12
Son of a bitch give me a drink,
One more night,
This can't be me,
Son of a bitch,
If I can't get clean,
I'm gonna drink my life away...
~S.O.B; by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
After about an hour and a half of spending time with Thor, just having some little conversations to keep ourselves distracted, Clint came in and said that Steve had prepared some food for everyone. Leading us to the kitchen, we were all greeted with a meal that Steve managed to make, which looked pretty good. We were all grateful for that, and in a way it did bring us together to have some kind of social interaction since being brought back to New York.
"What happened to Selvig after the whole portal thing?" I asked, taking little nibbles of the food Steve gave me.
"He'd been sent to a hospital." Natasha threw a look my way. "He hit his head pretty hard. Not to mention the psychological damage that must've come from that."
Clint let out a humorless chuckle. "Yeah, having a god in your head isn't exactly pleasant," he muttered.
"How do you know Selvig?" Bruce asked, looking at me curiously.
"He's a close friend of mine." I tried for a smile. "Closest thing to family."
"Did he help with your powers?" Steve asked.
"No, he didn't." I put the plate of food beside me on the countertop. Unlike the others, who were either standing or sitting near the table at the center of the kitchen, I took the liberty of standing by the counter to have a little more space. "It was mostly me trying to figure out how to control it," I murmured. "Mutants aren't exactly widely accepted by most people."
"What about your brother?" Tony's question threw me off guard. I had a little suspicion that I'd caught him snooping around earlier, but I decided to brush it off, that it wouldn't be that big of a deal.
"Excuse me?" I said slowly.
"Your brother. Damien." Tony looked at me, his face serious—not a single trace of his usual arrogant, snarky attitude. "I overheard your little chat earlier and I did my own little research on him."
"You have no right to do that," I said, my voice lowering a little. "Who do you think you are?"
"Tony. . . .," Steve started, throwing a pointed look Tony's way.
"No, I feel this is important," he exclaimed, looking at Steve with an equally pointed look. "I'm going to take a guess that you had at least some control over your powers before your brother's death."
"Stark, I swear to God if you don't stop right now. . . .," I seethed.
"Then bada-bing, he joins the Army." Tony's voice faltered for a moment, as if he were trying to find the right words for what he was going to say next. Only he didn't get to say anything else. He had a glass of half drank water beside him that exploded. I was trying to control myself, but the fact that he had gone out of his way to go and research my brother behind my back made me furious. I wanted to tell myself that maybe I was partly to blame for bringing him up, but Tony had no right to go and do a background check on him.
Everyone jumped or flinched slightly at the sound of the glass exploding and the water splattering on the floor and on Tony. I covered my face, taking deep breaths.
"Why would you think that's a good idea, Stark?" I muttered, trying to get better control over myself. "What are you trying to prove?" Removing my hands, I shot a glare his way.
"For one, to understand what triggers your powers." Tony gave me a look as he started cleaning the water and glass up. "From the looks of it, it's mostly emotion based."
"Now's not the time to be doing this, Stark," Steve scolded, taking a step forward. "We've all dealt with enough already. Don't you think this is a bit unnecessary?"
"I'm trying to better understand her," Tony exclaimed, pointing at me. "She's got enough power in her to destroy an entire city! She's got minimal control over it."
"Stark, that's enough," Thor growled.
Before he could dig himself a deeper grave, I threw out as much telekinetic energy I was willing to put out and froze Tony in his spot.
"You need to shut the Hell up, do you understand?" I said slowly, my voice low. "Steve's right. We've been through enough right now. My patience is starting to wear a little thin and you're lucky it was just a cup that broke. Whatever happens next will be out of my control, understood?"
Tony made some kind of sound, one I took as confirmation that he understood. Releasing him, I walked out.
I had taken to aimlessly walking through the various hallways of the floor we were on. After Tony's little outburst—his little rant that he was just trying to figure stuff out—I wasn't in the mood for anyone's company.
"Are you doing alright, Ms. Benningfield?"
I jumped at the sound of the voice. It was a British man's voice and it sounded like it was in the room with me. Except I was alone.
"Uhm, who is this?" I stammered. When Tony first brought us back into the Tower, he hadn't mentioned anyone else being in the building.
"My apologies. I'm J.A.R.V.I.S; Mr. Stark's A.I."
I sighed. That makes sense. "I'm fine, J.A.R.V.I.S, thank you."
There was a moment of silence, so I assumed maybe J.A.R.V.I.S powered down. "Are you sure?" he asked, slightly startling me. It was honestly surprising on how Human he sounded. "You seem rather distressed."
"The stresses of life do that to a person," I said with a humorless chuckle. "But I'll be fine, OK? I appreciate your concern."
"If it makes all the difference to you, Ms. Benningfield, Captain Rogers is looking for you."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "Is he now?" I murmured. I sighed. "Well, thank you for your concern, J.A.R.V.I.S."
"If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask," he stated politely.
"Thank you."
"Zelda?" I heard Steve called.
"I'm right here," I answered.
When I saw him turn a corner, he let out an almost relieved sigh when he saw me. "Are you OK?" he asked.
"Never better."
"Zelda."
"I'm fine, really," I said, trying for a smile.
"You didn't seem fine back there."
"Stark doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be able to survive living here until S.H.I.E.L.D's come to a decision."
Steve let out an airy laugh. "We'll have to get used to it," he said calmly.
"It'll take a lot of getting used to."
"You're probably right on that one."
Neither of us said anything for a minute.
"I was wondering. . . .you and Thor. . . .are the two of you. . . .?" Steve flushed a little, as if the idea of bringing up such a question was embarrassing.
"Are Thor and I a couple?" I offered. Steve nodded a little. I shrugged. "We're something, I'm not entirely sure yet. I do have feelings for him, I'm just trying to sort them through." I gave Steve a curious look. "What brought up the question?"
"The way you two act when you're together," he murmured. "I was only assuming. . . ."
"Well your assumption would be correct. To an extent at least."
Steve nodded.
"You know, I think I saw a bar of some sort somewhere on this floor," I said, trying to change the topic. "I haven't had a drinking buddy in a while. Whaddya say?"
Steve laughed. "Just for the record, I can't get drunk."
"You can't or you won't?"
"I can't," he said. "Super Soldier."
"Well that's no fun," I said, pouting playfully. "And here I was, wondering what Captain America was like drunk."
"What are you like when you're drunk?"
"I've been known to be quite the chatterbox," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'll probably spill my deepest darkest secrets."
Steve smiled. "That should be entertaining to see."
"Don't hold your breath, Rogers," I exclaimed. "You might get to see a slightly buzzed Zelda, but don't expect to see a fully drunk Zelda any time soon. J.A.R.V.I.S, do you think you could tell Steve and I where the nearest bar is on this floor?"
Author's Note:
Hey-yo! Sorry for the short, poorly-written chapter! I've been so busy these past couple days! I've had finals to study for, my sister graduated from college on Sunday, I've been bombarded with school work! I felt like I haven't slept in at least a month. Anywho, if you've got ideas for future updates, until the story's concluded, let me know, OK? I'm all for hearing what you guys have to say.
Nothing in the 'Marvel' universe is mine. All I own are my characters and the bed I sleep in.
Seriously, though. Tell me any ideas you've got. What should the next Thor/Zelda moment be about? Who should Zelda bond with next? Will she ever enjoy being around Tony? Should I incorporate her parents into the remaining chapters? Should I explain her Mutation on a deeper level?
Let me know.
Also, question. For the third Thor movie, I have been hearing rumors—correct me if I'm wrong—that Natalie Portman will not be returning as Jane; Cate Blanchett and Karl Urban have been casted to play some kind of major roll [I believe] in the movie; Bruce Banner is returning and there will be possible hints for Planet Hulk; a majority of the movie will be in some part of Space, aside from Asgard; and Thor will probably face some kind of terrible fate in the movie. Basically, rumors of him dying, then possibly being revived by the time Infinity War rolls in. So the question is: How can I possibly write the third installment of Thor, if, for one, it might solely be in Asgard or other parts of Space, and Zelda might not have any form of traveling between Earth and wherever else the plot demands?
Please tell me what you guys think. I'm at a dead end right now, though I'll have plenty of time to worry about it later.
I digress.
Leave a kind and helpful review, please.
Thank you.
Susan Strong
