Party is Over

The Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D, Warriors Three, lady Sif, and Loki belong to Marvel

I own Caroline Addison`s character, her sobriquet, and her powers

"Alone at last." Breathing heavily, Loki was sitting on the ground, his back propped on a black frozen tree. After making his escape, he had been chased through two realms, until he manage to trick his pursuers into losing him. He could still hear voices in the distance. They were retreating. Loki smiled menacingly. Thor, Sif, and the warriors three never stood chances in catching him in the Deadly forest in Jötunheim.

After he had gained his composure and his breath was finally calm in his chest, he rose from his place. His countenance resolved.

"Oh, they will pay dearly," his sinister smile not leaving his face.

.. … .. … ..

"Say whiskey!" Stark was holding one of his self made cell-phone taking pictures of the Avengers and other known SHIELD agents. A celebration was in place after the defeat of the alien invasion and the punishment to the crazed demi-god. The private party was as loud and sparky as any other. The formality and strict organization of SHIELD`s agents was replaced with genuine having fun and drinking on Stark`s expense. People were dancing, talking, and laughing.

"Why whiskey?" Natasha drew up her eyebrow. She was not the drinking type. Well, maybe vodka, but only sometimes.

Stark grinned knowingly.
"Because when you pronounce the word, you smile."

Natasha rolled her eyes with a sweet smirk. "Whiskey then!"

Snap!

"Thank you darling!" Tony turned around, away from Natasha, and went around the bar in the middle of the party-hall over to the other guests. The party was of course in the restored Stark Tower, and he was the shining host.

The cell-phone that served him to take pictures went off. "It must be somebody who`s late for the party. Shame. They don't know what they are missing." He opened his cellphone and placed it up against his ear. "Hello?", sounded his a little high pitched voice. The music was so loud that he could feel the base humming in his bones. With a finger pressed to his other ear he forced himself to listen for a second. "Ok. Give me a moment."

He stepped on the balcony out of the party area, where he could speak normally with a SHIELD agent on the other line. He propped his left hand on the balcony parapet, and put the phone back to his ear. Rolling his eyes and with an ignorant countenance, he said with irritation, "It'd better be something important because I`m having the party of the century."

The agent on the other line cleared his throat. "I am afraid it is important, Mr Stark. We have an emergency."

Stark immediately switched to option Serious. He straightened his posture. His features hardened as his eyebrows furrowed. "I'm listening."

.. … .. … ..

Was that her phone ringing? She grumbled a deep guttural noise from the back of her throat, unhappy to be woken up this early. It can't be morning yet. Why is my alarm off? Without taking off her sleeping-eye-cover she reached for her phone and pressed the button for setting it to go off again in ten minutes. She found herself surprised that the music didn't stop. Her eyebrow rose in curiosity. Suddenly the thought hit her. Somebody was calling. She reluctantly took the phone, put it to her ear, and barely muffled, "Ello?"

"Addison get your ass to my place now!" That voice was painfully familiar in its ordering sounding.
"Stark?!" She instantly sat in her bed and removed her eye-cover. With that she saw the time. "Half past two in the morning. What is so urgent that cannot wait till tomorrow?"
"We need your talents." His answer was calm and with a note of apology.

Her eyes widenedlike sausages in surprise and worry. He had promised to keep her secret. There was no way she would become part of an organization that would rule her life for the rest of it. Yet she couldn't bring herself to shout at him. His voice did sound way serious and shaken than any time before. She immediately tried to search his mind, but she only found his emotions and not what he was thinking. He was worried, irritated and surprised. Surprised by what? She cursed herself for gifting him with the ability for closing his mind for her, some time ago. They had built a strong friendship, so she trusted him enough to grant him that one wish: being able to shield his mind from any telepaths.

Stark waited for her to say something, but apparently the woman on the other line was too dumbfounded to speak. "For goodness sake girl! Careful not to let your peepers jump out of their orbs! And no, I can't see you right now. I just know you too well. I haven't told SHIELD anything about you. And I promise that your secret will remain as such by any means. Yet you have to sacrifice some spare time and do that 'I wish' thing you usually do."

"And that spare time you mention should be the time when I need my beautiful sleep?" she asked, slightly peeved. "What`s going on Tony? Don`t tell me you overwhelmed JARVIS with party orders again. Because if this is the situation then I will have to wish you goodnight."

Stark quickly said with a mockingly worried voice as if he had been caught with a lover, "It is not what it seems. My loyalty belongs to you." He paused. "I would have invited you to the party if it wasn't full with SHIELD agents. This one is a private party, you know. Don`t kill me. Besides…, party is over." He paused. "But seriously. I need you to come to my tower now and that`s my final." With that he hung up.

Caroline reluctantly drew the covers and hopped off her bed. She tiptoed around her empty apartment while preparing for going out, and was shortly ready. She wore a strict suit, hair in a perfect bun, full make up, nothing less. Stark was her friend, but also he was her boss. It was like going to work.

When she made it to Stark`s an hour later there was no party any more, not even any visible signs that there had been a party. So maybe he wasn't kidding at all when saying it was serious. Caroline was met by her colleague, and loyal friend Pepper who warmly greeted and led her to the bar hall. There around the very bar were seated several men and a woman.

The Avengers, Caroline thought. She had seen them on the news several months ago after the alien attempt for invasion. Stark had informed her with the name of the group, although it was supposed to be a secret. She often wondered how he could manage to keep her own secret with not even being able to keep his under wraps for long.

Why would he want her to meet these people? He was definitely getting her involved in something, and maybe something she didn't want to be linked to. Her eyes narrowed.

After seeing her, Stark jumped from his place. "Before you bite off my head, and I know that you can literally do it, please sit with us and hear what we have to say."

She took her seat and gave each Avenger a look, then nodded her head. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Caroline Addison. Please introduce me to the subject we are gathered for. But before that if I am to work with SHIELD, I hope you do let me know your names." Her request sounded more demanding than she had firstly planned it, but one, she felt defensive being between those people, and two, she had felt like being on an important meeting, so formality had kicked in.

The others stared at her impassively. Stark, slightly bemused of her formality, quickly interrupted. "This is not how you do it Addison! Relax now. This is only the Avenger`s union. There is no SHIELD here."

Natasha furrowed her eyebrows in suspicion at her. "How does she know about SHIELD," she demanded, not taking her piercing eyes off Caroline.

Stark`s face attained an innocent expression, while his jaw started working as if he wanted to say something. "Ehhh...I…" He then quickly sputtered, "I might have told her about the organization and the union earlier before."

Disapproving looks were shot his direction, but no one commented on that. Caroline was to know now anyway. However, no one made to speak for several prolonged seconds. Tony wasn't one for waiting for things to happen by themselves so he abruptly broke the silence, startling some of those present. "As much as I like sitting and doing nothing, we have a creep to find and arrest."
Caroline`s brow raised. "What are you talking about?"
"Ah, I would have told you my dear if there wasn't somebody else who insisted on telling you himself." Stark nodded his head at a man with long blond hair sitting on the other end of the bar.

The billionaire opened his hands in a presentable manner and started. "This is Natasha Romanoff – The Black Widow. An assassin and interrogator." Natasha immediately shot him with her most frightening expression, but Stark dismissed it and continued introducing pointing the man next to her, "Clint Barton – Hawkeye. An assassin archery master." The said man slightly straightened his position, and his lips thinned.

Stark didn`t stop. He knew Caroline might have picked that information already, but if they were to become a team, he wanted to make sure everybody was properly introduced. "Steve Rogers – Captain America. Super soldier."
Steve quickly looked at Caroline and tilted his head forwards. "Ma'am."

"Dr. Bruce Banner – Hulk. A physicist, and a very calm fella." Stark smiled sweetly at the said man, and then motioned to himself, "Tony Stark – Iron Man. Genius, billionaire…"
"Shut up Tony!" Caroline interrupted with wide grin.
"For you always," came his mock answer.

Natasha bored her knowing eyes in the woman before her. "What do you do Addison?"
Caroline glanced nervously at Stark. He nodded reassuringly. She then turned to the others, "Everything."
Silence followed her answer.
"Everything?" Steve`s voice was soft as usual, yet this time it cut through the silence.

Suddenly subjects started floating in the air. Some of them changing shape, others dividing themselves like cells. The walls flashed all the colours from the rainbow. The multiple illuminants in the hall made their own illuminating show. It all went back to normal as suddenly as it had started. The Avengers stared on in awe, but soon snapped out of it, coming back to reality.

"Is this all that you can do?" came Natasha`s unimpressed voice.

Caroline ignored her challenge and turned her attention to a particular man with long blond hair and serene expression. The only one who hadn't changed his countenance during the show. It wasn't this that had got her curiosity though. Tony had introduced all of the Avengers but him.

She calmly spoke, "Can I know your name too, Sir? If you don't mind?" She felt as if she needed to be careful with him. His proud figure, and the hammer he held in his hand carried a striking demeanor.
"I am Thor, son of Odin, god of Thunder, heir of the throne of Asgard. I own the power of Mjölnir." Voice calm but firm and deep.

A royalty? Caroline blinked. He indeed looked imposing. "Your Majesty." She tilted her head forwards, slightly bowing.
A wry smile crooked between his tensed features. "Do call me Thor, my dear. I am far from wanting anybody to treat me as of royal family in this realm. The reason we are gathered here and now is my brother, Loki of Asgard. Are you acquainted with Norse mythology?"

"I am partly." Caroline could feel his uneasiness. She decided to save him the time and the discomfort in telling her what the situation was, and set for getting the whole story on her own. She willed herself to enter Thor`s mind and find the exact information he wanted to give her. In a split second while Thor was still taking a breath to continue speaking, she already knew what he had to tell her. Caroline spoke instantly. "What do you want me to do?"

Thor`s voice hitched in his throat for a moment, his eyes opening in surprise. Then he spoke calmly, "You read minds. I see." He paused. "Will you find him for us?"
Caroline was silent. The demi-god continued with graved tone. Caroline could feel the hurt in every word of his. "Loki learned the science of Midgardian high-techniques, and he is well acquainted with Asgardian traditional means of imprisonment. There is absolutely nothing in existing by now that would be able to restrain him. I…" His voice trailed for a second. "I still love him as a brother, and I was going to insist on a mild punishment. But now the most important thing is to actually stop him from whatever he is planning to do next. He has to be imprisoned for his own good and ours."

Stark interjected. "Yeah. I doubt he would go on a holiday to celebrate his escape. He is surely coming after us and the Earth." Tony just couldn't help but interfere. Thor sounded as if he'd start crying, and Tony couldn't bear even a single thought of actually seeing this big man on the verge of tears. It would be…awkward.

The demi-god continued." My friends, Sif, the Warriors Three and I pursued him through realms, but eventually we lost him. He is able to make himself invisible for Heimdall and Odin. Do you think you can find him?" His question wasn't of a doubt, but hope.
"...and then to actually jail him." She finished for him.
"Yes," Thor replied solemnly.

He was serious, they all were. Everybody in the room was expecting her to answer their unspoken expectations. Caroline wasn't sure how to find a person she had never met before, so she turned to the god of Thunder, and spoke gently,
"To find Loki, I need to concentrate on his personality, but I don't know him. I think that as his brother you would know him best. Would you mind if I pick some of your memories?"
Thor remained silent for a moment, thoughtfully stroking his chin. Then he looked Caroline in the eyes and nodded. "You can look in my memories with Loki."

She smiled and also nodded. "You won`t feel anything." Then she bore in Thor`s memories with his younger brother. Her mind danced across his neural networks, finding its way to his long-term memories. She concentrated especially on the last events while trying to connect with the one she had to find. And she located him... Kind of. "He is-… nowhere."

The others frowned thinking she had failed. Caroline understood that, so when Steve had tried to encourage her to try and search again, the woman possessing the power of Will found herself not able to explain, "No. I found him. But he…is hanging in the air. More likely he is floating in Outer Space. I am trailing him to see if I can recognize where he is heading." She tried to invade Loki`s mind but his own mental shields slammed so hard before her that she almost fell from her sitting position.

She let her concentration brake, distress crossing her face, and fear in her eyes. "He knows about me."