She remembered the look on Tony's face when he woke, it was so lost and... Broken. He'd failed the Earth. Now, the Earth would pay the price.

Loki was King of the Mountain; he was Tsar of all; he was the Enigmatic and Powerful Leader. They were fucked.

Tony had known me for all of my life. He'd been over on an exchange trip to England and had met her mother as she fell into labor; in a broken down lift. He'd fixed the lift and then breathed deeply in the corner as she had screamed in agony and strain.

They all raced to the hospital; my mother and Tony in the ambulance, my father down the roads of the M-6. I'd heard the stories that my mother had tried to wait as long as she could for my father to get there; only to be delivered with the news that he would never walk through the doors.

A truck had curved, violently, as it tried to save itself and whacked into the head of my father's car. Smashing the front of the bonnet into an introverted style and killing my father instantly.

So, naturally, Tony felt obliged and, evidently, rather chivalrous that day; he'd given my mother a dowager that set her up for five years, securing her safety and health. My mother had blanched at the idea but Tony wouldn't take the money back. He just smiled with an uncharacteristic sadness and kindness and walked away, calling over his shoulder. "I'll see you around, baby."

My mother had thought it only naturally to name me after him but, thankfully, she disliked the name Antonia. So, instead I was called Victoria and my name was shortened to a crisp and concise nickname; Tori. Which, you know, is exactly like the name of the man that had saved my life...? Not.

He began to flit in and out of my life as easily as a butterfly. Never staying very long but always bringing laughter or happiness when he did. He always came sad, though, or bored like he was escaping from the reality he had built around himself; that his inventions of genius were used to kill people. And, although, he knew that they were only used to kill terrorists or murderers, he still felt caged by that thought. And I knew we were his relief, his break from it all; we were his shed.

But then it all became very difficult and pitiful. My mother, you see, became sick and began to decrease. She lost her kindness and dignity and became dependent on a daughter that she screamed at and tried to bite and scratch and hit. When she got worse Tony had to act on his own and, although, his actions were against my will and wishes; he had my mother secluded into a home. He brought me across the Atlantic and tried to care of me.

Unfortunately, Tony is not a father and I became my own responsibility. Not that that was a bad thing, it just meant that I had no one to sob to; until Pepper came along.

I was sixteen when she became Tony's personal assistant; hardly a prefect age for anyone but she made it easier on me. She was there when I was sad and she gave me Tony to yell at when I was angry. But, above all, she understood. She knew what I was going through, not from her own personal experience, but because she was empathetic and she knew me. She didn't think that I was being ridiculous or hormonal; she thought that I had justified opinions but I didn't know how to voice them.

I learnt that skill when Tony was taken. I made speeches to the United States Congress and Senate, I spoke to the people who mattered more and less, I appeared on television shows and I appealed. I appealed for them to get off their fat arses and find a man who was vital to me and Pepper because this distance, this feeling of loss and pain that we were going through, was unbearable. It made about as much difference to the finding of Tony Stark as a paper coat did in the rain but I tried. And I did become very personable to the people.

I mattered less when Tony admitted to being Iron Man but at least they still let me go on Ellen.

When Tony became sick, close to death, I was given a year's supply of money and trust; to go on a Gap Year and see the World, so with glee I accepted. But had I known that Tony was sick and he was trying to get me out of the way so I didn't have to watch him die? I never would have gone. Not in a million years would I have left that man. I guess, in hind sight I should have known. I should have sensed something was wrong. I mean, since when did Tony become nice?

But I wanted to trust him and I did and I still do; despite his lack of it in himself.

He shipped me back to America when he Ivan died and the Expo was… lacking in structure. He watched me enter college and pushed me to complete my Psychology degree. Even though he thought that it was a load of bullshit, to which I replied he would because he was in desperate need of counseling to resolve his "Daddy Issues".

I was there, on leave and hiding from their date night, in the Stark Tower when Phil Coulson arrived and I got roped in to helping Tony with his brief. I watched the videos and saw the photos; to say that I didn't want Tony to risk his life against Loki was an understatement. I REALLY didn't want him to.

But, when does Tony ever listen to anyone?

I was there, not in hiding, in Stark Tower when Loki arrived; he looked pretty surprised to see me there, too. As he swaggered up to me, yanking the book away from me, a smirk was plastered on his face. His green eyes were dancing with a malevolent light and an ecstasy that could only be described as really fucking creepy.

We conversed, and by that I mean; I yelled at him to leave, he laughed, I picked up the phone and called Tony, he hit me, I told him he was a dick, he told me he was going to rule me and destroy my planet's will till everyone was begging for mercy. You know fun stuff like the weather.

He tied me up with a flick of his golden scepter and then held my chin up with it, making sure that I looked at him as he spoke.

"Do not close your eyes, mortal. I want you to watch as I kill the people of your life."

"Jesus Christ… why can't you just want sex like most men?"

He raised a slim and dark eyebrow at that and his eyes trailed down my face to my body; I shrank back and thought bitterly. 'Be sarcastic to the crazy God, that's a great idea.'

Then the sound of thrusters broke the stare that Loki had, he straightened out and faced the sky as Tony's shabby and well-loved Iron Man suit came into view. The thrusters spat out energy pathetically as he landed and the rims ripped the worn out metal from him.

Loki moved out to welcome him a superior and happy smirk on his pale face. Shoulders back and the glowing torch clasped firmly in his hand.

Tony had run to me and put his hands on my face to check that I was all right, his knuckles grazed over the lump on my cheek and he inhaled, deeply, his fists clenching at his sides and his neck straining as he tried to remain calm.

"Don't worry, I haven't harmed her. Yet." Loki jeered; trying to gain a reaction from Tony, trying to see what he would do if he used me in this fight.

"Well, you should know this, Hamlet." Tony said, rising up and checking to see if he could do anything about the metal wrapped around my wrists. "If she ever gets out of these chains, she'll harm you."

"Then I shall keep her in chains, eternally, but thank you for the warning." His tone was polite and terribly English. But as soft and calming and… silky as it was, it was also unnerving and annoying.

"You're welcome; would you like a drink?" Tony asked, walking the distance from me to the bar and opening his whiskey.

"Stalling me won't change anything. The Chutari will still come; nothing can stop that."

"Oh, no, dear heart. I'm not stalling, I'm threatening."

"You really should have kept your armor on for that." Loki said, moving closer to my shoulder and standing behind me as Tony poured himself a drink. I could hear his deep breathing and feel his warmth radiating to me.

"Yeah, well it's seen a bit of mileage and you have the glowing stick of destiny." Tony sighed, trying desperately not to look at him and me stood so close together. He knew that Loki was just trying to get him to fight him. "No, but seriously, do you not want a drink?"

"Stalling you will not help-." Loki began, pompously; glaring at him but Tony raised his hand and interrupted him.

"No, not stalling. Threatening."

Loki sighed bitterly and trotted from me to the window, glaring out at the skyline with over brimming superiority; his chin jutting out and his shoulders thrown back so that he appeared taller and wider in stature.

"The Chutari will come nothing can stop them now. They are a vast army and you only a few." He span back and asked him. "What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers." Tony threw back, just as proudly and care free as his normal comments. When Loki frowned at the billionaire he expanded with an eye roll and shrug. "That's kind of what we call ourselves; Earth's mightiest heroes' kind of thing."

"Yes," Loki mocked, walking forward and back to stand behind my shoulder. "I've met them."

Tony's look began to turn sour as the liquid spilled out into the glass. His eyes darkened and his smirk became a grimace. Something bad had happened and Loki had made it happen.

"Yeah; takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one but let's do a head count here. There's your brother; the demi god." He dropped the glass and moved his hands underneath the shelter of the bar's wall.

I frowned and watched as he twisted his arm around, slipping something on.

"A living legend; that, kinda, lives up to the legend. A man with, breath taking, anger management issues. Couple of master assassins; and you, big fella, have managed to piss off every single one of them."

"That was the plan." Loki said, as he began to take large and circular strides in a line, calming himself. He was scared.

Tony took a swig of the whiskey and spat out. "Not a very good plan. Because when they come, and they will, they'll come for you."

"I have an army." Loki's voice had slipped from the mocking and superior tone to a dark and deadly shiver. Just as Tony's had slipped into the one he used on her boyfriends.

"We have a Hulk."

"Oh, I thought the beast had wandered off."

Tony had begun to move back down into the middle of the room, passing me and up to Loki. "Yeah, you're missing the point. There's no throne." He stressed. "There's no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us but it's all on you."

I watched the man I loved like a father stand up against the most sardonic man I had ever met, with not much in his arsenal except snide comments and a fantastic brief. I don't think I'd ever been so proud.

"Because if we can't protect the Earth; you can be damn sure we'll avenge it."

Wow, that was so amazing I think I just shat myself.

I cast my head to look at the dark haired men and saw the fear flickering in Loki's eyes and features. His knuckles were white as he clenched the staff and his chest was flaring upwards as he breathed deeply.

"How will they be able to fight me when they're too busy fighting you?"

I let out a yelp as Loki raised the scepter to touch Tony's heart but as it glowed Tony just stood there; staring down at it like it was supposed to do something.

Loki drew it back and tried again, tapping the reactor that saved his life; many times.

"I don't understand this normally works."

"Well performance issues. You can't expect it to work all the time. Hey, did you get insurance-?"

But Tony couldn't say anything more because Loki had seized him and with a feral yell threw him from the penthouse window and into the sky.

I let out a scream as I watched his body begin to fall to the ground. I struggled against the bonds and screamed in fury as they were stuck in place. Then the casket whizzed past my ear and flew for him.

I smiled with relief and felt my heart put itself back in place and my breathing returned to normal.

Loki drew himself up to his normal height as Tony appeared in front of us, his thrusters billowing out energy.

"Oh, and there's one other person you pissed off. His name's Phil."

Loki stood ready and braced himself for a fight but he wasn't ready for the blast that surged out from Tony's hand and sent him tumbling backwards. The suit flew into the penthouse as a charge of electricity surged from the top of Stark Tower. I stared up at the ceiling, as if I was scared it would crush me in a second.

Tony ripped me from the chair and pulled me onto my feet, the slants of light for eyes stared into my eyes but I couldn't see anything behind them.

"You have to go, Tony, I'll be fine."

"I have time…"

"There's an army, you have none."

Tony glanced from me to the window and then pushed me in the direction of the door and flew away. I ran after him, watching his graceful drop and soars as he twisted around the air like an eagle. Then he was hit by an alien and he lost a little bit of grace.

I sighed and ran from the sight, knowing that I'd be unable to watch any of it; I made my way to the door before I was caught and thrown across the room.

I landed on my elbow and felt it graze against the harshly cold and sharp floor but the impact was worse than the slight graze. It whacked into the ground with a sharp bang and I felt the pain and shock rip through my body.

I rolled over and held it to my body, glaring up at the demi god with total hate and dislike. He smirked down at me with his green eyes and swaggered across to me, slowly and deliberating, his scepter swinging in his hand. A dark look in his eyes and face.

This was how he was going to get back at Tony, I was his penance.

"If I were a pathetic and placid and puny human I would run from the majestic and powerful God in front of me."

He had finally reached me and was looking down at me with a cold look in his eyes.

"Good thing I'm not in that position then, isn't it?" I asked, swinging my leg out and causing him to tumble slightly, I grabbed the lamp on the side and used it to whack him across the head.

My arm kept to my chest as I ran through the door and out down the stairs because I decided that I liked the experience of running down nearly a hundred flights of stairs into a war ridden New York City.

I dodged out of the way as some rubble fell down over the top of my head and crashed into the ground. Then something jumped down and reared its ugly head at me. Its grey fist taking a swat at my head but he was thrown back by a shield and sent sparling out of the way and into the ground.

A man ran over to her and looked at her with mask covered eyes but she could see the deep brown orbs and the muscular body encased in a thick… latex?... outfit.

"You must be Victoria. We have to get you out of here." He ordered, taking my hurt arm and trying to drag me to safety but I swatted away and winced from the sharp pain.

"How do you know who I am?" I asked, quickly, ducking out of the way of a clash of fire power with the ground near us.

"Steve Rogers, ma'am; I know Tony."

"Is he alright?"

The masked man nodded stiffly and then took my wrist, taking me more gently although still forcefully. But now he was sure that I could trust him even if it was only a little bit of trust.

He pulled me over to a shop and put me inside, safely hidden in the corner with a table ready to push against the door and the back door leading to a hidden alleyway.

"You need to stay here, ma'am, I'll be back to get you later but if anything happens. Don't wait, just run."

I stared at him and then pushed my gaze away, I could see the uncertainty in his eyes but also the fire and power that made it difficult to keep looking.

"Be careful." I shouted as he rose up to leave.

He did come back for me, Tony in tow with a woman trailing them, tears in her blue eyes; they pulled me onto my feet and dragged me away from New York.

We didn't stop moving for two weeks; day by day we were joined by more and more people until our group consisted of the failed Avenger team, their lovers and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

That's when I saw it, every day for weeks, the same look of lose and pain and guilt. It followed me like a familiar, ghosting my movements and covering me in a dark cloud.

Loki had won; the Earth was his and the Avengers were broken.