Chapter Thirty
It amazed Ada at how meditation worked wonders on her frayed nerves. She had spent the last few minutes sitting in the room, hoping she would at least talk with Nadia again. When nothing came up, she had finally given up and decided to focus on maintain control on her emotions. If she did that, at least she wouldn't lose control of her powers.
Once she was finished meditating, she decided to use the free time she had to explore the Hellicarrier to see what Tony was planning. She knew how much he longed to work with Banner. Knowing that, and how childish Tony could be at times, she had a feeling Banner needed some serious relaxation himself.
The bridge itself was buzzing with activity when she reached it. Ada spotted Thor talking with Coulson, who had been keeping tabs on Jane and Darcy since Erik was taken by Loki. Loki had been smart enough to take someone who had built the portal in the first place. Though, Ada suspected Loki had taken Selvig because it was also personal for Thor.
"As soon as Loki took the doctor we moved Jane Foster. We've got an excellent observatory in Traunsee. She was asked to consult there very suddenly yesterday. Handsome fee, private plane, very remote. She'll be safe," Coulson explained when she got closer.
"Thank you. It's no accident Loki taking Erik Selvig. I dread what he plans for him once he's done. Erik is a good man," Thor replied, looking more than relieved to hear that news.
Ada knew how much Jane meant to Thor. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like, for them to be separated for as long as they were. The one bright side of not having any boyfriend meant she didn't have to worry about something like that.
Though, she noticed with a start how wary Thor looked when he glanced around the bridge. She knew the fight against Loki had taken its toll on him. Once again, she couldn't bring herself to imagine what it would have felt like to fight a sibling. From what she had gathered, Loki was Thor's adopted brother. She suspected that Loki was the one who never really got over the fact that he was adopted, and that had fueled his jealousy when he saw how much attention Thor was getting.
"He talks about you a lot. You changed his life. You changed everything around here," Coulson told him.
"They were better as they were," Thor admitted as he glanced back at Coulson, "We pretend on Asgard that we're more advanced, but we… we come here battling like Bilchsteim."
Both Coulson and Ada rose eyebrows at that. Bilchsteim sounded like something out of a science fiction novel. Then again, Ada had seen stranger things, out there. She had a feeling where Thor came from, he was used to seeing such creatures.
"I hate to ask, but, what exactly are Bilchsteim?" she asked curiously.
"Bilchsteim. You know; huge, scaly, big antlers. You don't have those?" Thor asked, glancing at them in surprise.
By now, Ada was trying to picture what a Bilchsteim might have looked like. She could only think of weird looking creatures that resembled a combination of a deer and possibly a dinosaur. Though, she doubted that was what Thor had been referring to.
"Don't think so," Coulson shook his head.
"If we did, something tells me they'd be part of some attraction," Ada put in with a shrug.
"They are repulsive, and they trample everything in their path," Thor explained after furrowing his brows in confusion.
Ada couldn't hide the small smile that followed as she imagined a dinosaur with big antlers trying to trample everything in its path. Something like that could have existed. She wasn't even sure what category it would fit in, as far as species were concerned.
"When I first came to Earth, Loki's rage followed me here, and your people paid the price," Thor started in a pained voice. A shudder ran through Ada as she recalled how the fight in New Mexico had ended. They were lucky it hadn't gotten any worse than Loki sending the Destroyer weapon to the small town, "And now, again. In my youth, I courted war."
"War hasn't started yet. You think you can make Loki tell us what the Tesseract is?"
Ada glanced at Fury in surprise when he reached them. She was always unnerved with the way he managed to sneak up on everyone, without making so much as a peep until necessary. He'd done so multiple times during her training regimes with Clint, and then again when she sparred with Natasha. She suspected Fury got a kick out of sneaking up on people, especially when he saw their reactions.
She decided to leave before Fury tried dragging her into the conversation. If anything, Loki wasn't going to talk, even if Thor managed to rough him up a bit. The only way they could find the Tesseract was if Tony and Banner managed to track it down.
Once she left the bridge, she went on with exploring the Hellicarrier. She had been part of the construction phase when the Hellicarrier was still in the early stages. The problem was, the ship was still large enough that getting lost was an easy thing to do.
Luckily, it didn't take her long to finally reach the room where Tony and Banner had been working. Ada stopped mid-stride, trying to take everything in when she realized the lab really was state of the art. She knew Natasha hadn't been exaggerating when she said Banner would love it. She crossed her arms when she noticed Tony was busy stuffing his face with a bag full of blueberries.
"Busy goofing off, I see," she started, smirking when Tony nearly fell over from where he was standing.
She had to admit, Natasha was right about the lab being like candy-land for people like Banner and Tony. A table was placed in the back of the large panel windows. Placed on top of the table was the scepter that Loki had been using. To the right of the table were the monitors that Banner was currently stationed at, while Tony himself was trying to make himself look busy watching the monitors that scanned Loki's scepter. What really caught her attention were the floating monitors on the far side of the room.
"We can't keep this up until we figure out what Fury really wants with us," Tony deadpanned after he stopped his pacing and took another mouthful of blueberries.
"Exactly what do you mean, by that?" Ada asked as she crossed her arms.
"Come on, Ada. You and I both know that Fury wouldn't call me of all people in unless he was truly desperate," Tony pointed out.
Ada chewed the bottom of her lip when she realized he was being serious.
She did know the reason behind Fury asking them to meet together. He'd already made plans for the 'Avenger's Initiative' to start long before Loki's attack. Though, Loki's attack had been a convenient excuse to get them together.
Even that wasn't the real reason behind Fury's decision to bring them all in. SHIELD had been working on weapons that would prove useful in fights against people like Thor and Loki. While she didn't approve of their choice in designing such weapons, she did understand that it was necessary.
"You really should get back to work," she snapped.
Her sudden change in attitude caught Tony's attention. He knew that something was bothering her. Relief swept through her when he didn't press. Ada wasn't in the mood for explaining her behavior, especially when she saw how Tony was acting. His childlike behavior was something she had gotten used to. But, they were also under a threat level that needed to be taken seriously.
"If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops," he went on, ignoring the scowl that followed.
She nearly rolled her eyes when she realized Tony was planning on hacking into SHIELD's database. Considering who she was dealing with, Tony was more than capable of doing so. Though, something in the back of her mind told her that he would regret his actions later on. Tony was the type of person who often allowed his curiosity to get the better of him. Once he made a decision, he usually stayed with it until he saw it through, and that something had to do with Fury's decision in bringing him in.
"All I packed was my toothbrush," Banner chuckled with a shake of his head.
"You know, you should come by Stark Towers sometime. Top ten floors, all R and D. You'd love it, it's candy land."
Tony threw Ada a hopeful look, but she simply shook her head. She wasn't going to push Banner into doing anything he was uncomfortable with. If he wanted to go to New York on his own, that was his decision to make.
"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke… Harlem," he muttered, not bothering to hide the sheepish look that followed.
She hadn't missed the fact that he glanced in her direction. A shudder ran through her as she recalled that fight. The Abomination was the reason behind that attack, not the Hulk. But of course, he blamed himself for what had happened. Not that she was surprised with that notion. Banner was the kind of person who would blame himself for whatever the Hulk had done. He took those attacks personally, and it pained her to see him act that way when he had nothing to do with it.
"Well, I promise a stress free environment. No tension. No surprises."
Before either Ada or Banner could make a move, Tony suddenly grabbed a small shocking device and jabbed it in Banner's side. Her heart nearly skipped a beat when Banner yelped in surprise at the sudden contact.
She was ready to spit something in response when something stopped her. This was what Tony did best. She knew he was a child at heart, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Pulling pranks on someone was one of his favorite past-times when he wasn't busy working on his suits. Though pulling off a stunt like that was something she would have restrained him from doing. If the Hulk did unleash himself upon the Hellicarrier, there was no telling what sort of disaster would follow.
"Nothing?" Tony looked at Banner in surprise when he shook his head in amusement.
"Hey!" Ada bit back a groan at the sound of Steve's voice when he walked in, "Are you nuts?"
"Possibly," she muttered under her breath, earning a smirk from Tony.
"You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?"
Ada rolled her eyes when she realized what Tony was really trying to do. The fact that Banner had agreed to join them told her he had better control over the Hulk than he had when they first met. Even so, it still put her on edge when she saw someone like Tony trying to unleash the Hulk.
"Is everything a joke, to you?" Steve demanded.
"Funny things are," Tony shrugged it off.
"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offense, doctor," Steve glanced at Banner apologetically, while Ada just crossed her arms and looked back defiantly.
It was almost as if he expected them to act the same. Then again, she couldn't necessarily blame him for thinking she and Tony were exactly alike. The two of them did do a lot of things they shared in common, especially when technology was involved.
This is getting old, fast, she thought, knowing that Tony would just make things worse than they already were.
"No, it… it's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things," Banner assured him after looking up.
"You're tiptoeing, big man. You need to strut."
"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark," Steve muttered.
The look he threw Ada was enough of a reminder why she had been avoiding him in the first place. She only glared back after realizing he was expecting her to act the same way. She would have thought their conversation in the gym would have been enough for him to realize they weren't entirely alike.
She turned and left before anyone could get another word in. The last thing she wanted was to deal with their arguments. Tony had a tendency to make things worse before they got any better. She knew him well enough now to know that if he did unleash the Hulk, it would end in disaster for everyone. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment as she let her back lean against the wall.
It wasn't entirely Tony's fault for the situation they were in. Director Fury was pushing the group to their limits by forcing them together. She knew Tony wouldn't get along with Steve just because Howard Stark had praised his name. Worst still, she knew Natasha likely had her own agenda as far as the 'team' went. What bothered her more than anything, was that Loki was behind all of this. None of this would have happened had he stayed on Asgard. She knew it wasn't fair to blame Thor either, for pushing his brother to that breaking point.
The sound of footsteps echoing down the hall made her eyes snap open. They narrowed moments later when she spotted Steve approaching. Ada was half-tempted to turn and run, but something stopped her. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew she was being biased on Tony's opinion of Steve.
"You here to tell me I should focus on the problem, too?" she asked, her voice like chips of ice as Steve froze in his stride and looked at her.
"Look, I'm sorry for what I said, back there," he sighed, looking more frustrated than anything else, "Something about Tony just puts me on edge, and you're…"
"Just like him?" she finished for him.
Steve clamped his mouth shut, and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly when he realized what she was implying. She let out a sigh of frustration and looked away, suddenly aware of the building tension again.
"You're not like him," he finally admitted, looking mildly concerned with the fact that he had said it at all.
"Glad to hear it," she muttered under her breath, not bothering to hide the bitterness in her voice.
At least someone was willing to admit that, out loud. They left it at that, with Steve wandering down another hallway. Once she was left alone, Ada decided to return to the labs where Tony was likely causing trouble with Banner.
"You and Rogers seem to be getting along, fine." Ada rose an eyebrow at the accusation in Tony's voice when she reached the lab. She hadn't missed the fact that Banner himself was watching them curiously, "A little too fine, if you ask me."
"Are you seriously suggesting that we're seeing each other?" she retorted.
After the whole Emmett incident, she wasn't in any hurry to go back into the dating service. At least, not until she met someone who wasn't hiding behind a mask. Besides, she had bigger things to worry about at the moment than dating someone.
"Something's obviously ruffled his feathers," Tony rolled his eyes.
By now, Ada was struggling not to glare when she realized he didn't even seem to understand why Steve was so frustrated. As much as she hated to admit it, she understood what Steve meant about not liking Tony. He wasn't the easiest person to get along with, and, this only proved that.
"Look, even if I was interested in him, which I'm not, there isn't any chance of that happening," she sighed, refusing to make eye contact as she caught the look Banner gave her.
Especially given how much he compares me to you, she added the last part silently, desperately wishing she could say it out loud. Something told her that wasn't as a good idea. There was already enough tension as it was between them; the last thing she wanted was to add to it.
Relief swept through her when he dropped the subject. Though, it was short-lived when Fury chose that moment to join them. She knew from the look written across his face that something serious had happened. Then again, with SHIELD involved, everything was serious.
"What are you doing, Mr. Stark?" he demanded after noticing that neither Tony nor Banner were focused on the monitors.
"Uh… kind of been wondering the same thing about you," Tony retorted.
"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract," Fury reminded them, before turning to Ada, "And, you're supposed to be taking it easy."
"Hate to break it to you, boss, but this is me taking it easy," she brushed him off with a shrug.
She'd dealt with Fury's wrath before, and was no stranger to whatever punishments would follow. At this point, she was frustrated that he kept telling her she needed to take it easy. If the Council was so concerned about her well-being, they shouldn't have gotten her involved with the Avenger's Initiative, in the first place.
"We are, the model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now," Banner informed him, raising an eyebrow when he noticed how tense Ada was as she stood beside Fury. Even though he knew she worked for SHIELD, he could tell that the stress was beginning to get to her, "When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."
"And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss," Tony reassured him with a smug look before turning to the monitors. Ada glanced at Tony warily, not missing the fact that his program had likely broken through the firewall SHIELD set up, "What is Phase 2?"
"Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons," Steve suddenly snapped as he joined them, slamming a weapon Ada was all-too-familiar with on the table. "Sorry, the computer was a little slow for me. And, you've been lying to me."
"How the hell is this my fault?" Ada snapped when he looked at her accusingly.
Though, she'd known about the weapons long before any of this had happened. She couldn't shake off the guilt that followed, knowing full-well that SHIELD shouldn't have designed those weapons in the first place.
"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're—"
"I'm sorry, Nick," Tony cut him off while zooming in on the images he'd found from SHIELD's files, "You were saying?"
"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit," Steve put in with a look that said it all.
"Did either of you know about this?" Banner asked when Natasha chose that moment to step into the room.
"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" Natasha asked, ignoring his question.
"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed," Banner snapped with a shake of his head.
"Loki's been manipulating you."
It didn't take Ada long to realize what Natasha meant by that. She glanced in Banner's direction, not missing the glare that followed. Things were already going Loki's way. This argument was pointless, and it was only making things worse.
"And you've been doing what, exactly?" Banner retorted, nearly rolling his eyes, "At least one of you SHIELD agents treated me with respect, instead of expecting the worst outcome."
Ada only ducked her head sheepishly when he said that. She knew what it was like to be seen as someone different. She could relate to Banner's problem, in a way, and, she wondered if that was part of the reason they had sort of gotten along.
"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you," Natasha reminded him, remaining stoic as ever as she crossed her arms.
"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy." Ada glanced at Fury when she caught the warning look he was giving Banner. She knew that he deserved a chance. After everything he had been through, a second chance was the least SHIELD could do for him. He turned to the screen where Tony was standing by, showing an image of a Phase 2 weapon, and pointed to it, "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."
"Because of him." Following Fury's pointing finger, she noticed with a start that Thor had arrived, as well.
As if the situation couldn't get anymore awkward, she thought. After seeing what Thor was capable of in New Mexico, it was hardly surprising that Fury had enlisted him to be part of the new team. What worried her though was that he wouldn't stick around once the Tesseract was found and returned to Asgard. He had his own agenda to worry about, especially if he was Odin's son and the prince of Asgard.
"Me?" Thor repeated, frowning in confusion when he realized who Fury was accusing.
"Three years ago, earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge mass that leveled a small town; innocent people were caught in the crossfire, and almost killed as a result," Ada finally spoke up, earning looks from everyone.
"We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, out gunned," Fury finished for her.
"My people want nothing but peace with your planet," Thor pointed out.
Ada frowned when she understood the point Thor was making. Yet, she couldn't help but think of all the other threats that were out there, like Fury had said. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that more than a few people considered her a threat because of her powers. The only reason Fury had been able to convince them otherwise was because of her work with SHIELD, and that Tony was her adopted father.
"But you're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled," Fury snapped.
"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve demanded.
"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is the signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war," Thor explained.
A shiver of unease swept through Ada. She knew that his warning was always a possibility. Her own people had fled to Earth for whatever reason, only to fall at the hands of humans. She understood where Fury was getting at though, with the threat of war upon them. The Avenger's Initiative had been designed for such threats, and she wished that the others would see it that way.
"You forced our hand. We had to come up with something."
"A nuclear deterrent, cause that always calms everything right down," Tony snapped, glaring at Fury.
By now, her head was beginning to spin as the argument spiraled out of control. Between the tension and the argument, Ada wasn't sure what was worse. All she wanted now was a moment of peace and quiet, so that she could think clearly. The problem was, everyone wanted things to go their way. They were hardly what she would call a team at that moment. Everyone was divided, and she had a feeling that this was what Loki wanted.
"I thought humans were more evolved than this."
"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?"
Will they ever shut up? she wondered, suddenly wishing a hole would open up and swallow her. The truth of it was, she had no idea how Fury expected them to work together when they could barely stand being around each other.
'These humans are only wasting their time with these conflicts,' Nadia's voice suddenly replied. Ada's heart nearly skipped a beat at the sound of her voice, 'Perhaps they are in need of a wake-up call.'
She almost laughed at that comment. They were in serious need of a wake-up call. Though, something told her that a glowing necklace and hearing voices in her head wasn't the answer. She was only just beginning to understand the extent of her people's abilities, and that left her wondering how far Nadia's telepathic link could travel. If she could hear Nadia's voice, it made her wonder if other people would eventually begin hearing it, as well.
"Sorry," she finally muttered out loud when she noticed everyone was staring.
She knew it would take some getting used to, dealing with the glowing necklace. The good news was, everyone had stopped arguing. Even if it was for a brief moment, that was better than nothing. The headache from earlier had turned into a dull throbbing, though, Ada knew the peace wouldn't last for long; especially when she caught the look Steve was giving her.
"With all due respect, sir, I think she's the one we should be more concerned about," Steve suddenly had the audacity to point out.
Ada narrowed her eyes the minute he said that. Not for the first time, she wondered what other people saw in him. Considering how many times Tony used to mutter and complain about his own father praising Captain America, she could hardly blame him for being so annoyed with Steve's presence.
"You really are an asshole if you think that's the reason I should be locked up," she muttered under her breath, refusing to look at him after that.
"You touch her, and I'll—"
"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds," Steve cut Tony's threat off with a glare.
"You people are so petty, and tiny," Thor's loud chuckle was enough to make Ada flinch.
She suddenly squeezed her eyes shut. She knew that if it wasn't for making sure that she had some control over her powers, this room would have been torn apart within seconds. As Tony and Steve went at each other's throats, Ada finally had enough and stepped between them. Flames appeared at the tips of her fingers as she glared at them both, ignoring the incredulous look Tony gave her.
"That's enough!" she shouted over their arguing, "For God's sake, you're acting like goddamn children! Start acting like adults, and maybe people will start treating you with some respect!"
For a moment, neither Tony nor Steve were sure what to say to that. Steve just blinked a few times when he realized with a start that she was right. Even Tony grudgingly admitted that she had a valid point. Though, neither of them were prepared for the moment when Banner reached for the scepter.
"Doctor Banner, put down the scepter," Steve ordered, his voice finally softer.
Banner just looked between the scepter he was holding, and the others, as if he couldn't quite believe he'd picked it up in the first place. Ada swallowed hard, suddenly aware that Banner could devastate them all if he wanted to. The Hulk may not have tried hurting her when they were in South America, but, there was no telling what he would do while in an enclosed space like the Hellicarrier.
Before he could say anything, a loud beeping noise drew their attention. Relief swept through Ada when Banner finally put down the scepter. That beeping meant the Tesseract was nearby. Yet, something wasn't right. Ada narrowed her eyes when she noticed that the energy levels were off the charts.
"Sorry, kids," Banner apologized in a mocking tone, "You don't get to see my party trick, after all."
"You located the Tesseract?" Thor asked hopefully.
"I can get there faster," Tony announced as he made a run for the exit.
"Look, all of us—"
"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard," Thor cut Steve off before he could try and get everyone to work together. "No human is a match for it."
"You're not going alone!" Steve snapped after reaching Tony.
"You gonna stop me?" Tony asked in a taunting voice.
Ada let out a sigh of frustration when she realized where that conversation was headed, again, "You're all acting like a bunch of idiotic children," she muttered under her breath.
"Put on the suit, let's find out," Steve retorted, ignoring her comment while Tony shot her a scathing look.
"I'm not afraid to hit an old man," Tony snorted mockingly.
"Put on the suit."
It wasn't until hearing the monitors go off again, that Ada looked at them worriedly. Her heart sank even further when she noticed just how dangerously high the energy readings were. Even if they were able to find the Tesseract, at this point, there wasn't any way of containing that level of energy.
"Oh, my God," Banner exclaimed after he too noticed how high the readings were.
Before anyone could react, an explosion shook the entire ship. The windows surrounding them shattered, sending shards of glass across the room as Ada was sent flying into the room down below, while Banner and Natasha were thrown into another room. Pain burned within her arms and legs as pieces of shrapnel cut across, leaving nasty gashes in the process.
Ada's heart raced with dread when she realized too late what was happening. The Hellicarrier was under attack, and they were left completely unprepared for it. About the only thing she could hope for was that the rest of the team would get their act together, before it was too late.