Okay, so the last chapter ended roughly around where It Ain't Easy Being a Stark ended, and this next chapter's gonna fast forward to the Avengers movie. Iron Man 2 will be mentioned briefly, but like I already said, I don't have the patience to go through the whole movie.
In case anyone was wondering, Erika was 18 during Iron Man, so she's 22 during the Avengers.
"It's gonna be a long day," Erika sighed quietly, leaning back against the taxi cab seat. 'This is the last time I take a cab,' she thought. "Is traffic always this bad?" she asked the driver, who didn't respond. 'Sheesh, no wonder New Yorkers are always so cranky,' she thought.
The cab moved an inch.
"Ugh, I miss Happy," she groaned.
The plan had been simple enough—get on a non-private jet to Manhattan, take a cab to Stark Tower, and surprise Tony. Erika had been at school for so long now she hadn't seen him in months—not since the thing with Ivan Vanko and Tony almost dying, which she preferred not to talk about, thank you very much.
Erika's plan just had one hitch—it was taking forever! Finally getting fed up, Erika pulled a wad of bills from her purse and put them up on the front seat, and then got out of the cab. She knocked on the trunk, signaling to the driver to pop it open, then grabbed her suitcase and snapped up the handle. She got up on the sidewalk and started walking towards Stark Tower. Her journey was cut short, however, when a huge hole ripped in the sky above her dad's tower and aliens—actual freaking aliens!—started shooting everything. Erika took shelter where she could and waited there for what felt like forever, all the while thinking one thing—what the hell is going on!?
Before anyone arrived at the tower, while Selvig was setting up, Loki had looked inside the penthouse. He brushed a hand along a table and picked up a framed photograph. In it, a girl with brown and blonde hair stood smiling in a graduation gown and cap, holding up a diploma, and her bright green eyes were filled with pride.
"My, how you've grown," Loki murmured, brushing his hands over the glass, his blue eyes flickering green. The green was buried beneath a sea of blue and Loki put down the picture. "Sentiment," he sneered, and then left to check Selvig's progress.
"Care for a drink?"
"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," Loki said with a small smirk, following Tony inside Stark Tower.
"Actually, I was planning on threatening you,' Tony replied.
"Oh, you should've left your armor on for that," Loki said, winking.
Something itched at the back of Tony's mind, but he ignored it. "Eh, it's got a bit of mileage—plus, you've got the glow stick of destiny." He gestured to Loki's spear. "No drink? You sure?" he shrugged. "I'm having one."
They bantered back and forth a bit, that itch never leaving Tony's mind. Something about this, this crazy Norse "god," seemed . . . familiar.
"What have I to fear?" Loki asked, smirking.
"The Avengers."
Loki looked at Tony, who gave a half-shrug. "It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Loki was unimpressed. "I've met them."
Tony chuckled. "Yeah. Granted, takes us a while to get any traction, but let's do a headcount—your brother, the demi-god."
Loki rolled his eyes.
"The super-soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend, a man with breathtaking anger-management issues, two master assassins and you, big fella, managed to piss off every one of them."
Loki winked. "That was the plan."
Tony surveyed the god—tall, lean, way too pale . . . he racked his memory, trying to think of where they might've met before. Loki reminded him of . . . . Of someone . . . . He snapped back to reality. "Yeah, not a good plan." Tony sipped his drink. "See, when they come—and we will—we'll come for you."
"I have an army," Loki said boldly.
"We have a Hulk," Tony replied quickly.
Loki tilted his head. "I thought the beast had wandered off."
"Yeah, you're missing the point," Tony snapped. "There's no throne, there's no version of this where you come out on top. (Actually, he could think of a few—bad Tony! Focus!) Maybe your army comes, and maybe it's too much, but in the end it's all on you." Tony raised the glass to his lips. "Because if we can't protect the Earth you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it."
Loki stalked forward and Tony tried again to think of where he's seen this guy before, because seriously, the way he moved was really familiar. His musings were cut short when Loki tried to make Tony a mind slave like Barton, and when that didn't work Loki threw Tony out of the window.
Thanos was gone from Loki's mind—His presence had left after the Beast had flung Loki about like a doll, and Loki woke up more clear headed than he'd been since this whole thing began. He crawled up the steps, his body and mind tired beyond belief. He turned and was met with Barton pointing an arrow at his face, the other Avengers standing around him.
"If it's all the same to you," Loki said tiredly, looking at Tony Stark. "I'll have that drink now."
Tony smirked.
It was finally over. The army was gone. Loki was surrounded, and except for the bone-deep exhaustion, Tony felt pretty good. All that was left to do was contain Loki until Thor could take him back to Asgard.
'So, once again, the day was saved, thanks to the Avengers!' Tony couldn't help but think. His musings were cut short when a very familiar voice disturbed a very unfamiliar situation.
"What in the ever-loving fuck is going on?"
Tony almost dropped his helmet.
Barton's arrow and Romanov's guns changed direction and now pointed at a very worn-looking Erika. Thor and the Captain still kept watch over Loki, who hadn't moved.
"Hey, Robin Hood, what where you point that thing," Tony snapped, stepping forward.
The girl looked at Tony. "What's going on?"
Tony met her at the doorway and gave her a side hug. "It's a long story, Kiddo," he said tiredly. "I'll tell you later, when you're settled—wait, why are you even here?"
Erika bit her lower lip. "I wanted to surprise you . . . .Surprise!"
"Stark, what the hell is going on?" Barton asked, never lowering his weapon.
Erika looked from Barton to Romonov, to Thor and Cap standing over Loki. "Wow, Dad, um . . . new friends?"
"Dad?" Cap choked out. "Tony, what is going on and who's this?"
Tony grinned. "This, Capsicle, is Erika Maria Stark—my one and only daughter. Erika, meet the Avengers, who just save the world from that little shithead," he nodded towards Loki.
"Oh," said Erika, because she didn't have much else to say. "Cool."
Once Loki was contained, the team went for Shawarma—whatever that was. They stayed in Tony's tower until Thor could get Loki back to Asgard, and Tony decided introductions were in order.
"You knowAgent Romanov—better known as Natalie Rushman," he began.
Erika nodded at the redhead and turned her attention to Barton. "What's with the bow and arrow, Legalos?" she asked.
"Agent Clint Barton, Ma'am," Barton said, holding out his hand. Erika shook it and smiled.
"I like a man with good aim," she said, and Barton had the gall to laugh.
"Yeah, she's yours alright," he laughed.
Erika's focus moved onto Steve Rogers. "I don't believe it," she said. "Captain America, in the flesh—nice to meet you."
"Ma'am," Steve greeted, shaking her hand. Once he let go, Erika turned to Tony and said "I want one," to which Tony replied, "No."
Erika's smile was brightest for Dr. Banner. "I heard a lot about you already, especially the part where you saved this guy from going splat." She surprised everyone by giving the doctor a quick hug. "Thank you—both of you," she said quietly, and then stepped back out of the man's personal space.
The Thunder god felt the most awkward—and Erika didn't know why; probably because after viewing the tapes, she had the smallest bit of sympathy for Loki.
"So, you're the God of Thunder, huh?"
"Indeed I am," Thor said proudly (and loudly). "It is a pleasure to meet the daughter of such a hero as the Man of Iron."
Erika ducked her head and tried to hide a smile. "Yeah, he's a regular Knight in tarnished Armor," she chucked.
"Hey, watch it," Tony warned teasingly.
Erika didn't bother hiding her smile. She yawned and looked around. "Can we continue this little meet and greet tomorrow? I'm kinda wiped," she said tiredly.
The avengers retired for the evening, deciding to tackle the Loki problem in the morning. There were no extra agents around because Loki was left with the best guard Tony had—Jarvis. Only two people could gain access to Loki's holding cell, and, incidentally, both of them were curious about the norse god. One of them decided to try and sate their curiosity, while the other decided it could wait until morning.
Loki was tired.
It had been a long day for him, too, and he was glad it was over. He wasn't looking forward to facing the Allfather, but whatever Odin had planned for him was nowhere near as bad as what Thanos would do to Loki if (when) the Mad Titan found him.
If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can not find you.
Loki shuddered slightly. He could still see The Other, still feel its putrid breath on his skin as it crept up behind him and laid its slimy hands on him.
You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain.
Loki's memories were (thankfully) interrupted when the door leading to his cell opened and the girl from earlier stepped inside. She walked around the large glass cage (like the one on the helicarrier) and stopped in front of it, where Loki could get a good look at her. She was tall—not too tall, but taller than the average mortal woman. Her hair was brown, streaked with platinum blonde, and her eyes were as bright and as green as his own.
"So the Man of Iron now sends his child to interrogate me," Loki said quietly. "Did he not have the courage to come see me himself?"
The girl crossed his arms. "He's had a rough day—I thought it would be better to let him rest." She tilted her head. "Speaking or rest, you look like you could use some yourself—no offense, but you look like shit."
Loki straightened. "You dare speak to me in such a familiar tone?" he asked.
"Oh, please," she scoffed. "I've seen the tapes, okay—I know your glowstick of destiny was what was causing you to go insane in the membrane, so you can drop the whole 'holier than thou' shtick."
"Ooh, brave words for a mortal," Loki chucked. "What makes you think I wouldn't still crush you like an ant under a boot?"
The girl straightened and unfolded her arms. "Two reasons," she started, and held up a finger. "One—I've actually been talking with . . . . well, with someone who knows you pretty well. We talked earlier, and according to him, mass murder isn't really your style."
"Whoever you spoke with doesn't know me, then," he said, remembering the destruction of the Bifrost.
She tilted her head. "I'd say he knows you pretty well." She held up another finger. "Second reason—your eyes. According to all the security footage we have of you during the invasion, they were the coldest blue I've ever seen, and they matched Barton's and Selvig's. Right now, though, they're as green as mine, and that happened after what we call 'cognitive recalibration.'" A beat. "They changed after Dr. Banner threw you around like a Raggedy Ann doll."
Loki frowned. "If you have a point, please make it."
The girl shifted her weight and crossed her arms again. "My point is this—you were as much of a puppet in this as Agent Barton, and I'm sure if you explain that to the Avengers they'd be willing to—"
"What?" Loki snapped. "Offer me protection? Salvation?" He sneered. "I threatened their planet, you think they'd help me?"
She shrugged. "Maybe, if you just tell them your side of this whole thing."
Something occurred to Loki then, and he stood up from the single bench in his cell. "My, but you're eager to help the enemy," he said slowly. "Why so anxious?" He stepped towards her and she looked like she wanted to take a step back. "You arrived in time to see the heroes saving the day and the villain locked away, ready to face judgment—why so eager to change that?"
Erika bit her lip and shifted her weight. "it's not right," she said after a pause. "If what Jor told me is right, than this invasion doesn't make any sense." She paused again. "You like us—you think we're interesting, and the last time I checked, you don't try and enslave something you like."
Loki frowned. "What in the nine realms are you talking about, girl?" he snapped.
She let out a shaky breath and looked back up, meeting his stare. "I know who you are, even if I don't remember you. I've been able to talk to my brothers and sister since I was 18, and they helped me figure it out."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Loki said harshly. He did though, and how he wished he could say that, say how glad he was she'd been able to connect with her family, but he had to be careful about what he said because Heimdall was watching, he was always watching, and now she was old enough all his concealing charms had faded—
"I don't know what you did to make Dad and I forget, but I know why you did whatever it is you did. I know you hid me from Heimdall, from all of Asgard—"
"Stop," he said sharply.
"— because you were afraid of what would happen to me if they found out. Odin took Sleipnir from you, threw Jormungand into the ocean—"
"Stop this, right now," he said again, louder, not wanting to think about Sleipner or Jormangund, or any of his children.
"—He chained Fenrir and locked him below Asgard, with a sword in his throat, and he banished Hela to Niflheim." She paused for a second. "And Narfi and Vali . . . . . I never got to meet them, but I imagine they were just as brave as Fen, just as kind as Hela, just as cunning as Jor—"
"Enough!" Loki half-shrieked and it seemed like she would be silent. She backed away towards the door and turned to open the door. Before she did, though, she took a deep breath and looked up. "Heimdall, I know you're watching right now. Loki is innocent—he was being controlled by someone or something, and he deserves a fair trial. If Odin denies him that, he better get ready for trouble."
A/N: Sooooo, whatcha think? Did Erika make the right move?
I have a vague idea of where I want this story to go, but nothing's set in stone; I want to hear what you guys think—should Erika be outed as Loki's daughter? Should her siblings make an appearance? What about Tony and the rest of the team? If you have ideas, please don't hesitate to share them.
Completely unrelated question—who's seen the new Les Miserables movie?