"Stop it."
"Stop what?"
"You know exactly what." I purposely looked forward and blocked Evans out of my peripheral vision.
A lot of things had happened over the last few hours. The only thing keeping me going right now was rage. I didn't need the look which Evans was giving me. I couldn't deal with pity. I'd been seeing that a lot.
"Kari," Evans tried again, his voice gentle. "Talk to me?"
"We're going to get Natasha," I said, clenching my jaw. "Then Dr Banner and from there, I'm going to find my brother and Barton."
At least Coulson had been smart enough to know I wouldn't sit still. Almost immediately when Fury said he was initiating the Avengers Initiative, Coulson had a plan for me. I was doing exactly what I'd told Evans. Getting Natasha, hoping Dr Banner's green friend didn't make an appearance and going back to the Helicarrier to find Jared and Clint.
"Okay," Evans said in a placating tone.
That earned him a withering glare. Judging by the small smirk on Evans face, it was done intentionally. I felt my rage soften a fraction. Being angry at the people who were trying to help wasn't going to help me. I blew out a long, exhausted sigh.
"Sorry," I said, trying to put as much effort into the apology as I could muster. "I'm not okay and I'm doing a bad job of pretending to be. I'm going to fall to pieces if I don't at least keep the rage going. I'm going to rip that fucking Asgardian apart when I get my hands on him."
"There's my girl." Evans reached over and clapped me on the shoulder. "I'm here if you need me. We all are."
I glanced back over my shoulder. In the back of the Quinjet, Bravo team were doing their usual pre-mission routines. Sleeping, reading or quiet conversations between people. I knew it wasn't a random occurrence that Bravo team were with me to pick up Natasha and Dr Banner. There was only one other person Coulson would trust right now to keep me together and from doing something stupid.
"Thank you," I said softly. I reached up and squeezed Evans hand which was still on my shoulder. An alarm went off on my on my flight controls. We were coming up to the deserted warehouse lot where Natasha was. The flight to Moscow had mostly been a blur. I was also flying ridiculously fast and had cut two hours of the flight time off.
"I'll leave you to it." With one final squeeze of my shoulder, Evans got up from the co-pilot seat. "I've got some calls to make with base. Go get Nat and come straight back."
I nodded in confirmation but my attention was mostly on starting the descent over Moscow. I was cloaked and being very careful in the busy Russian airspace. One good thing about it was it kept me busy and my attention entirely focused on getting us safely in the tiny warehouse parking lot. As soon as the Quinjet was on the ground, I was out of my seat and opening the ramp.
Jogging down the ramp was a new form of hell. Despite half a drug store in my system, the headache still hadn't gone away. Neither had that horrible empty feeling. When Loki's staff had taken over Jared's mind, I felt a part of me had shattered. The rest of me didn't feel that far away from breaking either.
Natasha was stalking up to the Quinjet, shoes in hand, looking ready to stab Loki with her Manalo's.
Scratch that. My Manalo's. I'd wondered where they had gotten to.
"Tell me everything," Natasha voice was clipped and brisk. Her accent came out in times of stress and tonight she was sounding the most Russian I'd ever heard.
"Loki took Barton and Jared five hours ago now." Facts and figures I could do without emotion. "Since then, there's been a lot of movement for people under SHIELD surveillance or suspicion."
There were a lot of bad guys in the world along with lots of undercover agents watching them, waiting to make a move. All of the reports coming in had been of people under surveillance disappearing suddenly. Everything from low level thugs to higher up in weapon cartels. Loki was building an army and he was amassing one very quickly with Jared's help. It was a frightening thought. Clint was a master tactician and Jared could get anywhere in the world in a second. This was going to be one hell of a fight when it came to it.
Natasha nodded, her jaw tight. She looked ready to punch someone.
"The targets seem to be mostly people involved in weapon cartels," I continued. "No one of huge importance. A few medium level guys. There has to be either funding coming from somewhere or Loki is using his staff to get them to work with him. We don't know."
We had come up the ramp of the Quinjet. Bravo team were pointedly ignoring us. Sam looked like he might have reached out to say something to Natasha but she breezed straight past him.
"Jared has a safe house in every continent," Natasha said as she walked up to Evans. "I have the coordinates for them. Don't expect anything to come of them though. He knows we'll be looking. Same with the ones I know of Barton's."
Natasha rattled off the locations without taking a breath. Evans only looked mildly surprised as he jotted them down. I didn't have anything to add to the conversation so I went to the pilot seat and prepared to get us back in the air.
Listening to Natasha have actual useful information made me feel like shit. I had no idea of any of Jared's safe houses. I knew of two of the ones Clint had but not the other five Natasha told Evans about.
"There's one other thing that will probably be used," Natasha's tone was still clipped. "I'm sleeping with Jared."
Natasha said it loudly enough that the entire Quinjet heard. You could have heard a pin drop in the back.
"I already knew that but thank you for the clarification." Evans sounded like he was choosing his words very carefully. "In the meantime, I don't want you going anywhere alone. Am I clear on that Agent Romanoff?"
To my surprise, Natasha nodded curtly. She didn't look happy but I was expecting a lot more of an argument from her. Coulson had said the same thing to me, hence the reason why I had Evans watching my every move. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to wipe my nose without Evans knowing until this was all over. It took me a moment for Evans words to really sink in.
I shot him a questioning look but Evans was already on the computer, no doubt relaying the information Natasha had passed along. I didn't have time to spare either. I had to get us in the air and to the outskirts of Calcutta. Natasha threw herself down in the chair next to me, arms crossed and staring silently out of the window. She waited until we were in the air and out of the busy Russian airspace before speaking.
"Coulson said Loki had them under some kind of mind control," Natasha's voice had no emotion in it right now. "Why didn't it work on you?"
"My inbuilt defence mechanism which got me into trouble in the first place kicked in." I didn't look over to her. To anyone else, this would sound like an interrogation. I knew Natasha well enough that she was doing this to keep her own emotions in check. "Loki was in a hurry. When he realised it wasn't going to work right away, he…"
My throat closed up and for a horrible moment, I thought I was going to burst into tears. I managed to clear my throat and keep my voice steady.
"He threatened to use Clint against me. I thought if I stayed calm I could come up with something to get us both out of the shit."
I was going to be reliving that horrible moment of the P30 pressed against Clint's chin for a long time. I had no doubt my nightmares would be seeing that trigger pulled a hundred times.
"If Jared hadn't appeared when I threw myself out of the car, I'm not sure I could have blocked it again." I rubbed my tired eyes. They were starting to burn. "Loki instantly saw the tactical advantage Jared could get him and then they were gone."
"It makes sense," Natasha said with a tight nod. "You are an advantage in a fight. But for building whatever he needs for that fight, Jared would be the smarter move."
I watched Natasha out of the corner of my eye. She was working her jaw back and forth like she was forcing herself not to grind her teeth.
"You didn't have to tell them about you and Jared," I switched to Russian, lowering my voice.
"Yes, I did." Natasha looked over to me, the saddest of smiles crossing her face for a moment. "You'll have to come clean soon too."
"I know." I felt a lot of my rage draining out of me. Now I was just tired. "Not that way I wanted it to happen."
Natasha lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. The conversation went silent as she stared ahead in the night sky. There wasn't much to look at up here at 30,000 feet. I was left with my own swirling thoughts and aching head until we got half an hour out from Calcutta airspace.
"I need to draw Dr Banner out into somewhere less inhabited in case this goes south," Natasha suddenly speaking up made me jump. "Do you have any cash on you?"
Coulson had grabbed my bag and Clint's during the evacuation. It was sitting in one of the compartments in the back of the Quinjet.
"I have, maybe a hundred on me?" I had no idea. But apparently we were going for bribing our way through things for this part of the mission. "Ask around the back. Tell them I'll pay them back if SHIELD doesn't."
Natasha nodded again and got to her feet. While I navigated through the increasingly busy airspace, I half listened to the conversation happening behind me. No one asked Natasha what her plan was, but all happily handed over any money they had on them. It wasn't until Natasha went to sit next to Evans did her plan unfold.
Dr Banner was working as a medical doctor under the radar. SHIELD intel said he took cash payments and was easily persuaded if there was an emergency. Natasha's plan was to find a local family with a child who was willing to play on Dr Banner's better side by saying it was an emergency. In the slums of Calcutta, it wouldn't be too hard to find a family willing to do what she needed especially for the wad of American cash she had in her hand. Bravo team would be hiding out of sight, ready in case Dr Banner's green other half made an appearance.
"And what am I doing?" I asked, not looking back from the controls. I already had a fair idea of what the answer was going to be.
"Staying in the Quinjet with me," Evans said gruffly. "And I'm not going to hear a word of argument coming from you about it. Am I clear?"
Evans was in full mission mode right now. I knew better than to argue.
"Crystal."
I even managed not to sound too sulky with my crisp reply.
"Good. SHIELD is sending through coordinates for a landing site." No sooner than Evans had said it, my flight computer made a sound as the coordinates came through. It was going to be a tight squeeze and a very low altitude over a densely populated area to get to the landing spot.
My concentration went back to flying. At least it gave me something to do while everyone else got ready in the back. Natasha raided my bag for an outfit. I hadn't even worn the pretty wrap-around skirt yet that she borrowed. At least she got her own top back though. I'd been meaning to give it back for a month now.
Everyone was ready to go as soon as I landed. Bravo team jogged out and under Natasha's direction, they all left the derelict football field. Even though we were cloaked it still felt very exposed in such a populated area. I could see shacks and makeshift houses all dimly light in the evening. It made me realize I had no idea what day it was, let alone was timezone I was in. I sat back in the pilot's chair, closing my eyes. I was exhausted.
"I expected more of an argument from you," Evans joking tone made me tiredly open my eyes.
I must have drifted off for a few seconds. I hadn't heard him come and sit in the co-pilot chair. He was armed to the teeth. Whether it was for my sake or in case Dr Banner's green personality came out, I didn't know.
"I figured it was a futile exercise." I tried to smile. It felt like more of a grimace than a smile.
Evans gave me a half smile. He looked stressed and tired himself. Being a STRIKE leader when an eminent world catastrophe was threatening to happen wasn't going to be anyone's idea of fun for a job.
"So, what is it that you have to come clean about?"
I wanted to bang my head against the control panel. I thought I'd been quiet enough that no one else would hear that. I knew Evans had a very basic grasp of Russian but he always said the four of us talked way too fast for him to understand it.
"I'm sleeping with Clint."
It had to be my exhaustion. There was no other excuse for it to fall out of my mouth like that.
"Yeah, I knew that too." Evans calm answer was not what I expected.
There were no words to describe the horror I was currently feeling. Clint and I had been so careful when we were at work. It hadn't been hard to act like our normal selves. I racked my brain trying to think of what gave it away.
"Coulson told me," Evans explained. It did nothing to abate my feelings of horror. "Clint told him while they were at PEGASUS."
A small part of me knew this might happen. Clint always said that he could never lie to Coulson. While we agreed not to tell him, I knew Clint wouldn't lie to him either if he asked.
"Go ahead and yell at me," I said with a heavy sigh. Just when I thought things couldn't go to shit anymore than they already had, the universe reminded me it could. "I know. We're idiots and what the hell were we thinking?"
"I imagine there wasn't a lot of thinking going on when this happened," Evans said tactfully.
It earned him another withering glare from me.
"Right now, I'm not going to yell at you. All I want you to focus on is getting Jared and Clint back," Evans continued, ignoring my glare. "Then I'm going to yell at you both for being so fucking stupid."
"That's fair." I dropped my gaze to avoid looking at Evans. I was fiddling with the control panel like it was the most interesting thing I'd ever seen.
"Why'd you do it?"
I'd been expecting that question from Natasha. At the time I didn't have an answer for it and I'd been very glad she hadn't asked. There'd been plenty of time for me to mull over the exact question over the last few weeks. Even now, I wasn't sure if I had something that put it into words.
"Because he was there and if you haven't noticed, Clint isn't exactly unattractive." As soon as I'd said it, Evans was already giving me a look that called me out on the bullshit I'd just said.
It took me a long moment to try and put my thoughts together. My aching head wasn't really helping in that regard.
"Because he's always there." I suppose that was the gist of it. No matter what, Clint had always been there for me through thick and thin. "And in a shitty moment always being there turned that weird vibe from Moscow into something different."
Evans blew out a long breath and was silent for a few minutes. He was looking out the window of the Quinjet, lost in his own thoughts.
"It's a hard job we do," Evans said quietly when he finally spoke again. "And lonely. I can see why it happened. I'm not surprised to be honest. Until I knew about Laura and the kids, I thought Barton and Romanoff were a thing."
This was my perfect opportunity to change the subject. At least for a few minutes anyway.
"How did you find out about them anyway?" I'd never gotten the story out of Clint or Evans about it. Considering it took Clint months to trust Riley enough to tell him, it was a huge surprise that Evans knew.
"This change of subject doesn't get you off the hook," Evans said, waggling a finger at me.
Although his tone was serious, he was fighting back a smile. I could feel myself smiling as well. It was a nice change of pace.
"Coulson and Clint both had a mission with a very close call. Did you ever hear about Scarlotti?"
I nodded. Marcus Scarlotti had been the only person to come very close to killing Clint on a mission years ago. I'd heard the story of the mission from Clint how both he and Coulson were lucky to survive.
"After that mission, Coulson persuaded Clint to have a back up, in case something ever happened to both of them," Evans continued. "Cooper was only a baby when I met them. Even then it took Fury's insistence on him not being the back up plan."
Fury knew as well. That surprised me. I suppose it made sense though. Someone high up besides Coulson would have had to know to keep it all so well hidden and low key.
"I didn't have much to do with their lives and still don't," Evans said with a shrug. "But at least Clint knows. He and Laura had an agreement with Fury that she would be told right away if he died on a mission. I suppose it still stands, even though I don't know exactly where they are these days."
"I'll remind Clint to write it down for you when this is all over." That came out a lot stronger than I was feeling. "Lila still asks about Alexi."
"We'll organise something as soon as this is done." Evans gave me another smile. "After I finish yelling at you both."
I scoffed but the smile still stayed on my face. Evans was doing a very good job at keeping me from losing my shit.
"Kari?" Evans tone turned more gentle this time. "Tread very carefully with yours and Clint's feelings here. There's a very fine line you two are walking and I don't want to see anyone get hurt."
"It's just sex, Troy." I shrugged his concern off. I wasn't going to touch that line of thought or feelings for a 100 foot pole at the moment.
With the look Evans was giving me, I braced myself for an argument. The seconds ticking by gave me time to think of a come back for anything he was going to bring up.
"Why don't you try and catch some sleep?"
I couldn't hide my surprise. I looked at Evans with a raised eyebrow.
"It's going to be a long day and we have a long flight back." Evans was being the most tactful I'd ever seen him. "Try and have something to eat and at least put your feet up."
Eating was out of the question. My stomach felt like it was tied in knots right now. I was exhausted though. My headache was beginning to reach unbearable levels. I put my feet up on the control panel and sat back as far as I could. Closing my eyes, I focused on some sniper breathing to give me something else to think about.
A few moments of breathing and focusing on nothing but that did wonders for my tattered nerves. My head finally felt like it wasn't going to explode at a moments notice. I could feel myself drifting off and I didn't fight it.
And then I was somewhere else. Looking down at Clint from a height that wasn't right. There was barely an inch between me and Clint's height. Right now I could see the top of Clint's head.
"Well the Raddison doesn't have three levels of lead lined flooring between SHIELD and that cube," Clint said snarkily.
Following the line of sight, I could see Dr Selvig looking extremely disheveled. The Dr scoffed and turned away. As he did, the reflection in one of the plastic strips separating the room caught my eye.
I was Jared.
This was like that time he got caught my Yelena and was being tortured. I was seeing everything through his eyes.
"I see why Fury chose you to guard it."
The second person was Loki. He was looking at Clint with a coy smirk on his face.
"We're going to have to contend with him, Sir." Clint turned sharply on his boot. "As long as he's in the air I can't pin him down."
Jared followed the pair as the started walking down the dark room. People were milling around not paying any heed to us. Everyone had that creepy blue glow to their eyes. Where ever this place was, it was filled with equipment.
"He'll be putting together a team," Clint continued as he marched briskly down the path.
"Are they a threat?" Loki asked. He sounded very calm and collected, walking around like he owned the place.
"To each other," Jared's voice came out. "More than likely."
"If they can get them on track and he might. He does have the voice of reason with them," Clint's tone softened a fraction. "Her and Romanoff will create a lot of noise our way, you can guarantee that."
"We will deal with them later," Loki said, dismissing Clint's words instantly. "You admire Fury."
"He's got a clear line of sight," Clint said like it was the most simple thing in the world.
"Is that why you failed to kill him?"
Loki's harsh question made Clint stop in his tracks. Jared did the same, staying out of the way of both of them.
"It might be," Clint admitted after a moment. "I was disorientated."
A small scoff escaped from Jared. Neither Clint or Loki heard it thought. Loki did stop though.
"I'm not at my best with a gun."
Loki turned around, finger raised like he was having a moment of clarity.
"I want to know everything you can tell me about this team of his." Loki's expression was set in stone. "You're being awfully quiet Agent Lyngley."
"I have nothing to add," Jared's voice was calm. "Barton knows more than me about the team. I wasn't included."
"And why is that?" Loki's calm demeanor was gone. He stalked forward, coming inches away from Jared.
Loki was tall enough that Jared had to look up a fraction.
"Because I'm a loose cannon," Jared said truthfully. "I don't follow orders or play by the rules."
"Or well with others," Clint supplied flatly.
Loki scoffed, his hard expression not wavering.
"I'm also a risk," Jared continued. "Kari knows how to find me, or anyone with powers in this world. She could use that again quite easily. We need to keep moving. Keep them focused on us."
Loki's dark stare should have been chilling. Not for Jared though. I couldn't feel anything in him. No fear. No resistance. Just nothing but a sense of unwavering loyalty.
"It's a risk," Clint spoke up. "But a less one than sitting here waiting for them to come to us."
"I agree," Jared said with a nod. "But it could be useful for showing yourself. You're going to be a King. You should be seen."
Loki practically preened at those words.
"Tell me what you need?" Loki said with a chilling smile, turning back towards Clint.
Clint's face pulled into a half smile. He walked over to a case sitting on one of the storage containers. Opening it, Clint pulled out his retractable bow.
"I'm going to need a distraction." Clint snapped it open with an audible twang. "And an eyeball."
"And you Agent Lyngley, can tell me all about your sister and what she'll be doing." Loki turned to Jared.
"She'll go straight to Natasha," Jared said without hesitation. "Whether she's allowed to or not. Romanoff is ruthless and she won't stop until she's tracked us down."
Loki stared at Jared with an expectant look on his face.
"Romanoff and I have a…" Jared trailed off. "Thing between us. It could be useful."
"Is this love Agent Lyngley?" Loki looked very amused by the turn in the conversation.
Something felt wrong. Very wrong. Jared's obvious hesitation made Loki stalk towards him, staff raised.
"I asked a question," Loki's voice turned hard.
"No. Not on her behalf anyway."
The feeling of something being wrong only intensified. Those words felt like a bitter in Jared's mouth.
"And you'll kill her for me?"
Another hesitation. This time Loki raised his staff and it touched Jared's chest. The blue haze was intense, all that could be seen before it cleared. The feeling of things being wrong was gone in an instant, replaced by an unwavering sense of loyalty.
"Of course."
I startled awake at the sound of an incoming message from the communications computer. Blinking rapidly in the dim light of the cockpit, I could barely think straight.
Jared. I'd had the same thing happen like it did when Yelena took Jared. They were underground somewhere and planning something. I sluggishly pushed myself up from the chair and stumbled on numb legs over to Evans. He looked up at me with a pained expression, making the words die on my lips.
"Jared raided one of SHIELD's storage lockers about two hours ago," Evans explained tiredly. "He's got…"
"Clint's retractable bow," I filled in for Evans. "Do you remember when I collapsed in the locker room when Yelena took Jared?"
Evans looked at me in surprise, but then cautiously nodded.
"I…"
The words suddenly stuck in my throat. How the hell did I explain this without sounding like I was crazy?
"You knew it was Yelena because of whatever weird fucking thing twins do sometimes," Evans filled in for me with an understanding nod. "I know about it. What did you see?"
"They're underground." My headache was back. I had to stop and rubbed my temples momentarily. "They're planning something about a distraction and an eyeball. They want to keep moving because Jared remembers how I found him last time."
I don't know how much of the story Evans knew about Yelena and Jared's last run in. With his security clearance, he should have known exactly what I was talking about. Why hadn't I thought about this sooner?
"We already tried that," Evans explained gently. "Professor Xavier said he couldn't see Jared because of whatever Loki had done to him. Your Grams went to him straight away."
"Oh." That shouldn't have felt like such a punch in the stomach. But it did. So much for my great plan.
"It gives us something at least," Evans was trying to sound optimistic. "There has to be a connection there somewhere. No matter how vague it is."
I could see the questions written clearly all over Evans face. He was trying not to interrogate me with a million and one questions. I'd been so wrapped up in what Loki and Clint were saying, I hadn't taken any notice of the surrounding area.
"I didn't see much else." I felt ashamed admitting that. "I was too focused on what was being said."
I tried to think of how to put the last piece of the conversation in words. I wasn't surprised by it. Loki would be looking to use anything he could for his plan.
"It's okay." Before Evans could say anything else the crackle of the radio made us both jump.
"Evans, we have Dr Banner and are heading back. Copy?" Natasha's voice came over the radio.
Was it my imagination or did Natasha sound rattled? There were very few things was would outwardly rattle Natasha. I really hoped the situation hadn't gone to shit and Dr Banner was coming back in chains.
"Copy that Romanoff," Evans replied quickly. "We have some news when you get back."
"Copy." Natasha's sharp reply did nothing to ease my tension.
"I'll get us powered up and ready to get in the air." I may as well do something useful.
Evans just nodded and went back to whatever he was doing on the computer. By the time I was powered up and had my coordinates set, the first of Bravo team came up the ramp. No one was hurt. The light conversation going on made me sag in relief. At the tail end of the team was Natasha and Dr Banner.
Even though I'd see his photos in his file, he still wasn't what I was expecting. He was shorter than I'd imagined. His unruly hair and glasses that kept slipping down his nose gave him more of an eccentric college professor look than a guy with the worst anger issues on the planet. His clothes were ragged and he was seriously unkempt. He was carrying a well worn brown leather bag looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Dr Banner, thank you for coming." Evans was on his feet and moving down the back to greet our new guest. "I'm Troy Evans, leader of this unruly mob. If you can take your seat please, we'll be in the air as soon as everyone is buckled up."
I expected Natasha to make a quip about Evans having manners. Instead, she walked past him and threw herself down in the co-pilot chair.
Was it my imagination or were her hands shaking, ever so slightly?
"Nat?" I asked quietly.
Natasha shook her head. I took it as a sign to leave the subject alone for the moment. Most of the guys were settled in the back enough for me to take off. Once we were in the air, I switched over to autopilot and sat back. I absently rubbed my head where Loki had connected with his staff. I had one hell of a goose egg from it.
"Did someone look at that?" Natasha asked right away.
"Yes and when we get back to the Helicarrier, Coulson has Max coming to check it out." I iced my hand over and let it rest on the lump. "You know he won't let any of the other SHIELD doctors deal with us."
I was sure Andrew would be making an appearance sooner rather than later.
"Good." Natasha reached over and tilted my head to get a better look at it. "What was that thing made of?"
"Something really hard." I winced as Natasha gave it a poke. "And he was very precise at using it too."
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Dr Banner had come up and was hovering uncomfortably behind us. Seeing my attention shift, Natasha looked back.
"Hi, sorry to interrupt," Dr Banner began nervously. He was fidgeting with the bottom of his jacket looking very unsure of himself. "Did you need me to look at your head? I couldn't help but notice."
"No, thank you for the offer though," I said politely with what I hoped to be a friendly smile. "SHIELD's doctor who always deals with us will be at the Helicarrier when we land. He'll want to fuss."
"I'm Bruce, by the way," Dr Banner said, as if he'd just forgotten his manners. "Sorry."
The man apologized a lot.
"Kari Lyngley." I turned around so I could offer him my hand to shake. "It's a pleasure."
Bruce didn't look very sure of himself but his handshake was firm.
"I've heard the last name before." Bruce's gaze turned curious.
"My Dad is head of R&D at SHIELD. He's also published a lot of papers because he's a nerd," I explained with a tolerant smile. Bruce was a scientist before his accident so I wasn't surprised he'd heard of the last name.
"Ah," Bruce said with a nervous smile. "I think I remember one about metal configurations similar to vibranium."
I remembered that one too. SHIELD was less than happy when Dad published that piece of work. Dad had done a good job at keeping everything classified out of it though so SHIELD couldn't pull his work out. It had been quite a buzz in the scientific community. I'd been in high school when it was published and I'd come home late to find Mom and Dad both home, arguing about it.
"Yeah." A ghost of a smile pulled on my lips. "That caused some arguments at home."
Natasha snorted in amusement. Even Bruce seemed to smile at my small quip.
"He'd love someone to talk nerdy with," I continued. "Me and my brother never followed in his footsteps of being crazy smart."
I was really impressed with myself that I didn't choke up when I mentioned Jared. It helped I didn't say his name. I didn't miss the hard swallow from Natasha though. Any amusement from my earlier remark was gone as she stared out of the front window of the Quinjet.
Bruce gave me another small smile. He seemed as lost as I was trying to make conversation. He quickly excused himself and went back to his seat.
The rest of the flight was exhaustingly boring. I managed to catch a few minutes of sleep here and there. It was daylight when I landed on the Helicarrier. Beyond that, I had no idea what time it actually was.
"Medical. Right now." Evans ordered as soon as I powered the Quinjet down. "Max is waiting for you and Coulson is on his way. Romanoff, Fury wants to see you."
There was no point arguing. I was too tired anyway. I got my bag and trudged out of the Quinjet. Max was waiting for me and pointed to the bed as I walked in the door.
I was very grateful for Max to have come onto the Helicarrier to fuss over me. He was the only doctor I let fuss over me within SHIELD. As it was, he kept his fussing to a minimum and got in me for a CT scan and some really good drugs while he waited for the scan. My head subsided back to a dull throb instead of feeling like my head was going to fall off.
"This confirms you still have a brain," Max joked as he scrolled through the images on his iPad. "And it isn't damaged."
I still wasn't really feeling up to being amused. At least I managed to quirk my lips up in amusement at Max's joke.
"When was the last time you slept and ate?" Max turned serious at my lack of response.
"I had a nap in the Quinjet while waiting for Natasha." I reached up and rubbed my forehead tiredly. "I ate just before everything went to hell at PEGASUS."
Max didn't look happy. He pursed his lips and looked like he was struggling to not make a comment.
"I can give you something to help you sleep for a few hours," Max said tactfully. "You look dead on your feet."
"I feel it too." It was a tempting offer. Maybe I could see what Jared was doing if I went to sleep again. "I'm so tired I don't think I'll need anything if I'm being honest."
"I'll make sure no one disturbs you then." Max look relieved that there wasn't going to be an argument. "Do you need a blankie and a night night story?"
The last part was said teasingly. That got more of a genuine smile on my face.
"How about a juice box and three stories?" I said with a small laugh.
"If you're awake when I get back, you can have a juice box," Max said, laughing as well. He turned around and pulled a blanket out of the warming box. "Here. I won't be too far away."
I took the warm blanket and flopped myself down on the bed. It wasn't going to be the most comfortable nap I had. The warm blanket went a long way to making me feel comfortable. I was exhausted enough I drifted off.
The sleep wasn't too deep. I half woke up hearing Coulson's voice in what felt like only minutes of rest.
"Kari?"
"Mmm?" I groggily stirred. Blinking awake, I found Coulson kneeling down at eye level. I'd rolled over onto my side sometime during my nap.
"We got a hit on Loki. Do you feel up to taking a trip to Germany with Steve?"
Coulson's words woke me up quicker than I ever had in my life.
I was ready for anything Loki had to throw me at me this time.
Authors Note
Sometimes I want to be a bad author and just straight into the action, then do all this is bits and pieces in backstory. But a few important things had to be set up there. The scene between Loki and Clint was a deleted scene that really fit in with this.
Thank you again for your patience. I want to get all of the Avengers done because I'm so excited for it. But I need another 24 hours in every day to get things done at the moment.
This is a super short authors note because I'm squinting at the screen from being so tired but I really wanted to get this uploaded tonight. Thank you as always for your reviews. They make my day and breath inspiration into me. Also a huge thank you to everyone who reached out to me to make sure I was safe in the horrible bushfires here in Australia. My family and my horses are all safe and I really appreciate the thoughts. Huge apologizes if I forgot to message anyone back. My mind is like a sieve at the moment.
Until next time.