Across the Universe

“I’m happy to report that this incident has suffered zero casualties thus far. The evidence we’ve collected for a source, however, remains inconclusive.” Phil Coulson stood in front of the barrier that had been set up a few blocks away from S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters before the collapse of the apartment building across the street. Various reporters from nearly every news outlet available in the New York City area had shown up with whatever equipment they had on hand in an attempt to grab an official statement about the biggest story of the day. “The building remains unstable but the majority of the damage has already been done. Thankfully those injured are in good hands.”

The crowd of reporters scrambled to move closer but were kept at bay by a group of New York’s finest who had been called in to man the perimeter set up around the incident. They shouted questions over each other but each echoed the same sentiment. What had happened in downtown Manhattan to cause an apartment building to turn into Swiss cheese then collapse on itself?

“There were reports of fire spreading within the area. Is that all under control now? Should there be concern for neighboring buildings?”

“Rumors of an earthquake being the cause have been spread…We’re currently awaiting data from national geological survey…”

“Is there a chance that this was an attack?” The questions continued to fire at such a pace that Phil Coulson couldn’t keep up with them and he didn’t try. It didn’t matter what they asked, ultimately. What mattered was what he was permitted to share with the general populace. Coulson didn’t like dealing with reporters, he was more of a behind the scenes leading the action sort of agent. But given the circumstances he was the only one around with enough experience in keeping secrets to deal with the press. They deserved an explanation even if that explanation wasn’t the whole truth.

“As of right now there’s no reason to suspect terrorist activity so you can rest easy in your homes tonight.” Before the crowd could fire further questions, Coulson continued. “While the cause still remains unknown we’re under the impression that there was a gas leak in the basement that led to an explosion. From there structural failures from the building not being up to code caused a devastating amount of damage and led to the collapse. Thankfully Iron Man and Captain America were on the scene to lead people to safety.”

“Iron Man? Iron Man was there?” The murmurs grew amongst the press and more questions were asked but all in relation to the super hero that had moved into their city in the last year. It took every bit of Coulson’s restraint not to roll his eyes at the media frenzy that constantly seemed to surround Tony Stark.

“You’re expecting us to believe that the damage we saw was caused by a gas leak?”

“Satellite images are showing that there were pieces missing from the building, some the size of a train car and far above the ground floor.”

“Right now we’re basing our conclusions off of the data we’ve collected which isn’t much. What we do know is that we couldn’t shut off the gas in the complex and the buildup caused the explosion that inevitably collapsed the building.” Coulson spoke firmly but the reporters wanted more than he was willing to give and continued to push. Eventually he drowned the questions out and decided he’d humored the media enough for the day. Until they had discovered the true source of the phenomenon there was no reason to worry the civilian population of Manhattan. Even then, it was likely the details of the situation would be kept under wraps long after. The media would do a fine job scaring civilians into hiding on their own. Coulson didn’t want to be party to the process.

When the questions endlessly continued to pour in Coulson turned away from the crowd signaling the end of the press conference. There was nothing left for him to say. The press would ask their questions no matter what he’d responded with. They wanted to know more, always more. It was the human race’s equivalent of a feeding frenzy. He was sure that the news later would be reporting that not enough information was being given or that Iron Man had been the hero of the day. Phil Coulson had learned long ago that what the regular news media reported was often unimportant and incorrect. He’d given as much information as he’d been permitted to give by his superiors.

S.H.I.E.L.D. knew the truth. Or at least they would be the ones to uncover it along the way. As for now, what had happened across the street from the S.H.I.E.L.D. building was as big a mystery to him as it was to the media. When he was far enough away from the mob of reporters not to be overheard he picked up his radio and spoke into it.

“Agent Pierce, please tell me we have any idea what the hell happened out there today.” Coulson was exasperated. It was easy enough to come up with a cover story for a building collapse but the satellite images had clearly captured that there were massive holes in the building. Even the dumbest person could easily deduce that those holes hadn’t been caused by a gas explosion. Fire had broken out inside the building after the mysterious holes had appeared. The story would quickly be unraveled until they came up with something more believable to feed the sharks.

Mickey was leading the investigation through the rubble along with several other agents. Jinx had gone back into the S.H.I.E.L.D. building after power had been restored and had returned to the desk. From what Mickey could tell there was nothing physical around the area that could’ve caused the disaster. So she’d gone inside to get some equipment so she could test for radiation and other unnatural chemicals in the air. When S.H.I.E.L.D. had first moved into the nearby building they’d taken baseline readings once a month every month so that they could detect anything unnatural occurring in the area. It had come in handy on more than one occasion.

“So far there’s not much to report.” Mickey grimaced, preparing herself for the anger that Phil Coulson would inevitably display. It wasn’t toward her but rather toward the situation but still Mickey always somehow felt wounded when her superiors scolded her. Maybe it was due to the fact that she’d been raised by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Somehow disappointing S.H.I.E.L.D. was still disappointing dear old dad. It wasn’t her fault that there was very little to report, but it was her fault that she hadn’t found anything. Sometimes she felt like she had more in common with her golden retriever, Pluto, than she meant to. Always seeking praise from those above her station. At least a dog as cute as Pluto could easily garner the praise and attention it sought. Being an average person in an average world was far more difficult.

“Keep looking.” As expected, Mickey could hear the frustration in Coulson’s voice.

Mickey climbed over the rubble, determined to find something noteworthy. Now that the area was deemed stable S.H.I.E.L.D. had been able to send people to turn off the gas that had continued to flow throughout the air and fuel the fires that had inevitably brought the building crashing down to its knees. As she scanned the area she hoped beyond hope that something would pop up. No one had witnessed the actual phenomenon occur and so far nothing had popped up on the internet with video evidence to prove otherwise. Other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were with those who had been inside of the building taking their statements in hopes of uncovering more of the mystery. For some reason Mickey had the distinct feeling that whatever had happened had happened so quickly that there hadn’t been anything to witness.

Men were still putting out the few remaining fires but other than the ground being a little shaky beneath her feet, the area was as safe as it had been before the incident. Well, other than the fact that a building had collapsed, of course. The device in her hand designed to detect various types of radiation began to beep slowly, blinking red. When she stopped so did the signal. Mickey turned in place and searched around her as though she’d be able to see what had caused the strange reading. When the sound didn’t recur she continued through the rubble. So far her biggest fear was that she would be running across a corpse of someone who had died in the collapse.

They’d reported to the media that no one had been hurt in the incident but that couldn’t have possibly been the truth. As far as she knew, not everyone had been present and accounted for after the crash. Forgetting all about the mild spike in radiation levels, Mickey continued her search through the disaster site. It would take days to comb through every piece of the wreckage.

Ever since her fiancé had died trying to help Tony Stark she’d been irrationally afraid of death on each mission she’d been sent on. Partially she’d been thankful that she hadn’t been promoted to the level of field agent quite yet. She wasn’t sure she had the stomach to do what many field agents were often required to do. Death was something she was very much afraid of and after having been so involved in the funeral of her late fiancé and then the fiasco of a lawsuit that had followed thanks to his ex-wife and the estate that had been left to her, she’d had more than enough of death.

The machine in her hand suddenly screamed in object and the spike on the meter at the top jumped off the charts. Immediately she yelled to those around her digging through the rubble to get back. If something radioactive were inside the building or the cause of the situation altogether then they would have far worse problems than a false report to later clear up with the media. Natasha, Tony, Steve, and Scarlett had been inside that building for far longer than was required to become sick from the amount of radiation she’d picked up.

But upon further inspection of the radioactive spike she discovered, she found it was harmless, at least in the amounts that had showed up there. It wasn’t even the typical harmful radiation that the machine was designed to pick up in emergency situations. Mickey picked up her radio and held it close, shaking the device in her hand and giving it a nice hard smack on the back.

“Jinx, are you getting this?” She muttered, waving to those around her who were still staring and waiting for orders on how to handle her machine’s readout. They returned to their work without a second thought.

“You hit the mother load down there.” Jinx sounded pleased from the other end of the radio where she tapped away at her computer. She brushed her fingers over the screen in front of her and ran a scan with a few more taps. “Could you hold up your little handheld there in front of you again? The screen lit up when you did before. I’m hoping it will again.” Mickey did as she was told and held out the machine in her hand once more and it screamed in response just as Jinx predicted it would. “Wow…”

“What is it?” Mickey looked intrigued but also felt confused. Nothing out there had changed but obviously something had beyond her sight.

“You know that anomaly? The one that Coulson had brought Mr. Stark in to take a look at today before this craziness happened?” Jinx captured the images on her screen and sent them immediately to Phil Coulson and the scientists who had been put in charge of the project.

“What about it?”

“Well that’s what we’re looking at. I just got a pretty clear image of it.” Jinx stared again at the images on her screen. The gamma radiation was off the charts! Oddly enough it seemed that only various areas had been affected by this particular radiation. Hopefully, with any luck, Jinx would be able to receive scans from before the event had taken place and the power had been knocked out and would be able to compare it to the building before it had collapsed. From what she could tell the areas where radiation had spiked had been the same areas where parts of the buildings had collapsed. She didn’t have the proof she needed yet to report that had actually been the case but from what she saw in front of her it was a pretty good educated guess.

They still didn’t have the cause of the collapse but they were one step closer to discovering its inception.

“That’s good, right? At least it sounds good. Maybe.”

“Sort of.” Jinx continued to tap away at her computer. “I’d report back to Coulson before you decide whether it is or not. I get the feeling that someone’s trying to send us a message.”

“Can do.” Mickey changed the frequency on her radio so she could report back to her superior and hesitated before she spoke. She was both eager and nervous to deliver the news. “Coulson there’s been some developments in the case.”

“Go ahead Agent Pierce.” Coulson had been talking to Maria Hill about the clean up and another agent about getting everyone in the building accounted for. Those who hadn’t been at their homes when the apartment had collapsed were being let into the area so that they could meet with loved ones who had been home and get their names crossed off of a list of possible casualties. S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to cover every base.

“I’m picking up a large spike of Gamma radiation here on the far end of the building near the alleyway.” Mickey quickly rattled off what Jinx had discovered and how it related to what they had initially intended to bring Tony Stark in on. After Scarlett had signed the official contracts that would make her a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent they’d intended to bring her in on the situation as well. But none of that had come to fruition before all hell had broken loose on the streets of Manhattan.

“Are you sure that’s what this is?” Coulson was flabbergasted to say the least. What were the odds that this same anomaly that they had been investigating for the past week would’ve come to light the same day that he’d had every intention to brief new agents in on the situation? He doubted it was a coincidence at all. It had only been hours prior that he’d been given permission to treat the situation as active in the first place.

“I can’t be positive without further investigation and that will take time, unfortunately. But yes, sir, I’m guessing that is exactly what this is. I can’t think of another explanation.” Mickey sighed heavily. She’d already been briefed on the case and knew exactly what the discovery had meant. “Some kind of black hole or portal tried to break its way into our world. It collapsed when it became unstable and when it disappeared it took parts of the building with it to wherever it came from. Jinx is trying to recreate events with scans of the area, sir, but until she’s had time to work on it I can’t be positive.”

“I think you’ve got enough evidence there for us to assume. This is the most damage these portals have done so far.” Coulson sounded grim but also morbidly intrigued. He’d witnessed creatures from other worlds making their way to earth before but had never dealt with anything quite like this before. They’d stopped creatures beyond the imagination from crossing over in the past, but nothing had failed on so many occasions and continued to persist unnoticed.

“Whatever is trying to make its way through to earth must have good reason.” Mickey winced at the idea. She didn’t want to deal with other worlds. The whole idea still boggled her mind. At first she’d thought it had been a cruel joke her coworkers were playing on her. But then she’d witnessed a portal to a place called Asgard appear in New Mexico and couldn’t be convinced otherwise. Still, everything she’d ever learned told her not to believe it was true. There she was, talking portals with her boss.

“Why do you say that?”

“This is the fifth attempt in a week.” Mickey walked through the debris and back toward the S.H.I.E.L.D. building. She turned to take a better look at what remained of the apartment complex. In her mind’s eye she could still see the building teetering practically on its side and then splitting in half just like the Titanic; the movie version of course. “If it wasn’t determined it would’ve given up by now. And each event has been increasingly violent. Maybe in the beginning whatever it was had hoped for some kind of anonymity but now…” Mickey drifted off and got the shivers. She turned her gaze away from the building, her stomach churning. There was still much more to be done but she needed a break to find normalcy.

“It’s becoming desperate.” Coulson walked away from Maria Hill and the other agents he’d been briefing. He hadn’t considered that the multiple attempts increasing in frequency could’ve meant anything more than continued attempts to cross over into their world. Now there was a sudden sense of urgency upon them. “Pierce, collect samples from the complex. As much as you can. Work with the team out there and take into evidence anything that seems even a little out of the ordinary. We have to get to the bottom of this. We got lucky that it happened right across the street this time. Next time we might not have so much luck.”

“Yes, sir.” Mickey hung her radio on her belt again and then turned to the nearest agent. “I need you to get evidence collection supplies. It’s going to be a very long afternoon.”

Due to the current state of events inside and outside of the S.H.I.E.L.D. building in downtown Manhattan Scarlett wasn’t stopped by security at any point of her exploration. She could’ve very easily have broken into highly classified documents and laboratories but instead she searched the building for the infirmary. Finally she’d stopped to ask a mousy blond which way she should go and was led downstairs into the first level basement of the S.H.I.E.L.D. building. She was unsure how deep the building went underground but she had a feeling that the tunnels that had been constructed below the streets of Manhattan were as lengthy and confusing as the catacombs in France. It was possible her overactive imagination was exaggerating but as she explored, she wasn’t so sure that was the case.

The halls were white, clean, and modern but they left Scarlett filled with unease. Somehow she was reminded of every MedCo facility she’d ever investigated or been held captive in. The very thought gave her the shivers up and down her spine. It was just another similarity between MedCo and S.H.I.E.L.D. that left her feeling wary about her decision to join their ranks. Would she end up in a jail cell somewhere in the hidden tunnels beneath S.H.I.E.L.D.? She certainly would do her best to avoid that.

Thankfully before her thoughts could wander any further Scarlett found what she was looking for. The infirmary was a busy and hectic area on the first level of the basement that reminded Scarlett immediately of a hospital. People who had been injured inside the collapsed apartment were being helped in the front room while more serious cases were being carried on stretchers through long white hallways to the back. Scarlett ignored a woman dressed in all white as she asked who she was and what she was doing there.

The woman didn’t pursue her when Scarlett walked past her and continued down the hall and instead turned her attention to a young man who had been injured in the incident. Scarlett walked through the halls and peeked through side rooms until she found what she was looking for. Natasha Romanoff was seated in a chair near a long table. Her charred black cat suit lay on the hospital bed at the far end of the room. Instead she now wore casual jeans and a sports bra while she gingerly wiped burn cream along her side.

“Couldn’t wait for the doctors to take a look, hmm?” Scarlett leaned against the door once she’d let it close behind her. Mickey had let her know that Natasha had been taken inside the building after having been thrown back by the explosion. While there had been many times in the last few months where Scarlett and Natasha had done nothing except for butt heads, Scarlett considered the Black Widow to be her best friend, outside of Tony. She could’ve contemplated how depressing that was since they barely knew each other, but didn’t see the point.

“It’s just a few scratches, I’m fine. Really.” Natasha wrapped gauze around her middle to cover the burn on her side.

“Yeah, second degree burns don’t need medical attention. What was I thinking?” Scarlett rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. If she was really worried about Natasha she would’ve done something about it.

“When you go get stitches for that gash on your forearm I’ll go get a doctor to tell me I’m burned.” Natasha countered without looking up from her wrapping. “What are you doing down here?”

“I heard you caught fire and naturally I wanted to make sure that we weren’t going to have to change your name to Imhotep.” Scarlett looked at the gash on her forearm that she hadn’t even noticed. When had that happened? Injuries were inevitable when climbing through a collapsing building, so she hadn’t paid it much mind. She’d take care of it later since it was no longer bleeding. She knew that there was no point in seeing a doctor just as Natasha knew there was no point in waiting until her burns were looked at. The Black Widow gave Scarlett a look clearly explaining that she had no idea what she was referring to. “Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo…” Scarlett hoped to explain but Natasha continued to be clueless and not amused. “You know, Brendan Fraser…”

“I appreciate you coming down here to check on me but it was really no big deal.” Natasha slipped her tank top on over her head and then followed with a brown leather coat she’d taken from her locker upstairs. It wasn’t the first time she’d needed a change of clothing at work.

“From what I hear you were at the center of the explosion that nearly took down the building.” Scarlett corrected. “I had to see for myself that you were okay. You would’ve done the same for me.”

“You hope I would’ve.”

“You followed me to Moscow on a mission that didn’t involve you, I’m pretty confident in my assumptions.” Scarlett scoffed but still smiled. “And you hate Moscow.”

“It was nothing. The explosion that is. I got lucky. I got blown back by the force and the fire didn’t catch me until I woke up and was on my way out. It could’ve been much worse. I knew I couldn’t keep fighting and risk these burns getting infected so I bailed. I was confident that between you and Stark things would be handled.” Natasha nodded knowingly, throwing a glance back at her friend. She contemplated telling Scarlett what she had overheard that morning when Tony had approached Coulson about her deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. but ultimately refrained. Scarlett had asked her not to interfere in her relationship if she could help it and Natasha was going to attempt to do just that.

Well, at least she wouldn’t interfere on Scarlett’s end. When it came to Tony all bets were off. Scarlett and Natasha may not have had the most typical friendship but one thing remained true and that was that they were both willing to look out for the other. Natasha had been looking out for Scarlett since she’d jumped back on the radar after Tony Stark had initially saved her from an explosion in South Africa that otherwise would’ve been the end of her. Then again, Natasha had been made aware of the explosion only a few hours after it had occurred. If Tony hadn’t gotten to Scarlett first, Natasha would’ve found her shortly after.

Natasha and Scarlett’s friendship was hard to put into words. They weren’t the typical sort of friends, it was more like they had a mutual admiration for the other. It had been easier to boil it down to the word friendship than to overanalyze it further.

“You’re sure it’s nothing.” Scarlett narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the redhead but received a smile in return. Natasha was perceived as cold at times but underneath that act she was a surprisingly compassionate and funny woman. Most people didn’t realize that about her but Scarlett would never forget it.

“I appreciate the concern, Damien, but I’m fine. It’s nothing a little rest won’t take care of.” Natasha stood up and smoothed out her jacket. She was bruised and scuffed up and her short curly red hair was a mess but other than that she really did look as fine as she claimed to be.

“Alright, good. Just make sure you get some antibiotics just in case. You know how burns and infections go hand in hand.” Scarlett decided to take her word for it then started toward the door. “I’d offer you a hug but I imagine you’re feeling pretty tenderized right now.”

“Yeah, we’ll pass on that for now.” Natasha laughed and shook her head in dismay. “Are you sure that you’re okay? Your hand is covered in blood. Your hair, surprisingly, looks exactly the same as it always does.”

“You would be surprised how much a scraped knuckle will bleed when you are constantly bending your fingers. Though this thing on my forearm probably helped.” Scarlett wiggled her right hand to show that each finger worked just fine but then started again to the door. Before she pulled it open all the way she turned back to Natasha. “That was a Mummy reference before by the way. The joke was I’d be calling you the Mummy.” Natasha rolled her eyes again as Scarlett walked out the door after her explanation. Sometimes it was obvious that Scarlett had spent most of her time in the past weeks with her boyfriend. He was the only person she’d ever met who had ever gotten her little references so she’d gotten used to making them as often as they came to mind.

Unfortunately, most people did not get them.

Scarlett left the infirmary, again ignoring the woman in white at the administrative area who asked her who she was and what she was doing there. If Scarlett had stopped for every person who had asked her that today then she never would’ve gotten anything done. Instead she continued down the now familiar path through the S.H.I.E.L.D. basement level and up to the main floor. Upon exiting the stairwell, since she no longer trusted the elevator so close to a power outage, Scarlett was stopped again.

“There you are!” Jinx brightened up at the sight of the taller woman. Her multicolored eyes still freaked Scarlett out but she made a point not to bring it up. It wasn’t Jinx’s fault that her eyes were weird. Scarlett hadn’t forgotten the prediction Jinx had given upon their first meeting that seemed now like ages ago even though it had only been a few hours that had passed.

“Was I lost?”

“Yes! Well no, maybe not. But I didn’t know where you were and I’ve been looking for you.” Jinx smiled pleasantly though somehow Scarlett still felt as though the woman was praying for her somewhere in the back of her mind. If Julianna was going to be her handler it was going to take some getting used to. She guessed that Jinx meant well, but Scarlett had enough of her own demons without being told there were more.

“What do you need?” Scarlett wiped her hand absentmindedly on her jeans. She hadn’t realized it was covered in blood until Natasha had said something about it. It somehow seemed like a bad omen and Jinx had radar for that sort of thing.

“I was thinking about what happened earlier and I have a few ideas on how to combat it.” Jinx smiled pleasantly.

“You know how to combat a collapsing building? Oh, please do tell.” Scarlett folded her arms across her chest. “This would’ve been super useful a few hours ago.”

“No! No. That’s not what I was talking about.” Jinx chortled, waving her hand as if the very idea of that was ridiculous. “I meant about your bad luck. Do you believe in the power of talismans?”

“I don’t even believe in the bad luck so what’s your guess?” Scarlett waited for Jinx to respond but the woman pursed her lips and seemed lost in thought about it for far too long. “No, I don’t believe in the power of talismans. Or fortune telling. Or voodoo. Or religion to be perfectly honest with you. I believe in science and making your own path in life.” Scarlett listed them off on her bloody fingers. Jinx stared at her for a long moment as if to contemplate how to proceed before reaching into her pockets.

“What I was thinking is that if you carry around some talismans it might ward off your impending bad luck or at least some of it.” Jinx smiled pleasantly as if she had not heard anything Scarlett had just said. Despite the fact that she’d been ignored there was something charming and endearing about Jinx that kept Scarlett from correcting her. “Here’s a little jade stone. In the Chinese culture they’re perceived as good luck. I tried to find you a jade number eight since it’s close to the word for fortune in their language but I seem to have misplaced a few of my charms…”

Scarlett stared down at the small pile of odd little talismans in Jinx’s hands and furrowed her brow. There was no way she was going to take any of them with her. Some of them were just weird looking fish. She thought she even spied a tiny little piggy charm.

“Oh and here’s a little ladybug that I thought you might like since it doesn’t look like a typical good luck charm. Just don’t break it or your luck will only get worse. Maybe I’ll keep that one, that’s a bad idea. If today was any example of what’s to come for you then you’re bound to break a few of these things.” Jinx continued on and on, holding up a horseshoe, followed by a four leaf clover. Eventually Scarlett tuned out most of what was said about the charms since Jinx didn’t seem to want her input on the matter anyway. It seemed to alleviate a little of the stress Jinx was feeling in regards to her prediction just to have her explain the way the good luck charms worked. It was oddly touching to have a complete stranger caring enough about her to shower her with charms. “What nationality are you? Maybe something from your home will help a bit.”

Scarlett was at a loss for words. What exactly what she supposed to say to that? She thought of her meeting earlier with her shrink. She’d never once been bothered that she didn’t have a place she’d really considered her home until he’d asked her and now it’d popped up again that same day.

“I’d guess one of the Nordic countries given how tall you are and the cheekbones…” Jinx placed her hand against her chin, her fist still full of good luck charms. “Maybe Swedish? I don’t know much about what’s considered lucky there but I’ll look it up tonight and see what I can come up with.”

“I was born in London actually.” Scarlett corrected her but Jinx was on a roll and didn’t seem to care. Now she was far too curious about what good luck charms were in Sweden. Scarlett had absolutely zero intentions of actually taking any of the charms, despite how determined Jinx was.

“Are you busy right now?” Jinx grabbed Scarlett’s hand and then promptly dropped it again when she saw that it was still bloody, making a face of disgust. “I’m going to need better charms at this rate. I’m not super familiar with reading palms, but I’m pretty sure covered in blood is bad news.”

“Look, I don’t do the fortune telling stuff but I do appreciate that you’re so concerned.” Scarlett began an attempt to let Jinx down easy. “Don’t you have some S.H.I.E.L.D. stuff you should be busy with?”

“I’ve got at least another ten minutes before my scan is finished running over the readings we had earlier before the power went out.” Jinx immediately dismissed the idea that she should be working. Scarlett mentally deflated. As sweet as it was that Jinx was looking out for her, it was also mildly irritating.

“Excuse me, Miss Bennett?” A charming but militant sounding voice distracted them both and drew their attention instead to the elevator nearby. The man who Scarlett had worked with to evacuate the building stood nearby looking as though he’d never been inside a crumbling building at all. His blond hair was brushed neat to the side and his jacket had been wiped off. Even the few minor scrapes that he had inevitably suffered seemed to have evaporated as quickly as they’d come. Jinx was obviously flustered at the sight of the very handsome man.

“Yes, Captain? I mean Mr. America, um… yes, Agent Rogers?” Jinx cleared her throat and shoved her good luck charms back into her pockets as to remain unseen.

“I think someone was looking for you down the hall, near your desk.” Steve nodded his head politely. “They said it was important.”

“Oh! Oh, okay! Thank you!” Jinx ran off without another word to either Steve or Scarlett and left the two of them standing in the hallway along. Scarlett sighed in relief as she watched Jinx run down the hall and out of sight. She’d never been so happy to see someone who was practically a stranger.

After they’d escaped the collapsing apartment complex onto the fire escape of the neighboring building they’d wasted no time getting down to the ground level once they had been sure that it was safe enough to do so. Afterward it had been confusing amidst the chaos of dust and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents storming the scene to make sure that everyone in the area was safe. Steve had quickly joined the search for anyone who remained and Scarlett had made her way inside to check on Natasha.

“No one’s looking for Jinx, are they?” Scarlett nodded down the hall where Jinx had disappeared. Steve smiled coyly then looked down at his feet and laughed shyly.

“No, no one was looking for Miss Bennett but you looked like you needed a break from whatever it was she was rattling on about.”

“You couldn’t have been more right about that. Well, thanks Rogers.” Scarlett nodded, relieved she’d made it out of her encounter with Jinx without a pocketful of good luck charms that she would have to later explain to Tony.

“Steve Rogers.” He formally introduced himself at long last.

“Scarlett Damien.” Scarlett held her hand to officially shake and Steve took it gratefully.

“I wanted to tell you what a great job you did out there today.” Steve pulled his hand back and rested both on his belt. “Agent Coulson filled me in on the situation regarding your hiring and I wanted to tell you that I was impressed with what I saw. It was admirable the way you stuck it out until every one of those kids was out of the building safely.”

“Isn’t that a motto for you army guys? No one gets left behind?” Scarlett cocked a curious eyebrow. It hadn’t clicked for her until Jinx had stuttered on his name but now that Scarlett had realized who she was dealing with her previous confusion had dissipated. The super human strength, the somewhat out of date speech, and slower sense of humor could only belong to this particular man. “Captain America, right?”

“I prefer Steve if it can be helped.” Steve smiled timidly. The name Captain America was one he was proud of but in everyday conversation, especially in this modern day and age, he found that it sounded especially silly. “Or Cap. I get that one pretty often.”

“I can imagine. I’ll stick with Steve though. Cap sounds out of place.” Scarlett nodded in the general direction of the S.H.I.E.L.D. entrance. “Thanks for the help back there. I’m not sure how I would’ve gotten out without you there. I knew something was up when you scaled the side of the building. I didn’t put two and two together until Jinx stumbled on your name.”

“There wasn’t much time to explain up there, nonetheless introduce ourselves. I should’ve said something sooner but given the circumstances there didn’t seem like a right time to shout that I was Captain America. I came looking for you when I realized you weren’t behind me anymore. I wanted to say it was an honor working with you Scarlett Damien. I don’t know what it is you do but it appears you’re darn good at it.”

“Right back at you, Steve. Well, sort of. I know what it is you do but it was pretty cool to work with you even if I didn’t realize that I was.” Scarlett chuckled though she somehow felt like she was being graded by a teacher while talking to Captain America. He was nice enough but there was something about him that felt official. Maybe she’d simply been spending too much time with Tony and had forgotten how other men behaved.

“Did you not get that taken care of? It looks pretty nasty.” Steve acknowledged her bloodied hand. Scarlett was beginning to regret not having wiped it off while she’d been in the infirmary with Natasha. It had gotten her far more attention than she’d desired.

“It looks way worse than it is. I haven’t gotten a chance to clean up, that’s all. A friend of mine was hurt and I had to make sure she was alright and then I ran into Jinx and well… here we are.” Scarlett cleared her throat after summarizing how little had occurred since they’d last parted. There was something about Steve that she couldn’t put her finger on. Yes, he was obviously super human, she’d read up on Captain America when she’d first discovered that such super human capabilities had existed. But it wasn’t that. He was a man out of time, that was for sure.

“Friends? Isn’t it your first day here?”

“Not even my first day. I haven’t even signed a contract yet. It’s a really long story.” Scarlett laughed but Steve only continued to look confused. “I’ll tell you about it someday, I’m sure.” Before Steve could open his mouth to respond something distracted him and the brightness in his eyes dimmed. He instantly looked for an excuse to walk away.

“There my girl!” Tony called from further down the hall. Before Scarlett could turn around Tony was behind her and gave her a playful pat on her backside. She looked surprised and jumped slightly in response. “You were a regular super hero out there today.”

“Very little thanks to you.” Scarlett glared at him over her shoulder and shot him a look, one that reminded him she had very much not forgotten about their earlier arguments. They had to sit down and have a lengthy talk about what had transpired.

“Who me? Never doubted you for a second.” Tony smirked. Now that the danger had passed his fear had faded entirely. It seemed almost silly that he’d been scared of letting her go help those people. Then again, he knew if he had to do it all over again the same fears and doubts would creep into the forefront of his mind once more. He turned his attention to Steve who had looked near objection until he’d realized that Scarlett wasn’t at all annoyed that Tony was acting, well, like Tony. At first he’d been ready to jump to her defense and remind Tony how to treat a lady, but now he wasn’t so sure it was necessary. Something about that seemed to dishearten Steve. “Cap.” He nodded his head in greeting, looked to Scarlett then not so discreetly slipped his arms around her middle while narrowing his eyes at Steve.

“Stark.” Steve and Tony obviously didn’t get along, though Scarlett couldn’t imagine why. Steve seemed like a perfectly friendly individual, it was obvious that the problem had to be Tony. She loved him, but Tony was incredibly abrasive at first.

“Don’t be too friendly boys, someone might get the wrong idea.” Scarlett rolled her eyes and swatted at Tony’s hand on her waist but felt him settle in behind her and rest his chin against her shoulder. She couldn’t help but smile just a little. “I was just talking to Steve about what happened across the street. He’s a pretty big part of the reason that I got out of there. I’m grateful. You should be too.”

“You would’ve gotten out just fine on your own. Don’t sell yourself short. I’ve seen you do some pretty amazing things.” Tony straightened his back confidently and opened his mouth to regale them both with a story that Scarlett was sure was about her when Steve interrupted. He’d rolled his eyes the moment Tony had started puffing his feathers.

“It was no big deal, really. I’m glad you’re alright. Both of you.” Steve shot a look toward Tony that made him feel like he wasn’t so sure he was happy Tony was okay. But Scarlett got the distinct feeling that Steve wasn’t the type to wish any ill will on anyone, even his worst enemy. “I’ve got to help Coulson with the clean up but it was nice meeting you, Scarlett. Officially that is. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Steve started on his way down the hall all too quickly and without saying goodbye to Tony. Scarlett pursed her lips and watched Steve walk away curiously. His opinion of her seemed to have done a complete 180 in less than ten seconds.

“What in the hell was that all about?” Scarlett laughed and pulled out of Tony’s arms then started the opposite direction down the hall.

“How am I supposed to know? They get moody after seventy years old, you know. Dementia and all that.” Tony shrugged and lazily wrapped his arm around her waist before escorting her down the hall. “Coulson gave me files to bring home and go over.” Tony slipped a USB drive out of his pocket and shook it before shoving it promptly back where it came from. “But given he’s going to be tied up in press, lawyers, and cleanup crews for the next couple of days he’s given us the okay to get out of here.”

“We’re supposed to just leave?” Scarlett was shocked, unable to fathom the idea of walking away from the mess they’d left outside, at least legally. She’d partially hoped she’d get to see some of the people she’d met in the building again. Part of her was really curious to know how her little monkey was doing. She dismissed the idea as quickly as it came.

Scarlett was not a kid person.

“Yep.” Tony nodded after thinking about it and shrugged his shoulder.

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” Tony led her through the halls. Scarlett considered going to say goodbye to Jinx but thought better of it. She’d probably get roped into taking some of those good luck charms with her or getting her palm read. Thankfully her palm was too covered in blood to have been interesting to Jinx when they’d been speaking. “There’s not much for us to do around here besides sit and watch Coulson work. This cleanup crap is his territory so let him handle it. Besides, you’re not under contract until they find you a partner and you sign the paperwork.”

“About that…” Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him but smiled playfully. Somehow she knew he was behind the fact that she needed a partner.

“You don’t want to fight with me here, trust me.” Tony nodded knowingly.

“Oh and why is that?”

“Because you know what happens when we fight. And you told me I had to go easy on the PDA. After that incident in Midtown I can’t blame you.” Tony shrugged nonchalantly and led her through the front doors of the building and to the parking lot. “We’ll take my car. I’ll have Happy come and get yours later.”

“Or we could take my car and have Happy pick up yours later.” Scarlett argued just for the sake of arguing.

“Why do you have to be difficult?”

“Why do you always have to get your way?” Scarlett retaliated and Tony laughed then held open the driver’s side door of his car.

“Get in, already.” They both did and then pulled into the line of cars waiting to be cleared by S.H.I.E.L.D. security to pass through the barrier and get back onto the streets of Manhattan.

“So what’s with you and Steve? He practically ran away after you joined us. I’ve never seen someone so nice look so angry at you.” Scarlett stretched in the passenger seat and watched her boyfriend curiously.

“He’s just jealous.”

“Jealous?”

“Of all of this obviously.” Tony gestured to himself. “You know, wealth, fame, fortune, genius…”

“Tony, be serious.” Scarlett chuckled.

“I am serious!” Tony laughed but pouted when Scarlett elbowed his side gently. “Fine, fine… I may be a little abrasive.” He winced when Scarlett shot him a look. “We might have gotten off on the wrong foot a few times. He might have known my dad and be comparing me to him and be a little disappointed but he can get in line. I am not my dad. Also I may or may not have said a few braggy things about you around S.H.I.E.L.D. before you decided to join up…” Tony grinned charmingly in hopes it would soften the blow.

“Why am I not surprised by that? Great, here I thought I was making friends and everyone’s already got their preconceived notions about me thanks to my boyfriend the blabbermouth. It’s like high school gossip.” Scarlett sighed and leaned back in her chair but wasn’t particularly angry with Tony for anything he’d done. She’d come to terms with the fact that Tony couldn’t keep his mouth shut about anything they did to save his life a long time ago. There had been a time where he’d blabbed to the press about their budding relationship and it had hurt her more than she’d wanted it to. But now it was just another day in the life of Tony Stark.

She was a big part of his everyday life now. She was going to inevitably come up in conversation. If she wanted to change that part of Tony then she wouldn’t have continued on with their relationship. Tony was who he was and Scarlett loved him despite the flaws. She took the good with the bad as he had done for her. There was plenty of bad and plenty of annoyances, but the good things far outweighed them in significance.

“Hey, if you keep insulting this blabbermouth it’s going to stop being so nice.” Tony smirked jokingly, surprised that she hadn’t snapped at him. Then again, maybe he wasn’t so surprised. She obviously valued his opinion of her over others so maybe it didn’t matter so much what he said in a public forum anymore. “Besides, everything I said about you was entirely flattering. If you ask me, he’s just jealous. Or picturing you naked. Either way, he’s like ninety years old so you probably shouldn’t take it personally.”

“Trust me. I’m far beyond taking anything like that personally. I was just curious as to what your big gripe was. He seems like such a sweet guy. Only you could piss off the nice guys, Tony.”

“I don’t piss them off, I intimidate them.” Tony scoffed and then swatted at her leg as he finally pulled out into traffic. “Oh, you’ll never guess what Jarvis did.” Tony proceeded to fill Scarlett in on the technology that he’d used to brace the building while it’d been collapsing and the circumstances that had let up to its installation on the ride home. It had been a far from normal day for them both.