Green Tinted Glass

Power.

Burning her, tearing her apart from the inside.

Poison. 

Sludging through her veins, turning her blood to fire.  

Pure energy.

Forcing its way down her throat, stinging her eyes, blinding her, filling her lungs with molten electricity until she’s gasping for air, what oxygen she can force down hot and tinged with red. 

A rhythmic beat is in the air, like the beating of wings. She can smell singed feathers. Sizzling metal and flesh. 

Is this how Icarus felt as he fell?

The air prickles like the moment before lightning strikes.

She burns in a hell of her own making, blood turning against her.

Vision swimming, dripping with red.

What have they done to her? 

What have they twisted her into?

She didn’t want this.

Her body is aflame.

Convulsing.

Feeling.

Oh, god, feeling.

Choking on blood.

Dying.

Crying. 

her tears leaving trails of blood on her face. 

Shouting… someone is shouting her name.

…her name? What is her name?

-

“Wake up! Come on, it’s just a dream, wake up!”

Lucia sat up suddenly, scrambling off the couch and away from the voice in her confusion. As her surroundings came back into focus, she slowly calmed down. 

The credits of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone were playing on the TV. Lucia was standing in the middle of the living room in her PJs. Pepper was looking at her, a worried look on her face. 

Lucia’s shirt was drenched in blood.

“Shit!” Lucia exclaimed, wiping her nose, the source of the blood, with her sleeve. She noticed Pepper staring at her. “Sorry, it’s just another nosebleed, I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

Pepper shook her head and rested her hand on Lucia’s shoulder, gently massaging it with her thumb.

“Sweets, are you ok? I thought you said the nightmares stopped.”

Lucia took a deep breath and slumped down onto the couch.

“I lied. I didn't want Tony to worry.”

Pepper had a pained expression on her face. “I admire your effort to give Tony some peace of mind, but that’s supposed to be my job, not yours. You should tell him.”

“I will. But not now, ok? Where is he anyway?”

Pepper sighed, walking over to a table where she had set up a little tech station. 

“He’s connecting the tower to the arc-reactor grid.”

Just then, the lights flickered before going out completely, plunging them both into darkness. The only source of light in the room was Pepper’s computer screen. “I see we’re disconnected.” She muttered. Lucia paced over to the kitchenette, wiping her face and neck down. That's another ruined pyjama set, She thought idly, using her phone as a light to check for any missed spots. It was no use, really; She’d have to have a shower anyway. For the moment, she took off her dirtied shirt and went into an adjacent bathroom, wrapping herself in a soft bathrobe.

“I forgot he was doing that today.” Lucia said as she emerged from the bathroom and walked back over to Pepper’s station. “How’s it coming along?” 

As if in answer to her question, Pepper's phone rang, an image of Tony Stark revealing itself when she picked it up. 

“I guess we’re about to find out.” She swiped at her phone, and a holographic image of Tony Stark’s face appeared above the table. 

“We’re good to go on this end,” Tony says, “The rest is up to you.”

Pepper fiddled with some things on the computer screen, displays coming and going at the touch of her hand. 

“You disconnected the transmission lines?” she asked Tony, as she studied what looked like an electrical map of Stark Tower. “Are we off the grid?”

“Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining, clean energy.” 

“Well,” Pepper scoffs, “That's assuming the arc reactor takes over and it actually works.”

“My brother built it,” Lucia said, “Of course it’ll work.” 

“Thanks, kid. At least someone believes in me.” 

“Not a kid, Tones.”

Pepper smiled and shook her head. 

“Light her up!”

Pepper typed in a quick command, and the lights above them turned on, blinding Lucia for a moment. 

“How does it look?” Pepper asks.

“Like Christmas,” Tony sighed happily, “but with more… me.”

“We’ve got to go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press.” Pepper lectured him as she shuffled through countless documents on her desk. Honestly, Lucia didn't know how she possibly kept track of all that paperwork. 

“I’m in D.C tomorrow,” Pepper continued, “I’m working on the zoning for the next three buildings-”

“Pepper.” Tony interrupted, “You’re killing me. The moment, remember? Enjoy the moment.”

“Get in here and I will.” Pepper said, before ending the call.

“Gross.” Lucia said, rolling her eyes. She watched through the window as Tony landed on the tower and started walking over to the doorway, his machines taking his suit off in a practiced dance as he did so. He smiled at her as she ran over to give him a hug the second he stepped into the building. 

“Hey kiddo.” 

 Lucia grinned in return, throwing her arms around him for a quick hug.

“Not a kid.” She repeated, her voice coloured with amusement. 

“Levels are holding steady.” Pepper said, glancing over her shoulder as the two of them walked over to her. 

“I think.” 

“Of course they are.” Tony said, “I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question, how does it feel to be a genius?” 

Pepper rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. “Well, I wouldn't know, now would I?”

“What do you mean? All this,” Tony said, gesturing around the room with his hand, “Came from you.”

Pepper smiled and shook her head.

“No. All this came from that.” She tapped the middle of his chest, where the Arc reactor keeping Tony Stark alive was faintly glowing.

“Give yourself some credit, please.” 

Pepper looked away but Tony grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eyes. 

“Stark tower is your baby. Give yourself... 12% of the credit.” 

Oof. Lucia coughed to cover her laugh. Pepper wouldn't be letting go of that one anytime soon.

“12%?” Pepper raised an eyebrow.

“An argument can be made for 15.” 

“Tony!” Lucia gasped. Gosh, he was just digging himself a deeper hole. 

“What?” Tony held up his hands, an innocent look on his face. 

“12%? My baby?” Pepper scoffed and pushed past Tony, going over to join Lucia where she had settled into the couch once again. 

“Well I did do all the heavy lifting.” 

“Ah!” Pepper exclaimed, dramatically.

“Literally, I lifted the heavy things! And sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you.”

“Ooh!” Pepper made a face as she reached for the champagne on the coffee table. Lucia grabbed three glasses.

“My private elevator-” 

“You mean our elevator?” Pepper interrupted.

“- it was teeming with sweaty workmen.” Tony finished. 

“God, you two bicker like an old married couple.” Lucia said, as Pepper poured some champagne into her glass. Tony sucked in a breath.

“I'm going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later aren't I?”

“It's not going to be that subtle.” Pepper said as she handed Tony his glass and finished pouring her own.

“I'll tell you what, the next building will say ‘Potts’ on the tower.” 

“On the lease.” 

“Eeeh… C- call your mom, can you bunk over?” 

Pepper chuckled and sipped her wine as JARVIS’s voice reverberated through the room. 

“Sir, the telephone. I’m afraid my protocols are being overridden.” 

Before Tony could do anything, a familiar voice rang through the room.

“Mr. Stark, we need to talk.” 

Tony picked up his phone and put on a stern face.

“You have reached the life-model decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message.” 

Lucia and Pepper chuckled as the familiar voice spoke up again.

“This is urgent.”

“Then leave it urgently.”

The sound of the elevator doors opening caught Lucia’s attention and she, along with Tony and Pepper, turned around to see who it was.

Agent Coulson was standing in the elevator. 

“Security breach! It's on you.” Tony accused Pepper, who was already standing up to greet Coulson.

“Phil! Come in.” she said, grabbing her glass and walking over.

“Phil? uh, His first name is Agent.” 

“Come in, we’re celebrating!” Pepper said, ignoring Tony’s comment.

“Which is why he can't stay.” Tony said through a comically fake smile. Coulson looked over to where Lucia was getting up off the couch to join them all. 

“Agent Stark.” he nodded in greeting. She smiled and lifted an eyebrow.

“Agent Coulson.” 

He turned back to Tony and Pepper, holding out a file for Tony to take. 

“We need you to look this over, as soon as possible.”

Tony winced.

“Yeah, I don't like being handed things.” 

“That's fine, because I love to be handed things. So let's trade.” Pepper said, taking the file out of Coulson's hand and giving him her glass of champagne, before promptly passing it to Tony and taking his glass.

“Official consulting hours are between 8 and 5, every other Thursday.” Tony fake smiled again. 

“This isn't a consultation.” Coulson said, unamused by Tony’s jibes. 

“What is it then?” Lucia asked, peeking over her brother’s shoulder. Unsurprisingly, he hadn't opened the file. 

“Is this about the Avengers?” Pepper asks, then, realizing her mistake, she added; “Which I know nothing about.” 

“I thought the Avengers initiative was scrapped. And he didn't even qualify.” Lucia said, gesturing to Tony. 

“I didn't know that either.” Pepper chimed in. 

Tony took the file, walking over to his- or rather Pepper’s- desk. “Yeah, apparently I'm volatile? Self obsessed, don't play well with others?” 

“That I did know!” Pepper smiled. 

“This isn't about  personality profiles anymore.” Coulson admitted. 

“Whatever. Ms Potts, got a second?”

Pepper made an apologetic wince and handed Lucia her champagne glass. 

“Half a mo.” 

Lucia turned to Coulson once Pepper had made her way over to Tony and they started having a hushed conversation. 

“So, the Avengers initiative? My brother?”

Coulson winced, 

“Not just your brother. You're on the list too.” 

Her brows furrowed in confusion. That can't be right. 

“I thought after what happened-” 

“He took you on and off the list about ten times after your, ah, experience a year ago. But after what happened with the tesseract he decided that it was worth it to keep you on, for good.” 

“After what happened with the tesseract? What happened with the tesseract?”

Coulson looked uncomfortable, as if he wasn't sure whether he was allowed to say anything to her. 

“Phil,” Lucia questioned, “What's happened? Is this what Fury’s been hiding from me? Why won't he let me back in the field?” 

Agent Coulson slowly let out a breath. 

“The answer to your first two questions is in the file. As for the last one…” he trailed off, giving her a look that seemed like he was begging her with his eyes not to make him say what was coming next. 

“What?” 

“He thinks you’re… unstable. You haven't been going to you assigned counseling sessions, which might I add were court mandated-” 

“I don't need fucking therapy, Phil!” Lucia whisper-shouted at him, “I don't need to be baby sat, Coulson, I’m a field agent! I can't be locked up any longer!” 

Coulson winced at her words, but didn’t retort. 

“I know. It’s Fury’s words, not mine. If I were you, I’d just be happy he was bringing me back on.” 

Lucia sighed, running a hand through her hair to soothe herself. Coulson was right. At least she was finally going back into the field.

Although this time her brother would be hovering over her shoulder. 

Ugh.

“So, any chance you're driving by LaGuardia?” Pepper asked, coming over to Lucia and Coulson. 

Coulson gave Lucia a final, wary look before turning back into the elevator.

“I can drop you.” he replied to Pepper.

“Fantastic. Oh, I want to hear about the cellist, is that still a thing?”

“She moved back to Portland.” 

“What? boo!”

Their voices faded away as the elevator doors closed, and Lucia walked over to Tony, who was holding a holographic diagram of the tesseract, a hard expression on his face. He glanced up to see her walking over. 

“Well, Luce?” 

She sighed, leaning against the desk.

“Looks like we’ve got homework.”

–--

The sun blinded Lucia as she stepped out of the jet and onto the runway of the Heli-carrier. As her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight, she admired the impressive structure Fury had created. The Heli-carrier was unlike anything she'd ever seen. It was as massive as a Navy warship, and flew on four massive turbine engines, though currently said turbines were retracted, as the carrier was in ship-mode. Natasha had told Lucia that it even had the ability to turn invisible with special reflective panels. 

“Hey Stark!” 

Speak of the devil, and she shall appear.

Natasha sauntered over to her, a rare grin on her face. Lucia walked towards her, meeting her in the middle of the runway. She threw her arms around her friend, enveloping her in a tight embrace.

“God, Nat, I missed you so much!”

Natasha was like Lucia’s big sister. She had been protective of her as soon as Lucia had been assigned to train under Natasha and her partner Clint at S.H.I.E.L.D. 

With her own backstory of being trained as an assassin since she was a little girl, Natasha had been angry that Lucia had been allowed into the program as a teen. She even asked Fury to kick Lucia out a couple of times. Eventually she had given in, with the compromise of Lucia being assigned as her and Clint's new partner the second she was out of training. The three of them had been inseparable ever since. 

“Hey,” Lucia pulled back, squeezing her shoulders and getting a good look at her face. 

“I heard about Clint in the briefing file. Do you have any idea if he’s ok? Are you ok?”

She smiled sadly and shook her head. 

“I haven't heard anything. I'm alright, just... worried.”

“Well, that's what we’re here for, isn't it? We’ll get him back, Nat. I promise.” 

She nodded in agreement. Lucia heard a rushing noise and cleared the runway quickly before the jet that was coming in for landing could run them over. As the plane settled, Nat grabbed her hand and pulled her towards it. 

“Come on, that's the ice-mans plane.” 

Lucia was confused for a second before she realized Natasha was talking about Steve. She chuckled lightly and followed her over to the plane where two figures were emerging from the hold. 

“Agent Romanoff, Agent Stark; Captain Rogers.” Coulson says, introducing them to each other. Steve nodded towards Lucia. 

“Yes, we’ve met.” 

Coulson shot her a look, but she just smiled and shrugged. What was he expecting? Steve was the most interesting thing that had happened in months. 

Steve turned to Natasha and nodded. 

“Ma’am.” 

“Hi.” She says, acknowledging his presence. She immediately turns to Coulson. 

“They need you on the bridge, They’re starting the Face-trace.”

Coulson nods.
“See you there.” 

Lucia, Nat and Steve started walking off the runway. 

“It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice.” Nat began, “I thought Coulson was gonna swoon.”

Lucia chuckled. “Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?” She asked Steve.

“Trading cards?”

“They’re vintage.” Nat interjects, “He's very proud.”

“Dr. Banner!” Steve said, walking towards the man he just spotted. He held out his hand and Bruce shook it.

“Oh, yeah, Hi. they, uh, told me you’d be coming.” 

Bruce had a look on his face that could only be unlocked when faced with the man who took the original supersoldier serum you had been trying to replicate the effects of all your life, only for it to turn you into a rageful, uncontrolled green monster. 

It was an odd look.

“Word is you can find the cube.” Steve said.

“Is that the only word on me?”

“Only word I care about.” 

Bruce nodded, surveying the deck of the heli-carrier. 

“It must be strange for you, all of this.” 

Steve looked around, his eyes landing on the air force personnel who were running lengths in formation. 

“Well, this is actually kind’ve familiar.”

Nat cleared her throat.

“Gentlemen, you may want to step inside a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe.”

Steve and Bruce seemed to realize the chaos around them, with everyone rushing to secure the deck. 

“Is this a submarine?” Steve asks. Lucia smirked at him.

“Really?” Bruce scoffs, “They want me in a submerged, pressurized metal container?” 

“Not quite.” She said in a sing-song voice.

The chaos intensified as a great whirring came from deep inside the heli-carrier. Steve and Bruce walked to the edge of the deck to get a better view of what was going on. Salty water sprayed them from the massive turbines that were slowly revealing themselves from under the sea. They span faster and faster, and the heli-carrier started to rise into the air. 

“No, no, this is much worse.” Bruce flashed a pained smile. Lucia laughed.

“Come on, they're waiting for us in the bridge!”

---

The bridge was a huge room filled with desk after desk, computer after computer. Everyone was going somewhere, everyone had a drive, everyone had something to do.

Except Lucia. 

Well, her and the rest of the people on the Avengers initiative recruitment list. Lucia saw Maria Hill by one of the computers, reading off the screen.

“All engines operating, S.H.I.E.L.D emergency protocol 193.6 in effect.” She turns to Fury. 

“We’re at level sir.”

“Good.” Fury says. It's the first word Lucia has heard from him in two weeks. It's the first time She’s seen him face-to-face in almost a year. So many emotions coil in her stomach when she looks at him, like snakes fighting each other for dominance. 

There's some relief; she’s finally getting out in the field, and Fury is there to direct her like he always does. Mostly, there's anger and annoyance. Even rage. He kept what had happened with the tesseract a secret from her. He thought she was volatile and uncontrollable. He thought she was dangerous. A threat.

He wasn’t entirely wrong. 

But he also trusted Lucia enough to put her in the Avengers, and task her with retrieving the tesseract. Her most important mission to date, by a motherlode. 

“Let's vanish.” Fury said. 

“Engage retro-reflection panels.” Hill ordered. 

And just like that, they were invisible. 

Fury turned towards Lucia, Nat, Steve and Bruce.

“Gentlemen. Agents.” 

Steve walked towards Fury, staring at everything in the room in awe. He fished $10 out of his pocket and handed it to Fury, who simply smirked and shoved the cash in his pocket. 

What bet did you lose, Rogers? Lucia thought, absently. Fury walked over to Bruce. 

“Doctor, thank you for coming.'' He held out his hand for Bruce to shake, and after a moment's hesitation, Bruce took it. 

“Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh, how long am I staying?”

“Once we get our hands on the tesseract, you're in the wind.” 

Bruce nodded, “And where are you with that?”

“We’re sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet.” Coulson piped up. “Cellphones, laptops… if it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us.”

“That's still not going to find them in time.” Nat said from where she was crouched over a computer displaying Clint’s file. Lucia could see the worry on her face. She herself was deeply worried for her friend. What was he facing at the hands of this mysterious assailant? Nothing good, that's for sure. 

“You have to narrow your field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?” Bruce asked Fury. 

“How many are there?” Fury replied. 

“Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays,” Bruce said, taking off his coat, “I’ll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?”

Funny nodded. 

“Agent Romanoff? Could you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please.” 

“You're gonna love it, Doc.” Nat said as she led Bruce away. “We’ve got all the toys.”

When they had left the room, Fury turned to Lucia. 

“Agent Stark.” He began, folding his arms behind his back.

“I have half a mind to stab you in your good eye, Sir.” Lucia said. 

Fury smiled, “I believe we need to talk.” 

Lucia nodded and followed him out of the bridge and down the hallway, then into a small room. 

“Good god do I have a bone to pick with you!” Lucia spat the moment the door closed behind her. Fury sighed.

“Look, Agent Stark, there's no doubt Agent Coulson has told you how exactly I feel about your powers. I apologize for how that may have made you feel, but you know I'm right. You're dangerous. You’re uncontrolled.” 

Lucia scoffed. “Banner is dangerous. He's uncontrolled. You don't seem to have a problem with that, and for the record, you’re wrong.” 

Fury raised an eyebrow. 

“You mean to tell me you've been training with these powers, against my explicit orders?” 

She pursed her lips. “Everyday since you gave me those orders.” 

Fury smiled, as if she’d aced some test she wasn't aware she was taking.

“Perfect. Welcome to the team, Agent Stark. Now, I think it's time we head back to the bridge.” 

She grinned and turned heel, walking out of the room. 

Welcome to the team

Lucia Stark was officially an Avenger. 

---

The moment she and Fury stepped back into the bridge, someone called out:

“We got a hit! 67% match. Wait, cross match, 79%!”

Coulson rushed over from where he had been talking to Steve. 

“Location?” 

“Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Konigstrasse. He’s not exactly hiding.”

Lucia looked over the agent's shoulder at the image of a handsome, raven-haired man on the screen. 

“So that's the guy who stole the tesseract?”

Coulson nodded. 

“Huh. You’d think he’d be more careful. More stealthy.” Lucia said, tucking the information away in her mind.

“Guess he has an ego.” Coulson offered.

“Captain, Agent Stark.” Fury boomed, tearing her attention away from the screen.

“You’re up.” 

Lucia gave a brief nod, and made her way towards the door of the bridge. Fury stopped her as she passed him, and handed her a package in a brown paper bag. 

“Your suit.” Fury said, “I had the team make some modifications to accommodate your abilities.”

Lucia smiled in gratitude and moved out of the bridge, rushing back to the small room from before to get changed. On her way, she ran face-first into her brother. 

“Sorry- hey, where’re you off to in such a hurry?” 

She grinned, pushing past him. 

“A mission!” 

“Wait, am I coming with?”

“Nope! Bye!” Lucia called over her shoulder. 

She made it into the tiny room from before, and immediately started getting changed. The suit was easy to get on, sliding onto her body. It came in two parts. The top was skin-tight, with an almost turtle-neck cut. The back of it was made out of a strange fabric that was solid as metal when it was hit, but she was able to pass her hand completely through it when she did it softly. Non-newtonian fabric? Must be nanotech. 

The pants were slightly baggier, allowing for more freedom of movement. They had plenty of straps and holsters attached for various guns. Lucia’s favorite part was the adjustable belt, which had sheaths for at least four daggers. 

She mentally blessed Fury, reminding herself to thank him for that particular detail when she got back. 

Fully suited up, Lucia rushed out onto the deck of the heli-carrier, where a jet was waiting. She ran in, the bay door closing behind her. She was surprised to see Steve in his old Captain America uniform. 

“Oh, hey. Back in the stars and stripes I see?” 

Steve nodded, his cheeks flushing a bit with embarrassment.

“People might need a little old-fashioned.”

Lucia nodded, arming herself to the teeth with all her preferred weapons, including four daggers. 

Three for throwing, one for stabbing. 

The jet lurched as it took off, and deeming herself sufficiently armed, Lucia settled back into her seat. 

“Well, Captain, off to Germany?” 

Steve smiled.

“Let's go get this son of a bitch.”