Kara sighed with relief as she pulled the leather cat suit from her overheated body. It wasn't the heat; it was the humidity, which she had been told was unusually and horrendously high for this area. "Damn, I wish we had a shower."

"We do," Tony said from outside the door of the small room she was using.

"Really?" S.H.I.E.L.D. had flown in not two but five portable structures once Nick Fury had gotten an eyeful of Prince Nyvorlas' long pointed ears. But they were still in a desert. "Where's the water going to come from?"

"Did you hear the choppers? They just landed two pretty huge water tanks. I guess the old pirate likes his comfort."

"Humph. I like my comfort…and so do you, rich boy."

"True. Did you hear me complain? And hey, did Nat pack a robe for you?"

"Um…I don't know." She rooted through the duffle bag. "Tony, did you tell Nat that Loki was with us?"

"Do I look stupid?"

"Only in the suit. Sorry, just teasing. Is the Widow psychic or does she just know you too well? She packed clothes for Loki, too."

"Huh. I wouldn't put either past her. But you'd have to ask Clint to know for sure. You ready to head to the shower yet?"

"Yes, I found a robe in here. You'd better go find Loki. He's liable to get pissy first and ask questions later if he sees you escorting me while I'm less than fully dressed."

"Shit. When you're right, you're right."

"Tony, when am I not right?"

… …

Nyvorlas watched the female Æsir as she kept a close eye on the humans unloading supplies from the various conveyances. It had been centuries since he had last laid eyes on the infamous Lady Sif. It had been during a State visit to Asgard and she had been a lithe beauty with almost metallic golden hair hanging on Thor's arm and his every arrogant word. Nyvorlas had found her insipid, at best. But now, now she was still lithe, but tight bands of muscle gave definition to every part of her magnificent form. The midnight silk of her hair, caught up in a tail high on the back of her head begged to be grabbed and wrapped around the palm of his hand. The danger of bedding a warrior of her renowned ferocity made his blood heat and pool in his groin. "Loki," he said quietly to the half Æsir prince. "I need a favor from you in return for helping your lady with her shielding issues."

Loki's green eyes narrowed in an annoyed glare. "I was told your payment was a trip to Midgard, something denied you according to the treaties."

"Promise me this favor and in return I will not only assist her with shielding, I will allow her to practice the projections she spoke of on me so that she will not endanger either your Æsir or mortal companions."

"I don't do promises…lightly. What is it you wish from me?"

"I want your vow that you will refrain from intentionally killing or intentionally causing the death any of the Avengers or members of their household for the entire first year you spend with them once you begin that part of your sentence…or before you begin it, for that matter."

A deep sigh was wrenched from the god of Mischief. "That is not much to promise. If I were to be the death of any of them, I would be back up in front of the Tribunal. Worse, Kara would likely never forgive me."

"I would also fear the latter more were I you. There is not much the Tribunal could do to you now that would not punish her as well. Regardless, will you give me your promise to this?"

"Why?"

Nyvorlas shrugged, deciding to tell Loki the truth. "I've wagered a ring that confers invisibility on it. I'd like to win that wager."

"Who bet against you? Oh, wait, never mind. No doubt it was Sif. Hmm, the only prize she has worth winning is a Friesian stallion. You have no need of another of those."

"No, besides which, that is what she will lose to Haakun. Her wager to me is for a night in her bed."

Loki turned around fully at that. He stared for a moment in shock and then began to laugh, long and loud.

… …

"You have your promise," Loki finally managed, wiping away tears of mirth. "I'm not sure what you want with her in your bed, but you shall have her. I wish you much luck in surviving it unscathed; I've not heard pleasant tales from those who have ventured there unwanted before."

"You don't think she'll accept me willingly in order to keep the honor of her bet?"

That did make a difference, he decided. "Ah, good point. Allowing it does not mean that she will give you cause to enjoy it, however. But, that is not my problem."

"Good to see something's restored your sense of humor, Lokes. I was thinking marriage had turned you into a party-pooper." Loki sighed at Stark's brash comment as the inventor came up behind them and clenched his jaw to refrain from snapping at him. "Though it does seem to have calmed you down a hell of a lot."

"Anthony," he grated, using the mortal's hated full name to express his annoyance. "You have not known me long enough to make that judgment."

Stark stopped in front of them, his armor packed away to reveal the dark shirt with some commercial artwork on it paired with the dark 'sweatpants' he typically wore under his metal creation. "True. I guess that's going to be rectified, though. What was so funny? I really could use a laugh before we have to sit down with Fury."

Loki glanced at the Álfar who shook his head all but imperceptibly. "An inside joke, Tony. And I haven't the patience at the moment to explain it to you. Where is my wife?"

"Oh, yeah. She's waiting for you to come escort her to the shower. We didn't think you'd be too happy to see her wandering around in only a robe without you."

"Good call." And that call had to have been made by Kara. Stark would not have seen the harm in it. It wasn't that he was jealous, Loki told himself. He simply had no patience with others enjoying what should be his alone. He'd rarely had anything beyond his books and clothing that was his and only his, now that he did, he absolutely refused to share. He nodded to Nyvorlas and stalked toward the portable building Kara had entered a short while before. Stark followed him closely. "Fury demanded I be shadowed, I take it?"

"Yeah. Look, you know he's a prick, I know he's a prick but we need to keep him on our side. Flying without a safety net like S.H.I.E.L.D. and all of its international contacts would be a headache we just don't need."

"I was under the apparently naïve impression that dealing with politics elsewhere in the Nine Realms was far more onerous then dealing with Midgard's. Obviously I was mistaken."

"Noticed that, huh? Well, we've called you crazy and maybe deranged, but we never called you stupid."

Loki stopped short and braced himself. As he expected, Stark couldn't stop fast enough and crashed into his back. He spun and glared down at the shorter man. "Fortunately for you I agree with that statement. I was quite deranged under the influence of the Mad Titan."

"Yet never stupid…outsmarted the bastard, in fact, while playing us like pieces on your chess board."

"Sincere flattery may just keep you alive; at least for a year." He grinned as the mortal's brown eyes widened. "Relax, Tony. Now I am teasing."

"You'd better be. Kara would have a fit otherwise. Hey, you know, you're like my brother-in-law now; honorary, anyway."

He gave Stark a long-suffering look, even though the man's apparent enthusiasm over the idea pleased him in some way he really didn't comprehend. "Don't remind me."

… …

Raj Nassar stared across the table at their extraterrestrial visitors. He was still having a bit of difficulty coming to terms with the fact that one of them was an elf. A true to the mythos, Lord of the Rings style elf, complete with long, silky looking alabaster hair and long pointed ears…and the ability to work magic. It was a good thing S.H.I.E.L.D. had another psychiatrist with top clearance that he and Fury trusted. He would certainly be in need of therapy once this was at least somewhat settled. He compressed his lips to hide a smile as he glanced at the shell-shocked countenance of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director. Nick would also be in need of therapy. Convincing him to get it, however, would be problematic. The visitors had finally stopped speaking. The Avengers and Loki sat quietly in their seats, waiting for Nick's reaction. "Is this what all of you understand to be the truth?" Raj asked, looking at the three male Avengers who had accompanied Loki back to Asgard.

"It's what we experienced, sir…doctor," Captain Rogers said firmly.

Nick was rubbing his chin. "Okay, let me get this straight. He," the director said, pointing at Loki. "No longer has his mystical mumbo jumbo, except when she," he continued, pointing at Kara, "gives it to him. But the two of them are now married according to Asgard customs. So what is stopping her from giving him his power back, period? We know the woman's in love with the crazy bastard." Raj winced at Nick's choice of words. Fortunately, neither Kara nor Loki seemed to be taking any great offence.

"Two things," Haakun, Odin's first councilor told them. "First and foremost, the woman's honor; we value her honor and she has proven it to us. Second, should anything cause that honor to be compromised, they would both be subject to execution in Asgard."

"Oh, that's all well and good, but how the hell are you going to take him down if he's got his juice back? Thor couldn't do it. He ran rings around your god of Thunder."

"He ran rings around all of you, Nick; not to mention the real enemy while that enemy thought that he had Loki under his control. You know that, you saw the images, you came to the same conclusion we did, that Asgard's Tribunal did. Why are you being an ass about it now?" Kara asked irritably.

"Because the mother-fucking Asgardians didn't hold on to him. I don't give a rat's ass what they do with him there; they can keep him in luxury and call him a hero if they feel like it. But no, they made him our goddamn problem again. And what the fuck is going to happen when your nervous system injury kills you? Does he get his mojo back?"

"It's cured. I had to save Thor the same way I saved Loki, Odin decided he owed me."

Raj stared. He was happy that Kara was no longer terminal, but really, that would be a serious complication for the council. Nick was frowning as he also digested the change in the dynamic. "Fine and dandy. How about when you die of old age? We've still got a problem."

"It's only one hundred and ten years, Nick. I'll still be pretty much exactly as you see me now."

Natasha Romanov and Bruce Banner joined Nick in the jaw dropping stare that was turned on Hellbringer. Raj managed to keep his jaw in place, but he would feel his eyes widening involuntarily. "Care to explain?" Nick said in a deceptively even tone that Raj knew was the calm before the storm.

"A marriage between a mortal and an Asgardian is not generally done, director," Councilor Haakun interjected. "In those rare instances where it is approved, the mortal must become Æsir. It is a long and dangerous process. Most mortals are incapable of surviving the first stage of it, so most of our people do not allow relationships with mortals to develop that deeply."

"But she survived it." Nick was frowning at Kara, his eye narrowed dangerously.

"Easily. In fact, she has passed through the second stage, decades ahead of schedule. She is no longer remotely mortal, and can no longer be classified as human. While she will develop even more, she is now, technically, Æsir and will live as long as any of us."

"She doesn't look any different," Nick argued.

"Sure I do," Kara said quietly and removed the wraparound sunglasses she'd insisted on wearing in spite of being indoors. His heart skipped a beat as he stared at the far more dramatically multicolored irises that seemed to shift and change by the second.

Nick turned to look at him. "What the fuck do I tell our Council?" he muttered, sounding every bit as shaken as Raj felt.

He shrugged. "The truth. She is no longer our concern as she is no longer subject to Earth law."

"You can't tell me they'll buy that. She's on Earth, which makes her subject to Earth law."

"Gentlemen," Haakun interrupted. "She is now a citizen of Asgard, a Princess of Asgard's Royal House."

"There, Nick. I will advise that she has diplomatic immunity. All that we can do, and then, only if she breaks our laws, is to insist that she return to Asgard." He smiled. "That also applies to Loki since apparently Odin still considers him his son and a Prince."

"They won't even buy that load of shit from you. I don't care how you pretty it up."

"Oh my god; there aren't eight council members, there are nine, aren't there? I thought an even number was kind of odd, no way to break a tie," Kara said, her inhuman eyes turned towards him. "You're on the council, working undercover at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters."

Raj sighed. There was no point in denying it. Kara 'felt' stronger, empathically speaking, to his limited senses. "Yes. When Nick came to call the Council out over the decision to launch nuclear weapons against the enemy in Manhattan, he eloquently pointed out that we did not understand his decision to trust the Avengers to handle it because we were not in his shoes and had only facts and figures, not his insights as to their abilities and motivations. It was decided that we needed to have someone on the ground, so to speak, so that we could understand how he came to the conclusions he did. S.H.I.E.L.D. was in need of psychiatrists with high clearances, so I was chosen for the task."

"You son of a bitch," Stark snapped, standing abruptly. "You sent a fucking nuke to my fucking tower."

"The vote was six to three. I was outnumbered." Stark continued to glare at him. "Truly, Tony, I hated the decision; it's why I agreed to go to S.H.I.E.L.D., I hoped that my presence there and the insight I could thereby provide would make the difference in a future vote that could affect the safety of not only civilians, but the heroes that serve them."

"You sent a fucking nuke…"

"Stark, calm down. If you must blame someone, blame me," Loki spoke up for the first time. Thor's wayward brother sighed and gave Stark a patient look when the billionaire turned to glare at him. "Surely you didn't think I left anything to chance? I wanted that fleet destroyed. That would take one of your greater weapons. I could hardly ask you to send one without the Mad Titan becoming aware that I fought him." He shrugged. "It seemed an efficient way to get the weapon to where it could be used against him."

"And what if I hadn't lost every last lick of sense I ever had and decided to be a fucking hero? I'm not the type, Loki, it was an aberration."

Loki smiled, and it even reached his eyes. "Then Thor would have done it, and if he were otherwise occupied and did not realize either the danger or how the weapon could be used in your favor, than I would have dealt with the agony of outright disobedience and would have managed it myself."

"Would you have been able to come back?" Tony Stark asked, his voice and expression subdued.

"No. I would not have died, not then, but I would have once more been the enemy's plaything."

"Christ, Lokes…well, I'm glad I found my inner hero, then."

"As am I."

… …

It was a fucking nightmare. Hell, his nightmares were fluffy dreams compared to this shit. "So we're supposed to just trust him," Nick grated, turning his one-eyed glare on the grinning god of fucking Lies, "to save our asses the next time some super-powered bad guy comes to town?"

"No, Morpheus. You're supposed to trust us, the Avengers, same as you did last time," Stark snapped. "We didn't let you down then, thanks to him, and we won't let you down in the future."

He rubbed his temples and shot a look at Nassar whose oh-so-fucking helpful response was a shrug. "Fine. Now answer me this: Why are we in New Mexico in fucking portables. Why didn't you go to Central Park and call us to Avengers' Tower?"

"I'm afraid that's my fault," Hellbringer said apologetically. He glared. It was hard to think of her as Kara or Dr. Gunnarssen now, not with those alien eyes staring back at him. "I'm, well stronger empathically. My shields aren't working anymore, and there's no way I can handle the city just yet."

"Are you two out here permanently, then?" he asked.

"No, that's why Prince Nyvorlas is here; he's going to help me rebuild my shields so that I can tolerate being around large numbers of people again. We figure the failure is because I'm still trying to shield a human mind and mine just isn't anymore."

His gut churned with acid…if her empathic abilities were stronger, what did that do to her pyrokinetics? "And your fire?" he asked, doing his damnedest not to snarl the question.

"I don't know. That's another reason to come to a desert; if that's increased as well, I won't destroy anything testing it out."

God damn it. It was a mother-fucking granddaddy of a nightmare. "I don't need this shit."

… …

Nick Fury was a drama queen, that's all there was to it. "Come on, Fury, give us a break," Tony told him. "You've gone from one Norse god helping to save the world to three. Well, two and a half. You're definitely getting the better end of this deal." He produced his trademark 'aren't I cleverest bastard you've ever met' smile. "As a matter of fact, that should raise our contracted rates; we'll be packing a lot more firepower now, literally."

"In your dreams, Stark; it also makes the tasks less dangerous for the team as a whole."

"Yeah, but I have higher expenses as well. Have you seen how much these people eat?" That earned him glares from both Loki and Kara. "No offense," he told them with an innocent shrug. Kara rolled her eyes, but Loki continued to glare. "Well, sure, you don't eat anywhere near as much as Thor, but who does?" Ah, there we go…the expected eye roll from Loki as well.

"Again, Stark, that's your problem, not ours. We're contracting for results, not what you use to get those results."

Tony bit back a smirk. Mission accomplished; Fury successfully distracted from his self-pitying rant. "Fine, but you can't blame me for trying."

"Director?" Haakun began. "I will need to meet with your governmental representatives to discuss Loki's presence on Midgard and what is expected of both him and of your people. Might we speak about arranging such? I believe it might be more productive were we to allow the others to get on with their testing and such while we do so."

"Agreed. Rogers, get your people and their guests the hell out of my sight until further notice."

"Yes, sir," Cap agreed. Tony stood and tried to facetiously give a Nazi style salute and almost had his arm broken by Captain America in the process. "Not funny," Steve hissed as he steered him out of the conference room.

"Lighten up. It was social commentary on Fury's kneejerk reaction to Kara's change in…uh…shit. She's literally a different species." He allowed Steve to continue to push him along as he digested that fact.

… …

"Did you find something I could use as targets?" Kara asked as Clint came trudging back to them.

"Yeah. They had a shitload of packing material. We divided it up and tied it together into the sizes you wanted. The other Æsir and Cap are taking them out near those rocks you picked out. Did you know S.H.I.E.L.D. flew in a jeep?"

"Seriously? Wow, guess you rate, Nyvorlas. Fury pulled out all of the stops once he saw you."

The Ljósálfar prince grinned. "He recognized a superior being once he saw one." Loki snorted and the Álfar turned to favor him with a condescending look. "Jealous, Loki?"

"He's no doubt planning your accidental disappearance so that his people can dissect you at their leisure."

"Loki! Nick wouldn't do that. Send him through every scanner he can find, yes. Dissect him, no."

"I do not share your confidence in his organization's ethics, my lady."

"I don't have any confidence in the organization's ethics, but Nick is another story."

"I agree with Kara," Nat said from where she'd been sitting in a meditative pose next to Bruce. The scientist was also seated with his legs in a lotus position. He hadn't so much as blinked in longer than Kara wanted to imagine. "Fury wouldn't dissect him unless he were dead when they found him; and before you suggest it, he wouldn't order an accident to ensure he conveniently died."

"How…reassuring," Nyvorlas said faintly, his brow creased in what looked like concern. Kara couldn't feel the emotion causing the expression, the Álfar's shielding was solid. Hopefully he'd be able to help her to shield that well.

She turned as the sound of a jeep engine reached her ears. None of her human friends reacted, but both Loki and Nyvorlas turned to look out over the ridge that separated them from the large bowl-like area where she'd asked for the targets to be set up. Not having either prince's height, she trudged up the rise to take a look and saw the vehicle approaching. Sif and Hogun were both standing in the back, one hand each on the roll bar for balance. Sif was grinning uncharacteristically as the wind whipped her tail of hair back behind them and while Hogun's expression was, as usual, far more reserved, even he wore a slight smile. Steve was driving and sneaking a look back at his passengers every so often, shaking his head at their enthusiasm. "Oh, Sif went with them. Hey," she said, turning around. "Where did Tony get to?"

"He's setting up the devices he asked for. I heard him mutter something about internet and satellites when he headed for our Quinjet," Nat informed her. "I think he just wanted to get in the AC. He powered up the auxiliary generator as soon as he closed the ramp behind him. The swamp coolers aren't doing a very good job in the portables."

"Still a lot better than out here," Kara said as she looked over the targets that had been prepared for her. They were all sufficiently far apart that even an exponential increase to her fire shouldn't catch more than one at a time. They'd made them different sizes as she'd specified, ranging from the smallest being close to the size of a suitcase up to one as large as a step van. "How the hell did they get them all out there so quickly?"

"Roped them together and just dragged them behind the jeep," Clint said. "That gonna work for you?"

"It should. Thanks for making sure it got done right."

"Anytime, princess." Kara narrowed her eyes at him until he laughed. "Yeah, I know. Don't call you doc and don't call you princess."

"You can call me doc all you want…though I guess I'll never get to practice psychology again. Damn." She crossed arm arms over her chest and stared at the ground for a minute, trying to compose herself before Loki noticed.

"Kara, what's wrong?"

Too late. "Nothing, really. I guess I just realized I won't be able to do the same kind of work I've been doing. It was always a big part of my life…and I'm going to miss it." She tried not to sigh as Loki stepped up behind her and tugged her back against his chest. "Really, Loki, I'm fine."

"Mm hmm. Of course you are." He pressed a soft kiss into her temple and then another on her cheek. "You've given up so much for me. I'm a fortunate man." There was not even a hint of insincerity to be found.

"Well, I gained something I thought I'd never have, so I guess I'm lucky too." She smiled as he snorted softly, disbelief running through him. "Hey, you said it yourself, I was afraid to love or be loved and that was no real life." She turned in his grasp and raised up on her toes to kiss him. "This is going to be a life like I never imagined, but it will be one filled with loving and being loved."

"So it will."

… …

"I guess I should just get on with it," Kara said as Steve and the two Æsir climbed out of the jeep.

"Sooner you try it, the sooner you know," Natasha agreed, keeping her voice calm and even. She stood and joined her teammate where she stood staring out at the distant targets. "Just find your center and calmness. Start out by giving it as weak a push as you can manage, and see what happens. You can always work your way up in power."

Kara turned her head to frown at her. "Good advice…considering you don't have anything like this."

She shrugged. "When I spar with a trainee or with an Agent I haven't see fight I tone down my aggression until I know what they're capable of handling and dishing out. I thought, from what you've said before about your abilities, that a similar approach should apply."

The other redhead's grin rewarded her. "True. Okay, I'm going to go for the middle target." Kara turned back to look out over the ridge; seconds later the target in the center of the line began to smoke. A tongue of flame emerged, then suddenly the entire target was engulfed. They could hear the muffled roar of the fire as the packing material burned fiercely. "Oops. I wasn't expecting it to burn that quick, or that hot."

Natasha stared at the white-hot center of the relatively small conflagration. "Judging from your previous experience, what do you think the power increase is?"

"It's tripled, easily," her friend said with a tired sigh. "I think I need to know just how much juice I can put into it."

"Going to go for the biggest target, then?"

"Yep. Um, everyone go down the rise and get ready to take cover."

"It's a half-mile away, you don't think…"

"I don't want to think, I want to know everyone's safe."

Natasha nodded. She wouldn't have argued fire safety with their Hellbringer when she was fully human and knew her limits. Now, it was even more important to listen. She nudged Bruce. "We're moving back. Kara is going to let loose." The scientist nodded and rolled to his feet, running a hand through his rumpled dark hair as he straightened and then followed her back to the parked jeep. "Come," she said to the rest of the group. "Yes, Loki, you too."

"My place is with my lady," he said with a snide look.

"You don't have your power to protect yourself with. If you come back here with the rest of us, Kara will be better able to concentrate since she won't be worrying about your safety."

He opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by the elf. "Loki, the woman is right. Allow your lady her time. She is agitated enough without you adding to her worry." Loki subsided with a glare at the slighter man…or whatever he was. He reluctantly followed Nyvorlas and stood behind the jeep.

"Don't touch it," Loki warned as the pale-haired prince reached out a hand towards the vehicle's hood. "It likely contains iron."

"You'll find that a lot here," Natasha thought she should add. "Particularly with vehicles."

Nyvorlas nodded. "If we go elsewhere that is less hot, I shall remember to wear my gauntlets."

Problem solved, she thought as she checked to make sure everyone was back where Kara wanted them. "All right, Kara, we're set down here," she called out.

"Thanks, Nat." Kara turned back to look out over the ridge.

Moments later an explosion rocked the ground and a huge fireball erupted from the direction of the targets. Kara was knocked off of her feet by the concussive force; Loki leapt over the jeep and was halfway up the rise before she hit the ground. "Got you," he gasped as he thudded back first into the dirt, his arms wrapped around his stunned wife. "Are you injured?"

Natasha reached them in time to give Kara a hand as she climbed off of her husband. "No, I'm fine. Did I hurt you?"

He laughed. "I'm still as durable as ever, love. I'll not have so much as a bruise from that, though I expect my garment might be the worse for the experience."

"What the fuck happened out here?" Natasha winced at Nick Fury's bellow. The director ran over to them, followed by Dr. Nassar, Councilor Haakun and the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel that Fury had allowed to remain at the site.

"I let loose at a target," Kara told him in a shaky voice as she turned to climb back up the rise. They all followed her, curious to see why the fire still glowed above it. "Oh, crap," the pyrokinetic whispered.

"Bozhe moy," Natasha muttered as she stared out into the basin. All of the targets were burning, and the sand surrounding them had almost liquefied. "Krovavyĭ ad."

… …

Author's Note: I could not find any reference as to whether or not the Ljósálfar have a problem with iron in the way that elves of British legends do, so consider it artistic license. Nyvorlas has to have some major weakness…all good characters do or they become boring.

Bozhe moy means "oh my god" and Krovavyĭ ad means "bloody hell" in Russian.

Thank you for all of the generous reviews and speculation…we do have a few good chapters yet…this bugger keeps growing on me! If you have any problems with that, talk to Loki. He keeps telling me that there's more of a story to tell. Reviews are gold…and while I appreciate each and every one of my readers, those who leave reviews have an extra special place in my heart.