Ch 38

Hey… look… more plot. And an adoreable Steve/Alyssa scene at the end. Things are starting to get serious here.

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Hope your ready for the crazy that will be the next few chapters. Starting now.

When I get back to DC I come to learn that I will now be in an apartment with my own room. Finally. Took them long enough.

And on top of that I have the whole house to my lonesome. Steve got sent on a mission while I was on a mission. Bandit is with Natasha. I really was all alone in a new place.

I throw my duffle bag from the mission on the couch and dump most of the contents out for me to organize. I soon decide maybe I should explore and have a shower first.

I look around the new apartment. Find my room, the bathroom, Steve's room, closets, and where the washing machine was. Before the laundry had to be done downstairs. Now I don't have to make a trip down several floors.

I am about to go into my room when the front door unlocks. I pause. I turn and walk back to the front door.

"Hey there Aly. Didn't know you'd be back yet." Steve smiles seeing me.

"I didn't know you'd be back either." I reason.

"How was your mission?" Steve asks me as he dumps his bag on the couch along with my belongings. "And what is that?" Steve asked pointing to something in my pile of stuff.

"Don't ask. Skye wouldn't let me leave the store without it. Long story. As for the mission, stressful. I hate people. But I got to see Fitzsimmons." I walk into the kitchen and take a seat on a stool.

"How are they?" Steve asks, he has never met Fitzsimmons but knows enough of them from me. He knows how much trouble I got into with them.

"Good. They're a funny pair. Miss them a lot."

"I know you do. So you were in LA then."

"For a day or two." I shrug.

"Did you visit Tony and Pepper?"

My eyes went wide in realization. "No comment." I said before I rested my head on the counter covering my face with my arms. "I'm a horrible daughter." I said into my arms.

Steve laughed briefly at my antics.

"Hey can I ask you a question?" he asked me.

"You just did, but okay. What's your question?"

"Am I a toaster?" he asked with full seriousness.

"What? I think you know very well that you're a human being and not a toaster." I laughed as I lifted my head up from the table to look at him. "Why would you ask such a question?"

"Clint said something about zones, friends, dating and toasters. He tried to explain it to me. But I am still not fully clear on the concept."

"I have no idea what he's talking about. Not that I'm surprised but…"

"He said I get looked like I am a toaster by you."

"Steve. You want to see the way I look at a toaster?" I asked. Then I moved my head to look at the toaster on the counter with a blank face. "There. I looked at a toaster. Want to see how I look at you?" I asked with a smile then pointed to my face. "See? Different. I look at you like you are a human. Not an small inanimate kitchen appliance that cooks bread."

He laughed at me. I think I made my point. "Then what was he talking about?"

"I have no clue. I wasn't there. But I may have to talk to him. Ask him to stop putting nonsense into my Steve's head." I shook my head. The antics that happened involving those Avengers never ceased to entertain me.

"He said something about friend-zones…"

"He was trying to explain the friend-zone to you?" I ask in realization.

"I think so…"

"And he used toasters? Steve, that's when two people are friends and the one wants more from the relationship and the other just wants to be friends."

"And by more from the relationship you mean to date?"

"Exactly."

Steve nodded in understanding. "That makes much more sense. Toasters didn't."

"I'm glad." I said as I slid from my seat and walked towards my room trying to grab all my clothes from the couch.

"Wait… have I been friendzoned?" he called after me. I just shake my head and roll my eyes. He'll figure it out.

"How was your mission?" I ask as I continue walking.

"It was… serious. Found out something… really important." Steve followed behind me.

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask curiously. Not that he is telling me any details or anything. He never really tells me this kind of stuff.

"Want the good news or the terrible news?" Steve sits on my bed.

"Steve, you're scaring me." I sit facing him.

"The Red Room isn't looking for you. Instead it's Hydra."

"Oh... well fuck."

"We have called the four of you in to discuss an important situation that has been brought to SHIELD's attention." Maria Hill informed Clint, Steve, Natasha and myself. "Captain Rogers here, took a strike team into a Hydra base camp. What he found was something none of us expected."

"Which is what?" Natasha asked.

"An alien weapon. We have strong reason to believe it's Asgardian. Not to mention we found Hydra has a plan and one of our own is their target." Hill looks right towards me.

"No…" Barton says shocked, Natasha sits straighter.

"Before Agent Romanoff was forced to eliminate Belova, Belova was a high ranking Hydra officer. Hydra has been interested in creating a new brand of super soldiers for years. Belova was not only part of the program but a successful soldier herself." Hill informs us, showing us the contents of the file that was recovered.

We all are now looking at the file, the contents spread out between the four of us sitting down.

"Hydra had found success with Belova, they wanted someone like her, and Belova informed them she had given up a daughter. Hydra has been on the hunt since. Belova had given limited information. But they found Alyssa. They haven't made a move yet." Hill continued.

"What's our next move?" Natasha asks.

"Throw them off her scent. Prolonging them for as long as we can is step one. Technically we did such after her marriage to Cap. We'll need to do more. As we do this we try to stop the threat. We also need to determine what this weapon does and if it is indeed Asgardian. If that is proven true we need to determine how it got into Hydra's hands and what exactly they were planning to do with it." Clint popped in sounding incredibly smart. This signaled the end of goofy big brother Clint and the start of the serious Agent Barton.

"The first move we make right now is making sure Alyssa is secure." Steve notes. Hill and Natasha nod.

"SHIELD is making moves to contact Thor to conform if the weapon is Asgardian or not as we speak." Hill added. "If they were using it for a specific reason, knowing for exactly what will be extremely useful in stopping them."

"What about how they were creating these super soldiers? Wouldn't that be important to know as well?" I ask.

"We have part documents. SHIELD has scientists looking into it." Hill tells me.

"All do respects but I want to see those files myself. See if I find anything."

"You don't know anything about this kind of stuff Alyssa." Steve tries to tell me.

"I'm sorry, we've must have never met. I'm Alyssa Williams-Stark. Child genius/prodigy. Have an IQ estimated at 170 or higher. Daughter of genius inventor Tony Stark. I think I can understand the science. And you are?" I turn to ask Steve sarcastically.

"Hill, give her the damn file." Steve turns to look at Hill in defeat.

"She'll get one." Hill assures me.

"Now, Clint and Natasha you two will be tasked with Captain to take care of this potential threat." Hill instructs them.

"What about me? What do I do?" I ask.

"Your job."

"You mean where I blow up shit, build whatever I want and get yelled at by you or Fury? I think I could be of much more use here." I argue.

"Aly you don't need to be involved in this. Really you shouldn't be." Steve tells me.

"Agent Stark, are you asking to be reassigned to this mission?" Hill ignores Steve.

"Yes I am. I have background in the science behind the idea of super soldiers. I've analyzed my own blood several times over since finding out about my enhancers. And then studying the enhancers' elements. And I even have a friend who is a biochemist I could get into contact with. I am more than capable to look into the soldiers."

"You've been analyzing your own blood?" Clint raises an eyebrow.

"I have unlimited access to it. Why not?" I shrug it off.

"Alright. As of today you are now on the team working on this assignment." Hill assigns me.

"You realize you've created a monster, right Maria?" Steve asks the woman.

"Keep Starks happy. If you don't they'll find a way to do it that's probably illegal." Hill answers.

"Shouldn't you know that by now Cap?" Natasha asks.

"Sometimes I forget that. I should really know better…" Steve sighs.

"You really sure you want to be looking into this?" Steve asked me warily later on when we are getting ready to leave SHIELD.

"Are you trying to persuade me otherwise?" I ask raising my eyebrows at him.

"What do you think?" Steve says stating the obvious.

"At least I'm not sneaking onto planes this time." I reason.

"Thank god you aren't. Alyssa I feel like when you do things like that you do it just to give me a heart attack."

"Well you are how old now? Ninety something or rather? It wouldn't really be that surprising."

"Hilarious." Steve rolled his eyes at me.

"I know Rogers. I'm a comedy mastermind."

"I think you think you are."

"Ouch. That hurt." I faking hurt.

"I'm oh so sorry princess." Steve said sarcastically.

"What's with all the sarcasm today mister?" I smile. Steve is fun when he gets like this.

"I blame you."

"What did I do?" I question.

"You're rubbing off on me."

"You make it sound like a bad thing." I cross my arms as we continue to walk through the maze of hallways that is SHIELD.

"You are a terrible influence on me Alyssa." He blames me as he stops us and turns us both so were facing each other.

"Who's been helping out with that list of yours? The so called terrible influence or someone else?" I question.

"Who said terrible was a bad thing?"

"Its not generally associated with good things."

"You are grey area Alyssa. You make good and bad confusing."

"We live in grey area Steve. Good and bad can be interchangeable now." I remind him and to some degree myself.

"That's very true. But you make things that first seemed bad not so bad anymore."

"Like what?" I question genuinely curious.

"You can act like a completely terrible person but you always do it for the right reasons. You drive me crazy to the point I think I'm going to yell at you but you make me forgive you instantly. Yet you make me yell at you for things that really shouldn't bother me too much. Explain that?"

"I can't. I guess that just the effect I have on people." I start to continue walking, leaving Steve behind.

"Or at least the effect you have on me." Steve groaned as he caught up with me.

"Okay, in my head that sounded way more inappropriate than it needed to be." I shake my head at my naturally perverted mind.

"How?" Steve questioned in a lower voice than normal, probably knowing I'd say something embarrassing to him and didn't want anyone else to hear.

"It sounded like you were suggesting I turn you on or something…" I look up at him innocently, my voice… not so innocent.

"Well, you never know…" Steve smirked jokingly.

"You saying you just keep me around for my pretty face and my cute ass?" I joke along.

"I married you for more than your pretty face Alyssa."

"Really? Cause I only did it so I could stare at your killer body." I continue to joke, as I look him up and down grinning like an idiot. "And you never conformed or denied if you married me cause of my ass or not." I remind him wondering what had gotten into Steve today. He never acts or talks like this. Maybe I really am a bad influence.

"You having a cute ass you mean? Never noticed." Steve shrugged but was smiling in a way I could tell otherwise.

"Liar. It's written all over your face." I poke his cheek.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"Says the guy with the shit eating grin on his face." I roll my eyes but I try and drop the subject.

"I admit to nothing. But you did admit to staring at me. Not that I really needed you to admit it… I've caught you too many times."

"I admit to nothing." I throw his words back at him but my smiling gives me away.

"Yeah right."

"You could never get me to admit a word. Ever."

"I think I could. Especially here." Steve challenges.

"Bring it Capsicle."

So Steve grabs me by my legs and waist, throws me over his shoulder and starts running. The dude is an extremely fast runner.

"YOU ARE A JERK!" I yell and point out.

"Admit that you stare at me and I'll put you down."

"You have no evidence!"

"Don't need it sweetheart."

"You suck!"

"You've said worse about me." Steve continues to run.

"Fine! I give in! People are looking at us weird! I will say it when you put me down."

Steve puts me back on the ground. "Say it."

I smile as seductively as I can at him and go on my tiptoes to whisper slowly in his ear. "You're getting nothing from me." After that I bolt.

"ALYSSA!" Steve yelled after me as I ran he caught up to me in an instant and caught me by the waist, pulling me closer to him. "You think I'm really going to let you get away with that?"

"I'm screwed now aren't I?" I ask looking up at him.

"You bet." Steve throws me over his shoulder again.