Kirsi: Chapter 4 Rescuing the Princess
Based on a challenge/prompt by Sheneya at "Avengers Fanfic Challenges and Recommended Reading"
Standard Fanfic Disclaimer that wouldn't last ten seconds in a court of law: Based on characters and situations created by somebody else (other than Kirsi Lokidottir, who's mine). All other characters {beyond minor NPCs} are from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and used without permission and without any hope or chance of financial profit. Just in case anybody has any doubts, I do not own the Avengers. (Wish I did.) To paraphrase Aggie2011, if I owned the Avengers, Joss Whedon and J. Michael Straczynski would be collaborating on the Hawkeye/Black Widow movie right now. Ten thousand thanks to Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joss Whedon, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner, Marvel Comics, Disney Studios, et al. This story is debuting as 'netfic and has not previously been printed in any fanzine or APA. Please don't sue. I'm too broke to pay attention, let alone legal fees.
Challenge: Loki had a daughter. He brought her with him during the Earth invasion, thinking he was going to win. He spent so much time on trying to take over, he usually dumped her on MindSlave!Hawkeye to look after. After his defeat, it's revealed that due to an ancient Asgard law, now that Loki's going to prison, Hawkeye is her legal guardian. How will he cope with going from a solitary person, to looking after the child of the man who used him so badly? Not to mention the well meaning, but not always usable, help of his fellow Avengers.
Evan Begay sat in one of the holding cells in the Heli-Carrier's brig. He'd sat there, just sat, since SHIELD had recaptured him. He hadn't responded to interrogation. He hadn't responded to attempts to deprogram him. He'd checked the cell, looking for a way to escape, and finding none, sat on the bunk. Just sat without saying a word.
A week ago, Begay had been an up-and-coming SHIELD agent. Fluent in English, Spanish, Navajo, and Apache. Studying German. Sharpshooter. Pilot. BS in aeronautical engineering, working on an MS on-line in his spare time. Then Barton had betrayed him to Loki. A day later, he'd attacked the Heli-Carrier and had been captured by his own people. At least, they used to be his own people. His loyalty now belonged wholly and completely to Loki.
Begay heard the guard's voice in the corridor.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" the guard called out. "You're not author- "
Then Begay heard a heavy thud.
A moment later Barton appeared at the cell door. "I was sent to free you. Loki needs you."
Begay stood. "I'm ready to go."
"Quietly," Barton warned. He opened the door. He led Begay down the corridor and past the guard lying on the floor. Through service corridors and back ways, the redhead led the pilot to the flight deck. They passed a few agents lying dead or unconscious on the way.
Two guards stood beside a quinjet on the flight deck. Barton pulled his gun and fired twice. Both guards fell to the deck.
"C'mon." Barton led the way to the quinjet. "We need to rescue Princess Kirsi. Can you fly us back to Loki's base?"
"Of course." Without bothering with a preflight check, Begay took off.
On the command deck, Fury announced into the PA system: "Stage one of Operation Briarpatch is over. All corpses, time to wake up. I'm not paying you to sleep on the job." He turned to face Stark, standing beside him in his Iron Man armor. "We've got a tracker in the plane. Give him a ten minutes' headstart, then follow."
Begay landed the quinjet smoothly at what had once been an AIM base. "Shall I wait here for you?"
Barton shook his head. "I'll need you."
Begay rose from the pilot's seat and headed for the back of the plane. Barton walked behind him. He kicked Begay in the knee. Begay stumbled. Barton lifted his left hand and brought it down against Begay's neck. The pilot slumped to the floor. Barton quickly handcuffed and gagged Begay. Then he took out his communicator. "Hawkeye. Down and safe."
"Robin Hood, didn't know you were a B7 fan," Stark's voice came over the communicator.
"How soon can you be here?" Barton asked.
"Give us about fifteen minutes," Stark replied. "We're following your tracking signal."
"I'll get started here," Barton replied.
"Negative, Hawkeye, wait for backup," Agent Kent interrupted.
"Verily, archer, 'twould be wisest to await our coming," Thor's voice came over the communicator. "Only a fool marches into a nest of bilgesnipe alone."
"Don't worry; I can handle it."
"Rule of thumb, Legolas: if someone says 'don't worry,' I automatically start worrying," Stark said.
"That's an order, Hawkeye. Wait for backup," Kent told him.
"Okay, Barton out." He flipped off the communicator. Then he grinned. "Kent, you know I'm rotten at obeying orders." As he sauntered out of the plane, he wondered what a nest of bilgesnipe was.
Two men in lab coats were approaching the plane. Barton wondered if they were still Loki's mind-slaves or if his influence had faded. He'd have to play it by ear.
"This is a private facility," the taller of the pair said when they were close enough to talk without shouting.
"I've been here before," Barton said.
"You were with Selvig," the shorter of the pair said.
Barton nodded. "I've brought back supplies." He gestured at the plane. "Can you give me a hand with them?"
The two men followed him back into the airplane. It took him longer to tie them up afterwards than it did to knock them both out. Barton's blue-gray eyes gleamed mischievously. All the AIM guards and SHIELD agents had come with him to Stuttgart or else attacked the Heli-Carrier. There were only scientists and lab techs here. If he could get them alone or in small groups, he could take out everyone on the base before the second quinjet arrived with Iron Man, Thor, Kent, and the other SHIELD agents.
On board the quinjet, Lee, one of the SHIELD agents assigned to backup Thor and Iron Man, offered, "Twenty bucks says Barton goes after the entire AIM base singlehandedly instead of waiting for us."
"No bet." Agent Kent shook his head. "Do you know how many times Barton's been written up for insubordination?"
"The question isn't whether Barton will try to take the entire base on singlehanded," Agent Wolfe replied. "The question is how many he'll manage to get before we get there."
"What will happen to the men my brother enslaved?" Thor asked hesitantly.
"Some we'll arrest, others we'll rescue," Kent said, "depending on whether they were enemies of SHIELD who agreed to help Loki willingly or our agents and scientists who were mind-controlled."
"If we can use Barton as a Judas-goat to get the others alone, we should be able to capture them with almost no bloodshed," Wolfe predicted. "Then we can separate the sheep from the goats {1} and attempt deprogramming once we get back to the Heli-Carrier."
"Judas-goat?" Stark repeated. Electronics and finance he knew, livestock he didn't.
"What is the talk of sheep and goats?" Thor asked. He couldn't see what it had to do with the matter at hand, beyond making him hungry. A good roast mutton, or perhaps a goat stew, would be a fine thing to fill his belly. He felt as hungry as his comrade Volstagg.
"At a slaughterhouse, they use a trained goat to lead the other animals - - sometimes cattle, sometimes sheep - - up the ramp and in to be slaughtered. He goes round in a circle, thinks it's all a big game, and never notices that the animals that follow him in don't follow him out," Lee explained.
Thor nodded, understanding now. "Hawk's Eye shall let the others believe he is still Loki's loyal servant, and they will trust him, and let themselves be taken unawares."
"Hawkeye," Kent emphasized the correct pronunciation of Barton's codename, "is tough enough to take out the whole base by himself." Under his breath, he added, "And stupid enough to try."
When the quinjet landed, Kent was surprised but pleased to find out that Barton had almost obeyed orders. He'd only captured nine of Loki's mind-slaves by himself.
Barton went hesitantly to the lounge where he and Kirsi had watched TV and made music together. He didn't hear the harp. Maybe she wasn't there.
He opened the door. The television was on. A cartoon with a two boys, one with a triangular head and the other with green hair, was playing. Kirsi sat in the corner, quietly embroidering. Dr. Alvarez sat beside her.
"Barton!" Kirsi rose to her feet. "You're finally back. Is my father with you?" She saw Thor, and dropped a curtsy. "Prince Thor."
Thor knelt before Kirsi so they were at eye level with each other. He gestured toward Barton. "Child, dost thou remember what thy father said to this man? Exactly what he said?"
"Father - Prince Loki," she corrected herself, "told him to watch me and guard me." Kirsi pursed her lips, thinking. "Before Barton and I started our music lessons, Fa- Prince Loki said he was to watch over me and guard me with his life."
"Music lessons?" Stark repeated.
"Then later, Prince Loki told Barton he 'trusted him with me and to guard me."
"I entrust her to your care, Barton. Guard her well," Barton recited. Every word Loki had said was engraved on his brain. "That's what he ordered."
"He said entrusted? You're sure of the wording?" Thor asked.
Barton nodded.
Kirsi nodded, too. "Father said he entrusted," she enunciated the word carefully this time, "me to Barton's care, and Barton said he'd guard me with his life. And he has, Prince Thor. He's the best of Father's henchmen." She glanced at Dr. Alvarez and lowered her voice. "Much better than her."
Thor rose. "Wait here a moment, child." He led Barton and Stark out of the lounge and back into the hallway. He frowned.
"What's wrong?" Stark asked.
Thor sighed. "By Asgardian law, Loki has made Hawkeye Kirsi's guardian."
"Me?"
Thor nodded.
"That was when he had me mind-controlled. Natasha broke his hold on me," Barton pointed out.
"Nonetheless, he entrusted her to you. And he did not relieve you of the responsibility."
"You're her uncle. Next of kin. You can take her back to her mother," Barton suggested.
A sheepish expression came over Thor's face. "I am not her uncle."
"What, because he's adopted?" Stark asked.
"Loki is not married to Kirsi's mother," Thor confessed quietly.
"Yeah, that happens here, too." Stark spoke in a 'big deal - so what' tone.
"Kirsi Marendottir was Maren Vidardottir's child, and should have been returned to her mother. In the letter Loki wrote to Maren, he said he claimed a father's right to Kirsi. That made her Kirsi Lokidottir, and his child. If he is arrested, imprisoned, then guardianship falls to you," Thor explained.
"I am not her guardian," Barton insisted.
"By our laws, you are," Thor retorted.
"Then I'll write you a note giving her uncle permission to return her to her mother."
"I am not her uncle. Well, I am her uncle, but in law -" Thor's tongue stumbled to an awkward stop.
"We get it. Bastards don't have equal rights in Asgard," Barton said bluntly. "First off, we're not in Asgard. Second, she's a nice kid, but she's not my kid."
Thor hesitated a moment before answering. "You're the only one she trusts."
"Fury, we have a problem," Stark announced as soon as they returned to the Heli-Carrier.
Fury scowled. "What now?"
"Let me get the princess settled away first," Barton said. He turned to Romanoff, who was standing waiting beside Fury. His face stayed the same, an expression of barely controlled anger and frustration, but his eyes smiled at her. "Can you watch her and get her fed while I talk to Fury?"
Romanoff nodded.
"Princess Kirsi, this is Agent Romanoff. She's going to get you something to eat and take you somewhere safe to wait, all right?" Barton asked.
Kirsi pouted. "I want to stay with you."
"Romanoff Flamehair is a mighty warrioress. You may trust her, child," Thor assured her.
"I want to go with you," Kirsi insisted.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," Barton promised.
Kirsi looked unconvinced.
"You'll be safe with Romanoff," Barton told her. "She's my best friend in the whole world."
Kirsi nodded.
"This way," Romanoff gestured. Kirsi followed her.
Fury waited until they were out of earshot before asking, "What's up?"
"In private, sir," Barton said. He started walking off, not waiting to see whether the others were following or not.
Muttering profanities, Fury followed after him, and Stark and Thor after him. Once they got to his office, Fury spoke the profanities aloud. Then he asked, "What is going on?"
"My brother has invoked a technicality of Asgardian law," Thor said.
"What sort of technicality?" Fury demanded.
Hawkeye glanced around the room, looking anywhere but at his boss. "Loki made me his kid's guardian. Thor says I have custody, even over her mother."
"Loki hinted at this, at Stark's tower," Thor confessed. "I did not dare believe he spoke truly."
Barton turned and glared at Thor. "You knew yesterday I might be her guardian and you didn't say anything?"
"I thought - I hoped - he did but bluff." He turned from Barton to Fury. "Your plan to use Kirsi as hostage will fail. Loki will expect Hawkeye to protect her ... even from you."
Fury frowned.
"I shall contact my father. He is lawgiver over all of Asgard; he can overrule this guardianship, I am sure," Thor offered.
"Could I speak to your father?" Fury asked.
Thor shook his head. "The spell to reach Asgard is a difficult one, and I have small skill at magic. I must do this alone, if I hope to make the spell work."
Fury looked at Stark. "Your next project is a transdimensional communicator."
Stark nodded.
"You need anything to set this spell?" Fury wasn't about to ask if Thor needed material components to accomplish the spell; he'd never hear the end of it if Stark knew he played D & D.
"Privacy, a mirror, a bowl of water."
Fury gestured to the door behind them. "My private bathroom. The one place in this boat I can guarantee there are no eyes or ears."
Thor drew his knife, and pricked his thumb. The single drop of blood fell into the bowl of water. He spoke the incantation his father had forced him to memorize. Then he dipped a finger in the water and drew a circle on the mirror. "Father, can you hear me?"
Thor waited. There was no response. He feared he had misspoken the spell, and repeated the words. "Father, hear my call."
Odin's visage appeared on the mirror. "My son."
Thor sighed in relief. The spell had worked.
"Are you well, my son?"
"Bruised in battle, but still hale, still hearty," he assured his father.
"And your brother?"
"Captured. He lives, and my allies have agreed he shall return to Asgard to face your justice there. There is ... a problem."
"Speak, Thor," Odin commanded.
"Kirsi Marendottir is now Kirsi Lokidottir. My brother has acknowledged the girl, and he has entrusted her to my brother-in-arms, the archer," Thor explained. "He was Loki's slave, but now is free ... and he would rather not take charge of the child. He thinks it would be better to return her to her mother."
Within the mirror, Odin's image stroked his beard.
"Surely it would be better for Kirsi to return home. Midgard is a strange and perilous place, and the maid would be more comfortable at home," Thor suggested.
"The archer is your brother-in-arms, you say?"
"Yes, Father. A worthy warrior."
Odin said nothing, and Thor did not know if he were thinking, or if the communication spell had faltered.
"Loki entrusted Kirsi to this Hawkeye?"
"Yes, Father." He had not told Odin Barton's code-name, but it did not surprise him that the All-Father knew. "Both he and Kirsi confirmed it ... although when Loki did so, I do not think Hawkeye knew the true meaning of his words."
"Nonetheless, my granddaughter was entrusted to this Hawkeye." Thor opened his mouth to interrupt, surprised that Odin acknowledged the girl as kin, but the king of Asgard continued, "Too long have our realms been separate. If we are to once again ally ourselves with Midgard, and take them under our protection, 'twould be good to have an Asgardian fostered on Midgard, learning their ways. Let Kirsi remain with the archer."
"But Father -"
"I do not think the war-leader Fury will disagree with my judgment. Return soon with your brother." Odin's image disappeared from the mirror.
"Husband, are you wise?" Frigga asked. She had sat and watched as Odin spoke to Thor.
"Huginn and Muninn {2} have shown me this Fury. He does not trust us. A fosterling will reassure him," Odin told his wife.
"Fosterling or hostage?" she asked.
"Are the two truly different?" Odin countered.
"Maren will be in tears," Frigga reminded him.
"Would she rather weep for a daughter on Midgard, or weep for a daughter in Hela's realm? Those who would condemn Loki would not treat his daughter gently, and now that he has acknowledged her, she has not the anonymity of bastardy to shield her." Odin had known, of course, that Kirsi was Loki's child, but until he acknowledged her as his daughter, Odin could not acknowledge her as his grandchild. "She may well be safer with the humans."
Frigga nodded. "And what punishment will you set for our son?"
"I do not know," Odin confessed. "I do not know."
Thor returned to Fury's office, a stunned expression on his face. "My father ... my father has commanded that Hawkeye be Kirsi's guardian. He said he did not think you would disagree, and he called you by name."
Fury's right eyebrow rose slightly. In a calm, matter of fact tone, he said, "We one-eyed men do tend to stick together."
Barton protested, "How am I supposed to take care of a kid? I don't even have an apartment. I live in SHIELD BOQ. I can't cook for a kid. I don't even know how to cook; I burn TV dinners in the microwave. I eat in the SHIELD mess hall or else grab fast food."
"Actually, I may be able to help with that," Stark said quietly.
All three turned and looked at him.
"You could bunk in the tower. Bruce has already moved in. Place is big enough to provide quarters for all the Avengers, yet still have plenty of privacy." Stark remembered what he and Rogers had said, how they weren't going to march to Fury's fife. "Right now, I'm not entirely sure the Avengers and SHIELD going to stay together. You brought us together, and that was a good thing ... even if it wasn't my idea. But we're not soldiers, beyond Cap - - and the Pentagon owes him a helluva lotta back pay, by the way - -and we're not SHIELD employees, well, Romanoff and Barton are, but not the rest of us. And frankly, we're not sure we want to be SHIELD agents. We sure as hell don't want to be SHIELD puppets, with you pulling our strings."
"If I wanted puppets, Stark, I'd go to a Punch and Judy show," Fury retorted. "The Avengers Initiative was intended to create a response team to threats conventional forces couldn't handle. We're going to need you again."
"Maybe. Maybe not," Stark countered.
"Can we worry about the problem at hand and not whether the Avengers are going to work with or for SHIELD? I am not Daddy material," Barton protested. "I can't take care of a little girl."
"Well, you're going to have to learn," Fury retorted. "The girl's grandfather confirmed you as guardian. Since we want good diplomatic relations with Asgard, we don't want to break their laws, now do we?"
"You want her as a hostage against Loki," Stark accused.
Fury did not deny the accusation. "She couldn't stay on the Heli-Carrier. SHIELD's New York office has a daycare center, very safe, very secure."
"Stark Tower is also very safe, very secure - - or will be, once the repairs are done," Stark said. "The Capsicle said we were a team. If we are - - if we're more than the chaotic chemical mixture Banner said we are - - then we stick together. We help each other. And that includes babysitting."
End of Chapter 4
Footnotes
1 "Separate the sheep from the goats" - Matthew 25:32
2 Huginn and Muninn: Odin's ravens, Thought and Memory, who reported to him the doings on Midgard.