Happy Tuesday all! Big thank you to my new followers, you guys are great!
Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters that may be used or any Marvel storylines or arcs.
Claimer: I only own the character Elizabeth Jones (Lowri Jones and any other names she uses) and her story past, present and future.
Lowri's eyes opened as the wind streamed past her, her arms and legs flailed around and her hair was blown out of her plait and was streaming behind her as she fell head first towards the earth.
Her brain was unable to connect with reality and she was half in and half out of consciousness, she snapped herself awake when she felt the cold air hit her face with a sharp slap.
For half a second, Lowri felt the panic grip her tightly and she let it consume her before she summoned her fire. Her entire upper body ached and protested as she slowed her falling.
She moved upwards slowly and eventually she gained speed, she felt as though she was reaching her limit, she could feel her body shake, her breath came shallower and she felt the fire flicker.
It was as though hours had passed before Lowri finally grabbed hold of the edge of the helicarrier with her good hand and she tugged herself over, she rolled onto her back and breathed out heavily.
She heard two sets of footsteps rush over to her and she was lifted into the air, she was rushed into the medical ward for monitoring and for a short period of time, she blacked out.
When Lowri woke up, she was hooked up to all sorts of machinery with wires sticking out of her. Her shirt was cut from the top button to the last with sticky pads stuck to her which monitored her heart rate.
Within seconds of her waking up, Lowri began pulling the wires out from her and beeping from somewhere next to her began going wild.
"Agent Jones, you were shot multiple times. We had to dig four bullets out of your chest cavity, you should be resting." One of the medics said quickly, he tried to push Lowri back down on the bed but Lowri brushed his hands away.
"Look." Lowri said, she pointed to her stomach where a pipe had been but the skin was quickly closing up. "I heal fast.
"You hit your head. You could have concussion." Another agent insisted.
"My name is Lowri Jones, I was born 1818 and I'm stupidly old." Lowri practically snapped. She pushed their hands away and swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. "I'm healed. I'm fine. Let me be."
Lowri got to her feet and tugged the final wire out, she looked at the team of medics, all watching Lowri carefully.
"Thank you for caring for me." Lowri said before walking out.
She headed for the bridge and as she walked, she felt a wave of dizziness hit her which made her pause for a few seconds until it passed.
Nick was waiting on the bridge, seemingly waiting for her to reappear. He was stood in his circle of monitors, watching everything that was happening on the ship carefully.
Lowri approached quietly but he knew she was heading for him.
"I see the medic team found your sorry ass." Nick said as she approached him.
"Someone's got a little snappier since I last saw him." Lowri replied as she came to a stop beside him.
"You need to keep an eye out on all sides for gunmen." Nick said, he turned to look at her. "The others don't know you're back yet. They need some fire to get them moving in the right direction. Rogers and Stark are down in the detention section and Romanoff is with Barton in the medic centre. Banner and Thor are overboard."
Lowri pressed her lips together. "What happened?"
"Banner turned and Thor stepped in to match him. Somehow, Thor ended up in the cage and Banner threw himself from the helicarrier." Nick said.
"So, Loki got what he wanted. He got into Banner's mind and made him lose whatever control he had over his anger." Lowri said.
Nick nodded his head. "He got away with his damned monkeys too."
"I'll go make myself known to the others." Lowri said quickly as she turned from Nick.
"Ri." Nick said, the hurt in his tone made her freeze and then turn back. "It's Agent Coulson, Loki killed him."
She felt a horrible hole open up and swallow her. Phil had been a good friend since he was recruited out of college and he had been a very good agent. There's no way he could be dead.
Lowri turned from Nick quickly and headed out of the room before tears could fall down her face. She got a few corridors over before she pressed her back against the wall and she collapsed to the floor, tears running down her cheeks.
Phil was such a good man, he was charming and he was finally getting closer to the woman he really liked. He had so much going for him.
Lowri numbly got back up to her feet and held the wall for a few seconds as she calmed herself. She stepped off and walked back towards the detention section.
She didn't hear the footsteps coming towards her fast or she didn't see that person barrel around the corner and run full force into her.
"Jesus!" Tony yelped as they collided. He grabbed onto her shoulders to stop her from falling and she grabbed his upper arms.
"Tony!" She breathed.
"Are you a ghost?" Tony asked, he squeezed her shoulders just to make sure. "You can't be. You're real. Am I being punked or something? You fell. Like you hit your head and everything, you fell, like, twenty-seven thousand feet." Tony rambled. He dropped his hands and stepped back, craning his neck to look up and down the corridor, looking for those hidden cameras.
"You're not being punked, Tony. I can fly, you know." Lowri pointed out. She dropped her hands to her side as soon as Tony had done craning his neck. "Where's Steve? And where are you rushing off too?"
"He's gone to find the hot red-head." Tony said.
Lowri rolled her eyes at him and he grinned.
"We think we've got the last part of Loki's plan down." Tony added, "He's gonna use my Tower as the power source for the Cube to open up that portal."
"What? How did you figure that out?" Lowri asked.
"When- oh!" Tony said, "You were out joy riding, weren't you?" Tony asked, Lowri narrowed her eyes but she nodded her head. "It's Coulson-"
"I know about Phil." Lowri said quickly, "Nick just told me."
"Well, Cap and I were talking about him and it came to me, Loki is a diva. I was just on my way to kick start my suit because we don't think Loki is going to be waiting around for us." Tony said.
"Alright. Don't let me stop you." Lowri said. She stepped to the side, "You go and get your suit running, I'll go find Steve. "
Tony nodded before darting past and heading around another corner while Lowri headed for the medic centre where she knew Nat would be with Clint.
Lowri walked back down the corridor she had just escaped from and she slowed down when she spied an open door. She paused as Steve backed out of the room, still dressed in his uniform with the shield on his arm and she waited.
She stopped in the middle of the corridor as he backed out of the room and he closed the door, he turned in her direction, but he stopped straightaway with his hand still on the doorknob.
Lowri felt frozen under his intense stare, what was running through his mind?
Steve was never able to hide his emotions from her and now was no exception. When he had first turned to face her, he had a serious look on his face but as soon as he saw her, it changed to shock and then to relief.
He didn't need to say anything, his expression said it all.
Lowri didn't move, but Steve took three steps and he reached her swiftly, he brought her into his arms quickly. He didn't say anything, he didn't need to. He held her tight and she felt the edges of his shield dig into her back. Her head fit perfectly in his shoulder and she caught a nice whiff of him.
She wrapped her arms around him and she instantly felt soothed. After a long, and very lovely, moment, Lowri pressed her hands against his stomach and pushed him back reluctantly.
"As much as this is nice," Lowri began, Steve looked down at her with a happy look in his eyes, "But I'm pretty sure that we've got a world to save."
Steve chuckled and his smile grew. Just from looking at him, Lowri couldn't tell what he was thinking, other than that he was relieved. Steve moved quickly, he pressed his lips hard against hers and spread his hands on her back, pressing her closer to him once more.
He took her by surprise and her mind was wiped clean of everything reasonable. Her hands fumbled against his stomach as she gripped the material of his suit in her hands and pulled him that tiny bit closer to her. She felt her body arch towards him and she had an ache in the out of her stomach.
This felt so right.
Steve slowly leant back, his lips smiled down at her and she couldn't help but smile too.
Kissing him was something that made time stop, envelope them both into their own world and wrap them up in each other fully. It was as though it was only them.
"Well that's something that brings memories back." Lowri said slowly, Steve smiled at her and tilted his head to the side gently.
"I guess I thought it was time for me to kiss you first." Steve said with a smile.
"You already have." Lowri said, "The Whip and Fiddle." She pointed out. Steve smirked at her. "Anyway, what's the plan, Super Soldier?"
"We take the fight to Loki." Steve said firmly. He kept his grip on her firmly and pulled her against him. "He's gonna set up the portal up at Stark Tower but we don't know when. Stark's gone to fix his suit and get it flying, then he'll be flying ahead of us." Steve said, he slowly released his hold on her and she stepped out of his arms.
"How are we getting to Stark Tower?" Lowri asked.
"I asked Barton if he could fly us. He's back with us now. And I didn't know you were back." Steve said.
Lowri nodded her head. "Do I have time to grab some food and change out of these clothes?"
"You've got ten minutes." Steve said. "I'm sure we can make a small detour."
"Then let's get moving." Lowri said with a smirk. She stepped off towards her room and led Steve away.
"Fury's given me all these files on the people I knew back in the day… but they're not very informative." Steve said, he looked down at her as they rounded a corner. "Can you tell me anything, Elizabeth?"
"Yes." Lowri said as they walked, "But not right now. To fight Loki, we need clear heads. And I think that if I tell you everything, your mind will be full of what could have been. So, after all of this is over, me and you will sit down with a drink and I'll tell you anything that you want to hear." Lowri said.
"That sounds nice." Steve said with a smile.
They came to a stop in front of Lowri's room and she turned to him with a knowing smirk on her face. She planted her hands on her hips and smiled at him.
"Steve, I know it's hard for you to adjust, but I go by the name of Lowri now." She said firmly. Steve smiled down at the floor and rubbed the back of his neck.
"That's gonna be hard to get used to." Steve said slowly.
Lowri smiled at him, "After the war I decided to go by my original name, after most of the people close to me knew about who I really was, I gave up keeping a hush on my secret. But I agree, it will take time. I think it took me about four years to stop turning at the name Elizabeth."
She stopped talking and ducked into her room sharpish when she realised that they were on a time limit.
Lowri quickly stripped off her bloody clothes once more and dressed in her field suit, it came in two separate parts and connected by buttons along her hemline on her shirt. The fabric is tough and fireproof and easy to move in. The sleeves are long and there's hooks on the end of each sleeve that hooks over her middle fingers so the sleeves don't ride up.
She strapped her guns into the holsters around her thighs and added a belt around her waist before pulling on her boots and stepping from the room. She pulled her hair out of the plait as she walked towards Steve.
They started off in the direction of the kitchens quickly while Lowri began plaiting her hair down her back.
"It's understandable that you kept your secret for so long, I mean, the Red Skull would have either seen you as an opportunity or a threat and he would have targeted you." Steve said, he looked down at Lowri as they walked to the kitchens. "I would have had to save you from one of the Hydra bases."
Lowri smirked, "You would have loved that." She remarked. They reached the kitchens and she grabbed a small bottle of water and a breakfast bar then they headed for the flight deck.
Nat and Clint were loitering by the doorway leadings to the bay where the quin jets were kept and they straightened up when Lowri and Steve approached.
"How are you feeling?" Lowri asked as she and Steve came to a stop in front of Nat and Clint, Lowri looked at Clint and he looked as though he had been dragged through hell and back.
"Being possessed is never a nice feeling, Misfire." Clint replied.
Lowri nodded, "That I can agree with." She said as she led them through the doorway. "The last time someone tried to get into my head, I burned the guy."
"I never wanna see you possessed." Clint remarked as he followed.
"Good thing you weren't around in 1946, then." She noted, she kept her eyes ahead of her as she made her way quickly to her favourite quin jet.
"1946?" Steve asked sharply.
Lowri didn't answer. That year had only been a year after Steve had crashed the Valkyrie into the Arctic.
They broke the crowds that blocked them and they stepped into the jet. There was a young man already inside the jet, quietly repairing something underneath the metal grids. He looked up sharply as Lowri stepped into the jet first. Clint and Nat walked past her quickly, heading for the cockpit to get the jet into the air as soon as possible.
"Hey, you guys aren't authorised to be in here," the young agent stuttered. Steve held one hand up to stop the young agent and gave him a stern and serious look.
"Son," Steve began. Lowri pressed her lips together and glanced down at the floor. "just don't."
The young man's mouth opened and closed a few times before Lowri stepped around Steve said looked at the young agent.
"Franks," Lowri began, his eyes snapped to her and widened. "Do I really need to say anything else?"
"No, Ma'am." The young man said quickly, he darted past Lowri and Steve and jumped off the jet.
"Wheels up!" Clint called.
Steve turned to Lowri and pushed her onto the bench to her right.
"Now, you sit here and eat that. You've had a tough day." Steve ordered. Lowri raised an eyebrow at him but she bit into her breakfast bar.
"I think we've all had a tough day, Cap." She said after she swallowed the first bite of the breakfast bar. The jet rose steadily into the air and shot off towards New York.
"I totally agree with Misfire." Clint remarked from the cockpit.
Steve took a seat beside Lowri and watched her eat. She felt slightly awkward with his eyes on her, but she shrugged them off.
"You know, your age is starting to show." Lowri said before she took the last bite of the breakfast bar.
"What do you mean?" Steve asked, he narrowed his eyes at her.
"Your age is showing. You need to reign in that oldness." She explained, she smiled knowingly, and Steve shook his head at her.
"Alright, I don't know the right things to say anymore." Steve said a little quietly.
"I'm sure you never did back then either." Lowri smirked. She tossed the empty wrapped into the bin and looked up at him. "I recall you called me a beautiful dame and then a woman and then just an officer. What am I to you now?"
"Not an officer." Steve said quickly. He glanced down at his hands in his lap, "You're still a beautiful dame."
Lowri felt her cheeks grow hotter and she looked down at the bottle of water in her hand. She opened the cap and gulped down a few mouthfuls.
"Have I embarrassed you?" Steve asked with a knowing smile.
Lowri looked up at him with half a scowl. "It's been a while since I was called that." She said quietly.
Steve reached over and took her hand in his. "Then I'm glad that I was the one to tell you." Steve said, squeezing her hand. "So, what happened in 1946?"
Lowri's eyes widened and her face cooled off. She looked up and smiled. "A Russian organisation targeted Howard Stark for his bad and dangerous inventions. They were angry over something Howard couldn't control."
"So how come you burned a guy?" Steve asked.
"This doctor used speech to get into someone's mind, to hypnotise them. He controlled what they were thinking and what they were doing, and he got into Howard's mind. He made Howard fly a plane over the VE celebrations in New York in 1946, Howard was going to drop this gas called Midnight Oil. Howard invented it as a way to keep soldiers awake but it has other, undesired effects."
"Did this doctor hurt you?" Steve asked quietly.
"No. But I hurt him. He did try to get into my mind, to warp me against everyone else. But I set my hand on fire and held his mouth shut." Lowri said, she looked away from Steve as she remembered the pain in the Russian's eyes, pain that she caused.
"You really came into your own, didn't you?" Steve asked gently.
"It was down to you, Steve." Lowri said, she looked up at Steve and smiled. "If you hadn't been so slow when the second German assassin came to find you, then I wouldn't have needed to save your life or show my impeccable skills."
Steve chuckled. "Obviously, you haven't lost your confidence." He said.
"Well, maybe I did a long time ago. But now, who can go up against a woman with unnatural abilities?" Lowri asked.
"Aliens." Nat called back to her.
"Okay, well I hope they're flammable." Lowri replied.
"Loki isn't." Nat called.
"That's a mere setback." Lowri called back.
That's all for this week, more to follow next week. I hope you're all enjoying!
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