One With Earth [Avengers]

Ten Bucks

STEVE

The rest of the jet ride went by quietly. I went back to my seat to finish the last video. I opened the file and smiled immediately. There was Izzy sparring with Hawkeye and winning. We started to land and I finished up the video. As the jet touched down Agent Coulson stood and I followed him

We dismounted the aircraft and my eyes had to adjust to the direct sunlight. I saw we were in fact in the middle of the ocean. The agent and I walked forward and there was Black Widow, standing next to her, Izzy.

"Agent Romanoff, Roarke. Captain Rogers." Coulson half greeted and introduced.

"Ma'am?" I nodded to Natasha.

She smiled. "Hi."

"Izzy," I grinned, she wasn't in her normal colors but she was still her.

Her hazel eyes lit up and she returned the smile. "Steve."

"They need you on the bridge." Natasha turned to Agent Coulson. "Face time."

"See you there." he smiled and walked off.

Natasha turned to me. "There was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice." They both started walking off and I followed. "I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" she inquired.

I tilted my head. "Trading cards?"

"They're vintage, he's very proud."

Dr. Bruce Banner was unknowingly walking over to us. "Dr. Banner." I acknowledged him. Holding my hand out for him to shake.

He looked surprised but shook my hand firmly. "Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming."

I nodded. "Word is you can find the cube."

He shifted. "Is that the only word on me?"

"Only word I care about." I said the sentiment wholeheartedly.

He gave a small thoughtful smile, "Must be strange for you, all of this." he gestured around.

I looked around and glanced at Izzy. "Well, this is actually kind of familiar." I admitted. Planes, soldiers, S.H.I.E.L.D., all stuff I dealt with in my past.

"Gentlemen, you may wanna step inside in a minute." Agent Romanoff smirked behind us.

"It's gonna get a little hard to breathe." Izzy added.

"Is this is a submarine?" I ask.

"Really?" Banner deadpanned. "They want me in a submerged pressurized metal container?" we both went to look over the edge. As the water started clearing from blades we started rising. We took a few steps back. "Oh no, this is much worse." Banner deadpanned, I was speechless.

We both turned and followed the women inside. Fury was there at a control panel. Another agent stood next to him and Izzy took the place next to her. There were a bunch of other people on the lower levels, monitoring computer screens, talking yelling out protocols and updates. Something on a screen caught Natasha's eye and she stopped to watch it.

"We're at level, sir." the agent next to him spoke.

"Good. Let's vanish." the director told her.

Suddenly, the whole ship rises even higher, and then it is covered in what I guess is mirrors. My jaw drops as I take all of it in.

Fury turns around to greet us. "Gentlemen." I walk over to him, pulling out some money. As he holds his hand out to shake mine I put a ten dollar bill in it. I walk past him to get a better view of everything.

"A lot to take in, right?" Izzy's voice sounded as she walked up beside me.

I looked at her then back out the window. "I keep thinking I've seen it all, then something else comes along and surprises me. Everything is just moving so fast."

"You'll catch up." she smiled. "You'll learn to adapt, sooner or later."

"It seems you did, easily." I noted.

"Well I didn't take a seventy year nap." she mused.

"Right... How-?"

"Alien, I'm an alien." she cut me off. "Well half alien, my dad was human."

I grimaced, that wasn't an answer I was expecting to hear. "Of course." I thought for a moment. "This Loki guy, he's an alien, are you two the same..?"

She shook her head. "He's from a planet called Asgard, I'm from somewhere different." she explained. "I'm one of the last of my kind." she added, looking down.

I gave a small smile. "But you're part human, too, and there's billions of us."

She laughed. "That's true."

I looked down then back up at her. "So no more Izzy? Should I start calling you Anna, or Agent Roarke? Or do you have a codename?" I asked.

"Izzy, Isabel, Ianna, Anna, Ann." she listed. "They're all me, you can call me whatever you like."

"I'll stick with Izzy." then I grinned. "So why aren't you wearing your true colors?"

She shrugged. "Not a lot of people are used to it, and I don't have time for a bunch of questions."

"Well I for one like them, they're unique, they're you."

She looked away. "Thanks." she said, brushing her hair out of her face and smiling. "Why don't I show you around this place?" she offered and I accepted.

____________ÆÆÆÆÆÆ____________

"Yeah, and that's pretty much it." she shrugged, we stopped in an empty hall, next to the kitchen door. It was quiet, and as she spoke her hair fell in her face. Before she could reach up I brushed it away for her, tucking it behind her ear. She looked up into my eyes, her camouflaged hazel one's looking intently back at my plain blue ones. She slowly stepped closer to me. I leaned down and her lips met mine halfway. It felt perfect. It felt right.

It was a small kiss but it said so much. We both pulled away from each other. "Maybe we should get back to the others..." I whispered, looking into her eyes again.

She nodded, licking her lips. "Right." she said quietly. She led me back to the briefing room, Agent Phil Coulson came over shyly. Izzy grinned at him and patted my shoulder, giving us some space; I watched her go. He stood, looking out over the railings at the window, mirroring me.

"So, I was wondering, I have these trading cards..." he started, still looking forward. "Do you think you could sign them?"

I smirked. "Sure."

"I mean, if it's not too much trouble." he said quickly.

I shook my head. "No, no. It's fine." I insisted. I was just surprised I still had fans in this day and age.

"It's a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all." he bragged. "Near mint, slight foxing around the edges, but..."

"We got a hit." he was cut off by an agent on the lower level. We all turned out heads to him. "Sixty-seven percent match. Wait- crossmatch, seventy- nine percent."

"Location?" Fury asked.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Königstrasse." he read and turned to us. "He's not exactly hiding." he grimaced.

The director turned to me. "Captain, you're up." I nodded. "Roarke, board the jet with Natasha." she gave a curt nod.

We walked down a long hall and at the end was a door. "Right in there." She gestured then smiled. "See you on the other side." she turned to walk away but I pulled her in for another kiss.

"Right." I returned her smile. She went to walk back down the hall and I stepped in the room. I know I didn't have enough time to just stand around but I couldn't help but freeze when I saw the suit. It was different but still brought back all the old memories. I snapped out of it quickly and suited up.