Sophie was to have full tests done. Scans, ex-rays, blood work, the lot. Nick had grudgingly agreed to her being allowed to remain with Tony but he had upped the SHIELD personal outside and vowed to return each day personally to oversee what they were doing. Tony had objected but the threat of Sophie being dragged away and shut up somewhere made him feel sick.

Sophie had half caught on to the change. She knew that Fury wanted no more time wasting, just a full report on everything about Sophie. She didn't know why the change had happened though, and Tony was reluctant to tell her. I don't even understand myself. What do you have working in that head of yours? After they'd run some scans he asked her to sit down so he could take her blood. She grabbed his hand as he turned away. Her eyes were welling up. "Please don't let anything happen to me."

"I won't" He promised.

Bruce, Tony, Nick and Maria Hill had all sat down together to discuss the issue. Bruce told them all their results, mumbling a little and awkwardly shifting in his seat. "Sophie's all very normal. There's nothing unusual in her blood work. Her iron levels are a little higher than normal, but not by much and so are pheromone levels- but again, not much."

"Well, she is flirting all the time. She flirted with my security." Tony said, glaring at Fury from time to time. "But she's also quite… picky. I imagine she's got a basic drive to find a perfect mate for her future genius babies."

"Is that important?" Maria asked.

"Everything is important." Fury said, glaring back at Tony. One of these days, Eye-Patch, one of these days… "What drives her is important. And you never know, any children she has might be the same as her."

"I suppose you'd like to reopen the old project with a breeding programme attached." Tony said, dryly.

"Anyway," Bruce said quickly, "Moving on. We compared the scans you dug up from her childhood, the ones we did when she first arrived to now. And certainly, there's more activity. I… I would even say it looks like some growth too in the three weeks she's been here."

"Growth?" Maria asked

"The part of the brain which is responsible for memory has grown by a tiny bit. It's hard to see, but it's there. I'd like to be at that part of my life again when I could say, 'impossible' but you know, that ended." Bruce said.

"Why would it do that?"

"I uh, have a theory. The numbers are something she sees every day, but only occasionally. She was with us in the lab all the time, with those numbers constantly being thrown in her face. She used to stare at them for ages without even blinking."

Fury clasped his hands together. "What does that tell you?"

"It tells me…" Bruce glanced sideways at Tony. "It tells me that… Sophie has a brain that's evolving and… that might be dangerous."

Tony kept his eyes trained on Fury. "But she's not dangerous so far, so leave her be."

"But she could be." Fury said. "Face it, Mr. Stark, she, like you, Captain Rodgers and Doctor Banner here are all the next stages in human evolution. Human intervention with science and technology is the inevitable next stage to our development. Only Sophie is getting ahead of the game, you three have all stopped."

"Sophie never asked for this and she's not even aware."

"You don't know that." Fury said. "She's a liar, a thief and she holds back. Those moves she pulled at the park, she told Captain Rodgers that she took a parkour class when she went to France for a vacation. Except she's never been to France. She's hiding something."

"How can you even live in Europe and not go to France. That is just absurd." Tony said.

"Don't change the topic." Fury said, pulling Bruce's scans towards him to look over. "If her mind is still growing then we don't know what it might be able to do. I no longer believe in the impossible. One day she might be able to move things, read other people's minds or control them. And the longer she stays with all of you, the more she learns and grows. She is dangerous and can't stay."

Tony leaned forward. "She will stay with me until I know you aren't going to put her in a box at the bottom of the ocean."

They all sat in silence for a while. "She can't stay at SHIELD." Maria eventually said. "We might end up compromising ourselves. If we keep her completely isolated from anything and anyone she might end up being dangerous to herself. We can't put her in in protective custody with any agent because after a few days with them she'll find a way out and know them inside out."

Fury looked at everyone. "I know one place we can put her where she'll be out of her league, safe, taken care of and not a threat to anyone here. She may even be of use there."

"Where?" Tony asked.

"Well it's a long shot, but pack your bags. We're going to New Mexico."

Steve didn't like where this plan was heading. They were going to New Mexico, the exact location of the first sighting of Thor. I don't even understand how Sophie will be safer in another state than here. People could still track her. Maybe we should help her disappear back into Europe. Sophie had completely freaked at the knowledge she would be sharing a whole trip with Nick Fury. She hadn't handled that well, ending in tears. Natasha had decided to take her out for the day after they'd packed up a bag for Sophie. Why does it need to be such a big bag? Is she going to be away that long?

He went into Sophie's room and stared around. She didn't even have time to make this place personal. He sat on her bed. Would he ever fall asleep here again, listening to her ramble on about space and rockets and cars? He would miss that. He noticed her stuffed dinosaur sitting on the desk. He smiled just a little and packed it into the bag. Sophie loved it very much. After he'd placed it in carefully, he reached into his jacket and took out a square sketchpad which he placed down the side, hidden and safe.

Natasha and Sophie returned with a couple of bags with new clothes for Sophie which she strapped to her bag to leave. Tony and Fury had argued about who would provide transport. Fury had won, but Tony had whispered to Steve that he'd make sure JARVIS got into their systems. Steve had asked Tony where this plan was heading. Tony didn't say anything; he just squeezed Steve's shoulder and walked away.

Their journey on the Helicarrier resulted in Sophie clinging to his arm the whole time. If Fury came over she moved away and found Bruce or Tony. They used a small aeroplane on the Helicarrier to get down to the ground when they were nearing their location. There was a village that seemed to be under reconstruction. Most of it looked rebuilt, but there was evidence of older buildings that had been blasted away. There were a lot of builders and equipment around and people just getting on with their lives. They set up in a building that had just been finished, offices still to be bought or rented out. Steve doubted somewhere like this would really need offices as it was so small; unless SHIELD thought to operate here for longer and these were their offices. Sophie was left in a room herself with some books with a watch over her door. Steve didn't like the idea of leaving Sophie herself when she was so terrified, but Tony really wanted him to be a member of the 'greeting' party. Whatever that was.

They got into a van with Fury and drove out to a spot in the desert. Steve couldn't see the point in them being out in the middle of somewhere this dry and dusty until he spotted the really odd circle that was cordoned off. It was large, a beautiful, intricate pattern that reminded him of the designs he'd seen in a documentary on Celtic culture he'd watched with Sophie one night. They all stood for a while before Tony said, "Well, may as well start the idiotic shouting now. Thor!" He started screaming at the sky. "Thor, get down here!" Natasha also joined in.

"I… I don't get it." Steve said to Clint.

"A scientist called Jane Foster told us in her debriefing that when Thor wanted to go home he stood here and called for someone. Now that Asgard has the Tesseract back, maybe Thor can come down here whenever he wants. They have something they used to get here, but Thor had it destroyed for Loki-related reasons. I imagine they must be rebuilding." Clint looked up at the sky. "I'm hoping this works because if not we're all going to look stupid."

"But you're not shouting." Steve pointed out.

"I'm still standing with the morons who are." Clint replied, folding his arms and staring at Natasha.

Steve looked up at the sky, squinting because of the bright sun. "How is Thor going to help?"

"I truthfully don't know." Clint said, pulling out his sun glasses. "I wasn't consulted."

They remained there for about an hour, drinking water and sheltering under a gazebo. Steve got restless. I wish I'd stayed in New York. And then it happened. The sky darkened, and clouds appeared from nowhere, materialising into a large circle that grew and descended to the earth. There was thunder and a flash of lightening. Steve stood back from the circle, backing away. Everyone ran for cover. There was a loud cracking noise and the clouds cleared. A layer of dust arose before them. Slowly it settled. Thor rose from where he was kneeling and looked around at them all. He was the same as ever. Tall, billowing red cloak and Mjoliner at his side. Tony walked forward first and Steve followed. Tony shook Thor's hand. "My friends," Thor said, smiling at them all. "It's been too long."

Sophie had been confined to a room alone. She had been provided with some books to read. She had already read all of them. She suspected that they knew she had read those. Of course she wasn't planning to stick around. The watch was only outside the door and she had scoured the room for a camera or a bug of which there were none. There was nothing in the room except an office chair which she checked multiple times. These idiots will never learn…

She reached down the front of her left leg of her loose jeans and pulled out a screwdriver. She had packed as many small tools into her clothes as she could, borrowing one of Steve's shirts so it wouldn't be too obvious what she was doing. She nearly laughed that she was pulling this scam twice. She knelt on the floor and unscrewed the vents again. This time she wouldn't know where she was going and she wouldn't have a friend's she could shower the dust off. This vent was smaller than the one in Stark Tower as well, but, Sophie wasn't going to stop. They put a Master Thief in a room with a vent. They are just asking for me to sneak out. Again. She had considered sneaking out the window, but she didn't know what were in the rooms either side of her to climb back inside and the windows didn't open from the outside.

Sophie crawled into the vent and slithered along the tunnel. She tried her hardest not to make that much noise. She wondered where she would come out. I have to find a computer. Sophie looked through very gap and grill she found. She saw a lot of boots and shoes. Eventually after about twenty minutes of crawling around, getting stuck and nearly having a panic attack, she found an empty room with a whole bunch of computers. Sophie crawled along until her legs were level with the vent, angled herself and kicked as hard as she could several times with some difficulty and smashed in the corners of the vent grill. She wriggled through, wincing as her hips smashed along the edges.

When Sophie got out, she realised she couldn't hide the damage she'd caused. She pressed the grill back onto the vent and pulled a few spare chairs in front of it. Hopefully that will go unnoticed for a while… She wondered if she should lock the door, but guessed that this room could only be accessed by card, like a lot of the rooms she'd passed by on her way inside. Sophie quickly sat down at a computer and typed in. She'd carefully watched Maria Hill type in her username and password many times. She knew it by heart. Sophie grinned when she was patched in. Now… Let's get cracking. She pulled out a few memory pens and started transferring files to them. She opened some to read, mostly on upcoming projects and other people SHIELD monitored globally. She opened up the file started on her, to see if perhaps SHIELD knew who her father was. She sighed, disappointed. Either they didn't know who it was or they weren't telling. She read a detailed report on her blood work and brain. 'Threat Level: High.' What does that mean? She read on. Evolving?

There was a sound of footsteps. Shit! She quickly gathered up her pens and stuffed them into her socks and underwear and shirt lining. She exited off the computer and crawled under the desk, pulling chairs in front of her. I am in so much trouble…

Tony followed Fury into a small room full of computers. It was for select agents only. Thor, Maria and Bruce followed. I wonder why Clint and Natasha are being kept in the dark. And Steve too… He pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing his arms. Thor looked a little confused but sat down also. He'd requested coffee and pancakes within ten minutes of greeting everyone. He had been given a large mug of coffee and Steve was seeing to the pancakes while they spoke privately.

"We're sorry to call you." Fury said.

"No you're not." Tony said, before he could help himself. Nick shot a very dark look at Tony before returning to Thor.

"I am sorry. I understand that it cost you a great deal to come to us last time."

"With the Tesseract rightly restored to us, it was easier. I may be able to visit you more." Thor said. "That is, if you would wish it."

"By all means." Bruce said. "It would be interesting to learn from you. We might be able to establish a means of communicating, which would be handy."

"It would be, if we can maintain communication now." Nick said. "I have a huge favour to ask." He typed into one of the computers and pulled up Sophie's profile. "We have a problem here. A threat."

Thor laughed. "That girl? She looks like a child."

"She's not dangerous like she'll kill you." Tony said. "Eye-Patch here is just afraid of her because she can memorise everything."

"She has a power?" Thor said, raising his eyebrows.

Tony shrugged. "She is probably the cleverest person in the world. I have never seen anything like her and never will again. The problem is… She's kind of been targeted and we can't have her here –apparently-" He glanced at Fury, "Because her mind is constantly growing. It's a problem for us on a security level."

"And… What can I do?" Thor looked confused.

Fury took over because he was now refusing to speak. This is a terrible idea… why did I agree to this? "We want you to take Sophie to Asgard."

Thor looked at them all and chuckled. "You are joking, yes?" No one replied. "You are serious?"

"If Sophie goes to Asgard, a lot of our problems would be solved for now." Bruce said. "There is a cell on Earth looking for Sophie and they want her to so something dangerous and illegal. We're not sure what, but, we need to keep her safe. They managed to track her to us. If she's in Asgard, that can't happen. She also wouldn't be able to hack into our files and steal our information."

"You want me to take a thief to Asgard?" Thor asked.

"No." Tony said. "She only steals information from computers. Fact is she'd be out of her league with you. She could learn so much, be happy-"

"How is her living with us and learning any less dangerous?" Thor demanded.

"Because there'd be no one to sell it too." Tony snapped. "Trust me; she'd be too busy trying to learn everything to bother stealing from you. I think she'd be a great ambassador between our people. She could learn everything so fast that I doubt she'd ever want to steal again. Travelling and other cultures are what she lives for. Thor, you just have to meet this girl and you'd understand. She is kind and smart and-"

"You are fond of her." Thor said. He looked at Bruce. "Do you all feel the same?" Bruce quietly nodded.

"And," Tony said, "She could probably really help you rebuild your bifrost gate-thingy. She would be a great asset to us all. She won't work for me but I refuse to let Sophie out of our lives. She makes friends really easily; she can read people like a book. She has ambassador written all over her."

Thor sat in silence for a long time. Tony ran his hands through his hair. "I knew this was a bad idea, I can't believe I even agreed to it in the first place."

"You agreed to it because you and Dr. Banner have a weakness for our thief." Fury said, sharply. "And you are right. Sophie would make a good ambassador. I wouldn't consider her a threat if she played by the rules and used her talents correctly."

"The girl spends her money on five foster kids she's never met." Tony said. "Wow, what a terrible use of her gift."

Thor held up his hand as Fury and Tony began to argue. "I do not know if my family will approve, but I will return home and see if we can make arrangements. I am uncertain about this girl… I will have to meet her first." Thor said. He then looked at Fury with a very firm, grim expression. "But I will do nothing unless I have the girl's consent. That is important."

"You will love her and she'll love you." Tony insisted. "Honestly, we wouldn't ask you this if we had something else in mind, but we need her as safe as possible. You know-" He glared at Fury again. "As safe as possible as you can be near a nut job like Loki."

Thor looked between them. "I can assure you, Loki will not be a problem."

"Will she have to interact with him?" Tony demanded.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Bruce said, standing up. "We don't even know this is going ahead yet."

Tony rubbed his face. "I shouldn't have let myself be talked into this. Okay, let's go get your pancakes and go meet Sophie."

Sophie listened to them leave. She sat under the desk, shaking. They're going to send me away… just like that… they're going to send me away. She covered her mouth with her hand to stop the sobs coming out. And they're going to send me as far away as possible… They were going to mould her into something she didn't want to be. They would force her into being one of them. I'm not going to Asgard. I'm not going anywhere near that murdering psychopath.

Sophie crawled out from under the desk, her legs wobbling. She wiped her eyes. I knew it. This is the reason you left Russia and England and China. Because everybody is a user. She would have to run away. Run away back to Europe. She wouldn't be able to go to Germany or Sweden this time, not straight away. She'd go to Norway then travel to Sweden after she'd reconnected with all her old friends. Besides, you always wanted to go to Norway. Now is as good a time as any.

Sophie went back to the vent, a plan forming in her mind.

Fury and Maria stood watching Tony and Bruce take Thor down the stairs, rattling off everything everyone had been doing in the last year. Thor just nodded. Maria hadn't said a word during that meeting. She herself was very uncertain about what they were doing. "Sir?" She asked when they were out of ear shot, "Are we certain this is a good idea? I don't think Sophie should be anywhere near Loki and for that matter a race we know very little about."

"That's why we send Sophie. She would be a good ambassador between everyone if we can train her to stop looking into things that don't concern her. But… She'll also know everything about Asgard when she returns here. Everything."

Maria frowned. "You're sending her to spy for us?"

"Is it really spying if she doesn't know? Besides… All we have to go on is Thor's word. That's not enough. I want to know if they really could be our allies."

Maria watched Tony and Thor round a corner as Bruce went in the opposite direction. "But this is primarily about everyone's safety, yes? The girl's and ours'?"

"Of course."