Here's the last chapter!!! (not counting the epilogue)

I hope you enjoy, and have a Happy Fourth of July if you live in America!

~Music~

i don't wanna break- Christina Perri 

Chapter Sixty-Four

The next morning, before the sun has even begun to rise, Loki is escorted through the halls of Stark Tower between Sif and Volstagg, with Thor directly in front of him and Fandral following behind.

Natasha and Clint come out from the kitchen, already awake. Natasha is wearing sweatpants and an old rock and roll t-shirt of Clint's, holding a cup of coffee tightly in her hands. Thor steps aside to talk to Clint softly who bends his head, nodding.

But Natasha turns and walks up to Loki. Looking up at him, her blue eyes meet his green ones.

"Did you see Thea?" Natasha asks quietly.

He sighs, "Yes."

Natasha nods and says, "She's going to miss you."

"I'll miss her more."

Natasha glances back. Thor and Clint are still talking. Turning back, she says, with the glimmer of a grin, "I was right."

A smirk appears on Loki's face, "About what?"

"You know what," she says, punching his arm lightly, "Loki, the God of Mischief, have a panic attack when a random thirteen year old girl with the precise green eyes as his gets hurt? I'm not a big believer in coincidences."

"I knew you weren't."

"Which explains why you took those thoughts from me," she says, arching her eyebrows.

"Is this where I'm supposed to say sorry?" He asked, although his humor is tinged with fatigue.

Natasha shrugs a little. There's a pause. Then, she says softly, "You don't need to worry about her, you know."

"Just because I don't need to doesn't mean that I won't."

"I'll take care of her. We all will."

He regards her, tilting his head down, and then says, "I know you will."

Natasha smiles.

At that moment, a door opens and Jack and Peter come bursting through. Neither of them look tired, having crashed into bed the night before as soon as possible. When Jack sees Loki, his eyes widen and then narrow, and he turns away.

Loki moves away from Natasha, "Jack."

The boy doesn't turn around, but does stop. "What?"

"Come over here, I–"

"You can tell Thea what to do, but you can't tell me what to do."

Loki raises an eyebrow and raises his hand. Jack is suddenly stumbling backwards and whirls so that he's face-to-face with Loki. Peter exchanges looks with Natasha, who shrugs.

"I thought your bloody magic was supposed to be taken from you," snaps Jack, crossing his arms but not trying the humiliation of attempting to get away from Loki.

"Not until I get to Asgard," says Loki.

Jack snorts, "What are you going to do? Kill me?"

"I could," says Loki mildly, "But I won't."

"Thanks a–"

"But I know what happened between you and Thea, and what you said to her. I suggest you thank your lucky stars that I am about to imprisoned and therefore cannot kill you."

Jack remains calm, but there's a noticeable flicker in his eyes.

Loki puts his hand on Jack's shoulder tightly. Jack has grown so that Loki doesn't need to look very far down to look right into his eyes. "You're still young. So is she. Both of you will make mistakes. But do not make the mistake of hurting her anymore. Do not hurt her any more than I myself have hurt her."

Jack stares at him, jaw clenching. Then, he laughs mockingly, throwing his head back. Loki remains motionless.

Yanking himself from Loki's grip, not looking away from his tired eyes, Jack sneers, "Yeah...I don't think that's possible."

Jack whirls around and stalks down the hallway, vanishing around a corner.

Peter, his eyes very wide as he watches his friend, turns to a grimacing Loki. "I'm going to talk to him. But I'll look after Thea, don't worry."

"I'm not," says Loki shortly. Peter takes this opportunity to walk quickly away.

Natasha turns to Loki as Thor claps Clint on the shoulder, "Jack'll come around."

"I don't know," says Loki darkly, "Maybe it's better for them both if he doesn't."

Natasha doesn't reply, but doesn't get that much of a chance to, because Thor takes his brother by the elbow and pulls him away.

Thor opens the door to the portal room and watches as his brother walks silently inside.

In the portal room, Tony and Bruce are busy at the computers, accompanied by the Calen brothers. Max is bent over the desk, occasionally reaching up to touch his shoulder, while Kyle stands next to him, talking quietly. Angelique is near the back of the room, next to Bruce.

While Thor and Sif over to Tony and Bruce, Loki stands with Fandral and Volstagg. Max glances up at him, says something to his brother, and then walks up to Loki.

Neither of the men speaks for several minutes. Then, Loki says, "I know how you care about Thea. It's very close to how I feel about her."

"'Very close'?" asks Max, crossing his arms, "I'm not sure about that, buddy."

"Well, I am. But as her father, I'm asking you to take care of her. Look after her. She's going to get herself in trouble at some point in time, and she'll need someone to guide her."

Max nods, "I will. And when you get her back–"

Loki's eyes turn sad, "I'm not sure I will."

"You will, because you love her, and if you love someone, you'll work hard enough to get them back. But when you get her back, I promise that she's going to be as strong as her father."

"She already is," says Loki, "But not in all things." He looks down, and then back at Max, "I beat her last night, and she gave it her all. I could see her fighting for her life, but she wasn't strong enough to save herself. I've already asked my brother this, but I think it's going to be up to you to fulfill doing this for Thea."

"What is it?"

"You need to train her and strengthen her so that if she fights me again like she did yesterday, she will beat me." Loki's eyes are hard, "I need her to be able to kill me."

Max nods, "I can do that."

"I don't recommend telling her about this. Thea cares too much sometimes, and she's almost died countless times trying to protect those she loves."

"But she has," says Max, "She has protected those she loves."

"And now this is me protecting the one I love," says Loki, then adds with a small smile, "And I don't love many people."

"No you don't. You only love Thea."

"Well, I do like some other people."

Max smiles, "Good enough for me." He claps Loki on the shoulder, "I'll take care of her. I promise."

"Thank you, Max."

Soon after, Loki is taken to the portal with his brother and the three warriors at Thor's side.

And then, he is gone.

*

~Thea's POV~

I walk into the kitchen at almost nine. I haven't even bothered to change out of my pajamas. It's too much work with my cast. Beside me, Klaka walks, his tail swaying and his tongue out in his constant dog smile.

I'm not shocked to see Kyle is in the kitchen already, scrambling some eggs on the stove, with some ancient song playing in the background.

He turns to see me, "Hey, Thea, how'd you sleep?"

I shrug, putting my crutches aside and sitting down on the small table, Klaka settling next to me.

Ky dumps the eggs onto a plate and walks it over to the table. Setting the plate down in front of me, he leans against the counter, looking at me in a much more serious way than Kyle usually looks at me.

I look him right in the eye, "You forgot the fork."

He chuckles, wriggling his eyebrows at me, "You're the telekinetic around here. You get it yourself."

I make a face at him and not looking away, I push my hand forward. Hearing the silverware drawer open, I send a fork flying towards me. It almost works, except for the fact that it misses the table and goes clattering to the ground.

"Mm. Great job, Hermione."

"Shut up," I say as Klaka takes the fork in his mouth and offers it up to me. Thank you.

"You're not seriously going to use that fork now, are you?"

"He didn't touch the pointy part, he touched the bottom."

"For your information, the pointy part is culturally referred to as the prongs."

"Or it's the pointy part that I can stick in your eye."

"Oo. Feisty this morning."

I shrug and then go silent, shoveling the eggs in my mouth. They're delicious, and I smile inwardly as I taste not only the American cheese but also the shredded ham.

Then, I say, "He's gone, isn't he?"

Kyle nods, "Yeah. He's gone."

Klaka whines. Someone is coming.

Who?

A girl. Like you. The one he's always with.

He?

Klaka nudges Kyle's pants.

Oh. Emmaline.

Klaka licks me.

I nod, turning back to Kyle and looking towards the fascinating refrigerator. "Okay. Cool."

"Hey, I'm sorr–"

"So when are you asking Emmaline to marry you?"

Kyle squints at me. I look at him innocently.

He goes along with my change in subject, and says, "Not sure yet. But soon. I've been a little busy looking for your runaway ass."

"Can I pick out the ring?" I grin.

"You shut your mouth," says Kyle, "Besides, I–"

"Hey, guys!"

Kyle and I turn around to see Emmaline walking inside the kitchen. Kyle, his eyes now dangerously narrowed, turns back to me and whispers, "You heard her coming, didn't you?"

"No," I whisper back, "Klaka did."

"So what's this about a ring?" asks Emmaline, looking genuinely confused.

Kyle laughs loudly, "I'm thinking about getting a new phone. Thea likes her little jokes," He glares at me, "And wants to change the ringtone to some new stupid teen pop song that's out now."

"Better than this ancient crap you have playing," I say.

"For your information, you tasteless little philistine," says Kyle, coming around to put his arms around my shoulders, leaning against me, "This is Henry Chaplain. And he is legendary, so you should really shut your mouth."

"Okay," I say, serenely putting some eggs into my mouth. I grin at Emmaline. "Sorry, did you think Ky was going to ask you to marry him or something?"

Kyle's (muscular) arms tighten around my neck so that I gag slightly. Laughing again, he says to Emmaline, who is smiling uncertainly, "Kids these days with their little jokes." He tightens some more and I cough as he says under his breath, "Okay, it's time for you to shut up before I choke you."

In response, I spear him with my fork. He lets me go and I get up from the table, not quite dodging as he smacks the back of my head. Putting the plate in the sink, I turn around and smile at him, blinking my eyelashes.

"You know though, if you like it, you should put a ring on it."

I dash from the room, crutches and all, Klaka at my heels, before Kyle can throw a dishtowel or, more likely, a knife.

*

About an hour later, I'm in my room, looking at myself in the mirror, trying to get used to myself with black hair when there's a knock at my door.

I glance at it, then turn to Klaka, who's chewing on a ball on my bed. "Who is it, boy?" I whisper.

Klaka sits up and points his ears towards the door. A man. A tall one.

"Okay, bud, we're going to have you work on your recognition skills," I say, clunking over to the door and opening it.

It's Max, and he's holding a couple pieces of paper. "Mind if I come in?" he asks.

"Yeah, sure," I say. "How are you feeling?"

"What do you mean?" he asks, almost sharply.

I raise my eyebrows, "You know, your shoulder got hurt. It looks painful."

"It's fine, Thea," he says heavily. Then, he says, in a much more normal tone, "What about you? How's that ankle?"

"It's annoying, but I'm Asgardian. It should get better soon enough."

He smiles a little, "Soon enough for you to annoy Ky even more?"

I grin, "A silly little cast can't stop me from doing that."

He shakes his head in amusement, sitting down on the bed and patting Klaka's head. "Of course you won't. I should warn you though, Kyle's got a death warrant out for you."

"I'm shaking in my shoes," I say.

Max holds his hands up, "Just relaying the message."

I look at my fingers, "Hey, Max, by the way, about last night, I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it. I was a complete jerk."

"It's all right," he says gently, "Forget about it. Especially because I came up here with some good news."

"Good news?" I ask, "What's that? It sounds foreign."

"Funny. But here." He hands me the pieces of paper, "These came in while you were on a tropical beach."

I unfold the first piece of paper, my eyes scanning the elegant font at the top with the words UMBER ACADEMY at the top.

Miss Theodora Fossil,

We have reviewed your application, and are pleased to offer you a spot in the Umber Class of 2019. We feel like you have much to offer our school, and will thrive in Umber's inclusive, engaging community.

To complete your transferal to the school, you must select courses and take several placement exams and trials both in traditional academics and in special training. Dates and specifics about these courses will be sent to your address, where you should review them with a parent or guardian, but the deadline for all examinations is June 30th, 2015.

Congratulations, and we look forward to seeing you on August 17th!

Sincerely,

Maya Brown, Headmistress of Umber Academy

I look up at Max, who's watching me intently. "I got in?" I whisper, hardly believing it.

"Yes, you did, Ace. Told you you would."

"Oh my...Oh my gosh," I stare at the paper. Then, my shoulders slumping slightly, I ask, "What about Jack?"

"He got in too," says Max gently.

If I had gotten in, then there hadn't been much of a chance that Jack hadn't. But still, at least I'm accepted, and now I have something to look forward to. Besides, Jack and I are in separate grades, we won't see each other all that–"

"So the big question is this," says Max, tapping a part of the letter, sent to your address. "What's your address going to be, Thea?"

"Um, isn't it with you?" I ask, temporarily panicking and wondering if Max wants me around anymore.

Max smiles, "I'm glad to hear that."

"Why would I want to move away from you and Ky?" I ask, wondering where this is coming from.

"Nothing. Just thought you might want to stay here or something, more where the action is."

"Are you kidding? Kyle has a death warrant out for me, I think there's plenty of action at home."

Still smiling, Max gets up, squeezing my shoulder, "I like that you said home."

"Well," I say, "You can't spell 'home' without 'me'."

"And home will always be here for you."

*

The day passes mostly normally. Thea spends most of her time in her room, resting her ankle and watching television. She receives a few visitors, in the forms of Natasha, Steve, and even Tony. Kyle also stops by, and carries out his quest for revenge by tickling Thea until she can't breathe and then settling down next to her and watching reruns of Hannah Montana with her.

Eventually, Thea feels a little cooped up, and ventures out in the early evening. She walks down the hallway, heading towards the upper stories, where she can find Angelique and tell her the good news about Umber. Klaka is with Clint at the moment, since Clint had wanted to go for a run and volunteered to take Klaka with him. Thea had agreed, privately thankful that Clint isn't avoiding her.

She turns the corner and nearly runs into Jack.

"Damn it," she says out loud.

"Don't look so happy to see me," he says, his voice tight.

"Well," I say, "I could smile," she smiles as cheesily and flatly as possible, "But that would be lying. I've heard it's not nice to lie."

He snorts, "Get real. You lie all the time."

"Really? I didn't know that." She pats his shoulder, probably harder than necessary. "Nice to know. Now please move."

"Loki said you told him about us."

"I'm sorry, is there an us? Because I thought there wasn't."

"Hell, there's not," retorts Jack, "But why'd you have to go blab to him?"

"What'd he do?" she taunts, "Threaten you? Bet you shook in your little British galoshes."

"No, actually, I said that I couldn't possibly hurt you more than he's hurt you." Jack looks up, as if contemplating something, "Funny, he looked awfully upset when I said that. Guess the truth hurts."

Thea clenches her fists.

"Oh yeah," says Jack, "But it probably doesn't hurt as much as the sword your own father ran you through with. I thought my dad was rotten for leaving my mom, but not only did Loki do that, but he also proved to sort of be the homicidal maniac everyone thought he was. I wonder if that's genetic."

She stares at him.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" she exclaims, "You're acting like a spoiled, angry five year old."

"No, actually, I'm just trying to bring up something that'll make you mad."

She punches him. Right in the nose.

As he staggers and blood begins to pour down his face, she spits, "Well then consider me mad, you dick."

He glares at her from the blood and begins to approach her, but she pushes her hand to the side, and he goes crashing into the wall.

"You might have forgotten that I can do cool stuff with my hands," she says, stalking towards him. Holding him against the wall with her magic, she hisses, "This," she points to his bleeding nose, "Is for what you said about my father."

"You're..." Jack struggles against his invisible binds, "A bi–"

She holds up her other hand, which is now ignited and dangerously close to her face, and says, "Please don't talk."

Glaring at her, Jack closes his mouth.

"And this," Thea knees him in the groin so that he groans and doubles over, "Is for you screwing me over and kissing me when you shouldn't have."

She releases her hold on him and watches as he falls to the floor. "Have a nice life, Jack."

She turns and walks away, up the stairs and away from Jack, who remains on the floor like a wallowing whale.

*

Thea can't find Angelique and instead heads out to a balcony that has little sofas overlooking the railing, which offers a beautiful view of the city below as the sun is setting, casting shades of pink and orange across the skyscrapers. She plops down on one of the sofas, slouching against the pillows.

A few minutes later, she sees a shadow fall over her. Rolling her eyes, she turns to see Videl walking towards her. "I thought you left for Ardhigiza."

"I'm leaving tonight," he says, settling down on the pillow opposite her, propping his legs up on her knees. Ignoring her glare, he says, "By the way, little Barton has blood over him, not to mention a broken nose. Happen to know how that happened?"

"No idea," she says.

He smirks, and then looks out towards the city, squinting his eyes against the dominating sun.

She's looking out too. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

"I highly support your decision to punch Jack, if that's what you're asking."

"Not that. Going to high school, being a normal kid, trying to pretend that I'm normal. But I'm not. I'm not even human." She sighs, leaning against the pillow, "I don't even know where I belong anymore."

"Hm," says Videl, "You're a little young to be having existential crises, you know. And also, why are you asking me?" He points to his fangs, "I do have these, after all."

She looks at him, "I'm asking you...because you stuck with me during one of the worst times of my life. I annoyed the hell out of you, and reminded you all the time about things you've done in the past, but you took care of me. We've been through a lot together, Videl."

"Yeah, we have," says Videl, folding his hands in a steeple and peering at Thea, "But look how far you've come."

"I don't know about that," she says, "I don't have Loki anymore. I don't have Jack. I'm immortal, so I'll lose all of you one day. I'm not sure I'm better off." Her shoulders slump, "I wish I could go back to the fall, back to Asgard. I didn't realize that that was probably one of the best times that I'll ever have."

"Don't think like that," says Videl, "Think forward. And look at you, you have come far. Let's be real here, you used to be a temperamental little girl with absolutely no patience and the intelligence of a pea."

"Wow," I say.

He holds his hands up, "I'm being honest."

"You're never honest."

"I am so, don't insult me." He clears his throat, "But you've grown up over the last few months. You're a leader now, hell, you refused to do anything but boss me around in Neidra's haunted house, your plan, which by the way, almost got you killed for the approximate millionth time–"

"My plans might almost get me killed, but look at me, I'm still alive."

"And you're continuing to grow. You're the princess of Asgard, Thea, and if Thor doesn't settle down and get a kid of his own which I personally doubt..." He reaches forward and takes her hand in his long, ring-studded fingers, "Then you're going to be the queen and the empress of a vast and mysterious world."

She groans, throwing her head back against the pillow, "Don't remind me."

He smiles, then says softly, "And you're going to be an amazing queen. Just like your namesake."

"Thanks, Videl."

"I suggest you keep doing what you're doing. Well, most everything. I don't recommend punching everyone that annoys you."

"True," she says, "Because that means I'd have to punch you too."

"Rude."

"I haven't yet. That's a good thing, right?"

"I'm not keeping my fingers crossed," he says dryly.

"That's probably a good idea," she replies.

He reaches forward and pulls her hair. As she rolls her eyes, he says, "By the way, nice black. It matches your soul."

"I will legitimately kill you."

"I'm terrified. It's like if a little black kitty cat walked up to me and said 'I'm going to rip out your heart.'"

She scowls, then says, "Are you going to be leaving forever?"

"We go from 'I will legitimately kill you' to 'Please Videl, don't leave me, I can't live without you'?"

"I don't think those were my exact words."

"I knew what you meant. And no, I'll be back often. I have a girlfriend that lives here, you know."

"Oh so you are dating each other?"

"Not officially."

"I recommend roses. Red ones. Maybe dribble them with blood, it's a nice touch for her."

"You give the worse advice. Don't ever become a counselor."

"I'm becoming a counselor just because you said that."

"Of course you are. And back to why I'm not leaving Earth forever, I've grown a little attached to this stupid, human-infested planet. Exotic dining, a nice change of menu from the juhd birds outside the palace."

She smacks his feet, which are still on her legs.

"And also, you know, someone has to look after you."

"I think that's Max and Kyle's job."

"Oh you know, someone has to appear randomly on the Umber campus, terrify all your friends, threaten off any dating possibilities. Who knows, I could arrive in your room in the middle of the night."

"Oh my God, I would kill you."

"The possibilities are endless. By the way, I'm about to Colorado–"

"Colorado?"

He shrugs serenely, "Angelique is daring me that I can't keep my balance on skis. I might love her, but she severely underestimates my abilities. I could sneak you out. Care to join us and be the judge seeing as you can't really ski with your ankle like that?"

"No," she sighs, "I don't feel like it."

He swings his legs off of her and gets off the sofa, "All right then, but idiot," He squeezes her shoulder, "Everything's going to be all right in the end. Just don't forget to live like the wildly crazy girl you are while you're waiting."

He flicks her cheek and smirks as she scowls at him. Flashing her a peace sign, his rings flickering in the setting sun, he walks out of the balcony.

Thea leans back against the pillow, looking back towards the city. She fingers the dagger that's continued to be sheathed at her side.

You've got time to love, Thea.

That's my girl.

Don't forget to live like the wildly crazy girl you are while you're waiting.

Home will always be here for you.

Don't stop working for those oranges until you've got 'em.

You're going to be an amazing queen.

I love you too, kitten.

Thea begins to smile, grinning down at the city as the white blur of Wairua flies over her, towards the night on his nocturnal hunt. The lights twinkle, the sun's beams reflecting the iron of the rail and sending her a warmth that wraps around her.

"He's right," she whispers, "Everything's going to be all right in the end."

She sits up suddenly, and clambers off the sofa.

"HEY, Videl, wait for me!" she calls, and runs back into Stark Tower, the sun watching over her.

*BEGINS TO CRY, THEA'S GROWING UP.*

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Love you all, Sierra xx