Josephine continued her walk through the Hellicarrier on light feet, gun still raised in her hand and no idea where she should go.
"Jo?" Hector's voice came in through her comms.
"Hey, you got anything for me?"
"Barton is in the south wing. He's heading north pretty quick. If you take the next two rights at a run you'll have time to intercept him."
"Clear everyone out of the area." she instructed, breaking into a run.
She willed her mind to move as fast as her feet. Romanoff was unreachable, presumably running from the Hulk. By the time she could reach the south wing it would be too late. Josephine's fighting had improved, but Barton had taught her everything she knew. He would know her every move in a fight and she'd be down in seconds if he wanted.
"Stop there," Carlos' voice interrupted her thoughts. "He'll be turning the corner in about ten seconds."
Josephine made a split decision and put her gun back into its holster. She turned off the bluetooth device in her ear and placed it in her pocket. Her Superior Officer turned the corner, walking fast towards his destination and spotting her instantly.
"Move."
"What if I don't want to move?" Joei said, hands going to her hips as she stared hard into unfamiliar bright blue eyes.
"I'll kill you."
Joei smiled at the nearly imperceptible flash of green, "Ah, so you are still in there, Agent Barton."
"Move." He repeated, fingers inching toward the gun at his side.
"Okay," Joei nodded, stepping even closer. A voice in her head told her to run the other way, but she knew this was the only way to catch him now. "Like this?"
"Josephine, if you do not move away now and let me through..."
"You'll kill me, yeah I heard you the first time," she answered, taking another step closer and raising her hands above her shoulders, "So do it. Pull out your gun and shoot me in the heart. I'm close enough and I'm unarmed. By the time my hand reaches my gun you'll have already shot me, right?"
"Move."
"No. Shoot me."
"I will."
"Will you? You only have three friends, Barton, are you sure you want kill one of them?"
Barton blinked for a second too long, unnecessarily looking down at his gun as he pulled it out. Joei saw her chance and reacted quickly, her left hand going to his waist and her right going to his head and pushing hard. He fell off balance and his head made a satisfying bang against the rails on his right.
"Ah! Wha...Stark?" he gasped, hands holding his head and eyes blinking hard as they flickered between electric blue and soft green.
She whipped out her gun and knocked him out with the end of it for good measure.
Satisfied that he was thoroughly knocked out, she placed the comms back into her ear and spoke, "Director, I've got Barton."
"Did you knock him out?"
"Yes."
"How the hell did you manage that?" Coulson's awed voice came through.
"I pretended to let him shoot me. What now?"
Fury opened communications with the rest of the Avengers, "There's a group on their way to get Barton. Rogers and Stark are fixing the engines. I need all able hands to get to Loki and make sure he doesn't escape."
"Yes, sir."
"Oh no you don't," Tony's voice came through her ear, "You are not going anywhere near the crazy alien."
"FRIDAY, disable communications with the Iron Man suit."
"Yes, Miss Stark."
"Coulson, where are you?"
"Headed to the containment module."
"I'm right behind you."
"I need eyes on top, subdue anyone who tries to go in through the rafters."
"Yes, sir."
"And don't let Loki see you. I don't want to be the one to deal with your father if he punches you through a wall."
Joei rolled her eyes and grit her teeth, "Yes, sir."
Josephine arrived at the containment module in time to see Thor trapped inside the cage, Loki standing outside and watching his adopted brother with a smirk on his face. There was noone in the rafters, just a single soldier standing a few feet away from Loki.
Thor pounded his hammer against the glass and Joei inwardly groaned as the mechanics holding up the module gave way.
"Humans think us immortal," Loki said, moving to the module's control panel, "Shall we test that?"
"Move away please," Coulson appeared from the doorway holding a very large weaponn. "You like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent the destroyer. Even I don't know what it does. Do you want to find out?"
The next few moments happened in slow motion for Josephine, and she wasn't sure if she cried out or if the noise couldn't escape her lips. The weapon in Coulson's hand powered up, Loki disappeared before her eyes and reappeared almost instantly behind Coulson, his scepter going into the agent's back and through his chest. Josephine rushed to the ladder that would lead her down to Coulson, feeling harsh wind on her back as the containment module was torn from the ship.
"You're going to lose," said Coulson from the ground as Joei reached him, tears already clouding her vision.
"What?"
"It's in your nature."
"Shh, Coulson," Joei whispered, finding the wound and pressing down.
"Your heroes are scattered," said Loki, taunting them both. Joei looked up at him then, seeing him up close for the first time. Thor was sombre and stood tall in every situation. Josephine could see what remained of the same regal composure in Loki, but he was only just clinging to it. In his eyes there was desperation. "Your floating fortress falls from the sky. Where is my disadvantage?"
"You lack conviction."
Loki raised his scepter once more, staring at Joei, "Really? I don't think I-"
Loki never finished his sentence, as the weapon still in Coulson's hand flared up and blasted him though the wall.
"So that's what it does." Coulson muttered.
Joei looked down at her hands, still pressing against Coulson's chest. They were soaking red up to her elbows, sleeves stained black and sticky and too warm.
"We need to get you to the med bay," she finally spoke, voice shaking barely above a whisper.
"No."
"What do you mean, no? Coulson you're bleeding out we...we need to get a doctor we need..."
"We won't make it."
The tears were falling down her face now, "No! No, I'm not going to sit here and watch you die!"
"Stark."
Fury's voice startled her and he placed a hand on her shoulder, nudging her backwards. She pulled away from Coulson, looking anywhere except her bloodsoaked hands.
"Sorry, boss. The God rabbited."
"Just stay awake," Fury commanded, "Eyes on me."
"No, I'm clocking out here."
Sobs began to rake through Joei's body and she could no longer stand to look at Coulson's face.
"It's okay boss. Joei? Look at me."
Josephine looked up into the face of her mentor, at the tears in his eyes and the pale skin.
"It's okay. Do you hear me? It's okay."
Sticky hands caught in her hair, ruining her ponytail as she continued to cry. Coulson continued to speak, but never finished his sentence.
"This was never going to work if they didn't have something...to..."
A pair of hands were at Joei's arms, lifting her onto her feet.
"Agent Stark, are you injured?"
Through tears and snot and bloody hair she was able to shake her head.
"You need medical attention."
"I'm fine."
"You're in shock."
"I..." Joei shook her head again, losing awareness of her surroundings as shock and pain and sorrow took over her entire body. So this was what it was like to watch your friend die.
She was walking for a few moments, somebody's arm around her waist to help her, before she felt the swooping sensation of being picked up around the waist by something a lot larger than her.
"What is..."
"You're going home."
Her father's voice startled her back to concioius thought.
"What? No. Loki is out there we have to find him!"
"No, I am going to go find him. You are going home." he said.
His grip was tight enough around her waist that she couldn't get out, hanging parrellel to the ground by his side.
"Let. Me. Go!" she pulled at the suit's metal arm, not managing to so much as move a plate of armor. "I told you I am staying here!"
He didn't answer.
"Dad you put me down right now!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, voice raw as tears continued to fight towards the surface of her eyes.
"There. You're down." he said, putting her on the ground and pushing her softly back into a seat.
It took her a moment to realize where she was. A quinjet, ready for remote takeoff.
"No!" she ran after him, but the door was already closing behind him. "Dad!"
"Hello, Miss Stark," Jarvis' voice rang out, "We will be taking off momentarily, I would suggest buckling up."
"No, Jarvis, stop this and open the door!" she yelled, trying to squeeze her fingers arounda dn door and pry it open to no avail.
"I am unable to do so, Miss. Sir has removed your access to direct the course of this Quinjet."
She punched at the door, leaving behind a red stain, "Can I at least know where we're going?"
"Stark Tower, Miss Stark. There will be a hot shower and freshly pressed clothes waiting for you when you arrive. Please, do have a seat and buckle up for your safety."
Josephine walked to the pilot's seat and glared out the window as she buckled in. She would get to the Tower and sneak out if she had to. There had to be something she could do from the New York base.
When they were in the air and she could stand back up, she looked around at the rather large quinjet. It was made for five or six people and a pilot, with a door on each side. She tried the first door and found a supply closet with backpacks, water, and the type of dehydrated food in a bag that people took to space. The other side revealed a tiny bathroom with a toilet and a small sink. Walking to the sink, she let the water wash away as much of the blood as she could, trying to look away from her face in the mirror and the red water that disappeared through the sink. It didn't work. No matter how hard she tried, her eyes caught her reflection in the mirror.
The blood of her most respected trainer was smeared on her forehead, reaching up to stain her hair a darker shade. Her sleeves were covered in it too, and she looked down at the sink against her will. The red water and the stains still on her hands made her sick, and before she could stop herself she was puking into the sink, the smell of stomach acid and coppery blood mixing in. Tears streamed down her face. She'd always hated throwing up, and could remember doing so twice in her life. Once while she had the flu, and another time after eating twenty chicken nuggets and riding a roller coaster twice in a row on her fourteenth birthday. Neither one of those times had made her feel as terrible.
Her stomach churned once more and her throat burned in protest as she leaned over and emptied her stomach again.
After ten minutes, her hands were as clean as she could get them without soap and she had rinsed her mouth repeatedly. She washed the dried tear tracks off her face and looked down at the crusty shirt sleeves and the stained vest she was still wearing. She pulled the tie out of her hair and ran her roots under the sink, trying to wash it as best as she could in the small space and closing her eyes against more red tinted water.
Hair and face and hands still dripping she walked over to the supply closet and found a shirt that was a size too big. It felt comforting to pull it on after she'd peeled off the dirty vest and shirt from before. It was almost like being a little girl and pulling on one of her father's t-shirts after a day at the pool or on the beach. Almost.
"Miss Stark, we will be arriving in New York in two hours," Jarvis spoke for the first time when she was back in the pilot's seat, "Might I suggest trying to sleep?"
Joei dug into the dirty vest and found her cell phone, "In a minute, Jarvis. Mute, please."
Grateful that her dad hadn't blocked use of her cell phone, Joei searched for Caitlin's number and dialed.
"Hey, what's going on?" Caitlin answered after one ring, "Are you okay? They've got us sending parts and medical supplies to the Hellicarrier. What happened?"
"Bad guy got caught. Bad guy's minions blew up part of the ship. Bad guy got away."
"Are you okay?" Caitlin asked again, sounding gentler this time.
"No. But I need to do something."
"What?"
"Anything. Dad put me on a quinjet headed to the tower. I need you to go over there and turn off the security measures in my room so I can go to the base and figure out where Loki is going next. I'll be there in about two hours."
"I'll have a car waiting for you when you do." Caitlin paused in hesitation, "Joei, what happened up there?"
A knot formed in Joei's throat and her voice sounded foreign, "He killed Agent Coulson, Cait. I watched him die. I can't let Loki win."
Caitlin was silent for a moment before answering with conviction, "He won't. I'll be waiting for you at the Tower."
Josephine had pulled out a mat from the supply closet and did her best to fall asleep on the floor, but every time she closed her eyes images of a dead man and bloody hands flashed before her. Only hours before she had been exhausted, falling asleep with her chin on her fist while she did research. Now sleep was the furthest thing from her mind.
She texted Natasha and found out what had happened to her team. Nat had hurt her leg, Barton was in recovery, Thor and Banner were missing, and Steve and her dad were somewhere on the Hellicarrier with Fury. Loki was going to make his play today, and they had no idea where he was headed.
"We are about to land, Miss Stark."
"Thank you, Jarvis."
The moment Josephine had stepped off the quinjet and onto the landing pad, the quinjet was back in the air. Caitlin was waiting for her at the door, and as soon as she was close enough, Joei's knees gave way and the blonde caught her in her arms.
"Oh, honey...it's going to be okay. Come on, let's get you cleaned up."
The shower in her bathroom felt too shiny and clean and new. She supposed that was how it should be, since the Tower had only gone online yesterday and this was the first time she'd ever officially been in her finished bedroom. Some of it still smelled like the light green paint on the walls. Traces of pink still came away with the water as she washed her hair and scrubbed roughly at her arms. There was no red left, but she could still feel the warm sticky feel of blood. She wondered if that feeling would ever go away as she turned off the water and wrapped herself in a towel that was too soft and too yellow.
There were freshly pressed clothes waiting for her as promised. A pair of pants and a shirt in the same gray and dark blue she'd been wearing before, only without the S.H.I.E.L.D logos to give her away in a city full of photographers waiting to catch a glimpse of a Stark walking out of their new home.
She walked out of the bathroom with a towel still wrapped around her long hair and found Caitlin standing in front of a holographic screen.
"Dad?"
"Joei, you both need to get out of the Tower. I've already called for evac."
"Why?" asked Caitlin.
"The power source," Joei answered before Tony could explain, "He's going to use the Tower, isn't he?"
"He made it personal, and he wants to put on a show. Get out of the Tower. Get out of New York."
"No."
"Goddammit Josephine, would you just listen to me?"
"No!" she yelled at the screen, "No, you are going to listen to me! I don't care what you say I am not leaving! I was supposed to watch Coulson's back! I was supposed to make you idiots a team and I failed! This is just as much my mission as it is yours, and I've failed it. So if there is any chance that Loki's plans can be ruined I am staying here and I am going to help stop him. You can be as angry as you want and you can never speak to me again but you are not dragging me away or locking me in my room. I will see you when you get here. In the mean time, I'm going to continue the evacuation and figure out a way to get the city ready for a potential alien invasion."
Before Tony could answer, she ended the call.
"So what's the plan, boss?" asked Caitlin.
"Partner." Joei corrected, "We're partners."
Caitlin smiled, "What do we do?"
"For starters we have to get people out of here as quietly as possible. Jarvis, how many people in the building?"
"Only fifty, Miss Stark. None of the offices have officially begun work yet."
"Send out a message that we need to run a test with the reactor and will be emptying the building for safety purposes. I want everyone out in five minutes, Jarvis. Where's Mom?"
"On a plane flying over the Atlantic, Miss Stark."
"Good. Can you get me specs to the arc reactor and a way to turn it off manually if it comes to it?"
"Yes, Miss Stark."
"Joei," Caitlin gasped, looking out the window towards the landing pad, "Look."
Josephine looked out the window at the landing pad. She recognized Erik Selvig as he tampered with a large device. Only a few feet away, the God of Mischief stood watching, scepter in hand.
"Get down, we can't let him see us. Jarvis, does he know we're here?"
"No, he has sent a team to enter the building and find the arc reactor. They've informed him that the building is empty."
"Are these windows one way?"
"Yes, Miss Stark. He is unable to see inside, but intends to enter the penthouse."
"Alright, mute all communication within the Tower. You talk to me and Dad directly until this is over."
Joei walked over to the desk in a corner and found her cell phone's hands free device and a Stark Watch.
Caitlin, meanwhile, was rummaging through a backpack in the corner. She pulled out various weapons and handed Joei a belt with two more guns, extra ammunition, and a baton.
"I hear you've gotten pretty handy with one of these."
"So they say. Jarvis, can you turn off the reactor?"
"I can turn off the main energy source, Miss Stark, but your father installed a back up generator in case of emergencies. It may contain enough energy to power Dr. Selvig's devise and can only be shut down manually."
"How many of Loki's minions are headed toward the reactor?"
"Four, Miss Stark. All heavily armed."
Josephine turned toward Caitlin, "Please tell me you brought backup."
"I've got three agents waiting across the street."
"There's an emergency exit on the south side. Have them go in through there and go to the stairwell. We'll meet them there."
While Caitlin contacted their fellow agents, Josephine checked her cell phone and found a text form Romanoff.
Headed to New York with Barton and Cap. Iron Man flying ahead.
Joei smiled wryly at the text. Barton might seem alright to work in the field, but she knew he would be carrying a lot of regret and guilt, especially over Coulson.
As she rode the elevator down with Caitlin, the older girl stared at her curiously.
"Are you going to tell me what happened up there?"
Joei shook her head, "Too much happened. I can't let it get in my head right now, we have a mission to do and failing means the end of the world."
"Now you sound like an Agent."
"I'm not sure I like feeling like one."
They were silent again, until finally reaching the ground floor and sneaking toward the stairwell's doors. Three agents were waiting for them there, all around Caitlin's age.
"Joei this is August, Lucas, and Piper. Guys, this is Joei Stark."
"Yeah," said the girl - Piper, "We know. What's the plan, boss?"
"Does this make us Avengers now?" asked Lucas.
"How do you know about the Avengers?" Joei asked in surprise.
"His Dad is a member of the World Security Council." Piper rolled her eyes. "He likes bragging about things he knows that we don't."
"Then you probably know that your dad and his friends don't think very highly of my team." said Joei.
"I do, but I happen to think he's wrong." said Lucas, "And I'd be honored to help prove it to him. So, again, what's the plan, boss?"
Joei gulped down her nerves. These agents were armed to the teeth, trained in combat, and all older and more experienced than her, but it was her job to tell them what to do. She turned to the watch on her wrist, allowing Jarvis' holographic interface to appear, showing a map of the tower.
"Jarvis, where are the Loki's guys stationed?"
"Two just within Basement Level Four," Jarvis said, showing a blueprint of the floor and two heat signatures, "And another two are currently trying to break into the Arc Reactor's containment room. The back up reactor is in a chamber just beyond that room."
"Alright, then it's probably best if we sneak up on the guys at the door. If the other two get inside that room, I don't want them running off with anything."
"Leave the sneaking to me and Lucas," said August. He was short, but extremely built, making him look like a too buff seventh-grader. "We'll have them down before they even know what hit them."
"If you say so."
"They will," Piper nodded, "Nobody is better at stealth, except maybe Romanoff herself."
"Of you go, then. What about you?" Joei asked Piper.
"I'll watch you backs," said Piper, lifting up her gun, "This baby is full of the fastest working tranquilizers out there. We'll sneak up on them, put them down, and you two can go do whatever science stuff you need. I'll tie them up and get them back to HQ."
"Sounds like a plan."
Caitlin put a hand to her ear, listening to whoever was on the other side, "Lucas says the two at the door are down. Time to go."
All in all, it was easier than Josephine thought it would be. Loki had taken some strong agents and mercenaries into his ranks, but it was obvious the Alien-God believed he had already won. Piper had shot down the other two men in two swift shots, and was now tying them up and preparing to carry them off to the car outside in the noisy basement elevator.
Josephine entered the arc reactor's chamber and stared up in slight disappointment. The reactor at the factory in California had always seemed big and flashy and awe inspiring to her, with its many colors of light spinning so fast it almost made her dizzy. She supposed it was only that way because it was meant to be showed off. The reactor powering the tower was meant for functionality, and was probably less impressive now that it was turned off. It was a big metal circle with a slightly glowing core in the center, perhaps even simpler the reactor in her dad's chest.
She walked past the reactor to a door on the other side of the room. A large generator sat in the middle of the room, hooked up to various wires against the far wall. Just inside was a panel of screens and some buttons.
"What now?" she asked.
Jarvis answered quickly enough, "I have prepared the screen for manual shutoff, Miss Stark. You need only follow the instructions."
Josephine entered her birth date and name, then allowed the screen to take her right handprint.
"Authorizing manual shutdown by Josephine Margaret Stark," said Jarvis in a voice that sounded much more robotic than the AI's usual remarks. A few moments passed and he spoke again, "Access granted."
"Thank you, Jarvis."
"My pleasure, Miss Stark. Once the system shuts down, you must go to the blue lever on the right hand side of the generator and push it all the way down, otherwise the system will reboot."
Josephine followed the instructions to shutdown, and when the screen had counted down and the humming of the generator had stopped, she went to the lever and pushed down. It was hard and required a lot of her strength, but she finally managed to get it down.
"Did you do it?" asked Caitlin.
"Manual shutdown has been successful," said Jarvis through Joei's earpiece.
"We did it. The Tower is offline. Only our phones and the Iron Man suits have access to Jarvis now, and both reactors have been fully powered down."
"We should get back up. There's still going to be an angry alien to deal with."
"Yeah. Maybe we should let the superheroes deal with that guy."
"Miss Stark, Director Nick Fury is requesting communications access."
"Access granted."
"Agent 96."
"Director. We've shut down the power source but we don't know yet if Selvig managed to get his device to work."
"Too little, too late, kid," her dad's voice came in, "The device is already self-sustaining, I'm going to engage Antler Head."
"What?"
"Get out of the Tower."
Joei and Caitlin ran up the Basement stairs and out into the street, watching as the Iron Man suit landed on the roof.
"He's going to get himself killed."
"We need to start getting people out of here."
"Find as many cops and first responders as you can. Spread the word that they may need to evacuate the next few blocks but that we need to avoid chaos. If he can't shut down the portal and Loki manages to get his alien army out here, things are going to get really bad really fast."
"I demand a paid vacation after this," said Caitlin.
"You and me both, hon."