Freya stumbles into the training room, the pain in her head making her dizzy. Tears are starting to stream down her face. She's never felt so betrayed. All of those people she's trusted. Her best friends. Her own father!
She hasn't noticed Steve standing in the doorway yet as he watches her worriedly. Finally letting out her anger, a punching bag next to her becomes her unfortunate victim. Letting out a scream as her fist collides with it, she sends it across the room. The entire room shakes in the process as a result of her outburst. Steve grabs the door frame to steady himself. As the shaking stops, he stares at her in shock and concern. She finally looks up at the bag, which is now protruding from the wall it impaled itself in. Sand pouring out from the top where it had ripped from the chain. Letting out a loud sob, she shakes her head. Not knowing what to do next. Suddenly, searing pain shoots through her head again. Both of her hands fly to it as she cries out.
"I should've just told her. This wouldn't have happened. Clint wanted to tell her too. He's gonna be so pissed when he gets back. If he ever gets back..."
Freya falls to her knees with a cry. Realizing she's still hearing Natasha's thoughts from across the helicarrier. Springing into action, Steve sprints across the room to her. He skids to a halt and drops down to his knees in front of her. Grabbing one of her arms in the process to get her attention. His other hand goes under her chin, trying to make her look up at him. His heart breaks when he sees her tear stained face. More and more voices are starting to infiltrate her head. It feels like her mind is being ripped apart. She's beginning to hear the thoughts of other random people aboard the ship. Her ability now spiraling out of control. Steve has no idea how to help.
"I, uh, I don't have much experience with crying women," Steve admits nervously. Freya winces and grits her teeth together from the pain.
"It hurts," she whimpers. "I-I can't get the noise to stop. I don't know how to make it st-stop," she pants as her breathing becomes ragged. In desperation, she mentally screams out for help.
"LOKI!"
"Little One, what's wrong?!"
"It hurts. There's s-so much pain. I c-can't get the noise to stop."
"Darling, you have to focus. Find an anchor. I can't help you from in here. You have to focus."
"Frey, hey look at me. Please look at me, Freya," Steve begs as he tries to get her attention. Her green eyes finally focus in on the soldier. He removes her hands from her head and puts both of his on the sides of her face. "Focus on my voice, Freya. Breathe. You've gotta breathe."
She closes her eyes and focuses on his soothing voice as it starts to calm her. Feeling his thumbs brush back and forth over her face. Her crying begins to slowly come to a stop. When the pain finally subsides, she lets out a shaky breath and leans forward. Resting her head on Steve's shoulder. On instinct, he wraps his arms around her and pulls her to his chest. She reciprocates by threading her arms around his torso and tightening the embrace.
"I've got you, Frey. You're okay," he soothes her.
"Are you okay, Little One?"
"Yeah, I'm okay now."
Leaning away from the soldier and releasing him, she sits back on her butt. Wiping the tears that had streaked down her face as she mumbles a grateful "thank you". Steve sits down as well and watches her intently.
"Freya... what just happened?"
"I lost control," she looks up at him and shrugs. Clearly mentally and physically exhausted. "I let it take over. It's a new ability, so I'm still struggling with it."
"When did it start showing up?" he asks. She looks at her feet and thinks for a moment.
"I've been getting headaches for a few weeks now. But I didn't start actually hearing thoughts until the other night. When we had coffee together."
"Wait, it wasn't my thoughts you heard, was it?" he asks nervously.
"It was just the one, I promise," she grins up at him guiltily.
"Uh, which one was it?" he asks with wide eyes. She chuckles as she thinks back to their first meeting.
"When you were debating on whether or not to ask me if I wanted to have coffee. With you. Again," she teases.
"H-Have you heard any more of mine since then?" he asks as a blush instantly covers his face and he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.
"My lips are sealed, Spangles," she grins mischievously this time.
A small smile forms on his face at the use of her nickname for him. Watching her closely, he can still see the worry on her face that she's attempting to hide behind the grin.
"Has this ever happened before with your powers?" he asks quietly. She looks around in discomfort at the question. Trying to focus on anything other than his questioning stare. Silently nodding, she continues to avoid his gaze. "You can talk to me, Freya. I won't judge you."
"Are you sure about that?" she asks when she finally meets his eyes again. He can now see fear in them. Fear of not being accepted. Fear of people being afraid of her.
"I promise," he nods confidently. She sighs deeply and nods. Closing her eyes, she clears her throat.
"I don't exactly know how my powers show up or what I'm capable of. Whenever a new one manifests, I sometimes struggle with it." She takes another deep breath to calm herself. "I've noticed that most of them have appeared in times of stress or fear. Some have happened at random. I mean, my telekinesis showed up when I was eight when my Uncle Rhodey wouldn't let me have another piece of bacon," she chuckles. Steve chuckles as well but gives her an odd look. "I have a thing for bacon," she rolls her eyes at him.
"Noted," he smirks.
"Anyway..." she narrows her eyes playfully before becoming serious. "It seems like my powers as a whole feed off of my emotions. They get stronger the more upset or angrier I get. There were um..." She glances up at him hesitantly and sees him listening intently. He gives her a reassuring nod, encouraging her to continue. She takes yet another deep breath and nods. "Over the years since I've joined S.H.I.E.L.D., there have been two incidents... One in which people died. They weren't innocent people by any means." She rubs her eyes tiredly and shakes her head in disappointment with herself. "But they were still lives that I took because I wasn't in control."
"And the second incident?" he softly inquires when she stays silent and hesitates to continue.
"I, um... I almost killed two of my friends," she shamefully admits. His face scrunches in concern as he watches her. Knowing that in the short time he's known her, she would never willingly hurt someone she cares about.
"What happened?" he asks.
"I'm not exactly sure," she sighs. "All I remember is that something inside of me snapped. The first time, I was protecting Nat and Clint. The second time, I almost died. Both times, my powers just took over. I wasn't even the passenger. It was like I had been locked in the trunk and they took the wheel. I had no control. I can remember what I did, but it's all like a dream. Well, a nightmare actually," she mumbles. "It's like something else takes over. I get on this warpath and will take out anything in my way. No matter who it is," she says shakily. "I don't wanna hurt anyone that I care about. I don't wanna hurt innocent people because I can't control my powers. Taking the lives of evil people, that's part of our lines of work. Being a soldier and an assassin," she gestures between them and he nods in agreement. "We learn to live with those burdens. And unfortunately, they're one's that never get any easier. But if I ever harmed Nat or Clint or my parents, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
She looks down at her hands and lets out a slow, shaky breath. She forces herself to meet his eyes and finds him staring at her with concern. She frowns as she continues.
"What I scares me the most is I think it actually is something else that takes over. Like my powers are some sentient being or something. When they do, they're able to speak through me. The voice sounds like mine, but it's not. It's this distorted version. And, I swear, I can hear two voices speaking at the same time. At first, I thought I was crazy. But now, I know what I hear," she says confidently. Trying to convey she's telling him the 100% truth. "But, even when I have control, I can sometimes hear them. I get called 'weak' or 'unworthy' of the 'gift' I've been given."
His eyes are wide in shock as he stares at her. But there's still an overwhelming feeling of concern for her coursing through him.
"Have you heard... them, lately?" he presses.
"No," she shakes her head. "It's been around a year. They've been completely silent. But I can still feel something. Like a presence. Always lurking in the shadows. Just waiting for an opportunity to strike." She sniffles as she attempts to hold herself together. He reaches out and pats her foot in comfort.
"Have you been doing anything to get a better hold on your powers?"
"Yeah," she nods. "Ever since the first incident, Nat and Clint have been training me to control them and not the other way around. I've made a lot of progress for sure, but it's still a long road ahead. I'm still scared to use my powers, though. I don't want them to take over again, so I hold back now."
"Well, whatever you need, I'm here too," he smiles. "I'll do whatever I can to help. I may not know anything about having powers, but I do know a little something about wanting to protect the people you care about and saving innocents."
"Thank you," she sighs as she gives him a small smile. He nods, but his face scrunches up in confusion when he sees her forehead.
"Wait, I thought you had a cut?" Steve asks as he gestures at her forehead. She tilts her head and touches her forehead before chuckling.
"I heal fast," she smiles.
"I don't even heal that fast," he says in amazement.
"Alien DNA," she shrugs.
"Speaking of alien DNA... your blood," Steve hesitates. "It's... blue?"
"Uh, yeah," she replies as she looks down at her hands. "It's always been that way. I guess now I kinda know why."
Silence falls over them for a short time. He looks down as he wonders how to approach the elephant in the room.
"S-So..." He pauses for a moment and awkwardly clears his throat. "Loki's your birth father?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Her face falls again at the question. She looks back down at her feet and sighs with a nod. Steve nudges one of her feet as he moves to sit cross-legged.
"I think I'm ready for that long story now," he tells her.
"Yeah, it's a bit over due," she agrees as she follows his lead and sits in the same position.
She takes a deep breath and tells him what Loki told her about her childhood. She talks about where she comes from and what she actually is. She talks about her mom. Well, what little details she's been told by Loki. She tells him of how Tony found her and took her in. How she had no memories when she arrived. How she still can't remember anything. How she only knew her first name and, oddly enough, her birth date when she arrived on Earth. She told him about how Tony gave her a safe place to stay. Caring for her like she was his own flesh and blood. How she hid her real job from him and worked hard to become the agent she is today. An hour later, she finally pauses after finishing and sighs.
"And now, here I am," she shrugs.
She finally looks up from her feet at him to assess his response. He nods, deep in thought. After a few moments, he reaches out and takes her hand. She stiffens at first, but almost instantly relaxes and grips his hand back. Meeting her eyes he smiles.
"Well, I'm glad your path led you here," he admits. "Unfortunate as it was, I wouldn't have met you. And for that I'm thankful."
She blushes and smiles back. Not knowing what to do or say next, she begins to awkwardly look around. She spots a clock on the wall and realizes sunrise will be soon. Frowning, she turns back to him.
"I should probably go see what there is to do. I'm sure my dad is getting into trouble somewhere. Actually, he's probably in the lab with Bruce. Which doesn't make me feel better now that I think about it," she mumbles. "I should probably go check on them."
"I'll go with you if you don't mind," Steve offers as he stands up and pulls her with him.
"Sure, I'd appreciate the company," she nods thankfully.
"You gonna be okay to go out there?" he asks as he looks toward the door.
"Yeah," she says with as much conviction as she can muster. "I have to find Clint. I think I'm stable enough now. Whatever issues I have with anyone can wait."
She starts off toward the lab to check on her dad and Bruce as Steve falls in step next to her. When they round the corner to the lab, she can hear her dad and Bruce talking. Walking up to the door, it automatically opens right as she sees her dad poke Bruce with a miniature electrical prod. Causing him to jump and yell in surprise and slight pain. Tony glances over at them as they walk in. Freya gives him an "are you fucking kidding me?!" look. Tony gives her a shrug, turns back to Bruce and leans in to study him closely.
"Nothing?" Tony asks him.
"Hey! Are you nuts?" Steve asks angrily.
"Jury's out," Tony sasses before turning his attention back to the doctor. "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?"
"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve snaps while Freya opts to stay quiet for the moment.
"Funny things are," Tony snarkily responds as he points the electrical prod at Steve. Freya snorts at his response, but tries to cover it up by clearing her throat when she notices her dad grinning at her. Steve, on the other hand, continues to lay into him.
"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny." Steve quickly glances at Bruce in apology. "No offense, Doc."
"It's all right," Bruce says as he continues to work. "I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."
"You're tip-toein' big man. You need to strut," Tony says as he walks away from him.
"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark," Steve retorts.
"Do you think I'm not?" Tony asks as he pulls out a bag of blueberries that he had most likely stashed when he got to the lab. Since food isn't allowed near the equipment. "Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."
"You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve asks.
"Wouldn't be the first time," Freya mumbles to herself. Steve still hears her and looks down at her, concern for her etched on his face. Tony addresses him again, regaining the soldier's attention.
"He's a spy. Captain, he's the spy. His secrets have secrets." Tony pops a few blueberries into his mouth before gesturing at Bruce. "It's buggin' him, too." He turns to Bruce for confirmation. "Isn't it?"
"Uh..." Bruce awkwardly looks around as he searches for an escape from the conversation. "I just wanna finish my work here, and-"
"Bruce?" Freya presses softly when she finally speaks up. Bruce pauses for a few seconds as he takes off his glasses and takes a deep breath.
"'A warm light for all mankind.' Loki's jab at Fury about the Cube," Bruce says.
"I heard it," Steve nods while Freya silently nods as well beside him.
"Well, I think that was meant for you," Bruce points at Tony. Who holds the bag of blueberries out to Bruce, rewarding him for his answer. Bruce grabs a few blueberries and elaborates. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."
"The Stark Tower?" Steve asks as an amused expression starts to form on his face. "That big, ugly-" Freya interrupts him by smacking his arm while her dad glares at him. Steve jumps in surprise and looks down at her. He rubs the painful spot where she hit him and sends her a look of apology before turning his attention on Tony again. "That, uh, really tall building in New York?" Freya silently nods next to him. Happy with the change in description of the place she's recently called home from time to time.
"It's powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for, what, a year?" Bruce asks Tony.
"Longer," Freya corrects him.
"She would know, she helped me build it," Tony smiles proudly.
"What?" she shrugs when Steve looks down at her in surprise. "I had just finished my doctorates and was on a break from work. There was a lot of free time on my hands and I was bored."
"It's just the prototype," Tony smirks at Steve. "Us Starks are kinda the only name in clean energy right now. That's what he's getting at."
"Sooo..." Bruce continues. "Why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. bring him in on the Tesseract project? Why didn't they bring her in on it?" he points at Freya. "She works for S.H.I.E.L.D. and is just as smart at Tony."
"Probably smarter, honestly," Tony says as he pops more blueberries into his mouth.
"What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" Bruce asks.
"I should probably look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secure files," Tony nonchalantly says as he walks around the table with his phone in hand.
"I'm sorry. Did you say-"
"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge," Tony interrupts Steve. "Before long, I'll know every dirty secret S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever tried to hide. Blueberry?" Grinning, he holds the bag out to Freya. Assuming she's happy with what he had just said. She shakes her head and pushes it away.
"Really, Dad? Just when I think you've stooped to your lowest moral level, you surprise me."
Tony's grin disappears as he furrows his eyebrows at her in surprise. The disappointment in her voice cutting him deep.
"And yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around," Steve agrees. Tony looks away from Freya to Steve. His tolerance for the soldier finally hitting its capacity.
"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome," Tony sasses.
"I think Loki's trying to wind us up," Steve ignores him. "This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders. We should follow them."
"Following's not really my style," Tony pops a few more blueberries into his mouth while he smirks.
"And you're all about style, aren't you?" Steve smirks back. Freya can feel the mood in the room instantly shift. Aware that the air has become tense and hostile.
"Of the people in this room, which one is, A, wearing a spangly outfit, and B, not of use?" Tony retorts. Freya takes a step forward to stand in between Steve and her father. Hoping to prevent the situation from getting out of control.
"Dad... that's enough," she warns. Tony continues to stare Steve down, not even sparing her a glance. Bruce attempts to diffuse the tension.
"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you. I know you probably suspect something too, right?" he asks Freya. She stares at him momentarily before turning her attention back to the two men next to her.
"Just find the Cube," Steve grumbles before storming out of the lab. Freya closes her eyes and sighs. She pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration after he leaves. Tony watches his daughter and snorts in amusement.
"Please don't tell me you actually like that guy," he laughs. Her eyes snap open and she gives him a cold stare.
"Besides Bruce, he is the only other person on this ship right now that I like," she snaps. Clearly wounding her father as he takes a step back with a frown. "Although I don't approve of your methods, that doesn't mean I think you two are wrong. I think Steve is right as well, though."
"Well, then why don't you go chase after your boyfriend," Tony snaps back at her. Hoping to hide his hurt feelings.
"You're insufferable sometimes..." she mumbles as she narrows her eyes at him. Quickly turning on her heel, she walks out of the lab to go after Steve.
Once she gets in the hallway, she looks around for him. Seeing something resembling the American flag round the corner, she quickly follows, not wanting to lose him. She follows him down a few hallways before she sees him stop in front of a door that he obviously doesn't have access to. Peeking around the corner, she watches as he begins to attempt to open the door with brute force. She shakes her head and grins as she walks around the corner to approach him. Being distracted, he doesn't notice her walk up on him.
"So, I guess you're not such a Boy Scout after all. Are you, Spangles?" she hums out. Steve jumps and pulls his hands away from the door with a guilty look on his face. Freya just chuckles. "Cmon, scoot over. Let me help." He moves over and watches her as she approaches the door. Stepping forward, they both grip the door and easily pull it open. She looks up at him and smiles. "Yay, teamwork." He tries to suppress a smile as she walks through the door. Steve follows her in and steps up next to her when she stops and looks around. "Phil brought me in here to give me my new uniform before we went to Germany last night."
"You don't have access to this area?" he asks.
"Nope. Above my pay grade. I'm only Level 7. Plus, would I have helped you break in if I had access?" she smirks up at him. The corner of his mouth turns up and he rolls his eyes in response. "Oh, my God! Did Captain America just roll his eyes at me?!" she playfully gasps.
"You know, you really are like your father," he smirks.
"Well, I was raised by the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist himself. I was bound to have some of his personality rub off on me. Just be glad that out of those four things, I'm only one of them."
"Oh yeah?" he challenges playfully. "Which one?"
"Genius, obviously," she snorts.
"Not a billionaire?" he grins.
"Nope, it's my dad's money. Plus, I like to make my own way." She starts to walk forward, not seeing the look of adoration the soldier is giving her.
"You know, you remind me of Howard too."
She freezes and slowly turns around to face him.
"I do?"
"Mhmm," he nods. "Witty, funny, smart. He'd be really proud of you."
"Thank you," she says quietly.
Quickly blinking her eyes to keep them from producing tears, she turns around and continues forward. Steve frowns to himself, hoping he hasn't upset her. As he follows, she suddenly stops and sticks an arm out in front of him. He looks down at her in question before hearing voices from other agents somewhere in the room. She looks up at him and puts a finger to her lips before pointing to her head. Steve tilts his head to the side and narrows his eyes at her in total confusion. She just shakes her head.
"We can talk like this."
Steve jumps a foot and frantically looks around for the voice before his eyes settle back on Freya. His eyebrows raise as if to ask if that was her and she nods.
"I think of I focus, I can communicate with you this way. I was able to do it with Loki on our way back. Just try to direct your thoughts toward me. See if it works."
He silently nods in response.
"Can you hear me? Did it work?"
A huge smile forms on Freya's face and she nods. An equally large smile takes place on the soldier's face as well. She turns away from him and begins to walk forward. Looking around to see if she notices anything odd or out of place. Steve follows as he snoops around as well.
"Hey, up there. It looks like there's some crates I've never seen before."
Steve turns to her and follows her eyes. He spots the crates she's referring to on the next level. Before he can reply, she jumps up to the walkway above, easily clearing the railing. She turns around, looks down at him over the railing and winks.
"Cmon, Spangles. Keep up."
Suppressing a smile, he shakes his head and leaps up after her. He grabs on to the railing and lifts himself over in one nimble move. Making eye contact with him, she smirks.
"You're pretty light on your feet for an older guy."
Steve rolls his eyes for the second time since they walked into the room.
"Yeah, I'm full of surprises."
Freya lets out a quiet chuckle and turns away from him to make her way over to the crates she had pointed out. Steve is hot on her heels. Both kneel down and unlatch them. As they slowly open the lids, Freya lets out a gasp. She looks over at him with wide eyes. Steve's neutral face becomes one of anger. He looks over at Freya, who's expression had turned into one that mirrors his own.
"HYDRA weapons."
"This is why Fury wants the Cube back so bad. S.H.I.E.L.D. is using it to create weapons."
Steve lets out a frustrated sigh.
"We need to speak with Fury. NOW."
Freya hums in agreement as she watches Steve grab one of the guns and storm out of the storage room. She quickly follows him and falls in step beside him.
"Let's head to the lab first, my dad and Bruce need to see this."
Steve looks down at her and nods. She sighs, knowing things are probably about to get ugly.
