Deciding which of the hundred-and-fifty extravagant gowns that had been placed at my disposal I should wear to the formal dinner with Odin and Frigga and Thor and the whole court took me about fifteen minutes. Eventually I decided on a black one with a slightly open back and silver trim. I even pulled my hair out of its usual braid and combed through it with my fingers so that it was frizzy but looked nice. I sat for about five minutes at the vanity table looking at this glittery paint stuff that I assumed was Asgardian makeup before getting it all over my fingers and just abandoning it. Yeah… I wasn't really a girl beautiful enough to wear makeup and have it actually look good.

So I left my room, ready to spend my last half hour before dinner lost trying to find the dining hall.

But I was surprised to find a blond man in armor waiting for me. "Hello, Lady Quincy. My name is Fandral and Thor mentioned you might need a guide to get you to supper safely and timely without getting lost," he greeted.

"That's very kind of him," I remarked. He held out his arm. I slung my hand through the crook of his elbow. And tripped several times on the one-inch high heeled shoes as we walked.

Just… pausing here for laughter as everyone realizes how pathetic that sounds. Quinn! How do you trip on a one-inch heel? That's shorter than some sneakers! In my own defense, it was like a stick and there was no balance! So yeah, I did trip five or six times as we walked through about a mile of hallways and corridors until we reached the massive dining hall.

Standing outside the door that could seriously fit a house through it, Fandral released me. I looked up at him quizzically. "Thor requested you enter alone," he answered my unasked question. So I nodded, thanked him, and walked over the threshold, steeling myself for what was to come.

I was a boring human at a table of demigods. I didn't expect to be noticed so much as engaged in conversation. I may have been a genius, but that didn't make me any more interesting to these people than a garden shrub. Comforting, I know. Thor had been kind to me up till that point, but now that he was surrounded by his peers, he was very much like my high school acquaintances—not remotely interested in the nerd-girl with the unnerving black eyes that pierced right through them (or at least, that's why they never looked me in the eye).

Dinner hadn't quite started, so we were all sort of milling about around a table that could probably seat half of my high school's senior class. I was kind of out-of-the-way in the corner, playing with the trim of my sleeve and trying not to whistle a Disney song out of boredom. I was used to the loneliness, but it did occasionally get old.

"And you are?" someone asked with a kind-of-British-but-not-really accent.

"Quincy. Robinson. Of Earth. I'm here to keep an eye on Loki for the Avengers," I answered.

"Ah. Pleasure to meet you," the woman remarked. She didn't sound sincere.

"The pleasure's all mine," I said courteously, putting my hand up for her to shake, thinking I was being good-mannered. She turned her nose up at it and walked away. "O-kay!" I muttered sarcastically. I wasn't embarrassed or offended or anything. If anything I was amused. They thought they were above me because they lived longer and had magic. Well they weren't! Sorry. Sometimes I manage to get a bit… passionate about things that don't really matter. Sincerest apologies.

Anyway. I went back to being politely ignored, whilst watching the Asgardians socialize, sounding like they were in a freakin' Victorian chick novel with all those, "Hello, old bean!"s and "How spiffing an evening!" Wow. I was just doing my best not to laugh my head off at it.

Finally dinner was served. I was sat at the far end of the table from Thor and Fandral, by myself, next to a man with brown hair. He was built more like Loki than Thor—slim and wiry—and had bright green eyes. He introduced himself as Baldur. Hours upon hours of studying Norse mythology (more for fun than anything else because they had the weirdest stories) reminded me that he was the God of the Sun. Well-beloved by all—and then brutally killed by his (blind?) brother with an arrow made of mistletoe because of Loki's manipulation. Obviously, that last bit was just a story since he was sitting about six inches from me.

I ate uneventfully and then returned to my room with the help of Fandral. Once I was out of the company of others, I took a long bubble bath, changed into a nightgown—which was horrifically uncomfortable by the way—brushed out my hair, re-braided it, and got ready for bed. I picked up my book, turned on a weird magic light, and crawled under the covers. The bed was really comfortable. Like, oh my heck, I could just melt into it and never come back. I didn't even want to read. But because I was a massive nerd, I read a couple chapters before burrowing under the covers.

It took me about five minutes to realize I wasn't tired enough to sleep, no matter how freaking comfy the satin sheets and furry bedspread were.

So I sat up and looked around. There was nothing particularly interesting in it. Nothing to help me get to sleep. So I slid out of the covers and started to wander the palace. Were there guards? Was there a curfew? Did I have to stay in my room after a certain point in the night? Hopefully not. That would suck.

But I wandered aimlessly, completely undisturbed. Twists, turns, several close encounters with death-drops that suspiciously didn't have railings…

And somehow ended up in front of the entrance to the dungeons.

There were two guards posted on either side of the double doors, and they stared straight forward, not even acknowledging my existence. Rude, I thought sarcastically. So I approached one. "Hi. Am I allowed to go in there?" I wasn't sure why I wanted to, but I totally did. "My name is Quincy—or Quinn, if you prefer. I'm the human sent by the Avengers to keep an eye on Loki." The guard slowly turned down to look at me. He looked remarkably human—despite the fact that he was some weird alien. He was silent for several long moments.

"You may," he finally decided.

I grinned and started to slide through the door. "Thanks!"

End Note: Hello! Sorry this has taken longer than I expected. I got distracted writing parts 5&6. They'll feature some of the new Avengers. Not all of them though.

As always, thank you guys for making this my most-reviewed story (in proportion to chapters as well as overall I believe). I love you guys and your support makes me very happy!

Thank you for reading!

~Cass

PS, if anyone's interested and doesn't know already, my other Avengers story (the sequel) Under a Violet Sky (2) just finished. In case someone needs more of my writing (probably not but I thought I'd tell you anyway). Y'all are awesome! I hope to post soon!