The Man My Father Always Talked About • A CAPTAIN AMERICA STORY

15

~15~

Steve drove Clara to the airport on his motorcycle a few days later. She held onto him as he drove through the streets, the cool wind blowing through her hair. They eventually arrived at the airport where Steve had to say goodbye. "Do you really have to go?" Steve asked, his hands in his pockets as Clara grabbed her bag.

"Yeah, Tony said he has some new project and needs me immediately. Or at least that's what he told me. You're welcome to tag along if you like." Clara said, nodding her head to the jet.

"I've still got some business here. I would if I could." Steve sad, looking down at his feet before back at Clara. She knew it probably had to do with that file in his room.

"Well I should uh...I should get going." Clara hated this. She knew that all they'd do from now on is play phone tag. Who knows when they'd see each other again.

"Yeah," she could see the sadness in Steve's before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "We'll see each other soon." She whispered to him. She walked backwards to her plane, keeping Steve in sight for as long as she could before finally turning on her heels and boarding the plane. The ride wasn't as long as she remembered and she soon landed back in New York. Upon arriving at the airport, she noticed a familiar car waiting in the parking lot.

"You can't survive two weeks without me, can you?" She asked, getting into the car and giving Tony and annoyed look. Tony glanced at her and took of his sun glasses.

"Actually I can. You see, Pepper and I had a lovely meal one night, and then I built a new suit as you know..." Tony started.

"Then why did you so desperately want me back from Washington." Clara raised her eyebrow.

"Well," he started again. "As you know, SHIELD collapsed, as it would have sooner or later..."

"Your point?" Clara asked, tilting her sunglasses down.

"My point is, after all of this, buildings being crashed into, helicarriers falling from the sky, some very important things wound up missing in it all." Tony pulled his phone out to show her the scepter, or, where the scepter once was.

"Loki's scepter," Clara said in shock. "Just when I thought we were finally having a break from all this nonsense"

"We don't know who has it, but what we do know is it's still as dangerous as it was when reindeer games first came to Earth."

""Can't we just go one day without something bad happening?"

"Now where's the fun in that?" Tony smirked. They rode back to the Avenger's Tower, starting their new mission.

***

Research, research, and more research. Clara had tasked herself with finding the scepter, but she had gotten nowhere in the last five months. Tony helped her, then Bruce, and then Thor when he came to visit. The days seemed longer and the nights seemed shorter as they spent all their time trying to find the dangerous weapon.

One day, it seemed like everyone had given up. Tony and Bruce were off doing something other than tracking the scepter while Clara continued to search archives and databases with Thor watching over her shoulder. "So..." Clara started, trying to start a conversation with the blond god. "How's Asgard been?"

"Asgard has seen brighter days my friend, but it is wonderful." Thor smiled at her. Thor changed since she last saw him, his blond hair longer and his eyes somehow bluer. He seemed less dangerous then they when they first met, and sometimes his behavior reminded Clara of a young child's.

"Has Loki been causing anymore trouble?" Clara asked, tapping the computer keys. After she didn't receive and answer, she turned to see Thor looking down at the ground in sadness.

"Loki is dead," He said solemnly. "He died only a few months ago."

"Oh, I'm um..." Their conversation became very uncomfortable as Clara tried to find sympathy for the god who almost destroyed their world. "I'm sorry to hear that." Clara finally said, turning back to the computer to focus on her computer screen. She coughed awkwardly as she tried to change the subject. "This uh, this last test is going to take a while. You hungry?"

Clara ordered Chinese take out for her, Thor, and Natasha, who had just entered the tower from a new mission. Clara and Natasha laughed as Thor seemed to enjoy the new food. The door to the lab opened, revealing Tony and Bruce had returned. "Ah, Stark, you must try this!" Thor said as he shoved a bite into his mouth.

"What, you couldn't get any for the three of us?" Tony asked.

"Three?" Clara asked. Behind Tony and Bruce, she could see another figure. Clara couldn't hide her smile as Steve walked in, a duffel bag in hand. "Hey." She said, her pale pink lips twitching up.

"I thought I could help," Steve smiled. Natasha noticed the looks they were sharing and nudged Clara's arm, smirking. All of a sudden, a beeping sound echoed through the room, making Clara's eyes widen.

"What is that?" Thor asked as he set his food down. Clara rushed to her desk and quickly sat in her chair, the wheels pushing her closer to her desk.

"I reconnected an old tracker SHIELD put on the scepter," Clara said as she typed something into her computer.

"A tracker?" Tony asked. "Wouldn't we have known there..."

"Well, since it was most likely planted by one of the undercover Hydra agents, it took forever to hack into its activation. But, since I have spent countless nights hacking into several of Hydra's old data bases as camera footage, I can proudly say that the scepter is located," She tapped the enter key on her keyboard, hoping the answer would appear. She looked at the men, and Natasha.

"What are we looking at?" Thor whispered to Natasha, and Clara heard.

"It's loading." She answered. Then it happened. A beeping filled the room as a red dot began to blink on the screen. Everyone crowded around the monitor.

"It's in Sokovia." Bruce said after he put his glasses on to read.

"Ha! You did it Stark!" Thor exclaimed.

"Good work sis," Tony said, clapping a hand on her back. Natasha left to call Clint, telling him the news.

"The longer the scepter is in Hydra's hands the more time they have to use it to their advantage," Steve said, everyone turning to face him. "We move out in fifteen. Suit up."