Heart Of Stone

Chapter 44

Once the scream stopped filtering through my lips, for a moment, all was still and silent. Slowly I rose from the ground where I'd fallen due to Fury's brute force. At the same turtle-pace speed, I met Fury's eyes, my expression blank, and brought my hand to my cheek. My index and middle finger lightly traced the stone, a perfect replica of Fury's callous hand.

Then, as Tony would say, all hell broke loose.

I tried to lunge at Fury, but the Avengers all filed in and Wanda's magic began to hold me back. Steve grabbed his shield and stood protectively between me and Fury, defending me from any other attacks. Thor summoned his hammer to his hand, pointing it at Fury warningly. Vision stood with them, the Mind Stone on his forehead glinting dangerously in the light.

Clint was busy keeping his wife out of the way and making sure his kids saw as little of this as possible, Natasha helping him. Bruce was also there, but for the same reasons as the kids and Laura.

"What the hell, Fury?!" Tony snapped. "You ruined a good meal just to slap the poor girl?!" I ignore his girl comment, knowing that now is not the time to argue with him.

"You insult the eye, you get the hand," Fury says simply, showing no guilt. "Director Fury, that was physical assault against an innocent civilian," Steve said in what I have learned to call his 'scolding' tone thanks to Tony. "We can have you arrested for that. And your defence is that she insulted your eye? I expected more from someone like you."

"You don't question me, Rogers," Fury said. "I don't take kindly to threats." "You hit Lexis and you think threats are your biggest problem right now?!" Steve lost it. Wanda held her arm out so she was prepared to hold him back with her magic as well. I noticed she'd released me, but I was a little calmer now that my moment of shocked anger was over and I didn't try and attack again. Seeing my reaction, Wanda put her full focus towards making sure nobody took what Tony calls a 'cheap shot' at Fury.

Wow, I just realised that I've been around Tony far too much.

"You are lucky I do not resort to violence to solve every problem I have," I speak up, causing Fury's head to turn my way. I lace my words with venom. "You are also lucky that there are young children around because otherwise I would..." I stop, look over my shoulder at the kids, then switch to Tamatari so they don't have to hear.

"Florfire zombrot expel lycabit, testro lacksi blamez plusse testro minscale genat."

"And exactly what does that mean?" Fury questioned. "I do not find it appropriate to say in front of the children," I reply. "Or in front of you. I do not wish to be slapped again."

He grits his teeth. "Then don't insult me when I'm only trying to do my job." "Oh, my apologies, I did not know your job was to send highly trained agents to scare random people away from their homes because they are convinced said agents are there to capture them, torture them, then eventually burn them at the stake as mere public entertainment," I keep my voice as level as possible, my stare into his eye never once faltering.

"And why is that?" Is his response. I openly glare at him now. "After all this, after everything that has been said and done, you are still merely here to assess my 'use' to a team I have no current intent of joining? That is plain cruelty. I do not work with people who are dictated by cruel human beings such as yourself."

"You know what? Neither do I," Tony remarked. "You're released from your duties, Nicky. Get the cra-" he looked at the kids. "Get the heck out of my building. Now. The Avengers are no longer your little project if you're just going to physically assault us when we do or say one thing you personally don't like. We're going rogue. Any objections?"

Silence. Natasha opened her mouth to object, then paused. I looked into her mind and saw she was realising that she had no defence for Fury in this situation. She shut her mouth again.

Fury looked most surprised at her silence out of all of ours. "Agent Romanoff, Agent Barton?" He looks at Natasha and Clint. Natasha shakes her head slightly. "You can't win this one, there are only so many times when you can successfully blame other people," she said.

Clint was more active in his new rise against Fury. "This isn't the first time you've given people barely any other choice but to do what you want them to, but this is ridiculous. You seriously sent someone in to... to what? Bring her to you? Make her feel hunted and targeted to the point where she has to run to you for 'protection'? Hurt her until you can just swoop right in and heal her, then demand she repay a life debt she shouldn't have to owe?

Lexis is right; you're a cruel man, Fury. Because the second one is what happened. It was all so fast that I doubt she even thought it through. She was so scared that she came right to us even though she didn't like us much and even though she would get turned to stone if she so much as touched us. And you know why she jumped on the offer at the first chance she had after your agent's appearance? Because she thought she would die if she didn't. She was convinced that it was either give up the life she claimed to be very happy with for something she openly disliked and was scared of or be killed by you. Convincing innocent people that they're going to die unless they do something they don't want to but you do want them to do is just... it's inhumane.

And now you're trying to force her to call herself one of us? When you're the self-proclaimed... what purpose do you exactly serve to the Avengers? Sure, you activated the Avengers protocol way back when, but that was just to get our as-... butts in gear! And what have you done since then? Nothing! You weren't needed to let Sam, Wanda and Vision join the Avengers, so why are you choosing the members of the team you have no real part in? If Lexis wants to join us, that's our problem, not yours, so stop harassing her about it.

But then you have the nerve to come in here and ruin a lovely Christmas - especially Lexis's first real one -and try to blackmail her into doing something she definitely doesn't want or have to do? And then when she gives you a bare minimum insult after you literally call her a common doormat you hit her?! What the hell?! On top of the fact that that's never going to convince her to listen to you, you can't just hit people! Honestly, I'm ashamed that I ever took orders from you or let my wife and kids near you. I don't want you anywhere near my family. Both of my families. Get the hell out of here and never come close to any of us ever again or you're getting an arrow up your butt."