Natasha kept an eye on the training session, but mostly watched the others. Steve seemed fascinated, though there was little to see except Lukas and Wanda holding hands. Pietro was soon bored, not being part of the session, and stood up to wander to the broken metal gate of the park. There was no one else in view.
She went to talk to him, keeping her voice low to not disturb them at the table, and using Sokovian so he would feel more comfortable, she asked, "How are you feeling?"
He shrugged, big shoulders in his tight jumper that was clearly of European design. "It was nothing. It felt strange briefly, but that was all. Nothing like Wanda's."
"You'll get there. If you want to."
He glanced at her, bright blue eyes surprised by the implication that he didn't want to. "I want to help. I want to learn what I can do. But Wanda was always the one with a gift, not me. It seems strange to think I can be like them," he gestured toward his sister and Lukas.
"Just… keep it to yourself," Natasha warned him. "You know what happened to Lukas. Hydra isn't the only threat to people with superhuman powers either. And watch over your sister."
"I always do," he promised. He glanced back at them, as if he'd heard or felt something strange, and narrowed his eyes. "Wanda? Wanda, no!"
She turned to see what was wrong, and was only a little slower than Pietro rushing back to the table. The scarlet threads twined around her hands, which were held up between her and Lukas, and it seemed clear that she was pulling something from him. Wanda's eyes were closed, while his were open. They were also odd – the irises were red and glowing, staring into the fire she had created. His lips were parted and his expression was strangely rapt, though his hands showed some distress, pressing flat on the table.
"No, Wanda, stop!" Pietro said loudly and grabbed her shoulders to shake her. Natasha lunged at him to stop him, but too late- the red energy exploded outward.
Natasha tried to duck, but was still hurled off her feet and into the hedge lining the path. Forcing herself back to her feet to check on the others, she gaped – half the table and one entire stool were simply gone, as if melted. Lukas was on the ground, while Wanda was still sitting on the metal stool but her eyes blinked and went wide with distress as she understood what had happened.
In horror she looked at her hands and where the table should have been. "No, no, I – please, no." She flung herself down to Lukas' side where thankfully he stirred. "Please be okay," she whispered and covered her mouth with one hand, while she looked near crying.
"Are you both all right?" Steve asked.
Lukas opened his eyes, which were back to normal. He looked up at Wanda, and a smile grew on his face. "You are powerful, little one."
"I'm dangerous." She looked at her hands as if she might want to chop them off if she could.
"So am I," he returned, with a shrug, as he sat up. When he saw how frightened she still seemed, he tipped her chin up to face him. "I like that it runs in the family."
She shook her head, not comforted, whispering, "I could've killed you."
He chuckled. "Well, let's not get carried away. I doubt that. But you should have a better grounding now. You learned a lot from what I showed you; you merely need to absorb it."
She nodded, trying very hard to accept that, but not appearing to be too confident, biting her lip with anxiety.
Steve held out a hand and pulled Wanda to her feet. "No one was hurt, Wanda. Everything's okay."
Natasha gave Lukas some help up, and he surreptitiously steadied himself on her shoulder as if light-headed.
Pietro wrapped an arm around Wanda's shoulders, and she leaned her head into him.
Steve trailed a hand along the new edge of the partial table and shook his head. "No one will ever guess what happened."
"Someday someone will," Lukas said. "Someday they'll know what we can do. The world is a dangerous place, and the universe more so."
Natasha intervened before Lukas could suggest he and Wanda return to training. "But they shouldn't know today. We should head back. We have a dinner reservation with the Barnes family, and I think Wanda needs to rest."
As intended, when she put it that way, Lukas could be gallant and not have to admit his own tiredness. "Yes, of course, that was a lot of power for one unused to wielding it. We'll walk back to the hotel, slowly." He caught her hand at the gate. "Wanda. You need not fear your power. You will learn to control it, and you will be amazing."
She glanced back at the ruined table, but when her eyes met his, she seemed to know he meant it and her posture grew easier. "You are a good teacher, Forefather, and I am proud to be of your blood." She went up on her toes to kiss his cheek, giving an impish grin, and leaving Lukas somewhat stunned behind her. Steve gripped his shoulder and followed the twins.
Natasha laughed softly. "Is this where I say I told you so?"
"Hush, Natalya. I am having a moment."
"A moment? Do you need privacy for that?" she teased.
He offered his arm, very old-fashioned. "I need only you. Shall we?"
She tucked her hand around his arm, and did her best Jane Austen impression, "Indeed we shall, Mister Onsdag."
In the restaurant, Loki entered the separate room behind James, with Natasha and Steve at his heels. The room held an oval table, set for seven, and two women were standing together, talking while they waited for the others to arrive. One was older, with silvering dark hair, straight and cut off at her chin, and the other much younger, blonde, with a pretty smile.
The older woman's eyes found him right away and in an instant, her face lit up with delight. He knew who she had to be, finally.
"You're here!" she exclaimed. "You're here!" He tried to shake her hand, but she took his between both of hers and was not intending to let go. "Here you are. I've dreamed of meeting you for so long, and now you're here, and all I can say is thank you. Thank you so much for helping Mother."
Her eyes grew wet as she stared at him, apparently overwhelmed by gratitude, until he started to not know what to say.
Fortunately James rescued him. "Lucy, sweetie, either hug him or let him go."
Loki expected the latter, but Lucy threw her arms aruond him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered into his hair, before sniffing and letting go. "Well, I told Steve I was going to do that, I thought I should keep my promise."
James cleared his throat. "Lukas, this hugging demon is my daughter Lucy, as I'm sure you've gathered. And the lovely young thing beside her is my grand-niece Sharon Carter. Sharon is our eyes-and-ears inside SHIELD, as she was promoted to full agent status last year."
Sharon smiled and shook Loki's hand. "I'll say it too, thank you for helping Aunt Peggy."
"Of course. Grand-niece? From her brother, Michael, was it?" Loki asked them. "Was he not in England then?"
Sharon's smile faded into something fixed. "My parents died when I was little, and I came to live with Aunt Lucy."
"Ah, I am sorry," Loki said to her, "I did not know."
"It was a long time ago," she asnwered and flashed another smile. "Auntie, the present?" she prompted.
"Yes, of course," Lucy dug into her over-sized bag and brought out a wrapped box which she handed to Loki. "This is for you."
"A present? I like presents," Loki said and lifted the lid of the carboard box, to find a book nestled in tissue paper within. It was a large book, with an umarked brown leather cover, and he frowned as he examined it. Sharon took the packaging from him, and he opened the cover – his fingers froze, at the sight of the runic letters.
A Rabbit's Guide to the Universe.
Lucy explained softly, "I know Elliot Randolph, of course, since our field is not that big. And I knew the book was yours. Several years ago, I persuaded him to give me a photocopy of the entire book before he published the translation, and I had it bound. Sharon told me the original was lost, so I thought I could give this to you."
"I-" he started, and his voice died. He had to clear his throat, clasping the book tightly. "I thank you, Lucy. It is a kind thought."
She smiled, pleased that he was accepting the book. "Did you write it?" she asked. "The dedication said you did. But by dictation or-?"
"I wrote it myself," he interrupted, looking down at a page he'd opened at random. The paradox of conversion, it was. His lips twitched in amusement. Plainly no Midgardian had ever understood it or they'd be much farther along technologically.
"By hand?" Lucy asked, sounding aghast or amazed by this revelation. "Oh my God, it was in your hand, the whole time? I never dreamed – I thought for sure a prince of Asgard, you must have had scribes or a printer or- or something! Not that you wrote it yourself in ink."
He laughed softly at her shock. "Creating something by hand we believe is a more valuable gift. We have time, after all, and we all learn to write. Plus, I needed it to be in arensk, and no one else could do that, except for me."
He flipped through the book, pleased to see at least his writing survived, though saddened that the original that Elsa had touched was gone. A copy was better than nothing, but it was still a copy.
He tucked it into his jacket pocket and made himself smile at her. "Shall we sit? I see waiters hovering back there, waiting to take our drink orders."
They seated themselves around the oval table, leaving one empty chair which he noticed. "Is there another person coming?"
Lucy chuckled. "It's your chair, isn't it? I thought we should follow Arendelle custom. You know we kept a chair at Thanksgiving and Christmas for you?"
"Did you?" he glanced at James, who nodded confirmation, and Loki was touched. "But, I am here, so there is no need for another seat, is there?" But he looked around and said as Sharon rose to push the chair out of the way. "No, wait. There is one missing. We shall say that is Margaret's chair, since she is with us in spirit, if not in body tonight. Let it stay."
The empty seat remained for Peggy, with the others' approval, and Loki basked in the conversation and the sense of peace being with them. He told stories to answer Lucy's eager questions, and was glad to hear that she had lied to SHIELD about Mjolnir.
"Of course I suspected whose it was," she told him as an aside, as they ate their appetizers. "But I didn't want to tell them for certain that either you or Thor were on Earth again. Which seems strange, I suppose, given Sharon and my own parents' involvement, I guess – I just thought you should be the one to reveal it, not me." Her smile widened. "Though I was very excited, inside, and I told Sharon to give me all the news about it."
He glanced across the table at Sharon, an approving smirk on his lips, teasing, "You are quite the spy, aren't you?"
"Family sticks together," Sharon answered with a look at James, as if he'd been the source of the phrase. "They taught me that. And you're family."
"Am I? Then I am content."
That was mostly true, even if something nagged at him that it wasn't really true. He wasn't blood with them; only friendship. Only with James and Steve could he rely on long-term acquaintance. The others were dragged along in their wake, friendly to him because James was and because Lucy was interested in him because of her studies. Was any of that truly lasting?
The doubt nagged at him, and he touched the book, reminding himself that he had blood family as well. Blood was not so easily ignored, and now he had Pietro and Wanda to teach. Perhaps their father if he could be found, as well. Then he wouldn't need to depend on James' family, but he would have his own.
Natasha's phone trilled a text notification and she grimaced in apology while she looked at the message with a quick smile. "Sorry. But I just got approval for a mission, if you'd be interested in a little action?" she asked him and flicked her gaze at Steve to include him, too.
"Sure," James offered before anyone else could speak. "I'll go."
"Dad!" Lucy exclaimed.
"What? Am I not fitter than men half my age?" he retorted and held out his prosthetic arm, curling his hand into a fist.
"Yes, Dad. And what would Mom say?" Lucy returned.
"She'd say I should go with Steve and Lukas, pumpkin."
Lucy grimaced. "This is why you were both impossible," she muttered, and Loki heard an echo of his own annoyance with his own family growing up and he had to smile.
"Buck," Steve advised, "Why don't we hear what the action is? Is this something from SHIELD?"
She nodded and tapped her phone. "I just got approval from Fury. When I was in Arendelle, researching you," she told Loki, "I heard about a mysterious creature up in the northern mountains."
Loki was disappointed, waving a hand in dismissal. "Old stories about me, that's all."
"Maybe. But a hike in the mountains could be fun? And maybe you'd like to take a break and go home for a little while?" she asked.
"It's not my home," he answered shortly, but had to look away at the sharp pain the words caused in him by the denial. Arendelle wasn't home, it couldn't be. "My place is here now."
"We'll come back," Natasha reassured him.
"You were the one who wanted to have an adventure," Steve reminded him. "Maybe it'd be good to go in the wild, away from the media for a bit."
Loki felt cornered, with Natasha and Steve on both sides pushing him to go, and stood up. "Is this about wanting me away from Wanda and Pietro?" he accused Natasha. "To make sure SHIELD gets to Erik first? Because I won't allow them to keep him, I promise that. I will tear it apart if harm comes to any of them."
"No!" Natasha protested, but he ignored her to head for the archway to the main dining room. She came after him, catching up in the small hallway outside the restrooms. "Lukas, no, you know that's not true."
"Do I?" he insisted bitterly. "I find it very convenient that SHIELD wishes me elsewhere, now that I have found them."
"It was my idea," she told him and curled a hand around his forearm to hold him in front of her. "Mine, not SHIELD's. I thought you'd want to go to Arendelle. You, me, and Steve if he wants, nobody else. You could take some time for yourself and recover away from all of them," she gestured with her other hand out toward the strangers in the dining room. "Wanda and Pietro will be fine; it's you I'm concerned about."
Those bright eyes met his, somber with truth. "Let's go away for a little while," she coaxed. Her hand slid down, circling his wrist loosely and to curl her fingers to hold his hand. "C'mon. You want to look for the monster that haunts the northern Arendelle mountains, you know you do."
He snorted. "There is no monster, that is absurd."
"Then it'll be a nice hike." She hesitated and smiled with more than a little mischief, as if dangling a present before him, "There'll be snow. Lots of snow and cold and familiar land. And we'll be away from all this, on our own."
Snow in the mountains did sound appealing. The inevitable media hounding here, did not. On his own terms, he could play them, but he feared they might provoke a reaction he couldn't control right now. He needed to get his mind in shape before he confronted them, and that would be better done someplace else.
He leaned against the wall and regarded her wryly. "So. Winter therapy? Is that your real plan? Not monster hunting?"
She tipped her head in acknowledgment of the truth. "Both? Maria's looking for a doctor. But until then, let's go back to Arendelle."
"I thought you wanted me to be around other people."
"I do, and you will be. But you're restless," she pointed out. "And that stunt at the Mall proved you're careless as well. It'll do you and Steve good to be active in a safer place."
She had a point, that it would be good for Steve. Now that Captain America was back in the world, he needed some space, too.
"All right, fair enough. If Steven goes, too."
"Good." She touched the back of his hand. "I think it'll help. Let's go back."
In the dining room, Loki noticed a certain quiet had fallen and James seemed a bit sullen, as if there'd been an argument and he'd lost. All their eyes turned toward the entrance as Loki came through, and he gave a smile. "Forgive the interruption. Steven, are you still interested in joining Natasha and I on our arctic adventure? It will be cold and snowy, so I would understand if you'd rather not."
"Of course I'll go with you," Steve said.
"James?" Loki asked.
Barnes glanced at his daughter then shook his head. "I feel fit enough, but it's far, and I don't want to leave Peggy for very long."
Ah, so that was what the argument had been about, Loki realized. He'd wanted to go but Lucy had prevailed upon him to stay. "Probably for the best," Loki said. "Hiking in the snow looking for fictional beasts seems a slight adventure. But it will help Steven and I if we vanish from the media for a few days."
"They'll probably leave the rest home, too," Steve added. "But I'll miss you, buddy. We need to find something fun two old geezers can do together."
"Shuffleboard and bridge, according to the children," James said, glowering at his daughter and Sharon.
Loki didn't like his friends arguing and intervened, "Nonsense. If you want to play a card game, play whist. Much more entertaining. I financed my travel in Europe with that."
"Gambling?" Lucy exclaimed, sounding shocked.
He smirked and spread his hands. "Even a god needs pocket change."
The others laughed, and with everyone in a better mood, they resumed dinner and more idle chat to spend a more pleasant evening.
Natasha wasn't one to let the grass grow under her feet once a decision was made, and so she got everything ready and was waiting to collect Lukas and Steve after their morning run to the Mall.
Lukas was in clear good humor, coming up to her with a smile. She heaved a sigh and asked dryly, "YouTube again?"
"I said no more running on top of cars, since I don't think we should be causing accidents," Steve said and Lukas snorted as if that was a stupid complaint. "So what did he do? Climb on top of a tour bus."
"A bus is not a car," Lukas objected.
She made a show of pulling out her phone. "Director Fury's irate phone call in 5 – 4-"
"Surely it's too soon for him to know about it?" Loki interrupted, sounding slightly anxious, which gave her the opening.
"You'd think, but he has ways. But lucky for you, we have a quinjet assigned to us. So you two need to pack a bag. Winter gear should already be aboard so don't worry about it. I'm calling for a car right now and checking us out."
"But-" Lukas started in protest.
She stared him down. "We are getting out of this city before you get someone killed. Go on, go get your things."
Funny how two large men could look so completely abashed, share a glance, and make a tactical retreat to their rooms to pack.
It was even funnier when Lukas returned with his small bag and his eyes widened to see that she'd changed into her tac suit. His gaze dropped, and while she'd normally have either ignored or used his reaction, this time she teased, "My eyes are up here."
"And lovely eyes they are, but I like the entire package they come in," he retorted.
It was rather shabby retaliation to let her gaze linger on the snug fit of his black t-shirt, but she did it anyway, making sure he noticed what she was doing. His lips curved in a smirk, and did his black jeans just get tighter? No, that was ridiculous; it was a trick of the shadows.
She was glad for Steve's arrival, and his look at her tac suit was not nearly so lingering.
The SHIELD driver took them to the air force base and the SHIELD hangar near the fighter jets and the quinjet sitting quietly.
Sharon was waiting for them, wearing her tac suit and a short jacket over it. Her step was more businesslike as well as she came to meet them. Her eyes flicked deliberately toward the other agents. "Agent Romanoff, the quinjet's fueled and ready to go with the equipment you suggested. Here's the update on current intelligence."
"Thank you, Agent Carter." Natasha took the thin sealed envelope.
Sharon offered her hand to Lukas. "Have a good trip, Mister Onsdag."
"Thank you, Sharon," Lukas answered, and shook her hand. She nodded to Steve, and headed for the car, gesturing the minor agents to come with them, clearing the tarmac.
"That's … quite an airplane," Steve observed, staring at it.
"It's better than the alternative," Lukas muttered and headed up the ramp. He wasn't carrying anything, even though Natasha knew he'd had a small bag in the lobby when they'd left.
"I'll tell you about it while I do the checklist," Natasha told Steve and nudged him as she pased, to get him going. In the hold, there was the requested gear, two hiking packs, webbed to one of the seat.
There was another case, large and flat, armored and locked to her biometrics. She tapped it as she went forward, knowing both Lukas and Steve would like seeing the present inside.
On board, Lukas said, "Natalya. This is an data storage device, I believe?" He opened his hand to display a thumb drive that Sharon had slipped into his hand.
"Yes. Let me get us in flight and then you can take a look at it."
The checklist complete quickly, Natasha took them up, set the flight plan to Arendelle, and let the autopilot take over. The AI of a quinjet was advanced, and as long as she kept an ear out for trouble, she didn't mind stepping away from the pilot's seat.
"First, I have a present for Cap. From SHIELD." She unlocked the case and lifted the lid. "Tactical suit for you. Protective, and will help keep you warm besides." She handed him the pile. It was navy blue with black and white edging, and a star in the front.
Lukas was also watching, curious. "It seems more subtle than your old suit."
"It looks nice," Steve said.
"But?" she prompted when he didn't go on.
"Nothing, It just seems somber."
"It's a tactical suit, not a stage costume," she said dryly, knowing the source of his previous outfit. "But best for last." Handling it by the edges and surprised by its lightness, she lifted Cap's shield out of the case.
"You brought it!" He seized it eagerly. "Fury told me it was in storage."
Shr shrugged, uncertain where it came from. "They gave me the case. That's all I know."
Steve fingered the scuff marks on the front, with a soft smile, and kept the shield across his lap. "Thank you, Natasha."
"You should change, Steven," Lukas advised. "And meanwhile, Natalya will help with this." He waved the thumb drive as if she'd forgotten.
She plucked it away. "Let's see what Sharon found." Knowing Lukas was concerned about the information's security, she used the laptop to isolate the intel from SHIELD, and looked at the files.
"It's about Erik," she confirmed, and Lukas was suddenly there, crowding her space and looking at the screen. She ducked out from under to let him have the chair and brushed his shoulder to let him know she was with him.
He read what little Sharon had found, and his lips shaped the name, before he lifted his head to Natasha. His eyes were shining. "Erik Lensherr. That's his name, Natalya. Sharon found his full name. I need to find him."
"We willl. We'll track him down together," she promised. "He's out there somewhere, Lukas. When we're back, we'll find him."
He turned back to the photo Sharon had found of a man who looked related to Pietro, with the same pale blond hair cut short and eyes of arresting blue even in the faded copied photo. "Erik," Lukas murmured. "Where are you right now? Who are you?"
She hoped Erik was still alive. The information Sharon had found ended almost the moment Wanda and Pietro had been born; he'd buried his identity, which made Natasha wonder what had happened.
They'd find out. Lukas would never let it go, not until he knew what had happened to Wanda and Pietro's father and how the man was related to him. It was a foreign obsession to Natasha, but she would support his desire. It would help his stability and keep him on Earth.
They sped toward Arendelle, where she'd started as a spy assigned to a target. She was still an agent of SHIELD, but she knew about magic now, and she was on this jet with the Ice Demon and Captain America. She felt like she'd become something new.
tbc...