AN: Hey, my laptop's fixed yay! I was gonna make this chapter longer but I changed my mind and just went with this. Hopefully its good. No Loki in this chapter... but prolly in the next chapter. I know Lara seems a little OOC, but after everything she's been through it makes sense to me. And you never really see Lara when she's not in a crazy situation lol. Anyway, yeah i changed the title cuz I didn't like it. A New Way To Bleed is a song from the Avengers and its my favorite, you should try it.
The black motorcycle took a sharp left turn under a dark grey sky. Normal England weather, Lara thought as she drove closer to her destination. Lara started to realize that picking a bike as her mode of transportation may became a bad decision if it began to rain. Lara was traveling to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s private airport to meet Director Fury. From there, they would be going to the secret base located in the United States.
Lara reminisced about home and her friends. She didn't feel like she was prepared to leave her home after everything that had happened. But it was probably for the best. As Winston often told her she should take a vacation, without going to a tomb. Lara slowed at the intersection, and then took a right towards the airport.
xOxOx
Mara Hill checked her watch for the fourth time since her arrival. The navy blue wristwatch read 11:55. Ms. Croft isn't late per say, it just wouldn't kill her to get here quicker, Agent Hill concluded. Agent Hill wasn't fond of the dark dreary weather of England. And it was just her luck when it begun to rain. The agent next to her pulled out his umbrella and held it over both their heads. Maria watched as the raindrops hit the pavement, already creating puddles of water.
Agent Hill was awakened from her trance at the loud sound of a motorcycle engine approaching her. She observed as the bike rolled into the airport's parking lot. Agent Hill motioned to the man next to her to move forward. Maria walked towards the newest member of the Avenger's team to greet her.
AvAvA
Lara swung her right leg over the motorcycle. She removed her large helmet to see a tall woman and a man with an umbrella walking towards her. The woman had dark brown hair pulled into a bun and she wore a large coat protecting her from the rain. Lara didn't mind the rain splashing onto her, soaking in her clothing, but it was obvious the woman did.
When the woman neared, she spoke. "Lara Croft, I presume?"
Lara smiled at the greeting. "Yes, I am she. Where is Director Fury?"
"Director Fury had important business to attend to. He sent me in his place." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Agent Hill, second in command under Director Fury."
Lara placed her helmet on the backseat of the bike, and then shook Agent Hill's hand. "Nice to meet you. Are we ready to depart?"
Mara Hill nodded fervently, ready to leave this weather behind. "I'll go tell the pilot prepare the plane for our departure."
Lara removed her one duffel bag of essentials and a long, slender bag. Agent Hill paused when she saw the second bag, confused on what it may hold.
"A rifle, sir?" Agent Hill guessed.
Lara raised an eyebrow at her. "Sir?"
"I'm sorry, would you prefer I call you by a different title?" Agent Hill questioned.
Lara chuckled. "My name will suffice, Agent Hill. As for the bag, it's not a rifle. It's a bit more… special than that."
Agent Hill quickly boarded the small plane with Lara close behind her. Maria removed her furry coat as she went to the cockpit to inform the pilot it was time to leave. When Maria returned, Lara was handing her bags to the flight attendant.
"Please be careful with these." Lara warned the flight attendant who gave her an affirmed nod.
Agent Hill moved across the cabin of the plane and took her seat. She motioned to Lara. "Please have a seat, we have much to discuss."
AvAvA
"Here." Lara looked up at Agent Hill who was handing her a thick folder. "All the information you require will be in here."
Lara took the heavy file and placed it on her lap to observe. She began flipping through the pages, reading about the Avengers and their battle in New York. She studied the pages for at least an hour when she reached a new topic. The topic of this page was of a certain God of Mischief, Loki. Lara froze, surprised by the picture displaying the evil god. He had pale skin with raven black hair that came to his shoulders. But the one feature that stood out the most to her was his eyes. Unnaturally green, Lara described them in her mind.
Agent Hill cleared her throat, causing Lara to realize that she had been watching her closely. Lara immediately flipped the page, not getting a chance to read through it completely, and did her best to hide her blushing face from the woman sitting across from her. Why caused me to stare at him so? She wondered, confused. She knew the things he had done, that he had tried to take over the world, causing chaos for innocent citizens.
"Why, exactly, did Direct Fury invite me?" Lara asked, curiously. "Wasn't Loki defeated in Manhattan? What does he need of me?"
Agent Hill remained silent for a good time before coming up with answer. "Director Fury wants to be… prepared. In case we end up in events like that again." Agent Hill paused, then explained more. "Loki was defeated, but we have suspicions that there may be something worse. Loki had mentioned he was working with someone else. And that someone else wanted the Tesseract. That is why Director Fury wants you on the team. You also seem to know a lot about the Norse mythology."
Lara smiled. "You could say that. Thank you for telling me this."
"It's my job."
AvAvA
"Sir? I mean, Lara? The plane's landed."
Lara cracked open her eyes, not realizing she had fallen asleep. She sat up immediately from her hunched over position on the table next to her. She had a lot trouble sleeping lately, and exhaustion must have set in during the flight.
"I… apologize for falling asleep." Lara said, embarrassed by her actions.
Agent Hill gave her a grim smile. "It's alright. I fell asleep myself."
Lara exited the plane which had landed in front of a large building. The building didn't really look like a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base, but it was definitely big enough to be one.
"Where are we? Or is that confidential?" Lara joked as Agent Hill came to stand next to her.
Agent Hill didn't laugh, but Lara didn't miss the upwards twitch of her lips. "We are located in Oregon."
"Well, that's a pity for you."
Agent Hill raised an eyebrow.
"You traded temporary bad weather for permanent bad weather."
Agent Hill smiled lightly. "I plan to stay inside. Come on, Director Fury's eager to see you."
An agent came off the plane carrying Lara's bags. "I'll take them." She said quickly, not trusting her important weapons with him.
"Why is Director Fury so eager to see me?" Lara asked as she caught up with Agent Hill.
Agent Hill shrugged. "He's glad you accepted the invitation. He's impressed with your work and thinks you will be a good addition to the team."
Lara nodded, glad that Director Fury thought so highly of her. She took a deep breath, anticipating the new adventure she was beginning. She dearly hoped she wouldn't lose any loved ones this time.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy it and I'm sorry if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes. Please review :D.