Welcome to New York

[agent_cupid]

Clint guided the Quinjet down onto the landing pad with careful hands and an alert eye. The aircraft prototype handled like nothing else, a joint project with tech from Wakanda and Stark Industries and Clint was still a little overly cautious when he was flying it. When anything with Stark was involved, he was half tempted to expect it to turn into a giant robot or worse, drop out of the sky with warning. Still, he pulled the landing off without a hitch, coming to rest smoothly outside SHIELD HQ as he flipped off the controls and cleared the last of the landing procedures with the pleasant female voice over his headset, who had laughingly returned his flirting and had him grinning as he moved back into the main body of the jet.

It was a strange sight, the two gods and two young women in the back of the jet. Thor was sitting on one of the benches – the place he’d been most comfortable for the flight – while Sif sat across from him, having watched the entire flight from the window with avid interest. Both Asgardians had been understandably wary about being transported in the jet – or metal wingless beast, as it had been originally dubbed - and Clint had had his hands full with talking Thor out of flying the entire way. Lucky Doctor Foster had backed him on that, but it had taken a taunting jibe from Sif to finally get the scowling thunder god on board. Clint was pretty sure he was the only one who’d seen the female warrior flash him a sly wink before following him inside. Clint was fairly certain she was his favorite person at the moment. He had not been looking forward to Fury’s lectures if they’d gotten back to New York just in time to field all the reported sightings across the country of a flying man.

“Welcome to HQ, kids,” Clint retorted with a cheerful grin, his hands propped easily on his hips as he came back. “Safe and sound and all in one piece. I’m sure the welcome party’s out there for you, but I need to get you up to the Director’s office before we wander off for more sightseeing.”

Since that was Clint’s favorite part, no matter how many glowers he got from Fury for stealing SHIELD assets out into the city at large. It wasn’t like he was going to lose them. Although, granted, he suspected keeping a leash on the Asgardians, Doctor Foster, and Darcy was going to be considerably more of a challenge than showing Bucky the sights had been.

Still, the thought had him grinning in anticipation as he hit the hatch that opened the hatch and let the landing ramp lower into the secured courtyard he’d landed them in.

Comments

[thunders]

Thor was the first to move towards the exit, the lady Jane's arm tucked warmly into his own. He would have preferred his own methods or perhaps a keg of mead, but the flight had at least not lacked for good company. He clapped Clint on the back in gratitude as he passed, for bringing them all safe, as promised. "I look forward to your tour, my friend."

He stepped out into the sun and rolled his shoulders a little, basking for a moment, glad to be free of the confines of the aircraft. Jane quietly slipped her arm out of his, hanging back with the others as he strode forward to greet their welcoming party. Coulson stood at attention to the left of a taller man clad in what was unfortunately not a black cape, but yielded something of the same effect. He nodded at both in greeting, and folded his arms across his chest.

"I take it you are Nick Fury?" He tilted his head down to meet the man's eye. "I am Thor, son of Odin. I am here to make good on my word if you have need of me."

"And Son of Coul, it is good to see you well." He added. Though there was no abundance of warmth in the words, they were genuine, at least.

[nick_fury]

Fury had been out on the rooftop even as the jet came down, sending the length of his coat (and possibly less qualified agents) flapping in the wind. He stood with his arms behind his back, hands folded together in a military posture associated with ease. Fury himself, however, gave no such impression. His muscles were taut, face set in an expression of determination. This wasn't the time for pissing contests with Stark, or mind games with new recruits. The people Clint brought in were currently SHIELD's best chance against their latest threat.

"I am. It's good to meet you, Thor Odinson." Despite the overwhelming strength he knew the god would possess, Fury offered his hand all the same. Superpowers still impressed, but like hell would the man let them intimidate. "And I'm definitely glad to hear that, since we've apparently gotten the attention of your little brother."

But Thor wasn't the only one coming off the jet, and Fury turned to Coulson next. "Before Agent Barton attempts one of his infamous kidnappings, I want everyone inside getting our facts straight before Loki decides he wants to play with us some more."

[taze_me_bro]

Well, Director Fury sure looked big and scary and in charge. Which could only mean one thing.

Darcy screwed her courage to the sticking point - not hard, since she only normally kept it slightly unscrewed - and then elbowed her way out from behind Thor and Clint so she could march right up to the man and poke him in the leather trench coat with every bit of anti-authoritarian-faced-with-The-Man rage she could muster.

"160 gig iPod classic. Black. Pony it up."

[phil_coulson]

Thor nodded grimly, reaching for Fury's hand. "Loki is..."

He didn't finish, a bemused expression stealing across his face as Darcy elbowed her way between them. His gaze shifted from Fury to Darcy, then back. "You have a quarrel with this man, Lady Darcy?"

Coulson had moved immediately at Fury's order, putting a few steps of distance between them, and unsurprisingly Darcy had seen it fit to do the opposite. As someone who had seen lesser agents nearly cry and wet themselves getting that close to Nick Fury, let alone standing between him and an extremely powerful extraterrestrial, Coulson had to admit, at least silently, that Darcy Lewis had more nerve than the entire pool of junior agents they'd recruited this year.

His expression entirely unchanged behind dark sunglasses, he reached into his jacket at the same time that Dr. Foster rushed forward to grab Darcy's arm none too gently. "Darcy. Is this reeeeally a good time?"

"I have to agree," Coulson interjected. "This isn't the time. But if it'll prevent any quarrel, I believe this is what you're looking for." He held an iPod between his thumb and index finger, making no move towards Darcy. "If that's all... Ms. Lewis, Dr. Foster, I'd like you to come with me. Barton, let's go."

[agent_cupid]

Barton's lips twitched as he tried his best to suppress a smile at the exchange. Especially since the sight of Darcy poking Fury in the chest with her demands was an image he was quite certain he was never gonna forget. He straightened, however, when Coulson called his name, snapping to attention. He lifted his hand in a lazy salute, bright gaze glinting with humor as he grinned at his handler. "Aye, sir."

Sif cast a glance at the unfamiliar men, wavering for a moment. But Clint Barton looked to be sticking close to Darcy and Jane so she took a step up behind Thor's shoulder, catching his gaze momentarily. If these people had news of Loki, she wanted to hear of it.

[nick_fury]

Even Fury was caught off guard by the young lady's accusation of pety theft, although good luck reading it on his face. He made a quick motion with his hand, no more than a downward turn of two fingers by his side. Yet the subtle motion called off long distance snipers, put in place by protocol for any such engagement. One angry twenty-something didn't merit a breakdown in SHIELD-Asgardian relations, or even the girl being tazed.

Luckily, Coulson produced the object in question. Always prepared; Fury had no doubt the man made an excellent Boy Scout back in the day. "Which should settle the matter for you two as well?" Fury gave Thor and the woman beside him (Sif, according to the reports) the courtesy of asking that as a question. Once Coulson called away his part of the group, the man nodded toward the two demi-gods. "If you'd follow me inside as well, we can continue our discussion."

[taze_me_bro]

Darcy accepted the iPod from Coulson with good grace. Which was to say, she flounced over to the man and snatched it from his hands, then snapped her gum for good measure. She even favored him with a narrow-eyed look, the sort she'd gotten from some of her stricter teachers on occasion. "I'm watching you, buddy," she informed him, waggling the iPod. "Don't fuck with me."

Without waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel and went back to Jane, who grabbed her sleeve. "Hey, he was asking for it," she muttered at her boss.

[phil_coulson]

Coulson favored Darcy with a smile that, according to Barton, fell just short of being an actual facial expression.

"Duly noted." He responded dryly, to Darcy's back no less. The iPod had been a minor concern even when Dr. Foster brought it up over the phone, but years of dealing with bureaucrats (and people in general) had taught him that details like that prevented Incidents, and there had been enough of those lately that he wasn't sparing any details. (That, and someone had gotten lazy about returning a piece of equipment, so he had been happy to let that someone chase it down in time for the debrief.)

"This way." With a last glance at the Director and the pair of gods flanking him, he turned and headed for the far entrance. The agents at the door parted silently as they approached. He trusted Barton to bring up the rear and keep Darcy... well, happy. He wasn't sure either of them understood the concept of keeping in-line. "As you know, Dr. Foster, your equipment was transferred here ahead of you. I believe it arrived safely but we'd like you to make sure everything is as it should be. If there are any concerns..."

[agent_cupid]

It took every scrap of control Clint possessed not to howl with laughter over the showdown between Coulson and Darcy. As it was, his lips were twitching as he coughed to mask the snicker that did manage to slip out, hiding the sound in his hand until he could regain his composure. Or as much of it as he ever had. Still, it was rare to see that dry wit aimed at someone other than himself for once.

As it was, he gave Darcy a wink the moment Coulson's back was turned, motioning for her to stick with Dr. Foster and follow the Agent. He paused a moment to scoop up his duffel, relieved that it looked like he was being sent off with Coulson rather than receiving Fury's personal attention. Thor was more than welcome to it, since he suspected he'd be hearing a lecture over the Loki Situation soon enough.

Swinging his bag over one shoulder, he sauntered after the other three with an easy stride, unable to hide his grin as he brought up the rear.

It was good to be home.

[taze_me_bro]

Because she was a grownup, Darcy did not flip Agent Coulson off. Or stick her tongue out at him. But it was tempting. Really tempting.

She let Jane go ahead and just hung back to walk with Clint, bumping into his shoulder accidentally on purpose once he'd collected his bag and gotten his cute buns moving. She pulled her iPod back out of her pocket and waggled it at him, like it was a trophy.

Which, as far as she was concerned, it was. This was Darcy Lewis, taking no shit from The Man.

[agent_cupid]

Clint snickered as he shot her a glance from the corner of his eye, a grin spreading across his lips. "Satisfied now?" he asked her, amusement in his tone as they sauntered behind Jane and Coulson.

[taze_me_bro]

Darcy didn't even listen with half an ear when Agent Coulson started talking to Jane. More a quarter of an ear, just enough that she'd know if she needed to come to her boss' defense. Somehow. She'd make it up then if it had to happen.

Instead she grinned at Clint, bumping into him again. "For now. See? I always get what I want."

[agent_cupid]

Clint grinned with a shake of his head, not even bothering to try and eavesdrop on what Coulson was talking to the doctor about. Most of the science stuff went over his head anyway. He was here to shoot things, and he was quite content with keeping it that way.

"I'm beginning to see that. Maybe Fury recruited the wrong superhero," he teased her, shooting her a wink. "That seems like a more useful talent to have."

[thunders]

Thor watched them go, his expression briefly unreadable before he turned back to Nick Fury and the Lady Sif.

"Very well," He agreed, nodding once. "We have much to discuss. Lead as you will."

It was a discussion he did not anticipate happily. He could not pretend to know what Loki desired in this realm, with these mortals. He could not pretend to know Loki well at all anymore. For a long time he had thought seeing his brother alive would fill the vast emptiness left by his absence, but it seemed to grow greater still with each passing day. What had come directly before his return... he did not wish to discuss that at all.

"Lady Sif?" He offered her his arm as Nick Fury turned away, only partly in jest.

[shield_maiden]

Sif resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him as she took Thor's arm. The gesture felt odd, out of place, but she made no comment on it. Still, her eyes were alert and curious as she took in their surroundings as Fury led them into the building. Her fingers fidgeted absently against Thor's sleeve, unaware of the unconscious gesture.

"Have you had trouble here with Loki, Nick Fury?" she asked after a moment, glancing up at Thor from the corner of her eye once they were inside. "Or was that honor given only to Jane Foster and her research?"

[nick_fury]

Fury set a steady pace as he led the pair inside, past one Agent who held the door open for them, and a second who got the elevator. Fury was the first on board, stepping to the side not only to allow Thor and Sif on, but to scan his single eye.

"Physically, we don't think he's come here yet." Emphasis on the last word; after Loki's display, Fury could only assume it was a matter of time. "But he stuffed Agent Barton into the trunk of a car, and left his phone for us as the special topping on a cheeseburger." The doors slid closed moments later, and Fury entered a numeric code that further confirmed his identity, and started the elevator downward. "We've got video and the phone, which I'll be more than happy to show you in case you see something our analysts have missed."

And that was the business portion of the meeting. Fury turned to Thor, his gaze lifted to look the other man in the eye.

"Other than that, I'm just wondering what happened to get him so pissed off at you. He wanted to know just why SHIELD saw fit to get in bed with you. Threw a few insults in there for good measure. I was aware that the pair of you came as a package deal."

[thunders]

"I cannot promise you anything, but I would like to see it, yes."

Sif's fidgeting did something to still his own hands as they moved with Nick Fury into the building. It was grand by mortal standards, but he would never understand their fondness for tight spaces and machines that moved for them. Their wards were rather interesting though. It lent some distraction from the topic until the elevator began to move.

Thor did not shift or drop his gaze, but there was a long moment of silence after Fury spoke.

"Loki is my brother." He said finally. "There was a time when we were never apart."

There was more to the story, but he could not see how it would help, so he volunteered no more than that. "I do not know what he intends here," He continued. "But you have my word: I will not allow it to bring harm to you and yours. I will have words with him, when he is found."

[nick_fury]

Some of what Thor said Fury already knew, and thanks to Loki's phone call with Barnes, none of the rest came as a particular surprise. The relationship, the difficulty implied by that silence: Fury had seen it before. Hell, he'd seen it in supervillians. What he didn't appreciate was the fact that this time, it'd made SHIELD Agents, his people, the targets for some seemingly all powerful divine being/extraterrestrial.

"Words? No offense, but just how well have words worked in the past?" Fury turned to face Thor fully, his arms crossed over his chest. "I don't know how you see him, but Loki is not your number one fan. What I need, Thor Odinson, is a promise that involves more than just a stern talking to."

[thunders]

Thor expected to do more than speak with his brother, though he wished things between them could be resolved with simple words and truths. It had never been so easy, even before all this. Now, with Loki's lies twisted into him so deeply... No, this would not be solved with words.

"I know that he hates me, or wishes for me to believe that, but he is still my brother. That will never change." The words came out even, as if it were an old wound and not a fresh one that still wept. He mastered himself that much, Sif's silent warmth at his side. Much as he did not wish to speak of this, he needed Fury to understand - there was much he would do in the defense of peace, and still some things that he would not.

"I do not know truly if this is between us, or something that I have intruded on unknowingly. Perhaps both. It matters not. Our quarrels have no place troubling innocent lives. So yes, Nick Fury, I will do more than speak when I must."

[agent_cupid]

[Coming from this thread.]

"Am I allowed to respectfully request to never be sent to New Mexico again?" Clint asked cheerfully as he fell into step with Coulson, although he managed to keep himself one step behind and a little to the left, just over his handler's shoulder as the man strode down the corridor.

"I mean seriously. I think the place is just one giant magnet for clusterfuck disasters."

[phil_coulson]

"You can fill out the necessary forms," Coulson offered. "But I wouldn't recommend it."

There was an entirely unsubstantiated rumor going around that Director Fury liked to keep forms like that in a folder labeled 'amusing punishments.' The truth was, it was actually labeled 'effective deterrents,' and mostly Coulson kept it. That Barton's file was nearly the thinnest of the lot seemed to serve as a kind of perverse challenge between he and the Director.

It was good having him back in New York regardless. With the Loki situation being what it was, he didn't need his sniper roughly two thousand miles away.

He turned at the next hallway, heading towards his office. "And from the looks of things, New York is set to claim that title in the near future. Maybe you should consider taking your next vacation in India."

[agent_cupid]

Clint snorted. "Fuck that. You do remember what happened the last time I went to India, don't you? Nuclear missiles landing in the bay, unreasonable trust placed in shady Brits with vague promises of death defying acrobatics. Also that skeezy rich guy made Tony Stark look like a paragon. I can do without India, thank you."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Maybe I should just give up on the idea of vacations entirely. The last time I tried that, we got invaded by aliens. Although I would really kill for a few days on a quiet beach somewhere with nothing but sand and ocean and someone to bring me those little drinks in the coconut shells. And a little umbrella in it. It needs the umbrella."

He nudged his shoulder against Coulson's as they walked, flashing him a crooked grin. "So when's your next vacation coming up, sir?" he teased, knowing that at least twice now his handler had vanished for a week or so - not on a mission - and Clint and Tasha had placed bets on how long it would take them to find him. They'd both lost and the agent had returned at week's end, tight-lipped about where he'd been and keeping his secrets to himself. Clint was determined to pay more attention next time.

[phil_coulson]

The corner of Coulson's mouth might have twitched. He did remember India. India happened to be the reason SHIELD no longer lent their Specialists out to other organizations (officially). Clint had come back singed and asking for a badge of honor for not throwing himself off the tallest building in the world. India was in his file.

"It could have been worse. All things considered, it wasn't as bad as Budapest." Or Manitoba. But they didn't talk about Manitoba, so by default everything was better than that. "Some people dream about seeing the world you know."

He held the door of his office open for Clint, expression unchanging, though their might have been a spark of amusement in his gaze. "As for my vacation days, I think Director Fury's exact words were 'you're free to them on a cold day in hell.' That might be the destination as well as the time."

[agent_cupid]

Clint made a face. "That's a matter of opinion. I had Nat in Budapest. Despite things going spectacularly pear-shaped the moment we stepped off the plane, it least we were in that shithole together. Not with some crazy idiot with a bigger death wish than me deciding it would be fun to try and fly in the middle of a sandstorm." Clint shook his head as he strode past.

"To this day I am amazed I made it back without several bullet holes or being flattened to a pancake."

"Also I've seen the world," he pointed out as he flopped into one of the chairs in front of Coulson's desk. "Most of it's overrated."

He waited till his handler came in and closed the door before shooting him a smirk. "You know, sir, we've made the acquaintance of a couple gods now. If anyone would know about arranging cold days in hell, I bet it would be them. Would you like me to ask Thor next time I see him?"

[phil_coulson]

Coulson wasn't amazed by very much, but he had to admit, at least silently, getting away with some minor burns had been a miracle. Budapest had been a few fractured ribs and a near-miss with a bit of shrapnel, but it could have gone a great deal worse, and they'd gotten both of their agents back.

He would mention that it was harder to appreciate the sights with bullets flying, but this was Hawkeye.

He eased into the chair behind his desk before responding to that very generous offer. "No."

He pulled a notepad in front of him and reached into his jacket for a pen. They had to get Clint's thoughts in order for the briefing with Fury and Hill. "So tell me again how you ended up in the back of your van."