After figuring out how to make the water really hot, I cleansed my body of the bad aroma that the nightmare left on my skin. I got out ten minutes later, feeling 100 times better.
I changed into one of my day dresses and sat down at the desks and decided to order some clothes, like Pepper and Dominic recommended. I typed in the websites, very slowly as I got used to the computer. I clicked through the clothes and put a few in 'the basket' guessing my sizes. I chose a few sets of outfits that were for chilling, a few for going to the gym and some more nightdresses as I only have the one.
Happy with my choices, I went to check out but found that it was already ordered. I had no idea what that meant but guessed that someone had done my work for me.
The sun was now blasting the room, making it really warm, so I decided I would go and visit Tony in the lab and see if Bruce or anyone else was around. I left the room with my key card in my pocket, got in the elevator and pressed the top button.
The doors opened up and revealed an empty lab. I crept in, unsure if I was authorised to be in there. As I walked further into the room, I started to hear Tony's voice. I looked over the balcony and saw a seating area down below. Tony was led on a sofa as he faced the ceiling with his eyes shut and Bruce was sat on a chair nearby, his head in his hands.
"You know, and thank you by the way. For listening. Plus, something about just getting it off my chest, and putting it out there in the atmosphere, instead of holding this in... I mean, this is what gets people sick, you know. Wow, I had no idea you were such a good listener. To be able to share all my intimate thoughts and my experiences with someone, it just cuts the weight of it in half. You know, it's like a snake swallowing its own tail. Everything comes full circle." Tony was ranting to what looked like an asleep Bruce.
Bruce's head lolled to the side a little and he dropped his glasses, waking him up. I don't think that either of them had noticed my presence yet and I didn't want to startle them so waited for an appropriate entrance.
"And the fact that you've been able to help me process..." Tony stopped at the realisation that Bruce had actually been asleep the whole time. Bruce tried to act casual as Tony glared at him. "Are you with me?"
"Sorry... I was, yeah. We were at, uh..." Bruce stammered as he tried to recover himself.
"Are you actively napping?" Tony asked him, clearly agitated.
"I was...I... I drifted."
"Where did I lose you?"
"Elevator in Switzerland." Bruce explained as Tony rolled his eyes, getting more annoyed.
"So, you heard none of it." Tony sighed as he realised he must have been talking to himself for quite some time.
I decided now was a good time to announce my presence. I cleared my throat and the boys looked up at me. "Tony, I think you have enough money to talk to a professional therapist." I jumped in as I climbed down the stairs to their level.
"Do you enjoy listening in on private conversations?" Tony snarked as he leaned forward from the sofa.
"There would be no need for a private conversation if you spoke to a professional, she's right. Nice to see you again, Theia." Bruce stammered as he nodded to me, and I nodded back as I sat down in a chair next to him. "I'm sorry, Tony. I'm not that kind of doctor. I'm not a therapist. It's not my training."
"So?" Tony asked.
"I don't have the-"
"What? The time?"
"Temperament." Bruce explained. That was definitely true.
"You know what? Now that I think about it. Oh! God, my original wound, 1983, all right?" Tony started up again, expecting his audience to listen intently, this time.
"Yes." Bruce sighed as Tony recalled his childhood trauma.
"Here we go." I rolled my eyes as I leaned back in my chair.
"I'm fourteen years old, I still have a nanny. That was weird-" Tony started before he was interrupted.
"I am sorry to interrupt, gentleman and lady, but I have some pretty important news." Dominic had stuck into the room without us noticing.
"Do go on, Agent Green." Bruce told him.
Dominic took a big breath before he looked down at his paperwork and started reading. "It seems that Agent Romanoff has released all of S.H.I.E.L.D's hidden files and revealed that HYDRA has been running the show from behind the scenes for years. They were planning to use their new weaponised Helicarriers to take out all potential threats to HYDRA. All three of you were considered targets. Captain Rogers and associates took down the Helicarriers, saving millions of people." Dominic explained as we all watched in shock.
As Dominic explained what had happened Tony, Bruce and I all kept looking between us in reaction to everything he said. It made sense now, why those girls said Steve was a 'bad boy' and why him and Natasha were being considered fugitives. They must have discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D was corrupt and tried to take them down. I hoped he was okay.
"Where is he now?" Tony asked urgently, his voice filled with concern for his friend.
"He is in an intensive care unit in DC. He is in critical condition." Dominic explained his face showing his empathy.
Tony stood up abruptly and started pulling on his jacket that was hung over the edge of the sofa. "Get the Quinjet fired up, we should probably thank him for saving our lives." He announced as Bruce stood up as well. I remained in my chair, in shock over the news that Steve was badly hurt. All my feelings for him came flooding back. "Theia, you coming?"
I contemplated my answer for a moment. "Um, I'm not sure that Steve would want me there." I finally answered, my eyes focused on my knees.
"Are you kidding? You might send him into cardiac arrest, in a good way though. Come on your coming." I giggled a little as Tony stuck out his hand and yanked me up from my chair. They started walking quickly towards a different elevator that I guessed would lead us to the jet. I waved goodbye to Dominic as I followed Bruce and Tony.
Even if Steve was now with someone else, I still wanted to make sure he was okay, even if it was just as a friend.
The different elevator opened up into a short corridor that led straight to the landing platform of the Quintet. Tony strapped himself into the pilot chair and Bruce and I sat down in the passenger seats. The ride was short to DC so it must have been close to New York. Tony landed the jet on top of the hospital, and we found out Steve's room number off of the receptionist.
Tony and Bruce led the way to his room with me closely following along. I was so nervous to see him. It would be so awkward if his new girlfriend is here, I think I would actually run away, maybe even go back to Asgard.
We arrived at the room the receptionist told us Steve was in and there was an armed guard outside the room. I looked through the window and saw a dark-skinned man at Steve's bedside, but no girl. I let go of the breath I was holding onto, and my anxiety decreased significantly.
A doctor was also in there with them, and Tony marched through the door and started speaking to them, followed by Bruce. I stayed outside as I simply didn't have the strength to see Steve like this.
He was led unconscious in the bed with a heavily bruised face, showing all the colours of the rainbow. His cheek had a set of stitches and he looked really beaten up.
The man who was sat by his side made eye contact with me as I nervously paced the outside of the room. He lazily got up from his chair and started walking out the door, towards me. "Are you a friend of Steve's?" He asked me as he stuck his hands in his jean pockets.
"Um, I don't know. Theia Odinsdottir, of Asgard." I introduced myself and stuck my hand out nervously, not really looking at the man as I kept glancing to Steve's broken face.
"Ah, I know who you are. Sam Wilson." He stated as he shook my hand, definitely noticing my lack of attention. "He does not stop talking about you." He muttered to me.
"I'm sure that's not true." I respond, doubting my beliefs slightly. Even if he was with someone, it was a really nice feeling to just think about Steve talking about me.
Sam raised his eyebrows dramatically. "Are you joking? That boy is whipped." Sam stressed as Tony and Bruce came out of Steve's room followed by the doctor, who took off to look after another patient.
"He's pretty beaten up, but he will be all right. They're just waiting for him to wake up." Tony explained to us. I left Sam, Bruce and Tony to introduce each other as I walked closer to the window looking in on Steve. Gosh, I had missed him so much. I tried to suppress my feelings when I found out he was with someone new. I figured we would just be friends but now that I'm looking at him in pain, all I want to do is run to his side.
"Nat is speaking to the press right now about the situation with HYDRA, do you wanna watch it with us?" Bruce whispered to my, whipping me out of my trance.
"Uh, yeah, sure." I mutter in response as I tear myself away from the window and towards the TV that San, Tony and Bruce were now gathered at.
Natasha's face appeared on the screen, surrounded by dozens of people with microphones and cameras. Her hair was longer, it looked amazing too.
"Why haven't we yet heard from Captain Rogers?" A man asked as the screen flipped to his face. He was wearing a military uniform. I had seen similar ones during our adventure on the Helicarrier.
"I don't know what there is left for him to say, I think the wreck in the middle of the Potomac made his point fairly eloquently." Natasha responded her face and voice cold.
"Well, he could explain how this country is expected to maintain its national security now that he and you have laid waste to our intelligence apparatus." The man added as Natasha ran her tongue over her teeth, clearly annoyed to have to explain their actions.
"HYDRA was selling you lies, not intelligence." She snapped back. The sound of cameras clicking in the background filled the short silences.
"Many of which you seemed to have had a personal hand in telling." The same man spoke before he was interrupted by another man, who leaned forward, probably in attempt to intimidate Natasha, which I knew would be very difficult.
"Agent, you should know that there are some on this committee who feel, given your service record, both for this country and against it, that you belong in a penitentiary. Not mouthing off on Capitol Hill." The man sneered at Natasha, her expression not faltering in the slightest.
"You're not going to put me in a prison. You're not going to put any of us in a prison. You know why?" She asserted, catching the attention of everyone in the room and watching on their screens.
"Do enlighten us." The man jeered, making a few of the other men in uniforms, chuckle dismissively.
"Because you need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes, we help make it that way. But we're also the ones best qualified to defend it. So, if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me." She left all the questioning men in shock as she swished her hair over her shoulder and walked down the alley of flashing cameras.
We peeled our eyes away from the TV as Natasha had left the screen. The others all shrugged in agreement. We were all impressed with her badassness.
"She certainly enlightened them." Bruce admired in awe.
Before we could discuss her speech further, a coughing noise came from Steve's room. Sam rushed to his bedside as Steve began to open his eyes. I hid myself behind a wall, my chest rising and falling rapidly. I didn't expect him to actually wake up while we were here. Tony and Bruce both noticed my panic and raised their eyebrows at each other in confusion while I focused on my breath.
They both followed Sam into the room while I remained outside and listened to the chattering nurses nearby, over the sound of the man I love's voice.
Only a few minutes went past before Tony and Bruce stepped back out and muttered something about getting back to the lab. Tony gestured for me to follow, and I snuck past the window hoping that Steve hadn't seen me.
We were back in the air in a matter of moments as Tony steered the jet back to New York. I was sat on the floor, leaning against the chair I was supposed to be strapped into. I felt terrible for not talking to him but know that I would have burst into tears.
Tony spun round in his chair to face me as he told Jarvis to take control. "Hey, why didn't you grace lover boy with your presence." He asked me as he leant down on his chair.
I chuckled at the way that Tony always phrases things. "I told you that he wouldn't want to see me."
"Why the hell would you think that." he asked me, seeming genuinely concerned.
"I, um, I called him when I was in London and a woman picked up." I sighed as I relived the moment again.
"Now that is some serious bullshit." Tony blurted out making me laugh a little. "He was practically buzzing when you jumped him before you went home, couldn't wipe the childish grin he had off his face."
"He may have, but now he... he has found someone new. And it's okay, but I don't think I could have held my composure while he was like that." I mutter, my bottom lip hanging out slightly as I felt sorry for myself.
"You seem pretty convinced but I'm sure things will change around soon. He was too loved up with you to just drop it for someone else. Don't give him too hard a time." He finished as he turned his chair back around to pilot the jet again, leaving me to think about what he said.
It was nice the way that Tony cared about me.