Hope ya'll enjoy the rewrite!

Hours later, I finally make the decision after gathering up the courage to visit Loki in his holding cell. It looks much bigger in person, and I wonder what was originally supposed to be in this holding cell. Loki's lounging on a bench, his arms behind his head and eyes closed as he smiles to himself. I wonder what the hell is going through his mind until he finally speaks.

"I knew you would survive."

How did he even- -?

"I could sense you coming from down the hall." Loki answered.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" I muttered.

"You are predictable..." Loki replied.

Loki gets up and stands before walking over to my direction, the only thing standing between us being the barrier of thick glass.

"How are you doing, pet?" Loki smiles at me.

I find myself extremely confused at his nonchalant behavior, as if him being this cell is just a minor inconvenience.

"Why do you care?" I blink away tears. "After what you've done, after what's happened?..."

Loki lets out a small chuckle.

"If you're referring to our little moment before my capture..."

Our little moment? Is that what he's calling it?

"You fucking used me for your own twisted pleasure." I sniffled. "I...I didn't know what was happening and you just..."

"You act as if I took your virginity." Loki rolls his eyes. "And don't pretend as if you didn't enjoy yourself."

I feel my face heat up in anger and embarrassment.

"Oh how I remember your sweet moans. How you kept saying my name like a prayer. I relished in it." Loki hums.

"You're a sick fuck. I didn't know what was happening, I've never..." I cried.

At this, Loki's smile fades, looking at me in confusion.

"Never what?"

When he realizes what I'm referring to, he lets out a disbelieving laugh.

"Oh how rich! So I am your first in such an act? I feel so honored. I would love to partake in much more with you then. Along with being the God of Lies and Mischief, I am quite known for my sexual prowess and reputation. It's partly how I got the name Silver Tongue." He nearly purrs.

Why? For being such a 'smooth talker'? Or for something else entirely?

"I'm not interested. Not with you." I glared at him.

"Oh I'm sure I can change your mind. So is this all you came for? To scold me?" Loki lets out a light chuckle.

"Fuck you." I growled.

"I wouldn't be opposed, darling. But I'm not sure you'd want an audience. Unless you are interested in that, then I would be more than happy to indulge you." He winks.

"Just shut up for one minute. I need to know what the hell you were talking about to Fury earlier. You mentioned knowing who my mother was? What the hell are you referring to? My dad said she just left a year after I was born."

"And you've never once found yourself curious about her?" Loki raised an eyebrow. "How your measly mortal father ever managed to be with a goddess is beyond me."

At this, I perk up and look at him in intrigue.

"A goddess?" I stammer. "What are you- -"

"Your lineage, Tyra. Your abilities. Your first name is Norse for crying out loud. You may not be Asgardian, but you are far more powerful than you can imagine and come from a prestigious family."

Seriously? What...

"No...no I don't...I don't understand." I fumble with my words.

Loki pauses when he realizes that I'm actually having difficulty understanding, knows that I'm not faking or lying to him. His expression becomes almost sympathetic when he stares down at me.

"What is so difficult to comprehend?" Loki questioned. "Tell me."

"I've been so practical minded my entire life, I can't...I don't even know where to begin. You're saying my fucking mother was some- -some goddess, but there's so many holes in your logic! L- -like how did she even get to Earth huh?! Or- -or leave?! No. No you have to be- -be lying!" I shook my head frantically.

"Tyra. Look at me. Now."

I glance up at Loki with uncertainty.

"You want to know how I figured it out? It was simple. You're practically a spitting image of her. Like Freyja. She was known for leaving Fólkvangr to search for her husband, and I remember long ago that she did have a leave of absence for an unknown period of time. Perhaps she went to search on Midgard and found your father instead." Loki explained.

"Freyja? The goddess of love and sex...and war?" I confusedly mutter.

It...it actually made a lot of sense. Dad told me that she was always calm and rational, someone of Freyja's stature would be like, and she was "drop dead gorgeous" and also flirtatious at times. It made so much sense...

"The very same." Loki replied. "Now...now that I have opened your eyes to this, can I trust you to help me Tyra?"

Shit...I shouldn't have come here, I knew he wanted to use me.

"No...no I can't help you- -"

"Can't, or won't?" He glares at me.

I fall silent and hug myself.

"...foolish girl." He hissed under his breath. "You forget who you speak to...to whom you belong to."

Loki waves his hand and I find myself falling to my knees as I felt pain shoot up and down my body. I felt a burning sensation on my right arm and lifted my sleeve to find the name LOKI being carved into my own skin. It was painful for a few seconds, but the pain begins to dull after it was over. I'm in shock that this even occurred to begin with, but then I remember who this is.

"I really do not enjoy hurting you so. But in order for you to learn, it seems to be a necessity." Loki told me.

Again, I'm afraid to say anything to him. Despite the fact that he's in a cage, he can still hurt me with his fucking magic.

"Let that serve as a reminder."

By the time I get to the lab, my father as well as Dr. Banner, seem to have a solution for tracking down the Tesseract fairly easily. I wasn't going to correct them since they were correct in their findings anyway, just follow the gamma rays. Both of them can tell that I'm clearly upset about something, but luckily don't bring it up, as I help them progress further in their work. I have to pause a few times because of the sheer pain my body is in, including my newest wound from Loki, but they're both patient with me.

"The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract as well as yours, Tyra. But it's gonna take weeks to process." Bruce sighed.

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops." Tony spoke up.

"All I packed was a toothbrush." Bruce smiled.

"You know, you should come by Stark Towers sometime...top ten floors, all R&D. You'd love it, it's candy land." Dad smirked.

"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke...Harlem." Bruce replied.

"Well I promise a stress free environment. No tension, no surprises..." Tony poked Bruce with a metal prod.

Bruce jumps in surprise as he stares at my dad in what appears to be amusement. I watch the whole thing unfold and I wonder what the hell my father is up to. It wasn't that I didn't trust Dr. Banner to not 'Hulk out', but I'd prefer it if my dad didn't try to provoke him. From what little I knew of Dr. Banner from SHIELD files, he only recently got the hang of controlling the beast inside of him known as the Hulk, or controlling it to the best of his ability. It made me wonder if Bruce could summon the Hulk at will, or if he was still unsure.

"Nothing?" Dad raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Hey! Are you nuts?!" Steve snapped.

We notice Steve storming into the room with us, and immediately, I'm reminded of earlier when he held me in his arms.

Well Steve, the answer may surprise you- -

"You really have got a lid on it haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?" Dad quips.

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve questions my father.

"Funny things are." He merely says.

"Threatening the safety on everyone in this ship isn't funny. No offense, doctor." Steve looked at Bruce apologetically.

"No, it's alright. I wouldn't have come if I couldn't handle pointy things." Bruce smiles.

Dad walks across the room to check the monitors, but also probably to get further away from Steve Rogers.

"You're tiptoeing big man! You need to strut!" Dad shouts

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark." Steve gives him a stern look.

"You think I'm not? Why did Fury call us and why now? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all of the variables." Tony said.

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve mutters.

What isn't he hiding?

"He's a spy, Captain. He's the spy. His secrets have secrets..." Tony pointed at Bruce. "It's bugging him too isn't it?"

"I just wanna finish my work here and..."

"Doctor?" Steve presses.

"A warm light for all mankind, Loki's jab at Fury about the cube." Bruce brought up.

"I heard it." Steve nodded.

"Well I think that was meant for you and Tyra. Even if Barton didn't post that all over the news..." Bruce pointed at dad and I.

I perked up and turned around to look at Bruce in curiosity.

Is that why...Loki captured me? Did he actually know more about who I was than I originally thought?

"The Stark Tower? That big ugly..." Steve saw Tony giving him a glare. "Building in New York?" He finished carefully.

"It's powered by Stark Reactors, self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what? A year?" Bruce asked.

"That's just the prototype." Tony told them. "I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now and it's all thanks to the two of us."

Dad gives me a reassuring smile as he makes his way over to wrap an arm around my shoulders. I wince from the aching pain, but I return the smile to him regardless.

"So why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project." Bruce referred to dad. "I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"

"I'd tell you, but I honestly can't give you an answer to that..." I spoke up.

Again, everyone gives me a look of curiosity as well as suspicion.

"I mean, when I was brought in on the Tesseract Project, I was just tasked with finding out how we could use it as an energy source or how to harness its energy as well as find out everything we could about it. You can see how well that turned out..." I clarified.

"I should probably look into that after my decryption programmer finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files." Tony said.

"Did you just say- -?"

"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours we'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide." Dad holds out a bag of blueberries. "Blueberry?" Dad offered us.

"Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around?" Steve glared at Tony.

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not possible." Dad told him.

I don't even know who to side with at this point. On the one hand, I'd be a hypocrite if I lectured my dad about breaking into SHIELD's database. However, Steve's not entirely wrong either about my dad keeping his nose out where it doesn't belong. I wouldn't necessarily say that I distrust Nick Fury...

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them."

Steve begins to walk out of the room in a hurry, until my dad once again speaks up.

"Following isn't really my style." Tony retorted.

Oh dad...just shut up...

"And you're all about style aren't you?" Steve smiled coldly.

"Of the people in this room, which one is; A. wearing a spangly outfit and B. not of use?" Tony asked.

"Seriously dad?" I give him a small glare.

"Steve, tell me that none of this smells a little funky to you?" Bruce cuts back in.

"Just find the cube."

With that Steve walked out.

"That's the guy my dad never shut up about? Wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice." Tony scoffed.

"How the hell do you think he feels, huh? Everything he knows is just gone. Think about that." I snap.

"Tyra, I know you've had a crush on him since you were just a kid, but seriously- -"

"The guy's not wrong about Loki, he does have the jump on us." Bruce cuts him off.

"What he's got is an ACME dynamite kit." He sarcastically replied. "It's gonna blow up in his face and I'm gonna be there when it does."

"And I'll read all about it." Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Uh-huh. Or you'll be suiting up like the rest of us."

"See, I don't get a suit of armor. I'm exposed, like a nerve, it's a nightmare." Bruce put his hand over his face.

"You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart." Dad pointed at his arc reactor. "This stops it. This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armor. It's a...terrible privilege."

"But you can control it." Bruce pointed out.

"Because I learned how. With her help of course." Dad ruffles my hair.

"It's different." Bruce tried convincing Tony.

Bruce tries reading a computer monitor, but I gently push it aside so Bruce and I are face to face. He needed some reassurance, and I'd be more than happy to give it to him.

"I've read all about your accident, Dr. Banner. That much gamma exposure should have killed you." I told him.

"So you're saying that the Hulk?...the other guy...saved my life? That's nice, it's a nice sentiment. Saved it for what?" Bruce rolled his eyes.

"I guess we'll find out." I replied.

"You might not like that." Bruce mumbled.

"You just might..." Dad finishes.

By the time we really get the ball rolling, all we're waiting for is for the model to finish searching for any gamma rays on a global scale. Dad considered just using my credentials to get in, but reconsidered once he realized how much trouble I could get into. He waits for JARVIS to hack into the mainframe, and gives me a look of worry.

"Hey Tyra...I want you to quit SHIELD when this is all over." Dad spoke up.

I look at my father in disbelief, and fold my arms defensively.

"You're serious? Like I can't make the decision on my own?" I scoff.

"I almost lost you, and I don't want you at risk again. You got kidnapped and tortured- -"

"Well now you know how I felt when you decided to create the armor and become Iron Man." I cut him off.

"That's not the same." Dad's eyes widened.

"You're serious right now? It's almost exactly the same. I know you say it out of love, just like I say it out of love, but that's not your decision to make." I told him.

"I don't like SHIELD- -" Dad starts.

"At times, neither do I." I agree.

"This is probably the most tame argument I've ever listened to." Bruce looks at us in surprise.

I can't help but laugh at Bruce's statement, and give him a smile.

"So why did you join SHIELD? If you don't mind me asking of course..." Bruce cuts in.

"At first, it was because I thought I could make a huge difference in the world, and they made me believe I could." I answered.

"But something changed..." Bruce glances at me curiously.

"Yeah, something did change." I nodded. "I mean, after my 'training' with Natasha and Clint, I felt like they were just using me. They didn't have the great Tony Stark, so I'm sure they thought they could go after the next best thing and recruit his daughter because she's just as intelligent. And then there was the Tesseract. They kept telling me that all they wanted was to find out as much about the relic as possible, but I couldn't help but get suspicious of their motives. I'm not saying that I'm not grateful to everything SHIELD's done for me, but...at times...I kept questioning why they really recruited me. I thought I was just going to be a researcher- -"

"Until they had Romanoff and this Clint train you to fight?" Dad cut in.

"Exactly." I finished.

We're interrupted when Nick Fury comes storming into the room and glares straight at my dad.

Looks like we've been found out.

"What are you doing, Mr. Stark?!" Fury yelled.

I nearly jumped at the loud voice and saw Nick coming into the room.

"Kind of been wondering the same thing about you." Dad replied.

"You're supposed to be looking for the Tesseract." Fury glared at him.

"We are, the model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile." I answered.

"And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss." Dad shrugged.

I glanced at the monitor in curiosity.

"And just what is PHASE 2?" I glared at Nick. "Anything else you haven't been telling me, Director Fury?"

Steve barged in and put some kind of prototype weapon on the table.

"PHASE 2 is SHIELD using the cube to make weapons." Steve answered us. "Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow for me."

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're- -"

My father turned the monitor over towards Nick and cuts him off swiftly.

"I'm sorry, Nick. What were you lying about?" Tony retorted.

"I was wrong, director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Steve mutters bitterly.

I instantly feel bad for Steve as I glance over towards him.

I just...he doesn't deserve this...

Not knowing what possessed me to do it, I slowly put my hand on his arm in an attempt to comfort him in some way. He tenses up and immediately glances at me, but relaxes when he realizes my intention. Steve gives me a very small smile and I can't help but blush underneath his gaze. I remove my hand as Natasha walks into the room, where Bruce is almost immediately at her throat.

"Did you know about this?" Bruce asked Natasha.

"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" Natasha asked carefully.

Nothing about this seemed to add up, like Loki allowing himself to be captured and taken to the Helicarrier. Was he doing something to us with his magic? What his angle?

I figure that it's a ploy to get us to turn against each other. If we can't fight together to beat Loki, we didn't even have a chance at winning.

Something deep down told me that this was Loki's plan and reasoning for being here to begin with. I tried speaking up, but my throat starts to tighten, almost like I'm having an allergic reaction to something. That's when I got the hint that this was indeed Loki's plan, hitting us while we're together and knocking us down.

"Tyra?" Steve mutters worriedly.

Steve turns me to look at him, his hands grasping my arms lightly but firmly. I feel extremely lightheaded at this point, ready to pass out at any second.

"What is it?" Steve asked.

"Loki...he's- -" I gasped for air.

"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed!" Bruce snapped at Natasha.

Steve looked at my throat and his eyes widened slightly.

"Your throat is glowing..." Steve informed me.

I nod at him and shut my mouth as I focus on breathing through my nose. In seconds, the pain on my throat lessens, but not by much.

"I can't even tell you guys...I'm so sorry..." I whispered.

I had to stop this before it got out of hand.

"Loki's manipulating you." Natasha told Bruce.

"And you've been doing what exactly?" He retorted.

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you." Natasha snapped.

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction." Bruce raised his voice.

"Guys stop! This is what Loki wants- -" I start again.

My throat clenched tightly again and I started finding it harder to breathe. Steve now seemed extremely worried as he tries to talk to me.

"It's because of him!" Fury pointed at Thor.

Everyone falls silent and stares at Thor curiously.

"Me?" Thor pointed at himself.

"Last year Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge mass that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, and hilariously, outgunned." Fury explained.

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor looked at Fury in disbelief.

"But you're not the only people out there are you?! And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched. They can't be controlled."

I felt my right arm burning again and I held it to my chest.

Damn it...everything hurts...

"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve asked.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war." Thor told us.

I should have known...why did I even agree to be apart of the Tesseract project?

"Higher form?" Steve asked.

"You forced our hand. We had to come up with something." Fury spoke up.

"Nuclear deterrent, because that always calms everything down." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury asked Tony.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

I tried covering my ears and ignoring everyone to concentrate, but it was getting harder and harder to do so.

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos." Thor said.

"It's his M.O. isn't it? I mean what are we, a team? No, no, no...We're the chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're...we're a time bomb." Bruce was losing his cool.

"You need to step away." Fury seemed concerned.

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony put his arm around Steve.

Steve pushed Tony away.

"You know damn well why! Back off!" He yelled.

"Oh I'm starting to want you to make me." Tony glared daggers at Steve.

"Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?" Steve spoke lowly.

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Tony replied smugly.

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you." Steve told him.

"I think I would just cut the wire." Tony shrugged.

"Always a way out...you know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

I was practically speechless at Steve's words. I honestly felt that my father had truly changed over the past few years and I was incredibly proud of him for that. I had no idea what came over me, but I pretty much got in Steve's face and said something that I knew dad would say. It was like I was saying his thoughts out loud for him. It was something I never experienced before and it was just plain weird.

"A hero? Like you? You're a lab rat, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle." I spat out.

OH NO! DON'T HATE ME!

My hands slapped over my mouth in complete embarrassment as Steve and my father both look at me with a surprised look.

"I'm sorry...I don't know why I just said that..." My eyes widened.

Steve seemed confused, but is focused at Tony Stark once again. I put my hand on Steve's chest and gently push him back as I try to gain control over the situation. It's nearly a screaming match in here as everyone shouts at each other. I knew this had to be Loki's doing despite having no proof.

"Look guys, you have to calm down. This is Loki, this is what he wants- -AH!"

My warning goes to waste when my throat begins closing up again for a third time.

This was more painful than before though...

"Tyra!" Steve shouts worriedly.

Before Steve can get another word in, my dad's already taken action and practically shoves Steve away from me as he inspects me more closely. His eyes widen a fraction when his gaze is at my 'glowing' throat.

"Oh jeez your throat is glowing again! Don't talk about Loki or his plans! Just look at me okay? Focus on breathing, and keep your eyes on me." Dad held my face in his hands.

"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner to his- -" Fury starts.

"Where? You rented my room." Bruce rolled his eyes.

"The cell was just in case- -" Fury nervously explains.

"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't! I know! I tried!" Bruce cut him off.

Whoa...it just got even more awkward in here...

"I got low, I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out! So I moved on, I focused on helping people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!" Bruce said.

Wait...this had to be plan! Rile up Dr. Banner until he turned into the Hulk! But how's Loki even doing all of this?!

Bruce then glances at Natasha and I was quickly becoming nervous.

"You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?"

Fury and Natasha put their hands on their guns nervously.

"Dr. Banner...put down the scepter..." Steve spoke up.

Despite losing oxygen and growing slightly delirious, I stumble over to the computer when I hear an alert. Bruce puts the scepter back down in its place and walks away.

"Sorry kids, looks like you don't get to see my party trick after all." Bruce grumbles.

"Located the Tesseract?" Thor asked me.

"I can get there faster..." Tony told us.

"Look, all of us- -" Steve started.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it." Thor cut Steve off.

Dad tries to leave and immediately Steve stops him.

"You're not going alone!" Steve told him.

"You gonna stop me?" Tony snapped.

"Put on the suit, let's find out." Steve challenged.

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man." Tony taunted.

"Put on the suit." Steve repeated.

When seeing the monitor, I gasp in shock.

The Tesseract was right next to the helicarrier.

"Oh my god!" I shout.

The entire ship jolts from an explosion and I almost flew out the window, until someone caught me in time. I looked down to see that it was Steve that saved me. After helping me up, he looked straight to my dad.

"Put on the suit?!" Steve asks.

"Yup!" Dad agreed.

With that they ran out.

I require your assistance, my pet.

I put a hand over my mouth in shock.

Loki is contacting me through my mind?! WHAT THE HELL?! NO NO NO NO!

I ran to the direction of Loki's cell after grabbing a gun from an unconscious SHIELD agent who got hurt from the explosion and ignore the calls of my name from behind me.

I run as fast as I can and reload the gun as I make my way towards Loki's cell. I take a deep breath before shoving the door open and storming in with the gun raised in the direction of the cell, only to find it completely empty with door wide open.

"Fuck!" I cursed.

I move to grab my earpiece from my pocket, until my hands are being grabbed and held tightly together as my gun is being removed from my grasp. Before I can try to call out for help, another hand is slapped over my mouth. I practically shiver in fear when their lips are lowered to my ear.

"Make any sudden movements and I'll make sure you deeply regret it." Loki hisses hotly into my ear.

When Loki removes his hands from me, I see how deadly serious the man actually is. He looks ready to fight and kill anything in sight and for once, I'm actually afraid.

"I need another vision to give me some insight...since I do not hold the Tesseract right now, you'll have to do."

Loki gently shoves me against the wall before holding my face gently in his hands. Loki puts his forehead against mine before his eyes fall shut. I feel extremely uncomfortable as I'm reminded of the moment on the rooftop together in Germany, and immediately I blink away tears.

What was I supposed to do anyway? Just stand here and be uncomfortably close with some evil god trying to rule the world? God, I just want to crawl into a hole right now...

"Are you concentrating?" Loki sounded irritated.

"Concentrating on what? The Helicarrier that's about to go into the water because of you most likely? Please enlighten me. What should I be concentrating on?" I snapped.

"Watch your tongue before I do something about it." Loki growled. "I guess I shall have to move things along..."

When I see one of Loki's hands beginning to emit a purple glow, I grow nervous and find myself struggling against him.

"W- -what are you doing?" I stuttered.

"Relax woman. I am simply accessing your Vanir abilities. You know, your little dreams..." He lightly teases.

Loki placed the glowing hand on my forehead and I shivered at the sensation instantly.

FLASH!

It was Thor that was trapped in the cage built for Bruce instead. Loki smirked as he pressed the button to release the cage and Thor begins falling with no way to escape. The cage only got closer to the ground as Thor tried to break free. But there was no way he was going to evade death this time...

Thor was going to die.

FLASH!

"There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes, and maybe it's too much on us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth then you can be damn well sure that we'll avenge it..." Tony glared at Loki.

"But how will they be so busy fighting me, when they are fighting you?" Loki placed his scepter on Tony's chest repeatedly.

His arc reactor was in the way.

"This usually works..." Loki mumbled.

"Well you know...performance issues- -"

Loki had enough and threw Tony out of the window after grabbing him by the neck. You could hear Tony scream as he fell to the ground.

FLASH!

When I come to, my eyes dart around frantically as I regain the sense of my surroundings. Loki's face remains less than an inch from mine, but I can still see that extremely pleased and satisfied smile cross his face.

"You have such a marvelous gift, Tyra." Loki chuckles sarcastically.

Loki's lips graze mine gently, before his teeth begin to knead on my bottom lip. I grow extremely fearful and feel desperate to push him away.

"Thank you for letting me use it." Loki growls playfully.

I move to push him away when I put my hands on his chest, but he gives me a small glare full of warning.

"Open your mouth. Now. I won't ask again." Loki demands.

"N- -no. I won't- -"

Loki's hands squeeze my wrists tightly, and I gasp from the pain, leaving him the opportunity to ravage my mouth. His tongue wrestles its way inside and I feel like gagging at how slick and gross it felt. Loki releases my wrists before maneuvering his arms behind me and pulling himself closer. Then I feel it, the tingling sensation on my nether regions, the same as the one on the rooftop in Germany. While the feeling was addicting, I didn't want this taking place again, not with Loki. Thankfully Loki is interrupted when the two of us hear footsteps storming down the hall. Before I can shout, Loki already has his hand over my mouth as he gives a gentle wave of his hand to conjure up a projection of himself in the cage. My eyes widened when I see that it's Thor that comes running in and after the illusion of his brother. Loki laughs and has the cage shut immediately to trap Thor inside. He starts dragging me along with him to the control panel for the cage.

"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" Loki smirked.

Loki's hand hovers over the button to release the cage.

"The humans think us immortal...should we test that?"

It was one of those moments where time seemed to slow down, but I grow angry and outraged that Loki got away with so much. I became furious that Loki not even minutes ago was forcing himself on top of me again, and even more so that I was barely doing a thing to stop him.

"Not today, asshole!" I shout.

Remembering S.I.N.G. from Mrs. Congeniality, I use it on Loki to release me before sending a rough kick to get him away from the control panel. I grab the gun that Loki forced out of my hands earlier right before he gets back up, and aim it directly at him.

"I'm not letting you do this! Not to him!"

"You have some nerve, woman." Loki growls.

"This is where it stops! I'm done being afraid of you! Of not standing up to you!" I cried.

Loki inches closer to me as my finger hovers just over the trigger of the gun. He gives me almost a soothing smile and moves as if trying to calm an animal down. It just makes me angrier, but also more confused than ever.

"Tyra, just lower the weapon. It will not do you much good now, would it?"

"Tyra Stark, do not listen to Loki. He can be very persuasive- -" Thor spoke up.

"Shut up Thor. You're scaring the poor girl." Loki cuts in teasingly.

"Stop it!" I shouted angrily. "Loki! This thing is fully loaded and I'm ready to fucking fire at you! Don't. Move." I glare at him.

"You're very beautiful when you're angry. I quite like that look on you." Loki smirks.

"SHUT. UP." I growl lowly.

I turn off the safety and cock the gun. Loki's smirk fades immediately and he slowly raises his hands before taking another step closer. I move back towards control panel and the cage, before remembering that I needed to free Thor. My eyes dart between Loki and the control panel nervously, and the god of mischief quickly picks up on what I'm thinking.

"Oh darling, you open that cage, and I will kill you. So slowly...so..." Loki eyes my form. "So intimately."

This is bad. I could probably delay Loki, but he's not wrong. He could take me out before I even know it. He's got magic on his side, and what do I have? A fucking gun. It might hurt him, but I doubt it would kill him.

Loki takes another step closer and I begin to tremble as many thoughts race through my head. For once, I wasn't sure what to do, but I was so desperate to get Thor out of that cage. Before I know it, the gun is practically touching his chest and I feel much smaller. Loki's shushing me as he moves to gently pry the weapon from my hands. That's when I panic and finally shoot. A strong resounding BANG echoes in the room, but Loki isn't remotely injured in the slightest. The bullets were replaced with something weaker and less than harmful, probably from Loki's magic (surprise surprise). Loki's expression goes from outraged that I had the audacity to shoot, to looking pleased.

"I would be mad, but honestly...I'm impressed that you had the gaul to shoot." Loki smiles.

Loki impressed with me? Never thought that would happen.

I'm not sure which one of us moves first, but suddenly we're fighting hand to hand combat as I try to make my way to the control panel and release Thor from the cage. However, the tables have once again turned when Loki conjures a dagger and throws it right at me with practiced ease. I duck just in time, and he uses that moment to tackle me against the glass of the cell, his hand wrapped around my neck and raising me up with his remarkable strength. I kick around in the air as I'm being strangled and claw at his hands. Loki smirks as he hears Thor's shouts pleading for him to stop, and as my vision begins to fade to black.

"Listen good, Tyra Stark. The only reason you get to live, is so that I may benefit from your Vanir abilities." Loki purrs.

Loki finally drops me and I gasp for air as I'm limp on the floor. I can see Thor's face from the corner of my eye as he kneels down in the cell to check on me.

"Lady Tyra. Are you alright?" Thor asks in concern.

Loki laughs at Thor and moves to the control panel as he prepares to press the button to the switch.

"Now watch as I kill you and rule Midgard, brother." Loki grins.

Just before Loki hits the switch, we hear footsteps approaching.

"Move away, please."

Coulson?

Loki obeys and slowly backs away from the control panel.

"You like this? We started working on the prototype right after you sent the destroyer. Even I don't know what it does." The gun started lighting up. "Wanna find out?"

My vision blurs as I struggle to get up, and find an illusion of Loki moving slowly behind Coulson.

"P- -Phil..." I breathe out. "Watch...watch out."

When Phil's eyes lock with mine, he looks at me in worry. That's when it happens: the illusion of Loki stabs Coulson with the scepter. My eyes widen in disbelief and shock as the scepter pierces right through his chest. As Thor hits the glass in pure rage and cries, the cell moves a few inches lower as it was designed to. Loki smiles victoriously and finally moves to press the button to release the cell designed for the Hulk.

...and Thor was gone.

I crawled over to Coulson and my hands shake uncontrollably on his chest as I move to try and stop the bleeding. Deep down, I know it would do nothing, but I didn't want to believe that this was truly happening.

"C- -Coulson? " I choked on tears.

Coulson was taking deep breaths and his eyes were half lidded.

The wound in his chest looked pretty bad...

"Coulson I- -"

His hand shook as he put it on top of mine.

"It'll be fine...it's just a...just a scratch..." Coulson smiled weakly.

My heart nearly skipped a beat as I saw Loki coming towards us.

"You're gonna lose..." Coulson mumbled.

"Am I?" Loki grinned evilly.

"It's in your nature." Coulson pointed out.

"Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky...where is my disadvantage?" Loki asked.

"You lack conviction..." Coulson breathed out.

Loki's grin disappeared with a sneer and he began storming over to us.

"I don't think that I- -!"

Coulson shot the prototype and a huge blast of energy hits Loki and sends him crashing through another wall.

"...so that's what it does..." Coulson said.

I couldn't let Coulson die...not for me...not because of me...he has so much to live for.

I reach into my pockets, desperate to find my earpiece, until Coulson is raising his hand weakly and is holding it out for me. I'm shaking again when I fumble to turn it on and place it in my ear.

"Hello?! I need backup right now! Agent Coulson is hit! A- -and I don't know what to do!" I panicked. "Please! I need help..."

"Agent Stark! Where is your location?" Fury asked.

"The detention section! Loki's gone and he...he got Thor into the cage and he hit the button to drop him... Please send help! Please! C- -Coulson is hurt real bad!" I stammered.

"We're on our way!" Fury said.

Coulson put his hand on mine in attempt to calm me down.

"It's okay...T- -Tyra...you're doing good..." Phil tried comforting me.

"I'm so sorry, Phil! I should have stopped Loki...I should have- -"

"Don't do that to yourself, Tyra...it's not your fault..." Phil assured me.

"I should have...but I was so scared of him..." I whimpered. "I'm such an idiot, I- -I'm so sorry Phil- -"

"It's okay...to be scared, Tyra." Phil said. "Just don't let fear control you."

The medics and Director Fury finally arrived on the scene.

"Sorry boss. They got rabbeted..." Coulson said.

"Just stay awake, EYES ON ME." Fury ordered.

"No, I'm clocking out here..." Phil mumbled.

"Not an option." Fury said.

"It's okay, boss...this was never going to work...if they didn't have something...to..."

Phil's head drooped a little and my eyes grew large. I pushed Fury aside and held Phil's face in my hands. His body temperature was getting much colder by the second and he was no longer breathing.

Agent Coulson was dead...

"Phil? Please...you...you can't do this! Not now! GOD DAMN IT PHIL! WAKE UP!" I rested my head against his bloody chest. "Phil...please wake up...WAKE UP!" I cried.

I felt myself being pulled away from Coulson and I fought back as much as I could.

"Phil! NO! PHIL! LET ME GO! I CAN'T LEAVE HIM!" I screamed.

"Take her away." Fury barely muttered. "Bring her to the infirmary..." Fury then put his hand on his ear piece.

"...Agent Coulson is down..."

I refused to go to an infirmary and tried regaining my composure as we all met up in the briefing room, but calming down was pretty damn difficult.

Explain to me how the hell I'm supposed to recover from that?

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never did get you to sign them..."

Fury tossed the vintage Captain America cards onto the table which were covered in Phil's blood. I felt my eyes water at the sight. Tony and Steve were completely silent and only stared at the vintage cards.

"We're dead in the air up here. Our communication, the location of the cube, Banner, Thor, I got nothing for you. I lost my one good eye, but maybe I had that one coming..."

Nick paused and sighed deeply.

"Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, both Stark's know this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to. To fight battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea...in heroes. Well, it's an old fashioned notion..."

I got up not being able to handle this anymore.

I wanted to be alone...but I really wanted Phil back...and that wasn't going to happen any time soon...

I went back to the detention section of the helicarrier and just stared at the empty cell container instantly reminded of what had occurred earlier. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I didn't even flinch knowing fully well who it was. Dad didn't say a word either and put his arm around my shoulder pulling me closer towards him. We stood there for several minutes in pure silence.

"Was he married?"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Steve coming in.

"Uh no...there was a uh... cellist I think..." Tony mumbled.

"I'm sorry, he seemed like a good man." Steve said.

"No...he was an idiot." Tony grumbled.

Excuse you?!

I was furious and roughly pushed my dad away, getting defensive immediately. Dad seemed surprised at my sudden behavior at first, but realized why I was upset.

"Why? For believing?" I glared at him.

"For taking on Loki alone." He reluctantly replied.

"He was doing his job." Steve cut in.

"He was out of his league! He should have waited. He should have..."

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony." Steve said.

"Right...how did that work out for him?" Tony turned away.

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" Steve asked.

"WE ARE NOT SOLDIERS!" Dad snapped. "I am not marching to Fury's fife!"

"Neither am I! He's got the same blood on his hands as Loki does. Right now we've got to put that aside and get this done. Now Loki needs a proper power source, if we can put together a list..." Steve began.

"He made it personal..." Dad mumbled softly.

"That's not the point." Steve gave dad a look of confusion.

Wait a second here...

"That is the point." I realized. "That's Loki's point...he hit us all right where we live...why?"

"To tear us apart." Steve guessed.

"He had to conquer his greed, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience." I told them.

"Right, I caught his act in Germany..." Steve nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, that's just a preview!" Dad agreed. "This is opening night. Loki's a full-tilt diva! He wants flowers, he wants parades- -"

"He wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered- -" I went along with dad.

Dad and I looked at each other in sudden realization.

Loki was going to Stark Towers...

"Son of a bitch..." Dad and I spoke in unison.

We began making our way out of the room until Steve stopped me.

"Are you okay? I know that...I know that you saw Phil die...it must be hard, but you don't have to keep all of that in. You can talk to me." Steve offered.

I sighed and looked at the blood stain on the wall where Phil died.

"...I failed him, Steve." I finally spoke. "If I wasn't so weak, if I didn't show fear, I reacted faster...I think Phil would still be here. He kept telling me it was okay. He was trying to comfort me when he was the one dying. I feel like that says a lot, don't you?"

"Phil was a good man. And he was just trying to protect you. I think saving you was enough for him." Steve said.

"This is all my fault...I could have prevented this from happening to begin with. Loki put that spell on me and then it all went to hell from there..."

"There are some things that you can't control...I know that from experience. You aren't alone...and I know what it's like seeing someone you care about die in front of you and not being able to do a thing about it." Steve paused a bit before continuing. "Also...we all have our strengths and weaknesses...Phil wouldn't want you to blame yourself. You're stronger than you know, so don't doubt yourself."

I smiled weakly at Steve and nodded my head trying to take this all in.

"Okay...I'll...I'll try...I'm gonna help you guys as much as I can...This is something I need to see through till the end. I need to do this for Phil..."

Steve smiled and nodded and with that said, we left.

Let's do this. For Phil...

I'm sorry if Tyra seemed meh...like I said, it was a little hard to write this chapter. Anyways, let me know what you think, but PLEASE don't be harsh about it. Just be nice. I'd do the same for you guys... I hope you guys liked it. :)