Alexis sat quietly by the window in her room, the mythology book in her lap unnoticed for hours as she simply gazed unseeing out at the foreign world around her. It had been nearly three weeks, and yet she had never once been in the same room as Loki. The feelings she had towards him scared, no…terrified, her. A strange feeling linked her to him…she always knew when he was close…and she would run in the opposite direction.

Footsteps sounded loudly in the hallway outside Alexis' room, her head snapping towards the sound fearfully as she jumped. The footsteps faded and Alexis relaxed once more and sighed sadly, part of her wishing it had been him.

'No!' she mentally scolded herself. 'You feel nothing…' she then added sadly, 'Just as you always felt nothing.'

Alexis jumped at a sudden rapping on her door, followed by Tony's voice. "Lexie, I know you're in there. Open the door…or I'll get 'hammer time' to kick it in."

Alexis sighed in defeat and walked over to the door, opening it just enough to see if it was just Tony standing outside. She gazed at him steadily through the narrow gap. "What is it Tony? I'm in no fit state to entertain today."

"We need to talk." Tony said firmly as he pushed through the door and closed it behind himself once again.

"About?" Alexis inclined her head slightly as she regarded his pose. "If it's Ragnarok, I'm fairly close to-"

"It's about Loki…" Tony folded his arms and spoke again before she could. "Now, I'm not taking sides here…especially not his, but seriously, if you thought I wouldn't notice how much its killing you two not to be together, then you've got another thing coming."

"What do you mean, Tony?"

"C'mon Lexie, it's obvious you're crushing seriously on the guy…god…whatever he is, you've got the hots for him." Tony's famous smirk made itself evident for a moment but vanished just as quickly. "Now, are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Alexis turned to face the window and walked slowly towards it.

"Oh, I think you do." Tony's voice stopped her in her tracks. "I've seen you shut down like this before. Did you think I didn't remember when your older brother died in that car accident? Or when his wife accused you of murder over that same accident as she held your little nephew in her arms? Or even when you remember what your father used to do?" Tony saw her freeze at the mention of her father and sighed as he walked over and hugged her from behind. "I know you, all too well… and if I can find a way to make you feel better, I'll do everything in my power to do just that-"

"I do not feel…" Alexis muttered as she unfolded his arms from around her small frame and moved closer to the window, staring blankly ahead. "I cannot feel."

"Alexis…" Tony's voice was a pitiful plea. "Please-"

"No."

She walked hurriedly down the hallways of the Asgardian palace, taking quick glances over her shoulder every few seconds, paranoid that she was being followed…or, at least, watched. In her haste, she didn't notice the heavy footfalls ahead of her until she was face to face with the God of Thunder himself. He took hold of her upper arm and pulled her through a door on her immediate left, pushing her forward once they were inside so he could once again close the door.

Alexis looked around. They were in the feasting hall. Opulence dripped off every ego absorbing object that filled the great space around her and Thor… why were they in here?

"You don't have to shove, you know." Alexis stated blankly. "It's not you I'm hiding from."

"I know." Thor's deep voice, usually loud, was exceptionally quiet. "Hence the little chat we're going to have… right now."

"You could've just asked."

"You would have begun avoiding me as you do my brother." Thor's sigh projected his irritation at her 'non-cooperation' with the betrothal.

"Now, see here-!" Alexis began, but Thor cut her off abruptly.

"No, you see here!" Thor's voice grew louder. "You are hurting my brother."

"He's adopted."

"He's my brother!" Thor yelled. "He loves you, Alexis! Does that count for naught?" Thor gazed at her blank face in desperation, waiting for some semblance of emotion to flicker across her face or spark in her eyes. "Or does the undivided love of a soul mate mean nothing to you?" he looked at her sadly. "It's killing him to be away from you… to know that you're running from what you feel-"

"I cannot feel…" Alexis whispered. "Whatever semblance of emotion I had left died after I lost both my mother, and the only man that ever truly cared for me as a father should…"

"Your mother still lives-"

"In a mental institute with no recollection of her life or me unless I play that God-damn song, and if you play it for too long she turns psychotic!" Alexis nearly screamed.

"And the father figure?" he questioned.

"Tony's father adopted me after the accident…" Alexis calmed somewhat. "He was the most descent man I knew…and now I'd say that man is Tony…" she paused.

"You feel for them…you do, I know you do." Thor's tone was gentler now.

Alexis looked at him blankly once more. "You don't want me to feel, Thor… it's not pretty. It's extreme, and it's insane. So I shut down… I cannot feel."

"Oh, but you can." Thor argued, but she simply turned to walk away from him. He knew that this method of being 'gentle' wasn't working… but when he'd said something that caused pain… so he tried a new tactic… Attack! "If this is what you truly are, then there is no strength in you. You are weak." Alexis froze as he emphasised the word. "You are not worthy of my brothers' love. You are worthless. A girl unable to defend herself from her attackers and then using that status as 'victim' to scape-goat your way through life, too scared to do anything, unable to face your past but doomed to relive it every day of your miserable life…" He began to walk closer to her, his voice getting louder with each step he took. "You are the one responsible for your mother's condition…even if she did deserve it in the end... she did let your father do those things to you, after all. She did nothing to stop him. How does it feel to know that the one you hold dearest is responsible for your continuing pain? Hmm?"

Alexis was shaking from head to toe, her hands clenched by her sides so tightly her knuckles had gone white. She could feel how close he was. His words stung worse than anything she could compare it to. He was right behind her now. No one said a word against her mother…not on her watch.

Alexis rounded on Thor, flinging a ball of glowing gold energy at him, knocking him back a few steps. She closed the distance between her and Thor and delivered a devastating right hook to his jaw just as he stood straight again, effectively knocking him to the ground. Alexis then proceeded to kick and hit the crap out of him with everything she had, his grunts of pain echoed around the hall along with her agonised screams; which included insults and other unintelligible words as she continued her attack on the god before her, crying as she did.

Loki watched Banner and Stark from his hiding place as he desperately tried to overhear their conversation. This was all brought to a halt when screams of anguish, distinctly female, began to ring through the halls. Loki watched as Stark froze and the same realisation dawned on him…those were Alexis' screams…

Tony was more than highly aware of the others running close behind him, just as eager as he to find Alexis and stop those agonised cries. The screams and shouts suddenly became too befuddled to follow, and Tony stopped dead in his tracks…this meant they were close. A rather colourful string of words rang loudly around the group and Tony looked up curiously as an amused chuckle sounded close beside him… it was Loki.

"Got quite a vocabulary, hasn't she?" Loki continued to chuckle quietly to himself as he gazed back at Tony.

Tony rolled his eyes, silently agreeing before he yelled loudly, "LEXIE!"

"In here! In here!"

Loki's head snapped towards the far door and then towards Tony. "That was… Thor…"

Loki, Banner and Tony bolted towards the door, bursting through into the next room. The sight that met the trio shocked them all. Alexis was standing over Thor, kicking the shit out of him, shoving him back down onto the stone floor each time he attempted to get up. She'd moved on from screaming profanities at him in English to some other language that Tony couldn't for the life of him understand.

He turned to Loki frantically. "What's she saying?" Loki watched Alexis' abuse of his brother with a perplexed expression, clearly unsure if he should repeat what indeed she was saying. Tony's tone turned from anxious to harsh. "Loki!"

Loki opened and closed his mouth a few times without making a sound and stared at her with a rather…impressed look in his eye before pinching the bridge of his nose and replied. "She's cursing at him… switching between old Norse and Asgardian at an alarming rate." Alexis screamed out more unintelligible words at Thor and Loki balked. "I didn't teach her that one…"

Tony shook his head and made his way, hesitantly, towards his adopted sister. "Lexie, leave him be now, that's enough." Ordinarily that would have been enough to stop her doing anything, but today she wasn't having a bar of it. Tony frowned at her and took another step forward. "Lexie…cease! Desist!"

Loki took a tentative step forwards and froze. "Baldur…"

Another of the gods had appeared, having heard the pained cries of anger. He took one look at the whole situation, strode forward, swung his arm and backhanded Alexis hard; so hard she fell to the floor, still kicking at Thor and now crying profusely, tears running down her cheeks. Baldur snarled at her and she recoiled slightly, but still had enough guts to return to kicking Thor wherever her feet now reached.

Thor wheeled around, his hand closing painfully around Baldur's throat as Tony pulled her away from Thor, cradling her against his chest as she continues crying and shouting insults, finally breaking down into uncontrollable sobs. "You idiot!" Thor yelled at the god he now had gasping for air. "Do not meddle where you are not needed…" Thor threw him across the room. "Or wanted!"

Baldur scurried from the room, nursing his pride, as Tony began to yell at Thor as he cradled Alexis against his chest. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?!"

Thor replied calmly, his gaze never faltering. "Proven that she can feel."

Alexis looked up at him through tear filled eyes, pulling away from Tony and standing up. "You've proved nothing!" Alexis ran, her shoulder crashing against Loki's, tears blinding her as she tore from the room.

Seeking solace, Alexis hid out on the only balcony that no one ever went to, watching the stars wink at her through the darkness. She curled up against a wall and began to cry silently, her only companions the stars in the sky above and around her huddled form.