Jessica blinks rapidly to clear the glossy need for sleep from her eyes. Her mind suddenly fills with the memories of only hours before. It's in this moment that she realizes that she shouldn't be surprised to see Steve standing before her.

"I know I said I would explain..." she starts.

Running abruptly into her is as jarring to Steve as it is Jessica. He looks behind her at the slate gray doors like he's about to say something but rethinks it. Instead, he says, "I was just coming to see if you were alright. Your arm..."

Steve trails off, noticing her perfectly functioning wrist. She matches his gaze, flexing her muscles self-consciously.

"How did you—?"

Jessica suddenly notices the amount of agents in the hallway. Most are chatting amongst themselves just as everyone else has done as they passed, but Jessica can't help but feel exposed at the sight of them.

"Come here," she whispers.

A janitorial room sits across from the infirmary, though she didn't know that before now. Steve gazes down the hallway, hesitancy written on his face as she holds open the door.

"I'm not gonna hurt ya, Rogers," she jokes after a second.

He tries to hold back his smile, but the edges of his lips turn up anyways, "That's not really the concern."

Steve steps inside behind her. Her fingers slide along the wall for the light switch, which in turn reveals a much bigger utility room than she had previously expected.

He stays by the door, his arms crossed over his chest, "Can I ask why we're hiding in a closet?"

"You should know by now," she replies, "we SHIELD agents are crazy about our secrets."

He looks around the room at the shelves of cleaning supplies, "This seems like more than a secret."

She examines their surroundings as well. It's only fitting that she would hide them in the corner of a dimly lit, barely visited room to talk. It vaguely resembles her powers—shoved aside and kept secret. It's better this way.

"I'm sorry for what I did," Jessica apologizes. "I wasn't being careful."

"Had I known, I wouldn't have tried to stop you," he admits, "but I'm sure there's a reason that you didn't tell me."

She doesn't say anything and as they have so many times today, her eyes find a spot on the opposite wall to focus on.

"This isn't what I wanted," she mumbles.

"Jessica, you don't have to tell me—"

"Do you remember what we saw?" She interrupts him, "The memory I stole from you?"

Steve recalls the pharmacy and the old car. His friend, a face he hasn't been able to see clearly in decades, emerging from the door. It was so realistic, almost as if he was there living it all over again.

He feels himself nod.

"Which means you remember what happens afterwards," she says. "The feeling of weakness, exhaustion. Only because I touched you for a second." Her hands fold over each other uncomfortably as she holds them against her. "Any longer and I could have..."

It's difficult for him to not immediately fill the silence that comes after her words. She's scared of herself and of the things she could possibly do to others.

"That's why you do interrogations. Something happened in the field," he concludes.

Her eyes close and she leans her head back against the wooden shelf. A low, shaky breath escapes her lips. From across the room, Steve swears he can see a small silver tear run down her cheek.

"I'm sorry," he mutters. "I didn't mean to upset you."

She shakes his worry off, "I'm just tired."

"I'm sure there's something we could do," he tries. "Have you tried to learn to control it?"

The look on her face explains it for him as she opens her eyes, "It's impossible. No one in their right mind would ever submit themselves to that."

He shrugs, "This is me offering."

Jessica stares at him. Nothing about him screams crazy, but only a fool would willingly surrender themself to her touch. Even if learning to control her curse is possible, there's no telling what the cost of earning that power could be.

"I could hurt you, Steve," she states.

"I've been hurt before, Jess," he admits.

She shakes her head, "It's not a joke. I've..."

"I know," he says, "and I know how crazy this sounds. We just met yesterday," he looks away for a second as if the fact alone cannot possibly be true, "but I haven't... I've just... I don't have anything to lose since coming out of the ice. Let me do this for you."

"That's a bit depressing," she says, playfully.

"Yeah, I know," he admits.

She scans his face. Her instincts and deciphering skills read him like a book. He is alone, honest, and has already faced his weight in pain. Whether it be emotional or physical, she doesn't know; those two sometimes come off the same.

"Fine," she agrees, "but it'll be on my terms."

"I wouldn't expect any less," he says. "Come on. You look exhausted."

They leave the closet separately, but there's no one in the hallway to notice. Jessica sees Nurse Rosie pass by the infirmary windows on her way out, but she thankfully turns around at the last second.

"I'm sorry about Agent Coulson," Steve says as they venture down the hall together. "I know you too were close."

At the mention of her friend, Jessica realizes that she had let herself vary away from her grief for a moment. She shames herself, but she also would be lying if she said that it didn't feel good to be distracted.

"Thank you," she replies. "I'd like to find Tony, actually. He and Phil were..."

She trails off. Like any relationship with Tony, it's hard to define in simple terms. The same could be said for her own relationship with him.

"Any news on Thor?" she asks, changing the topic.

"Not that I've heard," Steve admits, before asking, "He knows about you, right?"

"He does now. We took on Hulk together."

He smirks, imagining the small woman standing confidently against an angry Hulk, "I would have liked to see that."

"Hopefully, you never will."

They continue walking in the direction of their rooms. On the way, they pass the containment unit Loki had been kept in. Jessica prepares to avoid looking at it, but then she notices Tony inside.

She doesn't notice that her feet stop until Steve looks at her, "Want to speak to him alone?"

"Not really," she sighs.

When she takes a step forward, her legs feel like they're full of lead and she'll never make it but a few steps. It's not until she's actually in the room, only a couple of feet away from where she watched Phil get brutally murdered, does she entirely stop.

"Go away, Jess," Tony says, simply.

Her words come out stronger than she expects them to, "I wanted to make sure you're alright."

He turns and his eyes narrow slightly as he looks past her, "Did you have to bring Uncle Sam?"

Steve leans against the railing as Jessica moves forward a few more steps defensively.

"You didn't know him, Cap," Tony mutters after a minute. "We knew him."

"I'm still sorry," Steve consoles. "He seemed like a good man."

Tony scoffs, "He was an idiot."

"How could you possibly think that?" Jessica nearly charges up the stairs at him, but the path is impossible in her mind. "Because he actually did something?"

"For taking Loki on alone," he exclaims.

"He was hardly alone," she corrects him, but her sharp tone only spurs his argument.

"He was out of his league!" Tony shoots back, coming down the platform towards them, "He should have waited. He should have..."

Jessica turns around as he trails off. She can hardly believe what he's saying, though it's in character for him to look for blame in tragedy. He's right about some of the things though, but even hearing anything possibly bad about Phil makes her want to punch something.

Steve tries to break the tension by moving in between them. Jessica takes his spot against the railing to calm herself down. Her eyes gaze up towards the ceiling, avoiding the blood-stained wall the best that she can.

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony," Steve tries.

"Right. I've heard that before."

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?"

Jessica winces as Tony hisses sharply, "We are not soldiers! I am not marching to Fury's fife."

"Neither am I. 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," Steve insists. He is only a few inches from Tony, which would make her nervous if the hostility continued, but it doesn't. "Now, Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list—"

Tony interrupts him, looking at the same wall Jessica is avoiding, "He made it personal."

"That's not the point," Steve dismisses him, shaking his head.

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

"He wanted to pin us against each other," Jessica answers, finally engaged enough to speak again. The same exactly thought has been swirling around in her mind since her interrogation with Loki.

Tony's eyes glance over to where Jessica is, having already forgotten that she was there, "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."

"Right. I caught his act at Stuttgart," Steve agrees.

"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..."

"Tony," Jessica groans, realizing it too.

"Son of a bitch."

⍟ ⍟ ⍟ ⍟ ⍟ ⍟ ⍟ ⍟

"Get off your asses, we're headed out," Jessica announces when she reaches Clint's room again.

"Look, Nat," Clint says, "a cheerful person ate Jess."

She makes a face, "Ha, ha, very funny."

Clint steps into the small bathroom attached to the room while Natasha gathers the few things she brought. "Destination?"

"New York City," she states. "Stark Tower, specifically."

Steve appears behind her. He's changed into his suit again. "Time to go. Can you fly one of those jets?"

Clint opens the door, drying off his hands as he says, "I can."

They look at Natasha for confirmation that he's in a good enough condition to come along. When she nods, Jessica can't help but feel the small bit of success that comes with it.

"You got a suit?" Steve asks.

Clint nods, "Yeah."

"Then suit up," He orders before turning back towards the corridor. Jessica follows behind him, but only because he's headed in the same direction as her. "I don't have a plan."

"Will I ever live that down?" She wonders aloud. "It was a valid question at the time."

"You were worried about me," he teases.

"Now I'm worried about us," she admits, but something in the back of her mind makes her elaborate, "as in the team. If he truly does have an army, the five of us will not be enough to take him down."

Steve sighs, "We have to at least try."

As they had discussed, all of the present members prepare to leave by suiting up and readying their weapons. Jessica changes from the navy-blue SHIELD uniform she had been wearing to one of her white tactical field suits that allow for more flexibility and range of motion. The fact that they had her customized version on board and ready for her sparks yet another topic that she wants to speak to Fury about.

When she's just about done loading her guns into their holsters, there's a knock on the door.

"Come in," she calls.

"We're just waiting on Barton." Steve says, peaking in, "Are you ready?"

He opens the door a bit more, thrown off. The white looks sharp when matched with the cool tones of her hair and the chocolate swirls of her eyes. Her striking appearance makes it difficult to not admire her without coming off as rude, so Steve looks at his hand that is resting on the door frame awkwardly.

"Yeah, I'm all set," she confirms.

When they meet at the external flight bay, Jessica follows Natasha, Steve, and Barton to one of the open jets. A young man steps in front of them as they get on board. He is obviously intimidated by his company, "You are not authorized to be here—"

"Son," Steve lifts a hand, stopping his refusal, "just don't."

"Sorry," Jessica whispers to the boy as they pass, knowing he's going to get into trouble for letting them take the jet.

"Sit tight," Natasha calls back to them as Barton gets the plane in the air. "We should be in New York within the hour."

Jessica buckles herself into the seat, already a little nauseous. Steve sits down next to her.

"I'm not sure what to expect when we get there," he says. His voice is low to match Natasha and Clint's, who are also talking amongst themselves. "This isn't anything I have experience dealing with."

"None of us do," she replies, laying her head back against the wall. "Maybe if we had, Loki would still be in that stupid cell."

As she closes her eyes, she does everything in her power to soak up as much energy as she can. Stealing from Hulk did give her a boost, but that doesn't negate the thirty-two hours she's already gone without any type of rest.

"That was on all of us," Steve tells her.

She nods once but doesn't say anything. Steve has more that he could tell her. Reassuring things that probably should be said, but he doesn't. He's dealt with guilt before, he knows she just needs time.

They sit in silence for a while and Jessica doses off. She wakes to the sound of a news station being blared through the Quinjet.

"We are getting reports of an alien invasion on the island of Manhattan," the newscaster announces, her tone full of disbelief. "Military officials have been notified and are in route to the scene. Updates are limited, but still incoming."

"It's started," Jessica realizes, unbuckling from her seat to go look at one of the monitors. It shows live footage of a beam shooting towards the sky from Stark Tower, creating a portal that a countless number of aliens are flying through to Earth. "Nat, what's our eta?"

Clint answers for her, "Two minutes."

"Head in the direction of the tower," Jessica orders. "Chances are, we take out Loki and the rest are soon to follow."

He nods and soon after, Natasha presses one of the intercom buttons. Tony's face appears on the monitor.

"Stark, we're on your three, headed north-east."

"What, did you stop for drive-thru?" He asks, rhetorically. "Swing up Park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you."

They continue on a path to the tower. Jessica rushes back to her seat, strapping herself in. Steve, who had stood up, remains standing beside her.

Looking toward the front window, she can see the Iron Man suit fly across the street in front of them. Natasha, who is controlling the machine gun connected to the bottom of the ship, open fires at the line of Chitauri that are tailing him.

She continues shooting aliens that are lingering around the building as they pass, gaining their attention. They fire back, missing most of the time, but there are a few blasts that send tremors through the jet upon impact.

"Damn," Jessica curses, closing her eyes.

Loki and Thor are fighting on the balcony of Stark tower. Clint steers in that direction, slowing when he notices them.

"Nat?" he calls.

She's watching them too, "I see him."

Clint swerves the Quinjet around the building so that she can direct the machine gun at Loki. Having taken out a newly arrived Thor for the moment, Loki realigns the aim of his scepter towards the jet as Natasha fires on him. The entire ship shakes violently as a blast of energy has taken out one of the wings.

Both pilots curse as the ship begins to fall sideways from the sky. Smoke trails them as Clint does everything he can to maneuver the working wing towards a safe place to land.

As they fall, Steve grabs onto the ropes hanging from the ceiling. He swings wildly as the ship sways under him. As a result, he bumps into Jessica a few times, but the contact is too quick and the situation too dire for her to see anything from it.

Her brain knowns they're falling, but her mind tries to keep her calm enough to not throw up. They slam into buildings as they descend, until finally, they crash onto an open street.

"Steve?" Jessica calls as her shaking fingers fumble with the seatbelt. "I'm—"

"I'm fine, Jess," he mumbles, interrupting her foreseen apology. "Are you okay?"

When the belt doesn't come undone, Jessica uses the little bit of super soldier power that she accidentally stole from Steve to tear the belt clean off the chair.

"She's fine," Natasha states blandly as she and Clint pass them to open the hanger. "Save your worries for the aliens, Cap. We're going to war."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chapter 6 - Needing a Push

Completed on 04-26-21 at 5:18 pm

Side note: Jessica's SHIELD uniform is the same as Agent Hill's throughout this movie.
You can see it in the gif below.

Also, the white suit is similar to the Black Widow movie suit, but thinner/lighter material

Question: Do you like Maria Hill?

Like and comment please <3

Mae