Notes: OMG!
Thank you so much for all the reviews and favorites.
I hope there are not too many mistakes with my English so far...
I am sorry to say this chapter is basically going to be a rip-off from the movie. I swear it is just a bit more, before the second part of the story, where everything will be brand new and we will have Thor 2, Agents of SHIELD, Captain America 2 and a whole lot of SteveXToni.
Hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 5
"What are you doing, Miss Stark?" Nick Fury demanded upon entering the lab.
"Uh… Kind of been wondering the same thing about you." Toni said from her perch on one of the tables.
"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract." Nick insisted.
"We are." Bruce said "The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now." He pointed at one of the screens "When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."
"And you'll get your Cube back. No muss, no fuss." Toni turned her attention back to the screen closest to her, and asked "What is 'Phase 2'?"
Steve came barging into the room looking beyond pissed and put what looked like a bad ass alien weapon on the table. "Phase 2 is SHIELD using the Cube to make weapons." He looked over to Toni and Bruce, "Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow for me."
Nick took a deep breath and turned to Steve. "Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract." He said in his most assuring voice, "This does not mean that we're…"
"I'm sorry, Nick." Toni cut. "What were you lying?" She asked turning one of the screens in his direction, where all of SHIELD weapons projects were in plain view.
"I was wrong, director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Steve said flatly.
Thor and Natasha got into the room at this exact moment. The red head seemed to be expecting problems even before she was there, which only made the tension in the lab increase.
"Did you know about this?" Bruce asked her.
"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" She asked calmly. In Toni's opinion, Natasha's condescendence was only making it worse.
"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed." Bruce lashed back.
"Loki's manipulating you." Natasha warned.
"And you've been doing what exactly?" He replied sarcasticly.
"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you." Apparently even Natasha had a limit…
"And I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy." He said in a tone that broke no arguments. Bruce pushed one of the screens to himself. "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."
Nick finally seemed to realize he had no other choice. "Because of him." He pointed at Thor.
"Me?" The blond giant asked, clearly confused.
"Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town." Nick explained, "We learned that not only we are not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."
"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor protested.
"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Nick countered. "And you are not the only threat." Now he was speaking to all of them. "The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled."
"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve suggested dryly.
"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies." Thor said. "It is a sign to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war."
"A higher form?" Steve repeated shocked.
"You forced our hand." Nick insisted "We had to come up with something."
"Nuclear deterrent." Toni said ironically. "Cause that always calms everything right the fuck down."
Nick threw a skeptical glare at her. "Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?"
"I'm sure that if she still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep…"
""Wait, wait! Hold on." Toni interrupted the Captain, "How is this now about me?"
"I'm sorry, isn't everything?" Steve said with fake solicitude.
"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor said.
"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Nick said angry.
"You treat your champions with such mistrust." Thor accused.
"Are you boys really this naïve?" Natasha rolled her eyes. "SHIELD monitors potential threats."
"Captain America is on threat watch?" Bruce mocked.
"We all are." She affirmed.
"Wait, you're on that list?" Toni turned to Steve. "Are you above or below angry bees?"
"Stark, so help me God, if you make one more wisecrack…"
"Threat!" She exclaimed throwing her arms up. "Verbal threat! I feel threatened."
"Show some respect!" Steve asked irritated.
"To what?" Toni snorted. "I see no one here that deserves my respect."
"You speak of control, yet you court chaos." Thor said.
"But this is his M.O., isn't it?" Bruce said bitter, attracting everybody's attention to himself. "I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're…" He took a breath. "We're a time bomb."
"You need to step away." Nick said seriously.
"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Toni asked, throwing an arm around Steve shoulders.
"You know damn well why." Steve said stepping away from Toni. "Back off!"
"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me." She was daring him now.
"I don't hit women." Steve said.
"Oh no, soldier, you are not hiding behind that bullshit." Toni poked him right in the middle of his chest. "I'll put you flat on the floor and then we can see who's not hitting girls."
"Oh yeah. I forgot. Big girl in a suit of armor." Steve circled her slowly. "Take that off, what are you?"
"Genius, billionaire, socialite, philanthropist." She said lightly.
"I know guys with none of this worth ten of you." He said full of scorn. "Yeah, I've seen the footage. The only thing you fight for is yourself. You're not the one to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on the wire and let someone else crawl over you."
"I think I would just cut the wire."
"Always a way out…" Steve huffed in disdain. "You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."
Toni took one step, only a couple of inches between her and Steve. The whole room had disappeared. She did not give any fuck about Nick, the Tesseract and the weapons. She just wanted to put this fucking fossil on his place.
"A hero? Like you?" It was her turn to be scornful "You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle."
"Put on the suit. Let's go a few rounds." Steve challenged.
Thor let out a dry laugh. "You people are so petty. And tiny."
"Yeah, this is a team." Bruce murmured sarcastic.
"Agent Romanoff, would you escort dr Banner back to his…" Nick stared saying.
"Where? You rented my room." Bruce countered annoyed.
"The cell was just in case…" Nick tried again.
"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't!" Bruce shouted. "I know. I tried."
In face of Bruce's confession a heavy silence filled the room. Toni was shocked.
"I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out! So I moved on. I focused on helping other people." Bruce said "I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?"
Bruce took one step forward and Nick and Natasha put their hands in their weapons, but it was Steve's voice that got to Bryce.
"Doctor Banner… Put down the scepter."
Everybody seemed to be holding their breath when Bruce looked down to his own hand, as if he hadn't even noticed he had grabbed the scepter. They were all waiting for the worst.
Until one of the computers started to beep.
"Got it!" Toni said quickly, trying to take the attention of Bruce.
"Sorry, kids. You don't get to see my party trick after all." Bruce murmured, put the scepter down and going to one of the computers.
"You located the Tesseract?" Thor demanded.
"I can get there faster." Toni said, preparing to leave the room.
"Look, all of us…" Steve tried, but Thor interrupted him.
"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is match for it."
Steve was about to say something when he saw Toni leaving the lab. "You're not going alone." He said grabbing her arm and pulling her.
She slapped his hand away. "You gonna stop me?"
"Put on the suit. Let's find out." Steve hissed.
"Just be damn sure. I'm not afraid to hit an old man." She provoked.
"Put on the suit." Steve repeated.
"Oh, my God." Bruce murmured, eyes on the screen.
That was when the lab exploded.
Steve used his body to protect Toni from the impact of the explosion and she ended on the floor, on top of him. All the others had been thrown God knows where.
They exchanged a panicked look.
"Put on the suit." Steve said again, this time in a whole different way.
"Yep." Toni agreed.
The solider helped the billionaire to stand.
This was probably one of those moments where "clusterfuck" was a very appropriate choice of words…
XxX
Toni had gone through a lot of ridiculous situations, but trying to jump start an engine was probably on the top of the list. To make it better Captain Perfect was not where he was supposed to be and only a miracle prevented her of becoming shredded cheese.
Who got the short end of the stick was her suit. She would need a new one to finish this, the one she had now wouldn't stand another fight.
Actually she was going to do just that. After she took a breath, then she would go home and get a new one.
"Are you okay, Stark?" Steve asked, offering a hand to help her up.
"I'm great." She said refusing help. "I will be even better after a massage. Especially if it is made of edible cherry oil."
Steve looked confused by that, but she was not wasting her time explaining that one. Fury's voice came over the communicators.
"Agent Coulson is down."
Suddenly Toni was wishing the engine had ripped her apart.
XxX
Toni knew very well what Nick was trying to do with that ridiculous pep talk. That son of a bitch was trying to use Phil's death to incite them against Loki.
Unfortunately it was working.
At this point, Toni wanted to kill the Asgardian on principle, but now… Now the desire to make him pay was nearly suffocating her.
Her hand was shaking and she would sell her soul for whisky, or bourbon, even vodka. Toni's head was spinning.
This was why she had stepped back, but her feet ended taking her to the exact place where Loki killed Phil.
"Was he married?"
Steve's question didn't get her by surprise, because she saw him coming closer. It didn't mean she wanted to talk to him.
"No, he… Oh, no." She run her fingers through her hair. "Pepper."
"What?" Steve asked confused.
"Pepper…" Toni repeated, without even thinking that Steve probably had no idea of who Pepper was. It didn't matter right now. "She was into him and I think… She's going to be crushed."
"I'm sorry." Steve said slowly and he even seemed honest. "He seemed like a good man."
Toni scoffed, even though her chest was burning. "He was a fucking idiot."
"Why?" Steve asked. "For believing?"
"For taking on Loki alone." She replied.
"He was doing his job."
"He was out of his league." She shouted, getting closer to Steve. "He should have waited. He should have…"
"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Toni." Steve said gently.
"Right. I've heard that one before." She was so angry at him just for being there, so she walked by him, she needed to leave.
But Steve grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. Way more gently them before. "Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?"
Toni turned to Steve and if looks could kill America's biggest treasure would be seven feet under.
"We are not soldiers!" She screamed. Steve just looked at her in silence. Toni took a deep breath. "I am not marching to Fury's fife."
"Neither am I." Steve promised. "He's got the same blood on his hands as Loki does. But right now we've got to put this behind us and get this done."
Toni nodded and took another deep breath. She was not going to lose it like this. Not yet. When all this was over she would plunge in pool of martini, but for now…
"Could you…" She cleared her throat. "Could you let go of me?"
Steve seemed confused for a minute, then he looked at his hand and saw he was still holding Toni's wrist. The Captain blushed and, in any other moment, Toni would have made a joke of it. Now it didn't feel right.
"Now…" He coughed awkwardly, "Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list…"
Toni's eyes fell to the wall that was still stained with Phil's blood.
"He made it personal." She said.
"That's not the point."
"That is the point. That's Loki's point." Toni said, the gears in her head moving on their own. "He hit us right here where we live. Why?"
"To tear us apart." Steve answered.
"Yeah, divide and conquer is great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants." She said, "He wants to beat us. He wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."
"Right, I caught his act in Stuttgart"
"Yeah. That was just previews." Toni started pacing, things were finally coming together. "This is opening night. And Loki, he's a full tilt diva, right? Even more than me. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered…"
Toni stopped and Steve was still waiting for her to finish the thought, but she already knew where Loki was going to be.
"Son of a bitch." She murmured before leaving.