New York - Avengers Facility - Hangar (January 2018)

[Hollywood Heidi]

Hangar of the Avengers Facility

Located in Upstate New York, this is the new Avengers Facility Tony Stark had built after the tower was destroyed. Security guard who keeps an eye on the place via monitors, especially when most of the Avengers are out, is named Stan.

The hangar is an extensive floor area, used for housing Quinjets and other vehicles.

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[Hollywood Heidi]

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After a quick tour of the Avenger's Facility,
Hope and Peter and his crew retired for the day.

The night passes. It is now early morning.

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[Hollywood Heidi]

They had all retired after a quick tour of the facility where Peter and his team had learned that there was, indeed, an indoor pool in the workout area but much to Peter's chagrin, no bowling alley-slash-roller rink.

Hope had been up early, finding it difficult to sleep with thoughts of yet another immanent threat to the planet coming their way with no way to ease her mind on how Tony and his crew were doing with convincing the powers-that-be that they needed to take action. What if they weren't successful, or at least, able to be in a timely manner? They needed everyone they could get at the ready, and that included Tony and his team.

But blindly planning a break-out was a waste of precious time, if it was even possible. The little she knew of the Raft made it seem impossible to find, let alone, break into. It could be anywhere in the vast oceans of Earth, submerged usually, hardly detectable. Hope figured she was better off working on gathering people more easily accessible.

She'd already gotten word out to Cap and his crew. Who knew how long it'd take them to get here when they had to travel under the radar. She'd also already made contact with several others and planned to hit up some of the local people they'd worked with and could trust, but it was a bit early to go knocking on doors quite yet.

So Hope had found herself wandering to the hangar to take advantage of the rare opportunity to check out a real life spaceship. A working spaceship could definitely come in handy. One of their stops on the tour had been to the hangar where, to Peter's relief, Hope had returned his ship to its normal size.


Friday playing some music for her in the background, Hope was well into cataloging and creating schematics in Friday's database, a process going much faster with the collection of her helper ants fitted with various tech to scan, probe, and take pictures, some Pym Particled to the size of large dogs while normal sized ones easily got into all of the crevices for a detailed look. She wasn't sure what the problem had been with the ship when it had come careening toward the ground, but this was sure to find the problem, as well as every tiny issues they might not have even known about.

With plenty to work with already, Hope got ready to tackle some actual repairs. "Hey Friday, could you start getting some of the problem areas on screen?" Looking the pictures over, she used the EMP Communication Device in her ear to telepathically instruct the large ants to start moving things out of the way of areas that were in need of repair.

[Kristi Lynne]

Having successfully raided Stark's fridge once again, Peter was now well-rested and fed enough to deal with the new day. Sure, the events of the past 24 hours might concern a normal person, but in his previous life as a Ravager and now as a 'Guardian of the Galaxy' Peter had learned to just roll with it. Plans? Maybe he had 12 percent of one, but he was sure all the others in the house could put together their parts of a plan and come up with a whole one. He poured himself a cup of coffee into a mug that said 'World's Best Boss' and headed down to the hangar.

The place was huge and filled with things that were foreign even to Peter's eyes. This Stark dude had quite the stash. But of course, the most beautiful aircraft in there was his own -- the Milano thankfully restored to its proper size. "Hello, beautiful," he exhaled with a wide smile before approaching. Sure, she was a little banged up and burnt, maybe not in mint condition, but she was his. Even if Rocket was allowed to fly her once in a while.

It soon became clear that he was not alone in the hangar, and there was already activity around his ship. He heard music playing and saw things carrying equipment around. Were those ants? No, they were really freaking huge ants! "Why are all these ants in here? What the -- Hey!" he cried, as a large ant bumped against him and then pushed him out of its way.

Completing his circle around the ship, he found Hope busily working. "Is this you?" Peter asked pointedly. "Did you neglect to mention freaking huge insects had taken over Earth? Let's deal with that problem first!" While trying not to spill his coffee, he turned this way and that trying to make sure no ants were crawling near or on him. 

[Hollywood Heidi]

"Why are all these ants in here? What the -- Hey!"

Hope heard Peter's voice in the distance approaching. She didn't react to his reaction both because she was used to getting that reaction and because she was concentrating on giving directions to the said ants.

Specs for the ship were complete so Hope was starting to send the normal sized ants out of the ship's crevices when Peter finally got over to her.


"Is this you?" "Did you neglect to mention freaking huge insects had taken over Earth? Let's deal with that problem first!"

Hope turned away from the images that seemed to float in the air to turn her amused expression over to Peter.
She leaned back against the console and casually crossed her arms. "Those are just regular ants. Remember how your ship was really tiny?" Of course he did. She was poking fun at how he'd reacted childishly about that. "We did the opposite to them," she said, nodding toward the bigger ants who were indeed proving to be very helpful.

She grinned and rolled her eyes as Peter continued to check himself over. "They're harmless. They're following my instructions." Hope turned her head and tapped the hardly discernable device around her ear. "Here, I'll show you." Hope concentrated and sent out instructions to the smaller ants. They started to collect on the floor before them, Hope being sure to keep them a safe distance from Peter's feet in case he had the reflexive urge to stomp on the harmless creatures, and in a slow, organized manner, they started to move into position to form words.

Good morning
Peter

"See? They won't bother you." She let them continue on their way toward the windows to exit through whatever crevice they'd found entry through. "Not unless I tell them to," she added with a wink before turning back to the screens where Peter's ship was fully displayed in various schematics.  A full outside view, various interior shots.  Big problem areas highlighted red and smaller issues in yellow.  "We've got our work cut out for us."  She reached out to adjust the images to their best angles, turning her hand here and there, the graphics moving in response to how she manipulated them.

[Kristi Lynne]

"They're harmless. They're following my instructions. Here, I'll show you. ... See? They won't bother you. Not unless I tell them to."

Oh, good. She had the power to shrink or enlarge anything and an obedient army of ants at her disposal. Better stay on her good side. "Okay, neat trick," Peter acknowledged. "Just make sure they're all out of my ship. I don't need any more hitchhikers."

"We've got our work cut out for us."

Her tech was also way better than anything on the Ravager ship. He sipped his coffee and studied the images in front of him, viewing problems he wasn't even aware of. "Yeah, it wasn't exactly a smooth landing," he explained. "Stabilizer was shot, and wiring probably got fried when she hit the atmosphere. Certainly wasn't the return home I was hoping for." 

He'd have time to process those feelings later, right now he needed to get to work. Preferably before Rocket woke up and started tearing off pieces of his ship to build explosives that he would claim they needed. "You forgot the most important part of any repair job -- the proper soundtrack," Peter stated, disappearing into the ship and heading to where the Zune had been wired into the ship's audio system. Within seconds, Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" was blasting through the hangar and drowning out the existing music.

"Huh? Am I right?" Peter prompted with an assured grin, ducking back outside to address Hope. He picked up a nearby wrench, flipped it into his hand, and headed for the stabilizer controls.

[Hollywood Heidi]

Hope shook her head as he disappeared back into his ship. She wasn't annoyed. Rather, there was an air of fondness to the gesture because his man-child like personality reminded her of someone else.

"Would you like me to override your music through the ship's speakers?" came the lilting Irish voice from the console and through Hope's earpiece.

Hope looked up at the screen as if Friday's invisible face was there. "Well that's very... Tony." She was going to say 'rude' but same difference. Friday was connected to the ship and so could have, but Hope wasn't as stringent with music selection as Tony was, or self absorbed... self important... Besides, so far, Peter's taste in music was good. "Maybe just turn down the volume a bit so we can actually communicate while working. And could you mirror his music out here?"

In answer, the volume from within the ship lowered and the music within the hangar speakers matched up as if they all ran on the same unit. "You're amazing. You know that Friday? I'm sure Tony never tells you so." Hope picked up a large, heavy toolbox and started for the ship.


"Well, he did create me as I am, so technically you're saying that Tony is amazing."

Hope snickered. It was moments like these that left no doubt Friday was a Tony creation. "And that's the last time I'll ever compliment you," she said as she stepped aboard the ship.


"Not sure if any of this will help," she said, lowering the toolbox she was referring to full of tools that might not fit with parts not from this planet. The wrench he held was pretty standard so perhaps it wouldn't be a total waste. Hope studied the stabilizer that was both familiar and foreign. She opened the toolbox and stuck to working on the familiar aspects of it, knowing Peter would stop her if she did something wrong. "So how'd you end up ever leaving Earth? We only just recently were made aware that things like spaceships and aliens actually existed but you seem pretty much acclimated."

[Kristi Lynne]

Peter had removed the cover from one of the instrument panels and was examining it for damage. Maybe he could reroute power from one place to another if the part couldn't be replaced. Or if all else failed, a little duct tape and some percussive maintenance. It wouldn't be the first time he'd had to improvise.

"So how'd you end up ever leaving Earth? We only just recently were made aware that things like spaceships and aliens actually existed but you seem pretty much acclimated."

"Psh, that old story?" Peter scoffed with a shrug. Normally, he would embellish said story with lots of near-death escapes and stunning bravery to impress his female audience. But Hope seemed completely disinterested, for one, and the genetically-engineered assassin that he loved (and who could easily kill him) was currently languishing in a cell somewhere. So he'd have to take the honesty route, more or less.

"Well, my dad was an alien," Peter began. "He met my mom back in the '70s, in Kansas, then took off. But when she died, he sent a buncha' space pirates to bring me back to him. Only they didn't. They kept me around, taught me the ways of thievery and space travel. I went off on my own a few years ago, got roped into a planetary civil war when I stole some purple stone from a genocidal smurf, thwarted my alien dad's plan to spread his consciousness all over the universe, and now here I am. Back home. It looks different, but mostly the same.

"What about you? How'd you get to be queen bee, er, ant?" he inquired. 

[Hollywood Heidi]

Halfway through his story, Hope had just stopped and stared at him incredulously throughout the rest of it. He seemed to be more serious than usual, so Hope didn't think he was messing with her by giving her the storyline of a cheesy sci-fi B movie, nor did it seem like any of it was an exaggeration. Colorful summary, but all true.

"Well shit." There wasn't much else she could say. That goofball exterior was masking a very complicated past that made her feel a lot better about her own.


"What about you? How'd you get to be queen bee, er, ant?"

Hope shrugged. "Hank is the creator of the EMP," she tapped the device in her ear, "and Pym Particles; the subatomic particles of an extra dimensional nature that compress the physical--" Realizing she was being too technical, she cut herself short. Apparently, she'd been spending too much time around Tony, one of the few people she knew who could talk science, that she'd forgotten to take it down to an understandable level. She circled the tool in her hand in the air as she broke it down simply. "The stuff that allows us to alter the size of things. So it's kind of in my blood."

That really didn't explain exactly why it was in her blood as it wasn't normal for someone to refer to a parent by their name. Putting herself back to work, she finally said in a detached tone, "Hank is my father." Keeping her eyes on the task made it easier to talk about herself and she found that after he'd opened up, she felt more inclined to do so herself. The fact that this was someone who'd be disappearing again to parts of the galaxy she couldn't even imagine had her giving in to a long buried need to air out some of her baggage. "Hank made the first suit way back in the day, used it to fight bad guys. He got to be known as Ant-Man." She did look over at him for a second with a small smile over the official name that was similar to the joke he'd made. "Hank and my mom made another suit, but this one with wings. Mom came to be known as Wasp." Hope smiled fondly over having the Wasp connection with her mother.

"Anyway," she said on a sigh, then laid out the rest matter-of-factly like he had. "Hank and mom had me, continued fighting the bad guys together. When I was seven, mom sacrificed herself to disable a missile by going Subatomic, knowing she'd end up lost forever in the Quantum Realm. Hank got lost in his own grief and locked himself away. Felt like I lost both parents that night," she said dispassionately, reaching down to the toolbox to swap out her tool. "He sent me away to boarding school and I had to figure out how to deal with something no little kid should have to deal with, especially on their own," her eyes flicked toward Peter in inclusion, figuring space pirates probably weren't the type to help a kid through grief.


"He threw himself into finding a way to get her back. Never stopped. I thought he was wasting his time but... there was recently a breakthrough. A new guy wearing the Ant-Man suit made the same sacrifice but figured out a way to get back. Now that the impossible was no longer the impossible, I threw myself into working alongside Hank. We made another Wasp suit, I learned to use it, so now I'm ready to go in, if we ever manage to pinpoint where in that vast dimension she is."

[Kristi Lynne]

"...Now that the impossible was no longer the impossible, I threw myself into working alongside Hank. We made another Wasp suit, I learned to use it, so now I'm ready to go in, if we ever manage to pinpoint where in that vast dimension she is."

"Wow," Peter exhaled, having listened intently to Hope's telling of her life story. "So...ants can speak English?"

When she gave him an incredulous and yet somehow hostile glare that would have matched Gamora's, he tried to stifle his laughter. "I'm just saying it's weird. I mean, it is weird, isn't it? Come on," Peter insisted. He lightly chuckled again before shifting his attention back to the wiring. They continued to work in a silence that was still filled by Peter's playlist.

"Hey, I'm sorry about your mom," he finally said softly. "Worst day of my life was when I lost her. I think about her all the time. She would put all her favorite songs on tape for me to listen to," he explained, pointing upward to the sounds. "That's how I still feel connected to her. Like you and your fly suit. Anyway, I hope once this universe-saving is all done, you can find her." 

[Hollywood Heidi]

"Wow," "So...ants can speak English?"

That was his takeaway? She pulled her attention from the stabilizer to stare at him incredulously, which quickly turned into a glare when she saw the amusement barely hidden beneath the serious façade. Offense was not intended and she didn't take it as such. Goofiness was his shield and she met it with hers of cold, hard steel.


"I'm just saying it's weird. I mean, it is weird, isn't it? Come on,"

He managed to coax a smile out of her. Shields from opposite ends of the spectrum created a good counterbalance. People like him and Scott reminded people like her to lighten up while people like her--and she suspected Gamora--reminded them to take things a little more seriously. Sometimes.

"And hearing different things out of the exact same three words coming from a talking tree is not weird," she countered dryly with lips quirked in amusement.

There was a short, companionable silence as they worked and reflected on the past accompanied by music fitting to that time of their lives.


"Hey, I'm sorry about your mom," "Worst day of my life was when I lost her.

"Same here," she confessed in the same soft tone. She gave him a sad smile with her eyes portraying her own sorrow and complete understanding over his loss.


I think about her all the time. She would put all her favorite songs on tape for me to listen to," "That's how I still feel connected to her.

No wonder he seemed to hold his soundtrack in such high regard. Maybe she wouldn't have grown up so angry and bitter if she'd had something personal like that to hold onto to help her through it, but Janet Van Dyne had expected to return. Hope had nothing but fading memories. Then Peter reminded her that she did have something.


Like you and your fly suit. Anyway, I hope once this universe-saving is all done, you can find her."

She spared him an appreciative grin again. "Thanks." She'd opened up and let out far more feels than she was usually comfortable with, so Hope concentrated on steering them in a different direction. "And it's a Wasp suit, Star-Boy," she stressed, purposefully getting his alternate alias wrong in good-natured retaliation.


Friday's voice sounded in Hope's earpiece and through the speakers near them on the ship. "Hope, you have company."

"What, already?" That was much faster than she'd anticipated. She might have been worried that said company were government officials if Friday's tone hadn't been calm.

[wesleybucks]

His black SUV pulled up a few hundred yards from the entrance. With a turn of the keys, the engine died down.

"Execute Avenger facility protocol 616. Authorisation Fury, Nicholas J."

The SUV spoke calmly back to him as it hacked into the facility systems.

"Avenger facility protocol 616 confirmed. Defenses offline. CCTV network offline. Satellite imagery offline."

Fury took a moment to look at the facility building from the front seat of his trusty car. It had been a long time since he'd been to the upstate facility. Construction hadn't been finished last time. Fury drew a device similar to a phone from his belt and connected it to his dashboard.

"Bring up current camera feeds with audio."

The screen lit up with the various rooms of the facility. Most of them seemed to be empty. It was the hanger that caught his attention. An unusual looking ship was parked with two figures next to it. Zooming in, Fury recognised one of them to be Hope. He didn't recognise the man beside her.

"Run facial recognition through SHIELD database."

After far too long, the results came back negative. The man's face did not exist on any SHIELD database.

"Run facial recognition through external databases."

The system began searching through CIA, FBI, MI6, KGB, SWORD, UN, NSS, NSA, VSSE and other databases. It took several minutes this time and still came back negative.

"Extend search to all international emergency services. Focus search on December 2017 and January 2018."

Fury began to drum his fingers on the steering wheel as the dashboard searched. The CCTV live feed showed them still in the hanger. They seemed very informal. The man had an air of confidence that Fury found to be troubling. Too much like Stark.
Finally, the dashboard found a hit. It was dash-cam footage from a police vehicle in Norway. The footage wasn't that old. It was also pretty poor quality. It showed some military types trying to force their way through a barrier. It was hard to see what was on the other side of said barrier but there were definitely multiple figures and one of their faces was close enough to this man's to trigger SHIELD recognition software. After a while, Tony Stark emerged with Thor, some bug woman and a green woman. Potential link to Banner? It had been some time since Fury had a solid location on Thor and Banner. He watched as they were taken away by military forces but no sign of where this stranger escaped to.

"Computer, access Avengers Facility CCTV footage over the past two weeks. Highlight anything featuring this guy."

The live footage was replaced by a past recording. It showed the facility living space. Hope was leading this stranger into the kitchen area.

"Make yourselves at home. The fridge and cabinets are fully stocked. Help yourselves to whatever you'd like. I've gotta make a quick call. Tour and living quarter assignments when I get back."



"I dunno the deal with this Stark guy but he's got good taste."



The man had made his way to the fridge. Nick raised an eyebrow but then raised both when a walking, talking raccoon came into frame, swigging some beer.



"Hey, Quill – you know what? I can tell you what’s your matter with that Stark guy. He’s a bigmouth AND a winner. And you’re just a bigmouth. Oh, and of course are we going to save the galaxy again - because we are the f*cking Guardians of the Galaxy!"



Bingo. The man's name was Quill and they seemed to represent some Guardian organisation.

"Computer, locate any record of 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. Also, bring up anything on the SHIELD database linked to the name Quill."

It didn't take the dashboard long to show it had nothing on the name Quill. Their group's name also drew a blank. That was then something caught Fury's attention about the old CCTV footage of the living space that was still playing.

"You kiddin'? Take a seat and join a meeting of the daddy issues club, that I have just now called to order. I'm bettin' Fabio was the the golden child, huh? Never did anything wrong, always did what your dad-slash-king wanted...."

This Quill man was addressing someone out of the camera's view. The person out of view responded with an all too familiar voice.

"That is a good one. Mr. Stark appreciates quality. I am not sure what Thor told you or not but to me it sounds like you have already start getting to know him a bit. But, to be honest, just a bit. Yes, he was this so-called golden child but he rarely did what our father and king told him to do. The truth is, that it often was impossible for both of us to live up to our father’s expectations. I am not able to change the past. And I am not sure if I would like to. But if I could there is one thing I would do. I would have protected my mother... Or at least I wish I could have been at her funeral…"

It wasn't hard to find a camera with a different angle. It showed the God of Mischief sat with a drink in hand, chatting casually. The man that had led the invasion of New York City was there. Or at least he had been when the footage had been recorded. This meant going in hard, fast and undercover. Fury checked his watch. Captain Rogers and his group would still be another 15 minutes or so. Fury had planned on waiting for them but if Loki was involved, this couldn't wait.

His dark sunglasses on with a black leather jacket over a purple hoodie with the hood firmly over his head, Fury strode out from the SUV and onwards until he passed through the doors of the facility. It was quiet. Nobody in the lobby. Fury stepped behind the reception desk and placed a bug the size of a quarter under the screen. Always good to have more listening devices in places like this. He made his way across the room and to the vending machine. He pressed buttons 6,1 then 6 before inserting a Hungarian Forint coin. With a loud grinding noise, the machine slowly slid to the side to reveal the stairway behind it leading down. Fury entered and the machine moved back to cover the opening.

The descent was dark and cold as he trudged onwards down the stone steps. Eventually, it leveled out and he reached a wall. He could hear voices on the other side but not clear enough to make out what they were saying. Knowing that the hanger was on the other side, Fury knew it was safe to assume it was Hope and this Quill man. Fury pressed his hand against the wall and felt the tingle of his fingerprints being scanned. A small opening revealed itself and he squeezed through to slip into the hanger. Fury reached down to his belt and pressed his thumb against another scan. The device in his ear spoke to him.

"Connected. Awaiting request."

"Identify nearby protocol 616 weaponry."

"Located. 12 yards North East in footlocker. Combination 9474."

Fury could see the footlocker next to a workbench cluttered with tools. Sticking to the shadows, Fury made his way around the room, listening to their conversation.

"...myself into working alongside Hank. We made another Wasp suit, I learned to use it, so now I'm ready to go in, if we ever manage to pinpoint where in that vast dimension she is."



"Wow. So...ants can speak English?"

Fury reached the footlocker and entered the code. Quietly raising it's lid, Fury drew out the dual pistols and slid them into holsters by his side. He then lifted the Jotun class energy rifle. Specifically designed for Frost Giants after what happened to Coulson. As far as Fury was concerned, he would be shooting first when it came to dealing with Loki. Fury pressed a small dial on his sunglasses.

"Resolve Avengers facility protocol 616."

"Confirmed. Avengers facility defenses back online. CCTV network back online. Satellite imagery back online."

He had reactivated the facilities' defenses. The facility would recognise him as a friendly but would now be recognising him. Fury continued moving to get a good angle on them both as they continued to talk. There was a ping from his earpiece.

"Relevant news article located. In 1988, police report filed for missing child of the name Peter Quill. He was last seen in Missouri by his grandfather. It appears that Peter Quill's mother died of a tumour the same evening that he was reported missing by his grandfather. There are three other police reports within a 12 mile radius of the hospital that were filed that evening reporting UFO sightings."

Fury smiled. Gotcha.

"Thanks. And it's a Wasp suit, Star-Boy,"

Fury stopped by several upright lockers. He had a slight pang of guilt. He admired Hope and knew she would be a valuable ally in the upcoming mission. However, he couldn't let a thing like Loki slide. Too many people had died. He heard Hope pause before she said:
"What, already?"

Sounded like the facility defense system had spotted him. Pretty sloppy. Fury would be having words with Stark. That is, if Cap ever showed up with the Raft locator. Taking a deep breath, Fury whirled around the corner and out of the shadows. The large rifle was in both of his hands and raised to eye level as he stepped forwards.

"Good morning Ms Van Dyne, Mr Quill. Happy to see you both in such high spirits. I'm here to help you help me when it comes to Tony Stark. However, we seem to have a slight bump in the road that needs flattening. Would you be so kind as to point me in the direction of the Norse God of Mischief you have been sheltering here? I'm here to pass on a New York greeting to him."

Fury flicked off the rifle's safety letting the weapon glow a faint icy blue tinge.

[Kristi Lynne]

"Thanks. And it's a Wasp suit, Star-Boy."

"Um, it's Star-Lord, Legendary Outlaw," Peter corrected with exaggerated indignation. Certainly wasn't the first time someone had gotten his chosen title wrong, and he knew Hope meant it in fun. He appreciated her mostly silent yet diligent work to fix a vehicle that wasn't her own. Rocket always found a way to be exceedingly obnoxious in the same task.

"Hope, you have company."

"What, already?"

"What kind of company?" Peter asked warily. He doubted the lady that lived in the building, or was inside the building, would be making such an announcement if said company was expected or friendly. Ugh, he hated surprises. His blasters were back in the room where he'd slept, Hope didn't look to be equipped with any weapons either, so the only thing handy was the toolbox and its contents. "You guys suck at being guard dogs," he told one of the enlarged ants that was holding a soldering iron at the ready for him. It backed up slightly and turned its head in curiosity. "Don't give me that look, it's true!" 

"Good morning Ms Van Dyne, Mr Quill. Happy to see you both in such high spirits. I'm here to help you help me when it comes to Tony Stark...."

When the stranger materialized pointing a serious-looking gun at them both, Peter thought it best to get to his feet slowly while raising his hands in a hopefully universal sign of surrender. This dude didn't look like some inept foot soldier incapable of even holding his weapon properly. He looked like he meant business. "Hey, did you invite Shaft?" he whispered in query to Hope. 

"Uh, sir, Hope said it was okay if we crashed here for a few days while my ship gets fixed," Peter proclaimed. "If we broke anything, Rocket will pay for it."

"...However, we seem to have a slight bump in the road that needs flattening. Would you be so kind as to point me in the direction of the Norse God of Mischief you have been sheltering here? I'm here to pass on a New York greeting to him."

"Wait, that guy?!" Peter asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. Loki certainly seemed to be in demand with a lot of people, and not in a good way. "Oh, he's not with us. No sheltering, no, sir."

[Hollywood Heidi]

"What kind of company?" "You guys suck at being guard dogs," "Don't give me that look, it's true!"

It wasn't the time to explain that the ants only did what she requested of them and that she hadn't felt it had been necessary to distract from the main task with the addition of guarding when Friday had the whole place monitored. She spoke her assumption out loud as she stood in preparation to greet whoever it was in the lobby. "Reinforcements."


"Good morning Ms Van Dyne, Mr Quill. Happy to see you both in such high spirits. I'm here to help you help me when it comes to Tony Stark.

She'd barely taken one step when said company materialized with large rifle pointed at them. Hope was more surprised to find him here than she was over the rifle he aimed at them. Fury hadn't been one of the reinforcements she'd reached out to, simply for the fact that he'd been off the grid and she'd had no idea how to contact him. Also, why had Friday waited to announce company until he'd practically announced himself?


"Hey, did you invite Shaft?" "Uh, sir, Hope said it was okay if we crashed here for a few days while my ship gets fixed," "If we broke anything, Rocket will pay for it."

Hope choked back an unexpected laugh at the Shaft comment. She'd gotten that vibe off Fury as well but had never vocalized it. Unlike Quill, she did not put her hands up. Knowing she'd done nothing wrong she remained calm and also unlike Quill, remained silent as she waited for Fury to explain the need to point a rifle at them. She trusted him and knew him at least well enough to know he had his reasons.


However, we seem to have a slight bump in the road that needs flattening. Would you be so kind as to point me in the direction of the Norse God of Mischief you have been sheltering here? I'm here to pass on a New York greeting to him."

And there it was. Distracted in a very rare moment of sharing in unburdening deep seated issues, she'd almost forgotten that the so-called god who'd attempted to take over the planet and enslave all its inhabitants was under their roof. She opened her mouth to explain but Quill's was already running.


"Wait, that guy?!" "Oh, he's not with us. No sheltering, no, sir."

Hope placed a calming hand on Peter's arm, encouraging him to relax his motor mouth and let her do the talking. "Fury, I would love nothing more than to punch Loki in his smug face and hand him over." She crossed her arms now, looking slightly offended as she eyed the gun. "Do you really think I'd keep him around unless there was a damn good reason to?"

[wesleybucks]

Fury's hands tightened around the rifle at the shaft comment and took a deep breath.

"Wait, that guy?! Oh, he's not with us. No sheltering, no, sir."

So they were going to lie to him. That made things more complicated. His mind began racing. If Loki was on site and they were harboring him then it could only mean one of two things. Either he was back to his mind manipulating ways and was controlling them or something had truly happened to align Loki and Hope's causes. A common goal? A common enemy? Possibly something to do with Stark's imprisonment?

"Fury, I would love nothing more than to punch Loki in his smug face and hand him over. Do you really think I'd keep him around unless there was a damn good reason to?"

Hope stared at him with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow. Fury resisted smiling and started to think. This wasn't going to be simple. Captain Rogers was on route with his team and would be arriving soon. Until then, there were limited options for backup. There were the agents that followed Coulson's SHIELD. They had access to a helicarrier. Last time he'd checked though that was off the coast of Madagascar. Fury needed answers. He lowered the rifle and drew a small disc from his belt, tossing it onto the floor. The disc started dimly glowing a bright, neon blue.

"I'd really love to believe you Hope but there's a precedent for this. Loki has the power to manipulate people. Even Agent Barton couldn't resist him. That little gadget there is a simple scanner. I'm pretty familiar with the layout of this place so I know it'll take less than a minute to scan the whole facility. You can choose to cooperate with me and give me a reason to trust you, or I can wait for the scan to finish, find Loki and go execute him myself. Your call."

[Kristi Lynne]

"Fury, I would love nothing more than to punch Loki in his smug face and hand him over. Do you really think I'd keep him around unless there was a damn good reason to?"

Okay, so Hope knew the guy that currently had them at gunpoint. But that didn't really relax Quill enough to put his hands down. And given all the enemies this Loki guy seemed to have accumulated on Earth, he was starting to look more like a liability than an ally. But then, Peter had probably thought the same thing at one point or another about the beings who shared his ship. No need to jump to conclusions.

"...You can choose to cooperate with me and give me a reason to trust you, or I can wait for the scan to finish, find Loki and go execute him myself. Your call."

Okay then, conclusion leapt to already. Was he really gonna' have to go to the mat for that pretty boy? "Uh, Mr. Fury, sir," Peter began hesitantly, using the name Hope had said. "I'm Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, Legendary Outlaw." He smiled warmly and lowered his hands in order to extend one to Fury, but the cold stare from the guy's one eye was enough to make him retract it. "So there's a pretty big situation about to go down. And much as I hate to admit it, we kinda' need all the help we can get. Even from the Swedish douchebag." 

[Hollywood Heidi]

"I'd really love to believe you Hope but there's a precedent for this. Loki has the power to manipulate people. Even Agent Barton couldn't resist him. That little gadget there is a simple scanner. I'm pretty familiar with the layout of this place so I know it'll take less than a minute to scan the whole facility. You can choose to cooperate with me and give me a reason to trust you, or I can wait for the scan to finish, find Loki and go execute him myself. Your call."

So dramatic. Hope let out a sigh. "Scan away, if that makes you feel better. I can't blame you," she said with a shrug. "But I'll take you to him. Just... resist the urge to shoot him before you hear the whole story."


"Uh, Mr. Fury, sir," "I'm Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, Legendary Outlaw." "So there's a pretty big situation about to go down. And much as I hate to admit it, we kinda' need all the help we can get. Even from the Swedish douchebag."

Hope casually gestured toward Peter in a 'what he said' motion. She may not have been part of all the happenings before becoming involved with the Avengers, but she'd read up on things. "Loki may be able to manipulate, but the thing he was using to mind control is part of Vision now," she reminded, tapping the place on her forehead where she'd seen the yellow gem embedded in pictures of Vision. "Your call how you want to proceed-- Ant-on, leave that alone," she momentarily broke off, looking at the giant ant that had abandoned the soldering iron and wandered between herself and Peter to curiously investigate the glowing neon blue disc tossed over by the visitor. She'd sent the request through her EMP at the same time and Ant-on backed up a couple steps, looking up at her. He was a simple creature that did not comprehend her disapproving frown, nor could he read a room.

The moment she took her attention off him again, he moved forward, picked up the disc with his mandibles, and sent it skittering on the ground back to Fury. Like an overgrown puppy playing catch, he watched Fury expectantly.

"Jesus," Hope muttered while pinching the bridge of her nose. Ant-on was undermining the seriousness of the situation, much like the man who'd named him. "Ant-on, out. Please." Message received through the EMP, Ant-on happily trotted off the ship. As serious of an expression she could muster after feeling she'd lost all credibility, she put her attention back on Fury. "Briefing now or after we've gathering Loki and the others?"

[wesleybucks]

"Scan away, if that makes you feel better. I can't blame you. But I'll take you to him. Just... resist the urge to shoot him before you hear the whole story."

Hope had remained calm throughout their entire exchange. Good. She was clearly capable of maintaining a cool head in emotionally heightened situations. That would bode well for what was coming next.

"Uh, Mr. Fury, sir. I'm Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, Legendary Outlaw. So there's a pretty big situation about to go down. And much as I hate to admit it, we kinda' need all the help we can get. Even from the Swedish douchebag."

Fury didn't bother to point out that a being from a different plane of reality was not going to be Swedish. He reckoned that Quill knew it already. Fury's mind raced as he assessed the changing situation. The small disc he had tossed onto the ground was simply a metallic disc that generated a blue beam of light. It was amazing how many times it had got him out of some hairy moments in the past.

"Loki may be able to manipulate, but the thing he was using to mind control is part of Vision now. Your call how you want to proceed-- Ant-on, leave that alone."

One of her giant ants had begun to crawl right up to the disc to get a good look at the bright light. Fury's eyebrow raised even higher as it slid the disc back across the floor to rest at Fury's foot. Hope dismissed the creature and looked back to Fury.

"Briefing now or after we've gathering Loki and the others?"

Fury bent down and picked up the disc. He slid his thumb across the top, deactivating the light. Hope seemed to have control over the situation so for now, he would have to trust her judgement. He opened his mouth to speak when a voice rang out over the hanger's speakers. She sounded like one of Stark's many AI's.

"Alert. Incoming vehicle approaching hanger. Vehicle is a Class B Quinjet. It's designation matches that of a Quinjet that was stolen over five months ago. It was last seen a month ago at decommissioned SHIELD archive: The Treehouse. Hanger door security protocols have been overridden."

At that moment, the large metal slabs that formed the hanger doors began to grind open. Blades of sunlight sliced through the hanger followed in quick succession by the strong winds of a Quinjet's engines. The Quinjet in question slowly made it's way into the hanger, it's shadow passing over Fury, Quill and Hope. Loose pieces of paper and small tools were caught up in the wind from it's jets and tossed around the room. The Quinjet managed to hover around the alien craft and lowered to land at an empty bay as Fury deactivated the rifle, letting it drop to the ground. As the Quinjet's ramp lowered, Fury turned to Hope and Quill with a knowing smile. Captain America, Falcon, Black Widow and Antman made their way down the gangplank.

"I think Ms Van Dyne, it may be best if we caught each other up sooner rather than later..."

[Kristi Lynne]

Peter had been happy to hang back and let the two of them talk it out. After all, this was basically their home turf and he was just visiting. But then, some more visitors decided to crash the party. He put an arm up to shield his eyes, first from the sunlight that poured in the open hangar door and then the jets from the aircraft as it maneuvered to land.

"Sweet ride!" Peter said in astonishment, once the plane's engines were powered down and the hangar was quiet again. Of course, it was probably way inferior to his Milano, but still pretty cool as far as human tech went. "Looks like you're not the only one with the keys to Stark's summer home," he scoffed at Hope. 

"I think Ms Van Dyne, it may be best if we caught each other up sooner rather than later..."

Peter scanned the new arrivals, not recognizing anyone. "Are these the reinforcements?" he asked Hope in a whisper. " 'Cause they look like a Saturday morning cartoon. I mean, like, not a good one but one that you have to sit through before 'Transformers' comes on--"

[Hollywood Heidi]

Hope gathered her hair over her shoulder into her fist against the sudden hurricane of the Quinjet engines, watching it land and start to power down.


"Sweet ride!" "Looks like you're not the only one with the keys to Stark's summer home,"

"Stark's?" she scoffed over the winding down of the engines. Tony may have funded the building of this place, but it was in dedication to the team. "This place belongs to all the Avengers." She gave a nod toward the Quinjet with the clear implication that despite all that had happened, the once-Avengers to the public were still very much Avengers in her eyes. They had done far too much for this planet and its inhabitants for the Accords to simply disavow them.


"I think Ms Van Dyne, it may be best if we caught each other up sooner rather than later..."

Hope looked to Fury with a nod of agreement. "Let's just... try to handle this Loki situation with a level head," she requested, looking pained over even making the request as she was still struggling with it herself. There was no way to avoid well deserved backlash over Loki's actions, but she stressed anyway, "We need all the time and energy we can save."

Pushing her hair back over her shoulder, she made a quick run of her hand over the top to settle any flyaways. Hope felt a nervousness go through her, but did not let it show, convincing herself it was because she was about to meet the Captain America. As a majority of people, she was a fan, though she was not the type to fangirl, unlike the person who was really tying her up emotionally inside. It had been, what, two years since she'd seen Scott? Two years since he'd taken off with the Ant-Man suit without a word to her.

On the inside, she felt many emotions over the thought of seeing him again, both good and bad, swirling and mixing, taking turns at the forefront. On the outside, she was cool and composed, easily switching on her serious, professional, yet hospitable businesswoman persona. She did her best to avoid looking at Scott beyond the first glimpse of him emerging from the Quinjet, concentrating on keeping her attention on Cap and the rest of his team.  She wasn't overly surprised to find Nat amongst them.  Now Hope knew why Nat had made a quick departure after they'd landed back from New Asgard.  Hope guessed it was probably Nat who had gotten in touch with Fury as well.


"Are these the reinforcements?" "'Cause they look like a Saturday morning cartoon. I mean, like, not a good one but one that you have to sit through before 'Transformers' comes on--"

Glad for the distraction, Hope smirked as she gave his outfit a head-to-toe 'you're one to talk' once-over. "Remind me to show you some Avengers footage later, Space Cowboy," she whispered back before moving toward their guests.


With the practiced ease of one who ran a company, Hope's mind went right to work. The conference room might be the ideal place for a meeting, but their newest guests might be hungry after their travels from wherever they'd been in hiding. A more casual setting along with a full stomach might also be beneficial, though there was probably nothing that could, to put it mildly, ease the tension of being under the same roof as Loki. "Friday, please ask the others to convene in the living area," she called out.


"I'll get right on that, Miss Hope," came the lilting Irish accented reply.

"Captain Rogers," Hope said, giving a warm smile along with the offer of her hand. "Thank you for getting here so quickly. I'm Hope Van Dyne. This is Peter Quill and of course, you already know Fury." She gestured to the men beside her.

[wesleybucks]

New York City. It had been quite some time since Steve had been back. He'd missed it. The sprawling City with it's rigid grid-like layout yet so full of chaos. There was barely any sign now that some years ago an alien invasion had descended from the skies above Manhattan. He gazed sadly out of the Quinjet's side window at the building that had once been the Avenger's Tower. The large A had been taken down and now the side of the building was bare. Awaiting some new title to be affixed by whoever had enough money to buy it from Tony.
The Quinjet dipped slightly to the side as they turned away from the City and towards the new Avengers facility further upstate. Steve watched New York City grow smaller, allowing himself one last moment of nostalgia, before tearing himself away from the window and to the task at hand.

The locator device sat on a chair beside Nat who the floor between them all. Currently offline, Scott had told him the locator resembled a portable CD player from the early 2000's. It a small, flat, circular device roughly the size of a dinner plate. It's top could be flipped up to reveal the screen underneath. When activated, this screen would reveal the location of the Raft prison. It would show them where Tony was. Steve hadn't spoken to him since...well, their last conversation hadn't ended well.

Finally, the Quinjet began to descend from the sky and everyone got ready to disembark. Nat patted Steve on the shoulder.

"Looking forward to seeing the old place?"

Steve smiled back at her.

"I am. It's been some time now but...I'm ready. I'm done with hiding."

Nat smiled back at him and heaved on her large backpack.

"Glad to hear it. There are some good people down there at the moment. I worked with them not that long ago. I reckon we'll need them when we hit the prison."

Steve nodded. She was right. With the locator they'd be able to find the Raft but staging a prison break was a different matter. The four of them had dealt with the old SHIELD base fine but that was essentially an abandoned facility. The Raft was state of the art. Much of the design work had been done by Tony himself. Steve couldn't help but smile at the irony.


The Quinjet hovered over the large entrance of the facility before slowly making it's way into the hanger. Sam and Scott were closest to the doors that would soon be opening once they'd landed. Scott was fidgeting and hopping slightly on the spot. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"What, do you need to use the bathroom?"

"No! I just...I'm nervous. I haven't seen her in a while now."

"Seen who?"

The tone in Sam's voice made it clear he was extremely interested in the identity of the person that was making Scott so uncomfortable.

"Come on tic-tac, give us the dirt. She some ex of yours?"

Scott rolled his eyes and groaned.

"No not an ex...we never...I mean there wasn't time for...you make it sound so formal we...when I left I didn't even..."

Steve picked up the locator and stepped forwards to join them with Nat just behind.

"Come on Sam, stop torturing the man."

"Thank you Captain America."

"Thanks Scott but Steve will do fine."

At that moment, the Quinjet landed and the gangplank descended. Steve, Nat, Sam and Scott walked forwards into the hanger. Fury was standing to one side and gave Steve a nod. Before them stood a man and a woman. Steve recognised their posture. They were standing a little bit too straight. He couldn't tell if it was respect, shock or defiance. Maybe all the above.

"Captain Rogers. Thank you for getting here so quickly. I'm Hope Van Dyne. This is Peter Quill and of course, you already know Fury."

Steve shook her hand. Quite the firm grip. She was smiling and looked him dead in the eyes. Steve returned the smile. He liked her.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both. I think you're familiar with Natasha. This is Sam and Scott."

Steve gestured back at his team before turning back to Hope.

"And please, call me Steve."

Nat threw a wave Hope's way before walking over to Fury. Sam had stepped forward to shake hands with this Peter Quill. Scott was standing back, reeking of awkwardness. Steve stepped to one side and brought Scott forwards.

"This is Scott Lang. I'm sure you've heard of Pym Technologies. Well, not that long ago Mr Lang here with the help of..."

"Yea she knows me Steve."

Scott finally spoke and tried to subtly wipe his sweaty hands on his trousers.

"Hope! It's...good to see you again! It's been a while..."

[wesleybucks]

"Let's just... try to handle this Loki situation with a level head. We need all the time and energy we can save."

Fury begrudgingly nodded. She was right of course. Time was a critical factor now. Fury still didn't have all the pieces of the puzzle and he knew there was intel he'd need from Hope and Quill. He stood to one side as Rogers, Romanoff, Wilson and Lang walked across the hanger. Fury gave Rogers a nod and could see that he was holding the locator. Good.


"Captain Rogers. Thank you for getting here so quickly. I'm Hope Van Dyne. This is Peter Quill and of course, you already know Fury."


Hope and Steve shook hands and began the pleasantries. Agent Romanoff stood beside Fury, a large backpack strapped onto her shoulders. Both spies continued to watch the others conversing as they spoke.

"We had a good flight. Stealth tech you sent over to us from Coulson's team is working a treat on the Quinjets. Nobody tracked us. The Treehouse wasn't as empty as we'd expected but we have the locator and some blueprints of the prison. I've had a look over them but it was actually Lang that's been the most help on that front. You were right about his background. There's for sure some history with theft and prisons going on there. It'll come in handy."

"That's good to hear. Good job on bringing them all together."

Romanoff lowered her voice even further a nodded towards the Jotun class energy rifle Fury had discarded.

"Everything been ok? That's a fairly big gun for a friendly get together."


"Don't know what you mean Romanoff. It's all been peaches and cream."

Fury strode to the large group gathered together.

"I don't know about the rest of you but I could do with a nice sit down, a hot mug of cocoa and some answers to some burning questions I have."

[Kristi Lynne]

Peter followed Hope's lead in shaking the hands of the newly arrived men. He tried to commit their names to memory -- Steve, Sam, and Scott -- and figured he would learn their stories soon enough. "For the record, I like you guys's entrance way better than his," Peter advised, with a quick point of his finger at Fury. "You're just in time for the pre-apocalypse party. So are all of you from Earth, or...?" 

The puzzled looks in reaction to Peter's casual question reminded him that most humans were born on Earth and stayed there the rest of their lives. Stupid of him to bring up an issue that they wouldn't have thought of and that it wasn't necessary for him to talk about. But then again, these people were about to meet a talking raccoon and a semi-talking tree and a ... well, a Drax. "Y'know what, not important," Peter said, his shoulders shrugging casually. 

"I don't know about the rest of you but I could do with a nice sit down, a hot mug of cocoa and some answers to some burning questions I have."

Grateful for the shift in conversation, Peter beamed, "Sure thing, I'll lead the way. This place has a massive kitchen," he informed them, like a proud and practiced tour guide. "If you're hungry, we probably have some pizza left over. And this place has a very well-stocked bar. Oh, and hey, did you know you can watch a movie any time you want?" he gushed in amazement. "You don't even have to wait for it to come out on video! I watched 'Footloose' twice last night -- it's still awesome!"

[Hollywood Heidi]

"Well, it's nice to meet you both. I think you're familiar with Natasha. This is Sam and Scott."

Hope grinned and returned Nat's wave. That cleared up her question on where it was Nat had taken off to directly upon landing. She'd probably been the one to give Fury the heads-up about what was going on. Though she left out the part about Loki. She couldn't blame her. Nobody wanted to be the one to break that news.

"Sam," she said, transferring her welcoming hostess smile to him as she gave his hand a firm shake in turn after Peter. Scott held back, seemingly trying to blend into the background as far as she could tell from the corner of her eye. Smart man.


"And please, call me Steve."

"Steve it is," she said, more genuine to her smile now than simply professionalism. He really did have that old timey charm she'd heard about. But then he stepped aside and pulled Scott forward and her smile slipped.


"This is Scott Lang. I'm sure you've heard of Pym Technologies. Well, not that long ago Mr Lang here with the help of..."

"Yea she knows me Steve." "Hope! It's...good to see you again! It's been a while..."

"Not long enough," she responded in that same professional friendly tone that was somehow scarier than an angry tone would have been. Her eyes had only flicked to Scott momentarily as she'd spoken, returning her attention to Steve again. "Hope Van Dyne, Pym Tech CEO," she explained in a longer introduction.

Though she and her father were on better ground these days, it was still a habit for her to only mention her association to Pym Tech and not that she was the daughter of Hank Pym. She was sure someone would fill in the blanks for Steve later but for now, she didn't want to drag everyone into personal issues. Especially not right now with a much larger problem coming at them.


"For the record, I like you guys's entrance way better than his," "You're just in time for the pre-apocalypse party. So are all of you from Earth, or...?"

Her attention along with everyone's was drawn to Peter and in this moment, she was grateful for his habit of not taking things seriously. A little levity was exactly what she needed after having to face Scott again. Knowing a bit of his backstory, Hope had the benefit of finding a little amusement over the puzzled expressions of the rest.


"Y'know what, not important,"

"I don't know about the rest of you but I could do with a nice sit down, a hot mug of cocoa and some answers to some burning questions I have."

"Sure thing, I'll lead the way. This place has a massive kitchen," "If you're hungry, we probably have some pizza left over. And this place has a very well-stocked bar. Oh, and hey, did you know you can watch a movie any time you want?" "You don't even have to wait for it to come out on video! I watched 'Footloose' twice last night -- it's still awesome!"

That child-like excitement over something the rest of them had taken for granted most of their lives was endearing. He'd certainly missed a lot over the decades he'd been gone. Kind of made a person want to be the one to show him all the things that he'd missed, just for the opportunity to live vicariously through him.

Pushing that notion aside, Hope got serious again. As he was passing her, Hope took hold of his arm to pause the tour before it could get started. "Peter, hold up a sec." Freeing his arm, she addressed the group. "Before we meet up with everyone else, there's something you should know. Try to keep in mind that old proverb, 'enemy of my enemy...'" Hope gave a short pause to let that simmer. There was just no good way to do this so Hope bluntly tossed out the news bomb like tearing off a band aide. "Loki's here."

[wesleybucks]

"Not long enough. Hope Van Dyne, Pym Tech CEO."

Steve was not one to usually be able to detect subtle changes in social interactions but that one was like a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk to the face. Why had Scott not mentioned that he knew the CEO of Pym Tech on a first name basis? What was the CEO of Pym Tech doing there? Steve was unable to hide the perplexed frown that crossed his face but was brought back into the room by the other stranger who asked if they were from Earth. Steve was happily about to answer he was from Brooklyn when the moment had passed and they were all slowly moving across the hanger towards the rest of the facility.

"Sure thing, I'll lead the way. This place has a massive kitchen. If you're hungry, we probably have some pizza left over. And this place has a very well-stocked bar. Oh, and hey, did you know you can watch a movie any time you want? You don't even have to wait for it to come out on video! I watched 'Footloose' twice last night -- it's still awesome!"

Steve couldn't help but smile. He had spent months and months of his life at this facility and knew every room and hallway well. It was nice to see the place through a fresh pair of eyes and an excited pair at that. He decided not to ask what a video was and instead slyly slipped a small notebook out of his back pocket. Several pages had now been filled and many things had been crossed out. The page he flipped to showed:

- Call of Duty
- Dad's Army
- Friends
- Toy Story (2+3 also)

He now scribbled below it
- Footloose


Scott started to call back to Peter.
"Have you checked out the pool yet? When I came to rob this pl..."

Sam jabbed Scott in the side and stopped him midsentence with a knowing look. The group continued forwards and Steve prepared himself for the conversation ahead. He didn't think anyone here would need convincing when it would come to trying to get into the Raft and rescue Tony. The real problem would be getting everyone on the same page with how they would go about it. He hoped Fury would have a convincing proposition.

"Loki's here."

It was Hope that had said it. You could hear a pin drop. Scott and Sam both turned to Steve seemingly waiting to see how he'd react to give them an idea of what to do. Loki's name had been the last thing Steve had expected to hear. Steve turned back to Fury and Nat who were a few paces behind the others.

"Did you know?"

Steve's voice rang out in the otherwise silent hanger. Fury went to answer him.

"It's too important to be..."

"I said...did. You. Know?"

Fury nodded.

"I found out not long before you arrived. I was hesitant at first too but it appears that he is in line. If he tries anything, there's more than enough of us to..."

Steve raised a hand to stop Fury mid-sentence.

"There are no ifs or buts here. Loki is a murderer. He is a war criminal that was taken to Asgard to answer for his crimes. If he's not there and not in some godforsaken prison in the heart of some viking star then he's broken out. I don't care what anyone here has to say, if Loki is here then we beat his smug face into the ground and when we go to help Tony out of prison, we dump his sorry ass right into the cell and throw away the key."

Steve turned back to the others, his jaw tight and fists clenched. The locator was still in his hand and Steve had to fight to the urge to snap it in half. He usually fought against letting his darker impulses take control but all he could see was fire raining down upon Manhattan. Bodies in the streets. Loki with a smirk on his face. As he faced the group, it was Hope that he made eye contact with.

"We're on your side Hope. We've come here to work alongisde you. To help you. But the thing is, I don't care what Fury has told you. If Loki is here, then we put him in chains and take him to the Raft. I want nothing more than to back you up on this mission but if you help Loki, we're more than ready to take you all down too."

Behind him, Steve could hear a sharp intake of breath from Scott. Sam was silent. Steve knew he'd be braced ready to spring into action. Steve had no idea what side Fury would take (as per usual) but he was confident Nat would be with him on this. She'd been in New York. She'd fought against Loki then and Steve was confident she'd have his back now.

"What'll it be Ma'am?"

[wesleybucks]

"Sure thing, I'll lead the way. This place has a massive kitchen. If you're hungry, we probably have some pizza left over. And this place has a very well-stocked bar. Oh, and hey, did you know you can watch a movie any time you want? You don't even have to wait for it to come out on video! I watched 'Footloose' twice last night -- it's still awesome!"

Fury raised an eyebrow. This Quill was certainly proving to be more of a puzzle than his clownish exterior would suggest. From the intel he had so far and from Quill's apparent lack of knowledge of modern Earth tech, he'd clearly been absent from his home planet for some time. He did have a good choice of films though. Footloose was indeed awesome.

The group was making it's way towards the living quarters of the facility. Fury made sure he hung back to the rear of the crowd with Romanoff. He leaned over her shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"We have a potential threat on site. We're to assume subdued or allied for now. Be prepared to go on the offensive at any sign of hostilities. Use the same call sign as in Budapest. I'll take care of facility security and Hope. You deal with Star-Boy and any others he's brought with him. Then we deal with the Mischief maker himself."

Romanoff had continued walking whilst he'd spoken but she'd stiffened at the mention of 'Mischief Maker'.

"Ideally, we can all have a nice sit down and plan a prison break. Call sign for assault is a last resort."

Romanoff nodded. Fury took a deep breath and maintained pace with the others. He knew the rest of the day wasn't going to be easy. Steve's strict morality was always inconvenient to have to work with. However, he was confident he could keep him in line.

"Loki's here."

Motherf...

Fury looked towards Hope, giving her daggers with his one eye. Of course. It was never going to be easy. Steve turned to stare at Fury. The Captain's usual old school sparkling smile and charm was nowhere to be seen. In it's place was the man that had been undercover for months. The man that had almost killed Tony Stark. The soldier.

"Did you know?"

Steve's loaded accusation hung in the air. Fury took a breath before replying

"It's too important to be..."

"I said...did. You. Know?"

There was no point in lying. Fury nodded.

"I found out not long before you arrived. I was hesitant at first too but it appears that he is in line. If he tries anything, there's more than enough of us to..."

Steve raised a hand and Fury knew to stop. This was going to be a problem. Shaking his head and looking down to the hanger floor, Fury subtly tapped the side of his sunglasses. As Steve started making some preaching monologue about how he was the only one that apparently knew right from wrong, Fury muttered under his breath.

"Execute Avengers Facility protocol 678-136-7092."

A robotic voice answered him from his ear piece.

"Confirmed. Protocol prepared. Please specify desired approach."

Fury glanced up at Steve who was facing the group.

"...come here to work alongside you. To help you. But the..."

He was deep in speech mode. Good. Fury tried to mentally remove himself from the situation and think ahead. Quill had mentioned the kitchen and from the fact he had proposed to lead the way meant Loki was likely to be in a section of the facility Quill had been to. That narrowed it down slightly. It was probable that Loki was in the living quarters with most of the guest bedrooms, kitchen, dining hall, some offices and the general living area. To get there from the hanger, there were four possible routes if you were to remain inside.

"Lockdown hallway A, C, D and J. Must be for Capsicle levels of containment."

"Confirmed. Blast doors sealing access to designated hallways."

Fury groaned to himself. Why had he let Stark have free reign on naming the prevention protocols. He then noticed that Romanoff had her hand on her holster. Fury's attention was brought back to the Captain.

"What'll it be Ma'am?"

Of course the mighty Captain America had to pick a fight with absolutely everyone that didn't fall under his interpretation of morally perfect. Fury resisted grinding his teeth to oblivion and gestured to Romanoff to take her hand away from her gun. She ignored him. Her hand still hovering around the pistol, ready to draw at lightning speed. Fury was genuinely surprised which was not a common sensation for him. He wasn't sure which side the Russian spy was choosing but his side of a pacifistic approach was clearly not it. Fury cautiously took a couple of steps backwards towards the shadows he had emerged from whilst he wasn't the centre of attention.

[Kristi Lynne]

"We're on your side Hope. We've come here to work alongside you. To help you. ... What'll it be Ma'am?"

Peter really hated potentially being in the middle of an armed standoff. Especially since he was not armed at the moment, which made it seem particularly unfair. He didn't know the details of why the Loki name drop had suddenly put everyone on edge and lowered the temperature of the room to an icy chill. But Hope was the one who'd successfully gotten them out of Norway and kept his ship in one, albeit tiny at one point, piece. So Tall, Blonde, and Self-Righteous was just gonna' have to suck it up and listen to her. If this didn't work out, Steve could always go join the Sovereign with their perfect DNA and all.

"Hey, hey, hey," Peter interjected, calmly but sternly, in the manner he had to use quite often with his crewmates. "Let he who doesn't have a 40,000 credit bounty on his head in at least three star systems cast the first stone, am I right" he offered with a laugh, quickly realizing his audience did not get the joke. He continued to hold his hands out in a placating gesture.

"Look, I don't know what kinda' score you gotta' settle with Loki, and I don't really care. Sure, the guy seems like a tool, but there are a ton of Asgardians who wouldn't be alive today if he hadn't brought them to Earth and kept them safe. He's still trying to keep them safe. Your friends and my friends got themselves captured trying to keep the whole universe safe from a psycho rock collector. So right now is not about what you want, GI Joe," Peter stated, stepping closer. His dramatic proclamation would have been greatly undercut if he ended up being shorter than this alpha male, but he was pleasantly surprised that he could meet Steve defiantly at eye level. "The lady's in charge." 

[Hollywood Heidi]

Hope saw the glare Fury sent her from the corner of her eye. Felt it, too, but it didn't phase her. In her mind, it was far better to air this out now and get everyone tempered to the idea. She saw nothing but bad scenarios in a surprise face-to-face with far more time being wasted in blind anger and a drive for revenge that would have been difficult, maybe even impossible to reroute.

Her news bomb seemed to have been taken even worse than she'd anticipated. The change over Rogers was day and night as a side of him that she never saw in any footage or records emerged. She was thankful that his attention initially went to Fury, giving her time and more content to allow reality to paint over the picture of the secondhand impression of him that had been the basis of her initial view of the famed Captain America.

She observed and listened as Rogers rounded on Fury. She'd feel bad if she didn't know that Fury was capable of handling it and judging by Fury's demeanor, was gaining a new interpretation that this didn't appear to be Rogers first foray into delivering an impassioned righteous speech. He wasn't wrong in what he was saying. If circumstances were different, she'd be right on board.

Now his attention turned to her and she defensively crossed her arms against the anger that radiated from him. He was the type to project his anger, as most did, but Hope always kept hers under the surface, delivering it in calm, biting words.


"We're on your side Hope. We've come here to work alongside you. To help you. But the thing is, I don't care what Fury has told you. If Loki is here, then we put him in chains and take him to the Raft. I want nothing more than to back you up on this mission but if you help Loki, we're more than ready to take you all down too." "What'll it be Ma'am?"

The assumption that she'd help Loki and the promise to take her and the rest of them down for doing so, not spoken as a threat but as some righteous duty had the anger below her surface stoked to blazing. However her stony, calm expression did not waver in the least as she continued to quietly stare him down as she internally collected herself.


"Hey, hey, hey," "Let he who doesn't have a 40,000 credit bounty on his head in at least three star systems cast the first stone, am I right" "Look, I don't know what kinda' score you gotta' settle with Loki, and I don't really care. Sure, the guy seems like a tool, but there are a ton of Asgardians who wouldn't be alive today if he hadn't brought them to Earth and kept them safe. He's still trying to keep them safe. Your friends and my friends got themselves captured trying to keep the whole universe safe from a psycho rock collector. So right now is not about what you want, GI Joe," "The lady's in charge."

Peter's gallant effort to stand up for her provided her the opportunity to center herself and gather her thoughts. "Actually, Peter," she said, momentarily softening her features as she looked at him and placed an appreciative hand on his arm, "I'm not." She turned her attention back to Rogers and the stony hard glare was back in place. "I'm not an Avenger. Not even a former one," she said, casually delivering the biting remark. "I'm only here because my father and I were found in violation of the Accords. The suit," she gestured toward Scott, "my family's technology, was used in yours and Tony's little disagreement in Germany. So we were sentenced to the 'community service'," she did air quotes, "of using our tech to assist on missions."

Hope gave a dismissive wave. She'd laid out all the facts and wasn't looking for apologies. At least not from Rogers. "I put aside my own feelings because of a greater threat. I will not help Loki. I won't speak for him, stand up for him, I won't defend him. Handle him however you want," she said, gesturing in the general direction of Loki's whereabouts. "I've already had so much of my time taken away from an extremely important project my father and I have been working on, Captain Rogers. No way in hell will I spend another second of it following the lead of someone who thinks the best course of action against the oncoming war is to stir up an old battle." What had happened in New York was no little battle but compared to what she heard was coming at them, it would end up feeling like one. "So if you'll excuse me," she finished, starting passed them on the long walk to the unknowingly locked doors that led to the main building.

Perhaps she was acting rash. Bringing to mind all the time she'd been robbed of looking for her mother had been difficult enough, then sudden realization had hit her that with the oncoming threat, she'd possibly never see her mother again. But if this was how they were going to proceed, they had no chance of winning. She'd rather spend the time they had left working on the chance to see her mom one last time.

[wesleybucks]

The silence in the room was deafening. There was a pause that felt like it lasted an eternity before the man standing beside Hope spoke up.

"Hey, hey, hey. Let he who doesn't have a 40,000 credit bounty on his head in at least three star systems cast the first stone, am I right. Look, I don't know what kinda' score you gotta' settle with Loki, and I don't really care. Sure, the guy seems like a tool, but there are a ton of Asgardians who wouldn't be alive today if he hadn't brought them to Earth and kept them safe. He's still trying to keep them safe. Your friends and my friends got themselves captured trying to keep the whole universe safe from a psycho rock collector. So right now is not about what you want, GI Joe,"

The man stepped towards Steve whose frown deepened slightly. GI Joe? Steve understood the reference and knew it was not a flattering comparison.

"The lady's in charge."

Steve opened his mouth in an attempt to state that he was not looking to usurp anyone from any position when Hope spoke up.

"Actually, Peter, I'm not. I'm not an Avenger. Not even a former one,"

Steve maintained eye contact with Hope whilst she spoke yet even so, could feel the waves of guilt radiating from Scott a few paces behind him.

"I'm only here because my father and I were found in violation of the Accords. The suit, my family's technology, was used in yours and Tony's little disagreement in Germany. So we were sentenced to the 'community service' of using our tech to assist on missions."


That hurt. Steve had still not spoken to Tony since Siberia. Since Steve had dropped the shield to the ground and walked away from his friend. The wound still felt fresh and raw. It was not something he felt comfortable discussing.

"I put aside my own feelings because of a greater threat. I will not help Loki. I won't speak for him, stand up for him, I won't defend him. Handle him however you want. I've already had so much of my time taken away from an extremely important project my father and I have been working on, Captain Rogers. No way in hell will I spend another second of it following the lead of someone who thinks the best course of action against the oncoming war is to stir up an old battle. So if you'll excuse me,"

With that, Hope started walking towards the doors that would take them into the main section of the facility. Steve, still holding on to the Raft locator, called after her.

"An old battle? I'm not talking about the Battle of the Coral Sea here. I'm talking only a few years ago since that man unleashed an entire army over the City of New York and killed innocents on the streets. I'm sure the reason we're all here is extremely important and all but if this ends with Loki walking away a free man, I'm holding you and Flash Gordon personally responsible."

Steve gave his team a nod and walked after Hope. If they required Loki's magic to rescue Tony, he was willing to listen but Steve knew in his core that he would rather kill the Asgardian himself than leave the Raft alongside him. Sam placed his hand on Steve's shoulder, obviously concerned for his friend. Steve knew that he rarely let his darker side show. It wasn't always a part of himself that he was proud of. However, as the most wonderful woman in the world had once said:

"Compromise where you can but where you can't don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say; no you move"

[wesleybucks]

Fury watched Hope and Rogers square off with each other. He was impressed at Hope. She was very much holding her own and was putting the Captain in his place. Fury made a mental note of the fact that she was a capable diplomat. Something to remember when future missions popped up in the future and he had to find someone to deal with it.

Hope broke away from the stand off and was walking towards the doors out of the hanger. Fury mumbled once again under his breath.

"Stand down Avengers Facility protocol 678-136-7092. I repeat, stand down and unseal Capsicle doors"

"Confirmed. Protocol disengaged. Doors no longer sealed. Defensive protocols on standby."

"Good. Standby with Auðumbla protocol within the living quarters. To be activated with voice command: Nordic."

"Confirmed. Auðumbla protocol active and ready to be deployed."

Auðumbla was a protocol Fury has designed especially for any unwanted Asgardians. If Loki turned out to be a problem, it wouldn't be powerful enough to kill him but it certainly would buy them some time. Fury spotted that Romanoff's hand was no longer on her holster and she had joined the others slowly walking towards the hanger exit. Fury stepped back into the light and sighed and sigh of relief. He had known there would be complications but hadn't anticipated so many this early on. Last time he'd been at the Facility, he'd left a bottle of whiskey somewhere in the kitchen. He prayed it was still there. Judging by the last five minutes, he was going to need it.