A Taste of Vengeance

I skid out into the hall way, feet sliding against the ground when I came to a sudden halt, smiling as Agent Barton and Natasha walked out of the sick bay. Barton was rubbing the side of his head, but he seemed like he was back to his old self, and I could see the lighter step to Natasha’s gait. My heart squeezed with a new affection for my comrades, one that I was sure had something to do with Steve being around.

“Hey there Hawkeye,” I called to them from down the hall. Both of their heads snapped up and they smiled at me. “Missed have you around, ya damn bird.”

He laughed at me. “Yeah, well it’s good to be back. What’s the plan?”

“Oh you know,” I shrugged. “Fly into the city, fight a bunch of crazy aliens, almost lose, watch everything blow up and eventually win. You in?”

A lust for battle lit his eyes. “Oh I’m always up for a fight.”

“Good.” I looked at Natasha, who was smiling affectionately at Clint. “I’m hoping you’ll be my partner in crime, Agent Romanoff?”
Her emerald eyes lit with delight. “Of course, Agent Bane.”

Steve came around the corner then and stopped, smiling at us all. It was strange, that although everyone around us was running around in the halls, shouting orders and preparing for this, the four of us stood there, all united as one, smiling as if we were not on the brink of war. I wanted this moment to last forever, where the unspoken bond of friendship was so strong that we could defeat everything.

As usual, Tony decided to break the friendship circle.

“Why are you guys just staring at each other,” He asked, looking at each one of this. “Did I miss my turn in the passing of the bong?”

Ignoring Tony, Steve asked Barton, “You got a suit?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“Good. Suit up.”

Clint and Natasha darted off in one direction while Steve, Tony and I went off in the other. Tony went off to get in his suit Steve in another direction to get his suit. I followed the same idea and went to my room, changing into my SHIELD uniform.

I slid into the suit like it was my own skin, and in it, I felt like it was my skin. I had never felt more comfortable than when I was working for SHIELD, I had never felt like I truly belonged. But here, we were all outcasts, an island of misfit toys, but we filled each other’s gaps, fixed on another’s flaws. Where one of us failed, the other succeeded. Maybe we were a time bomb, but we were more than that: we were a puzzle, with all the right pieces interlocking to create something greater than ourselves.

I whispered a prayer, eyes closed as I slipped my weapons into their places. I asked for God to watch over us, and to give us the strength and hope to finish our mission. I prayed that my uncle give me discipline and concentration for my mind. I prayed that my parents lend me their love and their brilliance for the problems that we were going to face. I prayed that Coulson would lend me his bravery and honor. I even prayed that Jean would give me her power and steadiness to fight with viciousness only she possessed.

When I opened my eyes, I felt different. Staring at the picture on my nightstand, I felt as if I were not alone, that each one of my deceased loved ones were with me, that they were holding me lightly in their hands, giving me pieces of themselves in order to succeed. I had never felt so confident, so determined, and I knew that I would make them proud.

A knock on the door broke me from my thoughts. I slipped a few explosives on my belt and opened the door to Tony in full suit, metal face absent. “You’re coming with me to Stark Tower. You’re there to keep Loki out of my head. We’re gonna stall him. While the team comes in behind us.” I nodded. Tony searched my face for some kind of disagreement. “Can you handle it?”

I smiled at him. “I can handle anything, iRobot.”

“Oh God,” he muttered to no one in particular as he turned around. “She’s making jokes again. Maybe I should’ve left her drunker than Cornell Sanders.”

I rolled my eyes, following Tony.

We entered the command station where the others were leaving, going to ready a jet. I paused quickly and awkwardly at the threshold of the command center as Steve approached, smiling reassuringly. I didn’t like the idea that we would be separated, but I knew that he was more than competent in a fight. Plus, I’d be keeping a space open for his mind, so I would know if something went wrong.

“I’d ask you to be careful,” he murmured, cupping my face with one hand, “But you are far from careful. So what I’m going to say is, be as dangerous as you can be without dying, alright?
”
My lips turned at the corners. “I always am. As for you, try not to get turned into a cap-cube, all right? I don’t have seventy years to sit around and wait for you to defrost.”

Steve rolled his eyes and laughed. He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. It was a short and light kiss, but I knew why he didn’t want to make it passionate. He didn’t want to kiss as if it was the last time we were going to see each other, and I didn’t want to either. The small kiss was an unspoken promise that we would both be okay in the end, and that we could share a better kiss later.

I walked away from him and followed Tony towards his own personal launch pad. We were halfway out the door when Steve called my name, causing me to turn around and look at him. He was standing in the spot I had left him, looking unbelievably sexy and strong in his suit. His azure eyes blazed all the way from where he stood, filling me up with an emotion so strong that I knew it could only be one thing.

“I love you,” he called, smiling to me in such a boyish way that I almost laughed. My heart ran over with affection and I laughed, breathless and taken away at his words. He looked happier than ever, as if he too, was amazed at the idea of being in love.

I found myself answering without unfathomable happiness. “I love you too, Captain America.”