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VALOR
xii. REINDEER GAMES

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   RILEY WAS GETTING NOWHERE. Though only a few hours had passed since Director Fury had left her to interrogate their guest, it felt like much longer. Riley sat in the small detainment room across from a potentially dangerous alien with nothing but a bottle of water and a sliver of sanity to spare. She was afraid she would actually murder him if he didn't start talking.

   See, Riley had mistakenly assumed that the alien was being uncooperative in the sense that he was giving them the silent treatment. Instead, he was just being incredibly annoying and defensive by giving Riley a bunch of non-answers, which she assumed was the case for all the other agents who had tried to interrogate him.

   "Alright," started Riley, "I'm gonna try this again. And this time, you're gonna give me some answers." The alien on the other side of the glass stared at her, disinterested. "What's your name?"

   "Does it matter?"

   Riley refrained from sighing loudly. "A little bit," she sarcastically replied.

   The alien hummed. "That doesn't sound like much," he taunted.

   Riley felt her frustration grow again. "Look, you're not leaving this place until you answer my questions," she sharply told him. "Do you really want to rot here? 'Cause there's a lot of bad teen movies you could be watching instead."

   He clenched his jaw. "I was fine where I was before your buddies dragged me here."

   Riley raised her eyebrows. "You crash-landed in a spaceship," she sassed. "That doesn't sound like you were fine if you asked me."

   The alien became visibly annoyed again. "Look, kid, why don't you just let me out of here?"

   Riley felt her eye twitch. "Kid?" she repeated. "You're hardly older than me!" At least, that was what she thought. From the looks of it, the alien was a few years older than her—maybe 17 or 18-years-old. But when the alien snorted, Riley started to second-guess herself. "What?"

   "I'm a few thousand years old. You humans wouldn't know a thing about living that long," the alien revealed. He smirked at her. "But that was cute—thinking you had me figured out and all. They would've loved you on Asteria."

   Riley initially felt her aggravation return to her, but then a lightbulb went off in her head. She was getting somewhere.

   "Asteria," repeated Riley. "That's where you're from?" The alien hesitated. He hadn't even realized what he had said until it processed in his brain. Riley decided to take another approach in her interrogation. Maybe the problem was that everyone was being too hard on him. After all, she had no clue what he had been through prior to landing on Earth. "It sounds cool."

   The alien shook his head, a flash of red staining his eyes. "It's not," he bitterly grunted.

   Riley pressed her lips together. Maybe if she told him a few things about herself, he would be more willing to trust her? "Well, anywhere sounds better than here sometimes," she lightly admitted. "I was born in Manhattan, New York."

   "Hmph... Sounds cool," he mocked.

   "I, uh, I wouldn't really know," she admitted. "I grew up in labs. Whenever I'd get to travel, it was always for some mission. I didn't get the freedom to travel wherever I wanted until a few months ago." She sighed. "I mean, after my parents died, working became my life."

   The alien rolled his eyes. "Please don't tell me you're trying to make me pity you."

   Scoffing, Riley denied, "Nah. It's bad enough that everyone around here treats me differently for it. I don't need pity. I killed my parents. That's my problem—no one else's."

   This grasped the alien's attention. He glimpsed up at her, intrigued. His eyes were now a golden yellow. He snickered lightly. "And I thought I had issues."

   Riley shrugged. "It was an accident," she said, her tone dropping. She became monotoned, a hint of despair lingering. "But if that never happened, I would've never gotten these powers, so... that's a plus."

   "You don't sound sure of yourself."

   "It's just a reminder of everything that's happened to me," she elaborated. "It's like... no matter how much I train or age, it'll always be apart of me, you know?"

   The alien was silent for a moment. Then, he mumbled, "Yeah. I do."

   Riley glanced back up at him. "Not talking about it is unhealthy," she told him. "I know I'm supposed to be a hardass right now, but I'm still human. You should talk about whatever happened to you."

   The alien's gaze flickered back at her. "Are you saying that because you care or because you wanna please your boss?" he sneered.

   Surprise overcame Riley at his sudden offense. It seemed like no matter what she said to him, he would become aggressive sooner or later.

   "You need therapy," Riley daringly told him.

   "I don't care."

   "Do you not care 'cause you're in denial of your issues?"

   The alien was taken aback by the response. In all honesty, Riley was just repeating something she'd heard once in a movie. Nonetheless, it seemed to get a reaction out of him. He glared daggers at her. "What makes you think you know anything about me?"

   Riley blinked furiously. "Are you stupid? I'm only here because I'm supposed to figure you out."

   Riley wasn't sure why, but she felt like she could trust the alien. At least, she really wanted to. She had a habit of wanting to prove others wrong and a burning desire for others to prove her wrong. She always hoped for the best in the people she met. While this could be good, it could also be incredibly dangerous. Riley couldn't help herself.

   "Insulting people you wanna get to know doesn't sound very promising," mocked the alien.

   Riley pinched the bridge of her nose, deciding she'd finally had enough. "For the record," continued Riley, "I know you're trying to piss me off so that I give up on you. I know it because I've met people like you. I'm guessing that's something you do a lot, but that shit isn't gonna work on me. The sooner you drop the tough guy act, the smoother this will go for the both of us."

   He stared up at the 11-year-old for a long, long moment. He was speechless, his thoughts circulating his mind repeatedly as he searched for what to say to that. He studied the girl and her body language. He had no doubt about it—she was being serious. He just had one question:

   "Why?"

   Riley's shoulders dropped. She had been anticipating yet another aggressive remark, not a question. "Why?" she repeated. "What do you mean "why"? Isn't it obvious? You do wanna get out of here, don't you?"

   The alien leaned forward in his seat. "The others... they gave up after I refused to give them anything," he reminded her. "But we've been sitting here all damn day and it wasn't until now that you learned anything. Why do you care so much?"

   Riley faltered. Was that really all he wanted to know? "I guess... I just wanna believe in bad people proving me wrong," she admitted. "I don't know you enough to think that you're bad, but that's what Fury thinks of you." She paused. "My mission here was to decide if you were hostile or not, but can I be honest with you? I don't think you are."

   The alien scoffed. "You don't know anything."

   "You're right," affirmed Riley, surprising the alien. "I don't. But I'm good at guessing and hoping for the best, even when my chances are low. You don't have to tell me everything I wanna know—not yet, at least. But if you know what's good for you, you'd help us out in the war."

   He pinched his eyebrows together. "What makes you think I can help you?"

   "You're an alien," matter-of-factly said Riley. "And you crash-landed a spaceship. No one does that on purpose. I'm gonna guess that you were running from something and it probably traumatized you, right? That's why you're not talking?" The alien didn't say anything.

   "O'Dair, do you copy?" Fury spoke into Riley's comms. "We've discovered Loki's location. I need you to go with Rogers and Romanoff to detain him."

   Riley pressed a button on the device attached to her ear, muting herself. "You don't have to trust me, but I'm trusting you," she said. "Do you wanna help save my planet, or do you wanna be stuck down here with a bunch of people who won't bother giving you a chance?"

   The alien paused, hesitant. "How do I know this isn't a trap?" he demanded.

   "You don't," simply told Riley. "So what'll it be, dude?"

   "O'Dair, do you copy?"

   Finally, the alien sighed. "It's Roman." Riley raised an eyebrow, causing him to continue, "My name—it's Roman. And fine, I'll help you if it means securing my freedom from this place. But that's it. I don't care about you or your people."

   Riley simply offered him a smile, feeling successful. She pressed a button on her comm, unmuting herself. "I'm on my way," she informed her superior. "Well, Roman, it's showtime."

   Roman stared at her judgmentally. "Please never say something that cliche again."

   Riley shrugged as she unlocked the door, freeing him from his detainment. "I'm gonna do it more just to spite you."

   Roman rolled his eyes while stepping out of the room. He stared down at the sunny child before him, wondering what kind of mess he was getting himself into this time.

○ ○ ○

   "You know, Fury might actually kill you this time, shortie."

   Riley O'Dair was currently inside of an aircraft, suited up with her colleagues. It didn't do that much to protect her. She really just used it to conceal her identity. It was a skintight, white suit, accompanied by a helmet that hid her face—all designed by Tony Stark, of course.

   Roman and Captain America could be found in the back of the Quinjet while Riley sat on the console, invisible. It was her favorite thing to do to pass time on long flights. She would simply sit up front and look out at the sky, remaining in an invisible state to allow the pilot to see clearly.

   Riley shrugged at Natasha's words, her helmet sitting in her lap as the four flew over Stuttgart, Germany. "Fury basically said that Roman was my responsibility," she defended.

   "Yeah, but he didn't say sneak him out of confinement," countered Natasha as she continued to pilot the aircraft. She glimpsed back at Roman. The alien hadn't said much to the others, excluding a few unsolicited, snarky comments. "Are you sure he can fight?"

   "Nope!" sarcastically replied Riley. "I just thought it'd be fun to throw the poor guy into a dangerous situation for absolutely no reason."

   Natasha rolled her eyes. "I didn't ask for the attitude."

   Meanwhile, Steve kept his attention trained on the ever-so fascinating wall. He was unable to wrap his mind around how children like Riley and Roman were thrown to the frontlines nowadays. Sure, he was still growing when he started out, but he wasn't as young as them.

   The four flew over Germany, heading toward the museum Loki had been spotted at. None of the heroes in the making could theorize what Loki's plan was. All they knew was that whatever it was, it wasn't good.

   Riley had spent the majority of the flight explaining things to Roman. Luckily, there wasn't much to be said other than "A psychopathic God wants to destroy the planet", in short.

   On the ground, Loki was in the midst of terrorizing the people of Stuttgart after running them out of the museum's fancy gala. He forced them all to kneel before he commenced with his big speech, "Is this not simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

   An elder German man rose from the crowd. "Not to men like you," he bravely spoke.

   Loki eyed the elderly man with a smirk. "There are no men like me," he insisted.

   The man shook his head. "There are always men like you."

   Loki huffed quietly. "Look to your elder, people," called Loki. "Let him be an example." He raised his scepter, prepared to execute him as he had to plenty of people already. However, just as he released a beam of energy from his scepter, a flash of red, white, and blue appeared.

   Captain America stood in front of the elderly man, blocking the blast with his circular shield just in time. The energy bounced off of the shield and headed back toward Loki, knocking him down in an instant.

   Steve Rogers walked toward the God as he laid on the ground. "You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everyone else," he began, "we ended up disagreeing."

   Riley arched an eyebrow at his opening line. She stood in the crowd with Roman, blending in with the Germans. Loki rose with a mischievous grin. "The soldier," he greeted. "A man out of time."

   "I'm not the one who's out of time," simply put Steve. From above him, the Quinjet flew overhead.

   "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," demanded Natasha. A machine gun was revealed from the lower end of the aircraft. She pointed it at Loki, prepared to open fire on him. Instead of replying, Loki fired another blast of energy at the Quinjet.

   Steve took this as an opportunity to fling his shield at the God of Mischief. Meanwhile, Riley leaped up and caught the energy that had been thrown in a forcefield. She took the forcefield she was manipulating and redirected it at Loki as he fought Steve and Roman.

   Riley watched in surprise as Steve and Roman surprisingly worked well together. On top of that, Roman was an incredible fighter for someone whose capabilities were basically unknown. She hadn't been expecting it, but that was the last thing she needed to be focusing on.

   Riley kept trying to search for an opening to entrap Loki in a forcefield, but so far, she was unable to without capturing her colleagues in the process. With a sigh, Riley watched as Steve flung his shield at Loki once more. Then, an idea popped into her mind.

   Riley forged another forcefield in her hands, this time shaping it to look similar to Captain America's shield. She cranked her wrist back and threw it at Loki's abdomen. She grinned victoriously when he went flying backward. Her smile soon faded, for Loki had anticipated Riley's presence. He blindly shot in the direction the force came in, taking Riley down.

   '...Ow...' thought Riley with a groan. Just as she rose to her feet again, she hesitated. Riley turned visible once more, focusing on a strange sound that had begun to fill her ears. She could have sworn it sounded like rock music was playing in a nearby speaker. Unless... 'Is that what I think it is...?'

   Just as she thought, Iron Man went flying above their heads. Riley raised her arm to shield her eyes as he shot lasers at Loki. When Iron Man landed, Tony Stark's voice projected itself loud and clear, "Make your move Reindeer Games."

   Riley approached his side, seeing that Steve and Roman had nearby, as well. Bafflement mixed with excitement overflowed from Riley. She knew that Iron Man hadn't been an approved candidate for the Avengers Initiative, but if he was here, then that was a good thing right?

   Well, whatever it was, Riley remained stoic on the outside. She was used to being rather serious on the field, and that wasn't going to change just because she was extremely ecstatic to see her best friend joining the Avengers.

   Loki's strange armor disappeared, leaving him in his usual, nonprotective clothing. He raised his hands to show that he was surrendering. Iron Man lowered his weapons and commented, "Good move."

   Breathlessly, Steve Rogers greeted, "Mr. Stark."

   Tony hardly spared him a second glance. "Captain," he matched. He looked over his shoulder to see Riley standing beside him. "Tink, always a pleasure. Who's your friend?" He motioned to the alien beside her.

   Riley stepped in front of Roman. "Roman," she introduced. "Maybe we should discuss this on the Quinjet, yeah?"

   The men around her didn't say a word. Before they knew it, they were climbing aboard the Quinjet without a clue of what, or rather, who was going to drop in next.

○ ○ ○

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

omg! so much has happened, yet nothing has happened at the same time!

i actually really liked writing riley and roman's little interactions. this chapter rly shows how riley's training was influenced by nat, but there are still flairs to it that you can see riley came up with herself. the biggest difference b/w her and nat is that riley is a lot more compassionate and sensitive when it comes to others. she's an optimist and she's thoughtful when it comes to others - she knows what it's like to be alone and excluded and thought the worst of. that's why she was so eager to get roman to prove himself - b/c she would've wanted someone to fight for her the same way!

speaking of roman - AH! my son! i just wanna make it clear that roman doesn't necessarily trust riley (yet!). he's a smart guy, as we've seen in aib. he knows that he doesn't have many options, after all. roman's the kind of the guy who only fights for himself, which was mentioned in aib if you remember that. he doesn't care for the ppl around him, but nonetheless, he's intrigued by riley and her bright optimism. she's the reason why he decides to cooperate rather than just run off, which we all know he could've done the moment she freed him from detainment.

so much to consider ahh! coming up next is my baby, my love, thor <3 i can't wait!

(also i'm literally only 42 mins into the avengers and i still have so much to write outside of the movie's plot b/c yk this is riley's story, as well - it's fine)