AN: I almost forgot to update D: It's been a crazy last few weeks, and I'm still no further ahead than I wanted to be... But, I wanted to post something rather than ignore this story entirely. As far as plot-bunnies are concerned, this is one plot-bunny I've been dying to rewrite. Thanks to all of my readers and especially to those who reviewed; I'm sorry if I never had the chance to respond to reviews, but please be aware that I do appreciate each and every one of them.

Chapter Sixty Two

No one wanted to admit that the battle in London had taken a toll on them. Ada leaned against a wall with her arms crossed after she finished packing her suitcase. She knew she was in for an earful when she returned home. Tony had already promised her that there would not only be a grounding, but a scolding for when she got back. Ada nearly rolled her eyes at the thought. Tony always seemed to find some way of annoying her to no end, and this was just one of those methods.

"You sure you don't wanna stay a couple more days?" Darcy asked when she reached the living room. Not only did Tony tell her all of this, but he informed her that Happy was picking her up later that day. The thought left her wishing that she could remind him that she didn't need an escort. "I'm sure that your dad wouldn't mind."

Ada almost laughed at Darcy's statement. She highly doubted Tony would be happy with the idea of her staying longer in London. Experience taught her that he would be angry for the first couple of hours before finding something else to distract himself with. It was easy to distract him with just about anything as long as it held his interest. Ada had quickly learned that technology or talking about the suits would often catch his attention.

The one good thing about Tony Stark was that he didn't stay angry for long. He did hold grudges towards those who threatened his family, but that was purely out of habit. After what had happened in Afghanistan, she couldn't blame him for not trusting too many people, or for holding the grudges he did.

Besides, she had overstayed her welcome as it was. Jane had reluctantly allowed her to stay because Darcy invited her, but she knew her limits. Since Darcy tried contacting SHIELD about the Convergence and their disappearances, she had no doubt that Director Fury would want a word with her. There was still a lot of cleaning up that needed to be done in London, and she had been hoping to avoid the press once they got word of what she had been up to.

The press would have a field day if they found out that she had been in London for the past week. And while she technically was in Asgard for a good three days, she still detested the idea of having to explain why she was there in the first place.

"Thank you for the offer, Darcy," she murmured with a shake of her head. "But with all due respect, I think it's time I went home."

Darcy nearly rolled her eyes and laughed as Ada reached for her suitcase, "I hate to admit it, but I am gonna miss that attitude of yours. We could use someone like you to remind Jane that it's okay to have fun sometimes."

She couldn't hide the sheepish grin that followed as she recalled how the last few hours on Asgard went on. If she was being honest, she knew that she had crossed the line several times. Odin could have and probably should have done something when she snapped at him. Instead, she managed to escape with Thor and Jane while remaining mostly intact. She had to admit, escaping Asgard had been far more satisfying than she expected.

"That's what she has you for, Darcy," she pointed out knowingly. The brunette lifted a brow as they walked down the stairs to the main living area where the others were waiting. "Thanks again for inviting me in the first place… I really did need a wakeup call."

Darcy just beamed at her praise. She was ready to say something else when Ada caught Jane watching them. Selvig stood in the kitchen, and to Ada's surprise, his pants were actually on. Over the last couple of days, he hadn't been wearing his pants since the battle in London ended. Ian was trying to make himself look as scarce as possible while the rest of the group tried to figure out how to move on from that battle.

It would take time for everyone to recover from what had happened since they were both stuck on Asgard. Since Thor hadn't returned, Ada had to wonder what Jane would be doing with herself. He had promised her that he would return to Earth once he cleared his name and the names of everyone involved with Odin. She just hoped that his plan to admit the truth didn't backfire on him, especially after seeing the way Odin acted during their time on Asgard.

"Thank you again, for helping us," Jane gave a curt nod of thanks when their eyes met.

Ada rose an eyebrow as she wondered if there was more she wanted to say. She doubted that things would have turned out any differently if Thor had chosen to stay. The only positive outcome she had of their seeing each other again was that Jane now seemed more open to her. She hadn't realized until than how much of a relief it was to know that.

Once they were finished with their goodbyes, and Ada gave Darcy a much needed hug, she headed out for the door where Happy would be waiting. Her eyes narrowed when she noticed that the car sitting in front of the building wasn't the rental Happy normally used. Instead, the windows were tinted black so that she couldn't see the driver. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure that the others were still in the apartment.

Call it a hunch, but I don't trust a car that looks like something from one of those CSI shows, she thought. She knew that she should have stopped Tony from running a marathon when Pepper suggested they watch the show together as a family. Flames danced along the tips of her fingers when she noticed that the car door finally opened. If whoever had pulled up posed a threat, she was fully prepared for them. When the driver finally emerged from the car, Ada sucked in a breath.

A middle-aged man with cropped brown hair, pale skin and dressed in a tailor-made suit stepped out and smirked upon seeing her. Sunglasses kept her from getting a good look at his eyes, but she noticed the pin settled above his chest.

"You wouldn't happen to be Miss Ada Stark, would you?" The man spoke in a heavy British accent. All at once, her guard went up. Ada only glared back as the man stepped forward, offering a broad smile. "I have been wondering when our paths would finally cross."

"Yeah? Well, you aren't the only bastard who's said that," she muttered crossly.

"Oh, I'm quite certain that I'm not," the man smirked in amusement. "And I'm also certain I won't be the last."

"What the hell do you want with me?" she demanded as she noticed he kept looking in the direction of Jane's apartment.

With Jane and the others staying in the building at the time, she didn't plan on letting them get hurt. She couldn't shake off the feeling that this man's intentions were to do just that. Her gaze swept from where he stood to the car as she tried searching for any signs of weapons he might be harboring. Her SHIELD training taught her not to trust anyone who looked as suspicious as this man did. The problem was, she was out in the public and had no weapons to defend herself with. Other than her powers.

"What the others of our organization want," the man replied with a shrug. Ada's blood ran cold as she finally understood what he was implying. "I was informed by the others that you are aware of who we are, and that you wouldn't come quietly."

Flames appeared along the palms of her hands as Ada took on a defensive stance. She'd already dealt with the Black Knights once, but she hadn't been alone at the time. This man didn't look as if he could put up much of a fight.

'Do not underestimate them.' She flinched at the sound of Nadia's voice. 'They only want you to believe that they are defenseless.'

A shiver of unease swept through Ada when she felt the man's gaze bore through her. Hearing her mother's voice had been reassuring in the past. But she heard and felt nothing but rage from Nadia. She couldn't shake off the feeling that Nadia's rage was aimed more towards the man in question.

"Are you talking to her?" the man suddenly asked curiously. "Your mother? We've learned more about your people than you could ever imagine. Decades of archives have been passed down from our ancestors. I'm sure that you are dying to know more about what you are."

His words came out in a sneer, and that was all it took for her to finally lash out. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of thinking he'd won her over. The man seemed caught off guard when she swung her fist at him, clipping his face just as he moved to the side with mere seconds to spare.

"You're full of crap if you think I'm going to let you take advantage of me," she snapped.

"And you are full of ignorance if you think I am going to let you leave." Her heart pounded with fear when the man suddenly grabbed hold of her hand, stopping her in her tracks. "We have been watching the news for so long… We were waiting for the right opportunity to strike. You have no backup here. No SHIELD, and no Tony Stark to protect you. I would suggest you stand down before things get out of control."

It took a few seconds for his warning to finally sink in. Hate for the fact that this man worked for the Black Knights suddenly seeped through her. She wanted nothing more than to knock him off his sorry ass and call SHIELD for backup. But she realized that causing a scene wasn't the best option to take. People were wandering nearby, shooting the pair curious and fearful looks. Though they didn't understand the serious danger they were in, she didn't want them getting caught in the crossfire.

"Alright, fine," she finally conceded as the man's grip tightened. "But only if you swear to keep everyone out of the crossfire."

The man smirked in amusement once more at her demand. She shivered when he used his free hand to brush aside a stray strand of hair from her face.

"My dear child, you are the only one we are concerned about. I would not worry about anyone else getting hurt."

You're going to regret the day you chose to take me, she silently vowed. These people were not going to get away with hunting down her own people. One way or another, they were going to pay for their actions.

…

Tony had begun pacing along the penthouse for what felt like hours now. He knew that worrying was a pointless emotion to feel when Ada was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But the last couple of weeks had really worked on his nerves. From finding out that she and Captain America of all people had feelings for one another, to finding out that she was involved in the London incident, he wasn't sure what was worse.

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep this up, Tony," Pepper scolded him when she finally arrived with bags full of groceries. "I know that you're worried about Ada, but she's old enough to take care of herself. Besides, you said Happy was meeting with her at the apartment."

He scowled after reaching the kitchen counter when Pepper placed the bags along them. They didn't necessarily need to restock the kitchen. Pepper just liked going out so that they had a somewhat domestic life outside of their usual work. She'd already begun meal preps for the week, along with dinners that Tony himself appreciated more than he would ever admit out loud.

"That was nearly three hours ago when he called about arriving at the airport," Tony sighed irritably. He ran a hand through his hair as he thought about keeping a tracking device on Ada's phone. Or on her personally. "Maybe I should've installed that tracking device when I had the chance…"

Pepper quickly slapped his hand away when he reached for a bottle of wine she'd picked for dinner. She of all people had seen what he was like in a drunken state. He usually went for alcohol when things didn't go his way, and Pepper had quickly adapted to making sure that it wasn't around during times of crisis. Tonight was one of the rare occasions where they could share a couple of drinks and enjoy dinner before Ada returned home.

"Tony, you of all people know that Ada would have given you hell for doing that," she reminded him pointedly. Tony threw her an apprehensive look. All he wanted was to make sure that she was safe. Was that too much to ask for? "Besides, she has all of SHIELD looking out for her as well."

"That's exactly what worries me," he retorted.

Before Pepper could say something that would reassure him, Jarvis suddenly sent them a high alert.

'Sir, Mr. Hogan has requested that he speak with you in privacy.'

Frowning in concern, Tony glanced at Pepper and took his phone without another word. It had to have been serious if Happy of all people needed to reach him. Once he went down the stairs and reached the lab, he made sure the doors were sealed shut before answering Happy's call.

"This is a… serious… Need to come here now!"

Tony just rose an eyebrow after hearing nothing but gibberish for the last few minutes. Happy's frantic words sounded through the speaker, and it took a few seconds for Tony to register that he was standing somewhere outside. The ambient sounds of cars and people talking in the background caused his heart to race a little faster than it should have.

"Happy!" Tony finally had enough and cut him off with a loud shout of his own. "Happy, use your words."

"Tony, she wasn't there at the apartment," Happy managed to say after catching his breath.

That was enough for Tony's eyes to widen in alarm.

"What?"

"She wasn't at Jane's apartment," Happy replied in a firmer voice.

Tony felt his breathing hitch with panic as realization finally dawned on him. Every worst-case scenario played across his mind as he imagined something terrible had happened. Pepper had been right about Ada being able to defend herself. But she wasn't above giving herself up if anyone else was in danger. And that thought left him wishing he'd taken extra precautions before she went on this pointless vacation. He had quickly learned that Ada was the type of person who would willingly do whatever it took to keep everyone safe. It was a quality of her that he himself never pertained, and he knew for a fact that it would one day get her killed.

"Alright, why don't you start from the beginning?" he started after taking a deep breath to calm his already frayed nerves.

"I was at the airport for all but five minutes when I blacked out," Happy finally admitted during a few moments of awkward silence. It was at that point when Tony had stopped his pacing and stared at nothing in particular as his eyes widened in disbelief. "The next time I woke up, security guards were there asking what the hell happened."

"And I'm guessing it was at that moment when you called?" Tony deadpanned with a strained sigh of frustration.

His mind began to spin with the numerous possibilities running through his mind. All he wanted was for Ada to be safe. But it seemed like life was always trying to throw a monkey-wrench into that plan. And knowing that something had likely happened to her just made him feel that much worse. He tried to keep his heart from racing with panic. Knowing that she was in possible danger didn't help matters. If anything had happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

"I don't know what happened, but she wasn't at the apartment by the time I got there," Happy explained in a wary voice. "I talked to Jane and Darcy about it, but neither were sure of what could've happened to her."

He drew in a sharp breath after realizing too late that someone must have taken her. After typing in a few codes to reach the tracking device on her phone, he noticed that it wasn't operating. The tracking device had either been shut off, or she managed to take it off. The latter wouldn't have surprised him, given how determined she was to prove herself otherwise. But he had an uneasy feeling that she wouldn't have done that.

"We need to bring in the team," he grumbled when he realized that this wasn't something that he could do on his own.

He had to grudgingly admit that the team was better suited tracking a missing person if they worked together than apart. He just hoped that they would find her in time. Otherwise there was going to be hell to pay.