I wrote this by hand and reworked it some. Story time kiddies! Pop some corn and possibly grab some tissues. Also, I added some fluff near the end.~Lyn

A scream of total agony was heard throughout the helicarrier. It was a girl crying her heart out, as it was still shattering on the edges. She dusted herself off as she got up, headed to the holding chamber.

~A~

The holding chamber was quiet. Everything was cleaned up and the only things left were the hole in the wall and the blood stain. Tony was opposite of the entrance, staring far off. Steve was off to the right, leaning on the guard rail. And lastly, Ana was hidden by the controls in the room, with a knee up under her chin and the other slightly pointed forward.

"Did he have any family?" Steve asked into the silence.

"I don't think so. There was a uh...cellist, I think. Ana, can you clarify?" Tony said.

"Not anymore. Phil also had a thing for Agent Hill. The best thing about him is that he broke me out of my silence. He was the best surrogate big brother a girl could ask for, at least after Erik 'died'..." she trailed off.

"Who's Erik, if you don't mind me asking," Steve wondered.

"Erik is my real brother. He 'died' with my mum in a plane explosion in front of me."

The two men just stood there. Tony was speechless and had a million thoughts going through his mind. Steve, on the other hand, was wondering what on earth has this beautiful girl gone through in her short time.

"Can I ask how you got into this mess... thing with SHIELD?" asked Tony.

"It's a long story and I have to start from the beginning, but I think it's time for me to say it... He was on summer break from school in England, where I would go later the next month. He was one of the few, at the time, that I didn't have to wear contacts or sunglasses around. Or sit in solemn silence."

"You had to wear sunglasses and contacts?"

"My father didn't like things that weren't... normal. Also, I have light sensitivity and have 20/22 vision."

"But why contacts?"

"Normal Russians have either brown or blue eyes. My mum was french-english and had green eyes. Heterochromia can bite you in the arse. I'm surprise you didn't notice back when we were looking for the damn cube."

"Miss Ana, can you continue your story, please," asked Steve.

"Okay. I was at my bench in the garden, before I left with my mother and brother. It was six months after my fourteenth birthday."

"Sorry, ma'am, when is your birthday?"

"Limbo day," she said, as if it was the simplest thing ever.

"Explain more," Tony asked rather bluntly.

"Limbo means intermediate, transitional, and midway state or place. Limbo day is the exact day in between Christmas and New Year's Eve. So December 28th. May I continue?"

"Yes."

"Very well. I was seeing my mum and brother off for them to visit his mates in England. The night before mum told me a secret. My big brother, wasn't my true, blood brother. He was my half brother. Apparently my father found out, and so she told me to be careful. But she was too late.

"Like I said before, I going to see them off to England. I was about 150 feet away from their jet, standing next to the limo we rode in. The plane started up and... Boom. The plane exploded and the sky rained shrapnel and I was hit in the face by a piece of it. That is where I got the scars on my face and some others. My father forced me into cosmetic surgery, but I told the surgeons to keep the scars on my eyebrow and lip there."

The guys were speechless. Tony hated his father a little less now, and Steve felt sad, pity, and remorse for the innocent teen. He walked over to her, sat next to her on the floor, kissed her forehead, and hugged/cuddled her. Not one of those awkward 'I'm sorry' cuddle-hugs, but one of the ones that shows that they felt the pain also.

"Something bothered me before, how do you spend your birthday and you never got to the part with SHIELD," Tony asked.

"I tend to spend them alone. On occasion with capy-tain, my Ducati or my Aston Martin DB5, myself and a loaf of sourdough."

"Why alone? You know minus the others here and where are you usually around that time."

"I spend my Christmases in London or New York City and my birthdays are usually in Paris or Brooklyn. It just depends."

"Wait, Ana, where do you live exactly?" asked Steve, looking down at her, "And why are you all alone?"

"I have no set home. I own/inherited around five places around the world. I also happen to be as rich as Mr. Stark here. For the second part to your question, I'm alone because... I don't have family to spend it with. Other than that, I really don't know anymore. I'm just used to being alone, I guess."

"Is there any more to your story, miss?"

"Yes, there is more. It leads to the part where I join this trou de merde." (shithole)

"Go on then, tell us."

"Umm, okay, after the explosion, I ran to the hanger to call for a car, barefoot because it's easier for me to run that way, as you've seen before. Once in the car, I called the friend that my brother and mum were going to visit. And technically my fiance, but that doesn't matter at the moment. Anyway, I called Wren and told them that they were gone. And I would going there, dressed in black and even more silent than usual. He wondered why and realized what happened. I went home, not knowing my father wasn't planning on me even being alive. Apparently he never knew of my abrupt change of plans and was very disappointed when I did return. To put it simply, I was tortured for two days in the dungeon of the palace.

"I made a plan when I was let out with newfound hatred of my so called title and name. I snuck out with a group of blooming tourists a week after the funeral with only a rucksack, a bow, a set of clothes, and other things like money. I set out for Paris and my godfather's chateau before he died, but my father didn't realise I was gone until I was at the border of Russia. It's a week away by foot and if you only stop when necessary. I had met Loki in that week. From then on I stowed away on various forms of transportation to one of my favorite places in the world." she said. Tony rolled his eyes and huffed.

"Don't worry, Tony, it is almost over. After my fifteenth birthday, I enrolled into the sophomore class of a private school in New York City. Phil found me afterwards and whisked me away to the executive headquarters of Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Fury offered me a position which I re-invented with the division that no agent believes exists. An accomplishment, I dare say. As you heard, being royal sucks." Ana finished her story with a smirk and an American accent.

"Question, what are you going to do after this?"

"First off, graduate high school. You guys are welcome to go cause the only one was going come is dead or busy with finals... Go on my very first date, umm… partially claim my crown, fall in love, possibly start a revolution, and -eventually- die happy."

"You said you met Loki when you were running. Is that why your actions around him are that way? And what can you tell us about his character," pressed Tony.

"Correct, yes, and he likes to put on a show. The bigger the better."

"So what you're saying is he wants an audience."

"Yes…?"

"Right. We all caught his little show in Germany," Steve added.

"Yeah. That was just the previews, this is...this is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tail diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered- son of a bitch! Suit up, including you princess."

"Oi!"

~A~

Steve was down in the barracks of the Helicarrier gathering the rest of the team. He had already gotten Clint and Natasha to get ready and was on his way to Missy's room. He found it next to Ana's and the difference between the two was the sheer amount of computer monitors in it. "Hey, Missy, I was wondering if you could help Clint in watching the streets in the city."

"Sure, pretty boy. Oh, howdy Ana."

"'Ello people. What?" Ana questioned as she was messing with a long, armored arm sleeve on her right arm that covered up to her elbow. A different type of glove covered her left middle and ring fingers. Her hair was in a messy ponytail with a pair of sleek sunglasses in it and she was dressed in something like a SHIELD issued cat suit, but the the top was in a runner's tank. Strapped to her back and torso was a quiver with arrow feathers, a bow, and a sword hilt poking up from over her left shoulder. Open-backed fingerless gloves hung open from a pocket of the utility belt across her waist. A pair of black knee-high combat boots were donned on her feet.

Steve, acting like the teenager of today (remember he's 19), placed a hard kiss on her lips and turned it into a make-out session against the door frame. Ana wrapped her arms around his neck and her finger tangled into his hair. He pulled her up higher on the door and her legs wrapped around his waist lightly. They broke off when they heard Missy's coughs coming from inside the room. Missy, smirking, spoke sarcastically saying, "Wow. I didn't expect a show before dinner. If you want to keep going I'll play some music. I can call Fury and have him install a love seat, it'd definitely be more comfortable. Then you can just stay here and suck face all day. It's not like I have work to do or that there's a crazy god you need to go punch in the face or anything. Get your own room kiddies, preferably after the mission."

The couple looked away from each other blushing as Ana slid down from the door and flipped Missy the bird. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to the reactions of people my age today."

"Well, you're on par..."

"Umm, anyway we need to get to the hanger. Clint's flying." Ana responded with a quick kiss to his cheek, grabbed his hand, and started dragging him out the door. They met up with the other two, since Tony was flying his suit in, and made their way to get a plane. The group walks up, but were stopped by a young pilot.

Ana gave him the look of death and shooed him away with her hands. When the pilot didn't budge, she grabbed him by the ear and shoved him out. It was quite a funny sight because she was half a foot shorter and the pilot was left stuttering with a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Well, what are you waiting for!? Let's go." Plane took off and four were off to a battle.