A/N: I bring more! Thank you for all your lovely reviews, by the way. They really make my day. I have a few issues going on right now that I hope will be solved soon, so you can blame those for the lateness of the update.

Eva drifted.

In and out. Voices. Some soft, some harsh. She couldn't make out words. Only sounds. She recognised some, but from where she could not say.

Unconsciousness retrieved her for its own.

- Eight months before -

"Ms Manning, I'd like to introduce to you Thor Odinson of Asgard, brother of Loki."

Eva smiled warmly at the blond behemoth before her, and she offered her hand in greeting. Thor's own smile was genial, and the grip on her hand was surprisingly gentle, given the size of him.

"It's a pleasure, sir," Eva spoke, the god's mother-tongue flowing easily from her, and Thor's smile widened.

"The pleasure is mine, Lady Eva," he replied. Stark looked highly unamused, one eyebrow raising.

"Uh, you speak his language?"

"I do, Mr Stark," Eva responded lightly. "I studied it at university. But you know I do. I also know you know why Fury asked me to come here." She glanced at the director. "Where are you currently keeping him?"

"In a suitable enough facility," Fury stated calmly. Eva inclined her head, all traces of mirth gone.

"Show me."

Fury gestured to a monitor, and her eyes widened slightly as she gazed at the Norse god pacing about the cage, his expression unreadable. A faint curve could be seen upon Eva's lips, and her voice was soft, marvelling.

"Loki Laufeyson," she murmured. "What are you up to?"

"Laufeyson?" Thor's tone was guarded. "Then you know of his heritage, my lady?"

"He is Loki Laufeyson in the mythology, born a jötunn upon Jotunheim. His father is Farbauti and his mother Laufey," she responded, still studying the figure in the cage. "Or am I to find that the legends have been twisted somewhat?"

"I must tell you they have, my lady."

"Eva. I prefer Eva, if you do not mind."

There was a pause, and light amusement sounded. "As you wish… Eva. But yes, the… myths… have been warped. Laufey was his father –"

"Was?"

"Loki killed him."

She let out a low whistle. "Wow. He felled a frost giant. Impressive. I mean, it might not appear like that to you, with your strength and Mjolnir, but considering he is not… giant in stature…"

"That is a painful topic for Loki. Do not mention his heritage to him. He grew up on Asgard believing he was born an Asgardian, with Odin as his father. He did not discover the truth until recently."

Eva finally turned to look at Thor, calm, methodical.

"Tell me everything I should know. Anything interesting, also."

He did.

"Does Loki know?"

"Of course he knows, Rogers, are you really that dumb?"

"Stark. Both of you need to stop. Arguing is the last thing we need right now."

For once, the genius-playboy-millionaire-philanthropist did not retort, though he was somewhat preoccupied with the IV in his hand. They all had one, and not without due reason.

Tony Stark did not look like the Tony Stark of eight months ago. Pale, emaciated… a mere shade of himself, with dark circles and the remains of horror lingering in his eyes. He had shaved his lengthy beard off as soon as he could, but it only emphasised how gaunt he truly was.

And grief had shaped him utterly.

He had not believed Loki when the god had thrown the body of Virginia Potts at his feet – Loki was well-known for tricks and bluffs, and he held onto the belief that this was just another of those.

But when Fury had quietly confirmed that they had been sent her body, dead, unmoving… something had snapped in the man. He had requested that they leave him be – soft, devoid of sarcasm, something which greatly worried the director.

If Stark had been affected by Coulson's death... Pepper's passing near-destroyed him. He had not spoken for an entire day – and his angry response to Steve were the first words since he had been told the news.

Silence fell again. Fury was very aware that although these individuals were weakened, they were still – as Bruce had put it all those months ago – a time-bomb. They could all explode any second – confinement hadn't done them any favours in the least.

"Is she awake?" Steve eventually asked, looking from Stark to Fury, his expression a combination of exhaustion, sadness and genuine concern for the 'King's lady'.

"Not yet. She was knocked out by some pretty strong stuff. It's a miracle we managed to get her out without Loki intervening."

"Then you're an idiot," Stark cut in. "If he didn't 'intervene', then he was pretty damn happy for you to take her. Reindeer Games is scheming, Fury. Which means you're in trouble. And I'm in no state to save your ass right now."

"That's enough." Steve glared at Stark. "This is exactly what happened eight months ago. The last thing we need is to be arguing and brawling like this."

Stark looked as though he wanted to retort, but nothing sounded and his eyes closed, his response mute yet heavy with insinuation. Steve gave him one last look before departing. His strength was returning faster than the others, and he had free rein to wander. Bruce, too, was recovering quickly, though he had almost lost control when he discovered what had befallen Stark. No-one had ever seen the doctor so irate. Only the billionaire himself had been able to quell Banner's rage, somehow recognising through his grief the danger of letting 'the other guy' out.

Clint and Natasha were in much the same state as Stark, and as for Thor…

The Norse god sat by Eva's bed, his expression melancholy.

Oh, my brother. What have you done? What drove you to such madness as this?

His eyes drifted over the mortal woman's still form, the blonde curls, the pale skin, shapely figure. It was easy to see why Loki had taken an interest in her. Her intellect had impressed Thor, and her fluency in his own tongue – something which he knew must have increased during her month with Loki – was refreshing, if not slightly surprising. Thor had observed Eva's encounter with Loki through a screen, and an unconscious smile had formed then. She near-matched Loki in intelligence, and her unwillingness to back down in the face of Loki's arrogance and menace instantly had Thor looking at her with respect. This was not a woman who scared easily.

"She not awake yet?"

"No," Thor answered, though the evidence was clear.

Clint entered the room, his eyes scanning the sleeping body just as Thor had done, only with more precision, taking in the finer details. The faint bruise at her neck, the slight shadow upon her wrist. Disgust rippled through the archer – clearly Loki thought nothing of manhandling the woman… and the bruise at her neck said everything. Clint may have fought women in the past – hell, he'd fought the woman he cared for the most – but he had never been so callous or brutal towards innocents. And Eva was a butterfly caught in a spider's web. All she had been brought in for was a conversation. And now she was known as the lady of the King.

"He let her be taken," he murmured. "Whatever he's planning, we'd better be ready for it."

"My brother is not an easy one to predict," Thor replied. "He is always, as you mortals say, two steps ahead of everyone else."

"Tasha caught him out. Once," Clint said, and there was a hint of pride to his tone. "When she was interrogating him about me. Seems your brother is more than a little sexist; I don't think he believed a woman could outwit him."

"No doubt Eva changed that," Thor mused. Clint snorted.

"She said, and I quote, 'I'd sooner stab him than slip a ring on my finger.' He'd be an idiot to underestimate her. Her skills are intellectual, and maybe that's what we need to bring him down. We tried force, and it didn't work. We got locked up for almost three quarters of a year and you were exiled to Norway."

"Self-exiled," Thor corrected quietly. Unable to return to Asgard, he'd been desperate to make sure Jane was safe… but when he arrived, he found a shaking, terrified mess of a woman.

There weren't many times Thor could be accused of hating Loki, but that was one of them.

"Any news on the Bifrost developments?"

"None as yet," the Thunderer responded tonelessly. "But if Loki becomes aware… we will have more to deal with than just a maddened pretender." He glanced at Clint, and his eyes were wary. "Eva must not know of this. Any of it. You know as well as I that Loki works with the mind."

"You think he breached her mind."

"I do not think, I know." Thor looked to Eva, and his expression softened. "I dread to imagine what brutality he has dealt her. He may have been thought of as weak on Asgard, but they were wrong. He is a formidable force, filled with a madness I cannot reason with."

"Could she?"

Thor's brow furrowed. It was a question he had not dared ponder upon, and the answer that came to mind was not the favoured one. "Eva may have been the closest any of us have been to Loki this past month, but I do not believe he is enthralled or adoring enough to listen to her. He has sunk far too deeply into his darkness. I do not have much faith in her, Clint. And she has no wish to reason with him. She despises him enough that she was willing to stab him, as you so said."

"She's a fighter, I'll give her that," Clint said, a hint of amusement lingering. "There aren't many who could go through what she has and come out resistant."

"Indeed," Thor murmured. "If there ever was a one to tame my brother, it would be she."

"I guess we'll know what he did to her when she wakes up."

"She may not say, Clint. And I do not wish to torture the lady. SHIELD will have myself to deal with if they turn towards such a path, you can be sure of that." A warning, plain and simple, and not towards the archer. There were many who were uneasy about having the King's woman on board. The rumours were many, the truths unknown. Guilty by association, one might say. It had been made plain by Fury that if anyone tried to hurt her, they would face consequences.

But it wasn't Fury they feared. If Eva was harmed, word would undoubtedly reach Loki. His wrath was something to beware, and not without due reason.

"I doubt they'll hurt her, Thor. She's a civilian, and we know that Loki chased her. None of this was her fault," Clint said quietly. "She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And SHIELD made a mistake. They underestimated Loki's probable interest in her. They are the ones to blame, not Eva."

Thor inclined his head, silently agreeing. He had voiced such an opinion to Fury, after discovering that Loki had caught up to Eva, and angrily. In truth, he had been leery of letting the woman anywhere near Loki, even with a glass cage separating them. Loki was first and foremost a trickster, and Eva was the perfect victim.

"Mr Thor? Sir? Is Eva awake yet?"

Thor's eyes warmed, and he turned his head to see Aidan, Eva's nine year-old brother standing hesitantly in the doorway, expression anxious.

"I am afraid not, little one," he answered. "She still sleeps. But have no fear; I am quite certain she will waken soon."

Aidan gave the warrior god a soft smile. "Okay."

He walked in, his focus entirely on his sleeping sibling, and he sat on the other side of her, eyes moving over her face.

"Where're your parents?" Clint asked the boy gently.

"Talking with Mr Fury," Aidan responded, gaze still on Eva. "They didn't sound too happy, and Mum told me to go explore. So I did."

Typical youngster. It made Thor's lips twitch, and not for the first time did he feel a sense of relief that Loki hadn't caught the boy. Thankfully, Thor had gone to England almost immediately after the fiasco of New York, and he had persuaded Eva's parents to move to safety. Which had meant constantly moving across the globe, until one day Eva's father had put his foot down and demanded security and stability. Fury had stepped in then, and offered them rooms aboard the Helicarrier. It had been SHIELD's fault, and it was only right they try to solve this. Grateful that some sort of constancy had been proposed, Eva's parents had accepted, and they had brought Aidan with them.

"Clint, Fury wants to see you."

Natasha stood in the doorway, expression unreadable as she took in the scene before her. She had never felt particularly maternal; children had never factored in her life. Her eyes swivelled to the archer, who left without a word, though he covertly clasped her fingers, just for a second, before departing. Natasha gave Thor and Aidan a nod, her expression betraying nothing of Clint's touch, and then she too walked away, leaving the warrior and the boy alone.

"Thor?"

"Yes?"

"Why is your brother hurting the world?"

It was a question borne out of innocence, yet it tugged at Thor's heart. Why, indeed. He knew the answer, and he knew that it would touch a part of Aidan. He was aware of Aidan's parental situation, and he was in no doubt that Loki was also aware. It was why Aidan had been brought here; it was not only Thor who believed that Loki would try to use the boy, manipulate him to toy further with Eva.

"Loki… Loki feels he has been wronged. He seeks revenge for what has been done to him," Thor explained, trying to make it simple for the boy to understand. Aidan caught his lower lip between his teeth as he mused over that information, before turning his head to look at Thor.

"What happened to him?"

Here, Thor halted. To give the child too much information could be dangerous, and if Loki found out just what his elder brother had divulged… it would only worsen the divide between them.

"He… he discovered that he was adopted. It had been kept from him for his entire life."

Aidan was silent for a moment.

"But I'm adopted. And I don't feel like smashing things and taking over the world," he reasoned, suddenly seeming far wiser than his age. "My mum and dad love me. Don't his love him?"

"They do. Very much," Thor said softly. "But he cannot see that. It is also for the reason that he was adopted from a race that most of my people… dislike. He himself was brought up to be suspicious of them, and when he realised that he was one… it was difficult for him."

"Oh." Aidan fell to contemplation again. "That must have been hard for him."

"Yes," Thor concurred quietly. "It was. It is."

"Will things get better between you?"

Thor let slip a gentle smile. "I have faith."

A comfortable stillness emerged between he and the boy, and inwardly, Thor marvelled at just how calm and caring Aidan was. A direct contrast to Loki. Aidan knew he was adopted, had been brought up knowing.

Thor couldn't help but wonder whether Loki would be any different if Odin had been straight with him from the beginning. Having an equal sense of entitlement to the throne had been a mistake on the All-Father's part, Thor pondered. He could not understand why Odin had done such a thing. It was at the root of Loki's hatred and insanity, that he believed he should have a throne to sit upon. In reality, he did, but Jotunheim was a place Loki had attempted to destroy, so strong was his loathing for that species of giant. Thor did not think it likely that Loki would ever take up Laufey's crown. A throne would suit you ill, he had once told Loki. Were those words still true?

Yes, his heart murmured. Loki was never meant to rule. Power corrupts men such as him. And this world does not want a king. My brother must be taken back to Asgard.

The aim was there. The method, however, had not even been decided upon. The Avengers were still too weak. Eva was not yet awake. And Loki was stronger than he had ever been.

Thor had heard that humans often prayed for miracles. Before, he had never quite comprehended why. Now, though, he understood perfectly, and as he watched over the sleeping girl, he could not help but silently beg for one.

In any shape or form.

A/N: I hope this satisfied you all. As always, I will try to update soon, but no promises. Much love.

Lightning xoxo