I meandered around the corridors, my rubber-heeled boots not making a sound. I assessed the damage of the ship as I did, taking in the rooms plagued with smoke, bullet holes or demolished walls caused by the Hulk himself. The damage was extensive but from what I could tell we were still in the air.
I was curious about what happened to the hulk. Was he calmed down now twith Dr.Banner in full control or did the agents somehow figure out how to sedate the big guy? I didn't get to ponder the question further as I met Stark walking towards me. Apart from a few scrapes across his face and a drained expression more than likely due to the fact he had heard about Phil's death, he appeared unscathed.
He noticed me and called me over. I dragged myself towards him, not in the mood to be insulted by the billionaire again. If I thought it not immature, I would've ran the opposite direction. In the short time I knew him he had only mocked me for my age and questioned my honesty, associating me with Loki and his schemes.
"Hey Skipper, how you holding up?" He questioned sincerely.
I looked up to him suspiciously. He almost sounded like he actually cared. If this was some sort of game to gain my trust and then turn on me, I wasn't bitting. He didn't really care.
"Fine." I stated monochromatically as I tugged my hands into my pocket and attempted to barge past the billionaire. I felt a hand grasp my arm and gently turn me around before I could escape.
I looked down to see Stark holding onto my arm, firmly but not painfully so. He let go once I turned to face him.
"Look kid, I know we got off on the wrong foot. I-
"You can say that again" I mumbled under my breath rolling my eyes.
He began again "Yes, I know I was a bit-
"Immature? Rude? Self-centred?" I added smirking.
"I was going to say a bit much, but sure maybe I was inconsiderate. I'm trying to apologise kid, take it while you can because I'm not normally this. . .mellow." He declared shuffling his feet. He took in a deep breath and continued, "What I'm trying to say is that it wasn't fair for me to be so, well, pushy. Your only a kid and it's not your fault that bad things happened to you, and you ended up so far away from home. I'm sorry that it happened to you." He confessed.
Well that took me by surprise. Stark didn't seem like the apologetic kind of guy. I stood shocked for a second lost for words.
"Umm. . .thank you." I laughed "I didn't think you had it in you" I grinned still unsure if this was some sort of game.
"Yeah, don't mention it, like ever. If Pots found out I wouldn't hear the end of it" he scoffed shaking his head.
"Pots?" I questioned tilting my head.
"A scary lady not to mess with" he joked. "you two would probably hit it off, knowing my luck."
I chuckled alongside Stark as the mood of our conversation lightened. His eyes glistened when he mentioned this Pots so I could only assume that he has strong feelings for this human. Perhaps love?
The mood shifted as he turned his attention back to me. "I saw the footage, the one with you, Loki and Phil." He motioned.
My smile faded into a frown and I felt my heart skip a beat.
"A kid no matter where there from shouldn't have seen what you did or be in that much danger. Your so young and your right in the middle of danger here on this ship." He waved his hands around us. "You shouldn't be here, you should be living your life like a normal kid. Go to school and worry about homework. Not this, not an alien trying to take over the world. I really don't know what Fury was thinking keeping you here." He shook his head.
"I appreciate the concern, really I do. But I can protect myself and to be honest my normal isn't the same as the normal kids here on Earth are used to."
Stark leaned his shoulder on the wall. "Yeah, I forgot that your not from around these parts." He froze for a second pondering something before he looked at me and smiled. "Do you know what this means!" He chirped.
"Ahh no?" I raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
A grin grew on his face. "There are so many movies you need to catch up on." He added. "I'll give you some recommendations when this is all over."
"Be sure to" I demanded lightly.
"Sure thing kid, hey have you seen Cap yet?" He inquired.
"Steve Rodgers? No. Why? Was he looking for me?" I wondered.
"Yeah, said something about you running off somewhere and he wanted to make sure you were okay." Stark claimed.
"Oh" I muttered. So that's who took me away from Phil. I had been so caught up in my own head that I hadn't paid attention to my surroundings. I felt slightly guilty for ditching Rodgers so aggressively. "I'll go look for him then" I assured him. "Thanks Anthony"
"Oh yeesh, no. It's Tony." He cringed gritting his teeth.
Smiling I nodded, "see you later Tony" and I left in search of Rodgers. Maybe Tony wasn't as bad as I thought.
I arrived in the main control room and found Fury standing talking to Agent Hills. They nodded in acknowledgment but otherwise ignored my presence. I peeped around the room looking for Rodgers but I didn't see him. Just before I left I noticed something sprawled across the table near the entrance. Looking around to see if anyone was watching me I quietly strode over to it.
On closer inspection I noticed that they were cards, six to be exact. Shuffling through them they felt old and crinkled beneath my fingertips, as if someone had spent a significant amount of time pulling them in and out of their pocket. They had pictures of Captain America on all of the cards but that wasn't what caught my attention. No, it was the bright coloured splatter of red on each card that made me cringe. I felt bile rise in my throat once I realised what was on them. Blood.
There was no doubt that these collective cards were Phil's. Quickly scanning the room to see if anyone was watching I pocketed the cards. I wanted them as a reminder of Phil plus I didn't think he would miss them. If his ghost was watching me well then he was bound to be used to my thieving tendencies. I exited the room swiftly afterwards.
I ended up locating Rodgers crammed in a room with Nat, Tony and someone else I hadn't met yet. Once I walked in everyone in the room stopped talking and I had a feeling I had interrupted something.
"Hey guys" I waved awkwardly.
Everyone I knew around the room exchanged greetings as I stood quietly in the background. By the sounds of it Tony had figured out where Loki was going to open up the portal and he didn't at all seem pleased that it was going to be his tower. They had already decided on a plan, hijacking a quinjet and stop Loki.
"I'm coming too" I spoke causing everyone to look in my direction.
"I'm sorry but are we going to address the elephant in the room? Who is this child?" The man I hadn't met questioned.
I looked at him closely and i realised who he was, Agent Clint Barton aka Hawkeye. I recognised him from his profile.
"This is Kyon, Clint. She's an alien. You missed a lot while you were out." Nat announced eyeing Clint's confused reaction.
"Yes and I think we can all agree here that you are not leaving this ship." Rodgers added looking around to everyone else who seemed to simultaneously nod.
"But I can help! I can fight, ask Nat. She saw me training with Agent Smith" I pleaded "I want to help bring Loki in"
"Sure you can hold your ground Kyon but going out there" Nat pointed out at a nearby window "and killing someone, which is what it might come to, is a whole other story. Your a child and this is war" she exclaimed.
"I saw you after Coulson. You weren't right, you weren't thinking proper. I'm sorry but emotionally kid you weren't in the right frame of mind-rightly so after seeing someone die. Your not coming, and that's final." Rodgers stressed standing up.
"Wait! I get it I'm young but can't I just-
"Kid, Caps right on this one. There's no way we're letting you come. Loki's not messing around, he's fighting for war." Stark contributed.
I needed to go with them, I had a score to settle. How was I going to convince someone to let me come? I could tell I was fighting a losing battle. "But what will I do here?" I challenged.
"Go do something kids do, I don't know. Kick your feet up and watch Barney or something." Stark said as he left the room ruffling my hair.
Everyone followed him out as they began to suit up, grabbing weapons and armour.
I couldn't believe that they would leave me behind, I would be a valuable asset to the team. At home the prime Elite was normally always on the front line of a battle. Yes I wasn't the prime Elite when I was at home but now I was, as the other Elites we're dead. I had to be out there helping, I had trained my whole life for it. It felt as if it was my responsibility.
I watched the team leave, Rodgers, Nat and Hawkeye in the quinjet and Tony in his iron suit. I grunted and decided I would find my own lift. Flying a quinjet myself was a no go, I had never been in one and would more than likely-with my luck, press the self destruct button instead of takeoff.
An idea brewed as I thought about how to get to New York. I strode through the corridors of the helicarrier with a purpose this time. I knew my destination and just the person to help me get to New York, I just hopped he was still were I last saw him. I used my ID to open the doors of the gym and just like I had hopped, Agent Smith stood over 6 feet tall in all his glory. Quickly I darted to him from across the room. He turned to me slightly shocked.
"Agent Smith, I need your help"
"Dis' is not a good idea! Why did I let you convince me otherwise?" Agent Smith yelled over the thrusters of the Quinjet.
I covered my ears with the headset Smith had handed me and strapped myself into the seat beside him. "I appealed to your better nature." I responded smugly while watching him flip switches that would allow us to take off.
"Da. Ya better not die n' me, girl." He mumbled and I felt us jerk upwards and become airborne. I watched from the cockpit as the runway beneath us became smaller before a sudden thrust of energy sent us accelerating forwards. I sucked in a breath as my head was forced backwards into the seat.
According to Smith no one would see us, he mentioned something about us being camouflaged and invisible so civilians wouldn't panic. I thought that was smart play but I wasn't sure how effective it would be if Loki's army managed to get through the portal. I guess we would have to wait and see.
Smith also showed me how to work the weapons on the quinjet as we flew to New York. I caught on quickly and was excited to put my ten minute training to good use.
"We're 'ere" Smith said as we flew closer to what I would assume was New York. I stared star struck at the sight of the towering skyscrapers, buildings of metal and concrete so tall that I had to lean forward in my seat to see the top. My sight-seeing was cut short as I noticed a bright blue beam shooting straight up into the sky where it met a black hole.
"Unless it's normal on earth for there to be a hole in the sky, I think Loki got what he wanted." I voiced pointing to said hole in the sky which was now allowing large worm-like creatures in heavy armour to pass through. I gulped subconsciously at their hideous appearance and their obvious violent intentions.
Agent Smith craned his neck upwards to see where I pointed then swore under his breath. "Dis wil' be a blood bath" he muttered. "Okay. Da' plan?. . .Yes! We keep da' cloaking on and while I fly you shoot. Da' air is where we wil' do most damage. Okay?" He questioned looking at me quickly before returning his attention in front of him.
"Yes boss" I saluted. I made myself comfortable and readied my hands over the controls.
I looked up suddenly when a loud crash sounded. The fighting had begun. One of the armoured worm-like creatures had crashed through a large building and hundreds of Chitauri warriors had dispatched from its side. They spread out like ants in search of food, only the food the Chitauri was searching for were humans and their intention was dangerous.
"Not yet" Smith warned as I inched for the controls.
We were so close that I feared that we would crash into the dreadful creature but with Agent Smith's precise piloting we twisted sharply to the left narrowly avoiding a fin. I held on tightly to the seatbelt as we twisted and turned beneath the creature.
"Now?" I questioned my stomach feeling uneasy with the rolling motion of the quinjet.
"Wait" he ordered, his eyes glued in front of him.
I noticed from being under the creature that it had thinner armour near its belly and just as we reached its soft spot Agent Smith yelled "Now!"
Swiftly I aimed a missal at the soft area and fired. An explosion of orange and yellow erupted accompanied with a shriek from the creature which had now banked to the left. We flew out from beneath it to face it head first. It's face was hideous up close, large metallic looking fangs sprang from its mouth and I imagined that if I wasn't in the quinjet that it's breath would smell that of pungent death and rotten flesh. It's beady eyes flared angrily as it searched futilely for the source of the explosion beneath it. It had seemed that our 'cloaking mechanism' was proving to be useful. I fired another three missals into its mouth hoping to burn the creature from the inside out.
Both Smith and I burst into cheers as we watched the beast tumble to the ground, smoke flaring out of its mouth and nostrils.
"That was Wæick!" I shouted.
"Dat's just da' start. We still have lots ta' do" Smith added slightly out of breath.
He jerked the controls and sent us straight into the mist of the fight. Chitauri warriors now had flying vehicles and were shooting anything that moved with energy guns. With the aid of Agents Smith's expert flying skills I was able to shoot down all the Chitauri we came across but I felt that each time we took one down the next one became harder to catch. It was almost as if they were learning, that word had got out, that there was an invisible weapon flying around taking them down.
Just when I was about to take down another flying Chitauri warrior I was distracted by a red and gold object that flew right in front of us, tailed by another armoured worm.
"Did you see that?" I questioned Smith. "Was that-
"Iron man? Yes, I do believe so" he mused.
"They can't see us either, can they?" I speculated, aiming at a Chitauri attacking civilians on the ground.
Smith twisted the quinjet upwards, climbing a building towards a group of Chitauri breaking in through the windows. "Nein, no. I'd say not." He replied.
Shooting the group down I pointed to another few on the building next to us. "More, four o'clock."
"Got it" he replied flipping us in the direction I pointed.
"Hey, random question. If you call a group of birds a flock and a group of dolphins a pod, what do you call a group of Chitauri?"
"Really? Right now Kyon?" He snorted.
"What? I'm curious. I watch those nature programs and honestly it doesn't make sense. A baby cow is a calf and a baby whale is also called a calf, despite the obvious 200 ton difference in size. They don't even live in the same ecosystem! It's crazy."
"Der's a time an' a place for everthing, and now is nor da' time nor place." He advised sharply.
Shrugging my shoulders I mumbled under my breath "Earth is weird"
The quinjet suddenly jerked to the side and I felt the rippling tremble as the left wing smashed through a building. I gripped tightly at the sides of my seat as I was rocked violently back and forth.
"Hol' on! We're going down!" Smith warned as the quinjet started twirling towards the ground at a frightening speed. I closed my eyes just before impact, just before everything went dark.