1.12

I saw red behind my eyelids; the sun was rising. I sat up, stretching and rubbing my eyes and face. I felt the fire blanket slowly sliding off of me, and I instantly grabbed it. I shook my head, and I twisted my torso, sighing at the series of cracks I heard, and felt, go down my back. I slid off the table and I got to work cleaning the lab, ignoring the tears pouring down my cheeks.

I folded the blanket and put the emergency supplies back in the box. I put obvious tools back where I knew they would go - leaving the tools that I didn't recognize. I stacked files and notes that were, obviously, connected and important. I put the monitors that weren't in use in standby mode. I put blank paper and pens in a stack on the table I'd been sleeping on.

As I placed the paper and pens, I took three out of the stack.

Agent Romanoff Bruce will become the Hulk when we get hit

I folded the paper into a square, drawing an hourglass on it that matched Natasha's belt.

Director Fury watch for the grenade and watch for Hawkeye

I folded the paper into a square, drawing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s symbol on it.

Then, I walked to the main desk, looking at the monitor with Tony's scan on it. Just as it was before, it was close to being finished, but it still needed some user input. I wiped my tears away mere seconds before Tony and Bruce walked back in - Tony with two coffees and Bruce with some hot tea in hand. I leaned around the display, sending them a forced smile.

"Morning, guys!" I said, sending them a little wave.

"Good morning." Bruce smiled at me.

Tony smirked at me, shaking his head. "Morning, Sunshine. You sleep well?"

I shrugged my shoulders, putting my hands in my pockets. "Pretty well, you know, considering that I was curled up on a table all night. But I'm feeling pretty good. You?"

I was lying through my teeth...

The men walked around the desk to stand next to me. Bruce leaned back against the window, taking a sip of his peppermint tea. I looked back at Tony as he held one of the coffee cups in my direction.

"Pretty well," He answered me. "You know, considering that I only had about four hours of it. But, hey, what can you do?"

I nodded. "I guess you've got a point." My smile softened as I took the cup from his hands, wrapping my own around it and soaking in the warmth. "Thanks for this." I lifted my cup.

"Sure thing." He said, turning towards the monitor.

"And thank you for giving me the blanket last night." I saw Tony accidentally tap the wrong thing, but I didn't give away that I'd seen anything. "It was really sweet of you, Tony, really."

He paused for a moment, only to turn his head to face me with a soft smile. "You're welcome."

After that exchange had ended, Tony turned back to the screen and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. I took a sip of my coffee. I stepped closer to the desk, Bruce doing the same. The two of us stood on either side of Tony, watching him work in anticipation. We were there for maybe ten minutes when Tony smirked to himself and a progress bar popped on-screen. He pushed the screen back a bit and sat on the desk. Seeing how close the guys were to being done, Bruce and I both got comfortable as well, waiting for the bar to fill.

There were a couple of occasions, even mid-conversation, that I felt Tony's eyes on me. I knew that he thought something was up with me. I guess he noticed how rehearsed my responses were, or how stale my smile was. It's not often that someone notices anything wrong when I get to my final loop of the day, and I wasn't sure how to feel about that. He wasn't really wrong to be suspicious of my behavior, but I also had no plan to tell him why I was faking my laughter.

Soon enough, we were at eighty-four percent, and the door to the lab opened. Director Fury waltzed in with a grim expression.

"What are you doing, Mr. Stark?" He asked in exasperation.

"Uh, kinda been wondering the same thing about you," Tony answered, his eyes never leaving the progress bar.

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract."

"We are," Bruce smoothly cut into the conversation. He pointed to a monitor on the other side of the room that had its own progress bar and a global visual. "The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signatre now."

I smiled at Fury, and I shrugged. Tony childishly did the same as me, a smirk present on his face instead of an innocent grin.

"When we get a hit," Bruce continued. "we'll have the location within half a mile."

"Yeah," Tony confirmed. "then you get your Cube back. No muss, no fuss."

Suddenly, the monitor between us and Fury beeped. I glanced at the screen, seeing multiple classified files begin opening and spilling across the display. I forced my face to visibly light up.

"Ooh!" I turned to Fury for a split second before reaching an arm around Tony and tapping on a file. "Director, what's 'Phase Two'?"

Tony leaned back slightly, letting me dig through all of the related folders without hesitation. Though, I could see his eyebrows furrow slightly in thought.

Fury cocked his head at my question. But, before he could answer me, something was unceremoniously dropped onto another table. I turned to see, and I saw Steve with his hand on a weapon like I'd never seen. His face was nothing too pleasant.

"Phase Two is S.H.I.E.L.D. uses the Cube to make weapons," Steve explained.

I looked back at the monitor, looking through a few more folders and pretending to stumble upon the weapon blueprints.

"Sorry," Steve looked at Tony. "computer was moving a little slow for me."

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract."

I narrowed my eyes in "indignant awe" as the blueprints popped on-screen. I lifted my hand away from the screen's surface, tightening it into a fist. Then, I put my hands in my lap, allowing my true emotions to appear on my face (seeing as they fit the situation perfectly) as Tony slid off the table.

"This does not mean that we're making -- "

"I'm sorry, Nick," Tony interrupted Fury, taking the screen and turning it around. "What, were you lying?"

Fury stopped mid-lie as he saw the blueprints.

"I was wrong, Director," Steve stated, his gaze leveling on Fury. "The world hasn't changed a bit."

I slid myself off the desk, opting to lean back against it with my arms crossed in silence. Bruce walked around the desk to stand next to me. I glanced at the door from the corner of my eye as both Thor and Natasha walked in.

Bruce noticed the new arrivals as well, asking Natasha, "Did you know about this?"

He gestured to the schematics with his glasses in hand, growing more frustrated by the minute. I hadn't moved an inch.

"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" Natasha asked, her body instinctively preparing for a fight.

Bruce shook his head, and I watched as his face adopted a look of irate exasperation.

"I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed." He chuckled scornfully.

Natasha took a couple steps towards us, her footsteps light and her eyes trained on Banner. "Loki is manipulating you."

"And you've been doing what, exactly?" Bruce gestured with his hands, looking Natasha in the eye without hesitation.

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because, suddenly, you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know," He grabbed the monitor, using the hand with his glasses to phantom-circle the schematics in indignation. "why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction." His gaze lingered between Fury and Natasha.

Suddenly, Fury pointed towards Thor, his eyes not bothering to leave Dr. Banner. "Because of him."

Thor looked nothing more than confused.

"Me?" He asked, slowly letting his crossed arms fall to his side.

"Last year," Fury began to elaborate. "Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet," Thor ran to the defense.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you? And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve asked.

I put my hands in my pockets, standing up straight. "Forgive me, Director," My voice was level, and deadly serious, surprising virtually everyone in the room. "but doesn't making guns make those 'threats' think we're ready to use them? Won't it make them think that our planet is ready for war?"

"She is right," Thor spoke up once more. "Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"A higher form?" Steve asked.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. may be ready, but the rest of the world won't be. We'd be squashed like ants." I stated firmly.

"You forced our hand," Fury insisted. "We had to come up with something."

"A nuclear deterrent," Tony piped up. "Because that always calms everything right down."

Fury turned his accusatory glare from Thor to Tony. "Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark."

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck-deep -- "

"Wait, wait, hold on." Tony lifted his hand, interrupting Steve. "How is this now about me?"

Steve, regardless of whether or not he was about to defend Tony, cocked his head to the side. His expression soured. "I'm sorry, isn't everything?"

"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor commented.

"Excuse me," I silently started walking as Fury turned to Thor. "Did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?"

I slipped by Natasha, slipping a note into her belt.

"You treat your champions with such mistrust." Thor shot back at Fury.

"Are you boys really that naive?" Natasha wedged herself into Thor and Fury's debate as I walked right behind the director. "S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors potential threats."

"Captain America's on threat watch?" Bruce asked.

I slipped Fury's note into the fold of his sleeve. His gaze shot to my form through the corner of his eye. I glanced back at him, meeting his gaze. He sent me the tiniest of nods; I sent him one in return.

"Wait you're on that list?" Tony asked Steve cheekily. "Are you above or below angry bees?"

I walked behind Tony.

"Stark, so help me God," Steve replied, balling his hands into fists at his sides. "If you make one more wisecrack -- "

"Threat! Verbal threat! I feel threatened!" Tony threw his hands in the air dramatically.

I walked past both Tony and Steve entirely, propping myself against the wall.

"Show some respect." Steve demanded.

"Respect what?" Tony asked.

"Oh my god." I muttered, running a hand through my hair. "I'm surrounded by children."

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos." Thor asserted.

"That's his M.O., isn't it?" Dr. Banner asked. "I mean, what are we, a team? No." He shook his head. "We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're -- We're a time bomb."

"You," Fury turned to Banner. "need to step away."

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony asked, nonchalantly putting his hand on Steve's shoulder.

Steve's face twisted in anger, and he violently shrugged Tony's arm away. "You know damn well why! Back off!"

"Oh..." Tony met Steve's eye. "I'm starting to want you to make me."

I shifted my eyes between the two men, crossing my arms.

"Yeah," Steve took a step closer to Tony, a sardonic grin on his face. "Big man in a suit of armor." He leaned in. "Take that off, what are you?"

Tony met his gaze, seemingly unphased. "Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

"I know guys with none of that worth ten a' you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire." Tony's eyes narrowed, any patience he had flying out the window as Steve grilled into him.

"Always a way out..." Steve muttered, leaning close to Tony's face. "You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

"A hero?" Tony asked incredulously. "Like you? You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle."

Steve was silent for a moment. "Put on the suit."

I uncrossed my arms, stepping away from my spot against the wall.

"Let's go a few rounds."

I started walking towards them. "Alright." I pushed myself between the two, gently pushing them away from each other. "That's enough. Last I checked, neither of you have walked in the other guy's shoes."

"I'm sorry," Tony drew my attention. "Since when did you start fighting our battles for us? We never asked you to step in when we were bringing Loki in, and we never asked you to step in during our little spat yesterday."

I didn't have the same frustration I had the first time as Tony's frustration switched from Steve to me, so my face reflected a soft, tired sadness.

"Why don't you stick your nose in someone else's business?" He asked, taking full advantage of the fact that he towered over me.

I vaguely noticed Steve stepping away.

I met Tony's eyes. "We're supposed to be a team, Mr. Stark. If there's a problem within the team, then I'm pretty sure it's all of our business." I paused, taking a deep breath. "I'm just trying to help."

I saw something flash behind Tony's eyes, and this time it stayed. He knew something was wrong. He remained silent. His shoulders slowly began to release their tensions. Neither of us made a move, simply staring into each other's eyes.

"You people are so petty," Thor interrupted, laughing drily. "And tiny."

"Yeah, this is a team." Bruce commented.

"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his -- "

"Where?" He interrupted Fury, gesturing towards the door. "You rented my room."

Everyone's attention drifted towards the two. I felt the tension in the room rising.

"The cell was just in case -- " Fury attempted to explain himself.

Bruce smoothly interrupted him with, "In case you needed to kill me."

I couldn't even attempt to hide the tear that slipped by. I was aware of the glances I received from the men next to me, but I didn't respond.

"But you can't." Bruce continued. "I know, I tried."

I lowered my head slightly and wiped under my eye, causing Steve and Tony to look down at me. The three of us met eyes in silence. I saw their faces... I could see it in their eyes... I swallowed thickly, gently placing a hand against my throat. None of us said a word, turning back to Bruce. Then, to my surprise, Tony placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

He left his hand there.

"I got low." Bruce continued. "I didn't see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth, and the Other Guy spit it out. So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk."

"You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff?" He asked.

He lifted his arm towards the desk, taking hold of the scepter. Natasha's and Fury's hands slowly drifted to their weapons. Thor gripped his hammer tightly. Steve shifted on his feet. Tony subconsciously tightened his hold on my shoulder.

"You wanna know how I stay calm?"

I took an instinctual step towards Bruce. Tony's hand moved in front of my chest to stop me. I looked down at his arm as he gently pushed me behind him and Steve.

"Dr. Banner," Steve spoke up, gaining Bruce's attention. "Put down the scepter."

Bruce looked down at his hand. He blinked silently. He lifted his arm, and he dropped the scepter on the desk. Then, just as everyone was beginning to relax, the monitor with the "Tesseract scanner" started to beep.

"Got it," Tony said, dropping his arm back to his side.

"Sorry, kids," Bruce started towards the monitor. "you don't get to see may party trick after all."

Natasha followed close behind him in silence.

"You've located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

"I could get there fastest," Tony announced, already turning to leave the lab and find his suit.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard," Thor declared. "No human is a match for it."

As Tony was walking past Steve and me, the captain caught him by the shoulder. "You're not going alone."

Tony slapped his hand away. "You're gonna stop me?"

"Put on the suit, let's find out." Steve challenged once more.

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man."

Tony and Steve took steps towards each other, but I nudged myself between the two once more.

"Tony, do not put on that suit." I met his eye before doing the same to Steve. "Stop egging each other on."

There there was the explosion.

Steve, Tony, and I were forced off our feet and towards one of the doors on the side of the room. I sat up, holding back a wince and rolling my previously dislocated shoulder to ease the pain. The other two sat up at the same time as me, and the three of us glanced at one another.

Steve and I both turned to Tony. "Put on the suit."

"Yeah." Tony croaked out.

The guys scrambled to stand up. I attempted to do the same, allowing myself to push against the ground with my sore arm; regardless of how uncomfortable this was, I needed to keep as close to my last successful loop as possible. My shoulder buckled beneath me and I fell onto my opposite elbow, audibly wincing and trying to hide that I was in any pain. Steve ran ahead, taking a split second to stop Tony from falling into the doorframe. As Tony got to his feet, he looked back at me. I had just made it off the ground, and I was rubbing my shoulder as I started forwards. When I passed by him, he gently nudged the small of my back, urging me to go faster.

Tony put his hand against his ear, speaking into an earpiece. He nodded to whoever was talking to him. "Got it."

He didn't move his hand. I looked up at his face for a moment, then I looked ahead, the smallest of smiles on my face.

We caught up to Steve fairly quickly, and we all slowed to a stop as we approached the crate containing one of Tony's suits. Tony finally let his hand drop.

He turned to Steve, waving him on. "Engine three. I'll meet you there."

Steve nodded, turning and running without hesitation. I moved to follow him.

"And where are you going, Jamie?"

I looked back at Tony, stopping where I stood. "Engine three." I let my "smallest smile" change into my "excited grin".

"But your shoulder -- " He started.

"Will be fine!" I assured him. "I'm a tough girl; I can take care of myself."

He shook his head, taking some steps towards me. My smile fell into a veil of confusion.

'This didn't happen last time...'

He stopped in front of me, crossing his arms as he looked down at me. "But that's not everything, is it?"

My eyes widened as I realized what he was hinting at. I flicked my eyes away from his face, biting my lip.

"You've been acting off today." He continued. "I don't know what it is, but you know something's going to happen today. Whatever it is, you're keeping it to yourself, and I can see it eating you up inside."

I sighed, forcing myself to meet his eye. "Tony..."

"Jamie, tell me. Let me help."

I took a shaky breath. I gripped my pant legs tightly, and I let them go. I rubbed my hands over my face, then I looked back up at him.

"There's nothing I can do, Tony.... There's nothing anyone can do....."

"What? Jamie -- "

"I've tried finding a solution, but there just isn't one....."

"Wait -- "

"If we don't restart engine three, though, there won't be anyone left for me to worry about."

"Jamie -- !"

"We have to get moving."

I spun on my heels, taking off into a sprint towards engine three and leaving Tony behind. I fought to keep my breathing steady, wiping any stray tears that slipped through as I ran. I ran down a few more hallways. I passed by plenty of soldiers and workers alike. Then, I saw the sun. I'd found engine three.

"Stark!"

I followed Steve's voice through an open door and into the open air.

"Stark, I'm here!"

I stopped right behind the captain and forced a grin.

"Good. Where's Jamie?" Tony's voice called out through the wind.

I tapped Steve on the shoulder in greeting before looking up at Tony.

"I'm here, Tony!" I shouted at the flying hunk of colorful metal.

I ignored his stare, but Steve looked between the two of us in confusion at Tony's silence.

Finally, the engineer nodded. "Alright, let's see what we've got."

As Tony was taking inventory of the damage, I noticed Steve staring down at me. He narrowed his eyes in a mix of confusion and concern. I didn't bother to hide that something had happened; I let my face show whatever it wanted to. Tony knew that something was going to happen, and he was bound to tell the others at some point. There was no reason to pretend that nothing was wrong.

"What happened after I left you two?" He asked.

I sighed, looking up to meet his eye. "Tony asked me about the future." I turned to watch Tony as I continued. "I told him that something was going to happen that no one could prevent." I crossed my arms tightly. "He tried to convince me to tell him what it was," I closed my eyes tightly. "and I refused. Nothing can be done... Nothing..."

Steve was dead silent. I jolted in surprise when he gently placed a hand on my shoulder. My eyes shot open, and I turned my head to face him.

He sent me a gentle, almost understanding smile. "Whatever happens, it won't be your fault."

I shook my head, turning my whole body to face him. "No, Mr. Rogers, I -- "

"You think I don't recognize survivor's guilt when I see it?" He placed his other hand on my opposite shoulder, leaning down to my level. "Jamie, I understand. I fought in World War II. I've seen soldiers die. I've been there. Whatever you saw, whatever happens today, it will not be your fault. Loki will be the one responsible. We do what we can, and we keep moving forward. You understand?"

I stared up at him and, despite the guilt rolling around in my gut, I found myself smiling. I nodded, and he did the same, letting go of my shoulders. Tony adjusted a piece of machinery, muttering to himself, and I turned to face him.

"I need you guys to get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in the overload position." He pointed to the wall above Steve and me.

Steve nodded, and I did the same. As Tony flew in a different direction, I looked at the wall next to us and the lack of floor. I sighed in resignation, remembering what needed to be done. I turned to Steve with a resigned chuckle.

"Give me a boost?" I asked him, pointing to the platform we needed to get to, across the gap leading to certain death.

He looked where I pointed, then looked back to me in disbelief. "You can't be serious?"

I shrugged my shoulders, shifting my feet. "Just toss me. I'll make it."

Steve blinked, but shook his head. "If you're sure." He took a few steps towards me, placing his hands on my sides.

I nodded, bracing myself. "I'm positive. Just don't tell the elf."

Then I was flying over the gap. I barely managed to grab the edge of the ledge, digging my fingers into the holes of the grate floor. I grunted as I dragged myself onto the platform and back onto my feet. I sent the man a grin and a thumbs up, but I didn't bother waiting; he would get himself up there just fine. I found the control panel we were looking for, and I firmly grasped the edge to pull it out of the wall. Just as I was digging my heels into the floor, the panel halfway out, Steve landed on the edge of the platform. He helped me pull it the rest of the way out.

Steve stared at it blankly as we found an organized mess of wires and other tech. He didn't recognize any of it, but I was familiar with it from memory alone. I faintly heard Tony's voice coming from Steve's ear.

Steve listened to whatever Tony had to say before replying with, "It seems to run on some form of electricity."

I pursed my lips, furrowing my eyebrows at the man in front of me. "Well," I clicked my tongue. "You're not wrong." I shook my head with a slight chuckle, offering my palm to Steve. "Want me to talk to him?"

Steve took his earpiece out in seconds, dropping it into my hand. "Yes, please. I have no idea what I'm looking at."

I tucked my hair behind my ears and put the earpiece in. "I don't really know too much either, to be honest," I lied, my voice still filled with false cheer. "But I vaguely have an idea of what I'm looking at."

I heard Tony sigh in my ear, and I did the same as I knelt down to get a closer look at the board.

"Just tell me what you see, Sunshine," Tony said.

"Since when was my name 'Sunshine'?" I asked, a small grin finding its way to my face once more at the sound of the nickname.

"Since my name was 'Stranger'. Now, what do you see?"

I could tell that Tony was still frustrated with me by the sound of his voice, but I still had to act like this was my first time, so I rolled my eyes.

"Well, all the wires and plugs are the same color, there's some fancy circuitboards and fans in the middle of it all, nothing has labels on it, and," I paused to lean in. "there aren't any buttons or switches on it at all."

"Well, that's fantastic..." Tony muttered, some clanging sounding off in the background.

"Should I be looking for something specific?" I asked patiently, sitting back on my feet as Steve looked around tensely.

"Tell, me," Tony started. "Are any of the cables leading into the wall that you can see?"

My face fell into an amused grin. "The whole board goes into the wall, Tony."

"Besides what's on the board, Sunshine!"

"Alright!" I spoke through chuckles. "Hold on!"

I leaned towards the gap. I had to practically stick my whole head between the board and the wall to see anything. Then I found the loose chords on the floor inside the gap. I pulled my head out, shoving my arm in. I felt a pull in my shoulder. I winced.

"You okay in there?" Tony asked with concern lacing his tone, despite his frustration with me.

I grunted, reaching blindly towards the cables through the pain. "Fine. Just pulled on the shoulder I dislocated yesterday."

"The one that you fell on not ten minutes ago?"

"The very same. Anyway -- " I promptly attempted to change the subject.

"No," Tony interrupted. "If your gonna hurt yourself, let Spangles do it."

"Mr. Stark," I countered. "I'm fine."

"I'd beg to differ, Jamie..." He muttered.

"Now," I ignored him, finally grabbing the cables and gently pulling them out of the hole in the wall. "There were a couple cables in the wall that look like they were knocked out of the board when we were hit. What do I do with them?"

Tony proceeded to give step-by-step instructions on what to do with the control panel. Though I already knew what to do, I followed along anyway. It only took a few minutes, and I nodded to Steve with a smile when I'd finished.

"Alrighty," I stood up, backing away as Steve pushed the panel back into the wall and closed the door. "Everything's in. What now?"

I heard a few blasts in the background and more clanging metal before Tony responded. "Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won't re-engage without a jump. I'm going to have to get in there and push."

"And you're telling me not to hurt myself?" I asked. Then, I just sighed. "Please, just be carefull."

"What?"

I turned to Steve.

"What is he doing?" He asked.

I shook my head at him, pointing a finger through the wall. "That idiot's about to start the blades himself."

"What?" Steve's face changed to one of incredulity, and he leaned towards my earpiece. "If that thing gets up to speed, you'll get shredded."

"That stator control unit can reverse the polarity long enough to disengage maglev and that could -- "

"I get what you're saying," I interrupted Tony. "But we don't have time for me to translate the science in my head. Just tell me the stupid version."

Tony was silent for a moment. "You see that red lever?"

I turned to the other wall, across another gap, instantly spotting it. "Yeah, I see it."

"It'll slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out." Tony explained. "Stand by it. Wait for my word."

I nodded. "Will do."

I made a beeline towards the lever, stopping at the edge of our current platform. Steve was quick to meet me there. The two of us met eyes, took some steps back, and made a running start before jumping to the other platform. I took a deep breath as we landed, doing a little step-jog towards the lever. Then, just as I rested a hand on it, I heard footsteps coming from down the nearest hallway. I tapped Steve on the arm, looking towards the door. I saw him nod from the corner of my eye. He pointed downwards, and I got on the floor.

I heard a pin get pulled from a grenade, and Steve jumped across platforms once more. He slapped the grenade down, causing it to explode far below us. I listened as he knocked one man out and kicked a second one, knocking his gun out of his hand and sending him over the edge. I didn't react as he fell, watching the ground next to me as the man's gun, which flew up, landed right there.

I heard gunshots and the sizzling of damaged tech, and I grabbed the weapon without hesitation. I stood up, seeing another soldier was regaining his bearings. He was aiming at Steve, who was already running at him. Then I saw the other two men behind the first.

I readied the weapon in my hands, narrowing my eyes in concentration. "Rogers, Get down!"

Steve looked back up at me with wide eyes, instantly backing away from the soldiers. I shot at each one as they walked in with unbelievable accuracy. One by one, all of them went down. I smiled slightly at Steve, waving at him as he chuckled. He climbed the only ladder still intact to stand by me.

"You seem a little surprised there, Mr. Rogers," I said, handing him the gun.

"Forgive me, Jamie," He smiled back at me. "but all I'd seen up to now is how well you can dodge. I'd never seen you in a fight."

I shrugged my shoulders. "True. True."

My smile vanished as I saw something over Steve's shoulder. "Incoming!"

I grabbed Steve's shoulder, turning him to face the door. Steve and the other soldier started to shoot at each other as I dropped back to the ground again. Then, Steve stepped on a loose piece of metal and he began to slip. I stood. I grabbed the front of his suit. I spun him around, using his momentum to launch him back onto the platform.

"Jamie!" He cried out.

I was already falling. I immediately twisted my body around to face the dangling cable, reaching towards it. I grabbed it, holding on as tightly as possible. The force of my fall pulled on my arms, and I heard a crack in my shoulder.

"Aahh!" I cried in pain, trying my hardest to hold on as tears rimmed my eyes.

"Sunshine, I heard gunshots down there. Everything okay?"

I grunted through the effort of holding on. "Yeah, we're good down here. But, uh..." I winced as my shoulder throbbed. "If you could hurry it up a little, that'd be awesome."

"I'm doing my best, here."

"No, I know, I know." I assured him, closing my eyes when my hands started to slide down the cable. "Things are just starting to get a little outta hand..."

"Alright, Jamie. Hit the lever."

I turned my head upwards, my eyes still closed. "Mr. Rogers, he's ready! Pull the lever!"

I heard more gunshots, not getting any response from him.

After a minute, Tony's voice echoed through my earpiece again. "Lever," His voice was beginning to sound desperate. "now!"

I grunted as my hands slipped a bit further. "Hold on!" I told him. Even though I knew he'd be fine, I still had to hide the worry in my tone. "Come on, Rogers! Any time, now!"

Suddenly, I heard banging and grunts of pain come from Tony's end of the earpiece.

"Tony..." I whispered, opening my eyes turning to the opening one last time. "Steve! The lever!"

There was silence on both ends, both Steve's and Tony's. I felt my hands slip again, forcing one hand to let go as I had run out of cable room. I was left dangling by one arm, the other loosely trailing behind. I didn't let go. I knew that it was almost over.

Then, I heard Tony's voice. "Jamie, let go. I promise, I'll catch you."

I listened without hesitation, closing my eyes tightly and letting go. The air was knocked out of my chest as a hunk of metal slammed into my side.

I coughed, doubling over. "Thanks for the save, Stranger."

"Anytime, Sunshine." I heard in my ear.

I opened my eyes, taking deep breaths and wrapping my arms around his neck as he held me bridal style.

"Hold on," Tony said, his eyes focused entirely on what was in front of him.

I nodded. I looked ahead as Tony doubled back to the hole I fell out of. He readjusted his hold on me just like he did in Germany. I saw Steve still shooting at the last soldier, backed up next to the lever.

"You ready?" Tony asked me.

"Whenever you are," I answered him instantly.

Tony nodded from above me, shouting to Steve, "Heads up!"

My face was blank as both Steve and the soldier turned to look at us. Steve didn't hesitate to drop to the floor. The soldier, however, aimed his gun in my direction. If anything, a glare appeared on my face at the audacity. Tony and I let go of each other's hands, and I was launched through the opening feet first. One bullet skimmed my shoulder and another skimmed my hip, but not much damage was done to me before my feet hit him square in the chest. The soldier and I hit the floor, rolling a few times before coming to a stop at the end of the room. Then, as soon as I heard the man groaning, I scrambled to get on top of him. I easily straddled the man in his bewildered state. I grabbed his shirt, bringing my fist down on his face. Three times and the man was out cold.

I sat back, breathing heavily for a moment. I turned back to Steve and Tony; they sat side by side against the far wall, sweaty and out of breath, but alright. I felt a heavy sigh leave my chest. This was it. I shook my head, a breathy laugh bubbling from my chest in exhaustion.

"Well," I dragged myself up, careful of my sore shoulder, and trudged towards the guys. "That was something."

Steve glanced up at me, chuckling in disbelief as I plopped down in front of them. "That's it? That's all you gotta say? Something?"

"I think the word I would use is 'Exciting'," Tony piped up, taking off his mask. "What's a fight withought a near-death experience to get your blood pumping?"

I chuckled slightly, adding to the joke. "That's not even a fight!"

I pulled off my shirt, leaving a white tank-top underneath, and I pulled my hair into a messy ponytail with the spare hair tie from my pocket. I leaned back against the only railing still standing. I took a minute to sit with my teammates, closing my eyes. Eight loops, and one person was gone. I waited for the bombshell....

"Agent Coulson is down."

I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, feeling tears rimming my eyes as I bit my lip.

Tony stood up, telling his AI, "Jarvis, put it on speaker."

Steve, caught off guard, stood with him.

"A medical team is on its way to your location." An agent replied to Fury's report.

"They're here." Fury said. "They called it."

I shook my head softly, putting my head in my hands. I didn't bother to look at the men standing above me.

"Was there really nothing we could do?" Steve caught on instantly.

I had a feeling that Tony realized it, too, especially when I felt a metal hand grab the front of my shirt and drag me to my feet.

"That was what you saw?!"

I didn't bother to grab his hands. I didn't fight him, my arms dangling at my sides. I just looked him in the eye. My tears and guilt readily met his righteous fury.

I deserved this....

"You knew that Phil was going to die, and you didn't even try to stop it?!?! How can you let him die?!" As Tony continued, I began to recognize the very words I had spoken to Fury. "How can you look me in the eye, knowing that he would die a painful death, and not do anything about it?!" I saw tears lining his own eyes. "How is that okay?!?!"

Any strength I had failed me, and my heart shattered.

"Stark!" Steve tried to intervene, placing a firm hand on Tony's arm. "Put her down!"

"I'm sorry......" I choked out.

Both men turned to meet my eyes. Their faces, confused and angry, melted together through my tears as I hiccuped.

"I'm sorry...... I tried, but I wasn't enough....."

I felt Tony's grip loosen.

My feet gently touched the ground.

Tony stepped back.

I wrapped my arms around myself, gripping my sleeves tightly as tears dripped from my chin. "I'm sorry..... I'm sorry I couldn't save him...... I'm so sorry..... I'm so, so sorry......"

"Jamie..."

Steve lifted a hand, possibly to comfort me, but I took a step back. I shook my head, turning around and climbing down the ladder.

"Wait, Jamie!" Tony called out.

I started walking towards the door.

"Wait, Stark."

I heard every word as Steve grabbed Tony by the arm, and I walked even faster.

"Give her some time."