So here we are, lovelies, at the next installment of my little endeavor. Hope you all like the story so far and that what I have planned for future chapters will be just as interesting for you ;)

One mention before we get started... actually three xD

First, there is no Loki in this chapter, this one is all about Kara. I know some of you might be disappointed by the fact that he won't show up for the moment, but Kara herself needs some development and y'all already know everything about Loki xD But don't worry, lovelies, he'll be back next chapter ;)

Second, I'll be posting replies to reviews at the end of each chapter (well at the end of the chapters where I get them) so those of you, my lovely readers, who review my story, keep an eye open after you're done reading and you just might see a direct reply from me to your review ;)

And third, for anyone who wants to chat with me or just see the face behind my pen name (although you might get nightmares... you have been warned xD) you can reach me on Twitter - my Twitter name is on my profile page- so don't hesitate to come talk to me, lovelies~ :D

But for now, on with the story! :D

P.S. Every Thor/The Avengers/Thor: The Dark World character belongs to the wonderful Marvel. I own nothing, except my OCs :)

Entry #3

Yes, there was no other place she'd rather be than in his embrace that made her feel so safe and wanted.

OoO

Location: Darien, Connecticut, U.S.A. / S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier

Date: October 31 / November 01, 2003

The night was young and Kara was entirely looking forward to the Halloween party that Maria was going to have at her house. After all, she needed something to distract her from the fact that Loki's visits had become rarer than ever during those past months. If she allowed her mind to dwell on that for too long, she would always start stringing all sorts of thoughts – some far worse than others – and that left her feeling as if her sanity was steadily slipping away, like water dripping from a cracked glass.

"Mom, have you seen my bracelet?" she called out from her room.

It was also one of the rare nights when her mother had arrived early from work. Within moments the female stepped into the room holding the piece of jewelry.

"Here, honey... you left it in the living room." she smiled.

Exhaling a relieved breath, the girl retrieved it and set it around her wrist again.

"Thanks, mom, I thought I'd lost it..."

"I don't see why you're this fond of it, it's just a bracelet."

"I told you I got it from someone very special to me..." she smiled.

Lowering her gaze she now trailed her fingers along the delicate string; indeed it was simplistic in its nature – a strand of silver and one of gold braided together until they converged around a small emerald – but to her it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

"I wish you'd tell me who this boy is." Michaela replied.

"Who said it was a boy?"

"Come on, honey... girls don't give jewelry like this to other girls." she winked.

Feeling a bit of blush rising in her cheeks, the girl again lowered her eyes.

"I won't pressure you into it, but I would like to meet the guy who caught my daughter's eye."

"He's... not really from around here..."

"Is he a foreigner? Where did you meet him? At school?"

"Uhm... no, we met... on the street... uh..."

Fortunately her stuttering was interrupted by the cell phone ringing on her desk, informing her that Maria was losing her patience.

"Mom, I gotta go, Maria's here. We'll talk later, okay?"

Rolling her eyes at the girl's elusiveness, the woman now smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Take care, honey... don't party too hard."

"Promise... love you, mom." she smiled, kissing the woman's cheek in return.

"Love you too... now get outta here."

Grinning the girl grabbed her cell phone and rushed downstairs to join her friend, leaving Michaela to watch them from her bedroom window.

OoOoO

It was near midnight when Alice alerted Kara that her mother was calling on her cell phone.

"Thanks, I'll go outside for a minute and see if she's okay."

Stepping out in front of the house to have some silence from the loud music inside, the girl now flicked the phone out of her pocket just when it had started ringing again.

"Yeah mom, what's wrong?" she asked with a smile.

Surely the woman was just being overly cautious and had decided to check up on her. The deep, coarse voice that replied, however, definitely did not belong to her mother.

"Can little Kara come out to play?"

Before she could reply, the male started laughing as though he was amused by his own joke; a mocking, high pitched, weird sort of cackle that brought the image of an insane clown in her mind, while her heart suddenly began fluttering in her chest like a caged bird.

"Who is this?" she frowned.

Her first thought was that something had happened to her mother, given that whoever she was talking to had used the woman's own cell phone to call her.

"How about you come here and we'll have a little... family reunion? Mommy's dying to see you... just don't bring the police or I can't guarantee you'll have her back in just one piece."

"If you lay a finger on her, you'll regret the day you were born." she growled.

Hanging up with the guy's maniacal cackle still ringing in her ears, she stuffed the phone back into her pocket and rushed along the street toward her house. Lately she'd been training the telekinetic powers she had discovered in herself; she was pretty sure of her control over them, though definitely not enough to be certain that she could stop a bullet if that scumbag was armed.

Ten minutes later she was almost at the house when her running pace was brought to a sudden halt by a hand covering her mouth and an arm wrapping around her waist, dragging her into the shadows.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you..."

The strained male voice resounding in her ear as she struggled to break loose, made her turn her head to look over her shoulder although she could barely see anything in the dark.

"I'll let you go, but please don't scream and allow me to explain myself."

Settling down the girl finally nodded; after all, any hope of someone helping her was better than rushing into that house alone, no matter how much her instinct urged her to just go there and save her mother. Taking a deep breath once her mouth was free again, she now turned to the male who stepped somewhat into the light so that she could see his face.

"My name is Phil Coulson... I'm an agent working for S.H.I.E.L.D."

"And... that's supposed to mean what to me?" she replied utterly puzzled.

"We've already got your house surrounded, your mother's not hurt but we need a way to get her out."

For a moment Kara was so relieved at the news that her mother was alright, that she felt as if she would melt into the ground beneath her.

"Oh, thank God..." she whispered.

Now with that cloud of concern off her mind she was finally able to think clearly again, as displayed by her reply to the man before her.

"I'll go inside and see who he is and what he wants... and I'll see if I can convince him to come out. You just keep your men ready."

"Are you sure you want to go in there? We still don't know what his purpose is... but we have identified him as Glenn Taylor."

The mere sound of that name hit Kara like a rock in the head.

"Who?" she finally breathed out.

"I don't know if your parents ever told you, but your father has a younger brother. He ran away from home as a teenager and got involved with all the wrong people. A few years before he left, your father put him in prison. We received a report yesterday that he had escaped, so we set out a watch on your house, but it looks like we were too late."

"My father works with you? Do you know where he is?"

Shaking his head, Coulson sighed lightly.

"No, your father is not part of S.H.I.E.L.D. and he's not the reason we were tracking your family. In fact, you are... but we'll talk after we finish here. I'll explain everything, because after this we'll need to take you into protective custody."

"You'd better have a damn good explanation for all this madness..." she retorted.

Smiling lightly, the male now handed her a tiny earpiece before finally letting her move into the house.

"Mom...?" she called out lightly, upon entering the dark hallway.

Even the knowledge that her house was surrounded by what she assumed were trained agents wasn't too comforting. Really, there was nothing more she wished at that moment than to have Loki there with her; but he was worlds away and she couldn't exactly ask that bastard to wait until she took a nap so as to try and contact the Æsir.

"My, my... look at you... such a beautiful niece and my brother never once mentioned you to me."

The male voice she recognized by now alerted her that the man was likely standing in the doorway leading to the living room.

"Where's my mother?"

"Oh, don't worry... Michaela's okay, for now. She's just a bit... tied up at the moment."

As she cautiously approached the living room, the light was suddenly turned on, blinding her for a moment. Blinking to let her gaze adjust she then found herself staring in shock at the ransacked room before her, and her mother tied to a chair in the middle of all that chaos, a piece of fabric tied over her mouth.

"Mom..."

Rushing to her side, she quickly checked for any injuries, only startled from that task by the male voice now resounding behind her.

"Hm... you look better than I'd thought, now that I see you up close."

Her gaze darted back to the man who was now standing in the doorway; in one sweep she took in his disheveled hair, the dirty rags hanging loosely onto his skinny body, his emaciated face. He also looked sickly and for a moment Kara had the wild thought that in a direct physical confrontation even she could have taken him down, but the gun he was holding made her second guess her initial intention... or perhaps it was the feral spark in his black eyes that otherwise resembled two pools of void, which even made her gulp lightly; it truly felt as if she was watching a predator ready to pounce at any moment. Still, she moved in between him and her mother, using her own body as a shield.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanted to visit my brother... Michaela didn't want to tell me where he is, but maybe you'll be more cooperative." he smiled, in a way that sent a cold shiver down Kara's spine.

"I don't know where father is... he left when I was little, without telling us where he was going." she spat out.

When his smile faded and she caught a twinkle of sheer insanity in his gaze, the girl clenched her jaw in an attempt to keep her cool; if she lost her head, he would kill them both, likely not in a quick manner judging by the thoughts she could decipher out of the twisting mass in his mind.

"Why would you lie to your beloved uncle?" he asked whilst taking a tentative step toward her. "Didn't your father ever teach you that telling the truth is better?"

Before she could reply, she was nearly startled out of her shoes by the sound of a window shattering upstairs. Cursing under his breath, the male now swiftly moved to her; the last thing Kara saw was his raised arm before a splitting pain erupted in the side of her head, where he had hit her with the butt of his pistol, making her knees give way and her body collapse to the floor. For a second she thought she would black out, and fortunately the male seemed to think she had done just that.

"Don't go anywhere..." he smiled to Michaela before carefully walking out of the room to go check the upper floor.

Once he was out of her sight the girl sat up holding her head that now hurt as if someone had sliced it open.

"Kara..."

The echoing voice made her turn her painful gaze to the window, where she spotted Coulson climbing into the room. She felt as if she was seeing everything in slow motion as the agent grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet, before producing a pocket knife and starting to cut the ropes around her mother. Shaking her head to clear it, Kara moved toward the doorway in an attempt to retrieve a knife from the kitchen, only to be frozen in her steps by the sound of a gunshot at the upper floor followed by Glenn's enraged voice.

"You little bitch! I told you not to bring the police!"

"I'm done, let's go..." Coulson suddenly said, grabbing the girl's arm again.

Whirling her around he now dragged her toward the window where Michaela was desperately reaching out for her.

"Come on, honey..."

Even as Coulson dragged her across the room, Kara felt as if there was someone else walking in her body and she realized the shock of that night was finally settling in. Briefly she caught a glimpse of several armed agents closing in on the window, guns at the ready, whilst Coulson was speaking into his earpiece, although her mind was too stunned to understand what he was saying.

"What the hell is this?"

The insane shout behind her had her turn around almost involuntarily, to see Glenn pointing the pistol at her. She heard the gunshot and saw the bullet leaving the firearm, and her body froze whilst her mind filled with only one thought... she was going to die. Like in a dream she heard someone shouting her name before a dark figure crossed her sight and she felt a pair of arms hugging her tightly. Her first thought was that Loki had saved her again somehow, through some miracle. But then she realized that the one embracing her wasn't a male.

"M... mom...?" she exhaled shakily.

"It's okay, honey..." she whispered soothingly, stroking the girl's hair. "It's okay... everything's okay..."

Another gunshot, followed by the sound of a body falling to the floor, startled her and instinctively had her wrap her arms around her mother; when her hands settled onto the woman's back, however, she frowned in confusion at the wet sensation there and raised a hand only to stare in shock at the blood dripping along her palm.

"Mom..."

"Be a good girl, okay? I love you..."

Michaela's whisper in the girl's ear was followed by her body finally going limp in Kara's embrace, the weight forcing Kara to her knees. Tearing her gaze away from her bloodied hand, the girl now stared in utter shock at her mother's body. All she knew was that she wanted to scream... just to scream as loud as she could, and release the pain in her chest which made her feel as if her heart had literally been shredded. But she couldn't...

She barely even felt Coulson embracing her; she barely even heard the stomping of several agents as they rushed into the house to retrieve Glenn's dead body from where he had fallen after Coulson had shot him in the head; in fact she barely even remembered how to breathe at that moment.

OoOoO

"How is she?"

"I'm not sure, Director... she was still in shock when we got here; one of our doctors gave her a mild sedative, she's asleep for now."

Exhaling a slight sigh, Fury averted his gaze from Coulson to the girl lying in bed before them.

"Well let me know how she is when she wakes up."

"Yes, sir."

About an hour after Fury had left the door to the girl's medical ward opened again, to reveal one of the other agents.

"Oh, it's you Barton..." Coulson said upon sighting the man.

"This the kid?" he asked, nodding to the girl.

"Yes, this is Kara Taylor, the girl we've been monitoring for the past few years."

"I heard what happened tonight... you think she'll get over it?"

"I can't say... her mother died in her arms; that's not really something you get over that easily."

"Heard Fury's planning to make her an agent... well if she keeps her sanity after this. Read her file earlier... it says she has some... unusual abilities."

"That's precisely why we've been tracking her; Director Fury had a meeting with the Council a while back. They said that her specific gift is much too dangerous to be left alone. He refused to kill her... they told him it's either that or he makes her one of our agents so we can keep an eye on her. I'll be in charge of her while she's here."

Looking to his fellow agent, Barton now curved a corner of his lips into a somewhat jesting smirk.

"I feel sorry for her already..."

OoOoO

"How are you feeling?"

Shadowing her eyes from the bright lights, Kara shot a quizzical glance to the source of the male voice; it took her a moment to recognize Coulson who was standing next to the bed she had been laid in.

"Wh... where am I?"

And why did her voice sound so groggy, as if she'd been drugged?

"You're in the medical wing, on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. You were still in shock when we brought you here, so you probably don't remember that. A doctor examined you and gave you a mild sedative to let you rest for a bit. Fortunately you only got a lump to your head; he didn't hit you hard enough to cause any severe damage."

When she failed to reply, being too busy trying to fully awaken from the drugs, the agent offered her a somewhat concerned glance.

"What's your name?"

"I thought you already knew my name..."

"I know your name. I want to see if you remember your name."

"Kara... Kara Taylor..."

"Good. The doctor will want to scan for any internal head injuries anyway, but it's a good sign that you still remember who you are."

Helping her when she attempted to sit up, he once more clasped his hands in front of himself, unable to change his concerned expression.

"Do you remember what happened earlier?"

His words almost instantly brought tears to her eyes, as her mind began replaying the events of that night.

"I wish I didn't..."

Taking a moment to glance around after finally shaking off that hazy veil from her mind, she wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"So how long am I staying here?"

"I can't say yet. But I'll be in charge of you while you're here." Coulson replied, making his best attempt at a reassuring smile.

Setting a hand onto her shoulder, he again smiled once she focused on him.

"I know it's hard to believe it right now, but everything's going to be alright. So long as you don't give up the fight, nothing can keep you down forever."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Location: S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier

Date: December 20, 2003

Seated upon a flight of metallic stairs, Kara was watching the first true blizzard of that winter. For a short while the erratic yet mesmerizing dance of snowflakes amidst the grey clouds managed to entrance her; but as always, her mind soon turned back to that last night in her home, soon triggering tears from her hollowed eyes.

She had met Fury and he had explained that they wanted to train her so that she could become a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and – while she had agreed due to not really having anywhere else to go – she still felt out of place. Coulson, Barton and Maria Hill – whom she had later found out was Fury's most trusted agent – and even Fury himself had done all in their power to help her get through her grief, but with only mild success.

By day she felt like an empty shell... at night she was plagued by nightmares as her mind relived the moment of her mother's death again and again, slowly driving her insane. She assumed that was the reason why she couldn't seem to get in touch with Loki anymore, despite the fact that she felt like she needed no one else more right now. While she was grateful that everyone had offered so much of their time to her, there was no one else's care that she craved more than Loki's.

But he wasn't there and she felt so alone that sometimes all she wanted was to scream out across the heavens until her throat became raw and started bleeding; perhaps then he would hear her... perhaps then he would see how she had knelt beneath the weight of her sorrow... perhaps then he would come to take her hand and get her back on her feet. Or perhaps he would consider her pathetic and weak, and would scold her for it; but even that was better than his utter absence which – in short – terrified her.

"Hey, you okay?"

Looking to the male who had spoken to her, Kara now smiled as much as she could at the sight of Clint approaching her.

"Yeah... I guess so..."

Sitting next to her on the stairs, the blue eyed archer watched her in silence for a short while.

"You know... I never was too good with words, but I think you should try to move on already. I doubt she would've wanted to see you moping around all depressed."

"She was my..."

While she had meant to say that her mother had been her whole world, Kara now found that the words refused to leave her throat; was it because her mother had no longer been her entire universe of late? Had she actually allowed Loki to occupy such a vast space of her heart over time?

"She was my mother..." she finally said. "I don't see how I could just move on..."

"Moving on doesn't mean you forget, though..." Barton replied. "But your mother died so that you could be here right now. I think you should at least try to live your life; she must've wanted that, otherwise she wouldn't have jumped in front of that bullet for you."

Even now he still had no idea how Coulson and Hill had convinced him to have this talk with the girl; he couldn't say that he knew too much about his own parents. But both of his colleagues had agreed that he was the best suited one for that task, for a reason that was beyond him.

With the silence stretching on, he briefly examined her expression and decided to press the matter a bit more, hoping that he wouldn't trigger a violent reaction from her. She had recently discovered that she could use her telekinesis to levitate her own body; and quite frankly, he didn't really fancy the idea of an irate flying opponent whom he wouldn't be able to hit in return and who could throw a table at him – or worse – just by thinking it.

"You have a unique set of gifts, Kara... and I think you can use them to live your life in a way that would make your mother very proud. Think about it... okay?"

Patting her shoulder after those words, he now finally stood and walked away leaving Kara with her own thoughts. Once he was gone, the girl averted her gaze back to the sky surrounding the Helicarrier. Was Barton right in what he had told her? She did wonder now if her mother would be proud of her, should she make use of her gifts in service of S.H.I.E.L.D. After all, Fury had said their job was to keep the peace throughout the world; but was that really the best choice for her?

"As if I have another..." she muttered to herself.

Still, she realized she had to do something with her life, because she couldn't let it go to waste after her mother had sacrificed herself to save her. Even as she thought that, she felt her will steeling again; yes, she would train to become an agent and she would make sure to survive... it was the least she could do to honor her mother's memory.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Location: S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier

Date: March 03, 2005

"Kara? Can I come in for a minute?"

Raising her eyes from the files she had been studying, the girl smiled lightly at the male voice coming from behind the door.

"Sure, Phil..."

With the door now sliding open, the agent stepped into the room with a slight smile.

"Director Fury would like to see you in his office."

Narrowing her eyes in thought at the man's expression, she finally widened them while her own lips now quivered in their attempt to curve upwards as she read his mind.

"Really?" she asked, almost breathless with emotion.

"He's been very impressed with how fast you and well you developed. I think you'll make a great agent..."

Steadying himself when the girl lunged into his arms, he then chuckled and embraced her.

"Oh, here..." he said after she released him, handing her what looked like a jewelry box. "Happy birthday..."

"Phil, you really didn't have to..."

"I know..." he smiled in jest. "But I wanted to."

Chuckling lightly, the girl now unwrapped her gift and widened her eyes at the diamond studded necklace inside.

"Oh my God... this wasn't just your idea, was it?" she asked, narrowing her eyes playfully at him.

"Well... Natasha might've had her own contribution to it..."

Shifting beneath her pointed gaze he raised his hands in defense.

"Okay, okay I surrender... everyone contributed to this."

"Really, you guys are incorrigible..." she smiled, shaking her head.

"Not the word I was looking for." the male chuckled.

Setting the box onto the table, she then rushed out past the agent, placing a kiss to his cheek in the process.

"Thank you!" she called out as she rushed down the hallway toward Fury's office.

Upon arriving there she pressed the scanner button next to the door, waiting for the AI to grant her access. With the door sliding open she now stepped into the office where Fury was standing before the large windows, watching the clear sky.

"You really should stop spoiling me..." she stated in jest, halting before the man's desk.

"Well, I guess we all kind of gave in to our parental instincts. And it's not every day that you turn eighteen and become an adult."

With those words, the male finally turned to face her.

"Agents Barton and Romanoff informed me of your latest development. And, after discussing it with the Council, we believe you're finally ready to become an official agent."

"Does that mean I won't be stuck in the belly of this metallic whale 24/7?" she chuckled.

"It does." Fury replied, seating himself. "Here's your first external assignment... happy birthday."

Grinning, the girl practically ripped the file from his hand only to feel her smile drop as she read the contents.

"Bodyguard for the Greek Prime Minister...? Are you kidding?"

"You'll be working with agent Romanoff on this; we have Intel that he's being targeted by a group of anarchists. He has to attend a meeting with the British Prime Minister and your job is to keep him alive."

"Yes sir..." she droned on.

"Kara, don't rush it... you'll get to the big assignments in due time. I can't send you out on a mission with high levels of danger before you grasp the feeling of being on the field, because I refuse to get you killed."

"I know..." the girl finally replied somewhat softer than before. "I guess I'm just sick of being on this ship all the time and doing boring assignments."

"Well good things come to those who wait..." Fury retorted with a slight smile.

Chuckling when the girl stuck her tongue out at him in annoyance, he then waved her off watching as she left his office while examining the file again. He could only hope that she was indeed ready for field missions and that he would not come to regret his decision.

So, as promised my lovelies... today's replies:

1. Emily - Thank you so much, darling. I'm happy that you liked the way I portrayed Loki, since I always am a bit hesitant whenever I start uploading a new fanfic. I can never be certain if I'll get the canon characters' personalities right, but I'm glad to hear I nailed it for Loki ;) Hope you'll enjoy the story from now on as well and don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or if you find something that you don't feel I got right in the story line :D

2. Mrs Sorbo - I'm really glad you enjoy the story, hun. To be honest, I'm contemplating on whether or not I should tweak the ending in a way that would let Kara live, but we'll see... I don't wanna spoil anything ;) As I said to Emily, don't hesitate to PM me or leave a review if you have any questions or just anything you want say regarding the story.

So these are my replies for today. Cheers, lovelies~ ( ˘ ³˘)❤