(A/N) Well, dunno if anybody still remembers this little set of stories. I'd been trying to get this one going for a while now, but there were a few months in there where all I was capable of writing was hobbit fic. Eheh.

So, yeah, this story is the last of a trilogy and I wouldn't recommend starting with it, otherwise you're going to be painfully lost. But for those of you who still remember me, I hope you enjoy the story of the Avengers family.

Until My Dying Day

Chapter 1: My Name Is…

Hel Lokidottir, whether or not she was entirely aware of it, was the oldest of the pack. Born five minutes earlier, she never missed an opportunity to remind her twin brother that she was the older one. It was also, however, a role she took seriously. Her father's chief command to her had always been, "Protect your brothers. We have no one but each other and it is up to you to keep them safe." Considering her own double form, it was a command she could take very much to heart. While they all had Jotunn forms and her brothers had animal forms, her own alternate form was something very different. If glanced sideways, out of the corner of the eye, she became like some creature of nightmare, something terrifying to behold…but then one would turn to actually look and she would be as she had always been. She was a creature of night, of darkness, and it suited her. The hand that dared to harm her brothers would never see her coming, fangs and claws prepared. Hel was devoted.

Fenrir Lokison played the role of a younger sibling well. He was very playful, as befitted his wolf form. He kept his older twin from getting too serious…or too murderous. Even though their father had trained all three of them as fighters, Fen was never one for battle. He was more like their father: a prankster. He was the ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark and gloomy existence. He was the source of love Loki and his other children would die to protect. Fenrir was loving.

Balder Thorson was the best of both his parents. Thor had trained him in combat and he was just as smart as Jane. Even though he never talked about it with his parents, he preferred the things his mother taught him over what he learned from his father. At heart, he was a scholar, not a fighter, but he also understood that he'd been born to certain responsibilities, unlike the children of the other Avengers. He had a home in Midgard and a name among his mother's people, Benton Blaze Foster, but he never forgot that he would one day be king of Asgard. As far as the pack of Avenger children knew, Balder was the oldest; he acted like it and they treated him like it. They were all like his own little band and he protected them, as a prince and older brother should, regardless of what he might want for himself. Balder was self-sacrificing.

Zasha Ruslana Romanova witnessed her first explosion when she was four. She'd been playing hide and seek with the other children in Stark Tower and she ventured up to the R&D levels to hide. Okay, technically she wasn't allowed up there, but Balder was going to find her otherwise, and she just couldn't lose her reputation as the greatest hider the tower had ever seen. As she'd wandered, a nearby door had suddenly blown clean off its hinges and Uncle Tony had come stumbling out a few seconds later, coughing, followed in short order by Uncle Bruce, who had Hulked out after whatever had happened in the lab. The giant green monster had gotten a slightly concerned look on his face when he'd spotted her, but Uncle Tony had just waved and said, "Hi, Russ." The little girl had been spellbound. From then on, she'd spent every waking moment trying to figure out how to "make stuff go BOOM!" Concerned, her parents had finally taken her to Tony and he'd sat her down and explained to her, "Now, Russ, if you want to blow things up, we need to do it in a safe environment with the right equipment." There had been no turning back after that. Russ was tenacious.

Chase Han Lewis had three mothers and one father. Two of his mothers, Darcy and Sinthea, were married on paper, and both were considered to be the women of Sif in Asgard. While his father wasn't part of the love fest, he was still his father, and all four of them loved him. While he also had an Asgardian name, Bjorn Fandralson, he was not quite as burdened by his heritage as Balder was. Chase mostly took after his biological mother. He went smiling through the day, always positive, saying that there was enough anger in the realms without him adding to it for no reason. He didn't even mind the Asgardian nickname he'd received from his two Asgardian parents, Nalle, which meant something like 'teddy bear' in their language. His Asgardian name meant 'bear', but anyone who knew him wouldn't typically consider him a bear. Oh, but hurt one of his friends/siblings and you'd better run for cover. Bjorn would emerge from Nalle in a heartbeat. This was only on rare occasions, though. Chase was normally a very gentle soul, and was only brought to anger by a threat to the people he cared about. Chase was kind.

Phillip Steven Stark was a boy after the Stark clan's heart. He was charismatic, reckless, smart, a bit of a bastard…he was a Stark and he knew it, for which Tony was grateful, as he'd complained loudly and bitterly over Pepper's wish to name their son after a certain agent when said agent was clearly not dead and therefore unavailable to serve as a namesake. Tony Stark didn't want a mini-Coulson running around the tower. He was instead blessed with his own mini-me. Phillip and Russ were often partners in mayhem. When something blew up, a floor was found covered in jello or grasshoppers, or everyone found their left shoe missing, Phillip and Russ could usually be found hidden in a supply closet, giggling with delight. The other Avengers would try to rein in the two unholy terrors, but the trouble was that Tony, and sometimes Thor and Clint, encouraged their behavior. Phillip was just as smart as Tony had been at his age and he always found new ways of getting around the restrictions his mother and the others tried to place on them. Phillip was clever.

Noelle Elizabeth Ross was the girliest girl to ever girl. She was the first to fit the mold of what the Avengers had expected for a baby girl. Russ wanted timers and dynamite for her birthday, but Noelle was happy with pink dresses, sparkly nail polish, and pretty crowns. Her room was decorated with Disney princess paraphernalia and she always liked to pretend that Stark Tower was her tower and she was the princess. Whatever else she was, her father was just relieved that his daughter had dodged a bullet with his gamma tendencies. It was the reason it had taken Betty so long to convince him to try having kids. Thankfully, though, Noelle never exhibited any violent tendencies, or even a taste for violence, as several of the other children inevitably seemed to. In fact, as she got older, she developed a knack for performing. She loved singing, dancing, acting, music, all of it, anything she could set her heart to. She always said she loved to see people smile when they watched her perform. Noelle was giving.

Jormungand Lokison seemed to be fatherless. Unlike the twins, who received very clear pictures of who their fathers were, the youngest of Loki's brood was denied that knowledge. Even though he would often ask, all Loki would ever tell him was that he was happier not knowing. So he went on with his life, resigned to the fact that he'd probably never know the man. They often called him Jory, and even though he was the baby of the little family, he never acted like it. Sometimes, it seemed to Loki that his youngest son had been grown when he was born. He'd never cried as a baby, didn't laugh much, despite Fen's best efforts. Like his alternate form, a snake, he was quiet and watchful, and when not quiet, he was harsh and angry. Resigned or not, it didn't mean he was happy that half of his heritage was missing. If anyone was the baby of the family, it was Fenrir, and like Hel, Jory was protective of his older brother. Jory was hard.

Howard James Stark was a momma's boy. He was about as different from his brother as was humanly possible. The only thing the two Stark siblings had in common was that neither of them was anything like their namesake. If Steve, the only one of them who had really known Howard Stark Senior, hadn't been there when Howie was born and watched him grow up, he never would have believed they were related. Howie had Pepper's strawberry blonde hair and he was very shy and polite. Tony always said it was like having a mini-Steve Rogers in the tower. Howie looked up to Uncle Steve for more than just mannerisms and ideals, though. He came across Steve sketching one day, Steve put the paper and pencil in his hands and the rest was history. Everything Howie couldn't say with words came out on the paper. His wonder, curiosity, and wisdom burst forth in shades of black and white and splashes of color, and he'd shown them all things they'd never realized he'd seen. Howie was observant.

Rosette Synthia Ross was six the first time she Hulked out. Years later, no one could really remember what the trouble had been, but one minute, sweet little Rosie was standing there crying…and the next, a five foot tall Hulkling was standing where she'd been. Bruce was too shocked and horrified to stop the near rampage she'd gone on. It had taken her adoptive older sister, Shanta, along with Steve, Bucky, and Balder to contain her. Although, if they were all honest, that first time was the only instance she ever had trouble controlling the beast in her DNA. The fact of the Hulk in her genes wasn't a burden to Rosette as it was to her father. It was just who she was…how she'd been born. She was very comfortable in the green skin her father had gifted her with. Rosette was playful.

Marian Robin Coulson wasn't supposed to be given that name. Maria and Phil argued for about nine months over what to name their daughter. Phil had argued for Stephanie, but Maria had fought just as hard against that, as she was well aware the only reason Phil wanted it was because it was as close to Steven as he could get, and she was absolutely not going to have that be the reason for their child's name. Then, in a stroke of romantic brilliance, Phil had offered up Marian, which the hormonal mother-to-be had been able to accept. On the girlie spectrum, Marian was caught somewhere between Russ and Noelle. She had her own fairytale phase, but it was never just princesses she was interested in. She liked the heroes. What better environment for such a little girl? She learned how to handle modern weapons from her parents, and she learned about archery and sword-fighting from Clint, Sif, and Fandral. A fighter through and through…with a fashion sense taught to her by Pepper Stark and Noelle Ross. Marian was versatile.

Fiona Eileen Foster preferred her human name to her Asgardian one, Freya Thordottir. Like Chase, she was not so torn between their two worlds as her big brother was, though it was expected she would take her place as one of Asgard's sorcerers when she was old enough, as she possessed an ability that had not been seen among the Asgardians for a long time: she could heal with the power of her song. Odin's advisors were constantly on Jane to allow her daughter to live in Asgard in order to train further in magic, but Jane always insisted she was already losing one child to them. Why did she have to give up the other one? Besides, none of this meant much to Fiona at only ten. She preferred to get lost in her books, as she loved to read. It was just a nice bonus that she could heal all of her siblings' tiny scrapes and bumps whenever she sang. With her ability, she was beginning to develop a little of her brother's attitude…that the rest of the pack was somehow in her care. Fiona was caring.

Lily Margaret Rogers is only a name. Right now, all the Avengers family knows about this child is that she's a girl. After the joy of having Makoto and Eve in their lives, Steve and Bucky had decided they wanted to do it again. While Steve had suggested adoption, Bucky had done him one better…do what they knew Loki had done: use magic in order to create a child of theirs inside his body. The process hadn't been easy, but James Buchanan Rogers had never known from easy. Only the worst part is still to come. Lily is about to be born.

XxX