Well, will there be some extra fun down the road? Most likely.

Differences mentioned in this chapter: All of it.

Returning to Earth was almost sad for the three Gods. It was home… in a way. Ariana knew she would wait for her mortal ties, her family, to move on before she officially moved to Asgard with Loki, but still…

Loki saw her looking up at the sky as everyone walked off. He made her look at him, giving her a soft kiss.

"What is it, little one?" he asked.

"After everything, Asgard is my home too and…" she began.

"You miss it."

She nodded. "Plus I'm the future Queen, so there's a reason to not go back," she chuckled, "but… I really do love it there."

"When it's time, you will be there when Asgard needs you to be. For now, you are a warrior, goddess, and princess."

"Lady Spark!" Jackson's voice came.

"Sonny!" Ariana returned, turning to face them with a smile, her armor shining in the morning sunlight. "Rig! Ris! What have you hooligans been up to?"

"Waiting on our favorite girl to come home," said Rodrigez, sounding bored and broody.

"Missions aren't the same without you bossing us around," Harris said.

"Well, I'm back now," she said. "So is Lo." She saw Fury coming towards them. "Hey, Nick. So, come to give Loki my job, congratulate me, or…"

"Co-leaders," Fury said.

"Awesome," Ariana said with a nod. "I'm sure he did well while I was absent and brainwashed."

"Not as good as you, Spark," said Harris.

"And congratulations on the life promotion," said Fury. "I expect you should tell the team."

"Right," she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "because announcing 'I am Ariana Elena Stark-Tonysdottir, Goddess of the Eternal Spark, Crown Princess of Asgard' is not a mouthful, Jack Sparrow."

"Wait, Goddess and Crowned Princess?" her boys asked.

"I expected more of a story from a Stark, but that works just as well," Fury said. "Carry on."

The boys were looking at her when Ariana turned back to them. Loki held her to him. She just smiled at them.

"So, was that a good surprise for the anniversary of our band of misfits first forming?" she asked.

"Yes," said Jackson, hugging her.

"Adding Loki was a huge surprise," replied Rodrigez.

"The Goddess and Princess thing?" Harris stated. "That's something you tell us as soon as you know! We're family!"

"Everyone calls us your kids all the time!" Jackson said before looking at the other two. "Mommy and Daddy have been keeping secrets, you guys!"

Everyone laughed. It was this type of family, friends like them, that made her want to stay on Earth for now. Loki held her tighter, showing that he felt the same way about her team. They went to a nearby cafe, the five of them enjoying time off and the sense of company. Ariana and Loki changed their armor into street clothes to blend in.

However, after dessert was served, Ariana looked out of the window. She gripped Loki's arm. His eyes snapped to her before turning in the direction of where she was staring in horror. Jackson, Harris, and Rodrigez noticed too but acted nonchalant, with Rodrigez taking a discreet picture of the man just staring at them.

"IOTA, run facial recognition," he said, pretending to laugh.

"Scanning," IOTA said. "Got it. That's Jebediah Stane, Rig. Upon leaving SHIELD and being labeled an ex-HYDRA assassin, the restraining order placed on him by Miss Stark was rescinded. I calculate trouble."

Loki looked at Ariana and said, "Love, you are far stronger than the last time he saw you. You are now Asgardian and a Goddess. He can no longer hurt you."

Ariana shook her head and whispered, "He can. He can go after you, my parents, my team. He can take away what I love, Loki." She hugged him tightly. "Since HYDRA, what he did to me was nothing. It's what he can do that scares me. I grew up with him. He knows my secrets. He knows just…"

A large robot crashed through the roof. The boys and Ariana stood, ready to fight. He had a red star on his chest. Ariana knew what that meant. Jebediah's voice came from the speaker.

"Oh, Ariana," he said. "Fancy seeing you here."

"What do you want, Stane?" she asked, standing between the boys and the enemy.

"You."

"How like every other douche bag, wanting what you can't have."

"Well, you will become mine after I deliver you to HYDRA and get rid of these… weaklings."

She pulled her hair stick out, but nothing happened with Elding. She looked at Loki, who shook his head. He couldn't get his armor to work either. They were without their powers. This left them vulnerable. Jebediah chuckled.

"Surprised?" he asked. "You and your new boy-toy can't use your powers because of the upgrade I made to my father's Iron Monger suit."

"So what?" she growled. "You're Iron Monger two-point-oh?"

"I'm the Iron Menace."

Loki stiffened, but Ariana didn't notice. "Real original. Look, just leave. The Avengers will be here any second. There is nothing between…"

The metal arm of the suit grabbed her tightly, making it hard for her to breath. Loki, Rodgrigez, Jackson, and Harris were thrown back. There were sounds that made Ariana tear up. She looked back as best as she could, seeing only Loki get up from the floor. He was greatly injured, staggering and not able to go without using tables or the wall to hold him up.

"Sonny?" she asked, the tears falling. "Rig? Ris? Please… please get up… make a noise… s-something…"

"You're lucky he is even alive," Jebediah taunted. "If you had stayed with me, their lives would've been easier. They would be alive."

A knife flew past her head, embedding itself in the part that looked like a head. The chest opened. Jebediah looked rougher, almost crazed. He was no longer polished like she remembered, and it only served to make the situation worse for her.

Jebediah turned a murderous eye to Loki and he snarled, "You bastard! You took out…!"

"The device keeping us from using our powers," Loki gasped out as he fell against the wall and slid down to the floor. "You just killed three agents of SHIELD. They were good men, our friends, and members of our family."

With those words, the love Ariana had for her boys came pouring into her mind. And Jebediah killed them. She gripped the hair stick in her hand, power rushing through her. Her armor appeared and the robot was forced to let go as the arm melted around her. She floated and her eyes glowed angrily.

"You… took… them… from… me!" she said in anger, tears falling.

She charged Elding, electricity flowing from her and everything around her. She threw Elding at Jebediah, puncturing it and causing it to short circuit. Jebediah was forced to get out or be fried. Elding returned to Ariana.

Just before she launched a bolt from the end at an angry Jebediah, Thor took hold of her. She struggled, but he was stronger than she was. Tony, Natasha, and Clint checked on the downed men, but could see that none of them were breathing. Bruce was tending to Loki, who held his ribs.

"Sister, calm down," Thor said. "I know you hurt. They were dear to you."

"He killed them!" she growled. "He is part of HYDRA! He deserves…"

"You do this, and it will change who you are. Loki needs you. Do not seek revenge, do not give in to your anger."

Ariana looked at Loki. The anger vanished and the pain flooded her. She broke down in Thor's arms. They floated to the ground, her legs not able to hold her. Thor carried her to Loki's side. She hugged him, careful of his injuries. He wrapped an arm around her, offering comfort. He hid his own tears among her hair.

Memories of the three men played in their minds. The jokes, the near deaths where one of them saved the others, and the support. Both of them nearly missed Bruce saying Loki was lucky he only had some fractured ribs and needed rest for a while. The others gave them as much privacy as they could.

"They died because of me," Ariana cried. "You were hurt. It's my fault."

"No, love," Loki soothed her. "It was the delusional man that fixated on you. He did this."

"I wanted to kill him."

"I did too, but I am grateful to my brother. He was right. That kind of revenge would have changed you. You are too good for something like that. You were right and he did hurt you in the worst way possible. I nearly let it consume me, but you brought me back. Do not go down that road, little one."

Ariana nodded, gripping his shirt. Moments later, Fury walked in as the bodies were taken out and Jebediah, held back by Bucky and Steve until he was arrested. He knelt in front of Loki and Ariana.

"I know what they meant to you both," he said. "While I would ask that you both think of a new team to continue recovery missions, I won't. I will build a new team. Both of you take this time to grieve."

"We… we have the rest of our family," Ariana said.

"What she means to say is," Loki said, "we appreciate this. We will focus on our work with the Avengers after the funeral. Any missions given to us should come to us through that avenue."

"We do not want to risk building friendships only to lose them again.

Fury nodded. Both of them were taken to the cars and back to the compound. Ariana sat in the living room while Loki was looked after. When he was taken care of, Bruce let her into the room, where she stayed by his side for the rest of the day and into the night.