This chapter brings us to the Battle. Hope you guys are ready!
Reviews are greatly appreciated.
-Ana
Chapter 13
After Romanoff—that is, Natasha, had finished showing Mia the suit's entire, rather wide and surprising array of features, the journalist turned Avenger knew what she needed to do.
"Paxton. I should have known you'd come." Tony was repairing circuits inside of his Iron Man helmet. He turned slightly, soldering iron still aflame, and raised an eyebrow at her. "Interesting suit there. I'm assuming you were aiming for the 'power ranger' look?"He shut the device off and set it down on the table.
"Horrible pun." Mia lifted both hands to her throat. "But if you don't like it, don't look." With a shimmer of golden sparks, she vanished.
Completely vanished—as in no longer visible, at all.
Tony straightened, casting his eyes about the room in panic. "Okay okay! I take it back, God!" He held up his hands, as if unsure from what angle he needed to shield himself.
"Well that's new." Tony whirled to find Mia had reappeared behind him. The back of the helmet was removed, and she was fiddling with a little flap on his inside near the mouth. "What does this do, dispense candy or something?" A yellow candy popped out. "Oh my God! It does. Does Pepper know about this?" She popped the candy into her mouth. "Hmm. Skittle. I'm guessing you've only got red and yellow ones in here. How convenient they're monogrammed with an S—"
"Don't touch that!" Tony came and swatted her partially gloved hands, getting a slight shock in return. "Ow! Can't you turn those things off?"
"Not really, no." Mia withdrew, rubbing her hands together thoughtfully as the golden sparks enveloped them up to her wrists. "Sorry for the inconvenience."
Tony looked her up and down a second time. "Is that Wintech gear?" he asked, running a finger down the arm of the material. Now it was Mia's turn to swat at his hand. "OW!"
"Then don't touch my stuff."
"Oh, very funny. Touché." Tony rolled his eyes. "I guess it's doubly yours, seeing as it's your daddy's work in the first place. You've just retaken possession."
Mia frowned, but her eyes were sharp. "Don't go there, Tony. I don't bring up Howard's work to spite you."
Tony actually flinched—but only very slightly. "Fair enough."
Both adults looked at each other, eye-to-eye.
"You know I never wanted to lie to you."
Tony picked up his welding gun again. "Yeah, well. You were lying to everyone. Guess Pepper and I just weren't exceptions."
"Tony." Mia lowered his hand. Surprisingly, Tony didn't resist. She guessed he wasn't as angry anymore—a boon, considering their circumstances. "Look at me."
The man turned back to face her, wearing the beginnings of a scowl.
"We've always been truthful with each other. I can understand why this hurts. But you need to understand what you're saying here. I was lying to everyone. No, you and Pepper weren't an exception—but not because you two didn't deserve to be. Jane and Darcy deserved to know too, but they don't—even now.
Mia sighed. "Tony, anyone who knows about me is in danger. My father has eyes, everywhere—ears, everywhere. He used to have a machine that kept track of every person in America, and constantly evaluated them for threats, predicting any acts of violence as a means of counter-terrorism—and control."
Tony looked intrigued by this idea."What happened to it? Did the guy succeed?"
"Yeah, he did. Convincing its creator to take it and hide it away was one of my first tasks as a journalist—he'd helped me get a new identity, and a place here in New York. The Machine is still somewhere in the city, tracking everyone—but not for the Government. Its creator runs it independently of any organization, using it to track non-terrorist crimes and stop them before they can occur. He's a good man. One of my allies, in fact."
"Wow." It took a lot for Tony Stark to look impressed—however, impressed he was. "Hey wait a minute…that kind of operation takes money—big money. Do I know this guy? Is he still public? I'll bet he's in big tech. Ooh ooh! I know. He's—"
"Tony!" Mia huffed. "Pay attention."
"You're still in lecture mode, right."
She rolled her eyes. "Tony, be serious for once. What I'm trying to say is that by lying to you, by keeping everyone in the dark about my true identity, I both protect you all and ensure I'm not captured. Because that's that would happen, if I'm found out. My father has no need to resurrect me—however Project Midas is in sore need of new data."
The billionaire stared down at his helmet, eyes locked on his own creation. "I understand," he said eventually. "Mind you, I don't like it, but I do understand. I know what it's like to just want to protect the people you care about." His expression grew distant, troubled. No doubt he was hoping Pepper would be somewhere safe in the inevitable and upcoming battle.
"So?" Mia gave Tony a wry sideways look that they'd often shared in the past. "What do you say, Stark? Can we move past the fact that I'm the president's daughter and a freak that throws energy around for a hobby? Cause at this point, that's old news."
"You'd know, oh 'mistress of the headlines'." Still, after a tense moment of deliberation, Tony grabbed Mia and wrapped her in a bone crushing hug.
Mia grinned in relief, wrapping her arms around her friend and patting him slowly on the back, as if consoling him. "That was really bad, Tony. Really bad, even for you."
"But you're laughing. Can't be that bad, can it?" He let her go, holding her at arms distance. Tony's face had gone deathly serious. "Mia, this is the real deal, the big leagues. Please tell me you're ready for this? Because if you don't, I'm going to let the Capsicle tie you up—and not in the way you're hoping."
"Tony!" She slapped his arm, shocking him in the process.
"Ow," Tony whined, pretending he was actually wounded.
"He's not my boyfriend." Mia didn't look impressed at his antics. In reality, she was doing all she could not to blush.
"But you wish he was."
Mia turned away, going back to fiddling with the helmet. "Whatever." She popped another skittle into her mouth—this time, a red one.
"Hey, I said don't touch that." Tony moved her hand—and was shocked a third time.
"OW!"
"Can't help it, remember?"
"Yeah, well. Save it for the battle, cat eyes." He observed her keenly. "Seriously though, Mia. Tell me you can do this. I've lost enough people lately. I need to know I'm not going to lose you too."
Mia looked at him, green eyes shining. "You're not going to get rid of me that easy, Ironass," she told him. "I've had a lot more practice with my skills than you know." She chose to use the term Natasha had chosen, finding it tolerable in place of 'gifts'. "I know what's at stake here. But I also know what I'm doing."
After a moment, Tony grinned back her. "Well then. I guess that's settled. Cap'll just have to put a cork in it. Let's get me suited up for this, shall we?" He grabbed his soldering iron a second time, pulling his protective goggles back down over his eyes.
"Sure thing." Mia popped yet another skittle into her mouth—how she'd gotten it, Tony wasn't sure.
"I thought I told you to stop eating those?"
"And when do I ever do as I'm told? I'm an anarchist. It's in the description."
Tony sighed. "Paxton, honestly. Behave."
"Likewise, Stark."
A wry look crossed the man's face. "Behave like what, exactly?"
"Couldn't have said it better myself."
. . .
It was time.
Steve had gone to suit up after his talk with Stark. Stark had decided to make the necessary repairs to his Iron Man suit and return to his tower as quickly as possible. Steve saw to it that Romanoff was ready—and Romanoff had vouched for Barton. Now all three were prepped and making their way to the hangar.
Steve hadn't seen hide or hair of Mia during his rounds of the ship. He wondered if Fury had vetoed her participation after all—but then, he couldn't ask Fury, so he couldn't know.
That is, until Romanoff told him straight up.
"Paxton's already in gear," she informed him, as they made their way to the nearest available quinjet. "She went to talk to Stark."
Steve gritted his teeth. "I had hoped Fury would change his mind."
"As if. He's enthralled with her abilities—she's like a shiny new toy at Christmas for him."
Steve walked for a while, thinking. Why couldn't she just stay safe? Why did she have to put herself in danger, at risk for another of her panic attacks? Especially when that was exactly what Loki wanted? What if Loki influenced her mind during the battle, turning her against them? While Steve knew that Mia would never do such a thing of her own volition, it was highly possible that Loki would use his recovered scepter to turn her alliance to him.
With an irritated twitch of his head at the idea, Steve strode into the nearest quinjet.
"Hey you guys aren't authorized to be in here," said an agent performing a general tune-up on the plane's instruments.
"Son, just don't." Steve's tone was a little too sharp. The agent scurried off fearfully, not wanting to challenge three armed legends in any way whatsoever. Romanoff smirked at Steve, knowing what his problem was.
"A little edgy, Rogers?" she asked wryly, taking a seat at the controls beside Barton. Steve stood watching them, a faint scowl on his brow.
Steve didn't answer at first, then let out a short huff. "Yeah, maybe a little."
Romanoff paused, looking down at the controls. "You really care about her, don't you?" she asked the super-soldier quietly.
Steve looked down at the floor, his blond hair hanging in a wave before his eyes. Blocking the sight of the person at the bay door.
"Care about whom, Natasha?"
Steve looked up to see a woman in a black bodysuit, standing framed in the light from the doorway. Her hands glowing with ambient sparks even though her arms were crossed, hair falling in auburn waves around her shoulders, green eyes sparkling in question. A challenging quirk to her lips.
Mia.
She wasn't as curvaceous as Romanoff, but there was a way that the suit clung to her that accented her build perfectly. One of her diagonal zippers was left partially undone, leaving a triangle of skin exposed on the left side of her chest. It was…distracting, Steve decided. Decidedly distracting.
"This is Paxton?" Barton asked, an eyebrow raised as he took her in from head to toe. Mia pulled her eyes from Steve's startled face and looked at the archer for the first time.
"Hawkeye?" she asked.
"What gave it away?" Barton asked in a strange voice. Romanoff rolled her eyes. Was that his best attempt at a seductive tone? He had just had a complete mental recalibration, after being brainwashed for a prolonged period of time, but…still.
"Well, the quiver for starts," said Mia with all of her usual sarcasm. "Mia Paxton—or, Bridget Winters, if you prefer."
Barton frowned. "The president's dead kid?"
"The very same." Seeing Steve staring at her, Mia shrugged. "What? He's going to find out anyway. And I've kind of come to terms with the dual identity thing after talking with Tony."
Steve tensed, readjusting his grip on his shield in a vaguely threatening way.
Barton looked impressed. "Wow. Name's Barton. Clint, Barton. Call me either."
Natasha backhanded him.
"Ow!"
"Stop that," she ordered, slipping on a headset. "You're not the flirty type. Don't start now. Besides, you'll have to get in line for that show." Romanoff cast a glance back at Steve that Barton didn't miss.
"Ah. I see. Watch that door, Paxton."
Mia stepped away from the gangway as it shut with a clang. She looked over at Steve, who was staring at the wall and not making eye contact.
"Steve," she tried, feeling out the waters.
"Mia." Yikes. He was still pissed, given his tone.
Mia sighed. "Steve, could we just talk about what happened? Honestly, I didn't mean—"
"What, to ignore my advice? To step right into Loki's line-of-fire at your own risk?"
"No. No actually, that was exactly what I meant to do," Mia replied, unfazed.
Steve took a few steps toward her, crossing the quinjet's aisle. "Why do you have to make the choice that makes the least amount of strategic sense? By all rights, you should be as far away from the battle as possible, drawing Loki's attention away. Just because joining in the fight is morally right doesn't mean it's the right call."
"Look who's talking!" Mia scoffed, taking a step closer and squaring off with the man who was much, much larger than her. "I think you just don't like that it wasn't your call to make, Captain."
Steve looked down at her, eyes narrowed. "You're not wrong. If it were my call, you wouldn't be here."
"Great." Mia stiffened, swallowing hard. "It's nice to see how far we've fallen from your believing in me. Nice to see you've given up on my abilities. I'm starting to think you were just blowing smoke up my—"
"Asking you to step away isn't giving up, Mia! I still believe in you. But I never said this was your fight!"
"How is it not?" Mia scowled at him. "Loki is bound to me, Steve. He reacts to me, whether he wants to or not. That alone is a decided advantage.Then take this into affect" –she held up her hands—"and you've got a hell of an upper hand."
"I don't want an upper hand!" Steve cried, exasperated. By now, Romanoff and Barton were swapping looks of disbelief in the cockpit. "I've fought battles without the upper hand before; I can do that again! But what I can't do is let you risk everything you've worked for over the past nine years be destroyed in the space of an afternoon."
"I'm already compromised, Rogers!" The journalist was exasperated by now. "The integrity of my cover was blown the moment I was brought aboard the Valiant. Why do you think I was so upset, hmm? Because I was put out about the sudden change of scenery? No!" Mia clenched her fists, feeling her power building up inside of her.
"Are you two okay, or do we need to let you out for a couple's spar?" Barton asked. "We're are about to put this thing in the air and head off to stop a worldwide takeover. But if you two need some time—"
"WE'RE FINE, BARTON!" both Mia and Steve yelled at the same time.
"Fine, fine. Sheesh." He looked at Romanoff. "Are we like that?" he asked.
"We're not a couple, Barton," Natasha replied.
"Neither are we," Mia said coolly, eying the man before her. Steve seemed equally put out—both by the situation, and her statement. "This is absolutely idiotic, Steve. We're already in this together, the least you can do is stand by my side when—"
"Stand by your side?" Steve took an impossibly close step forward, looking down at her so that their noses were almost touching. "Stand by your side? Is that what you think I need to do? I wanted to protect you, Mia. But you can't even let me do that."
"Stop making this so goddamn personal! When it comes down to it, the fate of the world is way more important than what happens to little old me. Bottom line, end of story. Protecting me isn't a priority. Get yours straight!" Mia jabbed him in the chest at yours.
Steve blinked at her for several seconds. Then, the most surprising thing yet happened.
He backed down. "If you think I'm not going to have your back out there, you're mistaken," he told her. He looked her up and down. "Welcome to the team, Paxton." With that, Steve walked to the other side of the jet and stared out a window.
Mia let out her breath, not having realized she was holding it in the first place. Something inside of her was unsatisfied with this resolution. It felt like Steve hadn't accepted her, despite his words; like he'd given up on her and was distancing himself, as if just waiting for her to die in the battle ahead.
She sat down with a huff on one of the benches lining the wall, resting her elbows on her knees and playing with a ball of golden energy absentmindedly. Mia tried to reassure herself that despite being year out of practice and the fact that she was extremely emotionally compromised, she was ready for what was coming. It was such an obvious lie that she didn't know why she bothered trying, other than to give herself a bit of a confidence boost in the face of what was already terrible odds.
What was Loki going to summon, she wondered? According to some of the mathematical projections in Selvig's notes, the portal would be massive, some several miles wide. Anything could come through that, anything at all.
Thus she wasn't surprised when Barton let out a colorful string of swears when approaching New York. Mia got up, bracing herself for the sight awaiting her as she walked to the cockpit.
There above the city was a large, Tesseract-colored hole in the sky. The normal blue of the sky was disrupted, a dark gaping hole swarming with thousands of tiny specks flying out of it by the second.
"I'm gonna bet those are a lot bigger up close," Mia muttered, fisting her energy ball. It crumbled into golden dust and scattered on the floor of the jet.
"I second that notion." Barton accelerated the plane, doubling their pace. Mia flinched at the sense of vertigo in her stomach, casting a glance at the Captain at the same time. He still had his eyes locked on the skyline, a grim expression on his face. Mia didn't like it, but forced herself not to think of Clem—which, in a way, was thinking of Clem anyway. Damn psychology.
"Stark, we're on your three, headed northeast," Natasha said into her headset while co-piloting the jet.
Tony's voice filled the stereo. "What? Did you stop for drive-thru?"
"More of a domestic dispute."
Mia rolled her eyes at that.
Tony read between the lines instantly. "Ugh. If it weren't for all of this I'd tell those to two to get a room already. As it is, swing up Park. I'm going to lay them out for you."
They did as they were ordered. During the exchange of fire Mia crouched low to the ground, trying to keep her center of gravity as she was otherwise prone to flailing about with the sudden changes of direction. She did pay attention to where they were going, though. It was only when they were hovering above Stark Tower that she realized what was going on, and what she needed to do.
"Nat?" Barton said, looking out the window to his left.
"I see him." They turned the jet. Mia clambered to her feet, and her eyes fell on two specks of color atop the tower. Red and green.
"Well, would you look at that. And it's not even Christmas." She made her way to an escape door in the jet's side, flinging open the door.
"Mia!" It was only then that Mia remembered Steve was even there. "What the hell are you doing?"
She turned to face him, her hair whipping in the wind from the open door. "What I do best, Captain," she replied in a half yell. "Confronting the bad guy." She set her hands to her neck, vanishing.
"MIA!" Steve ran to the door, reaching it seconds too late as an invisible Mia fell, hurtling in an organized freefall towards the roof below.
. . .
The plane caught fire from the bolt of Loki's scepter just moments after Mia hit the Tower. She did a long forward somersault on the hard paved surface, head bowed as she came to a stop with her glowing palms flat on the hot stone. Hearing a horrible whirring sound reminiscent of the Valiant's shattered turbine, Mia looked up and caught sight of the quinjet crashing; its left wing engulfed in flames.
Still invisible, Mia made a split second decision and thrust her hands forward, golden sparks flying out of her fingertips towards the aircraft. They wrapped around the burning engine and the undercarriage of the plane, slowing and controlling it's decent to a level decline in altitude rather than a full on crash as Barton piloted it to a safe landing space—safe being relative, at the moment.
Mia set her hands to her neck, making herself visible, with bright green eyes glaring at the two brawling demi-gods.
"HEY!" she shot a blast of energy at them. Both men stopped mid punch and looked at her. A grin spread over Loki's mouth. Thor scowled.
"Mia," Loki said, panting slightly. "How marvelous to see you, my love."
"Lady Mia, you ought not be here!" Thor yelled. Mia rose to her feet, her suit changing colors from black to its usual golden color. She strode confidently towards the men, hands bristling with sparks.
"Yeah, well. Couldn't really stay home when the world's falling to pieces." She raised a glowing finger at them. "Break it up, you two."
"I'm wishing you'd make me," Loki said wryly.
Mia rolled her eyes. "Careful what you wish for." She shot a bolt at them, Loki deflecting it with his staff. It bounced away and knocked the R in Stark off the building. Thor stumbled backward away from his brother.
"Tony's really gonna be pissed about the damage you've done to the tower," Mia commented thoughtfully. She looked out at the city under attack. "I'll spend my time holding you accountable for the damage to New York."
"The damage is inconsequential," Loki said, eyeing it with gleaming eyes. "It is a necessary part of the takeover, I assure you. I shall rebuild the city a thousand times over, if you wish." He took her in, the cold chill sweeping over her even in the hot sun of the afternoon. "Fabulous garments. Your father's work, I presume."
"Oh, so you've read the Project Midas file too?" The journalist scowled. "So help me, when this is all over I'm going to get my hands on that thing if I have to go to DC and break into the Triskelion myself."
A series of nearby explosions shook the building. Mia bent to retain her balance, while Thor took the opportunity to lunge at Loki again with a loud roar.
"Look at this!" he yelled at his brother. "Do you think this madness will end with your rule?"
"He's right, Loki." Mia stood a ways off, not intervening physically because that was just a flat out stupid idea. "This is not the way to prove your worth. I warned you this would happen!"
"It's too late," Loki told them both. His eyes lingered on Mia—almost sadly, she thought. "It's too late to stop it."
"No," Thor insisted, throwing a look back at Mia as if for backup. "We can, together."
"Let us help you!" she yelled over the noise, staring at Loki with serious green eyes. "This can be undone. You can always make another choice."
Loki's eyes shifted between them, as if deciding something. For a moment Mia actually thought—and hoped, desperately—that he was about to reconsider.
But just before that hope could blossom into real optimism, Loki stabbed Thor through a chink in his armor with a concealed blade.
"The sentiment," he breathed, grinning soullessly. Thor clutched at his side in disbelief, and looked up at Loki with the same feeling mirrored on his face that Mia felt: overwhelming disappointment. "But as I've stated before, my decision is already made." Loki gave her a wicked smile. "Won't you change yours?"
With a yell of anger, Mia blasted a surge of energy straight at Loki's chest, it hitting him full force. Thor took the advantage and ran with it, using Loki's moment of weakness to throw him about the roof—through a window, and smack onto the ground.
Loki looked up at them for a small moment, his eyes falling on Mia with a cold light. "Fair enough," he said to her breathlessly, his expression hardening. "You've proved your allegiance."
"Damn straight." Just before Mia could fire a direct shot at his head, Loki tugged out from under Thor's foot and rolled off the roof—onto an awaiting Chitauri ship.
Thor came and stood beside her, still panting. He tugged the small dagger from his side, looking close to tears. "Lady Mia," he began, but Mia cut him off.
"Not now, Thor! Damn it," she swore, trying and failing to hit the ship with bolts of energy. The driver swerved with expert skill, as Loki threw a smug glance back at her before the ship disappeared into the city.
Thor looked down at her hands, surprised. "Your skill," he commented. Mia raised her hands questioningly. "I like it."
Mia actually gave a small grin at this. "I'll bet you do." Her talent was similar to the god of thunder, when you thought about it. She looked after the direction Loki had gone. "Bastard," she muttered.
Thor sighed. "I hate to say it, in light of his circumstance," he said mournfully. "But yes. Yes, he rather is."
Before Mia could laugh at this, a hologram lit up her left wrist. Mia held it level and saw a projection of Romanoff's face. "Paxton, where are you?"
"Shoot." Mia looked down at the city. "I'm on Stark Tower, with Thor. Loki's gone."
"Yeah, we're gettin' that," said Barton's voice in the background. "Whatever you said must have really pissed him off."
"Probably." She shared a rueful look with Thor.
"I'm sending you coordinates. We need you down here, hurry up!" Natasha's face vanished as abruptly as it had come.
"Do you need a ride?" Thor asked, redoubling his grip on Mjolnir.
"Nah, I've got it. Good luck down there," Mia told him as she scrolled down a holographic display on her the underside of her wrist.
"And you," Thor replied, looking puzzled. Mia hit something on the list and disappeared.