Soo... I am soo sorry. I am not sure why it took me so long to get this out. Hopefully, my next chapter does not take so long to get out.

Anyhow, here you go.

I hoped you like this.

Chapter 27

The Second Green Beast

Steve and Toni, with helmets off, were doing sideway glances at each other. He knew she was sizing him up with that intense glare of hers, which he had come to love; however, this look was different than the ones he was used to. They were cold, non-trusting, and he hated it. He wanted her to trust him again, which would be a battle. I have to get her to open up again, he thought to himself. "I don't like it."

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" was her reply.

He couldn't keep his eyes off her and the iron man suit. Her body was incased in the suit, and he was completely unable to make out her form in the bulky suit. He could only see her pale face and messy hair that was sticking out everywhere. However, even with helmet hair, she was still beautiful in his eyes, and he couldn't see himself with anyone else. "I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop."

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle," Toni replied, with a chuckle.

That hit him harder than he expected. He knew her for the one liners, but to hear it from her now just reminded him that she wasn't the Toni he knew. It also stung to hear her say those insults to him, but it was his issue, which he would have to deal with. He knew it would be difficult the first time they met again, but he didn't think it would be so soon. He had no idea that Fury was bringing in Toni, and he wondered if Fury did this on purpose.

Why was it so hard to stand here? He was bursting to tell her everything, even if he knew that was stupid, but he wished he had some time to prepare meeting her, so he wasn't like this. Why did he have to be like this? Why did she reduce him to this? How did she do it? His legs felt like jello under her stare.

*O*O*

Steve kept telling it was all in his head as there was no reason why Loki would be eyeing Toni. Seriously, why was he staring at her like that? Did Toni have what Loki wanted? If so, what was it? Was it technology? That couldn't be it with that intent stare. It looked like he wanted her, but why?The super Soldier wasn't sure what it was, but he didn't like it. He was looking at her like she was some kind of object and he hated it.

He wanted nothing more than to shut Loki up. "What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" he asked, noticing some distance thunder. The sudden storm struck Steve as odd, but he enjoyed seeing the worried look on Loki's face. He rather enjoyed it compared to the hunger look that he spotted whenever he looked at Toni.

Loki glanced up. "I'm not overly fond of what follows," he replied, playing with his hands.

Before anyone could respond or interject, Loki was gone as Thor (if Steve recalled correctly) took him from the ship with little issue. It amazed Steve how easily Thor was able to grab his brother from a moving aircraft, and it took him a few seconds for him to comprehend that it happened. It was a hard adjustment for him, to know that there were beings like that in existence.

It was Toni who snapped him out of his daze, saying, "Now there's that guy, and he's…some guy." Her tone changed slightly as if she was flirting.

Steve glanced back her, shocked. Did she really find Thor that attractive? What did that being (Steve would not call him a god) have that he did not? Was it the hair? The muscles? Steve didn't have time to ponder that, as Toni put her helmet on and proceeded to jump out of the craft without any thought. She didn't stop to come up with a plan, stating she didn't need one. She frustrated him to no end, but this was the woman that he fell for, and he didn't regret it. However, he just wished she listened to him at times, but something told him that that would never happen.

*O*O*

The Captain had jumped from many planes; it was nothing new to him. He wasn't afraid of the height; he wasn't afraid of falling. He usually didn't worry, but this time, he couldn't keep his mind off Toni. With her mouth, she could get in some deep trouble, and he was afraid of that now. There was no telling what would happen to her down there with Thor and Loki.

However, he didn't have to wonder as Thor sent Toni back, flying into a tree. Steve couldn't suppressed his flinch and fear as the tree cracked behind her. He could see the suit buckle as she fell back, and he found it difficult to breathe as the tree fell on her. For the next few seconds while he waited for some kind of movement from Toni, Steve was terrified. He couldn't get that first image of a beaten, unconscious Toni from his mind, and he couldn't take it.

It wasn't long before his terror turned into anger as it was taking too long for him to land. It felt like he had been falling for hours as he watched for some kind of movement from Toni, and he had to do something. Without any hesitation, he reached for a knife and cut himself free of the parachute.

The Captain felt the air rushed him as he free fell; however, he wasn't worried about the hitting the ground as his eyes were focused on the broken tree that had fallen on Toni. Seconds before hitting the ground, the tree shock and a bright light shown through the broken branches, and Steve let out the breath that he didn't know he was holding. He could feel his heart rest slightly as he saw a red metal arm reached out of the branches.

However, Steve's relief was shot lived as Thor raised his hammer again. With sheer determination, he angled him and aimed himself for a spot between Toni and Thor. He was going to do whatever he needed to do to protect Toni. "That's enough!" he yelled as he landed hard. He straightened himself up with his shield pointing toward the fake god.

*O*O*

Steve was only vaguely listening to Fury's banter with Loki as he was too focused on Thor. The rest of group was listening to Fury as he tried to tell Loki how screwed he was. Steve had no interest in this conversation as he couldn't get Toni out of his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about how Thor could've hurt Toni in that fight as he flung her around like a rag doll, and it pissed him the hell off. No woman should be treated like that, and Steve was itching to tell him that, though he doubted Thor would listen.

"Yeah, well, you let me know if the Real Power wants a magazine or something," Fury said.

Steve only glanced at the monitor for a second before he glanced back Thor. He really had no interest in listening to Loki, as he knew that would help no one. Loki would love to get into their heads and fuck them up. Steve wished that they would just locked him up and throw away the key.

"Well since you offered," Loki started, stepping toward the glass wall. "I think I saw a magazine with a certain dark headed brunette. Why don't you get that for me? I enjoy her sassiness."

That comment snapped Steve back to Fury and Loki's conversion and he bolted up from his seat. If the chair wasn't stationary, there was no doubt that the chair would have been knocked back.

Banner glanced up from the monitor and looked toward Steve, who was glaring at the monitor. "You okay?"

Steve glanced around the room, noticing a few eyes on him, which was just a sign that he needed to relax. He had to remind himself that this was just a game to Loki, who trying to get to them. The Captain knew this, but he couldn't help but fall for it. "He seems interested in T-Stark," he said, trying to play off his shock.

He also didn't need the team to know that he was in love- yup, he still got faint of heart whenever he thought of her- with Toni. He wouldn't know how to explain this feelings either. How would he without telling them everything? Also, he had other things to worry about, and that was Loki's obsession with Toni. Why he so focused on Toni? Steve didn't know, but he would let that man anywhere near her.

Romanoff glanced at Steve. "Maybe, we can use that," she replied with her arms folded a crossed her chest. Her eyes were glued to the monitors.

Steve wanted to protest that until his mute, but he knew Toni wouldn't be too pleased if she heard. She wasn't one who liked to be protected. "Maybe, we should find out why first."

*O*O*

As soon as Toni walked onto the bridge with Agent Coulson, Steve's eyes were on her. He may not have no idea of what she were saying most of the time, but there was something about the way she spoke that drew him in. She had a self-confidence about her.

"It means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD," Toni said. She quickly scanned the room before he eyes rested on Thor, to Steve's annoyance. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing," she said, looking him over. "Geez, look at those arms. You've been working out," she said with a wink as she squeezed.

Thor didn't flinch at the sudden touch as he eyed her. His mouth twitched as to say anything, but before he could, Romanoff interjected, eyeing the genius "Stark, now is not the time." Her voice was stern, clearly a warning.

"Geez, Romanoff." Toni said as she stepped back to the table. "But it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants," she said, jumping back to the matter at hand.

The former Russian spy wasn't the only one annoyed at the touch. Even if he reasons were different, Steve was as well, and he couldn't hold back his annoyance. No one noticed though, which was probably good as he couldn't help but glance down at his own arms before looking back to Thor, who was still eyeing the genius. His arms aren't that big, he thought, bitterly. The fake god's arm wasn't much bigger than his, and he didn't understand what was so great about Thor's.

Steve's eyes froze on Thor, trying to figure him out. Thor's very being threw the super soldier off, as most believed him to be a god; however, there was only one God that Steve believed in. Thor's existence would not spread doubt in him, but it was hard not to be insult by the fake god. This was what people considered a god? How could anyone pray to someone like that?

With a shake of his head, the Captain leaned back in his chair as he wondered why he was here. Sure, he was useful, but surely they didn't need him with the fake god around. Stop it, he thought to himself. He needed to stop being so bitter, because there was no time for it. They had Loki to worry about.

However, as he thought of Loki, he couldn't get that look Loki gave Toni out of his mind. He kept seeing it as it reminded him as a lion hunting for its next meal. It was a clear sign that Loki wanted something from the brunette, and that comment about a magazine was proof enough. However, whatever it was, Steve wouldn't allow him to hurt his Toni… Wait, his? When did he start referring to Toni as his?

"That man is playing gallaga!" Toni yelled, snapping Steve back to reality. "Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."

Steve's eyes snapped to her, as she covered one of her eyes with her hands. Though she was always like this, he surprised with her outburst. Sure, he understood that she had a mouth and didn't respect authority, but now, wasn't the time. That was one of the things that annoyed him about her. She never seemed to take things seriously, though he wondered if she did it to protect herself.

After a sigh, Steve hated how she hid before her jokes. Why couldn't she be honest with someone? Was she was honest with anyone, like Ms. Potts or Colonel Rhodes? He hadn't had the pleasure of meeting them, but he had heard they were close. He wasn't sure how close Rhodes was to Toni, but he told himself he wasn't going be jealous of nothing.

"The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube," Toni said, drawing him out of his thoughts.

Drifting off again, Steve couldn't help but notice the glow in her eyes. She wasn't smiling like she was a few seconds ago, but he could tell she was in her element. He couldn't help but stare as she looked absolutely beautiful. To him, she was already breathtaking even with stupid jokes. "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" he said, barely recalling saying it.

Banner glanced at Steve before looking back to Toni. "He got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier," he said.

"Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect," Toni replied.

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet," Banner said.

Toni's face lit up as she crossed Bruce. "Finally, someone who speaks English," she cheered as she patted the scientist on the shoulder.

Her touch lingered on Bruce's arm for a few seconds, which was too long for Steve's liking. "Is that what just happened?" he muttered, bitterly as he forced himself to look away. Why did she have the need to touch everyone? He could never understand; however, they had other things to worry about instead of his jealousy. But he couldn't get those two out of his mind as he couldn't stop thinking about what Banner had that he didn't.

*O*O*

The Captain didn't know what to make of everything that was happening around him. Between seeing Toni and being surrendered by unknown devices and people, his head was spinning. Sure, he had nothing to judge anything on in this century, but he could tell that he could trust no one especially Fury. He didn't trust that man at all even if he had nothing to go off of.

With a deep breath, Steve made his ways through the ship toward the labs. He wasn't sure why he was headed toward the lab. He wasn't sure if it was because Toni was there or whether it was because he had a desire to figure out what the hell was going on.

This craft was unusual to say the least, and it took some time for Steve to find the lab, but when he finally came across it, the Captain just stared. He couldn't keep his eyes off the energetic Stark as she worked. He couldn't get over how comfortable she looked when she worked.

For the next few minutes, Steve watched her interact with Banner. His jaw was locked in place as he eyed her hand resting on Banner's arm while the other rested on lab table. They were looking at something chatting away, and even if Steve wouldn't hear what they were saying, he doubted he would understand what they were saying. It was another thing that he hated. There was a part of her life that he would never understand.

Get a grip, he told himself, still watching the two work. He let out a sign of relief when Toni stepped away from Banner to look at a different monitor. However his relief was short life, when Toni stepped back to Banner. She played with something in hands as she stepped back Banner. It amazed him to how touchy she was with a man she had just met. She was never touchy me, He thought to himself, bitterly.

His bitterness was short lived when Toni suddenly poked Banner with the object that she was holding. Banner's yelp of pain angered Steve and it pulled him into the room. How could she be so stupid?

"Nothing?" Toni said, looking at Banner.

As Steve stared wide eye at her, his anger grew. He couldn't believe how reckless Toni was. Did she not understand what she was doing? "Hey!" He yelled, getting their attention. "Are you nuts?"

Toni glanced at Steve from the corner of her eyes before she turned fully back to Banner. "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?"

For a few seconds, Steve just stared, not knowing how to respond to what she had said. How could she not realized what she was doing? Did she not care? Steve wasn't sure, but he was beginning to wonder why the hell he liked her. How could he love someone who would put everyone around her in danger with no care to what happened? "Is everything a joke to you?"

She shrugged before saying, "Funny things are."

Steve was getting angrier and angrier with each passing second. "Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny." He glanced at Banner for a second, annoyed that he was even there. "No offense, doctor." It came out harsher than he intended, but he didn't care, not with imagine of Toni's hand on his arm.

Banner looked slightly taken back by Steve's tone, but he didn't let it affect me. "No, it..it's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."

Toni stepped back to Banner and put her arm on his shoulder. "You're tiptoeing, big man. You need to strut," she said with a smile. Her hands squeezed his shoulder as she looked at him.

Steve couldn't believe she was acting like this. "And you need to focus on the problem, Miss Stark," he said, coldly.

"You think I'm not?" Toni asked back, a bit snappy. "Why did Fury call us and why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables." Her hand dropped from Bruce's shoulder to the lab table. Her fingers traced the edges of a meter.

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve asked, meeting her glare. He would see her sizing him up, almost expecting him to fold under her glare, but he knew how to handle it.

Toni didn't look away from the Captain, who was a few feet from her. "He's a spy. Captain, he's the spy. His secrets have secrets." She looked at him for one more second before she turned to Bruce. "It's bugging him too, isn't it?" she said, point to Banner.

Banner shifted uncomfortable under their glances. "Uh...I just wanna finish my work here and..."

"Doctor?" Steve asked. His voice was slightly softer, but he did not like the chemistry between these two.

Banner let out a sigh as he stepped to the other sigh of the table. "'A warm light for all mankind to share', Loki's jab at Fury about the cube."

Steve could barely recall anything that Loki had said as he couldn't get Loki's eyes out of his mind. "I heard it." Steve glanced at Toni from the corner of his eyes. Never standing still, she had moved from the table and grabbed a bag of blueberries from somewhere. He wondered briefly where she got those from before he turned to Banner.

"Well, I think that was meant for you." Banner said, pointing to Toni. "Even if Barton didn't post that all over the news."

Steve flashed back that café where he always found himself at in New York. It was where he sat and stretched Toni; however, they did not need to know that. "The Stark Tower? That big ugly..." He paused for a second as he eyed Toni glaring at him again. "…building in New York?" He knew was digging himself a hole with Toni.

However, as he listed to Toni and Bruce go on, he found himself worrying less about the hole he was digging. Though it was true that he didn't trust Fury, he disliked how her total disrespect for those around her and was annoyed that Banner was going along with this. Maybe, it was just him, but why she couldn't just followed orders?

Why couldn't she just listen? It was frustrating him to no end and he was left pondering why or how he was in love with this woman. How could he love someone who stood against everything that he stood for? He liked order and structure, but she loved disobedience and madness. She didn't listen no matter what the subject was and he just wanted her to shut up and listen. However, the only way he would think of doing that was just to grab her and kiss her, which was what he wanted to do so badly. He wanted to hold her tightly and kissed her until she shut up.

"Following is not really my style," Toni said with a shrug.

Steve already knew that as Colonel Phillips had a hard time with her. "And you're all about style, aren't you?" he asked. At the moment as he stared at her, he had a hard time believing this was the same woman that he had lived with for a short time. How was this the woman who held ice to his face when he came home beaten up?

"Of the people in this room, which one is; a) wearing a spangly outfit, and b) not of use?" Toni replied.

Steve let out an angry huff as he was tired of her making fun of his outfit, even if this technically was the first time for her. However, her jokes and insults were wearing thin his patience. He wasn't sure what was worse her immaturity or her lack of caring for others.

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?" Banner said, drawing his Steve's attention.

The Captain tried to control his flinch at the sound of his first name from Banner's lips. For some reason, it annoyed him to hear it. They were not friends, especially with Toni flirting with the scientist right in front of him. He wasn't sure if this was normal for Stark or whether she did this to everyone, but he did not like it. "Just find the cube," Steve said, coldly.

He glanced from Banner to Toni and all he got was angry. He couldn't understand how she could be flirting with him so soon. She just met the guy and she was already flirting? It just annoyed him so much, and he just needed to get away before he did or said something he would regret.

*O*O*

"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit," Steve stated, angry. He knew he shouldn't trust the director, but he never thought he would use the cube to make Tesseract weapons.

To him, anyone who made weapons from the Tesseract was not a friendly in his book. How could Fury even begin to think that was wise? There was no way explanation in Steve's mind that could justify what Fury was doing. To make things worse, he had lied to them. He had brought them in to fix his mistakes. He had put the world, including Toni's life, in jeopardy, and he couldn't forget that.

He also didn't like the way that Fury was talking to Toni. It was uncalled for, and Steve was close to snapping at him. No one was allowed to talk to her like that, even if she brought it upon herself.

However, just as Steve didn't think could worse, Romanoff and Thor walked into the room, which caused the tension in the room to jump. At this rate, Steve would be surprised if a fight broke out, which wouldn't be any good. There was no doubt that a fight would take out half the ship and hurt a lot of people, Toni being one of them. That was something he wouldn't allow, even if she pissed him off.

"A nuclear deterrent, cause that always calms everything right down," Toni said, jokingly. She was leaning against the lab table with her arms folded across her arms.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury said to her.

There was something in Toni's eyes that annoyed Steve. Even now, she wasn't serious. It was all a joke to her. "I'm sure if she still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep..." He had no idea of where this was coming from but it all flooding out. There was some part of him that wanted to annoy her for once.

"Wait! Wait! Hold on! How is this now about me?" Toni said, loudly, as she stepped forward. There was shock in her voice that surprised him, even if it was masked by a joking tone.

"I'm sorry, isn't everything?" Steve said, thinking back to her flirting with Thor and Banner.

This was where it all spiraled down for everyone in the room, and this was where he was making it worse for him. He was never one to put his own foot in his mouth, but he knew he was doing it right there. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop himself.

*O*O*

Steve was staring her eyes, studying her up as he was looking for a weakness. "Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

"A hero, like you? You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle," Toni snapped, getting into Steve's face even if she was a foot or two shorter than he.

Her tone had turned deadly silence, which was a tone that Steve hadn't heard from the woman. "Put on the suite, let's go a few rounds," Steve said. He maybe have regretted his every word that he was saying, but he was too angry to stop himself. He wanted to make her angry. He wanted her to feel frustrated like he was. He wanted to get to her like she did to him. He wanted to make her feel something. If he couldn't get her to feel anger, how could he get her to feel anything like love?

However, he had gone too far with the woman in front of him and he knew it. She was boiling. He had hit and nerve and he knew it, but there was nothing he could do. He had shot himself in the foot, and the only thing he could do was continue the fight as she wasn't going to let it drop; however, it made him sick to his stomach. It was dawning on him that he was ruining his chance with Toni.

*O*O*

When the Captain saw Banner picking up the Sector, Steve's mind almost instantly let go of his anger and frustration that he had. The instant he saw it was the instant his mind went into overdrive to protect the brunette next to him. Without really thinking about it, he stepped in front of Toni, blocking her view of Banner. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her, even if it pissed her off.

"Dr. Banner, put down the scepter," he ordered as he could feel the glare from Toni.

Toni side stepped Steve without saying a word, but if eyes could kill, he would be dead. "Bruce," she called, her eyes switching to Bruce.

There was a long silence in the room as Bruce and Toni stared at each other. Steve could only look between the two as they silently communicate with each other with your eyes. Even if this wasn't the right time or place, Steve found his annoyance was coming back. Were this some kind of flirting game? Why was she staring at him like that?

However, before anyone could speak, a sensor went off. On one of the monitor, they found the Tesseract and there was no time waste. There was no telling what they were planning. The monitor kept beeping and flashing, which Toni took as her clue. She jumped into action before anyone had a plan, which irritated Steve. Did she not think before she acted? Was she always this reckless and stupid? Did she think of anyone else but herself?

Steve stepped toward the door as he tried to stop her; however, he should've known better. He should've known that would only cause a fight.

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man," Toni snapped, getting back in Steve's face.

Old man? He hated that she thought of him of that. He was anything but an old man and he wanted to show her that; however, he wasn't going to fight her, not her. She was the last person he wanted to hurt in the world and he would do anything to protect her. "Well, it wouldn't really be a fight as I would fight a woman. I would let you win."

If it was possible, the genius exploded as her rage came out in folds. "Let me?" she said. "Let me? You wouldn't stand a chance."

"I-" Steve started but was interrupted by an explosion that rocketed through the ship sending them all to the ground. For a second, everyone was in the daze as the craft shook below them, and it took Steve a seconds for him to regain his composure. It was a second later that his mind went to Toni, who was struggling to her feet.

The sound of bullets rang though the ship as another explosion rumbled through the ship. Steve could hear people yell and shout, even as the alarms sounded. He could hear someone kill orders over the speakers, but it was all mumbles to the Captain, who was forced on the woman he loved. Fear flooded him as he imagined her death, which almost made his heart stop.

No, he thought. He wasn't going to let her die. Determination filled Steve as he got to his feet and rushed over to Toni. Even if she would not approve, he would not allow her to get hurt. He had to get her to safety and the best place for her was in her suit, even if it put her in the line of fire. He didn't know what he would do if she got hurt again…even if it wasn't technically again for her yet.

The end for now

With this chapter, I wanted to show some Avengers movie action, but I didn't want to do the whole Avenger movie. I hope you enjoyed it.

Don't worry, we will see Toni in the past in the next chapter.

Until next time.