Asgard was more astounding than Samantha thought it to be. Initial presumptions could make one imagine a castle fortified on clouds, overlooking a cloudy abyss. But that was not the case. Instead, it was a world of its own, with a rainbow bridge that appeared to be made of crystals, with golden towers supporting the bridge.

The grandeur of the city itself was structured similarly to various places on Earth – or Midgard, as it was put fittingly – some cities such as St. Petersburg, Mont Saint-Michel, Vienna, Prague, and Aarhus. Some sculptured buildings went as high as the ones in New York, if not, taller.

Upon emerging from the portal, Samantha found herself in the presence of a watcher, buff and in dark-blue armour, bald but with two black lines receding backwards.

"Skurge? What in the name of Odin are you doing here?" Sif confronted the watcher, who was responsible for summoning the Bifrost.

"I'm Heimdall's replacement." Skurge responded nonchalantly, yet with a visible smirk of cockiness on his lips. "You see, your brother has been charged with negligence of duty, but he disappeared before the trial. So... I'm his replacement."

"But Heimdall was just here no more than an hour ago?"

"It's kinda hard to catch someone who sees everything."

Sif rolled her eyes and waved her hand, gesturing for Samantha to follow her.

They made their way across the Rainbow Bridge on horseback, through the city and into Odin's great palace.

Being in Asgard was no different to when Samantha first arrived in the twenty-first century. The Aesir folk eyed Samantha from head to toe as she strutted about in her Assassin robes. Although they were amused by her appearance, Samantha couldn't help but admire just how unique they all dressed and how their culture survived for thousands of years.

As they made their way into the throne room, Samantha spotted a man in golden silk robes, sitting on top of a throne, looking over at the two women approaching him.

"Allfather," Sif knelt down.

"Sif. And who is this you have brought with you?" Odin Allfather spoke nonchalantly as he looked down at them both with his one good eye.

"Samantha Dawson of Midgard, my liege," Sif answered as she got up onto her feet.

"Ah. The pirate. The one whom Baldur spoke of?"

Odin leaned forward in his seat.

"Where is it? The Mind Stone. Have you brought it to me?"

The two women glanced at one another, then back at Odin.

"N-No, Allfather."

"Then why have you brought this mortal here, before me?"

Sif cleared her throat and replied, "It was by her request that she come and speak to you, Allfather. There is a matter that which only you are capable of answering."

Odin darted his eye at Samantha and ordered her to ask what was on her mind.

"I interacted with the Mind of Eden a long, long time ago," Samantha began. "And when I touched it, I was no longer in my time period. I was pushed forward through time. Baldur said... a-am I... do I possess the Mind of Eden within my body? He claimed that it enhances my physical attributes, but I'm not aware of what else it does. Can I control it?"

"The Piece of Eden, an Infinity Stone, is capable of many things. For if they were to be reunited, whosoever wields all six, shall become unstoppable. You, Ms Dawson," Odin pointed at the blonde. "Are gifted with unlimited knowledge and enhanced strength. Rumour has it that whosoever restores the Piece of Eden in the Precursor temple, you may find yourself restored to your original time."

Samantha gasped faintly at this, for now she believed there was a chance to return to her old life. But now there was deep confliction on whether she could live with the idea of leaving Wanda behind for the sake of saving her friends and gaining the upper hand against the Templars in the West Indies.

"Y-You mean...?" Samantha stammered. Her eyes began to well with tears at the thought of reviving her late friends and even saving her father from a lifetime with the devil.

"Our services are incapable of harvesting the ingot from your body. However, if you succeed in removing it, bring it to me, and I shall help you return to a life you once dreamed of: happy and free of responsibility and service."

"Let me... give me time to think about it." Samantha requested weepily.

"Very well. You shall be escorted to the Bifrost and returned to Midgard. But you will bring it to me – you have three months to give me what I desire." Odin dismissed the blonde woman. "Sif, a word, if you please?"

Samantha looked over her shoulder at Sif and gave her a reassuring smile as a member of Odin's royal guard escorted her to the Bifrost.

The return trip to Asgard left Samantha with a funny feeling in her stomach. Although the first time wasn't so bad, the second time left her a little nauseous. People were on alert when the Bifrost crashed inside the compound. People began to relax once they recognised the blonde making her way into the facility.

Halfway to the porch, Samantha stopped suddenly and waited for a few seconds before she suddenly jerked forward, regurgitating her lunch.

It was well after seven pm and darkness had consumed the property. Samantha wandered indoors and made her way to the bathroom to wash her mouth out. Where there was nobody else around, Samantha felt rather lonely when Tony was away in Massachusetts for a guest lecture at his alma mater, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Rhodey, another member of the team and devoted member to the United States Army, was away on military business.

The empty hallways felt glum and bland as Samantha wandered around, taking in the dreary silence until she found herself on the other side of the lab, separated by a courtyard garden with a Chinese redbud tree and a bench in the centre. Samantha stood idly outside in the courtyard garden, staring blankly at the pebbles strewn about on the ground.

Samantha sat on the bench and began to sing absentmindedly to herself without realising that she was somewhat enjoying the isolation. It took her two songs until she got bored and decided to isolate herself somewhere more comfortable – inside of her room or more preferably, in the bathtub.

Whether it was the prolonged absence from a bottle of rum or if her mind was truly playing tricks on her as a result of the Piece of Eden inside of her, something caught her eye, alerting her of a possible danger lurking inside of the building. The feeling of trepidation hit Samantha as she made her way inside and tip-toed out of the shooting range.

Due to her contract, Samantha felt completely exposed and naked without her weapons.

And she turned out to be right.

Men patrolled the hallways, armed with guns and sidearms – equipped with silencers so as to avoid disturbing the residents. Each one carried night-vision goggles over their eyes to ensure they had perfect vision when wandering the pitch black building. Samantha knew that she couldn't take them all on without her weapons, therefore she had to improvise.

The last one of the group just passed the room Samantha was in, completely unaware of the Hidden One sneaking up behind him. He fell first when Samantha reached her hands up to his face and covered his mouth with one hand and the other around before she grabbed his head and twisted it with enough force that his neck snapped, killing him instantly. She gently laid his body on the ground and stole his handgun.

Samantha continued to creep around, keeping an ear out for enemy movement. A second enemy wasn't too far away from her, accompanied by an ally.

She raised the gun and executed them both when they had their backs to her. Unfortunately, she didn't realise until it was too late that there were another two approaching her. They were alerted by her presence and shot at her.

Ducking into the nearest vacant room, Samantha pressed herself against the wall and listened closely to the chatter. One foot half-stepped into the room and Samantha pressed the barrel on his foot and pulled the trigger.

"YAAAAGGH!"

He fell to the floor, wailing over his injured foot. Samantha stood up and shot him in the mouth, instantly putting his noise to silence.

"Ompf!" Samantha yelped when she got tackled to the ground.

A fist collided with her face, and again and again.

She fought off her attacker but after a brief struggle. In spite of the enhancements of the Mind of Eden inside of her, Samantha felt the struggle as she was yet to awaken the true capabilities of the Isu technology embedded in her flesh.

The other attacker came along and slammed the butt of his gun on Samantha's face, effectively breaking her nose and knocking her unconscious. She was dragged out of the building and extracted out of America to a place where her allies would deeply struggle to locate their missing ally.