Chapter 1

"What..? No! ... Starscream!"

"Kora! No!"

...

"I love you, never forget that."

"Same to you. I love you Ko-"

I snapped my eyes open as my phone vibrated on the nightstand. I quickly checked the time, as well as the kids and Silverstar. 9:00 AM, and they were all awake. Then I picked up my phone, checking the caller ID.

T. Stark

"I hope you're not ruining another surprise for me, Tony." I said, my voice still thick with sleep as I answered the call.

"Not this time, kiddo. This is a call on SHIELD's behalf. We have a problem. The Tesseract was stolen."

"What?" I whispered, sitting bolt upright and hopping out of bed.

"You heard right. Seems an Asgardian stole it." Tony somewhat explained as I started dressing.

"Name?" I asked as I pulled a shirt over my head.

"Loki. Mean anything special to you?"

Tony was one of the few people who knew of my obsession with old mythology, and that borderline obsession had passed to my children, who found themselves particularly enamoured with Norse mythology and gods.

"Yeah. Adoptive younger brother to Thor, adoptive son to Odin Allfather of Asgard. Looking more into that, his true parentage is the Frost Giants in the Jotun realm." I listed off. "Generally known as the God of Mischief and Lies. So what's the scoop, Stark?" I asked, leaving my room. Star, Skye, and Hunter were all in the living room, looking like they would die of boredom at any second.

"The Tesseract opened some kind of portal, Loki came out of it, killed a bunch of guys and took a few more under his control with some magic staff that had Tesseract energy in it. Agent Barton was one of the ones he took, and the whole base came down after they left. The energy the Tesseract used to open the portal was enough to level the whole place, and Fury's bringing the Avengers initiative back up."

"Are you sure, Tony? You're sure that's what happened?" I asked lowly, halting my footsteps.

"Yeah. That's why they need you there, at the helicarrier ASAP. Fury's already brought in Black Widow, Capsicle, and the big guy. I'll be in later."

I opened my mouth to protest, but lost the words on my tongue with a sigh.

"Alright. I'll be there in a few minutes." I finally said, hanging up. I looked back to my kids, and laughed. I remembered feeling like they felt. "I'm so sorry, sweeties, but I've got to go. Silverstar's here, and Misha should be back in a few hours." I said apologetically as I pulled my boots on over the pantlegs of my 'SHIELD Uniform'.

"What's going on, mom?" I heard Hunter asked, detecting his worry. I knew long ago that lying to my kids was not the way to go about things, and had always been honest with them when it was important.

"The Avengers Initiative is back up, and we have a possible worldwide problem on our hands." I answered. Then I opened the doors to the porch, getting ready to teleport. I found it less of a strain to teleport long-distance when I was in an open area. I was still able to from indoors, this was just easier.

'Be careful!' I heard my kids all think together.

/Kora, hold on a second!/ I heard Silver call as she approached me. There was a small metal box in her hands, Cybertronian in make from the looks of it. There was a small button, probably to activate whatever it was. /You'll need this. Trust me./ she added, placing it in my hands. I smiled in thanks.

"Thank you, Silver. And you know me, kids. I'll see you soon." I called the last bit to them inside, before teleporting away.

I ended up landing smack-dab in the middle of a landing pad on the helicarrier, much to the surprised looks of Natasha Romanoff and, much to my surprise, Captain America. He'd just gotten here, from the looks of it. My jaw dropped when I saw pretty much my biggest childhood hero, save for Optimus Prime.

"Oh...my...gosh... It's you!" I whispered, my eyes lighting up with excitement. He was just as surprised, and he looked to Natasha for confirmation.

"Did she...did you just appear out of thin air?" He asked both of us. I nodded my head, letting my inner teenager come out a little bit.

"Yep. I just came in from Manhattan, about...seven seconds ago." I said, grinning. "Anyways, I'm Kora Evans, otherwise known as The Seeker around here." I introduced myself, shaking the Captain's hand. "And you... You're Steve Rogers, Captain America." I said, my face slowly becoming neutral but my awe not hidden in my voice.

"I'm surprised you recognize me." he said honestly, shaking my hand in return.

"Oh, my dad and I loved reading the comics about you. From what I heard, finding you in the ice was a pretty big buzz around here. I thought Coulson would swoon." I said, falling into pace with the other two.

"Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" Natasha asked from his other side. I could feel their amusement alongside my own, but I stumbled a little bit when I felt anger, nearby. Copious amounts of anger.

"Trading cards?" Steve asked, just the slightest bit oblivious.

"They're vintage. He's very proud. Hey, you okay Kora?"

"Woah...yeah... Bit of an emotional overload." I said quietly, closing my mental barriers. Then I caught sight of the source of the anger; Bruce Banner. Of course it was him. The Hulk was always angry, but I supposed that was his secret to controlling the Hulk.

"Kora's a bit...special. I'm sure everything can be explained later." Natasha stated when she noticed Steve's questioning glance, before he saw Bruce.

"Doctor Banner." he spoke in greeting, approaching the scientist. Said scientist looked and came over when his name was called. He and Steve shook hands.

"Uh, yeah, hi. They told me you'd be coming." he said. He seemed a bit awkward, to me.

"Word is you can find the cube." Steve replied, getting straight to it.

"Is that the only word on me?" Bruce asked.

"The only word I care about." Steve answered bluntly. Bruce nodded his head, turning his attention to me for a moment.

"Kora Evans." I introduced myself for the second time. Bruce shook my hand as well, though I sensed his apprehension.

"I read your file on the way here. The Seeker, huh?" he replied. I nodded my head.

"Bit of a private joke between me and my kids." I answered. Ghosting the edges of the scientist's minds, I felt the reason for his suspicion and apprehension. "I won't look anywhere in there without your permission." I added in a quiet voice. He was worried about my capabilities, and honestly? He was right to worry. Not bragging, I was probably one of the most powerful people on this planet, but I had control over those powers.

"This must be strange for you... all of this." Bruce had returned to the semi-uncomfortable conversation between him and Steve, as he gestured to the sophisticated equipment, as well as the aircraft carrier we were standing on.

"Well, actually this is kind of familiar." Steve answered.

"Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute." Natasha spoke up from behind them. "It's gonna get a little hard to breathe."

As if her words were the cue, there were loud, mechanical noises coming from beneath us. The helicarrier was preparing for takeoff.

"Is this a submarine?" the Captain asked.

"...Really. They want me in a submerged, pressurized metal container?" Bruce asked, his dull tone holding incredulity. I chuckled.

"No, but even if that were the case, I've got it covered." I explained, spreading a calm across just us four, and then pulling it back just as quickly to prove my point. "Now, shall we?" I gestured to the edge of the helicarrier, so they could see the turbine rising out of the water. The metal floors shook as they started spinning, propelling the craft upwards. Slowly opening my barriers, I felt a general aura of 'you gotta be kidding me' from Bruce, and then nothing much but more than shock and 'another thing to get used to' from Steve. Natasha was used to it, though.

"Oh no, this is much worse." Bruce stated. I let out a laugh.

"It won't be that bad." I promised. Then the four of us headed inside.

The interior of the command center was something to be marvelled at just as much as the exterior of the carrier itself.

"So, what did you mean when you were talking to Banner earlier?" Steve asked while we waited for Fury to finish handing out orders. I looked to him, and hesitantly moved my consciousness to his, with a small message.

'I'm one of the rare kind our world today calls mutants. Teleportation aside, I can enter and control the minds of others at will.' and then I withdrew. Steve's eyes widened in shock, before I felt the slightest stirrings of apprehensiveness, as would be expected.

"I won't go into your mind without your permission, unless it's absolutely necessary." I promised instantly. He nodded his head in thanks.

"Gentlemen, lady." Fury greeted us at the table. I watched as Steve gave him a 10, letting out a small giggle, before the director went to Bruce. I deliberately focused on not listening to the conversation. Instead I went into my own thoughts, going years back into my past. I tried finding anything I could about the Avengers movie, but I'd only seen it once, and my memories from then were older. I couldn't draw them out as nicely.

"Agent Romanoff, just show Doctor Banner to his laboratory please."

I came back to reality just as Natasha and Bruce took their leave. Fury approached me next.

"Miss Evans." He greeted.

"Fury." I nodded my head once at him.

"I see Stark's call got through. Thank you for coming."

"Skip the pleasantries, what is it you want me to do?" I asked shortly. Fury and I weren't on the best terms, but I was making the effort. Global crisis and all.

"How far does your telepathic range extend?" he asked.

"As far as it needs to. But I can't get a location on anybody remotely important. Whoever planned this out with Loki must have known what they were doing. I can't even sense the cube energy." I answered the unspoken question in his mind; could I find Loki. I couldn't, but apparently facial recognition software could.

"We got a hit. 67% match." a man called, drawing our attention. "Wait, cross-match, 79%."

Coulson approached. "Location?"

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Konisstrasse." I was the one to answer, confused. "That's weird, I couldn't sense him before." I murmured.

"Captain, Seeker." Fury called us to attention. "You're up."

"Fury, I'll meet the Captain and Romanoff there. I think we can catch him off guard if I appear in the crowd. Besides, he might let something important slip."

Fury nodded.

"Cap, you go suit up. See you in a few." I said, before teleporting once again. I appeared in a back alley, right beside where I needed to be, and placed a perception filter around myself, in a way. I appeared to be wearing a casual outfit, but it was an illusion. I'd finally perfected that little trick the year I turned twenty. Now it just got easier every time I did it. As I walked out of the alley casually, blending in with everybody else, I did a mental sweep of the building Loki was in. Barton was nearby, but I couldn't get a direct location on him, and Loki was inside.

Seeing as I was meant to wait until Steve and Natasha got here before I got Loki, I sat down on a nearby bench and started fiddling with the metal box Silverstar had given me. I considered pressing the button, but thought better of it for the moment.

Suddenly there were people running, and screaming. I almost sighed. Loki, of course. One to make a scene. And, there he was, walking like an invincible man among the panicked citizens of Germany, in his Asgardian armor and horned helmet. That thing looked ridiculous, as exciting as it was that I was seeing a Norse god.

I heard the sound of sirens roaring up, just as Loki struck out with his staff at a police car. Discreetly, I used my telekinesis to safely stop and set the car down. I pretended to join the fearful crowd, even as Loki duplicates appeared on three other sides.

"Kneel before me!" he ordered the people. Everybody was still frantic, and screaming. "I said...KNEEL!" he yelled, slamming the butt of his staff against the ground. His duplicates did the same. Everyone became silent, and hesitantly did so. I was among them, hiding myself until the moment was right.

The demigod smiled, pleased with their compliance.

"Is not this simpler?" he asked. I doubted many of them could understand, and discreetly translated it in their minds. "Is this not your natural state?" he continued, slowly entering the crowd. "Its the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity.. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

Orders from Fury be damned, I was already tired of listening to this. Right beside me, an elderly man seemed to have the same idea. We wouldn't kneel. I stood up to my full height beside the man, inconspicuously putting myself between them.

"Not me, and certainly not to men like you." I said boldly. Loki let out a laugh.

"Oh, dear girl, there are no men like me." he said. Cocky. Arrogant. Smug.

"There's always men like you." the old man pitched in.

"Look to your elder, and this woman, people." He pointed his staff towards us. "Let them be an example to you." His teeth curled back as he released a bolt of energy, and I suddenly sensed Captain America nearby. Crossing my arms in an X over my chest, I made a physical barrier, repelling the energy just as the Captain dropped down beside me.

The energy rebounded, knocking Loki to the ground with a grunt. The frightened citizens looked both fearful and relieved at the sight uf us.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing." Steve said, walking through the crowd to go nearer to Loki. I let the perception around me drop, revealing my uniform, and my little metal box.

As I pressed the button, I felt silent glee when it unfolded around my arm, forming what looked like Samus Aran's Arm cannon from Metroid. I joined the Captain and pointed the cannon at Loki.

"The soldiers." Loki sneered. "A man out of time, and a woman who can bend the earth to her will."

"I'm not the one who's out of time." the Captain replied, and I heard Natasha in her mini-copter behind us.

"Loki, drop the weapons and stand down." she ordered over the PA. Oh, this was gonna be fun.

A/N: Alright, really rushed, I know. But really, you try moving across the world and see how quickly your inspiration comes back to you! I don't own Avengers. My OCS are mine. *sees Links Rose's updates* Well, someone's been a busy bee on my account. Anyways, bye!