Stand As Heroes » Quicksilver

chapter eight

08 x it feels like we're running out of time

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[ Megan's POV ]

The Lady Sif was a very tall, very beautiful woman with long, dark hair that was pulled back in a pony tail. She, like every other Asgardian I had ever seen, was armed, and wearing armor — hers was silver and red. Her stoic demeanor broke long enough for her to give Jane a friendly smile, but then it was back on.

When she gave me a once over I got the feeling that I probably, maybe, possibly should've tried to wear more clothes on this particular adventure. But then I felt the light flaring up, and my eyes full-on glowing, and I remembered why I was so scantily clad.

"You all right?" Pietro murmured as he noticed my temperature spike.

I gave a nearly imperceptible nod. "You can hover without touching," I allowed. I removed my hand from his and gave him the briefest of glances with a strained smile. "I promise I won't be offended."

"Lady Jane," Sif greeted first as we all stopped before her. "It's wonderful to see you again."

"It's nice to see you too, Sif," Jane smiled. She waved toward the rest of us then; "This is Tony Stark—" Tony's grin was cheeky and hinted at troublemaking, "—Bruce Banner—" Bruce's smile was more modest and he gave a slight nod, "—Pietro Maximoff—" Pietro gave Sif a curt nod, one of his hands now hovering at my back, "—and Megan Sinclair."

Lady Sif has nodded at each person in turn, but her gaze settled on me with an odd sort of intensity. "Lady Megan—" she said, and for a moment I was worried she was going to comment on my lack of clothing, "—you seem unwell."

My answering smile was shaky. "That may be an understatement."

"She's the one whose lineage we're trying to determine," Jane told Sif.

"And given the circumstances," Tony interrupted, because of course he would, "we don't exactly have a lot of free time to kill. So could we get a move on?"

Lady Sif nodded once. "Certainly. I shall explain how the hall of records works while we walk."

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[ Third person POV ]

Steve had regathered the remaining Avengers once the bifrost had come and gone. He stood at the front of the room and surveyed his team, cogs in his brain turning as he considered their options. Thor was the only one on-Earth who was not in attendance; they had split up after their brief discussion, given Thor had recalled an ally who he was certain would be of great use to them.

Steve hadn't asked questions. Just let him go.

And when Rhodes had something about needing to start communications with the Air Force, Army, National Guard ... Steve nodded and wished him good luck.

They were going to need all the help they could get.

It wasn't that the Avengers were short on allies; it was that Thor was right. An already dead army was a level up so far as ranking enemies went, which was saying something for them.

"All right," he said eventually. He took in a deep breath before he continued. "We're going to need all the help that we can get. I've got calls to make--" Fury and Coulson, primarily, "--and if any of you can think of anyone who would be helpful in ..." he paused, at a loss for words; "... anyone who would be helpful. Now's the time to say something."

Sam was the first to answer, and he did so with a smile. "I know a guy."

Bucky gave him a suspicious, sideways look, but he didn't get a chance to say anything before Steve intervened. "Great," Steve nodded. "Take Bucky with you. Make it clear that while this is a request ..."

"It's an urgent one?" Sam offered with a nod. "Got it. C'mon, Barnes."

Bucky gave a dramatic sigh but followed Sam out of the room nonetheless.

"I know of some who would be more than willing to help," Wanda volunteered as the two men walked out.

Steve nodded at her. "Perfect. Take Vision."

"Of course," Wanda smiled. She grabbed Vision's hand and they left without another word.

"Natasha--" Steve began to say, but she interrupted him.

"I know you're going to want me to help you make contact with our allies in SHIELD," she said, "but you should take Clint instead."

Clint did not look like he agreed with her at all, but he didn't say anything, so his expression went unnoticed by both Steve and Natasha.

Steve arched a brow. "You got an ace up your sleeve?"

Natasha flashed him a charming smile that hinted at secrets not yet revealed. "Always do. If you guys hear about where the tear will happen before I get back, let me know, and we'll meet you on-site."

Steve nodded and turned to Clint, who looked as though he would rather be anywhere else in the world. Clint rubbed the back of his neck. "You wanna talk to Fury and Coulson?"

"That was the plan."

Clint nodded and got to his feet with a grumbling groan before he stretched. "All right. I'm with you, then."

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[ Megan's POV ]

As Lady Sif explained it, Asgard's knowledge and technology was far beyond what was available on Earth. The hall of records contained information on every known species, and for some planets even had census records that spanned millenniums. This was partially possible due to the fact that not all of their records were physical - not unlike a digital library.

"Before we enter the hall of records," Sif said as she came to a stop, "Lady Megan will need to be seen by a few of our healers."

Even though I kept my focus on Sif, I could see all three of the men exchange uncertain glances.

Jane spoke before any of them could. "The process would go smoother if a physical could be done first," she explained. She focused on me. "Their physicals are far less invasive than the ones we have on Earth. I would know; I've had to have one done myself."

"And at the end of it, we would have at least a baseline of information to start our search," Sif finished. "Searching 'half-human' or 'half-alien' could provide thousands of results that would take even our best record-keepers days to go through. And from the looks of it, you--" she made eye contact with me, "--do not have days."

Pietro bristled beside me at that. I was grateful that he stayed quiet.

"I'm okay with a physical," I said with a nod. I felt more weary than anything else at this point. "But I can already tell you," I glanced over at Tony and Bruce, "they're going to want to at least be present. And they'll have plenty to say."

Bruce nodded without a word, but it wasn't him who I was anticipating being talkative.

Lo and behold: "She's right," Tony said, coming up beside me so that I was bracketed between he and Pietro. "Partially because I want to see what kind of system you've got going here, maybe take some mental notes for improvements back home--" he glanced briefly at me. "Also because so far, her best and most recent doctors," he waved between he and Bruce, "have been us."

"We are currently the most familiar with her physiology," Bruce agreed, though he sounded much less persistent than Tony did. "More than even she is."

"And I can tell you," Tony continued, now taking a step in front of me, toward Lady Sif, "that if you want to take her anywhere, Maximoff goes with."

Lady Sif looked at each of the four of us in turn with an expression I couldn't interpret. Then she focused on Jane. "You once told me that not all Midgardians are stubborn," she mused to the other woman. "I now believe that to have been untruthful."

Jane smiled nervously. "Understandable. And a conversation we can have later. Surely if you and I are already going to be there, the three of them can come, too?"

Lady Sif nodded slowly. "Yes, that is manageable. Besides," she said as she turned and began to walk again, this time toward a door that was nearby, "if Banner and Stark are anywhere near as smart as you, they may actually learn something from this."