A/n: Hey, guys. I really must apologise for the delay in updates as I have tons of writing to manage between this, my blog and my thesis. I'll try my best to update more frequently though. Again, I am thankful for each and everyone who reviewed and favourited this story (and myself) especially my reviewers: TheElegantFaerie, himedesu and Glorfindel.

Chapter 3

When she came to, Katherine found herself chained down to a chair in the middle of a white room with only a single door. The first thing she noticed was the camera in the corner and knew that her capturers would be studying her next actions. She tested the chains and found them uncannily strong compared to regular metal. Her head was still thumping from the after effects of the shot and her body still felt weak. As she settled into the chain, she tried to recall what had happened.

Vervain. They shot her with vervain.

Dark brown eyes looked up as the door opened and a tall imposing man in a black trench coat walked in. As imposing as he seemed, it was the eye-patch that made him seem…inhuman.

"Miss Pierce." he began. "Those chains are made out of adamantium metal, courtesy of Stark Industries and are virtually unbreakable which I believe should suffice in keeping you restrained."

She tried to lift her hand from the armrest and the metal did not budget. Letting out a loud sigh, she looked at the man who seemed pleased. "What do you want?" she gritted out. "Where am I?"

"You're at the SHIELD headquarters. My agents brought you here." he explained. "I am Director Nick Fury."

She seemed to recall Tony Stark mentioning a name of that sort. "And what do you want from me?"

"We know what you are, Miss Pierce." he said, ignoring her question. "SHIELD has been tracking your kind across the world for several years now and I am afraid you have the higher ups on an edge."

"Because you humans refuse to believe the supernatural exist?" she guessed. "I fail to see how that is my problem."

"It is your problem because you're considered a threat to the human race and should be eliminated at once. I am sure the board members would rather have it that way." Fury said pointedly. "But I believe we can work something out."

She tilted her head, curious. "What do you have in mind, Cyclops?"

~.~

Listening through the live camera feed in a different room, everyone heard what Katherine called their boss and Tony had to suppress a snicker.

"A girl after my own heart." he said happily.

"What's Director Fury doing?" Clint wondered.

Natasha remained silent, her eyes on the woman in the screen. She didn't like the fact that Katherine was too relaxed in her bonds or that there was even a vampire in their headquarters to begin with. It was like having Loki onboard their Helicarrier all over again.

Fury was talking again, carefully scrutinizing at their captive. "The purpose of SHIELD is to monitor potential threats to Earth and to protect its nations and its people from all threats, terrestrial or extraterrestrial. Or in your case, the supernatural. However as much as it pains me to admit this, SHIELD is sorely lacking in knowledge of your world. We would like for you to tell us everything you know and in return, SHIELD will offer you protection."

~.~

"And what makes you think I need protection?" Katherine sneered, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Those two individuals who attacked you and my men at your hotel for one." Fury said. "They seemed to be hunting you and secondly, your constant movements around the global have suggested a fleeing pattern. You seem to venture quite often to war-torn nations. It's easier to hide in the chaos, isn't it? So tell me, Miss Pierce, what or who are you afraid of?"

She fell silent, her nostrils flaring slightly.

"What's the matter now? Is the big bad vampire scared?" he taunted.

"Yes." she hissed, glaring back. "But not of you. And if you knew, you would be afraid too of him."

"Then why don't you tell us about him and apart from providing you protection, we will also take care of your problem. After all, evil only fears one other thing and that's greater evil." Fury suggested. "And in case it isn't clear, you are evil."

"Then that makes the two of us." Katherine retorted. "You're not exactly Saint Nicholas, are you, Fury being in this line of work."

"She's got the Fury pegged." Tony muttered in amusement.

"I don't like where this is going." Natasha declared quietly.

"I never did say I was a Saint but then again, I am not the one drugged and chained down to a chair." Fury returned calmly. "So what do you say to my offer?"

"How will I know you won't kill me once this is over?" she asked.

"The same way I know you won't hurt my people or any humans for that matter as long as you're affiliated with SHIELD." Fury answered. "Mutual trust. And also that bracelet."

Frowning, she glanced at her wrist and noticed a thin silver bracelet on it. She had missed it early but now, a sense of dread began to fill her as she studied it.

"That bracelet can administrate 500 volts of electricity. So anytime you try to hurt a human, you'll get a shock enough to incapacitate you momentarily." Fury explained.

"So it's a collar." she glared. "You're putting a collar on me. And in case you forget, I am a vampire. Hurting humans is kind of the job requirement. You know, for blood."

"We are well-aware of your…diet and will take care of that for you as well."

Katherine slumped back in the chair, mauling over her choices. Getting blood wasn't a major issue for she has survived on less before. But can SHIELD really offer the protection she needed in exchange for knowledge?

"Katherine, it's in your best interest that you take the deal. You've been running for too long now and I am offering you a solution to your problem and you can help me with mine." Fury said.

She hated that he had a point. "And the fighting? I won't have to do any of that?" she asked.

"No, you're not expected to fight although I hear you can hold your own quite well." Fury said, recalling the video and what Natasha had told him.

"I try to stay away from the line of fire." she quipped shortly.

"Clearly." Fury said with a slight smile. "So what do you say? Are you in?"

She tugged at the chains. "I don't have much of a choice now, do I, Director Fury?"

"Not really. But I would like for you think of our new alliance as one that will benefit us both in the difficult times that will undoubtedly come." he said.

Katherine sighed in displeasure. "Fine. I suppose you do have a point. So…do you mind?" she gestured at the chains. "I am starting to lose the feelings in my limbs"

"There is one more aspect to this partnership which I neglect to mention."

~.~

That last part of the negotiation had been unexpected. The listening members of the Avengers did not like it one bit but knew it was probably for the best if Fury believe their captive would go along with it. It was the 'keeping her identity a secret' part that they hated. While Hill went about unchaining and attending to their guest, Fury exited the room and found Natasha and Clint outside waiting for him.

"Director, if I may, I don't think we should keep this a secret from Steve." Natasha began. "He needs to know what she is in case she tries to attack him and I wouldn't put it past her to try."

"Agent Romanoff, Miss Pierce knows better than to try especially now that we have Stark's bracelet on her. I truly believe that this is the best and most efficient course of action to take." the director said as they walked briskly through the hallways.

"Sure, leave a psychotic vampire in the Cap's care without his knowledge. That'll end well." Clint muttered sarcastically.

"I know what I am doing. Katherine Pierce is not only knowledgeable in the supernatural world but also in the 70 years that Rogers missed out on. She can help him adapt while he can provide her the protection she requires. And Rogers doesn't need to know of her nature just yet." Fury said. "We'll tell him when the time comes but not now."

"I hope that time isn't when whatever is after her finds her and decides to tear New York apart in process." Natasha said. A look from Clint mirrored her thoughts. The director wasn't telling them something which made them more curious to find out what especially when it involved their teammate.

"Yes, that reminds me." They came to a stop outside a room that was the exact replica of their meeting room on-board the Helicarrier. "Find out what we have so far on the two assassins who attacked you and Tony at the Plaza. Doctor Selvig should have something by now from the bodies retrieved."

"Yes, sir." Natasha said and peeled off in a different direction, leaving both men staring at each other.

"Sir, do you even know what we are up against this time?" Clint had to ask. "I mean, Loki was bad enough but if there is something out there worse than a vampire, then shouldn't we be tracking it?"

"In due time, Agent Barton." Fury promised. "Besides, we have something it wants and in time, it will come for her. And with her help, we'll be ready for it."

Clint still did not like the plan but said nothing as the doors slid open revealing Steve and Bruce already waiting inside.

~.~

Well, she had certainly not expected that last part of their little deal. As a slim brunette agent went about taking her stats before undoing her chains, she chewed over Fury's words with distaste.

"There is one more aspect to this partnership which I neglect to mention."

She glanced up at him warily.

"Your knowledge of the supernatural is not the only valuable thing about you. I assume you have heard about Captain America."

"Heard about him, read the comics but never really caught the shows. You know, being on the run and all." she said. "Also American propaganda, not really my thing. I was travelling through Italy when I heard was that he went down in battle in 1943. I also heard that he was seen in battle a few months ago. So Fury, if you're trying to tell me what I think you're telling me, I am way ahead of you so keep talking."

Fury stared at her, certain now that she was the right person for the job. "We found him half a year ago in the ice, in deep sleep but alive. He's a part of SHEILD now as a member of the Avengers. I believe you have met two of our members already."

"The tin man and Red. Really lovely people."

He ignored her sarcasm. "Yes but back to the Cap. For 70 years, he has gone under and has been, for a lack of better word, left behind by society's norms and expectations. He's a man out of his time and we need to help him adapt."

Oh, no. She saw where this was going. "You wanted me to bring Captain America up to speed on the last 70 years and on the current shenanigans you humans are up to." she deadpanned.

Fury smiled. "You catch on quick."

She glowered at him, daring him to go on. And he did.

"Quid pro quo." Fury said. "You teach him how to live in this century and he protects you. It's a win-win situation. The only catch is that you don't tell him about you."

"Why? Afraid he might just drive a stake through my heart?" she sneered. "Which by the way is lesson one."

"Miss Pierce, Director Fury is expected you in the briefing room in ten minutes. I'll guide you there." Agent Hill said as she stepped back.

Katherine looked at her as she rose gracefully from the chair, feeling her strength returning to her limbs. "You are not afraid of me."

The woman merely stared back at her. "I've seen worst. Now if you're ready, let's –,"

The door opened and Tony strolled in. The surprised glare the agent gave him indicated she was not expecting to see him.

"That would be all, Agent Hill. I would like to escort the lovely lady to the briefing." he grinned.

"Mister Stark, I don't think you should be –," she began.

"Agent Hill, have faith in my jewellery making skills." Tony said, nodding at the bracelet that Katherine now studied closely. "Don't bother. Only I have the key to getting that off."

"Of course." she said sardonically.

"You know, it won't kill you to be nice." Tony said as he held the door open for her. "Then again, from what I gathered, not a lot of things can kill you."

"You're not wrong about that." she said as they began walking through the hallways of the building. "What do you want, Mister Stark? Besides escorting me to a room filled with superheroes."

"You intrigue me, Katherine." he told her as he took the lead. "I can call you Katherine right? Miss Pierce is just so…formal. Or would you prefer Katarina? Because that is the name that man called you back at the hotel."

To her credit, Katherine did not falter in her pace. "It's one of my aliases." she said dismissively.

"Really? Because it sounds very old world. What is it? Russian? Belgium?"

"Are you going to be talking the whole way?" she said. "Because I think I am better off on my own."

"You won't get far because we're here." Tony pointed at the door ahead. "And before we go in and you get overwhelmed by the sheer awesomeness of the Avengers, I just have this to say."

Biting back a sigh of annoyance, she looked at him.

"The Cap is my friend. Granted, he can be stiff, oh-so-annoying-polite and stuck with his old school ways but that probably comes with playing a capiscle for so long…" he drifted off momentarily before the glare she gave him brought him back to point. "Anyway, my point is he's my friend and I will hurt you if you so much as try to make a snack of him."

Katherine gazed at him through long dark eyelashes, surprised to hear such a serious tone in his voice and smirked. "Have some faith in your jewellery making skills, Tony."

The door slid open to admit them and with Tony taking the lead, they entered the spacious room with a wide window that overlooked the city of New York.

"Mister Stark, it is about time." Fury said, looking over his shoulder with his one good eye. "Miss Pierce, nice of you to join us."

She studied the members of the Avenger, trying to piece what she had seen on the news to the group of misfits that gathered in the room minus the red-headed assassin. A very good-looking man stood in a corner by the window, his biceps clearly defined from under his shirt as he crossed his arms over his chest, his piercing blue eyes watching her like a hawk. Quickly classifying him as human, she turned to the next person of the team. Her primal instincts pricked however when she glanced at the next man in a purple shirt and glasses. He seemed human enough but she knew to trust her instincts. From the way he looked back at her tensely, it seemed he may sense something off about her as well.

"Miss Pierce, I believe you have yet to meet Agent Burton and Doctor Bruce Banner." Nick was saying. "And this is Captain Steve –,"

"Katherine?"

A deep voice interrupted the director's introduction and made her eyes widen in recognition. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me…." she muttered to herself as she turned to the owner of that familiar voice.

Steve rose from his seat, his mind still trying to register what his eyes was seeing. He had certainly not expected their new supernatural consultant (as Fury had dubbed her) to be the same woman he had encountered the previous day.

"Why are you…?" before he could complete his sentence, Fury cleared his throat.

"You two have met." he stated, arching his eyebrow.

"We have." Katherine smirked, looking up at the man who was still staring at her as though he couldn't believe his eyes. "At a bar."

"Fancy that." Tony commented. "Old Cap at a bar."

"So you're Captain America." Katherine said lightly, an amused smile at her lips as she looked him up and down and tried to picture him in that famous star-spangled outfit the hero was recognised for. "Seems about right, I supposed." How else could he have snuck up on her without her knowing back at the former Stork club?

"They didn't tell you about me?" Steve was surprised. He thought Fury would have at least have briefed their new team member on the Avengers' identities seeing as she was going to be working closely with them. He took in her clothes and realised that she was wearing the same attire as yesterday. He answered his own question. "Because there wasn't time."

"I guess Fury wanted it to be a surprise." she said, shooting a side glance at the bald man.

"Now that you two are reacquainted." Fury continued. "Can we get back to the matter at hand?"

Out of habit, Steve held a chair out for the newcomer before returning to his own seat next to her. Katherine caught the roll of the eye that Tony gave the Cap. He was right about Steve being struck in his old ways. In a way, she found it…somewhat nostalgic.

"Miss Pierce here will be joining us as our supernatural consultant. She has years of experience dealing with the underbelly of our world and SHIELD believes that whatever knowledge she imparts to us will be useful in the future should a threat arise."

Bruce raised a hand. "How is it that no one has ever known that another world –one that consists of vampires, werewolves and demons – has existed alongside ours all this time?"

Katherine suspected that was her cue to play to her cover. "Because humans are incredibly ignorant to what they don't understand and they fear what they cannot control. They try to theorise anything that they don't understand with science instead of just believing what they are seeing. In a way, it's kind of like having faith a God that you cannot see. Except instead of a God, they have to accept the fact that there are worst terrors out there that they cannot fight. And humans with all their survivor skills, just cannot comprehend that."

"Why hasn't there been proof of such an existence?" Clint asked. Vampire or not, the notion of another world filled with demons and magic was intriguing.

"Oh, there has. Dracula and Sleepy Hollow are inspired by the writers' encounters with the supernatural." she leaned back in her chair, remembering fondly of a time when she was honoured with the company of the most celebrated vampire in the world. And one that doesn't sparkle in the sunlight. Count Dracula had been sweet on her until he tried to make her one of his brides. After she killed his human servants, he allowed her to leave. "But the reason why there hasn't been physical evidence is because they are just very good at blending in and adapting with the human society and its very changing cultures."

"So they can be just about anyone we know or pass on the street." Tony said looking at her.

She stared back, unwavering. "That's correct."

"As you can see, gentlemen, Miss Pierce is the ideal person to go to for matters pertaining the supernatural." Fury cut in before they could bombard her with more questions. "Seeing as we have no idea what we might be up against yet, she'll be updating us on the basics first. At the meantime, Captain Rogers, you will be in charge of keeping her safe."

"Yes, sir." Steve said.

"Miss Pierce will be staying with you from now on as she's also your tutor in bringing your up-to-speed on the last 70 years."

He started to automatically answer when his brain finally caught up. "I am sorry, sir? But did you just saying she'll be staying with me?"

"Yes, because not only will you be protecting her, Miss Pierce will also be helping you adapt into today's world. She'll be teaching you the ropes so we decided it would be best if she remains at hand to help you." Fury explained.

"With all due respect, sir," Steve began uneasily. "I don't think Katherine, I mean, Miss Pierce will feel comfortable with this arrangement."

Both looked at the woman for confirmation and she looked up from her nails preening. "I am fine with this arrangement. After all, it is for my protection. Oh, and it's perfectly normal, acceptable even in today's society."

Steve still looked unconvinced and possibly a little flushed by the thought of a woman under his roof.

"Relax, Stevie."

"Steve."

"Whatever. I promise I'll behave and keep my hands to myself." she said with a flirtatious smirk. "As long as you do the same."

Tony had to press his lips together to suppress a laugh to see the legendary Captain America rendered speechless by a woman. It was a pity she was a bloodsucking demon for he could already envision many fun times teasing Steve.

"What do you say, Cap?" she purred. "I promise I won't bite…."

Steve in that moment looked helpless adorably lost as to what to do and his comrades were not helping by trying to hide their amusement while Fury looked exasperated.

"Miss Pierce, if you're done." he said in annoyance.

Katherine gave a short laugh. "I am only pulling your leg, Steve which by the way means I was joking."

"I know what it means." Steve muttered with a faint blush. Tony has said that line too many times at his expanses.

"Rogers, this matter is not up for negotiation. Miss Pierce requires your protection because we have reason to believe that someone or something is after her. Last night, Agent Romanoff and Stark were attacked when they went to her hotel to recruit her." Fury revealed. "Fortunately they were not too much to handle."

Steve's eyes narrowed, wondering why he was only just informed of this now. "Attacked? By what?"

"That's what we're trying to find out. Doctor Selvig is currently examining the bodies even as we speak. Which is why I have already made arrangements for Miss Pierce to stay with you until indefinite. While you can watch over her, she can and will help you." Fury said with finality, directing that last sentence at the woman in question. He paused briefly as his earpiece came on before turning back to his team of misfits. "Now if there are no more questions, excuse me for a moment."

~.~

Leaving the Avengers' members to their own devices and for them to get to know their new 'supernatural consultant', Fury made his way to the science laboratories where Natasha had summoned him, claiming that Doctor Selvig had found something on the bodies of the assassins.

"So what do we have, doctor? Supernatural or extra-terrestrial?"

"You know I was a bit sceptical when you pulled me on board for this. Cell studies are not my area of expertise but this is….disturbingly familiar." Erik Selvig said, looking up from the microscope and adjusting the angle of the cell sample extracted from the body of female assassin on the examination table nearby. "And I don't think you're going to like this."

Fury stared at the screen that displayed an enhanced image of the cell sample and information that stood out. "Chitauri?"

"In human form." Selvig said.

"How is that possible?"

"The Avengers may have stopped Loki's assaults but we never knew how he came to gain command over the Chitauri or who gave him that command and for what purpose." Selgiv pointed out. "In the fact of the matter is we know so little about the Chitauris like what are their true capablities or where they came from."

"Tell him about the second body, Doc." Natasha said.

They moved over the slab where the big bulky form of the second assassin laid. A large crisp hole in the body indicated where Iron Man had shot him and effectively killed him. Natasha maintained her distance, staring at the tiny bullet holes that had done nothing to slow him and at the face that wasn't quite human.

"Agent Romanoff told me how resilient this fella was so I thought at first, alien but when I had a closer look…I have never seen anything like this before…."

Silence filled the lab as Fury digested the revelation before him. "The Chitauri was working with a werewolf?"

Things are getting good now. How do you think Steve will react to living under the same roof as Katherine? Before you ask how does Tony and SHIELD know about vervain, I'll answer you! Because they are Tony-Ironman-Stark and SHIELD, that's why! If they have been tracking a vampire for years now, I am sure they would make sure they know its weakness before ambushing one.

Review pls!