Disclaimer: I don't own anything you see but Riley Harrow; everything belongs to the amazing Stan Lee.

...

"Sounds like you already have your hands full. Why do you need me?"

"We need as much help as possible."

"How did you know where to find me?"

"We always know."

"I'm surprised you didn't send one of your agents."

"I figured this case might need to be handled delicately."

Riley snuck a short glance up from her computer screen to scan over Nick Fury's face. He was a tall, well-built black man with severe yet calm eyes…or eye, rather, as one of them was hidden beneath an eye patch. He wore an over-sized inky jacket that was most certainly making him sweat in the humidity; Riley had already offered once for him to take it off, but he ignored her bid.

"And yet I doubt you're here alone," said Riley as her eyes returned to her work, making it appear as though she were busy, but in actuality, she hadn't written a single sentence on the word document.

"Would my answer do anything to steer you toward a 'yes' or 'no' answer to my proposition?"

"Probably not."

"Then that's none of your concern."

Riley leaned back in her office chair and folded her hands across her chest, all of her attention now focused on him. "I'm a writer, sir. Not a superhero."

"I don't need a hero. I need someone who cares enough about their planet to defend it…Unless, that is, the only planet someone cares about is the one they aren't currently living on."

Riley's eyes narrowed. "So Coulson has told you, then."

Agent Phil Coulson was one of the first to try and recruit Riley a while back, when she was first revealed as a "demigod" of sorts. She hadn't been altogether concerned with her past, as she already knew enough: Her father was banished to Earth for reasons unbeknownst to her, where he met and fell in love with her mother, who gave birth to Riley. She'd died during the birth, which was the first puzzle piece of many that suggested Riley would not be a normal mortal child.

What mattered the most, however, was that her father killed himself after Riley's mother died. The selfish intent behind it crushed Riley, but she preferred to keep a picture-perfect image of her father in her head: Gentle, sweet, and just unable to go on without his lover. As for the reason he was banned from Asgard...Well, she preferred just not knowing. She'd spent most of her life in an orphanage, until an older woman adopted her when Riley was fifteen. But the never-ending list of things she had already missed out on, without a mother there to guide her—it was just too much.

Her powers, however, did not nearly amount to her father's, let alone any god or being on Asgard. She was what humans might call "psychic" in some respects. She could manipulate objects to move to an extent, and she could read some emotions and auras, but not direct thoughts that people were thinking. She preferred to keep these under wraps, however, as she had learned growing up that people with said powers were often heavily questioned experimented on, and used for government purposes.

The first one she had heard of was "Captain America," a man who had been frozen into the ice a long time ago, but had served his purpose at the time well. The second one was Tony Stark, a man who openly announced that he was "Iron Man," after some disputes spread over a man in a metal suit. She knew the most about him, as he was constantly showing up on the television for various things.

Riley herself was first discovered for her "abilities" when she was visiting France on a business trip. A man named Clive was being experimented on in France, as people were hoping to mimic what had happened with Captain America, but things took a turn for the worse. Whatever chemicals they were using were clearly not the right thing, as he became a maniac of sorts, hungry for power, and lost control of his very mind. Riley had only just arrived in from London when chaos was ensuing in France, and she ended up, curiosity getting the better of her, in an all-out battle with Clive. It wasn't exactly an amazing superhero fight, but by the end of it, Clive was defeated, and Riley was left with a decent amount of scars.

She wasn't altogether too happy about his death, considering he was just insane from the power, but the people in France were certainly pleased by her actions. Thankfully, they didn't know who she was, as she wore a large black traveling cloak over herself during the fight, in hopes that no one would notice her identity. They called her "Psychique Femme," which apparently meant "Psychic Woman" in French. The name stuck, and Agent Phil Coulson soon approached her, requesting that she join "SHIELD." She agreed to it and began working for Coulson for a small duration of time, but it wasn't long before things began to go wrong: She was unintentionally exploding/breaking things under strong emotions, accidentally injuring people, losing control, etc. She and SHIELD decided that as the full extent of her powers were unknown, she could become hazardous, and it was time that she retire from it, to avoid harming anyone.

"Yes, and from what he's told me about you," said Fury, picking up a stapler on her desk and examining it absentmindedly, "you were a pretty reliable, good worker at SHIELD. I'm glad to finally get the chance to meet you."

"He was lying," said Riley firmly, looking the man directly in his one eye. "There was a reason I stopped working there, you know."

"I know."

A short pause commenced.

"So let me get this straight. This… 'Tesseract' has fallen into the wrong hands, and you want me to help get it back," said Riley.

"Yes. But the other thing is…" Fury put down the stapler and began to pace about the room, but his one good eye was still on her, "the guy we're dealing with is from another planet."

Riley raised one eyebrow at him.

"Coulson also tells me you're not quite human."

Riley smirked. "Took him having to tell you that to realize—?"

"The man's name is Loki," Fury interrupted, "and he's from Asgard, your home planet. Ringing any bells?"

"Loki?" Riley racked her brain to remember. She'd never actually been to the planet Asgard before, since her father had been banished, but she'd heard stories about it. Word from SHIELD was that the mighty god Thor had actually come to Earth, then returned to Asgard to duel with his brother…Loki! "Oh, yeah, Thor's brother. Didn't Thor go back home when the whole situation was resolved?"

"Sort of…but that's not important."

"Then what is?"

"Loki is the one I was talking about before, the man with the Tesseract. I've already told you about the Avengers Initiative, and Coulson thinks we should bring you into it, but…"

"But?" Riley prompted.

"But I'm afraid you might just start a family dispute," Fury finished.

Riley stared at him, dumbfounded. "Loki isn't related to me in any way, nor is Thor. How would recruiting me start some 'family dispute'?"

"You're from the same planet. Coulson says your father was banned from it, but you don't know why. Am I wrong to assume that you might become…curious?"

Riley removed her hands from the back of her head and they traveled back to rest under her chin. "I don't think the first thing I'll do when I meet him is ask if he knows anything about my family tree, sir."

"Good." Fury had finally stopped pacing. "Then you're up for it?"

Riley hesitated. On one hand, the thought of getting back into the business, of doing something right, sounded like music to her ears, but on the other, there was a dark stir of concern. What if she lost control again? She wasn't a god, she wasn't brought up around any, and she didn't know how to use her powers like she should. And then there was what Fury had just brought up…What if curiosity did eventually get the best of her?

"God of Mischief, right?" said Riley.

"That's him," Fury confirmed.

Riley grinned. "Well then, in that case, we might just get along. I'm in."

…

In all her time at SHIELD, Riley could not remember a time when she'd ever been on a ship so large. She didn't like it. Tons of people were scurrying around like ants, talking into earpieces and carrying folders and documents here and there. The entire thing appeared to be made of metal, with an abundance of fighter jets landing on it. The whole area made Riley queasy…She disliked the idea of being cramped in anywhere, even on such a large ship, in the middle of a vast ocean. There were too many emotions, too many thoughts buzzing about everywhere, all meshing together and making her head hurt.

"Ah! Miss Harrow," said a recognizable voice; Riley looked over her shoulder to see Coulson approaching, and the nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach dissolved. Finally, a familiar face.

"Hi, Phil!" Riley extended her hand to him, relieved. "How are you?"

"Very good. I've missed seeing you around at SHIELD, you know."

"Ditto…But you know why I left," she added in a lower tone.

"Yes…well, I'm glad to have you back on board." He flashed her a warm smile.

"Speaking of being on board…Mind if I go inside for a drink or something? I think I need to sit down..."

"No, not at all. But first—" he added, and Riley groaned; she wished her hadn't added those last two words. "—I'd like you to meet some of your team."

He guided her over to a group of three people, already engaged in conversation. When she appeared beside them, they looked up from their exchange and their eyes rested on Riley, who self-consciously turned her own gaze away.

"Hello," greeted the man on the left; the first thing Riley noticed about him was that he was very well-built physically, with strong arms and fists that she had a feeling she would never want to quarrel with. With a handsome face, blond hair and bright cerulean eyes, he was definitely not going to be easy to talk to. Outfit-wise, he looked as though he had stripped the American flag off its pole and had made it into an outfit.

"Steve Rogers. Er—Captain," said Riley, nodding at him as he shook her hand and hoping she wasn't flushing red. She noted that his grip was very firm and his hands were rough, calloused. Yeah, I'm really glad he's on our side, she thought.

"Riley Harrow," returned the Captain with a smile.

"Or Psychique Femme," Riley added.

"Gesundheit. You sure got the people in France riled up with that fight between you and that psychopathic guy."

"Yeah, I suppose. And you—" Riley tried to recall all the information she'd been fed about the Avengers; Fury had offered her a full profile of each of them, broadcasting screens with fights they'd been through and information about their pasts. Wait, I already knew who he was, she reminded herself. "—you were the first hero. Ice dude."

The Captain nodded his acknowledgement and Riley turned to the next Avenger, who was a female. A gorgeous one…For a second, Riley felt almost out of place beside her, like a peasant standing in the presence of a goddess. She had flaming red hair, striking blue eyes, and full lips. As for her attire, she was equipped in a skin-tight black outfit outlining her perfect figure that made Riley question whether the woman was suffocating in it or not.

"Hello, Harrow," she acknowledged politely.

"Hey, Agent," said Riley, subconsciously testing out and comparing her own voice. "Natasha Romanoff, right?" Otherwise known as the Black Widow.

"Yes. Are you from England?"

Riley blinked. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Your accent. It's British," said Natasha, and Riley opened her mouth to reply, but her mind could not construct the right thing to say. Instead, she merely nodded awkwardly. "I see. That was probably in your profile; I must have missed it."

The third man Riley recognized as Dr. Banner. He had brown hair and eyes to match, and he looked as though he could use a good night's sleep, but the thing that struck Riley as odd was the aura he was emitting. It was very strong, and Riley sensed a strange combination of tranquility and anger. How did those two emotions even mix?

"Hi," said Riley, smiling more than she should be in spite of herself. Secretly, she had wanted to meet the infamous "Hulk" more than anyone else. It had something to do with the fact that she was taken out of SHIELD for being reckless and uncontrollable, something they shared in common. She had a feeling his own situation was probably ten times worse, however, as she was born this way and his own powers had stemmed from radiation. And not to mention the fact that he turned into the Not-So-Jolly-Green Giant whenever he was angered.

"Dr. Bruce Banner," he answered, reaching out to take her hand. She hesitated before taking it, but to her surprise, his grip was not painful, like she had expected. Apparently it's only when he's the green guy, she thought. "It's Miss Harrow, right?" he added, returning her smile. "It's a pleasure to—"

"Gentlemen, you may wanna step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breath," said Natasha suddenly, breaking into their conversation; she was glancing over the edge of the ship.

Riley frowned, realizing that she had addressed them all as "Gentlemen." Just a mistake, don't get all hot-headed over nothing, she hastily reminded herself.

Suddenly, the Helicarrier started shaking violently from below, as though an earthquake were erupting beneath their feet. Riley peered over the side of it curiously to see the turbines spinning more and more rapidly, the machinery groaning as it did so.

"Is this is a submarine?" said the Captain.

"Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurized metal container?" said Dr. Banner.

"I hear you there," Riley chimed in, sincerely hoping that the Captain was wrong.

Together, they edged closer to the edge of the Helicarrier and watched, in awe, as it started to lift into the air.

"Oh, no. This is much worse," said Dr. Banner, smiling slightly.

"We're going to…fly?" Riley demanded, her jaw dropping to the floor. She had to admit, being up in the air was at least better than being cramped underneath the surface of the water, where she could drown any second. But then, there was also the idea of falling…

Stop being such a pessimist, Riley told herself. Just…relax.

As the great ship…or, plane…or whatever lifted into the air, they were escorted inside. The interior of the ship was as massive as the exterior, and equally impressive. Riley found herself gawking at the scenery unraveling before her, her eyes darting here and there over the complex technology and intricate designs.

"Let's disappear," said Fury.

But what occurred next stole the entire show. Some sort of device surrounded the entire vessel, vanishing them from sight. Completely. Invisible.

"Okay, that was cool," Riley admitted.

"Gentlemen," said Fury.

Without looking at Fury, Captain America reached into his pocket and handed him a ten dollar bill.

Fury said nothing, only smirking a little. He turned to Dr. Banner. "Doctor, thank you for coming."

"Thanks for asking nicely," Dr. Banner acknowledged. "So, uh...how long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear."

"Where are you with that?"

Fury pointed to Coulson.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us," said Coulson.

"That'll take forever," Riley pointed out.

"She's right. That's still not gonna find them in time," Natasha contributed.

"You have to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?" said Dr. Banner.

"How many are there?" asked Fury.

"Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?" Dr. Banner added.

"Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?"

Natasha nodded. "You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys."

Once the pair of them had exited the room, Fury turned his attention to Riley.

"Glad you gave in so easily."

Riley snorted. "I didn't 'give in'. I just...wanted a thrill. I haven't been able to really use my powers for while beyond bringing my coffee mug to my desk, so you can imagine I'm pretty pumped."

"Well, keep in mind that this is all business. We can't joke around right now."

"Could we ever?" said Riley, leaning against the wall behind her. "Anyway, so what are we doing now? Trying to locate where Loki is?"

"Precisely. We're using satellite facial recognition."

Riley nodded, but inside she questioned whether it would actually work. She had a feeling Loki wasn't exactly going to be casually wandering around in the open.

"I mean, if it's not too much trouble," said Coulson's voice. Riley turned her head a degree to look at him. He was engaged in a deep conversation with the Captain, who seemed far less interested in it than Coulson.

"No, no. It's fine."

"It's a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all."

Riley stifled a snicker. Such a fanboy.

"Near mint," Coulson continued, "slight foxing around the edges, but..."

"We got a hit," one of the agents interrupted. "Sixty seven percent match. Weight, cross match, seventy nine percent."

Oh. If they had already found Loki, then he clearly didn't care if he was found. Or…maybe he wanted to be found. The thought made her stomach stir uneasily.

"Location?" said Coulson.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding."

"Captain, you're up," said Fury.

The Captain simply nodded to him and went after Agent Romanoff, presumably to the plane. They were already going in for the action? Riley turned expectantly to Fury, her expression no doubt lit with excitement.

Fury rolled his eyes...or, eye. "Yeah, you go, too. Just don't do anything stupid."

Offended but pleased, Riley turned and raced off after the Captain, a swirl of excitement arising inside of her. She was finally going to be able to use her powers again! It felt like an eternity since she had last battled Clive, and now she was alive with exhilaration.

Watch out, 'God of Mischief', she thought eagerly as she caught up to the Captain and Natasha. One half-god, half-mortal lunatic coming right up.

...

A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter as much as I did writing it! The next should be up fairly soon, I promise.