Behold, I still write. I just also happened to start grad school. And life. But this is a really long chapter so please don't kill me!
Rubble crashed down over their heads, spraying Steve with sharp stone. One piece found its way past the shield he crouched beneath, drawing a line of red across his now dirty face. He poked his head back up to take a look around. For the moment, at least, it was clear.
"Remind me again why we're here?" He asked Black Widow as he stood back up. Her amused snort sounded through the comms. "If you recall, Captain Fossil, this was your idea."
He rolled his eyes and kept moving as her diatribe morphed into an accurate mockery of his voice. "'We needed to check this out Nat. It's a big Hydra base Nat. The scepter could be here Nat.'"
"Hey in my defense, it was Thor that said the scepter could be here. I was more worried about finding-"
"Bucky, yeah we know," Clint's voice cut in. "It's all you've talked about since SHIELD fell. Unfortunately, he's gonna have to hop on the list of missing comrades."
Silence fell over the comms after that, punctuated only by the occasional grunt or thud.
After a few minutes, another voice sounded, "Dammit Clint, did you have to bring her up? I had gone almost a full two hours without worrying about her." Tony had hardly slept in the months since Emory had gone to ground. He hadn't slept at all during the two weeks after the fall of SHIELD.
Since no one had heard from the two SHIELD agents in the months leading up to Hydra's exposure, they had no idea if they got caught up in the ensuing chaos. Their bodies weren't recovered in the fallout, so the Avengers could only hope they were safe.
Hawkeye let out a long sigh. "Sorry Tony."
Steve shook his head as he kicked the door down. He faced an empty room, bits of paper strewn across the floor. Hydra was long gone. "Guys, it's a bust. No one's here."
"Well," Tony replied, "Back to the drawing board then."
The weeks passed, and still the Avengers found no trace of their quarry. Thor hadn't found Loki's scepter, Steve hadn't found Bucky Barnes, and Emory was in the wind.
On the chance off day, the teammates gathered in the Avengers Tower living quarters. They tried to relax -as much as they could- and brainstorm.
"I'm surprised I never met this Agent Black," Thor commented as he searched the cabinets. "You say she was not from Midgard?"
"Well she said she wasn't from Earth." Clint stretched out on a couch, one arm flung across his face. "She didn't have any reason to lie. More than she was already." The arm swayed as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Did she say from where she hailed?" His voice echoed from under the sink. The archer sat up to look at him askance. The only parts of Thor visible were his broad shoulders.
"Thor, what the hell are you doing?"
The god of thunder peered at him from over the counter. " I am searching for the tarts of pop. They are being hidden from me."
"They are. I hid them. You're on ration with the breakfast pastries, Point-break." Tony gave Thor a healthy pat on the shoulder as he passed through the kitchen to sprawl across a chair. "AKA, I'm tired of sharing."
The next moment, he looked up from his phone into two very large, puppy dog brown eyes. "Oh no you don't. I'm not gonna get swindled into giving them up. No Pop-tarts, champ." Thor tramped back into the kitchen grumbling under his breath.
"Anyways….Emory didn't really have a chance to go into where she was from before completely falling off the map. She disappeared from a moving quinjet, I don't think she wanted to talk."
The peal of shattering glass rang from the kitchen. Thor stood frozen over the broken mug, staring down at the floor for a long moment. He turned to look at the two men in the living room. "Did you say her name was Emory?"
Tony perked back up from his sprawl. "Do you know her?" His only response was a passing snort as Thor walked out to the balcony.
"Heimdal!" In the next moment, Thor was gone in a flash of light.
"What the hell Thor?!" The billionaire stared at the imprint the Bifrost made on his concrete balcony. "I swear that man has no respect for architecture." He turned his resigned gaze to Barton. "Think that means he knows her?"
Clint shook his head back and forth, having long ago learned apathy. "I don't know Tony, I don't know."
An oppressive silence lay over the conference room. Tony sat fidgeting with some gadget or other, muttering to himself as his hands stayed busy. Dark shadows sat under his eyes, and his face with a five o'clock shadow, plus a few days. He looked exhausted. Bruce didn't look much better, staring into a mug of black coffee, mesmerized by whatever he was seeing. Neither had slept the last two nights. Few in the tower had.
Two nights. Clint shook his head in disbelief. It had only been two nights since Emory had returned, dragged into the tower by an irate Thor. The way he gripped her arm, it was clear he would tolerate no disappearing acts this time. She was back, and with her all the emotions the agent had bottled up.
Emory wasn't human, wasn't from Earth, and even more shocking, had powers. And so far, that was the only information she had given them. Oh, and everyone was in danger from her being there. What was new?
After disappearing for months, Thor, who knew her from God knows where in the galaxy, forces her to come back. It hadn't taken the Thunder God very long to find her, after Clint dropped her name, not knowing the significance. If only he had seen the connection sooner.
Two days. Her excuse was she wanted to wait for everyone to be there, the entire team. Unfortunately, that took time. Time Clint spent pacing the tower, climbing as high as he could, and thinking. Thinking about how he, one of her closest friends, had not known. How she had managed to lie so well to him, to Bruce, to everyone, and then abandon them all.
He glanced through the glass wall. Emory and Fury were arguing over something. Emory pointed towards the men in the conference room, towards Cara in her playpen, and towards the sky. There's no telling what's going on there, he thought. It's not like she will tell us anyways.
It wasn't the fact that she had powers, or that she was an alien that bothered him. Far from it. He was good friends with Thor, and several other powered individuals throughout SHIELD. They were as much people as he, and sometimes even better. No, what bothered him was that Emory didn't think she could trust him, or any of her friends, with the truth. That she couldn't trust them to keep her and her family safe.
Beyond that, how did Thor even know her? He was Asgardian, was she as well? What if they had been close? What kind of past did she have?
The questions could go on and on, and he planned on having every single one of them answered. If only this damned "meeting" could start. As if on cue, the absent team members turned the corner, everyone tramping in to take their places at the table.
Very little small talk came up as they sat. Instead, solemn faces greeted the three men who stayed behind in the tower. They all knew why they were here.
Steve's troubled eyes met his while he surveyed the group, and he greeted the soldier with a swift nod. No need to ask how the mission went, there would be time for that afterwards.
Finally, Natasha and Kyle walked through the door, followed by Fury and Emory. Not for the first time, Clint wondered at Kyle's role in all this. How much did he know about his girlfriend? Hell, was he an alien too? His eyes met Emory's, those deep blue orbs unreadable. The archer stared her down, unblinking and unforgiving. Soon, she looked away, color flushing her pale cheeks. At least she had the good grace to feel guilty.
Emory looked out across the room, taking in the faces looking back at her. Hurt, anger, confusion and betrayal were the most prevalent emotions. She felt the guilt of her deception rising up in her chest like bile before sitting heavy above her heart. "I know I lied to you, and then ran away. I am sorry for that." A deep red flush rose up Clint's neck to settle in his face.
She winced. She knew his reaction would be the worst, he who was so close to her. After looking away from the accusation in Barton's eyes, she met Kyle's comforting gaze instead. His eyes conveyed everything she needed to hear. All will be well. Tell them what you can. Apologize. She heaved a deep breath as the rest sat down, leaving her alone at the head of the table. Here, she was subject to every pair of eyes in the room. She never was one for public speaking.
She began again, soft and hesitant. "I know that there are a lot of mixed feelings in the room, and I understand, I do. I lied to you for a very long time, but I did have reason for that. I let you all worry for months, but it was necessary." She took another steadying breath before continuing. "Please, take the time to listen to my story, and give me time to explain without interrupting. Once I am done, all this will make sense."
Clint snorted, shifting in his chair, arms crossed and shoulders hunched. Her heart tightened in her chest at the display. Oh friend, please forgive me. She had to have hope, once she finished, he would. Even now, she couldn't tell them everything. If they knew all, they wouldn't be angry. They would hate her.
"Let me start at the beginning. I am not human. I came to Earth from Asgard, but I am not Asgardian either." Every eye followed her as she continued her story, drawing them in further. "I was born in Vanaheim, one of the Nine Realms, that for a very long time was at war with Asgard. The Vanir and the Aesir were enemies for many millennia before peace found the two realms. My grandmother is Freyja, a goddess of all things beautiful, sex love and war. She is also the queen of Vanaheim, as Odin is King of Asgard. She and Odin were never on the best of terms, as she was quite...promiscuous."
She paused to let all this information settle. "I myself was only a bastard cast-off of one of her many children. I was of little significance to the grand scheme of things. I wasn't even acknowledged by her for many years, have never even met her face-to-face. Instead, I grew up in a village in the mountains of Asgard. It touched the border of Vanaheim, far from most civilization. It was there, raised by an old crone, that I learned the powers of healing and hurting through herbs and plants. No real magic ability come these skills. It's all patience, and lessons passed through generations of women. But, as I grew older, powers inherited from my powerful ancestress emerged as well."
"Wait, so what all powers do you have?" Tony leaned forward on his palms, eager to learn and excited by her revelations.
"I asked for no interruptions. Please, I will answer any and all questions I can when I am done, not before." Tony slumped back in his chair, poking his lip out in a slight pout. Emory relented and softened her tone.
"I am a sorceress, a priestess of Freyja. I pay her homage, and she endows my with her power through spells and chants. I can also manipulate the energy of Ley Lines, and have a small affinity with nature." To illustrate, a pulsating orb of black and purple light formed above her hand, floating as she spoke.
Shock showed on every face but Natasha and Clint's, who saw all this in Russia. "I suppose I myself would be a goddess, although of what I have no idea. As far as I know, no one on Midgard worships me. I tend to stay out of the spotlight. My strength and fortitude is comparable to that of Thor, or others of Asgard." One shoulder lifted in an easy manner; she wasn't concerned with titles.
She turned towards the window, trying to compose herself. When she spoke again, pain choked her voice. "The village that raised me, nurtured me, turned against me in a superstitious rage. Asgardians have no love for magic. Ame, my guardian, sacrificed herself so that I could escape. I left the only home I ever knew with nothing but the clothes on my back, an angry mob at my feet." She shuddered at the end, wrought with the pain of the past. She saw again the twisted angry faces, felt the fire of their torches, heard their curses and insults.
After a moment, she straightened her shoulders and turned away from the window. "Leaving my old life behind, I made my way to the city. I was searching for a new life, while also trying to control this new-found magic, and keep it secret." Her voice cracked under the weight of her words. "I didn't want to leave another home behind."
She glanced up through a veil of tears to see Bruce standing before her, arms open in an invitation of comfort. She surged forward into his warm embrace, holding onto his strength and fortitude. "Come what may Emory, I forgive you. You are still one of my dearest friends," he whispered into her ear, soft enough for her alone. A murmured thank you was all she could choke out.
Stepping out of the warm embrace, she met again the cold stares of the room. At least she had one more ally now. "Of course, there is no staying hidden from the Allfather." The corner of her mouth turned up into a smirk. "Soon after I found work at a tavern in the lower city, Thor and his comrades found me. I thought they were there to arrest me."
Her mind turned back to that day. She remembered using her powers to turn all the rats in the city against the companions, giving her time to escape. They swarmed all but one. He had stepped right past the rodents to follow her out to the alley. There he trapped her against a wall until the others could get to them. She remembered the satisfaction of spitting in his face. She hated him from the beginning. "After a bit of a scuffle, they managed to convince me they were there to help me."
"A bit of a scuffle?" A voice boomed from the doorway. "I still have scars from those vermin you set on us!" Several heads jerked up to see a tall man looming in the doorway, blonde locks brushing his crimson red cape. Mjolnir rested easy in his large, scarred hand. A dangerous light brightened Emory's deep blue eyes, anger evident in her face and manner.
"As you continue to meddle where you aren't wanted, I would say you deserve every one of them!"
"Oh I'm not sure Agent Black. Thor is the only reason any of us are getting answers right now." Emory flinched at Clint's tone, accepting his pain and anger. Thor weighed the archer with a solid gaze, a new wisdom lining his face.
"I would not have retrieved her, were it not necessary for there to be unity here. It was not my story to tell, but you all needed to here it nonetheless. So I brought her back. I apologize Emory." He looked towards her. "I know you are not one for the, what is it you call it, the 'greenlight'?"
Tony burst out laughing, falling to the floor as he lost balance tilting his chair. Bruce smirked behind his coffee, and even Clint cracked a smile as he corrected him. "Limelight, Thor, not greenlight."
Thor cleared his throat, "Yes, well, whatever it may be, Emory has always wanted a quiet life. Yes, she kept secrets. That sort of decision should not shock you, Man of Hawks. You are the keeper of many secrets, and the weaver of many deceptions." Clint flushed at this observation, this time in shame rather than anger.
"I guess we should finish the story, Em?" He sent a tremulous smile her way.
She smiled back before continuing. "Well, that's about it. I gained my martial skills training with Thor and his companions. And I gained control over my magic under his brother." Her smile faded. "That in itself was...miserable. Loki was never the most pleasant of company. Even before the trouble with Thor and Jotunheim he was an ass, and he was a very unforgiving teacher."
"If I remember, the exact phrasing she used to describe him was this. 'An arrogant bastard with a too high opinion of himself, and an immaturity to match his ego,'" Thor chimed in. Another round of laughter shook the room as everyone enjoyed the apt description of their least favorite god.
Emory blushed before continuing. "Yes well, I learned to tolerate him, and he helped me master my magic. Of course, I have never wanted to be a Companion. I wanted peace."
She paused before going on. "With all the unrest in Asgard, first with Jotunheim and then later with Alfheim, I chose to come to Earth." She scoffed. "It hasn't been much more quiet here, to tell you the truth. You humans are a quarrelsome lot. But, it was clear before I left that this was a one way ticket. So, I've lived here two years or so. Coulson found me within a week of arriving to Midgard, and rather than be an enemy, I became Nightshade."
Plopping down in a chair, Emory heaved a sigh of relief. "Now, any questions?" A long pause stretched out before anyone spoke. Steve asked first. "What about Kyle? Who is he to you?" Kyle spoke up for himself, quiet and reserved as always. "I am Emory's companion, nothing more, nothing less. I came with her for the same reasons, searching for the quiet life. There is no relationship between us."
"An Asgardian, but not your man? If this is so, then who is Cara's father?" Steve queried, careful not to offend. Emory spent time looking down at the table, then letting her eyes wander the room before resting on Thor. She answered, "Cara was a blessing of the goddess." The lie was smooth and effortless. "No man was necessary to create her, she is a miracle to me alone."
Everyone nodded affably, believing the lie. Why not, when there were gods and goddesses and magic running amok everywhere you looked? She kept her gaze on Thor, who nodded back in understanding. There was no need for anyone to know Cara's parentage, not right now. More lies, to keep her safe.
"And what about the months where you were missing?" Clint spoke up. "Why keep us all in the dark?" Emory's face darkened as she thought back to the past few months. "I was keeping you all safe from some personal demons. All is well now. I took care of it."
Clint stared into her eyes, searching for the lie, the deception. After a while he nodded, satisfied with her answers. He jumped up to pull her into a hug. "We missed you Em. Don't do that ever again."