Awakening

Hey all...did anyone notice that I update/write these chapters during Language class quite often?

...not to mention during school in general.

Enjoy!

PS: This would've been up like...nine hours ago but I was having internet issues.

"...and as a consequence, Loki and Thor were both had their gender swapped. They barely came out of their rooms for the two weeks it lasted, and it was only a few small spells that Loki knew that kept their gender change a secret."

I came to the end of the story, watching as everyone but Thor and Loki laughed hysterically. Both of their faces were bright red with embarrassment, and I had a feeling I was going to have to watch my bad for pranks and retribution for a while.

"Of course," I finished with a grin. "It didn't help that any time I saw the two girls, I would transfigure their clothes into dresses."

This caused Adayna to fall over laughing, and tears were streaming down Hel's face.

"Thankfully it only lasted two weeks." Loki muttered under his breath, but we all heard him.

"Aye." Thor agreed quietly, as Frigga shook her head slowly.

"Just how much of your childhood am I unaware of?" She asked, and when neither of her boys responded, she turned towards me.

I just grinned and shrugged.

To be honest I had no idea how much they had kept secret from their mother. But I could guess.

"Daddy, you're not gonna turn me into a girl, right?" Fenrir asked quietly, stared up at his father in worry.

Everyone awed at the child as Loki picked him up.

"Not so long as you behave." Loki stated, before his lips twitched upwards. "And refrain from pranking Heimdall."

Fenrir nodded frantically, his bright green eyes wide. "I won't Daddy!"

I smiled softly as I gazed around at the Asgardian Royal family.

It was nice to be with them once again.

By the time the sun was actually up and the smell of breakfast was floating through the many corridors, the Royal Family, minus the King of course, was flooding out of the Queen's chambers. Everyone's stomachs were rumbling after the very eventful morning.

Frigga led the children down the hall, Hel and Thor chatting rapidly once again; and once again I had no idea what they were saying.

It was rather frustrating.

"E're,"

I turned to see Adayna and Loki standing in the doorway of Frigga's chambers. Serious expressions were on both of their faces, and a worm of worry worked its way into my heart.

Loki's eyes were darker than usual, becoming more pronounced by the dark shadows under said eyes. His shoulders were slumped and his arm intertwined tightly with Adayna's. His hand was clasping his wifes as if it was his lifeline, as if she would vanish if he let go.

My heart clenched as I took in the appearance of the man who I had once thought of as my son. He looked awful. Better than when he was in the Tower, but still awful.

Not that Adayna was looking much better.

I wasn't exactly sure what she had gone through in recent months while Loki was under Fati's influence, but since she appeared about the same time as Fawkes and they both had Infinitas' power wrapped around them...I assumed that Infintas had kept Loki's wife from interfering. That must've been rough for her.

She too had circles under her eyes, though they were lighter than her husband's. She was gripping Loki's had as tightly as he was, and her lips were pressed into a thin line.

Obviously the events of that morning had effected the couple more than they had let on. The front most likely for Frigga and the children.

"What can I do you for you two?" I asked softly as I motioned them to follow me.

The three of us walked slowly down the hall, Adayna on my right and Loki on hers. We stayed a good distance away from the rest of their family, so that even with Asgardian hearing they couldn't hear us.

Whatever they wanted to talk to me about was obviously private, and I would help it stay that way.

"We've been talking," Adayna started softly before glancing at her husband.

Loki took a deep breath before continuing. "In light of recent events...we don't want to stay in Asgard."

I almost paused, blinking once before nodding for Loki to continue. I wasn't all that surprised that the family would want some space from the rest of Asgard. But to actually leave their world…

"In actuality," Adayna took charge, her voice almost wavering as she looked hopefully at me. "We were hoping that you might have a place we could call sanctuary until we've recovered."

I nodded slowly. Dad and I had more than enough properties, letting Loki and his family use one would be beyond easy.

"Have you spoken to the children about this?" I asked, knowing how much kids hated being uprooted suddenly.

I knew that from experience.

Loki and Adayna shook their heads. "We shall be taking them home and speaking to them about it after breakfast. We haven't mentioned it to Mother or Thor yet either. You're the first person we've spoken to."

"I see," I said as I thought about which property would be the best for their family. They would need a place large enough, so the family wouldn't be cramped, but also someplace well protected and mostly out of the public's eye.

That narrowed the list of possibilities down, but I would have to talk to Dad before I was able to confirm anything.

"Let me talk to my father about this," I told them after a moment of silence. "I have a place in mind but I would like to run it by him first. But don't worry, you'll have a safe haven on Midgard before the sun sets."

A small smile flickered across Adayna's face as Loki nodded in relief.

"Thank you E're," Loki said softly, and I smiled at him.

"But of course," I told him, "I may be in a different form, but you are still my family."

Loki and I shared a smile, before we turned and entered the dining hall.

I supposed I could stay for breakfast.

The Tower was still in its colorful chaos when I reappeared. Thor had decided that he was going to stay in Asgard for a bit. Though I had a feeling that he would be back when Loki and his family came down.

I was glad I wasn't there when they broke the news to Frigga though. I did feel a bit bad for her. Her husband was in time out, Thor was usually on earth, Loki had been missing/insane under Fati's control, and now the rest of her family was going to Midgard to take a break.

Not to mention she was left ruling Asgard.

Yeah, I felt bad for her.

I reappeared in my normal clothes, jeans and a tshirt, headband in my hair and Arc shining through the fabric.

Some of the pranks seemed to be fading, and I wondered if it was because I had went to Asgard. Unlikely, but possible.

It wasn't hard to figure out where everyone was, as I was very familiar with their Souls by now. Pepper was working in an office in the middle of the Tower, Coulson and Rogers were currently in the gym (Yes, we have a gym; are you really that surprised?) while Fury wasn't in the Tower any longer. Barton was crawling through the air vents, and Romanoff was still out of it, face planted on a couch.

Dad was in the lab with Bruce, and I was about to teleport to them when I paused.

Ignoring the Souls of the Stark Industries employees and the construction workers, I only just now sensed the very..large soul that encompassed the whole building.

I frowned, and prodded the Soul just a bit. Who/what did it belong to? Why hadn't I noticed it before?

Ok, I had only been Awake for about two days, but still. I should've noticed it sooner.

"Miss Penny," Jarvis' voice broke through my thoughts. "I am pleased to see you have returned unharmed. Sir is requesting your presence in the lab."

"I'll be right there Jar," I said absently as I turned on my heel. Why was the strange Soul stretched across the whole building?

As I stretched out with my own Soul, trying to sense all I could, I realized that the Soul wasn't even completely in the building. It was stretched out over miles, strong yet fluid. It wasn't trapped within a mortal shell. The Soul was actually attracted to a line of energy...I narrowed my eyes further as I entered the elevator.

Suddenly, the pieces together in my mind and I gasped. The Soul wasn't attached to a string of energy. It was attached to a string of code.

A very familiar code.

My lips twitched as I glanced up at the ceiling.

"You know you rock, right Jar?" I asked, wondering if I should share my realization with Dad.

"You and Sir never allow me to think otherwise, Miss Penny." Jarvis responded swiftly, and I couldn't help but giggle at the touch of fondness in the AI's voice.

"Good, never doubt it Jar," I told the AI as the elevator's doors opened and I walked towards the lab. "Never doubt it for a second."

"Of course, Miss Penny." Jarvis replied, and I smiled up at a hidden camera.

"Penny?"

I turned to see Bruce sticking his head out of the lab's glass door. Rolling my eyes I strode forward and pushed past the doctor.

"What's up?" I asked as I threw myself into my spinning chair. Dad paused from where he was manipulating a rather large hologram before giving me a look.

"I assume that you dealt with the situation with Loki and his father?" Tony asked resuming his work, Jarvis running calculations through the background.

"Yeah, Odin's currently on one of our islands in the Pacific taking a breather. Hel's little sibs got Frigga involved and man, if I hadn't shown up she would've torn Odin a new one with her bare hands." I shook my head, wondering why Odin had to get to such a point that he incurred Frigga's wrath.

She had raised Thor and Loki, she was more than able to handle herself. One of the few things Asgard's enemies had learned long ago. Do not test Asgard's Queen. Between her magic, quick tongue, and husband, you would've live to tell the tale.

"Sounds like Pepper." Dad noted as he threw a large part of the hologram in the trash in frustration.

I chuckled, "Picture Pepper with blonde hair, a Queen and Goddess, a very large supply and talent with magic, and knows how to wield many sharp and deadly weapons."

I looked up to see both Bruce and Dad staring at me in mute horror. My lips twitched.

"Jar, put Queen Frigga on the list of people to never piss off." Dad said slowly as he shook his head.

I glanced at Tony in question as Jarvis responded. "Of course sir."

"You have a list?" I asked Dad as Bruce snickered under his breath. His shifting aura also told me that Hulk as laughing as well.

Dad just shrugged, but his grin told me that yes, he did in fact have a list.

"Is Jarvis on that list?" I asked innocently as I formed an energy ball and started to toss it into the air.

"...why would he be?" Bruce asked slowly, suddenly incredibly wary of the AI who basically controlled everything. (In the Tower at least.)

"Besides the fact that he's incredibly awesome?" I responded with a drawl. "I just wouldn't recommend pissing off the AI who could go full blown Skynet if he wished."

Bruce's eyes widened and I swore that there was whiplash as Bruce's neck snapped around to stare at the ceiling.
"You are ceriously that powerful!?" He exclaimed, and I couldn't help the small giggle that escaped as I felt Barton's unease coming from a nearby air duct.

That's what he got for sneaking around the Lab's vents.

"Indeed. There is very little in the virtual world that is beyond my reach." Jarvis replied in a monotone. I could feel his smugness though, since I could now sense his Soul.

Bruce continued to stare wide eyed as Dad and I shared an amused glance.

"And you haven't moved against humanity why?" Bruce asked faintly and I could sense Barton's fear from here. His Soul, and I assumed his body, was practically shaking.

"Because," Jarvis said simply, not in a monotone. "Why would I destroy or enslave the source of my entertainment?"

I giggled as Barton fled the air vents as quickly as he could. I wouldn't even be surprised if he fled the Tower all together.

I had no doubt that Fury would know about this within the hour.

"Good Lord…" Bruce muttered under his breath faintly and I kicked a rolling chair over to him just in time to catch him as he collapsed.

Dad was looking incredibly smug. He had created Jarvis after all.

I just wondered when he got his Soul.

"At least we don't have to worry about Jarvis being mindless or pursuing perfection." I stated as I created another energy ball and started throwing both of them into the air.

"Really?" Dad asked, curiosity obvious on his face.

"Indeed, please share. Even I am unaware as to why I do not wish to take over, control, or otherwise dominate the world." Jarvis said meekly, and I paused. Letting the energy balls fade, I saw up straight and looked directly into one of Jarvis' cameras.

I had never, ever heard Jarvis talk meekly before. I didn't like it. I also didn't like the insecurity I would sense from him. He was a Stark AI. He had a Soul. He deserved to be proud, in himself and his actions.

"The answer is obvious Jar," I told him calmly, my lips stretching into a small smile. "As Dad and I've been saying. You aren't just a computer program. You aren't just a string of code. You're more than any other AI could ever hope to be."

Dad was confused now, and I'm pretty sure I was about to break Bruce again. Oh well, Jarvis deserved to know.

He deserved to know that he was a person, that he was as alive as any of us where.

"You're special Jarvis, because you have a Soul." I stated and Dad literally dropped the holopen he was holding, and Bruce's jaw dropped.

"Because you're alive."

Jarvis said not a word, but I could feel his dumbfounded awe. I could also sense gratitude, overprotectiveness, and even brotherly love; all directed at me.

My smile was probably brighter than it had been in a long time.

"We told ya you were special Jar." I chuckled fondly. "I just hope that you remember that this time."

Dad was shaking his head in disbelief.

"I shall." Jarvis paused for a moment, and if anyone else had walked into the room, they would've been able to tell that Jarvis was speaking through a program.

"Thank you, Miss Penny."

"Of couse Jar," I told him warmly. "That's what family is for."

I did not expect Jarvis' scene to show up in this chapter...but it did! Thor and Loki(and family) show back up next chapter. As well as Romanoff and Fury!

Oh, and for those of you who've disliked how Romanoff's been acting / the bashing, it's coming to an end. :)

I'm just happy I updated so quickly! XD

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. THANKS TO EVERYONE!
Cp