It wasn't too long before Mr tall returned with a few minions who quickly released her. Then he gave her ring to her. "Does this mean were engaged?" She joked.

"It seems you got your phone call." He replied, ignoring her joke he was clearly less than amused. He beckoned her towards the door

"Chow mein?" She inquired.

"Don't push it." He stated, his nose had clearly been put out of joint, he was perhaps not so in control as he would like.

'Any idea what's going on?' She asked the boys assuming they would have been given their rings too. Haako and Eric immediately responded to her mind as if she had been off line and just connected. They had been given their rings also but had no idea why the attitude to them had changed so markedly.

'It's down to me.' Douglas responded once the hurried mental chatter between the three had come to a natural pause. 'I was in the house when they came looking for the other ring and Eric's suit. They didn't find it though I quickly took them and the note and fled the place.'

'Did you take my guts?' asked Ella with maternal concern for her discarded body parts.

'No?' He responded unable to work with what she had given him to generate any more meaningful response.

'The organs' the dwarves took to make room for Loviatar were in a stasis case behind the chest of draws.' She explained.

'No.' He replied more assuredly 'I didn't take your guts in a box, I didn't know they were there. Remind me, why are you keeping them?' She didn't have a clue. She liked being a superhero and certainly didn't want to return to the checkout humdrum of her previous life. Perhaps she was keeping them because they were hers. Perhaps because the dwarves had given them to her like Loviatar and the: suit, sword and shield. She really didn't know.

'Why the sudden change of mood in our government goons though?' She asked Douglas outright.

'You remember that Finland signed up to be part of the Superheroes of Europe initiative?' He enquired.

'Yes.' Eric responded, the other two stayed silent they weren't big on politics or current affairs. Of course they knew about S.H.E. but weren't informed enough to know there was actually an agreement or that Finland was part of it, they had never thought about it and had just suspected it was a loose club of super beings without any political authority.

'I contacted them and they were very interested in us. Finland after all hasn't had a representative since Javelin died.' He explained.

'Are you here?' Ella asked.

'Fuck no! I don't even know where you are but they would have no difficulty finding out. There was no way I was going to surrender my own liberty.'

She was lead down a maze of corridors to a lab where Mustonen had been working with the sword and shield. Almost as soon as she entered the sword removed itself for the analyser, sheathed itself in her sword belt which it carried across the room. The belt buckled around her. The shield completed its re-equipping far faster.

"That metal is really remarkable" Mustonen began but Mr tall cut him off from what was likely to be a long and probably quite boring metallurgical analysis.

"Sorry we have people to see." Mustonen raised his hand trying to force them to stay and listen "Urgently." Mr tall emphasised leaving with his entourage, Ella was intrigued but felt compelled to follow especially as she was perhaps going to meet real superheroes!

'I do hope I can get some autographs?' she thought, the others in the mind-link sighed in desperation.

They were clearly the last to arrive in the huge meeting room with its circular table around which sat: Eric, Haako, three costumed heroes she had never seen, the small armoured hero from not long back and Dr Chan; there were a lot of empty seats. It the centre of the table was a brain stem in a container of bubbling blueish liquid which was either glowing like the liquid in the vial had been or illuminated from the solid shiny steel base it was sat on or in. When her party had entered the room the hero dressed in the Icelandic flag had stood politely but she ignored him; she ignored everything else for a second; she run up to Haako and Eric who feeling obligated stood to receive her hugs. 'What and who?' She asked Eric but someone else answered inside her head.

'Hello Ella. It is very nice to meet you. If you and your friends would care to sit I will introduce everyone and we can have a little chat.' She felt almost compelled to do as was asked and did not fight the feeling sitting with her friends whilst Mr tall sat with Dr Chan and the small armoured person and the costumed male sat with his two female counterparts. 'I am the Belgian Brain' it informed the assembly, exactly who he was seemed obvious despite the fact no one was actually talking. 'These are three of my S.H.E. team mates: Gunnar, Tricolore and Red Dragon' as their names were mentioned each gave a little wave across the table although even Ella could work out who was who since Tricolore wore the blue, white and red of France and Red Dragon was a redhead with a prominent red dragon icon on her chest. 'Dr Chan, Director Mäkelä and your Valkyrie of course you already know.' The brain assumed.

The brain continued to talk but she was distracted by a bowl of mints that seemed to have been placed just beyond her reach. She stretched and fumbled and then stood up mounted the table and on hands and knees retrieved them. She placed a large handful in her mouth and suddenly became aware of everyone again. They were looking at her and the brain had stopped talking. She tried to tell them to 'don't mind me. You just carry on.' But only succeeded in dropping a few spit covered white shiny balls from her mouth, failing to catch them and crushing one underfoot as it sort to roll away from her.

The brain continued its translation; angry looks and thoughts passed between the director and Gunnar who seemed to be the groups elected leader for this meeting at least. She listened in and it seemed that Finland had been reticent in its obligation to provide S.H.E. with a replacement for Javelin. Finland it seemed didn't have that many meta-humans or if it did they weren't coming forward. Although they had their Valkyrie they weren't allowed to donate it as Denmark been quicker with the bureaucracy and submitted theirs first.

"Whatever is the issue with having two or three identical powered suits anyhow?" The director asked with forthright intolerance "It's not as if as a group you weren't and still aren't fielding several almost identical super soldier types." He stood up and pointed, actually pointed, accusingly at Gunnar and Tricolore "Both of you were in S.H.E. at the same time as: Amazon, Weisse Kreuz and Claymore. You're all virtually the same; top percentile humans with: high cellular density, immunity to disease, limited vulnerability, fast healing and highly efficient muscles!" It was clear he didn't like having control taken away from him by anyone but especially by foreign nationals. Dr Chan shuffled through her papers and typed on her tablet.

'That is the point entirely director' Gunnar replied seated and entirely rested in his chair without any air of intimidation 'We were quite an unbalanced team with limited breadth in our abilities. Super soldiers like me are all well and good but you hardly need an army of us.' The Belgian Brain mentally translated his words for everyone and it was quite amusing to see a poorly dubbed film taking place in real time.

"Isn't that the whole point of soldiers?" Eric interjected, Ella was amazed he dare make comment in such company but he had. Gunnar and the director both looked at him condescendingly "I mean the whole point of soldiers is to field an army isn't it?" Dr Chan put her hand up but was ignored.

'I see your point.' Stated Gunnar 'but what we need is versatility; Magma and Oracle provide us with some but'

'As do I' interjected the Belgian Brain. Everyone could tell it was the brain talking for himself he had mentally given everyone accents so people could tell who was saying what. Besides Gunnar's lips weren't moving.

'Yes obviously, as do you.' Gunnar continued his accent a little less Icelandic and a little more Belgian, as if the brain were talking to itself 'but we need more variety.'

'It is the spice of life; is it not?' Tricolore pointed out, it was the first thing she had said and Ella hoped the sophisticated Parisian wasn't only going to speak in cliché. Dr Chan continued to gesture and everyone continued to ignore her.

'However the Valkyrie project was created with a very different purpose and only includes: Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Estonia. The fact that the project and S.H.E. have different membership is always going to cause problems if we try to inter-mesh the two.' Gunnar pointed out.

'So why did you let the Danes field their Valkyrie as a member?' The director insisted.

'They had no one else.' Gunnar replied 'You on the other hand' he stated looking at Ella and her friends 'seem quite well stocked for once.' Chan was still waving even more frantically and still being ignored by everyone, Mäkelä included.

'Even if these were fully trained and politically sanctioned' Mäkelä started again. Ella could take no more of it. She wasn't certain if it were some kind of feminist solidarity, a desire to end the men's posturing, or just a wish to find out what De Chan was becoming so flustered by. Whatever it was she stood the air around her glowed; she drew her sword and impaled the table in front of her. Lightning arced around her to the ceiling and floor whilst the impaled table charred and then began to burn where it was punctured.

'Let her speak!' she demanded in as low a tone as she could muster. Everyone was looking at her and suddenly she realised what she had done. She hadn't been disposed to violent outbursts in the past but then she wasn't really capable of them. She pulled the sword from the table and sheathed it expertly with a flourish before turning to one of the government goons at the doorway. 'Singapore chow mein, extra hot with a pancake roll and a pot of sweet and sour sauce, please.' Everyone turned their gaze to Dr Chan who was a little shocked and took several seconds to reflect before she begun.

'I was just thinking about the fact that the original S.H.E. had so many super soldiers and they seem to have the same base abilities as this new batch.' Everyone continued to pay her attention, no one spoke. 'Maybe you two and the others were a test batch created by whoever has created these.' She addressed Gunnar and Tricolore whilst indicating Ella and her friends. 'So three of the original batch of five died and their maker decided to upgrade. He used the same serum as before but provided each with an extra twist that makes them different, more unique, more powerful.'

'So we're upgrades?' Haako asked.

'Unfortunately the others need our help.' Stated the brain. 'It would seem the anomaly you detected seems to be an alien invasion force. By the sound of it a very large heavily armed force. We need to go and we need to call in reinforcements.'

'I take it you want these and our Valkyrie?' The director offered.

'How well trained are they?' Asked Gunnar 'Can they fight?'

'More importantly can they take orders?' Asked the brain.

'I can fight.' Answered Eric, he was after all an accomplished martial artist.

'and I take orders well.' Answered Ella,'Ask Eric'. Haako just shrugged. The Brain slid across the table into Tricolore's arms.

'Ok then to the Quinjets.' He ordered. Ella stood and took Eric and Haako's hands and holding them tightly whispered

"Avengers Assemble."

"Don't any of you die!" Chan shouted after them "I've still lots of tests to do."