Hero (Loki & Avengers)

Eleven

"Hey Cassidy, how'd it go?" Happy asks as I step into the car.

I pull the flash drive out of my pocket and go to hand it to him. "Good, I got it."

"Oh no, don't give that thing to me. Tony would kill me if I lost it, with you he might just pull a few hairs out." Happy says and I laugh, slipping the drive back into my pocket. I lean back in my chair and exhale properly for the first time all morning, feeling relief spread through me.

I did it. And now hopefully I never have to do anything like that again. I've killed a few aliens, I've gone on a spy mission by myself, and now I can relax. Now Tony will take this flash drive, figure out for real what happened to me that day in the van, and tell me how to reverse all of this mess.

When I walk back into the compound after Happy drops me off, I find that it's all rather quiet. There isn't the huge gathering with questions and congratulations for me that I was expecting. I guess this superhero stuff is more risk than reward after all.

"Guys? Tony?" I say as I enter the hallway, making sure to place the flash drive on the table by the entryway so I don't forget about it in my pocket. I pass by everyone's door and hear nothing, until a single voice comes from Loki's room. I pause to listen.

"Yes brother, I'll take great care of the girl. Do you not trust me?" He says with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Is that Thor? Where is he?" I ask Loki, who doesn't even flinch when I speak, telling me he knew I was here the whole time.

"None of my business apparently." Loki says bitterly.

"Give me the phone." I say, holding out a hand. He begins to say no, but I use my powers to pull it from his hand and send it flying over to me.

"Hi Thor, it's Cassidy. Where is everybody?" I ask.

"Cassidy, you're back! Unfortunately we all had to meet with Doctor Strange to discuss a stone in his possession. He lives up to his name, he refused to meet us at the compound." Thor says.

"And you all had to go?" I ask.

"He wants to make sure we are all here and at full strength in case he ever becomes incapacitated and needs us to guard his stone." Thor tells me.

"Oh, so Tony didn't want me to come?" I ask, realizing the little mission he just sent me on may have been more so to keep me busy than anything.

"It seems Tony doesn't ever want you to go anywhere, he cares about your welfare quite a bit." Thor reminds me, and I nod even though he can't see it.

"Okay, well be safe." I say.

"We always are. We'll be back later this evening, don't let Loki do anything stupid please." He says and I laugh.

"I won't." I reply, then we both hang up.

"Please, never do that again." Loki says, grabbing his phone back from me.

"No promises." I reply and he smiles.

The next few hours crawl by, in a boring blur, and I'm realizing without Tony I really truly have nothing to do. I take off my clothes and heavy black suit because it was getting hot, and slip into a comfortable tank top and leggings. I then decide to try a few tricks with my powers, and in two hours I've taught myself how to walk on the ceiling and steady myself with my palms.

"Loki, come check me out!" I shout, as I do a horrible tap dance on the ceiling.

He comes out and looks up with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Very impressive, indeed." He says in a bored tone, yet I can tell he's trying to hide his amusement.

I flip back over and pretend to walk down invisible stairs that aren't really there, steadying myself with my palms facing towards the Earth.