A nailed hand dug into the back of his uniform, thankfully keeping away from the torn up mess of his shoulders and back. Jack Frost was livid, if not somewhat embarrassed. This woman had come at him, when he was not prepared, held him against the ground, and threatened him in Fury's name? Who did she think she was. Jack had actually tried asking the woman in black a few times, once even exchanging his annoyed and pissed tone for a more curious and innocent one, the woman didn't take the bait, which made Jack almost scream in frustration.
They had been walking for almost 20 minutes, and besides from their original exchange, the woman hadn't said a word about, where they were going, or why he was in so much trouble in the first place! There's no way Fury could've seen what Jack looked like when he arrived. The Helicarrier didn't seem to be the kind of thing that had scenic windows, but then again, he had only explored a small area of the ship, so he could be wrong.
Jack grunted as the the collar of his uniforms was pulled back choking him, forcing his body to to stop mid-step. It didn't hit any sore spots, but Jack was fed up. He iced the tips of the fingers still attached to his collar, and the woman gasped in surprise. Jack turned around to meet her challenging stare. She spoke. "How dare you-"
The door had whooshed open, and Coulson appeared. That's strange. Coulson was the last person Jack would've expected to see right now. "Ms. Romanoff, I will take it from here. You are excused."
The woman gave Jack one final glare, which to Jack poked his tongue out at to. She growled in response and stalked back down the winding hallway they had came through.
Phil Coulson had noticed the exchange and was trying very hard to not laugh. He was biting the inside of his cheek trying to hold back his reaction from the little exchange that had just unfolded. This kid had not only frozen some part of the master assassin (judging from the shards of ice on the floor) but when she had given him one of her glares, the glare that stopped the enemy in their tracks, the kid had only pointed his tongue at her? It was a bit childish, but Coulson had to admit, the kid had guts.
Coulson signalled for Jack to walk through the door, into a small room. There were two sofas, a mini fridge and a small table with papers scattered across it's otherwise immaculate glass surface. "Have a seat, Mr. Frost. It's past due time we talked." Coulson glanced at his watch. "About two and a half hours, to be precise."
Jack's forehead creased, allowing his hair to fall into his face. He swept it back without a second thought. Two and a half hours! Jack thought he had only been a little over an hour late, not a two and half damned hours! He groaned, knowing he was not going to get out of this with a slap on the wrist.
"So, the question is, where were you, and what the hell did you do to yourself to get so banged up! That suit is fire and wind resistant, not to mention made from a very expensive material."
Jack folded his arms over his chest and thought about what he was going to say, and smirked. He had the perfect explanation.
"I was visiting Santa's workshop, you know, the one in the North Pole? Well, yeah. I was snooping around and the Yeti's almost caught me." Jack gestured to his shredded suit. "I had to make a quick escape."
Coulson's eyebrow quirked at the boy's alibi. He decided to humour him. "Well, Mr. Frost, would you happen to have any uh, evidence, or proof that you were indeed, where you say you were?" Coulson asked dryly. He hoped that they could get through this quickly before moving on to the real thing.
Phil saw Jack Frost dig into the pocket of his leg. Thinking that Jack had reached down to pull out a gun, Coulson's reaction was instant. In the blink of an eye, he had a loaded 22 magnum pointed at Jack's forehead. "Don't even try it." Coulson warned, his voice low and dangerous.
Jack's eyes widened at the sight of the gun. "What? No- I- I don't have a gun."
"Well then what the hell were you doing reaching down into your gun pocket?"
"I was getting my proof. Remember? The thing you asked for?"
Coulson blinked in surprise. He was kidding when he asked for proof, but his curiosity peaked, and against his better judgement, he asked Jack to take it out, the gun still pointed at the spirit.
Without taking his eyes off of the gun, Jack Frost pulled out the tiny box, and slid it across the table. Coulson didn't lower the gun, but Jack felt safe enough to release the breath he hadn't realised he was holding.
Jack watched the agent closely, trying to gauge his reaction. First he read the writing on the plaques, and his eyebrows furrowed. By his expression, he obviously knew something about the writing, but what?
Next, Coulson tried to pry open the golden latch. It wouldn't budge with only one hand, so, giving Jack a 'don't try anything' look, he put his gun away and pulled even harder at the latch. Jack cringed at the force he was putting into it.
"Why isn't it opening. What's inside?" Coulson demanded.
"I-I don't know. Here, let me try."
"Open the latch and then slide it back over."
Jack shrugged, reached over and grabbed the tiny box. The latch opened easily, and without complication. "C'mon, it wasn't that hard, was it?"
"You're in no position to be playing games, Mr. Frost." Coulson warned.
Jack kept his mouth shut, swallowing back all the retorts that sprung to his mind, and slid the box back over. Coulson eyed the box, and said, "On second thought, how about you open it?"
Jack shot him an annoyed look, but did as he was told. When the lid lifted, the sparkling blue figuring lay exactly where Jack had placed it. It still had the eerie feeling to it, and was still the memory he somehow couldn't place.
As soon as Coulson lay his eyes on it, his breathing quickened. I-is this Sapphire?"
Jack had no idea what sapphire was, so he stayed silent.
With shaking fingers, Coulson picked the statue up, smoothing his fingers over the fluttering cape. He studied the swirling patterns on the sword, and the frost on the cape. He tipped the statue upside down to try and get a better look at it's face, but frowned when he saw it was featureless.
"Where did you get this? Did you steal it?" Coulson's tone didn't sound menacing, just curious.
Jack sighed. "I've already told you where I got it, and, yes. I did steal it. But, I-I feel some kind of connection to it. It feels like a memory, but just one I can't reach. It's strange."
Coulson seemed to of have recovered somewhat. "Well, in my experience in dealing with magical beings, this looks like it has an element of mystery to it, which can only be deified as magical. I would like to take it in for more study."
"Like hell you will!" Jack almost shouted.
"Jack. You said that you feel a connection with this thing, didn't you?"
"Yes." Jack said brusquely.
Coulson was unperturbed. "Well, since you brought it in, I guess it's related to your research department. I'm going to be honest with you, we haven't been making much progress, aside from some unusual energy readings when it comes to you. But this, this is our first clue. This could help us find out who you are, and where exactly you came from, which is something that is in both of our best interests. I promise you we won't damage it or harm it, and if you feel the need to visit it, come talk to me and we'll arrange it, ok?"
Jack didn't know what to say. The subject of the research team hadn't been brought up, but then again it had only been a couple of days. Coulson had put it in the most reasonable way possible. What good would it do sitting in his room all day? Finally, Jack nodded.
Coulson clapped his hands together. "Good! You might be called to the lab once or twice to we can get the damn thing opened, but other from that, we shouldn't bother you too much about it. Though, I believe it is high time you give me a proper explanation for where you were, what happened, AND where you found that thing.
Jack sighed to himself. This was the beginning of a long day.
It had already been a long morning for Coulson. His methods of contacting Stark weren't working out as well as he had hoped, the man was flat out ignoring him. Coulson would need to talk to Fury later on about, it. He was hoping to get authorisation to simply walk into the soon-to-be-opened Stark tower, and cornering Tony about the Avengers Initiative. He was sure Pepper Pots wouldn't mind. In fact, if he got the all clear from Fury, he would contact her over the phone. She was the CEO, after all.
But that would have to wait for later. Right now, he had a more pressing matter on his hands. This kid had appeared more than two and a half hours late, his suit torn up, and practically dripping blood. He looked like he had been through hell. His eyes had looked to be hooded with guilt and worry, and Coulson was worried he'd been attacked by something. Or someone.
But, when Jack was question, he had the nerve to tell Coulson he'd been at Santa's workshop and chased down by Yeti's? It was absurd, and by far one of the most ridiculous explanations he had ever heard. Then the statue made of solid sapphire popped up. He honestly thought the kid was going to pull a gun on him. But the statue, Coulson could sense, had something strange about it. It was off somehow, there was just no other way to explain it, other than off.
Coulson had kept Jack for another 20 minutes after that. At the start, the kid kept insisting that he had been at Santa's workshop, and Coulson would d pushed him out the door if it wasn't for the sincerity in his eyes. So he questioned further. He told Phil Coulson how he had crawled through elf tunnels that lead into a room, and how he had been looking through some shelves, when he found a button in the wall. He pressed it, found the box, and was almost discovered. He got out of there through the same tunnels but he had to fly to make it out quickly enough. Which scratching up his body on rocky shards going at high speed. That made some sense, at least.
Coulson had questioned the boy thoroughly, but had to stop after he refused to tell him anything else. "I've told you everything, can I go now?" He had asked. His eyes were resigned, and he looked bored and disinterested.
Phil tried once more to coerce the boy into telling him something more believable, but all he received was a flat, deadpan look. Coulson sighed. "You are free to go, . But due to your recent activities, an agent must accompany you at all times, only making an exception for your bathroom habits. He will live next to you, in a room connected to yours. We're are putting a door in as we speak."
Jack's mouth hung open.
"As soon as you walk out that door for the day, you meet with Steve and go to breakfast, as usual. Your agent will be there with Steve to accompany you. They will take you to training, and will most likely end up being your training partner. This agent I'm assigning you will keep a sharp eye on you and will accompany you anywhere you go."
Jack had jumped out of his chair, ready for an argument. But Coulson cut him off, saying something that made him freeze his steps.
"If you do not comply, I will assign Agent Clint Barton to keep an eye on you. And trust me, he won't be happy about it." Coulson's features softened when the Jack threw him a dirty look. "They're not my orders kid, this is only temporary, but I expect you to get along well with this agent."
There was a knock at the door, and Coulson hollered for them to enter. A tall, lean man walked through the door, he had sunglasses resting atop his head, the same SHIELD suit, flame-red hair, and though he had the SHIELD issued facial expression, there was a glint of humour in his green eyes. Aside from the usual gun at the waist, this man had what looked to be a small baton strapped to his waist. Jack eyed it warily.
"Jack Frost, meet Alex Summers, your uh, well... I would call it chaperone, but that would be kind of offensive, seeing as Mr. Summers here is a highly trained SHIELD agent, so let's just call him your partner, for now."
Alex walked forward and offered out his hand to Jack. Begrudgingly, he took it, applying a light layer of Frost across the man's glove. Alex seemed unfazed, but did turn his hand over to curiously inspect the icy pattern.
Giving an approving nod, Coulson walked out of the room, but stopped suddenly. "Jack, you have training in half an hour. Go back to your room and get fitted into a new suit. There is a first aid kit on the kitchen bench, Mr. Summers has been asked to assist you in bandaging up your wounds. Don't resist, training's going to be tough today." And with that, Coulson left.
Jack stomped out the door, a silent Alex trailing behind them. He was feeling spiteful so with a scream of frustration, Jack froze the entire hallway, coating the walls, floor and ceiling in slippery, sparkling ice.
"Yeah, it looks better that way, I was never a fan of the ominous black hallways anyway."
Jack whirled around in surprise, but recovered quickly, "Don't talk to me." He growled, trying his best to scowl menacingly at the man.
Alex, however, seemed unfazed. "You know Jack, I have a particularly bratty 12 year old niece back at home, and right now, I can't tell the difference between the two of you."
Jack's eye narrowed. He was so done with this while training thing. Right now, SHIELD was treating him as a child. He had already had a long day, he was tired, aching, and fed up. Jack swung his staff in Alex's direction. But the threat that had been boiling at his lips vanished when Alex ducked, quicker than lightning. That baton he had seen strapped to the agent's waist was out, but with a flick of his hand, it had extended in to a 5ft long pole. It was so simple, but the way Alex swing it around in his hands made it look so effective.
Pretty soon, the agent had the pole pointed towards Jack. "Hey, listen. I'm going to get this straight right now. I have to be at your side at all times, so we're going to have to get along with each other. Fighting won't solve anything, and if your really that pissed with me, you can take out your anger in training, seeing as we're sparring partners as well. So, calm down, and let's talk."
Jack hesitated, but this guy was spot on. He didn't like the circumstances he was in, or the fact that he was being shadowed wherever he went, but this guy was the first agent he'd seen, (aside from Steve, but he wasn't really an agent to begin with) that was agreeable, and actually made an effort to talk with him.
"Can you teach me how to do that thing with the stick?" Jack blurted.
Alex's serious face split into a surprised grin. "You want to learn Bōjutsu? I've tried to teach some of the other agents before, but they think it's useless. They say that a stick isn't the best weapon to wield, and that they'd prefer to fight with knives or gun's, but it's probably the great defensive weapon out there! Well, aside from the Captains shield of course." His sentance was all over the place, but Jack got the gist of it.
"What's Bōjutsu?" Jack questioned.
Alex looked happy to explain. "It's a Japanese fighting style, and it's usually incorporated with hand-to-hand combat. They say that this thing," He held up the stick, "the Bō, is merely an extensions of one's limbs when fighting. It's the first thing you need to remember when you wield a Bō." Alex looked so proud of himself. He didn't look cocky, and obviously didn't think he was hot stuff, like Clint did. Alex just looked like he was proud to be probably the only one that thought the Bōjutsu fighting was the best way to go. And, by the way Alex was swinging that stick around, Jack thought it was pretty cool too. And he wanted to learn.
"So Jack, do you want to learn?" Alex asked as he leaned forward, an eager glint in his eye.
Jack's face slip into a broad grin. "Well, I guess this staff has got to be handy for things other than freezing ruse archers to the floor." He said as he gestured to the the crooked stick.
Alex's eyes widened comically. "You didn't..."
There was a knock at Jack's bedroom door. Jack was getting into another one of his SHIELD issued suits, after painfully stripping away the shredded leather remnants of his last one, and Alex bandaging his back and shoulders. He had iced over his body again, tenderly putting a light coating his wounded skin. He and Alex had walked back to Jack's little corner of the Helicarrier, with Jack recalling yesterday morning's hilarious events, and Alex guffawing at every second sentence.
They had even ran into Steve, and it seemed that Steve and Alex knew each other. Jack was surprised at this, until Steve said that he had requested someone to spar with, and because of Alex's unique fighting style, he was seemingly perfect for advanced hand-to-hand combat. Steve mentioned that Alex Summers had almost put him on his ass before Steve had ripped the stick away from him. Alex wasn't completely defences, of course, but only lasted another minute going head to head with the super soldier before he found himself laying on his back with Steve looming over top of him, offering a hand up.
"His fighting style was different, and it was great to spar with him." Steve had mentioned. Alex had grinned in response.
Jack Frost found Alex to be a hell of a lot different from the other either rude, or shy agents. He was easy to talk with and had a wicked sense of humour. He even made fun of himself a few times, making hilarious red head jokes that Jack had mostly understood. Jack had only seen such firefly locks once before, and that was when he visited a strange country, where the festivals lasted long into the night, and they all spoke with a strange garbled version of english.
Alex knocked at the door to Jacks's room again, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Coming!" He yelled.
"Hurry up, Jack it's freezing in here!" The red head complained.
Jack sniggered to himself and glanced at his boots. He decided he wouldn't wear them, and if Coulson had a problem with it, he could refer back to Jack's last results with the boots on. He strutted out the door, barefoot and glancing at Alex who was huddled on the couch hugging a pillow.
"T-took you l-long enough." He chattered. "You've got the walls iced up AND the air-con at full power. I know you control ice and everything, but do you even feel the cold?"
Jack shrugged. "The colder the better, when it comes to me. I've never really noticed the cold. It's the heat that I feel. If I'm ever suffering from a life-threatening wound, lay me down in the snow and pile it on top of me. It helps me heal faster."
Alex seemed to process this information quickly. He rushed to the door, and waited there for Jack to scan his finger before bolting stepping out the door. Jack chuckled to himself. 'The cold really wasn't that bad, was it?' He thought to himself.
Alex checked his watch just as Jack stepped out the door after him and groaned.
"We're going to be late. It's a ten minute walk and we have two minutes to be there." He groaned again. "I'm going to get my ass kicked for this, it's the first day on the job!"
Jack felt really bad for the man. He had taken longer than necessary to get ready, and now he had made them late. He really didn't want to get his new friend in trouble. "Can we run?" Jack asked?
"You can try, but at this hour, your bound to bowl over some people." Alex said glumly.
Jack's eyed brightened as an idea came to mind. "Well... What if not.. on the ground?"
"What are you talking about?" Alex questioned, a mix of wariness and curiosity in his eyes.
Jack grinned devilishly, and walked up behind Alex. Alex stood still but looked over his shoulder at the frost spirit. "What are yo-" he was cut off as Jack slid his arms under the agents armpits and took to the air.
Alex Summers let out a loud yell through the first hallway, causing a few alarmed scientists to stick their heads of of their labs. All the caught sight of was a black streak tinged with white and red. 5 hallways later, Alex had calmed down somewhat and yelled, "I didn't know you could fly dammit!"
"Really?" Jack shouted. "When I told you I control the ice and wind I wasn't kidding around! Just relax and enjoy it!"
Alex must've been somewhat of a thrill seeker, because Jack heard a few gleeful shouts as the two zoomed toward their destination. They were going so fast now that Alex wasn't hanging from where Jack was holding him anymore, his torso and legs had risen, and they were both flying straight. It was a good thing too, because Alex had almost knocked out a few bewildered agents with his steel-capped boots on more than one occasion.
They skidded to a halt only one short hallway down from the training room, and Jack settled them on the ground. Alex stood with shaking limbs, but he looked absolutely exhilarated. "That amazing! I can see why flying can come in handy!" Alex said.
"Yeah, it's great. I hate when I'm cooped up for too log without being allowed to go flying." Jack sighed. "I guess that's going to be happening a lot more often now, though, now that I'm under house arrest."
Sensing Jack's discomfort, Alex spoke up. "Well you can always give Fury a run for him money and go for a zoom around the Helicarrier. I can just imagine, you flying around and Fury chasing after you! It be hilarious!"
Jack seemed to cheer up a little. The pair started walking toward the training room and promptly arrived with only seconds to spare. Fury was waiting for them, and raised an eyebrow at Alex's appearance. Jack had to admit, it did look kinda funny. His hair was slicked back, due to flying so fast, but the back of his hair was messy and tangled together, his red locks sticking out behind him. All in all, Alex looked like he had been electrocuted.
Alex smiled sheepishly and subtly shifted behind Jack as they approached Fury. "I suspect there were no compilations, Mr. Summers?"
Alex stepped forward and looked the director in the eye. "None at all sir, Ja- uh, Mr. Frost has behaved himself." Jack shot an annoyed glance in his partners direction, and received a shrug of apology in return.
"Very good. Alex, you're dismissed for a few minutes, I need to talk to Jack privately. Go warm up."
Alex nodded and disappeared into the training room.
"Frost. I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but don't screw me around. I will let this go, just this once, but if I am ever presented with such an absurd explanation again, from the likes of you, I will not hesitate to strip your flying privileges from you."
Jack's eyes widened. He thought he wasn't allowed to go flying anymore! "So I'm still allowed to fly, then?"
Fury nodded. "Yes, but only within a 10 mile radius of the ship. If you want to go any further, you must be accompanied. And you must always be on time. I will give you a watch. Am I clear?"
"Crystal." Jack grinned.
"Fury?"
"Yes, Mr. Frost?"
"Thank-you."
Fury gave a hint of a smile. "Just stuck by the rules I've set, and you won't need to thank me for any favours of the sort again."
Jack nodded and slipped into the training room. His bright blue eyes widened with shock, as he noticed the changes that had been made. There were black walls about half a foot thick, all connecting strategically to form a twisting maze. Well, it was kind of like two mazes. There was a big pathway down the middle of the maze. There were also two groups of men and women, both of equal number and dressed in SHIELD standard black, set apart by the different coloured sashes they were wearing.
The group to the left was wearing a red sash, whilst the group to the right was wearing a blue one. What the hell did Coulson have in store him today?
Fury walked up behind Jack. The man was so silent even Jack didn't hear him. "Where's Coulson?" Jack questioned.
"Agent Coulson has been called in to another one of SHIELD's top secret bases. He will be there for a minimum of two weeks."
Jack frowned. He had to admit, he held a bit of a grudge against the man at the moment, but Jack had been looking forward to going over some more defence techniques in training today. Coulson seemed to explain in a way that Jack could actually understand, and that was a quality that was hard to come by.
"Moving on. Today, Jack Frost, you will be taught patience, stealth, and aim. This-" Fury pulled out what looked to be a gun from behind his back. Jack didn't even flinch. "Is a paintball gun. We don't particularly want anybody to die today, so we're using gun's that shoot balls of paint at the victim. But rest assured Frost, it still hurts like a bitch." Fury gave a twisted smile.
"There are two teams of 20. And just to make it interesting, Steve has decided to join in on the fun." Fury gestured to Steve, who was standing with the red team idly chatting to some of the other agents. "Mr. Summers is on your team, to make it fair."
"But I don't know how to use a gun." Jack protested.
Fury sighed. "We figured that out pretty quickly. You will be using your staff. Everyone is wearing protective gear, but any icy hits to the head or crotch area and you get a time penalty. If you get hit, you're out. The aim of the game is to take out all the opponents team before time runs out. If the time runs out, and members from both teams are standing, the team with the most members will be the winners. Oh, and you can't exit the maze, or using your flying powers. If you do, you're out as well. Any questions?"
Jack shook his head.
"Both team to their ends!" Fury shouted.
The red team shuffled to the other end of the large room, going via the path separating the maze. They stopped at the other end, awaiting instruction. Jack walked over to Alex and slipped on the blue sash he offered him. "I take it you've never played paintball before?" Alex said, a smirk evident in his voice.
Jack gave him a deadpan look, but said nothing.
"Well at least you have your staff thingy. I think it can be used to our advantage, because I'm pretty sure no one wants their ass blasted with ice." He grinned.
Jack returned the grin.
A loud blaring noise sounded across the room, and Jack's team began to move into the maze via the first opening. "That's our signal to go." Alex said. "Stick with me, and if your unsure what to do, just ask. You've got my back, and I've got yours, alright?" Jack gulped, and nodded. He was nervous, but looking forward to the game. Alex and Jack stepped forward into the maze, and Jack looked around. The walls were at least 3 times as high as he was, and if Jack stretched his arms out, he could just touch each side of the path they were on.
A shot sounded, followed by a shout of surprise and a grumble of defeat. "I wonder who that was? Alex whispered to himself. Jack shook his head to clear his thoughts. Focus. He needed to focus. This may be a game, but Jack did not want to get shot. He had a bullet nick his shoulder before, when he was checking out what ended up being a war zone. It had been extremely painful, and Jack had lay down under a snowdrift for a few days to recuperate. He knew that these balls of paint wouldn't hurt as much as that did, but he didn't want to find how the comparison.
Jack and Alex Summers had moved further and further into the maze. A lot of people didn't know that Alex was skilled with a gun. They all thought that he used his Bō for protection and because was pretty useless at everything else. It was untrue, of course. Alex simply just loved using his Bō. There was nothing else to it other than the fact that he was extremely skilled at using it.
Alex had seen the fear spring in Jack's eyes when the first shot rang through the room. It wasn't as loud as a normal gunshot, of course. But in a room of highly trained SHIELD agents in stealth mode, you could almost hear a pin drop. Alex would try his best to watch Jack's back, and he prayed that Jack would watch his. Because getting hit with a paintball wasn't necessarily an enjoyable experience.
They had moved further and further into the maze, and their team had scattered into all directions. Jack and Alex stood alone at a dead end. Jack was in the process of turning around, and Alex was cursing under his breath, when shots rang across the room.
PAP PAP PAP
Paint was flying, and Jack had instinctively ducked at the noise. It was all out war now. The noise was like somebody had flipped a switch, going from stealthy silence, to frantic cacophony. Jack could hear shouts ringing throughout the room, and his heart almost stopped when he saw a red agent walk past them. Alex let out a shout of surprise, but they saw a splat of red on the agent's back, and the pair both breathed a sigh of relief.
"I think it's time to get out of here. We don't want to trapped here in a dead end when we encounter an active member of the other team." Alex spoke up.
Jack nodded his agreement, and the two padded out of there, turning down another hallway. Jack was worried about Steve. There was no doubt in Jack's mind that the super soldier was skilled with a gun, being in the army and all. Jack was sure the majority of the shouts of victory were coming from him.
They turned another corner, and bumped into a member of their team. Jack instinctively raised his staff, ready to blast the woman when he realised that it was a member of his own team. "Emily?" Alex questioned.
"Look out you two, Captain Rogers is a sharp shooter, he's taken out 9 people already. Add that in with the other soldiers, and I'm pretty sure we only have about 6 people left. Good luck." She said, and vanished from sight.
Jack looked toward Alex who had a playful glint in his eyes. "I'm done hiding from these guys. It's time to ice up some asses, are you ready?" Jack nodded. He was still nervous, but after hearing what Emily had just said, he was rearing to go. Alex gave him a devilish grin and tilted his head. "Good, because I can hear someone coming."
Jack tuned in using his keen senses and listened to the footfalls that were approaching. "They're too light to be Steve." He whispered.
"Do you want to take it?" Alex asked?
Jack hesitated, but nodded slightly and moved forward. Very slowly, he peered around the corner and got a good look at the offending agent. It was red, and he was still active. Jack had an advantage, because the man was turned slightly away from where he was hiding. Deciding he wanted to get this done quickly, Jack pulled his staff out in front of him, and shot a small blast of ice at the back of the man's leg. Ice formed around the majority of his lower calf, and the man gasped, turning around with narrowed eyes.
Jack stepped out, and gave the man a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I hope it didn't hurt too much."
"I'm fine." The man grumbled, and stormed off.
Alex had appeared behind Jack, and suddenly, fired his gun four times. Jack scrambled away, retreating back to the safety of his corner. "Dammit, I missed him. I guess you forgot that guy your shot had a partner, hey frost boy."
Jack scowled at his obvious mistake, and looked at Alex. His eyes held humour in them, but we're still sharp and looking for the person he had shot at. Two shots fired, and Alex ducked, causing the red pellets to splatter against the wall behind him. Jack's partner fired off another shot, and whooped a cry of victory. "Yes! I got her! Ok, I think we're done here, let's move."
Jack followed Alex as they tiptoed through the maze. They encountered another 3 agents. Jack took the first one out with ease, and Alex the second one. But the third one was extremely nimble. She kept twisting and turning, avoiding both shots of ice and blue paint. But Jack ended up cornering her in a dead end, and hitting her shoulder. Unlike the other agent, this woman walked forward, and shook both Jack and Alex's hand. "That was fun, good job." She had said.
Jack had been extremely surprised at this. He looked to Alex, who only shrugged and they kept moving.
They were now moving swiftly through each section of the maze, even daring to dart across the pathway down the middle. They made it, but we're fired at a few times. The two were back to moving through the maze, which was now covered in splats of red and blue paint. They were in the middle of the left side of the maze, when Jack heard footfalls approaching. Heavy footfalls.
"I'd say we got them all but the bell hasn't sounded yet, so there must be one left. Jack heard the familiar tone of Steve's voice and cringed. Alex must've caught a glimpse of the him because he turned to Jack and whispered. "Rogers is two hallways down. He's got 4 other agents with him, and from what I know, they're all sharp shooters." Jack looked over his shoulder at Alex and grimaced. He had a plan formulating in his mind and smiled at the pure evil genius of it.
"Alex," he whispered, "I have a plan. It's playing a little bit dirty, but it is two against five, super soldier included. Whatever happens, just cover me."
Alex nodded solemnly. This was where it ended.
The large group with red sashes had crossed into the hallway very close to where the two were hiding. If they kept walking, they would walk right past Jack and Alex. Jack smiled to himself. Everything was in position, the enemy team had fallen into a trap.
Jack Frost touched his staff to the ground, and sent a burst of energy into it. The floor iced before his eyes, and Alex started laughing. The ice by now would have iced up a little more that a third of the left side of the maze.
The red team was shouting in surprise. Jack heard a man say, "It's that Frost kid! He's still active!"
Jack turned to Alex, his face alight with pride. "Alex, try taking a few of the out."
Alex crept forward, firing a few shots of blue at the bewildered team. He nicked the shoulder of the one right in front, before the group dove down to all sides. It was actually kind of funny to see them sliding around on the ice. No, it was hilarious. Jack burst into delighted laughter, earning a few grumbles from the other team.
Steve spoke up. "Jack! That was clever! May the best man win!"
Jack smiled. Usually when he iced up a road, or a street, he wasn't compliment for his smarts.
Alex was wearing his trademark grin, and he looked ready for a fight. He turned to Jack.
"Steve's right, that was awesome! Now we're a lot more even. Though, if I could take a guess, I would say that we have more of an advantage, because they may be able to stand still and shoot, be its probably really hard to to dodge an incoming paintball when your standing on ice."
Jack poked his head out and saw that Steve had assembled the team close to the wall, on the same side as Jack and Alex were, making it harder for them to shoot, and so that they would need to put more of their body out into the open to hit a target. Jack had to give it to Steve, it was a smart move.
"Jack, can you extend the wall from the corner about two feet out, and make it so there's a hole about the size of a large orange in the middle of it, about chest level?"
Jack was thoroughly confused, but he trusted Alex, and nodded. It would take a bit of energy, but he could do it with ease. Using his staff, Jack touched it to where the ground met the corner of the wall, and drew an icy line about two feet out into the hall. The tip of his staff was fired at a few times, but it didn't deter him. With a final burst of energy, he drew up a wall, taking special care to put an small hole about chest level in the ice.
Jack heard Steve and the other curse at what he had done, but the noise of feet sliding on the ice had stopped. Alex gave a wicked grin. Jack was still in the dark about Alex's plan, but it soon came to light when the agent crawled out to where the hole was and stuck the muzzle of his gun through. Steve's keen eyes saw it first, and he yelled out.
"Run for cover!"
But it was too late. Alex had already taken aim and began to fire off several rounds at the scattering group. Jack smothered his hand over his face to hold back his laughter at seeing the scattering agents. He managed, but only just.
Jack giggles abruptly stopped, when the hair on the back of his neck rose. Alex was still firing away, and paint was coming from both sides, but something was...off. An agent rounded the corner, right behind where Alex was crouched, and fired a red paintball directly into his back. He gasped, before groaning at his defeat. "Sorry Jack," he grumbled, "your on your own."
Alex trotted off to go wait with the other non-active players. Jack was stunned by what had just happened. Steve had tricked him. By only sending one of his team out, and travelling in a line against the wall, it looked like no one was missing from their group, and made it so that a single person could sneak around and take them by surprise.
He was impressed, but Jack more also angry. Against his better judgement, he stalked up the hall, and saw the woman that had fired walking alongside Alex, talking to him. Jack raced forward and quickly shot a bolt of ice at her back, hitting her square between the shoulders. Both her and Alex turned around in surprise and Alex laughed outright.
"Good one, Jack! She wasn't expecting it?"
The woman shot a flare at Jack before she turned and stormed off, the ice cracking and falling to the ground under her shifting shoulders. Alex gave Jack a smirk before he turned and jogged off after her.
The winter spirit started walking back the way he came, when he heard a loud siren echo throughout the area.
Fury's boomed throughout the room. "Times up. All remaining players report to the front of the room."
Jack looked down the hall saw Steve slide past his ice wall, and waited for him to catch up.
"Tough game, right?"
"Yeah, that was really smart, sending that lady out to come from the other side. We weren't expecting it at all."
They walked side by side, idly chatting with each other until they reached the opening where the blue team had entered.
Fury approached, "Very good boys! Jack, I can honestly say that I'm surprise you were one of the last men standing. Captain Rogers, I expected nothing less."
Steve grinned. "It was the most fun I've had in a while, Director."
Fury nodded. "Everyone is dismissed for the rest of the day. You are relieved from your duties for a couple of hours. Go, and enjoy yourselves."
Alex approached from Jack's left. "Awesome! Fury almost never lets us off. It's usually Coulson or Agent Hill that gives us break time. But I guess they have to let us agents use the gaming room for something, right?
"The gaming room?" Jack questioned.
"Oh, man, you're going to love it."
A/N - Hey I'm back bigger and better than ever before! (I'm kidding) This chapter is over 7000 words and 12 pages on word, so I'm very please with myself. I truly hope you liked the OC character, Alex. You'll be seeing a lot more of him. I know the story is taking a while to go somewhere, but I promise that the next one will show the advancement of Jack's skills over maybe a week or so. Can anyone guess where Coulson went? There will be more of Steve in the next chapter as well for those who missed him in this one. By the way, did anyone catch the reference in the last chapter? Ahem, 'A figure in red in blue." if you caught it. Someone has contacted me about drawing a cover photo but if you want to have a go, please message me! Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I know its moving slow, but there will be more progress in the next few chapters.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and favourites this story, you guys give me life! So, tell me what you liked, didn't like, favourite, follow, but most importantly, REVIEW! Tell me if you loved it, or if you didn't like this chapter too much. Tell me what I can do better, any spelling or grammar mistakes I've made, I want to hear it all! Until next time!