Okay, this chapter we go into the events of the movie. Yay! Forgive me if I get something wrong, for I am going by memory alone. But I won't have to for long! Movie comes out on DVD on September 25, kiddies. :) So excited.

Also, school has begun. *cue funeral march* Yes. You know what that means. Slower updates. :(

Plus, I'm assuming the events in Avengers happened in late May. So this is based around that time frame. Hel is fifteen years old here.

ALSO! Summary change because the plot changed. :)

Chapter 2: "When she was just a girl, she expected the world, but it flew away from her reach, so she ran away in her sleep" ~ Paradise by Coldplay

After Hel first meets Loki, after she gets the bracelet, after everything changes, things happen.

It started a few weeks after the Loki incident when she went swimming in her foster parents' swimming pool with Bobby and she found the deep, painful looking bruises he'd been hiding under his t-shirt.

"Dumbass," she snapped in clipped tones as she forced him to lie on the laid-back pool chair.

He looked mildly uncomfortable, not from her fingering the bruises on his ribs (no, they'd gotten past that awkward opposite-sex-contact stage ages ago) but from just the fact that he was embarrassed. Bobby would be the last to admit his dad had ever hit him in a drunken rage. And all because it embarrassed him. No one wanted to admit they had issues, but if it's hurting you, why the hell should you put up with it?

That's how Hela looked at it, at least.

She knew she was weird; she embraced it. If it kept her out of the moronic drama that was high school, she was fine with it. Maybe she got lonely sometimes when she watched the other girls her age gushing over guys or throwing some big sleepover, but she had Bobby, and that was all she needed.

Besides, she watched what happened when other teens socialized. She'd eavesdropped on just enough conversations to know that when you turned your back to somebody, you were open to harsh, teenage judgment. She'd heard it about herself.

But back to Bobby's issues, because God knows he had just as many as she did but hid them so much better.

Her blonde-headed friend tried to sit up with a wince. "Hel, look, it's not that bad, honestly-"

Hel's hand snapped up to his throat and she pushed him back down with a glare to show that, yes, she could force him and would.

Bobby sighed and covered his eyes against the sun with a hand. "Screw you, control freak."

She smiled the tiniest smile before going back to examining the bruise. It was a deep purple color, almost the color of her legs, which looked normal at the moment since she was wearing the bracelet along with a deep purple bikini. Hel frowned and silently wished she could do more than just make sure his ribs weren't cracked. She hated seeing Bobby hurt more than anything when he of all people didn't deserve it.

In the back of her head a small voice whispered about God working in mysterious ways, punishing the good people and celebrating the bad.

"So what happened this time?"

Bobby peeked one blue eye out from between his fingers. "Would you believed me if I said I fell down the stairs at school, doc?"

She glared, feeling the dark emotions that lurked in her stir. "Don't fucking lie to my face, you asshole. I know what happened."

His hand dropped and he rolled his eyes. "Of course you do. Because you know everything."

Hela felt a flash of cold pass over her. Because, yeah, it hurt. She was just trying to help him. He didn't need to get so defensive.

But then, didn't she, those few times he mentioned her legs?

Hypocrite, she chided herself.

Out loud, "I'm just trying to help."

"Maybe I don't want your help."

Again the cold, but instead of getting up and snapping out a retort like she wanted, she didn't. Because she had said those same words before, and Bobby had never left her.

So instead she just stared at him, waiting.

After a few moments, he sighed heavily again. "An empty wine bottle."

And as much as Hel tried to stop the image of Bobby having a wine bottle smashed against his ribs, shattering into a million pieces and piercing his skin and drawing blood, so much blood-

She couldn't.

The dark thing inside her flared bright in anger, burning like a thousand suns. And for a few sweet moments, Hel gave into it, letting the rush sweep her away. She saw the hundreds of ways Bobby's father could die, each painful and slow, and then she'd send him to the lowest level of Helheim, where murderers and rapists and awful people like Bobby's father go, where he'd suffer the eternal tortures.

Hela reveled in the sweetness of her anger and imagined revenge as something under her skin burned with true power.

Somewhere off to her right, she heard the sound of multiple things shattering and Bobby's surprised cursing.

Then Hel felt a cool hand on her arm, and suddenly she felt empty, cold nothingness.

She blinked. The fire, the hate, the anger- It was all gone. And she just felt cold now.

"Are you alright?"

Bobby's voice brought her back down to earth. "What? Um, yeah, yeah, I am."

He watched her with concerned and suspicious blue eyes, sitting up now. "You know, you're eyes were glowing."

Hel couldn't help the snort that slipped out. "Glowing?"

Her best friend frowned at her, genuinely concerned. "Yeah, smartass, glowing."

"You're imagining things."

"Am I? Look." Bobby pointed to something behind her and she turned.

The lemonade glasses and pitcher that had been on the table were shattered, the spilled lemonade dripping off the edge of the patio table and onto the concrete.

Hel frowned, remembering the burning she'd felt under her skin. "What happened to it?"

"You tell me." He was staring at her with that look that said, 'There's something different about you and you know it'.

Hela didn't like that look. It made her feel wrong. Misplaced. Inhuman.

Then she was pushing up and away from the pool chair and Bobby, towards the house, towards her room, where she could think things out in silence without the scrutinizing looks of everyone else. Even Bobby.

Things like shattering glasses happen after that. A lot.

And of course that starts up the rumor mill at school that she's a witch (been there, done that) or that she's possessed (how many times has she heard that?) or that she's a mutant getting ready to go crazy axe murderer on the school (really, mutant turned axe murderer? How the heck would she even get an axe into school? This wasn't American Horror Story).

What was new was the little trinkets that started showing up in her locker and on it. Pentagrams draw on her locker. Bible verses stuffed in it. Homemade charms meant to ward off evil hanging from it. People making a cross with their fingers towards her whenever she walked by.

It just ticked her off even more.

But every now and then she'd let her anger loose in class just so she could see the reactions of her classmates and laugh at their faces. Bobby rained on her parade with a look that said, 'Stop, that's enough', but she still enjoyed it.

She thinks she may be mutant, but until she knows for sure she'll keep her freak opinion of herself.

And that's how things go for pretty much a year.

Until, once again, everything changes in May.

She's having a little R&R after school in her room with her Lord of the Rings books when her phone rings suddenly.

"Hello?"

"What are you doing?" Bobby asks in breathless voice.

"Reading Lord of the Rings, so screw off. I just got to the good part." He knew she liked her books.

"Turn on the TV to CNN."

"Bobby-"

"Do it."

Hela hesitated, but set her book down and flicked on the TV. The fuzzy image cleared a bit after a moment to show the familiar CNN news announcer. Turning up the volume a bit, she listened to the words.

"…Stuttgart, Germany, where a public attack occurred late last night. The attacker, who referred to himself as the Loki found in Norse mythology, assaulted the gala's host. He was taken into custody not by local officials but rather Iron Man and what looked to be Captain America, both working under a international organization called SHIELD…"

The newscaster's words faded into the background as the TV turned to a shaky cell phone footage. Hel's fingers twisted in her sheets as she recognized the green and leather clad figure.

Bobby's voice spoke in her ear again, making her jump. "Jesus, Hel, please tell me that this is just a coincidence. That- That's not the guy you talked about, is it? Please, please, tell me it isn't- And don't you dare hang up, or so help me, I will- I'll- I'll do something drastic." A pause. "It's… It's not him, is it?"

Hela squeezed her eyes shut against the images from the TV, of the man she'd connected with so well forcing dozens of people to kneel. She let out a shaky breath. "Yes, Bobby, it is him."

Her best friend just breathed in the phone, shaky breath by shaky breath. Then, "Crap."

Suddenly Hel's thoughts sped up again and her mouth unglued itself. "But- But that can't be him. He was, you know, nice, and sane, not some stark-raving lunatic forcing people to kneel." Involuntarily, her eyes flicked to the screen again. "And he looked…healthier. Not sick."

"So what the hell is he doing by attacking some gala in Germany and killing people? Hel, a sane and nice person wouldn't do that. And on top of it all, what the hell was he doing in your dreams?"

The back of her head hit the wall beside her bed. She was not having this conversation right now. Not ever. Because it was impossible.

Like a switch being flipped, everything spinning in Hel's head just stopped and all was quiet.

Completely disregarding her conversation with Bobby, she flopped on her bed sideways to stare at the wall and tap her phone against her lips. Facts and myths were running through her head and connections were being made steadily.

Hela wasn't stupid. She may not have had the best grades ever, but that was more because she didn't care than because she was stupid. No, she wasn't stupid.

But the more she looked at this little idea, this little, terrible, wonderful idea, and the more connections she made that supported it, the more this idea seemed less impossible. If anything, it was beginning to clear a lot of things up and yet cloud things further.

Insane, but possible.

Right?

Bringing the phone back up to her ear, she murmured, "Bobby, I'll call you back later. I have some research to do."

With a click she ended the call, cutting off any protest that her best friend made, and reached for her laptop.

Dozens, maybe even hundreds, of mythology sites, one very long Word Document, and several hours later, Hela finally let her eyes shut and sleep swallow.

As always, she appeared in Elivdnir with hundreds of souls waiting for judgment. After a moment of gathering herself, Hel dove into her duty of sorting the souls. The familiar pattern took her mind off things and she took comfort in the fact that despite how everything in her waking life was changing, this was the same routine.

Ganglot and Ganglati continued to watch as comforting presences, but from the corner of her eye the teenager could see both of them fidgeting.

Halfway through the night, a cool touch to her shoulder caught her attention. Startled (they never disturbed her), Hela turned to see Ganglot watching her with wide anxious grey eyes. "My lady," she said in a grave whisper, "Midgard is in danger."

Ganglati hissed angrily, eyes flashing. "Ganglot!"

The maidservant hissed back in a different language just as vehemently. An argument broke out between her servants and Hel couldn't do more than stare on in wonder. This was the most emotion she'd ever seen out of either of them, and whatever they were arguing about seemed pretty serious-

Ganglot's words registered.

And out loud she said, "Shit."

"Indeed," said a very even, blank voice that most definitely wasn't hers or her servants.

Hel and her servants were the only ones to react, as the souls filling the room usually just stared off listlessly until it was their time. From the crowd of wispy, translucent souls stepped a very solid form. It was a man with thinning brown hair, wearing a blank expression and a suit like from Men in Black. She only blinked once at the bloody stab wound in his chest and the blood staining his suit. Souls sometimes came in bearing the marks of a violent death. She'd gotten used to it.

The soul stepped out of the crowd of other souls, only stopping a few feet from the stairs to her throne. Ganglati shifted at his post. "She's right. Earth is in danger. I want to help stop it."

Hela just stared at him. Souls never talked.

But she could just tell just by looking at him that he wasn't an ordinary soul. There was this haze clouding her mind when she looked at him. Something she'd never experienced. She usually could tell instantly where each soul went, but…this was different. Nothing came to her when she looked at him except a wall blocking her. He didn't belong.

She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to let her emotions get the best of her. This was all so frustrating and confusing and it was driving her insane. Loosing control now would be anything but helpful.

Before she could get swept away by the emotional current, Hel stood up and made her way down the steps to stand in front of the soul. He matched her curious gaze with a blank, serious expression.

Sighing, Hela said tiredly, "I can't tell where you're going."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "Well, I can tell you one thing: I'm not staying here."

It was Hel's turn to raise an eyebrow. An unrest soul with regrets?

She sighed again and asked, "Who are you?"

The man stuck a hand out. "Agent Coulson, part of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

The teen hesitated before shaking his quite solid hand. "Wordy."

"SHIELD for short."

"Ah." She paused a moment before saying, "I'm Hel."

Agent Coulson raised an eyebrow again. "Hell?"

"H-E-L, like the Hel in Norse mythology. You know, Goddess of Death and all that fun stuff."

He nodded. "So you exist also. That would explain why I'm here, then."

Hel didn't even bother explaining that this was probably all a dream and that he only existed in her imagination. So instead she gestured to his stab wound. "Sorry about that."

Coulson barely glanced at it. "It was unfortunate."

She stared at him. "You just called death unfortunate."

"Yes." He stared back evenly. "The amount of paperwork that I'll have to fill out for this type of thing will be monumental."

Hela nodded, feeling unbelievably weirded out. He was dead and worrying about paperwork? And then it hit her.

"You make it sound like you're going to live again."

He nodded impassively, looking over her shoulder at the unrest less Ganglot and Ganglati. "I have to. If I don't who's going to do the paperwork? Fury won't and Hill doesn't have the time."

Names with no faces, she thought. "You're so sure of yourself, but it's impossible to live again."

The agent's calm, sure eyes zeroed in on her again and for all the power she felt in her dreams, his gaze made her feel small. "You're the Goddess of Death, aren't you? You tell me."

"It's never been done before."

"I've done a lot of things that have never been done before."

Hel frowned. "I can't tell where you're going."

Coulson clasped his hands in front of him like it was a done deal and he was merely waiting for the word to go. "Then send me back."

She thought about it. This was a dream, so what was the harm? "Will I see you again?" What a ridiculous question…

He stood a little straighter, tugging on his jacket to smooth it out. "I hope so. Compared to most Norse Gods I've met, you seem fairly normal."

"What."

"Good day, Miss Hel." And with that Agent Coulson turned and walked through the parting souls, right out the entrance to Helheim.

The teen just stood there, staring. After a few moments, she threw her hands up. "That's it, this day has officially been named 'Normal Says 'Screw It' And Goes To Hell'." She turned and pointed at Ganglot. "Write that down."

With a small, rare smile, Hel's maidservant pulled a small tablet out of the pocket in her dress.

Hel's woken up the tunes of Coldplay playing from her phone. With a groan she rubs her eyes and looks at the time. 2:19 PM. Jesus, how long had she slept? Nearly twelve hours. She was sleeping away her Saturday.

"Hello?" She answers as she shoves her laptop to the side and buries her head in her pillow.

"Damnit, Hel, answer your Goddamn phone," Bobby snaps immediately. "I've been calling you the past four hours."

Irritation flares up in her. "I was asleep, jerk. You woke me up."

"You're sleeping during an alien invasion?"

Hela rolls her eyes for a moment before saying, "Bobby, there are no aliens-"

"Turn your TV on."

She did.

And instantly regretted it.

She was hyperventilating.

The line that existed between her dreams and reality was blurring. Loki existed. SHIELD existed. Her dreams were no longer dreams.

Hel was going insane. That had to be it.

And yet she was still capable of rational thought.

Shutting down all other thoughts, Hela focused on what she'd discovered in the past four hours. A mental recount, almost.

Loki had tried to take over Manhattan with an alien army (she'd apologize to Bobby later) by opening a portal. (Every time she looked at her gold bracelet from him it hurt to think that the same person that had given it to her was doing this).

A group called the Avengers had showed up, and she only recognized Tony Stark as Iron Man (who didn't know him?), Captain America from Bobby dumping history facts on her, and the Hulk that had destroyed Harlem a few years earlier. They had fought the aliens, destroyed the portal, then a nuclear bomb had showed up out of no where which Iron Man directed through the portal as it closed.

They apprehended Loki and turned him into a secret organization named SHIELD that just came to public light. Cleanup began and the media backlash began. People were taking different sides on the matter of the Avengers.

She wasn't sure what had happened to Loki, but she knew one thing:

Her answers lay in New York.

So with the feeling of the weight of the world on her shoulders, Hel began making plans.

2 months later…

Hela hefted her duffel bag on one shoulder and her backpack on the other. "Get ready, Bobby. The bus will be here any minute."

Her best friend fiddled nervously with the straps on his own backpack. "Are you sure this will work?"

"Yes."

"One-hundred percent?"

"Yes."

"What if we don't have enough money?"

"We will."

"But how do you-"

"Bobby," she cut in flatly, still staring at the house on the opposite side of the street, "this summer I mowed 45 lawns and played 19 poker games with those college guys down the street. And you know how good I am at poker. You mowed 38 lawns, won $419 on several lottery scratch-offs, and won 6 poker games also with the college guys. I'm sure we have enough money to get to New York and rent a cheap hotel for two weeks while I look."

He was silent for a moment as he chewed on his lip, blue eyes clouded with worry. "Well, what if they find out we really didn't go camping?"

"Did you tell them that you went camping with me and my foster parents and that there wouldn't be any reception?"

"Yeah?"

"Okay. I told my foster parents I went camping with you and your parents and that there wasn't reception." She shuffled closer to him and elbowed him with a small smile. "Hey, don't worry. Nothing's gonna go wrong. And we'll just look around for a little while to try and get some answers."

Bobby sent a strained smile back at her, but it was dimmer than his usual grin. The smile faded and the worried look returned full on.

"…Hel, this could be dangerous."

If it had been anyone but Bobby, she would've rolled her eyes.

"This Loki guy, he's a bad guy. He killed people, H. Still is-"

"First of all," Hela broke in curtly, "you didn't see him the way I did. And second, he hasn't killed anyone since the Manhattan attack. Ever since he somehow returned a month and a half ago, all he's done is mainly cause trouble for the Avengers. Like pranks. And he's not the only bad guy to show up. There's that Doom guy, Hydra – whatever that is – and that Amora chick who says she's from Asgard, too."

"Ass-gard?"

Hel really did role her eyes this time. "Idiot. As-gard."

"As-gard?"

"Yes. Back to my point, I'm only going because I'm looking for answers. And I feel that those answer are in New York."

Bobby sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I hope you're right, Hel. I hope you're right."

Hela smirked. "Aren't I always?"

The look he sent her wasn't amused.

"Okay, set it down gently now- Gently! Jesus, Thor, set it down gently! That was very expensive to make, and, well, I can't remember how I made it since I was drunk when I did, but anyways- Set it down gently. Yes, like that. Thanks, big guy."

Tony patted Thor's arm as he stepped forward to calibrate his invention to the right measurements. Which, hopefully, worked.

"It was my pleasure, Man of Iron," Thor replied, in an almost subdued tone.

The billionaire looked up immediately, because the god almost never talked in any other tone than a booming one. The thunderer was staring off into the distance, eyes on the horizon of Manhattan. They had a spectacular view of the city from the rooftop of Stark Tower.

But Thor didn't quite look like he was taking in the sights the way he usually did.

Momentarily forgetting his invention, Tony sat back from his crouched position to stare up at the god. "What's wrong, Point Break? You don't look as happy to be up here as you usually do."

"I am worried about many things, friend Tony."

The genius billionaire playboy philanthropist resisted the urge to tell him that for the last time, it was Tony, because honestly, how hard were two syllables to pronounce by themselves? Instead he patted the spot to next to him. "Well, I'm all ears at the moment. Might as well let off some steam."

Thor did sit down, but he kept his closed off expression.

Tony sighed a little but it was lost in the mild breeze atop the tower. He turned part of his brain power to the machine and the codes that needed to be input as he brought up a holographic screen. Fingers flying across the interactive hologram, he said, "It's this deal with your brother and his kids, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Well, he wasn't putting up any resistance, was he? "What about it?"

The thunderer huffed a small, humorless laugh. "You would want to hear my misgivings of a traitor who killed so many of your kind?"

The genius shrugged, eyes watching the progress as Jarvis fully integrated with the system so he'd be able to receive alerts on any changes the machine caught immediately. "Look, Thor, you're my teammate, right? You watch out for my back during the fight just like you do for all the other Avengers, and treat me like a friend when we're not fighting the baddies. You don't look down on us and tell us to kneel. The least I could do is offer you an ear. And yeah, Loki killed a lot of humans. And threw me out a window. He's got blood on his hands. So does every person on this team. And a lot of it. Believe me, I know. So if you wanna talk about your brother, I'm probably the best person for it. And if that isn't sad I don't know what is."

Thor digested that for a few moments. Tony waited patiently as he began setting the right adjustments for his machine.

"I am worried about the reactions of not only my father and mother, but my niece and nephews as well."

That made the playboy pause. "I get your parents being pissed that you went against their judgment to banish your niece and nephews, but why are you worried about the kids reactions?"

The god had taken Mjolnir from its harness on his belt and was running his fingers along the edges of the hammer; it seemed to be a nervous habit that rarely made itself known. "Fenrir, the eldest, was too old to not remember the Aesir and Asgard. My father simply banished him to the forests of Midgard, where he has remained since. I fear he will be less than happy with the Aesir."

"And he's a wolf?"

Thor paused as he tried to figure out how to explain it correctly. "Yes, but he can take on a human form if he wishes to. I believe the way Loki explained it to me so many centuries ago was that Fenrir is naturally a wolf, so it would require effort to maintain a human appearance for long periods of time. But he will always revert to his wolf self eventually."

Tony nodded. "Kinda like a werewolf, but the concepts are reversed."

They'd had a crash course on the latest fads for the sake of Thor and Steve, and Twilight was one of the first things to be explained. So the god understood the reference and smiled a little. "Yes, very much like a werewolf."

The scientist thought back to the research he'd done on Norse mythology. "And the middle child? Jormungandr? He's a snake, right?"

"Aye," Thor nodded. "Jormungandr was also too old to not remember anything of Asgard."

"Does he have a human form?"

"No, for his domain is the waters of Midgard. Before he was banished, he was allowed to move freely, but in order for his safety and the safety of Midgardians, my father restrained him to the waters of Midgard. I believe he could leave the water briefly, but not for long."

With a beep his invention finished integrating the adjustments and Tony happily shut down the interactive hologram. If all went well and worked, then he'd be able to detect Loki's mischief judged by the special energy signature that his magic gave off when he was up to mischief. The test pilot machine that he'd just finished would only span out to about fifty miles, but it seemed that most of the trickster's tricks happened fairly close to Avenger tower.

That done, he leaned back on his hands to look at Thor. "So which body of water is he restrained to? You told Fury that part, didn't you?"

The thunderer shook his head. "Jormungandr is not restrained to a single expanse of water. He travels through all waters. That is why he would be impossible to catch in a chase."

The scientist inside of Tony knew that was impossible, and was trying to calculate a way that someone could travel between the Pacific Ocean and one of the Great Lakes. Except he couldn't. Because it was impossible.

But, hey. Magic. Apparently it could work wonders.

So Tony shut down that train of thought. "You mean I could go down to the pond in Central Park and see Jormungandr swimming around in there?"

There was that big, bright smile he was used to seeing Thor wear. "Only if he wished it."

Of course. That figured. Well, that posed a problem in making sure that he wasn't causing trouble somewhere on Earth. Tony didn't like snakes anyway.

"And what about the youngest kid? Hel?"

Thor's smile faded. "My niece does not remember anything of her Asgardian heritage."

"Well, if she's here on Earth, surely she knows something's up. You said that they were banished in the 1600's. If she's immortal and been alive since then, she must know something's wrong."

The god's fingers continued to trace patterns and edges on Mjolnir as he looked off into the horizon of Manhattan. "By human terms, she was only a year old when she was banished. Hela was too young to remember her life on Asgard, so my father took a small mercy on her. She was sent to live as a mortal on Earth, her magic muted. By day, she lived as a human, and by night she went to her hall in Helheim. Each night, she judges the sins of each soul that has died and sends them to one of the nine levels of Helheim or Valhalla."

Tony digested that for a moment. Then, "So she's dead? Not immortal?"

Thor smiled again, but it was bitter. "No, she is very much alive. Throughout the centuries we have watched over her."

"Then- How?"

"Each time she died, she was reincarnated."

The genius billionaire playboy philanthropist had a 'WTF?' moment that lasted way too long as he thought how messed up that was. He held up his hands, looking Thor in the eye. "So- Let me get this straight. Out there somewhere is a goddess living as a human, and we're about to disrupt her life by telling her that she's really an alien from another planet."

The thunderer nodded, his blonde hair blowing slightly in the wind. "Yes. She is currently living in her 'teenage years', as you humans put, with a host family."

Tony threw his hands up. "She's a teenager? Even greater. This is going to go so fantastically well."

Hel was seriously reconsidering her choice to go to New York with only Bobby as a companion.

Her initial plan had been to get in contact with SHIELD, but then she realized that she had no way of doing that other than becoming a super villain of her own making, which she definitely wasn't doing anytime soon. They didn't exactly have SHIELD on speed dial either.

Plus, they hadn't been able to find a hotel cheap enough that it wouldn't drain their money. They'd been stuck with lugging their bags around all Manhattan while they looked.

So, yeah. Hel was starting to realize that her plan sucked.

Which Bobby kept reminding her every five minutes.

"God, I can't believe I actually followed you to New York. I'm such an idiot. No, wait- I think the blame falls on you for this."

She grit her teeth as she stared out the window of the small café they'd found. It was a pretty typical café environment, with free wi-fi that she was currently waiting on to connect to her laptop. "I know, Bobby, and I'm sorry."

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off as a waitress came up to take their order. Hela simply asked for a water (they needed to watch their money if they had to spend more than they thought on a hotel) before opening the web on her laptop. She tuned out Bobby's complaining as she used the search engine to look up facts on SHIELD.

And truthfully, there wasn't much. It was basically a covert operation organization that kept its secrets under lock and key. The Avengers was started by SHIELD, but the founder wasn't known. Most of the sites she found were conspiracy theories that she instantly dismissed. And all the sites that even looked promising from the web address were all shut down, with a 'This website is no longer in use' message. Whoever SHIELD was, they cleaned up good.

With a sigh, Hel shut down her computer and took a sip of her water. Bobby's monologue resumed in her ears.

"…We're tired, in an unfamiliar city – hell, unfamiliar state – and fucking homeless. What do you think we're gonna do? Sleep in an alley? Walk around until we find a hotel? Ask some stranger to take us in? Jesus, Hel, we're in a bad situation and it's-"

Hel couldn't help it. She was tired, hungry, lost, and barely an inch away from crying. She never cried. Well, there was that one time when they watched Gone With The Wind- But as far as she was concerned, that night never happened. Still, she came looking for answers, and all she'd gotten was dead ends and disappointment. She was used to being disappointed but she felt so close this time. Close enough to taste success.

And now that hope was fading fast.

Bobby's words was the straw the broke the camel's back. Or, most likely, her back.

Hel's fist slammed down on the table top hard enough to rattle the glasses and the little container with sugar, salt and pepper. Bobby instantly went silent and several people looked up. She kept her words low and cold as ice.

"Yes, Bobby, I know its all my fucking fault, I know that we're in a bad situation, I know we're in a completely different state. But if you'd shut up for two damn seconds and used your brain to help me think, maybe, just maybe, we could find a way out of this Goddamn mess. So shut your mouth or I will."

She was all wrath and cold fury during her tirade- but it all drained away when she saw the flinch cross Bobby's face. The terrible, soul-eating guilt hit her hard enough to knock the breath out of her. What the heck did she just say? And to her best friend of all people? The only one that she could fully trust not to change in this world of changing?

God, what had she done?

Her brain kicked up again and her mouth started moving. "Bobby, God, I'm sorry- I- I shouldn't have said-"

His familiar blue eyes that she'd memorized looked up, full of understanding as a small smile crossed his face. "Shut up, Hel."

And because she was still so shell shocked by what she'd said so ruthlessly (she was brutal, but not that brutal usually), she did.

Hela started rolling the charms on her gift bracelet from Loki between her index finger and thumb, a habit she'd picked up soon after he'd given it to her. Starting with the wolf, feeling the familiar figure as a comfort, all the way through the four charms to the last, the ball of fire.

Bobby was silent for a few moments as he stared out the window. After several tense minutes, he finally looked back to her with tired blue eyes. "Look… I know we're both tired. And I know how much this meant to you. So I'm sorry I complained so much. I just have my doubts about this and I've been worried about how this could mess with you. You've been obsessed the past few months, Hel… And to be frank, it's scary." He reached across the table and took her cold hand in his warm one. "I'm just… I don't want you to get hurt, okay? And before you start apologizing again, I accept your previous apologies."

Hel blinked. And blinked again.

Then the guilt returned full force.

God, she didn't deserve the forgiveness, the concern in his eyes, the comforting hand in her own- She didn't deserve any of it. Didn't he see that? Everyone else did, even she did, so why was he so worried about her, like she didn't deserve the angry words he should be telling her now?

The answer was all too plain, and it hurt to think about it.

Because Bobby loved her when he shouldn't.

Now I really will cry, she thought as she pressed her other hand to her face. This was why they were best friends. This was why she'd stuck with him since second grade. This was why she wasn't completely insane.

Because Bobby understood.

That was worth any amount of money in her books.

Hel sighed, small and painful, and took her hand away from her face. She looked to Bobby and saw the small smile on his face. And whispered, "I'm so sorry, Bobby. I don't deserve you."

He snorted, shaking his head still with a smile. "You don't get it, do you?"

"Get…what?"

Her best friend looked away, his smile disappearing for a brief moment. Then he looked back up and that same goofy grin that'd irritated her since second grade returned. "Nevermind." His eyes trailed behind her. "I think I may have just figured out another solution, though."

Bobby pointed behind her, and Hel turned in her seat to look.

The first thing her eyes landed on, because it was admittedly hard to miss, was the huge tower that had a giant 'A' on the front of it.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but unless you have an appointment you can't see Mr. Stark."

The secretary didn't sound sorry at all.

Hela sighed, scowling at the security cameras that had their tiny little lenses focused on them. She used her best polite and respectful voice. "Ma'am, it's very important that I speak to him. A matter of life and death."

The secretary smiled, looking like a combination of amused and irritated. "Miss, getting a few minutes of Mr. Stark's very precious time just to get an autograph is not a 'matter of life and death'."

Okay, so Hel had lied about the life and death part, but that just pissed her off.

"Well, can I talk to one of the other Avengers, then?"

The woman just shook her head, leaning forward with her hands clasped. "Sweetheart, listen. The Avengers are very busy people, and they don't have time for personal meetings. If you wish to get a chance to meet them, I suggest you wait until the next public appearance they have. They simply don't have time for little fangirls such as yourself."

Behind Hel, Bobby whispered, "Wrong thing to say, woman."

Wrong, indeed.

The cold fury that had risen up earlier came back stronger than ever.

The secretary's glass of water cracked and shattered. Somewhere in the back ground a window shattered. Bobby gasped, gripping Hel's arm.

Her grip on the counter tightened until her knuckles were white.

It was like watching from a distance, yet in the front row seat. She saw the secretary's eyes widen, heard her scream, felt Bobby's hand gripping her arm tight enough to bruise. Hel knew that what was happening wasn't normal, natural, ordinary. It was an overreaction. Except it wasn't. It was like letting something loose, something dangerous and dark and alive-

But she felt nothing other than the cold tingling spreading through her skin.

It took her a moment to realize what it was.

Power.

The sheer amount of it nearly took her breath away.

Then she was being jerked backwards, literally and figuratively, out of the current and the secretary's face disappeared to be replaced by hands on her face and a familiar face in her vision. Short blonde hair, pale skin, worried frown, blue eyes that she knew like the back of her hand-

Oh, God, Bobby-

Hela gasped, everything suddenly falling back into startling clarity. She felt the ground beneath her feet, her best friends' hands on her face, heard the shouting and screaming. The moment passed and Hel blinked as she sucked in deep shuddering breaths. God, what was that?

"-swer me, Hel, please, you're scaring the shit out of me, please, oh, God, please, please, you're so cold-"

Her hands found his shirt and she grabbed on for dear life as her knees suddenly felt too weak to hold her up. He guided her to the ground as the chaos around them continued.

Feeling like the air had been punched out of her, Hel gasped, "Bobby-"

"Shhh, Hel, its alright, I swear, you're fine," the pale teen whispered, sounding more as if he was trying to convince himself.

Bobby looked scared, she noted, and he never looked scared, so that was a good enough reason to worry-

Hela's hands came up to grab Bobby's, but she paused when she saw him flinch. Immediately she pulled her head away to look at his hands. Covering the once smooth skin was dark blistering skin that made her cringe.

It took her a moment to realize what it was:

Frostbite.

"Bobby, what-"

Before Hel could finish, there was a mighty crash at the front of the lobby. She turned just in time to see a flash of red and gold fly through the front doors- Or what was left of them. All the glass in the doors and windows had shattered into millions of pieces, glittering on the floor like diamonds.

She didn't have very much time to marvel at this as the very thing that had flown through the door was currently pointing a repulsor in her face. That repulsor was attached to the shiny, polished armor of the Iron Man suit, which was glaring stonily down at them.

Before Hel could even let her jaw drop, an mechanic sounding voice spoke. "Alright, Loki, the jig's-"

Iron Man paused for a moment and tilted his head to the side just a bit. After a few tense moments of silence (by now the lobby had cleared and the only noise was an annoying alarm going off in the background), he said, "You aren't Loki."

Hel found her breath again. In a small voice, she said, "No, I'm not-"

"But," he continued as the repulsor whined as it charged, "you sure as hell look like him, and that's good enough reason for me."

…I know. I'm evil. ;)

But this chapter is 13 pages long and I finished it last night truthfully and I have to get to my homework and I think that this is a good enough place to stop as any, so…

On a sidenote: my take on the whole Captain America being reintroduced to the modern world was that SHIELD kept it under lock and key. America thought Steve died back in the forties. And I seriously doubt that Fury would let something like that Captain America is alive leak to the news... So I'm thinking that the world was really confused when they saw CA in Stuttgart. :)

Toodle-loo. :)

Remember, feedback feeds me. :) Hope this cleared up some questions.

(Lotsa smileys, huh?)