Welcome to The Snowdrop, the fourth instalment of Alvilda's story! Sorry for the slight delay, but I've been busy with work and university.

As always, the Marvel universe belongs to Marvel, but Alvilda is entirely my own.

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Thanks and enjoy,

Phantomshadow99

XXXXXX

I stood back to back against Clint, the two of us shooting arrows at the enemy as Nat drove the vehicle, Thor and Tony soaring above us and taking out men in front of us.

"I have to tell you, this bow is slightly heavier than I thought it would be," I shout to Clint, as he releases one of his explosion arrows.

"I can always take it back," he shouts in answer, and I smirk, releasing an arrow behind us to the vehicle following us, turning as it explodes.

"It's impolite to take a present from someone," I tell him, about to notch an arrow to stop an enemy soldier but Nat kicks him in the face, stopping his attempt at attacking her. I watch as Thor takes out a watch tower in front of us, Steve and Hulk passing us as we reach a barricade. Clint notches an arrow as I slide my bow behind my back, unsheathing my sword instead as we jump from the vehicle as it crashes into the barricade. As the rest of us land on the ground and attack the group of soldiers, Tony flies ahead to the HYDRA base, and I turn when he hits the blue force field.

"Shit!" he shouts over the intercom.

"Language!" Steve reprimands. "JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?"

"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other HYDRA base we've taken," JARVIS answers.

"Loki's sceptre must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defence without it. At long last," Thor says, and I notice Natasha roll her eyes as she races past me, taking out two guards and destroying two vehicles as I fight off three men at once.

"At long last is lasting a little long, boys," she says, and I hum in agreement.

"Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise," Clint says, just as he explodes a vehicle.

"Wait a second. No one else is going to deal with the face that Cap just said 'language'?" Tony asks, and despite myself I laugh at his comment.

"I know. It just slipped out," Steve answers, and I shake my head as I slice through a HYDRA's armour, turning as he falls to the ground.

"Clint!" Nat shouts nearby, and I watch her dodge energy blasts to get to him.

"We have an enhanced in the field," Steve warns, as I cover Natasha, following steadily behind her as she reaches Clint.

"Clint's hit! Somebody want to deal with that bunker?" Nat asks, as I kneel on the other side of Clint. Hulk smashes his way through it at her request, and she smiles slightly. "Thank you." I check Clint's wound, wincing at the sight of it.

"Stark, we really need to get inside," Steve points out.

"I'm closing in," Tony answers. "Drawbridge is down, people."

"Clint is hit pretty hard. We're gonna need evac right away," I say over the comms, glancing at Nat who worriedly sits next to him. "He'll be alright when we get him back. Go help the others, I'll stay with him."

Nat pats Clint's shoulder before running off. Clint groans, and I move to sit so I can look at his wound.

"It's all right, Clint," I tell him soothingly, reaching for my necklace and holding it tightly. Over the last few months, I had begun to understand the power within the necklace, and was able to enhance my own abilities with it. As soon as I placed my other hand over his wound, Clint's groans quieten, and he seems more relaxed.

"How do you do that?" he asks, his breath still a little short.

"Magic," I say, winking at him with a smile as Thor lands beside us.

"Come on you two, there's no time for lying about in a battlefield," Thor teases, and I shake my head as Thor lifts Clint up as gently as he can, before he flies off in the direction of the jet. "Alvilda, do you think you can make it to the jet to keep tending to Barton?" Thor asks over the comms.

"Already on my way," I tell him, running across the woods, dancing out of the way of incoming shots while taking several HYDRA soldiers out. "Nearly there."

"Guys, I got Strucker," Steve says, and I smile at his words and at seeing the sight of the jet.

"Yeah, I got something bigger. Thor, I got eyes on the prize," Tony says, before falling silent. I race into the jet, passing Thor as I go to Clint's side, continuing to relieve some of his pain.

"Tony?" I ask over the comms, glancing at Thor before we hear his reply.

"Was you worried about me, Arwen?" I smile at the nickname, shaking my head.

"I really wish you hadn't made me watch those films," I tell him.

"Guys, lets go home," Steve says over the comms, and I share a glance with Thor in relief.

XXXXXX

Tony sits at the front of the jet, flying us back to Avengers Tower while Steve and I tend to Clint. Natasha sits talking to Bruce for a moment, their words quiet.

"Thor, report on the Hulk?" Nat suddenly asks.

"The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims," Thor answers, and I move to hit him on the back of the head as Nat glares at him and Bruce groans. "Uh, but not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, uh, wounded screams, mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, uh, gout," he says, looking at the sceptre as I shake my head at him.

"Hey Banner, Dr Cho's on her way in from Seoul, is it okay if she sets up in your lab?" Tony asks.

"Uh, yeah, she knows her way around," Bruce answers. Tony puts Jarvis in control of the jet, and comes to stand beside Thor, Steve and myself.

"It feels good, yeah? I mean, you've been after this thing since SHIELD collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties or having an excuse to get a visit from my favourite elf," Tony says, and I smile at him.

"No, but this brings it to a close," Thor says, smiling slightly.

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for. I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?" Steve asks.

"Banner and I'll give it the once over before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?" Tony asks, Thor nodding his approval. "I mean, just a few days until the farewell party. You're staying, right?"

"Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honoured with revels," Thor says.

"Yeah. Who doesn't love revels. Captain?" Tony asks.

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and HYDRA so, yes, revels," Steve says, and I nudge Tony's shoulder.

"The way we 'revel' is very different to your parties, Tony," I tell him, and Thor nods in agreement as the others look at me in amusement.

"Really? How?" Tony asks, smiling.

"We drink a lot more," I tell him, grinning.