Helloo! This is last and final chapter of the CA arc and, wow, it took way longer than I thought it was going to. Well, anyway, enjoy!

Shout Outs!:

CHSHiccstrid

Ah, it's fine. I like to cause it once in a while, just to keep them on their toes. Oh gall, it still amazes me what it was and what it is now. Thanks :) I'm happy that you've been enjoying it

WeAreNumberOne

It is!
...Both? Oh, Hela will be coming in later but it's going to be, interesting with that arc XD
Patience, the bane of all FF readers

Journal 2, Entry 21: "The First Avenger Pt.7"

Hakon groaned as his head pounded and a spot on his arm ached. He reached out to snuggle into Tor and go back to sleep until his head stopped rebelling but he couldn't find his best friend on either side of the bed, eyes still closed against the light that, while not harsh, wasn't pleasant on weary eyes.

A pang of relief, concern, and joy shot through the Familiar bond and it wrapped around his magics comfortingly—though Hakon suspected it was more for Torbjörg's state of mind than his own as he was barely processing what was happening.

A door clicked open then closed, both noises unbearably loud to his pounding head and he softly groaned in complaint. A chuckle reached his ears along with the scraping of a chair closer to his bed. "I am glad you are awake, Hakon."

Hakon's eyes shot open before hissing and clamping his hands over them. "Loki curse it all. Turn the lights down."

Schmidt smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Now, Hakon, you know I don't understand your tongue. You never taught me."

Hakon glared at the red skinned man sitting across from him, blinking his eyes several times—the pounding in his head lessening a bit as well. "Never said I was going to. Also said I wasn't going to help you build weapons—that still stands."

Schmidt sighed and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, a folder dangling from one hand. "I know and for now, I am not asking you to."

Hakon sniffed and looked around the small room he was in. It didn't look like the typical Hydra prison cell. It was almost a full on room, but there were little things that lent to the conclusion that it was just a fancy cell—like the high-tech camera in the corner.

"Where's Tor?"

Schmidt smiled in a supposedly pleasant way. "Safe, for now."

Hakon's red eyes narrowed and the temperature in the room dropped until Schmidt's breath came out in puffs. "I swear to Odin if you hurt him-"

Schmidt raised a hand, like he was trying to pacify a temperamental toddler. "That depends entirely on you."

He handed Hakon the file which he took tentatively. He only had to look at the first page before throwing the file across the bed. "Absolutely not!"

Schmidt grabbed the scattered papers and thrust them against Hakon's chest. "You still live because you can serve a purpose. You have a brilliant mind. Do not throw it away like Erskine did, Hakon—if that is even your name."

Hakon's anger flared. With one hand he grabbed Schmidt's wrist and yanked it off his chest, not bothering to dampen the dangerous chill his skin took while his other snatched the folder of his notes and set them alight with a green flame.

Schmidt hissed and twisted his arm out of Hakon's, holding and staring amazed at his frostbitten wrist, before smirking at Hakon. "So you are a Frost Giant. How interesting."

"And so much more." The silver and golden dagger that Schmidt knew he'd confiscated flicked into Hakon's hand, then spun end over end towards Schmidt's chest.

Schmidt dodged the blade and Hakon ran for the door, throwing a small wave of magic to unlock the thick metal. Schmidt snarled and drew his pistol, firing at Hakon, but hit the closing door.

Hakon narrowly slipped through the door, hearing the dart ping as the door shielded him, and came face to masked face with the guard outside his fancy cell. The guard turned in surprise, his training serving him well as his gun hummed and prepared to fire, but it failed to equip him for combatants of the Asgardian nature.

Hakon drove his dagger through the middle of the rifle and took off running, throwing a shield over himself as the destabilized power source exploded. He turned a corner and crossed his arms in front of his face instinctually, putting up another shield as a rain of darts and bullets cascaded around him.

The soldiers shifted nervously as he ran through the torrent, one man gurgled a scream through his masked helmet as a knife dug into his chest while another fell in shocked silence to a blast of green magic. Hakon punched the third hard on the chin before sweeping his legs out, another hitting the floor with a dull thud. The remaining man uselessly continued to fire upon the escaped prisoner only for his efforts to be put to a stop when Hakon waved his hand and sent the man flying into the wall, letting him fall to the ground limp.

Hakon sprinted down the hallway, tugging on the Familiar bond—feels like he's, left?

Heavy, synchronized booted steps echoed down that corridor and Hakon grinned, glancing at the camera, knowing they couldn't communicate that quickly with everyone in the base.

He let a green light roll over his body just before he turned the corner. "What are you impudents doing? The prisoner is escaping!"

In Red Skull's skin, he pointed down around the corner as if he had gone straight. "Do not let him escape, or it will be your heads!"

The squad ran past without question and Hakon continued on, dropping his guise to that of a random foot soldier at a spot with no cameras, those things were starting to irk him. Another group ran past him, barely bothering to even glance at him.

A door came into view that led to a stairwell that could take him a level down and he knew it was the one he needed to get to Tor. He reached for the handle before aborting that plan and ducking under a dart that grazed his hair when his magic flared in warning. He barely had a second to glare at the shooter before a black form with red hands and head tackled him.

He grunted and lost concentration with the impact of the floor, his guise falling. Schmidt smirked and raised his fist to deliver a solid punch to the jaw, not afraid of injuring him like a normal human anymore.

Hakon twisted his head away, letting Schmidt punch the concrete and praying that it broke a few bones, before shoving a hand against his captor's chest and releasing a blast of magic that sent Schmidt flying down the hallway. He scrambled up and wrenched the door open but Schmidt was, unfortunately, quick to recover and he was seized again.

Hakon thrashed and Schmidt grunted with the effort to hold him. He pulled on his Æsir and started muttering the spell to cast Schmidt into unconsciousness—and he wasn't going to be pleasant about it—when a familiar pain bloomed in his leg.

"You son of a half troll, rat eating, munge bucket!" Hakon swore when the dart dug into his thigh more as he flailed in Schmidt's grasp and felt the liquid burn as it entered his veins.

His Æsir pulsed as fear started gripping him again—he was so close to finding Tor and getting out! It threwSchmidt away again as well as shielding him from two more darts. He bit his lip as he fell to the ground and jostled the needle more before he could reach down and pull the accursed thing out. Unfortunately, it had already depleted most of its contents into his system.

His Jötunn, in a fit of anger, crept along the floors and walls, forming thick layers of ice until Hakon gave in and threw it out, creating a thick wall of ice between him and the shooter. He grasped the handle to the door again and started through, but stumbled half-way across the threshold, head spinning dangerously. Great. They amped up the concentration in a single shot.

He was unsteadily making his way down the staircase—he really needed to make it to Tor before he passed out again—when thick arms wrapped around his chest, driving another dart into his bicep. He grunted and wiggled in Schmidt's constricting grip. "Gah! Can't you just give up!?"

Schmidt dragged him back up the half flight he managed to descend. "I could say the same for you, Hakon. Who are you really? Loki? You always have had a fondness for tricks." He flexed his red hand before reaching down and grabbing Hakon's hands, knowing better than to leave them free to somehow call up a dagger.

Hakon tried to sneer back, but his head swam dangerously and he was too exhausted to speak much more.

Schmidt grinned and tightened his hold more, driving some air from the boy's lungs, as he backed further into the corridor and away from the closing stairwell door. "You're not leaving here, and even if you do, we will always hunt you down."

"It's a pity then that you'll be dead and unable to fulfill that promise."

Schmidt spun around with Hakon and glared at the intruder before his eyes widened in recognition. Although the man had always been masked, his garb was recognizable enough. He scowled at the black terror standing beside Hakon's infiltration friend.

Hakon looked through his bangs and almost cried in relief, whispering with all the strength he had left in him. "Loki, Tor."

Schmidt tightened his grip on Hakon and grabbed his pistol, flicking the switch to change its mode.

Loki's eyes narrowed in hatred and fury at the Mistake but said softly, "It will be alright, Liten Listig."

Schmidt smiled and drew his pistol, aiming it at Loki. "So the gods are real…let's see if you bleed."

Hakon whimpered in Schmidt's arms as the blue blast hurtled faster than a bullet at Loki and struck his chest, only to keep going and for the illusion to fade. He gasped and smiled weakly while Schmidt roared. He threw Hakon to the ground and grabbed Loki's hand that he discovered was thrusting a knife towards his back by the shift in the air.

Tor bounded forward and whined, licking Hakon who eagerly and tiredly hugged him back. Tor snuck his head farther under Hakon until he was mostly supporting him, then began to slowly walk them out. It was moments like this that he dearly missed his true form. He could have tossed Hakon on his back, run out, and blasted anyone that stood in his way to ashes.

Loki and Schmidt grappled for a while. Loki would punch Schmidt and he would return it with a brutal booted shin to the god's stomach. Loki would cast a spell or throw a raw wave of magic at Schmidt and he would dodge or shoot it away with the Tesseract powered pistol that seemed to cancel out the magic's effects.

Schmidt snarled as he saw Hakon's blasted mutt toting him away from the fight and towards the stairwell. Loki caught his gaze and threw a dagger at Schmidt's red skull. Schmidt saw it glint and pulled back, but it still grazed his cheek, leaving a fine red line of ooze to be lost on the same colored skin.

He growled in fury and frustration before firing multiple blue blasts at Loki, which he easily shielded against, and ran down the nearest corridor. His heart hammered in lividity. He had him. He had Hakon in his hand! His chest also fluttered in excitement. The gods were real, one was here to rescue Hakon, and he stood toe to toe against him. Erskine and Hakon really have outdone themselves with that serum.

He ripped a radio off his belt. "Initiate command G45."

There was silence on the radio before a nervous voice answered. "Yes, Herr Schmidt."

Loki watched as Schmidt ran like a coward as he was kept pinned. He was sorely tempted to go after him, but Torbjörg barked, drawing his resolve back to what was most important: getting Hiccup out of here.

He grabbed Hakon from his hunched position over Tor's back and summoned an oblong device to hand, and flicked up the Deathsong amber encasing a button. He pressed it and deep in the bowels of the base, three innocent metallic balls attached to the generators detonated. He dug his finger into Tor's fur, then teleported them out of the base and to the nearest branch.

Schmidt stumbled as the base shook and alarms wailed, the specific pattern telling of catastrophic generator failure. His eyes widened. He should have had nearly five minutes! He yelled in vexation and ran faster. Clearly Loki hadn't intended to just rescue Hakon.

With serum blessed speed, he reached his specially designed plane—jet really. Others were scrambling to evacuate, even the dullest of hearing could hear the explosions rippling from the deepest parts of the base, no alarms needed. They quickly climbed up until it tore the place apart and left nothing but a crater.

He spotted an innocent black case sitting atop a cart, it was to be transported to various bases with the next shipment in. He snatched it and leapt into his plane which was soon in the air and circling around the mountain from a good distance as the base exploded in a last ball of glory. He lightly punched the control module. He still needed the plane to function after all, and turned the plane for his main base. He had to finish Project Valkyrie, and soon.

Thankfully Zola had been resourceful and pulled the supplies from other bases after a minor reworking of their functionality so the project wasn't really behind, just not ahead as he would have liked. He was going to accomplish this first step of his plan and wipe out the major cities of America before sending out a second round for Europe. Then, he was going to hunt down Hakon wherever he and his people were hiding—be they on Earth or Asgard.

Odin was a fool to throw away his jewel and it will be his downfall. He didn't know if he should believe if the gods were actually real or if Hakon and this Loki were the result of other similar serums. He'd heard reports from spies that there was something similar in Tibet. But whatever the case—he wielded the Tesseract and the world, and these gods were going to burn until they bowed to his wishes.

Steve stared at his glass of schnapps, looking remarkably well put together compared to the utter mess he felt like inside, but the outdoors, in the nighttime and post bombing gloom, matched perfectly. He heard light footsteps come through the broken doorway and turned his head just enough to see Peggy enter, arms held close and despondent. He sighed and reached for the already half empty bottle. "Dr. Erskine and Hakon said that the serum wouldn't just affect my muscles, it would affect my cells. Create a protective system of regeneration and healing. Which means, uh…I can't get drunk. Did you know that?" He asked tiredly. Tired from the emotional trauma of losing so many people he called a friend and from losing a brother.

Peggy bent and picked up a toppled stool and dusted it off before sitting near Steve. "Your metabolism burns four times faster than the average person. They thought it could be one of the side effects, Hakon especially."

He glanced at her and she looked at him not unkindly, but they remained silent for an uncomfortably long pause. "It wasn't your fault."

"Did you read the report?" Steve asked almost snidely.

Her face fell just a bit. "Yes."

He grunted a little self-depreciating laugh. "Then you know that's not true."

Peggy's forehead furrowed. "You did everything you could, and if you say otherwise, then you are saying that it is also my fault that we lost Hakon."

Steve's head snapped up, eyes staring sadly into hers before looking away. "It's not the same," He finally said quietly.

Peggy frowned and leaned forward. "How isn't it? I, among others, were supposed to ensure everyone was in the bunker before we sealed the doors. We were supposed to protect him when we knew Schmidt had a target painted on his back that only grew with the more technology he gave to your group. You had a duty to protect your friend while on a mission. We both failed."

Steve looked down and remained silent but at least more thoughtful.

Peggy sat back again, expression still soft. "Did you believe in your friend? Did you respect him?" Steve lifted his head finally but his eyes were still downcast in thought. "Then stop blaming yourself. Allow Barnes the dignity of his choice, fighting and ultimately dying by your side. He damn well must have thought you were worth it."

Steve finally took a deeper breath, eyes hardening. "I'm going after Schmidt. We have the main base's location and they most likely took Hakon there."

He looked at Peggy, more determined than he had been since Bucky's fall and returning to London and finding Phillips apologizing to him—already giving Hakon up for lost despite the fact that he had survived Hydra once. Hakon had told him a little about his and Erskine's 'stay' at Hydra and their escape. He had said that he'd seen a bit of Steve in himself—loyal to their morals and a bit too tenacious to simply roll over and let their disabilities stop them from helping with the war.

He refused to lose yet another friend to Hydra. They took Erskine and now Bucky forever. There was a chance he could still get Hakon back. "I'm not gonna stop until all of Hydra is dead or captured and Hakon is safely back with us."

Peggy let a small smile slip and grasped his hand. "You won't be alone."

*O*

Hakon groaned as, once again, he pulled himself from a drug induced sleep. "Ugh, this is definitely worse than being knocked out by a mind controlled Loki."

"Watch your mouth, Liten Listig—I did that to save your life."

Hiccup sat up with grateful and nearly disbelieving eyes, finally smiling and launching into Loki's arms. "Thank the gods. I thought it was just a dream to distract myself from…from reliving it."

Loki pulled away, a sad glint in his eyes. "Unfortunately, that was almost true."

Hiccup shuddered then light filled the hut as the door opened.

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup beamed as a blonde threw herself into his arms and he buried his nose in her braided locks. "Astrid, good Thor I've missed you."

She pulled back and punched him in the shoulder before giving him a kiss, as was tradition. "Don't scare us like that! Loki came barging into New Berk, practically screaming about you being compromised, then ran out—all before we got any word from our spy at the base who lost sight of you during the bombing!"

Hiccup felt his ears warm and looked away. "'M sorry. I really didn't mean to-"

Astrid sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "You never do. I'm just glad you're finally back. That was way too long. Promise me, no more long term undercover missions."

Hiccup smiled sympathetically but looked away grimly. "I have to go back."

"No! You've been seen by that Muspelheim madman for what you actually are, and he already has a Viggo sized fascination with you," Astrid argued while Loki was on his feet and glaring at Hiccup.

"Absolutely not, Hiccup. I did not just blow up a mountain top for you to go back like a sheep for the slaughter. Astrid is right, Schmidt's fascination of you and my people is dangerous and the more he sees and fights you, the more he is going to hunt down the New Archipelago."

Hiccup's face scrunched up, pleading but also in painful memory. "He's going to anyway! When Erskine and I fled the first time, I was only able to grab some notes we had made about the formula. Hydra has all my notes from during and, most importantly, before they captured us. All the little things I was working on in my spare time when my mind wandered—things like the Ygg-Hop. They're not terribly detailed, especially if you can't read my notes—which, thank the gods, is written in Ancient Norse, but still! Schmidt has the Tesseract. It's only a few steps away from him realizing just what he has, and then he can find us without batting an eyelash."

Astrid turned away, conflicted, and glared at the wall. "We have all your designs from your time with the SSR, as well as others that the New Berkian and Berserker scientists have come up with. We can hold our own against him, especially with Wakanda by our side."

Hiccup shook his head. "Not for that long." He turned to Loki, tugging desperately on their bond. "You saw just one of their bases and you both know there are dozens more. Schmidt's going to attack soon using the technology he's been developing. We have to stop him now or he's going to grow too powerful even for us and Wakanda. I'd even question the Ancient One's help to be enough if he succeeds with his first round of terror."

Astrid sighed. "You're right. I hate it, but you're right."

Hiccup smiled gratefully and gently pulled her in for a kiss. "Thank you, M'lady."

Loki took a calming breath, hands clenching close to his body. "Sometimes, Liten Listig, I very much question why I chose such a bull headed Chosen like you."

Hiccup laughed but quickly became serious. "Are you able to stay here just in case things go wrong?"

Loki smirked but he was deadly serious. "Not even Ragnarök could keep me away right now, Liten Listig. I will be here and watch your every move until you are safe again. And Norns help me if I have to rescue your sorry butt once more!"

Astrid quickly agreed and Hiccup sighed. "Good. Is the spy still in place? What's been happening while I was taking a nice little forced nap?"

Steve stood before Schmidt for the first time since the factory invasion-liberation. However, this time he had a guard holding either arm.

Schmidt walked up to him with a small smirk but Steve could see an edge of annoyance in it. "Arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait, Captain, but I must say—you do it better than anyone. But, there are limits to what even you can do, Captain. Or did Erskine and Hakon tell you otherwise?"

Steve felt his eye twitch at the mention of Hakon. "They told me you were insane."

"Ah." Schmidt tilted his head up slightly, looking Steve over critically, trying to see what they might have done differently with him. "They resented my genius and tried to deny me what was rightfully mine, but gave you everything. Tell me, Captain, did Hakon ever tell you what he truly was? Did he pass anything on to you?"

Steve frowned at the odd change, up until the questions, Schmidt looked reasonably calm but now he was glaring at him. "He's a kid from Norway just like I'm just a kid from Brooklyn."

Schmidt snorted and half turned away, almost looking disappointed. "No, Captain, he is far more than that."

Steve's hands clenched behind him, he so wanted to deck Schmidt's lights out now, plan be damned. "What have you done with him!?"

If Schmidt hadn't already been blood red, his cheeks would have turned crimson in rage. "As far as I know, he's dead—taken from me by one of his own before the mountain exploded." He paused and smiled at Steve who looked ready to puke. "But I know he is not dead, Captain. His rescuer—this supposed Loki—wouldn't let that happen. So now, after sending my 'message' to America, I will hunt him down and he will stand by my side as I create a new world order with weapons of his designs."

Unable to contain his growing rage at the way Schmidt spoke so callously of his friend, Steve leaned back in the hold of his 'guards' and drove his booted foot into Schmidt's stomach—sending him flying back.

Schmidt quickly stood and marched up to Steve, socking him across the jaw before backhanding him and punching him in the gut in the same place Steve kicked him. Steve coughed a bit from the abuse before looking up at Schmidt and smirking. "I can do this all day."

Schmidt shook at Steve's obstinacy. It was insulting after the fiasco of Hakon's second escape. And, oh, how the boy was going to pay for that one when he finally got his hands on him again. "Of course you can, of course." He withdrew his pistol from its holster. "But, unfortunately, I am on a tight schedule."

He aimed and the gun, primed, then a couple little tink-tinks sounded from just outside his large windows.

"So am I," Steve said through gritted teeth, yanking both his guards forward.

Schmidt fired at the movement, not really remorseful that he hit his own men but more mad that he missed the aggravating American. The windows shattered and the Captain's team burst in, his own men flooded the room and engaged them, allowing him the chance to escape during the chaos to the Valkyrie.

*O*

Hakon and Tor ran through the woods just outside of the main Hydra base. He paused next to the abandoned Hydra motorcycle. He guessed that its rider was dismounted by the rope strung between trees a few paces back. He stood it up and restarted the engine and smiled at Tor as it purred once more before revving it and taking off along the dirt path once again but at a much faster pace that had Torbjörg running beside him with a wide smile.

Hakon laughed as he leaned with the bike as it turned. Out of all the modern modes of transport, motorbikes had to be his favorite as it was the most like riding Toothless and least likely to kill him. Presently, the sounds of a battle reached their ears and they tore through the Ally ranks on their way to the base. He spotted Phillips and made sure to drive by him, shooting him an irritating smirk.

Phillips almost dropped his rifle as he stumbled in shock. "Hakon? Hakon Hyse, you get back here behind these lines!"

But Hakon was already too far ahead to listen, and cared even less. He broke the enemy line and jumped off his borrowed bike, but not before planting a Zipplebomb on it and letting it careen further into their ranks, taking out a battalion when it finally blew up. He dodged several blue blasts and subtly cast a shield to deflect others while he fought with his knives with terrifying efficiency while Tor shredded through them. Many ran away from the possessed dog, fearing him more than even Schmidt. Hakon snagged a rifle, then rushed farther into the base just as Phillips and his men breached the line he halfway cleared.

Making his way through the base was easy, but it wasn't for Hydra's lack of trying. He turned a corner and almost ran into Schmidt. Schmidt stared at him in shock for a moment but Hakon was far too used to battles like this and decked Schmidt before his surprise even fully registered.

Schmidt stumbled back with a grunt but grinned at Hakon. "I am glad you didn't perish, that would have been a terrible waste. However, I have business to attend to—we will chat afterwards."

He slammed his fist against something on the wall and a hiss drifted down from above. Hakon growled at Schmidt who grinned, then disappeared behind the bulkhead door slamming down between them. Hakon bore his teeth and gripped Tor's fur, who was also snarling, and teleported them to the other side, but Schmidt was long gone and another bulkhead was closed, Hakon suspected many more would be following Schmidt's trail.

He started off down the hallway. This base wasn't so unlike any other. If he followed this hallway for a bit, there should be another corridor that will lead to the garage or more likely, a hangar.

He picked off another couple of soldiers and Tor ran ahead to have his own fun before waiting for Hakon at the final door. He turned the handle and yanked it open, firing at the guard just inside.

A commotion across the hanger drew his attention to Steve trying to fight his way through impossible odds to reach the gargantuan plane. He fired at several soldiers aiming at Steve and Tor took off into their ranks, attacking them and creating confusion in the darkened room.

Steve threw his shield at another soldier and continued running for the plane that Schmidt climbed into. Another Hydra soldier raised his gun and Steve repositioned his shield to deflect the blast, but the soldier lit up in light and dark blue wisps before disappearing. He didn't break stride as he turned to look at his helper and almost fell at Hakon's grin and wave. He waved back at him before turning to fire at another Hydra soldier.

Steve sighed in relief. One friend was still okay, was still alive, and not endangered for much longer—Colonel Phillips would see to it. The plane started picking up more speed and he slowly stopped, staring after it in dismay, not even he could run that fast. A long, sleek, black car pulled up next to him with Phillips in the driver's seat and Peggy behind.

"Get in!" Phillips ordered and he did so without question.

Hakon watched as Steve, in Schmidt's personal car, continued the chase to catch up with Schmidt. He prayed that they would, then fought his way through the thinning Hydra ranks to the control room for the hanger. Tor snarled at the men in there and they quickly evacuated without a fight, leaving him to fiddle with the controls. He managed to patch into the Valkyrie's com system and listen in to whatever happened on the bridge, which was nothing so far. The plane had just taken off, and Steve barely managed to catch a ride. He'd need a few minutes to get to the bridge.

He swallowed thickly and looked over at a worried Tor. "We'll give him a bit and see how he does before we go in and end this once and for all with full Archipelagan fury."

Tor barked, his eyes gleaming like he was hoping it was the second option and Hakon chuckled and rubbed his ears.

Several pairs of feet burst into the room and Hakon didn't need to turn to see it was Peggy, Jim, and Phillips. "Finally decided to join the party?"

Phillips scowled at him. "You and I are going to have words after this."

Hakon looked over at him and smiled lightly. "About what? I managed to escape—that makes twice now—and this base was far closer than anything you had. I heard over the radio about a fight breaking out here with Cap, so I decided to help. I told you I'm a warrior as much as an inventor."

Phillips' nose wrinkled, but he focused on the machines and felt his head spin—it was a blessing Hakon knew how these things worked otherwise he'd be screwed.

The radio was mostly silent for about five minutes, until sound exploded through the speakers. If Hakon had to guess, he would say that someone was thrown into the console. What followed was three minutes of nail biting worry as Steve and Schmidt exchanged combat of both the physical and verbal kind—they couldn't catch most of what was said due to a lot of wind interference. Schmidt most likely blew out a window to get Steve, Hakon thought and cringed, he's getting more and more unstable and unhinged.

The speakers whined, not because of the strain put on them but because of something on Steve's side of the coms. Hakon gasped and Tor rubbed up against his chest that he was grabbing at, his magics flared as the Tesseract pulsed—almost like it was stretching after having been contained. Hakon's lips twitched down, however, as the waves he felt from the Tesseract felt malevolent. It confused him, as whenever he felt any bit of the tesseract's power in the past, it always felt desperate to be used and Schmidt had done that—maybe it doesn't want to be used in the way Schmidt was wanting. Is it capable of knowing that much?

Tor snuggled his head down into Hakon's lap and he frowned thoughtfully. His magics certainly had some level of…sentience to them, like his Jötunn hated creating fire although technically he could. He had spent the next week bed ridden after that particular magical experiment and he couldn't even think about going near warmth, let alone creating it even with his Æsir, or by the good ole fashion way.

He was startled out of his thoughts by Steve comming them and Jim started the procedural comlink check in. "Captain Rodgers, what is-?"

Peggy shoved him out of the way. "Steve, is that you? Are you alright?"

"Peggy, Schmidt's dead!" Steve shouted over the wind into the receiver.

Hakon sighed and hugged Tor. "Oh thank the gods."

Tor grumbled and Hakon chuckled, whispering something into his ear.

"Hakon!" Steve said and Hakon could see him grinning despite him only being a disembodied voice right now. "I'm glad you got out and could help. Looks like you did manage to get out a bit on the front lines after all."

Hakon grinned. "Yup. If Schmidt was alive, I might almost thank him."

Phillips glared at the back of his head but he ignored it as Peggy asked, expecting their impending argument. "What about the plane?"

Steve hesitated before responding. "That's a little bit tougher to explain."

Peggy bit her lip and steeled her nerves, this was just like every other, stupidly reckless mission. "Give me your coordinates. I'll find you a safe landing site."

"There's not gonna be a safe landing." Steve said hurriedly and Hakon felt his stomach flip. "But I can try and force it down."

"I-I'll get Howard on the line. He'll know what to do," Peggy said calmly.

"There's not enough time," Steve countered. "This thing's moving too fast, and it's heading for New York.

Hakon slammed the button down to speak into the radio patched in with the Valkyrie. "Steve! Listen to me, just take it off of autopilot—autopilot, that's what it's called, right?"

He looked back at Peggy, who frowned. He held his hands up and continued speaking into the radio. "Hold it there for a minute until I say, then plunge the nose down and run to the back of the plane."

Phillips' whipped around from where he was already mentally preparing to lose Steve yet again—at least the head of Hydra had been taken out as well. "We don't have any planes in the area, let alone any fast enough to keep up with that monstrosity."

Hakon ignored him and grabbed a handheld radio and bolted for the door but Phillips reached out unexpectantly and caught him. "No, stop, let go! I can help him, please just let me go!"

Phillips tightened his hold while Hakon thrashed. "Please, just trust me!"

Peggy winced and turned back to the radio, she knew Steve could hear the fight in the background.

Steve's voice was tired and hurting for the friend he was going to abandon. "Tell him I'm sorry. I have to put it in the water now while I'm in the middle of nowhere or else, if it does explode from the impact, it's going to start reaching cities. Peggy, this is my choice."

Peggy nodded sadly and took a breath.

A Hydra weapon, small, whined then fired and Hakon swore loudly in his tongue. She turned after hearing a crunch to find Phillips hunched over with a red and dripping nose while the pad beside the door sparked.

Hakon fell to his knees, clutching Tor's fur, and seriously debating if he should just teleport out of here and rescue Steve…but then Phillips would get too curious and potentially start seeking out his people. A tear ran down his cheek, listening to Peggy and Steve exchange their last words over a little debate of dancing.

This was worse than something like Erskine's death because he could prevent Steve's death, he could. But he couldn't, not without risking his people. He buried his face into Tor's fur. "I'm sorry, Steve."

The radio suddenly started playing static and Peggy choked back a sob. Hakon reached out through his bond to Loki, Tor already wound tightly theirs, and Loki sent back waves of comfort and remorse—although never having met Steve personally, bar that tiny interaction that really didn't count at the expo, he was grateful for what he'd done to help keep Hiccup safe as well as simply being his friend.

They remained locked in the room until a team came to cut them out. The trip back to London was a silent one and Stark greeted them solemnly on the tarmac.

The war in Europe ended a few short months after Steve and the Valkyrie crashed and the SSR packed up, it's members going their seperate ways once again.

Phillips stared Hakon down, arms crossed unhappily. "I don't like it. We're still weeding out Hydra's little spy groups. They could easily come for you."

Hakon lifted an eyebrow and blindly stuffed some pieces of the Tesseract Shield into a padded chest. "Yeah, and they'll be far more interested in keeping their heads above the changing tides, not kidnapping scientists. I want to go home. I've been away for far too long." He laughed dryly and added as an afterthought. "After all, I left as a boy—gotta see what's changed. Besides, my girlfriend will kill me if I stay away any longer than I have to…not to mention my father."

Phillips' forehead wrinkled in surprise. "You have a father that's still living?"

Hakon shot him a 'duh' look.

Phillips sighed and shook his head. "You know, I'm glad that we're finally parting ways—I finally get you out from under my belt."

Hakon smiled and nodded to Phillip then hugged Peggy who was standing by the door.

"Don't be a stranger, now, you hear?" She said with a sad smile.

Hakon nodded. "Don't worry. I'll pester you enough you'll be sick of me."

She laughed and Howard pulled him away, giving him a side hug. "Seriously, come and visit soon. I'm sure you and I could have some great fun together."

Hakon smiled. "You bet on it."

They escorted him to the airfield and he waved to them from the plane before it took off. Once at elevation, he wandered up to the cockpit where two dark skinned pilots smiled back at him. "Hey, Mkhalali, Aneka. Thanks for the ride."

Aneka smiled at him before returning her attention to the controls. "No problem, besides, N'Kano wanted us to test out the new plane design and how it holds up…wanna race?"

Tor stuck his head into the cockpit and barked, Hakon laughed. "Guess that's a yes."

Mkhalali laughed and read the souped up radar-sonar screen. "Out of range of any prying eyes, dropping illusionary skin now. Hey, tell your kid that his upgrade works wonders with the new planes—don't even need a similar size anymore!"

Hakon shifted both him and Tor back to their true selves and stood by the side door. "Will do, but I'm sure he'd love to talk specifics with you."

Toothless leapt out of the plane and splayed his wings, Hiccup joined the air beside him before rolling and landing on his back. He strapped in, then Toothless fired a plasma blast at the air in front of the plane—no longer flying by propellers—and shot ahead.

The engines of the plane whined as they started getting faster and creeping up on his tail. Hiccup hunkered close to his other half and flicked the tail into place. "Go for it bud," He shouted over the wind.

Toothless rocketed forward, rippling the air as he dove and pushed against it. The air boomed behind them and the jet tried gaining ground again. Hiccup laughed in a momentary lapse of all recent sorrows and lent Toothless his magic to push the edges of physics and biology beyond normal boundaries as they raced for the border of the New Archipelago.

Okay, before people come at me about the motorcycle comment, I wrote it with Hiccup in mind. When it comes to any sort of vehicle malfunctioning, I think he would feel safest with the one he could abandon the fastest and there are many good chances that if he's in a car or a plane he could get trapped in there while it spirals out of control and crashes, trapping him inside while he could just jump off the motorcycle with maybe a few scratches. Again, purely from Hiccup's point of view and not a normal person's.
Anyway, hope you have a great day!