Elemental {Avengers}

31. Monsters

I woke up, the sounds of snoring right next to my head, the television still on, Game of Thrones still playing. There was talking too, in the other room. Laughing. Joking. I wondered if I was in the same house that I had fallen asleep in.

A twist of my head, and Storm was there, snuggled up under a blanket. She opened those sapphire eyes, staring at me intently. Had she been fed?

I managed to get up, wiping the sleep from my eyes. I was still tired. Dammit.

Even standing up was a huge effort, requiring me to lean on several pieces of furniture, stumbling across the room like a dazed zombie. My hair was a mess; I could tell, but I didn't even bother to smooth it down, entering the kitchen.

I peeked around the door, leaning heavily against the old wooden frame.

It was night already, the moon out in the sky, stars twinkling in the window. Steve, Clint and Nat were all lounging on the couch opposite the fireplace, hands wrapped around mugs of steaming soup, there backs facing me.

The great and powerful, Maeve the ice and fire-bringer has awoken

Too soon I thought. Wait.... are you, cooking?

Is it that much of a shock? Prefer me in an apron?

I chuckled. Maybe. I'm indecisive

He looked at me with hooded eyes, turning away to where the soup pot was bubbling away. I know how I'd prefer you.

Nice try. Not going to work, though I raised an eyebrow.

" Hi Maeve." Steve called from the couch. " How's your day been? "

" Uneventful" I yawned.

Loki passed me a mug of pumpkin soup, wisps of steam tickling my nose. Clint spoke up " Loki said it wasn't."

" Well, if he already told you..." I gave him a pointed glare. " I have nothing to add."

" He kind of told it in vague terms." Clint nudged.

" Ugh. I'm too tired. But, I'll tell you then, because I know he can tell extremely one sided stories." I gave him another glare, this time he smirked.

" I asked Loki to go into my mind..." I decided I wouldn't tell them why, it was none of their business knowing anyways. " He did, and found the Sceptre lurking. Next thing I knew I was passed out on the floor, not able to move from fatigue, Loki nearly passed out as well from his headache."

" Well, you both learnt a lesson, then?"

" What lesson?" Loki asked, " I wasn't aware we were in school"

" What did you get up to today?" I asked, changing the subject abruptly. I knew Natasha would notice me trying to dodge the topic, but I didn't feel like talking anymore. " Did you find any spies near the house?"

" Yep. Two of them. We got some DNA and a place to meet them, though. Here"

They gave me what looked like a business card. The address was to an underground club in town. " Are you sure they were SHIELD agents?" I asked them, sitting up a bit straighter and examining the card.

" Actually, no. Not really." They told me about the day, how Nat had posed as someone else, how she had taken note of what they were wearing, the clothing types, faces, brand of cigarettes on the dashboard.

" Probably club owners, bribed into searching for some fugitives. SHIELD wouldn't have had to pay much, and the club owners would have known all the sleazy people in town, knowing the town's dynamics in and out. Probably more useful than a bunch of SHIELD agents, too. But less smart. Less likely to pick up suspicious behaviour." I said, handing them back the card.