Updated and edited. (27 July 2013)

It's about time we get out of the three character loop, huh?

(Impromptu Separator)

Chapter Ten

A New Pack

1st Person – Unknown

Avengers Tower – Earth

Unknown – Earth Calendar

It has been 4 hours since I first put them on and I'm still trying to get use to the feel of my new clothes. I feel so bare with them on; they are so much lighter and fewer then the clothes I wore before. I can feel the cool surface of the elevator wall through my shirt as I lean against it. I stare down at the puzzle in my hands as I lean with one foot firmly planted on the ground and the other crossed over the first one with and resting on the toes. I almost always lean like this.

I stare down at the small puzzle in my hands once more. The colors blur with the grayness but I can still make them out. The male called Fury taught me how to be able to solve the puzzle and so I twist the different pieces around in the intricate the pattern that is required to solve the puzzle. I think he called it a Rubix Cube but don't really care for its name.

I look up briefly as the elevator dings then I look back down at the puzzle. I sigh and stand up straight. I put the puzzle away in the rolling suitcase that Fury holds open for me. He zips it close, puts it down, and starts to wheel it out of the elevator. I follow him after leaning down and grabbing my backpack. The label claimed it to be a green color so I picked it, it isn't the green I was hoping for and now I'm stuck with it. I sigh again at the memory of Fury making my mistake be realized. I hate my backpack.

I follow him down the hallway and see another grey elevator on the other side of the T. We round the corner then stop in the entrance to what appears to be the family gathering room. Fury quietly informs me that it is the common room over his shoulder. I look at him as he gives me the information then I look at its occupants; studying each of them in turn.

There's a small but lean and powerful looking female with long hair that is of a strange color I cannot recognize around the gray and is next to what I believe to be referred to as a bar. She is drinking out of a small looking glass next to a male with somewhat dark hair and looks like a hunter. The female is wearing some sort of black pants I have yet to learn about and some white shirt that appears to have buttons running up and down the front. It looks like a button up but is more feminine and has some sort of ruffle running down the front. The male is wearing jeans and what I guess to be a gray t-shirt; but then again, most everything looks gray to me. I glance down at my shoes then back at his. His shoes are different than mine, that's all I can tell. Her shoes are different too; they look painful and seem to look as though they would add height to her. The two appear to be a pair as they stand close to each other and faintly lean towards the other.

I turn my head slightly and notice the next occupant; a short statured male with a bulkier frame than the previous two and somewhat dark hair as well. He is standing up in between table and bar. He is wearing different shoes than me, jeans, and another button up shirt. He seems to have something in front of his eyes that I don't recognize at first but then remember to be known as glasses. He seems timid and of no real threat so I dismiss him and look at the other occupants.

This next male has a lighter colored hair that is just a light gray in my eyes, and he seems very old fashioned. He is sitting lazily at a table, leaned back in a chair. He also strikes me as a leader much like the Fury male. He wears strange clothes I barely recognize; jeans of a sort, some weird shoes, a white button up shirt, and some sort of jacket. He does not look that strong yet I can tell he is the leader. I wonder why for a moment before dismissing it for later and turning to look at the next occupant.

The next occupant I recognize and my heart skips a small beat as I tense up a little. I relax knowing that he will not recognize me. I am still weary; however, as this means that I will be living with him. I wonder if my uncle being here might signal that my real father is here too. I shrug it off knowing that neither will recognize me as both do not know I even exist. My father only knows about my brother Narvi. He does not know about me or about Vali; he knows nothing.

I turn to the next occupant as I suppress the uncomfortable thoughts and memories. He reeks of nervousness. He holds himself in a proud manor, jutting his chest out with his shoulders thrown back. I watch him pace back and forth for a moment, studying him. I wonder if he is to be my new dad and is worrying over me. I smile at the thought. It is good to see that he cares if it is him. I frown. If he is not my new dad then this must be his normal behavior and that will bother me.

He is wearing jeans and a gray t-shirt that has a hole in it around some sort of bright light in his chest. I wonder what the light is and tilt my head to the side slightly as I look at it. I use my magic to try to fix my vision a bit more. I feel the immediate tiredness hit me as the soft light becomes a light blue color. I stare at it a bit more with my head tilted, wondering, having let the magic go so as to not faint. What is it? What does it do? Why does he have it? Does it strengthen him or weaken him? Is it a weakness or strength? Questions without answers fill my head before I stop them, straighten my head, and look to the male called Fury whom is a shade of black, unlike the other, gray people.

He clears his throat loudly and the pair stops talking, my uncle stops talking to the two males in the back near and at the table, and the one I guess to be my new father stops pacing. They all turn to look at Fury. I always knew he is a figure of power; a real leader. It just rolls off his stance and body language like invisible smoke.

It faintly registers in my head that all of them are of a much lighter skin color than I am use to just as Fury is of a slightly darker one. I don't pay it much heed, however, as Fury begins to speak in a language that I am not too familiar with. I close my eyes, draw upon my reserve and left over strength, and call upon my magic to teach my brain the language. It's another Midgardian language so it does not take nearly as much strength as I originally expected, but still quite a bit anyways.

I open my eyes wide and clutch my chest while I stumble backwards a step as my magic takes my energy away all at once, like it does when a spell finishes.

"Uh. . . . Fury. . . ." I hear one of the males say. I am looking at the ground in front of me, still clutching my chest, as I wait for the magic to take all that it will. "Is he -?" I only understand a little of the question as the magic continues to work and slowly translate. I don't understand why it is still translating and taking energy; it is typically after the spell is complete. Must be a language thing. I try to take my mind off the pain of being drained by dwelling on these pointless thoughts.

I feel all eyes upon me and the room goes silent as I lose my energy. I cough loudly a few times before shaking my head, a foul taste in my mouth, and I look up to see them staring at me silently. I look over at Fury. "Finished?" He asks me in the language I was originally taught and I nod my head in understanding and agreement.

He nods back before turning back to them. I straighten back up and clasp my hands behind my back like before as the same male of before, whom I now see to be the pacing male, my possible new father, begins to talk again.

"So. . . . Is he okay? He's okay, right?" He asks, seeming fairly unsure of himself.

I sigh. 'All bark and no bite.' I think to myself quietly. What a wimp; hopefully he is not the adopter.

"Yeah, he's got magic, kind of like Loki." I look back up at him as he says my blood father's name. "He was probably just using it to learn the language. He doesn't have much strength for his magic like Loki does; he's limited in what he can do for the most part."

Thor looks to me as he nods his head in understanding and the female looks at her mate. The leader one exchanges glances with the short one. The pacer male also looks at me. What an exchange. I still feel exhausted. I think with a small frown at the ground in front of me.

I look up as the Pacer male's voice sounds. "Huh. Okay." He says, looking at me, studying, sizing me up. I stand up a little straighter and puff out my chest a little more but I do not move as much. I lift my chin up in a bit of a challenge as I look back at him but he never makes eye contact with me.

"It's going to be hard for you all to get use to him; I'm going to tell you that ahead of time. He's different, a lot different. He was raised in an entirely different culture so he acts, thinks, and speaks, much differently than you all are use to." The one called Fury says. "Just thought I would give you a heads up on that ahead of time." He turns to the pacer male. "You are going to have a harder time with him than I realized at first." The male seems to be slightly appalled by this. "And that's solely because of Cap over there." He points to the leader male. "You'll understand what I mean in due time."

"Why not now? I don't understand now." The pacer says. I guess he is my father because of what Fury says and the way the pacer reacts.

"Because now is time for introductions." Fury replies. He turns to me a little and looks me in the eye, asserting his dominance over me once more. "Ready to meet everybody?"

I just nod my head in response, making eye contact with him defiantly, knowing that he does not realize that is what I am up to. I enjoy secretly deifying him.

He turns to each one of them in turn. He points first to the female. "Over there is Agent Natasha Romanoff, also referred to as the Black Widow. She's very stealthy, strong, and pretty good at getting information. She's basically a spy and an assassin rolled into one. " She waves her hand at me as I glance at her. I look back over at Fury, not understanding the gesture's meaning. "She waved at you," he says pointedly looking at me, speaking now so that only I can hear, and continues on, "it's a way of saying hello." I feel a little offended so I frown at him and whine softly. Put it nicer. "Next to her," he points to the hunter, "is Agent Clint Barton, he is also referred to as Hawkeye or the Hawk. He's a master marksman; a hunter, as you will probably see him." He just gestures with his chin at me and I scowl back at him in confusion. Another way of saying hello, possibly? They aren't the only ones who will have a hard time with this transition, it seems.

He then moves on to the ones over in the table area. "Over here we have Thor." He points at my uncle who waves at me and smiles. I understand smiles so I allow my mouth to twitch into a momentary smile that does not last. "He's just Thor but he packs a hell of a punch with his hammer." I look back at Fury as he points again to a different one. I look over as the short stature one smiles and waves as well. "That's Bruce Banner, a.k.a. the Hulk." I give Fury a confused look and he glances over at me. "A.k.a. stands for 'also known as' which is basically just another way of saying 'also referred to as.'" I nod in understanding crisply and he continues on. Thank you for not offending me this time. "Bruce turns into a very large, very angry, green giant, so don't let him fool you into think he's completely harmless." I tilt my head at this as I stare at him in wonder. Such a small male turns into such a large monster? How? "Next we have Steve Rogers." I look at him and he gives me a short, brief wave. "Captain Steve Rogers is also known as Captain America, he's basically the leader of this group and a whole lot stronger and faster than he looks. He also doesn't understand as many of the references that will be made, like you will. He's pretty much the Alpha here." I nod in understanding as I look at him. Just what I thought; the leader of the pack. "And then we have Mr. Tony Stark." He says, motioning over to the pacer who I study once more. "Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man. He's your new father." Just as I thought. "Thor has a name for him that'll make it better for you to understand. Thor calls Tony, when he's suited up, Metal Man or Man of Iron." I tilt my head curiously at this while I study him with a newfound interest and curiosity. Not so wimpy then. "He has this suit made of metal that protects him and lends him extra strength and power in many ways." That's good; a can-be-strong father.

"And he is my father?" I rumble as I look up at Fury. He smiles down at me and nods his head.

"Yep." He looks over at Tony Stark then back at me. "Try not to give him to hard of a time. He might not be the leader of the pack but he is still your father. Still the leader of your own personal pack. You need to try hard to listen to him more so than Captain Steve Rogers. But remember, I still run the show; you listen to me before Tony or Rogers. Got that?"

I nod my head sharply then go back to looking at this . . . Tony. This . . . Iron Man. Fury pats me on the back and I look up at him.

"Here's your luggage." He hands me the handle to the suitcase. "Hope you get comfortable here quickly. Let me know if you need anything."

I smile at a thought that crosses my mind about my new situation and makes me happy because it's what I have always wanted in this large of a form;

A new pack.

How you like the kid so far?