The Outsiders Daughter
Chapter 1
Eve Howard had just settled down for the evening when a loud knock made her look wearily at the front door.
Her mother had been paranoid about people knocking on the door.
Against her better judgment, Eve cautiously made her way over to the door and looked through the peep hole.
Standing on her doorstep was an attractive man dressed in black.
Eve froze for a minute. Who was he? What did he want?
She shakily opened the door and pushed the fear to the back of her mind. Confidently, she looked the stranger in the eye.
"May I help you?" She watched as surprise flashed across his features. It was so quick that she wasn't sure if she had imagined it.
"I'm Agent Clint Barton , Miss Howard, and I need to take you in for questioning."
Eve froze. "I haven't done anything," she said, alarmed as a dark haired blonde came towards her.
"We just have a few questions."
"Who are you and how do you know who I am?" Eve's adrenaline was pumping through her veins, preparing for either fight or flight. She was leaning towards the latter.
"I work for S.H.I.E.L.D, Miss Howard." He said. When he offered no more explanation, Eve did the only reasonable thing she could think of: she slammed the door in the man's face.
She pulled a bookcase over the door to stop them from coming in. She looked towards her window, which lead to a fire exit, and ran over to it, thankful she was wearing her black converse trainers.
She wrenched open the window and quickly climbed out, knowing that the bookcase wasn't going to stop them for long.
She scanned the alley below to make sure it was empty before she climbed down the escape and landed nimbly on the balls of her feet.
She started to run as she heard the door crash.
Clint Barton watched as their target got away "Shit, I'm gonna have to follow her on foot. Phil get Stark and tell him to get a visual."
'Why do they always have to run?' Clint thought to himself as he took off in the same direction.
"Keep heading north, Hawkeye. She's a few blocks ahead of you." Tony said through the com link. "She's quick but you're gaining on her."
He could see a tall figure running down the street and ran faster after her.
Eve kept on running, not wanting to look behind her. As she ran into the road, a car was headed towards her.
"LOOK OUT!" The man yelled out to her before she literally disappeared in front of him.
Clint screeched to a halt as his eyes grew wide.
"Stark..."
"Don't ask me. I have no idea what the hell happened either." Tony told him.
Eve landed with a thump in a strange looking forest in shock. Where the hell was she? And what the hell had just happened?
"Hello?" She called out as she started to walk through the woods.
"Eve Sonja Howard." A voice whispered.
She spun around in fright. There was no one there.
"Who's there?" She shouted her voice panicky. "How did I get here?"
No one answered and Eve felt the wind blow her dark brown locks in the wind.
"The Outsider's daughter!"
"I don't understand," She felt foolish for talking to the wind. "Please, I need help!"
"Come," The voice whispered ominously. The leaves on the ground were disturbed as the wind picked them up in a swirl and shot off through the trees.
She watched the leaves move in the wind and with a sigh followed the voice, feeling like she was in Hansel and Gretel, only without the breadcrumbs.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST HER?!" Fury yelled through the com.
Clint winced. "I was closing in on her and she just disappeared."
"People don't just disappear, Barton." Fury shouted.
"With all due respect, sir," Clint said. "I'm not sure why you are still surprised that these things happen. A car was about to hit her, and she just disappeared out of thin air. Stark saw it too."
Tony spoke then "It's true, Fury. She ran into the road to get away from us as a car was about to hit her and just vanished." He said as a thought came to him.
"Why does the council need her anyway?" Steve asked.
"I'm sending you all her files now, maybe you lot will find something and perhaps find her."
Tony scanned the file. "Eve Sonja Howard, 23..." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you kidding me, Fury?"
"Just find her Stark. We have no idea what she is capable of. In fact, she may not even know."
Clint read his copy of the file along with Natasha "She was born to a Donna Giselle Howard…her father is unknown…no siblings or grandparents. Her mother died of cancer three months ago and she's twenty three years old.
"So basically, we still have no idea why she is so important to SHIELD." Bruce said. "She is able to teleport to unknown places and we are no closer to finding her."
"Tony, did she leave any kind of signature when she disappeared?" Natasha asked.
"It's something similar to Thor's magical signature." Tony said. "Do you think she is Asgardian?"
Thor shook his head "Tell me her description."
"Dark brown wavy hair, silver eyes, nice figure and she had a weird a tattoo on her right wrist." Tony said, ignoring Natasha's glare.
"Many Asgardians fit that description. The tattoo however, is the mark of Asgardian royalty." Thor was confused.
"Okay..." Clint said slowly. "So do you know her or not?"
"I do not. But I may know who does."
"Who?" Steve asked the god of thunder intently.
"My brother, Loki".
"My favourite person..." Clint sighed.
"Thor and I will go to SHIELD and talk to Loki." Steve said. "Tony, see if you can trace the magical signature. If this girl is Asgardian royalty, we need to find her... and soon."
Eve walked through the forest and felt as if someone was watching her.
She looked around the dark woods wishing she was back in her house; the sky was practically black here.
Eve swallowed as she saw a light in the distance thinking that maybe it was help.
She ran towards it, her feet lightly treading on the grass only to scream when she saw a mutilated face in front of her.
Oh god.
In her attempt to get away, she fell and landed on her backside. She hastily got up and ran in another direction, only to see another head.
Everywhere Eve looked, faces were staring back at her. She dropped back to the ground and put her head between her knees, a trick her mother taught her whenever she had panic attacks. She needed to come up with a plan to get out of this forest and panicking would not help.
Just as she calmed down, rotten hands grabbed at her, she ran screaming as she headed onto a highway where another car was driving towards her.
"STOP PLEASE!" She screamed as the car hit her.
Except that she didn't feel anything. She opened her eyes and found herself to be back in the alley outside of her apartment. Luckily, the people who were chasing her were nowhere to be found.
She wasn't ready to try to understand how she managed to appear in different places as if by magic. All she wanted to do was sleep.
She ran towards her apartment just as a red headed woman clad in black came at her.
"Just leave me alone!" Eve cried out but she was no match for the other woman as exhausted as she was.
She grabbed Eve's arm and spun it behind her back. Eve struggled and tried to break free of the woman's iron grip.
"Just stop struggling." The woman growled. "We don't want to hurt you."
Eve tried to pull away just as something was banged across her head, knocking her out.
"Natasha!" Clint said, sprinting up.
"I told her to stop struggling." She shrugged. "Call Coulson for an extraction."
Clint shook his head at his violent partner as he paged their handler.
"Yes, did you find her?" Phil asked the archer.
"Yeah we found her but Natasha knocked her out with a damn crowbar. Tell Fury we're on our way." He said as he picked up the unconscious woman.
He then saw the strange looking tattoo on her right wrist; it was silver crescent moon outlined in thick black ink.
"Thor," Loki drawled. "So nice of you to visit me."
"Brother, we need to discuss something." Thor approached the prison cell; Steve right behind him. "What do you know about a woman named Eve Sonja Howard?"
Thor watched Loki's face and body stiffen "Leave her alone brother, she has done nothing wrong to gain your concern." He snapped as Steve noticed the same tattoo on Loki's right wrist.
"What is she to you?" Thor prodded.
"What is Jane Foster to you ...Brother?"
Thor was taken aback from Loki's use of 'brother'. He could only assume that this Eve meant a lot to Loki.
"Loki, if she is important to you I will do all in my power to protect her. She bares the mark of Asgard."
Loki looked at him then "The crescent moon is of her mother's people, the witches of Shadows ... Eve is my child, my daughter."
Thor was at a loss for words. Steve however, was not.
"You have a daughter?" He asked incredulously. "A daughter that no one knows about? Not even your own brother? Does she even know?"
"I had to keep her safe." Loki said with a glare.
Thor was hurt "I wouldn't have harmed her brother."
"No, but I have no doubt Agent Romanoff and that lover of hers would have harmed her or killed her; which is why I kept silent." He said coolly.
"Clint wouldn't have hurt her." Steve protested but Loki silenced him with a glare.
"No, but Romanoff would have. After all, it wouldn't be the first time she killed a child."
"You judge too harshly. Lady Romanoff has proved time and time again that she is trustworthy." Thor said. "But brother, at the very least, you could have told me."
"Eve does not know I exist. I have watched her from afar. I wanted her to be separated from Asgard, especially as she is my daughter." Loki said. "She was already in danger from her mother's heritage."
Steve looked confused "Why?" He asked curious.
"Because she's a witch; able to summon the dead, talk to the spirits and have unique powers."
"Has she inherited any of these powers?" Steve asked.
"Her mother has never told her." Loki shook his head. "As far as I could tell, unexplainable things are constantly happening to her and she's afraid she is going insane."
"Which would explain how she just disappeared today?" Steve said.
"Yes, so what do you want with her?" He asked.
Eve woke up in a white, sterile room. Before she could panic, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The last thing she remembered was being held by the red-headed woman before feeling a sharp pain in her head.
She reached up and gingerly touched a sore spot on her head. "Ouch," She winced.
"Careful, she hit you pretty hard." Her head whipped around and settled on a blond haired man. She recognized the man that was chasing her before she ended up in the forest.
"Who are you? Where am I?" She asked getting up despite the dizziness she felt from it.
"My name is Clint Barton."
He placed a surprisingly comforting hand on her shoulder. "You need to rest. You have a concussion."
"I want to know where I am." Eve said, even as she lay back down.
"You are in S.H.I.E.L.D's medical bay."
Eve looked around "What is S.H.E.I.L.D?" She asked wearily.
Clint's com crackled. "Barton, is Howard awake yet?"
"Yes sir, she is awake." He answered.
"Bring her up then. Natasha's going to question her."
"Are you sure that's a good idea, sir?"
"Barton, don't make me tell you twice." Fury barked.
Clint pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I need to take you in for questioning."
Eve felt the overwhelming panic surface again. Clint saw her tense up.
"It's alright; we just want to ask you some questions about your parents." He assured her.
She nodded and followed him to where he was taking her.
She felt oddly safe with Clint Barton so before she went into the foreboding room, she turned to him. "Will you come in with me?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I can try. But I'm not promising anything."
She nodded, grateful that he was at least going to try.
She walked into a room where there were three chairs. One was already occupied by a woman with red hair; the woman who had knocked her out.
"Clint, about damn time." She snapped, shuffling Eve's file.
"Nice to see you too, Tasha." Clint rolled his eyes. He placed a hand on Eve's shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.
She sat down across from Natasha and placed her folded hands on the table. She didn't want this woman to know that she frightened her.
Clint sat down next to Natasha. "What're you doing?" She asked her partner.
"I'm staying."
Natasha stared at him for a moment before shrugging and turning towards Eve, "Were you aware that Loki is your father?"
Eve looked shocked "No, who…who is he? My mother never spoke about him."
Clint felt his stomach churn.
Natasha looked steadily at Eve. "Have you ever met your father?"
Eve was getting frustrated. "I have never met my father. He never showed up, he was never there. I don't know who Loki is and I have no idea why I am here!"
Natasha sighed "Since your father attacked New York, you are a threat to National Security so you'll be in a cell until we all decide that you are not a threat." She said coldly.
Eve didn't say anything, couldn't say anything. She realized that her life had been a pack of lies as she was taken away to a dark cell.
'I'm going to die; they are going to kill me.' She thought as she curled into a tight ball.
Thor stormed into Nick Fury's office after he found out his brother's daughter was thrown into a cell. Clint was already there, leaning forward with his hands upon Fury's desk.
"What is the meaning of this?" He thundered.
Fury held up his right hand "It's just a precaution," he said as Tony snorted in derision.
"Sure it is, that's why Ginger told Eve, and I quote "Since your father attacked New York, you are a threat to National Security so you'll be out in a cell until we all decide that you are not a threat." He said angry.
"Admittedly, Agent Romanoff was a bit out of line." Fury said. "But all of you have to understand; we have no idea what she is capable of and we need to take the necessary precautions to keep everyone safe."
"This is bullshit, sir. She doesn't even know who Loki is!" Clint raged.
Fury sighed "I realize that but at this point confiscate all her things, jewelry, cell phone everything now." He said, but Tony saw the guilt in his good eye.
Clint hung his head. "Fine, but allow me to talk to her, reassure her. Who knows what she's thinking?"
"I as well would like to speak to her." Thor said.
Fury pressed the heel of his hand into his eye. "Fine...just get the hell out of my office!"
They all nodded and left as a very satisfied Natasha walked past them.
"Where are you all going?" She asked curious.
In all the years that they had been partners, Clint had never been angry at Natasha. But as he and the rest of their team walked by her without even a word, it had her rethinking some of her recent decisions.
It still wasn't enough to make her change. She and Clint may be partners but they could never be close after what Loki had done. Being able to feel made you weak and Clint was irreversibly compromised.
Eve sat curled into a tight ball on her bed when she heard voices coming towards her.
She lifted her head and locked eyes with Clint.
"How are you holding up?" He asked her, nervous for some reason.
Tony hit the back of his head. "How do you think she's holding up, idiot?"
Clint looked embarrassed "Sorry, forget I asked that stupid question." He said quietly as her silver eyes looked at him.
"I've been better." She said looking around. "Are you here to kill me?"
Thor gazed upon his niece. "No my dear, we are not here to kill you, nor will we let anyone else harm you."
"We just want to talk." Tony told her.
"Can you get me out of here?" Eve asked.
"Not right now," Clint told her. "But we are trying."
Eve nodded "What do you want to know?"
"Can you tell us about your mother?" Bruce asked gently.
Eve nodded "My mother's name was Donna Howard. She raised me as a single parent. I was born in the year 1992 on October the thirtieth."
She swallowed. "My mother was always nervous and was afraid to let me go out on my own. She told me that there were people who wanted to hurt me." She said, twisting her necklace around.
"Did she say who they were?" Steve asked gently.
Eve shook her head sadly "We moved away after that and my mother told me to wear this." She showed them her necklace.
It was a large black pentagram star with amethyst stones in it and embedded with a strange writing.