Chapter Twenty Nine
"Stark." Tony barely paused in his stride, trying to get away from the ever-annoying presence of Captain America. It was bad enough his father had talked about Captain America all the time. To have him alive and well, and watching him talk to his own daughter made it even worse. It wasn't until hearing the sound of footsteps that Tony finally stopped and turned to glare at Rogers, who hardly looked surprised with his attitude, "Did you have any idea she was that dangerous?"
Tony narrowed his eyes. He'd seen the things that Ada was capable of. She was a strong girl, as much as he hated to admit it. Despite all of that, and the fact that she was now almost twenty, that hadn't stopped him from being the overprotective parent he was. Adopting her had been the right call, and he didn't plan on changing his mind about that anytime soon.
"To some extent, yes," he sighed with frustration, "Look, Rogers, there's some things in this world that you're not meant to understand. And, she's one of them. So, I suggest you keep her hands off of her, otherwise, there will be consequences."
That was enough for Rogers to look back incredulously, "You think I'm hitting on her?" he asked in disbelief.
Bucky had always been better with women than himself. Even so, he knew the modern terms for courting a woman when he heard them. That didn't make Tony's accusation any better, though. He'd almost laughed at the thought, knowing full-well that dating her was out of the question. After seeing how similar they were personality-wise, he had no doubt that they were more alike than he would have liked.
"If the shoe fits," Tony rolled his eyes knowingly.
"Look, the last thing I'd do is hit on her," Rogers tried reasoning with him.
Even if there was something about her that had caught his attention. Something told him that a date with Ada Stark would only end in disaster. Especially with his track record.
"Good, then, do me a favor and stay away from her," he snapped, "She's off-limits, and I can and will kick your ass if you try pulling any moves on her."
Rogers only watched him turn down the hallway after that. He nearly rolled his eyes at the realization of what Tony was implying. Whatever happened, he didn't plan on going down that road. Not if he had any say in the matter.
…
Ada was sitting in the middle of the medical bay while the doctor checked on her most recent injuries. Her annoyance only increased when Tony insisted that she needed to stop by and have her injury looked at, even though they were already mostly healed. He'd grabbed hold of her when she disobeyed him, telling her that she was grounded for the umpteenth time. Despite the fact that she would continue going out of her way to break whatever ground rules were made.
She glared in the direction of the doctor that was studying the notes he'd written down. There was something about doctors that she couldn't stand. Banner was about the only doctor she could tolerate, and that was because she could relate to him, somewhat. He had more control over the Hulk than he realized. But it was the fact that he turned into the Hulk that made it somewhat easier for her to relate to him. They were both seen as outsiders because they were different to those who knew them.
The doctor was thoroughly confused as to why he couldn't figure out how her injuries had healed so quickly on their own. Though, Ada was beginning to understand that it had something to do with her powers. As if controlling the elements wasn't enough. She suddenly wished that her powers had somehow come with an instruction manual. Having some sort of explanation as to what she was capable of would have come in handy. Especially during times of desperation.
"Well, as far as I can tell, there isn't anything broken or even remotely damaged," he sighed after running through the list for what felt like the umpteenth time.
She'd refused to have her blood taken after they suggested it. They made the claim that if they wanted to find out more of what was going on, it was necessary. Ada couldn't shake off the feeling that drawling her blood wouldn't end well for anyone. Something in the back of her mind kept telling her that they would use that information against her. Or they would do something worse with her blood samples. Because she knew so little about her powers or where she came from, she wasn't willing to take those risks.
"So, does this mean I'm free to go?" she asked hopefully.
It was bad enough that Tony insisted she should visit the medical bay. Being stuck in such a dull and dismal place only added to the effect as she hopped off the cot and stretched out her arms. They were still a little sore from the rough workout that Loki and Thor had given her, but she would recover from that as well.
The doctor made a face when he realized how stubborn she was being. She knew it was partly due to the fact that she was stuck in medical bay in the first place. But, another part of her wanted to make sure she didn't miss anything, despite Fury's orders that she should have been taking it easy.
"Yes," he sighed.
She barely suppressed a whoop of joy at being released, and she made a run for it before he could change his mind. She was already sick of the place, and she planned on giving Tony a piece of her mind for putting her there, in the first place. Though, he probably wouldn't be the first to say that it was safer there.
It didn't take her long to reach the bridge. Ada rose an eyebrow in surprise when she noticed that everyone was already there, except for Tony. Steve was sitting between Natasha and Banner when Ada reached the table, talking about the video feed from earlier. She had only heard the last bits of the video when it went dark, and Fury left Loki in his cell. She was hardly surprised that Loki had refused to talk; the guy was a madman who was only after power.
"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner asked.
"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" Steve asked after looking at Thor.
"He has an army called the Chitauri, that none of Asgard nor any world know. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. Return, I suspect, for the Tesseract," Thor explained.
"An army, from outer space?"
Steve's question was enough for Ada to glance at him warily. She suddenly wondered how much he knew about her people, and where she came from. She had a feeling he would see her differently if he knew the truth. The thought sent a shiver of unease through her as she found herself wishing that people would be more accepting of those who were different.
"So, he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for," Banner murmured thoughtfully.
"Selvig?"
Thor looked at them all questioningly. Ada looked down at the table as guilt swept through her. She hadn't told Selvig, Jane or Darcy that she worked for SHIELD for a reason. If they knew, she doubted they would ever trust her again.
"He's an astrophysicist," Banner explained.
"He's a friend," Thor muttered.
"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours," Natasha put in.
The bitterness in her voice was just another painful reminder that Loki had taken more than just the Tesseract. Ada swallowed hard at the thought of losing Clint. He was more than just a trainer. He'd taught her everything she knew, and he had become a good friend, despite their differences. Though he'd always tried pushing her to the limits, she knew that his intentions were usually good.
"I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here," Steve added.
"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him."
Ada glanced at Banner in surprise when he said that. It was good to know that he still had a sense of humor, despite all the crap the world threw at him.
"I don't care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother," Thor snapped, glaring at Banner as he jumped to Loki's defense.
Ada shook her head knowingly. The last thing she wanted or needed was a fight between Thor and the Hulk. Especially on the Hellicarrier. She knew that tensions were already high because of Loki's attack. If anyone made one wrong move, or if they said the wrong thing that crossed the line, it could only end in disaster.
"He killed eighty people in two days," she muttered.
"He's adopted."
It didn't take long for the group to start bickering among themselves. Ada held back a sigh of frustration when she realized where this was headed. If Loki was planning an invasion, they couldn't just sit idly by and argue over something so pointless. His attack could happen at any time, and they were sitting around doing nothing.
"Iridium, what did they need the iridium for?"
Banner's question caught Ada by surprise. She knew iridium was used to stabilize raw energy. If Selvig needed iridium, there was a possibility that he could have been building a new portal.
"It's a stabilizing agent." Ada rolled her eyes when Tony decided to cut in and finally joined them. Though, she was more surprised to see Coulson following him onto the bridge, looking more frustrated than ever with whatever Tony had told him, "Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD." He walked over to where Ada was standing beside Thor. She hadn't missed the twinkle in his eyes when he talked about the iridium, or the fact that SHIELD had failed at all, "No hard feelings Point Break, you've got a mean swing."
"Is he always like this?" Thor muttered under his breath.
"More or less," Ada shrugged as if it was something she had put up with most of her life, "Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants," she added.
Tony simply nodded in agreement, while Steve narrowed his eyes in confusion. Science had always been one of her favorite subjects, next to history. Eventually though, Tony got bored with the conversation. Ada crossed her arms when he reached the controls and started pushing a few buttons.
"That man is playing Gallaga!" he suddenly announced, catching one of the agents goofing off at the computer, "Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." He started to move around, as if to get a good view of the whole bridge while trying to cover his eye. By now, Ada was struggling not to laugh when she realized what Tony was trying to do, "How does Fury even see these?"
"He turns."
Agent Maria Hill's response was enough for Ada to turn in her direction; she hadn't even noticed her arrival until then. The brunette was Director Fury's second in command when it came to how things were run. It wasn't entirely surprising to see how tense she was with the whole situation they were in. Maria wasn't the kind of person who enjoyed surrounding herself with powerful people, though she would never admit that out loud.
"Sounds exhausting."
She gave Maria a curt nod as the brunette reached her, arms crossing while she kept an eye on Tony. Despite his antics, he was taking the situation at hand seriously. Ada knew Tony well enough now to know that he had been doing his homework. He likely already knew all of the material that was needed to build a new portal.
"The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube," Tony finished.
"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria asked.
"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"
Ada glanced around when she noticed the looks of confusion written across Thor and Steve's faces. Try as they might, she suspected this was something even they would never understand. The science behind Selvig's notes was something that few people would understand. She was grateful that she had taken the time to look over Selvig's notes herself when Coulson handed them to her. After seeing what he had been working on, she knew that opening another portal would likely be disastrous.
"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked, sounding more exasperated than anything else.
"He'd have to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier," Ada explained with a shrug.
"Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect," Tony argued, frowning at the thought of Selvig being capable of pulling off such a move.
"Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet," Banner quipped, earning a look of surprise from Tony.
Ada almost smirked when she caught the look Tony was giving Banner. Tony had always been a fan of Banner's work, and, this was no different. She had a feeling the two of them would either get along really well, or, hate each other by the end of this venture.
"Finally, someone who speaks English," Tony sighed in relief.
"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked, looking even more lost than he had been, before.
"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," Tony greeted him as they shook hands.
"Thanks, I think," Banner said, ducking his head sheepishly.
"Doctor Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him," Fury told them, looking equally as exasperated with Tony's childish behavior.
Though, Ada couldn't blame him. She knew Tony wasn't the easiest person to get along with. Years of living with him had taught her the meaning of patience. While it wasn't easy, she still loved him for taking her in when he did. Few people were lucky enough to see the fatherly side of Tony that she got to see.
"Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon," Steve pointed out.
Ada rose an eyebrow at that, realizing he did have a good point, there. She remembered reading the files on old Hydra weapons that were built in World War II. A lot of them had given off a blue light of energy that reminded her of the Tesseract, and Loki's scepter. She knew that couldn't be a coincidence. Steve did have a point about the scepter being far too similar to that of the Hydra weapons. If there was a connection, then they did need to start their search with his scepter.
"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys," Fury muttered.
"Monkeys? I do not understand."
"I do! I understand that reference!" Steve announced.
Tony only rolled his eyes, while Ada struggled not to laugh at both Thor and Steve. She understood why Thor couldn't figure out how Earthly phrases worked, but, Steve's announcement just made him sound desperate.
"Well, doctor, shall we play?" Tony suggested, gesturing for Banner to take the lead. Banner gave a slight nod and stood up, but, not before Tony turned to Ada, "You make sure that you stay out of trouble."
"The same could be said for you," she snorted in laughter, already aware that the labs were just a large playground for Tony, "Try to keep your hands to yourself; Bruce has already been through enough as it is without you making it worse."
By now, even Tony was struggling not to laugh as he trailed after Banner. Ada shook her head once they were gone. She hardly noticed Natasha had slipped away, and, Coulson was talking with Thor. That left Ada with Steve, who looked lost as to what to do now.
"Is he always like that?" Steve finally asked when he joined her. Ada glanced over her shoulder when she noticed the agent Tony had pointed out from earlier was playing Gallaga, again. She was half-tempted to knock some sense into his head when she thought better of it. "What, you're giving me the silent treatment, now?"
He frowned in confusion as he realized something was off.
"Hey, boss, where's the gym located?" she asked when Fury reached them.
"Just down the hall to your left," he replied without missing a beat, not looking the least bit surprised with her question.
She gave a nod to that, relieved to get away from the bridge and take some stress out on training. Hell, anything was better than doing nothing at all. She hated sitting around while there was still work that needed to get done.
Luckily, it didn't take her long to reach the gym, itself. The gym was lined with a state-of-the-art fitness center, along with a sparring mat. What really topped this gym over any public gyms were the simulation rooms where she could set up a virtual session, making it seem like a real mission. She'd often taken advantage of them, and thanks to Jimmy's help, the simulations were almost strong enough to deal with people like her, who had powers.
"Ada, wait!" She barely paused in her stride as she reached for the boxing gloves and slipped them on. One good punch was all it took for the punching bag to sway in Steve's direction, though he caught it with ease and kept it from swinging back, "Can we talk, please?"
She managed to swing another punch again, this time hitting harder than intended. Steve winced at the impact, and she finally let go of the punching bag as it swung towards her. She knew it wasn't entirely his fault for how resentful she felt towards the way things were going. But his attitude and behavior from earlier had been eating away at her. He had no right to compare her to someone he barely knew, especially since she and Tony weren't entirely alike like he clearly believed.
"About what?" she asked after dodging to the side, narrowly avoiding a hit, "I thought you were all about not liking the company of a Stark?"
"It's not that," he tried defending himself, watching in disbelief as she kicked it this time, nearly causing it to lurch forward off the springs, "Look, I met your grandfather, and was good friends with him. And, Tony's nothing like him… which threw me off."
"And, you've automatically assumed that I'm like my adoptive father?" she guessed, earning a look of surprise from the Super Soldier. "I've heard this song and dance before, Steve. People are so quick to judge me just because they assume I'll be like Tony. The truth is, I hate being compared to him," she admitted.
Steve finally looked at her thoughtfully when he realized what she meant by that. After dealing with the press for so many years, she'd simply learned to ignore their accusations that she was like her father. She wanted to be her own person, and not just another name.
"I'm sorry," he apologized as understanding swept through him, "Is that why you joined SHIELD?"
Ada stopped for a brief moment and looked at Steve warily. It wasn't until meeting his blue eyes that she noticed he really did want to understand the truth. He hadn't flat-out admitted that she was like her father, but he had been judging Tony ever since they returned from Stuttgart. She dropped her shoulders and forced herself to relax as she looked back down at the floor.
"I joined because I wanted to make a name for myself," she explained, "I joined, because maybe they could help find out who I really am… what I really am."
The Super Soldier simply nodded in understanding. They finally sat down on a bench where they could both relax and figure out what to do from there. She knew that arguing was pointless. They didn't have the time nor the energy to keep arguing. Especially when they had an army of Chitauri to stop, along with their search for the Tesseract. The only way they were going to get along was by getting to know one another better. Even if it meant going beyond her comfort zone.
"You mean you're not human?" he asked in surprise.
"Obviously," she snorted in response, nearly rolling her eyes, "I don't think most humans are born with the power to control the elements, much less have a glowing necklace and hear voices in their heads."
To most people, that would have sounded crazy. To Steve, he suddenly understood why her necklace had been glowing back on the quinjet. There was still so much that she had to learn, about herself. Ada was more than relieved when Steve left it at that. Instead, he seemed more curious than anything else, but not to the point where he bombarded her with questions. She was thankful for that, and suddenly found herself feeling more confused than ever.
She was relieved when he gave her some much needed alone time. Her mind was already churning with anxiety as it was. If she was able to talk with Nadia before, she needed to find a way to talk with her, again. Something told her the only way she could pull that move off was through meditation, whether she wanted it or not.
