"We can spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are. Sane or insane. Heroes or victims. Letting history tell us how good or bad we are. Letting our past decide our future. Or we can decide for ourselves. And maybe it's our job to invent something better."

–Chuck Palahniuk

Sunlight streamed into the room as Jarvis opened the blinds on the windows, causing Freyja to stir from her sleep. She looked around for Loki, but realized he would have left sometime in the night, and gave a sigh. It had occurred to her that night that it was unlikely that he would stay till the dawn. That didn't stop it from disheartening her, though.

She walked over to the closet and pulled out the green tunic and leather trousers she had recently repaired, knowing she'd attract much less attention in them on the other Realms than if she were to wear her Midgardian clothes. Once finished dressing, she moved to the bedside table where she kept all of her jewelry, besides the ring Loki gave her, which she never removed.

She looked at herself in the full length mirror next to the closet, assessing the differences since she had last looked in a mirror. Usually, she avoided them at all costs, not wanting to see the face she saw. Apparently, she took her mother's appearance when in Asgardian form, though she didn't know why. She had never seen anything more than pictures of her mother – but that had only been long after she had first gone to Asgard.

The woman in the mirror was tall and proud in appearance. She seemed so calm and collected, the exact opposite of what Freyja truly felt. What she loathed about mirrors was the fact that they showed her something false. She was not Asgardian but, even if she changed her form back to her true appearance, she would still not look as she truly was. Her eyes were not naturally blue, her hair had originally been silver, and she was not as tall as the rest of her people. But her father had created some form of permanent spell that hid the three aspects that marked her for what she truly was. There had been a time when such superficial things wouldn't have troubled her. But with all she knew now, the illusion existed only as a physical marker for the true deception she hid behind.

With a shake of her head to dispel such thoughts, she turned away and pulled her briefcase out from under her bed. The strong pull of the Tesseract could be felt through the metal, calling out to her as it did to only those who shared its power in their blood, but she ignored the singing in her veins. She ran her hand over its surface and it shrunk to the size of a die. Checking around the room one last time, she pulled a silver chain from the briefcase, slipping the Tesseract into the tree root-shaped pendant so that it wrapped around the cube, and clasped it around her neck.

Though she had originally planned to leave the Tesseract in the briefcase, she didn't want to be put in a situation where she would have to leave it – and, subsequently, the Tesseract – behind. It was safer on her person. So she tucked it away beneath the hem of her tunic and closed the briefcase, turning off the lights in the room as she walked out. As she walked down the hall, she shrunk the briefcase until it was the size of Tony's cell phones and slid it into her pocket, as she didn't want to attract attention. The air around her shimmered as her tunic and trousers took on the appearance of one of Tony's T-shirts and a pair of acid-washed jeans.

She stopped in surprise when she saw Bruce asleep on the couch and Tony standing still, staring at her with his arms crossed over his chest. Though she knew what he looked angry about, as it had to be related to her revenge on him for all his callous words, she pulled on a mask of confusion. No need to give it away too soon.

"Is everything alright, Tony?"

"Don't 'is everything alright, Tony' me," he said slowly. "I know it was you."

She frowned at him, "What was me?"

Questions were always a safe bet. There was almost no way to lie with a question, and they worked to distract the other participant of the conversation. If she played her cards right, which she could almost guarantee, she would never have to admit to the prank aloud.

"You know exactly what."

She shook her head, "I can hardly give you the answers you seek if you refuse to tell me what is wrong."

It wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the full truth. She didn't have to give him the answer he wanted, the confession he was there for, if he didn't explicitly ask for it. If he never asked an explicit yes-or-no question regarding the problem, she could get away with half-truths and more questions.

"I don't know how you did it, but you snuck into my lab last night and painted all of my suits in the colors of your boyfriend," he snapped, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "All of them are gold, green, and black now!"

"Have you asked Bruce if he had seen anything?" she asked, gesturing towards the couch.

Tony walked over to the couch and shook Bruce awake. Freyja smiled inwardly, keeping her face in an emotionless mask to keep from giving anything away. She was quite amused at just how irate Tony was becoming over his suit. His reaction was definitely worth it, but she couldn't wait until he attempted to repaint them.

"What is it, Tony?" Bruce mumbled, not opening his eyes.

"Did you see anything strange when you dragged me back here last night?"

"Strange as in…?"

Tony tossed him his glasses and waved a hand over the coffee table, bringing up a three dimensional view of the Iron Man suits in his lab, "As in someone sneaking into my lab and doing that!"

Bruce squinted at it before putting his glasses on and staring in shock, though Freyja didn't miss the small twitch in his lips from where he was fighting a smile, "What happened?"

"She painted it!"

Bruce looked to Freyja, who tapped a finger to her lips, "Did she tell you that?"

"No, but-"

"Well, we already know she can't lie."

"I…oh."

The elevator doors slid open at that moment, revealing a very upbeat Steve. Freyja had to fight the relieved sigh at the sight of him, as she was beginning to think Tony might be catching on, and instead turned to face the captain. He walked out and opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he saw all three and the hologram of the suits. He didn't even bother to fight his smile.

"Oh, the fangirls are going to love that," he laughed. "What was it they called it? Iron Giant? Toki?"

"Frost-iron," Bruce corrected.

"Shut up," Tony said, narrowing his eyes at both of them, but she could still see the amusement in them. "Who could have come in here without alerting anyone and…Natasha. Or Clint. Or both."

Steve looked at him in concern, "I think you still may be a little drunk, Stark."

"What are you even doing here?"

"Freyja, Bruce, and I are going to S.H.I.E.L.D. for a presentation."

"We are?" Bruce asked.

Steve and Freyja exchanged glances, both unsure what to say.

"You did not know?" Freyja asked. "I wish to offer an advancement my people had no use for, but may impact your people greatly."

Now everyone was staring at her in surprise. She inwardly sighed, knowing they would never fool anyone if Steve didn't start putting a little effort into his act. Don't be surprised, I believe I told you I could enter the minds of others, she said in his head. You need to improvise a little, or no one will believe us.

Steve opened and closed his mouth before he could manage to pull himself together enough to speak, "Yeah, Freyja told me last night about it. But she refused to tell me what it was, said it was a surprise. I'm guessing it's in your room?"

Tread carefully, she thought desperately to him, you will have to do most of the talking as I can only bend the truth so much…

"I'll go and get it, shall I?" she said aloud, walking briskly towards her room.

She paced around her room, thinking desperately of what she could possibly summon up to use, as she had nothing at the present that would be of any use to S.H.I.E.L.D. Everything that was in her rooms in Asgard was personal to her in some way. To part with them, even if it meant her escape, wouldn't be easy for her.

Then she remembered something that she truly didn't have a use for, but the humans might. She quickly said the necessary incantation to bring it to Earth. When she finished, she could feel the fluid-like material of the fabric in her hands. It was a bodysuit, similar to the suits she had seen the agents wear, but this one was made to cover every inch of the wearer's body. Satisfied that this would work perfectly, she walked back out to join the rest.

"Here we are," she said, holding it up.

"It's a catsuit," Tony said skeptically.

She looked at him in confusion, but decided she'd rather not know what he was talking about, "Actually, loosely translated, it would be called 'Shadow Suit'."

"What does it do?" Bruce asked.

She ran her fingers over it until she found the seam, slipping her arm into the suit up to her elbow. Instantly, as she knew exactly what she was doing, it shimmered until all of it disappeared except for what was hanging on her arm. The fabric that lay draped over her forearm had altered itself to look like iridescent black scales, giving the illusion a reptilian look. It reverted to its original state as she pulled it off.

"It allows the wearer to transform into whatever, or whomever, they please simply by thought, as such surface thoughts can be read in the aura. The illusion remains until the wearer removes it. Seeing as my people can already change our shape, it's rather redundant."

Bruce blinked at the object, "But if your people were capable of shapeshifting, why invent something which allows you to change your appearance?"

"My people often created things simply for the sake of determining whether or not they could be created."

"We should probably get going," Steve said, cutting off any question Tony had been about to ask. "They're expecting us in about twenty minutes."

Freyja nodded, "We had better hurry, then."

Steve and Freyja quickly made their way through the Bunker, their disappearances mostly unnoticed, thanks to an excuse regarding their equally high metabolisms. Bruce had stayed with the board of agents to present the shadow suit and provide the distraction in doing so. He had been reluctant to lie to S.H.I.E.L.D. without Tony, although he had agreed that Fury would have guessed something was up, and eventually came around.

It didn't take long for them to get to the hangar that held her ship. They were not stopped by other agents, as Freyja was using a charm to keep them invisible, and so the trip took a little under ten minutes.

She pulled the miniature briefcase out of her pocket and restored it to its normal size. As she placed her hand against a raised square directly under the windshield on the right side of the jet, the whole ship lit up, the engine purring softly to life. The crystal windshield swung open and she tossed the briefcase inside, turning to Steve at the last moment.

"Thank you for everything," she said, enveloping him in a hug. "I will never forget your kindness."

He turned red at her words, "It was nothing. Be careful out there, alright?"

"Of course," she answered, leaping onto the wing of the plane in one bound. "May you live a long and happy life, Steve Rogers. You will find what you are looking for."

"What do you mean?" he asked with a frown.

She turned to look at him, about to answer his question, when the whole base shook with the force similar to that of a large earthquake. Both crashed to the floor as bits of the ceiling fell and the floors shook. Freyja pushed herself onto her hands and knees when it stopped, her eyes meeting Steve's in horror as they waited. When there was no sound of the Hulk, Steve visibly relaxed, but Freyja felt her veins prickle in fear. She could feel it even then.

"No," she whispered, leaping to her feet. "Oh, Sophossentia, no."

"What is it?"

Freyja pulled the Tesseract necklace off, draping it over Steve and tucking it hurriedly into his shirt, "I need you to take that and get Bruce. Go back to the Tower and, for the love of all things living, do not take it off. Warn as many as you can to evacuate."

She turned to run, but he grabbed her upper arm.

"What was it, Freyja?"

"It's Thanos," she whispered. "He's come for me. I need to distract him while you get away, so you can keep the Tesseract away."

"But-"

She looked him straight in the eyes, a steely glint in the bright blue hue, "Don't come back for me, Steve. I'm asking you as a soldier."

He opened his mouth to reply, but decided against it and nodded. Fairly certain that he would listen, she ran out the door and allowed her armor to form around her. The armor had very seldom ever been used, but she knew it was adequate for what she was about to do. She extended her mind to her surroundings in search of the cold presence of Thanos. As she pinpointed his whereabouts, she laughed internally at how fate had given her a chance to prove Loki's word true. Perhaps she could be as brave as Loki and his family believed her to be.

Her surroundings were a blur around her as she raced through the halls towards the large room of computers she guessed to be a control center. As she burst through the door, she stopped in shock.

The room was in chaos, the wreckage of tables, electronics, chairs, and a few bodies strewn across the place. The tall, stocky figure of Thanos was in the center of the room, facing away from her. He held a woman by the neck in front of him and as he growled demands at her. It took her a moment to recognize the woman as Natasha.

She formed a small blade of pure energy in her hand and launched it at the Eternal, "Thanos!"

He dropped Natasha as the blade cut through his flesh, growling in pain. The giant spun with surreal grace that did not match his stature as he turned to face her. A strange grin crossed his face as he ran his Tesseract blue eyes, the same shade as hers, up and down her figure. As his eyes trailed back up to hers, she motioned subtly for Natasha to make for the door. The spy might not have liked her, but she knew when she was outmatched, and did as Freyja wished.

"Princess Freyja," he said as he mock bowed. "It has been too long. You look well."

"I'm in no mood for games. Your quarrel is with me, leave the humans out of it."

"Your protection of the weaker species continues to astound me."

"And your lack of compassion disgusts me," she countered, trying to buy Steve, and Natasha, time to get away. "For how many years did you take advantage of my people's kindness, and yet learned nothing."

A muscle at the corner of his lips twitched and she knew she struck a nerve.

"Enough of your games, witch. Where is the Tesseract?"

"I sent it away," she spat. "You'll be lucky if you so much as sense it, now."

And he was upon her in the blink of an eye, his fingers closing around her throat as he pushed her against the wall. She could feel the bruises forming on her skin, her throat closing up under the pressure, even as she clawed at his arm.

"You seem to find all this amusing. Perhaps I should share my own amusements with you."

Her lips curled into a sneer as she fought back the all-consuming fear that tainted his aura, "Only in Niflheim, Thanos."

And, with that, she drove another blade of energy into his torso. His grip on her loosened and she pulled away. Once four feet away from him, she created a spear out of her energy and lunged towards him. She may have never truly fought on the offensive, but she believed in defending herself, and she knew every Asgardian battle technique that could be taught.

He unsheathed the large sword at his side, his black aura flaring around him. Although learned in the art of magic, he had little ability to use it himself, but he had enough to give himself near invulnerability. But she had secrets on her side of which he would never know. That alone gave her hope.

She concentrated on her attacks and defenses, but also allowed herself to assess the situation. He had superior physical strength and was knowledgeable in magic, but lacked the necessary creativity and flexibility of the mind. She was quicker, more limber, stronger in magic, and much more adaptable. But she was also physically weaker and it would only take a few good hits to bring her to her knees.

It was then, as she let her thoughts distract her too much, that she made her mistake. Thanos landed a forceful kick to her ribcage. Throwing a shield of energy up around herself, the force of the blow and the shield combined sent her crashing through two walls and the hall between them. She hit the floor harder than she had expected. Thanos picked his way through the rubble as he made his way towards her, the sword in his hands poised to strike. He stopped as he reached her, smiling at her hesitation.

"If only I could kill you here," he sighed. "Alas, I would only lose all of the information I require. But a wounded princess is still a live one."

She tensed, awaiting the blow as he raised his sword. A loud thud broke through the silence as something round connected with the back of the warlord's head. Freyja rolled out of the way as he tumbled to the ground. She jumped to her feet, grabbing the shield the second she saw it, and ran towards the man who had thrown it.

"What did I tell you?" she yelled, dragging Steve out of the room and down a hall.

"Everyone's out and I knew you needed help."

"So you decided to bring the Tesseract right back into Thanos's grasp?"

"Of course not," he answered, keeping pace with her as they ran. "I gave it to Natasha."

"Are you suicidal? Or do you simply not care?" she demanded, biting back a comment about his choice of giving the Tesseract to Natasha. "Thanos needs me alive, but he won't hesitate to kill you."

"I wasn't going to leave you to fend for yourself."

"I don't need rescuing," she hissed, looking back in the direction of frustrated yells.

"Good thing I'm only helping you, then," he said with a smile.

"Then make yourself useful and – GET DOWN!" she shoved him away as she caught sight of a black streak out of the corner of her eye.

The energy slammed into her back, sending her skidding down the hall. Waves of pain wracked through her body as she convulsed on the floor. It took all of her concentration not to cry out. She could just make out Thanos's figure through her tears, his footsteps slow as though he wasn't in a hurry, as though he had all the time in the world. He yanked her up by her arm, causing her to yelp as he twisted it the wrong way.

"How strange that you are so fiery when your people were the very epitome of passivity. It would have been much more entertaining had they been this lively. Killing them had been all too easy. You should have heard your father scream as I split his skull."

Snarling with anger, she allowed her energy to send a bolt of pain lancing up his arm where he held her. He howled in agony as it raced through his body and he let her go. She twirled around him, giving him a swift kick in the back that brought him to his knees. With a short incantation, chains of her silver aura wrapped around his hands and ankles, pulling him to the ground.

He struggled against the restraints, yelling out in anger. She barely spared Steve a glance, who she had accidentally thrown through a wall of glass in her haste, as she bound the chains into the concrete. Pulling a talisman out of her pocket, she allowed an unstable form of her aura to pool into the jade pendant. She then placed a temporary containment spell on it and tossed it into the rubble.

"Never mistake me for my father," she snapped.

Without waiting for the Eternal's reply, Freyja took off in the opposite direction. Steve, who must have gotten up as she was speaking, didn't say a word when she grabbed his arm and ran.

"We're going to want to be at least a mile from this base in exactly two minutes and thirty-eight seconds," she told him.

"You set a time bomb?" he asked skeptically.

She laughed, "Worse. I 'set' a form of pyrotechnics consisting of pure auric energy. Imagine your atomic bomb, simply twenty-three percent stronger and more destructive. What's the quickest way out of here?"

"The staircase down that hall, to the right."

"Not quick enough," she said as she threw a ball of energy at the ceiling, causing a large hole to open up to the sky. "You have no qualms with flight, do you?"

He shook his head before watching as she rolled her shoulders and white wings unfolded from her back. She took hold of him, bringing him closer, and leapt into the air. He didn't have time to wonder about anything strange that had recently occurred as he was too in shock at the fact he was flying through levels of an underground base to the sky with a winged goddess. He really missed the days when the weirdest thing he had seen was a red-skinned Nazi who had been through an underdeveloped experiment.

When they reached roughly forty feet off the ground, the base exploded. Freyja cried out in surprise as she twirled to escape the flames and tendrils of energy. She knew very well that there was no more painful a death than by pure energy, as it would rend both the body and soul apart. And while she might be able to heal a few burns, Steve could die of energy poisoning if she did not keep him unscathed.

She bit her lip as one of the flames hit her right calf. Another hit her left wing, causing the feathers to burn. Unable to control her flight pattern, she careened to an empty field to the east, her wings wrapping protectively around Steve. She summoned what little energy she had left to soften their landing. They hit the ground hard, despite her efforts, but not enough to do more than bruise their skin. Freyja rolled onto her back, spreading her wings flat against the grass, as she tried to collect her thoughts and catch her breath.

"I didn't know you could fly," Steve said between coughs.

"Shape-shifting," she gasped. "My people aren't born with wings, but we may have them should we wish."

He offered her a hand as she got to her feet, "How did your people die if they could do that?"

"I'm not aware of the exact details."

"Do you think he's dead?"

She gave him a skeptical look, "If only the fates were that kind. He may not be dead, but he is detained for the moment."

"How long will that hold him?"

She shrugged, "Two to three hours."

"At least?"

"At most," she corrected, looking towards the sky and back at Steve. "We need to get to the Avengers Tower and assemble whoever you have to fight. Thanos did not come here alone. He has an army of his own, it simply has not arrived yet."

"More Chitauri?"

"Not likely. From what I've read, the bomb Stark threw towards their base will have likely killed too many of them. But there are always weaker species that he can manipulate."

"So how are we getting to Avengers Tower?"

"Same way we escaped: we're flying."