Chapter 3: Shaken

    A few days after the incident with Loki, Coulson and Kat were sent on a mission to recruit the famous Tony Stark. Tony and the young girl had known each other for almost two years, and they had become close friends. He almost became another surrogate father to her over the years. And although he would never admit it, he had a soft spot for her. Still, she knew that recruiting him would be difficult, especially with his hard head.

The dark grey sedan maneuvered through New York City traffic as the Phil and Katrina rode in silence towards Stark Tower. Her forehead rested on the icy window, her shaky breaths fogging up the glass. As the car turned a corner, a bright light caught her attention. Floor by floor, Stark Tower illuminated, showing off its massive height to the crowded city below.

Every little flash of blue triggered an image in her head of Clint's eyes. Guilt flooded her heart, weighing it down. She couldn't help but think how she could have done more to help. She could've tackled Loki, tried to wrestle the scepter away from him, anything. But, no, she hid. She hid and lost one of her best friends and got multiple people hurt, including herself. It didn't' even cross her mind she was following orders and was told to stay hidden.

It should've been me, she thought.

Clint would know what to do. He's had training for this; he's the teacher, the professional spy. Yes, she had these powers, but no plan on how to use them to help, even with all of her training.

Suddenly, a hand grasped her shoulder, shaking her back into reality.

"Hey, you ready, kid?" Coulson asked with a concerned look on his face. It hadn't left his features since it all happened, and Katrina hated it. As much as she wanted to cry and curl into a ball from the guilt, she didn't want anyone to know of the fear that was now rooted in her chest. She already felt like she needed to prove herself constantly, she didn't need a few tears to change the way that everyone looked at her.

"Yeah! Let's go." She lies, forcing a tight smile. Not only because one of the few people she could consider family now off only God knows where, his body completely out of his control; but because she had never faced something like this. Something from another world. She had been training for almost her entire life to deal with situations like this, yet knowing how to do something is one thing, but doing it is another. Now, it was threatening to shatter her whole world. So, no, she wasn't ready, but it was her job to push that aside and be ready anyway.

Slowly, she maneuvered her legs out of the car, rubbing her almost healed wound on her right leg under her dark blue jeans that she wore. Her neck craned up to gaze up at the building, staring at the gigantic letters spelling 'Stark' while digging her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket pulling it closer over her black t-shirt. Her dirty blonde hair floated in the gentle wind; the strands woven into a braid flowing down her shoulder. Coulson jogs over to the passenger side and tried to help her out of the car, but she stubbornly swatted his hand away. He sighed and rolled his eyes at the stubborn girl but allowed her to attempt to do it on her own, watching as she struggled.

Using the car door to her advantage to keep her balance, as she stared up at the building one more time. Kat could feel herself sway back and forth, favoring her right side as Coulson placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her into the high-tech tower.

As they entered through the automated glass doors, they were greeted by a posh British man's voice. "Hello, I am Jarvis. How may I help you?"

"We need to have a word with Mr. Stark." Coulson speaks for the two of them.

"May I ask who 'we' is?"

"Agents Coulson and Hart."

"One moment, please."

A few seconds passed of what Kat could only assume was Jarvis arguing with Tony. Finally, Jarvis explains that Tony had refused to speak with them. And knowing this would be the man's reaction, they glanced at each other before calmly walking to the elevator. Kat then quickly pulled her cellphone from her blazer's chest pocket and connected it to the building's mainframe, hacking the elevator's security code. Surprisingly, it was easier than she had thought, but she also knew most of the genius's tricks since he had been the one to teach her to hack in the first place.

The agents then stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the penthouse causing it to glow. As the elevator lurched into motion, Coulson then slipped the phone from her outstretched hand and dialed Tony's number. After a few dial tones, the man finally answers.

"Mr. Stark, we need to talk." The older agent asserts.

"You have reached the Life Model Decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message." Tony said in a monotone voice, as Kat rolled her eyes at his antics. She could even hear Pepper Pott's muffled snickers in the background.

Coulson then pushed more, demanding, "This is urgent."

"Then leave it urgently."

Just then, the elevator's metal doors slide open to reveal both Tony and Pepper kneeling next to a coffee table sipping champagne.

"Security breach! That's on you." Tony sarcastically exclaimed, directing the last statement at his girlfriend.

Obviously accustomed to her boyfriend's behavior, Pepper ignored him and politely greeted the two.

"Phil, Kat! Come in!"

"Phil?" Tony asked, shocked by their friendly attitude.

"We can't stay." Coulson politely stated as Kat limped further into the room, Pepper wrapping her into a hug.

Pepper, having seen the limp, looked over Coulson and sent him a concerned look before returning to her naturally smiling self. Kat could tell that they had had some sort of interaction behind her back, but she ignored it, trying to get past the issue.

"Uh, his first name is Agent." Tony interrupts, pointing at Coulson as he moved to stand beside Pepper.

"What about me?" Kat chuckled crossing her arms, teasing him, "Do you still remember my name, old man?"

"Uh...no, I don't recall us meeting before, annoying teenager. No bells ringing." He shook his head, playing along and playfully glaring at her.

"Ah...well. That's too bad. But, I mean, I can't blame you. Memory loss does come with old age." She smirked with the most rebellion she could muster. Strangely, she found the slightest bit of comfort in their usual banter, which honestly seemed impossible to her at that point.

"Come on in, we're celebrating." Pepper interjected, defusing the slight tension between the two groups.

"Which is why they can't stay." Her boyfriend muttered through gritted teeth and a fake smile.

Kat then attempted to hand the laptop over, "We need you to look this over as soon as possible."

He only stares at it, "I don't like being handed things."

"Yeah, we know, it's your pet peeve." The girl sighed, making a face at him, earning a glare from the man.

Pepper then interrupts, her smile never leaving her lips. "That's fine because I love being handed things. So, let's trade." She then gently takes the laptop from Kat's hands and replaced it with her glass of champagne; swapping again so that Tony held the laptop.

Kat went to sneak a sip of the drink before Coulson plucks the glass from her fingers before it could reach her lips.

"Hey!" Kat protested, pouting, trying to grab at the glass.

"You're not old enough; besides, no drinking on the job." Her partner said as Kat crossed her arms.

"Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday." Tony interrupts, making Coulson turn away from the young agent and to the genius in front of them.

"This isn't a consultation."

"Is this about the Avengers?" Pepper inquired before realizing the confidentiality of the situation. "Which I know nothing about."

Kat chuckled shaking her head slightly, knowing even though Pepper Potts was not directly involved with Shield, she definitely knew what was going on. Plus, Tony was never the best at keeping secrets. The words "I am Iron Man" ring any bells?

"The Avenger's Initiative was scrapped, I thought," Tony called over his shoulder as he placed the laptop on his desk, "and I didn't even qualify."

"I didn't know that either."

"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others."

"That I did know."

Kat's eyebrows raised, "I'm pretty sure everyone knows that."

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore." Coulson stated.

"Whatever! Ms. Potts, got a sec?" Tony replied, ignoring the remark.

Pepper holds up her index finger, "Half a moment."

Coulson and Kat nod, watching as she walked over to her boyfriend. Only murmurs could be heard as the couple conversed. Kat could see Tony take a furtive glance over at her and down to her leg, noticing how she favored one side. She avoided his gaze, knowing he would be able to see right through her. That was one of the downfalls of her powers. Yes, she had insight into the feelings of others, but the strength of her own were a hassle to conceal from others. Not the greatest when you work in her field.

"You know, I thought we were having a moment." Tony mutters.

"I was having twelve percent of moment." Pepper counters. They share a look before continuing. "This seems serious. Phil and Kat seem pretty shaken. Especially, Kat...and it takes a lot to shake her. You and I both know that.

"How would you notice- why is he Phil?"

"What is all this?" The woman asks, successfully changing the subject, looking down at the screen.

"This is--uh...." He explains, pausing as he throws the display off the screen making them appear as holograms in mid-air. "This!"

The couple continued to speak for another moment before Tony transferred the display from the laptop to a hologram on his desk. Clips of each possible recruit considered pop up on the screen.

The girl caught a quick glance of Natasha and Clint fighting, the same clip that she had seen while talking on the phone with Nat. To the left of it was a security tape of Kat's training sessions before turning into a tape of the night Loki turned Clint into one of his mind-controlled servants. Her fighting, getting thrown across the room, and hiding as the closest thing she had to family slipped through her fingers.

She looked away, not being able to watch anymore as shame filled her body, setting her skin on fire. She was a coward that night, she thought. She could've nipped the situation at the bud, saved people, if she just hadn't waited. Coulson's eye bore into the side of her head seeing the shame and horror in her eyes, she could practically feel the pity radiating off of him.

"I'm going to take the jet to D.C. tonight." Pepper whispered; her jaw slacked.

"Tomorrow." Tony corrects her.

"You have homework. You have a lot of homework."

"Well, what if I didn't?"

"If you didn't? You mean...when you finished? Well, um, then..." She trails off smirking, whispering something in Tony's ears.

The agents behind them look away uncomfortably as the couple briefly kisses.

"Square deal. Fly safe." Tony agrees as Pepper approaches the agents.

"Work hard." She called over her shoulder, "So any chance you're driving by La Guardia?"

"We can drop you off." Coulson offered.

"Fantastic. Ooh, I want to hear about the, uh- cellist. Is that still a thing?"

"She moved back to Portland."

"What? Boo!"

As the adults made friendly conversation, the young girl hobbled back into the elevator, glancing over her shoulder at her older friend. A holographic diagram of the Tesseract seemed to intrigue his as he held it in his hand. He gazed over his shoulder to meet hers for a split second as she averted her eyes. His gaze trailed down to her leg, her limp causing a sliver of worry to show in his eyes.

She once again met eyes with the man, giving him a look, as if pleading him to join the initiative. Tony finally caught a glimpse behind the thin curtain and realized how shaken Kat really was. The elevator doors then closed, forcing them to break eye contact.

Kat could only hope Tony would understand.