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We couldn't help ourselves, so here's the next chapter.
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"You should feel lucky that you're not beaten to the bone right now," Clint addressed Astrid from the wheel, attempting to break the silence that encased the trio. She made no noise, only slightly shifted her chains that kept her bound to her seat.
"Take a left at the next intersection," Natasha told him, which he did.
"You tell her where we're going?" He whispered to Natasha as his hands spun the wheel.
"No," She replied, giving a darting glance to the back seat. Astrid was looking out the window with a bored expression, and didn't return the glance.
"Well, she's not like Thor when it comes to, ehem, 'the wonders of our lighted Midgardian architecture', or our, 'wondrous self-sustaining carriages'," He said, mocking Thor's accent. Clint looked in the interior mirror to see if Astrid showed any recognition, but she kept staring out the window. Well, Tony ought to get her talking, he thought. If anyone knew how to annoy some words out of somebody, it was Stark.
The silence continued for what seemed like hours, and was only broken when they pulled into the Avenger's tower garage.
-Welcome, sir. The group is awaiting you on the 36th floor.-
"Thanks, Jarvis. How'd you hack into the car?"
-I have advanced programming, sir, such feats are small.-
"Okay. Tell 'em we'll be up in a minute," Clint said, getting out of the car and opening the back seat door. Astrid stared at him with challenging eyes, but he ignored her and began unlocking the chains. When he unlocked the last binding, Clint gestured for her to exit the car. Astrid sat there, undecided, for a few brisk moments before following his lead.
~0.0~
Tony had done many things throughout the years, many he wouldn't mention to anybody, but harboring a subject in his tower was definitely new. As soon as she was released, Astrid escaped to her rooms and lay on the bed. The monitoring camera had been watching her for a good hour or so, and she hadn't done more than blink.
"Where'd she come from?" Steve asked Natasha as he studied the screen.
"Asgard or somewhere around there. She has the accent."
"But not the drapes," Tony tsked. "She's not Asgardian without the drapes."
"She may not have a cape, but who said everyone up there wears them?" Bruce mentioned, walking up with a mug of tea in one hand.
"The two that came down did," Tony defended pointlessly.
"She's not in armor, why do you think she'd have a cape on? Last I checked, people don't wear capes with dresses." Tony huffed his disapproval.
"If she won't wear the right stuff, can she at least move?" Tony whined. Natasha shrugged.
"She's awful good at doing nothing," Clint cut in, " We'll have to wait to see anything at all. I mean, she stared at Nat or what, 3 hours?"
"Four," Natasha corrected, eliciting a groan from Tony.
"Why does she have to be so boring?" Tony asked rhetorically. After a few moments, he muttered something about juice and the lab, and walked off. Bruce apparently heard half of it and followed. The three remaining stared in silence.
"How're we going to get her, eh, moving?" Steve asked. "I mean, get her comfortable."
"She's probably used to high standards up there," Natasha pointed out, jumping into Tony's chair and leaning back. "This place must bore her."
"What's her name again?" Clint mumbled.
"Astrid," Natasha provided, tapping the armrest absentmindedly.
"As...trid," Clint said as he typed it into the monitor. Links popped up, but none that suited him. "Huh, let's see… nor-se," He continued, typing into the monitor. Links popped up, but none referred to any myths. "Huh, Thor and Loki had their own crazy stories. I wonder why she doesn't have any."
"Maybe she's too young. I mean, the myths originated more than a thousand years ago. Even with an extended lifespan, she couldn't have been alive then," Steve shrugged, staring at the other half where Astrid lay unmoving.
"Guess that makes sense," Natasha said, standing up. "Either way, I'm going to talk to her."
~0.0~
Astrid stared up at the ceiling, feeling the familiar tingle in her bones. Her soul shifted, and she was standing again in the clearing.
"Mother?" She called out, trying to locate her.
"Astrid," A voice purred from the surrounding wood. "Please, tell me, where are you now?"
"In their compound, the one of the heroes," Astrid called, trying to locate where her mother's voice was coming from.
"Perfect." The voice was now coming from all sides. Astrid spun aimlessly. "Now, just wait… just wait, my dear." It faded, along with the forest surrounding her. She was again lying in the uncomfortable Midgardian bed. The door clicked, and the woman from the other compound walked in. The one that brought her here.
"Astrid?" She addressed, but it came out as a question more than anything.
"What do you wish?" She asked, glancing to the camera. She knew they were watching her. Foolish, foolish mortals.
"I was wondering if you'd like to come out. Talk with us."
"I'm not sure if that proposal pleases me," She answered simply. "To talk is... such a vague phrase."
"And it's nothing more. Will you come with me?" Natasha prodded. Astrid was about to cut back with a sharp no, but then thought better of herself. Maybe talking was what she needed to do. That may make mother happy.
"I will comply," She agreed, walking over and following Natasha through the hallways of the Avengers tower. She had to admit, the inside of this compound was much more stylish and laid back compared to the endless steel of S.H.I.E.L.D.. When they walked into the main room, she noticed both the one of purple and the other that adorned a glowing chest were not present. Bruce and Tony, she recalled. Over in the corner she spied the monitor, which had been turned off, and on the opposite side of the room, Steve and Clint were pretending to be absorbed in a game of cards. Did they really take her to be such a fool, so ignorant to her surroundings? Typical.
"Hey," Steve greeted, looking up. "I don't think we've been properly introduced."
"No, we haven't," She agreed, "but I know who you are. Why waste time on the formalities?"
"Well, aren't you a doll," Clint mumbled sarcastically. The silence was brief, thankfully, when Steve repeated himself.
"Well, know me or not, I'm Steve Rogers," He said, offering his hand. Astrid looked at it, clearly perplexed.
"Whatever do you want me to do with that?" Steve looked down, then extended it further.
"Shake it," He said, holding it up still. Astrid's hand rose slightly, then went into his hand. She shook it, then released him in a slight rush. She wasn't one for physical contact, especially with males. "And you're Astrid, correct? Astrid…?" He hung off in wonder of her last name.
"Just Astrid," She finished, then looked to Clint. "And I know you already." She looked to Natasha. "I believe I have spoken."
"That's hardly a conversation," She pushed.
"I don't intend on-" Astrid was cut short by the ding of the elevator. She spun to inspect who was entering, and saw the other mortals… Tony, yes, Tony and Bruce.
"Hey, she's alive!" Tony exclaimed in mock shock. "I had no idea!"
"The afterlife didn't suit me," She replied sarcastically, and made a few mental notes on this Tony.
"I think I like this girl, huh? Whaddaya say Bruce? She's sarcastic!"
"As if that makes a difference," Bruce muttered.
"I don't believe the feeling is mutual," Astrid cut back, but Tony shrugged the comment off and continued to the bar.
"So, what's the news up there?" He asked casually, looking in the fridge.
"Beg my pardon?"
"Up there, in the golden city. It's kind of obvious you live there. So, what's going on up there?"
"I believe that is none of your concern," She replied rather flatly, mentally pulling on her guard.
"Come on! I mean, my buddy Thor lives up there, that must give me some sort of VIP news about our pal Thor? Or Loki, for that matter," Tony said, pulling a beer.
"Tony, that's your fifth today!" Bruce chastised, but Tony waved him off.
"It's okay, Brucey Boy, don't distract me from this wonderful conversation I'm having with Thor's little sunshine," He said in a stage whisper.
"Excuse me, that is not my name, and I have no relations with the oaf you refer to!" Astrid shot, forgetting the mental guard.
"Okay, make that Loki's little cloud of doom and gloom," Tony re-phrased. "Anyways, what's going on up there?" Astrid stood still, lingering on the reference to Loki, before she regained her composure.
"I have no relations to either of Asgard's princes, and will not alert you on any news there may be," She calmly recited, as if a situation like this were encountered often.
"Hm, well, that's unfortunate. Problem!" He gasped, putting a hand on his arc-reactor, "How am I possibly to carry on conversing with you if you refuse to speak?" He pretended to faint while still standing. Astrid raised her eyebrows, and Clint stiffened at the familiar expression, but then shook it away.
"Answer!" She gasped, playing along, then continued flatly. "We stop."
"Steve! She won't talk to me!" Tony whined. Steve shrugged with that cornered expression he got when placed in someone else's situation.
"Don't look at me," he muttered and turned around and walked into the restroom.
"That is NOT fair!" Tony yelled after him.
"You are rather eccentric," Astrid mumbled.
"Of course! How could I invent such spectacular devices if I were just the old Joe?" Astrid's face contorted in confusion.
"Joe? Who's Joe?" She asked, perplexed. Tony stood for a moment, then realization spread across his features.
"Right, Skywalker, it's an, ehem, 'Midgardian' term," He clarified, looking completely serious as he teased her.
"Enough teasing her, Tony," Natasha said, shaking her head.
"But I was just getting started!" Tony whined.
"Eccentric," Astrid mumbled in confirmation.
"Tony, that's enough. Now where is she staying?"
"Probably the room she was lying in for the past hour," Clint suggested.
Natasha nodded. "Is that okay Astrid?"
"The mattress-." Astrid started,but stopped herself. She wasn't going to exploit any nature of weakness to these petty mortal 'heroes'. "I believe that will do." Natasha eyed her curiously for a moment, but shrugged it off.
"Okay then, that's where you'll be," She confirmed. They all stood in silence as Tony drank his beer, too preoccupied to break it. Steve's head peeked in for a moment, but, upon investigating the situation, he left quickly. Astrid sat on the couch and began looking at the setting sun.
"You know Loki threw me out of that window," He said in an awkward attempt to break the silence. Astrid kept looking out before adding,
"That must have been fairly easy." Tony looked struck.
"Wait, what? He-"
"You're always talking. He must've just walked up to you and threw you out," Astrid explained before mentally slapping herself. Why was she telling him this? Tony didn't reply, considering that's exactly how it happened. Clint bristled, and looked for something to rip up. He really wasn't fond of him, Astrid noticed, and stored that for later. She might need it as leverage in an argument.
"Well, the other guy gave him a pretty good, eh, smash after that," Bruce added, reminding the others of his presence.
"Why deny?" She asked suddenly.
"What?" Bruce asked. It was his turn to be confused.
"That the monster, it is you. How come you refer to it as if it is another being?" She wondered aloud.
"Well, I uh…" Bruce stood, clearly uncomfortable.
"Hey, hey, hey, Cloudy, don't talk to Bruce that way," Tony interrupted, striding forward.
"What is with you and those ridiculous nicknames?" She asked.
"Wow, I was right," He said, looking back at the others. "Definitely Loki's cloud of doom and gloom." Now Astrid stared at him, masking her horror carefully.
"I told you. I am not associated with either of Asgard's princes."
"Why can't you say his name? C'mon, Cloudy, say it. Loo-kii. Like Low-key."
"I see no purpose in repeating after you, insolent mortal."
"I'm not an insolent mortal. Now, repeat after me- Low. Keeey," He said, elaborating on the syllables of 'Loki', when the elevator dinged.
"Hey, Tony, I need to talk to you about-" Pepper stopped mid-sentence and stared at the situation in front of her. "Who's that, and why didn't you tell me we were having the team over?" She asked with a slight ice to her voice.
"Honey!" He greeted, prancing over. "I was going to, I swear, but then she got here and-"
"-you forgot. I know, it's the same story every time. But, eh, who is this?"
"Oh! Meet Cloudy-"
"Otherwise known as Astrid," Natasha cut in, giving him a look to shut Tony up.
"Oh," She said, putting down the plastic bag and briefcase and stepping toward Astrid. "Pepper Pots, nice to meet you." Astrid, now knowing the proper mode of action, shook Pepper's hand.
"Astrid, just Astrid," She said, meeting Pepper's eyes. Pepper looked taken aback when she saw them, and gave a glance to the window.
"So, why is Astrid here?" Pepper asked Tony, giving him a long suffering look.
"Actually, she's here because of me," Natasha cut in. "S.H.I.E.L.D. business."
"Oh?" She said, giving Astrid's eyes another glance. "How come?"
"She dropped out of the sky, big deal," Tony said flatly. "Now, c'mon, gimme some sugar!" He puckered his lips, but she placed her palm on his mouth and shoved him away. Tony dramatically fell on the couch, and Astrid squeaked as he collided with her. In a poof of black smoke, she was on the other side of the room, shock clear on her face. All of the Avengers, save Tony, stared at Astrid's magic exhibition.
"See? Cloudy hates me!" Pepper sighed and hugged Tony.
"What?! That's it? No sugar?" Pepper sighed again and gave him a quick peck on the lips. He smiled and sat down contentedly. Astrid eyed him from the other side of the room, and Tony waltzed over to her.
"Don't be shy," He said, poking her arm with a finger, which she grabbed and twisted on instinct. "Gah!" He exclaimed, pulling it back. "Did I mention Reindeer Games? Well, she's a lot like Reindeer Games."
"Teleporting is a lot more 'Reindeer Games' than self-defense," Bruce mumbled, but Tony paid no heed.
"Well, who's up for take out?" Pepper asked, walking over to the plastic bag she had put down earlier and drawing a few boxes out.
"Oh, oh, me!" Tony replied, leaning over towards Pepper. "What is it?" He paused, reading the label. "TIMMY CHAN'S!" He exclaimed happily. "Brucey Boy, it's Timmy Chan's!"
"Great, I don't have to cook. Thanks, Pepper."
"No problem. Do you guys like Chan's?" She asked the rest of the group, who nodded their approval. Astrid just stared at Tony, who looked like rainbows were about to start pouring out of his ears.
"Well, then, let's get eating!" She said, placing the boxes on the counter and lining them up. "Stark buffet, now in business," She added, pulling out some plates at putting them on one end. "Jarvis?" She addressed, picking up a plate.
-Yes, Miss Potts?-
"Can you tell Steve we have dinner ready?"
-Right away, ma'am-
Steve came running from the bathroom. When he finally stopped, he asked "Did JARVIS say take out?"
"Precisely! Eat. Except for the spicy chicken there, that's mine," Tony chirped, piling his plate with the spicy chicken.
"Tony, you need to share," Pepper scolded, taking some of his chicken.
"But-"
"That's okay, I don't want it," Steve mumbled, taking some fried rice.
On the other end of the room, Astrid studied the spectacle. She had thought they were Earth's most powerful foes, not a bunch of young children. Wait, rephrase that. She thought the Man of Iron was a powerful foe, not a young child.
She could smell the chicken from the other end of the room, but resisted the urge to stuff her face as the other Avengers served themselves. She would not eat amongst such petty mortals.
"You going to eat?" Natasha asked, always the first to remember she was present. Astrid wiped the thought from her mind. Like all of these mortals, Natasha didn't care for her well being. This was all part of the plan, to make her comfortable and coax out answers. Astrid wasn't that obvious.
"No," She replied curtly, and sat back down on the couch.
"Come on Cloudy! Timmy isn't bad. Earthy, but not bad." Tony asked with his mouth full. Pepper frowned at him.
"Don't talk with your mouth full Tony!" Definitely the child of the bunch, Astrid concluded, concealing a smirk.
"Sorry," he said grinning.
"But really, you need to eat," Pepper said after swallowing her bite to confirm her point.
"No," Astrid replied again, firm.
"You need to," Pepper insisted again. Astrid ignored her and began to look out of the window. Pepper opened her mouth again, but Astrid walked out before she could say any more.
"Rude," Clint mumbled.
"Why is she here?" Pepper asked when she was sure Astrid was out of earshot. "After the window-"
"There's no proof saying she's linked to him," Natasha cut in. "She fell out of the sky and it's my job to get some information out. The only way S.H.I.E.L.D. will let me do it without torture involved is keep her here." Pepper's eyes went a bit wider at the mention of torture.
"Forget the window, she's only a kid!" Pepper exclaimed.
"And a possible threat," Clint countered. Natasha gave him a look and continued.
"I like to deal with my younger subjects humanely, or any subject that doesn't have crimes against Earth. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't always look at things that way- rather, most of the time. The last few times something fell out of the sky, it was dangerous, so she's being treated that way. I'm just going to have her get a bit looser before interrogating some more," Natasha explained.
"What do you have on her so far?" Steve inquired, taking a bite of rice.
"Barely anything. The girl won't talk!" Clint responded gruffly.
"More specifically, her first name and origin. Well, her origin was assumed, based upon the accent," Natasha clarified. "I asked for her last name, but that was impossible."
"'Course it was," Tony said, his voice muffled by a mouthful of chicken. Everyone stared.
"What?" Natasha asked, staring. Tony swallowed and repeated,
"Of course it was impossible to get her to tell you her last name. That's a dead giveaway for anything you'd ever want to know."
"How come?" Clint asked but Bruce had already realized.
"Asgardian last names are their parents. Thor's dad is Odin, so Odinson. If she didn't want us to know anything, keeping her last name a secret would probably be a good idea," Bruce said half-consciously. Natasha felt like face-palming, but resisted.
"Oh," Was all she was able to choke out while wallowing in her stupidity.
"You probably should've asked her something else. Then S.H.I.E.L.D. might've been not so quick to kill," Tony said before taking another monstrous bite.
Amber-
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