The Act at Stuttgart
Chapter 2: The Act at Stuttgart
May 3rd, 2012
“Tony, SHIELD has a hit on Loki in Germany.” Evelyn called into her comm unit that was integrated into a pair of star-shaped diamond and sapphire earrings*, flying alongside her brother over the Atlantic. Her powers over the elements enabled her to manipulate the air currents so she could fly on the wind.
The pair were headed to the SHIELD Helicarrier where they would meet the rest of the Avengers. They had spent the previous night studying the files Phil had given them (Erik Selvig’s research on the Tesseract and the confidential material concerning the potential members of the Avengers Initiative) and learning everything they could about the field of astrophysics.
Tony was wearing his Iron Man armor while Evelyn was wearing her combat outfit, the same outfit she had worn during World War II when she had fought alongside Captain America and the Commandos. However, due to her pregnancy and growing frame, Tony recreated it with a mesh-like material that expanded with her belly.
It consisted of a knee-length, navy blue handkerchief dress with a sweetheart neckline, held by a thin buckle strap on each shoulder. The belt on her hips that dipped below her belly was the same navy blue, though the buckle and accents were a dark metallic blue*. Her arms were bare, except for the navy blue fingerless arm guards covering the back of her palms from her middle finger to halfway up her forearms, made from Vibranium and decorated with delicate, dark metallic blue patterns*. Instead of shoes, she had a pair of navy blue ‘barefoot sandals’ wrapped around her calves from her middle toe up to her knees*. Her ‘square-oval’ shaped nails, fingernails kept at about ½ an inch in length while toenails were kept short and normally painted in neutral or light colors, were painted the same dark metallic blue as the accents of her suit*. To keep her long hair out of her way, she had the top front portion tied back in an intricate 5-strand braid while the bottom half flowed freely down her back in gentle waves*.
“Changing flight route.” Tony said in response, veering towards the right and heading towards Europe where the sky was darkening into night.
“Director, we’re on route.” Evelyn said into her headset.
“Agent Hill’s sent you the coordinates.” Fury replied as Tony gave a ‘thumbs up’ in confirmation.
“Confirmed. Iron Man has the coordinates.” Evelyn said briskly, following her brother across the ocean.
“Agent Romanoff is already on sight, along with Captain America.” Fury informed her.
“Understood.” Evelyn said, forcefully keeping herself from thinking about the best friend she thought she had lost 70 years earlier.
While waiting for Steve to regain consciousness after he was thawed, Fury had contacted her and told her of her former partner’s survival; he was among the few who knew that Estelle Stark and Evelyn Stark were the same person, also knowing of her history with Captain America and how they were both the first Avengers. She had immediately made her way to New York and had been with the Director when informing Steve of the truth - that 70 years had passed. They had also explained to him about Evelyn’s changed appearance and how she was now going by ‘Evelyn Stark’, Howard’s daughter who ‘took the world by storm’.
Over the intervening months, Steve and Evelyn hadn’t had the chance to meet up as often as they wanted since Steve had spent most of the time at the Retreat and acclimatizing to the 21st Century while she herself had been dealing with Tony and later the events surrounding her pregnancy. However, they had frequently spoken over the phone, Evelyn helping him deal with the loss of almost everyone he had ever known, a loss she still keenly felt herself.
The only person they knew from that time who was still alive was Peggy Carter, Steve’s first love and Evelyn’s best friend. Unfortunately, the feisty British-born woman suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and struggled to recognize either of them, not even Steve who hadn’t had to change his appearance and still looked exactly the same as he had the day he had gone into the ice.
“Be careful, Phoenix.” Fury said, his tone holding a hint of concern for the pregnant woman.
‘Phoenix’ was the codename that had been given to her by the public following her and Tony’s fight against Obadiah in November, 2010. Initially, she had worn a mask that covered the upper part of her face to ensure she wasn’t recognized, but upon revealing herself as the heroine, she stopped using it. The communications unit that had been wired in the mask was instead integrated into a pair of earrings that had been gifted to her by Tony which she had taken to wearing with her suit.
“Always am.” Evelyn chirped cheekily before ending the call.
“We’re a few minutes out from land.” Tony called over the headset.
“Got it.” Evelyn replied, picking up speed so she was directly next to her brother.
“When we reach, I want you to join Romanoff while I help the Captain.” Tony said, lowering his helmet so he could look at his sister.
“Fine.” Evelyn said, shooting him a look that said she wanted to argue but decided against it. “But you get killed or injured, you’re going to be in big trouble Anthony.”
“Noted.” Tony said, gulping slightly.
Evelyn, since she had taken on the role of being his sister instead of his aunt, had only ever called him by his full name if he was in trouble or to make a point very, very crystal clear.
Reaching Europe, they crossed the land into Germany at near-neck-breaking speeds, reaching Stuttgart within the hour.
“There’s the Quinjet.” Tony said, seeing the jet in the distance, the forward turret visible and aimed in the general direction of the ground where he could see two figures fighting, Loki dressed in green and gold Asgardian armor and Captain America dressed in the new red, white and blue costume designed by SHIELD. Evelyn veered away from him, heading towards the jet while Tony accessed the jet’s communication system. “Agent Romanoff. You miss us?”
“Tony.” Evelyn sighed, reaching the Quinjet and knocking on the loading hatch doors at the rear end.
“Agents, if you would be so kind as to let Evelyn inside the jet.” Tony said pointedly.
The doors opened in response and Evelyn flew inside. “Thank you.” She chirped, smiling sweetly at the two agents in the pilot and co-pilot seats as she landed on silent feet.
“Hey, Evy.” Natasha greeted warmly, smiling over her shoulder at the pregnant woman.
“Hey Natasha, good to see you again.” Evelyn said, managing to smile and wince at the same time as the baby gave a particularly hard kick. “Ow. Kidney shot.”
Their attention was drawn back to the front as Tony hijacked the PA system and the beginning strains of ‘Shoot to Thrill’ began playing over the speakers. Evelyn sighed and rolled her eyes, shrugging at the exasperated looks Natasha and her co-pilot shot her. They looked out the front windshield to see Tony fly into view, firing his blasters at Loki.
The Asgardian was thrown back from the force of the blasters while Tony landed on one knee. Slowly rising to his feet, the Man of Iron aimed his armor’s weapons at Loki, the soft hiss of the machinery distinctive despite the music blaring from the Quinjet’s speaker.
“Make your move, Reindeer Games.” Tony challenged.
Steve grabbed his shield and moved to stand beside Tony, showing a united front against their opponent. Loki looked at the two of them for a moment before letting his armor and helmet melt away, leaving him in the dark green and black Asgardian clothing he had been wearing underneath. He raised his hands slowly in surrender and Tony retracted his weapons in response.
“Good move.” Tony said.
“Mr. Stark.” Steve said, panting lightly, the fight having actually been a challenge for the Super Soldier.
“Captain.” Tony greeted coolly.
“How long was the fight before we arrived?” Evelyn asked curiously, watching as Tony and Steve pulled Loki to his feet.
“A few minutes at most.” Natasha replied honestly, smoothly landing the Quinjet and opening the rear loading doors.
Evelyn nodded, a small frown on her face. Something about the fight made her think Loki had given up too easily. She watched as Loki was cuffed and seated in the passenger/cargo hold, taking note of his silent aura. Once the Trickster was secure, Natasha smoothly lifted them into the air, beginning the flight back to the Helicarrier.
Steve lowered his cowl and pulled Evelyn into a tight hug, being mindful of the baby bump.
“Evy, it’s good to see you.” He said, pulling away and looking down at her, taking in her dark ruby red hair, so different from the color she’d had when he knew her so many years ago. Though he understood the reason for the change, it was yet another painful reminder of what had been lost. Another was her name; he had to constantly remind himself to call her 'Evy' or 'Evelyn' and not 'Stella'. She had even changed her accent, explaining that she had chosen a British one as a tribute to Peggy; it was also among the easier ones for her to adapt to.
“Yes Steve, it has been far too long.” Evelyn said, smiling gently up at him though tears rapidly filled her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Steve asked in alarm, seeing the tears that were streaming silently down her porcelain cheeks.
“I just can’t believe I’m finally seeing you again.” Evelyn said, smiling tearfully. “I know it’s only been a few months, but it feels like so long.”
“But why are you crying?” Tony asked in confusion, looking completely panicked at the sight of his sister’s tears.
Steve wasn’t much better, just as panicked and confused as the billionaire.
“Damn these hormones!” Evelyn cried in frustration, wiping her tears away.
Natasha snickered under her breath, finding Tony and Steve’s completely panicked expressions utterly hilarious.
“You carry life in you.” Loki said, eyeing Evelyn with a piercing gaze.
Instantly, Steve tightened his grip around Evelyn’s waist, holding her protectively. Tony angled his body towards Loki at the same time, arm blaster ready in case the Trickster posed a threat to the pregnant woman.
“You know, I could just be very well fed.” Evelyn pointed out dryly, looking at the Norse God of Mischief. She seemed to take no note of the protective stance her brother and her best friend had taken.
“I can sense the life-forces of your babies; they are very strong.” Loki retorted, a small smirk on his face. He didn’t mention that the life-forces seemed almost unusually strong for mortal infants and bore a hint of being familiar as well as foreign. “And you, yourself just commented on your hormones.” He didn’t mention the instinctive reaction of the two men beside her, a rather telling indication to her condition.
“That frustrated comment could mean any number of things.” Evelyn said with a raised eyebrow.
“Indeed.” Loki amended, smirking slightly.
“Hold on, did he say ‘life-forces’ and ‘babies’?” The co-pilot asked, looking over his shoulder at the quartet with wide eyes.
“As in plural?!” Steve and Tony shouted in shocked unison.
“I’m carrying twins?!” Evelyn cried in shock, staring at Loki in equal disbelief.
Loki nodded in response, looking highly amused at the reaction.
“I guess that explains why you’re so big.” Tony remarked thoughtfully, looking down at the baby bump.
‘WHACK!’
“OW!” Tony cried, rubbing the back of his head as Steve, Natasha and the co-pilot burst out laughing. Loki was snickering under his breath, his green eyes glittering with mirth, “Eves, what was that for?!”
At his comment on her size, Evelyn had reached out and whacked Tony at the back of his head.
Evelyn just glared at him before sitting down on the seat across from Loki, a hand on her baby bump.
“I’m gonna pay for that comment, aren’t I?” Tony asked rhetorically, wincing at the thought of what his sister could do to him.
Evelyn just smiled sweetly up at him and he muttered under his breath, his mind racing as he tried to come up with a way that would at least lessen the amount of trouble he was in. Short of the world ending and his sister becoming completely sidetracked, she would get back at him in such a way that he wouldn’t have imagined and at a time when he least expected it.
Evelyn Stark was incredibly creative and inventive, a fact that had played a part in her becoming one of the most brilliant minds in the country once again.
Snickering under their breaths, Natasha and her co-pilot flew them back westward, the sky around them still dark. Connecting with Fury and the Helicarrier, Natasha’s expression became serious as she informed them of Loki’s capture and their imminent return, expertly multi-tasking between giving her preliminary report and flying the jet.
“Is he saying anything?” Fury asked.
“He hasn’t said a word after telling us about the babies.” Natasha replied.
Tony, Steve and Evelyn, also losing their amused demeanors and becoming serious, glanced over at Loki. The Trickster was silent, no longer snickering and his expression blank.
“Just get him here.” Fury ordered. “We’re low on time.”
“How is Evelyn?” Deputy Director Maria Hill’s voice filtered through over the comm, her questioned more aimed towards wanting to know if she needed to have a medical team on standby to check Evelyn over when they returned to the Helicarrier.
“She’s all right.” Natasha replied, running a keen eye over the pregnant woman before turning back to the front.
“But it wouldn’t hurt to check just in case.” Evelyn called practically.
“Understood.” Maria replied.
Natasha ended the transmission and turned her attention back to flying.
“I don’t like it.” Steve said quietly to Tony and Evelyn.
“What, Rock of Ages giving up so easily?” Tony asked, never turning his gaze away from Loki.
“I don’t remember it being that easy.” Steve muttered. “This guy packs a wallop.”
“You are pretty spry, for an old man.” Evelyn said, looking at Steve with a cheeky grin and mirth glittering in her emerald green eyes.
Steve rolled his eyes, shooting her a small smile.
“What’s your thing?” Tony asked curiously, looking at the Super Soldier. “Pilates?”
“What?” Steve asked in confusion, turning to look at Tony.
“It’s like calisthenics.” Tony explained. He shrugged unconcernedly. “You might have missed a couple of things doing time as a… Capsicle.”
“Tony.” Evelyn sighed in exasperation.
“Fury didn’t tell me he was calling you in.” Steve remarked dryly, looking pointedly at Tony.
“There’s a lot of things Nick doesn’t tell you.” Evelyn said knowingly.
Suddenly, the sky around them, which had been clear except for the clouds, became streaked with bolts of lightning. The accompanying roar of thunder echoed around them.
“Where’s this thunder coming from?” Natasha asked, looking up at the streaked sky.
Loki straightened up from his slight slouch, looking up at the streaked sky with a nervous demeanor.
“What’s the matter?” Steve asked almost mockingly, seeing the Trickster’s expression. “Are you scared of a little lightning?”
“I’m not overly fond of what follows.” Loki replied, eyeing the sky warily.
Evelyn frowned at the response, looking between the Trickster and the streaked sky.
“Why? What follows?” She asked, one hand on her swollen belly and the other ready to access her powers.
Before Loki could respond, something landed on the roof with a loud thud; the force rocked the jet and sent Loki, Evelyn, Natasha and the co-pilot back in their seats while Tony and Steve grabbed hold of the sides to keep from losing their footing.
“Never mind.” Evelyn said in reference to her earlier question.
Tony grabbed his helmet and put it on, the metal linking together seamlessly with a quiet hiss. With purposeful strides, he stalked to the rear doors and pressed the side-panel button to open them.
“Eves, stay with Natasha.” Tony said firmly over his shoulder.
Evelyn nodded in response, focused more on staying upright in her seat against the rocking of the jet.
“What are you doing?” Steve asked, pulling his cowl back over his face.
Before Tony could respond, a large, golden-haired figure landed on the open doors. Dressed in dark armor consisting of a sleeveless black top covered in silver plates, dark blue pants, black boots, red wristbands with silver arm bracers and a billowing red cape pinned to his shoulders designed similar to Loki’s Asgardian armor, the handsome man stalked inside with fury etched across his striking features.
Tony moved to intercept the intruder, only to be thrown back by a mighty swing of the larger man’s hammer. The blow threw him back into Steve, sending both men to the floor in a heap.
“Tony! Steve!” Evelyn cried in alarm, shooting to her feet and facing the intruder. She automatically created a fireball in her hand and threw it at him, only for the man to dodge it by leaning to the side.
The man had long golden hair tied back away from his face and reaching his shoulder blades. A well-muscled giant of a male, he had bright blue eyes that stood out against his lightly tanned skin and a strong jaw teased with a light shadow of a stubble.
At any other time, she would have taken a second look at his striking features, however her concern for her brother and her best friend overrode any such desire. In addition, she was also more concerned with how the man was able to land first on top of the Quinjet and then inside while they were still in flight while at the same time dodge a fireball; no one else had been able to do so, at least not while in flight with the loading doors wide open.
And so, with an expression crossed between fury and unrivaled protectiveness for her loved ones on her face, Evelyn formed another fireball as well as an airball and ordered firmly, “Identify yourself!”
“I am Thor, of Asgard.” The man replied, sparing a look at the fierce and strikingly beautiful woman. He ran his gaze over her for a brief second, taking note of the swirling fire and air in her palms and the way she was holding herself, coiled and ready for a fight while protecting her downed companions and at the same time keeping a protective hand in front of her visibly swollen abdomen. “I come for Loki.”
Without another word, Thor reached over to Loki and grabbed the darker-haired Asgardian by the throat, ripping him out of his restraints in the process as though they were made of paper before flying out of the jet. At the same time, Evelyn threw another fireball behind them, the Thunder God managing to avoid it just before it could hit him.
“Damn it, I missed again.” Evelyn muttered, frowning in frustration.
“Now there’s that guy.” Tony groaned, getting to his feet.
“Another Asgardian?” Natasha asked loudly, not having heard Thor speak over the thunder.
“Yes, it’s Thor.” Evelyn replied in confirmation.
“That guy’s a friendly?” Steve asked incredulously, getting to his feet.
“Doesn’t matter.” Tony replied before Evelyn could say anything. “If he frees Loki-”
“Judging by his expression, I’d say that’s unlikely.” Evelyn threw in helpfully.
“Or kills him-” Tony continued.
“I’d say that’s more likely.” Evelyn confirmed, nodding.
“The Tesseract is lost.” Tony finished before turning and stalking towards the still open doors.
“Stark, we need a plan of attack!” Steve shouted to the billionaire’s retreating back.
“I have a plan.” Tony growled. “Attack.”
Firing up his thrusters, he flew out of the jet as Evelyn rolled her eyes exasperatedly.
“He gets that from Dad.” The pregnant redhead remarked.
Whether she was speaking of her birth father or of Howard, Steve didn’t know but he shook his head, growling under his breath and grabbed a parachute.
“I’d sit this one out, Cap.” Natasha called, working to keep them in the air.
“I don’t see how I can.” Steve replied, buckling the parachute into place while Evelyn checked to make sure it was secure.
“Thor and Loki are from Norse legend.” Evelyn explained, not stopping her task of checking Steve’s parachute. “They’re basically gods.”
“There’s only one God, Evelyn.” Steve said, grabbing his shield as Evelyn stepped back. “And I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.”
With those words, he took off at a run and leapt out of the jet.
“Remind me again why I put up with them.” Evelyn said, closing the doors and moving back towards Natasha at the front of the jet.
“Because Tony’s family and you love him.” Natasha replied with a grin.
The byplay was something the two redheads had frequently had while Natasha was undercover at Stark Industries, though tweaked slightly to include Steve. Evelyn had been the only one who knew that Natalie Rushman was in fact Agent Natasha Romanoff of SHIELD and that she had been tasked with monitoring Tony’s Palladium poisoning.
“Yeah.” Evelyn sighed, rubbing her belly.
Now all they could do was wait for Tony and Steve to return, hopefully after convincing Thor to keep Loki alive long enough for them to find out where the Tesseract is.
As though sensing their mother’s thoughts, the twins gave particularly hard kicks to her ribs and abdomen.
“Ow.” Evelyn groaned, rubbing the spots the twins had kicked. At the concerned look shot at her by the two agents, she added, “Rib and abdomen shot.”
“Can you tune us in to the communication signal?” The co-pilot asked, his hands firmly on the steering wheel as he and Natasha worked to keep them in the air.
“Yes, give me a minute.” Evelyn replied, entering a series of sequences in to the control console. “Just about… There.”
She straightened up and less than a second later, the sound of a crash combined with the thrum of Tony’s armor thrusters filled the jet.
“Do not touch me again.” Thor’s voice growled angrily.
“Then don’t take my stuff.” Tony retorted, his voice sounding clear indicating he had raised his visor.
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with.” Thor growled.
“Uh… Shakespeare in the Park?” Tony asked flippantly.
“He’s gonna antagonize him, isn’t he?” The co-pilot asked.
“Doth Mother know you wear-eth her drapes?” Tony asked in a horrible imitation of Shakespearean English.
“Does that answer your question?” Evelyn asked, an irritated expression on her face.
“This is beyond you, metal man.” Thor growled, evidently deciding to do what most people did when faced with Tony’s eccentricity: ignore it. “Loki will face Asgardian justice.”
“He gives up the Cube, he’s all yours.” Tony replied, becoming serious. “Until then,” his voice became slightly distorted, indicating the visor was back in place, “stay out of the way.” There was a momentary pause before Tony added, “Tourist.”
There was a roar followed by a crash and a groan from Tony. Exchanging concerned looks, Natasha opened their end of the communication signal.
“Tony!” Evelyn cried in alarm. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.” Tony called back reassuringly.
There was the sound of Tony firing his blasters followed by the propulsion systems activating.
Evelyn nibbled at her bottom lip in worry, for once barely acknowledging the twins’ rapid kicking against her stomach.
The sounds of Thor and Tony fighting filled the jet, trading blow for blow. After several tense seconds, Tony’s groan filled the jet.
‘Power at 400% capacity.’ JARVIS’ voice filtered in through the communications signal.
“How about that?” Tony mused out loud.
“Tony, how did that happen?” Evelyn asked in confusion.
“Point Break just fired a bolt of thunder at me.” Tony replied.
Evelyn’s shocked cry was drowned out by the sound of Tony’s palm blasters being fired and a crash as the recipient, likely Thor, was thrown back.
“I’m going to kill him.” Evelyn growled angrily once the sound of the blasters faded.
Natasha and the co-pilot exchanged looks but wisely decided to stay silent. Whether Evelyn was referring to Tony or Thor was anyone’s guess but neither were all that eager to piss off a pregnant woman; especially not a pregnant woman who could control the elements and just as easily throw them out of the sky as the God of Thunder nearly did.
The very next second, the sounds of the two fighting filled the jet, along with trees falling to the ground, and Evelyn’s anger faded as worry took over once again. Unable to stay still as the fight continued, she began pacing the short length of the jet. All the while, she alternated between nibbling her bottom lip and the pads of her thumb.
Finally, after several minutes, which to Evelyn felt like an age, Steve’s voice filled the air. “Hey!” His call was followed by the telltale singing of his shield flying through the air. “That’s enough!” There was a second’s pause before continuing, “Now, I don’t know what you plan on doing here…”
“I’ve come here to put an end to Loki’s schemes.” Thor said determinedly before Steve could continue.
“That’s a relief.” Evelyn muttered dryly.
“Then prove it.” Steve challenged. “Put that hammer down.”
“Uh, yeah… no.” Tony threw in. “Bad call. He loves his ha-”
Tony was cut off by a whacking sound followed by the sound of him soaring through the air.
Evelyn groaned, getting the instinctive feeling that her brother had irritated the Thunder God.
“You want me to put the hammer down?” Thor asked angrily, proving Evelyn’s feeling correct.
“That man is going to give me premature grey hair.” Evelyn muttered, groaning exasperatedly.
With access to JARVIS’ monitoring systems, she wasn’t too worried about him being likely hit with the mighty Mjolnir. The suit itself would keep Tony safe for the most part and JARVIS would instantly alert her if his vitals and probability of survival dropped.
A loud bang echoed through the jet as a bright bluish-white light filled the night air for a fraction of a second before fading away.
Evelyn, Natasha and the co-pilot exchanged looks before turning back to look out through the front windshield.
“Tony! Steve! Are you okay?” Evelyn called, managing to keep her voice steady though her worry was clear on her face.
“Ow.” Tony’s voice filtered in through the comm system with a pained groan. “I’m okay, Eves.”
“Oh, thank God.” Evelyn breathed in relief. “Steve? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.” Steve replied before adding, “Are we done here?”
“Indeed.” Thor said.
Evelyn, Natasha and the co-pilot exchanged looks, all three relieved that the fight was over. For the moment, at least.
Links:
*Evelyn earrings -https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/AdYKqRk28kFTW1fow3uNHhHwvbCbGZ6CCrTewijnCXFsXiPO872uwjw/
*Evelyn’s combat dress (navy blue with dark metallic blue accents on the belt) –https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/474566879480655078/
*Evelyn’s fingerless arm guards (navy blue with dark metallic blue patterns) –https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/474566879478484070/
*Evelyn’s barefoot sandals (navy blue) –https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/538109855472628428/
*Evelyn’s nails -https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/479351954088589886/
*Evelyn’s hairstyle –https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/474566879476831356/