Love is a Dagger

by Luckylady16

Summary:

It's the end of December when our reader, Lauren, makes a wish to enter the MCU which gets answered.
Or...
Me writing out my personal MCU dream and y'all come along for the ride. This is my first fic and I hope y'all like it.

Chapter 1

As I lay there struggling to breathe and hang on to reality with everything I had, I couldn’t help but think back on everything that led me to this very moment.

*********

13 years earlier

*********

I walked around my kitchen very barefoot and very much pants less. It had been my preference from a comfort standpoint to go about my apartment in nothing but a hoodie, a t-shirt, and panties when I was alone. I would have forgone the t-shirt; however, I was very uncomfortable with not wearing something that didn’t cover both my stomach and chest.

“I should probably eat something,” I remarked aloud to myself. As I thought about whether or not I really wanted food I shrugged and decided to ignore the random thought as my stomach hadn’t signaled a desire to do so yet.

I looked at the clock. It was only 4 pm. I had plenty of time before I needed to do homework.

“I know I should be responsible and get it over with but…” I sighed. “It can wait I wanna do something fun!”

Being the amazing procrastinator that I was I had decided to push off all homework until the last second in favor of a movie… or 24. I had always loved putting my mind in the MCU and I secretly wished it could be a reality sometimes. Cause maybe then I could matter. Maybe I would make a difference. As I queued up Iron Man, I felt a slight pressure behind my eyes.

“Ok maybe now I’m hungry.” I shrugged again not caring either way. I started the movie and got up to make food when it happened…I tripped. I wasn’t a particularly graceful person so me tripping on air wasn’t exactly a surprise, but I still reacted on instinct. My arms flew up to protect my face and I squeezed my eyes shut as I prepared to bash multiple limbs on my carpet. Only I met hardwood. My eyes snapped open. My apartment had no hardwood floors. My arms went down as I started looking around in confusion. As I started to stand, I heard it.

 

*click*

 

I froze. I was intimately familiar with the soft click of the safety of a gun being turned off.

“Stand up slowly with your hands behind your head.” A deep commanding voice spoke. I was too scared to move properly but I was more scared of what would happen if I didn’t follow the voice’s instructions. As I put my hands behind my head and stood up as slowly as I possibly could, the voice spoke again.

“Turn around slowly, and no sudden movements.”

I couldn’t shake the feeling I knew the voice, but I was too afraid to think properly. As I turned and looked at the man and the barrel of his gun, I stopped breathing entirely.

Before me was a tall man wearing all-black clothes including a black leather trench coat and a black leather eyepatch. The man exuded an aura of command and seriousness that could only be matched by what I knew his name to be.

“Fury,” I breathed out, in a barely audible whisper as tears began to prick in the corners of my eyes. I began to panic. I was going to die.

“Now I’m only gonna ask this once; who are you and how did you get in?” Fury barked at me.

“I-I’m L-Lauren.” I struggled to squeeze out in between my now uncontrollable breathing which began to border on sobs. My whole body began to shake as I tried to figure out what was happening. “I d-don’t have an answer t-to your second qu-question.”

I started wheezing as the tears began to fall, my lungs screaming at me. My breathing had sped up to the point of hyperventilation as I had a panic attack before it turned into the wheezing of an asthma attack. Fury quirked an eyebrow as his face held the expression of ‘you expect me to believe this bullshit.’

“In-ha—ler,” I managed to wheeze out in a voice barely above a whisper.

“I don’t know what you think I can do for you but right now I’m about five seconds away from putting a bullet in your skull if I don’t get an answer I like.” Fury seemed almost disinterested while borderline displeased.

I held up one finger as I slowly moved my arm toward the pocket of my hoodie.

“Now I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Fury threatened.

I squeezed my eyes shut trying to ignore the blackening peripherals of my vision. I tried to calm my breathing so I could receive any ounce of the oxygen my lungs desperately needed. As I did so I pictured the inhaler in my head and how much I needed it, when I felt a weight in my hand. My eyes snapped open as I realized my inhaler had seemingly moved from the pocket of my hoodie to my hand. I didn’t think about anything else as I launched into action to make full use of my albuterol. As I took two deep breaths from my inhaler, I could feel my lungs expanding gratefully and the seizing of my chest stopped. That was when I remembered what was happening and I slowly lowered my hands.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know how I ‘got in’ much less where here is,” I remarked as calmly as I could. My body was still shaking although it most likely had to do with the temperature change my bare legs were experiencing.

“You expect me to believe this bullshit act and story you’ve come up with? How old are you, twelve?” Fury looked at me like he thought I was an idiot.

“You don’t have to believe me or my asthma attack even for it to be true…” I started. “Wait what do you mean twelve???”

I looked at my hands relieved to see they looked normal but when I looked further down, I noticed certain key parts of my anatomy and either shrunk or disappeared. I started shaking more violently as I went into shock over my appearance, although I was more terrified to see the state my face was in.

“I’m gonna give you about five seconds to tell me the truth,” Fury stated not caring about my internal crisis. “1…”

“I-I…” I started panicking again. Then it hit me I knew what I could say. I started praying that this worked out in my favor because this might end up with me being locked in the deepest darkest hole of S.H.I.E.L.D. prison cells. “I’m from another dimension!”

Fury’s eyebrows rose enough to indicate mild surprise.

“And I know the past and the future regarding certain events and individuals!” I practically shouted trying to force my words out as quickly as I could.

“HA!” Fury barked out. “That’s a new one. But I won’t say it again I want the truth.”

“It is the truth. I can prove it.” I stood my ground.

“Then prove it.” Fury didn’t have many facial expressions, but his tone terrified me.

“I could tell you many things but only one of them will get you to believe me…Director Fury.” It was the first time I had said his name loudly enough for him to hear me and I really didn’t like how his grip tightened on the gun still aimed at my head. “I can’t tell you the future, but I can tell you…what happened to your eye.”

“Really? You can tell me what happened to my eye? As if. That information is classi…” I waited as he ranted practically laughing at how much he didn’t believe me. But now was my moment to strike. One word was all I would ever need.

“Goose,” I said just loud enough to be heard by him as I cheered myself on for shutting him up. Until his mask cracked, and I saw his expression it was terrifying. But I stood my ground and hid my fear although it was tough to hide the shaking since I felt cold. “Don’t worry your secret is safe with me.”

Fury slowly lowered his gun. And I relaxed my posture slightly.

“What are you?” Fury looked…well furious.

“I would ask you to be specific as what applies to many things, but I’ll suffice it with, human.” I almost slapped myself for the smart-ass comment. “Before I say anything else, I have to ask; what is today’s date?”

“April 8, 2007.” Fury holstered his gun and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You don’t seem like a threat. You gonna tell me what’s going on?”

“If I knew I would. One minute I was in my apartment watching I…” my eyes went wide. “Wait did you say the year was 2007?”

“I really don’t like repeating myself,” Fury stated very calmly.

“I think I can help you.” I started to smile but did my best not to seem overexcited.

“With what? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but you are a child with seemingly no capabilities or sense in the world.” I didn’t like how he phrased it. Even though it looked like my anatomy had changed, I wasn’t sure what I looked like to him.

“This might sound odd, but do you have a mirror? I need to check something.” I hedged hoping for the best. “Wait I have an idea.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened the camera. I took a deep breath before I flipped the view to myself. I froze almost dropping the phone. My face had seemingly reverted in years to around my middle school age.

“Something’s wrong.” I blanched as I promptly started to check my face to see if the image was a trick.

“What don’t like what you see?” Fury asked his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“This-this isn’t me…” my breathing started to become erratic once more. “I mean it is but…not for a long time. I-I don’t understand.”

“Breathe kid.” Fury had gone down on one knee to look me in the eye, evidently deeming my panic attack to be real. “What do you mean by that?”

My hands started shaking as I unlocked my phone. I didn’t care that the phone was from 2020 and I didn’t care if he saw it. I opened the photos app and pulled up the last image I took of myself and showed him. In the image, I was 20 years old. My anatomy was more along the lines I was familiar with. Slightly longer legs, my normal D-sized chest, and scars on my knees. I had seemingly gone back in time with my age. But it didn’t make sense. I wasn’t in middle school in 2007. I was only 5 years old when the first Iron Man came out. Tears slipped down my face in a continuous stream as I registered that I had proof this wasn’t a dream.

Fury looked at me with what I briefly considered to be either curiosity or concern, but I wasn’t exactly capable of reading him.

“You said you could help me…” Fury attempted to distract me, softening his voice slightly. “How exactly do you propose that?”

“I know the future and with training, I could be an asset.” My voice cracked as I tried to control the emotions running rampant through me. “I can’t tell you the future, but maybe I could help prevent certain events that are avoidable.”

“And how would you suggest explaining your sudden appearance and involvement with me?” Fury seemed like he wanted to point out the stupidity in my plan but was refraining as much as he could.

“I dunno you could say you adopted me. A dear friend of yours from high school died and entrusted you with my care as her dying wish.” I shrugged, my tears slowing as he successfully distracted me from my distress. “But you tell no one of my…capabilities.”

“That seems…plausible. But if you’re helping me why hide your special ability?” Fury honestly looked curious this time.

“Because I don’t…trust…certain individuals to not use the knowledge to their own benefit. Especially within an intelligence agency. It feels…reckless.” I struggled to find the right words so as not to accidentally reveal something to him. “Look I will need training and I will tell you the people I want to handle that and those who I will implicitly trust with my secret. But I don’t want anyone outside of them.”

“And who, might I ask, would these individuals be?” Fury’s tone sounded clipped, but I ignored it.

“Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Maria Hill, and Phil Coulson,” I stated with ease and a slight smile graced my lips. Fury’s eyebrow raised once more but he nodded his head in agreement with my choices.

“Very well where do we start?” I thought quietly to myself before answering.

“Combat training with Romanoff and Barton and whatever other training you see fit from Hill and Coulson, just no guns.” I shuddered slightly at the thought of guns. I could never handle loud noises. “And I’d like to start as soon as possible.”

“I’ll make some calls.” Fury pursed his lips. “Where do you plan on sleeping?”

I gestured around the room which I could now see were his living quarters.

“Do you have a guest room?” I didn’t bank on it, but I hoped. “If not, a couch, spare pillow, and blanket?”

“You’re lucky that I had a guest room put in to keep up with appearances for my neighbors when they introduced themselves.” Fury didn’t look like he loved the memory the room held for him.

“Thank you.” I smiled grateful he didn’t question my request. He led me to the room and stood in the doorway as I sat on the bed.

“I will retrieve you for training at 0800.” Fury didn’t seem pleased with you staying here but at least I was alive. “I’m locking you in.”

“Ok. See you at 8. Oh, and if it isn’t too much trouble maybe bring a pair of pants.” I blushed a little as the reality set in that I had been half-naked in front of him the entire encounter. It took a lot to embarrass me since shame wasn’t something I prioritized. Fury nodded before closing the door. The lock clicked confirming I was in for the night.

I flopped on the bed and draped my arm over my eyes. What a day.

Chapter 2

I spent the night trying to will myself to sleep. I knew it was a lost cause because my ADD would never let me relax enough to sleep. There was too much on my mind with way too many things to account for. It didn’t help that I tended to become extremely agitated from even the slightest exhaustion.

I decided I wasn’t going to sleep so I might as well take the time to think things out. I had never been the most logical thinker and sometimes the stuff I said would sound downright stupid to anyone but me. However, when it came to my inner fan girl, that was the only place where my version of logic seemed to apply. So, it seemed like that might be extendable to my current situation.

Number one: I had been transported across dimensional barriers and back in time with knowledge of this dimension's future if my encounter was anything to go off of.

So, what did that mean for me? Ignoring the how of my situation since that was most likely to make me cry, I had several checks I could do to verify and rules I needed to follow. No revealing the future to anyone or unnecessary changes since I couldn’t account for what that would mean in the long run. And I did not want to handle a future with a villain like Thanos if I didn’t know what had changed because I had tried to meddle. For another thing, I knew the Fury I had encountered was at least some version of the Fury I knew because he reacted to the name Goose. I also knew that there was no TVA here or at least it was still dysfunctional following Loki… I would need to verify as many characters’ existences as I could and keep myself in the shadows as long as possible. Fury knew the names of the people I mentioned. What I wasn’t sure how to handle was if I ran into a Hydra agent and played it cool, or God forbid the Winter Soldier. I loved Bucky but he wouldn’t be in the right state of mind to meet me right now and even if I did get to meet him, he would most definitely kill me since I know I would react like the freak of a fan girl I am. On that note, I realized I would have to lock up pretty much all fan-girling, especially over anyone I had a crush on. The last thing I would need was a scenario where pre-New York Loki knew of my ‘foresight’ and my crush. That would be bad.

Number two: I couldn’t interfere with any events of importance until 2012. These characters had to have their starts and I could not interfere otherwise they might never happen. Meaning that until 2012 I would be no better than the Watcher. Since I knew he was watching I decided to go ahead and discreetly wave. The dude had to be alone his entire existence unable to help the beings he cared for most. I could at least offer him acknowledgment.

Number three: if I knew anything about Fury; having a guest bedroom is something he would never do. More than likely, there were cameras and mics all over this room, and his “bedroom” was the room with the surveillance gear. Soundproof metal walls disguised to look like sheetrock, no windows or at least one-way bullet-proof ones, locks on the doors, and a very high-tech alarm system. I smiled to myself thinking about how I would figure that out.

Number four: the second strangest thing and the one thing I could find a definitive answer to even if it took a while. Did I have powers? Normally I would say no and laugh my ass off at the idea, but the thing with my inhaler was weird… I sat up quickly, the blankets and sheets falling off my upper body and piling around my waist. I didn’t particularly care if Fury saw this. I needed to know. So, what exactly had I done to cause the inhaler thing? I had strong emotions of fear and panic as well as pain. Hopefully, I didn’t need pain for this. Wait more than emotion, I had needed the inhaler. Maybe emotion and need were the key. In addition to the obvious clear image in my mind of the object. Thank you, Harry Potter and Doctor Strange. I closed my eyes took a deep breath in and let myself feel my strongest emotion, sadness. I let myself think all the thoughts that I had tried my best to avoid thinking that evening and let them form my desire.

 

“Oh my god, my parents!”

 

“Did I die? Did I just make them experience losing a child? How could I put them through that?!”

 

“Am I in a coma? Does this mean that if I die here my brain function ceases over there and they have to pull the plug?! I don’t want them to have the guilt of a decision like that!!!”

 

“Or if I was only teleported here, does that mean I just up and left my parents without a trace?!”

 

As I let every thought plague me, I felt the tears slipping down my cheeks. Then I let myself feel what I need in this moment: my parents.

I could feel something this time in my body. It was strange, like the tingling pins and needles sensation when your foot falls asleep. Then I felt an object in my hand which I had clutched to my chest over my heart during this process. I cracked one eye open. There really was something in my hand!!! I opened both my eyes and looked at the object. It was a photograph of me and my parents from my eighteenth birthday. I let myself silently scream from happiness.

I laid back down slowly hugging the photo to my chest. I had powers. But what were they? Did I just have the one or were there more? And if so, where did they come from? I felt exhausted but the endorphin rush from my excitement seemed to trump the exhaustion of the crying jag I went on to get results. But from what I knew, these powers if there were more, worked exactly like a Patronus. Focus on a powerful thought with a strong emotion. I started to crack up at my nerd version of a being dumbass as I whispered, “Thank you Professor Lupin.”

I decided if I couldn’t sleep, I would at least rest my eyes so they wouldn’t be bloodshot the next day. I hoped for the best. Before I let myself “drift off” into the chaos that is my brain without Concerta, I decided to pray.

“God please don’t let my parents suffer through losing me or thinking that I’m dead. If I stopped existing in my world…” I let the tears flow knowing what I was asking would hurt me if I knew it worked but for my parents…it had to be done. “If I stopped existing in my world, whatever form that takes, please spare my parents the agony. Please make my parents and everyone who ever knew me in my world forget about me.”

****************

When I heard the locks click the next morning, I sat up slowly this time.

“Are you up?” Fury sounded unamused.

“Did you bring pants?” I asked satirically. It was a dumb question, so I figured I’d sass him. I was too tired to care.

He tossed a pair of women’s sweatpants at me.

“I had to ask one of my agents to bring it no questions asked. Do you have any idea how it feels to be looked at like they think you have a prostitute in your house?!” Fury raised his voice as I tried to keep my face straight cause on the inside I was dying.

“Not really. I’ve yet to experience that particular look. But I’ve had the reverse.” I was to the point of tears trying to keep from laughing.

“Get dressed.” Fury looked as unamused as ever and sounded like my putting pants on was the most imperative thing. “We have places to be.”

“Sir yes sir.” I sat up ramrod straight, my lips in a tight line trying to keep from laughing as I saluted Fury.

He rolled his eye and walked out of the room. I had to smother my laugh with a pillow in an attempt not to further piss him off. I pulled the pants on. They were too big but at least they were sweats. I pulled them up as high as I could and tied the drawstring as tight as possible. After rolling up the hems I was ready to go. As I walked out Fury looked at my feet pointedly.

“Look,” I started rolling my eyes so hard my head hurt a little bit. “I don’t remember my shoe size from when I was twelve, and even if I did at least you can explain the pants as a hooker thing. How would you explain the need for a female children’s shoe?”

I won’t even lie to myself the look of surprise and acknowledgement on his face was worth every ounce of pride.

“Good thinking.” He stated that almost begrudgingly. “Will this be a problem though?”

“No.” I smiled. “I prefer being barefoot. But Widow or Hill can take me to get clothes and shoes today.”

Fury let out an exasperated sigh and gestured that I should move ahead of him. I still wanted the answer to my question of if he was watching me, so I decided to play on my “foresight” powers.

“How was the surveillance?” I asked it as innocently as I could a small smile gracing my lips as I passed him. I saw the look of shock on his face before he masked it.

“I should be surprised you figured that out but given your proclivity for knowing that which you shouldn’t, I’m going to ignore it,” Fury said that so monotonously that I finally let the giggle slip through before clapping my hand over my mouth. I was right and I loved it.

Per the regulations put in place about a child’s age and height for riding in the front seat, I had to ride in the back. That fact seemed like it made Fury’s day cause the asshole actually smiled. Like genuinely smiled. What the fuck!!!

I did, however, enjoy the view of D.C. It had been a while since I had seen it, and it was good to think back on the memories. When we arrived at headquarters, Fury escorted me past security while sending the official notification to Barton, Romanoff, Hill, and Coulson that they were to be in his office in half an hour. Seeing this I was confused.

“Fury, what…” I started but never finished.

“Listen, you are going to have to sell the father-daughter bullshit you came up with so be more convincing.” Fury eyed me so harshly I could feel the phrase if looks could kill. “Secondly I have to explain your existence to a good friend of mine, Secretary Pierce, since he has no idea who the fuck you are.”

“Fine but he isn’t on the need-to-know basis. I gave you the names I’ll allow for now. He isn’t included.” I spat out quietly before raising my voice intent on making it seem plausible. “Daddy I’m so excited I finally get to see where you work!!!”

Hundreds of heads swilled in our direction looks of shock gracing the sea of people who heard me call Director Fury daddy. As I called out, I clasped my hands behind my back with the arms as straight as I could. I twisted slightly like someone showing off their outfit and I had a big grin and wide eyes with an innocent look on my face. If looks could kill before, the look in his eye that no one else could see would destroy Thanos and his entire army long before Tony could. I let out a childish giggle at the thought it would sell the idea a lot better than what he wanted. However, Fury wasn’t saying anything and if he didn’t react soon, he would have this thing dead long before we could even start it. So, I launched into action and pulled him into a hug with my arms around his neck so I could speak in his ear.

“If you stand there like a scarecrow this will never work now hug me and try to look happy. Glare at anyone you like for watching this and say something to the effect of ‘I’m excited to spend the day with you too,’” I growled it in his ear while keeping the smile plastered to my face. Fury finally snapped out of it and reacted. He returned my hug with a whisper of ‘you’ll regret this later’ before turning it around and acting like a good dad. He followed my advice and glared at the onlookers who quickly returned to minding their own damn business. Then he grabbed my hand and led/pulled me as fast as he could to the elevator. We kept up the act wherever there were cameras or people as we made our way to Pierce. When we got to his door, I took a deep breath to prepare myself before he stepped in front of me. At this point, I grabbed the back of his leather coat like a child who is shy and wants to hide from strangers. I could tell he wanted to shake me off but didn’t so that we could maintain the illusion. Then he knocked.

“Come in.” I heard the smooth voice of Alexander Pierce call out. Fighting back my shudder I followed Fury closely as we entered. “Fury to what do I owe the pleasure!” I could hear the delight in Pierce's voice, but I tried not to focus on him.

“You mean to tell me you don’t already know?” I could hear the joke in Fury’s voice.

“Well, I heard something, but I just couldn’t believe it, so I thought I’d hear it from you.” I could hear how genial the man was. It really made you want to like him, but knowing what I did I couldn’t.

“Well, it depends on what you think you heard.” I could still hear how amused Fury was. My grip tightened on the coat. I didn’t know why but knowing Pierce was about to see me had dread and terror running up my spine.

“Something about a little girl calling you ‘daddy’ in the lobby.” I held my breath this was it.

“Wait you mean to tell me you’ve managed to miss me talking about my precious little girl for twelve years.” Fury was playing the incredulity card. This was it. “You’ll have to forgive her she gets a little shy around strangers. Lauren? You wanna say hi?”

I poked my face halfway out from behind Fury’s arm. I bit my lip as I pulled my hand from his jacket and waved.

“Hi,” I spoke softly. Pierce looked…surprised, I guess. That was the simplest explanation for his look.

“Ok, now that is not a hello.” I could feel Fury laughing. “At least let him see more than half a face.”

I stepped out from behind Fury. One hand in a death grip around the hem of my hoodie and the other on Fury’s coat.

“Now Fury she can’t be yours…” I couldn’t hear much else cause Fury put his hands over my ears. He pulled me in front of him while he tried to muffle the sound, but I knew what he was saying. It was muffled but I got the gist of it.

“Don’t tell her that. She doesn’t know she’s adopted.” Fury almost hissed that out and the look of shock on Pierce’s face doubled. “Her mother was a dear friend of mine in high school, and she died giving birth to this little one. Her mother’s last wish was that I raise her. My kid doesn’t know, and you can’t tell her!!!”

Pierce struggled to maintain a calm facial expression at that. A minute later Fury removed his hands from my ears. And I let a look of confusion spread across my feature.

“Daddy, what did he mean by I can’t be yours?” I bit my lip for dramatic effect, and I shot a glance at Pierce. I could tell he bought it.

“Just that you’re too pretty to be his kid. Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but your dad is one ugly SOB.” Pierce made the smoothest recovery, but I want to make him hurt a little bit.

I looked back up at Fury as I furrowed my brow.

“Daddy…what’s an SOB?” I looked at Fury’s face as he glared at Pierce. I chanced a glance at Pierce who had gone completely red from embarrassment.

“Well… an SOB is a word for…” I could see him floundering to make this work. “It’s a…not so nice word for a person that means…stupid…old…bugger. And Uncle Pierce spent a little time in London where he learned that phrase.”

“That’s not very nice. I thought you said I’d like Uncle Pierce.” I let disappointment flash across my features. “Hey Daddy, can we go see Uncle Phil? At least I like him.”

“Sorry Pierce, I kinda have to follow her whims. I’ll be back after I leave her with Agent Coulson.” Pierce looked slightly defeated as he gestured for Fury to do what he needed to with an exhausted smile on his face.

“Hey Dad, why’d you call Uncle Phil an agent? Is he a SPY?!?!!” I knew if I let that comment go Pierce would know something was up, so I played the excited kid. I knew Fury saw what I was thinking because he let a look of panic cross his features very briefly.

“No, no, no, no. No.” To Fury’s credit, he pulled off the panicked dad voice very well. “None of us do anything that dangerous. We run a security agency and that makes us agents, but we aren’t spies.”

“Does that mean Uncle Phil can teach me how to fight?!!!” I let excitement flood my features my eyes practically sparkling. “Please, Dad! Pleeeeeease!!!”

“We’ll talk about on the way but I’m sure Uncle Pierce has a lot of work to do so why don’t we say bye for now.” I waved excitedly to him and then rushed out the door. Fury trailing behind me.

Chapter 3

I could feel the moment we entered a room without any cameras or microphones. I hadn’t checked the sign on the door, but if I had to guess, it would have to be Fury’s office. The moment he shut the door; I could feel the waves of anger rolling off of him. I turned around slowly to meet his gaze. I didn’t have to be an expert at facial expressions, but the one-eyed stare of doom had returned. I took a deep breath preparing myself for whatever fresh form of hell he was about to unleash.

            “You wanna tell me what the hell you were thinking in calling me ‘daddy?’” Fury’s upper lip snarled on the offending word. I knew I had to say something before he started to yell. The room might be devoid of surveillance but that didn’t mean the walls were thick enough to mute his voice if he raised it too much.

            “Fury. Look at me.” I was calm as I raised both hands in a show of peace. Fury looked pissed but I knew I had his attention. “Fury when you look at a girl like me what is the first impression you think I give most people? Do I look like the type of girl to be quiet, subdued, and formal? Do I look like someone who would use the phrase ‘hello father? I hope that today will be another successful venture that pleases you.’ Or do I look like the type of girl to come bouncing up excitedly to her father saying something like ‘Daddy, guess what I did today?’ With a big grin on my face all bubbly and shit.”

            “I imagine the second one would seem more natural.” Fury practically bit his tongue as he forced the words out.

            “Exactly.” I wasn’t smug but I was very intent on him understanding that he had no say in the matter of how I spoke or acted. “Do you know why that is? I do. It’s because when I was this age, that was exactly how I acted and in most scenarios I still do. You said I had to make this act convincing, and I did. Therefore, since you asked for it, you have no right to complain regarding how I achieve your goal.”

            “Fine,” Fury said begrudgingly. “But can you at least call me ‘dad’ instead of ‘daddy?’”

            I couldn’t help giggling like a madwoman at his request. Not only because he was asking it, but because it wasn’t the first time I had received this request. When I turned twelve the first time my mother begged me to stop calling her and my father ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy,’ she told me I had until my next birthday to get rid of it or she wouldn’t respond to me calling her anything other than ‘mom.’ I shrugged with an evil look in my eyes.

            “I’ll think about it.” I was still smiling about the chaos I would cause anytime I would conveniently ‘slip up’ and call him ‘daddy.’ “Now do me a favor and turn around. I need to change.”

            “And how exactly do you plan on achieving that?” Fury looked like he wanted to laugh.

            “Like this.” I put my hands out and closed my eyes. I focused on my need to wear clothes that fit. The Patronus thought had given me an idea. I had emotional attachments to certain outfits throughout the years, and using that might be enough to ‘summon’ them. It was worth a try at the very least. I focused on the memory of one outfit from around the age of twelve. I felt the tingle start and spread before I felt the feeling of fabric in my hands. I opened my eyes and grinned victoriously. “Now turn around or else. I’m not afraid to strip in front of you.”

            Fury turned around as I quickly changed from the oversized clothing into the ones I had ‘summoned.’ As I finished pulling my hair into a ponytail to complete my outfit, I couldn’t help but smile at my little achievement. My new outfit was a brown tank top with a few sparkly fake gems sewn into the top and a pair of camo cargo pants.

            “You can turn around now.” I was completely smug over this and let it bleed into my voice. “I’m sure you have more questions to which I have even fewer answers, so I’ll go ahead and anticipate a little. No, I wasn’t hiding it from you. No, I haven’t been able to do this my whole life. It presented itself for the first time last night. You know, with the inhaler. Following that I decided to test it and see if it was a fluke. Turns out it wasn’t. End of story.”

            Fury just nodded once before looking at my feet again. I had forgotten about shoes. I rolled my eyes and began the process again to get what I needed. I was getting better at this as I had less emotional attachment to the shoes, but it would be weird if I stayed barefoot. Two minutes later I was wearing white socks and hot pink Skechers. Fury seemed satisfied with the results. He turned to the door. I was about to ask him what he was doing when someone knocked on the door. Ah, time to meet my heroes. Well, some of them. I turned around and walked over to one of Fury’s couches and sat down on it both legs crossed facing the door.

            “Are you going to make me wait all day or are you gonna open the damn door?” Fury had crossed his arms.

            The door opened and I saw Coulson. He held the door for the remaining three and I tried to contain my excitement. I pulled on the mask of calm that I wore when I got overly excited. It would hold for a while. Coulson shut the door as the four of them faced Fury. I saw Natasha’s confusion when she noticed me. I let myself smile slightly as I waved at her. I knew she would be the first to notice me since she was the trained spy/assassin of the group. I had to bite back a squeal when she waved back. That was when the other three noticed me.

            “Why don’t you all have a seat.” Fury’s tone made it clear that the statement was not a request as he gestured to the sofa directly across from me. Fury then promptly turned around and walked over to stand behind my couch. I tried my hardest not to laugh.

            “I really hope he did that to try and maintain his visage of intimidation.”

            “Director Fury. What’s with the kid?” Barton had asked the question, not bothering to even look at me. I couldn’t explain why but Hawkeye pretending I wasn’t there really pissed me off. I didn’t bother with the mask anymore since I needed to focus.

            I focused on my irritation and the desire to make him realize his mistake. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I did want to surprise him. Normally I only summoned things into my hands, but I figured I might also be able to focus on where I wanted to appear, so I didn’t hold out my hands this time nor did I close my eyes. My vision of what I wanted to occur was very clear. I watched Barton intently to see if it would work. As I did, I saw the biggest water balloon of all time appear over his head. It hadn’t dropped yet as though it was waiting for my command. I noticed Romanoff watching me. I winked at her as I smiled mischievously my eyes flickering between her and the balloon over Barton. I knew Fury could see it. That was most likely why he said nothing. Romanoff glanced over at Barton wondering what I was looking at and covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile before looking at me one more and raising both eyebrows as if to say, ‘Is that you doing that?’ I knew once I released it would only soak him. I was very intent on that, so I waited for him to speak once more as I returned my attention to him.

            “Sir? You haven’t answered my question.” Barton's eyes flickered to me for the first time since he noticed me. I saw the confusion blossom in his eyes when my grin widened. “Why is she looking at me like that?”

            “Now.” I breathed out and the balloon dropped.

            Barton shrieked at the freezing cold water as it suddenly doused him from head to toe. As I intended not a single drop of water touched the other three figures seated with Barton on the couch. I let the laughter that had built in my throat explode. I didn’t bother trying to stop it. I was laughing so hard tears leaked out of my eyes as I pointed at Barton laughing.

            Oh my god. The look on your face was priceless.” I was struggling to breathe as I laughed the other three agents joining in. Barton, however, looked confused and pissed all at once.

            “Was that you? That was extremely rude!” Barton was on the verge of yelling shock and anger blending in his tone.

            “No. it wasn’t.” I let the laughter subside as I looked at him seriously. “What was rude was you talking over my head about me as if I didn’t exist while not even bothering to look at me. That. Was. Rude.”

            “How’d you do that?” Romanoff interrupted before Barton could piss me off further. She looked at me with a vague sense of wonder. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

            “If I knew I would tell you. However, I am here for a different reason than my unique ability that you were just witness to.” I smiled graciously. I had always liked Barton, but this was before he started having to interact with people who weren’t agents. I wasn’t angry at him, but I didn’t want him to ignore me. “Before I start, I’m sorry about the prank. I couldn’t resist. I hope you will forgive me.”

            Barton gave me a curt nod. I knew I had kind of earned the bitterness. No matter, I would earn his trust eventually.

            “Alright. Here goes nothing.” I mumbled to myself before looking up and raising my voice to address the room. “I’m sure y’all have many questions so I’m just gonna take this bull by the horns. My name is Lauren. Yes, I am human. Yes, I have ‘powers.’ I come from an alternate version of this Earth and the future. Before y’all ask what, I mean, I need to finish giving you the details. I have the gift of ‘foresight’ and ‘hindsight’ regarding certain events and individuals. I’m not omnipotent and I do have a year when my knowledge hits a barrier. I can’t see anything past that point. I know this sounds strange…but I need you to trust me. Because at this moment, only the people in this room can know this. It is of utmost importance that this information is not shared with anyone outside of this room. Please.”

            I spoke quickly due to the height of nervousness running rampant through my body. I gave everyone, save Fury, a pained smile at my lackluster explanation.

            “Right. You expect us to believe this bullshit?” Barton was of course the most skeptical, but I could see that he wasn’t the only one. “Can you prove it?”

            “Yes. I can, but I shouldn’t have to.” I pursed my lips. “Fury believes me. That should be enough, but if you really need proof, I will grant it.”

            “Yeah. We need proof.” Barton's tone was short, and my temper was going with it which wouldn’t be good for anyone as I still had very little control over my powers and a lot of unknowns. So, I smiled sweetly at him.

            “Who do you want me to prove it on? I wouldn’t recommend saying yourself, since not all secrets are ones, you want to be revealed.” I would be able to answer one for any of them except Agent Hill, but I could practically guarantee he would only pick either himself or Romanoff as those would be the only answers he would believe without question.

“Try me. You don’t scare me, kid.” Barton scoffed at my warning. I took a deep breath as I shrugged my shoulder making the ‘you asked for this face.’

“Come here.” I left no room for debate with my tone which wasn’t easy since I didn’t look like I had even hit puberty. Barton rolled his eyes but got up and came over to me, nonetheless. I motioned for him to get closer. When he did, I put my lips next to his ear and whispered, “How’s Laura?”

            Barton pulled away stumbling back, as though he had been burned, almost tripping over his own feet. Fear filled his face. I had hit my mark. I narrowed my eyes at him.

            “I do believe I warned you not to request yourself. But you can relax. I wasn’t threatening you.” I spoke in a very matter-of-fact tone. “The others wouldn’t have resulted in me putting the fear of god in you.”

“I still don’t believe you.” Barton had gone as white as a sheet.

“You’re kidding me, right?” I sighed as I pinched the bridge of my nose. Did he really want me to do this? “Barton, that was me going easy on you. I could say some extremely creepy shit that will actually freak you out. Do you want me to do that?!”

“Don’t do it to him. Do it to me.” A soft voice offered. I turned my head to look at who had spoken. Natasha looked unperturbed as she raised her hand like she was a child in school. “I trust Fury enough to believe you, so do your worst.”

Natasha was smiling by the end of her statement, and I really didn’t want to piss her off. I wracked my head for something I could use that she wouldn’t have to hide, while also being non-threatening. As I bit my lip trying to come up with something, I gasped softly. I knew what I could do.

“Natasha,” I hedged dropping all formalities. I smiled softly at her. This would definitely be interesting as at this age I hadn’t been the best singer, but I was pretty good when I got older so maybe I could transfer that skill. “I don’t want to upset you since you’re the only one, besides Fury, in this room, who I think would actually try to kill me if I did so I’ll try my best to make this easy since I’m sure you haven’t told them everything and it’s not my place to do so for you. So, I’ll do this instead.” I took a deep breath and started to sing. “So, I said bye bye this American Pie. Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry. And them good old boys drinking whiskey and rye saying ‘this’ll be the day that I die. This’ll be the day that I diiiie.’”

Natasha smiled at me. I had reminded her of a very fond memory intentionally. Barton seemed to calm down as I sang seeing as Nat had let her guard down enough to show the song meant something to her.

“I hope everyone believes me now.” I looked around at the group in front of me. Coulson, Hill, and Barton all nodded at me with Barton still looking weary. Natasha gave me a big thumbs-up and smiled. “Ok, now that we are all on the same page it's time to explain the next step. First and foremost, I can’t tell y’all what happens in the future so don’t ask. And none of you can tell anyone about my special skills or record them anywhere they can be found by someone else. There are many people out there who wouldn’t hesitate to kidnap and torture a little girl for the information. It’s the reason I only trust the people in this room. Eventually, I will have to join the fray. I’ll have to fight. So, I need training regarding that. Which is why y’all will be training me. All I will say is no guns or anything that makes a loud noise. When I do join the fray that’s when I will reveal why I know so much. It is the moment I will start trying to change the future for the better. Will you help me?”

There was a moment of silence. I held my breath worried about what might happen if they said no. All four of the people in front of me exchanged glances before looking at me.

“I look forward to starting your training.” Natasha had a devious twinkle in her eye as I finally exhaled and smiled. “What else do we need to do?”

We spent the next several hours creating my backstory and solidifying my existence. I managed to summon enough pictures of me, by myself, throughout childhood for them to put in their wallets or place in discreet places that no one else would have noticed unless they paid really close attention to it. By the end of the day, I had started building a new family, with each of them as a guardian should the need arise.

*********

One year later

*********

            Throughout the past year, I had been trained rigorously by my new family in many forms of fighting, strategy, and deception. In addition, I became a well-known face to a vast majority of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and had played the part of the naïve little girl very well. I was kept in the dark regarding the true nature of the organization and its true day-to-day operations, or so they believed. The agents I came in contact with on the daily were given scripts and roles to play to sell the front Fury provided all those months ago. In addition, the year had been filled with “bonding” activities due to the secretive nature of our true relationships. Although I knew Fury didn’t trust me, he and I fell into our father-daughter roles so completely that the act even continued when no one else could see. Fury really did become like a father to me over the course of the past year and his subordinates became true guardians. Pierce continually tried to endear himself to me, so I had myself act more comfortable around him but made it clear I still preferred “Uncle” Phil.

            I knew this bothered Pierce, which was why I made a point of doing it. Pierce had called Phil in the following day to drill him about you. Phil supplied the agreed-upon stories very convincingly. He managed to implicate Hill, who brought in Natasha, who of course dragged in Barton. All of them had shared so many stories and photographs of my ‘childhood’ that Pierce made a habit of trying to prove how well he knew me. For my “thirteenth” birthday, while Fury was out of the state, Pierce made a point of gifting several very expensive nerd-themed gifts. I almost died when he asked me “What did Uncle Phil get for you?” He asked it in such a condescending tone which went downright nasal when he said Phil’s name. I had to play it casually.

            “Oh, I don’t know yet. I typically don’t get to open my gifts until the evening since that’s the only time everyone is off work. You know so the whole family is together.”

            The others did give me gifts, but I made a point of pulling Phil to the side and telling him my plan. He didn’t love it, but I managed to convince him since I knew how funny it would be. The next morning, I got dressed in a purple t-shirt with white shorts and a sky-blue jacket before Natasha and Hill helped rig me up with a tiny camera and mic. I couldn’t stop smiling and had to smother the giggles that kept leaking out of my mouth. My plans as the group had learned when I wanted to perform psychological warfare on someone could be quite devious. I told them it was only when someone pissed me off and I had cited the slight at Phil as my reason for this one.

            When we got to headquarters, I noticed Pierce had made a point of showing up in the lobby intent on putting whatever “meager” gift he believed Phil had gotten me to shame. I skipped up to him with the group trailing behind me.

            “Hey, Uncle Pierce! What are you doing down here? I’ve never seen you in the lobby.” I played the excited innocent girl perfectly as I bounced up to him.

            “Well, I know it’s the day after your birthday so I figured I would save you the walk to tell me all about your gifts.” He sounded so sweet. I smiled up at him.

            “Well…Aunt Maria got me a nice set of books to add to my reading list, Auntie Nat got me a beautiful dress with a hidden sheath for these daggers she got me last year, and Clint got me a new bow and arrows since I outgrew my last one.” Clint was the only one I never called Uncle and it was because we had decided he was more big brother material than Uncle.

            “What about your Uncle Phil sweetheart?” I could feel the smugness radiating off of him.

            “Uncle Phil got me the best gift of all time!!!” I smiled so wide I was surprised I didn’t hurt myself. “Uncle Phil got me written into the final Harry Potter book!!! He got Rowling to write one edition of the last book with my name in it! And she signed it! He managed to talk her into it around my birthday last year before it even got published! Look!!!”

            I had managed to manifest this book, changes, and all into reality, but doing so was extremely taxing. We had discovered that creating something fully from my imagination with no basis in real life took a lot of energy, so I wasn’t supposed to do it that often. In all honesty, I still felt the effects of creating the book for the rest of the week, but I still maintain it was worth it. Natasha had forged a very sweet message to me in Rowling’s hand. Pierce looked ready to kill Phil and I knew it. So, I turned around and pulled Phil into a bear hug, and looked up at him.

            “Uncle Phil…I’m so glad you’re my best friend.” I made my message clear without letting Pierce know why. “Family is nice and all, but I would be so lonely without any friends and you’re the only one I’ve got and that makes you my best friend.”

            I watched the anger slowly fill Pierce’s face with a slight satisfaction. That lasted for all of three seconds. Pierce had started to smile, the corners pulling up and almost curling with glee. He almost reminded me of the Jim Carey Grinch.

            “Agent Coulson, you didn’t tell her?” I could hear the glee in his voice at the idea in his head. The elevator had reached the floor for everyone except Pierce to exit. After we left the elevator I turned around to face Pierce who wasn’t done. “Lauren, sweetie, your Uncle Phil has to leave on an assignment for a while starting next month.”

            As the elevator doors closed I felt the shock run through me at the realization of what his words meant. I knew it had been a year since I had arrived, but I didn’t let myself think about what that signified. We had made my birthday the day I appeared in this universe. As such that meant it was April and the next month was May, the month it would all start. Less than a month from now the first movie would start and so would my true mission. I didn’t care about Pierce’s reaction as I let myself feel the shock. At that very moment, I felt something between my legs that I hadn’t had to deal with in a year. My period had started. My face blanched as the first cramp hit. Tears sprang to the corners of my eyes as I realized I had worn white shorts. I quickly let go of Coulson.

            When I went through my period the first time around my cramps had been debilitating and they still were, but I needed to get out of the public eye. I needed to hide my ass. I made eye contact with Natasha before I doubled over with my second cramp. I let myself fold up on the floor curled up in a ball since that lessened the pain slightly.

            “It hurts!” I cried out gasping out in shock and pain. I had heard high levels of stress could start a period more quickly, but I had never experienced it in that manner. But I needed to play my part. I couldn’t act like I knew about this or was used to it and my hitting the deck with no explanation wouldn’t be ignored. “Auntie Nat what’s happening?! It hurts so bad!”

            Natasha had seen my expression before and went to the floor to check on me as soon as I went down.

            “It’s ok sweetie. I’m just gonna check something really quickly.” Nat leaned down to check my rear her eyes widening at what I assumed would be a telltale red splotch. “Lauren it's gonna be ok Aunt Maria and I are gonna help you out. I need you to trust me OK. Clint, can you pick her up bridal style and take her with me to the bathroom?” Clint gave a sharp nod. For all of his messing with me, the two of us had grown to be close like siblings and I knew he was worried about me. “Maria, I need you to grab the emergency kit.” Hill didn’t waste any time running for the elevator. The three of us had prepared a contingency plan in the event of this situation since I was still hiding my powers. “Coulson, I need you to go to the store and buy a shitload of chocolate.”

            I was in a blinding amount of pain when Clint knelt down next to me.

            “Hey, kiddo. I’m gonna pick you up, ok? I know it's gonna hurt but I need you to stay strong.” I nodded at Clint my vision severely blurred from the tears. When he lifted me the shock of movement increased the pain. I sucked in my breath and squeezed my eyes shut. Clint wasted no time in moving us to the women’s room. I heard multiple women protest his presence there before Natasha yelled at everyone to clear the room or else. I opened my eyes when Clint set me down in a shower stall. I guess it wasn’t the women’s restroom like I had previously thought but a women’s locker room. That suited my needs much better.

            Clint stepped out of the stall to stand guard leaving only me and Nat who promptly shut the curtain.

            “Ok, kiddo. You can’t hang onto that outfit. There’s blood drenching your entire backside and the bottom of your jacket. The shirt might be fine, so I’ll make sure that gets sent back home but we need to get you cleaned up and fixed, as necessary.” Natasha looked at me with so much pity. Normally I hated it when people looked at me like that, but I was in too much pain to care.

            I started stripping. I used to care about being nude in front of people, but I had gotten used to it in front of Natasha since she was my partner for pretty much every possible physical activity including dance and yoga. I had changed in front of her in the locker room hundreds of times in the past year, so I knew she wasn’t going to make me feel uncomfortable and I trusted her. I gave her my clothes and she started the shower.

            “Do you need my help, or do you think you can handle it?” I shook my head no. This I could power through. Natasha smiled at that before taking my ruined clothes and stepping out of the shower closing the curtain once more behind her.

            Blood had trailed its way down both my legs and pooled around my feet. I went and curled myself up under the warm water. I could barely move but I didn’t want to have the blood dry itself on my legs. I heard Hill enter the locker rooms and her muffled conversation with Natasha. I could still see Clint’s feet next to the shower stall standing guard over me as a precaution. That fact made me smile. I saw Natasha’s shoes reappear in front of the stall.

            “Hey kiddo, I’ve got the emergency kit,” Natasha called through the curtain softly. I crawled over to the edge and held my hand out for the tampon I needed to stop the flood. I felt her put it in my hand. Pulling it back in I heard Natasha say, “When you’re done, Clint can carry you back to the space we have set up in Hill’s office where we have the heating pad and Advil waiting. I have a towel for you when you’re ready and the change of clothes for after that.”

            After fixing myself in the necessary manner, drying off, and getting dressed Clint carried me as promised. Phil was waiting for us with enough Reece’s to send me into a sugar coma. I was set on a sofa with lots of pillows a fluffy blanket and a very nice heating pad which I curled around immediately. I looked up at the group.

            “Thank you and I’m sorry for all the trouble.” I felt guilty. I wasn’t sure if this would be as bad as the very first time, I had experienced it when I was originally thirteen, but this was possibly worse. I hadn’t bled as much originally; however, the agony of the cramps was around the same level. More than that though I had my ‘first’ period in the middle of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and on camera where someone like Pierce could see. I blushed from embarrassment at the thought. “What happened with Pierce?”

            “He said he wanted to see you when you were ready, make sure you were alright,” Hill informed me. She smiled a little bit as she said, “I told him what was happening was something he couldn’t ask about and if he did then we weren’t liable for any reactions that occurred from there.”

            “Can someone tell him I don’t want any visitors right now?” I smiled but I knew my expression was still riddled with pain. “I just want to sleep this off. I just need to ensure I get this to end in six days not thirty like the last time.”

            I remembered why I stopped having my period due to their tendency to last for an entire month. I focused on my pain and the need to make it stop as I summoned the birth control, I had used to fix it. When it appeared, I took one immediately. Then I snuggled into the couch to try and get myself to sleep through the pain. I saw the group exchange concerned glances before deciding to let me do what I needed to. Hill volunteered to tell Pierce, as Nat and Coulson both left to go do work. Only Clint stayed with me. He came over to me and scooted me down a little so he could sit next to my head and stroke my hair comfortingly. He whispered things like ‘You’re gonna be ok,’ and ‘Try to sleep kiddo.’ I knew he was extremely worried and just wanted to watch over me. Eventually, I drifted off. I woke up briefly when Clint lifted me to take me home but fell asleep again quickly.

            My dreams that day were filled with fear. Even my subconscious knew what was about to begin was plaguing my mind. When I woke up the next morning, I still had cramps, but the bleeding had slowed to the point of spotting. As I sat up, I realized I felt slightly hungry. I stood tapping my foot trying to decide if I really wanted to eat. As I thought about it a strange sensation of weightlessness overcame me. I looked down just in time to see the ground below my feet open up and swallow me whole. I didn’t even have time to scream. My vision went dark for several seconds and when it cleared, I realized I was now standing in the kitchen.

            In the kitchen, Clint and Natasha happened to be sitting down for breakfast. At my sudden appearance, Clint’s jaw dropped and the bite of food he had taken fell into his lap. Natasha on the other hand slightly raised her eyebrow.

            “What the f---!” I was struggling to compute whatever it was I had just done. “I think I have a new skill!”

            “No shit kid!” Clint was slightly shell-shocked as I looked over at him. “What the hell was that?”

            “I dunno, I was thinking about eating and going to the kitchen when the ground sort of ate me and then spat me back up here.” I tried to word the experience as accurately as I could, but I wasn’t sure I could explain whatever it was I had done. If it even was me.

            Over the next hour, the three of us attempted to recreate it. It wasn’t until I needed to go to the bathroom that anything happened. I had told Nat that I needed to pee, and I was tapping my foot impatiently. Nat was mid-response when the ground opened up once more. I was transported into the bathroom two seconds later. When I came out Nat was waiting.

            “I think I figured it out.” I was laughing sheepishly. I proceeded to explain the two commonalities the situations shared. "In both cases, I needed something, had a clear image of a location in my mind, and I was tapping my foot.”

            “Let’s test that theory out.” Nat had a grin on her face that unnerved me.

            As it turned out I was right to be afraid of her smile because her idea of testing me was trying to kill me and seeing if the skill could be used instinctually to move me away from an attack. After several hours of this, we figured out that I only needed to have two of the principles I had originally proposed in order to achieve relocation. I either needed a clear location in my head and the foot tapping or the need in place and the foot tapping. As such we realized that the foot movement was key regardless of the situation. We also both witnessed the way the movement occurred. Each time the ground would open up under my feet, I would drop into the hole, the hole would close up after me, then the ground would reopen at a separate location, and I would shoot up into the air to land on the newly sealed ground. We nicknamed this skill “burrowing” since the foot tapping and the hole in the ground were very rabbit-like.

            Over the following weeks before Phil was set to leave, we trained even harder. We trained for normal combat, meaning no powers, while we were at headquarters. But at home, we trained for the more “specialized” combat in which I was supposed to use whatever means necessary to subdue my attacker. Usually, my attacker was either Clint or Nat but occasionally Phil and Maria would join to practice group training. I had gotten rather good with weapons and hand to hand but the training where my powers were allowed was more difficult for me because it involved more strategy than instinct. If I reacted to the situation instinctually, it was possible that I could inadvertently kill or severely maim my guardians. As such we had a no real weapons rule in place and for the most part this form of training was more like a more terrifying variant of hide-and-seek. This was also how Nat trained my stealth and perception skills. Before long I was able to “cloak” my person from anyone, save Nat. This training also helped us realize that my powers did in fact have limits and that excessive usage without a break could exhaust me as it used up my energy in the same way exercise did.

            This also helped explain the sudden occurrence of my period. Due to the stress my body was undergoing from exercise, usage of my first power, and the development of my second power, my body was on the edge of a knife and the realization of how soon everything would start was the tipping point. From that point on I had to be careful of any stressors that might arise in the future, which meant relaxation became a mandatory activity in my daily training regimen. As such I became very proficient in yoga. Then, before I knew it, it was a week before Phil was set to leave.

            Fury had returned from his mission that week. I knew he could see the amount of tension running through me, but he never mentioned it. He knew that something important would take place soon but per an unspoken agreement, neither he nor my other guardians said a word of it. I knew that Pierce was most likely sending Phil halfway across the country just to get him away from me, but I knew that reason wouldn’t last for long. While eating dinner one night at the end of April, a breaking news story interrupted the broadcast Fury had on in the background. I turned around to see the news anchor announcing that the missing billionaire, Tony Stark, had been found and rescued in Afghanistan. I blanched slightly realizing that it was time. I turned back to Fury who had his eyebrow raised, silently asking me if I knew anything.

            “So, it begins,” I said quietly, but I knew he heard me.

            “Do you have any information to share at this time?” I shook my head. As much as I wanted to prevent the events about to take place, I knew I needed to remain silent regarding the matter since it was more important they occur rather than me attempting to save Tony and Pepper the next few days of suffering they were about to go through.

            “Fury,” I finally worked up the courage to look him in the eye. “When you go to speak to him, I’m coming with you.”

            Fury nodded and the two of us resumed our dinner in silence. The days leading up to our departure for California remained unchanged. The only exception being the news of Iron Man’s first appearance. Fury asked and I smiled enigmatically. I knew it frustrated him, but he knew the rules and he played the game, even though he hated it. Before long, our departure date arrived.

            Fury and I got on the jet to California accompanied only by Maria. A little over three-quarters into our flight, Maria handed me a bag and told me to get changed. I raised my brow, but I didn’t question it. Fury most likely didn’t want me in my outfits that looked as though a rainbow had vomited all over me. In the stall of the jet, I opened the bag. As I had suspected it was a suit. It was designed similarly to Nat’s, an almost entirely black one-piece. I pulled it on easily enough, the fabric was more comfortable and flexible than it looked. I guessed the design wasn’t Fury’s since I noticed certain details in the suit with hints of color that nodded to my interests. There was a bluish glow that lined the sleeves almost like magic. I smiled slightly as I knew the glow was very subtle once the suit was on. A knock on the door told me I didn’t have time to properly check out the suit, but it would suffice to say I was excited.

            I exited the bathroom and could tell my theory was correct based on the hard line of Fury’s mouth and the suppressed smile of Maria’s.

            “I believe I stated the suit was supposed to be all black so as to promote stealth.” Fury turned to look at Maria who had adopted a look of seriousness. “Do I even want to know what happened to the hood and mask portions of her suit?”

            “I would say no is a safe answer.” Maria had maintained the expression as best she could but now I was trying not to laugh because I knew it was intentional. Fury looked as though he had resigned himself to the fact that he was not going to have his way. “If it helps the glow can be turned on or off with certain key phrases.”

            “And what exactly might those be?” Fury looked so stern.

            “Lumos,” I replied before Maria had a chance to. The glow brightened slightly. Maria looked like she was ready to crack a rib now that Fury’s full attention was on me. “And if I had to wager a guess, Nox.” The glow faded away. “Nicely done.”

            Fury’s hands flew up in the air as he got up and stalked off to a different part of the cabin. I could swear I heard him muttering “I give up.” Maria and I shared eye contact before collapsing in a fit of silent giggles.

            The jet landed soon after and we were at Stark’s mansion within the hour. Stark wasn’t home at the moment, but I already knew that as it had been shown in the end credits scene where Stark and Fury first met. I hid myself in the dark, undetectable to anyone save Fury. And then we waited.

            Tony walked into the room as a slight beeping went off.

            “Jarvis.” He called out.

            Welcome home S---” The AI attempted to reply as his systems were taken offline.

            I turned to look at Fury standing behind the couch, his back to Stark as he began to address him.

“I am Iron Man,” Fury stated plainly if a little coldly. “You think you’re the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark you’ve become part of a bigger universe you JUST don’t know it yet.”

 I stepped out of the shadow behind Tony as Fury turned to face him, his figure still cloaked in darkness.

            “Who the hell are you?” Tony asked almost nervously. Almost.

            “Nick Fury.” Fury stepped into the light his face full of purpose that Stark had yet to see. “Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

            “Ah,” Tony said it like it both explained everything and didn’t surprise him as I’m certain it did.

            “I’m here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative.” Fury had the barest hint of a smile on his face.

            “Right, what the hell is that?” Stark spoke with an air of arrogance. Fury glanced behind him at me and nodded subtly.

            “Well Mr. Stark,” I smiled as he jumped. “It’s the start of something great. Why don’t you take a seat.”

Chapter 4

That night Fury spoke of his goals and the purpose of the Avenger’s Initiative. I stood in front of the seating area watching them intently. Stark listened quietly and intently more focused and serious than I had ever known him to be. I wondered why that was, but I didn’t have to wait very long for an answer.

            “So, Mr. Stark any questions?” Fury seemed confident in his proposal.

            “Yeah, I’ve got a couple.” Stark started with that tone of his that told you he was prepping to use sarcasm and humor to avoid confronting a situation. I was preparing for the worst when he looked at me. “Why is there a child with you? Did you kidnap her? Kid, blink twice if you need help.”

            I started laughing at the look on Fury’s face.

            “I assure you, Mr. Stark, I’m fine.” I wiped a tear from my eye. “But thank you so much for that. That was fantastic. No, I’m here because I need to be.”

            Stark didn’t look convinced at my words, nor did he seem to believe me. I knew it was time to use my favorite “weapon,” the feeling of shock.

            “Hey… Daddy,” I looked Fury dead in the eye as I said it. I could see the horror and anger that I elicited when I said it. I smiled sweetly before turning to Stark. His face was a mask of shock and horror. “I’m gonna go ahead and show him my skills, okay?”

            “I’m sorry, did she just call you daddy?” Stark looked like he had just swallowed something gross.

            “Yes, I did. I don’t call him daddy often so it maintains its effect but that is the relationship here. He’s, my dad.” I looked at Fury with a malicious glint in my eye. I would probably pay for it later but right now the look on his face made me feel like it was worth it. “Look I did warn you that I made no promises regarding dropping the ‘daddy’ thing so you can’t get mad. Any who…like I said before Mr. Stark, I’m gonna show you some of my skills.”

            I proceeded to launch into the explanation of my powers and the “foresight”/ “hindsight” ability in particular. When I finished explaining I looked over at Stark.

            “Yeah, okay say that all was true pipsqueak,” Stark put the word true in quotation marks with his fingers. “Can you even prove it?”

            “Here we go again.” I rolled my eyes. “Do you really think I would claim something if I couldn’t prove it?” Stark had crossed his arms. “I can either give you the easy out or upset you. Which option do you want?” I practically bit off my tongue with the frustration I had with him.

I knew I could simply summon something to prove my powers and that would be his easy out but if he chose hard, I would have to share my knowledge of his past with him, but more than that I would have to prove it. Over the last couple of days, I had been working on a theory that I might be able to “conjure” the image I needed. I didn’t want to call it an illusion just yet. Not till I was sure I was capable of performing it. I had based my conjecture upon the way my other two powers worked, a clear image in my mind and either a need or emotion to make it work. Even so, I still hoped he would choose option one since option two had the more problematic issue of uncertainty.

“I never liked things that were too easy,” Tony smirked like he had me. “Go ahead. Do your worst.”

“You asked for this.” I sighed. “Do you remember the first time you met Yinsen?” I asked it as delicately as I could because I knew this would still be a sore spot for him.

“You mean when I was strapped to a car battery? Yeah, that’s a little hard to forget.” Stark scoffed at me.

“No. I mean the very first time.” I shook my head smiling sadly. “He mentioned it to you during your captivity. He had met you once previously…at a conference in Bern. It was New Year’s Eve 1999.” I closed my eyes and focused on the scene. I pulled the memory to the surface. I needed him to see this. Then I heard the sounds of a crowd surrounding us. I didn’t risk opening my eyes or listening I needed to focus. I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter trying to hold the image I hoped was being broadcast in the room.

“Mr. Stark!” I heard Ho Yinsen introduce himself excitedly. “Ho Yinsen.”

I heard Stark gasp softly, but I tried not to focus on that. I continued to push the memory and image out.

“Oh,” I heard the laughter in Stark’s voice from my memory. “I finally met a man called Ho.”

“I would like to introduce you to our guest,” Yinsen awkwardly brushed off Stark’s drunken comment. “Dr. Wu.”

I struggled to maintain the broadcast. I was focusing as hard as I could, but my head was starting to pound and I felt something wet begin to streak from my nose, but I ignored it. I had to keep going.

“Oh, this guy.” Memory Stark said it with the slightest air of disinterest.

“Mr. Stark,” Wu spoke with an air of politeness. “你好.”

“Kid, you can drop it!” I could vaguely hear the real Stark calling out to me. He sounded alarmed but I wasn’t done. He needed to see this. The wetness had reached my chin, but I pushed through it.

“You’re a heart doctor.” Memory Stark said it with a feigned interest before he started on yet another crude joke. “She’s gonna need a cardiologist after I,” Stark blew into his noisemaker excitedly.

My head was killing me, but I was almost there.

“Perhaps another time?” Yinsen sounded so hopeful as he trailed off.

I opened my eyes as I let go of the memory and relaxed. I got to see that I had succeeded in creating a projected illusion of the memory as I watched the scene of a party dissolve around us. I turned my head to Stark ready to celebrate my triumph, feeling smug that I had proven my theory to be true, when I noted the alarm in his face. He had stood up and stepped a lot closer to me, his arms out as if he were ready to catch me. Why did he look so panicked? Then I remembered the wetness I felt earlier. I put my fingers to my face confirming the wetness was real. As I pulled my fingers away to look at the substance coating them, my eyes went wide.

“Oh shit!” I exclaimed softly. My fingertips were covered in blood. My blood. That was when I realized I felt faint. “Well, that’s not good.” I joked trying to lighten the mood. Of course, that also happened to be the moment my legs gave out.

Stark dove for me as I crumpled to the ground. I waited for the floor to meet the back of my head, but it never happened. Fury, as it turned out had vaulted over the sofa moments before when I started to exhibit side effects and was standing nearby to catch me just like Stark. It was one of the weirder moments that I had experienced but kinda sweet all the same. Fury had my upper half cradled to his chest as he knelt on the floor so that my position wasn’t as awkward due to the lack of strength my lower limbs were now exhibiting. Stark managed to keep himself from faceplanting when Fury caught me first and was now righting himself. I smiled at him and Fury.

“Thank you for catching me, Dad.” I truly was grateful. Fury and I had developed a true father-daughter bond despite our act over the past year and even though I knew he didn’t trust me I knew he cared. I looked over at Stark. “Thank you for trying to help me as well Mr. Stark. And I’m sorry for the panic I may have caused you. But I have to ask, do you believe me now?”

“Yeah, I believe you, half-pint.” My eyes went wide. I just got my first Tony Stark nickname!!! “Also, can we drop the Mr. Stark thing? It makes me feel old.” Tony shuddered at that. “I think it's safe to say we’ve reached the point where you can call me Tony. Although I have to ask what’s your name kiddo 'cause we never fully reached that part.”

“Right.” I smiled at him, but it felt weak. I still couldn’t move properly, and my head was pounding but Tony was crouched on the floor next to me so that our eyes were fairly level. “I’m Lauren. It’s nice to formally meet you. I would shake your hand, but my arms aren’t really working right now.” I laughed slightly at that, cringing slightly as the pounding in my head increased with it. I looked up at Fury, his face neutral as always, but his eye was full of concern. “Can we move to the couch? I don’t want you trying to support me for however long this lasts.”

With some effort, the two of them managed to move me to the couch and prop me up so I didn’t have any issues. For the next few hours, Tony decided to test me for “funsies” as he put it on what I held knowledge over. As per our agreement, I told him nothing of the future, and we kept the game strictly over fictional questions and the past. This was also how he discovered my nerd side, my movie buff side, and my love of music. Fury had stepped away a while ago since he needed to make some calls, which was probably code for figure out what just happened to me. Since Tony had discovered I loved pop culture and referencing obscure facts, he had decided we should watch a few movies together and have a “quote-off.” We then proceeded down the problematic road of Star Wars movies. Skipping over the Phantom Menace, seriously no one should have to suffer through the 24 minutes and 23 seconds of Jar Jar Binks that episode one puts the audience through, we both found an intense love of quoting any Anakin or Obi-Wan line. I fell asleep just before the start of the sixth movie. I didn’t even realize Fury had been gone for over ten hours, but when I woke up, he was back.

*********

Fury’s Perspective

*********

I wasn’t sure what to think. In the last year, I had watched this kid, waiting to see if she would somehow present as a threat. I didn’t trust a damn thing about her other than the fact that she wasn’t from around here and she knew more than she was supposed to. While I didn’t trust her, I needed her to trust me. That particular task didn’t prove hard to do as she seemed to have some innate belief that she could. I did keep my word to her, and I kept my mouth shut. If she really could see the future and any potential enemy knew about it, I shuddered to think what that could mean.

The kid was smart for her age. She really seemed to think ahead about certain scenarios, maybe that was because she knew the future, but maybe it wasn’t. Who could say? She knew how to present herself in the role she wanted to exude, and she did it well. However, I had a feeling she truly meant no harm. She worked hard to better herself, learning how to fight. Anyone who watched her could tell she had no physical capability when it came to fighting, but she had a quick wit and she improved at a steady pace. More than that, the kid was so damn friendly it made it hard for me not to like her. But there had to be a reason for her kindness. No one is that kind or friendly without an ulterior motive.

Then there was the matter of her powers. She started using them with caution and I could see the amount of effort she exerted in order to achieve success. It looked like it exhausted her, but she seemed like she couldn’t tell. Eventually, through continued usage, she was able to use her “summoning,” as she called it, without thought under a certain limit. As I watched over her, she talked to me about what she allowed herself to discuss. Mostly happy things like memories of her parents and other family members, her dogs, and her friends from school. However, I don’t trust people without a dark side. So, around the six-month mark after her abrupt appearance, I decided to see what her’s was.

“…And my dad was so shocked!” She laughed at the memory. “He couldn’t believe I had managed to memorize the poem. It became his favorite party trick after that.”

“Lauren.” I interrupted ready to see how much I could provoke her. “You talk an awful lot about your loved ones and friends from middle school to college. I was wondering, why haven’t you said anything about your elementary school friends.” I had watched her skirt around that point in time long enough to know she was sensitive about it. The smile slipped from her face as a sad look filled her eyes. “Tell me why that is.”

“There isn’t anything to tell.” She attempted a smile, but I didn’t drop the issue I simply gestured for her to continue. “I don’t know what to tell you. Elementary school was…rough. And friends were a luxury that I wasn’t afforded.”

“Define rough.” I kept pushing. I needed something to go on. A reason for her to behave the way she did.

“You might have noticed how weird I act.” I raised my eyebrow once more. Was she trying to avoid this? She raised one finger letting me know to wait. “Well, when I was younger it was…worse. I apparently acted weirdly enough that the other children in school noticed. Unfortunately, even children fear the unknown.” She took a deep breath her lower lip wobbling. “I was incapable of fitting in and none of them were willing to let me in, they ostracized me on a daily basis. Calling me names, excluding me, the usual kid bullshit. But I couldn’t understand why. All I wanted was to be their friend, but they made it clear that that would never happen.” Her voice shook as tears started to stain her face. Her eyes were turning red. “I cried myself to sleep most nights. I worried my parents, but I never told them what was going on. They figured it out on their own. They tried to fix things by going to the principal, but I refused to speak. I was afraid that as bad as my situation was, it could get worse. During the meeting, the principal called one of my chief bullies to be there while she asked for the truth. I stopped trusting people for a while.” She lifted her head to look me in the eye. I could see a strange determination fill her expression. “When I finally made my first friend, I was twelve. She refused to join in the bullying and stood up for me. As a result, they bullied her too. I remember how much it hurt her. I remember what she asked me as I held her while she cried. She asked me ‘How can you stand being alone all the time when it hurts so much?’ I whispered back to her, ‘After a while, you get used to it, your heart hardens, and you build a wall to protect yourself from any pain.’ From that day on, I swore I would never stoop to hurting others to make friends, and that I would stand up for anyone who was mistreated simply because they were different. And any friend I made; I would protect with my life.” She wiped her eyes. “That’s why I don’t talk about it because my life didn’t really begin till I was twelve. I’ve kept that promise to myself without fail. My friends and anyone else I love are the most precious treasure I have. I hope this has answered your question.”

She then got up and walked away. I felt bad for putting her through that. But I needed to know. I could see she had told the truth. Even her darkness pushed her towards being good and kind. She was determined to be better. After that I let myself trust the kid, if only slightly.

In allowing myself to trust, I started to care for her as if she was my own kid. I grew fiercely protective of her, and I didn’t handle her being upset well. I made a point of getting her things I knew she liked. I told her it was because she needed to have proof that she lived in the house, but I wanted to make it up to her for not being able to fully trust her. I was glad she had picked the agents she did as her trusted guardians since they could be there for her on an emotional level that I couldn’t.

When the news about Stark was announced, I didn’t watch it so much as her face. She had gone extremely pale. This worried her. I wanted to know the reason for her reaction, but I knew better than to ask her outright what was going on. Instead, I offered her the choice to share if she wanted to, but I didn’t pressure her when she didn’t respond. And when we went to visit the young billionaire, she insisted on coming too. I knew she was excited to meet him albeit slightly nervous. I had gifted her a suit that I let her “guardians” design, but I told them I wanted it to hide her identity and provide her with more stealth. They ignored my requirements for the most part, but I could see how much happiness it brought her. I had to walk away to hide the smile that was fighting its way to the surface.

When we finally got the chance to speak with Stark, I hadn’t fully expected her to let him in. As per usual, the kid surprised me. She had a look of strained determination on her face as she spoke to him. When she squeezed her eyes shut, I started to move, unsure of what she was trying to do when images flickered to life around the room. A crowd of people dressed in New Year’s Eve paraphernalia surrounded us. I saw a younger Stark appear between her and the real Stark. The younger version, which showed clear signs of intoxication, had a woman on his arm. Another man called his attention and started a conversation. I didn’t pay any attention to the scene, only to her. She stood ramrod straight. Her face had gone white as a sheet, a sheen of sweat covering it. I jumped over the couch as her whole body had started to tremble from the effort. Stark, who had been watching the scene, noticed my sudden movement and turned to see where my attention was focused. He stood up calling out for her to stop. Blood began to drip from her nose. Both of us moved forward preparing to catch her, she didn’t look like she could stay standing much longer. A vein popped out on her forehead, her eyes still shut tightly, and the blood reached her chin. Her eyes popped open, and her posture relaxed. She looked proud of herself as she moved her eyes from the room to Stark. She took in his expression before she raised her hand to the blood on her face. A faint surprise filled her features as she took in the fluid. She let out a soft expletive before smiling and trying to joke about her precarious situation. I wasn’t fully listening as I had tunnel vision regarding the toll her show of power had taken. It wasn’t a matter of whether it would be a problem, but when. Her legs gave out as she finished speaking. Her arms made no move to brace her for the fall, but I was prepared. I caught her as she went down. I lowered myself with her to keep her from an awkward angle.

I still couldn’t properly hear her, my blood roaring in my ears. I noticed her looking at me and smiling before asking something. I guessed based on her eyes flickering over to the couch that she wanted to be moved. Together Stark and I moved her. I normally could have done it on my own, but I didn’t trust myself not to drop her. I excused myself as quickly as I could.

I exited the room onto the balcony behind us. What the hell just happened? She’d never pushed herself that far. Lauren had never hurt herself trying to use her powers, but I had never seen that one before.

What did this mean? Was she going to continue to develop new abilities? Each one more dangerous than the last? We knew that her ‘burrowing’ ability had triggered so much stress and strain on her body when it was developing that it kickstarted puberty. But this last one made her bleed, sapped her strength, and if I had to guess it hurt her in some way, I wasn’t yet aware of. I started pacing back and forth. What could I do? Could anyone even help her? I couldn’t tell anyone about this because it was a security risk. I needed someone with the skills and the smarts to help her. If I couldn’t go and find an expert, I could do the next best thing. I could ask Stark, a genius inventor, to create a machine that could figure out what was happening and what it was doing to her. I turned around and looked at them through the window. She had regained some movement and was very animated talking to Stark. I knew they couldn’t see me since it was pitch black outside, so I continued watching, waiting for the opportunity to speak with Stark privately about my concerns. Lauren didn’t need to carry the same worries I now did. I watched her smiling, laughing, and enjoying the movie she and Stark were talking over. It took several hours but it was worth waiting for. I had never seen this side of her. When she fell asleep, I waited a bit to enter just so I was certain she was out.

“Stark.” I presented as much confidence as I could. “We need to talk.”

“Shhhh.” Stark gestured to Lauren who was curled tightly into his side. She looked so peaceful. Stark whispered loudly enough for me to hear without disturbing her. “You’re gonna wake the kid!”

“Look. You saw what happened to her earlier.” I whispered back aggressively. I knew from experience that Lauren’s sleep was very restless, and she received very little energy from it. “I can’t risk bringing anyone into this who doesn’t know her situation. It puts her in too much danger. So, I’m asking you, as her father, help her. Please.”

I was almost to the point of begging him. I needed answers.

“You don’t even have to ask me that, Cyclops.” Stark had dropped all sarcasm and humor. He was silent for a moment as he looked at the sleeping girl beside him. “You know, it’s the strangest thing. When I look at her, she makes me think that this is what my child would be like if I had one. She’s stubborn, with a strong need to be right, doesn’t know when to call it quits, smart, properly educated on the best form of music, has a wicked tongue, and she’s funny. I can’t help but see myself in her. But at the same time, if she doesn’t learn her limits and how to control her powers…I don’t think she would survive them. And I wanna protect her from that. Maybe it's my god-complex, but something tells me it's more than that.” Stark looked back up at me. “Leave her with me for a while. I need enough time to observe her. I can’t develop the tech I need without her presence.”

“Like hell, I’m gonna leave her behind!” I had to work to keep my volume low.

“I don’t think you have much choice.” Stark looked weary. His eyes drooped with exhaustion. “If I’m your only option, then you need to trust me. I can keep her safe here, hidden from everyone and everything. I can’t force you to accept but I can give you logic and reason. You may not like having to leave her with a virtual stranger no less, but she trusts me enough to let me in, which you have indicated is a very rarified quality. In addition, you can’t afford any leakage of her existence or capabilities to anyone which is why you turned to me. I can protect her better than anyone else. From anyone else, which very likely includes herself.” Stark took a deep breath. “So, ask yourself as her father, would you rather her be by your side constantly in danger of herself, or possibly getting treatment and training that might one day keep her alive?”

“Do what you have to.” I resigned myself to the fact that I had no real choice. “Just know this, if anything happens to my little girl, Stark, I will not hesitate to hunt you down like a dog and put a bullet in your head. Secrecy be damned.”

“Cyclops, if anything happens to her,” Stark met my gaze once more, “I won’t even try to fight you. No armor, no witnesses, no protection of any kind. I will await the justice I deserve.”

I nodded and turned to Lauren. I hadn’t properly admitted it to myself until Stark confronted me with the choice of her death or survival. I knew at that moment with all certainty, that she was indeed my kid, and more than that, I trusted her. Genetics be damned she chose me, and I had finally accepted it. I would fight any evil, sacrifice any person, and even give my own life if it meant she was safe and happy. I had watched her from a distance for over a year. I had seen her true nature as good and kind. She looked at me with such admiration and trust that first night, without even knowing me. She trusted me with her life, it was about damn time I earned that look in her eye. I would wait until she woke up to let her know of my decision.

*********

End Fury’s Perspective

*********

Chapter 5

Fury was kneeling in front of me with a pillow in one hand, his other hand lifted as though to prop my head up. I couldn’t stop myself from blurting out the first thing that popped into my head.

“What? Are you gonna smother me with that?” My voice dripped with sarcasm. I was smiling as I said it though.

“Well, good morning to you too.” Fury pursed his lips, but I could see he was at least slightly amused.

I sat up slowly stretching my arms out. I wanted to assess my strength and range of motion. I went stand my legs shaking slightly. Fury had moved to catch me in case my strength failed me. I grabbed his arm for support so that I could walk without worry of faceplanting on Tony’s tile floor.

“So,” I smiled brightly. I wanted to be the picture of health, but seeing as my body wasn’t exactly working with me, my facial expressions would have to do. “What’s on today’s docket?”

“Let’s get you to the kitchen first.” Fury looked like he had more to say but I guessed he wanted to fully focus on the task at hand cause if my strength faltered or I tripped, and neither one of us was fully paying attention, it wouldn’t be good. “We can talk after breakfast.”

We made our way to the kitchen very slowly. Tony was already at the table, but he wasn’t alone. Tony was accompanied by a man and a woman. None of whom had noticed my presence. I felt Fury freeze beside me taking in the newcomers. I didn’t have to see his face to know he was not happy. Fury still had his arms supporting mine, his hands holding up my forearms from beneath. His grip tightened slightly, his posture beside me growing rigid. I needed to intervene.

“Morning Tony!” I spoke excitedly as Tony looked over at me, and he returned my smile. I pulled away from Fury. “I take it that makes you,” I pointed at the man, “Happy!” He was the only person I knew would have been around Tony this early in the morning. I turned to the woman. “And you’re Pepper. Right?”

My legs were shaking violently. I saw Tony’s face as he took that in. It worried him. Fury didn’t leave me without support for long. He might have been worried about them, but he wasn’t going to let me hit the floor. Fury guided me to the seat next to Tony. I smiled up at him.

“Thanks, Dad!” I sighed with relief at getting off my feet. Standing had strained me more than I realized. I would need a bit longer to recover before I could move on my own again. I returned my attention to the occupants of the table, all of whom except Tony were staring at me in shock. “Hello, I’m Lauren. It’s nice to meet you.”

I received no response for a few moments. Fury was standing just behind me. One of his favorite intimidation tactics. Then, Tony started laughing wiping the tears out of his eyes. I had apparently stunned the room into silence.

“Happy, Pepper, this is the almighty nosebleed.” I side-eyed Tony at the nickname. “The kid I was telling you about.”

“You have got to stop with this nicknaming thing, Tony.” Pepper rolled her eyes. “I thought you meant you were having nosebleeds.”

I snorted at that. Pepper and I made eye contact before we both dissolved into full-on giggles.

“Ok well, that’s nice.” Tony bit out. “Look, I need to have a quick conversation with Pipsqueak and Captain Evil Eye. Can you both step out for a minute?”

Happy looked back and forth between Fury and Tony clearly uncertain about leaving Tony alone. I reached my hand across the table to lay it on top of Happy’s, drawing his attention to me.

“Everything’s gonna be ok.” I smiled gently wanting to assuage his fears. “Rest assured no one will try to do anything so long as I am present.”

Happy seemed slightly mollified as his shoulders lowered some. He and Pepper left the room, but I saw them both glancing back at the three of us.

Fury moved around me to sit across from me. He clasped his hands together on top of the table before looking me in the eye.

“Lauren.” He started softly. “I’m gonna need you to stay here for a while.” I looked at him confused. “Pierce is sending everyone, myself included, on assignments around the world, and I need you to stay someplace safe. Given the apprehension you have exhibited with everyone who is not included in your exclusive little circle of trust, I thought it best that you stay with Stark for the time being. He will continue to run your training and monitor your capabilities. Since we, you especially, know extraordinarily little about your powers, Stark will also be testing them and their effects on you. You are to remain in the mansion, lay low, and keep yourself hidden from any individuals you don’t know or can’t trust. Have I made myself clear?”

My blood ran cold. What was going on? I didn’t know why but I could tell Fury had just lied to me.

“Perfectly.” I glared at him speaking through clenched teeth. Fury raised his eyebrow but said nothing further. “When do you leave?”

“Now actually.” Fury did not comment on my attitude. “Either myself or one of your other guardians will collect you when we become available and when it is safe for us to do so.”

Fury stood up. I did my best to restrain my tears as I looked up at him. I knew I failed because his gaze softened when his eyes met mine.

“I know this won’t be easy, but I promise you it's for your own good.” Fury practically whispered the last few words. “I’ll be back before you know it.” Fury walked over to me. He put his hand on my head. “Please. Don’t be reckless.”

“Ok, Dad.” I didn’t like it, but I knew whatever the real reason it most likely was in my best interest to stay. “See you soon.”

I watched Fury leave the room before I finally let my tears flow. Tony pulled my head to his chest and stroked my hair as he let me cry it out. My body was wracked with sobs.

“It’s gonna be ok kiddo,” Tony whispered into my hair. “We are going to have so much fun! You’re not even going to know he’s gone.”

I pulled back a little to look him in the eyes. I managed to smile through the tears.

“Yeah, you’re right.” I tried to make my voice lighter. “And if all goes according to plan, I’ll be so well trained that he won’t even know what hit him.”

“You feel a little better?” I nodded as I wiped away my tears. “You wanna meet Happy and Pepper?” I nodded again. “Alright. Hey Happy, Pepper, y’all are good to come back in here!”

*********

10 weeks later

*********

I had spent the majority of that day getting to know Pepper and Happy. Even though I was familiar with both of them through the movies, I had decided not to let them in on my secret, not yet at least. I had a feeling that I could trust Tony to withstand anything, even torture, to protect my secret. However, I was unwilling to put either Pepper or Happy in that sort of dangerous situation. Throughout the day I could feel Happy watching me with calculating eyes. I took it to mean he hadn’t fully ruled out my being a threat to the people he cared about most. I didn’t mind it much because I knew it came from a good place. Pepper, on the other hand, seemed to labor under the impression I was Tony’s secret lovechild. I decided not to correct her as that would be the easiest explanation for a random thirteen-year-old suddenly showing up and being accepted into her boss’s life. After the two of them left, I told Tony of Pepper’s suspicions and how I had discerned them based on the consistent shifting of eyes between myself and Tony. It was like she had been comparing us. Tony agreed to let that be the “official” story regarding my appearance in case anyone encountered me and had questions.

I honestly didn’t mind adopting yet another fake dad and Tony truly seemed comfortable with his new role. He had been making sure I was receiving proper education and nourishment in addition to his training and testing of my powers and limits. Tony also made an effort to keep me on a bedtime schedule, which was admittedly odd until I realized it was so he could go out and continue his “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” person without my being subjected to it directly. I had figured that out after witnessing him in action well after my established bedtime. I didn’t inform him of my revelation, but I kept myself to the restricted areas of the house that he wouldn’t bring a stranger into after that.

It was now July 8^th, 2008. I was lying awake on my bed, my thoughts running rampant through my mind as per usual. I never expected anything productive to come of this particular eccentricity that my ADD gave me, but that night an interesting thought grabbed my attention.

“My powers are weird. They showed up almost like magic.”

MAGIC!!! I sat up very quickly. How could I have missed this?! My powers are a mystery to me but there are all-powerful beings in this universe who might be capable of granting me an honest answer or at least some guidance along the lines of understanding and/or using them. I bit my lip. Who could I ask about this at this point in the timeline? Frigga, Heimdall, or Odin would be my first choices, but at this point in time I doubted they would allow a lowly Midgardian, such as myself, to grace the glorious halls of Asgard. Odin’s off-handed insult/comment about Jane came to my mind, “She does not belong here in Asgard anymore than a goat belongs at a banquet table.” No Asgard was definitely not in the cards at this time, besides Asgard had yet to make contact with Midgard and I could not be the catalyst for that. That might mess up the timeline way more severely than I was ready for. My teeth had ground into my lip even harder trying to come up with a solution, drawing blood, but I didn’t notice the pain too deep in my own thoughts to care. So, my help would have to originate from this planet. If it were 2016 already, I would think Doctor Strange, but he was still a famous neurosurgeon, not a Sorcerer, let alone the Sorcerer Supreme. I fell back on my bed, tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. Was there really no one I could turn to?! Kamar-Taj was too far for me to burrow to, same with the other three sanctums. Plus, I highly doubted the Ancient One and her guard magicians would appreciate an unknown like myself suddenly popping up out of nowh-.

THE ANCIENT ONE!!! How could I have forgotten about her? I sat back up so quickly my head spun a bit and my vision blurred. I waited for it to clear before shaking my head trying to regain my balance. As I took stock of my thoughts once more. I knew the Ancient One was extremely powerful, but how had she not come to assess my threat level before now? Surely a cross-dimensional being with powers, and potentially dangerous ones at that, would draw her attention. I shook my head again. We would cross that bridge when we got to it. No, my main issue right now was how to contact her. I sighed heavily. Why wasn’t this as easy as drawing Heimdall’s attention would be? All you had to do with Heimdall was call his name. I paused. I rolled my eyes knowing how stupid this was, but I needed to try.

“Hey, Ancient One…” I bit my lip again wincing realizing I had broken the skin previously. I continued hesitantly. “I have no idea if you can hear me, but this is worth as much of a try as anything else. I really need to speak with you. If you can hear this, can you send a sign in the next few seconds? I don’t really care how; I’ll leave that up to you. Please.”

I held my breath as I waited. I winced realizing that either it didn’t work, or I didn’t present a real enough reason in her mind to just show up. Okay so back to square one. Well not entirely. I knew I could summon items that had a basis in existence and make them appear anywhere I wanted within a certain range. When I started last year, it had only been a few feet, last week it had been the length of a football field. Tony had really wanted to test the limits. I took a deep breath before walking over to the desk I had in my room. I took out a sheet of paper from the drawer and grabbed my pencil silently thanking Nat’s insistence on improving my handwriting. I started to write my letter.

Dear Ancient One,

Hello! I know the letter format that I have taken must seem strange, but I really needed to reach you and I wasn’t sure how to do so without seeming like a threat. I had debated showing up at Kamar-Taj, but I didn’t think showing up unannounced and uninvited would go over well. However, you and I both need to have a serious conversation so I’ll start by prefacing the basics of why you might want to pay me a visit. My name is Lauren and I’m not from around here. I hail from an alternate universe in the future, so I guess I’m also technically from an alternate timeline. Since arriving here, I have developed powers, if you will, which put a considerable strain on my body, and I have little to no understanding of what I can do and what my powers are capable of doing to me. I’m writing to you as I seek answers and I believe you are my only option at the moment for both that and possible guidance. I should also mention I know the future of this dimension and its people to a certain extent. Please don’t think of this as a threat as I don’t intend it as such, this is a plea for help and nothing more. I hope this has been enough to either pique your interest or convince you of my plight. I await your reply, whether yes or no, eagerly.

Sincerely,

Lauren

P.S. I should also warn you I’m kind of trapped in my 13-year-old body.

I took a deep breath as I finished. I read it over once more. It seemed formal enough and I hoped it would be read as intended. I summoned an envelope into my hand and folded the letter up inside before writing Ancient One on the back of the envelope and sealing the letter inside. I exhaled relieved to have one step done. Now came the hard part. I had two plans. First, I would summon a sling ring and attempt a portal into Kamar-Taj to drop the letter into. If plan one didn’t work, then I would attempt plan two. I closed my eyes as I envisioned a real sling ring in the palm of my hand. I opened my eyes as I felt the cool metal and increased weight in my hand. I slipped the sling ring over my forefinger and middle finger on my right hand. I mimicked the stance I remember the fledgling wizards take in the first Doctor Strange movie. My legs were shoulder width apart, my right hand up at chest height with the two fingers that housed the sling ring being upright, and my left hand outstretched and making a circular counterclockwise motion. I concentrated on the location I wished to “go.” As I did so I let myself surrender to the magic. I didn’t try to control it. Unfortunately, no sparks appeared. That was when I remembered something I had read a while back, sling rings were made specifically for their bearer, my summoning one that had generically been made based on my memory, wouldn’t work especially if I didn’t have any true grasp on the mystic arts beyond my movie magic. Time for plan two. I winced knowing that this attempt might kill me, so I decided to move to a different location just in case.

Tony had built and set up a medical center, between my room and the training room, in case of an emergency situation where I overextended my abilities and had another incident like before. He had multiple rooms within the center for different procedures such as an MRI or an X-Ray. The possibility of it becoming worse than fainting, partial paralysis, and a nosebleed, had dawned on me. As such I wanted to be careful. As I arrived Jarvis spoke to me.

“Ms. Lauren, are you in need of medical assistance?” Jarvis inquired.

“Not at the moment, no.” I smiled at the ceiling. I had no clue if Jarvis could actually see me while I stood just outside the door to the medical center. I never jumped when he spoke to me since I expected it and delighted in the A.I.’s existence.

“Ms. Lauren, are you planning on something that will cause yourself bodily harm?” I knew Jarvis had no emotional vocal abilities, but I liked to imagine them. I felt Jarvis’ programmed concern at my implication. “If you intend to do so I must advise against it. I will have no choice but to contact Mr. Stark.”

“Jarvis,” I sighed tilting my head to the side trying to figure out how to handle this. I bit my lip again, drawing in a sharp breath at the pain that it still caused. “Actually,” My eyes lit up as I had an idea. “I do need medical assistance. But not the serious kind that would require Tony’s involvement.” I rushed to speak before Jarvis could act. “I accidentally bit my lip too hard and ripped it open. I just wanted to see if I could stop the slight bleed and make the pain fade.”

“Very well Ms. Lauren.” Jarvis seemed to trust that. I felt bad deceiving the A.I. because he truly didn’t deserve the trouble I was about to cause. “Please inform me if you require any assistance.”

“You got it, Jarvis.” I entered the medical center as the door unlocked for me. Tony had Jarvis keep it locked so I didn’t intentionally try something stupid. He really had almost everything thought out, just not me tricking Jarvis.

I walked to the center of the medical center’s first room which was essentially just a typical hospital room with a bed. Along the way I had grabbed gauze for the bleeding, an anticoagulant (in case of severe bleeding that Tony could administer when he found me), and a hospital gown to protect my clothes from the blood I knew would show up from any orifice. After changing into the gown, in the patient room’s bathroom, I took a deep breath because I knew Jarvis would most likely flag this and alert Tony, regardless of the lie I had told him. So, I had to move quickly. I gripped the letter tightly in my hand and prayed this would work. Plan 2 was based on the speculation that if I could summon an item, I could also “banish”/send one to a specific location. I would attempt to “banish” my letter to Kamar-Taj, and I was fairly certain I would succeed, but in the process, I would overextend a capability I hadn’t practiced, and I would suffer the consequences. I grabbed the bathroom door handle with my left hand, the letter clutched in my right.

I bolted to the bed sat down on top of it and concentrated. I could feel beads of sweat break out all over my body. My brain started screaming at me, but I didn’t stop. I felt warm substances begin to trickle from my nose. As the fluid reached my lips, I felt the letter vanish from my hands and I relaxed my mind letting go of the effort. I felt confident that I had succeeded. I knew I overdid my efforts, surpassing my limit of what was safe for me to attempt. I started swaying as spots in my vision appeared right as Tony burst into the room. Everything faded from view and my thoughts faded as I passed out.

Chapter 6

I could hear voices around me, but it was like they were coming through water with how distorted and far away they sounded. I could feel my consciousness slipping away. I fought against it. I needed to wake up. I began pushing my eyelids up, it was exceedingly difficult as it felt like they weighed a ton. I managed to push them open, not that it did me much good as my vision was very blurry. I blinked slowly trying to regain full sight. My body and mind felt sluggish, but I needed to wake up. I knew I couldn’t slip back into an unconscious state. Who knew when I would wake up next? As my vision cleared, I took notice of the room. I was still in Tony’s patient room. I cracked a smile, but it hurt like hell to form any kind of expression. The fog in my brain was slowly beginning to clear, allowing me to think in a more detailed manner than the few thoughts I had managed. I had a nasal cannula up my nose. I didn’t like that. I turned my head to the left to see where the tube had originated from, wincing slightly at the soreness the movement inspired and saw an IV drip, an oxygen tank, and a heart monitor. I furrowed my brows. Just how bad had the rebound been for me to need those? I slowly turned my head to the right, doing my best to ignore the pain this time around. That was when I saw him, Tony was asleep by my bedside. His face told me that his sleep was troubled. I felt my face crumple at the idea of the worry I must have caused, it hurt me to do so but I had never been the best at controlling my facial expressions. I wanted to cry, but I had been strong thus far. I needed to let Tony react however he needed to, and my crying wouldn’t help him get it out of his system.

“T-o-n-y.” My voice rasped. Barely above a whisper. I concentrated on making it loud enough to hear and swallowing enough saliva to lubricate my vocal cords. My mouth was extremely dry, and my lips were cracked but I needed to wake Tony up. Who knew if I would be able to maintain consciousness. “Tony. Wake up.”

Tony began to stir from his sleep, his expression confused and deeply upset.

“I must be exhausted if I can’t even tell dreams from reality anymore.” Tony looked like he wanted to cry as he joked in a self-deprecating manner. “I could have sworn I heard pipsqueak’s voice. Jarvis, am I going crazy? I feel like I’m going crazy.”

“No sir, I don’t believe you are,” Jarvis stated. I looked up at the ceiling hoping Jarvis would recognize my needs with no vocalization. “Sir, I do believe Ms. Lauren requires your attention. She has been trying to communicate with you and I believe she is struggling with speech at the moment.”

Tony’s head snapped up to meet my gaze as I had turned my head to the right. He blinked at me in shock as I smiled at him weakly. I tried to speak again but a strange wheezing sound exited my lungs. It seemed my earlier attempt was my limit for now.

“Lauren?!” Tony broke from his shock and smiled in what I could only read as relief and unadulterated joy. “Holy shit kid! You sure know how to make a scene!” Tony looked frustrated but he couldn’t form enough anger to overpower his happiness in the moment. I opened my mouth to speak but the strange wheezing sound emerged once more. Tears pricked in my eyes, frustrated with my inability to speak. Tears began to flow as I kept trying to communicate with Tony, to apologize. “Hold on kid, I’m gonna go get the doctor. She’ll be able to tell you what’s happened.”

I turned my head forward as Tony left the room, staring straight at the ceiling letting my tears continue to flow. My anger had worn off quickly and melted into sadness at my current situation, barely able to move, incapable of speech, and in constant pain. Tony reentered with the Doctor. I could hear her speaking with him quietly. I turned my face to the left, not wanting to look at either of them feeling ashamed of my situation.

“Mr. Stark, if you wouldn’t mind, I need to check my patient’s vitals and look for any signs of stress or damage present from any location of her body.” I recognized the quiet, calm, and cold British voice that spoke, but I didn’t know why so I didn’t bother looking. My mind hadn’t fully cleared so my lack of full recognition became an itch in the back of my mind. “This means I need you to step away, and preferably turn off the cameras in the room as I doubt your child would be thrilled with the idea of you seeing her naked or her being exposed to a camera recording the moment.”

“Of course, Doctor Motto.” Tony didn’t protest in the slightest.

“Please Mr. Stark, after all this time, I think it's alright for you to call me Aggie.” The woman laughed. I still refused to face them, but her name got my mind where it needed to be regarding why I knew her. Dr Aggie Motto was an alias, she was clever I had to give her that, although using the name Agamotto as her name wasn’t exactly a safe idea. The Ancient One had received my letter. I repressed a smile. “If you wouldn’t mind sending in my assistant Nurse Wong, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“Of course, Doctor Mo- Aggie.” I heard the patient's room door close. I waited until it reopened and shut before looking at my caretakers.

“I’m sorry communication might be difficult for you at the moment, but we shall see what can be done to remedy that issue.” The Ancient One was by my right side speaking to me as though she was a real doctor. I smiled, trying not to wince. My plan had worked. I felt her cool hand on my forehead before I heard her voice in my head. “As I’m sure you are aware, I have many questions, but now is not the time for those. You will want your voice back for that as I am certain. And while I am capable of hearing your thoughts, I do not believe you would prefer to have me in your head, knowing and hearing that which would normally be filtered and hidden from my knowledge.”

I nodded at her before gesturing to my throat. As I did so I noticed Wong standing behind her, probably guarding the door to keep out unwanted intrusions. As I looked at him, I realized that his outfit wasn’t the traditional red robes. Wong was wearing pink nursing scrubs covered with cartoon cats and dogs. I felt my eyes go wide and I pursed my lips praying I didn’t start laughing. I knew my vocal cords were fried but even with my strange wheezing, I had a feeling he would notice if I was laughing at him. I turned my face away quickly trying not to laugh, my cheeks burning with the effort. I was fairly certain they would be a vivid shade of pink, but I would try to deny it to all who asked. This precious moment was one I would treasure as a fan girl till the end of my days. I returned my gaze to the Ancient One who was looking at me with a slightly raised eyebrow. I could tell she knew at least to some degree what had me making this face. That was when I realized if Wong was wearing nursing scrubs, then the Ancient One was most likely in costume as well. I looked down slightly and let myself grin. I looked back up at her and willed my thoughts to her.

“I thought the pseudonym was bad, but the outfits are killing me. Seriously though, Aggie Motto? Were you going for discrete? Omg I wasn’t truly listening till Tony said the name and I knew it was you. I mean seriously repurposing Agamotto’s name as an alias was either brilliant or stupid. Look I just need to know one thing, when will I be able to communicate on my own?” I had let myself laugh silently as I started talking to her knowing she could hear my barrage of thoughts. But I calmed down enough by the end to make sure she knew the seriousness of my final question. I looked at her pleadingly now.

“My dear you will be able to speak as soon as you replenish your fluids.” The Ancient One laughed gently. “As for making you laugh, I’m glad you found my joke amusing. I had heard of your intelligence from your father, but you have surpassed all expectations with your cleverness.” I looked at her confused momentarily. Then it hit me, Jarvis might have the visuals out, but the audio part of his AV system would be fully functional. “Now I need to make sure everything is in proper order so that we can continue our conversation without worry.”

I nodded as she began diagnostics. I could feel warmth flooding the parts of my body that she applied her magic to. The comforting glow of orange bathed me. I tested my movements gingerly expecting more pain, but I found none. I looked at her in amazement. I opened my mouth thinking myself to be healed. However, the Ancient One held up one finger and shook her head slowly.

“Ms. Stark, I’m afraid you will have difficulty moving for a few days. I’ve done what I could to prevent atrophy, but I’m afraid that a month of inactivity is still going to have negative side effects on your body including limited movement. Prior to your comatose state, your brain hemorrhaged leading you to have a severe nosebleed which was stopped thanks to the quick usage of anticoagulants by your father. Following which you passed out and slipped into a coma for a month, during which you had multiple seizures, your heart stopped briefly, and you were legally dead for two minutes.” I started hyperventilating as I had no idea that I had been out for a month. No wonder Tony had freaked out. And I was dead for two minutes. I sat up and put my forehead in my hands, tears falling at an innumerate rate. I felt hands on my shoulders, and I looked up. The Ancient One was trying to calm my panic attack before it could spiral out of control. “Lauren. Breathe with me slowly. In…Out. Good.”

She repeated this process with me until my breathing was back under control. The Ancient One looked up and smiled at someone. I turned my head and saw Wong standing there with a glass of water. I took it gratefully, my hands barely able to properly grip the glass. As such the Ancient One helped support the weight just enough so that I could guide the glass to my mouth. I drained the entire cup within seconds. I had been very thirsty it seemed.

“Thank you.” I rasped out. My words were clearer, but my voice was rough from disuse. I smiled. “I am certain we have much to discuss of my recent…health concerns. But for now, I would like to speak with my father, if you don’t mind.”

“No of course not. I will check in with you once more this evening before you go to bed to see about starting your physical therapy.” The Ancient One smiled and bowed her head to the side. She signaled to Wong and the two of them left the room.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the worst. Now that Tony had had a few moments to think I knew he was gonna want to let me know the hell I had put him through in the past month. I was still sitting up when he came in.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You should be resting, not straining your muscles trying to sit up!” Tony’s eyes practically bugged out of his head. He tried to push me back down while I waved him off.

“I have laid down long enough. I just wanna sit up. Besides my muscles need to start trying to regain their strength.” My voice was still raspy as I spoke. I put my hands out and summoned another glass of water into them. Tony helped me as I started struggling to lift the glass. When I finished it, I cleared my throat. “That’s better. Thank you, Tony.”

“You’re a real handful kid you know that?” I braced myself, looking down, waiting for the yelling. “I’m just glad you’re all right. I mean seriously, your dad was gonna kill me if you didn’t make it.”

“My dad was here?” My head snapped up confused by the news. “Where is he?” I started moving to get out of bed. Tony placed both his hands on my shoulders to stop me.

“No, kiddo. You can’t move like that just yet.” I had started crying. Tony looked guilty. “Your dad isn’t here right now, but we can call him. He wanted to know when you pulled through.”

“Maybe later.” My strength seemed to vanish as I fell back against the pillows. Tony took the glass from my hands and set it on the table next to the bed. He still looked concerned. Especially when I considered the implications of my wild mood swings. Then I noticed his full appearance. He had dark circles under his eyes, he looked thin, and the wrinkles on his face had started to grow more prominent. I felt horrible about everything. “Tony…I’m so so sorry.” I started crying even harder thinking about what kind of hell I had put him through. Tony moved to interrupt me, but I held up my hand. “Please let me finish. I know what I did was stupid, and I know I didn’t think about what overstepping my limits could really and truly mean. And I’m sorry you had to watch everything. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you. I’ll completely understand if you hate me and want nothing to do with-” Tony put his hand over my mouth effectively silencing me. The tears continued to stream down my face.

“Look, Frodo, you can’t apologize for doing something reckless that even if I had told you no, you were going to do it anyway.” I cracked a smile. “Besides, I would never hate you, kid. You’re like a miniature female version of me. And I can’t exactly chastise you for pushing the limits when I would have done the exact same thing in your situation.”

“Tony,” I started my face crumpling with a fresh wave of tears. He could never promise that. I knew too much for that not to be a possibility. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. There will come a day that you will hate me, maybe even want to kill me.” Tony looked disturbed at the thought and opened his mouth to refute my claim. I covered his mouth with my hand. “I know the future remember. My keeping information from you will destroy your trust in me when I finally tell you what weighs on my mind. Please don’t ask. I can’t tell you right now, but I will one day.”

“Kid, I know that you bear a heavy burden. I wish I could help you. But I know that this, whatever it is that you know, needs to be withheld for some reason greater than myself. I will never hurt you or hate you for it.” I smiled at Tony knowing he could never keep his word. Not on this. I smiled up at him prepared to make him laugh and distract him.

“Sam…I’m glad you’re with me.” I pressed my lips in a line my shoulder shaking from laughter at the idea of Ironman being Samwise Gamgee. Tony rolled his eyes but played along with a smile.

“There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo…” Tony looked me dead in the eye his smile dropping into an expression of seriousness as he attempted his best Sam impression. “And it’s worth fighting for.”

Tony and I laughed as we traded quote for quote from Lord of the Rings, trying to one-up each other. Tony only stopped when my heart monitor made an erratic noise. I was struggling to breathe as I laughed so hard, I couldn’t inhale enough oxygen. When I had calmed down enough to breathe again, Tony looked me in the eye and smiled sadly. I knew it was because he hadn’t fully realized the repercussions of my poor health would even extend to my ability to breathe if I got overly emotional.

“Nope. Don’t you dare look at me like I’m made of glass.” I wagged my finger in his face before crossing my arms over my chest. “I may not be at full strength but I’m willing to bet I could still kick your ass if I had to.”

Tony started laughing thinking I was joking until he realized I wasn’t laughing with him.

“Oh, you’re serious.” Tony looked sheepish as he scratched the back of his head and looked at the floor. “Sorry kid I’m sure you could.”

“Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence.” My voice was dripping with sarcasm. I raised my eyebrow to indicate my displeasure at his disbelief in my capabilities. “You know what? Fuck rest and recover! I’m done with this shit.” I sat back up and swung my legs out of bed on the left side. I gently pulled off all the monitors and removed the cannula. Tony stood up prepared to stop me. I gave him a cold stare, the kind that Paddington’s Aunt Lucy would have been proud of. I summoned a crutch, grabbed the IV drip’s stand, and propped/pulled myself up. “Look, you can either help me and spot me, or you can get out of my way.”

I didn’t hesitate and I started walking, relying fully on the crutch to bear my weight and to help me move. Tony had moved around the bed, his arms hovering around me to support me just in case. I smiled at him grateful he wasn’t trying to stop me.

“I know you’d rather I stay in bed, but I can’t stay there forever.” I looked him in the eye as we made our way out of the room. “Only way I’m going to get back to normal is if I work at it and me laying up in bed isn’t going to help with that.”

We slowly made our way out of the medical center and Tony followed me. I could see the masked panic on his face. I wanted to laugh but I couldn’t. I was so klutzy that his concern would probably be what kept me from catching air if I tripped. We eventually made our way to the living room and I sat down on the couch. Tony was still hovering, kind of like a nervous parent watching their child take its first steps. I smiled up at him victoriously.

“See. If nothing is ever ventured, nothing is ever gained.” I was smug and I knew it.

“You are a real pain in the ass you know that right?” Tony was laughing slightly as he couldn’t even mask his amusement at watching my ego on display.

“Know it. Relish it. Live it. Besides, I get my awesomeness from you, Dad.” I looked at him my eyes crinkling with joy. When I heard something crash to the ground. My head snapped up and I saw the one character of the Iron-fam that I had yet to meet. Rhodey.

Rhodey had dropped a set of dishes, which I assumed was food intended for Tony.

“Sir, Colonel Rhodes is here.” Jarvis had really dropped the ball with that one. I would have laughed but this wasn’t good.

“You think?!” Tony hissed, looking at me panicked. Tony made to carry me away, but I laid my hand on his arm shaking my head. It was too late to hide me now.

“It’s ok Dad.” I had made the transition from Tony to dad, and I had seen the look of joy on his face whenever I called him that. Guess I now had two dads. I sniggered slightly at the idea. Before shaking my head and raising my voice to address our intruder. “Hi. You must be Rhodey! My dad has told me all about you.”

“D-dad?” Rhodey looked startled, confused, and a little green. I smiled at him. “Tony…what’s going on.”

“Well…I…uh.” Tony was struggling for words. I knew he wasn’t going to manage this well. Not like I could.

“Sorry, he’s kinda out of it. My last trip to the hospital has him kinda scatterbrained. If you wanna sit, I can tell you what you wanna know.” I smiled at him sweetly as Rhodey moved to sit on the little chair Tony had next to the couch. Tony moved to sit on my left side so he wouldn’t be in the way of my IV stand. I looked at Rhodey and calmly said, “Where do you wanna start?”

Rhodey managed to regain his voice fairly quickly and started asking questions one after another. I spun him this story that my mother had managed to get pregnant from a one-night stand with Tony after the condom broke. I told him that my mother had been my entire world. She had raised me with another man and half-brother, all of whom I loved very dearly. I then told him of how my parents and brother had died in a car accident on my 12^th birthday. How I had been the only survivor, but I had suffered severe damages that had complicated my health and still were causing me issues. I then told him about how I had been in the hospital three months ago when they ran a DNA test to see if I had any matches. How it had turned out my father had been the famous billionaire turned superhero, Tony Stark. And that Tony had decided to keep my existence a secret to protect me from harassment and any possibility of someone throwing the circumstances that led to my living with him into the world before I was ready.

When I finished I gave Rhodey a sad smile.

“So, there you have it. My miserable excuse of an existence.” I made it sound like a self-deprecating joke. Tony put his arm around my shoulder and pulled him to me. I looked up at him and saw he was crying. I looked back at Rhodey, his eyes filled with pity. “Please don’t look at me like that. Pity does me no good.” I cracked a smile. “Besides, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? My father and I are the poster children for that. Look, I don’t know if you can, but please try not to tell anyone about me. I wanna wait until I’m no longer a liability, because of my health, to reveal my existence to the world. Pepper and Happy know. As do my private doctor and nurse, but no one else can know right now. Please.”

“Kid, I know it doesn’t make much difference, but I’m sorry.” Rhodey looked miserable. “I will do my best to keep everything under wraps.” Rhodey looked at Tony. “Tony, what does her health condition look like? Is there anything we can do?”

“Lauren’s condition is improving. Her doctors think they can get the number of hemorrhaging down to a minimum with this new medication.” Tony squeezed me closer to him. “As far as what we can do, her doctor recommended helping her move for a few weeks until she can move on her own. Although my kid is so stubborn, she refused my assistance beyond spotting her.”

I smirked at Tony glad he was playing along. I turned back to the TV.

“I’ve been in a coma for a month, so can we skip the overprotective parent stage and just watch a movie? I’m bored and my mind is itching for something interesting.” I crossed my arms and leaned back on the couch; Tony’s arm now draped over my shoulders rather than wrapped around them.

“Is that so?” Tony had a malicious glint in his eye. He leaned forward and grabbed the remote before turning on the TV. “Well since you’re in the mood for something stimulating and intellectual…Jarvis play Jaws.”

“Hell no. Nope. I’m done.” I began struggling to make myself stand. “You know my stance on horror movies, and I refuse to watch anything that will make me fear my beloved ocean.”

“Jarvis, pause the movie. Lauren, I was kidding.” Tony had risen to catch me as I wasn’t able to properly support myself before and my efforts were not going to end well. His voice had a note of panic in it. “I promise I’m done messing with you. We can watch something different. In fact, why don’t you pick the movie? Whatever you choose I promise I won’t complain.”

“Really? Any movie?” I let my voice sing the word any. My eyes narrowed, not taking him at his word. Rhodey was watching this back and forth with a suppressed smile. When Tony nodded, I widened my eyes innocently. “You know you’re gonna regret that. Jarvis, can you play Titanic for me?”

Both Tony and Rhodey started groaning. I gently reminded Tony he promised he wouldn’t complain. Then I told Rhodey where he could take his moaning and shove it. I knew the movie would make me cry in the end, but it would be a good movie for me, it would be torture for a playboy like Tony. I watched the movie fully engrossed. I had only seen the movie once before simply because of the emotional damage it tended to wreak. I was belting along with Whitney’s emotional power ballad. I actually managed to hit the notes, surprising the two men with me, and inspiring a great deal of pride within myself. Since singing for Nat, the day we met, I had been put through singing lessons by both her and Barton to improve my range. And then as we reached the end of the movie, I was bawling like a baby. When the movie ended, I was still sobbing but the tears had wiped what little energy I had out of me, and I fell asleep as the credits rolled.

*********

Tony’s Perspective

*********

I never knew what to expect when it came to the little thirteen-year-old that I had tucked into my side. I watched the movie as she had asked, but every now and then I would find my eyes drifting to her wondering how the movie affected her and if her sudden surge of energy was about to drop. I watched the delight cross her face during certain moments, the way she mouthed the few lines she knew, and the pure joy that she got from singing the iconic song. I hadn’t been made aware of her singing capabilities before, and I was pleasantly surprised at her ability to belt out the chorus with perfect pitch. When the movie came to a close she leaned back into me, her shoulders shaking, and soft sobs escaping from her every now and then. I wasn’t watching her when it ended since she was too close for me to observe her reactions discretely. When I tilted my head to ask her what she wanted to do now, I realized she had fallen asleep. I looked over at Rhodey, who had been watching us with an intense expression on his face. I simply raised my eyebrow, implying my own question.

“Tony, how is it possible I’ve never seen or heard of this kid before? I’ve been in and out of your house so many times, there’s no way I could have missed her.” Rhodey was quiet.

“Rhodey, there are more things at play with her presence and my secrecy, than I can tell you at the moment.” I smiled softly thinking of the kid I had gotten to know, before her coma. She was honestly everything I could ever imagine a child of mine to be like. I had accepted that fact and truly saw her as my own. If it came down to it, I would gladly fight Tall, Dark, and Scary for her guardianship rights. If she would even want that. “I really was going to tell you, but I didn’t think she would want you to see her at her worst. The coma we were talking about Rhodey, it was worse than she would ever willingly admit. Her brain had hemorrhaged causing nosebleeds, an erratic heart rate, inability to properly breathe, and her coma. Rhodey I watched her die for two whole minutes, and I was so scared they wouldn’t be able to bring her back. I had just gotten her a few months prior, but I knew she meant the world to me already. I swore to God, that if she pulled out, I would give her the best life possible. Whatever that looked like for her, I would do it.” I thought about every memory I had with her, and I thought for a second about what I really and truly felt. I looked Rhodey in the eye and I smiled with the realization that my feelings about this kid had a name. “I love this kid Rhodey. I don’t even know how it’s possible for someone to come into your life and in the moment, you connect, it’s like you’ve known them all along.” This wasn’t just some kid anymore; this was my kid. She had called me Dad before, and I loved it. I knew it came from a place of humor when she said it but that didn’t matter. I would claim my title and responsibilities. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. But I need this, her, to stay a secret. She’s too young to protect herself. Iron Man, he might seem invincible, but imagine his enemies found out about her. A defenseless, vulnerable, and weak kid. They’d kill her Rhodey. Hell, anyone who wanted my suits could take her as leverage to get what they wanted. Even our government. And I can’t have that.”

“Tony, I meant it when I said I understood not telling anyone.” Rhodey matched my intensity before breaking it with a smile. “Besides, I can’t leave this kid with only you to look up to. If she’s your kid, then she might as well be mine and that’s worth a lot. Besides, I’ve always wanted to be an uncle. Kinda sucks not having the siblings to do that, so I guess that falls to you to help solve that little issue. By the way condom breakage with a one-night stand, not how I saw that playing out.”

Rhodey was laughing at the idea of my first kid being an accident. I would have hit him, but that would have jostled the sleeping figure beside me. Dr. Motto had told me Lauren needed plenty of rest to replenish her energy. I knew Lauren wouldn’t like that so I would have to come up with ways to make her tire herself out enough so that she would sleep without much difficulty. So rather than move to hit him, I grabbed a throw pillow and chucked it at his head with a satisfying “whoomph” sound when it made contact with his face. That got him to stop laughing. Rhodey narrowed his eyes at me. He looked me dead in the eye before mouthing “Watch your back.” I playfully shuddered forgetting momentarily about my sleeping charge. My movement caused her to rouse slightly, whining with clear exhaustion before shifting away from the jostling movement, to lay on the couch, and return to her slumber. I had panicked at the thought of waking her before relaxing as she continued to sleep. I had about three seconds to breathe before a throw pillow smacked full force into my face. Rhodey was a dead man. I left Lauren sleeping as I chased after Rhodey intent on a full-fledged pillow war that I would inform Lauren of in the morning. I knew it would make her laugh, so I made a point of whispering to Jarvis to record the event between myself and Rhodey. I hoped she slept well in the back of my mind. Lord knows the kid needed it.

*********

End Tony’s Perspective

*********

Chapter 7

In the weeks that followed, I worked extensively with my “support” group to return to normalcy. With the help of Wong and Rhodey, I regained unimpeded mobility, excluding of course any incidences of klutziness. I worked with “Dr. Aggie” to regain my strength and in secret to understand my powers. Tony, Pepper, and Happy; who now seemed to trust me; all worked on ensuring the maintenance of my physical health.

The real bonus to all of this though had been my talks with the Ancient One and Wong. I was simply delighted to meet them, and they helped me find most of the answers I sought.

The most important night had happened in the last week or so. The Ancient One had come to discuss my capabilities with me as per usual but this time was different. I could feel it when she entered my room. I sat at the foot of my bed awaiting her arrival.

“Ms. Fury,” She used the first last name I had been given as my original one no longer applied. She had an air of purpose and gravity about her. “I believe I understand the source of your powers and I doubt you are going to be pleased.”

“Ok.” I bit my lip. “Whatever it is, I can take it.”

“It’s not a matter of your ability to handle this situation so much as the understanding of the implications it may carry.” She hesitated. “Ms. Fury, the day you crossed the dimensional barrier, an anomaly occurred. You erased all previous existence of yourself under your own power. You made a wish, subconsciously when you tripped, that was so powerful that the cosmos granted it. They transported you across the multiverse to your desired destination. In doing so a pact was formed between yourself and creation, which granted you life in this universe at the cost of your existence in your own. This same pact also granted you the elements of the creation of the cosmos.”

“What do you mean by that? I don’t understand.” I felt a sense of dread begin to pool in my stomach. I knew in my heart what she meant but I didn’t want to accept it. Not yet. Not until she said what I feared.

“You were granted the powers of six singularities that have existed since the dawn of the universe.” I felt the tears fill my eyes at the solemnity of her voice. Her expression was one of woefulness if I had to call it anything. I wished for the safety denial provided, but I knew that I could no longer afford that. I looked into her eyes, fear pooling in their depths. “Ms. Fury, do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I believe so.” My voice was barely above that of a whisper, cracking with my own fear of the situation. “What does that mean for me?”

“Apart from having the same powers as the infinity stones,” The Ancient One cracked a small smile. I returned it, appreciating the slight humor. “You will continue developing the powers of the stones for a long time until eventually you, yourself, will possess the capabilities of a celestial being with the limitations of a human form. As these gifts develop, your body will have an adjustment period. You have attempted to use abilities that your body is incapable of at the moment and as such your body has experienced a mass of trauma and stress that it was unprepared for causing your body to shut down. In other words, your brain will hemorrhage every time you attempt to use a power beyond your current capacity.”

“Well, at least we know the cause of the hemorrhage. At least that’s a load off my mind.” I joked trying to relieve the tension that was still thick in the air. I watched the Ancient One relax slightly, clearly glad that I was taking the news in stride. “On the other hand of things, what exactly am I capable of at this moment and do I have a timeline for any developments that will occur?”

“At this moment, you are capable mostly of the powers granted to you by the space stone. You are also capable of minor illusory powers such as concealing yourself or creating miniature illusions that you can play out on the palm of your hand with the powers of the reality stone and the ability to speak to others with your mind as granted by the mind stone.” The Ancient One provided illustrations of my capabilities in the air around us. It took my breath away as her magic was a thing of beauty. “All of these gifts are limited by range. Your spatial capabilities can reach around the length of 1,000 miles, without nearly dying in the process. Your other capabilities require you to be in the same room as your intentions. In other words, you can cast the minor illusion at a scale height but only within a certain distance of yourself. The same with your telepathic abilities.”

“Wow.” I breathed out in awe of what that meant. I was still scared of what my fully established capabilities would mean, but that was overpowered by my natural sense of nerdy excitement.

“As far as development goes, your powers will mature as you do. Each will present itself further whenever the stone that grants it is ‘discovered’ by people within your current time.” The Ancient One had made each stone appear with each one showing an instance of discovery.

“So, in other words, I have space already since humanity discovered and used it in the 1940s and it will continue to develop faster than the others due to its earlier retrieval. Even though the other six were discovered, only reality and mind had any real usage and relevance up to this point.” The Ancient One nodded, pleased with my quick recognition of historical applications. Then I realized the two outliers. “What about time? It has been discovered and protected for centuries.” The Ancient One quirked an eyebrow. I waited for a second and then realized why. “Even though it was discovered it wasn’t used as that would be a perversion of the natural law!” I received an even wider smile than I had ever seen from the Ancient One. She really seemed to hold my knowledge in high regard. I was quiet as I thought of the other outlier. “But what does that mean for the Soul stone?”

“The Soul stone requires an exchange of life. As such it will not activate until such a time.” I was horrified. If I failed to save anyone, the Soul stone would activate within me. “However, I can tell you the choice leading to its emergence will not occur for a very long time.”

I felt a quiet sense of relief sweep through me as I looked down. I let the thoughts in my head swirl around me before looking back up at her.

“Ancient One, would you teach me the Mystic Arts?” I was determined. If I only had limited capabilities, then I would need a better system of defense. “I know you will need to return to the Sanctum Sanctorum and Kamar-Taj soon, but I know this will be of utmost importance one day.”

“I wondered how long it would be before you asked.” Her eyes sparkled. “Do not worry, this was something I planned on doing for the next year.”

“Thank you.” I grinned realizing her teachings would mean the difference between life and death for me. More than that it would mean the difference for her as well. “I have something I want to try.”

I held out my hand and focused. This was usually something I could do without thinking but my idea was a novel one and as such it had to be created for the first time. I was summoning a non-existent item. However, I could feel this would work. I focused on creating a book that had the answer to freeing the Ancient One from the influence and servitude of the Dark Dimension while granting her eternal life. I felt a wind kick up around me, the source of the wind swirling in the palm of my hands. A light glowed behind my eyelids and heat enveloped me. Warm, but not unpleasantly so. I felt the power fade as the item I sought floated down into my hands. I opened my eyelids slowly, grinning at my success as a wave of exhaustion passed over me. I managed to stay upright as I passed her the book. I watched the surprise fill her face as she read the title. She looked up at me, her expression unreadable.

“Is this what I believe it is?” Her voice was slightly clipped. Was she on the verge of tears? I nodded at her pleased that I could help her. “I do not know what to say. I-.”

“Don’t say anything.” I interrupted her, imitating her tone. “My one wish is to save everyone in this universe that I have ever cared about, and that includes you. The best way to thank me will be to complete this ritual and survive. If you die, I won’t be too pleased.”

“You have my word that I will survive.” She tucked the book under her arm, determination now filling her face. “Tomorrow night we will begin your lessons. Be well rested for them as this will be a long process.”

She promptly turned and left, not one to be overly emotional, but I could tell she was touched by my gesture. I crawled back into bed, a quiet but happy smile on my face. I fell asleep as my head hit the pillow grateful that I had achieved my first success.

*********

April 2011

*********

Throughout the remainder of 2008 and half of 2009, the Ancient One taught me the Mystic Arts to the best of her ability. I was grateful that I was a quick study due to my intense interest in the subject. I had managed to achieve a basic mastery that I would continue to develop long after she left. Because of her responsibilities, she was unable to check up on my progress personally, so in her place, Wong would examine my progress once every month. I was happy for the opportunity to grow closer to Wong and he begrudgingly was dragged along with my excitement.

By the time it had become 2011, I had grown into a confident 16-year-old. I spent months on and off with either Fury or Tony. For reasons beyond my understanding both of them fought over who I would spend my days with so as a compromise, I would alternate the month I lived with each. Per my request, Pepper helped me organize a press conference where Tony introduced me to the world as his daughter. We omitted the majority of the story that Rhodey had been given, including only that my mother had died when I was young, and I was hidden from the public eye to afford me a semi-normal childhood. Fury hadn’t liked it but accepted it as he couldn’t step into the limelight himself and this would afford me two lanes of protection.

I had gained mastery of the Mystic Arts that was on par with Wong in addition to furthered “cosmic” capabilities. I had mostly mastered my spatial capabilities and had now gained the ability to teleport, that was typically more difficult as I had to be able to see where I was going, in addition to being more exhausting, but it enabled me to move without using stairs as burrowing was limited to things that were connected on the same level. In other words, from one location on the first floor to another location on the same floor. It also meant no transatlantic voyages with burrowing; bodies of water were apparently not included in my burrowing capabilities. I had also learned how to protect my mind from unwanted intrusions with Wong’s help. It hadn’t been easy, but I knew I would need it and as far as reality manipulation, I had only managed to hold “invisibility” for an hour. I only put invisibility in quotations as I technically wasn’t invisible, I was only shielding my location from those I did not wish to be able to see me. It was more draining to be choosy with who I allowed to see me than to be completely obscured, but it had its advantages. I had officially managed to best Nat in stealth and I used my power with great responsibility. For the most part. I won’t lie and say that scaring Clint wasn’t funny cause he never saw it coming but I loved every second of it.

However, as 2011, rolled in I became noticeably on edge. I had been with Fury throughout the month of April, and I knew he saw the tension, but he knew better than to ask. I had been biting my lip as was my nervous habit when he finally made a comment.

“I know that you won’t say anything, but is there anything I can help with?” My eyes snapped up to his. I had forgotten he was there. I usually did whenever I became trapped by my own thoughts. “I may not know what is coming but I can prepare for it and help you.”

“Yes actually.” I smiled as an idea formed in my head. “In May, Tony will be called before a Senate hearing determined to take his Ironman suit. I would like to be with him. At the table I mean. So would you be willing to call Senator Stern right as he’s about to make a fuss of my being there? It’ll be before the hearing starts. And I know he knows who you are.”

“That would be possible.” Fury nodded not caring about my reasoning. “Anything else.”

“Not at the moment.” I shook my head. I couldn’t tell him too much. “But I will let you know as soon as I need to.”

I smiled, a plan coming into place as I finally felt calm. I knew what I would do over the next few months. Three separate movies all for Fury’s week. Here we go.

Chapter 8

When May rolled around, I had been with Happy and Tony at the Stark Expo.

“You are such a drama queen Dad.” I snickered thinking about his entrance. We were currently walking out of the Expo.

“As if you didn’t get that quality from me.” Tony grabbed his chest over his Arc Reactor as though I had wounded him, his other arm swooping up dramatically to cover his eyes and forehead as he threw his head back. “Be honest, you love it, kid.”

“As if.” I snickered elbowing him lightly in the side. We were walking to the car when we noticed a pretty woman, in a purple lowcut top and a high-waisted black skirt, leaning up against the car.

“Does she come with the car?” Tony asked Happy.

“I certainly hope so.” Happy responded almost muttering under his breath before raising his voice. “Hi.”

“Y’all are gross.” I stuck my tongue out crossing my arms as I crawled in the back leaving the door open so I could hear.

Tony side-eyed me before returning his attention to the newcomer.

“Hi. And you are?” Tony’s face was expectant. I started to cover my mouth shifting awkwardly in my seat as I tried to smother the giggles about what was about to happen.

“Marshal.” The woman replied, a polite yet almost flirtatious smile on her face.

“Irish.” Tony looked delighted. “I like it.”

“Pervert,” I said it under my breath just loud enough for Tony and Happy to hear. Tony ignored it but Happy choked on a snort.

“Pleased to meet you, Tony.” Her voice had hit an almost monotonous tone as she shook his hand. Tony walked around the car as the top of the car began to drop down and I shut the door, no longer needing it to be open.

“I’m on the wheel.” Tony sounded excited to dive into his new toy, but he wasn’t without some civility as he turned to confirm with Happy. “Do you mind?” He returned his attention to the woman. “Where are you from?”

“Bedford.” Tony had crossed around the car.

“What are you doing here?” Tony was getting interested, but I knew that wouldn’t last long. I looked down as I inserted my knuckles between my teeth, biting down to keep from laughing.

“Looking for you.” She replied as Tony got into the car.

“Yeah? You found me.” Tony muttered it like this was a normal occurrence. I looked back up. “What are you up to later?”

“Serving subpoenas.” She replied, a hint of a smile curling at the corners of her lips. Then she ever so smoothly held out a subpoena for Tony.

“Yikes.” Tony looked at it briefly before not taking it. Happy reached over and grabbed the subpoena.

“He doesn’t like to be handed things.” Happy looked self-important as he stowed the subpoena in his breast pocket. I was turning red trying my hardest not to laugh.

“Yeah, I have a peeve,” Tony explained quickly.

“I got it.” Happy and Tony were practically talking over each other.

“You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow at 9 a.m.” Her tone was once again monotonous as she took a very matter-of-fact stance on what she was informing Tony of.

“Can I see a badge?” Tony had briefly looked at Happy before looking back up at her to ask.

“You wanna see the badge.” Marshal sounded almost bored.

“He likes the badge.” Happy informed her. Marshal flashed Tony her badge.

“You still like it?” She was smiling at him in challenge. I was dying in the backseat as I slipped to the floorboard.

“Yep,” Tony responded without delay. I pulled myself back up into my seat and buckled. I now had tears streaming down my face from the effort. Tony looked back to Happy. “How far are we from D.C.?”

“250 miles.” Happy responded and Tony faced forward once more flooring it. As soon as he accelerated, I let the laughter bust out of me.

“So how much of that did you see coming?” Tony worded it in a less-than-obvious way.

“All of it.” I was clutching my stomach from the pain of laughing so hard. “I was just waiting for the letter to arrive.”

When we arrived in D.C., we had a few more hours to kill so we stopped to buy new and more appropriate clothing to appear in front of the Senate. Tony had already bought and changed into his navy pinstripe suit, with the yellow and navy striped tie, the white collared button-up, and the yellow pocket square. I was in the changing room. Normally I didn’t care how I looked, but going through puberty and teenage anxiety for the second time around was a bitch. I had pulled on a green silk body suit with spaghetti straps, a knee-length black leather pencil skirt, and gold heels. I grabbed a nice black leather jacket to go over the top, but I left it unzipped. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but I was nervous.

“How’s it going in there, nosebleed? Ruin any clothes yet?” Tony joked. I heard the rush of the store attendant’s feet clearly worried he meant it. “Relax buddy I’ve got more than enough money to buy the whole store. You don’t have to worry about damaged merchandise. Lauren, are you good to go or still deciding?”

“No, I’m ready.” I took a deep breath before pulling open the curtain and strutting out. “Well…what do you think?”

I heard three rather dramatic and flattering gasps.

“Holy shit kiddo look at you!” Tony’s jaw dropped. I smiled glad to know that it looked good. “You realize if you ever get to date, I’ll have to be Iron Man full-time to protect you right?” He said it like a joke, but I knew he meant it. I was practically glowing with confidence.

Tony paid for the items, and we wore our clothes out of the boutique. We arrived at the Senate with about an hour to spare. We walked in and took our seats. Happy looked at me confused that I wasn’t sitting in the crowd but said nothing when Tony shook his head adamant that nothing be said. The guards had already been at their stations when we arrived but none of them moved to remove me. As we waited for the Senator and the other members of what I could only imagine was either a tribunal or a council. I watched as Stern sat down. I hated him but I was going to enjoy this.

“Anyone want to tell me why there’s a child here?” Stern looked up at me disinterested his hand raised as he gestured to me. “Can we please have her remo-.”

“Senator Stern,” I piped up interrupting him. I made my voice all innocent and girlish. He looked me in the eyes, and I narrowed mine as he did, grinning like the Cheshire cat. “You might wanna answer that.”

“Answer what? My phone’s not-.” His phone started buzzing cutting him off. I watched his eyes widen as he looked from me to the phone as though trying to verify it wasn’t me. He answered the phone. “Hello?”

I was able to hear parts of his conversation as few people had entered the courtroom.

“Senator Stern.” Fury spoke. I bit my lip to stop the grin. “Do you remember me?”

“I’m sorry who is this?” Stern sounded both angry and afraid.

“Don’t worry my associate should have a nice reminder for you.” Stern’s eyes snapped back up to mine. I stood up and walked over to him. I pulled a manila folder from my jacket and laid it in front of him. I could feel Tony’s eyes on my back. Stern opened the folder. His eyes were getting even wider than I thought was possible and held no anger in them anymore, only fear. “Do you remember me now?”

“Y-yes. Director Fury, how nice to hear from you.” Stern visibly gulped his fingers moving to tug at his tie. “How may I help you, Director?”

“Well, you can start by looking behind the photo.” Stern lifted the photo and read one line from the paper silently. I tilted my head watching his face begin to pale and sweat profusely. I knew the line on the paper said, ‘The girl in front of you is my kid.’ Stern looked back up. “I believe I can assume by now that you’ve read the message. The girl in front of you is my adopted daughter and she is Stark’s biological daughter as well. Make her sit anywhere she doesn’t want to or keep her from doing anything, including speaking and/or moving, and I will release any privileged information that you might prefer to remain hidden from the public. Have I made myself clear?”

Stern looked back up at me nodding as though Fury could see him.

“Yes, Director I understand.” Fury hung up immediately following Stern’s assent, not needing to make his point any further. “My apologies miss you may return to your seat.”

I walked over to my seat and sat next to Tony crossing my ankles. He snickered quietly.

“You’ll have to teach me that trick sometime.” Tony mimicked the phone call and Stern’s face. I winked at Tony before putting a finger to my lips. The room had begun to fill with press and onlookers. The “trial” had started.

*********

During the trial

*********

“Mr. Stark, could we pick up where we left off?” Stern looked exasperated as Tony was turned to communicate with Pepper who was desperately gesturing for him to turn around and pay attention. “Mr. Stark, please.”

“Yes, dear?” Tony turned around as he drew a laugh from the crowd.

“Can I have your attention?” Stern pleaded with all the dignity he could muster.

“Absolutely.” Tony leaned into the mic.

“Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?” Stern was struggling to maintain his composure.

“I do not.” Tony’s face was completely serious for once.

“You do not?” Stern said incredulously.

“I do not,” Tony confirmed. “Well, it depends on how you define the word weapon.”

“The Iron Man weapon,” Stern said as though this clarified his meaning. I started giggling.

“My device does not fit that description.” Tony looked at me. “In fact, my daughter could define it more accurately than you do.”

“Well…how would you describe it?” Stern looked uncertain as he did not want to ask me a question, clearly worried about what I might say.

“I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator.” Tony deflected.

“As?” Stern looked at Tony expectantly.

“Lauren, you’re smart. How would you describe it?” Tony redirected to me.

“It’s a high-tech prosthesis.” I shrugged my shoulders as I drew laughter from the crowd.

“That is…exactly how I would describe it.” Tony and I shared a smirk before returning our attention to the idiot at hand.

“It’s…It’s a weapon Mr. Stark.” Stern was struggling to maintain control of the room.

“Nope.” I dragged out the o before making the p pop. Stern looked at me. “That’s how you want to see it. Not how it actually is. But you are wrong.” Both Tony and Stern looked at me. Tony was mildly impressed, Stern looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel. “The dictionary defines the word weapon as a ‘thing designed or used for inflicting bodily harm or physical damage.’”

“Yes, Ms. Stark I am aware of the definition of weapon.” Stern sounded exasperated. But I wasn’t going to let him plow on.

“I don’t think you do.” I looked him dead in the eye. His nostrils flared. “See the beginning of the definition says that it is 'designed for’ and my dad designed the suit to allow him to fly. Not to kill people or harm anyone. The fact that the re-pulsors can blast things from a distance was an added and unexpected bonus. Any items of defense were added in as an afterthought, not as a part of the original design. The original design was a prosthetic extension of the body to allow for flight. Therefore, the Iron Man SUIT,” I emphasized the word suit making sure my point was clear, “is not a weapon.”

“Exactly.” Tony smiled at me before returning his attention to Stern. “Besides, if your priority was actually the wellbeing of the American citizen…”

“My priority,” Stern interrupted, “is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America.”

“As if. You have no legal grounds to even seize the suit since A, it isn’t a weapon, and B, the rights are solely my dad’s.” I crossed my arms, glaring at Stern.

“She’s right. So, you can forget it. I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one.” Tony spoke with precision. “To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself, which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending on what state you’re in.” The crowd laughed more. “You can’t have it.”

“Look I’m no expert…” Stern started.

“In prostitution? Of course not, you’re a Senator.” Tony slapped his hand down on the table before turning to flash the crowd, who had once more dissolved into laughter, the peace sign. “Come on.”

“I’m no expert in weapons. We have somebody here who is an expert on weapons.” Stern spoke as he looked down at the paper in front of him, adjusting his tie. “I would now like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor.”

I started snickering like a maniac as Hammer made his way into the room. Hammer looked disconcerted by that fact but continued trying to act like my laughter hadn’t bothered him.

“Let the record reflect that I observed Mr. Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance,” Tony emphasized his lack of enthusiasm.

“Absolutely. I’m no expert.” Hammer chuckled nervously. “I defer to you, Anthony. You’re the wonder boy.” Hammer gestured at Tony. “Senator, if I may.” Hammer stood up and walked around the table carrying his mic with him. “I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert? Your dad.” Hammer pointed at Tony. “Howard Stark. Really a father to us all, and to the military-industrial age. Let’s just be clear, he was no flower child. He was a lion.” Hammer was leaning trying to act cool. I started shaking even harder as I tried to suppress my giggles from his performance and attempt to act like Tony. “We all know why we’re here. In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet, he insists it’s a shield.” Hammer made exaggerated gestures as if the idea were ridiculous. “He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted, Anthony, I really do. I’d love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain’t Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able to foresee.” Hammer walked back around the table as he finished. “Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America.”

The room clapped but I just doubled over laughing.

“That is well said, Mr. Hammer.” Stern sounded pleased for the first time since the start of the hearing. “The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber.”

“Rhodey? What?” Tony stood up and walked a little way down to Rhodey before shaking his hand and talking low in his ear as cameras clicked and flashed. “Hey, buddy. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

 “Look, it’s me, I’m here.” Rhodey turned them to the side to speak. “Deal with it. Let’s move on.”

They walked back up to the seats.

“I just…” Tony started.

            “Drop it.” Rhodey’s tone was sharp.

“All right, I’ll drop it,” Tony said with an air of resignation.

“Hey Uncle Rhodey!” I waved at him. I stood up to greet him as well once they got closer to the table.

“Hey, kiddo!” Rhodey smiled at me before pulling me into a big bear hug. More camera shutters were heard. “How’d you get dragged into all of this?”

“Oh, you know same old same old.” I pulled back slightly to smile up at him speaking loudly enough for Hammer to hear me. “Some big tech dumbass who can’t make technology worth a damn thinks he can take on my dad until news flash he realizes he can’t.” I dropped the hug as I moved back and shrugged my shoulders. “What about you?”

“Oh, you know, I’ve been called in to defend your dad’s dumbass.” Rhodey deadpanned and I laughed as we took our seats. I was now sitting between Tony and Rhodey. We turned our attention back to Stern who was restraining himself from interrupting clearly afraid of the consequences for doing so.

“I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, complied by Colonel Rhodes. And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57, paragraph four?” Stern spoke down to his paper before looking up at Rhodey.

“You’re requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?” Rhodey looked shocked.

“Yes, sir.” Stern sighed.

“It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner.” Rhodey tried to reason.

“I understand. A lot of things have changed today. So, if you could just read…” Stern said disinterestedly.

“You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summary of my final…” Rhodey sounded disturbed by the thought.

“Just read it, Colonel. I do. Thank you.” Stern interrupted.

“Very well. ‘As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests.’” Rhodey began to read from his report. As he finished reading, he pushed to get the rest of his point across. “I did, however, go on to summarize that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh three liabilities and that it would be in our interest…”

            “That’s enough Colonel.” Stern tried to interrupt.

            “…to fold Mr. Stark…” Rhodey plowed on.

“That’s enough.” Stern raised his voice.

“…into the existing chain of command, Senator.” Rhodey however being the wonderful man that he was spoke over the Senator in spite of the objections.

“I’m not a joiner, but I’ll consider Secretary of Defense if you ask nice.” Tony held a deadpan expression on his face. “We can amend the hours a little bit. And it’d be great on my kid’s college applications if she worked as my secretary.”

The crowd laughed.

            “I’d like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that’s connected to your report.” Stern tried to push forward as he was now grasping for straws.

            “I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time.” Rhodey was calm but I knew he disapproved.

“With all due respect, Colonel, I understand. And if you could just narrate those for us, we’d be very grateful.” Stern didn’t care about Rhodey’s opinion as he continued to insist.

 “Let’s have the images.” Rhodey sounded defeated. I nudged him and when he looked at me, I winked, bringing a small smile to his face as he began his narration of the photos being shown on screen. “Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr. Stark’s suit.” Tony leaned back and began to hack into the TVs with his phone. “This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground…” Rhodey’s smile dropped, and he adopted a grave expression, “… indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational.”

“Hold on a second buddy. Let me see something here.” Tony leaned across me and Rhodey his phone held out. He tapped the screen twice before commandeering the TV screen across from Hammer. I smirked leaning back in my seat to allow him more space. “Boy, I’m good. I commandeered your screens. I need them.” He turned to the other TV, across from him, tapping his screen twice again.” Time for a little transparency. Now, let’s see what’s really going on.”

The screens now read Welcome Mr. Stark with code below them.

“What is he doing?” Stern was trying to mute his worry.

 “If you will direct your attention to said screens, I believe that’s North Korea.” He gestured to the TV across from Hammer.

On-screen, a giant mechanized “suit” took two steps before tipping over and triggering its weapons. Blood splattered on the screen as it had, presumably, killed the cameraman. The crowd gasped murmuring in horror.

“Can you turn that off? Take it off.” Stern sounded desperate and Hammer moved to try and shut off the first TV as Tony droned on.

“Iran.” The screen showed a “suit” that couldn’t fly straight for more than five seconds before zooming around like a balloon that was running out of air. “No grave immediate threat here,” Tony spoke with slight pauses before increasing his pitch to indicate curiosity at what he said next. “Is that Justin Hammer? How did Hammer get in the game?” On-screen, a slimmer “suit appeared with a test pilot that was working through testing the basic movement commands of the suit. Hammer began working in earnest to unplug the TV. “Justin, you’re on TV. Focus up.”

“Okay, give me a left twist. Left’s good. Turn to the right.” Hammer’s recording spoke through the TV. Then the audience witnessed the failed test as the “suit” twisted the pilot’s upper body in a complete 180 without rotating the lower half. I winced as the crowd reacted. “Oh, shit. Oh, shit.”

Hammer finally managed to disconnect the screen, but the damage was done.

“Wow. Yeah, I’d say most countries, five, ten years away.” Tony paused. “Hammer Industries, twenty.”

“I’d like to point out that that test pilot survived.” Hammer tried to reason as he rushed back over to his mic bending over it awkwardly.

“Yeah, he was lucky that he did,” I spoke up, Hammer looking over at me. “Hammer, your tech is so defective, even the weapons you sell aren’t your design.”

“Oh yeah, little girl?” Hammer snarled. “What do you know? Why don't you just run on home to your mommy?”

The crowd went silent. Since most of the crowd was press, my story of how I came to live with Stark was well known. I clenched my hand into a fist the knuckles turning white as I struggled to remain composed. Rhodey had his hand on my shoulder in case he needed to restrain me.

“Hammer you need to apologize.” Tony snarled out. His bored expression melted away into one of fury.

Normally I would be fine with someone saying something like that, but I hadn’t seen my mother in five years, and I knew I could never go home. Tears welled in my eyes as I looked down at my lap trying to control my emotions. It wouldn’t be good if I snapped, and my powers burst out.

“Hammer,” I started my eyes narrowed as I looked up at him waving Rhodey off. “You like to think you’re an expert, right?” I spoke sweetly tilting my head as I prepared to bury him. Hammer nodded. “What are you an expert in?”

“Well, I’m so glad you asked.” Hammer looked thrilled to have the chance to restore his image somewhat. “I’m an expert in business, technology, engineering, and…well…I don’t want to brag but,” Hammer paused, and I had my fingers crossed. “I’m quite good at martial arts.”

“Any particular form of martial arts or just all of them?” I silently cheered at his response.

“I’m pretty good at all of them.” Hammer’s over-inflated ego was a gift in disguise to all but me in that moment.

“Really?” I let my voice get excited. I spread my arm out to the floor in front of the table. “Would you care to demonstrate?”

“That’s very kind of you but I don’t think that the Senator would be too pleased.” Hammer held up both his hands with a big smile on his face. “Besides, I don’t have a partner to spar with.”

“Well, that’s not true.” I stood up smoothing my skirt down. “You don’t mind do you, Senator?”

“No of course not.” Stern swallowed thickly as I beamed.

“Come on Hammer.” I sat on the table and swung my legs over to the opposite side before sliding off and righting my skirt. I gestured for Hammer to join me.

Hammer walked around before standing hesitantly. I got into my general fighting stance which Hammer attempted to copy. His face was uncertain.

“I don’t know kid…are you sure you’re ready for this?”

“Are you?” I held my hand palm up before flexing my fingers in the general ‘come at me’ gesture. “I’ll let you take the first swing.”

“I don’t usually hit girls, but if you insist.” Hammer threw the weakest punch I had ever seen.

I sidestepped before grabbing his wrist as I turned my back to him and pulled his entire body over my shoulder so he could land on his back at my feet. I dropped his wrist and stepped on his chest with one foot, digging the heel in.

“Make another joke about my mother again, Hammer,” I smiled sweetly as I lowered my voice menacingly. I had leaned over him so that my face was barely a foot above his. “The next time you do, I won’t stop at just flipping you over.” I straightened up, removing my foot from Hammer’s chest. I smoothed out my skirt before turning to the crowd. “Guess he’s not such an expert after all.”

I walked back around the table and sat down just as Hammer stood up and dusted himself off.

“I-I let her win.” Hammer looked upset.

“Really, wanna go again?” I narrowed my eyes.

“Nope!” Hammer’s hands went up in the air, a sign of surrender, and his eyes filled with panic.

Hammer walked back around the table and sat down his head down and his hands in his lap. Rhodey patted me on the back, but I could see his concern vividly across his facial features.

“I think we’re done is the point that he’s making. I don’t think there’s any reason…” Stern was now standing fluttering his hand about as he tried to dismiss the failure he had just achieved while also attempting to ignore my show of strength.

“The point is, you’re welcome, I guess.” Stark had his hand under his chin. He pulled it away to gesture a sort of ‘whatever.’

“For what?” Stern said shortly.

“Because I’m your nuclear deterrent. It’s working. We’re safe. America is secure. You want my property? You can’t have it. But I did you a big favor.” Tony slapped the table, raising his voice. “I’ve successfully privatized world peace.” Tony turned around and threw up double peace signs as he posed for the crowd. The crowd responded with a standing ovation; the room was filled with thunderous applause. “What more do you want? For now! I tried to play ball with these ass clowns!” Tony pointed at the Senators.

“Fuck you, Mr. Stark. Fuck you, buddy.” Stern finally lost his composure as he cussed out Tony. “We’re adjourned. We’re adjourned for today.”

“Okay.” Tony smiled as he leaned down to grab his sunglasses and gave Stern a thumbs up. He then blew kisses at Stern.

“You’ve been a delight.” Stern snarked out.

Rhodey looked unimpressed but I was laughing. He looked at me before shaking his head and joining in with a chuckle. I stood to follow Tony. Rhodey joined me.

“My bond is with the people. And I will serve this great nation at the pleasure of myself.” Tony walked down the aisle shaking hands as he moved to the sound of applause. “If there’s one thing, I’ve proven it’s that you can count on me to pleasure myself.”

I ran to catch up to Tony.

“Hey kiddo, you did great.” Tony looked at me with obvious pride on his face, but his eyes were concerned.

“Thanks, Dad, but did you have to make that joke?” I groaned as he chuckled. We exited the building heading for the car. “That was seriously gross.”

“Don’t hate the player kid. Hate the game.” Tony pulled me into a big hug as I got in the backseat.

I expected Tony to sit up front but instead, he crawled in the back and put his arm around me pulling my head to his chest. Pepper got in the passenger seat as Happy awaited instructions to drive off. The rear passenger door opened and Rhodey stepped in, sitting on my other side. This was going to be a long car trip in a tiny car.

Chapter 9

Tony had wrapped his arm tightly around my shoulder. I rested my head on his chest ready to cry. I knew I had managed to restrain myself, but I would have liked nothing more than to see that asshole pay, I would have to settle for the way it was supposed to end for him, in the movie.

“You did great in there, kid.” Tony smiled down at me. “I’m proud of you.”

“I don’t deserve praise for what I did in there, Dad,” I whispered my voice crackling with unshed tears. “I was ready and willing to rip him apart. It’s not fair. He gets away with making comments like that, telling me to run home to mommy. Well, I can never run home to my mother can I!” I was now sobbing fully. I wasn’t yelling but my voice was full of emotion. “I miss my mom.”

“I know kiddo. I’m sorry.” Tony hugged me tightly.

“Lauren.” I looked up at Rhodey. “You didn’t let him get away with it. You kicked that little man’s ass. You showed him that you are not someone to be underestimated and that he made the mistake. Not the other way around.”

“He’s right Lauren.” Pepper had turned around in the front seat to look at me. “Whether you want to hear it or not, we are all so proud of you for not sinking to his level.”

I smiled at that. I felt a sudden wave of drowsiness hit and my eyes began to blink sleepily. Pepper smiled at me with loving sympathy. I watched her eyes shift meaningfully from Tony to me. She was clearly communicating something to him, but I was too exhausted to figure out what. Tony drew me back to his chest, hugging me tightly.

“It’s ok to sleep, Lauren,” Tony whispered into my hair. “I promise you we’ve got your back.”

“Ok.” I yawned. “I love you, dad.”

My eyes blinked slowly as I started nodding off into sleep.

“Love you too kid.” That was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep. In my exhausted state, I could have sworn my real dad said it. I smiled as the world around me drifted away.

*********

Rhodey’s Perspective

*********

In the past four years since meeting Tony’s kid, I had developed a newfound respect for my friend. Tony had never been one for responsibility. The man was a genius, but he never took things seriously. That was until he returned from captivity in Afghanistan, He had returned to us very different from the man I had known. He thought of his company as the enemy, incapable of being sold only to a trusted source as anyone could buy his weapons, even the bad guys his weapons were meant to save innocents from. For the most part, outside of having a newfound conscience, he seemed unaffected. Then, I met her. Lauren. Tony’s kid. I couldn’t see much resemblance between her and Tony, at least physically. She had golden blonde hair and bright green eyes with hues of hazel and blue to complement her pale skin. When we first met, she had been extremely skinny and could barely walk. Now she was well-toned with more power in her fist than I had even realized. Tony did not share her complexion, other than her skin tone. The only reason I felt they could even remotely be related was the way she spoke and acted. Her sarcastic sense of humor and wicked wit were very reminiscent of Tony. And just like Tony, she would get a wicked glint in her eye whenever something occurred to her. At this point, I didn’t care if she was really his because Tony showed more emotion and care for another human being when it came to her than I had seen him exhibit towards any other person outside maybe Pepper.

I knew very little about Lauren’s life prior to four years ago but I had managed to witness a little of it in the time I had spent around her. I had asked her about them once, but she wouldn’t respond except to say she had somewhere else she needed to be. I had followed her as discretely as possible to the gym within the mansion. I watched her punch the hell out of the punching bag till her knuckles bled through the gauze. I couldn’t see her face until she sat down to take a break, she was crying. I can still remember the things I heard her say.

“Why did we have to be separated?”

“Where are you now?”

“I miss you guys so much!!!”

Her voice was practically a whisper for everything she said but the agony on her face was clear. I pushed open the door when I was done listening to her pain. I had triggered her agony; I could at least apologize. She froze when the door opened and began wiping at her face panicked that she was being seen like this.

“Hey, kid I didn’t mean anything by it when I asked about your parents. I’m sorry.” I had this gut-wrenching feeling that I couldn’t control. “I just thought you might like to talk about them is all.”

She smiled at me weakly. Her eyes glistened with the tears she had yet to shed.

“Uncle Rhodey, I appreciate the apology.” Her voice was shaking. “It isn’t your fault that I’m crying though. I just haven’t seen them in so long that it hurts.” She met my gaze. She had a strange look on her face as she did like a thought had just occurred to her. “Uncle Rhodey can I show you something?” Her expression was quizzical. I nodded at her not wanting to chance interrupting whatever this was. Lauren put her hands out in front of her, palms up. “I’m going to share a secret with you that you can’t tell anyone else about. My mom had a few very special skills that she was able to share with me before…” Her voice was thick with tears. “My mom was magical. I’m not really supposed to do this since I wasn’t taught how to control it and losing control can technically kill me, but I think this should be fine.”

“Woah kiddo, don’t do something that’ll get you killed.” I moved to put my hands on her shoulders to stop whatever this was, but she shook her head. And that was when an image appeared in her hands. “What the hell is that?!”

“Just watch.” She said quietly looking at her hands.

I watched a scene play out in her hands of what I could only assume was the family she told me about enjoying what seemed to be Christmas. I had never seen anything like it, but I waited till the end, unable to tear my eyes away from the happy beautiful family in front of me. I couldn’t see Lauren and I assumed that was because the image we were watching was from her point of view. When the picture faded, I looked up at her. She rubbed at her eye, crying once more.

“I can do things no normal human should be capable of. I can communicate with minds, move through space without taking a step both with myself and objects, and I can create small illusory effects like the images you saw play out in my hand just now.” She smiled at me. “Tony knows but Pepper and Happy don’t so please don’t tell anyone. I can’t use my gifts properly yet and I don’t want to be a lab rat for the rest of my life.”

“Kiddo, I’m already hiding your existence from the world, I have no one to tell about the nonexistent girl with superpowers.” I joked. She started laughing. “I’ve got your back kid. And I always will.”

It had been four years since that day. She has grown into a strong, confident woman since then. I was glad to help train her through hand-to-hand combat. I didn’t love the other half of her life though. Her second father was a man with too many secrets, and I didn’t trust him to properly care for a growing child. I did, however, appreciate that her other ‘family’ members seemed very overprotective of her. I had only met two of them, her Aunt Maria, and her Uncle Phil. They both seemed to dote on her very much and I could see the bond she had with them. Perhaps that was why I distrusted her other father because I had never seen their bond in action, nor had I seen them together. I did know that he was the only reason she got to see Tony, so I allowed what little trust I had in them to guide my faith in her.

Lauren would grow to be someone of importance. I knew that I just didn’t know how. I trusted her, I adored her as if she were my niece, and I loved the change she brought in my friend. I just hoped I wasn’t wrong.

*********

Rhodey’s Perspective End

*********

We had been back home for a few days already. Tony had named Pepper his new CEO and he was extremely happy. We were all in the gym, I was curled up next to Pepper while Tony was boxing with Happy.

“The notary’s here! Can you please sign the transfer paperwork?” Pepper was barely looking at him as she arranged the documents on the table.

“I’m on Happy Time,” Tony called out as he proceeded to elbow Happy in the face. “Sorry.”

“What the hell was that?” Happy snapped at Tony, grabbing his nose to massage it.

“It’s called mixed martial arts.” Tony shrugged. “It’s been around for three weeks now.”

“It’s called dirty boxing, there’s nothing new about it.” Happy shot Tony a dirty look.

“Oh Happy, mixed martial arts is a real thing. You’re just pissed because he got the drop on you.” I called out, earning myself a dirty look from Happy as well. Tony was prepping to say something when she walked in. Natalie Rushman.

“I promise this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company.” Pepper crossed her arms as she sat back to look at him.

“I need you to initial each box.” Nat barely looked up until I tapped her on the shoulder.

“Hi, I’m Lauren.” I smiled at her and held my hand out. As she grasped my hand, I could hear Happy lecturing Tony. “What’s your name?”

“Natalie Rushman. But you can call me Natalie.” Nat grasped my hand smiling back at me.

“You said your name was Natalie, yes?” Tony had wandered over at some point and was leering at her over my shoulder.

“Not to you it isn’t,” Nat smirked up at him. “To you, I am Ms. Rushman.”

“Well, that hardly seems fair,” Tony whined. “How come my kid can call you by name but I can’t?”

“Because one, she, isn’t technically my boss.” Nat held up one finger as she spoke before flicking up the second finger as she continued. “And two, she isn’t trying to flirt with me.”

“Hey, Natalie, I’m going to spar with Happy. Unless you want to be my sparring partner.” I raised an eyebrow in silent challenge.

“Sure, Lauren. I’d love to.” Nat’s smirk widened in a Cheshire cat-style grin. I hopped up from my seat and began to strut my way over to the boxing ring.

“Oh, this I’d pay to see.” I heard Tony whisper to Pepper as he replaced my spot next to her. “Happy,” Tony called out. “Step out of the ring. Lauren and Natalie wanna give it a go.”

“Give her hell kiddo.” Happy clapped me on the shoulder whispering his encouragement. He slipped out of the ring as he did so. I lifted the rubber railing and stepped in. Nat followed. “Hey kid need any gloves?”

“Nope.” I tilted my head back to meet Happy’s gaze as I grinned maniacally back at him. I watched him shudder before returning my head to its upright position and turned to face my opponent. “Ready when you are.”

“You wanna throw the first punch to make it fair?” Nat looked smug.

“Nah, I’ll let you have that honor.” I stepped into my fighting stance.

I had my legs parted with my nondominant leg leading, my knees were slightly bent, and I had brought my arms up to guard my face. I jerked my chin up in a silent ‘your move’ gesture and Nat charged. Any impressions that Natalie Rushman might be limited in her movement capabilities due to her pencil skirt, were quickly demolished as she moved at lightning speed. Nat was aiming for my legs; her arms reached to grab them and trip me. I quickly jumped pushing my legs into a split position over her head. As she moved under me, I put my hands on her shoulders and pushed her down to smack into the floor of the ring, propelling myself over her to jump fully over her form. Nat, however, did not go down all the way only moving slightly with me so that she was squatting before swinging her leg out to catch me in the ankle. I tried to move my foot out of the way in time but ultimately failed as she managed to lock onto the slope between the top of my foot and the base of my shin. Nat hooked her foot around it to drag me down ensuring I hit the ground. I felt hands lock around my ankle, as I crashed to the ground, pulling me towards their source. I tried to push myself up to gain some grounding to fight back. When I felt the hands disappear from my ankle I flipped over launching myself up ready to continue, only to realize Nat had vanished. I didn’t have long to wonder where she had vanished to as I felt arms slip around my neck pulling me into a headlock, legs wrapping around mine to keep me from effectively removing the source. I pulled at her arms in a futile measure to remove her but ultimately as she squeezed a little tighter, whispering to me that I could not win this fight, I tapped out. Nat released me and I scrambled away from her rubbing at my throat. However, I wasn’t really hurt, not badly. I knew if she had wanted to hurt me, she would have. I heard a low whistle, and my attention was drawn to our miniature crowd as it seemed that Happy, Pepper, and Tony had been transfixed by our fight.

“Nice job Lauren.” Nat had walked over her hand outstretched as she leaned over me.

“Thanks, Natalie. Any time you feel like it, I’d love to spar again.” I grasped her hand and let her pull me up. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some wounds to my pride to nurse.”

I slipped out of the ring as Tony stood up to meet me. I tried to wave him off, but I knew he wouldn’t listen to me.

“Kid, how’d you know she could spar?” Tony whispered conspiratorially.

“I didn’t Dad.” I tried to brush him off, but Tony wasn’t letting up.

“Come on Lauren, you tried to spar her without any protective gear. You knew something.” Tony bumped my shoulder.

“Tony, I guessed ok. Her hands were pretty well-defined, and she had a pretty good muscle tone in her arms and legs. I didn’t really know till she charged me.” I was doing my best to deflect but he wasn’t accepting it. “Look drop it; I really want to ice my face. I hit my jaw pretty hard, and I can feel the bruise coming on and I want to get ahead of it OK. Just ask Natalie about her martial artistry, not me. I don’t know.”

Tony narrowed his eyes at me but released me. I could see the cogs ticking in his head. I knew I had only delayed him so I needed to play this off in a way that he wouldn’t confront me for a while when he came to ask me next. As I walked away formulating a plan, I could hear Tony in the background asking how she spelled her name. I smiled quietly to myself as I exited the room. As I did, I realized my jaw really was throbbing, maybe that ice pack wasn’t such a bad idea.

*********

One day later

*********

I had avoided Tony the whole day, silently thanking the stones for allowing me teleportation across long distances, allowing me a quick and easy escape. I knew he was leaving for Monaco that day and I wasn’t sure how well I could hide my emotions. I knew Vanko was coming and I was scared for him. As irrational as I knew it was given that I knew how it would all turn out, I would always worry for him.

When I finally allowed him to find me, I was sitting on the roof, my legs dangling off the edge, as I swung them back and forth waiting for him to arrive. I knew Tony had swapped to the Iron Man suit a few hours ago in a vain attempt to keep up with me. I heard the quiet roar of his thrusters behind me as they shut off and the thud of metal was heard on the roof. I didn’t react as the wondrous man of metal, himself, sat beside me on the roof. I didn’t even look as I heard his face mask retract, instead focusing on the glorious sunset in front of me.

“Do ever look at sunsets and get transported to another place and time?” I spoke before Tony had the chance to. I wanted a moment to enjoy the majesty before me before having to place myself back in reality. “Look at that brilliant stream of colors. The pinks, purples, oranges, and reds fade into the blue-black of night with the briefest intervals of white that give us stars. All over the many hues of blue and green that form the ocean.”

Tony was silent, possibly pondering my question or maybe even enjoying the hues himself. The sunset before us truly was magnificent. It took all I had to tear my gaze from the sunset, barely tilting my head to look at him enough to keep the sunset in my peripherals. Tony wasn’t looking at the sunset, but rather at me. I quickly returned my gaze to the sunset.

“I have one exact memory the sunsets bring me to,” I whispered, my voice cracking slightly as I teared up thinking of my specific memory. I carefully waved my hands over the sky, placing a very gentle mirage over the sight before us. I didn’t fully change the reality before us but rather had a sort of hologram in front of us. “I was twelve years old. My parents had gotten our family certified in scuba diving a few months prior and we went on a trip to Mexico with the express purpose of gaining dive experience.” Before us was the helm of a boat with a small family; a mother, a father, a son, and a daughter; sitting up against the glass on the front of this boat, watching a beautiful sunset over the ocean water. “It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. The stars high above, the ocean just below, and the gorgeous colors of the sunset separating the two. It was a brief moment of silence and companionship for me and my family.” I dropped the mirage before us to watch the last moments of the sky’s transformation before us. As the last hues of red and orange finally dipped out of sight, I turned my whole body to face the man beside me finally allowing him to see my whole face and the large bruise that spanned the half of my jaw he hadn’t been able to see before. I watched his eyes widen taking in the damage before I waved my hand in front of his eyes drawing his attention away from my jaw. “Hey, you wanted to talk to me, right? What’s up?”

“Kid what the hell happened to your face?!” I had to hide the smile that wanted to bloom across my face at his reaction.

“One Natalie Rushman.” I smiled briefly before letting it drop in favor of wincing from the pain my small reaction had elicited. “Relax Dad. She didn’t do as much damage as the boxing ring floor did, OK?”

“Lauren, why did you run away yesterday?” Tony gently touched the bruise, the coolness of the metal functioning as a sort of ice pack. “You wouldn’t answer me, and you were dodging answering my questions like crazy.”

“I know,” I whispered back letting tears fill my eyes. “I was trying to hide my emotions.”

“What emotions Lauren? You were laughing and brushing it off.” Tony raised his eyebrow, doubting the veracity of my statement.

“The shame Tony.” I looked him dead in the eye. “I told you once before that I know a bit of people’s past. I could see that she had a bit of martial arts experience. I had wanted to try a different hand-to-hand partner outside of Happy or Rhodey.” I let more tears fall. “I couldn’t see her skill and I got cocky. I was so certain I could win and then I lost. It was reality putting me back in check.” I looked away. “Tony, if I lost my powers today, or tomorrow, or next week, or at any point in the future, and I had to fight, I would lose.” I let my voice crack with fear. “My inability to fight without my powers could be what leads to someone I care about, someone I love, dying. And it would be MY fault, Tony. My fault.”

“Kiddo look at me.” Tony guided my chin back in his direction. “You didn’t see what I saw. Natalie Rushman was terrified. As much as you underestimated her, she underestimated you. You almost won kid. And that scared her.” I smiled at him weakly. “You might have lost today, but you are someone who adapts. You learn from your mistakes so that the next time, you won’t lose. Don’t beat yourself up. You’ll get her next time.”

“Thanks, Dad.” I threw my arms around him. I pulled back to look at him. “You excited for Monaco tomorrow?”

“Sure am, kid.” Tony winked at me. “Are you sure you don’t want to join us? There’s plenty of room on the jet for another party.”

“Nah, I’m good.” I jokingly punched his shoulder, immediately regretting it as even a light hit hurt due to the metal armor. I lightly rubbed my knuckles, the both of us chuckling at my stupidity. “Besides, someone has to stay behind and keep an eye on Dum-ee.”

“Uh-huh. Suuuuure.” Tony gave me some serious side-eye. “Gonna miss you in Monaco, kiddo. Our darling Nosebleed.”

“And that’s my limit of sentimentality.” I stood up, dusting the back of my legs off. “I love you, dad. See you in a few days.”

I formed a faux salute. Tony stood up and returned the salute before the two of us dissolved into giggles.

“I love you too kid.” Tony pulled me into a hug. “Do me a favor try not to blow up the house before Thursday.”

“SO, it’s Thursday? That is good to know.” I mocked writing that down before looking up at him and quoting one of my favorite lines. “I will plan my toga party accordingly.”

“Ha ha. Very funny.” Tony said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, yes, it is.” I snarked back. “Glad you recognize that fact.”

“Ok, I think it’s time you went to bed.” Tony began to usher me away from the roof. When he did I had an idea.

“I guess.” I had a smile creeping up my face as I let him turn me, so my back was to the water.

“What are you planning?” Tony’s eyes narrowed as he let his arms drop, instantly suspicious of my smile.

“I’m planning on going to bed.” I stepped back so I was right on the edge. Tony’s eyes went wide with fear. “Night Dad.”

I spread my arms and let myself tip backward. Tony launched forward ready to catch me thinking I was about to fall. I closed my eyes, imagining the space above my bed. I heard Tony start to yell before the sound muffled and then vanished as I felt myself bounce on my bed, opening my eyes to find myself directly in the middle of the bed. I smiled victoriously, knowing full well Tony was probably flipping the fuck out, having never seen me do this before.

“Jarvis.” I sang out.

“Yes, Miss Lauren?” Jarvis responded.

“Let Dad know that I’m already in bed and I hope he sleeps well.” I snickered to myself.

“Right away miss.” Jarvis had a hint of a smile in his automated voice. “Miss Lauren?”

“Yes, Jarvis?” I knew what was coming next.

“Mr. Stark wishes for you to know that you should sleep with one eye open for a while,” Jarvis informed me.

“Thank you, Jarvis!!!” I chirped. “Hey Jarvis, tell Tony if he ever interrupts my sleep I will walk in on him and any possible dates he has from now till eternity and third wheel him into oblivion.”

“Very good miss,” Jarvis responded. “Will that be all for the evening?”

“Yes, Jarvis.” I smiled. “Good night.”

“Good night Miss Lauren.” Jarvis’ voice drifted off as I slipped into a very deep sleep, wiped from the numerous uses of my powers throughout the day.

Chapter 10

It had been two days since Tony had flown off to Monaco and I was severely uneasy. I had kept my eye on the news waiting for any sign of Vanko attacking him, but I could feel something was off. Then it hit me, the news wouldn’t show me the events quickly enough. I needed to be watching that stupid race.

“Hey, Jarvis?” I called out as I wandered into the living room.

“Yes, Miss Lauren?” Jarvis asked.

“Can you turn on the race in Monaco that Tony was attending?” I was slightly panicked but was trying to maintain some façade of calm.

“Certainly Miss Lauren,” Jarvis replied and the TV flicked on with the race on screen.

“It would appear that billionaire, Tony Stark is joining the race…” A female reporter’s voice came on over the air as an image of Tony was shown vaulting the barrier to the raceway. The image cut over to one of Tony speaking to an on-scene reporter.

“Well, what’s the use of having and owning a race car if you don’t drive it?” Tony said with an impressive swagger. I rolled my eyes and watched him climb into his race car.

I watched as the racers readied their engines and started the race. Tony was weaving in and out of the lanes, moving ever forward at near breakneck speeds. I winced at a few breakneck turns before I realized the particular stretch that the camera angle had swapped to was the exact spot for Vanko’s scene and Tony was coming up on it. I held my breath watching waiting…but Vanko never appeared. Tony was able to finish the race in first place much to the ire of the professional drivers. I, however, could neither relish in nor lament his victory as I could not help but feel the strongest sense of foreboding. Where was Vanko?!

“Miss Lauren, someone has…” Jarvis’ voice crackled out almost violently as the horrifying reality of where Vanko might be, settled in.

“I spent weeks trying to come up with the perfect plan to destroy the great…Tony…Stark.” A gruff, evil voice, with a thick Russian accent spoke to me through the dark of the hallway leading to the living room. My face went pale as I watched an ice-blue crackling light fill the hallway with the strange sounds of electricity humming through the air. “And then I found it in the form of the one thing he loves most.”

“And who might that be?” I yelled out as I jumped up and began to move as far from Vanko as I could without turning around, too afraid to turn my back on him. I was terrified and I didn’t know what else to do as I kept backing up praying.

“Tony Stark has few things that truly matter to him, his legacy, his technology, himself.” The voice was moving closer, and his outline appeared slowly his face alight with blue glinting eerily off his gold tooth as he smiled sinisterly. “And the one thing that matters to him most, his daughter.”

“Me?!” I screeched out. I had to keep him talking that would both keep me alive and give me time to formulate a plan since I very well couldn’t teleport or use any other powers in front of him. He was supposed to go to prison, which meant if he saw me do anything strange he could tell anyone. Especially if someone like Justin Hammer was paying attention that could be truly dangerous. “Surely you aren’t being serious. Tony keeps me around because he couldn’t have the news get out if he abandoned me. He doesn’t love me…I…I’m a publicity stunt at best. Come on he'll ship me out the second I turn 18. He doesn’t want me around.”

“I think you are the one who is mistaken.” Vanko dragged his whips on the ground scorch marks quickly appearing tinged red before turning black within mere seconds. “If you died, he would self-destruct killing all good inside him in the pursuit of revenge. He would show no mercy.”

“I know men like you.” I spat out. I had now successfully backed into a doorway I felt my way around to push me into the right angle to enter the next room.

“And who exactly would those men be? Arrogant, with no regard for any other human being, causing death everywhere they turn.” Vanko stalked forward. I had never been scared of a Russian accent before, but I was terrified at this moment. “Men like your father, Tony Stark?”

“No! I mean men like you. Men who think they’ve been done every injustice the world has to offer simply because of their circumstances!” I shouted back, smug as I watched Vanko stumble a little, my words hitting their mark. “Oh yes!” I grinned maniacally, doing my best imitation of the 10^th Doctor. I was still on the retreat, but I could put the fear of God in him if I wanted. “I’ve done my research. I know all about you and your dad, Anton Vanko. A brilliant scientist, no better than that, a physicist!” I hissed out an evil look spreading on my face. Vanko had stopped moving but I kept shifting back slowly. “And yet for all his brilliance, he made the most impulsive and foolish decision. He betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D. and sold the designs he had worked on, with Howard Stark, to the black market hoping to get rich quickly. In the end, for his treachery, he was deported back to ‘Mother Russia’ and in his anger, he turned to vodka to fill the void of his own disappointment. He then failed to properly raise his son, Ivan.” I had Vanko’s full attention, and he looked angry. “Ivan was a brilliant boy, just like his daddy. He became a physicist too, but Ivan made the same mistake as Daddy Dearest, selling things he shouldn’t to become rich. Things like weapons-grade plutonium from the Soviet era. You went to prison for fifteen years. When you came out you really listened to your father’s lies, that you deserved everything the Stark’s had and that it was Howard Stark’s fault for everything.” I was halfway into the new room. “So here you are. All grown up and ready to destroy the world, or rather Tony Stark, the man you believe usurped who you should have been. Have I missed anything?”

“You are clever for your age,” Vanko stated begrudgingly. “It will be a shame to deprive the world of you. However, if it destroys him, it will all be worth it.”

“If you can make God bleed!” I spat out. Ivan looked at me almost appreciatively. “I hope you don’t think I plan on sitting here, letting you kill me. You took out Jarvis, which was smart, I’ll grant you that. But you made one mistake.” I smiled tilting my head carefully checking to see what cameras were working. There were no red lights. Good. That made my job way easier. “Just one. Care to guess what that was?”

“No do tell me what grand mistake I have made.” Ivan’s accent was thicker than ever as I watched the cogs tick in his head, trying to pick apart my meaning.

“You let me get far enough away to run!” I grinned before spinning around and darting away into the dark of the next adjacent room. As soon as I was out of sight, I burrowed to the far end of the floor, far away from Vanko. I could hear his roar of fury. As he screamed I did the one thing I could, I pulled out my phone and called the one person who might be able to guide me through this, Uncle Rhodey. I held the phone to my ear crossing my fingers as the ringing started. Once. Ivan was destroying the house. Twice. Ivan was closer but I still had a couple minutes before I needed to move again. Before it could ring a third time, he picked up. I spoke before he could greet me. I didn’t have the time to exchange pleasantries. “Uncle Rhodey I need your help!”

“Hey, kiddo what’s up?” Rhodey sounded highly pleasant.

“Someone’s broken into the house.” I was crying. “And I can’t fight back. How do I get out of here without him realizing or finding me or succeeding in his mission?”

“Hold on kid, who’s there? What mission?!” Rhodey’s tone grew more severe and panicked.

“His…His name is Ivan Vanko…and…and…” I hiccupped. “He…he wants to destroy Tony by taking away the one thing that he apparently cares about most. He wants to kill me.”

“Kid, why don’t you do your usual thing to escape? The quicker movement thing.”  Rhodey tried to word his way around teleportation. I knew he couldn’t risk any coworkers hearing him.

“Uncle Rhodey, the next safe place I can move to that isn’t this house is in Washington, D.C. If I jump there I will most certainly die, as my body cannot handle a jump of that distance.” I was crying. Vanko was a few rooms away now. “Uncle Rhodey, I’m gonna do something stupid, but I need you to know a few important things about Vanko. He’s imitated Tony’s tech, but not as a suit. He has the arc reactor powering two big electrical whips. Tony’s suits are the only things that can beat him. Warn Tony. I love you.”

“Kid, hang on. What do you mean something stupid?!” Rhodey was yelling. Vanko was really close now. “We still have options come on. Don’t do it.”

“Tell Tony I’m sorry if I fail and this kills me, that I love him.” I was whispering. Vanko was outside the door, and I put Rhodey on speakerphone but turned down his volume as I set the phone down in the corner perfectly hidden.

“Child, you have run long enough.” Vanko’s voice filtered through the door. “It is time to face your destiny and become the trigger to the downfall of Stark’s name.”

“Fuck that!!!” I yelled before gritting my teeth and focusing. ‘take me someplace safe.’ I thought. I prayed hard before I felt the darkness of the room fade into something different. The air felt stranger, but my head felt faint. I opened my eyes when I saw it. The desert. I had jumped to New Mexico. ‘holy shit’ was my last thought before I fainted, hitting the ground. A bright light filled the darkness behind my eyelids practically scorching it. I felt weightless briefly before all consciousness faded around me.

*********

Loki’s Perspective

*********

I had made some sort of mistake. Through all my planning, I had never in a millennium imagined that my father would ACTUALLY banish Thor. I knew I could goad the brainless oaf into doing something so stupid that Father would finally realize how unfit for the throne Thor truly was. But not this. I didn’t know what to think as I watched Father strip Thor of his rank, his powers, his family, and friends, and even his home. Then I watched as Thor was thrown into the Bifrost, to serve out what might be the most eternal sentence. I almost missed the fact that Father gave Thor one chance to return. I had to bite back a smile as I realized my selfish, warmongering, oaf of a brother had to prove his worthiness to return. He had to change everything about himself to return. And he never would. Now finally my father might see me. With the shadow of the great Thor ripped from the ground it once haunted, I might finally have my chance. Then as father tossed Mjolnir after Thor, the unexpected occurred. I watched as the Bifrost warped slightly, the colors growing more vibrant for one moment, so much so that I had to cover my eyes at its intensity.

I hid my face with my hand, wincing at what filtered through until the light dimmed and then vanished as the Bifrost returned to its inactive state. When I deemed it safe enough to lower my hand, I could see Father had not moved. I moved forward, careful not to make any sudden moves thinking he might still be furious. The last thing I wanted was to incur his ire or wrath in the same manner that Thor had done. Only when I got close enough to him to make my presence more known, I realized it wasn’t Thor that had him frozen in such a manner. Nor was it anger or sadness that had him so arrested of movement, no, rather it was shock. But not even shock at what he had just done, he was staring at something. I had no idea what as I had kept my eyes solely on him as I slowly rounded his shoulder to look at his face. His eyes widened enough to indicate surprise, his mouth ajar, and his head angled slightly downward. I turned my head to see what had him so startled and then I was greeted by the strangest sight.

It was a child. Midgardian in appearance. Based on what I could see, the child was female. However, she wasn’t moving. I took a step towards her, but I was quickly restrained as my father’s arm swung out to wrap around me, preventing any continuation of my previous course. I shrugged it off. I was unwilling to have my curiosity restrained and continued to make my way forward. Father made no attempts to stop me this time. I carefully made my way to the child not making any movements or sounds that might startle her into action. I knelt down by her head and hovered my hand over her form using my magic to sense her state of consciousness. She was deep in her subconscious state, not likely to wake anytime soon, but something was off. Her head was turned away from me, her blonde hair hiding her from view. In the background, I heard the small, hurried, clicking of footsteps, but I ignored them, absorbed in the figure before me. Delicately I tilted her chin towards me, shifting her hair out of her face, to gain an unimpaired view. Her face was unnaturally pale almost to the point of blueness. The only real spot of color was the steady stream of blood leaking its way from her nose. I made to use my magic to see what was causing the bleed when a second set of hands knocked me aside. I looked around, shocked that anyone would dare move me in such a manner, only to have myself relax upon the realization that the interloper was, in fact, my mother.

“Mother, who…” I knew of my mother’s capabilities regarding knowing nearest to everything, including the future. However, I realized my mother would not even be able to hear me through her intense focus on the child that lay before us.

My mother’s hands hovered over the child, a soft golden light emanating from them as she began murmuring what I could only assume were healing spells. The extreme pallor in the child’s face began to fade in favor of the rosy tint now invading her features. The blood streaming from her nose slowed to a trickle before stopping completely. I couldn’t see any other physical disturbances and therefore I was unsure as to why my mother continued her chant. I didn’t have to wonder long as the child drew in a sharp breath before beginning to breathe at a more regular pace. It was then that I realized the child hadn’t been breathing the entire time I had been watching her. As my mother’s hands lowered themselves to rest upon her lap, I made to repeat the question I had intended to ask her earlier, but before I could even begin, my mother’s hand waved up in a silent request that I should wait. For a brief moment, we sat there watching the child until the child’s eyelashes began to flutter slightly before opening briefly and taking in her surroundings. However, the child wasn’t allowed to adjust to her environment, as my mother’s hand drifted from its upright position to cover the child’s eyes. My mother leaned down and whispered something to the child that I could not hear, but whatever it was, it seemed to put the child at peace as she nodded before her whole body relaxed. My mother removed her hand from the child’s eyes, which were closed once more before my mother slipped her arms underneath the child to lift her into the air. As my mother stood, clearly intent on carrying the child, I cried out.

“Mother, there are people who can do that for you!!!” I was aghast at the idea of my mother, the queen, lowering herself to what should have been a servant’s job. I made to say more but the withering look in my mother’s eyes froze me to the core.

“It is a queen’s job to tend to her people. I intend to do my job.” My mother spat at me, turning, and walking briskly away.

“But Mother!!!” I chased after her attempting to fall in stride. “She’s not one of your people. She’s an outsider.”

“And that makes her any less deserving of my care?!” My mother snarled back. “You have no clue in that head of yours what this child has been through much less what the Norns have in store for her.”

“That’s…” I was struggling to formulate a proper argument.

“I will hear no further objections from you, Loki. I must do what I believe to be proper, and I will not have you griping about it simply because your views of what my responsibilities should be are distorted.” My mother lengthened her stride before reaching the horse I could only assume she had commandeered in her endeavors to arrive at the Bifrost in time. She set the child in the saddle properly leaning her forward over the horse’s mane so that she wouldn’t fall off before my mother had a chance to climb on. My mother turned to me, placing her hand on my jaw before looking me in the eyes kindlier than she had throughout our conversation. “Loki, one day you will understand her importance. I love you, but that is all I will tell you as I have much that I must do to prepare for her future here on Asgard.”

I watched silently as my mother withdrew so that she could place her foot in the stirrup and swing herself over the saddle, before settling behind the child. She drew the child back to her chest, ensuring the child would be comfortable before guiding the horse to turn with the reigns and prodding it into a hurried gallop back to the castle. I watched my mother ride off into the distance, worry, confusion, and anger now settling into my heart, which up until a few moments prior had been victorious, proud, and delighted in my success. I had no clue as to why my mother had deemed this strange child important, but I intended to find out. I could feel my features darkening with both anger and excitement. A chase was to be had, and I had unwittingly discovered my new prey.

*********

End Loki’s Perspective

*********

I was running.

‘Why was I running?’

 I looked around, not pausing in my stride.

‘I was still in Tony’s mansion. But why was I running?’

 As I continued, I took stock of myself, determined to understand what was happening. My heart was pounding out a very frantic rhythm in my chest. I could feel goosebumps creeping their way up my arms and it felt like my hair was standing on end. I was drenched in sweat from head to toe, but I doubted it was from my spontaneous workout. Then, I felt it, the chill up my back. I was afraid.

‘I gotta hide. Can’t let him find me.’

‘Wait…him? Who was this mysterious him? Why was I so frightened?’

I spotted a couch before me and I dove behind it, desperately trying to breathe normally, to calm myself. When I heard it. Slow, deliberate, and loud footsteps. They were slowly getting closer. I jumped with each pound of shoe on the wood. I covered my mouth and nose with both hands, trying to mute the sound of my breathing as much as possible. Tears began to leak from my eyes, hot on my skin as they trailed their way down my hands. I curled in on myself, willing myself to become one with the shadow I was desperately hiding in. Then I realized the footsteps were here. I heard a harsh ragged breathing, tinged with what I could only assume was a smile.

“There is nowhere to run little Stark.” The voice was bone-chilling. It was heavily accented in Russian. I knew this voice.

‘Why did I know this voice?’

“Come out now, and I will make your death painless.” The voice taunted. An electric blue light began to fill the room, crackling in its intensity, and a strange electrical zapping filled the room. “I really don’t want to do this to you. You seem a good kid. But to your father, destroying you, for me that will be the pleasure.”

I bit back a sob. I did know who this was. Dread filled every ounce of my body as acceptance filled me. Ivan Vanko was going to kill me. I was going to die. Tears streamed down my face more steadily. I heard the zapping sound move upwards.

‘The couch!!! He knows where I am!!!’

I quickly scrambled away from the couch just as it was cut in half.

“There she is.” His voice crooned at me sickeningly. “I found you.”

I watched as his arm went up to strike the whip at me, but I couldn’t watch him bring it down. I curled up into a ball and waited for the pain to fill me when his blow struck. And it was blinding. Every nerve in my body screaming simultaneously so much so that I woke up.

Notes:

Hi all!!! How are you liking the fic so far? I know for a first write this is a huge chapter dump all at once, but I wanted to get y'all to the first Loki encounter. Sorry about the Vanko stuff if that startled you but I just knew it would be fun to write. Also, Queen Frigga love!!! Hope y'all enjoyed it. I will try to update often however I am still writing this as I go and I will sometimes need a little time so your patience is appreciated. Till next time.

Chapter 11

I shot up into a sitting position in my bed, the covers falling from me quickly. I leaned forward grasping my head as tears streamed down my face. I was gasping for air.

‘It wasn’t real. It was all a dream.’

I squeezed my eyes shut and I drew in a deep shuddering breath. Then another. I repeated this exercise until my breathing returned to normalcy. When I finally opened my eyes, I realized I was not at home. Either of them.

The room was beautiful, it was bright and open filled with tones of white, gold, and a hint every now and then of beige. As I looked around I realized there was an image floating above me that mimicked my movements. It was a dusty darkened gold, almost the color of dishwater, and it was in a perfect outline of my body. I drew in a slightly shakier breath. I knew EXACTLY where I was. Only one place in the MCU had tech like that…Asgard. I had made it to Asgard.

‘Shit!!! That couldn’t be good.’

My breath caught in my chest. My mind was racing a mile a minute.

‘Ok let's do a breakdown. It is 2011 and I’m on Asgard. Great so I’m at the start of the Thor movie. But which part? No wait scratch that. I arrived the moment Thor was banished. That would explain the last thing I remember being blinding lights burning behind my eyelids. So where does that leave me? I’m in their medical center so I was most likely hemorrhaging again. Great. But then how far out of events am I? Is Odin still awake? Or…’

I shuddered, terrified of my next thought.

‘Loki. Okay, so what does that mean for me?’

I had always had a major crush on Loki, and I know how cliché that was, but it wasn’t just him. I had always crushed on the villain who became evil because of circumstances outside of their control. However, pre-New York, Loki was definitely warped on his own. He was dangerous. I needed to remember that. I was still trapped in my thoughts when the door opened.

“Ah, you’re finally awake. That’s good news. I was starting to worry you would sleep the whole day.” A beautiful, elegant, British accent drew me out of my reverie. “and before you ask, yes this is real, and no, I’m not Loki. You can relax for a moment. You and I have much to discuss.”

“Your Majesty.” I bowed my head deeply. Queen Frigga was in front of me. Holy shit!!! I felt a hand draw my chin upward till I was looking up at the woman. She smiled at me before taking a seat on the edge of my bed and grasping my hands between her own.

“My dear, there is no need for that.” Frigga laughed slightly at my perturbed reaction. “We are both just girls in here no formalities necessary.”

“I…Thank you…” I willed myself to call her by name, but I didn’t think I was capable of that. Better to at least add the title. “Queen Frigga it is an honor to meet you.”

“No, my dear, I’m afraid the honor is mine.” I tilted my head willing her to go on, but when she said nothing more about it I shrugged. “How are you feeling today?”

“Good.” I smiled. “I don’t think I was out for a month this time around. Well, either that or your magic is really good at restoring my functions.”

“No, you were only out for a day. I was worried you might make it two, but I’m delighted to see my fears were unfounded.” Frigga laughed. It was a beautiful sound, almost musical in quality. “Now I do believe you and I have other matters to discuss. Such as why your gifts are doing you this much harm in the first place.”

“I’m afraid I overextended myself. I tried to move locations without a location in my mind and so my powers picked for me.” I would have been fidgeting with my hands by this point, but they were otherwise occupied as Queen Frigga was still holding them. “Normally I wouldn’t make such an error in judgment, but I was in danger, and I didn’t have many options available to me outside of teleporting and hoping for the best.”

“I see.” Frigga released one hand to bring it to my face before drawing my face to hers so that our foreheads were touching. “Would you mind if I looked to see how your powers work?”

“Um…sure?” I was a little startled by her forward gesture in drawing our heads together, but I trusted her.

“Clear your mind of anything but the times when you have used your powers, and we will begin.” Frigga closed her eyes.

I joined her, closing my eyes while following her instructions. In doing so I was pulled from consciousness in the present to being only aware of the memories she wished to see. Due to the nature of the process, we were in the midst of, neither of us could hear the door open, nor see the new person who had just entered the room.

Loki did not wish to be seen. He could not have picked a better time to enter than when his mother drew the child into a memory trance. Neither would be able to see or hear them till they returned to a conscious state. As Loki wished to collect information, it was better not to be seen. He concealed himself so perfectly, that not even his mother would know he was there when she regained consciousness. All he had to do now was sit and wait.

When Frigga pulled herself from my mind, I could feel myself return to the surface. It felt like breaking through the surface of the ocean. Very freeing.

“That explains much, my dear.” Frigga rubbed her thumb over the back of my hand. “I am truly sorry you ever had to experience such a thing, but now I have a stronger grasp of your capabilities.”

“That’s good.” I chuckled weakly. I felt drained but I needed to stay awake. This was highly important. “Anything else I should know about?”

“The future.” Frigga’s eyes sparkled.

“I know it. What about it?” I was highly confused.

“That’s the problem, my dear, you know it.” Frigga smiled gently. “Unlike traditional seers, you are supposed to intervene in events, however, you aren’t supposed to speak to anyone of it. The only problem is you aren’t prevented from doing so. That constitutes a major issue if you accidentally spill the beans at the wrong time to the wrong person.”

“Oh.” I breathed out. “Essentially, loose lips to the people in the universe who I love too much to lie to.”

“I’m afraid so.” Frigga’s eyes dulled slightly in their sparkle but only a little. “I however believe you will be stronger than anyone else will ever need to be. You’ve got no choice.”

“That’s comforting,” I said dryly. “Where do I go from here?”

“For now, you rest. You have much energy you need to replenish.” Frigga pushed me back gently. “I know you have many questions, and they can wait. Just relax. We can talk everything through in time.”

“M’kay.” My eyes started drooping. And for a brief moment, it was like I was back home, my own mother tucking me in. I didn’t mean to say it, but it slipped out anyway. “Goodnight Mom.”

“Goodnight Lauren.” Frigga smile was the last thing I saw. I think she was happy being called mom, but I was too tired to really think about it. My eyes blinked shut and I felt lips press to my forehead before the light dimmed to complete blackness. “Sleep tight.”

Then I let the drowsiness consume me, completely unaware that I was not alone in the darkness. As I drifted into full unconsciousness, I almost missed the whisper in the darkness.

“A seer? My, how intriguing.” A velvety voice purred. Then, the darkness took me.

*********

The entire night I tossed and turned, the nightmare I’d had previously playing out once more. And just like the last time, I woke up in a panicked state. I was drenched in sweat this time.

“Fuck, not again.” I whimpered out. Tears began to spill out and my breathing turned erratic as I tried to rip my mind off the contents of my dream. Every time I tried I would get flashes like it was coming to life. “Breathe, just breathe. It’s not real. Not real not real.”

“What’s not real?” A voice seemed to appear out of nowhere. My heart jumped into my throat and my hand covered my mouth. My head sprang up from its position in my hands and my eyes were met by a face that was very much in the same space as mine. My breath caught as I was met by the most beautiful emerald, green eyes. “What on Asgard has you so frightened?”

“It was a dream.” I breathed out, my eyes widening. Great my fucking girl crush for the win. I was face-to-face with Loki. I could feel a blush beginning to work its way up my face. I looked down, my hair providing a thick curtain to hide the blush. “Just a dream.”

“Why are you hiding, child?” Loki’s hand pushed through my hair to find my chin pulling it back up to face him.

“I don’t…” He could definitely see the blush now. Fuck! I needed a good excuse. “I don’t like to seem weak.”

“And now you’re lying.” Loki sang out, his eyes narrowing as he tightened his grip on my chin.

“Let go,” I whispered. I couldn’t risk letting him in right now. He started to squeeze even tighter, and it was starting to hurt. “Please let go. You’re hurting me.”

“Then tell me what I want to know,” Loki smirked. God, he was gorgeous.

“I’m ashamed, ok?” I was to the point of whimpering. “I didn’t want you to see my face.”

“And there’s the truth.” Loki released my face and my hand rushed to massage it. “Freeing is it not? And while we are on the subject of setting the truth free…why don’t we discuss the future?”

“What?” I breathed out, fear coursing through me anew.

“Oh yes. I’m quite aware of your little secret.” Loki’s grin widened sinisterly. “And I wish to know what my future is.”

“I can’t tell you that.” I pushed the covers off my legs and scrambled out of bed on the side opposite from him. Why was I always having to escape people? “You have to know I can’t tell you that.”

“Oh, but you can. Unlike most seers, you aren’t prevented from telling me everything I wish to know.” Loki had his hands on the bed as he leaned over it. His smile turned to a leer. I continued backing up until I hit a wall. I panicked a little bit. “Oh, dear. Are you trying to run?” My breathing was growing more erratic by the second. “I’ll give you a head start. You have ten seconds till I am allowed to come after you.”

“Hold on.” I held up my hands as my mind raced a mile a minute. “You…you like games right?” My voice shook but I had his attention now. His head tilted and the smile became less terrifying and more curious. “Well…I have a game for you.” I gulped. “It’s called hide and go seek. You give me one minute to hide and then you come after me. But there’s a time limit. You have till the end of the day to find me. You aren’t allowed to use magic to follow me or track me. If you find me…” I hesitated trying to come up with a suitable prize.

“If I find you, you become mine.” Loki’s eyes glittered malevolently. “Mine to do with as I please, and you will obey me.”

“Ok, but if I stay hidden till the deadline ends, then you let me go. You send me home.” Loki’s head tilted. “No lies no tricks and no magic on your part. Do we have a deal?”

“You do realize that I am the god of mischief and lies, right?” Loki was looking at me like he was trying to decide how much he wanted to punish me.

“Then you should know I’m telling the truth. There’s too much at stake for me if I lose to be dishonest.” My stomach tightened, it felt strangely pleasant. I held out my hand. “Do we have a deal?”

“This should be fun.” Loki’s grin spread till it was borderline predatory. He grasped my hand. I went to shake it, but a glowing light enveloped our hands. “Now neither of us can break our side of the deal. You have one minute. RUN!!!”

I had never run so fast in my life. Not knowing my surroundings was a disadvantage. I did know one thing, however. I knew one place I could teleport to. Thank God for Thor: The Dark World. I pictured the room and blinked hard before appearing in the room. I looked around, spotting the place where Jane hid. It worked in Dark World; it could work for me. Hours passed and darkness began to fall. I was beginning to feel hope when the door opened.

“Pet, I know you’re in here.” My heart was pounding in my chest. “If you come out now, I might be nice.”

Tears started to leak out. I had a slight flashback to when Vanko was chasing me. Why had I thought hide and seek was a good idea? A whimper escaped my mouth as I locked myself inside my own head, trapped in the memory.

“Found you.” Loki sang out but I couldn’t hear him or see him. I felt arms wrap around me. I began to convulse violently as I whimpered. “Pet?”

I felt hands grasp the sides of my head. They were gentle but firm, holding my head steady even as the rest of me thrashed uncontrollably.

“Let me in pet. Let me see.” He whispered as I felt his forehead touch mine. I whimpered a bit more. Tears spilling out even faster. “It will be ok pet. Just let me in.”

I could feel myself consent and then the light inside my head turned blinding. I felt my consciousness become enveloped in the light. Loki was holding me, whispering to me how it would be alright, and coaxing my mind to return. As the light receded, I blinked rapidly trying to clear the blurriness from my eyes. I could feel arms gently cradling me. I was lying with my head on Loki’s shoulder, and I was seated in his lap, my leg draped off to the side while his arms held the rest of me to his chest.

“Loki?” I asked blearily.

“Hush Pet. You’re safe. I won’t let you go.” Loki whispered into my hair.

“Why did you help me?” I was beyond confused. Loki wouldn’t help anyone unless it furthered his own goals. He didn’t need me to be conscious to retrieve the information.

“I always protect what is mine,” Loki growled as he nuzzled himself into my hair. “Now sleep Pet.” His fingers began stroking my hair before whispering something ancient and foreign into my hair and my consciousness faded away.

*********

When I woke up next, I was in new and more unusual surroundings. It was a dark room tinged with gold accents and dark green walls. I was lying in the middle of a giant bed with black sheets. I was practically sinking into the bed. It hadn’t taken much for my eyes to adjust to the room. I sat up and started looking around to take in more detail. It was a gorgeous room but that wasn’t what drew my attention anymore. At the foot of the bed, just in front of me was a little sheet of paper. I crawled forward and realized it was a folded note. I unfolded it to read the scrawling font that was addressed to me.

Dearest Pet,

          You will find a bathroom in the door to your immediate left. Bathe and get dressed. I will be waiting for you once you have finished.

                     -Loki

I huffed slightly.

‘Well, shit. Guess he found me before the time limit. How the fuck did I manage that one?’

I got up and felt the slightest breeze cross my skin where it shouldn’t. I froze my head angled to the ceiling as I offered a silent prayer that I was imagining things. I looked down before I was filled with dread. I was naked. I took a second attempting to remain calm. Ok, it’s fine. It could have been magically done; he most likely didn’t see anything. I hope. I held my breath for a second before I realized the paper in my hands had new words appearing.

            Darling, you have three seconds to exit the bedroom before I come in there and see everything. I would advise running.

I darted into the bathroom, slamming the door shut as I heard a laugh echo through. I didn’t want to stay here I needed to move, or he might try something. He had sent that message loud and clear. I quickly located the bath which was already full and had steam rising from the surface. I climbed in quickly before I felt all the tension release from my muscles. I heard the bathroom door open, and I flipped over to hide my privates.

“Relax pet. I just want to talk.” Loki entered with his hand in the air in a show of surrender. “About what happened during the game.”

“Please don’t,” I whispered; my voice felt raw.

“Pet, what did I see inside your head?” Loki knelt by the tub to look at me. His hand stroked the back of my head.

I was silent and absolutely terrified. I couldn’t even move away from him. Loki won the game and per the terms of our agreement, he owned me. Mind, body, and soul. If he commanded it, I doubted I would have a choice. Whatever magic had been used I could feel its pull to obey his every word.

“Pet, I’m trying to give you a chance to choose this. Don’t make me force it.” Loki’s voice which had started as fairly understanding, turned to warning quickly.

“It was just before I arrived here,” I whispered. I didn’t want him to force me to say it, so I chose to tell him. “I was sitting at home and someone broke in.” I swallowed thickly. “He was an enemy of my dad’s and wanted to prove that my dad wasn’t invincible, that he was weak. He planned to destroy the one thing my dad cared about most. For whatever reason he thought it was me.” I looked away chuckling in the most self-deprecating sound I had possibly ever made. “He wanted to kill me. I managed to run, but he was following me, hunting me down until he reached the last room possible. My hiding place. When you started taunting me, my mind took me back to that moment. I had what’s known as a flashback. And I was stuck in it, unable to break free. I’m sorry you had to see it.”

“Pet, look at me.” Loki dipped his hand into the water to find my chin and pulled it up to meet his gaze. I was crying again. “You escaped. You made it out never be ashamed of that. I’ll be back in a little while. Take your time, don’t rush your bath, I will be back in a few hours. Don’t worry about the temperature, the water is enchanted to stay at the temperature you need.”

Loki stood up and my gaze followed. His hand moved back to the top of my head as he continued to stroke it. He smiled at me and then leaned down to drop a kiss on my forehead, whispering goodbye before he turned on his heel and vanished from the room.

I had so many questions about what just happened. Loki wasn’t forcing me to obey his whims or asking me about the future. He was giving me a choice to share my past with him. He was being very uncharacteristically kind. I had crushed on Loki for years and had always dreamed of scenarios like these, but I could still admit to myself that his actions were off from the 2011 Loki I remembered. I decided to put my thoughts and concerns aside for a moment. It was about time I got to enjoy a bath.

*********

Loki’s Perspective

*********

 It didn’t sit well with me. Someone had tried to kill my pet. I needed to make sure this would never happen again. I found myself commandeering a vehicle to use one of the pathways between worlds. No, I would not use I Bifrost for what I planned. Dark deeds required that no actions could be traced back to me. When I made it to Midgard, I knew I had a couple of things to do namely destroying a man named Ivan Vanko. I let my magic spread from me intent on finding my prey. When I had my lock in him, it was not as far as I imagined it would be. I had popped up in an alleyway in a place called New York City. I used my Asgardian capabilities to move through the shadows, unseen by the technology that was swarming the area attacking everyone in sight. I found my trace leading to a glass dome in the center of what appeared to be fairgrounds. I entered to find three men locked into battle. I decided to wait it out. Two of the men had managed to knock the third down with a blast of power joining at the middle, the blast almost knocked me back, but I held my ground. I watched, waiting for the final blow, I moved closer ready to grab my prize once the other two men had cleared off. Only to be shocked as one of the men, dressed in red and gold armor started yelling at the one I was intent on dragging back to the prisons on Asgard.

“Alright Vanko, I’m only gonna ask this once!!!” The man yelled. “WHERE…IS…LAUREN?! WHERE…IS…MY…DAUGHTER?!!?”

“You know, she was a smart girl.” The man I assumed was named Vanko started to laugh before the sound was interrupted as he coughed up blood. The man in red snarled as a cruel smirk filled Vanko’s face. “It was such a shame to snuff out such a bright light, but that’s the price for being your child Stark.” The man in red, who I now believed to be Stark snarled. “She was in agony as she burned. She was so afraid, screaming for her father to save her. Only to be let down when he didn’t arrive.”

“Liar!!!” The other man in grey and black armor shouted, his face looking downright furious. “I was on the phone with her! She escaped; I know she did.”

“Am I?” Vanko’s smile glimmered with his blood which now stained his teeth. “If she escaped then where is she?”

“You fucking bastard!!!” Stark yelled, tears streaming down his face his voice in agony. “I’m gonna kill you for that!”

“No Stark.” Vanko’s grin widened. “We die together.” Vanko drifted into unconsciousness as his suit started beeping and blinking red.

“Tony, it’s a bomb we have to go.” The second man started dragging Stark away from the body.

“Rhodey, he’s the only person who might know where my kid is.” Stark’s eyes were wild.

“No Tony he isn’t.” Rhodey as I had now learned his name was. “Her other family is searching as we speak but if you want to see her again, we gotta go. Now!”

This time Rhodey succeeded at dragging Stark away from the body. As the two flew off I used my magic to remove Vanko from the suit and I dragged him back to the alleyway. Now I had someone I could destroy. I watched as the metal men in the background exploded. I then dragged Vanko through the passageway and onto the ship that I then commandeered back to Asgard. I dragged the body into a cell that was very well hidden at the very back. I waited till Vanko was awake before I began to speak from outside his cell.

“Good morning to the first day of the rest of your life.” I chuckled as darkly as I could. I had made sure that his cellmates would make his life hell.

“Who are you?” Vanko only seemed confused.

“Your worst enemy.” I proceeded to change the inside of his cell to reflect the memory I had seen in the mind of my Pet. “You tried to kill my property and I don’t take kindly to those who think they can touch what’s mine.”

“Stark’s daughter.” Vanko seemed to have some understanding dawn in his eyes.

“No. My Pet. Who you tried to kill.” I watched as Vanko’s eyes widened in understanding. “Enjoy the rest of your life.” I gestured to the men in his cell who stood up and surrounded him and I watched fear fill his face due to the massive size and downright evil demeanor of his cellmates. “For your sake, I hope your stay is brief.”

As I walked away I could hear his screams filling the halls. But I had somewhere better to be.

*********

Loki’s Perspective End

*********

I had stayed in the bath for a very long time as I took as much care as I could cleaning every inch of myself. By the time I got out, I felt more relaxed than I had felt in years. I made my way over to the sink which held the clothes I was meant to wear. It was nothing better than lingerie. Great. I didn’t have many other options. It was either this tiny little napkin or my birthday suit.

I pulled the nightie on quickly before slipping on the panties underneath it. For whatever reason I hadn’t been afforded a bra, but it was fine at least I was mostly covered. I tried to make it longer by pulling on the hem, but I was failing miserably. God I hated being sixteen again. A low whistle sounded behind me, and I whirled around. Loki was standing in the doorway.

“You know this is technically pedophilia.” I couldn’t meet his eyes as I swallowed thickly.

“Pet, you and I both know that beyond your physical form, you are an adult.” Loki quirked an eyebrow as he smirked.

“And yet in this world, I am sixteen. It doesn’t matter what my age was once, it matters what it is now, to me.” My voice was barely above a whisper breaking as I was trying to prevent myself from falling head over heels. It was too dangerous to allow a fanciful idea like the possibility of him being attracted to me to fill my head. I had to shut it down. This couldn’t happen, not now. “I don’t even know how you know that, but I need you to at least respect how I feel about my age.”

“I was in your head dearest. I know anything you were willing to share. I didn’t get much and nothing by way of future knowledge, but I saw some of your past, your childhood, your family, and your real age.” Loki moved closer to me. “You can’t run forever.” Loki’s hand found its way to the back of my neck and squeezed just strongly enough to make me look up at him, and very much unable to pull away. “I’ll tell you what, I will allow you this time that you are trying to evade me with. But you will come of age one way or another. Either you will turn eighteen and come of age the Midgardian way or you will come of age the Asgardian way when you draw your first blood.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. I felt my clothes become more concealing. I looked down to see my clothes had become a gorgeous dress that was non-sexualizing for me, and I felt a bra now encompassing my boobs.

“Pet, there are two other things that you have to comply with for me to grant you this.” I looked back up at him. “One you wear this and never take it off.” He held out a gold choker with a tiny green, emerald pendant that dangled from it. “And two, you will be incapable of speaking to anyone save me before coming of age.”

“Why the second one?” I whispered as he clasped the choker around my neck.

“Because I’m going to send you home, but I need you to keep from enchanting anyone else with your voice,” Loki said gently.

“En…chan…ting?” I was beyond confused. “What do you…?”

“You heard me, Pet.” Loki’s voice was pure velvet as he dipped it into the sultriest tone I had ever heard. “You enchant me.” My face must have betrayed my confusion. “You forget, I have seen almost your entire life. I know everything about you, and I am the most sensitive to every little thing you do. I want to possess every part of you and that includes your heart. Which means I have to earn your affection. I will wait, but I won’t wait forever pet. Now come along, I have a throne to sit on and friends who plan to betray me. You will return with them.”

Loki grasped my hand pulling me behind him till we reached the throne room. His clothes changed into the armor I was more accustomed to with glorious horns sprouting from the helmet that now sat on his head. As he sat on the throne I sat at the base of the steps. We waited for a few moments before the doors swung open and Lady Sif and the warrior's three entered heads bowed as they kneeled before Loki unaware that he was there instead of Odin.

“Allfather, we must speak with you.” Lady Sif stated urgently.

As Lady Sif and the warriors three looked up I watched the shock cross their faces. I didn’t have to wonder why. I was planning on staying put but I felt a tugging sensation around my neck. I turned my head to see Loki smirking at me beckoning me to come sit by his side. As I lagged in moving I felt the tugging intensify. I stood up and moved up the stairs till I reached the throne. I turned around and sat at the base of his throne. I could feel Loki’s sense of triumph oozing off of him. I looked off to the side and let the scene before me drown out of all consciousness. As I tuned out most of the world I felt a hand on the top of my head. I looked up to find Loki eyeing me. I looked away again as I started blushing up a storm.

‘Why do I have to crush on him?!’

At this point, I decided to tune back into the people before me.

“All of us must stand together, for the good of Asgard,” Loki spoke smoothly.

“Of course,” Fandral said stiffly before the rest of the warriors bowed their heads and exited the throne room.

“You seem distracted Pet.” Loki purred. “What’s on your mind precious?”

“Nothing really,” I whispered. “Just missing my family, I guess.”

“Well, your lies are improving slightly.” Loki quirked an eyebrow. “At least this one was a half-truth.”

“Please don’t make me say it,” I whispered. “Let me have some level of privacy.”

“I won’t push it this time,” Loki whispered in my ear. “Part of the reason I’m willing to let you go home is that I know your family misses you too. I saw what it did to your father, and I decided that it is better to wait until it’s more…accepted by your family that I’m taking you away. This way they have time to prepare and say their goodbyes.”

“You realize they will never accept that.” I smiled as I watched Loki’s face change to one of competitive determination. “You do know that wasn’t a challenge right?”

“Oh, but it is. And I accept.” Loki’s smile grew even more confident and manic. “What’s the reward for winning the game this time?”

“You know what, if you manage this one I will let you choose whatever you want as your prize,” I said with full sarcasm. I rolled my eyes as I knew full well what was coming in a year. “Now if you will excuse me, I think I have a group of rogue warriors to catch. Bye.”

I spun on my heel and ran down the steps. Loki grabbed my hand pulling me back to him before I could get far.

“Well before you go I have one final thing to do.” Loki had a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“What do you…” My eyes blew wide.

Loki gently grabbed the back of my head, wrapped his other arm around the small of my back, and kissed me. He claimed my mouth with a searing heat that I had never known before. My eyes fluttered shut. And everything inside me blazed as he continued the kiss. When he finally broke the kiss, my chest was heaving as I tried to regain oxygen.

“Now go or I might never let you leave,” Loki growled.

I was in so much shock, that I didn’t even think and teleported to where I knew Sif and the warriors three would be. This would be an accident I would come to regret for the rest of my life.

Notes:

Holy shit y'all!!! 100 hits within one day of posting!!! I just felt like y'all deserved a reward in the form of chapter 11. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think I'll keep my posting to every two weeks with the exception of every milestone in the number of hits received. Till next time!!!

Chapter 12

My brain was short-circuiting. There was no other way to describe my inability to think or to even form a complete sentence. I had just turned on my heel and left the room as quickly as I could. I guess I didn’t lose all notion of intelligence as I had popped into existence in front of Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. Maybe not my smartest move but at least I was where I needed to be.

“To hell with treason, it’s suicide!!!” Volstagg had just finished declaring as I dropped into the room.

I say dropped but it might be more accurate to say I popped because a little bit of light fizzled around me when I appeared. And in the middle of the room no less. I found myself with a blade to my neck in less than three seconds. Lady Sif had her sword against my throat. The Warriors Three had risen to battle-ready poses, wary of my intrusion.

‘Great.’

“A spy!” Sif hissed. Her eyes were narrowed with revulsion.

“…” I made to speak but no sound came out. I tried again but still nothing. I grit my teeth and started blinking rapidly as tears began to fill my eyes, much to my chagrin. The blade began to dig into my neck.

“Speak intruder or I will show no mercy.” Sif barked at me. I held my hands up in a show of surrender as I tried to think of some way to communicate.

‘Oh my god.’

I had three…scratch that, four things I could try. One, I could mouth every word and pray they understood what I was saying, hoping to god they believed me; two, I could mime the word using my hands trying to communicate but I doubted a highly superstitious culture like Asgard would take kindly to someone waving their hands in the air to make symbols; three, I could write it down, but I doubted anyone would give me the paper and pen to do so if they even had it; or four, I could try telepathy, it would drain most of my energy since I hadn’t mastered it but it would likely work best. Telepathy it is.

“I will give you a moment to pray to your gods, then I will rend your head from your body. One, Two…” Sif spat at me.

“Wait!!!” I thought as I squeezed my eyes shut. I broadcast to all four occupants of the room. I opened one eye cautiously to see if Sif was still about to chop off my head, but all four people were looking at me in shock. “Promise, I’m not a spy. I just want to go home.”

“How can we be sure of that?” Hogun spoke up from the back. I had a slight geek moment to hear him speak but now was not the time for that.

“One, I’m from Earth. You call it Midgard but whatever.” Sif’s sword moved away from my neck. “And two, Heimdall summons you.”

“What are you tal…” Fandral spoke up. I could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

The doors opened and one of the Einherjar opened the doors bearing the summons to Heimdall.

“See you there.” I winked before teleporting to Heimdall. I was not about to waste energy trying to broadcast to all four people on what I was certain would be a long walk. Besides, I really wanted a chance to meet Heimdall.

I stumbled across the floor of the Bifrost as I popped in. Heimdall showed no surprise at my sudden appearance if anything, he looked happy to see me.

“Lady Lauren.” Heimdall inclined his head towards me. “It is my honor to finally meet you.”

“Hello, Heimdall.” I smiled. “I am truly delighted to finally meet you, but can you not call me a lady? I promise you I am anything but.”

“That is where you and I shall disagree. I have seen you grow over the years, and I know who you are. Waving hello to people not in this universe because you know they can see you. Nodding to me because I might be watching. You want to save anyone and everyone you can, and you have done so at least once already.” Heimdall’s eyes were practically glowing gold. I could feel pride radiating from him. I made to ask him about it, but Heimdal cut me off before I could think of anything. “Your family misses you.”

“Really?” I was stunned. I didn’t figure on there being too much of a reaction to my disappearance after all it had only been a few days.

“Indeed. There was quite a panic when you vanished.” Heimdall sounded slightly smug. “One father has every agent at his disposal exploring the site you vanished from to every extent. The other has been spared no expense in trying to buy information on your whereabouts. Your aunts have been interrogating any possible suspects, playing a good cop bad cop scenario as your people would say.” I smiled at that. “Your uncles have been helping wherever they’ve been called to whether it's to add one of your fathers or one of your aunts. And then there’s the one you call Clint.”

“How is he?” My tone in my thoughts was muted with worry.

“He blames himself, I’m afraid.” Heimdall’s tone turned dour. “He’s drowning himself in his work making every effort to bring you back to the point that he won’t even rest. He feels any moment of rest is a moment wasted that could be spent looking for you.”

“Oh, Clint.” Tears streamed down my face as I thought of the hell I had put my family through. I looked back at Heimdall, trying to smile through my tears. “Thank you, Heimdall. I needed that.”

“You’re most welcome my dear.” Heimdall smiled as he returned to gazing into the vast expanse before us.

“Is my dear, the term you’re using to get around my request to just call me Lauren?” I leaned around him to smirk up at him.

“You see much.” Heimdall’s eyes twinkled a little, but he said nothing more as Lady Sif and the Warriors Three had finally arrived.

I tuned out as Heimdall spoke to the newcomers. I was vaguely aware of him gesturing to me, no doubt vouching for me. I only returned to the conversation when I felt someone tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see Heimdall smiling down at me with a bemused expression. I tilted my head at him in silent question.

“It is time for you to depart my dear.” Heimdall’s smile was warm. “I look forward to our next meeting.”

“Goodbye Heimdall.” I reached up to hug him with my arms around his neck, Heimdall leaning down since his height had me at a disadvantage. As he hugged me back, I smiled as I moved forward just a little more to whisper in his ear although I could only mouth the words, I knew he appreciated the gesture. “I love you Heimdall. See you soon.”

I pulled back to see Heimdall’s smile grow. I spun around and walked to stand between Fandral and Lady Sif.

“You can hold on to me if you like my lady.” Fandral leaned down to whisper in my ear, waggling his eyebrows in a flirtatious manner.

“Really Fandral? Now?” Sif growled.

I rolled my eyes at Fandral before flipping him off. Volstagg choked back a snort and Sif tried to mask a grin with her hand. I watched Hogun carefully, but he gave no sign of laughter…except…his eyes crinkled slightly.

“You really should hold on to someone though,” Sif whispered.

I just waved her off and gave her a thumbs-up. As the Bifrost activated, I was struck by a sense of wonder at its beautiful light show before I felt the weightless sensation as my feet were pulled from the ground and I was hurtling through the universe toward Earth. Toward home.

*********

It was quite the walk to get to Puente Antiguo. I would have teleported, but now that I was back home, I couldn’t risk having someone see me use my inexplicable powers in public. Not yet anyway. As we made our way up the street, I made sure to stop and salute the agents on the roof that were supposed to be monitoring Thor. I could hear them in my mind. I was really working my telepathic powers into overtime.

“Is there a Renaissance Faire in town?” Agent Garrett asked.

“Call it in.” Agent Jackson advised.

“Yeah. Uh, Base,” Agent Garrett started uncertainly as the radio static crackled to life. “We’ve got, uh, Xena, Jackie Chan, Robin Hood, and…” Agent Garrett made eye contact with me before turning pale. “I think we just found Director Fury’s daughter.”

I blew the man a kiss before turning to follow after the Asgardians who were a few paces ahead. I made it up to them just in time to see them bang on the window.

“Found you!!!” Volstagg and the rest of the warriors were waving ecstatically.

I entered with the Asgardians as they reacquainted themselves with Thor and introduced themselves to Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, and Erik Selvig. I stayed just slightly separated as Thor and his friends were reunited while my mind was overrun with questions. Some were about my next steps, most were about Loki and my first kiss. I was a little undecided about my feelings on the matter. I was thrilled because it was Loki, shocked because I would have wanted a relationship first or at least one date, but I was also angry because he stole my first kiss. Even though I was glad it was him, I wasn’t sure he felt anything for me in return so it made me feel a little sad. I heard Volstagg mention me, and I turned my attention to the group in front of me.

“And this is Lady Lauren!” Volstagg boasted. I cringed. “Right sorry, she doesn’t like titles.” I tilted my head at Volstagg wondering how he had learned that. “Heimdall told me my dear no need to worry.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Lauren.” Jane walked over to me holding her hand out. I grasped it and smiled.

I pointed at Jane and held up two fingers.

“I’m sorry.” Jane’s forehead pinched in confusion.

“Right sorry,” Fandral said giddily as he walked up behind me before clapping me on the shoulders and squeezing. I shrugged away from him making my displeasure at his touch clear. Fandral remained unfazed and continued on as though nothing had happened. “Our dear friend is incapable of speech.”

“Then what was she trying to say?” Jane asked. I could see her scientific brain trying to work it out. I thought I had been fairly obvious.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Darcy said as though everyone should understand. I smiled at her, wiggling my fingers in delight at finally getting to meet her. Jane whirled around to look at Darcy. “She said you too. She pointed at you and held up two fingers. It seemed obvious to me.”

I wasn’t using my telepathy and had warned the others that I wouldn’t be.

“So, how’d you lose your voice?” Darcy asked. I bit my lip thinking of how to respond.

I put both hands over my heart then pointed at my face before miming a phone to one ear and holding out the opposite hand.

“I’m sorry but what?” Jane looked utterly confused.

“Oh yeah, girl no problem.” Darcy smiled at me before handing me her phone. She was trusting.

Oh, good it was an iPhone. It was a Gen 4 but still something I could use. I turned it on to see Darcy had an image of The Big Bang Theory as her lock screen. Of course, it did. I unlocked it, Darcy didn’t have a passcode. I opened it and quickly found the YouTube app and found the song Poor Unfortunate Souls. I hit play and handed the phone back to Darcy. I watched as Darcy’s eyes went wide, realizing what I was trying to tell her. The rest of the room looked at us like we were insane.

“Darcy, what…?” Jane went to ask but Darcy shushed her with a hand.

“Lauren, you traded your voice.” Darcy swallowed thickly as though she was afraid to finish her thought. “What did you trade it for?”

I put my wrists together as though they were bound before pulling my wrists apart roughly as though I broke my bindings.

“Freedom,” Darcy whispered looking slightly sick. I smiled at her faintly. Darcy crossed the room to me and pulled me into a tight hug. I let a few tears slip out as I hugged her back before pulling away.

I looked back at the others and started trying to signal things. I held out my hand to Darcy again who promptly placed her phone in my hand. I searched through YouTube and played the Mob Song from Beauty and The Beast. Then I searched through YouTube to find Unkillable Monster by Marilyn Manson. I looked back at Darcy expecting a translation, as did everyone else. She had her forehead in her hands.

“I know this.” Darcy smacked her forehead. “Come on think! Oh! Oh! OH! Is there a monster on its way here?”

I grinned back at Darcy mouthing yes. I looked back at the others and nodded just as they felt the heavy footsteps of the Destroyer in the distance. I watched as everyone launched into action. I couldn’t do much since no one would be able to hear me anyway. I watched as the Destroyer marched into the street, setting the newly emptied storefronts on fire. I exited into the street to watch, unable to remember if Jane’s lab would be targeted as well. I sat on the street watching as the Asgardians battled for their lives, I watched as Thor assured them he had a plan and needed to run, and I watched as Thor went down. Now I needed to move. I walked slowly to stand in front of Thor and Jane as the Destroyer walked away. I stood with my legs apart and my arms by my sides waiting to hopefully give Thor one second more and Jane a chance to run. I felt the energy crackle in the air as Mjolnir was called to Thor to revive him. As the Destroyer turned around, I knew Loki could see me now. That was when he acted. I felt a tugging on my arm. As I turned my head, I saw it was Loki. He had duplication cast himself to me.

“Come on Pet don’t play this game with me. Not now.” Loki tugged me away from the street and into an alley. “Do you realize how much power I had to use just to make you move?!”

I tilted my head to the side looking at him as I crossed my arms. Thor was battling the Destroyer now.

“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” Loki looked furious.

I shook my head not giving him any sort of facial expression. I refused to react I was a little more than peeved with him at the moment.

“Darling I would advise giving me a reason as to why you are causing me so much trouble. I’m already fairly angry, don’t make me punish you.” Loki had grabbed the top of my arms, his voice a deadly velvet. We were alone right now so I would be able to speak.

“I’m mad at you,” I whispered not meeting his gaze. Tears filled my eyes. I felt fingers under my chin, but I pulled my chin away, unwilling to look at him. “You stole my first kiss. The one thing I’ve waited for my whole life for it to be precious. And you just took it. You didn’t care what it might do to me.”

“Pet, I wasn’t trying to hurt you.” Loki’s tone was gentle, but I refused to look at him. He had hurt me. “Will you please look up?”

“Fuck off.” My voice cracked as tears began to flow freely. I should have known that Loki wouldn’t give up as his free hand returned to my newly freed arm. His hands began to squeeze, and I could feel the blood pulsing under my skin at the sudden change in pressure. I, however, refused to yield. I could feel my heart break as I whispered the three words I never thought I’d say to him, “I hate you.”

“Pet…” Loki released my arms. I could feel shock rippling off of him. “Did I truly hurt you so badly that you can declare your hatred with ease?” Loki moved his face down to my level and tried to meet my gaze, his hand once again finding purchase under my chin. “I am truly sorry.”

That did it. My eyes snapped up to meet his gaze, blurred through the flood of tears streaming from them. Did Loki just apologize?

“I never meant to cause you harm. I beg of you your forgiveness.” Loki looked more serious than I had ever seen.

“I forgive you.” I meant to be stronger when I said it but all that came out was a whisper. I was stunned. Loki had just apologized. To me. ME!!! “Please just don’t do that again.”

“I can’t promise to never kiss you again.” Loki’s voice was calm. “But I promise to wait until you are ready.”

“I can work with that.” A small smile graced my lips. I turned my head to see that the battle behind me was done. I realized quickly that Thor and Jane were gone. I could see the other four Asgardians rushing off with Selvig and Darcy trailing behind.

‘Shit! Of all times for me to forget!’

As I turned back to Loki, I could feel fear blooming through me. This was the moment he would be lost to Thanos. I made to speak, but I was quickly silenced as Loki pulled me into a bone crushing hug. I could feel his lips on my forehead and suddenly my tears turned from anger and sadness to fear.

“Loki, what’s happening?” I could feel my heart racing through my chest, pounding out a rhythm that could rival the pace of the song for the final fight in Revenge of the Sith. “Please don’t leave me in the dark. Not about this.”

“Currently, my real self is fighting Thor. And losing.” I could feel his arms tighten around me. I couldn’t see his face, but I was certain I didn’t want to. I could feel his lips press into my hair. It was like he was trying to keep himself grounded in this moment by holding onto me. “Whatever happens today, please remember I will find you. I will always come back.”

“Loki.” I managed to look up. His face was already looking down on me. I could see fear in his eyes. I wrapped my arms around him. “I don’t care what anyone says to you. Don’t you dare let go!” I buried my face in his chest once more. I could feel something wet hit the top of my head, he was crying with me now. I started to mumble into his chest, “I love you, you big idiot. Don’t let go. Don’t do that to me.”

I hoped he hadn’t heard me, but I would never know for certain as his arms became so constrictive I couldn’t breathe, but the pressure was vanishing. His body was vanishing.

“I will return to you. I promise.” His voice was heartbroken with sincerity. “Whatever it takes.”

That was the last thing I heard as he vanished. My heart finished breaking and so did the damn holding back the tears I had yet to shed. I collapsed to the ground, my hand grasping at the spot over my heart, and I let out the most gut-wrenching wail I had ever known myself to make. Or it would have been, were it not for the fact that I had once more fallen silent with Loki’s disappearance. After a couple minutes, I wiped my eyes and made my way out of the alley and into the main street.

The streets still blazed with the remnants of the battle, but the intensity had died down since the fight started. I found a nice spot in front of Jane’s lab. I knew I needed to wait. It as only a few minutes before I noted black SUVs on their way up the street to where I was. I stood and dusted myself off to wait for them to arrive. There were only four SUV’s, the rest having been destroyed a few…hours...prior. One of the SUV’s hadn’t fully parked when one of the back doors flew open and a figure darted out. They were merely a blur until they reached me. I was pulled into my fourth hug of the day. It was Clint.

“You’re ok.” He sounded like he was telling himself that more than me. As he drew in a shuddering breath, I wrapped my arms around him, grateful to see him again. Clint pulled back to check and make sure his assessment was correct. “No injuries? Good.”

It broke my heart a little as his face cracked with pure happiness. God I hated giving bad news to people I loved. I shook my head slowly and watched as the grin slowly fell from his face. He didn’t even get a chance to ask what was wrong as Darcy and Uncle Phil had walked up. I was pulled into another hug by Uncle Phil that was just as tight as Clint’s had been. When he pulled back I nodded at Darcy.

“Hey girl.” Darcy waved back. “Figured you might need an interpreter since SHIELD was pretty adamant you needed to be debriefed.”

I laughed my shoulders shaking slightly with my mirth.

“What would she need an interpreter for?” Clint asked harshly. I could see the agitation had reached as far down as his fingers which were clearly itching to be around either a bow or a gun. I grabbed his hand and laced my fingers through his. That seemed to calm him down slightly.

“Well, given that she can’t speak, she’s been having a hard time communicating with others.” Darcy shrugged like it was common knowledge. I winced as both Clint and Uncle Phil turned to me with a look of horror. Darcy glanced between the three of us before gasping. “Oh! You guys didn’t know. That’s awkward.”

“What do you mean?!” Clint squawked out. Darcy then launched into an explanation of what she had learned. It made it so much easier since I didn’t have to attempt to explain it from scratch. Clint turned back to me. “If you lost your voice, then why aren’t you using your mind?”

“Hey that’s rude.” Darcy’s hands went on her hips. I started laughing. I would have been on the floor were it not for the fact I needed to explain.

“Relax Darcy.” Darcy’s head swiveled to look in my direction almost in a panic. I started laughing harder. Even without noise though, the laugh hurt in my stomach. “He means my telepathy. I don’t use it often because it drains my energy. I had to use it a lot today, so I was trying to conserve a little energy before I accidentally passed out.” I turned to Uncle Phil. “Have you told my dad’s yet?”

“I have.” Uncle Phil looked slightly amused. He checked his watch. “One of them is a minute out.”

“Tony?” Uncle Phil nodded. “Excellent!”

I held out my hand to Darcy expectantly. She fumbled for a moment as she pulled her phone out of her pocket before placing it in my hand. I queued up Black Sabbath’s Iron Man and waited.

“So, who’s your dad?” Darcy tilted her head. I waited until I heard his repulsors in the sky then I hit play and put the phone on full volume.

The song acted as an audio red carpet for my dad who landed less than ten seconds after I hit play. As Tony landed I turned to greet him. His mask flipped up and that was when I saw his face. He had never looked as drained as he did in this moment. He had bags under his eyes, his face looked thin, and his skin was completely pallid. I turned slightly to see that Clint looked like that too, only he hadn’t thinned he had gotten slightly thicker, most likely from throwing himself into his training. Uncle Phil looked slightly pale but the bags under his eyes were nowhere near as terrible as Tony or Clint. I returned to facing Tony.

“Kid is that really you?” Tony hadn’t moved forward a step. I couldn’t wait to hug him though. His hug was the only one I really needed after the hell I had been through with Vanko. I tapped my foot twice and burrowed to stand directly in front of him. I put my arms around him, not caring about how cold and hard the metal of his suit felt. “Who am I kidding of course it’s you.”

Tony’s arms wrapped around me but not too tight as he didn’t want me to bruise from his suit.

“Stark.” Uncle Phil called out. I could feel Tony move in the direction of the voice. “Lauren has something that she needs you to know.”

“Then she can tell me herself,” Tony called back without a care in the world. “She has a voice of her own she can use it.”

“That’s the thing Stark.” Uncle Phil shouted. He was standing some distance away. My eyes filled with more tears. “Lauren can’t speak anymore.” Tony went rigid. “She was kidnapped and had to sacrifice her voice to get away. I don’t exactly understand the mechanics of it but that’s the gist of it as I understand it.

“Kid, tell me that’s not true.” I could hear the panic in his voice. I pulled back to look at him and give him a pained smile.

“Sorry dad.” I looked away again. I started to sway slightly as my head began to feel like it was swimming. “It’s a lot to explain and I will I promise but right now I don’t have the energy.”

“Hey nosebleed, you’re about to blow.” I could see a slight smile on Tony’s face, hiding his worry. Always. Tony used his hands to brace me as I started to pitch forward. “You need to rest ok; you’re straining yourself too much.”

I gave him a feeble smile and a shaky thumbs-up just as my legs started to give out. I could feel my energy leaving my limbs which now felt like dead weights. I guess I had been running on almost pure adrenaline from fear for a while. It was time to give myself a rest. Tony caught me, supporting me as he lowered me gently to the ground. He supported my upright position with one arm as he swept the other one under my legs, so that he could stand up to carry me. I leaned my head against his metal shoulder plate. My eyelids grew heavy, and everything began to dim. I felt Tony press his lips to my forehead and my eyes closed so that I could drift off peacefully.

“Sleep kiddo,” Tony whispered. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Notes:

Ok, I decided to post chapter 12 today too just cause I really like it. I hope y'all do too. Till next time.

Chapter 13

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Loki’s Perspective

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I had no idea how long it had been since I fell through into the void. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, or maybe even years. Time all seemed to flow together here, dragging this one moment out into an eternity of Hel. The lack of a sun, or any form of light really, made that difficulty into my reality.

He had me chained and tortured every waking moment I had. This brief moment of silence and isolation from my… “host” …was a rarity indeed. I had not been allowed time with my thoughts since they found me. Since my usefulness towards him had been brought to his attention. I silently cursed myself for my hubris. It was my pride that led to my current state. Normally I would try to gain his favor, but for once, that didn’t seem to be the right thing to do. He was after something powerful. Several items as I understood it. Exactly what the objects he was looking for were, was unclear clear to me, but I knew he had a location for at least one of the items, but he didn’t see a need to go after it himself. He wanted a proxy to this world so that he could focus on a more imminent problem.

I had heard his goals. Tip the cosmic scales towards balance. I had virtually no problem with that as maybe he could wipe out my problems with his plan. There was one issue that I did have. He wanted information and I knew the only person who would have every answer he wanted and that I refused to give him. He had been inside my mind attempting to uncover every secret I had. I could never let him hear of her. He would take her from me. He would destroy her beyond repair and all my planning would fail. I couldn’t risk it.

I smiled as I thought of her. Beyond her applications to my own designs, I found her intriguing. She had almost instantly crumbled mentally when I pushed against her mental wall to see what her mind had trapped her consciousness in, and it was beyond anything I could have ever imagined. When she had let me into her mind, what seemed to be a lifetime ago, I had seen everything, with the exception of anything pertaining to her future and the gifts I now knew she possessed. I had watched her grow up in another universe. I had seen her isolation from children who refused to accept her for her differences and how she had turned to books to fill the void. I had seen her love for her family, how she had sharpened her wit through what she witnessed both in fiction and real life. Her brother constantly overshadowing her, until she found a way to blossom in her own right, to show her worth. I had seen her struggles and triumphs everything she had ever done right up until falling into this universe. I had seen her struggle with losing everything and everyone she loved, while maintaining a perfect façade of happiness and determination as she built herself a new life from the ground up. I watched it all, hearing every thought she’d ever had. Right up to the moment I had introduced myself to her. I finally knew why she had attempted to evade me. She held feelings for me. And strong ones at that. I wasn’t above using her feelings against her to make her do my biding. But I wasn’t a monster, I would allow her a privilege beyond what any mortal would ever deign to dream. She would be mine in every way that mattered. I would own every part of her.

Through our deal, I owned her body, mind, and soul. I could have easily forced her to tell me all I wished to know, but that wasn’t enough for me. I wanted her to want to tell me. I wanted to occupy her every waking thought and every dream while she slept. I wanted to be the only person in her heart. I could own her, but that only worked to a certain degree. She cared for me beyond anything she would ever admit, and I wanted her to belong to me. My eyes went wide as I realized what my obsession with her choosing such a thing meant. I wanted to own her heart. But not by ordering it, I wanted her to love me by choice, something no one save my mother had done. I would win her love by any means, but that wouldn’t be possible if someone else possessed her.

If I ever made it back to her as I had promised, I would court her to start with. Although I might have been a little hasty by forcing a silent engagement through kissing her and placing an engagement gift around her neck. I laughed as I thought of her face when I had pulled her in. She had frozen with what I could only assume was fear before melting into my embrace and melding herself into my form. I had been most pleasantly surprised when she blinked out of existence before my eyes, informing me of her more unique talent’s existence. She would be spectacular once she was able to blossom and come into her own. I would fight my way back to her somehow.

My thoughts died off as the chains around my wrists were suddenly hoisted into the air.

‘Oh, for the love of Odin.’

They were here and my thought had been filled with the one thing I was trying to hide from them. I started cursing silently as I tried to focus my thoughts anywhere else praying that the Norns would allow me some grace.

“Young love.” My fear spiked as the voice of my host boomed out into the dark of my cell. He had heard my thoughts. “Your efforts were valiant Asgardian, but in the end I knew you would fail. Everyone does in the end.” A dim light appeared allowing me to see my host. The Mad Titan, Thanos. “Such an irrational emotion, love. It makes fools of us all.” I glared up at him. “Hiding her from me was foolish. Lying to me for her was foolish. But I imagine lies are like air for you since you lie to me with every breath you take.”

“Leave her out of this. I’m the one you want.” I snarled at him before I could stop myself and a chain from above me dropped down to wrap around my throat. I struggled for air. So, his telekinetic pet was with him.

“Release him Maw. I still have need of him.” Thanos sounded bored as he waved his hand dismissively in the air. The chain instantly went lax around my throat but didn’t vanish entirely. I coughed slightly relieved at the renewed oxygen now flooding my lungs and I allowed my head to hang. Clearly Maw, as Thanos had referred to him, wished to leave me with a reminder of what he could do if I displeased him again. “That may be true Asgardian, but I need to know what I’m dealing with, and I only caught the barest thoughts of her from your mind.” My eyes snapped up to meet Thanos who stood very close to me as he leaned down to meet my gaze. “You’ve done very well in hiding her from me all this time, but I’m afraid that I’m done allowing you such leniency. You have tried my patience and I will give you one chance to tell me everything but after that I will go after her myself.” I felt sick, horrified even with his suggestion. “I will warn you Asgardian, if I have to retrieve her myself I will not be gentle in my conquest. I will bring her back and break her before your eyes. I will make you watch as the light leaves her eyes, and she dies still crying out for you to save her.” Thanos started to smile at the thought he had implanted in my mind. “So, Asgardian what will it be, her life or your compliance.”

Thoughts started whirring in my head and Thanos caught every last one of them. I had held out for a long time, but I could hold out no more. As Thanos smiled victoriously, placing the tip of the scepter to my chest, I bowed to his will, finally broken by the madness of the Titan. The chains around my wrists, and ankles snapped open dropping me to the ground in a defeated heap. Thanos controlled me, I could no more control my actions than I could my thoughts and all autonomy fled me as my consciousness became a speck of dust eradicated at his will.

“I thank you Asgardian.” Thanos’ smile turned cruel. “I will give you much in return for the gifts I request. The Tesseract and your beloved pet human, in exchange for rule over the Earth and your beloved’s return to you alive albeit slightly damaged, but I guarantee her life for your service.”

“Your will be done.” My body knelt before Thanos, while my consciousness banged on the wall between the controlled consciousness and my real thoughts. It was futile, however. Deep in the recesses of my subconscious, I started to pray to anyone who would listen that I would be stopped somehow. In the controlled consciousness Thanos began to put his plans into action.

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Loki’s Perspective End

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Notes:

Hey Y'all! It's been a minute, hasn't it? I cannot believe we reached over 500 hits!!! Y'all are seriously amazing!!! I know I was supposed to upload last week but I've been with my family for the holidays and you would not believe the week we have had. But I digress. I know this chapter was probably a little different from what you were expecting and I cannot wait to hear your thoughts. Also, surprise! I don't know if anyone saw the engagement coming but I swear it'll all make sense. Eventually. Until next time y'all.

Chapter 14

My entire life I had never realized how problematic it would be to go without speaking. It had taken several days to get used to the idea. But having to play charades constantly made me want to cry. I wasn’t a fan of writing it down by hand or texting, it just took too long. I had even taken to playing the Imperial March whenever I entered a room to announce myself. As it turned out, not only could I not speak, but I couldn’t make a sound at all. My screams and sobs had gone silent, even my breathing was inaudible no matter how hard I exhaled or inhaled. My family had tried to help as best as they could, but I was only growing increasingly frustrated. My one bright side was I got to use the minimal amount of ASL that I already knew. Of course, it really wasn’t much. I knew one insult, how to apologize, a few letters, and how to tell someone to fight me. It didn’t help much but it did mean that when I got insulted I could call someone a dumb bitch to their face without them knowing it which was awesome, right up till certain people like Happy or Clint learned what I was saying. Then they started getting really creative with revenge. For Happy it was playing music I hated in the car and when I tried to protest, to no avail, he would go “Oh you like this one, I’ll turn it up for you,” and then dissolve into a fit of giggles as I began my silent rampage of insults. For Clint it was blaming me for gas or any messes around HQ, knowing I couldn’t verbally refute him. Of course, this resulted in a prank war involving a My Little Pony soundtrack burned onto all of Happy’s CDs and all of Clint’s clothes mysteriously turning a violent and highly disturbing shade of pink.

All that aside, I spent a lot of time training and pushing myself to a new extreme. I was hurting everywhere and my muscles were screaming at me, but I couldn’t afford to lighten up. I had allowed myself one day off schedule thus far. The day Steve woke up. I had made sure I was in New York that day. Fury had alerted me that the Doctors believed he would be waking up that day, so I waited in Times Square until I saw him rush out into the middle of the street, afraid, confused, and extremely upset.

I got up from where I sat and made my way over to him as the S.H.I.E.L.D. SUVs surrounded him. I made it through the barricade of cars just in time for Steve’s final line in the movie.

“I had a date.” Steve’s face was forlorn. I could see that much, and my heart broke for him.

I had pushed through the light crowd of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to reach Fury’s side before I walked forward to Steve. I stopped in front of him and finally, the dam over my emotions broke and tears began to fall from my eyes. I reached out and pulled him into the biggest, tightest hug I knew how to give. I felt him stumble back a little from the force I had used but I refused to let go.

“What the…?” He whispered out.

“Lauren!” I heard an angry voice whisper-shout at me. Apparently Fury wasn’t thrilled but I didn’t care. I felt hands on my shoulders pushing me away and I released Steve from my hug.

I stepped backward, not willing to face away from Steve yet. I met his confused gaze, still tinged with sadness. My own tears were still slipping down my face. It wasn’t a flood of tears but a few strays that had escaped. I signed that I was sorry to him before turning around to look at Fury who as per usual didn’t look amused with my “antics.” I signed that I was sorry to Fury as well before making my way back over to him with my head hanging low in an attempt to hide the oncoming storm of tears. I hadn’t even taken a step before I felt a hand on my shoulder, keeping me in place. I looked back to find Steve with an apprehensive yet fierce glare towards Fury.

“I don’t know who you are, but I know no one should talk to a lady in that tone of voice,” Steve said. His eyes seemed to have a little more life to them with the spark of challenge.

My face lit up slightly with the realization that he thought I was in danger. He was trying to protect me. I placed my hand over his where it rested on my shoulder, drawing his attention back to me. I smiled at him and shook my head slightly. I patted his hand a couple times before I pulled away. I practically skipped over to Fury, the tears that once sat there were practically a memory as a smile split open across my face. Fury’s arm wrapped around me as he turned us to go back to the car. He was rolling his eyes as he turned us away.

“Relax Captain,” Fury called over his shoulder. “She has nothing to worry about and neither do you.”

“How can I trust that? I don’t even know you and the first thing your people did was lie to me.” Steve called out. I had to cover my mouth in an attempt to hide my giggles. I may be unable to make a sound, but facial expressions would be a dead giveaway. “I can’t let you walk away with a kid when I don’t know your intentions.”

Oh my god I was gonna suffocate from laughing so hard, but I needed to stop this. I turned around and watched Steve register the joy in my face as confusion filled his. I held up my hands in a t shape as I signaled for a timeout. I struggled to catch my breath as I scrambled through my pockets for my phone. I opened it to the notes app to type out what I needed to say.

Relax he’s my dad.

I typed it out as I finally managed to catch my breath and flipped the phone to show Steve. I flipped the phone back around to continue typing.

He’s not gonna do anything to me. I love the guy but he’s not one for physical punishments. He just hates that I’m not exactly like him. You know; intimidating, silent, commanding attention.

“I see. My apologies then ma’am.” I was never going to stop laughing long enough to breath. Steve offered a nervous smile. “Well, that’s not entirely true, you have the silent thing down pretty good.”

Well, that did it. I was not laughing any more. My smile dropped as my heart broke. The whole silent thing was not my preference and I hated it. I knew the hurt filled my face, but I couldn’t face it. I patted Fury’s arm and separated from him to exit the barricade and find my way out to call Jarvis. Tony had no way to understand me over the phone, but Jarvis and I had come up with a system. Each number had a different meaning.

The phone dialed until Jarvis picked up.

“Hello Ms. Stark. How may I assist you?” Jarvis’ voice came on the line pleasantly. I pressed one. “You are in need of a pickup. Tracing location now.” I bounced in place as I waited for Jarvis to speak again. “I have a transport on route to your location now.”

I raised an eyebrow as I wondered why he had been so vague about who and how I was being picked up, but I shrugged it off and hung up. I didn’t have to wonder long as I heard the telltale sound of Tony’s repulsors overhead. I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes as Tony landed in front of me, his face plate lifting so he could grin at me.

“Hey Nosebleed.” Tony looked super smug. “Need a lift.”

I looked at him my face fully expressing my lack of amusement. Tony raised an eyebrow, and his expression grew more conceited. I flipped him off before making my way over to him. Bad timing on our part as luck would have it, Steve had decided to come after me.

“Hey kid I’m sorry about what I said before, I didn’t know about…” Steve had his head down with his hand scratching the back of his head. When he looked up he froze. I knew Steve had no idea who Tony was, and the strange clothes would probably freak Steve out. “Kid are you ok? Do you need my help?”

I moved to wave him off, but Tony interceded.

“Not from you, boyband.” Tony looked a little grumpy, but I also knew he hadn’t recognized the man before him yet. Tony looked back down at me before whispering to me, “Is this the reason you needed someone to come get you?”

I bit my lip as I refused to meet his gaze. I didn’t know how to respond. It was way too early for the two of them to meet and I wasn’t sure of my next steps.

“Hey is this guy bothering you?” Steve stepped forward clearly prepping to fight Tony. I watched him start to size Tony up, taking in his outfit. “I don’t care that he’s wearing armor, I can still fight him if I have to.”

My hands flew up to my mouth as I started to go into shock. Clearly my lack of communication had been the wrong move and now Steve thought Tony was hassling me and Tony thought Steve harassing me.

“You better back off pretty boy.” Tony snarled at Steve as he pushed me behind him.

“Make me,” Steve growled back.

Both men were chest to chest snarling in the other’s face. If I didn’t act quick Civil War was going to occur four years too early. I definitely couldn’t do anything physically, but I could get in their heads. It would hurt like hell though as neither of them was focusing on me enough to allow myself in and I was going to have to scream because their brains were clouded with some sort of testosterone fueled competitive bull shit. I hated forcing my way into unwilling minds. I had a tendency of getting stuck in their heads if my targets were overly emotional which could then lead to over taxing my powers. But what other choice did I have? I needed to act quick. I squeezed my eyes shut and went for it.

“Both of you better calm down right NOW!!!” I felt the recoil from their minds as I attempted to speak to them while they weren’t even open to listening. “Dad this is Captain America. Captain America, this is my OTHER dad. Say hi and someone catch me.” My mind was screaming at me. I started to sway from the strain their minds had put on my mind. It was one thing if the other party was intending to listen to me, it was easier. But if they weren’t receptive to it, it was like a migraine taken to the extreme because I was trying to fight against someone else’s consciousness and willpower. I attempted to pull out, but it was too late, my mind had latched on to theirs and the intensity of their thoughts and emotions was agonizing.

Tony swerved around diving to catch me as I tipped over too far forward.

“Shit kiddo I’m sorry.” Tony flipped me over to keep my face upward. He put the metal from his hand to my forehead trying to cool me off as I was already starting to overheat. “Come on sweetheart, just breath ok. Try to relax. We aren’t going to fight.”

“What was that?!” Steve was panicking. I could feel everything he felt amplified in my own mind as his thoughts started to overpower my own thoughts. He was scared, angry, confused, sad, and thousands of other emotions I couldn’t even begin to name.

“Chill out, Red, white, and rude,” Tony said under his breath before raising his voice slightly in panic. “If you don’t relax she can’t relax. She’s still in our heads and you getting agitated makes it harder for her to calm down enough to get out. And if she can’t get out she can strain her brain to the point of a medical crisis.”

My brain felt like it was on overload. Tony was doing his best to quiet his mind and it was helping some, but Steve’s mind was in complete upheaval especially from being thrust into the modern world out of nowhere. Steve was still panicking. I started to cry from the pain, every audible noise rendered silent and as Steve kept freaking out more I locked myself into a silent scream. It was agony. I could hear his every thought, feel his every emotion, including the pain of having lost everyone he’d ever known. Tony held me close to his chest as he turned his attention to Steve. The world around me started to vanish one sense at a time as I was pulled into his mind further being cut off from outside contact.

“Rogers!” Steve’s head snapped up to look at Tony. “I need you to breath. You are physically hurting her right now. I need you to clear your mind and focus on breathing so that she can exit your head. Please.”

Steve began to control his breathing and slowly his thoughts went quiet allowing me to finally exit his head. I cried silently relieved that the pain was gone and that my senses were slowly returning. Tony pulled me up into his arms, cradling me gently, standing as he did so in preparation to take off.

“Wait, I need answers! How did she do that? What is she?” Steve moved to stop Tony. I flinched away from him scared of being pulled back in now that a connection had been formed.

“Tell you what, you talk to her other dad.” Tony snarled out as he turned me away from Steve, doing his best to shield me from further harm. “He’s probably still waiting for you and in return you keep away from my kid till she’s healed from whatever she saw in your head. M’kay? Good.”

Tony didn’t wait for Steve to respond before he took off into the sky with me in his arms. Tony didn’t fly at insane speeds whenever he had me with him. He arrived at his New York home which was right next to the location where they were building Stark Tower at; they had even completed the shell.

Tony was just working on his clean energy plan and the interior was still being designed. But he was super excited about it. When we arrived, Tony wasted no time on getting me inside and calling my personal doctor. The one and only Doctor Aggie Motto. Tony was so panicked he refused to set me down until he could trust that I wouldn’t be hurt by him doing so. I couldn’t even tell him that I was ok, and he knew I wasn’t based on the sobs that still wracked my body. An echo of everything from Steve’s mind still lingered in my head. It would take days to clear him out, to the point that it didn’t hurt me anymore.

When Dr. Motto arrived an hour later, Tony spent the entire time pacing in the background afraid of any lasting damages. When he had been assured that I would recover I could see all the tension leave his body to the point that Wong had to escort him out before he fainted. This allowed a more privatized conversation to occur.

“Your powers are growing stronger my dear.” The Ancient One smiled kindly, but I could see the worry in her eyes. “How have your capabilities progressed?”

I used my illusory powers to project a small scene in the palm of my hand depicting the latest developments. She sat in a chair placed beside the bed Tony had laid me in.

“I see, you have made many strides in your spatial and mental abilities. Your ability to manipulate reality should see some improvement this year and you should begin to gain some more physical talents as well.” The Ancient One had figured out a rough timeline of progression to help me understand when I would be capable of certain more difficult feats without accidentally killing myself. It had helped prevent many medical side effects from occurring. “Now do you wish to tell me about the spell keeping you from speaking or are you going to refrain from telling me about it?”

I blushed slightly as I shook my head, but I could swear she knew what had occurred already and she was teasing me about it.

“I see.” She smiled in a way I could only describe as mischievous before winking at me. I buried my face in my hands. She already knew. “Well, if nothing else my dear, please try to keep training. Progressing your powers to help you this year is of the utmost importance.”

I nodded as she stood up. The Ancient One left the room to collect Wong and the two said their goodbyes before leaving the Stark residence for the evening.

It has been almost a year since meeting Steve and Tony was still grumbling every time he ran into anything even remotely related to Captain America. It got to the point that Rhodey and I had made a game out of seeing how many objects we could use to make Tony think of Captain America in a day. It started small with colors before we worked our way up to harder levels like songs and phrases. Rhodey wound up winning by simply being more knowledgeable of the military than I was. I did however get him in the music category by playing the song Star Spangled Man with a Plan and basically anything from the forties. I even convinced Jarvis to wake Tony up to Star Spangled Man with a Plan for a week. That took a lot of effort considering I couldn’t verbally ask Jarvis anything, but I got him there in the end and the look on Tony’s face was worth it up until he wound up chasing me in his Iron Man suit after I woke him in the man cave he called his workshop.

A better communication system had been worked out in the course of a year involving a small smartwatch being attached to my wrist with Jarvis uploaded into it. Jarvis had been programmed to read my body language, facial expressions, and the changes in indicators for my physical being such as heart rate, perspiration, tears, core temperature, and anything else that wouldn’t be readily obvious to a normal human. Jarvis had been programmed to understand both ASL and my non-traditional hand signals so that he could interpret for me allowing a more stable form of communication. Tony had done this in time for my 17^th birthday and I was grateful as I would be able to communicate with minimal frustration now. However, Jarvis had also been able to pick up on my increased stress level due to how close the Battle of New York was, and he refused to keep that silent for me.

I was set to leave for a trip with Fury to visit the Tesseract, although he hadn’t actually confirmed that for me I knew what it was. I heard a knock on my door as I zipped my suitcase. I gave a thumbs up and Jarvis spoke.

“You may enter.” Jarvis was way more polite than I was.

“Hey, kiddo.” Tony poked his head around the door.

“Hello,” Jarvis spoke as I waved. I sat on the bed and patted the spot next to me. “Please sit.”

“How are you doing, kid?” Tony walked over to sit next to me on the bed. “Jarvis says your stress levels are through the roof.”

I shrugged but refused to make eye contact.

“I’m guessing something big is coming if your lack of excitement is anything to go off of.” Tony gently bumped me with his shoulder. “I promised I wouldn’t pressure you, just know I’m here if you need me.”

I pointed to myself before tapping my forehead, Jarvis offering his translation. Tony put an arm around my shoulder, and I leaned my head against it. He stayed with me for several minutes as I let my thoughts start to calm.

“I love you kiddo,” Tony whispered pressing a kiss into my hair before standing to leave. “Get some sleep ok?”

I blew him a kiss as he walked out. When I was sure he had gone I signed the one message I wasn’t ready to say. Crawling into bed and turning out the lights I signed in my own sign language, I love you 3000. I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Notes:

Here we are on the precipice of The Avengers!!! AHHHHH! This is so exciting!!! I've really enjoyed reading the comments thus far and I look forward to hearing more from y'all in the future. Until next time y'all!

Chapter 15

Summary:

Avengers

The date was May 2^nd, 2012. I hadn’t been so hyper-aware of a date in a long time. I flew with Fury and Agent Hill to the facility that housed Project Pegasus. I had never really noticed how loud helicopters were. Unlike Fury and Hill, the noise proved to be slightly more than what I could handle, and I had to wear noise-canceling headphones. I had never done well with loud noises; they were overstimulating and very painful for me when emitted. When I felt the helicopter touch down, the three of us moved to jump out. Coulson was waiting for us already.

“How bad is it?” Fury had to shout over the helicopter blades.

“That’s the problem, sir,” Coulson called back. “We don’t know.”

We all moved quickly to enter the building and ride the elevator down. I watched as dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D technicians went scrambling by us in a panic trying to pack as many of their projects as they could for an evacuation. We took an elevator down to reach the basement level.

“Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the tesseract four hours ago,” Coulson informed us as we walked deeper into the room.

“NASA didn’t authorize Selvig to test phase.” Fury didn’t pause in his stride. He didn’t sound thrilled with this new development.

“He wasn’t testing it; he wasn’t even in the room.” Coulson seemed slightly nervous to me. “Spontaneous advancement.”

“It just turned itself on?” Hill sounded highly concerned.

“What are the energy levels?” Fury inquired.

“Climbing,” Coulson stated. “When Selvig couldn’t shut it down, we ordered evac.”

“How long to get everyone out?” Fury’s face hardened.

“Campus should be clear in the next half hour.” I watched Coulson and Fury’s back and forth like a tennis match as I silently mouthed every word to the scene. I knew the entirety of the first Avengers movie by heart.

“Do better.” Fury looked at Coulson as he gave his order. Coulson nodded before turning on his heel to go do what he needed to.

We started down the stairs to reach the sub-basement.

“Sir, evacuation may be futile.” Hill looked alarmed.

“We should tell them to go back to sleep?” Fury sounded incredulous.

I started to tune out their conversation as my brain turned to panic regarding Loki’s arrival. I had a few minutes at most, and he killed several agents. Would I even be able to stop that? I barely noticed as Hill left us to perform her individual task from Fury. When I froze for a split second stuck in my own thoughts, Fury put his hand on my shoulder and steered me along our path. As we entered the lab area, I shook myself out of my reverie. I was still ignoring everyone around me, but I was present mentally as I walked over to stand in front of the Tesseract.

Apparently I had gotten too close as another set of hands grabbed my shoulders to pull me back. I turned to look; it was Selvig. He looked slightly panicked.

“I know I said that the low levels of Gamma were relatively harmless, but we best keep our distance.” I smiled at Selvig. “How’ve you been? Has your voice come back?”

As I started to gesture, Jarvis spoke for me. “Ms. Stark wishes to inform you that while she is well, she has unfortunately not regained the capability of speech.” Selvig looked startled but I pointed at the watch on my wrist. “I am Jarvis, an A.I. program that is performing as her translator during this minor inconvenience.”

“I see.” Selvig looked like he had swallowed a frog. I grabbed Selvig’s elbow and began pulling him back. The Tesseract was sparking.

Clint and Fury had made their way over to us just as the energy made the concerning noises it made in the movie. Clint stood in front of me to protect me from what was about to happen. He was the only one to realize something from the other side could come through the cube. As the portal opened, the floor shook with the magnitude of energy released before the portal vanished and the energy became trapped at the ceiling, unstable and dangerous.

There he was Loki. Crouched on the platform opposite of the Tesseract. He was breathing heavily. As he raised his head I could see how terrible he looked, he had horrible dark circles under his eyes, which were an unnatural shade of blue from being mind-controlled, and he was smiling like a lunatic. I stayed behind Clint trying to make myself as small as possible. I liked evil Loki way too much for my own good and I did not need to draw his attention. I started focusing on making myself invisible praying that my power would hold out long enough to protect me.

As Loki surveyed the room he frowned upon seeing the Agents in the room with their guns drawn and aimed at Loki.

“Sir, please put down the spear,” Fury emphasized each word.

Loki looked down at the spear before looking back up at Fury. His gaze grew determined as he punched the spear out to emit a blast aimed at Fury. Clint dove and knocked Fury out of the way. The other agents began firing to no avail. Loki launched himself into the air to attack the agents shooting him. He became a whirlwind of knives and energy blasts from the spear. It was terrifying and beautiful all at once. He found his way over to Clint, disarming Clint by squeezing his wrist. As Clint struggled Loki looked at him.

“You have heart.” The spear tip touched Clint’s chest and he was possessed. They shared a meaningful look and Clint nodded sharply before marching off, but I didn’t pay attention to Clint as I maintained my attention on Loki. Loki had turned his attention to Fury after turning a few other agents. Fury was attempting to take off with the Tesseract.

“Please don’t I still need that,” Loki said. I shivered slightly. It had been a year since I had last seen him let alone heard his voice.

“This doesn’t have to get any messier.” Fury cautioned.

“Of course, it does.” Loki’s gaze intensified. “I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burned with glorious purpose.”

I felt a presence near me but ignored it to focus on the scene before me.

“Loki? Brother of Thor!” Selvig sounded excited.

“We have no quarrel with your people.” Fury glanced around the room before his eyes found mine. He seemed to be trying to tell me something, but he looked away before I could figure out what. Fury was the only person in the room I hadn’t prevented from seeing me when I made myself “invisible.”

“An ant has no quarrel with a boot.” Loki smiled deviously.

“Are you planning to step on us?” Fury sounded shocked.

“I come with glad tidings, of a world made free.” Loki sounded proud.

“Free from what?” Fury spat out.

“Freedom.” As Loki spoke I felt arms wrap around me, constricting my movement I froze as my illusion covering my presence dropped. He could see me. He likely could the whole time. “Freedom is life’s great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart…” Loki wheeled on Selvig pressing the spear tip to his heart, pulling Selvig into his control. “You will know peace.”

I began struggling against my captor. I couldn’t teleport or burrow without taking him with me and my energy was extremely drained from attempting to hide myself from everyone except Fury. As I tried to pull away I realized it was futile, I didn’t even have enough energy to summon a pen.

“Relax kid, I’m not gonna hurt you.” A voice whispered in my ear. It was Clint. “Can’t let you go just yet.”

I was shaking like crazy. I made eye contact with Fury. That was what he was trying to tell me. I could hear the energy crackling in the ceiling. My legs gave out as exhaustion rolled over me in an all-consuming way. Clint was supporting me from the waist as he moved to Loki’s side. I felt a new set of arms wrap around me. Clint had passed me off to Loki. Loki swung me up to cradle me in one arm. My head was leaning into the crook of his neck and my arms were in my lap.

“Sir, Director Fury is stalling,” Clint informed Loki. “This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us.”

“Like the pharaohs of old.” Fury snarled. He sounded way more vicious than he had in the movie.

“He’s right. The portal is collapsing on itself.” Selvig called out from the computer monitoring the portal’s status. “You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical.”

“Well then.” Loki looked at Clint who turned to Fury before drawing and firing his gun at Fury hitting him in the shoulder. Clint walked over to where Fury was now lying on the ground clutching his shoulder. Clint grabbed the briefcase holding the Tesseract and as a group, all the turned agents marched out of the room leading Loki up to the ground floor.

I was starting to lose consciousness. I was trying to hold on. I couldn’t afford to black out, not now. I was blinking in and out with gaps in my conscious memory. I remember being lowered into the truck bed, I remember seeing a helicopter being shot down from overhead, and I remember being lifted up and carried out of the truck before it completely blotted out from my mind. I woke up a few hours later if my watch was anything to go off of. They hadn’t thought to take it off me. That struck me as odd. I was lying on a makeshift bed. I went to move but I was slightly restricted from going anywhere. There was a manacle on my wrist keeping me locked into the wall. I tested it with a gentle pull. That wasn’t budging any time soon. A quiet cough caught my attention. I turned my head in the direction it came from, but I was unable to see who had made the sound as the room was too dark.

A light switch was flipped allowing a dim light to fill the room. I winced slightly but it didn’t take long for my eyes to adjust. It was Loki. He was leaning against the wall next to a door.

“Miss me?” Loki smirked.

My voice caught in my throat. I hadn’t spoken in so long and I was unsure of what would happen if I tried. Loki pushed off the wall. I scooted back on the mattress until my back hit the wall. Loki sat on the mattress just in front of me. Evidently, this was an actual bed as he didn’t have to squat to sit on it.

“I…” my voice scratched against my throat painfully. Loki leaned forward to place his hand over my throat. My throat grew warm and pleasantly so before he pulled away. I swallowed before trying again. “I don’t know what to say.” My throat no longer hurt, and my speech smoothed out.

“I know, Pet.” Loki opened his arms to me, and I realized all I wanted was to crawl into them. When I didn’t move Loki smiled at me sadly but let his arms drop. “I had hoped that after the way I left you, maybe you would forgive me. But if you haven’t I understand and I will wait as long as I have to for you to forgive me.”

“I begged you to hang on.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them, and tears found their way to the surface before slipping out. I made no attempt to stop the tears. “Why did you let go?”

“That’s why you won’t meet my eye,” Loki muttered. His finger darted out to catch my tears. “I’m sorry I left you the way I did. I never meant to hurt you.”

I started crying in earnest, burying my head in my knees, and wrapping my arms around them to pull them tight to my chest. As I hid myself from him, it gave me the separation I needed to think clearly. Loki didn’t apologize especially to people like me. Why was he being so kind? I knew it wasn’t Thanos’ influence since Loki had done this even before falling into the void. I was beyond confused and I was allowing my feelings to get in the way of my judgement. What was wrong with me? I felt the mattress shift slightly before I was lifted up. Startled by the sudden movement I looked up; Loki had shifted me into his arms and was now settling me into his lap to rock me back and forth. I looked up at his face filled with confusion and fear. He looked calm but I could see the hurt in his eyes.

“How much of what happened after I fell into the void did you see?” Loki wasn’t looking at me and his eyes hardened slightly as he asked the question, but his tone remained gentle.

“I didn’t see any of it, but I know enough to infer what occurred.” I looked away. “Are you ok?”

Loki’s arms tightened around me, but he didn’t respond. I leaned into him and closed my eyes. I didn’t understand why he was acting the way he did, and he was most likely trying to manipulate me, but I was ok with letting myself enjoy the moment. It wouldn’t last forever, and I had dreamed about a moment like this since I was a little girl almost 24 years prior. I felt his head settle against the top of my hair.

“I promise you I will never leave you again,” Loki murmured.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” I smiled sadly.

“I promised I would come back to you,” Loki growled slightly. I started laughing at his disgruntled comment. “I kept that promise. Why would I be unable to keep this one?”

“Just a feeling,” I whispered back my smile growing. I intended to annoy him as my own personal revenge for losing my voice. Loki started growling more menacingly. I started to squirm trying to escape his arms. “I’m starting to feel a little claustrophobic. Can you let go?”

“I don’t think I can.” I could hear the smile in Loki’s voice. His arms felt like steel cages, and I was actually starting to panic. “Not until I get what I want from you.”

My head snapped up, narrowly missing his chin. My eyes widened in fear at the implications behind his words.

“What do you mean?” My voice cracked. Loki placed his forehead against mine.

“I want you to kiss me.” Loki breathed out. My mouth opened in shock. Only a few startled noises managed to escape but that didn’t deter him. “Something wrong Pet?”

I was starting to short-circuit. I was blinking at an extreme rate. What should I do?

“Do you need my help?” Loki waited for a second and my brain shut off completely. My eyelids fluttered shut and my chin tilted up gently. Loki’s lips found mine within seconds. It was gentler than our first kiss had been but just as powerful. I felt sparks behind my eyes and a slight heat growing in my belly before Loki pulled away. His forehead was still leaning against mine and I could feel him smiling only this time I was too. “Don’t start a game you can’t finish. I’m the god of mischief, Pet, you would do well to remember that in the future. Next time I may not be as gentle.”

“O-okay.” My face was on fire, and I could feel a growing discomfort between my legs. I really needed to move before I did something more embarrassing. Loki’s arms were no longer holding me captive, so I slid out of his lap, but I still didn’t go far. My wrist was still chained to the wall. “Any chance of this coming off?”

“Only if you wear the matching one on your other wrist.” Loki lifted my unrestrained hand to his lips. “The cuffs restrain your powers, and I can’t have you teleporting away.”

“Well, aren’t you the charmer?” I rolled my eyes, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Loki’s eyes narrowed.

“Well, if you’d rather stay here…I’d be more than happy to oblige.” Loki shrugged before standing up to leave.

“I never said no to it. I just don’t want to wear handcuffs.” I knew full well that if I challenged him he might leave me in a situation that was even worse than it was right now. Loki was still standing next to me, so he didn’t have to move in order to place the other cuff on my free wrist. The chain vanished from the wrist that had been restrained but didn’t reappear between the two cuffs.

“Then they won’t become handcuffs, just bracelets.” Loki pulled me tight to his side, dropping another kiss on the top of my head. “I don’t want you to feel miserable Pet. After all, I take care of my things.”

It was like cold water being poured over my head. He saw me as a plaything. That was why he was being kind; he saw me as an object, not a real person. And suddenly my high from feeling special like he cared about me was gone. He actually thought of me as a Pet. I was fully sobered at the thought.

“Of course.” I was working to mute all my emotions. I was not going to cry. “Where are we off to?”

“Barton has something he needs to collect, part of which is in Stuttgart, Germany. I’d appreciate your company.” Loki smiled like he was sharing a secret. “I have an outfit prepared for you.”

“You make it sound like I have a choice.” I smiled up at him, but I could feel the mask crumbling with the pain in my heart. “Can I have a second to change?”

“I’m feeling generous I’ll give you five.” Loki smiled and I forced a laugh. Loki turned around while the dress appeared on my bed. “Change quickly, my dear. I don’t like to wait.”

“Thank you.” Loki exited the room. I couldn’t be fully certain he had actually left, but I didn’t have it in me to keep it in anymore. I fell onto the bed and let the mask fall, agonized by reality.

I moved to change through the pain, but the dress was gone. I stood up to turn around and check where I had been sitting. There was no dress. I wiped the tears away before realizing I was already wearing the dress. It was gorgeous. The dress was a long black A-line with a slit up to my hip. The inner lining was green. I realized that Loki had chosen to dress me in his colors, further claiming me as his property. My face crumpled as a new wave of grief hit me.

What was wrong with me?!

“You know, you really aren’t as good at hiding your emotions as you would like to believe.” Loki’s voice appeared over my shoulder. I wiped my eyes trying to hide the evidence of my distress before turning around. “Can we try being honest this time Pet, or will I have to resort to less pleasant methods.”

“How do you see me?” I looked him dead in the eye. Loki opened his mouth, but I covered it with my hand. “Don’t answer that. I can’t trust you not to lie to me and quite frankly you could take a second to think about why I’m upset instead of trying to force me to tell you. I shouldn’t have to tell you.” Loki actually looked slightly shamefaced.

“I see a beautiful woman.” Loki leaned down trying to meet my eye. “I see someone who has always been so confident in who she is, that she’s never changed who she was for anyone. I see someone I’m proud to call mine.”

My chest squeezed painfully.

“I’m glad you’re happy with your property.” I spat out. “Don’t forget my leash so that you can parade me around.”

“That’s what you think?!” Loki looked incredulous. “I don’t view you as property! If I thought you were property I would never have bound us together in the manner I did.”

“Bound together? You mean the deal we made where I sold my free will to you?” I threw my hands in the air. Loki caught them and roughly pulled me to his chest.

“I mean my engagement present.” Loki snarled at me before using his free hand to slightly tug at the chain around my neck. “I chose to change the rules of the bind. You would be a slave only if you had refused my offer, in accepting it you gained your freedom by becoming my bride-to-be.”

“What are you…?” It was like the oxygen in the room vanished. I felt beyond dizzy. “I’m engaged?”

“Well not quite. I still have to wait for you to come of age.” Loki wrapped his arms around me. “So, until then, it functions as a promise of proposal.”

The room was spinning. My breathing was labored. Loki pulled me up to wrap my legs around his waist. My arms circled his neck while I was on autopilot. He moved one hand to continue supporting me from underneath and the other to cradle the back of my neck. His fingers began to work small circles into my hair.

“Shhhh.” Loki’s lips found their way to my ear. “Breathe Lauren. Just breathe. Focus Darling.”

The spinning started to slow as I worked on my breathing. When I managed to calm down and fix my breathing, I realized I had been panicking to the point of hyperventilation. I moved to unlock my legs to stand on my own, but Loki began to move abruptly.

“I’m afraid I prefer this method of transportation much more. I like the way you feel wrapped around me.” Loki sounded so seductive.

“You can’t just say stuff like that.” I was blushing to my eartips.

“If it keeps you from crying or panicking to the point of fainting I will.” Loki had not broken stride on his way to our transport to Germany. We arrived on a Quinn jet that I assumed had been stolen from S.H.I.E.L.D. “They will be dropping us off on their way to another location.”

I nodded before making eye contact with Clint who was sitting across from us, his face wiped of all emotion. I watched him waiting for something anything but in the end, all I got was a dead unnervingly blue-eyed stare. I looked back over to Loki his eyes were the same shade of blue. Only he looked at me with emotion. I couldn’t figure out how much of Thanos was controlling him. Loki looked down at me, smiling as he did. It was a bit wolfish, but I apparently liked it cause I started blushing hard again. Loki’s arm slid behind my back, pulling me close to his chest.

“You do look gorgeous,” Loki whispered in my ear.

“If you don’t stop, I’ll never be able to get rid of this stupid blush.” I buried my face in my hands. I hated blushing.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to that. You glow when you blush.” I pulled one hand out from where it held my face to flip Loki off. “Now now. I’ll have none of that or else I’ll have to come up with a way to make it, so you never use that finger again without blushing.”

My face was on fire and there would be no relief if I didn’t find a way to shut the stream of dirty thoughts down. I lowered my hands to look up at Loki, who was giving me the most seductive smile I had ever seen. I narrowed my eyes at him before looking away to smother the squealing fangirl who was doing her best to emerge.

The pilot called back to inform Loki that we had arrived at the drop off spot. I felt the arm around my shoulders sneak its way down to snake around my waist and pull me up. I jumped slightly but I was unable to move away. Loki had already pulled me tight to his side.

“Unless you were planning on an untimely death, I would suggest holding on,” Loki whispered in my ear. “Only one of us has the physiology to withstand a jump from an extended height.”

“Is there a parachute?” I looked back at him alarmed at the lack of straps on his shoulders. If we were jumping then we needed a parachute. Loki just smiled darkly and pulled me toward the exit ramp. “Loki, come on this isn’t funny!” My panic was rising. The ramp started to lower, and the winds started roaring in my ears. I covered my ears as I looked back at Loki with panic. Loki started laughing as he pulled me down the ramp. Then he jumped, my body held tight to his chest.

I screamed but managed to turn to grip Loki, praying that I wasn’t about to die from the dumbest stunt of all time. We landed about thirty minutes later with Loki using his magic to slow our fall and cushion us. When he set me down on solid ground I stared at him dumbfounded at his lack of seriousness. Loki was doubled over laughing at me. I couldn’t stay mad; his laughter was infectious and soon enough I was laughing with him. When our laughter died down, Loki wrapped me in a hug.

“Do you really think I would let anything happen to you?” Loki smiled, his face full of affection. “Darling, you really should start trusting me at some point. It would wind up being to your benefit.”

“Maybe I would if you took the time to tell me your plan rather than laughing as you drag me off a plane with no explanation.” I raised an eyebrow before pulling out of his grasp. “I believe we have a gala to make.”

“I do believe you would be correct in that assumption. If you would do me the honor?” Loki offered me his arm. I tipped my head towards him before accepting his arm. “I will apologize for the loss of your voice once more.”

“Do I have to?” I grumbled.

“Well, you could draw blood. That would end the spell but otherwise, I’m afraid so.” Loki smiled. “Are you aware of what lies ahead of us? I could let you do this task for me.”

“Ew.” I felt nausea pass over me in a wave. “I’d rather not kill a man, let alone forcibly cut out his eye.”

“It was merely a suggestion.” Loki shrugged. I had a feeling however that he had hoped I would take him up on his offer.

The two of us walked a short distance to the building where the gala was being held. I knew the music of this scene by heart. As the two of us walked in, I heard the beautiful sound of the violin playing out the scene in my head. Loki let me wait on the steps, I really had no interest in seeing the details of this scene up close. Loki really did look psychotic as he cut the man’s eyeball out of his head. When he finished, Loki stood up excitedly. He grabbed my hand to pull me along behind him.

I watched from behind him as he terrorized a helpless crowd of people, making a point of sitting down at the spot where Cap and Tony would have him pinned down within a few minutes.

“Kneel before me.” The crowd continued to scatter until multiple Loki’s began to appear at the periphery of the crowd, corralling them. “I said KNEEL!!!” The crowd slowly quieted their panic as the kneeled on the ground. Loki began to make his way through the crowd, his smile triumphant. “Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It’s the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity.” As I watched in the background, I mouthed every word. “You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.”

“Not to men like you.” The old German man stood up in the crowd to challenge Loki.

“There are no men like me.” Loki’s smile turned from triumph to disbelief.

“There are always men like you.” The old man said defiantly.

“Look to your elder people.” Loki pointed the scepter at the tiny man standing before him. “Let him be an example.”

As Loki thrust the spear towards the old man, releasing a burst of power, a blur of red and blue dropped out of the sky in front of the old man. Captain America rose after deflecting the blast back at Loki. I could feel the confidence oozing out of him.

“You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing.” Captain America began to slowly make his way forward. I giggled silently as I thought about how Loki had said he could ‘feel the righteousness surging’ and I couldn’t help but feel that it fit.

“The soldier.” Loki spat out as he stood back up. “The man out of time.”

“I’m not the one who’s out of time.” Captain America quipped back.

“Loki drop the weapon and stand down.” Nat’s voice sounded overhead as the Quinn jet dropped into view. A gun popped out of the jet’s lower hatch, aimed at Loki.

Loki wasted no time in firing a blast from his scepter towards the Quinn jet. The crowd began to flee the immediate surroundings. I sat silent as I watched Loki and Cap fight, twirling about in an elegant duel. Cap threw his shield at Loki, hitting him squarely in the chest and distracting Loki long enough to allow Cap to rush towards Loki. Cap punched Loki in the face, barely gaining a reaction. Loki using his scepter as a blunt object, started attempting to hit Cap anywhere he could while Cap maintained his defenses with his shield, but only for a few seconds. Loki managed to knock the shield aside and land a blow to Cap’s chest, sending him tumbling backwards. Cap managed to stick the landing, looking back up at Loki with a determined intensity.

‘He's such a poser.’ I giggled to myself thinking of how right Yelena had been. That move had to be tough on his knees.

Cap switched the shield to his other arm and threw it at Loki, who knocked it aside with ease as he advanced on his opponent. The shield fell to the ground. Cap rushed Loki once more, throwing a punch as he reached his target. Loki dodged his fist before whirling around to swing his scepter in an attempt to hit Cap. Cap dodged just in time, ducking under the scepter which Loki immediately changed the direction of to swing it downwards, fully intent on whacking Cap over the head. Cap slid to the side, narrowly missing the scepter as it crashed to the ground. Not wasting any time, Cap struck Loki in the side while he was unable to guard himself as he had just finished his attempted strike. Loki swung the scepter backwards, catching his attacker in the back, sending Cap flying. Loki stalked towards him as Cap began to rise, using the butt of his scepter to force Cap’s head downwards.

“Kneel,” Loki demanded, his face contorted with determination and fury.

“Not today.” Cap knocked the scepter off his head before spinning around to rise and jump from where he kneeled on the ground, using his momentum to kick Loki in the face.

The two continued to spar but not for long. Just as Loki threw his opponent, I heard the telltale signs of Tony’s imminent arrival as ACDC’s Shoot to Thrill wailed out from the Quinn jet’s PA systems. Cap flipped over to lay on his back, looking to the skies in confusion as Iron Man flew down in style. Tony blasted Loki to the ground before landing in true superhero fashion. I giggled to myself as I thought of Yelena once more. Loki landed flat on his back next to me. Loki sat up clutching his stomach slightly. Tony had all his weapons trained on Loki.

“Your move Reindeer Games.” Tony snarled at him as his face mask flipped up. His face was terrifying. I was confused because the line was supposed to be a quip and a warning, not a full threat the way he had said it. As Steve walked over to join Tony, Loki raised his hands slowly in a clear show of surrender and removed his armor. “Smart choice.” I was shocked the original line was ‘good move.’ What was going on? “Now I’m only gonna ask you this once. WHERE…IS…MY…DAUGHTER?!”

I waved my hands in front of Tony’s face, leaning over Loki to do so. I waited but no change in facial expression occurred. I turned to look at Loki who was giving his best impression of innocence.

“I’m afraid I have no idea to whom you are referring.” Loki could have batted his eyes and I still wouldn’t have bought it.

“Yeah you do Reindeer Games, you took her from a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility not one day ago. Now WHERE IS SHE?!” Tony’s eyes flashed dangerously. Steve looked confused and I felt bad, but I had no idea what was going on myself. I was here right in front of Tony but why couldn’t he see me?

“Oooh.” Loki feigned surprise. “You mean the child.” Loki’s expression turned smug. “You can’t see her? The poor thing is invisible to you. How that must burn for her to hear.”

I crossed my arms as I turned my whole body to look at Loki, giving him my best angry Nick Fury impression.

“You are testing my patience right now,” Tony growled. I tilted my head to the side clearly telling Loki to fix this.

“Oh, you’re no fun.” Loki rolled his eyes before waving dismissively at me. A green flash rolled over me as I glared at him.

I heard a small gasp behind me and turned to see who had reacted to what I hoped would be my reappearance. Only something felt off. Tony was taller than me. It wasn’t that he normally wasn’t taller than me, it was more along the lines of he was a couple feet taller, not several feet taller. He was towering over me, and I had to tilt my head all the way back just to look him in the eye.

“Kid? Is that you?” Tony looked like he was afraid of the answer.

‘What does he mean by is that me?’ I felt the blood drain from my face afraid to know the answer as I turned back around to look at Loki. Loki looked like he was trying to keep from laughing as I faced him.

“Oh, this is funny to you is it?” My voice came out clear as day as I advanced on Loki, my finger shaking as I pointed it at him. I froze. I just spoke in front of other people. “What did you do?”

“Well, I may have used magic to reverse your age slightly.” Loki looked sheepish but his eyes betrayed a sense of horror. Loki began to mutter to himself as he tore his eyes from mine. “In doing so I may have allowed you your voice once more, but I’m not entirely sure how.”

“Kid?” I turned back around to see Tony kneel in front of me.

“Hey…dad.” I bit my lip waving at him awkwardly. Behind him the Quinn jet had landed, and a redheaded woman was running towards us. Nat stopped next to Tony, pushing Steve out of her way, she sounded slightly out of breath, but I doubted it was from running.

“Lauren?” Nat’s eyes went wide before a smile bloomed across her face. “Look at how adorable you are.”

‘Uh oh. Just how old was I?’

“Nat…” I held up my hand backing away slightly, worried about what that look on her face meant. I was too late, as she scooped me up and began to spin me around squeezing me tightly. “Nat…can’t…breathe.” I managed to choke out, struggling to escape her death grip. Her arms loosened but she didn’t let go.

“I would say sorry, but I’m not.” Nat was practically beaming as the two men behind he looked dumbfounded at her reaction. Loki on the other hand was trying his hardest not to laugh. I started squirming in her arms, trying to free myself. “Oh no you don’t. I want pictures.”

Nat began to march back to the jet with me clinging to her front, as Steve cuffed Loki and dragged him up. Tony followed me and Nat with a strange look on his face that I couldn’t quite place. It didn’t take them long to secure Loki and get the jet in the air.

I sat on the bench that was opposite Loki’s, in the seat furthest from him. He hadn’t stopped looking at me like I was a puzzle that was missing a few pieces. I didn’t like it much, especially given his change in attitude from earlier. I still liked the guy, but I had no idea how old he had made me yet, and if Nat and Tony’s reactions were anything to go off of, I doubted I would like the answer. My feet dangled off the edge of the seat, too short to reach the ground so I swung them in the air, my mind racing a mile a minute. I had my head down. I felt the weight of the row shift as someone took a seat next to me. Tony.

“Hey kiddo.” Tony smiled gently. “You ok?”

“I’m fine, all things considered.” I smiled back miserably, even my voice had changed. I hated being a child, especially since the power dampening bracelets had changed sizes with me, so I still couldn’t use my powers. “How old do I look?”

“Uhhh…” Tony looked worried.

“Dad.” I got him to look me in the eyes. “I’m not gonna freak out at least not in a powers going rampant kind of way. He inhibited my capabilities.” I held up my arm to point out my new ‘jewelry.’ “I just need to know.”

“If I had to guess…I’d say you look between the ages of four and six. But I don’t know for certain.” I winced. That was pretty bad. “On the bright side, now we know you were always this cute.”

I started laughing. I appreciated his effort. I looked over at Loki, but I refused to meet his gaze. I could already feel the intensity in his stare, I didn’t really want to feel it on full blast. I looked away again, my mind starting to drift until I realized that Loki wasn’t the only one staring. Steve was looking at me, and I really didn’t like the fascinated look in his eyes.

“Would you please stop looking at me?” Steve caught my gaze before looking away sheepishly. “I really hate this.”

“Sorry…ma’am.” Steve started uncertainly. “I wasn’t trying to be rude, it’s just weird to see a child here. I wasn’t even aware that your dad had a second child.”

“Second…child?” I tried my hardest to hold it back, but the laughter bubbled its way up and erupted from me. I doubled over laughing so hard I started crying, Tony and Nat joined in. “That’s hilarious. Captain, its me.”

Steve tilted his head, clearly not catching on.

“I’m the same girl you met almost a year ago.” I wiped my eyes as my laughter faded. “There is only one girl, and it’s me. I mean I’m a little younger than when we first met but I’m the same person.”

I watch as both realization and further confusion dawn on Steve’s face. I felt slightly guilty as the poor man started blushing. Tony sensing the awkward moment stood up and walked over to distract Steve, so that I might have a reprieve from the deluge of questions that would undoubtedly occur without Tony intercepting him for me. As Tony asked him about how he kept in shape, I decided it was time to confront my own issue. I hopped up from my seat and walked down the aisle until I was in front of him. I made to sit across from him until I felt hands on my waist and suddenly my feet weren’t touching the ground. I didn’t have time to react as my feet found purchase on the seat beside Loki. He wasn’t looking at me this time, instead he was staring rather determinedly at the floor. I noticed he didn’t set me down to sit but rather to stand allowing me to be at eye level with him.

“Was my sudden regression in age intentional or did your spell just…get away from you?” I let my voice drip with sarcasm on the last four words.

“I only meant it as a joke for a few minutes at most.” Loki leaned back his head hitting the wall of the jet. “It wasn’t supposed to last this long nor was it supposed to nullify the part of our agreement that rendered you silent.”

“You know, for a master of magic, you seem to have a few areas of deficiency.” I smiled at him. Loki tilted his head towards me to give the ultimate side-eye. “Don’t give me that. You did it not me.”

I sat down beside him, grabbing a seat belt to buckle myself in. Loki raised an eyebrow, but still said nothing. Thunder cracked over our heads and Loki leaned forward in his seat as anxiety filled his face.

“What’s the matter?” Steve asked after catching the expression on Loki’s face. “Scared of a little lightning?”

“I’m not overly fond of what follows.” Loki and I said in unison. Steve looked at me confused, once more about my weird tendencies. Tony on the other had looked upset that I was now sitting next to Loki.

I started humming Its Raining Men under my breath as I smiled to myself. A brilliant burst of lightning flashed out overhead and an ominous thud sounded on the roof. Tony opened the ramp so he could check out whatever had happened outside. Before he could even exit the jet to do so, a figure thudded on the newly opened ramp and stomped his way over to Loki.

As Thor grabbed Loki, intent on dragging him off for answers, I waved to him. Catching his eye, I smiled.

“Have fun!” Loki looked at me, fear in his eyes. I smiled mischievously. “Don’t stay out too late.”

Thor dragged Loki out and flew off before Tony could stop him. Tony looked back at me.

“You stay! I have to go deal with him.” Tony pointed at me, his voice stern.

“Another Asgardian?” Nat shouted over the wind.

“Think the guy’s a friendly?” Steve shouted back. I just smiled, thriving in my knowledge.

“Doesn’t matter.” Tony walked over to me for a second to make sure I was truly strapped in.

“He’s a good guy. Just try not to piss him off,” I yelled back, my smile refusing to vanish. “Good luck!”

“Stark we need a plan of attack.” Steve tried to stop Tony as he made his way to the exit.

“I have a plan.” Tony’s mask flipped down “Attack.”

Tony dove out of the jet. Steve grabbed a parachute, intent on following.

“I’d sit this one out Cap,” Nat called back.

“I don’t see how I can,” Steve said as he pulled on his parachute.

“These guys come from legends, they’re basically gods,” Nat warned Steve.

“There’s only one God ma’am. And I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.” Steve quipped before jumping out.

“Shit!” Nat said as she flipped the switch to shut the ramp.

“Relax Auntie Nat.” I smiled, before unbuckling my seat and making my way up to the front of the jet. “It’s all gonna be ok.”

“I hope so kiddo.” Nat grit her teeth before looking down at where I was standing next to her seat. My appearance was enough to make her smile.

“I’m always right remember?” I rolled my eyes before realizing Nat was making the face that most people make when they see something adorable. “You do realize that I’m not actually this young right? Cause I’m still me, just in a younger body.

Nat nodded, tearing her eyes away from mine. I turned to the passenger seat next to Nat and I began my attempt to crawl my way into the seat, ignoring the whispered noises of how cute Nat thought it looked. I managed to pull myself into the seat after a few attempts. I seriously hated having to get used to the lack of strength and size in my appendages. We waited a few minutes before Tony announced their return to the jet. I turned around to watch them reenter. Tony flew Steve back in. Steve looked unnerved and Tony’s armor was sparking a little bit from the jolt he had received earlier. Thor arrived with Loki who looked like Thor flying him, had not been his first choice. Tony looked at where I had been sitting previously before whipping his head around, clearly panicked at my vacant seat. When he looked up however, I saw the tension leave his shoulders and his face plate lifted up. I flipped onto my stomach and lowered myself to the floor, once again ignoring the chorus of “awwww’s” that rose in the air around me with only Loki and Tony remaining silent. I rushed over to Tony who lifted me up gently to carry me on his hip.

“How was Shakespeare in the park?” I smirked. I noted the looks of bewilderment on Thor and Steve’s faces.

“Nothing special.” Tony shook his head softly, smiling as he did so.

“Can I say hi?” I did my best puppy dog eyes, which definitely worked better when I looked like a toddler. Tony rolled his eyes before turning and gesturing to Thor.

“Thor, this is Lauren, my daughter,” Tony said quickly before moving to pull me away.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Lady Lauren.” Thor nodded his head towards me.

“We’ve met before.” I tilted my head toward him with a smile on my face. “It wasn’t exactly an in-depth meeting, but you’ve met me before.”

“I’m fairly certain I would remember meeting someone as adorable as you,” Thor said gently. I knew he only meant it that way due to my current appearance. Behind Thor, Loki looked disgusted.

“Alright, that’s enough of that.” Loki huffed out before waving his hands at me. A green light flashed over me, and Tony dropped me in shock.

I stood up rubbing my behind. I went to ask what that was for, but no words came out. I looked up at the people around me who stared at me in shock realizing they no longer towered over me like giants. A smile split across my face as I pumped my fist in the air.

‘Yes!’ I was back to normal. I looked at Thor and Steve who both looked dumbfounded. I waved at them before turning away to go sit with Nat at the front of the jet.

“Damn it,” Nat swore when she saw me. “I knew I should have gotten a picture when I had the chance.”

I looked at her, crossing my arms as I sat in the passenger seat. I tapped my wrist asking her what our ETA was. She looked down before responding.

“We are arriving right now.” Nat pursed her lips. I simply nodded my head waiting as we landed on the deck of the Helicarrier.

I stood up and made my way to the back, ignoring Steve and Thor who were still looking at me weirdly. I walked over to Loki and sat down. Tony made a noise, but I held up my hand to silence him. I looked at Loki before beginning to sign that he and I were not done discussing things. Loki smiled smugly.

“No worries Darling, I won’t be going anywhere without you,” Loki said loudly enough for the others to hear him.

“Darling?!” I heard all of them shout with varying degrees of anger, shock, and disgust coloring their individual voices. I rolled my eyes at their reactions.

I then made a point of gesturing to my bracelet/cuffs gesturing that I wanted them removed.

“Must I?” Loki breathed out. I raised an eyebrow as a look of severity, that McGonagall would be proud of, filled my features. “Oh well, I suppose that would be fine.”

I smiled as the cuffs vanished from my wrists. The wrist that had originally been chained to the wall felt raw, so I began rubbing at it trying to soothe the irritated skin. I waited a split second until the agitation subsided before raising the hand and projecting an image into it. As a small scene of a dancer glided across my hand, I smiled a sigh of relief. I closed my hand, disrupting and removing the tiny illusion. I looked up to see everyone except Tony staring at me in wonder.

“Relax boys. We can discuss this later, but right now other things need to take place.” I projected cautiously into their minds, grateful that they were focused on me and not rippling with strong emotions. Getting stuck inside someone’s head was the last thing I needed.

“She’s right,” Tony smirked, clearly thrilled to be in the know. “Let's get a move on Capsicle. You too Point Break.”

I smiled at Tony. I stood up as the ramp lowered and S.H.I.E.L.D agents flooded the opening of the jet, to secure Loki. I watched as they marched him away, his smile growing as they did.

“Come on Nosebleed.” Tony gently patted my shoulder. “We’ve got some catching up to do.”

Tony began to leave the Quinn jet. I took a deep breath before gathering enough courage to follow him.

‘Ok kids, this is where it gets complicated.’ I thought to myself, quoting Amy Pond. ‘Allons-y.’

Notes:

Wooo! What a ride! Ok I'm a little nervous about this one but I had a ton of fun writing it. Also 1000 hits!!!! Holy shit! y'all are amazing! I can't wait to hear your thoughts about this chapter. Until next time y'all.

Chapter 16

I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I entered the conference room of the Helicarrier, I had multiple ideas running through my head, but being tackled by an incoming hug and then dogpiled certainly wasn’t one of them. I was on the floor, and it hurt.

“You’re okay!!!” The body on top of me cried out in relief. “We feared the worst when he took you.”

I started to sit up intent on pushing my ‘assailant’ off of me, but I didn’t get the chance as more weight was added. Another person. Great. The second person said nothing, and I wasn’t sure who all was on top of me, but breathing was starting to become difficult. My arms were pinned to my sides as I started to struggle attempting to remove the people currently piled on top of me, but it wasn’t working. In addition, due to the miracle of the silencing charm, no one could hear me struggling to breathe.

I strained against the weight to almost no avail, when suddenly I felt relief. I lay on the floor gasping. I looked around to see that both Thor and Steve had pulled my exuberant welcome mat off of me. As I started to regain oxygen I realized who the members of the two-man dogpile had been. Maria Hill and Phil Coulson. I pushed myself to a sitting position before standing up and looking at the two of them and smiling. I didn’t know they cared that much. It warmed my heart to see them so relieved and excited although I felt a little weird as I had never seen them be anything less than professional. I signaled for Thor and Steve to let them go, they weren’t trying to hurt me. As the two of them approached me for the second time, they were slower, less likely to accidentally kill me by squishing me to death.

I pulled them both into a hug that I hoped conveyed my feelings to them. When I pulled away I could see Maria’s eyes sparkling and Phil had started to sniff a little. At a cough from behind them, the two separated from me and began making excuses as to things they needed to be doing before then running from the room. I laughed a little to myself, shaking my head at how ridiculous they were acting. Of course, I was fine. Loki wasn’t going to kill me. I looked up to see the majority of the Avengers staring at me like I was insane. I gestured for them to take their seats around the room as we had a meeting to conduct. A moment later, Maria returned looking much more composed as she approached the team before turning on the live security feed of Loki’s cell. Most of the team sat around the table, watching the scene play out. I was in the background of the room mouthing the entire dialogue. As the scene played out, I watched the faces around the room, getting to see the reactions to Loki and Fury that the movie never showed. I watched the scene play out with no changes to dialogue, and I smiled in relief as it would seem the changes from before were very minor. That meant less for me to worry about. As the feed vanished from the table, Banner looked up. I hadn’t met him yet, but I was excited.

“He really grows on you doesn’t he?” Banner joked. I smiled as I stood up to walk behind Thor who was at the head of the table.

“Loki’s going to drag this out.” Steve looked up from the table and over to Thor. “So, Thor, what’s his play?”

“He has an army called the Chitauri. They are not of Asgard, or any world known.” Thor said grimly. I had made sure the rest of the team was able to see me mouthing every word that had been spoken at the exact moment it occurred. I hadn’t had the chance to mess with their heads yet, and I was thrilled at my first real chance to show off. “He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.”

“An army?” Steve said ignoring my antics. “From outer space?”

“So, he’s building another portal.” Banner hadn’t seen me yet and I couldn’t wait till he did. “That’s what he needs Erik Selvig for.”

“Selvig?” Thor said with concern. I had officially caught Nat’s attention. She cracked up for a split second before schooling her face into a state of impassivity.

“He’s an astrophysicist.” Banner offered helpfully.

“He’s a friend,” Thor said despondently.

“Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours.” Nat covered her hand with her mouth. She was really trying not to laugh with respect to our current situation.

“I wanna know why Loki let us take him,” Steve said with determination. “He’s not leading an army from here.”

“I don’t think we should be focusing on Loki,” Banner said. “That guy’s brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him.”

It was at this point that I finally caught Banner’s eye. It was show time. When Thor began to speak, I was no longer just mouthing his words, I was now mimicking his movements and facial expressions in full.

“Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother.” Thor warned Banner.

“He killed eighty people in two days.” Nat was struggling to keep a straight face.

“He’s adopted.” Thor offered in an attempt to redeem his relationship with Loki.

“Ok, hold on. I have to say something.” Banner held up his hand as his eyebrows pinched together as he looked directly at me. “Who is she and what is she doing?”

“That would be Lauren.” Nat’s resolve finally broke, and she started to smile. “She does that sometimes. The whole mimicry thing, I mean.”

I tilted my head to the left and did my best idol pose. I popped one leg behind me and threw both hands in the air to make peace signs next to my face as I smiled at Banner. Thor at this point had turned around trying to figure out what I had done, but I had intentionally been behind him for my little joke.

“Actually, Dr. Banner poses a really good question. This isn’t the first time she’s done something weird.” Steve piped up. I dropped from my idol pose to give him an unamused look. I hated being called weird. “I want answers about her, and I think we all should get to hear them.”

“Yeah.” Nat winced. “You might want to focus on an apology first. Lauren doesn’t like to be called names.” Nat glanced at me nervously. “She has all the answers, and she doesn’t share with people who have insulted her.”

I walked over to where Nat was sitting and pulled her into a hug. It wasn’t her fault, and I wasn’t angry I just couldn’t speak up for myself.

“My apologies ma’am.” Steve held up his hands in a show of peace. “I meant no offense.”

I smiled at Steve before tapping the table to bring up a keypad.

“None taken, but in the future maybe don’t call me weird. Normality is subjective.” I typed out. “Now as far as what I’ve done that you contribute to abnormality, it all boils down to one simple fact. I have unique capabilities that I’ve been developing for the last five years.”

“Capabilities? You mean powers?” Banner asked.

“In a manner of speaking, yes. However, not all of my abilities are of a supernatural nature. For instance, I am quite capable with weaponry thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D. training.” I paused to take in the reactions of the room. Thor didn’t seem to have much of a reaction, unlike Banner and Steve who appeared somewhat unnerved. “Relax boys, you have nothing to worry about from me at this time. My powers haven’t even fully developed. Luckily, I have a rudimentary understanding and timeline of what those new abilities might be and when they might appear.”

“At this time?” Banner asked nervously.

“Do I have to worry about anything you could do?” Steve eyed me warily.

“Captain, realistically speaking, you will always have to be on guard with me.” I met his gaze grimly. “In an ideal world, my answer would be no, however, if the world was ideal there would be no evil nor any battles to fight, physical or otherwise. I have to face the possibility of a time in which something goes wrong. That could be anything from a power that arises, and I can’t control, to an emotional trauma that sends my powers haywire, even to the possibility of someone brainwashing me and controlling my actions.”

“That isn’t going to happen kiddo.” I felt Nat’s hand on my shoulder. “None of us would ever let that happen to you, any of it.”

I smiled up at Nat weakly before turning back to type.

“Auntie Nat, you can’t guarantee the future.” I felt tears begin to fill my eyes and stream down the sides of my face. “I already know what’s to come, and I intend to make certain changes to save as many people from a horrific fate, as I can. But there is no guarantee that I will succeed. And if I fail to save someone that I love, I have to bear that failure on my heart and soul, conscious that I failed. And I know my emotions well enough to recognize how cataclysmic a meltdown from such an occurrence would be.” I felt a set of arms around my shoulders from my other side. I looked to see Tony had entered the room. “I hope that this won’t happen. Truly. I do. But I also have to be realistic about the number of factors that could cause failure. So, please. Don’t promise me that.”

“Too bad kiddo,” Tony smirked in my ear as he read my words. “I’m gonna live forever.”

I knew he was joking but I wasn’t able to stop my reaction. The fear filled me. My breathing changed to hyperventilation as the scene of his death filled my head. Tony registered my reaction, and I could see my face reflected on the table. I had gone completely white, and my pupils were dilated to an extreme. I was terrified of failure, especially where Tony was concerned.

“Hey kiddo, relax I was just kidding.” I could hear the anxiousness flooding Tony’s voice as he spoke. My hands started to shake, and Tony redirected me to fully face him. “Kid breathe. In. Out. Ok, just breath with me. In and out.”

I was vaguely aware of the others in the background. Nat’s hand rubbing up and down my back in a soothing pattern, Steve standing cautiously as he tried to figure out what was happening, Banner backing away from me; most likely afraid that I might trigger the Hulk; and Thor getting ready to do whatever he had to.

“Lauren.” Tony’s voice drew me back to the present. “I need you to breathe, ok? You’re glowing kid and I don’t know what that means.”

Glowing. I looked down at my hands. They were glowing a light purple that was getting deeper and held a violent sort of brilliance.

‘Shit!’

I launched into action pushing Tony off of me and moving away from Nat’s hands. I took in the room one more time. The faces around me were filled with confusion, fear, and determination. I couldn’t risk them. My tears began to flow freely down my face as I tried to control my breathing and calm down, but the purple light was making that difficult. Tony was starting to approach me, intent on helping, but he couldn’t touch me. If I was right, my anxiety had triggered the abilities of the power stone, and I knew what that did to people. The color was getting worse. My mind raced a mile a minute, trying to find a solution.

I needed a shut-off and I needed it now. Then it hit me.

‘Loki!’

I held up my hand to Tony and shook my head slowly. I swallowed thickly before mouthing to him “Don’t try to stop me.”

I squeezed my eyes shut to focus before I snapped them back open and jumped to where I knew Loki would be. The image of Tony running to stop me, his hand outstretched in an attempt to grab me, burned itself into my mind.

When I opened my eyes again I was in his cell and the purple had become more agitated.

“What a surprise…” Loki started, his back to me. He turned around. “How nice to…what’s wrong?”

I was relieved to see how quickly he had recognized what was wrong.

“I need your help.” My voice cracked in a whimper. Pain had started to fill my body. I wasn’t ready for this power and if it unleashed now…I dreaded to think what might happen. “The cuffs! Please tell me you have them.”

Loki wasted no time in pulling them from thin air. He was in front of me in the blink of an eye, but he hesitated before he could put them on.

“Are you sure, Pet?” Loki looked into my eyes, his filled with uncertainty.

“I don’t know what else to do.” I sobbed. “This is my last option before I try something drastic. Please Loki.”

Loki gently lifted my right arm and latched the cuff to it. Almost instantly the glow dimmed. Loki put the second cuff on my other wrist and the glow vanished entirely. I breathed a sigh of relief.

‘It worked.’

Just as the relief came, my adrenaline faded away. My legs crumpled underneath me. Loki managed to catch me before I could crash to the ground. He swept my legs up and carried me to the bench in his cell. He cradled me gently as he sat us down.

“You know once they figure out where you’ve disappeared off to, they are going to come for you,” Loki whispered.

“They will certainly try.” I smiled back but it was weak. My mind was still resting on the fact that I had come so close to killing everyone I loved in this world, because of a small panic attack. “My emotions are proving to be somewhat dangerous to have.”

I refused to look at Loki.

“I somehow doubt they could be anywhere near as volatile as mine could be.” Loki joked. “I mean seriously my jealousy got my brother banished and my rage put my father into the Odin Sleep.”

“Yes but my panic attack nearly obliterated this entire ship and all the people on it,” I whispered back in shame.

“I will concede the point, my dear, however, you know when to stop which is why you won’t let your emotions hurt anyone.” Loki pulled me tight to his chest. “That is why your emotions aren’t dangerous to have.”

“For now.” I buried my face in his chest, content to wallow in my misery. And for a brief moment, I felt safe enough to allow myself to drift off, held in the arms of the man who was supposed to be my enemy. A man who I now realized, against all odds, I had fallen for. No more were the faint remnants of a childhood crush. It no longer mattered if he was lying to me. And I knew, then and there, that deep down in my heart, I would never be able to run away from my feelings. He had already owned my body, mind, and soul. Now, of its own volition, my heart followed. I had completely fallen for the lonely god.

*********

Loki waited until he was sure the sleeping girl in his arms was fully asleep before speaking.

“I swear for now and all time, I will never love another. I am yours until the day comes when you wish for me to leave your side.” He whispered into her ear.

It was too low for anyone to hear, even the girl. But for one brief moment, the emerald pendant hanging from the chain around her throat glowed brilliantly with the near-silent vow. Now all he needed to do was wait.

Notes:

Happy early Valentine's Day from me to all my readers!!! It's fitting that this chapter should come out this week. I hope y'all enjoyed and as always I look forward to your thoughts about the chapter!!! Until next time y'all!!!

Chapter 17

I was startled awake by a sudden tremor that wracked the Helicarrier. Barton’s assault had begun. I started to attempt to move only to realize my entire body was stuck in an awkward position and movement was agonizing. I let out a groan from the ache and the structure supporting me suddenly moved.

“I shouldn’t be surprised that you refused to wake for anything save the sounds of something dangerous.” A low voice chuckled above my head. I winced as I pulled my face away from the wall of fabric that had provided darkness. After the glare faded from my vision, I looked up to see Loki smirking down at me. “But I really thought after your refusal to wake even when a conversation took place around you, that you might never wake.”

“Lo-ki.” I felt exhausted. I hated waking up before I was ready, but I knew my body wouldn’t force me from slumber without reason. It had been known to happen on days when I had an exam or a job interview. “What’s going on?”

“A rescue.” Loki sat me up gently.

My mind was still in a sleepy fog. I looked around my current surroundings, trying to use context clues to fill in the blanks. It took a split second to recognize my surroundings. I was in a cell. I shook my head trying to wake it further, it would do me no good if I was too slow in a scenario that required speed. Then I heard something sound out from a distance. It was bone-chilling and unique enough that even from quite a ways away.

“ROOOOOAAAR!!!” I shuddered as the Hulk’s iconic roar ripped through the air.

That was when I realized what was happening. Loki’s escape from the Helicarrier, that was happening now which meant Phil was supposed to die. I knew technically I could let events take place as they were supposed to since Fury would move heaven and earth to revive Phil from the dead. I, however, had decided against letting this particular event unfold, since Phil didn’t need to suffer T.A.H.I.T.I., and I could easily slip him the location and drug name to save Daisy/Skye when he needed it. There was a sudden pitch in the direction of the room, and I realized that Clint had most likely just knocked out the second turbine.

I struggled to push myself to a standing position. I felt arms supporting me from under my armpits. Loki was helping me. My heart squeezed a little, but I ignored it. My revelation changed nothing of what I needed to do. We made our way across the cell to the exit just as the heavy footfalls of our liberators arrived. The nameless men wasted no time in opening the door and we exited. Loki moved us to the console as quickly as he could before setting up the illusion of himself escaping. As the room started to right itself once more I heard a heavy thumping heading in our direction. The door opened to reveal Thor. Loki’s illusion did its trick as it had in the movie. Thor lunged at it intent on stopping Loki from escaping.

“NO!” Thor yelled as he launched through the air, realizing too late that he had been tricked once more by Loki’s magic. The cell door shut behind Thor as the illusions dissipated, revealing the true location of the other occupants of the room. Loki hovered his hand over my wrists and once more dissipated the cuffs then he made sure I was fully propped up by the console before he turned to taunt Thor.

“Are you ever not going to fall for that?” Loki said condescendingly. I shifted slightly trying to gain enough muscle movement to walk where I needed to. Loki tilted his head back to me. “Do you need my help?” Concern bled into his tone as he spoke to me. “Say the word and I will do it.”

“Just trying to stand and walk on my own.” I grit my teeth before catching Thor’s eye. His face screamed what he was thinking; that I had betrayed him. I tore my gaze from his, before pushing myself away from the console. I managed a few steps without falling. Satisfied I looked back to Loki who was hovering his arms clearly positioned to catch me. “See. Willpower.”

I made my way slowly from behind the console area to the railing across from the wall where I knew Phil was supposed to land after getting stabbed. Now I just needed to time this right.

“How could you betray us?!” Thor screamed at me, hitting the glass wall of the cell with his hammer, and cracking it slightly. The supports holding the cell in place loosened, threatening to drop him if he repeated the action. Thor jumped slightly both confused at the lack of damage his attack had caused and slight uneasiness from the sudden shift in height, however small it was.

Loki checked to make sure I wasn’t about to fall before waltzing back over to the console.

“The humans think us immortal.” Loki smiled mischievously as he lifted the cover to hit the button that would drop Thor 30,000 feet. “Should we test that?”

A dull thud resounded as Loki’s backup dropped to the floor revealing Phil.

“Move away please,” Phil said calmly, aiming his weapon at Loki, gesturing for him to step away from the console. Loki backed away from the button with his hands in the air. “You like this?” I began to shift my weight praying that I would be fast enough. There was still some distance between us. “We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer.” I took a deep breath and started building tension in my muscles to launch myself. “Even I don’t know what it does.” I darted forward. “Do you wanna find out?”

I crashed into Phil, knocking him to the side. My right arm was outstretched as I did so, and the scepter narrowly missed Phil. Instead, it skewered my shoulder. I had miscalculated a little bit, while Phil would remain mostly fine, I had managed to spear myself.

The pain was agonizing. I could feel the ripping sensation as the blade tore through my flesh and muscles before making contact with and breaking bone on its way to its immediate exit on the front side of my shoulder. I bit back the scream even though I was sure it too would be silent. Loki appeared in front of me while I felt hands on my back, barely grazing the edges of the wound where the scepter was still present. I had never been one for focusing on my agony, so I went for humor instead.

“Oh, look at that. I’ve been impaled.” I was broadcasting my thoughts to everyone in the room. I attempted to chuckle slightly at my Olaf impression earning myself a sharp throb in my shoulder as it reacted to the slight movement.

“What were you thinking?” The Loki behind me hissed. The one in front of me was smiling sadly like he was trying not to show me his true emotions.

“I wasn’t…” I was forced to stop as the spear shifted slightly sending a new wave of agony through my shoulder.

“Clearly.” The Loki behind me bit out. “I have to remove this so I can heal it. It’s going to hurt like Hel, but I need you to relax your muscles and keep still so that the damage doesn’t increase.”

“Are you able to heal broken bones?” I winced as the scepter shifted again. I looked at the Loki in front of me, afraid to hear his response.

“Did one of your bones break?!” The Loki before me yelped.

“Shattered feels like it might be a more accurate description.” I watched as dread filled his face. “If the look on your face is anything to go off of, then I’m gonna go with probably not.”

“I can handle skin and to some extent, the muscles, but bones are much more complicated.” Loki swallowed thickly. “I can’t guarantee success if I try.”

“It’s fine.” I held up my hand to stop him from continuing. “Right now, the blade is the only thing keeping me from bleeding out. So, we leave it for now till I have enough energy to fix it myself. Let’s go.”

I could tell both Loki’s wanted to protest but they remained silent as they knew we needed to move. As we moved, I used a little energy to teleport Phil away from the room and into the ship’s control room. I couldn’t risk Loki using a third duplicate to kill him while I wasn’t looking. Thor watched our slow progression, silent from what I could only presume was shock. As we passed I saw a third Loki appear preparing to smack the button, so I decided to distract him. I intentionally tripped, loosening the blade slightly before it lodged deeper into my shoulder. I let out a mental scream of agony and the Loki who stood over the console, ran to my side, his goal long forgotten. Together the three of us exited the room with two Loki’s supporting me from either side and the third keeping the spear from shifting too much.

It wasn’t far to the jet, but for me, the agony made it feel like an eternity. I did my best to separate myself from reality in a weak attempt to dull the pain. I even reached the point of an inner monologue, narrating my current events, that Percy Jackson would have been proud of.

‘If you’ve never experienced the agony of being stabbed in the back through skin, muscle, and bone, I would highly recommend it. There is nothing quite like it.’

Loki’s hand brushed by my forehead drawing me out of my slight reverie. I tilted my head to meet his gaze. My vision was slightly hazy from the pain and my body was starting to feel slightly overheated. Loki said something to me, but the sound was severely muffled. His face was slightly blurrier than I remembered it being.

“I don’t feel so good,” I whispered as I started to lean more on the Loki’s holding me up to support me. Everything felt heavy. “Loki I’m scared.”

And then everything went dark.

*********

It was so dark and cold. And yet I felt nothing. It was almost peaceful.

“Who are you?” A sharp voice rang out behind me. I whirled around to see no one was there.

“Who’s there?” I asked the voice looking around trying to find the source of the voice.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me.” The voice sang out.

“I…” I made to tell her my name, but nothing came out. I had no answer. I didn’t know who I was. I probably should have panicked or something but all I felt was peace. “I don’t know.”

“That’s a shame.” The voice whispered next to me. “But you will.”

I stopped looking around me and waited.

“You’re me aren’t you?” I whispered to the voice in the dark.

“Something like that.” The voice whispered back. “Even without your memories, you’re still fairly intuitive.”

“Why can’t I see you?” I closed my eyes.

“It’s too early for that.” The voice was right next to my ear. “You aren’t asking the right questions.”

“Why can I hear you?” I cleared my throat. Anxiety broke its way through the peaceful sensation to trickle it way down my spine. Or maybe it was fear.

“Better.” The voice said approvingly. “You could always hear me the difference is, now you’re listening.”

“Why wasn’t I listening to you before?” The voice was growing more distant. I needed answers.

“Most likely because you weren’t half-dead.” The voice chuckled. “That tends to be the eternal noise canceller of my voice.”

“So, I’m dead?” My voice squeaked out. The world around me was starting to gain color and shapes in what I had assumed was a vast pool of nothingness and permanent darkness.

“Not yet.” The voice whispered. “Currently I am keeping you alive. Do you remember anything now?”

I started to think about what I wanted to know and just like our surroundings, my mind was starting to rid itself of the fog that swamped my memories. The details were vague, but I could feel the general emotions and physical sensations that went with the information I sought. My shoulder was screaming at me. How had I not noticed that?!

“Ow!” I yelped grasping my shoulder as the agony took over all forms of thought.

“That’s what I thought.” The voice laughed. I felt a cold sensation covering my shoulder easing the pain. “This should help you for now. It won’t last forever but it will allow you to do what you need to do. Just try not to overexert yourself. This will only aid you as long as you have energy, which I am also temporarily restoring as you have much you need to do on the other side.”

“I have so many questions.” My head was starting to hurt, and I was starting to make out what certain shapes were.

“And I wish I could answer them for you but I’m afraid we’ve run out of time.” The voice sounded somewhat sad. The voice was fading away slowly.

“Wait who are you?” I started looking around again thinking I might be able to see the source of the voice now.

“You already know.” The voice said quietly before disappearing with the last of the shadows.

My chest felt warm, and I looked down.

I was glowing.

Orange.

*********

I bolted upright. Had I been dreaming? I ran my hand through my hair before looking around. I was in Stark Towers. Someone had laid me on Tony’s couch. No not someone; Loki. I began looking around to spot him only to realize he had been behind my head.

“How long was I out?” I asked him, not fully ready to turn around and face him.

“The entirety of the flight here.” His voice sounded strained.

“What happened?” I tilted my head towards him without looking.

“The scepter dislodged itself from you.” Loki’s hand ghosted over the back of my right shoulder.

“Dislodged?” I turned to look back at Loki. His choice of wording had been very interesting.

“In a manner of speaking yes.” Loki’s face was pale, and his eyes looked slightly haunted. “To be more precise, the scepter moved itself through your body without further harming you till it came all the way out and fell to the floor.”

“The scepter phased out of me?” I smiled slightly. The nerd in me had always wondered if the stone had those powers naturally or developed them when it became attached to Vision. Now I knew. “Cool!”

“I should be shocked that you aren’t at all alarmed by this but at this rate, I’ve quit trying to predict your reactions.” Loki gave me a small smile. “In addition, your wound healed itself.”

I pursed my lips. I couldn’t exactly tell Loki about my suspicions from my dream. But I couldn’t exactly lie to him either. What had the voice said? She was sort of me, right? That could work.

“I know.” I looked him dead in the eye. “I did that. I fell into a sort of restorative coma to heal the wound more quickly.”

That wasn’t exactly a lie. It just wasn’t the full truth.

“I see.” Loki narrowed his eyes. I looked away wishing to avoid further discussion.

I happened to choose the window to look out of when I realized that a small blur was headed our way, and a smile broke out across my face.

“My dad’s almost here.” I sang out. I bit my bottom lip trying to contain the smile. I turned back to look at Loki. “Have fun!”

I stood up from the couch and made my way over to the bar.

“And where exactly do you think you’re going?” Loki called out behind me.

“To get a drink. Duh.” I rolled my eyes as I grabbed a glass from behind the counter. “Trust me I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Loki looked at me suspiciously before making his way outside to give his ‘greeting’ to Tony. I made myself my favorite beverage before going to sit back down on the couch facing the window. This was going to be fun!

Notes:

Happy International Fanworks Day!!! I know two chapters in one week but I just knew I had to release a chapter in celebration. Sorry to disappoint expectations regarding the reactions to our girl winding up in Loki's cell. But for an explanation, since I didn't have a place to explain it in the fic, Loki used his magic to hide Lauren when she popped into his cell so no one outside of Thor and Phil would even know she was there. And even then I don't think Phil would say anything since he'd probably pick up on the fact she saved his life and Thor is still trying to process what he saw. As always I look forward to hearing from y'all. Until next time y'all!!!

Chapter 18

I watched as Tony landed on the platform and his armor was stripped from him. It was always more fascinating to see these events play out in front of me rather than on a screen. Tony began looking around as he walked in. I was slightly puzzled by this since Tony was supposed to make eye contact with Loki and have a miniature staring contest, but this time Tony seemed more preoccupied looking for someone or something else. I didn’t have to puzzle over this for long as Tony’s eyes lit up as soon as they met mine.

“Lauren!” Tony exclaimed, relief washing over his features before being replaced with anger. “Where the hell have you been?! You just up and vanished on us! No one knew where you were and what was with the purple glowy thing you did?!”

I cringed a little before standing up to attempt to communicate with Tony when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back to see Loki with a dark expression on his face. As I was looking I realized his eyes held more of the green I remembered from a year ago and only a hint of the abnormal blue that I knew resulted from the usage of the scepter. Before I had a chance to think more on that, Loki opened his mouth to speak.

“I would have you rethink your tone before speaking to her like that again.” Loki’s tone was soft, almost to the point of gentleness, but I didn’t miss the change in his facial features as his eyes narrowed and the set of his mouth became a thin line.

“Excuse me?!” Tony’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline as a look of incredulity took over his features. “Who the hell are you to tell me how to parent my own child?! And for another thing, why do you care how I speak to her Mr. World Domination?”

I cringed as Tony’s tone went from slightly loud to bordering on yelling at Loki. I felt Loki begin to advance on Tony and my eyes widened in panic. This was not how this scene was supposed to play out.

“Who am I?!” Loki growled as he began his approach, his features turning downright menacing. “Who am I?! What didn’t she tell you?”

Loki began to smile, but it wasn’t the mischievous smile I loved, it was cruel and angry, and paired with the terrifying look in his eyes, it bordered on mania. I put myself in front of Loki with both hands on his chest as I tried to push him back whilst shaking my head repeatedly mouthing ‘No!’ Loki looked down at me again and for one second his eyes were the alien blue of the scepter before they calmed, returning to the green I loved and truly saw me, and his gaze softened. My heart was hammering in my chest. I was still wild with terror. Something touched my face, startling me before I realized it was Loki’s hand.

“Breathe Darling.” He whispered to me. “Everything is alright. Please don’t cry.”

I realized as he spoke that my vision had narrowed so I only saw him in the midst of my panic, as I relaxed I realized my hands were faintly glowing again with the same purple as before. I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on breathing trying to calm down and make the glow disappear. After a minute I felt the nervousness leave my body and when I peeked, my hands were no longer outlined in the soft purple they had been merely moments before. I took another deep breath and turned around to face Tony knowing he would have things to say. It was then that I realized a barrier had encased Loki and I keeping Tony away, which was why he hadn’t charged at either of us yet. He was, however, standing outside of the barrier hitting it, trying to get in. Whether it was to help me or to attack Loki, I had no clue, but I knew the barrier had to have been my doing because the coloration of it was very reminiscent of Violet’s force fields in The Incredibles. I took a deep breath and imagined the barrier popping like a bubble. I smiled when it worked but only briefly because Tony was staring at me like I was a monster.

I raised my hands and opened my mouth ready to explain but no sound had come out. I had completely forgotten about Loki’s stupid spell. Whatever I might have said however was gone when Tony opened his mouth.

“Are you with him?” His voice was quiet, and all expression had left his face. “One mishap and you just abandon us? Your family?!” Tony’s voice raised and anger began to creep back into his eyes. “Or was this all a game to you? Did we not matter to begin with?”

Tears began to flow from my face in earnest as his voice took the tone that it had held at the beginning of Endgame when he had said “I ‘needed’ you.” It was like a knife to the heart. I looked out to the window and realized I saw one of the Chitauri soldiers fly by and I knew if I stayed here Tony might not make it to the battle and I couldn’t sit around and wallow in my feelings. There would be time for that later. I let the tears stream down my face as I summoned my suit. It was different from the one I had used when I first met Tony. I had it melded to my skin with the slight pull I had over reality. My suit was mostly dark purple with veins of teal running through at various points. I pushed Loki’s hands away before walking over to the window ignoring the two men behind me. If I wanted an outlet for my pain I couldn’t have asked for a better one. I let myself feel the distress enough so that a slight glow returned to my fists at which point I shifted into my fighter’s stance pulled back my right fist and let it fly, shattering the glass in one hit. I heard a gasp behind me, but I didn’t wait to see who it was as I pulled the hood of my suit over my head, summoned my favorite dagger to my hand, and jumped out the window. I briefly heard a startled yell behind me before I pulled my mind together and teleported to the back of one of the Chitauri fighters flying down and plunged my dagger into his back.

A strange sensation filled me as I felt the life leave his body and I knew in that moment I could speak again.

“Alright fuckers.” I let a savage grin fill my face. “Let’s do this.”

*********

I was fighting by myself on the ground level of this attack for only a few minutes, but I let my feelings guide me as my movements flowed like a hurricane. One Chitauri after another falling to the fury of my blade. With each strike, a different thought would flurry to my mind fueling my agony and allowing me to continue fighting with reckless abandon. The look on Tony’s face. The betrayal in Thor’s eyes. The brief moment when Loki looked at me like he couldn’t recognize me. The greenish tinge Bruce’s skin took when I started glowing. The distrust in Steve’s eyes every time he looked at me after we first met. I took every thought that entered my head and attacked the Chitauri soldiers like I blamed them. I teleported anywhere I saw the Chitauri gathered in an attempt to protect the people until backup arrived.

I heard a loud crashing sound somewhere behind me and knew that Nat, Clint, and Steve were about to enter the fray. For one brief second, I relaxed and then I felt as something pierced through my lower abdomen. One soldier had snuck up on me and stabbed me through the gut.

‘Well, that sucks.’ I thought before using what little reality manipulation I had to make it go away until I could get it looked at.

“Lauren!” I heard a voice call out to me from behind and I turned to see Clint jogging up to me before pulling me into a bone-crushing hug. “Where did you go? Nat and I were really worried?” Clint pulled back to look at me before a slightly guilty look filled his face. “Wait sorry. You won’t be able to tell me. Don’t worry about it now. You can write it down for me later.”

“Or I could just tell you.” A small smile filled my face as I caught several shocked expressions. “Long story short, I broke my curse, Tony’s mad at me cause he found me with Loki and thinks I’m working with the enemy, he said stuff that upset me so I’m out here to do some community service to help my anger issues.”

Nat recovered first.

“Glad to hear that kiddo.” She smiled at me before handing me an earpiece. “But you should probably let your Dad know you’re alright.”

“Aw! Was Fury worried about me?” I said teasingly. I pushed the device into my ear expecting to hear Nick Fury’s angry voice filter through.

“No. But I was.” A voice said from behind me. I whirled around to find Tony looking at me with an extremely guilty expression on his face. “Thor could you cover the skies for me, I’m gonna need a minute.”

“It would be my honor, Metal Man.” Thor’s voice said into the earpiece as he arrived on the scene. I could see lightning beginning to arc through the sky.

“Tony, I…” I whispered softly as pain began to fill my heart once more. I wanted more than anything to tell him what had happened. To explain. But before I could Tony had pulled me into a tight hug that was only a little uncomfortable due to his suit.

“You’re a pain in the ass. You know that, right?” Tony chuckled into my ear. I nodded faintly before burying myself in the hug. “This doesn’t fully let you off the hook, kiddo, cause you have a lot of explaining to do. With that in mind, I’m sorry for hurting you. I know you would never do anything to hurt us.”

“I forgive you, Tony.” I smiled as we pulled away from the hug. “Besides we’re family. And family means nobody gets left behind.”

“Did you seriously just quote Lilo and Stitch in the middle of a war zone?” Tony looked at me like I was insane.

“Ohana mother fucker.” I managed to keep a straight face before cracking and letting my giggles through.

“Alright no that’s it.” Tony crossed his arms. “You’re grounded from electronics for a month.”

“Oh no, that sucks.” I feigned horror before the two of us both dissolved into laughter.

“Stark are you done?” Captain America’s stern tone filtered through. “We kinda need some help up top.”

“On it.” Tony’s exuberance faded away in favor of solemnity. He turned to me. “You on the other hand need to go. You can’t stay here it’s too dangerous.”

“Excuse me?!” I crossed my arms as I took a step back to look at him.

“You heard me missy.” I could picture his face under the helmet with one eyebrow raised. “Warzones aren’t for children. You can either go home or I can make you.”

“You can try dad. But you’d have to catch me first. Besides, you need all the help you can get. Enhanced individuals included.” I stepped back up to Tony before going on my tip toes to press a kiss to the side of his mask. “Now go we both have jobs to do.”

I bounced backwards three steps ready to teleport again when I realized I still needed to maintain my energy levels, so I changed directions in favor of burrowing. I tapped my foot on the ground three times as Tony took off. Then the ground swallowed me up and spit me out on the bridge where most of the Avengers were.

As I popped out of the ground I noticed a stray Chitauri headed for Clint. I threw my dagger which landed with a satisfying thunk as it buried itself in the head of the soldier. I knew daggers and knives were great, but I couldn’t afford to make another mistake like earlier, so I summoned a pair of Wakizashi swords before darting back into the fray.

“Nice of you to join us!” Nat shouted over her guns firing.

“Happy to be here Widow, but can you tell my dad that he doesn’t actually have the capability to ground me? He tried to keep me out of the fight.” I smiled back as I ducked low to avoid a spear while bringing my left arm with its short sword parallel to it up in an arc and ridding the Chitauri I was facing of its internal organs.

“Who said I couldn’t ground my own kid?” Tony’s voice said in an amused tone.

“Oh, ya know…just the cosmic entities that gave me the ability to warp all of space and time.” I snickered, whirling around to avoid blaster shots before burrowing to the Chitauri above my head and decapitating it.

“At some point, one of you will have to explain to me what is going on.” Cap’s voice chimed in sounding slightly distressed.

“No problem Cap.” I burrowed over to him just in time to stab another Chitauri that had been dropping down to the field. “Just not on comms that can be heard by unwanted parties.”

As I was saying this I heard the unmistakable rumbling of a motorbike headed our way.

“Hey Dad, Banner’s here.” I grinned.

“Perfect. I’m gonna bring the party to you.” Tony stated as Banner pulled up.

“Well, this all seems…horrible.” Banner got off the bike with a nervous expression.

“I’ve seen worse.” Nat quipped back.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Bruce’s expression turned to guilt.

“No, we could use a little worse,” Nat said gently.

“Oh, will you two quit flirting already!” I shouted as I bounded forward. “Banner you need to suit up.”

Banner started to turn looking to the skies for Tony’s so-called party. As he did so Tony flew around a building with an aggravated Chitauri Leviathan in tow.

“I don’t see how that’s a party,” Nat stated.

“Banner, she’s right,” Cap said ignoring our commentary. “Now might be a good time for you to get a little angry.”

I giggled a little bit before going to stand behind Cap.

“That’s his secret Cap,” I whispered at the same time that Banner said his line. “He’s always angry.”

Banner turned as he walked toward the Leviathan, his body gradually morphing to become the Hulk. As he reached the meeting point he punched the Leviathan breaking all its armor and leaving it exposed to Tony’s attack. The Leviathan exploded all around us showering the street with its blood. Cap shielded Nat and me from the rainfall of gore. As Cap began to give orders, I started scanning the street below for attackers, preparing to jump into the fray as needed.

“And Lauren.” I looked back at Cap realizing I was about to receive my orders. “I want you using your powers to teleport anywhere we can’t reach to protect the people.”

“Sir yes sir!” I shouted as a big grin bloomed across my face. The song Star Spangled Man began playing in the back of my mind. I paused for a second realizing something important, teleportation would drain a lot of energy, something I needed to keep up. “Anyone know where I can find a candy bar or something with a lot of sugar or starch? I need something to give me more energy and quick.”

“I see a vending machine one block away.” Clint was quick with a response.

“Thanks, Hawkeye.” I teleported the rough distance he had suggested and quickly spotted a vending machine filled with soda. Summoning a Dr. Pepper to my hand using the line of sight I had on the machine, I chugged it quickly before crushing the can and tossing it in the trash can. “Alright anyone got eyes on a target I can go for?”

“How about helping out with the flying ones?” I heard Clint let an arrow fly.

“Sure man. Sounds like a blast.” I looked up spotting one zooming directly overhead. I focused my attention on it before teleporting onto the back and taking out the gunner on the back. “Just do me a favor guys…try not to shoot me down.”

I sliced through the pilot before sheathing my short swords and summoning a new pair of daggers. They would be better for short-range combat. Then I was on the move. Constantly making the jump to the next fighter I saw in the air and stabbing as soon as I was on board. As I reached my newest target I realized he was flying at a very familiar building. It took me a second before I recognized it as the home of Norman Osborne in the Maguire series. No wait that wasn’t quite right, because in this universe, Kate Bishop and her family lived there. It was then that I realized the building was still intact. Her father might still be alive. Before I could really think it through I had killed the soldiers I had been piggybacking with and then teleported into what I remembered to be little Kate’s room. She was still in front of her bed, blissfully unaware of the events outside.

“Hey kiddo,” I said startling her.

“Who are you?!” she yelped. I held up my hands in a show of peace before lowering my hood to let her see my face so she would calm down a little knowing I wasn’t some creepy hooded person in her room.

“My name is Lauren and I’m here to get you and your family to safety.” Right as I said that an explosion went off outside her window, rattling the room and scaring poor Kate. She screeched and darted over the bed to my side, seemingly trusting me now that she was scared. I knelt down to look her in the eyes. “I’m gonna get you out of here I promise. But you have to trust me. Can you do that?” The little girl nodded, and I smiled at her gently before raising my hood to hide my face once more. I turned, kneeling once again, and lifted her onto my back. “Ok let’s go.” I ran through the house to her father’s study, not stopping once hoping to move quickly enough. But I was too late. The explosion had happened, and Derek Bishop was nowhere in sight. I saw the Chitauri headed for us and summoned my daggers back to my hands ready to fight if it came down to it, but Clint got there first. I heard a barely audible ‘wow’ over my shoulder and knew Kate had seen Clint’s actions before I turned and ran to find her mother. I heard her mother screaming Kate’s name behind us. I sheathed my daggers before she reached us.

“Mrs. Bishop. I’m here to get you to safety.” I didn’t let her pause to think about anything since I knew her brain was in fight or flight mode. The quickest way to get them to safety would be to teleport, but I had never tried to teleport other living beings before. But I didn’t have a choice but to try. I had to get them out of there, so I held out my hand to her and said, “I need you to grab onto me and don’t let go until I say so.”

Mrs. Bishop didn’t even hesitate to grab my hand. I then closed my eyes and focused on the subway stations and where I wanted to go. I used all of my focus to keep the three of us together before we teleported. When I opened my eyes I could see Mrs. Bishop and I could feel little Kate on my back. As I looked around I realized I had succeeded.

“Mrs. Bishop you’re safe you can let go of my hand now,” I said gently before she gently unlocked her fingers and removed them from my hand. Kneeling once more I let Kate off of my back.

Kate wasted no time in running around to hug her mother. I smiled as I stood up, ready to go.

“Wait!” I felt a hand grab mine. It was Mrs. Bishop. “Who are you?”

I paused before smiling knowing she couldn’t see most of my face.

“Just think of me as your guardian angel.” I had to suppress the giggle before realizing I had one more thing to handle. I knelt down in front of Kate. “Hey, Kate. I’m so proud of you for being such a brave girl today. You were amazing. I just need to ask you one little favor ok?” Kate looked at me with expectant eyes. “Don’t tell anyone who I am ok? My identity needs to be a secret. Think you can do that for me?” Kate nodded. I stood up. “I believe in you, Kate. Keep being a brave girl for me.”

I backed up slowly before waving at them and ignoring the growing crowd around us. Then I turned on my heel and teleported to Stark Tower, where I knew I needed to be.

*********

Re-entering the room, I could see Loki lying in the middle of an impact crater.

“Did you have fun?” I sang out teasingly. Loki lifted his head to glare at me and I was relieved to see all the blue was gone from his eyes. I knelt down next to him before checking his head. “I take it the grape is no longer in control.”

“No, he is not.” Loki pushed himself up on his forearms, wincing slightly.

I tilted my head to the side waiting for Nat to announce she could close the portal. I had had an idea to attempt to prevent Tony from developing PTSD, but it would take a little work.

“What are you planning?” Loki said quietly. He had been watching my face intently.

“Oh, you know, the usual. A one-way trip on the last ride to space.” I smiled weakly before realizing Nat was saying her line. It was time. “See you on the other side.”

I stood up concentrating on my goal.

“What do you…” Loki started but I teleported before he could finish.

With a thud I landed on top of the missile Tony was under. I wrapped my arms around it to maintain my grip.

“What the…?” Tony muttered having felt the weight change.

He had just begun the turn to go into the portal.

“Sorry about this Dad!” I yelled over the wind. Right as we were entering the portal, I used all my focus to teleport him back down to Cap.

Space was freezing, but I was still conscious, and I had a plan. Focusing on all the fears and negative emotions I had been pushing down throughout the battle, I started to glow. I shifted my grip so I could throw the missile. As an aura of purple enveloped me, I used all of my strength, from what I had deemed to be from the power stone, to throw the missile as far as I could so it would hit the mother ship. It also functioned to push me downwards. I was able to see the missile reach its target as an explosion blew up the mothership before my eyes. But unlike in the movie, there was no sound. As my eyes closed I had one thought.

‘In space, no one can hear you scream.’

And then there was darkness.

*********

“Come on kid!!! Breathe!” I could hear someone although the sound was slightly distorted.

“Jarvis?!” Another voice closer to me said sounding slightly panicked.

“I can detect her heartbeat sir although it is faint.” Another voice chimed in, but everything was starting to sound farther and farther away.

Until I heard one sound that scared me shitless.

“RAAAAWWWWR!”

My eyes shot open, and I drew in a sharp breath. I was alive. My eyes darted around to see Thor, Captain America, and Tony above my head.

“Oh my god.” I smiled to myself as my mind came back to me. “Please tell me nobody kissed me.” The Hulk roared once more in victory. “What happened?”

“We won,” Cap said as he looked around in mild amazement.

“Alright yay!!! Hurray! Good job guys.” I tried to maintain a serious face as I stole Tony’s lines. “Let’s just not come in tomorrow. Let’s just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I want to try it.”

Tony covered his mouth with his hand trying to muffle the laughter attempting to escape him. Cap just rolled his eyes.

“We’re not finished yet,” Thor said, his face held a grave expression.

“And then shawarma after,” I stated before letting a giggle burst out of me. Tony helped me to my feet, so I addressed him. “Sorry man someone had to say it. But hey I will still credit you with the shawarma idea.”

I looked at all four men briefly before a sly smile breached my face.

“Race you there.” I teleported before any of them could react.

At the Tower, I realized I was nearing exhaustion, but I still had some energy left. I would be fine. I looked around before realizing Loki was exactly where I left him. I walked over to him before dropping down to sit next to him.

“Hey, hot stuff.” I snickered as I watched the revulsion towards his nickname flit across his before once again becoming a stony mask. “Still want that drink?”

“You are odd for a Midgardian.” Loki’s eyes seemed to be studying my face.

“Nah.” I smiled as I looked back at him. “I’m just riding the adrenaline high that comes with almost dying.”

“You are what?!” Loki’s face dropped to an expression of shock.

“You should see your face.” I cackled as I laughed so hard I could barely breathe. Tears began to stream down my face. “Your reaction was priceless.”

“Interesting.” Loki’s eyes narrowed at me. “Perhaps I should get a firsthand demonstration of what such a face would look like.”

“You want a mirror?” I was still laughing hard. I didn’t have the foresight to see his revenge coming.

“No. I would much rather use you.” My brain had half a second to process his meaning before his hand had threaded itself in my hair. He pulled my head towards him before pulling me into a deep and passionate kiss. My mind went blank as he kissed me, while the rest of me came to life. It was like my body was on fire, the cold of space long forgotten. And then he pulled away before I could even begin to reciprocate. I could feel the stunned look on my face as well as the blush that had begun to heat my face. “Oh yes, I quite like this look.” Loki purred. “I could get used to seeing this.”

“You…you…” My brain was malfunctioning still. As I tried to formulate words I heard someone quietly clear their throat from behind me.

“Ehm.” I turned to see Nat staring at me with a mildly amused expression on her face. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No!” I yelped.

At the same time, Loki responded with “most definitely.”

If at all possible my face went from slightly pink to an open forest fire. I buried my head in my hands as a new set of hands possessively found their way to my waist and pulled me backward. Loki had pulled me backward to sit on his lap. I started squirming to move away because I knew this wouldn’t help matters, but his grip tightened.

“You are not helping!” I hissed at him as my hands moved from my face to pull his arms off of me.

“Who said I was trying to be?” Loki murmured his voice near my ear eliciting a very strong shudder from me. “I’m the God of Mischief, darling, you would do best to remember that.”

When I realized he wasn’t going to let go I resigned myself to relishing in his gentler behavior.

“My family is going to kill you.” I refused to look at him. If he wanted attention then he would have to get it somewhere else.

“They can certainly try darling.” Loki’s breath brushed over the back of my neck, and I realized my hood must have fallen. As I rushed to correct that, my eyes drifted back over to Nat, who was watching us with a semi-delighted expression.

‘How odd.’ I thought before realizing I could hear the approaching sounds of Dad’s suit.

“Last chance to let go,” I whispered to him. Hoping for his sake he would release me while selfishly wishing he would hold me tighter.

“They would have to pry you from my corpse.” His hold tightened on me, and a small sense of satisfaction made its presence known in the back of my mind before returning to the more pressing matter at hand.

Tony flew in the broken window carrying Clint while Thor arrived with Steve and Hulk scaled the building.

“Told you I could get here quicker.” I could hear Tony taunting Thor, his mask was raised.

“Had this been a race on Asgard, you would have found yourself in a different position Metal Man,” Thor responded. They were total children.

“What, you never lose to a…” Tony had begun the taunt as his head began to turn searching for both myself and Loki. His voice caught in his throat as he spotted us.

“Never what Stark?” Thor inquired before realizing Tony was looking at something. At which point he turned to look too and a look of surprise filled his face.

Not a second later Steve and Clint’s eyes found us as well.

“Ta-da.” I smiled weakly as I gave them a very disappointing set of jazz hands. This was going to suck.

Notes:

Ta-da!!!!!! This was easily one of my favorite chapters to write and I really hope y'all enjoyed reading it. Also, I just had the realization last night that by using 'y'all' in my end-notes so much I kinda sound like Miss Minutes. If that gives you any voice to the way I speak then I'm glad. Anywho~~~~ I had a great week and wanted to share a little bit of that joy with y'all. My uncle who was hospitalized last Tuesday and they thought might not make it, has improved greatly this week and is responding positively to dialysis. I went to a fantastic concert with my mother (who happens to be one of my best friends). Then in the biggest news of all, I got accepted into this really exclusive program in my school that only accepts up to 25 people a YEAR! Like holy shit!!!! Regardless I just wanted to share my joie de vivre with y'all. I hope y'all's weeks have been amazing as well. Also, do y'all have any song recommendations for me to listen to while I continue to write these chapters? I love music and I would love to hear some ideas. As always, I hope y'all enjoyed and I look forward to hearing from y'all! Till next time!!!

Chapter 19

Any hope that the stunned silence I had sent them into evaporated quickly. It took all of three seconds before everyone was yelling.

“Hands off her now or I will blow them off!!!” Tony had weapons aimed at Loki.

“Do not threaten my brother Stark, I am sure they have an explanation…” Thor held his hands up attempting to placate Tony.

“Oh, I’m sure he does!” Clint’s face was turning a very scary shade of red. “Probably something involving mind control!”

“Oh, like she couldn’t possibly have a reason to be in his lap of her own will?” Steve shot back.

All of them shouted at each other, with the exception of Nat, Loki, and myself, and tensions were starting to grow as was the electricity in the air. I couldn’t take it, so I needed to shut it down.

“Everyone SHUT UP!!!” I screamed over the noise and miraculously they all went quiet. “None of you is allowed to have any input in my life unless I say so. And speculation helps no one.” I massaged my temples trying to put a lid on my temper as I did not need to release any more explosive shows of strength today. “Yes I have an explanation, and no you don’t get a say in what it is. You will listen and accept it, or I will leave, and you can deal with the future without my guidance. Do I make myself clear?”

I looked up to see several sheepish facial expressions as all of them nodded their agreement and I took a deep breath before letting a small smile on my face.

“Good.” I swallowed hard as I prepared to begin. This was definitely not how I wanted this conversation to go down. I looked at Tony as I realized I had to start with him. “Dad…do you remember last year when I disappeared for a few weeks after that assassination attempt by Ivan Vanko?” I watched as Tony’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “And then I reappeared weeks later in a random town in New Mexico?” I watched Tony nod his head. “Didn’t you ever wonder where I was during those weeks?”

“Of course, I did.” Tony rolled his eyes. “But it wasn’t like you could tell me. You went mute for a year.”

“Well…I was on Asgard…with Loki.” I winced at the looks of shock I could see around the room. I felt Loki’s hand move from my waist to find my hand. After lacing his fingers with mine, he gently squeezed my hand. A movement that I know did not escape the attention of either Clint or Nat. “I had a semi-problematic medical crisis which the Asgardians saved me from.”

“Semi-problematic?” I heard Loki breathe out. “You weren’t breathing.”

“Hush,” I whispered back to him before turning back to the team. “During that time, certain pieces of sensitive information were revealed, and Loki found out.” I could see the realization dawning on some of them by what I meant. “And Loki wanted to use the aforementioned information to his benefit. So instead, I offered him a game. If I won I could leave. If he won he could have what he wanted.” I was being intentionally vague. “Well, I lost the game due to an ill-timed flashback caused by PTSD. And Loki, rather than taking advantage of me saved me. He offered me a choice of sorts with one option that would allow me to go home. But it involved me losing all ability to speak until I was able to meet his criteria. I agreed and was allowed to come home.”

“Ok but how exactly does that explain this?” Steve spoke up.

“Uhm…” I hesitated. I didn’t really know how to deliver the news of my engagement to them.

“That would be the result of her attempt to remove details from our story.” Loki’s voice chuckled from behind me. “There were two conditions she had to agree to for her to be allowed safe passage home.”

“Lauren, what does he mean?” Tony asked worry evident in his eyes as he slowly lowered his arm.

“She didn’t tell anyone. Really?” Loki gasped behind me, but I knew it was all an act. He was such a drama queen. “She agreed to become my bride once she came of age.”

Suddenly space didn’t seem so quiet. Everyone wore a look of horror on their face as they realized precisely what was going on.

“Lauren…” Tony started.

“It’s true.” My voice was surprisingly calm. “And no, it isn’t against my will. I loved him long before I met him.” I felt his hand tighten on mine.

“Do you mean that? Truly?” Loki’s voice was suddenly so quiet.

“My heart was always yours.” I still couldn’t look at him, too afraid that I would face rejection and heartbreak.

“Pet.” His voice was so gentle. “Look at me.” I shook my head softly, tears threatening to break out. I knew Loki didn’t like being told no but I just didn’t have it in me to have my heart break.

“How could you love a monster, Lauren?” Clint looked positively disgusted with me, interrupting before Loki could press for more answers. “Don’t you know what he did to me? Your family?!”

“I do Clint. But he wasn’t anymore in control than you were. In fact, between the two of you, you got the better end of the deal.” My gaze turned hard as I looked at Clint.

“What are you saying? Loki’s innocent.” Steve looked at me his arms crossed.

“Yeah, I am. After all, are you going to blame Clint for being under the influence of the scepter.” I was starting to feel exhausted when I realized I couldn’t hear anything outside the room. Not even the elevator. I was manipulating time. “Look I don’t know if you realized it at all but look back through the footage. His eyes were unnervingly blue but now they’re green. Loki was just as much under someone else’s control as Clint so don’t come at me with your holier-than-thou bullshit.” I was starting to sweat. “Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to resume time now.”

“What do you…?” Nat started to ask when I let go of the subconscious wish for time to stop. Then I could hear it all, the sounds of a terrified city coming back to life. At which point Hulk launched himself into the room.

I could feel my eyes starting to droop, but it was too soon for that. Summoning yet another Dr. Pepper to my hand, I quickly drained it hoping to feel its effects soon.

“So, what now?” Nat smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“The S.T.R.I.K.E. team arrives. Loki is supposed to be taken away in cuffs to Asgard and everyone returns to their abnormal lives.” I smiled weakly as I leaned back my full weight into Loki. “But this time I’d rather Loki not be taken back to Asgard. He was a victim in all of this, not the bad guy.”

Loki’s arms loosened around me allowing me to stand up. I did and briefly felt a wave of nausea hit me, but I ignored it. I felt Loki stand beside me and I smiled up at him before lifting my hood to cover my face once more. Right on time the elevator dinged the arrival of the S.T.R.I.K.E. team and I shuddered before stepping away from Loki. I mouthed ‘sorry’ at him before gesturing for Thor to put the cuffs on him. Loki didn’t fight it but instead took it calmly. As the S.T.R.I.K.E. team filed in I watched Nat hand the scepter off to Rumlow who quickly snapped it in the case.

Steve went off to coordinate search and rescue, but this time Loki didn’t say his retort. I was beginning to think nothing would go wrong as we made it to the ground floor when Secretary Pierce came into view. I could feel something tickling at the back of my head. I had forgotten something. But what was it?

“I feel like I’ve forgotten something.” My face scrunched up as I tried to remember. We were only a few steps away from Pierce and his entourage.

“That is funny.” Thor barked out as a grin split across his face. I tilted my head towards him. “You, who knows all, forgetting something is indeed hilarious.”

I felt my face go pale as he said that. I could see out of my peripherals that Pierce had indeed heard that comment as a look of curiosity flitted across his face. There was no way he would let this go. I could also see by the way the other Avengers and even Loki stiffened around me, that they all knew Thor had messed up.

“What do you mean Thor?” Nat said with a minimal strain in her tone. “She doesn’t know everything.”

“Jeez Thor I made one comment about her being a know-it-all and you thought I actually meant it.” Tony chuckled nervously, the rest of the team following suit.

I chuckled along with them before hissing in slight pain from my lower abdomen. I winced as I placed my hand there checking for an injury, when it dawned on me that I had been stabbed there earlier. If I was feeling pain, that meant my temporary solution was fading and I was going to need help fast. I prayed silently that I wasn’t bleeding yet knowing my dark purple suit would have hidden the discoloration from the others. I pulled my hand away and was startled to find my hand completely covered in blood.

“Shit.” I cussed under my breath just loud enough for Loki and Tony to hear as they were both standing directly beside me. If I was right then the adrenaline rush had staved off the problems that came with blood loss, but the energy had been ebbing away slowly since returning to the tower after the portal closed. I was out of energy and out of time. I began to feel the wave of nausea return this time accompanied by severe lightheadedness. “Hey, Dad…” I murmured. “Just remembered what I forgot. Can you call 911? Would really…appreciate it.”

Then I pitched forward, everything going black before I ever reached the ground.

*********

Tony’s Perspective

*********

When she had started speaking to me, I hadn’t realized something was wrong. Up until a moment ago, she had been her usual self just with a few shocking additions to her life and capabilities. I had mostly been consumed with the knowledge that she had had a secret boyfriend for a year without telling me, and an evil one at that. I hadn’t been convinced by her ‘he’s a victim too’ speech and I doubted I would ever approve of their relationship but what choice did I really have unless I wanted her to disappear and never be seen again. Then it all went to shit as Thor blurted out her big secret in front of a small crowd of people in my lobby. I was trying to think of more covers for his comment than how I had passed it off as a joke when she started talking to me. I had heard her expletive but hadn’t thought much of it since she cussed to an extreme most days. It wasn’t until I heard her say she needed me to call 911 that I realized something truly was wrong.

She was falling to the ground headfirst within seconds of the last syllable. I went to catch her but someone else had beaten me to it. Loki.

“Hands off,” I growled as I made a grab for her, expecting some kind of fight, but Loki passed her off to me without question staring instead at his hand which was now covered in a wet deep red liquid…blood.

I rolled her over to face upwards realizing she could have been the only place where the blood came from, when I recognized two areas that had a deeper purple than the rest, her right shoulder, and her lower abdomen. The spot on her shoulder was small, but her abdomen was bleeding profusely from what I recognized to be a fatal wound. I could hear a call being made to 911. She would be lucky to make it that long. I could feel tears begin to stream down my face as I cradled her.

“I can slow the bleeding.” I heard a voice call out beside me, full of desperation. I looked to see Loki kneeling beside me, his eyes filled with what I could only describe as terror. “I might even be able to stop it long enough for medical assistance, but you have to remove the cuffs.”

I could hear protests around us proclaiming a lack of trust, but I could see it in his eyes, he meant it. He wanted to save her, and he might be her only shot at survival. I would do anything to save her.

“Thor do it,” I whispered, my attention returning to her face. Her hood had fallen away when I turned her over. Her face was void of all color and she was starting to feel slightly colder.

I heard the distinct sound of cuffs being removed and I only tilted my head so I could see him out of the corner of my eye. I could see a look of determination on his face as his hands hovered over her wound before emitting a greenish glow. I could also hear him whispering to her.

“Stay with me beloved. You are stronger than anyone I’ve ever met.” His tone was soft, but I could hear something else. It was full of love. “Don’t leave me. Not yet. We haven’t even gotten to live a life together so don’t give up on me now.”

“Do you really love her?" I whispered to him. I had to know.

“Words are not enough to express my devotion to her. But I would trade my life, my powers, all that I am if it meant she would live forever.” Loki’s voice was soft, but I could hear his reverence towards my little girl. I knew what I had to do.

“I may not like you Reindeer Games, but if she survives this, I will owe you everything. So, I will try to understand you. For her.” I briefly looked away from her to make sure he understood the gravity of my words.

“When she survives this, Stark, you will owe me nothing. Rather I will owe you for having protected my heart long before I ever knew she existed.” Loki’s eyes found mine. His eyes were wild but determined. We held that gaze for a moment before returning our attention to her.

I could vaguely hear Secretary Pierce giving orders behind me to clear debris from the streets making the route clearer for the ambulances to arrive more quickly. A new set of hands appeared near Lauren’s face, and I looked up to see a newly transformed Bruce Banner checking her pulse. He didn’t say anything, but I could see he vaguely understood what was needed. I could hear the sirens in the distance, and I felt a small hope burning in my heart. I reached up with the hand not trapped underneath her, to brush the stray hair from her face.

“Lauren if you can hear me, help is on the way.” I heard a female voice on my other side. I looked over to see Romanoff kneeling next to Lauren’s head. Tears were streaming down her face. She looked up and to Loki. “How long can you keep this up?”

“As long as I need to.” I could see sweat dripping down his face, which was steadily losing color. If I had to guess he would keep her alive even if it meant his death.

The sirens were very close now. Moments later the doors were thrown open as paramedics rushed in with a stretcher. Lauren was being carted away moments later. Loki was now straddling her hips in order to keep from removing his magic from her. I was following behind to both stay with her and explain the circumstances behind his usefulness. As I climbed into the ambulance, I started praying to anyone who was listening that it would all be enough.

*********

Tony’s Perspective End

*********

I could hear a strange beeping in the air. I smelled something chemical in nature that reminded me of cleanliness…maybe ammonia. My eyelids felt so heavy. Fighting to open them was like Atlas bearing the weight of the sky. After some brief struggle, I managed to force them open, if only by an inch.

I was struck with an unusual blindness. I squinted until my eyes adjusted to the harshness of the bright lights. I drew in a shuddering breath as I realized I was most likely in a hospital. I started moving my head when I realized something was on my face. I went to move my arm to figure out what was touching my face, but it felt heavy too. I concentrated for a moment and managed to get my hand to my face gently, feeling at the offending sensation, numbly I realized I had a tube in my nose…no that wasn’t entirely accurate. I had a cannula in my nostrils. I started pulling at it, agitated with the sudden intrusion in my body when I felt something stopping my hand.

“It’s ok darling.” The voice was gentle and comforting as my hand was gently moved away from my face. “Just leave it till the doctors get back.”

I tilted my head to see Loki beside me. I drew in a sharper breath as I realized this couldn’t be real. Tears pricked in my eyes. He was on Asgard facing punishment for a crime that wasn’t his fault. I was probably dead because this was too good to be reality, which meant I had failed in my mission. I looked away from Loki and up at the ceiling as tears began to stream down my face.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered my voice hoarse as I cried. “Please forgive me.”

I heard a soft chuckle from him as I felt his fingers brush against the back of my knuckles.

“Whatever could you be sorry for?” Humor filled his tone.

I tilted my head to look back at him, confused by his attitude.

“For failing to save everyone?” My eyebrows pinched together. “Cause I died?”

“Died?” For one brief moment, confusion filled his face before a wide grin split across his face as he pulled my hand towards him, lacing our fingers together. “I should hope not, otherwise I would have been watching over a ghost all along. Besides I’m fairly certain if you hadn’t made it, your father would have killed me before I could say anything.”

“I’m not…dead?” I was getting more confused by the second.

“No Pet. I’m afraid you’re very much alive.” His grin faded a little. “Although you tried very hard for the opposite. And once you are fully recovered, you and I will need to have a little chat about your recklessness.”

I paled a little at the slight seriousness in his tone. I did not want to know what his idea of a ‘chat’ was. If this really was Loki, then he had something up his sleeve in regard to rectifying my behavior.

“How do I know this is real?” I stuttered slightly, trying to get my thoughts in line before I went anywhere dirtier with them. “By all accounts, you should be on Asgard standing trial.”

I was careful with my wording as I knew I couldn’t risk revealing the truth to him. After all, anyone could be listening.

“I did stand trial…on earth.” Loki looked a little nervous as he spoke. “The evidence from video footage of my eyes before and after the battle was used to prove my innocence, and I gave testimony regarding why I had been sent here, just worded so that the truth remained partially veiled.” I started turning his words over in my head. How had he explained it without giving everything away? “I was pardoned of my crimes on the basis that I would be under surveillance at all times by one of the Avengers.”

“I see…” My brain was attempting to put all of the facts in order as I started considering what this could mean regarding changes in the timeline. After all, this would be a big change and if the butterfly effect was to be believed, then I did not want to find out what the ripple could cause. “And the Avengers were okay with this?”

“Well…sort of.” Loki’s face looked slightly guilty. “Only Stark and Natasha really agreed to it without protest.”

“My dad agreed to…wait a second what do you mean Natasha?” My eyes widened. Since when had they been on a first-name basis? “Loki how long was I out?”

“I don’t think I should be the one to tell you.” Loki’s eyes dropped from mine to focus on where our hands were joined together.

“Loki.” My voice hardened and my eyes narrowed as he attempted to dodge my question.

“Yes…well…I really can’t say.” Loki said evasively as his other hand reached for something. “However, I do think your doctors would be more than happy to tell you.”

I didn’t see it till it was too late. Loki had the remote for my bed which contained a call button for the nurse’s station. I pulled my hand from his as I found my strength was starting to return. I crossed my arms over my chest before turning my head away from him. If he wanted to be evasive, then I wouldn’t be giving him any attention. After all, two could play at that game.

“Pet…” His voice sounded almost pleading. So, I lifted one hand and flipped him off. I felt his hand grab onto the one I had raised to silently communicate my wishes. “I would advise against using such gestures to communicate with me.”

I could hear the warning in his tone. I had to suppress the grin threatening to break out as my inner child reacted. My other hand was flying up to join the first as I flipped him off once more. As a short silence followed, giggles erupted from my mouth although I tried to smother them. Tears once again formed at the corner of my eyes as my giggles turned to uncontrollable laughter. Until I felt his hand release mine. I turned my head to see what was happening when I felt a hand wrap around both of my wrists, before pinning them over my head. I was startled to see how close to my face Loki truly was. Suddenly it didn’t seem so funny anymore. I swallowed loudly.

“I’m sorry pet I couldn’t quite tell what you were attempting to communicate with your hands. Would you like to try that again?” Loki’s voice was low, his eyes locked onto mine. My breath was caught in my throat. Loki’s face dipped below my line of sight until I felt his nose brushing my neck. “I’m waiting Pet.”

“Uhm…” My mind went blank as his nose continued to trace from the side of my neck to my jawline. “I…”

“I’m listening pet.” He chuckled next to my ear, the vibrations tickling my face and making me blush. “However, I would advise against making me wait. I am not a patient man.”

Before I could even think I blurted out, “Fuck you.”

Loki paused his actions and pulled away slightly with a thoughtful expression on his face before a mischievous grin took over as he leaned back down to whisper in my ear.

“All in good time.” His voice was very seductive.

I was blushing across every part of my body. Loki pulled back before putting his free hand on the side of my face and lowering his head once more, his eyes trained on my lips. Just before he could make contact, I heard someone clear their throat.

“I mean I know you love her but jeez.” A sarcastic voice rang out and I began to wish that the hospital bed would swallow me whole.

“I hope we weren’t interrupting anything.” A haughtier slightly more distinctive voice spoke up.

My eyes widened and suddenly I was trying, very unsuccessfully, to see around Loki. I heard a slight chuckle from Loki, and I saw the small smile on his face as he, albeit reluctantly, withdrew his hands from my face and hands before pulling back and allowing me to see Tony and a tall very familiar doctor.

I was looking at none other than Dr. Stephen Strange.

Notes:

Holy Shit y'all!!!! 100 kudos and over 2,000 hits in one week!!! Y'all are amazing!!! I know this was a big chapter but how exciting!!!! Early character introductions, our girl admitting she was in love with Loki when he could DEFINITELY hear it this time, family meetings, all that good shit!!!! Sorry if some of it seemed cheesy, I just couldn't help myself!!! I cannot wait to hear from y'all!!! I truly hope y'all enjoyed!!! Until next time y'all!!!!

Chapter 20

I paused for a second letting my excitement briefly overtake my mortification before my brain translated what Strange had asked. At which point my blush renewed itself and I desperately wished I could be anywhere else.

“No.” I tried to stay calm as I spoke. I really didn’t need a bad first impression. “You didn’t interrupt anything at all.” I smiled serenely as I watched the facial expression change on Loki’s face. He might play dirty, but I play to win. “Loki was keeping me from ripping the cannula out of my nose after I woke up and started panicking. He was trying to calm me down enough to recognize where I was and that I was safe. He had just managed that a moment before you walked in.”

I had never lied so smoothly in my life. I could see the surprise in Loki’s eyes about how believable my lie had sounded. And if I really wanted to get technical, I wasn’t lying. I really had panicked about the cannula in my nose and Loki did stop me and calm me down, I was just omitting all that had come after that. Strange brushed over my cover-up as he lifted up his clipboard, preparing to talk with me.

“Alright, Ms. Stark.” His facial expression was placid. “I have a few pieces of information to clarify with you that neither your father nor any other members of your family were able to answer.”

“Sounds fair.” I shrugged. I had answered all of these questions before.

“Are you on any medications?” Strange didn’t make eye contact as he went through his list. I dutifully answered every question on patient history, thrilled I had been in enough exam rooms to answer them all. That was until his last question. “Are you or have you ever been sexually active?”

And the blush was back with a vengeance. I never thought I would have to clarify that in front of anyone, let alone a parental figure or a love interest. I buried my head in my hands as my face burned. Strange repeated the question and I let out a squeak. I lifted my head without making eye contact with Loki or Tony in order to respond.

“No.” It was barely a whisper. I could feel all their eyes on my face. Suddenly I truly wished this was some form of hell and not real life. Strange raised an eyebrow and watched his eyes subtly shift over to Loki and I knew he didn’t really believe me, so I cleared my throat in order to remove any doubt. “I’m a virgin.”

“Ok.” Strange made eye contact with me and I realized he really had no emotion towards me. His bedside manner was terrible. “A nurse will…”

“Dr. Strange, how on earth did I manage to have a brilliant neurosurgeon as my attending physician?” I interrupted him, more curious about why he was in my room to keep my mouth shut.

“You know who I am?” Strange’s eyes lit up with curiosity. I realized my mistake a little too late as it would be strange for a seventeen-year-old to recognize a physician for fame.

“I know many things, Dr. Strange.” I smiled enigmatically. Better to mess with his head than let him know anything early. “For instance, you’ve given several keynote speeches for your achievements in medicine that I’ve happened to stumble across on the internet.”

“What exactly would you have been searching to find those?” Tony spoke up as he tried to cover the smile breaking out across his face at my slip-up.

I wracked my brain for half a second when an idea hit me.

“I was trying to find the first name of a DC villain with the last name Strange and I was fairly certain he had been one of the ‘doctors’ at Arkham Asylum so I searched Dr. Strange and found results for a famed neurosurgeon.” I let a slightly sheepish expression fill my face. “Turned out, they weren’t the same guy 'cause the villain’s name was Hugo. But on the bright side, I learned that there is actually a famous-ish doctor in the medical world named Strange.”

“I feel like I just lost brain cells listening to that.” I heard Strange mumble, and I cracked a smile.

“You still haven’t answered my question.” I stifled a giggle at the look of irritation on his face.

“Following the Battle of New York, all doctors, regardless of their position, were to help tend to the severe casualties caused by the battle. Therefore, I was handed your case file as you had sustained severe abdominal damage and had bone shrapnel causing constant bleeding in your shoulder.” Strange still looked irritated with me but I was more concerned with his damage report. “Does that satisfy your question?”

“Sort of.” I felt slightly disheartened at the reality of the situation. How much damage had truly been caused? “When you say severe abdominal damage, what does that entail?”

For the first time since he walked into the room, I saw a flash of pity in his eyes, but it was gone as soon as I saw it.

“You were stabbed through your kidneys.” I drew in a sharp breath. “Which means…”

“My blood filtration system was damaged…shit.” I began running through how that kind of damage could impact my daily life.

“I’m impressed that you know that.” Strange had a small look of approval on his face but I couldn’t truly smile at that.

“When I was younger, before coming to live with my dad, my grandfather had kidney problems.” I thought back to my first life and how much my Papa had struggled with dialysis. “I researched the kidneys to see if there were ways to ease his pain, especially after dialysis. I learned a lot about kidneys in the process.”

“I didn’t know that kiddo,” Tony spoke up, his voice soft and his eyes full of sympathy.

“I don’t really like to talk about it. He died the day before my birthday and scarred me for life in the process.” I gave Tony a pained smile before looking back to Strange. “So, what kind of damage are we looking at? Will I have to be on dialysis for the rest of my life?”

“Normally I would say yes, however, with a joint effort between our team and your boyfriend here, you were fully healed with what I believe will have no lasting repercussions.” Strange smiled at me.

“Great!” I smiled back. I knew Strange wasn’t really smiling at me, but I would take it all the same. “So, when can I leave?”

“You can leave after the nurse runs diagnostics and the results come back clear.” Strange dropped his smile. “Now if you will excuse me, I have other patients in more dire conditions than yours.”

With that Strange turned on his heel and walked out the door.

“Wow.” Tony rolled his eyes as he walked forward to sit in one of the chairs by my bed. “His bedside manner seriously needs some work.”

“Nah.” A huge grin split across my face. “He’s perfect as he is.”

“Oooh, am I sensing a crush?” Tony sang in a goofy voice, and I cringed away playfully.

“Daaaad,” I whined.

“Unacceptable.” A voice said darkly from next to Tony. I looked over to see Loki glowering in the direction of the door. I had kind of forgotten he was here.

“Loki.” I looked up at his face as he was standing up, towering over me slightly. “Relax. I only have eyes for you. Besides, he’s already got a girlfriend.”

That seemed to calm Loki down slightly.

“Still, I didn’t like the way he spoke to you,” Loki muttered.

“That’s just his default setting. He’s an arrogant asshole.” I shrugged. “He literally thinks he’s better than everyone else. And in a few years, he’ll have a slight course correction.”

“Fine, but I won’t tolerate you being in the same room as him if I even think that you might have feelings towards him,” Loki grumbled with finality.

“Aw is someone jealous.” I teased Loki. His eyes met mine and narrowed slightly. I had to fight off the urge to shiver under the heat of his gaze. If I wasn’t careful, he might not care that we had company the next time I teased him. “Also, I really don’t think you can stop me from being around people. I adore you but you can’t watch my every move at all times of the day.”

“Is that a challenge?” Loki smirked. “You do remember how the last challenge went, don’t you?”

I laughed as Loki tried to intimidate me. This would be fun.

“You bet your ass it is.” I paused for a second to think. “Although maybe it should start after I’m in full health and cleared for duty.”

“Ew.” My head snapped back to Tony who looked slightly grossed out. “Will you two please get a room?”

“Dad!” I gasped. “That’s disgusting! I don’t want my dad telling me when to shack up.”

“Oh please. Up until a few minutes ago, I thought you were already doing it.” Tony scoffed at me as I continued to look at him like he was disturbed. “I came to terms with it long ago.”

“Oh, right like you would want to tell Pepper’s parents all the dirty details of your sex lives.” I grimaced at the thought. “And don’t you dare say you wouldn’t care, or I will have Jarvis forward all of the footage in a group text to Pepper’s parents with Pepper and you in the chat. Then you can feel what I’m feeling.”

I shuddered slightly before recollecting my thoughts. A nurse entered the room a moment later and all conversation was put on hold as she ran my diagnostics. Everything was going fine until she pulled out the biggest needle I had ever seen. My eyes went wide, and I started scrambling back. Like hell was I going to let her put that fucker in my arm. I managed to fall backwards out of the bed and into Loki who caught me before I could hit the ground.

“What’s wrong?” He whispered.

“Do not let her stick that thing in my arm!” I yelped as she came towards me once again. “I hate needles and I don’t need my blood drawn by her.”

“Sweetheart if I can’t draw your blood you can’t be released.” The nurse said in a sickly-sweet tone.

“Nope!” I squirmed in Loki’s arms. Fuck needles. I could check myself out. “You don’t need to test my blood. I can have Bruce do that back at the lab. He’s a doctor too.”

“Lauren just let her take the blood.” Tony was trying to hold me still as the nurse came at me with the needle. “You’ll only feel it for a second.”

“Fuck you.” I yelped before teleporting across the room. Consequences be damned. I had confidentiality from doctors, so I was fairly certain nurses followed that rule too I ripped the IV needle out of my arm before removing my cannula and pressing the gauze that had been taped around the needle to my arm to staunch the bleeding. “No needles!”

At that moment Strange returned with another familiar face, Doctor Christine Palmer.

“Ms. Stark, we’re a little low-staffed on nurses at the moment, so I brought a friend to come check your vitals.” Strange had been looking down at his clipboard as he spoke, but when he looked up he saw the weird scene playing out in front of him. I thought he was going to ask me questions until his eyes zeroed in on the nurse. Then he was screaming into the hall. “Security we have an unknown individual in the building dressed as a nurse!!!”

‘Holy shit! What is happening?!’

Notes:

Y'all, exciting news...today is my 21st birthday!!!! Aaaaaaahhhh!!! I know. I wanted to celebrate with y'all and what better way to do that than a new chapter. I'll keep this brief cause I'm about to go out for a fun-filled day with my family. I hope y'all enjoyed!!! I cannot wait to hear y'all's thoughts on the chapter and as always, until next time y'all!!!!!

Chapter 21

All eyes fell on the woman we thought was a nurse. Suddenly she was vaulting over the bed narrowly missing both Loki and Tony as they lunged to catch her. As she landed on the other side she grabbed my arm and slipped behind me. One of her arms went around my midsection pinning my arms to my sides, and the other one flew up to my neck. The hand at my neck was holding the syringe, poised to stab my throat.

“Don’t move now honey, we wouldn’t want to cause a little accident now would we?” The woman’s voice maintained her sickly-sweet tone although now it felt truly menacing.

“What do you want?” Tony had his hand up in a motion meant to calm down everyone in the room. I felt the woman’s arm tighten around my midsection. “Whatever it is…I’m sure we can come to some kind of agreement. Is it money? Or attention?”

“You think I’m doing this for a superficial reason?” The woman began to cackle. I could feel an unusual amount of strength in her grip, and it terrified me. “No. I’m doing this for the greater good.”

I felt all the blood drain from my face as I turned her words over in my mind. Was she one of Hydra’s fanatics? I made eye contact with Loki as I panicked about what any of this could mean. His eyes were locked onto my face, and I realized that there was a subtle flash of green, indicating an illusion. It would be unnoticeable to most, but I knew I had seen it. I just had to distract her long enough for him to reach me without being noticed.

“So, what do you want?” My voice was shaky as I tried to maintain calm. “Is it revenge?”

“Oh no, I want greater things than that.” The woman snorted with derision. “I’m surprised you haven’t figured out who I am yet. I guess they were wrong about your superior intellect.”

“So, it’s for an organization then?” I swallowed. “Then I won’t do you much good if I’m dead will I?”

“My bosses have greater plans for you.” The woman chuckled darkly in my ear. “While they would prefer if you were alive, they would still have a use for your corpse.”

I felt something gently brush my hand…Loki was letting me know to get ready.

“Yeah well, I can’t say that I have the time right now. I’ll have to check my calendar first and then I’ll get back to you with a time that works for me.” I quipped before letting my anxiety fuel me.

A purple glow started to surround my fingertips. I watched as it spread up to my wrists and then up my forearm. When it reached my elbow, I went into action. I snapped my head back to where I hoped her nose was, surprising her enough that her grip loosened on my midsection. I threw my elbow back into her solar plexus, knocking her back into the wall and allowing me to dart away. Loki’s illusion vanished as he appeared by the woman’s side, grabbing her arm and twisting it till she dropped the syringe. Loki then forced the woman onto her stomach and used his considerable strength to keep the woman restrained until the proper authorities could take her into custody. I drew in a shuddering breath as I watched the woman’s face change. The features twisted towards hatred. I wanted nothing more than to escape, but I needed to understand what Hydra wanted. I crouched down in front of her and then smiled as I pulled the persona of someone filled with confidence to my face.

“I’m guessing you aren’t going to give up your name or the names of your employers.” I watched as the woman’s mouth contorted itself into a sneer. Thinking of how she had sounded and the particular way she had spoken to me, I realized I had the perfect nickname for her. “Since you aren’t responding, I’m just gonna call you Mrs. Dodds,” I smirked at the memory of the Percy Jackson villain. The name was perfect. “So, Mrs. Dodds, what were you planning to do with my blood?”

She remained silent to my queries.

“Ok…Don’t answer. I have ways to retrieve what I want to know.” I sighed. I would most likely have to use telepathy to find any of the information I sought. I really did not want to see the inside of this woman’s head.

“You think you can scare me?” Mrs. Dodds started to cackle. “You’re too noble to result to any unseemly methods. In the end, you will remain in the dark and we will win.”

It was interesting that she switched to the royal we. I made to speak, ready to inform her of my more unconventional methods when I noticed the look on Loki’s face. He looked ready to murder Mrs. Dodds, but he was restraining himself. Loki’s eyes met mine and I realized he had an idea. I nodded my head towards him, silently signaling that I trusted him, and a dark smile filled his face. A normal person would have been frightened by this, but I was more busy fighting off the shudder from how much that look turned me on. I stood up and walked over to Tony, before facing Mrs. Dodds once more.

“You’re right Mrs. Dodds. I am too noble to do such a thing.” I smiled softly as my eyes flicked back up to Loki’s.

“I, however, have no such compulsion that would bind me.” Loki finished darkly. His hand touched her temple, causing her body to convulse while her eyes rolled back into her head. Moments later Loki removed his hand. His expression turned towards one of revulsion and loathing as he regarded the woman he held restrained.

“Loki?” I spoke softly, his eyes snapping up to mine at the sound of my voice. The look in his eyes changed to one I couldn’t recognize. It unsettled me. “Is everything ok?”

“It will be.” Loki swallowed thickly as his gaze remained trained on me. It was as though he thought I might disappear.

“We can hand her over to the authorities now that she has been subdued,” Tony spoke up as he looked out the window and realized a S.W.A.T. team was prepping to break down the door.

“She doesn’t deserve to continue living after what I saw.” Loki snarled. His eyes were still focused on me.

“Loki.” I started. I bit my lip. “She has to face proper justice. Death only allows her to escape punishment.”

Loki considered that for a moment. Then he sighed and nodded. The S.W.A.T. team filed in and grabbed Mrs. Dodds before she could react. As she was led by me, she started struggling against them.

“You’ve only delayed the inevitable deary.” She cackled before clamping her mouth shut. Foam started to bubble out of her mouth. “Hail Hy…”

Her body collapsed to the ground in an unceremonious heap. Nausea rolled over me, and I clamped my hand over my mouth in an attempt to delay the upheaval that I knew was coming.

One of the S.W.A.T. team members put his fingers to her neck, checking her pulse. He withdrew his hand slowly a minute later, shaking his head as he did so.

“Dead.” He declared before throwing her over his shoulder. Then he and the rest of the team filed out of the room.

“She just…killed herself,” Tony said in shock.

Then I ran for the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet, kneeling over the bowl before I started heaving. Seconds later I felt someone pulling my hair away from my face as I continued to empty the contents of my stomach. A hand started rubbing my back in comforting circles. Tears were streaming down my face. When it finally stopped, I leaned my head on the cool base of the toilet, not caring about the splatters surrounding the inside of the bowl. I just felt like my body was on fire, and not for the right reasons. The same set of hands lifted my limp body into a sturdy set of arms. I looked up to see Loki holding me, his face slightly blurred through the tears. He carried me back to the bed. Tony was nowhere in sight. I gripped his shirt, not wanting to be alone just yet. I was vaguely satisfied when he got on the bed with me still in his arms. He shifted my position so that I was lying alongside him in bed, my head tucked into his chest. He pulled the blankets around me and continued to hold me to his chest.

“You’re ok.” He whispered, his hand gently stroking the top of my head. “I will never let anyone hurt you.”

He continued to whisper to me affirmations and declarations of adoration, promises to protect me, and praising me for being strong. My mind was still blank from shock. The tears eventually slowed until the flow stopped. My throat and stomach were on fire. And yet with each caress, the pain dulled, and my emotions began to calm till sleep began to beckon.

As my mind drifted to sleep, my eyes fluttering shut, I heard Loki whisper one last thing.

“They will never be able to reach you again, you are mine.” His voice was soft, I almost believed it was a dream. Then unconsciousness took me and the world around me gently faded as Sandman guided me to dreamland.

Notes:

Happy April Fool's Day and late Easter for those of you who celebrate. I had thought about posting a prank chapter for today but felt that might be a little mean for y'all since you had to wait a little longer than normal for an update. My birthday was wonderful y'all and thanks y'all for your birthday wishes!!! I hope y'all are having a wonderful day and I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!!! As always, I look forward to hearing from y'all. Until next time y'all!!!

Chapter 22

When I woke up next, I felt slightly disconcerted and for a brief moment, I forgot where I was and started to panic until a pair of arms gently squeezed me. I looked up and breathed a sigh of relief as I realized I was in Loki’s arms. My body relaxed as I took in my surroundings realizing I was still in the hospital. The events from when I first woke up filtered back in and I buried my head into Loki’s chest trying to hide from the memories and the fears guaranteed to follow.

“While I won’t object to this, I have to ask why are you suddenly acting shy?” Loki chuckled, his voice just above my head.

“Do I have to get up today?” My voice muffled by the front of his shirt. His chest began to vibrate with laughter. I lifted my face enough so that my eyes could see his face. His eyes were shining with fondness. “S’not funny.”

“No of course not.” Loki looked like he was trying to be serious, but I could see the laughter threatening to break out.

“Fine then.” I started pushing at his chest as I attempted to move away. “Since you seem to think it’s a ridiculous notion I’m getting up.”

“No, you’re right it isn’t funny.” His arms tightened as I finally managed to turn my back to him, my arms moving to push me up.

“Loki!” I gasped as laughter threatened to bubble up at how clingy he was acting. I started playfully pushing at his arms. “Come on. Loki let go.”

Loki’s fingers began to twitch slightly where they lay on my sides. One of my hands shot up to smother the snort that attempted to exit my mouth. Loki sat up, my back now flush with his chest.

“What was that pet?” Loki’s grip, which had only been playful before, became vise-like. My hand tightened over my mouth. No way in hell was I going to tell Loki I was ticklish. “You can tell me.”

Loki’s hand brushed my side lightly again and a squeak escaped my lip, barely muffled by my hand. Loki’s arms disappeared for a moment and my hand slowly dropped from my mouth as I turned to figure out why the heat source at my back had vanished. Then my world flipped as suddenly my back was flat on the bed and I was looking up at the ceiling. Loki reappeared above my head, and I felt his weight over my hips. I felt his hands hovering over my stomach and my eyes went wide.

“Last chance to tell me what those noises were, or I start testing out theories.” Loki’s eyes were full of mischief.

“You wouldn’t dare!” My mouth was agape.

“Are you certain?” The corner of Loki’s mouth began to lift. “Just tell me what it was, and I will release you.”

“Never.” I knew Loki wouldn’t ever let it go if I told him. I began twisting around trying to get out from under him.

A moment later his hands went from ghosting over my stomach to tickling my sides. I started squirming as laughter began to bubble up. I smothered it gasping instead as Loki continued his assault, tears brimming in my eyes from the silenced laughter. I began pushing at Loki’s hands hoping to catch a break. Then I felt a pair of hands grabbing my wrists and pulling them over my head. I looked up to see another Loki above my head, his face was upside down in my view which meant one thing he was behind my head. Loki had duplication cast.

“Stop. You’re gonna make me pee!” I whimpered breathlessly. His hands were merciless as he continued to tickle me. “Please!” I tried to catch my breath as a laugh began to escape my mouth and then I was laughing uncontrollably. “Stop…it…it…tickles!”

Slowly the tickling stopped, and my wrists were released allowing me to wrap them around my waist. I curled in on myself trying to breathe, my lungs aching from both trying to suppress the laughter and then from laughing too hard.

“See how hard was that?” Loki’s voice said smugly.

“Fuck…” My breathing was slightly labored. “You…Jackass.”

“I’m willing to let that slide given how unconventional my methods were.” Loki slid his hands underneath me, careful to avoid my sides which were still sensitive. He lifted me up before carrying me away from the bed.

“Where are we going?” I looked up to see Loki’s smile change from playful to kind.

“You still need to get your vitals checked in order for you to return home.” Loki walked to the door.

“Don’t they usually do those in the patient’s room?” I tilted my head in confusion.

“After the events of yesterday, we decided it was best to move you to an undisclosed location while leaving an illusion of you behind,” Loki said grimly. I looked back to see what looked like myself deep asleep. “As such any other attackers will be caught if they come looking for you. When I leave, you will be concealed in my arms so that we can meet Stark and your doctors safely.”

“Right…I guess that makes sense.” I looked back down at my chest. I could see his fingers gently curled around the outer arm and leg. “But why exactly are you carrying me?”

“Because it's easier to hide you this way,” Loki stated. “Well, that and I rather like the feel of you in my arms.”

“You know if you don’t stop saying shit like that, I’ll never get rid of this blush,” I muttered as my entire face began to burn. I felt Loki’s chest rumble as he laughed slightly before he shifted his grip on me, so I was comfortably cradled to his chest in one arm.

“Maybe that was the point darling.” His voice whispered seductively. His free hand reached up to lift my chin, so my eyes were on his. “I do believe I owe you something.”

“What are you talking about?” My brows pinched together wondering what he could possibly be talking about. I felt his thumb caress my chin bringing my attention to hyperawareness of where our skin met.

“This,” Loki said simply as he lifted my chin slightly before leaning down to capture my lips in a gentle yet passionate kiss.

My body reacted before my mind could catch up. My arms were reaching up to wind themselves around his neck, one of them burying itself in his hair. My mouth was moving in tandem with his as I pressed myself to him as tightly as I could, which wasn’t easy given my position in his arm. Loki, however, seemed to hear my silent wish and pulled me closer, his grip practically crushing me, but I didn’t mind. His free hand had moved from under my chin to cup the back of my head, deepening the kiss. I probably would have gone further had Loki not pulled away. I whined at the loss of contact.

“Patience pet.” Loki chuckled as I frowned. “You still need to be cleared by your doctors before you can engage in any extracurriculars.”

“Fine.” I pouted before mumbling, “I’ve waited this long, what’s a little longer.”

“Now I’m going to cast the illusion that I’m alone.” Loki’s playful expression melted away to something sterner than I’d ever seen him act. “For this to work, you can’t make a sound or distract me from the image.”

“Distract you? When have I ever…?” I scoffed at him.

“Believe me, you are very distracting, Darling.” His voice was low, but his eyes could have started a bonfire. “Even when you aren’t trying to be. Now be good or else I won’t reward you.”

I looked away from him, withdrawing my hands from around his neck and crossing them tightly across my chest. I would behave—this time. Seemingly satisfied, Loki’s freehand left the nape of my neck and grabbed the doorknob. Exiting the room, I was startled to see swarms of security officers surrounding my door. They each offered a nod to Loki before returning to their watch. I wanted to ask questions about why they were there, but I knew Loki needed to concentrate. In order to control the impulse to speak, I dug my nails into the sides of my ribcage. We moved down hallway after hallway, turning down different corridors every now and then before Loki stopped in front of a door without a room number. I squeezed my ribcage once more as he gripped the handle and opened it to reveal what looked like a break room. I noticed Tony first, pacing in front of a window which had the curtains fully drawn. Looking around I noted Dr. Strange had joined us once more as he stood talking with someone else, Dr. Christine Palmer. Loki shut the door behind us, and all heads swiveled in our direction. I knew the moment he dropped the illusion, ‘cause a look of relief crossed Tony’s face. Loki set me down gently. I looked back at him and smiled.

“Thank you for keeping me safely hidden.” Loki smiled but I caught that weird look in his eyes again as I started to step away from him. I tried to brush it off as a trick of the light, but I couldn’t ignore the dread filling my heart. Something was up. I turned back to face the rest of the room. “So, what do I have to do for this final checkup? I really want to go home.”

I heard the start of a chuckle behind me before it morphed into a very unconvincing cough. Smooth.

“Hello, Ms. Stark.” Dr. Palmer greeted me with a warm smile. “If I could have you take off your gown and lie down, we will begin.”

I looked down remembering I was in a hospital gown, which meant everyone had most likely gotten a clear view of my ass. Great. I looked back at Loki with narrowed eyes.

“Enjoying the view?” My tone was dripping with sarcasm.

“I had begun to wonder if you would ever notice,” Loki smirked.

“Ah yes very amusing.” I was slightly peeved. Then I began to smirk as I realized I had the ultimate trump card. “But just so you know, you aren’t the only person who can see my ass,” I whispered. “And if I’m not wearing any underwear, then I doubt I’m wearing a bra. So please keep smiling.” I turned to Tony so I could address him. “I love you Dad but not like that so could you like not look 'cause that would be great.”

Tony whirled around making a show of not looking. I stifled a giggle before going to untie the gown when a hand grabbed mine to stall my movements. I looked over to see Loki with an angry expression on his face.

“Problem?” I asked him innocently.

“He needs to turn around as well,” Loki growled as he gestured toward Strange.

“Loki. You didn’t seem to care a moment ago. What’s changed?” I bat my eyelashes at him teasingly while I played dumb. He was so jealous it was adorable.

“No one else should get to see you like that.” Loki’s nostrils had started to flare as his glare was turned in the direction of the doctor in question.

“Loki, he’s my doctor and he won’t even bat an eye at my private parts the way you or most other guys would. He’s probably seen them enough times that he’s completely desensitized to it.” I put my hand over Loki’s gently. “But they have to examine me one way or another. Him turning away while I remove the gown doesn’t change that fact.”

“Fine, but if I catch even a hint of a reaction from him…” Loki glowered as he left his sentence to dangle threateningly. Then he turned around knowing I would not appreciate wondering eyes from him.

“Then you’ll show him what a big scary man you are. I know.” I shook my head smiling. Then I tugged at the strings of my gown effectively removing them allowing me to see where the damage had been dealt and to what extent. “Oh! Damn! That does not look good.”

My shoulder was completely wrapped in bandages. When I looked further down I noted the rather large bandage that seemingly covered my entire abdomen. I sucked in a sharp breath before moving over to the couch where Dr. Palmer had been patiently waiting.

“Ok, Ms. Stark I’m going to check on how your shoulder is doing while my other colleague, Dr. Strange, checks the stitches on your abdomen.” Dr Palmer smiled kindly as her hands moved to start unwinding the elastic bandage around my right shoulder.

Strange had moved over to my opposite side and started to carefully remove the large pad bandage covering my stomach. I hissed when I saw the extent of the damage. I was going to have a huge scar. Then something occurred to me. With a wound this size, there was no way only my kidneys had been hit.

“I thought you said only my kidneys were damaged.” My voice wavered. Strange looked up to meet my gaze. “If what I’m looking at is mostly the result of being gutted like a fish, then there’s no way I hadn’t endured more internal damage. What else got hit by the blade?”

“Well…” Strange looked back down avoiding my gaze. “It looks like the wound is mildly inflamed. There’s blood on the bandage as well but not much. Just be careful about how active you are, we wouldn’t want the wound to reopen.”

“Oh, hell no!!! That was not an answer to my question.” I snapped. Why wouldn’t anyone tell me what had happened while I had been unconscious? “Someone better start talking and fast or I’m gonna lose my shit!”

I looked around the room and suddenly it seemed like everyone had found somewhere specific to look so that they could ignore me.

“If I don’t get an answer in oh I don’t know…the next ten seconds, then I’m teleporting to the middle of Times Square without clothes.” I had never been so frustrated in my life. When I made the threat I saw Tony stiffen. Loki was easy to provoke. I could feel the anger radiating off of him. “In fact, I might just do the same thing in multiple cities all over the states. Guess we’ll just have to hope no press catch my little stunt.”

“Lauren…” Tony’s voice was pleading, his back still to me. “You have to understand, you were severely injured. There were several moments where we weren’t sure you would make it.”

“Tony, how long was I out?” My voice was soft, but I couldn’t take all the lies anymore.

“Five months,” Loki spoke up this time, his voice sounding strange.

“WHAT?!” I yelped.

“You kept waking up in the middle of procedures, your powers kept activating whenever you were conscious. It became dangerous to you and was making it impossible to provide you with medical attention.” This time it was Dr. Palmer who spoke. I was startled to see tears in her eyes.

“What do you mean?” My voice caught in my throat slightly.

“You would wake up while we were cutting open your abdomen and suddenly you would flicker in and out of view.” Strange said in his monotone voice. “We figured out later you were appearing in different parts of the hospital and exposing yourself to non-sterile environments. So, we put you in a medically induced coma to keep you from activating any other abilities that might hurt you or the medical personnel helping work on you.”

“Oh my god.” My voice was barely above a whisper as a wave of nausea swept over me. “Was anyone hurt?”

“Thankfully no.” Dr. Palmer offered me a kind smile, but I could see it in her eyes that she was more than a little freaked out.

“Dr. Palmer, how’s that shoulder looking?” Strange asked, not so subtly changing the subject. I hissed as something cold touched my stomach, and a burning sensation followed.

“Shoulder is healing nicely, the bone seems to have taken to the grafts well.” Dr. Palmer seemed grateful for the distraction. “I do not believe a bandage is required any longer. Be sure to avoid any strenuous activity until you’ve been given the ok by your physical therapist.”

“Thank you, Dr. Palmer.” I caught her eye once more as I spoke. She seemed slightly startled by my tone as it was tinged with the sadness from my realization that I scared her. “And I’m sorry if I caused you any anxiety. I hope if we meet again, it will be under less upsetting circumstances.”

“You didn’t…” Dr. Palmer started, but I waved her off.

“I hate to break it to you, but if you reacted like I did when my abnormalities started to occur, then there’s no possible way I didn’t freak you out at least a little.” I looked down at where Strange was busy ensuring my wound was free of infection and tearing. “When my powers manifested for the first time, some of them were exciting, but others…I’ve never been more afraid in my life of what I might do. Especially if I had some kind of meltdown. Accidents happen every day, but if I caused one it could cause true irreparable damage.”

I looked back up at her as my expression was filled with melancholy. It was true I loved what I could do, but if I lost control for even one second…I didn’t even want to think about what that could really mean.

“I’m sorry, kiddo. I never thought of it like that.” Tony spoke up, my gaze shifting to his back. “I never really thought about why you were so careful when it came to your emotions. Why I’ve never seen you truly lose control.”

I nodded silently as I waited for Strange to finish his work.

“You can put your gown back on now.” Strange wasn’t even looking me in the eye anymore. Great he thought I was a freak too.

I summoned the gown to my hand and began securing the ties.

“Thank you.” My tone was muted. Reality was a bitch when you had to face it. Loki seemed to have taken that as his sign to turn back around. He was at my side before I could even blink, pulling me into a hug. When he pulled away I noticed Tony had turned around. As I moved to face the rest of the room I realized something felt slightly different. “Loki did you just use magic to put underwear on my ass?”

“What, you were the one who didn’t seem to like having your ‘ass,’ as you so eloquently put it, available for everyone to see,” Loki said unflinchingly, making me start laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

“Thanks.” I chuckled. “Any who…so Doc am I good to go?”

That got Strange’s attention. Given how irritated he looked, I knew I was right that he would hate that nickname.

“You are cleared to return home.” Strange rolled his eyes. It was almost imperceptible, but I still managed to catch it. “As Dr. Palmer said, no strenuous activity unless cleared by PT.”

“Thank you.” I smiled at him as he and Dr. Palmer exited the room. “See you soon Magic Man.”

I had to stifle a giggle at that knowing that people would either think I was flirting or giving him a stupid nickname. Strange gave me a mildly perturbed look and then exited the room, at which point I let out the building laughter from the look on his face. It was worth letting my knowledge slip out just a little. I noticed Loki and Tony each giving me a strange look and my laughter renewed.

“Trust me…you’ll understand the joke in a few years.” I wiped tears from my eyes as I spoke. “Now can we pleeeease go home? I really hate hospitals.”

“Yeah as soon as you put on some real clothes.” Tony grimaced playfully. “I may love you kid, but I don’t want your ass touching my nice leather seats.”

I rolled my eyes, grinning at the comment as I went to summon new clothes to change into. Before I could even think of what I wanted to wear, I felt a small tingling sensation run down my body. Looking down, I noticed my outfit had changed as if by magic. I was wearing a dark green dress with a gold ribbon tied at the waist. The dress itself was fairly modest since it looked like something straight out of the 1950s, but I could see the silent message behind the color choices. Looking up at Loki, who was now attempting to look very inconspicuous, I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Is something the matter darling?” Loki asked me innocently.

“No, but I am curious as to the aesthetic choices that were made.” I looked back down at the dress, marveling at its softness. I had always been a sucker for soft clothes.

“I just thought you would look good in this dress.” Loki smiled.

“Ah yes. That is the only thing that would make sense.” I pressed my lips into a thin line to stop the smile threatening to emerge. “It would have nothing to do with the fact that I’m now dressed in your colors, now would it?”

“The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.” Loki was a smooth liar.

“Oh, will you two please get a room?!” Tony groaned before I could respond.

“I’ll get right on that as soon as we go home.” I snarked back watching Tony shudder with mock horror. Summoning a pair of black flats, I slid my feet into them before standing up. “Now I feel ready to conquer some stairs.”

Tony waltzed over, offering me his arm. I playfully linked my arm with his knowing he was doing it more to support me than for show. Loki stood up, rolling his eyes at our little show. With that, we walked out the door, ready to face the day. Ready to go home?

Notes:

Hi, y'all! It's been a while hasn't it? I'm so sorry I took so long to post. The last couple of weeks have been super hectic preparing for finals, but no worries your girl has got this in the bag. in all honesty, I may have to go on hiatus for a while as I am set to have surgery this month. Not for anything serious I promise but I will do my utmost in recovery to get back to y'all. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and as always I look forward to hearing from y'all. Until next time y'all!!!

Chapter 23

Exiting the hospital had been the easy part of our journey home… if you considered rapid energy loss, small moments where your legs wouldn’t fully support your weight, and feeling like you were gonna die to be easy. We had to make it to the nurse’s station in order to retrieve a wheelchair before we were allowed to leave. I was fairly certain that both Loki and Tony would have tried to carry me had I not been so adamant that I be allowed to walk on my own. Admittedly, this probably wasn’t the smartest decision I had ever made. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity of pain, we reached the nurse’s station, and I was permitted the chance to relax as Tony filled out the paperwork. A kind nurse retrieved a wheelchair for me to sit in while I waited. I had never been in a wheelchair before and the impulsive part of my ADD was begging me to test it out. I most likely would have too, if not for the fact that Loki was holding onto the handles located on the back of my seat.

“I think that should just about cover it.” Tony handed back the clipboard to the nurse. He turned to me with a big smile. “You ready to go?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” I couldn’t help the giant grin that overtook my face. I really hated hospitals.

“Glad to hear it.” Tony walked around me. I tilted my head back to see him motioning Loki away from the back of my chair. I returned my gaze to the forward position as the wheelchair started to move. “I have good news kiddo.”

“Lay it on me, dad.” I folded my hands uselessly in my lap. I saw a hand reach out from behind me to press the ‘down’ button for the elevator we had just reached. “I could use something positive right now.”

“Well…” Tony sounded thrilled. He wheeled me into the elevator, turning me around to face the doors and I saw Loki pressing the button for the first floor. I looked over my shoulder at Tony expectantly as the doors closed. “Your other dad and I agreed that you needed some extra security while you’re recovering. So, he sent his best agents to help guard against any further attacks like that lady from yesterday.”

“Daaad.” I grimaced at him. We were halfway to the first floor. “Don’t you think this is overkill?”

“First of all, nothing is overkill when it comes to your safety,” Tony said sternly. I heard an appreciative grunt from beside me and I saw Loki nodding his agreement out of the corner of my eye. “And secondly, this isn’t permanent. It’s just until your strength returns.”

“I guess I can understand that to a degree, but who did he assign my ‘detail’ to?” I put air quotes around detail. I still thought this was ridiculous. Right then the elevator dinged for the first floor and the doors opened. I went pale as I got the answer to my question.

“Sir, the lobby is secure. You are clear to proceed with the asset.” Brock Rumlow was standing at attention directly outside the elevator doors. Behind him, I could see other members of the S.T.R.I.K.E. team patrolling the lobby area, keeping the path outside clear.

“Thank you Agent Rumlow,” Loki said gratefully albeit stiffly.

“Yes, thank you, Hagrid.” Tony scoffed from behind me. I threw my hand up over my mouth attempting to stifle the chuckle that bubbled up. Leave it to Tony to unknowingly have perfect comedic timing so that I don’t have a panic attack. Tony started mumbling so I had to strain my ears in order to catch it. “Jeez talk about failure to keep a secret. Inconspicuous my ass.”

Tony started pushing the chair forward again and I forced my brain to kick it in gear. If Rumlow was here to ‘watch over’ me, he most likely would try to retrieve whatever the fake nurse had been after. I couldn’t stay put long then. I most likely wouldn’t be able to go on the run until I had at least rebuilt the minimum amount of muscle needed. More than that I needed to take the time to make sure Hydra knew I was on the run so that they wouldn’t target any family members. I would have to have a public fallout with Tony. My brain was running a mile a minute.

'How much does Hydra know?'

'Do they know about all my current powers or just the ones I used during the battle?'

'Have they figured out a way to counteract my abilities or is that why they needed my blood?'

'More than that, have they come up with a way to track my energy signature?'

'If they are able to track the ripples of energy that I am sure appear whenever I use my spatial capabilities, then I will have to use them sparingly.'

There were so many factors to consider.

I took a deep breath as I watched Loki open the door so that we could exit. What would I do about him? Obviously, I couldn’t have him join me. there was too much at risk for him. He was still on probation with the government and if he suddenly vanished…I didn’t want to think about what consequences that might trigger. Also, Loki most likely wouldn’t sit back if he thought I was in danger. This was going to be difficult, but I had at least a month before Hydra might become a serious problem. I would figure it out.

Loki’s eyes were on my face. He narrowed them as I made eye contact. As Tony pushed me out the door, Loki fell into step with the wheelchair.

“Is something the matter, darling?” Loki whispered in my ear.

“I will tell you later.” I smiled back. It was forced, but I had to hope he read it as stress. I really couldn’t risk a slip-up in such a public location.

Loki said nothing back, but I knew he wouldn’t let this go. By this point, we had reached the edge of the sidewalk, where a car was waiting for us. It was a black SUV, not at all Tony’s style. If I had to wager a guess, this would more likely be a decision made by Fury than anything else. The door was opened, and I made to stand from the wheelchair which resulted in a flurry of hands aiming to either carry me, catch me, or provide support.

“Seriously?” I hated being treated like I was helpless. The hands all froze as I spoke. “I am more than capable of walking the two steps to the car on my own people. I’m not incapable of movement.”

“No one said you were kid.” Tony came into view. He squatted in front of me, his face apologetic. “But even with a perfect bill of health and no muscle problems, I’ve seen you trip on air in a room where there was nothing near you that could have caused you to fall. You aren’t exactly known for being graceful.”

“That’s not true.” My face was burning from embarrassment. I had worked really hard to hide my klutziness. “My foot got caught on the corner of a rug.”

“Really? That’s the story you want to go with?” Tony’s eyebrow lifted as a mischievous smirk filled his face. “Ok. Just remember that was your story.”

“What is that supposed to mean Dad?” I narrowed my eyes. Tony was definitely planning something.

“Nothing.” Tony widened his eyes, and his tone was suspiciously innocent. “Just saying it’s something you should keep in mind.”

“Right…” I dragged out the ‘I’ sound as I responded. I was certain I would find out later. I placed my hands on my armrests to push myself up and Tony’s hands shot out to help me. I raised an eyebrow at him, and his hands retreated as he raised them in a show of surrender. “Again, seriously I am not made of glass.”

I managed to make it to my feet. I was careful with each step making sure I knew my weight was fully supported. I managed to make it to the car door on my own before I turned to ask for help. I wasn’t sure I could clear that high step safely and to top it all off my legs felt very shaky. Before I could even open my mouth, Loki was waiting behind me. He lifted me gently, scooping me up from behind the knees. He gently leaned forward to settle me in the back seat. I scooted to the center of the seat and Loki took the seat beside me. The door on my other opened and Tony slid in on my other side. I looked forward and noted two people. First I noticed Happy in the driver’s seat; he wasted no time in starting the car and beginning the drive to the Tower; then I noticed that the seats in the middle of the car were facing the seats at the back. Which led me to notice the second individual, Nick Fury.

“Glad to have you with us Agent 16.” Fury started. I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Oh no you don’t.” I narrowed my eyes. “No agent codenames today. Either you use my real name or an approved nickname or else I will use my special name for you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Fury’s tone sounded threatening.

“Hm, would I dare?” I leaned forward with my hand under my chin. “Well let’s see…given that I was raised by two men, one who likes to know everything and collects secrets that he can use against people and the other is famous for his immaturity, amazing nicknaming skills, and is practically incapable of keeping a secret. Would I dare?” I withdrew my hand from my chin as a look of confidence filled my face. “I think I would. Would you care to test me, father?”

“I would not.” Fury leaned back a little, his voice sounded slightly approving. “It would seem you paid attention during your espionage lessons.”

“I learned from the best. I’ll make sure to give Auntie Nat your regards.” I smiled. “You know for a split second you sounded proud of me, but I know better than to assume that I know you. After all, you do love being an enigma.”

That earned an almost imperceptible smile from Fury.

“I had almost managed to forget how weird you guys are whenever you are anywhere near each other.” Tony shuddered next to me. “Seriously will you two ever quit with the secret agent talk?”

“Sorry, Dad.” I giggled slightly. “He’s been parenting me for slightly longer. This is just how we communicate. Besides I could always make it creepier.”

“Stark do you have a security plan in place?” Fury interrupted, ready as always to change the subject.

“Of course, I do Eyepatch.” Tony rolled his eyes. “We scheduled patrols and shifts for each of the agents you provided in addition to the security team Happy hired.”

“Good.” Fury nodded and said nothing else, so I took that as my sign to speak.

“While I’m glad you two are finally getting along…” Sounds of protest began to emerge from both Tony and Fury, so I held up my finger. “I’m not done.” Silence fell. “As much as I love the two of you cooperating I need to make one thing clear. If at any point, I catch a single agent or bodyguard anywhere other than the floors where I don’t reside…” My voice turned dark as I prepared to deliver my threat. I felt something brush my hand and I saw out of the corner of my eye that Loki was trying to pass me a dagger. I took it subtly. “I will kill them.” I gently lifted my hand with the dagger in it before throwing it to pierce the floorboard between Fury's feet to punctuate my threat. “I won’t even blink before my knife finds itself buried into the miserable sap’s skull. I do hope I’ve made myself clear.”

“Hey, kiddo that’s great and all but how are they supposed to protect you if they aren’t near you?” Happy spoke up. I could tell he didn’t really take my threat seriously, but that was fine with me, the threat wasn’t for him.

“First off, I doubt anyone would be able to make it all the way up 93 floors without tripping an alarm or encountering at least one agent who will either stop them or provide a warning to the residents on the higher floors.” I smiled as I summoned the dagger back to my hand and returned the dagger to Loki. “And secondly, I have Loki. I will never need more than that.”

I smiled up at Loki. Loki slipped his arm around my waist in response, pulling me closer to him. I laid my head on his chest and sighed with contentment. I truly hoped my threat would help keep Hydra away for as long as possible. But in my heart, I knew I had only bought myself a grain of sand in the hourglass till problems arose.

“You know what Cyclops, I was wrong.” Tony started cheerfully. “That’s creepy.”

“Fuck off Dad.” I flipped Tony off. “You’re just jealous 'cause you’re in hot shit with Pepper.”

“Hey!” Tony flicked my shoulder.

“Oops did I hit too close to home?” I said teasingly before sticking my tongue out. “Don’t poke fun if you can’t handle the return fire.”

“Darling?” Loki murmured above my ear. I tilted my head to the side so my ear could hear him better. “While I’m thrilled that you believe I can guard you without assistance, don’t you think it would be safer to have more guards near you?”

I shook my head slightly before whispering, “I’ll tell you later.”

The rest of the car ride was spent in the most uncomfortable comfortable silence I had ever sat through. Loki was combing my hair with his fingers; occasionally untangling a snare; Tony was flipping through apps on his see-through phone, and Fury was glaring at Loki. I was halfway asleep when Happy pulled up to the Tower.

Loki slipped out of the seat before leaning back in to lift me out of the car. I was tired and I felt safe enough in his arms. My eyes closed briefly, but I wasn’t unconscious yet. I could still hear people talking around me.

“Just put her in the wheelchair Rock of Ages.” I could hear Tony whisper.

“Stark, I won’t place her into something that I think would cause her any level of discomfort,” Loki whispered back. I felt him shift his grip on me, so I was in one arm. I heard the ding of an elevator. “Besides I see no reason to move her and risk waking her up.”

“She needs to be awake anyway.” I heard Happy mumble.

“Why would she need to be awake?” Loki asked softly, his voice bordering on threatening.

“Uuuuh.” Happy sounded nervous.

“It’s nothing big, she just has a few visitors.” I could hear Tony say nonchalantly.

“Define a few Stark,” Fury spoke up.

“Well…” Tony paused as the doors opened. “That many.”

I cracked one eye open and realized Tony had used my recovery as an excuse to throw a party. I groaned and pressed my face into Loki’s chest, praying that it would all go away. As I did, I heard a loud cheer behind me and knew it was too late. I looked back out to the small crowd and offered a weak smile to my apparent audience as our small group stepped into the larger room.

I saw very few faces I readily recognized, and I didn’t like being in a room full of unknowns. I could see members of the Avengers and some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as well as Pierce. Great. More Hydra agents. Just what I needed.

Loki shifted me so I was sitting on his arm in the crook of his elbow. I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck just in case I needed to balance. My legs dangled slightly from the angle he sat me at.

“Are you sure your arm won’t get tired?” I stifled a yawn. “I don’t want you to hold me if I get too heavy for you.”

“Heavy? What in Valhalla would make you think you were too heavy for me?” Loki asked me his voice slightly teasing. “On the contrary Pet, were I not able to see you, I wouldn’t think I was holding anything.”

“Right the whole Asgardian strength thing,” I smirked as Loki began to make his way down the steps of the newly remodeled party deck to the main floor where the guests were. “How do I keep forgetting that that’s a thing?”

“Trust me that won’t be an issue for long,” Loki whispered in my ear seductively, making me blush.

“Behave.” I hissed. “I don’t need to have a heart attack in front of coworkers, family, and strangers.”

“That sounds like a challenge.” Loki blew in my ear, drawing a shudder from me.

“Well, it isn’t, unless you want me to use the wheelchair for a seat instead of you.” I snapped before blushing even harder at the unintentional innuendo. Loki’s chest rumbled as he laughed at my comment and subsequent reaction. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. You know what I meant.” I paused as an evil glint came into his eye. “Don’t even think about it. If you ask me to clarify, I will teleport you into space.”

“Such a tease.” Loki chuckled.

“Alright, that’s enough of that.” I started squirming to get out of his hold using my hands to try and push his hand away, which promptly tightened.

“My apologies Pet.” Loki tried to calm me down so I wouldn’t fall off by accident. “I promise to be on my best behavior if you stop trying to escape.”

“You’d better.” I wobbled a bit, and my arms flew back up to wrap around his neck in an attempt to stabilize myself. “I really don’t want to faceplant right now because you can’t keep your mischief on lock.”

Loki chuckled as we reached the lower level of the party deck. A smile managed to break out across my face. I wouldn’t even realize it until later that evening that he had noticed my increased tension throughout my face and posture and that he had been sneakily calming me down.

I had never realized how much of a toll playing a part in front of others could take until I had to do it at a significantly decreased level of stamina. I loved Tony but his strange need for excessive and frankly, pointless, parties was starting to wear my nerves thin. Regardless I managed to maintain the polite visage of a smile and interest as I spoke with every party-goer who took it upon themselves to converse with me. I only managed to break away from the crowd that had developed around Loki and myself two hours into the party.

Loki moved us over to the couch and settled me onto his lap. I tried to scoot off of him and onto the sofa, but his arm snaked itself around my waist and held me in place.

“Loki…” A slight whine had managed to enter my voice as I whispered to him, intent on making this situation a lesser PDA scandal. “Can I please just sit on my own for a second? I’m getting enough judgmental stares from my family, I don’t need them from strangers.”

“Let them stare.” Loki’s eyes darkened slightly and the slight blush that had been building in my cheeks fully enflamed what felt like my entire face. If not for the fact that I wasn’t a cartoon I was certain I would look like one of those anime characters whose blush had gone so out of control a little mushroom cloud burst from the top of their head. “You know I'm starting to become rather fond of that expression on your face. It is quite endearing.”

I buried my face into Loki’s shoulder. The blush seemed to be a near-permanent feature on my face.

“I hope I'm not interrupting.” A genial voice spoke from behind me. I felt chills run down my spine as I recognized the voice. I turned my head slightly to the side to see him out of the corner of my eye.

“Uncle Pierce.” I forced a smile to my face. I could feel how awkward it looked. “No of course not, please have a seat.”

I swallowed thickly. I wanted to be anywhere else but if there was any chance Pierce was still in the dark about my ‘foresight’ then I couldn’t act strangely. Pierce took a seat on the side of the couch facing me.

“How are you feeling kiddo?” Pierce smiled sympathetically. I had to hold back a shudder at how good an actor he was. If I hadn’t known any better I might have believed he was genuine.

“Well, you know how it is.” I shrugged. “Get gutted twice in the same day to save the world and nearly die in the process.” I laughed nervously. “So clearly I’ve never been better.”

“Yes, I can see that what with the death stares you give to every new person who tries to talk to you.” Pierce joined in my laughter.

“I mean can you blame me? I come home from the hospital, and I get bombarded with a surprise party that is 90% people I don’t know and Kristen from Statistics.” I huffed before crossing my arms and leaning into Loki’s shoulder. “I just wanted five minutes not surrounded by people flittering around me freaking out cause either I was injured or because I actually fought in the Battle of New York. I mean it's not like I'm an Avenger.”

“Aren’t you though?” Pierce smiled at me his eyes narrowing slightly in what could only be described as suspicion.

“No.” I laughed. “I wasn’t even considered for the initiative both Tony and my dad were strictly against it.”

“Really?” Pierce raised an eyebrow. “Why on earth would Fury do that when it never mattered to him before who he considered?”

“It's simple really.” I shrugged my shoulders before leaning my head into the crook of Loki’s neck. “Dad made a promise to my birth mom that he would raise me and protect me. Putting me up for the Avengers initiative kind of negates that promise. Besides both Tony and my dad are way too protective of me.”

“Not that I blame them.” Loki intoned from above my head. “I don’t want her mixed up in all this either. She is practically a magnet for all things dangerous.” Pierce’s gaze whipped up to meet Loki’s. “Why the first time we met she had very nearly died in an attempt to escape from a murderous psychopath in her own home.”

“Are we including you in that category?” I smirked teasingly as I looked up at Loki. His face turned to look down at me. “After all the way I remember it…”

Loki raised an eyebrow.

“…Is the way I remember it.” I fake coughed into my hand. “End of story. Hey, Loki, can I have a glass of water?”

“Of course.” Loki dropped a kiss onto my forehead before sliding me off his lap and onto the couch. “I will return shortly.”

I watched with a smile as Loki walked away in search of water for me. When he vanished into the crowd I leaned my head back against the cushion.

“So.” My eyes snapped back over to Pierce and the smile slid from my face. I had almost forgotten he was there. “You really like him, huh?”

“Yeah. I do.” I sat myself back up which unfortunately took some effort. “We wouldn’t be together otherwise.”

“Well darn.” Pierce gave me a half smile as he laughed. “Guess that means he’s not going away anytime soon.”

“Not to my knowledge.” The smile returned to my lips, although, it was considerably smaller than before. “If he was though, I’d go with him. I like him too much to let him slip away.”

“Well, I’m glad you found someone.” Pierce’s hand patted my knee. My gaze zeroed in on it, but I made no move to pull away. I didn’t want to seem suspicious. “Now I have some business I need to discuss with you.”

“Business?” I chuckled. Fear began building in my heart. I hated being around Pierce. He was more dangerous at this point in time than the movies made him seem. “I wasn’t aware of any business between the two of us that needed handling.”

“Well, it’s not business so much as a request...for information.” Pierce’s smile widened as did my unease. “I was just curious about that little performance you gave during the attack.”

“Performance?” I raised my eyebrow. “I’m afraid I don’t fully take your meaning.”

“My apologies if I wasn’t being clear.” Pierce’s gaze turned sharp. “I mean your powers.”

“Oh.” I looked away from him while keeping him firmly in the corner of my eye, ever playing the part of his naïve niece. Quiet. Sweet. Unassuming. And always a part of the background. “How did you…?”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly hard,” Pierce said with a hint of condescension marring his tone. “There was plenty of footage of a hooded hero popping up seemingly out of thin air and taking down aliens. Then that same hooded hero appears in the lobby of Stark Tower with the newly apprehended culprit behind the attack on New York. Then that hero falls to the ground from a near-lethal injury and their hood slips off revealing…you.” I let a blush fill my face as though I was mortified. “It wasn’t too hard to deduce that you had powers from there.”

“That…” I cleared my throat to add to the act of embarrassment. “That makes…complete and total sense. I dragged my hands down my face before angling to fully face him once more. “I’m sorry… it's just a new development.” Pierce held an expression of reserved understanding on his face. “You remember how I vanished practically off the face of the earth for about two weeks, last year?”

“Well of course I do.” Pierce nodded. “Both your dad and Stark practically had a fit. All of S.H.I.E.L.D. was turned upside down trying to find you.”

“Again, sorry about that.” I scratched at the back of my head. “Well right before I disappeared, that psychopath, Vanko, broke in.” I paused thinking back on that night allowing the memory of fear to guide my facial expressions. I swallowed thickly before resuming with a new waver in my voice. “He had me cornered. I couldn’t get out without him getting to me. I couldn’t run forever. And all he wanted was my death. I just remember being so…scared…and all I wanted was to be somewhere, anywhere, safe. And then it happened.” I looked down for a second twisting my hands before looking back up at Pierce hoping I could sell this. “It was like something deep inside me unlocked, answering my plea. I teleported far away from the mansion. Wound up in New Mexico of all places.” I chuckled a little. “Right, where the Bifrost would inevitably beam Thor down moments after a showed up. The worst part was, according to the Asgardian healers, that my body was so unprepared and in full shock of the new powers I had just exhibited that I hemorrhaged and died for a full minute before their Queen brought me back with magic.” I let out a slow shaky breath. “It was a one-in-a-million chance that I survived that night. By all rights, I should be dead, but I got lucky.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that kiddo.” Pierce dropped his hand onto my shoulder with a sympathetic look. “But I gotta ask, how come you didn’t tell me about it? I could have helped you. We could have run tests and training to help you get better with your powers.”

“It's not that simple Uncle Pierce.” I ran my fingers through my hair as though I were slightly frustrated. “I wanted to tell people, but I couldn’t even speak. It's kinda hard to want to tell people something like that when you can’t vocalize it. Besides the Asgardians ran their own tests and training.” I was still avoiding looking Pierce in the eyes. Anytime I looked at him I would just slightly unfocus my eyes while looking at the bridge of his nose. “I got stuck on Asgard for almost a year in their time.”

“But you were only gone for two weeks.” Pierce shifted slightly, removing his hand from my shoulder to steeple his fingers together as though deep in thought.

“Time runs differently on Asgard.” I smiled reminiscently as I thought back on the few days I spent there. I knew full well that Pierce had almost no knowledge on the Asgardians, which made this the easiest lie to tell. I hadn’t seen Thor that evening and I was fairly certain Loki wouldn’t mind backing up my lies if the need arose. “How did you think I knew Loki so well?”

“I hadn’t thought about it.” A thoughtful look entered Pierce’s eye and I knew I had him hooked.

“No need to think about it too hard.” A familiar voice spoke from my opposite side. I turned to see Loki had returned with what I assumed to be my requested glass of water. The couch dipped as he took a seat beside me and handed me the glass. “We got to know each other quite intimately on Asgard. Isn’t that right, Pet?”

I had unfortunately chosen that moment to take a sip from my drink. As I heard his question, I inhaled sharply rather than swallowing, causing myself to nearly choke. I began coughing attempting to remove the liquid from my windpipe. I could feel Loki’s hand gently rubbing my back as suddenly a warmth spread from my back to my lungs and up my throat. Suddenly the water was gone. I took a few deep breaths as I debated whether I should thank Loki or flip him off.

“Are you alright, Darling?” Loki asked as he continued to rub my back in soothing circular motions.

“Fine.” I pursed my lips before deciding to return to my role so as not to invite too much suspicion. “Maybe next time don’t use phrasing that might give my family members the wrong idea about our relationship.” I turned to look back at Loki with slightly watery eyes. “I adore you, but innuendos have a time and a place.”

“My apologies.” Loki pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “It was not my intention to upset you.”

“I know,” I whispered before leaning my back against his chest. I returned my attention to Pierce who was watching us with a shrewd gaze. “We got fairly close on Asgard. He helped me get through some rough patches and he helped me get home.”

“I see,” Pierce said shortly.

“I didn’t do nearly as much as she gives me credit for.” Loki wrapped an arm around my waist. “She’s the one who deserves credit. I had lost myself until she came to us. She is the brilliant light that guides me on my path.”

“Nope, not taking credit for that.” I laughed as I interrupted the rant I could feel Loki was about to begin. “Besides if you want lights I’m pretty sure your brother would be more than happy to provide some of the more unconventional quality.”

“I do not want my brother lighting my path.” Loki’s tone was dripping with disgust. “He would just blunder through all pomp and noise and trample all over what changes I’ve made.”

“Oh, don’t be so mean.” I snorted. “He tries his best and I think it's sweet.”

“Well, I think I’ve had enough fun for one day.” Pierce interrupted loudly. “I think it's about time I head home.”

“Good night Uncle Pierce.” I smiled as I watched him turn and walk away. As soon as he was out of sight I let the smile drop as a shudder ran through my frame. “I hate that man. Makes me skin crawl.”

“I can take care of him if you wish.” Loki intoned darkly just above my ear.

“Not yet.” I twisted around to face Loki. “He still has a role to play in the future and I can’t risk changing that. Besides he’s not worth your time.”

“As you wish.” Loki smiled back at me softly. A blush rose to my cheeks as I thought of his choice of phrasing. I knew he hadn’t meant anything by it, but I loved The Princess Bride a little too much not to hear the unintentional message in his words. “Did I say something?”

“Nope.” I looked away to notice the party numbers still hadn’t dwindled. “Just had some errant thoughts pop into my head.”

As I thought about how this party might last for several more hours, a sudden wave of exhaustion rolled over me. I tried to stifle it with my hand, but a yawn erupted from me all the same.

“Don’t tell me you’re tired!” A voice whined from behind me. I turned to see Tony looking severely disappointed. “You can’t be tired. You slept for almost half a year. You should have almost as much energy as an arc reactor.”

“Not really how it works, Dad.” I rubbed at my eyes which had started feeling a little heavy. “My body isn’t using the energy for physical activities right now. All my energy is being redirected into repairing my injuries.” Tony started to pout earning a slight giggle for me. “All that genius and you never took an anatomy class.” I shook my head. “Maybe you and your new boyfriend could make a project out of it.”

“Boyfriend?” Loki asked from behind me.

“I think she means me.” A slightly nervous voice spoke up a little to the right of me. I turned to see Banner had entered our little chat.

“Hi, Bruce.” I waved slowly before turning around to face Tony. I leaned back into Loki so I could have a better view of who I was talking to. “Nice to meet you officially and sorry I almost made you ‘code green’ when we first met.”

“It’s ok. I’m used to it at this point.” Bruce smiled awkwardly before scratching the back of his head. “So do you glow purple often…or?”

“First time.” I chuckled a little self-deprecatingly. “Who wouldn’t want to accidentally trigger a power that causes destruction the first time they are in a room with the most powerful people on the planet?”

“Powerful?” A commanding voice rang out. I waited for the speaker to reveal themself. Captain America walked around from behind the couch to stand by Bruce. “Is that what you would call us?”

“How about we clear the guests out of here before having a classified conversation.” I saw Nat out of the corner of my eye before she climbed over the couch and sat next to me.

I watched as Tony corralled the non-superhero guests out of the room and into the elevator upstairs. Happy following behind to ensure no one stuck around. This left a small gathering including myself, Loki, the Avengers including Thor who was currently being dragged from what I assumed was the kitchen by Clint, Fury, Coulson, and Hill.

“Is everyone just gonna stand around like a bunch of jackasses or are y’all gonna sit?” I mentally high-fived myself for incorporating the Rocket quote. I noted Tony asking Jarvis to cut all audio and visual in the room. As everyone took seats around the coffee table I felt a small sense of excitement bubble within me at the sheer fangirl moment I was having. “I know there are going to be a lot of questions from at least three of you so let's get those out of the way first.” I took a deep breath prepping myself for yet another round of ‘Who are you’s’ and all other explanations that would follow. I felt a gentle squeeze at my waist and looked back to see Loki smiling at me encouragingly. I smiled back before returning my attention to the group before me. “Hi…my name is Lauren. I’m from another dimension about 11 years in the future. I have superpowers which we have touched on briefly before and can discuss in detail later, and I know the future and past regarding specific individuals and events in this timeline. No one knows how I got my powers or why, but I try to use them responsibly. I use my knowledge of the future to help people, but I am not able to tell you about the future as that could risk changing the timeline and making my knowledge useless. Does anyone have any questions about anything I just said?”

Notes:

Hey, y'all!!! Been a minute. Looks like my summer is going to be insanely busy so I won't have as much time to write or update. I've got my surgery this week and my Nana is in the hospital so keep us in your thoughts that nothing goes wrong. I'll have to keep my words a little short this time so I look forward to hearing your thoughts and until next time y'all.

Chapter 24

I had never seen anyone as excited as Bruce was regarding my existence. Bruce was launching question after question at me as the rest of the team who didn’t know slowly digested the information I had dropped on them.

“So, you traveled through time and space? That means the theory of the multiverse is true! This changes everything!” Bruce was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. “How was your universe different? Did coming here give you your powers? What are all your powers? Wha…?”

“Bruce, jeez give her some space to actually answer,” Tony interjected.

“It’s ok Dad.” I smiled. “This is pretty much how my ADD works in my head. And to answer your questions Bruce, yes I did travel through time and space and in the process aged backward about eight years. Yes the theory of the multiverse is true, but it is more complicated than science can properly explain and maybe you and I can sit down and discuss it one day when it's less problematic for me to do so. My universe is pretty much the same except for none of y’all exist nor do superpowers or superheroes… at least not outside of comic books. Coming here did sort of give me my powers as I didn’t have them before. However, I kind of think I might have had something that kickstarted in order to bring me here in the first place so maybe I wasn’t entirely powerless before but who knows. As for what are my powers, I can teleport, summon/create/move objects with a combination of spatial capabilities, emotional attachment, and altering reality, I can create small illusions but not big ones as those can cause medical issues, I can read minds and communicate telepathically, I can turn invisible, I can freeze time but not for long, and I get really strong when I glow purple but that can be dangerous if the purple becomes deeper as I might be able to disintegrate people but I’m not entirely sure on that one and I don’t really want to find out.” A yawn punctuated the end of my sentence, but I bit it back as much as I could. “Anything else?”

Bruce opened his mouth, but Loki interjected before anything could be said.

“I think that is quite enough for today.” I felt his arm shift from around my waist to slide underneath the back of my knees before pulling me back into his lap. “Lauren is exhausted enough as it is and can answer your questions another time. For now, however, I think it is best that she recovers her energy.”

With that, his other arm went around my back as he stood up, lifting me with him and carrying me up the stairs to the elevator. I happened to catch looks of shock, amusement, and disapproval from the faces in the room before they disappeared from my line of sight. The doors opened to accept us closing behind us seconds later. No words were exchanged, but I was fairly certain J.A.R.V.I.S. was controlling the elevator as it moved without a single button being pressed. Loki shifted his hold on me so that I was once again firmly seated on one arm rather than the princess carry he had used to escape the room. I leaned my head against him, smiling as I did so.

“My hero,” I murmured.

“Hardly.” Loki scoffed. I tilted my head upwards to see the mildly annoyed look on his face. I sat back up. Was he annoyed because of me? “If I hadn’t stepped in the questions never would have stopped. And you need your rest.”

I smiled again. So, it wasn’t my fault. The elevator stopped on what I assumed was the location of my room. Only when the doors opened did I realize that it was another living room with an attached kitchen. I started to wonder if Tony had finished renovations when I noticed the hallway that was tucked away behind the corner of the kitchen wall. Loki began moving again.

“So where are you planning to sleep?” I asked innocently. If Loki didn’t have an answer, maybe he could stay with me. I blushed a little at the thought.

“Stark provided me with a room,” Loki said stiffly.

“Well, if you don’t like the room he gave you, there are other rooms…” I looked away from him, biting my lip wondering if he had caught onto my suggestion.

I was hopeful for something I wasn’t even sure was possible. I truly cared about him and wanted nothing more than to be with him, but I wasn’t even sure we wanted the same things. I was fairly certain he cared about me as well, but I wasn’t sure if it was intended to be romantic or platonic or purely sexual. The only way to know for sure would be a major invasion of privacy and was something I would never do without consent or reason.

“Stark made that much clear to me.” Loki sounded almost formal in his tone. “However, my accommodations are perfectly adequate for the time being.”

“That’s not quite what I meant.” I took a shallow breath. “I was thinking more along the lines of us sharing a room.” I swallowed hard before continuing. “If that’s ok with you. I mean it's perfectly fine if you'd rather not.”

The pause was short but agonizing. My heart practically pounding in my ears. I wasn’t exactly suggesting we do anything, but I was hoping to cuddle with him. I felt safe with him, and I slept easier. What was the harm in asking?

“I don’t think that would be the best idea.” Loki’s tone was soft, but his words were harsh. I could practically hear my heart shattering into a million tiny pieces. “I wouldn’t want to do anything that I might regret.”

I was glad I was looking away. So, he couldn’t see the heartbreak written across my face. His words played on a loop in my head before twisting to even harsher wording he had never even said.

‘I wouldn’t want to do anything I might regret.’

‘might regret.’

‘I would regret it.’

‘regret.’

‘don’t want.’

‘I don’t want.’

‘I don’t want you.’

It was like a rusty knife twisting in my heart. Even though the rational part of my brain knew he never said those things. My emotional and fragile part refused to see reason. Most likely a product of my irrational teenage brain and raging hormones at work. I kept my head turned away from Loki and tried to steady my voice so that I could respond.

“No that’s…that’s fine. I understand.” My voice sounded fairly even.

I was doing my best to hold back the tears. I couldn’t cry in front of him. It wasn’t his fault I had such a stupid idea in my head that he and I were anything more. But one tear escaped and rolled down my face on the side farthest from him. My hand flew up to wipe it away, but I missed it by I centimeter as it fell from my face and splashed on the exposed part of his arm, below. Loki instantly stopped moving.

“What was that?” Loki’s voice took a more concerned tone.

“What was what?” I tried to maintain nonchalance as I replied. The dam of tears threatened to break on me.

“Lauren.” His voice was gentle but stern. “Look at me.”

I stayed silent. I couldn’t even face him. If I did then everything would come rushing forth and I wouldn’t be able to stop the flood then. My vision started to blur from the build-up of unshed tears. I felt as something touch my chin and attempted to turn my head towards Loki, but I refused to show my heartbreak. I was so focused on trying to hide my emotions that I didn’t feel the tears escaping from my eyes to roll down my face and onto whatever awaited below. The object touching my chin, his hand I realized, dropped. I almost missed Loki swearing before changing directions and marching away from the hallway and into the kitchen. Loki shifted his hold on me to gently set me on the countertop, the overhead cabinets hitting the middle of my shoulder blades. I shifted my gaze to my lap as I began to register the tears as they dropped onto my lap, my hands clasped in my lap.

“Why are you crying?!” Loki said in a slightly panicked voice.

“It’s nothing.” The words were still on repeat in my head and my heart felt like it was cracking with each blow. I swallowed as I noted how close the hallway was to where I had been seated. It might be a struggle, but I bet if I pushed hard enough I could make it to my room in time to properly break down. “You know what, it’s not that far to my room. I think I can make it on my own. Thanks for your help. Night Lo…”

I had to cut off my rambling at his name. Even saying one syllable of it hurt. I began to push off the counter to drop to the ground when suddenly two hands appeared on either side of my waist effectively pinning me in place. Loki fitted himself between my legs which were slightly parted, cutting off my last escape route. I flinched slightly as my heart thudded making the pain hurt so much worse.

“I’m not letting you go nor am I leaving until I know what’s wrong and how I might fix it.” I felt something bump against my forehead. I realized very quickly that it was his forehead and my heart practically seized from the information. “Why won’t you look at me?”

“It’s nothing,” I whispered. Loki’s forehead drew back from mine, and I had to bite back the whine from the loss of contact. How pathetic could I get? “I'm fine.”

I was still gazing down at my hands, so I saw one of his hands clasp over both my wrists to draw them over my head and pin them to the cabinet behind me. I drew in a sharp breath as his other hand found the underside of my chin and tilted it upward. For one brief second, my eyes took him in, and my heart broke all over again. Almost instantly I shifted my eyes away. It was too painful. Tears continued to streak down my cheeks.

“Lauren.” His voice was so beautiful and enticing. Why did I have to delude myself into thinking he wanted me? I hated myself. “Look at me.”

His voice had turned pleading, and I couldn’t resist him any longer. I looked back at him and met his gaze. And instantly he was in my mind, wordlessly asking permission to see the source of my pain, and the lovesick fool I was let him see without a second thought.

He saw how the words had hit my heart and felt my pain as I turned the words over in my mind twisting them to hurt myself further as rationality gave way to my overly sensitive heart.

 I sobbed openly this time as I relived the pain fresh from both time and my mind. It was truly salt to my wounds. As it wasn’t a long memory, it ended almost seconds after it began, and had it not been for his hands holding my arms above my head I would have crumpled under the heartache I could no longer suppress.

“You silly, beautiful girl,” Loki growled causing my eyes to focus on him anew. “How could you think I don’t want you? I keep trying to tell you that you are the only person I have wanted for quite some time.” My breath hitched slightly. “The only reason I didn’t agree is that your injury isn’t fully healed, and I would regret reopening it and causing you more pain. If it were healed I wouldn’t have taken so long to escape from that party. From the moment I met you, I’ve wanted you. Never forget that.”

I laughed a little as I realized how sensitive hormones could make you. I knew he cared for me in some manner and I for him so why was I overreacting? In addition, it wasn’t like I was trying to proposition him. My whole life I had believed in waiting till marriage and though it could get pretty heated whenever we were together, that was still something I strongly believed in. The laugh died along with my train of thought shortly after as I felt his crotch brush lightly up against my core.

I swallowed thickly as I became hyperaware of our positioning. If someone were to walk in they might get the wrong idea. And with that thought a small blush had begun to creep its way up the back of my neck. A small heat began to grow at my core and my whole face burst into a flaming blush as I realized if we didn’t move soon I would make this new problem known very quickly and this time I wouldn’t need any form of verbal communication.

“Loki…” A nervous whine entered my voice intent on asking to change positioning when I noticed Loki’s pupils had severely dilated and my breath caught in my throat as my words died in my throat.

For about three seconds we watched each other then he made his move. My arms were still pinned above my head my wrists held tightly in his hand. His other hand drew my chin towards him until our lips met. Then his hand moved down and around my back to pull me tighter to him.

The kiss started out soft, gentle, and sweet. Then the intensity began to build, every few seconds one of us would shift unintentionally moving the head away casing the other to give chase, I could feel my core tightening and I became acutely aware of a larger development pressing against my core.

Our mouths separated to allow for air. Loki was fine but I was gasping for air. Loki leaned down slightly so his forehead was once again up against mine.

“I don’t know if I can wait for your wound to heal,” Loki murmured. I felt him release my hands and they dropped lightly to my sides. His forehead lifted from mine, and I felt his lips on my forehead. “I need you to stop this. To stop me. I don’t think I have it in me to stop.”

“What if I don’t want you to stop?” I murmured back as I caught my breath, my ideals long forgotten. I shifted slightly trying to press even closer causing my shirt to drag a little on my skin as it made contact with Loki’s leather armor. I felt the shirt catch slightly on my stitching and hissed from this discomfort that caused. As much as I wanted this, I knew Loki was right. If we didn’t stop I would be in for a lot worse than my shirt catching on my stitches. Placing my hand gently on his chest, I looked up at Loki. “No. You’re right. We have to stop.”

Loki pulled away, and I stifled the whimper that tried to emerge from the loss of contact. Loki had already managed to compose himself by the time I looked back up at him. I made to push myself off the counter once more after managing to draw my attention away from Loki when I felt an arm at my back and under my knees once more. Loki lifted me for what felt like the millionth time that night.

“You do know I’m not incapable of moving on my own right?” I chuckled slightly as I tried to ignore the strange sensation growing between my legs.

“Of course, but I rather like the feeling of you in my arms.” My heart twinged slightly as I blushed what I knew would be a violent shade of red. Loki continued on our original path and entered the hallway before making it to a door some ways down the hall. Loki gently lowered me to my feet. “Do you need my help, or do you think you can make it to your bed by yourself?”

“I think I’ll be fine.” I smiled patting his arm. I understood this time, that if he came in we may not be able to stop the one-way course to pain we were on. “Although if you change your mind and need a different place to sleep, the offer is still on the table. Although it’s only for sleep, not the uh…not the other thing.” I blushed a little harder before offering him a small smile and turning to open the door. I stepped into the frame before looking back at him. “Good night, Loki.”

I hesitated half a second before walking fully into what I hoped was my new bedroom, shutting the door behind me, and transforming my dress into more comfortable pajamas as I did so. I didn’t make it half a step before my lower abdomen started screaming at me, so I just teleported to my bed. Physical therapy was gonna suck. Flopping down on the bed, I grabbed a pillow and squealed into it rolling slightly as I did so. I had never been so close to throwing away my principles as I had back there in the kitchen. I couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened if I hadn’t asked to stop. Removing the pillow from my face, I lay out, staring at the ceiling. The ache between my legs dulled, overtaken by the pain in my abdomen. I sat up slightly, lifting my shirt to check the stitches. The area was red and felt like it was hotter than the rest of my skin. I lay back down relieved that my wound was showing signs of healing and although inflammation sucked it was a good sign. I pulled the pillow back to me before resting my head on it. My skin still felt the fires of intimacy I had experienced only a few minutes before and as such was too warm to use a blanket. I curled up slightly, smiling to myself thinking over how happy I felt. As I let myself relax into the mattress, all the tension leaving my body, the exhaustion from earlier returned. Rather than fight it, I succumbed to the siren call of sleep. My eyes closed and off to a land of dreams, I went.

*********

Loki’s Perspective

*********

I didn’t move when the door shut. I couldn’t go anywhere. My beloved was on the other side of a door that should remain closed for her sake and yet… my subconscious kept flinging fears into my mind. Fears for her safety. I had come so close to losing her and I never saw it coming. I had never truly known fear before her. The thought of the Mad Titan, once the sole subject of my nightmares, now nothing more than a whisper in the back of my mind compared to the thought of any threat to her. Were she Asgardian perhaps then I needn’t worry so. But she was far too human to allow for that.

I waited until I could be certain she was asleep before silently teleporting into the room by her bed. Her back was to me, so I was unable to see her face. What I could see however was her slender form, her skin luminescent in the moonlight that filtered through the crack in her curtains. It was impossible to mistake her humanness in this light. Although her form looked to be near ethereal, it also betrayed the softness that would break for anything.  Her skin was so delicate and translucent in the light that she appeared almost like glass, and I feared what even the smallest touch might do to make her break.

I remembered all the thoughts I had seen in that false healer’s mind. Her intentions towards my intended were clear. She was to be coerced into joining the cult the assassin belonged to and if she refused, the leaders would torment my beloved drawing every tear, every scream, every ounce of pain, and every drop of blood that she had to give in order to make weapons. If either of those plans came to fruition then I would never see my beloved again. The thought terrified me. I had almost taken her and run, but I denied myself in favor of following what her wishes would surely be. Her happiness was the only priority that superseded her safety. But only just.

I had yet to even tell her that I loved her. I had only just begun to figure out my intentions toward her before her injury. Now though I had had the time to come to terms with that knowledge, she on the other hand was blissfully unaware. I would wait to tell her when she was fully healed maybe then we could lead our relationship somewhere meaningful. I chuckled silently as I thought of how she believed I didn’t want her. She couldn’t be further from the truth. Over a year ago she might have been right. I was too blind to see the opportunities the Norns had placed before me. During my time under Thanos, I had been made aware of feelings I was unaware of. I had been flooded with thoughts of her and her memories while we were separated, which led me to feel trust and adoration towards her. Then when we were reunited, my emotions intensified. Holding her in my arms felt right. I needed to keep her at my side, safe and warm. Then when she had fallen prey to a near-fatal wound, I realized I couldn’t lose her. It would kill me and all the good she seemed to believe I possessed. And while waiting for her to awaken I realized I loved her. I couldn’t live without her.

Slight whimpers emerged from the form before me, and I realized she had started shaking. Presumably from the cold given that she had elected to ignore her blankets. Using my magic, I manifested a thick velvet blanket and draped it over her. I continued watching closely to see if her shivering stopped. After a few minutes, the shivering slowed before coming to a stop. As I watched I happened to catch snippets of words mumbled under her breath.

“No…can’t…don’t take…from me.” Her pleas were quiet but clearly begging for someone. I wasn’t sure who, but I knew she didn’t like whatever she was seeing. Lauren began twisting around in her sheets, writhing as her pleas became more intelligible. “Not…please…not him.”

My breathing stuttered slightly as I heard her pleading with someone on behalf of some mysterious him. My heart burned with jealousy, but I had no idea if the He she spoke of was someone she loved or a figure from her past that I had yet to uncover.

Lauren rolled over and my rage failed me in favor of despair as I noticed for the first time her facial expression. Twisted by agony and sorrow with tears streaming down what should have been her peaceful face in sleep. Her dreams were causing her distress, and I wasn’t sure I could do anything to ease the pain they caused her heart. Then a single phrase broke free from the mumbling of sleep. Near silent to all save myself.

“Don’t hurt Loki.” Panic briefly crossed her features before fading in favor of pain and sadness. My heart for a brief moment swelled with joy to know the feature of her dreams was me. That quickly dissipated as her writhing intensified. There was no pause to think before I reached out to grab her hand intent on shielding her mind from the nightmare plaguing her. The moment my skin met hers, her writhing stopped as her body relaxed. She sighed before breathing out, “Loki…I love…you.”

I released her hand as a smile graced her face. She shifted, rolling fully onto her side, facing me. Her breathing grew shallow before she exhaled a short puff from her nose and her head jerked up her eyes snapping open and darting around wildly before resting on me. Her features relaxed and her head rested upon her pillow once more.

“Hey.” She smiled. “You came back.”

“I found myself unable to rest.” I lied. It would only upset her to know my reasoning.

“That sounds perfectly plausible.” She murmured. “Or is it the fact that you’re afraid I might vanish if you take your eyes off me for even a second?”

“How did you…?” I asked mildly shocked.

“I may be blonde but I'm not that dumb.” She chuckled. “I kept catching this look in your eyes like I was gonna disappear and it terrified you. Of course, I noticed. I notice everything when it comes to you.”

I froze as I took in her implication. She didn’t just know me…she saw me…all of me.

“C’mere.” One of her hands slid out from under the blanket outstretched towards me. I took her hand and let her lead me onto the bed. She flipped over so her back was pressed to mine. Reaching her other arm backward she grabbed my hand and led it across her waist to hold her tighter to me. She interlaced her fingers with mine before letting out a contented sigh. “Well now if I disappear, wherever I go you’re coming with me. No one could rip us apart if they tried.”

I buried my nose in her hair as the words flooded over me.

“Will you sing to me?” She muttered softly, her consciousness fading rapidly.

Softly in almost a whisper, I complied. Singing an ancient lullaby that my mother used to sing to me I sang her into a deep and peaceful sleep. I fell into a slumber not long after, calmed by the slow rise and fall of her chest and the rhythmic beating of her heart.

*********

Loki’s Perspective End

*********

Notes:

I'm baaaaaack!!! Hello my wonderful readers! I know it has been quite some time and I am so sorry about that y'all!!! My surgery went well with minimal complications and I am fully recovered!!! I had a new job that I started for the summer that just wiped my energy. Who knew being in charge of a gaggle of children (12 to be exact) could wipe one's energy quite so completely X). As for my style of writing in the notes, I do believe Bridgerton is to blame. Now I am back although we are finally catching up to what I have already written so updates maybe slower as I am sincerely struggling with writer's block as it pertains to the Iron Man 3 arc. Pray that it turns out well I certainly am. As always I look forward to hearing from y'all and I hope y'all enjoyed!!!

Chapter 25

I was warm. And not uncomfortably so. I felt a strong weight around my waist and a soft breeze around the back of my head…based on the rhythmic quality it held I guessed it was someone breathing. I almost opened my eyes to see if it was Loki like I hoped it was, but if I was dreaming then I didn’t want to wake up. I shifted backward slightly and felt an even warmer hard surface behind me…kind of like someone’s chest. My heart squeezed a little, hoping I wasn’t dreaming. The arm around my waist tightened pulling me closer to the warmth behind me.

“Good morning.” His voice murmured above my ear. A smile grew on my face as I rolled over, opening my eyes for the first time. Loki’s emerald eyes were the first thing I saw, practically sparkling with…was that joy? “Pleasant dreams I hope.”

“Mhmm.” I threw my arm around his waist. “Although the best part was when I dreamed of the most handsome man holding me tight.”

“Handsome? Should I be worried?” The sparkle in his eyes turned mischievous.

“Ooooh I don’t know.” My smile widened to a smirk. “He’s pretty cute. Almost too good to be true.”

“Then I will just have to see what I can do to change that,” Loki whispered in my ear.

His face was close to mine, blocking out the view of his arm moving from around my waist to grab my wrists and pull them over my head. I blushed bright red. Loki moved closer before he pressed his lips gently to mine. He released my hands allowing me to move my hands down to him. Threading my fingers in his hair pulling myself tighter to him and deepening the kiss. His own hands moved down to find my waist.

“Ehm.” A voice coughed out from behind Loki. I lifted my head to see Tony and Nat watching us. Tony looked deeply disgusted. But Nat looked strangely thrilled…again. Why did she keep reacting like that? “Hope I’m not intruding.”

“Seriously Dad?!” I dipped my head down, embarrassed to have been seen. “Can you please learn to knock?!”

“Nope.” Tony said with a popping noise for the ‘p.’ “Besides I thought you two weren’t ‘doing’ it.”

“Oh, really you wanna go there?!” My head popped back up over Loki’s shoulder to narrow my eyes at Tony. I could see Loki laughing out of the corner of my eye and could feel him shaking with laughter. “Well fine then if you want to witness my first time, then be my guest.”

I felt Loki’s hands tighten slightly on my hips. My eyes shifted down to look at him. My breathing stuttered slightly as I noted the darkened gaze he leveled me with now. It was almost wolfish in nature. It took everything I had to rip my gaze away from his. Snapping my eyes back up to Tony and Nat, I raised an eyebrow.

“No worries we’ll get out of your hair.” Nat bit back a smirk before attempting to push Tony out of the room. “Just came to let you know that breakfast was ready.”

I watched Tony’s expression shifting between disgust and shock as he attempted to come to terms with what I had said. I lay back down as the door shut behind them. I felt a strange gnawing sensation in my stomach. Most likely guilt and a little disgust with myself for using sex as a threat. I felt Loki’s hand begin to move from my hip to my abdomen. A warm sensation began to emanate from where he touched making me gasp. His other hand moved up to cup my jaw and pull me back in for a kiss. I was startled and a slight gasp escaped my lips just before his came crashing down. It was like tiny little fireworks going off behind my eyelids. It was strong and commanding, yet passionate and full of…lust? Or maybe love? I was quick to fall to the flames of emotion battering my heart. Loki pulled away briefly to look down where his hand was on my stomach.

“Loki…” I whispered breathlessly. “What…?”

“Your wound…?” Loki murmured. I lifted myself up on my elbows and looked down at my lower abdomen. The stitches were gone leaving behind a very ugly pink scar.

A strange, disturbed-sounding noise ripped its way from my throat. I practically threw myself out of bed to get to the bathroom and look in the mirror. It took me until I reached the sink to realize I wasn’t having difficulty moving anymore. Shock flooded me as I numbly moved to check my injuries. Stripping off my shirt, I noted my brand-new scar once more before turning around to note the matching scar on my lower back. Panic began warring with despair in my heart. I felt a lump forming in my throat as tears bubbled at the corners of my eyes. What was happening to me? I was starting to feel terrified at the rate my powers were growing. Half of them were unknown and that made them dangerous. Sure, me healing myself turned out to be harmless but what if the other powers weren’t? And then there was the despair I felt in looking at my scar. I had never had problems with self-image, but here was this brand-new scar that was screaming in the light of day to be noticed. Shuddering slightly, I took in the scar again trying to take a calming breath. When my eyes noticed the one on my shoulder the despair renewed. I wrapped my arms around my middle and squeezed my eyes shut. I felt another set of arms wrap around me from behind just as I began to sink to my knees. I opened my eyes to see Loki holding me up in the mirror. Loki’s expression looked worried.

“I’m fine.” My voice wavered. My lower lip was trembling slightly as I tried to repress my emotions. As I had learned during the battle, negative emotions would lead to the activation of the power stone’s capabilities. “I…it’s nothing.”

“It isn’t nothing, Lauren,” Loki murmured as he sank with me to the floor. My breathing stuttered, whether from the sadness or love, I wasn’t sure. “You never have to hide from me. Ever.”

“I don’t even know if it’s safe for me to do that.” My voice caught on the lump in my throat as I choked back a sob. “Once upon a time maybe, but now…I can’t trust my emotions…not when they’re so…attached to my powers.”

“You can with me.” Loki reached down one arm and drew my legs up to the rest of my body, so I was curled up in his lap. “I promise you, nothing will hurt me. And if you want to take precautions, I can always give you the cuffs.”

I smiled a little before the floodgates burst open and my emotions flooded out. I cried for several minutes all the while Loki whispered words of affection and kindness. When my tears inevitably ran out I looked up at Loki with a weak smile.

“Thank you.” My voice was slightly hoarse from the crying jag I had just gone on. It had been years since I had been able to openly express my emotions without fear of what would happen.

“Always.” Loki pulled me tighter to him and a little happy noise was emitted from the back of my throat, much to my embarrassment. I saw Loki smile with mild amusement at the sound I had made, but for once he ignored it. “Now what’s wrong?”

I flinched slightly as my fingertips brushed over the scar. “It’s nothing. You should go get something to eat, I need to shower.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Pet.” Loki’s eyes were locked onto where my scar was covered by my arms. “Why are you so upset?”

I ducked my head. Of course, he had seen me flinch.

“Scars…” I whispered. I had never been one to hate a part of myself simply because it was different, but I had never had a reason to before. “My scars are hideous.”

“Hideous?!” Loki said incredulously. “How could they be hideous? They are proof of your strength and valor. Proof that you survived. To me that alone makes them beautiful. And then when I see them on you…they are truly glorious to behold.” My face was burning again but for once…I didn’t mind. “That is not the only thing causing you distress, is it? What else is troubling you?

“I am scared.” I looked down for a brief moment, readying myself to tell him everything when I realized this couldn’t be overheard. I pulled myself out of his arms, noting the look of disappointment on his face which he quickly schooled into a mask of curiosity. I walked the two steps to my double sink before turning them both on full blast. Then I turned to do the same with my shower and bathtub. I couldn’t risk anyone overhearing this and I could only hope the water idea worked. “Sorry I know that seemed weird but what I’m about to tell you can’t be heard by anyone else.”

“Then why didn’t you ask me to use magic?” Loki tilted his head slightly as I sat back down on the floor, this time facing him.

“I would’ve if I knew what you could do.” I shrugged. “There are cameras and audio equipment all over the place and since I don’t know where they are, I just figured it was best to act as if they were everywhere.”

Loki lifted his hand, and a strange green bubble surrounded us. As soon as it closed, I could not hear the water I had turned on. Although a quick look around the room revealed they still were.

“Better?” Loki smirked as I looked back at him.

“Show-off,” I muttered. Clearing my throat a little, I smiled nervously before beginning. “I promised to tell you a few things yesterday and the day before at a later time. Well, I guess now is as good a time as any.” Loki’s expression grew more serious, and I knew he understood the gravity of the situation. “A long time ago…in human time I mean…there was a war over ideals. Morality versus depravity. On the side of depravity was an organization obsessed with the ancient mythologies of our world.”

“Mythologies?” Loki interrupted.

“Like the ancient Greek gods, Roman gods, and…Norse gods.” I held my breath a little bit as Loki took in my meaning. “The organization's name…was Hydra. Although its name was derived from Greek myth, Hydra’s main obsession was of Norse origin. They searched for the ‘jewel’ of Odin’s treasure room, also known as…”

“The Tesseract.” Loki breathed out finishing my sentence. He drew one hand down his face before looking back at me.

“And they found it.” My voice faded to a whisper. “Not long after the organization was defeated by those on the side of morality. Or so we thought. Unbeknownst to the world at large, remnants of Hydra infiltrated the organization formed by the leaders of morality known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Currently, those remnants have rebuilt themselves to almost all of Hydra’s full ‘glory.’ Hiding in plain sight within the ranks of the organization which half of my family hails from.”

“And why does that scare you so much?” Loki swallowed thickly.

“Because I’ve just put myself on their radar. With strong powers and multiple unknowns, I’m sure Hydra’s scientists would love to dissect me, find out what makes me tick, and how to use whatever they find to their own benefit.” A small tear escaped my eye, and I quickly brushed it away. “Hydra loves to take what doesn’t belong to it and ravage whatever they find to fulfill their own purpose.” Venom fills my voice. I have always hated Hydra. “And now they’ve got members in the building, and they have the trust of those I hold most dear. Those soldiers from yesterday? The reason I don’t trust them? They are Hydra, Loki. Secretary Pierce? The reason I hate him? He’s their leader.”

“I will kill them all,” Loki promised, his voice thick with anger and his eyes filled with death. I put my hand on his arm to keep him from leaving.

“You can’t. At least, not yet.” I smiled painfully, knowing what I was asking. “As much as I want them gone, they still have a purpose to fulfill, a place in the timeline, and to remove them from it could change everything and then I would be just as blind to the future as everyone else.”

“Then, for now, I will wait.” Loki’s rage seemed to lower.

“Thank you.” I smiled sadly. My arms once more wrapped around my abdomen,

“There’s one more thing.” I looked down. I bit my lip slightly as I really didn’t want to tell him and probably shouldn’t, but I had a feeling he would know if something this big was weighing on my mind. “On the topic of Hydra…” I looked back up nervously to see Loki had completely masked his emotions and winced. “At some point, they will come after me so I will have to go on the run, eventually.”

“Then I will go with you.” Loki’s response was immediate and determined. It made me want to smile.

“You can’t.” I took a deep breath. “I need you on Asgard in about a month, with Heimdall in case they do catch up with me for a quick getaway.”

“Why not come to Asgard with me?” Loki looked confused. “Surely that would be safer.”

“I will join you there. Soon. But first I have things to deal with here. And then after Asgard, I have to handle Hydra.” I smiled. “You’ve been in my head before Loki, you know I would never abandon my family when they need me. Especially not to protect myself.”

“I don’t like this,” Loki said through grit teeth.

“I know but if you’re there you can help me better than if you had to remain in a constant supervised state.” I put my hand over Loki’s. “If you stayed here, I wouldn’t let you ruin your chance at walking my home freely by disobeying the rules set in place. I won’t force you, but I need you to know my stance. I can’t risk your freedom Loki.”

Loki opened his arms, and I crawled back into his lap. I curled up, resting my head on his chest. Loki just held me for a few moments before I spoke again.

“Ok now I really have to shower 'cause I’m almost one thousand percent certain I stink, and I don’t know how you’re handling it.” I pushed myself up with a slight grunt before making my way over to the shower. I turned around and noticed Loki had not moved. “Are you going to leave?” Loki shook his head. He stood up and walked over to where I stood.

“I plan on joining you.” His voice was low, seductive. I could feel my ears blazing.

As he spoke a memory, seemingly from a lifetime ago, came to my mind. My mother and I often had had interesting conversations. One in particular made its presence known.

*********

“Lauren.” My mother’s voice rang out in my mind drawing me back in time several years.

“Lauren.” My head lifted up.

“Yes?” My mother’s face was peering down on me from her chair as I sat at her feet, painting her nails.

“You know I love you. Right.” Her voice almost sounded nervous as she started.

“Of course I do. ”I scoffed at her. “What makes you say that?”

“It's just I feel that I haven't prepared you for the harder matters of the world especially for something like love it's complicated I don't feel like I've represented that enough to you.” My mother's eyes grew distant as she stared off into the space around my head for a moment.

“What do you mean how could life be complicated mom?” I tilted my head at her.

“Did I ever tell you about my first boyfriend Lauren?” Her eyes snapped back to me.

“Yeah, your first love, cheated on you, broke your heart.” I waved my hand in the air briefly as if to say ‘et cetera.’ I had heard this story many times before. I looked back down to focus on continuing to paint her toes period.

Did you know I gave up my virginity to him, before i was married? That I didn't give it up to your father?” That made me pause. Looking up at her questions for me in my eyes it has never occurred to me that she hadn't waited. Why? A question so simple almost innocuous in nature. And yet one of the most important things I'd ever ask.

“I loved him and at the time I knew he loved me. That was what mattered.”

“Was it true love?” I turned around fully at this point to look her in the eyes.

“I wouldn't call it true. What I have with your father is true. It was pure though, my first love and I don't regret it because I knew it was something special. Between the two of us, there was love. I can never regret that.” She looked at me a small, beautiful smile on her lips. “There's a reason I'm telling you this. I know it seems strange now of all times, I just want you to remember if there ever comes a time you think you're ready to give up your virginity, make sure that you love him.”

 I smiled at that. “I will mom! I won't just give it up to some random guy.”

 “I wasn't finished.” She said softly. “More than making sure you love him before you decide to ‘give it up’ as you so eloquently put it, make sure he loves you too. Making this choice is hard. You only get one chance to make it the first time, so make sure it's with someone that you won't regret. My mother always put it to me as ‘giving a piece of your soul’ to someone, so please don’t give it to a random stranger or some guy that you kind of ‘like’ or some guy who pressured you into it. Only give it when you are certain there is really love there, otherwise wait.” I opened my mouth to speak but she shushed me. “I'm not asking you to wait until marriage just that you wait until you find the right guy, maybe not Mr. Right, but someone you'll never regret when you tell your kids. So, PROMISE ME you will wait for love. His and yours.”

I looked her in the eyes. They were serious with the gravity of her request, yet full of love and the promise of a mother’s protection. I knew in that moment if I made her this promise I would keep it. Even if that meant forever. I took a deep breath then responded, “I promise.”

*********

Although the memory was a mere whisper in the back of my mind, it took a fraction of the second to travel its way from my mind to my heart. A reminder of my vow. But why was I remembering it now? I loved him and I knew he liked me surely that was enough. Like…not love. A sharp pang of sadness twinged in my heart as I halted his advance. I had promised. I knew he liked me, but I had never once heard him say he loved me. Until I knew he did this relationship could go no further.

“I…I’m sorry.” I looked down almost heartbroken as I forced myself and him to stop. “I can’t do this. I’m not…I’m not ready.” The small lie felt like it burned as it escaped my lips. If Loki knew I had just lied, he didn’t call me on it. I was grateful if only for this one small reprieve.

“Lauren as much as I would want to be with you, I do not want to move forward in our companionship if you are not ready for it.” Loki moved his hands to cup the underneath of my jaw. “I have had my ‘first time’ as you called it earlier. However, you have waited your whole life, and you deserve to have the experience whispered about in your dreams and those disturbing ‘works’ fiction your Aunt is always going on about but only when you are ready for it. I will wait as long as that takes.”

I took in a shuddering breath as tears of joy filled my eyes this time. In the last hour, the two of us had been through so many emotions and he never abandoned me once. Without forming any proper thought, I slid my hands up his chest sliding one up to the back of his head and pulling him down to kiss me. It was the first time I had ever initiated a romantic encounter, and I could feel Loki’s surprise, but it was nowhere near as surprised as I was. I had never been a particularly physical being but to be perfectly fair I guess I had never had a reason to be one before. And then all too soon I pulled away. As much as I wanted this to continue I knew if I didn’t stop then we would go all the way and I knew I wouldn’t break my promise, not even for him. Principles or not, it was the right thing to do.

“Ok, now you have to go.” I smiled, making a shooing motion with my hands.

“I really wish I didn’t.” Loki smiled as he walked in the other direction to the door. “I will see you when you have finished.”

As the door shut behind him, I walked over to the sinks and cut the water off. I looked up, catching sight of myself once more. Only this time I didn’t mind the scars. After hearing what Loki said, I viewed them with pride. They were a testament to everything I had worked towards and all I had achieved. The lives I had saved. Suddenly that seemed beautiful. I could feel my heart glowing with love for the god outside my bathroom door. Whoever said perfection didn’t exist…they lied.

Notes:

Been a minute hasn’t it! Sorry it’s taken so long. You would not believe the last few months I’ve had. My new college schedule hasn’t given me any time to myself so it’s harder to find the time to write. I have been in the classroom as a student teacher for the first time though which has been an amazing experience all around. My brother got into a HORRIFIC car accident (he’s ok unfortunately the other people weren’t). Then Maggie Smith passed away and my dad was rushed to the ER (on the same day) and hospitalized for several days. And to top it all off, I haven’t been home in months so I couldn’t be with my loved ones through it all. But perseverance my dear readers. I have taken this schedule in stride and have nearly perfect grades, I have made new friendships, formed professional connections, and managed to keep my spirits relatively high as I plan to celebrate my Nana’s birthday this weekend. But I’m back and I will try to post at least once a month. As always I look forward to hearing your thought on this chapter. I love hearing from y’all. Until next time y’all!!!

Chapter 26

When I finished my shower, I wasn’t thinking about the fact that Loki might still be in my bedroom. I had forgotten to bring clothes with me, so I walked out in nothing but a towel to grab my clothes. If I had thought about it I probably would have just brought the clothes or at least summoned them to me but ADD is a bitch and I was really wrapped up in my own headspace. It wasn’t until I heard the low whistle when I had made my way across half of my room that I realized my mistake.

“Now what could I have possibly done to deserve this?” His voice rang out playfully. I froze in my path for a second as I realized he was behind me.

“You’re still here…” I managed to squeak out.

“Of course, I am.” He sounded highly amused. “Where else would I be?”

I whirled around to face him. His eyes were glittering with mirth. He was practically laughing at me. I could easily make that stop.

I turned back around and marched over to my dresser to find my clothes for the day. I heard Loki start to chuckle. Well, it wasn’t like my behind was new to him and I was fairly certain he had at some point seen at least my back fully naked so as soon as I found the underwear I wanted, I dropped the towel. Loki’s chuckle quickly turned into a sharp intake of breath. I felt extremely self-conscious, but I ignored it to make a point. As I pulled my underwear on, I felt a pair of hands grip my waist. I pulled away to grab a bra. If I was going to face him then it would be half naked. When I turned back around, Loki’s pupils were fully dilated, and his mouth was slightly open.

“I’m sorry, dear, what was so funny?” My eyes narrowed and my voice was dripping with sarcasm. Loki’s mouth opened and closed. I had left him completely speechless. I turned back around to rifle through my drawers. “I love you, but…”

“Say that again.” I suddenly found myself whirled around and pinned to the dresser.

“What? The ‘what was so funny’ part?” My eyebrows pinched slightly in confusion.

“No, the part after that.” Loki sounded slightly breathless.

“I love you?” I was puzzled. This wasn’t the first time he’d heard me say those words, so I wasn’t entirely sure why he was reacting in such a manner after I’d effectively and stubbornly mooned him just to make a point. Although what that point was supposed to be I couldn’t remember. “Wha...”

His hands were holding my face within a second drawing me in for a kiss. I wasn’t sure why, but this kiss felt different from the rest we had shared. It was full of passion, and it was gentle, but it felt like there was something stronger at play although I wasn’t sure if it was just me.

When he pulled away, I was truly breathless. I looked up at him slightly stunned. That kiss had been beautiful, but nothing compared to the look on his face. His eyes were sparkling with joy that was completely unmarred by anger or even mischief. He looked almost blissfully at peace, more so than I had yet to see in him.

“I will return.” His voice was soft. Loki vanished before my eyes leaving me very confused.

I leaned against my dresser for support as I tried to understand what had just happened, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of Loki’s reaction. Sure, he had kissed me but then he practically ran away without saying anything. The cogs in my mind were turning trying to pick apart Loki’s actions. He had never told me he loved me, but I knew he cared about me or at the very least had shown small amounts of lust. Perhaps this was his way of showing me how much what I said meant to him. To my knowledge, Loki had never had someone admit to loving him, to choosing him. Maybe that was his way of showing appreciation. I could feel I was onto something, but I wasn’t sure. I did know however that Loki didn’t often express vulnerability especially emotions like love. I sighed knowing I wouldn’t be able to figure this out on my own.

I looked down slightly and then remembered I was practically naked. The confusion shifted into an awkward ‘oh shit’ face. Running my hands down the length of my body and I found my body clad in a really cute outfit. A wine-red shirt with black jeans and black boots.

“That’s better.” I suppressed a laugh as I thought of the absurdity that had been my morning. Having a mental breakdown half-naked, mooning my…fiancé? Man, that was going to be difficult to wrap my mind around, and saying I love you while wearing nothing but my underwear (that was definitely a first for me given the situation) and then having my fiancé disappear without ever saying it back. “That’s step one complete.” I smiled before moving in for a quote. “Now what the hell was step two?”

“I believe nourishment was next.” Loki smiled, reappearing by my side. His hand reached down to entwine his fingers with mine.

“That sounds good.” I walked toward the door, relishing in the ease of movement compared to yesterday. I was still worried about what that meant for my future, but I felt confident that whatever came my way I could face it. With Loki by my side, I felt like I could do anything. Gently pulling Loki’s hand, I lead us to the door. “Time to face the music.”

*********

Walking out to the kitchen on my floor with Loki by my side was like floating on clouds. I knew I had it bad for him. I almost didn’t want to come down. But seeing the main cast of my favorite movie staring at us was very sobering. I knew there would be judgment from them, but they would come around. I hoped.

“Well, that was quick.” Clint snarked. I looked over to the kitchen to see the Avengers in various locations around my kitchen. Clint was over by the stove making food. Most likely to supply the mountain of eggs I assumed was hiding Thor. “Hope you at least got to enjoy yourself kiddo.”

“Ew!” My lip curled with disgust. “Clint don’t. Just don’t. Also, who snitched?”

“What?!” Tony raised his hands in a ‘don’t blame me’ motion before reaching for the coffee pot. He was standing closest to the hallway. “You started it.”

“Yeah well, it didn’t happen so you can quit being an ass.” I pulled out a barstool and hopped up to sit. I was sitting one seat away from Nat. I noted Cap was sitting on Nat’s other side. “I only said that so you would leave. I’m not into voyeurism.”

“Thank god!” Tony said. His voice was saturated with relief. I looked up at him unamused. “I mean…better luck next time?”

“Gross.” I tried to hold a straight face, but I wasn’t able to cause almost immediately Tony started laughing. “Love you too Dad.”

Loki’s head was whipping back and forth between us like a tennis match, but I could feel his relief that it was a joke. A plate with bacon and scrambled eggs was quickly placed before me.

“C’mon Loki, you can sit here.” I smiled at Loki who had been standing behind me throughout the entire encounter. I patted the seat beside me. Loki tentatively sat down between me and Nat.

“So are we going to ignore the fact that she just walked in without assistance or…” A voice popped up from the opposite end of the counter right next to the mountain of eggs. I leaned forward to see Bruce looking at me slightly nervously.

“It's cool Bruce.” I took a deep breath. “Turns out I’ve got some kind of super healing factor. As of this morning.”

“Anything we need to look out for?” Nat asked before scooping up a bite of eggs and popping them into her mouth.

“I don’t know yet.” I took a deep breath. “I was thinking me and the science bros could check it out and perform some tests to find out some answers.”

“Yeah cause you want Jolly Green over here anywhere you with a needle.” Tony scoffed.

“I don’t react that badly.” I winced knowing how bad of a liar I could be. There was something different about telling a lie to family compared to telling one to say a Hydra agent. With the Hydra agent, it was like I was playing a role. I was telling the truth of a character rather than my own. But with those I considered my family…I had never been able to lie well. “Needles aren’t that scary,” I said unconvincingly. “Besides I promised Doctor Strange I would have my blood work done.”

Laughter erupted from Clint. His back was to me, but I could see his shoulders shaking. Tony leaned back on the countertop raising an eyebrow. I could even hear Nat’s attempt to smother her snicker.

“Darling…You were willing to risk personal injury rather than allow a needle to enter your arm two days ago.” Loki said gently, but I could see the humor in his eyes.

“Yeah…well…” I groaned as I couldn’t come up with a valid excuse. “Y’all suck.”

“Just keeping you honest.” Clint turned around, carrying a pan with more scrambled eggs to the counter.

As he set them down on the trivet, I saw a hand reach out from behind the pile of eggs that had lowered enough to allow me to see that I was right about it being Thor. The hand made to grab the pan, but another hand flew out to smack it. Nat evidently had had enough of Thor’s bottomless hunger.

“The rest of us need to eat too, Thor.” Nat’s voice held the gentle tone of warning, but I could see she found Thor’s antics amusing.

“Right, yes.” Thor’s face peered out from behind the mountain to smile at us sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“You can have mine if you want Thor.” I offered with a kind smile. I just wasn’t feeling hungry.

“Why thank you, tiny human.” Thor smiled goofily and reached forward towards my plate. I started pushing the plate towards him when a hand appeared over the top of my arm.

“You haven’t eaten anything in two days,” Loki said gently, but I couldn’t hear a single note of mischief. “Thor will survive having eaten enough to feed a small country. He does not need your portion as well. You, however, do.”

“It’s fine Loki. I’m just not hungry right now.” I smiled softly, placing my hand over his.

“He’s right kid.” Tony’s eyes were filled with worry. “You need to eat. If you don’t I’ll have Jarvis text everyone a video compilation of you tripping on thin air.”

“What?” I swallowed hard. He knew exactly how to motivate me. “Please tell me that’s a joke.”

“Not in the slightest.” Tony cracked a smile. “Now eat or everyone gets to see how clumsy you really are.”

I glared at Tony for half a second before shoveling a bite of eggs into my mouth. I felt a little sick from trying to force myself to eat but like hell was I going to let anyone get the better of me. However, I was eating very slowly as I could barely stomach it and I didn’t want to risk an adverse reaction. Eventually, most of the team had migrated over to the living room. Even Thor had finished before me and had pulled Loki aside to have a chat. All that was left was Cap. It still felt a little awkward being around him.

“You know…” He started, my eyes snapping up to meet his eyes. “Everyone is really relieved you’re okay.”

“Yeah.” I smiled awkwardly refocusing my attention on the eggs left on my plate. “I just feel bad for putting everyone through that.”

“Why?” I looked up and was startled to see he had moved to sit next to me.

“I don’t like causing problems for other people.” I smiled sadly, looking over at the people I loved. They hadn’t heard me and that was fine by me. “All I want is for them to be safe. Happy. They’re my family but they don’t deserve the hell I put them through.”

“I don’t agree, and I don’t think they would either.” I looked back to Cap. “Family is supposed to always be there for you, to love and protect you regardless of whatever trouble you think you might have caused.”

“I know.” I felt a lump building in my throat. “My mother used to argue the same thing.”

“Where is she?” Cap asked gently.

“She’s somewhere out there. In the multiverse.” I smiled thinking of her. “You know if I had said anything like that to her she would have smacked me and told me she hoped my sense would come back. She never did it hard enough to hurt, just enough to get my attention. She was my closest friend and my greatest champion.”

“Do you miss her?” Cap asked quietly, looking upwards.

“Do you miss Peggy?” I responded. “Cap, we have no control over who we love just how we act when they are gone.”

“Steve.”

“What?” I turned to face him better.

“My name. It’s Steve. Not Cap. Not Captain. Just…Steve.” He smiled kindly.

“Nice to meet you, Steve.” A real smile filled my face this time. “I’m Lauren.”

“Do you really know everything?” Steve asked curiously.

“No.” I laughed. “Just the important stuff.”

“So about me and…” Steve swallowed hard. “and Peggy?”

“I know about Bucky too.” I let the smile fade slowly. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I’ve been there before. Healing from grief.” Steve’s hand found mine to hold it in a comforting way. “It’s not easy to come back from.”

“It never is,” I whispered. “But they are the steps you gotta take. To try to become whole again.” I smiled dryly as I quoted Steve’s future line to him. “But to quote a wise man, ‘what is grief, if not love persevering.’”

“That’s a nice way of putting it.” Steve withdrew his hand to lean back. I shoveled up the last bite of eggs and reluctantly dropped them into my mouth.

“Well, it was put that way by a better person than me,” I said after swallowing. “I try to take their advice when and where it applies.”

“Hey Nosebleed!” Tony shouted. I turned towards him. “You ready to play scientist?”

“Can I be the scientist this time?” I jokingly whined as I slid off the stool.

“And lose my favorite lab rat?” Tony asked playfully. “Never.”

“Alright fine, but next time it’s your turn.” I smiled weakly as Tony guided me to the elevator, Bruce following close behind.

“Lauren?” Loki’s voice spoke up. I could hear the worry in it. I turned to face him.

“I’ll be back in a few hours. Try not to kill Thor.” My eyes crinkled mischievously. “I haven’t really gotten to chat with him yet.”

“I promise nothing.” Loki’s eyes twinkled with humor.

“Brother…?” Thor said nervously.

“Sorry Thor I tried,” I called back as I stepped into the elevator. “Hope you’re still here when I get back.”

As the elevator doors closed, I burst out laughing at the look of panic on Thor’s face.

“You don’t think he’ll really kill Thor? Do you?” Bruce asked worriedly from my side.

“Who knows.” I shrugged. “They’ve got a complicated relationship.” I could hear Bruce gulp audibly. “Relax. I’m kidding. Loki would take time before doing something like that. You know lull them into a sense of false hope.”

“What?!” Banner yelped.

“Relax Jolly Green,” Tony said reassuringly. “She’s just messing with you.”

*********

My arm had felt sore from the needles Bruce had used. I tried to pretend I was anywhere else, but I really hated needles. After what felt like a thousand minutes of drawing blood for multiple tests, Bruce handed me a band-aid and turned to his microscope. That had been almost a week ago. I hadn’t seen Bruce since then, but Tony was constantly checking up on me. I had been hiding from him when I could just to avoid being babied. The only times I didn’t hide were when the whole team was together. Last night, Steve, Thor, and Loki were introduced to Jenga. The team who already knew the rules, had an unspoken agreement to mess with the three newbies. Every time Steve started to move a piece, Clint would bump into the table, trying to grab popcorn from the bowl “conveniently” placed in front of me, all the way across the table. Then whenever Thor would go, if he hadn’t already gotten overexcited and bumped into the table, Nat and Tony would “accidentally” jostle him. Then on Loki’s turn, I would either get up and leave the room without a word or “innocently” brush up against him. Bruce was the only person who didn’t attempt to cheat and for the most part, we left him alone. No one needed to find out if the Hulk would show up for something as silly as losing a board game.

Thor knocked over the tower the most, followed by Steve. Loki, however, had seemingly figured out our goal fairly early on. By the third game, when I came to my turn to distract him, I had walked off to get a refill of my drink, and a duplicate of Loki was waiting for me.

“Do you really think challenging me is smart?” He asked ominously, with a smile on his face. He was leaning on the counter next to the fridge.

“Whatever do you mean?” I asked him innocently as I opened the fridge door in front of his face. I stifled a giggle as I grabbed the 2 Liter Dr. Pepper from the fridge. Turning back to the counter and letting the door close behind me, I caught a glimpse of Loki’s face. “I’m just getting something to drink.”

“Pet…” I could feel Loki standing behind me as I poured the Dr. Pepper into a glass.

“Hey Nosebleed, it’s your turn,” Tony called out, interrupting Loki.

“Coming,” I called back with a smirk. Returning the 2 Liter to the fridge, I looked back at Loki. “You should really be focusing on the game Loki. You don’t want to lose. Least of all to my dad. He can be a real braggart.”

With that, I turned and practically skipped away drink in hand. The rest of the game night, Loki spent trying to distract me. Using his magic to create odd sensations on the skin or to make me really cold. For the most part, I was able to ignore him and succeeded at not causing the tower to fall over. By the end of the night, most of the team had retired. Only Tony, Nat, Clint, Loki, and myself were still up.

“Hey Lauren, are you all packed for tomorrow?” Clint asked.

“Been packed for a couple of days.” I smiled at him.

“Tomorrow?” Tony interjected. “What’s tomorrow?”

“Clint and I have an annual trip.” I shrugged before curling into Loki’s side, his arm coming around my waist.

“Yeah, it's their big sibling bonding thing,” Nat said before taking a sip of her drink.

“Why wasn’t I told about this?” Tony asked with feigned offense.

“I’m not usually with you in October, Dad.” I reached forward to grab my drink. “Besides it’s not like you’re the only one who is excluded.” I took a sip of my drink. “I’m sure the rest of the fam would love to hear about your displeasure about a five-year-long tradition that doesn’t include you.”

“And what about me?” A voice murmured above my ear. I turned to see Loki smirking, his eyes glinting seductively. “Might I be permitted to join?”

“Uh…” My mind went blank as a blush began to fill my cheeks. A sharp pinching pain made its presence known on my calf, allowing me to turn my head and clear my thoughts. “Not this time Loki. This is a siblings-only trip so I can’t include a significant other without discussing it with Clint first.” I looked over at Clint who looked almost triumphant that he had succeeded over Loki. I rolled my eyes as I continued. “But I will ask him if an exception can be made for next year.”

The rest of the night wound down rather quickly, but the trip for the following day weighed heavily on my mind. The one thing I had never shared with them, not even Clint, was why this trip was so important. Yes, I did spend the majority of our trip hanging out with Clint for the few days we were there, but on October 16, I would slip out of our hotel room very early in the morning to visit a grave site. Back when I had originally arrived in 2007, after gaining enough of Fury’s trust, I asked him for a favor. I asked him to buy a plot in a Graveyard in Tucker, Georgia big enough for four gravestones. At the time he had looked at me like I was insane, and I thought that would be the end of that, but an hour later, I received an image of a location with the subject line “Is this good enough?” It was a plot on a hill, located in a neighborhood I recognized, with a gorgeous view of the surrounding landscape. I sent my approval and was allowed to be transported to the site the following day to set up my plan.

To anyone who didn’t know what I was doing, I might have looked crazy, or maybe I looked like a child in mourning. And in a sense, I was. I had decided to have headstones made to mark each of my family members that I would never see again. I had lost my original family forever if my theories were at all correct, and while I could heal from that loss most days of the year, I would still need a day to grieve such a tremendous loss. So, I asked for a gravesite in my hometown. Three of the headstones were marked with the names of my mom, my dad, and my younger brother. The fourth was marked with my name. The gravestone would be the only place with a record of my original last name as I would never go by that name again. I reached the decision early on that my past life only existed in memory, and if I was going to grow and change in this universe, then I had to leave who I was behind. So, I made sure she was buried where she needed to be…with the rest of her family.

Each of the stones was marked with the deceased’s actual date of birth and the day that I arrived as the date of death. It had been hard to admit any such reality to myself, but it had to be done. Now to anyone, beyond myself, the date would seem inconsequential, random even. For me, however, it was my mother’s birthday. She had been the hardest person to lose, so it felt right to honor her and grieve my losses on the day of her birth.

*********

Crawling into bed that night, my heart was heavy, filled with the memories of my family. Loki, who had taken to sleeping with me every night, draped his arm over my waist, pulling me closer to him. Lacing my fingers with his, I smiled softly, closing my eyes.

“Would like me to sing to you, darling?” Loki squeezed my hand.

“Actually…I was wondering if maybe I could sing for you?” Loki had asked to sing me to sleep every night since I returned from the hospital. It was something I enjoyed, however, I had a song on my heart.

“As you wish,” Loki said softly, making me blush at the reminder of the double meaning he remained blissfully unaware of. After I had blushed the first time he said it, he had made a point to say it often, whenever the phrase applied.

“This is a song my mother used to sing to me when she wanted me to fall asleep. It was never intended as a lullaby, but my mother turned it into one for me as a child.” Tears began to gather in the corner of my eyes as I told him of the meaning the song held for me. Ignoring the lump that was trying to develop in my throat, I took a deep breath and began to softly sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

At some point in the song, tears began to stream across my face, some even clung to the tip of my nose before they dropped, and others crossed the bridge of my nose, sliding underneath my eye to join the tears from the other half of my face in where they had splashed on my pillow. I kept my voice as even as possible, right down to the last wavering note. When I had finished, Loki rolled me to lay flat on my back, which enabled him to see my face.

“You miss them, don’t you.” There was no question in his voice. I stared up at the ceiling as tears continued to slide down my face.

“Constantly.” I squeezed my eyes shut before wiping at my eyes to try and catch the tears as they fell. When I opened my eyes again I began to push myself up so that I could sit up and pull my knees to my chest. “There’s so much of my life I never thought I’d have to live without sharing it with them.” I swallowed thickly as the lump returned to my throat. Looking up, Loki was watching me with a reserved expression on his face. A sad smile graced my lips. “I…I never thought…” A sob escaped me. “I would fall in love…or…or get engaged…or married without my parents being there to see it.”

I buried my head in my knees as the sobs overtook my voice. I felt arms wrap around me once more. I lifted my head to see Loki had drawn me to his chest. I buried my head in his chest as sorrow filled my heart. I felt his hand holding the back of my head as his thumb stroked the crown of my head. And for a while, he sat there, holding me in silence as I cried. We stayed like that until my tears had run dry. When I pulled back again I could see something strange in his eyes but I decided not to address it as I was already feeling vulnerable enough as it is.

“Tell me about them.” His voice was soft as he pulled me back to lie down, with my head resting on his chest. And quietly I obliged, telling him stories of my family…until sleep overtook my mind.

Notes:

I’m baaaaaaack 🎶!!! So sorry for the wait y’all! My life has been crazy these last couple of months. About a month ago my grandma was diagnosed with cancer, then a couple weeks later her cancer was confirmed as malignant rather than benign as I’d hoped. So I’ve been taking the time to reconcile my head and my heart with that. In addition, my fall semester of school just ended and I managed four As and two Bs. So YAY for that at least. I’m so sorry I’ve let y’all down as far as updating this fic goes. Now onto discussing this chapter. I had so much fun writing the witty banter especially for a specific scene 😉😉😉. What did yall think about Lauren’s stubborn streak…I think it could get her into a LOT of trouble 😈. Also some heavy stuff incoming but I have to ask yall to weigh in on something. In the next couple of chapters is going to be a hella creepy scene (not Loki promise) but I wanted to know if you’d like to have the creepy moment come from a character you all know and hate oooooooor a new character who you will despise with all your heart (I’m talking umbridge levels of hatred). This would be my first non-Lauren OC and I’m a little nervous. The way I have it written now it is not an OC but with the rewriting I need to do I think it’s a very viable option to give a shot. What are your thoughts? As always, I enjoy hearing from y’all and I look forward to your comments. Until next time y’all!!! Oh and MERRY CHRISTMAS (for those who celebrate and happy holidays for those who don’t!!!)!!!!!

Chapter 27

*********

Loki’s Perspective

*********

Lauren had informed me of her intentions to travel without my protection several days prior to Barton’s announcement. I had made my displeasure with her decision known and had pleaded with her several times to either not go or at the very least bring more suitable defenses than the archer could provide if I was not allowed to accompany them. But each time I was rebuffed with the assurance that she would “be fine” and that this was something she “had to do.”

Under normal circumstances, I might not have been so vexed by her decision, but when it came to her nothing could be viewed through the lens of average. It was as though the danger threatening her was barely of any concern to her. Did she not realize the extremes to which her foes would strive in the name of achieving victory? I knew to some extent she recognized the peril she was in if her distressed behaviors not one week ago were to be believed. But I knew she did not realize the magnitude of what they wanted. I however did.

Therein lay my plan. If I could not go with her immediately, I could at least have a direct link to her. Every night following her confession, I would sing her to sleep using spells woven into the Asgardian lyrics of my lullabies. The songs were carefully chosen as the power of the words would also be infused into the spell. So, I sang songs vowing love and protection and songs about knowing the heart of the one you love. By the end of the month, her necklace would contain magic that would enable me to feel her emotions, to know when she was in peril, and to teleport to her in an instant if the need ever arose. If she ever discovered the secondary intent of the necklace, she would likely be furious. But I had made the decision long ago that I would much rather her ire than her demise.

The night before she left, however, I hadn’t expected her request to sing for me. I could feel several emotions causing turmoil in her heart. Joy, determination, sadness, but the most prevalent emotion in her was grief. I couldn’t fathom why she was in such anguish, but I listened to her song, hopeful that I might be able to root out the source of her distress. The song itself was beautiful, but its message spoke of deep-seated longing for a place so considerably out of reach that the singer was in despair of its inaccessibility. The words caused me pain as I wondered if Lauren felt those words in her heart. And when I considered why, I thought about where she had said the song came from…her mother. I had never really heard her speak of her family, and I only truly knew of them from the memories I witnessed. She had been very close to them.

When the song ended, I gently rolled her over so I could see her face. In the sliver of moonlight from the curtains, streaks of silver indicated the traces her tears had left behind. I carefully noted the dark spots from where her tears had dotted the landscape of her pillow.

“You miss them, don’t you.” It wasn’t a question so much as a statement of fact. Pain laced through my heart as I wondered if that meant she would leave one day to return to them. We had never discussed whether or not she wanted to stay and if leaving her family had hurt her this much, then why would she ever willingly choose to stay with me once her mission had reached its end?

“Constantly.” Her eyes squeezed shut before she wiped away the tears I could see gathering under her lashes. When her eyes opened again she sat up curling into a ball as he hugged her knees to her chest. “There’s so much of my life I never thought I’d have to live without sharing it with them.” I watched her as fear mingled with grief at the realization I might not be able to keep her to myself forever as I had begun to plan. A sad smile forced its way to her lips, but I could see the slight tremble of sorrow that betrayed her. “I…I never thought…” A sob emerged from her lips, gutting me to my core. “I would fall in love…or…or get engaged…or married without my parents being there to see it.”

Her head fell to her knees, as the sobs ripped from her, her shoulders shaking as she desperately tried to hold herself together.

My arms enveloped her as though I could protect her from her sorrows. Her head lifted and she hid her face in my chest, allowing me to embrace the back of her head and caress the crown of her hair with my thumb. Every sound of agony from her was like a knife to the heart informing me that while I could love and protect her, I could never remedy the hole her family had left behind. When her tears subsided, she pulled back to look at me. I adjusted us to a more comfortable state of recline.

“Tell me about them.” I tried to be gentle so as not to reveal the agony I felt. I hoped that if she laid bare all that she held close to her heart, maybe her grief might begin to truly heal. Then maybe I would never have to face the possibility that she would leave me because her pain was too much.

Slowly she began to tell me of them. I could feel the love in her voice as she told me stories of her parents and her brother. She didn’t cry once as she spoke of them, regaling me with the stories of her legacy and I could feel her sorrow fade away as joy and peace seeped into her heart until eventually, her exhaustion caught up with her and her mind drifted off into the land of dreams. Her head was using my chest as a pillow and her hand had curled itself into my shirt. I was grateful that I had taken to wearing my loungewear when we were alone as I could only imagine how rough leather might feel to one so unused to it. My arms remained wrapped around her as I used my magic to pull her bedding to cover us. I watched her for a while longer, memorizing her face when it was at peace, unperturbed by the suffrage that inevitably followed in the waking hours. For weeks I had been plotting ways to ensure that she would be safely sequestered somewhere that the likes of H.Y.D.R.A. and the Mad Titan would never be able to touch her. Asgard was ideal as no one would dare threaten her there, but the difficulty would be getting her there as I could not force her to go there without somehow betraying her trust and possibly breaking her heart in the process. She had mentioned going there in the coming year, which delighted me as that was much easier than trying to trick her. However, she still intended for me to leave before her. I knew she had decided on a date as I had seen her conversing with my brother in private and he looked severely guilty afterward. I knew she would never let me stay if she could help it, claiming she had to handle things without having to account for too many unknown variables as that might make things worse. I would let her have her way for now, but if circumstances demand that I act in order to save her, I would never let her endanger herself, for any reason ever again. Whatever the price to keep her safe. To keep her protected. She is mine. With that, I closed my eyes and focused on the soft sounds of her breathing, and I fell into a deep slumber.

*********

Loki’s Perspective End

*********

The morning had flown by without much fuss. I was surprised that Loki hadn’t tried to sneak his way onto the Quinjet, but I guessed that meant he had something else planned that was keeping him so calm. He pulled me in for a very deep, toe-curling kiss goodbye right after I told him I was about to head out. By 9 AM, Clint and I were up in the air and on our way to Georgia. Although Nat had given me a long hug right before I boarded which was only a little weird, but since almost no one else was up other than Steve, I didn’t really have anyone else to say goodbye to, I shrugged it off as being her way to make sure I felt everyone’s farewells.

By the time Clint and I were in the air, I could feel peace worm its way through the grief surrounding my heart. Something about flying with Clint just gave me a break from reality, if only briefly. I leaned back in my seat exhaling one long breath. Three days with no worries, no drama, and no responsibilities was exactly what I needed. Clint and I spent most of the flight in companionable silence. We never got into any heavy discussions on these flights, it would never bode well to encourage a possible argument or negative emotions. The Quinjet flew a lot faster than other modes of air travel so the journey from New York to Georgia was two hours max.

I pulled out my old cell phone. I did have a more “modern” phone that fit the time period, however, I had maintained my old phone from my original time as best I could. It didn’t serve many functions these days other than for the movies, music, and photos it contained. I was lucky it hadn’t crashed in the five years I had been here.

Opening my photo app, I pulled up pictures of my family. They were some of the last proof that my original life hadn’t been a dream, which as crazy as it sounded was something that sometimes felt true. Another life where superheroes and villains only appeared between the pages of books and on the movie screen. That hadn’t been my reality for some time. Popping my headphones on, I pulled up a video I had taken during my last birthday with them. My mom’s voice filtered through first.

“Happy Birthday Punk!” My eyes misted slightly hearing her use my old nickname. She had often called me Punkin or Punk for short throughout my childhood and she was the only person who called me that.

My heart squeezed at the love in her voice followed by the image of her face. She looked almost identical to me minus the thirty-year age difference. Her eyes practically sparkled with love in the video along with pure delight at celebrating my birth. My dad’s face came into view shortly after as the camera swiveled to capture him.

“Happy birthday Lauren!” His voice rumbled. A lump began to develop in my throat as a sob was caught on its way up. “You’re what six years old now?”

“No Dad!” I giggled off-screen. “I’m twenty years old! I’m not a little girl anymore!”

“Well, that’s not true!” My dad pulled my hand into view from off-screen before pulling me completely away from the camera and into view where he spun me into a tight hug that my mother joined in on. “Cause no matter where you go, what you do, or how old you get, you will ALWAYS be my little girl!”

The video continued as my brother entered the frame and I opened gifts with them with the video ending shortly after. The last frame showed myself surrounded by my family, joy filling my face as I was pulled into a tight hug by my parents and brother. The screen went black as I shut off the phone, tucking it back into the pocket dimension I seemed to have access to. I drew in a quiet shuddering breath as I composed myself.

“Hey, Lauren!” Clint called back, drawing my attention to the front of the jet. “We’re landing in five.”

“Cool Clint! Thank you for letting me know.” I kept my voice level as I wiped the stray tears that had begun to escape from my eyes.

*********

Walking into our room for the trip, Clint gave a low whistle. We had to keep a low profile for these trips which meant motels that accepted cash and had minimal to no camera surveillance.

“Motel Sweet Motel!” I joked with an overly sugary voice as Clint winced at the state of the room. Clint began making a preliminary sweep for bugs and cameras as I checked the room for the more normal disturbing things like a used condom or a dead roach. When Clint signaled the room was clean, I snapped my fingers and clean sheets appeared on the bed. “That’s…better?”

“What do you want to do tonight?” Clint asked. “We only have a few hours of daylight for today and then we can go out and do something.”

“We could go for a walk in an area I know…” I suggested. “And then we can do something when it gets dark out.”

“Doesn’t going out now defeat the purpose of staying under the radar?” Clint raised an eyebrow with a mildly amused look on his face.

“Not where I want us to go.” I smiled thinking about my childhood. There had been a park that was in the neighborhood I grew up in, but in order to get there we had to follow a path in the woods. “It’s a walk through the woods…no surveillance. It was just a thought. We can do something else.”

“No, that sounds fun.” Clint punched me lightly in the arm at my mild manipulation. Everyone could see through me when I said things like that, but it was never over anything unreasonable, so my family had always played along. “But how are we getting there?”

“I can burrow us there. Duh.” I rolled my eyes. Clint paled slightly. “Oh, don’t be a wuss, it’s just a couple of seconds’ travel. I promise it will be over before you know it.”

I opened my arms to Clint in the offer of a hug, which he walked into with a grimace. Once I was sure he was holding on tightly enough, I thumped my foot on the ground twice envisioning the back of the soccer fields that led to the forest’s entrance and the ground swallowed us whole.

When the ground spat us back out, I looked around to make sure no one was nearby, luckily the fields were empty for the moment. I heard a retching sound behind me and I looked to see Clint on his knees dry-heaving. I rolled my eyes with a slight smile as I walked over to rub soothing circles on his back. I had to bite back a laugh when the parallel of Diggle vomiting, whenever the Flash took him places with super speed, flashed in my mind. A minute later Clint’s stomach seemed to settle.

“Better?” I asked with a lightly teasing voice.

“I really hate you sometimes, kiddo.” Clint playfully shoved me.

“Uh-huh. A true sibling bond indeed.” I crossed my arms before bumping him back with my hips. Looking up to the forest that loomed before us, I smiled before turning back to Clint. “Come on, trail’s this way.”

Clint linked arms with me as we started down one of the many paths of my childhood. I reached out my hand to brush one of the more familiar trees with my fingertips. A sentimental smile filled my face as I reminisced about my friends and me as the memories of attempting to climb these very trees played through my mind as we walked by.

“So…how do you know the area?” Clint started softly.

“Hmmm?” I looked up, drawn from my reverie. His question registered a few moments later as I looked at him slightly dumbfounded. My voice caught in my throat slightly as I began to respond. “Oh…I came here a lot as a kid…with my little brother.”

“You had a little brother?” Clint asked with a cautious curiosity.

“Yeah.” I tried to smile, but it was a weak attempt. “We were pretty close in age so we grew up practically like twins.”

“How close is close?” Clint pulled me to the side of the path so he could look me in the eyes.

“Just thirteen months apart.” I pulled away slightly, stepping back onto the path. “Come on, our destination is just ahead.”

I walked a bit ahead as the end of the trail came into view. I wanted to make it to the park before the sunset. Also, I could avoid the question for just a little while longer. Clint caught up rather quickly, falling back into step with me as we broke from the forest’s edge. We walked the last few feet in silence, reaching the park rather quickly. There were a few kids playing on the playground with parents watching from the tables at the periphery of play. A couple of other kids were at the little lake that was a short distance from the playground, their parents helping them feed the ducks. Seeing that the swings were vacant, I sat down on the swing with the best view of the lake, Clint took a seat beside me.

“There aren’t many places I can go that remind me of home.” I started quietly. Parents had started calling to their kids clearing them out as the sunset. “You know the steps in the woods right at the end of the trail were actually an Eagle Scout project that my dad’s best friend orchestrated.” I looked a Clint with a sad smile. “My childhood had very small borders but this…this was one of the big ones, before everything started to get hard before I had to grow up and live in reality, this was a sanctuary.”

I watched the few families straggling behind for a moment as I gathered my thoughts.

“My brother was my worst enemy when we were little. We were constantly at each other’s throats. We didn’t even realize how important the other was until we got older.” A wistful smile graced my lips. “He was such an asshole at times…but when it really mattered, he had my back. I was his fiercest defender, and he was my best frenemy.” A chuckle escaped my lips as I looked over at Clint. “Two little blonde idiots that looked like twins. Rivals who were thick as thieves.”

A loud giggle rang out before me distracting me from my story. I looked up to see a child running towards the swings and away from his family at the pond. He looked vaguely familiar, but before I could ponder why, he tripped and fell face-first into the mulch surrounding the playground. I was on my feet in an instant to help the kid up. Lifting him up I saw he was about eight years old.

“Hey kid are you…alright?” I had been looking down to check for injuries or scrapes when I looked up and saw his face. It was my little brother.

“Hey stupid! Why’d you fall like that?” The teasing voice of a little girl rang out before he could reply, and I looked over to see a small brunette about his age rushing up. For a moment I had thought I would see myself, but it wasn’t. It was one of my next-door neighbors as an eight-year-old. The girl had been running when she skidded to a stop after realizing I was helping her friend up. “Oh, sorry miss…are we bothering you?”

“Not at all,” I said faintly before mustering a smile. “I was just worried he had hurt himself.”

“I’m fine miss.” The little boy piped up. My heart nearly broke as the sound of my little brother’s voice filled the air. “Thanks for checking on me.”

With that, he pulled out of my grasp and rushed off to the slide without a care in the world. The little girl remained behind.

“Sorry about him he doesn’t really have any manners. I’m Maya and that’s Shane.” She smiled at me. “What’s your name miss?”

“I’m…Lauren.” I swallowed the lump in my throat as the smile started to feel genuine. “It’s nice to meet you, please go have fun I don’t mind after all I’m here with my older brother and we’re here for the same thing.”

“Ok!” Maya said brightly, she turned to run off before stopping with a strange look on her face. “You know you have a great name! That was Shane’s older sister’s name!”

With that little Maya rushed off to join her playmate. I froze for a second before regaining my presence of mind and returning to the swings.

“Clint we need to go,” I muttered. I couldn’t stay here. If that was my little brother in an alternate universe, then the adults down by the lake would be my parents and I didn’t know if I had the strength to face them.

“What do you…?” Clint looked confused as I started to pull him off the swing.

“Excuse me? Miss?” I heard a warm voice call out and goosebumps began to rise on my arms. I turned around to see my parents walking toward me. I had to bite back the sob threatening to emerge from my throat as I faced them, quickly plastering a smile on my face.

“Yes?” I said as happily as I could.

“We saw you helping up our son and just wanted to say thank you.” My mother had a kind smile on her face, so close to the one in the video I had watched earlier that day, only without a hint of recognition.

“Oh, it was no trouble.” I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could. My heart was threatening to shatter into a million pieces. “Sorry, my brother and I were just leaving.”

I moved to walk away when a gentle hand caught my elbow, pausing me in my step. I could feel Clint bristling beside me.  My other hand moved to grab his hand in a silent message telling him not to react.

“I’m sorry but you look really familiar.” My mother's voice spoke as I turned to face her, mentally kicking myself with the reminder that she was not real my mother. Her eyes squinted slightly as if trying to place me.

“Oh, you know I just have one of those faces.” I laughed awkwardly. I knew they had likely seen me alongside Tony in an article or newsfeed. That was what it was.

“No…my wife is right, something about you feels really…familiar.” My dad spoke up.

“Wish I could say I knew why…but I don’t have an answer.” My heart clenched in agony as my smile became painfully tight. “But really, we must be off.”

I turned once more to go, pulling out of my mother…the woman’s grasp. She didn’t know me. She wasn’t my mother. My heart broke as I kept repeating the mantra that this was not my family. We only got a few steps when we were paused again by her voice.

“Lauren?” Her voice was heartbreakingly hopeful. I turned slightly. “Is that you?”

“Honey, stop. It’s not her.” My father…the man’s voice murmured to his wife.

“No! William look at her!” I could see her gesturing to me frantically. “She looks exactly like our daughter! She looks like me!” She paused for a moment, her brow furrowed before turning to her husband desperation on her face and in her voice as she said, “She looks a little older than our daughter would have been, but it’s her! I can feel it, William!”

My heart stuttered and I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears. I wanted nothing more than to say yes and feel the embrace of my parents once more, but these still weren’t my parents and I…I couldn’t be their child. It wouldn’t be safe for me to accept them and they would know nothing about me. I had to move on.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but I think there’s been some confusion.” I turned to face her as I forced all of Nat’s training into overdrive. My face became kind and sympathetic as I started shaking my head to deny the woman’s claims. “I’m not sure who you think I am and I really am sorry to disappoint, but I don’t know you.” The pieces of my heart shattered once more as I trampled on it further. “If you’ll excuse us…our parents are waiting.”

With that I turned on my heel and marched into the woods, trying to ignore the stabbing pain of the heartbroken sobs that the woman wailed in my wake. I didn’t stop until I was halfway up the trail, Clint barely keeping up behind me as my tears started to blur my vision.

“Lauren, what was that? Those people seemed to know you.” Clint’s hand came to rest on my shoulder. I turned to bury my face in his chest as I began to sob.

“I…I w…want to go h…home.” I stuttered out in between sobs. “P…please.”

I looked up at Clint as tears streaked down my face. His arms wrapped around me as he whispered that it was ok. I was quick to burrow us back to the motel. I practically threw myself into the shower so that I could safely bawl my eyes out. When I came out thirty minutes later, Clint was still waiting up for me.

“Sorry.” My voice was hoarse as I spoke. I sat on the bed refusing to look Clint in the eyes. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Am I going to get an explanation of what ‘that’ was or are you just gonna be all vague and never speak of it again?” Clint threw the word that into air quotes, his tone voiced his displeasure clearly enough that I looked up. His face, however, was relatively neutral.

“You know how I came from another universe?” I breathed out slowly, albeit shakily. “Well, theoretically the same people can exist in each universe living lives that are either similar or completely different from the universe that they originated in. Those people existed in my original universe.” I looked over a Clint. “Congratulations Clint. You just met this universe’s version of my parents and little brother.”

“That…wow.” Clint looked shocked.

“Yeah,” I said weakly before laying back on the bed and turning on my side to face the wall.

“Wait so if that was your family, then why didn’t you tell them?” Clint nudged my leg over before sitting by my hip. I curled up slightly to give him some room.

“Because they aren’t my family in this universe.” Tears began to trace the bridge of my nose. “They might look like them but it’s not them and to tell them that would be unfair, I can’t be their daughter any more than they could be my parents again. It wouldn’t be safe for them. I have grieved their loss for five years and if I crack now, I wouldn’t be able to save the family I got when I came here. Sometimes you have to be willing to make the sacrifice to protect the ones you love.” I sniffled slightly. Clint placed a hand in my hair and began to brush it out gently with his fingers. “Thank you…for being here.”

“Always kiddo.” His voice was soft. We stayed like that for a while until I eventually drifted off to sleep.

Notes:

Hello! Hello! I’m baaaaaack!!! Sorry I’ve been gone for so long! Y’all would not believe the last couple of months I’ve had! I had the flu (I think…I can’t say for sure as I tested negative for everything) during my first month back in college with a 102.3 fever that sent me to an Urgent Care facility which kept me for 4 HOURS to monitor my condition. My mean roommate fully left so I’ve had the apartment to myself which meant I was completely alone for my illness and my classes upped their difficulty. It’s been a little more than that but I will leave it at that for now. I will be trying to post when and where I can but again I have a lot of writing to do and it’s hard to work it out around homework so please don’t count me out just yet! As always I look forward to y’all’s comments. Until next time y’all!!,

Chapter 28

Summary:

Trigger warning! CREEEEEEPY SHIT AS WARNED!

When I woke up the next morning, it was six AM, and the sun hadn’t even begun its ascent for the day. Clint was asleep on the other side of the bed, facing away from me. Soundlessly, I slid out of bed. In spite of yesterday’s emotional events, I still had a “date” to keep. Changing into a muted navy dress with matching flats, I pulled my long black coat out of the small bag I had packed. Putting it on I looked back to verify Clint was still out, I slipped out the front door shutting it silently behind me.

It wasn’t a coincidence that the graveyard was close to the motel. I took the trek slowly, relishing in the crisp autumn air that I knew promised a frozen winter. This was a year I remembered as being particularly cold. As I reached the entrance to the graveyard, I saw a flower vendor setting up shop. As I passed, I noted one particular flower among the bunch. I paused to ask the vendor about it and paid for it with a ten. Looking down at the flower as I continued my journey, I smiled. It was a Star-Gazer Lily. It had been my mother’s favorite flower and seemed appropriate as a gift, given that today was her birthday. Eventually, I made it to the little hilltop with my family’s graves. Kneeling before the grave bearing my mother’s name, I placed the solitary flower.

“Happy birthday, mom,” I whispered. Moving from a kneeling position to sit crisscross applesauce, I started to tell my family of how my year had been. And a little of the year before as I had been rendered silent for the previous venture. I laughed and cried as I regaled them with my stories before I got to the most important bit of news. “Oh! Guys, you will never believe this, but I met a guy! His name is Loki and I think you would have really liked him.” I smiled acting as if they were with me to react to my news. My mother ecstatic, my father pretending to be upset, and my brother acting as though something was wrong with Loki simply because Loki was dating me. “I know! I never thought it would happen either! He’s smart, kind, funny, and he really cares about me. In fact, …we’re engaged.” I smiled wider. “It came as such a surprise, especially since he dropped it on me in the middle of a crisis. And no Mom, it was nothing scary, I promise, I’m okay no injuries for you to fret over.” I bit my lip as I smoothed over my little lie. “Any who…I really miss you guys but I…I’m okay…I promise.” My voice caught. “Tony and Fury are still making sure that I live a relatively normal life and I have the rest of the family to give me a sense of balance.” I wiped my nose when I heard a cracking sound behind me, and I whirled around to see Clint trying to hide behind a tree. “Like Clint being a nosey older sibling,” I called out before pursing my lips and waiting for Clint to have the good conscience to give up the act and join me. He looked mildly ashamed as he took a stance beside me. I turned back to the graves. “I know I’ve mentioned him before but y’all haven’t had the chance to meet. Clint this is my family. Family this is Clint. Say hi.”

“Hello,” Clint said awkwardly.

“Why don’t you join us Clint since you seemed intent on listening in,” I suggested with narrowed eyes before grabbing Clint’s hand and pulling slightly indicating that he should sit.

“So, this is where you’ve been sneaking off to for five years.” Clint smiled.

“Yes, well it was meant to be a private moment, but who can really have privacy these days.” I snarked back teasingly. I looked back at the graves before resting my head on Clint’s shoulder.

“Hey, Kiddo?” Clint spoke up after a few minutes. “You’ve mentioned having a younger brother, did you have any other siblings?”

“No.” I lifted my head to look at him curiously. “Why do you ask?”

“I can’t help but notice there are four graves. Who is the fourth for?” His tone was light, but I could feel his interest.

“It’s mine,” I replied with a smile that didn’t really reach my eyes. I could feel the worry and confusion radiating off of him. “Relax it's not for me in the future. It’s the grave for my first life. I couldn’t continue to live as the girl I was before, so I buried her where she belonged. With her family. I honor her as she was the foundation of who I am, but I know that poor girl died the day I landed here.”

For a moment Clint said nothing. Then he shifted up to move over to the grave bearing my name. He touched the headstone almost lovingly.

“Thank you.” His pitch wavered slightly and when he pulled back, I saw a few tears trailing down his cheek. Clint got up before offering his hand to me and pulling me off the ground and we made our way from the graves. When we returned to the motel he turned to me. “So, your real birthday is in March?”

“Shut up.” I giggled as I punched him lightly in the arm. “Don’t you dare tell anyone?”

“Oh, even better I have blackmail!” Clint ruffled my hair as I pulled away from him with a squeak.

*********

During the rest of the day, Clint and I played board games and bonded as I shared stories of my family with him. As the sun went down I realized I had one real question to ask him.

“Clint.” I hesitated. What I was about to ask was a really heavy ask. “Can I ask you a favor?”

“Sure Kiddo. What’s up?” He stretched with a groan. We had been sitting on our asses all day.

“If for any reason I can’t make our yearly trip…, will you come here for me to keep my family up to date?” I started fiddling with my fingers nervously.

“Why wouldn’t you be able to make our yearly trip?” Clint’s voice sounded strangely closed off and I looked up to see a neutral expression had taken over his face.

“It’s not like I’m planning to vanish Clint.” I held up my hands in an attempt to both keep him calm and give him his space. “I don’t know what my future holds and for all I know I could be living on a planet with a different time zone in a couple of years. Anything could happen and nothing is guaranteed. I just…I want to be prepared.”

“I have to go.” Clint’s tone hardened as his gaze turned icy. He stood up abruptly and grabbed his jacket before shrugging it on. He walked over to the door. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t wait up.”

“Wait, Clint…!” Before I could ask him what was wrong, Clint had stormed out of the room, slamming the door in his wake. “Shit!”

I debated going after him, but if he was mad for some reason, then he needed time to himself, following him would do no good. With a huff I cleaned up the board game we had been in the middle of. After waiting an hour, I realized he wasn’t going to walk back in anytime soon, so I decided to get ready for bed. I showered, letting all of the tension out of my muscles, but I had failed to notice during my routine that the window to the bathroom was cracked open when it hadn’t been earlier that day.

After brushing my teeth and changing into my pjs for the night, I climbed into bed and closed my eyes. Silently offering a prayer on Clint’s behalf for a safe return and a more positive attitude. With that, I drifted off.

*********

I could feel pressure on my hip as though someone were holding me while I slept. I sighed with satisfaction snuggling backwards to the warm body holding me. A low chuckle reverberated from behind my head. I froze slightly as I woke up a little more. WHO was touching ME?! Forcing myself to relax slightly so as not to alert the intruder to my awakened state, I tried to think through what I should do.

“If you were awake, sweetheart…you would never let me touch you like this.” The voice whispered in my ear at a pitch somewhere between a growl and coo. I felt fear trickle its way down my spine as I recognized the voice. Rumlow had found me and was currently touching me in my ‘sleep’. “If only I had gotten you to look my way before that Asgardian prick caught your eye. Had I known you liked older men I would have made you mine.”

Acting as though I were shifting in my sleep, I rolled onto my stomach making the noises that I would have if I were asleep. In doing so I was able to pull away from him some as well as hide some of my face. I had to bite back the revulsion running across my skin and the bile making its way up my throat. My arms were folded up near my face with one hand under the pillow. It enabled me to summon a dagger without drawing attention to it. I started praying for Clint’s swift return before anything could happen.

“I’ve been watching you for so long Sweetheart.” His hand shifted from my waist up to my hair where he began to stroke it. Tears had begun to prick in my eyes. I couldn’t attack him and risk the timeline, but if he tried anything then I would fight back. “I’ve wanted you since I first saw you two years ago. I promise you we will have a chance soon.”

I became aware of another hand as it moved forward to grab my arm. Rumlow muttered a low apology before I felt something jab into my upper arm. Before I could stop it, a low whine escaped my throat at the sharp pain.

“Shhhh sweetheart. Almost done.” He murmured in my ear, his lip brushing the shell of my ear. “Go back to sleep.”

I felt the sensation leave my arm shortly after. His finger lingered to brush the spot of pain before he moved to rest my arm where it had been previously.

“I promise you that someday when you are mine, I will show you more pleasure than you could ever get from another man.” As he whispered his vile vow in my ear, I became aware of a stiffened object touching my hip. That was when I heard the door handle start to jingle and suddenly all the pressure had vanished from beside me.

My eyes snapped open to see Clint opening the door.

“Hey, Lauren I’m back.” He called out. I started miming to him. My finger drew to my lips quickly before I put my hands together and mimed sleeping, the fear widening my eyes. Luckily Clint recognized my message. “And…you’re asleep. Guess I was gone longer than I thought.” His voice lowered appropriately. I shifted into a seated position drawing my knife out from under my pillow. Silently moving from the bed, I moved to the bathroom door to carefully peek inside, Clint at my side just as quickly reading my reactions better than most. He drew his gun before entering the bathroom to check for the intruder. “The room’s clear Lauren, whoever was here is gone. What happened?”

I was quick to spot the open window and pull it shut before turning all the faucets on.

“Someone broke into the room, and I woke up to them touching me.” I was very pale in the reflection I caught of myself in the mirror. “It’s not safe to stay here anymore Clint. We need to go back to New York.”

“Lauren, did you catch who it was?” Clint’s hands came to brace against my shoulders.

“I didn’t see them.” I looked down. I couldn’t even say who did it. Fucking timelines!

“Did you get any clues? Hear their voice? Anything?!” Clint’s grip on my shoulders tightened till it bordered on painful.

“Stop it, Clint!” I looked up at him, the tears from before still streaming down my face. “I can’t tell you anything!”

Clint paused for a second his eyes narrowing slightly before continuing.

“Was it him?” His voice was dark as he asked his question.

“Him who Clint?!” My voice fractured between fear and distress.

“Loki!” Clint snarled out. I froze as I looked up at him, horror dawning on my face. I didn’t even think as my hand flew up to slap Clint across the face.

“How dare you?!” I screeched. “Loki would never touch me without my permission, nor would he whisper such VILE things to me!”

“Okay, okay.” Clint’s hands came up in a show of surrender. “I just wanted to be sure. So, you did hear them?”

“Yes, I HEARD them.” My eyes flashed as I pushed past Clint, leaving him to scramble to shut off the water behind us. “But I can’t tell you anything because it wouldn’t help.” My anger faded just as quickly as it had started. “I…I just want to go home. Where it’s safe and freaks can’t break into my room in the middle of the night.”

“Okay, we can leave right now. It’ll be okay.” Clint’s arm came up around my shoulder.

Our bags were packed quickly thereafter, and we rushed from the room. We were on the Quinjet and in the air less than an hour later.

Notes:

Two posts in one week?! *le gasp!* I couldn’t help it. I warned y’all creepy shit would happen, and in the end I decided to keep a character we all know and hate as already written, while also planning out an oc for you to despise with the intensity of a thousand burning suns. I have loved to see y’all’s comments as they give me life. I hope y’all continue to comment! Until next time y’all!!!

Chapter 29

It only took 20 minutes into the beginning of our flight for a conversation to begin.

“Hey…Kiddo?” Clint’s voice filtered through the music playing through my headphones. I pulled my headphones down to my neck, barely listening to the music that softly began to fill the air. “Are you…” I heard him mumble something too low for my ears to hear before he began to continue. “Are you okay?”

“…not really.” I was quiet. I drew my legs up to my chest curling in on myself slightly. I watched as Clint flicked the switch for autopilot before he stood up to walk over to me.

“Do you…do you want to talk about it?” Clint looked mildly uncomfortable, but I felt touched knowing that he was just checking in on me. He sat down on the bench opposite of me.

“Not really.” I smiled at him weakly, pulling my legs tighter to myself. “Not if you’re just gonna tell everyone what happened and what I say. I need at least the sanctuary of my headspace to remain safe. Especially with the overreaction that this is bound to cause.” My smile turned sour. “It’s been nice knowing the outside world and I’ll miss it after you tell Fury what happened. He’ll never let me go anywhere after this.”

Clint was silent for a moment. I laid my head on my knees. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but it would let me cover my facial expression if I needed to.

“Okay.” His voice was soft but there was something strange in his tone. “How about I make you a deal?”

“A deal?” My voice was slightly muffled by my knees. I lifted my head slightly to look at him. I would never have thought he’d agree to keep something like this a secret. What did he want?

“If I promise not to tell anyone what happened on our trip, including the alternate versions of your family, the gravestones to honor your old life, and the intruder at the motel, are you willing to give me something in return?” Clint’s voice was much colder than I’d ever heard it. I lifted my head fully to face him.

“That depends.” My eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What exactly do you want in return?”

“I want information about Loki.” My eyes widened. So that was what he wanted.

“Why?” I knew the answer in my heart, but I wanted to hear it from him.

“Because I know you and I don’t know him.” Clint’s eyes betrayed his concern although I wasn’t certain what I had to do with any of it. “Lauren. You are my sister in every sense of the word but blood. I know you. Your heart is so full of love and kindness that it often leads you into dangerous situations that you didn’t think all the way through. That’s one of the things that makes you so endearing, but it also puts you in so much danger. You would rather blindly follow your heart than think out the consequences of doing so.” Clint looked almost vulnerable as he spoke, and his words had caught me off guard. “I don’t want that to change, kiddo. So, I’d rather be the one looking out for you so that you aren’t left weak to what you can’t see coming.”

“And you think you’ll see it coming?” My tone was sharper than I intended it to be.

“Better than you will kiddo.” He smiled but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

I didn’t know what to say. For several minutes I was silent, thinking over my options. On the one hand, I really didn’t want anyone to know about anything that had happened on our trip, but on the other hand, I didn’t want to answer Clint’s questions. It felt like I would be betraying Loki. As I thought about it, I realized I had a solution.

“Ok, but you only get 10 questions.” I slowly released my death grip on my legs, stretching them out in front of me.

“I don’t think you’re really in a position to set terms here, kiddo.” Clint chuckled.

“You’re right. I’m not really in a position to negotiate. However, I also don’t have to answer your questions honestly.” A sly smile rose to my lips. “This deal guarantees what both of us want without lies. Otherwise, I won’t be honest.”

“Fine.” Clint scowled.

“Whenever you’re ready.” I crossed my ankles in an attempt to appear professional. I wasn’t sure why, but I was certain I needed to remain composed for this.

“Has he ever hurt you?” Leave it to Clint to start with a heavy hitter.

“No. And before you ask, he never would.” My voice was stern as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Is he a threat?” Clint’s eyes narrowed.

I paused to consider my answer to this one.

“Yes…but not to me and by proxy the rest of earth. He would never do something that might cause me pain, but I’m not gonna lie and pretend he isn’t still dangerous.” My smile turned more sincere as I thought of how gentle he’d been with me for the last week.

“Why do you trust him so much?” My smile grew wider.

“Why wouldn’t I? I know him better than anyone save maybe his mother.” My heart felt full as I continued to think of Loki. I adored him. “He saved me, Clint.” I thought about his concern back in the cell, how frantic he had been whenever I was injured. “He’s never let me down before and I know he won’t in the future.”

“Do you have any reason not to trust him?” Clint wasn’t giving me much breathing room between questions.

“Sometimes I have doubts in the back of my mind given how we started, but then I think about how far we’ve come, and the way things are now and that doubt is only a blip in the back of my mind.” There were times when that worry came back to me given how fast our relationship had moved but I trusted him. Even if this all turned out to be a scheme, I wouldn’t regret it for a second. “I’m still not entirely sure what he was after when he initiated this relationship, but I trust him.”

“Do you know what he wants with you now?” Clint’s lips pressed into a firm line.

“Companionship…I think.” I didn’t even know how he really felt about me but I knew he cared if nothing else. “I can’t really be certain, but he is my fiancé so I have to assume that’s got something to do with his end goal.”

Clint took in my expression. He paused before continuing.

“When you said your heart belonged to him, that you loved him, …did you really mean it?” Clint’s voice had softened so that I could no longer feel the malice in it. His eyes were gentle and kind.

“More than I’ve ever loved anyone before.” My heart thumped out an arrhythmic beat as I thought of every intimate moment we had shared and how much of my heart he truly owned. “I’ve never felt as whole as I do when I’m with him.”

“Does that mean you care about him more than the rest of your family?” Clint’s eyebrow quirked in amusement.

“He is a part of my family now. So, I don’t really know how to rank him on the list of priorities.” I chuckled. “I will say it’s a little different since I’m IN love with him, but I still put family first.”

“Are you really considering moving to be with him?” Clint’s eyes looked a little sad, but his smile remained.

“I don’t know what the future holds.” I shrugged as my smile slipped slightly. “It would really depend on the circumstances, but I don’t plan on leaving any time in the next decade.”

“Will he keep you safe?” Clint leaned forward to grab my hands. His tone wasn’t harsh, but it was still full of worry.

“I believe he will.” My smile grew once more as I flipped my hands over to properly hold Clint’s. “He doesn’t really like it when I’m hurt and tends to be really overprotective. I don’t really mind that except that he tried to prevent even this trip because I wouldn’t let him come with us so that he could make sure I was safe. It’s sweet.”

“Ok, Lauren. Last question.” Clint looked at me, his eyes searching mine as though my answer to this question would be the most important to him in terms of forming his opinion regarding Loki. “Does he love you?”

“I don’t know. He’s never said it to me, but I don’t have any reason to think he doesn’t care.” I tightened my hold on Clint’s hand, my smile turning sad. “What you have to understand is for him to say that phrase, would be something he would need to be sure of. He’s spent his entire life being treated as second best by his friends, his family, and everyone else around him. Everyone has always chosen his brother over him and for someone to finally pick him first like I have would mean more than words could ever express. He may not fully trust that I mean it when I say I love him. He may not even know how he feels and that’s okay. I am willing to wait as long as it takes.” My smile grew till it spread across my whole face. “Even if he never says it back, all I want is for him to know how much I love him. He deserves the world.”

“Damn, kiddo.” Clint’s smile returned. He moved over to the bench I was sitting on and shifted his arms to wrap around my shoulder. “You really love him.”

“I told you I did.” I cracked up a little as I bumped into him with my shoulders. “He’s the only person I’ve ever given my heart to.”

“I hope he doesn’t break it kiddo.” Clint ruffled my hair lightly. I ducked away shoving at his hand playfully making us both start to laugh. Clint’s laughter slowed before he looked at me once again slightly serious. “I’m sorry for being such an ass today.”

“It’s all good Clint!” My nose scrunched up slightly as I smiled back with my whole face. “You were just doing your job as my big brother. Giving me shit and thinking that any guy I bring home must be insane.”

“Just picking up the slack from the last couple of years.” Clint flicked me lightly between the eyes before standing up to return to the pilot’s chair.

“Yeah…you’re right. We’ve been slacking on messing with each other.” My eyes crinkled up mischievously. “Don’t worry we can work on it in the coming year.”

I was already plotting my revenge prank. I was more than certain I could get Loki, Thor, Tony, and Nat on board with anything I planned. With that, we spent the last hour of our flight laughing and joking around.

*********

As we got close to the Tower, I sat back down on the bench, buckling the seat belt as Clint instructed. I knew I could just teleport back to my room at this point, but one-on-one time for me and Clint was a rarity these days. As the Quinjet began its descent, I heard Clint chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” I hadn’t said anything to make him react that way when I sat down.

“Nothing.” Clint’s voice still sounded amused. “Just had a funny thought.”

“Uh-huh.” I didn’t buy it, but it didn’t really matter. My heart rate had picked up slightly as I realized I was about to see Loki.

As the Quinjet touched down, I waited a few moments for the thrusters to shut off before I began unbuckling. The ramp lowered just as I was grabbing my bag. I looked up to see Clint had stood up and was smirking at something behind me. I turned just in time to see Loki marching up the ramp, purpose in his every step and determination in his gaze which was fixed on me.

Loki! What…?” My question was cut short as I was pulled into a fierce hug that knocked the air from my lungs. Butterflies were quick to kick up a storm in my stomach.

Loki’s hug had lifted my feet well off the ground as he spun me around. His face was buried in the junction between my shoulder and neck. He mumbled something into my skin that I couldn’t quite hear, but it left a pleasant tingling sensation where his lips had touched. When he settled me back on the ground, his face had moved so that his forehead was pressed against mine. His hands had shifted from being wrapped around me to holding my waist. Behind where we stood, Clint started snickering.

“Try not to break the jet!” He called as he walked by, snagging his bag and mine from where it lay forgotten on the floor. “Don’t forget to use protection!”

I started to protest Clint’s crude joke, but the sound died in my throat. One of Loki’s hands had left my waist to capture my chin, pulling it closer to his face until his lips captured mine. His kiss demanded only one thing, my full attention. My jaw dropped slightly from shock, and Loki was quick to take advantage of my reaction and deepen the kiss. I was quick to pull out of my momentary confusion to return the kiss. His hand at my waist, had shifted to the small of my back, pulling me tighter to him. My hands moved from where they had hung limply at my sides, to wind around his neck, one burying itself in his hair. Loki growled into my mouth. It was then that a tension I didn’t realize I was holding slipped from my body and I relaxed into Loki, my knees going a little weak. It was as I started to feel a little light-headed that Loki broke the kiss. I was fully leaning on him to remain standing.

“Hi.” A goofy smile lazily made its way to my face as I worked to catch my breath. His face was a little fuzzy as I looked at him. “I missed you too.”

“Mine.” His nose dipped to brush against my nose. His pupils were blown wide as he looked into my eyes. My breath caught slightly. “All mine.”

His hand left my chin to sweep the backs of my knees, pulling me up into a princess carry. I giggled as I rode the high of the moment. My head came to rest on his shoulder. I pressed a small kiss to his neck before pulling back with a smile.

“Yours.” I agreed. “I’m all yours.”

He strode out of the jet with me in his arms. The expression on his face was a little reminiscent of the cat that ate the canary. We passed the rest of my family that was waiting for us at the door to the landing pad. I waved quickly ‘cause I had guessed that Loki needed a little time with just us and quite frankly I agreed.

*********

I was warm and happy, just being held in his arms. We sat in bed with my back pressed up to his chest. His fingers brushed through my hair with one hand while I held the other in my lap. I felt so peaceful, but in our silence, my worries had returned, and I had started to think about my plans. I was so worried I hadn’t even realized I had begun to fidget with Loki’s fingers. After a few moments of this, he shifted his hand to interlace his fingers with mine. This pulled me out of my thoughts.

“What is distressing you, pet?” His voice was gentle as his thumb stroked over the back of my hand reassuringly. I hummed appreciatively as I thought about what to tell him. I could never lie to him. Not when it mattered.

I swallowed thickly as I realized I needed to look him in the eye. To say any of this without looking him in the eye would be the coward's way out. Slowly I pulled away from his chest and shifted so that I could face him.

“I don’t want to lie to you. Not about the big stuff anyway.” I met his gaze as evenly as I could. “I need you to swear you won’t get upset and go on some…murderous rampage.” Loki looked at me with mild offense. “No don’t give me that look. I know for a fact that what I have to say will make you feel that way.”

“You have my word.” Loki made a play to grab my other hand. I let him grab it before pulling both of my hands away.

“Just remember you promised,” I muttered before raising my arm so that the inside of my upper arm was visible. Using my other hand, I pulled back my sleeve to reveal the injury.

I hadn’t really gotten a look yet, but what I saw was absolutely hideous. There was a large angry splotch of purple from bruising with a welt from whatever had caused the injury. I guessed that meant Rumlow had used more force than I had realized. There was a slight trail of dried blood and I briefly wondered how Clint hadn’t seen it. Loki’s eyes had zeroed in on the wound, not that it was hard to miss. His eyes were practically blazing in a way that both terrified me and excited me.

“While we were still on the trip, Clint left to get some fresh air. While he was gone someone broke into our room and attacked me while I slept. I pretended to be asleep in the hopes of avoiding escalation and the possible disruption to the timeline.  I know it was a Hydra agent, but I’m not entirely sure what they did to my arm.” I bit my lip before continuing. “Although I have my theories. One, they drew my blood for unknown and nefarious purposes, two they implanted some kind of tracking device, or three they used some sort of drug that they could activate later. Although I’m more inclined to think it was the first option.”

I watched Loki carefully to see how he was taking it. At first, I thought he was taking it rather well all things considered when I noticed the micro-expressions of anger he was exuding. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes had narrowed slightly, I would have missed it if not for the slight crease of skin between his eyebrows. The fire burning in his eyes now burned with a darker desire, one that promised death.

“Do you know who it was?” His voice was eerily calm, and I felt a chill run up my spine.

I almost answered him, my mouth even opening in preparation to say the name, when I noticed how white his knuckles had turned. I knew if I told him, he would kill Rumlow, not even batting an eye as he broke his promise. I closed my mouth quickly, shaking my head slightly as I refused to answer. Loki’s nostrils flared slightly as he watched me refuse his request. He paused for a moment before his expression turned sweet.

“Please pet, won’t you tell me?! His hands snaked forward to gently grip my waist. His eyes looked deeply into mine. My breath caught in my throat. His voice had lowered to near a murmur. “Don’t you trust me?”

I blinked rapidly trying to process what was happening. When I managed to tear my gaze from his eyes, I was able to clear my head enough to recognize what he was doing.

“Loki! That’s not fair!” I smacked him in the arm, but I knew it wasn’t enough to cause him any pain. “You and I both know if I tell you, you are going to kill anyone who you feel was involved.”

“Please, Darling!” His voice had turned pleading making me look back at him. I swallowed thickly as I realized how close his face had gotten. His hands had moved to hold mine as though he were trying to get his desperation across. “I only wish to keep you safe. Will you not allow me that?”

“You beautiful manipulative jackass!” I grumbled. I started shifting to get off the bed. “I’ll come back when you stop trying to manipulate me into an answer.”

My back had turned to him as I reached the edge of the bed. Just as I was about to stand up, his arms wrapped around me, trapping my arms to my side as he held me close to him.

“I’m sorry precious.” His voice whispered in my ear making me shiver. “I’ll stop, just please don’t leave.” His upper body sagged into me from behind, weighing on me. His head had drooped onto my shoulder. “Please don’t go.”

My heart squeezed at the need in his voice. My hand reached up to stroke his hair briefly before moving to shift his head up as I turned slightly to look at him.

“I’m not going anywhere, Loki.” My voice was barely above a whisper as I looked at him trying to convey my absolute devotion. “I love you, you big idiot. I’m not leaving you.”

Loki’s arms tightened around me once more before pulling us backward toward the center of the bed to cuddle with me once more. He mumbled something into my hair that sounded suspiciously like “need you” but I couldn’t be sure. I fell asleep not long after, finally relaxed enough to feel safe after the terror that had been my day.

*********

It was so dark. My heart was pounding in my chest. I could hear whispers behind me. I whirled around and suddenly everything was bright. I was surrounded by my friends and family. Tony and Rhodey were off to one side joking while Nat and Clint were telling stories to Steve and Bruce. I could see Fury, Phil, and Maria Talking in a separate corner. I felt an arm wrap around my waist and I relaxed into it with a sigh.

“Loki…” I smiled, turning to face my fiancé.

“Not quite Sweetheart.” The person holding me spoke. I was shocked to see it was Rumlow holding my side. I shoved him off of me stumbling away barely recognizing the presence of something sparkling on my left hand. “What’s wrong sweetheart? Don’t you recognize your husband?!”

Rumlow started laughing as I began shaking violently. My skin was crawling, and bile made its way up my throat. Rumlow’s arms spread wide as he started walking towards me. I scrambled away in a panic ripping what I now recognized as a ring off my finger and chunking it at him.

“Oh, don’t be like that Sweetheart…” His smile turned to a sneer. I looked around, praying for my family to notice what was happening and interfere, but they had all vanished. I was alone with Rumlow. “It’s only me.”

“S…stay away from me!” I was running out of places to move while keeping him in my peripherals. It was right then that I had the good sense to trip and land flat on the floor.

Hands gripped me as the scene changed from the once familiar environment of my living room to run down looking medical facility. The hands holding me down were attached to people in white lab coats with masks covering their faces and lights that were blinding me. Rumlow came into view once more from behind my head. His hands laid over my throat.

“Now don’t struggle Sweetheart.” His smile grew nearly demonic in shape and size, pure evil practically dripping off of him. “It’ll all be over soon.”

That was when I started screaming.

Notes:

Hello again y’all!!! I know it hasn’t been long, but I’m in a really great mood! I finally finished chapter 32 (I have been stuck on it for a year, literally) and my birthday is today!!! I know the last chapter ended super creepy and again I am sorry about that, but I did make sure to warn y’all this time so at least there’s that! I have no idea if any of y’all liked the last chapter but I swear it has a purpose! I promise I wasn’t doing it just to do it. But let’s go ahead and get into this chapter! I know what y’all might be thinking, “why isn’t she responding to all that trauma from the last chapter?!” And the answer is, she’s compartmentalizing! A lot has happened to her in the short span of a few years so whenever something upsetting happens, she categorizes it by which has the biggest priority in the moment, but believe me I have a plan for how all of that will get handled. Also what did y’all think about the sibling bonding time? I had an emotional time writing it (in a good way) as it was very heartfelt. As always, I look forward to hearing from y’all! Until next time y’all!!!

Chapter 30

*********

Loki’s Perspective

*********

She had fallen asleep in my arms with a sweet smile gracing her lips. I hadn’t fully realized what Hel I would go through being separated from her for a time as short as three days. The spell on her necklace had yet to be completed so I was not even afforded the solace of feeling her presence and being assured of her safety. She was sleeping peacefully in my arms, but the knowledge barely abated the anger I felt in knowing someone had not only dared to lay their hands on her but had also caused her harm.

She made a small noise and pressed her face closer to my chest, slightly squishing her cheek in the process. It made me smile to know that even in her state of unconsciousness, she still knew when I needed to know she was safe. Then my eye caught on something a little lower down that she hadn’t mentioned. Her shirt had lifted just slightly over her left hip revealing the edge of something purple that was just hidden by her pants. I moved my hand to shift the fabric just enough to let me see what the purple was. It was another bruise. Although this discoloration was different. The purple formed just enough to show me the impression of a hand that had gripped her there tightly enough to bruise her.

My anger which had been simmering under the surface, rose to a boiling rage as I realized the assailant’s intentions had been worse than the beautiful girl in my arms had mentioned. Although she most likely didn’t even remember its existence, if she even knew of it in the first place, in the face of the abrasion on her arm. As I started to contemplate this new dilemma, mulling over the ways I would achieve my retribution should I ever get my hands on the miscreant who dared harm my beloved, Lauren began to whine. My attention returned to her face which was contorted with signs of distress. Her hands had twisted themselves into the fabric of my shirt and her legs had begun moving slightly, twisting the blankets around them as her distress grew.

Small sounds of protest began to spill from her lips, almost pleading in their nature. My hand was quick to return from her waist to her hair, stroking it in an attempt to return her to a state of tranquility. However, my ministrations did little to ease the suffering of her dream. I began to worry as tears started to streak down her lovely face, and her soft cries began to grow louder turning to sobs. At this point, I decided to interfere with the abrupt negative turn her dream seemed to have taken. Intent on entering her mind and returning her to a more pleasant dream, I placed my hand on her forehead. However, I could not enter her mind as I found my access blocked somehow. It was as though the doorway to her mind had been bricked over. I tried once more to no avail. Her sobs were becoming more terrified letting me know that her dream was beyond causing her sadness. It was frightening her. She was having a nightmare.

I shook her shoulders lightly calling to her, now intent on waking her up. She had little reaction beyond the continuation of her cries.

“Lauren.” I started softly. No reaction. “Wake up! Please wake up!” My words grew desperate, but her nightmare refused to release her. It was then that she started pushing my chest weakly as though she were trying to escape something. Or someone. I tried once more at a louder volume and when that didn’t rouse her, I resorted to holding her and trying to comfort her. Her sobs turned to near shrieks as I held her tighter. Her weak attempts to pull away failed as I refused to let her suffer on her own. My hand resumed its caress of her hair as I whispered to her. “It’s ok. It’s ok. Lauren, it’s just me. You’re going to be okay. You’re safe. I’m not going anywhere.” I started mimicking her earlier reassurances. “I promise I will never leave you. Please love! Wake up!”

As I continued trying to comfort her hoping she would wake soon, my pleas became distraught. Tears, that I had been unaware of, made their presence known as they splashed onto her cheeks, intermingling with her own. It seemed as though an eternity had passed while she thrashed in my arms, her wailing distraught. Then as her bawling shifted back towards whimpers, I felt hope that she was nearing the end of her agony. A few more moments passed, then her eyes snapped open.

Her lovely face had turned pale throughout the course of her nightmare and was now covered in a light sheen of sweat. I felt a sharp pang of relief at her newly awakened state. However, that relief was brief as she began squirming trying to pull out of my arms. She managed to wriggle out of my embrace quickly, before scrambling off the bed and rushing towards the bathroom.

I heard the distinct bang of the toilet lid hitting the porcelain back. I was quick to rush out of the comfort of the bed to follow her path. I reached her just in time to see her kneeling over the bowl of the toilet. She started retching until she was relieved of the meager contents of her stomach. I reached her side at that same moment that she began heaving over the bowl. I gathered her hair, pulling it back so that it did not receive the splashback of her bile. I sat beside her, holding her hair in one hand, and rubbing her back with the other. Her back felt abnormally warm as I made gentle soothing circles along her shoulder blades. New tears trailed her face. When she finished, she pulled away from me once more to flush the signs of her illness away. When she sat back down, she laid her head on the side of the bowl. Her face was severely flushed.

I reached forward and placed my hand on her forehead, mildly worried about the temperature I felt while rubbing her back. When my hand made contact, her hand flew up to brush it away weakly.

“Too warm.” Her voice rasped, further evidence of her illness.

I narrowed my eyes at her complaint that my hand was too warm. Discreetly, I cast a diagnosis spell to see if she was suffering an ailment beyond the vestiges of her nightmare. The spell was quick to confirm that she had a fever and would need medical attention to ease her symptoms. I wanted to move her to somewhere more comfortable, but she likely wouldn’t let me touch her as I was “too warm.” Suddenly, I had never been more grateful for my ancestry. Accessing a small part of my natural capabilities as a Frost Giant, I made my skin cool enough that it would feel heavenly to her enflamed skin, while also not being so cold as to give her frostbite. I pulled her into my arms and away from the toilet. Her appreciation was almost immediate as she clung to my form. Cradling her, I stayed where I was.

“Jarvis,” I called out quietly. Lauren had explained the A.I. to me so I knew it would be my best shot at getting aid for her. “Lauren needs help. She appears to have contracted a virus of some kind.”

I heard no response, but I was certain the A.I. had heard me. When I was certain she wouldn’t vomit from being moved suddenly, I stood up and walked us back into the main room and returned to our original location on the bed. I sat her gingerly on my lap and she curled into me as though to avoid touching the bedding.

Almost the exact second I had returned us to our bed, the door to our room flew open to reveal her father with Natasha close on his heels.

“What did you do to her?!” Stark’s eyes were practically blazing as he lifted his hand, gloved in that wretched technology, primed to attack.

Before I could even begin to respond, Lauren’s hand flew up to cover her mouth. I looked down to see that the flush had drained from her face, leaving her pallid. Natasha was quick to recognize the cues of Lauren’s strange illness. Snatching a small waste bin from the floor near where they had entered, Natasha was quick to bring it to rest under Lauren’s chin. Lauren gripped the sides of the bin before retching into it. Pulling her hair back from her face once more, I looked pleadingly at our company. Perhaps they would have some guidance. Stark began barking orders to his A.I., requesting water and medications to make her symptoms more bearable until they could manage to retrieve a healer for her. Nat had begun whispering comforting words of encouragement to Lauren until she finished relieving herself of the bile in her stomach.

Eventually my beloved found the end of her misery. I gently rubbed her back as comfortingly as I could. Natasha reached forward with the sleeve of her shirt pulled over her thumb, before wiping away a few of the remnants of my beloved’s sick from her lips. I heard Lauren mumbling her thanks, before looking up with the most piteous expression of apology and shame in her eyes. Unhappy with the thought that she felt any form of guilt or a need to apologize for that which was out of her control, I pulled Lauren tight to my chest. I grabbed the bin from her, cleansing it of its contents with my magic, before setting it on the ground by the bed in case she should have need of it again soon.

“You have nothing to be sorry for Pet,” I murmured into her hair. Her face tucked back into the crook of my neck, sighing happily at the cool skin she found there. “How do you feel? Is there anything more we could be doing to help you?” I gestured gently to the two members of her family that had responded to my call for aid. If she wanted for anything then I would see to it that everyone did their utmost to fulfill her request.

“mm amh.” Her words were muffled by where she rested her head. I shifted her up slightly so her lips were closer to my ear so that I might hear her better. “my arm hurts.”

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but I froze as I thought about the implications of her words. Natasha had moved to talk through a treatment plan and who they should discuss this with as evidently, they had yet to experience her being sick from a viral element. As soon as I was sure they would not be able to see, I shifted Lauren just enough to see the arm trapped between our bodies. Gently, I pulled her left arm enough to see the wound. It was worse than it had been earlier that evening. The purple discoloration had spread to cover almost the entire underside of her upper arm, and the red welt had started turning to a color near black along its edges. My breath drew in past my lips with a hiss. This needed immediate treatment. I looked towards her loved ones, but I knew this would be beyond them. She needed my aid.

Casting a quick spell to keep them from hearing us and an illusion to make it seem as though nothing had changed; I leaned down to my beloved’s ear.

“I will make the pain go away.” I swallowed hard. “I need you to trust me, Darling. This will hurt but it will stop the pain. Can you trust me?”

I leaned back to see her staring up at me, her eyes shining brightly in stark contrast to her haggard appearance.

“I would trust you with my life.” Her voice was raspy, but her tone was warm. Was that what was shining in her eyes? Trust? I could never fully understand how she could look at me in such a manner. Eyes full of adoration, trust, and LOVE. It made no sense to me as no other in my life had ever looked at me like that, save my mother perhaps. “Loki.” My eyes which had drifted back to her injury, snapped back to her. “I believe in you.”

Drawing in another hissing breath, I nodded sharply. Returning my attention to her wound, I placed my free hand over the source of her pain. Focusing on drawing out the infection, my palm began to glow green. Lauren’s head returned to the crook of my neck, pressing her face into the skin there. Her breathing grew labored. My magic began to search for all traces of the harmful entity that I was certain resided within her arm. It didn’t take my magic long to find it and my magic began the agonizing process of removing it without causing further damage to her delicate structure. As the removal was slow, my beloved was stuck feeling the brunt of her prolonged agony. Her breathing now bordered between a whine and a sob and I could feel my skin dampen with her tears. After a few more moments, the offending object was pulled into my hand, covered in a wet substance that I held no doubt as being her blood. Pulling the hand with the infecting object away from her skin, I brought the arm holding her up around her to lay my other hand on her newly opened wound. I started healing the injury and slowly the purple receded from her arm and the blood clotted before it could trail down her arm. Lifting my hand back up I was relieved to see only a tiny near imperceptibly pink scar left behind in the wake of her pain. With some luck, the memory would fade for her and someday she may not even recall how she received such a scar.

Leaning her back some I was able to gauge her well-being, I was able to see that she had passed out. Using my magic to clean her blood from my hand and her arm, I dropped the illusion and the spell that had allowed us to go unheard. Readjusting her in my arm so that she would be more comfortable, I carefully duplication cast so that my double could go and speak with her relatives. Passing the object to my duplicate, I focused my main attention on the slow rise and fall of her chest.

My duplicate, however, took precedence with the control of my subconscious.

“Stark, might I have a word?” My face could have been made of stone for how much I was attempting to hide my emotions. Without waiting for a reply, I moved to stand in the hallway just out of earshot should my beloved awaken. When Stark joined me in the hallway, I began. “She is not safe.”

“Excuse me?” Stark’s eyebrows raised as his expression betrayed his disbelief.

“Someone has been hunting her since New York.” I continued on as though his reaction had not occurred. “The intruder at the hospital and again on her trip this week. They failed at the hospital, but I believe they may have succeeded this time.”

“She was attacked on her trip?!” Stark yelped, looking back through the doorway to catch sight of where she now lay peacefully in my arms. “But why didn’t she say anything?! Why didn’t Barton?!”

“I suspect that either she withheld the information from him, or she persuaded him to remain silent on the matter,” I muttered, watching her twist in my arms. Her deceptive behavior towards everyone, including her father, worried me. Turning back to Stark, I continued. “I found this implanted in her arm and I suspect it to be the source of her current affliction.” Stark turned to look at the device now sitting in my open palm. “I do not know what this means for her future or her safety, but the attackers both attempted to harm her for reasons as of yet unclear to either her or me.”

“And you’re sure that little device is the reason she’s sick right now?” Stark’s voice demanded but this time I could see the worry and fear in his eyes. Good. That meant he would understand the gravity of her situation.

“I am certain of it.” I nodded sharply. “However, I believe the perpetrator may have also retrieved a vial of her blood in addition to placing this device within her system.”

A small noise of discomfort drew my attention back to the room. Lauren had shifted uncomfortably in her sleep as sweat once more coated her skin in a light sheen that under different circumstances might have been beautiful, but now only caused me distress. She was shaking slightly in my arms, and I wished nothing more than to return my full attention to her. However, this took precedence. Her safety mattered to me more than anything. I doubted I would even be able to rest if I felt she might not be safe when I left her behind. I could see Natasha speaking to my beloved what looked like words of comfort. I truly wished they would help ease my love’s pain and distress. I returned my attention to her father.

“I must leave her at the end of the month. And therefore, cannot keep her safe and I would like to request you guard her in my absence.” I did my utmost to keep my expression neutral as I disliked having to ask for help. Especially from him. However, my distaste for Stark did not outweigh my need to have her safe.

“You’re leaving?! Now?!” Stark practically yelped.

“At the end of the month, I will be returning to Asgard with Thor.” I clenched my jaw slightly waiting for his answer.

“So, you’re abandoning her?” Stark began to sneer. “And here I was starting to think you actually cared…but here you are leaving her when she needs…”

“You THINK I am leaving by CHOICE?!!” I hissed out cutting off Stark. “I am leaving by her request so as not to break the ‘timelines!’” I began to snarl around certain words as my fury rose to meet Stark’s acidity. “She is the ONLY thing on this godforsaken rock that matters to me! I wouldn’t even blink if your species were to vanish from existence were it not for her! SHE is the ONLY reason I care!”

By the time I finished, practically spitting out my words, my chest was heaving in time with my anger as it began to melt from my bones. Getting angry would serve no purpose, least of all if I was to secure a promise from one who stood as one of her world’s most prominent authority figures. Looking towards the ground, I shut my eyes attempting to reign in my ire for the man before me. We had reached a compromise once before, and if it was for her sake, I was certain we could reach one once more.

“Please.” I looked back up at him as my desperation to see her safe leaked into my voice. “Can you keep her safe until I return?”

Stark looked at me silently watching my face. Then he exhaled harshly, his hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Is that even a question?” His hand dropped and I met his gaze. Suddenly, I couldn’t see a man whom I held such an extreme distaste for. I could only see him as she saw him. A loving father who bore the weight of the world on his shoulders. His eyes looked ever weary for this life but I could see the fires of determination lurking in their depths. “She will be safe.”

“Your word Stark,” I whispered. Stark nodded sharply.

“You have my word…I will keep her safe.” I could feel the moment we understood each other. Maybe I would be able to tolerate his presence. “Whatever it takes.”

“Good.” I straightened up, reasserting my emotionless expression as I turned to re-enter the room and allow myself to rejoin my original consciousness. I paused as I walked by Stark. “Thank you.”

The words were quiet enough that no one else would be able to hear them, but I needed him to know I understood his vow.

“I am not doing it for you.” Stark hissed back just as I stepped into the room.

The magic faded from my duplicate and all his memories joined with mine and I smiled softly. Lauren had begun to settle in my arms, the color returning to her face. Natasha had stood up to wander over to where Stark still stood in the doorway.

“I know.” The words were whispered, and my smile was small, but I felt satisfied. Should anything happen, my beloved, my darling, my Lauren would be safe.

Tightening my arms around her, I began to whisper songs of protection and safety to her, lulling her back to a deep sleep with the words of a foreign and ancient tongue. These words would protect her in her dreams and would allow me to watch over her even from Asgard. I would keep her safe. Stark’s words rang in my ear and a bigger smile curled my lips as I echoed the words to the woman slumbering safely within my arms.

“Whatever it takes.”

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Loki’s Perspective End

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Notes:

I’m baaaaaaack🎶!!! I am so sorry this update has taken this long! A lot of things have come up this summer that kept me offline and for that I apologize! On another note, what do y’all think is going on?! I’m very excited to see y’all’s thoughts! As always I look forward to hearing from y’all! Until next time!