The world had finally caught up to the Avengers. The battle of New York was finally finding some type of ending with the reconstruction of the city being more than completed. It was in part to Tony Stark's fruitful idea of a new organization taking care of the aftermath and it helped pave the way for a shift in the media's focus.

Seren couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Stardust amongst the other names that'd popped up in several newscasts, magazines - the internet! She was astonished to see all the new photographs coming to life now that everything was seemingly returning to normal. Her favorite picture had to be the one that captured her in the air before blasting a monumental radiation attack to take down several of the Chitauri ships. The flames of different colors made her seem like an actual shining star, at least that's what Natasha had jokingly said.

What warmed Seren's heart beside the obvious reasons was that it wasn't just her being recognized, it was everyone else too. People had taken great notice of everyone who'd fought on their behalf and though there were of course those against them, most of the public was grateful to have their saviors.

"I'd show Clint too if he bothered to show up," Seren folded the newspaper in her hands. She was having the time of her life going through the media, including the old-fashion reports on them. Natasha said nothing of the absence of their friend and merely shrugged. Seren was too wrapped up in the latest newspaper to notice. "He's been gone for the whole month. Where does he go? He's like Chloe sometimes, you know."

"Oh, God, please tell him that when we see him next," Natasha had herself a little laugh. They came down to the debriefing room and grabbed the first open seats.

Seren was careful when she carefully placed the newspaper on the table. Her hands smoothed the papers out so no part of it was wrinkled in the least. "Sure, just let me know when he decides to come back."

"He's taking the vacation that none of us were smart enough to take."

"Yeah, but he does that a lot," Seren leaned against her chair. "Where does he go?" Natasha merely shrugged. The disinterest she often carried did get annoying sometimes but Seren learned a long time ago not to let it get to her.

A short moment later, Steve found his way into the room. He greeted both women cordially, as was his usual style. (Natasha may have made several jokes about it already).

"Have you seen the newspaper?" Seren asked when he sat down beside her. "They're still spinning stories."

Steve smiled lightly after picking the newspaper from the table. Unlike Seren who was absolutely fascinated with the attention, Steve was a bit more abashed. He was never one for attention - he rarely had it in the past - and now suddenly everyone was turning an eye at him.

"People definitely are aware that Captain America is good and alive," Seren shot him a smirk, one that unfortunately Natasha shared.

"I heard the fangirls have already started the clubs," the redhead was quick to comment.

Steve averted his eyes from either woman's gaze. There was nothing he'd like to do more than take control of the flushes and blushes of his face. "I...wasn't aware."

Natasha folded her arms across her chest. Her back leaned against her chair as she settled a sharp look on the man. "Right. You weren't aware that people all over the country are fawning over you? Please. I know you're from the 40s but you're not that naive, are you?"

"Natasha," Seren's light-hearted scold only made the redhead grin innocently.

"What? You haven't picked one of the pretty ones already?" Natasha's eyebrow did a subtle quirk that still got a decent blush from Steve. One of the best new things about her job was being able to crack simple jokes like this around Steve Rogers. It was simply too easy and, frankly, quite fun.

"You're too much," Seren shook her head in disapproval.

"It's alright, I'm beginning to get used to her now," Steve said, leaving the newspaper on the table. He cleared his throat and tapped the newspaper. "And it's including everyone, by the way. I saw the 'Stardust' mention there a couple times." His smile on Seren elicited a sheepish one from her. "I suspect these are going to go on for a while, maybe even forever."

Natasha rolled her eyes at the pair. It was like she suddenly wasn't even in the room. It seemed like the Captain had already picked somebody, he was just the last one to find out.

All conversations ended when Fury entered the room with Maria Hill on his trail. Fury didn't waste time getting to the point of the debriefing. As it turned out, there he didn't have to say a lot for them to get the gist that it was urgent.

Seren was the first to react. She'd been going through the file quicker than the others and was appalled at what she was finding. "Wait, you think that there's unaccounted Chitauri weapons in the hands of criminals?"

"I thought Stark came up with an organization for the clean up of the city," Steve said as he went through his own copy of the files.

"He did," Fury nodded. "And while it definitely helped the city, it's still not possible to collect all of the weapons and standalone technology left behind."

That answer unsettled Steve. He gazed up to meet Fury, the latter seemingly expecting it even before it happened. "So you were counting on it?"

"I didn't 'count on' anything, Captain. I was simply thinking logically."

It still wasn't any better than the last answer. "If you suspected that something like this would happen, then why didn't you alert us before? We could have been out searching for the weapons before they ended up in the wrong hands."

"With all due respect," Maria spoke up for the first time, directly meeting Steve's look, "I don't think we should focus on what should have been done. The fact is that the weapons have landed in the wrong hands and we cannot allow that. A lot of people could be put in danger if the weapons are used."

"Have there been any reports? Any possible sightings?" Natasha was taking the situation calmly as she went through the details. It was almost alarming to Steve if he didn't already know enough about her to begin with.

"Just tips," Fury said. "But that's not stopping us. I need a full recovery of the weapons."

"How do we even know the number of weapons are out there?" Seren closed her file in front of her.

"We don't."

"So you're sending us in blind?"

"Wouldn't be the first time, Agent Soul."

Seren nodded in agreement.

"How to weed them out?" Natasha enquired.

Before Fury could answer, Seren started spewing out suggestions. "We could cross-reference any recent homicides and robberies where weaponry has been used. Backtrack it to about two weeks ago. It would take a human a lot of time to figure out how to use anything Chitauri."

"I can start that for you," Maria announced. She moved over to the nearest table and picked up a tablet.

"Thanks," Seren said as the woman walked out.

"I trust you can gather up your own team?" Fury's look was the first honest sarcasm Steve had seen in the man since they met.

"Right," Seren nodded. Silence fell over the Agents when Fury left. The only sound was that of Maria's fingers tapping by on a tablet.

"Where would we even begin to search?" Steve asked after a moment. He'd been going through his own thought process and that question was one of the things that he couldn't answer.

"New York," Natasha said without a second thought. Her eyes were glued to the open file in front of her. "It's like Seren said, it'll take a long time for the weapons to be functional in the hands of humans which means they won't sell anything until they know the right price value for each one. And in the meantime, they might commit some petty crimes."

"So we're assuming that the weapons are still in the hands of the people who originally found them. Any particular criminals you're familiar with?"

At that question, Natasha side-glanced him with a teasing smirk. "What are you trying to say, Rogers?"

"Uh, nothing, I just…I just meant…" Steve trailed off when he realized Natasha's tricks. He inwardly sighed. He would really have to get better at noticing those. It would be a life saver. "So, any leads?" He tried again though his gaze lingered more on Seren who was dutifully going through the files again.

"This isn't the first time we're collecting...lost toys. We'll come up with a decent profile before we start heading out," Seren pushed herself up from her seat. "We should probably take Dallas, Morgan, and Pipes." Her eyes flickered to Steve. "The first two are top skilled in weaponry. They'll be good with the identification and possible functions. Pipes has a real good eyesight with the unusual. She can see things that we can't. She can literally see in the dark. I'm an alien and I can't even do that."

Steve chuckled while she made faces of disbelief as if she was just now learning the fact. "Some people just really have good talents. But you don't need to give me explanations, I trust your judgement."

"Well we're a team and I like for everyone on the team to be on the same page. That includes knowledge of each member's most prominent ability."

"You want to know what mine is?" Natasha simply could not help herself from asking the question.

Seren turned around to face the redhead. "One of these days…"

Natasha smirked and got up from her seat. "I'll get the others," she said and walked out.

Seren waited until she was gone to sigh. "She has this really good combat move — her signature move, I should say — where she swings around your neck. If she does that to you, you're a goner."

"I'll keep that in mind," Steve nodded. He had no doubt of Natasha's deadly skills and he would be an idiot to ever put himself on the receiving end of her wrath.

~0~

Maria reported back to the agents a couple hours later. She pulled a couple of tabs open for the entire team to see but waited for the other agents Seren recruited to show up.

Agent Dallas was a tall brunette man with dark brown eyes and a prominent crooked nose. He smiled most of the time but as soon as he walked into the briefing room, everything in his demeanor shifted into a professional style. On some level, he reminded Steve of Seren. It was like a switch was flicked the moment they stepped into a room.

Agent Morgan was a shorter man but well built. His dirty blonde hair was neatly combed to the side. He carried himself with a more aloof demeanor, something that shifted between good and bad depending on the situation.

Agent Pipes was a light brunette with hazel eyes. She was pale in complexion but there was a strong hold in her eyes. Like Seren, she was busying herself with the screens Maria presented them. Up until now, she hadn't said anything.

"I cross-referenced any homicides and robberies that happened recently in the area. I only searched through the immediate areas, though," Maria was saying.

"That's good," Seren assured her. Her eyes were trained on the screens behind Maria. She was absorbing as much information as she could. "These weapons are top-notch so they wouldn't risk parading them through city lines for other potential criminals to take. If I were them…"

"They would take them on a ride themselves," Natasha finished for her and exchanged a mutual smile with her.

Maria nodded subtly. "I thought the same. There've been no robberies but there have been a string of strange homicides lately."

"Why do you say 'strange'?" Steve felt like he would dread the answer.

Maria cleared her throat as she regarded a tab hidden behind another. As soon as it was up for them to see, they understood.

"Jesus, is that a hole?" Dallas crinkled his nose.

The corpses they were 'lucky' enough to see had holes through their chests. It was the same exact hole in each corpse.

"That's definitely made by an alien weapon," Morgan said.

"Or two," Pipes said quietly, almost making it so that no one would hear her.

Seren was the first to glance her way, like she knew that whatever was about to come out of Pipes' mouth was going to be vital for the mission. "What do you see?"

Pipes' head dragged one way and the other as she followed the screens. "The holes are extensive—"

"I'll say, they go right through the bodies," Morgan frowned.

"Shhh," Seren motioned him to be quiet until Pipes was done.

As it seemed, Pipes hadn't even paid the man attention. Her eyes were still going from one picture to the next. "If you can zoom in, Agent Hill…" Maria quickly did so on the first screen. "Thanks." She rose up from her seat and moved around the table to the screens. "You see how some of the holes have a bit of, um, uh, leaks around the edges?" No one wanted to say that they didn't necessarily want to look at the corpses that deeply. She glanced back at them and saw their mutual crinkled expressions. "Sorry, but it's important."

"Keep going," Seren instructed her.

Pipes nodded and returned her gaze to the screens. She dragged her fingers over the holes, stopping at the specific spots where tube injury seemed to have an extended part. "See, if these weapons made a clean hit, then there wouldn't be these parts here that seemed to be of a different blow. It's like something fired once and it didn't take so they used another weapon. Two weapons."

Steve's eyebrows raised together, impressed. Now he understood what Seren had meant when she talked about Agent Pipes' eyes. They were indeed sharp.

"So they've already figured out how to use some of the weapons," Natasha concluded. "That should make things interesting."

"We need to figure out where they're coming from. Who has the weapons," Steve said and had Maria nodding with him.

"I think I may have that answer," she told him. "All the recent homicides have been against one particular gang. It's like they're cleaning house."

"So it's the rival gang," Steve said. Some things would really never change even with the decades. "Do we know where to find them?"

"Finding them won't be the problem," Morgan gave him a sharp look. "It's how we're going to get the weapons out of their hands is going to be the problem. One shot from one of those things and we've got a hole in our chests."

"We'll be fine," Seren told him. "We have each other's backs, don't we?" She looked around, expecting a full agreement from all of them. Once she had it, she motioned Maria to get on with the location. If all went well, they would all be home by ten tonight.

~ 0 ~

Seren was perched on the ledge of a rooftop overlooking the building across the street. It was a rundown two-story building with partially broken windows. She had Agent Pipes right beside her, studying the hell out of the building. Every now and then they could see people crossing the windows but not one of them ever thought to peek out. If they did, they would see the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents readying themselves to storm the building.

"They're too preoccupied with the weapons to notice anything from the outside world," Pipes theorized after a decent time of studying.

"So does that mean we should go in now?" Agent Dallas was quick to ask through their earpieces.

"Don't you dare," came Natasha's cool voice a moment later. The redhead was across the street with Steve, both of them eyeing the main entrance of the building.

"If they're not paying attention—"

"It's a no, Agent Dallas," Seren's voice had hardened, leaving no room for the agent to even try and persuade her.

Natasha switched her earpiece off and glanced at Steve. "I told you," she said.

Before saying anything to her, Steve switched his piece off too. It would be a one-way connection for now. "I like to give people a chance, alright?"

She rolled her eyes. Before coming along, she had warned Steve that Agent Dallas was just a bit impatient when it came to the stealth parts of the missions. "I bet if Seren had said it, you'd agree."

It was Steve's turn to roll his eyes. He switched his earpiece back on, prompting her to do the same.

"I don't think we should stress ourselves coming up with an elaborate plan," Pipes glanced at Seren. "They're still trying to figure out those weapons. If we surprise them, they'll be too busy scrambling to reach a weapon that—"

"It'll be an easy win," Seren agreed and cast another look at the building. "I think Agent Pipes is right. No need to stress ourselves. We want the weapons, we just get them."

"So we go now?" asked Dallas.

"Hold on," Seren said, eyes narrowing as she watched one particularly big man walk along two of the upstairs windows. "I count about six people — 4 men and 2 women — and of course the biggest one has to be the leader. Who else, right?"

"Six is incredibly easy, Soul," went Morgan. "What the hell are we waiting for?"

Natasha rolled her eyes at the man. It wasn't the first time Morgan impatiently demanded from them. Steve, however, was close to an outrage for that type of behavior.

"I'm waiting for you to be quiet and listen to my orders, Agent Morgan," Seren snapped eerily calmly.

Steve smirked. Morgan had nothing to say after that. Served him right for talking to her like that.

"Alright," Seren started, "Agent Pipes was right. We don't need to cause trouble when the situation doesn't call for it. However, we're not going to be messy either." The sharpness in her voice was well directed towards the impatient Agent and everyone knew it. "We need to get every last weapon they have in there, even if the weapons are in pieces. You never know what savvy tech genius might be able to reconstruct something out of them." She'd seen that before and she wasn't interested in seeing it again. "We'll use the main entry point as a diversion.

"Any specific way you want to do it?" Natasha asked as she peered around the building to give one last check at the entry point.

Seren smiled. "Free game."

Natasha smirked. "My favorite way."

"Your move," Seren said.

Natasha exchanged a glance with Steve who was wondering whether or not to be nervous of her look. Without saying a word to him, Natasha took the lead towards the building. "Wait for our mark."

"How do you want to play this?" Steve asked her as he swiftly fell into her pace. Natasha very clearly eyed his SHIELD resting on his back. He rolled his eyes. "Why do I even ask?"

Natasha shrugged, her smile an amused one. "I don't know."

The two double set doors never knew what hit them when the SHIELD barreled through it. Attention was driven in 2 seconds flat.

"There they go," Agent Pipes said as she and Seren watched several of the crew inside run down for the doors.

"And now here we go." Seren glanced at the woman. "Ready?"

"Yes!"

Seren fired a jet of energy at one of the windows, shattering it in one go. She then carefully picked Agent Pipes up and flew towards it. They made a clean entrance and found themselves in a cluttered room.

"They've been trying to rebuild working weapons," Agent Pipes was the first to make the connection. It was hard to tell the scrape from alien tech at the first glance. They would have to carefully go through everything.

Seren saw the task impossible for the short amount of time they had on their side. "We don't have time to search for the parts we need — bag it all. We'll take it all."

"Now who said we'd let that happen?" A big burly man had come in through the door, flashing dangerous smirks at the pair of women.

Seren audibly groaned. "Agent Pipes, take care of the parts. I'll take this one."

The man scoffed at her. The condescending attitude was nearly dripping from his face. "Take care of me?"

Seren rolled her eyes. She thrust a hand forwards and fired a jet of colorful flames, knocking the man flat on his back. "Men, ever so cocky." She heard Agent Pipes' light 'ha!' behind her.

The man's eyes snapped open from the ground. "Fine, you are strong like they said."

"Who said—"

The man took Seren's brief surprise as his advantage to strike back. He pulled out a small gun from the inside of his leather vest and shot in Seren's direction. Seren barely had the time to make a temporary shield for herself but primarily to take the heat off Agent Pipes in the back. The bullets and the ensuing fight afterwards drew the attention not only from the rest of the agents on the first floor, but the other crew members.

Natasha found a moment to talk after thoroughly knocking out one of the crew. "What's going on up there?"

Agent Pipes was working fast to get the pieces of weapons into a collective pile. She would worry about getting a bag later (or in a bit). "Agent Soul is engaging with one of the crew!" she answered Natasha. "But I hear more people coming and a lot of the weapons are in pieces which means—"

"You'll need help, got it," Natasha exchanged looks with the others.

"Two more just came in!" Agent Pipes screeched over the comms., forcing everyone connected to wince in their respective spots.

"We need to move," Steve made a swift backwards punch to take his opponent down. "Now." He didn't wait for anyone to agree or at to make a good plan, he took off.

"So we just let him go like that?" Agent Morgan gestured after him incredulously.

"Yeah, just like that," Natasha sarcastically nodded. "It's not like he needs the backup, right? Besides—" she stopped just as a bullet rang past her, forcing Morgan to duck to the side. Natasha spun around to see a smirking woman across. "We have our own targets to deal with."

~ 0 ~

Seren hated that her inability to subdue all three of the crew had forced Agent Pipes away from her task. She jumped on one of the men while Seren took care of the other two.

"Not going to blast us, are yah sweetheart?" One of the men sneered at her after pinning her to the ground.

She glared at the man holding both of her wrists together. "The only reason I haven't is because there's another agent here." As the man's smirk widened, she sat upright. "But do not confuse that with me going easy on you." She matched the man's smirk with her own.

Seconds later the man felt an insane flame of heat between his hands and her wrists. He yelled in pain as his skin sizzled until he was forced to let go. As soon as he did, Seren let that heat emanate into a direct fire against the man. She scrambled to get up before she was attacked by the second man.

With a heavy breath, she rose from the ground — ignoring the pain she felt on her back — and prepared herself for another round. From the corner of her eye, she saw Agent Pipes struggling to get back to the weapons when she had her own opponent. Seren took on the second man and managed to grasp his arm when he tried to directly punch her. Sometimes it truly worked to her advantage that most opponents thought her small stature meant she was weak. With one quick grip, she was able to swing him to the ground flat on his back.

Just as quick as she was, she hurried to Agent Pipes. She lunged on the third man's back and clapped her hands on the sides of his face. "I got him, Pipes! Get back to the weapons!"

"But—"

"Go!"

Agent Pipes had no choice but to follow the order. She turned and ran back for the mass of weaponry pieces.

The man grabbed Seren's left leg and pulled her to the ground. She yelped when he saw his massive fist coming for her and quickly turned her body to the side. Raising her head allowed her to see that the second man she pinned down was regaining consciousness.

"Dammit," she muttered, dropping her own fist to the ground to stand up. The man was already waiting for her and as soon as she was up, she tried to direct a couple punches. In return, the man revealed a small weapon that he fired when she withdrew her fists from his face.

The energy collided with her chest and threw her back. She heard a ringing noise in her ears and somewhere in there Agent Pipes' scream for her. Groggily, she sat upright but the damage was done. Every part of her torso raged with pain. She would definitely have some trouble sleeping tonight but that was a problem for later.

She pulled herself up, albeit wobbly, with an arm wrapped around her stomach. Sucking in a breath gave a whole new rush of pain.

"Guess it's not true what they said about you," Seren heard behind her. She turned around to see him grinning triumphantly. "You may be a freak from another world but you're not strong."

"Ha," went the third man on her other end. "it'll just make them want to get you even more."

"Get me?" Seren made a face. "What do you mean 'get me'?"

The man sneered. "You're an alien. You don't belong on our world."

Seren glowered, but she wouldn't deny that her heart was beginning to race under her chest. This is exactly what her parents had tried shielding her from, and it was what she had always feared. "I am human," she said, but the man snorted. "I am. This is my home too."

"Really? With that alien power you got? Please. You're a disgusting half breed."

Seren swallowed hard. "I'm not—"

The second man she'd honestly forgotten about charged towards her from behind with all the intentions of bringing her down. Seren heard a loud clang of metal colliding with something followed by a recognizable thud. Steve was quick to collect his shield and run towards the last man. Seeing him made the man fire again. Seren put her hands together to attack but felt a hard grip around her waist pull her to the side. Steve had grabbed her and shielded them both for the duration of the fire.

"I got it," Seren said to him and for the sake of the situation, he wouldn't even comment on the breathless tone of her voice.

"I have it—" he tried to say but as soon as he lowered his shield, she fired star bolts at the man. Steve winced with the numerous bolts she fired. He didn't want to admit it but it felt like it was a bit over the top. Plus, he didn't like the face she had on either. Her eyes were so cold, her expression dark...almost like when she had been brainwashed by Loki. "Seren!" he called to her. "Seren, stop! Seren, c'mon!"

The star bolts died seconds after Steve's yell. Seren lowered her arms to her sides but her right arm wrapped around her stomach. She swallowed the pain and turned her head in Agent Pipes' direction..

"I-I think I got it," the agent gestured to the pile she had managed to collect. "But are you—"

"Yes," Seren nodded then checked for the other agents' status. All of the gang had been subdued. "Pack it up," she gave the final order.

~ 0 ~

Agent Pipes had deposited all of the weaponry in one of the labs. She thanked Steve for the additional help.

"I think the scientists will have a field day with all this," she chuckled. "I'm so happy we managed to get it all."

"Yeah," Steve said rather quietly. He was studying the pieces scattered in front of him and though he hadn't said it, Agent Pipes had a good idea of what was running in his head.

"Would they answer you?" she suddenly asked. Steve's head snapped in her direction. "If you asked—" she elaborated, "—them what their plans were for the weapons, do you think they would answer you honestly?"

The fact that she was asking him spoke volumes about S.H.I.E.L.D. to Steve. Once again, his thoughts and feelings for the place went into turmoil. He just couldn't make up his mind about it. "I...don't know," he said quietly.

"Really?" she let the disappointment lace her words. "I mean...you're Captain America, wouldn't they sort of owe you the honest answers?"

Steve smiled. "You'd think."

Agent Pipes matched his smile for a few seconds. She then sighed and set her hands on her hips. Her gaze went back to the weaponry pieces. "I have worked at this place for almost ten years and I'm still on a need-to-know basis for most of my missions."

"Doesn't that bother you?"

Pipes' hazel eyes met Steve. She smiled again but Steve could see the strain behind it. "It used to," she shrugged. "A lot."

"But not anymore?"

"You get used to it. We all do. We know that what we're doing is for the better good. Today we saved the streets from what promised to be a bloodbath with these things," Pipes nodded to the weaponry. "I'm going to sleep well tonight. I hope you do too."

Steve nodded as she walked out of the lab. It was a perfect answer but he was unsure if he could ever reach the same one. He thought about the many years that the other agents had at S.H.I.E.L.D. — Seren, Natasha and even Clint — and wondered at what point did they become used to the way S.H.I.E.L.D. worked. He realized he didn't really want to know the answer. With a sigh, he walked out of the room.

~ 0 ~

Seren stretched her body side to side, pushing through the pain she felt. Natasha watched her from the end of the locker room with an amused smile.

"Shut up," Seren warned her, but it only made Natasha's smile widen. She had utterly refused the medical room when they returned. No blood meant that there was absolutely no reason she needed to see a doctor of any kind.

"You could have at least gotten checked," Natasha walked over to the woman.

"I'm fine," Seren waved her off and stretched one more time. The pain would soon make her sore and then slowly fade. No reason to see a doctor. She fixed her shirt then her hair and walked out of the locker room with Natasha in tow.

"You'll still have to take a few days off," Natasha said.

"Whatever, how are the weapons?"

"They're going to be examined."

"One mass done, a whole other mess to account for," Seren sighed.

Natasha side-glanced her and noticed the worry line over her forehead. "What else has you sighing?"

Seren felt ridiculous admitting the problem. "I've, uh, been digging into the internet—"

"Oh, first mistake," Natasha began to shake her head.

Seren playfully rolled her eyes. "Some of the things that the men back there said to me made me wonder if the news was really that kind to us."

"And?" Natasha lifted an eyebrow.

Seren sighed. "It's not. A lot of people loved the Avengers and what we stood for but there's also so many people against us. And it's getting a little personal for me. Many people see my origins as an issue."

"I bet they do," Natasha shrugged, "But who cares, Seren."

"I do," Seren said, "It's—it's everything I've been afraid of since I was a kid. People are scared of me, angry about my whole existence. What am I supposed to do with that?"

Natasha planted her hands on Seren's shoulders, looking at Seren dead in the eyes. "Not care," she said slowly for Seren's benefit. "Honestly, who the fuck cares what people say? You know that you did something good and incredible. That's all that matters."

"It doesn't bother you at all when they talk about your, uh, obscure background?"

"No," Natasha shook her head, "Because after everything I've been through, I'm really not going to care if some random dude on the internet doesn't like me."

When Natasha put it like that, Seren felt silly with her worries.

The two women soon headed out to the hallway to finalize their mission and on their way they caught Steve. Like everyone else, he asked about Seren's condition. And just like she had to everyone else, she assured him there was no need to see a doctor. She really hated doctors and anything medical-related. Steve learned quickly not to push that button.

"All I need is to see my bed," Seren said instead. "Knowing that those men are either in jail or dead makes me feel a lot better."

"They are," Natasha said, smiling knowingly. "And Agent Pipes sends her gratitude for saving her behind earlier."

"Right," Seren took in a breath at the reminder. She purposely waited for Natasha to leave so she could speak with Steve. If anyone would tell her the truth, it would be him. "Listen, that guy that I...star-bolted...how bad was he?" She hated admitting that she barely had recollection of the aftermath with all the pain she felt in her body.

"Um…" Steve rubbed the back of his neck, clearly wanting to avoid that subject.

"It's alright Steve, you can tell me."

He met her pleading eyes and suddenly felt like he had to spill everything. "He was...he didn't make it."

Seren stiffened but she couldn't say that she was surprised. She'd gone pretty hard in the last round. "Oh God," she sighed. "I don't let that happen, you know." She started for the entrance doors, she needed air quickly.

"What?" Steve went after her.

"My powers — I train hard. Part of the training is learning to control them because…" Seren pushed the doors open and immediately sucked in a deep breath. She turned slowly to Steve. "My powers are literal star mass. If I harness it to its maximum…"

Steve nodded, understanding what she was trying to say. It wasn't like he hadn't suspected it already. "It's deadly."

Seren swallowed hard. "I've seen the destruction my grandmother did during her training. I-it's happened to me too but I try my best to keep it at a sufficient level when I'm out in the field. These people we fight, while horrible, they're still just humans and I don't like using my full biology as an advantage. There is no need to be that violent."

"I get it," Steve assured her. He felt like she was trying to justify herself directly to him, like he would have judged her if she hadn't explained.

"I just...I got mad, well...he just said something that really got to me," Seren admitted, and only because she was dead afraid of what Steve would think of her if she didn't explain why she lost control.

"What did he say?" Steve asked her.

Seren bit on her bottom lip. Saying it out loud was a bit harder. "Apparently, not everyone likes me for the fact that I'm, uh...not entirely human." Her smile was weak. "In his words, I am a 'disgusting half breed'." She swallowed hard. "Which is exactly what I didn't want people to think about me."

Steve was shocked, to say the least, and little by little he became angry. He really wished he could've had his turn with that man. Knowing what he knew about Seren and her past, he was sure that the man's words hit the weakest chord in Seren. It was her biggest fear and in her eyes it must have seemed like it came true. "Seren, that's not true. You're not a-a...that." He was not going to repeat those words, not in this lifetime. "Seren...?"

She wouldn't look at him. "A lot of people think I am," she mumbled quietly. "I've looked on the internet again. Steve, there are so many people who are either angry or scared of me. And if they found out that I killed a guy who called me a half breed, they would think I'm a monster. I got mad and-and I couldn't control my powers. Stardust isn't a hero."

"That's where you're wrong," Steve said. He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her head so he could see her eyes, her beautiful eyes with colorful flecks. He couldn't help but smile at her. "Stardust is a hero. Seren is a hero."

Seren felt her face light with fire with those words, but no more than being under Steve's soft gaze. Were his eyes always that blue? Suddenly, her mouth felt very dry. "You're just saying that...because...because you're my friend."

Steve would ignore the little ache he felt out of nowhere. He didn't know where it came from and right now he didn't have the capacity to wonder where it came from. "No, I'm saying it because I've seen it. You saved all those people. You've been saving people from a very young age. Do you know you even saved me?"

"But I never did anything..." Seren knew that their battle in New York did have various moments where they had each other's backs, but that was what a team did. They protected each other. She never actually saved his life like he claimed.

And yet Steve seemed very sure of what he was saying. "You were the first person I saw when I woke up in this world. I was very rude to you, actually..." His light smile brought one out of Seren and that counted for millions. He loved seeing that smile on her. "But you were still so kind that day. You spoke to me in a way no one has spoken to me in this world. I felt safe with you, and that's why I specifically asked Fury for you."

Seren now felt like her heat powers had been enhanced tenfold. Her entire body felt warm and she wondered if Steve could feel it since he still held her chin. She would move away from him but her feet were glued to her spot. She felt like she was in a trance watching him speak so close to her.

"If I had been there when that guy said what he said, I would've knocked him out. You are nothing close to that. You're...you're amazing, Seren."

Seren swallowed nervously. "I, uh...I'll take that as a special compliment. I mean, you are the famous Captain America, right?" She wanted to joke and lighten the atmosphere between them before she really went all red.

Luckily, Steve did laugh with her. He let her go in the process but his eyes never lifted from her. "I think Stardust is way better."

Seren blushed. "Well, I did sort of win our last match...not that I'm looking for a rematch."

"Oh, neither am I," Steve said, raising his hands in front of him. "I would much rather fight alongside Stardust than against her. We make a good team."

Seren nodded. "We do."

A few minutes of silence passed by in which they both felt their faces so incredibly warm.

"Thanks, Steve," Seren eventually said. Steve nodded at her.

"Can I take you home?" he asked her.

How could she deny such a request. "Yes..."

Steve offered her his arm and he smiled when she curled her arm around his without seeming to have to think about it. For someone who could literally kill if she got angry, right now Seren seemed like the most delicate woman in the building. Especially with that smile of hers. Totally innocent. Who would ever think she could harm a fly?

Steve gulped when it was just them in the elevator. Seren still held his arm, not knowing — how would she know? — what thoughts ran through his head. What have I done? He kept thinking about it all the way to Seren's place and even when he left her later in the night. He was in huge trouble...

A/N:

At last one of them saw the light! Next chapter's one of my faves because it's something that Steve really needs to do for himself and his future...

P.S. As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "saiilorstars"