𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏
→˚₊·  ܴೈ Why do you seem to care so much for me? ❞

ELAIN HAD RAN from her brother, as fast as she could and as far as she could. She knew he meant to distract her further - he didn't need her helping her friends, but, Elain managed to get away by tricking him. 

She was staying true to her word. She would never fight her brother nor would she actually fight her Uncle Loki. Maybe the people who were on their side, but, never them. It was a sacred rule in the girl's life.  

Elain ran through the halls and found an open door that led to the blasted turbine. She was quick to run out and she found Steve standing at the edge, he must've been talking to Stark prior to her arrival.

"I'm here!" Elain exclaimed, "I can use energy when needed."

"Good. Let's see what we've got," He flew over to the blasted turbine as he began to take a look, "I got to get this superconducting coolant system back online before I can access the rotors and work on dislodging the debris," The billionaire began to mumble.

"Will a bit of celestial shock help?" Elain questioned as the wind roared in her ears.

Tony began to push a hunk of the metal back into place, "Yes. I need you," His words were directed at Steve, "To get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in overload position. Elain, wait for my signal to shock the voltage."

Elain was quick to nod as Steve jumped up to where he needed to be. Tony flew off to a different part of the engine as he tried his best to fix it.

"What does it look like in there?" Stark's voice came over the coms between the three.

"IT seems to run on some form of electricity," Steve clearly had no clue what was happening or going on but at least he was trying.

"Well, you're not wrong," Tony stated causing Elain to roll her eyes.

Elain was doing what she could from where she stood. Occasional chats between Stark and Steve filled her ears while she held onto the aircraft as best as she could as the wind seemed to try to take her away.

Part of her refused to believe her brother's betrayal. The other part wasn't surprised. Betrayal seemed to be a common thing in the girl's family and it was only a matter of time before everyone she loved betrayed her. 

Elain heard a loud blasting sound before she heard Steve speak, "Okay, the relays are intact! What's our next move?"

"Even if I clear the motors, this thing won't re-engage without a jump and not just from Elain. I'm going to have to get in there and push," Stark's words caused Elain's eyes to widen.

"The energy will kill you if that machine doesn't!" She exclaimed through the coms.

"Well if that thing gets up to speed, you'll be shredded!" Steve exclaimed not a moment after the woman.

"That stator control unit can reverse the polarity, long enough to disengage magley and that could.." Stark began to explain.

"Speak English!" Steve yelled through the coms, actually wanting to understand. 

"You see that red lever? It will slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out with Elain's help. Stand by it and both of you wait for my word," Tony explained as if it was nothing.

"Tony, what if this kills you?" Elain couldn't help but wonder, "I do not want to be the reason that you have passed on."

"You won't be, think positive Miss-I-cling-to-things-with-stars," Tony's tone was sarcastic.

Elain watched from afar as Tony used his laser to make a point of entry before he jumped. The girl screamed as someone grabbed her and threw her against the wall. 

"We've got company, Captain!" She yelled as she grabbed ahold of a bar before smacking the agent across the face, "Rather rude to put your hands on a lady."

"Could've told you that," Came Steve's pained voice.

Elain jumped up to Steve's level before the ship began to tilt down, Steve was quick to grab her hand and help her up. Both a bit cut up and had forming bruises but clear of any sign of giving up.

"You alright, El?" He questioned the woman who nodded as she blew bits of her hair from her face.

"Never better," She joked as she heaved a breath.

"Stark! We're losing altitude," Fury's voice came through the coms.

"Yeah, I noticed," Tony began to say.

Elain was quick to move to the edge, Steve began to take down other agents before the air sucked both of them out as a bullet came their way. Elain grabbed onto a piece of metal as she caught Steve's hand. Keeping them both in the air, but that didn't stop her from making sure that her abilities helped Tony.

The air pushing against the two didn't help their case much, Elain heaved up Steve and he managed to catch the bar that they were holding onto as Elain's now free hand began to have glowing energy swirling around, as did the broken engine.

"Elain, focus on holding onto the pole, not the engine," Steve yelled through the wind.

"I can't! If we fall any further everyone dies!" Elain yelled back with a determined look.

"Yeah, but you can't hold on like this! What about your death?!" Steve yelled back through the wind, "What about your family? Your friends?!"

"You said it yourself, Captain. You musn't always be selfish, others must be the priority, and what kind of hero or person are you if you aren't willing to sacrifice yourself for the sake of others?!" Elain yelled back as her hand began to lose its grip.

"You can't save everyone if you are gone," Steve yelled back before his other hand grabbed Elain's arm just in case she slipped.

Tony's yelling interrupted the moment as he sped against the rotors, "Cap hit the lever! Elain hold firm!"

"We need a minute here!" Steve yelled back through the coms.

"Lever," Tony repeated.

"Steve go! I can hold my own. I'll be here if you come  back!" Elain yelled as she cringed at the sounds.

"Now!" Tony yelled once more.

Steve managed to get back on the aircraft and began to crawl through the led-filled rain. Elain held onto the metal tightly as she focused on helping Tony. Watching the energy that had enveloped the engine.

"Uh-oh. Help!" Tony yelled as he got sucked under the fans.

Elain let out a yell as she tried to do her best, the metal began to crack which caused her to slip a bit more. Thankfully, Cap had gotten to the lever and pulled it. Elain let go of the energy and focused on getting herself back on the ship.

The woman lay on the ground as the gun continued to fire. Though, Tony flew straight into the agent and took him down while Elain and Steve both attempted to catch their breaths. She managed to get herself on her knees as she looked over at the others.

"Please never throw me out of a damn aircraft ever again," Elain looked at Cap, "That's worst than Bifrost travel."

"We didn't throw you out," Steve gave her a soft look and a teasing grin, "And language, ma'am."

"Agent Coulson is down," Fury's voice called through the coms as everyone began to catch their breaths.

Steve had helped Elain up as they began to move further inward, Tony was a bit ahead of them but even he turned to face the two as Fury's words brought him to a halt. Elain's heart stopped for a moment, as her face paled.

"A medical team is on its way," Another agent spoke.

"They're here. They called it," Fury's statement brought tears to the woman's eyes. 

"No," Elain's voice was weak, Steve looked at her with sadness in his eyes before he pulled her into a hug.

Steve held onto the girl for a moment as tears tracked down her cheeks. But before long everyone began to drag themselves to the table where they had first been seated. Though, the only ones who ended up being there were Tony, Fury, Steve, and Elain.

Elain sat between Steve and Tony as she couldn't stop her tears from falling. Her day had been horrible. She had lost a friend, one of her first friends. Her brother had betrayed her and joined their Uncle despite always telling her that he'd never care to be on a side that she wasn't on.

Fury stood with a pair of cards in his hands, looking at the three who were seated, "These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. I guess he never did get you to sign them," He threw down the bloody Captain America trading cards.

Elain sniffled as Steve's grip on her hand tightened. Everyone seemed to be affected greatly by this loss, even if they didn't exactly know Coulson well.

"We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, the location of the Cube, Banner, Thor..."

Steve picked up one of the cards as Elain brought her free hand to cover her face. She couldn't help but let out a shaky sob. 

"I got nothing for you," Fury states as he looked at everyone, even if they didn't look back at him, "I lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming."

It went silent for a few moments but the patter of footsteps was clear. The somber emotions in the air made it hard for anyone to speak. 

"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," Fury stopped his walk as he held onto one of the chairs.

Elain barely peaked through her hand as she tried to collect herself. Even the efforts that Steve had made barely did anything. She noticed the look that grew onto Tony's face as Fury spoke as he knew.

"There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative," Fury began to walk once more, "The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to. To fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea. In heroes."

Tony rose to his feet in a quick fluid motion. He did not say a word but he looked off in the distance for a moment before he began to walk off.

"What are you playing at?" Elain questioned, "Are you trying to guilt us?" Her voice was barely audible. 

"Well, it's an old-fashioned notion," Was Fury's simple response. 

Elain stayed in her seat for a few moments after Fury left her be. Steve didn't quite know what to say but it was clear that he wanted to go somewhere. Though, he was holding back.

Elain turned her head to look at the blonde, "What is it?" 

"Your brother..." Steve paused his words.

"Is a traitor? Is no good?" Elain shot, "Go on, say it. I know it is what everyone thinks."

"Elain," Steve squeezed her hands as he gave her a soft look, "As bad as he might be, he didn't hurt you."

"But he is willing to let me be taken away and controlled once this is all over with," She whispered, "How could he? How could he choose the side that he chose?" 

"The same way that you did. He just has a different view, Elain. No one could've..."

"Known? Steve, he told me that something was different that he wanted more power! I should've picked up and connected the dots!" Elain raised her voice which caused the lights to flicker, "Who am I, if I can't tell what is happening within my own family?" 

"Human," Steve spoke simply before he rose to his feet, pulling Elain up with him, "Let's go find Tony."

"Fine," Elain didn't feel like arguing so she simply agreed.

The two walked together to find Tony, it wasn't long before they had realized he was in the room when Phil Coulson shared his final moments.

Steve kept Elain close, having an arm around her shoulder as he led her into the room. She didn't need to be pitied by him though, so she kept trying to pull away.

He gave her a small smile before his gaze shifted to Tony, "Was he married?"

"No. There was a cellist, I think," stated Tony as he stood with his arms crossed behind his back, taking the loss a bit hard.

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

Tony moved and made a face, "He was an idiot."

"Why?" Elain questioned at the same time as Steve before the Captain added with a frail yet soft voice, "For believing?"

"For taking on Loki alone. For fighting," Tony spoke with many emotions.

"He was doing his job," Steve stated as he pushed himself off of the railings, pulling Elain as well.

Tony scoffed as he began to walk over, "He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should've..."

"For what? Loki had already sent Thor down to Earth," Elain was quick to quip, "Waiting longer would've gotten more people killed. Coulson had a heart and a knack for protecting others."

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony," Steve walked over to the older man, "And this was one of those times. 

"Right, I've heard that before," Tony quipped quickly. 

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" Steve asked as Tony moved by him quickly, finally letting go of Elain.

Immediately Tony stopped and turned around, "We are not soldiers," He fired before a small pause took over, "I'm not marching to Fury's fife."

"Neither am I. He's got the same blood on his hands as Loki does. But, right now we've got to put that behind us and get this done," Steve states, "Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list..."

Tony had been staring at Coulson's blood before he spoke up, "He made this personal." 

"That's not the point," Steve spoke with a look while Elain furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"That is the point. That's Loki's point!" Tony points out, "He hit us all right where we live."

"Yeah, to tear us apart," Steve states.

"Yeah, divide and conquer is great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants," Tony easily decoded whatever was going through his brain and spoke it aloud to the two, "He wants to beat us. He wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."

Elain mumbled, "He's a narcissist."

Steve tried not to let out a laugh before adding, "Right. I caught his act in Stuttgart."

"Yeah, that's just previews. This is opening night," Tony pointed his finger before turning on his heel to walk up the small set of stairs, "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..."

"So basically he's going for Stark Tower," Elain points out as the wheels in her brain begin to turn, "Stark tower represents all of those things but for a different name. Well, if you think of it in the way we describe it."

Both men looked at the woman as they soon realized what she said was true.

"Son of a bitch," Tony mumbled before he quickly moved.

Steve looked at Elain and gave her a small nod, "Good job," He held out a hand for her to take.

"Thank you," Elain gave a slight bow of her head as she took his hand.

"Are you ready for this?" Steve questioned as the two began to walk to find Natasha, or anyone who could help.

"I'm not sure," Elain whispered her answer in fear of the consequences if anyone overheard.

"It's okay not to be sure. You have a lot to lose," Steve pulled her closer.

Elain closed her eyes momentarily as she basked in the feeling before she asked, "Why do you seem to care so much for me?"

"When we both make it out of this, I will tell you," Steve decided after a pause.

"I guess you'll have to come find me then," Elain joked.

"You aren't hard to spot. Besides, I just have to find where everyone speaks of an overly nice woman," Steve joked back.

Elain continued to follow alongside Steve to find Natasha, along the way he put back on the top of his Captain America suit, which he had taken off when they were seated. The two stopped at an open door where the widow stood.

"Time to go," Steve states as his gaze easily finds Natasha.

"Go where?" The woman asked as she looked between the two in the doorway. 

"I'll tell you on the way," Captain states quickly, obviously not realizing the other presence yet. 

"Can you fly one of those jets?" Elain questioned the widow knowing that so far, no one else could and they needed one.

"I can," Barton's voice caught Steve's attention as he opened the door and came into view.

Elain nodded at the man. She could tell he wasn't brainwashed by her Uncle at this point. Steve seemed wary but a nod from Natasha eased his nerves.

"You got a suit?" Steve turned to question Clint.

"Yeah," Clint nodded as he continued to wipe his hands.

"Then suit up," And with that Captain pulled Elain out of the door and the two began to walk to a new location.

Steve showed the woman around different hallways before finding his shield. He took her to get any weapon that she may need. The girl strapped various amount of knives to her thighs and ankles before adding a gun, due to not liking the weapon. She needed to be prepared.

Elain gave kind smiles to everyone who joined their side. The group of four began to gather whatever they needed to win this battle. Steve leading everyone.

The four climbed into one of the aircrafts that some agent had been working on. The agent looked up in confusion at the group before someone spoke up.

"Hey, you guys aren't authorized to be in here," The agent spoke as he rose to his feet, causing a few of the so-called 'heroes' to scoff. 

"Son, just don't," Steve shook his head at the agent which caused him to stand down.

Everyone moved to get into different seating positions. Elain helped get the agents off of the aircraft faster while Clint turned on the aircraft.

Clint took the driver's seat and Natasha sat down in the passengers. Both got the controls ready and everything turned on so that they could leave. Steve held his shield in his hand as he pulled Elain away from the closing belly of the plane.

𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏