How to pronounce the heroine's name is Sig-rune or Sig-roon. It's ancient Scandinavian/Icelandic and means "Victory run" and/or "Victory secret" depending on the translation.
OOO
Siggy entered the elevator in Stark's Tower with a sense of dread as a she lugged an old university duffle bag of her clothing alongside a huge rolling fortress for her books and laptops. She only barely knew why she was here which was by what she'd gotten from the official orders she'd received on her desk at the university a week ago.
'Okay, well, slightly scary looking orders', Sig reminded herself. Said orders told her that she was needed within the group's interactions, monitoring with the eyes she'd been taught to use, and give those reports to Fury, himself. She would assess the interactions of the team to be sure all was "in the norm" he'd said, pointedly using anthro-jargon.
She had, and did now, roll her eyes at the sad attempt of delving into her happy-place for her cooperation. Ignoring the fact that "in the norm" was not something you could exactly connect to the Avengers nor to add in a control to bouce a theory, it had nearly worked. Nearly.
Sigrün did not understand why she was needed in the first place. Wouldn't a therapist or a social worker be able to handle this? She'd already asked the very same thing of the order's contact, Agent Hill, enough times to be sure the tall brunette wanted to shank her and leave her for dead in a university trash bin.
Siggy wasn't even a goddamn cultural anthropologist, which was the only major of research or study she'd have turned to for this team besides a group of goddamn shrinks.
She had absolutely no reason to be working with anyone living or breathing. Hell she was barely an anthropologist at all! She was a glorified coroner, a forensic analyst of the most elite kind; a biological anthropologist with a strong, separate degree in archaeology. Which led her to believe it was actually her secretive background and not her profession that had guided his insane push for her to help out…and it was certainly a push, she remembered with a frown.
Although she did have her doubts on the reasoning, she was itching to test her metal with research she'd never been given the funding for. With her anthropological history (not mentioning the dead folks), impressive marks and ultimately her heritage, Fury had sourced Siggy to look for patterns among his team and try to make links in places no one would normally look, while focusing on the situation without judgment or (and here was the big one to wick a psych out) no reason to incite a change or new outlook to the subjects of observation.
They didn't mention- in the paperwork at least- that she needed to find "pin-points" as Fury called it. This could all become a huge paper for her, if she wished….and finally there was the bone he'd been dangling over the conversation.
Who wouldn't read about the impressive Avengers in a close-up anthropological observation? So many would flock to the droll archive she could write up in an hour. She'd bring merit to the subtle, yet driven Anthropological community and also renew pride in some of her peers who feared they might be a dying breed.
Only thing was, it was important for her focus on the human aspect…as it were. Siggy nearly laughed hysterically with her back upon the wall of the elevator. She was basically put there, as the mediator to a problem that normal psych professionals would hang themselves out for.
The reason for her being there in the first place was summed when she'd first met Stark in the 'interview' that was staged, even though she'd already been chosen. Tony, Barton and Romanoff were there with, of course, Fury himself.
Basically, Stark's theory was that S.H.E.I.L.D chose her for the known stereotype of the Anthro major…"I know you Anthro nerds." He'd said as he fiddled with his sunglasses. "You have tattoos and you were a functional alcoholic…oh you'll fit right in."
She'd shrugged a shoulder at that because it was true enough; at least for her. It was hard to make certain ethical judgment calls she'd made and have to stay sober after the fact. As for the tats she liked them damnit and one was a birthright.
But Siggy knew why she was really here. They'd brought Loki back to Midguard, Or earth to silly mortals, she thought. She had a feeling that was a big reason why she was here in the first place and it really was not for her or her background, though it gave a pseudo convenient excuse.
Siggy had a few non-mortal advantages, granted to her by her Valkyrie mother, Brynhild's heritage. Other than that, she was on her own with the Avengers troop. She had no grand illusions of leading bands of Valkyrie into battle on horseback, searching for Einherjar to battle for them during Ragnarok…But she kept that little detail to herself completely, despite the fact she dreamed of it once a year.
She was giggling happily to herself when the doors opened and she saw the entirety of the Avengers focus in on her. She about died…
"Um…Hallo." She muttered with a weak wave.
Stark lifted his hand behind the bar and hollered, "What will you have Siggy? Obviously everyone heard you were coming, and you know who we are." That was the introduction.
At that she smirked and answered his question. "Whiskey and diet." She spat easily. When she received an eyebrow or two at how she was obviously did not need a diet, she shrugged and dragged her light clothing bag and weighted-one full of two battle-ready laptops and books. "What? My aunt gave me diet as a kid and I don't like normal soda."
When Steve asked what "diet cola" tasted like, she bee-lined and dropped her bags by a set of beautiful leather couches. "You don't need to avoid the sugar, Cap. That's about all you need to know. Love the good stuff." Sigrün said and immediately curled up into the corner of a leather couch pillow and made herself at home. She adored leather…the feel, the smell…It made her feel homey and at ease.
The redhead Natasha brought her the whiskey and smirked. "I never thought I'd see you again, Agent Romanoff." Sigrün said smartly.
Widow smirked and shrugged. "I didn't really have any doubts…you hold your own. Snappy, but its always good to have some spunk." She gave Siggy a pointed look and whispered, "Especially now that you'll need it. We happen to have a situation...in route as we speak. Though this is more long-term."
Sigrün frowned. "Serious? I haven't even had a sip yet!" she whispered.
Natasha lifted a single impeccable eyebrow and immediately raised her own vodka tonic. As they clinked glasses, that was the sign to begin business.
OOO
Loki arrived with Thor, but at a huge disadvantage, he was sure. The trickster spotted the members of the Avengers easily around the area. Stark was behind the bar, America-man was seated in a stool close-by, the hulk-man-doctor was fiddling in the middle of the room with his back to a fire, near an unfamiliar woman with a drink and a set of baggage to her right. Romanoff was seated on a smaller adjacent to the stranger in deep conversation. Loki imagined the Hawk was somewhere above.
He frowned, that this was his punishment- to stay within the mortal world of Midguard- like Thor had done. A fate worse than death Loki imagined. It seemed a boring situation altogether from the look of it, and he cared not for the mortals.
Suddenly his brother or "not-brother" he tried to remind himself, nearly dragged him to the middle of the room and shoved him next to the unfamiliar female on the leather couch. She blissfully didn't give him any attention, but he saw the Widow's venomous eyes flicker to him in warning...
At that, Loki looked to the woman two feet from him and took her in, just to annoy the Widow woman. He dared not do more or he'd be on the receiving end of a hulken beast attack…he shuddered at the thought and his gaze flew to the man nearby with a bit of anxiety, then back to the woman.
She had two sets of electronics before her. One of them was set up on the short table before them, which looked to have thousands of words open. It seemed to him like a book. The other had a semi-blank page, which the woman was able to alter as she pleased with deft fingers that danced across the device as she listened to the Spider assassin.
The woman herself had deep copper hair that was pinned haphazardly to the back of her head. Massive came to mind due to the sheer volume the nest took up. A splash of freckles littered her nose and under her eyes, which looked light brown, but he wasn't sure. Other than that there wasn't much to her because she was buried in a long red skirt, a bulky vest and long sleeves.
Loki noticed it was snowing outside in the mortal world, and he didn't give a damn. The demi-god frowned and knew he was in for a horrendous time, so he chose to keep to himself. How better to gauge his surroundings but to immerse himself?
OOO
Siggy's fingers were flying across the keyboard at record speed as she listened to Romanoff. The woman seemed relieved to reveal her information- it was a burden. "So, you would say it's normal for the group here to begin drinking by the afternoon?"
Natasha sighed, tossed back her drink and nodded. "Sometimes yeah, like today. It messes with training sometimes. It's hard to run five miles with booze in you. Stark is a terribly good pusher of alcohol."
"So you feel pressured?" Siggy asked easily, with her eyes on the laptop. She heard the palm slam on the table before her and she looked into Romanoff's expecting eyes. "No," Siggy corrected herself, with a respectful gleam in her eye. "I don't suppose you do."
Natasha smirked then and leaned back, swirling the ice in her glass and appreciating that she hadn't rattled the petite woman across from her. "No wonder Fury called you in…cool as a cucumber. You'll have to tell me how he caught you." She mused and stared at Siggy a moment longer before she decided to take it easy on her and hazing was not a thing needed. First day and all that jazz…besides, she liked the gal.
"To answer your question: yeah, it's because the situation often announces it and a drink helps us come back down from the shit we just got out of," Natasha continued, "…that and schwarma. Plus there's too much testosterone here…they need to have something else to focus on besides their egos."
Siggy smiled and nodded, grateful for the unspoken acceptance of her questions. Maybe she'd take it easy after this though…just as an observer, no more questions.
As she dove back into her laptop to finish up, the agent stood.
"Would you like another?"
At the quick nod and smile Siggy sent her, Romanoff moved out with hers and the anthropologist's glasses for refills.
That's the moment when she noticed that she was alone on the couch with someone else. Her head whipped to the left and she met the sideways glance of Loki himself. How did she not notice? Oh yeah, cuz of the research and not the booze...sad right...
"Sorry…ignored you over there. I'm Sigrün."
Loki said nothing, just looked back at the fireplace.
Oh sweet mother of Zeus, I am so glad he's ignoring me! She thought and focused back in on finishing up her train of thought. With a flourish of brainpower and impressive word-per-minute skills, she finally leaned back, smiled and closed her laptop with a snap.
Siggy yawned aloud and stood, stretching a bit, before she moved to her bag and unzipped her vest. Natasha arrived with Clint at her side and offered her a refreshed drink. "Thanks, Tash."
The assassin lifted one perfect eyebrow, and allowed a little smirk to rise up. "Sure thing, Siggy. Do you really like that nick name?"
"Oh it's fine. I've been called it so much. Its hard for some to pronounce Sigrün." Siggy said as they clinked glasses and drank. Natasha and Clint plopped on the loveseat and looked comfortable, if a little bit angled away from one another.
With a smile on her face, she looked at her vest and remembered it was warm in there, so she removed it. The tight black shirt she was wearing beneath was one of her favorite winter ones, because it was warm, didn't get in the way, and had fanciful little lace on the edge of the long sleeves and around the v-neckline. She pulled from the shirt, the white-gold heirloom necklace that was her mother's. It was a crescent-shaped moonstone, with amber resting in the middle.
She took up her drink once more and walked over to the fire, to end up standing beside Banner who had just taken his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I can tell exhaustion when I see it." She said quietly.
The doctor looked up, surprised and glanced up through the immense glass window of the room to see it was dark already, and snowing. "Wow. Yeah, must have got caught up. I'm Bruce Banner by the way." He said and extended his hand.
She smiled at him and took it quickly. "My name is Sigrün, but you can call me Siggy. Interesting to be in the Stark's playground." She said and glanced back at the narcissistic inventor, who was flamboyantly pouring a row of shots in front of the Captain and Thor. She shook her head and looked back at Banner.
"So," said a deeper voice, and she turned to look at Clint Barton. "How did Fury catch you anyway? We were there for the stage meeting yeah, but what did he do to piss you off enough to come here?"
She rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling. "It was stupid embarrassing…he made sure to make me know he was serious when I wrote back a 'smart ass email'," she said sarcastically with air quotes. "That was due to the first inquiry into my helping out here…He didn't like that very much."
At the snicker she received from the two spies, she knew they had an idea about how horrible that encounter was.
"See, you get it." Sigrün said as she pointed a finger accusingly and she spun towards them to weave her tale. "Fury barged into my classroom and strode down to my lectern to stand in front of me. Then his goons stood at the exits and the windows. All 'holier than thou' type stances." She hissed, "Well, he interrupted me just as I was introducing myself to my very first class ever as a paid professor. My first class mind you!" she huffed and her eyes grew fierce as she turned to glare into the fire. "I can never enter the scholastics realm again to teach…you simply can't live something like that down."
Banner gave her a look of pity, and patted her arm before standing. Then she shook her head and turned to see Stark before her with a pair of shots, one held out for her. She lifted a brow as the Captain and Thor helped pass a few others out. Even Loki was handed one by his brother.
"Well, we all have some shit history with a pissed off Fury. Shall we toast to him then and get this welcome party moving? That is, if you're done with your homework, Siggy." Stark asked and ignored the little tick in her eyes as he raised his own shot. "To the bearer of the tightest undies in the land; to Fury!"
"What duties does the Bearer of tight undies hold," was heard in the back as a resounding "Cheers" was heard throughout the room and it drowned the question.
Siggy closed her eyes and shook her head after she drained the glass. "Damn good whiskey!" she wheezed.
She noticed from her peripheral that Loki was leaning forward and starring at the fire, with a drained shot glass on the table before him. She smiled and, despite knowing she had a light buzz coating her mind, she thought, He just toasted with them all…