Chapter One (Re-Edited)

ASHLEY

"Is it working?" I called out from my corner beside Philly. The dark shadows hiding us both tightened a little bit as she clenched her fists.
"Yes! Now hurry up."
"Okay. Okay." I clicked a shiny fancy-looking tablet that I had filched from my uncle, Mercury. Now you might be thinking, isn't that some guy in Roman mythology with the winged sandals and snakes on a stick? Well, yeah. About a thousand years ago. This is the twentieth century people! Anyways, the Mercury I know is still the Roman god but dons a business suit and his brother Apollo, is my dad (yes, that makes me a demigod), in his favorite form (they can change form) is a very annoying albeit cute teen. (He never acts his age!) I resemble him with my dirty blond hair and blue eyes. My friend Philly, however, got stuck with the Lord o' the Dead. But he wasn't the Roman one. Hades is the Greek side of the mythology card and he was less stern - very much so - one. Like most "god o' the dead" offspring, Philly has black hair, dark eyes and an indifferent tan color and slightly British accent (I'm full out American). A quiet girl and unlike her half-siblings she happens to be the only demigod in history who is a pacifist, Humanist, and feminist. Yeah, and even though the children of the Lord of the Dead normally start World Wars, she preferred to be a bit more thinking than a few other aggressively minded people. (cough. Ares. cough.)

We were supposed to be in our respective camps for the summer with the lot of other demigods but, um...
"Jarvis, open the elevator door."I spoke into the tablet. A door suddenly opened in the seemingly seamless wall and Philly tightened the shadows around her and me as the door to Avengers Tower opened and we ran inside.

PHILOMENA

"JARVIS! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!" Tony Stark, heir to a lot of money and egotistical-and-he-knows-it genius, was losing it. He grabbed a shot glass from the bar and quickly downed it while shutting off the sirens with his other hand.
"Man of Iron, is there an intruder?" A certain blond giant jumped off a couch and inquired, whipping out his hammer.
"Sure. If you consider two teenage girls-"
"Who single-handedly overrode the most advanced computers in the world, intruders? Course not." Ashley quipped and stepped forward out of my shadows. Stark was sitting on a swivel stool at the bar and Thor was standing ready to attack. I pulled my mask off and slipped it into my black jacket. Looking up, I stopped dumbstruck. The top floor of the building was a soaring creation of glass and steel and a semi-open living area topped it off. There was a bar in the corner, a flat screen tv surrounded by a set of red furniture, and a few gadgets lying around. The several paintings adorned the wall drew my artistic side and the side that made me feel like calling in Hermes kids to swipe them for me. But I digress.

"I like it." My heeled black boots clicked (an old habit, along with saluting) and I threw Stark a look of approval but he just snarled at me. Guess he wasn't too happy about JARVIS getting accessed by someone other than him. Oh well.

"So the Council couldn't find any more recruits to check on us? And they sent in teenager girls?" Stark plopped down on a couch and began to pull holographic screens out of the air, all the while nursing a bottle of scotch and grumbling angrily. "Nah. I just wanted to see if I could beat her cousins, the Stolls, at their own game and..." Ashley stopped abruptly as lightning cracked the sky and thunder cut off her voice. Thor looked up curiously.

"That was not me..." He flicked his hammer side to side experimentally but the thunder kept rumbling on. Ashley however, looked like she was about to explode, literally.
"Jupiter, I WILL NOT HELP YOU!" She screamed at the sky. "Jupiter?" Thor frowned. I sat down on the couch and ruffled my black lacy skirt. "There are other big people in the universe too you know." I refused to say gods. Beliefs, and all that. Stark hit a button and glared at Ashley who was currently yelling at the thunder and in a minute a door slid open and the rest of the Avengers came running in.

Black Widow with Hawkeye at her heels looked as if they had just come from a very long mission. Bruce Banner looked calm, thank goodness. Captain America led the group and was all suited up. I couldn't resist a smirk.

"Join the party." I waved my hand over at them. The two Avengers sitting across from me started to say something but couldn't over the sound of thunder. "Ash. Tell Jupiter we'll get back to him." I called over my shoulder. Ashley relayed, or more like screamed, my message and the noise died down after one more indignant clap.

"We could have been vaporized." Ashley groaned as she plopped next to me on the couch. We could have been but we weren't because tensions were already tight between both of our godly parents without Jupiter blasting both of us to Tartarus. And Ashley had been pretty clear to her father that she refused to go on any more quests for the gods. She raised an eyebrow at the other Avengers. Her eye fell on Hawkeye and she shook her head ever so slightly at his raised eyebrows. I wondered at that.

"Sit. We're not here on behalf of ANYBODY!" The raising of her voice was more directed at the window, apparently at Jupiter than at the Avengers who sat down immediately on the remaining chairs and stared cautiously at us.

"So Thor wasn't throwing a temper tantrum?" Captain America ventured, trying to diffuse the tension suffocating us.
"No. My... Grandfather was." Ashley replied, ignoring the small clap of thunder that soon followed.

"Jupiter? Isn't he a god in Roman mythology?" Romanov asked. "Well aren't you smart?" I casually pulled out a dagger from my belt (just to toy with it!) and of course all the Avengers either point something sharp or dangerous at me, except for Banner whose eyes just flash green which is considerably scarier than a rifle pointed at your head.
"Philly. Put the dagger away." Ashley warned me. "Before I call your dad."

Dang. Watch me get turned into "Demigod Kibbles and Bits!". An excellent part of a monster's breakfast!

"So!" Ashley chirped. "Introductions!" The Avengers shifted in their seats. "I am Ashley, daughter of Apollo. But I prefer to call him Apollon. So much more poetic." She looked at me. "Don't start on my grammar." Ashley snapped her fingers and a shimmer of light enveloped her before floating away, shifting her black break-and-entry outfit to a purple-sequined tee, denim skirt, and gold flats. The others just stared.

"It's an illusion. Just a simple matter of rearranging light photons and reflecting the colors." She waved a hand as if to reassure them. I sighed mentally. Even though I felt most comfortable in my worn and ink-splotched attire, it was unnerving sitting there while the others were all dressed to kill. Quite literally.

"Philly. Daughter of the lord of the Underworld." I lifted a finger and the shadows in the room twisted in fantastical shapes. Woot.
"You mean the Lady Hela?" Thor looked puzzled.

"No. Hades. The Greek- I sighed. "Ah, it's complicated." My shadows spun round like thunderclouds.

"Did someone mention my dearest daughter?" A smooth voice called out from behind us and in a blink of an eye, it was pointing dangerous object time again. This time at a certain Prince of Mischief, Loki.
"Ello. Aren't you supposed to be locked up somewhere?" I asked, rather unconcernedly. I would be rather amused and impressed by this guy if he hadn't killed eighty people in two days. The Stolls had given me the lowdown on this guy, don't know (and don't want to) how they get their info.

"It's not my fault mortal security is so petty." Loki shrugged and sat next to me his feet propped up on the coffee table. The Avengers were shell-shocked, to say the least. They were again seated but the one who seemed to be keeping his head the most was Hawkeye and he wanted to put an arrow through one of Loki's eyes. I looked down at Loki's hands. They were individually cuffed, seemingly restricting any magic. That probably explained why the Avengers weren't about to jump him.

"Does Fury know you're here?" Black Widow made no move to put her gun back in her holster.

"Darling," And here Loki was interrupted by an arrow pointing at his face which he batted aside, "When does Fury not know anything?" Black Widow had to agree.

"So you're telling us you are children of gods?" Banner leaned forward curiously.

"One unhuman parent, another human." I explained. "We kind of get their powers plus monsters trying to eat us."Cursed with awesome, right."

Banner just leaned back in his chair and looked confused. I smiled sympathetically.

"Can you do anything else than make shadows and light dance?" He asked. I looked at Ashley who gave me a little smile.

"Do you really want a demonstration?" I queried.

"Yes, yes we do." Stark demanded, getting up and stretching his arms out. I didn't know what was happening until a metal object came flying out of a wall and attached itself to Tony, becoming a massive iron suit. I was impressed. Ashley and I moved away from the set of fancy furniture to a clearer space. Loki remained seated on the couch with an amused smirk with Banner watching him but the rest of the Avengers got up and followed us, each shooting Loki their signature "I-WILL-kill-you-later" look.

Ashley readied her stance and I dragged a chair over and sat down.

"Ready?" Ashley asked and the Avengers formed a semicircle in front of us. Captain America took the lead and threw his shield at me. I flicked a finger up and a force field immediately blocked the shield, sending it ricocheting back to the Captain. Black Widow stepped forward and looked at Ashley.

"I'll go easy on you."
"Don't. Make this fun for me." Ashley raised her hand and orbs of light went zipping through the air at Black Widow who easily dodged them by flipping and rolling. She straightened up again and whipped out her guns and began firing. I opened a shadow portal in front of the bullets and they came flying out of another behind Black Widow. Fortunately for her, I suspended those as well. A very muffled yelp ensued from Natasha but she quickly went hand-to-hand with Ashley. While they were occupied, Barton stepped up to the plate and we engaged in mixed martial arts combat. In a few minutes we were at a stale-mate. My schooling had served me well but I was no match for the assassin's experience. Barton stepped back and released me from a precarious pose. Natasha did the same for Ashley.

"We got our butts kicked nicely, Ashley." I sighed and with a wave of my hand let the bullets and arrows fall clattering to the floor.
"Maybe that is because you do not have the right opponent to test you."

"What?" Ashley asks, turning to look at Thor, who had been standing there with his arms crossed and a grin plastered on his face. Loki sighed.

"What Thor means to say is that, Clint and are seasoned warriors in respect to physical fighting. I think your strength lies in your unnatural abilities."

I raised an eyebrow.

"And you would be a sure judge of that." Loki laughed and waved a hand at me. I was confused until I realized he was showing me the cuff binding him.

"Alas, I'm not in a condition to. But my...ehem, but Thor is." Loki gestured to the blond giant but my eyes remained fixed on Loki. He had shifted his gaze regretfully to his binds. I could sympathize with him. Magic was something that was part of our identities, and to take that away was to take away a part of us. But I glanced up quickly as he looked up.

"I would be honored to fight with you." Thor offered to Ashley. She nodded in response and Thor grinned boldly.

"But let's take this outside, we wouldn't want to damage anything (insert smirk at Stark). Coming Philly?" Ashley asked. I shook my head. It was understood between us that I wouldn't do any offensive actions with my umbrakinesis (it means shadow-bending) but I was still competent enough in weaponry so it normally never came to that. Ashley nodded understandingly and all the Avengers followed her except Banner who went to get Fury. And then the room was silent and empty... wait. Was it?
Nope, dang.

"Will you fight me?" Loki asked behind me. I turned around and nearly screamed when I saw my dagger in his hands. And he was uncuffed. Shoot. "The magic in this knife is strangely potent." Loki remarked carelessly, examining it in the light. Looking down, I saw his cuffs on the floor near his feet. They were slashed and fizzing. I held out my hand for the dagger but he only raised an eyebrow, imitating me. "Fight me." Loki tossed me the dagger and flicked his fingers. I caught the dagger and watched fascinated as a perfect likeness appeared in his hand.

"I don't want to." I shrugged and stood still.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Thor and Ashley going at it, the latter using various solid bolts of light and force fields to fight the former's Herculean strength and lightning. They wouldn't be able to help me.

And distracted, I was almost shredded by Loki's initial attack. Almost.
"Won't or can't?" A flash of Imperial gold came dangerously close to my neck until I deflected it to the side. Bad thing to say. I was rather proud of my knife-work. I stepped back as we engaged in a vicious though mostly one-sided duel, with Loki slashing (or trying to) my force field and I using my dagger. Loki flexed his wrists and a spark of green flickered at his fingertips. He flicked a finger and spears of green energy came quickly at me only to be stopped by a wall of stone. It shattered and rubble flew everywhere. The explosion should have brought the Avengers running in but I suppose Loki had cast a spell to blind them to my situation. I took aim at him and threw my dagger and it went right through him. Stupid illusions.
"Ahem." Loki coughed behind me and as I turned, aimed for my heart with the duplicate dagger.

Not cool. Thor was yelling something but I didn't hear as time slowed down and I bent over backward and barely missed being shish-kabobbed.

"You did not just!" I whipped upright and backed up a couple steps. The Jotun had a half-smile on his face but his green eyes had a sadness that bit through me... As if my inability to use magic was too much like what he'd been through. As if he wasn't suffering alone. I set my teeth and surrounded myself with a shadow wall. One time, dad, just one time, I pleaded in my head. I wanted to prove to Loki that he was wrong, that he wasn't the only one who could break their bonds. Reaching deep inside, I searched for the darkest part of me, the one place that was blocked off. It was there, a store of swirling and malevolent energy.

And I took it. And right as Loki slashed through my shadow wall, a dozen skeletons soldiers ran straight towards Loki.

ASHLEY
Thunder. That was probably the only thought in my head. That and, don't die Ashley. I leaped aside just in time to let a bolt of lightning miss me.

No wonder I hated Jupiter. The acrid smell of burnt stuff (not sure what) filled the air and fizzed around me. I did a 180 and launched a bolt of my own. A bolt of pure light. It reached its target. Which in my case was a 6'2 blonde Norse god. The odds were not in my favor. But the bolt had sent him sprawling. I began to laugh but something was gnawing at my mind. Or more specifically, freezing it. You know those headaches you get when you down a 7Eleven slurpee too fast? Yeah, well this hurt worse. I collapsed on the ground and closed my eyes. Where are you? I thought, trying to find the cause of the icy feeling.

I now should probably explain that a month prior to all this, I had created an empathy link between Philly and I.
We knew what each other felt and thought, but right then I could only think: "I'm going to kill you Philly."

"Ashley! Are you all right?" A hand gripped me under the arm and hoisted me up. I opened my eyes.

"I'm fine Clint." I looked past him and sighed. Inside, I could see Philly going all Avatar on Loki and she had even summoned her skeleton soldier freaks. She wouldn't even be able to stand after a display like that. The rest of the Avengers didn't seem to notice except for Clint. So I yelled:
"GUYS! COME AND HELP ME!" Everyone turned to stare. I pointed towards the building and ran. Inside, it was like someone was sitting on the attack button and refused to let up. In other words, a very savage fight for control.

Philly was sitting in the center of the room, surrounded by a dome of shadow. I'd have to dispatch Loki first. I looked around and found a certain enemy of earth occupied with fighting. A few of the skeletons were even wielding their own ribs. Nasty, but effective for Loki was having a bad time of it. I backed them up by blocking him off with a wave of light while he was trying to fight off the skeletons who were getting bits of bone chipped off.

Eventually, Loki was sprawled on the floor as I threw up a wall that he conveniently, being distracted, ran into. Bonus points for knocking himself out.

The Avengers, who had quietly stood at the door, now took charge of him, Stark producing a new pair of cuffs he either had on hand or made out of thin air. The skeletons stepped back through the shadow portal and I saluted them as the portal faded away.

As soon as it was gone I sprinted towards the dome of shadow and slid to my knees. Well I'm not a vegetable yet, I thought, so you're still alive, Philly. With a bolt of light, I gashed through the shadow. Philly was curled up in a ball and sleeping.

"You idiot." I laughed and slapped her gently on the back. She slowly blinked herself awake and stared groggily at me.
"Whoops."
I sighed and dug into my pocket, bringing out the crumbly remains of an ambrosia bar wrapped in plastic wrap.
"Here, eat this." I tossed it to her.

"Are you guys all right?" Captain America crouched down beside me and smiled for Philly.
"We're fine. But I'm still hungry." Philly complained as she sat up, munching contently on her bar. Sometimes I swear she is a lazy cat put into a girl's body by Trivia to annoy me.

"How did the guy completely mash my cuffs?" Stark frowned, holding the slashed pieces in his hand. I looked towards Philly.
"Your dagger?" She nodded. "Philly's dagger has the ability to break bonds." I explained. Ironic, considering her own power is under a bond she cannot remove.

"That was a marvelous display of power." Thor grinned amiably at Philly but I just frowned.
"And stupid." I ignored the pout the person in question aimed at me and continued, "She's not supposed to use offensive magic, it drains her energy far too much." Philly was now eyeing the group warily. I bit my lip and suddenly regretted saying that. They wouldn't let her join if she couldn't fight as well as I could without passing out.
"Well then we'll just have to train her not to rely on her 'offensive' magic. Right guys?" Natasha stepped forward and pulled Philly up. I smiled gratefully but got a cold look in return. Or maybe that was the closest one got to a smile from her. Hopefully the latter.

"Satisfied?" I asked them.
"Quite." Natasha answered curtly.

"Fury?" I called behind me and the door slid open again and this time a tall dark man in a leather trench coat and eye-patch walked in.
"Miss Rayson." Director Fury nodded to me and looked at Philly. "Miss-"
"No last name." I understood. Philly usually didn't like random people saying her last name, especially tall scary, one-eyed dark guys. Fury shrugged and turned to back to me.

"You could have used the door Agent Rayson." I shrugged but I could see Philly with wide eyes mouthing: Agent? I could hear her thoughts racing. "Ashley is a complete teenage girl. Not a clad-in-black-and-cool agent!"

I sighed for the bazillionth time in the day and decided to turn the conversation on it's head.
"Uncle! Didn't I tell you to call me Ashley?" I spun around and cheered in a I-am-trying-to-annoy-the-Orcus-out-of-you voice. Fury looked pained. Unfortunately it just resulted in Philly thinking: "UNCLE? WHAT IN HADES!" I made a mental note to tell Philly to hold back on the cussing. The Avengers looked completely lost. It amused me.

Fury looked exasperated but place a hand on my shoulder and smiled. "Welcome back Ashley. And,"
The man turned to look at Philly "welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D." Fury said. Philly mouthed three words that also rang clearly through our empathy link, and they were: Dang you, Ashley.