"HOLY SHIT."
"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I feel bad for the Chitauri that'll be in your line of fire."
Angrboda chuckled and walked past the row of targets she had just destroyed. She put the training sniper back on the rack before turning to Natasha and Clint who stood observing her.
For someone who could barely hold a gun a week ago, she sure had learned fast. Shooting was the only thing that cleared her mind these days and God knows she needed it.
She wiped the sweat off her face with a nearby towel as Natasha went on about some maneuver to change the cartridge faster.
At the beginning she only asked to learn because shooting was the only type of training that didn't put too much pressure on her shoulder. Obviously, being relegated to executive work was out of the question, so it had been her last resort.
But now, she had to admit that her initial dislike of firearms had changed. After all, she had a better chance of taking down Chitauris with a machine gun than her bare hands. And so she agreed to let Natasha and Clint take her in charge. They had been like children on Christmas morning, teaching her to aim, shoot and load a gun with maximum lethal efficiency.
On other times though, when she wanted to go back to something that was more in her scope, she went to train with Steve. His range of combat skills were closer to hers and the man definitely lived up to his status of super-soldier. Technically she wasn't supposed to fight because of her injury; but, in all honesty, even the physio himself didn't believe she'd stay away from it completely.
As for Steve, their relationship had mellowed quite a lot, even becoming casual and friendly. In fact, the whole team's spirit had lifted greatly in the short week since the attack. The entire organisation was getting back on its feet.
Obviously, the black dot in all this was that Tony still hadn't decided to show up. He might've left without a warning but they all knew he'd be back eventually. No matter what happened, he wouldn't disappear at such a critical time. He simply wouldn't.
Angrboda, on the other hand, was starting to get seriously sick of everyone waiting around for his grand return. Her mood tended to plummet every time his name was mentioned. She just had no time for this nonsense. If Tony was remotely interested in the future of his own planet, he'd be here. That was all.
⁂
Later that evening, after having dinner with the rest of the team, Angrboda went back to the shooting range for another round before heading off to sleep.
The room was empty, which she preferred by far. She went to the rack full of practice guns to choose her weapon. Lately she particularly favored an AK56 model with a short barrel, large muzzle and synthetic grip. It was lightweight and easy to handle, very convenient for her injured shoulder.
S.H.I.E.L.D had been developing energy blaster guns at light speed since knowing the fight with the Chitauri could break out at any moment. For once, she was on board with it. Most of them were still prototypes but they were more far more destructive than any of the more commonly used firearms.
Angrboda tied her hair up and grabbed her favorite model. She selected the 'multiple offensive' option on the panel board and tuned out the world around her.
The first round of targets began appearing one after the other. She managed to knock out every single one, judging by the gaping holes in the middle. But then it became tougher as the targets increased in speed and number. She was completely absorbed in her effort, barely aware of anything outside of her gun and the marks.
Her senses sharpened as she felt a presence behind her and turned around without thinking, firing a string of blasts in what she thought was another target.
It wasn't until a weight fell to the ground that she realised it was a person and they had ducked just in time to avoid the blow.
"Okay okay, I probably deserved that, but try not to shoot my face off before I'm done apologizing."
She breathed heavily, thinking she was seeing things at first... but no, there was only one person in the world who could come up with a witty comment right after almost getting disintegrated by an energy blaster gun.
"Dammit, you couldn't wait outside five more minutes?!" she exclaimed, the initial shock finally dissipating "I could've killed you!"
Tony — because who else could it possibly be — got back up swiftly only to look at her with that insufferably smug look. She felt a strong urge to punch him in the face as well as a mixture of a few other things she'd never say out loud.
"Sorry, I came back an hour ago. I've been looking for you."
"Nice of you to grace us with your presence," she hissed.
His eyes divert to the brace around her shoulder and a curious expression clouded his face. She knew he wanted to ask about it but her frigid stare most likely dissuaded him.
He cleared his throat, looking slightly uneasy "I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you put that thing down..."
"Oh this...?" she loaded the gun suggestively, her eyes not leaving him for a second.
"Mmh not exactly the warm welcome I had in mind. Let's just breathe for a second, okay?"
"I've had plenty of time to breathe, where the hell have you been?!" she spat, putting the gun back on the rack.
"Uh Stark Tower, where else?" he answered casually "Did you see the state of my suit after the attack? It was wrecked."
Her eyes were shooting daggers "It took you a week to get a new armour? What, were you building it from scratch?!"
Tony laughed which irritated her a hundred times more "No, but I was building something else."
"Great timing. Right when the team needed you."
He looked slightly haggard "I know, I know and I'm sorry about that... but let me show you what I made, it might change your mind."
She crossed her arms over her chest "You're shit at apologizing, you know that?"
She could swear his confident smirk fell ever-so-slightly "I've been told."
"And unless it helps us beat the Chitauri I don't really see why I should care."
"You should care considering it's for you."
"For... me?" she repeated, her voice coming out in a slightly higher pitch.
Tony grinned pompously and pulled out a circular black object from the inside of his jacket. He brandished it proudly right under her nose as Angrboda examined it for a moment. It looked like some kind of thick metallic bangle that could be opened and closed with a clasp.
"A... bracelet?"
"It's more of an arm cuff, actually."
"What does it do?"
He cleared his throat "Well, I remembered what you said about shapeshifting and how you had no control over it..."
"And...?"
"And this allows you to control it."
Angrboda's eyes almost popped out of their sockets "What?!"
"I studied a blood sample of yours and—"
"One second," she furrowed her brows "I've never given you a blood sample..."
Tony suddenly seemed uneasy but shot her an innocent smile, quickly trying to move on "Well anyway, the composition was very different from—"
"Don't change the subject!" she protested "How the hell did you get a blood sample?"
He cleared his throat, fiddling with the clasp of the arm cuff "I'll tell you but don't freak out, okay?"
"I can't promise that."
"Well... I was in the detention center before I left..." he avoided her gaze "Your fight with Loki made quite a mess..."
It didn't take long for Angrboda to put two and two together "Are you saying you got the blood sample from there?!"
Tony smirked, although his attempt at looking innocent was fooling no one "DNA too."
Her jaw dropped slightly "Dammit Tony, that's... disturbing."
"The idea came on a whim," he explained "My father worked on human enhancement most of his life. That's how Steve came to be..."
"I know the story," she nodded.
"I wanted to see if I could use another route by studying the shapeshifting process and apply it to other organisms... You know, to put all the chances on our side."
She immediately cocked an eyebrow, looking incredulous "You did that in a week?"
"I didn't say I succeeded..." he pointed at the arm band "Instead I made this."
It made her scowl "And of course you never asked my opinion on the matter..."
Tony shrugged knowingly with that insufferable smirk of his "Would you have given me a blood sample if I asked?"
Angrboda couldn't hold in a laugh and shook her head, knowing he had a point "Not even if you begged."
"There you go."
Her attention shifted back to the small gadget Tony was still twirling around his finger "You still haven't told me how that thing works."
"Well, I found a striking difference between the hormonal and neurotransmitter composition of your blood and that of a normal human," he began explaining "I figured since the shapeshifting must be well on its way, your body's compensating for your non-human configuration. It's picking up environmental stimulus from Earth and causing it to gradually reformat your neural and hormonal activity. I found some other organic substances that don't exist in a human body and they target the parts of your genome that are changed or inhibited in the shapeshifting process. And that's just the tip of the iceberg—"
"Okay, let me stop you right there," she cut him off with a sigh.
"What?"
"I don't understand a word you're saying. Get to the point!"
Tony let out a small laugh "Basically, this thing..." he held up the arm cuff "Targets the chemicals that cause your body to change."
"Are you saying it can stop the shapeshifting altogether?"
"Stop, reverse, accelerate..." he began listing like it was no big deal "It's like an extension of your somatic nervous system. Artificial Intelligence at its finest."
"Which means...?"
"Which means you have full control over it."
Angrboda's eyes widened as she slowly realised what this meant and all the possibilities the arm cuff gave her "Are you serious?!"
He smiled seeming infinitely satisfied "Yep," he let out before showing her the inside of the band which was lined by a small film of white, almost invisible, specks "There's about a hundred micro-needle on here, they control the composition of your blood based on your voluntary neural input... kind of like a mini JARVIS."
"So I only need to think about what I want and my body will change accordingly?!"
"If it's within the limits of what you're already capable of, and as long as you keep the band on at all times, yes," he announced "I used your DNA to program it. It will respond to no one but you."
Angrboda stayed silent for a moment taking it all in. She had a hard time believing Tony was capable of creating such a thing in such a short amount of time... then again, it was Tony. The things this man was capable of never ceased to amaze her.
But when she remembered the way she had felt those first weeks on Earth, a frown slowly clouded her expression. She hadn't particularly enjoyed being a planet-less alien and although she missed her fighting skills and her Jötnar identity, she definitely did not miss feeling like an outsider.
If Tony was to be believed, though, she should be able to prevent that from happening, right?
"Does this affect my psyche too?" she finally asked.
"No, it only affects the physical side of shapeshifting," he said before smirking "You won't go back to talking like Shakespeare again, if that's what's worrying you."
She smiled in spite of herself, trying to hide how relieved his answer made her.
She paused for a long time, wrapping her head around all of this new information "And you did all of that in a week?" she asked in a low voice.
His satisfied smirk grew wider "What can I say, I'm a biotech genius... and I'm definitely the leading man in A.I."
"This is... exactly what I needed. Tony it's amazing!"
He winced slightly "I figured I owed it to you after..."
She looked up at him, quickly ushered back to why she'd been mad at him in the first place "Which reminds me... you can't get me gadgets every time you want my forgiveness."
In all honesty, he had her forgiveness the second he showed up. But she wasn't going to let him get away with it so easily.
Tony put his hands up "I know... I'm sorry about what I said, Angie. Phil was my friend. I was just upset..."
She stared at him, considering if she should torture him a little longer. He seemed honest enough, putting his smugness aside for once.
"At least you're getting better at apologizing. I'll take it." she cracked a smile "Thank you for this," she showed the arm band "And for coming back."
"No need to thank me," his tense expression mellowed into a smile.
There was a kindness in his voice that made Angrboda want to recoil inexplicably. She didn't want to sound like a complete and utter idiot and so she refrained from saying anything.
There are very few people in this universe who can render the Harpy of Jötunheim speechless and Tony Stark is clearly one of them.
He unclasped the cuff and signed for Angrboda to come closer before slipping it around her left arm. The needles pricked as the metal settled against her skin but she only felt them for a second.
She wanted to say something, anything to let him know how grateful she was to have him around; but she also didn't want to break the moment. And so she stayed quiet, letting the intimacy of their gaze speak better than words.
"Let's go," he finally broke the silence "I think we have some Chitauri asses to kick."
Angrboda chuckled "We do."
__________________________
First chapter of Phase 3 guys! I got super lazy with the editing so please don't mind me. I've also been super emotional lately bc: 1) I turned 20 a few days ago and goddamn that's old af 2) I'm going back to uni in a few days and I'm already stressed about being stressed...
But hey, don't forget to vote and comment ♡
-L