Chapter Thirty One
Her head was still spinning from everything that had happened. The panicked shouts of agents around her echoed across the metal walls. It didn't take long for Ada to register what had happened. Her grip on the glass-covered floor only intensified as she struggled to stand up. The pain from earlier was enough for her to double over, and she bit back a groan as she looked down at the fresh injuries that now marked her arms and legs.
She would have thought by now that working in the kind of environment SHIELD provided would get her used to the injuries that followed. Nothing could have prepared her for them, or the chaos that followed. The Hellicarrier was a mess after those explosions, and she realized with a start that it would only get worse with Loki on board.
This was exactly what the bastard wanted in the first place. He knew how divided the team was. Getting them to argue like a bunch of children had been the first step in keeping everyone distracted. Now he had an open window of opportunity to launch an attack.
"Ada, are you alright?" Tony's voice sounded through her earpiece, shaking her from her thoughts.
Ada let out a shaky breath before limping towards a nearby chair. She used it as support to help her stand up, wincing at the pain burning through her. She knew it was only temporary. At least, she hoped it was. If her suspicions were true, the injuries should have started healing themselves seconds ago.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied through gritted teeth.
She knew Tony would likely see through her lie. Or in this case, hear through it. She hated being left on the sidelines, and he knew it. Despite the pain, she was determined to help out in whatever way she could. Stubbornness and pride often got the better of her. That was the number one complaint Tony would always have on her. She understood why he was so annoyed with the way she pushed aside any attempts at putting her on the sidelines.
Eventually, Ada managed to ignore the throbbing pain, and limped on to figure out where everyone had scattered. She knew from the roar that had sounded minutes ago, that the Hulk was unleashed on the Hellicarrier. She remembered seeing Natasha being thrown into the same room as Banner, which left her worrying that the Hulk had accidentally hurt Natasha. The problem was, that was about as much as she knew about the most recent attack.
Agents were running to and from their stations. With the Hellicarrier on lock down and high alert, everyone needed to be prepared for anything. Ada had no doubt that if this was due to Loki being held as prisoner, it wouldn't be long before the Hellicarrier was boarded by enemies on the lookout for the scepter, and cause whatever chaos they could.
"Ada, don't go after us," Tony started in an accusing tone, as if he knew that she'd been hit, "We'll be fine."
"The hell you will," she snapped, "This attack just proves what I was saying earlier."
She ignored whatever he was about to say, switching her earpiece off. After hearing the wind in the background when he spoke, she already had an idea as to where he was. With that thought in mind, she headed for the direction of where she guessed he would be located. There were plenty of options of where Tony would have been, but if he was in the suit, and if the rotors had been taken down, he would need to be the one to repair them.
Ada narrowed her eyes when she spotted men who were dressed in uniforms that didn't belong with SHIELD making their way down the same direction. She hadn't missed the fact that they were heavily armed, carrying guns and what looked like hand grenades.
She knocked the first couple of men down with ease, then she started throwing a couple of fireballs at others. It took everything she had to ignore the pain from the shrapnel. Another intruder suddenly began firing their gun at her, and she flipped back to avoid getting hit by one of the bullets.
Her teeth ground together when she felt another burst of pain from that movement. Ada knew she was pushing herself to her limit. Tony was going to kill her, if the injuries didn't, when he found out what she was putting herself through. She had to though, as she kicked another intruder in the nose with her shoes.
The intruder let out a cry of pain when he was thrown back against the wall from the impact of her kick. Once he was on the floor, Ada had to hide a smirk of satisfaction. Seeing them doubled over in pain was oddly satisfying. Considering they were the assholes responsible for this attack, they deserved whatever punishment followed.
She made her way down to a tear in the wall from where the explosion must have hit the Hellicarrier. The rotors were located there, and she knew that Tony would need to jump start them if he wanted the Hellicarrier back in the air. The ship was already losing altitude as it was; they couldn't afford to crash into a city unexpectedly. Not with so many lives at stake.
Ada rose an eyebrow in surprise when she noticed that Steve was there, as well. He was struggling to take on the intruder she was fighting, earlier. Before the intruder could react, she suddenly threw a fist into the back of his head, knocking him out within seconds. Steve's eyes widened in surprise when he noticed her, after the intruder slumped in his arms.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.
She simply rolled her eyes when she noticed he was still clinging onto the machine gun that had been firing for dear life. She held onto a nearby railing when the wind suddenly whipped past them, threatening to pull them both out.
"Saving your sorry ass, it would seem," she retorted, "You're welcome, by the way."
She flinched when Steve aimed the machine gun in her direction. Instead of firing it at her though, he fired it at another intruder behind them.
"Now, we're even," he said, voice strained as she pulled him back in.
"Stop chatting, and pull the lever," Tony snapped when her earpiece suddenly switched back on, "By the way, Ada, you're grounded."
She was ready to argue with him when she noticed the lever he'd mentioned. Ada looked up, eyes widening when she realized that he was trying to push the rotors back into motion. Glancing back, she noticed with a start that the panel was already opened.
There was a gap between them and the lever in question. One look down below told her that they were high up, and, one jump was all it would take for them to fall to their deaths. Swallowing hard, Ada leaped across without hesitation, wincing at the dull pain that now throbbed along her arms and legs. Tony was already being flung around as the rotors picked up speed. By the time she managed to pull down the lever, Tony finally landed on the floor next to Steve with a heavy thud.
"What the hell was that?" he choked out after letting his face plate slide open.
The Hellicarrier was starting to lean down towards the ocean. At least, Ada hoped that it was the ocean. She couldn't imagine a worse fate than hurting millions of innocent people, if the Hellicarrier fell out of the sky and crashed.
"One of the engines is down," she snapped, struggling to get a good grip on one of the rails when the Hellicarrier began lurching.
Steve suddenly grabbed her by the arm before she could slide down the opening. She glanced up, flinching once more when she noticed the concern written across his face. Even if they had been arguing for what felt like hours on end, he was still worried about her safety.
"Ada, you need a medic, now," Tony ordered after noticing her injuries for the first time. "Last thing I want is you bleeding out on me."
He eyed the fresh injuries along her arms and legs as if to prove a point. Ada only scoffed at that. She knew she was taking a risk by ignoring medical attention. All she cared about was making sure the Hellicarrier was stopped from crashing.
"Make sure you get the engines back up and running," she retorted. Tony merely rose an eyebrow at that, before giving her a hug. Despite the suit he was wearing, and her own injuries, she couldn't help but return the gesture, "Stay safe," she added in a whisper.
"You too, Ada," he whispered back, already aware that the medical bay was probably the last place she wanted to visit.
One look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. She gave a weak smile before standing up and making her way towards the brig. With all of the chaos from the attack, she knew Loki would use it as an opportunity to escape.
The way back to the brig felt as if took forever because of her injuries. She limped at an agonizingly slow pace, careful not to push herself any further than she already had. It wasn't until she was within a few feet of the brig that she noticed Thor, too, was on his way there.
"Lady Stark," Thor greeted her with a look of surprise and concern when he too noticed her injuries. "You should not be here, with those injuries."
"Are you suggesting that I'm incapable of fighting back?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes once more. Though she knew it wasn't fair to blame him for feeling concerned over her safety, it annoyed her that he and everyone else believed she was incapable of defending herself. "Loki's responsible for this attack, and he's going to use it as a chance to escape. You and I both know that."
Thor was ready to say something in his defense when he thought better of it. Instead, he led the way down to Loki's cell. Ada nearly skidded to a halt when she noticed the cell doors were open. Something told her that a prison cell like that wouldn't have been able to keep him locked up, in the first place. He had just been waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
Ada had already begun trailing after Thor, when she felt someone grab her by the wrist. She bit back a yelp, until recognizing Coulson as he crouched in a hiding place. One look written across his face was enough for her to clamp her mouth shut. She noticed with a start that he was holding one of the Phase 2 weapons that she and Jimmy had been working on, together.
The clone inside Loki's cell disappeared just as Thor ran through the doors, only to spin around and have them close on him. Loki smirked when Thor slammed his fists against the glass, only to feel the cell jolt from the impact. Ada winced as she remembered that cell had been designed for the Hulk. The hangar doors were already beginning to open, and, she could feel a rush of cold air seep through them.
"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" Loki sneered as he moved to the control panel and looked down at it. Coulson had slowly inched his way towards Loki, with Ada following close behind. She glanced at Thor warily, hoping he would understand that they had a plan. Or, Coulson had a plan. "The humans think us immortal. Shall we test that?"
His voice was dripping with amusement. Ada's fists clenched as she wondered where Loki was getting at, with that. She knew he had a grudge against Thor, for reasons she doubted she would understand. What bothered her more than anything, was that he was fine with hurting his own adopted brother without a second thought.
Coulson finally chose that moment to stand up, revealing the Destroyer weapon he had been holding. They'd been working on the development and design of that weapon for months. While it was still on the testing phase, something told her that Coulson was all-too-eager to use it on an Asgardian.
"Move away, please," he ordered, managing to maintain that sense of calm that Ada had always admired, "You like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent The Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does. Do you wanna find out?"
He'd begun firing the weapon as if to prove his point. But, even Ada could see what Loki was planning. The smug look written across his face was all it took for her to move faster than Coulson could react. She pushed him out of the way, but not before realizing that Loki had moved behind her. In the split second that she pushed Coulson out of the way, Loki used the distraction to stab her in the stomach with his scepter. It took a few seconds for the pain to register.
"No!" Thor slammed his fists against the glass once more, eyes widening with horror.
Loki grabbed her just as she was about to collapse from the intense pain, and the shock. The wounds along her arms and legs were only just beginning to heal when he'd stabbed her, making the pain that much worse.
"You are truly a pathetic mortal, if you believe others will accept you," he sneered. The contentment in his voice was enough to send a shudder through her. Of course, he would have thought he'd won the battle. Something in the back of her mind told her that would never happen; not with SHIELD standing in his way. "You will be the first to die, with my brother!"
She didn't have the strength to spit anything in response, and he used her silence as a chance to throw her into the same cell as Thor.
Thor caught her before she could slam into the wall behind him, his expression full of guilt and concern. Loki only smirked once more as he reached the control panel once more. The triumph written across his face was enough for the knot in Ada's stomach to tighten. One press of the button was all it took for the cell to drop from the Hellicarrier, and for things to go to hell.
…
Coulson watched the cell drop from the Hellicarrier with horror. Reality was only just beginning to sink in as he began to understand what just happened. The girl he had watched grow from an infant to who she was now, had sacrificed herself to save him. He'd watched enough people in his lifetime die. Some of them had been best friends and even family. But, nothing could have prepared him for the pain of that moment.
"You're going to lose," he snapped after regaining his senses.
He had already taken a seriously blow to the hips when Loki managed to wedge between himself and Ada. The dull throbbing hadn't stopped him from reaching for the weapon, though. He was prepared to sacrifice his own life to keep everyone else safe.
"Am I?" Loki asked.
His voice was dripping with amusement as he looked at the agent leaning against the wall.
"It's in your nature," he retorted.
Loki's eyes narrowed as he walked closer.
"Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky. Where is my disadvantage?" he demanded.
He had to admit, it was most amusing watching the mortals struggle in vein against him. The very mortal before him looked weaker than ever, and he was still willing to taunt him. He should have ended the miserable agent's life right then and there.
"You lack conviction."
"I don't think I—"
Coulson cut Loki off as he grabbed the weapon he was holding, earlier, and fired it. He watched on, tilting his head to one side as the force of the blast sent Loki flying. The demigod was thrown back into a few walls, disappearing seconds later.
"So, that's what it does," he sighed in relief when Loki disappeared.
…
Tony's fists clenched as he reeled from shock over the news of what had happened. He knew that Ada had always been stubborn. That was partly his fault for not always making sure she understood her limits. But, this was a whole new level of stubbornness. Pepper was going to freak when she found out what had happened. Worst still, was knowing that his baby girl could be dead, for all he knew.
"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never did get you to sign them."
Fury tossed a set of Captain America trading cards across the glass table. They were stained with blood, reminding what was left of the team what had happened.
Steve only looked down at the cards as shame crawled through him. All he had ever done was rebuke Ada for being dangerous. He'd judged her based on who her father was. And, her adopted father, to boot. The guilt that gnawed at his stomach was enough of a reminder that she had sacrificed herself for Coulson's life. But in the end, Coulson had died anyways.
"We're dead in the air up here, anyways," Fury went on with a shake of his head. "Our communications, location of the cube, Banner, Thor… Ada. I got nothing for you. Lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming."
Once again, Tony was left shivering with rage over the fact that Ada was likely gone. He hadn't been a good enough father. That alone left him wishing that he could have taken everything back, and to make things right. After everything that had happened, he wanted nothing more than to provide the life that she deserved. To prove what everyone thought of him as a father that they were wrong. Caring for Ada and watching her grow into the beautiful girl she was now only left his heart wrenching that much more.
"Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, Stark knows this, called The Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Ada Stark and Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes," Fury went on, glancing at Tony as he finally stood up and had enough. He left the room before Steve could interject, leaving them both there in awkward silence, "Well, it was an old fashioned idea," Fury muttered.
Tony didn't stop until he reached a room where he could try and clear his mind. He swallowed hard, hands gripping the metal railing as he tried pushing the thoughts raging in his head. She was gone. There was nothing he could do to change the clock and save her. Every thought in his mind was screaming at him to go after Loki, to kick the demigod's sorry ass and make him pay for his crime.
"I'm sorry."
His teeth ground together at the sound of Steve's voice. Carefully, the Super Soldier walked in until he was standing beside Tony, who refused to make eye contact. After seeing how much the man cared about her, it was clear that a direct approach wasn't the best option. Tony was already pissed off with the way Steve had acted around her. Not only did he treat her as if she was an outsider, but he judged her based off of the fact that they shared last names.
"You have no goddamn right to say anything!" he snapped. "How could I not see this happening?"
Steve looked at Tony warily. He knew what it was like to lose the people he cared about. He'd lost everything after crashing that Hydra plane. But, nothing could have prepared him for that moment when he saw another man break down over losing someone they cared about.
"You're right. I don't have a right to say anything," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "The way I treated her was wrong, and I can't take any of it back."
Tony finally glared at him, letting his shoulders drop, slightly, "People always used to assume that Pepper was the one running the show. But, the truth is, I loved her. Hell, I still love her. She may have been a stubborn ass, but she was good… she had a soul."
That, Steve couldn't argue with. While he didn't know her very well, she had been a good person. It made him wish he had taken the time to get to know her better. The guilt from earlier suddenly came rushing back as he thought of the way he treated her. It hadn't been fair to accuse her of being dangerous when he wasn't any better. The words just came out in an angry rush when Tony kept pushing himself to his limits.
"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" Steve asked warily, knowing he was in no position to ask such a question.
"We are not soldiers! I'm not marching to Fury's fife," Tony snapped.
His shoulders began to tense up again at the thought. Ada had willingly given up her life because of Fury's influence. He wasn't letting the same thing happen to him, or to anyone else he cared about. He'd already lost too many people he cared about because of his recklessness. Allowing the same thing to happen to Pepper or to anyone else was out of the question.
"Neither am I," Steve pointed out, earning a look from Tony, "He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does, but right now we gotta put that behind us and get this done. Now, Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list—"
"He made it personal," Tony suddenly cut him off after his eyes widened with realization.
"That's not the point," Steve tried intervening.
"That is the point. That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?" Tony's brows furrowed, knowing that Loki had made it more than just personal after stabbing Ada and killing Coulson.
"To tear us apart."
"He had to conquer his greed, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right?" Tony went on as he began formulating a plan, "That's what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."
"Right," Steve nodded, for once, agreeing with him, "I caught that act in Stuttgart."
"Yeah. That's just previews, this is… this is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tail diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered!" Tony's eyes widened as realization finally dawned on him. Steve rose an eyebrow when he too understood what Tony was suggesting, "Son of a bitch!"