Chapter Three

Amelia pulled her jacket closer around her body as she locked up her office. It was almost 3 in the morning and she was supposed to report to Coulson at 6 in the morning to board the quin-jet that would take them to the new helicarrier. She had been swamped with last-minute repairs before she left on her next mission. Indra had even stopped by to ask how it went with Captain America. Amelia had been hesitant to reveal anything outside of her mission to the language expert, but in the end, she had to ask for somebody's perspective.

"So he took you to your favorite coffee shop?" Indra asked.

Amelia nodded, "He completely ignored all the directions I gave him."

Indra laughed, "Who knew the old man would be this forward with a lady."

"I don't think he was being forward at all," Amelia interjected. "I think he was lonely."

Indra scoffed, "Well lonely or not. Every girl at headquarters was jealous when you arrived back with Prince Charming in tow."

Amelia had groaned at that bit of information. She knew that Steve was handsome and a good catch for any girl, but she didn't want to be in a rumor with him. The man already had enough to deal with and Amelia didn't want to be on the top every women's kill list.

Amelia was debating on whether or not to just stay at headquarters for the night but decided against. She needed to pack and prepare back at her place. The sleep-deprived agent slowly made her way to the little parking garage where her little mini cooper in dark blue was waiting for her. It wasn't her first choice in car, but it did the job and had been a birthday gift from Clint. He thought it would be hilarious to see the deadly Miss Amelia Nilson driving a cute car. She slid into the driver's seat and sped off to her little studio apartment that was only fifteen minutes away from headquarters.

The place was small in comparison to other studios but Amelia loved it. It functioned perfectly for her needs and although she made enough money to upgrade she saw no reason to. She was rarely home, to begin with. The walls were a plain white color with a small twin bed closest to the window and a desk tucked into the corner that was piled with gadgets and blueprints.

Amelia kicked her heels off and tossed them into the closet before pulling her purple suitcase out. She packed all the necessary essential: clothes, computer, ammo, guns, and feminine products. Amelia learned her lesson to never assume that S.H.I.E.L.D. would restock on pads and tampons while away on missions. It was when she was sent to Budapest as back up for Natasha and Clint. It was a mission they all agreed to never speak of again.

Once Amelia was sure she had packed everything she changed into her favorite pajamas and flopped onto her bed to sleep. She was almost asleep until her cell phone went off with a very familiar ringtone. It was Natasha.

"You do realize what time it is right?" Amelia asked as she answered the phone.

"I'm sorry I just didn't know who else to confined in," Natasha replied and Amelia immediately picked up on how hoarse Natasha sounded. It was as if she had been crying.

Amelia knew Natasha better than anybody in the agency and she doesn't cry often. The only time Amelia had seen Natasha cry was during their time in Budapest when Amelia had become critically injured and had almost died. Amelia knew something must have set her off when she went to recruit Banner. Amelia felt her sister instincts kick in as she sat up in bed and pulled her knees to her chest.

"Your thinking of Clint aren't you?" Amelia asked with a soft sigh.

"How can I not?" Natasha replied. "He is the closest thing I have to a brother just like your the closest thing I have to a sister."

"He wouldn't want us to give up though." Amelia pointed out. "Natasha you are one of the strongest people I know. If anybody can sucker punch him back into reality it would be you."

Amelia heard Natasha laugh on the other end of the line, "Your not wrong."

"We have a job to do Nat." Amelia began. "And right now its to sleep, kick a little ass, and then kick a little more ass."

"How do you always cheer me up?" Natasha laughs.

"Because I'm amazing!" Amelia replied.

"Thanks."

"Anytime."

"Goodnight Mila," Natasha whispers.

"See you tomorrow Nat," Amelia replied before hanging up and drifting off to sleep.

The next morning Amelia wasn't surprised to see that she had slept through the thousands of alarms she had set the previous night. She quickly threw on the outfit she had set out the previous night which consisted of a green loose fitting shirt with dark jeans and brown ankle boots. She put on a brown leather jacket, an aged locket, and some bracelets before flying out the door. Amelia would have had to speed all the way to headquarters in order to not miss every green light, but because she lived so close she didn't feel the need. As soon as the car was parked she ran as fast as she could to the jet where Coulson and Fury were waiting.

"You're late." Fury states with his arms crossed.

"Only by one minute," Amelia responded as she doubled over coughing.

Coulson came to her side and patted her back as he took the luggage she had been carrying. Amelia sent him a grateful look to which he nodded in return before placing her luggage inside the jet. She sent Fury a 'thank you for caring so much' look before going inside leaving him to follow her. When she entered she noticed that Steve was inside already with his arms crossed over his chest and eyes cast down in deep thought. He only acknowledged Amelia's presence when she waved her hand in his face in a similar fashion to what he did yesterday.

"Earth to Steve." She mocked.

"Morning." He began with a knowing smile. "Coulson told me you'd be late."

"Did he now?" Amelia responded sending Coulson a look. "Did he also say how much of a fan he is of you?"

Coulson sent her a glare, "Shut it, Simba."

"Right back at you, Mufasa."

Steve looked lost at the Disney reference, "I don't understand that reference."

"Well, now I have just made it my goal to educate you on the wonders of Disney," Amelia replied with a dramatic bow and a knowing smirk.

Fury rolled his eye at his adoptive daughter, "You just signed yourself up for torture Cap."

Steve looked even more confused as Fury patted him on the shoulder before leaving the jet. Amelia already knew he was going to be taking a faster jet to the carrier so she waved at him. He only responded with another eye roll before walking away. Amelia let out a snort before sitting down in the co-pilot seat and putting a headset on.

"You know how to fly this thing?" Steve asked from behind her.

She shrugged, "Nope, I just like the view."

That seemed sufficient to Steve because the next thing they knew they were in the air and on their way. The flight was relaxing for the first few minutes as she laid back and enjoyed the view. Although she couldn't stop her thoughts from thinking of Clint and how he was doing. Had he woken up? Was he hurt? Was he alive? or worst of all... Was he still compromised?

Amelia's thoughts were interrupted when she heard the sound of people screaming. She turned her head to the left to see Steve watching the footage of the Hulk's attack on the Army at Culver University. The scene was less than pleasant as destruction followed the green man's wake. Amelia felt bad that this would be Steve first impression of Banner. According to her sources, he was actually a pretty nice guy and Amelia was looking forward to meeting him.

"We're about forty minutes out from the base, sir." the Pilot reported.

Coulson nodded before standing up from his seat and walking over to Steve. Amelia decided to join them in the back and unbuckled to go stand next to Coulson. He sent her a nod before turning his head to look at the tablet in Steve's hand. The video of the Hulk's destruction had finished and Doctor Banner's profile was now on display for the three to see.

"So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum that was used on me?" Steve asked as he looked at the contents of the digital file.

"A lot of people were," Coulson replied. "You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula."

Suddenly the sound of the Hulk roaring with fury again reached Amelia's ears and she turned to see Steve playing the part where Bruce slams a jeep apart. She frowned at the scene and proceeded to take the tablet from Steve's grasp and turned it off. She didn't want Steve to get the wrong impression of the man before meeting him.

"Didn't really go his way, did it?" Steve commented as he watched Amelia place the tablet in the co-pilot's seat, conveniently out of his reach.

"Not so much." Coulson agreed before adding. "When he's not that thing though, the guy's like a Stephen Hawking."

"I personally can't wait to have a conversation with him," Amelia interjected looking between the two men. "It will be nice to have someone of a higher intellect around."

Steve sent her another confused look, "Stephen Hawking?"

"He's a very smart person," Coulson explained with a chuckle.

"It's hard to talk about technological advancement and scientific theory when you work with a bunch of people who prefer guns," Amelia added before motioning toward the blonde. "Or shields in your case."

"I gotta say it's an honor to meet you, officially," Coulson interjected as he tried to change the topic of conversation.

Steve smiled at Coulson and winked over at the brunette, "Amelia said you were a fan."

Coulson sent her a glare before continuing, "I sort of met you, I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping."

"Because that's not creepy at all," Amelia stated before letting out a yelp as Coulson pinched her arm.

Steve looked down as he stood up and walked to the side with Coulson following. Amelia sat down in Steve's vacant place and watched them interact. She could already tell Coulson was dying for a chance to have his trading cards signed, while Steve seemed to be taking all the information in.

"I mean, I was... I was present while you were unconscious from the ice." Coulson tried to recover but then realized the damage had been done. "You know, it's really, it's just a... just a huge honor to have you on board."

Steve looked up at him, "Well, I hope I'm the man for the job."

Coulson nodded, "Oh, you are. Absolutely. Uh... we've, that is Amelia made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input."

Steve looked over at her and Amelia winked, "The tech was a little outdated."

"The uniform?" Steve asked and she nodded. "Aren't the stars and stripes a little... old-fashioned?"

Amelia was about to answer when Coulson stepped in, "With everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old-fashioned."

Steve took in Coulson's sentiment before heading back toward Amelia, "What do you think?"

Amelia looked up into his blue eyes which now she noticed had a hint of green in them, "The stars and stripes are only meant to be worn by Captain America, besides I do believe I have out done myself. Perhaps I can change careers and become a fashion designer."

Steve smiled.

It wasn't much longer until the trio reached the helicarrier. Amelia felt a sense of nostalgia as she felt the jet land on the runway. The last time she was here was when she had been training to work as a field agent and not just a computer nerd. When she passed the tests months later she had been tackled to the ground by both Clint and Natasha. They had been so proud of her.

Coulson must have noticed Amelia's change in demeanor and pulled her into a side hug before kissing the top of her head. She sent him a soft smile before grabbing her luggage and following Steve and Coulson out of the jet. The first familiar face she saw was that of Natasha as she made her way over towards them.

"Agent Romanoff." Coulson introduced as he took Amelia's luggage from her and gave it to a different agent who took it to her room. "Captain Rogers."

"Ma'am." Steve greeted.

Natasha sent him a nod, "Hi."

"Nattie!" Amelia yelled as she pulled the redhead into an embrace.

"Mimi!"

Coulson rolled his eyes at the pair, "Somethings never change."

Natasha and Amelia let go of each other long enough to glare at Coulson, "They need you on the bridge. Facetime."

Coulson sighed before nodding, "See you there."

Coulson walked away leaving Steve with Natasha and Amelia as they began chatting away. Amelia motioned for Steve to follow them as the began walking towards the railing of the ship. She didn't want Steve to be left alone. Once they had reached the edge Natasha was the first to include Steve in the conversation.

"There was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice." She began looping her arm through Amelia's. "I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"

Steve sent Amelia a knowing look, "Trading cards?"

Natasha nodded, "They're vintage, he's very proud."

"There his most prized possession. He never goes anywhere without them." Amelia added knowing full well that Steve was aware of the merchandise.

As Natasha explained where Steve would be bunking Amelia noticed Dr. Banner walking around lost. He was an older looking man with graying hair and glasses. She made her way toward him although he didn't seem to see her until she was right in front of him. The poor man looked nervous as hell.

"Dr. Banner," Amelia greeted him with a kind smile.

He looked at her with suspicion, "I didn't see you in files."

"You wouldn't," Amelia answered. "I'm Agent Amelia Nilson, Head of the IT department."

He nodded his head, "Bruce Banner."

Amelia shook his hand and offered him a smile before she felt the presence of someone beside her. She turned her head to see Steve reach over and shake Banner's hand, "Dr. Banner."

Bruce seemed to recognize Steve, probably from the files he received, "Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming."

Steve stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Word is you can find the cube."

Bruce looked perplexed, "Is that the only word on me?"

"The only word I care about," Steve replied.

"Your also a genius," Amelia added crossing her arms over her chest. "and that's all I cared about since reading your papers."

Bruce looked between Steve and Amelia before nodding as if accepting their reasons. He then gestured to his surroundings, "Must be strange for you, all of this."

Steve shrugged, "Well, this is actually kind of familiar."

Natasha joined them once Amelia motioned that it was alright although she didn't fail to see the fear flash in the assassin's eyes as she looked at Banner, "Gentlemen, you may wanna step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe."

As if on schedule the helicarrier started to shake as it prepared to move and Amelia couldn't help the smirk that slithered its way onto her face, "I love this part."

Steve looked over at her, "Is this is a submarine?"

Amelia only winked and motioned for him to take a look. Steve and Bruce shared a look of confusion before Bruce commented, "Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurized metal container?"

Natasha and Amelia watched in amusement as the boys moved closer to the edge as one of the helicarrier's four huge lift engines mounted on the side became visible. The look on their faces was priceless as the ship began to lift into the sky. Steve watched in awe while Bruce looked ready to hit the panic button.

"Oh, no. This is much worse."

Amelia never failed to be impressed whenever she walked onto the bridge of the helicarrier. The number of computers was always a sight for sore eyes. She made her way over to where Coulson stood as he typed Clint's name into one of the computers. The corrupt agent's picture shows up and Amelia had to fight back the urge to punch somebody. She missed him more than words could describe. She felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Natasha with an expression of empathy.

"We'll find him." She whispered.

Amelia didn't reply as she left Natasha to look at his file. She felt a hand touch the small of her back and turned to see Steve behind her with a ten dollar bill, "I believe I owe you."

Amelia let out a laugh as she took her winnings from his hand and stuffed it into her pocket just as Fury came into the room. He raised his eyebrow at the exchange but knew better than to ask questions. He gave Amelia a pat on the shoulder in hello as he took his position at the main console at the center of the room.

"Gentlemen." He acknowledged Steve with a nod before going to shake Dr. Banner's hand. "Doctor, thank you for coming."

Amelia and Natasha sent Fury a look and he rolled his eye, "and ladies."

Bruce looked reluctant at Fury's praise as he shook his hand, "Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh... how long am I staying?"

Fury walked over toward where Coulson was standing, "Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear."

"Although I might have a few questions for you," Amelia added.

Bruce sent the brunette a nod, already liking the girl, before he asked, "Where are you with that?"

Fury turned to Coulson and motioned for him to explain, "We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet thanks to Amelia and her algorithm. Cellphones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"That's still not gonna find them in time," Natasha muttered crossing her arms over her chest.

"Thanks for the support, Nat." Amelia shot back.

Bruce looked over at Amelia impressed, "Really?"

"Don't sound so surprised," Amelia replied. "It's in my job description to be impressive."

"More like a huge nerd," Hill commented as she walked by.

"Nerd?" Amelia asked feigning mock hurt. "We prefer the term Intellectual bad ass."

"I have a feeling we will work well together Agent Nilson," Bruce interjected trying to keep the conversation friendly for his sake.

"Call me Amy please."

"Well, then Amy I think our next move would be to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do we have access to?" Bruce immediately put on his game face.

"How many are there?" Fury asked looking at him confused.

Bruce pointed at him, "Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places."

"Leave the algorithm to me," Amelia interjected moving to stand beside him.

"Do you have somewhere for me to work?" Bruce finished.

Fury sent Natasha a knowing look, "Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please."

Natasha nodded and walked off, leading Bruce down the hall. Amelia was about to follow after them when Fury called her name, "Nilson, will you show Rogers to his quarters?"

Amelia was surprised that Steve was still in the room with how quiet he was being. He was looking out one of the large windows when she made her way over to him. The way his eyebrows knitted together in concentration caused her to let out a soft sigh. He wasn't allowed the time he needed to acclimate to the 21st century and yet here he was willing to risk his life for the planet he called home.

"Roger that Nick," Amelia replied with a nod as she softly placed her hand on Steve's shoulder.

When his eyes met hers she motioned for him to follow her and he did so without question. The walk to his room wasn't too far and it was conveniently right next to Amelia's room as well. She followed him into his room and was going to offer to help settle in, but was rather surprised by just how little he owned. He had only one brown duffel bag full of clothes.

Amelia turned to him and raised an eyebrow, "Are you expecting this mission to be done in three days?"

Steve scratched the back of his neck, "One can dream can't they?"

Amelia let out a laugh, "You're not wrong, Captain."

She moved toward the door but hesitated to actually leave the room. He appeared so lonely and confused as he tried to come to terms with his current situation. She leaned against the door jam and gave him a small smile when he gave her a look that clearly said, 'Can I help you?'

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm across the hall should you need anything," Amelia said as she pointed to her own room.

Steve gave her a grateful look, "Thank you, Amelia."

Amelia nodded before pushing a button to close Steve's door and making her way over to her own room to settle in and maybe take a small nap.

During her little break, she had succeeded in taking a 15-minute power nap and writing a new algorithm for Dr. Banner. The scientist seemed rather impressed with her skills on the computer and had asked to speak with her more after they had succeeded in catching Loki. She was looking forward to those talks. It's not every day she has somebody to talk to that has the same IQ as her.

Time seemed to pass by quickly and before she knew it she was being greeted by Coulson and Steve once again. They were planning on going up to the bridge to see if there was any news on Loki or the Tesseract and had asked if she wanted to come with them. Of course, she agreed. She laughed at the conversation they were currently having about the trading cards and she kept getting an embarrassed look from Steve and an annoyed one from Coulson.

"I mean if it's not too much trouble," Coulson stated as they reached the bridge.

Fury looked over at them and Amelia made a small motion with her hands that mimicked Coulson's trading cards. Fury rolled his eye, but she saw the smirk nonetheless.

"No, no. It's fine." Steve replied.

Coulson looked as if he had hit the lottery, "It's a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all. Near mint, slight foxing around the edges, but someone dropped them in water."

"I've said sorry about a hundred times now." Amelia sighed pinching her nose. "You know I'm not the most graceful person."

"I couldn't agree more Lili," Coulson replied.

Amelia was about to retort with a sarcastic remark when a level two agent named Jasper Sitwell announced what the room had all been waiting to hear, "We got a hit. Sixty-seven percent match. Weight, cross match, seventy-nine percent."

"Location?" Coulson asked.

Amelia walked over to the agent's computer and began typing away before hitting enter and bringing up Loki's location on Fury's consul and the table where Steve and Coulson were standing. She felt her heart stop however as she recognized Loki's location.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding." Jasper answered.

Coulson looked over at Amelia with worried eyes as the agent was quick to pull out her cell phone to make a call. Amelia's grandfather had just moved to Stuttgart in hopes of starting fresh after she entered the field. He had mentioned going to a museum early that day when Amelia had phoned him while she was settling in. She could only hope it wasn't THAT museum.

"Hello?"

The sound of his voice was enough to bring a small smile to Amelia's lips, "Grandfather what museum did you say you were visiting tonight?"

Her heart was beating so fast she feared the other agents might hear it. She wished Natasha was beside her as she waited to hear the words that would define her grandfather's fate. He was prone to sickness easily and also had a lot of pride. If he were to come against the Asgardian Amelia feared what he would do. He had lived in an age where men don't back down. Fury and Coulson held their breaths as they looked at her with concern, while Steve looked confused until he picked up on who she was talking too.

"The Stuttgart Museum, liebling." He replied before the connection went static. "I'll call you once the Gala is over."

"No, wait!" The line went dead and she stared at her phone in horror. "He's at the museum."

Fury nodded before turning to Steve who's eyes, still full of concern, had not left Amelia's, "Captain your up."

Steve nodded and went to leave, but froze when he heard Fury's next orders, "Nilson suit up, you're going undercover."

Amelia got over her initial shock easily as she went into work mode. She was not one to let herself be emotionally compromised. Instead her emotions pushed her to work even harder. As a result she was far more deadly when she used her emotions.

"Yes, sir."

Steve turned to look at her, "Do you think that's a good idea?"

Amelia sent the super soldier a look, "An emotional woman is a dangerous thing. Loki has been a threat to the people I love since the day he showed up on my planet and I'll be damned if I sit by and do nothing."

Steve nodded as if sensing that he wasn't going to win this argument, "What will you do?"

"It's time to show this god what real power looks like."