Chocoegg333: Thank you! I plan too :)

Queenofthefanfiction: Oh my gosh Stevelyn is gr8. You're adorable, sweetie.

Lexxiechan: Thank you so much! Oh my gosh I'm tearing up.

The girl with no life: I love Loki and Ashlyn together they crack me up.

potterwatch97: You'll have to read to find out ;)

i-love-tea-and-coffee: I missed you too! Mostly everything about that will be said heeerrreee.

Tir-Na-nOg-Niamh: Say hello to our beautiful baby. And happy b-day to you you majestic piece of wonderfulness.

Anime-GuardianAngel: Thank you! I know, right?

shelby: Thank you :)

ILove2Write13: Your reviews make me want to sob sweetie. People like you are the reason I write. You're amazing.

BornToBeAWitch1989: Oh God I hope not. No vampires here!

Fellowship of Avengers: As you wish!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIAMH!

Is it a bad thing that Ashlyn and Loki are becoming my brotp?

Please Enjoy.

*~ENDORPHIN~*

Manhattan, New York

Avengers Tower

April 16th

2:03 AM

Her throat ached and throbbed, the poison seeping deeper into her veins. The ink covered her body like a ebony satin glove, bubbling and broiling with the urge of possession. There was the hissing of a broken pipe streaming from the mouth of the creature, ice for eyes, and a pair of ivory fangs polished like porcelain. Mechanical laughter, high and cold. Forced. It was ear drum shattering.

A form in her doorway approached, feet rushing over the carpet and gentle hands flicking on the lamp light.

"No." Her voice was odd, broken and fighting to stay revealed. Her nostrils flared, taking in deep breaths before she was submerged. "No!"

"Ashlyn!"

Ashlyn awoke with a start, her head reeling as she struggled to distinguish Jane's hazel eyes hanging over her, not the light blue of the creature that was haunting her in the recesses of her brain.

"Nightmare," Ashlyn uttered. "I-I'm awake, I'm-"

"You were screaming," Jane muttered, the back of her hand lightly placed upon Ashlyn's forehead. "You're hot."

"I'm fine," Ashlyn tried to explain. "Just a nightmare-"

She peeled the tangle of sweaty sheets from her body, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She rubbed her thighs anxiously, her eyes glancing over at her door. "How loud was I screaming?"

"It was some of the loudest screaming I've ever heard," Jane admitted. Tears filled her eyes and suddenly she sobbed, "It sounded like y-y-you were being m-m-m-murdered. I thought..." Jane burst into fresh tears and buried her face in Ashlyn's chest.

"Where is he?" Ashlyn asked, her heart hammering as she fought to soothe Jane.

"When I h-heard you cry I-I came running t-thinking he was h-h-hurting you," Jane wept as she pulled her face out from Ashlyn's shirt. "But I met him in the hallway and he c-came out of h-his room g-glaring and half asleep a-a-and he told m-me to s-shut you up."

"It was just a bad dream, Jane. I'm sorry I scared you. I'm sorry," Ashlyn whispered.

But really it wasn't. Fear lingered in her every pore, inner agony causing turmoil in her thoughts. The eyes were still haunting her even as she was awake. She could see shadows of them on the falls, the glistening fangs in the reflection of the windows...

"No, I should be sorry," Jane sniveled. "I don't know why I-I'm so e-emotional!"

"It's hormones," Ashlyn said. "That's all."

"Something weird is going on," Jane exhaled. "I know yesterday on the couch we told each other that we were both showing early, but I'm showing a lot, Ashlyn! I don't know what to do!"

Jane pulled her shirt tight, her belly much more noticeable than Ashlyn's. It looked to be one she thought she would see on a mother that was four, nearly five months along, not one.

"That's why I've been wearing baggy shirts. I don't want Loki to find out while Thor's not here. I've been trying to tell Thor but I barely got it out when he left. He knows, but he doesn't know."

"Jane-"

"I'm scared he's going to hurt me." Jane's voice was soft and hesitant as if she was about to cry again. "I know you won't let him, but he's mad at Thor and the others and I don't want him to take it out on the baby. He could take my life if I knew my child would live, if I knew that he would change and all the anger and darkness would leave him. He seems to like you somewhat. He hates me. I know he'd much sooner kill me and get to Thor than spill your blood. I just want to know what's going on. Why are we both starting to show so fast?"

"I've already got some theories," Ashlyn assured. "I think my baby is growing fast because of the serum that's running through my veins. I don't know if it is in Steve's DNA, but as long as the baby is sharing my blood and my DNA, our baby is going to be enhanced like Steve and I. I think the serum is accelerating the growth of the baby."

"And me?"

Ashlyn made a face. "Jane, your husband and the father of your child is a Norse God. I think your baby is going to be a little special, don't you?"

Jane managed a nod. "Y-Yeah. Thanks, Ashlyn."

"I-If it makes you feel better, you can sleep in here with me, okay?" Ashlyn tapped Jane's stomach. "I won't let Loki hurt you or your baby."

Jane flicked off the light and Ashlyn got fresh blankets that weren't damp with sweat from the closet. She pulled them over the both of them and then teased, "You b-better remember this when picking Godparents."

Jane only laughed. "Of course I will."

10:10 AM

Ashlyn, fully dressed in a red long sleeved shirt, dark blue skinny jeans, and a pair of white deck shoes, sat at the table in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal. She went through the checklist as she ate, writing extra things down she thought of or crossed things of she wouldn't be able to cover. As she wrote she twisted her hair up into a messy bun near the top of her head, continuing to eat and skim through the list of errands she had to run.

"Where's my meal?" Loki questioned as he walked into the kitchen, shirtless and tugging on a pair of pants. Ashlyn couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"You know, you have t-these wonderful things c-called hands that let you be able t-to do things like make our own breakfast," Ashlyn told him.

Loki fastened the zipper and button on his pants, sliding on his belt as he strode closer to her.

"You know," Loki returned. "You also have these wonderful things called eyes that allow you to feast upon what is truly good before you."

"If I didn't know better I would think you were Tony," Ashlyn scoffed.

"Or Thor before he came to Midgard and became soft," Loki hissed. He stretched, his back arching as he yawned. "What are you recording?"

"Right now I'm working on a grocery list," Ashlyn explained. "We've run out of food."

"Isn't your food prepared and delivered to you?"

Ashlyn's eyebrows raised. "Uhmm...no."

"Shame," Loki sighed. He put some toast in the toaster he had barely forgiven from the last episode he had with the mortal machine and turned back to Ashlyn, his chest out and muscles displayed proudly. "You tell me how your excursion goes once you return, won't you?"

"I won't have to because you're coming with me."

Loki grumbled something nasty under his breath that Ashlyn caught but ignored. She refused to repeat it.

"I have no desire to come out of the tower and walk among the mortals as equals," Loki sneered. "It's bad enough that I have to do it with the others in the tower."

"But not me?" Ashlyn inquired.

"You are somewhat tolerable even if you did puke on my shoes. I'm still waiting for a fresh pair," Loki reminded.

"Fair enough. So. What do you think of the others?"

"What? You want me to go through a list?"

Ashlyn swallowed. "Y-You can start with Jane."

"Mewling quim," Loki blurted. "A weakling. Undeserving of royal blood. Then that brings us to Thor who is an insufferable oaf. Stark used to be much more fun until he was courted and had offspring. It's ruined him. Barton is Barton. He hates my guts and I don't like him all that much either. I have some respect for Natasha to a certain degree. Her daughter has her hair. I don't know Stark's wife all that well, but she's mortal so she is below me. Banner-" Loki skipped over him and went on. "The man out of time. Your husband. He's over protective, over baring, and doesn't seem to have a drop of evil in him which is mildly disappointing and not surprising. He's too much of a...how do you say...goody-two-shoes? And then there's you."

"T-T-Then there's me," Ashlyn echoed.

Loki neared her slowly, speaking as he moved. Ashlyn's eyes darted to the ground as he did so.

"You stumble upon your words far to often. You need some confidence in you. You're a book I'm not allowed to read. You interest me, you don't bother me. And you, out of all people, are attempting to get along with me while the others ignore me when you seem to be the most afraid of me. It also makes me question why you have decided to bear the 'good' Captain's child."

The tips of two of his fingers tilted her chin up to look at him. Ashlyn shuttered under his touch.

"Because I love him," she said, her voice quiet.

"Love is a poison." Loki's nose crinkled in disgust, his face getting right in hers. "A plague. It's a shame you chose to have a child instead of putting your enhanced form to use for other purposes."

Ashlyn's hand clenched together and then relaxed. Their legs were touching. She wanted to escape. God she just wanted to wring his neck.

The brunette put both hands on his shoulder and used enough force to get him to back away without hurting him. "Please don't. Y-Your toast is up."

"You seem to forget, super solider, whether enhanced or not, I am still above you. I may not have my Asgardian strength but that does not mean that it does not exist."

His muscles weren't as nice as Steve's.

Ashlyn only cocked an eyebrow, returning to her bowl and list. The two of them did not speak for awhile until Loki broke the silence.

"Why were you screaming last night?" Loki interrogated. "Were you being attacked?"

'Yes,' Ashlyn thought. Instead she said, "I had a nightmare."

"Don't let it happen again."

"L-Like I can really c-control it!"

Loki finished his toast and started out the door as Ashlyn washed her bowl in the sink.

"We're leaving in five minutes!" she called.

Loki groaned.

"And put a shirt on!"

Loki appeared back in the door way, muscles flexed and a impish smirk on his face. "What for?"

His muscles still weren't as nice as Steve's.

The seer peered out the window above the sink with a deep breath and straightened the collar on her shirt. She then left the kitchen and went into the living room, grabbing her keys out of the bowl on the side table and waited besides the coat rack next to the elevator. She folded her list and slipped it into her back pocket, stooping down to pick one of Logan's toys up and toss it in the baby basket. As she put her jacket on, Loki emerged from the hallway dressed in a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt.

"Where are we headed first?"

"The grocery store," Ashlyn said. "It's chilly out. I'd put a coat on."

"I don't need one."

"You'll regret it when you're-"

"I said I don't need one," Loki snapped angrily. He whipped his arm out before her and twitched his arm slightly, his hand and forearm turning blue. Ashlyn jolted back in surprise, knocking the coat rack over in her act of shock. The ex-Asgardian tsked and his limb returned to normal as he picked up the rack and set it back up neatly.

"Clumsy," he scolded.

"What-I just-how?"

"Just because I lost my strength and immortality didn't mean that I am not still a frost giant," Loki spat venomously.

"I didn't know," Ashlyn tried.

"That's because you are mortal and don't use your brain."

"I-I-I didn't know y-you were a frost giant, whatever that m-means."

"Well you are ill-informed."

Much more softly Ashlyn went on. "I just t-thought you were Asgardian a-and Thor's brother."

Loki swallowed and his jaw tightened. When he spoke again, his voice had lost the nasty edge. "I had thought that too."

The two mortals gazed at each other, Ashlyn in concern and Loki in study. He eventually shook his head and rapped his hand on the button to summon the elevator. Before it came Ashlyn took one of Steve's jackets off the hook and held it out to Loki.

"I know you said no, but-but people w-will s-stare at you f-for not wearing one when it's c-cold."

Loki hesitated but grabbed the offered coat with a small nod of thanks.

Once on ground level Ashlyn lead the way out of the tower, the secretary at the front desk marked that Loki was leaving with an Avenger and Ashlyn showed him to her car through the blustery and icy wind. They both got inside, Ashlyn starting the car.

"You have to wear a seat belt," the seer explained. Loki raised and eyebrow.

"Here." She reached over and pulled the seat belt over his chest, guiding his hands to the buckle. When the Norse God was secured, Ashlyn buckled herself in and showed him how to work the radio and change the channels in case he wanted to listen to music. To her surprise he chose a classical station.

"How do you not hit the other transportation devices?" Loki asked as they drove down the busy street. "There are so many. How do you know when to go and where to go?"

"You ride horses in Asgard, correct?"

Loki dipped his head.

"Well...imagine driving a car like driving a horse. You steer them with reigns and you steer a car with a wheel. To make them break or go faster you either tell them to, hit them with your spur, or pull on their reigns to make them stop. With a car you have two pedals here, see?" Ashlyn pointed with a hand, her eyes on the road. "There are certain laws of the road you learn when you learn how to drive in driver's training, such as the person to your right has the right of way at a four way stop or when turning you have to watch for oncoming traffic. If you don't follow these laws, there's lots of road rage which leads to honking and swearing at the different drivers in different vehicles. It's like a science. You can add certain chemicals together safely with minimal reactions but add two wrong things together and there can be potential hazards such as an explosion, harmful gases, or exothermic and endothermic reactions, and different precipitates caused by different chemical reactions."

Loki stared at her in amazement. "And I believed you ignorant."

"I eat and breathe science," Ashlyn stated. "I-It's kinda what I w-went to school for."

"We'll have to park here," the brunette told him after five minutes or so of nothing but classical music and Loki observing intersections with many curious glances. "T-The lot to the grocery s-store and all the parking in front of it is f-full."

The brunette backed into her parking spot across the street, turning off the car and put the keys in her coat pocket. When Loki failed to free himself from his seat belt he gave Ashlyn many nasty glares when she had to help him out of it.

The pair exited the car and entered the cold, early spring weather, the wind nipping at their faces. Loki immediately left Ashlyn's side and strode across the street without checking the traffic.

"Loki!" Ashlyn shrieked when a taxi came racing at him at full speed. The super solider whipped into the street, grabbed Loki by the back of his jacket, yanked him off of his feet, through the air, and pulled him back onto the sidewalk. The cars in the street blared their horns at the near accident, the taxi almost fishtailing into oncoming traffic.

The Norse God, overwhelmed and surprised by the full extend of Ashlyn's strength, gawked at her as if she was a strange creature from another galaxy.

"You need to watch where you're going!" Ashlyn scolded as she fought to catch her breath from the shock of the event. "Cars aren't just g-g-going to stop for you because y-you want to walk a-across the street!"

"Hey, stupid!" a man on their side of the sidewalk taunted. "You better listen to your girlfriend!"

"It's no big deal," his wife said.

Loki spun around, his lip curled up in a sneer. "I have no urge whatsoever to court this female. Watch who you are calling stupid, you pathetic and ignorant Midgardian!"

The man only became more enraged by his strange language. "You wanna start a fight, huh buddy?"

"It was a m-mistake," Ashlyn tried to reason. "He's not from here-"

"I will best you in battle faster than you can bat your weak little eye," Loki retorted.

"Is that so, punk?" the man, who was shorter and much fatter than Loki canted his head aggressively up at the dark haired man. "I'll sue your ass after my fists are done with you."

"Harold?" the man's wife chirped anxiously.

Loki chuckled dangerously. Ashlyn was panicking, fearing for the heavier man's life and not wanting to hurt the two of them to break them up.

"Sir, I'm really sorry this is a mis-" the seer exclaimed. The piggish man tried to shove her roughly away but Ashlyn used her strength to hold her ground.

"I'm trying to r-reason with you," Ashlyn said. "Please just c-calm down-"

All of a sudden his swollen hand collided with her cheek, her face barely stinging even with the amount of brute force he had put into the slap.

"Harold!" his wife yipped.

Loki gave a roar, starting forward only to have Ashlyn haul him back by the back of his jacket once again like a small child being reclaimed by his mother. Loki struggled in her grip for a minute, swearing at Ashlyn and telling her to let him straighten the ugly and stupid animal out while the wife shrieked, "That's Foresight, Harold! She's an Avenger! She's Captain America's wife!"

The two hurried off, the man beat red in the face with embarrassment and the wife's face stained with tears. She uttered an apology as she passed, too scandalized to stop and speak to Loki and Ashlyn properly.

"Why didn't you let me finish him?" Loki snarled when Ashlyn released him. "You may be an irritating mortal but you do not deserve to be hit for no reason whatsoever!"

"Let it go, Loki," Ashlyn said.

"I want to wring his overweight neck-"

The seer squeezed his wrist. "Let it go," she repeated with an air of finality. Loki grunted and swore under his breath but didn't give chase to the couple.

At the cross walk the two of them crossed with the eyes of the pedestrians who had witnessed the event on their backs as if they were wearing targets, the two of them ducking into the store; Ashlyn self consciously and Loki spitefully.

In the grocery store, the exiled Asgardian's eyes flitted about as people all around him passed by without a second glance with their carts full of food and occasionally a child or two. A few of the children whispered and pointed in amazement at the sight of Ashlyn. She gulped, blushing and waving to a few kids who called out her alter ego and some adults who uttered thanks as they passed. She couldn't help but grin as she started pushing her cart, Loki close by her side, when a teenager who was bagging groceries fumbled in awe with carton of eggs he was packing and a little girl exclaimed, "They shop for food too?!"

It probably hadn't been the best idea to throw on her 2013 Christmas issued Avengers jacket that had been given to her by Tony. Her crew neck was in the laundry (it was her absolute favorite), but the windbreaker with the word AVENGER in blue on the back and the letters filled and dripping with numbers was a close second. Ashlyn had donned it out of habit. It was a one of a kind (all the Avengers wore them out and about so when someone spotted the word on the back and the unique design to each super hero, it was hard not to recognize the Avenger in the black jacket). Clint's was her favorite with a pair of hawk wings on either side of the text spread wide and an arrow running through the word.

"What are we here again for?" Loki questioned sourly when someone bumped into him. Ashlyn kept her hand clamped on his wrist as she steered the cart to the dairy and produce section.

"F-Food," Ashlyn reminded.

"And why do we have to be the ones to get it?"

"It's either us or w-we sit at h-home and starve."

Loki's brow furrowed as Ashlyn consulted her list and loaded a few gallons of milk and chocolate milk into the cart, stacking in cheese, butter, eggs, orange juice, a bag of apples, and some vegetables in after.

"Can I t-trust you to grab the sack of potatoes and p-put them on the rack at the b-bottom of our cart without throwing them at anyone?" Ashlyn asked, her tone more serious than teasing.

Loki rolled his eyes and lifted the sack up effortlessly and loaded them onto the bottom of the cart.

"Thank you."

Loki huffed gloomily. "You think you are so amusing."

"Yeah, it's a talent. Just let me know if Mr. Melancholy wants a snack or something."

"Hormonal wench," Loki said but his tone wasn't darkened by anger or taunting.

"Y-You really don't k-know how to talk to girls do you?"

"Sometimes it seems you do not know how to talk period."

"Oooooh!" Ashlyn exhaled. "I'm going to need ice for that burn."

Loki looked on in bemusement, watching as Ashlyn put several loaves of bread and a few jars of peanut butter, jelly, and nutella each into the cart. She shook her head, leading him down another aisle. She threw several different condiments in the cart and spoke to him again.

"But y-you seriously don't, do you? Haven't you e-ever had a girlfriend or had...?"

"That is none of your concern," Loki snapped.

"Even I'm not a virgin," her hormonal mouth teased with a small blush. She rubbed her stomach and added, "Obviously."

"You are making me wish that you will suffer immensely in childbirth."

It was the brunette's turn to roll her eyes. "Would you m-mind grabbing those?" She pointed to the canned goods on the very top shelf that she couldn't reach. Loki complied, taking down several cans of soup and putting them moodily in the cart.

After picking up lunch meat and other meats, Ashlyn pushed the cart to the check out line. The seer wasn't the least bit surprised when Loki tried to pull ahead and cut to the front.

"I am a God," Loki hissed. "I don't have to obey your laws of etiquette!"

"With me you do," Ashlyn whispered fiercely in response. "You're a mortal now. Just because y-y-y-you know how to fight doesn't m-mean that you w-won't get b-beat up!"

Loki wrenched himself out of her grip and crossed his arms, his face the epitome of surliness. As the line dwindled, Loki occupied himself with rifling through tabloids with a rather bored expression while he waited for groceries to be taken care of.

With the food bagged and softly loaded in the back of Ashlyn's car after their trip to the grocery store, Ashlyn lead the Norse God down the sidewalk and down a few blocks.

"Where on Midgard are we going?"

The brunette only grinned to herself. "Y-You'll see."

Loki certainly did see. Up huge marble steps and into a pair of wide oak doors the female super solider lead him, his eyes popping and an inhuman sound escaping his lips when Loki realized what kind of building they were in. Ashlyn spread her arms in a wide gesture to the huge shelves of books that nearly touched the high ceiling, row after row of shelves full of novels, files, and magazines of all sorts of genres stored in every nook and cranny of the grand library they had entered.

The dark haired man darted in a fast stride to the first shelf he could reach, his eyes a pair of longing saucers and hands twitching with yearning. Ashlyn used her speed to keep up with his long legs as he came to his destination, fingertips stroking the spines of all the books he could lay his hands on.

"Do they have a l-library like this i-in Asgard?"

Loki gave a slow nod as his hands pried open a thick and worn book with a leather cover. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of knowledge. "One like this, but perhaps not as expansive," he muttered, the words falling from his mouth before he could stop them. "I spent so long in that prison without the shelter of a book, without the friendship that exists on the pages of fine literature. When I came here...the few books in the tower were on inventing and motor work and physics. It was as if they were in a different language. They consisted of blueprints and pictures on paper with such a sheen on it my fingers slipped at the touch. Not real books. Nothing like this."

"I c-can sympathize," Ashlyn said.

Loki's eyebrows raised. "I daresay you can't."

One of Ashlyn's favorite books caught her eye and she pulled out the thick book with a ginger hand, fingertips brushing across the cover. She opened up the last Harry Potter book and read, "Finally, the truth. Lying with his face pressed into the dusty carpet of the office where he had once thought he was learning the secrets of victory, Harry understood at last that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to walk calmly into Death's welcoming arms. Along the way, he was to dispose of Voldemort's remaining links to life, so that when at last he flung himself across Voldemort's path, and did not raise a wand to defend himself, the end would be clean, and the job that ought to have been done in Godric's Hollow would be finished: Neither would live, neither would survive." Ashlyn looked up, closed the book, and gave him a faint smile. She hugged the book to her chest as if she could be transported into the pages. "The reason I managed to live this long is because of these books. Novels in general were kind, but this series was my savior. Let's just say I wasn't exactly the most popular girl in school when I was growing up. I used to have a slot in the hierarchy but I was booted to the bottom of the food chain. I may not know the chains and bars of a prison but I do know of a cage caused by barbed words, stunning unkindness, and biased aggression. Literature is the safest sanctuary, the greatest shelter for weary bones. We all have our demons, Loki. The only problem is that we tend to smother them and later, when they finally emerge, the results are hair raising."

The dark haired male met her eyes and then quickly turned away. His fingers twitched as he shifted his weight anxiously. Ashlyn placed the book back onto the self. She then picked out the first three books from the famous saga and handed them to Loki. The tension between the two of them was broken by a small voice.

"Miss Foresight?" a little voice questioned tentatively from behind Ashlyn. The seer spun to find a small brunette with olive green eyes in a Captain America hoodie, her hood pulled up over her eyes with holes cut out and wings on the side to mimic the super soldier's uniform. She was all alone.

"How can I help you?" Ashlyn asked, stooping down so she was eye level with what seemed to be a lost four year old.

"My mommy said that if I ever got sep'rated, I-I was 'posed to come to a grown-up that I could trust."

"Well you've come to the right person," Ashlyn assured her. "We'll find your mother."

"Caught on nanny duty?" Loki chided. The moment they had shared was severed.

"I d-daresay you can behave?" Ashlyn mimicked his tone. The super solider took the girl's hand and gave Loki a warning glare. He rolled his eyes and resumed browsing the shelves.

Flagging down the girl's mother was not an easy task. The library was so large in size that one could get lost in the rows of books and never emerge. The child clung to Ashlyn's hand, frequently piping up with questions.

"That was Loki, right?" she asked.

Ashlyn nodded.

"But he isn't a God an'more, right? He wasn't wearin' his crown. He's gettin' punished?"

The seer knew the information was classified (she could only imagine the uproar if the general population figured out it was the man who tried to enslave them) but the child's deductions were spot on. "Us Avengers are looking after him and making sure he doesn't try any funny business."

"I'm glad I got to meet you," the girl said with a smile. "I've always wanted to meet one of the Avengers. If my brother was here he'd flip! His favorite is...is the Hulk! I like Captain America. You're married to him, right? I was only like...like two! Two when you got married."

"Yes, we're married. The Captain is in Florida right now working w-with the other Avengers while I stay here and watch the bad guy."

The small brunette searched and looked around for a bit before she spoke again. "Can I get your aw'graph to show my brother I-I metcha?" She pulled out a notebook with the Avengers 'A' logo on the front. On the very first page she gave Ashlyn the book and pointed to the paper with a patriotic pen. "Jus' write your superhero name."

Ashlyn did as she was told when a woman walked up to the two of them.

"Victoria! Baby, there you are!"

"Hi, Mommy. Mommy, Mamma, look who heh-helped me find you!"

The mother, identical to her daughter in every way, picked the little girl up in her arms. "Thank you. I knew the Avengers were heroes but I didn't know if they'd help with simple things like-oh never mind. Gosh if Brighton was here..."

Ashlyn shook her hand and they parted, Victoria waving and saying if they met again that Cap better be there too. When Ashlyn found Loki again he was surrounded by...girls?

"Haven't I seen you before?" one with blonde hair inquired. "You look really familiar."

"Yeah, he does, Carly! I feel like I almost know you but where from?"

"You're handsome," a female with bright red hair dared to say. "Are you a model?"

"He sound European!"

"Who are you? What's your name?"

"How do we know you?" the blonde chirped.

If Loki was overwhelmed by the sudden influx of estrogen in the area he didn't show it. His eyes darted to the side of a near by book, plucking a name from the spine. He pieced together a quick alibi "I am Hans Schön. I'm a...European model."

Whatever a European model exactly was, Loki was unsure but seemed pleased by the reaction he received from the girls. They swarmed him, pleading for autographs and pictures. Loki wasn't the least bit flustered by the attention. He gave the girls a thousand-watt smile and signed in the name he had stole from a famous author from the past on the papers they seemed to pull out of nowhere. Even though he seemed to radiate with happiness from the mob of naive women, his green eyes gleamed with mischief.

Ashlyn literally had to seize him to drag Loki from the suddenly rabid girls who were playing with his hair, hanging on his arms, and complimenting his fine features. They groaned when she took him, muttering about how he already had a girlfriend and their numbers were useless. Ashlyn showed him to checkout for his chosen books without a word. She hung onto the sleeve of his jacket as she walked him back to the car. Once they were back in Ashlyn's vehicle, the dark haired male burst into laughter.

"You're ridiculous," Ashlyn said. She couldn't help but laugh a little too. "I can't believe you p-p-put u-up with all t-those girls c-clinging to you li-like...like parasites."

"I went with the notion anyway. What exactly is a European model?"

Ashlyn paused and burst into more laughter as she started the car. "A m-model is a person with very good looks, a g-g-good body, and usually a personality to m-match. Um...they are f-famous and r-role models and they have photos t-taken of them modeling. The pictures are put i-in magazines and such. I-I'd have to show y-you when we return to th-the tower."

Loki nodded. "And what are photos?"

"I-Images taken by a c-camera."

He was bemused. "'Images taken by a camera?'"

Ashlyn sighed, attempting to explain his questions as they drove back to the tower. In his time he had been on Earth, Ashlyn had never seen him look...happier.

1:20 PM

"Tony Stark I swear to God-"

"Love you too, sweetie. Now, what was I saying before I was rudely interrupted?" Tony interjected. Steve watched from nearby in uniform, arms crossed over his chest as he waited for his turn on the computer. Pepper, who was looking as irritable as she sounded, held Jamie in her arms as she chewed on a teething ring. The baby blurted out repeated syllables as she gnawed, playing with sounds she knew how to pronounce.

"Something along the lines of you being an arrogant jackass?"

"Ah yes. But I'm your arrogant jackass. On the topic of suits, we were discussing if the kids needed them. I'm all for them, you never know what hell is going to be out there. Plus maybe they can even change their diapers!"

"Maybe when they're older, Tony."

"I'm already working on prototypes. They need suits, Pepper. Maybe not now, but when they're older. I will agree with you there. It's essential that they have them for protection."

"Tony, we're worrying about this far to early. I already have the suit here for me that you gave me as a birthday present-"

"You weren't nearly as excited as I hoped you were going to be-"

Pepper ignored him and plowed on. "I really don't want to talk about this right now. Alina is going to wake up soon and be hungry. I can see that Steve would like to get on."

Steve, who had been trying to hide his amusement, became confused. He hadn't realized he was in Pepper's eye range.

"Blah blah blah. He can talk all he wants to his Ashiepoo when I'm done having time with you," Tony insisted.

Pepper whispered a few choice words that Steve pretended he couldn't hear. Tony heaved a sigh.

"Fine, Pepper. Whatever. We're still getting the twins suits, though."

"I feel like strangling you."

"Now I'm no genius...wait I am, but in all seriousness I'm miles and miles away from you, Pep. I don't think that that's going to work out," Tony told her with a smirk.

"You're lucky I love you. Come home safe, okay, Tony? Jay and Leo miss you," Pepper pleaded as gingerly held Jamie's arm and moved it so her daughter waved goodbye.

"'Bye, honey. 'Bye, Jamie! Daddy loves you!"

Jamie looked to the screen and smiled. "Dadadadadadada," she stammered.

"Steve, you stay safe too! Make sure Tony comes home in one piece, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, ma'am," Steve assured.

Once they clicked off, Tony set it up and connected Steve to the tower's computer.

"There you go big boy," Stark said as he exited the room.

Steve checked the black dot that was the camera at the top of the computer screen, the light flashing green to tell him it was on. The computer rang before Ashlyn's face appeared on the screen with a huge smile. "Steve!"

A wave of heat ran through him. "Hi, Ashlyn. I wanted to check up on you before we headed out."

"I'm good! I got back f-from running a few errands with Loki. We w-went grocery shopping and went to the library and I picked a few things up from our house. I also bought him a new pair of shoes." Ashlyn's happy beam was causing a swarm of butterflies to flock to his stomach. Even though he hadn't seen her for a few days, she seemed to have changed and picked up some sort of healthy, radiant glow.

"I'm sorry I didn't call sooner, darlin'," Steve apologized. "We had trouble getting into the Florida borders. We eventually just had to force our way through. The blockades are tough."

"You've seen tougher. I know you guys will push through it and will be home in no time. I j-just hope a civil war doesn't break out. H-have you figured out who is causing it?"

"Just a group of homicidal maniacs on a power crusade," the Captain explained. "So what have you been doing the past few days? Did Loki give you any trouble?"

"No. He finally came out of his room this morning to get breakfast. He was o-on some sort of pout or scheming trip. He's a handful b-but nothing I can't deal with," Ashlyn promised.

"That's good. That's real good. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. I miss you a lot, Steve. I know i-it's silly too but it's so quiet." The male super solider was surprised when the female suddenly switched topics. "Jane is showing already. She looks like she's at least four months along even though she's not."

"Does Thor know?" Steve asked quietly.

Ashlyn shook her head.

"Jane hasn't told him yet?"

"She was trying, remember? Didn't you hear her trying to talk to him but every time he dismissed her for a 'more important' matter? She'll manage to tell h-him eventually. What have you been doing?"

"Training some new recruits for this trip, showing them how to properly aim a gun, battle strategies, and what not. They couldn't stop telling me what an honor it was to be trained under me." Steve ran a hand through his hair, a nervous and modest habit he had picked up from his mother as a child. "I've been trying to survive with Stark. He's been attempting to show me how to work some of the technology here. He gets angry at me most of the time because I mess up a lot or don't remember certain things."

"Maybe I s-should punch him in the face."

"You're a lot feistier than I remember since leaving you," Steve mused.

"You have to have your wits about you to put up with the dark haired wonder," Ashlyn said with a small eye roll. "I've been learning from the best."

"Who? Tony?"

Ashlyn laughed. "I suppose he helps but I was talking about you, you egghead. You can be extraordinarily sassy when you summon the power to do so."

"Is that so?"

"Yes! Remember the other day when Clint told you to kiss his ass and you called-"

"-Him a poet?" Steve finished with a smirk.

"Or when you told Tony to slip into something more comfortable like a coma because he was asking you about your 'sweet, sweet love making abilities'?" Ashlyn was blushing and stumbling upon her words.

"Maybe I should let you punch him in the face."

"Hopefully it will damage his ego."

"I require nourishment!" a voice called in the background.

"You require a kick in the-" Whatever Ashlyn was about to finish grumbling it never came because Loki appeared on the screen next to her. He gave Steve's face on the computer a very confused and strange look before he finished speaking.

"I'm famished. When are you going to prepare a meal?"

"Sorry, Steve, I have to go. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"Okay, darlin'. I'll see you later." Steve gazed at Loki and hoped he wouldn't be too annoying for his wife.

"We've g-got a ton of food n-now. What were you thinking a-about..." Ashlyn trailed off as the signal was cut and she and Loki disappeared, red lights flashing and a siren blaring above him. The ground quaked with a distant explosion. Steve glanced up in shock, getting up and rushing out of the room and into the corridor.

"Cap!" Clint shouted. The super solider stopped and pivoted to find Clint and Natasha running up behind him. They were dressed and ready to go. "Fury called. We need to get outside."

As they exited the base, Bruce and Thor joined them. Tony was the last, decked out in his iron suit with his face revealed. Director Fury was waiting for them.

"Good. The gang's all here," Fury said. "Listen up. We've got a civilian bombing. The town here is going up in flames."

To confirm his statement, the ground trembled as if there was an earthquake and there was a distant round of explosions and gunfire.

"What's going on though?" Natasha inquired.

"If I knew I'd tell you. Just control the in the vehicle and get going. Dr. Banner, work as a medic until we figure out this damn situation," Fury commanded. "Take out the gunman and stop the bombs before they do any further damage. We'll set up a scanner and figure out where and when more are going to happen. From there, Stark, you're going to diffuse them. Our soldiers will help stop the gunfire in a an exchange." There was distant screaming and more explosions. "Fuck it's going to be nasty. Cap, direct them as you will."

The Captain pulled up his hood and donned his mask, leading the Avengers to the vehicles. "Thor, Tony, we'll meet you there. Thor, take out as many guys as you can. Tony, fire up JARVIS and tell him to start scanning. We've got to save as many lives as possible," Rogers directed. Tony gave a salute and he and Thor took to the sky.

"Hopefully we can stop them," Clint commented as their car speeded to the attack.

"We will," Steve assured. "We have too."

1:30

Dr. Banner swallowed hard when he got out of the car, med pack strapped to his waist and eyes in search of hurt civilians. The detonations rocked the ground under his feet, frantic shrieks streaking through the city as people scattered and desperately tried to get to cover. There were huge mobs of people, men and women that looked as if they had been yanked right off the street and into the enemy's ranks and handed guns. Their faces were twisted gruesomely, their whole eyes seeming to be abysses of ebony darkness. There was no beginning of the iris and no end, just one pool of tortured black in either eye.

The minutes ticked by in blinks, everything Bruce Banner witnessed in high speed. The dark-eyed people were sloppy, their aim terrible but their mob mentality prevailed. They swarmed people, shooting them without a second thought. Bruce worked as best as he could, but for every person he saved there seemed to be two or three more dropping and waiting to be saved. There was S.H.I.E.L.D medics among him but they kept away from the doctor as if he carried a plague.

It was pure chaos. He wasn't sure what was going on. He needed it to be stopped. His heart was racing, the Other Guy threatening to burst free from Bruce's restraints.

"Please tell me you're working on this," Bruce begged.

"We're trying, doctor, but they're everywhere," Steve said.

"Did you see their eyes?! I mean, what the hell?!" Clint butted in, the swish of a shooting arrow accompanying him.

"It's like out of an episode of Supernatural." Steve's modern reference was lost on the lot of them. But Bruce understood. He had watched all the seasons on Netflix with Ashlyn.

"Hopefully that's not what it is," Bruce responded. "Or we'd be screwed. I don't think demons would take to guns, though."

"Hey Stark! Did you get anything yet?" Natasha questioned.

"JARVIS is still scanning. I don't have an exact location down but I've got a general. There's some sort of main control detonating the bombs. I saw a few suicide bombers too but hopefully the main board covers that," Tony answered.

"Make that your top priority. With that down, maybe the demon-eyed freaks will go down too," Steve demanded.

"They are easy to best in battle. They are no match for my strength," Thor told them.

"Keep up the good work, Thor. You'll be our last resort if Tony can't rewire the bomb control," Steve finished.

Just as he took off his med band to help a bleeding man and Bruce's lips formed a reply, the earth gave a mighty tremble and Banner was blasted off his feet. His vision blackened out, switching to a blinding white before he came too.

The first thing he noticed was that there was a blinding pain in his leg. He could feel bits and scraps of sharp material in his lower limb like nails or glass. The bombs were loaded with shrapnel.

The sound of gunfire echoed in his ears, explosions resounding across the area as S.H.I.E.L.D's soldiers exchanged fire with the militia. Bruce ducked as he fought to calm his dashing heart, to slow the seething anger in his bloodstream that was frothing and threatening to spill over in waves of absolute fury. He tried to focus on keeping himself calm. His hands clenched together as he let out a slow hiss of pain, the shrapnel in his leg causing him such blinding pain any attempt to sit up resulted in a battle for dominance between him and the Other Guy. He didn't want to look down, afraid that if he did so he would see the gore and lose total and utter control of himself.

Bruce gritted his teeth and groaned, the heat and anger inside of him intensifying. His fingernails were digging into the palms of his hands so hard that they were drawing blood. He was slowly loosing the battle, the inner wrath emerging and agony visible in every pore of his skin.

"Hey! Stay with me." A voice broke into his irate daze. His eyes shot up as a face hovered over him in his red-tinged tunnel vision. A low gasp left his lips and his contorted face relaxed for a moment as his rage hesitated. Before him was what he thought was a young face, maybe in it's late teens or early twenties. The female had a petite frame for as much as he could tell, a thick band of freckles arching over her nose, her light ash brown hair cropped to her collar bone and spiraling about in a tangle of curls. Her dark green eyes bore into his and he watched her trachea flex as she swallowed and caught his stare.

"You've got shrapnel in your leg," she explained, her gaze falling on her med kit. "I'm going to remove the worst of it and staunch the bleeding, okay?"

Bruce gave her a shaky nod, his chest heaving as he fought to remain himself. She read his expression and moved quickly, taking out a pair of tweezers. He couldn't help but crane his neck forward to watch, her expertise hands working diligently. Her fingertips were like a pair of butterfly wings fluttering gracefully about as they grazed against his bloody skin and extracted the sharp metal embedded in his leg. The longer he gawked at her the more he could feel his fury subsiding.

"I've managed to get it out," she told him, her voice calm even in the chaos around them. She carefully but quickly wrapped his leg, her touch reassuring like a safe haven. His flesh felt warm when her skin brushed against his, the stinging momentarily forgotten. Bruce gulped. Even though the pain remained in his leg, it was no longer raw but bearable.

"I've got good news for you." She grinned down at him as she finished up with his wounded limb. "You're going to live."

Bruce managed to dip his head, eyes widening when he saw a cruising grenade propelling itself right at her head. In one swift moment Bruce grabbed the front of her shirt, wrapped her up in his arms, and threw himself on top of her as the danger past and exploded nearby.

"Damsel in distress," she mumbled in his chest, her voice nearly incoherent in the fabric. "That's a new one."

They were breathless for a long minute, Bruce's brown eyes upon her dark green ones.

"Bruce Banner," he finally introduced.

"Kaitlin Chapelle," she greeted with a small and bashful smile. "This is great and all, but you're kinda crushing me."

"Oh. Sorry," Bruce quickly apologized. He rolled off of her into a sitting position, the female following his lead. Bruce's head swiveled as he checked the area. Oddly, the area was silent and abandoned.

"What...?" Kaitlin questioned. She got to her feet and looked around restlessly. "The attackers...they're just...they're gone."

Bruce continued to sit as he gazed around warily. "We need to get out of here."

"Bruce? Are you there?"

"I hear you, Cap," Bruce said aloud. Kaitlin's eyes narrowed in dubiousness until she spotted his ear piece.

"Are you fine? You were cut off for a few minutes," Tony broke in.

"I'm fine. Wounded, but fine."

"Wounded?!"

"How badly are you hurt?"

"Do you need us to come get you?"

They're questions came rapidly. He all knew behind them was the motivation to not have an angry Hulk on the rampage. There were enough pedestrians hurt and stranded, the buildings around him crumbling piles of ash and some of the people gory Swiss cheese.

"Here." Kaitlin offered her hand. Bruce took it, wrapping her petite hand in his as she lifted him to his feet. His bad leg buckled underneath him and he let out a hiss of pain, Kaitlin grabbing him and throwing his arm over her shoulder.

"I got you," she promised him. The world spun slightly as he hobbled forward. He was amazed that she held his weight. "I've got you."

The high speed kicked back into gear. The Avengers met him in the rubble, Kaitlin refusing to part from him. Apparently, he was her patient. She needed to see him taken care of. She demanded it. She escorted him back to the base S.H.I.E.L.D had set up. She didn't speak with anyone. She kept an arm protectively around the doctor as his draped loosely over hers. She said he would be better. He was in shock from the blood loss of his leg, of the people in Florida. Bruce seemed to sleep through the hours, his eyes open but the rest not making sense. Knowledge seeped into his brain at times when he managed to connected the dots. The type of attack he had seen before, maybe even the attackers. It screamed one name.

Schwarzlose.

~Illumini