AN: Hi guys! I am so sorry that this update has taken so long to get here. My laptop broke and has been away being fixed for a week and a half so I haven't been able to write or even access this site. But I will update today and then again on Sunday to try and get back to the regular updates thing that I promised a dew chapters ago. Oh well, unforeseen circumstances I guess.

Here it is, enjoy! Fronk x

Once we had climbed the millions of stairs that it took to reach to top of the Tower – the elevators weren't working because something had gone wrong with the connection to the miniature arc reactor during the attack – we finally reached the main room where I last left Loki. He lay unconscious on the floor in a slight hollow in the ground. I heard the Hulk begin to growl and huff towards him, but Tony stopped him.

"It's okay, Hulk," he said, keeping his tone calm. "It's over: no need to smash anymore."

"Hulk like smash," he grumbled, still on edge but thankfully not violent.

The team went over to Natasha, who was sat on the window ledge watching Loki. I stayed back and wandered over to Loki's broken form. It was a wonder he was still all in one piece. Not just anyone could survive an attack from the Hulk. There were a few gashes on his face, but otherwise he seemed okay. There weren't any bones extruding from his skin of anything horribly out of shape, so I assumed all of his internal structures were functioning well.

"I just found him like this," I heard Natasha insisting.

"Spider right," Hulk rumbled, still a little on edge from the fight. "Hulk left puny god like this."

Puny god? I had to smile. It seemed Bruce's subtle humour followed through into the Hulk's psyche too. I wondered briefly why the Hulk was still present, but forgot about it when I saw Loki twitch.

"Guys," I called, "I think he's coming to."

Immediately they all came rushing forwards, weapons raised as they surrounded him.

Slowly Loki blinked his eyes open, his eyes blurry and unfocussed. He gave a visible start as he realised where he was, and hesitantly looked around at us. With a small grunt of pain, he sat up and faced us.

"If it's all the same to you," he croaked, his throat dry, "I'll have that drink now."

A slight chuckle left Tony, but everyone else was stone faced.

"Loki of Asgard," Director Fury said, having entered from the broken windows. "You are under arrest for murder, theft, damaging property and the attempted hostile takeover of this planet. You do not have to say anything, but know that what you do say may be used against you as evidence."

I saw him tense, ready to make a break for it. I felt the tremor in the air as he prepared to teleport himself out of there. Quickly, I placed my hand on his arm, halting him. His head snapped around to face me, impossible questions in his eyes.

"It's over, Loki," I whispered. "Don't make this any worse than it has to be."

There was a beat of silence as his considered my words, but he relaxed again and let the S.H.I.E.L.D agents arrest him and take him to the waiting Quinjet. I watched helpless as they took him, no doubt back to a newly refurbished cell. I felt an arm around me, looking up to see Tony looking down at me. Pity shone in his eyes.

"Come on, Sparkles," he said, kneeling down next to me. "He's not worth it."

Gently, or as gently as he could in his Iron Man armour, he wiped away tears that I didn't realise were falling. A shaky laugh escaped me as I brushed him off.

"Sorry," I said, wiping my own tears. "I'm not sure what's gotten into me lately."

"You're a teenager in love, kid," he said, "We've all been there. I guess our spouses didn't try to take over the world, but we all know how hard it is the loose someone we love. You know what you need? A nice hot plate of shwarma. That'll cheer you right up."

A full laugh left me then. Trust Tony to still be thinking about food. He walked me to the door, followed by the rest of the Avengers.

"And where do you think you're going?" Fury demanded, a hand on his hip.

"To feast," Thor declared. "It is an honoured tradition on Asgard to have a great celebration after a battle like this. My teammates are merely acknowledging my people's customs. You wouldn't begrudge me that, would you?"

"Plus, with everything we've done," Steve said, "Included but not limited to: defeating an alien army, diffusing a nuclear attack and saving the planet, I think we've earned a little downtime."

There was a tense moment as each party faced off against the other. It took longer than I thought for Fury to cave.

"Go," he sighed, waving us away, "But be back here in two hours. There'll be someone waiting for you."

And so we went. Shwarma, it turns out, is just a donna kebab, much to my disappointment. And here I thought it would be something exotic. Tony loved it all the same, as did Thor. Steve looked at it like he had been forced to eat the innards of one of the Chitauri soldiers, but ate it anyway. The rest of us were too exhausted to refuse it, I think. Especially Bruce, who had turned back to himself on the way there, once the Hulk was fully satisfied there weren't any more treats to be dealt with.

We had been sat there for half an hour before the flash of lightning appeared and engulfed the entire establishment. Instantly alert, we all sprung to our feet and lifted our weapons. Once our eyes had returned to normal, I saw just who was in front of us. The man was in a grey pinstriped suit, his long beard covering the collar of the pristine white shirt. His eyes were downcast to the arrow he had clenched in one hand. Slowly, with a calculated glare, he looked over to the archer who had shot him.

"Seeing as you have just saved the planet," he rumbled, "I will not vaporise you where you stand."

"Well isn't that kind of you," Clint sassed, bow still taunt.

The man's eyes flashed dangerously.

"But also seeing as you were one of the ones captured by Laufeysson and aided him in his attempt on the planet, I wouldn't be so blasé about my treats."

"He apologises, my Lord," I said quickly.

"I do not -" Clint began, but thankfully shut up at the glare I sent him.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, Lord of Sky?" I asked, lowering my sword.

"You know this guy?" Natasha asked, her instincts as a spy always teaching her to be suspicious.

"This is Lord Zeus," I explained, "King of the Greek Gods and lord of lighting."

"It a pleasure to see you again, Kronos's son," Thor said, a hint of malice in his tone.

"As it is you, Odinsson," Zeus replied, a cool smile on his face. The Lord of Sky looked back to me. "I am here to congratulate you on your recent win against the invading army. It was no easy feat. For that, and to recognise your monumental victory, the Council has agreed to grant you a wish, not unlike the one we gave Poseidon's son after the Titan War."

One scenario sprung to mind.

"The Council are willing to make me immortal?" I asked, astounded. That wasn't an honour they handed out lightly.

"If that is what you wish," Zeus confirmed. "You could be a handmaiden to your mother, or I'm sure we could find use for you talent on the battlefield as a warrior."

Immortality. That meant that I could live forever. My mind went straight to Loki. I could spend an eternity with him, loving him and being with him. But after this stunt, was that really a viable option? There was no way Odin would let him stay on Earth – for Fury for that matter. Pinning my hopes on Odin allowing me to go to Asgard with Loki was futile, I could tell.

And could I really give up my life for something like that? My father was bad enough when my mum left. I have no idea how he'd cope when he found out I would never age and eventually have to leave him, too. Plus, which not aging comes all sorts of social implications: remaining a teenager for the rest of your life could have some downsides.

But most importantly: could I deal with the Olympian Council for the rest of eternity?

Hell. No.

"Thank you for the offer, my Lord," I said after a moment to consider, "But I'm going to have to decline."

Everyone spoke at once. Tony was calling me a fool; Zeus was outraged that yet another mortal had denied his gracious offer; everyone else's voices were lost in the uproar. I shouted over the top of them to shut up and let me speak, but even I was lost in the noise. It was Natasha's gunfire that finally silenced everyone.

"It's her life," she snapped. "If the girl said no, she said no. Let it go."

"Thank you," I said, turning back to face a furious Zeus. "As lovely as that offer is, and I know you don't offer it to people very often, but it isn't for me. May I ask something else of you?"

"You may ask," Zeus murmured, scowling from under think bushy eyebrows.

"You know the next time the planet is in danger?" I asked. He nodded. "I want you to promise on the River Styx, on behalf of the Olympian Council, that the gods will do whatever they can to help. And I mean whatever they can do – I want you to try everything you've got in your collective kit bag and find someone who can do something to help: and that includes the demigods you banned from leaving Camp Half-Blood. A lot of people could have been saved if you hadn't all sat on your backsides to day and actually done something to help."

For a second I thought I'd taken it too far. His breathing was laboured as if he had run a great deal, but I was no so naïve. I'd pissed off the King of the Gods. Again. Oh goody…

"Fine," he said, "I shall grant your wish. I swear upon the River Styx that should the planet be in danger, the Gods of Olympus and their demigod offspring will do whatever they can to assist."

"And…" I prompted, not satisfied. There was a glaring loop hole there.

"And," Zeus snapped, "I also swear that we shall try any and all alternative before giving up. Satisfied?"

"Very, thank you," I smiled.

"Good," he growled. "You know, a few centuries ago all the demigods would have jumped at the chance of immortality. What has happened to you all?"

"We aren't built for immortality, my Lord," I answered. "Perhaps we all finally found something worth living for here on Earth."

After a moment a small smile made itself visible on his face.

"Well said, daughter of Eos," he praised, his tone lighter. "I shall bid you farewell: you aren't the only one with damage control."

In another flash of lightning he was gone.

"Before anyone else says it," Tony said, "Eden: you have the weirdest family out of all of us. And that's saying something."