Cold Enemies, Warm Romances

Chapter Thirteen - WB039

Four words: I am a slacker. So pardon the crappy and short chapter. Written by WritersBlock039!

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Tony and Saleen couldn't be working fast enough. Both of them were over Stark Tower, desperately trying to track any place Loki could be. Thor was sweeping the country, and Steve was trying to calm Fury down about losing not one, but two of the Avengers.

And what was Jessie doing? Sitting numbly as Natasha kept cursing in Russian. Finally, she couldn't take it. "Shut the hell up, will you?" she demanded sharply.

Natasha stopped in her rant. She looked at Jessie in obvious surprise. "Excuse me?"

"Shouldn't you be doing something?" Jessie asked, standing up and pacing.

"And what about you?"

"Ha!" Jessie barked. "I couldn't use a computer to save my life. Give me an option, I'd rather be out looking for Clint and Bruce, but no, I have to stay in here so my freaking DNA isn't given away!"

Natasha's jaw dropped. Jessie waited for something. "Since you're so concerned about him, then go help find him, for the love of God!" she spat before phasing through the floor.

She landed right in the middle of the training room. She sighed, looking around for a weapon that she could use to train with. She saw the guns, then the knives, but she couldn't find any blunt object. She sighed again, looking up. "Hey, JARVIS, do you have anything like a quarterstaff I could use?"

"One moment, Miss Nightshade."

Jessie waited, then there was a beep from the closet nearby. "Right in there, Miss Nightshade."

"Thanks, JARVIS." She walked over, opening the door. Sure enough, lined up inside were four to six foot long staffs varying in colors. Her eyes landed on one that was black, brown, and silver with tones of dark violet. She picked it up, testing its weight, then twirled it like a rifle. She grinned. "Like it was handmade for me."

"Each Avenger has their own special weapon," a deep voice said from behind her. She turned, raising an eyebrow to see Steve standing there, looking exhausted. "Maybe that's for you."

Jessie nodded, tapping it against her hand. To her surprise, a joint so small she couldn't see it broke, and it collapsed in on her. She gasped in surprise, then saw the other side collapsing. Soon she had a metal rod only two feet long. "Sweet," she breathed.

Steve grinned. "How good are you with that thing?"

Jessie smirked, flicking her wrist. The quarterstaff expanded again into its six-foot form. "Bring it on."

Steve took off his jacket and found his shield from a corner of the room, suddenly seeming larger than life.

That's Captain America for you, Jessie thought as she brought her quarterstaff up to bear.

She and Steve were at sparring for a good half hour. She scored a few blows when Steve wasn't fast enough to react to her movements, but she wasn't hurt a bit whenever Steve had tried hitting her. Finally, her legs began to get tired, and she had enough. She flicked her wrist, her quarterstaff cracking at the joints and shrinking as she dove and somersaulted through Steve.

Surprised, he tried to turn, but Jessie sprang to her feet, cracking her quarterstaff across the back of Steve's head. Stunned, he fell to the ground, struggling to get up, but he stopped when Jessie's elbow jabbed into his trachea. She smirked. "I win."

Clapping came from the opposite side of the room, and Jessie looked over, surprised to see that Tony had entered. "I thought I had heard fighting down here," he commented, walking forward. "To be honest, I've never seen many people bring Capsicle to his knees."

"Thanks," Jessie told him, accepting his hand to get up. Both of them yanked Steve to his feet, then started heading out of the room.

Tony then spoke what Jessie was worried he would ask. "Why were you down there in the first place?"

Jessie scratched the back of her head awkwardly as she stuck her now-smaller quarterstaff into her belt. "Nat might have pissed me off."

Tony grinned. "She does that a lot."

"She told me to stay away from Clint."

Steve stumbled on his feet, and even Tony's jaw dropped. "She said what?"

"That," Jessie replied glumly.

Tony stomped over to the elevator. "I'm talking to her," he declared. "C'mon, Capsicle!"

Both Steve and Tony disappeared into the elevator, and that was when Jessie felt a draft blowing through the hall.

She turned, sliding her quarterstaff back into her hand. "Who's there?" she asked, snapping it to full length.

There was a chuckle. "Someone who generally cares about Agent Barton. How . . . nice."

Jessie growled. "Loki."

"How much do you count on Barton?" Loki's voice continued, and unwillingly, Jessie's memories of two years ago began to come up. "So much that if you fell into this, he could be the only one to wake you up? Or is he more?"

Jessie's eyes squeezed shut. "Go away," she ordered, but her voice wavered.

Loki chuckled again. "I could give him back to you, if you wanted . . . in return for your blood."

Jessie shook her head. She couldn't decide. Of course Clint was important to her, she'd do anything to get him back.

But the world came first.

"I'm sorry, Clint," she whispered before jumping up into the ceiling - and right into Saleen.