Briefings and Revelations
Chapter 3: Briefings and Revelations
As soon as Natasha landed the Quinjet on the Helicarrier, Loki, bound with heavy cuffs, was escorted into an isolated room containing a large cylindrical glass cage. Meanwhile, Evelyn broke away from the group to visit the infirmary where a medic examined her and the babies, being informed that all three of them were safe and healthy. Happy and relieved by the news, she joined Natasha, Thor, Steve and Bruce in the briefing room/ communications hub, all of them settling around the table and watching the CCTV footage as Fury entered the containment room and stepped up to the control console for the containment cage.
“In case it’s unclear,” Fury said, his voice echoing around the room while Loki looked on with an unamused and disinterested expression on his face. “You try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass,” Fury pressed a button on the console, causing the floor beneath the cage to open and reveal the open air beneath them. The wind whipped around the room, blowing through the folds of Fury’s black coat as Loki looked down into the empty blackness below him. “It’s 30, 000 feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?” Fury didn’t wait for a response as he pressed another button on the console and sealed the hole closed once again. Gesturing to Loki, he said, “ant,” before gesturing to the control console and saying, “boot.”
Loki chuckled lightly, once again looking completely unconcerned. “It’s an impressive cage.” He agreed, his chuckles fading though a wide smirk remained on his face. “Not built, I think, for me.”
“Built for something a lot stronger than you.” Fury said.
The cage could not only hold the Hulk, it could also contain power-gifted people like Evelyn as well. Evelyn herself had been the test subject before she became pregnant, understanding all too well the need to have a way to contain the beings that wielded such fearsome powers.
“Oh, I’ve heard.” Loki said with a smirk, turning to look directly at the camera mounted on the ceiling of the room. “A mindless beast. Makes play he’s still a man.”
“Is he talking about you or me?” Evelyn asked, looking up at Bruce who was standing behind a chair across from her.
As soon as they had stepped off the Quinjet, her combat suit melted away leaving her wearing a pearl grey short sleeved blouse, the sash tied between her breasts and the swell of her baby bump, a pair of off-white trousers and slightly darker off-white 5” high heeled pumps*. Her long hair was swept up into a French twist at the back of her head, a few strands loose and framing her face gently and her nails were now a soft ballet pink color.
“I think he means me.” Bruce said, grimacing lightly.
The sound of Loki’s laughter drew them back to the screens showing the feed from the containment room. “How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?” He asked, his laughter fading into a chuckle.
“How desperate am I?” Fury repeated, stepping closer to the cage. “You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can’t hope to control. You talk about peace and then you kill because it’s fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did.”
“Ooh.” Loki said, a smirk forming across his face. “It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what?” He laughed lightly. “A warm light for all mankind to share. And then to be reminded what real power is.”
“Well let me know if ‘real power’ wants a magazine or something.” Fury said dismissively, walking away from the cage before leaving the room entirely.
“He really grows on you, doesn’t he?” Bruce remarked, folding his arms over his chest.
“I have this really intense urge to smack him.” Evelyn muttered, leaning back in her chair and folding her hands over her baby bump. “And I don’t think it’s entirely my hormones talking.”
“Loki’s gonna drag this out.” Steve said seriously, bringing the pregnant woman back on track. “So, Thor, what’s his play?”
“He has an army called the Chitauri.” Thor said pensively, standing a short distance away from Evelyn. He had removed his cape and the heavier portions of his armor, his hair also no longer tied back, instead left loose to hang freely around his shoulders. “They are not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.”
“An army… from outer space.” Steve summarized disbelievingly.
“It’s not that far of a leap.” Evelyn remarked, looking at Steve pointedly.
“So, he’s building another portal.” Bruce said thoughtfully, a small frown marring his face. “That’s what he needs Erik Selvig for.”
“Selvig?” Thor repeated, looking across the table at the mild mannered scientist in confusion.
“He’s an astrophysicist, working on the Tesseract project.” Evelyn explained.
“He’s a friend.” Thor said softly, his confusion giving way to concern for his friend.
“Loki has him under some kind of spell. Along with one of ours.” Natasha said, folding her arms on the table and looking across at the Thunder God.
“I’m more curious to why Loki let us take him.” Evelyn said, wincing slightly when one of the babies gave a particularly hard kick to her abdomen. “There’s no way he’ll be able to lead his army from here. Nick was right about the cage being able to hold more than Loki; it can hold both me and Bruce, when he’s the Hulk, together.”
“I don’t think we should be focusing on Loki.” Bruce commented, though nodding in agreement to Evelyn’s remark about the cage. “That guy’s brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him.”
“Have care how you speak.” Thor warned, turning to face Bruce. “Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother.”
“Honey, we understand that, but he did kill 80 people in two days.” Evelyn said gently, swiveling in her chair to look up at the giant man standing near her.
“He is adopted.” Thor offered sheepishly.
Evelyn reached out and patted him sympathetically on the arm, earning a small smile from the golden haired God.
“I think it’s about the mechanics.” Bruce said thoughtfully. “Iridium. What do they need the Iridium for?”
“It’s a stabilizing agent.” Tony called, walking into the room with Phil. Like Evelyn, the elder Stark scion was also dressed in civilian clothes, consisting of a black suit with a navy blue dress shirt and midnight blue tie. He turned to Phil, lowering his voice slightly as he said, “I’m just saying, pick a weekend. I’ll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive.”
Phil nodded, shooting him a tight smile before looking towards Evelyn and giving her a warmer one as he moved to the side, checking on some of the agents that were huddled in front of their computers.
“It means the portal won’t collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD.” Evelyn added in explanation, shooting Tony a bright smile. “Hey Tony.”
“Hey Eves.” Tony said, bending down to kiss her cheek briefly before straightening up. He looked at Thor, the Thunder God a few feet away from the pregnant redhead, and eyed the giant man with a piercing gaze, noticing the way Evelyn still had a hand on his arm and the way he was subconsciously angled towards her. Pushing his rising suspicions to the side, he patted the taller man lightly on the arm as he passed him, saying flippantly, “No hard feelings, Point Break. You’ve got a mean swing.” Thor looked at him with a raised eyebrow, clearly unsure of how to react to the eccentric genius. Evelyn on the other hand watched him stride around the room unconcernedly, a look of fond exasperation on her face. “Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants.” He stopped in the aisle between two rows of computer consoles, looking at one of the agents. “Ah, raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails.” Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him oddly for the strange and unexpected comment. Seeing the looks he was receiving, he pointed at the agent he had been talking to, proclaiming loudly, “That man is playing Galaga! Thought we wouldn’t notice, but we did.” Steve exchanged confused looks with Bruce, both men wondering what Tony was up to while the genius himself covered one eye and looked at the computer screens closest to him. “How does Fury even see these?”
“He turns.” Maria said dryly, her arms crossed over her chest and a decidedly unimpressed expression on her face.
“Sounds exhausting.” Tony commented.
“Tony, focus please.” Evelyn prompted gently, far more accustomed to the frequent and rapid jumps her brother’s mind made between thoughts and ideas.
“Right, sorry.” Tony said, lowering his hand and turning to one of the computer consoles, fiddling with the screen. “The rest of the raw materials Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily.”
“The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density.” Evelyn said thoughtfully, a small frown on her face.
“Something to kick-start the Cube.” Tony added, discreetly planting a small bug beneath one of the consoles before turning to face the group.
“I get Evy knowing thermonuclear astrophysics, but when did you become an expert?” Maria asked, scoffing under her breath.
“Last night.” Tony said, grinning cheerfully. “The packet, Selvig’s notes, the extraction theory papers. Are Eves and I the only ones who did the reading?”
“Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?” Steve asked, drawing everyone back to the immediate topic at hand.
“He’d have to heat the Cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier.” Bruce said, pacing behind his chair.
“Unless Dr. Selvig has figured out a way to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect.” Evelyn countered.
“Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet.” Bruce remarked, stopping his pacing to look at Evelyn and Tony.
“Finally, someone else who speaks English.” Tony said, grinning at Bruce.
“Is that what just happened?” Steve asked, completely confused.
He wasn’t the only one. Thor was also completely confused while Natasha and Maria weren’t too far behind. The two women understood roughly half of what had been said, though most of it flew straight over their heads.
“It’s good to meet you, Dr. Banner.” Tony said cheerfully, stepping towards the other scientist and shaking his hand. “Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I’m a huge fan of the way lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster.”
“…Thanks.” Bruce said slowly, unsure of what to make of the eccentric genius.
“You get used to him.” Evelyn said reassuringly, seeing the disbelieving look on the older scientist’s face. “Eventually.” She amended sheepishly.
“Dr. Banner is only here to track the Cube.” Fury said, walking into the room and joining them at the table, standing behind one of the chairs. “I was hoping you and Evy might join him.”
“Sure.” Evelyn chirped cheerfully while Tony nodded in agreement.
“I’d start with that stick of his.” Steve suggested. “It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon.”
“Which I am desperately hoping it is nothing of the sort.” Evelyn muttered, a shiver racing through her at the memories of the events that occurred 70 years earlier.
“I don’t know about that, but it is powered by the Cube.” Fury said before anyone could comment on Evelyn’s remark. “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 repeated in confusion. “I do not understand.”
“I do!” Steve exclaimed excitedly, turning everyone’s attention to him. Seeing the raised eyebrows he was receiving, his smile faded slightly as he added, “I-I understood that reference.”
“Me, too.” Evelyn said, pushing her unease aside and smiling slightly at her friend. She groaned in pain and winced, leaning forward and rubbing her lower back. “Braxton-Hicks.” She said when she noticed the concerned looks being shot in her direction, letting out a slow breath at the same time. “I’ve been having them all week.”
“You’re only in your 26th week.” Maria pointed out in confusion. “How can you already be having Braxton-Hicks contractions? I thought they started in the third trimester, not the second.”
“They can sometimes start as early as the 25th or 26th week in twin or multiple pregnancies.” Tony said. At his remark, nearly everyone in the room looked at him with raised eyebrows, wondering just how he would know something like that. “What?” He asked defensively. “I learned everything I possibly could when Eves got pregnant!”
“And then he proceeded to summarize all of it to me.” Evelyn chirped, smiling across the table at her brother.
“What are ‘Braxon-Hicks’?” Thor asked, a confused frown on his face at the unfamiliar terminology.
“Braxton-Hicks.” Evelyn corrected automatically. “They’re basically a tightening of my uterine muscles to aid in the preparation of birth.” She explained. “It’s pretty much helping me get used to the contractions that I’ll feel when I go into actual labor in around three months.”
Thor looked completely baffled. “I had been aware that childbirth is no easy feat, but this is… Wow.” He breathed, shaking his head in amazement.
“Oh, honey, you have no idea.” Evelyn remarked, briefly patting his arm where she could reach from their different positions. “None whatsoever.”
An agent ran up to the group and stopped next to Fury. “Sir, we might have something.” She said. Everyone looked at her expectantly. “And before you ask, it’s not about the Cube or Loki.” Turning to Evelyn, she said, “It’s about your pregnancy, Dr. Stark and the ongoing case.”
At her words, it was as though all activity stopped as everyone stared at her. It had been six months since Evelyn had gotten pregnant and there had been no headway in the case, not even running the babies’ DNA against nearly every database they could think of to find the father had yielded any results.
“I do not understand.” Thor said, frowning slightly. He glanced down at Evelyn, looking confused as he took in her hopeful expression. “Lady Evelyn, why would there be an investigation regarding your pregnancy?” Before she could respond, the implications of his question hit him and his eyes widened in alarm, concern and worry filling the striking blue orbs. He knelt down by her chair and looked at her, pitching his voice low and soothing as he asked gently, “My Lady, were you violated in any way?”
“Not in the way you’re thinking, I wasn’t raped or taken forcefully.” Evelyn replied, shaking her head and smiling gently at him. She put her tiny hand on his bicep, the bulging muscle nearly dwarfing her hand. “Six months ago, I was kidnapped, drugged and impregnated.” Thor’s eyes widened, horror filling the striking blue orbs and only the small hand on his arm keeping his rising fury at bay. Despite the fury, there was still a glimmer of confusion on his face and she continued, “There is a procedure here on Earth that allows a woman to be surgically impregnated; that is what had happened to me.”
“But for what purpose?” Thor asked, shaking his head in confusion and rising gracefully to his feet. Without realizing it, he stayed next to Evelyn, the smaller woman unconsciously keeping her hand on his arm. “What purpose would there be to forcibly impregnate a woman?”
“Honestly, there are a lot of reasons.” Natasha supplied, leaning forward in her chair and looking at Thor earnestly.
“But none of them apply to Eves.” Tony added, a glimmer of fury in his eyes, only noticeable to those who had been present in the early days of Evelyn’s pregnancy and they had learned what had happened to her.
“What about the babies’ dad?” Steve asked, leaning forward in his chair and frowning slightly. He had been told of what had happened but not the details of the still-ongoing case. “Wouldn’t he be able to shed some light on what had happened?”
“Theoretically, and in most cases, yes.” Maria replied, sighing heavily. “But this time, we have no idea who the babies’ father is. We have ran the DNA through every database we could think of, even against SHIELD personnel, but we came up with no matches.”
“I am having trouble understanding why anyone would commit such depravity.” Thor said, shaking his head. Anger coursed through him at what the sweet lady beside him had suffered through, and he suspected that there was far more to her than just what he had been told and witnessed in the past few hours. “Even the worst of Asgard would never stoop so low as to take an unwilling woman, let alone impregnate her.”
“And that, there, is why Earth is different from Asgard.” Natasha said dryly, not trying to be insulting but merely stating a fact.
“Um, about the DNA, that’s where I might have something.” The agent piped up, once again turning everyone’s gaze to her. Noticing the sudden attention, she swallowed, the sound audible in the silence and she continued, “Like Agent Hill said, we didn’t get any hits running the baby’s, or babies’ as it were, DNA against our databases. On a whim, I ran it against the Avengers Initiative panel. Truthfully, I wasn’t expecting anything to come from it, but I didn’t think it would hurt to just try since nothing else had yielded any results.”
“Agent, I don’t mean to be rude, but get to the point.” Evelyn said, cutting the other woman off before she could continue towards a full-blown ramble.
“Right, sorry.” The agent said apologetically. “I got a hit.”
“What?!”
The shocked sound echoed around the vast room, everyone having shouted at roughly the same time.
“Why wasn’t this done before?” Steve asked, frowning.
“Because I’m blood related to Tony, considered to be your best-friend Steve as well as you being on ice for 70 years, had minimal contact with Bruce and Agent Barton, absolutely no contact with Thor and Natasha’s a woman and therefore incapable of getting me pregnant.” Evelyn replied, rubbing her temples to alleviate some of the tension that was building up in her skull.
“What is ‘DNA’?” Thor asked, once more confused at the unfamiliar terminology.
“DNA is the genetic code that is unique to each individual.” Evelyn explained. “There are many aspects, properties and functions of it, but in this case, it can be used to identify the similarities between parent and child, as well as between blood-related siblings and even relatives.”
“I see.” Thor said, nodding in understanding. He could tell that there was far more to the explanation but accepted that it wasn’t the time to ask questions beyond what he needed to understand the situation. He turned to the agent, asking “What is the ‘hit’ you received?”
“The babies’ DNA is a match to yours, Thor.” The agent replied, her expression filled with nervousness.
“What?!”
Where the previous time, no one could say whose voice was the loudest, this time, Thor and Evelyn’s voices were the loudest, Tony’s following close behind while everyone else just gaped in complete shock.
“All though, that would explain why the babies kicks seemed so strong.” Tony said thoughtfully, his rapid mental processes allowing him to move past the shocking revelation much quicker than the others. “It’s because the twins actually are incredibly strong.”
“You had not noticed the uncharacteristic strength of the babies?” Thor asked Evelyn with a frown marring his features.
“I honestly thought it was karma, the Universe’s version of payback for the hell my brother and I put our parents through.” Evelyn replied, shrugging helplessly.
Whether Evelyn had been referring to Howard or Tony when she said ‘brother’ was anyone's guess, though Steve privately thought she had been referring to both.
“But how did whoever impregnate Evy get the required DNA samples in the first place?” Bruce asked. “I get having Agent Barton’s on file considering he’s an agent, even Steve’s and mine to an extent since we were both affiliated with the military at some point, but how did they get Thor’s?”
“When the Initiative was being planned, we had DNA samples gathered from all the potential candidates.” Fury explained.
“That is all well, but how did you attain samples of my DNA?” Thor asked, becoming more comfortable with the unfamiliar terms.
“They had been taken in the containment facility after you broke in.” Phil said, speaking up for the first time. “When you tried to get your hammer but failed.”
Thor’s eyes widened in stunned disbelief, as did Steve’s. Tony looked only mildly surprised while Natasha didn’t express any of it, far too used to SHIELD’s policies, procedures and practices. Evelyn as well, wasn’t entirely surprised at the news, having seen how SHIELD had changed in the past few decades since they had first established the organization.
“But according to the file about that incident, Thor had been mortal at the time.” Evelyn pointed out. “Based on that, shouldn’t the babies be mortal, with a little extra if they gain my powers? Not as strong as Asgardian babies.”
“Lady Evelyn is correct.” Thor said, nodding pensively. “On both accounts.” He looked at Phil, the only SHIELD agent present that he had previously encountered. “Unless you had taken more samples after I regained my powers?”
“No, not after you regained your powers.” Phil said, shaking his head. “Frankly, there hadn’t even been a chance since you had returned to Asgard shortly after.”
“What I don’t get is how I can be carrying his babies when the samples had been blood, tissue and skin.” Evelyn wondered aloud. She glanced at Phil, adding, “I’m assuming those were the samples that were taken?”
“Yeah.” Phil replied, nodding. “We can’t exactly take sperm samples without the person realizing.”
“Unless they're blackout drunk.” Tony muttered, getting an agreeing nod from Phil.
“Back to my earlier question. If those were the samples taken, then how am I pregnant?” Evelyn asked, looking confused.
At the question, the others looked confused as well. Clearly they hadn’t thought of that.
“There is a little known and very rare method of taking the needed reproductive component from blood and skin samples to create a viable sperm sample.” Bruce explained, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes before putting them back on. “However, in the few trials that had been done, the resulting pregnancies were incredibly high-risk with a very low chance of survival for mother or child, let alone both.”
“Oh, God.” Evelyn breathed, panic and worry clear on her face as she wrapped her hands over her baby bump.
Thor and Tony looked equally worried; the former because of the knowledge of what an Asgardian pregnancy could do to a mortal’s body and the latter because he knew just how risky multiple pregnancies were under the best circumstances – and the circumstances they were in at the moment were most assuredly not the best.
“Since there hadn’t been any sign of risk in the past 6 months, it is unlikely that there will be any during the rest of your pregnancy.” The agent said, quickly jumping in to reassure the worried pregnant woman. “At least, aside from the normal risks in multiple pregnancies.”
“Unfortunately, there may still be a risk.” Thor said pensively, a worried look on his face.
“What do you mean, Point Break?” Tony asked, a dangerous look in his eyes at the possible risk to his sister.
“What I mean to say is that the babies are at least part-Asgardian.” Thor said, aiming his words more at Evelyn than Tony but pitching his voice so that they could all hear him. “My Lady, no matter how powerful you are, or how long lived, you aren’t an Asgardian and it may pose a danger to you and the babies as they grow within you.”
“So what can we do?” Evelyn asked, pushing her fear aside to focus on the problem. As terrified as she was for her children, she was a scientist and had long since learned how to push aside her personal feelings to focus on the problem at hand, even if the problem itself was her . “How can I keep the babies, our babies, safe?”
“I ask that you return with me to Asgard once we have put a stop to Loki’s plans.” Thor said, now focused almost entirely on Evelyn. He knelt down in front of her and looked into her eyes, seeing the fear and concern for her children as well as the willingness to do whatever was needed to keep them safe. “It is my belief that under the care of Lady Eir and her team of healers, we may be able to reduce the potential risks and keep all three of you safe and healthy.”
Evelyn was silent, pondering what she had been told. She knew that Earth, no matter the advances in medicine, just wasn’t equipped to deal with her situation. But could she leave Tony, the young man whom she had helped raise and still saw as her own child despite him now looking older than her, for an unknown amount of time? Even if it was for the sake of her babies, his cousins-turned-nieces or nephews?
“Eves, go for it.”
Tony’s voice, soft and filled with fear at the unknown, penetrated through her thoughts and she turned to him.
“Tony?” She asked softly, seeing the same fear on his face that had been in his voice.
Evelyn could see that he was just as terrified at the idea of her leaving as she was, but he also knew that it was her best chance at keeping the babies safe.
“As terrified as I am of the prospect of you going somewhere where I can’t follow or reach you, I’m man enough to admit that there are some things that are beyond my capabilities.” Tony said, not at all ashamed or embarrassed at his admission in front of everyone. “I’m not going to risk your life or the twins’ lives because of my own pride and ego, or my reluctance to let you go.”
When Tony finished speaking, Evelyn turned her attention to Thor, the one person whom no one would blame if he walked away without a second glance. But he wasn’t. He was thinking of her and of the twins, of their safety, all the while knowing that there would be no turning back if she accepted his offer.
Playing Tony’s words over in her mind and seeing the willingness and determination on Thor’s face, she made her decision.
“Okay.” Evelyn said finally, looking at Thor. “I’ll go with you to Asgard once we’ve stopped Loki.”
“Very well.” Thor said, nodding and gracefully rising to his feet. He gently squeezed Evelyn’s hands before pulling away, stepping to the side.
“Now that that’s been sorted, shall we play, Doctor, Eves?” Tony asked, looking between Bruce and Evelyn and bringing everyone back on track; his expression and tone were almost cheerful, though it was quite obvious that he was desperately trying to focus on something other than the pending departure of his sister.
“Lets.” Evelyn said with a bright smile as she moved to stand up, taking her two tries before she finally managed to get to her feet.
Seeing her struggle, Thor looked ready to help her when Maria caught his eye and shook her head silently to keep him from moving. He frowned, not understanding but stayed where he was, intending to ask Maria why she had stopped him when he had the chance.
“This way, sir, ma’am.” Bruce said, smiling softly and holding his hand out to gesture at the open corridor that was behind them once Evelyn was on her feet.
“Not a word, Anthony.” She growled at her brother, seeing him open his mouth as they followed Bruce out of the room.
“I wasn’t going to say anything!” Tony said, looking completely indignant.
“Sure you weren’t.” Evelyn said dryly.
Thor moved around the table and stepped up to Maria, looking down at her. “Why did you stop me from aiding Lady Evelyn?” He asked softly, not wanting to draw attention to them.
Maria turned slightly and looked up at him, seeing genuine confusion on his face. She had suspected that the Thunder God had wanted to help Evelyn because that's how he had been raised – helping someone who was struggling, no matter if they were a man or woman – and his expression confirmed her thoughts. “Because, while she normally wouldn’t mind the help, Evy is usually someone who would prefer to ask for help if and when she needed it.” Maria explained softly. “It is entirely likely that she would have accepted your help if you had offered without her asking, but it is also likely that it would have upset her; she would think you see her as weak because of her inability to stand on her own.”
“But she is not weak.” Thor argued, more confused than before. “She carries life within her, two lives; it is not to be mocked or belittled.”
“You’re right.” Maria agreed. “But her emotions are pretty much all over the place, not at all helped by our current situation or what we just learned about the babies.” She sighed and looked up at him. “Evy is usually a very calm person; her current limitations don’t bother her because she knows why she is limited: her pregnancy.”
“Just give her some time to come to terms with what we just learned.” Steve advised, getting to his feet. “She just needs to process it and once she does, she won’t mind the offers of help.”
“So long as you don’t come off as making her feel incapable of doing things on her own.” Phil said, a light shudder racking through his body at the memory of the pregnant woman’s fury, before she had become pregnant. He had no doubt that the woman would be a million times more terrifying with her pregnancy hormones added to the mix.
“I see.” Thor said softly, his gaze inadvertently wandering to the doorway Evelyn had gone through with Bruce and Tony.
He didn’t notice Phil, Natasha, Maria, Steve and Fury exchange knowing looks and bite back their smirks.
The Norse God of Thunder was smitten, absolutely smitten. And he had no clue.
~*~
In the lab, Evelyn, Tony and Bruce worked on using Loki’s scepter to locate the Tesseract, the pregnant woman seated on a padded-back chair while the two men remained standing.
“The Gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig’s reports of the Tesseract.” Bruce said, running the scanner over the scepter and looking at the screen.
Evelyn turned the monitor towards her and looked at the screen, seeing the readouts that were displayed. “Unfortunately, it would take weeks to process all the data.” She said, her brow furrowed slightly as she chewed on the edge of a pen. She glanced at Tony, who was standing in front of another table and working at a portable screen. “Unless you have an idea on how to make it go faster, Tony.”
“If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer cluster, we can clock this at around 600 teraflops.” Tony said, not looking away from the screen he was working at.
“And all I packed was a toothbrush.” Bruce said, laughing dryly.
“Oh, I remember those days.” Evelyn said with a sigh, a small laugh escaping her lips; when she had been working with the Commandos and Steve during the war, she used to pack light just like they did, often only carrying toiletries and a change of clothes. “You know, you should come by Stark Tower sometime.”
“Yeah.” Tony agreed, stepping away from the table he was working at and crossing the lab towards Bruce. “Top ten floors, all R&D.” He discreetly picked up a small rod from a nearby desk and stepped up beside the bespectacled scientist. “You’d love it. It’s Candy Land.”
“Thanks, but the last time I was in New York, I… kind of broke… Harlem.” Bruce said quietly, his tone filled with guilt and depreciation.
Evelyn frowned, filled with sorrow and sympathy for the gentle man who had no control over his other self.
“Well, I promise a stress-free environment.” Tony said before Evelyn could say anything. “No tension, no surprises.”
The moment the last syllable fell from his lips, he poked Bruce in the side with the rod, releasing a mild electrical charge that shocked the bespectacled man.
“Ow!” Bruce cried, jumping slightly from the charge and looking at Tony in surprise and stunned disbelief.
“Tony!” Evelyn said exasperatedly, seeing her brother peer closely at Bruce as though looking for any sign of the Hulk emerging.
“Hey!” Steve called irritatedly from down the hall, changing his course and heading towards the lab.
“Nothing?” Tony asked curiously, ignoring the Captain’s cry.
Evelyn sighed exasperatedly at Tony’s actions. She knew he was doing: he wanted to know just how safe she was in Bruce’s presence and his way of finding out was to test the man’s limits. See how far the man could be pushed before he lost control and caused the Hulk to emerge.
“Are you nuts?” Steve asked, stalking into the lab and stepping up beside Evelyn, standing protectively by her while glaring at Tony fiercely.
“The jury’s still out on that.” Evelyn said, rolling her eyes and not looking away from her task.
“Yup.” Tony agreed absently, not looking away from Bruce. “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 demanded.
Evidently, Steve hadn’t realized the reason behind Tony’s actions, so different from how Howard used to be when it came to protecting Evelyn. Where Howard had been perfectly content with letting her protect herself (panicking all the while), Tony would assess the threats first before making a decision; while Howard had certainly had a difficult life, it was nowhere near as pain and sorrow-filled as Tony’s had been and so the younger Stark male was far more protective of her than his father had been.
“Funny things are.” Tony quipped, turning to the Super Soldier.
“Threatening everyone’s safety on this ship, Evelyn and the babies’ safety, isn’t funny.” Steve said, struggling to reign his anger and frustration in.
Tony clenched his jaw at the implication that he would jeopardize Evelyn’s safety. He knew the Captain was only reacting to what he was seeing, but it didn’t take away the fact that all Tony had done ever since they revealed Evelyn to the world as his sister was protect her, even if it hadn’t always turned out to be the way he had wanted. He built more dangerous and powerful weapons in an effort to protect her, he built the Iron Man suit in the cave in Afghanistan so he could protect her, he became Iron Man to protect her.
It took everything Tony had to remind himself that Steve didn’t know any of that. All he knew was what was in the SHIELD dossier and what he had seen with his own eyes - a playboy with daddy issues who didn’t play well with others while occasionally being protective of his sister.
“No offence, Doc.” Steve added, glancing at Bruce and taking in the other man’s lowered eyes and hunched shoulders.
“It-It’s all right.” Bruce said, smiling reassuringly. “I wouldn’t have come aboard if I couldn’t handle pointy things.”
“You’re tiptoeing, big man.” Tony said flippantly, pointing at Steve briefly with the electrical prod. “You need to strut.”
“You need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark.” Steve said, trying to connect the man he was seeing in front of him as Howard’s son.
Breathing slowly through another wave of Braxton-Hicks contractions, Evelyn watched the interaction between two of the men she loved dearly and decided not to get between them unless necessary. She wasn’t their mother, and though she did sometimes still act like Tony’s aunt/ mother, the fact remained that both men were adults and needed to establish their relationship without interference. With that decided, she leaned back in her chair and watched Steve and Tony bicker.
“You think I’m not?” Tony challenged, looking between Steve, Evelyn and Bruce. “Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn’t he telling us?”
“You can’t solve the equation unless you have all the variables.” Evelyn commented, paraphrasing something her former physics professor had once told her, back when she had been Estelle.
“Exactly.” Tony said, nodding in her direction and picking up a packet of blueberries.
“You think Fury’s hiding something?” Steve asked with a frown, looking between Tony and Evelyn.
“Steve, Nick is a spy.” Evelyn said softly, her expression clearly torn between understanding at Fury’s actions and frustration at the possibility of not being told something that could have a major impact on the results of their case or even pose a possible threat to her babies. “Ofcourse he's hiding something.”
Though Evelyn knew that Fury would never purposefully put any of his agents in harm’s way, not without them knowing exactly what the risks were, she still carried a seed of worry for the safety of her babies. The twins’ safety was her main concern, as was Tony’s.
“He’s not just a spy.” Tony said, opening the packet and popping a blueberry in his mouth. “He’s the spy. Even his secrets have secrets.” He gestured wildly at Bruce, adding, “It’s bugging him too, isn’t it?”
“Uh…” Bruce said, looking between Tony and Steve uncertainly before turning back to the screen and avoiding their gaze. “I just want to finish my work here, and…”
“Doctor?” Steve asked pointedly, not accepting the vague response.
Bruce sighed and glanced at Tony before looking at Steve, removing his glasses as he said, “‘A warm light for all mankind.’ Loki’s jab at Fury about the Cube.”
“I heard it.” Steve said, nodding.
“Well, I think that was meant for the two of you.” Bruce said, pointing at the Stark siblings. Evelyn frowned and leaned forward in her chair as much as she could, concern and protectiveness for her nephew-turned-brother coursing through her while Tony’s expression hardened minutely as well. “Even if Barton didn’t tell Loki about the tower, it’s still all over the news.”
“The Stark Tower?” Steve asked, his eyebrows raised incredulously. “That big, ugly…” Tony and Evelyn looked at the Captain, each with an eyebrow raised in unison at the description of their home. “Building in New York?” Steve continued, opting to plow on ahead rather than backtrack.
“It’s powered by an arc-reactor.” Bruce said. “A self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what? A year?”
“Yeah.” Evelyn replied, nodding. “But it’s only a prototype. It’s the first actual field test and we’re still working out the kinks.”
“Eves and I are kinda the only name in clean energy right now.” Tony added ‘helpfully’ to Steve. “That’s what he’s getting at.”
“So, why didn’t SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project?” Bruce asked Steve challengingly. “I get Evelyn not being asked because of the circumstances around her pregnancy and the stress she’s under, but what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?”
“Tony should probably look into that once his decryption program finishes breaking into SHIELD’s secure files.” Evelyn said sweetly, looking at Tony pointedly with a raised eyebrow.
“How did you-?” Tony started, looking surprised momentarily before shaking his head and shrugging. “You know what, I really don’t want to know how you can still read me like a book. It’s getting really annoying not being able to get away with anything with you and Pepper.”
“Sweetheart, it’s our job.” Evelyn replied, laughing lightly and shaking her head at the putout expression Tony had on his face.
Tony blew a raspberry at her before pulling out his Starkphone and walking around the table, looking at the handheld screen.
“I’m sorry Evy, did you just say-?” Steve asked, looking at Evelyn stunned at the blatant display of misconduct.
“JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge.” Tony confirmed, turning to look at Steve and pocketing the phone at the same time. “In a few hours, I’ll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide.” He held out the packet of blueberries to the Captain, asking, “Blueberry?”
“And yet, you’re confused about why they didn’t want you around.” Steve said snidely, ignoring the offered fruit.
“Steve!” Evelyn exclaimed, stunned at her friend’s words.
“An intelligence organization that fears intelligence?” Tony asked challengingly. “Historically, not awesome.”
“I think Loki’s trying to wind us up.” Steve said, unwilling to believe that his commander could have less than honorable intentions. “This is a man who means to start a war and if we don’t stay focused, he’ll succeed.” He looked between Tony, Evelyn and Bruce. “We have orders. We should follow them.”
“Following’s not really my style.” Tony said flippantly, putting a handful of blueberries into his mouth.
“And you’re all about style, aren’t you?” Steve asked, a glimmer of annoyance flickering in his light blue eyes.
“Of the people in this room, which one is A, wearing a spangly outfit, and B, not of use?” Tony asked flippantly, eyeing Steve’s clothes pointedly.
“Steve, tell me honestly that you don’t think there’s something strange about all of this.” Evelyn said gently, drawing the Captain’s attention to her.
Steve looked at her for a long moment, taking in the large eyes and honest expression on her face. “Just find the Cube.” He said finally after several seconds before turning on his heel and stalking out of the lab.
“That’s the guy you and Dad never shut up about?” Tony asked Evelyn incredulously, gesturing towards the door that closed automatically behind Steve.
“Tony, everything Steve knew was 70 years ago.” Evelyn replied, turning back to the screen in front of her. “For him, it was like closing his eyes in 1945 and opening them in 2011. It’s been a difficult transition for him.”
“I’m wondering if they shouldn’t have just kept him on ice.” Tony muttered.
“Anthony!” Evelyn snapped, glaring at him with tears in her eyes, the pain and sorrow of the past 70 years obvious on her face.
“I’m sorry, Eves.” Tony said softly, looking at her guiltily. Seeing her expression, he was painfully reminded of all the nights she used to wake up from nightmares, screaming for those she had lost – Steve, the Commandos and even her fiancé.
“Tony, I know how hard it’s been for you, but please remember that the man you’re insulting is the only reason I’m even alive right now. There are so many times that I would have died if he hadn’t saved my life and brought me home.” Evelyn said softly, a few tears escaping her lashes and trailing down her cheeks.
“I remember.” Tony said softly, stepping towards her and kneeling down in front of her chair. He reached up and wiped away the tears that had fallen, his touch so gentle as though she were made of spun glass. “I’m sorry.”
Evelyn nodded in acceptance and leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead before leaning back. Tony squeezed her hands gently and rose to his feet gracefully, turning back to the screen he was previously working at.
Bruce, who had been silent while the siblings spoke, frowned slightly, going over what they had said. A lot of it didn’t add up to what he knew about the younger Stark heiress, granted most of his knowledge had come from the media. “What did you mean that Steve saved your life?” Bruce asked curiously.
Tony and Evelyn jumped slightly and whipped around to stare at him. Evidently, both had forgotten that he had been there and had been able to hear their entire conversation.
“Um….” Tony swallowed, at a loss for words for the first time in a very long time. He looked at Evelyn, unsure of how to proceed.
“It’s a secret that is known only to the Stark family and a few select others.” Evelyn said after several seconds, rubbing her forehead tiredly with one hand while rubbing her belly with the other. She looked up at Bruce, her emerald gaze piercing him right down to his soul. “I am not Tony’s sister, I am his aunt.”
“But… the only aunt Tony has is…” Bruce started, a frown on his face as he put the pieces together. “You’re Estelle Stark! Howard Stark’s twin sister. But how?”
“70 years ago, I was the first person Dr. Erskine gave the Super Serum to.” Evelyn began, sighing softly. “But because of a combination of circumstances, such as my gender, my powers and my being a scientist, Dr. Erskine decided to keep the success a secret and agreed to test the serum on a soldier. After Dr. Erskine was killed, only Howard, Steve and I knew that I had received the Serum and that it had been a success. We decided to keep it that way, only telling my best friend, Peggy Carter. As far as the public was concerned, my powers were a blessing from God in a time of war and that was what we left it at.”
“And now?” Bruce asked.
“Honestly, no one’s really asked where my powers come from and those that did ask, we were able to able to get away with saying that we have no idea.” Evelyn replied.
“Which is actually kinda true.” Tony pipped up helpfully. “We really have no idea where Eves’ powers came from. We know that her lack of aging comes from the combination of the Serum and her powers, but that’s just about it.”
“And as far as anyone is concerned, my powers had activated from the stress of the attack and being taken captive while we had been in Afghanistan.” Evelyn said, shrugging lightly.
Bruce nodded in understanding. He looked at Evelyn, seeing the flicker of worry at what his next actions were going to be regarding the information he had just been given. He could also see the fear in her eyes, and in Tony’s eyes, and made a decision.
“Until you decide to reveal this to others, I will keep your secret.” Bruce said determinedly, moving towards Evelyn and stopping in front of her. He knelt down in front of her and looked into her eyes, seeing the bright emerald orbs swimming with unshed tears while she had her arms wrapped around her belly protectively. “I know what it’s like to be hunted for something you have no control over and it is not something I would wish on anyone. I swear, I will never tell anyone unless you allow it.”
“Thank you.” Evelyn said shakily, her emotions getting the best of her as tears streamed down her face. She reached out and wrapped her arms around him as best she could, Bruce wrapping his own around her in reassurance.
“Thank you.” Tony mouthed to Bruce, tears in his own eyes as relief flooded through him, knowing that Evelyn would be safe, or as safe as possible considering their current situation.
Bruce smiled in response as he pulled back from Evelyn, gently wiping her tears away.
“These damn hormones!” Evelyn cried, sniffing tearfully as another wave of tears streamed down her face.
“Here, have some blueberries.” Tony said, holding the packet of his favorite fruit out to her. “They’ll make you feel better.”
“Thanks.” Evelyn said, sniffling as she accepted the fruit and popped one in her mouth.
Bruce smiled slightly and stepped away, going back to his screen and returning to work. Tony, seeing that Evelyn was okay, returned to the task at hand as well, Evelyn following suit a few minutes later.
“You know, Steve’s not wrong about Loki.” Bruce said after a few minutes of working in silence. “He does have the jump on us.”
“What he’s got is an Acme dynamite kit.” Tony said dryly, stepping away from his screen and crossing the lab. “It’s going to blow up in his face. And, I’m gonna be there when it does.”
“Me, too.” Evelyn chirped.
“Yeah, I’ll read all about it.” Bruce said, smiling slightly.
“Uh-huh.” Tony said dryly, moving to the portable screen and pressing several buttons, looking at the readouts that appeared. “Or, you’ll be suiting up with the rest of us.”
Bruce chuckled sardonically. “You see, I don’t get a suit of armor.” He said, not looking away from the screen he was working at. “I’m exposed, like a nerve. It’s a nightmare.”
“You know, I’ve got a cluster of shrapnel trying every second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it.” Tony said, patting the arc-reactor in his chest that was hidden by his shirt. He turned away from the screen and moved towards Bruce, Evelyn getting to her feet and joining the two of them. “This little circle of light, it’s part of me now. It’s not just armor, it’s a terrible privilege.”
“But you can control it.” Bruce refuted.
“Because I learned how.” Tony said.
“It’s different.” Bruce said, shaking his head.
“Hey, Eves and I read all about your accident.” Tony said, clearing the screen of the readouts so Bruce could pay attention to him. “That much gamma exposure should have killed you.”
“So you’re saying that the Hulk… the Other Guy… saved my life?” Bruce asked, chuckling depreciatively. “That’s nice. That’s a nice sentiment. Saved it for what?”
“Bruce, you think the Hulk is a curse, but you want to know what the real curse is?” Evelyn asked before Tony could reply, finally fed up with his self-hate. Without waiting for a response, she continued, an expression of quiet anguish on her face. “Try watching your twin, the one person that is supposed to age with you end up aging without you, growing older without you. You watch someone whom you had seen as a newborn infant, whom you had delivered eventually start to look older than you.” She shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “In the last 70 years, I have barely aged a year while I watched by brother, my sister-in-law, my nephew and countless others age around me with the passing of time. And what’s worse is that there is a chance that I might have to watch my children age and eventually die, along with their children, even though they are half-Asgardian. That is a curse – watching the world and your loved ones grow while you remain the same in an ever changing and shifting world.”
By the time she finished speaking, her tears had stopped falling, having no more left to shed. Shooting one last anguish-filled glance at Bruce, she turned and walked out of the lab, gathering the air currents around her feet and taking flight down the corridor, leaving the search for the Cube to Tony and Bruce.
As much as she wanted to continue with the task assigned to her, she knew she needed to clear her head first, lest she risk the possibility of making mistakes. Mistakes that could cost people their lives.
Links:
*Evelyn civilian outfit on the Helicarrier (sash tied between her breasts and baby bump) https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/474566879481602660/