𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 || 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦

THE MOONLIGHT REFLECTED itself off the APEX pilots' armour as they flew in tandem with the Quinjet holding Natasha and Steve. Her mind was not exactly focused on the mission as questions continued to flicker to her father. Wondering if he was okay and if Loki was there to go after him. No other info had been given to the team besides the exact address Loki was located.

Knowing that despite any differences in emotions that they had, she had to save him. He was all she had left from her childhood and what little great memories she had with him. And she couldn't lose that last thread. The last thread of happiness she had shared with the man when she was a child. Through everything, the fighting, the hate, the futility, she needed him. Even if she didn't wish to admit it.

"Agent Usoro, Icarus Jack Cooper is trying to establish comms with you." Athena alerted as Nova inhaled deeply.

Blinking a few times as she clenched her hands tightly around the throttles in her hands. "Patch me through."

"Understood, ma'am."

After a few moments, the comm link connected. "Okay, what's up?" Cooper questioned the girl who glanced in his direction.

Finding his head already turned and focused on her intently. "It's nothing, Cooper," she assured halfheartedly. "Let's focus on the mission. How far are we from the objective?" She questioned, changing the subject rather quickly.

Only hearing Cooper sigh lightly. "Not far, half a click."

Without another word, Nova pressed harder on the trigger of her throttles. Cutting off the comms as she blasted through the air and began lowering her altitude. Natasha and Steve on the other hand watched with frowns as they looked out the left side of the cockpit towards Cooper.

"Cooper, what is she doing?" Natasha questioned after having a comlink set up between them.

"I don't know. She asked about how far we were and she just blasted off," he explained briefly. "Cutting off coms and I can't even reclaim a link with her," Cooper exclaimed as he glanced at the cockpit.

The redhead clenched her jaw as she pushed down on the throttle to lower their altitude. Reaching above her and flipping a few switches. "We're going invisible." Natasha hit a few of the buttons on the dash. "Cooper, find Nova and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Cooper nodded before he blasted off ahead as Natasha came through the clouds. The city of Stuttgart being revealed with all its bright and glimmering lights.

From the back, Steve grabbed his shield and strapped it to his arm. "Does she always do this?" He asked, glancing towards the cockpit. "No. This is a first." Natasha muttered as she flipped a switch as they came down near the street where Loki was told to be located.

At the back of the Quinjet, the ramp opened just above a building. "Time for work, Captain," Natasha called out as the man in red, white and blue ran out and jumped onto the building.

Nova sat on the edge of a building with her hud scanning a crowd from across the way. Said crowd was on their knees with Loki standing in the middle of the crowd. Multiple duplications of himself that wavered every so 10 seconds. Another man standing in the crowd facing Loki seemed to look older than anyone else.

"Look to your elders, people," Loki announced as he pointed his sceptre to the man. The blue glow radiated from it. "Let him be an example."

Right as Loki fired his sceptre, Steve dropped down from a building and blocked the blast with his shield. The blue energy blast came right back and hit Loki, knocking him onto the ground.

As Steve and Loki began going back and forth, Nova noticed Cooper now standing behind her. Peeling his helmet off, showing his annoyance. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He barked. "Do you even know what the hell you're doing?" He questioned harshly as the girl stood up from her position and turned to him.

"I'm waiting for my moment to strike." She lied.

Just as she said that the cloaking for the Quinjet was deactivated. A hatch at the bottom of the craft opened up with a mounted gun popping out and activating. But that turned out to be the last of the girl's attention as Athena alerted her.

"Miss Usoro, I have a match for Martin Usoro." She quickly turned her head to the crowd to see her dad standing in the crowd. Her eyes slightly widened with her heart began to beat irregularly.

Before she knew it, she was standing and looking at Cooper. Her flustered features were hidden beneath her helmet, thankfully. "Cooper, I need you to protect the civilians and get them to a safe distance." She explained turning her head to her copilot. Still seeing the annoyed and furious expression on his face. "Do this and I'll explain later." She promised before jumping off the edge of the building.

Flying through the air, she quickly connected comms with everyone. Her eyes focused on her father as both Steve and Loki began fighting. There was no way her father couldn't put the pieces together with someone else wearing an APEX suit. Sure, she didn't want to come back like this, but at least they weren't directly talking. That would take time for her to do.

"Cap!" She called out as her electric rockets lifted from her shoulder. Steve looked up to see the girl flying towards him with the blue electricity dancing around the mounted cannons. Putting up his shield, the girl fired a rocket directly at the shield.

Upon impact, the rocket bounced off and went directly toward Loki. Hitting him in the chest and leaving him vulnerable for just a second. With the opening, Steve threw his shield that Loki was knocked back from before quickly recovering. Both him and Loki engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

But Loki had the upper hand and placed the heel of the sceptre on Steve's head. "Kneel." He sneered.

Impressively, Steve pushed the weapon away and did a roundhouse kick as he said, "Not today."

That was when Nova landed and moved out of the way just in time for Steve to be thrown. Landing right beside her with a groan. She chuckled lightly and gave a thumbs-up. "I would give the landing a possible 3 out of 10. Definitely could use some work."

Despite the timing of the joke, Steve let out a tiny chuckle just as music from the Quinjet began playing loudly. AC/DC Shoot To Thrill blasted through the night sky as an orange stream could be seen flying down from around a building. An orange blast coming from what seemed to a man's hands that sent Loki flying back.

Landing beside Nova, she was quick to realize it was Tony Stark- Iron Man. When he stood to his feet, all his weapons activated and were ready to fire as he aimed at Loki. Nova followed in suit with her electric missiles activated and waiting for her to press the button to let them go.

"Make your move, Reindeer games." Loki raised his hands in surrender as his helmet armour slowly disappeared with a golden glow. "Good move," Tony stated as he let his weapons deactivate.

"Mr. Stark." Steve greeted.

"Captain," Tony replied.

"Alright, let's load him up," Nova told the pair as she turned around and walked towards the Quinjet slowly lowering to land. Only her body froze upon seeing Martin standing across the street. His eyes furrowed in confusion as his security ushered him into the black Sadan. She watched the man be pushed inside before driving off without a word spoken.

No words were spoken, but he definitely noticed her.

NOVA STARED IMAGINARY daggers at Loki who sat opposite of her. His head was low with large cuffs around his wrists. She wished to understand and know why the hell he was there. But she knew better than to ask a god that would only speak in riddles.

A huff left her lips as she finally looked away and stood to her feet. Walking in the direction of the cockpit, both Tony Stark and Captain Rogers blocked the way. Clearing her throat, the pair looked at her.

Since her sudden deviation from the team, neither she nor Captain Rogers have spoken to one another. She could tell he was annoyed now that they weren't fighting Loki, but she didn't exactly care. Only Cooper and Natasha needed to know and it would stay like that. No matter how much she could trust the super-soldier.

While Tony Stark had not said a word to her, he had been casting curious glances in her direction. It weirded her out and left her wondering what was so interesting about her that he had to keep looking over. When in fact, it was her suit and how it was made almost like an APEX suit. He would only know because of the press conference yesterday that Pepper had told him to check out.

"Can you two please move?" She asked politely as Tony stepped to the side. Steve on the other hand didn't move and actually stopped her from passing. Which earned a rather heated glare from the girl.

"What you did back there was pretty dumb." He told her, meaning to her going off when they were close to Loki's location.

"If anything, I think it was smart." Her statement left an incredulous look to form on Steve's face. "I got a layout of what was happening and had a perfect sightline." She shrugged with a fake smile on her lips.

"The kid did good in my opinion." Tony Stark butted in, earning the pair's attention. "The bouncing the electric missile off the fancy tobogganing sled- Amazing stuff! By the way, know anywhere I could get one?" Nova watched in amusement as Tony smiled mockingly at Steve, who huffed in annoyance.

"Well, never mind then. But she did a good job." He placed a hand on the young prodigy's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "Just ease off her grandpa." Tony Stark told the super soldier, slapping his back. Nova pursed her lips and did her best to contain the smile wanting to appear. So, she quickly moved Steve enough between the two men and stepped into the cockpit. Natasha sat on the right side with Cooper on the left.

She made her way to the seat beside Natasha, grabbed the headset, and strapped them around her ears. Sitting down with a heavy exhale as her eyes tiredly opened and closed occasionally. Natasha glanced over at her and gave a tiny smile.

"Tired?" Natasha muttered, placing her hand on the back of Nova's neck. Giving it a gentle squeeze made Nova let out a hum as her eyes shut.

"Yup. Now, keep doing that." She husked as her head fell forward for better access. A smile forced itself onto Natasha's lips as she let out a tiny chuckle. Letting her freehand squeeze and rub at the girl's aching neck.

This type of thing was a rather frequent thing for the two. When they were either in the mess hall, or hangar, Natasha was giving the girl a neck massage. It always happened after a mission since with Nova flying all the time, her neck was in all types of pain. So, Natasha always seemed to show up and be there to give the pilot a massage. All the while talking about the mission or the upcoming missions. As well as having to deal with Cooper who would always tease the pair. Of course, Nova would get flustered and try and walk away, but Natasha would always stop her. Keep her in her spot and continue to massage her neck.

It made Nova wonder what could be if they were together. Would she get these types of massages daily? Would she be put to sleep by the assassin's finger running through her hair softly? Scratching softly at her skelp and putting her into a lull? Or would she continue to wake up to an empty bed? Wanting and wishing upon stars that would never come true. Just sat there and thought about what could be if she had the redhead as hers.

"So, your dad was there?" Cooper finally spoke, glancing over at Nova.

"Yup." She replied, a quiet sigh escaping her lips as Natasha did a weird rhythm with her fingers that grazed her scalp perfectly.

"And he was there for his APEX suit?" He asked. "The same one that we're wearing right now?

Nova hummed in response as she shifted in her seat. "But our suits aren't like his. The ones we made were practically alpha versions. His... God his are going to change our military forever." She muttered as Cooper glanced over at her with pursed lips.

"So, he left you with alpha schematics?"

The question was already answered but Nova hated the fact of answering it out loud. Especially in front of her two friends that knew how strained the relationship was between the two Usoro's. So, admitting something like her dad's last stab to the heart was tough to just say out loud. They knew how it must hurt her, which they weren't wrong about.

"Yup and if we ever come face to face, I'm punching him in the face." She grumbled with her entire relaxation washing away from her as she sat up. Natasha's hand slipped away with her expression falling sadly.

Cooper's face fell slightly, a sullen look taking its place. "I guess I don't know anything about you."

Thunder echoed through the air with lighting spiderwebbing across the sky in a flash. Clouds began to form leaving Nova to sit up with a frown appearing on her expression as she stared out the cockpit window. It'd come so randomly that left her glancing behind her at Loki who looked around anxiously.

"Where's this coming from?" Natasha mused, looking across the sky that seemed to get darker with cloud coverage converging rapidly.

Cooper quickly looked at the monitor on his left and quickly scanned it. "I don't know but there should've been a warning of weather patterns changing," he said. "This isn't a normal storm."

Both women frowned at his statement. From behind, Steve noticed the tenseness in Loki's shoulders. "What's the matter? Are you scared of a little lightning?"

Nova scoffed and glanced at Steve. "Why don't you make him a martini then?" She chuckled. "It should relax him quite a bit."

Ignoring the girl's comments, Loki glanced around. "I'm not overly fond of what follows."

Right after he said that a loud thud could be heard from above them on the top of the Quinjet. Nova grasped the back of Natasha's chair to keep balance as she tried to look through the window at an angle to get a better look. Lighting continued to dance around them as Steve and Tony quickly grabbed their gear for the possible threat.

The back hatch of the Quinjet began opening, gaining Nova's attention. "What are you doing?" Steve questioned as Tony marched forward. Stopping when a man with armour and a red cape dropped down onto the edge wielding a hammer.

"Thor?" Nova called out, words falling on deaf ears. When Tony attempted to use his repulser, he was sent flying back into Steve. Knocking the pair to the ground at Nova's feet as she watched the long-haired blonde walk toward's Loki. With one strong tug, the restraints snapped free and the man flew off with Loki in his grasp.

As the two older men were getting up, Nova jumped over them and grabbed her helmet. Quickly tapping the side with the hud appearing with a hum. "And now there's that guy," Tony muttered as he watched the girl begin to get her chest plate onto her body.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha called out from the front as Cooper stood from the other seat and made his way to the back.

"If it is, I wanna see him in action." He mused as he slipped his helmet on and slapped the top to make sure it was secure around his head.

"It's Thor," Nova told them. "He was the guy that I ran into at Puente Antiguo."

Steve panted as he turned to Tony and the two Apex Pilots. "So does that mean that he's friendly?" He questioned Nova.

But before she could explain, Tony turned to him and cut her off. "Doesn't matter," Tony dismissed. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost." He told the super soldier and turned to continue marching towards the back hatch.

The thing was, Nova still had so many questions to ask the god, Loki specifically. His appearance at an event with her father attending couldn't have been by mistake or coincidence. It frightened her how much she actually cared about her father's well-being, but how could she not? This was the man that raised her until he left her without another word of reasoning. Even if she hated him for everything he's done, he would still hold a place in her heart. A very small place, but it was better than nothing if you asked Nova.

"Stark, Nova, we need a plan of attack!" Steve exclaimed as the pair walked to the edge of the hatch.

"I have a plan. Attack." Tony deadpanned before jumping out.

Nova turned to Cooper, who was still strapping on his chest piece. "You make sure spandex's here gets down there to help." Her co-pilot nodded and she didn't say another word before jumping off.

Howling winds whistled past Nova as she tilted her body a little to guide her through the clouds. Lighting continued to dance around her unbothered by her presence near them. But that changed when a bolt of lightning nearly hit her. The electricity bugging her systems shut off her hud as the shock sent her body a jolt. Crying in pain as she held her arm and grabbed one of the controllers to her engines.

She pressed the button to activate them rapidly. Glancing between the controller and the ground that was vastly approaching. "Athena! Initiate emergency reboot!" She ordered, gaining no response. "Athena!" She yelled, her visor dimmed to a dark shade that caused her surroundings to practically be engulfed in darkness.

Her arm trembled from the pain of the lighting touching her. But as she reached up and pressed the button on the side of her helmet, the hud shot back to life. The engines roared to life and stopped her just before she hit the ground.

Pants fell from her lips as she hovered not too far from the ground. Looking down at her right arm which had the fabric burned all the way up to her elbow. Shaking her arm rapidly, the girl looked around as she came to the surface and stumbled forward.

"Athena, give me a waypoint on where Stark is." She commanded, letting out a groan as she grasped her bicep.

"He is North East from your position, Pegasus. But I ran a diagnostics on you and I can see an irregularity of your heart, ma'am." Athena advised as Nova shook her head.

"It doesn't matter, Athena. I'll be alright." Nova reassured, inhaling deeply before letting go of her arm and grabbing the two thrusters and activating the engines. Lifting off the ground and going to the dot displayed where Tony was located.

Not even getting that far before noticing a bright orange beam of light flying by and back down into the trees. Making her way there, Nova ordered Athena, "Patch me through with, Cooper." After a few brief moments, the comlink connected.

"Nova, what the hell happened? One second you were on my readings then- poof! Vanished." He said.

The girl sighed. "Cooper, I'm fine. Just grab Loki and bring him back to the Quinjet. Where's Cap?"

"Dropped him off before coming to look for you." Nova nodded to herself. "Good. I got it from here. Remember to grab Loki. We need him to find the Tesseract."

Cooper hummed before stopping. "Um, I might have some trouble doing that."

Nova frowned. "Cooper, what do you mean?"

"Lady, stop with the fucking arrows-" Cooper exclaimed before the comlink went silent.

"Cooper?" She said. "Cooper, come in."

The sound of clashing could be heard getting louder and louder the closer Nova got. But upon arriving, the sight of the other Asgardian bringing his hammer down on Steve was all she saw before the sound of the two powerful metals collided. A large shockwave was sent out and Nova being caught in this shockwave sent her flying out of her control.

Spinning out of control as she let out pants trying to regain her balance. It was too late since she quickly hit a tree, damaging her left engine, and leaving her right to try and keep balance. But as she was beginning to do so, the moment from the blast sent her flying down to the ground. Destroying her last engine and causing her to slide across the ground.

Grunts left her lips as she rolled before she came to impact with a rock. Her head hit and ripped a loud cry to escape her lips. Pain erupted all around the girl's head as she stared up at the sky. The clouds begin to part with stars twinkling far above.

A long diagonal crack in her visor could be seen with her hud flickering on and off with Athena's voice cutting in and out. It didn't matter for Nova as she felt her eyes begin to get heavy. The last thing she saw was something hovering above her, arm glowing and holding a bow.