NO POV:

Clint walked out of the motel bathroom with a towel on top his head. He was dressed in a dark t-shirt and a pair of sweats. He looked over the bed on the right side of the room to see Kaira was curled up and knocked out. She was snoring very lightly with her chest rising and falling with every breath. He smiled at her while remembering the night of her first mission that he had taken her on. Most new agents would have been too nervous to sleep, but the second her head hit the pillow she was out.

However, he also knew the slightest disturbance in the room would have had her up and ready to fight. Clint tossed the towel over to the side thinking he'd catch some sleep himself. He was about to climb into his own bed, but Kaira turned over in her sleep with her covers slipping off of her. Clint went over to her bed to put the covers back over her, so she wouldn't get cold. He then brushed her hair back out of her face as she snuggled into the cover.

"Sweet dreams, kiddo." Clint said.

He leaned down to kiss her forehead like he did for his kids before pulling back. Clint went over to his bed while laying down to catch some sleep before tomorrow.

KAIRA'S POV:

I stretched my limbs the next day as I came out of the bathroom washed, dressed, and ready for the day. Clint was already off back to base when Phil called him in this morning. Phil said I could get more sleep since I had been injured last night. I felt fine though. I ate some ambrosia before bed, and my wrist wasn't sore and my bruises were gone. I was placing my comm into my ear, so to radio Phil when there was a sound of an explosion. It shook the entire motel, which nearly sent me falling over.

"What the Hades?" I murmured.

I hurried outside the motel to see that a giant silver metalman was walking down the street. Well, I think it's time to radio Phil.

"Ah, Momma Phil." I called as I turned on my comm. "We have a slight problem. There's a large metalman walking down the middle of the street."

I received only static, which had me frowning in concern. What am I supposed to do now? I pressed my figure to the comm guessing I needed to try again.

"Phil." I tried again. "Clint? Anyone want to copy? Sitwell, I'd even be happy to hear from you right now."

I still only got static. I cursed while having to resist the urge to throw my comm to the side since it was completely useless to me now. But if they get it fixed, hopefully I'd get word from one of the others. I'd definitely need help if I wanted the situation contained. The people around town were quickly evacuating the place as the metalman got even closer.

"Well, this should be fun." I said guess I better get started trying to help somehow.

The face on the metalman opened up as it faced towards the motel. Fire seemed to burn inside, and I cursed having an idea what was coming next. I quickly jumped out of the way as it fired at the motel. I rolled across the ground then stopped to look back at the damaged caused.

"Note to self: Do not get hit by that." I said.

The metalman turned to fire at a mother and child, so I sprang into action. I ran towards the pair then shoved them out of the way. The blast hit a car that flipped over me due to the force, and by sheer luck it landed away from me, not on top of me.

"Oh, that was close." I said then turned to the mother and son. "Okay, you two, move. This place isn't safe."

I picked up the kid then rushed along the sidewalk with the mother close to my side. I made sure the two of them got placed inside one of the cars evacuating the city before I turned back to the metalman as it attacked four warriors I didn't know. And they weren't fairing too well.

"Lady Kaira!"

I glanced behind me seeing Thor, Jane Foster, Dr. Selvig, and Darcy Lewis running towards me.

"Thor, care to explain that thing." I pointed towards it.

"It is the Destroyer." Thor said. "It has been sent here by my brother to destroy me."

I blinked once then twice before letting out a low whistle. Talk about some serious family problems. Maybe gods of any race just can't get along even if they are family.

"Oh...awesome." I said. "Sounds like we've got a party on our hands."

I tapped my earring causing it to glow before it fell from my ear to start growing into my battle staff. It fell into my hand after it was done transforming.

"Whoa." Darcy said with wide eyes.

I spun the staff a few times for some practice swings then faced towards the metalman.

"Hey, Thor, if I happen to get killed, do me a small favor." I said looking towards the blonde. "Make sure my body is given to a man named Barton."

"Of course, Lady Kaira." Thor said. "But you will not die today."

I chuckled hoping he was right. I started walking forward towards the metalman. This all should be an interesting and fun fight. I stopped in front of the metalman with a grin on my face.

"Hey, Tinman!" I called up getting its attention. "How about a friendly fight? You game?"

It fired at me, so I had to dodge to the side. I then ran up a car like a ramp to get me up into the air. I jumped up towards it while swinging my battle staff towards it. I hit it hard in the head, and snapped its head to the side. I then landed on the ground while shoving my staff up to hit the metalman in face. My staff went into the opening in its head, and I got an idea. I quickly while bracing the staff against my shoulder.

"Strength don't fail me now!" I said.

I gave a shout as I gave it my all to sling the large metalman over my shoulder and into the ground.

"Holy cow!" I heard Darcy cry out.

As the thing was down, those male warriors from earlier tried to stab it with their weapons. However, it shoved them away, and they went flying into the air. I then gasped when one of its large hands wrapped around my waist as it was standing up. I cried out as it started squeezing so hard that I felt some of my ribs break. I ended up dropping my battle staff as it was crushing me. I kicked my legs, which were off the ground, at it, but it didn't do much good.

"Styx!" I cursed as another rib cracked.

Suddenly that female warrior jumped up to throw her spear at the Destroyer. It was stabbed in the face, and even though it didn't do much, the thing let me go. I dropped to the ground while wincing when my ribs were jostled. This was not my day. Luck is taking today off I guess. That female warrior from earlier helped me off the ground then got me behind a car.

"Thanks." I said.

"You're welcome." She said. "I am Lady Sif."

Well, this seemed like a weird time for introductions, but I don't want to seem rude to the person who helped me, do I?

"I'm Kaira." I replied. "Wish we could have proper introductions, but we still need to beat that thing."

And my staff was currently lying out there, and wasn't with me, which wasn't good.

"But you are injured." She said.

"As long as I'm still breathing, I can still fight." I said.

She seemed to look at me with new respect as I stood up while turning to face the Destroyer.

"Hey, Metal Face, I'm still here!" I called out. "You're not very good at destroying things if you can't take care of one woman!"

It went to fire at me, but I rushed forward, which confused it. I then slid between its legs to get to my dropped battle staff. Once I picked it up, I used it to vault me out of the way when it fired again. I made it back to Sif while having trouble breathing because of my ribs. I'm pretty sure one either punctured my lung, or was at least dangerously scaping against it. As I was trying to catch my breath, those others warriors ran towards us. However, before they got close enough the Destroyer fired. Sif and I were sent flying one way and them another. We hit a car before rolling over it. I grunted in pain when I landed on my arm funny.

"This isn't going how I planned." I said as I forced myself to sit up against the car. "Has my luck finally ran out?"

As I sat there wondering how to fight that thing next, Thor appeared before Sif and I.

"Sif, Lady Kaira, there is no more you can do." Thor said as he put a hand on each of our shoulders.

"No, I will die a warrior's death." Sif said. "Stories will be told of this day."

Thor looked at her gently as he cupped the back of her neck, so to look her in eyes.

"Live and tell those stories yourself." Thor said.

Sif frowned before finally nodding her head. Thor helped her up before pushing her towards their friends. I just let out a breath as I used my good arm to try and get me onto my feet.

"You must retreat as well, Lady Kaira." Thor said as he helped me up completely. "Live and return to your friends."

I frowned because the thought of fleeing left a bad taste in my mouth. Even if my luck has run out, I don't want to leave this business to others.

"I can't back down." I said. "It's not in my blood."

"Please," Thor said. "I know what I must do. I will end this."

I frowned wishing to protest, but I paused when seeing the look in Thor's eyes. I sighed seeing that he really thought he could end this.

"Fine." I said nodding.

He ushered me along towards his friends who were gothering around Foster, Selvig, and Lewis.

"We need to fall back." One of the warriors said. "Come on!"

I resisted the urge to tell him to stuff it as I helped get Eric Selvig onto his feet. I really wanted to know where my fellow agents were when I needed them. I just hoped they were in one piece…especially Clint and Phil.

"Wait!" Jane Foster said.

I frowned turning to ask her what the holdup was when I saw what caught her attention was on Thor who was walking towards the Destroyer unarmed. He really wasn't about to pull a martyr move, was he?

"What is he doing?" She asked.

I had no idea, but I'm sure I wouldn't like the answer when we figure it out. Thor kept walking towards the Destroyer, and I could have sworn he was speaking to him…but he was too far away for me to hear. The Destroyer stood before Thor looking ready to fire. However, it then closed up its face with the fire dying down. When it turned around as if to leave, I was confused. That can't just be the end. It seemed as if my feeling was right because it whirled around to hit Thor straight on.

"No!" Foster cried out.

She ran towards while slipping from mine and Sif's grasp when he reached for her. She ran over towards Thor, who had hit the ground by now, and she quickly knelt down beside him.

"Dammit." I cursed then touched my comm. "This is Agent Kaira Cortez if there is anyone still standing answer me! I need a medic here stat!"

All I got was static, and I cursed as I looked over to see Thor had taken his last breath. Either my comm had been damaged during this fight, that hammer was still interfering with our systems, or that Destroyer took care of everyone else already.

"Piece of crap!" I said as I ripped out my comm to throw it to the ground.

I then heard what sounded like a light explosion in the distance, and when I looked up I saw something flying up from around where we had set up base. I tilted my head wondering if that thing was what I thought it was. It came flying towards us, or more so towards Thor, so Selvig got Foster out of there even though she was resisting. It turned out to be the hammer, and suddenly Thor's hand shot out to capture it in his hand.

Lightning struck from where he stood as my mouth hung open. Thor, who as now standing and in wearing armor, threw out his hammer to knock the Destroyer off of its feet. The hammer then returned to Thor as the lightning continued to strike where he stood. The lightning stopped striking the ground as a storm cloud started funneling into what looked like a small tornado. Thor flew up into the air as the Destroyer tried to shoot him down. However, Thor dodged the attack as the spinning vortex became faster. Soon it was strong enough to lift the Destroyer into the air.

"Gods." I murmured. "Zeus is not going to be happy about someone flying in his skies, and messing with his lightning."

I really hope I'm not the one who will have to answer to him about this later. While still in the sky, the Destroyer tried to fire at Thor again, but the Norse God of Thunder used his hammer to block the attack as he flew down towards the Destroyer. There was a large explosion that made all of us have to turn away for a moment. When we were able to look back, the defeated Destroyer landed on the ground as the small tornado was disappearing. Thor walked out of it, and I sighed as I looked around at all the damage.

"I am so going to get an earful for this later." I said with a sigh.

I pouted because I didn't deserve a lecture. I deserve a very nice and long vacation. Especially after all the shit that just went down.

"Do not look so wary, young maiden!" The large warrior said as he clapped me hard on the shoulder. "I am sure you made your ancestors proud with how bravely you fought."

I tried not to wince since I was pretty sore in the shoulder he just hit. I know it was meant to be a friendly gesture, but it would have been nice if he hadn't hit me so hard.

"It's not my ancestors I'm worried about." I said.

I then hooked my foot under my battle staff that had fallen to the ground. I kicked it up to catch with one hand. It started shrinking down before I placed it back in my ear.

"We must go to the Bifrost site." Thor said. "I will have words with my brother."

Just then Phil and a few agents decided to show up. Well, good to see they all seemed to be in one piece…not sure if they'll be once I get my hands on them. Where have they been?!

"Excuse me." Phil called out as he stepped towards Thor. "Donald, I don't think you've been completely honestly with me."

"Know this, Son of Coul." Thor spoke as if Phil hadn't. "You and I, we fight for the same cause. The protection of this world. From this day forward you can count me as your ally, if you return the items you have taken from Jane."

He stepped back to stand beside said woman as I started walking towards Phil since I knew he'd want to debrief me.

"Stolen." Foster corrected.

"Borrowed." Phil retorted.

"No, I'm pretty sure the word to use is stolen." I quipped.

Phil gave me a look before his eyes roamed over my body to obviously see how injured I was. He then turned back to Foster when he saw I wasn't going to keel over just yet.

"Of course you can have your equipment back. You're going to need it to continue your research." Phil said then turned to the other agents. "We need a medic for Cortez. Make sure one gets here."

"Yes, sir." Sitwell said then hurried to radio a medic.

As he was doing that, a jeep came peeling into town, and I could see Clint behind the wheel. He slammed on the breaks before jumping out of it. He ran towards me, and I mustered up a smile when he reached me.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked as he started checking me over for injuries.

"Well, I'm not dead, so I'll count that as a win." I replied.

He frowned obviously not liking my reply, but I didn't know what else to say. I felt a hand on my shoulder, so I turned my head to look at Thor.

"You fought bravely, Lady Kaira." Thor said. "I am honored to now call you my ally. Rest well, my friend, for you have earned it…I hope to see you again someday."

I turned around to face him completely while holding out my hand to him with my uninjured arm. He grinned as he reached out to shake hands with me.

"I'm sure we'll cross paths again." I said. "Just go do what you have to."

He nodded his head then turned to Foster. He asked her if she wanted to see the "rainbow bridge", and moments later they were flying off while ignoring Phil who called after them.

"Well, I got that exciting mission I wanted, but now…I could really go for a vacation." I said to Clint.

"We'll get you one, Kiddo." Clint said. "Let's just get you out of here."

He put my good arm around his shoulders then helped me towards the other agents as a medic was arriving. Looked as if this was another mission completed…don't know if it can be counted as a success or not though.

I let out a sigh as the quinjet landed on top of the HQ building in New York. It was nice being back in New York. I'd probably go back to my apartment, and sleep for at least a few days. As the doors were opening, I stood up while reaching for my bag.

"No, no." Clint said as he quickly grabbed my bag before I could. "I've got this."

I frowned at him because I don't like to be babied. Yes, I have a few broken ribs, and yes, one of my arms is in a sling. However, that doesn't make me a cripple. Or does it?

"Don't give me that look." Clint said. "Now, go no."

I let out a groan before stepping off the quinjet as Clint chuckled while following after me. As I was stepping off the quinjet, I saw that Natasha was waiting on us. She smiled while opening up her arms to me when I got closer. She hugged me gently as I put one good arm around her.

"I heard someone acted recklessly again." Natasha said as she let me go.

She didn't look as if she was going to lecture me, which had me smiling. Of course, she never lectures me, which is why I love her so much. I still love Clint to pieces too, but I could live without his lectures.

"Well, I had to do something." I said. "Besides, it wouldn't be the first time I took on something deadly and made of metal."

The Coccus Bull came to mind, and the last time I had to deal with one of those, I tried to ride it like cowboys do rodeo bulls. Didn't work out exactly as planned since it can pop out a part of its back to eject something off of it. I landed in a tree if I remember correctly. It took a few campers to get me down too. Hadn't been one of my best moments, and Clarisse held it over my head for a while.

"Yeah, well this thing shot out like a fiery laser beam of doom." Clint said with a frown on his face.

Oh, please don't start back up with the lectures. Anything but another lecture, please.

"Wouldn't be the first time I fought something that used a fiery laser beam of doom." I retorted.

I frowned as I rethought that statement. Did anything I ever fought shoot out something like that? Well, dragons breathe out fire. Does that count? That bronze dragon Beckendorf once put back together shot out something more laser like than fire from his mouth, and I've had to deal with him. He did not like me that was for sure.

"Okay, whatever." Clint said while chuckling. "Let's just get out of here before some kind of emergency happens, which prevents us from this well needed vacation."

Well, I wasn't about to argue there. All three of us got into the elevator that would take us off the roof. I couldn't wait to get some rest in. I could literally sleep like a log for about a week or so.

"How did your mission end by the way, Nat?" I asked.

I was curiously to hear about Tony. I hoped he wasn't dead or anything because I grew kind of attached to him in our short time together.

"Well, it ended on an exciting note for sure." Natasha said. "But, Stark managed to synthesize a cure for himself, and he saved the day from evil drones from Hammer Industries with a little help from yours truly."

I smiled because it was good to hear that Tony was okay. We finally made it to the bottom floor of the building, and as we stepped out, we were greeted by many agents standing around chatting excitedly. I blinked curiously while wondering what was going on.

"Nat, did something happen while we were gone?" Clint asked looking towards the redhead.

I looked towards her too while wondering if she knew. She was here before us after all.

"I don't know." Natasha said shrugging. "As soon as I finished my mission report, I went up to the roof to wait for the both of you. You guys arrived about five minutes later."

So what happened in that short amount of time? Whatever it was didn't seem like an emergency since people were rushing around in a panic or anything. They were just chatting excitedly as if something big and important has happened. And since I'm a very curious person, I am going to figure out. I spotted Galen not far from us, so I walked over to the son of Iris.

"Hey, Gal," I greeted as I reached him.

Galen turned to look at me with a friendly smile as Natasha and Clint joined us.

"Kaira, welcome back." Galen said then nodded to the two senior agents albeit shyly. "Agent Romanoff, Agent Barton."

The two returned the nod as the chatter continued to happen all around us, which prompted me to ask my question to Galen.

"So what's happening?" I asked. "People seem really excited for some reason?"

Galen's face seemed to light up partially when I asked, which just made me more curious.

"Earlier today Director Fury was contacted by some of our agents in the Artic." Galen said. "Some workers up there found something very interesting in the ice."

My brow quirked wondering what could be so interesting to be found way up north like that.

"You may not believe this, but frozen in the ice was the Captain America!" Galen said. "Steve Rogers the first super human created by mortals. He was found in the very flying vessel he had crash landed in when he stopped the Red Skull back in WWII. They did some tests on him after they managed to get him to the base up there, and they learned he still has a heartbeat. All those years frozen in ice, and he's still alive. Once he's stable enough for transport, he's being brought here."

My eyes widened in shock. One of the first real human super heroes was coming here? What would this mean for the future of S.H.I.E.L.D?