Hours must have passed before there was movement outside, and Freya looked up from her cell just in time to see Loki being put in the one opposite. He looked tired, and she knew that she must have looked even worse, for she didn't have the luxury of magic to hide her looks. He gave her a quizzical look as he noticed that she had been imprisoned too, but she just gave him a sad smile in response. She had no doubt that Loki was exhausted, and so she was determined to work out a way to get them both released. Though she was not entirely sure about her own future, she was incredibly concerned for the Prince's welfare, and she knew that no one else would bother to defend him. Thor might, but she had no idea if he would act in Loki's best interests, for Asgard came first then family, apparently.

"We need to stop meeting like this." Loki said as the forcefield went up on his cell, and Freya could not help but smile.

"It is becoming a bit of a habit." She agreed, before noticing that her cell was being opened. Getting to her feet, she followed the two men away from the cells.


The room she was brought to was bright and airy, and three people sat behind a glass table, while two others guarded the door. Freya was only a little surprised to see that they had a file on her in front of them, and she had no doubt that she would have to go into much further detail from her university days to the present. Taking a seat, she steeled herself for the onslaught of questions, and did not struggle as she was cuffed to the chair.

"Is this really necessary? I am not going to escape, and there is no way I could take down even one of you, even if I wished to." She asked, already knowing the answer.

"It is just a precaution." Tony Stark said, and Freya's heart raced a bit quicker, for she had fancied the man in her younger days. Never before had she been in the same room as him, and now here she was, apparently their enemy.

"Last we saw of you Wilkes, you were in Wakanda. Who released you?" Natasha Romanoff asked. Freya had to admit she was still a bit starstruck to be in the same place as some of the original Avengers, and she took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. Her best option was compliance, and she realised that the third person was Bruce Banner, which meant that she had to go careful and not provoke them.

"Thor did. I believed it was with your consent." She told them. "It was just after I had been questioned, although he mentioned nothing of your safe return or what had happened."

"And why exactly are you here today?"

"I was brought here by Thor." Freya paused, for she was not entirely sure why he had been so adamant that she travelled half way across the world so quickly. "If truth be told, I am not entirely sure why. I was quite happy at home."

"It says here that you acted as a consultant for SHIELD for a short while. What exactly were you consulted on?" Banner asked calmly. The others regarded her with a lack of trust, while he was just curious.

"Norse Mythology." She smiled. "I was asked to compile as much information as possible about Thor, and Loki, mainly to see how much of a threat they were to Earth, and if our legends had much truth to them. I was approached shortly after the incident in New Mexico, and retired after SHIELD fell."

"Just how did you come to know Loki? For it is evident you did not just meet him two months ago." Romanoff asked, while Freya worked out how to explain it.

"It is a bit of a long story." She warned, before going on to explain how she had found the sceptre on an archaeological excavation, and that she had managed to accidentally summon him, which had led to her spending time on Asgard and then her fight with Caygill. It was not easy to do so, for she had long since buried the memories of some of the events, and yet she had no option but to tell them everything in detail.

"So you had a way to stop the attack on New York?" Stark asked pointedly.

"Sadly not, for the artefacts remained on Asgard and have since been destroyed." She sighed. "Trust me, if I could have ended such a devastating attack then I would have done so."

"You remained in contact I assume?"

"No." Freya stated. "He believed that I was dead, and I had no way of contacting him. I only knew he lived when he appeared in my apartment a few weeks ago."

The questions continued for quite some time, and Freya was soon frustrated by the sheer amount of them. She was also very tired and hungry, and worried about Loki's welfare, let alone her own future, so she was starting to get very fed up of the same questions.

"So why are you here exactly? You appeared shortly after the Asgardians arrived, and we found you in Loki's chambers." Romanoff asked as they hit the third hour of questions.

"As I said earlier, I do not know. Thor came to fetch me, and as I am fascinated by Asgardian culture, I did not turn down the opportunity." Freya told them. "As for where you found me, I had just hoped to find news. I had no idea that Loki had survived until I got here."

"Just who is he to you?" Banner asked.

"He's a friend."

"Nothing more?" They asked, and Freya sighed, for she had known that this question would come up at some point. Though she did think that Loki was handsome, she did not think of him romantically. After all, he was mischief and chaos personified, and he had done some things that she would never be able to forgive him for, even if they did remain in touch after this.

"I would class him as one of my oldest friends, and I do owe my life to him." She pointed out.

"And exactly how long have you known him?"

"All my life." Freya shrugged. "I've been reading the legends since I was a child."

"That was not the question."

"I met him eleven years ago, and for a brief few days we spent some time together, then I heard nothing from him until recently. I guess a few weeks?"

"That is not that long really, so why did you keep him hidden? You saw the devastation he caused."

"As I said, I would class him as a friend, and he was on the run. Everyone believed him to be dead, and that was how he wanted it to remain so that there would be no distractions for you guys." She told them, and Freya wondered if they would answer her one question considering she had answered every single one of theirs. "What will happen to him?"

"That is yet to be decided." She was told carefully, before Stark motioned for her to be released. Freya flexed her hands and wondered if she was being released, but her hopes were quickly dashed as the agents escorted her back to her cell.


Thor Odinson, Avenger, God of Thunder, and King of Asgard, sighed as he left the conference room. He too had been intensively questioned, though he had been expecting it upon his return. However, unlike Loki, he did not have a cell and was free to roam. He was glad of it, for he knew that there was far too much to do now that his people were finally on Midgard. There would be plenty of meetings in the following weeks, and there was still the small matter of finding out Loki's fate. He had hoped that Freya might have been able to find out, but he had then discovered that she had been imprisoned too. He had forgotten about that part of the agreement he'd made a few weeks ago to free her from Wakanda, and yet he knew that it was his fault that she was here. He did also owe her a favour, considering she had reunited him with his brother, and so he had done what he could to free her now. It had not been easy to persuade the rest of the Avengers that the mortal woman was truly of no threat to anyone, and that was why he had released her in Wakanda. The team of superheroes had eventually relented, but only on the premise that she remain nearby so that she could face further questioning if needs be. That was how Thor found himself standing in front of a cell door with one of the agents, and he gave a friendly smile as Freya looked up.

"What can I do for you?" She asked quietly. Her voice was hoarse, and he could see that she had been crying, but she still offered him a smile.

"You're free to go." He told her, while Freya looked a little crestfallen.

"This is goodbye?"

"No." He assured her. "I could do with your help over the next few days, if you are willing."

"What would you need my help for? Surely you have many councillors and advisors and…"

"None of them have been to present day Midgard." Thor pointed out. "Whereas you have been to Asgard and so…"

"You wish for my help to find a new settlement?" She guessed as she got to her feet.

"Something like that." He told her. "You have a room on the ship for the time being, and I would suggest you try to get some rest, for there may be further questioning."

"And what of Loki?" She asked as she looked at his empty cell. He had been absent since her return, and she was growing more and more concerned.

"I know that there are many wanting justice for what happened to New York, and no one trusts him."

"He is not the villain they truly believe him to be." She defended, and Thor was beginning to realise that this was exactly why Loki had left her behind in Wakanda.

"You truly are a good friend to him despite everything he has done. Why is that?" He asked, hoping to get his curiosity satisfied.

"For one, he did save my life, and I owe my career to him." Freya said as she felt the cool night air on her face. She smiled slightly, for it was such a small thing, but it made a stark change to the grey walls of the cell. "But I would do this for any of my friends. I may not have known your brother for very long in the grand scheme of things, but he did keep me going after my family were…" She hesitated.

"He told you what he did, didn't he?"

"I know he gave up the Tesseract to save you." Thor was a little surprised at this, for he had thought that Loki would keep such an act secret. "And I also know that he tried to bring Asgard back when wielding the stones."

"He trusts you." The God of Thunder realised.

"I trust him." She replied. "Call me a fool if you want, but there is a different side to your brother. Everyone sees him as a trickster, a menace, or a villain, but in truth…"

"He does have a good side to him." Thor admitted as they reached the ship. Only a few Asgardians were outside now, and all of them greeted their king as he walked past. Freya gave them a smile, but was exceedingly glad to find that her lodgings were not too far away.

"I'm afraid it's not much." He told her as they reached her temporary home. The room was small, but it had a bed and somewhere to sit down, and Freya was glad to see that her things had been moved to it as well.

"It's far better than the cell they had me in." She pointed out. "Do we know when I'll be wanted for questioning?"

"No." Thor was a little apologetic. "But I would like to speak with you in the morning."

"Of course." Freya was already reaching for a drink, and then she took one look at the half-eaten packet of sweets before sighing. "Thor?"

"Yes?" He asked, already turning to leave.

"Thank you for bringing me here. I don't know what I can do to repay you." She told him gratefully, although it was evident that she was exhausted. Thor hesitated, for there was something he had been hoping to discuss with her tomorrow, but perhaps…

"Well, there is one thing…"