Chapter Twenty Eight

She was thankful to get some time off after she was dropped off not far from the Stuttgart Opera House. Her mission was to go inside the Opera House and detain Loki with as little commotion as possible. Which, was easier said than done. From what she had gathered during Thor's short stay in New Mexico, Loki was the type of person who wouldn't be taken down so easily. To top things off, he liked to put on a display and hurt those around him if it was necessary.

It was a wonder Fury trusted her at all with a mission like this. Considering he had warned her that the Council wanted her to take it easy, she knew that this mission was risky. Ada shook her head at the thought, knowing that she needed to focus on the path before her.

Germany was a beautiful country. She was lucky that Tony often brought her along with him during business trips. Anytime he stopped by a different country, she always bought at least one souvenir. Aside from that, she loved the fact that these people were able to pull themselves back together even after World War II.

Right now, she was wearing a green dress with high heels, trying to blend in with the crowd. Her hair wasn't pulled up like it usually was. Instead, she had it cropped up to the side in curls like Natasha's had been. The only reason she dressed for the occasion was to blend in. Hopefully, she didn't look too inconspicuous.

The invitation she was given had been one that was originally addressed to Tony, according to Fury. Apparently, Tony had left a large donation for whatever project they were on for the department holding the gala. It gave SHIELD the perfect opportunity to get her an inside look at what the gala was all about.

Soon enough, she reached the Opera House. The building itself was massive and old looking, with large marble pillars holding up the roof. Stairs led to the massive ballroom where the gala was being held, and the head scientist of the research project was giving a speech. Most of the people at the gala spoke German and English, but the scientist giving the speech spoke in German.

Ada pulled out the invitation and showed it to the guard, feeling more than relieved that Fury had been prepared for such an occasion. Everyone began greeting her the moment she walked inside. An orchestra was placed near the two-way staircase that led to the main room. The host had already started the speech while Ada stayed in the background, knowing that this was the most likely place where Loki would launch his attack.

A sudden chill swept through her, and, Ada couldn't help but look up when she noticed someone walking down the stairs leading to the main ballroom. Her eyes narrowed when the guest in question reached the ballroom, and he slowly approached her. The suit he was wearing was what really caught her attention, along with piercing green eyes, and a white and green striped scarf. She didn't miss the staff he was holding, either. From the description Fury had given her, Loki himself had used a staff during his first attack at their base.

She was ready to say something when the newcomer suddenly swung his staff into one of the security guards. Her heart nearly skipped a beat too late when she realized the crowd was panicking. It took a few seconds for her to finally catch sight of Loki, who had used some kind of device to drill a hole into the socket of the host's eye. That was enough to send a shudder of disgust through Ada when she realized too late what he was doing.

Once the heinous deed was finished, Loki pulled out the device and his outfit suddenly began shimmering a golden green. Flames began dancing along the tips of her fingers when she noticed that his outfit had changed from that of a suit to a green cape, gold armor and helmet with horns on the top. If Loki had noticed her presence, he didn't give any indication. Ada glanced at the guests that were still running, knocking each other over to get away.

Finally, Loki had looked in her direction as she managed to herd them out of the building before they could hurt one another in their panic. The less damage they received, the better off she felt. Ada knew that if she fought back now, Loki would just use that as an excuse to hurt these people. She couldn't let that happen, not with so much at stake. Instead, she was forced to linger in the background, and wait for the right opening.

"Kneel before me!" Ada flinched at the sound of his voice when he shouted above the rising panic. That only seemed to make it worse. She watched in alarm as the crowd began looking for an escape route, only for any chance of getting away to be blocked by a hologram of Loki. They looked more like mice suddenly caught in the dead end of a maze trying to escape. "I said, kneel!"

He slammed his staff to the ground, this time sending a shockwave through the crowd. Ada flinched once again at the sudden energy that swept through her in that moment. It felt like nothing she'd ever felt before. It took a few seconds for her to recover from the initial surprise as she regained her footing. It was painfully obvious that this guy was stronger than she had anticipated.

"Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state?" he began as he walked down the stairs leading to the front entrance driveway. Ada crouched down in her hiding place, she was all too aware of the hologram that was watching her, "It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

That was enough to send shivers through Ada. The guy was a smooth-talker. But, for all of his smooth-talking, there was something about him that put her on edge. She knew he was dangerous. He'd already killed over eighty men, taken over the minds of several others, and he planned on destroying the world if said world didn't bow down to him.

"Did I not tell you to kneel?" Ada's heart nearly skipped a beat when she realized too late that the copy of Loki had grabbed her arm. The strong grip pulled her from her hiding place, and the real Loki was slowly approaching her with a smirk written across his face, "You would dare disobey me, your true king?"

She nearly rolled her eyes at that question. Seeing the terror written across the civilians' faces reminded her that she had to tread around him carefully. If Loki suddenly decided to attack, she knew it would end in disaster. Ada swallowed hard when the copy suddenly pulled at her arm, harder this time. It was just a ploy to show the crowd just how strong he truly was. His scare tactic had been working for a while, but once the crowd saw that someone was standing up to him, it wouldn't last long.

"Well? I am waiting for an answer, you foolish mortal," he sneered.

Ada managed to steal herself as she stood up straighter, glaring at the copy and in the direction of the real version, "You are no true king," she snapped, ignoring the cold glare that followed.

"What was that?" he asked in a mocking tone.

She didn't miss the fact that his scepter was aimed in her direction.

"I said, you are no true king," she repeated, ignoring the fact that her life was in real danger. Before Loki could spit something in response, a piece of concrete suddenly flew in his direction. The god of mischief stumbled in surprise as the copy disappeared, causing the rest of the crowd to flinch. "A true king shows kindness! Respect! And, cares for his subjects! All the traits that you clearly lack!"

A scowl quickly replaced the glare from earlier when the real Loki closed the distance between them. Ada didn't even flinch this time when he reached out and grabbed her by the chin. His strong grip was just another reminder that he wasn't even from this world, much like herself.

"What sort of mortal controls the Midgard, itself?" he demanded while his hand covered her mouth.

Ada only glared back, using the small window of opportunity she had to lick his hand. She almost laughed when he finally released his grip, causing her to drop to the ground in the process. It took a few seconds for her to recover from the initial shock of being dropped and having to lick his hand.

"God, do you Asgardians ever bathe?" she choked out, trying to get the taste out of her mouth.

Loki's face twisted with rage as the rest of the crowd finally dispersed the area. Relief swept through Ada when she realized she'd bought them enough time to get away without getting caught in the crossfire.

"You… You will be the first to burn, mortal!" he spat out the words as he aimed his scepter in her direction once more.

She was ready to make a retort when she noticed with a start that his scepter was glowing. Her heart began racing faster than she thought possible when a shield suddenly flew between them, blocking the blast that would have likely killed her.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing." Ada blinked in surprise at the sound of Steve's voice. She'd nearly forgotten that he and Natasha were rendezvousing with her once Loki made an appearance. "Are you alright?" he asked after noticing that she was still there, glaring in Loki's direction.

Seeing him dressed in the new suit that Coulson had designed was a little intimidating, to say the least. Between that and the shock of Loki's attack, Ada simply nodded in response. She finally struggled back to her feet as Steve grabbed his shield and looked at Loki cautiously.

"The soldier. A man out of time," Loki sneered.

"I'm not the one out of time," Steve retorted once he reached Ada's side.

Loki merely glared at them, glancing at his scepter once before firing an attack in their direction. Steve managed to block the attack, but, a chunk of debris swept past Ada. She winced as she felt a piece cut across her ankle, leaving a deep gash in the process.

"Kneel!" Loki shouted as he reached Steve and pressed his scepter against Steve's neck.

"Not today," Steve snapped and suddenly grabbed Loki's scepter, throwing him to the side in the process.

He kept using his shield to block Loki's attacks, while Ada formed a blockade of cement to keep herself protected from further attacks. Steve finally ran towards Loki, flipped back and knocked Loki out with his leg.

Of course, he'd make taking an Asgardian down look easy, Ada nearly rolled her eyes again when she realized those were moves she could have easily pulled off. Then again, Steve was twice her size in muscle mass. Between that and making sure that the crowd didn't get hurt in the process, she had her reasons for not knocking him out, sooner.

Loki was already back on his feet, and he was ready to charge again when a blast suddenly came from nowhere. Ada rose an eyebrow when she recognized the sound of a repulser blast. It didn't take long for her to spot the familiar red and gold suit that belonged to none other than Tony. He landed beside Ada, hand raised in Loki's direction as the demigod struggled back to his feet.

"Make your move, reindeer games," Tony snapped, the anger in his tone telling Ada that she was in for an earful.

She watched in amusement as Loki's hands flew up, and the cape and helmet disappeared seconds later. Even he knew better than to deal with a pissed off Tony Stark. Though, Ada couldn't shake off the feeling that his sudden decision had been too easy.

"Good move," Tony grumbled once he was sure Loki wouldn't attack, again.

"Mr. Stark," Steve greeted Tony, looking thoroughly uneasy and annoyed with Tony's sudden intrusion.

"Ada, what happened?" Tony asked when he noticed the injury on her leg, ignoring Steve entirely.

She almost groaned at his sudden question. The cut she'd received was deep, and it was bleeding out. But, she'd endured worse injuries. After enduring whatever hell SHIELD's training regime put her through, this felt like nothing. She was suddenly thankful that she had received that training; it prepared her for whatever would happen during missions like these.

"I'll be fine, dad," she muttered, brushing off his concern, "Nothing a little first aid and mouthwash can't fix."

"Mouthwash?" Steve repeated, frowning in confusion.

"All the mouthwash in the world isn't gonna get rid of the taste of his hand," she explained with a shudder, earning a look of disapproval from Tony, "Had to do it in order to get the bastard off of me."

"You need medical attention, now," Tony deadpanned in a tone that said there was no arguing with him. "I'll drag your sorry ass to the hospital, if I have to."

Once again, Ada thought of arguing with Tony's statement. Her mouth was open, ready to spit something in response when she realized Loki was watching their every move. Ada quickly clamped her mouth shut, aware that this wasn't the time or place to argue.

With that said and done, Tony held out one arm to offer support for her to walk, but, she'd simply brushed him off once more. After his last order, she wasn't in any mood to put up with him. Besides, she could still walk, even if it was with a limp.

Loki was thrown onto a seat opposite from the rest of them while Natasha sat in the cockpit. Eventually, Tony had forced Ada to sit down when he noticed she was struggling to stand. She grimaced after taking a seat beside Steve, ignoring the incredulous look Tony threw her as she tried to avoid any eye contact with Loki. She doubted the god of mischief was going to make things easy, for them, on their way to the Hellicarrier. Whatever the case, that flight had been the longest one of her life.

…

By the time they were in the air and headed towards the Hellicarrier, her ankle already started to feel fine. Ada glanced at the area where the debris had cut across, eyes narrowing thoughtfully when she noticed there wasn't any injury, at all. She started rubbing her ankle warily, ignoring the worried looks Tony kept throwing her.

"Your ankle's fine?" Tony asked in surprise when he noticed it was no longer bleeding.

"Seems that way," she replied, rubbing her ankle absentmindedly.

'You will need your strength for the future, Ada.'

She froze at the sound of Nadia's voice.

'Wait, how the heck are you able to communicate with me?' she demanded.

All she wanted was to know the truth behind her heritage now more than ever. She wanted to know before Nadia was forced to leave again. Even if it was just one little thing, it was better than nothing. It seemed like just when she was about to reach a breakthrough, Nadia would disappear on her. Nadia had tried explaining the process when she was in New Mexico, but she didn't have enough energy to provide a proper explanation.

It was frustrating to know that she was just a few seconds away from knowing the truth, and she was met with silence. She couldn't necessarily blame Nadia for vanishing on her the way she did. The fact that Nadia was communicating with her at all gave her enough hope that she wasn't truly alone in this world.

'I was able to use what little power I had left to keep my spirit within the necklace,' Nadia replied after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence. 'Our people are able to pass down our spirits to objects that hold value to our kind. This necklace was passed down from generation to generation, with you being the last.'

Ada furrowed her eyebrows with surprise. She remembered seeing the woman in her dream wearing a necklace similar to the one that she was given as a baby. Her heart sank even further when she realized that Nadia had truly sacrificed herself to save her.

'Nadia, what happened to our people?' she asked hesitantly, dreading the answer that would follow.

'You are not ready for that knowledge, Ada,' Nadia replied within seconds.

She was ready to ask more questions when she realized Nadia had left her, again. Ada sucked in a breath; knowing that the woman who had been her mother was talking was enough to leave her mind reeling. There were plenty of stories of such possibilities, but, to know that it was real and happening to her left her wondering what else her people were capable of.

Ada looked up, brows furrowing once more when she noticed everyone was watching her curiously. Even Loki looked a little uncomfortable as he shifted further away from the seats across from him.

"What?" she demanded, already feeling uncomfortable as it was with Loki in the quinjet.

"Your uh, necklace was glowing," Steve informed her, shaking his head as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Was it?" she half-mumbled, asked.

Truthfully, she wasn't sure how to explain the whole thing without making it sound crazy. Only a few people knew the truth behind her past. Natasha, Clint and Coulson were the three people she trusted the most with that secret, and, she preferred keeping it that way.

"You were talking to her, again, weren't you?" Natasha's question caused Ada to flinch visibly.

Finally, Tony seemed to realize that it was a subject that left Ada feeling uneasy. She'd mentioned seeing her mother in her dreams to him before. But Tony never fully understood what it meant to her, or that those dreams had some kind of meaning to them.

Despite that, he was curious, and his curiosity often got the better of him, "Okay, who is 'she'?" he asked.

She was saved from answering when a boom of thunder echoed around them, causing the quinjet to shudder slightly. Ada glanced in Loki's direction when she noticed his eyes had widened in panic.

"Where'd this come from?" Natasha's question only left her thinking of one demigod who was capable of conjuring thunderstorms.

Loki's panic only confirmed what, or who she was thinking of. She had been suspecting that Thor would show up sooner rather than later once Loki made his big debut with the people of Earth. After what Loki had done to New Mexico, she was hardly surprised with the notion that he would return eventually.

Rain started pouring around them as the wind picked up. Ada looked around warily as she noticed the hairs along her arms began to stand on end from the lightning. By now, Loki looked as if he was looking for an escape route when he too realized who was approaching them.

"What's the matter? Afraid of a little lightning?" Steve asked.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," Loki replied.

Understanding swept through Ada. As much as she hated to admit it, now would have been a terrible time for Thor to show up. She knew he wasn't aware that they had Loki captured, and would likely come charging in to have him face justice for his actions. But, he had already committed enough crimes to answer to SHIELD's idea of justice.

It was only a few minutes later when the hangar door suddenly flew open. At that point, Loki looked utterly terrified when someone charged through the door and grabbed him by the neck, knocking both Tony and Steve aside in the process. The intruder, who she knew by now was Thor, looked in her direction in surprise before flying out of the quinjet, with Loki in hand.

"And, now there's that guy," Tony muttered while struggling to stand up.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked over her shoulder.

"Think that guy's a friendly?" Steve asked.

"Doesn't matter; if he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract is lost," Tony snapped. He turned to Ada as his mask slid over once more, "You're staying here."

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Steve protested, ignoring the scowl written across Ada's face.

You'd think by now, he knows that I won't listen, she thought with a roll of her eyes. She was already aware of how rash Tony could be when it came to making decisions.

"I have a plan: Attack," Tony retorted.

Typical. Ada crossed her arms and glared back. She knew that if Thor was back, he would likely try and take Loki back to Asgard. If he did that, they would lose the Tesseract like Tony had said. Once he jumped out of the quinjet, his thrusters went on full blast, and he flew into the direction Thor and Loki had gone. Steve had already reached for a parachute, ready to jump after Tony when Natasha spoke up.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha warned him as he adjusted his chute while Ada crept towards the hangar door.

"I don't see how, ma'am," he replied.

"These guys come from legends; they're practically gods," Natasha pointed out.

By now, Ada had already made her way towards the door as Steve stood nearby, throwing her a warning look. She knew what she was getting herself into. After living with Tony for fourteen years, she had gotten used to his overprotective nature. Jumping out of quinjets and buildings was part of her SHIELD training, though, and something she had been prepared for.

"There's only one God, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." Ada almost laughed at that; most people weren't brave enough to admit their beliefs out loud. "What are you doing?" he asked after realizing her intentions.

"Joining you; Thor knows who I am, so, that should help give him some understanding as to what's going on," she explained.

Steve looked like he was about to protest when he thought better of it. Even if he did, she would still go. She wasn't planning on getting left behind, again. Not even if it meant putting up with Tony's rants when it was over.

Once that was said and done, he finally jumped out of the quinjet, with Ada following suit. Chunks of rock soon flew in her direction as she used them for momentum, and to keep herself from crashing to the ground. Steve watched in amazement as she managed to hang on to a couple of rocks while using them as a means to reach the ground without causing further damage.

Controlling the Earth itself took more self-control than she would have liked. She understood why Nadia had warned her not to use it – that kind of power was potentially dangerous, if she ended up losing control. Steve landed on the ground beside her, parachute falling around him.

"You can control the Earth?" he asked in surprise.

"Along with water and fire," she replied with a nod, "It takes a while to get used to." She paused after glancing over her shoulder, to where Thor and Loki had been arguing just moments ago. "Think you can scale that mountain?"

"I don't think I have to," he replied, watching as the Iron Man suit flew over them.

Thor was suddenly tossed down the mountain when Tony reached him. The force of the impact was enough to make the ground shake, causing pine needles to fall down. Ada rolled her eyes when she realized where this was headed. If she knew Tony, he would jump in without hesitation and not explain himself. Which meant Thor was going to fight back, and, the end results weren't going to be pretty.

Luckily, Tony's suit was easy enough to track down. Steve easily kept up with Ada as she kept an eye on the glowing arc reactor that stuck out like a sore thumb in the darkness. It didn't take long for them to reach a large clearing, and it looked like everything already went to hell. By the time Ada reached the clearing, Tony had already headbutted Thor, twice, only to be flung into a tree.

"Hey! That's enough!" Steve shouted, causing both men to stop in their tracks when he threw his shield between them. Ada almost scoffed under her breath when both Thor and Tony glared at him in response, with Tony raising his hand until he noticed her standing next to Steve. "Now, I don't know what you plan on doing, here—"

"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes!" Thor shouted.

"Then prove it. Put that hammer down," Steve ordered.

That was enough for Ada's eyes to widen. She glanced between Tony and Thor, realizing too late what the Thunderer was about to do.

"Uh… yep! No! Bad call! He loves his hammer!" Tony warned him.

Ada winced when Thor suddenly swung his hammer, knocking Tony into a tree in the process as he rushed in Steve's direction, "You want me to put the hammer down?" he demanded.

Just as his hammer was about to make contact, Steve threw up his shield to protect him. The contact the hammer made with his shield sent a vibration that shook the entire forest, knocking them all out. Ada struggled to stand up, her knees still a bit wobbly from the impact.

"What the hell was that?" she groaned, rubbing the back of her neck as she managed to stand up, again. She only glared at Tony when he finally reached her, crossing his arms in annoyance, "Don't even start," she added. "I swear that if you idiots don't stop fighting, I can and I will take this whole forest down with you."

Even Thor looked offended by her insult, though he didn't bother making a retort. Tony just looked more peeved than usual, though Ada had already known he would.

"Are we done, here?" Steve added, narrowing his eyes when Tony exchanged a look with Thor. Relief swept through Ada when they finally left it at that. There wasn't any point in fighting unless the circumstances demanded it. Right now, they needed to focus their energy and effort on finding the Tesseract. "Can you really do that?" he added to Ada once he was sure they wouldn't fight again. "Destroy an entire forest?"

"I have to focus on controlling my powers, everyday," she explained warily while looking in Loki's direction, "If I don't, things can get… messy."

For once, Steve wasn't sure what to say as he looked at her thoughtfully. There was still a lot she didn't know about her powers, and, she was only just beginning to understand the extent of them. The problem was, she had no idea what her limits were.

"That… That can't be easy," he said after a moment's pause.

"It isn't," she admitted before meeting his gaze, "But, it's necessary."

Especially if it meant keeping the ones she cared about safe.

She hadn't missed the fact that Tony was glaring in their direction. Ada bit back another groan, suddenly wishing that a hole would open up and swallow her. She had a feeling that if Tony noticed they were talking at all, he wouldn't be happy. Seeing him now only confirmed her suspicions.

This is going to be awkward, was the only thought running through her mind when they returned to the quinjet.