An Iron Will

30 Hours Ago

DIRECTOR FURY'S POV

“Sir. I have an update.” Hill's voice crackles over the speaker.

I quickly turn away from the idiot who the Council placed to watch me, under the pretense of him getting me my coffee, to respond “What is it, Hill?”

“The machines seem to be destroyed, we're sending in Units G-N as the clean-up crew. Richards and Stark have both been stabilized in Medical, the Invisible Woman is with them. Ben Grimm, a stabilized Dr. Banner and the Captain are on their way back. But, sir....” the speaker crackled as Hill hesitated to continue. I almost snarled in frustration, both at Hill's hesitation and the blonde spy leaning in behind me and taking every word, so he could run back and report to the motherfuckers behind their desks.

“What, Hill? I don't have time for this! New York's been attacked for the third goddamn time in a decade by things that should not even exist.”

Her voice came back, steeled over like I always expect “The Widow and Stark 2.0 are both unconscious and injured. They're on their way to Medical now, but the Torch and Hawkeye are refusing to leave their sides. It's causing some...problems.”

I could almost feel the waves of eagerness pooling out of the dumb ass behind me as I ask “Problems?”

“To say the least.”

Goddammit.

CLINT'S POV

“What in the FUCK do you mean by, 'You don't have clearance to be here.',?!?” I bellowed. I notched an arrow and pointed it into the agent's stupid face, relishing the way he paled. I could see Storm standing next to Lacie, being told the exact same thing as me and reacting the same, too. “You see this arrow? This is my clearance. I just help destroy a horde of Iron Man knockoffs. And, you sure as hell won't stop me if they couldn't.” I took aim between his eyes, noting Storm doing the same damn thing with his flames about ten feet away. The agent in front of me cowered and whimpered, before punching in something onto his little tablet.

In a stammering voice he said “A-as of, oh god, n-now, both you a-and Mr. S-storm may enter in-into the la-ladies rooms with the-them.”

I snorted, lowering my arrow “Damn straight. But, how in the hell did you even get into SHIELD, cowering and shit?” Storm snorted from his position, lowering his hand, but keeping it burning.

The Present

LOKI'S POV
I tried controlling my expression as the “warriors” that this young mortal was connected to tried to appear fearsome and intimidating. She was standing next to a god, you filthy humans. Nothing about you seems even remotely frightening. The one of whom I had foughten with previously, his doppelganger and the mortal who could stretch his body even more complexly than I could stretch a tale were her opponents. The mortal next to me tensed as the dark haired one moved forward, as if preparing to speak. She held up her hand.

“Enough, Reed. This is my decision, not yours. I already signed some kind of contract with them anyway. AND, before you start flipping out about that- I had someone look it over for me.”

“Who?” come not three, but four startled male voices. Ah, the Man of Iron. Though, he is just a man of the iron now, as I have gathered. He rises and stands next to his good Captain, an unhappy scowl on his face. The beast masquerading as a man tries, and fails, to pull him back into his seat.

I smile and answer for her “I did. You Midgardians use such simple terms in your dealings. It was as if I was once again a child, just learning the complexities of the tongue. All that they require of her is to be a basic property of SHIELD for the next six months. At which point she may choose to leave your petty organization or continue on for a more...permanent fixture of time. The only conditions of which she stated, she was granted. Piteous she didn't ask for more really, they would have given her Nicholas Fury's remaining eye, had she asked for it. Ah, well. More for next time.” I smirked at the young Stark next to me, who had watched my little speech with well hidden amusement.

“You can't trust this guy! He's a freaking nut job!” the man of the iron exclaims. A hard pit in my stomach flairs to life, spilling resentment into my veins as I look upon this pathetic man. I may be the God of Lies, but that does not mean I lie in everything. Just, most things.

“Have care what you say!” booms the greatest oaf in the room, rising to his feet “My brother has been pardoned by Asgard, and by that ruling of the All-Father, your realm as well. You did hand him over for justice by Asgard, did you not.” A fair point. But Thor always fails to see things from the view of another: I have waged war upon this world, and these people do not forgot, or forgive, easily.

The man out of time replies softly, but furiously “Do you have any idea how many people he's responsible for killing, Thor?” Thor does not answer, a part of me is glad that he finally has no defense for me. Another is screaming for help from my br-- no. I have not one of those, I never did. Not truly. “Thousands, Thor. All of those lives, those futures, the lives that they could have created or saved—gone. And, you want us to trust a man who did that to our world, even a little bit?”

Before the noble, self-sacrificing, hammer-swinging moron could reply, the doppelganger interjected “Lacie? What conditions did you make.” In a second, all of the attention has yet again been moved back to the girl. Who happens to be gone.

I burst out laughing at their shocked and furious faces.

Five Hours Ago

LACIE'S POV

The voice is deep and terrible, a rocky snarl that puts Ben's most terrifying bellow to shame. But I can't make out what it's saying. Just its loud, harsh laugh that has me crying in the dark abyss I'm being suffocated by. It's not dark, no, it's worse than that. There is no light, but it's not just darkness, it is the absence of anything. It is the void, that consuming emptiness that is truly nothing.

But it is not just me and the monster here.

There is another woman. Not the sweet, motherly Dria I met in some earlier life. A woman with a sickly sweet voice that laughs at everything the monster rumbles. Somehow, the void is pulling me, dragging me farther into the nothing. I feel like a character from the Never Ending Story, helpless to do anything, relying on the others that I can not see. It's the most terrifying experience of my life. I slowly start to feel the phantom tears that I've been weeping rolling down my cheeks. The voices laughing about death and darkness and destruction are fading away, replaced by a worried voice that is vaguely familiar.

“Lacie? Lacie?! Wake up, please!....I'm not a doctor, Sitwell!....Not. THAT. Kind of doctor!...Stay calm!! I'll show you-- Lacie? Lace?Are you--?” the kind, but angry, voice is cut off by my piercing scream. It never seems to end.

PHIL'S POV

So, this is uncomfortable. “So, this is uncomfortable.” I say casually to the god who stabbed me through the back, actually killing me for a while. He raises one dark eyebrow and all I can think to do is ask-- “Did you really give birth to an eight legged horse?” You better appreciate this Simmons, I think to myself as I picture her excited face when I can actually answer that question for her. His eyes narrow minutely and he mutters something. “Sorry. Didn't catch that.”

He sighs in frustration “Sif. An old...acquaintance of mine. She spread that rumor after I cut off all of her hair. It grew back, might I add. And black hair suits her much better than blonde.” I look at him for a moment.

“So, that's a no?” Loki sent me a withering stare.

“No, Agent. I did not birth an eight legged steed, I actually have no children, except those I took in because no one else would.” I open my mouth to pursue that but the door opens. A nervous looking, blonde, male agent opens the door, swiftly sending Loki a terrified glance before speaking.

“Director Fury is ready for you now.”I stand swiftly, Loki doing the same in a much more elegant way.

The Present

LACIE'S POV

I yelp in surprise as I skid to a stop as someone teleports in front of me. Loki. Of course. “How do you-- nope. Never mind. I have had enough magic for a lifetime thank you.” He smirks at me, stepping to the side so I can pass him. He keeps stride with me when I do.

“As entertaining as that was, little one, it solves nothing for you.” he calmly remarks as we pass gaping agents in the hall, clearly terrified and confused as to why a god who had waged war upon their world was walking around with only one agent.

“Oh, and you have a better plan I suppose.” I snort, shaking my head at him. He chuckles softly at my aggravated expression which pisses me off even more. I just made the only family I have hate me, at least a little, except Johnny-- who will probably charbroil me the next time he sees me. A crazy, genius, super villain tried killing me, which he barely failed at. Natasha is laid up in some sort of coma because of me, which is going to kill me out of sheer guilt-- if Clint doesn't first. Not to mention, that goddamn void is resting at the edges of my mind, waiting for me to close my eyes so it can swallow me into its depths.

I. Have. Had. ENOUGH.

I turn on Loki, pushing at his chest with as much strength I have. Even if he doesn't move it makes me feel better, like a stress ball. “I am DONE with all of you! Gods! Superheros! Super villians! Secret Government Agencies! Enough is enough. No means NO! So, stop pushing me, damn you! If I didn't do what I just did, Clint would be using you as a pincushion to take his frustration out on right now!”

Unlike mine, Loki's pushes actually moved me. “Then, why did you? Why? Did your feelings interfere? Are you truly that desperate for a man to take you, that you would proposition not only your Captain and the man that you grew up with as a surrogate uncle of sorts, but a monster? A demon from a child's worst nightmares? An evil lunatic bent on destroying everything in his path? You're pathetic. Are all women on this planet such mewling quims? Or, is it just--” I slapped him in rage that had me seeing red. The voice from earlier, not Dria's, but the other woman's voice was back. The honeyed tone of temptation that had me tripping over myself to cover up what was going on in my mind.

Does he truly think himself so superior? He is disowned, of a bastard race. He killed his father, for Odin's sake! Teach where he belongs. In the gutter with the rest of the filth.

The truly seductive voice sounded close to a fit of apoplectic rage. It honestly scared me a bit. But not enough for me to back away from Loki.

“I know you did not just call me a whining cunt in sophisticated terms, bitch. Yeah, bitch. You heard me. Think about this: you aren't special here. People loathe you. I wanted to give you a fucking chance, unlike everyone else. But, you have to keep prodding and pushing and pulling me into a million directions! And guess what?! You win, Loki!! Because I know what you want, so I'm going to give it to you! I give up. I will not try and help you. I will look for no good in you. For the next six months I'm going to keep you tethered so tightly that the word 'bitch' will be all you know. Congratulations. Now let's go. I'm almost late.” I turned briskly on my heel and marched off, knowing that Loki had no choice but to follow me.

If Loki looked broken for a fraction of a second I didn't see it, I didn't care.

I didn't care.

I didn't.

…................

I can't care. Not again.

Not now.
PHIL'S POV

“So, he didn't give birth to Sleipnir?” Simmons asks for the eighth time. I sigh, but Fitz cuts in.

“No, Simmons. He did not. And, I told you it wouldn't be possible. Just the changes would need to make biologically-- impossible!! But, you're the biologist, you should know that!” his accented voice quips as she sighs in disappointment. Ward and Skye are watching the two scientists bickering like a tennis match. Ward looks confused and horrified, while Skye looks like she's trying not to die with laughter.

“They're here.” Melinda says calmly as she passes me, standing next Ward's tall frame calmly.

“Thank you, Agent May.” I quickly surveyed my team “Just...don't talk. At all. That is all.”

Skye immediately breaks my rule “Seriously, AC? That's—OW! Ward! Jes--.” she's cut off by someone as two people comes striding onto the jet. Loki looks detached, but furious at the same time. Lacie looks like she's about to spontaneously combust. Huh.

“Welcome, to--”

Simmons yelps “Did you really not give birth to Sleipnir?” I close my eyes in defeat. When I open them Loki has his eyebrows almost up to his hairline. Lacie looks from Loki, to Simmons, to Loki, to me.

Then, she bursts out laughing.