... .LV. ...

Guardian of the Night

Part 2

By Lady Valmar

.A.

Steve followed Tony into the new 'floating fortress' of Shield. He had to admit the first time he'd seem it, he'd been impressed. After it had been destroyed by the Hawk and Thor's traitorous brother...his opinion had changed.

Electricity was great but when it failed...it wasn't so great. He was felt a little technology was a good idea and the rest was just unpredictable. He swallowed as he walked through yet another hallway and finally into the meeting room of the ship.

Entering the main deck of the ship, he scanned the room, his eyes falling on faces he still didn't know. There was so many people on this ship and he wondered if all of them had participated during the fight with the Chitauri.

Nick Fury was standing in front of his usual podium observing screens in front of him and beside of him. As he turned to face the two of them, Steve noted Fury had a frown on his face and he didn't appear to be happy.

The etches of lack of sleep stretched Fury's face and there was a bag under his good eye. "We have a problem."

"Well that's good to know. Pretty generalized don't you think?" Tony said, slyly before taking a seat at the table. He stretched lazily before looking around and signaling around the room. "Is there somewhere I can get a drink?"

Nick's eyebrow lowered and he stared at Tony directly. "A big problem and if you are done playboying yourself around I need the others called back immediately."

"Is that even a word?" Tony said cheekily.

Steve crossed his arms near one of the chairs. "I think what..." He stared at Tony as he turned back to say... "We would like to know is what the problem is. You are being cryptic."

Fury swallowed as he turned towards one of the large screens occupying the room. "Today, we discovered a breach of security at one of the smaller facilities on the eastern seaboard. That breach left us with all of our computers compromised." Fury turned back to them.

Tony sat up, a serious expression on his face. "What were they accessing?"

"The Tesseract files along with information about the Avengers initiative."

Steve frowned. "Even if they find out information about that artifact...its no use...we no longer have it. As for the Avengers initiative...that is a big problem."

Tony sighed. "Its highly unlikely they could even make a replica of the Tesseract. I mean if anyone were to do that...it would be me."

Fury narrowed his eyes. "Let's leave that kind of power in capable hands."

Steve quirked an eyebrow. "Asgardians in other words, Tony."

It was easy to see the perspective that Tony could possibly achieve it considering all the advances he made so far. Steve just hoped that it was technology that would stay out of human hands from now on. He'd seen first hand what that awful piece of technology did. It was nothing more than a weapon of mass decimation and destruction. Its risks far out weighed the benefits of having it.

Tony shrugged. "Well the technology is no where near anything I could achieve currently. Maybe one day though."

Fury, who had been looking down, suddenly stared at Tony. "I hope that day is not soon. Now back to the situation at hand. Gentlemen these thieves made a copy of all the reports and data. Whoever they were working for, they must have had help."

"Help yes. Its without a doubt," Said a familiar voice from behind them. As he came into view, it was apparent that the Hawk had been busy. Sweat was beading on his brow and he appeared out of breath.

"What have you found?" Fury asked, his arms extended out slightly.

The Hawk pulled something out of his outer jacket. It appeared to be a cloth but it shimmered when he shook it out. "I chased one of the thieves. He got away but I managed to snag this."

Steve and Nick traded confused looks as the cloth flashed again. "Is that a..."

"Its a synthetic stretch fabric lined with a steel-alloy mesh," said another voice approaching. It was Natalia Romanova. "Here is the details of the report." She handed Fury the datapad containing information about the cloth.

"Hey where was I when this was happening?" Nick demanded, appearing insulted.

"You were 'playboying' it," Steve said with a smirk.

Fury looked over the pad and frowned before he looked up. Fury's eyes narrowed. "Contact the council. I know who this is."

Hawk nodded. "I thought you would."

.A.

.A.

Stretching out on her bed, she clenched her stomach. She was hungry again. "Its getting worse."

Ah but my my we haven't got all day do we now?

"Shut up." Orla said clenching the sides of her head. "Why is my body craving more? Are you doing something?"

Alas nothing. I have no control over your body whatsoever. I'm simply the disembodied voice of a long ago...dark dweller...so whatever is going on...you surely know.

Orla stood up from the bed she was seated on to stand in front of her bedroom mirror over a cherry wood table. "I am not an animal."

Keep telling yourself that. I'm sure one day it will dawn on you that you aren't.

She grimaced as the voice laughed. She still had no idea whether it was male or female. She figured it was a malignant androgenus being or she simply was going stark, raving mad. In any case at least she was alive.

"Do you at least have a name?"

You've asked me this question before.

"But is it too much to ask for an answer?"

There are no answers. I am simply a disembodied voice stuck inside of you.

Orla sighed. She never could get a straight answer from the voice. All she could remember was that when it had first started she'd never told anyone. After all the voice could mean she was crazy anyways.

The sound of a breeze slowly beat against her apartment window. She stared out of it at the street below. It was nice to have an apartment even if it wasn't really hers. She'd stolen it from a man who she randomly chose during her first week here on Earth.

She didn't even know his name. Life was so easily taken.

"Is there anything you need further, my master?" A masculine voice asked from the next room.

"Nothing yet." She clenched her stomach with her hand. "More blood."

The owner of the apartment room approached her from the spare bedroom. His suit was tattered and his blond hair in disarray. "Master...I stole all the blood I could. I will get you another bag."

She waited, her vision blurring as he went to the kitchen and returned with the iv bag. He handed it to her tenderly his eyes lovingly glued to her face as she punctured the bag and drank deeply.

"Master?"

Orla looked over seeing him clearly in the dark room as she handed the empty bag back to him. "What is it?"

"Please...make me...please..." He said dropping to his knees in front of her. He reached up to pet her hand.

Orla sighed as she batted his hand away. "I have answered you already Max. The answer is still no. Go, out of my sight."

The man looked up to her, his unshaved face almost luminescent from the moonlight pooling in outside. He grimaced, as if the command had burned him. "As you wish."

Harsh even for you.

"He does not know what he asks. These humans...they call me a vampire. They think me a demon...but I don't even know what I am...maybe I am..."

Don't get too excited.

Orla sat down in front of the big window on the left hand side of the bed. She wrapped her hands around her legs and stared up at the moon. "I need answers. I am human...some part of me. I want to understand."

.A.

.A.

Bruce paced in the lab of the Helicarrier. It didn't make sense. Why would anyone dare try to make a copy of him. He should never have allowed blood samples to be taken from him. He'd known that it would be a danger to him if shield ever decided to use his data to create another version like him.

He couldn't believe it. His mind raced as he felt the anger grow in him. He needed to calm down. He needed to think clearly. Okay so some rogue agents or assassins broke into the computers and stole data on them and that weapon. It wasn't like they could really use the data for anything could they?

Well maybe the people who were interested wanted to figure out their weaknesses...and really didn't want another Hulk. Or these agents wanted to make a better copy of himself.

There was more questions than answers and it bothered him a great deal. There had to be more explanation. He sighed before picking up the cloth, Hawkeye had brought him. This didn't bring them any closer to answers. Why wasn't Fury sharing his information with the team. It just didn't make sense. All this subterfuge was beginning to try his patience.

"So anger management...what have you found so far?" Tony said casually strolling in.

Bruce sighed in annoyance. "When I find out something I'll inform everybody until then I need some space."

"Don't you think its odd that Fury calls us here to get updated on this situation only to not include us in his findings."

Bruce looked up from the cloth he'd been staring at. "Yes Tony I do think its odd but if Fury doesn't want to include us what can we do?"

A door swooshed open admitting Black Widow, she was her normal controlled self; rigid, quiet and focused. "Find anything yet Dr. Banner?"

The two men looked over at her. Tony made a face. "You again."

"Yes me again."

Bruce sighed sightly at them. "There is nothing more I can conclude than what Shield has already found. Its a torn piece of body armor."

Black widow nodded. "I didn't figure we would find anything else but we wanted to be sure."

"What is going on Ms. Romanoff?" Bruce asked. "I mean really."

She looked down before looking up, her eyes unfocused. "A former agent gone rogue is responsible for this infiltration. We believe he is working with someone. So far we haven't figured out who. We're leaving that to the Avengers."

"Your kidding," Tony said his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "What do you want us to do?"

The doors swooshed open admitting Steve who looked pale and pist. "Shield has been keeping information from us!"

The three turned to look at him. "What do you mean?" Bruce asked.

"This rogue agent...I knew him!"

.A.

.A.

If there is editing that is needed please let me know. ;)