"Every life has death and every light has shadow.

Be content to stand in the light and let the shadow fall where it will."

― Mary Stewart, The Hollow Hills

Thor sighed heavily as he opened up his fourth bottle of beer, taking a big swig from it as he looked out over New York City. It'd been two months since Karina had been taken.

Two months.

And there was no sign of her, anywhere.

After much research, Tony had found out that HYDRA had been doing illegal human experimentation with Loki's sceptre. All of the subjects had died, unable to cope with the effects of the sceptre. But Strucker wanted to use Karina to see if her Asgardian DNA would allow her to survive.

Thor had tried to go to Asgard but he knew, deep down, that even though it was Karina, they wouldn't help. HYDRA was an Earth matter, not an Asgardian matter.

He took another swig from the bottle, resisting the urge to punch the window. He had hardly slept in that month, spending all his time researching HYDRA bases and interrogating people. He knew his friends were getting worried. He knew he could ask Heimdall for help, but after Greenwich, he wasn't quite sure where his friend was. Fandral had opened the gate for him the last time he visited and had given him a simple explanation off: 'He's taken the day off."

Thor didn't question it, leaving almost as soon as he'd arrived.

Bruce glanced over at Thor as he left his lab. He sighed quietly and turned towards him. "Hey, Thor," Bruce said as he walked up to the god. "You going to go to sleep?"

Thor shook his head taking another sip of the beer. "No, I'm fine, I'll stay up - take the night shift."

Bruce sighed. "You've taken the night shift the past two weeks. And even when you haven't you've been awake." Bruce took his glasses off and looked his friend in the eye. "You need to sleep – "

"No," Thor snapped, shaking his head, "what I need is to find my sister."

"Thor…"

"You don't understand, Bruce," Thor said, "I made a vow to protect her with my life…and I've failed. I've lost my mother, watched my own brother die in my arms…I can't lose her too," Thor shook his head. "I just can't."

Bruce nodded in understanding, placing a hand on Thor's shoulder. "We'll find her, I promise."

Thor didn't reply, turning back to look out the window.

He had no doubt that they'd find her.

Whether they found her in time, however, was another matter.

~ 0 ~

Strucker looked up from his paperwork as the door to his office opened and Dr List walked in, saluting him.

"Doctor," Strucker said, throwing his pen down onto the table. "How is our little project?"

List sat down in the chair in front of the desk and nodded to the file in front of Strucker. "You haven't read it?"

"No, I have." Strucker smiled. "I'd like to hear it from my most trusted advisor."

List sighed, the chair creaking as he leant back in it. "She responded well with the memory machine, no sign of any memories left – a completely blank slate, shall we say. Her powers appear to have grown considerably, too. Bursts of them appearing whilst she dreams etc."

"She's grown in power?" Strucker steepled his fingers under his chin. "Good."

List cleared his throat, sitting forward. "Sir, can I suggest something?" Strucker nodded, waving a hand. "She has telekinetic abilities, like Maximoff's. Why not pit them against each other, see who's stronger?"

"They'd tear each other apart," Strucker said, frowning.

"They might not," List replied. "Just think, you've seen what Maximoff did to the S.H.I.E.L.D agents. Imagine what Odinsdottir and Maximoff could do together."

"Maximoff would never agree, she hates her."

"Then we make her."

~ 0 ~

Karina had been put in an empty medical ward, soldiers guarding every entrance and exit. She'd been hooked up to numerous machines, tracking every movement and change in her body.

For the first few days, she'd been sedated, allowing her body to adjust to the changes and the sheer amount of power flowing through her veins. List had watched her carefully, not wanting his near perfect experiment to die.

Once she'd been woken up, they'd made her practice her powers every day. Every day she was forced to build a wall in her mind only to have it broken down. Every day Karina was shut in the training room with a simulation, destroying it each time whilst barely lifting a finger. Her power had increased, and it was showing.

During one training session, Karina had teleported from one end of the room to the other. The shock and panic on her face had lasted merely a second before she'd promptly passed out.

List had forced her to teleport every day since, refusing to let up on it until she had perfect control over it.

Three weeks after she'd first been wiped and experimented on, List decided it was time.

~ 0 ~

From across the room, Wanda Maximoff glared at Karina.

Karina, with no clue as to who Wanda was, ignored her.

"Maximoff, Odinsdottir," Strucker said, his voice echoing through the intercom, "welcome. Today's training session is a little different. You both have unimaginable power. You both have telekinetic abilities. We want to see what you can do to the other. How far you can push them before they break. If we are correct, the two of you, working together, will bring our enemies to their knees."

From behind the two-way mirror, Pietro was watching his sister, a hint of concern in his eyes. List nodded to Strucker and the baron pressed the intercom again.

"You may begin."

Wanda threw the first mental punch.

Karina, only slightly prepared for it, stumbled back an inch before she raised her mental wall, blocking out the girl. She punched back, knocking down Wanda's wall slightly, but enough to scare the girl.

Neither one of them moved from their respective ends of the room as their mental battle continued.

Karina won the first round, breaking through Wanda's wall and seeing into her mind for a split second before the girl physically tackled her out. Wanda had launched herself from the other side of the room, throwing herself at Karina before she could see anymore.

The two girls were now fighting one another whilst trying to break into the others mind, neither speaking a word. Their powers flared together, red and purple swirling together only to snap away a second later.

The mental strain was exhausting and both girls were soon panting, their heads pounding with headaches.

Still, neither one stopped.

Karina landed the killer blow.

Summoning the last, yet strongest, part of her energy, she blew through all the walls in Wanda's mind, entering the girls head and seeing her thoughts. Wanda fell to the floor, eyes glazed over with a purple hue as Karina stood over here, manipulating her mind.

The door swung open and Karina was tackled to the floor, her head smacking painfully against the concrete. Her hold over Wanda faltered and the girl broke through, gasping suddenly as her brother held her against him, glaring at Karina.

"Very impressive," Strucker said as he stood in the doorway, watching the twins glare at Karina as she stood up. "Well done, Maximoff, Odinsdottir, very well done indeed."

~ 0 ~

They moved Karina from the medical ward to the cells where the twins were being kept. It was noisier and busier down there, but List wanted to constantly watch Karina as she evolved.

The twins didn't speak to Karina. Not a word. All three were perfectly content to ignore one another and shot each other glares whenever they were let out together. List and Strucker continued to pit Wanda and Karina against one another. Wanda's powers were growing, increasing, and she'd begun to overpower Karina, managing to knock her down and enter her mind.

Wanda saw all sorts of bizarre things when she entered. Golden palaces and silver crowns. Expensive ornaments and feasts fit for gods. Blood and death. Lightning and thunder. Every time she entered Karina's mind; she'd have nightmares for days after.

"How can she cope with all that," Wanda said one night, leaning her head against the wall as Pietro sat behind the glass, their fingers linked together through the holes in the glass.

"What did you see?" He asked softly.

"So much death and destruction," Wanda whispered. "Just constant pain and nothing but darkness. There's no light in there."

Karina, pretending to be asleep on her bed, found her eyes prickling with tears as Wanda kept talking. She had no idea why, she didn't remember anything she was describing, yet, somehow, it hurt just the same.

Line break

One night, Karina's nightmares got all too real and she found herself waking up suddenly, panting and shaking as she tried to remember where she was. She didn't know what she was dreaming about – she had no clue who anyone in her mind was.

"Are you alright?"

Karina jumped, her head whirling to look at Pietro. "Yeah," she said, finding her voice. "Sorry." She turned to look out into the quiet room in front of them.

"It's fine," Pietro replied quietly, putting his hands behind his head. "You don't remember any of it, do you?"

Karina looked at him again and frowned. "What?"

"Your dreams. You've no idea what they are."

She shook her head. "No…no I don't."

Pietro hummed quietly, sliding down the cushions on his bed so that he was lying down. Karina ignored him, turning, once again, to watch the night shift bustle about. She couldn't help the niggling feeling her mind that something wasn't right.

~ 0 ~

The three of them stood in a line in front of Strucker. Karina on the end, Wanda in the middle and Pietro at the other end. Strucker was pacing up and down in front of them, eyeing them all up, pausing every so often. She didn't know why but Karina realised she was nervous, her hands shaking slightly as Strucker stood in front of her once again.

"Today, you will face each other," Strucker said after his fourth pace up and down. "You will use your powers against the other until one of you is the victor, are we clear?"

All three nodded.

Strucker grunted and walked out the room, the door shut with a buzz and the red light above light up.

No one in viewing room above had a chance to tell them to begin before Wanda had thrown Karina into the wall.

Karina let out a yelp of pain as her head smacked the wall. She growled, forcing herself back up and throwing a blast of purple back at the witch. Pietro ran out of the way, dodging the blast and moving Wanda out the way and the blast hit the wall behind her.

Wanda threw another blast at Karina, but Karina countered with her own, throwing the red up, the light it hit crackling and sparking until it went out. Karina ran at Wanda but Pietro suddenly tackled her to the ground, skidding to a halt at the other end of the hall.

Karina landed on her knees and slid back on her knees. Pietro and Wanda stood next to each other, staring down Karina as she stood up again, her hands being engulfed in purple, her eyes glowing bright.

She yelled as she threw a giant blast of magic at the twins, throwing them both back and taking out the remaining lights at the same time.

The room was plunged into darkness, but Wanda and Karina's powers lit up the room allowing the three of them to see each other.

Karina extinguished her powers first. Wanda followed suit, throwing them back into darkness. Karina could hear Wanda and Pietro as they silently crept forwarded and used her new enhanced powers to silently walk around them and go behind.

Pietro let out a yell as Karina threw herself on to his back, wrapping her legs around his neck and throwing him onto the floor.

Wanda, having none of it, quickly wrapped Karina in a red glow. Karina's eyes turned from purple to red and she fell to the side, releasing Pietro. Pietro quickly scrambled up and watched as his sister entered Karina's mind.

Karina stared at nothing as Wanda rummaged around, but her hands were beginning to glow purple again, the colour getting brighter and brighter.

"Wanda –"Pietro warned, noticing Karina's hands.

Wanda didn't get a chance to react before Karina blasted Wanda out of her mind and into a wall, standing up and glowing brightly in front of her.

The girl evidently had no idea what she was doing as she raised a glowing had up, her fist clenched tightly. Karina's eyes were a mix of purple and red and Wanda could only star up in shock as a ball of light fire grew brighter and brighter –

Pietro suddenly grabbed Karina around the waist and threw her into a wall. The purple fire surrounding her instantly disappeared and Karina fell limply onto the floor with a particularly loud thud. Wanda panted and glanced at Pietro, a hint of panic in her eyes as Karina didn't move.

Pietro took small, hesitant steps towards Karina, eyes constantly flicking towards the viewing room and the door, waiting for Strucker to burst in. He crouched down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Gently, Pietro pushed Karina onto her back…

He jumped a mile when the door swung open and Strucker and List marched in. Pietro quickly stood up and moved out the way but still hovered near Karina. He didn't know why but he felt a strange sense of protection towards the girl.

Not that he actually cared.

~ 0 ~

Karina groaned as she stepped out the medical wing, a rather impressive bruise blooming across her right cheek from where she'd hit the wall. She'd bruised some ribs and had a migraine from Wanda invading her mind, but she was surprised she hadn't come off worse.

"Are you alright?"

Karina jumped slightly as Pietro stood up from the chair outside the medical wing, stepping forward. He raised his hand slightly and Karina relaxed but was still wary.

"Mmm," Karina said quietly, "migraine but I'm fine."

Pietro pointed to her cheek. "That looks painful."

"It's fine."

"Why do you do that?"

Karina stopped walking away and turned to face him. "Do what?"

"Pretend everything's fine when actually it isn't."

She paused for a moment. "Because…it is."

Pietro shrugged and let go, walking up to Karina. "Shall we leave?"

"What are you doing?" Karina asked, staring at Pietro as if he'd grown a second head.

"What do you mean?"

"You hate me. No idea why, don't remember anything, but you do. So why are you being nice?"

Pietro blinked. And blinked again. "Didn't realise I was."

Karina scoffed. "Ahuh." She turned on her heel and the four soldiers waiting outside the corridor jumped to attention and surrounded the two enhanced, fingers hovering over the triggers.

Pietro walked behind Karina, constantly watching her, noting how she winced every time a light was too bright or flickered and whenever someone made a loud noise.

The soldiers led them back to their cells and Karina immediately laid down on the bed and put a pillow over her head, turning her world dark.

"Why did you go with her?" Wanda asked quietly, snapping Pietro out of his head.

Pietro turned to look at his sister. "Huh?"

Wanda nodded to Karina. "Why did you go?"

"Don't know."

"Yes, you do, I know you do."

Pietro sighed and ran a hand through his mop of hair. "Felt like I had to. I injured her."

Wanda tutted, shaking her head at her brother. Pietro was thankful that she let the subject go, not too bothered with her brother's mixed emotions.

Pietro shook his head as his sister turned back to the wooden blocks in front of her, sending them up into the air. He sat down on the bed and tried to ignore Karina.

~ 0 ~

Karina had been asleep since she'd gotten back from the medical wing. For once, she hadn't dreamed. But when the blaring alarms woke them all, she awoke with a start, gasping slightly as the alarms dotted around the room wailed, blasting a bright red light all over the walls

She turned to look at the twins. Neither one seemed sure of what was happening, both eyeing the doors with concern and apprehension. Karina stood up and slowly walked up to the glass, putting a hand against it. The flashing red lights were beginning to give her a headache again and the noise was growing louder.

"The alarms never go on for this long," Wanda said suddenly, almost in tune with Karina's thoughts. "Something's wrong."

At her words the door the main room swung open and List and several soldiers stormed in.

"We're under attack," List announced as the three of them stepped away from the doors, allowing the guards to enter. "You're all being moved to a secure location. You will be handcuffed and escorted to the awaiting vehicle. No sudden movements, understood?"

Pietro and Wanda nodded, and Karina found herself nodding too, allowing the guards to force her arms behind her back, the cold metal digging into her skin.

They were led out into the corridor where soldiers were running about everywhere, frantically yelling orders to one another as above them explosions rocked the compound. For some reason, Karina found herself slowing down, not wanting to follow List or the twins. The soldiers behind her shoved her forward and she stumbled but didn't fall.

She didn't want to leave and go somewhere else. Why didn't she want to?

"Enchantress," List snapped, turning to glare at her. "If you do not co-operate, I will have no choice but to force you to come with us."

"No."

List turned back again, eyes narrowing. "I'm sorry?"

Karina looked up at him and shook her head. "I said no."

The doctor sucked on his teeth and sighed. He looked to the two soldiers either side of her. "Do it. Meet us at the truck."

The two soldiers moved together, one holding a syringe, the other holding a small device that looked like a radio.

In front of her, the twins and List carried on their march, Pietro giving her a fleeting look as he disappeared around the corner.

Karina dodged the first soldier's attempt at grabbing her, using her foot to shove him against the wall. The second, thrown off by her sudden movement, paused and Karina used his temporary shock to shove him into a nearby trolley, his head hitting an exposed pipe.

The first, recovered from her surprise hit, came at her again, ready with the syringe, but Karina managed to knock it out of his hand with her shoulder, somehow using her momentum to knock him to the floor. She put her foot against his wrist and stamped down hard. There was a sickening crack and the soldier beneath her yelped out in pain.

Seeing that no one else was around, Karina took off running. She followed the long corridor, weaving through the abandoned equipment and rubble, all the while cursing the handcuffs keep her hands back. She darted into an empty alcove and paused for a moment, panting.

Summoning the little energy, she had, she forced the handcuffs to spring apart, the metal hitting the floor. Karina rubbed her wrists as she tried to figure out what she was doing. High above her there was a loud explosion and the entire building shook, dust and bits of plaster falling off the wall.

There was a cold draft from down the corridor and Karina poked her head around the corner, eyeing up the open door. The first wave of guards had finished trickling out to deal with whatever was out there meaning she had a window to run out the door before anyone noticed her.

Karina poked her head around the corner, making sure no one was coming, and quickly walked out the door, instantly being covered in snow.

She'd never seen the outside of the building. In fact, Karina couldn't remember the last time she'd been outside the base. It was an old building, evidently falling apart, buried in-between two large mountains. There was a heavy forest surrounding the building and there were large watch towers in the four corners of the surrounding area.

From the battlements there were lines of soldiers firing at the sky and the ground, large searchlights swirling around the sky and mountains. Karina kept close to the wall as she snuck past the watch towers, sprinting into the tree line as soon as the lights and the men watching had turned the opposite way.

The snow bit into her skin as she sprinted through the trees, snow instantly seeping through the thin trousers and top she was wearing. Wind howled around her as she avoided the bunkers buried in between trees and holes in the ground, ducking behind a fallen tree as the searchlight swung round again.

Karina crouched down and ran past the bunker, hiding behind the large sandbags that had been put around it. She made it behind the bunker and continued her sprint through the dark forest, occasionally tripping over a root buried under the snow.

There was a sudden explosion just feet behind her and Karina, blinded by the fire and the aftershock, found herself falling over a buried tree stump, scraping her knees and hands on the stones and ice beneath the snow. The goddess groaned loudly as she forced herself to her feet, eyesight clouded with white spots.

She took an uncertain step forward, panting, but froze when someone landed in front of her, the force sending a cloud of snow up into the air.

Karina stopped herself from moving any further, a warning purple glow beginning to surround her bloody and bruised hands as the figure stepped forward slowly.

"Who are you?" Karina yelled, willing, for once, for a search light to swing over, even for a second, so that she could see who it was in front of her.

"Karina," the person said, taking another step forward, "it's me."

All of a sudden, Karina's head was flooded with memories and noise and she groaned as her head pounded. She looked up at the figure in front of her and gasped quietly. She swallowed down the lump in her throat, eyes brimming with tears.

"Thor?" She croaked, lip trembling as, finally, a light swung over to them, illuminating them both for a second.

Thor stood metres away from here, eyes glistening with emotion and his hammer in his hand. He gave her a broken smile and Karina sobbed, sprinting forward the last few metres and launched herself at her brother.

Thor caught her, effortlessly wrapping an arm around her waist as he lifted her up. He frowned slightly as he realised how much lighter she was, but it didn't matter. She was here. She was still here.

Karina clung to her brother, head buried into the soft material of his cape, as she sobbed. Thor had dropped his hammer when he'd caught her and both arms were holding her close, keeping her protected.

Reluctantly, Karina let him put her back on the ground; although her hand instantly grasped his tightly. Thor put a gentle hand on her cheek, and she smiled as he wiped away the tears still falling.

"I never thought I'd see you again," Karina whispered, squeezing his hand. "I thought this was it."

Thor shook his head. "I would never let that happen, Ria." Thor's eyes looked down to her hands and he gently turned it over, running his fingers along the grazes. "Did they hurt you?"

Karina shrugged. "I've no idea, I don't know. But, Thor, they've got – "

The words she was about to utter died in her throat as unimaginable pain spread through her back and stomach. Slowly, Karina's hand touched her stomach, her fingers coming away bright red.

"Oh," Karina said quietly as her legs gave way and she fell into Thor, the pain overwhelming everything else. Her hearing was drowned out by a bizarre high-pitched ringing and she couldn't hear what Thor was saying even though she could see his mouth moving. It came back for a second and the only word she heard was shot.

She'd been shot.

Normally, that wouldn't be anything. That would be like accidentally being stabbed by your older brother. But, with her powers having been cut off, her body tortured and experimented on…it was a death sentence.

Karina blinked and suddenly there as another person crouched down next to her, red hair mixing with the red blood spilling onto the snow. She couldn't remember the name, couldn't get her words out but the person smiled down at her, gently stroking her hair and Karina suddenly felt herself relax.

The snow kept falling into her eyes and Karina found her eyes drooping shut despite someone shaking her and yelling something incoherent at her. Karina's eyes shut and her body went limp, the pounding heart that kept her alive slowing down as the snow beneath turned red.