Ruined in the Shadows
Chapter 09
It has been three weeks since Steve and I had our last night of passion. He moved into a room way on the other side of the living quarters wing. We have not spoken since that night and I plan to keep it that way for a while. I'm having the hardest time accepting him for his new, future self. It's just not Steve.
No one else has said or asked about what happened that night. God only knows the scenarios their minds have cooked up. It's pretty obvious Steve and I had sexual relations that night but they don't know why we are currently broken up.
Things have been pretty quiet since Amora and her axe-wielding friend visited us here at the Avengers Mansion. There have been a few fights here and there; things only a small handful of us can take care of. Obviously, Steve and I have not been out on a battle together. That would just be a disaster, emotionally and physically.
"Waddup, girlie?" I say happily as I enter the kitchen and wrap my arm around Natasha, who is sitting at the island counter. She is huddled over papers.
"Hey. Nothing," she says, glancing up at me.
"That doesn't look like nothing to me." I slide over to the other side of the counter and plop down in a chair. I give her a questioning look.
She sighs, breaking her silence. "Alright, I'll tell you." Natasha wiggles in her seat the littlest bit and points on the map in front of her. "This is a map of the water system in our area of New York City. There have been numerous reports of possible tampering, but when they go out to look at the spots, there's nothing to be found."
"Do they think someone is trying to possibly poison the city?" I ask, brows furrowed together.
"Wow, I just love how you jump to conclusions like that, Skylar." She smirks. "But I don't know.
That's what I'm trying to figure out. This is driving me crazy!" She slams her fist down on the map.
"Whoa! Honey, you need a break!" I grab the papers and shuffle them into a stack and set them on another counter. "Let's do something fun!"
Just then, Natasha's Avengers ID card goes off. "Hello?" She answers.
"Agent Romanoff, you're needed," Nick Fury says plainly.
"Right away, sir." She says. Natasha then looks up at me with a disappointed look. "Sorry, Skylar. I gotta go." She slips the card into her pocket and jogs out of the kitchen.
Annoyed, I slump out of my chair and shuffle out of the kitchen. Wanting someone to hang out with, I search for another member of the Avengers. I move to the entry way at the front of the main entrance. I then see Hawkeye. "Hey, Clint! Wanna hang out?"
He stops running and looks at me. "Sorry, Skylar. Fury called me. Maybe later?" Without me responding, he sprints out the door.
I then see Tony, but sadly, he is suited up in his Iron Man armor. "Hey, Tony. What's going on?"
"Ehh, it's just the Wrecking Crew making mayhem at a bank. I'm going with Thor and Bruce to try to break things up. You want to come?"
I think about it for a minute. It's is incredibly tempting considering how bored I am but I hate the Wrecking Crew. They're always sexually harassing me. I am totally not in the mood to be exposed to those awful pick-up lines. "No, Tony, that's alright. I'll just hang out here." I give him a half-hearted smile and I make my way up to my room.
I jump on my bed and log on to my computer. Do my routine: I turn on some music--Filter to be exact--check my e-mail, log on to Twitter, get on Mibba, check Facebook, and finally, I return home to Tumblr. I scroll through the endless pages of pictures and text posts. I am pleased to see that there are plenty of pictures that are connected to my latest obsessions: Sherlock and American Horror Story.
After about an hour, I hear some commotion down in the common area. I roll out of bed and all of a sudden, I hear a huge crash. I quickly reach under my pillow to get a pistol. I cautiously make my way down the hall to the elevator. I click the button to go down to the main floor. I pull out my ID card, wanting to call someone but I know they are too busy to deal with a simple home invasion.
Since the big crash, I haven't heard anything. I get to the entry room. I walk across the dark tile. "Hello?" I call out. "Is anyone there?" I hold my pistol up, ready to shoot any kind of intruder. Suddenly, there is a huge thrash of lightning and thunder that causes me to jump. I then remind myself that it is probably just Thor giving the Wrecking Crew a little scare. I relax but then I'm hit by this huge mass and I black out.
When I come to, the only light is from a small candle and I find myself being held tightly by a huge, green, smelly creature. Abomination. I've heard stories about him. He's a minion of Baron Zemo. Just then, a tall figure recedes from the darkness. He is wearing a lilac body suit with black and white animal print fur lining. I notice that his face is shielded by a permanent mask thanks to Captain America.
You see, back in the 1940's, Baron Zemo was one of the top scientists of the Nazi Party. He created Adhesive X, a strong adhesive that was seemingly impossible to unhinge. During a battle, Captain America pushed Zemo into the Adhesive X and his gaudy body suit was forever married to his skin.
Finally, Baron speaks, "Hello, Skylar Hourani," he says in his slithering accented voice. I stay silent. "It's so nice to meet you, you know. I've read so much about you. Your attack against my colleague, Arnim Zola, was quite impressive." He folds his hands together and puts them behind his back.
"W-what do you want?" I tried to hide the shakiness in my voice. Normally, I wouldn't be so fearful, but normally, I would have my powers, swords and team with me. That's right, my powers haven't been seen since before my last night with Steve. I'm doomed here all alone in this huge mansion with these crazy people.
"You know what I want. Your beloved Captain America," he hisses.
"What? I don't know where Steve is!" Steve! I totally forgot about Steve! Where was he anyway? Was he even in the house? We have learned to keep separate so well that I almost forget he even lives here.
"Don't lie to me!" He unsheathes his sword and points it at my throat. "I've read your files! I know you two are a couple! Now tell me where he is!"
Abomination squeezes me so tight I think I'm going to pass out. "I, don't, know!" I scream at him. Tears begin to well in my eyes. "We're not even together anymore!"
"Lies!" He pipes up. He then pulls out a vile labeled with a Z. "Looks like I'm going to get to test this out after all!" Zemo puts on a gas mask. "Here we go!" He whispers.
All of a sudden, a circular shield flies into the room and smacks Abomination right in the head. He falls to the ground, knocked out cold and I loosen myself free. My swords then slide to me from the shadows. I pick them up and hold them firmly in my hands, ready for battle. I stare at Zemo and he stares at me. Finally, my savior shows himself. Captain America comes from the darkness and he gives me a smirk. I send him back and thankful look.
"Oh, look! Another test subject!" Zemo cackles.
"What are you doing here, Zemo?" Steve demands. His voice is surprisingly angry and husky. I had almost forgotten what it sounded like.
"Me? Oh, I'm just saying hello to your little girlfriend!" Baron looks over at me. I can just picture his facial expression. It causes me to shudder.
Steve has had enough. He runs at his enemy. Baron drops his sword from the force and the Captain holds him by his throat. "Why are you here?! What is your mission?! Why are you doing this?" He shouts into the choking man's face.
"I...I..." Zemo sputters. I watch as he reaches for his sword that is just inches away from his grasp.
Before I can stop Baron from grasping his weapon, Abomination picks me up by my leg and holds me upside down. He throws me around a bit and I grow dizzy and shaken. He then tosses me against the wall and I slide down to the floor. I lie there for a moment, making sure he believes I'm incapacitated. When his back in turned, I stand up and taking a running leap. I hammer my foot in the back of his head and then he is once again knocked to the ground.
I then hear commotion over by Steve and Zemo but when I look over, Steve is on the ground and Zemo is running off. Without even thinking about running after the enemy, I fall to my knees next to Steve. "Steve? Steve, can you hear me? Steve?" He does not respond. "Steve!" I scream. I try to blink back my tears as I push against his sides, trying desperately to wake him up.
"Skylar?" I hear faintly.
"Steve! Steve, are you okay?" I breathe a sigh of relief and cup his cheek in my hand. I am so thankful he is alright.
"Yeah, I should be fine," he answers.
I realize where my hand is and abruptly remove it. "Can you stand?" I ask, leaning back to give him space.
"Yes. I can." He slides on to his knees and then stand and then I do as he does. He breathes out cautiously. Steve stares at the tile flooring and then slowly meets my eye. "Skylar... listen..."
"Don't," I say. I then I walk carefully toward Steve. I wrap my arms around his waist and give him an affectionate hug. I raise my head up, crane my neck and kiss Steve deeply.
"Well, what do we have here?" A familiar voice asks.
Steve and I break our kiss immediately. I turn to find Tony, Bruce, Thor, Clint and Natasha standing over by the door. I step away from Steve's side and rub my neck, embarrassed. Both of us are speechless.
"When are you to going to stop breaking up and getting back together?" Clint asks, amused and annoyed.
Neither of us responds.
"What happened here?" Bruce questions, more concerned about the giant gamma monster unconscious on our entry way floor.
"Um," I begin. "Baron Zemo and Abomination broke in."
"Zemo got away," Steve explains. There is deep hatred and anger in his voice. "He'll be back."
No one else has said or asked about what happened that night. God only knows the scenarios their minds have cooked up. It's pretty obvious Steve and I had sexual relations that night but they don't know why we are currently broken up.
Things have been pretty quiet since Amora and her axe-wielding friend visited us here at the Avengers Mansion. There have been a few fights here and there; things only a small handful of us can take care of. Obviously, Steve and I have not been out on a battle together. That would just be a disaster, emotionally and physically.
"Waddup, girlie?" I say happily as I enter the kitchen and wrap my arm around Natasha, who is sitting at the island counter. She is huddled over papers.
"Hey. Nothing," she says, glancing up at me.
"That doesn't look like nothing to me." I slide over to the other side of the counter and plop down in a chair. I give her a questioning look.
She sighs, breaking her silence. "Alright, I'll tell you." Natasha wiggles in her seat the littlest bit and points on the map in front of her. "This is a map of the water system in our area of New York City. There have been numerous reports of possible tampering, but when they go out to look at the spots, there's nothing to be found."
"Do they think someone is trying to possibly poison the city?" I ask, brows furrowed together.
"Wow, I just love how you jump to conclusions like that, Skylar." She smirks. "But I don't know.
That's what I'm trying to figure out. This is driving me crazy!" She slams her fist down on the map.
"Whoa! Honey, you need a break!" I grab the papers and shuffle them into a stack and set them on another counter. "Let's do something fun!"
Just then, Natasha's Avengers ID card goes off. "Hello?" She answers.
"Agent Romanoff, you're needed," Nick Fury says plainly.
"Right away, sir." She says. Natasha then looks up at me with a disappointed look. "Sorry, Skylar. I gotta go." She slips the card into her pocket and jogs out of the kitchen.
Annoyed, I slump out of my chair and shuffle out of the kitchen. Wanting someone to hang out with, I search for another member of the Avengers. I move to the entry way at the front of the main entrance. I then see Hawkeye. "Hey, Clint! Wanna hang out?"
He stops running and looks at me. "Sorry, Skylar. Fury called me. Maybe later?" Without me responding, he sprints out the door.
I then see Tony, but sadly, he is suited up in his Iron Man armor. "Hey, Tony. What's going on?"
"Ehh, it's just the Wrecking Crew making mayhem at a bank. I'm going with Thor and Bruce to try to break things up. You want to come?"
I think about it for a minute. It's is incredibly tempting considering how bored I am but I hate the Wrecking Crew. They're always sexually harassing me. I am totally not in the mood to be exposed to those awful pick-up lines. "No, Tony, that's alright. I'll just hang out here." I give him a half-hearted smile and I make my way up to my room.
I jump on my bed and log on to my computer. Do my routine: I turn on some music--Filter to be exact--check my e-mail, log on to Twitter, get on Mibba, check Facebook, and finally, I return home to Tumblr. I scroll through the endless pages of pictures and text posts. I am pleased to see that there are plenty of pictures that are connected to my latest obsessions: Sherlock and American Horror Story.
After about an hour, I hear some commotion down in the common area. I roll out of bed and all of a sudden, I hear a huge crash. I quickly reach under my pillow to get a pistol. I cautiously make my way down the hall to the elevator. I click the button to go down to the main floor. I pull out my ID card, wanting to call someone but I know they are too busy to deal with a simple home invasion.
Since the big crash, I haven't heard anything. I get to the entry room. I walk across the dark tile. "Hello?" I call out. "Is anyone there?" I hold my pistol up, ready to shoot any kind of intruder. Suddenly, there is a huge thrash of lightning and thunder that causes me to jump. I then remind myself that it is probably just Thor giving the Wrecking Crew a little scare. I relax but then I'm hit by this huge mass and I black out.
When I come to, the only light is from a small candle and I find myself being held tightly by a huge, green, smelly creature. Abomination. I've heard stories about him. He's a minion of Baron Zemo. Just then, a tall figure recedes from the darkness. He is wearing a lilac body suit with black and white animal print fur lining. I notice that his face is shielded by a permanent mask thanks to Captain America.
You see, back in the 1940's, Baron Zemo was one of the top scientists of the Nazi Party. He created Adhesive X, a strong adhesive that was seemingly impossible to unhinge. During a battle, Captain America pushed Zemo into the Adhesive X and his gaudy body suit was forever married to his skin.
Finally, Baron speaks, "Hello, Skylar Hourani," he says in his slithering accented voice. I stay silent. "It's so nice to meet you, you know. I've read so much about you. Your attack against my colleague, Arnim Zola, was quite impressive." He folds his hands together and puts them behind his back.
"W-what do you want?" I tried to hide the shakiness in my voice. Normally, I wouldn't be so fearful, but normally, I would have my powers, swords and team with me. That's right, my powers haven't been seen since before my last night with Steve. I'm doomed here all alone in this huge mansion with these crazy people.
"You know what I want. Your beloved Captain America," he hisses.
"What? I don't know where Steve is!" Steve! I totally forgot about Steve! Where was he anyway? Was he even in the house? We have learned to keep separate so well that I almost forget he even lives here.
"Don't lie to me!" He unsheathes his sword and points it at my throat. "I've read your files! I know you two are a couple! Now tell me where he is!"
Abomination squeezes me so tight I think I'm going to pass out. "I, don't, know!" I scream at him. Tears begin to well in my eyes. "We're not even together anymore!"
"Lies!" He pipes up. He then pulls out a vile labeled with a Z. "Looks like I'm going to get to test this out after all!" Zemo puts on a gas mask. "Here we go!" He whispers.
All of a sudden, a circular shield flies into the room and smacks Abomination right in the head. He falls to the ground, knocked out cold and I loosen myself free. My swords then slide to me from the shadows. I pick them up and hold them firmly in my hands, ready for battle. I stare at Zemo and he stares at me. Finally, my savior shows himself. Captain America comes from the darkness and he gives me a smirk. I send him back and thankful look.
"Oh, look! Another test subject!" Zemo cackles.
"What are you doing here, Zemo?" Steve demands. His voice is surprisingly angry and husky. I had almost forgotten what it sounded like.
"Me? Oh, I'm just saying hello to your little girlfriend!" Baron looks over at me. I can just picture his facial expression. It causes me to shudder.
Steve has had enough. He runs at his enemy. Baron drops his sword from the force and the Captain holds him by his throat. "Why are you here?! What is your mission?! Why are you doing this?" He shouts into the choking man's face.
"I...I..." Zemo sputters. I watch as he reaches for his sword that is just inches away from his grasp.
Before I can stop Baron from grasping his weapon, Abomination picks me up by my leg and holds me upside down. He throws me around a bit and I grow dizzy and shaken. He then tosses me against the wall and I slide down to the floor. I lie there for a moment, making sure he believes I'm incapacitated. When his back in turned, I stand up and taking a running leap. I hammer my foot in the back of his head and then he is once again knocked to the ground.
I then hear commotion over by Steve and Zemo but when I look over, Steve is on the ground and Zemo is running off. Without even thinking about running after the enemy, I fall to my knees next to Steve. "Steve? Steve, can you hear me? Steve?" He does not respond. "Steve!" I scream. I try to blink back my tears as I push against his sides, trying desperately to wake him up.
"Skylar?" I hear faintly.
"Steve! Steve, are you okay?" I breathe a sigh of relief and cup his cheek in my hand. I am so thankful he is alright.
"Yeah, I should be fine," he answers.
I realize where my hand is and abruptly remove it. "Can you stand?" I ask, leaning back to give him space.
"Yes. I can." He slides on to his knees and then stand and then I do as he does. He breathes out cautiously. Steve stares at the tile flooring and then slowly meets my eye. "Skylar... listen..."
"Don't," I say. I then I walk carefully toward Steve. I wrap my arms around his waist and give him an affectionate hug. I raise my head up, crane my neck and kiss Steve deeply.
"Well, what do we have here?" A familiar voice asks.
Steve and I break our kiss immediately. I turn to find Tony, Bruce, Thor, Clint and Natasha standing over by the door. I step away from Steve's side and rub my neck, embarrassed. Both of us are speechless.
"When are you to going to stop breaking up and getting back together?" Clint asks, amused and annoyed.
Neither of us responds.
"What happened here?" Bruce questions, more concerned about the giant gamma monster unconscious on our entry way floor.
"Um," I begin. "Baron Zemo and Abomination broke in."
"Zemo got away," Steve explains. There is deep hatred and anger in his voice. "He'll be back."
Notes
Clint is right! When are Skylar and Steve going to stop breaking up and getting back together?! I just love torturing my readers! Haha!Skylar's Outfit: http://www.polyvore.com/skylar_14/set?id=65389872&lid=1836855
And if you like other fan fictions, you might want to check my out on Mibba: http://www.mibba.com/Member/234558/
5/23/13