When The Lights Go Out (October 2001)

It was a spartan breakfast with pastries, jams of different flavors, butter, fruit and coffee. Frank’s ankle had been a bad sprain but it was healing and Tony suffered a mild concussion and a bit of bruising. He re-injured his left shoulder but he had taken the necessary drugs to keep the swelling and pain at bay. That and a bit of alcohol to wash it all down. This morning he smelled of bourbon but no one said much about it considering the pounding he had taken last night. Then kept going after. His suit had sustained a good deal of damage but he had been up late last night repairing it, despite his ailments.

“So, an EMP?” Tony asked Kate. “Yes, using satellites as signal carriers and area dampeners to keep the signals from degrading his plan is to shoot the signal to the collectors on the three satellites they have control of. Then, the signal will be dispersed onto a given area. New York City is just a test. If it goes well, all he needs are more satellites and then he can go after a larger area...like all of the US. Erik is helping them hack into the satellites. I...I helped them take over one of yours Tony,” Kate said. “By now...they could have several more. His threats are likely real but he won’t just threaten. New York is lost already I think. Then he will make his demands,” she said ominously.

There were grim faces around the table. Frank looked right at Tony.

“So, you’re supposed to be this mega genius Tony. How can we stop this?” He asked bluntly. And, everyone looked over at Tony as if the question was a reasonable one. Tony was still in alot of pain. That and his head throbbed horribly. He was exhausted and on his way to getting drunk and it was only 9am. His face took on a dark look though he wore a grin on his face. Isabella knew that look. The sarcasm was going to come thick and heavy.

“So we couldn’t stop SHIELD from taking the dampeners. What makes you all think we can stop the whole of SHIELD AND Loki as well? Maybe it hasn’t filtered down to you, this isn’t fighting thugs and drug dealers on a street Frank...or what it is that they call you? ‘The Punisher?’ We all just got punished last night. If they are going to turn on the switch today? New York is gone already,” Tony said in obvious irritation.

“Oh, I’m sorry, is that not what you expected to hear?” Tony said then took another long drink from his glass. Just tilting his head back made his eyes want to pop out of his skull as the pain surged through him. “You don’t need to say it like that Tony,” Steve said. “What’s wrong with it? The truth is what it is Steve,” Logan said.

Kate hadn't slept well that night. She was used to the feel of Steve's arms around her. The bed felt...empty without him. She would never admit it to anyone, but she was also afraid that Loki was going to come back for her and use her against those she loved and cared about again. Morning couldn't come soon enough for Kate, although it didn't bring much hope with it...especially when she saw Tony drinking at 9 am. 

Isabella hadn't slept well either, although she doubted anyone probably really had. She set out some food and hoped that Tony would eat something. He was hungover and already drinking again. What Kate told everyone didn't instill much hope and after hearing what Frank said, she knew Tony wasn't going to respond well. 

"So, what? We're just giving up?" Ava asked. 

"Well, what the hell are we supposed to do?" Natalya responded.

Kate sighed as she thought about it. "Erik is the the key to all of this. If we could get our hands on him then Loki wouldn't be able to make this work."

"I highly doubt Loki is going to be far from Erik. He doesn't have the engineering ability to do this without him. We could try to take this scientist out, wouldn't that stop it?" Frank asked.

"Erik is innocent in all this. We've already hurt and killed alot of SHIELD agents who are under Loki's control. How much more blood needs to be on your hands before it's enough?" Steve asked though not in his usual calm way. Steve was angry. Angry and upset at what was happening between himself and Kate. It was his own fault but it didn't change that he hardly slept last night. He loved her so much and the threat of losing her, now that he knew he couldn't be without her, had shaken him.

"Its about saving lives," Logan said though him having to say that was very odd. "We take him out and this stops," Logan said. "No, it doesn't. It just changes," Steve said. "Well I don't see you comin up with ideas Cap. Ya look tired, did ya have some trouble sleepin?" Logan said rudely. He knew what was going on between him and Kate.

Kate heard what Logan said and she felt her anger growing by the second. "Hey!" she snapped at him. The shocked look on his face was rather satisfying. "Leave him alone," she said in a dangerous tone. Kate may not be sleeping in the same bed as Steve for the moment, but she still loved him and she wasn't going to let Logan bully him. 

Natalya glanced between Logan, Steve, and Kate before finally speaking. "What about Dr. Strange? Could he do something to help us in all of this? Maybe he could get Erik out of there."

"I've tried to call him but he appears to be busy with something. He doesn't answer," Tony said. "So, since this is likely to happen, the whole city will go dark? Alot of people are going to be hurt, we can do alot on that front," Steve suggested and he glared at Logan though Logan was looking at Kate with narrowed eyes.

"We don't even know if we can trust you yet," Logan said to Kate in a threatening manner. "Should she even be here right now?" He asked.

Steve turned to face Logan and it was clear the two men were quite nearing an open confrontation. "I'd trust her with my life Logan, I saw what you did. You hurt alot of men and women last night," Steve said and then that had done it.

Logan stood up so quick his chair fell back. Steve did as well. "Well ya better get used to it cuz It's gunna happen some more if their still under Loki's control," Logan growled. They had him on the ground and they kept hitting him with those stun sticks like a pinata. It had enraged Logan to the degree that he nearly attacked anyone that got close to him. He saw Natalya though and jumped into the truck.

Kate looked at Logan and couldn't believe what he had said. She started to open her mouth to defend herself, but before she could Steve jumped to her defense. She could feel the tension between Logan and Steve rise to a dangerous level until both men were suddenly on their feet. 

Isabella finally had had enough and she got to her feet. "That's enough! All of you! We're not acting like a team right now. We're acting like children and if we can't start acting like the team the world needs us to be then Loki is going to win! I'm not asking you to like each other, but if we can't respect each other then we've already lost."

She got up and stepped away from the table and walked back to the office and closed the door.

Tony just shook his head and got up fro the table himself. He was not all that steady on his feet and he stepped away toward his lab. Steve frowned and sat back down. Logan did the same but neither of them apologized to one another.

"Well, this is going well," Frank said. "So Kate, what did Loki do to you...exactly? I mean. Do you remember anything at all?" Frank asked.

Kate sighed and rubbed her head as she tried to focus her memories. "Everything is rather fuzzy...but I seem to remember something about his staff. I think...I think he used it to put me under his control." After a second her memory began to clear up. "Yes, that was it. He touched my chest with it and the first time I was able to fight against his control. But the second time...I just remember a strange...almost cold feeling washing over me as my will was stripped away." She was quiet a moment as she thought about it. "Fury, Phil, and Maria are definitely under his control."

Frank cringed at that and he gave Ava a tender, weighing look. As if he too was considering having her step away from all of this. His ankle throbbed annoyingly. "Well I suppose we'd all like to just 'walk away' but if we do, who will be here to face this?" Frank said. Logan was focusing on the SHIELD names Kate had just said.

"So it is all of SHIELD then. And the agents would follow orders and wouldn't even need to be controlled. Cut off the head and the body will fall though," Logan said. Steve was looking at Kate but when she looked his way he glanced away.

The way Ava was sitting with her arms folded on the table, they also sort of 'propped' things up as well. Logan had looked at Ava's breasts more than once and the second time he thought Natalya caught him looking. One night without sex and he's thinking about it but she had been with him long enough that, one night was all it would take. Logan finally just gave up and turned in his chair so he wouldn't be tempted.

"What does an EMP do exactly? And will they need to sustain it?" Logan asked.

Natalya was watching Logan out of the corner of her eye and she saw him looking at Ava. She turned her head more to look at him and gave him a dangerous look until he finally turned in his chair away from Ava. Ava either hadn't seen it, or was ignoring Logan. 

Kate took a sip of her coffee. She was starting to feel the effects of not sleeping much for multiple days. "So, an EMP is an Eletromagnetic Pulse. It's a short burst of electromagnetic energy that creates interference that can be damaging to electronic equipment. They are going to use the Tesseract to essentially power down all of New York City and create chaos. That's as much as I know. I'm not a scientist. I was there to protect the Tesseract."

"What Tony said was that once it goes off, anything not shielded for something like that will not only just not work, but will need to be replaced altogether. He said he was looking into some kind of plan but I don't know what it could be. And he hasn't been forthcoming," Steve said. "So Loki could fire that thing off at any time. Lets assume he does. I think we should focus our efforts in protecting the citizens of New York from violence and looting. If we are present, it could make a difference in how people react," Steve said.

"But, we can't all be everywhere at once. I think we should call in the National Guard," Steve said. "Well, they might come if you tell the Mayor he'll need them," Frank said. Steve nodded. He glanced again at Kate but then back to Frank and Ava. "That's...not a bad idea," He said and yawned. "Whoa...I think I need more coffee," he said and got up. He picked up the pot and then brought it over to refill Kate's cup like he always did. She always liked her cup full though she never said so specifically. He just knew that from experience. He didn't notice what the odd look from everyone until after he replaced the pot in the maker.

Kate didn't think anything of Steve getting up until he suddenly began to pour her some more coffee. He knew she liked a full, hot cup and he was always nice enough to refill her cup. Although she knew he was acting out of habit, the gesture was still much appreciated.

"Thank you," she told him gently. 

It was decided that Steve would call the Mayor and tell them that the National Guard was going to be needed. The hope was that this would be kept quiet because they didn't want the citizens to start panicking. Kate went to talk to Isabella and told her what they had decided. Isabella walked down to Tony's lab. She walked in and shut the door behind her. 

"Steve's calling the Mayor to have the National Guard brought in. Probably a good idea considering what we know is going to happen."

Tony was holding his head when Isabella came in. But he quickly stood up as if nothing was bothering him. 'Well, my Arc Resonator won't work. And there isn't time to build them anyway so I think plan B needs to happen. "I didn't want to talk about what that is in front of the others. In any case, you and I will be the only ones that could do it anyway," Tony said cryptically. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked terribly uncomfortable but he was also noticeably drunk.

Isabella could smell the alcohol on him the moment she walked through the door. One look at him and she decided that she was going to hide the rest of the alcohol from him. "Tony, you're drunk. You need to stop drinking and you need to go sleep this off...and then shower...and brush your teeth. You're not going to think clearly this way."

"I heartily disagree my darling. We can't 'Beat' Loki. Not head on. We're just not 'God-like' enough," Tony said. "The only thing we can do is stop him from doing this. We can destroy the satellites," Tony said. "He's likely encrypted their self destructs but that's where you and I come in. We'll have to take them out personally," Tony said in a slurred voice. "Mono a mono," he said and made a gun with his hand to shoot at a model of one of his satellites that was on his desk.

Isabella looked at Tony as she listened to his plan. He was drunk, but it sounded reasonable enough. Perhaps they could make that work. "Ok, so let's do that then. Why didn't you just say something about this earlier?"

"Because...we can't do that! I didn't make the sealed systems upgrades to the suits yet!" Tony said as he clumsily threw everything off of his desk in frustration. He fell and in the process tipped his stool over. When Isabella came down to help him he didn't seem to want to get up and she ended up just on her knees above him. He leaned back on his elbows and looked up at her.

"I fucked up babe. I knew it was a good idea and I had other priorities," Tony said. "I've doomed New York City...How does someone tell everything something like that?" Tony said with tears in his eyes. He was very upset. Nothing he did was going to work. He had failed.

Tony was always very self-confident and so seeing him like he was now was heartbreaking for Isabella. There were many people who believed Tony to be self-centered and said he only cared about himself, but moments like this showed that he truly did care. 

She reached down and she lightly caressed his cheek and brushed away the tears from his eyes. "Tony, do you remember us being held in that cave? We didn't know how we were going to get out or if we were going to survive. You could have just given up then, but you didn't. You figured it out and I know you'll figure this out...we'll figure this out...together."

Tony wanted to argue with her but his heart just wasn't in it. He let her help him up and escort him to their rooms. He collapsed onto their bed and didn't move as she put a blanket over him. He was nearly asleep before she made it to the door.

Steve made the call and Mayor Guilianni just about had a heart attack. But he took Steve seriously. He began to make phone calls and he called in all the precinct police chiefs and those of the fire department and the FBI and CIA. Steve relayed that information to the others including Isabella.

"So Tony said he had a plan, is he going to keep it a secret or will we find out what it is when he decides to use it?" Steve asked Isabella. No one else was nearby at the time.

"Natalya, in a million years did you ever think we'd be out there trying to stop looters and vandals?" Logan asked her as they got dressed. She was still in a towel and her hair was still quite damp from her shower. Logan was still laying in bed in his small clothes. "I mean, legally being able to beat people does have a certain...appeal but do you think it will really come to that?" Logan asked her.

Isabella was glad that at least Tony didn't fight her when she lead him to their apartment. She put him to bed and moved a blanket on top of him. She could tell he was already asleep before she even left. She gave him one last look before she left and closed the door quietly behind her. 

As she walked out, Steve approached her. She sighed a little and rubbed her forehead when he asked her about Tony's plan. She told him what Tony had told her about taking out the satellites. "However, the problem is is that our suits haven't been upgraded yet with the sealed systems and I'm not sure if there is time to make it happen."

Natalya glanced at Logan as she began to get dressed. She was putting on her suit in preparation fro what they were going to need to do. She sighed a little at his question. "I hope not. I'm already not viewed in the best light by the public. Beating people up isn't going to help that image very much."

"Well i was merely talking about the fun factor. We never get to do anything fun. Well, having sex with you is alot of fun. I didn't mean that. I mean...work wise. We'll help clear out stores and shops and the more word of mouth travels, the less people will think about trying to get a free tv or electric mixer," Logan said. Natalya had taken off her towel and snaked into a pair of panties. Logan laid back to just watch her and he took a sip of his beer.

"God your beautiful," Logan said as he looked at her. "But you know that already. Is it ok if I remind you ever now and again? Or are you getting tired of hearing that?" Logan asked.

In their rooms Ava had gotten a little frisky and so Frank allowed her to get him into bed for a quickie. He also let her be where she wanted and it didn't take long for her to orgasm. It never did when she was on top of him. And even though he was hard his thoughts were elsewhere. He had been so consumed with getting Rawlins, and tonight, alot of people may not survive to see the sun rise. He was so close! Ava all but collapsed upon him and though he was still inside of her his hands moved to her hips then he rubbed at her bottom. He felt her shiver a few times as the aftershocks hit her.

"Well, that felt like it was a good one," He said as he kissed her forehead.

He had her, right here. He could have a family if he wanted that. He just needed to ask her. He knew he loved her. But why did he let his thirst for revenge, dictate his entire life? Ava was beautiful and younger than he. She was loyal, honest and genuine. She was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant world. He felt her head shift to look up at him. Normally he'd flip them over and go to town but he was thinking about...other thing right then.

Natalya hoped that once people learned that they were out patrolling the streets that they would think twice about trying to loot stores. However, if they did, she would do what was necessary. She pulled her hair out of the towel and began to get dressed. She knew Logan was watching her and she didn't mind. She rather liked it when he looked at her. He always made her feel...wanted. She grinned a little over at him when he told her she was beautiful and asked her if she was getting tired of hearing that.

"Women never get tired of hearing that."

Ava lived in each and every moment and her love for Frank was a big part of that. Knowing that every time they went out to do what they did they could die made her love life even more. Making love to Frank was a way of expressing that love and Frank never argued with her on that. She knew they needed to start getting ready to head out, but she wanted him and he let her have him. Being on top she could move her body whichever way she needed or wanted to and it didn't take long for her to climax. She collapsed down on top of him and she waited for him to flip them over. When he didn't, she looked up at him. His mind seemed...elsewhere and she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about.

"Are you alright?"

Frank knew from experience, talking about escalating a relationship just after sex was never a good idea but it was first and foremost on his mind right then. He did flip them over but he didn't really move. He just settled there like that. Feeling her under him. Feeling her 'around' him like that. He felt old, used up and scarred. He wasn't a 'pretty' man. Far from it he thought but Ava saw something beyond all that. She would never leave him unless he forced her. He knew that like he knew he needed air to breathe. Even now as she cupped his face in her hands, he saw her large, dark eyes fill with concern for him. He began to think he no longer really had the stomach for all of this killing. He'd much rather just be with Ava and enjoy the life that was left to him.

"Do ya wanna get married Ava? I mean...will you marry me?" He asked. "I...don't have a ring but I'm sure we could get something you liked," He said as his eyes searched hers. Nothing had changed. He was still on top of her and still inside of her. He felt her legs shift against his legs as if to urge him on. But then they jerked as if the question had surprised her.

Ava and Frank had been together for nearly two years. Things were not always easy...well almost never easy, but Ava loved Frank and wanted to be with him. The man was sometimes impossible to be with, but she knew she would never feel this way about anyone else. Frank had tried pushing her away "for her own good" before, but it never worked. He was stuck with her. Being with Frank as long as she had, she knew when something big was on his mind. 

As he flipped them over, she got settled underneath him. She saw him looking down at her and she cupped her hands around his face and looked up into his eyes. Of all the things she expected he might say, 'will you marry me' was not among them. Her body jerked in surprise. At first, she thought she had misheard him. However, as she began to realize she hadn't she felt tears come to her eyes.

"W-what about Rawlins? I thought you said you couldn't settle down until you had gotten him...."

Frank's face grew more serious right then as Ava said that name. "I will loathe the man for eternity. But I think I've spent so much time hating him, trying to find him and kill him that I've forgotten what living really meant. I consumed myself in that hate. And all I've gotten for it is a sore shoulder and alot of scars. We've been together for almost 2 years and...besides the food, I haven't heard you complain once. And you always back me up. Even when I'm wrong. Well, I need you to back me up once more. In letting go. I can defeat him by starting over. I want you Ava. I want a wife and children. I want you to marry me and help me move on. I'm tired of hating. I want to love you, instead," Frank said as he 'plied' a little more pressure on her.