"I've found a rainbow, rainbow, baby,

Trust me, I know, life is scary,

But just put those colors on, girl,

Come and play along with me tonight...,"

-Rainbow; by Kesha

When the back of the Quinjet opened, Mae felt her stomach knot up. She stood up from where she sat, swallowing thickly as she hesitantly made her way to the opening. Steve, on the other hand, looked completely unbothered at walking over to the very edge of the door. He had his shield and a helmet on, but no parachute on his back. Mae knew that the Quinjet had parachutes, and she had to wonder why Steve wasn't wearing one; though she'd have to remind herself she was pretty close to the edge without on, as well.

"You're not taking a 'chute?" she announced, looking at him uncertainly.

"Don't need one," he said. "You?"

Looking down, seeing the bright lights and how high up the Quinjet was, Mae let out a sigh. "I guess it's too late to get one now," she muttered. "Let's just get this over with, OK?"

Mae swore she saw a slight smirk come across Steve's face before the two jumped out.

. . . .

Having jumped out of the Quinjet had come as a close second of terrifying things Mae had done in her life. Terrifying but also reckless. Mae's focus was less on how Steve would manage to land without killing himself and more on how she'd be able to land without dying. Mae had started manipulating the energy around her, forming a kind of spherical shield to ensure when she landed, she wouldn't hurt anything. But Mae also had to figure out how she'd slow herself down so she wouldn't cause any damage.* Focusing her energy just enough, Mae tried willing it to slow her down the closer she got to the ground, and she wasn't entirely sure if it was working or not.

Please, please, please slow down, she thought anxiously. I can't have myself getting hurt or killed before the mission's even started.

By the time Mae realized she was getting closer to the ground, she started manipulating the energy even more, and that was when she started to feel a bit of resistance, and by the time she officially landed, the shield of energy around Mae only managed a smallish dent on the concrete ground. That was also when Mae realized there was a horde of people running and screaming. The people were dressed nicely, as if they had been attending some kind of fancy event. That was when she realized they were coming from a big building, a banner on the front saying something in German. Pursing her lips, Mae started shoving her way through the crowds of people, hoping to get close enough to the building.

Police sirens were heard in the distance, faintly echoing over the shouts and screams of the terrified people.

Once she had at least made herself to the front steps of the building, that was when Mae saw him. He was tall; kinda lanky in Mae's opinion; wearing a strange outfit colored in green, black, and gold; plus a Scepter that glowed an eerie blue and a golden headpiece with long horns coming from the front. The man had black hair, from what Mae could see, and his skin was pale. He slammed the end of his Scepter on the ground, the blue coming from it brightening for a split second.

"Kneel!" he shouted. Mae turned and saw all the people looking up at him, huddled together as if they were cattle. They were glancing up at him, terrified and confused, before going on their knees. Mae refused to do so, looking up at him with a set jaw. There was something about him that reminded her of the doctors and scientists at the H.Y.D.R.A. compound — eager for power and control, demanding obedience through whatever means necessary. This oddly dressed man seemed to take great satisfaction in what he'd done to these people. It was like he fed off their fear. A smile came across his face, one that Mae didn't like in the slightest. From the looks of it, he didn't seem to notice her right away, just basking in what he'd accomplished so far. "Is this not simpler?" he announced, going down the steps to walk through the crowd. "Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, you crave subjugation..."

"Hey," Mae called out, interrupting his little speech. His head snapped in her direction, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Why don't you cut the crap and leave these people alone?"

A sneer came across his face as he pointed his Scepter in her direction. "You dare challenge me?" he claimed.

"I doubt you'd be much of a challenge." Mae made her way through the crowd, her eyes not leaving his for a second. "You're no different than any other asshole I've faced."

Snickering, he straightened his shoulders. "There are no assholes like me," he commented, his tone dark.

"There are always assholes like you."

Pointing his Scepter at Mae again, his face became stony and his eyes seemed to darken. "Look to this woman, people," he announced. "Let her be an example." Right as the Scepter started glowing, Mae threw her hands out and released enough energy to knock him back a few feet. There were some terrified screeches, but those were easily ignored. Right as he started getting himself back on his feet, that was when Steve arrived, standing next to Mae, looking at him with a nearly emotionless look on his face.

"Ya know," Steve announced, "the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."

"The soldier," came the snide reply. "The man out of time."

"I'm not the one who's out of time," Steve responded.

The Quinjet came into view, guns and missiles ready to fire. "Loki," Natasha called over the intercom, "drop the weapon and stand down."

A look similar to a snarl came across Loki's face at Natasha's command. Firing a blue beam of energy at the Quinjet, Mae quickly manipulated it so it veered in a different direction. Steve and Loki immediately started facing off, throwing punches and hits; Loki using his Scepter to knock Steve off his feet. Mae quickly knocked Loki off his feet again by throwing out energy at him, giving Steve an opportunity to regain himself. Before Loki even had a chance to get on his feet, Mae made sure to hold his body down with enough energy to immobilize him. She could see him straining against her powers, trying to move. Mae also made sure to keep enough energy around the Scepter so no beams would come out.

"Steve," she called, "take the Scepter."

Right as Steve was about to run over and grab Loki's Scepter, AC/DC started blaring on the Quinjet's radio. That brief distraction caused Mae's concentration to falter, which gave Loki enough of an opportunity to break free and try and attack. Before he could, however, Mae got the Scepter out of his reach right as a loud thud came from beside her. A man in a metal suit, looking directly at Loki as he got all his guns and miniature missiles out and ready to fire. "Make a move, reindeer games," came a masculine voice from inside the suit.

Loki looked between the three of them, his gaze calculating and unreadable. His face became solemn as he held his hands up in surrender. The headpiece vanished as a result, as did a few parts of his outfit.

The metal man's missiles and guns went away. "Good move," he responded.

"Mr. Stark," Steve said, nodding in acknowledgement.

"Captain," came the reply. "Who's she?"

(A/N):

Sorry for the wait on this chapter. Hopefully it was at least decent. If you've got constructive criticism or whatever, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? That kind of thing is super important.

Nothing in the MARVEL universe belongs to me. All I own are my OCs and any subplots I put into the story.

If you've got an idea on OCs or subplots, be sure to PM me or leave a review. I'll try and add them in as quickly as possible.

Thanks.

Kaia Milligan