This ones a bit short but I wanted to have a bit of space between this chapter and the next. I appreciate the love ya'll ^_^

000

One year later...

Three sets of shoes moved in tandem across the shining metal grates, heralding their wearer's arrival and causing inhabitants of glass cells to look up and cower or nearly drool. The pair at the fore was worn leather boots with steel toes crafted skillfully over the toes. The wearer on the left wore sensible leather flat boots and the third? Well, they had patent-leather stilettos and they skillfully maneuvered the metal grates.

The group of three rounded one more glass cage and spotted their prey hovering over a desk crowded with all manner of items.

"Ah" Taneleer Tivan hummed, as he spotted the females. "I see you've found a way here after all."

"Well, who else in all the worlds would have the balls to collect our sisters' hair for centuries?" the blonde in the middle snapped. "We had little to compare you too." When he looked flattered, the impressive woman grit her teeth. "I'm not here for games. I want their braids and I want them now!"

"I need them to find the Infinity Stones!" His eyes blazed and the women before him knew he would not retain the guise of a creepy, wealthy collector for long if they kept pushing. "I have the Tesseract! I have the Aether! I have another agent moving forward, as we speak, to bring me the Orb of Power! I need the Valkyrie to find the others!"

The lead woman frowned. "You will have to find some other puppets to do your bidding. My sisters will not be helping you any more."

"Yoink!"

He heard the voice from behind and realized that the three women before him were suddenly two. His head swung around and he caught sight of his assistant at the mercy of the missing visitor, the Valkyrie with the red stiletto heels. His slave had a knife to her throat and was clutching the box of hair he'd collected over so many, many decades.

"Stop!"

The Valkyrie pushed the pink-skinned girl forward before snatching the box. "Oops!" she barked, "Last steps a doozy!"

The roar of rage from the Collector was expected and then he dove for the Valkyrie. Tivan hit his knees against the hard metal floor and swung around, spotting the three together again, wielding the mass of hair between the three of them, held by Stiletto and Flats.

"W-wait...don't be so rash." He whispered and lifted his hands as if to placate.

"Shut up." The lead blonde snapped from her place in the middle as pulled her blade from its sheath. With one hard swing, she sliced through the thick bundle of nine different braids, faster than one could blink.

"NO!"

"Buh bye," snapped Stiletto before the quiet one on the side snapped her fingers and they all disappeared, leaving the near-deity to his own devices and pure rage.

OOO

Tell me again why I am being sent to do this job?" Danny barked as they stepped back into Grace's house, nestled in rural upstate New York. "You and Sig stole that thing in the first place."

"An she 'n I are gonna replace it. But you are doing this 'cause my partner is currently caring for her bairn. If ye donna want her job just lift ya hand."

Danny frowned and left Moira to head to the kitchen. Within was Grace on her computer, smiling like a schoolgirl with a crush. "So how're things going with the Cap?" she barked and saw the oldest of their team immediately flush.

"Oh shut it, Danny." Grace chided and continued reading the message from the leader of the Avengers, a.k.a. her new and equally oblivious, non-tech-savvy boyfriend.

They'd met while on a heist for yet another relic to get to yet another Stone. It was the last one just before the hair was cut and Steve Rogers got to see Grace at work in all her glory; he was instantly smitten. They made old timey jokes and chatter since she was raised so close to his time. To top it off they were the most disgustingly chaste couple Danny had ever seen. It just sickened her.

"Hey," Grace said, "Be sure to get your phone data fix in now. We're going up to Siggy's for the month."

"Why? You hate the cold."

Grace shrugged and said, "Well, Steve is going to visit too. He's never been skiing."

"Something tells me you could have had that date anywhere else. What's the real reason?"

"Well it's her home and we need to get the Tesseract someplace isolated before she and Moira can take it back to Asgard. And, contrary to everyone's belief, I do like my sisters...most of the time." Grace said with smirk. "And that little baby is family now too."

Danny smiled and lowered her head. "Yeah, this dysfunctional little family." She looked up, saw Grace's kind green eyes and scratched her head awkwardly. "So uh, we should leave soon then?"

"Yes, once you and Moira get back from Knowhere with the Tesseract."

Danny got to her feet in a snap. "Well, while you talk about sewing whittle socks for baby and other oldies crap to your beau, I'm gonna go find Scotty and get this show on the road."

"Alright but if you want to come with and see the baby you need to pack some clothes early so you can rest before setting up the portal." Grace said as Danny nodded and zipped out of the room. She tried to fight it for a moment but she couldn't contain her shout. "And it's not sewing, it's called knitting!"

It had taken a couple of days, but Danny and Moira came back from the Collectors lair successful. Apparently a ragtag group had sacked the place and took off with the Orb, the power stone.

"It was bloody brilliant!" Moira barked.

"We saw the whole place blow!" Danny chimed in, "Frankly I'm surprised we found the dumb brain rock still intact!" She pulled out the Tesseract from her bag for them all to see. "We yanked it from right under his nose."

Grace was grinning as she saw the stone. "This is wonderful! We can return it and set some things straight; patch up our relationship with Asgard."

"Yes," Moira purred. "Ma bear waits for me to return!"

Danny rolled her eyes. "Okay...well let me get a good long sleep in and some breakfast. Then I'll set the portal and we can hit the snow."

Her sisters both looked excited at the idea. "Sleep tight little bugs." Grace said and shooed the other two to their beds. She made sure to grab her cell phone before heading to her room. Steve wasn't on duty right now.