The Soldier and the Spy.

Chapter 14

***Variel***

As we run down the corridor in Hulk's wake, he suddenly stops. Fifteen white wolves the size of horses run out of a gap in the wall, snarling at us. The Hulk punches one into oblivion, but three more jump on him and knock him to the floor, where the rest pounce.

Seeing his best friend in danger, Tony fires up his suit and charges, joined by Thor and I. I morph into a wolf of my own- but gray, so my teammates can tell me apart- which confuses our attackers. I get tunnel vision, concerned only with killing the beasts directly in front of me.

An echoing voice penetrates the fog of blood. "Variel!"

It's Tony. "Variel! Princess! Snap out of it!" he yells. I blink, shake myself, and realize that I'm about to attack Thor in my quest to kill everything. Quickly, I become a girl again. Looking down at myself, I realize that my hands are covered in blood, as is my new suit. All the wolves are dead.

"Okay, one ravaging monster calm, one to go," Tony mutters, turning down the hallway and following the Hulk's trail of destruction. "You guys have a look inside the room those wolves were guarding, and I'll find our big friend before something else attacks."

"Yes, oh Supreme Commander," I say indignantly, regaining a little of my spunk.

"Please Princess? For me?" Tony says with an impish grin.

I roll my eyes and walk into the room with Thor. I gasp in horror. There is a glass cage with one wall missing, but that's not the problem. Neither are the dead bodies of twelve wolves like the ones we just fought. No, the thing that makes me gasp is Hawkeye's broken bow, a single bent arrow, and one of Captain America's bloody boots.

***Captain America***

My right leg is throbbing in time with my heartbeat. I wrapped it tightly in the torn-off sleeve of my suit, but I'm pretty sure that my ankle is broken. The material is already soaked in blood, and I'm having a hard time crawling- but it's better than trying to walk.

After we ran out of glass to pelt the wolves with, they started getting braver and trying to jump up to catch us. Even though the ceiling is a good sixteen or seventeen feet high, they were getting pretty close, since they're roughly the size of horses. We had to get out of there without being eaten, so we crawled along the rafters to the air-conditioning vent in the corner. Luckily, a screw was loose, so Clint and Natasha managed to pry it up, and we climbed inside. It's a tight fight, especially for me, but it beats being devoured.

A noise from below me jolts me out of my thoughts.

"Guys- wait," I whisper to the two in front.

"What is it, Cap?" Clint asks. He's directly ahead of me. "Do you need to rest for a second?"

"No- just listen," I say, and press my ear to the metal beneath my head. "Hey, can either of you see through a vent? I could have sworn I heard Tony's obnoxious voice."

"Yeah, there's one up here," Natasha says softly, her voice muffled by Clint's body.

"Do you see him?" I ask.

"Yeah- he's there! Tony! Tony!" she calls, banging on the grate.

***Tony***

I spin around at the sound of my voice, aiming my hand at....nothing.

"Who's there?" I yell. "You'd better come out with your hands up, or you'll be a puddle in one second flat!"

Beside me, Bruce stands up. He looks at me inquiringly, and I shake my head. I don't need him to be the Hulk just yet.

"Oh shut up," says the voice again. "Can't you recognize your own friends?"

"Natasha?" I ask, getting more confused by the second. "Where in the world are you?"

I hear a sigh. "We're in the air vent above your head, Tony. Do you happen to have a screwdriver? We kind of need to get out, and the grate is screwed in on your side."

Rolling my eyes, I fly up and quickly detach the grate. "For goodness sake! You guys just treat me like a flying toolbox! 'Tony, I need someone to fix my cabinet!' 'Tony, someone broke into my safe!' 'Tony, I need a specialized weapon!' Blah, blah, blah. Do you three monkeys need help getting out of there? I mean, assuming all of you are actually in there," I finish, peering into the air conditioning tunnel.

"Yes, we're all here, and no, I don't need help, although Steve might."

I fly out of the way so Russian Princess One and Legolas can jump to the ground- it's not too far, maybe about fifteen feet, so they both manage it without too much trouble. But when it's Capsicle's turn to make the leap, He just hangs from the edges of the vent. I'm about to ask sarcastically why he's afraid to jump when I notice the bloodstained bandage on his right calf.

"Whoa, there, Soldier Boy. Take it easy," I say, lowing him to the ground. "What happened?" I ask the three weary superheroes. "How did you guys get separated from Variel?"

Before any of them gets a chance to answer, Variel and Thor burst through the hole in the wall that Bruce created when he was on his rampage.

***Variel***

A huge weight drops off of my shoulders at the sight of Steve leaning against the wall. I run across the room and hug him before I can stop myself. He staggers backwards slightly and looks at me, astonished. Then he responds wholeheartedly.

"Okay, okay, break it up people," Tony says, ruining the moment as usual. "In case you haven't noticed, we've got a base to capture. How about you, Capsicle and Russian Princess Number Two, stay and guard the entrance down that-away. Yell if there's trouble."

"Yeah, sure," I say, paying more attention to Steve than Tony. "Oh my gosh Steve, what happened?" I look at his right leg, gasping at the blood. "I need to have a look at that."

"I'm fine Variel. It is just a leg," he says jokingly.

"And people have died from 'just a leg'. Sit down." I tear off one of my sleeves.

"Hey! What are you doing to my- your- new suit?" Tony protests, looking back as he walks out of the room with the other Avengers.

"Oh, shut up," I fire back as I take off Steve's blood-soaked bandage. I hear him hiss in pain."Sorry," I say. "I've never been good at healing people, but I am all too good at hurting them. Maybe that's all I'm good for. After all, everyone around me always gets hurt."

Apparently the bitterness is evident in my voice, because Steve shifts his position and lifts my face so that I'm looking at him. His eyes are so blue, and his understanding expression makes me lose my anger. I also lose the ability to form coherent thoughts.

"Don't ever say that again. You can't help that people get hurt! It's not your fault. You are a good person," he says, firmly but kindly.

"But its my fault," I protest weakly. "If I hadn't bantered with Loki and just attacked him, you would be fine. That jerk took his time on purpose, knowing someone was bound to end up hurt."

"Hey, listen Variel. It's just a scratch, okay?" Steve says gently, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"But what if we don't get there in time? I have lost so many people that I love! I don't want to lose you, too!"

Oh my gosh, I practically told Steve I love him. I hope he didn't hear me! I knew that I cared for him, but love? However, the more I think of it, the more it makes sense. I always get nervous around him, and my knees go weak whenever he looks at me. Even our closeness throws me off. I finish wrapping his leg up and wipe my hands on my suit. "Can you stand?" I ask, changing the subject. "Oh, here is your boot."

"I...I think so," he said, using me for leverage and leaning on the wall. "Thank you, Variel."

"Are you sure? You look a little out of it."

"I'm fine. Just...a little tired. And, you know, I am a bit out of it, to be honest. How many people do you know that walk away healthy after fighting off about thirty wolves with only a broken bow, one arrow, acidic lipstick, a shield, a rope, and sticky tack?"