A/N: I know it's been a literal year since I've updated, probably, but I saw Civil War like twice and was reminded of how much I love Marvel.

The helicarrier was huge. Hannah felt dwarfed as she was ushered inside the main control room. Rows upon rows of high-tech computers faced the center, where the main panel sat. A tall woman stood there, operating it. Her dark hair was tied back in a no-nonsense bun that suited her black S.H.I.E.L.D uniform. Hannah stood at a conference table overlooking it all. Computers whirled, people talked, and fingers tapped against keys, but the cacophony had a panicked ring to it, as if every member of the crew were looking for something.

Which they were.

And Hannah, according to Nick Fury, was supposed to be helping.

Loki- "that jackass in the stupid-looking cape"- had apparently stolen an artifact called the Tesseract- "this glowing blue thing"- to take over the world. That was more or less the gist of it without getting into excruciating detail about Loki's supposed inferiority complex. Hannah still couldn't wrap her mind around the situation, yet she was still aboard a SHIELD aircraft, had just finished speaking with Nick freaking Fury, and was about to meet a bunch of superheroes. She might as well go with it. Also, the prospect of world domination by a "crazy Norse bastard" scared her quite a bit. So as long as she could help, she'd stay even if she doubted she'd be much use to a group of dysfunctional superheroes.

Those same dysfunctional superheroes hadn't seemed to have gotten the message that they were supposed to meet her. The frantic whirring and beeping of the sea of computers and routers made her nervous. She felt so intrusive in a place where she was supposedly needed, and that in itself was an awful sensation; she'd never stuck out anywhere, never felt the urge to fit in. She was a normal girl from the middle class suburbs of Milwaukee. She had normal parents, a normal house, a normal life. She was normal looking- there was nothing special about blonde hair and blue eyes- and a normal enough intellect to make it to college. This was no place for normal people. She'd been convinced of that as soon as she set foot on the carrier.

But apparently I'm not normal. Otherwise, the Norse god of chaos wouldn't have stopped for me. He should have killed me.

Three men emerged from the hallways that lead into the control room. Judging from the way two of them were dressed, Hannah presumed these were Earth's most dysfunctional superheroes; one was dressed in chain mail armor and a red cap, and the other one wore star-spangled spandex. The last man wore khakis and a purple button-down. Still, Hannah now felt even more out of place in jeans and hoodie.

She smiled, but it probably looked more like a grimace at this point. The one in spandex returned the gesture. He had a nice smile.

"I'm Hannah Frost." She said to introduce herself to the three as they neared the table. "I'm, uh, working with you. I'm not sure if Director Fury told you."

Blue Spandex was clearly the most outgoing in the group. Purple Button-Down looked distracted, and Red Cape stared at her with narrowed eyes. She shifted her weight uncomfortably and stuck out her hand in greeting. People still did that, right?

Spandex took it. His grip was warm and strong. It made her feel comfortable.

"Steve Rogers, Miss Frost." He said, letting go of her hand. "Pleased to meet you."

Hannah took a second to actually take him in. He was tall and broad-shouldered. The spandex really accentuated that. His blonde hair was the color of wheat and neatly, precisely, combed in a way that reminded her of a military cut. He was classically handsome; if it were possible for a human being to personify old-school Hollywood charm and gallantry, it would be him. The red and white stood out on his blue uniform like... Like the stripes on the American flag.

Oh. Wow.

"Are you... Are you Captain America?" She blurted out.

He smiled, glancing down as if embarrassed. "The costume gave it away, didn't it?"

"Uh, yeah." She laughed nervously. "I just, uh, didn't think you were... Y'know, real."

His brows furrowed as if he didn't know how to respond to that. She didn't blame him.

"It's been a long day," She sighed. "Sorry."

"It's alright." He reassured her, his smile returning, as he reached out for one of the chairs in front of him. He pulled it out and gestured to it. "You should take a seat."

"Um, thanks." She blushed, allowing him to help her in. He reminded her of decades past, but it was actually kind of charming. He took a seat next to her.

Steve- can I call him that?- introduced her to the other two men. Purple Button-Down turned out to be Dr. Bruce Banner, a chemist, and Red Cape was actually Thor, Norse god of thunder. Hannah knew that if she hadn't already just met Captain America she would've probably choked on air because Thor, but, as she said, it'd been a long day. Thor sat across from her and Captain Rogers- that sounds more appropriate- with his hands clenched into tight fists on the table. His gaze was as intense as the storms he conjured. Hannah wished it wasn't directed at her, but she was sitting directly in his line of vision. Something, though, made her think he was purposely staring at her, as if placing her under the intensity of his stormy eyes would get her to confess a secret. Too bad she didn't have any.

They sat in silence for a good five minutes. The beeping of the computers and the roar of the air outside the carrier reminded her of screams. She looked up for a second only to meet Thor's eyes. Immediately, she threw her own gaze back to the ground.

Captain Rogers spoke up. "So, Miss Frost, pardon my manners, but what exactly is your job here?"

Hannah blinked. "Fury said I'm supposed to help you guys with Loki."

The Captain frowned. "Are you... Powered?"

"No, no." She nearly snorted. "I literally have no idea why I'm here, or why Fury thinks I can do anything. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. At Stuttgart."

"You were at Stuttgart?" He asked, surprised.

"Yes." She nodded. "I was in the crowd at the square. When Loki threatened the old man with his staff, I... I pushed him out of the way."

"You survived a blast of cosmic energy." Dr. Banner deadpanned from across the table. It was the first time he'd spoken. Thor, however, was still silent. "That doesn't sound right. That should have killed you."

Hannah blushed. "I... I know."

"And what happened after that?" Captain Rogers continued. "After you stood up for the old man?"

"He, Loki, just kind of stared at me." She said. "It was weird. He just stopped, stared, and... Yeah. Then you guys showed up, and I made a run for it. SHIELD showed up on my door the next day."

There was no way in hell she was telling them about that spark, about that magic. They didn't to know that when he reached out to touch her she didn't flinch, or that she saw herself reflected in the jade of his eyes. It was like magic, she hadn't a doubt about it, but not everyone believed in magic. Hannah herself wasn't so sure things like this could happen, but she was sitting at a table with two living legends, so perhaps reality did allow itself to bend at times. But why her? Why of all people would someone so evil, someone who was planning to subjugate humanity, focus on her? Maybe that was why she refused to tell anyone about it—she was too scared to face that there truly was something extraordinary about it, about her.

"You should be dead."

Thor had spoken. His voice emulated the rumbling thunder he was famed for. Suddenly, it was as if Hannah could taste moisture in the air and hear howling winds ripping through the air.

So I've been told, she wanted to say, but she simply bit her lower lip. "I… I don't know how I'm not."

I really, really don't and I don't think I want to.

A/N: Here's to hoping I don't go MIA for another eight months lmao. Please leave your thoughts!