As the rest of the group made sure that Clint was doing well, Ashley returned to hers and Steve's room before sitting on the edge of the king sized bed with her finger hovering over the 'call' button beneath her dad's name. But Ashley's hands were shaky, because ever since hearing the word 'manipulation' from Agent Hill, there were alarm bells ringing. Her father had warned her about mutants with these kinds of abilities before, and she was still struggling to remember why. But whilst she wanted to remember, she was also anxious to find out - because it added an even bigger threat on top of all the HYDRA business, and that was the last thing she needed.

Before she could dial his number, though, she heard the front door open. Lady Bucky leapt off the bed to sprinted over to welcome Steve as always. "Hey precious girl," he smirked as he crouched down to stroke her. Ashley chucked her head back and sucked her cheeks in, attempting to physically hold in all the fear and concern that was threatening to consume her. "Ash?" Steve called out to her through the apartment.

"In the bedroom!" Ashley called back with a forced smile. Steve walked through and immediately began peeling off his suit, lifting it over his head to reveal his abs.

"You okay?" he asked her as he padded straight into their ensuite bathroom.

"Yeah," Ashley lied, hopping to her feet as well. But then she noticed Steve's bruised back, and had to physically bite back her gasps. Yes he was a super soldier, but this was rough even for him. "Oh my god! Honey, your back-"

"Yeah, the fast guy gave me a fair ass kicking," Steve let out a casual chuckle as he started to run the shower. Ashley nibbled on her bottom lip and said nothing back - she simply leaned against the doorway and watched him strip down until there was literally nothing on. Steve glanced back up at her and smirked, his eyebrows shooting up in amusement. "Ms. Darmer, I thought you believed in 'showering after every mission'?"

"I do," Ashley couldn't help but giggle back. "But, Mr Rogers, I thought you were more of a respectful one-at-a-time kinda guy? And we only have one shower." Steve shrugged nonchalantly and slid the shower door open, leaving Ashley to glance at his perfectly pert bottom cheekily. She just couldn't help it - he was, in every way, absolutely perfect. She felt so lucky to have him, and sometimes it still all felt like a dream that she daren't wake up from. "Hey, Steve? You're the current face of like, Green Peace and 'conserving energy' and 'environmental change' right?" Ashley suddenly called out as she started lifting her own tank top over her head.

"Yeah!" Steve called back from inside the shower.

"What did all those peace summits say about saving water?" Ashley giggled, stripping down so that she was also completely naked. Steve released a chuckle and slid the shower door open again for her to step in.

"Woah. Well aren't you gorgeous," he murmured longingly, as his eyes darted up and down her body in awe, taking her hand and pulling her into the stone based shower. Whether they had been together all this time or not - Steve had never failed to make her feel like the most beautiful girl on the entire planet.

…

After their shower fun, Ashley threw on one of Steve's tops and got straight into bed, pulling the thick warm duvet over her exhausted body. Whilst she got herself comfortable, Steve shoved on his joggers. Ashley watched him get ready all rosy-cheeked, absolutely in her element and blissfully in love. "Alright Ash, I'll be back in ten - I've still gotta go and check on Barton before bed. Just for my own peace of mind, you know?" Steve sighed as he grabbed his jacket off the hook. He made his way back to the bed to tip Ashley's chin up with his thumb and forefinger.

"Okay," she beamed back before kissing him softly. "Tell Clint I said get well soon. I love you - that's for you, not Clint."

"I'm glad to hear! I love you too," Steve told her earnestly as he looked deep into her eyes. He meant it, and she could see that. "Get some rest if you can."

"No, I won't be able to unless you're with me!" Ashley pouted, as Steve made his way out of the bedroom.

"Understood - I'll try and be as fast as I can," Steve smiled across at her earnestly.

"I'm joking Steve, take your time," Ashley giggled, waving him off. "I'm gonna call Dad anyway."

"Oh, alright. Wait, please don't mention the money, Ash," Steve pleaded before slipping into the hallway and out of the front door, but Ashley could see that the amusement still hadn't left his face. As soon as he'd gone, Ashley pulled out her phone and dialled her father's number, unable to wait any longer.

Charles picked up the phone almost immediately, as per usual, looking ready for bed himself.

"Ashley," he yawned with a smile. "I can't say I'm overly pleased to hear from you, but how are you anyway?"

"Wow Dad, how rude," Ashley frowned, rubbing her eyes tiredly as Lady Bucky leapt onto the duvet and curled up next to her.

"Well, you do have the tendency to only call when something's going, or has already gone, dangerously wrong," Charles pointed out fairly. "So which one is it?"

"Neither…yet," Ashley sighed in admission. Charles stayed quiet, allowing her to speak. "Okay so today we took down the last standing HYDRA base, and inside there we found these two…twins. The guys thought they were scientifically enhanced, but I correctly suspected they were mutants."

"Mutants for HYDRA?" Charles frowned, suddenly turning a little more serious and sitting up a little straighter. These were the same people who had already tried to get Ashley twice before, after all. "What were their abilities? Do you remember?"

"Yeah, one has the ability of Aunt Meredith, maybe a little slower," Ashley began hesitantly, "and the other one, Dad, sounded like a damn level 5. She has telekenisis and freakin' mental manipulation." Charles looked incredibly concerned at this point - but he said nothing, so his silence was scaring Ashley even more. "Look, I had to call you because hearing the words 'mental manipulation' just rang some internal alarm bells and I can't remember why. I mean, if she has the power to get into my head then…"

"Then you need to make sure she doesn't," Charles stated firmly, as if it were just that easy. "Ashley, the power she holds-"

"Is dangerous, I know Dad," Ashley finished his words for him. "But what exactly do you think her tactics are? What exactly should I be concerned about?"

"It might be a number of things. It could be visions, or illusions…if she has the power to trigger memories, it could be dangerous for a number of your crew, as I can only imagine the hidden trauma between all of you that doesn't need to be uncovered." Ashley only had to think about his words for a few seconds to realise that he was right. She knew that Natasha had a difficult past, as did Clint - but then she remembered someone who had some of the worst memories of them all - and it had taken her so long to even begin the healing process.

"Oh no…Christie," she finally breathed with her hand on her chest. "God. If that girl manages to…"

"Exactly," Charles nodded gravely. "I don't know what happened to her in that Asgard place, but it clearly still hurts - I could still see the pain in her eyes last time you were here. So if I were you, I'd keep your friends well away."

…

Meanwhile, Christie made her way into Tony's lab with a small hum, intending to go and drop off some homemade chocolate chip and hazelnut cookies that her mum baked. They were all in a cardboard box, the sweet warm smell wafting up Christie's nostrils with every step she took. She knew that Pepper had flown out and that she was the only person in that tower that had any logic, so she wasn't sure where to put them - therefore the lab was her best bet because she knew that's where Tony would be at least.

She spotted Tony through the lab's glass door, leading him to rush over and hold it open for her. "Whitey! Woah! What the hell is all of this…delectably smelling food?" he frowned, taking the large tray from her and placing it carefully on the side.

"Cookies. Lots and lots of cookies," Christie tutted tiredly as she waved at Bruce. "Mum made them for the 'We Beat HYDRA' party."

"And I'm going to eat them right now - so please tell her we said thanks!" Tony scoffed, opening the box without hesitation.

"Tony, you can't eat all of those-" Christie began to giggle - but then she stopped abruptly as her eyes landed on something that was propped up on one of the glass desks.

There it was, mounted and standing proudly.

"Please tell me that you're just holding that sceptre there for Thor and that you're not tampering with it?" she croaked out, spinning around to face Tony in horror. He froze, halfway into eating a cookie and his eyes darted over to Bruce uncomfortably.

The silence told Christie all she needed to know.

"Ahhh you know what, that's it," she grumbled, stamping towards the sceptre.

"Woah woah!" Tony shouted as he leapt ahead of her and got in her way. "Christie, relax."

"Tony! What the f*ck are you doing with it?" Christie hissed.

"We're just running some…schematic-like test things. Look, we're only harvesting its power-"

"Harvesting its power?" Christie repeated with a exasperated drawl, her voice getting higher with each word. "Are you insane?! Do you know what that thing can do?!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's why we're trying to harvest it!" Tony couldn't help but sass back with a quick roll of his eyes.

"Tony," Bruce groaned tiredly, putting his pen down and crossing his arms. "Look, Christie-"

"No, you guys proper don't understand what you're messing with! What this thing can do-" Christie attempted to voice her concerns - but Tony was way too headstrong and far too determined to even try and listen.

"Christie, we need to do this. I swear, in time it will all make sense and I literally swear, on my life, it's all for good reason. So please - just stop worrying about it," Tony interrupted her loudly before taking her by her narrow shoulders, and steering her out of the lab again.

…

Tony's parties were always exciting and unpredictable, and that was what the group usually looked forward to the most. Ashley had bought a brand new dress for the occasion, a deep nude strapless number. Once she'd finished doing her makeup, she checked herself in the full length mirror one last time as Steve strode out of the bathroom. He froze in his tracks, admiring her as she looked at herself and fixed her hair over and over again. She was so concerned about her appearance that it broke his heart. "Ash," he breathed, suddenly snapping her out of it and making her jump. She turned her head to smile at him, blowing him a kiss and grabbing her heels to slip them on.

But Steve still hadn't looked away yet.

"Uhhh…earth to Stevie boy," Ashley giggled after a few more seconds of silence, clicking her fingers at him. "Whatcha looking at?"

"You," Steve chuckled as he shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Ash, you look…"

"Stop it, because we'll never ever leave this apartment and you know we won't," Ashley warned him knowingly, as she ran her fingers through her hair one last time. She grabbed his face and pulled him towards her for a sweet kiss. "Let's go and mingle."

The atmosphere at the party was buzzing - as usual. Ashley and Steve walked in linking arms at first, but then split their way to other mini groups to chat. Christie was already sat at the glass bar whilst leaning on her hand, deep in thought. The music was thumping and the buzz was electric, but she couldn't bring herself to enjoy it. Truthfully, she didn't think she'd ever be able to relax until that sceptre was truly out of the way, so the sooner Thor could take it away, the better. "Lady Annerlerdes!" came a sudden shrill voice that she recognised all too well. She turned her head to see her old friends from Asgard, Renesme and Delilah, approaching her.

They were serving girls for Frigga at first who Christie had met on her undercover Asgard mission, then found themselves working for S.H.I.E.L.D. Renesme's vibrant ginger locks were tied in a large topknot and she was dressed in a simple but sophisticated black dress, whilst Delilah went for the expensive white blouse and black pencil skirt number to bring out the sharp blue of her eyes. Christie beamed at them and hopped off the stool to give them both welcoming warm hugs. "Oh, you look absolutely glorious as usual," Renesme swooned once they let go. "What's the big celebration?"

"We've finally retrieved Loki's sceptre from the hands of HYDRA," Christie filled them in, attempting to sound happier than she felt. Renesme and Delilah desperately tried to hide the disgust brewing inside of them at the mere mention of her deceased lover's name.

They always hated Loki - and always would.

"Well! Coulson will certainly be pleased to hear about that," Renesme murmured.

"So if you've finally gotten rid of it…then who has it now?" Delilah blinked. "Whose…whose possession is it in? Is it destroyed?"

"Stark has it," Christie answered coldly. "He's messing with it in his lab with Banner, but I think Thor is-"

"Wait, what?!" Renesme spluttered. "Stark is tampering with the sceptre? Is he aware of what he might accidentally…uncover?"

"Oh he knows - he just doesn't care," Christie scoffed back before taking a generous gulp of champagne. "Once that guy gets an idea in his head, there's just no stopping him. Stubborn - but he's doing it for a good reason…or so he's told me."

Meanwhile, Sam Wilson and Steve were catching up over the sceptre drama, as they both made their way up the posh glass steps. "I feel like I always miss the best fights with you guys," Sam was chuckling.

"Hey, next time it looks like it's gonna be a big one, I'll give you a call," Steve grinned back.

"No, don't feel like you gotta do all that," Sam quickly corrected him, as they approached the upper deck of the room and observed the rest of the party. "Avenging is your world…and your world is crazy."

"Fellas," came the smooth voice of Ashley as she practically glided towards them both with a drink in her hand. Steve smirked at her and placed a hand on her lower back, as she pressed a sweet kiss to his jaw. "Sorry to interrupt, just thought I'd come and tell my boyfriend that I think I just accidentally booked us a double date with the Prime Minister's brother and his fiancé? And then next week, we have one with Louis and yet another new man of his."

"Oh Ash, we can't keep turning up to those," Steve groaned, dipping his head. "Louis has a new man every month."

"Wow, your world really does sound wild," Sam smirked as he lifted his glass to his lips. "Booking double dates that you know you're gonna cancel anyway? Crazy."

"Now now Sam, it would be so much easier if you had someone. Then we could go out with you two instead," Ashley tutted back at him with a cockily risen brow. Sam just let out a laugh, whilst Steve attempted to bite back one of his own.

"Ya might be waitin' a little while," he chuckled heartily. "Hey, you two lovebirds found a place in Brooklyn, yet?"

"I don't think we can afford a place in Brooklyn," Steve scoffed back, whilst Ashley just rolled her eyes.

"We can but my dad said he'd supply us with some funds so we can move out of the beloved Avengers Tower," Ashley told Sam with a determined nod, ignoring Steve's scoffs of disagreement on the side. She grabbed Steve's shoulder and slapped his firm chest with the other hand. "As you can see, somebody is not so keen on the idea of accepting Daddy's money."

"Why the hell not?" Sam yelped to Steve with his hands outstretched dramatically. "How much is your pops offering up?"

"$500k," Ashley answered with a sigh.

"FIVE HUNDRED- Steve," Sam burst out laughing in disbelief. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"Hey, back in my day, taking money from someone's father was pretty frowned upon," Steve raised his hands in defence. "The man in the relationship was always expected to-"

"Alright but this is MY DAY and I'm expecting you to take the damn cash!" Sam told him seriously. Ashley giggled and gave Steve's shoulder one last squeeze before leaving him and Sam alone again. Instead, she made her way over to Clint who was relaxing on the sofa with Rhodes, deciding to slam herself down between them both.

"Ow?!" Rhodes hissed, rubbing his bruised side. "Ashley, you really love to just shove yourself in situations huh?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ashley giggled as she cocked her head to the side. "I am the least troublesome person on this team!"

"Oh whatEVER, Ash," Clint scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "How you ended up with the 'goodie goodie two shoes America's angel' Steve Rogers - I have no idea!" Rhodes chuckled and raised his eyebrows.

"How do you have no idea? YOU called it when you first ever saw me," Ashley argued back, smirking over at him. "Your teasing used to be what I hated the most about you-"

"And yet now we have the mother and father of the Avengers," Clint hummed. "Must be nice." As the three of them began chatting about Clint's love life - or apparent lack thereof, Thor had approached Christie, Renesme and Delilah at the bar. Renesme gasped at the sight of him, having not seen him for an incredibly long time. The last time they'd all been together in relaxed conditions was Asgard - and even that wasn't this relaxed.

"Excuse me ladies…I plan on returning to Asgard tomorrow, and thought it rude not to extend the offer to join me, given that you are both natives after all," Thor beamed heartily, nestling his drink in his hand. Christie clenched her jaw and said nothing, whereas Delilah was extraordinarily quick to decline.

"Oh Prince Thor, as much as I'd enjoy that," she rushed out with her hand risen, "Asgard is no longer my place of residence. But if you happen to come across our lovely co-worker Jennie up there, do give her a quick hot slap for me across her cheek!" Thor released a hearty laugh and Christie sucked in both of her cheeks, trying her best not to laugh too.

"Me too. I'll have to pass, though," Renesme shuddered at the thought of her. Thor nodded and turned to Christie with an expectant look on his face, but she was desperately avoiding all eye contact.

"Christie? I shan't be staying long, I'm only going to-"

"Return Loki's sceptre, I know," Christie finished his sentence for him with a short grimace. "Thor, I don't think I can step into Asgard ever again, to be honest. I've dealt with his death but something still feels uneasy, and I know it's stupid because he was literally your brother and I only knew him for-"

"No, Christie, please - you mustn't rush yourself. Whether it's been a year or five, you had a real connection with him. I'd never seen him love anyone the way he loved you. Do not rush your grieving process," Thor assured her, bringing her head towards his chest and pressing a kiss to the top of her silvery white hair. Christie bit back her tears and nodded, unable to say anything else, but it was clear that she was extremely thankful for the words that she never knew she needed to hear until just then.

It was for the best, too - as hers and everyone else's lives were about to change forever in about an hours' time.

Ultron was on his way, and none of them were ready for it.