A/N: Jesus. It's been a while hasn't it? As usual, life got in the way and I got lazy. Writer's block is gone though, so it's time to get on with the show! Hope you enjoy, and that I'm not too rusty.

Disclaimer: As usual, I have about -5.00$ in the bank so if you sue me you're only gonna get my debt. Don't own anything except my OC's and my original plot.

Chapter Three

"It's complicated," Thor muttered, looking away from the group.

"Is it really?" Bruce finally spoke again, "Correct me if I'm mistaken, but in Norse mythology isn't Hel the daughter of Loki?"

"Great, another trickster then," Clint sighed, "Though that does explain a lot doesn't it? Do you think S.H.I.E.L.D knows of her heritage?"

Bruce was the next to speak, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger, "It's S.H.I.E.L.D. If they didn't know for sure, they probably suspected it. Thor," he paused and looked at the Asgardian, "What is Hel like? I presume you've met her."

Thor continued to stare out the window, "The last time I saw Hel was when she was still very young, when my father was exiling her to Niflheim - the realm of the dead. She is bound to that realm, ruling over the souls of the deceased. I remember her being very gifted in magic at a young age, something both Loki and my mother encouraged. Hel was kind hearted, more cunning than mischievous, and quite compassionate. But time and exile could have turned her bitter, I do not know. She was - is - very devoted to her father. It is possible she has been able to find a loophole to enter the other realms on occasion, most likely on your... how do you call it... Hallowe'en. It is when her realm is closest to Midgard."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Steve interjected and Tony looked up.

"Thor, are you saying she could have come to Earth? Had a little fun, gotten knocked up and sent her child off to do her evil bidding?"

Thor looked back at Tony sharply, "Hel is not evil, Anthony. Though she may rule over Niflheim, she has never sought destruction. No, if she has sent her daughter here, there must be some other purpose. But I am surprised she would do so. She has had daughters in the past, but all have been hunted and killed upon leaving Niflheim. After all, the Allfather has been vigilant in attempting to end Loki's line in any way possible. I believe that for this... Morrigan... to not be dead, she must have found a way to avoid the Odin's detection. Her father was most likely Midgardian, and if she were raised on Midgard, then the Allfather would not know of her existence. He has little interest at looking in on your world."

"Well isn't that reassuring," Nat muttered, "Why don't we try to dig up her human identity then? I assume that Morrigan Heldatter is a name she would have taken once she discovered her heritage. If we can find her birth name and identity, that should make her easier to track."

"Sure, we'll just hack S.H.I.E.L.D and see what we can find," Tony smirked, "It'll be fun, seeing what Daddy is hiding away in that infamous shoe box under the bed. Why don't you guys come by here when you get back and we can go over what we've found."

The rest of the Avengers either rolled their eyes or sighed at Tony's bright enthusiasm for breaking S.H.I.E. encryptions. Again.

"And let's try to keep this on the low until we can confirm our suspicions. If we aren't being told everything, it could be Fury isn't being told everything by the Council either," Clint warned.

A couple hours passed before Clint and Natasha returned to the Avengers tower. Bruce and Tony were in the lab when they arrived, making their way upstairs when JARVIS notified them of the agents return.

"Welcome back, kids," Tony smiled his trademark smile at the two before sitting down, "have a fun trip?"

"Very funny Stark," Clint shot back, "If by fun you mean almost getting blown up and failing our mission in a rather spectacular fashion, then I guess yeah you could say we had 'fun'."

"So what have you guys found out?" Natasha glanced between Bruce and Tony questioningly, "Anything on our friend?"

Tony shook his head and Bruce spoke up, "Tony is still working on hacking some of S.H.I.E.L.D's more protected files, but in what we've seen before, there's no more on Morrigan Heldatter than was in the dossier. I would guess she was very careful to keep her birth identity out of S.H.I.E.L.D's hands."

"We're guessing that Fury, for once, isn't actually all knowing. They seem to have no idea what, or who, they're up against," Tony finished, "But we have no way of finding her on our own without S.H.I.E.L.D's surveillance capabilities. So, ideas anyone?"

"That depends, we still want her alive, don't we?" Steve asked, looking around the group who all nodded, "But look at what it took to take Loki - we destroyed most of Manhattan."

"Loki had an army, as far as we know, Morrigan does not," Thor rumbled, "However, Hel inherited a love of games her father. It is Morrigan shares this trait. If that is the case, we may need to play her game."

Natasha spoke up, light dawning in her eyes, "There's a reason we were able to catch her on surveillance again, isn't there? She started the game the moment she let us find her. But what's the objective?"

Tony sighed, "Well that's going to be the winning question isn't it? How are we supposed to play a game with no clear objective?"

"There could be a way."

All eyes in the room turned to Bruce, who'd been mostly silent since talk of this 'game' had begun.

"We use the one person we know can play this type of game."

"No. No way." Steve objected, jumping to his feet.

"Considering last time, I think that's a risk we can't afford to take. How would we even control him? He'd probably vanish the moment he got here and then we'd have two Tricksters to deal with," Clint clenched his fists.

Thor leaned back against the window frame he stood near, looking pensive, "I think that asking for my brother's help in this situation might be beneficial. He does know Hel best, after all, and therefore will be more able to predict her daughter's moves."

"See, big guy, I understand where you're coming from, but how do we know that they aren't working together?" Tony bit his lip, looking between his team mates. "How do we know that freeing Loki is exactly what Morrigan wants?"

"We don't," Bruce spoke softly, "but Asgard has devices to control him - they've worked before. If we could work off those designs, we could find something that would bind him, I'm sure."

"No need, I know of something that would be of use. After all, Loki's powers have already been sealed by the Allfather. There is a device that binds him to an individual, leaving him control over his powers."

"So basically we're going to put the mass murdering maniac on a magical dog leash? Why am I not comforted?" Tony sighed.

Steve looked incredulously at the assembled team, each of them seeming to come around slowly to the idea, "Wait, guys. We can't seriously be considering this. It's insane."

Natasha nodded, "It's true that it is a risk, but without S.H.I.E.L.D able to be of any use to us, maybe it's worth it. But would Loki agree to it?"

Thor thought for a moment, eventually answering with a nod, "I believe so. He does after all have a personal reason to seek her out. If she is indeed Hel's daughter, she is his granddaughter. I believe he would want to find her. I will go to Asgard immediately to discuss it with both him and my father."

Steve sat down and put his head in his hands, "This is madness. I hope it works."

Unease rippled through the assembled Avengers before they stood and retired to their respective rooms. Only Tony stayed up, a glass of expensive scotch in one hand as he gazed out over the New York skyline, watching the traffic - the lights reminding him of a very specific pair of equally as brilliant emerald eyes.

Alright. There it is! Hope you enjoy. All mistakes are mine, this is un-beta'd :p Please review, feedback is appreciated! Until next time!

~Autumn