Maria Hill didn't like to say that she was worried. Worry implied inaction and she was anything but inactive. It implied that she could not change a situation and the last thing she would every think of herself as was powerless. She was a high ranking operative of Shield, powerful and influential was her job. That was why, of the things she didn't like to say, being worried about Shield or Director Fury was at the top of the list. Shield was her life and she trusted the Director with said life. To undermine him with being worried, when there wasn't even a conflict, almost felt worse than treason.
That was why, though she was highly irritated by it, she was rather mollified when Coulson expressed the same thought.
"Do you think Fury's been acting a little strange lately?"
Maria glared him. They weren't exactly alone, for one, even if they were in an isolated corner of the room, other agents were everywhere. Did the man have no sense of timing and privacy? And who was he, anyway, to question the Director? Coulson had some nerve! Maria would never understand why the man seemed to have so much favor.
Coulson had already gone on before she could voice any of her irritation. "He's been pretty withdrawn lately and the way he's treating May and the others... I don't like it."
Maria looked, if possible, even more irritated. "Don't tell me this is about some crush you have on Agent May."
Coulson sighed, as if he was the one that had to put up with a co-worker being unduly ridiculous and spewing unfounded theories. Where did he even get off!
"The way's been treating The Avengers lately-"
"So this is about your crush on-"
"And even the Ultron project!" Coulson exclaimed, completely ignoring her words. "Don't you find that a little odd? It's not even a Shield project anymore! He's got other superheroes working on a way to take out his star team!"
"I'm sure he has his reasons," She told him. She was Fury's second in command. Even if she didn't understand what he was doing, it was her job to support those decisions. "The Avengers have been growing more unruly. They've been pulling away from us and they have new members we know almost nothing about."
"We haven't given them a reason not to pull away. The way he's been treating Agents Barton and Romanov, and he's been spreading Romanov too thin. He wants her to watch everyone on the team and Captain America has already begun to pull away from her and us because of it."
"That was because of Stark," Maria answered, a bit more snappishly than she meant to. Stark could push that button on anyone, even when he wasn't present. "He's the one that constantly Sweeps Roger's apartment."
"You think he did that without being asked?" Coulson questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Maria stopped pretending to be engrossed in the work of micromanaging other agents and turned to face Coulson full on. "What do you want me to say? Yes, Fury's behavior is odd, but that doesn't mean-"
"We don't know what it means and that's what I'm afraid of," Coulson told her. "Two of his best agents are compromised in his mind. May was hit with Magneto's serum and Romanov's off with the Avengers more often than not. He's got you running around watching everyone but him and he's keeps assigning me busy work. You don't see anything strange with this picture? This isn't the only questionable assignment he's started, you know? Not to mention our guest-"
"That's enough," She said strongly, but not snapping this time. "It's not like I can stop running Shield to watch whatever he's doing! Someone has to!"
"And you don't think it's a problem that he's not?" Coulson questioned.
Maria was torn between continuing her glare and admitting to her own worry. She let out a breath of frustration. "You can investigate this if you want, Coulson, but I have work to do."
He nodded as if he had expected this answer all along. "Don't work yourself too hard, Maria."
"If I'm not working too hard, I'm not working hard enough," She replied.
Coulson smiled as he left her to it.
"Jane, what are you doing?" Darcy's voice broke Jane out of her work. She sitting at a table that was a scattering of papers and notes. The computer screens in the room were all filled with data, some running simulations, others were files she still inputting data into.
Jane looked at Darcy with some confusion. "What do you mean? I'm working."
"That's exactly my point!" Darcy exclaimed. "Dr. Jerk isn't even here! Why are you still locked away in this dungeon torture chamber!"
"It's not a torture chamber, Darcy," Jane replied with an irritated eye roll.
"Why aren't you trying to escape?" Darcy pressed. "Why are just sitting here doing what he wants you to?"
"Darcy, I think you should calm down," Jane told her. "Doom isn't really that bad..."
"He kidnapped us!"
"Well, he invited us to stay with him and he hasn't treated us badly," Jane argued. "You basically get to do whatever you want and I get some much needed work done."
"Oh my god!" Darcy said loudly. "Don't tell me you like this guy?"
"What? No!" Jane exclaimed, pushing away from the table and standing, looking at Darcy with a flustered expression. "I don't like him, Darcy, he's just a good scientist. This could be the break through I've been waiting for! And it's not like we could really escape. There's that woman Thor told us about lurking around, cameras and those bots, and we don't know where we are anyway! This is a foreign country that he owns!"
"Oh my god," Darcy repeated. "First, you fall for a weird alien god thing and now you're after mad scientist! You have the craziest taste in men."
"I'm not interested in Doom!" She said with a glare. "I just want the chance to finally get some work done without Shield or anyone looking over my shoulder."
"A mad scientist is looking over your shoulder!"
"He's not looking over my shoulder, he's been very helpful," Jane sighed. "And it isn't like he's lied to us, really. I was a little miffed at first to, but he has done exactly what he promised. This is somewhere I can get my work done without interruption," She paused to glare at Darcy. "Without many interruptions," Jane corrected herself. "Aside from not letting us leave, he's been very hospitable."
"Hospitable?"
"He lets you do whatever you want," Jane ranted. "You've been practically partying around here with that woman."
"Amora," Darcy corrected. "And she is way cooler than being stuffed in a dank, dusty, dungeon and working all day."
"There is nothing dusty about this lab," Jane told her.
"You are missing the point, Jane! You are willfully missing the point!" Darcy yelled.
"If you want to go so badly, why don't you just have your new friend take you," Jane snapped.
"She's not-" Darcy huffed and slammed her hand down on the table. "She works for Doom! She lives in his dumb castle! Why would she help me?"
"I don't know, Darcy! I don't know anything and I refuse to leave until I do. I'm so close. I'm so close, Darcy!"
"And you don't care what happens to me while you're at it?"
Jane let out a deep sigh, reaching over and pressing a button on the nearest computer, activating the security feed and bringing it up on screen. "I know exactly what's been happening to you, Darcy. Doom has camera and he has the feed running whenever he's in the lab with me. You've been having fun with that woman, drinking and partying and talking about Thor!"
"Is this about Thor?"
"It's not-" Jane paused, taking a breath. "Maybe. I've been listening to this woman that's known him for centuries talk on and on about how much she loves him and hates him and all her memories and regrets and... and I don't know anything about him! He has a past that spans thousands of years and I don't know any of it! And he has a future that only leads away from me. My life's work is all that connects me to that future."
Darcy was staring at Jane with wide, sad eyes. "Jane..." She begun softly.
"No, I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you," Jane said. She pressed her hands to her face and took a deep breath. "I just... I know you want to help, but I just need some time, alright."
"Hiding out here won't help," Darcy told her quietly.
"I'm not hiding," Jane said. "I'm working." With that, she went back to where she'd been working earlier. She took a few deep breaths, closing her eyes. "If it means that much to you, Darcy, I'll try to get you out of here."
"I'm not leaving you!" Darcy yelled.
"I'm not leaving here until I figure this out," Jane told her. "So you can leave without me or you can stay with me."
Darcy stared at Jane a long moment. "This is really what you want?"
"This is important to me, Darcy."
"Yeah... I guess it is," Darcy replied, slowly moving toward the doorway. She stood there watching Jane for a moment longer before she finally decided to leave.
Fury walked cautiously as he entered the room that his Asgardian prisoners were held in. He watched them, but they didn't seem to move much when he wasn't there and they didn't talk to each other. Actually, he hadn't seen or heard the red head speak a single word since her capture. She sat at the far end of the cell, a glare to her expression no matter where she aimed it.
The other, Sigyn, smiled when she saw him. She had been sitting completely still since her arrival, regardless of whether or not she spoke. Watching them, he could believe that they were otherworldly beings. "Hello, again, Director."
He nodded at her. "Sigyn."
"Come to talk?"
"To question," He corrected her.
She nodded, the tranquil smile never leaving her face. "Yes. Let's talk then."
Pepper was not really used to being a super powered individual. It was true that she'd had Extremis in her for a while, but that didn't really make her good at controlling it. That was why, when Tony called her with his idea, she'd been... less skeptical than she might have been. Then again, she'd spent the last couple months being kidnapped by villains, initiated into the "hero business", and in possession of fire based powers and super strength. What more was there to be skeptical over?
"Sorry, we're late." Pepper looked up and around for the voice, finding no one in her vicinity. She was sitting in a secluded section of the restaurant, it was unlikely that anyone was close enough for her to hear them so well casually. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at nothing, before the chairs moving caused her to jump. "Oh, sorry! Sorry!"
The apologetic face of Sue Storm, followed by that of her brother Johnny Storm, was suddenly in front of her. "I don't get out much outside of battle. Sometimes I forget that other people aren't as used to that."
"I guess that must really come in handy," Pepper said as she tried to calm herself back down. She mostly had a hold over Extremis since it was stabilized, key word mostly. "You don't have to deal with fans all over the place as often."
Sue smiled. "You have no idea how useful it is."
"It's to nice to finally meet you," Johnny spoke up. He leaned forward with a charming smile, offering her his hand. "Miss Pepper Potts. That Stark guy treating you right?"
Pepper shook his hand, squeezing just tight enough to be intimidating. Being stronger than normal was good for casual displays of power and usually made people back off of her. Johnny, while looking caught off guard, just smiled at her again. "Nice to meet you as well. And Mister Stark and I was never a thing, the media just likes to get carried away."
Sue slapped the back of her brother's head. "Really, Johnny? She asked for our help, not harassment."
Johnny offered a sheepish smile. "What? I'm just showing my appreciation."
Sue rolled her eyes. "Don't mind him. He's not house broken yet."
Pepper gave her own smile. "I know the feeling, dealing with Tony is much the same." The two women shared looks of exasperated understanding. "Let me flag down a waiter so we can order. Feel free to get whatever you want."
They went on with another bout of small talk while the waiter took their orders. Despite the fact that both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four fought Doom, the teams actually had very little overlap. Especially since Doomed seemed to be ignoring his old nemesis. Pepper was much more aware of them from a business perspective, as Reed's inventions entered the market often, often catching Tony's attention.
It was only after the waiter left that the conversation got to more serious things. It was Johnny that brought it up, looking at Pepper with curiosity as he questioned her. "So why'd you call us out here? It was superhero business, I assume Stark would have just come himself."
"Well... you could call it that," Pepper said said hesitatingly. "It was actually Tony's idea that I talk to the two of you. He said that he wanted more collaboration between teams, but he's rather busy with his own new team members..."
"And he sent you be his go between?" Johnny questioned wit a raised eyebrow.
"Yes and no. I do have something that i need your help with," Pepper told them. She looked around a moment, debated, then picked up her cloth napkin. Meeting their eyes, she took a breath and set the thing on fire, letting it quickly burn in her hand until it was nothing more. "I actually have a problem of my own that I have little idea how to control."
"Oh?" Sue's response was a breath of surprise as she looked over at Johnny, who just smiled widely.
"A woman after my own heart," he told her. "Wasn't that long ago that I was burning through most of my clothes and setting things on fire," he said wistfully.
"You do that now," Sue said flatly.
"Memories," he replied in the same dreamy tone of voice.
"How long have you..." Sue gestured to the remains of the napkin.
"Not long," Pepper told them. "That's why I thought maybe you could help. This isn't really the Avengers expertise."
"I suppose not," Sue smiled. "Well, we'll certainly be happy to try and help."
"Thank you," Pepper said, smiling at them.
Fury was pacing before the cell, agitated for reasons he couldn't name, as the two goddesses watched him. Both unmoving, both following him with his eyes. One with a frown, the other a smile, both expressions as fixed as cardboard.
Sigyn had replied to, if not answered to his liking, all of his inquiries and it was starting to feel a little redundant to keep them locked up.
"Let's talk about Enchantress, Nickolas," Sigyn said to him softly. "You say you know where she is?"
"She has a place near Steve Rogers, but she hasn't showed her face there in some time," Fury answered her easily. It was too easy to talk to this woman. He should worry about that, he was certain, but he couldn't pin point why.
"But you know who she is allied with?" Sigyn asked.
"Yeah, we've seen her working with Doom."
"And you know where this Doom person is?"
"Of course we do?"
"Why not simply apprehend him?" She asked.
"Whenever we get close, she stops us!" Fury answered angrily.
"Warrior of Fury, be still. Be calm. All shall be well. You simply need a trap." Sigyn spoke to him softly. She remained unmoving, but her entire body became open and inviting, vulnerable... if there wasn't a thick, bespelled wall of glass between them. "This person that she is close to, he is one of yours, yes? Perhaps you can use him to set a trap for her, then you can plan a raid of Doom's fortress. Once Loki's allies are all locked in one place, he will have little choice but to come here."
Fury was nodding with her words. "That's a good plan. Getting a hold of Rogers isn't that hard, but we need to make sure that she knows he's endanger."
"Perhaps be direct?" Sigyn offered. "Tell him you wish a meeting with her, then setup the ambush for him. Make it seem as if you have nothing to do with it. Have someone ready to catch her."
Fury was still nodding. "This is good. We'll have them all in custody before you know it."
"Yes. This is good. You are a good warrior," She told him.
Fury almost bowed to her then, but caught himself mid motion. He paused, stared at the two of them moment longer before deciding to leave. He had work to do after all.
"Good day, Nickolas."
Fury stopped in the doorway before leaving, long enough to reply. "Good day, Sigyn."
She smiled as he left the room.
It was later that night that Natasha was called into Shield for briefing. When she entered the room, a folder sat on the table beside what looked to be another two doses of the Hulk's tranquilizers. She looked at Fury as he stood behind the table.
"I have an important opt for you," Fury began before she'd even sat down. "Has your estimation of the Avengers changed?"
"No, sir," She answered dutifully.
"Good," Fury nodded. "I need you to catch a god."
"No offense, but we tried that before," She pointed out.
"And it worked," He told her. "We just had trouble keeping him. But this time I've got a better containment plan and a different target in mind."