Across the Universe

“Jarvis, is that what I think it is?” Tony scanned the screen in front of him through his Mark XVII, a suit built for dealing heavier damage than the older lighter suits. In front of him on the screen there was a spike of radiation coming from the mall. Phil Coulson had alerted him to the situation and had been surprised when Tony had no jokes to make about the location.

Originally they had asked him to come directly to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters to work with another scientist on collecting the readings. But the bad feeling in Tony’s gut, once he’d realized it wasn’t just from the hangover, had distracted him.

Instead, he’d tapped into the radio frequency the communicators were using over at S.H.I.E.L.D. and had heard the chaos unfolding. Agents weren’t able to keep in contact with their teams. Radiation was causing massive electronic interference. Instantly, he’d suited up in the only Mark he thought could handle the amount of damage such cosmic energy could cause (at least thus far) and rocketed out of Manhattan. His computer had warned him that the tests weren’t finished on the new Mark and it was still unstable, but he hadn’t cared. It was a risk that was worth taking.

“That depends on what you think it is, sir.” Jarvis responded, detailing the destruction that was about to take place in the mall in various scenarios depending on what exactly was going on within the walls. It was mostly speculation but every result was similar: devastation. “I have many skills, but you’re still working on mind reading.”

“Looks like a nuke, Jarvis. It’s like the damn Manhattan Project over there.”

“It’s not nuclear radiation, that much I can tell you for certain.”

“Good.” Tony would’ve flown toward it regardless of Jarvis’ evaluation to get to those in need, but it was definitely easier knowing it wasn’t going to kill him just by flying in the vicinity. A brief flicker of panic concerning Scarlett’s health flashed through his mind but he forced it away. His suit was equipped to protect him from such external stimuli, but still, a radiation bath he did not wish to take.

“That, however, does not mean it is not volatile.”

“Aren’t you a brilliant ray of sunshine?”

“Sir, the radiation levels have suddenly dropped.” Jarvis spoke with alarm as numbers flashed red on the right side of Tony’s screen. The billionaire swapped modes in his helmet to prepare his suit for battle and circled the mall before quickly taking a dive toward it. Whatever energy had built up within the area had suddenly dissipated. Something must have disrupted it and he knew that the resulting chaos would be terrible. The amount of energy that had released inside the building was astronomical; at least twice the amount that would have been required to create the disturbance that had leveled the building in Manhattan weeks prior.

“That’s definitely not good.” Tony grumbled. Jinx was reporting the same thing over the S.H.I.E.L.D. line, yelling to those on the ground to get to cover immediately with no response. The scientist he hadn’t yet been introduced to was yelling the same, reading off levels of radiation and the sudden change in air quality leading to a catastrophic combination that would level the building.

Then it happened.

There was a shockwave that echoed from the point in the mall where Tony was now racing, listening to Jarvis list off the levels as they increased and spread. He braced himself in the Mark XVII but still flew back several feet regardless thanks to the force of the blow. Trees were downed around the mall, cars slid to the side and the very integrity of the shopping center was compromised. Tony watched in horror as the far northern side of the building caved in on itself! The middle of the building seemed to hold together but just barely and likely not for much longer.

“Locate Scarlett!” Tony shouted and raced toward the building. “Now!” As he got close enough within rage he charged the extra large repulsor ray on the Heartbreaker armor. He scanned for the falling debris and fired off the large beam from his chest straight toward it. The collapsing roof shattered into smaller pieces as Tony guided the suit closer to the mall.

“Go! Run!” Scarlett shouted to the others, seeing that, though Tony had arrived in the nick of time and had stopped the entire building from caving in on them, they were nowhere near out of harm’s way yet. The debris from the blast was still raining down and half of the pieces were still large enough to crush them.

She kept her eye on the red and gold suit that flew above her and was blowing the larger chunks of debris either out of the way of those beneath it or blowing them to smithereens. There was so much dust in the air eventually she had to back away and take cover. Daniel was behind her before she’d realized it and was offering her his hand to help her out of the dust and to safety.

“This way!” Scarlett nodded, searching around her for the others. Clint was shouting for them through the debris and the dust.

“Stark, we sure could use a way out of here!” Maria[a name="here"][/a] Hill called into her radio from the far end of the food court. The exit had already been collapsed before the explosion, now it was a disaster area.

“I’d duck if I were you.” Tony responded while having Jarvis scan the area and search for ideal targets where Maria had gestured. “Several feet away from there.” He waited for the others to get out of the way before firing a shot near the massive pile of debris. From the top of his glove a small metallic object the size of a pen cap emerged then separated into four smaller pieces. Each hit the concrete and then blinked twice before they created small controlled explosions. The remaining debris collapsed just enough to create a gap about six feet off of the ground for those still inside of the mall to escape through, all they had to do was climb.

The ground shook suddenly again and the very little of what remained of the floor began to collapse beneath them! Scarlett, still grouped near Daniel, grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him against the far wall to keep him from falling into the resulting cavern below them.

“What on earth?” Daniel peered over her shoulder, shocked by the collapse. Even his keen mind hadn’t seen that coming. The impact from the explosion Tony had created had been the final straw for the structure.

“Looks like there’s a basement.” Scarlett pushed away from Daniel and peered over the edge curiously. The little bit of flooring that remained beneath her creaked and groaned, threatening to drop. “Oh, this is so bad.” She muttered and then cupped her hands over her mouth. “Tony, we have a bit of a situation here!”

“What now?” Clint was helping Mickey climb over the debris toward the exit. Mitchell had already managed to make her way into the gap above them that Tony had created and was offering her hand to Maria Hill to help her out of the mall and to safety. She knew it was a risk hanging around this long with all these so called S.H.I.E.L.D. agents but before she disappeared into the encroaching night she wanted to make sure everyone was out of harm’s way. Besides, she needed a few minutes to recuperate. Whatever that energy spike was, it did a number on her powers as well.

“Take cover!” Tony knew in an instant what had gone wrong and flipped the mask of the Heartbreaker up before shouted to the others to do the same. When the building had collapsed several pipes had been broken including sewer pipes and water mains. They were filling what remained of the basement with water at an alarming rate. But far more disconcerting was that the maintenance room had apparently been down there as well. The breaker box was heavily damaged and wires were torn, some hanging by a thread, dangerously teetering over the water. Nearby gas lines were ruptured, leaking into the air. The resulting spark could be catastrophic and it seemed that the explosion Tony had designed to help them out of the building had been the catalyst.

“Hurry!” Mitchell grabbed Maria and pulled her over the wall and then held her hand out for Clint to take.

“No time!” Clint ran along the narrow flooring along the edge of the little that remained of the food court and searched for a place to take cover. The electrical wires collapsed and hit the water, shorting out the system, releasing a blast of sparks and catching fire. Tony aimed a blast at the box in hopes that the spark wouldn’t reach the gas line before he could eliminate it but it had been counter intuitive. He’d hoped that the blast from the repulsor that he’d fired, would cause less of a burst than the uncontrolled electrical box.

They’d never know for sure which was worse but the resulting blast from Tony’s repulsor was enough to shake the foundation and collapse more of the floor leading into one of the department stores that had collapsed in on itself. The debris fell into the basement. The shock sent Mickey flying through one of the shop windows, thankfully the glass had already been broken. Scarlett and Daniel were forced off of their ledge and into the crater below.

Scarlett braced herself for the fall. She tightened her grip on her sword and attempted to stab it into the insulation foam between floors in hopes of stopping herself and keeping her out of the water but the sword tore through it, she lost her grip, and she kept falling instead. Daniel rolled narrowly out of the way out of the water and grabbed onto the ledge. Hopping up he saw Scarlett falling, got to his feet and ran after her. Touching that water could be catastrophic for the strongest of people! They had managed to survive thus far through the worst of it, Daniel refused to have it end here.

He dove into the water in an attempt to catch her, expecting his body to be riddled by the electrical current but instead heard another explosion that forced both him and Scarlett deeper beneath the water! Jarvis had alerted Tony to the situation and he’d blown the remains of the electrical system to smithereens without a thought to the consequences. The current had been cut away from the water but the damage to the floor above was catastrophic.

The resulting explosion sent Tony flying in his suit across the mall where he crashed into the concrete wall of the basement and rattled the area above it.

“Do explosions really have to be so loud?” Tony pulled himself gingerly out of the hilariously shaped imprint of his Mark armor in the wall and shook the suit back to life before floating into the air. “Scarlett!” He flipped the mask of his armor open and flew towards where he’d seen her dive into the water. Just as he was about to close the helmet and dive into the water after he saw the water ripple and Scarlett emerged with a gasp of air, soaked but doing just fine.

Daniel was helping her out of the water and something terrible tugged in Tony’s stomach. Before he’d realized he was doing it he was glaring at the newcomer. Why was it bothering him that someone else had come to her aid? That was what teammates were supposed to do, after all!

Once away from the water, Scarlett hunched over, her hands against her knees and caught her breath. Then she shook out her hair like a wet dog and nodded her thanks to Daniel who was observing her cautiously. She felt as though he was analyzing her every move.

“Your shoulder is bleeding.” He nodded toward her left arm. Scarlett stood upright and pulled at her jacket to take a better look. Sure enough, her old wound was bleeding through the gauze she’d had tightly wrapped around it but not nearly enough to drip or be noticed by the naked eye. She turned her attention back to Daniel, curious as to how he could’ve possibly known such a thing. Before she spoke she felt eyes burning holes into the back of her. Turning her gaze behind her she saw Tony approaching in his Mark and instantly he softened his gaze. She returned the narrow eyed glance he’d been giving her as if to remind him just how much trust was an issue between them.

“Was all that exploding the anomaly we’ve been studying?” Tony instantly changed the subject before it could be brought up. Had she always been so good at reading him? For as long as he could recall, Scarlett had seemed to read him like a book. He still hated it. Daniel hadn’t seemed to notice the exchange between lovers and nodded his head to reassure him that was indeed what it was.

“A little mishap with it, but yes, I can gather that is the anomaly Miss Hill briefed me on. Well, that is, all the explosions that weren’t caused by you, obviously.”

“Of course you’re British.” Tony rolled his eyes and then cleared his throat. Irrational was his middle name lately. “The whole thing seemed much quieter on paper.”

“Don’t they always?” Daniel attempted a joke but Tony didn’t seem to be at all pleased that he had a sense of humor.

“Is everyone alright?” Scarlett shouted, distracting from the pissing match that Daniel had no idea he was a part of. For someone who seemed incredibly observant, Tony’s dislike for him had gone way over his head.

“We’re fine!” Mickey waved from the top of the rubble. After she’d climbed out of the shop she’d been thrown into she’d been pleased to find she’d only sustained a few minor scrapes and bruises. Once she was sure that Scarlett and Daniel were alright she’d made her way around the gap. Now she was working to clear them a path to safety since it seemed that the rubble had finally settled, at least enough for them to maneuver.

“Everyone is present and accounted for.” Clint responded, collecting an arrow that was stuck into the wall. There were only a handful that had survived the explosions but he wasn’t a fan of leaving them behind if he could avoid it. “Except your floaty blue portal friend.” Clint waved his fingers in a circle as if to mimic the portal.

“Floaty blue portal friend?” Tony widened his eyes, amusement playing on his lips. “You have a floaty blue portal friend? Since when?”

“Since last night.” There was a bite to Scarlett’s voice that Tony could instantly understand. She would have told him all about it had he not come home drunk and made an ass out of himself in public. “I’m sure she’s just fine.” Scarlett walked around the edge of the water, searching for a way to climb out of the crater she was now trapped in. Daniel put his hands together and offered her a leg up. “Then I’ll lift you, yeah?”

“Just not with that left arm.” Daniel smiled charmingly. But before she could take his hand Tony flew over to her and lifted her with ease. He then placed her safely atop the rubble near Clint. “Forgetting someone?” Scarlett looked expectantly toward the armored man and with a noticeable huff and puff Tony turned and retrieved Daniel from the crater as well.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark.” Daniel smiled politely, looking genuinely grateful.

“Why is it every British guy is so damn polite?” Tony turned toward Scarlett. “You’ve ruined polite people for me, you know that?” The sound of his last name in such a formal manner made him grind his teeth these days. He’d never forget how frustrating it was that she would only refer to him as such for the longest time.

“You’re welcome.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Daniel could sense the tension between the two.

“Nothing, Sean Connery. Resume your charming whatever it is.” Tony rolled his eyes but Daniel laughed.

“You know he’s Scottish, right? I’m British, very different.”

“Sure, you keep telling yourself that.” Tony didn’t look away from Scarlett. “Katniss Everdeen over there was saying something about a blue portal friend. Should we be worried? Jarvis, scan for human heat signatures, see what you can find…”

“Yes, sir.”

“She’s fine. Don’t sweat it. Not a big fan of super secret government organizations. Once she was sure we were fine I have no doubt she disappeared into the shadows to avoid dealing with us.” Scarlett felt watched once more and knew at once that Mitchell was hiding, observing, hoping to learn anything they knew without having to deal with the red tape that S.H.I.E.L.D. would wrap her up in if caught. She’d have to make a mental note to get into contact with her later.

“We’re not going to stay very super secret for long if things keep exploding like this.” Clint joined them atop the rubble, nodding toward the other side where Mickey had cleared a path and had helped Maria Hill to the other side where she was already speaking to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had arrived on the scene. “We should get out of here, before something else decides to blow up when we look at it too menacingly.”

“You folks are funny. I could get used to working with a team with a sense of humor for once. Believe it or not, I’m usually a loner and when I do get partnered up it’s always with some stiff.” Daniel chuckled but led the way along the rubble.

“I’m surprised you get it, don’t you guys only like cross dressing and fart gags?” Tony didn’t wait for Daniel to respond then without even asking decided to speed the process along. “Meet you on the other side.” He lifted Scarlett right back into his arms to which she made a sound of objection but it went unheard as he flew her past Mickey, past the rubble, to where S.H.I.E.L.D. vans were now parked. Some were unloading medical supplies, others machinery that would provide readings on what remained in the area after the anomaly had passed.

“Was that entirely necessary?” Scarlett shoved at the armor when he landed but it didn’t budge.

“Miss Damien!” Bruce climbed out of the back of one of the other trucks and waved. There was a look of worry behind his eyes but also curiosity. “Are you alright? Is everything okay? We couldn’t reach you! We weren’t even receiving readings from your phone or the device…”

“Oh, right.” Scarlett dug into her pocket and pulled the device he’d given her that afternoon and handed it to him. Spotlights were being set up in the surrounding area and turned on to fight off the darkness the night was bringing in. The once clear skies had become overcast giving the November night an extra bite it definitely didn’t need. Scarlett hadn’t realized just how cold it was that night until that moment and being soaking wet definitely wasn’t helping. “We’re all fine, well except the mall. Not sure how many civilians were injured in the evacuation. Not sure if your device made it out in one piece either.” Dr. Banner took the device from Scarlett and turned it over in his hand. “On a scale of one to ten how water and demon proof was that thing?”

“Demon proof?” Bruce chuckled but then his curiosity peeked when Scarlett didn’t appear to be joking with him.

“It’s a long story, we’ll catch up on it when we get the chance.”

“A story I would very much enjoy being filled in on.” Daniel, Clint, and Mickey caught up with them moments later. Maria was speaking to Coulson and organizing the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, sending them to and fro to evaluate the situation.

“It would be much easier to have this conversation somewhere warm and preferably dry.” Scarlett looked toward Daniel who was just as dripping wet as she was. He should’ve been shivering but instead he stood without complaint.

“Agreed.” Daniel smiled slightly. “The air is quite nippy.”

“We have a lot of work to do here before I can head back.” Maria joined the conversation before anyone could continue. “Banner, do what you need to do. I have a team set up to collect samples. They’re instructed to follow your commands. If you need anything else you say the word.” Maria nodded toward Bruce who thanked her politely and excused himself to do just that. The intrigue in his eyes had far outweighed his concern for them now that he knew they were alright. Tony’s gaze followed the doctor curiously.

“How’s your head?” Scarlett nodded toward the lead agent who looked surprised. Maria touched the sore spot on her forehead in recollection then, still taken off guard, nodded to signal she was just fine. For some reason she hadn’t expected Scarlett to be the compassionate type. On paperwork, Scarlett would agree that was very true. Again she wondered why she should play the good guy when everyone expected her to be part villain.

“Your shoulder?”

“Fine.” Scarlett nodded though Tony threw her another look which she was surprised to find that Clint had done as well. “It’s fine! God, you guys, go start a worry-wart club or something.”

“She’s just fine, you can all calm down.” Daniel laughed, smacking Tony’s armor on the back. Tony’s eye twitched.

“What are you doing here? Isn’t this a little out of your territory? Across the pond, even?” Tony didn’t trust Daniel’s judgment for a second. Something about the man was off, it bothered him and his glare only intensified as time passed though Daniel seemed to take no notice. Scarlett winced every time Tony made a bad British joke.

“I was in Newark closing up my last case that happened to jump overseas. My flight was delayed and I received an emergency call from one, Julianna Bennett asking for any available field agents. I figured I wouldn’t be missed since my case just wrapped up and who doesn’t like a little action now and then?” He smiled and ran his fingers back through his wet blond hair and Scarlett caught Mickey looking away. Her thoughts traveled to the romance novels Mickey apparently read and discussed with Jinx in what seemed to Scarlett like a naughty little book club and she couldn’t help but chuckle under her breath. This guy was like something straight out of one of those novels. “So, I am afraid I found myself waylaid helping a few lovely ladies, a gentleman or two, and apparently a very grumpy metal man.”

“It’s not just metal, it’s a titanium alloy...” Tony grumbled, correcting someone for the first time in a very long time when it came to his suits.

“Well, we’re glad you did. You were quite a bite of help.” Scarlett chuckled. Daniel was funny and handling all the strangeness very well. He was intriguing and she wanted to ask how he knew about her shoulder without having seen it but without Tony breathing down her neck. On top of that Scarlett wanted to know when Tony had gotten that particular Mark armor operational. The last she’d checked he’d had it locked down pretty tight. Tony liked to surprise her and impress her with his new advancements and she partially wondered if this was a sad attempt at an apology.

“Don’t laugh at him, he’s not funny.” Tony pouted, nodding toward Daniel who laughed in response. “Everything he says sounds charming because of that accent.”

“I could use a hand if any of you aren’t completely exhausted!” Bruce called from what had once been a mall. The entire north end of the building had completely collapsed but it seemed the far south end was completely intact. There were teams working on securing what remained and making it safe for entry. The parts that were already deemed safe were filled with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who were gathering information and searching for civilians who had been reported missing during the confusion.

The group stayed silent and exchanged glances until Mickey rolled her eyes and then turned toward Bruce.

“I’ll help Dr. Banner!” She had been feeling out of place anyway and knew that keeping her mind occupied was the right thing to do. It was the first high risk battle she’d been a part of with other field agents intentionally and so many strange things had happened to her in particular that her thoughts were reeling. The whole thing was overwhelming. Bruce and Mickey disappeared into the night to gather evidence and study the damage that had been done and the elements that had been left behind by the strange creature that had attempted to pass between worlds.

“Dr. Banner? As in Bruce Banner?” Tony finally put two and two together and hoped Scarlett would provide more answers.

Scarlett’s phone suddenly rang in her pocket so she picked it up and ignored Tony which he was not a fan of.

“Hello?”

“Your head set’s broken.” Jinx’s voice spoke on the other line. Scarlett reached into her ear and then discovered that the small device was, in fact, no longer there.

“Or in a puddle somewhere.” Scarlett nodded thoughtfully then turned away from the group of field agents who were discussing what had just transpired. Tony kept stealing glances at her while she was away so she walked a little further to avoid being overheard. “What is it, Bennett?”

“The media can’t be held off any longer at the scene. Coulson’s there to handle the press conference but he wants everyone to come back and clean up for a debriefing afterward.” Jinx seemed relieved to hear her voice. “No fire?”

“Actually there was more fire than I had hoped for. More water too though. Really it was an elemental smack down.” Any chance of Scarlett having thought there was validity to Jinx’s claims had flown out the window. In the heat of the moment she’d considered the woman maybe had some sort of psychic connection to the world around her but the logical part of her brain had kick started back into action once the chaos had passed. It was easier to think with a clear head when her mind wasn’t wrapped up in personal drama. It was a secure sort of feeling that she had gravely missed.

“Well, I’m relieved you survived.” Jinx continued before Scarlett could comment about how curt she could be. “There’s a van prepared to bring you back into the city…”

“My car’s still here. I’ll drive back. Tony will fly in his suit. The others can ride with me.” Scarlett nodded toward the group.

“Coulson said…”

“And I’m not leaving my car here so I don’t really care what Coulson instructed.” Scarlett rolled her eyes. “How’s that bad feeling now? Better now that everything’s blown up?”

“I didn’t think you believed in that stuff.”

“Call me curious.”

“You’re not going to like what I have to say.” She could practically hear Jinx smiling.

“You’ve still got a bad feeling, huh?”

“Something terrible is going to happen. You’re in trouble whether you believe me or not.” It was the first time that Jinx had sounded menacing and Scarlett shook off a chill that she instantly attributed to the cold even though she knew it wasn’t. Why did it have to be her? Why was she always in trouble? Tony had even referred to her as trouble when they’d first met. She’d been trouble her whole life.

Maybe that was the problem. She was trying to avoid causing trouble but maybe she couldn’t. Maybe trouble was just who she was. If that was the case, working for S.H.I.E.L.D. definitely wasn’t going to last very long.

“I’ll see you back at headquarters.” Scarlett hung up without a goodbye and shoved the phone in her pocket. It was the only electronic thing on her that had survived unscathed. Even her Tesla glove had taken a hit. When they got back to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters she’d work on it during their debriefing. Hopefully they’d have something she could change into as well. Soaking wet in the New York November air wasn’t exactly ideal.

“Is everything alright, Miss Damien?” Daniel smiled kindly at her as she returned to the little group of men who may have been having the most awkward conversation of all time. Clint had tried to lessen the tension in the air with jokes but had only managed to make things worse.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. wants us to come in for debriefing. You too.” Scarlett turned her attention back to Tony. “We’ve got to head out. Hopefully my car isn’t too trapped in all the chaos. Traffic’s going to be a nightmare.”

“We’ll meet you there.” Tony nodded to Clint and Daniel then flipped the helmet back in place on his suit. Before she could argue, Tony grabbed her around the waist. She threw her car keys back to Clint just in time before grabbing onto the armor.

“This is so not what I meant!” Scarlett cursed then gave into her fate and buried herself against the armor to shield herself from the wind. She hated flying with the Mark armor and Tony knew that. They were going to have to have more than a few words when this was over with. Between the night before when he was drunk, that morning with his pity party, and his attitude only moments ago toward Daniel, Scarlett had quite a few well chosen words for him.

“I guess it’s just us then.” Clint tossed the keys back and forth in his hand and then looked back to Daniel who was still watching Tony and Scarlett fly off into the sky. He seemed fascinated with the armor and the way it worked. They soon disappeared out of sight so he paid attention to Clint at last.

“Is he always that pleasant?”

“Actually, he’s a pretty fun guy most of the time.” Clint turned and started toward the parking lot. “Bad week for him I guess.”

“Or a very good one depending.” Daniel had clearly seen the papers cataloguing Tony’s bad boy events the night before.

“No, a bad one. Trust me.” Clint patted the newcomer on the shoulder and then they walked to the car that Clint would drive back to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in Manhattan.