CHAPTER 5: DEBATES ON HOW WE ALL DIE

Helicarrier, Atlantic Ocean

The Quinjet touched down quietly on the Helicarrier's landing pad. The exit ramp opened up and a team of S.H.I.E.L.D.s STRIKE unit stood waiting for them. Two agents walked forward and grabbed Loki by the arms, lifting him up and leading him out of the Quinjet and into the Helicarrier. They walked robotically through the hallways, a dozen armed men with automatic weapons at the ready for this one person, leading him further and further in. And through it all, Loki remained silent.

Bruce Banner was staring at a complicated piece of machinery, a replica of the Tesseract device, when he saw them pass by the lab. He watched as they walked past, curious. And then he saw the so-called god Loki tilt his head to peer at him through the glass door. Bruce took off his glasses and watched carefully as Loki was led past, the god openly smiling at him now. Then Bruce felt a slight pain in his head and rubbed it carefully, blinking, and then looked back up but Loki and his entourage were already gone.

They finally turned a corner and entered through a door, revealing a large chamber with a big glass compartment in the middle and a catwalk circling it. The agents led Loki right into the compartment and closed it firmly, the locks engaging and the compartment pressurizing.

Loki took a look around at this prison, from the glass walls to the metal locks holding it together. As he did, he saw Nick Fury walk across the catwalk to a monitor. "In case it's unclear," he said, pressing some buttons, "you try to escape…you so much as scratch that glass…" he touched the screen and the bottom section of the chamber opened up into clear sky. The air started funneling out, whooshing wildly and pulling at the cell. Loki walked to the glass wall and peered out to the bottom curiously.

"30,000 feet straight down in a steel trap," Fury explained. "You get how that works?" He then closed off the bottom again and the wind died down. He then gestured to Loki and then the monitor. "Ant, boot."

Loki chuckled softly, backing up to the center of the cell. "It's an impressive cage," he said. "Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you," Fury said.

"Oh, I've heard," Loki replied and then turned and looked directly at the camera in the chamber. "A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man."

As he talked, Natasha glanced up from the screen showing off Loki's mocking expression to Bruce who shifted uncomfortably. Thor stood silently aside from the others gathered around the table in the main control room as Loki continued. Sam leaned against the wall, eyeing the screen closely.

"How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"

"How desperate am I?" Fury asked, walking up to the cell. "You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"Ooh," Loki shook his head. "It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power," he emphasized. "And for what?" He smiled and turned to the camera again. "A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is."

Fury stared at him for a second, assessing his words, before smirking. "Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something," he said over his shoulder as he walked away, exiting the chamber.

Back in the main control room, the camera switched off with one last look at Loki's mocking look.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce said, a fake smile on his face, trying not to show how much Loki's works had affected him.

"Loki's gonna drag this out," Steve said. "So," he looked up, "Thor, what's his play?"

The god did not change his stance as he replied. "He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known." He sighed and finally turned to look at them all. "He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army," Steve repeated. "From outer space."

"Aliens," Percy nodded. "Sure, why not? It's not like my life was difficult enough already."

"So, he's building another portal," Bruce said. "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

"Selvig?" Thor asked, frowning.

"He's an astrophysicist," Bruce explained.

"He's a friend," Thor said, now concerned.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Nat said to him before looking down and adding, "along with one of ours." Her mind fixed on Barton, wondering where he was right now and what he was doing.

Sadie frowned. This must be what Izzie had meant by mental energy. Mind control. She shivered at the thought. She wondered if she might be able to break it somehow.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him," Steve interrupted. It had been bothering him for a while now, why Loki just let himself be captured. It didn't feel right. "He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Bruce said, shaking his head. "That guy's brain is bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him."

"Have care how you speak," Thor said warningly, stepping forward. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother."

"He killed 80 people in two days," Nat said.

Thor paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "He's adopted."

"Does that make it better?" Percy asked.

Sam snorted derisively from her position against the wall.

"I think it's about the mechanics," Bruce said, trying to get back on track. "Iridium. What do they need the iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent." They all turned as Tony Stark entered the room dressed in an expensive and fashionable suit, Agent Coulson at his side. As they came in, Tony turned to Coulson and whispered, "so, I'm just saying, pick a weekend. I'll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive." Coulson nodded his thanks, appearing a bit flustered, and then pointed him towards the others to get back on track. Tony turned and continued from where he left off. "It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D." He looked up at Thor and walked up to him. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing." He then patted Thor on the arm.

Thor stared at his arm and then back at Tony in confusion.

"Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants," Tony continued. He then stopped at the head of the room where Fury usually stood, looking at all the computers and agents around him. "Uh, raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails."

All the agents stopped and turned to stare at him.

"That man is playing Galaga," Tony suddenly announced, pointing at one agent. Steve and Percy followed his finger, looking over. Everyone else continued to look at Tony. "Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." Tony frowned at the computer screens surrounding his pedestal, imagining Fury standing there. He covered his left eye, peering at the screens on either side before removing his hand again. "How does Fury even see these?" he asked.

"He turns," Hill replied stoically.

"Sounds exhausting." Tony picked a screen and started toying with it. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily." He stopped and turned to work on the other screens. "The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density." As he walked around, he subtly placed a small pin under a monitor. The pin clicked into place and began to work. "Something to kick-start the Cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Hill asked him.

"Last night," Tony replied. When Hill tilted her head, he continued. "The packet. Selvig's notes. The extraction theory papers." When everyone continued to just stare at him, he raised his arms in protest. "Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"There was a reading?" Sadie asked.

"I really only skimmed it," Percy added on. Even on a screen, the words floated around.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve interrupted. He was quickly growing tired of Stark and his grasp for attention.

"He'd have to heat the Cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier," Bruce said from behind, pacing as he thought.

Tony nodded in affirmation. "Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect."

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet," Bruce replied.

"Finally," Tony said to the others as he walked over to Bruce, "someone who speaks English."

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked rhetorically.

"That was English?" Sadie muttered to Percy who had to fight to keep from snorting.

Tony took Bruce's hand and shook it. "It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled," he complimented. "And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster." he added, spinning his finger around for emphasis.

Bruce looked away, pursing his lips slightly. "Thanks," he said, unsure of what else to say.

Sadie turned to Percy again but he held up his hand. "Tell you later," he muttered and she nodded back.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the Cube," Fury said, walking into the room. "I was hoping you might join him."

"I'd start with that stick of his," Steve put in. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

Percy frowned at that word. He knew Steve was talking about the Nazi faction he had fought in World War II but it still made him picture the multi-headed monsters he had fought in the past. All good memories.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube," Fury said. "And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys?" Thor asked, confused. "I do not understan-"

"I do!" Steve interrupted, pointing eagerly. As he did, Percy saw Stark very obviously roll his eyes. Steve seemed to deflate a little. "I-I understood that reference," he explained.

"I don't," Sadie said, frowning.

"Oh, it's from a movie called The Wizard of Oz that was relea-" Steve started to explain.

"No, I know that!" Sadie interrupted. "I mean, who did Loki turn into his monkeys?"

"Two of our agents," Nat explained.

"Like, actual monkeys?" Sadie asked. "Can he do that?"

They all stared at her. "No," Fury told her. "That was just a metaphor. They're under mind control."

"Oh, right," Sadie nodded. "Carry on." Instead, she was met with silence. "What?" she asked.

"Let's get to the other main topic of today, shall we?" Fury said, looking directly at her. "Who are you and how exactly were you able to appear so fast in the museum?"

"Uh…" Sadie hesitated. "Well, I'm Sadie Kane. And…well…" she stopped, unsure of how she should answer the other question. She didn't think she could just come out and say she used a portal. That would raise too many questions. "I was just nearby," she went with. "We've been keeping an eye out for Loki and I was ordered to engage with him when he attacked the museum."

"Who?" Fury asked. "I make it my mission to know about all the other players out there and yet I have never heard of anyone who can do what you do."

"Oh. Well, first off, thank you," Sadie said. "And second-"

"She's a magician, is she not?" Thor suddenly said. They all turned to him, Sadie in shock. "She is one of the House of Life."

"The House of Life?" Tony questioned. "Sounds like a humanitarian organization."

Percy tilted his head. "Yeah, kind of does." Sadie glared at him.

"What do you mean 'magician?'" Fury asked, looking back and forth between Thor and Sadie.

Sadie started to answer but Thor beat it to her again. "A follower of the gods of this world," he said. "We learned of them on Asgard. She is a practitioner of old magic, of Egypt I believe. The magic of the gods."

They all stared at Sadie now. Except Percy, who already knew this.

"Magic?" Tony asked.

"Gods?" Steve asked.

"Egypt?" Fury asked.

"Oh my," Percy added. They all turned to look at him and he scrunched down in his seat. "Sorry, I was still thinking about Wizard of Oz."

Sadie sighed. Since the cat was out of the bag, she guessed she should just spill at this point. "Yeah, I'm a magician," she said. "I…do magic, there's really no other way to explain that. You could say, I borrow it from a god, though that's not strictly speaking accurate, and-"

"Hold on," Fury stopped her. "Gods. Explain that. There are more gods here? Gods like him?" He gestured to Thor.

"No," Sadie shook her head. "Not like him. He's from outer space. An alien. These gods, my gods, have always been here. The House of Life is kind of a worldwide organization set up to keep them in check, make sure things don't get out of hand. Protect mortals, that sort of thing."

"Interesting," Tony said, leaning in closer. "So magic is real?" It seemed like that was the only thing he was interested in.

"Yeah."

"You said you magicians make sure things don't get out of hand," Fury said. "Explain that. Give an example."

"Uh…ok," Sadie nodded, thinking. "Well, a few years ago, the god Set kind of got released and set out to destroy North America. But me and my brother stopped him."

"Huh," Steve pondered that. This was way beyond him. He contemplated giving Fury another ten bucks.

"Loki is another example," she nodded at Thor. "We got wind of what he was doing and I was sent to stop him from causing more damage."

"Why you?" Hill asked. "You're what, fifteen?"

"Sixteen," Sadie corrected. "And I am one of the more powerful magicians in the House. Mostly because of Izzie, but also because of my bloodline. And just raw natural talent."

"Izzie?" Tony asked.

"Bloodline?" Hill asked.

"Hold up," Nat said. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has one of the most advanced monitoring systems on the planet. We would have gotten wind of something about these gods. I mean, we knew instantly when he showed up," she jerked her head over to Thor.

"Again, he's different than the other gods," Sadie tried to explain. "Besides, I mentioned magic. There's this powerful layer of magic, called the Duat, that kind of hides the truth from mortals, showing them what most makes sense instead. Like a magical attack will look like a gas main explosion or something." She turned to Percy. "You guys have a different word for it, right? The Mist or something?"

Percy glared at her hard, practically wolf-like, and Sadie realized her mistake.

"Wait, you're a magician as well?" Fury asked, now turning on him.

Before Percy could say anything, Thor interrupted again. "Nay, he is an Olympian, is he not? A demigod of Poseidon?"

Percy sighed, placing his head in his hands. "Can we put a muzzle on him or something?" he asked no one in particular.

"Olympian? Like the athlete?" Steve asked.

"No, like Greek," Tony replied. "Hercules, Zeus, that sort of thing."

Fury eyed Percy closely. "What does demigod mean?"

Percy grimaced. Of course Fury would focus on that word. "Half-blood," Percy said. "It means half-blood. Or, technically, half-god."

"And the other half? I'm assuming mortal?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah. It literally means child of the gods. Which is what I am. I'm a son of a god."

They all stopped to take that in. "Poseidon," Steve said after a minute. "That's what Thor said."

"The sea god," Bruce added. "So that's how you can control water."

"Yeah, I can also create hurricanes, maybe some earthquakes, stuff like that," Percy said. "I can breathe underwater, swim really fast, and talk to sea creatures." He suddenly raised a finger at Tony who looked like he was about to say something. "Don't call me Aquaman," he warned. "I've had plenty of that."

Tony held up his hands in surrender but was smiling widely.

"Norse, Egyptian, Greek," Fury mused, shaking his head. "Any other ones I should know about?"

Percy thought for a second. "I guess the Romans, but they're technically just part of the Greek ones, like split personality. I don't really get it though, so…" he trailed off.

Fury closed his eyes. When he had first learned that the Norse gods were not only real, but the damage they could cause, he had felt a fear he hadn't felt in almost two decades. A fear of the unknown, a feeling of helplessness and powerlessness. Now he felt it again. The way Jackson and Kane went on about mortals, like they were different from them, shook him. If these other gods were anything like Thor and Loki, then his job just became so much more difficult.

"The Mist," he said. "Kane over here used that word. What is it?"

"It's this magical stuff that kind of hides the godly world from mortals. Makes it fit into what they think, like Sadie said. Like, instead of centaurs you would just see horses or instead of swords you would see like a baseball bat or something."

"Well, that's fun!" Tony said with fake cheeriness. "Nice to know my brain's being played around with."

Steve leaned forward. "But we saw your sword, in the battle with Loki."

"Yeah, well, special circumstances." Percy took a deep breath. "Look, what Loki's doing with the Tesseract is seriously scaring the gods. They are not liking this at all. So, they kind of granted special permission to let you all see through the Mist." He honestly didn't know if the gods were ok with him telling all of this, but since they did allow the Mist to be opened up in the first place, he just went with it. "They knew we had to work together and it would be kind of hard for you to do that if you're not seeing clearly."

"Where is your sword, by the way?" Steve asked, looking him over.

Percy thought about it for a second before shrugging and pulling Riptide out of his pocket, placing the pen on the table. The others all stared at him like he was crazy.

"You know that's a pen, right?" Tony told him.

Percy smirked and then flicked the pen over. "Uncap it," he said.

Tony's eyes widened and then took on a gleam. He picked the pen up and held it gingerly, placing his fingers on the cap. He looked at Percy once more for confirmation and then uncapped it.

And Riptide sprung to life.

Nearly everyone simultaneously jumped at the sight of the sword, even Tony who quickly recovered and laughed a little. "Oh, I gotta get me one of these!" he exclaimed, waving the sword around a little. "How exactly do the mechanics work here? It must be collapsible and yet I don't see and way for it to fold inwards."

"I think it's a mix of magic and metalwork," Percy told him. He watched Tony wave the sword again and, sensing a dangerous situation emerging, held out his hand. Tony looked at it and back at the sword, clearly tempted to hang onto it, but did place it in Percy's hand who promptly shrunk it and returned it to his pocket.

Percy turned to Fury. "Look, the gods aren't really a threat," he said. "They're on your side. Trying to keep the world safe. That's what I've been doing for most of my life. Plus, they don't really come down from the Heavens and start destroying cities like some other gods." He nodded his head at Thor.

Thor glowered at him, looking like he wanted to blast him with lightning, but instead remained silent.

Fury just sighed. He looked up and spotted Sam still leaning against the wall. "And you?" he asked, causing her to look up. "Are you a demigod too? Are you a part of some mythological organization?"

"Yes," she nodded. "And technically, I am a Valkyrie for Odin. Or, former Valkyrie anyway, though I do a few jobs-"

"You're a Valkyrie?" Thor asked suddenly, stepping forward, a strange gleam in his eye.

Sam eyed him uncertainly. "Yeah?" she said, phrasing it like a question. "What's it to you?"

"Whoa!" Thor said. "I wanted to be a Valkyrie when I was a child. And then I found out you were all women." He seemed to realize how that sounded. "Not that there's anything wrong with women," he said quickly. "I love women. Sometimes a little too much. Not in a creepy way," he assured. "Just more of a respectful appreciation. One of my good friends Sif is one of the fiercest warriors in all of Asgard. I supported her all the way. Not that she needed my support, of course, she could do it on her own. I just saw what a great warrior she was and wanted her by my side. As a friend and comrade," he assured again. "I think it's great that there's an elite force of women warriors. It's about time." He added a grin with that last statement.

Sam simply stared at him. "Thank you?"

The others all seemed to come out of their daze at her words, having been staring at Thor during his little speech. "Alright then," Fury said.

"Look," Percy stood up. "I'm just going to cut to the chase here. I know it's scary to find out about the gods and all that. I freaked out when I first learned it. But what you need to know is this. We are here to help. Loki's plan with the Cube is scaring the gods. They want us to help you here. So you don't have to worry about them. The gods want to protect Earth. We," he gestured to him and Sadie, "want to protect Earth. So let's get back to it. We need to find that Cube, and find out what Loki is up to."

"Exactly." They all turned to Sam. "I know Loki. Or, at least another version of Loki. Don't ask," she held up her hand. "And he always has an ulterior motive, a backup plan, something up his sleeve that he won't reveal until it's too late. It's like he said," she pointed at Steve. "Loki isn't leading an army from here. He must be up to something. Even keeping him here in that cell is too dangerous for my liking."

Fury pondered that. "Maybe. For now, he's contained. We'll monitor the situation, but I don't know what else we can do. Let's concentrate our efforts on finding the Cube and getting it out of his hands."

The others all nodded.

"Shall we play, Doctor?" Tony asked, turning to Banner.

"This way, sir," Bruce gestured, leading the way. He and Tony filed out of the room.

Sam looked at her watch and turned to Fury. "Is there a quiet room where I could pray?"

Fury frowned. "Pray?" he asked. Then he took in her outfit and seemed to realize. "Oh. Yes, there should be a room for that. Hill will be able to tell you."

Sadie leaned in closer to Percy. "We need to talk, privately," she whispered.

Percy looked at her and nodded. They both got up and walked out of the room. As they did, they could feel the others' eyes on them.

In the far corner, one of the agents looked around at his fellows, making sure no one was watching him, before changing tabs. A Galaga screen popped up and he resumed playing.

"Alien gods," Percy said, bobbing his head as he took it in. "From another universe. Who coexist with the actual mythological Norse Gods from our world. Ok. Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok. That's…that's certainly something."

They were currently standing in what they presumed was a janitor's closet, Sadie having just told Percy everything she knew.

"Yeah, I know it's a lot," Sadie said sympathetically. "And totally bonkers. But, that's what Setne said."

"And you're sure we can trust him?" Percy asked. "Cause last time I met him, Fake Elvis didn't really seem to be in a helpful mood."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Sadie said. "I mean, it would be pretty impressive if he came up with that whole story on the spot. But, I think he thought it was in his best interest to tell me the truth."

"How would that be in his best interest?"

"Something to do with all these new developments. He thinks that the path we're going down, getting involved with these space gods and this Cube thing will eventually lead to him getting free no matter what."

Percy nodded. "That's a comforting thought. Alright, well I'd better go check in with Annabeth, keep her updated." He fished a drachma out of his pockets. "You wouldn't be able to create a rainbow in here by any chance?"

"Uh…yeah, I think so," Sadie said frowning in confusion. Why did he want a rainbow? She lifted her wand, calling on her magic. The air wavered in front of them, light rippling, and then a soft rainbow appeared.

Percy muttered the incantation and then threw the coin into the rainbow. Sadie stared at him like he was crazy but he ignored her and said, "Annabeth Chase at New Rome."

The air rippled again and then formed a picture of Annabeth sitting on a bed.

"Whoa!" Sadie gasped. "That is so cool!"

Her outburst startled Annabeth, causing her to slip off the bed. "Percy!" she gasped, getting back to her feet. "Sadie! What are you doing together?"

"Apparently we're not the only ones who found about Loki," Percy said. "The House of Life was tracking him as well. And apparently the Valkyries."

"The who?" Annabeth asked. "Wait, aren't they the carriers of the dead for Valhalla?"

"How would I know that?" Percy asked her. "You're the one who reads all the time."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Whatever Seaweed Brain. I take it Sam's there as well, then."

Percy blinked. "Uh, yeah. How did yo- Oh, you must have called her. Cool. Yeah, she's here. And so is Thor."

"Thor?" Annabeth asked curiously. "Ok, start at the beginning. What happened?"

Percy and Sadie quickly explained everything to her. She was a little shocked about finding out there were two versions of the Norse Gods but quickly brushed past it. "So Loki's still there?" she checked.

"Yeah, they have him in some sort of cell designed for the Hulk," Percy explained.

Both Annabeth and Sadie frowned. "The who?"

"The Hulk," he repeated, and then noticed their expressions explained further. "Sorry, right, you didn't read the packet. It's Banner. You know Loki's jab at the beast and Tony saying to him about an enormous green rage monster. Well, apparently Banner did some experiments on himself with…I think it was gamma radiation. Anyway, it went wrong and now whenever he becomes angry he turns green and grows super muscles and goes on a rampage."

Sadie blinked in surprise. "Wow," she muttered and looked over her shoulder, even though he wasn't there. "Poor guy."

Percy nodded. "Yeah, well anyway, Loki's in his cell. But he's not trying anything."

"Huh," Annabeth said, rubbing her chin in thought. "Well, if this Loki is anything like Magnus's then I would keep a close watch on him. This might just be a part of a larger scheme of his."

"Yeah, that's what Sam thought too," Percy nodded. "I think…I think he's waiting for something."

Sadie raised an eyebrow. "Waiting for what?"

"I don't know," Percy replied. "Just the way he was acting. Like he had all the time in the world. He's waiting for something to happen. We just need to figure out what."

Annabeth nodded. "Ok, well Percy I know you well enough to say trust your instincts."

"Thanks, Wise Girl."

Annabeth smirked. "What about S.H.I.E.L.D.? How are they handling…the news?"

"Better than expected," Percy admitted, thinking back. All in all, it could have been so much worse. "They seem more focused on Loki and the Tesseract now. I'm sure they'll want to go deeper into this stuff later. Could use your help there."

"Yeah, I think that would be best," Annabeth agreed. "Until then, maybe you should start interacting with the others. Poseidon did say they would be important, right?" Percy nodded. "So get to know them better. Gain their trust. See what you can find out. It might help."

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "Sounds like a plan."

"Good. I'd say try to stay out of trouble, but we both know that's not true at this point. So, good luck. Both of you," she added, looking at Sadie.

"Thanks," Sadie replied.

Annabeth turned back to Percy. "I love you," she said.

"Love you too," he said back, smiling, before waving his hand through the image, breaking it up.

Sadie smiled. Those two were really cute. And crazy about each other. She could see they felt the same way that she felt towards Walt. Speaking of which, she wondered if maybe she should try and contact him. Was she a bad girlfriend for not doing it? She at least owed Amos an update.

"I'm gonna call my Uncle," she said to Percy. "Update him on everything. You go find the others."

"Alright. You need a drachma?" he asked, holding up another coin.

"No, I'm good," Sadie replied, holding up her cellphone.

"Oh, right, of course," Percy nodded. "Makes sense. Alright, see you later."

"See you," Sadie agreed and he walked out. She dialed Amos's number in and held the phone up to her. A few seconds later, he picked up.

"Sadie!" he greeted. "What happened?"

Sadie quickly filled him in on everything. He wasn't too happy with the idea that the government was now aware of the House of Life but agreed that Loki and his army were the bigger problem. "Looks like you've got the situation well in hand," he said. "I don't think it'll be best to send in anyone else. Might spook these S.H.I.E.L.D. people."

"Yeah," Sadie agreed. "I'll keep you updated. If we need you, I'll call."

"Good. I've been trying to get in contact with Carter but he's still unavailable. He must have turned his phone off. Zia too."

Sadie sighed. Of all the times for her brother to do something reckless and irresponsible like turning off one's phone. She guessed the two were really enjoying each other's company. "Well, keep trying. He should be brought into this." She sighed and rubbed her forehead. She couldn't believe all the stuff she was dealing with right now. "Any word from Walt?"

"He and the rest of Brooklyn House are still at the Ninth Nome. Would you like me to contact him?"

Sadie thought about it for a moment. "No. I don't want him to worry right now. Hopefully this will blow over soon. Plus if he gets worried, the others will as well. I have his number, I'll call him soon."

"Alright then. Well, I say stick with your plan. Keep an eye on this Loki and see what you can find out about those other members of your team."

"You got it," Sadie nodded. "Talk to you later, Amos."

"You too, Sadie. Stay safe."

Sadie pocketed her phone and rubbed her forehead again. She wondered if maybe she should call Walt, despite what she just said. She desperately wanted his advice as well. Or maybe just to hear his voice. But no. He was a worrier. There was nothing he could do right now and she didn't want to put him in that position.

She sighed and walked out of the closet, heading back for the main room.

And there's Chapter 5. I am so sorry for the long wait, I really didn't mean for it to take this long, just got busy with school work and essays. And I tried to make this as good as possible for you guys. Hope you like it. Also, this was going to be longer but I decided to split it in two. So the next chapter should be uploaded soon if it's not there already. Now, I have received comments about Thor's fight with Percy and how weak Percy was. So to answer some questions, yes I do believe he is a match for Thor and full strength. But, at this point he hasn't really fought anyone in more than a year. He's taken a break. So he's not at his best while Thor is always at his best. Plus, he kind of underestimated Thor which was a mistake. But don't worry. He will show off his powers real soon. I'm really excited for what's coming up. Also, so glad that over 200 people are now following this story. That really means a lot that so many people like it and I promise to keep going. Thank you all so much again and hope you like these next two chapters.