And so you have returned for more, huh? Well, lucky for you, my typing speed has increased dramatically thanks to this story – I have the typershark scores on yahoo to prove it! Well anyway, in the last chapter, we got the indescribable pleasure of meeting Satan so now I'm going to ask you to describe it. What'dya think? He's kind of a bad ass asshole, but he IS the devil, so that kind of makes sense. Avani's inner demon also came into play. Sort of. It's gotta be kind of creepy having an evil version of yourself in the swamp in your head . . . Thank you to Dontgotaclue88, Savysnape7, and .dolphins for the awesome reviews! In other news, I have acquired ALL of the x-men and pirates of the Caribbean movies on ebay. LOVE. THEM. I can't wait for them to finally get here. I am also preparing for the great migration to college (hour and a half away, but since me and my roommate are staying in a house, I have a crap load of furniture to move since we've got to furnish the house ourselves). I did make a lot of progress today – I bought the comforter for my bed. It's purple and black with psychedelic peace signs on it. Yeah, I'm cool. So, I guess I'll get this started. I'm not sure how many people, besides my awesome buddy Dontgotaclue88, read this. Here's a quote:

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." – Ambrose Redmoon.

Wow, he has a really awesome last name.

Chapter 11

Avani jumped off of the bathroom counter and ran to the closet, needing shoes. Her old clothes and her boots had been removed so she grabbed a pair of women's running shoes – a designer brand – and yanked them on. She had to tie them tight because the shoes were a bit too large for her feet, but beggars can't be choosers. Prepared, she exited the bathroom and opened the bedroom door. The hallway was empty, the house silent. First, she reached her hand through the door, testing to see if Loki put a magical ward on the door. There was none. Of course not, she thought, feeling foolish. He's saving his power for the attack. Why would he waste it on guarding me when he had that collar on me?

She edged closer to the door, still nervous of entering the hallway. Once she cleared the doorway, she breathed a sigh of relief. No alarms had gone off, she hadn't been thrown back into the room by some magic. This day is shaping up to be a good day, she thought, optimistic. Free of her prison, she ran down the hallway, taking the steps in the main entrance hall two at a time. On the ground floor, she found the chefs in a grand kitchen. They were already cooking lunch, preparing a large meal. She walked up to one of the chefs, an older man with graying hair. "Where is Loki?" she asked.

The man stopped what he was doing and looked at her, confused by her presence. He couldn't remember any specific orders given about what to do in the event that Master's Queen appeared. "Master . . . Queen supposed to be in Master's room?" he asked, perplexed.

"Loki wanted me to come see him. Where is he? He would be pleased to know that you helped me," she coaxed, urging the man.

"Master is in the basement," he said, seeming excited at the thought that he would be able to do something to please Loki. It disgusted Avani to see a free-thinking man reduced to such a state of servitude.

"And where is that?" she asked impatiently. Geez, getting answers out of these guys is like pulling teeth.

"Down the hall to the right of the living room. First door on the left," he responded automatically.

"Thanks," Avani said as she dashed back out of the kitchen. Loki may be occupied for a few hours, but I need to ruin his plan and get the hell out of here. No time to waste on that. She found the door to the basement and quickly emerged into the basement of the mansion. The large room was packed with machines and scientists. She flinched a bit when she spotted Loki, seated on a simple bench against the wall, staring off into space. His eyes glowed the same blue as his scepter, the eerie light replacing his emerald eyes. She didn't stop to observe him, continuing towards the middle of the basement that was sectioned off by clear plastic.

Around her, scientists rushed to and fro, packing boxes here and there, taking notes. She saw a single man in the plastic room. Unlike the other scientists, he had shed his white lab coat and wore simple blue jeans with a plaid shirt. He was working intently on some kind of silver like metal in conjunction with the Tesseract. She approached the room, and watched him for a moment before a drawing his attention. He carefully set the chunk of metal down before walking to her. "Does Master Loki know that you are out of your room? Master said Queen would stay in room, safe," he said, glowing blue eyes suspicious.

"Of course he does. He's the one who let me out. He wanted me to keep an eye on his project while he was busy," she lied smoothly, motioning towards Loki's still form on the other side of the room. The man nodded, eyes still suspicious but apparently accepting her answer. "How is it going?" Avani asked, looking at the various scientific instruments around her.

"Very well. Once I complete the stabilizing core, we shall be able to open the portal," he responded, a spark of interest appearing in his glowing eyes at the mention of his project.

Avani processed the information, mind quickly thinking of ways to destroy any possibility of the portal being opened. "I assume you have put safeguards on the device, to keep any enemies from destroying it in order to shut it down?"

"Of course!" the man exclaimed, insulted that she thought he would not account for something so obvious. "The shield upon the device is run by the power of the Tesseract itself, the same power behind Master's weapon. Nothing can break through it or disrupt it to shut down the portal."

"Nothing?" she asked, seeing an opportunity. She allowed a troubled expression to cross her face. "But what if Loki wanted to turn the portal off and move it? To let his army invade in other areas of the world? Where is the first access point anyway?"

The man looked confused at this. "First access point? Master said nothing about doing something like that . . . Master said only to pack everything for the portal and relocate to Stark Tower."

"Really? Well it makes sense that Loki would want to be able to shut the barrier down to me. What if he wanted to shut it off and move it to safety? And how would the people he's made a deal with for the army collect their payment if they can't shut down the barrier and get the Tesseract?" she said, a criticizing tone entering her voice. "You didn't really think this through, did you? Man, I'd hate to be you if Loki needs to shut that thing down. He'd be pissed."

The scientist looked appalled and scared at the notion that he may upset "Master". "Well, I could key the barrier to Master's scepter . . . That way Master can turn it off? Because the scepter and Tesseract draw on the same energy, it should be easy to get the barrier to recognize the scepter as the switch . . ." he said, seeming still unsure.

Avani's face lit up at his suggestion. "Good! I'm sure Loki would be pleased by your hard work. Surely, he will reward you for your service," she said encouragingly, seeing the man's face brighten. She decided to press her luck. If she could get away with the Tesseract, then BOOM! Crisis averted. "Could I get a closer look at the Tesseract? It's a fascinating object. What can you tell me about it?" she asked, playing to his love of science. He frowned at the request, thinking it over. At that moment, there was a commotion rising from near the staircase where she had entered. She whirled, preparing to face a very angry Loki, but found only the butler. Unfortunately, he was followed by a few guards, all armed with tasers. She saw him point at her. Before she could try to grab the Tesseract and make a run for it, the soldiers charged at her, taking aim. Well, I did what I could. My job here is done.

Avani turned and bolted, zigzagging across the room, ducking behind desks and computer monitors so that the men never had a clear shot at her. Without her powers, she could not simply leave them in the dust, but she could still out maneuver them since she was unencumbered by the armor and weapons that they carried. She bound to a door on the far side, praying that it entered somewhere useful and not a closet or something ridiculous. Bursting through the door, she could have cried with joy seeing that it was a hallway and not the dead end that she feared it would be. She dashed down the hallway, aiming for the door on the far side. The soldiers pushed into the hallway, but they were quickly falling behind as her body fell into the natural rhythm of running. While she may not have her special abilities to lend her speed, her muscles still remembered the smoothness of her stride, her body functioning like a well-oiled machine.

She reached the end of the hall and threw open the door to find a garage. A huge garage. Running past the cars, weaving through the rows, ranging from expensive looking sports cars to antiques, she saw that the cars did not have the keys in the. If the keys were in them, then they were where she could not see them which was about as useful as them not having keys at all. She couldn't be wasting time digging through the glove box or something for keys that may or may not be there. Avani made a note of the tunnel at the far end of the garage. The exit.

She began to head that way, figuring that if she couldn't get a ride, than an exit would work too. As she neared the tunnel, she stumbled upon row after row of motorcycles, all with the keys and helmets hanging on the handle bars. Score! No damn compartments to hide keys on these babies! She looked behind her to see the men still chasing her, eerily silent in their focus. She scanned the rows of motorcycles, looking for the fastest one that she could reach quickly. Avani had a soft spot for motorcycles and knew her motorcycle lore. She by passed the large, heavy choppers, knowing they would not give her the maneuverability and speed she needed. The Harleys were made for luxury cruising, not what she had in mind.

Finally, she spotted the perfect one, parked near the exit. It was a Kawasaki H1, first produced in 1968, a model she was a familiar with. This one was beautiful, black with red flames licking her fenders and shining chrome touches. Better yet, Avani knew that this particular model could reach speeds of around 124 mph. She had tested that particular advertised feature when she had gotten a Kawasaki H1 for herself upon its debut. Avani ran to it and quickly straddled the bike, yanking the key off of the handle bar and turning the ignition and putting on the helmet. She flipped the eye-guard down, feeling excitement surge through her. The bike roared to life beneath her, purring and vibrating. It rumbled as she kicked it into gear, twisting it in a sharp turn and speeding down the tunnel and leaving Loki's brainwashed security behind.

The tunnel sloped up sharply and curved, opening to a large driveway. As she pushed the motorcycle into a higher gear, she saw the mansion grow smaller behind her. The mansion's road led to a large and very impressive gate. As the gate grew nearer, she began to worry about having to break through or go around the gate somehow, but to her surprise and pleasure, the gate swung open smoothly upon her approach. The owners must have rigged all their cars with triggers for the gate. Makes sense, for rich people. Avani breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing some as the wind whistled past her ears and caught on her clothes. She was on the road to the battle at last.

Upon escaping from Loki's mansion, she had stopped at the first town she had come to and called Stark, asking a restaurant owner if she could use the phone. She had been directed to the kitchen and left to make her call as the cooks in the back worked. He had answered, sounding more stressed than she had ever heard him.

"Hello?" he asked, voice tight.

"Hey, Stark. It's Avani," she said. "Where are you guys?"

"Well, we're about 20,000 feet below where we were when you disappeared, we've only got about 10,000 feet before we hit the ocean. We managed to get all of the engines running, somewhat, but we still haven't been able to get communications back online. Good thing you called me, because JARVIS is the only line we've got open right now. We've sent for transport off of this thing because someone sabotaged all the planes on here during the attack. Oh, and the Fortress is going to have to be put down near headquarters for repairs, so things are looking just peachy," he answered. She could hear the frustration in his voice.

"How long before you get transportation out of there?" she asked. If the rest of the team couldn't make it in time . . .

"An aircraft should be here in a few minutes. My suit's taken quite a bit of damage from the getting caught up in the engine, so I've had to repair it. I've just about got all the glitches worked out on it. From here, we're going to Stark Tower. We think that's where Loki's going to launch his attack, you know, to make a stateme – " Avani cut him off.

"Yeah, that's where he's going. I'm on my way now. I just escaped and I've got a ride. I can meet you at Stark Tower. Listen, I've managed to make a loophole for us. Loki's got that portal rigged with a kickass barrier, but his scepter is the key to the barrier. If we can get the scepter, we can shut down the barrier and the portal. You got that?" Avani asked, itching to get back on the road again. Their transport would move a lot faster than her motorcycle could.

"Roger. Hey, Kitten, speaking of scepters, did Lover boy show you his special scepter?" Stark began before she cut him off again. She could hear the amusement in his voice.

"Shut up, Stark," she growled, tempted to just hang up the phone.

"Well, I'm curious, because he and Thor are gods and Thor won't show me h –"

"I'm hanging up now! Get your head out of the gutter!" she yelled at the phone, drawing odd glances from the staff of the restaurant. She quickly replaced the phone back into the cradle and thanked the owner for letting her use it before she got back on her bike again. She rode for about two hours, shamelessly speeding down the highway. She slowed when she saw police men, usually taking cover on the other side of an eighteen-wheeler. Avani also kept on a sharp eye on the gas gauge. She didn't have any money, or anything of value for that matter, that she could use to pay for gas. Well, I suppose I could play the helpless girl on the road trick, but that still takes time that I haven't got. She kicked the bike into the highest gear after another police car passed from her sight, bringing the motorcycle to its top speed.

She rode up behind a man on a beat up motorcycle. He was barely going the speed limit, riding the bike tensely, as if new to it. Something about him was familiar, the way he nervously glanced behind him at the sound of her approach and that graying dark hair . . . Avani smiled widely as she recognized him. She pulled up next to him and slowed to keep pace with him, drawing his attention. She saw him falter a bit when he recognized her, the bike jerking a bit. "Bruce!" she yelled to him. "Pull over!" Avani motioned to the side of the road. Bruce slowed his bike, pulling to the shoulder. She followed.

Bruce leaped off his bike, sparing only a fraction of a second to set the bike on its kickstand before he ran to her, hugging her before she could even take her helmet off. "How - ? Avani, what are you doing here? The last I remember, you were on the Fortress . . . The other guy . . . did he?" Bruce asked, speaking quickly, excitedly. He looked her over for injuries, raising a questioning brow at the cuffs that circled her wrists. Avani pulled the helmet off, revealing white hair that was spikier and messier than usual.

"We haven't got time," she responded. "So I'll give you the short of it. Loki kidnapped me, these cuffs basically make me human, Loki's gonna set up the portal on Stark Tower, we're gonna meet the rest of the team there, and we can shut the portal off with Loki's scepter. Now hop on, we need to go faster than that hunk of metal you were riding can handle," Avani said, scooting up to make room for Bruce.

"What? You got kidnapped? Did that bastard, did he – "

"Bruce," Avani said, face serious. "Get on the bike. Do you really think I'd let someone get the best of me?" Bruce smiled at her, glad to see her so spirited after her captivity. He gingerly straddled the bike, gently holding onto her sides as she slipped the helmet back on. She rolled her eyes, grabbing his hands and wrapping his arms around her midsection. "You better hold on tighter than that or you're going to fly off as soon as we take off. Scoot up!" she demanded, somewhat amused by his shyness. It was a sharp contrast from Loki's self confidence. Bruce scooted up on the seat, pressing firmly against her, arms tightening around her. "Duck your head behind me. We're going to go fast enough that a gnat to the eye is going to blind you, so just keep your head down and your eyes closed," Avani commanded, revving the engine.

"Have you had any experience riding these things?" Bruce asked, concerned. She kicked the bike into gear and took off, picking up speed.

"You kidding me? I practically lived on one these all through the '70s! Trust me!" She yelled back to him, competing with the road noise. She felt him duck behind her and thought about how funny they must look. Bruce was a good-sized man, especially when compared to her small stature. They must look comical as he took cover from the wind behind her. He said nothing as she passed the speed limit without a second thought, only tightening his grip on her. He was a comforting warmth at her were nearing New York City when Avani saw what looked like a black hole open up above the city. The closer they got to the city, the more clogged the streets became and Avani was forced to drive between cars, taking the streets at a slower pace. Police officers tried to make them turn back, but she easily breezed past them, Bruce shouting apologies in their wake.

They continued to head towards Stark Tower as the invading army began to emerge from the portal. They weren't close enough that she could see the soldiers, but she could see the hover scooter things they rode on. Avani could practically feel Bruce's nervousness radiating off of him. He hated combat situations. The pair reached the other Avangers as a large space turtle/whale/ monster squeezed through the portal, smashing through buildings. Ironman swooped in to distract it as the Avengers gathered to make a game plan. The other Avengers greeted them enthusiastically.

"I see my brother could not hold you. That is good," Thor said, smiling happily. Feeling somewhat responsible for his brother's actions, the large man was happy to see that she seemed to be fine.

"We're glad to see you're okay. We were worried," Natasha said, glancing meaningfully at Clint, who had not come to greet Avani. Her look clearly said He's not himself, he feels guilty, fix it. Avani nodded subtly. That would be an easy fix.

"You should have been worried for Loki. He's already lost. We got this in the bag. You might want to send up a prayer for Fury, by the way, since he's your boss. He's going to need all the help he can get. We're going to have a very serious talk after this," Avani replied, holding up her wrists to show the cuffs. "It would seem that Phase Two is not the only secret he's been keeping and it pisses me off." She walked over to Clint, a little amused by his nervousness as he seemed caught between facing her head on and avoiding her like the plague. She stood in front of him, waiting until he finally looked at her. When he did, she held his gaze, his clear blue eyes shadowed by guilt as he glanced at the cuffs.

Avani let him think, watching him become nervous about what she might do, what she might say. The anxiety was half of the punishment. Then, Avani held up her right fist, quickly delivering a hard punch to chest, sending him back a step or two. He made no attempt to dodge or block, but clutched his chest after the hit. "There," she said. "Now we're even, as far as I'm concerned."

He gasped a bit, laughing from the simplicity of her forgiveness. "I'm glad to see you still pack a punch! And here I thought you should be evacuated to safety because you haven't got your powers," he said, the look of guilt vanishing in the wake of a smile.

"And let you guys have all the fun?" Avani laughed, smiling in return.

Stark's voice came over the speakers then saying, "This is a touching reunion and all, but tell Banner to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you." A few blocks away, Ironman zipped around a corner, followed by a hailstorm of debris as the humongous space whale followed close behind, its fins slicing through the nearby buildings.

"I don't see how that's a party," Natasha deadpanned. "This would be a good time for the Hulk to help us out." Bruce was already walking forward, towards the thing as it flew towards them.

"That shouldn't be a problem," he said. "I'm always angry." Avani watched as his body seemed to erupt, his bones lengthening, muscles expanding. His skin turned green and his clothes were practically shredded. The Hulk let out a loud roar as he jumped up at the invader, slamming his fist down into its face, easily stopping it in its tracks.

Captain America motioned for them to huddle up as Stark landed near them and the Hulk returned. Looking at the giant, Avani could see sparks of intelligence in its green eyes, more thought lurked in them than anger. Bruce is learning to control him. Or perhaps they are learning to cooperate? "Call it, Captain," Stark said as they waited for orders. Avani had been waiting for this, to see who would take the lead of the "Avengers Initiative." It didn't surprise her that they were turning to Rogers to lead them. He certainly had the qualifications. However, if anyone on the team disagreed or put up a fight, this could turn ugly real quick.

"Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or your turn it to ash," Roger said, looking each member in the eye as he gave them their tasks.

Clint turned to Stark, saying, "Wanna give me a lift?"

Stark laughed and activated his boosters. "Right. Better clench up, Legolas," he said as he lifted Clint to the roof that Rogers had designated.

Rogers turned back to the remaining Avengers. "Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow them down. You've got the lightening, light the bastards up," he said, looking at Thor. Thor nodded and began swinging his hammer, eyeing a tall radio tower nearby. What's he swinging his hammer for? How the hell is he gonna get up there? Avani thought. When he took off flying, using his hammer to give himself momentum, she wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry. The fuck?

Finally, Rogers, glanced at her before turning his attention to Natasha. "You, me, and Beauchene, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. We need to look for Loki and get his scepter to shut the portal down. That's the main objective," Rogers said before looking at the Hulk, who had stood so patiently as the others were set to their tasks. "Hulk?" Rogers asked, looking at the giant. Hulk looked at him expectantly. "Smash." The Hulk nodded enthusiastically, quickly running to the nearby invading soldiers. He happily smashed them against the ground, against the buildings, against each other, leaving a trail of destruction behind him.

Avani ran to a nearby cop car, where a traumatized young police officer sat clutching his radio, calling for back up. He didn't notice that the cord for the radio was cut. His eyes were unfocused, his gaze frantic. Avani had seen this plenty of times, a young kid thrown into a combat situation. Not knowing what to do or how to cope, the man had reverted back to doing what comforted him the most: calling for help. She approached him slowly, holding up her hands to show that she had no intentions to hurt him. She helped him out of the car, not even trying to take the radio from him.

"There is help four blocks away, that way," Avani said, pointing down the street, away from the fighting. "Do you understand? You need to go that way." The boy nodded, pausing in his frantic calling. She sent him on his way before climbing into the car, checking the compartment under the passenger seat. Sure enough, there was a spare pistol, the standard Glock 22 that most policemen carried. She grabbed the spare clips in the compartment, filling the pockets of her cargo shorts. Avani checked the gun, switching off the safety, putting a bullet in the chamber and looked up as an enemy aircraft approached, flying low to the ground as they fired at the nearby buildings. She cocked the pistol, leveling it at the head of the leader of the formation with practiced ease. A wicked smile spread across her face, a latent bloodlust rising up in her. She didn't fight it, only making sure that it did not take control over her completely. Let's see how your army like a bullet to the eye, Loki, she thought, her blues eyes sharpening. She squeezed the trigger.

To be Continued . . .

So I've thought about withholding updates until I get more reviews, but that wouldn't be fair to the people who do review faithfully, so I decided to go ahead and update. As always, I want to know what you think because this is my first story. I've been updating pretty quick, huh? Every two days or so. That's pretty good. And my chapters have steadily gotten longer. Don't know why that's happening, but it is. See ya next time! By the way, Avani is a bonafied badass. I'll go into detail in later chapters, a back story, etc., on how she became so awesome.