Chapter Eight:
"Home early for once" Vivian yawned opening the door to their apartment, "Alice-" Vivian trailed off when she heard suspicious noises coming from her friends room and cringed "Lovely" storming off into her own room to change, grabbing a flask then leaving again locking the door on the way out. Arriving back at Shield she bumped into Steve who had been deep in thought, "What has been heard cannot be unheard" she stated staggering away to the canteen to fill up her flask,
"Vivian didn't you go home?" a red haired woman asked her from a nearby table sat with another agent,
"Hi miss Romanoff, Mr Barton" she greeted screwing the lid onto her flask "certain circumstances arose so I'm back, going head back to the lab I have loads of work to finish"
"That's all I've seen you ever do, kiddo. Work and swing chairs at people" Barton joked,
"Only things I'm good at that and gambling"
She left the canteen and entered the lab, chucking her bag on the floor making Dr Banner who had been concentrating on something jump.
"Sorry I didn't mean to startle you"
"I didn't expect you back so soon, is something wrong?" he asked taking his glasses off,
"Alice is 'making friends' with that stupid god in our apartment, I can put up with a lot of things that isn't one of them." she sighed "so I'm back to work"
The pair worked in silence, a few hours passed and Vivian noticed a pattern in the alien dialect and putting the new knowledge with her collection of notes. She stood up in the pod "hey I've finally-" she stopped mid sentence when she noticed that the doctor was no longer present , climbing out of the pod mostly to stretch her legs "He must have gone to bed, shit it's late again"
"You shouldn't talk to yourself"
Her instant reaction was to grab the nearest chair and swing it towards the unfamiliar voice
"Whoa calm down" said a tall thin man with a ridiculous helmet and black hair creeping out of the bottom. Vivian studied his face, he wasn't unattractive with his angular jaw and well defined cheek bones not to mention startling green eyes but something told her not to trust him even if he was attractive,
"Who the hell are you?" she frowned keeping a firm grip on the chair "Actually let me guess, stupid helmet, wearing a curtain and silly armour. I'd say some form of friend or relative to that stupid thunder god"
"My my we are smart" he said with an underlying patronizing tone "my name is Loki"
"What do you want?"
"I need a scientist and since you're the only one around we'll go for you" he smiled touching her heart with a strange sceptre, it felt like her mind was trying to shut itself down.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" she shouted swinging the chair at Loki, it clipped his helmet sending it crashing onto the tiled floor. As much as Vivian fought the darkness it took over eventually she could see and hear a voice constantly whispering in her head.
"Let's go shall we?"
"Director we have a problem" Black widow announced walking into the main control room with Barton at her side,
"Care to explain?" Nick Fury asked turning to face the Russian spy,
"Loki's back" she stated passing across a helmet with two large curved horns at the front "I found this in the lab and I can't find Vivian Rose"
Nick frowned "Alert Miss Winters and Thor, and assemble the others."
It didn't take for the avengers and Alice to assemble in the meeting room,
"What do you mean missing? Is Starks wallet lighter again? No? Well I'm sure she'll turn up if there's nothing in it for her and if there is then it's been nice knowing you lot" Alice fired a few questions making a joke of the situation
"We think Loki has her" Fury stated, placing a strange helmet on the table "This was found in the lab"
Alice rose to her feet and grabbed Thor's arm
"Well in that you're going to help me get my friend back from your whiny emo brother and there will be no discussion on the matter"
"But of course, my dear"
As soon as I found out that Vivian was missing and it wasn't by choice I headed straight home to grab all the ammunition I had stored. Steve and Thor came with me and both were astounded by the amount of guns I had stored in various locations around the apartment,
"You guys have only been here a week" Steve exclaimed
"I know I wanted to have more but there's that stupid three day waiting period. I couldn't even take half my guns from Vegas and don't get me started on how hard it is to find a kalisnakof. Thankfully though I have Daddy's shotgun" I said loading said shotgun with buck shots. Guaranteed to send whoever is on the receiving end of the bullet into a world of hurt, "So explain to me what exactly has your baby brother so butthurt" I said tipping some armour piercing rounds into my bag,
"He was a frost giant whom my Father adopted. He was raised as my Fathers son and as my brother but he resented that I would be king and he wouldn't"
"So he wants to be supreme ruler of all Mousedom what a little bitch" I checked all my guns and fished out my old hunting knife from the box under my bed,
"Why do you keep all your weapons underneath your bed?" Thor asked
"In case I need to shoot and or stab whoevers in bed with me" I said sweetly
"I am glad then that you have not stabbed and or shot me" Thor said making Steve look from him to me with a look of confusion and betryal on his face,
"You two have been -"
"Shacking up" I finished, "and we can bitch about the fact that my moral compass lies between my legs later. Right now I have a friend in need and if Disney has taught me anything that is a friend indeed. So round up the super best friend and let's go"
"You look like you're going to war" Steve said
"Funny I thought I was"
Loki stood before Apocalypse Vivian kneeling beside him "I ask you to bring a scientist and you fetch me a child"
"I assure you she can get the job done"
Apocalypse stared down at the woman that had tried to attack him "You will take responsibility if she fails"
"But of course" Loki bowed as the alien left the room, the trickster soon found himself on the floor unable to move his body, "You – how?"
Vivian loomed over him a taser in one hand
"Magic" she smirked rubbing the back of her neck "if you were a human 300,000 volts would have killed you. Lucky you" Vivian looked around the place Apocalypse picked as a lair, it was an abandoned warehouse "I was expecting somewhere nicer"
"What do you expect to do?"
"Make a phone call" Vivian stated pulling out her phone "Hey Stark, I'm in one piece and I have Loki. just trace this call" Vivian sat crossed legged on Loki's back and repeatedly prodded him with the high volt taser "I wonder how long it'll take to send a God's body into shock or a coma...can gods go into comas? I love experiments"
"Shield has no place to hold me" Loki wheezed,
"Well I wonder about that. I can certainly make something or I can leave you to this maniac Alien he can turn you into one of his horsemen"
"I doubt that, he needs a scientist to build him a machine for that"
"Hmm, I suppose that was my job." Vivian's taser didn't shock Loki this time but backfired into her own, screaming loudly from the sudden pain rolling onto the floor
"It seems you cannot handle a small child" Apocalypse wasn't stupid he had probably noticed that Loki's magic had faded on her, having never been shocked before Vivian's body did actually go into shock, "I already have another scientist on hand, one less troublesome" with that both Apocalypse and Loki vanished from the room leaving Vivian slipping into unconsciousness on the floor.
'I'll be darn lucky if I don't die'
Stark was able to trace Vivian's call in less time than it would have taken SHIELD to according to Natasha,
"Well that's a good thing because if I know Viv she won't go down without a fight and that could have disasterous consequences"
"Why is she gonna throw a chair at Apocalypse?" Asked Clint
"Hey they're handy and every home has them" I argued
We reached the factory just in time to see Vivian collapse on the ground her body spazaming from what I could only assume to be a tazer related incident, "Viv you ok? Come on wake up!" I yelled. She didn't respond, "Vivian I'm taking all your whiskey and selling your tablet for a vibrating bed like you get in cheap motels" that did the trick
"Fuck no you're not! I put up with you 'making friends' enough already!" She yelled, "and ow my everything"
"Come on upsy daisy let's help out here and then you can get a physical from the lovely Dr Banner" Vivian went bright red making me laugh, "Alrighty then. I think the butthurt one deserves our undevided attention don't you?"
"Oh I so agree with you"
"Then let's go get em!"
Vivian had been taken to the med bay on the helicarrier; Dr Banner was the one in charge of her physical,
"I'm fine really" she tried to persuade,
Bruce looked at her over his glasses bemused
"Is that so? Trying moving your arm then" Vivian could barely wiggle her thumb let along her whole arm, "out of curiosity what voltage was that taser set to?"
Vivian laughed nervously
"Three hundred thousand volts"
The doctor rubbed the bridge of his nose above his glasses "that could have killed you. Not to mention it's illegal to own a taser with those capabilities"
"Everything about me is illegal, I'm not even registered to be in this country" she laughed slowly gaining feeling back in her hands.
"I suppose that's true"
"O yeah I forgot to mention, I think Apocalypse has his eye on a Stephen Strange ... if I heard correctly"
"I'll pass the message on, you need to focus on recovering" Banner advised, watching his patient concentrate on moving her fingers,
"I'll be fine by morning" she announced boldly, "Now I've cracked that damn code I can start on the reprogramming"
He sighed again
"You will rest, until I deem you healthy"
Vivian stared at him as though he were mad
"What? But I'll be fine. Honest!"
"We will see. Now rest" he ordered leaving her to silence of the med bay.
"I hate resting" she huffed "I have work to be done."
"I hear the arsonist is on bed rest till the doc says she's fit for duty" Stark said to me one day while I was in shields lab picking somethings up for Vivian she might not be able to go into the lab to work but she was determined to do it in the apartment
"Yeah she's cranky as hell though. Keeps making a big ol fuss about the doc being unfair" I said picking up the sheets she'd told me to
"Wasn't that tazer of hers set to three hundred thousand volts" Stark asked
"Yes sir it was" I finished picking up Vivian's things and headed out of the labs bumping into none other than Doctor Banner on my way out
"Oh hi Doc. Viv thought she left her tablet and I was just in looking for it" I lied
"Uh huh" Banner crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me over the tops of his glasses
"Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it" I said brushing past, "Come by the apartment some time. I'm sure Viv isn't taking it half as easy as she's supposed to" I said as an after thought before walking away.
I only got so far before bumpping quite literally into Steve, "oof where are y'all coming from today?" I said picking myself and Vivian's papers up
"Can we talk" Steve asked
"Oh nothing good ever comes from that sentance" I said stuffing the papers into my bag, "Alright then lead the way" I followed Steve to the small break room and sat down at the table crossing one leg over the other, "You wanted to talk so talk"
"I know I've only known you a week but the thing is -" Steve was unable to finish his sentance
"The thing is what? Spit it out I hate when people don't finish sentances" I said scowling at Steve
"I couldn't finish the sentance because I don't know how"
"Well I'm not one for science but I know it has something to do with the vibrations of your voice box and that makes the sound" I sighed, "so come on out with it"
"I'm not great when it comes to talking to women but I - uh - like you"
"That's adorable but I'm not one for monogomy" I said standing up, "and you clearly are. I'm shaking up with as Viv puts It 'the puny god' because when this is all over he's leaving and I'll probably never see him again" I explained, "You live in New York and I'll see you all the time so that wouldn't work"
"Have you ever been 'monogomus' as you put it before?"
"Not since I was sixteen and for a damn good reason. I will never be someone's 'woman' as long as I live" I said brushing past him and out of the base. Vivian would be wanting her files and if I stick around any longer she mightn't get them