Shards of glass rained over her head and more than a few slicing her pale flesh, but she barely felt any of it; on her feet in seconds and dodging the shrapnel that came flying from all directions. She skidded to a halt as a man clad all in black, his face covered by a mask jumped before her, brandishing a silver spear. Avoiding the jab, Adriane gripped the base of the spearhead and pulled it forward, simultaneously jamming her foot into the attackers stomach. The man fell onto his back and Adriane skewered him through the heart with his own weapon before dropping to the ground as another chunk of building barely missed shattering her skull. Someone was barking orders in her ear, but the communication line was crackly at best and it all sounded like gibberish so she took a shot and dove behind a nearby stack of shipping crates. Ducking what looked like another metallic spear as it whizzed past her ear, Adriane curled to one side only to have her throat caught in the tight grip of a leather glove. She came eye to eye with a balaclava and two gleaming golden eyes which began to twitch frantically as his head emitted a whining sound and his grip loosened to slack. Adriane crawled backwards and away from the masculine figure as it began to spasm and fell to the ground with an almost comical clank.

'I hate it when they do that.'

A whirring over head and a thick clicking sound and the battlefield disappeared, leaving several scattered automatons and one irate looking Director Nick Fury. 'If you took directions once in a while, Agent Mason, then you wouldn't be here for the shut-down process.'

Adriane got to her feet, standing ramrod straight in Fury's presence. 'I'm sorry Director, the comm line was malfunctioning.'

'This is a simulation tank, Agent Mason, how could a comm line malfunction?'

'Damn good question.'

'Excuse me?'

'I'm not sure sir, but it did.'

Fury shook his head, motioning for the young agent to follow him. 'Let's go Mason, we have bigger issues right now.'

'Coming, sir.'

The Director's thick leather duster swished past his ankles as they strode down one of the many hallways in silence, the only sound the bustling of agents and the bleeping of the many, slightly intimidating, computer systems that kept them in business. Adriane was no technology whiz, she could handle a normal laptop and her phone just fine, but it was not why Fury put up with her. With a wry smirk, she found herself wondering if maybe she should learn some of the on boards systems and keep herself valuable in case her other talents failed her someday. The thought was cut short as the door to the video conference room opened and Fury stepped inside, Adriane hesitated; she had never even seen inside let alone gone in before.

Director Fury felt her pause and called over his shoulder. 'Today, Mason.'

Needing no more encouragement, Adriane fell back on her training and did as she was ordered, falling into step beside Fury as the wall-sized screens flickered into life and Adriane found herself looking up at the most senior military, legal and government people in the world. 'Wow.'

She was shot a look and held her tongue as Fury nodded to the screens. 'Directors,' he acknowledged. 'I understand there is a situation in Nevada.'

'Yes, Director Fury we need you and your people mobile and in Nevada within the hour.'

'That's a pretty big ask, Director, I don't suppose you're going to tell me why?'

'You will be fully informed upon your arrival, Fury. Time is a factor here, so I suggest you get moving.'

The screens went dead and the room was almost pitch black, just the sound of Fury clenching his fists to be heard. There was an uncomfortable pause that Adriane new better than to break and instead followed in Fury's thumping footsteps as he barked orders for their choppers and ground team to get moving.

'Mason, go suit up, now. You're coming with us.'

'Yes, sir.' Adriane jogged off to her quarters, fishing a skin tight, ash grey, suit from within her wardrobe; it was standard wear for SHIELD agents, but for the most part she wore training gear and occasionally a dress uniform when the higher-ups came for a visit. Stripping off her training clothes and squeezing into the slightly uncomfortable grip of the suit, Adriane hitched it over her shoulders and pulled the zip over her simple red bra. She let out a puff of air and fixed her long, dark, almost black, chocolate locks into a tight bun. After stepping into the light-weight, black combat boots that came with her suit, Adriane looked every inch the highly trained SHIELD operative she was supposed to be.

The intercom outside the hall warbled through her room with a familiar groundling's voice. 'All agents to the deployment deck, I repeat all agents to the deployment deck.'

'And we're off.' Adriane checked her zip was safely fastened before weaving through the schools of soldiers making their way to the larger cargo planes. No doubt bound for Nevada too. She almost ran straight into one of them as he chatted excitedly to his neighbour about what kind of enemy would have them called out at such short notice and what kind of weaponry would be waiting for them at the drop site.

'Sorry ma'am!' he called as they ducked past each other.

'New recruits.'

'You were new once, Mason.' Fury's tone made Adriane start as he appeared behind her and ushered them both through a heavy steel door and into the whipping wind of one of the deployment decks. Sitting a top a protruding metal platform was a small, almost bullet-like helicopter. The main door was already open and Fury and Adriane scrambled inside, barely having time to slam it shut before the machine took off with speed no ordinary helicopter could match.

'This is a nice new toy.' Adriane mused over the sound of the blades whirring overhead.

'Ultra-light, ultra-quiet and ultra-fast.'

'Ultra-expensive too I'm guessing.'

'I don't remember making you my accountant, Mason.'

'No, sir, but whoever they are, they're obviously doing wonders with your tax return.'

Fury smirked at his agent before pressing his communications button with the pilot in front of them. 'How long until we touch down in Nevada?'

'Less than forty minutes, sir.'

'How is that even possible?' Adriane laughed. 'Even with a jet it would take us a little over an hour.'

'A good accountant works wonders, Mason.'

'I see.' Adriane looked out at the barely visible ground beneath them; the cloud obscuring most of their view. 'Do we know anything about why we're going to Nevada, sir. I doubt it's for a night in Vegas.'

'You know as much as I do, Mason, but if the board is being this shady with details then it's something big. Something they don't want to risk leaking out.'

'Is that why they didn't tell you in the conference room; in case someone was listening in?'

'You catch on quick, Mason. That's where the smart money goes.'

Adriane nodded, knowing better than to keep pushing since Fury wasn't exactly known for being open with info as it was. Instead she focussed on the Earth flashing past beneath them and wondering just which state they were zooming over from minute to minute. She had never been particularly fond of flying, but after 5 years in the service of SHIELD, she was getting numb to the experience. That's not to say she didn't dig her nails into her palms when the chopper shook in the stiff winds above the clouds. Flying was one of the things she still feared after her time with Nick Fury; sure she had started with a few more, but they had been 'beaten' out of her over years of training. It did bring a bitter smile to her lips when she thought of herself homeless and wandering the streets of London at 15 years old and now she was crossing the country in record time in a highly classified government helicopter with the title 'Agent'.

'Something funny, Mason?' Nick questioned dully, his good eye barely visible past the patch closest to her.

'More like unexpected, sir.'

'No surprises.'

'No, sir. I just didn't expect to see myself here five years ago; there's something funny about that.'

Nick too cracked a dry grin. 'What, you didn't have high hopes as a street urchin running around the streets of Yorkshire?'

'It was London, sir, and no, I didn't.'

'I suppose I'm to blame for that.'

'Blame isn't the word I'd use. Although you did blend in with the rest of street-rats with your eye-patch, sir.' Adriane grinned.

'You get one of those, Mason.' Nick smirked.

'Understood, sir.'

'Director Fury, we're getting communications from an outside source, asking for you personally. Do you want me to patch them through?' The pilot interrupted leaving Fury and Adriane to exchange curious looks.

'Outside communication?' Adriane raised an eyebrow.

'Patch them though.'

There was a high-pitched whine and crackle in both their ears when a man's voice came in clear and oddly familiar to Adriane, but she couldn't quite place it. 'Come in Fury, Earth to Nick Fury.'

'...Stark, Stark is that you?' Adriane grinned; Tony Stark, of course that's why she knew the voice. The man was on the news at least twice a week for either solving the world's problems as Tony Stark or saving it as Iron Man.

'The one and only, I like your new toy by the way. Very sleek, very sexy, very...Not you.'

'What are you doing tailing a government helicopter? Don't you know I could lock your metal ass up for that right now?'

'Yeah, but I'd just go all A-team and break out again. Where are you off to in your flying bling anyway?'

Fury's barking laugh echoed through both comm lines and Adriane flinched. 'What makes you think I'm going to tell you that?'

'If I guess it will you promise to give me a go with your new toy?'

'What are you playing at Stark?'

'Just gearing up to try my luck at the roulette table when we reach Vegas...,'

Adriane caught Fury's gaze as he stared right through her. 'You're going to Nevada?'

'Aren't you?'

'...What do you know Stark?'

'You show me yours and I'll show you mine, Fury. I just got a call from your Agent Coulson, telling me to suit up and make my way to the middle of the Nevada desert.' There was a loud whoosh through all lines and Fury swore, pulling the headset from his ear. 'I wasn't the only one.'

'Director Fury, we're almost at the touch down site.'

'Meet us on the ground Stark, we have some talking to do.'

'See you there, Captain.'

The line hissed quiet, but neither Adriane nor Nick believed Tony was actually off the comm line and they removed their headsets before buckling in for the landing. 'What is going on here, Director? This can't be normal.' There was a hesitation in Nick's glance that sat in the pit of Adriane's stomach and she knew what it was; he had been lying.

The whole chopper shook as they landed and Adriane wasted no time in unbuckling herself and climbing out before Fury, knowing better than to voice her suspicions in front of the pilot and, soon enough, Tony Stark. The look of anger in her deep, bottle green eyes was enough to let the Director know though and he stood in front of her, unmoved as there was a swirl of desert dirt and the all too public, gold and maroon figure of Iron Man landed just a few feet away.

'Not now.' Was all Fury said as he walked up to the meet the infamous billionaire.

'Not ever.' Adriane hissed as a group of four soldiers jogged to meet her, saluting as she laid eyes on them.

'Agent Mason?'

'Yes.'

'If you could come with us ma'am, we have orders to take you to the communications room.' The tallest of the four stood aside, making way for Adriane as she cast one last look over her shoulder to Fury and Stark having a very animated conversation.

'Lead the way.'

There was very little left of Adriane that betrayed her less than perfect past; her hair was no longer matted and short, but past her shoulders and fell in silken waves on the rare occasion she didn't have it tied up. She was no longer rail thin and fragile, but a well trained combat agent with subtle, but healthy curves to her shape and, while her skin was still porcelain pale, it was flawless and most of her scars had faded. Except one; the one last hint of her former self would never fade and it seemed to mock her every time she stepped from the shower to face herself in the mirror. Most women would be happy to look as Adriane did, she was quite tall for a woman, had almost doll-like facial features thanks to her Russian mother and British father and was in good shape. But all Adriane saw was the angry pink scar that travelled the width of her waist and around. It was no more than half a centimetre wide, but it stood out clearly against the ashen perfection of her skin.

Sighing, she pulled on her SHIELD uniform and quickly covered her shame with the tight grey material before snatching up her dancing phone. 'Mason.'

'Mason, it's Fury. Come to the conference room.'

'Yes, sir.' Adriane had not seen nor heard from Director Fury in the three days since they had landed in the desert and she had began to wonder whether this was some odd training exercise, but after a few glimpses of the level of weaponry, tech and guards they had situated around the camp she had changed her mind. Something big was going on and for some reason she had been brought into the thick of it without warning or information.

'Just another day in paradise.' She waited for the palm scanner for beep and let her onto the main bridge where there was a raised, window encased conference room standing above the control deck, lined with rows of control systems and hustling guards, all leaning over one another's shoulders and pointing at schematics that were completely foreign to Adriane. She didn't waste time jogging up the stairs and finding Director Fury in the clear conference room, standing in front of a table with two familiar faces and two unknown. Agent Romanoff she knew well and the smirking face of Tony Stark wasn't hard to recognise.

'Agent Mason reporting, Director.' She nodded to Fury as she came to stand by his side.

'Good timing Mason, let me introduce you to some new...Operatives.' Nick waved past the SHIELD agent who had already smiled her welcome. 'This in Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, this is Steve Rogers, aka Captain America and this is Doctor Bruce Banner. Gentlemen, this is agent Adriane Mason; she will be working closely with us on this operation.'

Adriane nodded at each in turn, but paused at Dr. Banner's introduction; he was a little above average height with a mop of slightly messy brown hair and unexpectedly kind eyes. 'Doctor Banner, I've recently read your paper on the quantum possibilities of radiation; it was phenomenal.'

There was a moment of shocked silence from the doctor before he offered a shaky smile and held out his hand to Adriane. 'Y-You're very kind to say so, it's a pleasure to meet you.'

'Now then, we have inside information that tells us Loki will be in Germany tonight; Stuttgart to be exact. We need to get eyes and ears all over the city and stop him before he makes a move. Romanoff that means you and Rogers piloting the stealth jet, Stark I want you shadowing them and Mason, I want you on the ground floor, keeping tabs.'

'Yes, sir, just one question.'

'What is it Mason?'

'Who the hell is Loki?'

There was a moment of silence, broken when Stark let out a short laugh and looked to Fury. 'You haven't told her what we're all doing here, Fury?'

If Fury could look uncomfortable, Adriane was pretty sure it was this exact moment. She watched his Adam's apple bob and he stared at her for far longer than was necessary to process her simple question. 'Loki is the reason we were sent here, Agent Mason. He is a Demi-God from another world; he's been here once before and he's harbouring a bit of a grudge. Now he's stolen something that could give him just the power he needs to bear out that grudge.'

'What did he take?'

'That's classified.'

'The hell it is.'

Stark snorted, Banner's eyes darted between the Director and his subordinate while Rogers and Romanoff just didn't move. 'Excuse me, Agent?'

'Will all due respect, sir, if you're asking me to go on ground duty and track a...Demi-God, because he has stolen something with apparently unthinkable power then I don't think asking what that object is is 'classified' anymore,' Mason stood her ground as Fury turned to face his entire attention on her. 'I'm not playing against anyone when I don't know what kind of ace they have up their sleeve.'

Stark let out a low, impressed whistle. 'She's good.'

'Shut it, Stark,' Nick barked never taking his eye off Adriane. 'You had better watch your tone Agent Mason, it could get you into some real trouble...Luckily for you this time you have a point.'

Adriane breathed a barely audible sigh of relief as the Director backed off and fiddled with the controls on the edge of the round table the others were sitting at and a hologram tube rose up. Steeling her nerve as best she could, Adriane stepped forward and watched fascinated as a 3D object sprang up in the tube; looking not unlike a fancy sort of cube and she couldn't help but frown. 'This is what he took?'

'This is the Tesseract. It is alien technology that came to us a few years ago, since then we have had our best scientists working to understand its potential. Eighty-two hours ago it was taken from a secure underground facility in the Mojave Desert and the facility destroyed in the process.'

Adriane swallowed a cry of surprise; she knew some of the men who worked in that facility. 'Why would he take it to Stuttgart?'

'We believe there is something in Stuttgart that Loki needs in order to unlock the Tesseract's true potential. We know he isn't travelling alone so rather than sending in a troupe, we think we can sneak one agent past his men more easily.'

'Where did he find helpers so fast?'

Uncomfortable looks were exchanged, especially Natasha who stared straight at her feet when finally Fury hit the button to drop the hologram and cleared his throat. 'Loki has a sceptre that he can seemingly use to control people's minds; he used it on several of our men and the scientists working on the Tesseract...One of them was Agent Barton.'

Adriane's eyes widened and she looked to Natasha's downcast eyes for confirmation. 'Clint? Clint is working for Loki?'

'It wasn't his choice.' Natasha whispered and Adriane quickly shut her mouth.

'When do I leave, sir?'

'There has got to be a better way to do this.' Adriane's fingers ached as she gripped the stone pillar and leant over the edge of the twelve story high building.

'Well I haven't mass marketed these suits yet, but if you'd be open to a private fitting...,'

'Shut it, Stark. What can you see Mason?'

'Foot soldiers, sir, fourteen on the ground and rooftops as far as I can see. I haven't spotted Barton yet.' Adriane pulled back and fixed her ponytail tighter as she looped a length of black, super strong rope around the pillar, clipped herself onto a tether and jumped from the rooftop. Had she been patched into the group communications line at the point she would have heard the sharp breath Stark and Rogers simultaneously pulled between their teeth. Her feet landed against the side of the building and she smoothly lowered herself the several hundred feet to the ground. Whipping the rope upwards, it came loose and fell into a messy coil at her feet, which Adriane scooped up and kicked into the nearest storm drain, knowing better than to leave any trace that Barton could pick up on.

'Okay Mason, Loki has been spotted entering the museum, I need you to be our eyes.'

'Understood, sir. I'm on my way.' Adriane took off running towards the museum, she made sure her whip, and weapon of choice, was clipped to her belt before taking off straight towards the nearest bus stop. Gripping the pole and pulling herself atop it, Adriane leapt onto a fire-escape, scrambled up high enough to swing onto the marque protruding from the steeple of what she guessed was an information centre. Her feet had barely touched the taught tarp before she leapt off, rolling shoulder first onto the next rooftop and making as the crow flies towards the museum.

Above the ground, Tony was waiting for his moment atop an office building, watching the lithe young girl make her way to the action. He tapped into the communications line as he stared, never taking his eyes off Adriane. 'Where the hell did you find this girl, Fury. Gotham?'

'London actually.'

'I've got to go to Europe more often.'

'Mind on the operation, Stark,' Fury was almost clicking his fingers into the microphone. 'You're Mason's back-up if anything goes wrong.'

'I know, I know, don't melt your patch; I'm watching her.'

'I have visual of the museum, Director.' Natasha's voice broke in next with the low rumble of an engine in the background.

'Good, is Rogers with you?'

'Affirmative, Director.'

'All right now everyone hold tight; we're waiting on Mason's word am I understood? No one is to make a move without the word that Loki is open.'

'Yes, sir.'

'Understood, Director.'

'Aye, aye, Captain.'

The concrete was hard and jumps were high, but Adriane kept moving and eventually she reached the museum unseen and unheard, looking down at it from one of the massive banners that swept from the sides illustrating their newest exhibit. Throngs of people were washing into the majestic, sand-stone coloured building and all dressed in unmistakable European finery. There were gowns, tuxedos, canes and more precious stones than your average diamond quarry as far as she could see. Deciding the so called Demi-God obviously wasn't one for subtlety, Adriane began to wonder what her chances were of stopping his next move if he was okay with being so bold. There was a flicker of a shadow that had thus far been stationary that caught her eye and her worries were swallowed by adrenaline. Near the main entrance steeple there was a crouching shadow, barely visible in the darkness and cleverly using the cover of the swooping edges.

Edging along the pole supporting the banner, Adriane grabbed a handful of the woven material and wrapped one leg around it, pushing off to glide rapidly down to the bottom support rung earning an unheard laugh of appreciation from Stark. First checking that the shadow hadn't moved, Adriane very slowly made her way to the ground using a series of protruding bricks and piping and landed on the pavement with barely a sound. Her goal, however, was not the shadow on the ground, but rather the overlooker he was passing information on attendees to. Unseen thus far, but no doubt near, Adriane knew the shadows particular hiding place was of no use aside from watching the people going in; he was not a threat.

'There is someone here Loki is looking for,' Adriane whispered as she carefully made her way past the main steeple and over the fence into a courtyard cafe. 'He has someone watching who is going in and out.'

'So it's someone in the museum he needs, not something. That's a nice twist.' Stark mused in Adriane's ear.

'It could be both,' she retorted as she slowly made her way over the garden grate of a window and back towards the roof. 'Access panels in European museums can be voice or retinal sensitive. I'm willing to bet this one is.'

'...By George I think she's got it,' Stark's worst British accent smirked. 'So who is he waiting for?'

'I'll get back to you on that. Natasha, I'm on the roof of the museum now I need to get inside to the main room. Can you do a scan and tell me which of these vents leads inwards?'

'Coming overhead now.' There was a deep and yet quiet rumbling above Adriane and she knew, although she couldn't see it, Natasha and Steve Rogers were in the stealth flier. Probably just a hundred feet or less from where she stood and soon enough, the faint Russian accent crackled back in her ear. 'Two vents to your right, it should drop you in a bathroom behind the main room.'

'You're a miracle worker.' Pulling a Swiss Army knife from her pocket, Adriane undid the screws holding the vent down and carefully lifted the grate to the ground, pausing every moment or two to see if any footsteps were taking advantage of what little sound there was. Once satisfied it was just her on the roof for now, Adriane swung her legs into the open tunnel and lowered herself in gently, careful not to rattle the metal around her as she crawled in an elbow-bend until she found an open grating. Below she could just make out beige tiles and the edges of a row of sinks and felt around for any screws in the corners. Finding none she realised it must just be a pop-vent and she was going to have to push it out.

'Damn it.' Cursing under her breath, Adriane pulled her whip from her belt and tied the tip around the centre rod, fastening it tightly before tucking the handle back into its clip.

'What is it Mason?'

'Nothing, sir,' Adriane pressed her palms on the outer edged of the vent and began to gradually press harder. 'Just doing a little improvising.'

'You know how I feel about surprises.'

'Yes I do, sir. Let's just hope Loki doesn't feel the same way.' Gradually the grate began to give out, creaking under the increased weight when finally, after bowing as far as it would grip, it popped out, heading for the tiles as Adriane grabbed the hilt of her whip and pulled, keeping the grate from clanging to the ground. Holding her breath and waiting for any warning someone had been alerted, she breathed easy and let the vent slowly come to a silent rest on the ground. Grasping what little ledge there was in the tunnel, Adriane swung herself out of the vent and gave herself enough of a swing to land away from her whip and its metal payload.

'I'm inside, sir.'

'Excellent Mason, now track Loki's movements, but stay out of sight, you hear me? He's not to know you're there.'

'Understood, sir.' Adriane silenced her microphone just in case Demi-Gods possessed some seriously supernatural hearing and carefully edged her way closer to the main room from the bathroom. The lighting was soft and elegant, casting many helpful shadows and the agent was able to make her into a fairly inconspicuous spot above the main festivities without being spotted. The balcony was probably commonly used on the tours, but for now it had been roped off and the lights weren't even on and Adriane had peace to scan the crowd for a man matching the photo she had been shown in the base.

There was no shortage of combed back black hair nor tall, pale men with a regal bearing and she couldn't help wondering if Loki had chosen a museum in Germany for reasons other than resources; it seemed to be the perfect camouflage for him. In fact she began to worry that the intel saying Loki had gone inside was bad or perhaps he had already got what he came for and left, but she soon threw those worries aside. A ring of screams sounded out as an older man in a fine suit was being dragged towards a smoky marble podium, hauled atop it and left struggling under the single handed grip of his attacker. Cold green eyes stared down as a whirling, pen-like object appeared in his free hand with spider leg blades spun ferociously.

'Oh God, no..,' Adriane barely let the words tumble from her mouth before vaulting over the balcony and into the frantic crowd. She pushed her way through with little effort and only just managed to grab the screaming man by his lapel and sliding him from to podium to her feet in a shaking heap.

'Thank you, oh God, thank you.' He stuttered, gripping her feet as though she was some kind of saint.

'Run, now!' Adriane barked as she looked up in time to see a hand coming straight for her throat. 'Damn!' Just ducking in time, she stumbled back and managed to steady herself on the podium.

'It was a brave move, mortal, but it may be your last.' Loki's voice was soft and yet there was something demanding about it, something that told Adriane he had probably never been ignored in a crowded room.

'I'm kind of hoping so,' Adriane breathed, her hand coming to rest on her hip. 'What are you here for Loki?'

One of Loki's dark eyebrows rose and he carefully tucked away the bladed weapon into his jacket. 'You dare to address me as an equal?'

'I'm addressing you as a criminal; you're not leaving Stuttgart of your own volition, Loki.'

White teeth were bared in a terrifying smirk as Loki wandered around the podium and closer to Adriane, who fought every survival instinct she had to stay put. 'And who is going to contain me, you?'

'For now.'

Loki let out a soft, rumbling laugh, running his eyes over the defiant figure before him. 'Every once in a while there is a mortal who I find genuinely amusing and you, my dear, are among them.'

'While I'm glad I can entertain, I see myself as more of a jailer than jester.' Adriane's hand was firmly gripped around the shaft of her whip, just waiting for Loki to make a sharp move or bring that creepy pen tool out of his jacket.

'Trust me, child, it is far better to have me amused by you than annoyed.'

'I'm not the one making enemies,' she retorted, throwing a glance to the escaping captive and cursing as two burly men snatched up his arms and brought him back. 'Get off him!' There was no time for her to even take a step before two other men had grasped Adriane's upper arms in strong grips and pulled them behind her back at a painful angle.

'No! No! Please don't do this! I'll give you anything! Anything!' The man's futile begging fell on deaf ears and it quickly turned into a horrific, blood-curdling shriek as his eye was gouged out by the terrifying pen tool Loki wielded. His pain was short lived and soon his motionless corpse was pushed from the podium into a dull heap on the floor as Adriane watched with horror. By now the room was practically emptied of anyone who wasn't brainwashed and Loki looked into the crowded street as a wolf would into a well stocked sheep pen. Adriane struggled against the grips keeping her stationary as Loki wandered towards the doors; his previous attire of a well-tailored black suit and emerald green scarf flickered into a more extravagant armour and a golden helmet with protruding horns curving to the sky.

'Oh this is not happening.' Jamming her foot into the toes of one of her captors and slamming her head back into the nose of another, Adriane staggered free, turning to bang the goons heads together hard enough that she watched them crumple before her. There was no time to admire her handiwork though as he tapped into the communication line, running after Loki who was now in the streets.

'Loki is out, he dug out someone's eye and he's in the street now.'

'He what?' Stark cried.

'Don't let him go anywhere Mason, keep on him!'

'Yes, sir.' She skidded to a halt on the steeple gaping at the crowd of museum guests now kneeling before several copies of Loki. 'Okay then...' She quickly made her way over the arm of the steeple and into the thick of the crowd, keeping her movements small and low.

One man in the crowd was on his feet, elderly and hunched over with time he stared defiantly up at what they all assumed was the real version of their captor. 'There are always men like you.' Adriane was almost beside the old man as he spoke, keeping her eyes fixed on the real Loki who had broken into a satisfied grin.

'Look to your elder, people, let him be an example.' Loki lowered his sceptre, pointing it directly at the old man and it began to glow a vicious blue. Cringing as some glowing projectile whizzed overhead, Adriane held the gentleman down beside her, having snatching him from Loki's path.

She looked up, patting the man's back to encourage him to stay down, and stood before the crowd. Loki's eyes narrowed in recognition as she did and that grin returned, merciless and darkly amused. 'Evidently not your last show of bravery.'

'Well that's really up to you.' Adriane held herself strong and tried not to show her relief when the boots of Captain America thumped beside her and his star-spangled outfit gleamed in the corner of her eye. 'But just in case, there is a contingency plan.'

'You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing.' Rogers approached casually, deflecting a shot from Loki with his shield and into the chest of the Demi-God.

Loki propped himself up on his elbows and stared at the two. 'A female assassin and a soldier. A man out of time.'

'I'm not the one who's out of time.'

As Loki lunged upwards, ready to start the fight anew, a flash of gold and maroon landed in view, whirling blasters pointed directly at the Demi-Gods head. 'Make a move, Reindeer Games.' Stark's snarky voice was audible to Adriane even without the communication line and she smirked as Loki slowly raised his hands and his armour faded into simpler robes and a suit.

'Good move.'

'Mr. Stark.' Rogers nodded as he stood beside his comrade.

'Captain.'