Liv felt sick as soon as she started to wake up. And it wasn't just cause of the fact that she seemed to be moving in a small swaying motion. No, it was the type of sick someone got when they knew something was terribly wrong but couldn't remember what it was.
The next thing Liv felt were two warm arms wrapped underneath her body and the slight tickling feeling coming from what seemed to be hair against her face.
Then came the pain. Her whole body seemed to be overcome with a burning pain that made her whimper slightly. But she didn't even care about the pain her body was feeling, she was too focused on the pain coming from within her chest.
The pain in her heart.
He was gone. Coulson was gone.
She felt the urge to cry, but quickly bit it down as she slowly blinked her eyes open. Thor, who was carrying her across a field, looked down at her and gave her a small smile. He was attempting to hide his pain for her, but she still noticed the fact that his smile didn't seem to reach his eyes.
"How are you?" Thor asked. Liv quickly looked away despite the pain in her neck before muttering sadly, "Coulson." Her lip began to quiver and she couldn't stop the tears that began to fall. The more she tried, the more she seemed to cry until she finally let it all out.
Thor's eyes widened in surprise as the girl let out a sob. He didn't even hesitate before holding her tighter against his body and moving his head to lean against hers as she dug her face into the crook of his neck.
Liv knew she shouldn't be acting this way. She was an agent after all. People like her lost others on the battlefield all the time. But this was different. This was Coulson.
Not only was he her partner most times when they were working, but he was the man who was practically her father. He was the person Liv looked up to and he was always showing her new things in the field. She'd never told him, but he was her idol.
Now she never would get to tell him that.
Thor felt his own heart ache at the sound of Liv's cries. He knew he couldn't even begin to imagine what she was going through. He saw how close the two had been, like a father and a daughter. There was nothing he could say to help, so he did the only thing he knew he could do: comfort her.
He pulled her closer and held her as she cried. He might not be able to say anything, but he was sure as hell going to let her know that he was there for her and that she wasn't alone.
And the next time Thor saw his brother, he was going to make him pay.
- - -
The silence in the air had Maya squirming slightly as her and her father stood before the place where the prison once was. Tony stood stiffly beside her and Maya kept glancing over at him to see if he had moved. Besides the small twitch of his mouth, he hadn't moved one bit.
She knew he was just thinking, but about what she wasn't sure. There was so much to be thinking about after all. Maybe he was thinking about Bruce who the prison was originally designed for, or maybe he was thinking about Liv and Thor who had disappeared in the prison, or maybe he was thinking about Pepper who was hundreds of miles away right now, or maybe he was thinking about Coulson who had died in this very room.
Maya quickly tried to get rid of that thought. They had walked in and seen the red on the wall almost immediately. It didn't take a genius to realize who the blood had belonged to.
Maya glanced back at her father before slowly lifting her hand up and gently grabbing his own. She hadn't expected him to move, so the small squeeze he gave her hand was enough to let her know that things were going to be okay. Maybe not right now, but eventually.
There was still hope.
The sound of footsteps had Maya looking to her left. She smiled slightly at the sight of Steve standing off to the side. The two made eye contact and he gave her a warm yet sad smile.
"Was he married?" Steve spoke up. Maya knew he was talking to Tony so she glanced at her father. It took him a moment but he responded with a small, "No."
"He was a. . .cellist, I think," Tony said. "I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man," Steve told him. "He was an idiot," Tony replied with no emotion.
Maya flinched at that and looked at her father in disbelief. "Why?" Maya asked, the hurt in her voice so strong that Tony immediately felt guilty for his choice of words. She gave him a small glare as she let go of his hand. "For believing?" she asked.
"For taking on Loki alone," Tony told her without even looking in her direction. "He was doing his job," Steve defended Coulson. Tony scoffed as he turned and began walking towards Steve. "He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have. . ." Tony trailed off. "Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony," Steve said as he walked to the man as well.
The two met in the middle and Maya quickly followed after her father so she could be the buffer between them if another fight broke out.
"Right. How did that work for him?" Tony asked as he walked past Steve. "Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" Steve questioned causing Tony to spin on his heels and look at him in anger. "We're not soldiers!" Tony exclaimed.
Maya's eyes widened at her father's outburst and his eyes quickly flickered over to her before he took in a deep breath and calmed himself down. "I'm not marching to Fury's fife," Tony told Steve.
"Neither am I," Steve replied. "He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does, but right now we gotta put that behind us and get this done. Now Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list. . ."
Tony's eyes flickered over to the blood stain on the wall before he looked at Steve with wide eyes. "He made it personal," he interrupted. "That's not the point," Steve told him. "That is the point. That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?" Tony asked. "To tear us apart," Steve answered.
"He had to conquer his greed, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it," Tony said. Maya's eyes widened in realization. "He wants an audience," Maya breathed out. Her father pointed at her and said, "Exactly." He walked past the two and Maya could practically see the gears in his head turning.
"Right. I caught his act in Stuttgart," Steve said. "Yeah. That's just previews, this is. . .this is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tail diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered," Tony fell quiet and Maya's eyes widened.
"Stark Tower," she muttered as her father locked eyes with her. Steve gave the two a confused look. "What?" He asked. Tony looked between the two before shaking his head in disbelief as he realized what Loki was doing.
"Son of a bitch."
- - -
Maya ran down the halls of the helicarrier with a grin on her face. Her rocket boots were strapped on tight and her blasters were back in bracelet form. Her father would never let her fight, but what he didn't know wouldn't kill him, right?
She arrived at a door that Steve and her father had told her to go to. Maya quickly pushed the door open and said, "Natasha, time to go!" Maya came to a sudden stop as she walked into the room. Natasha quickly got up out of her chair and the man who Maya knew as Clint stood up as well.
Maya's eyes were trained on Clint who was looking back at her with curiosity and amusement. But all Maya could see was him attacking them and working alongside Loki.
"Go where?" Natasha asked causing the girl to look at her. "We can explain it to you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?" Maya asked. "I can," Clint said. Maya looked back at him and he gave her a warm smile before bending down to her level. "I'm Clint Barton," he told her as he held out a hand. "And you are?"
Maya glanced at his hand before looking back up at the man. She had been a little iffy about him when entering the room, but his warm and comforting smile seemed to wash that all away. Maya smiled back at him and shook his hand before saying, "I'm Maya Stark."
She pulled her hand away before tilting her head at Clint. "You got a suit?" Maya asked. Clint nodded. The girl grinned widely at him as a sparkle flashed through her eyes.
"Then suit up."
- - -
The flight to Stark Tower was a silent one. The only sound that could be heard was coming from Maya who was nervously bouncing her leg up and down as she stared off into space. Tony has gone ahead of them and after giving the girl a small pat on the shoulder and a reassuring smile, he had left her in the hands of two assassins, a super soldier, and a scientist.
Everything had been going fine up until they had actually taken off in the jet towards the tower. Now Maya was practically having a panic attack in the back as her nerves started to get the best of her. She was nervous for her father, for the team, for Pepper who wasn't even around so Maya couldn't make sure she was safe.
Emily glanced at the girl before looking over at Steve and Natasha. They both gave each other looks and seemed to be silently arguing over who should go give her a pep talk. However, neither of them were chosen cause Clint only smiled softly in the girl's direction before getting up and patting Natasha's shoulder.
"I got this," he told her. Natasha gave him a small nod while Emily and Steve looked at him in surprise. He walked over to the end of the jet before sitting across from Maya. She didn't even look up at him.
"You okay?" Clint asked. Her brown eyes flickered up and met his as she gave him a nervous smile. "Of course I am. I'm Maya Stark, daughter of Iron Man. Why wouldn't I be okay?" She asked quickly. Clint looked at her in amusement as he raised an eyebrow.
Maya sighed and looked down at her shaking hands. "I'm just a little nervous is all," Maya admitted. "A little?" Clint questioned. "Okay, a lot," Maya muttered as she shoved her face into her hands. Clint bent down in front of her before slowly pulling her hands away from her face so she could look at him.
"It's okay to be nervous, Maya. It happens to everyone," Clint assured her. "No one else seems to be nervous," Maya muttered. "Believe me, every single person in the jet is nervous. Even if they won't admit it, they're nervous. It's just part of being human. You should've seen me on my first mission. I sweat when I'm nervous and back then I was practically drenched in my own sweat," Clint told her.
Maya scrunched up her nose, but a small smile was on her face and she had stopped bouncing her leg. "Ew," she said with a laugh. Clint laughed as well before saying, "Yeah, it was kind of gross. Anyways, it's okay to be a nervous or a little scared, but you can't let that overpower you out there, okay? When you walk out of this jet, you need to let all of your fears wash right off of you. Stuff your nervousness into the back of your mind and don't let it back out until the fight is over."
Maya nodded her head as a look of determination settled on her face. Clint sent her one of his small smiles and she smiled back. "You've got this, Maya. Want to know how I know that?" Clint asked. Maya quickly nodded her head. "A little birdie told me that you're amazing," he said with a grin while Maya let out a small laugh. "So just go out there and show them all just how amazing you are."
Maya smiled at that as she glanced over at Natasha and Steve who were looking at her in concern. They gave her small smiles and she turned back to Clint. "Thanks, Clint," Maya said. "Anytime, kid," Clint told her before patting her shoulder and walking back up to the front.
Steve, Emily, and Natasha looked at Maya who was now totally calm and determined before looking at Clint in amazement. "I don't know how you do it," Natasha muttered while Clint just winked at her.
Clint's eyes then flickered over at Steve causing Natasha to groan. "Don't, Clint," Natasha said, but Clint has already walked over to Steve with a big gin on his face. He was practically jumping up and down as he began talking, "Okay, I don't mean to like bring this up right before a fight, but do you think you could tell me about Lady Freedom. . .I mean Anne? I'm like her biggest fan and I've looked up to her pretty much my whole life. She's practically my hero. That's why I took up archery actually and my uniform is based off of hers and she-"
"Clint!" Natasha exclaimed and that's when Clint noticed the sad expression on Steve's face. His smile instantly vanished. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to-" he began, but Steve waved him off. A sad smile was still on his face as he looked at Clint and muttered, "She really was something else." Clint smiled and went to talk again, but Natasha cut in.
"Okay, Clint. I think we all get that you're her number one fan. Now leave Steve alone, okay? You can fangirl later," Natasha told him with a smirk. Clint's smile vanished and he frowned. "But-" Clint started.
"No 'but's. End of discussion," Natasha told him. "Now try and find a way to contact Liv and tell her to meet us at Stark Tower."