I left it on a cliffhanger. I know. I'm evil.
I'm also sorry that I made Fury evil. For me, he had that vibe in the film- desperate to win, no matter what the cost- and I know that some people like Fury, but he and some of the members of SHIELD scared me with their attitudes, so I wrote it as I saw it.
Small language warning (nothing major, although that could be because I'm Australian and we have no filter on our bad language).
REVIEW! Please. Cos I asked nicely?
~O~O~O~
Nobody moved from where they were standing. Whether it was from the shock or the disbelief, Raegan was yet to decide. Fury hit her a few more times, and surprisingly, she didn't fight back. When the team realised this, Steve leapt forward and swung his fist into Fury's nose. There was crack as bones broke beneath his hand, and Fury stumbled backwards.
Tony found himself looking at a very surprised Raegan, who seemed unsure of her surroundings. And as she turned her face toward his… hell, he could almost see the carnage in her eyes as she looked at him in fear.
"Please," she whispered beseechingly, her voice shaking. "No more."
Tony gently led her out to the hallways and into his and Bruce's personal lab, shooing away a startled lab tech as he sat her down. Green light zipped across her skin, erasing bruises and healing cuts.
Steve came barrelling down the halls and stopped when he saw Raegan sitting curled up in the corner with Tony.
"Raegan?" he asked gently, stooping down to her level. She turned her face up to look at him, the fear in her eyes making his heart stop. It gradually died away as she studied his face- those bright blue eyes that were focused so intently on her and the small lines around his eyes that crinkled as he gently cupped her face in his hands and smiled, pressing his lips to her forehead.
Raegan stopped and did the unthinkable as Steve stared at her.
She let her emotions get the better of her, something that she had never done.
She kissed him.
And then passed out.
~O~O~O~
"Capsicle got a little action," Tony was informing the team as Raegan did her post-wake up checks. Despite being a little sore, she seemed okay.
Her eyes fluttered open to see Thor standing in front of her.
"What are you doing?" she murmured, noticing Steve hovering behind Thor anxiously. "I'm sorry. I've never…"
Lost control like that, she was going to say, because the thought of it scared her.
Steve nodded graciously. "I understand," he told her, blushing a little.
Thor gave him a once-over. "Yes, I suppose you'll do," he muttered. "Though I don't think Sif will be happy about it."
"Sif? Your weird Asgardian friend? The one who came and got you after you were banished?" Stark said, proving that he had read the Asgardian's file carefully, and scrutinously enough that he knew all that SHIELD had on Asgard.
"Yes. Her very close friend had petitioned her to seek Raegan out. I did not know that Raegan was the one we were looking for until I saw the tattoo and her ears."
"I'm sorry, what?" Raegan snapped, jumping to her feet. "Why is the goddess of war searching high and low for me?"
Thor chuckled, but was cut off by a glare from Steve and then his gaze softened as he made eye contact with Raegan.
"Princess," he began softly.
Raegan's eyes widened. "Nope! I'm not dealing with this shit any longer! I will go back to living in hiding, thanks!"
"PRINCESS!" Thor shouted as Raegan clapped her hands over her ears and ran out of the room.
"NO, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" she shouted, impossibly louder than Thor. "I AM NOT DEALING WITH THIS RIGHT NOW!"
"She's a mother-"
"Language, Stark," Steve warned as Tony pursed his lips.
"Flipping princess? Of what?"
"Alfheim. She is the daughter of Freyr- and an unknown mother. Raegan was named as the ruler from Freyr's death wish at Ragnarok," Thor answered plainly, as if this was the simplest thing in the world.
There were many 'what the hell's and 'shit's throughout the room, none of them quieted by Steve's glares.
"I'm going after her," Steve said, his voice determined as he strode out of the room.
"You don't even know where she went!" Bruce shouted as he left.
"He will find her," Thor murmured, watching Steve's retreating back.
~O~O~O~
Steve found Raegan in the cafeteria, throwing the steamed green beans- that were, according to SHIELD, a good substitute for chips- at the heads of agents who weren't smart enough to duck for cover beneath the long metal benches.
"So, Thor's made me a lot more of a freak," she muttered, managing to get a bean pod up a harried-looking agent's nose. The situation would have been deemed amusing had it not been for the serious conversation they were having.
"You aren't a freak, Raegan," Steve said sharply.
Her head whipped around so she could examine him closely.
"You don't seriously think that? Why else would Fury keep me here?"
Steve looked perplexed. "For the Avengers Initiative?"
Raegan made a buzzer noise and stared at him as though he had just declared the moon was indeed made of cheese.
"Wrong !" she sang, before her tone became serious. "We're here because SHIELD sees us all as a threat. Something even they cannot contain."
"Raegan-"
"I'm telepathic, Steve," she interjected. "Not dead. As Stark said before: Fury is the spy. It makes sense." She muttered the last bit to herself.
"I don't like him either. I respect him, but I don't trust him."
"Fury's an idiot if he didn't get the man practically leading the team on his side," Raegan grumbled, then shook her head as if trying to dislodge a thought. She gave Steve a weak smile at his confusion. "The mentality is hard to get out of, you know?"
His hand gently covered hers and he laced their fingers together, Steve chuckling at her bewildered face.
"You know that comment about being caged that you made the first time we spoke?" he asked softly. "About being caged?"
She nodded slowly, watching him with surprise on her face. How on Earth could he have remembered that? She could barely remember that conversation, but that may have been owed to the absurdly large amount of tranquilisers in her bloodstream.
"You were the first person not to treat me like an animal," she whispered, her bright green eyes staring into his bright blue ones.
"Because you're not," he murmured gently, pulling her into his arms, blushing slightly at the contact, but only Stark could see it as she relaxed into Steve. The billionaire/playboy/philanthropist smirked at Steve and Raegan, but promptly stopped after Natasha smacked the back of his head. "And anybody who does- for example, Fury- will have me to deal with."
"No, not just Rogers," Stark said, stepping forward and causing Raegan to jump away from Steve. He ached from the loss of contact, and glared at Stark. "All of us. What he did was unacceptable."
Raegan scanned the cluster of people who crowded the doorway, noticing a new face and a missing one.
"Where is Dr Banner?" she asked. "And who's the guy who looks like Legolas?"
Tony snickered. "I told you, Barton. The bow and arrows aren't doing you any favours."
"Loki escaped," Thor boomed. Barton winced at the sound of Loki's name, Natasha rubbing his arm gently.
"Bruce fell off the Helicarrier as The Hulk," Tony supplied as Raegan made a 'get on with it' gesture at him. "JARVIS predicts that he had an eighty-five percent chance of surviving the fall."
"Well, that's great," Raegan moaned. "I don't suppose you've worked out where Loki is hiding out?"
Everybody looked at Clint. "I didn't need to know. Never asked, either," he said defensively.
"Coulson?" Raegan asked, watching the others exchange looks.
"Loki… killed him," Natasha said, Thor nodding solemnly along with her. "We have only had time to regroup since the attack."
Raegan stared at the ground for a little while, Steve's hand covering hers in comfort.
"Is Fury still considering Phase Two? And he was going to ship you guys out to find Loki as soon as the Helicarrier was fixed.'
"I'm not marching to Fury's fife," Tony said.
"Neither am I," Steve agreed. "He's got the same amount of blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now we've got to put that behind us and get this done. Now, Loki needs a power source. We can put together a list of-"
"He made it personal," Tony interjected, cutting Steve off. Thor looked at Tony strangely, before he glanced at Raegan, who had her head buried sleepily in Steve's shoulder as she looked at the world through half-shut eyes.
"That's not the point," Steve replied, clearly wanting to continue with his conversation.
"That is the point," Tony stressed. "That's Loki's point. He can just hit us all right where we live- why?"
"To tear us apart," Steve replied.
"Yeah, divide and conquer is great, but he knows that he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it… he wants an audience."
"Right," Raegan said, glancing at Tony as silent permission for him to continue. "Like his act in Stuttgart."
"That's just previews, though," Tony said, beginning to pace around the cafeteria. "This is opening night, and Loki, he's a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades. He wants a monument built in the sky with his name plastered-"
Tony paused, looking at Raegan at the same time as she was piecing it together.
"Sonofabitch."
~O~O~O~
And so there we have it!
This may be the last update for a while- I have work and school stuff to juggle even thought I'm technically on holidays... So, I'll try to post as much as I can, but I make no absolute promises.
And review! It honestly makes me happy that people like reading my stories as much as I like writing them. And constructive criticism is very much appreciated.
Until next time, adieu!