Author's Note: I plan for Riley to get along more with Loki in future chapters. Though I attend to add Iron Man 3 in the story, we'll see the Stark heiress interact more with Peter and school life as well.

I don't own Avengers or its characters. I only own Riley Stark and other OCs that appear in the story.

Take on the World

Chapter 11: Would you like a Cookie?

Once the Tesseract was taken by S.H.I.E.L.D and Loki was imprisoned in the lowest part of Starks Tower, Riley went with Tony to join Steve, Clint, Thor, Natasha and Bruce at a Lebanese restaurant to fill their empty stomachs.

A few employees sweep the floor behind the young brunette and the Avengers, cleaning away the glass and cement dust.

They have already left the bill with the group.

Neither members of the unique group expected not having to pay for their shawarma after saving the world, but the owner of the restaurant was pretty adamant and kept repeating, 'No special treatment! No special treatment!'.

Riley, Steve, Clint, Thor, Natasha and Bruce all stared at the bill for a long moment before their hands all pushed it towards Tony, who just frowned at them.

Soon, the seven of them were stuffing their faces with shawarma.

Riley glanced the view of Manhattan from the window behind her seat.

Sure, the Avengers had defeated the Chitauri and saved the world.

But there had been so much destruction in such a short amount of time.

Buildings were still smoking and there were large holes in the side of them from collisions with the Chitauri or the Hulk.

The streets were either blocked entirely with rubble and Chitauri parts or were cracked so deeply that they were practically unusable.

Cars were turned on their hoods and some were flipped over entirely.

It was going to take a lot of time and energy to get Manhattan back into working order.

Riley brought her attention away from the city view outside to take another bite of her shawarma that was on her small basket plate.

Steve, who had barely touched his, was actually fast asleep, his bruised jaw slacking to one side.

The super soldier absolutely looked like he was already 100% done with today.

Cleary, all of the Avengers were.

And it's been only an hour after the battle of New York.

Tony dug into his shawarma followed by Thor with equal enthusiasm.

Clint lifted his left leg with both hands and rested it on Natasha's chair.

Natasha carefully inspected her food before taking a delicate bite.

Bruce was also eating with vigour due to his multiple transformations into the Hulk having taken a toll on his appetite.

The only sounds that were heard were a few employees of the restaurant sweeping the floor and the evocative of Tony's Iron Man suit that was humming.

But in her mind, Riley had no doubt the entire world will be having their own point of views about the Avengers.

There was going to be good reviews and bad reviews from people.

Riley ate a bit more of her shawarma before looking at Thor.

"Do you like the shawarma, Uncle Thor?"Riley asked.

"It's an excellent meal, Lady Riley."Thor remarked."It's nothing compared to the ones in Asgard."

"Maybe next time, I should take you to the captivate diner known as 'Shake Shack'."Riley chuckled."It's delicious burgers, crinkle-cut fries and creamy milkshakes are out of this world."

"Rye-Rye, there's a spider on your right shoulder."Tony informed.

"What?!"Riley panicked.

Riley turned to smack her right shoulder, only for Tony to snatch a few of her fries that was in her small basket.

"Dad!"Riley scowled with a frown.

"Sorry."Tony replied."Got peckish."

As a respond, Riley takes a slice of beef from Tony's basket and stuffed it into her mouth.

"So did I."Riley grumbled.

Both Thor and Bruce laughed lightly while Tony simply rolled his eyes at his daughter's action.

The journey back to Starks Tower was a silent one.

All the Avengers were too exhausted due to the fierce battle that they fought today.

Steve, Clint, Thor, Natasha and Bruce slept in different suites that existed in the tower which made Riley excited.

Even though she knew the group were going to stay at her home temporally.

A small wince escaped Riley's mouth as she sat on the coach while Tony sprayed a wound spray bottle on the scratch that was on her left knee.

Lastly, the billionaire placed a pink plaster to cover the scratch, so it can be healed.

So now that everyone was in their own suites, Tony had dragged Riley into one of the many bathrooms in the tower and had begun to clean the scratch using one of the first aid kits nearby.

The two sat in a comfortable silence before Tony finally spoke up.

"You know, I'm really proud of you, Rye-Rye."Tony praised with a smirk."I know I asked you to be out of harms way, but you still managed to help us a lot. Hell, you could say you saved the world."

A soft chuckle escaped from Riley's face, feeling flattered.

"Come on, dad. It was you and the Avengers who kicked the aliens' butt out there."Riley remarked."The only thing I did was sat in my room and using my laptop to watch you guys as well as give heads up on the invasion. Though I could also clearly say I've got a huge scoop by recording something with my digital camera."

Tony chuckled and placed a hand on the back of Riley's head before stroking her hair.

"I would've ground you for life for jumping into danger."Tony admitted."But in all honesty, I'm really proud of you, Riley."

This caused Riley to smile softly in respond.

Her father was proud of her.

"Thanks. Just don't go making me do something like that again, okay?"Riley insisted, still feeling a little shaken on what happened before."A girl can only do that once in her lifetime."

Tony let out a laugh before going and sitting next to Riley, who was sitting on the edge of the bathtub.

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

"Never again."Tony assured.

"Dad? I love you."Riley replied kindly."You are the best dad in the world."

Tony looked down at Riley before pressing a small kiss to the top of her head.

"I love you too, Rye-Rye. I've said it before and I'll say it again."Tony declared with a proud smile."You, Rhiannon Maria Stark, are the best thing that has ever happened to me and don't you ever forget it. You are my little super star."

And with that, the billionaire and his daughter sat in a comfortable silence in the bathroom as they both enjoyed the rare moment of calm they had together.

However, the smile on Tony's face vanished when he remembered something that he nearly forgot to tell Riley.

Something he knew would make her cry, but couldn't hide it anymore.

"What's wrong, dad?"Riley asked.

"Rye-Rye, I'm sorry."Tony apologised."But the agent is gone."

"Which agent?"Riley questioned.

Tony became quiet and didn't respond back.

In a couple of seconds, Riley's eyes widen in shock when she realised who her father was talking about.

"No. Phil is fine."Riley replied, trying not to cry."I saw him. He was okay."

She couldn't believe that Phil was gone.

The brunette was planning to invite him to her dessert party that was going to take place in the summer holidays.

But now her plans were ruined.

"He can't be gone."Riley cried, unable to keep her tears."Dad, tell me he's not gone."

Tony shook his head and placed a kiss on Riley's forehead.

"I'm sorry, Rye-Rye."Tony apologised.

Riley looked at her father in disbelief, her eyes filling with tears the longer she stood there.

Finally, the brunette just shook her head.

Tony held his arms out for her and Riley let him embrace her.

Her cries began to fill the bathroom.

"I'm sorry, pumpkin."Tony whispered as he stroked the back of Riley's head."I'm so sorry."

Soon after, Tony got a call from Pepper, who was freaking out before he could even get a word through the phone.

Knowing that it would take a while for him to calm Pepper down, Riley had left Tony in the bathroom and was now walking down the hall to head towards the kitchen.

When she arrived to the kitchen, Riley placed on an apron to start making some chocolate chip cookies.

She opened a cabinet filled with flour, sugar, vanilla powder, cacao, baking powder and all sorts of stuff for baking.

Riley took out the flour before she walked back to the fridge and took out the eggs and butter, and took out a plate from another cabinet.

Once she had everything she needed, Riley started to bake.

She used a bowl to mix flour, sugar, eggs, melted butter and chocolate chips.

Then everything ended up in a nice dough.

Her late mother always made her cookies whenever she done doing her chores, homework and was feeling down.

Riley looked at the light brown dough and quietly giggled to herself.

She hoped Steve and the rest of the Avengers liked them.

The only ones who ever tried her cookies were her maternal grandparents, father, Pepper, Gwen and…Phil.

The brunette then used a spoon and place an equal amount of dough into a sheet of baking paper and placed them on a tray before shoving them into the oven.

Riley started to do more cookies before she placed a second tray into the oven.

While her cookies were being baked in the oven, Riley decided to sit on her sofa and looked at the videos in her digital pink video camera.

The brunette snorted out her laughter at seeing the Hulk throwing Loki around like a rag doll.

"You should publish this on your Youtube account, kid."A male voice insisted smugly."You'll get more followers in a landslide."

Riley turned around and saw Clint waving at her.

"Hey, Uncle Clint. Are you feeling better?"Riley asked."Nat said you were on Loki's spell as Dr Selvig was."

A slight groan escaped from Clint's mouth.

"Ugh. Don't remind of that, kid."Clint retorted."It wasn't fun."

"Sorry."Riley replied with an apologetic smile and changed the subject."I have baked cookies to try and get over losing Phil. I…I can't believe his gone."

"Yeah. It sucks."Clint complemented."But these things happen in your life whether you're a superhero or not."

Riley looked down, trying not to cry again.

"I wish I was there for him."Riley admitted."I could have saved him."

"You could've, Riley. But you also couldn't."Clint stated."Then again, you could've ended up being another of Loki's unfortunate victim and that is the last thing anyone would've wanted. Especially, your dad."

Riley dried away the tears in her eyes with a tissue.

"You're probably right."Riley answered."But it hurts to lose one and feel worthless knowing you've couldn't do anything to save that person."

Clint gently ruffled Riley's head causing the brunette to look up at him.

"You're a great kid that cares a lot about the people around her, Riley. I respect that."Clint admitted."But if you ever feel ready to become an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., just call me or Nat."

"Or Director Fury?"Riley guessed.

"Or the guy with the pirate eye-patch."Clint joked.

A soft yet bright smile appeared on Riley's face.

"Thanks, Uncle Clint."Riley thanked.

Suddenly, the timer on the oven went off causing the brunette to stand up from where she sat.

"My cookies are ready!"Riley remarked in delight.

Riley went back to the kitchen and placed on a pair of oven gloves to take out the trays and put them in the counter, only to see all her cookies had golden brown edges with gooey centers.

"They look good."Clint praised, walking over to the counter."Mind if I take three?"

"I thought agents were supposed to have healthier diets."Riley sneered.

"Clint's a sloppy eater, preferring to eat with his hands if possible and he has quite the sweet tooth."Natasha admitted as she walked by."His diet is only slightly more balanced when he's not on a mission."

Riley chuckled lightly at Natasha's respond while Clint simply shook his head.

Soon Tony showed up followed by Steve, Bruce and Thor.

"I've made cookies."Riley declared with a shy smile.

"That's nice of you, Riley."Bruce stated."We all need a little something sweet."

Steve picked up a cookie and looked at its texture.

"They look good."Steve praised.

"Amazing is a better word to describe Lady Riley's treats."Thor complemented.

"Everyone."Tony spoke up, earning everyone's attention and lifted his cookie into the air."For Coulson."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed.

Then Riley, Steve, Clint, Thor, Natasha and Bruce all followed Tony's example and raised their cookies into the air with serious eyes.

"For Coulson."Riley, Steve, Clint, Thor, Natasha and Bruce answered in unison.

The young brunette and the six superheroes then took each a bite on their cookies.

The moment the night time hour arrived to New York, all the people in the Stark Tower retired to their suites to get some rest.

Riley, however, was not asleep.

The brunette was thinking about the events that occurred today.

Mostly Loki, who was being held in a cell that was practically being watched non-stop by J.A.R.V.I.S.

Riley got off her bed, revealing her pale pink pyjama shirt and trousers that had small white heart shaped designs on them.

She glanced at her alarm clock and saw it was 02:30 am.

It was late.

But she strangely felt that she should check if the God of Mischief was doing okay.

Even though it was obvious he wouldn't be too happy to see her.

Riley carefully went on her desk to put on her laptop and hacked into the tower's system to shut down J.A.R.V.I.S., so he won't record her having gone to see Loki.

Once she was sure J.A.R.V.I.S. was off, Riley placed on her pink bunny slippers and slowly made her way out of her bedroom to get some leftover cookies and placing them on a serving tray with a glass of milk.

She was making sure her every movements were very quiet, so that nobody could hear her.

The brunette then headed into the elevator to go to the bottom floor where Loki was held in.

The moment she stepped out, Riley saw Loki sitting down in his cell and wasn't sleeping.

"Hey, Lokitty."Riley greeted with a cheerful smile."I brought you a midnight treat."

"Wonderful that you stopped by to visit."Loki scowled sarcastically.

Riley walked up to the cell and carefully placed the serving tray through the ventilation shaft.

"I hope you like the cookies."Riley remarked proudly."I've made them myself."

"I'm not hungry."Loki replied.

A scoff escaped from Riley's mouth.

"Come on. Quit being a pussy cat and just eat."Riley insisted, irritating Loki even more."I doubt you drank or ate anything since coming here to Earth."

"Just what are you here for, child?"Loki snarled coldly."Have you come here to gloat or mock me on behalf your father and precious Avengers?"

"Is really that hard for you to trust me, Loki?"Riley questioned with a sad frown."I've only come to talk to you and make friends with-"

On hearing this, Loki lost his temper.

"Would you stop doing that!"Loki growled, slamming his hand on the cell's glass and glaring at Riley."I don't need your worthless pity, you impudent brat!"

Riley was silent for a moment at Loki's declaration.

The young brunette could tell she was swimming in dangerous waters since in the very cell in front of her was a homicidal and power-hungry guy that attempted to take over her planet.

But she was eager to just stay calm and not bother trying calling her father or any of the other Avengers for help in whatever Loki was going to say to her.

"Why did you kill him?"Riley asked.

"Kill who?"Loki replied.

"Agent Coulson."Riley replied, trying to hide the anger and sadness that was in her voice."Why did you kill me? He was no threat to you."

"I wanted the Avengers broken before they die."Loki responded.

"That didn't clearly happen since they just avenged him by beating you."Riley complemented.

"Little solace to a dead man."Loki admitted with a unfazed look.

Riley glared at Loki at his declaration.

"Do you honestly enjoy hurting people, Loki?"Riley asked."Making them feel small and afraid just cause you're a powerful sorcerer and some grand manipulator?"

"Your little game doesn't frightened me, Miss Stark."Loki retorted."What exactly is it that you want?"

"I want you to be honest about why you do what you do."Riley suggested."You've lived for such a long time, but it doesn't seem you really had someone who you can talk and be really close to you."

"You've known me for a just a day and you're suddenly an expert on me?"Loki growled with an irritated tone.

Riley shook her head.

"I never said that."Riley replied and then let out a sigh."You know what? Neither of us are perfect, Loki. But I don't clearly believe one is just good or just evil. But if you ever attend to turn a new leaf, I want you to have this."

Riley took out a small white card and placed it in the ventilation shaft.

Loki frowned as he took the small white card and saw it had Riley's name and phone number.

"What's this?"Loki scoffed.

"My own business card."Riley remarked with a smirk."You probably don't have phones back in Asgard, so you probably will have trouble calling me. But then again with your unique powers, I'm sure it won't be that hard for you to find me."

Loki scrutinised the small card in his hand before looking at Riley.

"Thank you."Loki answered with a frown."Now are you going to leave?"

"Of course, I am."Riley replied as she put her hands up in defence and walked away from Loki's cell to head back to the elevator."Good night and pleasant dreams, Reindeer Games. If you have any of those that is."

Loki rolled his eyes as Riley waved at him and disappeared from sight when the elevator's doors closed in front of her.

Once Riley was officially out from his sight, the God of Mischief brought his attention on the serving tray that contained the glass of milk and the plate of cookies that the mortal child left for him.

A scoff escaped from Loki's face.

The treats looked good, but looks can be deceiving.

Loki then picked up a cookie to analyse it and then gave it a small bite, only to be surprised how sweet and delicious it was.

It was nothing he ever tasted before.

It also made him feel like actually thanking-

A sudden annoyed scowl then appeared on the Trickster's face upon realising Stark's daughter has got him again.

It was a curse being utterly adorable.

Tony was having trouble sleeping.

There was so much on his mind and a nagging suspicion told him some of it is bound to find a way to trickle into his dreams.

Stepping out of him room, Tony made his way into Riley's bed room and found his daughter sleeping on her bed with the blanket away from her a bit.

Smiling, Tony quietly went into the bedroom to place the blanket back over Riley's body, so that she doesn't catch a cold before planting a kiss on her forehead.

A confused expression appeared on Tony's face when he notice his daughter's forehead was a bit cold.

Must've been properly because the blanket accidentally moved away from her in her sleep.

Before Tony left the bedroom, he caught sight of a photo of Riley as a four year old with her late mother, Matilda 'Hattie' Valentini which was next to a ABBA album that was on his daughter's desk.

Hattie was an amazing girl, but he didn't love her deeply as he loved Pepper.

But apart of Tony felt guilty that he missed most moments of Riley's life.

Such as the day she was born, her first steps, her first word and first smile.

He missed all of that.

Yet, Hattie loved their daughter deeply even though he and her never married.

The first time he met Hattie was when she came to New York to stay for the summer holidays and was studying to become a musician.

Hattie was a beautiful woman who was five years younger than him and had the passion for music. Her hair was a caramel brown colour and had the loveliest hazel green eyes.

The first time he laid eyes on her was when she was performing in a bar and was singing 'Heart of Glass' by Blondie.

He remembered buying a mint julep cocktail drink for her and the two of them eventually started having a couple of dates with each other.

But their relationship ended, when…well…when she planned to head back to Seville and he had his way with her.

No doubt Hattie was in a rough ride when she told her parents that he got her pregnant.

However, Tony was relieved Hattie never planned to have an abortion and decided to have their daughter.

He couldn't imagine his life without Riley.

His daughter was a smart and amazing kid.

He didn't want anything bad ever happening to her.

Tony then made his way out of his daughter's bedroom and glanced at Riley one more time before quietly closing the door to make his way back to his room to get some rest.