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Chapter Text

Strange blue light filled Amelia’s dreams, it coiled around the edges like writhing smoke, its movements almost lifelike.  Pictures, fragments really, of a dark, cavernous room flickered behind her eyes.  Echoes of bullets ricocheted and a voice, a silvery voice preaching the freedom of a mad man slunk in between lucid thought. 

“Remind me again why I’m here?” Amelia prompted as she straightened Barton’s bowtie, shaking her mind free from the fading memory, rolling her shoulders to shake the shiver running down her spine.

Amelia had slapped on a lot of makeup, more than she was comfortable with, to hide the shadows under her eyes from the restless sleep.  The dream woke her with a start, bolting upright as a trickle of sweat leaked from her forehead, her entire body covered in a thin sheen.  The dream, or nightmare, unsettled her and lingered in the crevices of her mind all day.

Barton gave her a smile, smoothing his hand along the edge of his black dinner jacket. “Because your name gets us into places we otherwise wouldn’t have access to.” He offered her his arm.

Amelia took it, her tall heels clicking on the shining floors as they made their way into the lobby, handing the steward their gilded invitation.  “Welcome, Miss Stark.” The steward greeted with an extra special smile, waving them inside.

“I don’t recall the great Hawkeye ever needing help getting into a place before.” She murmured, smiling and nodding at those who recognized her as they joined the growing crowd. 

Amelia didn’t know half the people who approached her at these events, and ever since taking on her role at SHIELD and Stark Industries, she’d been to a hell of a lot of them.  Drinking in the faces, learning the names and forgetting them a second later.  With each new invitation she understood a little better her father’s past behaviour.

“He doesn’t.” Barton agreed, eagle eyes scouting the glossy ballroom.  “But sneaking in takes a hell of a lot more effort.”

“And getting dressed up, doesn’t?”

“For you, maybe.” Barton eyed her up and down, raising an eyebrow at the flowing dress with the long sleeves and treacherous neckline, “We’re not gonna be here that long, you didn’t need the whole nine yards.”

A confident smile slipped onto her red lips.  “I refuse to go into battle looking any less than my best.”

“We’re not fighting anyone, but sure.” Barton shrugged his agile shoulders, releasing her arm to take a glasses case from his jacket pocket, “Come on, we got work to do.”

Amelia slipped her earpiece in, disguising it with a brush of hair behind her ear, as Barton set the thick framed glasses onto his broad nose.  “Coulson, you copy?” Barton murmured, flashing Amelia with a smile as if amused by a joke she told.

“Loud and clear.” Came the agent’s reply, “Hope you brought your dancing shoes.”

Barton held his hand out for Amelia as the orchestra struck a delicate chord.  “Please tell me you know how to dance.” He queried.

Amelia gave him a flat look as she placed her hand in his.  “You didn’t think to ask before?”

The two of them swept onto the dance floor where other couples had gathered, her other hand atop his shoulder and his settled on her waist.  “I didn’t want to make it awkward.” He excused, sweeping her into the first steps.

“Ballroom dancing came with a classic education.” Amelia answered, eyeing up Barton’s practiced steps, “I’m more curious where you learned.”

The corner of Barton’s lip perked, “I grew up in a circus, kid, I learned a lotta dances.”

“Focus up.” Coulson interjected just as her curiosity piqued.  “He’s coming over.”

“Excuse me.” A hand appeared on Barton’s shoulder, stopping the two and they broke apart to allow their host to interrupt. 

Carl Kaxton, the short, gravelly voiced CEO of the Roxxon Corporation, set himself between them, twitchy eyes weighing up Barton.  “Watching you dance with this man at my party has made me quite jealous.” He explained sincerely.

Amelia cracked a smile, “Well, I had to get your attention somehow.”

“May I?” Kaxton directed the question to Barton, holding his hand to Amelia.

“Like you said.” Barton answered after an assured look passed between him and Amelia.  “It’s your party.” Kaxton nodded graciously and Barton moved between them, accidentally catching Kaxton in the shoulder and pausing to apologize before disappearing into the throng. 

Amelia set her hand in his, letting him tug her close, and his earthy aftershave wafted to her nose.  “And you told me you were on holiday.” He smiled down at her as the next song began. “You know, when I imagine a holiday it’s sandy beaches and sun lotion.” Kaxton smirked, “Not grouchy politicians and canapés.”

Amelia gave him a smile, “You and I obviously have different definitions of a holiday.”

“You want me to grab you a dictionary?”

Amelia made a point of glancing around the sparkling ballroom as if searching for one as they danced.  “If you can find one.” She challenged and brought a laugh from the man.

“What are you doing here, Miss Stark?”

“Dancing.” She replied, “With you.”

Kaxton spun her round, the two of them meeting again in the middle.  “Now, why don’t I believe that?”

“Because I’m the daughter of your closest competitor.” She answered with an alluring smile, “And quite a thorn in your side, apparently.”

“To the point.” Kaxton spread his hand along her back, lowering her in a dip.  “I like that.” He pulled her up and the two continued along the tiles.  “But it doesn’t answer my question.”

“I come bearing a peace offering.” Amelia finally explained as the final chords of the song trailed off, the two of them clapping the dance with the other guests, and Kaxton drew her to a quiet corner.  “It’s true, Stark Industries and Roxxon haven’t seen eye to eye in the past, but we can both agree on one thing.”

“What’s that?” Kaxton swiped two bubbling champagne flutes from a passing tray.

“Congress is looking for a new weapons manufacturer after Hammer Industries took a rather costly fall.”

“A fall you had a hand in, as I understand.”

Amelia accepted the offered glass.  “We both knew Hammer’s days were numbered, even before he fell in with criminals.” She gave a delicate shrug.  “I merely unlocked the gun cabinet.”

“And loaded the bullets, from what I hear.”

“The point is…” Amelia drew them back on track, “There’s a vacuum in DC and someone has to fill it.”

“I thought Stark Industries didn’t deal in weapons production anymore.”

“We don’t.” Amelia nodded, “But I have it on good authority the Senate is eyeing up Cordco for the top spot.”

Kaxton’s jaw clenched as he took a sip.  “I’m listening.”

“Neither of us want Jefferds at the head of this country’s military production.”

“What are you proposing?”

“A united front.”

Kaxton narrowed his eyes, “Go on.”

“If Stark Industries were willing to stay quiet during the bidding, it would allow you to sweep the board.” Amelia glanced out at the murmuring guests, spotting several representatives amongst them all.  “And we both know Jefferds doesn’t have the strength to put up a fight without us.”

“It would all but guarantee us those contracts.” Kaxton surmised, nodding as he took another sip, but then he narrowed his eyes.  “And it would put Roxxon above Stark in the markets.”

“Hate to interrupt.” Barton called down her earpiece, “But I could do with those magic fingers of yours.”

“Really?” Amelia smiled innocently.

“On the other hand, you haven’t yet told me the price to your silence.”

“Well, how about that.”

“What is Miss Potts asking in return?”

Amelia took a sip of champagne, fluttering her lashes.  “We only ask for access to the production lanes on the west coast.”

“And allow Accutech to become your subsidiary?” Kaxton exclaimed, “That’s a big ask.”

“It’s a big weapons contract.” Amelia countered, “One that kept Stark Industries top of the food chain for decades.”

 “Anytime now, Stark.” Barton hurried as a charming smile slipped onto her lips. 

Amelia set aside her glass, stepping in close to Kaxton as she lowered her voice.  “Take some time, think it over.” She whispered, grasping his arm as she slipped her hand into his jacket. 

“What game are you playing, Stark, there’s gotta be more.” Kaxton studied her closely, catching her arm as she drew away.

“I’ve told you all that’s in play.” Amelia told him, “Miss Potts wishes to keep Cordco from gaining anymore traction, that’s the only game afoot.” She slipped her arm free of his grasp.  “Balls in your court now.”

“Stark, confirm.” Coulson urged as Amelia stepped away from the night’s host.  “Did you succeed?”

Amelia slipped the keycard into her clutch purse, making her way through the crowded ballroom towards the bathrooms.  “You fellas owe me one.” She whispered, ducking down the carpeted corridor.  “I thought you said you could get in without my help?”

“So did I.” Barton replied, “You think you can make it?”

“If you think I’m crawling through the vents in this dress, think again.” Amelia pressed herself to the wall, watching the camera slowly turn in the other direction before slipping into its blind spot, moving along with it.

Amelia took a breath before making her next move.  From what she remembered from the briefing, there was only a thirty second window where the cameras didn’t overlap, giving Amelia thirty seconds to unlock the door and slip inside.  She took out the keycard, looking closely for the cameras, and sprinted over to the door once they had turned, swiping the keycard along the reader, her heart pounding as she waited for it to turn green, and disappeared inside just in time, softly closing the door behind her.

“Glad to see you could make it.” Barton quipped, leaning against the desk.

“You two better get a move on.” Coulson urged, “Kaxton’s getting twitchy.”

Barton skipped around the desk, twizzling the chair round for Amelia.  “Milady.”

Amelia took a seat, setting her purse beside the keyboard, and the monitor brightened when she double tapped the space bar, illuminating a lock screen.  She swiped the glasses from his nose, tucking them atop her own, and blasted her way through Kaxton’s security network, disguising each step along the way to keep the intrusion hidden. 

“What am I looking for, Coulson?” Amelia asked, bringing up a long list of files.

 “Anything remotely related to extraterrestrial power sources.”

“Because Kaxton is likely to have a file called ‘space junk’.” Barton quipped whilst Amelia started sifting through all the information.

“He’s no stranger to abnormal research.” Amelia told him, “Kaxton has an eye for the extraordinary.”

“And the ordinary it seems.” Barton observed, “Multitasking, are we?”

Amelia shrugged, opening and closing another file when it bore no fruit.  “Pepper’s been nagging me about this Cordco situation for weeks.”

“Is that the only reason you agreed to this?”

“Two birds, as the saying goes.” Amelia stopped at the next file, opening the results of a series of experiments and made to move on when Coulson interrupted.

“That’s it, that’s the one.”

“Really?” Amelia raised an eyebrow, “It’s just more specifications for design, it has nothing to do with energy.”

“That’s the one, Miss Stark.” Coulson insisted.

Amelia shrugged, took the glasses from her nose, and broke off one of the arms, inserting the end into the USB port and downloaded the file. 

“Alright, you two, time to go.” Coulson instructed once the download completed.

“Hang on.” Amelia interjected as another file, communication between Roxxon and Cordco caught her attention.

“No time.” Barton insisted, “We gotta get the card back to Kaxton.”

“There’s always time for a little corporate espionage.” Amelia insisted.

One quick swipe of the keyboard and Amelia linked the file to the disc before Barton tugged it from the monitor, reconnecting the arm to his glasses and pocketing them safely inside his jacket.

“Kaxton knows.” Coulson informed them anxiously, “Get out of there.”

Amelia wormed her way free of the security system, setting everything back where she found it, and Barton lifting the clunky window.  “Out the back.” He ushered as Amelia climbed through, struggling to bunch her skirts into one hand.

Barton jumped out after her, landing amongst the expertly cut grass, and the two crouched beneath, hidden by the wall as the study doors burst open.  They crawled along to the next room, her white stilettos digging into the mud, and in through another window to a dark room. 

A sliver of light illuminated Barton’s leathery face as he cracked the door an inch, shouts echoing through, and he curled a finger at her.  The two slipped out into the hallway and Barton tugged Amelia close, the two of them laughing their way through security as nothing more than a couple who’d had too much to drink. 

“Excuse me.” Coulson apologized as he bumped into her and Amelia dropped her purse. 

A smile curled her lips as he bent to retrieve it.  “No harm, no foul.” Amelia replied, accepting the purse.

“You have a good evening, ma’am.” Coulson nodded graciously, disappearing again into the crowd and Amelia’s smile tightened.

She split from Barton, wading through the guests as security swarmed the ballroom and Kaxton reappeared, scanning everyone. 

“Ma’am, seriously?” Amelia scowled as she found her target.  “Are you kidding?”

“You deserved it.” Barton retorted, “We should be making our escape.”

“Miss Stark.” Kaxton plucked her from the swarm just as she latched onto the swaying senator’s arm.  He gestured to one of his attending security guards.  “Take her purse.”

“Excuse me.” Amelia exclaimed as they snatched the purse from her hands, one of them holding her arm in an iron tight grip. 

The guard rifled through her things, her lipstick dropping to the tiles, and the senator retrieved it for her.  “What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded, his words surprisingly clear despite the haze in his eyes.

“We’ve had a security breach.” Kaxton snarled, “You’ll excuse me if I don’t automatically trust our esteemed guest.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding.” Amelia exclaimed, “Corporate espionage? As if I have the time.”

“Seriously?” Coulson quipped in her ear; the piece hidden with the curling folds of her black hair.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to release her.” Barton appeared from behind, setting aside the two glasses he’d found out of nowhere, and broadened his shoulders.

He took an intimidating step closer when Kaxton said nothing, the move persuading him, and the security guard released his hold on Amelia. 

“This young lady has been with me the entire evening.” The senator roared, “How dare you accuse her.”

Amelia ran her hands along her dress, smoothing it out, and snatched her purse back from Kaxton, giving the senator a grateful smile as he plopped the lipstick back inside. 

“I don’t understand.” Kaxton frowned, “I thought…”

“You thought what?” Amelia interrupted, “That just because I belong to your main competitor I’d sink to such levels?”

“But my keycard…” Kaxton narrowed his eyes, “You were the only one who could’ve taken it.”

“I suggest you check again.” Barton murmured and stared Kaxton down as he started tapping all his pockets, pulling the card from his pants with a confused look.

“Miss Stark, I…” Kaxton scrambled for an apology, “Is there anything I can do.”

A sly smile spread across Amelia’s lips, and she clicked her purse shut.  “I can think of one thing.” If Kaxton’s expression hadn’t dropped before, it certainly did now. “You’ve got until the House vote next week.” She told him, “Shall I tell Miss Potts to expect your call?”

Kaxton said nothing, stuffing his card back into his pocket, straightening his dinner jacket and Amelia turned to the senator.  “A pleasure, as always.”

He winked, taking her hand and placing a soft kiss on the back, “The pleasure is mine, Miss Stark.”

Barton gestured for her to lead on, and Amelia strode through the curious onlookers with her head high, forcing them to return to their drinks, their gossip as the show ended. 

“That went well.” Coulson observed as they made for the exit.

“How’d you know the senator would stick up for you?” Barton wondered and they broke free of the ballroom.

“Senator Dondis has a penchant for drinks and women in red.” Amelia answered, “Plus he loathes Kaxton and will take any excuse to shove it to him.”

She glanced over her shoulder at the entryway, finding Kaxton watching them and offered him a final wink as the attendant called for their car, the valet pulling up in the sleek black Mercedes.  He held the back door open for Amelia and she slipped inside, crossing one leg over the other as Barton took the wheel.  They turned the corner once, took a right, then a second right, and pulled up beside a patient Coulson who ducked into the passenger side. 

“Overall, I think that went well.” He surmised as Amelia popped the earpiece from her ear, dropping it into her purse. 

“Nice save with the keycard.” Amelia complimented, taking out the laptop hidden beneath the black leather seats.

“You could’ve jeopardized the entire mission.” Barton scolded, “Even your own reputation, you know.”

“My reputation is impervious.” Amelia responded, clicking her fingers for the glasses, “That’s what happens when you’re America’s most famous heiress.” She caught Barton’s eyes in the wing mirror.  “Everyone already knows my secrets.”

“Was it worth it?” Coulson queried, “Whatever you risked getting caught for?”

“Oh, yes.” Amelia nodded enthusiastically as Barton handed them over, bending his arm around the chair to keep his eyes on the road.

It seems Kaxton had been talking to Jefferds in secret, he didn’t need Amelia to tell him the government were considering his bid, and it turns out he knew what would happen if they lost it.  Jefferds was in a sticky situation indeed and Amelia raised her eyebrows at the number he agreed to.  Lowballed, indeed.

She transferred the information to a private server and moved onto the stolen file.  It didn’t look like energy transference to her.  Years ago, her grandfather pulled a glowing blue orb from the ocean searching for Captain America, they hadn’t known what to do with it then, but Fury had an idea, and he was using Amelia’s skills to test it.  If they could somehow harness the cube, they could power entire cities by Amelia’s guess.  Such power shouldn’t go to waste just because they didn’t understand this alien crap.  Finding a way to develop clean energy, to utilize it to better mankind, it was exactly what her father sought to do now.  The first test for their new reactor began tomorrow, Amelia was headed up first thing in the morning, but she would never place all her eggs in one basket.  The reactor, though revolutionary in concept for clean energy, was finite.  It would power Stark Tower for a year at best, nothing more, but the cube’s possibilities were endless. 

“Is this what you pulled the Stark card for?” Amelia muttered unconsciously.

Why did these designs look like nothing more than equipment? Machinery used for construction, perhaps, to boost efficiency? You could certainly build a lot more if it took half the time. 

Coulson slapped the laptop shut before Amelia could even get past the first page.  “Hey!” She exclaimed as he tugged the drive free for good measure.  “I was reading that.”

“Not anymore.” Coulson disagreed, locking the file in his super-secret briefcase.

“Whatever.” She slumped back in her seat childishly, “I’ll probably get to read them eventually.”

“Not this one, you won’t.”

“Why is Fury going to Roxxon for equipment?” Amelia asked, “He has his own engineers for that, heck, he has me.”

“Maybe Kaxton has a flare for technology that you don’t.”

Amelia shot a pointed finger his way, her tone dropping.  “You take that back.”

“Oh, you’ve done it now, Phil.” Barton whistled, staying well out of this.

“Come on, it just doesn’t make sense.” Amelia stressed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Save it, Amy, we’ve been over this.”

“I don’t like not knowing.” She complained.

Barton shared a look with Coulson.  “I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing in this industry.”

“It’s both.” Coulson told him, “She’s just in the wrong department for it.”

Too freaking right, Amelia thought.  Amelia had been kept at arm’s reach, called in when they had a security system to crack and no Black Widow on hand, or if they needed a second opinion when upgrading their software.  Other than her energy project, Amelia found SHIELD to be rather withholding.  Fury knew she had a lot more to offer them, so why didn’t he let her? It was as if he liked keeping her close only when it benefited him, or the agency.  Or, like tonight, when they pulled the Stark card, and used her as a way in.  It wasn’t the first time they used her name like a key, unlocking doors they’d otherwise need a lockpick for.  Or a good kick, as was so often the way.  Amelia’s name brought subtlety, it brought secrecy, and it brought her a whole lot of questions.  At least tonight, she had an excuse.  Pepper needed that deal, she needed Cordco out of the way and access to the west coast, if they ever intended to go ahead with their plans.  In the past, Amelia had no such excuse.  Just rocking up for the fun of it, apparently.

The SHIELD headquarters was fully lit by the time they arrived, staving off the night’s darkness, with hundreds of streetlights winding down the roads.  People buzzed about the compound, trainees on late duty, security guards on their rounds and workers heading home, even at this late hour.  Amelia spotted a white lab coat walking between two of the buildings so enraptured by the report in his hand he failed to miss the stone bench in front of him.

The campus itself was made of three large office buildings, a garage and an airstrip. Smaller buildings dotted the place, mostly used for barracks and storage, it wasn’t just the workers who lived here, a lot of them brought their families with them.  SHIELD housed all of it.

“Were you successful?” Maria Hill greeted them with her usual blank expression and straight to the point personality, hands clasped behind her back as the car pulled into the garage.

“You even need to ask?” Amelia answered, skirts spilling out after her as she slipped from the backseat, shoving the door shut and striding towards the massive white building.

“Where are you going?” Hill questioned.

“To get a look at this thing for myself.” Amelia quipped.

“In that get up?” Barton called after her, his bow tie undone, jacket slung over his arm, and Amelia stopped to glance down at the dress.

She raised a finger without turning, “Good point.”

Instead of delving deep into the belly of the beast, Amelia switched direction and headed for the lockers, cracking her way into Natasha’s and swapping the long red gown for the black pants and beige sweater inside, zipping up leather boots to replace the sharp heels, and paused to send the assassin a quick text.

You need a new locker combination.

This side of the building contained many of their research laboratories, a few cavernous rooms underground built for testing, and an office had been cleared out somewhere on the top floor for Amelia.  She never used it, but Fury wanted a space for her nonetheless, somewhere close by.  The labs were where she was headed now, strolling down linoleum floors, flashing her access card against the scanners and shoving open unnecessarily heavy glass doors.  Her first day here, Amelia got herself completely lost and ended up over in the chem labs chatting to a very polite young lady, no older than Amelia and with just as many qualifications.  SHIELD bred them young, it seemed, and Amelia was glad she wasn’t the only woman on payroll without a lifetimes experience.

Anticipation buzzed in her blood as she took the steel-clad elevator down to the lower floors, twirling her lanyard through her fingers idly until it spat her out in a well-lit basement, the concrete walls leading her to another set of spiral stairs.  She piled her black curls atop her head in a pathetic bun as she descended even further down, securing it with a loose hair tie and snagged a lab coat from a hanger as she entered.

Unbelievably, this was her first time coming down here.  Amelia usually kept to the labs upstairs, running tests, algorithms, or squeezing into a khaki overall to get her hands dirty with the other engineers.  Since coming here, she’d been asked to do all sorts, from fixing jeeps to building a machine capable of harnessing alien tech.  No biggy.

This particular lab, on the lowest floor beneath the compound and shaped like a rectangle, was filled with scientific equipment.  Rows of screens lined one half of the room, thick cables scattered across the floor, threatening to trip you with every step, all of them leading across to the glowing cube that cast the room in a misty blue hue.

“Doctor Selvig.” She greeted and approached a tubby man with thinning blond hair and tired features, his plaid shirt tucked neatly into tanned pants.  “It’s nice to meet you in person.”

“Miss Stark.” Selvig set aside his notes to shake her hand, “Likewise.”

“I read the paper on the Einstenrosen bridge you wrote with Doctor Foster.” Amelia stepped past him to get a look at the readings on the monitors.  “It’s truly fascinating.”

“Jane’s work has helped us understand a little of where this thing might’ve originated.” Selvig replied, settling his glasses atop his nose to read them alongside her.

“Space stuff.”

“To put it simply.” Selvig chuckled. “Although I must admit, your input has helped bridge a few gaps, where did you learn all that?”

“Energy is kinda my thing.” Amelia told him, scrolling through all their research, skimming across the notes.  “The first book I remember reading was my grandfather’s research on the first arc reactor.”

“That makes sense.” Selvig took off his glasses, folding them up.  “Howard Stark was the first one to study the Tesseract.”

“Right.” Amelia murmured idly, pushing away from the monitors, heading over to where the glow emanated.  “Speaking of…”

A container had been constructed to hold the cube, using some designs Amelia whipped up based on the arc reactor itself, only the very foundations built to her specification, the rest of it circled around the cube belonged to the other engineers gathered in the underground lab. 

The cube glowed with an electric blue mist, the glow leaking outwards, bathing the metal in a ghostly hue. 

“So, this is what all the fuss is about.” she whispered as she stepped closer.

That strange blue light drew her closer yet, bending to stare deep into the cube, and it suddenly filled her vision, locking her in its mysterious pull.  Suddenly her odd dreams snapped to the forefront of Amelia’s mind, as if enticed by the blue coiling mist, and Amelia’s lips parted.  Before she could stop herself, Amelia was reaching for it, the cube begging to be touched and she obliged. 

The second her fingertips touched the cool surface sparks pinged from the machine and a huge pulse erupted from the cube, the force throwing Amelia backwards and the next thing she knew everything went black.

“The Tesseract has awakened.” Came a gravelly, hauntingly scraping voice from the darkness.  “It is on a little world, a human world.” Amelia saw the darkness split by dozens of stars; stars she didn’t recognize.  “They would wield it’s power.” Continued the voice, “But our ally knows its workings as they never will.”

Pain threatened to split her head apart but still she saw the gold, curved helm, the glow of an ethereal orb on the end of a magnificent scepter.  “He is ready to lead, and our force, our Chitauri, will follow.”

“Stark, Stark, wake up!”

The other voice, the familiar one with deep tones, could barely be heard over the monstrous chittering as thousands, millions of glowing eyes lit up like the constellations above, filling the empty space with a daunting dread.  “A world will be his, the universe yours.”

Fire ripped through her thoughts, disintegrating the memory, burning it to ash, and Amelia’s entire body rippled with tiny shocks, an ear-splitting scream threatening to crack her head open. 

“And the humans, what can they do but burn?” 

Music swirled through Amelia’s mind, it danced with her memories and twirled around her thoughts in mesmerizing circles, striking a fire on the floor with each high kick.  With each dip and flick.  It lulled Amelia onwards, towards the raging fire that constantly consumed her.  Amelia wrapped herself in its warm embrace, letting it lead her forwards into the unknown. 

“Stark!”

Amelia’s brown eyes snapped open, and she sucked in a breath, sitting bolt upright, reaching about frantically until someone grasped her arm.  A familiar someone, someone Amelia knew, and she stared into thick features and a leather eyepatch.  “Fury.” She breathed, her mouth unbearably dry.  “What… what happened?”

“You tell us.” Fury replied, settling in a crouch in front of her as Amelia pressed a palm to her pounding forehead.

Everything moved slowly for Amelia, as if she waded through syrup, and she blinked hard to rid herself of the haze clouding her eyes, groaning at the unbelievable pounding in her head, as if she’d been hit with a shovel.  Fury gave her a hand up, pulling her to her feet, and Amelia settled back against one of the metal surfaces, unaware of the frantic beeping from the monitor it held. 

“You good?” Fury worried, watching her carefully, and Amelia gave him the slightest nod.

“What happened?” she asked again, working moisture back into her mouth.

“You were studying the Tesseract, and it didn’t like it.” Fury answered, “That was four hours ago.”

“What?” Amelia blurted, her brown eyes popping, and she snapped her head over to the cube.  

Blaring alarms rang out in time with the rhythmic headache and Amelia finally noticed the red flashing lights, the frantic scientists buzzing around the equipment.  “It was fine just a minute ago.” Amelia muttered, grazing over the disheveled readings, the surge in power emanating from the cube.

“Is there anything we know for certain?” Fury queried as Amelia rubbed at her temples, trying to appease the horrific pounding behind her eyes.

“The Tesseract is misbehaving.” Selvig answered.

One of the physicists drew a steel needle close to the cube, the delicate mist sparking, almost attacking it, and the pulse made Amelia’s headache grow.  Her entire body felt oddly numb, as if she’d spent years trapped in a tub of ice cubes, stray strands of black hair falling from her precarious bun.

“Is that supposed to be funny?” Fury remarked, hovering near Amelia and Selvig stepped across to them both. 

“No, it’s not funny at all.” Selvig loosened his gray tie around his neck.  “The Tesseract is not only active, she’s…” he paused, searching for the right word.  “Behaving.”

Amelia waved off his misplaced worry, brown eyes drawn to the cube and it seemed to glow brighter than before, the mist swirling about inside. 

“I assumed you pulled the plug.” Fury guessed.

“She’s an energy source.” Amelia quipped, “You can’t just flip a switch, she does that for you.”

“If she reaches peak level…” Selvig began to worry, taking a console with out-of-control readings scattered over the screen.

“We prepared for this, Doctor.” Fury interrupted, “Harnessing energy from space.”

“But we don’t have the harness.” Selvig pointed out and Amelia breathed out long and hard, both their gazes flickering her way.  Not an accusation, she supposed, but then again, she felt very judged.

“Hey, calculations like that take time, okay?” Amelia justified, “I’m working on it.”

“And she’s throwing off interference, radiation.” Selvig continued and added quickly, “Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation.”

Fury glanced warily over his shoulder, returning an anxious look.  “That can be harmful.” He said carefully.  “Where’s Barton?”

“The Hawk?” Selvig scoffed, throwing a thumb over his shoulder.  “Up in his nest, as usual.”

Amelia glanced up at the rafters, the high ceiling cast in several shadows, as Fury pressed a finger to his ear.  “Agent Barton, report.”

They heard the clink of something pinging off a metal railing and a dark form slid down a rope from the upper walkway as Barton appeared from the shadows, swapping his dinner jacket for black combat trousers and a protective vest, his hands wrapped in fingerless gloves.  “I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things.” Fury reminded him disappointedly, the archer falling into step with Fury.

“Well, I see better from a distance.” Barton replied as the three of them stepped over to the thing in question.

“Have you seen anything that might set this thing off?” Fury pointed to the cube, and they stepped up onto the rigging, a pace away from the matrix holding the Tesseract.

Barton flashed Amelia a strange look, lip quivering as if weighing up his answer, and she frowned confusedly at him.  “No one’s come or go and Selvig’s clean.” He eventually answered as Fury peered at the cube, studying it.  “No contacts, no IMs, if there was any tampering, sir, it wasn’t at this end.”

Fury’s head snapped up, hands resting on his hips.  “At this end?”

“Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right?” Barton nodded, puzzling it out, “Doors open from both sides.”

“And when Amelia touched it?”

Barton gave her that same look, considering.  “A coincidence?”

“You know better, Agent Barton, there are no coincidences.”

“It’s space magic.” Barton shrugged, “An entirely new ball game, we don’t know the rules.”

Amelia clenched her jaw uncertainly just as the floor rocked, the blue glow rippling, spiking and they heard a distant rumble echo down to them. 

Fury nudged Amelia’s arm, the three of them stepping back as the cube began to lash out with misty tendrils, snapping and sparking, a ball of energy growing around it until the rumbling sounded again, louder this time.  A long beam of stark blue light shot out from the cube, accumulating in a bubble of glowing, watery light at the other end of the long lab and slowly, mesmerizingly, a gateway opened out of nowhere.  Amelia’s lips parted as she watched misty clouds writhe around, complete darkness protruding from the gateway and she let her eyes grow wide when she recognized stars on the other side.  Unfamiliar stars, but they were stars, nonetheless.  Her heartbeat quickened.

The gateway collapsed on itself in a flash, a surge of watery light emanating from the implosion, ruffling Amelia’s hair and she stumbled back as if something snapped in her chest, leaning softly against a counter. 

“Amy?” Barton murmured worriedly, his head half turned towards her, his hand hovering at his thigh holster and she gave him a wave.

Amelia took a deep breath, the strange pang subsiding as the light gathered atop the domed ceiling and she heard a frightening sizzling as she glanced up.  The far panels were seared and glowing, burned by the implosion, and smoke crawled along the paneled floors.  The security guards each raised their weapons and Amelia straightened when she spotted their target. 

A man crouched exactly where the gateway erupted, slick black hair combed back, his clothes a pattern of green and black leather and he clutched a majestic golden spear in one hand, a glowing blue orb set at the peak.  He stood slowly and Amelia’s breath quickened as he lifted his head to reveal refined features drawn back in a monstrous smile.

“Sir, please, put down the spear.” Fury ordered calmly, calling over to the man.

He glanced at it, weighing it up in his hands, and thrust it towards them, firing a lightning-fast beam of light towards them.  Barton caught Amelia’s shoulders, shielding her as he pushed them both from the platform and the beam exploded in a burst of bright white sparks as it hit the equipment behind them.

Barton tucked her behind the workstation as bullets pinged off the concrete and Amelia covered her head with her hands, crouching behind the cover as Barton took out his gun, firing at the intruder along with them.  Amelia squeezed her eyes shut, hands over her ears, and another explosion sounded, the sparks dancing along the panels, reflected in their clear sheen.

A few seconds of bedlam passed and then suddenly quiet, the broken equipment sparking, startling Amelia, but she released her head, glancing up to see the intruder pressing the sharp tip of the scepter to Barton’s chest.  Something took over the agent, his farseeing eyes clouding over briefly, and then he was holstering his gun, completely at ease before the man. 

Amelia crawled around the workstation as the man strode to another security guard, repeating the same thing, and she caught sight of Fury sliding the Tesseract free of the matrix, locking it in a silvery briefcase.  He jerked his head when he saw Amelia, frantically gesturing for her to follow, and she swallowed, pushing herself out from behind the workstation, ducking behind metal crates to keep herself hidden.

“Please don’t.”

The intruder’s voice sent chills through Amelia, his charming accent, deep tones washing over her as she reached the last box, her gaze drawn to him yet again.  “I still need that.” He told them confidently.

“This doesn’t have to get any messier.” Fury warned.

“Of course it does.” The man argued, “I’ve come too far for anything else.” Amelia got a better look at him now, the curling black hair, the thin sheen of sweat covering his refined features and his lips were pale and dry, round blue eyes sunk back in his skull, circled by haunting black shadows.  “I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose.”

“Loki, brother of Thor.” Selvig blurted and it seemed to agitate the man.

“We have no quarrel with your people.” Fury promised with a calming hand.

“An ant has no quarrel with a boot.”

Fury dropped his hand, tilting his head.  “Are you planning to step on us?”

“I come with glad tidings.” Loki smiled again, mirthlessly, “Of a world made free.” He strode over to Selvig,

“Free from what?”

“Freedom.” Loki answered, “Freedom is life’s great lie.” Amelia swallowed again, wiping her hands along her pants.  “Once you accept that, in your heart…” Loki twisted, tapping the scepter to Selvig’s chest and the scientist gasped, his eyes hazing over just as Barton’s had.  “You will know peace.”

“Yeah, you say peace.” Fury snarled, “I kind of think you mean the other thing.”

“Sir, Director Fury is stalling.” Barton announced, coming to stand beside the deranged god.  “This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us.” Amelia’s gaze snapped to the writhing mass of blue energy gathered in the dome and she sucked in a breath.  “He means to bury us.”

“Like the pharaohs of old.” Fury bragged, thick lips curling.

“He’s right, the portal is collapsing in on itself.” Selvig confirmed, taking in the readings from one of the remaining monitors.  “We’ve got maybe two minutes before this goes critical.”

“Well, then.” Loki said with one instructive look at Barton.

The archer drew his weapon and Amelia sucked in a breath as he shot Fury point blank, the director groaning as he fell backwards, dropping the briefcase. 

Loki’s new security team hurriedly escorted him from the lab and Barton scooped up the briefcase, stepping over Fury, tossing it into Selvig’s arms as they departed.

Amelia pressed herself against the crate, inching around as they came into view, waiting with short, shallow breaths as their footsteps receded.  “Stark.” Fury cried through gritted teeth as Amelia finally peered around the edge of the crate, scampering over to the fallen director.

She helped him sit up and he tapped at his jacket, cringing in pain as Amelia dug out his radio, holding down the button so he could speak.  “Hill.” He groaned, “Do you copy?” Fury tugged the bullet from his protective vest with a snarl, a touch of blood staining the gold casing.  “Barton has turned.” Amelia hooked his arm over her shoulder, the two of them hobbling over to the exit as the portal began pulling things into its swirling blue mass, the force tugging at Amelia’s lab coat, her poorly done hair.  “They have the Tesseract.” Fury reported as they broke free of the lab, “Shut them down!”

Fury pushed himself free of Amelia to clutch at his chest, keeping a hand on her arm, and they broke into a run down the corridor, sparks dancing as the portal began to curl in on itself, some of the metal rafters falling as the rumbling began, the ground softly shaking underfoot.  Fury drew her into the stairwell, pushing her up first, and she took them two at a time, her heart racing, pounding in her chest with each threatening shudder.  Amelia shrieked as the railing broke away beside her, the steps randomly dropping away, and the two of them dove into the lift. 

“Is this even safe?” Amelia cried, the metal cage shuddering and screeching as it shot upwards.

“Happy thoughts, Stark.” Fury snapped back, leaning against the steel wall.

Soon enough, though not as soon as Amelia would’ve liked, they were free of the lift and bursting through the corridors, jumping through the doors, the glass panes shattered from the quaking ground.  The floor suddenly gave way beneath Amelia’s feet and a scream slipped her lips, frantic arms shooting out to be caught by Fury and he pulled her back, clinging to her as they ran the remaining length of the corridor.

“We’re clear upstairs, sir, you need to go.” Coulson reported over the radio as they burst free of the building and out onto the helipad. 

Amelia’s arms shot to her head as the streetlights exploded around them, sparks lighting up the dark sky, and Fury all but threw her into the helicopter, diving in after her as the wheels left the ground, the gushing wind formed by the spinning rims tearing her black hair free of its loose tie.

The ground cracked under the helicopter as it took off, caving inwards, and a matter of seconds later the entire compound began crumbling into the earth.  Amelia watched, aghast, as it all disappeared in a flash of fire, blowing up huge dust clouds.  “Oh my god.” She breathed, clutching her fingers tightly in her lap and working to ignore her frantic heartbeat.

The helicopter swerved around, keeping low to the ground, and Fury drew a handgun from somewhere in his jacket, leaning out the side door to aim, the gunshots barely audible over the violent wind. 

Another shriek tore from Amelia’s lips as a bolt of energy struck the helicopter, the force throwing her into the door, and fire ripped through the tail end. 

“Stark!” Fury yelled, grabbing her arm with a gloved hand, and yanked her out of the helicopter as it began to spiral out of control.

The two of them hit the ground hard and Amelia bit her tongue from the jolt, tumbling into the dead grass as the taste of coppery blood blossomed.  The helicopter tore into the earth as it ground to a halt several paces above them, throwing up puffy clouds of dust and the roaring flames lit up the night like a beacon as Fury lifted his gun again, firing aimlessly at the escaping god and his gaggle of stolen servants. 

“Director?” Amelia caught Coulson’s voice emanating from Fury’s radio as he awkwardly stood.  “Director Fury, do you copy?”

Amelia rolled onto her back, eyes closed against the chill night air, breathing out heavily as the adrenaline seeped into the dusty earth beneath her.  “The Tesseract is with a hostile force.” Fury reported, speaking into the radio, “I have men down, Hill?”

“A lot of men still under.” She replied and she sounded tired, “I don’t know how many survivors.”

“Sound a general call.” Fury instructed, “I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase.”

Amelia rolled her head sideways, finally able to catch her breath, and opened her eyes to stare at Fury, studying the dread, the blunt fear in his usually unreadable features. 

“Roger that.”

“Coulson, get back to base, this is a Level Seven.” Fury’s tone darkened and Amelia pushed herself into a sitting position, propping herself up with one arm and her breath stopped with Fury’s next words.

“As of right now, we are at war.”

Chapter Text

The late night dragged at Amelia.  The dozen or so painkillers she took left her with a heavy head the next morning and her limbs refused to do as told, she’d collected a number of bruises bumping into things and being an overall mess already.  Tony sent her out, away from the lab, after she knocked a screwdriver from the workbench.  For the fourth time. 

Coffee seemed to be the only answer, and not some machine made or kettle boiled crap, Amelia needed the good stuff.  She sent herself down to the café near the bridge, the one with a perfect view of Stark Tower, and grabbed a proper coffee from the long-haired barista. 

“Rough night?” he smirked, no doubt noticing the dark circles under her eyes.

“You’ve no idea.” She replied, grabbing a table outside before someone snagged it. 

Maybe some fresh air would do her some good.  Stuffed in the lab, in Tony’s workspace, it didn’t do her any favours, and she needed her brain to kick into gear if she was going to be any help today.  They had a whole bunch of calculations to get done before the test drive, Amelia wanted to double check the mainframe structure in the basement before they even thought about switching it on.  Tony thought she was paranoid, tried reassuring her everything would go swimmingly, but there was no harm in making sure.  Tony’s idea of everything going right usually involved abandoning the plan and improvising, shrugging it off if a few sparks flew.  He still hadn’t pinpointed the location of the transcontinental lines running at the bottom of the Atlantic yet, and Amelia certainly wouldn’t do it for him.  If she couldn’t ride in the suit, she wouldn’t plan for the suit.  Not that she wanted to put on the suit, the thought gave her shivers, but Tony didn’t need to know that.

Thoughts of last night still plagued her, clogging up her mind like cotton balls, and every time she so much as glanced at her fingers she felt a tingling in her mind as dark thoughts stirred.  What had possibly drawn her to touch the Tesseract, nobody in their right mind would look at a glowing cube and think they needed to immediately touch it.  Space movie 101, you don’t touch the alien tech with your bare hands.  Amelia had seen enough sci-fi to know that, but it was as if something called to her, resonating inside her and she’d be drawn to it like two magnets connecting. 

Amelia ran her hands down her face, “This is all my fault.” She groaned quietly, rubbing her eyes. Speaking the words aloud only made her feel worse.

She triggered the cubes erratic behaviour, opened the way for that megalomaniac to come through, collapsed the base.  All of it simply because Amelia made the dumb decision to touch the forbidden space cube, even if Fury wanted her to believe otherwise, and now the twisted alien psycho was running around the world with their top scientist and a trained agent. 

“Something on your mind?” the waitress smiled as she came over with Amelia’s coffee, setting it down off her tray with a couple of sugars.

Amelia smiled back, tearing open the tiny sugar satchels and unloading them in the coffee.  “How much time you got?” she mused, stirring it all together.

The waitress chuckled, tucking her tray under her arm and left Amelia with her troubles, mindlessly stirring the spoon around the creamy mug, casting a casual glance across the café until her eyes rested on the man sat on the adjacent table. 

He had an odd, wistful, look about his handsome features, as if still trying to wake from some dream, and his floppy blond hair flickered in the gentle breeze, blue eyes staring straight ahead at Stark Tower.  “You waiting to see the big guy?” Amelia queried, nodding towards the Tower with all its shining glass and bare steel, noting the sketchbook laid out in front of him, his hand clutching a pencil and hovering over the page.

“Ma’am?” he glanced up, blue eyes squinting at her and suddenly he sat straighter in his chair, lips parting slightly.  There was something familiar about him and his old-fashioned clothes, something Amelia couldn’t put her finger on, and it bothered her.

“People come here just for the chance to see him fly by.” Amelia explained, waving her finger in the air, but the man just openly stared at her, barely even blinking.  Amelia wasn’t even sure he heard.

Did he recognize her? Sometimes people in large public spaces could pick her out, noting the black hair, the smile, and put two and two together.  Anybody with a famous name was worth meeting, even if they were just related, and Amelia had the misfortune of being related to America’s most annoying celebrity. 

But this guy, he seemed more… bewildered, than anything.  Amelia couldn’t put a name to it, he just stared at her in complete disbelief, and she decided to put him out of his misery.  “The name’s Amelia.” She introduced herself, swivelling in her seat to face him properly.

“Yeah.” He breathed and Amelia quirked an eyebrow.  “I mean, it’s nice to meet you.”

She pointed to the sketchbook.  “Are you an artist, or something?”

“Or something.” He muttered absently, sheepishly folding the book shut, tucking his pencil in the margin.

“From New York?” Amelia stood and swung her chair round to his table to sit opposite him.

“Brooklyn, although it’s a lot different than I remember.” He nodded as Amelia retrieved her coffee, “I’m Steve, by the way, Steve Rogers.”

Amelia clenched her hands around the mug to keep from dropping it, struggling to keep recognition from pouring into her features, swallowing down the sudden shock as the pieces clicked in her mind. 

Steve freaking Rogers, of course he was.  The blond hair, the blue eyes and the broad shoulders, even the dusty leather jacket and white converses, how had she not twigged sooner? Amelia had seen all the newspaper clippings, the photos in her grandfather’s things and even read the stories when she was a kid, before her father took them away.  Hell, she even learned about him during high school history.  A man who was supposed to be dead sitting right in front of her, sipping a latte. 

“Been gone a while?” Amelia prompted, clearing her throat, trying to act as if she didn’t know this man’s entire life story.

“You could say that.” He answered with a light chuckle, “What about you?”

“Manhattan, born and raised.” Amelia nodded, “Although you’ll find me all over the place.”

“How’s that?”

Amelia studied him for a moment, how easily his surprise faded into the background, curiosity written plain as day on his face.  Should she tell him? He knew her grandfather after all, Tony never stopped complaining about Howard’s obsession with Captain America once you got him started, she wasn’t sure if it tainted her impression of the legend.  Now she got the chance to learn for herself, to see if he truly lived up to the stories, would that change if he learned her last name? Amelia decided she didn’t want to risk it. 

“Dad lives in California, so I tend to divide my time when I’m not in Massachusetts studying.” Amelia took a sip of coffee.  “Plus, a month or two in DC for work.”

Steve leaned forward across the table, “Studying, that makes you a student, right?”

“MIT.” Amelia smiled, giving a small cheer.  “Go Beavers.”

“That’s the tech one, right?” He chuckled.

“You got it.” Amelia nodded, “I’ve just finished my doctoral research.”

Steve smiled, impressed, “And you manage to squeeze work in the middle of all that?”

“It’s less work, more like a hobby.” She explained, “Once I get my PhD, I’ll be starting…” Amelia stuck her thumb over her shoulder, gesturing to the Tower.  “With Stark.”

Steve paused, coffee halfway to his lips, blue eyes flickering to the tower behind her.  “For Howard Stark’s son?”

That confirmed it.  He didn’t know who Amelia was.  She didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed.  “You could say that.” Amelia said, twisting her mug between her fingers, “You gotta start somewhere, right?”

“Right.” Steve set down the cup, finally staring at something other than her.

“What about you.” she leaned forward across the table, “I feel like I’m the one doing all the talking.”

“I’m not sure you wanna know my story.”

“Try me.” Amelia raised an eyebrow, doing a very good job of acting as if she didn’t already know it.  “Are you a sketch artist?” Amelia nodded towards the pad and Steve tapped it with a finger.  “Is that the plan?”

“Maybe it was.” Steve shuffled in his chair, “But I joined the army first.”

Amelia put on a joking smile, “I didn’t peg you as a soldier.”

His handsome features brightened at the joke, and he raised a disbelieving eyebrow.  “Really?”

Amelia crossed one leg over another as she leaned back in her chair, taking a long sip.  “I just thought you were a health nut or something.” She shrugged, “A gym junkie and the like.”

Steve chuckled, “Well, I hate to disappoint.”

“Oh, not at all.” She found herself saying, “You’re not disappointing me at all.”

Surprisingly, he wasn’t.  A little sheepish at first, perhaps, but Amelia saw she was beginning to dig through, past the uncertainty, past the discomfort of being a man out of time, and through to the real Steve lying underneath.  The one she really wanted to know. 

Amelia finished off her coffee, levelling a questioning look at the man across from her.  “Do you like old movies, Steve?”

“Depends.” He replied, “How old are we talking?”

He did a good job of pretending he belonged to this century, Amelia had to give him that, he didn’t give anything away.  “There’s a theatre I know downtown.” Amelia explained, “They’re showing Suspicion at the moment.”

“The Cary Grant movie?” Steve perked, surprised Amelia gave him a movie he recognized.  “Came out 1941?”

“One and the same.” Amelia smiled; glad she could bring a bit of light to what must be a difficult time for him.  “I’ve been desperately looking for someone to take me.”

Amelia raised her eyebrows suggestively as Steve hesitated, tapping his sketchbook again until a confident smile covered his face.  He took out a couple bucks, setting them on the table between the two empty cups and stood up, offering his hand to her.  “Would you care to join me at the movies, Miss Amelia?”

Amelia feigned surprise, “Why, I thought you’d never ask, Mister Rogers.” She set her hand in his, unhooking her bag from the back of the chair and slung it over her shoulder as Steve wrapped her arm in his in the most old-fashioned move Amelia had ever seen. 

Well, he was way out of his time after all, and Amelia found she liked it, leaning into the gesture, the two of them walking along the street arm in arm.  Perhaps this was the distraction Amelia needed, to take her mind off the Tesseract, off the strange dreams and the test drive.  Tony could handle things without her. 

Generally, she tried to steer the conversation away from the past, away from the war, the current state of the world.  Anything too deep.  As much as she wanted to know all about her grandfather, to ask if all the stories she heard were true, she knew it would only remind him of what he’d lost.  No one needed that reminder, and he seemed to enjoy pretending he belonged here, in this time.  In this modern city.  Her obsession with old movies and books, her love of jazz music and the classics helped a lot. 

Steve did the polite thing and asked about her research, something Amelia could go on for hours about and she almost did.  By the looks of it, he was happy to let her, nodding along, understanding very little of what she spoke about.  He just smiled and kept encouraging her, stopping only by the beginning of the movie.  Once it started, Amelia stole a glance at him, studying his features in the black and white light from the film, an odd nostalgic look passing over his face. 

How strange it must be for him, Amelia thought, paying more attention to him than the movie.  To come back after so long, with everything and everyone he knew gone, how lonely must he feel? Amelia could barely even imagine what he’d left behind, what he’d given up.  It left Amelia racking her brain for anything she knew about the 1940s, trying to recall all those history classes on Captain America and the Howling Commandos from high school.  He lost his friend just before the crash, his childhood friend, did he even have a chance to grieve? A chance to say goodbye? Amelia was lucky enough to know only one loss in her life, her mother, and every day she grieved for what might’ve been.  Yet Steve had lost everything, thrown into a world he didn’t recognize on top of it all.  Steve wasn’t just grieving his friend, he was grieving an entire lifetime, an entire world left behind. 

By the end of the movie, Amelia had to remind herself to look away, disregarding the horrible realizations to put on another smile for him.  She made the mistake of checking her phone as they left, scrolling through all the messages left by her father and the half dozen missed calls. 

“I met you before, you know.” Steve admitted as they strolled through Central Park, his hands in the pockets of his pants.

“Hmm?” Amelia murmured, not really paying attention as she shot off a message to let him know she was alright.

“At the Stark Expo.”

Amelia’s head snapped up and she tucked her phone away in her pocket.  “That was you I bumped into, wasn’t it?”

“You wore an old military cap.” He tapped his head.

Amelia nodded, “It belonged to my grandmother.” She ran her hand through the low hanging cherry blossoms and watched some of the petals fall.  “Or her husband, I guess.”

“What division?”

Amelia blinked, an odd question to ask coming from anyone else.  “He was a first lieutenant during the invasion of Iwo Jima.”

She missed the look of relief that crossed his eyes as they neared Bow Bridge, unconsciously grabbing his hand as an excited smile lit up her sharp features. 

“Come on.” She laughed and the two jogged down the pebbled path towards the cast iron bridge.  “I haven’t done this since I was a kid.” She told him, collecting some sticks from the disheveled grass and pressed one into Steve’s hand, ushering him to the centre of the bridge.

“Really?” Steve chuckled as he turned the twig over in his hand and Amelia leaned over the side to stare at the water.

“Ready?” She challenged, thrusting her arm over the bridge, stick ready to drop and a matching grin broke out across his cheeks.

Steve copied her, holding his stick over the side and nodded firmly.  “Ready.”

On the count of three, they simultaneously dropped their sticks, heads stuck over the edge of the wall to watch them slowly drift underneath on the water’s surface, racing to the other side to see whose came out first. 

“Yes.” Amelia cheered, pumping the air as her stick floated into view.

“Best two out of three.” Steve dared and they shook on it, both skipping back to the trees and searching the undergrowth for suitable sticks.

They met back in the middle, smiling goofily, looking like two giddy teenagers to the people who passed by, and dropped one stick after the other, dashing to the opposite side once they were both in the water.  Amelia leaned out as far as she could, lifting onto tiptoes to stretch her view, trying to gauge which one would come out first, barely noticing as she began to topple forwards.  Steve caught her hips in steady hands as she released a little shriek, setting her straight on the bridge with a chuckle, his hands lingering. 

Until the sticks poked out from under the bridge and Steve let her go.  “Take that, Rogers.” She cheered victoriously, punching his chest lightly.

“Come on, you got lucky.” He teased.

“Or you’re just not very good at Poohsticks.”

Steve shook his head, but a long smile overtook him at her playfulness and their eyes caught.  Amelia swallowed, momentarily forgetting why she spent the afternoon with him.  Something about a distraction, to cheer him up.  His deep smile somehow infected her and Amelia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the rest of the world suddenly forgotten as well.  Then a trivial tune blasted from the back pocket of Amelia’s jeans and her smile slipped, a soft frown creasing Steve’s forehead. 

Amelia let it go to voicemail, she already had a bunch to catch up on, what was one more, but the moment had already been broken.  God dammit, Dad.  “I didn’t realize what the time was.” Steve murmured and Amelia knew the distraction was over. 

She expected a hurried goodbye, maybe a see you later or the stereotypical ‘I’ll call you’ but Steve did none of those.  He let a sliver of hope into his blue eyes and said the words any girl wanted to hear.  “I’d love to see you again, if you want.”

“Sure.” Amelia answered and the sliver widened.  She took a marker from her bag, biting off the lid as she took his hand and scribbled a number onto his palm.  “That’s my number.” She explained, clicking the lid shut.  “Call me anytime.”

“You got it.” Steve promised, unsure as he read the number written on his palm.  “I’ll definitely do that.”

“You better.” Amelia grinned, stepping away, tucking another lock of hair behind her ear as she twisted on her heel and left him on the bridge.

Impulsively, she glanced back over her shoulder as she passed back under the cherry blossoms to find Steve leaning against the wall, staring into his palm with a forlorn look. 

Had she planned on bumping into America’s greatest soldier?

No. 

Had she foreseen the day would go this way?

Definitely not. 

Had she intended on giving the great Captain America her number by the end of it?

Extra no, with cherries on top.

Amelia had been having enough trouble with a particular vigilante lawyer, the last thing she needed was to throw in with another troublemaker, and if her grandfather’s handed down stories told her anything it was Steve Rogers had a knack for swimming against the current. 

Did she regret it? Amelia glanced over her shoulder again, catching the bright smile lingering on Steve’s features as he wrote the number in his sketchbook.  

Not in the slightest.

The same trivial tune burst from her back pocket and Amelia fished out her phone, answering the call immediately with a bite to her voice.  “What?”

“Where have you been?” Came Tony’s stark reply, the line muffled by what sounded like rushing wind.  “What happened to double checking?”

“Never mind me, how’s it working?”

“Come see for yourself.”

Amelia hung up after that, picking up the pace as she navigated the streets of New York, the sun setting above her and dusk falling just as she turned the corner onto Park Avenue and caught sight of their little experiment.  Stark Tower stood strong against the darkening skyline, the entire building lit up like a floodlight in the middle of winter, a beacon of glass and steel in the middle of the city, the Stark name reflected in the surrounding skyscrapers as they switched on.

“Not bad.” She whispered to herself, craning her neck as she approached to take it all in.

Amelia pushed through the entrance, waving at the guard on duty, as the last few office workers trickled from the lobby.  Much of the Tower belonged to the company, housing administrative offices, some of the human resources and legal team, with a few engineering labs at the base of the narrow tower.  The reactor sat in the basement below, along with whatever storage they required, and Amelia dug out her keycard, skipping down the stairwell to get a look at the majestic beast. 

“Not bad at all.” She grinned, leaning on the metal railing blocking anyone from getting closer to the mighty reactor, blue energy swirling around the glass cylinder.

She didn’t need those double checks after all, one look at the readings told her the systems ran perfectly, producing power for the entire building, and she dashed back up the stairs to find a familiar face signing in at the reception desk. 

“Coulson.” Amelia greeted with a friendly smile, “Little late for a house call?”

“I’m here to see your dad.” He told her, a black binder in his hand.  “It’s urgent.”

“Is he ignoring you?”

“Predictably so.”

Amelia curled her finger at him, and he followed her to the elevators, settling in beside her and Amelia pressed the button for the highest floor.  “Is this about last night?” Amelia queried once the doors slid shut, allowing them some privacy.

“Fury thinks he can help us find the cube.” Coulson told her, “That’s all.”

“So, you’re not here to tell him what happened?”

“That’s not his concern.”

“Good, that’s good.” Amelia nodded, relief flooding her.

The elevator spat them out on the highest floor, all the offices here belonging to the upper management, board members and the like, and Amelia transferred them to the private elevator, pressing her thumb to the biometric reader to gain access. 

“What’s in the folder?” Amelia asked curiously as the doors pinged open.

Coulson glanced at the black folder under his clasped hands, “Reading material.”

A chuckle slipped her lips, “Be sure to open with that.” 

“Yours too.” Coulson added, “Director Fury wants you both on this.”

Amelia cringed as the doors closed behind them.  “Oh, that’s really not gonna sell.”

“You’re an expert on energy renewal and power transference.” Coulson pointed out, “We need your advice as much as we need Tony’s.”

“Still.” Amelia countered, “Dad isn’t hooked on the idea of me working with SHIELD.”

“When you say hooked?”

“He has no idea.”

Coulson nodded absently, “Sounds about right.”

“Mister Stark is waiting for you in the penthouse.” Jarvis called, “Shall I tell him you’re bringing Agent Coulson?”

“That’s okay, J.” Amelia replied, “Let’s surprise him.”

“Very good.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow at Amelia, “He’s not gonna like that.”

“No, but I will.” Amelia winked as the elevator stopped.

The doors opened onto a great wide-open space with charcoal grey floors and a retro look to it, if you ignore the giant floor to ceiling windows encasing the entire far wall giving a stunning view of the New York skyline.  To the right stood a small kitchenette with black cupboards and granite countertops, glass shelving stocked with all kinds of bottles, atop a raised platform above the workspace, leading to the circular landing platform Tony used when he went out in the suit.  A dip in the floor opened to a carpeted space, glass coffee table and brown leather seats furnishing the spot.  Pepper and Tony glanced over to the elevator as it pinged, the pithy remark dying on her father’s lips as he saw who stood beside her.

“Look who I found in the lobby.” Amelia smiled, venturing into the penthouse and dumping her bag on one of the dressers lining the entryway.

“Phil!” Pepper exclaimed cheerily, grasping her champagne flute, her bare feet silent on the tiles as she stepped over.  “Come in.”

“Phil?” Tony frowned, following her.  “His first name is Agent.”

“Come on in.” Pepper prompted, “We’re celebrating.”

“I can’t stay.” Coulson admitted, stopping a pace from the elevator.

“Did it work?” Amelia queried, glancing at her phone as it vibrated, a small smile tilting her features as she read the text.

Any chance of a rematch? – Steve

“No thanks to you.” Tony blurted, flicking her forehead to get her attention, “Coffee run doesn’t take an entire afternoon, kid.”

“I got distracted.” Amelia told him, surprised at how accurate the excuse was.

Either way, Tony saw right through it.  “Oh yeah? What’s his name?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Amelia smirked mysteriously.  No way in hell was she telling Tony the truth, he’d probably pull a muscle yelling at her. 

Captain America didn’t exactly make Tony’s good books; he barely made any books. 

“We need you to look this over as soon as possible.” Coulson offered the black binder, circling the conversation back to him.

Tony turned his nose at the thing, “I don’t like being handed things.”

“That’s fine, because I love to be handed things.” Pepper smiled, “So, let’s trade.” She swapped the folder for her champagne glass, shoving it into Tony’s hands and taking his.  “Thank you.”

Tony gave her a flat look before turning to Coulson, clutching the binder between both hands.  “Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday.”

“This isn’t a consultation.”

“Is this about the Avengers?” Pepper interjected, curious look about her features which she quickly dropped.  “Which I know nothing about.”

Tony’s brows knotted together, folding open the binder and slotting the pieces together into a portable monitor as he made his way to the workbench, blowing out a dismissive breath.  “The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought, and I didn’t even qualify.”

The what? Amelia narrowed her eyes at the binder. 

“I didn’t know that either.” Pepper flashed another smile.

“Apparently I’m volatile, self-obsessed, don’t play well with others.”

“That I did know.”

“The whole world knew that.” Amelia commented idly, setting aside her phone as her curiosity drew her to the binder. 

“This isn’t about personality profiles anymore.” Coulson replied bluntly.

“Whatever.” Tony dismissed, “Miss Potts, got a second?” Tony coiled his finger at Pepper and she skipped over to them as Tony accessed the files contained within.  “You know, I thought we were having a moment.”

“I was having twelve percent of a moment.” Pepper answered without missing a beat and smirked at Tony’s flat look before her expression dropped and she glanced over her shoulder at the waiting agent.  “This seems serious, Phil’s pretty shaken.”

“How would you know if it’s…” Tony trailed off, jumping on a different train of thought, “Why is he Phil?”

Amelia leaned forward, reaching a finger to scroll through the information and Tony swatted her away.  “What is all this?” she asked.

“This is, uh…” Tony swiped up with both hands, projecting the information onto the Perspex screens attached to the counter, usually used to display blueprints, several videos spilling audio into the room and Amelia straightened, her lips parting.

Dozens of personnel files, reports, scattered about between the records.  Some of them on Tony, his exploits as Iron Man, but Amelia skipped over those.  Video played of Natasha and Barton fighting amidst a pile of crumbling rubble, their uniform dusty and blood trickled from Natasha’s forehead.  Another video, this one of poor quality, showed something huge crashing down a busy street and beside it was a detailed medical file on one Bruce Banner.  The last one drew most of Amelia’s attention.  An old, grainy video of Captain America fighting during the war, bouncing his shield off his adversaries like a frisbee, an image of him frozen in the ice pinned alongside.  Amelia thought it strange how at peace he looked encased in the ice, not an inch of the concern she’d seen lining his forehead earlier, or the shadows haunting his eyes.  Just him.  As if he were only asleep for a moment, ready to wake up any second. 

“Getting distracted again?” Tony muttered and his voice startled Amelia.

She drew her eyes from Steve’s personnel photo, finding Pepper had disappeared along with Coulson, the two champagne flutes forgotten on the coffee table, the bubbles still popping. 

“What are the Avengers?” Amelia deflected, leaning against the counter.

“Fury’s super-secret trump card, if you must know.” Tony skimmed over the information in the binder, pulling up all the information on the Tesseract and Tony peered at it intently.  “Looks like they were trying to extract some kind of energy source from it.”

“Unlimited sustainable energy.” Amelia corrected and turned away from it, picking at her nail and doing her best to act as if she knew nothing.  “Is that even possible?”

“SHIELD certainly thought so.”

Amelia sighed, pushing off the counter and skipped up the thin steps to the kitchenette to take two mugs from one of the upper cupboards and flicked on the coffee machine.  “Looks like it’s gonna be a long night.”

Tony drew aside the projection to frown at her.  “Who said you’re sticking around?” Tony sniffed, “It’s past your bedtime, kid.”

“Not a chance.” Amelia scoffed, slotting the jug into the machine when it pinged.  “Coulson said they needed both of us on this and you’re gonna need me and my doctoral thesis research to have half a chance of getting through it.”

“Uh, I know my physics, thank you.” Tony tutted, leaning against the counter with a hand on his hip.

Amelia raised an eyebrow, “When, exactly, was the last time you brushed up on your thermonuclear physics?”

Tony opened his mouth to spit a retort and changed his mind at the last second, curling his lip at her instead.  “Fine, you can stay.” He relented, “But you can’t blame me for trying.”

“I can.” Amelia teased, “And I will.”

Once Amelia set the coffee down, they began rifling through the SHIELD files on everything from the history of the Tesseract, all the research their scientists conducted on the cube – including Amelia’s, although her name had been kept off the record – and even everything they had on their extra-terrestrial visitors.  Amelia paid close attention to those.

“So, this Lucky guy just waltzed in there and did a runner with the cube?” Tony surmised, chucking a baseball in the air and catching it repeatedly. 

“Loki.” Amelia corrected, “And it was a bit more complicated than that.” Amelia’s back straightened.  “Or… so it says.”

Tony didn’t seem to notice her slip, too occupied with his ball.  “Right, right, and he had the fancy pogo stick.”

“That sceptre turned Agent Barton into his personal whipping boy.”

“Space stuff.” Tony shrugged, bouncing the ball off the floor.  “Lemme see him again?”

Amelia loaded the photo taken from the security feed last night, the grainy dishevelled picture of him just as he arrived, and Tony leaned forward.  “Well, he certainly looks like the end of the world type.”

Amelia tilted her head, frowning, and her thoughts ran over her own impression of him.  Without the fear of being space voodooed, she saw past the menace, the trickery.  “Kinda charming, don’t you think?” she murmured, “In a serial killer kinda way.”

Tony gave her a puzzled look, “I’m beginning to seriously question your taste in men.”

“Funny,” Amelia smirked, “I said the exact thing to Pepper just the other day.”

Tony gave her a fake laugh, clicking his fingers, “Can we focus here, please?”

“I am focused.” Amelia whined, propping her head on her hands.

“Not on the hot aliens.” Tony grabbed her shoulders, pulling her away from the Asgardian information and setting her down in front of the Tesseract file.  “But this.” He pointed at a section in the file, something about focusing the energy for specific capabilities, and Amelia recognized it as her own work.  “Does this look a little fishy to you?”

“How so?” Amelia asked carefully, eyes darting between her father and the file.

“It’s spotty and all over the place, kinda chaotic really.” Tony judged and Amelia gave him an unimpressed look.

“Well, some might say it’s an organized mess.” Amelia pouted, failing to keep the bitter note from her voice.

“That is completely counterproductive.” Tony snorted, “Mess is mess, and this is some of the messiest research I’ve ever seen.” Amelia crossed her arms over her chest, blowing out an irritable breath, as Tony nudged her.  “Reminds me of your doctoral proposal.”

Amelia’s eyes widened a fraction, and she dropped her arms, giving him a nervous chuckle.  “What’s so fishy about a bit of chaos?” Amelia queried, trying to divert the conversation away from her, unnerved by how unknowingly accurate the observation was. 

“Don’t get me wrong, despite the mess, it’s brilliant work, the theorems on energy transference and accumulation are novel.” Tony would never have said that if he knew the truth and Amelia kept her pride hidden.  “It’s very similar to what we’re doing with the arc reactor.”

“What’s your point?”

“We just constructed one of the world’s only self-sustaining buildings, and this is just a prototype.” Tony shrugged and gestured to the two of them.  “So why didn’t he consult us?”

He did, Amelia answered silently, you just complimented my consultation.  “And why research energy transference if you’re not gonna do anything with it?” Tony added and it caused a tiny frown to bend Amelia’s brow.

“No, the purpose is energy usage.” Amelia reminded him, “You know, a sustainable way to power the planet?”

“That’s another thing.” Tony snapped his fingers.  “Why would an intelligence agency be interested in powering the planet?”

“Huh.” Amelia blinked, “You think there’s something Fury isn’t telling us?”

“He’s a spy.” Tony scoffed, “The man compartmentalizes like a human filing cabinet, of course there’s something he hasn’t told us.”

Amelia thought back to Kaxton’s benefit, the secret mission, the file Coulson wouldn’t let her look at.  Designs that served no purpose aiding energy accumulation and suddenly all this research, all her research took a darker turn. 

Tony drummed his hands against Amelia’s shoulders.  “Time for a crash course in thermonuclear physics, my dearest.” He announced, “The first step to figuring out Fury’s machinations is knowing your shit.”

Amelia glanced up at the clock.  “But it’s almost midnight.”

“So?”

“So?” Amelia exclaimed, pulling her phone from her pocket and heading towards the collection of pamphlets next to the fridge.  “We’re gonna need takeout, and we’re gonna need it now.”

Ordering food seemed to appease Tony’s own doubts but Amelia couldn’t shake the feeling she’d missed something glaringly obvious.  She had a direct line into this project, worked on it since the beginning, and yet she’d had such enormous tunnel vision all along.  Why would SHIELD be interested in powering the world? Why did they send one of their best agents to acquire a simple file containing blueprints? And why research energy transference, why use Amelia’s skills, if they had no purpose for it? Unless Fury did have a purpose and he neglected to tell anyone, that’s what had Amelia worried.  She didn’t want her work used against anyone, even if it was in the name of peace. 

What she expected from a Tony Stark crash course, Amelia had no idea, but she knew a whiteboard, crappy drawings and some loose terminology was not it.  Amelia felt like she was back in high school, she even got an erasable marker right to the head for zoning out and checking her phone under the table.  Safe to say Tony would regret it when he found thick round glasses and several beauty marks in the mirror.  In multiple shapes. 

“This Doctor Banner.” Amelia stuck her chopsticks into the cardboard container.  “He wanted to recreate Project Rebirth?”

“And it exploded in his face.” Tony answered through a mouthful, unknowingly smudging the little heart drawn in black on his cheek with a scratch.  “Literally.”

Amelia flicked through the record, the shaky footage of the Hulk rampaging through Harlem looked as if taken on a crappy video phone, the sound of his roars echoing.  “Wait.” She tugged the screen closer, “Is this the guy who did his doctoral research on the relevance of gamma radiation in biochemistry?”

“I’m surprised you know that.”

“Whenever I got stressed at Columbia I’d go down to the library and pick out a thesis to read, the librarian made me a little pile of ones she thought I’d find interesting.”

“How often did you go there?”

Amelia shuffled, pushing the few noodles left in the white container around with a chopstick.  “Often enough.”

Tony chucked something at her, the shiny plastic wrapper bouncing off her head and she gave him a flat look.  “Nerd.” He smirked.

Amelia tugged open the cheap foil, picking out the fortune cookie and cracked it open, brushing the crumbs off the counter as she pulled out the long slip of paper tucked inside. 

“Accept something you cannot change, and you will feel better.” She read, crunching the cookie between her teeth.

“Huh, would you look at that.” Tony broke open his own, “Listen to your parents, they know best.”

“It does not say that.”

“Are you calling the cookie a liar?”

“I’m calling you a liar.” Amelia attempted to swipe the fortune from his hands, but he held it up higher, out of reach.  “Come on, what’s it really say?”

Tony laid a hand over his heart exaggeratedly, feigning offence.  “How could you, I’ve always been honest.”

“There’s a difference between being honest and oversharing the hell out of your personal life.”

“I don’t overshare, I include.”

Amelia gave him a flat look, “I do not need to be included in your extracurricular activities.”

“What, you don’t like hearing about my relationship with Pepper all of a sudden?”

“Not when it involves the words naked and protection.” Amelia snapped, snatching the fortune from Tony’s hands as a sly grin trickled onto his bearded cheeks.  “You and I need to have a serious conversation about boundaries.”

Fortune Not Found: Abort, Retry, Ignore? Amelia let a snicker escape her lips, huge grin spreading across her sharp features.  “Oh, they saw you coming a mile away.”

“Whatever.” He took back the fortune, tossing them both on the side, and swiped the empty carton from her hands.  “Let’s get back to it, shall we?”

Amelia sighed, glancing at the whiteboard.  “I think we’ve done enough catch up.” Amelia admitted, “Whatever Fury is up to, we aren’t gonna find it in the science.”

“Then what do you suggest?” Tony queried, balling up a napkin and chucking it into the trash, punching the air as he got it in first try.

Amelia’s eyes wandered to the packet Coulson dropped off and Banner’s personnel file.  “Fury’s trump card, you said?” she prompted, tugging it over.

“The Avenger Initiative.” Tony brought up the information, “He wanted his own personal team of line-backers.”

“Fury must think the cube is valuable enough to elicit a response team like this.” Amelia lined the profiles side by side, including Tony’s. 

Her father hesitated in front of Steve’s picture, a slow frown creasing his lined forehead.  “What do you know about him?” Amelia queried softly, slipping off the stool.

“He was Dad’s favourite toy.” Tony bristled, “Spent more time gushing about golden boy than his own son, what more is there?”

Tony dumped himself on the couch, picking up a booklet on ion fusion, pretending to absorb himself in it.  “You’re not the least bit curious?” Amelia prompted, following him onto the cushions.  “You don’t wanna know what all the fuss is about?”

“What fuss?” Tony muttered, “He’s just a guy, there’s nothing special about him.”

Amelia opened her mouth to disagree.  From what she’d read of Project Rebirth, Erskine wouldn’t just make anyone the centre of his experiment, he held out until he found Steve.  Meeting him in person did nothing to change her opinion, if just making him seem more human.  Less like a man put on a pedestal, praised for his heroism, his sacrifice, and more like a man just trying to get through the day. 

Whatever argument she was about to make died on her tongue as her phone dinged from the counter.  Only Natasha would be texting her at this time of the night and she retrieved her phone to read the message. 

Fancy a trip to India?

Amelia texted back.  Hard pass on that one.  Aren’t you supposed to be on a mission?

I came, I saw, I chained a guy up and chucked him down a hole.  We move on.

Amelia glanced over her shoulder at her father, finding his spot on the couch empty.  You heard about Barton? Amelia asked.

The text’s paused for a moment.  Better clear your schedule, could use your help on this.

Take me to dinner first, why don’t you.

West 30th Street Heliport, 0800, you arrive on time and maybe you’ll get lucky. 

The corner of her lip perked as she tucked the phone into her pocket, wincing when she heard her father yell from the bathroom.  “Amelia freaking Stark!”

“And that’s my cue to leave.” She whispered, gathering her belongings and quietly slipping from the penthouse.

Chapter Text

Late nights usually came with the territory.  Amelia couldn’t count the number of all-nighters she pulled studying for finals, her thesis, even Fury’s space project.  But that morning she just couldn’t pull herself out of bed, slogging down to the heliport, rubbing at her eyes. 

“I’m here, I’m here.” Amelia yawned as Coulson tilted his watch up, waiting for her at the foot of the quinjet

“Thought you might need this.” Coulson held up a brown paper cup, a tiny curl of steam rising from the hole in the plastic lid.

“I’ve had one already.” Amelia muttered, taking the ramp.

“Oh, so you don’t want it then?”

Amelia scrambled to swipe the cup from his grasp before he took a sip, cradling it protectively between her hands.  “I didn’t say that.”

Amelia took a long sip of the bitter liquid, a hint of caramel on her tongue, and it brought a lazy smile to her lips as she clipped her SHIELD ID card to the belt of her dark jeans, glancing up with a frown as someone called her name.

“Steve?” Amelia blurted, her smile fracturing, and she blinked.

Of course he was here, he was one of Fury’s Avengers, it made sense he got called in.  Amelia just didn’t expect him here, on this jet… with her.

“Good, you two have met.” Coulson stepped past her, buckling himself into a seat and Amelia gingerly sat down beside the old soldier, careful not to spill her coffee.

“You didn’t tell me you worked for these guys.” Steve murmured to her as they both buckled down and she hid a brief flash of shock behind a sip.

“I don’t.” Amelia replied, “Not officially, at least.”

“Amelia’s done some work for us in the past.” Coulson explained, “She’s an asset to this project.”

A small frown dug at Steve’s forehead as the engine started to purr, the vibrations coursing through the jet.  “You worked on the Tesseract?” Steve questioned lightly and Amelia could guess where this was heading, a ball of dread scrunching in her stomach.

“Sort of.” Coulson answered for her, disregarding the glare she shot him over the lip of the coffee cup as the jet lurched into the air.  “Amelia was trying to figure out a way to safely harness it’s energy.”

“Yes, thank you.” Amelia snapped sharply as Steve cleared his throat, shuffling beside her.

If he wasn’t strapped in, he’d probably move.  “So you knew who I was all that time?” he lowered his voice, keeping his features straight.

Amelia lowered hers in turn.  “I only knew Captain America, the hero.” She told him, “I figured, after all this time, I should get to know the man behind him as well.”

Steve’s gaze flickered to Amelia’s, the blue sincere and softly surprised, his lips parted slightly and Amelia gave a small shrug.  “And you looked like you needed a distraction.”

He held her gaze a moment longer.  “You know, since I came out of the ice, that’s the only thing I’ve been able to think about.”

Amelia discarded the empty cup and offered a friendly smile, “Then I was right.”

Steve took a breath, as if to say something more, his striking blue eyes flickering over her sharp features, taking them in, then he thought better of it.  “Is there anything else you wanna tell me?”

Now Amelia took a breath, briefly picking at her nails, “Actually…”

“Did you have a chance to look over Fury’s packet?” Coulson interrupted as the jet levelled out, unclipping his buckles.

Steve did the same, taking the binder Coulson offered and Amelia blew out her breath, unbuckling herself as Steve absolved himself in the material and Coulson sat down at the communicator, relaying several messages to their destination.  Amelia ducked into the cockpit, staring out at the wide blue expanse of the Atlantic ocean for a second before her eyes were drawn to the pilots. 

“You mind if I give her a whirl?” Amelia asked politely and the pilot glanced her way.

He could’ve almost laughed at her, the way his lips quirked in a smirk.  “You know how?”

Amelia tapped the ID at her belt and the pilot did a double take, wiping the smirk from his leathery face.  “You wanna see my license?”

“No, ma’am.” He stammered, fiddling with the safety belt, “4553 switching out.”

Amelia took the headphones from him, slipping them over her ears and adjusting the speakers over her lips, slipping into the pilots seat and ran her fingers along the control wheel.  “1121, switching in.” Amelia reported.

“Stark, get out of the cockpit.” Came Maria Hill’s smooth voice in reply and Amelia chuckled.

“Not a chance, Hill.” Amelia flicked a switch on the panel overhead, adjusting the wheel sensitivity with a dial just behind it and pushed forward an inch.

The jet obeyed, picking up the slightest speed, and Amelia’s heart buzzed.  She adjusted the flaps along the wings and the jet dragged backwards, the move barely perceptible, but the co-pilot gave her an anxious glance anyway. 

“Buckle up, boys.” She warned, clicking her own belt into place.

She waited until she heard all three snaps before yanking the control wheel and the jet jolted backwards, throwing her forwards in the chair with a growing grin as she took them low over the water’s surface, catching sight of the spray kicking up from the edge of the wings in the corner of her eye.  Amelia tipped the plane sideways, throwing up a wave and it skimmed over the wide cockpit windows, a sparkling trail washing over them as Amelia took the jet back up, the force trapping her against the back of the chair.

“Get out of the seat, Stark, I won’t tell you again.” Hill warned and Amelia levelled out the jet with a sigh. 

“1121, switching out.” she announced, handing back the headphones, allowing the pilot back into his seat.  “What?” she shrugged when Coulson gave her a flat look.  “What’s the point of having skills if you don’t use them?”

Amelia dropped down again in Steve’s vacated seat, throwing him a wink as she stretched her legs out in front, satisfied grin brightening her sharp features and the mood infected him.

“So, this Doctor Banner tried to replicate the serum they used on me?” Steve questioned as Coulson stood from the communicator, clinging to the overhead handle.

“A lot of people were.” He answered, “You were the world’s first superhero.” Amelia saw the sparkle in Coulson’s usually bland brown eyes.  “Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine’s original formula.”

“Didn’t really go his way, did it?” Steve commented gruffly, flicking through some of the footage.

“Not so much.” Coulson agreed regretfully as the Hulk’s roar echoed from the console and Amelia shook off a shiver.  “When he’s not that thing though, guy’s like a Stephen Hawking.”

Steve glanced up, confused and Amelia suppressed a cringe.  “He’s like a… smart person.” Coulson explained and Steve’s eyes returned to the profile.  “I gotta say, it’s an honour to meet you, officially.” Coulson couldn’t help the smile on his face and Amelia raised both her eyebrows.

Steve gave him a quick smile, a soft smile, the man was probably used to the praise, but Amelia could sense what was coming next and she already ran a hand down her sharp features. 

“I’ve sort of met you.” Coulson continued, “I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping.” Oh, god, please stop.  Steve dropped his gaze, the smile gone, and you could cut the awkwardness with a knife.  “I mean, I was present while you were unconscious from the ice.”

Steve stood as Coulson carried on blathering, trying to smooth the tension, ease the awkwardness and wound up digging a bigger hole for himself. 

“You know, it’s really just a huge honour to have you on board this...” Coulson followed him to the cockpit, mimicking Steve as he leaned against the overhang.

“Just stop.” Amelia mouthed.

“Well, I hope I’m the man for the job.” Steve murmured, thankfully oblivious to Coulson’s stutters.  Amelia had never seen him so lost for words.

If she hadn’t been drowning in the awkwardness she might’ve filmed it, she still might. 

“Oh, you are, absolutely.” Coulson assured him.  “We made some modifications to the uniform, I had a little design input.”

“The uniform?” Steve questioned with a frown.  “Aren’t the stars and stripes a little…” he gave a small shake of his head.  “Old fashioned?”

“With everything that’s happening and the things that are about to come to light.” Coulson’s gaze flickered to Amelia briefly and she stood, eyes narrowed at the look.  “People might just need a little old fashioned.”

“Seats, gentlemen.” The pilot instructed, “We’re coming up on drop off.”

Steve knocked back the sleeve of his leather jacket, frowning down at his watch as he returned to the seat beside Amelia.  “That was fast.”

“Welcome to the twenty-first century, Cap.” Amelia smiled, clicking her safety belt into place.  “Revolutionary turbo engines and a whole lot of horse power.”

Another frown.  “What?”

The corner of Amelia’s lips perked fondly as she rolled her head to glance at him.  “You’re adorable.”

Steve’s features smoothed over, his eyes perking and he busied himself with his buckle as Coulson swatted her on the knee.  “No flirting.” He hissed quietly, “You’re here to do a job.”

“I could say the same for you, Mister Number One Fan.” Amelia snapped back.

“It’s not the same.”

“What’s not the same?” Steve queried innocently and Amelia smothered a giggle.

“Nothing.” Coulson answered, crossing his arms, an imperceptible pout lining his lips as if he just got caught passing notes by the teacher.

Amelia just giggled when Steve gave her a frown, the front of the plane angling as it descended towards the landing strip, concrete runways and tiny airmen coming into view through the cockpit and Steve’s shoulder bumped hers as the wheels hit the ground, jogging the two of them in their seat with a swift touchdown.  Would’ve been better if I did it, Amelia thought, less turbulence, less shoulder bumping, less distracted thoughts. 

“Ladies first.” Steve gestured as they unclipped from the bench, giving her a soft smile.

God, this was going to be a difficult job, distractions were not an option and he’d become a very tall, very polite, walking obstacle.

“Stow the captain’s gear.” Coulson instructed, slipping on a pair of black sunglasses as they stepped off the ramp and into the sunlight, no shade at all to be found in the middle of the Atlantic.  “Agent Romanoff.”

The redhead stopped them at the ramp and she gave Amelia a nod in greeting before turning her strong gaze to the soldier.  “Captain Rogers.” Coulson introduced with a touch of pride and Amelia sucked in a weary breath.

“Ma’am.” Steve greeted, squinting in the sunlight.

“Hi.” She gave him a cursory look before turning to Coulson, “They need you on the bridge, they’re starting the face-trace.”

“See you there.” He stepped between the two, heading for the entrance, and Natasha finally looked Steve over.

“It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice.” She chatted and the three set to walking.  “I thought Coulson was gonna swoon.” The corner of her lip perked and she glanced around Steve to look at Amelia.  “Did he ask him to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?”

“Trading cards?” Steve questioned, a little astounded.

“They’re vintage, he’s very proud.” Amelia smirked, her eyes drawn to the shaggy haired man jumping out the way of two pilots.  “Doctor Banner.”

He clutched his hands in front of him, his rough tweed suit jacket flapping in the ocean breeze, gritty features very lost and very anxious, his hair shot with grey at the temples and he stumbled around the pilots as they approached. 

“Hi.” He greeted, shaking Steve’s offered hand, giving him a studious look.  “They told me you would be coming.”

“Word is, you can find the cube.”

Banner threw a look over his shoulder, “Is that the only word on me?”

“Only word I care about.”

Natasha pressed a finger to her ear, turning away as the two men chatted. 

“Must be strange for you, all of this.” Banner gestured at the runway.

“Well, this is actually kind of familiar.”

“Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute.” Natasha advised gently, “It’s going to get a little hard to breathe.”

A giant grin spread across Amelia’s lips and she caught Nat’s arm, “Are we… is this…?” she could barely get the words out her excitement grew so quickly.  “God, I’ve been begging Fury to get me on one of these for months.”

The loud clang of metal scraping echoed up to them from the side of the ship and Amelia could picture the mechanics in her mind, almost imagine the pistons working to close the hatches and break out the turbines. 

“Is this a submarine?” Steve frowned and the two men wandered over to the edge of the ship.

“Really?” Banner mused, “They want me in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?”

Amelia followed, ignoring Natasha as she rolled her eyes, her imagination coming to life as she peered over the edge. 

A great cavern of water churned below them, only the tips of the massive turbines visible through all the white froth, the crashing waves, and what Amelia wouldn’t give to tear open the metal panels and pick apart the beasts insides. 

A chuckle slipped her lips as the turbines reached terminal velocity, the carrier jolting as it lifted from the water’s surface, the wind whipping at their clothes, their hair, and Amelia used a hand to keep her long black waves from her eyes.

“No, no, this is much worse.” Banner shouted as the two backed away.

The flight engineers worked to secure the aircraft as the helicarrier ascended, dripping streams of water, and Natasha led the three of them inside the belly of the beast.  Several officers turned to stare as they stepped inside the control bridge, their eyes watching Steve as he walked by and he noticed it too, shoulders tense under his jacket, hands stuffed in the pockets of his cotton pants and blue eyes kept focused on the ground. 

Amelia fell into step beside the redhead as they walked.  “How was your trip?”

“Productive.” She answered, throwing a nod over her shoulder at the dishevelled doctor.  “How was your evening?”

Amelia yawned, “Productive.”

Natasha gave her an unconvinced nod, “Oh. I’m sure.”

Amelia frowned at Natasha’s jeans, her casual red shirt and jacket, the thigh holster strapped over the top.  “What is this, casual Fridays?” she joked, glancing at her own dark jeans and deep emerald shirt, the long sleeves rolled to her elbows, the top buttons left undone. 

“You’re one to talk.” The redhead fired back.

“Yeah, but I don’t have a suit.” Amelia pointed out.

“This isn’t a mission, it’s child retrieval.”

“This is about Fury’s space cube, right?” Amelia changed the subject with a roll of her eyes, rubbing her shoulder with her free hand as they took a set of metal stairs, slowly moving it down to her ribcage to massage the ache from where she tumbled out the helicopter.

“And it’s thief.” Natasha answered, “Fury wants someone who knows what’s at stake hunting it down.”

“I thought that’s what Doctor Green was for.”

“Banner can track it, sure.” Natasha nodded, “But I doubt he cares how valuable it is.”

“And you do?”

The corner of her lip quirked, “I follow orders.”

Amelia stepped out the way of two officers as they rushed down the corridor, catching the look Steve gave her, and quickly turned her gaze forward, her thoughts shrouded, conflicted.  Finding the cube, powering the world, she could agree with all that.  After that, after they found it, took it back from the medieval alien, that’s what concerned her, the shadows in her mind leftover from the evening’s activities. 

If Fury had an ulterior motive, she wanted nothing to do with it.  Nothing. 

“Any word on Barton?” Amelia asked in a hushed tone, desperate to think of something, anything, other than the predicament she’d found herself in.

Natasha’s green eyes darted about.  “Nothing yet.”

“I’m sure they’re looking.”

“Oh, they are.” Natasha assured her, “But when they find him…”

“It’ll be fine, we’ll figure something out.”

“We?”

“Hey, you’re not the only one worried about him.”

“I’m not worried, Barton can handle himself.”

“But he’s not Barton right now, is he?” Amelia reminded and Natasha gave her an unsure look.  “He’s Loki’s lackey.”

“Yes.” Natasha replied through gritted teeth, giving Amelia a fraught look.  “Thanks for the reminder.”

Amelia winced inwardly, “Sorry, my bad.”

Natasha gave a shake of her head, glancing to make sure the two followed behind them, that they hadn’t gotten lost in the twisting corridors. 

“How long have you two known each other?” Amelia wondered softly and Natasha gave her a pointed look.  “I know, I know, you like being the mysterious ex-Russian spy, whatever.” She waved it off.  “But, you’ve held my hair back whilst I was puking my guts out before so I think I deserve a little backstory.” 

Natasha shuddered, “A night we both regret.”

“Hey, I was drunk.” Amelia slapped her arm, “My point is, I’ve known you long enough to have earned some origin story.” Amelia leaned in close, looking around.  “Come on, tell me how the famous Clintasha began.”

“Oh, look, we’re here.” Natasha announced with no small amount of smugness, leading them into their destination where they found Fury before his panels, directing from the best vantage point atop the walkway, the conference table sat behind him. 

Thick glass panes stretched across the front of the bridge, revealing nothing but white cloud as they continued their ascent into the blue skies above the Atlantic.  Rows of consoles stretched out below him, each screen monitored by a skilled officer wearing the navy SHIELD uniform. The eagle emblazoned on their breast.  Steve walked along the length of the bridge, staring at it in absolute wonder, neck craning to view the overhead balcony, whilst Banner hung around the back, startled into staying by the two armed guards manning the exit. 

Amelia made a beeline for the touch control steering wheels at the forefront of the control pit, watching over the shoulder of a flight engineer as the helicarrier levelled out, the retro reflective panels engaging and hiding them amidst the clouds. 

“Amazing.” She breathed, “Just amazing.”

“I’m glad you like it.” Fury called her over, accepting a dollar note from Steve, an old and faded one by the look of it but he pocketed it nonetheless.  “But you’re not here on a sightseeing tour.”

“Why am I here?” Amelia queried tentatively as Steve stepped up beside her.

“Call it an incentive.” Fury offered, “Stark seems to work better with you around.”

Amelia narrowed her eyes, “And here I was thinking you enjoyed my company.”

“More and more by the minute, Miss…”

Amelia cut him off with a very loud cough, flashing an alarmed look at Steve but he was too occupied with the view to even notice, earning a confused frown from Natasha.

“You wanna explain what I’m really doing here?” she prompted, letting slip she knew Fury hid something from her but he merely stared at her. 

“How’s your head?” Fury asked instead and Amelia bristled.

“Hurting.” She snapped, choosing a different path instead.  “Where are we on the cube?”

Fury pointed them over to Coulson, a little wireless headpiece in his ear.  “We’re sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet.” He crossed his arms as Natasha crouched beside the console tracking Barton, “Cell phones, laptops, if it’s connected to a satellite, it’s eyes and ears for us.”

“That’s still not gonna find them in time.” Natasha pointed out, frowning deeply.

“You have to narrow your field.” Banner advised, “How many spectrometers do you have access to?”

Fury glanced Amelia’s way, the other’s gaze soon following and she stood there with her mouth open.  “Why’d do you think I have the answer?” she blurted.

“With Selvig gone, you’re the next in line.” Fury told her, “Our next best expert on the cube.”

“That’s reassuring.” Amelia breathed and took a moment to think, eyes flickering to Banner.  “How many are there?”

“Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays.” Banner instructed, shrugging out of his worn tweed jacket, “I’ll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition.” He scrunched the jacket up in his arms.  “At least we could rule out a few places.” He started rolling up the sleeves of his plum purple shirt.  “Do you have somewhere for me to work?”

“Agent Romanoff.” Fury called, “Could you show Doctor Banner to his laboratory, please?” Fury’s eye turned to Amelia and he nodded his head for her to follow.

“You’re gonna love it Doc, we got all the toys.” Natasha said as Amelia skipped over to follow them.  “Have they introduced you two yet? Amelia is…”

“A fan.” Amelia interrupted as Natasha began to introduce her, offering her hand.  “I read your doctoral thesis, very enlightening research.”  

“Thank you.” Banner shook her hand reluctantly.  “And you worked on the Tesseract, is that right?” he threw a finger over his shoulder, referring to Fury’s comment.

“I helped.” Amelia answered, “Though there’s only so much one can do with half the information.”

Banner glanced at Natasha but she wore the same odd frown, confused by Amelia’s comment.  “What’s up with you?” the redhead murmured.

“Oh, you do not want to know.” Amelia groaned, following her back through the corridors and down several levels to the main hangar deck.

The lab sat in the middle of the carrier, on one of the lower levels, and a large window looked out on the cloudy sky around them, the walls a white plastic matching the pristine surfaces and variety of shiny equipment surrounding them.  Amelia spotted at least one mass spectrometer, even a chromatograph and a radio tracker along one wall.  Not to mention the candy land of equipment lining the opposite one. 

“Doctor Banner.” Natasha called, her eyes watching Amelia as she fiddled with a different machine in the corner, switching it on just to hear it purr, catching the hungry look in her brown eyes.  “Keep an eye on her for me, will you?” Amelia gave Natasha a wide-eyed look.  “She gets a little excited sometimes.”

“I burnt popcorn one time!” Amelia shouted after Natasha as she left the two alone in the lab, “One time!”

“I don’t think that’s what she meant.” Banner pointed out and Amelia gave him a soft smile.

“Oh, it was.” Amelia nodded, chuckling to herself, “I was using a blowtorch to do it.” Amelia set up the displays around the room as a worried frown creased Banners lined forehead.  “Anyway, how about you and I get on to those labs, huh?”

Banner hesitated, setting his jacket atop the counter.  “Are you really the expert on this?” he frowned at her, taking a worn case from his pocket.

“Why?” Amelia switched on the computer system, giving Banner a sideways smile.  “Don’t I look like a scientist?”

Banner shrugged quickly, “No, I just, I mean, you look like a…”

“Like a kid, it’s okay.” Amelia told him, “You can say it.”

Her dad liked to, and often.  It was his favourite thing to remind her of.

“So, what’s your story then, why are you really here?” Banner tucked a pair of wire framed glasses atop his nose.  “Why’s Fury got you here?”

“I make good coffee.” She jested, forming a collection of contacts for them to call.  “Don’t say I told but Fury likes it with cinnamon sprinkled on top.”

“Funny.” Banner offered her a half smile, “You don’t seem like a secretary to me.”

“I believe they’re called personal assistants now.”

“You can’t be a day out of college.” Banner began tinkering with their own spectrometer. 

“You earned your first doctorate before leaving high school.” Amelia pointed out, “Looks can be deceiving.”

“You don’t look like a biochemist, is all I’m trying to say.”

“That’s because I’m not.” Amelia told him truthfully, “My expertise is in social sciences and electrical engineering, but I also wasn’t lying about the coffee.”

“What are you doing working on the cube, then?”

“Call it a hobby.”

“Space cubes aren’t a hobby.”

“You want my full resume or something, Doc?” Amelia snapped, pausing in her search to stare at him and she proceeded to tick off each of her degrees on her finger.  She’s racked up quite the list, including a doctorate or two.  “Not bad for a kid, huh?”

“No.” Banner shook his head, adjusting his glasses, “Not bad at all.”

Amelia could see it still wasn’t enough for him and her shoulders slumped.  She couldn’t very well blurt out her parentage, or rather she didn’t want to.  Steve’s presence here complicated that enough, she didn’t want someone like Doctor Banner thinking she was just here to keep her father in check.  In truth, Amelia was here to find some answers, but the good doctor didn’t need to know that either. 

“Then again, I’m not you.” Amelia leant against the table, staring him down, distracting him with his own past. 

“What’s that mean?”

“Seven Ph.D.’s.” Amelia held up seven fingers to emphasize her point, repeating the number for effect.

“Yeah, and look where it got me.”

“Not all heroes wear capes, Doctor Banner.”

“I’m nobody’s hero, trust me.”

Amelia offered him a comforting smile.  “Not yet, maybe.”

 They fell into a comfortable silence after that. 

Turns out, SHIELD held sway with a lot of laboratories across the globe, dozens across Europe and North America, several in South America, a few in Australia and the East and two or three in Africa.  Even one in the Arctic.  Amelia wasn’t sure how much use that one would be, but it was still good to know. 

Amelia’s diversion worked, so much that he stopped giving her a raised eyebrow, stopped looking at her at all as he focused on constructing his algorithm, and it gave Amelia ample opportunity to do her own digging.

Time for some answers, Fury, even if you don’t want to give them yourself.

Chapter Text

Nothing.  Amelia dropped her head into her hands.  How could she find nothing? A momentary distraction to confirm the correct identification of Mister Space Punk over in Germany, and hours spent digging and still nothing.  If Amelia worked any harder she’d trigger the security protocols, her own security protocols, and she didn’t want to do that. 

Instead, she’d taken to walking about the helicarrier, leaving Banner alone in his lab, tinkering away trying to detect the cube.  Anything she could learn about this majestic beast worked to clear the itch in her mind.  Amelia spent most of her time in the engine room, pouring over the turbine mechanics, bugging some of the technicians with questions until one of them caved in and gave her the grand tour.  After that, she found herself a large cup of coffee and stifled a yawn as the corridor went quiet. 

A squad of heavily armed SHIELD agents marched down the corridor towards her, a shiver running up Amelia’s spine as her brown eyes connected with a pair of icily blue ones, the monstrous shadow of a smile on his thin lips knitting her brows together in a frown.  He kept her gaze locked in hers as they escorted him down the corridor, hands chained behind him, a knowing look to the ice that startled Amelia.  What do you know?

Amelia released a breath as he disappeared around the corner, nothing but the sound of marching boots trailing after him and Amelia stood watching until Natasha came to find her, still suited up.

“Hey.” The redhead nudged her elbow, voice tentative.  “Everything alright?”

Amelia hesitated.  “Fury tell you what happened the night he came?”

Natasha nodded lightly, the two of them walking along the corridor.  “Something just hasn’t sat right since then.” Amelia explained, “And seeing him again…” she suppressed another shiver, painting a reassuring smile over her clouded features.  “It’s nothing, probably just in my head.”

Natasha’s concern didn’t disappear as they made their way to the bridge.  The more Amelia acted normal, the more she slapped on the reassuring smile, brightened the twinkle in her brown eyes, the further Natasha’s frown grew. 

A man stood by the railings, blond hair reaching to his shoulders, sleeveless tunic revealing thick muscular arms and broad shoulders capped with red material, the entire ensemble like something out of Lord of the Rings and Amelia looked him up and down with curious eyes.  He turned as they entered, Amelia’s boots giving her away, and she found a thoughtful look on his stubbled features. 

“Amelia meet Thor.” Natasha introduced and left Amelia with her hello caught in her throat.

“You’re kidding, right?” she whispered, raising an eyebrow as the muscled man bowed his head in greeting. 

“Wish I was.” Natasha replied, settling in a chair by the conference table.

Amelia smiled at Thor, nodding her head in reply, and slowly made her way round to hover near Steve.  “First space cubes and now Norse mythology come to life.” She whispered to herself, rubbing at her forehead.

“You look like you need something stronger than coffee.” Steve mused, smiling warmly at her.

Amelia tapped the cup with one finger, returning his smile as she glimpsed the red, white and blue suit.  “Are you offering, Mister Rogers?”

“Would you like me to, Miss Amelia?” 

Her reply was cut off by the beep of the security feed and Amelia watched over Steve’s shoulder.  Fury had the security protocol enabled as soon as Loki was secure in the cell, the circular hatch opening to reveal the open skies below, the draft flapping the bottom of Fury’s long leather coat. 

“Ant.” He gestured to Loki then to the console.  “Boot.”

Amelia shivered again, earning a concerned frown from Steve, as the memory of that night washed through her.  The way Loki so easily regarded them as nothing but insects to be squashed, the fear rippling through her at such savagery. 

Loki chuckled, stepping slowly away from the glass.  “It’s an impressive cage.” He held his hands up carelessly.  “Not built, I think, for me.”

Amelia couldn’t help it, pity swarming her chest as her gaze flickered briefly to Banner, recalling the footage Steve watched on the flight over.  The echo of his inhuman roar. 

“Built for something a lot stronger than you.” Fury said without hesitation.

“Oh, I’ve heard.” Loki peered straight into the camera with such a piercing gaze, almost eager, and Amelia wanted to glance away.  “A mindless beast, makes play he’s still a man.” Now Amelia wasn’t the only one who glanced up, finding Banner trying to melt into the wall, to disappear completely.  “How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?”

“How desperate am I?” Fury repeated intensely, “You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can’t hope to control, you talk about peace and you kill because it’s fun.” He stepped right up to the glass, unafraid of the devil within. “You have made me very desperate, you might not be glad that you did.”

“It burns you to have come so close.” Loki mocked, “To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power, and for what?” A sick smile spread across his pale lips.  “A warm light for all mankind to share and then to be reminded what real power is.”

“A warm light?” Amelia whispered to herself, clutching her coffee tighter, her brow furrowing. 

Fury held Loki’s gaze for a moment then turned away, strolling from the glass and calling back over his shoulder as if talking to a friend, a dislikeable and downright creepy friend.  “Well, let me know if ‘real power’ wants a magazine or something.”

A warm light for all mankind, what did he mean by that? He didn’t look like the kind of man to make idle jabs, empty and meaningless.  No, there was a lot more to Loki than met the eye and Amelia got the sense they’d end up paying for that comment.  Something about Loki, the way he behaved, it unsettled her, the way he so casually got himself caught.  For someone who made such a grand entrance the other night she expected more of a fight, more of a struggle.  He made it easy for them and in Amelia’s experience things were never easy.

“You alright?” Steve queried quietly as the feed disappeared, his blue eyes trained on Amelia’s white knuckles clutching her cup.

She loosened her grip.  “Just thinking.” She told him with a quick smile.

“He really grows on you, doesn’t he?” Banner joked, his arms crossed over his chest and an uncomfortable look in his eye.

“Loki’s gonna drag this out.” Steve stated, “So, Thor, what’s his play?”

“He has an army called the Chitauri.” The Asgardian answered, staring off into nothing, rubbing his forefinger and thumb together in thought.  “They’re not of Asgard, nor any world known.” He turned to them slowly, dropping his arms.  “He means to lead them against your people, they will win him the Earth and in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.”

Amelia’s frown burrowed.  All of this for the Tesseract? Suddenly what occurred the other night seemed all the more important to Amelia and a pit formed in the bottom of her stomach. 

“An army… from outer space.” Steve repeated with an air of disbelief, gaze flickering to Amelia and she took a long gulp of coffee. 

“So, he’s building another portal.” Banner concluded, folding up his glasses.  “That’s what he needs Erik Selvig for.”

“Selvig?” Thor frowned.

“He’s an astrophysicist.” Amelia told him.

Recognition sparked in Thor’s eyes, “He’s a friend.”

“Loki has him under some kind of spell.” Natasha explained, releasing a short breath.  “Along with one of ours.”

“I want to know why Loki let us take him.” Steve wondered, “He’s not leading an army from here.”

Too easy.  Amelia felt relieved to not be the only one thinking it and leaned back against the railing, cradling her coffee closely.

“I don’t think we should be focusing on Loki.” Banner disagreed, “That guy’s brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him.”

“Have care how you speak.” Thor warned and took a step towards them.  “Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard and he is my brother.”

“He killed eighty people in two days.” Natasha replied bluntly.

Thor blinked, “He’s adopted.”

“I think it’s about the mechanics.” Banner theorized, “Iridium? What do they need the iridium for?”

“It’s a stabilizing agent.”

Amelia’s gaze snapped up when she heard her father’s voice, a flicker of fear stabbing her chest and she thought if she leaned hard enough into the guard rail it might swallow her.    

Tony walked sideways to face Coulson as they both entered, mumbling something Amelia couldn’t hear, before tucking his hands in the pockets of his suit pants, jacket unbuttoned. 

“It means the portal won’t collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD.” Tony explained, weathered eyes taking stock of the room as he casually strolled towards the table, his steps faltering when they fell on Amelia and he blew out an exhausted breath before continuing.  “No hard feelings, Point Break, you’ve got a mean swing.” Tony tapped Thor’s arm as he stepped past.  “Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants.” He stopped in front of Fury’s screens at the head of the walkway.  “Raise the mizzenmast, jib the topsails.” He joked and Amelia suppressed a sigh.  “That man is playing Galaga.” He stuck his hand out, pointing.  “He thought we wouldn’t notice, but we did.” Tony turned to the controls with a frown, jokingly covering one eye with a hand before turning.  “How does Fury even see these?”

“He turns.” Hill answered flatly.

“Sounds exhausting.” Tony started playing with the controls, “The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily.” Tony took his other hand out his pocket.  “The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density.” Amelia noticed him stick something to the underside of the screens and he shot her a subtle wink.  “Something to kick-start the cube.”

“When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?” Hill scrutinized, asking what they were all thinking.

“Last night.” He shrugged off-handedly, his gaze flicking to Amelia, “Isn’t that right, dearest?”

Amelia swallowed, shuffling on her feet as every pair of eyes glanced to her but she only saw the confused frown denting Steve’s broad features.  “Can we not do this now?” she insisted, flashing a warning look at the others gathered.

“When were you gonna tell me?” Tony demanded, ignoring her.  “I thought I made it abundantly clear what I thought.”

“It wasn’t your decision to make.” Amelia reminded him darkly, “Now can we please focus on the problem at hand?” 

“This is the problem at hand, sweetling.” Tony hissed, flashing a bitter smile.  “I don’t want my daughter in the firing line.”

Amelia winced at the slip.  Cats out the bag now.  The corner of Natasha’s lip perked knowingly, leaning back in her chair as she watched the exchange, putting the pieces together about Amelia’s squirrelly behaviour aboard the ship. 

“Wait.” Steve tried to interject, his frown deeper and dread filled the pit in Amelia’s stomach, and he raised disappointed eyes.  “She’s your daughter?” Steve directed the question more to Amelia than anyone else.

“Oh, that makes a lot of sense.” Banner muttered to himself and Amelia shot him a narrow eyed look.

“Amelia has been working on a way for us to harness the Tesseract’s energy.” Hill announced and Amelia winced for the second time.

“Really?” she whispered, feeling the burn of Tony’s glare.  “You just gonna out me like that?”

“You and I need to have a serious talk about this whole not paying attention to your father thing.” Tony warned, dropping his voice so only Amelia could hear.  “We’ll finish this later.”

“Yes, god, please.” Amelia breathed, hoisting herself up to perch precariously on the metal railing.  Ignoring the burn of blue eyes.

“The packet, Selvig’s notes, the extraction theory papers…” Tony paused, glaring at Amelia sideways, “Yours, I presume?” Tony blew out another frustrated breath as Amelia gave him a half shrug.  “Am I the only one who did the reading?” Tony spread his arms wide, offended.

“Now who’s the nerd?” Amelia smirked, hiding it behind a sip of coffee.

“Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?” Steve asked seriously, his back firmly set against Amelia and her shoulders slumped, eyes trained on her fingernail scratching at the cup.

Well, that could’ve been worse.  Amelia frowned, immediately disagreeing with herself.  No, it probably couldn’t. 

“He would have to heat the cube to one hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier.” Banner explained, pacing lightly on the spot, folded glasses clasped between his hands.

“Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnelling effect.”

“Well, if he could do that he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet.”

“Finally, someone who speaks English.” Tony grinned, stepping over to shake Banner’s hand and Amelia felt only mildly offended.

Steve glanced around at everyone but her, “Is that what just happened?”

“It’s good to meet you, Doctor Banner, your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled.” He complimented, “And I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster.”

Amelia let out an embarrassed breath as Banner gave him a shaky thanks.

“Doctor Banner is only here to track the cube.” Fury announced as he returned to the bridge, strolling right to the front of the table.  “I was hoping you might join him.”

Amelia watched Tony’s gaze darken as he met Fury’s one eye, bearded jaw clenching, the others oblivious to the unspoken conversation occurring between them.

Did he have some kind of arrangement with Fury? To keep Amelia away, out of SHIELDs grasp? Is that why he looked so mad? Amelia couldn’t think of another explanation.

“I’d start with that stick of his.” Steve suggested, “It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon.”

“I don’t know about that, but it is powered by the cube.” Fury answered, breaking Tony’s gaze.  “And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.”

“Monkeys?” Thor frowned, giving a confused shake of his head as the metaphor fell flat on his ears.  “I do not understand.”

“I do.” Steve blurted, straightening in his chair with a pointed finger at Fury and a soft smile lined Amelia’s lips even as her father gave a dramatic roll of his eyes.  “I understood that reference.” Steve flashed a momentary smile, his head jerking toward her but he fell short of looking, gloved hands clenching into a fist atop the table.

The look in Tony’s eye wiped the smile off her face instantly.  “Shall we play, Doctor?” Tony invited and Banner gestured for him to follow.  “You too, Sparkplug.”

Amelia’s eyes didn’t leave Steve’s back.  “Actually, I…”

“That wasn’t a request.” Tony called back, already leaving with the doctor.

Amelia made a frustrated noise, hopping off the railing, when Fury blocked her path.  “He was going to find out eventually.”

Amelia looked deep into his one eye.  “Why am I here?” Fury hadn’t given her a straight answer since this whole thing started and Amelia was beginning to suspect something more than just espionage as her father suggested.  “Because it’s sure as hell got nothing to do with the cube.”

She stepped away before he could respond, features dropping when she found Steve’s chair already empty.  Tony just had to come striding in as he always did, revealing the truth when Amelia wanted it all kept quiet. 

“You could’ve given me a heads up.” She spat at Coulson on her way past and he just shrugged, unhelpful as always.

Should she have told him from the beginning? Amelia never even stopped to ask herself why she didn’t tell him.  Things would’ve been easier then, they wouldn’t have fallen into this trap.  They could’ve caught up, Steve could’ve told her stories about her grandfather, Amelia could’ve given him a download on all things twenty-first century, and everything would be fine. 

Instead, she had to make things difficult.  Amelia didn’t want him to act any different than around her.  People tended to be weird when they knew, and Steve would’ve been no different.  Treating her as Howard Starks granddaughter, seeing him instead of her.  Amelia didn’t want that.  She wanted Steve to see her as… well… her.  Not some dead American hero. 

Amelia returned to the lab as she’d left it, dumping her now empty coffee cup in the bin, and woke up the sleeping screens.  Banner got back to work on tracking the cube, adjusting his algorithm, glancing up when Amelia returned. 

“Where is he?” Amelia asked when she found Banner alone, checking the readings from the spectrometers.

“He said to meet him in the east hangar bay.” Banner told her, “He didn’t seem happy.”

Amelia tapped the doorframe.  “He never is.” She pushed away from the lab, following the detailed signage down further into the helicarrier.

Whatever windows she passed showed nothing but the dark night air, a few shrouded clouds passing by, and Amelia could sense a layer of unease in all those she passed.  No one seemed content having the worlds most wanted locked up on the ship, as if he was about to pop up out of thin air right in front of them.  It wouldn’t surprise Amelia, she’d read the report from New Mexico, she knew what these Asgardians were capable of.  Add that on top of everything that had already happened and she wouldn’t be surprised to find the psycho down below just a decoy, some weird magic he whipped up for the fun of it.  He certainly seemed capable of it. 

She found her father in the east hangar guiding the container holding his suit further into the bay, the metal landing with a thud as the crank dropped it, and Tony double checked the cargo before locking the thick iron doors, a storm crossing his features when he turned to find Amelia watching.  He’d changed since the bridge, wearing a simple pair of jeans and a Black Sabbath t-shirt, the arc reactor’s glow showing through the material. 

He tapped two fingers against his palm, holding her gaze for a moment before crossing his arms over his chest.  “Really, just really?” he accused, “You were set to join Stark Industries once you finished, I thought that’s what you wanted?”

“In my defence, you were never supposed to find out.”

Tony threw up his hands in disbelief, “That makes me feel a whole lot better.”

“What did you expect me to do?” Amelia reasoned exhaustedly, “They were researching space energy, Dad, space energy.”

“I expect you to say no.” Tony replied, his frown deepening, “SHIELD is dangerous, I don’t want you anywhere near it.”

“SHIELD is currently doing some of the most innovative research in renewable power, and unlike some, they actually value my expertise.”

Tony recoiled but Amelia stood by the jab.  “That was your research, wasn’t it? The organized chaos?” he ran a hand through his hair, “God, I knew it.”

“You wanted to know why they didn’t consult a Stark when in actuality they did.” Amelia confirmed, “They just didn’t ask you.”

“That’s why you know so much about it.” Tony concluded and suddenly his eyes popped, taking a strong step toward her.  “You were there, weren’t you?”

Amelia set her jaw, giving Tony the only answer he needed and he blew out a disbelieving breath.  “What if you had died, huh, what then?”

“Now you know how I feel when you keep throwing yourself at death and expecting a comeback.”

“This isn’t funny, Amelia.”

“No, you’re right, it’s not.” Amelia snapped, “But you know what is funny?” she stepped up closer, right into his face.  “How you think you can keep dictating the choices in my life.” She shook her head emptily.  “You think you can take away Stark Industries, give me some holding position once I graduate, and that’s enough?”

“Amelia…”

“No.” Amelia cut him off with a yell.  “I know you think you’re protecting me, but SHIELD thinks I am valuable, they listen to what I have to say and I won’t give that up.” She took a step away.  “They’ve given me exactly what you took, a chance to prove myself, so either get on board or shut the hell up because that ain’t changing anytime soon.” Amelia twisted on her feet before Tony could get another word in, pausing only once to call back over her shoulder.  “Doctor Banner needs us in the lab, are you coming, or not?”

She knew that wouldn’t be the end of it, Tony would outlive God trying to have the last word and by the look in his eye Amelia had a thunderstorm of rage coming her way.  She’d known he wouldn’t like her decision, the anger wasn’t unexpected, it’s why she hadn’t told him in the first place, she’d just hoped to avoid it all together.  Her work with SHIELD was only supposed to be temporary, she hadn’t expected it to last so long, let alone be invited onto a project on space energy.  Once Amelia started it just seemed to be one thing after another, drawing her back in with each consultation.

They returned to find Banner alone in the lab with Loki’s sceptre, the long carved stick resting on a stand before the long windows, the artificial light reflecting off the brilliant gold, casting tiny globules of light around the pristine lab.

Amelia lingered on the other side of the lab, wary of getting too close, the base of her skull throbbing as it remembered the way the Tesseract threw her across the room.  No way did she want to risk that happening again, especially on a metal boat thousands of feet in the air. 

That same shiver of familiarity skittered down her spine as the orb drew her gaze, the ghostly blue glow pulsing, the alien tendrils of mist sparking at its crystalline container as if jerking towards her.  She knew it was all in her head, the guys were probably thinking the same thing, but she took a subtle breath to shake the anxiety crawling its way down her throat.

“Certainly looks straight out a sci-fi flick.” Tony commented, crouching before the surface so he was at eye level with the weapon.

Banner nodded absently, “Strange to think such a tiny thing could cause so much damage.” Amelia glanced over the security footage taken from their recent trip to Germany, playing it on a loop to distract from the misty orb.

Banner shook his head, frowning at the thing.  A glimmer of scientific curiosity in his spectacled eyes.  “I mean, it’s incredible, to hold so much power.”

“Incredible ain’t the word I’d use.” Tony murmured, “And Cap thinks it’s some Nazi hand-me-down?”

“He has a point.” Amelia agreed, raising some of the grainy war footage from last night’s reading and twisting the monitor to show them.

The footage only lasted a few seconds, you probably wouldn’t catch it if you weren’t looking, but that brief flash of ghostly blue light that blasted through the pixelated smoke definitely resembled the orb, before a red, white and blue shield bounced out of nowhere to destroy the camera.  Amelia played the feed taken from Germany beside it, the video showing Loki as he decimated multiple flashing police cars with an almost identical blast of blue energy. 

“Very similar, wouldn’t you say?” She tapped the screen as the blasts flickered simultaneously.

“So the man out of time knows his supernatural.” Tony straightened to his full height, taking a scanner from a compartment beneath the counter.  “Doesn’t mean he’s right.”

“If the Tesseract powered the HYDRA weaponry, and the sceptre acts a lot like it, don’t you think it’s worth assessing?”

“I didn’t say that.” Tony defended with a pointed finger.

“No.” Amelia sighed, twisting the screen to its previous position.  “You’re just annoyed Steve thought of it first.”

Tony opened and shut his mouth like a fish at the accusation, childish frown crinkling his forehead and even Banner glanced up from his console with a raised eyebrow.

“Since when is he Steve?” Tony shot and Amelia’s hand hesitated over the screen, a momentary pause.

“Since the moment he told me to call him that.” Amelia lied and Tony crossed his arms over his chest, scrutinizing her with a narrow-eyed look.  “You got a problem with his name, now?”

“I do coming from you.”

Amelia returned his narrow-eyed look, pretending she understood his jab with a fake laugh.  “Very funny.”

“Not joking.” Tony replied without skipping a beat.

Banner rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses on the other side of the counter as Amelia tested her father, trying to determine if he was bluffing or not, and whether she’d gain anything by calling it, coming to the overall conclusion he was serious.  Actually serious. 

“As much as I’m loving this father-daughter back and forth thing you guys got going on, I’d like to get back to work, now.” Banner interjected, taking the decision away from her.  “And, just so you know, I don’t.” he shrugged, “Love it, I mean.”

Tony held her gaze another moment, dropping his arms.  “Thanks for the update, Doc.” He slapped the table twice as he returned to the scanner.

Tony programmed the system as Amelia made herself comfortable atop the counter, tucking her legs neatly underneath her as she watched them work, content to remain as far from the godly stick as she could and fiddle with her nails.

“The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig’s reports of the Tesseract but it’s going to take weeks to process.” Banner reported from the readings he took off the scanner, waving it over the sceptre. 

Weeks? They had hours, minutes even, they needed that cube yesterday. 

“If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer cluster we can clock this at around six hundred teraflops.” Tony added, tapping an input into the monitor.

“All I packed was a toothbrush.” Banner mused and Tony gave him a soft chuckle.

“You know, you should come by Stark Tower sometime.” Tony invited as he finished with the monitor, stepping around to join Banner at the sceptre and rubbing a hand across his chin.  “Top ten floors, all R&D, you’d love it, it’s candy land.” Tony picked up a sharp tool as he passed and Amelia frowned.  What did he need a lancet for?

“Thanks,” Banner replied appreciatively, “But the last time I was in New York I kind of… broke Harlem.”

“Well, I promise a stress-free environment.” Tony sidestepped the counter, fiddling with the lancet as he slowly walked around the working scientist.  “No tension, no surprises.” Tony poked the lancet into Banner’s side and the man startled, releasing a calm shriek, staring at Tony with an incredulous frown. 

“Nothing?” Tony questioned, pleasantly disappointed, peering into Banner’s face, hoping for some kind of reaction. 

“Are you nuts?” Steve provoked and Amelia almost tore off a nail, sucking at the sudden soreness in her fingertip as she looked up and followed him as he strode into the laboratory.

“Jury’s out.” Tony quipped, sparing a one second glance for the living legend before returning to a smiling Banner.  “You really have got a lid on it, haven’t you? What’s your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?”

“Is everything a joke to you?” Steve fumed, thumbs hooked under his belt and Amelia could see the irritable frown creasing his forehead even with his back to her.

Tony waved the lancet at Steve.  “Funny things are.” He relaxed his features.

“Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn’t funny.” Steve stated, “No offense, Doc.”

“It’s alright.” Banner assured him, sparing a glance for Tony who simply smirked ruefully at the captain.  “I wouldn’t have come aboard if I couldn’t handle pointy things.” 

“You’re tip-toing, big man.” Tony grinned, tapping the lancet against his open palm.  “You need to strut.”

“And you need to focus on the problem.” Steve scolded and Amelia took her finger from her mouth to muffle a derisive chuckle.

“Do you think I’m not?” Tony overshadowed the smirk with a casual frown, exchanging the lancet for a packet of blueberries and ripping open the seal.  “Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn’t he telling us?” Amelia perked up, her back straightening and she recalled the tiny disc Tony deposited on the bridge.  “I can’t do the equation unless I have all the variables.”

The corner of Amelia’s lip perked.  Sneaky son of a bitch.

Steve glanced over them both sceptically.  “You think Fury’s hiding something?”

“He’s a spy, Captain.” Tony answered, “He’s the spy, his secrets have secrets.” Tony chucked a couple blueberries into his mouth, waving over at Banner.  “It’s bugging him too, isn’t it?”

Banner stumbled for his words, glancing unsurely between the three of them.  “I just want to finish my work here, and…”

“Doctor?” Steve prompted, the bumbling proving the exact opposite of what Banner intended. 

Banner gave them all a second look as he took off his glasses, releasing a breath.  “A warm light for all mankind.” He repeated and Amelia leaned forward.  “Loki’s jab at Fury about the cube.”

Steve nodded, “I heard it.”

“Well, I think that was meant for you.” Banner pointed his glasses at Tony who offered him the open packet as a prize for guessing correctly.  “Even if Barton didn’t tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news.” Banner stuck his hand in the packet, picking one out.

“The Stark Tower?” Steve raised his eyebrows, “That big, ugly building in New York?”

Tony levelled an unappreciative look at Steve as Banner continued.  “It’s powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source.” He ran the blueberry between his fingers.  “That building will run itself for, what, a year?”

“It’s just the prototype.” Tony shrugged, juggling the packet.  “I’m kind of the only name in clean energy right now, that’s what Fury’s getting at.”

“So, why not bring Stark Industries in on the Tesseract project?” Banner asked rhetorically, “What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?”

A blueberry hit Amelia in the cheek, bouncing off her leg to tumble to the floor and snapped her from the tiny frown unconsciously growing atop her forehead.  “For someone who knows more than any of us on this, you’re being uncharacteristically quiet.” Tony accused, firing another blueberry at Amelia and she jerked her head, catching it straight in her mouth, the sweet taste exploding on her tongue.

Finally, Steve twisted to look at her, his body angled away from her, but he cast the same question at her with his eyes, the look plagued by several other questions that brought a fresh wave of guilt.  “Not all of us like talking as much as you.” Amelia hopped off the table, bending to retrieve the dropped blueberry and chucked it into the disposal.  “And some of us are better at keeping secrets.” She strode past Steve, regretting the poor choice of words instantly as his accusatory gaze followed her, to yank the phone from Tony’s pocket.  “Has Jarvis finished running the decryption yet?”

“I’m sorry, the what?” Steve exclaimed as Amelia checked the slow-going progress bar.

A smile perked her lips, “Seems my network is giving him a run for his money.”

“Those are your security protocols, are you kidding?” Tony snatched back his phone.  “I’d be impressed if I weren’t so impatient.”

“You’ll get there.” Amelia comforted him patronizingly, “Not even I could program a network strong enough to keep out Jarvis.”

“Wait, you’ve been here longer, why didn’t you crack it sooner?”

Amelia shrugged, “I didn’t wanna give them a reason not to invite me back.”

“What are you talking about?” Steve blurted, his frown growing.

Tony waved his phone around.  “In a few hours, I’ll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide.”

Steve’s chest rose in a disapproving breath.  “Yet you’re confused about why they didn’t want you around.”

“An intelligence organization that fears intelligence?” Tony questioned, “Historically, not awesome.”

“They had intelligence.” Steve reminded him bluntly, “They had your daughter.” The accusation rested heavy in his bitter tone, in the way he looked down on her and Amelia clenched her jaw.  “I think Loki’s trying to wind us up.” Steve surmised, “This is a man who means to start a war and if we don’t stay focused, he’ll succeed.” He glanced at each of them in turn, lingering slightly on Amelia, driving in the wedge and she bristled, catching sight of Tony watching them excruciatingly closely in the corner of her eye.  “We have orders, we should follow them.”

“Followings not really my style.” Tony quipped, drawing the attention away from his daughter as he chucked another couple blueberries into his bearded mouth.

Steve drew himself up in a challenge, as if to jump on some high horse.  “And you’re all about style, aren’t you?”

“Of the people in this room,” Tony frowned lightly, wagging a finger around at them all.   “Which one is A, wearing a spangly outfit, and B, not of use?”

Amelia gave Tony a warning look before sharing Banner’s concern, the two of them stuck in the middle of the rising tension.  “Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?” Banner asked softly before things got out of hand.

Steve regarded them a final time, shooting them all a scathing look.  “Just find the cube.” He instructed bluntly, ignoring the question.  Ignoring Amelia even as he swept from the laboratory, his arm brushing hers on the way out, the door sliding shut behind him. 

“That’s the guy my dad never shut up about?” Tony shook his head, returning to the scanner system with a shake of his head.  “I’m wondering if they shouldn’t have kept him on ice.”

Banner strolled across the lab with his console, adjusting some of the parameters in the tracker he set to look for the cube.  “The guy’s not wrong about Loki, he does have the jump on us.” Banner agreed and Amelia had the feeling he didn’t want to get sucked into the chip on Tony’s shoulder.

“What he’s got is an Acme dynamite kit, it’s gonna blow up in his face.” Tony scoffed, “And, I’m gonna be there when it does.”

Amelia knew Tony had unresolved issues, but none of that had anything to do with Steve.  Tony’s problem lay with his father, not with Steve, and Amelia wouldn’t stand around and let it happen. 

“God, would you please just get over yourself.” She blurted, swatting his arm as she stormed from the lab.

A quick glance either way showed no sign of Steve, he was long gone, and Amelia set her jaw.  It would take them another couple of hours to track down the Tesseracts location and she’d hoped to get in a nap at least, Amelia knew if she kept pumping herself with caffeine she’d eventually mess up and today was not a day for making mistakes. 

But no, instead Amelia spent close to an hour on the lookout for a man a head taller than her, brown eyes hunting for those broad shoulders and blond hair.  The distinctive suit made it easy enough to find him, Amelia just went around asking if anyone had seen a man wearing what she could only describe as a red, white and blue scuba suit.  It made Amelia wonder exactly how involved Coulson had been with the redesign.

Eventually she found him wandering the corridors of the lower levels, obviously looking for something, and a scowl leaked onto his features when he spotted Amelia coming down the stairwell. 

“Wait.” Amelia called, rushing the last few steps as Steve started to change direction.  “Now, come on, let me explain.”

“What’s to explain?” he muttered as she fell into step beside him, skipping every now and again to keep up with his long strides.  “You lied to me.”

“Technically, I never lied.” Amelia corrected, “I just didn’t tell the whole truth.”

Steve gave her a sideways glare.  “So, when I asked you, if there was anything else I should know…?”

“I tried.” Amelia defended, “It is not my fault Coulson interrupted.” Steve shook his head in disbelief and Amelia recoiled irritably. “And if I had told you?” Amelia narrowed her gaze accusingly, “Would you have spoken to me the same way you spoke to my father?”

Of course not, his eyes said, but Amelia wouldn’t believe it till his mouth said it too.  “You’re a Stark.” He exclaimed, “You should have told me yesterday when I…” Steve threw a glance around the bare corridor, only two agents muttering near the bend to overhear them.  “When we…”

“And if I had told you, would you have agreed to go?” Amelia challenged, trying to catch his gaze.  “You think I wanted you speaking to me like how you spoke to my Dad?”

Steve deflated, features softening.  “Your Dad is not… he’s…”

“I know, he can be difficult sometimes.” Amelia admitted and Steve raised his eyebrows.  “But if I’d have told you, you’d have done the exact same thing.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Really?” Amelia propped a hand on her hip.  “Can you look me in the eye and say that?” Steve stayed silent, setting his jaw stubbornly and Amelia nodded disappointedly.  “I didn’t think so.”

Steve moved to brush past her.  “You still should have told me.”

For god’s sake, why did he have to be so tall?  Amelia didn’t bother catching up, he’d be back in a minute, it was just a waste of her energy.  “I’m not gonna apologize, if that’s what you’re after.” She called after him.

“Then why are you still here?” he shot over his shoulder.

“Because if you’re looking for Fury’s secrets, you’re going the wrong way.”

Steve stopped dead in the corridor, the two agents throwing sceptical looks between them, and he offered an appeasing smile, twisting on his heel to come back.  “You did that on purpose.” He shot, grasping her arm and drawing her back towards the stairwell.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry.” Amelia reassured him, throwing a smile over her shoulder at the agents.  “People tend to take what I say with a pinch of salt around here.”

“No kidding.” Steve murmured idly and Amelia suppressed a sigh, another conversation for another time.  They were beginning to stack up on her.

A tiny frown crinkled her brow as warmth pressed into her skin and she realized Steve still had his hand gently grasping her arm, one glance at his hard look telling her he was completely oblivious too.  “Um, Steve?” she prompted and he caught her eyes, following her gaze to his fingers and quickly snapped them away.

Steve mumbled a quick apology and now he didn’t know what to do with them, letting them dangle at his side one minute, crossing them over his chest the next and finally hooking them under his belt.  He cleared his throat, “So, Fury’s secrets?”

“Right.” Amelia nodded, shaking off the sudden cold spot on her arm where his fingers were.

One thing she learned about Fury was that he liked to keep his secrets where he could see them.  Almost in plain sight but tucked just out of the way, somewhere you wouldn’t think of at first, but would kick yourself later for not thinking of it. 

The Tesseract project wasn’t exactly hidden away.  Yes, Fury had it buried down in a basement type lab, but Amelia suspected more for security than secrecy.  All you needed to do was press the right button on the elevator and skip down a spiralling flight of stairs and you were there, a man with exceptionally good eyesight the only security necessary.  

So, Amelia started with the hangar bay.  If Tony could store the suit here, why not something else? Something just as valuable, perhaps more so? Steve insisted on checking all the storage containers.  If Fury wanted to hide something from her, he wouldn’t make the mistake of giving her clearance, but she humoured him nonetheless.  No need to irritate America’s golden boy any more than she already had. 

Eventually – and Amelia meant eventually – they came to a storage unit Amelia couldn’t open, her security clearance only one below Fury himself, and she bent in front of the keypad.  “Hold on, I got this.” Amelia assured him, studying the numbers, trying to figure out which had been used most often and puzzle out the sequence.

“How long?” Steve queried, glancing over his shoulder, keeping a look out.

“Just, bear with me.” She shushed, none of them bearing any sign of use and she averted to her backup plan, searching for a way to pick off the panel and get stuck into the wires.

Amelia traced her fingers over the edges, discovering a grove between the panel and the wall, now if only she had something thin something tiny enough to dig in between the gap, she might be able to pry the thing off. 

She straightened, mischievous glint to her brown eyes as they flickered to the fancy belt around Steve’s waist, the corner of her lip perking and Steve shuffled on his feet, frowning.  “What?” Steve jumped backwards as Amelia reached for the belt without a word.  “Hey!”

“I need a wire.” She explained, taking a step closer and he took one back, swatting away her hands.  “Come on.” She gave a wry smile.  “I’ll be gentle.”

Steve bristled, taking a wide step around her to grip the door tightly, gritting his teeth as he popped the lock, gradually sliding it to the side and Amelia stood there watching with her head cocked sideways.  “Or we could do that.” She murmured, “That works too.”

The door slid back to reveal a dimly lit storage area with two floors and metal stairwells leading to darkened walkways, each crate with its own little light illuminating the content details. 

Steve gestured for Amelia to go first.  “How very gentlemanly.” Amelia smiled, stepping through the gap into relative darkness and she could tell he wanted to roll his eyes.

“I always try to be polite when breaking and entering.” Steve joked sarcastically, ducking through the entrance after her and pulling the door back into place.

“It’s only breaking and entering if we get caught.” Amelia replied jovially, already nudging off the lid of the nearest crate to get a peek inside, completely ignoring the little note on the front.

Steve gave her a flat look.  “It’s still breaking the rules.”

“Because you’re such a stickler for rules.” Amelia replaced the lid, only finding some kind of monitoring equipment inside.

“They make them for a reason.”

“Steve, you literally broke the law a dozen times trying to enlist.” She skipped over to peak into his box, finding yet another disappointment.

He glanced down at her, frowning softly.  “How’d you know about that?”

“High school history class, we did an entire week on you and the Howling Commandos.” Amelia answered, moving into the centre of the silent room, craning her neck to peer at the second level, nostalgic smile spreading across her cheeks as she remembered.  “They made us pick one of you to do a report on.”

“Who’d you choose?” He asked hesitantly, as if he didn’t really want the answer.

Amelia turned her head, catching Steve quickly look away before she could see the suddenly hard lines of his face, the shadows distorting the blue of his eyes and she let a soft smile touch her lips as she realized where this line of conversation was headed. 

“I didn’t.” She lied and gave him a soft shrug.  “Never thought much of history, to be honest, not when there’s nothing you can do about it anymore.”

Steve nodded idly, his focus on the open box in front of him, but she could see the tight set to his jaw, the distant look in his eye.  He didn’t need to know she wrote two thousand words on his best friend, a man he grew up with, a man who was nothing but a name on a page to Amelia.  It left her wondering how long ago, to him, it had been since the fall.  How long since he lost the only family he had left? A grief like that, so crushing, she imagined it still weighed on his shoulders. 

“There are lessons to be learned from the past.” Steve told her as he moved on to a second box, popping the lid.  “So we don’t make the same mistakes.”

Amelia watched him closely, even if he had his back to her, the weight of his tone nagging at her, as if he wanted to talk about something.  As if he were thinking of a specific moment, a specific mistake, he didn’t want a repeat of.  The obvious answer seemed too… well, obvious.  A man like Steve Rogers, he would give his life over and over again if it meant saving people, that wasn’t about to change anytime soon.  The fact he stood here, now, wearing that ridiculous costume, proved that much.  No, this was something personal, something that ran deep in his heart and Amelia was dying to find out why.

Instead, she popped one of the boxes across the aisle from him, choosing a less confrontational way of satisfying her curiosity.  Steve already had a chip on his shoulder because of her, no use wedging it in further.  

Sat inside was an alien looking tablet, the grey slate etched with intricate lines and strange circles.  Perfect circles in fact, Amelia didn’t think that was possible, yet here it was etched in some faded tablet.  Why did SHIELD have something like this when it so obviously belonged in a museum? Or maybe a nut house, Amelia couldn’t quite decide which was more appropriate. 

The next few boxes were the same.  Odd looking equipment, another old artefact that looked straight from the bronze age with more right in a museum than a state of the art helicarrier, and several prototypes linked to projects swept aside by the Phase Two priority.  Whatever that meant. 

“What are we looking for, anyway?” Amelia exclaimed once they started on the mezzanine floor, sick of rifling through crate after crate and finding only a paper cut.  “What are we looking for that we won’t find on the system?” she added afterwards, just to herself.

Amelia got silence in return, just as she had the last couple times she tried sparking a conversation.  The least he could do was acknowledge her, just a sound, a grunt, whatever.  Anything to let her know he actually heard her, instead of this grouchy silence.  Geez, they really knew how to hold a grudge in the golden days. 

“I get that you don’t want to talk to me.” Amelia vented, “But you could at least reply.”

Still nothing. 

Amelia frowned, ignoring the contents of her next box, and glanced over her shoulder to find Steve staring down into a crate, his fist gripping the lid so tightly it strained his red leather glove.  “Steve?”

A frown crinkled her forehead when he didn’t reply, so absolved by the contents Amelia wasn’t even sure he heard.  Her footsteps echoed around the cavernous room as she crossed the metal walkway towards him.  “Steve?” she asked again, gentler, catching the shock in his blue eyes, the anger seeping into the lines of his broad features.

Amelia peered inside the box, the warm light illuminating a rounded black helmet emblazoned with the curled tentacles of Hydra.  Next to it lay a menacing weapon, the barrel elongated like a rifle but chunky and thick, as if it shot bricks not bullets, but when her eyes found the slot for the magazine she found just a cartridge barely big enough to hold a dozen bullets.  Especially ones made during the war.  What on earth kind of weapon was this?  She budged closer to Steve, trying for a better look, and he barely noticed her hand on his arm keeping her balanced as she lifted onto her tiptoes.  Phase Two Priority, the information read and those three words filled Amelia with a dread unlike any she’d felt before.

All the other projects noted being shoved aside to make way for Phase Two, a couple of Amelia’s own suggestions had been bumped to make way.  Fury told her all focus was being put on the Tesseract, on finding a way to use it to humanity’s advantage, and yet now the pieces of Tony’s puzzle were beginning to slot into place.

Steve reached for the weapon, hauling it from the rustling straw and didn’t even bother replacing the lid as he stormed down the metal stairwell, Amelia following closely on his heel and with the sense to lock the storage unit behind her.

“Did you know about this?” Steve spared her a sideways glance as the two of them strode down the narrow hallways, several officers hopping out of their way when they saw the gun, and Amelia tried to ignore the dark accusation hanging in his words.

“Would you even believe me if I said no?” She snapped her reply, mimicking the implication.

Steve could call her a liar till he was blue in the face but she drew the line there.  Amelia did not sign up for weapons manufacturing, the very idea curled her insides.  All her research, everything she’d done, it had been to understand the cube, to find a way of harnessing its energy.  It was meant to help the world, produce a clean way of living, not harm it. 

Alarm bells started ringing as they reached the same level as the lab and Amelia shared one look with Steve before they both picked up the pace, hurrying down the grey hallways.  They must’ve cracked the security codes, either that or they were in for a world of hurt.  A pang of fear cut through her gut as Amelia’s thoughts led her down through the ship, down to the cage holding their mischievous foe.  What if he got out? No, that was stupid, that glass was thick enough to survive something much bigger.  It had to be Jarvis.

Amelia swiped her card to open the lab door, stepping in to find Fury facing off against Tony and Banner, her father’s face frowning at the cracked files on his screen.  “What is Phase Two?” he asked smugly.

A loud clang echoed through the lab as Steve dumped the clunky weapon atop the counter, drawing all eyes to them.  “Phase Two is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons.” Steve stated darkly, catching Tony’s narrow frown. 

Fury’s one eye glanced between him and Amelia, not even bothering to acknowledge the gun, and he raised a pacifying hand.  “Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract, this does not mean that we’re making…” Fury began, only to be interrupted by her father.

“I’m sorry, Nick.” Tony flipped the screen towards them as it displayed the breakdown of a modern weapon designed to utilize the cube.  “What were you lying?”

“You lied to me.” Amelia whirled on Fury, “You told me I was researching energy transference.”

“I was wrong, Director.” Steve shot disappointedly, brows furrowed, casting a long shadow across his broad features.  “The world hasn’t changed a bit.”

Fury stepped close to Amelia as the lab doors swept open a second time to admit Natasha and the blond Asgardian bombshell.  “Have you spoken a single word of truth to me?” Amelia shot, cutting off whatever meagre excuse he’d whipped up.  “Or did you just want the bragging rights of having a Stark on payroll?”

Amelia didn’t get her answer as Doctor Banner’s scathing tone cut across the lab.  “Did you know about this?” he used his glasses to point at the screen, his eyes boring into Natasha.

“You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?” Natasha suggested calmly, her body tensed as if every nerve was on end, her green eyes watching carefully for Banner’s movements and Amelia found herself doing the same.

“I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed.” Banner chuckled mirthlessly.

“Loki is manipulating you.” she took a steady step towards him.

“And you’ve been doing what, exactly?” Banner fired back and Amelia felt his frustration in every inch of her body.

He wasn’t the only one. 

“You didn’t come here because I bat my eyelashes at you.” Natasha reasoned.

“Yes, and I’m not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy.” Banner yanked at the screen as it displayed all the damning evidence.  “I’d like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction.”

All eyes turned to Fury in a second of apprehensive silence, only the distant hum of the turbines audible, the air lying thick with tension until Fury cut through it with an accusatory finger.  Fury jabbed it at Thor, the last answer any of them were expecting.  “Because of him.”

“Me?” Thor questioned, arms crossed over his chest, expressing the surprise they all felt.

“Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that levelled a small town.” Fury began to circle those gathered in the lab, glancing at each of them in turn and when it came to Amelia she held it with as much scrutiny as she could muster.  “We learned that not only are we not alone but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned.”

“My people want nothing but peace with your planet.” Thor defended, the only one oblivious to the bigger picture Fury hinted at.

“But you’re not the only people out there, are you? And you’re not the only threat.” Fury spelled it out for him.  “The world’s filling up with people who can’t be matched, that can’t be controlled.” Fury’s eye grazed over them all and a brief frown creased her forehead.  Had she imagined it, or had he lingered on her?

“Like you controlled the cube?” Steve accused and distracted her. 

“Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies.” Thor argued defensively, “It is a signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war.”

A worried frown overshadowed Steve’s broad features, “A higher form?”

“You forced our hand, we had to do something.” Fury justified, but for many of them that ship had already sailed.  No matter what happened when Thor came to earth, none of them would stand for the lying, the manipulating, especially Amelia.

“A nuclear deterrent.” Tony surmised, disappointment heavy in his tone.  “Because that always calms everything down.”

“Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark.” Fury snapped and Amelia’s feet moved instinctively, setting herself between them.

“Back off.” She bit, undeterred by his towering height and overbearing scowl.

Steve’s frown deepened at the responses, as if seeing an opportunity to hit two birds with one stone.  “I’m sure if Stark still made weapons, he would be neck deep…”

Or, in this case, two Starks, his bitterness cut off by the daggers firing from Amelia’s eyes. 

“Hold on.” Tony held up a hand, interrupting before Amelia tore him a new one.  “How is this now about me?”

“I’m sorry.” Steve quipped, patronizingly, “Isn’t everything?”

Fury blocked Amelia’s path as she tried to side step him, a storm rising in her round brown eyes.  “You saw first-hand the damage Loki wrought.” Fury reminded her, dropping his tone even as an onslaught of bickering erupted in the lab. 

Amelia planted herself, straightening her back.  “Humanity’s first opportunity to study something not of this planet, and the first thing you do is try to weaponize it?” she accused, “For once, I thought we might actually be doing some good and yet all you people wanna do is kill each other.” A mocking laugh left her tongue.  “What’s even worse is, you made me do it.”

“I thought humans were more evolved than this.” Thor spat unkindly and Amelia wished she wanted to disagree with him.

“Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?” Fury retorted and the squabbling broke out harder. 

Amelia wanted to jump right in the middle of it, she had an axe to grind like all the rest, but an ear piecing noise split her head and she bumped back into the counter, pressing a hand to her head and squeezing her eyes shut, features knotting together like a badly done fishing line.  She blinked heavily as her vision distorted, the splitting noise morphing into the worst migraine, and Amelia clutched the edge of the counter tightly, unnoticed by her arguing companions.  The glow of the sceptre's orb broke through all the blur, the ghostly blue piercing through the whine and it reflected brightly in her brown eyes, the coils writhing around the edges of her thoughts like smoky fingers. 

“Put it down.” Amelia cried, pain slicing through her head like a ricocheting bullet as Doctor Banner unconsciously lifted the sceptre in his frustration and suddenly Steve was at her side.  “I said put it down.”

The linoleum floor quivered beneath her feet, Steve’s hand gripping her arm the only thing keeping her upright, until Banner hurriedly dropped the sceptre back on its stand and a wave of calm relieved the pressure in her mind, a long shaky breath escaping her lips as her features smoothed.

Tony was at her side instantly, shoving Steve aside, and his worried brown eyes peered deep into hers.  “What is it, what hurts?” he fretted, eyes running up and down her body.

A loud beeper cut off Amelia’s reply, all their eyes darting towards the tracker by the corner, adding another layer of unnecessary tension to the lab.  Amelia pushed off the counter, stepping over to the screen before anyone else had the chance. 

“You located the Tesseract?” Thor prompted eagerly and Amelia gave a nod.

“I can get there fastest.” Tony’s hand shot into the air before Amelia had the chance to say where, as if Fury were some kindergartner teacher choosing the line monitor. 

“The Tesseract belongs on Asgard.” Thor argued and Amelia wasn’t about to argue with him, she just wanted the thing gone.  “No human is a match for it.”

“You’re not going alone.” Steve stuck his hand out in front of Tony.

Tony smacked it away, “You gonna stop me?”

“Put on the suit, let’s find out.” Steve straightened his broad shoulders, standing at least a head taller than her father.

“I’m not afraid to hit an old man.” Tony threatened and Amelia jumped between the two of them, Banner taking her place at the tracker.

“Stop it.” She hissed, giving them both a sharp look, “I thought I was supposed to be the child here.”

A rumble cut through the growing tension, something that definitely didn’t come from the engines, and Banner slowly took off his glasses, lips parting in shock.  “Oh my god.” He exclaimed just as fire erupted from the ventilation system under their feet.

Chapter Text

The force of the blast scattered them across the lab.  Glass shattered somewhere, Amelia barely heard it over the blast in her ears, and it threw her into the wall, a ripped gasp leaving her lips as she dropped to the floor, the smoke smudged across her cheek and stinging her eyes.

The acrid taste stuck at the back of her throat and she forced out a cough as she rolled onto her back, groaning, until Steve had his hands hovering by her shoulders.  “Are you alright?” he worried, helping her up.

“I should be used to this by now.” She whined, rubbing at her shoulder, and Steve had only a second to give her a confused frown before he was helping Tony onto his feet.

Fury tossed her an earpiece, and she slotted it in, tapping it until it sat comfortably just as Hill’s voice rang out.  “External detonation.” She reported, “Number three engine is down.”

“Somebody’s gotta get outside and patch that engine.” Amelia worried, gaze flickering to her shaken father still trying to blink away the stars.

“Get the suit.” Steve instructed, hands hovering around Tony as he stumbled through the broken door.

Amelia held the back of her hand to her nose, following them out into a dusty corridor, flames licking at the corners, a blanket of smoke lining the ceiling, and they hurried down the corridor.  “Not a word.” Amelia shot, holding up a single finger as Tony spotted her, opening his mouth to protest, and she took the lead down the corridor.

“He brought the fight to us, I don’t want you in the middle of it.” Tony growled as they paused to let an injured agent past. 

“I thought I said not a word?” Amelia spat back, red alarms blaring louder.

Tony gave her a frown, lingering at the intersection, “Amelia…”

“Get the suit.” She smiled sweetly, planting a kiss on his cheek before backing away in the other direction.  “We’ll meet you there.”

“Captain.” Tony called and the walking legend stopped dead, all hint of Tony’s jovial manner disappearing in an instant.  “Any harm comes to my daughter I’ll turn you into another popsicle myself.”

Something unspoken passed between them as Steve nodded his understanding and Amelia rolled her eyes, reaching out to tug Steve down the angry red corridor.  They didn’t have time for this.  “Turbines are this way.” She directed, darting down another corridor, this one tighter, Steve had to turn sideways just to squeeze past the oncoming traffic.

Eventually, after another tight corridor and several flights of rickety metal stairwells they came to the outer wall, coming across fewer agents and even more technicians until suddenly the traffic stopped.  “Do you hear that?” Steve frowned and Amelia stopped, the two of them listening along the final corridor.  “Come on.”

Steve took off at a run again, the corridor ending in a thick steel door, a single wheel fused to the middle, and eventually Amelia heard the frantic banging from the other side.  “How did you?...” the question died on her lips as he tore the metal door off its hinges, setting it aside and freeing the engineers trapped on the other side and she mumbled to herself.  “Super soldier, got it.”

Steve stepped through the hole, a strong wind blowing through, as Amelia sat the injured engineer down on a nearby crate.  “Stark, we’re here!” She heard him yell, the sound blowing through on the wind, her black hair ruffling. 

“Get him out of here.” Amelia waved them on, his buddy lifting him up and taking weight of his twisted ankle, not wanting either caught up in any crossfire.

Amelia slipped out onto the gangway, hair blowing all over the place as she climbed the rungs of a yellow safety ladder and Steve held a hand out as she reached the top.  Taking it, he pulled her up the rest of the way, her eyes grazing over the destruction, her curse lost on the manic wind.

The relays powering the turbine were in complete disarray, a great hole ripped in the outer rim and fire crackled in some places, the wind slowly killing it and creating a long stream of black smoke trailing away.  Metal debris dug into the sides, the panels curled back and scorched. 

Amelia pointed to the control panel a level up from where they stood, a fatal drop separating them from it.  “I need to get over there.” She yelled across the wind, holding back her frantic hair.

Steve stuck a finger into one of the several pouches at his belt, turning Amelia around with the other, and her soft frown smoothed as he started bunching her hair at the back of her head, using a stray piece of string to secure it.  “That better?”

“Sure.” she shrugged, a few tendrils snaking loose and she pointed to the panel again.  “But I still need to get over there.”

Steve nodded, lacing his fingers together and crouching low, providing Amelia with a foothold and he lifted her easily enough.  Amelia grabbed a broken girder, pulling herself up the rest of the way, reaching the higher gangway and Steve flipped himself up after her just as Tony flew past to hover in front of the worst damage. 

“What’s it look like?” Amelia asked, watching him assess.

Tony prodded the chilled tubes, testing.  “The superconducting coolant system is offline and it looks like there’s debris lodged in the rotors.”

“Can you clear it?”

“If you tell me which relays are in overload position.”

Amelia nodded, pointing out the panel to Steve and he hauled it loose of the larger system revealing a long line of complex matrix boards that glowed with a sickly orange light, red wires running haywire across it all.  “You understand this chaos?” Steve muttered, frowning at all the electrical wires and circuitry with adorable confusion.

Amelia followed a particular relay with a finger.  “There’s an art to it.” She smiled, tracing the specific link and nodded to herself, tapping the connection when she found an overloading relay.

“What does it look like in there?” Tony prompted and Amelia heard several bangs from the rotor tunnel as he worked to clear it.

“It seems to run on some form of electricity.” Steve answered as Amelia fiddled with the matrix, twisting several connections, tightening them.

The corner of her lip perked, “Well, you’re not wrong.”

Amelia stripped away some of the rewiring, completely rerouting it to relax the system, frowning in concentration when the entire thing started screaming at her. 

“Is it supposed to do that?” Steve queried worriedly.

Amelia reconnected the wires, hissing as the live current stung her fingers.  “I’ll take that as a no.” Steve sighed, watching over her shoulder as she sped across the matrix.

The final relay began to whir as Amelia fixed it, giving the entire panel a final whack and the blaring lights stopped flashing, the matrix giving off a calming buzz and satisfaction flooded her features.  “Got it.” She announced, “Relays are in position.”

“What’s our next move?” Steve asked as he slid the panel back into its cubby hole and Amelia sucked on her sore fingertips.

“Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won’t re-engage without a jump.” Tony reported from somewhere inside the turbine.  “I’m going to have to get in there and push.”

“If that thing gets up to speed, you’ll get shredded.” Steve frowned and Amelia searched for something amongst all the shredded metal.

“That stator control unit can reverse the polarity long enough to disengage maglev and that could…”

“Speak English.” Steve interrupted, catching Amelia as she almost slipped on a loose panel, the metal falling away without a sound.

“I got it.” Amelia told him, spotting the unit across the clouds from them.  “You see that red lever?” She pointed and Steve nodded.  “It’ll slow the rotors down long enough for him to get out.”

“That’s a big jump.” Steve pointed out, peering over the edge of the torn gangway, “You think you can make it?”

Amelia shrugged, breathing in deep.  “I guess we’re gonna find out.”

Steve gave it a run up, slamming down on the other side, the walkway rattling under his weight, and he grasped the railing to steady himself.  Once he straightened, he turned to Amelia, curling his fingers at her. 

Amelia nodded, swallowing, focusing on Steve instead of the seemingly endless drop into god knows what, the ground hidden by the deceivingly fluffy white clouds.  Steve held out a reassuring hand, encouraging her, and Amelia copied his own jump with a running start. 

Her heart leaped with her as she pushed off the gangway, breath catching in her throat as her jump came up short and she teetered on the edge, flailing hand failing to catch the railing and fear pierced her insides as the wind swept her back. 

Steve caught her hand first, tugging her towards him, and she tumbled against his chest, his other hand wrapping securely around her waist as he’d done on the bridge back in Central Park and she clung to his shoulders with an iron grip.  

“You’re good.” He promised, “I’ve got you, you’re good.”

Amelia didn’t let go.  Her breath came in short gasps, brown eyes frozen open wide and her fingers dug into his uniform until the sound of his steady heartbeat against her cheek calmed her own. 

A gunshot echoed on the wind and the next thing she knew Steve had swept her aside, the sound rattling through her entire body, freezing her to the spot as agents wearing full tactical gear bearing the SHIELD eagle streamed onto the lower walkway. 

Steve leapt away from her, jumping out into the air to whack a grenade away from them and the explosion blew away in the blink of an eye, the sound echoing in her ears and she could hear her father’s voice but not a single word translated into her head.  It was all just noise, noise and colours blurred together and suddenly Amelia was staring into lifeless eyes as crimson red stained her jeans. 

A scream tore from the throat of one of the agents as he tumbled from the walkway, body flying past Amelia’s eyes and he disappeared into the clouds.  A shiver danced through her and she stumbled backwards into the railing, grasping it so tightly her knuckles went white and she took long breaths to keep the swell of nausea from clawing up her throat.  Bullets pinged off the ruined wall above her, sparks dancing away and Amelia shuddered with each pounding.

“Amelia!” Steve’s shout drew her attention, prying open her eyes to find a rifle pointed in her direction.

Amelia scrambled aside, tripping on a dislodged panel and tumbling through the gap in the railing.  She hit the lower gangway hard, the force rippling up her legs, and she rolled to a stop, her cheek pressed against the metal slats.  Steve cried out for her again, caught in a fight with another rouge agent, and it forced Amelia to push herself up, to crawl forward until her fingers touched the cold barrel of a gun.

Amelia didn’t even think, she just grabbed it, rolling onto her side and holding it exactly as Rhodey taught her when she was sixteen and looking for some trouble.  In a split second, Amelia had her arms out straight, her finger pulling down the trigger, and the soldier crumpled before her, slowly tipping backwards until he fell away into the clouds.  Immediately, she threw aside the gun, frantically forcing her breath to obey, to keep it running away from her even as her thoughts raced a mile a minute. 

“Steve!” Amelia cried shakily, catching sight of him just as he took a wrong step.

Steve slipped on a fried panel, dropping him back and he slid off the gangway, his arm arcing outwards to grasp a loose cable from the mangled side of the carrier.  Amelia darted towards him impulsively, pushing her distress right to the bottom of her stomach, and grabbed the cable from the other end. 

“Hit the lever!” Tony called, at the worst possible moment.

“Hang on!” Amelia replied desperately, speaking to both at the same time.

Her feet slid along the groaning metal panels and she bent her knees, the weight straining her arms as she pulled with all her strength, brows knotting together, teeth gritted and clammy fingers turning white as she grasped the coil tightly, the cold metal biting into the skin and scraping it raw. 

With a grunt, Amelia slowly hauled Steve to safety, the two of them crashing down onto the metal walkway and she waited until his feet were back over the edge before releasing the cable, the chill air stinging her steaming palms, her hands shaking, her entire body trembling.

“Lever, now.” Tony hurried and panic laced his tone.

More bullets tore at the shredded carrier and Amelia glanced up as she heard the rotors begin to power up, picking up speed with every second they did nothing, and the red lever lay just above her head.  Pushing onto her knees and panting heavily, Amelia reached for the lever, crying out as a bullet grazed along her arm and falling down against the side.

Steve swung down, kicking out at the agent with both feet, knocking him backwards and the bullets stopped.  Only one left.  Amelia ignored the pain, shoving it down along with the rest of her screaming emotions, and grabbed the lever with both hands, pushing down hard until it budged and deposited her on the panels again in a jumble of limbs.

Concern knitted Steve’s brows together as he returned, finding her pressed up against the wall with her head rolled back, eyes shut and injured arm cradled in her lap.  “Are you alright?” he worried, crouching down in front, his hands hovering about, unsure where to go.

“I just got shot.” Amelia panted, opening her weary eyes, “What do you think?”

Steve gave her a flat look, peeling back the torn material of her shirt to get a look.  “You got grazed, it’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad?” Amelia exclaimed, “When was the last time you got shot?”

“You got shot?!” Tony yelled as he flew down to their level, dropping onto the walkway with a clang, his mask snapping back to reveal the fear written into his weathered features.

“She didn’t get shot.” Steve quipped, dropping back onto his ankles to allow Tony to kneel beside her.

“What happened to you?” Amelia frowned, sitting up straighter, taking in the millions of scratches and dents, parts of the paintwork scraped off in places.

“Next time I tell you to hit a lever, do it.” he snapped, standing and offering Amelia a hand.

She took it, using her good arm, and Tony pulled her up with little effort, the three of them standing amongst the wreckage, the working turbine buzzing beside them.

“Agent Coulson is down.”

Amelia’s heart sunk.  It cut straight through the metal walkway, flying down through the sky to hit the earth with a thud, burrowing deep into the core and her hand struck out to grasp Tony’s metal arm, steadying herself. 

“A medical team is on its way to your location.”

“They’re here.” Fury muttered, “They called it.”

Her brown eyes locked with her father’s, all the pain in her arms, in her chest, all of it seeping away as the cold hard shock took hold.  She let go of him, darting past the two of them, sliding down the yellow safety ladder and leaping back into the helicarrier.  She shoved her way past other agents, ignoring the ache as she bumped her wound against one of them, and ran as fast as her legs would take her until she found the thick glass cell empty and a body lying beside it.

Her hand shot to her mouth and she dropped back against the doorway, wide eyes stinging, unable to look away from the red patch flowering atop the white sheet drawn across his head. 

“Stark.” Fury stepped over when he caught sight of her, blocking the sheet with his body.  “You shouldn’t be here.”

Amelia didn’t say anything, she couldn’t summon a single word, she just dropped her hand and swallowed, blinking hard and water filled her dry eyes. 

“Come on.” Fury insisted gently, his hand on her arm, pressing her to move away, look away, but Amelia couldn’t budge.

She was frozen to the spot as four agents lifted the stretcher, carrying the covered body away from her, a limp hand falling out from under the sheet and finally Amelia turned away, pursing her lips together and forcing herself to breath. 

“Amelia.” Fury lowered his voice and her dark eyes snapped up to meet his, the accusation, the blame, clear as day and he set his jaw.

Fury released his hand and Amelia swept away from him, ploughing down the corridor with her face hidden, bumping shoulders with more than one person as her feet rushed her somewhere else, anywhere else.

God, what was Coulson thinking?! Amelia was caught somewhere between screaming and sobbing, the conflicting emotions at war on her features, and her first instinct was to find a quiet corner, let it all out where no one could see but what good would that do?

Instead she swung by the infirmary.  Perhaps she could put her skills to use, distract herself, but as soon as she stepped through the door a medical officer sat her down on a stretcher, refusing to let her touch a needle until he’d seen to the wound on her arm.  By the time he was finished Amelia felt numb enough to take a hammer to the head and feel nothing.  She mumbled a thanks, tugging the clean shirt he’d found over her head and carried on walking.

What had any of them been thinking, dashing off when they didn’t know the first thing about the attack, about any of it.  Amelia had been so wrapped up in the moment, running off to fix the engine, to prove she was capable, she hadn’t given a second thought to what might happen. 

“Miss Stark?”

Amelia found herself on the bridge, standing at the end of the catwalk in front of the giant windows revealing the sprawling clouds below, one of the pilots staring up at her.  “Would you like to switch, give the wheel a go?” the pilot nodded down to the controls in front of him, his fingers pressed to the rounded screen, sympathy clear in his eyes.

She’d been dying to try her hand at steering the helicarrier, she’d begged Fury time and time again to just get a look at the engine, let alone take control, and he’d turned her down every time.  She should be jumping at the chance, it probably wouldn’t happen again, and this pilot obviously wanted to cheer her up but she just stayed silent and still.

Amelia perched at the very end of the catwalk, legs dangling over the side, staring at her hands in her lap instead of the vast ocean spread before her, her mind drifting away from the helicarrier.

“It’s rigged.” Barton exclaimed as he pulled the shortest straw. “Has to be, I always end up doing it.”

“How can it be rigged?” Coulson frowned, slipping his trick straw into his pocket.  “You cut them.”

Amelia rolled her eyes at the two of them as they squabbled.  “Children, both of you.” she snorted, swiping the straw from Barton’s hand and striding over to the door.

“This should be good.” Coulson muttered as the two followed like excited puppies.

“That woman has no fear.” Barton replied and Amelia sighed.

“Nick.” Amelia greeted as the door swung shut behind the three of them.

“Lemme guess.” Fury didn’t look up from the papers on his desk as they stepped further into the room.  “You pulled straws?”

“No.” Barton scoffed at the same time as Coulson admitted it.

“I think they’re afraid of you.” Amelia said, the corner of her lip perking as both men gave her a dark side look.

“We just think there may be an alternative to your plan.” Coulson quickly covered.

“In other words, they think your plan is dogshit.” Amelia translated and Barton gave her a sharp poke in the side.

“Tell me what you really think.” Fury muttered sarcastically, leaning back in his chair to stare at them all, fingers laced over his middle.

“If you wanted someone to sugar coat it, you shouldn’t have hired a Stark.”

“Being a pain in my ass runs in the family, I see.”

“You don’t pay me to be a doormat.”

“You’re right, I don’t pay you.”

“Well, you should.”

“Did you come in here with a point?” Fury deflected.

“Yes.” Coulson quickly replied, stepping forward with his folder in hand.  “We believe a subtler approach would be more efficient.”

Fury took the file Coulson offered, glancing over it, flipping each page with careful consideration and Amelia had to keep from tapping her foot. 

“You wanna pull the Stark card.” Fury eventually commented, setting the file on his desk.

“Essentially, yes.” Coulson nodded as Amelia’s brow furrowed.

“I’m sorry, the what?”

“It would draw the attention away from Barton.” Fury chatted, ignoring Amelia’s confusion.  “Do we know of any invite?”

“Ms. Potts didn’t seem impressed.” Coulson fished a fancy envelope out his suit pocket.  “Though I knew it would come in handy.”

Fury took out a pen, scribbling a signature on the dotted line and closed the file, handing it back to Coulson.  “Get it done.”

“You’re not doing anything tonight, are you Miss Stark?” Coulson asked her and Amelia opened her lips to reply only to be cut off.  “Good, I didn’t think so.” He gave her a friendly tap on the shoulder as he passed.  “Barton, time to dust off your black tie.”

Amelia turned her confusion on Fury but he’d already returned to the reports in front of him, shoeing her on with a finger, and she released a long breath.  “I really don’t get paid enough for this.”

“Would it make you feel better if you were?”

Amelia shrugged, “Maybe.”

“Tough shit, now get outta my office.”

Amelia grumbled her way out of the office, catching up to Barton and Coulson by the elevator, swiping the fancy envelope from his hands.  “You owe me for this.” She warned, frowning at the host.

“I’m not letting you near Lola.” Coulson countered and Amelia pouted.

“You’ll die before you get near that car.” Barton joked, smirking, and Amelia resisted the urge to punch him.

“Or he will.” Amelia said instead, “And I’ll take the car in his will.”

“Lola lives and dies with me.” Coulson stated, “End of discussion.”

Amelia didn’t like to think that conversation occurred yesterday, a shiver running down her spine.  She worked with him so many times, he’d been her go to at SHIELD ever since the incident with Obadiah.  Amelia never thought they were close, work friends at best, and anything she knew about his life outside of the agency came from Pepper.  The one thing she did know was that car, he spoke about Lola like she was his child, she was his pride and joy. 

One afternoon, Coulson let her look under the hood, fingers grazing over the different parts, the ingenuity until she wiped sweat from her forehead with grimy hands, leaving a smudge of oil that brought a fond smile to his cheeks.

Heavy boots thudded along the catwalk towards her and Amelia sniffed, rubbing at her nose with the end of her sleeve before Steve settled beside her, resting his hands on the edge of the floor.  He’d gotten rid of the gloves, the belt, the stiff jacket of his uniform and sat in just a tight blue shirt, his fuzzy blond head hanging between his shoulders.  “Is this the first time you lost someone?”

Another gunshot sounded and Amelia gasped, fear filling her wide brown eyes as Sutton dropped in front of her, a gaping red hole between his white eyes. 

Amelia rubbed at her fingers with her sleeves, wishing she could squeeze her eyes shut, turn away from it all, but she knew what she’d find in the darkness. 

“It’ll get easier.” Steve promised, and she knew he was just trying to help but her eyes whipped up to his with a stiff look, one that had him clench his jaw and turn away.

“Couple years ago, when the Ten Rings took my dad, they came for me too.” Amelia blurted shakily and Steve’s gaze shot back.  “They killed a friend of mine, would’ve killed me.” A single shot echoed in Amelia’s ears and she clenched her hands, gripping her fingers so tightly they turned white.  “So don’t tell me it gets easier.”

“Captain Rogers.” Hill called behind them as Amelia pushed onto her feet.  “Stark.”

Amelia nodded, walking beside her back down the catwalk to find Tony standing with Fury by the conference table.  “Hey.” Tony whispered, catching her in a one-armed hug when she joined them.  “It’s gonna be okay.”

Amelia leaned back against the table as Tony sat, watching Steve’s blank look as he took a seat opposite them, an inch of regret wiggling into her chest at snapping but she let it rest. 

“These were in Phil Coulson’s jacket.” Fury started quietly, for him at least, shuffling a deck of cards in his hands.  “I guess he never did get you to sign them.”

Fury tossed them across the table, a few fluttering in the air before the glass caught them and scattered them about, the red stains smudging.  It’s a vintage set, took me a couple years to collect them all, slight foxing around the edges but absolutely near mint.  Amelia dropped her gaze, Tony’s hand inching along the table so their pinkies touched.

“We’re dead in the air up here.” Fury reported gravely, “Our communications, the location of the cube, Banner, Thor… I got nothing for you.” he spread his hands on the table, “I lost my one good eye.” he shook his head ruefully, “Maybe I had that coming.”  

“Nobody had to die.” Amelia shot and Tony tried to take her hand but she crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to meet anyone’s eye.  “Not because of this.”

“Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract.” Fury finally admitted, taking slow steps to lean on one of the other chairs, his one eye boring a hole in Amelia’s back.  “But I never put all my chips on that number, though, because I was playing something even riskier.”

Amelia twisted her head to look at him sideways as he glanced between the three that remained.  “There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative.” Fury began pacing around the table and her father raised his eyes.  “The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, to see if they could become something more.”

More? If Fury wanted more he was looking in the wrong place.  “To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could.” Fury continued, clutching the back of a leather chair.  “Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea.” Amelia’s dark eyes shot up.  “In heroes.”

Tony stood abruptly, a haunted look in his familiar eyes and he brushed his fingers along her arm reassuringly before striding away from the table, from the bridge.  From them.

Amelia wandered around the table, her eyes drawn to the passing clouds, and she felt Fury at her side.  “In heroes.” She repeated softly.

“Well,” Fury murmured, “It’s an old-fashioned notion.”

“People might just need a little old fashioned.” Steve remembered after a moment of quiet and Amelia met his blue gaze with an empty one.

It didn’t take long for her to leave too.  Steve wanted to go after her, she had such a painful look on her face it tore him up inside but one shake of Fury’s head had him reconsidering. 

“You didn’t tell me Stark had a daughter.” Steve muttered, fiddling with one of the trading cards idly.

Now he had Fury alone, just the two of them, Steve could ask the questions that had been playing on his mind since he discovered the truth. 

“It was in the file.” Fury replied, assuming his position at the centre of the bridge, arms clasped behind him stoically.  “Did you not read them?”

“I read them.” Steve clenched his jaw.

Sure, he read the files.  SHIELD files kept on all the people he called friends, reading how they lived their long lives, had families of their own and had all the things Steve missed out on.  He read about Howard Stark’s life, a man Steve knew as being a womanizer, a charming ladies’ man with enough smarts to take technology into the next century, let alone the next decade.  He read about the son he had, a man who inherited all of his wit, his charm and intelligence and somehow developed an arrogance far worse.  Then he read about Amelia Stark and expected to dislike her just as much.  All of the Starks, they were just carbon copies of each other.  Intelligent, witty and in need of taking down a couple pegs. 

God, Steve hated how right she’d been.  If Steve knew that morning who sat across from him, getting him to talk about Brooklyn, about art, he would’ve acted just as dismissive, just as indifferent as he had with Tony.  He’d wanted to.  All day, Steve wanted to act that way, to be that way around her, but when she looked like that… 

“There wasn’t a picture.” Steve told Fury, setting the card down, “The file didn’t contain a picture.”

Fury twisted to give him that false innocence, as if Steve ever bought that.  “Must’ve fallen out.” Fury lied.

He should’ve known it wasn’t just a coincidence, meeting someone like that not once but twice.  How stupid of him.  This new world he’d been forced into was confusing enough without people keeping things from him, especially those who looked so much like…

“Did you send her?” Steve demanded before he talked himself out of it.

Fury had the decency to turn and frown at him at least.  “Did we send who?”

Steve wrapped his fingers in a fist, so many memories flashing through his mind, so much lost.  Like her.  He thought he’d had a second chance and now he realized he had nothing.  For a second time since he’d woken up he lost it all again.  “Starks daughter, did you send her?”

Fury glanced emptily at Hill, the two of them sharing their confusion and it infected Steve, his features smoothing.  “You didn’t send her.” Steve breathed and a creeping hope crawled up his throat.

“What are you talking about, Captain?”

“She looks so much like Amelia Scott.” Steve answered, glancing between the two spies, “I thought you might’ve sent her to reacquaint me with the world, or something.” Perhaps he hadn’t lost anything yet, perhaps there was a chance.  But why would she lie?

Another look shared and Fury’s next question sent a haunting shiver down Steve’s spine.  “Who is Amelia Scott?”

Chapter Text

Tony stood in the empty containment chamber, standing straight as he stared towards the sealed hatch, hands clasped tightly behind him.  “Dad?” Amelia found him there, contemplative look in his familiar eyes.

The steel panels hadn’t been cleaned yet, her eyes drawn to the fading red stain along the wall, the floors, where they found him.  Phil. 

Tony didn’t say anything, just stared, and Amelia walked up beside him, content to just stare beside him, when he wrapped his hand in hers and she rested her head on his shoulder.  “This shouldn’t have happened.” He murmured quietly.  “Phil should be alive and you shouldn’t have got shot, or had to…”

“Dad.” Amelia cut him off before he said it.  Voicing it only made it more real, for the both of them.  “I joined SHIELD because I wanted to innovate.”

“I know.”

“I never thought…”

Tony squeezed her hand, “I know.”

“I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.” Amelia mumbled, mostly to herself, and her shoulders fell heavy.

Fury had been using her work to fashion weapons of unpredictable power capable of hurting hundreds.  Thousands.  Too many.  It took her eighteen years to realize she wanted nothing to do with the arms trade, she bothered Tony about it every day, nagging and ranting.  “People die because of us.” She’d say, “That’s not something I want the Stark legacy to be.”

“That’s not who I want to be.” She whispered now.  A killer.  Like Loki.

Steve hovered near the door, Amelia could see him in the corner of her eye, arms crossed over his chest.  “Was he married?” Steve asked, leaning in the doorframe.

“No.” Tony answered, “There was a cellist, I think.”

“I’m sorry.” Steve consoled, “He seemed like a good man.”

“He was an idiot.” Tony replied, swallowing the wobble in his voice.

“Why? For believing?”

“For taking on Loki alone.”

“He was out of his league.” Tony scoffed, “He should have waited, he should have…” Tony released Amelia’s hand, trailing off and he ran it down his weathered features, searching for something to say.

“Sometimes there isn’t a way out, Tony.” Steve stepped closer.

“Right, I’ve heard that before.” Tony shook his head, avoiding Steve’s look, leaning against the handrail and setting Amelia right in the middle of the two.

“Is this the first time you lost a soldier?”

“We are not soldiers.” Tony snapped, twisting around in a burst of anger, “I’m not marching to Fury’s fife, neither is my daughter.”

“Neither am I.” Steve agreed, “He’s got the same blood on his hands that Loki does but right now we gotta put that behind us and get this done.”

Tony’s eyes wandered to the blood stain and Amelia clenched her jaw, forcing herself not to look.  “Loki needs a power source.” Steve reminded them, “If we can put together a list…”

“He made it personal.” Tony interrupted.

“That’s not the point.” Steve argued softly, carefully.

“That is the point, that’s Loki’s point.” Tony disagreed, “He hit us all right where we live, why?”

Amelia glanced down at the hatch, at the two of them, only three of them there to hear Fury’s little speech.  “To tear us apart.” She realized.  And it worked.

“Yeah, divide and conquer is great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right?” Tony theorized, “That’s what he wants, he wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it.”

“He wants an audience.” Amelia finished.

“Right.” Steve nodded, jumping on their train of thought, “I caught his act in Stuttgart.”

“Yeah,” Tony waved a finger at Steve, strolling over to the charred hole in the wall.  “That’s just the previews, this is opening night and Loki, he’s a full-tilt diva, right?” he slapped his hands together with each point.  “He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered…” Tony stopped dead as they both came to the same realization.

“Son of a bitch.” Amelia exclaimed as Tony swept from the chamber.

Steve spread his hands, brow crinkled, “What?”

“Stark Tower.” Amelia explained, chasing after Tony, forcing Steve to follow.  “That’s his power source.”

“You’re sure?”

Amelia grabbed his arm, yanking him down a corridor, the two ducking under a couple of technicians working to replace the ceiling panels.  “You got any better ideas?” Amelia shot as they broke into a run. 

Steve smirked as they came to an intersection, “No.”

“Then find Romanoff.” Amelia shoved him down the opposite way, already taking off.

“What are you gonna do?”

“Can’t very well go into battle wearing jeans.” She called over her shoulder, “I’ll meet you in the hangar!”

Amelia darted down the corridor, swerving past agents and dodging officers, all of them throwing her dirty looks as she whizzed past, until she came to the locker rooms, running her finger down the metal doors until she came to the right one.  “I knew you always brought a spare.” Amelia smiled, picking her way into Natasha’s locker.

It wasn’t as smart as Natasha’s, in fact it was more just a pair of tactical vests and khaki pants but it would do, no matter how much it made her look like Kim Possible.  All she’d need was the ginger hair. 

Amelia slammed the locker shut and froze halfway to the door, coming face to face with a rack stocked high with assault rifles and handguns, each locked behind a metal grate and a dozen or so holsters hung from hooks on the adjacent wall.  She could take one, if she wanted.  None of them knew what to expect when they got to the city, Loki could be unleashing all hell on them and if he did Amelia would be left vulnerable.

Even looking at them Amelia felt bile rise in her throat.  She punched the code Clint gave her into the pad, the chain link door popping open and Amelia opened it wider, her hand hesitating, almost shaking, as she wrapped it around the hilt of a nasty looking tactical knife.  A compromise, of sorts, she thought as she slotted it into a holster she strapped to her hip.  This way she wouldn’t be unprotected, and she wouldn’t feel like vomiting when she came face to face with whatever Loki had planned.

“Barton.” She grinned when she caught up with them heading into the hangar bay.  “How you feeling?”

“Like I got hit in the head with a baseball bat.” He joked and Natasha poked him in the ribs.

“Well take an aspirin and suck it up.” Amelia drew them over to one of the parked quinjets, a few technicians at work inside the hold.  

“I don’t think an aspirin’ll cover it.”

“What are you talking about?” Amelia smirked, pulling a pair of leather gloves she swiped from the bench onto her hands.  “Drugs will make you feel like you can kill Hitler, right Cap?”

Steve opened his mouth to disagree, funny frown lining his forehead, and then he just sighed, “I hate how accurate that is.”

Amelia released a long laugh, striding up the open ramp, “Hey boys, mind if I take her out for a spell?” Amelia flirted, throwing a wink at the nearest technician and smiling slyly at the second. 

The technician chuckled, glancing unsurely at his colleague.  “You’re not authorized to be in here.” He stuttered, glancing between the four of them.

“Son, just don’t.” Steve advised kindly, raising a hand, and the two fresh faced technicians hesitantly left them alone with the jet. 

“That was mean.” Amelia jabbed, sliding into the pilot’s seat beside Barton, settling the headset over her dark locks and adjusting the microphone in front of her mouth.  “At least my way they might’ve left with a little dignity.”

“He’ll probably go straight to Fury.” Romanoff smirked, strapping herself in behind them.

Amelia flipped a couple switches before Barton raised the engine, a gentle hum filling the jet as she shrugged.  “We’ll be long gone by then.”

“QJ-575, we don’t have you on our flight schedule.” The connection crackled slightly as the communications burst to life, the flight tower registering their steady movement through the hangar.  “Repeat, you are not authorized.”

“1121, override.” Amelia told them, flexing her fingers over the control wheel.  “Stark, Amelia A. reporting for immediate take off.”

“That’s not gonna work.” Barton scoffed, “The only one with override privileges is…”

Fury’s name died on his lips as the flight tower replied.  “1121 override received, preparing hangar bay doors.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Amelia smirked, manoeuvring the jet onto the lift as light flooded the hangar, the hatch doors splitting apart.

“Stark Card.” Natasha called from the passenger seat, “Works every time.”

“Sorry, what?” Steve frowned, confused, as he glanced between the three of them.

“My name opens doors.” Amelia smiled as the platform lifted them up onto the runway.  “Literally.”

“1121, you are ready for take-off.”

“Copy that.” Amelia replied, opening the jet flaps as wide as they’d go and adjusted her grip on the control wheel, taking a long breath before nodding at Barton.

“Brace yourself.” Barton warned and began counting down from three.

Amelia pressed hard on the controls as he reached zero and the jet surged forwards, forcing her back in her seat but she kept a tight hold on the controls, the two simultaneously yanking them backwards and they swept off the edge of the runway.  Barton took the steering as Amelia brought in the landing gear and the jet circled round the control tower, sweeping under the helicarrier and slicing through the fluffy clouds.

“I can’t believe Rhodey taught you how to fly.” Natasha shook her head as they broke out from under the cloud cover, the grey city drawing closer in the distance.

Amelia adjusted the co-ordinates, setting them to head straight for Manhattan, the corner of her lip perking.  “It was either flight lessons or a pony.”

“And you didn’t want a pony?” Barton exclaimed, giving her a quirked eyebrow, “That’s not even a question, pony or nothing.”

“Can a pony give you a view like this?” Amelia gestured through the cockpit window at the serene landscape stretching before them, the long stretch of the Atlantic Ocean and the gleam of skyscrapers in the waning sunlight.

“No, but it can give you companionship.” Barton quipped, “Can’t get that from a hunk of metal.”

“Yeah, but metal doesn’t argue back.” Amelia sighed, stroking a hand along the side of the navigation controls.

“You’ve already named her, haven’t you?” Natasha asked and Amelia glanced back to smile at her.

“Delilah has a nice ring to it?” Amelia winked.

“Guys.” Steve interrupted, popping free of his belt to point.

Amelia followed his finger along, the smile dropping from her sharp features as she spotted the beam of deadly blue light surging up from the middle of Manhattan to create a wormhole in the middle of the sky. 

Things got decidedly worse by the time they arrived in the city.  Already smoke coiled up from the skyscrapers, fire blossoming in numerous explosions below them and Amelia took a shaky breath, nodding to herself. 

“Right.” Amelia licked her lips, flipping a switch.  “Alien army.”

Natasha pressed a finger to her ear, “Stark, we’re on your three, headed northeast.”  

“What? Did you stop for drive-through?” Tony exasperated, “Swing up Park, I’m gonna lay em out for you.”

Amelia diverted their course, flying low between the buildings up Park Avenue even as dust clouds rained from above, loud screeches penetrating the metal hull from the invaders.  Barton engaged the weapons system, the rail gun firing fiery blasts from their belly as each target zipped past, exploding in a cloud of black smoke and Amelia flew them straight through, pulling up to avoid crashing into Grand Central, twisting around Stark Tower in time for a second wave. 

“Stark.” Barton gave Amelia a sideways look and she spotted the posing Asgardian baddie atop the balcony of Stark Tower.

“I see him.” She replied, twisting the jet so it hovered above the Tower.

A blue bolt took out the left engine, rocking the entire jet, and the turbine blasted smoke around as they started spiralling, seatbelts straining to hold them steady in their seats and a dozen alarms started blaring.  “Hold on.” Amelia cried, clenching both hands around the wheel, desperate to keep the jet level as they plummeted. 

Amelia banked left, bearing her teeth as they dodged between the buildings, barely keeping a handle on the unruly jet as one of the wings took out a corner office, pulling her round to Park and they careened into the sidewalk.  The crash threw up chunks of concrete and dust as they slowly burrowed through the pathway to finally stop in front of another office building, the front window shattering and spraying glass all over the navigation board.

“Another happy landing.” Amelia whispered as she tugged off her seatbelt and threw off the headset, taking Steve’s hand and scrambling free of the cockpit.

Screams spilled into the hold along with the harmony of distant explosions as Amelia pulled the emergency unlock, dropping the ramp onto the streets of New York, and tiny fires danced all around them, shattered glass littering the dusty, smoking street. 

“We gotta get back up there.” Steve shouted as they headed for Grand Central, the great marble building towering over them, the angelic statue miraculously standing tall amidst the ruin.

A giant black hole with misty coils swirling around the pristine edges ripped open the sky, the darkness roiling with strange shapes as alien machinery darted out, swerving left and right until they decided on a target.  A sluglike monster slithered free of the hole and Amelia swallowed, its shrill roar setting her teeth on edge and it glided through the air, finlike arms destroying New York’s iconic skyline, its disgusting body encased in some kind of dulled metal. 

God, I shouldn’t be here.  Amelia rubbed her sweaty palms on her pants, her meagre knife feeling very small compared to the blasts showering dirt and dust down on their heads.

“Stark, you seeing this?” Steve called as the slug wound round the corner.

“Seeing, still working on believing.” Tony answered, “Where’s Banner? Has he shown up yet?”

“Banner?” Steve blurted.

“Just keep me posted, and Amelia…” Tony paused and Amelia caught her breath, expecting some lame attempt to keep her out of trouble, some threat or warning.  “Get to the reactor, see what you can do, you’re the only one there who can.”

Natasha shared a look with her, the two of them shrugging, and Amelia took a long breath.  “You gonna be okay?” Steve fretted, only half his attention on Amelia as she backed up.

“Yeah.” She breathed uncertainly, shaking out some of the growing fear, and throwing him a wink.  “It’s just a real life War of the Worlds, how bad could it be?”

Amelia hid a shudder as one of the Chitauri crafts crashed through the corner of a glass walled office building, the shards cascading down to shatter even more on the dusty concrete. 

“Amelia?” Tony prompted when he heard no reply.

She tapped a finger to her comms device.  “When this is all over, I want my sanity back.”

“Did you ever have it in the first place?” Tony shot back as she made for Stark Tower.

“I guess I really do take after you.”

Amelia used a ladder to get down off the bridge, sliding down the last couple rungs and landing with a thud, instinctively ducking when she heard a whistle overhead, refusing to even glance at what it might be.  Amelia just ran across the street, dashing through the open archway into Grand Central where she found at least a dozen civilians cowering in the corners, using the ticket booths as hiding places.  The sound of glass shattering drew several frightened screams and this time Amelia did look, she glanced up to see Chitauri smashing through the glass above them, descending onto the polished floors, the impact of their fall cracking the pretty pattern. 

“Come work on a super-secret alien project, they said.” Amelia muttered to herself, diving behind a column as they started firing.  “It’ll be fine, they said, no need to worry.”

Amelia flipped the knife from her holster into her hand, waiting till one of the chunky alien weapons poked around the corner before striking, taking out the weapon and then burying the knife deep into the Chitauri’s soldier’s forehead.  Or, at least, what Amelia imagined was the forehead.  She grabbed the weapon as the soldier fell, cringing when she felt something wet stain her shirt, and used his alien weaponry to fire at the others.  Amelia hit more of the scenery than the actual Chitauri, the weapon jarring against her shoulder and she eventually dropped it, tugging the knife from the first and choosing a different strategy.  Amelia threw the weapon with as much strength as she could muster, sending the knife straight after, and as soon as the two collided it caused an explosion that ripped into three of the Chitauri.  She’d have to remember that one for next time. 

“Come on.” Amelia called to the civilians who hadn’t run at first sight, still cowering in their hidey holes.  “It’s not safe here.” She waved them to follow her, keeping them close as they made for the smaller exit on the other side of the lobby. 

“Hey!” A couple cops ran past and Amelia flagged one of them down, “Make sure these people get somewhere safe.”

The cop started directing them towards another building, one the cops had formed a makeshift barrier around with some of the rubble, and he glanced at Amelia with a frown.  “You’re not coming with?”

“I got stuff to do.” She told him, glancing up at Stark Tower across the street, a half dozen Chitauri vessels buzzing around the top.

“You really should come with me, it ain’t safe out there.”

Amelia let out a chuckle, picking at the slimy alien blood on her shirt.  “Trust me, I’m aware.”

“Here.” The cop reached behind him, taking out a handgun, “Take this.” Amelia stared at it, swallowing.  “You can’t go unarmed.” He held it out further, more insistent.  “As an officer of the New York Police Department, I cannot knowingly let you go unprotected.”

Amelia took a breath, keeping a steady hold of his gaze as she wrapped a hand around the hilt.  “Alright, officer.” She agreed, tucking the weapon in her waistband, offering him a casual salute.  “Seeya on the other side.”

The officer nodded, tapping his cap as he backed away.  “Stay safe out there, Miss Stark.”

Amelia only had a second to wonder how he knew her before a squad of Chitauri flew around the corner, led by a red and gold blur, and one of them crashed headfirst into Stark Tower.  She took a breath, dashing across the rubble strewn street, and hopped through a broken glass wall.  Amelia vaulted over the turnstiles, the usually teeming reception area completely empty for once, and she nabbed one of the guest IDs from behind the desk.  A screech drew her attention, the sound echoing from outside, followed by a giant cloud of dust as a chunk of wall hit the street outside and Amelia shook her head, concentrating on the task at hand. 

“What’s the story, Amy?” Tony queried as Amelia came to the elevators, pressing the button a dozen times, swiping the ID and getting nothing. 

“The lifts aren’t working.” She told him, she didn’t even mean to be snarky.

“That’s why we built stairs, dearest.” Tony sighed in reply and she heard the sound of an explosion carry down the line.

“I’m not climbing a hundred flights of stairs.” Amelia felt sick at the very thought.

“Perhaps I can help with that.”

Amelia twisted at the charming voice, features dropping as she spotted Loki standing in the middle of the lobby brandishing the scepter and Amelia chuckled nervously.  “Not unless you got an override key hiding under all that leather.”

“Afraid not.” Loki admitted apologetically, “But I do have this.”

Amelia dove aside as Loki twisted the sceptre, blue orb glowing brighter as it charged, the energy blast smashing into the silver elevator doors as she rolled along the polished floors, aggravating her already bruised shoulder and skidding to a stop behind the reception desk. 

“Amelia, I heard explosions, what’s going on?” Tony panicked, the feed connecting them still live.

“Yup, that would be the lift.” She told him, voice strained.

“What did you do?”

Loki popped around the desk and Amelia kicked a wheely chair towards him, scrambling free of her cover.  “Why do you always assume it’s my fault?” she exclaimed, racing across the lobby and narrowly avoiding another blast. 

“Because it usually is!” He yelled back as Amelia drew her weapon.

Amelia hid around a corner, flicking off the safety, and took a long breath to calm the shake in her hand before raising the gun.  She knew it would make no difference, Loki was too quick to be taken by a bullet, and he easily escaped her shots but she didn’t need one of them to land.  Amelia used it to cover her dash into the elevator. 

She squeezed through the gap the blast created, frantically pressing all of the buttons just to get it working, her heart racing as it kicked into action, jolting awake and lifting her up from the lobby just as Loki started to advance.  “Oh, god.” Amelia panted, slamming against the silvery wall and sliding down to the ground as she caught her breath. 

Amelia closed her eyes a second to catch her breath, hands resting on her knees as the elevator dinged, arriving at several of the floors Amelia pressed for in her escape.  “Amy, you better have an update for me.” Tony demanded and she opened her eyes. 

She groaned as she stood again, massaging her bruised shoulder and tucking the gun away.  “I got the lift working.” Was all she said, pushing the button for the correct floor. 

All she heard was a strangled sigh before the connection fizzled.  With Loki in the lobby, she’d have a few moments to study the gateway before he came back, she’d need to be quick.  No telling how long Loki would be, perhaps he’d have to take the stairs instead, that would certainly slow him down. 

Amelia’s brown eyes shot wide as the elevator doors slid open on the penthouse floor.  “How did you…?” her exclamation cut off as Loki wrapped a hand around her throat, slamming her back into the wall.

Amelia scratched at his hand as he slowly lifted her off the ground, grin spreading across his cheeks as he leaned in close.  “God of Mischief, darling.” He explained and promptly threw Amelia out of the elevator.

She hit the ground with a grunt, rolling across the grey tiles, broken shards of glass cutting away at her sleeves and drawing blood.  “I’m pretty sure that was uncalled for.” She groaned, features scrunching as she pushed onto her hands and knees and caught sight of the gateway.

“Who are you?” The God asked curiously and Amelia was acutely aware of the sceptre in his hand.  Loki’s voice tore her gaze away from it, something tugging her towards the Tesseract.  “You don’t seem like the soldier type.”

“I’m not.” Amelia shrugged, the temptation growing stronger the longer she looked away from the Tesseract. 

“And yet you keep appearing in the midst of battle.”

“Funny that.” Amelia licked her lips, story of her freaking life.  “So, maybe cut a girl some slack and put down the glowstick?” Loki smiled at her as she shrugged.  “I’ve got graduation coming up and would rather not spend it lying in a hospital bed.”

Loki chuckled warmly, the sound running down Amelia’s spine.  “Stark.” He recognized, “I should’ve known.” He pointed the sceptre towards her and she straightened stiffly.  “You were there that night.” Loki peered at her eagerly, “How did you do it?”

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific.” Amelia teased.

Another chuckle, “Curious.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“On the contrary.” Loki’s smile grew and he stepped closer, her body freezing in place under that intense gaze.  “I’ve only just found you.”

Amelia gasped as he pressed the sharp tip of the sceptre to her chest, a warm tingling spreading through her chest, down her arms.  A strange, golden light filled Amelia’s vision, tendrils striking at her mind, coiling around her thoughts like writhing smoke, movements almost lifelike.  Pictures, fragments really, of a shining purple stone blinked into her mind until it ached.  The gold burned away at her thoughts, raging flames igniting along her memories, everything stashed away inside, a red veil descending, overwhelming her until it was all she knew.  The heat boiled through her blood, it seared her bones, it melted her insides and left her gasping for air as if she were drowning in it.  Amelia seemed to burn hotter than the sun, her tears evaporating as soon as they fell on her steaming cheeks. 

A blast of gold energy erupted from the orb, blinding Amelia and the smoky light filled the penthouse to the brim, the gold spilling out over the sides until it snaped back with a forceful burst of energy, throwing them both backwards and Amelia hit the fireplace at an odd angle, hearing a sharp click as the force jarred her shoulder and she cried out as she dropped onto the fuzzy carpet, rolling to her side to clutch her burning shoulder, the pain vibrating through her chest, erasing any memory of the coiling energy in her mind.  The blast shook the building down to the very core, shattering whatever glass remained on the upper floors, knocking a letter from the side of the building and Amelia vaguely heard the metal screeching.

“I don’t understand.” Loki breathed, frowning darkly as he picked himself up off the floor, a cut running across his forehead.

“You and me both.” She hissed, gritting her teeth against the pain and struggling to her feet. 

Loki closed the gap between them by the time she stood, hooking a hand under her arm and slamming her back against the fireplace and her features scrunched in pain, his forearm digging into her neck. 

“What are you?” he demanded, voice thick with rage, his pale features inches from hers.

“Loki, release her!” Thor skidded to a halt along the grey floor, velvety red cape swirling about behind him, his blond hair ruffled from the draft he wafted in as he landed, hammer raised in one hand. 

Loki stepped away and Amelia fell to the carpet, clutching her shoulder tightly against her chest, forcing herself to keep her eyes open as the pain threatened to knock her out completely. 

She watched as Loki faced Thor, a golden horned helmet forming over his slick black hair and Thor pointed to the Tesseract outside with his hammer.  “Turn off the Tesseract or I’ll destroy it.” he threatened, deadly serious.

“I can’t.” Loki replied, “There is no stopping it.” He pointed with his sceptre.  “There is only the war.”

“So be it.”

Loki roared as he charged Thor, sparks dancing off their weapons as they engaged each other and Amelia turned her head as Thor deflected a blast from the sceptre with his hammer, the sparks dancing along the floor. 

“Amy, we’re on the clock here, what’s the situation?” Steve called over comms, blind to what was going on above him.

Amelia blew out a heavy breath, scrambling away from the fireplace, using the mantle to pull herself onto her feet and stumbled out onto the balcony whilst they fought, distracted by each other.  She took out her gun, firing at the glass railing and kicking it free of glass, dropping down onto the gravel roof of the tower with a grunt.  Amelia shook away the dizziness, shoving the pain down hard, and concentrated on studying the machine as it hissed and whirred, a thick column of blue energy shooting up into the sky, Amelia had to crane her neck all the way back to see the portal directly above her, black dots dripping out like violent raindrops.  Amelia had never seen anything like this before in her life, not even in her dreams.  A self-sustaining portal, somehow powering itself whilst providing its own fuel source.

“I don’t even know where to start.” Amelia muttered, gaze flickering between the matrix and the monitor processing the algorithm keeping it functioning stably.  “The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable.” Something about the coiling blue mist encompassing the portal matrix called to Amelia, as if it were familiar somehow, as if she was drawn to it. 

Amelia startled as glass shattered behind her, the two duelling Asgardians falling onto the balcony above her, locked in a deadly embrace.  “Look at this!” Thor roared, gripping his brother tightly, “Look around you!”

Amelia cast her gaze across the city, the smoke and the fire dotting the skyline she loved so much.  “She’s right, we gotta deal with these guys.” Tony interjected. 

“You think this madness will end with your rule?” Thor spat.

The unfamiliar tug pulled her back to the Tesseract as if calling to her, drawing her dark eyes away from the destructive sight and she stared straight into the mystical cube. 

“It’s too late.” Loki stated defeatedly, “It’s too late to stop it.”

“No.” Thor disagreed, voice softening, “We can, together.”

Amelia heard a groan, her gaze faltering, head twitching, and she saw Thor doubled over, stumbling away from Loki, panic piercing her chest.  “Sentiment.” Loki spat, his gaze flickering briefly to Amelia and she recoiled.

Amelia’s foot hit the barrier as she tried to step back, Thor tackling Loki down as she twisted around, pulled back towards the portal, the brief touch flooding through her entire body, encapsulating her.  Whatever made her reach out a hand, Amelia didn’t know, she didn’t recognize the urge, the impulse, as if someone unseen forced her, and as soon as her finger touched the barrier she expected to get thrown backwards, an explosion, sparks, something.  Anything other than what she got.  The entire machine choked, the never-ending blue line of energy powering the portal shutting down entirely as fiery sparks danced behind her brown eyes and the portal faltered.  Impossible. 

Suddenly music fluttered to life amongst all the chaos, it danced with her memories and twirled around her thoughts in mesmerizing circles, striking a fire on the floor with each high kick.  With each dip and flick.  It lulled Amelia onwards, towards the raging fire that constantly consumed her.  Amelia wrapped herself in its warm embrace, letting it lead her forwards into the unknown. 

Thor’s panicked yell broke her free of the strange vision, screaming her name and then came the explosion, the dancing sparks, the force throwing her back.  Amelia’s feet left the ground, her brown eyes snapping wide as her heart stopped, nothing to stop her as she began to drop, the ground suddenly hundreds of feet below her. 

Oh, god. 

Chapter Text

Thor dove to the ground, catching her hand before she could fall, slamming her against the side of the building, jarring her ruined shoulder and she cried out, squeezing her eyes shut until Thor had her safely back on the balcony. 

“Stark.” Thor fretted, crouching at her side, hands hovering, unsure what to do as Amelia lay on her back, unmoving.

“That’s it.” She groaned through clenched teeth, the last of her strength seeping into the cracked grey floor.  “I’m done, no more battles for me, I quit.”

“The fight is far from over.” Thor told her as if she hadn’t been paying attention, straightening and offering Amelia a hand as she opened her eyes.  “Can you stand?”

“Standing isn’t the problem.” Amelia grunted, taking his hand, squeaking when he pulled her up as if she weighed nothing.  “How are you with dislocated shoulders?”

Thor frowned, glancing at the shoulder she’d been nursing delicately, then back at her.  “This will hurt.” He warned her, setting his hammer down and stepping to her side, placing surprisingly delicate hands on her shoulder and upper arm. 

“Mother of–” Amelia held back a string of foul curses as Thor popped her shoulder back into place, her eyes popping as she stared Thor in the eye.  “You don’t give a girl a chance, do you?”

“I warned you.” Was all he said and snaked a hand around her waist.  “Are you ready?”

“Ready for–” Amelia’s confusion got cut off as the hammer leapt into Thor’s open palm.

He swung it round several times before thrusting his arm into the air, lifting the two of them off the balcony and into the sky.  Amelia scrambled to grasp him tightly, black hair whipping around her face as they soared through the sky and Amelia didn’t start breathing again until her feet were safely on the ground, stumbling when he released his hold on her and into Steve’s arms.

“Not cool, Sparkles.” Amelia breathed shakily, bending over as she took several deep breaths, resting her hands on her knees and Steve laid a worried hand on her shoulder.

“You good?” he queried, bending slightly to look into her eyes.  “What happened up there?”

“Nothing the young Stark could not handle.” Thor answered and Amelia peered through her lashes at him.

The two shared an unspoken understanding, gratitude seeping into her sharp features as Amelia straightened, and Thor offered a single nod to her.  

“How do we do this?” Natasha asked as the Chitauri vessels zoomed above them. 

“As a team.” Steve answered, dropping his hand from Amelia as she straightened.

 “I have unfinished business with Loki.” Thor stated.

Barton retrieved an arrow from the ground, fiddling with the head.  “Yeah? Well get in line.” Barton snipped and the corner of Amelia’s lip crooked.

“Save it.” Steve quipped, “Loki’s going to keep this fight focused on us, and that’s what we need.” Steve strode between them, glancing down the long street as Amelia leaned against the underside of an upturned car.  “Without him, these things could run wild.” He twisted, stretching his arms up, “We got Stark up top, he’s going to need us to–”

The sound of a crackling motorcycle interrupted him and Amelia pushed off the car, spotting the dusty vehicle through a cloud of smoke as Banner rocked up to the scene wearing an ill-fitting shirt and trousers.

“So,” He greeted, climbing off the bike, gesturing to the destruction, “This all seems horrible.”

“I’ve seen worse.” Natasha nodded.

Banner softened his gaze, “Sorry.”

“No.” She smiled slightly, “We could use a little worse.”

“Stark.” Steve called, “We got him.”

“Banner?” Tony confirmed.

“Just like you said.”

“Then tell him to suit up, I’m bringing the party to you.”

Tony shot out from around a building, a giant beast following behind, crashing through the glass and stonework, vicious mouth snapping as it chased Tony like a carrot on a stick. 

“I don’t see how that’s a party.” Nat stuttered uncertainly.

“Doctor Banner.” Steve called worriedly as the man turned towards the raging slug monster.  “Now might be a really good time for you to get angry.”

“That’s my secret, Captain.” Banner smirked as he continued walking, the beast skating along the bridge.  “I’m always angry.”

The grey shirt ripped away as Banner’s skin moulded into the thick green Hulk and he doubled in size, throwing out a punch that stopped the monster dead in its tracks.  Amelia stared wide eyed as the Hulk skidded backwards, the beast toppling over, and Steve readied his shield. 

“Hold on!” Tony called and a rocket shot past above them. 

It buried in the beast’s open wound and Steve grasped Amelia, pulling her close against his chest as it exploded in a shower of charred flesh and glowing sparks.  Amelia pressed herself against Steve as a cloud of flame rained over them, his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, his shield protecting them from the rushing heat. 

“You shouldn’t be here.” Steve murmured as the worst of it passed, his breath wafting her dark hair. 

“Agreed.” Amelia winked and dashed free of the Captain as soon as the beast crashed down below, skidding through the rubble until she came across an easy way down.

Amelia jumped free of the bridge, bending her knees as she hit the street below.  “Stark.” Fury’s voice crackled in her ear and Amelia paused to adjust her link, fiddling with it in her ear till his voice came through clearly, “Stark, can you get to a screen?”

“Possibly.” Amelia replied, dashing down the street, keeping close to the edges of the buildings, making her way slowly towards the 42^nd Street Station subway.

“No games, Stark.” Fury snarled, “Can you, or can’t you?”

Amelia shoved open the revolving doors of an office building, barely glancing at the sign labelling who it belonged to, and surveyed the reception area, spotting the welcome desk in the corner and running over.  “Alright, I’m there.” Amelia told him, ignoring the shudder of an explosion rocking the building.  “Who am I hacking?”

“The World Security Council feed.”

“Seriously?” she blinked, flexing her fingers over the keys, “Okay, then.” Don’t need to tell me twice.

Amelia’s fingers flew across the keyboard, overriding the monitors central system and smashing through the security page, linking up with SHIELD’s servers and slipping through unseen into the Council room, five shadowed faces appearing on her screen and she fixed the computers’ headset over her ears. 

“Director Fury, the Council has made a decision.” The Councilwoman was saying.

“I recognize the Council has made a decision.” Fury replied bluntly, “But given that it’s a stupid-ass decision, I have elected to ignore it.” What decision? What were they talking about?

“Director, you’re closer than any of our subs, you scramble that jet–”

“That is the island of Manhattan, Councilman.” Fury interrupted, “Until I’m certain my team can’t hold it, I will not order a nuclear strike against a civilian population.”

The floor fell out from beneath Amelia and she sank into the closest chair.  “If we don’t hold them here, we lose everything.” The Councilman argued.

“If I send that bird out, we already have.” Fury ended the conference call, keeping Amelia on the line, and he stared straight into her soul.  “Did you get that?”

“Are you kidding me?” she breathed shakily, “A nuclear strike, are they insane?”

Something drew Fury’s attention and Amelia sprung from the chair, tapping away at the keyboard as the call broke off.  “Shit.” She slammed a hand down, tearing off the headset and dashing free of the building, hoping the clear air would give her a better connection.  “Fury?” She yelled, “Fury?!”

Amelia cowered as an explosion ripped through the opposite building, throwing something free of the glass and a red, white and blue body slammed down hard against the roof of a car.  A group of cops and fire marshals ran into the building as Steve slid free of the car, a frown knotting his forehead, and Amelia jogged over to him.  His once pristine suit was covered in a layer of dust, burying the blue, and a nasty cut sliced at his shoulder, his blond hair wafting in the breeze that blew down the smoky street, dirt staining his handsome features. 

“Hey.” Amelia called softly, a hand stroking along his arm comfortingly and she checked him for other injuries. 

Steve stiffened when she appeared, a mask covering his exhaustion.  “I thought I told you to get outta here?” he retorted, adjusting his grip on his shield.

“And miss the party?” Amelia exclaimed, shocked, “Shame on you, Steven.”

Steve managed a small chuckle as Amelia probed the cut on his shoulder, the mask slipping away entirely to reveal the vulnerability in his blue eyes.  “Things really couldn’t get any worse, could they?” he mused defeatedly.

“Stark, do you hear?” Fury’s voice broke through in her ear and her smile faltered.  “You have a missile headed straight for the city.”  Her hands fell away and Steve’s brow knit together worriedly. 

“Don’t hold your breath.” Amelia glanced away, towards the sky, and pressed a finger to her ear. “Dad, did you get that?”

“I copy, how long?” Tony answered and she heard a grunt follow.

“Three minutes, max?” Amelia shook her head, “The payload will wipe out Midtown.”

Steve called her name, alarmed, and she twisted, spotting the Chitauri just as he leapt in front of her, taking a blow directly to the chest and collapsing on the road.  “Steve.” Amelia cried as Thor slammed down in front of them, his hammer connecting with a nearby car, knocking it up and into the aliens, taking out at least three, maybe four. 

“Damn, Sparkles.” Amelia breathed, crouching beside Steve as he pushed onto his hands and knees, panting.  “At least give em a chance.”

“Are you always this chipper?” Thor quipped, swinging the hammer and lightning shot out, ricocheting off another two, their grey skinned bodies crumpling. 

Amelia shook her head, retrieving Steve’s shield so he could stand.  “It’s shocking, right?”

Steve gave her a flat look, a hand clutching his chest.  “That was terrible.”

Amelia winked at him, “Struck me as pretty funny.”

Despite everything, Steve breathed a slight chuckle.  “Are you ready for another bout?” Thor queried, worriedly looking him up and down. 

Steve caught Amelia’s gaze as she returned the shield, her smile infecting him.  “Why, you getting sleepy?”

“I can close it, can anybody copy?” Natasha’s voice crackled across the comms and they all glanced to the tower.  “I can shut the portal down.”

Steve’s hand shot to his ear, “Do it!”

“No, wait!” Amelia cried and Steve frowned at her, bewildered.

“These things are still coming.”

“The Council ordered a nuclear strike.” Amelia licked her lips, watching Steve’s features fall.  “It’s gonna land in less than a minute.”

“And I know just where to put it.” Tony interjected casually and the entire world dropped out from below her.

“Stark, you know that’s a one-way trip.” Steve pointed out and swallowed past the sudden chunk in her throat.

“Don’t you dare.” She breathed, choking up, looking straight to the sky.  “Dad.”

“It’s the only way.” Came his shaky reply and tears sparked in her frantic eyes.  “I’m sorry, kid.”

“No.” Amelia growled, taking a step as she spotted her father shooting through the air, carrying the missile on his shoulders.  “No, you can’t.”

“Rogers.”

Steve dropped the shield, wrapping his arms around Amelia as Tony shot overhead and Amelia screamed at him, struggling against Steve’s grip.  “I love you, Sparkplug.”

“No!” Amelia screamed, the heart-breaking sound piercing the battlefield and she fought off Steve, she elbowed and shoved, desperate to break free of him, to do something as she watched on helplessly. 

Another shaky cry slipped her lips as he disappeared into the misty portal.  Silence plugged her ears, wide eyes staring up at the portal, going limp in Steve’s grasp.  No.

The remaining Chitauri crumpled around them, falling from the walls of surrounding buildings, dropping their weapons, their entire bodies simply folding in on themselves and dropping to the dusty ground in a pile of limbs. 

“Dad?” she called desperately, the tears welling, her eyes scanning the sky. 

“Close it.” Steve instructed reluctantly and Amelia’s heart gave out.

“No.” She cried, struggling again and Steve’s grip tightened. 

The blue column powering the portal vanished, the gateway beginning to collapse in on itself and with it Amelia’s legs gave out, her heart simply stopping in her chest.  Steve fell with her, cradling her close, and she beat at his chest pathetically, a tear slipping free of her eyes as the portal coiled and writhed, growing smaller and smaller.  Amelia refused to watch, squeezing her eyes shut and burying her face in Steve’s chest, gripping him tightly as the walls of her heart collapsed with it. 

“Son of a gun.” Steve gasped suddenly and Amelia opened her eyes, snapping her head to the sky. 

Relief swelled like the crashing waves of the ocean inside Amelia as the closing portal spat her father out just before snapping shut, his red and gold covered body flailing as it soared through the sky.  She pushed away from Steve, scrambling to her feet and her sharp features dropped as she realized. 

“He’s not slowing down.” She choked out, glancing over her shoulder at the two.

A roar pierced the air as Thor began to swing his hammer and the Hulk shot out of nowhere, snatching Tony’s falling body from the sky and plummeting into the neighbouring building, tearing away the stonework as he scaled the wall and leapt away at the last minute.  Hulk hugged her father to his chest as they sailed towards the ground, twisting his body as they crashed to the street, massively denting the hood of a car and skidding to a halt amongst the rubble, ripping a path in the street. 

Amelia didn’t waste a second before she broke into a run, ignoring the sting in her legs as she dropped beside her father, the fall tearing away the knees of her pants, grazing her skin, and her shaking hands hauled him onto his back. 

“Is he breathing?” Steve worried as Thor ripped off the face mask, kneeling beside Amelia.

Her hands hovered over his chest plate, breath coming in short gasps as she took in the blinking reactor, bending over his face to feel for his breath and she shook her head frantically, panic slithering up her throat.

Hulk roared so suddenly Amelia shrieked, her already flighty nerves vibrating with fear and she rocked back into Steve, taking several calming breaths as her heart beat a panicked rhythm in her chest.  “What the hell?” She cried angrily at the same time as her father, wide eyes snapping to him to find his familiar eyes open, the reactor glowing a steady blue in his chest.

“Dad.” Amelia breathed, pushing off Steve, relief washing through her, pulling a smile onto her cheek as she draped herself across his metal chest, clutching his shoulders tightly.  “God, I thought you were gone.”

“Nope.” Tony croaked, stroking a startled hand down her back, giving her a reassuring pat.  “Still with it.” Amelia sniffed, pressing her cheek to the reactor to feel the gentle hum inside.  “Hey, what do we say, huh?”

“No.” Amelia snapped, pulling away from him, her brow furrowed petulantly, “You don’t get to say it, not when you almost died on me again.”

Tony choked out a chuckle, releasing a long breath and a groan to follow as Amelia wiped at her grubby cheek.  “Please tell me nobody kissed me.” Tony begged, hand dropping back against the concrete. 

Steve let a weary smile curl his lips, taking a breath as he glanced between them, glanced at the city and the odd silence that descended.  “We won.” He sighed, gaze falling on Amelia and she held it even as the adrenaline began to fade.

“Alright, yay.” Tony cheered exhaustedly, head dropping back, “Good job, guys, let’s just not come in tomorrow, let’s just take a day.” He pointed at Thor, “Have you ever tried shawarma?” Amelia let out a tired chuckle as Tony babbled, resting her head on Steve’s shoulder as the Captain hung his head, amused at how alike father and daughter were.  Even during such an intense, terrifying moment, the two kept their humour.  “There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here, I don’t know what it is, but I want to try it.”

“We’re not finished yet.” Thor stated, looking to the tower and they all followed his gaze.

Loki.  The last piece of the puzzle. 

“And then shawarma after… right?”