Morning came faster than ever. It was like a dream, that Wanda woke up in the arms of her lover, her girlfriend.

The brunette smiled contently as she opened her eyelids and set them instantly on the inches from hers. Every intricate detail became committed to memory as Samantha slept peacefully in her bed; from the flare of her nostrils to the faint gap between her lips so air slipped out from time to time.

"Do you do this to every person whom you bed, or are you secretly a serial killer who decided to spare my head from a wall mount because this is the first time you've had a mind-blowing orgasm?" Samantha asked, still with her eyes gently shut.

"Sorry, I can't help it that you're beautiful; scars and all." Wanda retorted, grinning coyly.

Wanda was met with blue orbs now staring back at her. A wide grin appeared on Samantha's face as she lifted her hand up to caress Wanda's cheek.

"I think I did worse than give you scars." Samantha's eyes tore away from hers to a visible mark on the nook of her neck.

Wanda's brows furrowed together in confusion of her statement. She lifted her head so that it was level and she used her magic to summon her phone into her hand. Using one hand to hold her phone while the other kept her tilted, Wanda flicked her thumb and swiped upwards to unlock her phone, opened her camera app, and set it to 'selfie' so that she could observe her chest and neck.

"Oh my God. You didn't..." Wanda gasped in disbelief and shock.

The brunette sat upright and straight as she used her phone to look at different angles where she couldn't see on her own, and realised just how many hickeys and bite and scratch marks Samantha had left on Wanda's perfect skin.

"How many did you do?!"

"I did plenty," Samantha grinned cheekily.

"Sammie! I have training with Nat in an hour!" Wanda jumped out of bed and scrambled through Samantha's drawers for a makeup kit.

Samantha couldn't refrain from rolling her eyes at the dramatic spill coming from Wanda as she desperately covered up the hickeys as best she could. The unparalleled amount of shaming was far too much for her to bear, let alone imagining the embarrassment of being laughed at and mocked by her friends.

She got up and grabbed Wanda to hold her still. "Love, you'll be fine. Them lot will squawk squalor all they like, but what's important is how you respond to it: don't take it to heart. They mean well – well, maybe not Stark, but... It's like what you and Natasha have been saying to me; imperfections are perfections all. So why the devil should you be ashamed of me?"

"I'm not ashamed of you," Wanda denied. "I'm just worried they'll never let me live this down. Especially Sam."

"Who, Bird-Man? Hasn't he been away on covert ops for the last few months in Latveria gaining intelligence on them Fortunov's who call themselves rulers of Latveria?"

"Mhm. I spoke to Steve about that before, and he says we should be expecting Sam to return later today."

Wanda distinguished the particular expression on Samantha's face, one that displayed deep concentration on thoughts adrift in her mind.

"What's on your mind, milovaný (beloved)?" Wanda lifted her hands up to cup Samantha's cheeks, her fingers gently brushing against the faded scars on her girlfriend's face.

In truth, and out of stubbornness to acknowledge such feelings, Samantha was terrified of their future together due to her heritage as an Assassin. The Templars' power had expanded throughout time; mostly successful gains of power and some downtrodden by the blight that were the Assassins.

However, Samantha had a foreboding feeling that the Assassins would not succeed in the modern age war. She was scared of how she may fall and abandon Wanda just as she had Anne Bonny.

In tenderness and longing, Samantha felt their connection strengthen twofold, being in such close, intimate contact with her lover. And yet, strangely enough, there was an indescribable, palpable emotion brewing in the centre of her body.

The foreign word spoken aloud had been translated only seconds after as if physical contact had exchanged an entire language into Samantha's vocabulary. She said nothing to question how it was so. She kept her mouth shut and smiled fondly at the brunette.

"Nothing of immediate concern, sweetheart. You should go have breakfast before your workout with Natasha." She said reassuringly, her voice carrying a hint of hesitation and nervousness.

Wanda clothed herself and strutted out of the room, across to hers so that she could change into her proper workout attire. Meanwhile, Samantha had put on her robes and made her way to the kitchen to prepare her breakfast.

Daydreaming had become more severe in contrast to how normally difficult it was for Samantha to allow her mind to wander. She'd worked herself up a storm in regards to the Templar movement and the extermination of the Brotherhood globally, and now fear had settled to plant seeds of doubt on whether she and Wanda would last.

As she stood idly in the kitchen, patiently waiting by the coffee machine as it delivered her drink at her preferred setting, Samantha hummed another melodic tune, even without the chorus of a crew of hearty sailors to sail with.

Once her drink was prepared and ready, she headed up to the roof as she held her drink in one hand, taking sips every now again once it reached a cooler temperature. A hawk screeched to announce its presence before it descended rapidly before making a gentle landing, perching on the forearm not holding her drink.

Plucking a tiny, rolled up parchment of paper, Samantha opened it and read the contents within as the hawk flapped its wings, took off and flew away.

Jerry Fortuov: Hydra-associated lawyer to mob boss, Kingpin.

Wolfgang Von Strucker: Hydra leader, extremely dangerous and cunning.

Thaddeus Ross: Hydra glorifier/disciple, extremely dangerous; Secretary of State.

Samantha tucked the list of names into her pocket and enjoyed the view as the sky was painted fire orange as a gentle cool breeze tickled her face, neck and hands. She relished in drinking her coffee before returning indoors.

Meanwhile, Wanda had vigorously punched focus pads according to her trainer's instructions. Natasha was her trainer, and a diligent partner to work with – none of the S.H.I.E.L.D. staff were comfortable being associated with the scarlet sorceress due to superstition and slander that plagued the minds of those who ironically weren't under Wanda's spell.

"You're losing concentration; you're putting drive into your punches, but it's all mechanical. Something's on your mind." Natasha stated matter-of-factly.

Wanda raised an eyebrow and huffed in the midst of her exertion as he applied stronger jabs and uppercuts.

"Maybe I just don't wanna work out. Maybe, I want to go relax in my room and have a nice, hot bath. Maybe... I want to do anything but look at every person staring at me with ridicule and scorn, like I'm a freak." Wanda growled and grunted.

"Being holed up in your room all day when you're not on missions will do that to you, Wanda. You're too adjusted to isolation. You need to work out so you're ready for upcoming missions. Last thing you need is to be fatigued in the middle of all those hand dances that you do." Natasha fired back.

"I'm perfectly fine with my powers."

"And what will you do when your powers fail you?"

"That won't happen. Not when you've been training me for the last four weeks."

Natasha huffed and ordered Wanda to target a punching bag.

Other staff members who were also training occupied the room but at a safe distance from the two Avengers, specifically Wanda. More and more, folks who occupied the other half of the compound had grown trepidatious of Wanda, albeit having vocal reassurance from the likes of Steve Rogers.

"Did you and Samantha have sex last night?" Natasha blurted randomly.

Wanda froze, her movement became stiff and her posture made it seem as if she were mimicking a statue. Her face flushed red, demonstrating just how embarrassed she was from the reveal.

While her mind formed the words to process through her mouth, Wanda was cut off as Natasha stated the barely visible evidence of makeup on her body.

Reluctantly, Wanda confessed. "So maybe Sammie and I may have... had sex last night, but-"

"Oh my God, I knew it was something like that! You are head over heels for this girl – it's about time one of you took things a step forward!" Natasha exclaimed gleefully.

"I'm sorry, why are you so interested in my love life?"

"This is the hottest news I've heard since the Olsen twins! I was kind of rooting for you two, but I didn't expect it to hit off so soon." Natasha cheered to her own amusement.

Wanda rolled her eyes and smiled in amusement to her antics.

Suddenly, a loud tremorous rumble erupted outside of the building. Three tall figures fashioned in the most exotic armour bestowed by their people, appeared on the lawn with ancient markings and symbols burnt into the soil. Residents gathered by their windows and outside to greet the foreigners in mass numbers.

"The cosmic scales are unbalanced, brother. The Midgardians are restless. Remember our mission: find the source and bring it back to Asgard."

Two of the three were alike in their facial features, giving a vague indication to their identical birth dates, while the third was far taller, brutish and mature than his companions.

"Midgard! I am Magni, this is my brother, Modi, and Baldur the Brave! You carry magnificent power amongst you! Bring it forth, and we may spare your lives! Refuse to do so, and we will raze this world to its foundations!" The tallest of the three bellowed mightily.

Steve presented himself, as always, carrying his shield with him, as he took a few steps forward from the crowd of S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel and raised his voice to the Aesir citizens. While Steve gradually reeled them in to distract them, Natasha and Wanda rushed off to the locker room to suit up in preparation for a fight.

"You know, you could've used the front door! Doesn't come cheap, the lawn maintenance!" Steve jested, offering a friendly smile. "What sort of power are you talking about? We can discuss this peacefully, like gentlemen."

Magni scoffed. "Gentlemen... Power! Unparalleled in its destructive capabilities; and you hold one of the ingots. Or should I say... Pieces of Eden?"

"Yeah. You've been hoggin' this one for a long time, buddy. Hand it over. It'll be safer with us." Modi added.

Steve narrowed his eyes as he studied the abnormally tall men across the yard from him. "You know, I have this funny feeling that it just might not be safer with you. In fact, I think whatever you're looking for is fine just wherever it is now. Because you're trespassing on private property, I'm going to ask you three to go back wherever you came from."

Baldur, a warrior dressed in golden-crested armour with an axe hanging from his back, stood firmly on the spot with his arms folded across his chest. He leaned across and spoke softly into the ear of the younger warriors accompanying him to Midgard.

"Ahh. Brother, it is the patriot he spoke so highly of. Let us see what mettle he is made of." Magni grinned.

Magni, the older sibling, drew in his hand a broadsword while his slightly younger sibling, Modi, carried with him a mace in his right hand and a shield in his left.

"I was was wonderin' when you'd say that."

Steve sighed and readied himself for combat. He had his gaze locked on Magni, who was already committing to heaving his sword at Steve.

Once conflict broke out, the onlookers all fled indoors for safety while the Avengers dealt with the trespassers.

As the blade hit the ground, a crackle of lightning shot out from the blade towards its target. Steve jumped to one side to avoid getting electrocuted and advanced towards the bigger brute of the two, which was Magni. Modi could only do so much to help his brother as Steve put his effort into targeting Magni so there was better focus on eliminating them one at a time.

Magni accepted a few blows from Steve to determine how to approach his enemy. Surprisingly, Steve conceived more damage than Magni could anticipate from a mere human, and as a result, he cautioned a defensive approach in contrast to his vigorous offensive.

Steve was wary of his physical attributes and ensured to only provide what was necessary to ensure there was no fatal outcome in the fight – even dealing with a citizen of Asgard.

In an attempt to spare his brother from Steve's tactfulness, Modi targeted one of the onlookers. Steve instantly noticed the commotion and jumped into action to spare the reaper any fatalities. His shield was thrown at Modi's back, unbalancing the Aesir, causing him to fall flat on his front. Natasha and Wanda joined the fight and kept Modi at bay while Steve brought his attention back to Magni.

Meanwhile, the golden-crested Asgardian, Baldur, stood by and watched the fight unfold. His arms remained crossed until they departed to hang over the handles of his dual swords, his movement was fluent as he flinched to his right, narrowly avoiding a blade from piercing the base of his skull.

Samantha appeared in her robes, sword and dagger hanging from the left side of her belt. Neither dared utter a word to the other as they drew their weapons against each other.

They both swung their blades to connect but his sword easily cut through hers. Her sword, a vintage weapon dating back to the early seventeenth century, was ruined in an instant; completely overwhelmed by the integrity of the Uru metal. Baldur let out a suppressed chuckle and stared at Samantha until she met his gaze.

Respectfully, he lent her his sword so that the fight would be even. She accepted it and held it with both hands – while the weapon was as light as a regular sword, the metal was a hundred times stronger than any regular earthly metal, closely identical to vibranium.

Background dialogue was suppressed to ensure full concentration for the duel between Samantha Dawson and Baldur the Brave. She narrowed her eyes and utilised every ounce of her training as both assassin and pirate to combat a literal Norse god.

They clashed for several minutes or more with immeasurable talent and grace. Samantha noticed fatigue catching up with him. To her surprise, she was barely affected by fatigue. Once they had a moment to break apart, Baldur took deep breaths but kept his sword raised.

"What you seek, you will not find." Samantha barked.

"To the contrary, I believe I've found exactly what we've been looking for." Baldur responded. Beads of sweat inflated and ran down his cheekbones. "Are you aware of the Isu? Those who came before, your time?"

Samantha nodded her head faintly.

"The Isu, an ancient and highly advanced version of your people, were responsible for designing and hand-crafting the Pieces of Eden. When the Big Bang occurred, there were six ingots forged and banished to the furthest reaches of the cosmos. And as it so happens, three remain here on Midgard – one landed here and was discovered by The First Civilisation; studied, dissected and had its power harnessed to benefit their world before its destruction."

"And what's this got to do with us – with me?" Samantha asked softly.

"You really don't know, do you? Do you not wonder and question your lack of fatigue? Your stamina has increased and your strength gained twofold? Your natural human physique making you more durable to blows that would fell any regular mortal?"

Samantha's forehead creased, her ocean-blue eyes narrowed, confusion and scepticism written across her face as she began to wonder whether it was possible that the glowing yellow rock had been absorbed into her body, manifesting its power to enhance her physical capabilities to new limits that would seem impractical and inhuman.

Samantha scoffed and yelped in disbelief. "HA! Oh, rot! Do you actually believe that I possess a Piece of Eden unwillingly?!"

As Baldur's face remained emotionless, Samantha quickly doubted herself and wondered if the Mind of Eden was truly capable of much greater things.

She needed answers.

"What do you know of the Piece of Eden?"

Before she could get her answer, her allies and the demigods reached a momentary standstill, with her friends succeeding in combat except Tony, who was at bladepoint. Tony gripped the blade by his hands while Magni attempted to push the blade through his slender body. Samantha could see that Tony was struggling as a result of the tremendous beating he received from both Aesiri.

In haste, the blonde sprinted to intercept Magni before Tony could make an addition to the slaughter committed by Magni's blade. Using the blade Baldur lent to her, she bellowed to announce herself as well as distract Magni so that she could kick the blade out of both Tony's and Magni's grip.

She then lifted her weapon above her head and chopped downwards. Every swing of the blade missed Magni but he could only remain so lucky before she managed to wound him.

"ARGH! Whore!" Magni cried when he felt the blade cut his left calf.

"You've overstayed your welcome. Leave, and never come back. Otherwise I will continue where I started with your leg and finish with your throat!"

Magni panted and limped towards his bruised brother and their uncle before they vanished when a bright, colourful beam crashed down on them and sucked them into the sky, leaving behind identical markings from when they arrived moments ago.

The blade in her hand became quickly accustomed, replacing her broken blade. Samantha unconsciously sheathed the blade without recalling that she failed to return it to her enemy as she made her way over to her lover to check for injuries sustained. To Samantha's relief, Wanda was unscathed, in comparison to Tony and Steve, who were both injured when both Asgardians combined their skills to briefly disorientate the onslaught of attacks by both superior leaders.

Wanda embraced her girlfriend in a tight hug with their bodies pressed right up against each other. In such close intimacy, the two women cupped each other's cheeks and crashed their lips together to secure their traitorous thoughts plaguing despicable harm on their soulmate.

"Are you okay?" Wanda asked on an exhale.

Their lips parted but their noses and foreheads were still touching.

"Aye, I'm well and whole now that you're in my arms. Come, there is something I wish to confide in you with in the privacy of my room."