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marysuevirusTitle: The Mary Sue Virus: Lights, Camera, Avengers!
Chapter Sixteen: Chaos
Fandom: something like the Marvel Universe, leaning mostly toward the Movie!Avengers branch
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: lots of sex and violence, language, anything else i can toss in. probably some drinking.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of Marvel and whoever the hell else owns them.. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dazzledfirestar, mistress_o_muse, ginevrasm, rylan_m, and ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar.
Author's Note: as the title suggests, this chapter is meant to come off as chaotic and confusing. the events seem to span forever, but they're meant to happen in relatively rapid succession. please keep that in mind when reading.
The Mary Sue Virus: Lights, Camera, Avengers! - The Index
Phoebe didn't know how long she stood watching the door. She was too in shock to register anything other than he'd told her to stay there. Did Tony really think she was helpless? Did he really think she was going to just stand by while... whatever was going on happened? And it was obvious something bad was going on. She'd seen it in his reaction to the wail of the sirens. Not to mention there were loud sounds that she had quickly realized were explosions. Which explained the floor shaking beneath her feet. The walls shaking around her.
"What do you boys think?" Phoebe asked her dogs softly. "Do we stay here? Or do we take out chances out there?"
Tex whined, his head tipped to one side. Denver wagged his stump of a tail and gave two single barks. They were ready to deal with whatever threat was heading their way. Based on what she heard, she thought she'd do better out there than in here. In here, she was a sitting duck. Her sixth sense told her so. The last thing she wanted to do was die sitting on the couch, twiddling her thumbs and waiting for Tony to rescue her. She was capable of rescuing herself. And kicking some ass along the way.
"With me," she told the boys. They rose and moved to her side on silent feet. She'd used the phrase they identified with protection, so they'd be silent, stealthy sentinels at her side. A hand signal saw them moving at pace with her. The three of them headed for the door and, after a quick check to ensure that the hallway was empty, Phoebe slipped out of her rooms. The dogs were on her heels.
Out in the corridor, she could hear the shouts and sounds of gunfire. A thin cloud of smoke crept along the ceiling, letting her know that there was a fire burning somewhere. The dogs scented the air, noses lifted as they did so. Their heads swiveled one direction before turning back to the other, then they laid their ears back and growled. She took that as a good sign that all of the bad guys were in that direction.
She turned to go the other way, only to find herself thrown off her feet as an explosion rocked the building. It was so loud it sounded like it was in the other room. Walls shook and the floor buckled. Phoebe threw her arms up over her head just as the wall opposite her blew in. Debris in the form of bits of sheet rock and chunks of concrete went flying. Hungry tongues of red and orange flame lapped out into the hallway, triggering an alarm over her head. Seconds later, the sprinklers kicked on and she found herself soaked.
When she looked up, she realized that the hallway was blocked in the direction she was going. Which meant she could only head into the fray. Well, damn.
If that was the case, she needed to make her way to the armory and see if she could arm herself with any weapon they had on hand. The only thing was, the weapons she was used to weren't the kind that the bad guys were carrying. Swords were more her things. She wasn't really good with guns, but she got the general idea. Point and shoot. Make sure the safety wasn't engaged. Hope to hit the shit out of the bad guys.
Gaining her feet, she took quick stock of the dogs. Both of them looked okay. She could only hope that they would stay that way. She knew that they wouldn't hesitate to throw themselves between her and anyone who meant her harm. Which, given the situation, would get them shot. That was the last thing she wanted. She had to hope that the dogs wouldn't be spotted in all the chaos until it was too late. If something was to happen to one or both of them, she didn't know what she would do.
The three of them moved slowly and carefully. Phoebe hugged the wall and kept the boys behind her. When they reached a corner, she peeked around it with one eye to determine the danger of the next hall. While the sounds of fighting and the acrid odor of burnt wood intensified, she didn't run into many people with guns. That was a good thing. The fewer people she had to fight without a weapon, she less likely it was she'd get shot.
It wasn't hard to find the armory. She'd found it her first day at the base, when she'd hacked the system's store of blueprints. She'd also found the password to access the armory, though she was sure that Fury knew about it. She was coming to realize that there wasn't much that happened within S.H.I.E.L.D. of which he had no knowledge. So he likely knew that she knew where to get weapons and how to get them. If he hadn't barred her by now, he probably never would.
The closer they got to the armory, the more activity she saw. There were people with fire extinguishers trying to contain the fires that had broken out after explosions. There were other people who were engaged in physical fights, men and women in standard black suits or S.H.I.E.L.D. issued onsies who used martial arts moves against other people in black uniforms that she'd seen on the computer a time or two. HYDRA agents. And there were people lying still on the ground, people in all three of the suits she'd noticed.
Her mind reeled at the idea that HYDRA had hit the base. How had they known? How had they gotten in? Seeing the bodies was disturbing. Some of those people had been ones she'd known. If not by name, then at least by face. Anger swelled within her, a rare occurrence for her. She tried to maintain a certain level of calm, tried to keep herself even and settled. But to see people who were friends gunned down like that... It wasn't anger. It was rage.
When a HYDRA agent stepped in front of her with a gun pointed at her chest, she didn't even think about what she was doing. She let the rage guide her actions. In a single, fluid motion, Phoebe ducked and spun, her leg sweeping out to knock the man on his back. The gun spun out of his hand across the floor. Before he could even attempt to launch a counter assault, she brought a fist down against the man's temple hard enough to ensure that he wouldn't surprise anyone for a good long while.
At the door to the armory, she put the dogs on guard duty before keying in the code and slipping inside to find something with which she could protect herself.
~*~*~*~*~
"I told you before. You don't frighten me. You're nothing more than a bully. Thor will find me." Astrid tipped her chin up at him and glared. "And if he doesn't, my friends will. You don't know them the way you think you do."
"Your friends won't live through the night," he snarled. "Everyone you care about, everyone you love, is going to die. And there's nothing you can do to stop it."
Astrid tried tugging her arm from his hold, but his fingers gripped it in a bruising fist. "If there's nothing I can do to stop it, why is there fear in your eyes? Face it, Loki. You're done. My friends know you're involved by now. They're going to come for you. They're going to do whatever it takes to end you. They're going to save me. Because they're my friends. They care."
"You keep calling them your friends, but how well do you know them?" he asked. The question seemingly came out of left field and left Astrid wondering what he could possibly be getting at. A good yank had her standing by the pool again, a place she was coming to hate with a burning passion. The silvery water rippled and bubbled until six separate images lay on the surface. Alex. Clint Barton. Miri. Agent Coulson. Elsa. Steve Rogers.
Each of them was engaged in fighting, their faces intent and serious. There was a sense of movement to them, though she could see nothing but their faces. Loki's hand waved and four of the images faded into the background, leaving Alex and Clint there. But only for a moment. She'd barely had time to register the two faces when Alex faded away and left Barton as the only one there. The image grew and expanded until it covered the whole pool.
She could see that the man was laying on his stomach someplace that was high up. Everything he wore was black, including the gloves on his hands. She could see several guns scattered around him. Some had silencers on them. Some didn't. Some had been used, some hadn't. At the moment, and she wasn't sure how he managed it, he had a matte black bow in his hands. The arrow he'd fitted to the string was all black, as well. The bow was sideways, almost touching the ground. There was a second of nothing, then everything about him rippled as the arrow was set loose. She didn't have to see to know he'd hit what he'd been aiming at.
Almost before the arrow had left his hands, he had another one out and fitted to the string. Tension was coiled in his body, his arms rigid and taut as he waited to let the second arrow fly. Loki crowded close. "What has your friend Alex told you about this one? Has she said anything? Has she told you that she has fallen in love with him? That she and he are a couple? That they're... What is the crude word you mortals like to use in such cases?" He smiled at her and waved his hand over the pool again.
The image shifted and this time, Astrid was confronted with an image of Alex and Clint, bare naked and standing under the spray of a shower. Her back was shoved up against the wall, her arms and legs wrapped around his shoulders and waist while his hips moved in a timeless rhythm. Alex was moaning softly into his mouth while they kissed. The coupling was over so suddenly that he started apologizing to her. "Lexi. Baby, I'm so sorry. There was genuine sorrow in his voice. And there was understanding in Alex's eyes. More than that, there was hunger and need and a spark of the love Loki had mentioned. "Ah, yes," Loki whispered in her ear. "Has she told you that she and he are fucking like mad bunnies?"
The next instant, the image was gone, replaced with Barton in his sniper nest. He'd lost the bow and arrows and was using what she assumed was a sniper rifle. She didn't really know much about guns. She watched as he peered through the scope and waited. His finger rested on the trigger, every muscle in his body held in waiting. In the blink of an eye, he fired, his finger squeezing down on the trigger before his hand reached up to slide the bolt. The empty cartridge ejected out and he easily slid another one into place. Took up his position of waiting, eye focused on the scope.
Astrid barely saw the movement. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure coming up behind him. Slowly. Carefully. Feet placed just so. The light hit a dull, matte black shape. Only for a second. But it was enough. "How do you think she'll feel when she finds out that he's dead?" Loki asked, his breath hot in her ear.
She said nothing, only watched with hands over her mouth as Clint fell...
~*~*~*~*~
She'd been in the gym when she'd heard the alarms go off. Felt the explosions that rocked the entire place. Serious shit. She'd left everything where it was in order to return to her locker and grab her side arm. She'd have to collect more weapons as she went along. She'd had a feeling that she'd need them. Her main goal had been simply to find Miri and make sure nothing happened to her best friend.
The halls were choked with smoke and she could hear the crackle of fire. She'd managed to make it back to her desk and pick up her comm unit. The thing sat heavy and silent in her ear, static occasionally filling the air to let her know that the unit wasn't dead. She didn't dare speak for fear of giving herself away. So she moved with slow, sure steps, the gun held out before her as she swept the hall and every single room along the way. Doors were left open to let anyone else know that they'd been checked already.
For a moment, her gut clenched with a small knot of fear. Where was everyone? She hadn't seen any of her friends. She hadn't seen any of the Avengers. She didn't know where Clint was. That thought beat at her brain even as she strained her ears for the sound of an approaching villain. For the soft shushing sound that one of Clint's arrows made when it cut the air in two. For anything, really. God, she hoped he was okay.
A faint noise brought her up short and she pressed her back to the wall, gun down at her side and loose in her hand. The lights were flickering, the florescents buzzing like incessant insects at a bug zapper. It lent an eye straining strobe effect to the area that made it hard to see what was coming until it stepped out of the shadows. Her palms were sweating, something she didn't like. She shifted her gun from hand to hand, wiping both of her palms and the grip on her work out pants so that she had a better hold on it when she came face to face with whatever was around the corner.
She was better than this. She'd been in other dangerous situations before. She was a trained agent. She knew how to handle herself. Both with a gun and with her fists and feet. She shouldn't be sweating like a trainee facing Coulson on the mats for the first time. But this was home. This was the base. No one attacked the base. It just wasn't allowed. That was like the bad guys coming after you in your own house. It wasn't supposed to happen.
She once more curled her hand loosely around the grip of her gun, took a breath, and slid around the corner.
A fist met her, landing against her cheek because she managed to turn her head at the last moment. The pain jarred her back a few steps, allowing her attacker to sweep the Glock from her hand with a well placed kick of his foot. Her hand echoed the pain in her face, but it wasn't enough to stop her from dropping back into a standard ready position. The man watched her emotionlessly for a few long seconds, then drove forward with a fist that might have taken her head off if it had connected.
Her hands were there to grasp the man's wrist and twist his arm away. That brought his body closer to hers. One foot reached out to kick at his knee, but he stepped to the side and her foot sailed past harmlessly. So she pushed forward and shoved a shoulder into his abdomen. Before he could pull back, she bent, took hold of him, and tossed him up and over.
The man sailed into the wall, slid down to the floor. That should have been the end. But it wasn't. He rose to his feet and, huffing slightly for air, made a 'Come get it' motion with one hand. Right. Like she was just going to charge into him unprepared. She stayed where she was, watching. Waiting. Smiling.
It was a silly tactic, but it never failed to work. Smiling suggested that she knew something they didn't. It suggested she wasn't worried to death that this was the time she'd be too slow. Frowning at her seeming confidence, the man charged at her. Alex waited until he was almost on top of her, then she spun, brought a leg up and let her foot connect with his lower back. Even over the growing noise of fires and alarms and explosions, she heard something crack.
He stifled a scream as he dropped to his knees. She hadn't hit him hard enough to break his spine. But it had been enough to incapacitate him for a few moments. Long enough to retrieve her Glock. Long enough to put a round through his head.
She threw herself into the shadows, where she'd heard the metallic clatter when the gun had hit against something. Probably the wall. On her hands and knees, she searched under pieces of debris with sharp edges that left stinging cuts in the palms of her hands. Scrapes on the tops. It was painful, but she could manage. And it seemed as if the gun had buried itself deep under the pile of trash, so she had to really dig for it.
She was just pulling it free when hands grabbed at her and tugged her away. Her attacker flipped her onto her back and straddled her waist. She tried to hit him with her free hand, but he caught it and shoved it aside. Then his hands were on her throat, fingers tight to cut off her air. He was smiling, too. His smile was full of the certainty that she was dead. She just didn't know it yet.
The Glock made a scraping sound as it cleared the debris. Alex felt it come loose with her last tug. She gave him her own smile, not caring that black spots were already dancing before her eyes. Not caring that her lungs were on fire with the need to draw in oxygen. Not caring about anything but getting her gun up. Putting it in his face. Pulling the trigger.
She felt flesh tear as she pulled the gun free of its prison, moved like the wind lest he have a chance to stop her. It shone black in the flickering lights, looked dark and menacing against the man's pale face. She watched as his eyes rolled up to stare at the barrel where it pressed his forehead. Her finger rested on the trigger. She didn't even bother with bringing her other hand up to cradle the butt. She just smiled. just tightened her finger down. Just let him know that he was dead. And they both knew it. Her smile was bigger than his.
"Kiss your ass good bye, mother fucker." The gunshot was loud, echoed around the hallway like a rumble of thunder. Blood and brains and bits of bone flew. Peppered Alex's face and stained her clothes. She didn't turn her head away, just closed her eyes to protect them. The hands at her throat slipped away and she gasped for air. Turned her body to the side so that the corpse would fall to the floor.
There was no time to stop and check the scrapes and cuts. No time to stop and think of what was going on. She had to get up and get moving. Had to find Miri.
~*~*~*~*~
The desk wouldn't last much longer. Each bullet that ripped through it tore off a chunk of wood and sent splinters flying everywhere. There were little spots on her face and hands where a few had hit their mark. Better splinters than bullets, though. Speaking of... She squeezed off her last round, a quick twist around the edge of the desk to shoot at an enemy she couldn't see, then back in place before one of their shots could take her out.
Shit. She wouldn't last long without ammunition. She'd been on her way to the armory when she'd been pinned down here, trapped in a small office with no way out but through the door or a ceiling tile. Either exit would get her shot before she could get a step away from her shelter.
What the fuck was HYDRA doing hitting the base? How had they found it and how had they gotten past the outer layer of security? And where the ever loving fuck was back up? What little she'd seen so far suggested that the entire base was overrun with enemy agents. That everything was in chaos. She could smell smoke and knew that there was fire burning somewhere. Explosions rocked the building every once in a while, the sound of the device going off a thunderous roar that shook the walls and rolled the floor. The pop of guns being fired. The screams of pain and agony. Of the dying. It was a symphony of sorrow and destruction.
People were dying out there. She needed to get out of her hiding place and seek out more ammunition. Find Alex. See if anyone else was around. Prevent more of her co-workers from dying needlessly.
A few more shots flew over her head, taking pieces of desk with them. Miri ducked her head and wondered if Phil would miss her if she died. It was a morbid thought and she knew it, but she couldn't stop it from coming. She hadn't heard from him in something like a week and she didn't know what the hell that meant. Was he even here? Or was he still in the South Pacific? For just a moment, she allowed herself to think of all the things that could have gone wrong on his mission. Of what could happen here at the base in the midst of the attack. Her imagination was pretty capable of making her feel sick to her stomach, so she shoved those thoughts aside and concentrated on how the hell she was going to get out.
That was when she noticed that it was quiet behind her. Or relatively so. While there were still gunshots going off somewhere, no one was shooting at her. Was it some kind of trick? An attempt to get her to come out? She had to make sure before she could decide what to do.
Drawing a quick breath, Miri peered cautiously around the corner of the desk. And blinked at what she saw. Bodies were laying in the doorway, the industrial grey metal frame and door splattered with bright red. Pools of the thick crimson stuff moved slowly across the floor, creeping away from the corpses. The ones she could see had holes dead center of their foreheads, a gaping red eye that dribbled a little of the red stuff down their skin.
"Grant? Is that you in there?"
Miri blinked, then let go a sigh of relief. Maria Hill wasn't one of Fury's right hand agents for nothing. And it looked like the woman had just saved Miri's life. "Its me. Is it safe to come out?"
There was a soft chuckle. "They're all dead. You can come out."
She rose from her hiding place carefully, eyeing the room. There was one more body on the floor, just on the other side of the desk. That one was Miri's kill, his chest soaked in blood. Maria stood outside the office, just beyond the door. There was a faint smirk on her face, but it was tempered with anger and worry. Miri understood that feeling well.
"What do we know?" Miri asked as she collected weapons from the dead. She checked each weapon for ammo and discarded those that were empty. Hand guns went into pockets. There was a semi-automatic assault rifle with a strap that she slung over her shoulder. It was easy to keep a hand on it so that she could bring it up at a moment's notice. Then she searched the bodies and took any extra clips she found.
"HYDRA is everywhere. We don't know how they got past the perimeter and we don't know how they found us. Director Fury is leading an assault team on the external forces. He gave me orders to do what I could to secure the interior of the base. I've been searching for agents to try and form a force."
"Alex is here. She was in the gym, last I knew." Miri informed her. Hill nodded.
"As soon as the shit broke out, she left and headed for... Hell, she's probably looking for you. I don't know where in the building she is, but I suspect she'll find you. Then we'll be in trouble." Maria gave a faint grin at that. Miri did, too. "Natasha is here somewhere. I expect she's taken out more HYDRA agents than the rest of us will combined."
"She is the best at what she does," Miri replied. Then she stepped out of the office, careful to avoid as much of the blood as she could. She didn't need to lead any of their enemy toward them if she could help it. "What's the plan?"
"Get to the comm room. Raise the helicarrier and order them to get their asses here to assist. With the complement of agents on board, we should be able to deal with HYDRA quickly enough. Not to mention the helicarrier has enough fire power to destroy the base and then some."
"Understood. I'll make my way there. I'll let everyone else know." She didn't add that she'd be on the lookout for Alex. Natasha could probably take care of herself, but Miri would keep an eye out for her, too.
Maria smiled. "Watch your ass, Grant. Make sure you make it to the comm room in one piece."
"Ditto."
~*~*~*~*~
Phoebe had barely gotten the vest in place when the door exploded inward, sending pieces of shrapnel flying. She threw herself to the floor to avoid being cut open, her hands over her head to protect it. Her ears rang with the force of the explosion but she felt the thud of footfalls against the floor as whoever it was let themselves inside the armory. She lifted her head in time to see a big man dressed in a HYDRA uniform coming her way. She didn't even think about what she was doing. She just reacted. "Attack."
The word fell from her lips as if she used it every day. She'd never had to. The look of Tex and Denver had always been enough to keep people away from her. And she'd always secretly been glad of that. But now, the word was out and the boys were doing as they'd been told.
They worked as a unified team, both lunging at the man at the same time. White fangs sank into unprotected skin as they dragged the man's arms down. Shook their heads. She was sure they were growling but she couldn't hear it. Just as she was sure the man was screaming. But her ears were still suffering from the explosion. He lifted a foot and kicked Tex away. The dog went flying and hit the floor, where he laid unmoving.
Phoebe crawled across the floor, going after a hand gun that had fallen to the ground in the explosion. She needed the gun for protection. And she needed it to be sure that the man didn't hurt Denver. When she had the gun in her hands, she found the safety and made sure it was clicked off. Made sure the weapon was loaded. It wasn't. She had to scramble to find a clip of ammo for it.
When she turned back around, gun in hand and aimed at their assailant, Tex had gotten up and was presently chewing on the man's leg. Denver had pulled him to the ground, was still worrying the man's arm. There were three pools of blood forming under his limbs, one smaller than the rest. Rising to her feet, she made sure to stay out of his reach while shifting her aim toward his head. "You shouldn't have hurt my dog." She cocked the hammer back, even though she knew it didn't need to be done. "You have a choice. I can put you out of your misery. Or I can let my dogs rip you apart. To be honest, I'm willing to let them do just that. Its no less than you deserve."
The man glared at her and said nothing.
"Okay." Phoebe sighed and shook her head. "Since you haven't got a preference, I'm going to make it slow and painful." She let her aim drift again. This time, she pointed the muzzle at the man's belly. Her finger squeezed the trigger once. Blood erupted from the wound like lava from a volcano, a spray that arced up into the air before splattering down on his uniform and the ground and even her dogs. She let him see the emptiness in her eyes. "Finish him, boys."
She waited outside while the dogs ripped the man to pieces. She was glad when the screaming stopped. Denver joined her when it was done, but Tex didn't. Frowning and worried, Phoebe headed back into the armory. Tex had settled on the floor next to the dead man, his head resting on his paws. "Tex?"
The dog whimpered softly. Damn it. He'd gotten hurt. If the son of a bitch wasn't already dead, she'd shoot him again. Instead, she tucked the gun away and moved to Tex's side. Carefully, she lifted him up and walked around behind a desk that faced the door. The dog whimpered again, but didn't try and bite her. She smiled at him as she set him down, reached out to stroke his head. "Stay here. I'll find someone to help you. Don't move. Denver, stay with him. Guard him."
It was Denver's turn to whine. She smiled at him and reached up to pet his head. There was blood smeared around his mouth, but she didn't mind. "He needs you more than I do. He can't protect himself. I can. Stay. I'll be back and I'll have someone with me to take care of him. Good boys. I love you both." She rose to her feet and walked to the door, glancing back once to be sure that Denver had done as she'd told him. She saw nothing of the dog.
Leaving them behind was hard as hell, but she couldn't carry Tex any distance without risking hurting him more. And she didn't want him left alone when he couldn't take care of himself. After offering a little prayer to whoever was listening, she stepped out into the hallway and chose a direction.
God, she wished Tony was there. He'd know what to do. He always knew what to do. But he wasn't there and she couldn't afford to panic. Denver and Tex were both counting on her. She could do this. She'd survived before. She'd do it again. She didn't need someone to come to her rescue.
Logic said she should run away from the sounds of guns. But that would mean heading away from the people who could help. She owed them more than cowardice. They'd put their necks on the line for her more than once, even if she'd never known it. She was no coward and she could do no less. So she resolutely made her way toward the fighting, hand tight on the butt of the gun. Mind empty and ears listening for any sound.
She took corners as carefully as possible, always checking around them before she actually stepped out into the open. But she obviously didn't do a good job of it. One minute, she was rounding a corner. The next, she was firing the gun in her hand without thought, her mind refusing to register the shock of pain that worked its way up her side from her leg.
Her aim took him dead through the center of the head. She was pleased to see that he was wearing a shocked face when he crumpled to the floor. Better him than her.
~*~*~*~*~
The image of Clint faded back until Astrid could once again see Alex, their faces side by side in the pool. Then both images faded again until all six faces rippled on the surface of the liquid. She noted in an abstract way that Alex and Clint's faces weren't as bright as the other four. As if they didn't matter anymore.
"What secrets do you suppose these two are keeping from you?" Loki asked, his voice drilling into her head when she didn't want to hear any more. She kept telling herself that none of this was real, that Loki was the master of lies. He had to be manipulating things, had to be showing her things that weren't real. But she remembered how touchy Alex got when Barton was mentioned. And hadn't she seen an odd look on Miri's face once when Alex had mentioned Agent Coulson? Was it possible it was all true and Loki was right?
He waved his hand over the pool and, again, it shimmered as four faces slipped away to leave Miri and Agent Coulson's faces floating on the silvery pool. For a brief moment, she saw Miri fighting her way through a crowd of armed men. She was hidden behind a steel door, using it as shelter when they fired their weapons at her. She'd occasionally duck out from behind it to spray the enemy with a gun she held. There were several patches of blood dried to her skin and her suit was ruined. "Another friend. Another liar."
The image shifted again. This time, it was Agent Coulson she was looking at. He was engaged in hand to hand combat with a uniformed enemy. It was surprising to see him meet every one of his opponent's moves with one of his own, his arms and legs blocking the other man's attacks, because everything she knew of him said he was very mild mannered. Quiet. Not deadly. He proved that wrong when he delivered a blow that saw his opponent spinning away and dropping to the ground. Agent Coulson didn't spare a single thought for the man, simply moved on with determination. And if someone got in his way, he took them down.
"Such controlled violence from such a quiet man. Do you suppose that he takes your friend with force? Or does he take her with tenderness, with gentle hands and sweet words?" Loki whispered the words in her ear, his body practically wrapped around her own. His breath was hot against her flesh. One hand rested on her shoulder, a show of support and a way of keeping her from turning away from the things he was showing her.
A gesture of his hand saw the scene playing on the surface of the silvery liquid shift and change. Agent Coulson and the fight he was involved with faded away. It was replaced with a view of a hotel room. The covers had been shoved to the end of the bed, leaving the stark white of the sheet a backdrop to the naked flesh that writhed on the mattress.
A flash of red told her what she already knew. Miri lay under him, her hands buried in his hair. Shifting through it to leave it in disarray. Her eyes were closed, but it looked as if there were tears glistening on her cheeks. She couldn't really hear anything, but it looked to her as if Agent Coulson was whispering in her ear. Every so often, his head would lift and turn just so, giving the appearance that he was speaking directly into her ear. Then his head would drop and he'd brush a fresh round of kisses against her cheek and mouth.
The entire time, his hips moved against her own. Miri's legs were twined around his hips. Her toes flexed with every forward thrust. It was obvious she was lost in the sensations that came from having his body joined with hers.
Then Agent Coulson was pulling her up into a sitting position. Somehow, he managed to keep them joined. Miri let her head fall back, used her knees to shift herself up and down over him. His lips caught her tears and kissed them away, his hands cupped tenderly over her ass. It didn't take long for Miri to arch her spine and keen out her pleasure. Only a few seconds later, his hips quit moving and a long, low groan crept up his throat. Miri buried her face in his shoulder. His hands stroked her spine gently. "Its okay, Miriam," he whispered. They words didn't seem to fit what had just happened, but she lifted her head and stared into his eyes.
He leaned in, took her lips in a searing kiss, and slowly lowered them both to the bed.
"Such compassion from a man who doesn't show emotion. Such tenderness. Was this something that your friend shared with you? Did you know he was capable of such actions?" Loki fell silent, allowing her time to think on and consider his words. His hand moved and waved over the pool again. "Will that stoicism help him in his hour of need? And what will happen to your friend when she discovers that he's gone?"
The image of Miri wrapped around Coulson's body was gone. In its place was an image of what looked like the bridge of a space craft. Coulson was manning the controls, one hand on a kind of wheel while the other held a microphone up to his face. "Base, this is helicarrier one. Mayday. I repeat. Mayday. The ship is compromised. We're going down. Request immediate aid. Mayday."
The picture faded. So did the words. All that was left was the sound of static.
~*~*~*~*~
Miri coughed and put a hand up to cover her mouth. The closer to the center of complex, the thicker and blacker the smoke got. She gave brief consideration to whether or not the base would still be standing when it was all said and done. The warning sirens were still blaring. Under that, though, she thought she could hear the clatter and clang of fire trucks. It wouldn't be unreasonable for their to be a fire brigade on base. It was pretty much self sustaining.
The sounds of gun shots exploded ahead of her, prompting her to stop and take stock of her ammunition. So far, she'd gone through three of the handguns she'd lifted off of the dead in the office, plus others that she'd scavenged as she'd gone along. She was saving the assault rifle for a special occasion. Like when she came across a large group of HYDRA agents clustered together. So far, she'd only seen one or two at a time. As if they knew that they were better off in small teams instead of one large gathering.
More screams ripped the night air apart, the cries of those who were wounded and dying. The sounds stilled her heart in her chest. More good men and women lost to sheer insanity. She didn't know why HYDRA had targeted the base. She didn't know what their purpose was. She didn't care. They were going to pay for every soul they harmed here tonight. Even if Fury didn't give the okay, she'd see it done somehow.
Forcing herself to push thoughts of revenge aside, she started creeping forward again. The goal was to push to the comm room, meet up with Maria there. Hopefully one of them would find Alex and Natasha. Bring them in. Anyone Miri had found alive had been told to head in that direction. So far, none of those alive had been her best friend or the Black Widow. Miri tried not to let it get to her. Tried to keep the worry and the fear at bay. There would be time for such things later. When everyone was accounted for. When every HYDRA agent was dead.
To be honest, she wasn't worried so much about Natasha. It would be if she saw her that she'd worry. Natasha had sailed through their training with such flying colors that it had nearly given all of their superiors instant orgasms. Not a thought she liked to associate with Fury. But Alex... She'd be lying if she said she wasn't worried about Alex. Alex was capable and she could hold her own. But not as well as Natasha. And, unlike Natasha, Alex was Miri's best friend.
A corner loomed ahead of her, prompting her to reach for a gun with a full clip. She halted a half a foot from the corner and then slowly inched forward until she could peer around the edge. A pair of HYDRA agents were standing guard in the hallway. Both held automatics in a no nonsense grip that said they meant business. Miri considered the situation for a moment before smiling and reaching into her pocket for a nearly empty nine millimeter. She tossed it away from her, down the other side of the hallway, before dropping to her knees. The noise did what she expected it to. It caught their attention and drew one of the men away to investigate.
As soon as his back was turned, she rolled out into the open and fired on the remaining enemy guard. The man went down without firing a shot. She was already spinning to face the other man head on when he was on her. Why he hadn't fired, she didn't know. And she didn't want to think a bout it. But she was barely able to avoid the foot aimed at her face. She ducked to the side, only to have that same foot kick the gun from her hand.
Her fingers spasmed in pain. She drew her hand in to her side, carefully flexing the muscles to make a fist. To ensure that nothing was broken. It wasn't. Just sore. She brought her other hand up and threw a punch. The man danced back out of reach, his smile mocking. Miri brought a foot up, made sure it connected with his groin. He groaned but didn't go down. Instead, he lunged at her, one fist bouncing off her chin.
Stars exploded across her vision for a few seconds, long enough for her opponent to grab her by the neck and slam her into the wall. His body shifted close. There were a scant few inches separating the two of them, but it wasn't far enough to keep her from figuring out why he hadn't just shot her when he'd had the chance. There was no way in hell that was going to happen.
She faked going for his nuts again. When he made to protect himself, her fist slammed into his nose. There was a crunching sound as it broke, then blood began pouring from his nostrils. He yelled in pain, his free hand reaching up to clutch at it. "Bitch!" he snarled.
"Fucking proud of it, too," she informed him.
The metallic sound of the gun cocking was loud in the hallway. The man went deathly still, his eyes focused on her face. No doubt he was learning that there was absolutely nothing to see there. Just a perfectly blank mask and dead eyes. She lifted the gun until it was pressed against the underside of his chin. "You won't do it. You'll get dirty," he sneered.
"I won't do it?" she whispered back. Her arm tensed and shoved the gun into the soft flesh just a little harder. Some of the confidence leaked from his face. "You should have thought about whether or not I'd do it when you walked in here, buddy. You're killing my friends and my family. I won't hesitate to do it."
She let her finger tighten down on the trigger. It pulled with a faint jerk and a loud click. Then the gun exploded with noise. And his head exploded with gore. He dropped without making a sound. She was already on her way up the hall.
She never even bothered to look back.
~*~*~*~*~
Alex muttered a curse under her breath and wiped at the blood trickling down her cheek. Fucking bits of plaster became deadly missiles when they were sent flying by a speeding bullet or a ginormous explosion. There were several such dripping wounds on her arms. When she'd checked earlier, she'd found holes ripped in her leggings, which meant that there were tiny nicks and cuts on her legs, too. No time to worry about that, though. All she could do was fight her way through. Push on to her target. Try not to breathe too deeply because her lungs burned with fire and the smoke in the air tasted like oil on the back of her tongue.
She'd not seen Miri yet. She was bothered by that, but she couldn't let herself think on it. There was too much going on around her to let her dwell on worries and fears at the moment. Later, when everyone was accounted for and the dead were laid to rest, then she'd worry and she'd be afraid. Then she'd fall apart. Because this was absolutely the worst thing she'd ever been through. And there had been some pretty bad things before this.
The key to surviving was focus. Being careful. Killing them before they killed her. For a moment, her Catholic upbringing reared its ugly head. She heard old Father Flannigan condemn her actions. She heard her mother ask where she'd gone wrong. She heard Sister Margaret telling her she'd go to hell for her heathen ways. She saw Uncle Alex in his coffin, face white and stiff. She saw Miri covered with blood. She saw Clint... She shoved it all away and told herself to forget it. To ignore everything. To find the zone and fall back into it.
She was so busy chiding herself for being stupid that she didn't realize she was in danger until it was almost too late. She felt a presence behind her, heard the faint gasp of noise that someone made. Spun around to find Natasha dropping a HYDRA agent's limp body to the floor. The woman was tucking away a garrote into one of the many pockets on her onsie. She flashed Alex a look that would have frozen ice on an Eskimo's ass. "You're getting careless, Quinn."
"Not all of us are heartless hell bitches, Natasha," Alex shot back, still smarting from the beating the other woman had given her. It didn't matter if she'd had the right or not. It sucked to have someone kick your ass and rub your face in it. It also sucked to have someone point out when you'd been a douche and made a big fucking mistake.
Alex expected a look of contempt. Or a snarl. Or simply a blank stare. Instead, she was gifted with a brief, rare smile. Then the Russian ice queen was back and Tasha was unholstering her firearm. She stepped up to Alex's side. "Where are you going?"
"Comm room. We need the helicarrier for backup. I thought I'd head there and give them a call. But it feels like its taking forever for that to happen. Every corner I go around, I come up against a fire or the enemy." She hefted her Glock and ejected the clip to show that it was empty. Natasha tsked and dropped gracefully until she was kneeling beside the corpse. Her hands were swift and efficient as she checked the body for weapons. When she was done, Alex had a fresh hand gun, two spare clips and a sub-machine gun.
"Shall I write a note for you the next time we come under attack?"
"I was in the gym. Practicing so that the next time you kick my ass, I at least look good while you do it." Natasha laughed outright at that, a short bark of laughter. Alex allowed a small smile, then shook her head. "I didn't have time to go fetch weapons and ammunition. I barely had time to fetch this piece of shit, fat lot of good its done me." Alex touched a finger to her comm unit.
"Radio silence is SOP. You know this." Natasha sounded disgusted. She might have said more. Or she might not have had anything else to say. Either way, it didn't matter. She held up a hand that kept Alex from opening her mouth, then peered around the corner. When Tasha turned back to her, there was a cold, blank look on her face.
A few hand signals told Alex all she needed to know. A group of HYDRA agents, at least five, were up the next hall. All were armed. They would split up and engage the enemy. One of them would create the diversion. One would start the assault. Alex nodded and thought about it. Then she touched the comm unit to her ear and nodded. She'd be the decoy. Tasha could launch the attack. The redhead nodded once, then sank back into the shadows.
Alex reached up and made sure to turn the comm unit off, in case anyone was listening in, then dropped the hand with the gun to her side. She stepped out of hiding, around the corner and into the line of sight of the enemy agents. She purposely kept her head down, eyes on her feet. "Can anyone hear me? This is Quinn. I've got a man down and I need immediate assistance. Mayday! Do you read?"
Her answer came in the sound of some half a dozen weapons firing all at once. She was on the floor, the stolen nine millimeter in her hands, firing off shots that hit kneecaps. Behind the men, she could see Natasha going to work on a few stray souls waiting in the wings. How she'd gotten there, Alex didn't know. Hell, she could have teleported and it wouldn't matter. It was just amazing to watch her work.
The woman was all deadly grace, like the spider she'd gotten her code name from. Or a poisonous snake. Alex watched her twist and turn, glide from one man to the next. Her arms and legs moved fluidly, a choreographed dance number that looked so easy because the dancer was just that good. She spun and dipped, ducking under one man only to come up and roll over the back of the next when they lunged for her. She was a killing machine, every inch of her used to deliver the death blows. All Alex could do was stare at her as she twirled from one move to the next. And lay down cover fire.
When the hallway was clear, Natasha signaled to her. "Let's get to the comm room."
Alex rose and strode to her side. "Teach me how to do that?"
Natasha's dark laughter followed them up the hall.
~*~*~*~*~
Only two of the faces left on the surface of the pool were bright. The other four were dark and dim. As if they'd already been dealt with. As if they were no longer a problem. Astrid couldn't let herself think that they were dead. That's what he wanted her to think. That's how he was going to break her. It didn't matter that his words slithered and slinked around her head like vicious little serpents. spreading fear and hate and distrust everywhere they touched. She had to believe that he was wrong, that her friends wouldn't lie to her. That they were okay. That Thor was going to come and save her.
"And now we're left with the good doctor and her science experiment." Loki waved his hand. Only Elsa and Steve's faces were left to look at. The rest of them were just... gone. Frowning, Astrid stared at the two images left to her. What could he tell her about them that she didn't know? Elsa was almost a prude and Rogers didn't seem the kind to just climb into bed with a woman without really knowing her. "What kind of lies do you suppose she's told you? Would she even tell you if she was aroused by a man? What is it you mortals have to say about the quiet ones?"
He didn't even bother to say anything more. That was enough to leave her wondering, if only a little bit, if there were things going on between the other two that no one else knew about. Loki smiled at her, a smug thing that said he knew things she didn't know. His hand made a motion over the silver liquid and Elsa's face faded away to leave only Captain Rogers there.
He was barricaded behind a thick door, one hand clasping a shield while the other held a pistol. There were several HYDRA agents outside the door, firing sporadically while waiting for the man to stick his head out so they had a better shot at him. Roger slid the muzzle of the barrel between the door and the frame, then pulled the trigger. Several of the HYDRA agents fell, startled cries leaving their lips.
"Do you suppose he's thinking of the good doctor just now? Or is he only concerned with the next kill? He is a soldier, after all. Warriors only know death and destruction." He paused for a moment and considered his words, lips pursed while one finger tapped against his cheek. "Or is he? Perhaps your doctor friend has her own secrets that she will not tell. Let's see, shall we?"
Rogers' image faded away into nothing, allowing a lush room that was all green trees and vivid flowers come into focus. A small brook tumbled over rocks and ran along its bed on the left side of the image. The trees crowded close, branches hanging over the path and the green grass that edged it on both sides. Near the water's edge, a blanket had been spread out. A few picnic items were pushed to the side of the blanket. The rest of it was occupied by Steve Rogers and Elsa.
The two of them were stretched out over the blanket, Elsa on her back while Steve practically covered her with his body. They mouths were locked in a kiss that obviously held deep passion and desire. Elsa's hands carded through his hair before sliding down his back to almost touch his ass. Then they moved up to once more sift through the length of his hair. She did have one leg hooked over his hip, as if she'd forgotten she was wearing a skirt, but it didn't seem to be doing anything exciting.
Rogers nearly covered her completely. His mouth moved slowly, surely against her own. The angle they were watching from suggested that he wasn't using any tongue at all. He had one hand down against the ground and the blanket to steady himself. The other was settled against her hip, just where it curved out from the waist.
It didn't look like either one of them was willing to touch some place intimate, as if they weren't sure the touch would be welcome. But the tension she saw singing in their muscles said they wanted to do just that.
"Oh, dear." Loki's voice drew her away from their passion for just a second. She glanced at him to see that there was a look of disbelief and sorrow on his face. His eyes were wide with dismay and his lips were turned down in a faint pout. "That is sad."
"What?" she asked, even though she didn't want to. She didn't want to hear anymore lies.
"Such a shame that they'll die without ever being able to... experience one another." His words faded and so did the image of Steve and Elsa entwined. Instead, she was given a view of a room that was dark with exception of few a red emergency lights that had snapped on. It looked like a lab, though things were thrown all over the place. She thought she saw a microscope on its side still on one of the tables. But the floor was covered with debris. Books and papers had been scattered. Glass had been broken. It looked like a war zone.
In one corner, a book shelf had fallen away from the wall and toppled over. It had come to rest on a something that rested low to the ground, but it was plain to see a pair of feet sticking out from under the heavy wooden case. The image shifted until she could see the other side. A pale hand. A length of dark hair strewn across a pale face. She didn't need to see the face to know who it was.
The red lights caught a thick, dark pool near Elsa's head.
"Why are you showing me this?" Astrid screamed, turning away from the pool. She couldn't stand it anymore. Couldn't take anymore. She didn't expect an answer and she didn't get one. At least, not from Loki. But she did hear something. It was faint and soft. It was filled with pain. And it was filled with something else. Hope.
"Steve."
~*~*~*~*~
It hurt to take a full breath. She had to settle on short pants. That hurt, too. But she couldn't draw a full one or else red hot pain lanced her side. At the very least, she had a few cracked ribs. She'd been trying to take stock for a while, but it was hard to do. Her mind kept drifting. That wasn't a good sign. While she wasn't a medical doctor, she knew enough to know that she was probably in some kind of trouble.
Time to take stock again. Pain in the ribs. That hadn't changed. One arm didn't want to work. Each time she tried to shift it, agony seared its way up into her brain. Broken bone. That was the only thing that explained so much pain. She didn't know about internal bleeding, but she knew there were a few cuts on the exterior. She could feel blood under one hand. Near her head. Just what had happened again?
She strained to remember, tried to recall what had happened. Why she was currently pinned under... She lifted a hand, the one not connected to the broken arm, and felt around. There were books all around her. A piece of heavy wooden furniture with uniform cubby holes in it. Book shelf. She was pinned under a book shelf.
Slowly, oh so slowly, it all came back to her. The ship had rocked. From side to side, like a giant hand had batted at it. There had been an explosion. Yes. Because she'd thought it odd to hear the sound. She'd sent her team to their quarters. She'd been going to put their data and test samples away. But then the ship had lurched and the book case and come away from the wall and...
Elsa hear shouting outside the door. It had come open at some point. Or the last one out hadn't gotten it shut all the way. No matter. The point was, she could hear shouting. Screaming. Little popping noises that she thought at first were fire crackers. Little popping noises that she realized were gunshots. The acrid stench of smoke choked the air. Warning sirens kept going off. She tried to make sense of it all.
The word finally came to her, after she thought she'd drifted for a long time. Attack. They were under attack. But how? And why?
None of that seemed to matter when the helicarrier began listing to one side. The ship was going down. She could feel the increasing tilt as the engines failed. The tables scraped the floor as they moved along it. The book shelf moved, bringing a soft cry of pain from her throat.
Oh, God. Make it stop. Please make it stop. Steve. Where was Steve? He'd come get her, wouldn't he? "Steve. Please. Steve."
~*~*~*~*~
The comm room loomed ahead of her, the door standing wide. Miri paused for a moment to check her stash of guns and ammunition. She only had a couple of hand guns left. And the assault rifle. There were no spare clips. She had to hope that there weren't many people in the comm room. She was about to dart forward and head for the door when she caught motion out of the corner of her eye. It was at the other end of the hall. Glancing that way, she was relieved to find Alex and Natasha holding position there.
So far, the smoke hadn't made it this far. Not even the explosives HYDRA was using had been employed in this area. It was a small blessing. It made seeing and breathing easier. But that meant they had no means of hiding themselves. And they had to get inside.
Miri motioned toward the door, intent on telling them she was going in, when she heard a scuffling noise behind her. Her gun came up even as she was turning, finger on the trigger for a fast kill. But it was Maria coming up behind her. The woman was carrying two Glocks, both aimed at the ceiling. She nodded her head and dropped the gun, muzzle pointed to the floor. "Alex and Natasha are at the other end of the hall."
"The comm room?" Maria asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"The door's open. I don't know how we should go in. We're sitting ducks."
"Leave that to me." The woman reached into a pocket and pulled out a flash grenade. Nodding, Miri turned to the corner once more and looked around. Alex and Tasha were still at the other corner, waiting for orders or an opportunity. Maria stepped around Miri and held up the flash grenade. Then she held up five fingers. They had five seconds after the grenade before they stepped inside. Nodding, Tasha and Alex began edging their way up the hall toward the door.
Maria crept forward, Miri on her heels.
Agent Hill went in low, the grenade in her hand. She inched up to the door, tugged the pin from the grenade, and lobbed it through the door. Then she hugged the wall, turning her face away. A flash of light and a loud bang announced the detonation of the grenade. Maria held up a hand and, as a single group, the four of them stormed the room.
There were HYDRA agents clawing at their eyes, standing in the middle of the room like a group of sitting ducks. It was quick and dirty. The report of gunfire echoed loudly in the large room. followed by the sound of bodies thumping against the floor. Without being told, Natasha and Alex swept the room, making sure that there were no hidden dangers. They both gave an all clear with a nod of their heads.
Silence ensued as they began dragging bodies out into the hallway. The bodies of the dead HYDRA agents were left in a pile at the end of the hall, well away from the door. The bodies of their fallen comrades were laid out respectfully at the other end. They deserved a proper burial, with friends and family present. When that was finished, they all returned to the comm room and attempted to bring up the security system. Natasha sat at the comm and tapped away at keys madly.
Maria looked at all of them, face stern. "Report."
"Its fucking chaos out there," Alex sighed. There was no disrespect in her tone. Just a statement of fact. Maria took it as such. "I've taken out as many of them as I was able. Naturally, Natasha had to show off and take out that many more. But I think its safe to say we're overrun."
"I've seen bodies everywhere. Ours. Theirs. It doesn't matter. We're getting our asses handed to us. They have greater numbers."
"They're mindless drones. We have the advantage," Natasha interjected, then hit a single key. The screens overhead flickered to life. "I managed to route the security system through the backup generators. We should be able to see what's going on everywhere now."
Just as Miri said, it was chaos. The halls were filled with bodies. Rooms were filled with bodies. Fires still raged, though not as fiercely as before. Some walls were little more than rubble. Some areas didn't even exist anymore. A quick scan of the exterior showed more bodies. Destroyed vehicles. Smoldering ruins. People engaged in aggressive hand to hand combat. Fury was in the middle of it all.
But it was obvious there were too many HYDRA agents to be overcome. They kept pouring out of the darkness, another two to take the place of one that fell. Miri shuddered and let her eyes scan the images again. She'd done it before, subconsciously, looking for signs of Phil in that mess anyway. She hadn't seen him before. Didn't see him now. She hoped that was a good thing.
"We need to try and contact the helicarrier." Maria's voice made it an order. Natasha was already nodding her head at that. "They have enough people on board to turn the tide of this fight. We might have better training, but those superior numbers are currently thrashing us. If we plan on surviving this fight, we need help now."
They watched as Natasha put her hands on the keyboard, ready to open a channel with the helicarrier so they could request aid. But before she could touch a key, the comm crackled to life in a burst of static. Then a calm voice filled the room and Miri thought the world would drop out from under her.
"Base, this is helicarrier one. Mayday. I repeat. Mayday. The ship is compromised. We're going down. Request immediate aid. Mayday."
Oh, God. It was Phil. Phil was on the helicarrier. And he was in trouble. Static once more filled the air, then there was nothing.
Chapter Sixteen: Chaos
Fandom: something like the Marvel Universe, leaning mostly toward the Movie!Avengers branch
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: lots of sex and violence, language, anything else i can toss in. probably some drinking.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of Marvel and whoever the hell else owns them.. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators,
dazzledfirestar, mistress_o_muse, ginevrasm, rylan_m, and ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar.Author's Note: as the title suggests, this chapter is meant to come off as chaotic and confusing. the events seem to span forever, but they're meant to happen in relatively rapid succession. please keep that in mind when reading.
The Mary Sue Virus: Lights, Camera, Avengers! - The Index
Phoebe didn't know how long she stood watching the door. She was too in shock to register anything other than he'd told her to stay there. Did Tony really think she was helpless? Did he really think she was going to just stand by while... whatever was going on happened? And it was obvious something bad was going on. She'd seen it in his reaction to the wail of the sirens. Not to mention there were loud sounds that she had quickly realized were explosions. Which explained the floor shaking beneath her feet. The walls shaking around her.
"What do you boys think?" Phoebe asked her dogs softly. "Do we stay here? Or do we take out chances out there?"
Tex whined, his head tipped to one side. Denver wagged his stump of a tail and gave two single barks. They were ready to deal with whatever threat was heading their way. Based on what she heard, she thought she'd do better out there than in here. In here, she was a sitting duck. Her sixth sense told her so. The last thing she wanted to do was die sitting on the couch, twiddling her thumbs and waiting for Tony to rescue her. She was capable of rescuing herself. And kicking some ass along the way.
"With me," she told the boys. They rose and moved to her side on silent feet. She'd used the phrase they identified with protection, so they'd be silent, stealthy sentinels at her side. A hand signal saw them moving at pace with her. The three of them headed for the door and, after a quick check to ensure that the hallway was empty, Phoebe slipped out of her rooms. The dogs were on her heels.
Out in the corridor, she could hear the shouts and sounds of gunfire. A thin cloud of smoke crept along the ceiling, letting her know that there was a fire burning somewhere. The dogs scented the air, noses lifted as they did so. Their heads swiveled one direction before turning back to the other, then they laid their ears back and growled. She took that as a good sign that all of the bad guys were in that direction.
She turned to go the other way, only to find herself thrown off her feet as an explosion rocked the building. It was so loud it sounded like it was in the other room. Walls shook and the floor buckled. Phoebe threw her arms up over her head just as the wall opposite her blew in. Debris in the form of bits of sheet rock and chunks of concrete went flying. Hungry tongues of red and orange flame lapped out into the hallway, triggering an alarm over her head. Seconds later, the sprinklers kicked on and she found herself soaked.
When she looked up, she realized that the hallway was blocked in the direction she was going. Which meant she could only head into the fray. Well, damn.
If that was the case, she needed to make her way to the armory and see if she could arm herself with any weapon they had on hand. The only thing was, the weapons she was used to weren't the kind that the bad guys were carrying. Swords were more her things. She wasn't really good with guns, but she got the general idea. Point and shoot. Make sure the safety wasn't engaged. Hope to hit the shit out of the bad guys.
Gaining her feet, she took quick stock of the dogs. Both of them looked okay. She could only hope that they would stay that way. She knew that they wouldn't hesitate to throw themselves between her and anyone who meant her harm. Which, given the situation, would get them shot. That was the last thing she wanted. She had to hope that the dogs wouldn't be spotted in all the chaos until it was too late. If something was to happen to one or both of them, she didn't know what she would do.
The three of them moved slowly and carefully. Phoebe hugged the wall and kept the boys behind her. When they reached a corner, she peeked around it with one eye to determine the danger of the next hall. While the sounds of fighting and the acrid odor of burnt wood intensified, she didn't run into many people with guns. That was a good thing. The fewer people she had to fight without a weapon, she less likely it was she'd get shot.
It wasn't hard to find the armory. She'd found it her first day at the base, when she'd hacked the system's store of blueprints. She'd also found the password to access the armory, though she was sure that Fury knew about it. She was coming to realize that there wasn't much that happened within S.H.I.E.L.D. of which he had no knowledge. So he likely knew that she knew where to get weapons and how to get them. If he hadn't barred her by now, he probably never would.
The closer they got to the armory, the more activity she saw. There were people with fire extinguishers trying to contain the fires that had broken out after explosions. There were other people who were engaged in physical fights, men and women in standard black suits or S.H.I.E.L.D. issued onsies who used martial arts moves against other people in black uniforms that she'd seen on the computer a time or two. HYDRA agents. And there were people lying still on the ground, people in all three of the suits she'd noticed.
Her mind reeled at the idea that HYDRA had hit the base. How had they known? How had they gotten in? Seeing the bodies was disturbing. Some of those people had been ones she'd known. If not by name, then at least by face. Anger swelled within her, a rare occurrence for her. She tried to maintain a certain level of calm, tried to keep herself even and settled. But to see people who were friends gunned down like that... It wasn't anger. It was rage.
When a HYDRA agent stepped in front of her with a gun pointed at her chest, she didn't even think about what she was doing. She let the rage guide her actions. In a single, fluid motion, Phoebe ducked and spun, her leg sweeping out to knock the man on his back. The gun spun out of his hand across the floor. Before he could even attempt to launch a counter assault, she brought a fist down against the man's temple hard enough to ensure that he wouldn't surprise anyone for a good long while.
At the door to the armory, she put the dogs on guard duty before keying in the code and slipping inside to find something with which she could protect herself.
~*~*~*~*~
"I told you before. You don't frighten me. You're nothing more than a bully. Thor will find me." Astrid tipped her chin up at him and glared. "And if he doesn't, my friends will. You don't know them the way you think you do."
"Your friends won't live through the night," he snarled. "Everyone you care about, everyone you love, is going to die. And there's nothing you can do to stop it."
Astrid tried tugging her arm from his hold, but his fingers gripped it in a bruising fist. "If there's nothing I can do to stop it, why is there fear in your eyes? Face it, Loki. You're done. My friends know you're involved by now. They're going to come for you. They're going to do whatever it takes to end you. They're going to save me. Because they're my friends. They care."
"You keep calling them your friends, but how well do you know them?" he asked. The question seemingly came out of left field and left Astrid wondering what he could possibly be getting at. A good yank had her standing by the pool again, a place she was coming to hate with a burning passion. The silvery water rippled and bubbled until six separate images lay on the surface. Alex. Clint Barton. Miri. Agent Coulson. Elsa. Steve Rogers.
Each of them was engaged in fighting, their faces intent and serious. There was a sense of movement to them, though she could see nothing but their faces. Loki's hand waved and four of the images faded into the background, leaving Alex and Clint there. But only for a moment. She'd barely had time to register the two faces when Alex faded away and left Barton as the only one there. The image grew and expanded until it covered the whole pool.
She could see that the man was laying on his stomach someplace that was high up. Everything he wore was black, including the gloves on his hands. She could see several guns scattered around him. Some had silencers on them. Some didn't. Some had been used, some hadn't. At the moment, and she wasn't sure how he managed it, he had a matte black bow in his hands. The arrow he'd fitted to the string was all black, as well. The bow was sideways, almost touching the ground. There was a second of nothing, then everything about him rippled as the arrow was set loose. She didn't have to see to know he'd hit what he'd been aiming at.
Almost before the arrow had left his hands, he had another one out and fitted to the string. Tension was coiled in his body, his arms rigid and taut as he waited to let the second arrow fly. Loki crowded close. "What has your friend Alex told you about this one? Has she said anything? Has she told you that she has fallen in love with him? That she and he are a couple? That they're... What is the crude word you mortals like to use in such cases?" He smiled at her and waved his hand over the pool again.
The image shifted and this time, Astrid was confronted with an image of Alex and Clint, bare naked and standing under the spray of a shower. Her back was shoved up against the wall, her arms and legs wrapped around his shoulders and waist while his hips moved in a timeless rhythm. Alex was moaning softly into his mouth while they kissed. The coupling was over so suddenly that he started apologizing to her. "Lexi. Baby, I'm so sorry. There was genuine sorrow in his voice. And there was understanding in Alex's eyes. More than that, there was hunger and need and a spark of the love Loki had mentioned. "Ah, yes," Loki whispered in her ear. "Has she told you that she and he are fucking like mad bunnies?"
The next instant, the image was gone, replaced with Barton in his sniper nest. He'd lost the bow and arrows and was using what she assumed was a sniper rifle. She didn't really know much about guns. She watched as he peered through the scope and waited. His finger rested on the trigger, every muscle in his body held in waiting. In the blink of an eye, he fired, his finger squeezing down on the trigger before his hand reached up to slide the bolt. The empty cartridge ejected out and he easily slid another one into place. Took up his position of waiting, eye focused on the scope.
Astrid barely saw the movement. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure coming up behind him. Slowly. Carefully. Feet placed just so. The light hit a dull, matte black shape. Only for a second. But it was enough. "How do you think she'll feel when she finds out that he's dead?" Loki asked, his breath hot in her ear.
She said nothing, only watched with hands over her mouth as Clint fell...
~*~*~*~*~
She'd been in the gym when she'd heard the alarms go off. Felt the explosions that rocked the entire place. Serious shit. She'd left everything where it was in order to return to her locker and grab her side arm. She'd have to collect more weapons as she went along. She'd had a feeling that she'd need them. Her main goal had been simply to find Miri and make sure nothing happened to her best friend.
The halls were choked with smoke and she could hear the crackle of fire. She'd managed to make it back to her desk and pick up her comm unit. The thing sat heavy and silent in her ear, static occasionally filling the air to let her know that the unit wasn't dead. She didn't dare speak for fear of giving herself away. So she moved with slow, sure steps, the gun held out before her as she swept the hall and every single room along the way. Doors were left open to let anyone else know that they'd been checked already.
For a moment, her gut clenched with a small knot of fear. Where was everyone? She hadn't seen any of her friends. She hadn't seen any of the Avengers. She didn't know where Clint was. That thought beat at her brain even as she strained her ears for the sound of an approaching villain. For the soft shushing sound that one of Clint's arrows made when it cut the air in two. For anything, really. God, she hoped he was okay.
A faint noise brought her up short and she pressed her back to the wall, gun down at her side and loose in her hand. The lights were flickering, the florescents buzzing like incessant insects at a bug zapper. It lent an eye straining strobe effect to the area that made it hard to see what was coming until it stepped out of the shadows. Her palms were sweating, something she didn't like. She shifted her gun from hand to hand, wiping both of her palms and the grip on her work out pants so that she had a better hold on it when she came face to face with whatever was around the corner.
She was better than this. She'd been in other dangerous situations before. She was a trained agent. She knew how to handle herself. Both with a gun and with her fists and feet. She shouldn't be sweating like a trainee facing Coulson on the mats for the first time. But this was home. This was the base. No one attacked the base. It just wasn't allowed. That was like the bad guys coming after you in your own house. It wasn't supposed to happen.
She once more curled her hand loosely around the grip of her gun, took a breath, and slid around the corner.
A fist met her, landing against her cheek because she managed to turn her head at the last moment. The pain jarred her back a few steps, allowing her attacker to sweep the Glock from her hand with a well placed kick of his foot. Her hand echoed the pain in her face, but it wasn't enough to stop her from dropping back into a standard ready position. The man watched her emotionlessly for a few long seconds, then drove forward with a fist that might have taken her head off if it had connected.
Her hands were there to grasp the man's wrist and twist his arm away. That brought his body closer to hers. One foot reached out to kick at his knee, but he stepped to the side and her foot sailed past harmlessly. So she pushed forward and shoved a shoulder into his abdomen. Before he could pull back, she bent, took hold of him, and tossed him up and over.
The man sailed into the wall, slid down to the floor. That should have been the end. But it wasn't. He rose to his feet and, huffing slightly for air, made a 'Come get it' motion with one hand. Right. Like she was just going to charge into him unprepared. She stayed where she was, watching. Waiting. Smiling.
It was a silly tactic, but it never failed to work. Smiling suggested that she knew something they didn't. It suggested she wasn't worried to death that this was the time she'd be too slow. Frowning at her seeming confidence, the man charged at her. Alex waited until he was almost on top of her, then she spun, brought a leg up and let her foot connect with his lower back. Even over the growing noise of fires and alarms and explosions, she heard something crack.
He stifled a scream as he dropped to his knees. She hadn't hit him hard enough to break his spine. But it had been enough to incapacitate him for a few moments. Long enough to retrieve her Glock. Long enough to put a round through his head.
She threw herself into the shadows, where she'd heard the metallic clatter when the gun had hit against something. Probably the wall. On her hands and knees, she searched under pieces of debris with sharp edges that left stinging cuts in the palms of her hands. Scrapes on the tops. It was painful, but she could manage. And it seemed as if the gun had buried itself deep under the pile of trash, so she had to really dig for it.
She was just pulling it free when hands grabbed at her and tugged her away. Her attacker flipped her onto her back and straddled her waist. She tried to hit him with her free hand, but he caught it and shoved it aside. Then his hands were on her throat, fingers tight to cut off her air. He was smiling, too. His smile was full of the certainty that she was dead. She just didn't know it yet.
The Glock made a scraping sound as it cleared the debris. Alex felt it come loose with her last tug. She gave him her own smile, not caring that black spots were already dancing before her eyes. Not caring that her lungs were on fire with the need to draw in oxygen. Not caring about anything but getting her gun up. Putting it in his face. Pulling the trigger.
She felt flesh tear as she pulled the gun free of its prison, moved like the wind lest he have a chance to stop her. It shone black in the flickering lights, looked dark and menacing against the man's pale face. She watched as his eyes rolled up to stare at the barrel where it pressed his forehead. Her finger rested on the trigger. She didn't even bother with bringing her other hand up to cradle the butt. She just smiled. just tightened her finger down. Just let him know that he was dead. And they both knew it. Her smile was bigger than his.
"Kiss your ass good bye, mother fucker." The gunshot was loud, echoed around the hallway like a rumble of thunder. Blood and brains and bits of bone flew. Peppered Alex's face and stained her clothes. She didn't turn her head away, just closed her eyes to protect them. The hands at her throat slipped away and she gasped for air. Turned her body to the side so that the corpse would fall to the floor.
There was no time to stop and check the scrapes and cuts. No time to stop and think of what was going on. She had to get up and get moving. Had to find Miri.
~*~*~*~*~
The desk wouldn't last much longer. Each bullet that ripped through it tore off a chunk of wood and sent splinters flying everywhere. There were little spots on her face and hands where a few had hit their mark. Better splinters than bullets, though. Speaking of... She squeezed off her last round, a quick twist around the edge of the desk to shoot at an enemy she couldn't see, then back in place before one of their shots could take her out.
Shit. She wouldn't last long without ammunition. She'd been on her way to the armory when she'd been pinned down here, trapped in a small office with no way out but through the door or a ceiling tile. Either exit would get her shot before she could get a step away from her shelter.
What the fuck was HYDRA doing hitting the base? How had they found it and how had they gotten past the outer layer of security? And where the ever loving fuck was back up? What little she'd seen so far suggested that the entire base was overrun with enemy agents. That everything was in chaos. She could smell smoke and knew that there was fire burning somewhere. Explosions rocked the building every once in a while, the sound of the device going off a thunderous roar that shook the walls and rolled the floor. The pop of guns being fired. The screams of pain and agony. Of the dying. It was a symphony of sorrow and destruction.
People were dying out there. She needed to get out of her hiding place and seek out more ammunition. Find Alex. See if anyone else was around. Prevent more of her co-workers from dying needlessly.
A few more shots flew over her head, taking pieces of desk with them. Miri ducked her head and wondered if Phil would miss her if she died. It was a morbid thought and she knew it, but she couldn't stop it from coming. She hadn't heard from him in something like a week and she didn't know what the hell that meant. Was he even here? Or was he still in the South Pacific? For just a moment, she allowed herself to think of all the things that could have gone wrong on his mission. Of what could happen here at the base in the midst of the attack. Her imagination was pretty capable of making her feel sick to her stomach, so she shoved those thoughts aside and concentrated on how the hell she was going to get out.
That was when she noticed that it was quiet behind her. Or relatively so. While there were still gunshots going off somewhere, no one was shooting at her. Was it some kind of trick? An attempt to get her to come out? She had to make sure before she could decide what to do.
Drawing a quick breath, Miri peered cautiously around the corner of the desk. And blinked at what she saw. Bodies were laying in the doorway, the industrial grey metal frame and door splattered with bright red. Pools of the thick crimson stuff moved slowly across the floor, creeping away from the corpses. The ones she could see had holes dead center of their foreheads, a gaping red eye that dribbled a little of the red stuff down their skin.
"Grant? Is that you in there?"
Miri blinked, then let go a sigh of relief. Maria Hill wasn't one of Fury's right hand agents for nothing. And it looked like the woman had just saved Miri's life. "Its me. Is it safe to come out?"
There was a soft chuckle. "They're all dead. You can come out."
She rose from her hiding place carefully, eyeing the room. There was one more body on the floor, just on the other side of the desk. That one was Miri's kill, his chest soaked in blood. Maria stood outside the office, just beyond the door. There was a faint smirk on her face, but it was tempered with anger and worry. Miri understood that feeling well.
"What do we know?" Miri asked as she collected weapons from the dead. She checked each weapon for ammo and discarded those that were empty. Hand guns went into pockets. There was a semi-automatic assault rifle with a strap that she slung over her shoulder. It was easy to keep a hand on it so that she could bring it up at a moment's notice. Then she searched the bodies and took any extra clips she found.
"HYDRA is everywhere. We don't know how they got past the perimeter and we don't know how they found us. Director Fury is leading an assault team on the external forces. He gave me orders to do what I could to secure the interior of the base. I've been searching for agents to try and form a force."
"Alex is here. She was in the gym, last I knew." Miri informed her. Hill nodded.
"As soon as the shit broke out, she left and headed for... Hell, she's probably looking for you. I don't know where in the building she is, but I suspect she'll find you. Then we'll be in trouble." Maria gave a faint grin at that. Miri did, too. "Natasha is here somewhere. I expect she's taken out more HYDRA agents than the rest of us will combined."
"She is the best at what she does," Miri replied. Then she stepped out of the office, careful to avoid as much of the blood as she could. She didn't need to lead any of their enemy toward them if she could help it. "What's the plan?"
"Get to the comm room. Raise the helicarrier and order them to get their asses here to assist. With the complement of agents on board, we should be able to deal with HYDRA quickly enough. Not to mention the helicarrier has enough fire power to destroy the base and then some."
"Understood. I'll make my way there. I'll let everyone else know." She didn't add that she'd be on the lookout for Alex. Natasha could probably take care of herself, but Miri would keep an eye out for her, too.
Maria smiled. "Watch your ass, Grant. Make sure you make it to the comm room in one piece."
"Ditto."
~*~*~*~*~
Phoebe had barely gotten the vest in place when the door exploded inward, sending pieces of shrapnel flying. She threw herself to the floor to avoid being cut open, her hands over her head to protect it. Her ears rang with the force of the explosion but she felt the thud of footfalls against the floor as whoever it was let themselves inside the armory. She lifted her head in time to see a big man dressed in a HYDRA uniform coming her way. She didn't even think about what she was doing. She just reacted. "Attack."
The word fell from her lips as if she used it every day. She'd never had to. The look of Tex and Denver had always been enough to keep people away from her. And she'd always secretly been glad of that. But now, the word was out and the boys were doing as they'd been told.
They worked as a unified team, both lunging at the man at the same time. White fangs sank into unprotected skin as they dragged the man's arms down. Shook their heads. She was sure they were growling but she couldn't hear it. Just as she was sure the man was screaming. But her ears were still suffering from the explosion. He lifted a foot and kicked Tex away. The dog went flying and hit the floor, where he laid unmoving.
Phoebe crawled across the floor, going after a hand gun that had fallen to the ground in the explosion. She needed the gun for protection. And she needed it to be sure that the man didn't hurt Denver. When she had the gun in her hands, she found the safety and made sure it was clicked off. Made sure the weapon was loaded. It wasn't. She had to scramble to find a clip of ammo for it.
When she turned back around, gun in hand and aimed at their assailant, Tex had gotten up and was presently chewing on the man's leg. Denver had pulled him to the ground, was still worrying the man's arm. There were three pools of blood forming under his limbs, one smaller than the rest. Rising to her feet, she made sure to stay out of his reach while shifting her aim toward his head. "You shouldn't have hurt my dog." She cocked the hammer back, even though she knew it didn't need to be done. "You have a choice. I can put you out of your misery. Or I can let my dogs rip you apart. To be honest, I'm willing to let them do just that. Its no less than you deserve."
The man glared at her and said nothing.
"Okay." Phoebe sighed and shook her head. "Since you haven't got a preference, I'm going to make it slow and painful." She let her aim drift again. This time, she pointed the muzzle at the man's belly. Her finger squeezed the trigger once. Blood erupted from the wound like lava from a volcano, a spray that arced up into the air before splattering down on his uniform and the ground and even her dogs. She let him see the emptiness in her eyes. "Finish him, boys."
She waited outside while the dogs ripped the man to pieces. She was glad when the screaming stopped. Denver joined her when it was done, but Tex didn't. Frowning and worried, Phoebe headed back into the armory. Tex had settled on the floor next to the dead man, his head resting on his paws. "Tex?"
The dog whimpered softly. Damn it. He'd gotten hurt. If the son of a bitch wasn't already dead, she'd shoot him again. Instead, she tucked the gun away and moved to Tex's side. Carefully, she lifted him up and walked around behind a desk that faced the door. The dog whimpered again, but didn't try and bite her. She smiled at him as she set him down, reached out to stroke his head. "Stay here. I'll find someone to help you. Don't move. Denver, stay with him. Guard him."
It was Denver's turn to whine. She smiled at him and reached up to pet his head. There was blood smeared around his mouth, but she didn't mind. "He needs you more than I do. He can't protect himself. I can. Stay. I'll be back and I'll have someone with me to take care of him. Good boys. I love you both." She rose to her feet and walked to the door, glancing back once to be sure that Denver had done as she'd told him. She saw nothing of the dog.
Leaving them behind was hard as hell, but she couldn't carry Tex any distance without risking hurting him more. And she didn't want him left alone when he couldn't take care of himself. After offering a little prayer to whoever was listening, she stepped out into the hallway and chose a direction.
God, she wished Tony was there. He'd know what to do. He always knew what to do. But he wasn't there and she couldn't afford to panic. Denver and Tex were both counting on her. She could do this. She'd survived before. She'd do it again. She didn't need someone to come to her rescue.
Logic said she should run away from the sounds of guns. But that would mean heading away from the people who could help. She owed them more than cowardice. They'd put their necks on the line for her more than once, even if she'd never known it. She was no coward and she could do no less. So she resolutely made her way toward the fighting, hand tight on the butt of the gun. Mind empty and ears listening for any sound.
She took corners as carefully as possible, always checking around them before she actually stepped out into the open. But she obviously didn't do a good job of it. One minute, she was rounding a corner. The next, she was firing the gun in her hand without thought, her mind refusing to register the shock of pain that worked its way up her side from her leg.
Her aim took him dead through the center of the head. She was pleased to see that he was wearing a shocked face when he crumpled to the floor. Better him than her.
~*~*~*~*~
The image of Clint faded back until Astrid could once again see Alex, their faces side by side in the pool. Then both images faded again until all six faces rippled on the surface of the liquid. She noted in an abstract way that Alex and Clint's faces weren't as bright as the other four. As if they didn't matter anymore.
"What secrets do you suppose these two are keeping from you?" Loki asked, his voice drilling into her head when she didn't want to hear any more. She kept telling herself that none of this was real, that Loki was the master of lies. He had to be manipulating things, had to be showing her things that weren't real. But she remembered how touchy Alex got when Barton was mentioned. And hadn't she seen an odd look on Miri's face once when Alex had mentioned Agent Coulson? Was it possible it was all true and Loki was right?
He waved his hand over the pool and, again, it shimmered as four faces slipped away to leave Miri and Agent Coulson's faces floating on the silvery pool. For a brief moment, she saw Miri fighting her way through a crowd of armed men. She was hidden behind a steel door, using it as shelter when they fired their weapons at her. She'd occasionally duck out from behind it to spray the enemy with a gun she held. There were several patches of blood dried to her skin and her suit was ruined. "Another friend. Another liar."
The image shifted again. This time, it was Agent Coulson she was looking at. He was engaged in hand to hand combat with a uniformed enemy. It was surprising to see him meet every one of his opponent's moves with one of his own, his arms and legs blocking the other man's attacks, because everything she knew of him said he was very mild mannered. Quiet. Not deadly. He proved that wrong when he delivered a blow that saw his opponent spinning away and dropping to the ground. Agent Coulson didn't spare a single thought for the man, simply moved on with determination. And if someone got in his way, he took them down.
"Such controlled violence from such a quiet man. Do you suppose that he takes your friend with force? Or does he take her with tenderness, with gentle hands and sweet words?" Loki whispered the words in her ear, his body practically wrapped around her own. His breath was hot against her flesh. One hand rested on her shoulder, a show of support and a way of keeping her from turning away from the things he was showing her.
A gesture of his hand saw the scene playing on the surface of the silvery liquid shift and change. Agent Coulson and the fight he was involved with faded away. It was replaced with a view of a hotel room. The covers had been shoved to the end of the bed, leaving the stark white of the sheet a backdrop to the naked flesh that writhed on the mattress.
A flash of red told her what she already knew. Miri lay under him, her hands buried in his hair. Shifting through it to leave it in disarray. Her eyes were closed, but it looked as if there were tears glistening on her cheeks. She couldn't really hear anything, but it looked to her as if Agent Coulson was whispering in her ear. Every so often, his head would lift and turn just so, giving the appearance that he was speaking directly into her ear. Then his head would drop and he'd brush a fresh round of kisses against her cheek and mouth.
The entire time, his hips moved against her own. Miri's legs were twined around his hips. Her toes flexed with every forward thrust. It was obvious she was lost in the sensations that came from having his body joined with hers.
Then Agent Coulson was pulling her up into a sitting position. Somehow, he managed to keep them joined. Miri let her head fall back, used her knees to shift herself up and down over him. His lips caught her tears and kissed them away, his hands cupped tenderly over her ass. It didn't take long for Miri to arch her spine and keen out her pleasure. Only a few seconds later, his hips quit moving and a long, low groan crept up his throat. Miri buried her face in his shoulder. His hands stroked her spine gently. "Its okay, Miriam," he whispered. They words didn't seem to fit what had just happened, but she lifted her head and stared into his eyes.
He leaned in, took her lips in a searing kiss, and slowly lowered them both to the bed.
"Such compassion from a man who doesn't show emotion. Such tenderness. Was this something that your friend shared with you? Did you know he was capable of such actions?" Loki fell silent, allowing her time to think on and consider his words. His hand moved and waved over the pool again. "Will that stoicism help him in his hour of need? And what will happen to your friend when she discovers that he's gone?"
The image of Miri wrapped around Coulson's body was gone. In its place was an image of what looked like the bridge of a space craft. Coulson was manning the controls, one hand on a kind of wheel while the other held a microphone up to his face. "Base, this is helicarrier one. Mayday. I repeat. Mayday. The ship is compromised. We're going down. Request immediate aid. Mayday."
The picture faded. So did the words. All that was left was the sound of static.
~*~*~*~*~
Miri coughed and put a hand up to cover her mouth. The closer to the center of complex, the thicker and blacker the smoke got. She gave brief consideration to whether or not the base would still be standing when it was all said and done. The warning sirens were still blaring. Under that, though, she thought she could hear the clatter and clang of fire trucks. It wouldn't be unreasonable for their to be a fire brigade on base. It was pretty much self sustaining.
The sounds of gun shots exploded ahead of her, prompting her to stop and take stock of her ammunition. So far, she'd gone through three of the handguns she'd lifted off of the dead in the office, plus others that she'd scavenged as she'd gone along. She was saving the assault rifle for a special occasion. Like when she came across a large group of HYDRA agents clustered together. So far, she'd only seen one or two at a time. As if they knew that they were better off in small teams instead of one large gathering.
More screams ripped the night air apart, the cries of those who were wounded and dying. The sounds stilled her heart in her chest. More good men and women lost to sheer insanity. She didn't know why HYDRA had targeted the base. She didn't know what their purpose was. She didn't care. They were going to pay for every soul they harmed here tonight. Even if Fury didn't give the okay, she'd see it done somehow.
Forcing herself to push thoughts of revenge aside, she started creeping forward again. The goal was to push to the comm room, meet up with Maria there. Hopefully one of them would find Alex and Natasha. Bring them in. Anyone Miri had found alive had been told to head in that direction. So far, none of those alive had been her best friend or the Black Widow. Miri tried not to let it get to her. Tried to keep the worry and the fear at bay. There would be time for such things later. When everyone was accounted for. When every HYDRA agent was dead.
To be honest, she wasn't worried so much about Natasha. It would be if she saw her that she'd worry. Natasha had sailed through their training with such flying colors that it had nearly given all of their superiors instant orgasms. Not a thought she liked to associate with Fury. But Alex... She'd be lying if she said she wasn't worried about Alex. Alex was capable and she could hold her own. But not as well as Natasha. And, unlike Natasha, Alex was Miri's best friend.
A corner loomed ahead of her, prompting her to reach for a gun with a full clip. She halted a half a foot from the corner and then slowly inched forward until she could peer around the edge. A pair of HYDRA agents were standing guard in the hallway. Both held automatics in a no nonsense grip that said they meant business. Miri considered the situation for a moment before smiling and reaching into her pocket for a nearly empty nine millimeter. She tossed it away from her, down the other side of the hallway, before dropping to her knees. The noise did what she expected it to. It caught their attention and drew one of the men away to investigate.
As soon as his back was turned, she rolled out into the open and fired on the remaining enemy guard. The man went down without firing a shot. She was already spinning to face the other man head on when he was on her. Why he hadn't fired, she didn't know. And she didn't want to think a bout it. But she was barely able to avoid the foot aimed at her face. She ducked to the side, only to have that same foot kick the gun from her hand.
Her fingers spasmed in pain. She drew her hand in to her side, carefully flexing the muscles to make a fist. To ensure that nothing was broken. It wasn't. Just sore. She brought her other hand up and threw a punch. The man danced back out of reach, his smile mocking. Miri brought a foot up, made sure it connected with his groin. He groaned but didn't go down. Instead, he lunged at her, one fist bouncing off her chin.
Stars exploded across her vision for a few seconds, long enough for her opponent to grab her by the neck and slam her into the wall. His body shifted close. There were a scant few inches separating the two of them, but it wasn't far enough to keep her from figuring out why he hadn't just shot her when he'd had the chance. There was no way in hell that was going to happen.
She faked going for his nuts again. When he made to protect himself, her fist slammed into his nose. There was a crunching sound as it broke, then blood began pouring from his nostrils. He yelled in pain, his free hand reaching up to clutch at it. "Bitch!" he snarled.
"Fucking proud of it, too," she informed him.
The metallic sound of the gun cocking was loud in the hallway. The man went deathly still, his eyes focused on her face. No doubt he was learning that there was absolutely nothing to see there. Just a perfectly blank mask and dead eyes. She lifted the gun until it was pressed against the underside of his chin. "You won't do it. You'll get dirty," he sneered.
"I won't do it?" she whispered back. Her arm tensed and shoved the gun into the soft flesh just a little harder. Some of the confidence leaked from his face. "You should have thought about whether or not I'd do it when you walked in here, buddy. You're killing my friends and my family. I won't hesitate to do it."
She let her finger tighten down on the trigger. It pulled with a faint jerk and a loud click. Then the gun exploded with noise. And his head exploded with gore. He dropped without making a sound. She was already on her way up the hall.
She never even bothered to look back.
~*~*~*~*~
Alex muttered a curse under her breath and wiped at the blood trickling down her cheek. Fucking bits of plaster became deadly missiles when they were sent flying by a speeding bullet or a ginormous explosion. There were several such dripping wounds on her arms. When she'd checked earlier, she'd found holes ripped in her leggings, which meant that there were tiny nicks and cuts on her legs, too. No time to worry about that, though. All she could do was fight her way through. Push on to her target. Try not to breathe too deeply because her lungs burned with fire and the smoke in the air tasted like oil on the back of her tongue.
She'd not seen Miri yet. She was bothered by that, but she couldn't let herself think on it. There was too much going on around her to let her dwell on worries and fears at the moment. Later, when everyone was accounted for and the dead were laid to rest, then she'd worry and she'd be afraid. Then she'd fall apart. Because this was absolutely the worst thing she'd ever been through. And there had been some pretty bad things before this.
The key to surviving was focus. Being careful. Killing them before they killed her. For a moment, her Catholic upbringing reared its ugly head. She heard old Father Flannigan condemn her actions. She heard her mother ask where she'd gone wrong. She heard Sister Margaret telling her she'd go to hell for her heathen ways. She saw Uncle Alex in his coffin, face white and stiff. She saw Miri covered with blood. She saw Clint... She shoved it all away and told herself to forget it. To ignore everything. To find the zone and fall back into it.
She was so busy chiding herself for being stupid that she didn't realize she was in danger until it was almost too late. She felt a presence behind her, heard the faint gasp of noise that someone made. Spun around to find Natasha dropping a HYDRA agent's limp body to the floor. The woman was tucking away a garrote into one of the many pockets on her onsie. She flashed Alex a look that would have frozen ice on an Eskimo's ass. "You're getting careless, Quinn."
"Not all of us are heartless hell bitches, Natasha," Alex shot back, still smarting from the beating the other woman had given her. It didn't matter if she'd had the right or not. It sucked to have someone kick your ass and rub your face in it. It also sucked to have someone point out when you'd been a douche and made a big fucking mistake.
Alex expected a look of contempt. Or a snarl. Or simply a blank stare. Instead, she was gifted with a brief, rare smile. Then the Russian ice queen was back and Tasha was unholstering her firearm. She stepped up to Alex's side. "Where are you going?"
"Comm room. We need the helicarrier for backup. I thought I'd head there and give them a call. But it feels like its taking forever for that to happen. Every corner I go around, I come up against a fire or the enemy." She hefted her Glock and ejected the clip to show that it was empty. Natasha tsked and dropped gracefully until she was kneeling beside the corpse. Her hands were swift and efficient as she checked the body for weapons. When she was done, Alex had a fresh hand gun, two spare clips and a sub-machine gun.
"Shall I write a note for you the next time we come under attack?"
"I was in the gym. Practicing so that the next time you kick my ass, I at least look good while you do it." Natasha laughed outright at that, a short bark of laughter. Alex allowed a small smile, then shook her head. "I didn't have time to go fetch weapons and ammunition. I barely had time to fetch this piece of shit, fat lot of good its done me." Alex touched a finger to her comm unit.
"Radio silence is SOP. You know this." Natasha sounded disgusted. She might have said more. Or she might not have had anything else to say. Either way, it didn't matter. She held up a hand that kept Alex from opening her mouth, then peered around the corner. When Tasha turned back to her, there was a cold, blank look on her face.
A few hand signals told Alex all she needed to know. A group of HYDRA agents, at least five, were up the next hall. All were armed. They would split up and engage the enemy. One of them would create the diversion. One would start the assault. Alex nodded and thought about it. Then she touched the comm unit to her ear and nodded. She'd be the decoy. Tasha could launch the attack. The redhead nodded once, then sank back into the shadows.
Alex reached up and made sure to turn the comm unit off, in case anyone was listening in, then dropped the hand with the gun to her side. She stepped out of hiding, around the corner and into the line of sight of the enemy agents. She purposely kept her head down, eyes on her feet. "Can anyone hear me? This is Quinn. I've got a man down and I need immediate assistance. Mayday! Do you read?"
Her answer came in the sound of some half a dozen weapons firing all at once. She was on the floor, the stolen nine millimeter in her hands, firing off shots that hit kneecaps. Behind the men, she could see Natasha going to work on a few stray souls waiting in the wings. How she'd gotten there, Alex didn't know. Hell, she could have teleported and it wouldn't matter. It was just amazing to watch her work.
The woman was all deadly grace, like the spider she'd gotten her code name from. Or a poisonous snake. Alex watched her twist and turn, glide from one man to the next. Her arms and legs moved fluidly, a choreographed dance number that looked so easy because the dancer was just that good. She spun and dipped, ducking under one man only to come up and roll over the back of the next when they lunged for her. She was a killing machine, every inch of her used to deliver the death blows. All Alex could do was stare at her as she twirled from one move to the next. And lay down cover fire.
When the hallway was clear, Natasha signaled to her. "Let's get to the comm room."
Alex rose and strode to her side. "Teach me how to do that?"
Natasha's dark laughter followed them up the hall.
~*~*~*~*~
Only two of the faces left on the surface of the pool were bright. The other four were dark and dim. As if they'd already been dealt with. As if they were no longer a problem. Astrid couldn't let herself think that they were dead. That's what he wanted her to think. That's how he was going to break her. It didn't matter that his words slithered and slinked around her head like vicious little serpents. spreading fear and hate and distrust everywhere they touched. She had to believe that he was wrong, that her friends wouldn't lie to her. That they were okay. That Thor was going to come and save her.
"And now we're left with the good doctor and her science experiment." Loki waved his hand. Only Elsa and Steve's faces were left to look at. The rest of them were just... gone. Frowning, Astrid stared at the two images left to her. What could he tell her about them that she didn't know? Elsa was almost a prude and Rogers didn't seem the kind to just climb into bed with a woman without really knowing her. "What kind of lies do you suppose she's told you? Would she even tell you if she was aroused by a man? What is it you mortals have to say about the quiet ones?"
He didn't even bother to say anything more. That was enough to leave her wondering, if only a little bit, if there were things going on between the other two that no one else knew about. Loki smiled at her, a smug thing that said he knew things she didn't know. His hand made a motion over the silver liquid and Elsa's face faded away to leave only Captain Rogers there.
He was barricaded behind a thick door, one hand clasping a shield while the other held a pistol. There were several HYDRA agents outside the door, firing sporadically while waiting for the man to stick his head out so they had a better shot at him. Roger slid the muzzle of the barrel between the door and the frame, then pulled the trigger. Several of the HYDRA agents fell, startled cries leaving their lips.
"Do you suppose he's thinking of the good doctor just now? Or is he only concerned with the next kill? He is a soldier, after all. Warriors only know death and destruction." He paused for a moment and considered his words, lips pursed while one finger tapped against his cheek. "Or is he? Perhaps your doctor friend has her own secrets that she will not tell. Let's see, shall we?"
Rogers' image faded away into nothing, allowing a lush room that was all green trees and vivid flowers come into focus. A small brook tumbled over rocks and ran along its bed on the left side of the image. The trees crowded close, branches hanging over the path and the green grass that edged it on both sides. Near the water's edge, a blanket had been spread out. A few picnic items were pushed to the side of the blanket. The rest of it was occupied by Steve Rogers and Elsa.
The two of them were stretched out over the blanket, Elsa on her back while Steve practically covered her with his body. They mouths were locked in a kiss that obviously held deep passion and desire. Elsa's hands carded through his hair before sliding down his back to almost touch his ass. Then they moved up to once more sift through the length of his hair. She did have one leg hooked over his hip, as if she'd forgotten she was wearing a skirt, but it didn't seem to be doing anything exciting.
Rogers nearly covered her completely. His mouth moved slowly, surely against her own. The angle they were watching from suggested that he wasn't using any tongue at all. He had one hand down against the ground and the blanket to steady himself. The other was settled against her hip, just where it curved out from the waist.
It didn't look like either one of them was willing to touch some place intimate, as if they weren't sure the touch would be welcome. But the tension she saw singing in their muscles said they wanted to do just that.
"Oh, dear." Loki's voice drew her away from their passion for just a second. She glanced at him to see that there was a look of disbelief and sorrow on his face. His eyes were wide with dismay and his lips were turned down in a faint pout. "That is sad."
"What?" she asked, even though she didn't want to. She didn't want to hear anymore lies.
"Such a shame that they'll die without ever being able to... experience one another." His words faded and so did the image of Steve and Elsa entwined. Instead, she was given a view of a room that was dark with exception of few a red emergency lights that had snapped on. It looked like a lab, though things were thrown all over the place. She thought she saw a microscope on its side still on one of the tables. But the floor was covered with debris. Books and papers had been scattered. Glass had been broken. It looked like a war zone.
In one corner, a book shelf had fallen away from the wall and toppled over. It had come to rest on a something that rested low to the ground, but it was plain to see a pair of feet sticking out from under the heavy wooden case. The image shifted until she could see the other side. A pale hand. A length of dark hair strewn across a pale face. She didn't need to see the face to know who it was.
The red lights caught a thick, dark pool near Elsa's head.
"Why are you showing me this?" Astrid screamed, turning away from the pool. She couldn't stand it anymore. Couldn't take anymore. She didn't expect an answer and she didn't get one. At least, not from Loki. But she did hear something. It was faint and soft. It was filled with pain. And it was filled with something else. Hope.
"Steve."
~*~*~*~*~
It hurt to take a full breath. She had to settle on short pants. That hurt, too. But she couldn't draw a full one or else red hot pain lanced her side. At the very least, she had a few cracked ribs. She'd been trying to take stock for a while, but it was hard to do. Her mind kept drifting. That wasn't a good sign. While she wasn't a medical doctor, she knew enough to know that she was probably in some kind of trouble.
Time to take stock again. Pain in the ribs. That hadn't changed. One arm didn't want to work. Each time she tried to shift it, agony seared its way up into her brain. Broken bone. That was the only thing that explained so much pain. She didn't know about internal bleeding, but she knew there were a few cuts on the exterior. She could feel blood under one hand. Near her head. Just what had happened again?
She strained to remember, tried to recall what had happened. Why she was currently pinned under... She lifted a hand, the one not connected to the broken arm, and felt around. There were books all around her. A piece of heavy wooden furniture with uniform cubby holes in it. Book shelf. She was pinned under a book shelf.
Slowly, oh so slowly, it all came back to her. The ship had rocked. From side to side, like a giant hand had batted at it. There had been an explosion. Yes. Because she'd thought it odd to hear the sound. She'd sent her team to their quarters. She'd been going to put their data and test samples away. But then the ship had lurched and the book case and come away from the wall and...
Elsa hear shouting outside the door. It had come open at some point. Or the last one out hadn't gotten it shut all the way. No matter. The point was, she could hear shouting. Screaming. Little popping noises that she thought at first were fire crackers. Little popping noises that she realized were gunshots. The acrid stench of smoke choked the air. Warning sirens kept going off. She tried to make sense of it all.
The word finally came to her, after she thought she'd drifted for a long time. Attack. They were under attack. But how? And why?
None of that seemed to matter when the helicarrier began listing to one side. The ship was going down. She could feel the increasing tilt as the engines failed. The tables scraped the floor as they moved along it. The book shelf moved, bringing a soft cry of pain from her throat.
Oh, God. Make it stop. Please make it stop. Steve. Where was Steve? He'd come get her, wouldn't he? "Steve. Please. Steve."
~*~*~*~*~
The comm room loomed ahead of her, the door standing wide. Miri paused for a moment to check her stash of guns and ammunition. She only had a couple of hand guns left. And the assault rifle. There were no spare clips. She had to hope that there weren't many people in the comm room. She was about to dart forward and head for the door when she caught motion out of the corner of her eye. It was at the other end of the hall. Glancing that way, she was relieved to find Alex and Natasha holding position there.
So far, the smoke hadn't made it this far. Not even the explosives HYDRA was using had been employed in this area. It was a small blessing. It made seeing and breathing easier. But that meant they had no means of hiding themselves. And they had to get inside.
Miri motioned toward the door, intent on telling them she was going in, when she heard a scuffling noise behind her. Her gun came up even as she was turning, finger on the trigger for a fast kill. But it was Maria coming up behind her. The woman was carrying two Glocks, both aimed at the ceiling. She nodded her head and dropped the gun, muzzle pointed to the floor. "Alex and Natasha are at the other end of the hall."
"The comm room?" Maria asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"The door's open. I don't know how we should go in. We're sitting ducks."
"Leave that to me." The woman reached into a pocket and pulled out a flash grenade. Nodding, Miri turned to the corner once more and looked around. Alex and Tasha were still at the other corner, waiting for orders or an opportunity. Maria stepped around Miri and held up the flash grenade. Then she held up five fingers. They had five seconds after the grenade before they stepped inside. Nodding, Tasha and Alex began edging their way up the hall toward the door.
Maria crept forward, Miri on her heels.
Agent Hill went in low, the grenade in her hand. She inched up to the door, tugged the pin from the grenade, and lobbed it through the door. Then she hugged the wall, turning her face away. A flash of light and a loud bang announced the detonation of the grenade. Maria held up a hand and, as a single group, the four of them stormed the room.
There were HYDRA agents clawing at their eyes, standing in the middle of the room like a group of sitting ducks. It was quick and dirty. The report of gunfire echoed loudly in the large room. followed by the sound of bodies thumping against the floor. Without being told, Natasha and Alex swept the room, making sure that there were no hidden dangers. They both gave an all clear with a nod of their heads.
Silence ensued as they began dragging bodies out into the hallway. The bodies of the dead HYDRA agents were left in a pile at the end of the hall, well away from the door. The bodies of their fallen comrades were laid out respectfully at the other end. They deserved a proper burial, with friends and family present. When that was finished, they all returned to the comm room and attempted to bring up the security system. Natasha sat at the comm and tapped away at keys madly.
Maria looked at all of them, face stern. "Report."
"Its fucking chaos out there," Alex sighed. There was no disrespect in her tone. Just a statement of fact. Maria took it as such. "I've taken out as many of them as I was able. Naturally, Natasha had to show off and take out that many more. But I think its safe to say we're overrun."
"I've seen bodies everywhere. Ours. Theirs. It doesn't matter. We're getting our asses handed to us. They have greater numbers."
"They're mindless drones. We have the advantage," Natasha interjected, then hit a single key. The screens overhead flickered to life. "I managed to route the security system through the backup generators. We should be able to see what's going on everywhere now."
Just as Miri said, it was chaos. The halls were filled with bodies. Rooms were filled with bodies. Fires still raged, though not as fiercely as before. Some walls were little more than rubble. Some areas didn't even exist anymore. A quick scan of the exterior showed more bodies. Destroyed vehicles. Smoldering ruins. People engaged in aggressive hand to hand combat. Fury was in the middle of it all.
But it was obvious there were too many HYDRA agents to be overcome. They kept pouring out of the darkness, another two to take the place of one that fell. Miri shuddered and let her eyes scan the images again. She'd done it before, subconsciously, looking for signs of Phil in that mess anyway. She hadn't seen him before. Didn't see him now. She hoped that was a good thing.
"We need to try and contact the helicarrier." Maria's voice made it an order. Natasha was already nodding her head at that. "They have enough people on board to turn the tide of this fight. We might have better training, but those superior numbers are currently thrashing us. If we plan on surviving this fight, we need help now."
They watched as Natasha put her hands on the keyboard, ready to open a channel with the helicarrier so they could request aid. But before she could touch a key, the comm crackled to life in a burst of static. Then a calm voice filled the room and Miri thought the world would drop out from under her.
"Base, this is helicarrier one. Mayday. I repeat. Mayday. The ship is compromised. We're going down. Request immediate aid. Mayday."
Oh, God. It was Phil. Phil was on the helicarrier. And he was in trouble. Static once more filled the air, then there was nothing.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-12-14 04:09 am (UTC)Awesome amazing action all through. I love the way Loki is manipulating bits of the truth into his deception. I was totally glued to the screen the whole time I was reading. I don't even know where to begin...
And damn. Serious cliffhanger. I must have more.
Yes. I must.
More, please? Pretty please.
*twitch*
(no subject)
Date: 2011-12-14 04:42 am (UTC)again, i wasn't sure about the action. but if you guys say it was okay. then i guess it was okay. Loki is the master of lies and mischief. he would do whatever suited his purpose so long as it got him what he wanted.
yes. serious cliffhanger. there will be more. i won't end it there.
promise.
now stop twitching.