Chapter 8: Miss Me?

"Agent Romanoff, Agent Hart, you miss me?" Tony Stark wondered, the cockiness thick in his voice as he flew over the city.

Suddenly, the quinjet's speaker crackled once again, blaring AC/DC's "Shoot to Thrill". The corners of Kat's eyes crinkle into a strained smile behind her mask as she chuckled in a hushed tone to Loki, "Oh, you're so screwed now."

Loki, confused as to what was going on, he stared at the sky when the faint sound of a thruster began to grow louder as he rose to his full height, though he still stood over her with his heel jammed into her leg as she panted heavily.

A ruby and gold streak soared across the star-speckled night sky, making Kat sigh in relief at the welcomed sight. The famous Iron-Man flew down and fired a blast from his repulsors in the palms of his metal suit. The blows hit Loki square in the chest, sending him hurtling into the concrete steps a few yards away.

Tony lands, cracking the concrete beneath his feet, aiming multiple missiles at the Asgardian. "Make a move reindeer games." Tony dared the god, watching as Loki raised his hands in surrender and his armor disappears. "Good move."

Captain Rogers staggered over to Katrina as she moved into a sitting position, holding her ribs as they throbbed. Tenderly he grabs her hand, effortlessly lifts her off the cold concrete. "You okay, kid?"

"Yeah, just a few bruises, I'll live." She groaned, grimacing from the pain spreading in her leg as she pulled her mask down. The bullet wound in her leg had healed the day after she had gotten it, but there was still a nasty bruise on the bone.

Both of their uneven steps echoed as they made their way towards Tony; the quinjet came in for a landing in the deserted streets, blowing the wisps of hairs that had escaped her braid into her face.

"Mister Stark." Cap pants, greeting the man to his right.

"Captain."

"Tony." Kat greeted from Tony's right, a sheer layer of sweat covering her trembling and exhausted body, still holding her ribs as they began to shift back into place and heal.

"Agent Hart." He replied , earning an eye roll from the girl. "You good, Kat?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? Yes, I'm fine. I'll heal." She snapped, limping away to cuff Loki.

I'm fine.

~

Once Loki was secure inside the quinjet, they set off toward the main helicarrier. Dark clouds drifted around as Nat piloted the jet; Steve, Tony, Loki, and Kat sat in the cargo area attempting to rest after the tiring battle.

Kat was seated in one the chairs mounted to the sleek, gray walls, gritting her teeth, and groaning as Tony helped wrap a bandage around her ribcage.

"Stop being a baby." Tony muttered as she continued to groan and make a fuss.

"I'm not being a baby! You are." She snapped, leaning back in her seat, squirming at the uncomfortable feeling of small fragments of bone shifting under her skin.

He looked at her strangely, "How am I the baby? That doesn't make any sense."

"I don't know! Okay? But you try having your bones shift around and magically shove themselves back into place. Believe me, it's not fun!"

Tony chuckled at her rant, patting her knee, "You'll be fine." He rose to his feet, standing next to Cap, periodically over at the injured girl.

"I don't like it." Cap admits.

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Stark wonders, observing a stare-off between Kat and Loki. Loki's stare was mischievous and malicious, though Kat's held a quiet fury, which scared Tony slightly more. "Okay. That's enough. Go help Romanoff fly the jet." Tony orders, watching as the girl silently obliges, limping towards the cockpit, quickly gazing over at Loki one last time before taking a seat next to Nat and strapping herself in.

"What was that back there?" Nat whispered, never taking her eyes off of the sky in front of them.

"What was what?" Kat said, playing dumb. She knew it was coming, and she knew that Coulson was going to kill her when she got back. Well, if Nat didn't kill her first.

"You engaged when I specifically told you not to. You disobeyed direct orders, Kat!" The woman whispered harshly.

"I engaged because he was going to hurt Cap, alright? Everyone was already out of harm's way. That was my main goal and I accomplished that. My secondary goal was to help apprehend Loki. So, I helped." Kat calmly replied, keeping her voice low. "What was I supposed to do? Just stand to the side and let him hurt someone?"

"No, but you disobeyed direct orders. Orders that you were given to keep you as safe as possible. I need you to be safe."

"Nat, nothing about this job is safe! You know that more than anyone. I accepted that the day we started training and understanding my powers. You and Clint trained me to defend myself and others and to handle these situations. You both knew a long time ago that this would be my life. You knew this would come at some point!" Kat snapped slightly. "I can't just stand by and do nothing. I can't...not again."

Katrina's last statement was the one that struck one of Natasha's heartstrings. She knew that the girl blamed herself and that didn't seem like it was going to change anytime soon.

One person she knew who could help her was the one who she blamed herself for. Natasha wasn't always the best with feelings, that was always something Clint handled when Katrina was little.

"I know. Look...I'm not mad. I'm actually proud. You handled yourself very well for your first mission." The redhead admitted, her shoulders slowly drooping as she slightly relaxed. "I just don't want you getting hurt. I may just be the one who trained you; but I also raised you. You're my sister, and I'm never going to stop worrying about you." She says, holding a hand out.

Kat slowly grabbed it, giving a gentle squeeze, "I feel the same way. You know, I worry about you too. I even worry about myself; if I'm doing the right thing, are people going to get hurt, will it be my fault? But I have to trust my gut, and you have to trust me."

"I do." She whispered, squeezing back, "Still doesn't mean I'll stop worrying."

Kat chuckled, "Never expected you to."

The two were then silent, but it wasn't awkward, it was actually quite nice. The two rarely had a quiet day and just be in each other's company, and this was the closest they would get for a while. Though after a moment, Nat broke it. And Kat wasn't mad because of what Nat said next.

"Clint would be proud."

Those four words put a smile on Kat's face, the pride swelling up in her chest. It made her stand up a bit straighter, feeling much more confident, but grimaced when she felt a bone fragment in her chest snap back into place.

"Don't strain yourself." Natasha teased, a small smirk on her lips. "And don't get cocky, kid."

The girl hummed, nodding sarcastically, glad that everything was fine between them. Though, she knew she would have to repeat this with Fury and Coulson. She couldn't help but think that this was the only time that she was more afraid of Coulson than Fury.

But before she could think of the different ways Coulson was going to kill her, a flash of lightning erupts across the sky, jolting the jet slightly.

"Where'd this come from?" Nat wondered, as a crash of thunder sounded above them.

Kat shook her head, "I have no clue." She muttered, leaning forward to look out into the ominous sky.

Steve's voice caused her to whip around in her chair to see Loki staring at the metal ceiling of the cabin, "What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?"

"I'm not overly fond of what follows."

A loud thump then sounded from the top of the quinjet, making shake and swerve. Both pilots then increase the speed, trying to lose whatever had just joined the party. She could see Tony slip his helmet on in her periphery as it attached itself to the rest of his red and gold armor as Steve pulled his mask over his eyes.

Pressing the button to open the ramp, Tony stepped to go out and investigate, but Steve's voice made him hesitate, "What are you doing?"

Suddenly, the newcomer landed on the platform hitting Tony with what looked like a large silver hammer. Tony collided with Steve sending the pair flying backwards. The mystery man's shoulder-length blonde hair blew in the strong gusts of wind as his crystal blue eyes landed on Loki. Anger flashed in his eyes as he grabbed Loki by the neck and flew off into the darkness.

Even through Tony's mask, Kat could tell he was furious. "Now there's that guy." He muttered.

"Another Asgardian?" Nat screamed over the wind.

Kat shrugged, wondering the same thing. By the pair's similar garb and from the files she had read about Asgardians that were known by Shield, she could only assume that the newcomer was Thor, the god of thunder.

Steve then peeled himself off the cold metal floor, "That guy's a friendly?"

"Doesn't matter." Tony grumbled as he stomped over to the ramp. "If he frees Loki, or kills him, the Tesseract's lost."

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Cap shouted over the commotion and rushing wind.

"I have a plan. Attack."