Steve could only imagine what Loki had in store for Grace. She had so much power, so many things that could make her dangerous in the wrong hands. He placed his hands under the cool, running water and let his palm fill up and splash the skin of his face. Beads of water ran down his face and neck until he wiped them away, taking a deep breath to calm himself and clear his mind. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his wallet, smiling as he saw the picture of him and Grace that he had tucked inside. Slowly, he pulled it out to see it more clearly and smiled happily as he remembered the day it had been taken.

-Flashback-

Captain Fury strolled into the large control room of the helicarrier and looked at his team of Avengers. He had been so unsure about all this, but now the moment had come he knew it was the right thing to do. That girl, the girl who he had fought so hard to protect, deserved to be with people she could relate to. People that could protect her, and be her family.

"So why exactly are we here? I had to cancel a flight to Russia..." started Natasha but she trailed off when Fury glared at her with his one good eye. She rolled her eyes, guessing that it was something important, and leant against a worktop.

"Today is a day of new beginnings. New York was a success and I do not doubt that it will be one of many" he said, looking to each Avenger. Thor, the demigod, Tony Stark, the billionaire, Clint Barton, a trained assassin that had been to hell and back at the hands of Loki, Natasha Romanov, the woman that could single-handedly hold the world on her shoulders, Bruce Banner, the genius with a secret, and Steve Rodgers, the Captain. They were a great team, but they needed something to hold them together. "You all are unique in your own way, and all of you have special-" he paused, "-abilities. Today the team of Avengers changes from a team of six to a team of seven." he announced. Looking around at each other the Avengers were unsure of this. They had a good thing going: they were all working well together, finally getting along: a new person could ruin everything, and what if she was just another copied agent?

"Maybe that's not the best ideas, Sir, we don't need anyone else," Clint said, raising his eyebrows a little in concern.

"Maybe you do," they heard a voice behind them to see that a group of S.H.E.I.L.D agents had walked in, surrounding a beautiful blonde-haired girl. Her eyes flickered around the room nervously. She didn't know what to think. She had hazy memories of New York but she remembered seeing each of these faces clearly.

"This here is Grace." Fury continued, smiling fondly at the girl, "You might recognise her." She nervously smiled back, then looked at her new teammates.

The team immediately recognised her and Natasha leapt to hug her friend; her only female friend at that. Romanov had been requested by Fury to help train Grace when she was first taken in, and after the girl had been taken by the Circle, Natasha had been there for her. A part of her had hoped that the young girl would be able to have freedom and live outside of the world that had ruined her own, but maybe this was her chance to be with people that really cared about her. She deserved that, at least.

"Sorry," Natasha muttered, smiling at the girl as she pulled away from the embrace.

"For what?" Grace asked back, creasing her eyebrows together. She finally felt somewhere she belonged.

"...For getting you dragged into this," she whispered, hugging the girl again then pulling away to let the rest of the team address her.

"Good to see you again, blondie," said Tony, smirking at the girl as she stretches out her hand for him to shake. He thought better of it and pulled the girl into a tight hug while she giggled softly into his shoulder. They had all wondered what had happened to her since New York, even though they knew she would have needed medical attention soon after. SHIELD had kept them in the dark for so long, they had started to think that nothing would become of the mystery girl who had had their backs against Loki. Each Avenger greeted her, some shaking her hand and some hugging her until one remained.

"Hello, Captain." She said, blushing as the man stood in front of her. He really was handsome, she thought. The most handsome man she had ever seen, but that was not what drew her to him.

"You don't need to call me that. Call me Steve." He said, reaching for her had and kissing it lightly as Tony rolled his eyes from the other side of the room.

Grace cleared her voice and said, "I never..er...thanked you...for saving my life." She said quietly in almost a whisper. She didn't know what it was about this man that made her lose her nerve, made her speechless, breathless.

He nodded at her politely, trying and failing to suppress the grin that was forming on his lips, "And you. Normally it is me saving others but...it is nice to know that someone is looking out for me too. Thank you, Grace." He smiled warmly.

Agent Coulson strode into the room, holding a camera. "Picture with the new recruit," he said, smiling and winking at the girl.

-End of flashback-

The air was warm as Grace got off the plane. Multiple opportunities to try and escape arrived and passed her by, but what was the point really? Whilst he had that staff he would only control her or kill her and then she'd never been able to help her friends. At some point, Loki had changed out of his Asgardian clothes into a smart shirt and trousers, blending into the smart crowd of a city Grace didn't recognise. Loki had finally come to his senses, after some eyelash-batting, and she had convinced him to buy her some crêpes. They must be in France.

The two of them walked down the street, and any innocent passer-by might have mistaken them for two normal people. They couldn't have been further from that, but it was nice to pretend. The more Grace spoke to him, the more she could feel herself falling into the trap. He was charming and eloquent and had opened up to her. She could see who he was underneath his tough exterior, but it would have been naive to think that he could let it go and be good. Still, she found herself opening up to him in ways that she couldn't with the others. They were both trying to find their place in the universe. They had moved on to talking about their past as they walked along the Seine, finishing their sweet desserts.

"So you remember nothing at all? Of the life you once led? The family you left behind," Loki pressed, enjoying discovering more about this girl.

"Nothing at all." She shrugged, "I could have been anybody and all I have to show for it is my name…" She paused, biting her lip, "…And maybe…" She hesitated but he only urged her to continued.

"What?" He smiled up at her, forgetting that he wasn't meant to. He was supposed to keep his guard up at all times, but it was so difficult to do so around Grace.

"I think I remember my birthday," She admitted to him bashfully.

He grinned, "When is it?" The two of them stopped to look out over the beautiful river, the spring sun shimmering along the water.

She tiled her head, the two of them leaning on the wall, "I don't know how I just…know." She took a deep breath, "June 3rd."

He nodded, remembering that date, "I know I can't begin to relate my own experiences to yours…but when I found out that my mother and father were not really my own…I didn't know who I was anymore. I didn't know where my place in Asgard was," He told her, the words articulating feelings he had never shared with anybody.

"Like a stranger in your own body," She knew how he felt. She loved the Avengers like her own family, but she was still discovering who she was and who she wanted to be.

"Yes, yes exactly." He replied, smiling slightly at her and taking a final bite out of his crepe, "That really was exquisite. I have tasted nothing like it in Asgard," He told her.

She smiled widely, "You've been missing out. Although, Asgard seems like a wonderful place," She went on, thinking of the breathtaking descriptions she had had from both Thor and Loki of the place.

He nodded, "It's like no place I've seen on Earth. Beautiful, really." He told her wistfully, wishing he could go back. He'd done so much though, he wasn't sure he ever could.

She fiddled with the ring on the middle finger of her left hand, "Do you think you'll ever go back?"

He shook his head, "I have quite the bounty on my head over there. My father…" Odin was not really his father, but he couldn't bring himself to correct himself, "He would never forgive me. I'm not a good person…"

She stopped in front of him, forcing him to stop walking and look up at her, "You're not a bad person, not really. Just a good one with bad behaviour," She told him with a small smile. For a moment he just stared at her, his lips curling up into a smile. For some reason, she saw good in him and believed in him, despite everything he'd done. "You know maybe I…" Before she could finish she felt somebody grab her roughly and a sharp pain of a needle piercing the skin of her lower back. In an instant, her body felt numb and her mind clouded to the point where she couldn't tell whether it was Loki or somebody else who had grabbed her. She clawed desperately for consciousness but as far as she could see she was falling. Before she passed out she felt two hands catch her, then the blackness descended.

The plane jolted, waking Steve up as they entered French airspace. He looked out at the beautiful city that he had never been to before. The city of love. He had hoped to take Grace there someday.

"We found her," Bruce told him, handing him a tablet. A video feed flashed up of Grace outside the Louvre. The shimmering lights of the building shone onto the lit courtyard and people glided around in formal attire, Grace is one of them. Steve smiled at the picture and couldn't help noticing how beautiful she looked in a dress.

"Alright for some," Clint commented over the Captains shoulder with a scoff, standing up with the rest of the Avengers.

"Suit up Captain," said Tony, bringing up a live security feed of the Louvre on his computer screen, which showed Grace on the arm of Loki. Steve murmured something under his breath then pulled on his uniform, and grabbed his shield. The jet loomed over the grand museum and Tony, now in his Iron Man suit, quickly flew out the back of the open aircraft. Steve looked at the others, rolling his eyes at Tony's arrogance and impulsiveness. He grabbed a parachute and, after strapping it to his back, leapt from the quinjet.

On the ground, Loki had a toothy grin on his face. He was dressed in a suit, covered by a long jacket and a scarf, and in his hand, he held his sceptre in the form of a cane. He cocked an eyebrow at the girl on his arm, Grace laughing at something he had just said. They glided into the formal party that was being held in and around the larger pyramid in the courtyard of the grand museum. He whispered something in her ear and she laughed once more, picking up a glass of champagne from one of the waiter's trays.

Suddenly, Loki started attacking guards with his sceptre, hitting anyone who got in his way. The blonde woman smiled from where she was standing, sipping champagne as if all of this was normal. He raced towards a man he recognised as the museum curator and grabbed him by the shoulders, dragging him into the pyramid.

Suddenly a thud and a burst of light entered the area as Iron Man landed on the stone ground.

"Man, this guy has a thing for this kind of party," he joked, flying towards the pyramid door. The party guests looked around once more to see Captain America run towards the door after his teammate , but he stopped in his tracks as he saw a face he had missed.

"Grace," he called running over to her.

The woman smiled and said "think again" with a cruel smirk. Suddenly she wiped her legs around, knocking Steve to the floor.

"Rebecca." He growled, as she took another swing at him but this time he was ready and blocked each of her punches.

"You wouldn't hit a girl, would you?" She teased, still using Grace's voice, as he held her in a headlock. Loosing his concentration, Steve loosened his grip, letting her move back and punch his hard in the stomach.

"You have no idea what I can-" she began but was cut off as an arrow suctioned to her forehead, knocking her out, and she fell to the floor, her features changed into that of Rebecca. Steve glanced back at Clint, sighing as the hope of seeing Grace left his mind and then he ran to the glass building to help his friend.

He saw Loki, now in his green robes, barely fighting his team mate off as they shot things at each other.

"You mortals are so weak." He spat as Steve ran into the room. "Running to protect your precious friend. Maybe she wants to be with me instead of you dull creatures. I am a God. You cannot beat me again."

Steve leapt towards him, knocking him to his feet and his cane out of his hand. Spinning around to fight Loki, Steve swung for the god but his fist glided through a virtual image and he stumbled forward. The real Loki chuckled darkly, beginning to run through the maze-like museum, obviously trying to find something or someone. He ran to a large door which was slightly ajar, though it looked like it had once been heavily locked. Steve managed to slip through the door just before it closed. Suddenly he stopped, unaware of where he was or where Loki was as he looked out over the maze-like area. His eyes flicked to his left as he felt a presence watching him. He saw a flash of a person and followed the figure through the archives. Swinging around a corner he blocked a punch that had swung his way. His attacker pushed at his hand with a strength that Steve had not anticipated and the attacker knocked him to the floor before sprinting away. He slowly got up, looking around at the warehouse-like archives. As he kept walking, he saw a space on a shelf where something had been. It had been moved recently as there was an outline of dust where the object had been. He moved forward to inspect the shelf further but felt something hard under his boot. Looking down he saw a ring. Grace's ring.