Avengers Fanfiction: Steve Rogers

Chapter Seven: Finding a Way

HARPER

I ran down the corridor past the lab and the locked room into an empty room. I closed the door behind me and sat in the corner. I began to panic, great sobs that shook my whole body came from my chest as Tony and Steve tried to re-assure me, "It's ok, he can't do anything, you'll be fine, there's only a couple of days left." I shook more and dried my eyes on my shirt sleeve, "He said he'd 'Find a way.' To get me to do work, what if it's bad? Oh who am I kidding, he's the flipping god of mischief and lies, I've got nothing to worry about!" Tony chuckled but then quickly reassured me further, "Your doing great, but Fury wants you to give him what he wants." I stopped, "The Irridium?" He grunted, "But, he'll be able to get the portal opened," "I know, but if it stops him from hurting you then it's fine by me." "I will, stay online." He agreed and Steve came on, "Remember I...I'm right here." I nodded and felt the weight of my eyelids for the first time, I grabbed the papers from my pocket I wrote 'Meteorite radiography sample.' Holding it in my hands my eyes drooped and I began to sleep as Steve whispered something in my ear.

STEVE

"I'm here." I muttered and I heard the signal crackle as she fell asleep, she hadn't heard. Tony hadn't either, he checked his phone as it vibrated again and groaned, "16 mis-calls from pepper, 67 messages, whoops!" He picked up the call and started talking while I spoke to her through my earpiece, she wouldn't hear, but maybe she'd dream about me. Any dream was better than Loki. Even red skull was less terrifying than the reality of her situation. "Pepper, she's fine. Were getting her out anyway now. I spoke to Coulson about... Yeah! He was bright red, think fury knows. Ha!" I turned towards him as he laughed with Pepper, "Is everything a joke to you?" He put the phone down and looked up at me frowning, "Your daughter is being held hostage in a place somewhere far away and your ringing your girlfriend to talk about the food here?" He stood up, walking past me, "I don't know why you care so much, oh wait I do! You think, once you rescue her, she'll run up to you and kiss you and you'll run off into the sunset together." "Don't be ridiculous." I spat and he smiled eating something out of his pocket, "I mean, your no real superhero, what are you really? A scientific experiment. Bet she'd stand up for you now, but she can't, she's somewhere else right now. She's my daughter Steve, adopted or not. I never planned to be a father, it just happened and I'm not that I don't love it, I do. But we all have different ways of dealing with things. Just because you were a superhero in the 40's doesn't mean that you are now. Times have changed." He turned his back on me to check a screen as I stood up, "And what about you Stark? Huh. A man hiding in a suit." His reflection smiled and I went out of the room feeling hot all over.

LOKI

I walked down the corridor, peering into all of the rooms, she couldn't have got far, all the exits were armed. I spotted her quickly, curled up with the papers in her hands across her chest, "Good girl." I whispered and I entered the room, I picked the papers out of her hands easily and read 'meteorite radiography sample' on the front, I'd have Barton locate some, she murmured in her sleep like someone was talking to her and I sat down next to her trying to read her thoughts, it was easier when she was sleeping, no shield to stop me. I locked her memories away at the back of her mind, leaving space for the new ones, ones I would create later. She smiled as I replaced her thoughts, curling around me, I pulled her up onto my lap, leaning us against the wall. "Such a mystery." I whispered and she muttered my name.

HARPER

I woke up and noticed his arms around me, I yawned hoping he would release me but his arms held me tighter and closer to him, I stayed still, scared and he brushed my hair out of my eyes. "You are awake." He whispered and I nodded, trying to slide out of his grasp, he leaned down and kissed me on the lips gently but I looked up at him confused, "Hm." He sighed and locked his gaze with mine, everything left, my river of memories gone as if evaporated leaving only a dry river bed of emptiness. He leaned down again and kissed me gently and something took over my mind, I kissed him back and his arms slid to my waist. This scared me, I didn't want this, he was the bad guy, the one who I needed to avoid, he held me tighter and those thoughts were blown away, he was the good guy, the one who I felt safe with. He pulled away softly and I sighed confused. "I'll be back soon." He whispered and he left the room. "Harper! I picked up some interference then, he controlled your mind. You ok?" It was Tony. The thoughts of before came back and filled a small part of my brain, I shuddered, what was I doing? Tony was counting on me the avengers were, the world was! "Tony, Steve, Nat, Banner, Colson, Pepper, Fury, my parents, Hattie and Louise." I whispered their names quietly and gasped as a dam of memories was broken in my mind: 'My birthday when Tony had made a cake so lumpy and black that we'd laughed and gone out for pizza, Drawing on a limited edition Ferrari with Hattie and Louise with permanent markers, one memory with my parents when they took me home from the hospital their smiling faces looking down at me in the cot. I gasped, trying to breathe as they disappeared again, "Take out the earpiece." Loki whispered from behind me, his arms wrapping around my waist...and I did just that.

He laughed insanely as he crushed it under his boot, "They can't track you now, no rescue party, no people to ruin my plans." He smiled at me and I smiled back, glad they were out of my mind, glad he was controlling mine now. He ran across the room and embraced me, I breathed in his sweet scent, "Sir, we're leaving now." It was Barton, "Come on, we're going to a party." He said and he lead me out of the room.

LOKI

Her eyes were blank, no memories or thoughts of her own or read. Kind of upsetting but it was necessary. We crammed into a lift and it quickly climbed upwards, I guess it made her ears pop. "Now sir, I'll be opening the vault, 31745 and you will be collecting the eyeball sample that will allow me to do so, take her with you so I can have the men." I nodded and the lift doors opened, revealing the starry night sky, she peered above her in wonder and I smiled reading her thoughts, "I'll take you back home one day." I whispered and she smiled climbing into the car.