Zoë Aetós: Starting & Ending Action
Chapter Nine
Zoë opened her eyes, staring down at Steve. They had landed on top of a cab, Steve underneath her.
"Ow," she muttered. She rolled off him, staring up at the sky.
"You okay, Aetos?" Steve asked, sitting up to look over her.
"I think my wrist is broken," she said, holding it up. It was at an odd angle and definitely swollen.
"Get to the tower," he ordered. "Hide out down there and don't engage Loki, yeah?"
"If I had a gun…"
"Agent Aetos."
"Fine."
She limped away from him, around a corner towards' the tower. She was several blocks away but made it without engaging any fights. She took the elevator, which was surprisingly still working, towards the top floor.
In Tony's suite, she found the Hulk bullying Loki as she collapsed on the couch.
"Hey, big guy," she groaned, closing her eyes.
"Is that smart?" Loki asked after the Hulk slammed him into the ground. He was slowly losing consciousness. Even a god wasn't immune to the pains that were inflicted by a creature such as the Hulk.
"Is what smart?"
"Lying defensive in my presence?"
"I think we're both injured enough it'll be a few minutes before we're at each other's throats, yeah?" The god grunted but didn't move.
Was this one of the dumbest decisions Zoë had ever made? No. Not even close, but it was the top ten… no, top fifteen. She sat up slowly, holding her wrist close to her chest. She took a deep breath, forcing herself back to her feet.
Every joint in her body ached. She needed a good soak or food. Probably food. Eying the bar, she wondered if Tony had any snacks tucked away in there. She walked past an unconscious Loki and resisted the urge to attack him then and there. But he was disarmed, and the Captain had been firm.
Instead of following her stomach and yearn for vengeance, Zoë limped out onto the patio, finding Natasha and Dr. Selvig. Natasha held Loki's scepter, as she yelled into the comms.
"I can close it! Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down."
"Do it!" Steve yelled back.
Exhausted, Zoë lowered herself onto the ground beside Natasha. Her fellow agent gave her a concerned look as she started to push the scepter into the tesseract.
"No, wait!" Tony yelled. Natasha slowed but didn't quite stop trying to destroy the tesseract.
"Stark! These things are still coming!" Steve shouted.
"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute—"
Immediately, Zoë looked up at the sky.
"And I know just where to put it," Tony finished.
"Tony, you know that's a one-way trip?" Steve asked. Tony didn't reply as he headed to the sky. Zoë gapped at the iron suit that took the nuke through the portal. He disappeared and a moment later, a large explosion happened.
"Come on, Tony," she whispered. "Don't make me tell Charlie… please."
"Close it," Steve finally ordered.
Zoë didn't take her eyes off the sky as Natasha destroyed the shield around the tesseract. The portal shut and last minute, Tony's suit came falling from the sky. She heard Steve bite back a curse when he too noticed Tony.
"He's not slowing down," Zoë said. "He's not slowing down!"
She sighed in relief as Hulk grabbed Tony from midair. Sure, it wasn't the smoothest landing, but at least Tony hadn't hit the ground at full speed. Zoë and Natasha waited with bated breath for some sign that Tony was alive, and Zoë let out a small cheer.
"What the hell! Please tell me nobody kissed me!"
"We won," Steve told him.
Tony began to chatter needlessly, a sign of trauma, but Zoë couldn't help but laugh as Tony offered to go get shawarma.
"We're not finished yet," Thor reminded him.
"And then shawarma after," Tony compromised.
"Whatever you want, Stark," Steve muttered to appease him.
A half hour later, everyone was gathered in the penthouse, surrounding Loki. He looked up at them with a defended look.
"If it's all the same to you. I'll have that drink now." Zoë rolled her eyes as she settled onto the couch to wait for the authorities.
Clint took a seat beside her when Loki had finally been led away. His eyes narrowed in on her wrist and he pulled it towards her. She winced as he began poking at it.
"You should see a doctor," he told her.
"Why go see a doctor when I've got you?" she asked. He gave her a look and she merely smiled.
When he was more relaxed, she twisted in her seat to stretch out against his chest. Her head leaned against his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
"I need a vacation," she grumbled, eyes closing in contentment.
"We need a vacation," Clint corrected. She hummed in agreement, pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw.
"Know of a place?" she questioned.
"How about a farm in the middle of nowhere?"
"No work for at least a week?"
The man behind her snorted, kissing the top of her head.
"I'm thinking Fury owes us at least a month." She laughed, grinning up at him. He grinned back, pushing a piece of her brown hair behind her ear.
He had just leaned down to press his lips against hers when another person entered the room. Zoë looked over to see Natasha smirking at them.
"Oh, don't let me stop you," she teased. The couple rolled their eyes at her. The moment was gone, but from the look in Clint's eye, Zoë knew he wanted it back.
"Shawarma?" she suggested.
"That's why I'm here," Natasha said. "Stark's getting impatient."
Getting to her feet, Zoë gingerly cradled her wrist to her chest. Two warning looks met her. She brushed them off, agreeing to see a doctor as they took the elevator down to the lobby. They found a disgruntled Steve and a gasping Tony.
"What happened?" Clint asked.
"I don't know," Steve muttered. He was clearly angry about something but unwilling to share.
"I nearly went into cardiac arrest," Tony said. He glanced down at Zoë. "Not one word to Charlie."
"Not one word about what?"
Zoë smirked as Tony spun around to see Charlotte Tremblay standing in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest. She looked exhausted, worried, and mad… and apparently mad was winning.
"What did you do to the building?" Pepper Potts exclaimed, coming up behind Charlie. Tony hurried over to them, wrapping an arm around Charlie as he conversed quietly with two women.
"We'll meet you at the shop," Zoë called to him. He waved her off, sending a wink over Charlie's shoulder as his girlfriend scolded him.
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