James felt like he'd been waiting around anxiously for hours by the time Torunn finally showed up. She was wearing normal civilian clothes, just like James was, which meant that they both stood out against the crowd together. He wondered if everyone had always looked so ridiculous strutting around in their various spandex and metal uniforms.

Then he wasn't able to think of anything else as Torunn looked around the large arena of supers, and after a moment, began walking right towards him. His hands were sweating, and he wondered if he would ever not be made into a fool just by Torunn's mere presence. Though he felt a little hurt when she ended up walking right past him, and when he turned around, he saw her stand in front of Peter. Which made sense, since Peter had been the one to call her here.

She talked to him quietly for a few minutes before Peter pointed in James' direction, and Torunn glanced back over her shoulder, one eyebrow arched up. She turned back to Peter to say something else, and then walked over to James until she was standing right in front of him. She looked as beautiful as ever, and James couldn't help questioning whether he'd ever get the chance to get close with his own Torunn.

"James. I'm sorry for my abrupt departure before, but I felt it was necessary to create some distance between us. Peter said that we're all calling the real James Jim now, right?" James nodded once, and she continued. "Jim and I were very close when we were younger, but that was many years ago, and things are much more complicated now." She sighed. "And things have been very rough between us ever since your father-"

No matter what Natalia or any of the other Avengers said, James knew it wasn't fair to let Torunn carry this burden all by herself. He reached out to grab her shoulders. "That wasn't your fault, okay? You were trying to do the right thing by putting bad guys in jail. You didn't ask for him to be killed, and I know that you must've cared about him here just as much as you do where I'm from. You can't let everyone blame you for his death."

Torunn blinked a few times, and then took a step back, so James let his arms drop back to his sides. "But you blamed me too, didn't you? Why else would you suddenly cut off all contact with me? To the point where you wouldn't even attend your own father's funeral just because you heard that I'd be there? I didn't even go, James. I couldn't go! I wanted to but I couldn't because I knew that you and the other Avengers would be there, despising me for making them lose their leader, and I-"

"Stop! It's not my fault if you felt too afraid to be able to attend the funeral, that was Jim! Not me. I don't even know how you could mix us up like that. I'm a whole different person than him."

Torunn shrugged. "Not really. I mean, you look identical to him, so I'd have to be at least a little bit crazy to look at you and not make a single mistake about who you are. And I know you don't really know very much about your counterpart, but before your father's death, he was always trying to figure out ways to convince the Avengers that I deserved to remain a part of their family. And now here you are, offering me up to be in charge of this whole shindig because you think it's a way to try and get everyone to like me, right?"

James' face flushed pink. "Maybe partially. But I also suggested you because I really do think that you're the right person for the job. Who else could have both the trust and distrust on both ends of the scale?"

Torunn shrugged. "I'd say that you're reasoning makes even less sense than usual, but that would imply that you ever say anything that makes sense." One corner of her mouth tilted up into a little smile. "Every time I think that things are going to happen in exactly the way I expect, they don't. And I suspect that you're almost always the cause of things happening differently than they should." At James' slightly worried look, her smile grew a bit more. "That's a good thing, James. We weren't close for all those years for no reason. I enjoy the constant surprises that you bring into my life."

Even though he knew that now really wasn't the time to be worrying about it, he couldn't help asking her, "So you don't care about the fact that I'm not a hero? Or that Jim isn't a hero, anyways. I'm technically one of the young Avengers, but I'm on a bit of a forced leave of absence at the moment."

Torunn shrugged again. "Who am I to judge you for something like…" she trailed off as a familiarly costumed man walked over to them. James quickly recognized the only slightly modified version of Dr. Doom's usual costume? His cape was a lighter green, and his mask didn't look as unfriendly, but it was undoubtedly him. James' first reaction was to throw a punch, but he was able to take a few seconds and remind himself of the fact that the man was a hero in this world. He wasn't sure why Torunn looked so upset to see him though. "I didn't think you'd want to be seen with me," she said quietly.

Dr. Doom's shoulders slumped down. "Right in this moment, our moral compasses don't need to be entirely aligned. All of us are working together for the common good of not watching the entire world be destroyed around us, so it doesn't really matter whether we're seen fraternizing or not."

"It's not just that. Aren't you worried that people might figure out your secret identity?"

The man shrugged. "To be honest, I don't think that secret identities are the most important thing going on at the moment. There are so many greater problems, and we all just need to set aside our differences and work together." He reached out to take one of Torunn's hands, and when she just let him despite the fact that she was strong enough to easily tug herself away, James couldn't help feeling something unpleasant swirl around in his stomach. "I've taken the time to think about what happened between us, and I wanted to apologize. You're right, it would be unfair of me to judge you so much just based on your family. And you haven't even been seen with them in a while anyways. Torunn, or Lightning, or whatever you want to be called, I still love you so much."

For a moment, James could feel his heart break and he was sure that Torunn was going to run off with the scumbag and live happily ever after with him. But then she gently removed her hand from his, and shook her head once. "Now isn't the time to be focusing on something as petty as romantic entanglements. We have more important matters at hand."

It didn't seem like Dr. Doom was quite so ready to let go of their relationship, and James didn't even want to know how that had come about. He couldn't wait to get home and tell his Torunn about the fact that she'd dated Dr. Doom. She probably wouldn't really believe him, but the look on her face in response to the announcement was bound to be hilarious.

While he was lost in thought, James didn't even notice Torunn grabbing Dr. Doom's arm and dragging him off to talk in private. It was tempting to follow after them and listen in on whatever they were talking about, but he decided that it wasn't his right to know about everything that had to do with Torunn. He waited anxiously for her to come back, and a few minutes later, she was there.

"So just out of curiosity, you wouldn't happen to know of any way to actually catch the attention of everyone here at once, would you? Because I got my dad's gift for being able to talk loudly, but I don't think that even he could talk loudly enough to be heard over this rabble. I can only imagine what it must've sounded like when those buildings came down on top of everyone trying to yell to be heard over each other."

James smiled. "At least it isn't as bad as the common floor of the tower when everyone's eating and fighting over what movie to watch."

Torunn pretended to shudder. "Oh the horror. There are definitely some things about that life that I don't miss." She laughed, and even though it wasn't as loud and boisterous as James knew it could be, he still felt satisfied to hear it. "So? Any idea?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm not really the ideas guy. Maybe someone else could help?"

That brought a small scowl onto Torunn's face, all traces of the laughter completely gone. "To be honest, I'm really not sure that having me in charge of everything is such a good idea. I know that I can lead a team, but my only experience is with a small team of five or six people at the most, not hundreds of them. And I don't have anyone out here who actually trusts me or believes in me. There's got to be a better person for the job."

James arched one eyebrow. "Are my ears deceiving me, or is Torunn Thorsdottir acting like a quitter right now? Last time I checked, you were supposed to be fearless. And now you're telling me that it isn't the threat against all of humanity that has your knees shaking, but the idea of having to try and work together with two groups of people?"

Torunn crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not a coward, James," she told him with a chilled voice. "I don't always understand myself entirely, but I know that much. But like you said, there's a threat against all of humanity. Now isn't the time to try mending fences, now is the time to get whoever is most capable of stitching two very opposing groups of people together. I can't be that person, because nobody here believes that I can be, regardless of how qualified I might be for the job."

"I believe in you," James told her earnestly. "And Peter believes in you. And bizarrely enough Dr. Doom seems to believe in you. And there's got to be others to, who you've worked with before or rescued or helped out or anything, who you've done anything at all to prove that you are worth believing in. And maybe you're at a disadvantage here; I get that, I really do. The villains don't trust you because you're a hero, and the heroes don't trust you because you're from a family of villains. But it doesn't matter whether they trust you personally. Like Doom said, it's not a matter of moral compasses right now, so much as it is a matter of everyone having the same goal at the moment. All they need to do is trust in the fact that you don't want to witness the end of the world. And they can and will do that, I promise."

Torunn sighed. "I still don't think this is a great idea. Clearly the reason that nobody invited me in the first place is because they didn't want me around. They don't need me here. They can do all of this saving the world business on their own."

Maybe there were more major differences between his Torunn and this one than he'd originally thought. He'd never heard his Torunn sound so unsure of herself before. Or maybe it's just that they'd never been close enough for her to be willing to share something like that. Either way, it opened his eyes to a new side of her. And suddenly he knew, in a way that he'd never really thought about before, that Torunn wasn't perfect. She was a hero, and a good person, a good friend, a good leader, a positive role model. But she wasn't flawless. And it was unfair of James to constantly put her up on a pedestal and expect perfection from her. Maybe part of the reason they'd never gotten closer was because she didn't want to let him down. Or maybe she'd just found it annoying that he always thought of her as an ideal person.

He knew that whatever thoughts were going through Torunn's mind right now weren't going to banished just by a few words, but he couldn't just say nothing. "I'm sorry," he blurted out.

Torunn looked just as surprised as James was by the sudden apology. "For what?"

"I had this whole big picture in my mind of how things were going to go. You'd come here, and you'd take charge, and everyone would listen for no other reason than that they know you're the most likely to be able to lead them strongly. That they'd see how perfect you are, and immediately get over themselves and their problems with you. But I was wrong to think that. You aren't perfect."

Torunn narrowed her eyes, and put her hands on her hips. "Gee, thanks."

He quickly shook his head. "I'm not saying it like it's a bad thing! It's actually really good as far as I'm concerned. It makes you more human, you know? I mean, obviously you're one hundred percent Asgardian in terms of your biology, but you were raised on Earth with a gaggle of humans, and you're a lot more like us than you are like your biological family. And I think that that's a really good thing. I think that maybe your imperfections are exactly why you are the best person for the job. You have flaws and you know it, which means that you won't be looking down on everyone else the entire time, and you'll be able to help them find their flaws too, so that they can work on them and improve. I know it must be a bit frightening to think of the fact that a lot of people are going to be relying on you very soon, but I know that you can do it. It's okay if you don't know that about yourself yet, as long as you trust me. Do you?"

She frowned. "You're the one who just yelled at me for mistaking you for Jim, and now you want me to blindly trust you even though I technically don't even know you?" She didn't even wait for an answer before she started laughing, and this time it was the amazingly loud and happy laughter that James remembered. "Oh gods, this is too good. Fine, fine, I guess I'll just have to trust you on this. But if I find out you've led me astray, I'll be very disappointed in you." She wagged one finger at him, but there was too much mirth still on her face to take it seriously. Then she cracked her knuckles and neck, as though she were preparing for battle. "Alright, I can do this," she seemed to say more to herself than anyone else. "I won't let this world be conquered. I can't let it. My father loves this planet and he'd be so disappointed in me," she added with another small laugh.

James grinned, and reached out to pat her shoulder. "You're right, you can do this. Now go out there and prove to everyone why you deserve to be here."

She nodded, and there was a look of determination on her face as she started to walk away. But then she paused after a few steps to look back at James. "I still haven't figured out how to talk over all of them," she said sheepishly.

James couldn't help laughing at the look on her face. "I'm sure there's someone in this monstrous crowd that can help us. Though I'm sure you'll have to do better than just a normal bullhorn."

Torunn suddenly ran back towards James, and threw herself straight at him. He managed to open his arms and catch her into a hug just out of reflexes alone. "Thanks, James! When you do get back to your own world, and I just know that you'll figure out a way, make sure to tell your Torunn everything you just told me. I have the feeling that it's something she really needs to hear."

Selfishly, James wanted to just keep holding onto her forever, because she felt so right in his arms. But he knew that there were more important things, so he reluctantly let her go, and she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before hurrying off. He thought he was going to explode from happiness.

Once he lost sight of her in the crowd, which really didn't take very long at all considering how many people were around, he turned to try and seek out Peter again. He started walking, and almost crashed right into someone. He opened his mouth to apologize, but then he realized that he recognized the bright green hair, and he blinked a few times in surprise. "Lorna? What are you doing here? I thought you-?"

She grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the edge of the large crowd. "We need to talk. Important information stuff." She waved her hand like 'important information stuff' was completely inconsequential. "You're gonna want to hear about this." She informed him coolly brought him away from the massive gathering of supers. "I promise I'd do everything in my power to help you get home, right? And I'm going to do just that."

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