HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let's hope it is one filled with reading, creating and whatever makes us happy. Please enjoy the newest addition and as always, reviews appreciated. Thank you all so much for viewing! XOXOXOXO
"Based on the results we believe Loki is hiding in the remote mountain range of Montserrat. If Loki were to be planning to reappear, making his presence known with an even bigger and stronger army than tonight would be it. There is a Gala being held at the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey. He will want a vast audience and what better place to do it. We've gotten ourselves an invitation and plan to take care of this once and for all." Fury informed the attentive group, sliding them each a dossier on the location and event.
"Oh and this is a formal event, we need to blend. So look the part people, we leave in two hours."
-0-
Catalonia, Spain
Steve checked his tie in the mirror for the fifth time in the last half hour before casting his attention to take a peek of the busy street below. A parade of glossy black cars decorated the curb, idly awaiting to take the team to the Gala. Turning towards the soft sound of heels clicking up the hall, Steve felt the air catch in his throat at the sight before him.
Rich black satin bathed her ivory skin and outlined the curves of Edie's body like a second skin. Steve felt the heat creep up his neck the longer he stared and the closer she neared, her sweet perfume lifting him on a high he hoped would never end.
"Edie..wow." was all Steve could muster.
His chivalrous conscious screaming to look away, but the Captain dared to keep his eyes locked on Edie, drinking in her beauty just a little longer. Steve's skin hummed with anticipation as Edie drew closer and he stuffed his hands quickly into his pockets to resist reaching out and pulling her against him. He was sure if he got her in his arms he'd never let go.
"Thank you. Not too racy?" Red lips smiled shyly.
All-America features puffed a silent laugh before flicking up her body once more, he just couldn't get enough.
"It's perfect, you're perfect."
Edie's smile only grew, a warmth invading as her eyes danced across his uniform clad body. It had been some time since she saw a man in uniform, something so familiar to her it felt like a piece of home. Reaching out to center his tie the Healer admired the way the olive green military jacket emphasized Steve's massive shoulders and narrow waist. The heat rising in Edie's eyes hadn't gone unnoticed and it drove Steve wild, he couldn't tear his gaze away from those pouty lips. The taste of her heightening his every sense and left him yearning to taste nothing but those lips for the rest of his life.
"You don't look too bad yourself, Captain." Edie's voice hummed with a hint of dark wanting.
Do you we really have to leave? We could just stay in. They both mentally suggested.
"I have something for you." The soldier piped, and Edie watched with curiosity when he pulled out a velvet box from his pocket.
"I hope you don't mind, but I thought you might like it." Nimble fingers drew back the confines of the gift box to reveal a diamond encrusted Star of David.
Edie was speechless, only able to express a brilliantly pearly smile of appreciation. She felt the tears well as Steve unclasped the hinge and slipped the dainty piece of her newly found heritage around her neck.
"I love it Steve, it's..perfect. Thank you, so much." The Healer's voice buckled a bit with emotion as she engulfed the towering soldier in a tight embrace, stealing a kiss against his full lips.
"Anything for you, Doll. Shall we?" Steve offered his elbow with an elated smile, one that always seemed to accompany Edie's presence.
Edie gladly accepted the invitation to be close to Steve, following his lead towards the elevator and on to save the world…or so she thought.
-0-
Stepping out into the warm glow of the street light, Steve watched as the well-dressed guests filtered up the red carpeted stretch of stairs and disappear into the open mouth of the museum. A sea of expensive gowns, close kept makeup and neat haircuts suddenly had the Captain feeling very out of place.
"Area is packed. Team, keep your eyes peeled." Steve's voice reminded over the earpieces before turning back to the ajar sedan door, and that awkward feeling vanished when a familiar face greeted him. As the Healer stepped from the sleek car Steve was reminded again of how hard it had been to keep his hands off her the entire car ride there. The bantering voices of the team conversing over the channel the only thing that kept the Captain's desires in check.
"Thank you, kind sir. For helping an old lady." Edie quipped playfully, returning her hand to his elbow as they merged into the crowd.
"Old Lady? What a coincidence I just happen to be 94 myself." Steve nodded with a smirk, riding the high of her laugh.
"No! Wow, what is your secret?-Wait, let me guess, fountain of youth in your backyard? Or is it Cardio? Great Sex?" Edie replied in a dramatically hushed whisper, eyes holding an enticing mischief.
Steve couldn't hold back the laughter, clutching his chest as Edie's comment caught him off guard. She too couldn't help but join in his cheerfulness as those lips spread wide and bellowed a sound too contagious to ignore.
To the guests around them it seemed as though the two were a long time couple out for the evening through their evident chemistry and adoring gaze, rather than a mission to save the world from a power hungry god.
The attraction didn't go unnoticed by the Avengers either.
"I like to think I had something to do with that." Tony murmured with a smirk, adjusting his blue tinted spectacles.
"Don't give yourself too much credit, I'm sure it was bound to happen anyway." Bruce countered with a light chuckle, enjoying raining on his friend's parade as they too filed into the Gala.
"What? I'm insulted Bruce. I've worked incredibly hard on project: Defrost." Tony feigned a deep hurt dramatically, his comment halting the Doctor in his tracks. The shy man murmuring a soft apology to fellow attendees that filtered passed his stagnant position.
"Oh God, you even gave it a name? You're unbelievable." Banner groaned with a smirking shake of his head.
"I mean, look at them. I didn't even know the Captain had a laugh and he can't contain himself around her. And the way she looks at him..it's like.."
"Like he's the only one in the room." Stark finished the scientist's sentence.
"Exactly."
They watched with a silent mixture of envy and admiration as the Captain ordered her a drink from the bar and brushed back a fallen wave from Edie's brow as natural as if he'd been doing it all his life.
-0-
Edie padded down one of the many extravagant corridors after freshening up in the ladies room when an alluring voice tapped her on the shoulder.
"Well don't you look divine."
Whipping around with a startle Edie was met with the Captain's relaxed body slouched against the adjacent wall, eyeing her like a stealthy hunter.
Before Edie could answer he was slinking towards her, towering form caging her against the nearest wall. A shiver danced up Edie's spine as her back met the cool marble, her speech stunted when the Captain's handsome face drew closer.
"Good enough to eat." Steve's voice purred against Edie's ear, husky scent intoxicating her senses.
"Steve.." Edie finally mustered, desperate and yearning as his name echoed into the empty corridor.
His nose ghosted her hair, teeth nipping their way down Edie's ear and moving dangerously close to the tender skin over her pulse.
Eyes blurred and her heart raced as Edie's carnal desires begged to take over the more Steve's body moved against her, she clung tightly to his muscular shoulders for support.
Though Edie welcomed the Captain's sudden lustful advances, aching for those broad hands to roam further across the curves of her body she couldn't help but sense a difference in him. His body language rigid and demanding in a way that was foreign to his natural demeanor.
"Oh, the things I could do to you."
Nimble fingers coiled around Edie's throat suddenly.
There it was.
That tone, that grip.
A gasp escaped the Healer's throat before she could stop it, Steve drew back when Edie abruptly shuffled away from his touch. The darkness that consumed those usually warm blue pools sent a shock of fear through her petite form.
This was not her Teddybear at all.
"Loki."
Edie breathed her conclusion in a hesitant whisper just as a deafening static sounded across her earpiece, followed by dead air and a panicked sweat.
A devilish grin spread wide across his lips at the sound of those strawberry lips speaking his name.
"King Loki." He corrected, the god's features shifting before her eyes to reveal his true identity.
"Ah Aha…Shhh." A hand clamped over Edie's mouth, halting the scream in her throat.
"We wouldn't want to spoil the surprise now would we? I told you I would spare you, though I can't say the same for your friends, my dear brother included." Loki purred, pearly smile gleaming as he held up a detonator between slender fingers.
Fear seized Edie's muscles.
The team, Edie thought and with no way to warn them she truly felt the crippling helpless take hold.
Reading the wicked expression that painted the god's face she suddenly recognized it: the demand for power all consuming.
Red Skull. Dr. Zola.
They too fed off the chaos and fear of their victims and Edie vowed she would not fall under the control of another tyrant. Ignoring the urge to struggle and push away Loki's closeness, Edie instead relaxed against him, a smile playing on her lips as his hand slipped from her face.
"What friends?...I serve My King." The Healer's smile grew when confusion and suspicion weakened Loki's steely exterior.
The god of mischief let his guard down for just a moment, giving into the haunting green pools and that was all it took. A delicate hand slipped up to brush back a fallen lock behind his ear, fingers ghosting the tender skin over Loki's pulse. Suddenly Edie unleashed a deadly shock to his system, stunning the god momentary to give her the window to rip from his grasp and sprint down the hall, leaving him in a twitching ball.
"Clever Minx." Loki groaned, listening to the steady click of her heels against the cool marble floor. The shock was enough to buy Edie little time as the god had a much higher tolerance for pain than mortals, like an agile panther he was up and after his prey. Edie could feel the material of her dress cling to her burning thighs, heels jarring against her galloping feet.
Almost there.
She swiftly clicked together the bracelets Tony engineered and watched the metallic panels pieced together in record time. Turning back Edie unleashed an electrical surge of energy but the god quickly dodged the advance and his feet pounded harder against the marbled floor.
The music grew louder in the Healer's ears, joining her ever pounding heartbeat.
"Steve! Captain, can you hear me?" Edie voiced desperately, pushing frantically against the earpiece.
"Edie? Where are you? I've been looking for you." Steve stiffened, scanning the crowd with haste.
"Snow White, what's wrong?" Tony's voice chimed in from his position across the room.
Edie rounded the corner, the band and guest's chatter vibrating the atmosphere, her eyes scanned the sea of people before locking onto a neat haircut and broad shoulders.
Blue met green and Edie's heart swelled at the sight of Steve's face.
"It's a trap! Steve, Loki is-"
Edie's words thumped to a halt as a familiar grasp snaked around her waist and snatched her from the soldier's gaze.
The echoing sound of a champagne glass shattered against the impeccable floor and the splintered crystal crunched under his glossy dress shoes as Steve bolted through the crowd.
"Loki is here. He has Edie. In pursuit." Rogers barked in a stern tone, twisting around the couples and waiters in a frenzy.
"Captain no, wait for us. Where is he located? We'll trap him in." Natasha countered, watching from her perched position on the grand staircase as his muscular form moved towards the adjacent exit, breaking into a sprint when he cleared the archway.
"Negative. En route to front entrance."
Steve's heart thumped in his throat, Edie's desperate tone still ringing in his ears. He made it out just in time to watch one of the Chitauri ships boot up into the sky, with an ever smiling Loki lurking from the cabin window.
"Ah well it would seem that it's just us now. No use in trying to escape again, though I do enjoy a challenge." The lean god turned his attention towards his newly acquired toy.
Edie watched Loki stalk closer, humming a pearly smile as he eyed her like a starving wolf.
"Last time I was held prisoner on a plane by a delusional warmonger it didn't end so well…for him." Edie seethed keeping a fixed gaze on the slender god.
"Yes, well while we are on the subject I recall my dear it didn't end so well for you either. I am a god after all and have abilities that your feeble little Midgardian minds couldn't possibly begin to understand. But I did give you my word that I would spare you, and now, Edith is it?.."
The Healer's stomach lurched as Loki's warm breath kissed her cheek.
"-Yes, now you have been bestowed with the glorious honor of being the personal servant of your King…let's get you into something a little more suitable for the position." Loki stepped back and gave a quick snap of his nimble fingers.
"I serve no-"
But before Edie could finish a thick collar closed in around her throat and a tight steel muzzle clamped over her mouth. She jarred her wrists against the Asgardian metal anchoring her to the wall and Edie's eyes swirled with raging daggers toward the dark haired god, vowing muffled threats against the mouth restraint.
"Ah ah, shhhh. Be a good girl, obey your King and I just may take it easy on them." Loki cooed, drawing a long finger across the exposed flesh of Edie's shoulder.
"It's comical isn't it, darling? How things are never what they seem. They have no idea that destruction lay just behind those pretty jade pools of yours. We both know you could end this all, with the amount of energy pulsing through this petite body of yours. Destruction could very well be second nature to you…ah but that's something you haven't mastered yet is it? Afraid you may lose control again?"
Loki's vicious smile grew at the shock filling Edie's eyes. A pit began forming in the Healer's stomach the longer Loki spoke, revealing buried secrets with every calculated syllable.
"Oh yes, I know all about you. Nearly leveling an entire military base for a Sergeant Barnes. You have quite the temper, little one. But you nearly killed him in your attempt to save him and you've never forgiven yourself. How poetic."
Edie's jaw clenched tighter, Bucky's pain stricken face a harrowing reminder of that very day. Though she was wasn't sure how long they'd been strapped to those tables, enduring countless experiments and interrogations Edie knew one thing: Bucky was the only source that got her through. His agonizing screams still echoed harshly against the walls of her conscious whenever the room became a certain degree of quiet.
Edie! Run!
But she wouldn't dare leave him, never.
Edie could still recall the metallic taste of rage coating her throat from the moment she lost control.
She'd woken from a groggy coma to the unbuckling of Bucky's restraints, they were moving him and Edie knew what that really meant. Buck had proved useless to Red Skull and he'd instructed two of his faceless minions to dispose of the solider.
No, she wouldn't let that happen, not to Buck.
Naturally after tearing from her restraints, Edie staggered in desperation after the towering black cloaks as they dragged her best friend down the hall.
Amidst the man handling Buck caught a glimpse of Edie, his lethargic expression flickering with shock as she stood in the hall. Blood dripping like grotesque rain from her wrists after escaping the restraints and the Sergeant read an unfamiliar fierceness in the nurse's eyes.
The guards felt the shift in Bucky as he motioned Edie to make a break for it. A struggle broke out in the dank corridor and soon Buck wasn't the only enveloped in a rough grasp. The Sergeant jarred forward in a rage when a black glove snapped a rough backhand across Edie's cheek.
It was when Edie began to fight back harder that one of them pulled out a gun and placed the barrel square to Bucky's temple. Their gaze met and Edie felt herself begin to tremble, Bucky's once playful blue eyes now held a bleak glaze of helplessness. The next thing Edie remembered was a surge of energy bolt through her body and Bucky's voice echoing her name.
"Is it because you hold affection for a particular blond soldier?"
Edie blinked back to reality at Loki's sudden mention of Steve.
"What would happen if I took him prisoner instead? Hmmm? I wonder how much pain it takes to break that tough exterior of his."
Edie felt the familiar heat rising within as Loki further depicted ways of harming the Captain.
Slow and torturous, endless and daunting.
Suddenly the imagine of Steve's lifeless eyes from her nightmare surfaced and like that day at HYDRA's factory a secondary instinct flipped like a switch, fueling Edie with jolting adrenaline.
"Oh it would appear I've struck a nerve. Is he your trigger, Healer?" Loki's voice taunted, watching the rage blotching Edie's ivory cheeks and a tremble set within her muscles.
Edie gave another jerk against the restraints and Loki noticed the sudden white invading her eyes.
"Ooo I did, didn't I? The thought of your beloved soldier beaten and reduced to the weak nothing that he was born to be-"
Edie screamed against the metal muzzle as the flaring pulse of energy flooded her system and soon the Chitauri ship was engulfed in a fiery blast.
"Stark! I'm gonna need a lift." Steve called out over the channeled earpiece as he caught the tail end of the aircraft disappearing behind the mountain ridge. Soon the vibrantly painted suit of Iron Man joined the starry sky.
"Umm…Cap I don't thinks that's necessary, it would seem it's coming to us instead." Tony concluded grimly, watching the orange glow erupt into the night sky and the mangled remains of the ship careen towards the slope on the other side.
"STARK!" The Captain seethed, patience for Tony's vague banter waning as panic filled the soldier's chest. The vast tower of earth blocked his view from the street and he was blind to the events unfolding.
"No time to explain. It's go time."
Steve followed Tony's fiery trail across the sky as the metal suit bolted over the elevated terrain.
The aircraft was now a permanent resident against the Spanish mountains.
"EDIE!" Tony barked in desperation, metallic boots skating across the gravel as he neared the wreckage. Stark dared to enter the inferno to find Edie but the fire flared and thrust him back against the earth. Squinting into the burning light Tony watched as a figure appeared, haloed in the fires glow a familiar face revealed itself.
"Edie?" Tony scrambled upward in shock, but the closer she neared the more the younger man realized that this was not the Edie he knew.
Air whipped raven hair in dark rivers across her face and framed the Healer's beaming white eyes that bore right through him. Her petite body held a rigid authority, clothed only in the singed remains of her black gown and a thin layer of soot. Edie displayed her sheer strength as she held the towering god by the throat, suspended upward soon Loki was thrown to Stark's feet.
Before Tony could react Steve skirted over the hillside, super human speed crossing the miles with ease. Naturally everyone turned to meet the new arrival, Edie included and Stark quickly noticed a flicker across the young woman's expression.
"Doll?"
The Captain's velvety hum penetrated through the consuming trance and brought back the Healer in an instant.
"Teddybear.."
Green resurfaced with a drained smile and Edie took an uneasy step forward, reaching out for Steve's comfort. With quick reflexes the soldier engulfed Edie in his grasp when her feet stumbled and threatened to drop her to the rubble.
"There's my girl."
A soft hand panned through tangled raven locks, smudging away the soot from Edie's cheek.
"Well..well..well. Isn't this just marvelous? A true love story moment, a soldier and a damsel in distress." Loki's voice sneered from behind the Captain, Tesseract in hand.
"Is this what you're looking for?" The Cube painted Loki's pearly smile in a blue glow.
"Hey, Rock of Ages. Looking for this?"
The god turned to meet a hard right hook from the billionaire, Loki soon hit the ground once more when an electrical shock net engulfed his lengthy form.
Steve gave a nod of appreciation towards the Iron Man, watching as the younger man radioed Fury of the success of the mission and requested an extraction.
"Steve.."
The Captain shifted his attention quickly back to the woman in his arms, reading Edie's distraught expression with concern.
"Did I..did I hurt anyone?"
Edie feared for the answer before the question even passed her lips and watched Steve's brow furrowed with confusion.
"No, everyone's safe…but Edie, what happened up there?"
Edie contemplated a careful answer, unsure of how to explain something she barely even understood. But the deeper she stared into those pale blue eyes the simpler the answer became.
Steve watched tentatively as Edie cupped his cheek with a soothing touch, a calm shifting across her face before she replied.
"He threatened something very important to me."
-0-
STARK Building: Midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA
It's comical isn't it, darling? Things are never what they seem...
Edie woke in a pool of sweat, kicking against the tangled sheets twisted around her legs. She could still feel the ghosting of Loki's words crawling up her spine.
Just as Edie panned to Steve's side of the bed, a strange vibration rocked the bed frame and contents of Steve's room. It was as if a train had steamed right through the penthouse and shook the very bones of the building. A loud siren began shrieking overhead, followed by the mechanical tone of JARVIS advising of a tower wide lock down.
"Steve?" Edie called out in worry when she found the spot next to her vacant.
Answered with an eerie silence she padded across the cool hardwood floor, a thin layer of goose bumps accompanying her as Edie slipped on one of the Captain's t-shirts.
One of the kitchen lights was on, casting a low shadow on the back of a familiar form hovering over the counter top.
"Steve?" Edie addressed him again, drawing closer into the living room she watched his shoulders tense rigidly.
"Miss Andrews, go away."
Miss Andrews?
The Healer caught the use of her formal name through the Captain's icy tone, his back like a breathing mountain still facing her.
"Is everything alright? Did you feel that tremor, could it have been an earthquake?" Edie dared to step closer, silently begging him to turn and look at her.
"Damn it Edith! Don't you ever listen?"
Edie stumbled back, Steve's voice cracking like thunder and for the first time she felt fear blooming in her chest as Steve glared at her, eyes flickering a dark indigo of fury.
"I-don't understand-"
The words clogged Edie's throat, choked her on the letters the longer Steve's gaze bore through her.
"I told you to stay by my side, to always be within arm's length and you couldn't even do that. You cost the team its cover and you risked the lives of innocent civilians if that aircraft would have landed any closer to the city. All because you couldn't listen to me!"
Steve's words flew passed Edie in a blurring fury, each verbal dagger making its own painful mark.
Edie blinked away the forming tears, willing herself to think of a rebuttal, a reason, anything to put the Captain at ease. But his expression only drew darker, his words sharper and soon had Edie backed against the chilling crystal glass, the city below them a silent witness.
His breath heavy on her tear stained cheek, caging Edie's petite form against him and the Healer felt the battling of emotions.
This is a dream, this isn't real.
Steve pulled back, eyeing the nurse with a dead expression as he delivered the last dagger to her heart.
"What have you done for this team? Nothing. But create more chaos and waste valuable resources to piece together your broken past. And to think you really believed I could love y-"
"Edie, Cap, you in there?"
Tony's voice intervened from the hall suddenly, snapping the couple's attention.
"Yes, we're in here." Edie answered through a tear choked calm, the chilled glass of the window sending a sobering shiver up her spine.
"The building's security system has gone haywire, I'm headed up to check it out."
Tony informed before taking a step closer to the door, ear pressed slightly against the metallic surface. A small voice in his conscience urged Tony that something wasn't right.
"Everything okay in there, Teach?"
A long silence hung in the atmosphere before a splintering crash sounded and Tony was blind to what was happening.
"Edie!" Iron Man beat a heavy fist against the door in desperation as the sounds of a struggle continued and a feminine yelp shook the billionaire's adrenaline. With the building on lockdown, the penthouse was practically impenetrable.
"JARVIS! Get me eyes in there!"
The AI complied with a gentleman's tone and soon the suites entrance monitor displayed the dismantled remains of the once neat living room. Tony's eyes adjusted to the screen, making out the hardened expression of the Captain locked on his target in the kitchen. Stark surveyed to find the stoic form of Edie braced against the fridge door, in a stand- off with the towering soldier.
Though they hadn't known each other long, Tony could honestly say he'd never seen such a harsh gaze grace Steve's usually kind exterior especially when it came to Edie. Steve was known to hold nothing but smiles even when it was just her name that was mentioned.
"Edie! Steve! What's-"
"I have this handled, Stark!" Steve growled abruptly, never taking his fixated glare off the Healer.
"What are you doing?-Edie hang tight. I'm coming in there."
"No! Tony I'm okay, he's not going to hurt me. Steve look-look at me, it's me it's Edie. You know me." Edie's hands flew up in front of her, signaling she meant no harm.
"Edie get out of there, now! Lock yourself in a room. Something's going on-STEVE!" Stark barked furiously against the monitor, adrenaline jarring his heart as Steve lunged and caught Edie by the waist. Despite the quick dodges her struggling was futile, the Super Soldier easily out weighted the Healer, and soon Edie found herself pinned to the adjacent wall with a thud.
It was a midst the tussle of limbs and brute strength that the god's words resurfaced in Edie's conscious once more, dawning a light bulb.
"LOKI!"
Edie coughed the words through the coiling grip Steve laced around her throat, fingers frantically clawing against his broad hand. She dared not to look into his eyes, the blue oceans that once held a blanketing comfort now bore relentless darkness.
"What?" Tony snapped in confusion over the intercom, until he too caught the blackness of Steve's eyes. It was just like the day on the Hellicarrier, the god's mind control stronger than ever this time.
Banner…
Reality hit Tony with a chilling wave when he remembered Bruce was supposed to ensure the proper care of the Cube and he hadn't heard from the Doctor in quite some time.
"Shit! Edie I gotta—Bruce!" The younger man blurted his chopped explanation with confliction.
"GO!"
And with one last reluctant look at the pixelated couple struggling across the furnished suite, Tony sprinted down the hall towards the lab.
"Steve-baby. I'm not going to fight you. This isn't you, come'on. Please!"
But the murkiness in the Captain's eyes grew with dark animosity and he continued to stalk Edie like a hunter's prey.
The dark magic had spread like wild fire through the confines of the Stark Tower, pinning each Avenger against another. Tony and Thor too had met their own match, cornered in the lab by the green, raging version of the Doctor. And just a few levels below Hawkeye was dodging the brawling advances of the Black Widow.
A midst the chaos, Loki's clever strategy was unfolding just as planned. Distracted and literally locked in the team was oblivious to a figure stalking along the STARK terrace, real Tesseract in hand. That was until a beaming white light illuminated across the dawning sky.
The portal was opening.
Edie turned to follow the light beam when she caught a glimpse of the balcony on floor below.
Loki wants to keep us in the building, he's controlling us from within.
Edie concluded in horror, watching the clouds parting in a wave of cosmic colors.
Piecing together a daring plan with a hopeful prayer, the Healer squirmed from Steve's grasp and skirted towards the window.
"You wanna fight, soldier?" A manicured brow arched with unshaken confidence as Edie positioned herself equal with the balcony below.
"Come and get me."
Steve took the bait with a seething smirk and promptly bolted across the living room. In a blur of splintered glass and whipping wind the two were sailing through the air. Edie swiftly shielded Steve's body with her own, bracing for impact as they neared the unforgiving concrete.
Blackness, so inviting and warm.
"Gotta get up, Nightingale." A familiar voice echoed.
Slowly Edie began to regain consciousness, blotches of a starry sky welcomed her back and soon Edie felt the severity of the fall. Through a fit of coughing and wheezing Edie craned upward, checking only to make sure Steve was unscathed. She found the Captain stumbling back on his heels, a warmth resurfacing in his pale eyes as he fought to focus.
Blue met green and Edie watched the thoughts unravel across Steve's handsome features, piecing towards the scattered bits of reality.
Her fading bruises, the gash across her cheek.
The crimson blood staining their clothes: her blood.
Her wounds, by his hands.
"Oh God…Edie.." A throaty gasp escaped the soldier's lips, hands beginning to tremble.
The severity of his actions settling in with a crushing weight and wave of nausea.
"Hey shhh, Steve-Steve look at me." Edie swallowed the agony as she sat up with wounded speed, reaching out to force his eyes to focus on her.
"Baby, that wasn't you. Loki set up a trap. He wanted us to bring him here, to pin us against each other while he hatched his true plan. It wasn't your fault."
Steve's tortured expression filled Edie with a new wave of pain, and her tears joined his.
"What matters is-is you came back to me." The Healer cupped his tear stained cheeks.
Steve's golden hair fell forward as he leaned his forehead against Edie's, whispering in a choked breath.
"Always."
"Hey lovebirds. If you wanted to redecorate you could have just asked."
The couple mirrored a weak smile and puffed laugh as they peered up at the face of Tony Stark looming out of the shattered remains of the window above.
Suddenly the wind whipped harder and the skies opened wider to unleash an army of alien soldiers and…was that a mechanical whale?
"Its show time, kids."
-0-
They filed into the hall, adjusting the sleeve of her suit Edie took in the damage that extended past their suite. Halting just shy of Tony's penthouse, the trio watched Loki's stoic form pacing across the gleaming tiled stairs from the Iron Man's remote monitor.
"Alright, what's the plan?" Tony turned to the Captain, assuming the soldier had already devised a strategy.
"Tony and I will go in and extract the target. Edie you stay here, keep watch of the exits."
"With all due respect Captain, absolutely not."
Tony attempted to curb his laugh at Edie's polite defiance, black waves bouncing with disapproval.
"This is too easy, if I've learned anything it's that Loki likes to play games. So let's play too. Tony you think you can dismantle that device while I distract him?"
The billionaire nodded with confidence at the Healer's request.
"Okay good, Captain you take the rest of the team out and try to put a lid on the chaos out there. Try to clear the civilians before those things take over the entire city."
"Yes, ma'am." Steve curved a proud smile, caging the growing refusal to leave Edie's side that bloomed in his chest.
Tony and Edie hashed out the specifics in a whispered tone and before Steve took off down the hall to gather the rest of the Avengers he caught Edie's hand.
"Come back to me."
"Always." Ruby lips vowed.