"You need to get me out of this room. I'm not an Asgardian. I was born in bloody London." Hermione granger paced through the white room. The odd metal cage hidden just beyond the oddly slick walls was screwing with her magical energy. She couldn't apparate out, and it felt like someone was pouring fire whiskey into shallow cuts all over her body. "I was saving people."
"She was saving people." Agent Hill looked at Director Fury. "This might not be the best way to win her to our side."
"She came out of no where." Fury looked at the camera feed. "We can't be sure she isn't a plant of Loki's."
"We have him in custody. Well, Thor does." Hill shrugged.
"She might not know that. Keep her in the room. See if you can get the damn bio scanner to work." Fury turned to leave. "I'll see if Stark and Banner are ready to look at her things."
"Harry will come." She dropped to her knees and swayed. "He will come."
Her body was aching and her magic was roiling. She forced herself to take deep breaths. They didn't know what they were doing to her and she had to keep them from knowing. She wrapped her arms around her legs and curled up on the floor.
She needed a way out of this hell. Harry would come, but there was no assurance he would arrive in time. She bit her lip until it bled. This room was like a muggle version of the Cruciatus. It wasn't quite as bad, but she could feel the pain building.
Steve heard the screams as he moved toward his room. His body ached from the fight, but those sounds weren't to be ignored. He started running without forming a plan. The screams wouldn't be ignored.
He stopped outside of one of the cells. He grimaced as another agonized scream hit his sensitive ears.
"We can't get the doors to open." Maria Hill looked up at him with unusual panic showing in her expression. "We tried to scan her and it set off a pulse of something. Everything's fried, but she won't stop screaming."
Steve forced his shield in the slit between the doors and used his strength to pry them open. He braced the doors with his body and felt Maria's body slip passed his as she moved toward the small figure huddled in the middle of the room.
When Maria touched the female, the woman stopped screaming. Her eyes focused just beyond his shoulder, and a silver mist sprang from her hand, taking the form of an otter as it flashed by him. The trickle of blood that flowed down from her nose seemed far too dark against her pale skin. Her body slumped to the floor, and he felt his adrenaline surge. He rammed the doors further apart.
"Get her out of there, Hill." He wouldn't take no for an answer. He'd rip the room to shreds if necessary.
Maria was pulling her out when Fury stormed into the hall. His anger was a palpable thing, but Steve helped Maria pull the woman free before turning to deal with their furious leader.
"This is insubordination." Fury snarled. "We can't just trust any damn being that shows up, Rogers." Fury pointed at the curly haired woman. "She could be dangerous."
"We are all dangerous." Steve squared his shoulder. "Torturing someone is never acceptable. That is not what America is about."
"This isn't about America. This is about us and them." Fury pointed at the woman cradled in Agent Hill's arms. "And we haven't determined which of those she is."
"She was saving people." Steve looked over his shoulder. "Let's start with that and not lock her in a room that was obviously causing her harm."
The sound of popcorn popping filled the air as a group of black clad men and women appeared behind Fury and his agents. Steve dropped into a fighting stance as Fury and his team seemed to be frozen.
"Your modification on the petrificus isn't working on this one, Hermione." A man stepped around Fury and smirked up at him. His vibrant green eyes seemed to be made of some sparkling gems rather than normal human eyes.
"Don't hurt him, Harry. He's been trying to help me." The woman spoke quietly.
The man dropped his gaze to the woman still being supported by a non responsive Agent Hill. "Have you brought a standard med kit with you?"
"I'm not stupid." The man pulled a small disk from one of his pockets and moved around him as if he were nothing more than furniture. "You never do anything by halves, do you? We managed to hold some of the largest buildings together, but we really need to withdraw now."
"I saved the library and some people." The woman shrugged and caught the small disk that the dark haired man flipped to her. "I am not sure standard protocols are going to work here. Beyond Captain America here, there are several beings we can not safely obliviate."
Steve watched as the woman waved her hand over the disk and it became something that reminded him of a doctor's bag. She moved her fingers in a circle and a small image of her body flared into being between them. Some weird lights flashed on the image before the whole thing dissolved. She reached into the bag and pulled out three bottles of liquids in vibrant colors.
"You need to see a healer." The man glared at her as she swallowed the liquids in quick succession, grimacing after everyone. "You can't keep it together with hope and potions."
"We don't have time for that, Harry. We need to get every able bodied agent out looking for victims. Minor injuries can be transferred to muggle care, but we can help so many." The woman wiggles out of Hill's embrace and stood up. "Time to do the right thing. Accio wand."
Steve watched as a small slim stick came flying from the administrative wing directly into her hand. He watched as she assumed authority over the group with a couple of words and the briefest of smiles. She was, without a doubt, trouble.
"Mr. Rogers, thank you for saving me." She walked over to him as the others of her kind headed out to do her bidding. "This is Harry Potter. You both share the urge to save people at great risk to yourselves. It's both laudable and lamentable. I need Harry to keep track of our boots on the ground. I believe that is the correct turn of phrase." She tilted her head and smiled up at him. "I need your help explaining to Mr. Fury that I am not some delusional alien. I am very much a child of this earth. Would you be willing to help me?"
"I might be, but Fury won't trust you. He needs to be involved." Steve looked over at the one eyed man. "Why don't we send Hill with your man? She can report back to Fury. It might help, a little. Not much does."
"I'll take her if you promise to keep Hermione safe." The dark haired man tilted his head toward her. "She tends to piss off powerful men for fun."
"I think making that promise might insult the lady." Steve smiled at Hermione. "But I will help her in any way that I can."
"My heroes!" Hermione clasped her hands over her heart. "Whatever would I do without you?"
"World domination, probably." Harry shook his head as he waived his stick and Hill blinked before leaping to her feet. The man held his hands up and smiled. "I've got people to save and apparently my best friend and the tall guy need to get this situation under control. You're with me. You aren't prone to seasickness, are you?"
"I never have been before." Hill flipped her hair over her shoulder and assessed the room.
"You'll report back to Fury after we calm him down." Steve grinned and shrugged. "I'm guessing you'll have more fun."
"We need to get a move on." Harry offered his arm to Hill. "Hold on tight."
They disappeared with a loud pop. Hermione shook her head and grinned before settling her hands on her hips. Her eyes were moving constantly even though her body was still.
"Are you going to take me somewhere by popping?" Steve grinned at her.
"He doesn't have to do that. He's strong enough to silence it." Hermione looked back to where Harry had been. "He likes to annoy me though."
"I don't want to be anywhere near this room when we wake the others up." Steve gestured toward the door with his hand. "Fury might try to shove you back in."
"That would be fun." Her grin was slightly feral and totally terrifying, but he liked it. "I can bring them along, if you lead the way."
"We should call in Natasha and Clint. They seem to enjoy Fury's moods." Steve pointed down the hall as she waived her stick again. He didn't comment further as they headed down the hall way with a line of agents floating behind them.
