Chapter 3: III: Agree With Tony Stark.... Me? No, Really?
It's been 3 hours since the Helicarrier was partially destroyed, since Loki escaped and 3 hours since Fury arrived in the detention unit to find Agent Phil Coulson near deaths door. The medical team did arrive in the end but they were too late. One of the few people in this world that I truly cared for was gone...again. I now stood in the central control room with Fury, Steve, Tony and Maria Hill. Steve had lent me one of his tops and trousers [which of course were quite baggy on me considering the size difference] after seeing that all I had to cover my nakedness was Loki's cloak. Even though I was moderately dressed, I still clung to the green and gold piece of clothing that was draped around me.
Standing next to Steve with my back to him, I listened in silence as Fury spoke to everyone. He threw down a bunch of bloody cards towards us saying something about being found in Coulson's jacket and never getting them signed. The grip on my arms tightened as I clenched my fists and emitted a soft growl. I turned my head slightly to look at them. They were vintage near-mint Captain America trading cards that Phil was always so proud off.
My mind went back to when I first met him.
-Flashback to New York, 1991-
It was a few years before Fury approached me [Summer 1991 I think], I was living in Central Park at the time - as a wolf of course - when a strange man approached me one evening. I'd been laying in a bush for a while licking some deep bloody gashes on my thighs. Earlier that day while rummaging in the trash bins I'd had an undesirable encounter with a gaze [group] of Raccoons - around 5 in total - who didn't appear happy. I guess they didn't like some strange 'dog' encroaching on their turf. That's what I looked like, a mangy, emaciated dog not the proud wolf I should have been. If I'd been at full strength then I would have easily been able to fend them off but because I was weak from starvation and fatigue I had no chance of taking them on. So yeah, they got the better of me.
The man walked over to the bush I was in and peered over looking down at me with what should have been pitiful eyes or disgust. However what I saw was neither but concern and friendliness. Forgoing my wound, I curled my lips upwards showing the human my blood-stained fangs. All I could do was try to use the only weapon left in my arsenal since there was definitely no way I was gonna lunge forward, not in my current predicament.
"Is that really how you treat the person who's trying to help you?" He asked curiously, raising a brow. I flicked my tail as a sudden pang of pain ricocheted up my hind leg. My snarl instantly changed into a whimper with my head whipping back round an gnawing at the oozing wounds. I flattened my ears against my skull glancing round at the human man. Honestly, I just didn't have it in me anymore to fight. I knew I was going to end up dying here, it'd been decades since Steve had gone so perhaps I'd be able to see him in the afterlife. That was the only comfort I had.
"Okay, I'm sorry but we can't leave you here sweetheart. Forgive me." Just then twigs snapped flying past as I watched the man clamber towards me, arms outstretched. I desperately tried to move away but my leg just wasn't letting me. My head swung round once more to nibble the wound. Damn flies, piss off would ya! I thought with a slight snarl. Kneeling down, the man pushed his arms underneath my body [one under my front legs and the other by my hips] and lifted me off the dirty debris. I just simply watched him curiously not so much surprised by being able to lift me without straining but by his unwavering bravery. Staggering out of the bush, we walked out of the park and down the street towards what I could only assume was his living quarters.
Oh Lupa was I wrong. A veterinary clinic, that's where we ended up. I mean of all places why a vets? I suppose to him I was simply a large wolf-like dog so a vet clinic seemed the more viable option; plus I was too tired to protest. For now I would play along and later perhaps be appreciative. We entered the clinic with the help of who appeared to be the receptionist and I couldn't help but laugh inside because the look on her face was quite comical. The man thanked her, gently laid me down on a small sofa that appeared to be strategically placed in the farther corner of the room and stood at the desk. Flickering my ears back and forth, I listened as I heard the man call himself Phil Coulson. 'Hm, so that is his name.' I thought to myself while lip smacking.
An hour later, both Phil and I were waiting alone in one of the check-up rooms. I'd been strapped to a table on my side with both my hind legs in odd positions yet I hadn't felt any pain from the constant moving. Must have been drugged; scientists at HYDRA use to do that when I wasn't cooperating. A smirk flashed across my eyes as the memory of how I'd often cause trouble when they wanted to do tests came to mind. I also seemed to be slid into some sort of rotating, metallic wheel that gave off an odd bright light and screeching sound before I found myself in this room with Phil by my side. I was still half-drugged when a woman in what looked to be a matching top and trousers and.....oh why were there butterflies flying round her head? My head fell onto my paws as my eyes closed, they felt so heavy. Unfortunately, what happened after that I could never quite remember.
-Flashback Ends-
I snapped back to reality in the middle of Fury speaking to us.
"-There was an idea. Stark knows this, Agent Canis knows this," He gestured to both me and Tony who was staring at the ground looking just as bad as I felt. "called The Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more." The Avengers Initiative? My head lifted at these words; yes I knew of this idea as I was in the room when it was being thought up. In fact Coulson's' last words were in reference to it. 'This was never going to work.... if the didn't have something.... to...' Neither myself nor Fury needed to hear that sentence finish to know what Phil meant. He meant that his death is what would force everyone to work together...as the team that he believed in.
A handful of tears trickled down my blush-pink cheeks and a reassuring hand puts itself around me, gently rubbing my arm. I sniffled quietly and turned. It was Steve, bless him. He was a great man, the best friend a girl could possibly have. With a comforting smile, he immediately made me at ease as I dried my eyes.
"Phil Coulsdon died still believing in that idea, in heroes." The S. H. I. E. L. D director finished now standing behind Stark. It was then that the billionaire stood up from his seat and walked out; Fury leaned on the table and sighed "Well, it's an old fashioned notion." He added a bit more quietly. I gazed up at Fury who was now making his way past us and to the main control screen. Both Steve and I left to go after Tony.
"Steve, I've asked Fury for some leave so I won't be able to help you stop whatever it is Loki's planning. I'm sorry." I announced quietly while we walked down the hall. Steve stopped in his tracks and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in close so that all I could do was breath in his calming spring morning scent. Finding myself nuzzling into the soldier's chest, I closed my eyes.
"It's okay Keli." He breathed tenderly before letting go of me, gesturing forward and continued walking.
"Take as much time as you need. So long as you're safe and happy that all I really care about."
We soon entered the detention room to find Tony standing silently looking down at the empty space where the cell use to be. Steve glanced at me and said quietly
"Was he married?" Shaking my head in response but then Starks voice was heard
"No. There was a uh.... cellist, I think."
"Yes, her name was Amanda." I added remembering that about a few months ago, I'd remarked on how he'd been smiling quite often over the last few days. Funnily enough, Phil had blushed before even confessing that he was seeing someone. A small un-noticeable smile appeared on my face as I reminisced. "Oh Lupa! Who's going to tell her?" I added questioningly. Perhaps I would stop by her apartment in Miami and give her the news.
"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man." Steve commented, putting a hand on my shoulder and before I could talk Stark spoke with a hint of harshness in his tone
"He was an idiot." Now normally if someone insulted someone I cared for, I would snap and have a go at them but in this instance I had to agree with Tony on this one. What was I thinking? Me, agreeing with Tony flipping Stark! Although I also knew that Coulson had been rather brave he was also foolish. What? Was he though? Was he truly foolish or was I just too weak to stop Loki from getting out in the first place? My mind filled with confusion, anger and grief at these realisations.
"Why? For believing?" Steve said taking a few steps closer to Tony. I stayed where I was staring at the floor with my arms wrapped round me and clinging tightly to the cloak around my shoulders.
"For taking on Loki alone!" Stark snapped back, obvious anger in his tone or was it annoyance? I couldn't tell. To be honest their conversation was almost like mumbling to me right now as I was stuck in my thoughts. Alone? That single two-syllable word repeated itself in my head thousands of times and my hands tightened to the point now that my nails went through the material and dug into my palms.
"He was doing his job." "He wasn't alone!" Steve and I said simultaneously. Though I couldn't see them, I know that both my friend and colleague [whether I liked it or not] were looking at me in silence. Sweat began to trickle from my temple to my chin as the pressure of my sudden words caught me. I dare not look Stark in the eye. A reassuring hand tapped my shoulder. Good old Steve Rogers. I can always count on him to make me feel better. It was times like this that make my heart flutter like a love sick puppy. Tony cleared his throat which told me that he wasn't going to comment instead Steve spoke
"He was doing his job Tony. We can't fault him for that." I took a deep breath in and lifted my head smiling a 'thanks' at my friend before turning to Stark.
"He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have..." Guilt continued to eat away at me as I listened. The billionaire stopped after seeing my guilt-ridden expression. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. By this point Steve was stood next to me.
"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony." Rogers remarked, softly rubbing my arm.
"Right,. How did that work out for him?" Tony said walking towards us. My eyes followed him as he past us and headed for the exit.
"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" Steve asked genuinely curious. Soldiers? Technically speaking the only soldier here was Steve but I see what he's trying to say. I thought to myself and just then Stark turned round sharply.
"WE ARE NOT SOLDIERS! I'm not marching into Fury's Fife." He snapped harshly. My eyes widened with shock. I agreed with Tony but he didn't have to snap at Steve. A low involuntary growl burst from my throat, directed at the billionaire of course.
"Neither am I! He has the same blood on his hands as Loki does. Right now we've got to put that aside and get this done. Now Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list..."
"He made it personal." Tony Stark quickly inturrupted before Steve could finish his sentence. He was looking at the blood-stained wall; painful memories of Phil's death lingered there. Again this was true, Loki did make it personal but we were the ones who brought him on board.
"That's not the point." Steve said with a light shake of his head. Stark quickly chimed in
"That is the point. That's Loki's point. He hit us all right were we live. Why?" He questioned raising a hand with his fingers curled inwards and his thumb resting on top. It was almost like he was pointing towards Steve and I. Before I could speak, Rogers aired what I'd been debating mentally.
"To tear us apart?" Tony shook his head and bit his lip thinking.
"He had to conquer his greed, but he knows he has to take us out, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience." I too started to think after Tony mentioned 'an audiance'. Loki would need somewhere that catches everyone's attention; somewhere like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Statue of Liberty in New York or even Big Ben or the London Eye in London.
"Right, I caught his act in Stuttengard." Said Steve, nodding. Though I wasn't there, I had heard about the incident in Stuttengard and to be honest I may have scared everyone if I was there.
"Yeah. That's just a preview, it's opening night. Loki's a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered..." Tony remarked waving a hand in the air for dramatic effect. I couldn't help but laugh slightly when Stark called Loki a 'diva'. That I defiantly 100% agree with. Then it hit me...a monument built in the skies with his name plastered on it? No, could it really be that obvious?
"Sonofabitch!" Both Tony and I muttered at the same time. He looked at me, brows raised as if saying 'you thinking what I'm thinking?' and in reply I nodded.
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