A/N: I decided to update faster than usual because man that cliffhanger was a bitch, huh?

Loki woke with a start, the blankets were shoved to the floor and a cold sweat trickled down his spine. He ran his fingers over his face. It had been a very long time since he had last succumbed to a nightmare.

He walked to the bathroom and ran the water from the shower, stepping inside. The water was cold, almost freezing and he watched his body begin to transform into a pale blue complexion. Loki brought his hand to his face and examined the water drip around his fingers and slide down his arm.

Beautiful, Hayden had called him. What a naive thing she was. Loki frowned and stared at his skin as it took on a more human-like color. Despite the monster he thought he was no one save Thor had said those three words to him in a very, very long time. He suppose he knew it had been coming, after all his purpose in getting the stone was to convince Hayden that she wanted to say those words to him, but he had been far from prepare to hear them be said.

Not now. Not then. Not after all he had planned to do to her. Not after all that he had done to her. What was he supposed to do? Loki lifted his head back and closed his eyes allowing the water to run over his face. How was he supposed to confront Hayden knowing that the only way to get his powers back was to use her? And, if Karnilla had her way she would discard of Hayden to tie up any lose ends.

Loki thought of the way Hayden's small face had contorted into fear the night he forced her onto her knees. He remembered so vividly the way that her small lips trembled and her bright green eyes dimmed as they filled with tears. Bringing fear unto those beneath him was once a delightful pastime. But, after the events in New York and the look on Hayden's face-

He turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. The slight draft felt nice and Loki decided to air dry, leaving the bathroom to crawl back in bed. To his annoyance Karnilla laid atop of his bed, propping her head up with her hand. Loki resisted the urge to scowl and strode over to the large wooden armoire.

Karnilla smirked as he slipped on a dark green robe made of the finest Asgardian silks. "Oh, don't be so shy now," she cooed, sitting up so that her hands rested on the bed. "Where is the fun in-"

"Why are you here?" he demanded not in the mood to deal with her. He was still tired from the restless sleep and all he wanted was to hide beneath the covers and let a dreamless state wash over him.

Karnilla's smile fell from her painted pale-orange lips. She slipped off the bed and walked toward him, pulling out something from beneath the folds of her plain cream gown. Exhaling slowly, she stopped in front of him and opened the palm of her hands.

"Is this-" Karnilla nodded. "How did you get into S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Karnilla snapped her hand closed. "I simply did what you could not finish."

Loki's nostrils flared. He took a step forward, threateningly pointing a finger at the blood red stone in her hand. "How did you get the stone, Karnilla?"

Karnilla shrugged and tossed her long, crimson braid over her slender shoulder. "I stuck to our plan, Loki."

Hayden.

He tore off into the hallway, storming down the darkened corridors until he reached Hayden's chambers. The candles blazed upon his entrance smoldering any shadows that crept in the corners. Loki scanned the area noting that her bed had been untouched but all her things remained.

Loki spun on his heels not surprised to be facing Karnilla. "Where is she!?" he cried out debating if he should strangle the wretched woman now or later. "What have you done!?"

Karnilla tilted her head and smirked. "I have done exactly what we discussed many times before. Honestly, Loki," she sighed, "I am confused at your anger. We had a plan, I executed it flawlessly and now you can get your powers back." Karnilla licked her lips. "She was a liability."

Loki slammed his hand on the wall, cracking it slightly. "Where. Is. She?" he asked one last time, emphasizing each word through gritted teeth.

"She served her purpose," Karnilla countered, her chin held high. "As I did yours. I took her to the spring using Baleor as a guise to look like you," she explained off-handedly, "and she drank from the water. I admit, I was worried."

"Worried?" he asked, his breathing heavy and hard to control.

Karnilla feigned a pout. "I wasn't certain if she truly loved you or not but one sip from the spring and she is my puppet to control." The green of her eyes danced in the candle light. "She did as she was designed to do. She entered S.H.I.E.L.D. to retrieve the stone as she was instructed and Baleor took the stone from her."

"And you kindly left her in the care of S.H.I.E.L.D. after?" he spat knowing full well that wasn't Karnilla's style.

"Of course," she retorted, her hand flung to her chest as though his words stung. "That is if anyone caught her after I tossed her out the window."

Loki felt his throat tighten and his eyesight began to blur. "You...she..."

"She's dead," smirked Karnilla, reaching forward to touch his shoulder.

"No!" Loki screamed, tears stinging at the corner of his eyes. "NOOO!"

His fingers stretched outward like claws of an eagle aimed at Karnilla's throat. A faint glow from the palm of her hand exploded, pushing Loki back several feet. He landed on his side, groaning on impact.

Loki rolled to his stomach, breathing hard as he pushed himself to sit. "The stone," he coughed, tasting blood along his lip. "You said it only had the power to assist you with a spell to cast upon Balder and that in return for my help you would give me back my powers. What-"

Karnilla held the stone up and smirked. Black tar began to leak from the small holes and onto Karnilla's hands. "Come now Loki, surely you are not so naive to believe that all of this to be nothing more than a guest of a school girl's crush?"

She barked a maddening laugh and strode toward him. "I did not spend months using Baleor as my spy to plant ideas in Fury's thick head, spying on Hayden to ensure she was the best candidate for a love spell. I did not poison her father to send her to Midgard so that you could fail at your task in wooing her all just for a love spell. I did not start a war to send Thor and his warriors away so that I could use the power of this stone to conjure up a love spell to use on Balder."

"You never once intended to return my powers," he realized.

Karnilla blinked. "Oh no, I did. In fact, I had hoped that you and I could rule as comrades." She sauntered to where Loki sat and pulled her pretty face into a deep frown. "I've already said far too much to someone who had betrayed me. There was so much hope for you, Loki, the disgraced prince of Asgard."

Karnilla knelt before him so that there eyes were leveled. She reached out with a long finger and trailed along his jawline. He forced himself to not recoil from her touch.

"But then," Karnilla continued clasping her finger tightly around his jaw, "you had to defy me and I do not like to be disobeyed. We had a deal." She stood up, sneering down at him, "You broke our trust and worst of all you did it for a Midgardian bitch." Karnilla chuckled, "well, a dead Midgardian bitch that is."

He didn't even have time to process what was going to happen. In a flash Loki appeared next to Karnilla, her throat in his hands. He could feel the blood struggle to push past his fingers, the veins tremble beneath his palms. He clutched tighter, watching the life slowly drain from her eyes. Karnilla did not fight or plea or even push against him. She only stared at him, her lashes blinked slowly as a smile crept onto her thick lips.

Then his hands were hot. He quickly removed them from her neck. Two handprints were forming bruises onto her pale complexion. Slowly they began to fade until there were no marks left. Loki took a step back but Karnilla advanced on him, waving her hand in the air to send sparks flying at him.

Loki used what little he could muster to deflect her attacks. His body strained under the pressure and he knew he wouldn't last much longer. If he wanted to get out of this alive then he had to act fast. Teleportation and tricks of multiplication were out if the question. They'd use too much of his energy and would leave him weak should Karnilla strike again.

Time was slipping through his closed fingers. Her attacks grew stronger with each blow. If he could get the stone from her grasp or even to convince her to give him back his powers-

"Share this power with me. Together we can rule more than just Asgard. We can rule-" he was blown back into Hayden's bed, slamming hard against the wall. A coppery taste slid along his tongue and as he spit out the thick liquid vines sprouted out from beneath Hayden's bed and wrapped tightly around his arms.

"Fool," Karnilla spat walking toward him. "You think I wish to rule Asgard?" She laughed wildly, tossing her head back. "I will bring Asgard to its knees for what Odin did to me. Treating me like some common Midgardian filth. He may have been the All-Father but I am a queen, a goddess, a sorceress to be matched with! I will have his precious world in flames and as soon as I finish with Asgard I will destroy Midgard and everything precious that he loved.

"Your father banned me from Midgard for a silly stint I did years ago. You might have heard of it as the black plague," she smiled to herself at the memory. "Really, it was nothing," she frowned turning the stone around with her fingers. "But, Odin looked down on it and I was kept from ever returning."

"What were you doing on Midgard?" Karnilla hated Midgardians more than anyone he knew. "Have you been searching for this stone that long?"

Karnilla's nostrils flared and her jaw tightened. "You can see why I was annoyed with your procrastination."

"Why lie to me? Why not tell me the truth of why you sought the stone?"

Karnilla clutched her hand tighter around the red stone. "You were a pawn in a much bigger game, my prince." He knotted his brows together and Karnilla grimaced. "Do not take it to heart. I truly did intend to give you back your powers but after everything that has happened between us..."she let her words trail off ending in a small shrug.

She leaned into him and smiled sweetly. "Now, what am I ever going to do with you my prince?" She brushed back the fallen hair that hung in front of his eyes and placed a small kiss to his temple. "Oh!" She suddenly exclaimed standing back and turning to face the open doors. "I think I will ask Lady Frigg."

Loki looked to the entrance to see Frigga standing in the doorway. Her blonde hair was draped in an elaborate braid topped with a simple crown of leaves pressed from silver. She crinkled her brows at the sight of Hayden's room, her blue eyes widening at Loki's state. Karnilla stepped forward, blocking Loki from seeing Frigga.

"Mother, run!" he shouted struggling to get free from his bonds.

"Karnilla," hissed Frigga, ignoring Loki's warning. She stepped forward. "What are you doing? You have no real power in our palace, Odin made certain of that. Leave here at once."

"Ooh that is where I beg to differ, my Queen." Karnilla gave Frigga a small curtsy. "Asgard will soon be mine to crush and-"

A sword-like icicle shot across the room, penetrating through Karnilla's shoulder and pinning her to the wall. She cried out in pain, staring at the bloody ice sculpture that protruded from just above her chest. Frigga held out her hand, her nostrils flared and eyes wild.

"Leave my son alone and never return to Asgard," she hissed like a mother cat defending her kitten. Loki would have been appalled if he didn't feel so useless. Though there was reason as to why he took pride in knowing he learned his magic from one of the best. "I won't tell you again."

Karnilla slowly started to laugh. It started off as a quiet sob, her body shaking with each short intake of breath. Her head lifted from her chest and Loki could see she wasn't crying, but chuckling. Blood trickled down her chin from her lips, her tongue reached out smearing it across her pale skin. She held up her hand that clutched onto the stone and whispered into it.

"Mother," warned Loki.

Frigga held up her hands, ready to strike when a bright green glow shot up from the stone and expanded through the room. It pierced through Frigga, her scream caught in her throat. Loki screamed out her name, twisting and turning in the vines that gripped around him.

Frigga clutched at her chest and fell hard to her knees, gasping for air. Karnilla materialized in front of Frigga, the icicle that pierced through her shoulder fell to the ground and shattered into small, bloody pieces. She knelt down so that their gazes met and smiled.

"That is much more like it," she whispered, extinguishing the light by covering her hand over the stone. Frigga collapsed to the floor. Loki's chest clenched, the tears flowed freely as Karnilla strolled to him. "Now, what to do with you?"

"State your full name."

"I've done this several times already."

"State your full name."

"Hayden Jessica Waltham," I answered through gritted teeth. "How long are you guys going to keep me here asking the same questions over and over? I told you that I was being controlled by-"

"State your age."

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. "Twenty-six."

"State your date of birth."

"Do you want my blood type and social security number as well?"

"I've heard stories of the quiet S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who didn't really fit in. This seems very out of character."

I turned in my seat not surprised even a little to see Tony Stark standing in the doorway. One of the balding agents who had been interrogating me for the past week stood to his feet. He adjusted his tie and quickly gathered the files on the desk to keep Tony's wandering eyes from seeing anything.

"Mr. Stark, this is highly irregular and-"

Tony scratched the scruff on his chin and frowned. "You're actually going to tell me that I am doing something irregular?" He pursed his lips to the side. "As if you're the first person to do that."

I turned slowly in my chair, pleased to see the agent was growing flustered. Normally I would have felt bad but it had been a little over a week that I had been in the custody of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hours after hours of the same questions over and over were starting to grate on me. There were more important things to deal with rather than my answering the date of my birth when Karnilla was out there with that stone.

"You're wasting her time," groaned Tony and I turned back around to offer him a small smile. At least someone had realized the bigger picture. "Any idiot could see she was being controlled before." He looked back to the agent and furrowed his thick, dark brows. "Are you an idiot?"

"No, sir," the agent promptly replied. Tiny beads of sweat formed at the balding spot on top of his head. "I just-I am only-I-"

"I-I-I-get out of here and let me handle this."

"Sir, you're not qualified to-"

"Not qualified?" Tony asked, arching both brows.

The agent swallowed hard. "I-I-I just mean that-"

"You can leave now, Elmer Fudd."

The agent's cheeks flushed a dark purple and he rushed out of the room forgetting the files on the table. Tony took his time, thumbing through the papers before tossing them aside. He stared at me for a few moments before noting, "your eyes are a very dark green."

"Um...yes?"

"They were a light green when we first met. As if they belonged to someone else." Karnilla, I thought bitterly. "Has Fury been to see you?"

I shook my head and explained, "he is in Germany, or so I was told."

Tony grimaced. "Of course he would leave this to his lackeys." He brushed his fingers along the outline of his goatee. "So, tell me briefly what happened."

"A powerful sorceress on Asgard tricked me into drinking water from a cursed spring to control my body so that I could retrieve that stone for her." Simple enough. "No one believes me. They think I've turned against them."

"What about Thor? Where is he?"

"He is away fighting a war that the sorceress, Karnilla, started."

"Clever," shrugged Tony. "Get the warriors away, makes it easier to overtake."

I looked up at Tony's dark brown eyes. "You believe me?"

"Look," he leaned forward across the table, "I know that the girl who stole that stone and the girl in this room are not the same." He leaned back in his seat and shrugged again, "no offense but the way that you jumped out that window-"

"The most insane thing I've done in my life was smoked a cigarette in high school." And fell in love with a two-faced, maniacal god. "Jumping out of windows isn't really my thing."

"Smoked a cigarette, huh?" I nodded. "S.H.I.E.L.D. was right to detain you as it seems we've got quiet the rebel on our hands." I couldn't help but smile. "You look clean to me. So, this Karnilla...what do you know about this witch, Dorthy?"

"They don't like her on Asgard. She's brutal and cruel," I recalled the way she had slaughtered the bilgesnipe, "but she's smart and cunning."

Tony shook his head. "She's on a power trip. She'll let her guard down eventually. They all do."

"Do you know what the stone does?" I asked. "No one will tell me."

"As far as I know it belonged to a powerful witch centuries ago but she died or vanished or melted after a rainstorm and the stone was lost. Several years ago some nobody found it in Italy and of course S.H.I.E.L.D. confiscated it." Tony licked his bottom lip. "I don't know what it does but anything that isn't alive and still bleeds can't be good news."

I slumped in my chair and frowned. "And I helped her get it."

"No need to beat yourself up, kid. What's done is done. Now all you have to do is decide what to do next."

I looked up at Tony Stark with knotted brows. "What can I do? I've already done enough by breaking into a restricted area and stole a dangerous artifact." I folded my arms across my chest and sighed. "Besides, I'm not a hero. I'm not like you, Iron Man."

"You think I'm a hero?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "You saved thousands of people, god, more like millions of people."

"And that qualifies someone to be a hero?" I pulled my face together, uncertain of where he was going. "Pepper, she is...well...the love of my life," he admitted with a small smile, "and she doesn't don on a suit and fly to the rescue of millions and she still is a hero. She was the only one to save me when I needed saving most."

"Look, Tony I appreciate the anyone can be a hero speech but-"

"You can run from your mistakes Hayden, or you can face them."

I licked my lips, the cracks on my thin skin tasted of salt. Heroes weren't born, they were made my father would say. I wasn't born a hero, I wasn't made to be one. I was a nobody. I was a lost, good for nothing, nobody.

I was lost...I sat up straight in my chair and Tony jolted at my sudden movement. "I need to get to Asgard."

Tony tried to hide a smile but failed. "Great motivational pep talk but not where I meant for it to go. There is no way to Asgard. The portal has been destroyed and without Thor to open the Bifrost it seems we're stuck here."

I shook my head. "Karnilla doesn't want anyone to interfere." I grimaced. "She thinks I'm dead, we can use that to our advantage."

"Could have died if not for me," smirked Tony.

"I'm pretty sure I thanked you after I woke up."

Tony held up his hands. "Doesn't hurt to hear every now and again."

"Thank you for saving my life, Mr. Stark," I sighed trying my hardest to keep from rolling my eyes.

He waved his hand in front of his face. "Don't mention it." He adjusted his sitting position and leaned against the table. "I don't know how to get to Asgard though without Thor."

I nearly gasped. "Heimdall."

"Heimlich?"

"No, Heimdall," I corrected. "The gatekeeper. He sees and hears all and is the one in control of the Bifrost. Maybe he can-"

Tony was way ahead of me and smirked, "Scotty beam me up."

How Tony Stark was able to order a dozen armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to drive us to the outskirts of New York where I had landed I'll never know. But, I was grateful and had said so numerous times. Eventually he offered me a drink he claimed to be water that turned out to be straight vodka. As my insides burned and eyes teared up while a coughing fit ensued he defended himself by saying I needed to calm down. Apparently I was making him nervous, which I found hard to believe.

Not long after leaving headquarters , I found myself standing in the exact spot I had landed. Nervously, I looked around at all the expectant agents. My heart pounded against my throat and my palms were slick with sweat. What if this didn't work?

I turned from their fidgeting fingers that were ready for an excuse to pull out their guns and looked to the darkening sky. "Heimdall!" I shouted. "I know I am not a citizen of Asgard but if you could let me back I would greatly appreciate it."

Nothing.

"Heimdall, please I-"

"What are you doing? Begging for an invite to his tea party?" asked Tony.

I frowned. "I have no idea what I am doing, Stark! Maybe you would like to give it a try."

Tony stepped forward in my place. "Hey, Rain Man! It's about to get very serious and-"

Thunder clapped above and the clouds began to swirl. The wind picked up, pulling my hair free from the loose bun I had it in and whipped strands across my face. Tony spun on his designer heel and smiled, "see all we needed was-" lightning struck down, blasting everyone near it several feet away.

I landed hard on the ground, groaning at the sharp pain the shot through my side like pin needles stabbing me. The clouds descended to the ground, twisting like an unmoving tornado. I stood up, my hair slashing against my chapped cheeks and the bottom of my blouse turned up. I felt someone's hands on my arms, pulling me away from the brewing storm. Just as my head began to turn to see who it was another lightning strike hit the ground blasting everyone back again.

My palms skidded along the ground as I caught myself from a rough fall. The skin on my palms were a bright red, spotted with small cuts and dirt. I inhaled sharply, looking up at the lightning that struck wildly in different directions. Each one hit a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent square in the chest. They flew backwards, crying out in shock and landed unconsciously on the ground. I gasped at the smoke that trailed from their charred suits.

"Hayden, how dare you!" I forced myself to stand, swaying slightly at the familiar voice that boomed from within the thunderous swirl of dust.

I took a step forward when something silver glinted from inside the billowing cloud. Quick to react I ducked down, covering my head with my hands. Carefully, I peeked from underneath my arm to see it coming back in my direction. Without thinking I tightened my hold around myself as if that would actually protect me from a flying hammer.

Slam! Clunk!

I looked up to see Tony in red and gold taking the blow of Thor's hammer. It fell to the ground before the both of us. I quickly scrambled to my feet, taking refuge behind Iron Man. The wind immediately ceased blowing and I could hear a faint humming sound. The hammer began to quiver. It moved for a few seconds before shooting behind Tony and I into the air.

We spun around, watching Thor extend his muscular arm forward. He wrapped his fingers around the hammer's hilt, the singing stopped. A wild look bore in his green eyes, one that I had read about many times before. One that I was not pleased to be on the receiving end of. In fact, I was positively terrified.

"Thor, what are you doing buddy?" asked Stark, his helmet folding into the armor to reveal his face.

"Do not protect this traitor," Thor boomed pointing his hammer at me. "She is in league with the sorceress, Karnilla who seeks to destroy my realm as well as your own." Thor took another step forward and Tony moved in front of me. "Stand aside my friend. I do not wish to hurt you."

Tony cocked his head to the side. "Hey, Thor let's just talk this out. We'll call Banner, pull up a couch and get some quality time to banter out our issues." He looked around and shrugged. "Who knows, maybe even get something to eat. Remember shawarma?" Tony turned to me and asked, "ever had shawarma?"

I exhaled loudly when Thor shouted to Tony, "do I seem to be in a gaming mood, Man of Iron?"

"You know, I really don't-I don't know. You say that a lot and honestly I can't tell. I mean are you in a gaming mood? Because if you are I know this casino in Vegas that let's the strippers-"

"Thor," I stepped around Tony, "please listen I had nothing to do with Karnilla. I was-"

"Silence!" he shouted, stepping in closer. I returned to hiding behind Tony. "You came to Asgard to assist Karnilla because without you she would never have gotten that stone. My world is in chaos because of you!"

"No!" I cried out, the tears stinging at my face. "I...wait. How would you know Karnilla has that stone?"

"Because," spat Thor, his blond eyebrows knitted tightly together. "I am King of Asgard. I know all that goes on in my realm."

"Yes, but you left for war," I pointed out, stepping out from behind Tony's suit. "You were rather far away, despite whether or not your battle didn't last long."

"I returned upon finding out your treachery," defended Thor, his upper lip twitched.

"That's not Thor," I whispered to Tony. "His eyes."

"What about them?" he whispered back. "Are they not dreamy enough for you?"

"They're green," I hissed. When he didn't respond I rolled my eyes. "Thor has blue eyes."

"Someone in disguise?"

"Unless he's under Karnilla's control," I grumbled.

"Move aside, friend," warned Thor pointing his hammer at us both.

"Okay, you want to get to Asgard, I'll get you to Asgard." His helmet stacked the metal into place so that his face was fully covered. "Sorry pal," he shouted to Thor, his voice distorted and vaguely computerized, "but I'm afraid I can't let you have her."

It all happened so fast. Tony shot toward Thor, grabbing him by his arms and lifting him into the air. Thor was quick to retaliate and he slammed his hammer hard against Iron Man's helmet, denting the side. Tony dropped Thor who landed on the ground with both feet placed firmly together.

Dust swirled around his boots as he walked toward me, his red cape billowing out behind him. I ran backwards, tripping over an unconscious agent. My heart caught in my throat as I scrambled back, kicking my feet to try and scoot away faster.

Thor grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, gripping hard that a few of the buttons popped off. My feet dangled above the ground and I helplessly twisted and turned in his grasp. The hammer was held high, aimed for my head. I closed my eyes tight, preparing myself for the deadly blow when something hot blew past my face.

Thor cried out, dropping me at his feet. I fell awkwardly, half on the dirt-packed ground and partly on the unconscious S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Thor turned to look in the direction of the fire ball that Tony had shot at him. Another one flew his way but Thor deflected it with his hammer, sending the ball of fire pummeling into one of the SUVs we arrived in. It pushed the vehicle over, exploding upon impact.

I screamed at the intense heat, my ears rang as I tried to get away. I crawled on all fours, tears blurring my sight as another fire ball came hurdling our way. Thor deflected it just as easy, returning it flying back to Tony. It hit him hard in the chest, sending him into the deserted area. A puff of dust exploded around him as he landed on his back, the sound of metal breaking filled the air.

Thor's hands roughly grabbed onto my shoulder and lifted me off of the ground. I screamed, kicking helplessly at him as he turned me around so that I could face him. His eyes swirled with a hate that I had never seen in anyone's gaze before, it enveloped around me stealing any warmth that I had left.

"Karnilla, I will do whatever it is that you want, just please stop," I pleaded searching Thor's green eyes for a sign that she had heard me.

Thor laughed, his blond hair spilled over his shoulders. "I am not Karnilla, and I am not Thor. I am merely here to serve my queen. Your death is all she wants right now."

"So take me to her," I demanded, trying to keep my voice level though I knew I was failing. "You and I both know she'll want the pleasure of killing me herself."

Thor-or whoever it really was-looked me over. He chewed on his lip for a moment before holding up his hammer. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for impact when the wind started to pick up and thunder rolled over head. Blinking, I looked up to the sky to see gray clouds spilling onto the ground, swirling up the dust around us.

Tony shot out from behind the cloud, ripping me from Thor's hold. I landed hard on the ground, rolling a few times as the dirt particles from the forming twister sliced at my bare legs. Iron Man held Thor down, his hand above Thor's face holding a ball of light in his metal palm.

"Go, now!" he shouted at me, struggling to keep Thor down. I remained still, on all fours staring at the two as Thor shoved Tony off. He scrambled to his feet, blasting Thor with a fireball. Thor took the full impact, barely slowing down as he advanced to where I was. "Hayden, go!"

My body heard the command but refused to move. I couldn't do this. I was no hero, despite Tony's admirable pep talk. I was a naive, simple-minded girl from California who spent far too much time reading books. I didn't know how to fight let alone help save an entire realm from a powerful sorceress.

"Hayden!"

All those who let fear cripple them let death find them with ease. The words I had heard Loki say so often came yelling at me. I forced myself to stand, ignoring the aches and pains in my legs and arms. Swaying slightly, my ears still ringing and palms laced with sweat and blood, I turned toward the swirling cloud of dust.

Balling my hands into fists I ran forward. The wind whipped my hair across my face, stirring up dirt that cut at my skin. Closing my eyes I jumped inside the vortex. Thor's fingers brushed against my arm but before he could latch on the familiar pulling sensation at my bellybutton exploded in my stomach. I was ripped through dimensions landing with an umph as I rolled onto the platform where Heimdall usually stood.

Swallowing hard, I slowly looked up. "My fair Hayden, you find yourself in far too much trouble."

Kieeka: Good! And I hope I made up for it. Coffee and cookies was a good idea.

Amakitkat: writers are sadists with an unquenchable thirst. I'm so sorry for that!

Missing a Muse: Happier face? Just a little?

Ellize Avalon: Aw don't hate me! The characters write themselves at this point, I swear!

Ryuno Chu: my mission is complete! (:

Ninjaloki: thank you and hopefully you're still alive!

Boca3: Everything is about to go down, be ready! (:

Happy-Valley: Thank you!

Carlypso: Breathe, it'll be okay! *hug* lol

K-bird Lily 2: oh, thank you!

Guest: thank you so much. I hope this is soon enough.

OhHaiSerah: I do it just to spite you and only you.