Artemis (Book 1)

Chapter Five; Epilogue

After they had Shawarma, the Avengers took Loki, who was handcuffed and muzzled, to a blocked off area of Central Park. Thor shook hands with his team and gave Selvig a hug. Tony opened the Tesseract's case and Bruce took it out, placing it inside a glass tube that was held by Thor. Thor gave the other end to Loki, who reluctantly took it. The Asgardians disappeared in a beam of energy. The remaining Avengers began to split off one by one. Bruce climbed into Tony's sportscar and they drove away. Steve rode away on his motorbike, leaving behind Thea, Natasha and Clint. "What's next for you?" Natasha asked Thea, who was staring at the water. Thea turned to face her family. "Are you returning to SHIELD or staying retired?"
"I'm not sure. I just...I wasn't ready to come back." Thea sighed.
"Would you ever come back?" Clint asked.
"Not to SHIELD. But if the Avengers are needed, I'll be there."
"So, what will you do in the meantime?"
"I'm gonna help get the survivors back on their feet. Offer shelter to those that need it. I've already made plans for the orphanage to be rebuilt, there's kids out there that need somewhere."
"That's good." Natasha pulled Thea into a tight hug. "Take care of yourself."
"I will." She watched as Natasha headed for the car before turning to Clint. He was teary eyed but he was trying to hide it. "Are you about to cry?"
"No." Clint scoffed. "I'm gonna miss you."
"I'll miss you too." Thea hugged him tightly. "Say hi to the family for me."
"I will." Clint joined Natasha and they drove away. Thea climbed into her jeep and drove her own way.

Some time had passed since the Battle of New York, as it had been deemed, and Thea was finally coming to terms with Coulson's death. She arrived at her office and began looking over the plans for the remodeling of Stark tower that Tony had sent over. The tower was going to be remade into the Avengers tower. Thea was smiling as she looked over the plans, feeling anxious and excited for the next mission. She heard a knock on her apartment door and grabbed her knife, making her way to the door. She looked through the peep hole and saw no one there. Cautiously, she opened the door and only found a box on the floor. She carefully picked it up and carried it to the dining room table. She opened the box to find a phone and a note. Thea picked up the note to see who it was from. In case you want to talk. She turned the phone on and discovered there was only one numbered programmed into it. Against her better judgement,  she called the number and soon heard it connect. "Hello?"
"Hi, Little moon." A familiar voice greeted.
"Dad, is that you? Is it really you?" Thea questioned in disbelief as tears streamed down her face.