"Ah perfect. I thought I'd need Friday to search the entire building for you." Tony looked up briefly when I entered with Thor.
"Are the others not going to be here?" He shook his head.
"I will call them here later. Sit down, kid." Thor pulled out a chair for me and pushed me closer to the table, once I was settled. He leaned against the table next to me and Tony pushed an open envelope towards me. It had my name on it.
"What is that?" Both looked at each other.
"A few days ago we found this among Michael's belongings. You should read the letter before we continue." Tony cleared his throat and gave me an encouraging smile.

My dearest sister,

Now that you are reading this, I assume I am already dead. I want you to know, no matter the things I am going to explain in the following, I always loved you very much. That our parents did everything they could for you.

Ann, we aren't really siblings and our parents aren't your birth parents. You won't remember anything about your real parents, you were only a few days old when you came into our family (there is a picture of your real parents in the envelope). I know all of this is confusing and a lot to take in right now. I am trying to explain it as simply as possible.

You probably remember the attack on New York a few years back, when the Avengers first came out of the shell. You might have also heard of the organisation behind them: S.H.I.E.L.D. Well, I work for them and not for some insurance company like you always thought. I was part of the local crisis management, which means every time something went wrong it was my job to cover it up. Mom and dad also worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. (I don't really remember what they did since I was just a kid, but I think dad was often on some mission out of town and mom did something in administration).

About the reasons why you had to be separated from your birth parents and you were never told that you were adopted I sadly don't know that much. I know they were former Hydra agents (a terroristic association formed during the NS regime). They became double agents and at the time of your birth they were on the run from Hydra. A few days after your adoption they found them and they were executed. The other thing I know is that there was something with your blood, that is why you never went to the hospital but instead to this specialised clinic up north. I am really sorry you had to give up on so many things because of all those made up allergies for cover.

I am sorry I don't have more answers for you, you must have so many questions now. I just want to ask one thing of you: whatever you do, don't try to find out anything about our or your real parents on your own. I fear Hydra might find you after all these years if you suddenly start digging. Should anything happen to me, S.H.I.E.L.D. will find you. You will know whom to trust. They will help you to understand all of this mess.

I am really sorry, sis. I wish it would have never been necessary to tell you all of this. I would have done anything to keep this away from you, so you could live your life the way you want. After what happened in Mexico you deserved a normal and happy life. I hope one day you will have that.

I will always love you

your brother

I could feel hot tears on my cheeks. So those were those famous last words... Michael always kept me safe. In the end at the expanse of his own life. Thor stood behind me and put his hands on my shoulders in a soothing manner. I took in a deep breath while Tony gave me time to regain my cool.
"All of what your brother explained in his letter you already knew. Cut in any time it gets too complicated. I did some research on my own. I got my hands on some closed Hydra documents. They always experimented a lot, what Sergeant Barnes can confirm with his own sad story. Up to today it is still little known how much Hydra invested in genetic research and genetic manipulation. Your birth parents turned to S.H.I.E.L.D when your mother was forced to take part in that research while she was pregnant with you. She didn't suffer any side effects but those experiments had an impact on you. And I am afraid that we are now starting to experience those impacts." I tried to put what Tony just explained together with what I already knew.
"So I am the result of some genetic experiment…" Stark shook his head.
"No. You are still your parent's child. Hydra just modified your body by giving you a serum they developed. That is why your blood shows those differences. We could isolate something that resembles a mighty artefact from Asgard, which we came across during the attack on New York. It gave your blood more power, made you faster. We might see how much it really will change you now that those genetic manipulations started showing."
"So I really am the freak they called me back in school." My voice was only a whisper.
"You are not a freak. Different, yes.. But not a freak." Thor came to stand beside me and I looked up at him. "While Stark did his research here, I went back to Asgard to go through our own archives. What Tony found in your blood is part of an old lineage of my people. That is why you have this scent on you, which Loki picked up right away the moment he met you." I was getting more and more confused, the more they told me.

"I don't understand anything anymore."
"You might have noticed a change in your reactions. If you are angry for example. You killed that man that came after you though you would have needed years of training to do so." I slowly nodded. "That is because of what is in your blood. It awakened and is now getting stronger every day. I am still not one hundred percent sure since I couldn't talk to my father yet. But if I am right, you share some blood with an ol lineage of asgardian warriors. Well, no mere warriors… You share blood with a Valkyrie. A shieldmaiden of Asgard." I looked at him as if struck by lightning.
"You are making fun of me." The god of thunder shook his head.
"I would never joke about something like that."
"He is right. As far as we could find out, Hydra tried following their NS ideology based on teutonism and find a way to mix fiction and reality together. A few years prior to your birth they found some bone fragments of a Valkyrie that died on this planet a few hundred years back. They experimented on the DNA, extracted certain sequences. Over the years they found a way to mold those sequences with human DNA. You were the first embryo to survive that procedure. Nobody knew if and when the talents they gave you would show. When your parents realised what your survival meant for your future they turned to S.H.I.E.L.D. for help. They knew that they would only get away from Hydra in a body bag, so they asked that someone would find a way to at least save you. They didn't know who your adoptive parents were. For your own safety there were no official records and up until a few weeks back the organisation managed to keep your existence and identity a secret."

It was all too much. I got to my feet and started pacing the room anxiously.
"Basically you are saying that my DNA is partially originating from something I always thought to be myths. And that we have no idea how that will affect me… But what does Hydra want with me?" Thor and Tony exchanged another look.
"You were supposed to be used as a weapon. Same as they used Barnes when he was still the Winter Soldier. And if they can't get their hands on you they will do everything to destroy you." Destroy me…
"They will try to kill me if I don't cooperate with them?"
"I am afraid it is not quite that simple, kid. If they get their hands on you, they won't ask nicely if you'd like to work with them. They will torture you, break your mind until you follow orders without second guessing." I sat back down, my legs no longer able to hold my weight. Yesterday I was just the girl next door that got somehow caught up in events that normally wouldn't concern her. And today there were sudden changes. Everything was different now. Different in a way I would have neer imagined.