(Author's Gift to Reviewers)
So... for FireSenshi2, Lazy Kitty Hyuu and msgone: more BABY AVENGERS! But, to somewhat please the also very awesome reviewer jaquelinelittle I have placed it at the bottom, so you don't necessarily have to read it...
When Tony woke up, he was incredibly clear-headed. He remembered what Loki had told him and immediately jumped up.
"Bruce!"
Dr Banner turned at him with a grin.
"Ah, you're awake. I hope you forgive me but you really needed…"
Tony interrupted him.
"No time! I talked to Loki, his daughter is going to spread an infectious disease in Peter's school, Loki gave me her address so we have to go and stop her!"
Tony sounded rushed and Bruce just stared at him.
"Wait. Loki's still unconscious, right?"
He looked to be certain at the –indeed- still unconscious god.
"It's too hard to explain, just trust me on this."
Bruce watched the other man as he rushed through the lab, grabbing random items and putting them in other places like in frenzy.
"And you're sure Hela's going to spread a disease?"
Tony stopped right in his tracks.
"How do you know her name?"
Bruce felt red go to his cheeks… or was it green?
"Well…"
"Bruce?"
"She's the friend Peter's been staying over at." He blurted out. Tony's mouth fell open.
"And you KNEW she was Loki's daughter?"
Bruce looked at his shoes.
"She was sick, couldn't control her magic, and I didn't want SHIELD to apprehend and torture her while she was already in such bad condition. Peter doesn't know, by the way."
Tony frowned.
"Great judgement, Bruce. Now instead of picking up a powerless and sick 15-year-old we get to fight a fully recovered Goddess of the Dead. Great plan you had there, really."
Bruce felt his annoyance rise.
"You don't know if she's recovered!"
Tony looked angry too.
"Let's hope she's not! I don't want to see a pandemic break loose because you couldn't open your mouth when you had to!"
Bruce was on edge, he knew that any more and Hulk would have a word –or better, a fist- with Tony Stark.
"I am going away now. Don't follow me."
With clenched teeth Dr Banner walked out of the lab, leaving an angry Tony behind. Tony hit a worktable in frustration and then called out to his AI.
"JARVIS, call SHIELD. Now."
JARVIS didn't answer, instead he connected Tony to Director Fury's office. The one-eyed spy stared at him suspiciously.
"Why did you call me, Stark? Usually you're not so keen on talking to me."
"I wouldn't talk to you if it wasn't absolutely necessary, no offence Cyclops. Loki informed me of something rather disturbing, if you get me… his daughter Hela is going to release a deadly pathogen in her school. She needs to be apprehended, but she could be both in her apartment and in the school, and I don't know how strong she is, exactly. Plus, I think I pissed off Bruce."
Fury blinked. He took a deep breath, as if he wanted to lash out at Tony, and seeing from the way he glared that was exactly what he wanted to do. He refrained however and said instead.
"Romanoff and Barton will go to the school, you and Captain America go to the apartment."
"Objection your honour. There is no chance of me leaving this room. I made someone a promise I intend to keep."
Fury saw there was no use in arguing with him, so he sighed and said.
"Since Bruce is apparently 'pissed'…"
"Just tell Thor he'll get to see Loki's apartment, he'll be volunteering to go."
"You better pray this ends well, Stark…"
With a menacing glare Fury ended the conversation. Tony felt powerless and annoyed he had a fight with Bruce. Sighing, he sat down in his chair next to Loki again.
"Even unconscious you're a troublemaker… Tss… If I didn't love you so much…"
He didn't even realize what he had said…
(Pagebreak)
"And?"
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. That girl does have the creepiest bedroom ever."
Steve and Thor had returned from the apartment, finding nothing of importance except for a full answering machine. Tony pointed at it.
"And that?"
"The memory is full, we thought perhaps there would be something of use on it, so we took it."
Steve plugged it in and pressed a button, and immediately a male voice with a thick Latverian accent filled the room.
"Call me as soon as you hear this, I hate to be ignored."
The second message was also from Dr Doom.
"Loki, where are you? I am worried off my ass don't you know that?"
The third message… as well.
"What did I do wrong? Why don't you want to talk to me anymore? I thought we had a connection!"
It turned out they were all from Dr Doom, and not all of them were equally business like. Steve was blushing.
"So… Loki and… Doom? That's like…"
"Weird. They say Doom's ugly as fuck under than mask…"
"This villain was courting my brother too?"
Thor asked incredulously. Apparently he had been fairly convinced of his brother's intact honour. Tony patted him on the shoulder.
"See! I'm not even the first one. No reason to remodel my face thus."
"Lady Pepper already told me to refrain from such practices, Man of Iron. Don't think I will be this lenient if you hurt my brother in any way though."
Thor sounded less angry than when he had first heard of the kiss, and Tony silently thanked Pepper. He had been awful to her and she had still had his back… That woman was too good for this world, really.
"So, what do we do now?"
"I suggest we go assist Lady Natasha and Clint in the apprehension of my niece."
Steve nodded.
"Excellent plan. If she's anything like what I read about they can use all the help they can get…"
(Pagebreak)
Peter, Justin and Hela were celebrating their victory.
"Creepy, that helmet-crown of yours totally reminded me of that other creepy-looking god invading the city last year. Pretty badass if you ask me."
Hela chuckled lightly.
"You mean Loki, God of Mischief and Lies?"
"That's him. My dad said the guy was totally crazy, but still he hid in his panic room during the whole thing so I guess that crazy or not he was pretty menacing as well…"
Hela looked at Peter, who grinned. She decided not to tell anything just yet. So far Justin had responded more than well to the information, but hearing she was the daughter of a supervillain might just be a little too much. They were still laughing and giggling when Peter stopped, a shocked expression on his face.
"Hela, Justin. Hold on."
"What's wrong?"
"I think we're in trouble."
He pointed at the entrance of the school, where two people entered. Both dressed in black, one man and one woman.
"They totally look like those guys from the Avengers."
Justin remarked. Peter slicked.
"That's because they ARE those guys from the Avengers."
Hela became even paler than her usual skin colour.
"Oh no…"
She knew them, and what she knew even better were their bullets and arrows, of which she had fished plenty from her father's injuries. Peter saw her panic and pinched her hand.
"We just have to get out of the school. We'll make it."
Justin didn't understand.
"Why are they after us?"
"Hello, Goddess of the Dead and all that?"
"Right. Shit."
Hela got that stern look on her face.
"We need distraction. A lot of it."
Justin frowned.
"How do you intend to cause that in… let's say two minutes?"
"I'm good with mischief, Justin… it's in the family after all."
Hela didn't wait for an answer. She closed her eyes, and a wave of something utterly sick and disgusting came over Justin and Peter, making them want to throw up. It was the same as when Hela had been sick, but this time it was controlled. The ceiling lights began to flicker, computers went crazy, and people started to feel really awkward all of a sudden. It wasn't enough. Despite the people now flocking out of the building, causing confusion for the SHIELD agents on the schoolyard, it still wasn't enough. Hela seemed to know that. Another wave of the disgusting feeling rolled through the school, and Justin emptied his stomach on his shoes. Peter looked worried at Hela. The magic shielding her "bad side" had become so thin the bone almost shimmered through it… A rumble went through the building, and Peter felt the floor tremble. The trembling became worse, and the fire alarm began to ring. Now people stormed out en masse, screaming about an earthquake. Peter held Justin, who looked like a very carsick puppy, and watched Hela throw her head in her neck and utter an untranslatable curse. Almost simultaneously the people in the schoolyard started to scream. Windows shattered, plaster from the ceiling came down on them, and the whole building shook as if some giant was poking it. Justin looked close to tears as big cracks started to show in the walls..
"W-what the fuck is she doing!? Is the building coming down?"
Outside there was a sound reminiscent of clothing ripping, but a factor thousand louder. Peter didn't even want to know what it was, actually. Hela opened her eyes and looked at them, almost confused. She swayed on her legs.
"Enough… distraction?"
"You… You caused a f-fucking earthquake!"
"Y-your… your r-realm… offers m-many natural… m-methods of distraction."
Hela's voice sounded faraway and from the look in her eyes Peter could tell his girlfriend wasn't entirely aware anymore.
"Come on Hela, we have to go. They're Avengers, even if you broke the earth's crust they won't stay away forever. Plus, I don't want to test the structural integrity of this building any more…"
Grabbing Hela by the arm, he pulled her to the nearest fire exit, on the back of the school. There was too much commotion already for them to be noticed, so the distraction technique had at least done its job. Outside, Justin still looked as if he hadn't digested the information.
"W-what… what are we going to do now?"
Peter's mind was unusually clear. He nodded at Justin.
"I'm taking Hela somewhere safe. You should go to your class so they don't think you're missing."
"You're not leaving me!"
Peter sighed.
"I can't carry you both, and I need to get her away from this place. It will be flocked with SHIELD agents in no time."
"What do you mean, carry us?"
Peter sighed, sort of threw Hela over his shoulder, and looked at his friend.
"Don't ask. I'll explain it later. Meet me at Stark Tower, tell the receptionist you're bringing me my books or something."
"WHAT?"
"I'll explain it LATER!"
Peter produced a string of webbing and swung himself and Hela up a nearby building, leaving Justin to stare in astonishment. It was dangerous, using his spider powers without the suit since anyone could recognize him now, but he had no choice. He had to get Hela out safely, and with the earthquake and everything traffic would be a nightmare. As quickly as he could he swung himself from building to building, staying in the shadow as much as he could, while making sure Hela was okay. They would be going to Stark Tower; Peter had realized that if all the Avengers would be out to catch Hela, the best place to hide was where they would never look, the lion's den.
(Pagebreak)
"That's better, isn't it?"
Peter put Hela down on his bed. She looked a bit hazy at him.
"W-where… are we?"
"My home. We're safe here, for now. Justin will be here soon too, I think."
Hela smiled weakly and sighed, closing her eyes.
"T-that… was a bit much… a bit too soon…"
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. S-simply tired."
Hela hadn't used that much of her strength in quite some time, and it had cost her dearly, especially since she had drained herself only so shortly ago when looking for her father. She wouldn't sleep, but lucid conversation would be out of the question for a while… Peter seemed to understand, as she eyed him vaguely. He sat next to her and kissed her forehead.
"You did great."
That mortal… such a strange creature he was, this half-spider, half-man…. Hela felt her cold heart beat a little faster at his words. How had it happened that a mortal boy who didn't know a thing of the universe could make her feel so happy? Happier than she had felt in many years…
Peter put on the television. The breaking news was indeed the earthquake, and the air photos made Peter grasp for breath. A large, deep fracture ran through the street, schoolyard and part of the building, that had collapsed partly too. He looked at Hela and felt a shudder. Hela Lokidottir was not someone you wanted as an enemy, if there had been any doubt about that left it was erased now…
"Mr Parker, do you want me to inform the others of your guest?"
JARVIS' polite, British accent made Hela look up frightened. Peter grinned.
"That's just JARVIS, Hela. You'll like him." Then he pointed his attention to the AI.
"No, please not. Are there others here? Aren't they out to help with the earthquake thing?"
"Yes, Mr Parker. Dr Banner has retreated in his rooms, for he claimed he was 'better with smashing than building' anyway. Mr Stark is currently in the sickbay."
Well. Tony had been hiding in his workshop for over a week, perhaps he was dehydrated or something. At least he wouldn't cause him too much trouble… Dr Banner might be the best person to break the news to; he was always so calm and collected when he wasn't hulked out, and he had helped Hela before, Peter thought. Hela looked in surprise at the ceiling.
"You… You have… an invisible force… living in…"
JARVIS caught Hela's interest in him.
"I am the AI that controls this building, Miss Lokidottir. You can call me JARVIS."
Hela seemed mildly amused by the invisible man, but was too dazed to keep up a conversation. She gave the ceiling a faint smile and mumbled.
"Nice to… meet you, JARVIS…"
"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Lokidottir."
Peter watched as Hela dreamed away, her eyes half-closed and her lips folded in a soft half-smile. She had to be really tired...
"I'm going to do something, kay? I'll be right back."
He didn't get an answer, so he supposed it was okay. Peter left the room and went for Dr Banner's quarters. He carefully knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Bruce had been meditating, drinking tea, and making lists of things he would do to Tony Stark as soon as he had calmed down enough. Coating the inside of his suit with peanut butter currently ranked first. He had found that exiting his frustration in a non-violent way usually managed to keep the Hulk inside… When Peter entered, he thus was relatively calm again.
"Peter!"
"Dr Banner?"
Peter hadn't expected the doctor to be that surprised to see him… he lived in the tower too, after all.
"Is something wrong?"
"It's good to see you. A lot has happened in the time you were gone…"
"I was gone for like… two days."
"Hela is not who you think she is, Peter."
Peter nodded and shrugged.
"I know that, you know."
"It's not the mutation thing, it's…"
"She's the goddess of the dead and Loki's kid. I know. She told me."
Dr Banner stared at Peter, not comprehending how the boy was so calm about that.
"You still don't know everything. She's been using you. Her purpose is to spread a deadly disease in your school, hoping to decimate the city's population, Peter."
Still, no response. Dr Banner hoped the boy wasn't in shock or something.
"I don't know where you heard that, but… I know from a pretty reliable source that it's not the case."
"She is the daughter of the god of lies, Peter. She is not a reliable source."
"Well, I know one thing, she may have caused an earthquake in my school, but no disease or anything really."
Now Dr Banner was even more stunned.
"That earthquake… that was her?"
"Yeah."
"And where is she now?"
"If I tell you, you have to promise you won't hulk out on her. She's not as sturdy as her dad I think."
Dr Banner facepalmed.
"She's in your room, isn't she?"
Peter nodded.
"She just did it because I asked for distraction, really. I saw Clint and Natasha and I panicked… I didn't think it would take you this long to inform them, actually."
Now the doctor smiled shyly.
"I didn't betray her. Tony found out from another reliable source…"
"Oh?"
"As I said, a lot has happened in the time you weren't here…"
(Author's Notes and BABY AVENGERS!)
So... this piece may have been a little confusing. Hela can cause earthquakes, yes. She is awesome. I'm not entirely satisfied with how this turned out, but I hope it's not too bad... Now on to the gift! I was overjoyed with going over 20 reviews so quickly, THANK YOU ALL I LOVE YOU!
"Aww, aren't you adorable? Yeah, you're adorable..."
"Agent Hill, may I remind you that is a war criminal you're holding there?"
-Agent Hill is cooing at Loki, who sits on her lap and happily sucks on his thumb, his too-large helmet hanging over his eyes a bit. Fury is trying to get Natasha to drink a bottle of milk, which she keeps spitting out on his suit. Baby Clint has decided to use Fury for target practice, meaning he also has several plastic arrow with suction cups sticking on him in hard-to-reach places. Hoping to keep the baby avengers problem a secret he only informed Maria Hill about it, and now he pays the price: 7 babies, and only two caretakers, of which one was totally infatuated with baby Loki's appearance and behavior.-
"But look how cute he is!"
"He is not cute! Put him down and do something useful!"
-Suddenly something tugs on his leg. A young blonde child with a worried look in his eyes says-
"Mwistuw Fuwy, Tony is poking Bwuce again an its no fun anywmowe!"
-He just wants to get up to reprimand Tony when he hears more crying...-
"Clint shot an awwow imma eye!"
"You helmet is stoopid!"
"ItisnoootThooorwhytheybesome antomeeee?"
"leave ma bwothew alone!"
"You can't even lift the hammew!"
-When Fury arrives at the 'crime scene', still holding baby Natasha, he finds Clint and Thor in a fight, with Loki crying inconsolably in a corner. Of course Agent Hill immediately picks up the baby villain.-
"Were they mean to you, dearie? Poor you..."
-Fury wants to say something about it, but Clint having two hands in Thor's long hair demands his attention first.-
"STOP IT NOW!"
-Effortlessly he picks up the two fighting kids and holds them up by their collars-
"NO BOW AND ARROW FOR YOU UNTIL YOU LEARN TO BEHAVE, YOUNG MAN! And for you, don't fight with Clint, especially not over Loki. He totally deserved it."
-Sobbing and sulking, the fighting kids are put on separate chairs for a time out. Fury just wants to sit down when he hears a baby-hulk roar. No rest for the babysitters, it seems...-