We may not have known them very well, but Ari and Loki really were like parents to them. So, here is a look at the memories… well, dreams of memories. Yeah, it's the cliche "it was all dream" chapter, but we need it to understand what those three meant to Loki and Ari. However, it will give us as readers a bond to the now lost team.

Differences mentioned in this chapter: All of it. :'(

LOKI'S DREAM

Ariana had been gone for two months. Rodrigez, Harris, and Jackson came to show me support. I had taken over the team at Fury's insistence since I had more battle skills and could use illusions. The only one with a problem with it was Rodrigez, but he seemed to have a problem with everything. Seeing them reminded me of my Queen.

We had just finished

"Hey, Loki," said Harris. "How are you today?"

"I miss her," I said, trying to keep tears from falling.

"Is that how you expect to lead us?" Jackson teased.

"He's not Ari!" Rodrigez said, standing up. "Why are we taking orders from the guy that killed eighty people in two days?"

"Enough, Rodrigez! You know he wasn't in control! Why can't you just accept that we need him just like mom!"

We all looked at him before we slowly began to laugh, even me. It had been happening more and more since she left. She really was like the mom of this messed up, little family.

"So, who's dad?" Harris asked.

After a moment of the three misfits looking at each other, they said together, "Loki!"

We laughed. Being in Ariana's place didn't feel right, but they accepted me as one of them. Saw me like they saw her. As soon as I thought that, fresh tears appeared and I tried to hide them. They noticed and tried to make me laugh more. Just as I was starting to feel better, Fury walked in.

"We have a mission," he said. "HYDRA documents are being moved to a secure facility. It could hold information on…"

"Ariana," I said, standing as hope surged through me.

"That is the theory."

"When and where?"

"Three hours, on I87." Fury looked at me. "You are still on thin ice, Laufeyson, but we need you on point."

"No need to remind me." I used my magic to put on my armor. "After she saved me, I won't let Ariana down."

"Even if there is nothing about her in the files, Loki hasn't turned on us," Rodrigez said, surprising us all by defending me and standing beside me. "He may not be a part of SHIELD but he is loyal to Ariana, and that's good enough for us."

"Lo is our friend, Fury," said Harris, joining us. "He's just as important as Ariana."

"He hasn't let us down once," Jackson said, standing next to Harris. "He's more than a friend. He's family."

I looked at the men beside me. They weren't there for Thor, because they felt sorry for me, or because they were ordered to. They stood at my side because they were my friends… my family.

In three hours, we were on the road. Harris was on the computer in the back of our van. I sat up front, watching for the transport we were looking for. Rodrigez was giving the equipment a third lookover to ensure everyone was safe. Jackson drove, making sure we didn't stand out as we traveled. All of us were anxious, the thought of finding anything on Ariana keeping us all on edge.

It felt like hours before we saw the van we were looking for. It may have only been a few minutes, but they didn't care if they stood out. Something Jackson was more than happy to point out. I used my illusion to make us look like the local police as we went after them. When they sped up, we set to work. Harris talked to Maria Hill, keeping SHIELD informed. I moved to the back with Rodrigez, getting ready to jump. It was silent for a moment.

"Rig, you will make sure I have a way back after I get the files," I said. "We both need to go to take out any HYDRA agents. It will be a confined space, so no guns. Daggers at most."

"Yes, sir," he said.

"Sonny, keep the van right next to them or behind them but do not lose them. We will need a quick escape for this to work."

"Aye, aye," Jackson replied.

"Ris, find us a route with as few civilians as possible. The fewer people in the way, the safer it is for our team."

"Yes, dad," he said with a smile.

That little quip was just what we all needed. Rodrigez and I opened the back of our van. Jackson managed to get us beside HYDRA so we could jump, holding onto the top so we didn't fall. It took some maneuvering, but we managed to get their side door open and entered.

The fighting came instantly. I couldn't keep my eye on the documents and the enemy. But when they managed to get Rodrigez, I acted on instinct and threw my dagger at one. The van stopped, throwing me to the side before I could release my other dagger. I landed on the ground hard in an alleyway.

Several men surrounded me and began attacking me. The way they were going about it, I knew I was going to be captured, not killed. That was when shots rang out and the sound of another vehicle approaching filled the air.

Jackson, Harris, and Rodrigez pulled the men off of me. However, I had no strength. I felt a blade against my neck. My blade.

"Stand down, or I slit his throat!" the man holding me ordered.

I hadn't been able to get an illusion in place. Feeling the Asgardian steel against my flesh, I should have felt fear. I should have felt hopeless that I might not see my Queen ever again. Hel, panic should have filled me. But I was calm.

Rodrigez looked at me. I nodded. He lifted his confiscated gun and shot. I had just enough time to move out of the way. The blade cut through my skin, a simple scratch but the sting made it seem like more. I'd heal quickly enough. It was more of a paper cut than anything, but the way Harris and Jackson acted, it was as if I was dying.

Rodrigez came later, having made sure the last HYDRA agent was down, and said, "You're some kind of crazy, Lo."

"It worked," I said. "Did you get the files?"

He held up the folder. Harris took them and began looking them over. Jackson cleaned the wound and placed a bandage, saying it was better to make sure I was safe in the end rather than getting an infection. I stood up, flipping my hair out of my face. Jackson shook his head with a smile, but I was so used to doing it, I hadn't thought about the bandage.

Harris sighed, rejoined us, and said in an upset tone, "Nothing on Ariana. Sorry, Lo." I looked down, trying not to give in to my disappointment. "What I did find was that there was a new test subject for some super soldier serum. Something about the Winter Soldier program."

"Do we know what that is?" I asked.

"There's an assassin that has been working for HYDRA for a number of decades," said Jackson. "I was working with Natasha on a mission when we had a run-in with him. He was targeting her. We barely got away from him. He nearly killed her, but we got her out of there. When we save Cap's team, that was who we fought against."

I looked up and asked, "Do you think Ariana was taken by him?"

"If she was, we will not stop looking for her," said Jackson.

The scene of us together turned to the diner. My friends, three giant kids that often infuriated me with their jokes, lay on the ground broken. Yet, now that they were gone, I was going to miss their antics that managed to annoy even the God of Mischief.

Ariana's Dream

She was new. The boys treated her like a liability, not the asset she was. Fury had learned about her ability with illusions and wanted her to do recovery and undercover missions. They already had a connection. Their last leader had been promoted. Fury assigned her as team leader over the others. She didn't understand it and the boys seemed to alienate her because of it.

That was until they saw her in action. She had been training with Natasha and Clint for a while now. She was able to kick butt with the best of them. Still, with it being her first mission and as team leader, it wasn't long before she was outnumbered. Her plan wasn't as perfect as she thought.

Jackson and Rodrigez were busy with their own set of enemy agents and couldn't make their way to her. A man raised his gun to shoot her. She couldn't shut her eyes. Her powers weren't in her command and wouldn't emerge.

A shot rang out. Ariana jolted, thinking she had been shot. But there was no blood, no pain. Ariana couldn't even see a scratch as she looked over herself. She looked up and saw the gunman fall to the ground, Harris holding a gun from behind him.

"No one messes with you, boss," he said. "New or not, we have your back."

She hadn't really thought they would accept her so quickly. She began fighting harder. With her abilities finally back in her control, she used the electricity to stun the men until SHIELD could come take them into custody.

"Thank you," she said, hugging Harris.

"We're a team," replied Jackson.

"That means family," finished Rodrigez.

"I didn't think you guys liked me," she admitted. "I think that made me unable to use my powers."

"Well, we were upset that one of us wasn't put in charge," said Harris.

"And going over your file, we did feel the need to protect you because of how young you are," said Rodrigez. "That and you're the only girl on the team."

Ariana was going to say something, but Jackson chimed in with, "But seeing you in action and hearing you plan that mission, we have more faith in you than we do our band of misfits. SHIELD chose the right agent for the job."

They walked away, smiling. Ariana couldn't help the feeling that she really was part of a family as they wrapped their arms around each other. It was an amazing feeling and one that grew with every mission. It didn't take long before she was more of a mom than a sister to the three goofballs.

But the diner was different. She couldn't protect them. She was trapped in Iron Menace's hand, watching the men she cared for fly through the air. Loki stood up, but Ris, Rig, and Sonny lay in crumpled heeps. Soon, that was all she saw, the ones like kids who saved her more times than she could count just laying on the ground. No more jokes, no more crazy antics, and no more family-like moments. All gone because of her…