Imitations Carved Deep: Chapter 9

I just have to let this be known: I got a 101 on an Organic Chemistry Test! That just made my week. :) Hopefully this chapter will make yours.

Please enjoy!

Not a Tony/Loki story. Just friendship.

Be forewarned, I have named female Loki, 'Kira', and that is what she will be referred to for a good chunk of the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own them...so sad.

Warnings: Severe angst. Stupid/Bad Thor (temporarily). Torture (in the past). Implied rape (in past). Don't read if any of these trigger.

It Started With Thunder...

Natasha kept a close eye on Kira. While she was grateful for the save during the battle against the wasps, something about Kira was setting off the alarms in her head. Things didn't add up, and those stories she told Bruce seemed vaguely familiar in some way. But more than that, was the absolute certainty Natasha felt that Kira was hiding something; something more than whatever her "hacking derived missing past" was.

No, Tony's little guest was more than met the eye. What irritated Natasha was that she couldn't clearly decide whether it made Kira an ally or enemy. Until then, she had to treat her like an enemy in their midst.

The others returned from their field trip of dropping off Kira in her room. Natasha was not happy to see Steve's earlier suspicions had been washed away. She had thought the Captain had finally learned to not trust so quickly. Apparently, she had been wrong. All of the boys came back and settled in for a post battle movie. When they weren't looking, she slipped away down the hall they had just left.

Kira's room was easy to find, but not so easy to get in to. No matter what she tried, she couldn't get the door open. Finally, Natasha glared up at the ceiling.

"Jarvis," she hissed.

"I was instructed by Dr. Banner to ensure Miss Kira rests." Something in the tone of the AI made Natasha think that Jarvis was protecting Kira from her.

"Jarvis, you know that I can walk in and out without waking Kira up. Why won't you let me in?" There was a pause, as if Jarvis was thinking about how to word his response.

"I have calculated that Miss Kira is no risk to Sir and his team, including you Miss Romanoff. I have been instructed to ensure Miss Kira rests." Natasha could see it was a losing battle and surrendered…for the time being.


Kira was not blind. Natasha was extremely suspicious of her, and in fact, had not taken her eyes off of her in the last (after a quick glance at a clock) forty-seven minutes. The others knew it was happening too, so Kira didn't have to worry about them thinking she was paranoid. Apparently, they were all starting to think maybe Natasha was heading that way.

It had been three weeks since the Battle of the Wasps, as Tony had dubbed it, and Kira had helped them on four other missions, all from the safety of the Tower. While Fury wasn't anything less than surly, she was beginning to think he was warming up to her. However, it seemed that one of his favorite agents wasn't. Kira wasn't mad at Natasha. In fact, she thought it was smart of the woman to keep an eye on the guest with a mysterious past and hacking skills.

Despite all of this, Kira still found it exceedingly annoying. Kira couldn't keep the huff as quiet as she wanted.

"Widow. Staring. Annoying! I'm not even your prey, and I'm getting irritated." Natasha glared at Tony, but Kira huffed in amusement this time, now knowing the spy's actions weren't just annoying to her. Kira however was not going to let others stand up for her.

"Stark put it rather bluntly, but I have to agree, Natasha. While I understand, and appreciate, the motives and care behind the staring, I find it arduous to ignore. At least make it less noticeable should you wish to continue." The assassin rolled her eyes, but did nod, which Kira took as progress.

"Great, now that that's settled, can we focus, people? Pizza toppings. C'mon." Of course Clint would care about the food more than his "assassin partner" being super suspicious of their pseudo-teammate. Steve, Tony and Bruce threw their opinions out there, while Kira only shrugged.

"I will be fine with whatever you get." Clint rolled his eyes.

"Right, so an extra of Bruce's nasty vegetable lover's pizzas. Don't roll your eyes at me, young lady. If I get anything else, I'll have to watch you desecrate all the good stuff by picking off all of the meat." Kira rolled her eyes at the nickname Clint had saddled her with. While she used to be called something similar when she was in trouble (or when someone wished to remind her of her lack of influence- Know your place!) Clint said it in jest and smothered in fondness. It hadn't taken her long to win the archer over. She had just had to jokingly throw a knife and hit a bullseye once, and the man "took her under his wing." It was amusing to say the least.

"Don't call my pizza nasty, Clint." Bruce said this sternly and without looking up from the newspaper he was reading. The archer tensed for a moment, then scowled when he saw the doctor was messing with him. Tony snorted and patted Bruce's shoulder as he passed to sit beside Kira.

"So," Tony started as Clint wandered off to place the order. "Have you thought about my offer?" Kira rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Stark, while I understand that you are not what most would call a patient man, you only gave me the offer this morning. I need more than half a day to make such a big decision." The inventor huffed.

"It can't be that hard of a decision, Kira. Pepper became my assistant twenty seconds after I made her offer." Kira clenched her jaw. It wasn't that she did not want to take Tony up on his offer. In fact, it sounded wonderful, but…she could not help but consider the what if's. What if she found a way to leave? What if any one of the people looking for her, found her? What would they do to the people in this tower? She wasn't sure she could risk it.

"Well, as I'm sure you have noticed by now, I am not Miss Potts." Kira could practically feel Steve make a face from across the room.

"Isn't Pepper enough for you, Tony? Why do you want another assistant?" Tony was quick to shake his head.

"Oh no, I only need, and will only ever need, Pepper. She is my rock, and my CEO, not assistant. No, I offered to let Kira stay here, do research and experiments in her very own lab and, essentially stay a part of the team. So, basically what I offered Bruce." Said doctor finally looked up from his paper and smiled at Kira.

"If you don't mind my two cents, I think it sounds like a good idea." Kira opened her mouth to voice her concerns, but Steve cut her off.

"We all have a past, Kira, if that's what you're worried about. You've been a part of this team for a few weeks now, if unofficially. We help each other, and stand by one another. If anything ever comes up, you won't be alone. Besides, we can handle ourselves, despite what you might think of us over those screens of yours." Kira couldn't help but snort at that. Yes, she had had a number of comments for the Avengers as they fought any number of creatures. Sometimes, she wondered how they had managed to stay alive this long.

"I…I suppose then, that should others not be opposed, that I take you up on your offer, Mr. Stark." Her green eyes flicked to Natasha, but the assassin was no longer in the room.

"She probably went to go tell, Fury. Don't worry; he likes you. And if he starts arguing, Steve will just give him the Puppy Eyes of Freedom, and the pirate will cave." Steve looked affronted at that, but didn't comment. Clint walked back in the room then and stopped, looking at all of them.

"Wait, something happened while I was out of the room. What was it?"

"We unofficially, officially made Kira part of the team. She'll stay here and have her own lab, and it'll be fun." Clint considered for a moment, then shrugged.

"Okay. Better than the other things you guys do when I'm not around." So, the matter was settled and pizza was on it's way.

Steve got a call a couple minutes later, and judging by his slight grimace, it was Director Fury on the other end. By the time he got back, he was rubbing his ear like he had gotten reamed out, and the pizza was all laid out. Natasha held up a plate for him, already piled with meat laden slices.

"Here you go, Cap." Steve smiled at her, and then turned it on the rest of the team.

"Well, Fury wasn't happy that he wasn't a part of the decision process, but he finally gave in. Welcome to the Avengers, Kira." Tony and Clint cheered, and everyone toasted to their new member. Kira could not fight the blush that crawled up her cheeks.

"What are we all celebrating?" Pepper came around the corner and placed herself in Tony's lap.

"Hey, Babe. We're just celebrating Kira's official joining of the team." Her brows furrowed.

"Wait, that only just happened? I thought Kira's been an Avenger for weeks now." Tony made a 'so-so' gesture with his hand.

"Well, kind of. It was a little hazy with the pirate, but Steve-y just won him over for us. Now it's official official." Pepper nodded in understanding and stole a slice off of Tony's plate. Kira smiled at the scene around her and felt content.

After the hearty lunch (Kira was eating mostly normal proportions now), they all settled in for a lazy afternoon of movies. According to Tony, they had finished Star Wars, and now they had to educate Cap on Harry Potter.

"I read the books, Tony." The inventor waved his hands about.

"But you need the full experience! You need to be able to argue with other fans about which was better: the movies or the books." Steve rolled his eyes but let Stark continue with his plan. Kira settled on the couch next to Pepper and Tony. Bruce commandeered the love-seat with Steve (wink, wink, Tony, shut up), and Clint perched on the arm of the chair Natasha was curled up in.

They were soon all absorbed in the marathon, with occasional commentary thrown in. Well, Tony was actually watching Steve's reactions more than the films and snickering every so often.

"Wait, how's that possible? Peter Pettigrew is dead!" Steve's brows had been stuck together since the second movie had ended.

"Obviously he is not. The Map does not lie, and they only found a finger? Please, it would be so easy to simply cut off one of your own and disappear. Black was framed." Tony glared at Kira.

"Hey, spoilers! Keep your deductions to yourself." Just then the sky outside the Tower opened up and let loose a deluge. There was a collective sigh in the room. New York had been going through a really bad dry spell, and any rain was a relief. However, this time, it seemed to be more than a nice shower. This was a full thunderstorm. Kira's attention was dragged from the television screen, and she watched the sky warily.

She could not help but jump as the sky suddenly lit up with multiple bolts of lightening. Tony snorted beside her.

"What's the matter, scared of a little lightening?" Steve rolled his eyes, knowing that Tony was quoting him. Kira, however, just curled up tighter.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Natasha, Steve and Tony all stiffened. Their eyes were wide as they stared at Kira. No one else had been on that plan, how did she-?

Right on cue, thunder boomed loud enough to rattle the Tower and was immediately followed by more lightening. Kira flinched again and tucked her legs under herself as much as she could.

It was dark looking out the windows, and the rain was coming down in sheets. However, the next flash of lightening revealed something. There was a figure standing outside on Iron Man's landing pad. Kira's surprised gasp caught everyone's attention, and they turned to look. The God of Thunder stayed still for a moment before moving. His hair was plastered to his face, and the scowl accompanying it seemed out of place. Mjolnir swung threateningly in his grasp. He did not stop to say any form of greeting to his teammates, but went straight for Kira. All the color (what little of it there was) had drained out of Kira's face, and her hands shook.

"Thor."


Ladies and Gentlemen...let the angst begin.

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