Hi again!

So I'm really bad at covers... I would love some help if anyone likes making them! And trailers too, because I dont think my school computer allowes video editing, and I dont have another one. :(

Thanks for reading!

:)

Chapter One

"If I have to put up with any more S.H.I.E.L.D. crap anymore, I will literally destroy their headquarters," Tony Stark says as he strides down the hallway at such a fast pace, Agent Hill had a difficult time keeping up.

"Fury said that it was important to signal not only you, but also Agents Barton and Romanoff and Steve as well," replied Agent Hill.

"Yeah, well I'll give Fury a piece of my mind if he gives me peace of mind at some point before I die," comments Tony. "And where the hell is Thor in all this?"

"Fury is trying to contact him," replies Agent Hill calmly as they turn into a sleek-looking hallway. "Although it's not going well."

Tony says something under his breath, but Agent Hill chose not to pay attention. She opened a door and Tony strode into the large boarding room.

Fury, Natasha, Clint, and Steve were already seated. They look up when he entered.

"If I have to put up with any  of this b-" starts Tony, but Fury interrupts him.

"Glad that you could make it, Mr. Stark. Now I would of course, never dare to summon you during your own free time-"

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it," grumbles Tony.

"-unless in deeply troubled times." says Fury, ignoring Tony. "Now we have developments of some extraterrestrial mayhem once again."

"If you're going to tell me that Loki has escaped, then I am just going to-"

"No, he has not. On the contrary," Fury's mouth twitches into a smile. "From what we gather from Thor's relatively infrequent reports, he has died in what seemed like a sacrificial move, come back to life in Asgard, and has gained relative favor in Thor's eyes, although there was a brief skirmish last month."

Fury seemed to enjoy the dropped jaws of four sixths of the Avengers.

"Are you implying that Loki has had a change of heart?" demands Natasha.

"I wouldn't say a change of heart," says Fury. "I would say a change in lifestyle. Thor says Loki is still the mischievous god that he is, but has at least stopped raging for power."

"I'm not putting any money on it," says Tony.

"But a more pressing matter exists," says Fury. "Last night, police officers got a call from a neighborhood in New York. They found the dead bodies of two parents. They also found the unconscious bodies of what we assume to be their two daughters. They were struck by an unknown force that the officers were most confused about. I managed to persuade them to relinquish control of the two girls, who are alive, but in two of the infirmaries within the headquarters."

"Fury, this sounds like a normal police report," complains Tony.

"Stark!" exclaims Natasha.

"Well, that's what I thought too," says Fury, obviously used to Tony's constant badgering. "Until I took a look at the girls. Both are ice cold, and more interestingly, each have a scar on their bodies shaped that looks like this." Fury slides a photograph to the center of the table. There are two snapshots; both of them obviously from the two girls. The scar is clearly unusual. It is perfectly circular, with teeth around the side, and blue, with a dark blue center around it. If he hadn't known it better, Tony would have assumed they were tattoos.

"The first girl, who I estimate to be around seven or eight, has the scar on her arm. The second, who is anywhere from twelve to thirteen, has the scar just above her collarbone. Furthermore, there is this." Fury throws a sort of gun onto the table with a bang.

"Okay, I believe you," says Tony. The gun looks shockingly like the ones used by the Chitari on the attack from New York almost two years ago.

"And what of the girls?" asks Natasha. "Have they said anything about the attack?"

Fury grimaces slightly. "That is the problem. You see-"

There is a loud boom from outside, which interrupts Fury temporarily. Moments later, the doors bang open, and in walk two figures, both clad in unusual uniform for S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, and both utterly familiar.

"Thor!" exclaims Steve, standing.

"Loki," hisses Natasha, glaring at the second figure, who looks perfectly calm to be in his former prison.

"I apologize for our slowness in returning," says Thor in his booming commanding voice. "We only now just heard."

"Ah," says Fury, looking at Loki with an eyebrow raised. "And may I ask what your brother is doing here?"

"It's a pleasure to see you too," says Loki with a glimmer of a smirk on his face.

"When we heard what had occurred on earth," explains Thor, "I realized that Loki has more experience with this sort of thing than anyone else. Do not worry; he will not cause any harm."

"He better not," Natasha mutters, purposely bumping into Loki on her way back to her seat from where she had risen to greet Thor. Loki pretends not to notice.

"Now as I was saying," says Fury, when Thor and Loki sit at the table. "The girls refuse to speak. I believe their unwillingness comes not from ill-doing, but from sheer terror. The younger one screams every time someone tries to touch her, and the older one kicks out in what I must admit is a very strong hit. She knocked out one of the nurses earlier today."

"What's she on, steroids?" asks Tony, drumming his fingers on the glass table.

"She's on adrenaline, more than likely," replies Fury. "Now here is what the mission for you all is. I want answers from both the girls. They are thus far the only witnesses of this event. Also, we need someone to investigate the gun and analyze its properties. Here is what is going to happen. Natasha and Thor will attempt to knock some sense into the girls. Stark, you and Steve take to the gun; Dr. Banner should be arriving soon, and he can help you out. Barton, I want you to go with Jane. She-"

"Jane?" asks Thor immediately.

"Yes, Ms. Foster has decided to help us. Continuing, Barton, you will accompany Jane as she goes back to the apartment."

"With due respect," says Thor, "I feel like I would want to go with Jane and-"

"I know you do and that is precisely why you are not," replies Fury. "You are going to interrogate the girls, or you will try to. Your knowledge of the worlds beyond us will hopefully serve you well." He looks around. "Questions?"

"And what of me?" asks Loki.

Fury looks at him sternly. "You will be staying with your brother and if you do anything to harm anyone or anything, that glass cage has been empty for some time."

*

Thor and Natasha stride down the hallway, each a bit nervous about the task ahead of them, but each not willing to say it out loud. Loki trails behind them calmly, his hands behind his back.

Natasha stops in front of Infirmary #12, where a frightened looking, elderly nurse is standing, writing something down on a clipboard. She looks up.

"We need to get inside," says Natasha firmly.

"I don't know if you want to, dear," says the woman. "She is mighty stirred up and-"

"We want to go in," says Natasha, even more firm.

The woman eyes the trio. "Very well," she says, walking away. "Good luck."

"Is this the elder or younger of the two?" asks Thor, looking at the door.

"The older one," replies Natasha. "Which is why we are going to be prepared. We will try to walk in without any problems, but if they arise, I'll push her back and you will control her."

Thor raises an eyebrow, which Natasha ignores. Loki looks as impassionate as always, so Natasha hesitantly unhooks the door's lock and opens it.

It's dark inside, save for the light from the hallway. There is a cot against the wall, and a few shelves, but other than that, it is empty. Except for the silhouette of a girl sitting up on the bed. Well, more like crouched on the bed.

"Who are you?" a voice calls out. It's strong, but shakes slightly at the end.

"Natasha Romanoff," Natasha says quietly. "And Thor and his brother, Loki."

"What do you want?"

"We want to ask you what happened last night." Says Natasha quietly. "In your own words. And we must see that mark on your-"

There is silence. "You are lying."

"What makes you say that?"

"You carry guns in your belt, and the blond guy has a hammer."

"Well isn't this ironic how she is the least scared of me," whispers Loki.

Natasha and Thor ignore him.

"Will this help?" asks Natasha, taking the two guns from their holsters in her belt and slide them out of the room, into the hallway. She nudges Thor, who sets his hammer outside too.

"Yes," replies the girl.

"She's going to-" begins Loki, but that's all he manages to get out before, in seemingly the speed of light, the girl lunges for Natasha, kicking out and sending her tumbling.

A second later, Natasha is on her feet, eying the girl, who has retreated to the bed. She is wearing jeans and a turtle neck shirt, but Natasha could feel the cold emanating from her. "Stay back," Natasha whispers to Thor, who has tensed.

"Go away," the girl hisses.

"We mean you no harm," says Thor, as Natasha stands still, her body alert.

"That's what they all say," she replies, and with another motion, so quick, it is blurred, she lunges at Natasha again.

But this time, Natasha is ready for her. She grabs the girl by the arms and pulls her back. The girl lets out a guttural screech and digs her teeth into Natasha's arm. Natasha winces and lets go, giving the girl just enough time to slip from her grasp.

"Okay, Thor, a little help," says Natasha gritting her teeth.

Within seconds, Thor has his hammer in his hands and advances into the room. The girl screams when she sees the weapon.

"Put that down, you fool," says Loki.

Thor ignores him once again, and Loki rolls his eyes, leaning against the wall. "Your loss."

The girl lunges, faking a left, and in the tight constraints of the room and the fact that Thor is holding the hammer in his right hand makes the girl slip away from him. Natasha tries to grab her, not wanting to hurt her, but then the girl kicks out, painfully hitting her stomach and then her neck, causing Natasha to cry out; Fury was right, the girl's fighting instincts were more than ordinary.

In the end, it isn't Natasha nor Thor who manage to control the girl. It is Loki.

The girl made the extremely unintelligent mistake of assuming Loki was just someone standing by, specifically  standing by in her way of the door. She flipped upside down, kicking out and expecting it to slam Loki down. Instead, Loki, with reflexes like lightning, grabs her foot so that she falls to the floor. Within two seconds, he has her around her waist. The girl throws her head back against his chest and kicks his legs, assuming he will cower back, but she is no match for his super-human strength and she screams in defeat.

Loki lets Thor take the girl and he pushes her gently onto the bed. Natasha wraps the restraint straps across her wrists and ankles and Thor lets go. The girl begins to cry as she struggles to get up.

"Well that was easy," says Loki sarcastically.

"Shut up, Loki," replies Natasha. She crouches down beside the girl. "We're not going to hurt you. But you need to tell us a few things. What's your name?"

"No," replies the girl, sobbing harder. "Get...away..."

"Please?" says Natasha quietly. "Just your name, nothing else."

"No."

Natasha sighs. "Then I at least need to see your scar."

"No."

"That wasn't a yes or no question," says Natasha calmly. "I'm sorry."

The girl lashes out at Natasha and tries to bite her hand as Natasha begins to pull back the turtle neck. Thor gently pushes her forehead back, feeling her tears on his hand. Her skin is ice cold.

The scar is just like what Natasha has seen in the photographs, although it seems bolder now and less blurry, although Natasha assumes it is because of the photo's glare. She sighs, looking at Thor. "I don't know anything about it."

Thor has been watching, and he shakes his head. "Nor I."

Loki moves forward. "May I see?"

Natasha hesitates, then pulls back. "Don't even think about pulling anything."

"Where is your confidence in me?" Loki asks with a devilish smile.

"It went down the drain along with a quarter of Manhattan," snaps Natasha, standing up.

Loki chuckles, then crouches down next to the bed. The girl struggles even harder and Loki places one of his hands on her shoulder. When he pulls back the nape of her collar, her cries grow louder.

Loki frowns when he sees the mark right above her collar bone. He reaches forward and gently touches the scar. He jerks his hand back as she cries out in pain.

"That hurts does it?" he says. He touches the mark once more, and she sucks in a breath through her teeth, her sobs strangled.

He pulls back his hand and looks at Thor, whose hand is on the girl's forehead still, but he is frowning.

"What is it, brother?" asks Thor.

"I may or may not know what that is," says Loki, standing up, and looking down at the panting girl.

"So you do know what it is," says Natasha.

"I said-"

"For heavens sake just tell me!" snarls Natasha.

"I need to see the other girl," says Loki calmly. "Then I will be able to tell."

"The marks are the same for both, tell me now."

"On the contrary," replies Loki, "You might find that if you know what you are looking at, they are very different."