Chapter 9 – Hello Father and Uncle
I exited the Council's room with a distraught expression on my face. There was no feasible way for me to change Father's mind. Once his mind was set, it was next to impossible to change it. Director Fury found me as I was making my way to Steve.
"That didn't last very long." Director Fury stated before he observed the expression on my face, "Are you alright, Lily?"
I shook my head, with the fear of losing my composition, and finished the trek to Steve, who was standing next to Agent Coulson. Steve saw me making my way to him and opened one of his arms as an invitation to be embraced. I gladly accepted and tucked myself against his side. Tears filled my eyes as I breathed in his scent. I would have to say goodbye to the man I loved against my will.
"Lily, what's wrong?" Steve asked as he looked down at me.
"I'll explain later, sweetheart." I told him with a wavering grin on my face. "Don't worry about me. I'll be alright." Steve didn't like that response and excused himself from Agent Coulson before he led me to a corner of the ship. "Steve?"
"Whatever is bothering you is going to bother me too." he answered before he softened his tone. "You can rely on me, Lily."
"I do not want to cause you so much burden." I replied as I looked down at our joined hands.
"You could never do that. I'll always be there for you, Lily. Till the end of the line." Steve reassured me, even with the phrase he would use for Bucky. Tears filled my eyes once more as I looked at him before I launched myself into an embrace, which threw him into a surprise. "Lily, you have to tell me what is going on. Why are you crying so much? What upset you?"
"The Council told me that I have three days to change Father's mind before I am sent back to Asgard." I told him in as much of a calm manner that I could. "I've done nothing wrong, and yet, I am the war criminal's daughter. Please, Steve! Don't let them send me back!" I fell to tears again as Steve just let me cry against him.
"I won't let them, doll. I with you till the end of the line, remember?" Steve asked as I nodded. "When we capture your father, I'll take care of it, alright? You have enough to worry about." After that, he whispered soothing reassurances in my ear and rocked me back and forth. We stayed like that for a few moments or so before I pulled back and wiped the remaining tears on my face. "You alright?"
"I mean, not really, but it is not use crying all the time." I answered with a slight smile on my face. Steve nodded, and he led me back over to Agent Coulson. Coulson looked up as we rejoined him. "I apologize about that, sir. We just needed to talk about something."
"It's alright, Lily." Agent Coulson said. "It happens." After that, we stood there with him and waited for the face recognizer to alert us. Steve and Coulson were talking about trading cards, whatever those were. I stopped paying attention and simply enjoyed the moment of Steve holding me until another agent called out that they found my father.
"We got a hit. Sixty-seven percent match." a medium-dark agent called out. "Weight, cross match, seventy-nine percent."
"Location?" Agent Coulson asked.
"Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse." the agent responded. "He's not exactly hiding."
"Captain," Director Fury called out, "you're up." Steve nodded, kissed the top of my head, and left to change.
"Director, you have to let me go with him." I demanded Director Fury. "You do not know what you are up against."
"I suppose you do?" Director Fury inquired. "You were here while Loki was causing havoc on Asgard."
"As that may be true, I used astral projection to send a second form to Asgard to check in with my father, your enemy at the moment." I told him with a smirk on my face.
"You're Loki's daughter?" an astonished Director Fury asked.
"That's correct, but unless you allow me to travel with Steve and Natasha, I cannot do anything to help." I answered. "I refuse to stand idly by as the man I love is going to take on a man possibly more powerful than him."
"It seems I have no choice." Director Fury relented. "Romanoff, Rogers," he called out, "Lily is with you. Keep an eye on her."
"Of course." Steve reassured him as he arrived in his blue uniform with a white star on his torso and white and red stripes on his abdomen. I blushed as he continued, "I won't let a thing happen to her." Natasha nodded and led the way to the Quinjet. "What are you doing?" Steve asked in a whispered.
"Helping out." I whispered back. "I'm not about to let my love take on my father, who is probably more powerful than you." I looked at him as we walked. Steve just smiled, shook his head, and grabbed my hand.
"You're crazy. You know that, right?" he asked me.
"So are you." I responded with a smirk on my face. "Maybe you're rubbing off on me." Steve just laughed as we reached the Quinjet. I giggled along with him. Natasha looked back at us and shook her head in amusement.
"I'm going to say this now, and I'll deny saying this later, but you two are cute." Natasha said before she asked, "How'd you two meet?"
"It's complicated, but we met at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters." Steve told her.
"How is it complicated?" Natasha asked.
I smiled and laid a hand on her forearm, "I will tell you after we return." Natasha nodded her head and got in the cockpit with the other pilot.
Steve and I sat next to each other as the Quinjet took off. We just sat there and relished in the company or Steve talked about his life before his seventy-year sleep, his friend, Bucky, and the war. In return, I would tell him about my life, Asgard customs, or the feasts and stories. Before we knew it, we were in Germany. I looked over Natasha's shoulder to see Father, or four of him, as the citizens of Stuttgart kneeled.
"I'm going in." Steve told us, and he sat me down and buckled me in. "Stay here and be safe." Natasha opened the hatch, and Steve dropped down to try and bring Father in.
"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down." I heard Natasha say. That's never a good sign. Next thing I knew, the Quinjet was being jerked back. He tried to shoot the Quinjet. The aircraft kept moving in different directions as Natasha was trying to have a good shot, but it was no use. "The guy's all over the place." All of the sudden, a song that I am not familiar with came through the intercom system.
"Agent Romanoff, you missed me?" a male voice asked. Not long after that, Natasha was landing the aircraft. Steve, Stark in a red and gold suit, and Father entered the aircraft. Stark sat Father down and handcuffed him from doing anything else. I unbuckled myself from my seat and ran to Steve. I checked him for injuries and was relieved when I found none.
"I'm alright, sweetheart." Steve reassured me and embraced me. We stayed like that for a moment before I recognized Stark from our brief meeting at Headquarters.
"Greetings, Tony Stark." I called out as I untangled myself from Steve. "It's nice to see you again."
"Hey, Lillith." Tony said as he turned around and saw me. "It's been a while, kid. How'd you enjoy your apartment?"
"I quite enjoyed it." Tony nodded as he and Steve, with him leading me, walked to the front. "And please, call me Lily. I've grown accustomed to it, thanks to Steve."
"Sure thing, kid." Tony said before he started conversing with Steve and Natasha. I turned back and looked at my father. Father looked up and looked at me. He looked a little different than before. The eyes that were once full of love and happiness were now filled with anger and betrayal and sadness. He had scars on his hands and face that were different from before. His hair had grown to a longer length. I walked over and sat next to him.
"Hello, Father." I greeted him. "Long time, no see."
"If you're trying to do small talk, Lillith, you're failing horribly." Father states. "I remember when you could talk my ear off about what you did for the day or how cute Fandral was."
"What do you want me to say?" I ask him. "How are you since I thought you died? Where did you go?"
"That could be a start." Father said.
"I mourned, Father!" I exclaimed loudly that Steve and Tony looked at me. "I mourned and did not talk to anyone for roughly six months!" Taking a breath, I continued, "In the midst of all of that, I still managed to fall in love with an amazing man, and it wasn't Fandral."
"Who was it?" Father asked.
"It was the super soldier that you fought today." Father's eyes widened as he shifted his gaze to Steve before he brought it back to me. "He helped me adjust to Midgard well enough, and he helped me when I thought you died. He brought me happiness and a sense of belonging." I smiled when I turned to look at Steve, but then it disappeared when I turned back at Father. "Now, my happiness is at stake because you want to wage a war of an element in which you have no control. You want to show Grandfather that you are worthy of the throne, but this is not how you get it." Father's eyes narrowed, and I knew I was treading thin ice, but I couldn't stop. "Please, Father, for your daughter's happiness, won't you stop this? It doesn't have to end like this."
"It's too late now." Father replied. "The Chitauri are waiting for my command when I am ready."
"You're only doing this because you didn't know about your heritage, your true heritage!" I exclaim that I could see Steve wanting to retrieve me from the situation, but Tony stopped him, saying something along the line that this was my fight. "You feel as if you were lied to, but I do not. They did it to protect us. Why can't you see that?"
"That's enough, Lillith!" Father snapped. I flinched back since he has never taken that tone with me before. "You don't have an inkling of what I feel!"
"I would if you would just tell me!" I yelled back, not caring how much trouble I was in already. "You are stubborn as Grandfather!"
Father's eyes narrowed so tightly that they were almost slits as he said, "Don't you dare compare me to preposterous old man." I would be dead by the look on Father's face. "He is not any family of mine."
I stood up to head back, but before I did, I looked over my shoulder at Father and said, "That is why you fail." After that, I headed over to Steve, Tony, and Natasha. I sat down next to Steve and pulled my knees up and crossed my arms on them. I rested my head on my knees and closed my eyes as every inch of pent up aggression was released. A hand ran through my hair as I opened one of my eyes to see Steve smiling down at me. He sat down next to me and pulled me into his lap. I rested his head on his chest as he, in turn, tucked my head under his chin. "I didn't realize I had that much pent-up energy. I just started and all of it came out."
"It happens, Lily. If anything, I'm proud of you." Steve praised. "You're stronger than you give yourself credit for."
"I'm not like you, though." I tell him. "I cannot, nor do I wish to, fight anyone. It's not in my blood." Next thing I knew, before we could continue with our conversation, a crack of thunder sounded throughout the sky. Father and I made eye contact before I looked away. Now wasn't the time to be soft.
"What's the matter?" Steve inquired once he caught Father's eyeline. "Scared of a little lightning?"
"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Father said as I giggled, remembering all of the times Uncle Thor would use Mjölnir. Steve looked at me and Father glared before Uncle Thor entered the aircraft. Once he did, he shoved Tony and Steve back before he grabbed Father. Once he turned his back, he saw me and grabbed me before he leapt out of the aircraft. I closed my eyes as we were falling in the dark. Oh, dear Odin!
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A.N. – Hey, Readers! Sorry I took so long! I've been busy with school, work, and moving into my first apartment. Now, it's summer break, so I should hopefully have more time to work on more chapters. Please keep reading and reviewing. If you have any ideas that you want to see in the story, please review or PM me! Did you catch the Star Wars reference that I made? Until next time!