Doctor Loki love: well technically Steve and Seraphina are not together. They're still my ? Couple. Lol

Patry Trusky: I am happy everyone is liking Steve and Seraphina odd friendship.

That one NPC: I'm sure there will be slip up somewhere with Amelia and Bruce. I kind of make it up as I go. Lol. And yeah Seraphina didn't really think things through. I love how you love Cephera and Loki. :)

Loki's dreamer: haha. Don't think she'll last. Guess we'll find out.

Gfor098: my writing is awkward for any other couple aside from Cephera and Loki cause I'm personally not attracted to anyone else. But I try my best. The bet is gonna be different for her that's for sure.

Poodle warriors: how happy will Thor be. I guess you'll just have to wait and see. Oh the big bd is always around. :p everyone seems to like the challenge and I'm happy and excited for that.

Mallakai: Bruce is getting a little braver. She's teaching him how to let go and trust her. :)

Kurai tenshi015: I enjoy Steve and Seraphina friendship as well. It's kinda awkward and amusing.

Akera writer of the night: right back at ya. Yay!

Chapter 37

Cephera lay back against Loki's chest in her bath after a very long day. Since his first night of return he hadn't attempted to initiate sex and she supposed he was waiting for her to allow him before he tried. She loved him for that. It gave her sense that the two of them were not just in love with each others bodies.

They had spoken of many things about one another since then as well but she still had one thing left to tell him that was probably the hardest to talk about. "His names was Demos." She said breaking the quiet peace between them.

"Demos?" Loki questioned confused as her conversation had started out of context.

"Yes. The person I killed. His name was Demos. A close friend of my father and also the Captain of his army." She explained. "Though he wasn't really a friend. He had been waiting, biding his time until one day he could take over as king. He thought he found that opportunity in me. My ability to learn magic through touch intrigued him. He himself had the power to drain another person of their magic and life's energy but he dreamt of having my power to copy so he could preform anything and everything when he touched others. Killing them and becoming more powerful instead of just killing them." Cephera turned so she was kneeling and wrapped her arms around Loki's neck.

"That is the power you won't talk about that you possess. The power to take others magic and energy, to render them useless or dead." She nodded to his observation.

"He found a ritual that would kill me but transfer my power to him. The night he attacked to try to capture me we all fought back. After a lengthy fight I managed to grab him. His power was dark. Darker then anything else I had ever touched. It consumed me to a degree. I went slightly crazy. I killed him and attacked those in the room who had any magic worth taking. I was subdued and locked away." Cephera frowned at the memory. "It took twenty years of imprisonment for me to gain any kind of control and when I finally had a grasp on it I was freed but I was feared." She felt Loki's fingers in her hair.

"That's why you spend most of your time on earth?" He inquired. She nodded biting her lower lip.

"It's been centuries but no ones really forgot it." She told him and put her forehead to his. His hands were curved up her back and one was all the way up cupping the back of her head a few of her tresses sticking to his skin. "We all have darkness somewhere in our pasts." She said to him.

"I am not proud of the things I did. To some degree the tesseract held a power over me as well though I can hardly see that as a valid excuse. Do not think I like mortals I do not have time for them but I hadn't wanted to harm anyone either. Not really." This was the most she'd gotten him to speak of his own dark days. From what she knew he had happier days before his fall. He'd told her all about his few days as king of Asgard and what led to his bad decisions and his own exile. He had not yet told her about what happened to him during the year he had been away and thought dead. She was letting him choose when to tell her as it seemed a touchy subject.

"We have both been puppets to a power unknown to us." She said kissing his forehead. "Why earth? Besides catching the attention of Thor." She asked wondering if she could at least know that.

"When I fell I wandered for some time not knowing where I was or what to do. I was lost and alone. When I came across the Chitauri I greeted them with arrogance as a prince of Asgard and immediately they took interest to the fact I was Odin's son. I hadn't told them any different. Technically I was still his son even if it wasn't by blood. I had thought that being his son would get me an alliance but instead they used me to track down Odin's cube. The Tesseract." Cephera listened intently, stroking his hair. "I knew it had been lost on Midgard years ago and through a spell I was able to enter the mind of Erik Selvic and upon spying on SHIELD I came to realize they had it. And that was what I had been sent to Midgard for." Cephera knew he'd skipped some by the way he hurried the end but once more she didn't press.

"Was it always part of your plan to gain the attention of Thor or you just knew it was inevitable?"

"Part if my plan. The things I was put through...I had no want for the Chitauri to take claim to the Tesseract. I used their own plan against them. I knew Thor would come but my enemies were always in my head as long as I was connected with the sceptre in some way. I couldn't convey my plan and so I used my own deviance and cunning. I allowed myself to look the villain. When Barton told me of Fury's dream team I knew they could come in handy and used the Avengers to do what I couldn't do. To fight and defeat my army. It couldn't have gone better. They destroyed most of the Chitauri's main ships and army and I was freed of the Tesseract and its power and brought back to the safety of Asgard." Loki seemed proud of his cunning.

"And this is why they call you the trickster god." She teased. Loki grinned and moved her wet hair off her shoulder kissing it.

"Do I get a prize for sharing?" He said his voice low and almost hopeful. Cephera smiled.

"I think you've suffered long enough." She chuckled and continued to enjoy herself as Loki's mouth and hands began their intimate roaming

(Steve)

Steve met Seraphina outside the bowling ally as she suggested. Apparently she didn't need to hear Tony's remarks if he picked her up there and frankly Steve didn't want too either. When he had made the bet with the twin he had been saying it more in a 'pointing it out' kind of way but she had gone directly to feeling challenged. When she dragged him into it at first he was going to decline but he agreed as he wanted to see what kind of woman was really underneath all the sex. He found her somewhat interesting in her few moments of seriousness and even her joking. Any it was only for two month.

"Hey." He greeted her as she jogged up to him in jeans and a tee shirt.

"Hi. Ready to get your ass kicked?" She asked him grinning.

"You can try." He bantered back. They headed inside and found the place virtually empty. Only a small group was located down at the far left lanes. They were served by the only employee there and had a choice of where to go. Seraphina brought them down to the far right which for some reason Steve already knew she would. He didn't complain. She knew the rules. She hadn't bothered with shoes. She just bowled in her socks.

Steve was actually enjoying himself. Himself and Seraphina were fairly matched it would seem and the scores kept going back and forth as did the banter. She was a cocky one that was for sure. She exerted the same self assurance at this as she did when flirting. He wondered if it came from being a princess or if she always had this kind of self-esteem.

It wasn't long before the place had a large group come in. They must have been lucky to get there before the rush. Seraphina just scored her second strike and was working on her third. Taking her time aiming. "You're going to miss." He told her trying to throw her off like she did so often with him.

She laughed and screamed all in one breath. Steve jumped to his feet and tackled her down to the floor as the group that had just came in approached them. One of them firing some sort of short beam that had struck Seraphina in the shoulder only seconds before. "Shit." She cursed through clenched teeth grabbing Steve to roll out of the way of another beam. They jumped to their feet and already the other group at the other end had begun to panic and ran from the building. Steve couldn't see where the guy who worked there was but he didn't have much time to look when the wall near them crumbled Seraphina jumped one way and Steve went the other.

Steve attacked the man nearest them and the guy was speedy it would seem. They were dealing with all 'specials'. Steve was knocked forward from behind. The guy who could move mega fast was also not very good at fighting, or so it seemed. Steve turned and missed his target once more and was knocked in the head with a bowling pin. Someone was able to manipulate the objects around them.

There was a least six of them and while Steve was stuck with three Seraphina had the other three. She was fairing better as she used her power and used it to summon down wires from the roof and two out of her three were struggling as the wires were wrapped around them from head to toe.

Steve and Seraphina both fell down as the floor shook violently and cracked into shards as one female pummelled the floor with her fists and creating what seemed like an earthquake. The debris from the floor came flying at both Steve and his 'date'. A large piece hit Seraphina's arm and even Steve heard the crack from his spot. He had several abrasions but nothing too extensive.

"Steve brace yourself." Seraphina yelled. He did the best he could with the short time she gave him as the wires from below the lanes came up through the already destroyed floor. Some wires snapped and sparks flew. The man firing the bolts had shot at the wrong time. He hit the live wire and the fire backlash blasted outward and hit him. The man rolled to the ground screaming and holding his face.

Steve jumped at the woman who had created the earth quake. He had begun to learn that he couldn't always not hit a lady. He knocked her out with one blow as the speedy guy continued to avoid Seraphina. Steve noticed that two left standing were mostly bothering her. Steve grabbed a bowling ball and hurled it at the guy who was running around. The ball missed but the guy stepped on it and fell when he tried to speed off.

Seraphina was smirking. She was obviously enjoying herself despite her broken arm and more then one bloody spot on her clothes. The one who levitated things looked around them and tried to turn tail. Steve tackled them and in a short time Seraphins had wrapped them all up in wires. Steve touched Seraphina on the shoulder and she looked up at him through messy hair.

"You ok?" He asked her.

"I've had worse." She replied grinning.

"I'll contact SHIELD for 'clean up'." Seraphina nodded and sat down to watch those trapped.

"If anyone so much as twitches I will electrocute you." She told them. When Steve finished his call he went back to her. She was sitting at the booth eyeing her captives like prey. He took a seat next to her.

They were silent for a little while and Seraphina broke that silence. "Aside from my broken arm and well everything else that's bleeding this has been the most exciting first date ever." She told Steve as they waited for the clean up crew from SHIELD to get there. Steve looked at her and they both laughed.

"Not what I thought we'd be doing." He admitted.

"All the same." Seraphina shrugged. "At least we have an amusing story to tell everyone." Steve chuckled he couldn't argue with that.