Lost in the Mirror (Avengers Fan Fiction)

[ 8 ]

Delaney needed to find Hill. She knew that her boss was okay but her heart was racing out of control and she felt like catching her breath was impossible.

The Compound had been on a lockdown for about twenty minutes when the lights came back on and Hill's voice came over the radio.

"All able agents and Avengers are to report to the landing at this time."

Delaney's phone rang from her pocket. She pulled it out and saw that Hill was calling her.

"How many did we lose, Commander?" Delaney crinkled her brows together, biting the inside of her cheek.

"As of now, only six."

"That's.... That's better than last time." She spoke quietly.

"Valente, I need you at the landing now. All of us are meeting there."

"Okay. I'll be there, Commander."

•*•*•

When Delaney and Loki arrived to the landing, the rest of the agents were already there and so were the Avengers. Hill was speaking at the moment, but Delaney was too anxious to figure out who had been injured or who had been lost in the raid.

Before leaving Loki's side, Delaney grabbed his fingers and squeezed them.

"Be safe." She murmured, then let him go and moved to Steve. "Captain Rogers!"

Steve turned to face her, his appearance making her gasp and stop moving. He was bleeding from a nasty looking cut on his forehead and bruises were already beginning to show up on his cheek,

"Are you okay?" Delaney whispered to him, not wanting to disturb the agents who were actually listening to Hill. Delaney reached up to cup his jaw, brushing the little traces of blood on his lip away.

"I'm perfectly fine, Delaney. What about you?" Steve pulled her hand away from his face, giving her a light smile.

"I'm okay. Loki was with me and he helped a lot."

Steve gazed past Delaney for a moment, his eyes falling on the god. Loki had been watching Delaney momentarily but the second Steve looked in his direction, Loki looked away.

Delaney moved through the crowd of Avengers, counting faces and checking any injuries she thought might have been hurtful. Eventually, she made it back around to Steve. By that time, most of the agents had returned to the inside of the Compound.

The sun was going down and it was beginning to get chilly outside.

"There's a lot that needs to be done tomorrow." Hill told the Avengers, her voice solemn and quiet. "It's been a long day for most of us. We'll come back tomorrow and start fresh. If you'll excuse me, I have to contact the families of the ones we lost. Valente?"

"Yes, Commander?" Delaney turned her attention to her boss.

"Come with me please. I could use some help."

"Yes, ma'am." Delaney nodded her head and began to follow Hill.

•*•*•

"It has been a long day." Hill sighed out as she sat down at her desk.

"I couldn't agree more."

"We haven't been able to talk about what happened with you earlier today, Valente." Hill's words made Delaney look up from where she had been fixing the bookshelf in Hill's office.

"We don't.... We don't have to talk about it." Delaney shook her head gently, tucking pieces of dark hair behind her ears. "I'm okay, Commander."

"When was the last time you talked with Dr. Manning?"