A/n. I am so sorry this update has taken so long! I don't usually let it go this long between chapters. This week will be better, I promise!
Chapter Fourteen
They sat in the living room of Lucy and Loki's apartment in Stark tower. The kids slept in their beds, and Phil paced the room, as Tony went to the kitchen to get drinks.
"What do we now?" Pepper asked. Her worried face, giving away her emotions, despite the baby voice she used saying it, while she looked at Sophie.
"We move forward with our plans. This doesn't change anything," Steve stated. "Tony and I will go north. Banner is in the lab researching the objects' locations, and Romanoff, and Barton are already scouting the areas where he has found them. Coulson, you stay here with Pepper, and take care of the twins until Loki and Lucy get home. Fury will get them out, it will just take some time."
"Phil doesn't have time for that. I am sure he has work to do. I can take care of the twins, it will be fine." Pepper smiled, with more confidence then she really felt.
Tony came from the kitchen. A bottle of something in one hand, and glasses in the other. "No, you can't take care of Sophie, and the twins by yourself. We need a nanny, Pepper."
Phil held up his hands, stopping the argument. "I have the solution. Just give me thirty minutes." He rushed from the room, his phone in his hands.
Tony sat on the couch closest to the coffee table, and poured himself a drink. "Does Coulson have a nanny? Because that would explain so much."
Phil walked into Lucy's library as his phone dialed Wendy's number. She picked up quickly, "is everything alright?"
He rubbed his forehead, and he considered how much he should reveal to her. Then he just shook his head, and decided this time, he was just going to tell her everything. "It seems I do need your help today after all."
He heard the smile in her reply, "what can I do?"
"Well, how are you with kids?"
Wendy laughed, "Phil, I taught music in school for years. I am plenty comfortable with children. What is going on?"
"Well these aren't your everyday average kids. I don't have time for all the details right now, but there has been some trouble, and I need help with Lucy's twins."
"What kind of trouble? Is she alright? Send the car, I am in a cafe by the park. I was taking a walk when that crazy storm... Wait the storm, does that have something to do with this?"
"Yes actually. And Lucy is okay, well as okay as you can be in jail."
"Wait, did you say jail? Wow, okay I can see the tower from here, I am going to start walking send the car."
Phil got her general direction, and sent the car on it's way. He took a deep breath. He hadn't meant to throw her into the Avenger pit quite so soon. But this is where they were, so apparently it was time for his friends to meet his girlfriend.
Romanoff and Barton reached their first scouting location within a couple of hours of everyone rushing to the park. They re-routed their plane, and landed in Boston, heading straight to a location that was said to be holding three of the objects. It turned out, Banner discovered, they were planning on moving all three to New York.
Romanoff was in hopes they were moving them separately. She watched from a distance through binoculars, quickly memorizing the movements of any security she could see, and using that to estimate what might be waiting inside.
As if reading her mind, Clint voiced his concerns. "Tash, we can't just walk in there and take one by force. They key is not letting anyone know we have one. So turn off your offense mode, and switch it to stealth."
She sighed, and rolled her eyes. "This would be so much easier if I just went in there and got one."
"And then they would know the Avengers were involved, and Fury would be blamed. We would just be making things worse for Loki."
She went back to the binoculars, and muttered, "well we wouldn't want that now would we."
"Get over it Natasha. The rest of us have, it's been over five years now."
She lowered the binoculars and looked at Clint. "Well forgive me for having trust issues with someone that killed a bunch of people, and then took control of someone I... Care about."
She grumbled the last part of it, and Clint couldn't help but smile at her words. She rolled her eyes, and punched him hard in the shoulder.
"Ouch! Geez Romanoff, I was just appreciating your sentiment." He winced as he rubbed his shoulder.
"I am not sentimental, so shut up, and do your job Barton. I'm going to sneak down there and see if I can get eyes on anything useful. Cover me."
"Whatever you say." He smirked at her.
And then he groaned in pain, as she punched him again in the very same spot as before.
Wendy stood at the door to Stark Tower in amazement. She had of course seen the building from far away, but never this close, and had certainly never been inside. Was she about to meet Ironman? What a strange turn her boring, quiet little life had taken. And she had to admit, she was enjoying it.
So much so, that she hadn't been sleeping. Like, at all. Last night she found herself wide awake at four a.m., wandering Phil's apartment, thinking about the decision she needed to make about staying here. It had taken her a couple of hours to go back to sleep, and she yawned as she realized she was starting to feel it.
She walked to the intercom and pressed the button. A computerized voice answered, "how can I help you?"
She realized she had no idea what to say, "hi. Um, I guess I'm looking for Phil. Phil Coulson?"
"You must be Miss Rogers, come in." There was a buzzing noise, and a click as the door unlocked. She entered the sky scraper and looked around in awe.
She was startled as an elevator on her right opened, and the voice said, "Agent Coulson is within the Odinson apartment. You will find it on the tenth floor."
She walked into the elevator, and turned to look for the button when it started moving on its own. The doors opened, and the voice said, "It is the door on your right. My name is Jarvis, let me know if I can help you with anything else. Have a good day Miss Rogers."
She looked around her, it seemed strange to talk to something you couldn't even see, "um, thank you Jarvis."
She walked to the big double doors that apparently led into an apartment. She knocked quietly, and heard movement inside. The door opened to a tiny little girl. She was an absolutely beautiful creature, and Wendy paused for a moment taking in her appearance. Her jet black hair hung almost to her waist. She had gigantic blue eyes, and was almost translucent she was so pale. Her hair was tucked behind two tiny pointed ears, and her pixie like face had a beautiful smile on it.
She reached for Wendy's hand, and said "Uncle Phil said to bring you inside. I'm Astryd."
Wendy reached out and took the tiny thing's hand. It was strange how mature she sounded, considering not only her size, but the fact that she couldn't have been very old. "I am Wendy, it's nice to meet you Astryd. I have heard a lot about you."
Astryd stood still for a moment, her hand in Wendy's. Her little eyes closed, and her brow furrowed as she appeared to be concentrating.
She opened her eyes, and smiled up and Wendy. "I like you Wendy. You feel nice, and you love Uncle Phil." She leaned forward, and whispered, "I love him too. Come on, he's in here."
She pulled Wendy through a gorgeous entryway, and around a corner into a huge living room. Wendy was still recovering from the strange encounter with the child, and was completely unprepared for what waited in the room she entered.
Tony Stark sat on a couch, Phil stood in the center of the room. A beautiful woman with strawberry blond hair, was in a rocking chair holding a baby in the corner. And Captain America himself sat on the floor with a boy, who had the reddest hair Wendy had ever seen, sitting on his lap.
All eyes were on her, and she smiled and tried valiantly to not look as overwhelmed as she was. "This is Wendy everybody." Phil walked to her side, and kissed her on the cheek.
He pointed around the room, telling her everyone's names, and she nodded at each one as he did so.
Tony jumped to his feet, startling her a bit. "Alright, let's get this show on the road." He clapped his hands together. He walked over and kissed both Pepper, and Sophie and then turned to Steve.
"Get whatever you need to take with us. We'll take the jet to Anchorage, and use the suit to fly from there. It's going to be cold, so lots of layers." He pointed at Steve, and Steve rolled his eyes.
Steve climbed to his feet, Coul clinging to his back. "Yes Tony. I am aware that the north pole is probably going to be a bit chilly. I was the one trapped in ice, remember?"
"Good point. We leave in thirty. Nice to meet you Wendy, thanks for your help. I don't know what you see in Agent Cyborg, but I'm glad you're here." He clapped Phil on the shoulder, and left the room.
"Sorry buddy, I gotta go. Uncle Tony will leave without me, if I'm late." He lowered the boy to the ground, and pulled him into a hug.
"When will my dad be back?" Coul asked quietly.
"And mommy? Where are they?" Astryd chimed in.
Steve sighed, "soon I hope. They are with Director Fury, so I am certain they are safe. Now take care of each other, and keep baby Sophie out of trouble. Coul giggled, as Steve tickled him.
He headed for the door, but stopped in front of Wendy. "It's nice to meet you Ma'am." He bent his head towards her.
She nervously nodded back. "It is an honor to meet you Captain. I have been a fan, for a very long time."
"Thank you Ma'am. That's awfully nice of you to say." He smiled at her, and nodded. Then ran for the door, leaving Phil, Wendy and Pepper alone with the children.
Coul walked over to where Wendy stood, he looked at her with his piercing green eyes. "Astryd says you are good. And she likes you. That means I like you too."
Wendy was confused by that, she hadn't heard Astryd say anything. She opened her mouth to ask, but Phil interrupted her.
"Coul, why don't you and Astryd go to the kitchen. There are some things in there for you to eat. Wendy, Pepper and I need to have a talk."
He nodded his head, and reached for his sister's hand. They headed to the kitchen, and Phil looked at Wendy.
"You better have a seat. I have quite a bit I need to fill you in on before I leave."
Bruce sat at the table staring at his computer. With help from Jarvis he had managed to find his way into some websites that he definitely shouldn't be looking at. But the information he was finding was proving to be quite valuable.
He had finally found the details on the Boston site he had been researching. "Jarvis, call Agent Barton please."
"Yes Dr. Banner."
A few moments later, he heard Clint's voice. "Barton here."
"It looks like they are definitely planning on moving all three pieces to New York. And from what I have gathered, it is going to be one at a time, in three separate modes of transport. It's strange, most people seem pretty upset about the objects being moved at all. But for some reason there is one group of people who seem absolutely determined to get them all to one lab."
He stretched his neck, and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. He was tired, and disappointed Lucy wasn't here. He was hoping to get another one of their "sessions" to keep the Hulk away. But he was going to just have to do it on his own for a while longer.
"When does the movement start?"
"Well that is the tricky part. It looks like they are going to move one by truck, one by helicopter, and there is no info I can find on the third one yet. It seems to be imminent, I would say within the next day or two? For now, just stay there. And do some scouting for the vehicles. I think it will be obvious when they start to move one. These things aren't huge, but they aren't small either. You will need a vehicle of some kind to get one back to the plane."
"Thanks doc. I think we can figure it out from here. Let me know if you learn anything else. Barton out."
Bruce groaned, and stood to stretch his back. He walked around the lab a bit, and grabbed a handful of the trail mix Tony always had laying around. He sat back at the computer, and with a sigh started formulating a plan.
Tony and Steve stood on a hilltop overlooking the snow covered camp. There were not as many people as they had anticipated. And right as Tony remarked that it might be easier then they expected to get inside, there was the unmistakable sound of a helicopter.
About ten men climbed out, all of them dressed pretty much like Steve. Large hooded coats, with goggles that covered most of their faces. "Who are they?" Steve asked.
"Let's find out shall we? Jarvis, zoom in." Tony closed his face mask, and looked carefully at the group of men. They were following behind a man covered in camo. He seemed to be shouting a them, pointing this way and that. "Well I can't be sure, but I'm going to say these are the new recruits. Security I'm guessing."
Tony waited for Steve's response, but he didn't say anything. "Steve?" He turned, and Steve was climbing down the hill, keeping low to the ground. "Cap, what the hell are you doing?" Tony shouted, as quietly as he could.
"Joining the new recruits." Steve smiled, "don't worry, I'll blend in, and be back with the information we need, before you know it."
Tony shook his head in disbelief, and watched with amazement as Steve sneaked his way into the group of men like a ninja.
"Damn Cap, good work." Tony said into his com. Steve stood at the back of the group, and turned and gave a slight nod in Tony's direction.
Steve listened carefully, as the man shouted about living arrangements and meal times. From what he gathered, Tony was right about these men being security. He followed the group around the camp, waiting for the important stuff.
It never came. The man excused the men to look around, telling them to be sure and stay in the area, as their shift list would be up soon. Steve walked to the edge of the camp where he wouldn't be heard, and spoke quietly to Tony.
"They must have been briefed before they arrived. He didn't tell them anything that would be useful to us. I'm going to see if I can find someone who knows something."
"Be careful man, there is no telling what will happen if someone recognizes you." Tony responded.
"I'll leave the com open so you can hear what I hear." Steve wandered around for a bit, and saw two men heading down a pathway. He made his way behind them towards an area that was taped off. It looked like an entrance to a cave.
Steve looked over his shoulder carefully, making sure no one was following. He carefully made his way toward the cave entrance. He noticed it was more of a cliff than a cave. He wasn't going to be able to follow without climbing gear. Just then he heard voices and was surprised to see two different men climbing out. He quickly made his way back behind the tape, and waited for their exit.
They chatted as they made their way to the top, and started for the camp. Steve called to them getting their attention. "Hey there. I'm with the new group that got here today. How does it look down there?"
One of them grunted, and the other chuckled, "same way it always looks down there chief, icy."
They turned to walk away, and he called to them again. "Well what I meant was, did you get a good look at it? Whatever is down there?"
The man closest to him shook his head, "are you crazy? I need this job. There is no way I would risk it, to see whatever it is that's going on down there."
The other man nodded, "yeah. Security stays at the entrance to the cave. We don't even get half way down the path to see whatever is inside. Only the science nerds get to go in."
Steve responded, "that's too bad. Would be interesting to know what's going on right? Are the nerds in there now?"
The men nodded, "Yes. Their shift ends in three hours. Then they get to go back to their warm little lab and sleep, while the rest of us freeze our asses off two at a time guarding the entrance." One replied, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the cave.
The other man turned to him, "yeah. And you know what I heard the other day?"
Steve leaned in, "I'm all ears."
"They even have a heater or something in there. Gary said, two of them came out of the cave, and didn't even have coats on."
"Wow, that is crazy. And there is just this one entrance?" Steve asked carefully.
"Yep. Apparently they searched the cave, and there is only one. The only other way in, would be to drill from the top, but I heard that the ice is way too thick for that."
Steve was curious, "what is it you guys think is down there?"
"Well most guys say they think it's an alien spaceship. But not many people have been allowed in, to know for sure."
"I'm freezing my ass off here guys. I'm going to find some food, and somewhere warm for a bit."
"Me too, let's go. See you later man."
They walked away from Steve toward the camp. Steve turned back to the cave entrance. And spoke quietly to Tony. "So it sounds like we have three hours to kill, and then when the science guys make their way out, we will only have two guards to deal with."
"Nicely done Cap. Find somewhere warm to relax, when everyone goes to bed, we'll head inside."
Six hours after being taken into custody, Lucy was finally told she could leave. She stood with Fury in the lobby of the building waiting for her husband to be escorted out, so they could go.
"This has been one of the strangest days of my life. And that is ME saying that." Lucy flopped down into a chair.
Fury chuckled, "yeah, it's been quite a few weeks around here. We have a lot to discuss. You did great in there, by the way."
Lucy shrugged, "well it certainly helped that I had no idea what the hell they were talking about."
She jumped to her feet, as she saw the agent in charge approaching them. She frowned when she noticed he was alone, "where is Loki?" She demanded.
"Your husband has been informed of your release. In exchange, he is going to enjoy our hospitality for another day or so." The man replied with a smirk.
"You can't do that!" She turned to Fury, "tell them they can't do that!"
"Unfortunately, they can Lucy." He turned back to the agent, "but they are stupid to do so. Don't you guys realize he could have left here any time he wanted. If he was guilty of anything, he would have vanished the moment you told him that Lucy was free to go."
"Yes well, why don't you let us be the ones to worry about that. You are free to go Mrs. Odinson. We will contact you when you can come for Loki."
Lucy shook with rage, but knew she had to keep in control. Her children needed her, and Loki had traded her freedom for his own. She called to him, 'what the hell are you doing? If you are staying, I should too.'
'Absolutely not Lucy. Go to our children, they need you. I have nothing to hide, nor anything useful to give them. When they finally figure that out, they will let me go. Now go to the twins, and protect them.'
Lucy choked on tears, but a few slid down her cheeks. She wiped them quickly, not wanting to show any weakness. She heard Fury arguing with the agent, and she reached out putting a hand on his arm.
"Loki is okay Director," she turned to the agent, and projected her anger, forcing him to feel every ounce of her rage. "But I will be back here for him TOMORROW. And if need be, I will be bringing Tony Stark's army of lawyers with me. Do you understand?"
For the first time since their arrival, the man actually looked nervous. He simply nodded his head, and walked away.
'Hang in there love. I will be back for you tomorrow. I love you.'
'I love you also. I will attempt not to kill anyone until your return.'
Lucy smiled, at both the joke, and the thought of her husband with his hands around the pushy agent's neck.