Rip My Heart Out (Avengers Age of Ultron)

Chapter 17

"No problem." Natasha said nonchalantly. "You ready to go face big bad Steve?"

I groaned. "Not really."

Natasha rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand again. "He'll come around. Besides, I've finally got another lady in this all boys club we call the Avengers. Do you really think I'm going to let them take you away?"

That was enough to bring a smile to my lips. "I'm going to hold you to that, deal?"

"Deal." She promised.

The party was loud. It wasn't just the music. There were so many people, each of them having their own conversations. I glanced around the room, realizing that I didn't recognize a single face. I was in a room full of strangers.

"I'm going to go grab a drink. Do you want something?" Natasha asked.

I shook my head sheepishly, barely having heard her question. My eyes darted around the room.

"You going to be okay?" Natasha asked, putting a hand on my arm to get my attention.

I looked at her for a moment, trying to consider her question. I really wasn't sure if I would be okay, but I nodded anyway. "Yeah, go ahead. Have fun."

Natasha nodded once, giving me a wary look before walking away. I felt her presence slip away from my consciousness as she walked away. I hadn't even realized I was tracking her with the stone's powers, but now that she was gone, I felt alone and vulnerable.

I couldn't help but seeing a threat in every one of the faces of the patrons of the party. I didn't know any of them and although most of them were probably just socialites trying to get Tony Stark's or any of the other world famous Avenger's attention, I couldn't let myself relax no matter how hard I tried.

Pietro had snatched me out of a room with all of the Avengers standing between him and I as if it was nothing, and I couldn't help thinking how easy it would be to grab me with all the commotion in the room. No one would even notice.

I felt energy surge to my hands, preparing to protect myself if it was necessary. I knew I was being paranoid, but my instincts were telling me to stay on guard, and my instincts were ruling over everything else these days.

One by one, people started popping into my head. I couldn't stop them. My mind instinctively started tracking every single person at the party, searching for a threat. I felt them walking around the room, stopping and going, mingling, laughing, drinking. I felt it all, as if I was standing right next to all 183 of them.

My head started pulsing, spreading a dull ache around the entirety of my mind. The ache quickly turned into a migraine and the migraine quickly turned into a piercing pain. I put one hand on the wall next to me putting all my weight against it and held the other hand to my head, as if to block everyone's signal from entering there.

I tried to walk, to get away from all the people, but I ended up just sliding against the wall, unable to muster the strength to do anything else. I noticed a balcony nearby that seemed empty. My vision was quickly turning blue, and I was very afraid at what I could do.

I made it to the balcony, drawing stares from a few nearby people, but I didn't have time to think about what anyone else thought about me at the moment. I stepped outside, and took a deep breathe of the fresh air. I felt a little better instantly, but I wasn't out of the woods yet.

I closed my eyes and kept breathing slow, ridding myself of the people swarming around my head one by one. After several long moments, the piercing pain was gone, and there was only one person remaining in my mind. He was standing right behind me.

Steve.

I turned hesitantly to see Steve leaning in the doorway I had stumbled through moments ago. "Hello, Emelia."

"Steve." I nodded.

"You were just glowing." Steve said. The idea of it clearly weirded him out a lot.

"Yeah, I do that sometimes." I said a little too harshly, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear. Steve scoffed and took a seat nearby. I took a step towards him, planning to join him, but stopped. He was watching me intently, his body language rigid. "I'm okay now, really."

He didn't say anything, just kept staring.

"It was just a little too much to take in all at once, that's all. I'm still getting used to everything, you know?" I said, really hoping this conversation would go differently than the last.

Steve took a deep breathe, and finally, after several moments that seemed to last an eternity, he relaxed slightly. "The first time I tried running after the serum, I ran through the window of a bridal store because I couldn't judge my speed."

A smile touched his lips, and I felt one form on mine as well. We were silent for a moment longer. I finally took a seat next to Steve. We sat close enough for our arms to be touching. I used to sit this close to him in the Square and feel the warmth radiating off his skin. Now, I was my own source of heat.

A lot of things were different now.

"I can control it, Steve." I said. He didn't look at me. "I've been practicing." I sensed his hesitation, laced with doubt. "Watch."

I raised my hand in front of me and pushed energy into it, but instead of launching it like I usually did, I held it there. The energy swirled off of my hand, creating intricate patterns in the air around it. It swirled and twisted in every direction, spreading out across the balcony, surrounding us.

"Steve, you've only ever seen the stone in the hands of people with evil intent. The stone doesn't corrupt, it enhances. I'm not evil Steve. You still believe that, don't you?" I said, watching the blue light reflect off of the skin of his face.

Steve sighed. "I'm scared, Emelia. Not just of the Stone, but of losing you."

"Then don't send me away." I pleaded.

"Thor knows more about the infinity stones than any of us. It would be safer if you were with him." Steve watched the lights dance around the balcony.

"Safer for who?" I mumbled. I closed my hand and all the light left the balcony in the blink of an eye. "Just give me a chance, please. I can handle this, let me prove it to you, and if I can't I'll go with Thor, I swear."

"It's not just up to me. The whole team has seen what the stone can do. We need to talk to them too." Steve said.

"Wait! Are you saying I can stay as long as they're okay with it?" I've never felt more like a lost puppy than I did saying that, but I felt hope bubble inside me.

Steve chuckled lightly. "I'm saying we'll talk about it."

I wrapped my arms around one of Steve's and rested my head on his shoulder. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths before opening them again. "You're going to miss the party sitting out here. You better get back in there Cap."

"Thor did mention he might have a way to get me drunk." Steve chuckled.

I laughed too. "Now that's something I want to see."

"You going to be okay in there?" He asked, nodding towards the party.

"Yeah, I'll be okay." Finally, I actually believed it.

A/N :

This chapter is a little bit shorter than the rest, but I just needed to get this out there! I love Steve and Emelia's friendship! Is that just me? Please tell me it isn't!! :)

The next chapter should be up soon! It is written, it just needs proofread! 

I am so so excited about this next chapter though, because the rest of the Avengers are going to get to see just how badass Emelia is! (Next chapter will take us through Ultron's first attack right after the party!) Get ready, it's going to be good! (Pardon my gloating! lol I have been waiting for this moment for a long, long time!)

Anywho, what do you think about Emelia's abilities so far? Are you as excited about her as I am?