An update! That's right, folks, an update! Ok, again, another acknowledgement to SiriuslyAddictedtoReading for being such a beautiful beta-reader! Now, I have updated ALL of these past chapters, so I HIGHLY recommend you go back and re-read them. I changed a name, and added bits to the story line. Remember, R&R!

I finally dozed off, and it seemed like the first time I had slept in days. I was thoroughly exhausted. I tried to keep my eyelids from closing, but the Tesseract assured me that even though I would be sleeping, she would be alert.

¨Promise you'll wake me if Loki comes?¨

¨I promise, Ava,¨ she assured me.

Her minty voice swept over my mind like a velvet cloth, and I fell into a deep sleep.

It wasn't until the next day I awoke, and I only knew because the Tesseract was keeping track of time for me. According to her precise measurements, I had slept for 22 hours, 32 minutes, and 14 seconds. Very precise indeed. I blinked sleepily, and looked around the room. Fortunately, I had a fantastic view of most of Manhattan. I had a very good idea of what was going on out there. The only thing that was interesting was Stark flying toward the building in his hot rod red suit. I followed him with my eyes, and he disappeared, and I heard the machine taking off his suit. Loki came inside from the walk outside the clear glass windows.

"Well, look who's awake," he purred.

"How about you let me out and I'll just punch you in the face?" I knew it wasn't going to happen, but I had to stay tough.

Loki just chuckled darkly, and Tony Stark himself waltzed into the bar area. His eyes narrowed when he saw me.

"Kid?" he asked.

"Tony," I replied.

"Hey, you talk!"

"Forget about that. Can you get me out of here?"

"Wait a second, kid."

I harrumphed, but observed quietly as Tony engaged Loki. He baited and jibbed at him, and I watched with interest. Well, I couldn't hear what they were saying. I could tell by the look on their faces. Suddenly, Loki's hand flew around Tony and threw him out the window. I stared in horror, and scream stuck in my throat. I saw a suit follow Tony out the jagged hole in the glass and I knew he'd be back up any second. He was.

"And there's someone else you pissed off." His words are clear as day. "His name is Phil."

Tony fired a shot at Loki and hit him straight in the chest. Tony flew (hummed, buzz, rocketed?) over to the bubble.

"Kid, are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. And I have a name."

"Well, what is it?"

"Ava," I stated firmly.

"Ava? I'll have to get you a nickname. Now, as for this bubble... JARVIS, can I get an analysis on this? We need to- oof!"

"Tony!" I yelled.

Loki was back up, and he had shot repeatedly at Tony's back. The suit crackled with blue energy, and Tony retreated with a meaningful look at me. He'd be back.

"We'll have to start, control or no," Loki growled.

My bubble followed the pale god to the roof, and I floated over to the machine. Dr. Selvig powered up the machine.

I contacted the Tesseract. "What do I do? Help me!"

"Ava, I cannot," she said coolly.

"Why? You must help me!" I was frantic.

She was silent. My body was warped, and I was forced into the machine. The machine locked me into place, and no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't get loose. The machine whirred and clicked. Excruciating pain whizzed through my veins. A blood-curdling scream leapt from my throat as a beam of energy shot from my chest. A portal opened with a blaze in the sky. Chitauri poured out of it.

Tears leaked from my eyes, which were dull, with barely a spark of life. My muscles, which had been straining against the restraints, were limp. My head had rolled so it resting upon my left shoulder. Black tinged the edge of my vision, and I wondered dimly if I was going to die.

I heard Loki laugh maniacally. I had to stop this. I was slowly learning how the Tesseract worked. I felt her buried in my mind; trying to trick me into thinking she wasn't awake. But I knew she was. I dragged her to the front of my mind.

"You are going to help me, whether you like it or not! You forced yourself into my body, and you've seriously screwed up my life, so start talking! Or, if you're too stubborn for that, a User's Guide would be helpful." I yelled at her.

The Tesseract sighed softly. "Very well. If you try to close the portal, you will destroy yourself from the inside out. You are not experienced enough yet. Instead, you need to transfer the energy to something else. There is a small space located on the machine, about one cubic inch in size. You can transfer a bit of energy into the hole and the machine will take care of the rest."

"Ok, let me see..." I screw up my brow in thought. I focused a pinch of energy on the cuffs holding me in place. They popped open. I forced myself off of the plate. The portal shooting from my chest almost threw me off balance, but I moved the energy to the palm of my hand instead.

"What if I just dropped it?" I wondered.

"It's not that simple. Chitauri are shoving their way through the portal. You need to stem the flow. Once you do that, you can shrink the portal until it vanishes." The Tesseract sounded irritated. Oh, well.

I let some energy stream out of my fingertips and into the machine. I felt lighter. "Can I heal myself? I should jump into battle able to fight."

"Yes, you can. The Tesseract is concentrated over you heart. If you release the energy and let it flow through your limbs, it will be easier to control, and you will automatically heal."

"You coulda told me sooner..." As I released the energy, I realized something. Every time I speak to the Tesseract, I'm speaking to her in my head. Am I going crazy?

The Tesseract snorted. I ignored her. Instead, I created another blue surfboard and floated down to join the fight.