She slet in a room in the security ward with a rotation of one member of the team guarding her. When Tony was there, he just texted Pepper. When Bruce, Natasha, or Clint was there, Ava chatted with them until she drifted off. When Steve was there, he put the chair right next to her bed and stroked her hair until she fell asleep. Thor was the only one excused, as he was off in Asgard getting information about Loki and Hela and what they might be up to.
Meanwhile, the newspapers speculated at the return of Loki ('Can the Avengers Protect Us Again?'), the identity of the 'mysterious' blonde woman('Girlfriend, Wife, Fellow Evildoer?'), and who was with Captain America ('A New Superhero?').
One night, as Ava was trying to sleep and Tony was on guard duty, she spoke up and said something to him.
"Tony?" She said, half hoping that he was already dozing.
"Yes? Do you need to use the bathroom again?"
"No...I just wanted to talk."
"I can call Steve if you want." His voice had a slight edge of panic.
"No, I wnat to talk to you."
Tony sighed quietly. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Just that I don't think that you're as much of a jerk as you on You can be really mean, but I think that you are because you're actually really sensitive and just don't want to get hurt."
There was a short pause. "And what makes you think that?" He said skeptically.
"I don't really know. I just feel like your suit is sort of a metaphor. Like, you have this infinitely strong outer shell, but as soon as you take that away, you're human underneath just like the rest of us. You still give in to jealous and sadness, like everyone else."
"My suit isn't infinitely strong." Was all he said.
Ava shrugged in the darkness. "It was just a thought," she said, rolling over. "nothing more." She sighed and began drifting off.
~~At Stark Tower~~
In the morning, Ava was woken suddenly from a deep sleep by Tony shaking her. He explained that Thor had returned and they had back to Stark Tower immediately.
Ava changed her clothes, brushed her teeth and hair, and was hurried to the car by an anxious Tony, who obviously wasn't used to being the last to know. They rushed there, and upon arrival Tony dragged Ava out of the car and into the building and up the top floor where everyone was waiting. Tony immediately started talking.
"So, what's happening? Sorry for being late, by the way. Ava takes forever to get ready." To this, Ava just rolled her eyes.
Thor was pacing at the other end of the room, worry etched into his features. "What I've heard is not good. Hela has completely abandoned her post, Hel is in disarray, and Loki managed to dupe his guards which is why I wasn't aware of his disappearance until that night. No one knows what their plan is, but most everyone told me to not try and oppose them. Hela will only attack when the balance of life and death is upset, meaning too many have died in battle or vice versa. As that isn't happening right now, we can only assume she's trying to stop it happening in the near future. But what is has to do with you, Ava, I have no idea."
Everyone sat in silence. Natasha finally spoke up. "Until we know what their plan is, we can only do one thing: prepare ourselves. We must continue training." Everyone looked at Ava, who looked uneasy.
"I don't know..." She said slowly. "I know I can always get better, but...I don't think it'll help. We have two gods teamed up against us. We can't possibly fight them, even if 'm the strongest I can be. And even if we do defeat them, Hela still needs to do her job and look after all the dead souls and Loki can escape prison. It would be pointless."
"Nothing we do is pointless." Steve said, a bit harshly. "Every bead of sweat, every drop of blood, every life lost, it's for something. To try and take out all the evil in the world."
Ava looked around the room, hurt. "You don't have to be mean about it, jeez. I'm just saying that even if we use everything we have and defeat them, they're going to keep doing what they're trying to right now! Hela may be completely insane, but she's trying to keep some sort of giant battle happening! Maybe...maybe what they're trying to do is actually good. Maybe we should...wait a bit and see what they're trying to do. There might be a real threat." She looked down, avoiding everyone's eyes. There was absolute silence.
"I think she has a point." Bruce said, breaking the pause. "It's very possible that they might actually have caught wind of something major."
"I...I agree with Ava." Tony said, suprising everyone. Ava looked up at him and he smiled at her.
Natasha didn't look sold. "It would be best to wait and learn what they're up to." Thor and Clint nodded in agreement, but Steve stood rigid.
"That means we'll have to do lots of spying and everything, right?" Ava said, looking to Bruce, who nodded at her. "Then um, Natasha and Clint, you guys are the best at that, so maybe you could like...try and find where Loki and Hela are...?" She looked over at Natash and Clint.
"Of course." Natasha said. "We'll leave and get right on that." She looked at Clint and then turned and left, and he was right behind her.
"So then we all just kind of sit around and what...wait?" Ava asked.
Tony smirked. "Pretty much, until we know what they're doing and can attack or whatever the situation calls for." Ava nodded, looking out of it.
Suddenly, Steve turned on his heel and walked out, slamming the door behind him. Ava snapped right back to attention and looked around at everyone, then quickly ran after him. She caught up to him by the elevator.
"Steve!" She yelled, reaching the doors just as they were closing. She stuck her arm out and they opened a second after touching her arm. She put her hands up on the walls to keep them open. "Steve, what's the matter?" She said, looking concerned, but Steve wouldn't look at her. "Are...are you angry at me?" She said, her voice soft.
Finally he looked up at her, a look of pity crossed his face, but his expression returned to anger a second later. "Yes, I'm angry!"
"But...why? I don't understand."
"Because...because you completely emasculated me! You took charge! I've always been the one to do that! You're just a kid!" He said angrily, glaring at her.
Ava looked shocked. She just stood there staring at him. Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "F-fine!" She said, her voice shaky. "I'm sorry I'm not the kind of woman who just stands around and looks stupid! Why don't-" Her voice broke and she gave a single sob. "Why don't you just go back to the 40's?" She yelled, dropping her hands and letting the elevator doors close. When she heard the whirring of the machine moving the car, Ava leaned against the walled and cried quietly, holding herself.
~~Loki's Hideout~~
Loki was frustrated. Hela simply wasn't understanding his brilliant plan. He decided to try to explain it just one more time. "The Immortal is weak. She can be easily defeated. If we bring her out before she is ready and dispatch her, we have nothing to worry about. Do you understand now?" at long last, Hela nodded.
"But how do we bring her out? She can only be released when the Shell is ready."
"Simple!" Loki said, laughing heartily. "We cause the the Shell to perform an act to trick the Immortal into thinking that she is ready, then we destroy her!"
"But father, won't that destroy the shell...?"
"Have no pity for the human, Hela. It's childish. Her mind will be destroyed by the taking over. And when the Immortal would leave the Shell for another, stronger host, there will be nothing left in her head. In a way, this is more humane." The word sounded odd on his lips, or so Loki thought.
Hela nodded, looking out the window and feeling a pang of guilt. "Yes, humane."
~~S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ~~
It had been weeks since Ava had talked to any of the Avengers besides Tony and Bruce. Clint and Natasha were off looking for Loki and Hela, Thor was back in Asgard waiting for any news of his brother and niece, and Steve had been avoiding her. Ava stayed in the room in Security that she had been given temporarily. It was bare and white, but she didn't care. For the first time in a long time, she felt lonely. She had always been excluded from most of the world, even before her parents died. They home-schooled her and discouraged her from leaving the house, but she had never felt truly alone.
Bruce and Tony had heard Ava and Steve's fight. They had no idea what to do for her but try and make her happy. Bruce spent much of the day with her in her room, playing card and board games together. Tony tried to take her places, but S.H.I.E.L.D. never approved it, and even so Ava probably wouldn't have left the facility.
One day, Tony decided to visit her while Bruce was doing work in the lab. He walked into the room, carrying a pizza box. Ava laid there, barely looking up. He set the item down on the floor and sat in the only chair in the room.
"Ava?" He said, waving is hand in front of her face.
"I'm not asleep, Tony. I'm just trying not to think."
"Well, that's pretty much impossible. Why don't you eat some pizza? It's your favorite, mushroom with extra cheese."
"Not hungry." She said, rolling over to face the wall.
"Come on, please at least try? I got it from this place that throws the dough in the air in front of you and everything. It's really cool. I tried to make them let me take you there, but-"
"Tony," She said, cutting him off. "Please, just...stop. I told you I'm not hungry. I'd like to be left alone."
Tony sat there for a minute, slightly stunned. "I'm not going to leave until you eat some."
Ava slowly turned over and sat up, glaring at him. She opened the box and pulled out a piece, biting off a small portion and swallowing it. "Leave now." She said, dropping the pizza back in the box." She continued glaring at him.
Tony met her gaze, not wavering. "I'm not actually going to leave. I want to talk."
"Go. Away."
"Never. I know that you and Steve fought-"
"Shut up!"
"Calm down, Ava. I'm not on anyone's side. I just know that you guys fought and that you're obviously upset about it. This has to be your first relationship, right?" He waited until he looked at her. When she did, she nodded and looked away quickly. "Then obviously it's going to be painful for you. You care about him and he was mean, and it hurt. But you can't just mope around, alright? You have to get up and dust off and wait for him to apologize to you." Tony smirked.
Ava looked up at him, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Well, he should. Because it was totally uncalled for. But I guess I bruised his ego or whatever."
"Well, you know, he is from a different time, when women pretty much sat back and let men do whatever they want. But you're definitely not that type of girl. If you have an opinion, you'll say it loud and proud."
Ava giggled and nodded, still looking down.
"So you shouldn't be upset. Cheer up." Tony smiled at her and she smiled back reluctantly, looking at him.
"You know, my parents died when I was 9." She said softly, looking down at her hands.
"Yeah, I read it in your file."
"They didn't die in a fire like the file says. It was my fault. I got angry and literally exploded. The fire just sort of engulfed the house and they were killed, but I survived, since fire doesn't hurt me. It was the first time my abilities manifested themselves. And the police report said it was a gas leak or something, but when S.H.I.E.L.D. looked into it they knew that wasn't what happened, and they took me in and I admitted everything through tears. The first person I met who was kind to me was Bruce. That's why I like him so much. He was always so nice, asking me to do things, not demanding. He would hold my hand whenever I had blood taken, because I'm really scared of needles." She sniffled a bit and looked up at Tony. "And I have no idea why I'm telling you all this."
Tony smiled slightly. "It's alright. My parents dies when I was 21. They were killed in a car accident that was orchestrated by a rival company of Stark Industries. I know I was an adult, and my father wasn't particularly warm to me, but they were still my parents and it still hurt pretty badly. You really shouldn't blame yourself for their deaths. It wasn't your fault, you didn't know that you could do that."
"I know about your parents, I read your file. And I don't blame myself." Ava said. "I had no idea that my body would do something like that and hurt them. I really didn't. And I don't know why it happened to me, but it did."
"That's good. But how did you read my file?"
"I hacked the system, duh. It's really not that hard. I originally just read mine, but then I saw yours was in there and couldn't really resist." She smiled weakly, blushing slightly.
"Wait, you can hack the system?" He said, looking surprised.
"Well, of course. I have the best computer systems they could possibly get me, all hooked up to their system. I learned how to hack it through trial and error. Unfortunately, there are certain files that I just can't gain access to."
Tony chuckled. "You are full of surprises. Why don't you show me?" He said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his handheld.
"Sure." Ava said, taking it from him. She went to DOD website, typed in a few letter and numbers, and S.H.I.E.L.D.S.' database popped up. She continued typing and eventually made it to personnel files. She continued searching and brought up Tony's. "See? There you are..." She typed a few more digits and her file popped up. "and there I am. All the files-wait, what's this?" She clicked on a file entitled 'Element Theory'. A box popped up with the word 'Password' and a field to type in. She looked up at Tony. "They've never password protected my files before."
"Let me see." Tony said, holding his hand out. Ava gave it back to him and he opened up a program, entitled 'Password Crack' and began running it. "I started a program that's going to figure out the password, but it'll take a minute."
Ava nodded and stared at the computer screen, waiting for the program to work. "So, what do you think is in the file?" She said, sounding a bit nervous.
"Well, judging by the title, it's going to be some sort of idea about you."
"What...what if it gives an idea of why I have my powers...?"
"If it makes you feel any better, they're probably going to be wrong." They both smiled and went back to waiting. After a few minutes, Tony set the handheld on the ground and picked up a slice of pizza. "Might as well eat in the meantime, right?"
Ava laughed and picked up a piece herself, taking a bite. "You know," she said, her voice slightly muffled by the food in her mouth, "this is actually pretty good." Tony chewed and held up his slice and Ava tapped hers against his in a sort of toast.
They continued eating until they were both full. Just as Ava closed the box, the handheld beeped on the floor and Tony picked it up before Ava could manage to get her hands on it.
"Well, the password is cracked and we have access to the file." He paused for a moment as he hit the 'open' option and read through it quickly. Then he sat there for a moment staring at it in surprise. He read through it again. Ava could see that the contents consisted of one paragraph, no longer than five or six lines.
"Tony, can I please read it?" She said, holding out her hand.
"Uh, I really don't think that's a good idea. This is...really intense."
"But it's about me, I have a right to know."
"Ava, please trust me. This is a terrible idea. It really is. You can't read it. They put a password on it for a reason, alright? If they thought that you could handle it, they would've told you."
Ava looked shocked. "Tony, please..."
He just stood up and turned away. "I'm really sorry, but I have to go and see Bruce.
~~Bruce's Lab~~
Bruce was working with splicing two different DNA strands together, trying to achieve Ava's sequence. When Tony walked in, Bruce was attempting human and demigod DNA, using Thor's general pairings.
"Bruce, what the hell is this?" Tony said, angrily thrusting the handheld toward Bruce. Bruce took it and read the file on the screen.
"Oh dear..." Bruce said, sighing. "It's...it's just an idea I had from my work with DNA, alright? It can't even be proven. They insisted on putting it in her file. Which was, by the way, password protected."
"It doesn't matter! Is it even possible?"
"Really? You honestly think a dormant demigod can live within a human being?"
"You were the one who thought of it, Bruce!"
"I honestly don't know. I mean, it couldn't happen with a normal human being. We're human, and demigod DNA is different than ours. But as we already know, Ava's DNA is slightly off from a normal human's. And there are plenty of ancient dieties that could be real like Thor who control the powers of the elements."
"And you're not going to tell her?"
Bruce looked him in the eyes. "No. Will you?"
Tony sighed. "No."
"Then let's just keep it between you and I then. It was just a simple idea I threw out, anyway." Bruce turned back to his computer and continued working. "Oh!" He said suddenly, startling Tony.
"What is it?" Tony said, looking over his shoulder.
"I...I can't believe this. I just theoretically spliced together the DNA of a human being and Thor, and look at the results in comparison to Ava's."
Tony looked at the DNA models and expanded them, scrutinizing the pictures. Then he read through the results of the pairings. "Bruce, I think that you might have just-"
"I did. Her father was a geneticist for S.H.I.E.L.D., so he could've done it himself. She wouldn't have been born like this."
"Wait, her father was a geneticist? It didn't say that in her file." Tony said, sounding slightly angry.
"It doesn't say a lot of things in her file." Bruce muttered, his attention completely on the computer screen. "So, the gene sequence is almost exactly the same. Only a few spots are different. That must mean that-"
"That the genes that were spliced with hers weren't from an Asgardian, but some other being."
"But a being similar to Thor. Possibly from another universe..."
"Exactly. A place we don't know about yet. But how could we not if someone got a hold of the DNA?" Tony looked over at Bruce, who looked grim. "What is it?"
"Well..." Bruce said, sighing. "What if her father did know of them? He found one, like Jane Foster found Thor. But he didn't tell S.H.I.E.L.D. and no one found out?"
"That's possible, but why would he splice that being's genes with those of his unborn daughter?" Tony asked, continuing to study the computer model.
"Only he could tell us why, and he's dead now."
"Jesus, what if..." Tony said, looking over at Bruce with dumbfounded expression.
"What if the 'she' that Hela was talking about actually was a dormant demigod in Ava." Bruce finished Tony's sentence for him, looking more grim than ever.
"But what are we going to do?"
"Nothing. We can't prove anything. And if we told anyone, they would take Ava and either destroy her or try and wake the demigod." Bruce looked at Tony, who stared back, horrified.
~~Fury's Office~~
Fury sat at his desk, intently watching a video on his computer when Agent Maria Hill walked in. 'But what are we going to do?' was all she heard before he stopped it. She recognized the voice as Tony Stark's. "Sir, you wanted to see me." She said, standing straight.
"Yes." Fury said, getting up. "I need you to get me Ava Blanchette, immediately." Fury said, walking past her to the door.
She turned. "May I ask why, sir?"
He stopped, turning his head slightly to the side. "Because we're about to get ourselves another demigod."
