A Little Light In The Darkness

The stack of personnel records was about 5 inches thick on Tony’s desk. THey rested in a bundle next to him as he sat on the front of his desk. Steve had given them to Isabella to review so she could speak to Evan about how he acted in their last mission. The Avengers committed violence when necessary and they killed only when they had to. They did not kill with impunity and ignorance was not an excuse as far as he and SHIELD were concerned. Then there was Nick had told her. About Evan only being on ‘loan’ that neither of them liked either. Evan wasn’t a child certainly and could decide for himself where he wanted to be. They both suspected that Nick was not telling them everything but how was that any different than any other time? Well it wasn’t different but it brought up a troubling thought that whatever Evan had been doing for SHIELD. It was obviously very important to them.

“So what do you think Issabella, how do we play this?” Tony asked as he recalled all of those faces. “We need him...possibly the world needs him and likely soon,” he said. Doom is just waiting us out. Waiting for us to get complacent and forget about him. I have temporal sensors that Strange loaned us at the Industrial complex but when it happens we’ll have to get there fast,” Tony said and snapped his fingers. They both knew Evan could ‘move’ people besides himself in and out of shadows but they hadn’t talked to him at all about any of this. And now SHIELD had laid THIS at their feet.

Isabella had felt sick to her stomach as she had looked through the personnel records of those that had disappeared during Evan's attack on the SSB. Husbands...wives...fathers...mothers...and nearly all of them had no known association with the SSB. She had known that Evan was a powerful mutant, but actually seeing what he could really do was rather terrifying. Evan had lost control and now they were dealing with the effects. Yes, Natalya had been saved, but at the cost of dozens of other lives.

Isabella had killed while working for the CIA, but since becoming an Avenger she had avoided it. The entire team strived for non-lethal methods and only killed when it was absolutely necessary. If Evan was to be apart of this team then he would need to understand that and get his emotions in check where Natalya was concerned...he and Logan.

"I think we need to be honest with him Tony," she finally said. "What happened that day was not necessary. We had Natalya. Yes, Tatiana would have gotten away, but many innocent people were lost. Did you ask Dr. Strange if they could be brought back from wherever they are?"

Tony nodded reluctantly and bit the inside of his lip as he always did when he didn’t want to tell Isabella something. His indecision didn’t last long though against her insistent look. “He told me Evan has some kind of link to another plane of existence. He can survive there for alot longer than we can,” Tony said. “The entire place is based on Dark Energy. The pressure and density of the place would kill us outside of our suits in moments,” he said. And let her think what she would of that he thought.

“What if it were me or Serena? And you could make it so that what happened to us never happened again. What if it meant taking more lives than necessary, would you do it then? It’s difficult to put ourselves in his shoes. We can’t know what he feels. We can only use our imagination,” Tony said.

Isabella knew from the look on Tony's face that he was about to say something to her that she wasn't going to like. She wanted to hear it though. She did sigh though when Tony finally told her what Dr. Strange had told him. So there was no hope of getting those people back...they were dead.

When Tony asked her what she would have done if she had been in Evan's shoes and it had been himself or Serena in that chair she looked at her husband slightly. Tony had already done something rather drastic in order to get herself back...but what he had done hadn't cost any lives...yet. "Are you saying you agree with what he did? He lost complete control of his emotions...really so did Logan. We need to talk to him. If Evan is going to be apart of this team then he needs to understand that his actions have consequences. What we do as The Avengers is out there for the public to see. All those people died when they didn't have to. That's on us."

“:But they knew who they were working for, didn't they? The people who work in those SHIELD facilities know who their employers are. In the facilities at least. And if we ‘saved’ one life because of what he did?” Toy began than shook his head as he abandoned that line. The ends, did not justify the means in this case. Not really. There was really no way he could spin it so that Evan came out in a more favorable light. “So you think we’re ready then?” Tony asked. When she nodded Tony texted Evan.

‘Need to talk, come to office’

Evan came and he closed the door behind him. He was dressed in his usual Black jeans, boots and t-shirt. “Good morning Tony...Isabella, what can I do ya for?” Evan said pleasantly. He smiled at Isabella and took note of what she was wearing and how her hair looked. Women liked it when you did that as a man he always thought anyway.

Isabella looked over at Evan as he walked into the office. She stood near the desk with her arms crossed over her chest. She wasn't sure how Evan was going to respond to what they were going to say. She still didn't know Evan very well and she had a strong suspicion he was really only here because of Natalya and if she ever left that he would leave as well...as would Logan. She wasn't sure how Natalya had such an effect on these men, but clearly she did.

"Evan, Tony and I need to talk to you about what happened at the facility a few weeks ago. You went way too far."

Evan wasn’t certain what Isabella meant but by her and Tony’s expressions he could tell this wasn’t going to be a very fun conversation. He raised up his left hand and rubbed the back of his neck. “You think I was wrong to destroy that place?” he asked plainly and he decided to focus on Isabella. “Isabella, did you see what they were doing? What they did to Natalya? They put some kind of helmet on her head that injected things right into her brain through her skull. They clamped her eyelids open so she couldn’t shutout whatever it was they were showing her. How many people suffered there like that? No one was innocent there...no one,” Evan said plainly. He didn’t sound angry though. Just certain.

Isabella sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I didn't see it. But I know that you and Logan had her. She was back in our custody. I'm not saying that what the SSB did to her was right in any manner. It disgusts me as much as it does you. What they did to her and did to her in the past was horrible, but not everyone in that building deserved to die. If you want to stay here and be apart of this team, which I'm assuming you do because Natalya is here, then you need to understand certain things. We only kill when it is absolutely necessary."

Evan looked at Isabella as if he didn’t quite understand her. He frowned as his mind worked but asked the question anyway. “There were just guards, soldiers and agents...SSB agents...murderers guys. Men and women who kill and torture people. Now they wont hurt anyone again,” Evan argued and his expression was not as certain as it was before.

Isabella looked at Evan and shook her head and sighed. She walked around to the other side of Tony's desk and picked up the personnel files. She walked back around and dropped them on the table next to him. "These are the personnel files of everyone from that building who died that day." She picked up the one on top and handed it to him. "Here. Look at this one."

Evan looked at the file folder as if it were some kind of poisonous spider. As he reached out for it shadows in the room shifted slightly. Tony has caught the movement and his eyes moved toward a shadow on the floor near his desk that moved slowly across the floor.

Evan read the file and shook his head. A wife, a mother and 2 children. Evan felt sick reading that but he retained his calm...just barely and handed the file back to Isabella. “It doesn’t...I didn’t…” He tried to say he didn’t know innocent people were there but that was precisely what Isabella had just said. More shadows seemed to shift, even small ones and Tony caught that movement as well. Evan was obviously troubled by what he saw and now what he did and he eyed the stack of files and frowned.

“I’m not taking the blame for this. The SSB put those people in danger when they tortured Natalya. They did...other things to her as well but she wouldn’t tell you those,” Evan said. Natalya did not go into detail about them but Evan had a good imagination, unfortunately. His eyes were damp from the strain of not blowing up and with the guilt of what he’s done. He shook his head again as his face filled with denial. “It’s not right, it just isn’t,” Evan said. Tony looked at Isabella but said nothing.

Isabella watched Evan's face carefully as he read the file folder she had handed him. She could tell he was troubled by what he read. She saw the shadows shift around him and knew that that was caused by him. Isabella glanced at Tony and took notice that he still hadn't said anything. That was beginning to irritate her. However, she decided to give him another chance to speak up as she turned her attention back to Evan. "We have agreed to allow you to be apart of this team. How do we know that you aren't going to do something like this again in the future? You and Logan both need to learn how to keep your emotions better in check when it comes to Natalya."

She was silent for a few seconds to allow Tony time to jump in and say something. When he didn't she turned and looked at him. "Aren't you going to say something Tony?" she said with obvious irritation in her voice that he wasn't verbally backing her up on this.

“Sometimes, when we are trying to protect people there are casualties. The threats we face are often so immense that it can not be avoided. When we attack we have to access that kind of collateral damage,” Tony said. And he would know more than most. His own weapons his company produced had been sold to people who used them to hurt innocent people. He had no knowledge of that but he took it all personally and corrected it at great cost to himself and to his company. Initially anyway.

“What you did you did out of anger and vengeance. You served yourself and your own feelings. We ‘Avenge’ the common good. We do not engage in our own private wars. If you are unable to separate yourself from that kind of thinking then I don’t know if The Avengers can use you,” Tony said harshly. When Evan didn’t respond or even look at him Tony stood up. “Ya got that cowboy?” He said.

“Crystal...clear,” Evan said softly and a bit coldly as he looked up at him. He gave Isabella a dark look then moved to leave.

Isabella was glad when Tony actually spoke up and backed her up on this. Evan was new to the team but he needed to understand that his actions had lasting consequences. Everyone on this team needed to know that. If he couldn’t get his emotions about Natalya in check maybe he needed to not be apart of the team. She was willing to give him another chance though. They would need to watch him closely.

After he left Isabella looked at Tony. She was still irritated with him. “Thanks finally saying something.”

As Evan left the room he would see Natalya standing in the hallway. From the look on her face she had overheard the conversation. “What did you do Evan?” she asked in a softer voice.

Natalya almost startled Evan when she spoke and what she said seemed to anger him though it was only his expression. He took her hand in his and pulled her around to follow him. Peter and Serena were in the kitchen area and they both watched as they stormed from Tony’s office toward Evan’s room. Peter gave Serena a concerned look but didn’t say anything.

The moment Evan’s door was closed he rounded on Natalya and kissed her hard. He pressed her body up against the door and continued to kiss her as his hands moved toward the front of her pants. He tried to tug them down off of her hips and his intent was plain.

“I wonder what that was all about...did you see his face?” Peter asked Serena.

Natalya was surprised by the look on Evan’s face. Clearly he was upset by her question. She opened her mouth to say something else but he grabbed her hand and pulled her away towards his room. She tried to say something again but before she could get a breath he pushed her against the door and kissed her hard. She managed to get her hands up and push him away. She looked at him and kept her hands on his chest to keep him at a distance so she could talk to him. “Evan what’s going on?”

Serena was sitting at the kitchen counter with Peter doing homework. She looked up when Evan and Natalya walked by. She blinked and looked at Peter. “I don’t know but he looks upset about something.”

“Do we have to talk about it now? I want you!” He said in an urgent tone and he pressed up against her outstretched hand. However as he did Natalya held him back and she gave him that look that would brook no argument from him. Finally he sighed.

“What did I do? I killed them all, that’s what I did. Logan and I. The complex, the whole thing...I took it away. Removed it from...from existence,” Evan said as he looked into her eyes defiantly. “I made them pay for what they did. They want me to feel guilty for what I did but I can’t. I don’t,” Evan said plainly.

Natalya listened to Evan and for a long moment after he was finished speaking she said nothing. She sighed and removed her hand from his chest and ran her fingers through her hair as she processed what he just told her. She couldn’t believe what he had done and she wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about it.

“Evan,” she finally said, “I understand that you were angry. I’m still angry about what they did to me but innocent people could have been in that building. What’s done now is done, but in the future you need to stop for a moment and consider what possible consequences of your actions might be. I have done so many things that I feel guilty about and those actions are something I have to always live with.”

She became quiet again and began to pace a little. “I’m also becoming worried about how you and Logan react around me. I appreciate both of your concern for me but during a mission we need to be able to focus on what needs to be done.”

Evan’s brows furled down at what she said. The woman just didn’t understand. “Natalya, this wasn’t just some mission. Seeing you… like that. Knowing what they did. What kind of man would I be if I just let that go?” Evan said getting angry at her. “They deserve no mercy nor compassion!” Evan growled. “Let what I did be a reminder to them! The SSB take mercy and compassion and use it against us…And you should know that more than anyone!” Evan said.

Natalya really didn't know what to say. There really wasn't anything more to say. What was done was done and it actually did provide her some relief to know that the SSB wasn't hunting her anymore. The nightmares of what they had done to her and what she had done to others would always remain though. She slowly walked back over to him. She reached up and gently touched his cheek and looked into his eyes before she leaned in and kissed him.