Continuing With Therapy

Chapter Three: The Chosen One

Tony called Fury, and the others waited as he said, "Fury, we need you to come over- and don't bring anyone with you. Yes, I know it sounds strange, but trust me on this. I can't tell you anything over the phone, it's not safe. Listen, I'll explain when you get here, but don't bring anyone with you. Okay, see you then." He hung up, and said, "He's not thrilled, but he's agreed to come alone. JARVIS, be ready to detect any listening devices he might have."

"Certainly, Sir," JARVIS said.

"We should get going," Mr. McKenzie said. "I'm sure this is classified information, so we won't tell anyone anything about today. Natalie, I'll get in touch with you when we've made a decision about where to go after the wedding, okay?"

"Okay, thanks Dad," Natalie said. She hugged her parents and Kevin, and they left.

Fury arrived fifteen minutes later, and tensed when he saw Bucky. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded.

"Bucky was brainwashed into becoming the Winter Soldier, and Natalie broke the brainwashing," Tony said. "I'll let him explain the rest."

Fury looked at Bucky, who said, "The Red Room is what remains of HYDRA, and from what I've gathered, they have people everywhere, in every government around the globe. And SHIELD is no exception. Tony called you here because we thought you should know that HYDRA has plants in your agency, and since you were on the list of people I was supposed to eliminate before Natalie broke their hold on me, you should be careful around your people. I don't know how many agents of yours are actually HYDRA, but according to Natasha, at least one or more has level 10 clearance, since someone told HYDRA about Natalie's power. They're after her power, and I was sent in to capture her and kill the Avengers."

"Is there anyone with you?" Fury asked.

"I was partnered with a woman who goes by Anya Belova, and her abilities are virtually identical to Natasha's, though perhaps a bit less powerful," Bucky said. "There are other agents known as 'Black Widows', but the strongest of them is Natasha, and she's no longer under their control. Anya is most likely back at the base we were told to use; her orders were to sneak in after me and capture Natalie. Now that I'm not listening to her or anyone else, she'll have gone back to report my 'defection'."

"Can you lead the way to this base so we can take it out?" Fury asked.

"Sure," Bucky said. "The rest of you might want to suit up."

"What about Natalie?" Loki asked.

"I will take her back to Asgard," Frigga said. "You may come get her when you are done. I must return in any case."

Loki looked at Natalie, who said, "Don't worry, Loki, I'll go with Frigga, and you can help the others. Be careful, okay?"

"Okay," Loki said. He kissed her and left to get his armor on.

Frigga smiled at Natalie, and said, "Let us go out on the balcony. I am sure Stark would not want a hole in his roof."

Natalie giggled. "Yeah, he wouldn't be too happy," she said. She followed Frigga outside, and waited as she called for Heimdall. The Bifrost opened soon after, swallowing them, and soon they were in Heimdall's Observatory. "Welcome back, my Queen, and welcome to you, Lady Natalie," Heimdall said. "You may want to make haste; Asgard has a visitor."

"Thank you, Heimdall," Frigga said. "Lady Natalie, I am going to teleport us to the palace, is that alright?"

"It's fine by me," Natalie said. Frigga took her hand and teleported to the palace, then led the way to an antechamber that led to the throne room. Tyr was waiting for them, and Frigga asked, "Lord Tyr, I am told that Asgard has a visitor?"

"Yes, my Queen, Lady Summer has paid us a surprise visit," Tyr said. "She said it was a matter of great importance to the realms."

"I will not keep her waiting, then," Frigga said. "Will you both accompany me?"

"Yes," Tyr and Natalie said. They followed Frigga into the throne room, and saw a woman who seemed to glow with a golden light waiting for them. Frigga, to Natalie's surprise, curtsied, and Natalie was quick to follow suit as Tyr bowed and Frigga asked, "Lady Summer, to what do we owe this honor?"

"I have come on the matter of Thanos," Lady Summer replied. "And I am pleased that Lady Natalie is with you, this will make things much easier."

"May I ask how you know of her?" Frigga asked.

"Perhaps it is better if I explain who I am first," Lady Summer said. "As one from Midgard, Lady Natalie has no knowledge of me or my siblings."

She looked at Natalie, who felt something inside her responding to Lady Summer's power. She wasn't sure why her powers were practically singing, but she had a feeling she was about to find out.

Lady Summer smiled and said, "I see you have noticed something. I am Lady Summer, the physical embodiment of the season so named. I, along with my siblings, Lord Winter, Lady Autumn, and Lady Spring, are the guardians of all life in the Nine Realms. We are the second most powerful beings in the universe, after our mother, and the most powerful to take a physical form. We are also the original creators of the Dream Walker. When your family first began, the Aesir who had been banished to Midgard and took the name McKenzie had been stripped of his powers. We saw an opportunity in this, and approached him with an offer. In return for becoming our hand on Midgard, which at the time was overrun by supernatural creatures and superstition, he and his family would be blessed by us. Every generation, one of his descendants would become the Dream Walker, and this would ensure the safety of Midgard. For centuries, this remained the case, and then the humans took over Midgard completely. We were pleased that your family never forgot their heritage, though, so we allowed your family to keep the power gifted to them. We knew there would come a day when Midgard would require the Dream Walker's powers again, so we waited and watched your family. Now, that day is almost upon us."

"You mean because Thanos is coming?" Natalie asked.

"Yes," Lady Summer replied. "Originally, the task of erasing his existence from the universe was not going to be yours. We thought when your cousin Andrew was born, that he was our Chosen. Unfortunately, both for you and for us, Skuld, one of the Norns, decided to intervene, and Andrew died before we realized what Skuld had done. We did not get to her in time to save your cousin, and for that I apologize. I still am unsure of why Skuld thought it was within her rights to kill off one of our Chosen, but I believe it has something to do with your fate, Lady Natalie. Skuld may have seen your future as the Avengers' therapist, and decided to intervene, as they would be right in the middle of the fight in which your powers would be needed. And I must admit, it seems that you being the Dream Walker rather than your cousin has worked out far better than we could have hoped. We still do not condone the death of your cousin, but you have more than proven yourself worthy of the power gifted to you. That is why we gave you the gift of visions as well; you have proven yourself to be worthy of the title of our Chosen One."

"What does this entail, exactly?" Natalie asked, apprehensive.

"You will still have your visions and powers as the Dream Walker, though we have added a bit of power to that to erase the exhaustion problems you were having," Lady Summer said. "However, this power boost also allows my siblings and I to take over." Noticing Natalie was slightly freaked out, she said, "Do not worry; we would not do it unless it is a dire emergency. We added that on because of Thanos's imminent arrival on Midgard. My siblings and I cannot directly interfere with him- however, we can use a human as a conduit for our powers, to obliterate him once and for all. We felt that in order to get rid of Thanos, you would be our best hope for a conduit, as your power already comes from us and therefore it would not harm you to use more of our powers. We still need your permission, however."

Natalie thought about that, and suddenly an idea occurred to her. "May I make a request in return for you and your siblings being allowed to use me as a conduit?" she asked.

"I will hear this request," Lady Summer said.

"My friend, Tony Stark, has shrapnel in his chest, and I'm not entirely sure he can have an operation to get it out; if the arc reactor he created to keep the shrapnel from entering his heart was taken out or damaged, he would die within a few minutes," Natalie said. "I was wondering if it was possible to get the shrapnel and the arc reactor out without harming him, so he wouldn't have to live with this problem anymore."

Lady Summer looked intrigued, and asked, "May I ask why you want something for him, rather than yourself or Loki?"

"Tony's done so much for both me and Loki, and I feel like I haven't really given much back, besides being a listening ear," Natalie replied. "And he's my friend; I care about him and want him to be happy."

Lady Summer looked pleased, and said, "As long as you agree to become our conduit, I would be happy to grant this request. I will bring you back to Midgard and explain matters to your friends."

"Thank you, and I agree to your terms," Natalie said.

Lady Summer smiled, and then tilted her head. "Your friends appear to have succeeded in their endeavor," she said. "We should return."

"Already?" Natalie asked, startled.

"Time flows differently between the realms," Frigga explained.

"Oh," Natalie said.

Lady Summer held out a hand to her, and Natalie hesitantly took it. A minute later, they were standing in Tony's living room.

I know it's pretty short, but I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Natalie will not be turning into a super-powered Mary-Sue, by the way. She'll just be a conduit for the gods who need it, after which she'll be the same as she always was. Hope you enjoyed!