Chapter Text
Loki:If it's all the same to you...I'll have that drink now.
Hulk growled as theAvengers stared him down.
Tony:Alright, get him on his feet. We can all stand around posing up a storm later. By the way, feel free to clean up.
Thor forces Loki on his feet and Bobbi placed some cuffs on his hands.
Natasha:So who gets the magic wand?
Steve:S.T.R.I.K.E. team's coming to secure it.
The elevator pings as several S.T.R.I.K.E. team agents, led by Brock Rumlow and escorted by Jasper Sitwell, exit the elevator.
Bobbi:Oh, would you look at that, the douche team's here.
Rumlow:(sarcastically) Very funny, Morse.
Aaron:What's up with him?
Bobbi:He tried to hit on me multiple times, even though I refused as many times as he tried. It took a couple of knees to his balls for Bumlow here to take the hint.
Aaron:Ah.
Sitwell:(to Natasha) We can take that off your hands.
Natasha:(hands Sitwell the scepter) By all means.
Sitwell began examining the scepter.
Bobbi:Try not to touch the tip of the magical stick of bullsh*t, Sitwell. It won't do you any good.
Steve:Language, Morse.
Clint:Yeah, trust us, we know.
Sitwell:We promise to be careful. (places the scepter into a case)
Aaron was looking out of the window, observing the city from above.
Aaron:It'll be one hell of a clean up.
???:Agreed.
He turns to see Thor standing next to him.
Thor:But at least your realm is safe. you have fought valiantly, O'Connor.
Aaron:Thanks. You weren't so bad yourself.
He looks at Loki then back at Thor.
Aaron:What's gonna happen to your brother?
Thor:He will face judgement on Asgard. My father will ensure that.
Aaron:You mean Odin?
Thor:Aye.
Aaron:I guess you'll take the Tesseract with you?
Thor:Yes. With the Bifrost destroyed, we will need it to return home.
Aaron:Yeah, it's probably for the best. Humanity can't be trusted with that kind of power. I guess Odin will make sure that it stays safe.
Thor:He will.
Silence formed between them.
Thor:May I ask you something?
Aaron:Sure.
Thor:Why the mask? Why conceal your identity?
Aaron:(sighs) Over the past three years, I've put a lot of bad people behind bars. I've made a lot of enemies. I wear the mask not just to protect myself, but to protect the ones I care about. Besides, it's doesn't matter that a hero has a name and a face. Just knowing that they're out there, protecting the innocent is good enough.
Thor:(chuckles) That is surprisingly wise.
Aaron:Eh, I have my moments.
Thor pats Aaron's shoulder before walking to Loki.
Unbeknownst to them, Bobbi and Natasha heard their conversation. Bobbi smiled as she heard that.
Steve:(walking towards the elevator) On my way down to coordinate search and rescue.
Loki:(shapeshifts into Steve and mimics him) On my way down to coordinate search and rescue. (reverts to his normal form and speaks normally) I mean, honestly, how do you keep your food down? How-
Thor:(sighs as he places a gag on Loki's mouth) Shut up.
Tony closes the briefcase containing the Tesseract and picks it up before walking to the elevator.
Thor forces Loki into the elevator and Aaron joins them.
Hulk tries to get in, but he was stopped.
Aaron:Whoa! Slow your roll, big guy.
Tony:What do you think? Maximum occupancy has been reached.
Thor:Take the stairs.
Tony:Yes.
Hulk began growling.
Aaron:Nonononono-
Tony:Stop, stop-
The door closes as Hulk punched it, leaving a dent.
Aaron:He's not happy about that.
Tony:Yeah, well, what can you do?
They finally reached the lobby and went to exit the Tower before they were approached by an older man in a suit, followed by several agents in suits.
Old Man:May I ask you where you're going?
Thor:Bit of lunch and then Asgard. I'm sorry, you are?
Tony:Alexander Pierce. (turns to Thor) He's the man above the folks behind Nick Fury.
Thor & Aaron:Oh.
Pierce:My friends call me Mr. Secretary. I'm gonna have to ask you to turn that prisoner over to me.
Thor:Uh, Loki will be answering to Odin himself.
Pierce:No, he's gonna answer to us. Odin can have what's left. And I'm gonna need that case. That's been S.H.I.E.L.D. property for over 70 years.
An agent attempts to take the case from Tony, but he was stopped by Thor as Tony puts the case behind his back.
Tony:I'm not gonna argue who's got the higher authority here...
Pierce:I need the case.
Tony:I know you got a lot of pull, I'm just saying, jurisdiction.
Pierce:Okay, then give me the case.
Pierce grabs Tony's wrist, but Aaron yanks it off.
Aaron:Hey, hands off!
Pierce:That Cube will be going back to S.H.I.E.L.D. where it belongs.
Aaron:That damn Cube doesn't belong to anyone, not S.H.I.E.L.D., not HYDRA. Hell, it shouldn't even be on this planet to begin with.
Pierce:I won't tolerate this-
Aaron:Well, you're gonna have to, because I'm not done. I mean, look at what HYDRA did with it in World War 2, look at what S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to do with it. (points to Loki behind him) Look at what that snake did with it. It's already caused more than enough damage, so if you really care about the Earth's safety, you would make sure that the Tesseract stays as far away from this planet as possible. And as for the prisoner, He won't be tried by human law, because he's not from Earth. He is an Asgardian, so he will be tried appropriately by Asgardian law. Besides, pissing off the Allfather is the last thing you'd want to do if you wanna live.
Pierce:(sighs) Fine. (turns to Thor) You can have Loki and the Tesseract. (turns to the agents) Let's go.
Pierce and the agents exit the lobby.
Tony:Well, that went well. (turns to Aaron) Nice work, kid.
Aaron:That was nothing. All I did was raise a few valid points.
Suddenly, they heard a loud bang as the Hulk emerged from the staircase.
Hulk:NO STAIRS!
Aaron speeds in front of the Hulk.
Aaron:Hey, hey, hey, easy, Hulk. Easy does it.
Hulk:(grunts)
Aaron:Look, I'll need you to just cool off for a bit, yeah? You've done a lot already, and you did good.
Hulk calms down as he shrinks and reverts back to Bruce.
Bruce:(groans) Did we win?
Aaron:(chuckles) Yeah, we did. (turns to Tony) Hey, Mr. Stark, you got any spare clothes you can give to Doc?
Timeskip
The Avengers, Selvig, and Loki were at Central Park
Selvig takes out a device of some kind and Banner places the Tesseract inside.
Thor bids farewell to Selvig as Loki glares at Aaron and Clint.
Bobbi:(whispers to Aaron) How deep do you think the sh*t he's in is?
Aaron:(smirks and whispers to Bobbi) How deep is the Mariana Trench?
Bobbi:(chuckles)
Thor was holding one handle of the device as Loki hold the other. Thor looks to the rest of the Avengers and bids farewell to them. He twists his handle as he and Loki disappear into the sky.
Tony:(shakes Aaron's hand) if you need any help. Let me know.
Aaron:Will do, Mr. Stark.
Tony:Come on, kid. We saved the world together, I think we're past the formalities.
Aaron:(chuckles) I'll be seeing you around, Tony.
Tony:Be seeing you, Aaron.
He gets in his car, and Bruce joins him as they drive off.
Bobbi walks to him.
Aaron:I guess this is it, then?
Bobbi:(smirks)
Aaron:(confused) What?
Bobbi:Well, I just called Fury. I'll be stationed in Malibu until further notice. You'll be seeing me more often.
Aaron:(smiles) Looking forward to it.
Natasha:Bobbi! We gotta go!
Bobbi:(turns to Natasha) Okay!
She turns to Aaron then hugs him tightly, and he reciprocates.
Bobbi:I'll see you around, Flash.
Aaron:See you soon, Mockingbird.
They separate as Bobbi gets in an SUV with Natasha and Clint, leaving Aaron and Steve.
Aaron:So, what's next for Captain America?
Steve:Maybe I'll go work for S.H.I.E.L.D., You?
Aaron:Back to sunny California. (puts his hand out) It's a honor to fight alongside you, Captain.
Steve:(shakes Aaron's hand) Likewise. I'll see you soon.
Steve gets on his motorcycle and drives off.
Aaron takes out his headphones and put them in his ears. He plugs it into his phone, opens the music app, and plays his playlist on shuffle.
He walks to somewhere more discreet, then puts on his S.H.I.E.L.D.-made suit and speeds off back to Malibu.
(A/N: Stop the music)
Malibu, California
One week later
Aaron was walking down the street to his home. He entered and saw his parents sitting in the living room, looking at him.
Aaron:What's up?
Brian:Sit down.
Aaron was confused, but he sat down on the sofa in front of his parents.
Aaron:(confused) What's going on?
Mia:Is there something you want to tell us?
Aaron:(confused) Uhh, no? Why?
Mia takes out a plastic bag and emptied its contents on the coffee table. Aaron's eyes widened when he saw what it was.
It was his old Flash suit.
Aaron:Oh, fu-
End of THE AVENGERS arc
Next arc: THE FLASH
