And that was how she ended up here, on this giant ship surrounded by agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. whom she had never seen in her life.

Sitting on her bed in the relatively nice room she'd been assigned, Hel browsed through the clothes she'd brought with her. She had never kept much, and now she realized the scarcity of her wardrobe.

She shrugged. She would probably get some uniform anyway.

Resigning herself to her usual standard of dressing, Hel pulled on a pair of black jeans and a red top. After putting the shirt on, she realized her boobs had gotten bigger – how was that possible? They were already generous to say the least. The V-neck of the shirt now showed a rounded cleavage. Growling at this fact, Hel pulled on her black leather jacket to distract attention at least a little from her chest.

She twirled in the full-length mirror on the wall, regarding herself from every angle. Her strange violet eyes regarded her in the reflection, the weird shade a result of the tinted blue contacts over red irises. She definitely was not going to blend in with those skinny female agents. No size 2 leather suits here, Hel mused.

Sighing, she stepped to walk out of the door and smacked right into a hard body. Great, I'm so distracted that I didn't even notice another person there. I usually notice everything. I'm losing my damn mind, she thought bitterly, massaging her arm where she'd landed on it.

"I apologize. The fault was mine entirely," a deep booming voice spoke.

Hel froze.

Oh God.

She looked up, into Thor's cerulean eyes. His huge hand was outstretched to help her up.

Mentally incoherent, Hel put her hand in his gingerly and allowed him to hoist her to her feet.

Suddenly self-conscious, she tugged on her high ponytail with her uninjured arm, running her fingers through the ends of her hair hanging near the end of her spine.

"No, it was completely my fault. I accept full responsibility for my poor coordination, m'Lord," she said, eyes shining, more excited than she'd been in years. And more embarrassed.

Oh God, I finally get to meet a real life demi-god and I fall all over him like a clumsy idiot, she thought.

Thor looked pleased. "You are well-worded, madam. My faith in humanity seems well-deserved."

Hel grimaced. "Well, actually…"

"Oh, Hel's not human, Thor," a voice called from behind them. Hel glanced over her shoulder and saw the infamous Tony Stark.

"I guess they let any old trash into S.H.I.E.L.D. nowadays," Hel mumbled under her breath.

"Hel?" Thor asked, looking stunned. "You are named Hel?"

"Like the big burning pit of torture below the Earth for those of us who enjoy the less decent pleasures in life?" Stark interjected cockily.

Hel turned to him with a stony smile and answered sweetly, "I can take you there, if you'd like. You are always invited there, Mr. Stark."

Tony winced ceremoniously. "My reputation precedes me."

"If you were really that upset over it, you would attempt to change your reputation. And yet somehow I think reputation is not the right word for it… oh yes, your personality precedes you," Hel snapped. "You're an arrogant jerk."

Thor and Stark looked stunned by this outburst. Hel turned on her heel and stomped away.

I really need to control my opinions and emotions better, Hel thought desperately. Sighing, she walked out onto the control room. Fury was there with his assistant, as well as a tall, muscular blond man who looked familiar.

You've got to be kidding me.

"Agent Batya," Fury called to her.

Hel pointed at herself. "Me? My name is Batya?"

Fury made an impatient sound. "That is your real last name."

Hel felt goose bumps rise on her arms even through her jacket. Another piece of her past.

"Yessir," she replied, only half-mocking. She waltzed over to him and stood at attention.

"Captain," Fury called to the tall blond man. He walked over to join them.

Hel stared at him as he extended his large hand. "Captain Steve Rogers, ma'am."

"Hel Batya," she replied, a little shell-shocked, and allowed him to shake her hand.

"You've got one hell of a grip, miss," he told her, winking.

"Ha, ha," she replied, rolling her eyes, but grinning back.

They held each other's eyes for a minute longer than necessary, and finally Hel broke the stare, blushing to the roots of her hair. Interesting, something whispered in the back of her mind.

Half an hour later, Hel was sitting at a rounded conference table with Steve, Tony, Thor, and three others she had not yet gotten acquainted with.

Fury was at the head of the table, and he pointed out each of the other members of this squadron.

"That's Agent Barton, aka Hawkeye."

Hel grinned and waved back when the attractive man waved at her casually.

"Next to him is our very own Agent Romanov, aka Black Widow."

Natasha Romanov smiled at Hel and Hel couldn't help blurting out, "You're the most beautiful human being on the planet."

Everyone at the table stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter. Hel blushed.

Natasha giggled and said, "Thank you, Hel."

Fury rolled his eyes and pointed out the last individual, a slouching, tanned man with greying hair which Hel could tell was premature.

"Dr. Banner," Hel stated for Fury. Banner looked at her, appraising her.

"I love your work," she clarified, just in case he was thinking she only knew him as a giant green destruction-wielding monster.

"Thanks," he said sheepishly.

"Yeah, let's not address the elephant in the room. Or should I say, the Hulk in the room," Stark interjected.

Hel glared at him. "Mr. Stark, do you know what the word 'quiet' means? Because it's not like you can blame your verbal diarrhea on stupidity, considering your intelligence quotient."

Everyone stared at her.

Stark laughed. "This kid is gonna be my apprentice. I haven't seen fire like this since, well, since fire."

"I would rather chew my own limbs off," Hel replied coolly, crossing her arms.

Captain Rogers cleared his throat, breaking the tension across the table. "So… everyone knows what we all do. Why are you here, Agent Batya?"

Hel bit her lip. "I have a double doctorate."

Barton snorted. "That is not what he meant and you know it, little lady."

Hel looked at Fury, begging him with her eyes. He nodded.

You have to show them, Hel. They have to trust you.

After hearing this in Fury's head, Hel sighed and resigned herself.