Bond of Stone ~ A Loki x OC Story

Chapter 18

Later on in the day, Rhi tries to send a message to Nat to see how the mission is going. After a few hours she still hasn't heard back from Nat and starts to worry a bit.

"Hey J.A.R.V.I.S., where's Maria? J.A.R.V.I.S.? Oh, right..."

The "person" that Ultron killed, wasn't a person at all. It was J.A.R.V.I.S. so that meant, no more cool A.I. to help you with things in the tower, at least for now.

After a little bit of searching, Rhi finds Maria in her office.

"Hey, have you heard anything from the team yet?" Maria just gives her a look. "What? Did something happen?"

"I haven't heard anything yet, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about." Maria gestures to the chair in front of her desk. "Close the door and have a seat."

"Am I in trouble or something?"

"No. I overheard the conversation you and Tony had right before the mission."

"Oh?"

Maria sighs and then looks up at Rhi with a confused look. "What are you hoping to gain from engaging with Loki?"

"Excuse me?"

"What is he offering you, in return for your help?"

"Nothing! Nor is he planning anything!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just...know."

Suddenly, someone comes bursting into Maria's office. "Ms. Hill! You need to come see this!"

Rhi and Maria both follow the agent out and into the conference room, where they see a news report going on about the Hulk rampaging through the city of Johannesburg. Maria instantly tries to contact the team, but no one is responding.

Finally, after a few hours, Tony video calls from the Quinjet.

"Dad!"

"The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is." Maria interjects.

"What happened!?" Rhi questions.

"The Maximoff girl, she uh, got into our heads."

"I should've been there. I could've-"

Maria cuts her off and Rhi backs away. "There's been no offical call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air."

"Stark Relief Foundation?"

"Already on the scene. How's the team?"

"Everyone's..." He pauses to look behind him. "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."

"Well for now, I'd stay in stealth mode, and stay away from here."

"So run and hide?"

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't know what else to offer."

"Neither do we." Tony says right before the communication feed gets cut off.

"What can I do to help?" Rhi says as she follows Maria back to her office

"Nothing. As I said, the team is on their own until this mess blows over and you..." She points to Rhi's wrist. "...are on house arrest, remember?"

Rhi rolls her eyes. "Thanks for the reminder." Maria gets a message on her phone, check's it, and then starts gathering some stuff from her office. "Where are you off to?"

"Classified." She turns to Rhi.

"I think given the current situation at hand, you can tell me."

"If you really want to help, you can do so, by staying away from Loki." With that, Maria leaves Rhi and takes off.