The Soldier's Goddess

Chapter 5: Stark Tower

The following week was a political nightmare for all involved with New Mexico - but most of all, for Director Fury. Once the small town in New Mexico had been cleared up by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best, Kari and Coulson oversaw the collection of the Destroyer, and then Kari helped transport it back to HQ with Agent Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye because of his amazing bow and arrow skills.

"So you know what this thing is then?" Barton asked Kari, as the two sat in the back of the military truck with it. Kari sighed.

"Yeah, I grew up knowing all about it, then as I got older, seeing it in the vaults whenever we needed to go down there. It was pretty scary, especially when you are a kid."

"I can imagine." He shook his head and they spent the rest of the journey with Barton asking Kari what it was like to grow up in Asgard. Though leaving out who her ex boyfriend was. "So wait, you were really chased out of the kitchens with a meat cleaver?" he asked, tears rolling down his face as he couldn't help but laugh.

"It was so funny," laughed Kari, "but it wasn't the first time we had done anything like that. For Odin and Frigga's anniversary one year, they threw this amazing Ball for the people of Asgard. Hundreds of people were invited, the palace was packed. Loki and I had crept off to where they were adding the final touches to the ballroom, ready for after the feast, and Loki conjured up a couple of trigantulas. Now trigantulas are pretty much like spiders, except they have horns, teeth, poisonous webs and twelve legs. Oh and are roughly the side of a small bedside lamp, with scaly skin." She broke off, as Barton went white. Not much scared him. However he didn't like the sound of these trigantulas. "Don't worry, they are only found in the Northern most part of Svartalfheim. Not many prople travel up there, and the elves have natural immunity. So he sent a couple of these creatures scutling across the middle of the floor. Well you can imagine, people were screaming, anything they were holding was being thrown up into the air, and while they were distracted, he transformed some of the wall hangings that were still being hung, into snakes. I was killing myself laughing, but made him get rid of it all again. Mainly because we didn't realise Frigga had walked into the midst of it all, and found us on one of the balconies above, howling with laughter. We got into so much trouble that time, but I'm glad it was Frigga who told us off, and not Odin."

"We're here, Agent Barton," a voice from outside came. Kari didn't realise they had stopped. The doors to the truck opened, and they jumped out, as S.H.I.E.L.D soldiers came running over, apparently having had their orders with what to do with the Destroyer already.

"I'll see you around?" said Barton, as he walked off, grinning.

"Yeah, sounds good," smiled Kari.

"Come with us please Miss Skaarsen, Director Fury wants to see you." Kari looked up to see two agents walking towards here. Nothing about them seemed troubling, so she followed with ease. She followed them up to the top of the S.H.I.E.L.D. building, to where Fury's office was. Fury was sat behind his desk, with Coulson sitting agaisnt the desk under the window. Coulson. How did he get back here so fast? 

"I took the chopper," he grinned, seemingly reading Kari's mind.

"Kari, we have a new, well it's not really a mission, but that's probably the best way to describe it," said Fury, his fingertips together, his chin resting on them, looking at her out of his one eye (the other being under an eye patch). "Tony Stark, who I'm sure you've heard off," he said, dryly, "is starting conversion on his tower. From what I understand, he is using his arc reactor to create clean energy, take the tower off the grid, as it were. We need you to go and work with Pepper Potts, to help her out with everything and anything she needs. Her PA in a sense." Kari nodded. She liked Pepper. They had become friends since Natasha Romanoff, otherwise known in the industry as the Black Widow, had been working for Stark, undercover and on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"When do I need to start, sir?" she asked.

"We need you to go now. It will mean living with Stark and Miss Potts, but he has plenty of room, and no other option. But don't worry, he knows you are coming this time." Kari caught sight of Coulson out of the corner of her eye as he tried not to laugh. She had to smother down a grin herself. "Agent Coulson here will take you," said Fury as he swung his chair around and started typing away on his laptop.

"Come on," said Coulson, "I'll take you to your quarters so you can get packed, then we'll get someone to drive us over.

Kari fell asleep in the car, but seeing as they were going to New York, and she had been in New Mexico for quite a while, Coulson let her sleep. He had some work to catch up on anyway, so got out his laptop. As the car came upto Manhatten Bridge, he gently shook her awake.

"Kari, we're here." She jumped up looking terrified for half a moment, but remembered where she was.

"Sorry, was having a dream about trigantulas. Never mind," she grinned, when she saw Coulson's blank look. "Pepper!" She ran towards her friend and hugged her. It had been a while since they were last together, but it was as if no time at all had passed. Coulson got the driver to bring Kari's bags up and he followed the two women into the Tower.

"We haven't finished the top few floors, the pent house and so on, but JARVIS is installed already, and there is already so much to show you," said Pepper. She lowered her voice a little. "I'm also glad you're here. You will be sticking with me, unless told otherwise, but you will be helping me out in any way you can."

"Course I will," smiled Kari. "I'm looking forward to it."

"You say that, just wait till Tony starts," Pepper grinned. Kari was settled quickly into her new room in the tower, and after a quick catch up with Pepper and Coulson, crawled into bed - falling asllep as her head hit the pillow.