with long brown hair rose. There were square indents in her skin, and she wore a silver suit with an X-Men belt.
"Basically, she controls electrical currents," the mutant dryly explained. "So, kinda like what I can do with technology except broader. She's not just limited to just technology."
"Why's that?" Steve asked.
"The scientific definition of voltage is an electric potential energy. It's also an electromotive force," Tony answered. "There's a lot of technical jargon I could try explaining, but I don't think you'd get it."
"And the writer is having a hard time translating it," Libby added.
"So electrical currents? Like lightening?" Steve asked.
"I suppose so," Bruce said. "I think if she did conjure lighting I'm not sure how much of it would be lightning versus what she could just create."
"So she's a bad-ass?" Tony asked. "Is that what I'm hearing?"
"Where did you pull that from?" Natasha asked. "How have you never heard of Voltage? She's top on the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most wanted list."
"Actually Dr. Doom is, but she's a close second," Libby chimed in.
"What services could she offer my brother?" Thor asked, ignoring the mutant's latest comment.
"Almost anything he wanted," Fury answered. "She's very resourceful."
"But if Voltage was helping Loki, we'd know it by now," Libby added.
"How do you know that?" Tony asked her.
"I was in the Brotherhood with her, V was, is, one of my closest friends," she looked to Maria, who shook her head, "And she's normally not the one to stay quiet during a distraction, which is what Germany was. She's normally the one causing the distraction, and on the rare instances when she's not she's the one doing the sneaky work. And if she was doing the sneaky work, aka stealing the iridium, then we wouldn't know it, at least not right now, and Loki wouldn't have sent Barton to do what Voltage could've done in less time it takes to microwave a bag of popcorn."
"Unless she's trying to trick us," Fury suggested.
"Eh, it's possible," Libby shrugged. "Though I'm not sure why V would help Loki, I doubt he has anything she wants… Unless-"
"Unless he promised something about mutant rights under his rule?" Maria finished.
"Something like that," Libby nodded. "I can't be sure, I'm not in Voltage's head."
"Okay so what about this army he supposedly has?" Tony asked. "Point Break, you have ideas?"
"His army is made up of the Chitauri," Thor explained. "They are not of Asgard or any known world."
"Well they're known somewhere," Libby rolled her eyes. "We just need to figure out where, then we'll know who he's working for." The mutant sat next to Steve. "We figure that out, then we can figure out how Loki got in contact with him and why whoever he's working for wants the Tesseract."
"What about why Loki wants it? Or what he plans to do with it?" Steve asked her.
"Let me or Thor talk to him and I'll figure that out," Libby said.
"How long do you think that'll take?" Fury asked. "We don't have a lot of time."
"Eh. Depends. If I talked to him it wouldn't take as long."
"Fine. Stark, if you would like to make yourself useful you can help Dr. Banner look for the Tesseract. Thor, you can go talk to Loki. Libby, watch them. Just watch them. I don't want you talking to or anywhere near Loki. Period," Fury ordered.
"You're not gonna have Libby look for the Tesseract?" Natasha asked.
"The paperwork hasn't finished yet," Fury said. "And I suspect it won't be for another week or two. Everyone get back to work."
"You're not purposely slowly the paperwork down, are you?" Steve quietly asked her.
"I may or may have not placed it in the slow delivery pile," she smirked.
"Libby lots of people could die," he pleaded with her. "For once, could you just not-"
"Be stubborn?" she scoffed. "As if." She stood. "Let's go Blondie, we got work to do."
V
Libby crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the two Asgardians converse, or rather argue. She leaned against a wall and watched around a corner. She was told to watch them from a distance, through the cameras, but the mutant preferred to watch them with her own eyes.
"Loki," Thor began, "Where is the Tesseract?"
"I don't have it," Loki admitted.
"I know that!" Thor shouted. Libby bit her lip. "Where are you hiding it?"
"Oh, some place, I'm not quite sure," Loki responded. "I assure you that it is being very well taken care of."
"Your assurance is not very comforting," Thor complained. "We need the Tesseract if we hope to return home."
"Your home, not mine," Loki told him. "I'm sure the Alfather told you of my true parentage, did he not?"
"It matters not," Thor told him. "We were raised together. Played together. Fought together. Do you remember none of that?"
"I remember a shadow. Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I was and should be king!"
"So you take the world I love as recompense?"
"You have an odd way of showing your love," Loki laughed. "Is this truly the first time you've returned to Midgard since the Bifrost was destroyed?"
"That was your doing," Thor reminded him.
"I seam to recall that you were the one who did the smashing," Loki laughed. "Not I."
"It was because of you the Bifrost was destroyed," the god of thunder accused.
"You have not answered my question," Loki pointed out. "If you love this realm so, why have you been away for so long?"
"Because there was no way for me to get here!" Thor raged. "The bridge between our worlds was destroyed."
"There are other paths to all the nine realms, you just have to look hard enough to find them," Loki pointed out.
"Not even you could find one to Midgard," Thor gruffed as he crossed his arms.
"What is it that you like so much about this realm?" Loki asked, almost sarcastically. "Is that woman you've found? This Jane I have heard so much about from Selvig? Surely, there must have been something that she did that caught your attention."
"Do not speak of Jane!" Thor raged, pointing his hand at his brother.
"Then what of your other friends? I would wager I know them better than you," Loki said smirking. "Barton was very insightful, especially about that feisty brunette."
"You do not know my friends," Thor told him.
"But how can you be sure?" Loki asked as he sat.
"Why are you doing this?" Thor asked as he quickly changed the subject after he realized that his brother was right. He wouldn't admit that out loud though.
"Because I can," Loki shrugged. "Why should I give you my reasons?"
"Because I am your brother!"
"Because that's a good enough reason," Loki scoffed.
"You do not need to do this, Loki," Thor told him. "It's not too late. Return the Tesseract. I can protect you-"
"I do not need your protection!" Loki stood. "I am not your Earth."
"Is that what is about?" Thor asked him.
Libby turned her head away as she heard footsteps. Steve paused when he saw her.
"Can we talk now?" he looked her in the eyes as he spoke. She looked back to the bickering brothers, and then to him. She weighed her options in her head before answering.
"Oui," she nodded as she stepped towards him.
"So… Were you ever planning on telling me that you worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"Eventually," she nodded. "It's… My relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. is complicated."
"Care to elaborate on that?"
"Like I said earlier, I was covering for my friends," she quickly explained. "I didn't' want them to go to prison. I know what happens to people like me who get sent to prison and I don't want them to go through that."
"'People like me?' Like villains?" Steve asked her.
"Mutants," she corrected as she crossed her arms. "It just so happens that the people I were protecting were villains. Well, no one knows whose side Magneto is on, since he flip-flops so much, but-"
"Like you?"
"That's not fair," she told him. "Please. Just give me a chance to explain."
"Why do I have a feeling you're just going to lie to me?" Steve asked her. "God. Was anything you said to me true?"
"Oui! A lot of it!" she told him. "Oui, I lied to you about working with S.H.I.E.L.D. and about my days from the Brotherhood and knowing that you're Captain America, but honestly what did you expect me to do?! Really, how was I supposed to tell you that I knew the entire fucking time who you were or that I'm a member of the Brother of Mutants? Or that I work with the company my gran-" she paused, and then she blinked, and then tried to cover her tracks. "How was I supposed to explain my involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"By just telling me?" Steve suggested.
"It's not that easy!" she told him as she threw her hands in the air. The lights flickered. She sighed, looked down at the ground, and then back up at him. "The reason I joined the Brotherhood and S.H.I.E.L.D. is directly related to my grandfather's death."
"Did you even watch him di-"
Slap.
Steve grabbed his throbbing jaw and tried to rub the soreness away. He ran his tongue along the front of his teeth and wiped the blood away. He looked back at her, and saw a fire fiercely burning in her brown eyes.
"Don't you fucking dare," she darkly told him, and he thought he saw a tear in the corner of her left eye. "I may lie about a lot of shit, but I would never lie about that."
"Libby, I didn't mean-" he quickly tried to apologize.
"Actually, I think you did," she narrowed her eyes as she walked away from him.
"Libby!" Steve called after her as he followed.
"Steve, don't," she told him as she stopped further down the hallway, out of the earshot of the gods. "The damage is done."
"Libby, please, I'm sorry I just got so angry and-"
"Steve, just stop," she told him. "I… I can't hear this right now."
"Dude, what did you say to her?" Tony laughed. Libby and Steve turned their heads towards him and looked at him in confusion. "I would've assumed this conversation would've been reversed."
"It was, about twenty seconds ago," Penelope told him.
"Tony, fuck off," Libby told him. "We're trying to have a private conversation."
"Not really much of a conversation when you turn your back and walk away," Steve remarked. "And you really let her talk to you like that?"
"Well-"
"I talk to everyone like that," Libby informed him. "Doesn't matter if I work for them or they work for me."
"I wasn't talking about as an employer," Steve corrected as he crossed his arms. "I meant you let your daughter talk to you like that."
Tony and Libby looked at each other with furious expressions, and then to the super solider.
"You told him?" Tony asked her.
"Non!" the mutant shook her head.
"I figured it out, it wasn't that hard," Steve said. "Tony gave it away."
"Dude, you've got to learn how to lie," Libby shook her head.
"I'm sorry not all of us are as gifted at lying as you are," Tony retorted.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Libby asked Steve.
"I hadn't gotten to it," the super solider responded. "You've been ignoring me, and it wasn't very high on the talk about list."
"Was it before or after you accusing me of lying about witnessing my grandfather's death?" the mutant placed her hands on her hips.
"That was on accident," Steve defended.
"You watched your grandfather die?" Tony asked. "Was it-"
"I have two grandfathers, Tony," Libby told him as she rolled her eyes. "It was my mom's dad." She resisted the urge to say any more than that.
"Oh," Tony looked down at his feet.
"Howard was the last person he talked about," Libby told him. "You probably didn't want to hear that, but…"
"Your grandfather knew my old man?" Tony asked.
"He served with me," Steve answered. "Back in WWII."
"I didn't know that," Tony looked to Libby. "Is that why you got-"
"The Council is the one that usually gives me my assignments, and they don't know you're my father," Libby informed them. "I think Fury and Howard are the only two people my mom ever told."
"She told Howard but not Tony that you're his kid?" Steve asked.
"Yeah, I don't get it either," Tony agreed.
"She probably thought you weren't ready for a kid," Libby told him. "I mean, do you think you were ready for a kid twenty-six years ago?"
"Squirt I'm not ready for a kid now."
"That's encouraging," Steve thought out loud.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony turned towards the super solider.
"Hey, quit it," Libby demanded as she stepped between them. "Steve doesn't need to get into it with both Starks."
"Whatever," Tony rolled his eyes. "As much as I would love to play Jerry Springer for the two of you…"
"Who's Jerry Springer?" Steve asked.
"You haven't showed him Jerry Springer?" Tony asked. "I'm disappointed."
"What? Why?" Steve asked.
"It's a shitty TV show where this guy 'helps' couples solve their relationship problems," Libby explained to the super solider.
"Oh," Steve nodded. "Why do people watch it?"
"Because it's a form of entertainment, and it reminds people that they're lives aren't that bad," Libby said. "At least that's why I think people watch it."
"So then are you two… okay?" Tony asked. The mutant and the super solider look at each other for a moment, and then away. "I'll take that as a no. Okay. So. I'm gonna guess both of you don't have a lot of experience with a real, fully committed relationship-"
"Neither do you," Libby pointed out.
"Hey, I'm working on it," Tony said. "When was the last time you were in a committed relationship?"
"Never," Steve said, thinking of Peggy. If things had ended differently, or he hadn't been as stupid, he thought, then maybe…
"My early teens," Libby crossed her arms over her chest as she looked down.
"And…?" Steve asked.
"And we broke up because I cheated on him," Libby rolled her eyes. "There. So I've never really been in a committed relationship either. Can we move on now?"
"You really are my kid," Tony said, mostly to himself.
"My mother is pretty unfaithful herself," Libby reminded him, "I don't get it just from you."
"Yeah, right," Tony said. "Well, I'm gonna go find something else to do and I'll let you two… I'd say kids, but Icicle is technically older than me."
"Tony, leave before I throw something at you," Libby said as her father quickly left them alone once again.
"So…" Steve said.
"Do you wanna talk in my room?" she asked him. "It'd be private."
"What, and out here isn't?" he asked sarcastically.
"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "What is it you'd like to yell at me for now?"
"I wasn't yelling!"
"It sure felt like it."
"I'm really sorry for what I said earlier," Steve began. "I feel really… shitty for saying it and I realize that I shouldn't have said it."
He looked into her eyes for the first time since after she slapped him, and he wasn't sure what to do.
"You cussed," she pointed out with a small laugh.
"Yeah well, I thought it summarized what I was feeling, so…"
"I really have been influencing you, haven't I?" she asked with a laugh.
"Well I have been spending a lot of time with you, since you're my only friend… that's still alive and doesn't have dementia."
"Well, you get along great with my friends and you're a great guy, eventually you'll make your own friends," she told him as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Maybe you just need to get out of New York for a while, you know? Experience something new."
"Yeah, maybe," he nodded. "What about you? What are you gonna do when this is all over?"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "Maybe I need something different too."
"So…" Steve stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Depends on the question."
"What was the last thing Dum Dum said?"
Libby froze. Her hands twitched at her sides.
"'Is that what you said to Howard before you-'" she answered with her eyes closed.
"What?"
"Those are the last words Dum Dum said before he was killed," she slowly opened her eyes.
"Oh. I thought Howard died in a car accident?" Steve asked as he started to connect the dots.
"They said that's how Dum Dum died too, except I saw him get shot in the head at point-blank range," she told him. "Anything else you'd liked to ask?"
"Who shot him?"
"I'm not answering that question," she told him. "Not today."
"So someone I know?"
"It's complicated," she looked away. "Anything else?"
"What have you done for S.H.I.E.L.D., specifically?"
"Lately they've been having me build psych profiles and monitoring potential threats," she answered. "When I first came on I did a little bit of everything."
"Potential threats? Like who?"
"A bunch of different people, most of them actually aren't threats at all," she explained. "You know, just people that are doing too much of a good thing."
"So… is that why I was your assignment?" he asked.
"They thought you were lying about something," she answered. "The Council. They wanted me to find out what."
"Were you ever going to tell me?" he asked. "I mean were you ever planning on being completely, 100% honest with me?"
"Of course!" she admitted. "Eventually… some day."
"But all of it? At the same time?"
"Steve there are only five people in the entire fucking universe that know my entire story," she told him. "And none of them learned it all in one sitting."
"Why?" Steve asked.
"Why?" she gasped as she turned in a full circle. She crossed her arms across her chest and chewed on her lip as she looked at the ground, the ceiling, and then finally back at his eyes. "Do you remember on the first day we met you asked me if I had any tattoos?"
"You said you didn't have any," Steve answered. "That you were branded."
"Wanna know why?" she asked him, her eyes wide with anger and tears. "Because I was taken by a wanna-be Nazi organization who's entire goal was to rid the world of mutants." As she turned she lifted her hair and show the Roman numeral for five branded on the back of her neck, right at the base of her skull. Steve blinked as he saw it, and the only odd thing about was the bottom half-inch of the V was gone – vanished, as if it had never happened. "There were twenty of us, at first."
"Libby-"
"Non, you fucking wanted to hear this, so you're gonna hear it," she sharply told him as she turned and glared him. "They took me because of what Dum Dum told me before they killed him. Because I watched them kill him. Wanna know what they did to me during the 679 days that they had me? Of course you do because you want the fucking truth."
"Libby, stop," Steve tried to tell her as he grabbed her arms and tried to calm her down. The lights flickered, and for a split second Steve thought he heard the engine stop. "Calm down before you bring this whole thing down."
"Oh, like you're suddenly the fucking expert when it comes to controlling your anger," she spat as she wriggled free. "And honestly, if I wanted to kill everyone on the Helicarrier I wouldn't do it by shutting the engines down."
"Libby you're scaring me," Steve told her. "Please, just take a de-"
"Well I should scare you, I mean I'm-"
"Libby!"
The mutant stopped and turned her head. Her brows furrowed at the sight of Bobby running down the hallway. Kitty, Rogue, and Piotr weren't too far behind him.
"What are you guys doing here?" Libby blinked as she turned. Steve saw her shoulder slightly tense and then relax at the sight of them.
"We had a feeling you'd need us," Kitty said. "Besides, you expect us to just let you have all the fun?" The mutants smirked.
"Where's everyone else?" the technopath asked.
"Lock-down, just like you suggested," Rogue answered. "Penelope almost didn't let us out."
"I'm glad they're safe, have you heard from Logan?" Libby asked them.
"No one's seen him," Bobby answered. "As per usual."
"I figured," the technopath ran a hand through her hair. "Steve, you remember Bobby, Rogue, Kitty, and Piotr, right?"
"Yeah, I think so," Steve nodded. "Any of you bring your suits?"
"Of course we did," Kitty laughed. "We're ready for a fight."
"Well, it won't be here," Steve told her.
"You sure about that?" Bobby asked, his blue eyes focused on the technopath. "When was the last time you got any sleep?"
"Do you actually expect me to know the answer to that question?" she scoffed.
"Maybe you should get some shut eye," Kitty suggested. "We'll all go lay down with you."
"Do I have a choice?"
"No," all of the other mutants said.
"Whatever," the technopath rolled her eyes, and then turned to Steve. "We'll finish this conversation later."
"Come on, Lids," Bobby called her as he walked closer towards her. He wrapped his arms around her. His eyes met with Steve's for a moment before he turned her around. "Nap time."
"Great," the technopath rolled her eyes. "I'm so excited."
"You'll fall asleep the moment your head hits the pillow and you know it," Rogue told her as she followed them. Piotr was the third, but Kitty remained.
"You're not gonna go with them?" Steve asked.
"I'll catch up," Kitty said. "I can get into Libby's room no problem. You know, being able to walk through walls."
"Oh, right, yeah."
"I know what you're going through, with the whole bullshit lying thing she does."
"Do you?"
"Look don't take it personal, she lies to everyone," Kitty told him. "Even the ones she cares about."
"Why?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Kitty laughed.
"Probably not."
"Yeah. My advice? End it now, before you become just another notch in her headboard," Kitty said as she turned. Steve watched her leave and blinked.
"I wish I understood that reference," he muttered. He turned and wondered through the halls and tried to find the one person he thought could help him in this situation.
V
"Stark," Steve said as he walked into the small room Tony and Bruce occupied. Loki's scepter was propped up on an island, and there were monitors hanging from the ceilings. "I need to talk to you."
"What'd ya want? Sex advice? I got plenty of that," Tony asked, then popped a blueberry in his mouth.
"No, not really," Steve answered. "I… eh, how long have you known her?"
"Almost a year," Tony answered. "Why?"
"I'm trying to figure her out."
"I'm sure between the three of us we could figure something out," Tony said. "You said you knew her, right Banner?"
"Yeah, kind-of," Bruce nodded as he looked away from them. "I was her last big assignment before she took her vacation time."
"Vacation time?" Steve asked. "How'd she get vacation time?"
"Time of for good behavior I guess," Bruce shrugged. "All I know is one day she was complaining about never getting her life back and the next Fury was complaining about all of the paperwork she was making him do so she could get six months off."
"Do you know where she went?" Tony asked.
"No, I didn't see her again until today," Bruce answered.
"She said something about traveling with a friend," Steve said. "On the first day we met, she briefly mentioned it. I'm surprised I even remember it."
"Did she say who it was?" Tony asked.
"No," Steve shook his head.
"I think I have an idea who…" Bruce said, mostly to himself. "But neither of you are going to like it."
"What do you know?" Tony asked as he turned.
"That Libby has a thing for older men," Bruce explained. "Especially older men with a bad reputation."
"How long was her vacation?" Tony backtracked.
"Six months," Bruce answered.
"Why six?" Tony asked. "I thought five was her number?"
Steve paused and remembered what Libby showed him just an hour ago. He suddenly understood why everything with her was five, while still struggling why she was so caught up with that number.
"Where is she? I thought you two were still arguing?" Tony asked the super solider.
"Her X-Men friends showed up, said she needed to take a nap," Steve shrugged.
"How the rest of that go?" Tony asked. "If you don't mind me asking."
"I do mind, actually," Steve told him as he crossed his arms.
"She showed you her brand, didn't she?" Bruce suspected. Steve looked at him and cocked his head to the side. "She uh… told me all about it. She didn't have much of a choice, but she told me all about it."
"Libby has a brand?" Tony scrunched his face. "She never told me about that."
"It's a long story," Bruce said. "One I wish I didn't know."
"Are you going to elaborate on that?" Tony demanded.
"When she's ready to tell you about how she got it and why, she'll tell you," Bruce said. "Hopefully it won't be under the same circumstances as when she told me."
"Have any of you seen Libby?" Fury demanded as he walked in the room. "No one has seen her in over an hour."
"She went to take a nap," Steve answered.
"Did she go alone?" Fury asked, his voice going from a worried to a, "Oh no she didn't," in two seconds.
"No, Bobby went with her," Steve said. "And Rogue, Kitty, and Piotr."
"Good," Fury said. "We'll all need to be fully rested before this shit-storm blows. How are the two of you coming on finding the Tesseract?"
"Nothing yet," Tony said. "We'll let you know as soon as we get something."
"Good. Let me know if you need somethin'," Fury told them. "Or Libby, whenever she turns up again." Fury turned, and he jacket flew out behind him as he left as quickly as he came.
"Something's not right about all this," Tony muttered, mostly to himself.
"You're telling me," Steve sighed. "You got a plan this time?"
"I think so," Tony nodded. He looked at Bruce, and then back to Steve. "I think I need to have chat with my kid."
"Good luck with that," the blond said.
"I'm gonna need it," Tony said. "Well as long as I don't accuse her of lying about watching her grandfather die I should be fine."
"Please don't tell me you were stupid enough to say that," Bruce commented from the other side of the room.
"It slipped out!" Steve defended.
"I bet her hand slipped to," Bruce muttered, mostly to himself.
"Yeah," Steve rubbed his jaw again, still feeling the slight sting from her slap. "Something like that."
"Is that a bruise?" Tony playfully joked.
"Funny," Steve glared.
"I'm a funny guy," Tony informed him.
"According to you?" Steve scoffed. "I don't buy it."
"Could one of you leave before I barf? Thanks," Bruce rolled his eyes from across the room. "Some of us are actually trying to get work done."
"I have something I have to go do anyway," Steve shook his head. "Good luck with finding the Tesseract."
"We'll need it," Tony nodded. "Whoever this Voltage is, if she's helping Loki, she's good at covering her tracks."
"What about Loki? Would he know anything about her?" Steve suggested.
"If he's smart he won't say anything," Bruce answered as he continued to scroll through something on the screens. "
"So… we're fucked then?" Tony complained.
"I wouldn't put it that way," Steve shrugged.
"Maybe you should focus on finding the Tesseract and Loki's plan instead of some big what-if," Bruce suggested. Tony looked down at the ground, and then to Steve. "We're not even sure if Voltage is working with him."
"Maybe. Either way, I'll feel a lot better after I talk to Libby about all this," Tony said, and then popped another blueberry in his mouth.
Steve turned and left them. His brain was spun. Everything was getting out of control. He didn't know what was the truth and what wasn't. He felt like he was trying to solve a 1000 piece puzzle without the cover. He was so close to figuring it all out, but there was this huge chunk he just couldn't figure out. Every time he'd get close to seeing the bigger picture, one little piece wouldn't fit the way he wanted it to.
But he was close, and that was all that mattered.
Okay, there's a lot I would like to address about this chapter and this story in general and I'll try to get to the point as quick as possible.
First, I'll be writing this story for Camp NaNoWriMo. I'll be officially starting that on chapter fifteen, which may or may not be the smut chapter I've been wanting to write. With who? Eh. I'm not sure yet. I tried with two characters, but both felt too forced. I don't know how or if this will effect updates, if it'll effect them at all. Just just a heads up if nothing is posted in April (which I hate to do).
Second, the Rogue here is kind of a transition between badass, comic book Rogue and movie Rogue. I'm still not sure how to play that off. She may be able to fly and Gambit may even show up. Who knows? Definitely not me.
Three, I tried to find a way to really simplify the scientific definition of voltage, but I don't think I did a good job (I gave myself a migraine trying to figure it out, so I did my best). If you have any questions about that, leave a review or PM me and I'll try to explain it better or send you the link to article that kinda helped me.
Four, I'm going to get shit for this, but Phil may or may not stay dead in this story. I don't care for his character and since I've never let him live before, I'm not sure how'd I play that off here. I never thought about changing it. Phil is one of the only agents Libby likes, besides Maria (and possibly Shannon). So who knows. It'll probably be up for interpretation.
Five, since we've been having some longer chapters recently, this next one will be short. Chapter fourteen is also long. Whoops.
Six, at this time in this universe, Ororo is still in charge of the school and stayed to watch the children. Pitro, Bobby, Kitty, and Rogue are Libby's closest X-Men friends - that's why they came.
Seven, I feel like I never pull Steve off the way I want to. He usually seems out of character to me and I'm unsure how to fix that.
Anyway, that's it for now. Sorry this was so long, there was just a lot that needed to happen. Till next time, whenever that is.
