Chapter 10 – The Return of Heroes

With her stomach filled with delicious food, Kahlan rested her head on Clint's shoulder. A warm object covered her back as his strong arm pulled her closer to him. She looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back and kissed her forehead. Kahlan suddenly became worried. The storm in Clint's gray eyes had not subsided since they had captured Loki. Something was wrong. She had a bad feeling about this.

Tony leaned back in his seat and sighed. "What's the next thing we have to do?" Natasha and Clint looked at one another.

"Protocol says that we debrief." Natasha said. She turned to Thor. "We debrief then you will take Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard."

"Yes," Thor nodded. He hefted his hammer. "I say we start immediately." The other Avengers nodded and stood up. Tony laid his card on the counter and nodded to the owners, who were sweeping away the dust and the rubble from the main area of the joint.

"Call Pepper Potts. She'll take care of the bill for you." Tony smiled. The owners nodded, mumbling their thanks in awe as the Avengers left their restaurant.

Kahlan looked at Tony. "Speaking of, have you talked to Pepper yet?" Tony's face fell.

"Dammit!" Tony pulled out a blue-tooth from his pocket. "JARVIS, call Pepper." He turned to the others. "I'll catch up with you."

"You're good, Stark," Natasha said. "The jet is still 5 minutes out."

Kahlan stopped Clint a little ways away from the group. The redhead looked worriedly up at Clint. "Clint, is everything all right?" He didn't answer. He looked up and just rubbed his eyes. "Clint. Clint, look at me!" Kahlan's last words were almost harsh. Clint's head whirled to face her. His eyes were the dark stormy gray. His face was red and worn as if he was struggling to hold back tears.

"Coulson, all those agents." Clint's voice broke. One small tear escaped the corner of his eye. Kahlan wiped away the tear and brought his face close to hers. Kahlan stared at him.

"Clint, you cannot blame yourself for what happened." She caressed his cheek. "Loki did all of that." She didn't get to finish. A jet appeared, touching down in the dusty street. Clint shielded Kahlan and himself from the rising dust as they ran towards the ramp of the jet. Clint pulled away from her as soon as they were in the cargo hold of the jet. They felt the rumbling of the engines as the jet lifted into the air, lifting the dusty streets of New York behind.

"Then how did you get this?" Clint asked roughly, pointing at the gash in her arm. "And that? And that?" He pointed to her cheek that was bloody for the reopened cut and her nicked ear. Kahlan took his hands in hers, making him stop. She looked up in his gray eyes, ignoring all of the others who were trying not to stare but also trying to listen to what their teammate was going through.

"Clint, listen to me." She guided him over to a corner in the cargo hold away from the others. Natasha nodded to Steve, who herded Stark and Thor away from Clint and Kahlan. Bruce generously turned his back and shoved Stark to do the same. Kahlan helped Clint into a seat and kneeled in front of him, still holding his hands.

"Clint, I wear these with pride because they tell me that, even though you were taken from me, even though a psychopath with magic invaded your mind, you were fighting. You were fighting that magic in your head. I know, because there were several times that you could have killed me. I'm not fast like you are in battle and I know that I should have been ten times over the past couple days."

Clint let out a shaky breath and sobbed, putting his head in his hands. Kahlan wrapped her arms around him.

"If I have one ounce of knowledge of what is in Loki's head when he put that magic in your head, I know that he wanted you to kill me. He wanted you to hurt more than killing you. In his mind, killing you would be having you kill me and then bringing you out long enough to see what you've done." Kahlan had tears in her eyes. Clint looked up at her. Kahlan smiled down at him, the one she loved. "Clint, you're home and you're with me. You've proved yourself fighting in that last battle. I am so grateful that you are okay." Clint didn't answer, but brought her head down to kiss him. It was wet because both were crying. Kahlan pulled away and saw that storm had faded in his eyes. "That is why I wear these with pride."

Kahlan heard the jet touchdown on the helicarrier.

"C'mon, lovebirds," Tony shouted across the cargo hold. "Haha, lovebirds, get it…because it's the Hawk and Red—Ouch!" Natasha cuffed him upside the head and walked over to Clint and Kahlan.

"Barton," Natasha said gently. "She's right. Don't ever doubt Redbird. You might end up dead if you do." She moved away, squeezing Clint's shoulder in a gentle, loving way. Kahlan watched as Natasha sidled up next to Steve and took his hand.

"No matter what, Clint," Kahlan pulled her archer to his feet. "You will always come home to me. You know that." Clint smiled and nodded. He picked up his bow and folded it up.

The ramp lowered and as the Avengers walked down the ramp to the helicarrier deck, there were shouts and cries of victory. Kahlan squeezed Clint's hand as the group approached Nick Fury.

"Welcome home, Avengers." Fury said. A seldom-seen smile was plastered on the SHIELD director's face. "Well done, soldier."

Steve saluted Fury. "We won, sir. We finally won." Natasha patted his arm lovingly. Fury nodded and looked past Steve and Natasha to Stark, Thor and Banner.

"Stark, you have a very worried CEO in the conference room. Banner, welcome back. Thor, your brother wishes to speak with you. He is currently in a holding cell in the detention level." Fury said. The three nodded and set off on their different tasks. Banner trailed behind Stark, who was practically running towards the conference room. Fury turned to Kahlan and Clint.

"Agent Barton, Agent Thomas." Fury said in his deep voice. Kahlan felt Clint tense up next to her. She placed a comforting hand on his forearm. He grabbed her hand as if it was anchor, making sure he could feel her through his arm and hand guard. "Welcome back. Good work out there, agents. Prepare for the debriefing. Agent Barton, will you follow me please?"

Clint nodded and followed the director down one of the many hallways. Kahlan's heart tightened up as she watched the retreating backs of her lover and her boss. Hill looked at Kahlan's face, which was struggling to keep a poker face.

"You don't have to worry, Thomas." Hill said, kindly. Natasha and Kahlan looked at the aide. "He's not demoting, disavowing, or firing Barton."

"What is he doing then?" Kahlan asked as the group moved towards the bridge and the conference room.

"He's making sure Barton's all right." Hill explained. "Barton is not going anywhere if Fury can help it." Kahlan couldn't help but smile as she thought of Barton not getting into any trouble for his compromised position two days ago. The director was there when it happened.

Steve, Natasha, Kahlan, and Hill arrived at the conference room, only to stop short at the sight of Stark and Pepper kissing. Kahlan cleared her throat and knocked on the glass.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think it's time to debrief." Kahlan smirked at Tony, getting back at him for all the times he had interrupted Clint and Kahlan. Tony glared at the red head and let go of Pepper, who straightened her blouse and patted her hair down.

"It's good to see you, Ms. Potts," Natasha said politely, holding out her hand. Pepper smiled at the redheaded Russian.

"And you, Natasha." Pepper smiled. She squeezed Tony's hand and whispered something in his ear. Kahlan saw his eyes light up and then Pepper left.

The Avengers sat around the diamond shaped table and waited for Fury, Barton, Thor, and Banner to arrive. Banner arrived shortly after, blushing when he looked at Tony. Tony just laughed silently, murmuring about Banner being surprised at Pepper's greeting for Tony. Thor arrived next. Kahlan saw a dark sadness in his blue eyes. He had been talking to Loki. Kahlan sighed. Then Clint and Fury arrived. The debriefing would begin shortly. Kahlan suddenly realized that this would be the first debrief without Coulson and a small silver tear ran down her cheek.

Fury looked up at the Avengers. "So you are agreed that Loki will face punishment at the hands of Odin of Asgard and the Tesseract will be returned to Asgard."

The seven people opposite him nodded.

Tony opened his mouth. "As much as the Council will want a piece of Loki each to answer for his crimes, Odin will be fair and the Tesseract will be evidence against Loki. Plus, it can't help that the Tesseract will be at its rightful home. Easily, the best possible thing too, you know."

"That might be the most logical, serious thing you've ever said, Tony," Kahlan smirked, wiping the small tear from her cheek. "The Tesseract would be out of the reach of unfriendly eyes."

Tony just glared at the redhead, whose hand was safely enclosed in the gentle grip of Clint's hand. Fury looked around at the Avengers, all of whom looked tired. "I'm giving you the authority of returning Loki and the Tesseract to Asgard at 0800 hours tomorrow morning. Get some rest."

The debrief ended and all the Avengers left to go their separate ways. Natasha went with Steve while Thor, Banner, Kahlan, and Clint went to their respective bedchambers.

In the middle of the night, Kahlan woke suddenly. She felt the presence. Someone was in her room. Slowly Kahlan reached for her gun under her pillow, a bad habit from her days with the Winchester brothers.

"Kahlan?" Clint's whisper made Kahlan jump.

"Jesus, Clint," Kahlan reached over and clicked the lamp on her bedside table. "I could have shot you and asked questions later. Bad habits don't die out completely."

"I know." Clint stood there, staring at Kahlan, whose red hair glowed in the soft lamplight. "I can't sleep, Kahlan." Kahlan adjusted her shirt and patted the bed next to her.

"C'mere." Kahlan pulled back the covers. The poor, trembling man she loved crawled under the covers. Together the two slowly fell asleep. Kahlan liked having his arm wrapped protectively around her as she snuggled closer into Clint's warmth.

The next morning, Kahlan woke early to find that Clint had gone. She furrowed her forehead in confusion. Glancing at the alarm clock next to her bed, Kahlan let out a cry of surprise. It was 7:45. She had 15 minutes to get ready and report to the bridge. Hurriedly, Kahlan changed into skinny jeans, a red long-sleeved shirt and a black leather jacket. She brushed her teeth and looked through her sock drawer for matching socks. "There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Kahlan called past a mouthful of toothpaste. She spat in the sink and gargled some water.

"You've got odd socks on," Clint commented, walking up behind her. Kahlan smiled as he hugged her waist and kissed the side of her neck.

"You disappeared this morning." She said, wiping her mouth on the hand towel.

"Running," Clint said plainly. "Thank you for letting me stay last night, instead of kicking me out on my ass."

"Or shooting you?" Kahlan teased. "Yes, I was very kind. Clint, I would do anything for the one I loved." Kahlan turned and smiled up at him. She kissed him softly on the lips. "I think I'll keep the socks. It's useless to find matching ones. The sock gnomes always manage to get them in the end." Kahlan sat down on her unmade bed, pulling on her black combat boots, and then they left, jogging to the bridge.

20 minutes later, the Avengers had escorted both Loki and the Tesseract to a central point in Central park. Loki was bound with chains on his wrists, waist and ankles with a metal muzzle across his mouth so he could not utter any magic. Kahlan tried to feel sorry for him, but his offence against Clint could not be forgotten quite so easily. The rest of the Avengers watched as Tony opened the silver briefcase where the Tesseract was stored. With special silver prongs, Banner moved the Tesseract into a special container for Thor to harness the energy into a teleportation device to Asgard. Selvig closed the container and handed it to Thor, who clapped the old scientist on the shoulder in farewell.

Kahlan caught Loki glaring at Clint. As she felt Clint tense up beside her, Kahlan leaned over and whispered in Clint's ear. "He can't do anything with that collar and muzzle on." Clint almost smiled. "He's like a banished, lost puppy, really." Kahlan smiled as Clint's face broke into a big grin.

"What happens after we send them back to Asgard?" Steve asked softly. Natasha squeezed his hand.

"We'll figure something out," Natasha assured him. "I've cleared it with Fury to give us a well-needed leave of absence."

"A leave of absence?" Clint asked, looking sideways at Kahlan, who blushed.

"Would you behave yourself?" Kahlan asked, pushing his arm lightly. "We are in public." Clint laughed. Steve joined in as Natasha just shook her head.

One by one, the Avengers said their goodbyes to Thor. Grim-faced, he offered one handle of the container to Loki. Loki, bound and chained, reluctantly took the end. With a nod to his battle companions, Thor twisted the handle, and he and Loki materialized into blue energy particles. The Avengers took a step back and watched as the blue energy shot to the sky, taking the Asgardians home. The 6 remaining Avengers looked at one another. Kahlan sighed. This was going to be farewell for a long while. Tony was the first to speak.

"I'm working on rebuilding Stark Tower, renaming it to be Avengers Tower as a base for the Avenger Initiative. You all are invited to live there when it's completed."

Steve looked at Tony. "That's very generous of you."

"I'll need your input, Rogers, so as not to make Avengers Tower the ugliest building in New York City." Tony said, smiling.

Steve walked over to him and shook his hand. "Deal."

Tony nodded. "Banner, you got your stuff." Natasha pulled the black duffel out of the back seat of the SHIELD car and handed it to the quiet scientist.

"Good luck, Dr. Banner." Natasha said smiling. "Thank you for coming to help."

"It was my pleasure, Ms. Romanoff." Banner smiled taking his bag. It was time to go. Banner got into Stark's convertible. As they drove off, Kahlan waved to the two scientists, hoping to see them very soon.

Kahlan went over to Steve, who was leaning against his motorcycle while Natasha said her goodbyes to Clint. "Thank you for saying yes all those days ago. I don't know how we could have done it without you." Steve smiled and gave her a tight hug.

"Thank you for believing in me." Steve replied.

"It wasn't us who believed in you, it was Coulson who believed in you." Kahlan reminded him. "We just followed suit."

"All the same to me," Steve smiled. "Good luck with Barton."

"The same with Natasha." Kahlan smiled as the redheaded Russian walked over to Kahlan and Steve.

"Goodbye for now," Natasha hugged Kahlan tight. "Take care of him and hold onto him. He's a good guy for you." She whispered that last part in Kahlan's ear.

"I don't intend on letting him go." Kahlan assured her.

With that, Steve and Natasha left on the motorcycle. Clint didn't get into the SHIELD car right away. Instead, he grabbed Kahlan's hand and led her through the park. For the first time in a very long time, Kahlan felt relaxed and free. Soon they arrived at the bridge that spanned the river; Clint stopped and turned to her.

"Kahlan, thank you for not giving up on me." Clint said softly.

"Clint, you know that I would never…what is this all about?" Kahlan asked, confused as to why Clint was saying these things. She would never give up on him ever.

"I know you wouldn't, but could you stay and not give up on me forever?" Clint got down on one knee and held open a black velvet box. Kahlan gasped in surprise and covered her mouth with her hand. Tears sprang to her eyes.

"I was going to propose when I returned from the Tesseract detail in New Mexico, but then things got a little crazy." Clint explained. "You know, with the freaky magic and all." Kahlan looked up into his gray eyes. She could hardly see that angry storm in his eyes anymore. He was getting better.

"Of course, yes, of course, I'm saying yes." Kahlan cried out and hugged him around the neck. Clint wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around. Putting her down, Clint kissed Kahlan soundly on the lips.

"You have made me the happiest man in the whole world." Clint murmured, taking the ring from the box and placing it on Kahlan's finger.

"Clint, it's beautiful." Kahlan murmured, kissing him softly. Clint smiled a genuine smile for the first time in 3 or 4 days.

"Oh and by the way, Fury mentioned that besides becoming a full member of Avengers Initiative, you are also being promoted to be my and Natasha's handler. Coulson wrote a memo before he died for Fury to make you our handler if Coulson should die unexpectedly." Clint told her. Kahlan began to cry silently at the thought of Coulson writing the memo down as if he knew he was not going to make it out of that whole fiasco alive. Clint wiped her tears. Kahlan was speechless. Engaged, Promoted and made a full Avenger! It was a lot to take in in ten minutes.

"I'm taking the fact that you are speechless at this moment as a good thing." Clint joked, suddenly cut off by a kiss from Kahlan. The couple stood there in the sparkling daylight, kissing on the bridge for some time.

Suddenly, Kahlan cellphone rang. Kahlan pulled the device out of her jacket pocket and stared at the screen. She frowned slightly.

"What is it?" Clint asked worriedly. Kahlan showed him the screen.

"Blocked caller. Hold on." Kahlan turned and answered the phone, pressing a finger in her other ear so she could hear better. "Hello?"

"Kahlan?" Kahlan froze for a second in disbelief. She had not heard that voice in over two years. A smile grew on her face.

"Harkness?" Kahlan asked. "How did you get this number?"

"You know me; I always keep tabs on my people." Jack said. Clint glared at the phone. Kahlan waved her left hand in front of his face so the sunlight caught the ring, making it sparkle in his eyes. Clint grinned and kissed her cheek. It was her way of saying, 'You have nothing to worry about, doofus!'

"Of course, where are you?" Kahlan asked. "And why do I get honored with a phone call?"

"Because I need your help," Jack said.

Kahlan paused. "Okay, where are you?"

"New York, Manhattan actually." Jack responded. "Can you help?" Kahlan smiled and looked at Clint.

"Captain," she said. "It would be my genuine pleasure."

A/N: And with that, I am finished! I honestly cannot believe that I finished this. I just wanted to give a shout out to all my reviewers. I cannot tell you how much it meant to read your reviews. Those were the things I needed to hear to get me through writer's block and when my muse left me. Thank you so much for reading this. I could not have gotten through this without you. I just wanted to say as a reminder that I do not own Avengers or the Marvel Universe. Those belong completely to Joss Whedon and Stan Lee (and I think Disney, somewhere along the line.) Torchwood belongs to the BBC and Russell T. Davies (Thank you for letting me use Captain Jack Harkness and maybe one day I might like you for taking away my favorites on Doctor Who and Torchwood.) The Winchesters, Sam and Dean, belong to Eric Kripke and the TV show, Supernatural. The only thing that I claim to be my own is Kahlan Thomas (copyright ReginaRose and all that. )

Anyways, I'm trying to get some ideas rolling for some ideas. I'm bouncing around some ideas such as Robin Hood BBC, Supernatural, MI-5/Spooks, and Chronicles of Narnia. I'll be putting a poll up on my profile so take a look at it and let me know which one you would like to see. Cheers! ~Rose