June 2, 2010
Queens, New York

In a brick warehouse surrounded by SHIELD agents, Tony leaned back on his seat and yawned.

At least he hadn't been kidnapped this time. Fury had had the courtesy to call and invite him to this warehouse, and, curious about the organization his dad had helped found, Tony had accepted. Now he sat alone at a desk in the warehouse, surrounded by holo-screens and with two manila files on the desk in front of him. One of the holo-screens was rolling coverage of the unfolding incident at Culver University. The warehouse was grim, with sunlight slanting through the dusty windows and wooden crates pushed up against the walls.

It had been a busy couple of days. There'd been the cleanup at Stark Expo, and taking care of SI, and Pepper, and… Maggie.

She and Tony hadn't had much of a chance to talk since the battle. Today was her birthday, but she hadn't planned anything and they were all still recovering from battle, so they'd had a brief improvised birthday breakfast that morning. Thankfully, it seemed that her cover had remained intact - there had been a few reports of a winged figure that night, but most people assumed that it was part of the robotic terror that had struck Queens. Certainly nobody had put it together that Margaret Stark was in any way involved with the fighting.

Though Hammer had threatened to charge Maggie with assault, the smarmy bastard. Tony would enjoy watching Maggie laugh him out of court if he followed through. She'd already produced a whole packet of incriminating evidence she'd collected on Hammer's activities of the past few months.

Curious, Tony reached for the file that said AVENGERS INITIATIVE: PRELIMINARY REPORT and slid it across the desk toward him. Hm. He was just about to flip it open when a hand planted itself on the file.

"I don't think I want you looking at that," said Nick Fury, taking a seat across from Tony. Then why did you put it there? Tony didn't say.

Fury handed the other file to Tony: Agent Romanoff's assessment of him, after all her spying on him. Tony flipped through it. She made some good points: compulsive, narcissism, self-destructive tendencies… Tony made comments as he read through, until:

"Iron Man, yes! I gotta think about it."

"Read on," Fury deadpanned.

He obeyed. "Tony Stark not… not recommended?" He glanced up with a frown. "That doesn't make any sense. How can you approve me, but not approve me?" He set down the file. "I've got a new ticker, Maggie and I are square, I'm trying to do right by Pepper, I'm in a stable-ish relationship…"

Fury got to his feet and circled the desk, only to sit on the corner of it, by Tony. "Which leads us to believe at this juncture, we'd only like to use you as a consultant."

Huh. Tony stood up as well and offered his hand. Fury shook it, his face even, but then frowned when Tony said: "You can't afford me." He turned and headed for the door, before glancing back. "Then again, I will waive my customary retainer in exchange for a small favor."

Fury cocked an eyebrow.

"Rhodey and I are being honored in Washington." But not Maggie, of course. "And we need a presenter."

Fury nodded, the glint in his eye showing his understanding. "I'll see what I can do."

Tony grinned, and in the next moment the door at the other end of the warehouse opened. He and Fury both glanced over to see-

Maggie. She wore a black jacket over an orange sundress, looking out of place in the grim warehouse. She walked inside escorted by a SHIELD agent in a suit, who had one hand on her shoulder.

Her eyes flicked around the space, taking in all the details, before settling on Tony and Fury.

"Mags," Tony greeted. She nodded at him, as if they usually met in secretive government agency hideouts.

The SHIELD agent by her side nodded to Fury. "Caught her trying to board a private jet bound for Thailand, sir."

Fury set his hands on his hips. "Trying to play hard to get, Ms Stark?"

"Clearly not trying hard enough," she replied evenly.

Tony's brow furrowed. "You were going to leave again?"

Her eyes snapped to his. "The jet was a decoy, I was just trying to get these losers off my tail." She smiled at him. "I'm sticking around this time." She nodded to the file on the desk which read in block letters: SUBJECT: TONY STARK. RECRUITMENT ASSESSMENT. "How'd you do?"

Tony had told her everything he knew about the Avengers Initiative yesterday.

He made a sour face. "They want me as a consultant."

Maggie raised an eyebrow at Fury. "Really? No Iron Man?"

"The contents of Mr Stark's debriefing are not open to discussion," Fury said. "Mr Stark, it's time for you to leave now."

"Come on, if you're just going to jerk Maggie around like you did to me I may as well stick around. I want to see what Romanoff wrote about her."

But Fury just eyed him. "I'll call you about that favor, Mr Stark."

Tony sighed and headed for the door. When he approached Maggie, her eyes glinting, he reached out and pulled her into a hug.

"I'll see you back at the mansion," she said. "Don't do anything stupid until I get there."

"And then stupid is on the table?"

"Of course it is."

Tony pulled back, shot her a wink, and then headed out the door. The SHIELD agent guarding it shut it behind him, and Tony glanced back just once. A week ago, he never would have left his sister alone with the Director of SHIELD. Today, he thought of it less as her being alone with him - if anything, Nick Fury was alone with her.

"Take a seat, Ms Stark. And Happy Birthday."

Maggie's boots clipped on the concrete floor as she followed Nick Fury toward the single desk surrounded by holoscreens, and then sat down. She tapped her fingers on the armrests, eyeing the screens - the SHIELD logo loomed large on one, one ran news coverage and another had a map of the world with what looked like active missions highlighted in yellow. She realized that this place functioned as Fury's temporary office.

She turned to face the man himself as he sat opposite her.

"The jet to Thailand was my plan B, by the way. You guys never would've caught me if I'd gone with Plan A."

"We know," Fury told her.

"I know," she shot back, almost smiling. Maybe she enjoyed these spy games. She leaned forward and laced her fingers together. "So is this about the Avengers Initiative?"

If Fury was annoyed that Tony had told her about that, he didn't show it. "The powers that be are reviewing the Initiative after recent events-"

"What, did they get spooked by Vanko?"

"No, different events," Fury replied. She could have sworn his one eye flicked to the holo-screen of active SHIELD missions. "That's not what I brought you here to discuss."

At that moment the far door opened and Maggie glanced back, expecting to see Tony bursting in for a final word. But it was Agent Romanoff, wearing civilian clothes: dark jeans and a grey sweater, looking as sharp and dangerous as ever. Maggie smiled and waved to her.

Romanoff appeared not to have expected such an enthusiastic greeting. She raised an eyebrow, but then raised her hand in a wave as she strode over to join them.

"Agent Romanoff," Fury nodded.

"Director," Romanoff greeted with an equally curt nod. She came over to stand by his side, facing Maggie. They made an intimidating pair.

Fury cleared his throat. "We've obviously had less time to conduct your recruitment assessment, Ms Stark." Maggie leaned back in her chair and rested her elbow on the arm rest. "But we've been giving it very careful consideration. We had a profile on the Wyvern, of course, and now we have one on you. Long story short, we'd like to hire you."

Maggie's eyebrows flew up her forehead and she glanced to Romanoff. The spy remained impassive.

"I'd assign Romanoff as your handler," Fury continued. "Most SHIELD agents go through the Academy of Operations for training, and though you'd do some of your training there, we'd prefer that yours be a more one-on-one recruitment. You'd become an agent of SHIELD, a part of our body of operations and be on-hand for missions as a part of STRIKE Team Delta."

"Hang on." Maggie held up a hand. "Why me as a SHIELD agent, but not Tony?"

Romanoff finally let an expression cross her face: she arched an eyebrow. "If he's not ready for the Avengers Initiative, he's definitely not ready for SHIELD."

"Your brother is too public," Fury elaborated. "He's just gotten his life back on track, and we feel he's not in a good position to come into the fold. You, meanwhile, are in the best position. You've proven you can lay low and stay off the radar, you're resourceful, independent, and at the Expo you proved you can work as part of a team."

Maggie blew out a breath as she glanced down at the table, thinking. She had to admit, there'd been more than one occasion where she'd felt that her solitariness was a weakness, rather than a strength. She'd looked into SHIELD since she first learned of their existence. They identified, assessed, and handled threats the world over. Usually the weird stuff. They weren't quite an intelligence organisation, and weren't quite a law enforcement agency. And… her father had been a founder.

"SHIELD could use the Wyvern," Fury said. "An anonymous, skilled agent who can move quickly and get missions done non-violently and efficiently. For the most part. And we think you could use SHIELD."

"You need a team," Romanoff said, and Maggie's eyes flicked to her. "You're good, but you need training. And backup. We can offer that. Because let's be honest, you're not going to stop being the Wyvern."

Maggie leaned back, fingers tapping on her arm rest. Fury and Romanoff finally fell silent to let her think.

Then she looked up. "No."

Fury didn't betray any surprise, other than to lean back in his chair as well. "No?"

Maggie nodded, weighing her answer as it hung in the air between them. It felt right. "No," she said again. "I don't want to be a SHIELD agent." She let out a breath and straightened. "However," she added, "I do think we can come to an arrangement."

"An arrangement," Fury said flatly.

"Yes. Like you said," she said, eyes darting to Romanoff, "I'm not going to stop being the Wyvern." She shrugged one shoulder. "I think I'm doing good work, and that's worthwhile. I won't answer to you, or seek your permission, or act under your chain of command." Fury's eye flashed. "However, it is in your best interests not to let a lady with lots of dangerous tech run around barely knowing how to throw a punch-"

"The agent with the broken jaw might not agree with your self-assessment," Romanoff interrupted.

" - so I'll graciously accept training from SHIELD," Maggie finished, waving a hand. "And in return I might, sometimes, join in on missions that you suggest to me. If I think it's worthwhile."

For a long few moments Fury scowled at her, his chin on his hand. He did scare her a bit, with his eyepatch and his utter surety, but Maggie held his gaze and didn't allow herself to betray an ounce of fear. She could see the value of SHIELD. But she didn't entirely trust them.

Romanoff watched coolly. If she was offended at Maggie turning down the position, she didn't show it.

"So let me get this straight," Fury eventually said. "You benefit from SHIELD's resources, intelligence, and the training of my very best agent. And SHIELD gets only your occasional, voluntary cooperation on missions."

"That's right," Maggie nodded. Fury's scowl deepened. "You don't have to pay me, if that's what the issue is."

"Trust me, I'm not going to. No benefits, either."

"I'll have to check my health insurance plan, but I think I'll manage."

Fury leaned forward, peering at her. "I hope you understand, Ms Stark, that the second you step a toe out of line - the second you run a mission that we don't think is worthwhile, you will be hearing from us. You may not think you answer to us, but our mission is to keep this world safe. If you go against that mission, you go against SHIELD."

"What a coincidence," she replied. "That's my mission too. So we should get along fine. Shall we say that I'm a… well, you hired Tony as a consultant, right? I'm happy with that job title."

Fury eyed her for another long moment. "Then it's agreed. You'll be a SHIELD consultant, and we'll get in touch about your training. And any potential missions we have lined up." He stood, and held out his hand.

Maggie took his hand and shook it, and something about the sudden calm in Fury's face made her suspicious. What if this was his plan all along? She decided she didn't like these spy games after all.

"That will be all, Ms Stark," Fury said. "We'll be in touch."

Romanoff gestured a hand. "I'll walk you out."

Maggie slowly rose to her feet. She turned, then hesitated and glanced back. "Did you know I would say no?"

Fury raised an eyebrow. "Why would I offer a job I knew you'd say no to?"

Her eyes narrowed, but then Romanoff was leading her to the door. Maggie turned the conversation over in her mind as she strode over the concrete floor. Just before she walked out the door, Fury called:

"We'll see you around, Ms Stark!"

She shouted back: "I don't work for you!" and then she was out in the sunshine. She blinked a few times.

"This way," Romanoff murmured. She walked a few paces ahead of Maggie, leading her around the side of the warehouse to-

"My bike!" Maggie exclaimed at the sight of the motorcycle SHIELD had taken from her at the donut shop in Inglewood. She didn't know or care how they'd gotten it over to New York. She'd have to check it for tracking technology or bugs later.

As they strode over to the bike, Maggie shifted her focus to the redhead striding ahead of her. Now that she'd seen Romanoff fight, she couldn't not see the lethality of her - the way she moved, the way she looked at the world around her. She probably had all kinds of weapons stashed under her seemingly-casual clothes.

"How do you feel about Chinese food?" Maggie asked her. They'd reached her bike and now stood facing each other on the pavement.

Romanoff cocked her head as she looked at Maggie. "Depends who it's with."

"How about me?"

There was a long moment as Romanoff took her in, her eyes fixed on Maggie and her face utterly unreadable. Eventually, she said: "Thank you for asking. But I don't date colleagues."

Maggie's mouth quirked. "I'm technically not a colleague. But I could quit, just to be sure?"

Romanoff smiled in return. "You don't want to do that."

"Don't I?"

"No. It's been a pleasure, Ms Stark."

Maggie tipped her head. She knew when to let a thing go. "Likewise, Agent Romanoff. I'll see you soon."

"I'll see you sooner."

And with that Maggie laughed, put on her helmet, and drove away.

June 3, 2010

Tony returned to the New York mansion after his award ceremony. Pepper had travelled with him and was now waiting for him at the hotel room she'd booked, but he wanted to check in with Maggie first.

He found her in their dad's dusty old workshop, patching up her wings. One of them was stretched out across the workbench, metal bones and webbing and all. A small engine was disassembled in one corner of the bench.

Tony strode over and dropped his shiny new medal on the workbench in front of her.

Maggie glanced at the gold Distinguished Service Medal and then up at Tony in his sharp charcoal suit. "Very impressive," she said dryly.

"It's yours."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

He slid the medal across the bench toward her. "You fought just as hard as Rhodey and me to stop Vanko. You saved lives. You deserve it."

She picked up the medal gingerly and eyed it. "It's not really my style."

"C'mon, Magnetron, I don't need another freaking medal-"

"Neither do I." She stood up and pressed the medal back into his hand. "Put it up in the display room at Stark Industries. People could use a little reminding of who works every day to protect them."

Tony felt his somber mood show on his face. "But you do that too."

"And I work best when they don't know I'm doing it."

Tony shot her a doubtful look, but could see she wouldn't be moved. He pocketed the medal, then let out a sigh and leaned against her workbench. "So how did it go with the jackbooted thugs?"

She smiled as she sat back on the stool. "I assume you mean SHIELD?"

"Yes, but I feel like if I mention their name they'll appear like Beetlejuice."

They both paused for a moment, peering around the workshop. Most of the benches and machines were covered in plastic sheets, and sunlight streamed through the far window, illuminating dust motes in the air. The space was heavy with memories for Tony. He wondered if it was the same for Maggie.

"Well," Maggie eventually said. "Fury offered me a job as an agent-"

"He what-"

"- but I said no. I said I'd be a consultant, and I'm taking them up on their offer of training."

"Oh." Tony reached out to the wing on the worktable and picked up a part of the disassembled engine. "How come?"

"How come they asked me, or how come I said no?"

"Both?"

"I think they like the idea of having an anonymous vigilante on the payroll. You're not exactly anonymous," she said, casting him a meaningful glance. She was worried he was jealous. "And I said no because…" she glanced away. "I don't know if I trust them."

"Oh?"

"I trust some of them - Coulson, I think, even Fury and Romanoff, to some extent. I trust that they want what I want. But a whole structure like that… I don't know. I don't recognise much of dad in it."

"Hm." Tony crossed his arms and eyed his sister. "So, keeping up the solo act then?"

"To some extent," she nodded as she bent over her wing again. "I think I might have an ally."

His brows lifted. "An ally?"

"Yeah. I don't know if I'll work with them all the time, but they seem like a decent fighter, and we work well together."

Tony frowned. "And you… trust this person?"

"Oh, completely," she nodded as she used a precision tool to piece together a rip in the carbon fibre webbing. "You might have heard of them actually. They've got this red and gold suit, flashy, y'know? Goes by the name of Iron Man-"

She cut off when Tony shoved her, laughing, and quickly turned off her precision tool so she wouldn't damage anything.

"You little troll," he said fondly. He cocked his head at her, taking in her dark, laughing eyes. "Allies, then?"

She nodded and held out her hand. "Allies. If you ever need backup, Iron Man, you've got it."

He took her hand. "Likewise, Wyvern. We'll have to be careful though, so we don't blow your cover. It's probably best if we're only on call for each other if necessary, so people don't make the connection between Iron Man and the Wyvern."

She beamed. "Thank you for thinking of that."

He nodded and glanced down at her wing again. "So what next? Back to LA, back to your job at SI?"

Maggie sighed and leaned back in her chair. "You know, I was kinda thinking about spending more time in New York. I miss it, and I can still work for SI from here."

The corner of Tony's mouth ticked up. "Funny you mention it," he said, thinking of the sketch he'd drawn on the back of a napkin from the hotel. "I've had an idea."

June 4, 2010

Maggie felt the sudden urge to get out of the city and away from her life. Partly because the Wyvern had collided with her personal life and that made her feel itchy, and partly because Tony was spending most of his time with Pepper and she wanted to give them some space.

She decided it was about time she visited Jane Foster's facility in New Mexico. She'd called the other woman a couple of times, but got no reply. Maggie hoped it wouldn't be too rude to just show up.

She stopped worrying about rudeness, however, when after a quick flight and a drive in a hire car, she arrived outside the town Jane had told her about months ago… and found herself stopped at a police road block a few miles out. As far as Maggie could tell, Puente Antiguo was just a small, quiet desert town with not much going for it. But the man who waved for her to pull over at the roadblock was state police.

"Hi," Maggie said when she'd rolled her window down to face the police officer, who squinted in the hot sun. She wore sunglasses and casual travelling clothes, so she hoped she wasn't too recognizable.

"Identification, please."

"Sure," Maggie said, reaching on instinct for one of the fake IDs she kept on her at all times. As she passed Emily Stanthorpe's ID to the officer, she cocked her head. "What's this about?"

"What's your business in Puente Antiguo?" the officer said in reply as he looked over her ID, then jotted her details down on a notepad.

"My cousin lives there," she said shortly, not even sure why she was lying.

"And your occupation?"

"Mechanic."

The officer squinted down at her. "If you're a journalist, now's the time to tell me."

She blinked. "Well I'm not."

He eyed her for another long moment, before handing back her ID and waving her through. "Drive on."

Weird. Maggie drove the rest of the way into town, contemplating the officer's strange questions. It started to make sense a few minutes later, however, when she drove into Puente Antiguo and found the place practically trashed.

Most of the buildings were intact, but she didn't see a single one that didn't have a scorch mark or at least one shattered window. Piles of rubble lay everywhere, even crunching under her car tyres, and parts of the concrete sidewalks were cracked, as if something had hit them with great force. There were people around, but they looked to be in the midst of cleaning up - several wielded brooms or toolkits and determined expressions.

Maggie parked by the gas station, where several of the gas bowsers had blown up and lay strewn across the road, and stepped out into the arid desert air. She turned on the spot a few times, staring, then spotted a stoic-looking man sweeping rubble from outside the shop.

"Excuse me," Maggie called as she strode over, raising a hand. "Do you, uh… could you tell me what happened here?"

The man blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

She gestured around. "Why is the town… like this?"

"What are you, new?" the man peered at her. "I don't recognize you. And I can't tell you anyway. It's classified. They'll have my guts if I talk."

"Who's 'they'?"

"Do you know what classified means?"

Maggie nodded, then changed tacks. "Do you know where the astrophysics lab is?"

"You mean where that science lot are living?"

"Yes, probably."

"Two streets over, corner of town. Big ugly green building."

"Oh. Thank you."

On foot, Maggie followed the man's directions. She picked her way through piles of rubble and smashed glass, and skirted around an upturned car on the sidewalk. It was hot in New Mexico - the air seemed to leech the moisture from her skin, and the sun baked down on the back of her neck. She soon found the big ugly green building: its cylindrical, green-painted shape stood right on the edge of the town, the hazy desert stretching behind it. An old car showroom, Maggie thought. She trudged up to the glass front of the showroom, which was lined with a thin layer of dust, and peered in. There was a beat-up looking van parked inside, and a woman with dark hair and a beanie stood with her back to the window, leaning into the van. She didn't look like Jane.

Maggie pushed open the glass door to the building and cleared her throat. "Uh, hello?"

The woman whirled around and her eyes, behind a pair of thick glasses, went round. "Holy motherfucking shitballs."

Maggie fought off a smile. "I'm looking for Doctor Jane Foster?"

"You're Maggie Stark."

Maggie decided to step fully inside, then closed the door behind her. The showroom had been turned into a makeshift living area, with a kitchen against the far wall, a fold-out table, and an assortment of chairs. "Uh, yes. Is Doctor Foster here?"

The woman, still round-eyed and staring, shook her head. "She's at the grocery store. You're in my top ten girl crushes list."

Maggie blinked, then ended her inspection of the strange building and looked at the woman again. She looked to be maybe a year or two younger than Maggie, with dark hair, glasses, a knit beanie, and now that Maggie was really looking… yeah. Pretty.

Her brows lifted. "And where do I place in this top ten list?"

Jane Foster got back from the grocery store fifteen minutes later, accompanied by Erik Selvig, to find Maggie and Darcy sipping beers together on the low couch on the far side of the room, laughing. Maggie was wearing Darcy's knit hat.

Jane stared. "Maggie!"

Maggie looked over and beamed. "Jane!" she jumped up and rushed over to give her old friend a hug. "It is so good to see you, you look well."

Jane pulled back and eyed Maggie. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I tried to call ahead but I couldn't get through to you, and I figured you did invite me-"

"I'm sorry, there's been a communications blackout. Things have been-"

"Darcy's told me a bit about what's happened."

"Darcy!" Jane scolded, looking over at her intern.

"I only told her there was an incident, and a fight in the town!" Darcy defended herself. "I know it's classified, but she's got eyes." She gestured out at a scorch mark on a building across the road.

Jane looked between the two of them again. "Are you guys drinking? It's midday!"

Darcy looked from the beer in her hand to Jane, slightly bewildered. "I… Maggie asked if I wanted a drink, and I" - she gestured at Maggie, who was grinning again. "You're telling me I have to say no to her? Look at her!"

Jane glanced at Maggie, then sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'm sorry. It is good to see you, really. It's just been… a busy few days."

"For me, too. Though I suspect your business might have even been worse than mine." She glanced over at the grizzle-haired man hanging back by the door. "Hello, I don't think we've been introduced."

He held out his hand. "Doctor Erik Selvig, Ms Stark."

"Nice to meet you! I think I read some of your work when I was trying to understand Jane's project." Maggie shook his hand, then looked around. The three of them looked tired, and overwhelmed. "How about we have a drink?"

Jane, Erik, and Darcy couldn't tell Maggie much about whatever had happened two days ago, but she slowly got trickles of the truth. Apparently Jane had been right about her Einstein-Rosen bridge theory, and they had connected with another world. Maggie was intrigued, and they spent a few hours going over measurements of the phenomena that Jane and Erik had collected, and projections about how the theory might work. Foster had the light of a mission behind her eyes - she wasn't going to stop until she figured this out. Maggie got the sense that something about this had personally affected her: when she wasn't working, she looked… sad. Adrift. Selvig and Darcy comforted her in their own ways.

Maggie fell comfortably into their dynamic. One of the most complex scientific problems she had ever encountered, black coffee, and good company - it was just what she needed. For their part, the trio seemed refreshed by her arrival - they were apparently stuck in Puente Antiguo until they got the clearance to leave, and they had limited outside world contact.

Maggie spent the rest of the day talking science with Foster and Selvig, tossing around theories and ways of tracking interdimensional phenomena. Foster kept talking about cosmic nimbuses and parallel worlds, and she must've come up with the theory herself because it was like nothing else Maggie had ever heard. Selvig was fully onboard, so she decided not to question it.

Maggie didn't ignore Darcy, either. Darcy stayed with them throughout the day, plying them with tea and food, and making jokes about the 'science gobbledygook', though Maggie could see the light of interest in her eyes. Darcy was curious, and bright, and Maggie was sure she understood more than she let on.

When the sun set over the desert they broke up for dinner, which ended up being takeaway food from the local diner. Selvig fussed over Jane, making sure she ate enough.

Halfway through dinner Maggie got a news alert on her phone about police activity in New York. They turned on the tiny van TV to watch coverage of some kind of attack in Harlem: a helicopter crash, and reports of two massive figures chasing each other across rooftops. The news reporters were calling one of them the Hulk.

Maggie stared at the shaky footage of the massive green roaring thing. "I leave the city for one day," she hissed through her teeth as she texted Tony - he was out of New York, thankfully.

Eventually, the news reported that whatever it was had ended. Emergency services were on the scene and the fighting had stopped.

"Well," Jane said. "Seems it's been a busy time for more than just us."

"Do you think it's related to the thing at Culver?" Darcy asked, and Maggie remembered she was a student there. "A few of my friends were there and they said they saw that big green dude."

Jane chewed the inside of her cheek. "Maybe. I doubt we'll learn much more about it, though."

Half an hour later, Darcy invited Maggie back to her room for a drink. Maggie went with a smile.

The next morning at breakfast Maggie sat in the main room with the rest of them, listening to the radio, when the main glass door opened.

Several men in suits stood in the doorway, with a dark van parked on the road behind them.

"Not again!" Darcy exclaimed. "Maggie, hide your electronics."

Three men strode in, and Maggie instantly recognized the one at the front of the pack. Coulson. He wore the same damn dark suit, as if the hot New Mexico weather didn't bother him, and he slid off a pair of sunglasses to look around at them all.

When he spotted Maggie, he blinked. She sat on the couch with one foot resting on her knee, a coffee mug in her hand, and Darcy's feet in her lap.

"Ms Stark," Coulson said stiffly.

"Hi, Coulson." She'd guessed that SHIELD had been managing the events in Puente Antiguo, so she didn't find herself quite as startled to see him.

Jane turned to Maggie. "You know him?"

"We've met," Coulson said blandly. "Long time no see, Ms Stark, I don't suppose you'll tell me how you got into this town? Or why?"

"Drove right in, and I'm just here to visit a friend," Maggie responded. "Honestly," she added, when Coulson's eyebrows rose. He strode into the main space, flanked by two other agents, and when Maggie's eyes darted over their faces she froze in her seat.

Her eyes narrowed. "You."

Agent Clint Barton stood just beside Coulson with his hands clasped behind his back, and his eyes alight with amusement as he looked back at her. He looked different in the daytime, with the sun glinting off his sandy hair, but she could still see that coiled capacity for danger. "Hi," he smiled. "We meet in the strangest places."

Maggie's knuckles went white on her cup handle. "How's your jaw?" she asked tightly.

He frowned for just a second before the smile returned. "Chiseled and handsome, thank you very much. How's your side?"

Maggie scowled. The still-healing bullet wound on her side itched. They stared each other down for a few long moments, as the others in the room watched them warily.

Coulson cleared his throat. "Believe it or not, we're not here to exchange pleasantries with you, Ms Stark." He left the because we weren't expecting to see you here unsaid. "We'd like to speak to Dr Foster and Dr Selvig." He shot Maggie and Darcy a pointed glance.

"What, you're kicking us out?" Darcy demanded.

"Just for the moment," Coulson said pleasantly.

Both Maggie and Darcy looked to Jane. Jane chewed the inside of her cheek, her eyes dark with suspicion, but finally she nodded.

Maggie and Darcy got up and strode for the door together. Maggie walked right past Barton, feeling his amused eyes on her. She ignored him.

Outside, Darcy and Maggie avoided the pack of SHIELD agents and took a seat on the curb together. The sun was already uncomfortably warm.

"How do you know those guys?" Darcy asked.

"One of them shot me. The other one's a… family friend."

"Sounds complicated."

Maggie sighed and tilted her face back to squint up at the open blue sky. "It's looking that way."

Ten minutes later, the agents all trooped out again. Coulson waved to Maggie, and after a half second of hesitation she waved back. He and the others climbed into their van and drove off.

"What, they're not even going to question you for being here? Read you the riot act about keeping things hushed up?" Darcy questioned.

"Guess not," Maggie said as she stood. She offered Darcy a hand up. "SHIELD and I have an arrangement."

"God, I wish I was cool enough to have arrangements with secret government agencies."

Maggie laughed as they headed back inside. "Don't you already have one? You're not exactly off the SHIELD radar now."

"Hey, you're right," Darcy said, seeming oddly pleased.

Inside, they found Selvig and Foster packing.

"We've got clearance to leave," Jane said. "Darcy, I'm planning to go back to Culver to replan, SHIELD has offered resources for my ongoing research. It's totally up to you, but-"

"I'm going with you," Darcy said instantly. "Lead on, oh captain my captain, and all that."

Jane smiled faintly.

Darcy glanced to Selvig, who was pulling his things out of the van and stuffing them into a small suitcase. "What, you're not coming with us Erik?"

"No, I uh… I've got a different project to get started on."

Foster shot him an unhappy look, but didn't say anything.

Maggie pursed her lips. "I'll help you guys pack, but then I should head back to New York. My brother and I have plans."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Darcy mouth Tony Stark to Jane. Jane smiled again, and it eased the sadness in her eyes.

An hour later, everything was nearly packed (Foster travelled light), and Maggie managed to get Selvig alone in the showroom office which had served as his temporary bedroom.

"It was nice to meet you, doctor."

"Likewise," Erik said with a smile. "I didn't realize how useful mechanical engineering could be to developing Jane's theories."

"Well, I've always enjoyed branching out." She met his eyes. "You be careful with your new employers."

His smile fell. "I don't know what you-"

She waved a hand. "I know you have to keep it secret, but it doesn't exactly take a mechanical engineer to figure out that SHIELD offered you a job. Just… be careful. Don't go in so deep that you can't get out again."

Because Maggie sensed SHIELD was like that: a black hole that lured you in so deep that once you turned back, you couldn't see the light.

Erik eyed her for a long moment, then nodded.

Maggie nodded her acknowledgement and headed back to the van.

Darcy was squeezing every last bit of machinery into the cramped van. She and Foster were planning to drive it all the way back to Culver, a 'healing roadtrip' as she put it.

"Hey," Darcy said when she spotted Maggie. "We're about to head off."

"I figured." Maggie stopped a few feet away from Darcy, her hands in her pockets. "Thanks for showing me a good time. I figured I'd just be showing up for a few days of science, which, don't get me wrong, is a good time, but-"

"I know what you mean," Darcy laughed. Maggie liked her laugh; it came easily and loudly, and often. "And hey, like we said last night - friends?" she held out her hand.

Maggie took her hand and shook it. Then they both laughed and then Darcy tugged Maggie in by the edges of her jacket for a makeout session against the van. Darcy's glasses clunked against Maggie's nose, but she didn't mind.

Jane appeared around the side of the van, made a strangled sort of sound at the back of her throat, and then fled again.

Maggie and Darcy pulled apart. "Friends," Maggie agreed. And she meant it, because Darcy Lewis was an easy friend. "And you've got my number, so… call if you need anything. Or if Jane gets into trouble. Or if SHIELD gets too bossy. Or if you feel like getting dinner in Italy."

"You're a showoff."

"Yes."

"I'll call. Even if it's just to vent about Jane inevitably losing her mind."

"That's what friends are for," Maggie smiled, and then stepped away. "Bye, Jane!" she shouted over the van.

"Bye, Maggie," came the awkward reply.

"I'll email you about that artificial Einstein-Rosen bridge theory when I get back!"

"Yes please!" came a more enthusiastic call.

Maggie smiled, waved one last time to Darcy, and then made the short trip to her own car.

Maggie returned to New York, and began figuring out what her life looked like now.

Tony had been thinking about the Arc Reactor technology and its capabilities now they'd found the missing piece. And apparently Pepper had been talking about renovating the New York Stark Industries campus, and something had clicked in his mind - when he told Maggie about his idea to construct a whole building powered by Arc Reactor tech, she had instantly been on board.

Days turned into weeks, then months. What began as a sketch on a napkin turned into holographic designs, and then into board consultations, meetings with city planners, purchasing materials, and in November construction began at the site of a recently demolished building in Manhattan. Stark Tower was underway.

Every time Maggie strode past the construction site in midtown, a bubble of pride buoyed in her chest.

In the meantime Tony and Maggie expanded the Stark Industries Clean Energy division. Maggie consented to being named head of the division, since Tony was head of the Stark Tower project, and she and her team of engineers developed new applications for the Arc Reactor technology, from household energy to flight systems. It was a lot of PR and political work, but Maggie found that it didn't make her feel itchy when she remembered she was a part of a team.

Maggie split her time between New York and LA, and so did Tony. He and Pepper were doing well together - better than Maggie had expected, not that she would admit that. Pepper made leaps and bounds as CEO, and having Tony as her partner seemed to make her more willing to step away from the work, more willing to take risks and enjoy herself. Tony, on the other hand, seemed steadier and more grounded. He remained an exuberant showoff, but Maggie had never expected that to change.

As Pepper and Tony settled into what was becoming a long-term relationship, Tony and Maggie figured out how to be brother and sister again. They couldn't just be Tony and Maggie any more - they were also Iron Man and the Wyvern. With his new Arc Reactor and suit, Tony went back into his Iron Man work, and Maggie kept running her Wyvern missions. It was a relief to not have to hide her work from him, though, and also a relief to know that if anything went wrong on her mission, Iron Man had her location and could be ready at a moment's notice.

When they weren't on missions, they made an effort to get to know one another again. They saw movies, went to concerts, and tried out the restaurants and cafes around Manhattan. Maggie wondered if the paparazzi would ever get bored of taking photos of the two of them eating burgers, or walking past Central Park. They were both enjoying getting to know their home city again.

Maggie showed Tony how to go unnoticed in a crowd, and they mostly managed it. They experimented with sunglasses and hoodies, and on one notable occasion Maggie turned Tony's hair blue with hairspray, gave him a few fake piercings, applied some eyeliner, and they went out for a walk around the Upper East side. They got plenty of second glances, but no one recognized them. Enjoying the newfound freedom, they ducked into an old-fashioned arcade and played Space Invaders for three hours.

As Maggie had helped design the Iron Man armor, Tony also took a look at her wing and weapon designs. He admired her engineering, then suggested elements of his own - his suggestion of a tweak to her wrist-mounted energy blasters ended up giving her three times the firing power should she wish it - power that might even take out drones. Tony had more experience than her with weapons systems, after all. He also helped her increase her engine output, slowly increasing her top speed ability. Maggie added a voice modulation option for her comms, since her voice had revealed her identity to Rhodey and Pepper during the Stark Expo flight.

Tony even let her try on the Iron Man suit once, when they'd both had a couple of drinks.

"What do you think?" he asked, eyeing Maggie as she stood stiffly in the red and gold armor, minus the helmet. She twisted, and the whole suit whirred.

"Well my boobs are super squashed-"

"Didn't need to know that-"

"But it's pretty cool," she agreed as she flexed one gauntlet. The suit felt snug, not at all like metal pressing up against her skin like she'd expected. They'd designed it well. Movement was a little restricted, but she could have easily fought someone, if she wanted to. "You know what you can call me?"

Tony shot her a wary look, the one he wore when he knew she was about to make a dumb joke.

She grinned. "The Iron Maiden."

He groaned. "As if the Wyvern isn't a stupid enough name, I swear to god-"

Their main argument was over her flight suit - he kept suggesting that she build herself a metal suit like his, with inter-locking plating. But Maggie refused to sacrifice her speed and dexterity for the impenetrability metal would offer.

When they had once more devolved into this argument, gesticulating and shoving holographic designs in each other's faces, Maggie had finally thrown her hands up.

"You're not understanding me! Your flying and fighting style is different from mine, and I…" she lowered her hands. "I need to show you."

He cocked an eyebrow. "We're in the middle of Manhattan, in case you forgot."

She thought about it, and a gleam entered her eyes. She pointed at his chest. "You. Me. 10am tomorrow. That old SI warehouse upstate. We can have Pepper send the security guards home for the day, and that gives us a pretty secluded area." She nodded to herself. "Bring the suit."

Tony's eyebrows raised. "You're on, Wyvern."

The next morning Maggie arrived at the quiet, forested area an hour's drive outside of New York City. The Stark Industries warehouse had been there for decades, a sturdy concrete building with a few service buildings arrayed on the grounds around it. It turned out there was only one guard on duty at a time, and Pepper had arranged for him to be given a day off.

Maggie parked her car off the road, then eyed the facility. Dark green forest stretched around for miles, with a glittering lake to the east. The grounds were overgrown, weeds encroaching on the side of the road and creeping up the sides of the service buildings. She guessed she'd have to drive a good twenty minutes to find any sign of other people.

She drew her focus away from the old warehouse when she heard the distant rumble of repulsors. Iron Man appeared over the forest like a burning comet, leaving a shimmering jetstream in his wake, and spotted Maggie standing by the road. He plunged down through the air and landed with a clang a few yards ahead, his eyes glowing.

Maggie ran an eye over the red and gold armor, the triangular glow of the arc reactor. "You're five minutes late."

"And you're not dressed."

Maggie shrugged in acknowledgement and began tugging off her disguise - a baggy hoodie and sweatpants - revealing her Wyvern flightsuit. She reached into the backseat of her car for her wingpack, gloves, and cowl.

"I forgot about this place," Tony said, eyeing their surroundings. "The stuff in that warehouse has got to be outdated by decades."

"I always thought this would be a good location for a secret lair," Maggie said conversationally as she pulled on her wingpack and clipped the harness fastenings.

Tony's face plate retracted. "So why didn't you make one?"

She smirked. "I'll get there." She cinched the wingpack securely, then pulled on her gloves. When she was finished, Tony cocked his head at her.

"So what now? Battle to the death?"

Maggie crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I was thinking that we've never actually seen each other work. I've seen your designs, and you've seen mine, but aside from those two minutes at the Expo we've never really seen them in action. There's a few ways we can do that, but… I was thinking we could have a race."

She saw the interest light up Tony's eyes. "A race?"

"A few races. For the first one, I'll let you set the terms."

He glanced around. Then up. "First one to hit the clouds."

Maggie followed his gaze. "You're on." She tugged on her cowl and rolled her shoulders. "Three, two, one!"

What had been a casual chat on the road turned into a concussive boom of engines - Tony blasted his repulsors and shot off the ground in a spray of gravel and Maggie's wings launched out and hurled her into the air.

If there'd been any standers-by, they would have seen two streaks hurtling up through the air: one burning gold, the other a dark slick of metal.

Maggie kicked her engines to her limits and streamlined her wings, feeling herself slice through the air as she rocketed upwards. Wind screamed in her ears. She was reasonably sure she'd lose a straight-line race with Tony, but her eyebrows flew up when she found herself only a second behind Tony as he punched a hole through the low-hanging white clouds.

Above the clouds, Tony let out a whoop and slowed to a hover, waiting for Maggie to catch up. Breathless, she beat her wings to keep level with him, and for a moment the two of them hung there above the clouds, facing each other. The clouds swirled and twisted under the downdraft from Maggie's beating wings. The sun streamed down over the armor and her wings, making the condensation from the clouds glisten.

Tony's laugh echoed in her comms. "No contest, Mags, sorry - nice as they are, those wings'll never outstrip the repulsors. You do know I can go supersonic, right?"

She shrugged, her wings still beating to keep her aloft. "I figured. For our next race…" she cocked her head. "First to do three circuits of the warehouse."

She could feel Tony's grin. "Three, two, one!"

With another surge of engines they plummeted, dropping through the clouds like asteroids. Tony beat her to the ground again, curving around the first corner of the large concrete warehouse. But this was where Maggie's wings came into their own - Tony wheeled out wide to maintain speed as he circled, but Maggie was able to streak close along each length of the building, and turning each corner became a simple matter of twisting, beating her wings once, and then hurtling down the next straight line. By her second circuit she had outstripped Tony, who uttered a curse into the comms, but there was nothing he could do about it; if he increased his power output he'd have to take an even longer arc around the warehouse, and if he flew in closer then he'd have to slow down to take the corners.

When Maggie zipped around her last corner with a flick of her wings she cheered, spiralling up to alight on the edge of the roof. She stretched her wings and dusted off her shoulders.

"Alright, I get your point," laughed Tony as he gave up on his third circuit and came down to hover near the edge of the roof. "You're quick, I'll give you that. For our next race… I catch you."

"What?" Maggie blinked.

But Tony merely laughed under his breath. "Ready or not-" Maggie yelped, flung out her wings, and dove sideways just as Tony roared: "here I come!"

Maggie zipped around the corner of the warehouse, hearing repulsors roaring behind her and Tony's cackle, and when he dropped down directly in her path a moment later, arms spread, she let out a scream that turned into a helpless laugh. She veered away again, this time aiming for the forest. Laughter bubbled in her chest even as she focused on evade, escape. Iron Man rocketed after her and Maggie zigzagged and veered, glancing over her shoulder only once to see his outstretched gold-plated hand. She felt elated - the Wyvern had settled over her mind with cool precision and calculation, but she was still Maggie. She laughed as she cut through the air, and peered back grinning at her brother even as she pinpointed all the weaknesses in his suit.

In the moment before Iron Man's fingers closed around her foot she shot between two trees and into the packed expanse of the forest, leaves lashing over her cowled head as she veered and twisted. Tony soared in after her, but broke off in a curse when he collided with a sturdy oak tree.

Maggie evaded Tony for ten minutes. They zipped in and around trees, the warehouse, skimmed over the lake, dipped in and out of the clouds. She never let herself get caught for too long in open space, knowing that Tony had the advantage in an all-out race. But a few times he got near enough to grab for her in midair - only for her veer wildly or cut her engines and fall back, just evading his reach and making them both laugh.

"This would be a lot quicker if I felt like using artillery," Tony told her when his hand closed around empty air again - he'd reached for her wing this time, only for her to snap them closed. "I'd totally kick your ass."

Maggie hid herself in the clouds. "Big talk," she sniped back. "I would simply dodge your artillery."

"You can't just dodge everything-"

"It's worked for me so far!"

He eventually caught her as she hid herself in the forest, by crashing down through the canopy, wrapping his arms around her and sending them both crashing into the forest floor. He twisted just before they landed so he took the brunt of the impact, but Maggie screamed again at the feeling of his inexorable grip and the shock of being snatched out of midair.

When they came to a halt, at the end of a long groove in the forest floor, Maggie laughed breathlessly. "I surrender!" He released her and she tumbled into the dirt and leaf litter, shuffling her wings.

Tony sat up, metal whirring, and retracted his face plate. Mud was streaked all along his suit. "Got you," he grinned. "Now it's your turn."

For the next few hours, Maggie and Tony set each other challenges which rapidly increased in difficulty and ridiculousness. They sketched out racing courses around the forest and warehouse, chased each other (Maggie couldn't catch Tony when he was flying flat-out, but she quickly learned how to turn and maneuver to get to where he was going before he got there), and tested their limits. They raced to see who could retrieve the most rocks from the bottom of the lake in the space of a minute (Tony, easily). They set racing courses through the forest with the caveat that if one of them so much as brushed against a tree, they lost. They even tried a bit of hand-to-hand fighting on the roof of the warehouse, grappling for control.

They raced and dodged and pivoted, laughing breathlessly, pitting their works of genius against each other. Maggie had never known anything like it. She'd always loved flying, but she hadn't realized how much fun she could have as the Wyvern.

As she and Tony soared over the wispy clouds, bathed in golden midday light, Maggie beamed to herself. They weren't racing now - just flying, revelling in the wind racing past and the sky unfolding around them. Maggie's wings flared wide, beating every now and then to adjust course, and to her right Iron Man's repulsors burned, his arms angled backward. His helmet swivelled and she felt those glowing eyes land on her, the Wyvern to his side.

Maggie angled her wings and spun, twisting onto her back and rolling over the top of Iron Man, until she came down on his right. Her wing cut through the side of a cloud, trailing mist. She shivered at the cool sensation.

She'd done it mostly to show off, but when Tony spoke over the comms, his voice was low. "I spent so many years being worried you wouldn't be able to walk." She heard him swallow. "And here you are. Flying."

Maggie's smile softened, not that he could see it behind her cowl. She eyed her brother as he cut a straight line through the sky. "Here we are," she corrected.

She wondered what it was, that had given them both that urge to take to the sky.

Tony eyed her another moment longer. Then: "Race you back to the warehouse."

"You're on!"

Tony flew to a nearby town to pick up gas station sandwiches (from a very startled cashier) and brought them back to the empty warehouse grounds, where he and Maggie ate them together on the grass. He'd taken off his helmet and she'd removed her cowl, sunning her wings as she ate and traded jokes and ideas with her brother.

It felt like such a strange version of reality to be sitting there as the Wyvern, with Iron Man, as they argued over who had the better sandwich filling - like some impossible dream. But something had shifted in Maggie's mind as she'd raced screaming and laughing through the air. The beginnings of an idea: that she didn't have to be Maggie Stark or the Wyvern.

That she could be both.

Daegu, South Korea

As the echoes of a gunshot ricocheted out over the city, the Winter Soldier packed away his rifle with deadly efficiency.

Protocol now demanded kill confirmation, return to base, and then decommissioning. His only thoughts were of the mission.

The Winter Soldier was no one, and nothing, and soon he would have no thoughts at all.

I planned the Maggie/Darcy stuff ages ago so you can imagine my delight when Darcy popped back up on WandaVision! I've got a soft spot for that dork.

Less than a week until TFATWS! I am so excited you guys (also I totally called that Bucky read the Hobbit in 1937, didn't I? That's a whole ass plot point in the Wyvern).

Reviews

Guest: I'm glad you liked the marriage proposal haha, Maggie is a huge dork and hides it with Science and Scary Superhero Suit

DBZFAN45: I'm so glad you liked the big fight scene! It was fun to navigate Maggie's path through all the chaos, and it's lots of fun now that more people know about her secret. I hope you enjoyed the Thor references in this chapter!

Wyrleen: I am very pleased you enjoyed Maggie's marriage proposal and the rest of the action last chapter! Things are lots of fun now that people know Maggie is the Wyvern. And you're so right about Pepper - she's stressed a lot, but she handles it well. I hope you enjoyed this chapter ;)