Chapter One

Torunn stared across the table with stars in her eyes. How could she not be totally in love with the man across from her? He cleared his throat, smoothed his hair back, and slipped off of his chair, down on one knee. Torunn's eyes widened, and she clasped her hands together tightly. "Torunn Natasha Andrews, will you marry me?"

She nodded, and reached down to grab his hand. "Yes, of course!" He slid the ring onto her finger, and gazed up at her with adoration in his eyes. Torunn felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. Victor didn't know her true identity. But she was going to tell him. She pulled him up for a kiss. "Babe, I need to tell you something."

He nodded. "There's something important that I need to tell you, too. But not here." He reached out, and she gladly accepted his hand. They walked together down the street, laughing and talking about random things. Their apartment was only a few blocks away, so that's where he led her to. They got inside and kicked their shoes off.

Victor kissed Torunn, then stepped back. "Babe… the truth is… I'm a superhero. I'm the hero known as Doctor Doom."

Torunn stared at her fiance in shock. "You're… what?"

He pulled her into a hug. "I know it's a lot to take in, and I know that you probably think that I'm a liar for never having told you this sooner. And I promise that I'll come home every night, no matter what. I feel so much better now that I've told you that. I wouldn't be able to survive a marriage if I was keeping such a big secret from you. So what is it you want to tell me?"

Torunn shook her head. "Nothing. It's absolutely nothing."

Victor grinned. "Just trying to get me to bring you back here?"

Torunn smiled weakly. "Yup. You saw right through me. You know, I'm not feeling well right now. I think it's probably best if we just go to bed."

Victor smiled. "Why not let the good old doctor have a look at you?" He went to pull her in for another kiss, but Torunn pushed him back. He frowned. "Hey, what's wrong? Is it the superhero thing? It's weirding you out, isn't it?"

Torunn bit her lip, then turned back to Victor. She pulled off his ring. "I can't marry you."

Any remaining joy on Victor's face was immediately gone. "What are you talking about? Why not?"

Torunn sat down at the kitchen table. "Victor… do you think that people should be judged based off of their parents or their family?"

Victor shook his head. "Of course not. Why?"

Torunn took a deep breath, and fidgeted with the ring that was still in her hand. "Remember how I said that me and my parents aren't very close?" Victor nodded, but didn't say anything. He didn't want to get her off track. "Well, that's true. I haven't even talked to them in years. The reason we're not close is because I've always disagreed with their lifestyle." When the pause lasted too long, Victor nodded for his fiance to continue. He crouched down and held one of her hands in a comforting grip. She sighed. "Ah, screw it. Victor, my dad is Thor, and my mom is Sif."

Victor stood up, and slowly backed away. "This is some sick joke, right? To get back at me for lying all these years?"

Torunn shook her head. "I'm also the superhero known as Lightning."

Victor stepped back. "Whatever's going on here… I don't want any part of it."

Torunn couldn't hide the hurt in her eyes. "But you just said that you wouldn't judge someone because of their family. And the reason that we're not close is because I didn't like how they were villains, so I went out and became a superhero just to rebel against them! They have nothing to do with who I am! Why would I even tell you these things if I was a bad guy?"

Victor shook his head. "I don't know. To gain my trust, or my sympathy or something."

Torunn threw the ring at the man. "This is why I said that I can't marry you!"

Victor's nose flared. "How long were planning on keeping this from me?"

The young woman stood up. "I was going to tell you as soon as we got home, that's why I said I needed to talk to you! Why can't you just believe me?"

Victor shook his head menacingly. "If you don't leave in the next thirty seconds, I swear, I will throw you out myself. And trust me when I say that that would not be pleasant." Torunn stormed over to the door. Victor added softly, "The only reason I'm not calling in the rest of the team to capture you is because even if you feel nothing for me, I still love you."

Torunn spun around. "Oh, screw you! You may think that you're a hero, but at least my family wouldn't turn on me for something that's out of my control. I never asked for my parents to be super villains, but that's what I have, and they're a hell of a lot more accepting than you! Even now, knowing that I'm a superhero, they would willingly take me back! I hope that you get everything that's coming to you!"

Victor kept his voice calm and even. "Torunn. It's time for you to leave, before you do something that we'll both regret."

She glared. "The only thing I regret is ever getting involved with such a heartless son of a bitch!" She stormed out of the apartment, not caring that all of her things were still inside. She doubted that Victor was going to put together a break up box to try and get her back, but she could just get new things. Things were replaceable. Broken hearts were not.

Peter looked up in surprise as he heard someone pounding on his door. He glanced at his clock, and saw that it was eleven at night, a bit late for a social visit. And the knocking sounded off balance, and not timed properly. He went over and cautiously opened the door.

A very tipsy looking Torunn was standing there, and she grinned once she saw that Peter had opened the door for her. "Hey..?"

She pulled him forward into a hug. "Did you know that you are the best friend that I have ever had in my whole life?"

Peter frowned. "I'm pretty sure that I'm the only friend you've ever had. But we haven't talked in what… three years now? Ever since you ran off to do your superhero thing. You really shouldn't be here. If anyone saw you talking with me, they might recognize us, and realize that you have connections to all the bad guys."

Torunn stared at him blankly as she tried to figure out what he was saying. After a few minutes, she gave up. Either that, or she just forgot what they had been talking about. "I got a boyfriend while I was away. Derek. That son of a bitch. I hate him so much."

Peter pulled Torunn in, since it didn't seem like she planned on leaving anytime soon. "Why? What did he do?"

Torunn hiccuped. "He proposed to me. So I felt that it would be wrong to keep things from my husband. I told him about mom and dad and Lightning. Turns out he's Doctor Doom, and he dumped my ass in a heartbeat."

Peter sighed, and gathered Torunn into his arms. "Hey, it'll be okay, I promise. I'll make sure to kick his ass extra hard next time we're facing off against each other."

Torunn smiled. Then she sighed, and went into Peter's room to flop onto his bed. It was a habit that she was all too used to from back when they were younger. Whenever something bad had happened, she would crawl into his bed, and feel better. And even though she was wasted, Peter didn't have to worry about her puking on the sheets, because she was Asgardian, and her body would heal her of alcohol poisoning before she waked up.

Peter pulled the covers up to her chin, and kissed the top of her head. He had missed having his best friend around. Everything seemed too lonely and quiet without her noisy presence. She got that from her father, who always had the ability to fill any room he walked into.

Peter hoped that her return would be permanent, but he wasn't going to get his hopes too high up.