Beep.   Beep.   Beep.

Really? My first day off in forever, and I'm woken up by some incessant beeping?!

Beep. Beep.   Beep. Beep.   Beep. Beep.

"Agent Coulson is down...."

"Hey! Clare, you gotta breathe for me! C'mon focus sweetie."

My eyes flutter open, and I gasp for breath as the memories come flooding back. I shut my eyes just as quickly due to the bright light belonging to the medical ward of the helicarrier.

"Oh thank God!" I now feel pressure in my hand, hearing my brothers voice. Slowly I turn my head and lock eyes on a very tired looking Tony.

"Don't ever scare me like that again, Clara Marie!" He says with relief, anger, and tears in his eyes. He bends down to gently hug me, I can feel his tension leave as I hug him back.

"I'm sorry Anthony. Believe me, I didn't plan on that..."

I let the sentence hang as I remember about Phil. Tears start to build again in my eyes, a few escape without my notice until Tony gently wipes my cheeks.

"I'm sorry about Phil, Clara. There was nothing they could do for him." He says with regret, rubbing soothing circles into my hands.

But there could be...the project Phil and I were working on...No. It's too unstable..

"There's nothing we could've done Tony. He did his job. Now we gotta do ours." I say looking into his eyes determinedly.

"No. Absolutely not. You've just been shot, and you want to run head first into the bigger fight? Don't think so."

"Tony you can't—"

"I can, and I will. End of discussion."

Before I can get another word in, he's stalking out of the door almost running into Steve in the process. I begin to sit up in the bed, pulling wires and needles from my arms, when Steve rushes in trying to stop me.

"Hey, hey! What do you think you're doing? You gotta lie down!" He says trying to push me back into the bed, a small smile crossing my lips.

"Can't lie down Cap. We gotta job to do."

"Oh no. You've just been shot—"

"Yes. And I also heal a lot quicker than the average person."

As I lift up my uniform I show him the healing wound, and again his eyes widen in shock. That's when I notice he's back in his own uniform, and I raise an eyebrow.

"Going somewhere Cap?"

"Uh..um..well. We know where Loki is, and we're going after him."

"Then I'm coming with you—"

"I don't think—"

"Nothing you say will change my mind. I'm going. If you believe I'm just going to sit here after what that bastard did to Phil...you're sadly mistaken."

We stare at each other in silence, waiting for him to challenge me. When he suddenly smirks at me.

"You've got fire. I admire that."

"Thank you. Not many do."

"You're welcome. Now suit up. We leave in five." With that we are both headed out the ward, changing quickly I follow Steve to the waiting quinjet.

"So where is Loki?" I ask, trying to keep up with Steve's long strides.

"Well...ironically enough. Stark Tower."

"You've got to be kidding me! Tony sure won't be happy about that.."

"He wasn't. Speaking of...does he know you're coming?"

"My brother doesn't make my decisions for me, as much as he likes to think he does—"

"What the hell Cap? You do remember she was shot—"

"Shut it Tony. I'm fine enough to kick some ass." This causes Clint to laugh a bit up in the cockpit.

"That's what I'm talking about." He says as we all strap in, Tony still with a sour look on his face.

At the last minute, Tony decides to fly himself there, claiming he'll get there faster—which is probably true. And he's gotta get a new suit anyways. Well here we go...

~~

As Cap and I sit in the jet, I'm checking my wound again, hoping it won't reopen, and I hear Steve take a sharp intake of breath.

"Alright. How did you do that? There's no way that wound would've healed so quickly." He asks making me smirk slightly at his curiosity.

"Remember that condition I told you I developed? Well this was it."

"So it's a natural enhancement? Or was it..?"

"I wasn't an experiment if that's what you're asking." I say with a smile, making him blush shyly.

"It's natural..or so I gathered. We've run tests trying to find where I could've gotten this mutated gene, but both of my parents were normal–my brother too. So it's a bit of a mystery, but I don't mind the powers."

"What can you do exactly? I got the healing, but you're actions at the engine..."

"I understand, it's hard for most people to grasp, so I apologize for throwing this at you too. You've probably only ever known yourself to be the strangest enhanced." I say with a slight laugh, and he smiles and nods in agreement.

"This mutation not only speeds up my healing and metabolism processes, but it's also expanded my mental capacity. Telekinesis in sciencey terms. I can not only move myself, like you saw at the engine, but I can also move others and objects with enough focus—"

"That's why you couldn't shift the lever. You lost focus?"

"Yes, but I was able to gather enough to give you a push back onto the platform." His eyes widen.

"That was you? Wow...is there anything else you can do?"

Should I? It won't hurt if he's going to be my teammate. No more secrets.

"Well I can actually get into others' minds, but I haven't really figured it out, so I avoid using it if I can. I can also protect mine and others' minds from being invaded, but once again..unstable."

"Wow. That's insane..."

He just sits and let's it sink in. And I focus on my hands clasped in my lap, not really sure how to take his silence. People usually aren't pleased to work with mutants, so I'm just waiting for..the inevitable I guess.

"Hey." He says, and now I notice his hands have been placed on mine. I look up to meet steady, accepting, gorgeous blue eyes.

"Those things you can do are amazing. You're really going to help this team. Please don't think that I'm afraid or unwilling to work with you, because that's not true." A small smile graces my features at his speech.

"You really mean that?"

"Absolutely."

And my smile widens, when the jet lurches to the one side, and I realize we're in front of the Tower, being shot down by Loki. Bracing for impact, we all jump into action as we land in the streets of New York. Before Steve can rush out of the jet, I grab his arm making him look down at me.

"Thank you, Steve." I say, and before I chicken out, I place a quick kiss on his cheek before running into the rubble.