"DAD!"
Freya screams at the top of her lungs. Causing the ground to shake beneath them. She watches as the portal closes. Her soul now completely shattered at the thought of losing her dad forever. Looking down, sobs continue to shake her body.
"Son of a gun."
Freya's head snaps up to look at Steve when she hears him speak. A smile of disbelief on his face. She follows his eyes and lets out a strangled cry when she sees Tony dropping out of the sky.
"Oh, my God! Dad!" As happy as she is that he made it back through the portal, she knows something is still very wrong. Steve notices her struggling to stand. Reaching out, he helps her up and holds her steady. "My dad. Something's still wrong," she croaks out.
"He's not slowing down," Thor realizes this as well and begins to spin his hammer.
He's about to take off when instead he's beat by the Hulk. Who comes leaping out of nowhere and snags Tony mid-air. Holding on to limp form of Iron Man, he latches on to a building and slides down its wall. Unable to stop his momentum, Hulk leaps from it and comes crashing down on his back. Still tightly gripping Tony as he skids to a stop. Looking down, he grunts in disgust as he tosses the other man off of him. The three blondes sprint over to them. Freya uses whatever strength she can muster to get to her dad. Thor is the first one to reach Tony. He turns him over and rips off his mask.
"Is he breathing?" Steve asks as he guides Freya over to her dad. He crouches down next to Freya when she collapses to her knees and hovers over Tony.
"Dad?! Dad, wake up! Please! Please, wake up!"
She's met with silence as she looks down at his arc reactor. Noticing it's completely dark. Sobs begin to escape from her again as she leans down and lays her forehead on his chest. The other two blondes share a sad look before Steve reaches out and places a hand on her shoulder. The only thing that can be heard are Freya's cries and the distant wail of sirens.
Frustrated with the situation, Hulk lets out a deafening roar. Tony suddenly gasps for air when his arc reactor reignites. Freya also gasps when the tightness in her chest instantly releases. Relief washes over her and she's able to properly breathe again. Like the piece of her soul that had shattered while Tony was in the portal is made whole again. Hulk rears his head back and roars again in victory as he beats his chest. Tony tries to catch his breath and looks around.
"What the hell?" he asks. His eyes fall on Freya, who's smiling from ear to ear while she cries. "What just happened? Merky, please tell me none of them kissed me."
Freya laughs through her tears as she closes her eyes in relief and leans back against Steve. Steve smiles as he wraps a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"We won," he sighs. Tony leans his head back and sighs as well.
"All right, yay! Hurray. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma?" Freya chuckles along with Steve as she listens to her dad. Happy to hear his voice. "There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."
"We're not finished yet," Thor informs them. They look up at him to find him staring at the tower.
"Loki," Freya sighs.
"And then shawarma after."
"Yes, and then shawarma after," she smiles down at her dad.
Grabbing the rest of the team, they make their way up to the top floor of the tower. They approach Loki as he starts to stir. Not realizing he isn't alone, he groans in pain as he turns and starts to use the stairs next to him to climb out of the crater the Hulk had put him in. He suddenly freezes, finally aware of their presence. Slowly turning around, he comes face to face with the Avengers. Freya is standing in front of the Hulk between Tony and Steve while she glares down at him. Her eyes and aura ignited in anger. Natasha glares down at him while she holds the scepter. Clint has an arrow nocked and pointed right between his eyes.
"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now," Loki tries to joke as he looks around at them nervously.
Everyone continues to glare at him while the Hulk lets out a growl. They don't have to wait long before Sitwell makes his way up to them with the S.T.R.I.K.E. team. The Avengers began to mill around while Loki is cuffed and the scepter and Tesseract are collected.
"You guys good here?" Freya asks Sitwell as she walks up to him. Looking up from his tablet he gives her a warm smile and nods.
"Yeah, S.T.R.I.K.E. is gonna escort me while I take the scepter into secure lock up."
Freya hums in response as Rumlow approaches her.
"Hey, kid. You look like shit."
"Really?" she snorts. "Maybe it's because I actually feel like shit."
He laughs and pulls her in for a hug before becoming serious.
"I'm sorry about Coulson, he was a good man."
"He was the best of us," Freya sighs while returning the hug. Releasing her, he changes the subject when he hears the sadness in her voice.
"So, will you be coming back to DC with us? I miss you. I know the guys miss you, too." He gestures at the rest of the S.T.R.I.K.E. team, who smile and wave.
"Maybe," she shrugs and waves back. "I guess I'll see what Fury has planned for me."
"All right, S.T.R.I.K.E. Let's move out," Sitwell orders as he starts toward the elevator.
"And that's my cue," Rumlow smiles and begins to walk away. He talks over his shoulder as he does. "Don't be a stranger, Merc."
"Same goes for you, Brock," she grins.
Feeling eyes on her, Freya turns around sees Steve watching her with an unreadable expression. Realizing she's noticed him watching her, his eyes go wide as he gets flustered and he puts a hand to his comms.
"On my way down to coordinate search and rescue." He quickly walks away and heads for the stairs. Freya watches him curiously as he leaves.
"On my way down to coordinate search and rescue."
Her head snaps over to the voice and she watches Loki as he mocks Steve. Turning back into himself, he glances at Freya before he turns to Thor.
"I mean, honestly, how do you two keep your food down?"
Before anyone can do anything, Freya walks up to him and throws a hard right to his face. Loki's head snaps to the side and he stumbles backwards a few steps. The entire room goes silent with anticipation as they watch her. Loki slowly picks up his head to look at her and a grin forms on his face.
"With a temper like that, you truly are my daughter."
"No," she shakes her head. "I already have a dad."
"Ha! Take that, Snape!" Tony shouts from across the room. Loki's grin drops. Before he can say anything else, Thor places a muzzle on him.
"Shut up. Not another word, Brother."
Grabbing him by the arm, he leads Loki to the elevator while everyone else trails behind and piles in as well. Freya stands in front of her uncle and to the right of her dad. Hulk walks forward and attempts to get on as well until Thor holds his hand out.
"Hey, whoa. Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"
Tony sits on the case containing the Tesseract and stops Hulk as well.
"Hey, hey. Buddy! What do you think? Maximum occupancy has been reached," Tony points at the weight capacity. Hulk growls as the elevator doors begin to close.
"Take the stairs," Thor agrees with Tony while Loki waves.
"I'm sorry, big guy," Freya scrunches up her face in apology.
"Yeah. Stop, stop." Tony tries to scold Hulk to prevent him from lashing out. The doors close and Hulk lets out a roar as he punches a dent in them. As the elevator starts to descend, Tony sighs and shakes his head. "Man, what a temper."
Freya just snorts at him and smacks the back of his head playfully. Making him stick his tongue out at her.
"So, I see you fancy the soldier. Am I wrong?"
Freya spins around to face Loki as her eyes go wide.
"Excuse me? No. Even if I did, why would I talk to you about it?"
He tries to grin with the muzzle on.
"Oh, did I hit a nerve there, Little One?"
Glaring at Loki, she turns back around and ignores him.
"What's wrong, Merky?"
Freya looks down and sees her dad looking back and forth between her and Loki. She shakes her head and sighs.
"Nothing, Dad." She reaches forward and hits the button for the next floor.
"What are you doing, Niece?" Thor asks. "That is the fourteenth floor. I thought we were going to the lobby."
"I know what floor it is. You guys are still going to the lobby. I need some air. Elevator is a bit crowded," she mumbles the last part. "I'll just go take the stairs with Hulk."
As the elevator comes to a stop and the doors open, she starts to walk out before getting an idea. A mischievous grin forms on her face and she quickly leans over and pushes the buttons for the rest of the floors on the way down to the lobby. She runs out of the elevator while laughing hysterically as Tony yells after her.
"Hey! Merky, what the f-" The doors close on her father before he can finish his sentence.
Later that day, everyone meets in Central Park to see Thor off. Of course, they had gotten shawarma. Everyone had basically been half asleep at the table as they ate. Thor and Freya didn't get to have their duel, but they did get to talk about what Thor had wanted to discuss so badly. Danielle had been on the news regarding the attack. She grinned from ear to ear as she talked about how Captain America and Mercury had saved her life. Thanking them with a clear expression of gratitude on her face.
Freya walks between Steve and Natasha as the Avengers make their way to the spot they had picked for Thor and Loki's return to Asgard. They circle up and watch Tony and Selvig hand the Tesseract over to Thor. As they prepare to leave, Freya walks up to Thor and pulls him into a hug. He returns it with a chuckle.
"It was good to see you, Niece. I am glad to have spent time with you. Even if it was under such dire circumstances."
"I'm glad I got to spend some time with you too, Uncle Thor. We'll have our duel eventually," she smirks before glancing down at Mjölnir and grinning. "You take care of that hammer. Oh! And tell your mom and dad I say 'hi'."
"That I will," he grins back at her. "Until next time."
She glances at Loki before turning away and going back to her spot between Steve and Natasha. Everyone says their goodbyes to Thor before he and Loki disappear in flash of blue light. Turning around, everyone starts to make their way back to the vehicle they came in. Saying their own goodbyes to each other in the process.
"Where are you headed to, Merky?" Tony asks as Freya walks alongside him.
"Back to DC. Fury wants me there to help out the S.T.R.I.K.E. team. He and I finally had a talk. He told me everything. At least I hope he did," she sighs. "So, I'll be staying with S.H.I.E.L.D. for right now. I'll try to visit when I can, though."
"You take care of yourself, okay? Call me if you need anything."
"Same goes for you, too," she smiles as he pulls her into a hug. "I love you, Dad."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
She heads back over to the car she came in with Clint, Natasha and Bruce. The redhead is reaching into the backseat for something while Clint leans against the trunk. Bruce awkwardly stands next to him. Freya watches her dad and Steve shake hands as Natasha steps up next to her and Bruce and hands him his bag.
"Thanks," Bruce mutters.
"So you're gonna head to the tower with my dad?" Freya asks Bruce.
"I think it'll be good for me," he nods. "I'll have some company and I'll still be able to help people."
"I'll be seeing you around then," she smiles.
"I'm counting on it," Bruce warmly returns the smile. Having grown fond of the young woman. Bonding over a mutual understanding of their abilities.
They hug briefly before he meets up with Tony at his car. He hops in as her dad shoots her a grin and the signature Stark peace sign before slightly peeling out as they leave. She chuckles and turns back to her two best friends.
"So what are you two gonna do?" she asks.
"I think a nice vacation at a quaint little farmhouse sounds good," Natasha shrugs before looking at Clint. "Don't you think?"
"I think retirement might be in the cards," he grins and nods in agreement. "Finally settle down. Become a family man."
"You? A family man? Pft, no way!" Frey scoffs in mock horror. The three of them laugh before she steps up to them and gives them each a hug. "Don't be strangers. I'm only a call away."
"You're welcome over any time. I know a few people who would be happy to see you," Clint smiles warmly. She smiles and nods before turning to the redhead and raising an eyebrow in question.
"I'll most likely be joining you in DC soon. I just need some 'me' time. It looks like you've got someone to keep you company anyway." Natasha nods toward the blonde who's currently leaning against his motorcycle while he watches Freya with a small smile.
"I'll see you soon," Freya rolls her eyes and chuckles. "Love you guys."
"Love you, Kiddo," Clint grins.
"Love you back," Natasha smirks knowingly.
Freya makes her way over to the soldier as she hears the other two assassins pull away. Stopping a few feet away, she looks up at him.
"So, I heard Fury is assigning you to DC."
"He said there was someone there that would be a great partner for me," Steve nods. "But said she can be a pain to deal with sometimes." The playful comment makes Freya reach out and smack his arm while he laughs.
"I guess your talk with Fury went well then if you're staying," she says with a raised a eyebrow.
"Yep," he nods. "He agreed to discontinue distributing armor piercing rounds to anyone in the agency as part of their normal kit."
"It never bothered me, but I do appreciate it. Thank you," she nods.
"Just looking out for my new partner," he grins.
"Speaking of your new partner. I heard she might be looking for a roommate."
"Is that so?" he raises an eyebrow.
"Mhmm, I think she said something about cutting down on rent cost," she shrugs.
"Makes sense," he nods, pretending to be in thought. "I think we can work something out." They both grin at each other and Steve gestures at his bike. "You need a ride?"
"Well, I don't really think flying around New York City right now is a good idea. So, apparently you're the only option I have left," she smirks. He smiles and looks away for a few seconds before looking back up.
"How 'bout that coffee?"
"That sounds nice," she nods. Her smirk now a warm smile.
Turning around, he hops on the bike and starts it before patting the seat behind him with a grin. As she climbs on, he looks over his shoulder.
"You ever ridden one of these before?"
"Yes I have, Spangles," she chuckles. "I think you'll like the one I own back in DC." She can see his eyes slightly widen before he turns around and mutters to himself.
"You just can't stop surprising me, can you?"
He kicks the bike into gear as she wraps her arms around his waist. Both of them wearing matching smiles as they ride away.
