Sorry it took so long to get another chapter posted. Been a busy few weeks. Lots of stuff happens in this chapter. Enjoy and thanks ever so much for reading and reviewing.
Cap. A POV
The next morning I was distracted during my time with Alex. I had to cancel our date the night before to work on a plan of action with the team and I felt bad for doing so. Fortunately, Alex understood, stating that even though we are together now, we still have lives outside of each other that will cause conflict, on occasion. We made plans for tomorrow night and parted company content with the decision that we didn't need to spend every waking moment together.
I sat in Tony's lab with Natasha, Clint and Thor, while Tony and Bruce finished up preparations for our hunt for the mystery weapon. Tony had managed to create a way to track the weapon using its energy signature and once he managed to get a lock on it, we were good to go. Mostly.
Bruce was having difficulties synthesizing an antidote for the toxin produced by the weapon. We decided, however, that the potential danger from the weapon to the general population was too great for us to wait. We'd have to go in without it and hope none of us got hit by the weapon. And if we did, Bruce would hopefully be able to come up with a treatment before the toxin killed us. For this reason, Bruce stayed behind to continue working, and Thor remained with him. Bruce simple informed us that he was close to a cure for humans, but it could take months to come up with a cure for an Asgardian, if he ever could, so it was too risky to send Thor in. Thor agreed, all be it reluctantly.
"Got ya." Tony finally said confidently. "The weapon is currently located on the outskirts of the city. It looks like a nice, low population area."
Clint looked over Tony's shoulder at the map. "That area is full of abandoned warehouses. I was out there last month on a wild goose chase. There is literally nothing out there."
"Perfect." I said, getting up from my seat. "Less chance an innocent civilian will get hurt and we can take a jet into the area. Should be plenty of places to land discreetly."
With an agreement on tactics, we set off, leaving Bruce behind to work on the antidote and Thor standing by for backup if needed.
When we landed just outside the building which, according to Tony, contained our mystery weapon, the place was deserted. It really was as perfect a setup as we could have hoped for.
We exited the jet and approached the warehouse with caution, allowing Tony to take the lead. We made the assumption that his armor would allow him a certain amount of protection from the weapon. It had proved effective against most other weapons we had encountered.
We entered the building cautiously, taking a very military approach to clearing the area. The warehouse consisted of one very large room, with a Single smaller room on the far end. The space was filled with several large cargo containers and wooden crates. We slunk around the obstacles, making our way to the small room. Tony flew over it all and got to the room first. This was a mistake.
A beam of energy, originating from the small room, hit Tony square in the chest, knocking him from the air. He fell behind the cargo container closest to the small room. Natasha, Clint and I rushed over to Tony, thankfully the way had sufficient cover to prevent a clear line of fire from the weapon.
When we reached him, Tony already had his face cover retracted. He was on his hands and knees, coughing. He looked up at us; his eyes red. We helped him to a seated position.
"Tony, are you alright? Talk to us." I pleaded.
"Apparently my suit didn't give me as much protection as we hoped." He wheezed.
I turned to Natasha. "Call Banner. Tell him we're going to need that cure sooner, rather than later."
Natasha turned to make the call. At the same time, a voice came from the small room.
"Stay back. I'll shoot all of you!"
"We don't want to hurt you." I yelled back. "Just give us the weapon. No one else has to get hurt."
The voiced laughed. "You're really in no place to make demands, from where I'm standing."
Before I could think of a good reply back, another voice entered the conversation. A very familiar voice.
"Give me the device." Alex said. I turned and saw her standing in the open only a few meters from the small room where the man stood, weapon pointed at her.
"Stay back!" the man yelled.
"One last time. Give me the device. I do not wish to hurt you, but I will if you force me to." Alex's voice was steady and confident. She stood perfectly still, her eyes fixed at man.
The man did not reply, simply fired the weapon at her. I tried to shout for Alex to take cover, but what happened next stopped the sound before it could escape my throat. One moment Alex stood before us, but as soon as the beam hit her, the human form was replaced with one of a feline of some type. It looked like a mixture of a lion, a tiger and a leopard, with long saber like teeth protruding from its mouth.
It growled at the man. He stood in disbelief for a moment. His only response was to fire the weapon at her again. The beam hit her squarely on the chest and caused her form to change again. It was still feline, but it was now larger, with thick armor plating covering her entire length, including her head. Her teeth and claws also got bigger.
Before the man could get off a third shot, the feline pounced at him, knocking him back. She landed on him, slamming him once with her armored head. The man was knocked out cold.
As this was happening, Thor flew in through a broken skylight at the far end of the room. He stood between where the team was positioned and where feline Alex stood, still hovering over the unconscious man. He looked between us, hammer at the ready. The feline melted away and before us stood Alex in human form. A wave of recognition washed over the Asgardian.
"Alexiya?" Thor asked, rushing over to Alex, who had almost fallen over from what appeared to be a sudden wave of disorientation. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for that." She pointed down at the device.
I came out from behind the cargo container. "Alex?"
I don't think she had known I was there, since she seemed surprised to see me. Thor looked between us.
"You two know each other?" He asked.
"This is Alex, the woman I've been seeing for the past two and a half weeks." I replied, still in shock.
"We can sort out who's dating who later." Natasha interrupted. "We need to get Tony back to the tower."
"Was he hit by the beam from the device?" Alex asked, still being supported by Thor. For some reason, this made me just a little jealous.
"Yes." Natasha confirmed.
"I can heal him. I can draw the toxin out of him and into me." Alex said.
"You can barely stand. How can you possibly heal anyone?" Thor asked, concerned.
"I have no choice. I'll survive another dose of toxin, and if I do nothing, your friend will die."
Thor simply nodded and help her approach Tony. As she passed me, she tried to say something. I just held up my hand to stop her.
"Later. Help Tony first. We'll talk later, I promise."
Alex nodded and allowed Thor to assist her the rest of the way to the injured man. She knelt by him, placing her hand on his face gently.
"Wow, you're the Cap's girlfriend?" Tony looked over at me. "Way to go, Steve."
I just rolled my eyes. Even being infected with an Alien toxin couldn't stop Tony from being Tony."
We all stood quiet and motionless as we waited for something to happen. After several minutes, Alex slumped to the ground. I rushed to her side, not even aware I was doing it.
"How ya feeling?" Clint asked Tony, helping him to his feet. The man's eyes were no longer red and he seemed to be breathing better.
"Back to normal, it would seem." Tony said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "How's she doing?"
I had been checking Alex's pulse, which was stead. "Unconscious." I said. "Who is she?" I asked, Thor.
Thor sighed.
"She is of Asgard."
To Be Continued...