However, when thinking about how to save Coulson, I realized I had to decide how the rest of the movie was going to play out. I came to the conclusion, that it was going to be necessary for Agent Barton to go under Loki's control so he could escape from the helicarrier. Without an escape plan, Loki would be truly unpredictable. But it wasn't just Loki. There was an army. An army that could only be taken out with a nuclear warhead to the mothership. There was the option of stopping the portal from being able to open. That would be easy enough. Keeping Eric Selvig from the building or protecting the iridium would be two options. But once again it wasn't just an army. Darn Marvel writers. Why did you have to make things so complicated? Oh yeah. Because it makes a great sequel. Arrrrggg!
I only let my frustration show by running my hand over my face. We have arrived at the building where Steve Rodgers, and now me, were going to stay. Agent Coulson clarified that the cube had begun reacting strangely without any provocation. I prepared myself for the condemning words.
"Agent Barton must be at the Tesseract tomorrow. Something bad is going to happen to him, but it is reversible. I do value my life and would not be angering Agent Romanov if it was not necessary. If you could not let her know I know anything, it would be great. Eric Selvig also needs to be there. I'll call you with more details once I have time to sort out my head." Coulson gave me a strange look.
"You're trying to change our fates, aren't you?" I nodded.
"I'm trying to save people's lives." He looked a little concerned.
"How do you know you won't make things worse?" That was a very scary thought.
"I don't, but I'm trying to be very careful. That's why I need to think things all the way through. I am positive about Agent Barton and Eric Selvig though." He nodded but didn't seem any less concerned, though a little more optimistic. He took my phone and made his number an automatic dial for number two. I exited the vehicle and got escorted inside by another member of SHIELD.
I didn't unpack when I got to my room. I knew we would be leaving for the helicarrier in the morning. I sat on my bed and continued to make life-changing decisions for a group of powerful men.
Thanos. Everyone was soon to be worrying about Loki, but unfortunately he was only a convenient henchperson for Thanos. I had to make it as hard as possible for him whenever he decided to attack, which meant we couldn't skip the portal opening. However, it didn't mean that the army had to travel through it. A bright beam of hope that no one would be killed in New York by the alien army come into being. Of course, I still had to convince Fury to let me have a nuclear bomb. The council seemed a little bomb happy; maybe if I got an audience with them-but them I would have to sic the avengers on them for being bomb happy. I definitely needed to present it as a careful plan aimed at the enemy with no civilian casualties.
My happiness multiplied as I realized I had plans to prevent the two biggest causes of death. Very carefully I began to hope that perhaps no one would have to die. I started the movie reel in my head and started from the beginning. Coulson leading Fury and Hill to the Cube where Eric Selvig and Clint were. Those people and one other were the only ones to leave alive. The army men were not needed. The extra scientists were not needed. They could live. Did I still want them there? After careful thinking, I decided yes. If I could avoid death by knowing the future, I had to let Selvig and Clint get taken.
Fast forward through the introductions, and then we had Germany. The two guarding the iridium could be moved if I had gotten permission to nuke bomb the enemy. No death. While I didn't know if the man whose eyeball was taken died, or even if the eyeball was actually taken out or just painfully scanned, if he wasn't at the party and the iridium lab was mysteriously left open...would Clint still take it or would it smell funny? Maybe SHIELD could come up with a better plan. In Germany, the only other person actually hurt would be whoever was in the police car which Loki hurt. They probably hadn't died, but SHIELD might be able to delay the police just long enough that they didn't get hurt. Tahdah! No death. In fact, juggling the availability of iridium might be the hardest part.
Ummm, Loki's breakout. No, that would be harder. The iridium had to get back to Selvig, but Loki did not necessarily escape. However, if Clint was allowed to steal the iridium to take it back to base, he would still launch a rescue mission. Even if Clint didn't go back to base, a rescue mission would probably be launched. Better stick with the one that could be planned for. In the movie, there was the distinct knowledge about the plane with Clint and his buddies on it, but not that they were hostile. If the sighting of the plane could be responded by pulling all personnel from the whooshy, propeller, thingabobs. That was technical Rachel, I told myself. 'Wings?' Whatever the thing Clint bombed was called. If I was able to get Banner out of the lab when the bomb hit, and therefore not having him Hulk out, I could get Natasha do 'cognitive recalibration' on Clint much quicker. Maybe even get her to recalibrate the whole plane before they did any more damage. Would Loki still escape then? It didn't really matter. SHIELD would still have the scepter and Selvig would still have set up the portal. Insert bomb and presto! No death. In the entire movie. Or at least that I knew of. And...yes! Coulson wouldn't need to sacrifice himself if he knew a plan was in place. Whose the woman? Whose the woman? I may have begun pacing in my room whispering similar phrases softly. Or the complete opposite of that.
"Ma'am? Are you
alright?" Pausing, I looked at the bedroom door from where the voice had come from. Opening the door, I found myself face to face with Captain America, and I had no idea what to say.
"Uh, yeah. Just solved a puzzle and needed to do a little victory dance. Sorry." Captain looked at my slightly blushing face for a moment before he lit up.
"You are the girl from the park, right?" I nodded before holding my hand out to shake.
"I am Rachel Christenson." He shook my hand with firmness but it didn't hurt at all.
"Steve Rodgers." I smiled at him.
"There is a captain in there somewhere, right?" He looked a little uneasy. I shook my head in amusement at his humility. It was refreshing though. "Military distinction is something of pride. My grandpa always refers to the leader of the revolutionary war as General George Washington. It's a sign of respect and admiration."
"I'm being compared to George Washington?"
"A man who inspired hope in a near-hopeless war while building patriotic spirit. Sounds about right for both of you." Steve looked ridiculously embarrassed at my statement. "Anyway, just because that battle is over doesn't mean the world doesn't need heroes anymore. Take Mr. Stark for instance."
"Stark?" Oh yeah. He knew Tony's father.
"Tony Stark. Son of Howard Stark. Built a suit of metal that he can fly in and fight. He calls himself Iron Man and has a new tower in the middle of New York City now."
"The big, ugly thing?"
"People thought the twin towers were ugly." Wait, when were those built? Oops; way after Captain America. The Empire State building was built early sixties, and they were after. "Sorry. What I mean to say is that people can change their minds. You're just getting used to seeing skyscrapers at all."
"Yeah. Things were a little different back in my day." I looked at him sadly.
"If it makes you feel better, things have really changed in the last ten years or so. Most of the grandparent age people have a really hard time with technology. You are young enough to be able to catch up. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have though." He looked at me puzzled for a while.
"I might have to take you up on that sometime, Miss Rachel. I was heading down to the gym for right now."
"That's alright. I've got a phone call to make." Thinking about why he was going to the gym, I called out, "Captain Rodgers? I mean, can I call you Captain Rodgers? I know I talked about it earlier, but I want to be respectful while making you comfortable." When he turned back to me, he had a small smile on him lips.
"Captain Rodgers is just fine." Realizing he wasn't going to say anything else, I talked on.
"I just want you to know, you are not the only one coming back from a war. There has been...conflict in the Middle East for several years now. The soldiers come home and think about their lost comrades and blame themselves or dream they are still in the war. My grandpa told me one time about how when he came back from Vietnam, he heard a jet plane and thought it was a bomb coming to get him. He was on a probably crowded university campus and he 'hit the dirt.' They call it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder now. Its had lots of names. Know you are not alone." I didn't have any idea how to care for a war-torn soldier. However, I could assure him he was not the only one suffering. That there were people going through almost the same thing. I noticed Steve was still staring at me.
"How do you know exactly what to say?" I chuckled softly and shook my head.
"I don't really. However, I know you a little bit better than most. Thing about me is, I don't see the solider; I see the same man who wanted so desperately to be a soldier in World War Two be haunted by what he has seen. Not only that, when your fighting ended, you didn't get to go home; you landed in a scary place with no idea what was going on." I chuckled a little again. "I can relate to that feeling a little. I see your pain and loneliness and try to contemplate a small fraction of it-and then run away from the thought of war." There was a long pause after I had spoken.
"Thank you, Rachel."
"I try," I replied, shaking my head. I knew he was thinking about it already,
bringing it up didn't help though. I had not idea what he had been through, or what he now was going through, and I didn't really want to.
Steve continued down the hallway while I ducked back into my room. I had a plan to start implementing.