***Here's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy reading it. Also, I love hearing from you all!***
"You will."
"I won't."
"You will."
"You can't make me."
"Fine then. But be warned. I will not hold back."
"Thank you for your warning.," I smile as I deny the deal that Loki had proposed to me in Monopoly. "But I am sure that I can manage without your help."
Growling under his breath, Loki rolls the dice just as Bucky and Tony walk in. We were playing in the common room at the dining table.
"Has she won yet?" Bucky calls out.
"No, and she will not," Loki bites back, before moving his ship token.
"Loki's just in denial," I laugh, as I watch him move. Tony and Bucky walk over and watch as he takes his turn. Landing on Park Place, he slumps in defeat, as I just laugh. "Pay up please. That's the hotel price too." Looking at what Loki had I knew I had him beat.
"I think I have to accept defeat," He groans as he shakes his head. "I can't believe I lost."
"Better believe it. We may be looking at a future businesswoman. She beat Bucky, Nat, you and Clint after all," Tony grins as he winks down at me and ruffles my hair. "She has quite a business-like mind."
"That she definitely has." Loki agrees, standing up from the table.
"Hey. You have to help me pack this up," I say to him before he goes anywhere.
"Alright, alright. I suppose there has to be some penalty for losing," He shrugs as he starts to pick up all the houses and hotels on the board..
Shaking my head, I say, "It's not a penalty. Besides, Clint lost way before you. This is just being helpful and tidying up after yourself."
"I suppose that is a good reason then."
Quickly, Loki and I packed the game away with Bucky helping as well before Nat, Clint and Steve all walked in.
"Tony," Steve calls as they all walk over. "We got a mission brief at Shield Headquarters. Fury just called us in. Could be another Hydra base apparently. We figured we would take the Quinjet over."
I look over at Tony, in time to see him roll his eyes as he exits the kitchen. "And we all have to come?"
"He has requested us all to be there. Need the whole team," Nat explains. "Don't think you can get out of this one, Stark."
"Alright. Suppose that gets me out of more boring meetings," Tony decides. "Jarvis, tell Pepper that I will be unavailable due to hero work this afternoon."
"Yes sir."
"See everyone up at the jet at 10 then." Steve orders as he walks back out.
"Will you be back tonight?" I ask.
"Yeah. We will get the briefing over and done with tonight and be back. But it probably means we have to go away for a few days again," Clint explains to me.
I glance at Tony who is quietly talking to Nat. "Will you be gone for as long as you were when you went and got Bucky?" I ask quietly, fiddling with the hem of my shirt.
Clint shook his head as he crouched next to the chair I was sitting at. "No way, Sweetheart. We won't be gone that long again. Probably two or three days. Okay?"
"Okay," I nod.
"Besides you'll have Loki and Bucky here to keep you company," He reassured me.
"Don't forget Pepper," Tony pipes in. "She will be here during the nights as well so you'll still have plenty of people herel."
"So you get to enjoy our company this evening then have free reign of the tower for a few days after that. Sounds great in my opinion," Clint grins as he stands up. "Now come on. Let's start up the Quinjet." He gestures for me to follow. Smiling, I stood and followed him as he walked out the door. Judging by the footsteps that followed us then the others were coming as well.
"How have you been holding up since that attack, Sweetheart?" Clint asked as we stepped into the elevator.
"I'm healing slowly but surely," I smile. "Dr Cho said that I am almost fully healed. My head barely has a scar from when I fell over either."
"That's good to hear," Clint pats my shoulder as the elevator opens. Steve and Bruce were already in the Quinjet.
"Come on guys. Wheels up in five," Steve calls over to us.
"Calm down, Capsicle. It's only a meeting. Not a mission," I hear Tony grumble behind me.
Clint and I glance at each other and carefully quieten our snickering. Following Clint, I go up into the Quinjet and sit in the pilot's seat again. "Do you think that one I could fly this?" I ask, as Clint stands next to me.
"Yeah, I think so. But not until you are a few years older. Deal?" Clint says.
"Deal," I grin.
"Alright, we need to open the hangar doors so push that button there?" Clint instructs, pointing to a button on my right. Pushing it, I see the doors start to slide up in front of me. "Sweet, now scoot over so I can start this baby up."
Standing up, I move next to the chair and watch and Clint puts on a headset and starts flipping switches and pushing buttons. "Alright sweetheart, you need to head back so I can get this thing all started up without worrying about you. I'll see you tonight okay?"
"Okay," I replied and hurried off the Quinjet. Just before I was about to exit, Tony grabbed me and pulled me into a hug.
"Don't think I'm letting you leave without getting my Shortcake hugs," He says into my hair. Smiling, I wrap my arms around his waist and feel him hold me closer. "I'll see you soon okay?"
Nodding, I let go and walked off the jet to where Loki and Bucky were waiting.
"Make sure she stays out of trouble boys," Tony calls out after me to Loki and Bucky.
I just see them smile and shake their heads. "We promise nothing," Bucky yells back as the engines start up. I wave as the ramp closes up and blocks the others from our view. Bucky puts an arm round my shoulders and gently guides me back to the elevator.
"Right. Tower to ourselves for a few hours. What shall we do?" He asked as we headed back down the common floor.
"Possibilities are endless in this place," I laughed. "Oh can we stop at my floor first? Just want to grab something from my room."
"Sure. We can wait," Bucky replied, as the elevator came to a stop on my floor.
"Thanks Jarvis," I say as I rush out to my room.
"Of course Miss."
Quickly scampering into my room, I grab my small arc reactor from my bedside table. Watching it glow steadily for a moment, I slip it into my pocket. Always makes me feel safer when I have this on me. Heading back to the elevator, I see Bucky and Loki arguing quietly.
"Are you still arguing over who won air hockey?" I ask as I get to them.
"I still say he cheated!" Bucky said as the doors closed.
"And I told you that I didn't. Besides, how would I cheat on a game like that?" Loki asked exasperatedly.
"You have magic powers! How else?"
"Well, first of all, it's called Seidr," Loki explained. "And second, I can't access it all right now so why would I waste stored up magic on such a pathetic thing as cheating?"
"I-" Bucky paused for a moment. "Wait. You can't access your full power?"
Loki sighed. "No. As punishment for my crimes, my...Odin placed blocks on my Seidr and therefore I can't access it as I usually would. However, I can slowly take infilismal amounts and store it in case of an emergency."
"So you can do spells but it depletes your reserves of your...cider?"
"Seidr, and yes," The elevator comes to a stop and we all walk out as Loki continues his explanation. "It also takes from my energy so I feel more drained from spells that I wouldn't usually."
"Why's that?" I ask, as we all sit down on the couches, Loki and I on one with Bucky sitting in the armchair.
"That is because, dear heart, the Seidr needs energy to be able to be used in spells. However, with full access to it, I can easily replenish my energy, but with all these blocks on it then I can't and therefore it also takes more effort."
"Can you feel the blocks?" I wonder.
Leaning back, Loki lets out a sigh. "Yes. It's hard to describe but it's like dragging weights around. Always being low on energy."
"That sounds awful," Bucky sympathises.
"Yes. well. Nothing we can do about it," Loki says, shrugging. Silence surrounds us for a moment before I remember my necklace. Taking it out from under my shirt, I show Bucky.
"Loki gave me this necklace and used his Seidr on it. It has protection spells on it so next something bad happens then I won't be as sore," I explain. Bucky shot Loki an impressed look.
"Nothing like that will happen again though," Loki assures me. "But it's just a precaution. Actually, I would like to place a tracking spell on there. Just in case. Is that alright with you Aithne?"
"Tracking spell?" I ask warily.
"Yes. Therefore I will be able to know where you are when I focus on it. I will never be able to tell at all times and I will only be able to track where you are if you have the necklace on. Is that okay?"
Thinking about it for a moment, I nod and take off the necklace. Placing it in Loki's hand, I watch as he encloses it in his fist and closes his eyes. Slowly, his hand is surrounded by a beautiful green glow that seems to be pulsing. I hear him start to whisper quietly under his breath.
"Wow," I breathe, afraid to miss a moment. Then, as slowly as the glow appeared, it dissipated. "That was amazing!"
Breathing a bit heavier than before, Loki hands the necklace back to me. Taking it from him, I place it back around my neck. "I added in an extra spell," Loki says, "If you need me for any reason, just hold the stone in your hand and say my name. This will grant me the ability to see where you are and teleport to your location."
"Thank you," I say with wonder. It's amazing the power he has.
"That took a bit more out of me than I thought it would," Loki says with a small chuckle. Sighing, he slowly stands up. "If you'll excuse me, I believe I may need to lie down for a bit."
"Get some rest buddy," Bucky says, "Alexis and I will be fine on our own."
Loki turns to walk away when Jarvis' voice floods the room. "Excuse me everyone, but there seems to be a helicopter approaching this floor."
"What?" Bucky barked, standing and walking slowly over towards the windows. Following his gaze, I see a black helicopter approaching. I have a bad feeling about this.
"Alexis, get out of here," Loki ordered, striding to stand by Bucky.
"But-"
"Now Alexis!" Loki shouted. Nodding fearfully, I stand and start towards the door.
"Jarvis, is there any way to lock down the tower?" I hear Bucky ask.
"Yes sir, however, it appears that there is an outside force blocking my ability to do so."
That's not good, I think as I reach the door. Pulling on the handle, it doesn't budge. I pull on it again and it still doesn't move. That's not good either. Tugging on it with all my might, it refuses to budge. They must have locked all doors when they hacked Jarvis, I realised.
"Loki-" I begin to call before I am cut off by glass shattering. Whipping around, I saw that windows had all shattered and the helicopter was landing on the balcony.
"I have alerted Mr Stark to what is happening at the tower. They were not able to block my transmissions before I was able to alert him," Jarvis announces to us. Okay. Mr Stark is on his way, I reassure myself. Realising that both Loki and Bucky didn't know I was still in the room, I looked for a place to hide. Best if they aren't distracted worrying about me. Quickly I make my way into the kitchen. Given that there is only one door into this room, then therefore there is only one entry way. Lessens my chances of being seen. I think to myself, trying not to panic. I am behind Loki and Bucky, so in order for anyone to get to me then they have to get past them. An apparent God and I think a soldier with a metal arm.
Sneaking over to the doorway, I am able to see Loki and Bucky slightly from my place against the wall. Both men were poised to fight, but I couldn't see who was approaching. Suddenly rapid machine gun fire exploded from outside. Clapping a hand over my mouth to smother my scream, I tuck my head into my knees. The sounds of bullets hitting furniture and walls echoes in my mind. Shouts from men approaching filled the building, when suddenly there was a sickening thud.
Slowly, I peek around the corner and see a man fallen at Bucky's feet. Both him and Loki looked relatively unscathed somehow. More men poured into sight, surrounding the two men. Both Loki and Bucky didn't pull any punches. Men falling to the floor around them. As I watched the two men, I saw two guys in black -Why are bad guys always in black- sneaking past Loki and Bucky's line of defense, and were heading for the kitchen. Biting back a gasp, I scramble quickly and hide behind the island in the middle. Blood rushed through my ears and I quietly repeated, Don't panic, Don't panic, Don't panic, in my head.
Even over the sounds of gunshots and fighting in the other room, I still heard the first footstep into the kitchen. Slowly they made their way into the room. I need to get to Loki and Bucky, I think, as I listen to the footsteps coming up either side of the island. Oh god, I whimper.
A pain shoots through my scalp, as I am grabbed by my hair and hauled up.
"No!" I scream, and frantically try to claw at the gloved hand, as I was brought up to a black mask.
"This is the girl. Tell everyone we got her," he orders the other man. Tears of pain and fear streamed down my face as I kept trying to pry his grip off my hair. Pulling me back, he drags me towards the door.
"Hel-" I try to scream but his other hand quickly covers my mouth as I am pulled back towards his chest.
"Now, now. None of that, missy," the man whispers in my ear. Get away from me! I scream internally. Looking forward, I see Loki and Bucky were still up and fighting. Just then Bucky turned around. Eyes widening in fear.
"Loki!" He shouted, just as he turned and punched another man in black, knocking him out cold. Loki whipped around at Bucky's shout, and I knew the moment he saw me. His eyes hardened and he reached out a hand.
"Get your filthy hands off her!" I could see the green glow surrounding his hand, and his eyes started glowing too. Suddenly, the man holding me was ripped away, leaving me free.
"Run Alexis!" Loki shouted, before a man came up behind him and kicked him in the back, making him fall to his knee. Ordering my legs to move, I raced towards the couches, and hid behind one of them out of sight from both the windows and the kitchen.
Breathing heavily, I hold my head, pain still radiating from my scalp. I could feel my body wanting to panic. No. No time for that now! I ordered myself. Scooting over to the end of the couch, I peek round the corner, and see that Loki was in a fierce battle. He seemed to be slower than before. His energy is drained when he uses his Seidr, I remember. He must have drained himself doing that spell from before.
"Ahhh!" Bucky screamed. Turning my head, I couldn't see him. What happened to him?!
Looking back at Loki, I could see that he was tiring, but he managed to take another guy out, just as another came and tackled him to the ground.
"Miss me?" A voice whispered in my ear.
Screaming, I whirled around and saw the man who Loki blasted away from me. He grabbed me by the front of my shirt and hauled me up, before gripping my wrist and started pulling me towards the balcony.
"No! No! Bucky! Loki!" I scream desperately trying to pull myself away from him. I tried to hit him but he seemed undeterred. Getting pulled around the couch, I see that Bucky was lying on the floor, with several men holding him down. He was thrashing under their grip, trying to dislodge them but to no avail.
Our eyes locked, and he yelled, "No! ALEXIS! Get your hands off her!"
"Let me go!" I screamed, trying hard to get away. "Let me go!"
"Aithne! NO!" I heard Loki cry. Looking over at him, I saw him push off the men holding him down with a wave of green that came from him, and struggle to stand. That's when I saw the wound on his side. A gash coating clothing with blood. "Aithne!" He yelled again, before the same men dragged him back down. "Take me! LEAVE HER! Take me instead!" He screamed, trying to push them off again..
"HELP!" I screamed with all my might. Tears streamed down my face, as I pleaded with the man to let me go. Little did I know that that scream would haunt Loki and Bucky. Getting pulled onto the helicopter, I see Bucky and Loki get knocked out with the butt of a gun to the head.
"No," I whisper as I slump down in the back of the seat where I was placed and tied. Men started getting back into the helicopter, dragging and carrying those who had been knocked out. Covering my face with my hair, I let myself just weep quietly. Please find me, I pray as the helicopter lifted into the air and took me away from the place I had begun to think of as home.
***Tony POV***
Please no. Oh god no please. This was all that repeated in my mind as I rocketed back to the Tower. Jarvis had interrupted the meeting by loudly announcing that the Tower was under attack and Loki and Bucky were fighting to protect Alexis. Jarvis had then been locked out of the tower control system. I was the first one into action racing out of the meeting room and towards the elevator to get to the roof. The others all piled in after me.
I had asked Jarvis if he could see anything else, but that was a negative. She is okay. They will all be okay, I had told myself. Getting to the roof we all ran to the jet, where I grabbed my Mark V suitcase armour and quickly put it on. Ignoring the shouts of the others, I blasted off towards the Tower.
Vaguely aware of Thor flying behind me trying to catch up, I approach the tower and land harshly on the balcony. Exiting the suit, I saw that glass was everywhere, and silence was the only thing that greeted me. Don't panic yet. You don't know what the result is.
"Stark?" I ignore Thor as I run inside through what used to be a window, and freeze at the scene that greets me. The lounge was a mess with furniture and walls littered with bullet holes, and glass littering the floor. A groan and cough came from my right where I saw Loki laying on the floor struggling to sit up. With a cry "Brother!" Thor hurried over to Loki, helping him to sit up. Whirling around, I saw Bucky seemingly knocked unconscious on the floor a few metres from the balcony door.
"Where is she?" I utter. I can't see her. Please no.
"I'm sorry, Stark," Loki wheezed from behind me.
"Where. Is She?!" I yell, turning to him and him. "WHERE IS SHE?!"
"They took her," Loki said, coughing as Thor assisted him to move over to the only couch that wasn't flipped. His hand pressing into his side, where I was vaguely aware that blood was coming from.
They took her. The words echoed around in my head. The inexplicable emotion of rage built up as I stormed towards Loki.
"No! No! You were here. You and Barnes. You were supposed to protect her! Why didn't you stop them from-"
"Stark!" Thor booms standing in front of his injured brother. Stopping me from reaching him. "Loki is not to blame for this!"
Taking a step back from Thor, I say through clenched teeth, "They took her. I promised her that she would be safe! That she had nothing to fear here and that I-" I stopped as my voice broke. Rage was replaced with grief. A bone deep grief that I had felt too often in my life. The weight of what happened crashed onto me, collapsing my legs from underneath me. Crashing to the floor, I barely feel the glass that cuts through the material of my pants and into my shins. "I was supposed to protect her. I promised I would protect her. Why?" Tears burn in my eyes but I refuse to let them fall.
Pushing myself up, I stagger back outside towards the suit.
"Stark!" Thor calls after me. "Where are you going?"
"They can't have gotten far. I can catch them," I reply as I step into the suit. "Jarvis, which way did they go?" I ask as I shoot up into the sky.
"I believe they headed north by northwest, sir," came the reply as the image of the helicopter shot up on my HUD. Pushing my suit to its limits I shoot in that direction.
"Scan the sky for that helicopter. Use whatever you have to Jarvis."
I will find you. I promise. I am not losing another daughter.
***Hope you all enjoyed it!***