Deirfiúr

by Lalaith Quetzalli

-AU to Nightingale.- During his exile Thor realizes something is terribly wrong with his brother, which prompts him to look up the one person he believes can help, someone no one but him and Loki himself know exists: his sister, his brother's wife... The two of them together just might be able to save the one they care for most. (X-Men movies and AoS cameos) LN, TJ, PD and others.

2. Define

Some things from Agents of SHIELD and Iron-Man 3 will come up here (mostly the former), some of the events will be different, or at least in a different order than in canon, that's part of this AU. Also, regardless of the time passed, Thor 2 and Captain America 2 have no bearing in this.

Enjoy!

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Define

Is a Nightingale still such without its voice? Is a Sorcerer still one without their magic?

xXx Darcy's POV xXx

It was late afternoon already, almost the end of the work-day. I was standing on a corner of what had been dubbed by some the 'fairytale class', watching two of my dearest friends work. A man known by most as Dr. Luka Hveðrungr was at the front of the class, giving the closing speech on that day's topic: the last inter-dimensional war to affect Earth. Behind the teacher's desk sat Prof. Silbhé Salani-Hveðrungr, she'd just finished grading the papers for that day and was absent-mindedly moving along the power-point presentation that illustrated the day's topic.

The class ended a handful of minutes later, and the 'students' left right away, none of them the slightest bit interest on staying behind for anything. It wasn't that surprising, really. It was ironic, but all of us who knew just how important the 'class' was, also realized that everyone else saw it as ridiculous, unnecessary, a joke... of course, the ones who actually knew the importance of it all, had been there when the 'events' took place, therefore had no need for the class. It was a vicious cycle, for the most part.

The Hveðrungrs had been working for S.H.I.E.L.D. for five years as had I, for that matter. We had all joined after a certain mess on Puente Antiguo, New Mexico.

My name is Darcy Lewis, and truth be said, I should have never been anywhere near the mess but, well, things happen for a reason I guess. Finished High-School at eighteen, I began drifting, changing majors every year for a while, until I finally settled on Politics. It wasn't what I really wanted, but I had no idea what I wanted... and things turned out pretty well for me, even with all the mess, so... At twenty-five I had finally finished all my courses, except for one. How I never noticed I needed six science credits to finish college I will never know! As it happened there was no one class that offered that many credits, same for all the internships I found... except for one: an astrophysicist in New Mexico was offering the exact number of credits I needed. In the end she chose me (probably because I was the only applicant).

At first it was easy enough. I knew next to nothing about the science she worked on (aside from Politics I studied History, Art, Administration, some Business and Linguistics -all of them just for a semester or two each-). Still, Dr. Jane Foster knew enough about her work she didn't really need my help for it, I was more of a babysitter. Making sure she ate, slept, took a shower every so often, and breaks whenever it looked like her mind might implode with too much work.

Then Dr. Erik Selvig, one of Jane's old professors arrived to help her. From what little I could understand, there was something on the weather-patterns that she believed to be extraordinary... and something about galaxies and wormholes, but at that point I was already mostly ignoring them, so I didn't catch much more than that.

So I went from near-graduate (in political sciences) to intern (in science-science), to babysitter-to-a-scientist, to storm-chaser... and that last one was not in my contract! Still, I have to admit the sense of adventure got to me. It was something I'd always wanted to do, to have an adventure, not something I could actually study for (and maybe if I had known all that would happen as a consequence... no, not really, I wouldn't give up my life for anything!).

So we went storm-chasing, and somehow ended up catching more than just a storm. And if anyone had told me that the cute, buffed, seemingly-high-on-something man with the strange speech-patterns was a real-life god... I would have laughed in their faces, loudly. My life wasn't a novel, that sort of thing just didn't happen in real life, right? Well, apparently it does now. Along with a lot of other crazy-ass stuff! All of which I ended having front seat for... whenever I don't end up center-stage, that is!

Anyway. We went storm-chasing, found that odd-guy speaking about being hammered... or maybe he was talking about his hammer? Mj... something, I prefer to just call it Mew-mew. Then, when he got a bit too touchy-feely and threatening, I tased him. Then there was the problem that we had to carry him to the trailer so we could get him to the hospital and... yeah. But still. Then I noticed that tiny little detail in one of the photos we'd taken while storm-chasing, the fact that the blonde hunk had actually, somehow, arrived with the storm.

So we went to get him back, endured all his delusional-ranting about being the god of thunder (which, as it turned out, wasn't actually a delusion). And then all of Jane's research got stolen. And they stole my iPod! Seriously, the one luxury I was able to allow myself with what little money I had from my last part-time job (from the time when I lived in an actual city and had a real job, rather than just free-babysitting passing itself as an internship) and the trust-fund my absentee father had left for me (which is actually how I managed to spend seven years in college without depleting all my savings, or my mother's).

When Thor first told us all his story (though he gave Jane a lot more detail than the rest of us) we didn't fully believe him. Even Jane who was quite willing to believe most of what he said (if only because it would prove her theories... and because she had the hots for him), had an obviously hard time processing the idea of other worlds, and gods, and such. Until he told us there was someone who could corroborate his story, someone human...

I had heard about Silbhé Salani, really, anyone who had so much as taken a class in History, Literature or Mythology in the last five years knew about the prodigy girl who at sixteen had already attained Bachelor Degrees in all three majors and was set to graduate with Masteries, once again in all three, at nineteen. Discovering that she knew Thor, had known him for years... that was more unexpected. A surprise that only grew when we got to hear her story (the short version of it back then), and her connection not only to Thor, but to his brother Loki, and not any connection, she was actually, for all intents and purposes (even if it wasn't actually legal) married to the God of Mischief and Lies!

Shit just got all the more real the next day. What with the addition of the Three Stooges and the Xena-wannabe (whom I later learnt were actually the Warriors Three and the Lady Sif, this last one the goddess of war, no less!). Then, as if those four weren't enough, we got the huge metal monster blowing half the town to kingdom come. It was about then that Thor finally noticed Silbhé's absence and began getting seriously worried about her. I had a feeling that she could take care of herself (and I was right!).

It all became a mess, evacuating the town, hanging back when dear Jane insisted on staying with Thor, only to then have to watch her almost being killed by an out-of-control monster... Destroyer or something like that. I heard Silbhé saying it was out of control, but wasn't fully sure what it all meant. It was strange, with Thor's friends so viciously against Loki, while Silbhé and Thor refused to stop believing in him. I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like, for someone to believe in you, in me that strongly...

Then there was the promise, the one I made to Silbhé, about explaining all the truth to her aunt, Kathryn Salani, if the woman went looking for her and Silbhé failed to return from her trip to Asgard. And I knew that my newest friend wasn't being fully truthful when she denied that she thought she would die on that trip... At least she didn't, and I never had to actually explain anything to Ms. Salani myself. Which... thank God! Because that woman is seriously scary, even more than Agent-iPod-thief with all his blank looks. And considering that he recognized her... really, I just found out that there are other worlds out there, and the next day I cannot help but think that mine is way too small, the chances of Agent just knowing Silbhé's aunt... really, what were the chances of something like that?!

But yes, I never had to explain everything to her. She went straight to the Agents studying the markings left on the sand by the Rainbow bridge Silbhé, Thor and the others had left on, demanding to know what was going on. When they refused, spouting some protocol crap she went ramrod-straight and began reciting something that seemed to have seriously been taken out of some James-Bond movie. To this day I still don't know what it meant exactly, except that it helped to identify her. It revealed that Kathryn Salani wasn't just a nurse and an aunt, she was also a former Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Kathryn Adler, and pretty high up too!

The minion-agents (which was what I called all low level ones which had little to no idea of what had gone down the day before) had just taken her to talk with the real agent (Coulson), and I had convinced Jane to have us tag along with them so we could take a break and eat something, when the Rainbow-bridge-thingy activated again. And isn't just my luck that just when I've finally managed to convince Jane to take a break that happens?!

Maybe it was for the best, especially considering that Thor wasn't among those who had arrived. Silbhé did, though and, surprisingly enough, Loki. She was in a lilac-colored (aptly named) goddess-style dress, with white-gold slippers, a long pearly-white sash around her tiny waist, and an iridescent scarf tied around her neck; Loki was wearing a green-silk and black-leather ensemble that consisted of a multi-layered tunic, breeches, high boots, arm-guards, along with light golden armor and a long green cape (much like Thor's red one).

Coulson and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. minions reacted instantly the moment the twosome arrived, and all through it Silbhé refused to talk, Loki refused to give much explanation of anything and they refused to be separated from the other. And somehow, despite there being an 'ex' before the 'Agent' part of Kathryn Adler-Salani's title, she still managed to project enough authority that the minions listened to her when she demanded they be allowed to remain together. It was obvious to her (and to Coulson and I) that something had happened to those two, something traumatic, and they needed each other to endure...

We were given what I was sure must be a very summarized version of the events that had taken place on Loki's home-world... or old-home, judging by his disdain for the place in general. Even on that first day I didn't miss the different in inflection whenever he talked about the Allfather (never actually calling him father), Thor's friends, and some other people, even the place in general; compared to how he referred to his Mother (whom he never called anything but, except the first time to clarify who exactly he was referring to), Thor, and Nightingale (which was what he called Silbhé... his match, his wife... their marriage was actually made legal the next day).

It seemed that after Odin had woken a sort of struggle for power and authority had taken place. Odin had won it, if only because there was no one who could actually take the old man's place as King as the moment. However, knowing that 'dear-old dad' would have no mercy of his youngest son (adopted, as we also found out), a bargain was struck: Thor had to prepare himself to take the throne, with no help from his brother; while Loki himself was sent on 'temporary exile' with his match, until the day the second part of the deal was sealed. Thor had no more than a decade to lay claim to the throne. When he did he would be able to officially 'pardon' his brother, and also make his match to Silbhé legal and binding in their world. However, if the decade passed and he wasn't ready, or if he claimed to be and failed, Loki would be fully judged as a traitor to Asgard, and as his wife, Silbhé would share his fate (which, we'd been told, was likely to be worse than death... because when your daughter is the Queen of the Dead, such threats tend to lose their power... or something like that).

We were also informed that Jane was being given a chance to become a citizen of Asgard as well as a bride (Thor's obviously) but only if she managed to create a bridge between our world and theirs (one that was not the already existing one) before Thor became King. And that was also how she ended working in a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, with all kinds of resources and assistants (because it was convenient for the organization to stay on the good side of the only woman who understood things like the connection between worlds, and such... and also had the potential of being the next Queen of the gods...).

The change also meant that Jane no longer needed me as her intern (she had a whole team of them, all of them far better prepared to assist her). However, it's a good thing I never actually expected to be free of S.H.I.E.L.D., because as it turned out that was never in the cards.

I had just finished packing all my stuff and was considering how exactly I was supposed to get to either Santa Fe or Albuquerque so I could find a proper airport and fly from there to home... or my mother's home at least, when Agent pretty much invited himself into the trailer, sat down, took a folder out of his briefcase, and informed me he'd some papers in need of my signature. I honestly thought it was just more of the Confidentiality and Top-Secret forms, the if-you-talk-we-will-make-you-disappear kind that S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed to like so much; it was until I was halfway through scrawling my signature at the bottom of one of them that I finally read what it said; they weren't confidentiality forms, they were contracts, for a job... a real job.

As it turned out, Phil Coulson was apparently in need of an assistant, and god-knows-why, he decided I was the perfect person for the job. Since I actually was in need of a job, and not even the mess with the huge killer-robot had cured me of my desire for adventure, I said yes. And while there were moments when I thought I must have been crazy for actually signing those documents, I never actually regretted it.

I didn't actually get to attend S.H.I.E.L.D.'s version of Hogwarts, at all; instead I was tutored in whatever areas I was missing something. As it turned out I was better than any possible tutor when it came to history and computer sciences (I am a hacker, of course!). Phil insisted that I took the courses necessary to major in both, so I would have more backing, and I agreed, if only because I could take the courses online, while continuing with other things. The part of lying and pretending was easy enough, and Phil had no problem teaching me to strategize (one learns a lot about such things reading about Roman history and such). Science (actual science) was beyond me, but it wasn't like I needed to know everything, so that was alright.

The first true problem came when learning hand to hand. I was just a bit too... top-heavy, so-to-speak, for most styles... and then there were the instructors who kept getting distracted by my boobs when they ought to have been teaching me how to fight! In the end Phil called in a favor and the Black Widow herself came in to teach me. By the end of the first session she had swept the floor with me half a dozen times, I'd managed to avoid a few of her hits in a row, and she was asking me to call her Natasha.

The next problem I faced came when I was sent to learn firearms. I cannot shoot a gun, simply cannot, period. I hate guns, so much... a simulation proved that even in a dangerous situation my hands simply refused to do it. Some swore that there was no way I could be a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent like that... until Phil offered me a different kind of gun. It looked like any normal handgun I'd seen the other S.H.I.E.L.D. minions handling, except it was somewhat lighter, and the handle felt like leather. As I found out after shooting with it for the first time, the handle was actually leather, and instead of shooting bullets, the gun shot electricity; it was like a modified taser. (and later versions of it actually allowed me to choose the voltage I wanted to shoot... the difference between stunning someone or actually frying him).

And just like that, by the end of the summer I was a certified Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. I didn't actually have a clearance level assigned because someone (coughFurycough) refused to give me a badge with a Level 8, even though, as Phil's PA it was quite obvious I would end up seeing most if not all that he did, all that was meant for that level. At first it was a joke, and in the end it became part of my rank. People began calling me a Shadow in S.H.I.E.L.D., I had no real badge, no official rank, but I could get everywhere and into anything with no trouble at all (even some things that were above Phil's rank sometimes...). As I wasn't there officially I also didn't have to deal with the bunch of bastards known as the WSC (which was well and good in my book), Phil hated that he couldn't ignore them like I did.

In my new job I got to travel, meet a lot of people. It was actually Stark who created the second version of my taser-gun. And eventually another gun joined my arsenal, invented years later by members of Phil's new team: they called it an I.C.E.R., which shot some sort of dendrotoxin capable of knocking out anyone... even metas and 'augmented' individuals. It was awesome! Though that came much later.

It took a year for Silbhé and Loki (or Luka as everyone but those in the know knew him) to finish 'educating' all current Agents and assets on everything mythology and history related that could be connected somehow to Asgard or any of the other realms we'd made aware of. The revelation of that existence wasn't actually made public, not even inside S.H.I.E.L.D. itself, which would explain why most agents thought it was all fairytales and didn't understand why they had to learn all about it in the first place.

After that year was over the couple were moved to the New York base, under the supervision of Fury's own second in command: Sub-Director Maria Hill. Supposedly Fury had decided he wanted the Hveðrungrs close in case anything happened. For the most part Luka worked teaching the odd class in the Empire State University, consulting for students doing post-grad work in his areas of study, and aiding in the odd S.H.I.E.L.D. operation. Silbhé for her part wrote articles for various magazines, books, newspapers, did a bit of consulting herself, and assisted her husband when necessary. There was also the mythology course they gave every new generation of S.H.I.E.L.D. baby-agents once a a year.

At first they would do it in each Academy at a time, until a question came up. Why not putting them all together? After all, they were all part of S.H.I.E.L.D., shouldn't they all meet at some point or something? As it turned out, the answer was no, as in it had never occurred to any of them. Most of the times S.H.I.E.L.D. kept their Agents restricted to their respective areas of specialty: specialists working on the field, scientists in their labs, techs in their own labs, etc. Taking Luka's question as a starting point Phil proposed that was changed, and that was pretty much where his new team came from.

"We know you're there Darcy." Loki called from the front of the classroom right then.

I just smiled as I stepped out of the corner. It's not like I was hiding from him, from them, I knew better than that. The baby-Agents on the other hand...

"I'm actually disappointed that none of the wannabe-minions noticed." I admitted with a shrug as I walked beside them.

Silbhé just rolled her eyes as she lead the way down the hall.

"We find it disappointing as well." Loki agreed. "How can any of them hope to be of any true help when they cannot even notice you standing in a corner; and it's not like you were actually using any special talent to hide there!" He made a pause before adding. "And then there's their lack of interest in what we're here to teach them. While it is understanding that they know not the importance of what is being taught, they should realize that there must be a reason their superiors have deemed this knowledge necessary for them to possess."

"True." I agreed immediately. "However, you must realize that, somehow, even with the mess the Destroyer made of Puente Antiguo, S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to conceal any and all evidence of alien activity in the area. They keep on to their belief that what you're teaching them is nothing but fairytales because they don't know any better."

Loki nodded, though if he was agreeing with me, or something else I did not know, until he spoke again a second later:

"Indeed..." He declared." Let us just hope that when the day comes and they know better, they won't be in the middle of a battle for their lives."

"That sounds very foreboding Luka..." I muttered, eyes narrowing. "Know something we lowly mortals do not, do you?"

The question was serious, though the 'lowly mortals' comment was meant just in jest, and they both knew it. It was a running joke among us.

"You know as well as I do, sister mine, that I cannot know such things." He replied with a small smile. "However..." He turned to look at his wife half-worried. "Nightingale has been getting restless lately, Rose as well... Rose has actually been having dreams. If they're portentous or not, we know not, and yet..."

"You have a bad feeling." I finished for him.

"We hate to make decisions based on feelings, but at this moment it is all we have to go on." Loki admitted with a sigh.

"We will do whatever we have to to keep them safe, to keep all of you safe, you know that, right?" I began the sentence as a statement, yet ended it as a question.

"We know." Loki answered.

Silbh'e just nodded beside him at the same time.

"Aunty Darcy!" The new voice got all of us out of our funk almost instantly.

I hadn't even realized when exactly all three of us had made it all the way to the waiting room where Kathryn and little Rose (all of four years old) had been waiting for us. Kathryn, while fully recognized as an Agent by S.H.I.E.L.D., mostly worked behind a desk, as well as homeschooling Rose in the mornings. Little Rose was also my god-daughter.

Rose, full name Rose Alfdis Salani Hveðrungr was a miracle in every sense of the word. I would never forget the morning in New Mexico that September, I'd just finished my intensive training to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent (an Agent, not a minion) and had dropped by New Mexico to visit my friends before beginning official duties as Phil's new PA. We'd had a lovely breakfast prepared by Silbhé (pancakes and cocoa were at the top of the apparently rather short list of things she could cook without burning anything or setting things on fire), when she suddenly began swaying, Loki had barely made it to her side when she fainted. In the hospital we learnt that not only was she pregnant, but because of the cancer still in her blood the pregnancy was so risky the doctors were all recommending it to be terminated. (And the only reason Loki didn't go ballistic on everyone right then and there was because every single doctor had stated it was for Silbhé's own safety). In the end Silbhé refused to have an abortion, she had never expected to have a child, especially since she apparently knew the odds well enough; but after learning she was with child... she was willing to put everything, even her own life, on the line for that child.

Such sacrifices weren't necessary in the end. We received an unexpected visit, from a woman who's whispered greeting of 'Mother' by Loki was enough to describe; and even if I hadn't known that, I'm quite sure that her presence alone would have been enough to clue me into the fact that the Queen of the gods was standing in the room. She gave Silbhé a goblet of something to drink, I knew not what it was. Loki just told us that it would give his Nightingale enough strength to get through the pregnancy and give birth to their child without putting the lives of either in danger. It worked. On the Spring Equinox of the following year, the little girl was born.

I was rather surprised when asked to be godmother, especially when I was informed that they'd picked Phil to be the godfather; our relationship back then was that of friends, very good friends, but still nothing more than that. Phil was dating a cellist in Washington called Audrey, he was so convinced she was the one he'd actually filed the forms necessary to reveal to her the truth about his job... however, things seemed to have become rather tense since then. I knew I had feelings for Phil even back then, though I didn't allow myself to look too closely at them, he was a taken man and I wasn't a home-wrecker. So I was his friend.

Rose's naming ceremony took place nine days after her birth, as was tradition in Asgard. Phil and I also filled the papers that would legally make us her guardians if anything ever happened to Silbhé and Loki. On that front it was explained to us that while Jane was as good as Rose's aunt (for her, unofficial, betrothal to Thor), if anything were to ever happen, Rose would be safer with us, the two also trusted us with their child, which was both the hugest compliment ever and also extremely humbling.

So I became Rose's godmother which, as Loki informed me, automatically made me part of the family (hence he and Silbhé calling me 'sister', just like they did Jane).

"Hey Little Rose!" I greeted my god-daughter brightly, sweeping her off the ground and twirling her around.

She laughed her twinkling laugh... so much like her mother's used to be... it was probably the thing I missed the most of her, even if I hadn't heard it much.

"Is Uncle Phil coming tonight?" Rose asked when I stopped twirling.

"Not tonight, but soon." I promised her with a smile.

"Is uncle Phil away fighting the monsters?" She asked with a pouty smile.

"Of course." I answered immediately, smiling at her innocent way of looking at things. "You know Uncle Phil is a valiant warrior..."

"The most valiant of all!" She crowed with another laugh.

"More valiant that me?" Loki called dramatically, taking Rose into his arms and swinging her around playfully.

"But you're not a Warrior papa!" Rose replied, never stopping her laughter.

Rose knew who her father was, who both her parents were, of course, how could she not? Even as young as she was, she'd begun manifesting already: small bursts of magic here and there, and then there was her obvious fascination with fire... I was sure that if she turned out to be an elemental, she would be pyrokinetic; Loki found it hard, as his elemental power was ice, because of his Jotun nature, and while Rose seemed to have inherited more from her mother than her father, her natural eyes looked enough like those of Loki's Jotun form (though, with magic, she could shift them into looking chocolate brown rather than the strange mix of red-orange and black that was her natural shade).

So Rose knew about her dad being the Norse god Loki, and also that only family and close friends were to know that secret, so others would call him Luka; she also knew what that meant for her (both with him being a Jotun, a Sorcerer, and a Prince); however, she'd never seen her dad fight; and that, somehow, was enough for her to consider it an impossibility. Loki seemed to prefer it like that, anyway.

And Phil... he really was out there, somewhere in the world, fighting the 'monsters', the menaces that most S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents would never be able to deal with; with his special team.

It had begun two years earlier; three years after I first became Phil's assistant, almost two after we began dating, and but a few months after we were actually married...

Things had finally gone south with Audrey months after Rose's birth; she just couldn't handle not knowing where he was or if he was even safe (or alive) most of the time. I was his friend, there to offer comfort, support, somehow that turned into a 'friends with benefits' situation, and it kind'a evolved from there. Though I still think Tony and Rose were to blame for a lot of it, especially when he finally popped the question.

We were married in a small, private (civil) ceremony, with only our closest friends in attendance; which somehow included Tony and Pepper Stark, they themselves had married months after the mess with A.I.M. and Extremis, and already had a daughter: Victoria (Vika) Mariah Potts Stark; Nick Fury, Steve Rogers (aka Captain America), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) and of course Jane, Kathryn, Loki, Silbhé and Rose.

I was called into Fury's office at a quite ungodly hour. The only thing that had stopped me ranting at him was the pleading look in Phil's eyes as he looked at me from one of the couches in the sitting-room area of Fury's huge office (which was already enough to raise red flags in my mind regarding whatever was coming).

It turned out that Fury had been planning to kill off Phil (not literally) so he could go off grid and work on getting rid of an emerging group intent on creating new super-soldiers: Centipede. While people wanting to replicate Erskine's serum wasn't new, no one before had come as close as that particular group seemed to be. Somehow they had gotten their dirty hands either on a sample of Extremis or at least enough information to replicate it (the volatile non-Stark-approved version of it), as well as a bunch of other things, including what Loki had confirmed was an alloy not from our planet, probably something left behind during the last inter-dimensional war... that or someone other than the God of Mischief and Lies had been visiting our planet, unnoticed, in the last eleven centuries or so...

So the group was a risk, one S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to handle; and yet it was as if they could always see us coming (I'd been with Phil in one of those missions). So Fury got the idea of making it seem like Phil had died and then send him and a hand-picked group of agents after Centipede and their allies, directly. Only Fury himself would be aware of the team (and maybe Hill), no one else would know a thing about them.

That was all well and good, except for the part where Phil knew I would never sit back and just buy it that my husband had been killed in a black ops mission. I couldn't go with him, much as I might have liked it. Like Fury said, someone would need to pick on Phil's old duties, and I was the best person for the job. It was then that 'unranked, unofficial' status as a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent became especially useful, as I became the actual contact between Fury and Phil's new team. I would be the only one to know where they were at any given time, and the only way for either side to contact the other.

Fury also decided to take that chance to test Loki's and Phil's proposal of a mixed team. This wasn't like most missions, the team couldn't count on being able to go to the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. base to conduct research, get backup or consult as was needed; they would have to make do with the people actually in their team, unless some kind of emergency happened.

There actually was one such emergency, about six months or so into their mission. When some insane bitch called Raina kidnapped Phil, under the belief that he had truly died and somehow been revived; her boss, the Clairvoyant wanted to have that kind of power/technology, and thought Phil would be able to tell him... except there was no such thing, because Phil had never truly been dead.

The worst part was that Fury didn't have the balls to tell me himself what had happened (he got an earful from me afterwards because of that). No, I found out because of Skye... because of the bracelet blocking her from hacking (I was the one who created it, and was the one looking over everything she did while wearing it). Phil hadn't wanted to give up on her just yet, and I fully approved of his decision. I noticed when she tried to access highly classified information for the umpteenth time in 24 hours, and it was enough to raise my suspicions. After that all I needed was to do a quick sweep of the missions taking place, several supervised directly by Victoria Hand herself raised red flags in my head; her getting involved in the war against Centipede had never been part of the plan, which meant that someone else had gotten her in... someone who hadn't known to call me instead. After that I took the first available Stark jet (being his handler and friend and almost-adopted-daughter had its perks) and reached the command center right as Hand was about to kick Skye out of the Bus, the mission and the team. I got there just in time to hear a rather motivating speech for the young woman in fact:

"I know I'm not some bad-ass field agent like May or Ward, but this is what I do." She declared quite strongly. "You can't just kick me off this mission. Listen, I will do whatever you say. All this protocol crap doesn't matter to me. All that matters to me is Coulson."

"Well, 'all this protocol crap' matters to me." Hand retorted in a rather condescending tone. "You're a distraction, and you're gone."

It looked like Agent Grant Ward was actually about to speak up, hopefully in Skye's favor; however, I chose to announce my presence instead and take over things myself.

"You should be careful what you say and in front of whom you say it, Agent Hand." I told her in my most blank tone (learnt from Phil and Kathryn). "Some people might think you just don't care about your colleagues."

Hand reacted instantly, spinning around and looking me up and down, dismissing me just as fast, I just rolled my eyes.

"Who are you?" She asked, suspiciously.

She knew I wasn't one of hers, therefore didn't understand why I was there, or how...

"Agent Darcy Lewis." I informed her stoically. "I'm here to relieve you of your post."

That certainly shocked everyone present.

"You cannot do that!" She snapped. "What authority have you to do that. I am Level 8... show me your badge Agent."

I promptly did as bid, knowing what she would see there, and what her reaction would be... maybe I'd been spending too long in Loki's company, and Tony's, but I so enjoyed messing with people's heads... still do.

"This badge doesn't show any rank whatsoever, Agent, if you even are one at that." She said darkly. "You have no authority here."

From the corner of my eye I could see Melinda stiffen; we'd never met personally, but I was sure she must at least have had an inkling as to who I was, still she did nothing.

"I do not have a rank, because I do not need one, Agent Hand." I told her quietly but with all the authority I could muster. "I am Darcy Lewis-Coulson, more than an Agent, I am the Shadow of S.H.I.E.L.D. If there is someone here who has no authority over the other, that is you. Now, since you've already demonstrated your utter lack of concern for Phil's welfare, and a despicable lack of respect for his team, I will take the responsibility off your shoulders. I relieve you of your command, and of this mission; you are to take your people and get off this Bus. Now!"

I never actually raised my voice much, it wasn't necessary. Hand had realized who exactly I was from the moment the word 'Shadow' was used; the existence of such an Agent had been gossip all around S.H.I.E.L.D. since my appointment, the fact that I answered to only three people in the entire organization: Fury, Hill and Coulson (and more out of respect than anything else). She knew she had no authority to challenge my order.

The moment all the minions finished rushing out of the plane I hit the button to close the ramp before spinning around to face the team, all of who were watching me with a bit of nervousness and excitement.

"Now, if this team is good and ready to find Phil..." I commented. "Lets get moving people!"

"Wheels up in five." May announced before turning and leaving for the cockpit.

"You're not going to send me away?" Skye blurted out nervously.

"Skye..." Ward began.

"Whyever would I do that?" I asked, honestly puzzled.

"Well, Hand didn't seem to like me, neither did any of the other Agents that invaded the Bus in the last hours, either." Skye answered with a shrug.

"You don't mind the minions." I deadpanned. "Few of them are capable of seeing a true treasure when it stands before them."

My very blasé comment startled a laugh out of the young woman, though it didn't really set her at ease; I was still an unknown.

"I know exactly who you are Skye." I assured her. "And I know that if anyone stands a chance of finding Phil soon, it's you... I hope you won't mind the help..."

"But this..." She gestured to her bracelet.

"I will override it for the time being." I informed her as we began walking to the command center. "I cannot take it off, only Phil can do that. But I can allow you to hack as much as is necessary until we find him and he takes care of that."

"You said you were a hacker too...?" Ward inquired, walking after us.

"Yes." I smirked. "TaserNinja, pleased to meet you..."

"Taser...?" Skye repeated, baffled. "You're the Taser?! You're the Queen of Hackers?!"

I just laughed. And then, the best of all:

"Wait a second." One of the scientists, Fitz called right then. "You introduced yourself as Lewis-Coulson, why was that?"

"Are you related to Agent Coulson?" His other half, Simmons, asked almost at the same time.

"Yeah..." I couldn't help the smirk as I dropped the bombshell on them. "I'm his wife..."

Just like I had expected: Skye tracked down Phil's most likely location barely a couple of hours later, and with barely any help for me. I knew she would feel good achieving something like that on her own, so instead I focused on following the minor leads she came across, managing to point out a number of Centipede hideouts which I then sent to Fury on an encrypted message; he could handle the clean-up of the secondary locations himself.

After the rescue, and a well-deserved week dedicated for R&R the team went on to continue their mission; though by then they all had my contact information and knew to call me if there ever was an emergency of any sort.

And because life sucks for us, sometimes. The emergency didn't take that long to happen: Skye was shot twice in the stomach by the bastard Ian Quinn. I knew the young woman, loved her like a little sister, I also knew Phil saw her almost like a daughter... I had felt especially connected since I'd been helping Phil find out about her parents. The good thing in all was that they knew what to do: call me. I then talked to Silbhé, whom we'd recently discovered had the gift to heal, and together we went to save Skye.

Almost a year to the day Phil had been 'declared dead' in preparation for his team's formation I got another call, this time so I would ask Silbhé and Loki directly for help, as their newest case involved an object that was believed to be of Asgardian origin: the Berserker staff. It was that day that the team truly got to meet the little family Phil and I considered our closest friends...

And after one more year leading such a life, we'd come to that moment. It was a good thing Phil and I had no doubt whatsoever about each other's feelings, otherwise out relationship would have never survived the long periods of separation and the constant danger our jobs kept us in (he with his team, me as handler to so many wannabe heroes it wasn't even funny... I had no idea how he'd done it... even if half of those would-be heroes hadn't risen until after he'd had to leave his old post for the new one; and at least they had all known me before as Phil's PA and therefore trusted me, so it wasn't like I didn't have a certain advantage on that front.

We were all still together as we got on the small golf-car-like vehicle used to move from the underground level of S.H.I.E.L.D. offices to the apartment building (even in the outskirts of New York it was far easier than trying to do so out in the street in a normal car). We all had dinner together in the Hveðrungr home; they insisted on it whenever Phil wasn't in town and I had no plans on dining with Jane, which had become increasingly rare as the astrophysicist put all her effort in opening that 'doorway' into Asgard. She had advanced so much, practically by leaps and bounds in the first year; until she had hit a wall (metaphorically); she could open windows into the Abyss (which Loki warned her off, as it was quite dangerous and she could end up calling the attention of the wrong kind of power), but she just couldn't find a way to make the other end reach Asgard rather than empty space... It frustrated her more and more as time passed. She began fearing she might not be able to finish her test in time...

After dinner I hung back for a while, not too keen on returning to my empty apartment (the longer Phil spent away the more depressed I began feeling at being alone... it was why he hardly ever spent more than two weeks away at a time). Eventually it was Rose's bedtime and after assisting her parents with the nightly bedtime story I prepared to leave for the night.

"Goodnight guys..." I said as I kissed their cheeks on my way out.

"Have a good night, sister." Loki nodded.

Silbhé smiled at me, as she signed her own goodnight to me...

It was the truth, the truth everyone knew even if so few knew the true reason why: Silbhé could not speak... the Nightingale had lost her voice. And I knew, was one of the few people who did; and I could still remember how we'd found out:

It had been over an hour since Loki and Silbhé had been guided into the conference room in the S.H.I.E.L.D. post that had been built around Mj...Mewmew, even if the hammer was no longer around, the post would remain until the Agents were ready to leave. Kathryn Salani had just arrived too. Apparently she had rented a car in Santa Fe after arriving in the plane, made her way to Puente Antiguo, then walked to the first suit she identified and demanded to be taken to whoever was in charge; which happened to be Phil, who realized who she was the moment Kathryn recited her full name.

Those same minions had initially taken Loki and Silbhé to what passed as a holding cell there, something that Loki hadn't liked at all. Only Silbhé's soothing touch managed to calm him down... and the dressing down Phil gave the minions for doing something like that to someone who was, effectively, a visiting diplomat.

Loki explained everything that had happened after Thor and the others' trip to Asgard. Whenever a question was asked, as long as it wasn't of personal nature he answered, even those directed to Silbhé. People began believing he was hiding something, that he refused to let her speak for whatever the reason, some said he just liked the sound of his own voice too much... idiots. In the end they simply believed that Loki's excessive talking was the reason of Silbhé silence, rather than the consequence... until she showed them the truth.

Even five years later, most of those who knew Silbhé, who knew that she couldn't speak, believed that her scarf was meant to hide some terrible scar that crossed her throat, that was the reason for her lack of speech. Especially those who have seen her train at least once, either in hand to hand or with her knives, thought like that. Truth is, the scarf did hide the reason for her inability to speak, only it's not a wound, or a scar... it's a collar.

I first saw it that day, when Fury (who had arrived shortly after Loki, Silbhé and Kathryn, wanting to be there in person to hear the report of everything) demanded to know why he would not allow his wife the chance to speak. I will never forget the deep, absolute despair that colored Loki's voice as he answered:

"Because she can't! The Allfather has punished her for my crimes, my Nightingale cannot sing, she cannot even speak anymore."

To illustrate the fact Silbhé had pulled the scarf off, showing everyone in the room the snug collar she had around her neck, it was magical, it blocked her voice from coming out. And it wasn't the only thing, Loki had a collar around his own neck, except his prevented him from accessing his magic, it was still there, he just could use it. The only way the two collars would ever come off was if Thor managed to pass his test and removed them himself. Otherwise they would remain like that for the rest of their lives...

Everyone present was absolutely horrified when learning how far Odin Allfather was willing to go to punish someone, even (especially!) his own son... it helped us understand why Loki held the supposed King of Asgard under such contempt; we couldn't help but feel the same... The most surprising of all, though, was Silbhé's declaration: relayed by her through sign-language, as well as Loki translating (S.H.I.E.L.D. would later get a translator of their own to confirm it):

"+I do not regret it!+" She declared strongly. "+I did what I did because it was the only way I could protect my match. The things the Allfather would have done if he'd been the only one he could take his anger out on... it deeply terrifies me just to consider it. So yes, this happened to me, because I offered myself, I offered to do anything, any sacrifice, for him, to stand by him. This was the price, losing my voice. And I shall not regret it! I shall never regret standing by the person I love with all my heart and soul...+"

I knew she was honest when saying that she didn't regret standing by her husband, but I also knew she missed singing, and that Loki missed hearing her sing. At least they still had her flute, it wasn't much, but it was something...

I went to bed that night in the same manner I did whenever I had to sleep alone. What I wasn't expecting was when I felt a pair of strong hands moving me softly in the early morning (before dawn probably), to what was technically my side of the bed. For a few seconds I didn't process what was going on, what with the voice whispering in my ear to go back to sleep... until the conscious part of my mind processed the fact that there was no reason I should be hearing anyone, not when I was supposed to be alone...

My eyes snapped open then, meeting the blue-gray ones I knew so well, as they belonged to my husband of two years. My husband who's face twisted into a sheepish smile when he noticed I'd woken, despite his attempts at moving me without waking me; yet I didn't care about any of that in that moment. All I cared about was him, he was there, with me...

"Phil!" I cried out in absolute delight, throwing my arms around his neck and pulling his mouth to mine in a passionate kiss.

It wasn't dawn and the day was already looking like the best I'd had in a while...

xXx Nightingale's POV xXx

When you lose the one thing that has defined you for so long, do you simply stop being who and what you were? Do you redefine yourself, become someone else entirely? Or do you find a way to hold onto that identity you once created for yourself? Can a Nightingale still be called such when she no longer has a voice with which to sing her songs? Is a Sorcerer still one even if his magic has been taken from him? What defines us truly, our powers or our decisions?

From the moment Odin said he would spare my beloved's life if we were willing to make the 'required sacrifices' I knew what would come would in no way be pleasant. His almost diabolical expression was enough of a warning that whatever the so-called King was planning, it wouldn't be good. Loki's magic wasn't that surprising, for either of us, Lady Frigg put her foot down when he suggested stripping my match of all his power, she realized doing that would kill us both, as his strength as a mortal would never be able to support us, not with the sickness that forever ran in my veins... Odin must have known that too, which places a whole new layer of cruelty and maliciousness in his decision-making... At least we had the Queen on our side.

But in the end, Odin demanding for Loki's magic to be sealed wasn't really a surprise. The magic was too much part of Loki's nature, so it couldn't be taken away (unless he was to go full-out, like he'd originally implied), so instead it was sealed in such a way that it was still a part of my love, he just could not access it.

What neither of us was expecting, was what he chose to demand of me.

"My voice?" I was so shocked I almost stuttered.

"Yes, indeed." Odin was sporting a self-satisfied smirk as he said that. "You are addressed as Nightingale, though I do not believe that was the name you were born with."

He made a pause as if waiting for an answer, for more personal information, but I refused to give it to him, I refused to give him anything he might use against me, against us.

"There must be a reason for that name." He went on eventually. "I believe it is your voice. So, if you really are willing to do anything for Loki, you will surrender your voice."

I could sense the fury burning inside Loki, knew he was going to do something rash and risky unless I stopped me, so I did.

"I will do it." I announced.

The shocked silence was telling, no one was expecting that... especially not Odin.

"I will not give you my voice." I clarified. "I know enough about you, your ways, I will not allow you to use my voice to torture my match further. But I will allow something to be used to stop my voice from being heard."

There was a minute twitch in his expression, hardly noticeable at all, yet I saw it, I knew I was right in my assumption of his intentions.

"Nightingale..." Loki whispered, caressing my cheek, his face twisted in pain. "You do not have to do this, my love..."

"But I do." I moved my face into his caress. "They don't believe I love you enough... but I will show them. We will show them, my Maverick." I returned the caress. "I know you love me for more than my voice, just like I love you for more than your magic. There is more to us than what the Allfather wishes to take away. This love... it's absolute, unbreakable, eternal..."

"I swear that the day I become King, I will return what is yours, brother, sister." Thor called from the other side of the room in a solemn tone.

I nodded, I believed him, I had too...

With that, I embraced my love one more time, buring my face in his neck as I whispered-sang one line from the last song I'd composed for him, which I'd sung for him in our wedding:

"When I found you I was blessed

And I will never leave you

I need you…"

Those were the last words I got to say out loud. The moment I stood straight before Odin he waved his hand in my direction, I could feel the pressure around my throat, almost like I couldn't breathe... my mouth dropped open against my own will, a small cry wanting to escape, except not a sound would come out... my voice was gone, trapped...

It wasn't easy. It wasn't just my ability to sing that I lost, I truly couldn't pronounce a single word. Couldn't talk to people, greet them, give class, ask for help, laugh... as it turned out I surrendered a lot more than my songs when I gave up my voice, it was a part of my own self, of my life and even my independence. I could not be a true Agent for S.H.I.E.L.D., couldn't even give a class on my own, not when I couldn't speak it. Still, there was no denying that I was the best in my specialties. The only one with that combination even, so S.H.I.E.L.D. still insisted on having me.

The official version in the organization, and even to the public, was that I had lost my voice under top-secret circumstances. Most Agents had taken that to mean that I'd been part of some black ops mission or something like that (especially those who had heard at least some of the rumors about New Mexico, as it was no secret I'd been there). Those who had seen me practice my hand to hand, or throwing my knives at least once were especially convinced about that version of the story; of course, none of them knew the truth about my husband, or his father...

It had been Loki's decision to help giving the classes when it became obvious that even if I handled all the material and checked the assignments we still needed someone to actually speak during the classes themselves. He claimed not to mind... and I know that at least a part of him believed it was something he needed to do, as it was his fault I'd lost my voice in the first place (I tried to convince him that wasn't true, but he was just too stubborn).

I wouldn't actually complain about my life, there's been too much good in it for that. Losing my voice didn't stop me from making a career (in and out of S.H.I.E.L.D.), there were grad-students always sending me e-mails, asking me to help supervise their work, magazines willing and even offering to publish my articles, and such. There were also the few people who made the effort of learning sign-language and were quite enthusiastic about having long conversations with me, even if only they spoke out-loud, or sometimes not even that.

Darcy was one such person. Jane's once intern somehow became one of my and Loki's closest friends. One of maybe a handful of people who never blamed my love about what happened in New Mexico, never feared or rejected him. She was the first person to learn sign-language, aside from my own aunt, who'd chosen to learn it years before to help her as a nurse (Darcy actually already knew a few words and phrases, as she'd been curious at some point, or so she claimed). She quickly got used to signing everything even as she said it out-loud.

It was probably that good disposition and willingness to learn which made both Phil Coulson (who became another close friend) and Nick Fury (the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and apparently old acquaintance/colleague/partner/friend/something-else of my Aunt Kathryn) decide to make Darcy into our handler/liaison. Still, it was the bonds of friendship that made Loki and I decide to ask both her and Phil to be Rose's godparents when she was born.

It was nothing against Jane. Even though she spent almost every waking hour of every day researching and working, trying to open a way to Asgard, Loki and I still did our best to spend at least a little time with her every day, and at least eat all together once or twice a week. She was to be family, already was as far as we were concerned.

Things had gotten especially complicated when Jane's research hit a wall (figuratively). I could still remember the first time a 'Foster Window' had been activated, 15 months or so after the beginning of her research. Originally the first-run was supposed to happen six-months earlier, but one of the assistants had noticed something off and Agents had been called to sweep the place from top to bottom. What they found was enough to make anyone's blood run cold: explosive devices were set all around where the window was supposed to open, rigged to go off a number of seconds after it was activated, and using the very energy powering it. That kind of explosion, the kind of loss it would have caused...

It took six months to go over everything again and finally convince everyone it was a good idea to give the window another try. It was the only reason Loki and I were actually present when the window opened; we hadn't been there during the cancelled-attempt as I'd been giving birth to our daughter, Rose; on the second try she was being looked after by Aunt Kathryn while we were there and ready to help.

Loki was the first to realize what it was we were seeing through the device: it was all very dark, but it wasn't just any darkness, it was the darkness of the abyss!

"Close it!" Loki practically roared.

The techs all turned to look either at him or at Jane, neither moving or doing anything really, so unsure of if they should follow the orders of a man they hardly knew. Darcy knew better, even if she did not know what made Loki so on edge, she understood there must be a reason and reacted accordingly, rushing to the master switch and pulling it down immediately.

The energy was cut off and the window vanished, with no few sparks, which made more than a few flinch, especially as they waited for their boss's reaction. However, she didn't say a word, she just turned to Loki, who was gesticulating a lot as he spoke to me, even if they couldn't hear him I was sure they must realize just by his stance that something was wrong... I had realized it even before he said a word.

"Everyone out!" Darcy snapped loudly.

All the people in the room turned to look at her, confused, but none of them obeyed, not until Jane seconded the order, still confused by what was going on, but recognizing, just as Darcy did, that something was, indeed, going on.

In the end only Darcy, Jane, Phil, Loki and I remained in the room.

"Cut the video feed." Loki ordered more than asked.

It was a good thing that they'd come to trust us in the last year and a half, as Phil did as told, no questions asked. The moment it was confirmed my husband turned to look at me and nodded.

I didn't need anything else to be said, I went to stand before the frame where the window formed. The moment I got close enough I raised my hand, palms wide open in the direction and the began focusing. My match stood behind me, hands on my arms as he chanted under his breath.

It was something no one could have expected; I was especially sure Odin didn't, otherwise he would have done something to stop it. Loki was unable to use his own magic, but the same could not be said for me. Since Loki's magic was tightly entwined with his life-force we shared the former as surely as we shared the later. Loki had been training me on it from the moment we first noticed his magic lighting up my fingers about halfway through my pregnancy. During those months it was mostly just meditation and learning to feel the magic, see it as a part of me. After Rose was born and I recovered from the hard labor (even with Lady Frigg's help, it was hard), we began to truly practice.

Still, since it wasn't really my magic, I needed a sort of reminder of what I was doing, an anchor, words... I couldn't speak, I had begun having trouble hearing my voice even inside my own mind (though I knew not if that was because of Odin's 'punishment', or purely psychological). I needed to hear the words, so Loki would stand behind me, touching me in some way so I would focus on him, and he would say the words to guide the magic... our magic.

I did magic for him, and he spoke for me... (it was why he said 'we' so much, instead of I, even when I didn't sign things, he knew me as well as I knew myself).

In that moment what was needed was quite hard and very specific. Still, like Loki had taught me, magic was about intent, about bending what Jane called the 'laws of physics' to suit our purpose. She, Thor and many others might say that magic was just science that couldn't explained yet; but it was more. Or at least Loki's magic was, much more.

It took a while (I wouldn't be able to tell just how long). But eventually we managed to erase all trace of the window, everything, completely. When we were done I felt so tired, as if I'd spent hours and hours doing every spell I'd ever been taught.

The moment we were done I went boneless, too exhausted to so much as stay standing anymore, it was only thanks to Loki that I didn't collapse to the ground in a heap; he held me up before scooping me in his arms and carrying me out of the lab and into the sitting room closest to it, where he sat on a couch, with me still cradled in his arms.

For almost a few minutes nothing happened, I was unaware of anything that wasn't my match holding me, didn't even notice our friends (our family) had followed us until one spoke:

"Will someone explain to me what the hell just happened back there?" Darcy blurted out.

She dropped carelessly onto the winged chair closest to us; Jane and Phil following, sitting on another couch, opposite from us.

"What she said." Jane agreed.

Phil just nodded, not saying a word, he was just observing us.

"Jane, you must promise us, you must swear to us, that until you find a way to choose where the other side of the window will open, you will not open another one." Loki stated grimly.

"Why?" Jane wanted to know. "What happened? What went wrong? I thought the window was opening quite well, eve if we ended up just taking a look into empty space."

"What you call empty space, we call the Abyss." Loki clarified. "And it's not quite as empty as humans would believe."

"You mean there are living creatures in space?" Darcy was shocked by the revelation. "I thought that was impossible."

"It's not easy, that's for sure." Loki nodded grimly. "Not anyone can survive in such a desolate and harsh environment. Myth has it that back in the time before the existence of the 9 Realms, before Yggdrassil itself came to be, Titans existed, in the nothingness of the Abyss."

"Titans?" Our two 'sisters' inquired, confused.

"I haven't read about any titans in Norse mythology..." Phil commented, thoughtful.

"That's because there are no Titans in Norse mythology." Loki answered solemnly. "That does not mean they don't exist, though..."

I called his attention with a poke to his shoulder before signing quickly:

+There are Titans in Greek mythology. If some of the characters from one mythology are true, who says some from others don't exist somewhere too?+

"So, you believe that these titans existed in the Abyss in some ancient times?" Jane summarized.

"It's more than that." Phil declared, looking carefully at my match's expression.

"I believe at least one still dwells there." Loki answered somberly. "Thanos, the Mad Titan, He-Who-Courts-Death..." He shook his head. "Even in Asgard he's but a myth, though I... we truly believe he does exist, somewhere in the deep recesses of the Abyss..."

"Something tells me that's not good." Darcy murmured.

"It's worse that you could ever imagine." Loki murmured. "The Mad Titan... there is a reason he is called that, even in myths. He believes Death is a true being, a goddess, and wants to court her... by offering her the souls of as many dead as he can manage..."

"Definitely insane." Darcy agreed.

"As long as he remains in the depths of the abyss the threat is minimal, especially as long as he remains ignorant of the reality of this realm. It could take him millennia to even think that there's a reason to want to find Midgard..." Loki went on. "But if he were to see us, see you... he might grow curious..."

"And that would be bad." Darcy guessed.

"We don't mean to offend any of those present, but we seriously doubt the chances of your realm if the Mad Titan were ever to set its eyes on it..." Loki said grimly.

For a few seconds not a word was said, and then.

"Then he will never see us." Jane announced after what seemed like forever. "The Window shall not be activated again until such a time that we can guarantee it will be Asgard on the other side. Until that point it will remain closed."

"So it will be." Phil agreed. "I will get the paperwork ready."

Jane didn't like it, of course she didn't. But she understood the necessity of it. She also put all her effort into finding a way of sending the window to a specific place. That was the research which had kept her busy for over three years (with very little breaks, mostly forced by Darcy, whenever she thought her old boss was too close to burning out). Almost half of the interns gave up along the way, not able to keep up with the hard pace Jane set up; however, some remained, convinced that the answers would be found eventually, and the success would be worth all the hardships. I certainly hoped so, for Jane if for nothing else.

xXx Jane's POV xXx

It was quite early in the morning when I woke up. I was in my bed, which was actually quite rare, with how hard I'd been trying to find a way to open the window straight into Asgard I tended to crash due to exhaustion in whatever chair I happened to be sitting on, rather than go to sleep in my own bed, more often than not.

There had been so little new on that front in the last year that Loki had taken to distracting me by teaching me things from Asgard, arguing that I would need the knowledge when the time came... he was so sure I would find the way to pass my test eventually...

In fact, that was what I'd been doing before going to sleep the previous night, reading a notebook full of notes Loki had made for me, of the most important things I had to learn. I picked the little notebook from where it had fallen beside my bed, it was open on a page that spoke about the people who could gain access into other Realms, and those who needed the invitation of another. Royalty was number one on the list, followed by High Nobles, military leaders, trusted friends and favored subordinates (in that order).

The idea came to my head so abruptly I couldn't help but drop the notebook. There it was, the answer I'd been waiting for all along, right in front of me...

I could hardly focus on anything, going through the motions as I had the fastest shower, dressed, and without even stopping for breakfast (it would have taken too long for the coffee to brew) I rushed out of my S.H.I.E.L.D. issued apartment and to my sibling's...

When he opened the door Loki's hair was mussed and there was a kind of haze in his eyes that gave me a pretty good idea of what he'd been doing; that was, if the light marks all over his chest (he wasn't wearing a shirt and his pants were low on his hips) hadn't been enough to give me an idea. I didn't react to the obvious sign of their sex-lives, really, both Loki and Silbhé were very sensual individuals, and while they were also very private, when they were among those they trusted and considered friends, it wasn't hard to notice the signs. Phil never commented on it (though Darcy and their own private life probably had something to do with that); Darcy tended to make jokes about it, mostly simple and slightly suggestive ones, nothing offensive; Nat and Pepper were others who wouldn't say a word, same about the Banners (Bruce and Betty, both of whom worked for Stark); while Tony and Clint were the ones who were most likely to make dirty jokes, lewd expressions and such (but we all knew them and as long as they didn't forget there was a line, everything was alright).

"So, what brings you to our humble abode this early?" He asked, brow arched.

"I..." It took me a second to straighten my thoughts again, but once I did, they were racing all over again. "The answer... I found the answer."

He didn't say a word, but there was a shift in his eyes, in his expression, it was obvious he knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Why don't you come in?" He offered. "I'm afraid we don't have coffee, but I believe you've had my match's wonderful chocolate..."

I just nodded, my mind still working a mile a minute. I only half noticed when Silbhé stepped out of the room, wearing a robe over her sleep clothes, she threw a shirt to Loki without stopping before moving to the kitchen to begin working on breakfast. Rose came into the kitchen a minute or so later, dressed in her kiddie pjs and playing with the sash of her own robe (I could remember one morning when she'd told her father she wanted a robe like her mama's, because she wanted to be just like her mother... it was the first time I knew I wanted to one day have a daughter myself, a little girl, part me and part Thor...)

"Hey Aunty Jane..." Rose called to me as she climbed on her boosted chair beside me with help of some steps placed there just for her. "You gonna have pancakes with us?"

It hadn't actually been part of my plan, lost as I was in my own discovery, but I just couldn't say no to that sweet face. There were times when I regretted not being Rose's godmother, but I was still her family, still her aunt; and Darcy being her godmother had made her part of the family too, so maybe in the end things were exactly as they should be.

"Yes, I'm having pancakes with you." I nodded. "Is that alright?"

"Yes!" She nodded enthusiastically. "Papa makes the best chocolate-chip pancakes in the whole wide universe, did you know that?"

"No, I did not know that." I admitted with a smile.

Talking with Rose as we waited for Silbhé to fix the chocolate-milk and Loki to prepare the pancakes (with chocolate chips, just like Rose said), helped me get down from the adrenaline rush that had filled me since first becoming aware of the significance of the things written in that particular page of my old notebook; I also began paying more attention to what Loki was saying, probably in answer to something Silbhé had signed (he could sign as well, yet chose to always speak out-loud, as if to compensate for her not being able to...)

"She had the same nightmare again?" He inquired. "The same she's been having every other night for the last month? Yes, it's getting worse..." He paused as Silbhé added other things I couldn't see. "I know not if the dreams are portentous. Mother has the gift of foresight, but then again, she is not my mother by birth... Yes, the mutations, like Destiny... now that's an idea. Think Charles and Erik would be willing to have us over to discuss this personally?" He served the pancakes right then. "I'll phone them later. And depending on what they have to say we might have to warn S.H.I.E.L.D. as well. If this is a sign of things to come we have to be ready."

This time I saw Silbhé when she replied.

+We cannot just tell them our four-year-old daughter dreamed that thousands of grey-skinned humanoid monsters with golden circlets arrived in flying chariots and attacked the Earth!+ She signed almost in a rush, not allowing Rose to see her. +They will never take it seriously!+

"Phil and Darcy will, just because it's us." Loki replied easily. "But still, we're not going to tell them anything until we have confirmation of some kind, that's why I hope we'll be able to talk to Destiny, or even with Charles, one of them might be able to help. You're right that even if neither of us is a precog that doesn't mean Rose isn't. It could be a mutation, the way the magic manifests in her, or any other number of reasons. We need to be sure... especially if we have no way of knowing who the enemy might be or why they would even be coming to Earth..."

I wanted to ask more about what was going on: how long had Rose been having those dreams? How bad were they? Did they really think an army of monsters would be attacking us any moment? Why was that the first time I heard anything about it? Still, it was obvious neither of them wanted to alarm Rose, it must be bad enough for the girl to be having what she thought were nightmares, who knew how she would react if she learnt she was seeing the future...? So instead I decided to focus on other things.

After the overheard conversation between my siblings, breakfast was an easy affair. Silbhé went to help Rose get dressed for the day while I helped Loki with the dishes (I insisted); then Silbhé asked me to look after my niece while she and Loki got dressed. Kathryn was there to pick her up not long after that, ready to begin classes for the day (Rose might have been barely four years old, but she was, I imagined, far beyond her age group, having known how to read and write for almost a year already, and already working basic mathematics, vocabulary, spelling and such; she was also learning the basics of other languages... she was a little genius).

Our trip to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQs passed mostly in silence, it was until we got in the elevator there, that Loki finally spoke.

"We imagine we're going to your lab..." He commented.

"You know..." I realized it right then, it was true, he knew, probably had always known.

"We knew you would find the answer eventually, yes." He nodded with a smirk.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" I couldn't help but demand. "Is that why you gave me that little notebook in the first place?"

"To answer your questions in order." He stated. "You had to find the answer yourself, the test was yours, not ours. The notebook was actually Nightingale's idea, not mine, though I agreed with the principle that it would serve to remind you of the things I taught you of Asgard that were most important for you to remember."

"If you had said something, anything, I would have had an answer long before now..." I couldn't help but criticize him. "I wouldn't have spent the last year feeling so hopeless... like I might never be able to finish the god-damned task!"

"If it had taken you much longer we would have at least given you a clue." He admitted. "This was never meant to torture you sister. You must know, Nightingale and I care too much about you to do that. However, you weren't ready yet... you needed to be ready."

"Ready for what?!" I demanded.

"Asgard." He deadpanned.

+Asgard is not a nice place... not to outsiders like you and I... and even Loki in a way.+ Silbhé signed for me. +Odin will never willingly accept us, not as citizens of Asgard, and especially not as brides for his sons. Though your case is much harder than mine, because you would become not only a citizen and bride, but also Asgard's next queen...+ She made a pause, as if considering her words. +Odin has never liked humans, he considers us lesser beings, it's why others, Aesir, think the same, they believe anyone who isn't one of them is less. The worst kind of racism if you ask me, but anyway. He set the test in the very way he did with one thing in mind: making sure you would never be able to pass it.+

"But I can." I mumbled, confused. "Now that I have the answer I was missing, I can."

"It's one answer he probably never expected you to find." Loki admitted. "What I've been doing, teaching you about Asgard, wasn't exactly planned. I did it because I knew you would need the knowledge when the time came. And because I believed you would pass the test, sooner or later, regardless of the Allfather's wishes."

+Odin is convinced the Earth is far behind, at least compared to where we actually are.+ Silbhé added with a soundless sigh. +We might not have their level of technology, science, and specially the magic, but we're not as primitive as he insists on believing... that is his mistake, and will be his downfall. Once Thor is ready, of course.+

"Thor..." Until that moment I hadn't remembered he had a part to fulfill in the test too.

"That's another reason I didn't just tell you the answer you were missing." Loki pointed out. "In particular after you so easily were able to use the map of Yggdrassil and the Abyss I created for you to form an actual algorithm and guide the other side of the window to the area you wanted. Thor needed the time to be ready to claim the throne."

"And you believe he'll be ready now?" I asked, biting my lip nervously.

The last thing I wanted was to put more pressure on my love if he wasn't.

"I believe we're running out of time." Loki answered honestly.

I knew instantly he wasn't talking about the test, we had at least another half a decade for that; no, he was talking about Rose's dreams, about the possibility of an attack... he really thought it was something that might happen sometime in the near future... Maybe it was a good thing I had found my answer right then... I just hoped Thor was ready too. Something told me my almost-brother was right, we were running out of time.

We reached my lab right then, and then it was time to work. It took almost four hours to finish all preparations before the window could be activated; the first setting everything up (it'd been so long since we last used the window, a lot of it had been taken down at some point, to keep the equipment in the best possible conditions), the next three were mostly used for security protocols to make sure we would all be safe, no matter what happened to be on the other side. Phil arrived at some point during the preparations, same as Darcy; even Fury and Hill made an arrival shortly before we were ready to actually begin what I hoped would be our success.

"Initializing power sequence!" One of the technicians announced.

"Entering first set of coordinates." A second declared the moment the power reached the necessary level to begin working.

It had been one of the complications I'd come across after Loki had created the map of the abyss and Yggdrassil (much more complex than the drawing Thor had made for me that first week); one couldn't go straight to the wanted Realm, you needed to follow a specific route (like the pre-established paths of the Bifrost). In our case that meant the need to enter a set of coordinates, wait until the other end of the window had reached that point, then enter the second set of coordinates, and so on. Until we were done with all twelve sets. According to Loki some of the Realms could be reached with less sets, but Asgard was the most distant, the hardest to reach.

We had actually gone through the whole path once before, the problem came when we were unable to actually open the window once we were there. That was something I believed I'd found the answer, to... finally.

It took another hour for all the coordinates to go through and then, finally, we reached the last stop on the journey (so-to-speak).

"This is as far as we got last time..." I could hear the interns murmuring in the background. "Can we really get any further this time?"

I knew they would think me crazy with what I would do next, but it was the answer, it was my answer, and I wasn't giving up, regardless of how insane it might seem.

"The window is set in the final coordinates, Dr. Foster." The chief intern, Ian Boothby, announced out loud, eyes straight on the screens before him. "Should we try to force the window open?"

"Not yet." I told him.

That seemed to surprise him, but he did not question me as I left my place behind him (from where I had been supervising everything) to go stand right in front of the window's frame, then I began talking in my strongest and clearest voice:

"My name is Jane, Daughter of Foster, Woman of Science. I hail from Midgard. And in the name of my bond to Prince Thor Odinson, heir to the throne of Asgard, as his betrothed, I wish for this window to be allowed to open in the Realm Eternal." I made a pause to think over my words, make sure I'd said everything that needed to be said, then sealed it. "I am Jane, Daughter of Foster, Woman of Science, from Midgard to Asgard, this is my plea."

For a few minutes nothing happened. I wasn't keeping count of how many, though I knew some were. At some point murmurs began; like I was expecting a lot of the individuals in the room were reacting with disbelief to my actions. They might be the most loyal interns, having stayed even after all the old setbacks and failures, but still, no one could ask them to remain in limbo for their whole careers hoping for something seemingly impossible to happen one day... I would never ask them to do that. Still, I hoped it would happen, that their perseverance, their faith in me, as well as my own in myself, my work, my teachings, would pay off.

We were just reaching a point were I was beginning to believe nothing would happen... and then it did. With a sound akin to the hinges of a long-stuck door being pushed open, the window filled with light for the second time ever. A sort of swirl appeared in the middle, like a whirlpool or a tornado drawing us into its center, or growing until only the center occupied the Window itself. The different with the previous time the Window had fully activated was that once it was fully open we didn't find darkness on the other side, but color, and light. At first it was nothing specific, but after a few minutes more the image cleared up, revealing a huge stone room with gigantic golden columns on each side, all leading to a... rather odd-looking throne on top of a dais at the end of the room. A room that wasn't empty:

Standing before the throne, in a pose that made it obvious he'd just gotten up, was an old-looking man, with white hair and beard, a golden patch covering one eye (or the lack of it), wearing gold armor and a red cape. A few steps below him was a woman in a gorgeous sea-green, floor-length, long sleeved gown, with thick golden curls half twisted around her head in the simil of a crown, half falling down her back.

It took me a few seconds, but then, abruptly, a corner of my mind recognized who those two must be and Loki's teachings kicked in as I dropped into the best curtsy I could manage (wearing as I was, pants, a pretty but still comfortable blouse and a lab-coat over it).

"Your Majesties..." I greeted respectfully, though I was interrupted before I could finish.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Odin demanded. "Who are you?!"

I didn't even have time to feel affronted for all the preparation that was being wasted. It didn't matter how much I'd practiced a formal greeting if the man didn't allow me to finish it! However, what happened next was enough to brighten my mood considerably.

"Jane!" A voice called brightly.

I saw then someone else step close enough to be seen through the window.

"Thor!" I cried out in equal delight. "I did it! I finished the window!"

"So this is your Lady Jane then..." Queen Frigg commented with a smile.

"My lady..." I repeated the curtsy respectfully. "I am Jane, Daughter of Foster, from Midgard. It is an honor to meet you."

"Yes, you are my first-born's betrothed." The Queen confirmed. "The pleasure is all mine child. Long have I desired to look upon the lady that has promised her love to one of my beloved sons, and now holds his heart in her hands."

"You must know my lady, your son holds my heart as much as I hold his." I replied as eloquently as I could, though words weren't actually my forte. "I love him with all I am."

"So this is the mortal you intend to take as your bride..." Odin obviously did not approve.

"She is." Thor nodded immediately. "And she has passed the test you set for her father. She has opened a path between Midgard and Asgard, with no help from Heimdall or myself..."

"She has opened a window, however that will never be enough to allow her in here." Odin replied suddenly, with an odd glint in his eyes. "How can she be a proper Queen of Asgard if she cannot reach the realm she is to rule..."

The murmurs began all over again, we could all see how obvious his attempt at keeping me away from Thor, at refusing to accept I'd passed my test, was.

"Odin!" Frigg herself sounded pretty scandalized.

"You are being unfair father." Thor declared with growing anger. "Jane's test was to find a way to connect her realm and ours. It was never stated that she would need to travel that path!"

"Well, it's only obvious, isn't it?" Odin insisted.

"I believe the Lady Jane has passed her test." Frigg declared, in a tone that allowed for not denial or complaint of any kind.

"Perhaps." Odin still wasn't giving up. "She will still need to be able to get here, by her own means, if she wishes to fulfill that betrothal."

It looked like someone else might protest at any moment (or like Thor might begin cursing his father at any moment), when someone else, unexpectedly, spoke up.

"Excuse me." It was Phil.

"Who are you to address the Royal family of Asgard, mortal?" Odin inquired coldly.

"My name is Phillip, Son of Coul." He introduced himself in a manner somewhat similar as I had. "I wish to ask, Allfather. If Jane has already completed her test, and now only needs to get to your world. Does that mean she can be assisted in managing that part?"

"She can be assisted by anyone not residing in Asgard." Odin qualified.

Meaning not Thor, or Heimdall, or Frigg. He thought he was being so smart... he had no idea.

"I understand." Phil nodded, before smiling his secret I-know-something-you-don't, smile. "I believe that will be no problem." He turned behind him. "Am I right?"

"Not at all." Loki announced approaching, Silbhé by his side. "I like how you think, Phil..."

"Loki can do no magic!" Odin hissed harshly.

It wasn't a reminder, no, it was a challenge, he was challenging Loki to break away from his punishment... to break the deal that had been made five years before...

"True, I cannot..." Loki smirked wide as he signaled to his wife dramatically. "But she can."

Before any other word could be said, the two reached the Window's Frame, placing their hands on it at the same time; then Loki began chanting, in the same old language he always used to do magic, while Silbhé pushed the magic forth.

It took a while, but eventually we could all see the shimmer on the Window's surface.

"There..." Loki announced, without moving his hands from the frame. "It won't hold for long, so I suggest you hurry up."

"How does it work?" Phil asked, worried.

"Just imagine a 'looking glass'." Loki suggested.

"Like in 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'?" Darcy inquired, joining Phil.

"Precisely." Loki nodded. "Now Jane, if I were you I would hurry. Nightingale can only channel so much magic, and it's not like we practiced for this..."

I didn't stop to doubt them, didn't hesitate at all. Instead I simply walked towards the frame and once there stepped right through, never looking back.

The sensation was like nothing I'd ever felt before. It was like stepping into ice-cold water, with the consistency of jell-o... or something like that. There was no ground beneath my feet, no walls, I was standing on empty air, stars flying all around me, being born, living, dying, all in a matter of fractions of second. And then I finished taking the step, and once again there was something under my feet; marble, or something of that style rather than the plain concrete of the lab in New York, and there were golden pillars around me...

"I'm in Asgard..." I muttered, marveled.

"That you are..." I heard Thor's voice, suddenly right beside me.

That made me react instantly as I spun around, throwing my arms around Thor's neck before I even fully processed his presence. With the same boldness I also pressed my lips against him in a short but no-less-intense kiss. It didn't actually last long, separating a few seconds later to the whistle of some I recognized as Thor's friends in a corner, out of view from the window.

"Welcome to Asgard, my love..." He whispered into my hair, seconds later.

A moment later I saw Lady Frigg standing behind Thor and just like that mortification filled me. I had just committed a serious faux pass, kissing Thor like that, before witnesses and before being married. But the moment I saw him again, could touch him again... I just couldn't help myself. Laughter continued all around us, I was sure more than one was aware of how I must feel at that point, Loki in particular (as he'd been the one to teach me about what was 'right and proper' during a betrothal); looking over my shoulder I could even see Silbhé shaking in silent laughter. The two had finally stopped touching the Window.

"You're ruining all my hard work, brother!" Loki actually complained from the other side of the Window/Door. "All my teachings, all my training, thrown out the window the moment the lady lays eyes on you!"

"What can I say brother..." Thor replied cheekily. "I'm just that good!"

Their laughter just grew louder at that.

"Power levels down to 10 percent..." Ian's voice came from the lab, out of sight of the Window, suddenly. "I don't think we'll be able to keep the window working for much longer Dr. Foster."

"Very well." I called back to him. "Write a report about everything and then get it to Stark, Ian. If possible get Luka to go with you so you both can clarify any doubt he might have. Maybe he could grant us a better power source next time."

"And when would this next time be?" Phil asked suddenly, in full focus of the window. "How do you plan on getting back Jane?"

"I will get Jane back to you, Son of Coul, in due time." Thor assured him. "Until then, you can be assured she will be well looked after."

"Very well." Phil nodded.

"Power levels down to seven percent... beginning sequence to power down." Ian announced.

"Don't forget to invite us to the wedding!" Darcy called brightly.

It was the last thing we heard before the window closed.

Odin didn't look particularly happy to have me there, but I decided to pay him no mind, focusing on the people who actually seemed glad that I was there, like Thor, and his mother. Lady Frigg actually kissed my brow, giving me her blessing to marry her son (apparently she'd done the same after Loki introduced Silbhé to her). After that she insisted Thor show me around some (she probably realized it wasn't a very good idea for Odin and I to remain in the same room for long).

We left the Throne Room then. On the way out we met with Thor's friends, all of whom acted friendly enough when greeting me, even Sif didn't seem as passively-hostile as she'd been five years before in Puente Antiguo. She insisted that I change clothes for something Asgardian, so I wouldn't stand-out as much while Thor showed me around. With help from one of the Queen's handmaidens I got a pretty golden strapless knee-length dress.

Once that was finished Thor guided me out of the palace where, from a wide platform, we could look over all the Realm. The tall metallic-looking buildings, stone streets, bright-green gardens, forests and mountains in the distance, and a river running not far away, into the sea I could see reflecting the sky miles away.

"Welcome to Asgard, my beloved..." Thor murmured, kissing my knuckles on the hand he held.

"It's beautiful..." I whispered, marveled by everything.

"What would you like to see?" He inquired.

"Everything." I answered, breathlessly.

Right then, for the first time, I understood my own future: I was going to marry Thor, and I would one day be the Queen of Asgard... one day that amazing world would be mine, my home...

---

So the invasion is coming, Rose is having portentous dreams, Jane is in Asgard and things are about to get hairy!

What did you think about the punishment Loki and Nightingale had to endure this time? I needed something new, and I thought of a different approach to the 'mute' thing I handled in Devotion. Odin is evil... (You will notice I really, really don't like the guy... I won't kill him though, or at least, I won't have Loki do it, I would never put that burden on him).

Next chapter: Odin's final attempt at changing Thor's decision of bride will force his hand, the Chitauri are coming and Earth must be ready to fight! (Also, some X-Men cameos, again, though the most important characters this time will be ones I've never used before! Hope you'll enjoy it!)