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[lucas-harper]

Ashes to Ashes || Lucas Harper Solo

Two months had passed. Two months since he'd watched his parent’s burn to the ground a second time, unable to stop the events that had taken place, not that he’d remotely tried to; he’d been helpless, at the mercy of the powers of the Time Gem. The smell of smoke and burning flesh was forever embedded in his brain, clogging his nose and throat even when he tried to rid himself of it by retching it out, it still remained.

Any hope he had of returning to the future had vanished the day he’d killed again in the name of Marco Andretti. The more naïve part of him had thought it would be easier than before, how wrong he had been. The first time he’d been ordered to carry out his first kill, he’d been driven by thoughts of revenge, but now, as he repeated that day, he only thought of not straying from the path and delve into the darkness that threatened to envelope him. He’d taken the life of an innocent Slayer, driven the silver sword deep into his heart, delivering the killing blow only to further desecrate her body by cutting off her head and presenting it to the Don as a symbol of his success.

He spent the next hour in the pristine bathroom in the Don's mansion, spilling the contents of his guts until he could no longer breathe and crying until he had no more tears to spill. The letter to Jack was a feeble attempt to cling onto the last shred of hope he had but it vanished along with the days to come; he’d heard no word from the other side.

He couldn’t run, couldn’t escape the countless sins he was to commit; he was stuck in a horrific nightmare he’d tried so hard to bury. The faces of the lights he was about to blow out swam in his mind, until he reached for the toilet again and dry heave into it. All of his strength had left him, he wondered if he had any of it to continue.

[lucas-harper]

Time Is Always On My Side || Lucas Harper Solo

“Lucas Harrison Harper, why didn’t you tell us you were coming home for the weekend?” Her voice crashed into his ears and it was so familiar, the forgotten memories flowing through his mind until they knocked him off his feet. He’d forgotten how beautiful she was, he’d forgotten how she smelled of Jasmine with just a hint of her favorite perfume. Her hair looked even more golden, her eyes even bluer than he remembered as she stared him down with a disappointing frown, one that she reserved for when he didn’t do his homework or when he came home late after curfew. All those years of wishing he could have one more day with her, with his family, and he’d finally gotten it.

Whether or not it was an illusion, he didn’t care as he caught his mother in a warm embrace, allowing the tears to flow freely from his eyes, “I missed you mom,” he mumbled into her shoulder and breathed her in. He didn’t want to let go, what if she’d disappear once he did? He couldn’t lose her again. Thoughts of how he got here had vanished from his mind, as did the thoughts of getting back to his timeline because in that moment he was reunited with someone he’d lost so long ago, “Where’s… Where’s dad?” He asked as his mother pulled back to examine the tears in his eyes, wiping them and shaking her head.

“Luke, honey, is everything alright in Baltimore?” She asked carefully, using the tone she’d often use when warning the kids who’d bully him as a child, he had no doubt that she’d rush over to Johns Hopkins and give his teachers a hard time if push came to shove. She’d probably even give Director North a run for his money, the thought of that brought a smile and a small laugh to his lips through the tears, “Your father’s downstairs watching the game. Joe’s coming over in a while for dinner but we all know that’s an excuse to talk about work,” she let go of him, surveying his clothes matted with grime and the blood stains he was hiding on his sleeves but dusting him anyways. Too busy to notice he’d frozen at the mere mention of the man who’d betrayed his father, his partner Joseph Draper who’d sold him out to the Andretti mafia. “Your spare clothes are in the closet sweetheart, why don’t you take a shower?” She asked, standing at the doorway, still not buying what he was selling; he knew that look in her eyes, she wasn’t done, far from it.

He didn’t move even as he heard the door close behind him, his mind was running a mile a minute as he analyzed the many different scenarios going through his head. The time gem, the rest of his team, how he’d reach them… Could he save his parents? The more selfish part of him screamed to put a bullet through Joseph’s skull the moment he walked through the front door and end it all but he knew, the more logical part of him, the one trained by the Black Widow knew it wasn’t possible. “Didn’t you learn anything from all that science fiction, McFly?” the young agent murmured to himself as he peeled off his dirt-caked clothes and checked under the bed where he’d hid his weapons, “Guess I’ve got to find a new place for you huh? Can’t exactly stash you with the dirty magazines,” he spoke as he opened his closet and hid them in the top compartment.

The bath didn’t take long, he wasn’t in need of one but he knew that his father would suspect something; paranoia came with the job and his father was one to pursue, luckily Lucas had become an excellent liar. He was soon dressed in his old Star Wars t-shirt along with jeans and sneakers, making his way down the stairs towards the lounge and letting his hands run over the house that would soon be reduced to ashes along with what was left of childhood. The oak stair railing which he slid down from so many times as a child, the memories that wouldn’t stop flowing through the broken dam he’d tried so hard to build. “Dad…” his voice threatened to break again as the young agent saw his father on the couch, still in his uniform with his eyes fixated on the television screen. “Twenty bucks says the Sox knock it out of the park,” he spoke as he finally found his voice, kneeling down to squeeze his father’s broad shoulders.

“Heaven forbid,” his father with a voice that was a tenor’s envy turned and smiled at him through his black square rimmed glasses, “You almost knocked your mother off her feet, you know how she hates being unprepared… You’re in trouble,” the last part spoken in a singsong voice as he grinned back at the young boy who had tears in his eyes. “Son, did she crack out the whip? Should I be worried?” his glasses were in his hands now as he cleaned them with the hem of his shirt before perching them back on his nose.

Lucas shook his head in response before taking a seat in the sofa next to him, “No I just- I just thought I’d drop in and see how you guys were. We’ve got our rounds starting soon and getting out of them is gonna be a tough one, that's about three months down the drain. I talked to Liz yesterday...” His heart tightened in his chest as he spoke about his sister, the one who he’d cut out of his life for her own good before he leaned back into his chair and finally spoke just as he heard a knock at the door, “Dad… What day is it today?” He asked carefully as he watched his mother walk towards the door.

“Son, are you sure your mother didn’t conk you on the head? It’s Monday, July 16th” Lucas was glad his father had turned away from him to focus on the man entering the house, he wouldn’t see the color draining from his son’s face because suddenly it all made sense; everything clicked into place like the final piece of a cruel puzzle. The Time Gem hadn’t just sent him back in time, it had sent him back exactly one day before his parents would burn alive in their own house; the day Lucas said goodbye to his old life and vowed revenge on the Andretti family.

He was going to watch them die all over again, the question was; would he stand by this time or would he risk everything and do something about it? 

[lucas-harper]

Lucas heard the door open and let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding, the moment he saw her, in the corner and away from him he slowly inched forward only to have her wordlessly stop him. He closed his eyes in defeat, nodding and swallowing in response, answering her question after what felt like hours, “No-Not exactly. Tony’s helping… Was helping me through it, he’s did a better job that any psychologist would and trust me, I’ve seen S.H.I.E.L.D.’s finest at work.”

He finally allowed himself to sit down even though it was well away from her, “I’m sorry Jack… I just, I-I didn’t want to give more to worry about, I couldn’t do that to you, you know?” He finally allowed himself to look at her, “Jack I love you, more than anything in the world but… Sometimes I know I’m not good enough for you, I think I just proved that to you…” He could hear Tony’s words of venom in his mind, he’d failed him too. “What happened with Agent Van Dyne, that-that wasn’t me. I could never do that to you, I-I had no control and I… I messed up and I can’t stay here. I need to go to S.H.I.E.L.D. and sort this out…” He finally paused, trying to make sense of his words, when he saw her looking back at him. It was then that he realized that the person, through the good and the bad, the person he wanted next to him was Jacklyn Perkins. “Will you… Will you come with me?”  

Bleed for Me || Lucas and Jack

Jack let her breathing steady and she tried to calm her heartbeat . She heard the director’s voice in her head, calming, telling her to think clearly. It took a few minutes. She barely heard Lucas telling her to open the door. She wasn’t ready for that yet. She couldn’t. And it broke her heart. She should have figured. PTSD. What a pair they were… but he never even told her. She had no idea and she felt so alone before. She felt so alone and she wasn’t and he never told her. 

She pressed herself into the corner and tried to focus on breathing and calming herself. She heard what she was saying and she was trying to understand. Why he knew how alone and miserable she felt and he could have just told her. She slowly got up and unlocked the door, but before he could open the door, she was back in the far corner. When he came in and started to move toward her, she held up a hand. She wasn’t ready for him to be that close to her again. She tried to focus on her breathing before asking slowly, “Why? I felt so alone and-" she stopped, knowing that it wouldn’t help either of them, “Are- Are you getting help?"

[lucas-harper]

I’d say you’re one of the lucky ones the bastard would kill out right. The silence between the two was even more dangerous than when they spoke volumes yet Lucas found himself growing weary rather than afraid of the Winter Soldier, he could almost feel Natasha’s glare on his back at the mere thought of him letting his guard down. He wasn’t underestimating the Winter Soldier, no, he was embracing the idea of him and maybe, in another time, it would’ve scared him. Instead, he found it fascinating, “Guess I’m a regular four leaf clover,” he spoke with a chuckle and a shake of his head.

The small smile however faded the moment it had appeared, “Quid Pro Quo Clarice,” his spot on impression of Hannibal Lecter might’ve fared well with a better audience, though he was sure the man in front of him didn’t have an idea of who he was referring to. Amongst the many tortures of the Red Room, he was sure that a lack of television and reading was one of them, he almost laughed at the thought of it. His predicament did, in a sense resemble that of Clarice Starling and the renowned serial killer; the damaged agent and the psychotic yet brilliant killer. He fell silent after that, not knowing how to begin or where to start; he wasn’t about to let the man go without some answers, it seemed that he owed him after what Bucky had told him. “You were the gardener, they called me the cleaner,” he finally spoke, wishing he had the bottle in his hands but instead chose to flex them. “The Andretti Family, you might’ve heard of them since they did business with the Mother Country,” he paused at the first mention of the Family that had murdered his, “Don Marco Andretti killed my family, he burned them to the ground and for that… For that I planted a bullet between his eyes.” He avoided the man’s gaze before he spoke again, “Revenge almost drove me to madness and for a long time I wondered if it was worth it. I killed him but for three years, I was his lapdog, his trigger finger. He made me take so many lives, innocent lives, just so I could earn his trust. Most of them were Slayers, trying to cripple his Demonic ties,” the young agent shook his head, “That’s when S.H.I.E.L.D. found me and gave me a new life. It started the day Marco’s ended.”

He found it odd that he was telling Bucky the very darkest parts of his life, things that he’d unwillingly only told Natasha in an attempt to clean his hands of the guilt. Little did he know that they were forever stained with the blood he’d drawn, “I thought that maybe, just maybe, saving people might make up for my past… That plan didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, especially when I watched half of Stark Industries get slaughtered by a group of vampires… I just…” he sighed and leaned his head back, “I’m sick of letting everyone down. I let HYDRA kidnap and torture my girl, I let the vampires kill the people I’d sworn to protect, I keep letting Natasha down… I’m just waiting for an up that isn’t coming.” Lucas stood up and shrugged half-heartedly, “You wanted my sob story and you got it. I’m a Post Traumatic Mess who’s clinging on to whatever shred of sanity he has left but at least I’m fighting you know?” His jacket felt heavy as it weighed on his shoulders before he reached in and pulled out a medal, “This belonged to my grandfather. I keep it around ever since he gave it to me, something to remember him by and something that keeps me going; reminds me that there’s something worth fighting for,” he stretched out his hand and offered it to the person in front of him, “Take it, you need it more than I do.” 

Cold Winter Nights || Lucas and Bucky

[lucas-harper]

He couldn’t help but let a smile grace his face when he heard her speak and her movements only grew in their pace. Her punches were fluid, only increasing with momentum to the point that he heard the bag creak under the force; she was a fast learner. “You are a lot of things Agent, a weak link isn’t one of them,” he finally spoke and waited for her to turn and acknowledge him before that smile turned into a grin. “You’re the new kid on the block but you’re smart, strong and most of all, you’re resourceful. Illyria might have the upper hand but in this moment, you’re in control.” He shrugged after a pause and laughed, “Agent Romanoff has high hopes and even though she’ll deny it now, I thought you should know. You need that extra push to adapt to our methods but you’re more than qualified at exceeding them. You want time Agent? You’ve got it.”

The information on how she worked and functioned was still new to him as he filed it all away for future use, knowing that with her extra endurance he could up the ante. He knew that her reluctance at using a firearm would be more in comparison towards physical fighting. She didn’t want to be a bully and he understood that, not long ago, he thought the same thing but times changed for him. He knew that once push came to shove that Fred would pull the trigger, not to kill but to hurt; he respected that. “Well then, I’ll promise not to tire you out too much,” he shared a laugh with her, the joke not going unnoticed that he’d indeed went back on his promise and was working her to the bone.

The young agent couldn’t help the mocking cringe that came over him as she spoke again, telling him that she’d make the punching bag her bitch, “Corny one liners during physical training? You’re fitting right in Agent Burkle,” he raised his stopwatch and continued clocking her speed, the remaining twenty punches went by faster than he thought as he finally signaled for her to finish and threw a towel her way after noticing her sweaty appearance, “Well done Agent, not bad at all for your first go. I’d recommend taking an ice cold bath to work out any sores, so did you have fun?” He asked with a small smile, “Because we’re on again tomorrow.” 

Wax On, Wax off || Lucas and Fred

 Fred was squared up with the bag. She was going to be tired and sore, but she was going to punch it with all the arm strength she’d have left. When he made the comment about assuming Illyria’s strengths, she gave him a dubious look. She wasn’t assuming anything. She’d seen Illyria take on a lot more than a punching bag and come out of the situation without a hair out of place. “Yeah," Fred told him. “I know," right jab, “Illyria could be suppressed," left jab, “and I’ll just have me," uppercut. 

"And I did have to defend myself before Illyria, you know," right jab, “I was alone for five years," left jab, “and I survived," uppercut. “I’ve had people try to kill me," right jab, “It was the whole world once," left jab, “but they couldn’t," uppercut. “I’m a scientist. I use my brain and it makes up for my muscles," she said sternly. “I might not be able to knock someone out with a punch, but when I have time and a fire extinguisher, I don’t need to touch you." Right, left, uppercut.

"So I understand," right jab, “I understand that if Illyria doesn’t show up, it might be in the middle of a combat and I might have not time, “left jab, “but I’ve never liked being a bully," uppercut. “I don’t want to be why we’d die," right jab, " and know I’m the weak link," left jab, “which isn’t much when I standing with a god-king." uppercut. “This just isn’t my area of ‘smart’, “She told him. “But don’t worry," she gave him a small smile as she gave the bag a right jab, “I don’t plan on making you give me a B," left jab, “I’m just going to need a lot more time that most everyone else to learn this stuff." Uppercut.

When Harper stopped her, she worried that she was going to start having to punch him again. When he rubbed her shoulders though, she willingly paused. “I’m tired," she admitted freely, “but not as tired as I would be. Our body still has it’s differences when we are in charge. She said it is probably because my mind is telling me I should be tired, so i am. I’m still not used to being invulnerable like she is." She gladly accepted the water and took a shallow drink. 

She returned his order with a slight grin. “Alright," she told him. “Time to make the punching bag my bitch, I get it," she handed the water back to him and turned back to the bag. “Never let me say that again," she frowned. “Alright. Twenty more with more back. Got it," she said as she delivered another combo, this time with stronger and faster punches.

[lucas-harper]

(PM): Lucas, is Jack still in the Med-bay? She's doing better right? Please tell me I didn't fail to protect another person.

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[lucas-harper]

Our Time is Running Out || Natasha, Lucas, Steve, and Fred/Illyria (Chatzy)

The location of the Time Gem has been discovered in the hands of a powerful warlock named Thomas Vanguard. Strike Team Echo, accompanied by Captain America are sent to retrieve it; will they be able to hold their own against the power of the gem?

Natasha was glad to not be piloting the plane. North had sent another pilot so she could spend the time getting her team together. They'd all been through a lot lately and it helped Natasha to have a mission to focus on. She looked to her left and gave a small twitch of her lips. Her equivalent of a smile. She was relieved to see that North had asked Steve to join them. Her team was still fairly new and she cared deeply about their safety. It comforted her to know that there was another experienced person here who she knew would not only have her back, but Fred and Luke's as well. Fred had been making leaps and bounds as an agent, even without the help of her godly other half. Natasha saw a lot of potential in the young woman and it pleased her to know that her teaching was getting through. She honestly hadn't expected to see Luke there. His girlfriend had just been shot. Nearly died. But it showed her how much her protegee was like her. A mission helped clear the mind of all of that worry. Having a focus helped. She understood that. And she'd do everything she could to make sure he got back to his girl safely. She turned to Steve and pointed out a few passages in their dossier. This guy was a pretty strong warlock, with ties to Wolfram and Hart. He was, as far as evil men went, /very/ unstable. It set her nerves a bit on edge. "Fred?" she asked, "Can you tell us a bit more about Wolfram and Hart? This guy we're after used to affiliate with them and you know best what we're likely up against, here."

Steve shifted a little uncomfortably, still trying to get himself focused in on the mission. He tugged at his glove, glancing back at Natasha and still falling short of anything near a convincing smile. Those had been few and very far between as of late, with everything with Bucky and then losing Gwen, and managing to be on a mission whenever people needed him most like with Clint. It was starting to wear on the super soldier, though he made sure to never let it interfere with his work. When lives were on the line, Steve couldn't live with giving anything but his every effort. So he squared his shoulders and made a quick note in the margin of the page, turning to Fred for a better explanation.

Luke sat next to Fred, trying like anything to hide the large grin that was threatening to appear on his face. He was with his team, flying towards one of the most dangerous mountains in the world, to face a power hungry warlock with a powerful gem capable of controlling time itself, yet all that mattered to him in that moment was the fact that THE Captain America was sitting next to him. If he'd have told his father, he knew he wouldn't have believed Lucas. The young agent's smile faltered for a moment as memories of his dead father rushed in before he turned his attention to the woman next to him, "Nervous?" he asked with a quirk of his eyebrow, "Don't be because you're ready for this. Agent Romanoff wouldn't have allowed you to come if you weren't." She was a brilliant agent but she still lacked the confidence needed, that, coupled with the fact that she thought she belonged in a lab meant that she'd be at the edge of her seat. Lucas checked the dossier one more time before placing it back on his lap and listened to what his Mentor had to say, he had to stay focused, he had so much to prove during this mission; not only to himself but to Natasha and to Director North as well.

Fred was staring out her window. She'd been watching the landscape slip away below them and now that they were above cloudcover, she watched the cottony shapes pass them by. She knew that they were on a mission and she was more than a little scared. North's words stuck in her head. There is too much at stake, you cannot fail this mission. This was important and she knew they couldn't mess this up. Her own nervous energy grated roughly against Illyria's calm. She'd been quiet the whole trip. This was their first mission? What if it didn't work out? The sound of Natasha calling her name pulled her mind from her doubts. "Hmm?" she asked, the first noise she'd made since getting on the craft. "Oh, yes, Wolfram & Hart," she turned to face her companions. Hopefully they hadn't been speaking to her for long. She'd only numbly nodded in reaction to Lucas's assurance. "Well, obviously, they're pretty bad. Evil lawyers. Insert joke here," she smiled a bit at her joke. "Anyway, Wolfram & Hart typically only work with the baddest of the bad. They provide them with resources like legal backing, but also material backing. They have crazy connections. This one time, Wesley needed to get-" she paused and then shook her head. "Never mind that. I don't remember anything about this guy, but if he's got that kind of backing then he's powerful. They don't waste time or money on anyone who's less than extremely impressive."

Natasha nodded as Fred spoke. She gave the girl her undivided attention. Fred was different from Lucas. She didn't benefit from Natasha's typical "tough love" school of teaching. She needed a softer, guiding hand. And Natasha was happy to give that to her. She was sure Steve and Lucas would see a different side of her around the girl, but Natasha didn't mind. She could trust them. They were her teammates, which, to her, ran deeper than family. "Alright, so you're the expert on this, Fred. We'll go in as per protocol, but the second you feel something out of the ordinary, anything that could even be remotely dangerous, you signal us and we stop and follow your call." Anyone listening would know that was one of the highest signs of respect Natasha could give another person. Trusting their instincts in a situation where her own neck was on the line. "Steve and I will take point. Harper I want you on Steve's six, and Fred, you stay with me. If we need to split for any reason, I want you to stick with your partner. You do not leave your partner. Not for a moment."

Steve pressed his fist to his mouth for a moment, then sat forward in his seat. "Fred, you say they've got material backing. Any chance this could include super or preternatural beings? I have a contingency for that, but it'd be nice to know the likelihood going on." He glanced over at Lucas, giving him a nod of acknowledgment as he fought back the memory of when Bucky had been the only one he wanted watching his six.

Luke nodded back towards the living legend and smiled as he listened to Natasha's orders, uttering a short, "Yes ma'am," before getting up and walking towards the armory. He heard the pilot's voice over the intercom, telling them that they'd reached as far as they could go; they were going to walk the rest of the way. He grabbed two pairs of pistols and his katana, knowing that he couldn't afford to carry his usual choice of shotgun or rifle; not if he was going to make it in one piece. His back turned to his team, he let a grin appear on his face for only a moment, "You're watching his back, Lucas, don't screw it up," he murmured to himself before turning around and joining the team just as the aircraft landed.

Fred took a deep breath, trying not to go stark white at the prospect of being in control of the group on such an important mission. She wanted to protest and tell Natasha that that was a terrifying idea to her and therefore potentially dangerous, but instead she nodded. "I will," she promised. Between her instincts and Illyria's heightned abilities they should be able to sense oncoming danger before it reached them. When she told her to stay close, she nodded again "Understood." She wasn't sure how long she would stay in control before Illyria took over but so far, Illyria had said nothing of her disapproval, which meant she didn't have any. Of the two, Illyria would hardly be considered the shy one. Then again, if Illyria was in Tony Stark's body, she still wouldn't be considered the shy one, so that was hardly saying much. She turned to Steven when he spoke. "Oh, most certainly," she nodded. "Supernatural beings, items, relics. I wouldn't be surprised if Wolfram & Hart knew where the other gems were as well, assuming they don't have them. They've got connections of all kinds and they've got them everywhere. I mean everywhere. Not just this dimension either." She looked up at the intercom when the voice spoke and she took another deep breath. Well, at least she was only carrying herself. They didn't need weapons.

Natasha loaded herself up with weapons. She'd already been wearing two handguns and 4 knives, but she made sure to charge up her widow's bite, as well as stock up on more ammunition, two more guns and three more knives, all hidden strategically on her body. She took another pistol from the armory and pressed it into Fred's hand. "Just in case. You don't have to use it, you probably won't need to, but please. Just in case." Natasha spoke gently, letting the 'it will make /me/ feel better' unspoken. It was clear. She noticed the pensive look on Steve's face and she took the man aside briefly. "Are you alright?" she asked, not out of politeness or obligation, but of genuine concern for the man. He'd been through a lot lately, and he ought to know that he had someone worried about him, while he worried about everyone else.

Steve worked his jaw, nodding. "That's comforting," he muttered to himself, folding back one of the pages of the dossier and drawing out a quick floorplan of the building and altering his approach slightly. He missed Natasha's exchange with Fred completely, so wrapped up that he jumped when Natasha addressed him. He had his 'I'm perfectly fine' and winning smile at the ready, but discarded it at the last minute with the care in her tone. Instead, the corner of his mouth twitched and he lowered his gaze for a moment before dragging it back up. "I'll be alright. It won't interfere with the mission, I promise."

Luke was a few steps in front of Steve and Natasha, far enough not to hear them but close enough to see the look of distress on the Captain's face and the comforting look on Natasha's. It was one that she rarely worse and still caught him off guard, she'd changed so much since he'd first met her, for the better, he thought as he caught her gaze and managed a small salute before catching Fred as she joined his side. He noticed the gun in her hand and furrowed his eyebrows, "Hopefully you won't have to use that, it's more for Agent Romanoff than you," he spoke with a grin before wearing a black fleece cap and pulling his hoodie over it. The cold air was biting at him but the extra padding in his suit was helping him greatly, "Here's to hoping we come out of this with all of our extremities," he spoke with a lopsided grin before waiting for the Captain and his Mentor, it was only when they started moving that he trailed behind and watched the perimeter as they moved.

Fred knew by the look on Steve's face that the answer she gave him wasn't the one he wanted, but it was the truth and lying wasn't going to change that. That didn't mean she felt good about it. She rose then and followed Natasha and Lucas's lead by going back to the armory where she waited patiently while the all loaded themselves up with gear. She was slightly surprised when Natasha handed her a pistol. She paused for a moment and looked up into her eyes. The 'please' caught her. Instead of protesting as she'd planned, she nodded and took it. She was more comfortable with pistols than she was hand-to-hand. She did grow up in Texas after all and she was used to guns and being around them and using them. Not to shoot people, though she had, but shooting them in general, yes. She took the pistol, checked the magazine and then smacked it back into place and nodded. "This'll work well enough if I need it," she assured Natasha. She picked up three extra magazines and put them in her pockets. If she was going to take a pistol she was going to be ready to use it. She watched Natasha got to Steve and she smiled to Lucas when he commented about the gun. "Hopefully not, but if I have to, I can," she told him. "Besides, Illyria is more an 'up close in person' fighter," she said, fitting a holster to it. She didn't bother with external weather gear. Her body no longer cared about temperature changes. "Just don't lose your head. Anything else can be reattached or at least replaced with a prosthetic bionic." Well, that sounded more comforting in her head. She followed Lucas's lead, and stayed close to Natasha.

Thomas Vanguard sat on the chair in the boardroom, his fingers tapping away at the files in front of him while the time gem dangled from a pendant around his neck. The gem was working perfectly, providing him with the ability to speed up or slow down time to his leisure. Speeding up the timing of his compound had allowed him and his workers to complete tasks that would've taken years in only a few hours. The impressive fortress surrounded by mountains, was a testament to the power of the gem. His recent visit to the future had proved fruitful, he knew who was in power now and it called for new alliances to be forged. He was speaking, addressing the various warlords in his company when the door to the room opened and a man entered, breathing heavily and panic stricken. Thomas listened to him, speaking of an anomaly on the radar that was there for only a few minutes that maybe, just maybe, someone was heading their way. Thomas sighed dramatically and rose from his position, walking over to the man's direction, "Hmm yes, something will have to be done," he spoke before snapping the man's neck and watching him crumple to the ground, "It's very rude to interrupt, Marco!" He tutted towards the dead body before calling in his second in command. "See what he was on about, and please, knock before entering or you will join Marco," he spoke with a sweet smile, "Good help is so hard to find these days. Now where were we? Ah yes, HYDRA."

Natasha took Steve's hand and squeezed. As far as she went, that was the equivalent of a big hug. She knew where he was coming from there, and if he needed to talk, she would listen. Until then, they had a mission. She tightened the straps on her coat and stepped off of the quinjet. Fuck. She had grown up in this, but she never got used to this frigid weather. She hated it more than anything. They'd walked for a few miles in the windy, snowy cold until they reached the building. Natasha silently motioned them around to the back, where their map had indicated a small, less-guarded door.

Steve bit hard at the inside of his cheek and pushed himself to his feet, quickly gathering his weapons and throwing his shield over his back. It didn't completely go with the whole 'stealth' theme, but they'd decided that Steve's skill with it and its usefulness were worth the possible detriment. He stayed close behind Fred, his eyes constantly scanning the line of the roof for sentries or security cameras. He stepped up to the door and wrenched off the handle, letting them inside.

Luke grinned and reached out to squeeze Fred's shoulder, "Gotcha," he spoke and grinned, "That works both ways, you know, keep put of trouble Agent," he finished with a grin. The trek to the fortress was a long and tiring one with Lucas almost out of breath towards the end of it yet he couldn't afford to take a break or call a time out, he followed the Captain as per Natasha's orders, shadowing him with on gun drawn just in case they were met with aerial resistance. His sword was within reach, his eyes fixed on the door which Steve noiselessly took care of, making it slide open as they walked through the door. The fortress was warmer, the heat immediately giving the young agent some relief before he raised his gun and sounded a silent clear with his fingers as he motioned for Steve to keep moving.

Fred followed the group in silence. The wind blew and bellowed around them and threatened to cut their cheeks with cold daggers of ice, but she barely felt it as uncomfortable. She was in her normal uniform with her face and hands exposed but unbothered by the elements. Her hair flowed loosely and was relentlessly whipped around by the wind. She was fairly sure that making a mental note to braid her hair so she didn't have to brush out a rat's nest next time was something that should stay, well, mental. Her eyes stayed alert and watchful of their surroundings, but she also watched members of the group as well. Should one of them threaten to surcome to the weather, their mission could be over before it started. She was relieved for them when they reached the door. She let Steve open it and she drew her pistol and kept it low and at the ready. She stepped through with Natasha and stayed close and at her side, ready and alert for danger.

Thomas Vanguard had moved from the boardroom and now sat comfortably in his main office; a large room fashioned to almost resemble a throne room of sorts. Fitting in perfectly with his penchant for the extravagant. Many of his people stood by his side, watching him as he practiced threatening postures, "Which one seems scarier? Pose number one gives me the chills!" he spoke and shivered mockingly before waiting for the input from his men. He knew that there were intruders in his precious fortress and now? Now he was curious to see who it was and so he patiently waited for them to find him rather than the other way around.

Natasha was hesitant to split up with Steve and Lucas, but they'd definitely cover more ground this way. They all had earpieces, just in case they ran into trouble. The place was much more difficult to navigate than what the maps had indicated and she was about ready to call them back together when she found a tall staircase. She relayed a quick message to Steve where she was going and headed slowly up the stairs. A guard of some sort came down and she put a protective arm back around Fred as she took the man out in a single, silenced shot. "You alright?" she whispered to the girl.

Steve and Lucas swung around to the left and found themselves passing what appeared to be the armory. He relayed the information to Natasha before leading them away. The armory was almost always a high-personnel area, and Steve wasn't ready to reveal themselves so blatantly yet. They found a small alcove and Steve radioed in to Natasha to ask if she wanted them to follow. It didn't look like Vanguard was on this floor.

Luke continued to follow Steve's command, silent in his movements and in his words; the less attention they attracted the better. Plus, announcing the fact that he was working with his idol whilst they were in the middle of a dangerous mission didn't exactly spell 'right time,' and so he continued to keep his eyes open once they'd reached the armory. While Steve radioed in Natasha, the young agent silently took out two security members with four, well placed shots to the head; the silencer doing its job in the large hall. He dragged the bodies and set them out of visual range before finding appropriate cover and motioning to Steve, "What's the word from Agent Romanoff?" He whispered lowly, listening to Steve as the two made their way towards another floor, hoping to find what they were looking for. It was then that they ran smack into a group of heavily armed and very angry looking soldiers for hire.

  Fred followed Natasha through the fortress. She had done her best to memorize the layout before they showed up, but looking at a blue print and actually walking around the place were two different things to her, or at least they were for the moment. She knew she'd get better with practice. She stayed close to Natasha and listened for any potential dangers outside the standard guard on a round. So far, neither she nor Illyria felt anything. She was almost starting to worry that Illyria was annoyed with her for being in control so long during a mission, but the Old One simply shugged at the thought. As far as Illyria was concerned, Fred could play secret agent and sneak around so long as Illyria did the real fighting. After all, the god-king had little use for patience and stealth. When the guard arrived, she obeyed Natasha's warning and flattened herself against the wall. At her whispered question, she nodded. She was still nervous, but she was still ready to continue following.

Natasha nodded at Fred and continued up the stairs. If the girl said she was fine, she was fine. She had good instincts and Nat wanted her to be willing to trust those instincts. "Security's getting thicker as we go up. He's up here. We'll go on ahead, you two catch up." she said quietly into her comm before heading further up the stairs, taking out any guard she saw without a second thought.

Steve froze, slowly reaching for his shield and drawing it in front of him. "Ah, Natasha? We're gonna be a little late. Company decided to stop by." He barely had time to dive for cover before they drew their guns. Steve pulled out one of his own and glanced over for Lucas. "They're wearing bullet-proof vests. Head shots only," he barked over the sound of gunfire, his enhanced vision allowing him to see the telltale kevlar showing above the collars of their shirts.

Luke barely managed to roll and find appropriate cover, though it put him and Steve on opposite corners of the room. He could've taken out his sword and deflected some of the bullets but they were using semi automatics and he know wouldn't be able to keep up. Ducking behind the corner of the wall he acknowledged the older man with a loud, "Affirmative Captain. We've gotta move fast," his shouts were barely audible over the gunshots, but he knew that the Captain had heard him. The ground of ten soldiers had them outnumbered but he managed to take out two, watching as the living legend dealt with them without breaking a sweat, creating the distraction that he needed to take care of the rest. His breath came in short as he came out from the spot he'd made himself comfortable in, "You haven't lost your touch Captain, those were some risky moves," he spoke with a grin, reloading his gun and waiting for Steve to lead the way, leaving the dead bodies in their wake.

Fred nodded in response to Natasha and continued to follow her through the halls. She watched Natasha as she dispatched of the guards and her heart sank. They hadn't been spotted. She knew that, if they had, the guards would do more than try to kill both of them if they didn't fight back, but it still twisted her gut. She was used to fighting demons. She had staked vampires and used flamethrowers on worse, but the thought of killing another human, even a bad one, hurt her. She saw a guard and raised her pistol to fire, but she couldn't make herself pull the trigger. She lowered it and shook her head. Hesitations like that could get her shot and Natasha killed. "We need you," she whispered inside of her head, "I can't..." I know. Relief flooded over her as she sank below the surface. Illyria opened their eyes. Though she kept Fred's coloring and outfit, nothing about her was Fred. Her posture and the set of her jaw changed from soft and gentle to cold and calculating. She raised the pistol, a pathetic weapon in her mind, and fired twice, doubling tapping the guard. As his body dropped, she looked over to Natasha. "I am here now," she stated, wanting to remove all doubt. With that, she was ready to press onwards.

Natasha nodded at Illyria. Though she'd never be used to seeing a change like that, she was glad the god was protecting Fred. Or at least, Fred's body. They reached the last flight when they heard a loud laughter that sent chills down her spine. She knew in her gut it was Vanguard. "Cap, Griffon. We found him. Get up here, stat. We're going in." Natasha wasted no time in heading the rest of the way up and taking out every guard she could.

Steve caught his shield as it ricocheted back to him, but kept it on his arm, gun drawn. He hadn't even broken a sweat yet, but there was definite urgency in his voice as he charged down the hallway the men had come from. "Let's move!" In a matter of moments they were climbing the stairs Natasha had indicated, running after the girls and picking off any backup they met along the way.

Luke wordlessly obeyed and followed him, switching out his gun for his sword, feeling more at ease as he sliced his way through the various levels. The backup they were met with on their way was small, concentrated groups that didn't stand a change against Steve's speed and Lucas' aim. His feet running as fast as they could manage before he skidded to a halt, hearing Natasha's voice following by who he assumed was Illyria and someone else. "Do you think we should knock?" He exchanged a look with the man next to him before gripping his sword tightly and waking side by side with Steve as they entered Thomas' office.

Illyria followed Natasha to the last flight of steps. She saw her emotions as they changed. There was fear and anticipation. The laughter from above them brought feelings of relief. To Illyria, it brought feelings of relief from the mounting impatience she had felt. She was on Natasha's heels, moving silently behind her as they took the stairs. With the pistol still out, Illyria calmly double tapped any guard she saw. One attempted to sneak up behind her. He grabbed the arm that held the pistol, falsely believing that the most dangerous aspect of her. She reached up and grabbed his throat, crushing his windpipe before she jerked her wrist, snapping his neck. She dropped his limp form and calmly continued to empty the pistol into his fellow guardsmen.

Thomas Vanguard kept his eyes concentrated on the two in front attackers in front of him who quickly made do of his guards, "I'm sorry I can't hold this face anymore," he shook his head and laughed with unbridled manic. "The God King Illyria? My my, you look... Bluer than when I last saw you. Love the hair," he spoke as he clapped his hands together. More guards entered the room and had their guns trained on the two women, "And you must be Natasha Romanoff, I must say I have heard SO much about you!" He exclaimed excitedly, "I must say, I wasn't prepared for this or I might've dressed better," he sighed. The doors opened again and two more figures entered Thomas' view, he grew even more giddy, "THE Captain America? Is it my birthday?!" He spoke with a wide grin before stepping off of his chair and walking towards them, "I suppose your here for the gem and not for me, I'm hurt." He spoke and raised the gem, slowing down their movements with the help of the gem before any of them could attack him. "I'm sorry but you'll have to go back empty handed," his eyes flashed and he giggled, as if sharing a joke with himself.

Natasha fought against the time gem, trying hard to get to Vanguard. She had to protect her team. The only way she could do that safely was to get the gem. But she felt like she was moving through molasses and she let out a slow, anguished cry of frustration.

Steve made to charge towards Vanguard, but felt the weight of the gem dragging him down. It was like moving through molasses, and Steve felt his frustration build. He pushed through, still trying to reach the man even at reduced speed.

Luke felt like someone had hit the frame by frame option on the remote, panic flooded his entire system as he tried to move the sword in his grasp, hoping that maybe it would hit the gem and stop the effects. His thoughts were filled with the failure of this mission, a sense of disappointment at himself, but most of all, he longed to see Jack again. He'd failed them all, yet again. He heard the warlock laughing and grit his teeth, trying, not losing hope, trying to move and defend himself.

Illyria emptied the pistol and returned it to her holster. She had no desire to switch magazines at this range, especially when her hands would do more damage. Soon, she found herself beside Natasha in front of Vanguard. When he addressed her by her title, she held her head up proudly. Though he was an enemy, it was nice to be recognized, even in this form, though her eyes narrowed at his recognition. She scanned his form and found no recollection of him. Such questions of his knowledge could wait until after the Time Gem was acquired. She felt the power of the gem wash over them, slowing time around them. She moved as quickly as she could, which was imperceptible at her normal speeds, fanning her hand on in front of her. She pushed her own will against the gem, willing time to return to its normal pace for her and her companions.

Thomas Vanguard giggled as he watched the four in front of him struggle against the gem's powers. "Really? Struggling against power like this, I wouldn't recommend it!" He spoke as he held the gem in his grip, grinning widely like the Cheshire cat as he frowned sadly at the people in front of him, "Well this has been very entertaining but I'm afraid my patience has worn thin and before you curse me for what I'm about to do, remember, you'd have done the same," his voice was a singsong. "Catch you la-ter," he continued in his singsong voice watching with a satisfied grin as they slowly disappeared out of the present.

Natasha looked around and immediately felt her blood run ice cold. She was in a freezing room, with no heat or insulation. She was surrounded by empty beds, but the one in front of her held a tiny girl with bright blonde hair. The girl was shivering from the fever accompanying her infection and Natasha saw her own small, 11-year old hands in front of her. Oh god, no. Anything but this. Anything in the world but this. Her hands were on either side of the girl’s head, ready to snap her neck, but oh god. She couldn’t do it again. She felt a cold gun press to her temple and the icy voice of her handler, The Winter Soldier, speaking. “Сделайте это, Наталья. Ваше первое убийство большая честь, но если ты не убьешь ее, вы оба умрете, а не.” She felt her survival instincts kick in, no matter how much she fought them, no matter how much her inner self clawed and screamed. Her hands jerked and the girl’s neck snapped. Aliana. Vanguard had sent her to the one place she thought she would never go back to. Добро пожаловать в Красную комнату, Наталья.

Steve would have frowned if he had the time to change his expression, the man's farewell oddly disconcerting. However, Steve couldn't worry about it for long because the room started to dim as he watched. The last thing he remembered was watching Lucas, Fred, and Natasha fade from his vision and thinking that if they were separated it would make it that much harder for them to watch each other's backs. The next moment, Steve was jolting awake hard, struck immediately by how cold he was. He was outside, how did he get outside? The smell of a campfire caught him, and he turned his back on the view of a dry and browning meadow to see a small encampment of maybe four or five tents. And... Bucky. Bucky was walking toward him. His heart dropped to his feet, until the shock of the face next to him nearly made his eyes bug out from his head. "...Dum Dum?" he croaked, looking between the man and his best friend, whose unlined face was bleary with the lack of sleep as he raised a very much human-looking left hand to scrub through his hair. "Bucky? Wh-What's going on? Where am I?"

Luke felt as if he'd been hit with a bag of bricks, he groaned and rubbed his head suddenly jumping to his feet just as all his senses kicked in. Thomas Vanguard, the Time Gem, he looked around for signs of his team only to realize that he wasn't in the fortress but in a place he'd almost long forgotten; his old bedroom. "What the hell?" he stood there frozen, his eyes running over the various items across the room; everything was right where it should have been. Tears stung his eyes as he was reminded of a time long since forgotten before he heard the door open, his hand immediately reaching for a gun he didn't have and instead raised his hands defensively. The voice reached his ears and sent him stumbling back, tears not running freely, "...Mom?" He breathed out. What was going on?

Illyria was defiant and presistant. Despite his recommendations, she fought the gem's power. Her will pushed against that of the Time Gem. She felt her companions fade out from beside her, one by one, until she stood alone. She raised her chin, proudly as she pushed against the force, be she felt her feet slide and her will fall. She felt herself fall to her hands and knees. She had no strength to hold herself up. She felt tired and weak and dirty. She felt as if she had no eaten in days. She opened her eyes and instead of seeing the smooth floor of the office, she looked at bare stone. Once more, her hands did not hold her blue hue. She frowned and sat back on the floor. She noticed writing on the walls of the cave she was in. They seemed to cover every surface reachable. She felt that she was alone here, but how alone? "Fred," she asked in the quiet of her mind. "Oh my god," Fred's voice trembled in her mind. "Oh my god, no, no, no, it can't be. It can't be here!" their hands when to their neck, terrified of finding a steel collar there. Finding it bare, she felt tears of relief and terror slide down their cheeks. "We have to get out of here," Fred told Illyria. "We have to get out of Py'leah."

[lucas-harper]

The man in front of him was being severely objective when he spoke, either he was a really good actor or he truly held no remorse for his actions. He heard an undertone of pride and immediately felt his stomach lurch at the thought of a man like Bucky priding himself on ending lives. He wasn’t aware of the extent to which Bucky was suffering mentally but he’d heard the stories of when Natasha had first arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D. She was Natalia then, and a cold-blooded killer, the young agent wondered if ‘Zima’ was the alter ego, the Red Room had concocted for Bucky Barnes. He’d heard the man mention Zima occasionally thought it seemed that this Bucky was the more dominant personality, if only by a small amount; he was suppressing his other personality, that had to mean something. “I’m willing to bet that the rest of the gardeners society were really pissed when Agent Romanoff broke that streak,” it was his turn to exude pride, pride in his mentor for saving herself, he smirked and shrugged. “If you cage an animal, they always fight back and the result is never pretty. Your operatives might have been good little dogs but even dogs bite the hand that feed them.”

He listened silently to a tale that chilled him to the bone, confirming his fears; the torture had forced him to develop different personalities until the real one vanished. He didn’t say anything when he heard the man falter, drift off, the words were left unsaid but Lucas knew what to fill in the remaining blanks. He waited until it was clear that Bucky had nothing to say, wordlessly Lucas offered the bottle in his hand to the man in front of him, “It isn’t a stress ball but from the looks of it you need it more than I do.” He chose his next words carefully but in the end his curiosity got the better of him, “So who’s standing in front of me right now? If what I heard is true and the answer is Zima, then I’m pretty sure I’d have been dead a long time ago,” he wasn’t afraid, not anymore. He’d poked the lion with a stick and so far, he was breathing, and if his end came at the hands of the Winter Soldier, then he wasn’t going to put up a fight. Perhaps that was the push that Bucky needed in the end.

Lucas laughed at the man’s question, finding humor in the question rather than the bitterness that he’d normally feel. He’d abandoned that thought the day he'd put a bullet in Andretti’s skull and took a life, “I’m not a hero; I’m just a guy trying to make his mark on the world. Making up for his past and trying not to get killed in the process,” he was truthful in his reply, admitting it aloud, knowing that if Natasha had heard him, she’d have told him otherwise. “Captain America… and Bucky Barnes, yeah, I look up to you, both of you. Matthew Harper, he served with you in the 107th Infantry, he was… He was the greatest man I ever knew and he almost died in the war… Bucky Barnes saved his life. He was my grandfather.” I owe that boy my life because he almost gave up his to save mine, his grandfather’s words echoed in his mind and he leaned back and closed his eyes momentarily, repressing the tears that threatened to flow. He paused again, briefly this time, before speaking up, “Bucky Barnes is a hero and he’s a fighter, he’s not going to take all of this lying down and I’m pretty sure he’s going to give you a run for your money when the time comes.”

Cold Winter Nights || Lucas and Bucky

[lucas-harper]

Lost Odyssey || Lucas, Kurt, Jack, and Pietro (Chatzy)

HYDRA agent Kurt Adler, on his retreat from SHIELD, spots a familiar face and decides to pursue Stark Industries employee Jack Perkins. The result ends in blood and the death of one.

Kurt marveled at the sheer stupidity of the agents, taking the bait so easily as he ducked behind a car to avoid a barrage of bullets. If they were the protectors of the nation, then they'd made HYDRAs job very easy. His gun was soon out of bullets and as much as he wanted to end the rest of the agents standing there, he knew he had more pressing matters to attend to. He waved to his men, signalling them to fall back; the rest of SHIELD would fall soon, it was only a matter of time. It was when he was running back towards his car that he caught sight of a familiar red headed woman, "My my Miss. Perkins, it seems we meet again," he spoke as he reloaded his gun and aimed straight for her and her pathetic boyfriend.

Lucas had taken up Jack's offer to meet up in the deli near SHIELD HQ for a quick lunch. Even though he'd been reinstated into Stark Industries, his workload at SHIELD had also increased tenfold, he was grateful that Tony had hired an assistant for times like these. The two had walked out of the deli, hand in hand and heading towards Headquarters, with Jack determined to visit Clint and check up on him. They weren't far when they heard shouts and screams, originating from the street in front of HQ, immediately Lucas had his gun draw as he pushed Jack into a neighboring alleyway. "Stay here, no matter what you hear or see. Don't move until I come and get you," he'd found a spot for her to hide as he turned to her and caressed her cheek. He couldn't risk her having a panic attack, "I'll be back soon alright? I love-" it was then that he felt her push him aside as he stumbled back into the wall before his face, his clothes were splattered with blood, Jack's blood.

Jack was really enjoying her day. She'd gone to work in the morning, finally finished fixing Pepper's schedule for the next few months. The temp assistant had done a shit job with it, but Jack had figured it out with minimal anger from rescheduled clients. She was in such a good mood that she had asked Lucas to meet her for lunch at their favorite deli. She had a great time at lunch, and was really looking forward to checking on Tweetybird. Unfortunately, the sound of gunfire tensed her up and she felt her heart racing as Lucas found a safe spot for her to hide in the alley. Just as Lucas turned to leave, she saw the man standing in the alley. "Kurt..." she growled, seeing the man who had tricked her, made her feel special and loved, only to torture her to help HYDRA by hacking into SHIELD and endangering all of her friends. She thought of all of her therapy after that, all of the dealing with her PTSD and her panic attacks, and she remembered something Director North told her. "Try standing up for yourself. We all have something to fight for, and find that something." As if in slow motion, everything clicked into place. Lucas. He was her reason. And Kurt's gun was pointed right at him. She fought. She put all of her weight into pushing Lucas into the wall, just as she heard the crack of the gun and a searing pain in her abdomen. She threw herself over Lucas as she felt a second pain in her chest. She could feel herself checking out, her vision fading and she mumbled a quick "Love you, too" before she blacked out against him.

Pietro heard the alarms going off...just like the last time HYDRA attacked, only this time things were different. Instead of hiding as SHIELD agent, he was one. He knew once they were done with their task, HYDRA was going to make a flashy exit. Take as many out as they could, they didn't want to leave without making their message known. That they could do what they want, when they wanted. So that's where Pietro was, the lobby center of it all. He could hear the gun shots, the cries for help from the civilians working for SHIELD and it made him sick. As he arrived, he made sure to snag a few handy knives from some of the fallen soldiers, closing their eyes when they were open. As he moved in between the HYDRA soldiers and a group of cowering civilians, he smiled at them two words coming out of his mouth, "Hail HYDRA." Before the triggers were pulled, he was there. Two down with knives in their throats just above their armor. The third managed to get a shot off at them, but Pietro managed to just barley deflect the bullet away from the woman behind him, grazing his arm. The soldier was dead before their next breath. And then he heard someone yelling for him, he made his way to the voice, taking out a few more soldiers on his way. "Someone rang for me?"

Kurt smiled as he watched the whore crumple to the ground and soon he was locked in a stalemate with the blonde haired agent, "She will die within seconds and you dare to waste that precious time aiming a gun at me?" He shook his head and smiled, "You are not a very good boyfriend, Agent. Perhaps you're happy to get rid of her once and for all? I know I would be, she can be rather... Repetitive," he laughed and kept his gun steady, refusing to let his eyes leave the agents, so focused that he barely heard the noise from behind him. He was pushed against the wall before he could shoot the man behind him, "Maximoff," he spat, struggling against the boy's grip.

Lucas saw her dying in front of his eyes and he was helpless, he knew exactly where the bullets had lodged themselves; he owed it to countless hours clocked in at SHIELD's triage facility. His gun was leveled at the man who'd shot Jack, the man responsible for so any wrongs in the world, the man he'd promised himself to kill; Kurt Adler. The HYDRA agent had them cornered and he was right, Jack was going to bleed out if he didn't lower his gun and if he did; they were both dead. He silently stared the man in the eyes as he saw a blur heading towards them, he knew exactly who that was and before Kurt could react, Lucas called out, "Agent Maximoff!" The boy who'd pinned the HYDRA agent to the wall was going to vanish but he'd heard Lucas and that was what mattered. "He can wait, I need your help or she's going to die," with Pietro securing Kurt, Lucas dropped his gun and scrambled towards Jack, ripping open her shirt and assessing the wounds, doing his best to stop the bleeding. He looked up with pleading eyes towards him, "You're the only one fast enough to get her to the Med Bay before she bleeds out... Please," he begged again.

Pietro looked at the man in front of him, everything else was lost. He was responsible for all of this. For Pietro betraying the people he cared about. For why he went against everything and joined them. He was the man who was threatening Wanda. That told him, either join or she pays. And Pietro had him. Had him right where he wanted him. The knife against his throat, the blood trickling down from it. Everything was just as he wanted. He was going to make him pay, the knife in his other hand jamming into his hand, "I have you now. You will never threaten my family again," he said twisting the knife. And then the whole world caught up to him. The screaming man beside him, trying to keep the girl alive. The begging, the pleading, the sheer desperation in his voice made Pietro's stomach turn. He had him! And now...now he had to make the choice. Leave the girl to die, or take his revenge. He could kill Kurt now and be done with it, but he deserved so much more. And this girl wouldn't last. He pulled the knife out of Kurt's hand and threw it towards Lucas. "You better make him suffer," he said moving quickly and pushing Lucas out of the way as he placed Jack in his arms. "She's going to make it," he said as he disappeared in a flash. He pushed and sped his way into the med bay, the closes bed and pulled the doctors and nurses to her. "She's been shot. Do you're fucking job and save her."

The doctors rushed to Jack, putting her on a gurney and finding a portable scan machine while they wheeled her to one of the surgical rooms. "Follow me" he called after Pietro and as he scrubbed in, finding a nurse to assist the boy in scrubbing in as well, he spoke to him. "Tell me what happened. Exactly. What kind of gun? Who is she? Anything we should know about? Superhuman? Mutant?" He spoke as they ran into the room and he tried to stop the bleeding before even considering fishing the bullets out. "Someone get me O-neg. Stat!"

Kurt chuckled as he was released, one hand touching his neck while the other reaching for his gun. The foolishness of Maximoff had allowed him to escape death, he was hurt but he was overcoming the pain. Pathetic human emotions, he might have respected Pietro had he stayed and finished the job, He stifled a shout as he felt the heel of a boot come crashing down on the hand that was reaching for the gun, "Keeping your promise to the deceiver? Tell me agent, do you possess the will to make me suffer?" He spoke as he spat out blood and grinned, "No matter, every second you spend with me only takes away from that useless girl. It seems Pietro Maximoff is a skilled liar, she will not make it."

Pietro looked at the doctor shaking his head, "I don't fucking know!" he snapped at them. "I said save her. I told Lucas she would make it," he said a little frantically. "Her names Jack. Perkins...I think.." he said taking a breath. The whole experience of being in the room with her as she was bleeding out was a bit much for him. Any time he had even tried to use a hospital he was either turned away or run out of town all together. He didn't like the sterile environment and how they scrubbed him down. "Will you just do something already?! You all are moving too slow, she's going to die!"

Lucas pushed harder, further injuring the hand as he grabbed the HYDRA agent by the arms and pulled him up, “Keep pushing me and we’ll find out,” he growled. He was seeing red, he knew exactly who the man was, Jack had recognized him and he’d no problem voicing his ‘victory’ over her. Lucas’ gun was pressed against the agent’s back as he pushed him towards one of the empty shop plots. A flower shop, that was once occupied had been closed down, the only thing remaining was the sign on the front. Lucas pushed Kurt into the shop, bolting the door and using a broken pipe to keep it that way, he didn’t want any interruptions and he peeled off his blood covered button up shirt and used it to tie Kurt onto the chair, not caring that it was chaffing him; he wanted the HYDRA agent to hurt. He ignored the agent’s threats and teases, pulling out a dagger from the inside of his boot and sticking it in Kurt’s thigh; Natasha had taught him well. His eyes darkened as he heard Kurt stifle a scream, “For all your high and mighty talk, you’re still a human… and I know exactly what to do to you. I want you to do something for me, remember Jack and remember how you hurt her because I promise you. This is going to be so much worse,” in that moment, the prodigal trainee of the Black Widow showed perfectly.

Kurt’s training allowed him to control his body reactions however; it seemed that the agent knew all the involuntary places to hurt him. “Your resolve is… Admirable, yet useless.” He bit back as the knife cut through his skin, “Ah, a surgeon? Your talent lies in creating, not destroying. Tell me, will you break yourself for that dead whore?” he laughed at the damage his words were doing, the boy was weak and he was beginning to crack; pathetic. Kurt’s words damaged him as much as the knives did.

The doctor patiently worked on the girl. "This is a precise science. If I hurry, she'll just die faster. I know what I'm doing young man. If you'd like to be helpful, please go retrieve two bags of o-negative blood so the nurses can try and replenish her." This was tricky. The young woman appeared to be human. He didn't see evidence of any above-average healing, which was unfortunate. He'd managed to patch up her stomach. The bullet was a through-and-through, but the other one seemed to have pierced a lung and was lodged in her ribs.

Pietro nodded and went where he was told, quickly handing them the bags, gaining a few stares while he moved. "Yes I moved really fast. Superspeed, google it when we get done," he snapped at a few of the nurses who went right back to work on the girl. Pietro moved back over to the doctor, rolling his eyes, "Well she's still bleeding, so you don't seem to be able to do your job that well."

Lucas was working with perfect surgical precision, showing why he was once at the top of his game, aiming for a spot as a Cardiac Surgeon. Blood was pooling around the chair, hours had passed, and even though Lucas was getting tired, he didn’t care; he needed this, Kurt was wrong, this would make the nightmares stop. His fingers enclosed around the HYDRA agent’s cheek, pushing and forcing it open, “You’re gonna stop talking now,” he growled and shoved the knife inside Kurt’s mouth; with a neat slice he separated the agent’s tongue. He ignored the screams, as he stuffed a wad of clothing inside the agent’s mouth, knowing that he would choke soon. “If you think this is going to keep me up at night you’re completely wrong because I like to think of it as catharsis.” He bent down and surveyed the bleeding agent, “From the looks of it you’re going to die soon, I’ll give you five, six minutes tops. This… This wasn’t just for Jack, no, it was for Wanda, Pietro, the millions of people you killed in HYDRA’s name. Where’s HYDRA now? They’ve abandoned you, their own leader, to die. See, you’re expendable, no one’s going to avenge you.”

Kurt could feel his vision blurring; he’d long since stopped struggling against the blood and pieces of meat that clogged his throat. He was angry, angry that his death came at the hands of a pathetic agent of SHIELD. One that could barely hold himself together, no, Kurt deserved more; he deserved a glorious death. However, he knew that his legacy would live on, his actions would cause the death of hundreds. Alexander would continue to cripple both the Slayer Organization and SHIELD. Pain would come to the Americans, no, to the pathetic world until it would be drenched red with the color of HYDRA, and so, with those thoughts, Kurt Adler embraced death.

The doctor continued working patiently as the boy spoke up. "If you'd like to wait outside, feel free, but if you continue to insult me and my efforts in saving your friend, here, I will make sure you do not set foot near her until I'm done saving her life. Do not disrespect me in my OR, young man. It is not your place to tell me how to do my job." He had one of his nurses call security and ask that his limitations be exempt in the operating room so the boy would have to wait outside. He didn't have time to deal with the puffed up ego of the boy while he was trying to focus all of his efforts on saving what would otherwise be a hopeless case. After a few hours, the girl had seemed to be in the clear. She'd needed much more blood than anyone had expected, but she'd made it through, only flat lining twice. He had the nurses wheel her into recovery before he stepped out to inform the young man. "She will be fine. Give her some time to wake up, and she will need painkillers for a while. She'll be in a considerable amount of pain, but she'll live." He walked away, ignoring the young man as he went back to his office to write up a report.

Pietro sighed as they led him out. He didn't want to be in there, yet they dragged him in there. He didn't feel like he belonged in there, and the small cramped room was a bit much for him. As the doctor gave him the news he blocked his path, "Thank you, I told him she would be ok...And I guess sorry for being an ass. I'm a bit impatient a lot of the times," he sai before letting him leave. He walked into the room and took the seat next to her bed. Someone had to be waiting for her to wake up. And he knew Lucas would be busy with Kurt for a while. Hopefully giving him what he deserved.

Jack groaned in pain as she heard the familiar beeping of a hospital room. So she'd survived after all. Though, with the pain coursing through her body, she wasn't entirely sure. She didn't even open her eyes before her voice called out, scratchy and groggy, "Luke?" The oxygen coming in through her nose was cold and uncomfortable and she reached up to tug it out. She opened her eyes to see her arm full of needles attached to IVs and her skin was very, very pale. "Where's Luke?" she asked to the blonde boy she saw sitting next to her, "Is he okay?"

Pietro watched as she got up, moving quickly next to her. "Careful, Jack," he said softly. "They got you pretty good. Lucas is..." he trailed off trying to figure out what to tell her. "He's with Kurt still. He's well...making him pay I would assume. For all that he's done," he said moving to sit down again. "He should be here soon, but you're in the medbay right now. He told me to make sure you're ok. So I'm here still."

Jack tried to blink through the fog. She felt woozy. Painkillers, maybe? Everything seemed spinning. Like she was drunk. But with more pain. She tried to concentrate on what the boy was saying. "But he's okay?" she asked, her head rolling to the side on the pillow. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. She just hurt. "Who are you?"

Pietro nodded, "When I left him he was alive. And Kurt was disarmed and had a hole through his hand. So I'm thinking he could take care of him, being a good SHIELD agent and all," he said with a comforting smile. "Pietro. Remember? The guy who called you unstable. The guy that dated Darcy for a while. Until I did the whole work for HYDRA thing," he said leaning back in the chair. "Oh and I didn't mean that as an insult, I was just...making an observation. You were going through a bad time I'm sure."

Jack shut her jaw with a snap. Oh. Him. It brought back all sorts of memories. What he'd said really hurt. She'd already felt like an outsider, like she wasn't worth being around the people she cared about. Like she was a burden, too fucked up to be near civilization and his comment really did cut deep. On top of it all, she missed Darcy fiercely. "A bad time is an understatement," she mumbled. Images of her physical and psychological torture at HYDRA's hands flashed through her mind and she could hear her heartbeat jump from her monitor. Fuck. She couldn't afford a panic attack right now. She found her morphine clicker and let the painkiller do it's work at distracting her by lessening her pain somewhat.

Pietro saw her condition change, the way she started to breather harder, the beeping. He didn't know what to do. He jumped up and held her hand softly, "Jack...calm down. You're safe. Lucas will be here soon. He will be able to help. Just calm down," he said a bit louder. When she finally started to calm down, the beeping stopping, he kept his hand there wanting to comfort her until Lucas arrived.

Lucas ignored the looks he got from the other agents, his hair, his clothes, his hands were stained with blood; Kurt's blood but right now, he didn't care as he ran towards the medical bay. He stopped when he saw a familiar sight of blonde hair, "Agent Maximoff?..." he spoke catching the man holding a hand that belonged to Jack... She was alive. A flood of relief washed over him as he went straight for the sleeping woman and kissed her on the lips, "You're safe now wildcat... You're alright now. He's gone." The last words he spoke were louder for Pietro's sake as he straightened up and met the man's eyes. "You could've taken Kurt and bolted but you didn't... Thank you," he spoke, stretching his hand out for the boy to take, "Kurt's not gonna be making threats against your family anymore. I thought I had you figured out Agent, I was wrong about you," he spoke with a smile.

Pietro moved out of Lucas' way. He knew he wasn't needed or wanted here any longer. He had gotten what he wanted. Kurt was dead. He had paid for what evils he had done. Pietro smiled as Lucas said it louder. "I couldn't..." he said looking at Jack. "I couldn't do that. It would make me no better than Kurt if I let her die. Plus...wouldn't be much of a probationary agent if I didn't do the right thing," he said with a bit of a laugh. "Well you took your time to actually talk to me last time," he said heavy with sarcasm.

Jack reached for Lucas' hand, wincing with the effort. "You killed him?" she asked in a weak, relieved voice. The man who had screwed her up in a very bad way... he was gone. The part of her that had wished for the nice man at the bar felt a little bit sad, but for the most part, she was relieved. She felt safe again. For the first time in months. She felt safe. She let out a sob that hurt her chest. "He's really gone?" she asked with a smile.

Lucas laughed and shook his head, "Touche, so how about we change that and you join me in the training room sometime? I can show you the ropes around this place and keep you out of trouble," he spoke with a grin before turning to Jack, his hand immediately finding hers. "He can't hurt you anymore... He's really gone," flashes of the agent's screams echoed throughout his mind and brought a smile to his lips, "That was a brave thing you did back there. Batshit crazy... but brave," he grinned before leaning down and kissing her.

Pietro shrugged, "If you think you can keep me out of trouble, I'm sure my sister would give you a medal," he said with a little laugh. "In case you couldn't tell, I'm not good at keeping out of it. And If you think you can keep up with me, you're more than welcome to spar with me," he said turning around. "You keep an eye on her, alright. She's one of those special ones, right?" he said taking a few steps. "The crazy ones are always the best. Speaking of, I'm going to go check in on my girl to make sure she's okay after today," he said running off now.

Jack kissed him back until it hurt her too much. She winced and pulled back. "Can you stay with me?" she asked, trying to scoot over and make room for him, but there were too many wires, and it hurt to even /think/ about moving. She settled for gripping his hand as tight as she could. "I told you that you weren't allowed to die on me. I've lost too many people. I'll be damned if I'm going to lose you, too." She hit her morphine clicker again and it wasn't long after when her eyelids started to grow heavy.

Lucas grinned back at Pietro, wishing him well and thanking him again as he watched him disappear before turning his attention back to the girl on the bed. He’d kept his promise to her, rid her of the man that had haunted her, he knew she would sleep soundly now. “Always, Jack,” he spoke and lay down next to her, not caring if he smudged blood on her. “My brave girl,” he murmured and caressed her, watching her sleep before feeling the effects of the day wearing him down and dozing off. 

[lucas-harper]

Hands folded across his chest, he studied the way that Fred moved but also noted that his words were getting to her more than they should have. A part of him felt guilty for putting such ideas in her head, especially when he didn’t think that of her at all but he knew that training her and building up her self-confidence was one of the prime objectives of the exercise. At the end of the day, it was going to save her life; their enemies were all about mind games, especially when it came to operatives who possessed an alter ego, someone like Fred and even Bruce banner. Tapping into their weaknesses and making them angry, thus endangering themselves and everyone around them; he couldn’t risk that with Illyria.

“I didn’t ask Illyria to punch the bag, Agent Burkle. It’s your task and yours alone, you keep assuming that Illyria is capable of accomplishing all these feats,” he paused and shook his head and corrected himself. “I have no doubt that she is but what happens when a day comes and Illyria isn’t there?” He watched her pause shortly and he knew what she was going to say, that the day would never come; their bond travelled deeper than that. “Stranger things have happened, haven’t they?” They could never discount the possibility, especially when it came to people like HYDRA. “My job is to make sure you’re prepared when Illyria isn’t. You’re a scientist, not a soldier and that is exactly why you need to know how to defend yourself when the time comes.” He hoped that he was getting through to her, that it helped her in trying harder, to be less submissive against the idea of throwing a punch at a human.

He watched her go ten more rounds before he stopped her and shortened the distance between them, his hands on her shoulders he rubbed them to rid the woman of the pain she was no doubt feeling from them. “Are your muscles pulling? Or does your bond negate that effect?” He paused before continuing to help the circulation of blood through her shoulders, “You’ve got to keep pushing Agent.” He motioned to the bag with a tilt of his head, “Your punches are growing weaker and you’re almost halfway there.” He handed her a bottle of water to drink before stepping away, “Come on Agent, put some back into it,” the order wasn’t a strict one, rather one delivered with a small grin.   

Wax On, Wax off || Lucas and Fred

Fred was still wincing about her hand. She flexed her hand just like Harper said she should and it did help, but she still didn’t like the fact that she’d punched him in the first place. Punching people that needed a good punching was one thing. She felt a bit guilty about this. At least he was understanding. Or was he? She looked up at him, bewildered when he told her to punch him again, but in the stomach. “What?” She asked, hoping it was a joke. “I thought we had an agreement. You’re a bit older than a middle-schooler,” she said with a slight pout. She blew out a breath and nodded to his words. “I can’t think of anyone I don’t like enough to just punch them in the stomach for the fun of it,” she said before she squared up to him again. “And I… I can’t actually think of anything to say about your underwear comment…” she said. She frowned and concentrated on how to punch him again.

The next hour was rather difficult for Fred. At first she was far too focused on the fact that she was hitting Lucas Harper, a very nice person, and was rather upset by it. She’d wanted to stop in the first couple of minutes, but she soldiered on due to his persistence. Instead of focusing on the fact that she was hurting she focused on the science of how his body was reacting. That made it easier on her. She focused on how he moved when she hit him according to where. She thought of how that would effect his abilities to continue the fight or attack others. She still didn’t enjoy it, but it was easier to focus on this as an anatomy lesson instead of a lesson in bullying. 

When Lucas finally mentioned a punching bag, she sighed in relief and dropped her arms. She wasn’t nearly as tired as she felt she should have been. Her relief, however, wasn’t at the momentary break. She was glad to finally be sizing up something that couldn’t be hurt. When he demonstrated the punches, she watched closely, wanting to make sure she’d do them correctly. When it was her turn, she stood in front of the punching bag and held up arms again. She wasn’t sure how this would go. Lucas made the bag move and she was pretty sure that it wasn’t going to really move for her. When he accused her of relying on Illyria, she frowned at him and then turned back to the punching bag. “I don’t rely on her for everything,” she told him, slightly irritated. “I just know what she’s better at than I am and all this punching stuff is well within that entire range of her expertise,” she gave the bag a combo punch. “Besides,” left jab, “if she wanted,” right jab, “she punch the bag across the room,” uppercut. Alright, that was two. Now she just needed to do thirty-eight more.

[lucas-harper]

He sat there silently, still shell shocked in the corner, his hands shaking as he felt his breakfast come up. His legs were shaking enough that he fell twice on his way to the kitchen before emptying the contents of his stomach into the sink. He wanted to be anywhere but here, still not believing what he’d done to Jack. A sob escaped his mouth before he finally washed his face and cleaned his mouth out with water, the tremors had stopped enough for him to check his pulse before he pushed himself away from the counter and dragged his body towards the bathroom. “Jack… Please… Please open the door,” he begged as he placed his palm on the door and rested his head against it.

“I-I didn’t mean it, Jack, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” his apology fell on deaf ears, she probably felt like a small animal backed into a corner by a larger one. He was making her feel like a victim again and it hurt him to his very core. “I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. I just-” he paused and sighed, finally admitting what he couldn’t to her, what he should’ve admitted to her since the beginning. “I’m-I’m not okay, far from it actually. PTSD,” he let out a small, bitter chuckle, “Ever since the attack and it’s-it’s just been getting worse. Mr. Star- Tony knows, he’s probably the only one right now who does,” Besides Bucky Barnes but he wasn’t going to mention that right now. “I thought I could keep it under control because an idiot boyfriend with some stress disorder was the last thing you needed… I’m sorry Jack… I should've told you. I just... I messed up” He breathed out slowly. 

Bleed for Me || Lucas and Jack

Jack stared at him with a look of pure confusion. “How in the hell isn’t this your apartment anymore?” But she never got an answer because she had the air knocked out of her as her back collided with the ground painfully and then hands. Her Luke’s hands. They were around her neck. Squeezing. It hurt. She didn’t know what to do. She scratched at him, pushed at him, more terrified than she’d been in a long tim, but that only seemed to make it worse for her. Had she really pushed him so far that he wanted to hurt her? Had she done this to him? But the look in his eyes wasn’t him. Something was wrong. Was it her?

Just as spots started to appear in front of her eyes and she almost sank into unconsciousness, his hands were off of her and he was all the way across the room. Jack laid down just long enough to catch her breath, but fuck, her throat hurt and she wasn’t sure she knew what to say. She’d finally pushed someone so far that they didn’t just want to leave her, they wanted her to be gone.

Her hand went to her throat as she sat up. She couldn’t even look at Lucas. A muffled sob escaped her chest, which only served to hurt her throat even more and she scrambled up and ran to through their bedroom and into the bathroom, bolting the door behind her. She collapsed next to the sink as she lost herself in the aching sobs that hurt her entire body. 

[lucas-harper]

Back in Black || Lucas and Tony (Chatzy)

Tony Stark approaches his ex-employee with a proposition. Will Lucas Harper accept it? 

Tony was in his workshop after his talk with Fred. He’d decided to do some more work while he considered what to do. Fred had made it clear that Harper wasn’t really in control of what he’d done. Tony watched her carefully and could tell she wasn’t trying to deceive him. She was making a case for a person because she felt it was the right thing to do. “JARVIS, locate Lucas Harper,” Tony said after a few hours. He went to the sink to clean off his hands. “Mr. Harper is currently in one of the training rooms in SHIELD HQ,” the AI returned a few minutes later. Tony nodded. “If he changes location alert my phone. I’m going to drive over there.” “Of course, sir.” Tony drove himself over to SHIELD HQ and went directly to the training room Harper was in. He stood by the door waiting for Harper to pause long enough to acknowledge him.

Luke found comfort in the solitude of the unoccupied training room, after his most recent meltdown in the shooting gallery with his Handler and a few other Agents who were stupid enough to poke the unstable agent with a stick, he found that not many wanted to be in his company. In truth, he preferred it that way. Things with Jack were back on track and that was all he cared about, it encouraged him to heal, to work towards stabilizing himself; clocking in numerous hours in the training room were helping. The tremors weren't as rough as before. However, taking up temporary residence in SHIELD constantly reminded Lucas of one thing; he missed Stark Industries. His punches and kicks only increased in momentum as he continued to work on the life sized dummy, focused solely on the dummy, he barely noticed Tony entering until he felt a pair of eyes fix onto him. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to see his ex-employer standing a few feet away from him clad in jeans, a shirt and sneakers, something he rarely saw him in but was still better in contrast to his own sweaty outlook, wearing only his tracksuit pants. "Mr. Stark," he acknowledged, still unsure as to why the man was here, "Can I help you with something?" He asked politely as he wiped beads of sweat from his forehead.

Tony folded his arms and just looked at Harper for a moment. He calculated and assessed. He’d had a heads up from North that Harper’s mental state was out in the open, but Tony wasn’t sure exactly how well Harper was handling things. It wasn’t to unnerve the guy for a bit of sadistic enjoyment at all. “Probably not, but it’s worth a shot,” Tony said finally. “I had a visitor earlier today who decided to actually take the time to explain exactly what the spell you were under did. The information was quite interesting. So, I guess my question is are you still interested in being employed at Stark Industries or was my visitor just wasting time?”

Luke scanned the usually unreadable man, he could see that his former boss had been clocking in a lot more hours than required. Working in his garage, no doubt. A visitor? Lucas quirked an eyebrow but still didn't say anything, choosing to hold his tongue until Tony had finished saying his piece. The gears then clicked into place; he was talking about Fred. Who else could it have been? Lucas felt the corners of his mouth quirk up, "I guess I owe Agent Burkle," he finally spoke before holding his tongue again. He mentally weighed the answer in his mind, choosing his words carefully before speaking, "I'm not going to stand here and lie to you because I owe you more than that. I'm not in the best state of mind right now but... I'm working towards it, trying to clean up my act. What happened that day was inexcusable but as long as I'm in control of my actions, it's not going to happen again." He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his wet hair, "What I'm trying to say is, she didn't waste her time."

Tony nodded. “When you aren’t in any kind of control of your actions that’s explanation enough no excuse is needed, it's a fact. Ms. Burkle was very clear on the point that you didn't have control or even an option of control." Tony took a few steps into the room. "Look, some of Rhodey's guys have had issues and he knows the best people who treat it. He said they helped his guys a lot. If you want to see one, I can arrange it. If you need time, I can simply extend your leave of absence. It does come with retroactive pay and benefits."

Luke felt a genuine smile grace his lips when the older man spoke, "I'd like that Mr. Stark, I've had enough of sitting in the back seat and waiting for everything to blow over, the fact is, if it hasn't happened yet, it's not going to happen in the future. Taking a leave of absence isn't going to change that and to be honest, I'm at my best when I'm working, when I'm occupied." He shrugged and grinned this time, "The benefits part does sound tempting but I think I'll go for Option A... If all else fails, we could always opt for shock therapy," jokes were always good to clear the air, unfortunately the best ones in his arsenal had run short, making his cringe, "That sounded better in my head, I swear."

Tony gave Harper a nod. “I can get one here tomorrow. I’ll have him or her call you to set up an appointment schedule. You’re already on a leave, Harper, I just wanted to know how long you wanted it to go.” He gave a short laugh and shook his head. “Actually, ECT is not indicated for your particular issue.” He slipped into his business-like tone now. “Well, there are a few minor changes, you’ll have an assistant. I have three candidates. He or she will take over when you’re otherwise occupied. A consistent face helps with security. You’ll also have your choice of coffee makers. I know what I would choose, but sometimes you like the old things.”

Luke considered what the man was offering before he spoke, "Monday's long enough." His confirmation was laced with an almost childish excitement of returning back to the place he'd grown so utterly fond of. "Will I have a say in the final vote?" He asked with a raise of his eyebrow before his face broke out into a large grin at the mention of he coffee maker, "I trust your choice in coffee makers sir, as long as they don't ridicule you over your choice of coffee." He paused for a second and straightened up, taking on a more serious tone, "Thank you Tony, this- this really means a lot. I know that you rarely go back on a choice already made, whether it was under these circumstances or not. Thank you... I needed this... I actually almost I found myself missing the accountants," he stopped and added a final word with a grin, "Almost."

Tony nodded. "I'll give the main desk everything you'll need when you come in Monday." Tony gave a half grin. "I know how important the choosing of an assistant is so your vote is the final vote." Tony rubbed his chin. "I'll remove that from the coffee maker and let JARVIS handle the ridicule." Tony nodded once at Harper. "Fred's the one you should be thanking. She honestly looked terrified. I thought she might pass out." Tony backed up a step with a shrug. "I'm sure they'll be quaking when they hear the news." Tony paused at the door. "Would you mind telling Pepper and Jack? They might do a joyful squeal or try hugging." Tony gave a small shudder.

Luke was growing fond of the sense of normality that overwhelmed the negative energy that had encompassed the room only moments before, embracing the witty banter between himself and his boss. "Sounds like a plan, I promise I won't sleep with her," he added sheepishly and then nodded, "She is, I definitely owe her for this... I like to give myself a little credit here, if she didn't pass out after confronting you. Then the hours of training we've been clocking in are actually doing the job," He finished grinning and added a thoughtful 'huh' at the end. "You got it boss, so-uh-any chance you're gonna treat your newly reinstated Head of Security to a congratulatory dinner and raise?" He asked with a small smirk and a questioning glance.

Tony shrugged. “You know, sometimes sleeping with your assistant is a good idea, but not in your case.” Tony nodded. “Give yourself some credit. If Pepper were standing here, she’d give you a percentage.” Tony rubbed his chin again. “I could swing dinner easily enough. You want to invite anyone else and go uptown? Or go to some kind of sports bar and have a few beers? You aren’t due for your next review for 3 months. I could maybe think about a company car, I just finished tinkering with a prototype, it could use a field test.”

Luke laughed, the allusion to Pepper didn't go unnoticed, "Definitely best not to piss off a redhead, especially one who's good with tools." He nodded at Tony's offer and motioned to the locker room in the corner, "Jack and Miss. Potts will definitely throw something more than percentages our way if we go without them. Dinner uptown sounds good and a company car? Jack's gonna have a field day with the prototype."

Tony nodded. “That has rarely been my policy, but I’m careful when I do piss her off and she likes me best.” Tony followed Harper to the locker room. “You’re probably right about that. Make sure you grab one of the suits that I had tailored for you for when really important people visit. I’m going to bully my way into a really nice place.” Tony shrugged. “The bells and whistles inside the car will be enough to make her happy, what’s under the hood probably won’t impress her.” Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out Harper’s company phone. “You’re going to need this,” he said holding it out to him.

Luke was about to speak up and defend himself before shaking his head, "That's because you give her all the cool toys," was the retort he came up with as he headed into the locker room. He laughed as Tony spoke again, "All you need to do is show up and I'm pretty sure they'll empty out the place," he spoke as he grabbed one of the suits that lay hanging in his personal locker. "She's thinking of designing her own suit," he spoke and shook his head, "The amount of conviction she has, I won't be surprised if she does." He took the phone from him and nodded in a small 'thank you' before quickly texting Jack and heading into the showers to clean up. It took him all but five minutes to dress up for the occasion, looking good as new, "Not bad for seven minutes?" He asked with a quirk of his eyebrow and a small grim before his phone went off and he checked the message, "Jack's waiting for us in the main lobby. I'm afraid I can't guarantee the 'no hugging' part, sorry," he wasn't really sorry, not in the least.

Tony shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I do have all the coolest things.” Tony shrugged at the mention of Jack designing a suit, but kept any comments to himself. Tony pulled out his own phone and texted a few people and checked through his emails. Tony nodded at Harper’s appearance. When Harper said Jack was in the lobby, Tony shook his head. “Sorry, I’m parked in the other direction.” He clapped Harper on the shoulder. “Endure all the hugs you can.”

Luke raised an eyebrow and laughed disbelievingly, "Of course you are sir, need I remind you that you can't run forever," he grinned before adjusting his tie and walking out with his boss. It all felt normal, instilling a sense of hope into the young agent that maybe, just maybe, things would look up for him as they were now. After a nod towards his employer, he walked in the opposite direction and was greeted by an excitable red head in the lobby who he gladly wrapped his arms around and smiled.

Tony grinned. “But there is nothing wrong at all with getting a good head start.” Tony walked to the exit where his car was parked and drove as fast as New York traffic allowed back home to Stark Tower. He’d hide in his workshop until Pepper called.

[lucas-harper]

[lucas-harper]

The young agent’s eyes fell on the man who, in theory was only a little older if not the same age as him. The man in front of him, composed with cold precision who, in a moments breath would snap Lucas’ neck if given the opportunity. Yet at the same time, he caught the man’s image falter, the walls falling only for a moment before they were back up again. Schizophrenia, diagnosed the moment Bucky had stepped foot into S.H.I.E.L.D. which made the man unreliable and just as dangerous. “What happened to those agents? I’m guessing they didn’t live to see the next day…” His eyes avoided the older man’s and focused on the wall instead, “Did you finish them yourself? Or was some bastard assigned to that specific job? Because the last I heard, the Red Room wasn’t a huge fan of failures,” there was bitterness in his voice, perhaps because of his ties to Natasha; she’d pulled him out of the dark hole he’d carved for himself, of course he would defend her.

“What happened to you?” He spoke all of a sudden, in response to Bucky’s tip. He didn’t move, he expected the man to come at him and end him; maybe a part of him wanted it to happen. “You’re not the first Red Room operative I’ve met or gotten the pleasure to know. You were a hero once, before everything else, did the Red Room scrub that out of you too? Or are you too ashamed to let that part of you show?” Curiosity had its price and Lucas knew he was going to pay for it eventually. However, he knew that curling up defenselessly in a corner wasn’t going to accomplish anything and frankly, he was sick of it. Playing it careful would’ve left him unscathed but at the same time, he knew that questioning a man as ruthless as Bucky would have its price, perhaps it was time he grew a pair instead of running away.

“Just-uh-Just don’t answer my question with another one. I’ve had it up to here with agents and their psychoanalyzing, I’d rather you kill me then do that,” he finished with a shrug surprising even himself as he continued to poke the proverbial bear with a stick. It was stupid to think that Bucky wasn’t dangerous but the young agent knew that there was more to this situation than met the eye, for all Lucas knew, this was probably the first conversation that Bucky was having with an agent. People weren’t exactly rounding up to talk to him, and at some level, Lucas knew how it felt to be the outsider, he had been when he’d joined SHIELD. The man hadn’t left yet, perhaps he needed this more than Lucas did. Did Bucky even have any friends? Lucas knew that the Winter Soldier deserved to be punished for his sins but Bucky Barnes had been a hero, the young agent knew that it was his because of the stories that he was taking this leap of faith and at the same time, he knew that his father would’ve done the same. 

Cold Winter Nights || Lucas and Bucky

[lucas-harper]

Right now, it is you that I think needs to have someone here. I’ll tell you when that changes. Lucas bit back a smile when she spoke, silently appreciating the honest statement; it was a rare quality in a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent since many, like him, hated showing their true feelings to anyone else, even their partner. It came with the territory; he deduced but at the same time knew that over time, their bond would only strengthen as partners. He merely nodded in response, a silent thank you, before walking towards the elevator. He felt slightly embarrassed as he felt his cheeks flush after the woman next to him confirmed his suspicions but grinned all the same at her joke, “If I’m being honest, it’s quite a relief. Most of the tours we conduct are for high end business partners or investors who don’t know jack, it kinda makes you feel like a preschool teacher,” he spoke with a cringe.

“Before S.H.I.E.L.D. I had my doubts about Stark Industries’ new leaf policy but after joining and meeting Mr. Stark, I knew that what I read in the newspaper wasn’t a B.S story painted by a really good publicist; he was the genuine article.” He stopped and stepped out of the elevator, biting his tongue further before he brought up any mention of his ties to the mafia. Fred didn’t need to know that, not yet. She wasn’t one to judge but knew that it wasn’t the time, sometime soon but not now. “Fred, meet the arc reactor, or Bono. Between you and me, Bono has a better ring to it,” he grinned as he motioned to the arc reactor that stood in the middle of the room. He’d visited the area more times than he could count but each time, he found it near impossible that someone had developed such advanced technology.

“The fun starts from the sixty fifth floor, the floors below it are all offices and conference rooms,” he explained when she finally turned to him after surveying the reactor. “Are you up for checking out the newer inventions? I heard they’re beta testing the new LMDs,” he finished with a smile. 

Agents by day, nerds by night // Fred & Lucas

“Oh,” Fred said, putting her arms down. “I guess that makes sense. I should have known that. You are a pretty secure building with a lot of secrets that makes sense that you have lots of security even when you are just having a normal day,” she reasoned to herself. Even with the gun put away, her arms were still up as she spoke. She finally realized that the pose was needless and she dropped her arms. “Well, no vampires here,” she said, she smiled and pulled up her upper lip, showing her normal, human length teeth. “Besides, I don’t have room for another one and Illyria would pummel any vampiric demon that tried to join our party.” It really was a perk of having Illyria with her. She wondered what Illyria’s blood would do to a vampire.

She gave a soft smile at his words. “Will do,” she promised. “Right now, it is you that I think needs to have someone here. I’ll tell you when that changes.”

Fred walked with him to the elevator. His ease had returned and though she knew it was an act, it was good to see it. While he opened the tour with the starting speech, she nodded and tried to look surprised. She know a lot about Stark Industries and that really did include everything that Lucas was saying. She politely went along with his speech until he noticed. “Yeah,” she said slowly. She felt slightly embarrassed. “But, if you like to say it then I promise to act surprised and go ‘ooooh’ and ‘aww’ at all the right points,” she promised in mock-seriousness. “Actually, the different direction that Stark Industries is taking is a big reason that I’m really interested in this tour. I mean, I’ve always been a big fan of the Starks and all of their inventions. Well, not so much the weapons. I mean, not that they aren’t needed but I’m more thinking of small-scale weapons like the ones we made to use against vampires, not  the large-scale ones like the Jericho missiles. Not that they don’t have application, just not anything for hand-to-hand.”

[lucas-harper]

Sometimes at night I leave the lights on in my little house and walk across the flat fields. When I look back from a distance, the house is like a boat on the sea. It’s really the only time I feel safe.

[lucas-harper]

Lucas welcomed the punch that collided with his face, he’d handled worse head on and had survived; the brutal cage matches he’d subjected himself to had done wonders to his pain threshold though he doubted he’d have been standing if Illyria was the one delivering the blow. His head snapped to the side from the impact but only just; the punch though carrying a significant amount of strength was still a hesitant one. He watched her shake her fingers in protest, the action bringing a smile to his face as he raised his right hand, flexing it and motioning to her, “Keep doing this for a minute or so and you’ll be fine. Like I said, the first punch always hurts like… Well like a bitch,” he spoke with a shrug and a grin. “Alright now you have to hit me again, this time in the gut and hard enough that I get knocked back.” He noted her hesitance again and raised an eyebrow, “Just imagine I’m someone you don’t like… Or that I’m in my underwear?” He laughed and steadied himself for her incoming punch.

  The two continued for an hour or so, with Lucas egging Fred on and urging her to punch him in various places. He would come out of this bruised but not as bad as Fred would, though he was sure he read something about accelerated healing in her dossier but he was hoping that with each punch, she was slowly gaining confidence. The objective was to make her familiar with hitting all the different parts of the body; watching it on television was a whole other story than actually doing it. He wasn’t sure if she felt what Illyria did but for now, he was going to treat them like two completely different individuals. “Alright, good job,” he called out with a proud grin moments after he’d received a punch from Fred to the side of his stomach, it had done its job and had his gasping for air. “This was step one; familiarizing yourself with how the body reacts. Stomach, Gut, and Shoulder. Those are your weak points, striking them quickly and in order will definitely catch your opponent off guard.” He could tell by her expression that she was taking all of it in and it gladdened him, most of the recruits he’d seen were too focused on the idea of hitting things rather than the science of it.

He caught her uneasy look and smile, “Don’t worry, we’re done with using me as a punching bag. Now, it’s time to move onto the real thing,” he knew she was following him as he heard her shuffling behind him. His eyes locked onto the punching bag as he adjusted the chains according to Fred’s height and held it steady with both hands before swiftly punching the bag with three consecutive powerhouse punches. “Left Jab, Right Jab, Uppercut.” He explained to her whilst slowing down his movements and showing it to her again, “Your turn Agent and we aren’t stopping until we hit 40 cycles.” He felt a pang of guilt for physically exerting her so much on her first day but he needed to build up her confidence no matter how much she protested to the fact, “Come on Agent! Do you think you’re gonna get anywhere if you keep relying on Illyria, come on!” He urged her, instilling fear and anger in her with his words. 

Wax On, Wax off || Lucas and Fred

Fred was glad to see that her lame joke at least got a smile from him. She always felt awkward and slightly embarrassed when she made a joke and the person just stared at her as if she was either insane or had found a secret way to speak hieroglyphics. She was glad he was going to be easier to talk to than most people, or at least pretend to be so. She blushed slightly when he called her ‘Agent’. She didn’t feel like an agent and she really doubted she ever would. She was sure that Lucas knew why she was here. He was probably just being nice about it and Fred had to admit that she appreciated it. She saw his surprise when she called him out on his side-stepping and was ready to reassure him that she wasn’t trying to be rude, but then he made his joke and she relaxed. “Lunch money, huh? I’m glad we are starting small. I wouldn’t want to take on anyway my size yet. I think middle-schoolers are just enough above my current skill level that that will be good learning,” she smiled. She didn’t really believe that, of course, she’d had to take on pretty much the world once, or had she?, to help her friends and she had. Still, that wasn’t something she liked to dwell on.

Fred chewed her lip. Lucas’s demeanor had changed to signal the beginning of training. She understood that. She understood that giggling while trying to teach her self-defense probably wasn’t going to help her at all, especially since he wanted to teach her how to defend herself in case Illyria couldn’t. Truthfully, if something was strong enough to suppress Illyria, she didn’t think any self-defense was going to help her. She was glad to hear that he trusted her. A punch from Illyria would do more than bruise him. It would kill him. A punch from Fred, however… She really didn’t like this situation. Maybe if he’d made her mad or something it would be different. Again the idea of suggesting Wii-boxing came to mind. However, she really didn’t want either of them pushed to the point of anger. She wasn’t worried about her own bruises. Her body would heal quickly, assuming it bruised in the first place.

She took a deep breath and let it out before she flexed the tape on her fingers and made a fist. At least she knew how to do that. No boxer’s break for Fred. She walked up to Lucas and tried to look confident besides the fact that she was biting her lower lip. “Okay…” she said in warning for him, but really it was more for her. “Sorry,” she told him, even though he told her to do. She pulled back her arm, telegraphing her punch from roughly three miles away, and swung at him. Her fist landed with her fingers along his jawline. Her punch wasn’t very hard, despite her large wind up, but it was enough that her hand tingled afterwards. 

“Ow!” she protested as she started to shake out her fingers. “That was terrible…” she told herself.