Time passed, and before they knew it, they were there. Steve slowed his pace as he and Christina neared the area. Christina could smell the lingering scent of blood, and it made the surge of nausea return. She paused and closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the strength of the smell.
​
Steve understood why Christina wanted to see where Coulson died, as much as he wanted to protect her from the pain she was going to face, he knew that he couldn't. He would never be able to. She was a remarkable person who could protect herself.
​
Steve watched her walk quietly and slowly on the deck that surrounded where Loki's cage had once been. Her footsteps were soft, her eyes scanning about her - ignoring Stark's presence. The bloodstain was still on the wall, and it caught Christina's purple-blue eyes immediately.
​
For a short moment, Christina couldn't seem to be able to fill her lungs with the oxygen they needed. Her heart was pounding so hard that she thought it was going to burst right out of her chest and onto the floor. The back of her eyes pinched and stung as the urge to cry became for prominent, but she breathed in and out until the urge subsided. Without consciously knowing that she had done it, she threw herself at the railing - in attempt to distract herself, gripping the metal so tight that the flesh of her knuckles turned white.
​
Steve was immediately next to her; she turned her head towards him in high hopes that his scent would overpower the metallic scent of Coulson's blood. Taking a deep breath, she moved in closer to Steve and pressed her forehead into his chest, her nose against his peck.
​
"Are you okay?" he asked.

Christina nodded and pulled away, she bowed her head so Steve wouldn't see her eyes, she was losing control over their change. Turning around, they both walked back over to the entrance, quite a bit away from the bloodstain.

"Was he married?" Steve asked Stark softly.
​
"No," Stark replied. "There was a, uh, cellist, I think."
​
"I'm sorry," Steve said, the sincerity of his words evident in his voice. Christina nodded at the open space in front of her. "He seemed like a good man."
​
"He was an idiot," Stark said. Christina's head snapped toward him.
​
"Tony," she said in a low warning tone.
​
"Why? For believing?" Steve frowned as he folded his arms across his chest.
​
"For taking on Loki alone," Stark replied with a sigh. He glanced over at Christina as he walked toward them both.
​
"He was doing his job," Christina pressed.
​
Stark scoffed, "He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have..." Stark's voice trailed off.
​
"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony," Steve said, him and Christina crossing to meet Stark.
​
"Right, I've heard that before," Tony replied sarcastically.
​
"Is this the first time you lost a soldier?" Steve turned around to face
Tony as he passed him and Christina. Without warning, Tony whirled around to face the Super-Soldier.
​
"We are not soldiers," Stark spat in disgust. His dark brown eyes were fiery and angry, adamant in his statement. "I'm not marching to Fury's fife."
​
"Neither are we," Steve said sincerely as he glanced down at Christina, who was already looking up at him. "He's got the same blood on his hands Loki does. But right now, we gotta put that behind us and get this done. Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list-"
​
Tony glanced down at the bloodstain before he interrupted Steve by saying: "He made it personal."
​
"That's not the point," Steve said patiently, as if he were consulting a child.
​
"That is the point," Christina protested, suddenly catching onto what Tony was getting at. "That's Loki's point. He hit us all where we live. Why?"
​
"To tear us apart," Steve answered.
​
"Yeah, divide and conquer is great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants," Tony said, snapping his fingers before he continued: "He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it," Stark began.
​
"He wants an audience," Christina finished.
​
"Right. I caught his act in Stuttgart," Steve quipped. Tony walked behind Steve and Christina and up the stairs as his mind continued to turn.
​
"Yeah, that was just the previews. This is...this is opening night." Stark replied. "And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades. He wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered-" Tony stopped short, his eyes widening as he made the connection. "Son of a bitch."
- - - -
Christina met with Natasha and Clint in the hall outside the room that Clint was being detained in, and they began walking towards the Quinjet. Natasha was wearing her cat-suit with the Black Widow red-hour glass symbol on her belt. Christina in her own cat-suit, black fabric with candy-apple red fabric running down the sides and a red cobra in striking position was embroidered on her hip - her snake-venom laced katana sheathed on her back. Clint was in his own uniform, and Steve led the way, fully decked out in his red, white, and blue.
​
"Thanks for yesterday, if you wouldn't have distracted the Hulk while I was unconscious, he probably would have killed me." Natasha said to Christina quietly as they walked along.
​
"Don't worry about it," Christian replied.
​
They approached the Quinjet. A pilot was already in it, and he didn't look very pleased to see the four of them marching up to him with clear intentions on taking it.
​
"Hey, you guys aren't authorized to be in here." The pilot said.
​
"Son, just don't," Steve ordered, sounding mildly irritated as he took control of the situation. The pilot didn't hesitate in leaving. Christina and Natasha made eye contact and suppressed their smirks. Clink took his position in the pilot's seat, switching on all kinds of controls and reading different panels that made no sense to Christina and Steve.
​
"Let's fly," Clint said into the speaker.
They were airborne. A flash of red beside them quickly passed them, telling them that Stark was ready and on the go.