July 2013

When Gwen woke up the next morning, she had a mild headache. The results of drinking that single glass of whiskey the night before. Given that her tolerance wasn't very high, she had gotten somewhat buzzed last night. Luckily, no one but Tony seemed to suspect anything, which was helpful when it came to her father. He just thought that she had changed more than he had previously thought since moving in with the Avengers.

She took a few ibuprofen with her morning Dr. Pepper. She knew it was a terrible habit to start drinking soda in the morning, but she didn't really care.

Paige joined her shortly after, fully dressed and ready for the day. Gwen noticed that she wore a lot of plain colors. Mostly black, gray, and some white. She wondered if the ex-assassin had any other clothes to choose from. Maybe they could go on a shopping spree soon. Gwen wanted some new jeans anyway.

"Morning," Gwen greeted her. Paige nodded and grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and got some of the orange juice they had. "Loki didn't give you any trouble last night, did he? Steve said he went down to deliver you both some cake."

Paige shook her head. "No. He was the same as ever."

Gwen grunted in understanding. That meant that he had been surly and hostile, as usual. "The man really needs to do something to release his frustrations," she said, thinking out loud. She had had the same thoughts yesterday. "Maybe if we let him out of his cage more often, he'd be less of an asshole."

"Maybe," Paige agreed with a nod. "But would Stark allow that?"

Gwen shrugged. "He told me when I first took the job that my only requirements were to give him food and bathroom breaks and to make sure he didn't escape. Other than that, he said it was up to me. So I think that as long as we make sure he doesn't leave this floor, then we'll be fine."

"How are we going to make sure?" Paige asked.

"That's the easy part," Gwen said. "You're a super soldier with super strength and speed. I've got magic powers and my staff. He's a powerless god. Together, we could easily fend him off."

Paige nodded thoughtfully. Gwen did have a point. They could easily take on Loki if it came to it. Plus, maybe Gwen was right about releasing frustrations if they let him out every once in a while. It might make him slightly more pleasant to be around. "Do you want to try letting him out today?"

"I think we should," said Gwen earnestly. "We'll try for about an hour today during lunch. But first, let me grab something." She rushed to her room and returned moments later with two handguns. She slid one across the table to Paige, who caught it.

It felt like home, having a gun back in her hand. The Avengers had purposely avoided giving her weapons, but whether or not Gwen knew this, Paige didn't know. It would be like Gwen to ignore such instructions, but she could just be ignorant to the unspoken rule.

"Natasha gave me these last week during training," Gwen explained. "She said it was just in case something happened. I barely know how to use one, so you can keep the other one if you want. We'll only shoot him if absolutely necessary, though. And even then, it can't be a fatal shot. We want him alive. Got it?"

Paige gave a curt nod and tucked the gun in the belt of her pants, keeping her shirt tucked behind the handle of the gun so it was easy to reach.

"I guess we'd better give him his breakfast," said Gwen. She tucked the gun in her pants the same way Paige had. She dug through the fridge and found an apple and an egg. Gwen fried up the egg and put it on a plate with the apple.

For once in his life, Loki wasn't reading a book when Gwen walked in. He sat in his bed, looking out the window, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Morning," Gwen greeted, drawing him out of his thoughts.

Loki only gave a simple nod in response. He stood from his spot and moved to the slot, where Gwen had placed his breakfast. "Do you need any new books or something?" she asked, while still trying to sound as though she could care less.

Loki shrugged, also trying to act as though he didn't care. "Books would be welcome," he said coolly.

"Great," she muttered, somewhat awkwardly. Loki finished his egg in a hurry, so Gwen left to let him finish his apple. She had training to get to, anyway.


"So, how are Paige and Loki?"

Steve and Gwen were taking a break, while watching Sam and Natasha spar. It was honestly hilarious to watch the two of them spar. Natasha was far more skilled than him, but Sam made hilarious comments. It was highly amusing for both Gwen and Steve.

Gwen shrugged. "Fine, I guess. Paige and I are talking more, which is good. It's almost like we're getting along. Loki is… Loki. He will talk to Paige and I, but only to mock us or whatever."

"That's good," said Steve with a nod. "Do you think we could get Paige to join us for dinners every once in a while?"

"Maybe if Tony and Nat would stop bugging her all the time," Gwen replied. "She hates the nickname Kill Bill. She hasn't said anything, but I can tell by the look on her face. And I can tell that Natasha trying to understand and sympathize with her bugs her too."

The captain nodded. "I'll pass this on to the two of them, but I don't hold much hope for Tony." Gwen gave a groan in agreement. "I'll try anyway. Clara is getting impatient."

"Anderson?" Gwen replied. "Why?"

"You mean you don't know?" Gwen shook her head. "Clara is Paige's mother." Gwen's eyes widened in surprise. For some reason, she just hadn't thought of Paige as having any parents. Gwen also forgot that people had mothers at times.

"We decided that it would be best to give Paige some space before introducing her to her mother," Steve continued. "Sometimes I wonder if that was the best decision, but Clara agreed to it, so…" He shrugged. "We're thinking of introducing them pretty soon, since Paige seems to be doing so well."

Gwen nodded quickly. "Yeah. That would be good for her, I bet," she said, speaking faster than normal. Steve wasn't quite sure what her problem was, but he just pushed it aside, thinking it was probably nothing. "We should get back to training."

Steve agreed. "Right. Do you want to keep working with the punching bags, or do you want to try sparring together?"

Gwen snorted loudly. "Punching bags for sure. The last thing I want is to be the punching bag."

"I would go easy on you," Steve insisted, but Gwen still shook her head.

"No way. Punching bags for sure." The super soldier chuckled and joined her at the punching bags.

"You know, the sooner you start sparring with me, the sooner you can join us on our missions," Steve reminded her.

"Precisely why I'm avoiding it," she said sarcastically. Steve rolled his eyes at the blonde. "By the way, when's your next mission?"

"In a few hours," he said. "We're going to a base in Ecuador, so we'll be back by about midnight. Will you and Paige be ok?"

"We'll be fine," Gwen reassured him. "But Loki may be dead by the time you get back. Just warning you."

Steve chuckled at her humor and helped her get in position to train.


After training, Gwen showered and redid her hair and makeup before going to get lunch ready for herself and Paige. And Loki, of course. Gwen had a hard time imagining him eating lunch with the two of them. Somehow, she couldn't see him politely conversing with the two of them about the weather. Still, Gwen thought that it would be good for the man to leave the cell every once in a while.

Inside the freezer, Gwen found two frozen pizzas that would be enough for the three of them. She preheated the oven and found two trays for the food before sticking them in the oven and waiting.

Jarvis was quietly playing the playlist that Gwen always put on during mealtimes. It just felt nice to have some background noise. Besides, it would fill the awkward silences that were bound to come up during the conversation.

Inhaling deeply, Gwen went to open the door to Loki's cage. He looked up when she walked in. She had no food in her hands, and that was the only reason she ever really visited him. "What message does Stark have for me, Little Starling?" he asked, his tone both cool and teasing.

Gwen ignored the nickname and opened the other door that connected directly to his cell. Loki slowly stood, watching her actions with curiosity. Gwen tilted her head to the side. "Well? Are you going to get out or what?"

Loki hesitated, looking at her with suspicion. "What's the catch?" he asked.

"No catch," she replied, shaking her head. "You can stay if you want, but I figured you would want lunch."

Gwen turned and left, hoping he would follow soon after. And he did, after another moment or two. He followed her all the way out to the kitchen, where they could both smell the cooking pizza in the oven. She moved behind the bar to check on the food. Loki kept his distance, standing about a yard away from the bar.

"Well, sit down," she told him, nodding to the three barstools. "Food will be ready in a couple minutes."

Loki slowly took his seat, keeping his eyes glued to the blonde behind the counter. "Where's the other one?" he asked, looking left and right.

"Paige?" Gwen clarified and he nodded. She shrugged. "Not sure. She'll probably be here soon. She normally joins me for lunch."

The god didn't respond to this. He just stared at her. Then, he leaned forward a bit. "Why?"

"Why does she join me for lunch?" Gwen looked puzzled. "Probably because she's hungry. How the hell would I know?"

"No. Why are you letting me out?" he asked. Gwen didn't respond right away. "You've kept me in that cage without a thought for about a month. And now, suddenly, you feel the need to let me wander freely."

Gwen had to turn away. The way he was forcing eye contact with her made her uncomfortable. His gaze was just too intense. She shrugged. "I don't know. I figured that you got bored in there all the time. Plus, I thought maybe you'd be less of a prick if you got to stretch your legs every once in a while."

He let out a breathy laugh. There she went again, deflecting questions with sarcasm and insults. Loki knew the strategy well because he did the exact same thing (though he would never admit this to anyone, just like Gwen). Gwen, meanwhile, focused on getting the pizzas out of the oven and cutting them up. She could feel Loki's eyes on her back, which made her uncomfortable, but she did her best to ignore him and to go about her day as though he weren't there.

Paige eventually meandered into the room. She looked at Loki, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. They had the guns, of course, but she wouldn't put it past him to try something funny.

"You gave her a weapon," Loki commented as Gwen placed the pizzas on the counter. "Aren't you afraid she'll shoot you in the back?"

"Of the two of us, I'm the one who isn't an asshole, so if she's going to shoot someone, it'll be you," Gwen replied, not sounding the slightest bit worried or bothered. It was weird, maybe, but she trusted Paige. Paige hadn't given her any reason not to (so far). Besides, if worse came to worst, she was the expert with guns.

Loki laughed again. "How naive you are, Little Starling," he teased her. Gwen scowled, but didn't retort. "She was trained to kill people. She's a cold blooded murderer. She doesn't care who you are. If someone gets in her way, she'll kill them. And that includes you."

"Yeah, and I'm about to become a cold blooded murderer," Gwen told him through clenched teeth, her eyes flicking to Paige to gauge her reaction. She seemed pretty calm, oddly enough, so Gwen turned back to Loki. "Now shut up and eat your food." She pushed a plate towards him.

Loki ignored this, finding it far more entertaining to get a reaction out of this girl. "I'm almost disappointed in you. Stark told me you were intelligent. I was even starting to believe it. But now I see that you're just a foolish, naive little girl that will trust cold hearted killers, simply because you want to believe that they're good people. You've just put your life at risk by letting me out of my cage and letting her have a gun."

Gwen was gripping the edge of the counter tightly, trying (and failing) to not let his words have an effect on her. If there was one thing she hated, it was being called stupid. She prided herself on her intelligence. Being the smartest person in the room was one of the few things she could count on. No one called her stupid. Not until him.

"So, Little Starling, what exactly is the plan now that you've realized you have two killers on your hands?"

Gwen stood up very suddenly, sending her stool falling backwards. It crashed to the ground rather loudly. "Get up," she spat at him.

Loki complied without a fight. He was smirking widely, taking great pleasure in drawing a reaction out of her. Gwen marches him back down the hall, Paige following closely behind them.

"Stand against the wall," she instructed him harshly. Paige was just behind her, gun at her side. "Shoot him if he moves," she instructed her before turning back to the door. She typed in the five digit code and was about to do the retinal scan when the sound of a gun going off caused her to clap her hands over her ears.

They were ringing for a good minute as she turned to see what had happened. Loki was slumped against the wall, clutching his thigh. Blood stained his dark pants and covered his hand. Paige was slowly lowering her gun, looking unbothered by what had just happened.

"Paige!" Gwen shouted. "I- What the hell was that?"

"You said to shoot him if he moved," Paige replied simply. "He moved, so I shot him."

"I was just adjusting my footing!" Loki bellowed before hissing in pain. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back wall. Gwen knelt down swiftly to examine the damage.

There was a tear in his pants where the bullet had grazed him. Luckily, that was the only damage Paige had done. The bullet hadn't gone in. It would need stitches, but that was it. "It just needs stitches," Gwen told him. "It'll be fine. Wait here." She stood and turned to Paige. "Don't shoot him this time. But make sure he doesn't escape. By that, I don't mean kill him. We need him alive. Got it?"

Paige nodded, unfazed by Gwen's angry tones. Shaking her head and muttering obscenities under her breath, Gwen walked into her room and retrieved a first aid kit. When she came back out, Paige and Loki were glaring at one another.

"Help me get him to his bed," Gwen told Paige as she grabbed one of Loki's arms and draped it over her shoulder.

Before Paige could move in to help, Loki was sneering. "I don't need either of your help," he told them.

Gwen immediately threw his arm away and he fell to the ground again, grunting in pain. "Fine. Bleed out for all I care," she snapped at him.

"Fine," he muttered unhappily, extending his arm again. Gwen and Paige each took an arm and helped him get into his bed. With that, Gwen opened up her medical kit and focused on getting it all prepped. Paige turned and left the room to let Gwen do her thing.

Gwen put some alcohol on a white pad and then moved to go clear away anything blocking the wound. She wasn't quite as gentle as she normally would have been and he winced as she ripped a large enough hole in his pants. "Thanks for that," Loki said sarcastically.

"I could just leave you to bleed out if you want," she replied in a biting voice. Loki said nothing so she continued to do what she needed to. She took the pad with rubbing alcohol on it. "This is going to sting," she warned him. He hissed as she cleaned the wound, wiping away the blood.

With that, she tossed away the pad, pulled on some gloves, and grabbed the clean needle and thread. "This isn't going to feel good either," she said shortly.

"Your bedside manner needs work, doctor," he told her as she stitched him up.

She smiled briefly before returning to her usual scowl. "Why don't you take me to Stark? Or the beast?"

Gwen snorted and her hand almost slipped. "The beast?" she echoed, a touch of sarcasm in her voice.

"Banner," Loki corrected himself. "Aren't they actual doctors?"

"Unfortunately for you, I'm not willing to carry your sorry ass up the stairs to see either of them," she replied coldly. "Besides, I've stitched up wounds before. I know what I'm doing just as much as Tony or Bruce does."

Loki winced as the needle pierced his skin yet again. "Got anything to numb the pain?" he asked snappishly.

"Want one of Stark's whiskey bottles that he gifted to me?" she shot back right away, being mostly sarcastic.

"That will suffice," he answered shortly.

"That will suffice," Gwen echoed, mocking his accent. "You're so proper. Also, why do people on Asgard have English accents? Why not American ones? Are all aliens British? For that matter, why do any of you speak English?"

"Because it's far easier than Old Norse," Loki answered. "Are you done with your incessant questions?"

"No," she told him simply. "Here's my next question: Did you get the prick gene from your mother or your father?"

"I never knew my father," Loki told her.

Her brows furrowed. "But Thor said the other day that your dad looks like Hannibal and you agreed."

"Odin," he sniffed, "isn't my father. He adopted me as a child and raised me alongside Thor." Loki snorted in disgust.

"You sound upset about this," she observed. "Is being adopted a bad thing? Why do you hate Odin so much?"

"I could not even begin to describe why I detest that man," said Loki bitterly.

"Alright then," she said slowly, deciding to backtrack. Clearly there was a long history there. "What about your mother? Do you hate her too?"

His face softened immediately. He was silent for a long time before he finally shook his head. "No. I don't hate Frigga like I hate Odin."

Gwen wanted to ask him more about his mother, but she didn't want to push him any more than she already had. She finished the last stitch in silence and tied it off, examining her work with satisfaction. "I'll bring you that whiskey, then." She stood up and returned to the kitchen. Paige was standing there, stone faced as usual. Gwen ignored her for the moment and grabbed the bottle as well as two glasses.

She knew she really shouldn't be drinking. She had avoided it for most of her life, simply because she knew it would land her in trouble. But now she was an adult and an Avenger. How much trouble could she get in for drinking just a glass or two?

When she returned, Loki gratefully accepted the glass. He took a small sip and turned his gaze out the window. The sun was high in the sky, signifying that it was late afternoon. "Thank you," he murmured under his breath after a minute.

Gwen couldn't help but smile a bit at that. Her plan hadn't worked out exactly the way she had wanted it to, but it still worked in a way. She too took a sip of her drink. "You're welcome."


Steve stepped off the quinjet, taking in a deep breath, wincing when he moved his shoulder. He would need to visit Cho once he changed out of his suit. The mission had been a success, even if they hadn't found Bucky or the scepter. They had at least taken down another Hydra base. One less thing to be worried about. And they were one step closer to the scepter.

"Hey Jarvis, let Dr. Cho know we're back. Some of us need a bit of medical attention," Tony said to the AI.

"Yes, sir," Jarvis responded. "You will also want to know that there was a gunshot on Miss Strange's, Miss Anderson's, and Loki's floor."

"WHAT?" Tony and Steve shouted simultaneously. All at once, the Avengers raced for the stairs, knowing that the elevator wouldn't be fast enough for their taste. Steve, being the fastest, was at the head of the pack. Tony and Natasha were next, followed by Clint and Bruce. Thor was still off-world.

Steve burst through the door, knocking it down in his haste. His head whipped back and forth as he scanned the living room for any signs of struggle or for any signs of the god.

"What are you looking for?"

Steve whirled at the sound of a voice. Paige was standing in the kitchen, holding a glass of water and looking quite calm.

"Where's Gwen and Loki?" he demanded right away. He was glad that Paige was safe, of course, but Gwen had far less training than Paige and was an easier target, even with her powers.

The others reached the floor just as Paige pointed down the hall.

Tony was the first to sprint to Loki's door. He put in the code and did the retinal scan as quickly as he could.

What they found inside was a shock.

Gwen was singing loudly along to the music playing from her phone while Loki watched her in mild amusement.

"I'm a bitch, I'm a bitch, oh, the bitch is back! Stone cold sober as a matter of fact! I can bitch, I can bitch, 'cause I'm better than you! It's the way that I move, the things that I do, oh!" She was dancing around wildly and terribly, spinning in awkward, stumbling circles.

Her eyes widened when she saw the Avengers watching her, their jaws on the floor. "Tony! Steve! You guys are back!" Her words were slurred. Steve noticed the empty bottle of whiskey laying on the floor and he picked it up, looking over at Gwen.

"Are you drunk?"

Gwen blew a raspberry and shook her head. "Nah. Maybe a bit tipsy, but -" She cut herself off as she started to tip over. Tony caught her arm, helping her balance. He was forcing himself not to grin at the sight. He half wished that he could record this instance, for future reference.

"I can't believe you," Steve lectured her. "Where did you even get alcohol?"

Gwen pointed to Tony accusingly. "Snitch," he muttered as Steve turned to glare at him.

"You gave an underage kid alcohol?" Steve asked through clenched teeth.

"Everyone does it, Rogers. Don't act so high and mighty," Tony replied.

"You're missing the point, Stark," Steve shouted. "Don't you realize how dangerous that was? How stupid it is? Especially when we put her in charge of guarding a war criminal?"

"So now she's not allowed to have any fun?"

"Yeah, why can't I have any fun, Cap?" Gwen agreed with the billionaire, working hard to remember how to cross her arms. Loki remained still on his bed, smirking and regarding the whole situation with amusement.

"Romanoff, get her to bed," Steve told her, not taking his eyes off of Tony. "We'll talk about this tomorrow."

Natasha sighed deeply and nodded. "Come on, Strange. Let's get to bed."

Gwen didn't resist, but she did grab her phone before leaning on the Russian for support. They left the room, leaving the others to deal with Loki. "You know, Natty, you are my favorite Avenger. You're so pretty and so badass. I wish I could be just like you."

Natasha smirked. "I hope you know I'm going to hold this over your head for the rest of your life," she told her.

Drunk Gwen didn't seem to know what Natasha meant. So she resumed her terrible singing as Natasha unlocked her bedroom door. She shoved the drunk girl on her bed. "Go to bed," Natasha told her bluntly. "And we'll see you in the morning." She laughed at the thought and left the drunk girl to sing into her pillow until she passed out.