"-is?!"

A high pitch ring seemed to drown out all else, that sound a constant, steady squeal in her ears as the world slowly came into focus. That vile, bitter taste of smoke coated the inside of her mouth and throat. A cough shook her body or maybe it was something else that made her shake from head to toe. She could have sworn she felt hands on her. Though as she felt another jerk on her body, she had no doubt. Though when she tried to protest, words would not come all that left her was a groan, as she tried to open her eyes, the light blinding her as she cracked open her eyes

"Ugh…"

God her ears hurt, what the hell happened? She clenched her eyes tight, as she tried to push herself up, the buzzing in her ears starting to lessen as the world started to focus like an image through an old movie projector.

"Artemis!"

Oh God did that make her feel sick! The world seemed to shift around her. No wait….she was what was moving. She found herself being jerked up to where she was sitting on her knees. She could feel large, warm hands on her shoulders. Her stomach twisting from the quick shift if momentum.

"Stark! Don't shake her!"

"Stark?" His name escaped her lips in a hushed breath as she finally pried open her eyes, she having to blink a few times before the world was something more than a burst of white light. She looking up at the man who had his arm wrapped around her shoulders keeping her steady as she tried to gain her bearings. Why did he…Then it all started to come back as the stench of burning metal and rubber reached her. A woosh of air, the suction of flames…An explosion! That's right it was only moments ago. They were fighting, that was all the last few hours had been, yelling and arguing. Though as things were about to go from bad to worse the program the three brainiacs had set up went off, it had located the Tesseract! Though….she had heard a noise when she had tried to get Tony Stark, and Steve Rogers to stop bickering for five minutes so they could hurry up and get this over with. She had thought she recognized it, if you been caught in one enough times, you tend to learn the signs, and an explosion was hard to forget. She didn't stop to think about it, she heard that sound and threw herself on the nearest person, though that had ended up with her throwing herself on top of the two bickering men.

"There you are. I thought you went and checked out early on us." Stark had said, was it just her or did his grin look forced?

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just a little….air sick. What about you two?" She answered almost immediately as she tried to get up, feeling a second pair of hands grab her to help her up. They didn't have time for her to sit around…why did the side of her face feel wet?

"Yeah, say that again when your ears aren't bleeding."

"Stark, I'm fine!" Her words coming out in an agitated growl, her voice tense as the two men refused to let go, her legs were a little shaky, and now that she thought about it, her back stung a little, and that throbbing in her ears was pretty bad, but she's been through worse. "Not my first time getting blown up." She grumbled raising her arm to whip the side of her face, her ears slowly shifting back to her real ears. "I worry more about those of you who can't regen'." She sighed closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to will away the twisting and flipping of her stomach, words falling past her lips in barely a ghost of a mummer. "I don't see how you lot make it through a day like that…."

"We're fine. You pushed us out of the way." Steve finally spoke…was it just her or did she hear a hint of respect in his voice. No it couldn't have, it wasn't as if she did much.

The explosion wasn't that bad was it? It wasn't in the room so what could….Though that line of thought ended when she looked over her shoulder to see the hole in the floor. If she hadn't pushed them, they all would have fell in.

"That was just retarded, you know that?!"

"Stark…" There it was, Captain America was already getting annoyed with Iron man yet again.

"Do we have time for this? I'm pretty sure we got a flying ship about to come crashing down!" She said shaking off their hands. She just realizing just how long the two had been touching her. Now was not the time to blush like she was a giddy school girl. She could squeal and flail like a rabid fool when she wasn't in sight of these two. I might just stop her from turning into a blushing fumbling mess. There was no way she was going to let a bunch of strangers see her like that. She quickly looking to save face "And here I thought you'd love having a pretty girl throw herself at you." Sarcasm dripping from her lips, that confident smirk replacing all else on her face. No one needed to see what was really going on in that rapidly beating heart. Though before Stark could say another word the ship shuddered.

"Shit."

"Put on the suit!"

"Right!"

Though as the two turn to run off Captain America paused. "We need to move!"

"Rig-" Though she cut herself off as a thought suddenly hit her. Shit…Why didn't she think of this fifteen seconds ago?!

The two men looked at her confused. Her eyes had widen to the size of saucers before she seem to flush in barely restrained anger as her gaze narrowed into slits.

"Someone needs to go check on Loki! If this has anything to do with him…"

It seemed the Captain caught on quickly to her line of thought. "Shit….But you can't-"

"I can handle myself Cap'. It's kind of hard to kill me remember?" Slapping a hand to her once injured side to reinforce her statement.

The two paused a moment longer, before Rogers sighed a light glare on his face. He didn't like the idea of letting a woman be alone with a man like that, but if he was still in his cell. He heard a click behind him before Stark stepped up, sticking his hand in his pocket. "Take this." He grumbled grabbing her wrist before he pushed something in her palm. "Put it in your ear, yell if you need help. Try not to get yourself killed. I want it back." He said, his tone almost dismissive, but the slight glare in his eyes spoke differently, before turning and running down a hall.

Rogers looked at her before looking back at Stark. "Good luck! If it looks bad get out of there." He said, he quickly clasping a hand on her shoulder before her turn and raced after Tony. He casting a glance over his shoulder before he continued.

'Okay I got this!' she thought, her heart falling in her stomach as she looked over at the hole in the ground…It couldn't have killed them right? No, no, not Chaos...She might not be anything like her, but there was no way she'd die that easily. Dr. Banner couldn't die…and Black Widow…she should be fine. She looked like she has lived through worst. "I'll be back for you! I promise! Just hang on!" She shouted down the hole, glancing at the broken glass...a bit of torn black fabric on a jutting edge of glass…She couldn't worry about this now! She let out a sigh before she ran down the hall opposite of the one that Tony and Steve had. They would be okay, they had to be okay. Loki better pray they were, it they weren't…well she was going to find out just what Asgardian tasted like….

It had been a chore to get down the hall, she had to push past people, leaping over hunks of metal and fallen debris. Though that wasn't her only challenge, she really starting to notice just how bad of an idea it was to heighten her hearing before an explosion, her balance had been a bit off, though she kept reminding herself of the bright side, the ringing in her ears almost completely having died out. But as she nearly bumped into the wall again she couldn't wait until she got her equilibrium back, hopefully that was something that would heal. She had no idea how everyone made it day to day with the painfully slow way they seemed to heal. That explosion must have done a lot more damage than she had thought, she could feel the ship shudder under her feet every now and again, and she was quite sure that it wasn't just her. Though as she ran around a fallen over metal cart she was sure some of this stuff people had just abandon in the hall when they ran. Artemis was just happy she didn't need to jump over any bodies, a few abandoned carts and such were fine in her opinion. Though she couldn't help but feel that heavy ball in the pit of her stomach, as that putrid scent of burning metal burned her senses once more. How could she have just left Chaos like that?...She didn't even know if she was alive, she could have been in that pit with a broken leg if not worse…

'No! It's Chaos we're talking about here….She's fine.' Artemis tried to reassure herself, but each time she did, she thought back to the look on her closest friend in the world, face when Loki had caught her. How she had nearly collapsed as Loki viciously attacked her mind in return. The mutant unable to tell if she cut her hand open, if she broke her leg, the one who felt no pain but in one place. 'She's fine.'

The gold eyed woman had put in the ear piece when she had started running. She was confident she could hold off anyone who tried to free Loki, hell probably even slow down Loki if not stop him out right, but maybe she would get lucky, Stark might find out what the hell was going on. If everyone was oaky. The way the slim black device clasped on her ear hurt a little but, she knew it wasn't going to fall if she had to change. Though, even though she never forgot the device's presences, she still hadn't been expecting the voice in her ear. She nearly tripping over her own feet as she turned a corner. "Is anyone still breathing?" Fury's voice filled her ear…Tony must have had remote access to this thing.

"Me and Stark are suiting up."

"Good. Stark, go check it out, or we are going to be dead in the air."

"Uhhh….we're okay too. Just a few bumps and bruises. Dr. Banner and Chaos are down here with me." Natasha's somewhat pained voice sounded over the feed, oh thank God, she had never been happier to hear someone's voice.

Artemis put her finger to the piece pressing down on a button. It didn't seem any different from a normal ear piece sure it was slick, but it didn't seem very Tony Stark. Oh well, she shouldn't complain. At least she knew how to use it. "It's Artemis. I'm still breathing too, I'm checking to make sure Loki is still secure!"

"Don't be a hero, just make sure he stays in his cell. I'll send you some back up." Well she hadn't expected that. She had half expected him to tell her to turn around, he hadn't seemed like the type to trust her to do, well, anything. Things really must be going to hell.

"I'll do my best." She said, cheer almost dripping from her voice, though her face spoke volumes of her concern. She always was good at pretending, if you smile, everything would be okay. It was Chaos who taught her to lie, to hide her voice, but her mask. That was her. 'It's going to be fine.' Oh how she'll regret that thought. "Ah, wait!" She suddenly said, probably a bit louder than necessary then she need to. "Uh, hehe, Fury….w-what's the code to get in the room? Heh…" she chuckled nervously as she got to the door. Man she had almost sounded cool there for a moment. She could almost see the look on Fury's face as he related the numbers to her.

'Okay I got this I just need to stay….shit.' She had thought all would be fine, she would find Loki in his cell but, it seemed lady luck was no friend of her's these days. No sooner did the door slide open did she find herself staring at a man, he was clad, as if prepared for combat, though what drew her eyes immediately was not just the fact he was typing away on the console that controlled Loki's cell, no, it was the gun. That was something that she hasn't gone through before. Stabbed, explosions, falls, freezing temperatures, burns, but shot…that wasn't on her list. He gaze flickered from the man to the prisoner, she couldn't. She couldn't let him escape. For a moment she hesitated at the thought of the pain, she healed, but she felt it, the pain, the searing burning. 'I got to-' Though her thought cut off as Loki turned to look at her. Her heart stopped in her chest as those cool, blue green eyes gazed at her. It almost felt as if he was looking into her very soul, seeing the fear she had, the hesitation she felt at the thought of the pain.

"I do believe we have a guest."

Her eyes widen as the man turn on her, he almost immediately brining up his gun, the cold steel reflecting softly in the florescent light. For a moment her heart stopped as time seemed to slow down, as she watched the man press down on something with his elbow. 'No!' She didn't know when she started to sprint across the room, but she had, adrenalin pounding in her ears as she crossed the room. All she knew was she couldn't let Loki escape. If he did, then her leaving Chaos behind, the one time she didn't follow after to make sure her best friend was alive, would have been for nothing!

Artemis had felt the burst of white hot pain in her shoulder, the momentum of the impact felt almost as if she had been hit by a bat. Though despite it all, it did little to slow her momentum. It wasn't long before she made impact with this man she felt something give under her hand like melted butter as she slammed her hand down on the console, praying she was hitting something right as she kept up her momentum as she slammed her body into him. She heard nothing but her heart in her ears as the man made impact with the railing, her hips slamming into the metal bars, the force of the impact she could feel in her bones as he grasped at her in vain. It wasn't until she found herself gazing into the dark depth of the pit did she realize that they were going over, she barely able to grasp on to the railing to stop herself as the man flipped over, his scream echoing off the walls before a sickening thud cut it short.

A cough left her lips as she fought to regain her breath, her stomach having slammed into the railing when the man had grabbed her, almost pulling her over with him. Her eyes clenched shut as she held onto the railing, trying to find some sort of comfort in the cold metal. It was only a moment before she opened her eyes, and in all honesty, as she looked down into the pit, she wished she hadn't. That coppery, metallic scent of blood reaching her delicate sense as she looked at the contorted being bellow. His eyes wide as he gazed blindly up at her, his legs twisted at odd angles. In the darkness she could faintly make out the dark liquid that was already pooling around him. Those dull unblinking eyes staring into her. She had never…Despite all of her bluster and confidence, she had never took a life, not a single person, the only blood she had ever spilled was of animals, but never….She felt sick to her stomach, it twisting and tying in knots.

Though in that moment, she felt an intense pain radiates from her shoulder, like an explosion that had finally burst. Her breath caught in her throat as she gripped her left shoulder, she hardly taking note of the blood that already painted her black clad hands. Blood dripped from her arm, it oozing from the hole in her suit like a flow of water from between stones. Through clinched teeth she took deep breaths, fighting back the urge to scream. Well, at least she was right. Getting shot really hurt, a lot. It was then a thought hit her through the veil of pain. 'Loki!' He was the whole reason she was even in this state!

Artemis jerked her head to look at the glass cage, part of her expecting to find nothing there, but for once she was glad to be wrong. When she had turn she found the God of Mischief standing behind the walls of his glass prison, gazing at her with a level of annoyance and amusement. "You have impeccable timing." He breathed, looking at her blood covered hands.

"Well, if you had-" She flinched a bit as a sudden pulse rocketed through her shoulder, like someone had just dug in a blade and twisted. Though she forced herself to continue. "…More competent minions, my timing wouldn't have mattered." She said, her heart twisting at her own words. Though her face betrayed little more than the pain that wracked her body. She turning away from the railing as she looked around cautiously, she making her way until she stood in front of the console, before turning to look at him. The pain on her face having started to ebb away as those jungle cat like eyes watched him. "I'd suggest ones a little less….fragile." She breathed as she lean back against the console, carful to not press on any buttons. The pain was starting to dull, but as she felt something move under her skin she had to flinch as her body protested against such an intrusion.

"He seemed to do well enough." He responded readily, looking pointedly at the hand that covered that bleeding wound. "You're not as indestructible as you put on." He pointed out. That chilling smirk on his lips. That pointed glare from the woman before him doing little to lessen it. No, it only grew as she bit her lip leaning forward in pain. Though what happen next caught him off guard. Those slim long fingers pulling away from her shoulder. He had expected to see a torrent of blood fall from her wound, but instead of that crimson river, something small fell into her waiting palm as she straighten herself, she smirking through her pain as she wiped away at the hole in her suit, clearing away the blood for him to see the discolored skin beneath. No sooner was the life giving liquid cleared away, it was easy to see the thin strands of skin already threading across the gap, as it pulled itself the rest of the way close. His eyes never turning from the sight, refusing to look away, even as the material crept back across her skin, hiding the flushed skin beneath.

"You were saying?" She asked, rolling the bullet in her palm. Simply flicking it in his direction, the crushed metal bouncing off the glass. If not for that, it would have bounced off of his forehead. The clinking of metal against metal as it bounced off the floor was music to her ears. If she didn't know better, she'd think the silver tongued God was at a loss for words. The God of Lies at a loss for words? What a silly thought! "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" She grinned, oh smugness was just a natural pain killer.

"I do believe you have to get a little closer for that." He breathed, a smirk immediately back on his lips. Artemis raising a single eyebrow at that. She taking in those words, as she quickly put together just what he had just insinuated. She shaking her head in response, she would have just walked away in most other situation, but she knew she couldn't just leave him there on his own, especially with his minions running around.

"Did you really just say what I think you did?" She chuckled, she knew she had to look like a bloody mess. The fabric wasn't exactly absorbent, so blood had to be dripping from her, the softest ding of the liquid hitting metal doing well to reassure her of this fact. The sides of her face still had to be stained with dried blood, when she had tried to wipe it off, it did little more than smear. "Sorry to tell yah sweet heart, but I got no plans to get any closer than I am." She sighed, crossing her arms under her chest.

"Sweet heart?" He had to chuckle at that, that infuriating grin on his face.

"Sarcasm."

"Of course."

Okay he was just trying to annoy her now. Where the hell was her backup? "You're just trying to get on my nerves now, aren't you?" She sighed narrowing her eyes at him. He seemed completely unconcerned with the dead minion that laid bellow his cell.

"You are making it far too easy." Though it seem he decided this was a perfect moment to change the subject, countering her rhetorical question with a question of his own. "Though maybe I shouldn't speak so quickly. You're not quite the pet you pretend to be, are you?"

Artemis looked at him skeptically, well that was rather blunt. She smiling at him as she took a nice, long pause. Maybe he wasn't as easy as she thought. "People aren't pet's." She shrugs, she saw no reason to keep up the act. He wouldn't have asked if he didn't already know the answer. From the short amount of time she has known this man, it was easy to tell he was the type of needed to be in control. Know every angle of the situation.

"Oh, I can debate that."

"Yeah, well, slavery is frowned upon here." She pointed out bluntly a sigh lacing her words. "Oppression is the father of rebellion." She had heard someone say that once, though hell if it made her look smart, she was happy to take credit at the moment.

"Ah, but such rebellion leads to the greatest plague of man-kind….freedom." He easily countered, his voice dripping with the very same amusement she had heard time and time before. Not just from him, from every mad-man, every power crazed mutant, claiming they were to be the next God on earth. That chilling, Cheshire cat like smirk pulling across those thin lips as he watched her. He wasn't staring through her, no, how she would have preferred that, no, his gaze burn her like the noon day sun against a small, lone flower that survived the carnage of her desert home. It willing her to wilt, it roaming every curve, every line, while at the same time pierced as if he could pierce the very depth of her soul with his eyes alone. Know every tear that was shed, and every laugh shared. All the madness, and loathing she had once saw in the depths of his eyes, seemed to sear away to nothing but that penetrating stare.

She was the first to break eye contact, straightening herself as she smoothed a non-existent wrinkle in her suit. Every nerve ending felt on edge, each one as if pricked by small needles. It wasn't those words that put her on edge, no, she at this point almost had an appreciation for the way that silver tongue twisted words, he could almost sound poetic; it was the stare. Artemis crossed her arms in some semblance of protection. She was the one in control here, she had no reason to feel defensive. He was behind the glass not her. "You really have to, have the last word don't you?"

"I could say the same for you." He answered back readily, that smirk pulling even more on those lips as he saw the signs of discomfort. "But then again, the simple minded do hate silence."

Now that was just an ass move. She knew she should just ignore him now, but she couldn't, it was a sickness by this point. "Apparently. You seem to have trouble with it."

"Well, isn't someone witty?" His voice whispered, she able to feel his hot breath wash across her ear, and against her neck…wait. Her eyes widen as the image before her flickered much like an image on a faulty TV screen. When had he?...The moments before playing through her mind's eye at a rapid pace, thinking of when, when he could have gotten out, and it all pinpointed to that moment she had her back turn….when she had thought she had stop the lackey from getting the door open. He was the God of Tricks and Lies…She had been so preoccupied with this stupid, stupid banter. She hadn't been paying that close of attention to her surroundings. Her breath hitched as she thought a single thought.

Where was that back up?

A/N

Wow this took me a while, sorry guys! I'm still working on this story I've been trying to go back and fix and edit all my old chapters, cuse some of that I did at like 2 am, and they look it. I'm a little ashamed really, so yeah keep an eye out for that!

I hope you all like this chapter, I'm thinking of writing an extra chapter of whats going on with Chaos right now. {I was going to write it here but I thought I kept you all waiting long enough, this chapter was going to be much longer. /} Also I was thinking about finally announcing who Artemis is going to be 'involved' {Who I'm making her romance interest} with, since I know a lot of you might be romance junkies like me and want to know. What do you guys think?

I'm also going to break up this thing into series since I realize it might be easier. The next will start after NY battle~ So that won't be for a bit. XD

Okay I think I'm going to go sleep now~ Review, Fallows, and Favorites are very much loved! Thank you all who have so far, you guys make writing this a little more worthwhile. =D