More Revelations, Attacks and Getting Scattered
Chapter 4: More Revelations, Attacks and Getting Scattered
May 4th , 2012
Evelyn flew through the corridors, making sure to remain near the ceiling so that the agents below weren’t disturbed. For the most part, no one really gave the sight of the flying pregnant woman much more than a cursory glance, far too used to the sight in the months since she had learned of her pregnancy, in addition to Agent Barton’s tendency to travel through the air vents rather than the corridors whenever the mood struck him.
Eventually, she turned around and made her way back to the lab, her head clear enough once again that she could focus on her task. Reaching the lab, she landed lightly on her feet and entered, finding Tony and Bruce working at the various screens. Both men looked up when the door opened, Tony smiling when he saw her.
“Hey, feel better?” Tony asked, walking around the table and moving up to her, drawing her into a warm hug.
“Yeah, I do.” Evelyn replied. She turned to Bruce, seeing the mild-mannered scientist keep his distance and watch her with an unreadable expression on his face. “Bruce, I’m sorry for how I blew up at you earlier. It wasn’t right.”
“You had every right to.” Bruce said, shaking his head and waving her apology away. “I may still believe that the Other Guy is a curse, but you were right when you said that what I’m going through isn’t as bad as watching your loved ones grow and die with the passing of time.” He stepped around the table and moved towards her, stopping a few feet away. “How about we agree to disagree?”
“I can live with that.” Evelyn said, a small smile on her face.
“Are you going to hug and make up?” Tony asked, effectively breaking the comfortable mood that Bruce and Evelyn had found themselves in.
Evelyn let out a breath and reached up, whacking Tony upside the head and earning a loud ‘OW!’ from the man. At his put out expression, she only raised her eyebrow in silent challenge, daring him to argue with her.
Tony pouted and walked back to the table, muttering under his breath about psychotic aunts turned sisters that scared the crap out of him. Evelyn, hearing his mutterings giggled lightly, the musical sound setting Bruce off as he chuckled, the two returning to work once more.
Eventually, Tony stopped his muttering and the three scientists worked in unison, a comfortable silence falling over the lab, broken only when one asked a question or made a comment.
The peaceful atmosphere was broken quite suddenly when Fury strode into the lab nearly half-an-hour later, his gait long and purposeful.
“What are you doing Mr. Stark?” The Director demanded to know, not pausing to exchange pleasantries with the scientists.
“Uh, kind of been wondering the same about you.” Tony replied flippantly.
“You’re supposed to be locating the Tesseract.” Fury said, only his many years as a spy keeping him from glaring at the billionaire.
“And we are, Nick.” Evelyn said calmly, swiveling her chair around and facing the Director. She winced when the twins gave her abdomen a particularly hard kick before clenching her teeth as a Braxton-Hicks contraction rippled through her.
“The model’s locked and we’re sweeping through the signature now.” Bruce explained, leaning back against the counter and looking completely relaxed. “When we get a hit, we’ll have a location within half a mile.”
He gestured to the portable screen behind Fury and the Director turned to look at it before looking back at the scientists.
“Yeah, then you get your Cube back.” Tony remarked. “No muss, no fuss.”
The screen next to Tony chimed with incoming alerts and he glanced at it, Evelyn looking at it as well.
“Tell me, Nicholas, what’s ‘Phase 2’?” Evelyn asked, her tone seemingly curious but those that knew her could hear the undercurrent of warning and anger.
Before Fury could respond, or even try to come up with an answer, Steve walked in with a gun in hand. The gun wasn’t like any model currently in production, clearly an advanced piece of technology meant only for SHIELD use. The Captain put the weapon on the table, a loud clattering sound echoing around the lab. “Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the Cube to make weapons.” He said crisply before glancing at Tony and adding, somewhat sheepishly, “Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me.”
“Rogers, Evy, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract.” Fury said walking towards Steve and gesturing to the gun. “This does not mean that we’re making-”
“I’m sorry, Nick.” Tony said loudly, cutting the Director off and drawing the man’s attention. He turned the screen around to show Nick, revealing the blueprints of missile-like weapons that were clearly powered by the Tesseract. “What were you lying?”
“I was wrong, Director.” Steve said coldly as Natasha and Thor entered the lab. “The world hasn’t changed a bit.”
“No, it hasn’t.” Evelyn agreed, her voice uncharacteristically cold as she gazed up at Fury with similarly cold emerald green eyes.
The force and fury behind her cold gaze wasn’t diminished at all by the fact that she was still seated while the rest were standing in various places around the lab.
Thor glanced at her, seeing the combined fire and ice in her eyes, determination and protectiveness swirling in their vast emerald depths. Absently, he thought back to a few hours earlier when he had learned of her pregnancy and that the babies were in fact his, seeing her hold her head high and accept that her life would never be the same with a grace and dignity that was rarely found in Mankind. He thought about Jane and wondered how his dearest friend would react to the news of the pregnancy and his decision to aid Evelyn, to take her to Asgard with him. As much as he tried to avoid thinking about it, he had realized that Jane had begun to develop feelings for him during his brief stay with her the previous year and if he were to be honest with himself, he could easily see himself falling in love with her as well, if he had remained mortal. Despite getting close to the woman, he had held himself back; he later realized that he knew on some level that he would return to Asgard, be granted his powers once more upon being deemed worthy, and would have to leave the feisty mortal behind.
Thor didn’t know what would happen when they return to Asgard, how the pregnancy would progress or even what Evelyn would decide to do once the babies were born. But he hoped that she would grant him the opportunity to know his children, to raise them by her side if only as friends.
“Did you know about this?” Bruce asked Natasha, gesturing to the screen and drawing Thor out of his thoughts.
“You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?” Natasha asked instead of replying to Bruce’s question.
“I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed.” Bruce retorted, chuckling dryly.
“Loki’s manipulating you.” Natasha said, taking a few steps towards Bruce, her entire body poised and ready in case she had to fight.
“And you’ve been doing what, exactly?” Bruce asked sarcastically.
“You didn’t come here because I bat my eyelashes at you.” Natasha remarked.
“Yes, and I’m not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy.” Bruce snapped, irritatedly.
“What I’d like to know is why SHIELD thought it would be a good idea to make weapons of mass destruction powered by the Tesseract.” Evelyn said, cutting into Bruce and Natasha’s argument.
“Because of him.” Fury said, pointing at Thor.
“Me?” Thor repeating in surprise.
“Him?” Evelyn and Tony asked in unison, matching expressions of disbelief on their faces.
“Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town.” Fury explained, sighing heavily. “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 argued, still stunned at the accusation that had been leveled at him.
“But you’re not the only people out there, are you?” Fury asked in response. “And you’re not the only threat.”
“Nick, I understand where you’re coming from, I truly do, but building weapons isn’t the answer.” Evelyn said, struggling to keep herself from remembering the horrors of the past 70 years, the wars that had raged in different parts of the world. “Every time someone thought that way, it had been a prelude to war, war that just wasn’t worth the casualty and nightmare that followed. Don’t forget, I may have only fought in World War 2, but I was there during the Cold War, the Gulf War and all the others that were raged in the past 70 years.”
“Evelyn, the world is filling up with people who can’t be matched, that can’t be controlled.” Fury said, trying to justify his actions to the one person aside from the World Security Council who could hold him accountable by right of being his superior as the last able-minded Co-Founder of SHIELD. Even though Peggy was still alive as the only other Co-Founder, her Alzheimer’s prevented her from even remembering SHIELD, let alone being able to hold Nick accountable to his actions.
“Like you controlled the Cube?” Steve challenged.
“Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies.” Thor said, effectively telling Fury that the blame wasn’t only at his feet but at the Director’s as well. “It is a signal to all the Realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war.”
“A higher form?” Evelyn repeated in alarm, her eyes wide.
“You forced our hand.” Fury said defensively. “We had to come up with something.”
“A nuclear deterrent.” Tony said dryly. “Because that always calms everything right down.”
“Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark.” Fury snapped, whipping around to glare at the billionaire.
“I’m sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck-deep-” Steve began dryly.
“Steve!” Evelyn exclaimed, cutting him off and staring at her friend in shock at what he had begun to say.
“Wait, wait, hold on. How is this now about me?” Tony asked, drawing the Super Soldier’s attention.
“I’m sorry, isn’t everything?” Steve asked snidely.
“I thought humans were more evolved than this.” Thor remarked, watching the two men bicker.
“Apparently not.” Evelyn muttered under her breath, watching Steve and Tony argue with a decidedly unimpressed look on her face.
Thor, standing next to her, was the only one who heard her comment and bit back a snort especially when he saw her expression.
“Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?” Fury asked Thor, rounding on the Thunder God and glaring furiously at the larger man.
“You treat your champions with such mistrust.” Thor retorted, glaring at the Director.
“Are you boys really that naïve?” Natasha asked incredulously. “SHIELD monitors potential threats.”
“Captain America and Evy are on a threat watch?” Bruce asked incredulously, crossing his arms over his chest.
“We all are.” Natasha replied.
“Wait, you’re on that list?” Tony asked, looking at Steve. “Are you above or below angry threats?”
“Stark, so help me God, if you make one more wisecrack…” Steve threatened, trailing off, clenching his jaw angrily.
“Threat!” Tony called. “Verbal threat! I feel threatened.”
“Show some respect.” Steve snapped.
“Respect for what?” Tony asked challengingly.
As everyone argued around her, Evelyn frowned, holding a hand to her head and feeling as though her skull was about to explode. The sounds of their back and forth arguments blended together that created a cacophony of noise, swirling around her mind.
On the table, the bright blue gem at the tip of the scepter glowed, as though in response to the arguing.
“You speak of control, yet you court chaos.” Thor said, his voice breaking through the discorded noise.
“That’s his MO, isn’t it?” Bruce asked, looking at Fury. Everyone looked at him as he continued, “I mean, what are we, a team?” He shook his head. “No, no, no. we’re a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We’re a time bomb.”
Evelyn blinked rapidly several times and looked around her, realizing that no one seemed to have noticed her brief lapse in awareness. She shook her head lightly and focused on what was being said, pondering on why the group of fully grown adults were bickering and arguing almost like children.
“You need to step away.” Fury said, slowly stepping towards Bruce.
“Why shouldn’t the guy let off a little steam?” Tony asked, putting a hand on Steve’s shoulder.
“You know damn well why.” Steve snapped, brushing Tony’s hand off his shoulder. “Back off!”
“I’m starting to want you to make me.” Tony retorted.
“Yeah.” Steve said with a scoff, stepping towards Tony and glaring at him. “Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?”
“Older brother, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, soon-to-be uncle.” Tony replied flippantly without missing a beat.
“He’s got a point.” Evelyn muttered quietly, only Natasha and Thor hearing her.
“I know guys with none of that worth ten of you.” Steve said, sneering at the billionaire and wondering how someone as sweet and selfless as Evelyn could be related to someone so self-absorbed. Even Howard, a playboy though he was, had been a kind and selfless person, partly due to the effect his sister and Peggy had on him. “I’ve seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself.” Tony glared at him, his jaw clenching at the accusation that he only fought for himself. There were actually two, now four things, he fought for – Evelyn, the twins and Pepper. “You’re not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.”
“Steve!” Evelyn shouted, appalled at what he was saying. “That was entirely uncalled for!”
While Tony certainly hadn’t become a hero to save the world, he had done it to save Evelyn, to protect her from a man they had trusted and loved as family. Though Obadiah hadn’t known about the Stark Family secret, it didn’t change the fact that the Stark children loved him and looked up to him as a father figure after Howard’s death, Tony in particular.
“I think I would just cut the wire.” Tony said flippantly before Steve could respond to Evelyn.
Steve chuckled sardonically, shaking his head. “Always a way out.” He remarked. His chuckles faded as a glare etched itself on his fair features. “You know you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero.”
Evelyn could only stare in stunned disbelief at what her best friend was saying. It was as though the sweet and funny guy who always stood up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves seemed to disappear, leaving instead a darker, almost bitter man.
“A hero?” Tony repeated. “Like you? You’re a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle.”
“Put on the suit.” Steve challenged, stepping closer to Tony, the two men barely half a foot apart. “Let’s go a few rounds.”
“Both of you, stop it!” Evelyn shouted, shooting to her feet and striding across the lab. She stopped between them, physically pushing them apart with a hand on their chests. She frowned as a dull ache grew at the back of her skull and shook her head, pushing the pain aside and looking up at two of the dearest men in her life. “What is the matter with you?”
Thor shook his head and laughed, the sound echoing around the lab. “You people are so petty, and tiny.” The golden-haired God said, his laughter slowing to chuckles.
“Yeah, this is a team.” Bruce said sarcastically.
Tony shook his head, blinking rapidly as he started to notice a dull throb building at his temples. He rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the tension.
“Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his-” Fury began, only to be cut off by the mild-mannered scientist himself.
“Where?” Bruce asked. “You rented my room.”
“The cell was just in case-” Fury began, once again trying to justify his actions.
“In case you needed to kill me.” Bruce said, cutting Fury off before he could finish. “But you can’t. I know, I tried.”
At Bruce’s admission, a stunned silence fell over the lab, everyone staring at the scientist in shock.
“Bruce?” Evelyn asked in a quiet, shaky voice, absently reaching out and gripping Tony’s hand tightly. “What do you mean?”
No matter how difficult things had gotten for her in the last 70 years, Evelyn never once considered killing herself, not wanting to leave first Howard and later Tony alone, even if the former had Maria. She had always been a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, even if said reason wasn’t always clear, and that all one could do was live, learn and grow from their past, the good and the bad.
“I got low, I didn’t see an end.” Bruce said softly, keenly aware of everyone’s gazes on him. He wrapped his arms around his chest almost defensively, continuing, “So, I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it back out.” He sighed, shrugging his shoulders slightly. “So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk, put a pregnant woman at risk.” Absently, he reached behind him while turning to look at Natasha. “You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?”
Focused on Natasha, Bruce didn’t notice how everyone’s postures become more alert and on guard; Tony wrapped his arm around Evelyn, stepping in front of her at the same time while Fury slowly went for his gun on his thigh holster, freeing the weapon from its confines but still keeping it lowered.
“Dr. Banner.” Steve called, his voice prompting the scientist to whip around to look at him. The Captain shifted so he was standing in front of Tony and Evelyn, his actions aimed more at protecting the pregnant woman than her brother. “Put down the scepter.”
Bruce frowned and looked down at his hand, realizing suddenly that he was holding the scepter, the blue orb at the top glowing brightly. He looked up but before he could say anything, the computer running the search program beeped with an incoming alert, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Sorry, kids, you don’t get to see my party trick after all.” Bruce said quietly, putting the scepter back on the table and walked across the lab to the portable computer that had been running the program.
“You located the Tesseract?” Thor asked.
“I could get there fastest.” Tony said before looking down at Evelyn who had stepped out from behind him, “Eves, I want you to stay here, unless needed.”
“Okay.” Evelyn agreed, a hand on her baby bump.
“The Tesseract belongs on Asgard.” Thor argued. “No human is a match for it.”
“You’re not going alone.” Steve said, grabbing Tony by the arm and stopping him from leaving.
“You gonna stop me?” Tony asked, brushing Steve’s hand off his arm.
“Put on the suit, let’s find out.” Steve challenged.
“I’m not afraid to hit an old man.” Tony said.
“Put on the suit.” Steve repeated, this time through clenched teeth.
“Tony, Steve both of you stop it or so help me God I will smack the both of you so hard your descendants will be feeling it!” Evelyn shouted, glaring fiercely at the two bickering men.
Instantly, Steve and Tony stopped arguing, their mouths audibly snapping shut.
“Oh, my God.” Bruce breathed, staring at the screen in horrified alarm.
“Bruce what is it?” Evelyn asked, one hand on the small of her back and the other on her bump.
Before Bruce could reply, an explosion rocked the Helicarrier, a wave of fire erupting through the floor of the lab and rippling through the room. Everyone was tossed in different directions, Steve grabbing Evelyn and wrapping his arms around her seconds before they and Tony fell through the floor and onto the level below.
“Eves, are you okay?” Tony asked frantically, sitting up abruptly and looking at where Steve was curled around Evelyn. “The twins?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.” Evelyn replied, sitting up with Steve’s help, partly in the man’s lap and partly on the ground. There was a rapid flurry of kicks from the twins, the young expectant mother breathing a sigh of relief at the feeling. “The twins are okay as well.”
“Thank God.” Tony and Steve breathed in unison, both getting to their feet and holding their hands out to Evelyn.
She took their offered hands and pulled herself up, wincing slightly at the resulting twinge in her back.
“Put on the suit.” Steve told Tony, leading the siblings out of the small room they landed in.
“Yeah.” Tony agreed, not bothering to argue the way he had a few minutes earlier when he had been ordered to do the same thing.
Over the still active comms, the three could hear agents across the Helicarrier all clamoring. Their voices blended together as they spoke over each other and frantically tried to keep the massive ship in the air.
“All hands to stations.” An agent announced over the PA system, the voice piercing through the chaos.
“Hill!” Fury called into his comm, coughing against the smoke that had briefly filled the lab immediately following the explosion
“External detonation.” Maria replied to the unanswered question. “Number Three engine is down. Can they get it running?”
“We’ve got a fire in Engine Three.” Another agent said, his tone indicating he was speaking more to Maria than anyone else who was on the comm.
“Talk to me.” Maria said briskly.
“Turbine looks mostly intact but it’s impossible to get out there to make repairs while we’re still in the air.”
“If even one more engine gets hit, we won’t be in the air.” Evelyn pointed out, running between Steve and Tony, one in front of her and the other behind her as they ran through the corridors.
“Somebody’s got to get outside and patch that engine.” Maria said, her tone indicating that she was speaking to whoever was on the comms rather than the agents that were clamoring around her.
“Starks, you two copy that?” Fury asked.
“We’re on it, Nick.” Evelyn said, getting nods of agreement from Steve and Tony. “Are the fires contained?”
“Yeah, we’ve got it covered.” Maria replied. “As much as possible, at least. But the main priority is getting the engine back on line.”
“Understood.” Steve said, exchanging looks with Tony and Evelyn, getting nods of agreement from them.
As useful as Evelyn’s power was when it came to containing fires, it would be completely useless if they get thrown out of the sky.
The three of them tuned out the chatter on the comms as Fury initiated orders to Phil and tried to get Natasha to respond.
“I am so going to need a massage by the time this is over.” Evelyn muttered to herself, rubbing her back as they ran through the corridors, ducking hanging wires and dodging sparks that flew from broken wires and panels.
“Let’s go, Level 4.” An agent called running passed them, leading a small group of other agents.
“Engine Three.” Tony said as they turned a corner. “I’ll meet you there.”
Steve and Evelyn nodded in understanding and continued down the hall. The pair could hear the chatter over the comms, Fury ordering the Helicarrier to be moved over the water for an added measure of precaution – if one more engine failed, they were going to drop out of the sky. They stopped in front of a sealed door, behind which was the engine they needed to reach. Through the reinforced steel, they could hear several agents yelling and banging against it.
“I won’t be able to open that.” Evelyn said, gesturing to her expanded belly.
Steve nodded and flipped the steel bolts to unlock the door, pulling it open with a quiet grunt.
“Thanks.” An agent said gratefully, moving back to allow the two through.
“Get him to the Infirmary.” Evelyn said without preamble, nodding to an injured man who was leaning precariously against the torn wall.
“Yes, Ma’am.” The first agent replied, pulling the injured man’s arm over his shoulder and helping him through the door.
“Be careful.” Another agent cautioned, briefly glancing down at the protruding belly in explanation.
“Don’t worry about me.” Evelyn said with a reassuring smile. “I have friends to watch my back. And my front, as it were. You keep your colleagues safe.”
The agent nodded and darted through the door, her weapon drawn and ready to be used.
“Stark!” Steve shouted, not seeing the billionaire. Evelyn joined him at the edge, looking up at the fires that had erupted above them. “Stark, we’re here!”
“Good.” Tony said over the comms as he flew into sight. He stopped in front of the engine, peering at the damage. “Let’s see what we got.”
Evelyn gathered the air currents at her feet and flew up above the Helicarrier, waving her hands over the flames in a series of complicated yet graceful movements. At the same time, she let a few of the flaming tendrils surround her, obscuring her from sight completely for a few seconds before dissipating.
“I never get tired of that.” Steve said with a grin, looking up at his hovering best friend.
“I know, right?” Evelyn said, grinning brightly.
She had let the flames melt away her civilian clothes and replace them with her combat dress and accessories. The flames had also changed her hairstyle from the elegant French twist to the braided back style she preferred when fighting, the unbound sections cascading around her while her nails were once again dark metallic blue.
It was a little trick she had learned during World War 2 when she finally got irritated with the time it took to get changed before a fight or battle.
“What are we dealing with, Tony?” Evelyn asked, returning to her task of containing the flames.
“I gotta get this superconducting coolant system back online before I can access the rotors, work on dislodging the debris.” Tony replied. He pushed against the panel covering the coolant system before turning to Steve, saying, “I need you to get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in overload position.” Steve nodded in understanding and Tony turned to Evelyn, half the fires gone. “Eves, I need you to keep these fires contained.”
“Got it.” Evelyn replied briskly, not pausing in her task.
Below her, Steve vaulted over the gap between him and the control panel.
“What’s it look like?” Tony asked over the comms.
“It seems to run on some form of electricity.” Steve said, sounding completely lost.
“Well, you’re not wrong.” Tony remarked. “Eves, can you have a look at the panel?”
“Give me a few seconds.” Evelyn replied, waving her hands over the last fire. “Containing the last fire.”
Completing her task a few seconds later, Evelyn flew down to join Steve, looking at the control panel. As she worked on checking the relays and fixing the ones in overload, she explained to Steve what she was doing, how she knew what needed fixing and what needed to be left alone. Her explanation also told Tony what he needed to know.
“Tony, the relays are intact.” She said finally after several tense minutes, moving back and letting Steve take her previous place.
“What’s our next move?” He asked, pushing the panel back into place.
“Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won’t re-engage without a jump.” Tony said calculatingly, looking at the smoking rotors. “I’m gonna have to get in there and push.”
“And once it picks up speed, it’ll tear you to shreds.” Evelyn pointed out, part-dryly and part-worriedly.
“That stator control unit can reverse the polarity long enough to disengage maglev and that could-” Tony began explaining rapidly.
“Speak English!” Steve cried, cutting him off.
“You see that red lever?” Evelyn asked, pointing to the red lever in question that she had noticed while Tony was speaking. Steve looked at where she was pointing and she continued, “It’ll slow the rotors down long enough for Tony to get out.”
“Stand by it. Wait for my word.” Tony ordered.
Steve took a few steps back and ran forward, leaping over the gap between him and the lever, Evelyn manipulating the air currents to aid his jump. Reaching the other side, he stopped by the lever with Evelyn landing gracefully beside him, hand on it and ready to pull when ordered to.
“We’ve got a perimeter breach! Hostiles are in SHIELD gear. Call-outs at every junction.”
They could hear the call over the PA and exchanged looks. Unable to do anything to aid those inside, they focused on their task of aiding Tony.
“We have the Hulk and Thor on Research Level 4. Levels 2 and 3 are dark.” An agent called over the comms, his tone indicating he was speaking to whoever was with him rather than the still open comm links.
“Escort 6-0, proceed to Wishbone and engage hostile.” Maria’s voice ordered over the comm.
“Oh, no.” Evelyn breathed, her eyes wide in alarm.
“Don’t get too close.” Maria cautioned.
“Copy.” An agent replied in response.
“What does that mean?” Steve asked, looking at Evelyn.
“It means they’re trying to get the Hulk’s attention.” Evelyn replied. “He, more than Thor, is going to tear the Helicarrier apart in a rampage. A fighter jet has been dispatched to fire on him, just enough to get his attention and stop the rampage.”
“Target acquired.”
“Why do I have a bad feeling about how that’s going to end?” Steve asked with a frown.
“Because it’s not going to end well.” Evelyn replied.
She turned and looked out at the destruction they were trying to fix, Tony beneath the rotors and clearing out the lodged debris. As much as she wanted to help the Hulk calm down from his rampage, she knew she wouldn’t reach the Hangar in time and she would only just get in the way; she had to trust that the agents could handle the situation.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, the Hulk’s roars echoed on the wind, angry and pained.
“Target angry! Target angry! Target angry!” The pilot shouted in alarm.
“Of course, he’s angry.” Evelyn said dryly, shaking her head exasperatedly. “You just shot at him. Anyone would get a might ticked.”
“Uh-oh.” Steve said, looking down at the hallway below them.
“What?” Evelyn asked, turning and following his line of sight. “Oh. Uh-oh”
A man pulled out a grenade and tossed it up towards them. Steve vaulted over the gap and into the opening across from him while Evelyn flew up into the air, avoiding the projectile. It exploded seconds after they were clear, thankfully not hitting either of them or the Helicarrier.
Steve grunted as he blocked a blow from his opponent, punching him in the face and knocking him out. Evelyn threw small orbs of air at a group of men that approached the Captain, manipulating the element to surround their heads and slowly siphon away their oxygen. Within seconds, they were unconscious, and she immediately cancelled the bubbles – she wanted to knock them out, not cause them permanent brain damage due to lack of oxygen.
“Thanks!” Steve called, grinning up at her as he tossed another hostile out through the gap. “Just like old times!”
“Behind you!” Evelyn called in warning, manipulating the air currents to catch the man.
Steve turned and ducked the spray of machine gun fire, grabbing another gun and throwing it at his opponent. Evelyn carefully lifted the man into an opening a few levels below Steve and dropped him gently on the racked floor, manipulating the air into a bubble around his head and knocking him out. Steve vaulted over the railing, climbing onto the level above him and grabbed another gun, firing at the hostile that continued shooting at them – only pausing when the gun had been thrown at him and he ducked out of the way. The Captain continued firing, inching backwards until he was beside the lever before pausing. He kept his weapon aimed at the opening the hostiles had come through, though his opponent had taken cover against the still intact wall.
Suddenly, the telltale humming of the engines reduced, the sound becoming lower. Steve and Evelyn exchanged looks, wondering what was going on.
“Engine 1 is now in shut down.” An agent announced over the PA as if in response to their confusion.
“Oh dear.” Evelyn said as agents clamored over the comms, frantically trying to restart the engine.
The Helicarrier tipped to the side, falling from the sky without the engines keeping them in the air.
“We are in an uncontrolled descent.” An agent called over the comms.
Evelyn flew away from Steve, gathering the air currents around the sky-ship and slowing down the descent. She didn’t know if she could keep it in the air, but she might be able to at least lessen the impact if they fall.
“Sir, we’ve lost all power in Engine 1.” Another agent called.
“Descent is being slowed.” The previous agent announced. “Phoenix, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”
“I don’t know how long I can keep us in the air, but I can slow our descent to lessen the impact if we fall.” Evelyn reported.
“That’s good enough.” Maria said.
“It’s Barton.” Nick said. “He took out our systems. He’s headed for the Detention Level. Does anybody copy?”
“He’s headed for Loki!” Evelyn cried in alarm, not tearing her attention away from her task.
“This is Agent Romanoff.” Natasha said over the comms, her breathing labored. “I copy.”
“Nat, you’re injured!” Evelyn argued, gritting her teeth against the strain. “I can tell just by the sound of your voice.”
“I’m the only one who can go after him, Evy.” Natasha said, her voice still labored but the pitch indicating she was already moving. “We need you to keep us in the air until Tony can fix the engine.”
“Be careful.” Evelyn said, acquiescing to the older woman. Quietly, she added, “Please, be safe.”
“Your hormones are really doing a number on you, aren’t they?” Natasha asked conversationally, an amused note in her voice.
“That wasn’t my hormones talking!” Evelyn cried, bordering on a wail. “But yes, they are putting me through the ringer.”
“Starks, we’re losing altitude.” Fury said, cutting through the by-play between the two redheads.
“Yeah, we noticed.” Tony replied dryly.
“You try holding a great big bloody ship in the air!” Evelyn snapped furiously, sweat pouring down her face as she struggled to keep the Helicarrier in the air as much as possible. She gritted her teeth, biting back a groan when she felt another wave of Braxton-Hicks contractions ripple through her.
Tony fired up his thrusters and began manually pushing the propellers.
By the lever, Steve continued firing at the oncoming hostiles, preventing them from getting near the red switch. Inching backwards, his foot slipped, and he fell from the opening behind him with a gasped scream.
“Steve!” Evelyn cried, throwing her hand out and catching him with swirling air currents. Gritting her teeth, her attention divided between keeping the Helicarrier in the air and her friend from falling, she tried to carry Steve back to the opening. “I can’t do both.” She gasped.
Steve, seeing her struggle, reached out and grabbed a cord that was hanging by him. “Evy, let me go.” He said, wrapping the cord around his arm. “I’ll climb up. You need to focus on keeping us in the air.”
“Are you sure?” Evelyn asked through gritted teeth, sweat dripping down her face.
“Yes.” Steve said.
Evelyn nodded and turned her attention back onto the descending carrier, the air currents holding Steve up disappearing.
Over the comms, she heard a grunt and a thump indicating someone was knocked out. It was followed by Phil’s polite voice, saying, “Move away, please.” There was a moment of tense silence before he continued, “You like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don’t know what it does; I doubt even Dr. Stark knows.” The sound of the weapon powering up filled the channel for a few seconds before Phil’s voice was heard once again, “Do you want to find out?”
“Phil, what are you doing?” Evelyn gasped, her eyes wide as she heard the one-sided conversation over the comms. Before any reply can be given, Phil let out a pained groan as the sound of him being pierced filled the channel. “PHIL!!!”
“NO!!” Thor’s shout could be heard, muffled though it was as he didn’t have a comm.
Evelyn’s hold over the Helicarrier slipped and the massive ship began falling rapidly.
Over the comms, the sound of agents clamoring could be heard.
“All hands to crash stations immediately.” An agent called over the PA, breaking through the clamor.
Phoenix, you need to keep us in the air!” Maria shouted in reminder.
Evelyn gritted her teeth and channeled her pain and fury into manipulating the air current, her dress and the unbound sections of her hair billowing around her. She created large vortexes of air under three of the engines, creating a smaller and tamer vortex under the one Tony was working on. The rapid descent ceased and the Helicarrier steadied once again in the sky.
“Eves, release the air beneath Engine 3.” Tony ordered. The redhead did as she was told, focusing her attention on the remaining engines. “Cap, hit the lever.”
“I need a minute here!” Steve shouted, hanging by the cord and only half way up.
“Lever.” Tony said urgently. “Now!”
Evelyn looked down, trying to find a way she could get to the lever without losing her hold over the Helicarrier. There wasn’t one. Over the past several minutes, she had floated away from her initial position, ending up above the floating fortress as she manipulated three massive vortexes of air simultaneously.
“Uh-oh.” Tony muttered.
“What uh-oh?” Evelyn asked in frantic alarm.
“Help!” Tony cried, the sound being muffled by the almost rhythmic thumping of him being repeatedly hit by the rotors. There was a loud scream followed by the thrusters firing up as he caught himself on the air. He flew back to the opening where Steve was, reaching just as a hostile let out a spray of bullets. He went straight for the man, knocking him out and landing beside him on his back. “I’m okay, Eves, I’m okay.” He said somewhat faintly, lifting his visor.
Evelyn let out a sigh of relief, finally taking note of the rapid kicking against her stomach as the twins made their displeasure known. They were not happy with the stress their mother was in, at all. In the distance, not far from her, she could see Loki getting on a Quinjet and taking off. The Trickster looked at her, his gaze falling to the rounded belly with an almost knowing look in his eye. In that moment, she knew that he was aware of who the father was – his brother.
“Loki’s leaving.” She said softly. “I can’t stop him, not without losing my hold on the carrier.”
“Eves, what is it?” Tony asked before anyone could respond to her news. He noticed the strange note in her voice and didn’t like it, a glance at Steve showing that he too had noticed.
“I think he knows who the twins’ father is.” She replied. “It’s just a feeling, but the way he looked at my belly as he was leaving makes me think he knows.”
“Phoenix, just focus on keeping us in the air.” Nick ordered. “We’ll deal with the possibility of him knowing once we’re no longer under the threat of falling.”
“Yes, sir.” Evelyn replied. She knew the man wasn’t being callous, he was thinking of everyone on the ship that could die if they fell. “What about Phil? Is he-?”
“Agent Coulson is down.” Nick said formally, his voice tinged with sorrow.
“A medical team is on its way to your location.” An agent said.
“They’re here.” Nick said. “They called it.”
Evelyn closed her eyes, tears dripping from the emerald orbs and down her cheeks in silent rivers. In that moment, she vowed to make the Trickster pay for all the lives he took, the innocent and the ones who tried to stop him. It no longer mattered that he was her babies’ uncle and as such, he was family; the Trickster will pay.