Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.
Prologue
Alex sighed as she gazed up at the twinkling stars. What did she do to deserve this life? She was a nice girl, always did what was right. Then, she lost her parents and brother when their car crashed into a nuclear power plant. That same car crash didn't kill her, oh no. It gave her strange powers that she kept hidden from the world, too scared to reveal them. She was... mutated. A monster. Her true form... even her family would lock her away if they saw it. Then again, her family was dead.
Jumping to her feet, Alex opened the window to her foster home, sneaking off. She wandered through the forest, moonlight casting patterns on the ground and creating an ethereal glow. Soon, she arrived at the bluff, where the water crashed against the cliffs and the moonlight sparkled across the water. Looking up, two specific stars caught her eye. One was a brilliant blue, and the other was a shining red. "I wish I could help people," whispered Alex sadly. "I wish I could protect those I cared about. I wish I was strong enough." Suddenly, a brilliant flash of light illuminated the sky, enveloping Alex. She gasps as she sees three intimidating figures before her, one of them in chains.
"Are you Alex?" asks the one on an eight legged horse. He has golden armor, a gold eyepatch (seriously?), and a white beard. When Alex catches sight of the young blond man's hammer, everything clicks into place.
"By the Norns, this is impossible!" I exclaim, jumping to my feet and backing away a couple of steps.
"I see you're familiar with Norse mythology," chuckles Odin, and I nod.
"You could say that," I mutter thinking back to my childhood friend, Hel, Queen of Helheim, land of the dead... and Loki's adopted daughter.
"Heimdal recommended you to us for a very important job," continues Odin.
"Sir, I'm mortal," I deadpan, and Odin gives a frustrated growl.
"I know that!" he shouts, and phantom pain leads me to easily dodge out of reach, just in case. Odin gives me a sad look before rubbing his hand over his face tiredly. "I assume you realize that my son, Loki, attacked Midgard last summer," begins Odin, and I nod.
"Yeah, I was there," I confirm, and all three of the people's eyes widen in shock, though I notice the chained one, who I have a nagging suspicion about, is the first to recover. "Oh, hey Loki," I greet as Thor FINALLY moves enough for me to see the chained one's face. He gives me a sarcastic little wave with one of his chained hands, and I give him a sarcastic wink in return. "Yeah, I don't really have any self-preservation instincts," I shrug at the sight of the other's shocked faces.
"He has already completed the first part of his punishment, and we need your help to complete the second," explains Odin, and I'm immediately on my guard. "Loki is to understand mortals, and to do that, he needs to be in close proximity with one. Thor suggested the Avengers, but Heimdal said that you would be a better match. Why?" I chuckle darkly at Odin's question and he stiffens.
"Easy, I'm a monster," I respond, standing up and stretching. "Well, technically I'm a mutant, but my true form certainly makes me look like a monster. Don't tend to act like it, of course. Well... Most of the time anyway."
"What do you look like?" asks Thor innocently, and my smile is all teeth.
"Sorry, that's a secret, though if you really wanna know, you can ask your all-seeing gatekeeper. I'm sure he remembers," I reply nonchalantly. I'm pretty sure none of them realize that I am TERRIFIED right now... except maybe Loki. That darn gag is covering too much of his face to tell in the darkness.
"Listen, it is vital that you come to Asgard with us," urges Thor, and I'm about to reply when my watch beeps seven times.
"CRAP!" I swear and three gun shots blast through the air.
"Where are you, freak? I thought I taught you what happens when you sneak out!" roars a man, and immediately all three immortals step into the forest. Alex can still see them with her night vision, but the man she is staying with, James Radcliffe, can't. "There you are!" I gasp as the man grabs my shoulder and squeezes it, leaving a bruise. "Turn around," he snarls, and I slowly turn to face him. In seconds, I'm lying on the ground with a red hand print on my face. "No wonder your family left you," he snarls, and I freeze.
"You don't know anything!" I growl, leaping to my feet with a feline grace. His eyes widen in shock, but then his drunken manner resumes.
"Oh? Well, maybe I didn't read the report, but here's a guess. You were a little freak, and you were such an ugly failure your parents left you to die. Some Good Samaritan took pity on you and took you in, only to later realize what a failure you were and then sent you off to an orphanage at the tender age of seven. Am I right?" he sneers, and rage bubbles up inside me.
"MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!" I scream, and the man only has time to cry out in shock before he is hanging upside down from the top of a pine tree. Panting, I stay on the ground, attempting to control my emotions so my true form doesn't claw it's way out. I then turn to the three immortals who are still standing there in shock. "Uh... if the offer still stands, I should probably leave the realm for a bit," I mutter, and Odin nods before holding out his hand.
"Come," he orders, and I take his hand, pulling myself off of the ground. I look back at the ocean one last time before Odin commands, "Heimdal, open the Bifrost." A blue light surrounds us, and I gasp as we teleport to Asgard.