Falling for the Captain (Captain America Fanfiction)

Chapter Thirteen: A Cellist?

We walked down the hallway and finally found where Tony and Fury were waiting for us. Tony was sitting down, Steve and I both took a seat. Fury had a face made of stone.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never did get you to sign them," Fury said as he tossed Phil's beloved cards on the table. They were all laced with blood. 

I covered my mouth with my hand as I tried to hold back my sobs. Did I do this? Steve must've read my face, as he shook his head no. That still didn't change the fact that Phil was gone, Phil who was like family to me. Just gone.

I toned out what Fury was saying until he started to talk about the tesseract. I needed these answers. We all did. I was going to avenge Coulson if it was the last thing I did. 

"Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battle that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes," Fury told us, all three of us sitting around the table listening to him. 

I watched as Tony abruptly got up and left the table. I wiped my cheeks and tried drying my tears. If Coulson wanted a strong team then he deserves to have one. I think the world needs one. It's what Coulson would have wanted. 

I got up to follow Tony, and Steve wasn't far behind me. We follow him all the way to where the cell Loki was trapped in. Steve and I stood off to the side of him, neither of us saying anything for a moment. I wasn't sure what to say. 

"Was he married?" Steve asked, breaking the silence finally. 

"No," I answered simply. SHIELD was his family. 

"There was a uh.. cellist, I think," Tony told him.

"I'm sorry he seemed like a good man," Steve said aloud.

"He was, he was a really good man," I replied, remembering him being the first ones to brief me on SHIELD. He showed me around, taught me a lot. It wouldn't be the same around the halls. 

"He was an idiot," Tony stated.

I could feel my blood boiling, how can he even say that? He didn't even know him or what he stood for.

"You don't know anything Stark," I replied bitterly, basically spitting out the words. 

"Why? For believing?" Steve asked Tony, obviously upset about it too.

"For taking on Loki alone," Tony replied, as if that warranted what he said. 

"He was doing his job," I told him, my words still coming out harsh. "What did you want him to do? Stand aside and let Loki go?" 

"He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have.." Tony tried, but this time I could see there was hurt there. 

Steve cut him off, "sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony."

"Right how did that work for him?" Tony shot back, but I could feel the pain there. I could see it in his eyes. I didn't have to go in his mind to see that. 

"Is the first time you've lost a soldier?" Steve asked him, his military ways showing.

"We are NOT soldiers! I am not marching to Fury's fife!" Tony exploded, anger replacing the pain. 

"Neither are we!" I shouted, "you're stupid if you believe I am some type of puppet in all of this. I am not a chess piece in Fury's game!"

"He's got the same blood on his hands as Loki does. Right now we've got to put that aside and get this done. Now Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list.." Steve said, trying to regroup. 

I looked over at all of the cards and the blood on them, "he's made it personal now."

"That's not the point," Steve replied to me, looking my way.

"That is the point. That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?" Tony pondered out loud.

"To tear us apart," I replied solemnly. "He wanted to rip us apart from the inside."

"He had to conquer his greed, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience," Tony continued, helping put together the pieces. 

"Right we caught his act in Germany," I said, reassuring Tony's point.

"Yeah. That's just a preview this is opening night. Loki's a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered..." he paused for a moment and I saw realization hit his face, "son of a bitch."

Tony left in a hurry and Steve and I exchanged a look. It was time to take some action, to avenge.

"Are you ready for this?" Steve asked me, "there may be some alien killing."

"I've been waiting to kick some ass," I said with a smirk.

"Well I think it's time to go get a couple of friends then."