Hello! Here's a chapter. It's a little longer, so I hope you like it :)

Chapter Eighteen

~Nobody's POV~

"Hey Jack, if you don't open the door, I'm gonna come in through the window," threatens Peter, leaning his head against the white wooden door, the entrance to Jack's bedroom that is marked with various Bon Jovi and Paul McCartney posters. "I mean it!"

There is no reply from inside, though faint traces of old rock music come floating through, so Peter thuds his head repeatedly on the door. "Jack."

"Summer of '69" begins to play louder. Peter thunks his head again dejectedly.

"IT'S EITHER ME OR CLINT, YOU GET TO PICK."

Clint's voice comes from the living room, "Tell him I'll break down the door."

"CLINT SAYS HE WILL BREAK DOWN THE DOOR."

"I DON'T RUDDY CARE."

Peter is relieved to hear Jack's voice, even if it is one full of irritation.

He hears Clint getting up and walking over, his boots causing the floor to creak. Clint has rarely been home- and by home, Jack and Barney's apartment- having been spending all of his time, trying to find Thea. But he is home for the night, having several "resting" rotations with Natasha, and also spending this time to work on emailing contacts from around the world. Like everyone else, he looks exhausted, but as determined as ever.

He bangs on Jack's door with his fist, causing one of the Bon Jovi posters to fall. "Jack, just open this door!"

Peter hears the sound of movement from behind the door, and then it opens. For half a second. And then the door slams again.

Peter rolls his eyes.

"Jack, I'm serious!" yells Clint, "Open it for more than that. Talk. Do something. Holing yourself in your room will do less than nothing."

"I don't want to leave my room! I want to be a heartbroken bloke that doesn't have to face the fact that Thea is gone!"

"Well consider your goal fulfilled," says Clint, reaching into his pockets, "Now get out here and act like a man."

"I Don't Care Anymore" by Phil Collins begins to blare through the door. Under more appropriate circumstances, Peter probably would have laughed.

Two seconds later, Clint has picked the lock and thrown open the door. This proves to be a mistake, because this trips a wire, which results in Clint having a bucket of water explode on his head. Peter manages to jump aside in time, but Clint is now completely drenched.

Jack is lying halfway on his unmade bed, his back on the mattress and his head hanging back over the edge. His hair is messy, and slightly longer than normal, hanging off of him like a fluffy flag. His eyes are closed, and he is tapping a drumstick up against his knee, seemingly paying no attention to the commotion. His earbuds are in his ears now, although the Phil Collins is still blaring so loudly, Peter's ears are ringing.

"You know you should have seen that coming," says Peter in a low voice, "Or something like that."

Clint, still dripping, ignores him, and walks over to Jack. He rips the earbuds out of his nephew's ears.

Jack's bloodshot eyes snap open, "HEY, BLOODY-."

"Don't give me that. Get up. Get dressed. We can go to Stark Tower and see if there is any news."

"If there were any news," says Jack in a sepulchral tone, flipping over onto his bed and flopping back on his pillows, glaring at his uncle through his mussed hair, "We would already know."

"We don't know that for sure, and I just need you to get up, okay, Jack? If it were the opposite, and Thea were missing, I guarantee you that she wouldn't be moping in her room. She'd be doing everything she could do. She'd be helping anyone she could, and she'd probably not be sleeping much either."

"And she'd probably be sassing everyone's pants off too," adds Peter.

Jack's disgruntled face doesn't change.

"C'mon Jack," says Clint, clapping his nephew on the shoulder, "Do something."

Jack regards Clint with the exact same imperial face that Joffrey Baratheon would give someone who tried to tell him what to do.

"I know you miss her," says Clint, "But you're not doing anything just sitting here on your ass. You're actually just being a nuisance, to be honest."

Jack groans, and throws his head against his pillow, then curses colorfully when he bangs his head on the windowsill instead.

Clint nods at Peter, his eyes clearly saying He'll get up now. Mission accomplished. The two of them head out of Jack's bedroom.

"How long until we are leaving?" calls Jack.

Clint smirks at Peter, and then calls back, "Long enough for you to take a shower. You smell like you've barely left your room in days."

"I HAVEN'T left my bedroom in days except for school! And I personally think we should leave now!"

"Oh really?" Clint's tone is surprised, but Peter can obviously hear the sarcasm, "I thought you wanted to stay in here and-"

"Don't give me that!" yells Jack in his British shout of rage, "I'll be out in five minutes."

Peter and Jack walk back into the living room. There aren't a lot of lights, although some of the late afternoon sunlight has peeked through the shuttered windows. The coffee table is scattered with random papers and screens, as well as the tofu boxes left over from Clint's hasty takeout lunch.

"How'd you do that?" demands Peter, "I've been trying to get him out since Saturday!"

Clint shrugs, "Jack might be stubborn, but he's also proud. He won't want to admit that Thea would be doing more than wiling away in her room."

"Well played," admits Peter, lying back against the couch, "Any information?"

"Honestly, not much. It's like Thea has vanished off the face of the earth. And off the face of Asgard." Seeing Peter's worried expression, he adds, "We're pretty sure she's alive, though. Alive and kicking, if her personality is anything to go by. But that's why we're going to Stark Tower, to meet up with everyone. Thor has been in Asgard all day, so he might have something of value to give us."

Without another word, Clint steps out of the living room, into the hallway, where his bedroom is. Peter grabs a fortune cookie, unwraps it, and pops it in his mouth. A few moments later, the doorbell rings.

It's Natasha. As Peter lets her in, she walks briskly past him, "Where's Clint?"

"I believe he is drying off from the bucket of water that got poured on his head."

Natasha's eyebrows furrow, and then raise in comprehension, "Jack?"

"Good guess."

"Is he still in his room?" Natasha takes the last fortune cookie on the table and eats it whole. Peter wonders when the last time any of them had had a decent meal.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure Clint persuaded him to go with us to Stark Tower."

"Great. Thor will be back in an hour, but I doubt Kyle will be tonight."

"Where has he been anyway?"

"He was undercover today, with Steve actually. In Boston."

"Did they find anything?"

"Not that I know of. I think we have to assume that whoever took Thea is not in Boston any longer."

"She could be anywhere," says Peter.

"Exactly," says Natasha.

*

An hour later, they congregate in another conference room at Stark Tower. Everyone is here, except, of course, Steve and Kyle. But Tony has speed-dialed Kyle, and the younger Calen brother is now on speaker phone in a hotel room in Boston. There is also the addition of Sif and Fandral- Volstagg is holding up the fort in Asgard.

Thor, who is next to Tony, speaks up in his deep voice that resonates across the relatively small room. "We have been making further investigations to the mystery disappearances of Asgard, and my friends, I apologize in advance. I believe now that Asgard has something very potentially to do with Thea, if not positively."

"Like what?" asks Jack. His sudden appearance had been met with slight surprise from most people in the room, although it had been swallowed quickly.

Thor nods to Sif, who steps forward, "I persuaded Fandral to accompany me to Neidra's mansion after our rounds at the palace. We had been doing this purely as an investigation to the mysterious goings-ons at the palace of Asgard, but we found something more interesting instead. Not only is Neidra more savage and withholding than normal, but while Fandral concocted a diversion, I managed to search some of the upper stories. Neidra has always dabbled in magic, like Loki did, but I admit, Loki never went as dark as she has. In one of her rooms of...dubious nature, I found the strangled corpse of a phoenix. If one drinks the blood of one of these rare birds, the drinker can become immune to the burning of a flame."

"Are you saying that Neidra has her?" asks Tony.

Sif shakes her head, "I gained reinforcements, and we searched the entire house when Nedira was summoned to the palace. Thea is not there. The only odd things that I could find were men's clothes in Neidra's room. She has a lover, but nobody has any inkling of who he is. I interrogated a maid named Tatiana, but the only information that I gleaned from her is that the man is powerful, and has a daughter."

"A daughter?" questions Max, "Wh-"

"I questioned her about this daughter, and Tatiana described her as immortal, with dark hair."

"Fjodr," says Bruce, "His daughter has black hair, doesn't she?"

Sif nods, "It would make sense, although Fjodr has always remained loyal to his demoted wife."

"You know, except for casting her off and away from nobility," points out Tony.

"Power can be more intoxicating to a man than drink," amends Thor, "Particularly when the throne of Asgard is in question, and the power of the realm."

"So how does this have to do with Thea?" asks Max, "Fine, so Fjodr and Neidra may be becoming a power couple. But how-"

Fandral speaks up. For once, the joy in his voice has diminished somewhat, although he is almost as loud as Thor. Fingering the sword at his side, he says, "I've been speaking to several guards and servants in the palace. Not only have they shown signs of memory altercation, but one let slip the words 'the mortal girl'."

Everyone's eyes, who have been looking around wearily, now dart to Fandral.

"We suspect that Thea has been in Asgard," says Sif, and the eyes dart to her. "But why Odin has not heard of it, or spoke of it before is beyond us. Matters got only more confusing when Volstagg and I journeyed to Ardhigiza. Firstly, Archer and Linthria were found two nights ago, murdered in their bed."

Several jaws drop, Kyle, on speakerphone, lets fly a few choice words.

"Do we have any suspects?" asks Natasha.

"The blade in Linthria's chest was Asgardian made. Someone purposefully killed the young ruler of Ardhigiza. The blade in Archer's chest was missing, but that's because Videl has it."

"I was told he was back in Ardhigiza, under house arrest still, but I didn't know this," says Tony.

Videl was one of the first to find Archer and Linthria dead. He was devastated, according to Amara, and took the blade from his brother's body before vanishing. But, she did find this in the hallway, where he had been right before the discovery."

Fandral tosses a piece of paper on the paper, a piece of paper wrinkled and rain-stained.

Videl,

Of course I will help. Jiurna Shien shall be with me in the upper corridor by midnight, may the stars be on our side.

-L

"Who is L?" asks Jack.

"Lifolas," says Fandral, "Amara says that Videl asked him for a favor earlier that evening, but she could not say more than that."

"And 'Jiurna Shien?'"

"It means 'little bird' in the ancient language shared by Asgard and Ardhigiza," says Fandral.

"Oh my God," says Max, "That's what he called Thea, isn't it?"

"Yes," says Sif, "And he is quite fond of her, so I rather doubt that he would be trying to harm her, which surprisingly means that Videl did not want to harm her either. But there has been no word from Lifolas or Videl."

"This is leading us nowhere," says Steve's voice from the speaker phone, "Thea's not in Asgard, but there are signs of her being there. Thea's not in Ardhigiza, but there are signs of her being there, or her having involvement there. What does that mean?"

"It means that, more than likely, Thea is on earth," says Thor.

"But where?" asks Natasha, sounding slightly exasperated, "How can we not find her? We have the best people out looking everywhere."

"Someone is hiding her," says Sif, "And doing a very good job of it."

"It sounds like a rescue mission," says Tony, nodding towards the piece of paper, "Videl knows where Thea was taken, but had Lifolas go get her. That's where I'm lost. Why, first of all, wouldn't Videl admit to us that he knows where she is if he isn't trying to hurt her, like Sif says? And why would he send Lifolas after Thea?"

"Well, he was kind of holed up here for a few days," points out Clint.

"But why wouldn't he tell us?"

"I do not know," says Sif, "But from all of this information, this is what we have gathered. Thea most likely was taken to Asgard, and her kidnapper took her there. Somehow, Videl, or the Velah in general got mixed up, and that is why Archer and Linthria are now dead, unless the events are unrelated. But the events happened so close together, I doubt it. And Videl and Lifolas worked together to get Thea out of Asgard, onto earth, but there has been no signal from either of them."

"Yeah, why wouldn't Lifolas tell us?" asks Jack, "Unlike Videl, he's not a sovereign lunatic."

"We haven't the slightest idea, young friend," says Fandral, "It is a puzzling question, however. And in addition to these observations, Neidra's involvement with the phoenix could possibly have something to do with Thea. Perhaps she wanted to be resistant to her."

"But for what reason?" asks Bruce, "It's not like Thea is in competition for the throne. I mean, unless she's Thor's long-lost daughter or something."

"Or Loki," says Kyle, his voice slightly scratchy from the phone, "As I pointed out-"

"For the last time, Kyle," says Max, irritated, "Loki is dead."

"He could still have a kid," says Kyle grudgingly.

"Loki died childless," says Thor, "We have already discussed this. And he never even met Thea."

"Plus, Erik Fossil is Thea's biological, according to the files," points out Tony.

"Files can be changed," says Kyle.

"Kyle, why are you so stuck on this?" demands Max, "It's irrelevant. We need to find Thea, not be thinking of completely stupid ideas."

"Ouch," says Kyle, "Thank you for the confidence, brother."

"Okay," says Steve, coming between the two, "We need a plan of action. Kyle and I are combing Boston, but have found no trace. But if what Sif and Fandral are saying have much merit, then it's not likely that Thea has been in Boston since going there with Kyle. We need to regroup and spread across, considering that Thea is probably on earth."

"I'll run a few programs," says Tony, typing frantically on the computer, "Not only will it help us track her, using cameras and IDs all that, but it'll also give us the statistically most likely places that she could be."

"She could be anywhere," says Max, "Literally anywhere."

"True, but JARVIS and I could knock out a few places. Once we've gained even the slightest arrow forward, I'll begin to send pods of you out to investigate. A couple...yeah, couples, pairs, will be fine. I need to stay here, and so does Bruce. I'll put Jack with Clint, you two have always worked well. And Peter and Max. That leaves Natasha and Thor, whenever Thor is on earth. Steve and Kyle, head back here, once you've finished searching everything you need to. Keep your eyes peeled. Thea is out there somewhere, mixed up in some sort of supernatural politics. We'll find her though, even if we have to run Starbucks out of business."

*

Thea slouchs against the bed, eating small pieces of crackers that Videl had brought back for her. He has returned with slightly more color to his pale cheeks, his eyes slightly brighter, and also a shirt, having somewhere cast aside the overlarge jacket. He now regards Thea, who is nibbling at the crackers halfheartedly, with slight curiosity, but mostly guarded hostility. His fingers occasionally graze the dagger still strapped to his belt.

She sometimes looks at him, but his expression is stormy enough so that she doesn't have any desire to say anything. It is late afternoon, and Thea has been falling in and out of a troubled sleep as the gashes heal. They have done so surprisingly well so far, but Thea attributes this to the Asgardian blood in her veins, her father's blood. The discomfort has decreased, although it is still painful to move much. Mostly though, Thea is apathetic, and casts her eyes listlessly around the almost completely bare room. Her hair is dirty blonde again, but still miserably short.

"Why haven't you tried to get rid of your necklace?"

Videl's voice is so sudden, Thea nearly jumps. When she looks up, he is regarding her darkly, leaning his lanky body against the wall.

Her fingers trail up to the jade dolphin pendant and curl around it. Immediately, she feels slightly comforted, "Jack gave it to me for my birthday, I don't want-"

Videl sneers, "Not that one. The golden one, the one I highly suspect Loki so generously bequeathed you."

She stares, "You can see it?"

"Of course I am. What do you think I've been staring at? Your torn-up skin?"

"I..." Thea is at a loss for words, mostly because she hasn't been able to talk to anyone about the necklace, and she hadn't thought Videl would be the first one she would discuss it with. "I can't."

"You can't? Or you're still so slovenly attached to your father that you don't want to get rid of it?"

Thea flushes, "N-No, I can't. It won't come off unless I die. He has a bracelet that will break if mine does. It's how he knows I'm alive." She looks slightly hopeful.

"Pft," scoffs Videl, "I've seen that metal before. It is true that it breaks when you are

dead, but it is also a way for Loki to know what realm you are on currently. It's a basic tracking device, not some token of his affection for you."

Thea's shoulders fall ever so slightly, "Oh. So he knows where I am?"

"He knows you're on Earth. Hopefully, he doesn't know more than that."

"How did you know he was my...my father?" Her voice drops to almost a whisper.

Videl rolls his eyes, "Quite frankly, the first time I laid eyes on him, which was the same time your sister died, consequently," He ignores Thea, who bites her lip, "I thought you looked like him a bit, although you were much, much smaller, and much less strong. But when he rescued you from when I was attempting to get revenge on you for killing my father, I saw his eyes more clearly, and then yours. Precisely the same shape, and precisely the same color. I thought it fascinating, but dismissed it. I had other things on my mind. And then, in Asgard, the second time you yelled at me so rudely at the dinner table, he confessed to Thor- and to me, as I was still there- that he considered you to be his daughter. Loki has never been one for emotions. I had my suspicions then, but they were confirmed only when Myrinea told me."

"Oh." Thea doesn't know how else to response from this pronouncement.

"Besides," says Videl, slight disgust in his voice, "You're more like him than you know, in more ways than you'll ever know, and that I care to tell you."

"I don't want to talk about it," says Thea, "I don't want to talk about him either."

"You brought it up," says Videl, "But fine. He's not exactly the person I want to talk about anyway. But this, this, I want to be rid of."

And with this, he strides across the room and pulls Thea up into a sitting position. She bites back a small squeak of pain.

"I don't care to be followed," says Videl, "Not even minimally. I-" Videl breaks off with a curse, for as he seizes the golden, shimmering band with his hand, it fizzes, then emanates a bright spark. Videl shakes his hand, still cursing in pain. It has burned a glistening spot on his alabaster skin.

"Told you," says Thea.

Videl growls, his fangs glinting, and then unsheathes the dagger from his belt. Before Thea can protest, he shoves the blade up under the necklace against her skin and jerks up. The band sparks again, and Videl only barely yanks the dagger away before it demolishes the weapon. As it is, the tip of the blade has been melted slightly.

"Told you again," says Thea.

Videl glares at her, and glances at the dagger, and for a split second, his eyes flick back and forth between her and the weapon. Then, standing up, he merely regards at the blade with something like determination, "Fine," he snaps, "Loki thorough. I wouldn't be appreciative, though."

"Where are we going to go?" asks Thea.

Videl's voice is surly, "We're staying here until those whip wounds vanish. Yes, I know what those gashes are from. Your father whips you? How fas-"

"HE DIDN'T WHIP ME!" She screeches so suddenly, Videl arches his eyebrows in surprise.

"He didn't! It was Neidra!" Thea looks desperate, "He...He would never do that to me!"

"Can you be so sure?" asks Videl in a rather derogatory tone. "He gave you that bruise on your face, I know that for sure."

Thea flushes, and subconsciously moves her hands up to her cheek.

"I'm not wrong, am I? I rarely am. So I suggest to you that you detach yourself from your father as much as possible."

Thea bites her lip again, harder this time, but her eyes are glaring fiercely, "It's not like you're any better! You were basically your father's little slave! You did everything he told you! You bowed down to his ass, you stuck-up pretty boy!"

"Don't you dare speak of my father that way!" hisses Videl, "You killed him. You have not that right!"

"Then leave Loki alone, and I'll leave Mansar alone too!"

Videl throws his hands up, "I can't believe you're defending him. Look what he has done to you. Look what he has done to BOTH of us!"

"What did he do to you? Besides save me from you, you who would have killed me! It's not like he killed ARCHER, like you killed LEAH!"

The dagger strikes the headboard inches from Thea's head. When she recovers from this shock, when she looks up, Videl's face is ravaged by both fury and misery.

Thea's mouth drops open. "D-did...Is Archer...is he dead?"

Videl looks at her for a long while, and during this time, he calms his breathing down. When he speaks again, his voice is calmer, but marked with derision, "No."

"Then you can't talk," says Thea, yanking the dagger from the headboard. She looks at it once and then flings it across the room, where it sticks into the wall a hairsbreadth from Videl's face.

"I can talk," snaps Videl, "But I'm done talking to you, idiot."

"Fine," she snaps back, "I'm done talking to you, pretty boy."

Videl snarls at her, showing her his sharpened fangs, "Fine." He slouches in the corner of the room, against armoire, his back so rigidly to her, it's like a wall.

"Fine," Thea whispers, turning away and lying back down on the mattress. She falls asleep fiddling the jade dolphin. But she also latches her fingers around the golden necklace. Unlike with Videl, the necklace only seems to hum slightly when she touches it, sparking gently.

^^That's so sad :( To me, anyway.

What do you think? Please VOTE and COMMENT and of your thoughts! :D

Love you all!

Sierra xx