Melanie lies next to her son, her arm wrapped tightly around his small shoulders, her face buried in his curly black locks. She had missed him so much it hurt to finally be next to him again. A light tap on the door startles her awake. She lifts her head to see who it was. Pepper steps into the room, a soft smile on her face.
"Steve is here. He wants to speak with you," she says quietly.
Melanie sighs and pulls herself out of bed, wrapping a nearby sweater over her shoulders. She walks out into the main lobby and is not surprised by the worried look spread across Steve's face as she approaches him.
"Melanie are you alright?" he asks anxiously.
"Don't 'are you alright' me! Was this the whole plan? Ditch me so that Loki could take me and give me vital information, then sedate me and leave me in some random warehouse, alone?" she whispers angrily.
Steve gives a bewildered look. "Loki was the one that took you?"
She frowns. "No, don't you play dumb with me. I know how Fury works and if you really want to keep me safe, you won't keep doing this to me."
"Mel, please."
"Don't call me that."
"You know the only word I hear coming out of your mouth right now is 'don't', and not 'do'. So what do you want us to do Melanie? Since we've obviously been doing everything wrong at this point." Tony interjects, sipping on a glass of orange juice.
She rubs her eyes in irritation. "Look, if you send me in on an OP, then I'm going to need to know exactly whats going to happen, no secrets. And if you really wanted to use me to get information from Loki, then you can just ask me, instead making things so complicated."
Steve sighs. "Look I really had no idea about Loki. All Fury told me was that HYDRA was going to be there to steal some important element and you were going to help us pick them out. It was supposed to be like a stepping stone into getting you back in the field. We chased the guys out and it turned into this huge firefight. By the time I was done, you were gone. I really had no idea Loki was there."
She sits down as Pepper offers her some coffee.
"But you said you had some information," Tony says after a pause.
She looks from Tony to Steve. "I already told Tony last night, but basically Loki is working with HYDRA so that he can monitor what creatures come in and out of Earth's realm, and so he can protect me from them. I'm not saying I believe him, but if it is true, I think we should jump on that."
"What are you proposing?"
"I figure that if I get the necklace that was stolen from me five years ago, maybe it can help bring back my powers, and, if we're lucky, help me remove whatever it is inside of me that all these people want."
Steve shifts his weight uncomfortably. "And you're saying we use Loki to do it? How do we know he will be willing?"
She smiles. "If he's to keep up the lie that the whole reason he's here is for me, then he'd do anything to help me. And besides, the guy loves mischief and creating chaos. It would be like telling a Nascar fanatic he could drive in the Indy 500."
"And if he doesn't help us?"
"Then we can do it ourselves."
Steve and Tony glance at each other.
"We'll need more people," Tony starts, hesitation in his voice.
"That probably includes our dear agent Romanoff."
She nods. "Good thing I won't be the one asking."
She smiles at them as their faces fall in dread. "I'll go clean myself up and then we can go."
Melanie wipes off the fogged up mirror, staring at her hollow face. She lightly traces her fingers over the jagged scar on her chest from the needle Loki jabbed in her years ago. Another question that needed to be answered. What was that serum? And how did it seem to make her powers magically disappear?
She quickly pulls on dry clothes and grabs her backpack to leave.
"Mommy?" a voice says behind her. She stops immediately, a soft smile spreading across her face.
She turns to face her son, his hair wild from sleep.
"Hi, sweetie," she greets him softly.
"Where are you going?"
She kneels down in front of him. "Mommy has to go work with Tony and Steve for a while. I need you to stay here and keep watch over Pepper. Ok?"
He stares blankly back at her. "But the man in black says that you are going to die if you try and fight them."
Her face falls into a frown. "Them? Who am I going to fight?"
"The dark people. The ones that want to steal your power."
She grabs his shoulders. "Who has been telling you this? Who have you been talking to?"
"The man in black," he insists with a frown, "he comes in at night and talks to me. He knows you very well. He said his name is Michael."
She stares at him for a long time, the confusion and shock causing her thoughts to become muddled. "Now, sweetie. I don't want you to talk to this man anymore, ok? And I'm not going to go fight anybody. I just have to take care of some things."
"Like take back your necklace?" he responds quietly, his face blank with no emotion.
She lets go of his shoulders.
"He said if you do that then everyone will die, and it will be your fault."
"Jame?"
"Watch your back, Melanie Walker. One wrong move and you're dead."
With a stoic face, Jame turns around and slowly trudges back to his room, leaving Melanie in silence.
Melanie sits on the roof of SHIELD headquarters, the wind whipping her hair around her face. The events of the morning had deeply distressed her, but she couldn't focus on it, she had a mission to do, and that mission meant convincing Loki to help her.
"You know, by our last encounter, I would have thought you would be bringing me here to try and harm me," Loki's voice appears to her right, interrupting her in deep thought.
She looks over at him, not matching his smile. "If I was bringing you here to harm you, I wouldn't have to try."
He laughs. "I see. Never a dry moment when I'm around you."
"I'm not in the mood for games."
"Fine," he says, taking a seat next to her, "why have you summoned me behind enemy lines?"
"Believe it or not I need your help," she replies with a hint of dread.
He stares at her wide eyed. "You need... my help? If I could capture this moment right now and play it over and over."
"Don't make me regret asking," she grumbles, looking away from his sharp gaze.
He scoots closer to her side, a smirk on his face, obviously pleased with himself. "Well, I suppose you can have my help, but it all depends on what for."
"I need you to help me break into HYDRA to take back my necklace. I figured that if the stone held the power originally, than perhaps if I got it back it would help draw the power out, and hopefully make it available to remove whenever I pleased."
He puts a hand over his mouth in thought. "And I suppose you have a plan on how to do that?"
"Yes I do. And no, it doesn't compromise your status as a mole inside HYDRA."
"And the others are ok with this?"
"They don't have a choice."
"Mmmhmm."
"So will you do it?"
He stands up, the wind flapping the tails of his leather jacket. "In exchange for one thing."
She sighs. "And what's that?"
He turns, smiling. "A chance to meet my son."
She stops short, a glare slowly melting into her face. "Haven't you already? I mean it's creepy enough that you visit him at night, let alone using my dead husbands name to disguise yourself! And if you think threatening my life in front of my son is funny, then you obviously have no right to even call him your son. Your only relation to him is the fact that your sperm helped create him. Don't think that automatically makes you his father. Father's take care of their children, they don't abandon them."
"Woah woah woah," he interrupts, waving his hands as if to stop her, "what the hell are you talking about? The only time I've ever talked to your son is the night I came to your house... and I didn't even speak to him! I have no idea who this person is coming to him at night."
She frowns. "How do I know I can believe you?"
He rolls his eyes and huffs in annoyance. "You don't, but if you want my help you will have to believe me. You can tell me more later, but right now, I need to know the plan. If we are going to act, we need to act soon."
"Fine," she snaps, turning to face the setting sun. "But you can't be late if you want our plan to work."
Loki walks into HYDRA's secret headquarters, Melanie by his side, her hands pulled behind her back in handcuffs. He shoves her along, keeping his hand on the small of her back. Blood trickles from her nose and it throbs. She had forced him to hit her across the face hard enough to look like she had struggled. So as he walked in with her captured by his side, she was finding it hard to breathe.
The guards let them pass through, their eyes skeptical as they stumbled by. The Red Skull greeted them, his face pulled into a tight smile.
"Loki, I'm surprised, you had spoken earlier of how it was not going to be easy, however... "
"I need to see the stone before I give up my prize. You may say you have it but I must see it first."
"And why is that?"
"You know why," he answers, smirking, though his eyes were deadly.
They stared at each other for a moment, seemingly sizing each other up.
"Fine," the Red Skull says, then turns to a guard and orders him to bring the stone.
"So," he continues, his eyes traveling up and down her body, "how did you catch this one?"
"SHIELD seems to be a lot weaker than we presumed. Their Avengers are scattered, and tricking her into coming with me was... too easy. I was getting sick of the game I had been playing with her. I decided to let things end, quickly."
"I see."
The guard rushes out with the necklace, the stone shining on it's end.
"Here it is, now hand over the girl," he demands, frowning.
Loki shoves her forward into the open space between them, but before he can grab her, she yanks her hands, breaking the handcuffs. She throws them behind her as they pass through his hologram. She pulls the gun from her side and begins shooting as they jump out of the way. A shot of blue emerges from the gun and it stuns the Red Skull onto the ground. She rushes to his side and grabs the necklace out of his hand.
"Do you really think it would be that easy? Now call out to the real Loki, so we can catch him too," she smirks before jumping out of the way of the flying bullets. Natasha meets her in the lobby where she's already taken out all of the guards.
"Glad you decided to help," Melanie says dryly as they walk out of the building together.
"I didn't really have much choice, did I?" she growls back.
Melanie takes off her jacket and pants, revealing a matching black spandex suit.
"You know how to ride one of these?" Natasha comments snidely as they approach two sleek black motorcycles.
"Please," Melanie scoffs as she pulls on the helmet. "I was born to ride."
They both climb on and start the engines. Guards begin shouting behind them as bullets go flying.
"See you on the other side," Melanie sighs as they both peel away.
They ride close to each other, weaving in and out of traffic. Melanie turns her head to watch behind her. Three trucks are cutting swiftly through the traffic behind them, catching up.
"Three black trucks are about a hundred yards back," Melanie says through the microphone in her helmet.
"We're still about a half a mile from the tunnel," Natasha responds.
"Then we have them exactly where we want them."
Several cars honk at them as they fly by, their engines whining as they push them to go faster. The tunnel ahead of them begins to draw closer. Melanie turns around again watching as the trucks get closer and closer.
"Barton you ready?" Natasha asks over the com.
They enter the tunnel, the yellow lights flashing across their black helmets. A car slows down in front of them and they slow down so they ride right behind it.
"Going dark. Good luck," Barton answers as the lights in the tunnel suddenly go out.
All of the car's headlights darken as well, leaving the tunnel a hole of black and honking horns. Slowly, the two motorcycles begin to weave in and out again, moving like panthers in the jungle.
The men in the HYDRA trucks become furious. They yell at each other, searching the road ahead of them for the two cycles.
"How do we turn the lights on?"
"This is some sort of trick!"
The end of the tunnel is nearing. They reach the opening and suddenly all the lights come back on. They see the two motorcycles peel away, one to the left, and one to the right.
"Go! Go! Go!" the men scream.
"Which one is the girl?"
"Left!"
Two trucks slam on the gas and chase the motorcycle on the left, the other truck follows the motorcycle on the right.
Melanie grips the handle bars as she flies through traffic. She shoots through an intersection, causing a wreck behind her. This doesn't stop her pursuers, though it does slow them down.
Natasha tears through the city streets, winding through the city center. The truck behind her begins shooting at her, their bullets bouncing off cars around her. She ducks away, swerving to her left. She shoots down an alleyway only to see a truck pull in on the other side, blocking her exit. She screeches to a halt, a truck behind her and a truck in front of her. The truck in front of her peels out as it begins toward her. She whips out the gun on her side and begins shooting multiple times. Then, at the last second, she revs her engine and veers down a small alley to her right. The trucks can't follow and she laughs when she's back onto the main streets, getting away. She turns down a side street and is suddenly caught by surprise when an explosion hits the back of her tire and she goes flying. Before she slams into the ground she catches herself and rolls into a nearby garbage can. She lays there for a moment as the trucks screech to a halt in front of her. Several men jump out and surround her with guns. She stands up with her hands in the air.
"You think you could just take the stone and get away with it?" one of the men shouts.
She holds up the necklace in her hand, letting the stone dangle in front of her, the lights bouncing off of it.
And suddenly, several lights explode around her. A helicopter flies overhead and several cars peel around the corner, blocking them in on both sides. Several agents of SHIELD jump out of the cars, twice as many as HYDRA, their guns trained on the men.
"Drop your weapons!" Someone shouts over a loud speaker.
Natasha takes off her helmet, revealing to HYDRA that she wasn't who they thought it was.
"Sorry boys," she smiles, taking the stone and closing it in her fist.
Melanie speeds through the abandoned streets, constantly looking behind her as the lights of the truck slowly fade as she gets farther and farther away.
"Natasha, can you hear me? Did we get them?" she asks through the com.
"Yeah we got 'em," she responds, pride in her voice.
Melanie looks behind her again, seeing the headlights have completely disappeared when suddenly something slams into her side. She goes flying through the air and hits the ground hard, knocking her helmet off as she slides across the breath has been knocked out of her, so when she tries to stand, she struggles. The truck has her motorcycle pinned between it and the railing over looking the Hudson bay. A few men jump out, their guns raised. But almost immediately they stop short. A pair of boots place themselves right by her head. She looks up just as Loki twists his wrist. She hears several snapping and she doesn't realize what he had done before it was too late. She watched as all of the mens necks jerked to the right and they fall limp to the ground.
"I think a thank you is in order," he comments lightly, turning toward her and offering a hand.
She takes it and he helps her up. The blood from her nose has dried just above her lip, and she quickly wipes it away.
"I don't have to thank you if it was apart of the plan," she replies lamely, bending over to pick up her helmet.
He chuckles. "I mostly wanted the gratitude for having impeccable timing. I couldn't have arrived at a better time."
He is about to continue when he is interrupted by the sound of screeching tires and roaring engines. SHIELD is suddenly surrounding them, their bright lights shining on the two of them. Loki looks around him, confused at first, but then he understands and looks back at Melanie's stern face.
"Ahh, I see," he sighs, shaking his head, but there's irritation in his eyes.
She smirks at him. "I just couldn't have you foiling my plans."
Barton comes up behind him and pulls his hands behind his back, cuffing them. Loki smiles.
"You know Melanie, I didn't think you had it in you. I guess my talent really has been rubbing off on you. And to that, I applaud."
Barton jerks him to the right and Loki obediently follows.
"Can't wait to for you to see what I get to do to you," Barton grunts, pleased. "I've waited a long time for this."
As they walk away, Loki turns back to look at her, the smile still spread across his face.
"I will say, this plan, it wasn't too bad," Natasha comments as she walks up by her side.
Melanie watches Loki until they load him into the nearby truck. She then looks back at Natasha.
"And I will say, your riding isn't that bad either," Melanie retorts playfully.
Natasha smiles. "Good to have you back, Walker."
Melanie matches her smile. "Glad to be back, though this bruise on my butt sure is going to hurt like hell tomorrow."
Natasha throws an arm around Melanie's shoulders as they walk back to their waiting car.