div style="mso-element: para-border-div; border: none; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" Terra stood in the shower, allowing the hot water to soothe her aching muscles, and the steam to clear her mind. They had all been training under Captain Rogers for a week now, and while the majority of their training was done "suited up", so to speak, a lot of it was basic physical training and self-defense. Terra /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"couldn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" help but feel indignant with how vastly outmatched she was when not in her Iron Valkyrie suit. Both Randall and Erick had a size advantage on her, and sparring with Captain Rogers or Aro was just out of the question. Though her frustration at being the smallest and the weakest of the group /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"fueled/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" her to push her body to its limits, Captain Rogers reminded her that just because she's not the strongest, /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"doesn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" mean she's helpless./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "You have a size advantage of your own," Rogers had told her, taking her aside after a failed spar with Randall,/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "One of the basic ideas of /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"Jujitsu/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" is using your opponents movements against him. Now, combine this with the fact that you are going to be much harder to hit than the rest of the team. Using these two together you could become just as formidable an opponent as Aro."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;" Thus had begun Terra's individual Jujitsu training under an expert S.H.E.I.L.D. agent. Being thrown to the ground hundreds of times a day was starting to take a toll on her. As she looked over the bruises on her arms and legs and even her back, she hoped that she would soon become resilient to their nagging pain. Later that night found her in the kitchen of the Avengers' residential wing, scrambling some eggs as a pot of coffee brewed on the counter to her left. As she added shreds of pale yellow cheese to the eggs, she noticed a presence enter the kitchen. She looked up, and grinned when she saw the familiar disheveled countenance of Erick Banner. Terra looked back down at her food, still grinning as Erick acknowledged her with a "hey". Having prepared her small meal and her coffee, she moved to the table at the center of the room./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" Erick afforded Terra a small smile as she set her food down on the table and sat across from him. The mint tea he'd prepared for himself helped to soothe his pounding head. He looked at Terra, focusing more on the holographic screen before her rather than the food she was absently shoveling into her mouth. He was glad she'd been assigned separate self-defense classes, so that he /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"wouldn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" have to bear the humiliation of her watching him get knocked on his ass multiple times a day. He /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"wasn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" going to lie to himself or ignore the feelings for her that had manifested over the past months. Who /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"wouldn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" find themselves attracted to her? Even now, her damp hair sticking out in odd places, her clothes /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"over-sized/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;", her face without makeup, she was gorgeous. She was recognized across the country and around the world as every bit the technological genius her father and grandfather were, and was able to put you in your place with just a look. She was kind and practical and-/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Banner?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Terra had stopped eating and had diverted her attention from the holographic screen to him./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Erick was frozen, /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Is there something on my face?" she asked half-jokingly./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Uh, no," Erick stammered. He'd never been very good with words./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" After spending half of her life being stared at by men Terra was used to it. However, catching Erick Banner staring at her was not something she'd been expecting. She /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"couldn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" explain why, but she'd felt like he would be the last person in the world to get caught up in whatever it was they all saw in her. She supposed it was because he always seemed too introspective to give two thoughts about the people around him. Though she began to second guess that notion as she sat there watching Erick open and close his mouth like a fish gasping for water. /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Or is it this amazing new hairstyle?" she said grinning and patting her head. A few pats of her damp hair sticking out in all directions revealed that perhaps that was what he'd been staring at. /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Aw crap," she raised her other hand to attempt to flatten it back down, but to no avail./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Erick seemed grateful for the break of that awkward silence. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" "So," Terra said deciding to forget about something as menial as her hair, "any thoughts on who's behind this?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "What, you mean who do we know who's powerful enough to not only free Loki but simultaneously imprison all of Asgard?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Terra grinned, "Yeah, dumb question."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Well," Erick interjected, "I mean it's not like there's absolutely no way to find out who did it. I mean, look at some of the creeps our dads fought back in the day. Von Doom, the Skrulls, Galactus. How do we even know it wasn't the Chitauri?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Terra shook her head, her face pensive, /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "There's no way they'd trust Loki again. And after the Avengers completely shut down their second invasion attempt I don't think they're likely to try for a third."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Yeah, but what if /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"they've/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" realized that our- the original Avengers /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"aren't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" in fighting shape anymore?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Terra gave him a look, but then replied smoothly,/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Even if they did, arming random thugs /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"isn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" exactly their style."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "What if the thugs /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"weren't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" random?" Erick said almost to himself, "The one we captured /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"couldn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" remember anything about, well anything. He /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"didn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" even remember getting the guns."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Yeah but we can't be sure." Terra said standing up and taking her dishes to the sink, "If we'd caught all of them, or at least more than one, we'd have a better idea of who they were and how they'd gotten those guns."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" In the ensuing silence, Terra realized the sharpness of her words and turned from the sink to face Erick./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "I'm sorry," she said, her eyebrows coming together, "I know it /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"wasn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" your fault."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Erick just shook his head and waved his hand as if to push her apology aside. /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "It's fine," he said affording her a small smile, "that's why /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"we've/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" been training so hard right?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Yeah," Terra said nodding, her eyes drifting away from his sad eyes. In the ensuing silence, Terra spoke up, a wide grin on her face,/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "You want to go see my dad's private lab?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Erick's resulting smile gave her more pleasure than she'd expected. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" The following day found the team together in Stark tower's training room working in pairs. By this time it had become apparent that Terra and Erick made a formidable duo. They flew back and forth across the white expanse of the training room, eliminating targets with coordinated accuracy. Renee was very pleased with this improvement, especially on Banner's part. He finally seemed to realize what kind of power he actually possessed. However, this improvement was not without a cause for worry. Renee had noticed Banner's seeming dependence on Stark's attention and approval. He was infatuated with her. While Renee usually /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"didn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" care for the romantic affairs of others, this infatuation may be the team's undoing. She knew they /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"couldn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" afford Erick making rash decisions, or losing his head in a fight because of Stark. However, this presented Renee with a fork in the road; either she could separate the team's most powerful duo and risk Banner not realizing his full potential, or she could leave them together and risk Banner losing control in the middle of a fight. Despite her gift of being able to see the big picture, there were still so many unknown variables. If Banner did lose it, would he be able to regain control? If she separated them, would Banner go back to just standing around in the middle of a fight?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;" Now more than ever she wished she could consult Maria. In times when there were too many unknown variables, Maria had always been able to give her feedback on all possible outcomes. At times she even forced Renee to disregard all of the unknown variables and to simply act. But now, with Maria as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., she knew that now was not the time to show any sort of weakness./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" Renee was torn from her thoughts when Terra was suddenly struck from the air by a rogue droid. She went crashing down onto the white floor, sliding to a stop about ten feet from where she landed. Banner immediately strayed from his course, and pursued the rogue droid. Renee slammed on the emergency stop button, but not before Banner had gotten a hold of the droid that had knocked Stark to the ground. As Banner unleashed his /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"new-found/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" rage on the dilapidated piece of machinery, Renee's suspicions were confirmed. /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Shall I stop him?" Aro asked from behind her. Renee shook her head as she envisioned two god-like beings destroying half of New York./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Better let me do it."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" However, as she began to descend the stairs, she noticed Terra stand up and approach him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;" Terra sat up and shook her head, reminding herself to make some calibrations to her suit's tracking system later. She looked around and noticed the program had stopped. Then she saw why. Erick was across the room, directly in front of her, unleashing an uncharacteristic rage upon one of the airborne droids that she had been training with. She stood up and removed her helmet. She glanced up at the observation room, and slowly walked towards Erick. Before, seeing this kind of Hulk-like rage from him would have been reassuring; but now that she knew him better, it was almost frightening. br / "Erick," she said softly, stopping several feet away, "Erick buddy are you okay?"br / His fists slowed when he heard her, so she continued,br / "Erick, it's just a training droid, they're not designed to do that much damage."br / She chuckled, attempting to sound reassuring,br / "All it did to me was knock me on my ass, and Jujitsu training does that to me every day."br / With that, Erick's slowing blows stopped altogether. He stood, towering above her, his dark blue hide in stark contrast with the white walls behind him. He looked down at her, his face calm, and she knew she'd gotten through to him. She reached out and put her hand on his forearm,br / "Are you going to be okay?"br / He glanced at her hand on his arm, and then gave a small nod. br / Terra sighed with a mix of relief and anxiety; things were going to get a little more interesting. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"~~~~~~~~~~ /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;" Renee walked through the metal corridors of the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier at her faster-than-most pace. The ship's crew seemed at ease, so whatever it was that Maria had summoned her to discuss was something very big or very small. She met with her in the conference room, earning a salute from the guards posted at the doorway. She entered to find Maria sitting at the far end of the conference table, papers and folders spread out before her. She looked up as Renee entered; the look on her face was a tired one. Renee became concerned then, for her friend. Maria beckoned her in, and bid her to lock the door behind her. She pressed her finger to a small electronic device hidden among the papers before her. A faint ringing noise assaulted Renee's ears for a moment before fading away. The noise-cancellation device having been activated, Maria spoke freely,br / "This is all a bit more than I bargained for."br / "No it's not." Renee was the only one beneath Maria permitted to speak so bluntly. She moved to sit beside her, interlacing her fingers on the / "You knew exactly what this was when you took the job. Remember?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" Years before, when Renee and Maria were both lowly agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. the two had been assigned to the same squad. Despite Renee's wholesome upbringing, and her father's slight dislike for S.H.I.E.L.D., she joined up with them at 18, using her father and her inherited abilities as an easy ticket in. They had offered her an easy ride to the top, but she honorably declined, wanting to use her own strength and merit this time, to rise through the ranks. After breezing her way through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s training, she was assigned to serve under Maria Coulson, daughter of the legendary Agent Philip Coulson. Initially, Maria had expressed contempt and distrust towards her, assuming she would try to steal her position, or undermine her hard-earned authority. However, Renee proved herself through her unfailing loyalty and prowess in the field; the two slowly became tight-knit friends. Together, they and their squad had dealt with many super-powered problems over the years, eventually becoming the highest ranked Spec-ops squad in the entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D. Just before the freezing of Asgard, Director Nick Fury had been promoted to the High Council, leaving the position of Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. between agents Coulson and Rogers. Respectfully and honestly, Rogers declined, realizing that she was born and raised for the field; fighting was in her blood, not politics. She was a natural-born leader, but she could never bear to be stuck in the helicarrier, constantly answering to the High Council for every action of every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. It /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"wasn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" cowardice, but the knowledge that Coulson was not only perfect for the position, but deserved it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" Maria looked at her; Renee had never shown her anything but loyalty and honesty, and if Renee said something was so, then it was so./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "You need to take a step back. Remember how you got here. Remember what /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"we've/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" been through. This," Renee gestured at the papers before them, "this is nothing."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Maria's face became more relaxed, /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "You're right." She stretched back, arcing over the back of her chair. She reached back and bound her thick brown curls behind her head and sighing, looked back down at her papers. /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "It's just….." she glanced towards the door as if she /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"wasn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" sure that she could trust the small device concealing their conversation from prying ears./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Nick Fury's back." She said, her voice barely a whisper./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "What?" Renee said, her voice sounding like a shout in comparison./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "I thought he was dead." She continued, her voice lower./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Renee, the man's technically 'died' six times. I'm not completely convinced he /spanem style="line-height: 115%;"can/emspan style="line-height: 115%;" die." Her tone became more lighthearted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;""What does he want?" Renee asked, "He resigned, he even personally recommended that you take his place as Director."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "He told me he's 'observing' S.H.E.I.L.D. now that I'm in charge."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "That's crap if /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"I've/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" ever heard it."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Maria nodded in agreement./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Who else knows he's here?" Renee inquired/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Just you, me, and the crew that flew him in."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Renee was lost in thought for a moment, when suddenly the helicarrier's alarms sounded. Maria quickly deactivated the sound-cancellation device, just as an agent burst through the conference-room door. br / "Director Coulson! New York City is under attack!"br / Maria looked at Renee, and gave a nod. As she sprinted out of the conference room, she withdrew her communicator card and relayed to all members,br / "New Avengers, Assemble!"/span/p
/div
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" Terra stood in the shower, allowing the hot water to soothe her aching muscles, and the steam to clear her mind. They had all been training under Captain Rogers for a week now, and while the majority of their training was done "suited up", so to speak, a lot of it was basic physical training and self-defense. Terra /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"couldn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" help but feel indignant with how vastly outmatched she was when not in her Iron Valkyrie suit. Both Randall and Erick had a size advantage on her, and sparring with Captain Rogers or Aro was just out of the question. Though her frustration at being the smallest and the weakest of the group /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"fueled/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" her to push her body to its limits, Captain Rogers reminded her that just because she's not the strongest, /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"doesn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" mean she's helpless./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "You have a size advantage of your own," Rogers had told her, taking her aside after a failed spar with Randall,/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "One of the basic ideas of /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"Jujitsu/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" is using your opponents movements against him. Now, combine this with the fact that you are going to be much harder to hit than the rest of the team. Using these two together you could become just as formidable an opponent as Aro."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;" Thus had begun Terra's individual Jujitsu training under an expert S.H.E.I.L.D. agent. Being thrown to the ground hundreds of times a day was starting to take a toll on her. As she looked over the bruises on her arms and legs and even her back, she hoped that she would soon become resilient to their nagging pain. Later that night found her in the kitchen of the Avengers' residential wing, scrambling some eggs as a pot of coffee brewed on the counter to her left. As she added shreds of pale yellow cheese to the eggs, she noticed a presence enter the kitchen. She looked up, and grinned when she saw the familiar disheveled countenance of Erick Banner. Terra looked back down at her food, still grinning as Erick acknowledged her with a "hey". Having prepared her small meal and her coffee, she moved to the table at the center of the room./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" Erick afforded Terra a small smile as she set her food down on the table and sat across from him. The mint tea he'd prepared for himself helped to soothe his pounding head. He looked at Terra, focusing more on the holographic screen before her rather than the food she was absently shoveling into her mouth. He was glad she'd been assigned separate self-defense classes, so that he /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"wouldn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" have to bear the humiliation of her watching him get knocked on his ass multiple times a day. He /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"wasn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" going to lie to himself or ignore the feelings for her that had manifested over the past months. Who /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"wouldn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" find themselves attracted to her? Even now, her damp hair sticking out in odd places, her clothes /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"over-sized/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;", her face without makeup, she was gorgeous. She was recognized across the country and around the world as every bit the technological genius her father and grandfather were, and was able to put you in your place with just a look. She was kind and practical and-/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Banner?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Terra had stopped eating and had diverted her attention from the holographic screen to him./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Erick was frozen, /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Is there something on my face?" she asked half-jokingly./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Uh, no," Erick stammered. He'd never been very good with words./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" After spending half of her life being stared at by men Terra was used to it. However, catching Erick Banner staring at her was not something she'd been expecting. She /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"couldn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" explain why, but she'd felt like he would be the last person in the world to get caught up in whatever it was they all saw in her. She supposed it was because he always seemed too introspective to give two thoughts about the people around him. Though she began to second guess that notion as she sat there watching Erick open and close his mouth like a fish gasping for water. /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Or is it this amazing new hairstyle?" she said grinning and patting her head. A few pats of her damp hair sticking out in all directions revealed that perhaps that was what he'd been staring at. /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Aw crap," she raised her other hand to attempt to flatten it back down, but to no avail./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Erick seemed grateful for the break of that awkward silence. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" "So," Terra said deciding to forget about something as menial as her hair, "any thoughts on who's behind this?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "What, you mean who do we know who's powerful enough to not only free Loki but simultaneously imprison all of Asgard?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Terra grinned, "Yeah, dumb question."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Well," Erick interjected, "I mean it's not like there's absolutely no way to find out who did it. I mean, look at some of the creeps our dads fought back in the day. Von Doom, the Skrulls, Galactus. How do we even know it wasn't the Chitauri?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Terra shook her head, her face pensive, /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "There's no way they'd trust Loki again. And after the Avengers completely shut down their second invasion attempt I don't think they're likely to try for a third."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Yeah, but what if /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"they've/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" realized that our- the original Avengers /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"aren't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" in fighting shape anymore?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Terra gave him a look, but then replied smoothly,/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Even if they did, arming random thugs /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"isn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" exactly their style."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "What if the thugs /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"weren't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" random?" Erick said almost to himself, "The one we captured /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"couldn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" remember anything about, well anything. He /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"didn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" even remember getting the guns."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Yeah but we can't be sure." Terra said standing up and taking her dishes to the sink, "If we'd caught all of them, or at least more than one, we'd have a better idea of who they were and how they'd gotten those guns."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" In the ensuing silence, Terra realized the sharpness of her words and turned from the sink to face Erick./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "I'm sorry," she said, her eyebrows coming together, "I know it /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"wasn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" your fault."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Erick just shook his head and waved his hand as if to push her apology aside. /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "It's fine," he said affording her a small smile, "that's why /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"we've/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" been training so hard right?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Yeah," Terra said nodding, her eyes drifting away from his sad eyes. In the ensuing silence, Terra spoke up, a wide grin on her face,/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "You want to go see my dad's private lab?"/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Erick's resulting smile gave her more pleasure than she'd expected. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" The following day found the team together in Stark tower's training room working in pairs. By this time it had become apparent that Terra and Erick made a formidable duo. They flew back and forth across the white expanse of the training room, eliminating targets with coordinated accuracy. Renee was very pleased with this improvement, especially on Banner's part. He finally seemed to realize what kind of power he actually possessed. However, this improvement was not without a cause for worry. Renee had noticed Banner's seeming dependence on Stark's attention and approval. He was infatuated with her. While Renee usually /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"didn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" care for the romantic affairs of others, this infatuation may be the team's undoing. She knew they /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"couldn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" afford Erick making rash decisions, or losing his head in a fight because of Stark. However, this presented Renee with a fork in the road; either she could separate the team's most powerful duo and risk Banner not realizing his full potential, or she could leave them together and risk Banner losing control in the middle of a fight. Despite her gift of being able to see the big picture, there were still so many unknown variables. If Banner did lose it, would he be able to regain control? If she separated them, would Banner go back to just standing around in the middle of a fight?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;" Now more than ever she wished she could consult Maria. In times when there were too many unknown variables, Maria had always been able to give her feedback on all possible outcomes. At times she even forced Renee to disregard all of the unknown variables and to simply act. But now, with Maria as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., she knew that now was not the time to show any sort of weakness./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" Renee was torn from her thoughts when Terra was suddenly struck from the air by a rogue droid. She went crashing down onto the white floor, sliding to a stop about ten feet from where she landed. Banner immediately strayed from his course, and pursued the rogue droid. Renee slammed on the emergency stop button, but not before Banner had gotten a hold of the droid that had knocked Stark to the ground. As Banner unleashed his /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"new-found/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" rage on the dilapidated piece of machinery, Renee's suspicions were confirmed. /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Shall I stop him?" Aro asked from behind her. Renee shook her head as she envisioned two god-like beings destroying half of New York./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Better let me do it."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" However, as she began to descend the stairs, she noticed Terra stand up and approach him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;" Terra sat up and shook her head, reminding herself to make some calibrations to her suit's tracking system later. She looked around and noticed the program had stopped. Then she saw why. Erick was across the room, directly in front of her, unleashing an uncharacteristic rage upon one of the airborne droids that she had been training with. She stood up and removed her helmet. She glanced up at the observation room, and slowly walked towards Erick. Before, seeing this kind of Hulk-like rage from him would have been reassuring; but now that she knew him better, it was almost frightening. br / "Erick," she said softly, stopping several feet away, "Erick buddy are you okay?"br / His fists slowed when he heard her, so she continued,br / "Erick, it's just a training droid, they're not designed to do that much damage."br / She chuckled, attempting to sound reassuring,br / "All it did to me was knock me on my ass, and Jujitsu training does that to me every day."br / With that, Erick's slowing blows stopped altogether. He stood, towering above her, his dark blue hide in stark contrast with the white walls behind him. He looked down at her, his face calm, and she knew she'd gotten through to him. She reached out and put her hand on his forearm,br / "Are you going to be okay?"br / He glanced at her hand on his arm, and then gave a small nod. br / Terra sighed with a mix of relief and anxiety; things were going to get a little more interesting. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"~~~~~~~~~~ /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;" Renee walked through the metal corridors of the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier at her faster-than-most pace. The ship's crew seemed at ease, so whatever it was that Maria had summoned her to discuss was something very big or very small. She met with her in the conference room, earning a salute from the guards posted at the doorway. She entered to find Maria sitting at the far end of the conference table, papers and folders spread out before her. She looked up as Renee entered; the look on her face was a tired one. Renee became concerned then, for her friend. Maria beckoned her in, and bid her to lock the door behind her. She pressed her finger to a small electronic device hidden among the papers before her. A faint ringing noise assaulted Renee's ears for a moment before fading away. The noise-cancellation device having been activated, Maria spoke freely,br / "This is all a bit more than I bargained for."br / "No it's not." Renee was the only one beneath Maria permitted to speak so bluntly. She moved to sit beside her, interlacing her fingers on the / "You knew exactly what this was when you took the job. Remember?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" Years before, when Renee and Maria were both lowly agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. the two had been assigned to the same squad. Despite Renee's wholesome upbringing, and her father's slight dislike for S.H.I.E.L.D., she joined up with them at 18, using her father and her inherited abilities as an easy ticket in. They had offered her an easy ride to the top, but she honorably declined, wanting to use her own strength and merit this time, to rise through the ranks. After breezing her way through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s training, she was assigned to serve under Maria Coulson, daughter of the legendary Agent Philip Coulson. Initially, Maria had expressed contempt and distrust towards her, assuming she would try to steal her position, or undermine her hard-earned authority. However, Renee proved herself through her unfailing loyalty and prowess in the field; the two slowly became tight-knit friends. Together, they and their squad had dealt with many super-powered problems over the years, eventually becoming the highest ranked Spec-ops squad in the entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D. Just before the freezing of Asgard, Director Nick Fury had been promoted to the High Council, leaving the position of Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. between agents Coulson and Rogers. Respectfully and honestly, Rogers declined, realizing that she was born and raised for the field; fighting was in her blood, not politics. She was a natural-born leader, but she could never bear to be stuck in the helicarrier, constantly answering to the High Council for every action of every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. It /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"wasn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" cowardice, but the knowledge that Coulson was not only perfect for the position, but deserved it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;" Maria looked at her; Renee had never shown her anything but loyalty and honesty, and if Renee said something was so, then it was so./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "You need to take a step back. Remember how you got here. Remember what /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"we've/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" been through. This," Renee gestured at the papers before them, "this is nothing."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Maria's face became more relaxed, /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "You're right." She stretched back, arcing over the back of her chair. She reached back and bound her thick brown curls behind her head and sighing, looked back down at her papers. /spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "It's just….." she glanced towards the door as if she /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"wasn't/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" sure that she could trust the small device concealing their conversation from prying ears./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Nick Fury's back." She said, her voice barely a whisper./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "What?" Renee said, her voice sounding like a shout in comparison./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "I thought he was dead." She continued, her voice lower./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Renee, the man's technically 'died' six times. I'm not completely convinced he /spanem style="line-height: 115%;"can/emspan style="line-height: 115%;" die." Her tone became more lighthearted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="line-height: 115%;""What does he want?" Renee asked, "He resigned, he even personally recommended that you take his place as Director."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "He told me he's 'observing' S.H.E.I.L.D. now that I'm in charge."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "That's crap if /spanspan style="line-height: 13.8000001907349px;"I've/spanspan style="line-height: 115%;" ever heard it."/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" Maria nodded in agreement./spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Who else knows he's here?" Renee inquired/spanbr /span style="line-height: 115%;" "Just you, me, and the crew that flew him in."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Renee was lost in thought for a moment, when suddenly the helicarrier's alarms sounded. Maria quickly deactivated the sound-cancellation device, just as an agent burst through the conference-room door. br / "Director Coulson! New York City is under attack!"br / Maria looked at Renee, and gave a nod. As she sprinted out of the conference room, she withdrew her communicator card and relayed to all members,br / "New Avengers, Assemble!"/span/p
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