Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing related to Marvel, either the comics, movies, TV shows, etc. All of that belongs to the Disney Corporation (though I might try kidnapping Captain America and Hawkeye some day, just for fun).

AN: It's a miracle: I'm updating early this week! Also, I've managed to find a webpage with quotes from the movie, which makes it easier to remember how the film went. The rest of this story will be a mixture of the film and my own imagination, and I'm hoping that sticklers for following the movie won't mind my tweaking things to fit. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please don't forget to review!

Chapter 8: Things Go South:

Out in the hallway, I ran, oddly enough, straight into Phil Coulson, who had to stop me from falling on my butt after crashing into him.

"Whoa," he said, smiling. "Where's the fire?"

I smiled back. "Nowhere, as far as I know," I replied jokingly. "Just stretching my legs, that's all."

His smile turned into a grin. "Got tired of hiding out with the scientists, huh? Or did Tony Stark's ego get to be too much for you?"

"None of the above," I assured him, in case he got the idea of sending me back to my rooms and locking me in there. "Seriously, I just needed to rest my poor brain and walk a bit."

Phil gave me a rather close look, as though he expected me to get into trouble, or into somewhere I shouldn't. "Heading anywhere in particular?" he asked carefully.

"Not really," I replied, shrugging. "Just wherever I'm allowed to walk."

He relaxed a little and motioned for me to follow him. Somewhat wary, I let him lead me out to the bridge of the ship. I was shown up to a meeting alcove overlooking the entire floor, and offered a chair. Since I'd been sitting for so long, fiddling with Jarvis, I shook my head at Phil's offer and went to lean on the railing, watching all of the agents move about their business. It was like watching a bee hive: everyone had their own tasks to perform, and each of them did it well.

'Well, except for that guy playing video games in the corner,' I thought, biting back a laugh. 'I guess even secret agents need to unwind once in a while.'

"So, how do you feel about being part of all this?" Phil asked, leaning against the railing.

Glancing to my right, I smiled at him. "You know, it's almost like being in a dream or a nightmare."

He gave me a look full of curiosity. "How so?"

"Well, there's the fact that I'm hanging out on a top-secret, invisible flying ship above the planet," I sarcastically replied. "That's pretty cool, as is the fact that a bunch of superheroes are hanging out here as well. I never thought I'd get to spend time with Tony Stark, of all people, not to mention Captain America."

Phil smiled. "I understand about the Captain America part," he admitted.

I threw a grin at him. "Did you ask him to sign your trading cards yet?" He nodded his head. "Oh, good! I was getting ready to ask him for you, in case you never got the chance."

"No, no, it's fine," Phil hurriedly assured me. "So, what's the nightmare part of this whole adventure?"

I shifted against the railing I was leaning against. "I'm scared to death," I quietly admitted. "I mean, there's a powerful, psychotic being encased in a glass fish tank downstairs, and he wants to take over the world and turn us all into his slaves! I'm scared of what might happen to my friends and family if he escapes, and what he'll do to us for standing in his way."

Phil reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. "We're going to do everything we can to keep that from happening," he said, trying to comfort me. "Director Fury has some of the best agents in the world working for him, and none of us will let Earth go down without a fight."

That still didn't make me feel better. After watching what Loki had done in Germany, I could only imagine what he'd be able to do with that magic Cube of his. It probably wouldn't take long for him to take over, if he had such power at his fingertips –the armies of the world wouldn't be able to stand against him for more than a few weeks, at most.

Glancing over at Phil, I noticed that he looked rather troubled for a guy who was trying to make me feel better. Clearly he had something on his mind, and I had thoughtlessly not noticed it. Mentally slapping myself for being rude and unobservant, I gently nudged him with my elbow.

"I think that you have something on your own mind," I gently teased, though my words seemed to surprise him. "Come on, it's written all over your face; cough it up."

Phil scowled a little as he looked at the floor. "I don't think I can," he quietly admitted. "You know; top-secret business and all that."

His eyes, though, were flicking towards where the Director was standing, and I quickly caught the hint. Nodding my understanding, I slowly walked away from the bridge and towards the rear of the meeting alcove, where the sounds from the bridge couldn't reach us, and our voices wouldn't carry too much if we talked quietly.

Phil followed close behind, and once we were safely away from the noise, he told me what was up. "The Director went down to confront Loki about the things that he's done, and to see if he could manage to obtain the location of the Tesseract."

I sighed. "I'm guessing that he wasn't very forthcoming."

"No, he wasn't," Phil confirmed, avoiding eye contact.

When he went quiet, I knew something was up. "And?" I drawled, motioning with my hand for him to continue.

He shifted a little from one foot to another. "And then, Loki started asking questions –about you."

My brain had a hard time absorbing that. "Wait; Loki wanted to know about me? Why? I'm nobody important, not like Cap or Tony –I don't have special powers or a suit of technological armor."

Phil put a hand on my shoulder. "That might be why he's interested in you. From the video I watched, Loki managed to get under the Director's skin by asking why you, a normal human who wasn't an agent, had come aboard. Our prisoner then began asking how guilty the Director would feel if something were to happen to a person so unprepared to defend herself from danger."

Oh, yeah, I'll bet that got under Director Fury's skin. If something happened to me, I think not only he would feel bad, but Cap would, too –and given how he had such a protective nature, I wouldn't put it past Cap to punch a hole in Loki's face if the creep hurt me in any way.

And he really was a creep, as in he gave me the creeps. I'd felt his gaze on me, looking at me as though I were an insect he could dissect with just his thoughts. His eyes had been a cold, calculating blue, with more than a touch of madness in them –with just that one glance, I instantly knew that he'd seen things that would easily drive any human over the edge. But Loki had survived his experiences with his mind intact, at least for the most part, and now he wanted power.

"Crazy and powerful are a very bad combination," I muttered out loud, startling Phil. "Crazy, powerful and wanting to take over the world is as bad, or worse."

He smiled wanly. "Very true. Still, we're going to do our best to stop that from happening."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Did Loki ask or say anything else to Director Fury?"

Phil shrugged. "He said a lot of things, all in an attempt to get under everyone's skin –and when I say 'everyone,' I mean those who'd been listening in on the meeting."

Oh, that didn't sound good, either. "Makes me glad that I wasn't listening in on that nasty piece of business," I muttered with a slight shiver. "I can only imagine how the others felt, having Loki pick them apart like that."

"It wasn't pretty," Phil agreed. "They all looked either angry or shaken; a few looked to be both."

"What did Thor have to say about all this?" I asked, suddenly remembering that, in Norse legend, Thor and Loki were brothers.

He shook his head. "Thor tried to explain that they were family, but even he was horrified by what his foster brother had done."

"Whoa," I said, holding up a hand. "Foster brother? You mean Loki isn't related to Thor at all?"

"Apparently Loki isn't even from Asgard," Phil whispered as two agents walked by. "He's from a violent race known as Frost Giants. When Loki was a baby, Thor's father, Odin, found him and took him back to Asgard, where he was raised as one of them."

I winced. "No wonder the guy is so messed up. I mean, finding out you're adopted is hard enough on a person. But finding out that you're a completely different race, one that's violent and prone to killing? That's even worse!"

To be honest, I was now wondering if I should feel bad for him or not. Yes, he was a killer, but there was an obvious reason behind Loki losing himself to darkness. Then again, he hadn't shown any remorse for killing innocent people, and that showed that he'd lost touch with any sort of goodness inside of him.

"Try not to feel for him," Phil warned. "I can see it on your face. He doesn't deserve pity, not after what he's done."

I sighed and rubbed my forehead, trying to ease the ache starting to form there. "I know. I guess I'm a softy at heart."

A gentle but firm hand squeezed my shoulder, causing me to drop my hand and look up into Phil's sympathetic eyes. "Just try not to let your feelings get in the way –Loki will sense that and try to take advantage of you by messing with your emotions. We can't afford to lose focus on what's really important here, and that's getting the Cube. Once we've got that, things will improve."

I wasn't so sure about that, but chose not to say so. Instead, I smiled and nodded. "You're right. We need to focus on what needs to be done. I just hope that Tony and Bruce manage to find it ASAP."

An eyebrow rose on Phil's face. "Tony and Bruce? Are you now on a first-name basis with two of the greatest scientists on Earth?"

I couldn't help it; I blushed. "Well, sort of," I admitted. "Tony even lent me his personal artificial intelligence computer thing." I pulled Jarvis out of my pocket. "See?"

To my surprise, Phil didn't even look impressed. "I'm familiar with Mr. Stark's computer system," he said in a rather amused tone. "I had to scramble its security codes a few times in order to get access to Mr. Stark's apartment in New York and his house in California."

My jaw dropped. "You broke into Tony Stark's house?" I asked in disbelief.

He shrugged. "Not exactly. I had to speak with him, and since it was important and under Director Fury's orders, I just tweaked Jarvis's programming a little so that I could get in."

Any respect I had for Phil jumped up a couple dozen notches. "You are seriously one cool agent," I said, grinning as he blushed a little.

"Well, it's nice hearing someone say that I'm cool," he joked with a smile. "In the meantime, you should get that little pocket computer back to Mr. Stark; he might need it for whatever he's working on right now."

Good point. After thanking Phil for the lovely chat, I headed back to the science geek lab.

I expected the two brainiacs to still be at their project. Instead, I walked into a war zone.

To my absolute shock, I heard Cap challenging Tony by ordering him to "put on the suit," as though he wanted to beat some sense into him. I'd never heard Cap talk like that, even at his angriest, and it seriously scared me.

Worse, Natasha, Thor, Bruce, and Director Fury were all in arguments of their own, each of them throwing insults, excuses, and other things at one another. Even though they were all adults, they sounded very much like squabbling kids.

"Put on the suit. Let's have it out," I heard Cap spit at Tony.

My blood boiling, I decided that enough was enough. They were supposed to be working together to save the world, and instead they were acting like idiots.

Stepping forward, I inserted myself between Tony and Cap, and gave my 'student' a firm push in the chest. "Step back, Captain," I warned him, catching him slightly off-guard.

"Adena," he said in a warning tone, blue eyes firm as he tried to get around me.

"I said step back, soldier!" I barked in a loud voice that caught everyone by surprise, effectively silencing all of them. What I didn't expect to see was Cap straightening up to attention, as though he were in front of a superior officer. If the situation hadn't been so tense, it'd have been funny.

"Nicely done," Tony commented with approval.

"Shut up, Tony," I spat over my shoulder, not taking my eyes off Cap. "You're not helping."

Staring up at the man in front of me, I leveled my best death glare at him. "You're a soldier and a man of honor, Captain Rogers. And yet, here you are, disgracing yourself and everything you hold dear by acting like those you are trying to fight against!"

His blue eyes flashed with anger for a moment, before quickly melting into shame. But I wasn't finished. "I don't understand why you've got this animosity towards Tony Stark. Yes, he's an ass, but he's still a good man," I proceeded to lecture him. "He's willing to help take on Loki, just like you, and even though he uses a suit of armor that's built and stocked like an armory, he's still a man inside there, taking every blow the enemy throws at him."

I looked towards Tony. "And stop trying to show the Captain up," I ordered, pointing a finger in his face, effectively causing him to raise his hands in surprise and surrender. "Your father admired him for certain reasons. You might want to figure out what those reason are, and try to learn a little something from his example, which is something your dad might have wanted."

Turning towards the others, I crossed my arms and glared. "As for the rest of you..."

Thor opened his mouth to say something, but I motioned with one hand for him to be quiet.

"Arguing is going to get you nowhere," I told them. "You've got a creature bent on world domination locked up in a prison cell downstairs. For some reason, I don't think he's going to stay in there very long, not when that Cube thing you're looking for is still out there!"

I pointed a finger at Bruce, who blinked at me. "You should be looking for the big, dangerous weapon thing. And if you've found it, then you," I said, pointing at Director Fury, "and an entire team of agents should be out there getting it!"

I shouldn't have been pointing directly at the head of a secret government organization, but I was too angry to be scared of right then.

Glaring at the Director, Natasha and Thor, I shook my head in disappointment. "You are all professionals, great fighters and legendary warriors! You should all be focused on saving the world from destruction, not standing around squabbling like a bunch of immature youngsters!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Loki's scepter was giving off an odd glow. "And did any of you notice that that thing is glowing in a very creepy way?"

As everyone turned to look at it, the entire ship shifted as something exploded beneath our feet. Before I knew it, Cap had grabbed me around the waist and pulled me towards him, throwing us to the ground while putting his body between me and the erupting floor, even as flames, metal, glass, and other debris flew up into the air.

As he threw himself and Adena to the floor, Steve tried to push aside any feelings of shame he might have over this whole mess.

He didn't know what had come over him. His animosity towards Tony Stark was likely something Steve carried over from his former dislike of the elder Mr. Stark –even though Steve had managed to become tentative friends with Howard, he couldn't really forget the anger and frustration of watching him flirt with Peggy.

But like his father, Tony Stark was all flash, glamour, showmanship, and arrogance –only ten times worse. Steve had seen how Tony liked showing off his inventions to others, just like his father had at the Science Expo Steve had attended all those years ago.

Worse, Adena apparently liked the younger Stark. She had been thrilled that he was a potential member of Director Fury's group of fighters, The Avengers, and it had hurt seeing her have that sort of hero-worship for a vain, selfish man who did nothing without wanting all the glory.

But what had hurt Steve the most was having Adena scold him on his behavior –and that she'd been right to do it.

Deep inside, Steve knew that he had shamed not only himself, but also Doctor Erskine, who had chosen him, Steve Rogers, to be a hero in dark times. Steve had promised the late doctor to always remain a good man after his procedure, and here he was, acting the complete opposite. How could he have sunk so low?

Something deep in his mind said that it was Loki doing all of this, but he knew that if this was so, the evil Asgardian was only bringing to the surface feelings that Steve had hoped to never outwardly show. Steve was a good person; he knew this was so, but like any man, he still harbored dark feelings and thoughts. All of these negative things had been brought out and shown to not only the world, but also to the young woman who admired and believed so much in him.

Holding her close, he covered Adena with his larger frame, keeping any sharp debris from harming her. As he shoved her into the sheltered hallway, away from the broken glass and twisted metal shards, Steve mentally promised himself that he would apologize to her the second this whole crazy situation was over.

AN: More action and adventure to follow next chapter! Please be kind and review?