"Well," Loki started once we were back in the car. "That was interesting."

Interesting was putting it mildly, and I knew that it was a poor substitute for what he really wanted to say. Loki was in male form now, and he was fuming. He had been about to kill Derrick. For my part, I was also angry but I was also more confused, shaken, and curious.

"Are you alright, Pet? He touched you," Loki pointed out while I drove onto the street.

He had, and that's part of what I was shaken about. I hadn't blacked out, I hadn't frozen up, I hadn't done any of the things I normally did when a stranger touched me. The only other time that had happened had been with Zemo, and I still didn't know why he hadn't bothered me as much as he should have.

With Derrick, though... "I'm fine. I...it was so strange, Loki. It's like I stood in his presence, heard his voice, smelled him, and this feeling came over me. It was this intuitive knowing. Like something was telling me he was family, that I was okay around him, that he wouldn't hurt me. It was like I was meeting my brother. An older brother, which is weird because I didn't have any older siblings, so I never experienced that feeling before." I had been the oldest of three daughters. I had the whole protective older sibling thing going on, up to and including the day they perished along with the rest of my universe.

Loki was silent for a few minutes. "So, you believed him when he said he was an angel?" He looked out the window. "He did claim that he used to be one by the name of Tzadkiel...used to be being the operative term. I personally will not relax until I find out why he is a used to be."

I was curious about that as well. I knew I shouldn't be so quick to trust someone I had just met. But there was this niggling feeling in the back of my mind that I couldn't shake.

"And why did he want us out of there so quickly?" Loki asked in suspicion.

"He was scared," I answered quietly. "Not of us. He was scared for us. Especially me. He was trying to protect us, I just don't know from what. I started to feel something approach the front of the shop, but Derrick drove us out before I could delve deeper."

"I don't trust him. I don't trust any of this. I know you have questions, Pet, and wish to know more, but I do not know about this..."

Loki was normally very protective, but that encounter had zapped those proclivities into hyperdrive. He was still mad about the threatening way Derrick had approached me at first. Yes, the man had been aggressive, but it sounded like it was for good reason. Just who was this Hektaniel he kept mentioning?

Loki was still angry, and it was tempting to suggest he just teleport us home but maybe the drive would help both of us cool down. I placed my hand on his thigh, and seconds later he had it clasped in his own. He brought it up to his lips and kissed the knuckles. "If you go back there, Pet, I am coming with you. Don't argue."

I knew when it was important to stand my ground and not let Loki have his way, but I also knew when not to protest against an action he decided on. They were right on the tip of my tongue, the words "I can take care of myself" but I didn't say them. He was just starting to calm down, and saying that would set him off again.

It probably wouldn't be a good idea for me to be alone with Derrick just yet anyway.

We arrived home, and had just exited the elevator to our penthouse when I caught the scent. I froze, my hackles up, and caught Loki's arm before he could walk ahead of me.

He gave me a questioning look.

"I smell sulfur," I whispered, staring at the door, trembling with the sudden need to run, break it down, and tear into whoever was in our home. Whoever it was managed to get past all the magical protections Loki had placed, but rather than being frightened, I was mad and ready to rip them apart.

Loki's temper flared. His arms came down to his sides, his daggers flicked into his hands, and he marched to the door, opening it telekinetically, and threw the one of the daggers.

The individual in our apartment caught it one handed. He rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. Is that any way to greet a guest?"

He was as tall as Loki, with light brown hair that just brushed his nape. Deep blue eyes gazed out of a face that was gorgeous rather than handsome. If Loki hadn't ruined me for everyone else, I might have found him attractive. He was dressed in a charcoal gray suit that fit him perfectly, his frame similar to Loki's, trim and wiry. He smiled when he saw me. "Ah, and there she is! You're a little short for one of us, but that's okay. I can work with that."

I didn't want this guy to work with me. I was breathing in more of his scent. Sulfur, a hint of brimstone, and nothing under that. Nothing at all. But the things I was feeling off him. Darkness. Pain. Rage. He made my skin crawl, and I was almost growling. I wanted a piece of him so bad.

"Oh, come now. Is this how you act towards family? Seems I'm going to have to teach you-"

"You will do nothing! You have one second to get out of my home, or I will show you the way out myself!" Loki snarled.

The man's eyes twinkled. "You can certainly try, godling. I can use the entertainment. But I am here to take the newbie here under my wing...well, if I still had them, I would. Move aside, be a good boy, and let me speak to her."

Now I was fuming.

"Leave them alone, Lucy."

I whirled around to see Derrick standing in the hall, his eyes fixed on the intruder. Lucy? What kind of name was Lucy for an-

My knees almost turned to jelly. Oh fuck, no. No way.

"Tzadkiel, really. Did you think I wouldn't notice the scent, or wouldn't follow it in order to check her out? Tut, tut, you know me better than that. And I know full well you can't do a thing outside of your Sanctuary, so why don't you scoot and let me have a chat with the new angel."

Derrick shook his head and stepped forward. "Can't do that. You're long overdue to get back to your post, so I'm just going to stay here and keep an eye on you until Michael comes along to haul your sorry arse back to the pit where you belong."

Lucy's smile faltered. Just a little, but it did.

"You leave her alone," Derrick added. "Her and her mate both. I won't tell you again. In fact, your second is long up, so I'll just make sure she and I are out of the way while he takes care of you," Derrick nodded at Loki.

A flash of green energy struck Lucy in the chest then. He fell against the spell-reinforced wall and fell to the floor. If that wall hadn't been reinforced, he would have crashed right through it.

"Damn it!" He coughed and looked down at himself. "Do you have any idea how much this suit cost?!" The material was now burnt and falling off his upper body in flakes. His chest was also burnt but was healing rapidly.

I started to charge in to help, but Derrick's hand caught my arm. "Don't," he whispered. Then he raised his voice. "Get out of here, Lucy, while you can still do it in one piece."

"He can't kill me," Lucy pointed out. "You know why he can't."

"I know, but as you said, I can't do much outside of my Sanctuary, so if he decides to rip you apart," Derrick shrugged. "Nothing I can really do to stop him."

I didn't think Derrick would be able to stop Loki no matter what. Loki was enraged and was ready for blood. I could feel it and almost heard his thoughts through our link. This creature broke into my home and threatened my wife. I want him dead.

"Why would it be a bad idea for Loki to kill him?" I asked, because Derrick's words gave me pause, as well as his apprehension.

He sighed. "Because, as much as a pain in the ass he is, Lucy is necessary, and if something happened to him, it could pave the way for something much, much worse to rise to power and wreak havoc."

"He's lying. These two are in league with each other," Loki responded immediately, his dagger at the ready and a ball of energy forming in his other hand.

I knew better. "No," I told Loki reluctantly. "Derrick's telling the truth."

Lucy got up, straightened out what was left of his clothes, slicked his hair back, and scowled. "I don't have to take this. Fine. I'll lay off...for now. I need to get back home anyway." His head turned as he walked to the door, keeping Loki in his sights. Loki was watching him like a hawk, tense and ready to tear into him if he made one wrong move. His tension spiked sharply when Lucy got close to me, but Lucy didn't make a move to touch me. "Nice meeting you, see you soon," he told me instead as he walked out.

Rather than the elevator opening, a column of fire engulfed Lucy and he vanished, leaving behind the smell of sulfur and brimstone. I almost gagged. I'd never get that aired out of my home.

The moment Lucy vanished, I started shaking. Loki was still furious but he immediately raced to my side and helped lower me into the armchair close by. "Pet?" His arms stayed around me, and I clung to him.

"I'm okay...I'm okay. I just..."

"She'll be fine. She's just experiencing the jitters. The first time encountering him is always the hardest," Derrick reassured us.

I swallowed. "I-I wanted to kill him."

"Yeah, you'll get used to that feeling." Derrick paused. "On second thought, I hope you don't. That is not someone you need to be interacting with on a regular basis, or at all. If he ever comes up to you again, shield and holler for help."

Loki looked between the two of us. "Lucy? Wait...so that was really-"

"Yes, but you won't need to worry about him much. He doesn't slip his post very often, and on the rare occasion he does he's very quickly pulled back. Your girl's safe." Derrick paused. "I still don't know your name, hon. It would help, unless you want me to continue making up names for you."

"Tracy," I answered, starting to feel a little calmer. "This is Loki."

"Oh, I know," Derrick answered cheerfully. "He's famous. So, we have an angel who used to be a human, who up and married an Asgardian. And not just any Asgardian, you went and married the God of Mischief. Did you get married in New Asgard?"

I looked over at Derrick, because I had felt the flash of amusement. "Actually, we were married by a Voodoo priest."

Derrick blinked. Then he lost it.

Loki and I both rolled our eyes while he was busy laughing, so hard that he had to sit down on the floor. I wanted to ask him more questions, but I had to wait. And wait.

And wait.

Fuck's sake, it couldn't have been that funny.

I suppose I shouldn't mention the Avengers or Stephen, I sent along mine and Loki's link.

Loki looked over at the still-laughing Derrick. Probably a good idea. He's already turning a rather alarming shade of violet. Mentioning that you work for a team of superheroes and are receiving tutelage from a Kamar Taj sorcerer might finish him off, and I know you have more questions for him.

Derrick gasped in a breath. "I apologize. I'm just imagining the look on Gabriel's face. He's a stickler for tradition, and if he found out about this, I'm pretty sure he would end up becoming the first angel in history to keel over from an aneurysm."

"Thrilling. Happy to hear it," I snapped. "Am I going to end up meeting him too?"

Derrick sobered up. He shook his head. "There might be a war going on, but someone from the Silver City should have contacted you long before now. In fact, the first time you did something stupid with your powers, you should have had Michael all up in your face, arms crossed, demanding an explanation. The fact that you haven't had that delightful experience tells me that either things are pretty bad or they're slacking bigtime." He remained seated but looked at me. "In fact, it's troubling that they didn't even notice your ascension. The birth of an angel isn't something that goes unnoticed. I need to know how this happened, and for that I need to see your memories."

I cringed, and Loki turned on Derrick. "No. I will not stand by and allow her to be violated like that."

"It's not a violation if I have her permission," Derrick pointed out. "I'm not going to rummage around in all of her memories. I just need to see the one and I won't be going into her mind to do it. It's a simple spell that will only target that point in time. She won't even have to relive it. I merely need to use her as a focus so I can travel back in time psychically and see for myself what happened."

I felt relieved, but Loki was still skeptical. The past few hours had really gotten to him, and he was ready to plant his feet and refuse, but I placed a hand on his arm. "It's alright. If he can give me the answers I need, and this is what he needs to do it..."

"I don't like it," Loki said. He didn't have to tell me that, I already knew.

"I won't hurt her," Derrick reassured Loki again. "I couldn't even if I wanted to. It's why I'm here, on your turf. In my Sanctuary, I'm pretty much godlike, but outside of it...I'm helpless as a kitten."

"Kittens still have claws," Loki pointed out.

Derrick nodded and held out his hands. "But the claws really don't do that much damage, do they?"

I studied Derrick and sucked in a breath. Because I just realized something about his tattoos, just noticed it.

They moved.

An eagle on his right pec spread its wings and then folded them back in, shaking its feathers. A howling wolf on his left bicep paused midhowl to turn its head and look at me, then went back to howling. The leafy vine that twined between all the tattoos and seemed to travel all over Derrick's skin...the leaves on it moved like they were being blown in a breeze. The sword that took up his side glinted.

Loki noticed it as well. "How..."

"I'll explain. I know you have a lot of questions. How did an angel end up being a tattooed store proprietor, selling witchy things and poking holes in people for a living? I'll tell you all about it, answer all your questions. I just need mine answered as well. So, Tracy, do I have your permission?"

I still felt a little apprehensive, but I wanted answers. And, for some inexplicable reason, I trusted Derrick. I never trusted anyone right off the bat. I didn't even trust Loki this much when I first met him. My trust in him took time to develop.

I looked into those silver eyes, which were shiny in the apartment's light. They were such a liquid silver that they actually had a metallic shimmer. The effect was eerie and beautiful. This man probably never lacked for companionship, assuming that he was into that. At the very least I was sure he stopped traffic. I wasn't attracted to him though. Not only did I have Loki, but my draw towards Derrick was familial, not romantic. At the same time, I wasn't blind, and Derrick was a very attractive man. He was the picture of friendliness, still sitting on the floor in a relaxed, nonthreatening pose, hands loose on his lap with one leg bent up and the other lying flat. He looked like a model for some punk or Goth magazine.

"Alright," I told him and Loki tensed up. He wasn't thrilled with my decision but he said nothing. At least, not out loud.

I watched as a spot under Derrick's jeans flashed on his leg and then standing in front of him all of a sudden was a white ferret. I stared at it, and was reminded that I needed to check on my pets. I felt Heimdall in the apartment somewhere and I could tell that Chloe was alright, but they needed to be taken care of.

"You need a ferret for this spell?" Loki asked.

Derrick grinned in response. "Yes. To ferret out the information I need."

Loki's groan was internal. Outwardly he just shut his eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh.

Derrick muttered some words in a very lyrical tongue, a language I had never heard before. Judging from the look on Loki's face, he hadn't heard it either. The ferret ambled towards me then touched my foot. Instantly, the animal disappeared and I felt an itchy, crawling sensation under my skin, starting at my foot going all the way up my leg.

I started freaking out. "Shit! What the hell?!" I lifted up the hem of my blouse because the sensation was on my stomach now and stared at the miniature white ferret crawling in my skin, up my abs, and between my ribs, a moving tattoo just like the ones Derrick had. "You could have warned me!"

He just shrugged. "Sorry?"

I glared at the diabolical former angel as the damn ferret crawled around to my back and fidgeted. It tickled, and not in a good way. It was creeping me out and making me squirm in a manner that had Loki watching me with a raised eyebrow. I glared at him because I could feel what he was thinking, and made a mental note to tell Derrick to say No if Loki went to him asking to be shown how to create a living tattoo.

It figured that Loki would be getting ideas now, of all fucking times.

I felt the tattoo settle on the back of my neck, and felt a flash of warmth. At the same time, I saw Derrick's eyes flash. It didn't matter that the spell didn't require me to relive the memory. I knew what he saw.

She was dying.

After over a decade of imprisonment, of being tortured and having her mind butchered beyond recognition, to the point where almost any trace of the person she had been was unrecognizable, the wave of death that crashed into her the moment her universe was destroyed had been the final push. She had been defiant for all these years, mentally broke, yes, but had clung to life because her will to live was just that stubborn.

Once she felt all of her loved ones, her home, die though, she had no more reason to live, to fight.

The death was slow in coming but it was just around the corner. Her body was still alive, still breathing, her heart still beat, but it was a dull thud, her breath less than a whisper. She was right on the precipice and had lost the will to fight falling all the way off. She was tired, so tired of hurting. She wanted to join her parents and sisters, and the rest of the people she loved and cared about.

The darkness had embraced her, was slowly pulling her under, and she wished it would hurry. She was ready.

Then she was yanked out of it, torn out of it, and she became aware of her body again, became aware of a pair of soft lips on her own, a hand tilting her chin up, a golden taste flooding her mouth, a taste of honey and light. It was strange, that light could have a taste, but it was there. Bright, warm, and sweet.

Her eyes fluttered open to look into a beautiful battered face, blood seeping from the corners of his eyes, his nose, his mouth. More blood fell out of his ears. He was dying, was almost dead already, and this was his final moment.

"Live," he rasped and then fell away.

The burn started in the center of her chest. Her weak body suddenly found strength, her hands gripped the edges of the table she'd been laid out on. And her mouth opened, her jaw creaking as she let out a blood-curdling, soul-gripping scream.

Her nerves, her blood, her bones were on fire, and the inferno spread through her form, until she could feel fire and light consume her completely. The agony wasn't just physical. Her mind, her very soul was burning, light spearing through her psyche to burn her, burn her completely down, before she was built back up. Images and sounds passed through her mind, strange things, things that no mortal mind should be privy to, things that no mortal mind would ever be able to comprehend or even bear witness to without going mad.

It lasted for an eternity but was also over in an instant.

Derrick's head thumped as he leaned it back against the wall. He hadn't moved from the floor. A shaking hand scrubbed down his face. "Raphael," he murmured. "You fucking idiot. You utter and complete tool."

The ferret tattoo traveled down my arm to my fingertips, where it dissolved away from my body, formed into the regular sized ferret, and scampered back to Derrick where it melted back into his skin, somewhere underneath the jeans.

"Idiot. He knew better. He knew better. If he weren't dead, I'd kill him myself. I don't believe this. I don't believe this!"

"I take it you didn't like what you saw?" Loki asked Derrick after he got through ranting to himself.

Derrick closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "There is a reason," he began. "Why it has been forbidden to turn mortals into angels for a very long time. Yes, we do have the ability to do so, to mortals who meet certain criteria, but just because we can doesn't mean we should. Before it was outlawed, quite a few mortals were turned. My kind has a very low reproductive rate. We are naturally genderfluid, but most of our female forms are barren and our male forms shoot blanks. The fertility rate is almost nonexistent, so we were dying until we discovered that we could also 'reproduce' by turning mortals. Unfortunately, that has its drawbacks. Mortals turned angels don't have all the abilities that 'pure' angels possess. They can't shapeshift. They can't fly...sorry, dear, I know you were probably looking forward to shopping for a backless wardrobe, but wings are not in your future."

"That really wasn't something I was looking forward to," I told him, because it was true. It hadn't even occurred to me.

Derrick went on. "Mortals turned angels get stronger, but never get as strong as a 'pure' angel. And even after they go through the Silent Ceremony..."

"The what?"

"The Silent Ceremony. It is what mortals turned angels go through in order to be purged of all emotions. Angels keep their emotions repressed...it used to be thought that we didn't have them, and in fact some of them will still claim that they don't. Gabriel, for instance, although I have seen him annoyed so I know he's full of shit. But all angels keep their emotions under wraps and ruthlessly suppressed. It's to make us more efficient and ruthless warriors."

"Raphael fell in love with her," Loki pointed out. "And you aren't exactly emotionless."

"Raphael's case would be termed an aberration by the rest of our kind. In fact, had he been discovered, he would have been sent for rehabilitation. As for me...I'm no longer an angel, and when that became clear, I decided to hell with it and embraced emotion." Derrick shrugged. "It's worked out okay so far, and at least it makes eternity interesting. I've learned humor, learned how to laugh. Getting angry for the first time was an experience. I've even fallen in love a couple of times, which had its ups and downs. Discovering sex was something else as well."

He turned his face to look out the window. "See, one really bad side effect that comes with being turned into an angel, as I'm sure you've already discovered, is extreme mental instability. Even though you are physically a divine being, your heart and your mind are still very much human. And human minds and hearts were never meant to handle divine power or play in divine realms. Going through the Silent Ceremony helped a few of the mortals turned angels, and they are still active to this very day within the hierarchy. But even they...well, to be candid, their picnic baskets are still short a few sandwiches."

I didn't need to ask what happened to the rest but Derrick answered my unspoken question anyway. "The rest went mad. To the point where we had to put them down, for their own good as well as everyone else's."

I swallowed several times and it took me a few tries before I got my question out. "What were the odds?"

Derrick's eyes pinned me to my chair. "Less than one percent. One out of a hundred might have made it. No, sweetie, the odds are not in your favor."

"Now, wait just a moment..." Loki began.

"Sorry mate. But I have to be blunt. Raphael did her absolutely no favors at all when he chose to turn her. The odds of a mortal who was emotionally, mentally, and physically healthy as a mortal being able to make it as an angel are astronomical. But Tracy here was far from healthy emotionally and mentally. She'd been tortured, a hostage for well over a decade, and her mind had been broken. Back in the day, she would never have been considered a viable candidate for ascension. Raphael should never have turned her. Especially since he knew he wasn't going to be around afterwards to care for her, guide her, teach her what she needed to know. The two of them were in a pocket dimension, a realm between universes and out of time. That's why her ascension went unnoticed, because it occurred in a space that was part of no space. He basically left her floundering without a safety net. She's lucky to be alive at all, and we're all lucky that she hasn't killed everyone in this city."

Loki was vibrating with anger. I could only shake, because I knew Derrick was right.

"It would have been kinder," Derrick continued. "If he had allowed her to die. He's basically condemned her to a life where she's always going to have to struggle to remain in control, where she's always going to be riding that border of sanity, and worse...she's always going to be stuck between two worlds. Too human to belong to the world of the divine, too much divinity in her to truly fit in with the mortals." He smiled slightly. "She is lucky in one respect. She found you, so at least she's not completely alone, and I'm sure your bond is the reason why she's as sane as she is. The drawback to that though, is that we will never know if going Silent would help her even more. I'm assuming that neither one of you wants her to be divorced from her emotions?"

Neither Loki nor I had to answer that. Derrick knew.

"Still..." Derrick went on. "Even with your ascension taking place there, and with a war going on, someone should have approached you long before now. The fact that no one from the Silver City has means that they have failed you. You're their responsibility and they aren't living up to it. I take it you've been learning to control your magic from your hubs there?"

"And from Stephen Strange," I answered.

"From...great, that's all this situation needs, a mortal trying to teach a baby angel how to control her power, especially as it grows..."

"That's what I said," Loki muttered. I elbowed him in the ribs.

Derrick took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, his cheeks puffing out. Then he got up and dusted himself off. "I need to get back. I've been away from my Sanctuary too long and I'm starting to feel it. But Lucy had cut his visit this time very short, and I knew he had caught your scent despite my best efforts to hide it, and I wanted to try to diffuse a bad situation before it got worse. Thank you for not killing him," he said to Loki.

He looked at me. "Come by the place tomorrow. I'll tell you some more, and we'll get to work."

I stared at him. "You're offering to...take me under your wing?" I couldn't resist.

"I got rid of my wings after I ended up here," Derrick informed me. "I couldn't use my magic anymore, so the wings were just for show, and they were a painful reminder. No," he added before I could ask. "We don't use the wings alone to fly, they're too small to hold us up even with our bones being hollow. We need to use magic to aid us in flight as well. But yes, I'm offering to do what the pricks at the Silver City should be doing. Someone has to."

"Tzadkiel..." Loki started.

"Derrick," Derrick corrected. "Tzadkiel doesn't exist anymore, hasn't for a long time."

"Derrick. We're going to prove you wrong. She's stronger than you think, and she hasn't made it this long just because she's with me."

Derrick just smiled. "I hope you're right, mate. I really do hope I'm wrong. I like her. I like you both. See you tomorrow."

He left out the door, got into the elevator, and for the first time that evening Loki and I were alone. Loki waved a hand and a wave of green energy cleaned up the mess that was made when he had attacked Lucy. Then he grabbed me, lifted me into his arms, and sat in the armchair with me in his lap.

"You would never have killed everyone in this city," he growled. "You're not capable of anything like that."

I wasn't so sure. Loki didn't like my lack of response because he jostled me. "Do you hear me?" He growled.

"You saw me with Sharon and Mama Limbo," I reminded him in a quiet voice. "I'm not as certain as you are."

"Those two both deserved it," Loki protested. "You are incapable of harming an innocent person. You would never destroy this city. Ever. And you are not mad."

I wasn't so sure of that either.

"I don't like this. Any of this. I still don't trust him."

"I know," I told Loki. "But thanks to him, I know a whole lot more now than I did before, and it's a relief. I would like to give learning from him a try. You and Stephen have both been great, but..."

"But he's one of your kind, and might be able to aid you in ways we cannot, I know." Loki sighed. "I am still coming with you."

And I didn't argue.