I felt anxious and looking at the dress on my bed I really had to wonder how the hell Natasha talked me into this. I hated dresses. They weren't practical and revealed too much skin. With a heavy sigh I put it on, at least I could convince her that the dress covered most of my thighs. Nobody should be able to see my scars this way.
"Okay, let's get started, shall we?" I turned around when Nat entered and stared at her for a moment.
"Wow, you look beautiful." She was wearing a dark blue dress that was sliced almost up to her hip. She smiled at me and walked over to zip me up before she pushed me into a chair to work on my hair and make-up. She decided to go for a natural look and after straightening my hair she pulled it up into a little messy bun.
"You cannot look too serious, honey. Nobody would believe that. And stop it with that face, you look gorgeous." I grimaced at that and watched her producing a knife from her bag and holding it out to me.
"What would I need a knife for on a birthday party?" I was surprised and she only shrugged her shoulders.
"You are one of us now. I talked to the others earlier and we would like you to have at least some kind of protection on you from now on. I always carry a weapon, even now." She lifted the hem of her dress and I was surprised that she actually had a small pistol strapped to her thigh. She quickly showed me a few easy movements with the knife, that I would be able to repeat even without any previous weapons training. I still didn't understand why it was necessary as Natasha helped me hide the knife against my thigh. It was completely invisible when she let go of my dress and the loose falling skirt completely disguised that I hid anything there.
"Thank you, Nat." I hugged her tight for a few seconds.
"Let's have some fun." She winked at me and opened the door.
On our way to the elevator we passed by the laboratory. Bruce was talking to someone I hadn't seen here before. Long blond hair, tall and a very muscular frame. Natasha pulled me through the door and motioned for me to wait.
"Well, if it isn't the mighty Thor gifting us with his presence." The blonde turned around with a huge smile plastered on his face.
"It is good to see you again." He turned around fully still smiling at the redhead and then seemed to notice me standing behind her.
"And who might this lovely lady be?" I felt my cheeks heat up and I was sure I was as red as my dress. I would never get used to being noticed by all those handsome heroes. The tall Norse god slowly walked over, oozing confidence, even if the dark jeans and shirt didn't really seem to be doing him justice.
"Miss Evans. We just talked about her." He stopped in front of me and brushed his lips softly against my hand.
"My pleasure, Miss Evans." I was only able to nod. I shook my head and looked at Bruce.
"Why were you talking about me?" Bruce looked at Natasha and waited for her silent approval before he looked back at me.
"You remember that we tested your blood again? The anomaly was still there, it even increased since the last blood sample. I thought maybe our Asgardian friend here might have an idea what we are looking at." I looked at the god, hoping he could bring some sense into this.
"I don't have an explanation for it. I have seen something like that before. Maybe my brother will be able to tell us more later. He has always been the… more clever concerning such things." His brother… Sure. If Thor was here it was only natural his brother would be somewhere around. From what Clint had told me I gathered that the two Asgardians were working through their difficulties.
"Time flies by. We should head upstairs or Tony will never let us here the end of it, if we miss his big speech." Banner interrupted my thoughts and ushered us out into the hallway.
Before we even reached the door leading to the vast balcony, I could already hear the music playing. There were already a lot of people, some of them I recognized from TV but most where unknown to me. From the looks of it Tony had once more spent a lot of money. It wasn't as if he had to even look at prices anyways, probably Pepper had to put him on a leash while planning.
"Damned Natasha, you have outdone yourself this time." Clint was looking me up and down and Nat grinned as she held her hand out to him.
"Thank you Clint. And now I want my money. She is wearing a dress and she looks amazing. I win." Typical, I thought as I watched the money being exchanged.
"Oh and Wilson, I didn't forget that you owe me money, too." I huffed, it didn't really surprise me that Sam was involved as well.
"You get it later Romanov. Ann, you still look cute." I decided to escape being stared at and made my way over to the bar. I ordered some cocktail and prayed Natasha didn't bet with everyone on the team.
"Natasha held true to her word. What did she threaten you with?" I turned around with a smile.
"Hey Steve. At least one person seems to feel sorry for me."
"I just happen to know what she can be like if she has her mind set on something. Though I have to admit she did a damned good job. You look gorgeous." He pushed a strand of my hair back behind my ear and I looked up at him, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Can I ask you something?" Steve looked at me and leaned against the counter next to me.
"You know you can always ask anything of me." I bit my bottom lip and tried to sort out how to go about this.
"What's wrong, princess? Something is bothering you." He gently pushed my chin up so I had to look at him.
"I… I am just so confused. Tony and Bruce say something about my blood is off, some anomaly. Even Thor cannot say what it is. He said maybe his brother…"
"Maybe I could do what, beautiful?" I whirled around to find myself eye to eye with whom I suspected to be Loki Laufeyson. His eyes travelled down and back up taking in my body and somehow it made me feel naked. I took an involuntary step back standing now against the bar. I turned around, seeking help from Steve, but something else had already caught his attention. Perfect, just when you need a superhero for once.
I turned back to face the god. He was the complete opposite of his brother, dark hair, evenly tall with but less bulky in his frame and those piercing cold eyes.
"Do I make you uncomfortable?" His mouth formed a mischievous grin as he took another step towards me and took a hold of my left arm.
"What about now, little mortal? What are you feeling now?" His lips almost brushed against my ear and a cold shiver ran down my spine as his breath fanned over my throat.
"Disgust." I bit my tongue because I just couldn't keep my mouth shut if cornered. Amusement flickered in his cold eyes when he leaned back to get a better look at me. He stared into my eyes and for a moment I had the feeling I was losing my focus. I closed my eyes and shook my head a little in confusion. When I opened them again he looked at me a bit taken aback.
"That is unusual." He was whispering more to himself. Again he looked at me with intense eyes, this time I only felt some irritating nagging in the back of my head.
"Indeed, very unusual… What are you?" I stared at him. Did I understand him correct?
"I don't understand…" He put a long finger against my lips to keep me from talking.
"Hush now. Something is different about you. You smell different. Somehow… Familiar. A cold winter morning. Wet firewood. Newly forged steel…" His eyes turned dark and he closed the remaining distance between us. Somewhere in the back of my mind I registered that Tony was now holding his speech, but I wouldn't have been able to recall a single word if asked to.
"You smell like one of them." He let out a low growl and his face nearly touched mine. What was happening here?
