Author's Note: About time. About time.
12 – By Your Side – May 14, 2012
"Steve!" Aspen stumbled over to where he lay sprawled on the floor. His face was bruised and his lip cut. His right eye was slightly swollen. Aspen knelt next to him, putting her hands gently around his face. "Why did they have to do that?" she asked softly.
"People like him don't need reasons," Steve returned, wincing. "I'll be alright," he assured her. "I'm getting my strength back."
"What did they do to you?" Aspen asked fearfully.
"They took a sample of my blood. Stewart said that his Super-Adaptoid was complete with my blood. He can replicate my abilities now. I'm sorry, I tried to fight it."
Aspen shook her head. "It's not your fault. He won't stop. He's a bully. Bullies beat people up, they find what hurts you the most and keep doing it until you break."
"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Steve asked, his concern solely for her.
Aspen shook her head. "I'm not hurt. Not physically. Let's get you cleaned up." She stood and held out a hand for him. Though he took it, she noticed he didn't put any weight into her arm. She led him into the bathroom and found a clean washcloth before wetting it and dabbing at his face. Blood came away, smearing across the white washcloth. Aspen kept working gently until she'd wiped away the blood. She set the washcloth in the sink and then reached up and brushed her thumb across the top of his cheekbone next to his swollen eye. He watched her carefully, blue eyes steady.
"I thought I was never going to see you again," Aspen said, her voice breaking. "I couldn't stand that."
"I couldn't stand watching him threaten you. I felt so powerless. What use am I if I can't even protect you?" The anger in Steve's tone surprised her.
"This isn't your fault," she told him. She started to pull her hand away, but he reached up and caught it. Aspen could feel her pulse beating a frantic tempo out under her skin. She couldn't breathe properly. She and Steve were standing close, and Aspen felt herself leaning closer. Whatever this was between them, whatever they were feeling, she had the inkling that some of it was about to come out for better or for worse.
"Are we going to make it through this?" Aspen asked him suddenly frightened that she'd never get the chance to tell him how she felt. She wasn't sure she knew how she felt, but suddenly it was clear to her: she couldn't stand to be apart from him. He somehow made her life complete when before it had been missing so much. She felt safe with him and trusted him when neither came easy to her.
"Of course we are," he told her. "Sometimes when things look bleak, you just have to keep looking for something good."
"We're both still alive," Aspen said. "And we're together. When the guards took you away, I felt as if my whole world was collapsing." She surprised herself with her candidness, but it no longer seemed to matter. She had no reason to hide her feelings anymore if she ever did. All she knew was that she wanted to kiss him before she lost her chance. So help me god, I'm falling in love with Captain America, she thought to herself. For a second hesitation grew in her mind. He was a superhero, a legend. She was just a girl with a messy past and an uncertain future. But then she remembered that he was still just Steve, her friend and guardian. Nothing had changed.
Steve's eyes searched hers, and she could see his nervousness written out on his face. He could sense the emotions streaming between them, and he didn't know what to do about it. Aspen realized that it was a now or never situation, and Steve was too shy to make the first move. Her heart was beating so loudly that she could hardly concentrate on what she was doing. She reached up her free hand and cupped his face before leaning up and brushing her lips over his. She heard his sharp intake of breath and felt his hesitation. Then he put a hand on her waist and gently returned the kiss. Aspen felt like she was falling as he kissed her back. It was such a relief to know that she hadn't been alone in what she was feeling. Steve was holding her waist so carefully it was as if he thought she'd break. His lips on hers were so different than Loki's. Where their kiss had been all passion and anger, this was gentle and safe. Aspen tangled her fingers in his short blonde hair, and his grip tightened on her waist. Their other hands were still entwined.
The kiss deepened, and Aspen leaned into him until their bodies were pressed together. For a moment she could forget her fears and sorrow. She could forget where they were and what awaited them. She just wanted to sink into Steve's kiss forever.
When they finally broke apart, Aspen rested her forehead against his. They were both breathing hard. Whatever confusions she'd had about her feelings before had disappeared. She was falling in love with Steve Rogers. Maybe she had been for a long time. Maybe she had since the moment his blue eyes had met hers in the hospital room. She let go of his hand to put both arms around his neck, gently kissing him again.
He wrapped his other arm around her back, pulling her closer to him. There was something so familiar about him that any apprehension she'd had left her. It was as if she'd belonged right here in his arms all along, as if everything before had been leading up to this point.
Suddenly he drew in a sharp breath and pulled back. "Sorry, my lip," he apologized. Aspen's eyes went to the cut.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said.
"It's okay." He smiled at her. His cheeks were flushed, and she realized hers were too. They were suddenly shy again. "Stewart found both our weaknesses," he said suddenly.
"Each other." Aspen sighed, and they pulled apart. She leaned back against the bathroom counter, suddenly too exhausted to stand. "I feel like I'm going to collapse I'm so tired, but I'm afraid to close my eyes."
"I'll be right here with you," Steve told her. "You should sleep. I'll stay awake."
"No, you're exhausted too. We'll both sleep. I know I'll wake up if I hear anything. We both need our strength."
"There's something Stewart said. My mind was still hazy when he said it, but he mentioned something he was going to send you to retrieve. The 'Eye.' Does that mean anything to you?"
Aspen frowned and shook her head. "No. Nothing. Did he say where he was sending me to get it?"
"No. He said he was sending you tomorrow though. I won't let him take you."
"You might not have a choice. Let's not worry about that right now." She took his hand and led him to the bed where they kicked off their shoes and curled up under the blankets. Steve wrapped his arms around Aspen, and she curled up next to him, her head rested on his shoulder. They had slept like this before, but tonight Aspen felt the change. There was much less hesitation, but he was still the same Steve he had always been. It made her heart gallop to think that he cared for her as much as she cared for him – at least she hoped he did. She lay awake for a long time and though she knew he was awake too, they didn't talk. When she finally fell asleep, she was able to forget everything that had happened the last few days. Nightmares made themselves scarce and even in her sleep she smiled.
…
Steve could tell Aspen had fallen asleep when her breath deepened. His mind was racing with thoughts of their kiss. He could still feel her lips on his, soft as velvet, and her fingers in his hair. His pulse still raced at the thought. He had been so relieved to see that she was safe and when she had told him how fearful she had been for him – well, it felt nice to have someone care that much. To think that he meant that much to someone as incredible as Aspen… He knew he cared about her. He couldn't stand the thought of losing her. Whatever Stewart had planned for her couldn't be good. What frightened Steve the most was that Stewart had the means to incapacitate him. He was working on replicating his abilities, and he had shown that he could neutralize him. He was terrified that he wouldn't be able to protect Aspen when the need arose. There was too much at stake here. He knew that if it came down to protecting family and handing over the serum, Aspen and her parents would hand it over to keep each other alive. He would gladly forfeit the information if it meant saving Aspen's life. They could figure out how to bring down A.I.M. later. For now he just needed her to be alive.
He thought back to Stewart's remark about him being out of his time. That was true in every sense, but he realized that he had stopped thinking so much about the life he could have had. He hadn't stopped caring about Peggy – he never would, but he could finally move on and accept that they were never going to have a life together. But Aspen and him… The thought that they might have a life together – if they ever got through all this – made him happier than he could have ever imagined. His future wasn't just an empty slate anymore.
He reached up and brushed a strand of red hair off of her face, letting his fingers trail down her cheek. He shut his eyes and tried to fall asleep but sleep eluded him. The room felt too much like a prison for him to feel comfortable. Only Aspen's warm body next to him kept him from tearing down the walls to escape. She had been so strong the last few days. Anyone else wouldn't have been able to take the amount of stress and shock she'd been through. Aspen shouldered it though and didn't ask for help.
Steve eventually fell asleep because suddenly he was on the train again in 1945 with the wind from the open door howling in his face. He leaned out of the open door, watching as the winter scenery dropped away from a sheer cliff. Fighting off vertigo, he looked down to where Bucky was hanging. It wasn't Bucky hanging there though; it was Aspen. She held onto the broken bar with one hand. She looked up at him with wide green eyes and he could see the fear in them.
"Aspen! Hold on." He reached out a hand. The bar gave a groan. Aspen reached up toward his hand, but the bar gave way. She screamed as she fell. "Aspen!" Steve watched helplessly as she fell. His heart gave a jolt and he awoke with a start to the sound of someone opening the door to their room.
…
Aspen awoke with a start as the door unlocked. She and Steve were on their feet before the door had fully opened. They both tensed, ready to fight. Stewart entered the room along with two guards. "I hope you slept well," he said genially. "We have a lot of work to do today. Aspen, I'm relying on you to help me with something."
"Why should I do anything for you?" she asked. "You've threatened me, threatened my friends, threatened my family."
"And will keep doing so if you don't do this for me." He nodded toward the open door. "If either of you try to fight me, I will not hesitate to put a bullet in the soldier's head. As of six hours ago, he lost his usefulness. We have his blood. I have no further use for him. Right now you're the only one keeping him alive, Aspen. But if you refuse to do this, if you try to cross me, he will die."
Aspen swallowed hard. "What do you need me to do?" she asked.
"Perfect. I thought we'd come to an agreement. Come with me." Aspen glanced at Steve before they followed Stewart out of the room and back toward her mother's lab. As they entered, Aspen saw her mom standing nervously at a counter holding a syringe of clear liquid.
"It's finished," she told Stewart. She gave Aspen a fleeting smile. "Just take it and let her go."
"Not so fast. There's something I need Aspen to retrieve for me."
Aspen's mom tensed. "That wasn't part of the deal. You told me you'd release Aspen once I handed over the serum."
"I said I'd let Aspen go once I got what I needed. This isn't all I need." He snatched the syringe from Aspen's mom. "Once I inject my soldiers with both the Superhero Serum and the Adaptoid, they will be superior, but that presents a new problem. How do I keep them in order? How do I control them? Then I realized I knew just the object." He pulled a copy of an ancient looking manuscript out of his pocket. "This is the answer." They looked down at a drawing of an eye-shaped object. Aspen had no idea what it was. "The Warlock's Eye," Stewart said. "It has the power to control multiple minds at once. With this, I can control my army completely. But I don't have it. It's hidden far away which is where you, my dear, come into play."
"You said last night that Aspen had the specific knowledge to acquire it," Steve spoke up. "What did you mean?"
"Well, that's where this gets tricky. This particular artifact lies in a treasure chamber that doesn't exist on this planet; in fact, it's somewhere entirely different. The Warlock's Eye rests in Odin's treasure chamber in Asgard."
Silence met his words. "You're joking, right?" Aspen said finally. "That's impossible."
"Not impossible. Difficult, yes, but not impossible. I think you're aware of this research." He pulled out a folder and held it out to them. The front read Einstein-Rosen Bridge, and Aspen nodded, surprised by the sudden resurface of the research.
"I stole some research on that when I used to work for ARTIFACT."
"The theory has been greatly studied by scientists over many years. Do you understand the concept?"
"I didn't read the notes."
"In short, an Einstein-Rosen Bridge is a portal of sorts to another universe. Two black holes align themselves and create a passage between worlds. Travel is possible. Fortunately some of my researchers have discovered such a spot that is what we might call a glitch in the universe. It will allow you to travel through worlds to Asgard. Travel is imprecise, but we've tested this particular portal and found that it does, indeed, line up with Asgard."
"That's insane. I'm not going to Asgard to retrieve some sort of mind control device for you," Aspen said, shaking her head.
"I'm not giving you a choice," he said. "You can either retrieve the Eye or watch your soldier die."
Aspen looked at Steve whose eyes were hard. They softened as he met her gaze. "You don't have to do this," he said.
"Of course I do," she whispered. She turned back to Stewart. "I'll do it, but how am I supposed to break into Odin's treasure room?"
"Were you not a smuggler in your past life? You have that skill set."
"Is that what you meant? I'm not that good."
"That and I know you had a close relationship with an Asgardian during his time in New York." Stewart watched her carefully.
"Loki?" Aspen scoffed. "I wouldn't call us close."
"You were close enough."
"What does that have to do with this?" she asked, wondering how he knew about her and Loki.
"It's simple. You're going to get Loki's help with breaking into the vault. If anyone knows how, it will be him."
"I don't even know where he is or if he's still alive," Aspen said.
"He's alive. He's serving a life sentence in Asgardian prison. My spies have kept me informed." Aspen wasn't sure how to feel about this. She felt relief that he wasn't dead, but she also felt pity that he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Of course he had brought that on himself with his actions in New York. "But you're going to need some extra help." Stewart fingered the injection. He walked toward her. She wanted to back up, but she stood her ground. "Before I cure myself with this serum, I'm going to make sure it works." Before anyone could act, Stewart sunk the needle into Aspen's arm. She cried out in pain.
"No!" her mom screamed.
Aspen felt an intense pain burning inside of her body. She was aware of the needle leaving her flesh and then aware of falling backwards, someone catching her, and then a blinding pain that consumed her body like fire.
"That wasn't meant for her," she could hear her mom say in the background.
"I know. I had a feeling you might try to taint it, so I decided to test it on your daughter."
"It will kill her!" she said, her voice distraught.
"Yes, I imagine so," Stewart said with no emotion. "How long does she have? Will it slowly kill her like me or will it act quickly?"
"It was mean to kill you within a few days. She might last a week." Aspen could hear that her mother was crying.
"You see that's the problem with trying to be clever. I can always outthink you. She has a week to retrieve the Eye and you have a week to come up with the correct serum for both of us."
Aspen's head was beginning to clear. The pain was dulling to a steady throb. When she opened her eyes everything was so much clearer. She noticed things she never had before. Every spec of dust in the air was defined. She could process her surroundings with little effort. She could tell that something was not quite right though. The pain wouldn't completely subside, and something in her brain was registering as wrong. She realized she was in Steve's arms as he knelt on the floor. She looked up at him. His brows were furrowed, and she could see both the anger and the worry reflected in them.
"I'm okay," she whispered.
"No you're not. Did you hear what he injected you with?" he growled.
"Yes. I have a week. I just have to get back before then." She got to her feet, and Steve pulled her up, holding onto her waist protectively.
"Put this right," he growled at Stewart.
"I will once I get what I want," Stewart replied, unfazed. "I'm a man of my word. Now. The car is ready, so let's get going. I'll get you any weapons and equipment you need."
"I'm coming," Steve said, tightening his grip on Aspen's waist.
"No, I don't think so. She needs some incentive to come back, after all. You'll be staying here to help Mrs. Tolvar with her work."
Aspen looked up at Steve. "I don't see a way out of this," she said. "I'll be back though. I promise." His eyes were vivid with emotions, and he didn't loosen his grip on her until she pulled his hand loose. "I will come back," she said again.
"You don't know that." She had never heard so much raw pain in Steve's voice. It broke her heart. She reached up and cupped is face in her hand, careful to avoid touching the bruises. She looked into his eye.
"I have a good reason to come back," she told him.
He pressed his forehead against hers. Stewart cleared his throat, and Aspen kissed Steve's cheek before pulling away. She backed away from him, feeling Stewart close his hand around her arm. "Don't try to come after me," she told him desperately. "I can't watch you die. Promise me." Steve shook his head. "Promise me."
"I promise," he finally said. "Just be safe."
Aspen gave him a small smile before Stewart pulled her away.
"Aspen, I'm so sorry," her mom said. She pulled Aspen into a hug. Stewart let go of her arm for a second.
"You were just trying to save me," Aspen said, putting her arms around her mom. "Just like before." Her mom gave a sob. "I forgive you," Aspen told her. She gently pulled away and, giving Steve one last glance, turned to follow Stewart out of the lab. She felt like her heart was being torn in two, but she was not going to put Steve at risk. She took a deep breath and followed Stewart out to the awaiting car. They drove through the vivid green scenery and toward the mountains in the distance. Her mind registered the temperature of the car and how fast they were going like a machine. She hated it. She tried to shut off her brain, but it was reeling, soaking in every bit of detail around her.
She shut her eyes and held her head in her hands. All the emotions – rage, fear, sorrow – were boiling in her head. She felt like she was going to explode. The sound of cracking glass startled her. She looked up to see that the window next to her had cracked in the middle with lines crawling out like spider webs. Stewart looked back in surprise and then smiled.
"Did I do that?" Aspen asked softly.
"You did, indeed. It's amazing the abilities you'll discover you have."
"I don't want this," Aspen said.
"But I do. You'll thank me once you get into Asgard."
They kept driving until they turned onto a side road that led them into some low mountains. Finally the driver stopped the car and they got out. "This way," Stewart said, indicating a narrow pathway that led downward. "After you." Aspen started down the hill, aware of every little detail around her. She focused on her feet which seemed to move more lithely than ever before. A small lake appeared in the distance. Aspen hesitated as she reached the edge. She sensed it before she saw the glitch. In the middle of the lake was a small island and on that island, between the tall blades of grass, was an invisible curtain. She could just barely see the edges where the portal was.
"You'll need these." Stewart had come up behind her and handed her a belt loaded with weapons and devices that she had never seen before yet understood how to use. She strapped it around her waist half tempted to use them on him. Stewart handed her a grey coat which she pulled on over the belt, blocking the weapons from view.
"Get in, get the Eye, and get out," he instructed her. "Your soldier's life depends on it."
Aspen gave him a curt nod before diving into the water. She swam with powerful strokes toward the island though she had never been a strong swimmer before. It wasn't that she was stronger, just that her brain knew just how to make her glide through the water as quickly as she could. When she pulled herself, dripping water, onto the island, she studied the tear in the fabric of the universe for a moment. Then, with a deep breath, she plunged into the portal.