They call her Human Torch! Chapter 26
October 6, 2015- Earth.
Phil had been answering questions about Bella for the remainder of the flight but finally they landed and had to stop the conversation.
"Sorry to cut you off Captain but we are here. There's quite a bit of people that are waiting to meet you."
"You can call me Steve, Mr. Coulson. Thank you for taking the time to answer all my questions."
"Oh, thank you, and please call me Phil. It was a pleasure to answer your questions about Bella. A lot of us miss her and not many like talking about her. I have to warn you, it would probably be best if you avoided the topic at all."
Steve nodded and both of them made their way off the Quinjet while 2 other Agents made their way on board.
"Stow the Captain's gear."
"Yes sir."
Phil saw Agent Romanoff coming their way.
"Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers."
"Ma'am."
"Hi. They need you on the bridge, they're starting to face trace."
"See you there."
Phil nodded to both of them and took off. Nat turned to Steve and gave him a quick once over before she started walking with him towards Dr. Banner.
"It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was going to swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"
"Trading cards?"
"They're vintage, he's very proud."
Steve smirked in amused confusion until he caught sight of a confused man that looked more uncomfortable than he felt. Once the man turned he was able to recognize him.
"Dr. Banner!"
Once he turned, Steve extended his hand and shook his quickly.
"Uh yeah, hi. They told me you'd be coming."
"Word is you can find the cube."
"Is that the only word on me?"
"Only word I care about."
Bruce nodded and looked around still feeling uncomfortable. He never pictured himself out here without Bella pushing him on and guiding him through it.
"Must be strange for you, all of this."
"Well, this is actually kind of familiar."
Agent Romanoff came closer to them and looked over the edge of the Helicarrier.
"Gentlemen, you may wanna step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breath."
Suddenly it started shaking and engines could be heard all around as the water began to splash. Both men stared incredulously over the edge.
"Is this a submarine?"
"Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurized metal container?"
The more they stared, the more water seemed to seep lower. Both men stepped back in shock realizing they were rising, not lowering.
"Oh, no. This is much worse."
There were alarms in the background, warning everyone to step inside soon but suddenly there was a second alarm overpowering the first one. Both men looked to Natasha only to see her retreating figure already running towards to door. They then looked to each other in concern before simultaneously taking off at the same time as well. Once inside no one paid them any mind as their eyes were transfixed on the systems.
"What is going on?"
Phil came up behind them with a gleam in his eyes.
"There's been a sensor triggered in New Mexico."
1 hour earlier in Asgard. Bella's POV
"Bella! Bella where are you?!"
"Hogun I'm right here? What's wrong with you?"
He ignored my questions and grabbed my arm as he began dragging me out of the dinning hall.
"Hogun?"
"Heimdall. He has seen something and the King has requested us all."
"All?"
"Yes. The court and the guards."
I swallowed back my nerves. The last time he summoned everyone it was when they shared the information on Loki. Half way there we met up with Sif and Volstagg, they were as alarmed as we were and had no idea what was going on. Once in the throne room I saw everyone there already including the Queen, Thor, and Fandral. We bowed to the King hastily but I don't think our knees even touched the floor from how quickly we rose back up. Heimdall began to speak immediately and I realized he looked flustered.
"Loki has appeared in Midgard. The humans tried stopping him but he has the cosmic cube now. He also has a scepter and has controlled the minds of some humans that worked in the facility."
I shuddered in thought and put my head in my hands. Thor came down the steps and put his arm around me but before he could say anything the King sighed and looked at me apologetically.
"Lady Bella. I promised to do whatever it took when the time came."
He looked to his wife for a moment and continued talking when she gave him a reassuring nod.
"You have learned about the existence of magic and have heard of the difference between light elves and dark elves. There is also a difference in magic and dark magic."
Everyone's heads seemed to snap up at the same time but I was still confused as he kept talking.
"Dark magic always comes with consequences, there is always a cost. You must understand that it is not approved and it is not common."
"I understand that.. I just don't understand why you are bringing it up now."
"With sufficient dark magic, I may be able to send you back to Midgard."
"What?"
I stumbled back, not knowing if to believe this right now or not.
"This whole time, I could have been sent back?!"
"You are not listening to what my husband is saying Bella. There are consequences to dark magic, consequences on both sides. We do not know how it will take from his health. You have demonstrated your healing abilities and we feel you may be safe but it will not be easy. Dark magic is to be used by a King as a last resort."
I looked down from the Queen, not knowing how to respond. I wanted to be angry, I was angry, but no matter how betrayed I felt, I understood. That is how I knew I really did consider him to be my King, I understood where he was coming from and was worried for how this could effect his health. He began to talk in the softest tone I had ever heard from him.
"You have become of value to Asgard Bella. You have become a friend to our warriors, a sister to my son, and family to my wife and I. You did not waste your time here, you fought with us and became an Asgardian not just an ally. Know that I did not keep this from you for malicious intent. The safety of my Kingdom will always come first."
"I respect that. I respect you. Asgard is not where I belong, but I will always be in debt to it, to everyone here. I am Midgardian by birth, but I will always be an Asgardian Warrior. I will come back and help defeat any threat that may come this way, you need just ask."
I meant that too but god I really sounded like Sif there for a minute. I guess hanging around them for so long has rubbed off on me.
"Thank you. We will need time to prepare. Thor, you will accompany Lady Bella. It is your mission to return with the Tesseract and Loki."
The Queen looked away and I saw Thor look down after nodding to his father. We were dismissed for a few minutes and I took the time to say goodbye to everyone. It upset me that I would not get to take anything with me but I knew the trip would be hard enough for us as it is.
"Bella."
I turned and saw Sif standing there with the guys behind her, all smiling softly at me. She came forward and hugged me tight.
"You will be missed Bella. I am foolishly upset that you will no longer be telling us about Midgardian television but I know this is all you have been waiting for. I am happy for you, though it may seem I am not."
"Thanks Sif. I don't know what I would have done without your guidance and all those books! So many books!"
She laughed and hugged me once more before Volstagg shoved her aside and picked me up.
"Bella! I as well will miss you but once Thor returns with the Tesseract, the Bifrost will be repaired and you can show me the promised glory of Midgardian food!"
Hogun and Fandral laughed as Sif rolled her eyes but I nodded and promised him I would feed him the best feast he will ever have. He seemed happy enough as he passed me over to Hogun.
"Once the Bifrost is open, I will show you my beautiful realm. Vanaheim is full of beauty that awaits you."
"I look forward to seeing where you grew up Hogun, thank you."
He gave me a lighter hug and passed me on to Fandral who smirked and wiggled his eyebrow at me.
"I make no promise of visiting Midgard. When you are far from me you will see what you have lost and come running back."
I laughed at his constant flirting. It never stopped. He hugged me lightly but pulled back quickly and planted his lips on mine. He jumped back before I could push him off and had a huge smile on his face.
"You will think of our kiss next time we see each other."
I rolled my eyes but had to laugh.
"I will let you get away with it this time Fandral, but next time, you will lose those lips."
"One day you will see Bella."
Thor glared at him but smiled at me.
"Come, we will meet with Heimdall about what kind of preparations my father must take."
I nodded and let him lead me away from everyone else.
"Are you ready?"
"I've never been more ready for anything actually."
He smiled and hugged me to his side.
"I will visit as often as I can. Life around here will seem dull without you sister."
"Not for a while at least. I know once the Bifrost is open you will all have a lot of work to do, getting rid of the Marauders and Ravagers. I want in on that by the way! I was serious when I told your father that I will fight for Asgard whenever you need me."
He laughed but nodded down at me.
"I've a feeling you will be weary about returning once you are back home."
"I know. But, you gotta do what you gotta do. I actually think it's my family that won't like the idea of me coming back. Who knows what they must have thought when I was sucked up here along with you guys. Are you looking forward to seeing Jane?"
"I can't imagine she would wish to see me. I gave her my word that I would return and yet I took you from her and never brought you back. What she must think of me..."
".. What she might think of you can all be easily explained. Don't worry about that Thor."
We stood by the throne room and waited for Heimdall to come out but minutes passed and he never did. A guard came out and summoned everyone again. I was nervous and payed very little attention to what was being said about court members but I did focus when he started talking about Thor being temporary King if he fell into his Odin sleep. That was when it really hit me that this would take a lot out of him, it may take a lot out of Thor too. They spoke for a little longer but after a while Thor summoned his hammer and we stood side by side ready for whatever was gonna happen.
Present time- Earth.
"There's been a sensor triggered in New Mexico."
Steve was confused as to what that meant but even Dr. Banner seemed to know what it was about.
"How? Is there anyone there?"
"No. We called in all our Agents."
"What about visuals?"
"We are working on that now."
Steve had enough and turned to Phil.
"What does this all mean?"
"I told you that Bella disappeared in New Mexico. We build a lab around the spot where it happened and it has sensors that have been quiet the passed 8 months but now they are acting up."
"Why isn't anyone there?"
"We called in all our Agents and when the threat of Loki happened, we moved Jane foster, our lead researcher on this, to a fake mission out of the country. We moved her as a safety precaution but now we need her, to know if this is what happened last time the portal was open."
Gasps were heard all around the main room as the monitors connected live with the cameras at the base. There were 4 of them and one was pointing towards the sky. They saw as thunder covered the sky's and wind picked up all around. With and open roof in the lab, papers flew everywhere. Everyone looked close as a beam came down and 2 figures laying suddenly on the ground.
"That's Bella!"
Steve looked around as there were shouts of victory from almost all the Agents and shocked faces from those too overwhelmed to say anything. Phil looked like he could almost tear up while Fury, Dr. Banner, and Agent Romanoff were smiling.
"Why isn't she getting up?"
Everyone looked on with their smiles slowly turning into frowns the more time passed. The man stumbled up but it was clear by the way he held his stomach that he was in pain.
"Get sound feedback now!"
"On it sir."
They watched as the man stumbled up and lifted a hammer that was lying next to him. The sound popped up suddenly and they were able to hear the shuffle of his feet against the concrete as he got to Bella and ungracefully plopped down by her head. He rolled her over to lay on her back and cradled her head with one hand while he gently shook her with the other.
"Bella. Come now sister, you did not fight your way here only to give up now. Awaken."
After a few seconds she groaned and rolled back to her side as she clutched onto her chest and stomach.
"Why is she dressed like a modern Greek goddess?"
Steve looked away from her face and saw that she was in clothes that draped on her perfectly. The top of her waist looked feminine but with tight black pants that clung to her legs, she looked like a warrior. She was stunning.
"God that fucking sucked! Literally I think. I feel like my insides were vacuumed."
People around him laughed but Steve was left stunned. He had never heard a woman use that word, he hadn't even heard many men use it. He thought about how times must have changed if no one was batting an eye at her use of language. He remembered some Platoon officers and NCO's reprimanding those who used it and knew they could get extra duty for using foul language. Even those men used it minimally though, words like damn, shit, or bastard were more frequently used, even by himself but never would anyone dream to say them in front of a woman, that was thought of as disrespectful.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Where are we?"
She looked around and froze for a moment as she looked at a something that was out of sight from the camera. She sucked in a breath and her eyes spilled over with tears as she put her hands over her mouth in shock.
"That's the S.H.I.E.L.D logo! We're in a S.H.I.E.L.D building. Thor we're really- it worked! Oh my god!"
Everyone seemed to soften at the same time as she broke down in tears and 'Thor' hugged her to his chest. She stepped back and looked around once more as she wiped at her eyes.
"I don't even know what to do first! I don't know who to contact."
Fury turned to the Agent that had activated the cameras.
"Is there a screen or a computer monitor that we can use to send her a message?"
"I- I'm not sure, sir."
"Well figure it out!"
"Bella, I will find my brother, you deserve to go home, find your family."
"No Thor. I have my own score to settle with Loki. I can't go home, not yet. I need to finish this first. I think I need to talk with Tony first. I know shield is probably already working on this, they should have called in everyone else but in the off chance that they didn't, I want Tony fighting with us against the Chitauri."
"Bella, you go find your friend, I will go look for my brother."
"No Thor! We have to stay together."
"We may cover more ground apart. If you cannot find me, follow my brothers mayhem."
Bella sighed but nodded as he started swinging his hammer and took off into the air with it. They all watched as Bella sighed and looked down at herself.
"I bring my favorite flammable outfit here and leave my suit in another damn planet. Typical Bella."
The Agent spoke just as she slipped off her shoes and took off.
"I think I can connect a monitor sir."
"It's too late now."
Steve still found it baffling how no one seemed to be shocked that they both flew out of the lab. He had seen footage but he still didn't believe it. He looked forward to seeing her fly in person.
Fury turned towards the crowd of Agents and everyone seemed to shake their heads to clear them.
"She will find her way to us, until then we need to put our priorities back in place. Everyone get back to work!"
Dr. Banner stepped forward and was about to protest but Fury cut him off.
"Dr. Banner, we need to find the Tesseract. She is on her way to find Stark and he knows where we are. I'm sure she will be here in no time."
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair but nodded after a minute.
"Right. Where are you on the Tesseract anyway?"
"We're sweeping every wirelessly acceptable camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."
Agent Romanoff tightened her eyes.
"That's still not going to find them on time."
"You have to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?"
"How many are there?"
"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 a cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for us to work?"
"Us?"
"When Bella gets here, we work well together."
Steve felt a warm feeling in his chest as he thought about her working well with everyone. It really spoke to the type of person she was if she could adjust to any type of personality when it came down to battle.
"Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please."
She stepped passed him as she led Dr. Banner out of the deck.
"You're gonna love it Doc, we got all the toys."
Steve was left to wander the Helicarrier while everyone around him had a job. Before Fury left the room however, he slipped him a 10 dollar bill and was not even bitter about it. This ship alone was enough to surprise him but add in people from other planets?
Bella POV-
I flew as carefully as possible, not wanting to burn my clothes. It didn't take me long to figure out I was back in New Mexico and that I was an Idiot for leaving the base without looking for a phone. I was flying low on the streets looking for a payphone or even just someone walking around with one but so far New Mexico proved to live up to the ghost town name that Darcy had put on it. Finally I spotted a gas station and knew they had to have a phone in their mini mart. Landing fast I tried to smooth down my hair but I knew my clothes made me stand out enough as it was. There was a man behind the counter that was so engrossed on the corner TV, he didn't notice me or turn to look when the door bell rung.
"Hello? Sir, I am in desperate need of a phone, I don't know if you have one but-"
He still didn't speak or look at me as he took out an old dial phone from behind him. The cord was long enough to reach to the other side and I used that space to try for some privacy. Stupidly, I never memorized Tony's cell phone number but I did know his office number and the extension that connected me to Jarvis. His voice came over the phone and I almost started crying just from his familiar greeting.
"Jarvis? Jarvis it's me, Bella. I really need to talk to Tony, please connect me to his phone right away!"
"Bella, It's a pleasure to hear from you madam, you have been missed."
I had to smile at this machine. Tony is amazing for creating something so unique.
"I've missed you too Jarvis but please I need to talk to Tony."
"Yes of course Madam. Connecting now."
There was silence over the phone for at least 2 minutes and the longer I waited the more my anxiety rose. I couldn't think of what to say, not after 8 months.
"Who is this?"
His voice came on and sounded angry but also almost hurt in a way. I didn't understand it but the thought escaped my mind when I burst out into tears. From the corner of my eye I saw the old man give me an odd look but he turned right back around towards the TV.
"Tony!"
My voice came out in a high pitch as it went through the knot in my throat but I knew he recognized it when he let out a puff of air
"Bella?"
"Tony I'm home! I'm back!"
"Bella?"
He sounded so hesitant and doubtful, like he was almost scared to believe it.
"I've missed you guys so much. Where are you? Has Shield contacted you yet?"
"I- yes, how do you know that- how did you get back? From where?"
"It's a long story, really it is. Where are you? I need to get to you quickly so we can get to headquarters and I can let everyone know what is going on on our end."
"I'm in New York. In the new Stark building. Where are you?"
"I'm in New Mexico. I just got back a few minutes ago. I'm so glad to hear you finished the building. I will be there in no time okay? I just need to fly high to figure out which way to go."
"Wait! Just stay on the phone with me then."
"I can't. It's a landline in a gas station."
"Then just wait there and I will come get you."
"That's double the time we would waste.. Trust me Tony, I want to see you as soon as possible too, I will be there soon. Keep the roof open."
Before he could say anything else, I hung up. I hated to do it but knew I had to get going. I thanked the old man and ran outside before shooting up into the sky. A clock on the far wall had said it was 11:28 am which meant it was 12:28 pm in New York. I knew that there was a major chance I would get lost but I figured that by landing every few minutes I could check to make sure I was going in the right direction.
Stark Tower-
Tony paced the area for a moment as he felt his heart beating rapidly against his chest. He had a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead and a shaky voice as he called out to Jarvis.
"Jarvis, call Pepper."
"Yes sir."
He paced once again and the few seconds it took to ring and for her to pick up were too long for him.
"Shouldn't you be busy with Shield stuff?"
"Pepper."
The way he seemed to gasp out the words had her worried instantly.
"What's wrong Tony?"
"Bella called me, she's back."
"WHAT?! W- Bu- When- that's great! Where was she? Where did she call you from? Are you going to pick her up?"
"She said it was a long story, she was in New Mexico but said she would fly here instead of wasting time going to get her."
"I- that's so great. I'm really glad. Do you want me to come home? I'm sure she will need all of us. Have you called Kitty?"
"Pepper-"
"Yes I know I am babbling! I can't help it."
Tony smiled genuinely for the first time in weeks. He felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, like telling Pepper about his phone call with Bella made it more real.
"I haven't called Kitty, and no, I do not want you to come here right now, something is going on, I'm not sure where or when but I just want you to stay at the hotel in DC or in the meetings you set up alright?"
Pepper nodded as she thought about the danger that could be coming.
"Pepper?"
She blushed when she realized he couldn't see her head nod.
"Yes, okay. Just call me please. Update me on everything, no matter how small the detail is."
"I will."
"Love you Tony. Look, I know how much you have missed Bella, I know how much you need her. I love her like a sister and I am so happy she is somehow back but, I'm even more glad for you."
Tony stopped pacing and frowned softly, realizing how difficult he must have been to her these passed few months.
"I love you too."
With Bella-
She had landed on and off and finally was able to land in New York. She had thought she was home in the last stop but it turned out to be New Jersey. She wasn't sure what time it was exactly but it had to be early because the sun was still shining brightly in the sky. Once she flew over the Empire State Building she felt the knot in her throat again, she didn't shed tears but the euphoric feeling was overwhelming her. She had the urge to fly right over and straight to the school where she knew Kitty must be but she tampered it down right away. She knew the moment she got to hold her daughter again, she wouldn't let got for at least an hour and they didn't have time for that.
She flew over her home and dropped down to land but took off again when she caught sight of the gigantic building that once was Von Doom Inc. Now it had huge blue letters that made it clear Stark was here in New York and they were dominating. I was nervous to land on the balcony, nervous and scared that somehow Tony would look different and that my 8 months away would be noticeable, silly as it may seem, I was so scared of what I have missed, scared to find that I couldn't go back to the life I had before.
I landed on the balcony and looked to the glass, immediately locking eyes with him on the inside. We didn't move for a moment but I felt my lips tremble and my eyes fill with tears. I couldn't even come up with anything to say or do but I felt my body moving towards the steps to the inside. He kept his eyes locked on mine as he moved to meet me half way. 9 steps away from each other I caught a whiff of his usual aftershave and something about the familiarity or knowing that something so minimal as his scent hadn't changed, had me breaking down and falling into his arms as I squeezed him tight. He wrapped his arms around me and froze for a moment before taking in a deep breath.
"Tony?"
I leaned back enough to look at his face and saw his eyes were filled with tears. I realized he had frozen in order to gain his composure.
"Don't you do that. Not with me."
He let out a snort and softly smiled at me.
"Come on, didn't you miss me enough to shed a few tears?"
I tried teasing him to lighten the mood but he frowned down at me.
"We all missed you Bella. You are never allowed to do that ever again."
I giggled against his chest and finally took a step back.
"I didn't do anything wrong. Wrong things were done, but I didn't leave earth on purpose."
"How did you get back? And how are you even alive? Didn't you lack oxygen in space or something?"
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.
"That's a load of shit and a half! Trust me, there was plenty of oxygen. What we know.. there's so much more… I really want to sit with the family and tell you guys all about it but right now there are bigger things coming our way. We need to get to shield's HQ."
"They are operating from the Helicarrier, they brought in your big green buddy."
"Bruce?! Did they do something to him?!"
"No, of course not. What makes you think S.H.I.E.L.D would do that?"
I shook my head and decided to hold off on telling him about them trying to weaponize the Tesseract.
"It just wouldn't surprise me at the moment."
"Okay.. That's not mysterious of you to say."
I rolled my eyes and looked all around.
"This place looks incredible! It's a whole new building. Hard to believe this is the same floor where I first met Von Doom."
Tony looked around with her and smiled sympathetically down at her.
"Well, wouldn't wanna remind you of that time would we? I can access the Helicarrier from here and send a message to Fury, ask for an update."
"Yeah. I would rather go straight to location than land there right now."
Tony looked to her oddly and couldn't shake how strange she was acting.
"Why not? I would think you would be jumping at the chance to go see all your pals."
She shrugged and looked a little lost. She didn't want to hurt Tony's feeling and she really wanted to see Kitty but she felt a little lost now that she was more settled and more than anything she just wanted to run to La Push and be babied by Emily, Sam, Paul, and Leah.
"I'm just not sure what I would even say. I would rather have Loki first. I need answers from him."
Tony nodded and though he wanted to ask a million questions, he understood her lost look. He had not been gone nearly as long as she was but he remembered after returning from Afghanistan, after finally getting home like he had been waiting for, everything seemed different, like his time away was monumental and he had missed the most important of things when in reality, he just couldn't figure out how to get back to the life he had before. He knew that she would tell him what happened later but in the meantime, he would help her adjust and keep things as normal as possible, starting with their usual schedule of activity's that they once had.
"You hungry?"
"Yes actually, I'm starving! Hogun dragged me out of the dinning hall before I even took a bite of breakfast. Not that I'm complaining really… Food was not really what you would expect from gods..."
Tony cut her a look that was half amused and half confused. She giggled and felt a little more relaxed, happy to be in 'the know' and not be the confused one for once.
Helicarrier-
Phil stood awkwardly next to Steve
"… I mean, if it's not too much trouble."
"No, no. It's fine."
"It's a vintage set. Took me a couple of years to collect them all. You're in mint. Slight foxing around the edges but-"
He was interrupted by Agent Sitwell's proclamation.
"We got a hit! Sixty seven percent match. Wait, cross match, seventy nine percent."
Every one was at attention as Phil, Fury and Steve got closer to the screen.
"Location?"
"Stuttgart, Germany. He's not exactly hiding."
Fury turned to Steve.
"Captain? You're up."
Steve nodded and took a deep breath before going to suit up. Meanwhile, Fury cut Coulson a look and sent out coordinates to Stark Tower.
"Coulson, inform Agent Romanoff that she will be piloting for Mr. Rogers."
"Yes sir."
Stark Tower-
Bella and Tony had been talking about the new layout of the building when Jarvis interrupted and informed them about Fury's message.
"Germany? Why is he in Germany?"
"Let's go find out. Germany is what? 6, 7, hours ahead? It's dark there already."
She nodded as he suited up.
"Hey, do you have one of my suits around here by any chance?"
"No. We can stop by your apartment."
"No, it's fine. Let's just go. I know for a fact that they have some of mine in the Helicarrier so I can wait until then."
Quinjet-
Steve paced around while the jet flew towards their goal. He was taking deep breaths but could not seem to fully relax. Agent Romanoff turned towards him and noticed his frown.
"Worried Captain?"
"Not yet Ma'am."
She gazed at him a moment more but eventually turned back to what she was doing. She figured maybe he was just reliving old memories of his last time in Germany. The flight in the Quinjet only took 2 hours and once they landed in their confirmed coordinates, Steve was able to exit the Quinjet before they put it up in the air once more.
Steve made his way quickly towards the direction where people were running from, he saw the same man from all the video's and pictures standing before a crowd and making them kneel before him. Anger swelled up in him as he marched forward. He froze for a moment as he watched an older man man come up from his knees
"You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."
"Not to men like you."
Loki laughed.
"There are no men like me."
"There are always men like you."
"Look to your elder people. Let him be an example."
Loki raised his scepter as it glowed and Steve rushed forward to block the beam with his shield. He held it tight as the blast ricocheted and blew Loki to the ground.
"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing over everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."
"The soldier! The man out of time."
Loki laughed darkly as he stood and gripped his scepter.
"I'm not the one who's out of time."
On cue, the Quinjet came into view and Agent Romanoff's voice came on through the intercom as a Gatling Gun is deployed and aimed at him.
"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down."
Loki looked that way for a moment but quickly brought up his Scepter and sent a beam out that way. Quickly they dodged the hit by rocking the entire Quinjet out of the way. Steve threw his shield at Loki and caught it back just in time to block from a hit. Steve punched Loki but it hardly fazed him as he took the scepter and went for Steve's Legs. He tied to dodge the hit but went down when Loki hit behind his knees. He rolled and landed on his knees before sending his shield at him once more. Loki was ready this time and used the scepter to bat at the shield and away from the two men. Steve ran forward and punched him before twisting back to avoid a hit to his chest. He used the hand that he landed on to push himself back up and send a punch to Loki's stomach. His armor made it difficult for him to feel any of the hits that Steve managed to get in so when he tried to hit behind him, Loki turned and swung his scepter into Steve's back, sending him a few feet away. Before he could get up once more, Loki held his scepter to Steve's head.
"Kneel!"
"Not today!"
He leaned back and took the scepter with one hand while he flipped off the ground with the other.
Agent Romanoff looked on with frustration. The two men were fighting too erratically for her to be able to fire any weapons at Loki. Suddenly she heard rock music start to raise in volume through the speakers and a voice come on through her headset.
"Agent Romanoff. You miss me?"
The screen in front of her froze with static before a message appeared. 'PA SYSTEM OVERRIDE' as much as Tony Stark annoyed her at times, she had to smile fondly as she heard the song and saw him come into view with Bella following along. She wanted to land the jet and go give her friend a hug but knew her mission was priority.
Steve looked up in confusion as did Loki as music blared from the sky. They both looked up to see 2 flames shooting in from the sky. The closer they got, he was able to identify the Iron Man suit and the figure of Bella. He recognized the same clothing she had worn on the camera and for a moment, he let himself be distracted by her figure gracefully landing from the sky. His attention snapped back into focus as Iron Man and Bella pointed their lit up hands at Loki. Stark shot out his repulsor beam straight onto Loki's chest and had him land in the pavement, several feet away.
"Make a move Reindeer Games."
Loki put his hands up in surrender and used his magic to take away the armor he wore before. Tony nodded to himself and turned off his repulsors.
"Good move."
Bella narrowed her eyes as she marched right up to him and punched him hard enough to make his entire frame fall over. She spoke with a quietly strained voice.
"The only reason I am not killing you is because I have grown fond of your family and watching them grieve once was enough."
Loki scoffed her way and narrowed his eyes.
"They are no family of mine!"
"Come off it Loki. I think it's time you go home to your own realm."
"I refuse to be called Asgardian any longer. I see you have not lost your meddling ways! Perhaps it do you good to remind yourself what the consequences were last time."
She grabbed him by the collar and threw him at Tony. He took the hint and took Loki towards the Quinjet. Tony sent a nod Steve's way in greeting and Steve returned it for a moment before focusing his attention back on Bella. She had her back turned to him and he could see her hands were balled up into fists with some of her veins glowing orange and red. It fascinated him but he also knew she was having a hard time with something. She hadn't even noticed him really, as soon as she saw Loki, her eyes stayed on his every move.
Bella had her eyes closed as she battled to keep the flames at bay. She hadn't felt so out of control in a long time and now, seeing Loki was driving her over the edge. She jumped and swung around as she felt someones hand on her shoulder. Without thinking she grabbed the hand and pinned the person down with her knees on his arms and her ass on his chest. She used her hands to pin down his wrists while she desperately tried to control her breathing and get her heart rate to slow down.
"Wow. Uh, you have good reflexes… ma'am."
She opened her eyes and looked down at his face for the first time.
Holy shit! This man is really good looking!
She couldn't help but feel like a perv when she thought about getting hot in other places and not because of her fire… This guy is seriously ripped! Like his arms are as thick as my thighs. I looked back up at his face and saw his deep blue eyes staring straight into mine. I had the urge to run my hand through his perfectly combed hair and mess it up. I knew I was passed the point of polite staring but I was actually surprised that I was attracted to this guy. I can't say I'm into blond haired guys but everything on him was perfect, even his form fitting suit… suit? I looked around me and saw a blue helmet that covers half the face of whoever is wearing it, it must be his since it went with the blue on his suit.. Shame to cover such a pretty face.
"Who are you?"
He cleared his throat and had a slight uncomfortable look to his face as he answered.
"Steve Rogers ma'am. At your service."
Oh I can certainly find a need for your service.. Stop that Bella! You're thinking like a sex deprived hag! Wait…
"Rogers? I read that file once… aren't you suppose to be dead?"
Instantly I realized what I said and leaned back. Letting go of his wrists I brought both my hands to clamp over my mouth.
"Oh god! No! Not like th- I didn't mean it the way it sounded, I'm sorry, I just uh-"
"It's fine, really. A lot of people have actually asked me that. I was frozen I guess.. they found my body and unfroze it, shocked when I was still alive."
I leaned back until I was off him completely and offered him my hand to help him up. Once he took it, he shook it.
"It's good to meet the person everyone has been talking about. Everyone is glad you are back ma'am."
"My name is Bella."
He nodded and looked at me. We stared into each others eyes for an awkward minute before he blushed and looked away. I smirked at him and tried to make the moment less uncomfortable.
"So, I imagine adjusting has been a bit difficult? The horror of rap must have caught you off guard after listening to such beautiful music in the 40's."
He gave me a small smile but then looked away embarrassed again.
"Not really sure I have adjusted at all honestly. I haven't heard whatever rap is.."
"Oh, well really you aren't missing out on anything, rap is like Dorsey trying to play Ragtime music with his trumpet."
Steve grimaced at the thought but started laughing really loud.
"That would be a disaster."
"Exactly!"
He smiled at me as he went to pick up his helmet. We started walking back towards the Quinjet and I could see questions swimming in his eyes.
"So you are a fan of Tommy Dorsey?"
"Oh yeah, I love his jazz but I can't say I'm a huge fan of his swing."
"Really? I liked both equally actually. I got to see him live once in Chicago."
"That's amazing! I'm not saying his swing is bad per say, I just think his trumpet is great when he is playing jazz but it doesn't ride, you know? I mean getting lost in the dance is the fun in swing and with him leading it just isn't as exciting as it was when others came on, like Benny Goodman. That man was amazing! I mean they called him the King of swing for a reason!"
We had just walked on to the Quinjet and Tony had heard the last thread of conversation.
"Who the hell is Benny Goodman?"
I sighed in exasperation.
"Tony I have told you who he is a million and one times! You know the music I play when I-"
Tony rolled his eyes and put his hand up.
"One thing I didn't miss was your affection for old music!"
"It's classic! That was when music had meaning and every instrument was used wisely. Now all you hear about on the radio is songs about sex and how much money they have. It's ridiculous."
"Whatever you say Grandma! I swear you have the soul of a 90 year old so of course it makes sense that you finally find someone to talk to about this stuff, in a man that was actually there!"
Steve couldn't take his eyes off Bella as she huffed at Stark and folded her arms around her chest. He looked down and saw her arms had lifter her chest higher. He furrowed his eyebrow and shook his head. Act like a gentleman! You have no business gawking at her like she was a piece of meat.
He missed the end of their banter but was pulled out of his thoughts as Stark patted his shoulder.
"No offense Captain. You are pretty spry for an old fellow. What's your thing? Pilates?"
"What?"
"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle."
"Tony!"
"Yes dear?"
He turned to smirk at her but turned it into a pout when she hit the back of his head, much to Steve's amusement. Bella had a grin on her face but once they were in the Quinjet, it slipped off her face as she sat directly across from Loki. He stared her down and she did the same, neither looking away.
Natasha got up her seat and stood in front of Bella, once she looked up Bella smiled and hugged her tight.
"You have some explaining to do."
Bella nodded but had a frown marring her face.
"I know, but that can wait until Loki is dealt with."
Nat gave her an odd look but went back to her seat and got the jet ready for take off. Everyone took a seat for the take off and Tony chose the seat next to her while Steve sat on her other side 2 seats over. 20 minutes into the flight Tony got restless and got up to walk around. Steve must have gotten the same idea because he too got up to stand by one of the control panels. Bella noticed how often he turned to look at Loki, as if waiting for something to happen. Fury's voice came over Natasha's headset.
"Said anything?"
"Not a word."
"Just get him here. We're low on time."
Steve leaned over to Tony and spoke low for Loki not to hear, Bella obviously could because of her enhanced hearing but she doubted he knew that.
"I don't like it."
"What? Rock of ages giving up so easily?"
Bella laughed lightly at the reference but quickly shut up when both men turned to look at her. Tony smirked her way while Steve looked confused.
"She had freaky advanced hearing."
Bella narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. Steve looked to her and smiled lightly but then turned to Tony.
"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop."
They went to say something else but suddenly thunder and lightning nearly hit the jet, making it shake violently. Bella got up from her seat with a big smirk on her face directed at Loki. The other men noticed Loki's face as he cautiously looked up through the Quinjet's windows. Steve nodded towards him as he spoke.
"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?
"I'm not overly fond of what follows."
Both men looked to each other confused but Bella let out a snort.
"Well I love what follows! Let's see shall we?"
A bright light hit the jet and they all look up as a dent is made on the roof of the Quinjet. Bella walks over by Tony and hits the ramp button.
"What are you doing?"
Tony and Steve both put their helmets on as a caped figure lands on the ramp. He nods towards Bella and she nods back "You get 10 minutes Thor." he grabs Loki by the throat and swings his hammer before taking off.
"Now there's that guy."
Nat called out from the front.
"Another Asgardian?"
"That guy's a friendly?"
Tony moved towards the ramp.
"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost."
"Stark, we need a plan of attack!"
"I have a plan. Attack!"
Bella reached him a second before he took off.
"No you don't! That is Thor! Loki's brother. He is on our side. He won't kill him and he certainly won't free him. Just give him a moment to speak with him. Their family has gone through enough already, he is just trying to get him to cooperate before turning him back to us. He is a very good guy Tony. He helped me get back."
Tony gave her an odd look.
"Why are you so worried about me knowing he is a good guy?"
"I'm just saying don't attack if you don't know the whole thing yet."
"No, that's not it. You're hiding something."
"No I'm not."
"He helped you get back. Why? Is he the one that got you stuck in another planet to begin with?"
"He didn't help me out of guilt Tony! There was no other choice, Loki was going to destroy an entire race!"
Tony shook his head and balled up his fists. He didn't even finish hearing what she said before he took off after them.
"TONY!"
Bella sighed and went to jump after them but heard Nat start talking to Steve.
"I'd sit this one out Cap."
"I don't see how I can.'
"These guys come from legends, they're basically gods."
Bella turned in time to see Steve grab a parachute.
"There's only one God ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."
Bella stopped him before he could finish putting the chute on.
"Just hold on."
She wrapped her arm around his waist and stifled a laugh as he let out a grunt that sounded squeaky. She took off and had to admit to showing off a little by going slightly fast. His grip around her waist would have probably left a bruise if she were human though. Less than a minute later she landed and put him down. He cleared his throat and tried to look more composed, much to Bella's amusement.
"Thank you, for that."
"Well, wouldn't want to waste a parachute would we?"
They smiled at each other and she walked ahead of him towards where the sounds of clashing was coming from. Steve walked behind her at a slower rate while fixing his pants. Really he felt embarrassed with himself. Now is not the time to be aroused! Not only is it not the time but it is also highly inappropriate. He took a deep breath and cursed under his breath as he walked ahead to catch up with her once his..problem wasn't as noticeable. He walked through the trees and saw the damage was very noticeable. Bella already was in the middle of them with each hand on their chests.
"He is the one that attacked me!"
"Yes Thor I know but that is not the point! You should not have attacked back knowing we are on the same side and that he is my friend."
Thor looked to her offended.
"Sister you know me well, Thor Odinson back down from no fight."
Bella rolled her eyes and was about to say something but Tony leaned forward against her arm aggressively.
"She is not your sister!"
Bella looked to him confused at his outburst but Thor smirked, understanding it was probably jealousy. Steve saw this and walked forward to stand next to Stark.
"Hey! That's enough! Now I don't know what your intentions are but-"
"We've come to put an end to Loki's schemes!"
Tony reared back angrily again.
"We?! We?! No. She came because this is her home and she belongs here! She was gone because of you!"
"No Tony! He gave me a choice! It was my choice to return home in exchange for the lives of hundreds, in exchange of an entire planet! I chose to be stranded! He told me he would not destroy the Bifrost if I didn't agree. Time was running out and he still stopped to give me that choice! He is not to blame Tony. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me."
Tony stepped back and relaxed his fighting stance.
"You didn't want to come back?"
"Of course I did!"
Bella looked to him hurt for just thinking that. He took off his helmet and gave her a soft look as an apology.
"I had no choice Tony. How could I live with myself with that on my conscious? How could I return here and live with you all like a happy family knowing so many families died because of me?"
They all turned when they heard Loki scoff behind them.
"Families? You saved them for no reason. Asgard will never be at peace with Jotunheim, when they are at war next time, they will kill the ones you saved. Congratulations."
Bella glared at him but once she saw that the situation was somewhat manageable, she got things moving.
"Let's just get back to the Quinjet. We have work to do."
"Can we call the jet back?"
Steve wasn't sure how they would contact Agent Romanoff but he thought he would ask anyway. Tony gave him a skeptical look.
"Why would we call them back? We can just fly back to meet up wherever they are by now."
"In case you forgot Stark, not all of us can fly."
Stark gave Bella and Thor a certain look and nodded at them before he took off. He saw Thor grab Loki by the collar but before he could think on it, Bella wrapped her arm around his waist and whispered in his ear.
"Ready Captain?"
She was amused at the flush on his neck and cheeks, understanding now the obsession everyone around her had with making her blush because she certainly enjoyed making him do it.
"Yes Ma'am."
"Bella. If I'm going to be carrying you, you should at least feel comfortable using my name."
He smiled down at her as she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled his body against her curvy one.
"Yes Bella."
