you guys don't know how happy i am when i see reviews. thank you all for your kind words! i've suddenly had a surge of creativity, so I might update one more chapter today. enjoy the next few chapters. *wink wink*
"So what exactly is going on?" Kat asked me, her voice burning with curiosity. "Miss Elle, why is he after you?"
"I don't know," I said under my breath, picking an unused tablet off the countertop. Raising my eyes, I glanced around the command center. The nervous vibes were easy to pick up on; agents and technicians paced around the room, constantly giving reports, discussing plans. Right now, the Helicarrier was struggling to get the engines repaired and communication back 100%. What I did was barely enough. "If I knew, I would tell you," I added, scrolling through schematics of the Helicarrier's engines.
"It doesn't make any sense, Miss Elle." Kat's normally sweet voice was very firm. "Why does Loki keep showin' up here?"
"Kat, I said I don't know," I said coldly, glaring at her. Since I'd returned to headquarters, all she'd done is pester me about Loki. I didn't want to talk about him. All I wanted was to get back to my computer.
Since I'd been gone, Kat had developed a cold exterior, which she had probably gained from being in the line of fire on the Helicarrier. When she met me at the doors, I noticed the stitches above her eyebrow, and the bandage around her upper arm from a gun wound she sustained. .
"What's happening up there?" Helen approached us from the left, carrying a tablet of her own. "Have you got readings on the Tesseract?"
"Yes, and it looks pretty high," I murmured, reading through the levels. "He said something about opening a portal."
"No wonder it's so high," Helen grunted, tapping hastily on the screen. "Stark's on the scene."
"What about the others? Did they survive?"
"Yes. We think. Banner's missing, though." Helen raised her eyes to me, speculative. "What are you doing here, anyway? You're an Agent. You should be out there trying to apprehend him."
"There's no stopping him now," I said through my teeth. "He's completely lost it, and something big's about to happen. It's dangerous up there. Tell them to be careful."
"What you should be doing is suiting up for whatever's about to happen." Helen handed my tablet to Kat, who took it with a satisfied smile, sliding her fingers deftly across the screen. "You're an agent, not a technician. And besides, you need to be debriefed."
"Again?" I muttered with exasperation, trying to keep my voice down so no one around me would become curious. "Why?"
"Because Helen said so." It was Kat who spoke, and she did so mockingly, which surprised me into silence. "So suit up, Agent Pedagia."
Helen flashed a knowing look at me, and left, barking at some technicians. I crossed my arms and peered at Kat, who continued to work on the tablet. "Are you mad at me?" I asked timidly.
"No." Her blue eyes narrowed immediately. "I'm not mad at you because you keep runnin' off with an alien, and you keep managin' to escape, actin' like a hero every time."
"I'm not running off with him." I kept my voice gentle. "Kat, he keeps picking on me. Why are you upset?"
"Because every time you get stolen off, I'm the one who gets to wonder if you're dead or not. And it don't make no sense." Kat raised an eyebrow. "You hidin' something, Miss Elle?"
"If I did, I'd tell you." It was a blatant lie to her face, and I think she knew it, but she chose to shrug her shoulders and walk away from me. This was a lie that was too dangerous to keep. I'd barely managed to convince Fury that I wasn't a traitor, and now Kat was suspicious. If anything came to light, Kat would be done with me, and Fury would probably have me killed. Since when did Kat not trust me? I'd only been gone for a day.
"We've got plainclothes agents monitoring the situation," Helen told me, after she'd finished verbally abusing the technicians. "But we're going to need you to stay on top of this." She handed me a headset. "They're on their way as we speak, and no one has a plan or any idea what's going on except for you." For a moment, I could see the suspicion in her eyes. "Stark's on the line, and he needs to know what to expect."
I put on the headset, turning away from her. "Tony?"
"Pedagia, speak. Now," panted Stark. The sounds of rushing wind in my ears indicated that he was flying. "What's going on, what am I doing?"
"He's got a device, and you need to blow it up before he activates it," I murmured, knowing that Helen was watching me. "Whatever it takes. He's trying to bring something here."
"You copy on that, Rogers?" Stark demanded.
"Copy, Stark." Steve was on the line as well and I closed my eyes, feeling humiliated. He must have known that I lied. "Thank you for your cooperation, Agent Pedagia."
Maybe I imagined the mocking tone in his voice. Feeling disappointed with myself, I handed Helen the headset.
"Go put on some plain clothes," barked my supervisor, who was obviously upset with me. "You practically caused this entire mess, and you're going to fix it. Once you've changed, report here, and you're going out on the street. I want reports every five minutes, or I'm pulling you out and handing you to Fury for your debriefing."
The ultimate threat. I nodded quickly and shuffled for the exit.
I was situated at a coffee shop called Think Coffee on Park Avenue less than thirty minutes later, dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue hooded sweatshirt. To anyone on the street, I looked like a college student, reading a book and sipping a cup of coffee. No one could see that my hands were shaking as I lifted the cup to my lips for a tiny sip, or the wire placed on the inside of my hood.
I crossed my legs at least twice in the past 2 minutes, glancing around the street at the other residents, who chatted animatedly on cell-phones. Blissful ignorance.
"Report," Helen barked in my ear. Luckily, I sat at the furthest table outside of the shop, away from the majority of patrons.
"Nothing yet. Where's Stark?"
"Five minutes from destination."
It's almost been a half hour, he could be done by now. I took another sip of my latte, trying to stay calm. The entire team is nearly there.
Shit, but I still feel every shade of nervous. What if they don't get there in time?
Even while I sat outside, keeping my eyes peeled for aliens, I also kept my eyes out for Loki. I was still entirely convinced that his decision to release me was all part of a trick. I'd seen the costume he wore when he was in Germany, to look like part of the crowd. If a tall, thin man with slicked back hair approached me, I could run, at least.
Where are Megan and Katie? I thought suddenly, tapping my feet on the sidewalk. Please tell me they're at home. It was a Wednesday afternoon; Megan should be in school. Where does Katie work again?
I pulled out my cell-phone, pursing my lips. Maybe I should call...
Above me, at the top of Stark Tower, a loud explosion resonated throughout the area, and patrons tilted their heads to find the source of the sound, confused. A few people poked their heads out of the shop door, and I stood up quickly, trying to see if anything had happened.
"Pedagia, that thing had a shield around it!" Stark sounded irritated. "There's no way we can get to it, and I think I just knocked Selvig out."
Should've figured, I thought with embarrassment. It would be too easy.
"Construction?" A businessman walked past me in a hurry, talking on his cell phone. "I don't know, they never put signs up!"
It's worse than that, I thought wryly.
"Pedagia, you need to get into the tower, and shut that thing down," Stark said quietly in my ear. "He's using the Arc Reactor for power. It may not work, but if we shut the tower down, we shut the device down. Get me?"
It made sense. Hastily, I stood up and dropped my my cup into an empty trash bin. "Okay, yeah, I understand." Back into the monster's lair. "What do I have to do?"
Stark gave me the instructions to get me into the tower. "I'll come up with some distraction. He's gotta be a little bit stupid, right? Right."
His dry humor temporarily eased my nerves and I rolled up my sleeves, walking towards the building. By then, mostly everyone had forgotten about the minor explosion that came from the top of the tower, which was a relief.
Get in, get out, I reminded myself, crossing the street quickly to the base of the tower. Don't let him catch onto you. I didn't have any idea how long of a time frame I had before his portal opened up.
It took a bit of haggling with the security guards to let me into the tower, promising that Stark gave me permission to enter. When that failed, I flashed my S.H.I.E.L.D. badge. It was more than enough.
I don't see how two guards are outside the tower when Loki practically has it hostage, I wondered, crossing across a small hallway to a tiny elevator. Unless they were taken hostage, too. Feeling uneasy, I looked over my shoulders at the two men again through the door. I hope Stark knows about this.
"Pedagia, report!" Helen barked again, sounding agitated. "Where are you? Video footage no longer has you at your post!"
"Stark has me going into the Tower to disable the arc reactor," I told her, pressing the elevator button to send me down.
"How did you manage to enter the Tower?" she exclaimed. "We have snipers all over that building!"
"You have snipers, why don't you just shoot him?" I asked, walking into the elevator when the doors slid open with a cheerful chime.
"Because we don't know what weapons he has with him. If we kill him, what if the device activates, and we have no idea how to stop it? You need to think about these things, Pedagia!" she chastised.
I pulled the earpiece of out of my ear with a grunt. I'm so over being told what to do. I'm sure that even if they just killed Loki, they would be able to evacuate the city in time. It's just pointless waiting to me. S.H.I.E.L.D. is endangering the entire city.
When the elevator came to a gentle stop, the doors slid open. I found myself staring into Tony Stark's workspace. It was more high-tech than anything I'd ever seen, even at S.H.I.E.L.D. Several cars were situated in the corner of the large room, which also contained counters were tools scattered on top. In the center of the room, was a large work station, with 4 computer screens situated around a chair.
"Access to this workspace is unauthorized," a male voice said from above. "You have five seconds to leave or else the proper authorized will be alerted."
"Pepper Potts," I spoke clearly, glancing around the room for the source of the voice. "Password's Pepper Potts." It's really easy to remember.
"Access granted." I relaxed, feeling calmer now that I wasn't going to be threatened anymore by a computer.
"I need you to shut down the arc reactor," I said meekly, stepping into the workspace. "Stark says it has to be shut down. What are you, anyway?"
"I am Jarvis, Mr. Stark's personal assistant," spoke the voice, sounding irritated. His voice seemed to come from all over the workspace. "And the arc reactor cannot be shut down."
"Aren't you just a computer? An A.I.?" I smiled a little, walking towards the computer station. "I work with computers." Even with the gravity of the situation, I felt cheeky, not anxious. "I can probably shut you down and take care of this myself."
"Elliot Pedagia," Jarvis spoke quickly, as if he were going through files. "25, from Rochester, New York, born in Evanston, Illinois, 1987. Occupation: S.H.I.E.L.D. technician. Sister: Katie Davenport-Pedagia; Parents: Jeffrey and Elaine Pedagia-"
"It doesn't matter that you can look me up," I said through my teeth, sitting down in the chair, waking up the monitors. "Either you do what I say, or I shut you down myself." It wouldn't be hard to do. "Aren't you aware that the power of your building is being cut in half?" After going through Stark's files, I stumbled upon some readouts. "Literally. This building is losing power."
To emphasize my words, the lights above me flickered.
"No." Jarvis spoke curtly, and I nearly laughed at his attitude. This is exactly what I need right now. Some humor.
"That's because Selvig did something," I murmured. "He's an astrophysicist, no wonder. Jarvis, I'm gonna need your help."
"Very well, Agent Pedagia." I pursed my lips, nodding with agreement. "First, Stark had commanded me to deploy Mark VII, but I have discovered that my protocols have been overridden. It must be done manually."
Looks like I'll be stuck here for a while. Nervous excitement built in my stomach; for the first time in a long time, I was back at a computer and away from the action, in a nice, air-conditioned room. The last thing I wanted to do was end up on the streets fighting aliens.
I smiled at the computer screen. "Alright, Jarvis, let's get cracking."