A/N: I know it's been forever since I updated, but in my defense this trimester is a killer. I have no electives (that's zero for those of you who can't count) but I'll have more time about mid-November-ish.

In other news, it's been over a year since I've started writing this story! Woohoo! My babies are all grown up *sniff*

Also, I know that I promised a major plot twist this chapter, but it'll have to wait until the next one. Sometimes one chapter must become two. Life goes on.

Oh! AND this story reached over 1,000 views! Life sure is full of little miracles :) (Can't believe anyone still reads this smh) Thanks to all of you!

At this moment, I do not own the Avengers, but soon. Soon.

Summary of previous chapter: The gang, with the exception of Nik, awake to find Jarvis has been hacked. Tara fixes the system, only to find that the scrambler used to disable him belonged to Nik. Nik arrives at the top of the stairs, with bloody hands. While Sky tries to fight him off, as he is obviously not in his right mind, the rest of them hide in Tara's lab. She returns to an unconscious Sky, and someone who is very Not Nik being dramatic and vague. She manages to neutralize him temporarily, but regrets telling him about her mother when he tells her things about herself that she hadn't told anyone.

Having a normal conversation with someone who wanted to kill you a mere twenty-four hours ago was odd, to say the least. It wasn't the most normal of conversations, but Tara and Hel weren't yet ready for a friendly chat over coffee.

"I cannot stress the importance of giving me all the information you know," Hel said.

"I've already told you how it all went down," Tara sighed. "His irises turned black, and I'm at least 99% sure that he was possessed by somebody. He was sprouting a whole bunch of crap about fear and pain and lots of other fun stuff."

"Yes, I remember that," Hel replied. "But did he say anything about who he was?"

Tara had to think for a moment. "He might have said something about being retired for a long time. Someone tried to put him out of business, but they didn't follow through."

If it was possible for Hel to get any paler, she did. "I'm afraid…I fear that Barton's body was possessed by one of my own."

"One of your own?" Tara asked, her voice increasing in pitch. "You mean, like a god? Nik was possessed by a god?"

Hel hushed her quickly. "It's just speculation. But if I am right…" she shuddered, almost unnoticeably, "There may not be hope for his full recovery."

Tara's gaze traveled to the cell, which had previously held one Norse deity and might have been holding another. Nik was unconscious and tied to a chair in the middle, replacing Hel. Tara was sure of three things; His bonds were secure (Sky had tied them herself), he could not escape, and that whatever—whoever—had been possessing him was still in control.

"Are you sure you're ready to do this?" Tara asked skeptically.

Hel nodded. "I am positive. I will not be able to capture the god inside him, but I will be able to expel them. I have done it before."

She stepped forward to enter the cell as Tara grabbed her by the arm.

"I've got one more question. How do we know we can trust you?"

Hel thought for a moment. "You can trust me for two reasons," she said finally. "The first is that I've made up my mind to help you. It is true that yesterday it was my intent to rule this realm, but now it seems that I will be better loved by the people if I can save them from a god who has resurfaced with the desire to cause them nothing but misery."

Tara nodded. It did make sense. "And the second reason?"

"This god's spirit has taken control of Barton's body, something that no mortal can withstand for long."

"Which means?"

"Which means that if you do not want Nik Barton's form to crumble into ashes and dust, you have no choice but to trust me."

Sky was not having a good day. She ran her hands though her close-cropped hair, rusty red flakes of dried blood drifting onto her shoulders. Her hands brushed the cut on her temple and she winced slightly.

"Mind if I join you?" a voice asked. Sage had appeared in front of her with a medical kit in hand.

"Be my guest," Sky invited, making room on the couch. Sage sat, pulling alcohol swabs and bandages out of her kit.

"So," she asked cautiously. "How are you holding up?"

"Well, by brother's being exorcised a few floors over, so you know. Peachy."

"It's not that bad," Sage scoffed. Silence. "Okay. It's pretty bad."

"I mean, what am I supposed to do?" Sky asked rhetorically, wildly gesturing and almost hitting Sage in the face. "It's like… he didn't even know who I was. What if he never remembers me. What if he's not my brother any more?"

Sage thought for a minute. "I guess that's where faith comes in. You can't always control everything. Believe me. I've tried. You need to learn how to trust in other people."

As Sage finished applying the bandage to Sky's head, the archer asked, "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"You just did, but sure."

"Why did you want to go into medicine in the first place?"

Sage was quiet for a moment. "I think that at some point I realized that the strength I was given didn't have to be used for hurting. That I didn't have to hurt people. I know that the people who did this to me—that was their obvious intent. But really, the decision was up to me. I was… not a good kid. I would pick fights just to see the other guy go down, I would break my dad's stuff, I would destroy for the sake of destroying before I realized that I wasn't doing anything worth doing. Because if you're only on this earth to hurt, then what's the point of being here?"

"When did you get so deep and poetic?" Sky smiled.

Sage picked up her grumpy demeanor again as she stood up. "When did you get so nosy?"

Sage snapped her medical kit shut with a glare as she walked away. "Don't even think about touching that bandage."

Sky couldn't help but grin.

"I want to know what's happening," Travis insisted stubbornly.

Mary Anne sighed. "I told you, Trav. Nik wasn't feeling well, and Hel's helping him feel better."

"I'm not an idiot, Annie. His hands were all bloody, and he wasn't himself. Why won't you tell me the truth?" His wide blue eyes grew watery, and his eyebrows scrunched together. Mary Anne bit her lip.

"It's nothing you have to worry about," she said, reaching out to smooth his wild hair. He pushed her hand away.

"I'm a part of this team too! I need to know what's going on with everything. Why don't you trust me?"

Mary Anne was dumbfounded. Her brother had never yelled at her before. "I…You don't need to—"

"Yes. I do, Annie," Travis whispered. With that, he turned and sprinted to the elevator, jamming his finger into the button for Tara's workshop.

"Trav, wait!" She called, but it was too late. Her brother was already gone.

"I'm telling you, letting Hel take care of the problem is a bad idea," Jeremy insisted as Tara paced around the benches of her workshop.

"I told you," she replied, almost tripping over a toolbox. "If we want to keep Barton, you know, alive, then we really don't have a choice."

The demigod shook his head. "You don't get it. She's a goddess. We can't trust her."

"Look, I get that you've got some godly daddy issues, but we've got other problems at hand here. Who's possessing Barton, and what do they want? Is this the same creep that's been pulling this little kidnapping spree?"

"You already know who they are. Or, at least, what they are."

Tara sighed. "I know, I know, another one of your gods. We've established that."

"Which is exactly why Hel should be in the cell too."

"What's your issue, Foster?" Tara snapped. "You've been against every plan from the beginning. I know for a fact that you don't want to be here, and now you're shooting down any hope Nik has just because you don't like your dad?"

"You can't possibly understand!"

"I can try."

Silence.

"You want to know why I don't trust the gods? You want to know why I'm better off alone? Why I'm sooo bitter?" Jeremy spat. With a kind of quiet anger, he turned around and pulled up the back of his shirt. Tara sucked in her breath.

His back was ripples with thick white scars, some as long as her forearm and as thick as her finger. Though they were healed, the skin around them was bright red with irritation.

"I ran away. I got mixed up in the wrong kind of things. That's what happens when you disrespect a god and end up working the mines. For two years."

He dropped his shirt, turning to the side and pushing up his sleeve, revealing a long jagged scar on his forearm.

"This is what happens when you get caught helping slaves escape. A god'll ask you some tough questions, and you'll answer wrong."

He tugged his long sleeve back down and pulled on his shirt collar, revealing wicked-looking scratches on his chest and collarbone.

"Here's what you get when your so-called friends ditch you at the first sign of trouble and leave you for dead. I know."

He readjusted his collar, his hands shaking slightly with anger. Tara had never before wondered why he always wore long sleeves.

"You can't trust people, Tara." He whispered. "They will always, always let you down."

"Jeremy—"

At that moment, the elevator doors split apart, releasing a very disgruntled Travis.

"Annie's being mean to me," he declared, latching onto Jeremy with his skinny eight-year-old arms and squeezing tight. Jeremy, surprised, gingerly patted Travis's head. "You can play in the lab, Trav. Just don't touch anything that buzzes or beeps," Tara instructed.

"'Kay!" Travis said, running off to mess with Tara's stuff. Both teenagers watched him go.

"Do you trust him, Jeremy?" Tara asked quietly.

"I guess."

"Do you think I would do anything to hurt him? To hurt any of us?"

"No."

"Do you trust me?"

Jeremy sighed slightly, giving her a sideways look.

"Maybe."

"Then prove it."

"You're in over your head, little goddess," the voice that was not quite Nik's said. He smiled, all teeth and no humor.

"I know full well what I am capable of," she replied coldly. That was her specialty.

"Is that so? Because I don't really think that you do." Not-Nik flexed his wrists almost lazily, like he knew that he could break his bonds but didn't feel like it.

"I know exactly who you are."

He smiled. He seemed fond of doing that. "Is that so?"

"I know better than to utter your name, cretin."

"Well then, get on with it," he invited, relaxing. "This form is growing tiresome. You will see me again soon, I guarantee. But before we meet again, my dear, pay your father a visit for me. Ask him to give you a refresher on replacement spells."

Hel's brow wrinkled. "Those are simple. Only a fool would not be able to accomplish one."

"Yes, but only a fool would cast one for the reason that he has."

Hel had had just about enough. She began a chant, low in her throat and ancient in origin. Not-Nik's smile twitched, his hands clenching and his nails digging into his palms. Hel's chanting grew more urgent, the spirit unwilling to leave despite its claims. His jaw clenched, as if in an attempt to keep his mouth shut. But soon enough, he began to cough slightly, small puffs of black mist spewing out of his mouth with each cough.

He began to laugh, a grating sound against Hel's ears, although she never stopped her chanting.

"I know you can do better than this!" he taunted.

Hel's chanting had become almost a scream. She would not be bested by this god in particular. Anyone but him.

Nik—the real one, or the possessed one, or perhaps both-was screaming too, and the force of the sounds bounced off the walls and drove like hammers into Hel's ears. All at once, the spell came to an end, and Nik's head dropped to his chest silently. His whole body did as well, about the time that Hel's knees gave out from under her. She reached out a hand to grip the wall for support. She felt cold sweat drip from her brow.

She wasn't sure how long it was until Nik stirred. He groaned slightly, his eyes rimmed by dark shadows as they blinked open.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice gritty from screaming.

"I'll explain later."

"Aren't you supposed to be the bad guy?"

"Aren't you supposed to be on the outside of this cage?"

"Fair enough."

They gathered around the kitchen island for an unofficial meeting called by Tara. Travis was still avoiding Mary Anne like a homeowner avoids a door-to-door salesman, while Sky hugged a still-weak Nik with a force strong enough to crush a small car. He had washed the blood off his hands and changed, but he was still rattled. Jeremy, Hel, and Sage were discussing whatever it was that angsty teenagers discussed as Tara called them all to order.

"First things first; we need a plan of attack."

"I could be wrong here, but I think it would be helpful to know who it is we plan on attacking," Sage suggested sarcastically.

Tara turned to Hel blankly. She cleared her throat.

"There was once a god, a long time ago, who wanted to control the nine realms to feed his own power."

"That's the most cliché motive of all time, by the way" Sky interjected.

"Really, though," Sage added though. "Couldn't he have picked a better backstory?"

"As I was saying," Hel continued, "this particular god was… How do you say it? Bad rye?"

"Um, I think you mean 'bad guy,'" Mary Anne prompted.

Hel waved her hand. "Mortals and their slang terms. Whatever his title, he was ruthless. And laughing. Always laughing. Soon, when his actions became too sadistic to bear, the gods were forced to turn against him. There was a battle for many years; the Asgardian gods against him and his shadow beasts. At last, the gods won, turning his form to ashes and spreading them across the galaxy, never to form again."

"Well, that plan worked out perfectly," Jeremy said dryly with arms crossed.

"Regardless of their good intentions, their plan could not have worked forever. He is one of the eldest gods, and perhaps the most powerful. He feeds off of the weakness and terror of others. His name is—"

"Ramyr."

Nik had scarcely said a word since the exorcism. Now he raised his head, his eyes vulnerable and wide. "He's Ramyr. The god of fear and pain."

"That's right," Hel confirmed quietly.

Jeremy cleared his throat. "So if this guy was super powerful and caused a giant war and stuff, why haven't I heard of him before?"

"When at last he was defeated, the gods were ashamed of what one of them had become. The thought it best to erase his name from history, and from the minds of most who remembered him."

"But that's so stupid!" Travis exclaimed. "How are people supposed to learn not to do what he did?"

Hel shrugged. "I'm not saying the gods are perfect—"

Jeremy snorted. "That's for sure."

"—but at the time it was also the wisest course of action. If there was no one remember him, there was no one to believe in him. If no one believed, his power would be weakened."

"It never would have worked," Mary Anne contradicted. "There's always fear. There's always going to be pain. The gods can't erase that."

"No," Hel agreed. "But they did the best they could. And now he has returned to reclaim what he believed to be his."

"What do you think about it, Tara?" Sky asked.

Tara had been silent, trying to take the situation in. A god was kidnapping their parents and trying to take over the earth—the whole galaxy. He had possessed Nik. He had sent monsters to try to kill them. So far, Ramyr was on a quick trip to the top of her hate list.

"We need to talk to someone closer to the situation," she decided. "Someone who knows more about this guy than we do."

"I do know someone," Hel began. "However, Ramyr told me to visit this informant shortly before he was expelled. It seems almost like a trap."

"Do we have a whole lot of choices here?"

"Not many," Sage said.

"Then let's get going. Who is this informant?"

"My father, Loki."

It took quite a bit of convincing to get Jeremy to agree to return to Asgard, even it was just to visit the prison. Eventually though, he agreed, although there were a few rules involved; Don't talk to any gods but Loki, only listen to Jeremy, and when he said it was time to go, they would go without questions asked. This worked well enough for the rest of the team.

They decided to tag-team travel, with some being transported by Hel and others by Jeremy. They were to meet at the end of the rainbow bridge, which Sky was concerned might be a problem.

"Doesn't that gold guy hang out there? Heimdal?"

"Don't worry about it. We're on good terms," was all Jeremy would disclose. If he had to trust them, they would have to trust him too, as he put it.

Sky almost insisted that Nik not go—she threatened to tie him to a chair again—but he convinced her that he was fine enough to go. A quick check-up by Sage cleared him for interdimentional travel.

Mary Anne, like Sky, was very worried about her brother coming along. Travis almost pitched a fit about trust before Tara assured the older Rogers child that he would be in good hands with a god, two assassins, a mutant, a genius, and a demigod protecting him. Travis hugged Tara for a solid two minutes after this.

And just like that, they were ready to go on a road trip of godly proportions. They shouldered their weapons, threw on some winter coats (the realm of the gods was chilly), and threw on their game faces. Sky almost made them all gather into a football huddle for motivation, but Sage vetoed the idea.

Hel teleported to the bridge with Travis and Mary Anne in tow while Jeremy summoned a portal. Nik and Sage were the first through, with Tara following close behind. Moments after the teen genius disappeared, Jarvis's voice came through on the speakers.

"Miss Barton, Alexander Hill of Shield is on is way up to pick up Hel's weapon."

Sky said some words that wouldn't have made her father very proud. "Jarv, don't let him come—" the elevators opened with a ding. "—up."

Alec took one look around the room and was instantly displeased. He did that often. "Sky, what are you doing? Is that a portal?"

"…Maybe?"

"What are you up to?"

"Barton, I can't keep it open forever," Jeremy warned.

"Where are you going, Sky?" Alexander asked, concern growing on his face.

Sky thought for a moment. "Alec, you would do anything for your mom, right? You'd go to the ends of the earth for her? And beyond?"

"Of course. What are you saying?"

"I'm doing the same for my parents. Trust me. I'm a professional." And with that, she turned heel and dived into the portal, Jeremy jumping in after. The portal closed behind them, leaving a very confused agent behind.

A/N: Haha I can't believe I tricked you guys into thinking this was going to be a happy story