When We Stand Together chapter 8

Chapter Title: Where Do I Hide?

A/N: Hello people, I hate to inform you that I am back at school now. Not only that but I'm also now in year 11, which means GCSE time yay…

Yup I can barely contain my excitement but I thought I should warn you that time is gonna be really tight for me again and I truly apologise for that. I will try my very hardest to keep updating but it definitely won't be consistent so again I'm really sorry. Because I haven't updated in agesssss I thought I'd give you a GIGANTIC chapter! 6000+ words! I'm pretty proud of that, I've been struggling with trying to write this chapter for a while but I eventually just sat down with the movie and wrote. Once I started writing, the ideas kept flowing and before I knew it I had 3000 words and I still hadn't finished the battle. So yeah sorry about all the delays and everything.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the chapter.

Review Replies:

Fezwearingjellybananas: Hey, thanks for the writer's block tips! And thanks for you constant kind words and feedback! I've never had such a dedicated reviewer before so it means a lot. So cheers!

WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER…

After the Captain had recovered from being blasted out of the bank, the pair's attention was caught by another huge Leviathan which was flying around without a care in the world; breaking buildings with such ease that it was scary.

Laura looked over at the captain after they realised where the beast was headed. They had to stop it, but Hulk, Thor and Stark were busy with their own tasks. Which meant that the super soldier and science experiment had to do this alone.

Swiftly, the flying beast manoeuvred further and further towards the perimeter the Avengers had set up. Not only that, but it was flying towards an area which had been set up to protect civilians whilst the heroes dealt with the alien problem.

Cap was about to run off when Laura placed a hand on the man's shoulder and shook her head. "Guys, we have a stray heading out of the perimeter. Someone gonna handle that?" Clint announced over the communication link.
"Yeah, I've got it." Laura replied much to the Captain's disbelief. "Steve, you might pack a punch but I have to do this. If I concentrate enough, I might be able to use my telekinesis to deter it or something."

Sighing, the super soldier looked into the woman's eyes, he could see her sheer determination in that gaze. She really thought she could stop that thing. Well, who was he to stop her? But that didn't mean he was going to let her go alone.

WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER…

Wind slapped Laura in the face as she tightened her grip on Steve's uniform. Cap had managed to find a knocked over motorcycle with the keys still left in, she wasn't about to question the sheer luck of that. Anyway, the motorcycle was the only thing that would get the duo to the people before the giant alien whale did.

Thank the Gods that Steve had years of experience on motorcycles because he had plenty of obstacles to weave in and out of. He gave the odd shout for Laura to fling something out of the way if there were too many obstructions. All in all, they made a good team.

Finally, they arrived and were met with a rather large group of civilians, and a few of them had some sort of recording device in their shaky grasp. Just great, totally no pressure or anything.

There were a few cheers and some shouts from the crowd. "It's Captain America!"
"Who's the girl?"
"Is that Black Widow?"
"No Widow has red hair dumbass!"
everything came out as one giant mess which made it pretty hard to actually hear what they were saying. But luckily, Laura didn't need their input.

The roaring alien beast was heading towards everyone, swiftly pulled Laura from her thoughts. The engineer's face was all business as she turned to her teammate, "Steve, I need you to handle the debris. Keep it away from the civilians. Keep them safe." He nodded at the orders. But still hit the woman with a questioning look.
"Are you really sure about this?"
"Kinda… Well what choice do I have now? I'm here and I should have enough power to stop this thing. So I best get on with it." She gave the man an unsure smile which did nothing to reassure him. But he nodded all the same. She was right anyway.

Steve managed to somehow calm the crowd down slightly, their deafening screams finally dulling out. Which meant Laura actually had the ability to concentrate without panicking people bellowing at her.

Carefully, the woman walked towards the beast that was flying at her. She was no longer aware of the video cameras, of the people, of her team. It was just the Leviathan and her. And she sure as hell wasn't going down without a fight.

Just as the thing started coming into close enough range for it to be dangerous, Laura flicked her hands out by her sides, she used the motion as an 'on switch' for her powers. That familiar, intoxicating energy whizzed around her body and lit her up like an alien Christmas tree.

The monster finally came flying down, sending edges of buildings plummeting to the earth. Bravely, the engineer lifted her hands up and targeted the beast. In the next instant, there was a painful pressure pushing against her arms, a similar feeling to lifting weights that were just too heavy for you. Which seemed logical enough considering the size difference between the woman and the alien.

"Argh!" despite the fact that her feet were sliding backwards, Laura pushed back at the being with all her might. Effectively leaving the sentient warship floundering in the middle of the air. Its roars grew louder with the unknown struggle it was facing.

The crowd of civilians just watched as this unknown hero forced the beast back without even touching it. A young reporter from the daily bugle zoomed her shaky phone camera in just a little bit more when she noticed something on the hero's back.

Turns out, the heat produced from such strain on the energy in Laura's body, the exoskeleton had heated up so much that the clothing on top of it melted away. The uniform directly above it was missing, which left the exact shape of the contraption on view to the public. Every sliver of rare metal, every flux of tesseract energy flowing through it. Speaking of the Tesseract energy, it was reducing bit by bit.

Breathing heavily, Laura didn't stop pushing at the alien, even when the struggle was becoming too much. She did however fall to one knee as she began to feel strong waves of fatigue hit her.

Steve had jumped into action when the thing had initially flown towards them, but once Laura took control he could do nothing but stand there and watch, just like everyone else around him. There was no more falling debris. Just an immobile, screaming alien beast which was maybe a little too close for comfort but still out of reach.

Helplessly, Rogers watch as Laura struggled with the strain of her powers. There really was nothing he could do, except be ready to get her out of the way if the alien broke through her energy barrier.

Finally realising that it was now or never, Laura took as deep a breath as she could whilst keeping her focus. Then with a pain filled roar – yeah so maybe that wasn't the most womanly action in the world – she threw her arms forward and watched as these blue waves tore the beast apart. They ripped through its very core, causing the beast to release one final cry of pain before falling to the ground, grey and lifeless.

Unfortunately, the alien ship wasn't the only thing to fall. After firing that last bit of energy, Laura's arms dropped heavily to her sides just before she started falling to her right, the ground flying up to meet her fast.

Thankfully, Steve ran forward, skidded to a halt and just about managed to catch the woman before she hit the concrete road.

"Laura! Cap, what's going on down there?" Clint shouted down the comm. link, worry clear in his voice. But none of them paid it any mind as they were all too busy kicking ass or worrying about the woman themselves.

The super soldier ignored the voices in his ear in favour of checking on the still form in his arms. "Laura, can you hear me?" Cap felt relief flood him when the engineer's eyes slowly opened and she groaned.

"Hey spangles, a status report would be good right about now." Tony's strained voice appeared in Steve's ear piece. He was obviously mid battle again. In any other situation the Captain would've chewed the genius out for the nickname but perhaps doing so, in the middle of a war, wasn't absolutely necessary. So he let it slide. Well for now anyway.

Quickly, Steve replied "Laura's fine, she just took out that warship so she's a little worn out." He looked down when the woman gave a dry chuckle. Finally, her eyes were fully open but were lacking their new vibrant blue. Instead, a warm brown colour met the soldier's eyes. If Steve had to guess, he would bet that the brown was her natural eye colour.

Over on his end, Clint's hammering heart finally slowed down at the confirmation that his wife was okay. Laura was okay. Thank God. Well his thankfulness was short lived when the archer came to the quick realisation that he was out of arrows. Just great. The assassin thought to himself as he kicked another alien over the edge of the building he was on.

"Good to hear." Stark replied to the super soldier and engineer.

WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER…

Not long after Tony shut his com line down, Laura finally had the ability to get to her feet. The blue was quickly returning to her eyes. Not only that, but the tesseract levels on her back were replenishing themselves.

Her energy was finally returning to her body. Limbs no longer felt like useless bricks at her sides. Muscles no longer felt ripped to shreds. It was as if the exoskeleton was recharging itself.

As Laura got to her feet she suddenly remembered the huge crowd behind her. Slowly, she and the captain turned around to face the public. Things were silent for a few seconds. Laura didn't know what to expect, would they be terrified of her and her powers? Would they hate her because she was different? Would they see her as a hero? Or just a failed science experiment?

Well, she got her answer when the crowd erupted in cheers. People screaming out praise to Captain America and the woman alongside him. Passionate claps and cheers drowned out the noise of distant explosions. But one thing that did cut through the noise of the public was a barbaric roar from the hulk himself. That was enough to send the two heroes back into action. With a two fingered salute from Captain America, the pair hopped back on the motorcycle and took off back towards the bridge they started on, prepared to fight another onslaught of Chitauri soldiers.

WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER…

Sweeping out her bronze weapon, Laura took down another soldier, one that was creeping up behind a distracted Thor, who had recently joined her and the Captain. It never did get easier since she didn't have the training and experience of her teammates. But that never stopped her from trying to keep up with them. Laura's arms burned with fatigue, despite the Tesseract energy, her body was just becoming so worn out that not even the alien power flowing through her could help the struggle that was fighting a war.

Steve threw his shield like a boomerang, the metal clanged against the heads of the enemy, knocking them down. Thor used his hammer to perform an uppercut on a close alien soldier, sending the thing flying backwards and into its fellow warriors. Laura used a gesture on her staff to extend a knife from one of the ends of the weapon. Then she held the thing like a javelin and launched it at an oncoming enemy. Needless to say, the woman was pretty chuffed when the weapon hit home in a Chitauri's chest. She gave a small smile as she thought of a saying that her husband would recite every time someone doubted his aim. "Barton's never miss." Laura may hide her last name from the world but it was still hers and she didn't want it any other way.

Using her new powers yet again, the engineer locked onto the staff in the distance with an empty hand held out in front of her, then she willed the thing to move as she pulled her hand backwards slightly. The result turned out as expected, the staff was sitting firmly in Laura's hand once more. With her weapon by her side again she did her best taking down the enemy before she got taken down again.

Someone did get knocked down eventually but it wasn't Laura for once. No this time it was Captain America who hit the ground after a nasty plasma shot from a Chitauri soldier, he clutched his side as he groaned on the floor.

Thor and Laura worked together to get the remaining soldiers away from their fallen comrade. Thor deflected each and every shot from the enemy, protecting Laura whilst she launched a nearby car at the aliens. The vehicle flipped over and over until it took out the soldiers, leaving the three heroes in peace for a short few minutes.

With a look of concern, Thor extended his hand to the Captain and helped him back to his feet. "Are you ready for another bout?" Steve just looked around and replied breathlessly
"What, are you getting sleepy?" Thor gave a small grin at the man's reply and held out his hand as a command for Mjolnir to return to his grasp.

Just as the trio were catching their breath, Natasha's voice echoed over their private frequency. "I can close it. Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down" Thor and Laura just stared at each other in disbelief whilst Steve eagerly shouted back his approval. But to everyone's surprise, Tony told Natasha to wait.

"Stark, these things are still coming." Steve tried to explain to the genius. But Tony was adamant about waiting, and it turned out it was for a damn good reason.
"I've got a Nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute… And I know just where to put It." now Laura and Thor were back to staring at each other with disbelief. A NUKE!? Who in their right mind ordered a Nuke on New York City!? They all knew it couldn't be Fury, the man was a lot smarter than that. Must've been the council. They probably went against his decision.

With a solemn face, Cap informed the billionaire "Stark, you know that's a one-way trip." But there was no reply.

The sound of thrusters caused the two men and the woman to look up into the sky. They were met with the view of Iron Man using all his power to change the direction of the missile, directing it upwards towards the portal. The man used his own building to aim the missile and himself upwards. Then in the blink of an eye, both the man and weapon disappeared into the endless space of the Tesseract's portal.

They all watched as the enemy suddenly collapsed all around them. Chitauri soldier's falling to the ground lifeless, Leviathan's losing their altitude and crashing atop of buildings, dead to the world. But they ripped their eyes away from the scene to stare back at the portal again. With all the faith she could muster, Laura prayed to God that Tony would come back to them all.

But as the nuclear explosion in the portal grew closer and closer to the people beneath it, Steve made the hard decision. Reluctantly, the man ordered Natasha "Close it."

They still all continued to stare in hope, even though that hope was fading quicker and quicker by the second.

But at the last moment, it seemed the lord answered Laura's prayers. Iron Man slipped through the portal just as it closed. That is what one would call a close call.

The whole team smiled at the sight of their friend falling back towards them. Steve said something but Laura wasn't paying any more attention as something else had stolen it. Why weren't Tony's thrusters on? Thor seemed to realise as well since he began to swing his hammer so he could fly off and save the man. But to everyone's surprise, the Hulk beat the Asgardian to it. Hulk grabbed the genius out of mid-air, slid down the side of a building and used himself as a cushion when he landed hard on the road, right in front of Steve, Thor and Laura.

They all rushed over to check on Stark, his mask lacked its usual blue lights where the eyes should be. Instead the metal was dirtied, dented and lifeless. The armour was no longer a suit but a shell hiding Tony Stark's fate from his teammates.

After there was no response to Steve's question of "Is he breathing?" Thor ripped the mask off the suit and tossed it behind him. Cap loomed over the man and tried to see if there was any life still in the billionaire. Laura sat at Stark's feet, helpless as she watched Steve try to help in some way.

Thor was on his feet, Steve was crouched at Stark's side, Laura was on her knees next to the fallen Iron Man and Hulk was fidgeting in his hunched standing position. They just stayed like that for a few seconds, unsure how to process what was going on.

Suddenly, Hulk roared at Tony's body, causing the others to jump out of their sombre minds. But that wasn't the only thing that did it. A shocked gasp from the genius lying on the floor brought a smile to all of their faces. Tony Stark was alive.

"What the hell?" the previously unconscious man choked out between heavy breaths. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me." Laura couldn't help but laugh at that.

Steve was staring off into the distance as realisation suddenly washed over him. "We won" he replied, barely above a whisper.
"All right, yay. Hurray. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it." Tony's random rambling caused all of their smiles to get bigger, but the light mood didn't last long when Thor reminded them that they weren't quite finished. They all gave a small nod to the Asgardian before Tony piped up again "And the shawarma after." It wasn't a question but a statement, the man was having shawarma after this mess was sorted out.

WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER…

Cap had given the order for everyone to meet in Stark's living room. Once the super soldier, science experiment, Asgardian and gamma monster were finally there, everyone shared a quick reunion. Clint and Natasha nodded at one another, they rarely hugged each other after a mission, and just a small nod of reassurance was all they needed. Laura on the other hand hugged the archer with all her strength, but was careful not to give anything away. The others new that Laura and Clint new each other before this so the hug came off as a reunion of two friends after a hard day. Laura and her husband hadn't discussed whether or not they were going to tell their new team about them being married. So the engineer decided to keep things normal until they decided the time was right. Laura did the same to Natasha as well, just to make sure no one suspected her and Clint, and also because she was worried about the Russian too. Everyone else shared manly handshakes and supportive pats on the shoulder as the team finally came together to take in the villain that started this all.

WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER…

Loki groaned as he did his best to haul himself up from the gaping hole in the ground. Just as he was using his hand to climb the small set of stairs that led to the bar, the sound of a foot crunching on debris caught his attention. The God turned around to see a heavily battle damaged Tony Stark, a pissed off looking but tame Hulk, the good Captain holding his burned shield with pride, his stupid brother with his equally stupid hammer, which happened to be reflecting sunlight right into his eyes, then there was the Russian, standing strong with, wait was that his SCEPTRE! And on the woman's right was the head engineer of S.H.I.E.L.D., his own personal experiment holding her own weapon by her side. Finally there was the archer, the agent he'd mind controlled into attacking his own organisation, he was by far the angriest of them all. He held his signature bow and arrow with strength fuelled by anger and the need for revenge, the arrow sat loaded on the bow, aimed directly for the villain's head should he need to release it. Loki could tell just how much the agent wanted to let that arrow fly.

The fallen God stared at them all for a moment longer before finally speaking up. He looked over to Stark "If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now." Unfortunately for him, none of them moved a muscle at his comment. They just stayed standing there, looming over him in victory.

WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER…

After handing the war criminal over to S.H.I.E.L.D. for safe keeping, the Avengers fulfilled Tony's wish. Once the hulk had calmed down enough, Bruce returned to them and Stark handed the man some clothes to change into before they left.

The genius left his armour outside of the small shawarma restaurant, leaving him in his normal clothes. The others however just placed their orders and sat down in the damaged and dusty shop, silent. Injuries were still unattended to, their bloodied and torn uniforms still clung to their bodies as they all finally took a breath. But none of that mattered because they did it. They actually stopped an alien invasion. Seven unique and special people who were brought together by a government organisation managed to save the world. It was an odd feeling but not an unwelcome one.

Thor sat there scoffing down about five dishes for himself alone, whilst the humans languidly chewed on their own food. Content to just sit there and not say a word to each other. Clint had his feet propped up behind Natasha on her chair, and the man's right shoulder leant against his beautiful, strong and, to those around them, secret wife who had pulled up a chair between Bruce and himself. She leant back against him as well so they were supporting each other, just like always.

It may not have been the most action packed moment of the day, but it was Laura's favourite. They were finally a team. Steve and Tony weren't arguing, Bruce was calm, Thor was being well… Thor, the assassins were relaxed. There was no awkwardness just the respected silence of her teammates. It was a perfect, if not strange, picture. One Laura hoped to remember for all the long years ahead of them.

In their little circle around the wooden dining table, everything seemed normal, as if New York hadn't almost been blown to pieces. It was that normalness that made Laura the happiest because she knew for certain that this wasn't over. She'd realised that there will always be someone out there trying to harm the world or the people on it, and that's where the Avengers come in. There work will never be done and if she was being honest, Laura didn't mind that too much. She'd gone from being just an engineer at S.H.I.E.L.D. to becoming a hero, she gained a new team and people she would happily call family. It wasn't just Clint, Nat and Laura anymore, they had a whole unit of family now. So such a normal moment between all the craziness about to head their way, those will forever be the moments she looks forward to most.

WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER…

Unfortunately, the meal had to come to an end. The team had to sneak back onto the helicarrier and help Thor escort Loki home. They also had to tend to their injuries and grab a change of clothes and even a shower if they had enough time.

Back at the flying fortress, the second the Avengers put their first feet on the runway, the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel on board were cheering and clapping in victory and thanks to the team in front of them. It was so strange, all this praise. Tony was obviously used to it and took it in his stride but the others might never get used to the fame.

As they walked into the control room to meet with Fury and have a debrief, the group noticed screens filled with news reports, YouTube videos and so much more. There were videos of memorial services for all those who the heroes couldn't save, there were videos of people sending out their thanks to the Avengers, there were pictures of them all along with their names and codenames. That's what caught the team's attention the most, Laura spotted herself in the line-up and raised an eyebrow at her codename, she sure as hell didn't give herself that…

They all followed Laura's eyes to the board showing their pictures and names to not only them but the entire public as well. Clint chuckled once he spotted his wife's codename. "Exo, huh?" the man repeated the word to see how it worked. He then looked over to his other half and smiled "Exo… I like it." Smiling, the others nodded in agreement.

Exo. She would bet her entire life savings that the Daily Bugle came up with that. It hadn't even been half a day and she already had a codename. Or as the news was calling it, a superhero name.

The team were pulled from their friendly chatter when Nick walked into the room with a small grin on his face. The phrase 'I told you so' didn't even need to be spoken as that once look said it for him. Fury had faith that they could work as a team, even when they didn't.

There was one thing you could never doubt.

Nick Fury was always right.

WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER…

Laura feared waking up in the morning. If the aches she had now were anything to go by, she doubted there would be much moving on her part tomorrow. She never noticed in the adrenaline rush of the alien war, but she had some pretty nasty injuries. A few needed stitches, like her eyebrow, her left forearm had to be bandaged and she had torn plenty of muscles. The burns from the enemy's guns would heal in time and just needed to be continuously covered until then.

Despite being freshly tended too, Laura braved the showers. There was no way she could stand being covered in her own maroon blood, the blood of her enemy and the dirt of New York City a second longer.

A relaxed breath escaped the woman as she stepped under the almost burning cascade of water. It took a while for her wounds to adjust, but once they did she was as close to bliss as she could be. Her aching back felt weighed down by the exoskeleton and her knotted muscles, but the hot shower seemed to help push the aches and pains to the back of her mind. It was relaxing to say the least.

After drying off and changing her clothes, Laura exited the helicarrier's bland, changing rooms and made a move for the room the Avengers were waiting in. However on her way, she bumped into the last member of her team who still needed a shower.

Strong arms wound around Laura's waist to keep her from falling backwards. "You never did look where you were going." A charming and familiar voice filled the engineer's ears. She looked up with a small smile to meet the tired eyes of her husband. He was still dirty and still had his mission gear on but in Laura's opinion he looked as good as he did on their wedding day. She could never tire of looking at Clint. His boyish smile, vibrant eyes, strong build. The man was her everything. And even after all the years they had been together, she still looks at him as if he is the only man in the world.

Remembering that they were out in the open, Laura pulled away from the archer before he got any ideas that could result in them being found out. "Thank you for catching me, agent Barton." Laura said with a smirk.

Without another word, the pair went their separate ways again. It was surprisingly hard. All she wanted to do was grab the man show him how much she loved him. But of course, that was all out of the question. Maybe even more so now than ever. They couldn't risk being a liability to their new team. They still hadn't talked about telling them but she had a feeling Clint would agree with her on this. It would be best not to tell them unless absolutely necessary.

So until that situation arises, they would have to go about as if they were just friends, and save their more special moments for when they were behind the closed doors of their secluded barn house.

WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER…

Once Clint finally came back to the room the team was waiting in. Fury told them all that they would have to go their separate ways for a little while, just until the who battle of New York thing wasn't so fresh on everyone's mind. The director also told them all the date of Coulson's funeral, which brought back the painful memory of the agent's death.

Everyone was dismissed and got ready to go, except for the three members of S.H.I.E.L.D. Clint, Laura and Natasha all stayed behind to hear what their boss had to say.

"You three have gone above and beyond so I wanted to say thank you. But that also makes what I'm about to say all the more hard. Romanoff, you are suspended from duty for a couple of weeks. You deserve some rest after everything that's happened." Natasha reluctantly nodded, she didn't want a break, she just wanted to do her job. But she knew better than to argue with Fury about it. A couple weeks wasn't too bad.

Fury then moved onto the couple in the room. "Miss Harper, you too will be released from your duties. But because of what you went through with Loki, you will be out of action for a couple of months. After that, you may then return to your job." Laura gave a small smile of thanks but spoke up, much to the director's surprise.
"Actually Fury, I would like to hand in my notice. I quit." The three people in the room with Laura were pretty damn shocked at her statement. "As much as I love my job, you stole my designs Nick. Not only that, but you used them to create weapons you know I am against making. That was way more up Stark's street." There was no malice in the woman's voice as she continued to make her point "So as much as it hurts me to say it. I have to quit." Fury nodded in understanding
"I'm sorry to hear that, Laura. You'll be dearly missed." She thanked the man with sad eyes. Laura loved her job and everything about it, but she just couldn't keep going and pretend that nothing happened. She's witnessed what dangerous weapons can do and she just can't stick around and draw out possible designs for them anymore. "Miss Harper, I'm sure you are aware that the triskelion will be up and running soon." Laura nodded with a raised eyebrow, where's he going with this? "Well, we are still looking for positions and I would like you to teach the powered kids, show them what it takes to be a hero."

If it were possible, Laura's jaw would've fallen off of her face and onto the floor. Did Nick Fury just offer her a job, seconds after quitting the one she worked her entire life to get? Unable to find any words, the woman just nodded her head in acceptance.

Pleased with the woman's reply, Fury moved onto Clint. This news was going to be the hardest to deliver. "Barton, I'm afraid you will be suspended for an indefinite period. Also due to your recent run in with Loki, we can't let you back out into the field until I am 100% sure your mental health is stable." The director watched as Clint's face literally fell.
"But sir, I'm fin-"the archer tried to reason with his boss.
"No, Barton. You aren't fine." Fury replied firmly, his rank showing in that moment as Clint automatically backed down. "You were mind controlled by a maniac that tried to take over the world. Nobody is fine after that. You're gonna take some time off, spend some time with your wife. And only when I say its okay, then you can come back into the field. Until then, get some rest, train and I will let you know when your first mental health test will be. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." Clint replied
"I am sorry about this, Barton. But it's for your own good."
"I understand, sir."
"However, if you're up for it, you can help teach the kids at the triskelion until you're back on the front line. Who better to learn agility and aim from than Hawkeye himself?" Clint looked up to see the director smirking, with a nod that equalled his wife's, he accepted the offer.

That was the end of the conversation. Fury took his leave as did Natasha, since she knew Clint needed a little support from Laura after just being told he couldn't do what he loved for a while.

WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER…

It was pushing into the evening when everyone finally got to the meeting point. They were saying good riddance to Loki and goodbye to one of their new teammates, Thor.

Everyone got out of their vehicles and made their way to stand around the two Asgardians. Loki's hands were chained together and his mouth had a guard over it, shielding people from his relentless and twisted words.

Whilst Thor bid goodbye to Selvig, Loki took the time to look at the three S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in front of him. Agent Barton and Laura Harper, the two he did the most wrong to. And if he was being honest with himself, he didn't regret any of it one bit. He created Exo, turned a normal human into a warrior capable of levelling an Asgardian, with the proper training of course. He also managed to infiltrate one of the biggest organisations on the planet using one of their own assassins against them. He was the biggest threat this planet had faced, and he wasn't even through with the humans yet. Oh he will be back, maybe not soon but eventually, he will have his revenge.

All three agents had emotionless expressions on their faces whilst the God gazed at them. Natasha turned to each of them and whispered in their ears, causing the pair to each smirk at Loki. The God was oblivious to the words exchanged but he knew it had to do with him. Pathetic mortals, thinking they are so powerful when the threat is shackled before them. Just they wait, they will learn their lesson eventually.

Thor finally returned to stand before his brother, a chamber holding the tesseract securely was placed in front of Loki, an empty handle waiting to be grasped. And so the deranged God did, he gripped the handle and watched as his brother nodded to the Avengers before twisting his own handle. A sudden shield of tesseract energy covered the brothers before they were teleported back to their home realm.

Eventually the others parted ways as well. Steve and Tony shook hands, Natasha handed Bruce his bag from the S.H.I.E.L.D. car before Clint, Laura and herself got in, driving off to the Barton farm house. Bruce went over to join stark in his ridiculously expensive and extravagant car whilst Steve straddled his motorcycle and took off wherever he decided on going.

Sure the team had parted ways, some worlds apart. But when the day comes that the world needs them again. They will be ready.

They had to be.

A/N: Annnnnnnnnnnnnnddddd that's a wrap!

Nah I'm just kidding! There is plenty more planned for this story! The only thing that's happened is we have finished the battle of New York so YAY! Took me long enough. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter!