chapter thirty-seven
missile to manhattan

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 when Grace Stark wished she had a normal life. One where she could be living in a small house with a white picket fence and kids running around the yard giggling to their heart's content.

Unfortunately for her, her life was not normal. And this was one of the times when she regretted ever agreeing to found an organization with her brother.

Grace sat at the table in the helicarrier, her foot bouncing anxiously against the floor. When Nick suggested forming the Avengers, the thought that they would be fighting an army from outer space never once occurred to her. Then again, she also never thought that Steve would actually be alive and fighting said army.

Tony flew up to Stark Tower and landed in the penthouse. He turned around when he saw Loki walk in with the scepter and moved toward the bar.

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," Loki said and Tony shook his head, pouring his drink into a glass.

"Uh... actually, I'm planning to threaten you."

Loki scoffed. "You should have left your armor on for that."

"Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage," Tony said with a shrug. "You've got the blue stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?"

"Stalling me won't change anything."

Tony shook his head. "No, no, no! Threatening. No drink? You sure? I'm having one."

"The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that," Loki said to the billionaire. "What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers." Loki looked at him in confusion. "It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type of thing."

"Yes, I've met them."

Tony smiled. "Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one," he agreed with a nod. "But, let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demigod; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend — don't tell my aunt that I said that about him; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them."

"That was the plan."

"Not a great plan," Tony said, shaking his head. "When they come, and they will, they'll come for you."

"I have an army."

"We have a Hulk."

Loki tilted his head to the side. "I thought the beast had wandered off."

"You're missing the point," Tony said, walking around the bar. "There's no throne, there is no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it."

"How will your friends have time for me when they're so busy fighting you?" Loki asked, walking over to Tony and tapping him on the chest with his scepter. He looked down in confusion. He tried for the second time. "It should work."

"Well, performance issues," Tony said with a shrug. "You know? Not uncommon. One out of five..." Out of anger, Loki threw him across the room by the throat. "Jarvis. Anytime now."

Loki once again took Tony by the throat. "You will all fall before me." He threw Tony out the window and an elevator opened behind the God. A flash of gold and crimson sped past and hurried to Tony.

"And there's one other person you pissed off," Tony said, now in his metal suit. "His name was Phil."

⸻ ~~~ ⸻

"𝐒𝐎 𝐌𝐘 𝐉𝐎𝐁 𝐈𝐒 to sit here and watch them all fight?" Adelaide asked, crossing her arms at the computer. "I know you're my boss and all, but this is a really boring task."

Grace sighed and parked the blonde at the desk. "Your job is to make sure that they know what they're getting into," she corrected. "And, you know, if they start bickering with each other, just shout at them."

Adelaide tilted her head. "I do like to yell. Okay, I'll do it."

"Good, because I wasn't asking," Grace said, patting the young agent on her shoulder. She put in her earpiece and soon her nephew's voice filled her ears.

"Call it, Cap."

"Alright, listen up," Steve said and Grace smiled softly to herself hearing the command in his tone. "Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash. Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You've got the lightning. Light the bastards up."

"Ooh, he's swearing," Grace whispered to herself.

"You and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk? Smash."

"Sir." Grace turned around when she heard Maria's voice and saw her walking toward Nick. "The council's on."

Grace sighed, shaking her head. "'Cause that's what we need right now. Egotistical world leaders telling us what we're doing wrong." She looked at Maria. "Just how many buildings have been destroyed so far?"

"By the outer space army or the Avengers?"

Grace shrugged. "Both?"

"A lot," Maria replied and Grace let out a breath. "I think right now they just crashed into an office building, a history museum and Captain Rogers is currently on his way to a bank."

Grace nodded, running a hand through her hair. "Great."

⸻ ~~~ ⸻

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 Avengers — and SHIELD — had to face was a missile headed straight for New York. "Oh, son of a bitch," Grace groaned, walking into the room full of council members on their screen. "Are you idiots happy now?"

"Miss Stark, we—"

"Shut up," she snapped, silencing the council member. "Just shut up. Okay, because of your decision, there is a missile headed for a city full of civilians. Do you all understand that? You're upset with Nick's decision to send the Avengers out there that you what? Overrode his decision and sent a freaking missile toward Manhattan? What the hell is wrong with you, people? Because something must be wrong with you that you would authorize that."

"Miss Stark, we understand your frustrations, but—"

"No, I don't think you do," Grace interrupted, shaking her head. "You all are sitting comfortably in your offices. In Berlin, or London, or Paris. Hell, even DC. None of you are here. None of you should be able to make a decision that affects my city. My nephew and two of my agents are down on the streets fighting an army from outer space. A God from another planet is helping in the fight. A doctor... who I don't really think wanted to be a part of this fight is helping. And my—" She let out a breath and shook her head. "They are all fighting this army. And you're gonna nuke them. I want a new council after this. You all are idiots. And unfit for this. I hope you plan on paying for the damages this city will face after this."

Grace turned off the monitors just as Adelaide ran up to her. "Uh... Gracie..."

"What is it, Addy?" she asked with a sigh.

The blonde swallowed the lump in her throat and pressed her lips together. "Tony's asking for you."

Grace furrowed her brow and took the earpiece from the young agent. "Tony?"

"Aunt Gracie!" Tony's voice sounded relieved and she walked over to the computers, seeing his metal suit flying towards the open wormhole with the missile on his back.

"Tony... please tell me you aren't flying the missile into outer space?"

"Well, if I said yes, I would be lying to you and you know I can't lie to you," Tony said and Grace let out a shaky breath. "Do you remember when you took me to the zoo when I was six?"

"You mean when I showed you the penguins?"

"Yeah. And you told me that no matter what happens, I'll always be your little penguin." Grace nodded, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "I've loved being your little penguin, Aunt Gracie. Thank you for always being there for me."

Grace blinked away her tears. "Thank you for being my amazing nephew," she said, willing her voice to not break. "And for being my little penguin."

"Aunt Gracie?"

"I'm here," she confirmed, the conversation feeling all too familiar to her. Flashes of her final conversation with Steve, before he crashed, filled her mind.

"You'll tell Pepper?"

She nodded and cleared her throat. "Yeah."

"I love you, Aunt Gr—"

Grace paused, pressing a finger to the earpiece. "Tony?" She shook her head. "Tony."

Down on the street, the Chitauri around the Avengers immediately bent over and collapsed, telling them that Tony was successful. They all continued to watch the sky, hoping Tony would come through. Thor nodded to Steve.

He brought a hand to his earpiece. "Gracie..."

"I know," she whispered with a nod. "I know. It's okay."

Steve let out a breath. "Close it."

Without hesitation, Natasha obliged and the portal in the sky immediately disappeared. Steve was still watching and narrowed his eyes. "Son of a gun..."

"He's not slowing down," Thor said while swinging his hammer, ready to take off when the Hulk appeared and caught Tony in his arms. He crashed, or slid, down a building and dropped Tony off of him as Thor and Steve hurried over.

Grace's foot was bouncing in anticipation. She just needed to know. Was he alive or dead?

"Gracie..." She immediately brought her hand up to her earpiece when she heard Steve's voice. "He's okay." Tears flooded her eyes and she nodded. "He's okay."

⸻ ~~~ ⸻

𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐋𝐘, never wanting to let go but eventually she did. She cupped his cheek and smiled softly. "You know I'm always a call away," she said, letting out a breath.

"I'll be fine, Aunt Gracie," Tony told her and she nodded. He glanced behind her at Steve who was waiting next to his motorcycle. "And you deserve your own happiness. If that's with him, then I'll tolerate him."

Grace chuckled softly and kissed his cheek. "I love you, little penguin. More than you'll ever know."

"I love you, too, Aunt Gracie," Tony replied with a smile. "Now, I need to go explain to Pepper how I almost died and promise it won't happen again. Wish me luck..."

Grace hugged her arm and watched as he and Bruce got in Tony's car. Natasha and Clint both nodded to her before climbing into SHIELD cars. Thor had already vanished along with Loki in handcuffs.

"Are you ready?"

She looked behind her at Steve and smiled to herself. "Yeah." She nodded and walked over to him. "What do you say, Captain Rogers? Should we go figure ourselves out?"

"I'd love nothing more, Miss Stark."

⸻ ~~~ ⸻

an: I won't lie... I didn't
know how to write this
chapter so here we are

But anyway, expect some
chapters of Steve and
Grace figuring themselves
out. And because there's
a 2-year gap that I have
to fill.

But our love bugs are
officially coming back!

And Sam is coming
very soon!!