Avengers Assemble

The girls had been watching the newly formed Avengers closely, so they had a little warning before the super heroes showed up at St. Trinian's.

Clint Barton, the Hawkeye, took a look at the slender man, surrounded by a group of teenage girls armed with hockey sticks. He turned to Thor. "This is your brother?" He asked, letting his derision at Loki hiding amongst schoolgirls show.

"He's adopted." Thor replied, disclaiming him.

Tony Stark was not the only one who saw Loki wince as if Thor had struck a blow. Barton shot Thor a look that clearly said "What the hell, dude?" The girls moved closer to Loki, and one of the women placed a hand on his back. They were all glaring at Thor.

One of the girls, a little red-head, stepped forward, and shot Thor a scowl. "The term adoption is indicative of legality, and consent. I think you'll find that the correct term is kidnapping. Odin kidnapped Loki." Her voice was clear as cut glass and just as sharp and cold.

"He had been abandoned," Thor protested.

"Had he? Are you quite certain?"

"Of course. Why would Father lie?"

The girl gave a ladylike snort. "Can't imagine why, having kidnapped the heir to an enemy throne, raising to him believe that those same enemies were evil and not to be trusted, never telling said offspring that he was, in fact, one of those enemies, why he would then lie about anything." She fixed Thor with what Tony Stark was privately calling a "Wednesday Addams" stare. "Can you?"

Thor suddenly looked slightly less certain of things. "He did what was best." He said finally.

"For whom? Himself? Certainly. For Asgard, probably. For Loki? I think not." Thor seemed to shrink a little under her words and the combined stare of all the denizens of St. Trinian's.

Finally, Captain America had had enough. "Look, this is all well and good, and obviously Thor and Loki have issues that need to be discussed, but not now. Now we have a bigger problem. We're here to take Loki into custody."

"Custody," said a tall woman, with dodgy blond hair and a surprising contralto voice. "You're arresting him? Under what authority?"

Tony made a "well duh" face. "We're the Avengers."

"And?" The woman prodded. "In what way does that give you authority to come here, to my school, and attempt to kidnap, since you're clearly *not* arresting him, a British citizen and my fencing master?"

"British what?" Tony said blankly.

"Fencing master?" Natasha muttered in an entirely different tone.

"British citizen, Mr. Stark. All of the paperwork properly and shockingly legally filed."

"Get Coulson," Tony said, clearly at a loss.

A car pulled up a few minutes later, but it was not Agent Coulson who stepped from the vehicle. A curvy well-dressed brunette stood facing the Avengers. "I am Lady Margaret Farnsworth, Loki's solicitor. Would you please explain precisely with what my client is being charged?"

Steve Rogers stood there in stunned disbelief. While she didn't look exactly like the Peggy Carter who still was so fresh in his mind, there was enough of a resemblance that Steve was certain that she was related. "Farnsworth?" He asked suddenly. "Jim and Peggy?"

She turned somber eyes upon him. "Perhaps now is not the best time, Captain," she said gently.

He blushed and nodded. Her voice and tone were both very Peggy, and filled him with a surprising joy. Peggy might be gone, but a part of her lived on in this young woman. He smiled.

Lady Margaret returned her attention to the other Avengers. Before anything else could be said, another car pulled up and Coulson stepped out of it. He faced Lady Margaret.

His face was neutral and voice even as he spoke directly to her. "We would like to ask Mr. Odinsson some questions regarding a stolen artifact."

"You may do so with my blessing," she said with a smirk. She pointed at Thor. "Mr. Odinsson is not my client."

Amusement flickered somewhere deep in Agent's Coulson's eyes. His voice, however, remained bland. "Oh? Who's this then?" He pointed directly at Loki.

"Loki Silverton, my client."

"Loki, you would turn your back…?"

"Does 'no Loki' not ring a bell, Thor?" Loki interrupted. "You were always telling me to know my place." Every female arrayed on the steps at St. Tinian's narrowed their eyes at Thor, and even Natasha Romanov shot him a sidelong frown. "Well, I have found my place. It is here. I was welcomed, not because they were ignorant of who and what I am, not in spite of everything. Because I am Loki is enough for them to care."

"Indeed," contributed the small adult at Loki's side. Tony was kind of caught up on her pink hair, "he belongs here. Would you care to try and take him?" Each of the hockey stick wielding girls held their sticks at a menacing angle.

"PR nightmare," muttered Tony Stark, very aware of the cameras along the top of the school.

"Not sure what Mr. …er Silverton has to hide," Agent Coulson said pleasantly.

"Many things, I'm sure, as do most of us," returned Lady Margaret.

"Perhaps a compromise?" Coulson offered.

"I'm listening."

"We come into the school and ask Mr. Silverton our questions?"

"Not all of you, I shouldn't think."

"Myself, Black Widow. Captain America and Thor?"

"One moment." Lady Margaret conferred with Loki, Miss Fritton and Matron Murgatroyd. The discussion seemed to be heated. Matron wanted to send them on their way, as did Miss Fritton, but Lady Margaret and Loki thought that just meant that they would return at a time when the school was less prepared to deal with them. Finally Lady Margaret returned to Agent Coulson. "Agreed. Give us a few minutes to set it up, please."

"Of course."

"This is unnecessary," Thor protested. "Heimdall has seen Loki steal the artifact."

"I wouldn't put too much stock in what Heimdall says, myself." The pink-haired woman said.

"Heimdall is above reproach." Thor said angrily.

"No one is above reproach, Thor Odinsson. And Heimdall has already committed two acts of treason of which I'm aware. Who is to say that there aren't more?"

"Treason?!"

"What would call acting against the express orders of one's king? Unless my information is inaccurate, Heimdall has done so twice. The first when he allowed you, Loki, and your friends to go to Jotunheim in search of retribution, and the second when he allowed your friends to come here to retrieve you."

"Your information is not accurate," Thor shouted. "Loki let the Frost Giants in."

"Which your Heimdall did not know when he let you go. He disobeyed Odin. And Loki was legally the king when Heimdall sent the others here. Had he not done so, part of Mexico would not have been destroyed, would it?"

"That's New Mexico, Miss…?" Coulson interrupted.

"Murgatroyd, I am Matron here."

Thor appeared to be dumbstruck. He rallied. "Loki should not have been king, I should have been."

"You were banished."

"Because of Loki!"

"Oh, Loki forced you, Mighty Thor, to Jotunheim?"

"No, of course, he could not have done so."

"Well, then… were the actions not your own?"

Thor appeared deep in thought, and was not pleased by these thoughts.

"Were I Odin," the Matron continued, "I would keep a very close eye on one who seeks to usurp the authority of a rightful king, let alone two rightful kings."

Thor still looked disturbed as the four were led into the school to question Loki. They sat at the indicated table, the Avengers on one side, Loki, Miss Fritton, Lady Margaret, and Matron Murgatroyd on the other.

Agent Coulson spoke into the silence. "Mr. Silverton, we have information that a particular artifact of immense power is in your possession, and we really need it back. Do you have the tesseract?"

Loki blinked at Coulson. "Tesseract? No, I do not have in my possession an artifact could be called a tesseract. A cube, yes?"

"Yes," Coulson was good at reading people, but Natasha was better, he chanced a look at her.

She took that as a cue. "Then what artifact do you have, Mr. Silverton?"

He smirked at her. "Not a tesseract." He replied before Lady Margaret could tell him not to say anything.

"Heimdall said that you have the artifact which we seek." Thor protested.

Loki stared at Thor. Lady Margaret protested that Loki had already stated that he didn't have what they were looking for.

"So it was stolen, and therefore something we are looking for, just not urgently." Natasha said. Loki merely bowed his head at her.

"Loki, the tesseract was one of the treasures in Father's vault." Thor said, subdued at the possibility that his brother was not guilty of what he was accusing him.

"Oh?" Loki frowned. "How would anyone here on Earth have possession of it?"

"It was lost long ago, but it contains great power. And requires a magic user to wield it."

"I begin to see. "

"So if you didn't take it, Mr. Silverton, which I am prepared to believe, would you be interested in helping us locate it?" Coulson said blandly.

"And what guarantee are you prepared to offer that the moment Mr. Silverton leaves the grounds of St. Trinian's that you won't take him into your custody, for New Mexico, if nothing else?" Lady Margaret interjected.

"Firstly, the New Mexico incident never happened. Officially we have no reason to do so if he truly had nothing to do with the theft of the tesseract. Secondly, I can give you a written guarantee. Would that put your concerns to rest?"

Lady Margaret nodded to Loki.

"From where was it taken?" Loki asked instead of answering.

Sudden silence from the Avengers, until Coulson quietly replied. "We recovered it with Captain Rogers under the ice, and were studying it at a secure military installation."

"Which, presumably, someone broke into."

"Yes." Coulson paused. "Will you help us?"

"Why would I do so?"

It was Steve Rogers who answered. "Eventually whoever has it is going to come to England, even if you don't care about the rest of the planet, I suspect you wouldn't want that to happen."

Loki looked at his companions.

Outside, the rest of the Avengers and the girls of St. Trinian's were involved in a stare-off. Tony was anxious under the hostile gaze of so many teenage girls, and even Clint was a little unnerved. Dr. Banner was watching them with a kind of bemusement. "Not really what I would expect from someone who grew up with Thor," he said finally, with a hand-wave at the girls.

"Well, if you're a braniac on Jock-world, someplace that accepts you as is, would probably be a pretty big deal." Clint said.

"True," Bruce said. His gaze turned inward, "very true indeed."

Tony, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke. "How did that Matron know about New Mexico?"

"And isn't a Matron like a prison warden?" Clint added.

Haley snorted. "No, Matron is our school nurse. And she knows, we all know, about New Mexico because Mr. Loki told us part of it, and we found the rest of the information…." She stopped suddenly, realizing that she was saying too much.

"You hacked S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Tony said, shocked.

Haley and Angel exchanged a smirk. "Wasn't that hard, Mr. Stark."

"Where would you get the juice?"

"Juice?"

"Computing power."

"Oh, we build what we need."

Tony whimpered. "Where were you two when I was a teenage boy…no, don't answer that, you weren't even born." Tony spared a minute to dwell on the fun he could have had as a teenager with two cute genius girls to get into mischief with. Which led to his next thought. "Oh, hey, what are you planning to do after school?"

"My brother works for the government, and is in desperate need of help. Can you believe that he plugged a terrorist's laptop into their bloody mainframe? Uber-viral hack." Haley sounded disgusted.

"Rookie mistake," Tony commiserated, with a snort.

"I know, he's not nearly paranoid enough."

"Public school training," Angel said, shaking her head.

"If you change your minds, you can come work for me any time."

"Really?" Angel asked. Both girls looked very pleased by his offer.

"Absolutely, love to have you on my team."

The girls exchanged a long look. "Want to see our geek lair?" Tony's eyes lit.

"Hell yeah."

The girls led him into the school. Clint and Bruce exchanged a look, and Clint said, "I wonder if we'll ever see Stark again."

"Probably not," Bruce sounded unconcerned.

Back inside, Loki and Grace were locked in a staring contest. Thor started to make a comment about Loki's lack of courage, but Natasha shook her head at him. She was pretty sure that Loki was willing to help them, but the little Matron was against it. One rude word from Thor, and Loki wouldn't even consider going against her wishes.

Grace sighed, and spoke, "I want Lady Margaret to look over the agreement Agent Coulson offered before Loki steps foot off our grounds, and it must mention that Loki gets to keep the Brisingamen, and that is not up for discussion, so do not even bother. "

Loki smiled at her, and Thor was shocked to see true affection in Loki's expression. That warmth was completely gone when Loki turned back to face them. "Just to be clear; whilst I don't wish you lot ill or bear you any particular animosity, St. Trinian's and all of her inhabitants are under my protection. Any harm or threat of harm offered them will not end well for you, this I promise. I would crush you under my boot and not have no more remorse over it than you would were you to step on an ant. But I will come with you and aid where I am able."

"Thank you, Loki," Agent Coulson said in his calm way. "We are not in the habit of harming children."

"And any harm that should befall Loki while he aids you," said Grace Murgatroyd in a very cold voice, "and I will unleash the wrath of the most vicious and vindictive females you will ever meet. He is ours, just as we are his. And St. Trinian's looks after her own." Her eyes were fierce.

"Well said, Grace." Miss Fritton said, her own eyes quite steady and fixed upon Agent Coulson.

"I understand, but things can happen in battle," he pointed out.

"But we expect you to watch his back." Miss Fritton said bluntly.

"I don't particularly trust them, Miss F; I'll be watching his back." Grace said unequivocally.

Loki's head swung to her and he opened his mouth to speak, and just as quickly closed it.

Fortunately, Captain America did it for him. "Miss Murgatroyd, we don't take civilians into battle." His voice was sympathetic, but firm.

"I was S.A.S. and am a Matron at St. Trinian's, in no universe am I a civilian. I will be going. And that is also not up for negotiation, not with you or you, Loki."

Loki opened his mouth and visibly rethought what he meant to say, "Yes, darling, of course. It would be good to have someone I trust along."

She smiled so sweetly at him, Captain America had a hard time reconciling her to the little termagant who had just finished threatening them all. Loki's answering smile made Steve feel like he was intruding on a private moment.

Thor, however, chose to take exception. "Trust is earned, Loki." He said with narrowed eyes.

And Loki held his eyes as he replied, "Yes, Thor, it most certainly is."

Thor's head snapped back as if Loki had struck him. Before he could blunder on, Agent Coulson spoke up. "Will you travel with us, or do you have an alternative method of transportation?"

"Oh," said Loki smoothly, "we'll travel with you, Agent Coulson." None the women sitting with Loki so much as blinked, despite the knowledge that Loki could transport himself and Grace to wherever in minutes. No sense in letting them know his strengths. They were already all too aware of his weakness: St Trinian's.

"Very well, I'll make the arrangements, then." He started to stand, but rapid footsteps coming down the hall forestalled him.

Angel and Haley burst into the room, Stark hot on their trail.

"It's starting, Mr. Loki, Matron." Said a breathless Haley.

Angel picked it up from there. "Something is happening in New York."

"And we're here, half way 'round the world, on what amounted to a wild goose chase," Stark burst out. "No offense, Loki."

"None taken Mr. Stark." Loki smiled his shark smile at him. Loki shared a long look with Grace, who finally nodded with a resigned sigh.

"I need ten minutes, Loki," she kissed his cheek, rose from the table and left the room.

Loki, turned to the others, Coulson and Stark were both on their phones trying to get more information. Captain America and Black Widow were striding towards the door. "Wait," Loki said. Once he had everyone's attention, he continued. "I can get us there in a very short amount of time."

Coulson closed his phone with a snap. "How?"

Loki grinned at him, "You wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you, Agent Coulson. Suffice it to say, magic will be involved."

"No," Thor said in an angry voice. "I will ask Heimdall to take us via the Bifrost."

"The Heimdall who is the reason we're here and not in America?" Stark asked, "No, thanks. I'd be very interested in Loki's mode of transportation." He was actually pretty excited to travel by magic. And his little geek friends trusted Loki, and they were not really the trusting sort.

"Mr. Loki, we'll rally the Valkyrie." Angel said.

Before Loki could protest that, or anyone could question the term Valkyrie, Haley spoke. "Think how useful to have a group actually used to working together as a team, armed with hockey sticks and one of your fireball spells," she said in a coaxing voice.

Loki started to protest, and then seemed to have an idea. "Yes, my little minions, I think you're right. Miss Fritton, your permission?"

She considered him for a long moment. "Grace won't like it." She warned.

"I am aware." At her nod, he turned back to his girls. "Let me get them over, and I'll come back for you. Get everyone dressed in the flame retardant clothing we used for the…used a little while ago, and their gear."

"Yes Mr. Loki," they chorused before speeding from the room, lest he change his mind, or Matron forbid it.

"You're faking them out, right? You don't really intend to take children into battle?" Tony Stark looked upset at the very idea.

"I do not lie to them, Mr. Stark. I believe they will be useful. These girls are very precious to me, so you may rest assured that I will not allow anything to happen to them."

Stark still looked dubious, but Matron walked back into the room. Tony's eyebrows went up. Gone was the frumpy little person and in her place was a neat little figure dressed in black jeans, with a viper green Henley, topped with a black leather jacket. Over her shoulder she carried a bag marked with a red cross. On one hip was strapped a handgun on the other what looked like a Taser. Loki looked at her, and then with a grin, changed his own clothes into the green and black clothing that he'd been wearing when he came to St. Trinian's so many months ago.

"Not the helmet, Loki." Matron said with a smile. With a nod, the helmet disappeared. Grace patted his chest, "perfect."

Loki smiled at her with genuine affection and gestured for her to precede him from the room, a confused Tony Stark trailing behind. Loki wasn't anything like he'd expected from Thor's brother, especially his rogue brother.

Once outside, Thor move off to contact Heimdall. Nothing happened. Thor bellowed more insistently, and still nothing. Loki didn't bother to hide his smirk. Honestly, neither did Stark. The little Matron poked Loki on his side and Loki cleared his expression. "Come, brother, Heimdall is clearly busy, and the quicker you get there, the better for all concerned, yes?"

With a jerky nod, Thor stood next to Loki. "If those who will be going with me will assemble over here, I will…."

"Wait, Loki," Lady Margaret said coolly. "Mr. Coulson has not given you the guarantee, yet."

"Ah, yes, thank you, Lady Margaret." Loki turned cold green eyes to Agent Coulson.

"Of course," said Coulson in his calm way. "May I have your email address Lady Margaret?"

The two put their heads together and very shortly, Lady Margaret nodded her okay to Loki. He gathered Grace, Thor, Steve Rogers, Bruce, and Tony Stark to him, and then they were just gone.

Natasha, Clint and the others looked in some surprise at the spot where the others had been. "Wow, Nat, wanna' be on the next trip?" Clint asked with a grin.

Before she could answer, a cadre of girls assembled on the lawn. There were 6 girls, all dressed in black fencing gear, and each had something of Loki's signature poison green on, whether it was a vest, hairband or utility belt. Haley and Angel had matching green messenger bags. Angel had her katana swords strapped to her back and Haley had her rounder's bat in some kind of holster. All of the girls had weapons, the tamest of which were hockey sticks.

Clint frowned. "What's going on?"

"Loki told them they could go. They're some kind of team …or crew might be a more accurate word."

"Told them they could…" Barton's voice sputtered off. "Oh hell, no."

"I don't think it's up to us, Clint."

"They're just kids."

"Are they?"

He shot her an incredulous look, before he turned his attention back to the girls. He cocked his head to one side as he watched the very professional way that they checked their gear and each other's. "Maybe not," he finally allowed.

"And either way, still not up to us."

In New York, Tony released the breath that he'd been holding as he took in his surroundings and took stock that all his bits were still attached. Upon finding that they were, he clasped Loki on his shoulder, "Loki, that was super cool, man."

Banner released the breath that he had been holding. That hadn't been nearly as stressful as he'd thought it would be.

Thor's arm where he held onto Loki, tightened briefly on Loki, before releasing him. Loki cocked his head to the side and studied Thor.

Matron gave Loki a hug before gently disengaging herself from him. He smiled down at her. "Agent Coulson has probably already let his superiors know that we were on our…ah, I believe that is them." He gestured behind him towards men in Tac gear approaching them. "I shall return for the others."

"Be careful, Loki. And remember to reinforce all the protection spells on the girls before you leave the school."

"And what, my darling, makes you think that I'll bring the girls?"

"I know how much more powerful the girls' and my belief make you. You'd be a fool not to capitalize on that. And you, my dear, are no fool."

Loki stared at her for a few seconds in surprise, before grinning at her. Then he disappeared.

At St. Trinian's, the girls were assembled and ready for transport. Loki followed Grace's excellent suggestion and reinforced all the spells that he had on his girls, and then wrapped his long arms around the girls, Hawkeye and Natasha, gathered them close and transported the lot of them to New York.

Hawkeye and Romanov exchanged impressed looks as they took in their location. "Nice," Hawkeye murmured to Natasha. She nodded in response before taking off after what appeared to be a Doombot.

Loki looked around and saw that Grace had set up a clinic under a tent out of the way and was treating injured as they were brought to her. Loki sent the girls to her to check in. "Matron has need of you. Watch her back and bring her those in need," he ordered them.

"Yes, Mr. Loki," the girls chorused.

He looked around him, taking in the sight of the "Avengers" gathered in a circle. With a put upon sigh, he joined them, standing back-to-back with his brother.

Next up...Vignettes from a Battle