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Edit: lokidottir

Chapter Twenty

~Nobody's POV~

They do get back to New York quickly. So quickly in fact, that Thea doesn't get to say good-bye to Leah, which makes her very frustrated. Thor soothes her, promising that he will stay in contact with Sif, and also Jane and Darcy, who have volunteered to watch over Leah while everyone else is off trying to restore the Velah. 

The ones left over in Stark Tower- Bruce, Max, Kyle, Clint, and particularly Jack, are very eager for their return. Their return is so unexpected that only Bruce is in the portal room when the six of them hurtle through it. 

Jumping up from his desk, Bruce hurries over to them, "Wow guys, do you think you could have given me a little bit of a warning?"

"Apparently not," says Tony. "Held the fort up nicely, Banner?" 

Bruce shrugs, "As well as I could if you have to listen to Jack asking when you're going to be getting back ten times an hour." 

"Where is Jack?" Thea asks, looking at her watch. "Oh." she says as she reads that it's only 1:40. 

"He's at school. By the way, Peter stopped by."

"What?!" Thea exclaims. "Why?" 

"Not sure," Bruce looks amused, "He said something about wanting to make sure everything 'worked out'. I wonder what that could have meant." 

"He could've texted!" Thea is enraged that the one time she hasn't been cooped up in Stark tower, Peter Parker had come by. 

"He could've, seeing as you left your phone in your room, and Jack's at school, but I think he's actually getting lonely." 

"Did you tell him what happened?" she demands, even more enraged at herself that she had left her phone in earth, not even thinking about the fact that there is probably no cell phone service in Asgard. "I don't want him to worry." Or get involved, she adds to herself.

"I wouldn't worry about it," says Bruce mildly, "I just told him you and Jack are both safe, and that Jack was at school and you couldn't see him right now."

"Okay," says Thea, still extraordinarily frustrated. "Um. Yeah, by the way, it's nice to see you again."

"You too," says Bruce with another amused smile. He turns to Tony, "So what did you guys find out, anyway?"

"Well, we met with the Asgardian version of Tia Dalma," Tony affirms, "And it sounds like we're going to need to have a tiny sort of meeting. Where's the Hawk?"

"Not a clue. I think I saw him earlier, but I don't even know if he's even the building. You know how he is."

"And Mario and Luigi?" 

This is the most unusual comparison Thea has ever heard for Max and Kyle, but she decides she's going to us it in the future.

"Probably working off their boredom and worry in the boxing rings. By the way, Coulson came by earlier. He and Fury are getting impatient."

"Fury?" Thea asks. "Why's he involved? This isn't any of his-"

"Thea!" says Tony gallantly as if just noticing she was in the room, and begins pushing her to the door, "How about you head on into your room while us grown-ups have a chat? I'm sure there's a text or two waiting for you from Peter." 

"Absolutely not," proclaims Thea, "I'm staying. And we might as well wait for Jack to get back from school, because I'm going to be telling him everything anyway, and I could save my voice." 

"Thea..." says Steve, in a tone that very much says he wants to argue with her but knows there is no point. 

"Alrighty then," says Tony agreeably, "We wait until Jack- and Clint probably- get back. Deal?"

"You agreed to that way too easily," says Thea suspiciously. "How do I know that you're not going to pull something after I leave?" 

"Because I'm going to go find Clint," says Natasha. "And nobody," she glares at all the men in the room, "Is going to discuss anything until after Thea or I get back."

Thea wants to high-five Natasha, but instead chooses to imitate her steely look across the room. "Yeah. Got that?"

Bruce raises his eyebrows. Loki rolls his eyes. 

"Good," says Natasha, turning on her heel and leaving the room. After one more affirming and threatening look at everyone in the portal room, Thea follows. 

*

The meeting is going to be held in one of the more secure rooms on the second floor, at four. This means that Thea has plenty of time to talk to both Max, Kyle, and, later, Jack before then.

First, however, she high-tails it into her bedroom and takes a shower. Changing into shorts and a tattered red shirt with a giant black X across it, Thea grabs her phone. There's a single text from Peter. 

From: Peter

I came by, but u weren't there. glad everything was ok

Thea hates lying to Peter, which is saying something because lying is Thea's cup of tea. But she does, especially because Peter is going through so much right now. But that's exactly why she knows he can't know the truth. 

As she begins sketching absentmindedly in her Spanish notebook- which reminds her that she has an abundance of homework she has to do-  she calls Peter. Surprisingly, he picks up and for ten blissful minutes, she communicates with one of her best friends. She is sensitive to his lagging tone, but can't help but notice that Bruce is right; Peter sounds lonely. 

With a promise to call him or stop by his house soon (with all that's going on, the former sounds more likely), Thea hangs up and heads up to the training rooms. 

She takes great delight in jumping up on Kyle's (sweaty) back, causing him to yelp with surprise. "THEA!" 

"I'm back!" she says giddily, dropping back to the ground. 

"So we see," says Max, who is appearing from the back room. "How was it? Are you okay?" 

"I'm moderate," says Thea, happily ignoring Kyle's glare. "Apparently we're having a meeting on the second floor at four." 

"You're not going to tell either of us what happened, are you?" Max asks as he begins stacking yoga mats in a corner. Kyle is still glaring at Thea. 

"Nope," says Thea cheerfully, "I don't think I'm even allowed to." 

This technically is not true, and Max knows it, but doesn't press the matter. "Well," he says, still looking relieved that Thea is in one piece, "I guess I'll go shower. What time is it anyway?"

"Almost three fifteen," Thea replies.

"Ah. Which means that Jack will be back in the building soon."

"He's probably going to crash Clint's Subaru on the interstate," says Kyle, speaking up for the first time.

"Jack's driving?" Thea asks, although she should have known this. 

"He's going to be sixteen in October," points out Kyle, "So he's got his permit, yeah. But Charlie and Clint have had him on the road way before the technical legal age, so I think he's a pretty good driver." 

"Oh," says Thea, feeling a twinge of jealousy. The closest she's been to driving is when her brother let her drive his truck around a parking lot when she was thirteen (she had nearly ran over a tree). 

Sure enough, Jack's voice can be heard permeating through two stories of Stark tower, and Thea runs out of the training room to greet him. 

"You're back!" exclaims Jack, evidently delighted, as he grabs Thea in a bone-squishing hug that Thor could probably marvel at. "Geez, it's been too long." 

"It's been less than two days."

"Still," Jack grins at her, "So. Meeting at four?"

"Which is about thirty minutes," Thea grins right back. 

"Perf-eesh!" 

He gets cut off as Thea pulls him out of the foyer, up to the fifth floor. She locks the door behind them. "Are you ready to see something absolutely amazing and perfect for all rule-breaking of any kind?"

"Well, duh," says Jack, "When am I not ready to break rules?"

"Good point," Thea concedes, and then takes out the silken fabric from her rucksack. "Look at this."

"Oh wow," says Jack sarcastically, "A blanket, I've always wanted one of- ow, blimey, Thea!" He rubs his arm where she has smacked it. 

"No, dummy, watch this," Grinning, Thea pulls the cloak over her head. She knows it works, because Jack leaps to his feet, his eyes bulging. 

"Wh-wh-WOW THAT IS FANTASTIC!" he exclaims, peering around her as if she's hiding in mid-air. "Dear lord, Thea, this is amazing! Where did you get it?" 

"Myrinea," says Thea's voice, because she's still hidden from view. "She said we- technically, she said I did, but it's not like I wasn't going to share this with you- had to use it wisely."

"But was she very vague in the area of wise?" asks Jack mischievously as Thea resurfaces. 

"No," grins Thea, "No, in fact, she did not." 

Jack rubs his hands together, "Oh this is beautiful. This is gold. This is-"

"JACK, THEA! GET DOWN HERE IF YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS!" Tony's voice echoes through the door. 

Both of them jump, and hurriedly, Thea stuffs the cloak back in her backpack, and she and Jack run from the room, trying to look like the innocent angels that they aren't. 

*

"All right," says Tony as everyone gathers in a cozy if secure room on the second floor. "So we have a lot to talk about."

"Granted," says Natasha.

"Patience, Natalie, I'm talking," Tony says staunchly, filling a glass of something for himself. "Continuing, we need several plans, some of which are illegal, and are going to take an abundance of planning and a great deal of felony."

The word 'felony' grasps the room's attention. Thea, lounging on a squashy blue couch with her legs on top of a very curious Jack, rolls her eyes. 

"Oh c'mon Tony," she says, "Don't exaggerate. We're only going to be stealing the Declaration of Independence."

"What?" squawks Jack. 

"We're stealing the Declaration of Independence?" asks Bruce mildly. 

"Yes."

"Borrowing," corrects Jack, apparently excited, "Borrowing without permission."

"Did you just-" Thea rolls her eyes. 

Tony raises his hands to calm the clamor. "All right. So yes, we are going to commit a minor crime-"

"Minor?" demands Steve, "Stark, this is a national felony."

"It won't be that bad," says Tony, "We're just, as young Jack has pointed it out, borrowing without permission." 

"When is this happening?" asks Max, "And more importantly, why?" 

It takes Tony fifteen minutes to explain the Three Tasks that Myrinea has set them, because various people keep interrupting and Steve keeps correcting him with the "correct" events. 

Eventually though, everyone who had not gone to Asgard- Bruce, Max, Kyle, Jack, Clint, and Couslon (who has crept in)- gets the general picture. 

"So," continues Tony, "We're going to need to borrow the Declaration and use this sponge thing that Tia Dalma gave us to see the code."

"Are you telling me that Thomas Jefferson had something to do with the Velah?" demands Max, "Because I find that very unlikely."

"No," says Natasha, "I think that he had something to do with these precious jewels- wherever they are. Jefferson was well known to be curious and an explorer. It's not hard to assume that his family passed on that gift, and somehow he got attached to these jewels." 

"Right," says Max, "Because the jewels are mermaid bait." 

"Exactly."

"Now how are you planning on stealing the Declaration of Independence?" Coulson asks who, until now, has been silent. His arms are crossed.

"Borrowing," corrects Tony. "We are borrowing it, and we're going to do it carefully."

Coulson still looks upset. 

"Anyway," says Steve, who doesn't look that happy either. "We're going to do that first. And it's going to take some planning. Stark?"

"Why do I always have to plan the criminal activities?" asks Tony, "Ask reindeer games over there," he nods his head towards Loki, who is leaning against the couch; he rolls his eyes. 

"Because you're good at it." replies Steve in a brutally honest way. 

"I'm brilliant. That's why," says Tony. 

Thea and Jack roll their eyes simultaneously. 

"Anyway," says Steve, "Coulson, any ideas?"

Coulson holds his hands up. "I am not getting involved. It's not worth my job. I'm already committing a crime by not turning you in."

Tony claps him on the shoulder, "That's the spirit, Agent." 

"Okay," says Steve, desperately trying to gain control of the situation, "Guys, we need to act quickly. The sooner we get this done, the better, for all of us." 

"We should watch National Treasure," says Kyle sarcastically, "Maybe Nicholas Cage can give us some recommendations."

"It'll be similar," says Tony, "We just need some distractions, I can easily get through to the back, where they keep it at the end of the day. We can't hope to borrow it in broad daylight. It'll just take some planning, Loki can use his creepy stick of destiny, Natasha's got her moves, it won't be hard."

"So this is going down, when, tomorrow?" asks Steve.

"We'll need a few more days to plan," affirms Tony. "Assign tasks, etcetera. Who's best with security cameras?"

Clint, Natasha, Max, and Jack raise their hands. 

Ignoring Jack, Tony nods to the others, "Okay. You're on camera duty. We just need to replace some of the back-room cameras with stills of the hallway. Security breaching, that would be me. According to JARVIS, they move the Declaration a little bit before closing time, so some of us will be distractions. Those with the hand fighting," Here, he nods to Steve, Kyle, and also to Natasha again, "You've got that. The Asgardians can stand there looking pretty. Actually, I can probably find something for you guys to do, if you dress in earthling clothes. Thea and Jack of course, will be staying in Stark tower to await our victorious-"

There's an instant uproar. 

"—ARE YOU BLOODY KIDDING ME, IF YOU THINK THAT WE ARE NOT HELPING, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY MENTAL—"

"—I HAVE JUST AS MANY RIGHTS TO HELP AS ANY OF YOU DO! THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF ME IN THE FIRST PLACE—"

"—IF YOU DON'T LET US HELP, WE'LL FIND OUR OWN WAY TO WASHINGTON DC AND DO IT OURSELVES—"

"—AND DON'T THINK WE CAN'T YOU GUYS ARE BEING HYPOCRITES—"

Max is not pleased. 

"THEODORA ATHENA FOSSIL, YOU ARE NOT MOVING FROM THIS BUILDING!" 

This enrages Thea further. 

"YES I AM, YOU ARE NOT IN CHARGE OF ME!"

"Technically, he is," mutters Kyle, but his voice is lost in the shouts of others. 

"THEA, YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" roars Max, "THIS IS NATIONAL FELONY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU'RE TOO YOUNG!"

"I'VE DONE MORE THAN MOST FOURTEEN YEAR OLDS!" 

"YEAH, SHE HAS!" 

Max clearly sees that he is getting pushed down by a very livid Thea and Jack. He looks around the room for help. 

Help comes from Loki, whose eyes are now flashing, and he says in a very loud and threatening voice "Thea-you-are-not-helping-I-am-not-saying-it-again-so-you-had-best-listen-to-me-right-now."

Upon hearing Loki's verdict, Thea's shrill voice rises, if at all possible, several decibels. 

"YOU CAN JUST SHUT UP RIGHT NOW LOKI! JACK AND I ARE HELPING AND THAT'S FINAL!"

"YEAH, DON'T GET STARTED ON HER, YOU HORNED PRAT!" 

Loki looks furious. 

So does Max. 

"THEA YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WASHINGTON DC!" he thunders.

"YES I AM!"

The screams have gotten so loud, Coulson has put his head in his hand, and Pepper has stuck her head in the room concernedly before Tony waves her away. 

Thea and Jack have reached the climax of their voices. 

"—IT'S BECAUSE OF ME THAT YOU ARE ALL DOING THIS AND THAT MEANS I AM GOING TO HELP—"

"—THEA AND I HAVE JUST AS MUCH RIGHTS AS YOU LOT DO! AND WE'RE JUST AS QUALIFIED SO DON'T THINK YOU CAN OUTSMART US—"

Loki laughs dryly, "Is that so?"

The effects of Loki speaking are immediate. 

"SHUT—"

"SHUT UP, LOKI!" 

Loki slouches against the wall, looking murderous. 

Thor is just shaking his head, a smile playing at the ends of his lip. 

"THEA YOU ARE NOT HELPING!" shouts Max, "I CAN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT YOU, JACK, BUT I KNOW CHARLIE WOULD AGREE!"

"NO HE WOULD NOT, WHICH MEANS THAT I WOULD STAY BACK AND HELP THEA TO WASHINGTON. I CAN DRIVE, YOU KNOW!" 

"Not without-"

"I AM HELPING, MAX!" screams Thea. "AND THAT IS FINAL."

Steve raises his eyes to the ceiling as if it could possibly help.

"NO, THEA! YOU ARE NOT."

"YES, MAX, I AM. AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT."

"I will chain you up again," says Loki nastily, from right beside Thea. 

Thea rises furiously. 

"Loki, we are not chaining anyone up," says Bruce, "And Thea, sit down." 

Still glaring at Loki, Thea sinks back onto the couch. She and Jack are both panting from their shouting match. Max still looks livid.

"All right," says Bruce, "Thea and Jack are going to help-"

"What?" snarls Max.

"What?" snarls Loki. 

"Thank you!" exclaims Thea, and Jack gives Bruce a thumbs-up. 

"But," adds Bruce, "They're going to be doing very minor things." Upon seeing Max's incensed look, Bruce adds, "C'mon Max, they have a point. Thea has done far more than most girls her age, and so has Jack for that matter. They deserve a right, but aren't going to be doing the majorly dangerous stuff, okay?"

"Yeah!" says Thea, "And if you leave use behind, we'll just-"

She stops, because Bruce has raised a hand in her direction, telling her to quit while she's ahead, "Although," he adds lightly, "She has a point. If we leave these two, they're bound to find a way to follow us, and that's probably even more dangerous than if they just come along with us."

"Bruce," says Jack admirably, "You're my new best friend." 

Thea shoots him a look.

"After Thea, of course," Jack corrects himself. 

"All right," says Tony, rubbing his ear, "So the midgets are helping and-"

"WE ARE NOT MIDGETS, YOU IDJIT!" 

Clint waves Jack down, and also Thea, who has also opened her mouth to protest. Clint shoots both of them a look that clearly says "At-least-you're-helping." 

"Okay," says a slightly frustrated Tony, "So since Thea and Jack are helping, we'll just plan around that. It honestly won't be that bad." 

Tony talks for about fifteen minutes, but then gives up, because he knows that he will need charts and plans before he can discuss their upcoming criminal act in detail. 

As the meeting disperses, Thea carefully avoids Max's stormy and slightly resentful look. She feels bad for making him upset, but she also knows that she needs to make her own choices about these sort of things. 

Max isn't the only one upset at Thea. After Tony sends everyone off to do their own individual research (Thea's and Jack's is to research what a typical Smithsonian visitor acts like, which is basically a way to get them out of there), Loki is fuming. Thea, not as concerned for Loki's emotions as Max's, smiles cheerfully at him as she and Jack practically skip out of the room. 

 Don't you just love Thea and Jack?? haha

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Have a great weekend!