The Avengers: We Have A Tiger – Part Six

Posted by C.B. Cook

At the request of the amazing erinkenobi2893, I’ve decided to post this Avengers fan fiction I wrote a while back. It’s quite long (twenty-eight pages) so it’s going to be split into quite a few parts. I hope that you will all enjoy it!

*DISCLAIMER: This story is based off of the end of The Avengers. There are illusions to spoilers for said movie, so read with caution, but most are not major. Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 3, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, are not taken into account, and have not been watched by the author. That said, enjoy.

Thor woke up early, so early that the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. He couldn’t fall back asleep so he decided he might as well get ready for his day. After putting on his armor and grabbing his hammer he wandered down the hallway, not sure where he was going. No one else seemed to be awake yet.

He found himself in front of the cell area. He sighed and pushed open the door. What was it about this girl that drew him to her?

He walked quietly down the hallway, past cells with sleeping prisoners in them, and reached Aila’s cell. She was lying on the bed, her knees tucked into her chest, her face peaceful as she slept. He could see where tears had dried on her cheeks and felt a huge pain in his chest. He stared at her. Why did he long so much to pull her to his chest and assure her that everything would be okay? He shook his head. She looked so frail on that cot, behind that horrible glass. She hadn’t even done anything. He unlocked the door.

Aila leaped to her feet, her eyes wide as he stepped into the cell. Then her eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here?” she asked, her suspicion and her curiosity clearly fighting against each other.

Thor felt his breath catch in his throat. Those blue, tear-stained eyes… He turned around, fighting for control of his breathing and stepped out of the cell, purposefully leaving the door open behind him. He started to head down the hallway, then turned and looked back at her. She was staring at him. He gave a slight nod, and Aila stepped cautiously to the doorway and headed down the hall and out of the cell area. Thor headed back towards his room, wondering how, and why, he had done that.

———-

“That was a waste of time,” Cap grumbled as they headed towards a side entrance at the SHIELD building. “We didn’t learn anything at all.”

“Sure we did,” Stark responded. “We figured out that Loki blew up the Stark Tower, and completely destroyed it.”

“We already knew that,” Cap reminded him.

“We only suspected it,” Stark responded opening the door. “Now we know for sure.”

“Shush,” Banner said. “It’s still early. We don’t want to bother anybody – oof!” Someone hurrying around the corner ran right into him.

“I’m sorry,” the blond woman apologized and moved to go around them.

“Hold it,” Cap said, grabbing her arm. “What are you doing? You’re the kid we caught in the hallway. Fury said he’d keep you locked up until we got here, and he doesn’t know we’re back yet.”

She glared at him. “I’m not a kid,” she snarled, trying to twist her arm out of Steve’s grip.

“Nope, you’re coming with us to the meeting room,” Stark said. “I’ll let Fury know we’re here.”

About twenty minutes later, Fury and the Avengers were back in the same meeting room once again. Aila was sitting in a chair, her wrists tied behind her back with a belt; the only thing Cap could find on short notice.

“All right, what’s going on? How did you get out of the cell?” Fury asked, his gaze fixed on Aila. Her jaw was clenched and her lips pursed. Clint could be heard growling under his breath. Fury threw up his hands and turned to the others. “Does anybody here know anything about this?” Everyone shook their heads. “Aila?” Fury asked. “If you don’t cooperate…” He let the threat hang in the air.

She tilted her head to the side, her blue eyes fixed on Fury. “Someone let me out,” she said sweetly.

Fury turned to the Avengers. “Who let her out?” he growled.

Thor took a deep breath. “I did.”

“Are you crazy?” Natasha asked.

“What if she’s working for Loki?” Fury asked, anger clouding his eyes. “Why would you let her out?”

Thor stood up and motioned to Aila. “Look at her! Does she look like she would work for my brother? He believes women are weak, and has no interest in them. She was probably part of a dare, something stupid. Does she even look like a threat?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Fury replied. “She was unauthorized to be in SHIELD, and—” He broke off as Aila stood up. Her eyes were fixed on him, narrowed. Natasha gasped as swirls of green began to appear in Aila’s eyes. The green color took over as tinges of orange traveled down her blond hair. Nothing happened for a second after her eyes turned completely green and her hair completely orange. The next instant, Aila’s body writhed as she yanked her hands – no, paws – free from the rope. A tiger now stood there, in their meeting room.

No one moved, struck with fear, surprise, and confusion, as the tiger stared at Fury for another moment, then loped over to the huge windows. One swipe of its giant paw, and one of the panes of glass shattered. The tiger turned back to them and morphed back into Aila, back to her blue eyes and blond hair. “Looks can be deceiving,” she said, eyes locked with Thor, before turning and leaping out of the window.

All of them ran to the windows, looking out. Aila was falling straight down. Hawkeye brought out his bow and prepared to jump down to save her, but Natasha grabbed his arm. A small, motorcycle-like flying machine zoomed around the corner of the SHIELD building, catching Aila. It circled back around, higher this time, and closer to the window, until they could see the pilot.

“Loki,” Cap snarled.

The pair flew out of sight.