Disclaimer: All characters involving the Avengers belong to Marvel, I only own the OC's present in this story.
Luciana awoke to the sun shining through the window and into her room. Adjusting her eyes to the light, she sat up and looked beside her. The bed was empty.
Her eyebrows furrowed as she got out of bed. Where was Loki?
She started to walk but soon cried out in pain as she put pressure on her leg. She scowled and limped over to the crib and saw her daughter sleeping soundly, a green blanket wrapped around her still form. She smiled lightly before leaving the bedroom in her search for Loki.
She went into the living room. Empty. Then to the kitchen. Empty. Then finally to the bathroom. Empty. Loki was gone.
As the truth finally hit her, she stood in the bathroom, flabbergasted. Loki was gone; he had left her and Aviana here.
She imagined she would have been happy, Loki had finally got the message, but instead she was horribly confused.
Why, after all that took place, would Loki just leave her without protest, threat, or anything? Was he planning to come back after he had taken over Midgard? Or had he decided that Luciana wasn't worth his time?
Her train of thought was interrupted by a knocking on the front door. She painfully limped out of the bathroom and to the front door.
Opening the door, she was shocked by what she saw, three men were standing there. One had dark hair and seemed overly confident, and another had blonde hair and seemed quite fit and friendly. But she hardly noticed them, for the third man, with long blonde hair and red armour, was no other than her brother-in-law.
"Thor?" She asked, shocked and wide eyed.
Thor nodded and smiled. "Yes, it is I! It's been so long since we last saw each other, Luciana," He said brightly.
"Whoa, hold on for a second," The dark-haired man cut in. "You know her?" He asked Thor.
Thor nodded again. "She is my sister-in-law. Luciana Cyrusdottir, wife of Loki." He spoke Loki's name sadly, as if reliving a bad memory.
"Reindeer Games landed that?" The dark-haired one asked, shocked as he gestured to Luciana.
A wave of self-consciousness came over Luciana and she crossed her arms.
"What was it, an arranged marriage, or something?" He asked Luciana.
"No," Luciana said. "I was in an arranged marriage before, but my parents decided that marrying a prince was more fitting when Loki asked them for my hand. Wait, why am I even telling you this? Who the hell are you?"
"Sorry for our rudeness," The blonde one said looking at the dark-haired one. "My name is Steve Rogers and that's Tony Stark.
"The one and only." Tony added.
Luciana raised an eyebrow at Tony, then looked at Thor. "Why are you here?"
"We're with SHIELD," Tony answered for Thor.
"Why?" She asked.
"Its better we discuss it inside." Steve said, looking around the hallway.
"I'm not stupid enough to let strange men into my house." Luciana said as she stepped in front of Tony who tried to walk into the flat.
"Well, you know Thor, right?" Tony asked.
"Yes," She replied, raising her eyebrows.
"Then he's not strange."
"But you are. Look, if you insist on speaking to me, fine. But I'll only let Thor into my house, you two can stay here."
"And do what?" Tony asked, looking around the hallway.
Luciana shrugged. "I don't know. But do we have a deal?"
"Yes, that sounds reasonable." Steve said.
"Great, come on in, Thor," She said moving over to make room for Thor to enter, the closing the door behind him.
Tony sighed. "What do you wanna do, Captain?"
Steve sighed and sat down on the floor, his back up against the wall. "Just sit and wait."
Tony sat down on and leaned against the wall as well, making sure the door to Luciana's flat separated him from Steve.
"Hey you know, that Luciana is pretty good looking," Tony said looking at Steve.
"And?"
"And you two should hook up, rumour has it you went down a virgin." Tony said, chuckling at the last part.
Steve shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Not happening, Stark."
"What because she's married?" Tony asked. "Because if she didn't want to let us into her apartment, I doubt she'll want to stay with Reindeer games after this. Plus, she's hot, smart, and seems proper, so she's right up your alley."
"Stark?"
"Yeah?"
"Just don't."
"Okay, Thor" Luciana started as she handed him a cup of coffee. "Tell me what this is about."
"Loki has the Tesseract," He informed her grimly as she sat down in the faded blue armchair across from where he sat.
Luciana froze in horror. Loki had the Tesseract? Was that what he was planning to use so he could take over the world? The Tesseract was a powerful relic that once belonged to Odin, but was lost. The Tesseract's power was great, great enough to end many worlds and throw the universe into turmoil.
"You're-You're making a jest, aren't you?" Luciana managed to stutter out.
Thor shook his head and looked down at floor. "I'm afraid I'm not."
"Well, how the hell did Loki get the Tesseract?"
"SHIELD was in possession of it, when Loki came to Midgard he took it, and now he refuses to tell us where he's hid it."
"Wait, what is this SHIELD I've heard so much about?" Luciana asked.
"It's an agency that protects Midgard from threats; they have been watching you since you arrived on Earth."
Luciana nodded bitterly. "I've heard."
Thor looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Loki was here last night; he told me that SHIELD has been watching me."
Thor's eyes widened. "Loki was here?"
A nod was her reply as she looked at Thor curiously.
"That's not possible. SHIELD currently has him contained in a prison, I saw him there this morning!"
"Well," Luciana started. "You know he's a very good sorcerer, he most likely made a duplicate of himself and then escaped." She told him, surprisingly calm. She remembered how on Asgard he made many duplicates of himself and fooled many, herself included.
"Well, we must look into the matter once we return to SHIELD." Thor said.
"We?" Luciana asked.
"Yes," He began. "I came here with Stark and Rogers to recruit you to join SHIELD and help stop Loki."
Luciana sat there, dumbstruck. She looked stared at Thor to see if he was serious or not. He was.
"I'm sorry, I just hallucinated," She said, shaking herself out of her shock. "What?"
"We want you to join SHIELD and stop Loki," Thor said slowly, staring at her.
Luciana looked at the coffee mug in her hands as she processed Thor's words. Could she really go up against Loki while he had the power of the Tesseract? She had already fought him once, and as far as she was concerned, lost.
Thor noticed her uncertainty and spoke again. "Luciana, you are one of the most powerful sorceress' in all of Asgard. We need your skills to help us stop Loki, and you know Loki better than anyone, even me. Perhaps you could convince him to change his mind, make him stop his plans and return to Asgard." He told her hopefully.
"Thor, I-"
"Please, Luciana, he has an army, we need you to help us." He cut her off.
There was a long moment of silence between the two. Luciana thinking Thor's offer over and over, while Thor sat on her red couch staring at her with hopeful and pleading eyes. Could Luciana really convince Loki to change his ways? And if she couldn't, would she be able to stop him from carrying out his horrid plans?
Her eyes flickered up from the floor and onto her brother-in-law. He held her gaze and begged once more. "Please, for Midgard."
Luciana sighed and gave in to Thor's pleading. "Alright, for Midgard."
Thor let out a breath then laughed heartily. "This is good news! Midgard will always remember you as a hero!" He said before standing up and picking her off her chair, wrapping her in a tight hug.
Luciana smiled painfully as she struggled to breath in Thor's tight grip.
She was going to regret this.
"Okay, Thor," She gasped. "Put-Put me down!"
There was no response as Thor continued to hold her in his tight grasp.
"Thor?" She asked, her lungs begging for air. "Thor!"
"Oh my apologies!" Thor said putting her down.
She gasped for air and panted as it slowly filled her lungs. "It's okay," She said. "I missed you too."
"Well, we must take our leave!" Thor said happily.
"Wait!" She exclaimed. "I do have a child that does have to be somewhere safe while I attempt to save the world."
"Oh right." Thor said.
"Yes, and I also have to pack and then we'll leave." Luciana said. In reality, she had much more to do than just pack. She had to quit her job, tell Meg she didn't need a babysitter, and then tell her landlord that rent would be paid late. And most importantly, she had to find a suitable place for Aviana.
"Do you need assistance?"
"Yes, that would be wonderful."
She led Thor into the bedroom and pulled out a suitcase from under her bed.
"I noticed you're leg is wounded. How did it happen?" Thor asked as he looked around the room curiously.
Luciana sighed. "Loki and I had a...disagreement, and things got out of hand."
"You two fought, I presume?" Thor asked, frowning as he watched her put the suitcase on her bed and opening it.
"Yes, we did," Luciana replied, somewhat sadly. "And we destroyed a warehouse in the process."
Thor nodded and looked down. He would never be able to imagine his brother hurting Luciana. The girl who he would always see Loki laughing and smiling with. The girl who he would see Loki watching from a distance, then become flustered whenever confronted. The girl who caused Loki to nearly faint on the day of their wedding.
"Okay, so," Luciana said suddenly, breaking Thor out of his thoughts. "I need you to go into the living room and get me the car seat. The yellow one, the blue one is broken."
Thor nodded and walked back into the living room. He smiled as he picked up the yellow seat and walked back into the bedroom.
"Here you are; the yellow seat!" He announced, placing the seat on the floor
Luciana was now sitting on the bed in a dark blue sundress with a black blazer and matching black heels, a hand placed on her wounded leg. She looked up and inspected the seat Thor had brought her, before biting her lip to hold back a laugh.
"Um, Thor," She said. "That's not the car seat, that's my armchair."
Thor frowned then looked at the chair. "Is this not a seat?"
"It is! But it's not a car seat. You see, I use the car seat to transport Aviana places safely." She said gesturing to the sleeping child in the crib.
"So this 'car seat' you speak of, it teleports children safely?" He asked.
"Yeah, something along those lines," She said. "Anyways, can you put that back and grab the yellow thing that looks like a basket, it's in the corner."
Thor nodded then left the room. Luciana sighed and looked back at her hand that was placed on her leg. She muttered something under her breath and her hand began to glow. She watched as the blood on the bandage and her various bruises disappeared off her body, leaving her to look like she had never been wounded. She looked at her wrists and watched as the bruises faded, along with all the pain that had taken residence in her body. Her face was solemn as she unwrapped the gauze from her leg, tossing it aside once her leg was free. She stood up and tested her leg, smiling when she felt no pain.
Thor entered the room holding the yellow car seat. "Is this what you require?" He asked.
"Yes," She nodded. "That's it, thank you."
"You're welcome," He smiled before looking at her leg. "You've healed yourself!" He exclaimed happily.
"Well, I'm not any good to Midgard wounded, now am I?" She said as she picked up her sleeping daughter then carefully secured her into the car seat.
She inspected the blanket that was around her daughter. Loki had given it to her, she supposed. It was a beautiful, warm, green blanket that was as soft as silk, and Luciana smiled as she saw her daughter's small fist clenching the material in her sleep.
"Do you need anything else?" Thor asked, breaking Luciana out of her thoughts.
"Yes," She said. "Quite a lot really."
The two spent another hour packing. It would have been quicker if Thor hadn't mixed up certain objects for others and then ask about what they were, some of which Luciana had to give awkward explanations. But after that long hour they were done and ready to leave.
Luciana opened the front door with Thor holding her suitcase behind her. As she opened the door, it appeared clear to her that she had apparently interrupted a conversation between Tony and Steve.
"I'm telling you again. Loki may be a psychopath, but he has great taste in women," Tony said.
"I'm not interested, Stark." Steve said.
"But you're still a virgin! That's just not right."
"She's married."
"Ah Ha! So you admit you find her attractive!" Tony exclaimed.
"I never said that," Steve replied.
"It was implied."
"If I tell you she's attractive will you shut up?"
"Yes."
"Fine, yes Stark she is attractive and seems like a smart girl, but I'm not interested in a relationship."
"Well that's good," Luciana cut in, causing both men to jump and look at her. "I'm not that fond of participating in a courtship either."
Tony and Steve stood up and inspected the bag in Thor's arms. "So I take it you're coming with us?" Steve asked.
Luciana nodded. "Yes, I'll help you," She said. "My only concern is where I'll be leaving my daughter." She gestured to the car seat that was hanging from her hand.
"Don't worry; I'm sure SHIELD will keep her safe for you." Tony said, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked at the sleeping baby. "You know that kid better not end up as crazy as Loki, if she's your daughter then she'll be too hot to be nuts."
The three looked at him. "What? I'm looking out for the future male population!" He defended.
Luciana rolled her eyes and sighed and pulled out her keys, struggling to get lock the door and hold Aviana at the same time.
"Here, I got her." Steve said and he took the car seat from Luciana, careful not to wake the girl.
"See!" Tony exclaimed as he walked down the hall, the other three following close behind. "You're already helping with the kid! You two need to date."
Steve sighed. "Let it go, Stark."
So Luciana decided to join the Avengers. This could be interesting...
That's not how it was going to end up at first, I was originally going to make her refuse and leave the story there. Then I decided that she would refuse and SHIELD would kidnap her and force her to do it.
Then finally my indecisive little mind decided on this, after it wanted to change the main character name and story title, but thank god I was able to brush that off.
Oh and I hope you liked the small funny bits of this chapter. I'm in a good mood today and I wanted to make this chapter a bit more lighthearted so I added them in last minute.
Anyways, enjoy and review!