The Apprentice

by WhisperingKage

Summary:

Kagome Higurashi is anything but your average high schooler. She is, in fact, the apprentice of the world's greatest archer, Hawkeye. Yet at his insistence and fatherly affection, she took time off to focus on her studies. Too bad for her studies that Loki chose to sound the horn of war… Slight AU

Chapter 1

Notes:

Beta for the entire work: Uchiha Bitch AKA Five_Tailed_Demon_Dog

Kagome frowned as her phone went off again – it had been ringing all morning – and with a groan, she kicked off the stark white sheets that covered her body. She shivered as the morning air caressed it and with a grumble and a fumbling hand, she reached for her cell, only to blink when she realized it wasn't the phone going off.

With a dark scowl and a muttered curse word, she quickly stood up, her bare feet making contact with the hard cold wood floor of her room, and stormed over to her wardrobe and ripped the door open and with fumbling hands, she pushed aside clothes and dug inside a quiver hanging next to a bow.

Muttering under her breath with a grumble, she pulled out a small black flip phone and quickly flipped it open, pressing it to her ear. Her heartbeat sped up as the seconds ticked by as she waited for someone to speak.

"It's Hawkeye… he's been taken." Her brow furrowed at the words.

"Taken? What do you mean taken?" She chewed on her bottom lip as she wrapped her arm around her waist, the light blue fabric of her shirt shifting with the movement.

Her mind was racing a mile a minute – Hawkeye, taken? Was he kidnapped? If so, she doubted that it warranted a call to her as he was more than capable of taking care of himself. He often chided her for the times she had stuck her nose into his affairs. He was never kidnapped, he just allowed himself to be taken in order to gather intelligence or to take out a target from the inside.

What made this situation any different?

"It's serious, Kagome… very serious. He's been turned against us, he's under some kind of spell…" She frowned even more at that because the worry in the woman's voice put her on edge. The Black Widow was known for her acting skills, but she could tell this was genuine worry – plus, she was a rational woman and for her to be mumbling about spells and demi-gods?

It had to be bad.

"What has the General said?" She shifted her weight lightly. It was Nick's call on this…but then again, she doubted that if he made the wrong call, he would mind her showing up.

She was Hawkeye's apprentice and definitely had a right to know. In fact, she was a bit irked that it was the BLack Widow calling her and not the man himself. He knew she hated his cloak-and-dagger crap; it was the main reason she refused to actively work for S.H.I.E.L.D. Instead, she tended to freelance, always checking her facts with S.H.I.E.L.D just to be sure she was on the right side.

"He's making 'Operation Avengers' a go…" She sighed but nodded, instantly understanding the severity of the situation.

"I understand. I'll be there as soon as I can, so please be careful." With that, she snapped the phone shut and turned back to her wardrobe and with a firm look of determination, she pulled out a black cat-suit – similar to Black Widow's – and a black mask.

It was time she, once again, reminded the world that she was not one to be messed with, nor were those she called her own.

Chapter 2

Kagome winced as her ears popped from the high altitude and with an annoyed 'tch', she shoved a lock of black hair behind her ear and smiled as she waved to Natasha, who was walking towards her.

She paused for a minute, the wind picking up as the jet once again took off. With a grunt, she steadied herself to hold not only herself up, but Natasha as well, as the elder woman hugged her briefly before pulling back a grim look on her face, "We still have no idea where he is."

Kagome nodded and let the older woman lead her towards the door that led into the S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters, ignoring the stares that she and the other woman received. She really hated the standard issue uniform for spies, assassins, and such. She had a theory that it Hawkeye who had made them so. He could be quite the pervert when he wanted to be, though it was rather subtle.

She smiled as she nodded at a few familiar faces, and frowned as she caught sight of General Fury's back and reached out a hand to smack him upside his shiny bald head. She cocked her hip and crossed her arms under her chest as she glared at him, a bit irritated that he didn't even react to her small smack.

With a sigh of slight annoyance, he greeted the younger woman, not even bothering to turn around to face her, "Hello, Kagome," He avoided the other swat aimed at his head and turned on his heels to face her, "Now, now – there's no need for that."

She snorted, but nodded, knowing he would allow no more shots to be taken at him without taking a few back, "Keh, what's the situation?"

He could tell from her frosty tone of voice that she was still sore at him for not calling her when things had first gone down. He had wanted to, but he had promised Hawkeye that he would let up on the girl; she was only eighteen and still needed to graduate. As it was, she was a grade behind, only a junior, because of all the various training missions and actual missions she had been sent on.

"From what we can tell, Loki has him under some sort of spell and is using him and his connections to do something with the Tesseract. We think he's trying to summon an army of some sort." He leveled the young woman with a steady gaze as he watched her process everything; in a sense, this would help him and the others decide if she was ready to join S.H.I.E.L.D full time, after her graduation.

She took in the information with a cold face, her mind running over everything she had been told about the Tesseract, Thor, and Loki. She recalled Thor had been cast to Earth by his brother in an attempt to steal the throne from him. In the end, he had sent an assassin to take his brother out, and, in the process, destroyed a small town. After everything had been settled between Thor and Loki, they had left Earth and S.H.I.E.L.D had managed to find the Tesseract.

She had no idea what had happened to the cube after that, she didn't have the clearance to know, and had been content to go back to training with Hawkeye and Natasha. Yet, it seemed Loki was back and no doubt had a score to settle. With a sigh, she stood up straighter and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "So, Loki is going to use Earth as a battle ground to settle his squabble with his brother?" She shook her head and mumbled under her breath, "Damn Gods, they can never settle things like normal people! Noooo, they have to start damn wars… not caring whose hurt in the process."

He arched an eyebrow at her in curiosity, as she was the only person whose full past he didn't know. The only person who knew her full story was Hawkeye and he had refused to share it, even under threat of bodily harm, "You speak as if you have previous experience with Gods?" He wasn't ready for the stale chuckle that escaped her or the grim look she gave him. Her eyes held such wisdom and grief, far too much for anyone her age to hold.

"Oh, but I have."

Chapter 3

Kagome sighed as she sat in a plush chair, ignoring General Fury as he went over the details, their now fully assembled force gathered. She had ignored his questions about her claims of having dealt with Gods before, and though sulking, he had moved on to a new topic. They were wasting time, if she had known they were going to spend more than an hour telling stories, she would have went out on her own.

By now, her feelers were ringing off the hook, Clint was contacting people who were known enemies of S.H.I.E.L.D and was having various things brought to various places in the desert. They should have been out scouting the land, but no – they were wasting time. With an annoyed 'tch', she picked up her phone, the light buzzing alerting her to a new text.

General Fury paused as Kagome answered her phone for the tenth time in the last half hour. He understood she had connections they did not, being a freelancer paid off, yet it annoyed him that she was blatantly ignoring him and the others. It made not only him look bad, but S.H.I.E.L.D as well in general. So, with a clearing of his throat he tried to gain her attention, “Kagome.”

Tony Stark hid a smirk behind his hand as he watched the General try and scold the young woman, she merely ignored him and continued to type into the key pad of her cell phone. If only she was older, he grinned at the thought, he would have had fun with her, she seemed interesting to say the least. Too bad she was jail bait. Instead, he sat back to watch things play out, much like a football fan watching  a game.

Bruce Banner merely sat there, his eyes busy running over the papers in front of him, he wanted nothing more than to get this ‘mission’ over with and fall back off the grid. He had nothing against the group of people gathered in the room with him; in fact, he rather liked Tony Stark, he just knew every second he spent on the flying base of S.H.I.E.L.D, he could be the one that set him off.

Steve Rogers blinked as he took in the small Asian woman, wondering why she was there. No, he was not sexist, but she was far too young to be involved in something so dangerous. Plus, it was plain rude to ignore an elder, and here she was bluntly doing so, texting on a ‘cell phone’ as he was told they were called. Yet, he wouldn’t over step his boundaries, he had just been introduced to the young woman and he didn’t want her to think badly of him. He was a gentleman, after all.

Natasha sighed, knowing General Fury was mad, but she fully agreed with Kagome. Instead of spending so much time trying to guess where Loki was and what he had planned to do, they should have been in the field getting stuff done. Maybe she shouldn’t have had her flown to the base, Kagome was fine working on her own and it seemed she was making more headway then the whole base was.

General Fury felt an old vein in his forehead twitch as she slide her phone shut, only to open it again as it went off a second later. With his hands clasped behind his back, he glared down at her, “If I’m boring you, feel free to leave.” He had expected her to blush lightly and stutter an apology, though she was rough around the edges, she was a nice of an enough girl, even more so when Clint was around. What he wasn’t expecting was for her to stand up, her gaze still on the small LCD screen of her phone.

“Okay, I’m taking a helicopter. You coming, Natasha?” She didn’t even blink as General Fury blocked her way and only looked up when he wouldn’t move, “What? You asked me a question and I answered.”

He resisted the urge to shake her, only she could get under his skin like this. He was cut off by Steve Rogers standing up and offering him a small understanding smile.

With a friendly smile, he tuned to the young teen, “Miss Kagome, why do you need a helicopter?” She turned her eyes to the polite young man and offered him a cocky grin.

“Loki’s been spotted and I have an inkling of where their base may be as well as a full list of the things Hawkeye has been getting his hands on.”

Tony Stark let out a loud amused laugh at the shocked looked on General Fury’s face and stood up, tossing an arm around the young girl’s arms, shooting her a sideways glance and grin, “I think we’re going to get along just fine.”

She merely returned his grin, ignoring the General’s glare, “Well then, let’s move out. We got world saving to do.”

Chapter 4

Kagome ignored the others as they boarded the helicopter – Natasha was in her own fancy one – and returned to her cell phone sending and receiving texts at the speed of light. With a sigh, she shut her phone and placed it between her cleavage. There was no other spot to place the cell phone on her skin tight suit.

Steve Rogers blushed as he looked away from her, getting a nice eyeful of cleavage and blushed even more as Tony gave him a perverted grin. The man was nice enough, but far too cocky for his tastes, he assumed it was the difference in the times they were brought up in.

Tony wiggled his eyebrows at the stiff younger, err–elder man and sighed as he was ignored. What a prude, with a bored sigh he glanced at the young woman and looked her over, she was a looker for sure, but there was an air about her that just projected something, what it was, he couldn’t name.

Kagome pulled her long black hair out of its now low and messy ponytail and then began to replace it in a sturdier one. With a twitch of her fingers,  she had her hair in a tight high ponytail. She sat back in her seat, waiting for them to get to their destination, it would be another five minutes before they were there.

She glanced down at the small utility belt around her waist, making sure she had everything thing.  She glanced across from her and noted her bow and quiver of arrows was hanging on a hook. With a satisfied incline of her head, she glanced at Tony, who had been staring at her for the past five or so minutes.

“Staring problem, old man?” She knew she was being  quite rude, but she was high strung. The man she had grown to think of as a father had been dragged into a quarrel between two Gods. She had thought her days of magic, Gods, and other things that went bump in the night were over. The jewel had been completed and she herself had been flung back into her time.

Trapped in the modern era with a family and friends who had no memory of her time travelling days;  in fact, she had been flung back to the day she had been pulled down the well, back to the age of fifteen. She had been pissed off, she was twenty when the jewel had been completed and it had rewound five years of her life like it was nothing, yet made her keep her memories and powers.

It was like it was punishing her, leaving her alone to remember those she had cared for those that had fallen in the quest to repair her mistake.

Gods were anything if not cruel.

As it was, she was the damn bauble’s host, now and forever – cursed to bear the burden alone, but she took it in stride and tried so hard to be a normal teenager again, yet she had failed. She was so used to action, adventure, and saving people. She had met Clint at an archery tournament, he often went to them in his free time, and they had hit it off.

One thing led to another and he had told her who he was and what he did, having sensed she was like him. A warrior, a fighter for those who could not fight for themselves. She had taken his offer at being his apprentice and that was all there was to it. Now three years later, she was very attached to him and would not let a little squabble between Gods take away another person who was dear to her.

“Now who’s old? Getting senile  already? What a waste of a hot body.” She glared at him, but said nothing as she stood up, ignoring Steve Rogers aka Captain America as he tried to pull her back into her seat.

With a sigh, she pulled on her bow and quiver, “Well, let’s get this done.” As soon as she said that, Tony Stark aka Iron Man gave her a cocky grin and his mask slid over his face as he opened the hanger, making Captain America cry out as the air rushed around them.

With a mock salute to her and the Captain, he let himself fall out of the hanger and with a burst of the small jets in his hands, he was soaring through the air. Captain America glared after him as he hurriedly closed the hanger again, “Cocky jerk.” Kagome laughed, not knowing the mild-tempered man knew such ‘foul’ words.

He blushed and looked away from her as the helicopter landed, not knowing what to say. He had just cursed in front of a lady. He blushed even more; glad it was hidden by his mask, as she placed a hand on his arm, the hanger opening to let them out, “He is cocky, but funny to watch, ne?” With that and a wink, she took running toward the screams that erupted seconds later.

Chapter 5

She glared at the wall, pissed off that she had missed her chance to find Hawkeye because her contact had been wrong. He wasn’t with Loki, but miles away breaking into a high-tech laboratory. It was an innocent mistake, yet it made her upset, though she hid it from anyone else.

As it was, she was in the front with the pilot and Natasha, the males of their team thinking it would be safer to keep them away from Loki. Psh – she had only relented because it was done out of pure concern and not cockiness.

She ignored the mumbled talking between them and Loki, knowing the God would give nothing up, it was not in his nature.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find him.” She ignored Natasha as she placed a calming hand on her arm.

“Tch.” Natasha sighed and pulled her hand away from the younger woman, knowing she, with no doubt, blamed herself for the small mix up in information, but at least they had Loki. Yet she held her tongue, the younger woman had quite a temper.

The plane rocked as thunder and lightning appeared out of nowhere. With a dark glare, she stood,  unfastening her seat-belt and brushing off the worried glances that were shot at her. Kagome made her way to the hanger and glared darkly at the God who merely ignored her, sighing as he hung his head as the lightning ragged around them

Tony gave the ‘God’ a puzzled look, “Afraid of a little thunder?”

Loki merely looked up, a grim yet annoyed look on his face, “I’m not overly fond of what comes after it.”

Kagome caught his double meaning and before she could even utter a word, a loud thumping resounded over the cock pit and she watched with narrowed eyes as the hanger to the cock pit was ripped open and a man in Norse armor and a red cloak stood there with his heated gaze directed on Loki, “Brother.”

Kagome glared at the new comer, knowing what he was a dark scowl on her lips, “Great, another one.” As if one God wasn’t enough, another had to show up and he was the reason Loki was causing so much trouble.

Before anyone could react, Kagome had an arrow drawn, holding her ground as her hair whipped around her face from the air rushing in through the opening in the hanger door.

“Sit the fuck down.” She let her arrow fly a small tinge of power in it, making the blond hair man pause in his steps. It flew past his bronze face, tearing open a small gash on his face that sizzled lightly. He merely frowned, but did not move.

Loki laughed, “Injured by a mere woman, Brother? How low you have fallen.” She turned her dark gaze on him and met Tony’s annoyed gaze. Tony merely nodded and knocked the God out with a hit to the head, having wanted to knock out the cocky God for some time now.

Thor glared at the man who had knocked out his brother and moved to take action, ignoring the plate of metal that fell down to seal the hole he had made in the metal bird-thing they were in. However, he paused as the woman who had shot her arrow at him notched another one, her eyes meeting his. He stared right back, not one to back done from anything, but couldn't help to pause at what he saw in her eyes and merely lowered his hammer, “Are you friend or foe?” He blinked as she lowered her bow and arrow, offering him a grim smile.

“Depends on who you’re asking.”

Chapter 6

Kagome sighed in annoyance as she sat in her chair, now that Thor was deemed an ally, they were once again talking. It seemed that was all they did – what a band of super heroes they were turning out to be, if only they could talk all the world’s problems away, they’d be golden.

Too bad the world didn’t work like that. She knew that for a fact.

She would have been on her cell phone if it hadn’t been taken away from General Fury. She sighed and  shifted bit, her feet on the table, she was in a foul mood with a capital F and everyone that knew her knew to leave her alone.

Hell, even Tony was giving her some distance and they had meet not even forty-eight hours ago. She mused they would get along, he was like an older more cocky version of Miroku. Natasha was sitting by her side like a true friend, though she knew the older woman viewed her as a daughter of sorts. It kind of came with dating her father figure.

She closed her eyes, letting herself fall into a light sleep, not having slept since she had gotten that heart stopping phone call. That was three days ago and adrenaline and rage could only take one so far…

Steve glanced at the youngest member of their little crime-fighting group. She was out cold, her body slumping and all her defenses falling, she looked so fragile sitting in the large chair, just like a regular innocent teenager her own age and not like a young girl forced to grow up. With a sigh, he looked away from her and turned to Tony to reply to the small snark made at him.

Thor sighed as the others around him talked about his brother, his gaze lingering on the smallest of the strange group. She was so tiny-looking, but he could tell she held so much power in her tiny frame; the small cut on his cheek given by one of her arrows still stung. He had initially thought her  a sorceress, yet he doubted she was one because she didn’t look like any he had met in the past. Then again, Earth still held many  surprises for him, his one visit before had left him puzzled for months.

This one just had him holding on for the ride.

He shifted in his seat, watching as small goose-bumps rose on her flesh and with a sigh, he stood up ignoring those around him and took off his cape and draped it over the small woman-child. He couldn’t help but to smile at the way it engulfed her smaller frame. He ignored the looks he got as he sat back down. He was a God, he didn’t have to answer to them, yet he was still a gentlemen …of sorts… well, only when it came to the fairer sex...

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the elder God, pondering his actions, knowing that if Hawkeye was here to witness what had just happened, he’d be all over the God. But Hawkeye wasn’t here, so it was up to her to look after their kind of adopted daughter. As far as she was concerned, Thor and his brother were bad news. Yes, she was biased because of his brother’s actions, but still – she would keep an eye on the man; last she heard, he was supposed to be head-over-heels for some scientist.

Tony Stark, not one to hold his tongue, spoke up, “Isn’t she a little too young for you? I know you Gods have weird kinks, but still.” He arched an eyebrow at the flustered God who merely huffed at him. He and Steve shared a glance and nodded, both of them finally agreeing on something.

Steve shifted, crossing his arms over his chest, “Just so you know, she is off limits.”

Thor huffed at the accusation, “It is not like that, she is but a child.” 

Natasha glanced at Kagome, oblivious to the discussion going on around her, about her. If she could hear them, she would have thrown a fit. She hated being treated like a child, she didn’t know why but knew it had to do with her past and she would not pry. She would come to her when she was ready.

General Fury took the interaction in and hid a grin; it seemed Kagome showing up was a good thing. Without even knowing it, she drew the group together. He could see the way Bruce Banner was twitching and trying to block out the conversation, no doubt trying to not get annoyed and in turn, angry.

When the others had left, Bruce had turned on him slightly upset that they would call in someone so young. Things had been explained, as much as they could be and he had calmed down some, but it seemed like the big guy inside him was already slightly protective over the young girl and it rubbed off on his host.

It amazed him how she could draw so many people in, make them care about her and not even notice it. He stored it away for later use and sighed lightly. Things were starting to get tense and with a light cough, he called them back to attention.

“Natasha, I think you should talk to Loki.  You might be able to get something out of him.”

Chapter 7

Kagome scowled as she made her way to where they were keeping Loki. As embarrassed as she was to admit it, she had passed out and when she had woken up she was in a bed with Thor's cloak clenched in her hands, alone.

They had put her to bed like a small child and gone off to do 'grown-up things'. She was annoyed because she hated being treated like she was weak – she was not weak. With a calming breath, she reigned her emotions back in, knowing Loki would merely play off of them when she entered the room.

She cast a glance at a gloating Loki as he ignored the small group of people standing outside his cage, minus Bruce, and turned curious eyes to the General. He merely sighed and mentioned for everyone to follow him out of the room. She followed along, tossing the caged God a curious glance. He had done something to piss everyone off from the feel of things.

No one spoke until they gathered in Bruce's laboratory; she hopped onto of a table and turned to a flustered looking Natasha, "So, what'd I miss?"

Natasha merely glared at the floor, "I tried to get something out of him, but he played me; made a fool of me and said some very nasty things. I wasn't able to get anything out of him." She grit her teeth and ignored the worried glances shot her way.

Thor sighed as he leaned against a table, "Take no offense, my brother has always been silver-tongued."

Natasha merely grunted and leaned on the table next to Kagome, taking in the comfort the younger girl offered.

Kagome wrapped her arm around the elder woman's shoulders and rested her head on her arm, "Don't let it get to you, Gods' can be real dicks. No offense, Thor."

Thor merely let out a laugh, liking her humor, "None taken."

Nick Fury glanced at Kagome, an idea forming in his head, "Kagome, you said you've had past experience with Gods before."

Kagome nodded, and sighed mentally, already knowing where he was going, "Yup, I have."

Steve frowned, knowing where the conversation was going and didn't want her to be subjected to a verbal lashing like Natasha had been, "Not to be rude, General, but I don't think leaving her alone with him would be to wise."

Kagome rolled her eyes and hopped off the table, "Don't worry about it, I've got tough skin."

Tony frowned as he placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from leavening the room. Even Bruce had taken a step towards her to stop her, "Oh no, as much as I believe in you, it would kill me to see him tear into you." He held a hand up to his chest in mock pain.

Bruce walked over to them, placing his papers on a nearby table, "I don't think it's wise, maybe we should let Thor talk to him. He is his brother."

Kagome rolled her blue eyes at them all, "If it'll make you guys feel better, you can be in the room, but I'm going to talk to him whether you like it or not." There was no room for argument in her tone and they all sighed knowing they couldn't change her mind, but it still didn't mean they had to like it.

"Fine, we're coming with you. Bruce, you stay here and play with the glowy stick." Bruce cracked a smile at Tony and nodded.

"Will do, Kagome, be careful." The doctor warned.

She merely waved his worry off and moved towards the door, "Will do, and be careful with the 'glowy stick'. It's enchanted and can corrupt your way of thinking." With that, she left a group of overprotective males trailing behind her, Natasha staying behind to keep an eye on Bruce with the new information left hanging in the air.

Chapter 8

Loki stared at the door with bored eyes, slightly sad that he had already broken the toy given to him. She was fun to mess with, but she had been taken away as soon as the other younger woman had entered the room. He scowled, feeling that the young woman-child held some power. She had wounded his brother, but she was of no importance to him.

He was, in fact, sore at her for taking away his toys. Now he was bored and a bored Loki was never good for anyone. He grinned as the door opened and said woman-child entered the room, his toys trailing behind her, minus the one he broke.

“You’ve come back to play.” It was a statement, not a question.

Kagome merely walked towards the glass cage he was in and rocked on the heels of her feet, her hands crossed behind her back, “You Gods and your thinking of humans as toys… it sickens me.” Yet, on her face, was a small smile.

It threw him off lightly, but he paid it no mind and merely sat on the ground, pulling his knees to him like an excited child, “Should a God think anything else of such lowly creatures?”

Everyone could tell he was trying to get under her skin, but she let it roll off her back and shrugged her shoulders, “I agree, humans are weak when compared to those of not-so-human origins, but they have a strength that none can ever hope to touch or diminish.”

Loki furrowed his brows, “Oh? Please, do enlighten me.” The mocking in his voice was clear for all to hear.

She gave him a grin, “Hope. They never give it up, they fight for it, die for it, and live for it.”

Loki gave a snarky laugh, “How foolish of you to think so…”

She once again shrugged her shoulders, “To each their own I guess. Now, let us get down to business. I grow tired of this game.”

Everyone watched with wide eyes as Loki stood up and towered over her, trying to intimidate her through the glass, though she merely blinked at him as if bored.

Loki glared at her, his anger rising as she was making him look like a fool and he didn’t take well to that. “I will crush you, all of you and this world will be mine.” He expected her to argue to defend her race, yet she merely tilted her head.

“I see, for someone who thinks so little of humans, you want to rule over them so badly. To be a king of fools is to be a fool yourself.” She didn’t flinch as he slammed his arms into the glass and leaned heavily on them.

“A king is still a king and I will be one and then everyone will see. They will acknowledge me and give me the respect I deserve; Father will regret his choice of naming my foolish ‘Brother’ king instead of me.”

Kagome sighed. “Oh dear, sibling rivalry on a Godly level.” She would admit to poking at him on purpose, he had upset her friend and she did not take kindly to that.

Loki glared down at the young woman-child, watching as she stepped closer to the glass, “No amount of lashing out will quell the way you feel inside.” He glared harsher at her whispered words. How dare she talk to him like she knew him?

“You know nothing, girl.” She merely turned haunted eyes to meet his own.

“Oh, I know everything about you. I used to be like you.” He words were low so that only Thor and Captain America heard them. Thor because he was a God and Captain America because of his enhanced hearing.

And both were left puzzled by her whispered words.

Chapter 9

"I know what it's like to be cast in the shadow of someone only because they were born before you." Her voice took on a slightly bitter tone, making those around her blink, never having heard such a bitterness from someone so young.

Loki merely stared at the young human woman-child, not believing her. The other woman had tried to make him slip up, to reveal his plans, but he was not stupid.

Kagome let out a slightly bitter chuckle, her eyes darkening with memories, "To always be compared, Kikyou could do it better; she was a better archer, a better healer, a better everything. Kikyou this, Kikyou that. Try to be more like Kikyou. You'll never be as good as Kikyou… I will always love Kikyou…" She trailed her dark blue eyes to meet his dark green ones.

Loki merely stared back, as if looking into her soul and felt a sense of kinship, as light of a twinge as it was, he pushed it down. Her hurt could not compare to his, "I was merely a stolen relic, cast as an adopted son just to keep the peace."

Thor clenched his hand around his hammer, wanting to correct his brother, yet bit his tongue as Steve placed a hand on his arm to still him.

Kagome wrapped her arms around herself, one hand resting over a hidden scar, "I was a glorified jewel shard detector, and am now a gloried power relic. Forgotten to time to all but a few…I know you can feel it. Your kind can always feel it."

Loki furrowed his eyebrows and let his aura bush over hers, feeling his brother's do the same, and it recoiled as if burned, "What an odd place to find one such as yourself. Surrounded by such misfits…"

She smiled a small sad smile, "Where else should one such as myself be? A broken and forgotten relic of time."

Thor moved forward, now knowing what she was, not liking the look on his brother's face, "Lady Kagome, you should not be here. It is dangerous."

Kagome waved off his concern, not even turning to him, "Why not? We are alike in some ways."

Nick frowned and moved to step forward, not wanting her to be put under the same spell as her master and father-figure, yet paused as Loki let out a loud joyful laugh, his hands pressed into the glass separating him from Kagome.

"Truly, you were made to be mine! Come stand by my side and let us rule the world together! Me as king and you as my priestess. We can show them all what we are worth."

Kagome gave a similar warped smile, "I am honored, but must refuse your offer for you have taken someone precious to me…"

Loki frowned, "The archer, he is your lover?" The scorn in his voice made her smile more; if the others could see it, they would deem it slightly insane.

"No, my father, I suppose." She placed her hands on the glass separating them, her hands separated from his by said thick glass.

"And I would have you give him back."

Chapter 10

Loki did not move, yet merely stared into her eyes, “He is not your real father.”  She merely blinked.

“I do not care. I love him as such and he loves me, what more is there to it?” He pondered her words, once having thought the same about his own situation.

“So you say, but does he know what you are, what you have done?” He didn’t expect the small gleeful grin she gave him.

“He does, and he loves me all the same.” He frowned not liking the way she lit up, he wanted to make her sad again, to make her like him.

“What of the others, you’re clearly hiding it from them, would your ‘friends’ still accept you for who and what you are?” He turned his eyes to gaze at the curious gazes of the others behind her, “To know you killed so many, caused so many deaths, so much destruction… would they still call you their friend?” He smirked as they all looked at the young woman, who had frozen stiff at his words.

Kagome felt anger bubble up inside her, she knew he would take a low blow if given the chance, but it still got to her. How dare he tell them those things? They were her secrets to tell them if she so chose. She glared darkly at him, letting a bit of her power seep into the glass and smirked as his hands sizzled and he pulled away, wincing in pain.

“I would thank you to keep such knowledge to yourself. It is mine to give out when I so see fit.” She leveled him with a cold glare as he sat on the floor and laughed up at her.

“You’re scared of their reactions! For someone who speaks of hope and love, you are so scared of being cast out!” He placed his hands on the ground, ignoring the way they throbbed in protest, and leaned back, tossing his head up as he laughed.

Kagome reigned in her anger and sighed resting her forehead on the glass, “At least I am not afraid to admit I want to be loved, to be accepted… unlike you. You want to be loved and accepted so badly that you lash out because you think yourself so unworthy of it, even though you are.”

She didn’t flinch as he stood up and slammed his hands on the glass, banging his head into the glass in front of hers. A light stinging in his now black eyes as they watered slightly, her words touching something inside of him – something he thought he had killed, “We are so alike, yet so different…”

She merely gazed at him, “It’s scary, isn’t it?”

He gave a low chuckle, “It is… fear not, you shall be reunited with your precious ‘Father’ sooner than you think.” He grinned as a loud explosion rocked the flying fortress.

He laughed as his brother ran forward and pulled her from his cage, his gaze on her form as she was dragged out of the room with the loud alarms going off.

“So alike… if only things were different.” He grinned happily as the chaos around him began, his plan, though hitched, was still going along perfectly.

He would be king of this world sooner or later.

Chapter 11

Kagome ignored the curious glances shot her way and made a beeline for the one aura she had been wishing to feel since she had gotten the news he was gone. She flew past the others, leaving them behind, as she maneuvered the way around the panicking people.

She ignored the cries of her name as she made her way towards the entrance to the outside loading area. Without so much as a blink as the door was blown open, she stood there with her gaze directed on her father figure, "Hawkeye."

He turned to her, his eyes not his own, but glowing with the spell cast upon him. She quickly ran her eyes over him to search for any damage, but finding none, she let out a small relieved sigh. However, she cried out as an arrow logged itself in her shoulder. She held a hand to her wounded shoulder, trying to staunch the blood flow, ignoring his lackeys as they rushed past her with their guns blazing.

She backed up lightly, trying to draw him into the narrow hallway, so he could not flee, and he followed notching anther arrow, his face blank. She could easily break the spell, it was strong, but she was stronger – she just had to get to him.

Only problem?

He was her mentor… meaning he was far more skilled than her with not only his bow, but with the other weapons he had hidden on his body.

With a wince, she yanked the arrow out of her flesh, threw it at his feet, and ran – hoping to get him to follow her. She felt an arrow fly by the side of her face, missing by a mere hair, and heard his feet fall as he chased after her.

With a grit of her teeth, she threw her arms above her and grabbed onto the pipes that ran along the hallway and wrapped her legs around his head and let herself fall forward, tossing him on his back. She winced as she landed her arm, feeling it throb in protest, yet she kicked away his bow and their scuffle began.

Fists flew, hair was pulled, and blood spilt, but she had him, she placed both hands on his chest, ignoring the screaming, explosions, and pure chaos rocking the airborne base. With a grunt, his hands wrapped around her neck, trying to choke her out, but she shoved her powers into him in retaliation. The spiritual energy sought out the curse that had wove its away into his body, originating at his heart and slowly began to purify it. It was like purifying a poison, it flowed through his veins and snaked throughout his body.

It was a good thing she was used to purifying poisons – how many times had she saved Miroku's life? She pushed the thought away, her vision dotting with black. She could have kicked him or head-butted him to get him off, but not yet, she would not let this opportunity slip through her fingers.

She would not lose him again and with a bite to her bottom lip, hoping the pain would keep her conscious for a little longer, she shoved more of her powers into him. Kagome ignored the way Loki's aura flared angrily, no longer in his own cage, but no doubt knowing what she was doing.

She was taking away one of his 'toys'.

She hissed as a blade slid into her side, twisting to cause even more damage, but she did not let up and with a final flair of her powers, they exploded outwards before being pulled back into her all at once.

With her last bits of consciousness, she watched the eerie blue glow fade from his eyes as they returned to their normal brown ones and smiled with exhaustion.

"Father." She vaguely heard him calling her name, cradling her body to his as she faded to black, hoping nothing too bad would happen until she was back in the world of the living.

Chapter 12

She was floating in an endless sea of darkness, everything was numb, and she slowly cracked her eyes open, yet could tell no difference.

It was still pitch black.

The recent events flooded through her mind and she sighed, knowing what had happened.

She had died.

Again.

A side effect of being the cursed bauble's guardian was that she was not allowed to die. It would not let her go, no matter how hard she had tried and yes, she had tried many times before –  so depressed with her current situation in life, yet that all changed when she had met Clint.

She curled into a ball, floating in the darkness, a place that existed only for her, until her body had repaired itself and her heart, once again, started beating. A brief thought floated in her mind, she hoped they didn’t bury her…

She pushed that thought away as she merely floated in a sea of nothingness, her only companion was the darkness that surrounded her. This was her fate, she deserved no less for all the lives she had ruined and destroyed.

She blinked as she felt something force its way into her darkness, her nothingness, and flinched as it tore its way into her world. She curled in on herself, feeling naked and exposed as he formed before her.

Her blue eyes narrowed into small slits as he stood there smirking, his damnable staff in his hands as he gloated above her. She felt a pulse of pure hate tear through her, and as if sensing it, he grinned even more and leaned down to clasp her chin in his hands.

“Do you hate me now?” She didn’t even answer him, they both knew the answer.

He let go of her chin and let out a low chuckle, “I see, they always end up hating me…” He mumbled to himself lightly, but turned back to her with his eyes raking over her naked exposed flesh, “Oh, how your ‘father' mourns you.” He snickered as he looked around her darkened cell.

“To think you hold so much darkness in your soul, we truly are alike… and it makes me giddy with pleasure to know I am the reason for your hate. Will you still not join me?”

She hissed at him as he petted her hair affectionately, all but a farce and they both knew it. Her hate simmered down to a rather large dislike as she saw the hope and pleading in his eyes. He tried so hard to hide it, yet she saw it anyways. He was lonely; he was like her, like how she used to be. It made something inside her twinge, but she smothered it as best as she could.

It was his own fault he was the way he was,  “You have no one to blame but yourself. Why won’t you let yourself be loved?” She blinked as he moved closer to her, his lips hovering over hers, and she was about to hurt him – badly – when he pulled back and gave her a cocky grin, “Is that an offer?” Before she could answer, her world shifted and started to melt away.

Her body now healed, the darkness began to fade and she watched as he frowned, but let her go and disappeared into the darkness.

With a jolt, she sat up, her lungs burning as they took in the air they had been deprived of. She ignored the shouts and cries of her name as her soul settled back into her body, pain assaulting her senses. She moved a hand to her side, where she had been stabbed, yet felt no wound.

She was healed, fully and alive once again. She was still adjusting to being in her body as she was pulled into various pairs of arms, silent cries ringing in her ears as tears drenched  her already blood-stained clothes. With a wince, she got her bearings backs and realized it was Natasha who was clutching at her like she would disappear any given second.

The others were gathered around her, minus Clint, who was brooding in a corner, his eyes on her and filled with guilt, some looking worse for wear and she gave them all a small tired smirk.

“Never seen someone come back to life before?”

Chapter 13

Tony glared at her as she sat there with a small smirk on her lips, he had just about lost it when he had heard she had been killed. Not wanting to believe it until he had set eyes on her cold pale body as it laid on the table of the meeting room. The rest of the base was still in shambles, but still afloat.

Loki had gotten away with the 'glowy' stick in his hands as he left, a crude word or two tossed at his brother. Bruce had been knocked out, a mutual effort between all that were able to even oppose the ‘big guy.’ Things had just gotten back under control, all the fires put out and holes sealed up when they got the news over the radio.

It was all horrifying.

Hawkeye's voice rang out over the radio demanding medics, they got there, but it was too late. The way the grown man had screamed and yelled at the medics would stick with them all for the rest of their lives. They were all used to death, it came with the job, but her death; it had rocked them all to their cores.

So, as she sat there, staring at them like they were insane, a small cheeky grin on her lips, he couldn’t help it. He reached out and smacked her upside her head a dark glare on his face, “You– you!” He didn’t even know what to say to her he was that upset!

She grinned, feeling horrid that she had caused him and the others so much worry, yet she dealt with it the same way she dealt with everything that made her uncomfortable – with snarky sarcasm, “Oh, wow, I was able to stump the Tony Stark.”

He seethed, but pulled her into his arms, crushing her to his body before letting her go as if burned, “Don’t you ever do that again!” She rolled her eyes as Natasha came to her side, a shaky pale hand placed on her arm.

“I’ll try to keep my dying to a minimum.” She blinked as Steve came over and just pulled her into a hug, holding her gently. With a sigh, she held him back, knowing he had lost comrades in the past and felt horrid for making him go through it again.

“Sorry if I scared you, Captain.” Her voice was mumbled since she was crushed to his much larger muscular body. He merely nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and with reluctance, he pulled away and leaned on the wall, not meeting anyone’s gaze.

She yelped as she was picked off the ground by a pair of overly-muscled arms and crushed, to the point of not being able to breath, in an embrace that could only belong to one person, “T-Thor –can’t breathe!” His grip let up, but not by much and she merely patted his back, still sour at her last encounter with a God.

“Lady Kagome… I must apologize for my Brother's action that led up to the temporary loss of your life!” She let out a little sigh; even now, he took the blame for his brother's actions – Loki was such a little brat, but if only he would wake up and realize Thor didn’t care about the blood that flowed though his veins…

Instead, he had to throw a hissy fit like a little child, involving an innocent world in his schemes to get attention. She blinked as Clint left the room and stumbled lightly as she was placed back on her feet. The miko tossed everyone a small look and glanced at the door her adopted father had exited through. With a sigh, she waved them off, “I’ll be back in a bit. I promise not to die  again, okay?” She ignored the low grumbles at her not-so-funny joke and trailed after Clint, not at all liking what she felt in his aura, it only made her want to punch Loki in the face even more.

Chapter 14

Kagome found him sitting in the dark in a small room, no doubt used by the General to ‘liberate’ information from captured spies and whatnot. She didn’t even blink as she shut the door behind her, knowing they had a lot to talk about, and to be honest, she didn’t even want to think about the questions she would have to answer when she went back to the others.

With a low sigh, she sat on the small table next to the chair he was sitting on, looking out the same small window he was. They sat there in silence for a few minutes merely basking in each other’s presence, but with a low sigh, she let her shoulders slump as she turned to him.

“Clint,” He didn’t turn to face her, but she knew he was listening as he tilted his head lightly. With another sigh, she leaned closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, “I’m glad you’re okay, I was worried about you.”

He shifted lightly, getting ready to pull away from her, yet she would not have it. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his neck, “I was so worried I thought I’d lost you.” With that, her barriers fell and so did her pent up emotions. She didn’t sob like a child, but merely let her silent tears slide down her face as she held him, reassuring herself he was still there.

He grit his teeth as she cried, clutching to him like a small child would their parent, the way she called him 'Father' before he killed her echoed in his mind. He clenched his fists – he had KILLED her – shoved a knife into her side and twisted it while choking her out…

She trusted him, with everything, cared about him to the point of partnering up with General Fury. He knew she disliked him, he had a darkness in him as she would say, and for her to not only put up with the man, but take orders from him in order to get him back… it meant a lot.

And how had he repaid her?

By killing her, and no, he did not know she would come back. So, it had literally tore him apart the moment she stopped breathing. He recalled cradling her body to his as he yelled over her medic for help, they had to save her. Even as he did that, he knew it was too late but he couldn’t accept that – he wouldn’t. Not even as she was declared dead. He refused to let the medics take her body away and only moved from his spot when Natasha had shown up.

How she had cried upon seeing her body, in a way he had never seen and he had seen a lot having been her partner for years. He cries would haunt his nightmares for years.

“I killed you,” His voice was low, yet she heard it loud and clear. She tightened her hold on him trying to reign in her emotions so she could talk. Once she was sure she could speak without hyperventilating, she pulled back a bit.

“But I came back.” It was a simple simple statement.

He glared at the wall, his hands shaking lightly, “I killed you, Kagome.” There was so much raw emotion in his voice that it made her eyes water up again.

“It wasn’t you, Clint…” He shook her words off and her off his person, standing up to pace the room, suddenly angry.

“I killed you, it was my hand around your neck... my knife in your side! Don’t you get it?! I killed you!! You should hate me! Even Natasha looked at me with hate the moment she saw your dead body in my arms, it was small and fleeting, but I saw it!”

She ducked her head a bit, his voice ringing out in the small room, yet she stood up and stood her ground, “I don’t hate you, I could never hate you Clint, you know that.” He refused to look at her as he mumbled to himself.

“I killed you…” It was a low self-hating whisper and it made her blood boil.

“You weren’t the first and you won’t be the last. Just know I’ll always come back.”

He turned to look at her, she looked far too old, far too worn, far too tired, and his hands itched to pull her into his arms, to whisper it was okay, she was okay, that everything would be okay. But that would be a lie. Instead, he pulled her small fragile body to his and held her, his eyes stinging with unshed tears.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” She merely held him her own tears sliding silently down her face.

“I know…and I’m sorry I never told you.” If she had, he wouldn’t have taken it so hard, she was a horrible person.

He merely held her closer, explanations could wait, he was okay and she was okay and that was all that mattered. What needed to be said could be said later. His daughter was okay and that was all that mattered, he had a lifetime to hate himself, to try and make it up to her.

“I love you.”

She stood there, in his embrace and merely held him, her head resting on his chest. “I love you too, Father.”

Chapter 15

Kagome fidgeted  as she sat in the chair, everyone sitting around her, just staring at her, on her left was Clint and on her right was Natasha, said two were still awkward around each other, but it would work  out eventually. They always did.

She had given them a brief run down, telling them she was a miko who had discovered her powers on her fifteenth birthday, not a lie, and had been cursed by a powerful magical object, also not a lie, and was not able to die because of said curse. They had taken it relatively well, the Norse god probably making it easy for them to believe in priestesses and magic.

Yet, she made no mention of her time travelling or the Shikon, not yet.  Her fingers twitched lightly, not liking to be stared at like a thing, a freak. “So…” She paused as she ducked her head feeling ashamed.

Was Loki, the King of Fools, actually right? Would they disown her? She jumped lightly as Clint placed a hand on her leg under the table, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

“Did you see a white light?” The question was asked almost uncertainly and she blinked as she turned to the Captain, but shook her head.

“No, not this time around.”

Steve shifted in his seat, feeling Tony’s glare, but, he, as a religious man, wanted to know what happened when one died, “What do you mean 'this time around'?” It was an innocent question, no hidden meaning or malice behind it and she gave him a small smile.

“The first time I died… I was sixteen. I didn’t see my life flash before my eyes, it was over far too fast. One minute, I was alive, and the next, I was dead, though I didn’t even know I was dead.” She paused and shifted a bit, letting Natasha place  hand on her arm. The woman was still shaken up from her death, it wasn’t often that she cared about someone, but when she did, it was with everything she had.

“I saw no white light at the end of the tunnel, just a bridge. On the other side of that bridge was my Father, and other family members who had passed away. They stood there, smiling, as if happy to see me. I wanted badly to go to them, but before I was able to, I was pulled back. I had been brought back.” She smiled fondly thinking of her 'Onii-san', who had brought her back at the insistence of Rin.

Tony blinked. “Brought back? Like this time, by the ‘curse’?”

She shook her head. “No, that time I was brought back by Tenseiga,” She paused and blinked as they looked at her puzzled and she blushed lightly remembering they had no idea of what she was talking about. “Tenseiga is a sword that can bring back the dead.”

Bruce blinked, puzzled. “How is that possible?” He wanted to know, the scientist in him had to know.

She smiled, “Magic.” She explained no more and turned to Thor with a small frown on her face, “Your Brother, he was there…. any idea how?”

Thor blinked, “He is well known for his magical powers and often accused of black magic.” He frowned, not liking the thought of his brother being in the realm of the dead or wherever it was she had been when dead.

She furrowed her brows, knowing that was not dark magic, but a magic that had a similar feeling to that of Naraku, “That was no black magic. Loki may be twisted, but he still has light left in him…” She trailed off, fumbling trying to figure out how he had gotten there.

It must have been the staff. 

“The staff, has he always had it?” She asked of the Thunder God.

Thor frowned, but shook his head. “No, he has possessed similar staffs in the past, but never this one.” She groaned, rubbing her temples making him toss her a worried glance, “Is something amiss, Lady Kagome?” She scrunched her nose up at the title, but let it slide for the moment.

“It seems our dear King of Fools is someone else's pawn.”

Chapter 16

Thor furrowed his eyebrows; his brother was anything but a pawn, often thinking himself a puppet master. Yet who was he to question her? The last of a powerful and rare kind? To find out she was a miko, as her culture called them, made him remember the days of old.

Offerings.

Prayers.

Sacrifices.

Virgin sacrifices.

All made at temple and with a priestess. Those days were long gone, all but one God had faded from the memories of mortals. He held no qualm with it, humans were fickle creatures, a sad truth. Yet, even he couldn’t help but to wonder what it would be like to have the young woman as his priestess, to have a priestess of your own was a high honor.

However, he squashed the thought as soon as he had it. 

To distract himself, he stared at the young woman, flanked by her adoptive parents, and spoke, “Loki would never be anyone’s pawn…”

Kagome rolled her eyes, “He prides himself on being able to outsmart others, but there are those who are even more sinister and clever than him. I assume he has no idea he is being used, and if he does, he doesn’t care. Most likely thinking it’s worth it, and plans to betray those that pull his strings.” 

Thor sat back heavily in his chair and nodded, his brother was far too prideful to let himself be a puppet unless it benefitted him and he was sure he could, one day, cut the strings. The only question was who  were pulling the strings?

Before they could discuss it even more, a few alarms went off and an image was projected in the middle of the table. They all turned to it and watched as Stark Towers came into view.

Tony glared heatedly at the screen, “That son of a…” He trailed of mumbling under his breath, ignoring Thor’s glare at the mention of his mother.

Kagome sighed as she saw Loki stand tall atop the tower, a few people rushing around behind him setting up a large machine where the Tessaract sat, all so innocently.

An image of the Shikon sitting on an alter flashed through her mind’s eye, she pushed it away and stood with a sigh.

Everyone stared at her as she stood, her face falling into a cold mask, her powers flaring as she felt the portal to another world be ripped open.

Thor shivered as her pure raw power flowed around the room, so powerful even those who knew not what it was could feel it.

Her eyes were an electric blue as she looked around the room, ready to fight yet another pointless war, “Well, it seems we’ve been invited to a party.” She smirked as they stared at her like she was insane.

Maybe, just maybe, she was.

Chapter 17

She fidgeted as she sat in a helicopter once more, in a fresh body suit, and adjusted her fingerless gloves. Those in the hanger with her fidgeted  with their own weapons and armor. Thor and Iron Man had been sent in first, being able to get there faster than the rest of the team.

Bruce would have gone with them if not for the fact that he was still debating if he could be trusted, the 'big guy' had already done so much damage the first time he had been let out, and was not able to tell friend from foe.

He sat in the front of the helicopter ,still debating his choice.

She ignored Hawkeye's gaze as it bore into her, he had tried to stop her from coming, they all had and for once, General Fury was useful. He had put his foot down, they were at war, and they had no time to play favorites. They had all agreed reluctantly, not liking the way he had mentioned that if she did die she would come back, no harm no foul.

It was almost like now that he knew she could come back, he was planning to use it to their advantage. They did not like that thought and after the war was won and the dust settled, they would talk with their team leader.

Just because she would come back didn’t mean it was okay for the young woman to die.

Period.

Natasha, who was a spy by trademark, had come along as well and it had surprised those that knew her. She was acting more like a solider then a spy, yet they understood her fury. A woman scored was one thing, but a mother scorned? She would never forgive Loki for what he had caused the two most important people in her life to go through.

The Captain was fidgeting as well, fiddling with his shield as he sat there, flashbacks to a war from long ago running rampant thought his mind. He had hoped against hope, that waking up in this era would mean no more wars. How wrong he was.

Kagome let her hands fall to her lap as she leaned forward to place a calming hand on his knee, giving him a small smile. “You okay, Cap?” She knew the answer, could feel it in the air, yet she asked anyway.

He gave her hand a small pat, yet let it linger on her hand. “Could be better.” She nodded, ignoring the way Hawkeye glared at them, even with war hanging over their heads he found time to act like an over protective father, it made her smile.

“We’ll be fine, we’ll kick Loki’s ass. Send those things back from where ever they came from. Save the world and then go home. Piece of cake.” It was an optimistic, if not foolish, thing to say, they all knew it, but it brought the man comfort, so they didn’t argue.

He smiled, a bit of his inner fight leaking into his eyes, giving her small hand a squeeze before sitting up straighter. “Yeah, let’s get this over with.”

She grinned as they landed and the hanger opened, the sounds of pure chaos entering the hanger and echoing around them. “Well then, shall we?” With that she and Clint were out the hanger bows drawn and arrows notched.

Chapter 18

She would be lying if she said she wasn’t surprised that her powers worked on the things that attacked them, they weren’t demon, but they were obviously not human. Yet who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth? She grunted as she dodged a fist, an arrow from Hawkeye lodging itself in the sickly grey flesh.

She spun on her heel and let two of her own fly, they glowed blue with power as they cut down a wave of whatever the hell they were fighting. It made little difference even more showed up to take their place.  She sighed as she stood back to back with Natasha. They had been paired up to take care of anything that wasn’t human that ran through the streets.

It made her proud how well the Captain was performing under pressure, assigning tasks to all of them, while punching a blue man-thing in the face. She was even more awed at how well they worked together as a team, fitting into the role given to them with ease.

“Shit.” It was mumbled but turned at curse word. “Kagome-oh, shit.” Both women looked up as a huge-ass fish-looking monster thing made its way through the portal. They stood still, not a good idea in hindsight, as it dropped down dozens of soldiers.

“Ladies, pay attention, please!” They jumped at the shout and huffed at the Captain as he tackled a solider that was about to attack them.

Natasha gave a tiring wince as she wrapped her fingers around the blade in her hands, her body tiring. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep up, they had been at it for half an hour, which seemed far too long. She tossed a glance towards Stark Tower, unless they could shut that damn machine down, they were going to lose.

“Kagome.” Said young woman grunted as she slid back, blocking an attack with a barrier, smirking as it cried out, its putrid looking flesh burned from coming in contact with her powers and with a flare of her powers, it was gone in a pile of ash. She turned to the older woman, sweat drenching her brow.

“What?!” She didn’t mean to snap, but these things were never ending! Whoever was pulling Loki’s stings was not hard up for an army, so why use Loki? If only to get access to Earth, did that make the God expandable now? She pushed the thought of the cocky God away, still wanting to punch him in the face, and followed the red head's gaze.

They shared a knowing glance and with a sigh, Kagome turned towards the Hulk, who was tearing apart the soldiers that came at him like they were nothing. She took a running start at him, yelling out his name, he turned his large fame to look at her, his eyes wild yet flashing in recognition, “Give a girl a lift?!” He caught her drift and as she jumped her foot landing in the palm of his massive hand and he flung her upwards.

Honestly, it wasn’t her best idea, the air whizzed around her as she soared through the air, but it sure as hell beat running up the many sitars of Stark Tower. She smirked as she was jarred, speak of the devil. She winced lightly his armed hands applying a tad bit too much pressed to her upper arms as he flew, her body dangling like that of a limp rag doll.

“Going up?” She could practically feel his smirk as he zoomed up his own tower, getting ready to drop her off at the top of it. With a grunt, she landed on her feet and rolled lightly to displace the jar of the drop. She shot the man a glare as he zoomed off to take out a few more large fish things.

With a wince, she stood up, freezing as that damnable staff was placed at her throat, the cold air projecting from his body seeping into her own over heated one from behind, “Loki.”

She felt his lips pull into a smirk against her neck, “I knew you’d come.” She gave her own small smirk.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, King of Fools.”

Chapter 19

He snarled as he pulled away from her, his staff glowing in his hand. He did not like to be made a fool of and it seemed this young woman-child was also doing so. Yet, he calmed himself his face and body relaxing as he stared at her.

She was worn, tattered, and tired and yet her eyes still shined with her inner fight, he would love to break her. She was his new favorite toy, and he couldn’t wait to watch her fall apart at the seams. “Already you call me King.” He stood there, his staff held lightly in his hands as if they were calmly chatting about the weather. He briefly wondered why her gaze didn’t leave his staff, yet shook it off.

Kagome snorted, “There won’t be much left for you to rule over at this rate.” Her words rang true and it made him bristle lightly.

“All wars have causalities,” He watched as her eyes darkened a bit, he had hit upon an old wound. Time to rip it open. With a gleeful grin, he circled her, “Then again, you would know all about the causalities of war, now wouldn't you?”

He was baiting her, she knew he was and it was working. With a snarl, she lunged at him, only to have him evade her with his quick fairy-like steps. Damn little imp.  If he wanted to go there, she would be equally as cruel, “At least those wars were fought with armies of their own, not borrowed ones.”

He seethed at her comment, yet inside preened with giddiness, she was proving herself to be even more entertaining then he had previously thought. Able to keep up with him in a battle of wits, he liked it, “The victor is the victor, no matter whose army fights under his flag, as are the spoils of war.” He gave her a lewd leer, merely to send home his point. Once he was King of this world, she would be his priestess, his favorite toy.

She narrowed her eyes at him, “I will never belong to a false king, one who doesn’t even know he’s a pawn in a war that won’t even matter.” She watched with satisfaction as he face flushed with anger and he was in her face, his hot breath fanning over her face. She excepted to be hit, pushed, something of that nature, yet she was stunned as he crashed his lips over hers, his teeth tearing open her lip.

She reared back her hands coming up, glowing with power as they pushed him away. She glared at him, spitting out some blood as he laughed. “I am no one’s pawn, unlike you. They send you to me, knowing that even if I kill you, you will revive. Such a tasteless thing to do.” He laughed some more, enjoying the way her eyes bore into him.

She glared darkly at him, “I would die for them again and again because I care for them. I care for them despite having no ties of blood. They are my family in a way you can never understand, even though your brother has tried so hard for you to get that. You are just to daft to see it.” With that, she lunged her hands glowing with power and landed a solid punch to his face, smiling as his skin sizzled under her powers.

She winced as he kicked her in the stomach, making her fly back and slam into the machine, she bounced off its barrier and hissed as she was thrown onto her stomach. She gasped in pain as he kicked her over to lie on her back, smiling innocently down at her.

“You say you care so much for them… that you love them… I will enjoy watching you kill them.” With that, he lowered the glowing tip of his staff to tap above her heart and she gasped in pain as dark magic flowed from the tip of it into her heart.

“No.” It was a strangled whisper as her body seized up in pain, her power trying to fight off the dark magic that snaked its way through her veins.

Chapter 20

Her blood burned in her body as the battle raged inside her, screaming as it ate away at her, yet she would not give in. Her body thrashed about on the ground, tears flowing from her eyes as she fought to keep the darkness at bay.

She would not be a pawn, not again.

Images of a small pale baby with lavender eyes flashed through her mind. She would be no one’s tool , not again…

Loki watched with slightly winded eyes as the priestess writhed in pain, as if being tortured, on the ground. Never had he seen someone react this way to the power that resided in the staff. He was no fool, he knew it was black magic, something he had been accused of using though he had never even touched it. Until this quest for power that is, he disliked it.

Black magic was, as it sounded, dark evil magic that took hold of the user and corrupted everything it touched. It was like him, until he had found out the horrid truth, he had believed himself above using such evil magic… yet now, now it did not matter.

He was a monster, and as such he would use whatever power he wanted to get what he wanted. He shuddered as his brother appeared next to the young woman in a flash of lighting and tried to calm her. Dark angry eyes glaring up at him, “Brother, what have you done?!”

He flinched at the pure anger in his brother's voice, never having heard it before despite all that he had put the other man through. He didn’t like it, he shrunk back from angry gaze and merely looked on as his brother pulled the younger woman into his arms, hissing as her powers lashed out.

Anger tore though him, along with an emotion that surprised even himself.

Jealousy.

He was jealous at the care and worry his brother had for the small woman. With a sneer, he gazed down at the two with half-lidded eyes, “She will be mine, ‘Brother'. One way or another.” He spat out the word 'brother' as if it pained him to say it. Thor grit his teeth as he held the small woman in place to stop her from hurting herself in her pain throws.

Not once had he been this mad at his brother, sure he had done a lot, had tried to kill him and declared war on Earth, but he was still his brother, blood or not.

Deep down, the small lanky boy who would follow after him and chatter in his ear was still there. He just needed to time adjust to finding out he was adopted, they were Gods – what was an attempted murder or two? He had hoped Loki would get over it in the next fifty years or so and all would be good again.

But this?

This was taking it too far. Not only had he involved an innocent world and its people, but he had dragged in one of the last priestesses into it; priestesses were to be taken care of, cherished, and revered among Gods. Not to be put under spells or subjected to black magic!

“Brother, you stop this madness now!! Release her from the black magic and give up on your fruitless quest for power! You can still stop this, you can still come home. Please, Brother…”

Chapter 21

She was floating in darkness again, but this time it wasn’t her darkness, but something much, much darker. It made her shiver in fear, not having felt anything so dark since the time Akago had tried to take over her mind on the orders of Naraku.

Even now the half-demon plagued her nightmares. She froze as she felt something move within the darkness. Her blue eyes narrowing around her, “Who’s there?” She didn’t expect the spine-tingling, yet familiar chuckle that echoed around her.

Her blood froze, one name coming to mind. “Naraku.”

She watched with morbid eyes as said man formed out of the darkness, looking the same as he did that day, all those years ago. He stood there smirking at her, his mud-red eyes taking in her naked form, his wavy black hair falling down his back. His damn baboon fur standing out in the darkness like a beacon.

Yet, there was something off. She narrowed her eyes, her powers flaring around her. “You’re not him.” The imposter smirked even more, its face splitting and watched as the form melted away leaving something else.

It was humanoid, yet… different, she didn’t have time to critique it as its mouth opened and a low raspy voice echoed around her, “Such power you hold. Much more then that foolish ‘God’…” She shifted as it took a step toward her, yet froze when she realized she could not move.

The figure approached her, resting a deformed hand on the side of her face, almost lovingly so, and cringed, “Do not touch me!” Her voice was hissed in anger and the man, for she thought it was a man, merely smiled.

“Such fire….you’ve faced so much pain in the past and you are still so pure…yet, I sense it, no matter how hard you try to hide it, I sense it…the darkness buried deep within you. Let me help you embrace it.”

She winced as he took a fist full of her hair, his rancid breath fanning over her face as he lifted a another deformed hand, it practically radiated dark evil energy and she only had time to let out  startled gasping noise as he slammed it into her chest. It seeped into her, her own powers weakly fighting against it. She choked on her breath, not that she needed to breathe in this realm, and clawed at his face, trying to get him to let her go.

His grip was strong and though her fighting made him shift his weight, he did not let up, merely grinning down at her as her eyes started to dilate, the dark power he shoved into her very soul slowly starting to take effect. He knew he should be more focused on the battle that Loki was leading with their army in the physical word, yet his entire focus was on this small woman.

She would prove more useful then the demi-God, already they had taken so much of his power, his life force, already having firm hold on his mind. He was their faithful puppet, and he was now expendable, as soon as they had the cube and this woman, they would easily take over all the worlds that stood against them. It was almost pitifully easy, the dark energy sunk into her, calling out to her own darkness – such a tainted soul she had.

Kagome screamed, no doubt her body in the real physical world was having a seizure, it hurt so bad, worse then when her soul was ripped from her and ripped in two. She could feel the dark energy taking over her, her thoughts changing, her powers darkening. She didn’t want this, to be a tool, to give into her darkness like a weakling.

She was not Tsubaki, who had gladly given into her darkness and become a dark miko. She was not Kikyou, who had let her hate twist her into something that was barely a shred of the woman she had used to be. She was Kagome, she held darkness in her soul, but she controlled it, it did not control her. It made her human; it made her who she was. So, with a last final gathering of her powers, she let them go, shoving everything she had into them, hoping against hope it would be enough.

He cursed as her power, once again pure, burned the skin of his hands and he threw her from him, calling on the darkness round him to shield him. With a dark curse, he watched her fall, her own darkness, though not as evil as theirs, wrapped around her as she laid there just gasping. He watched as her light intermingled with her darkness and made her barrier all that more powerful.

She was not ready, not yet but she would be one day and when that day came they would be there. With a dark scowl, he faded from her prison and vowed to take it out on the demi-God.

At least the seed had been planted.

She whimpered as she laid there, her powers raw and still surging around her. She wanted nothing more then to sleep, wishing to be able to fall into a coma-like state until everything was over, yet she couldn’t. She had people that were depending on her and with a shuttering breath, she let her eyes slide close and her conscious seep back into her body.

One thought plaguing her mind, she was going to hurt Loki severely for all that he had put her through.

Chapter 22

Notes:

Slight AU again, in this Thor did not know his hammer would keep his brother pinned. Also only three chapters left! Lets make them count! Huzzah!

She had no idea what she had missed in the time it took for her holy energy to battle the black magic that had invaded her system, just that when she woke up, it was pure chaos. Her movements were sluggish as she sat up, no longer on the top of Stark Tower, but a few floors down, laying a top a pile of rubble, pain tearing thorough her system.

With black tinged vision, she took in her surroundings. She was four floors down from where she had been when she had come under magical attack. From the pain in her body, she had fallen down here. With a wince, she sat up rubble and debris falling from her person. She let her aura flare, getting an asset of what was going on.

They were still under attack.

Loki and Thor were fighting above her.

They had no personal losses yet.

And everything in her body hurt.

She took a mere minute to hold a hand to her forehead, cursing her life – her curse – before getting up. With narrowed eyes, she took in her broken and splintered bow and quiver. Luckily, she, like her mentor and the Black Widow, had other weapons hidden on her body.

With a low grumble, for she loved her bow, she pulled twin daggers from a pouch on her belt and with grit teeth, made her way to the top floor. Fully ready to, not only punch Loki in the face, but to do so, so much more. She may have pitied him, but pity would only stretch so far. She was not like his brother who forgave everything he did with a laugh.

With sore muscles, she made her way to the roof, kicking the door open, and ready to throttle Loki yet she paused at the sight that met her.

Wide blue eyes took in Thor, as he smirked down at his brother, his magical hammer resting on his chest. Voiding any and all attempt at getting away be it physical or magical. It was almost comical and did not belong as a war raged on around them.

“What the hell?” Her voice was strained, if it would have been this easy to subdue the God, why wait until now to do it?!

Thor could feel the anger in the young woman’s voice  and knew it was justified, but to be honest, he had no idea his hammer could hold his brother in place, only discovering it after slamming it into his chest, getting a slash across his chest in return from that damnable staff. They both fell to the ground, a tangle of limbs, harsh words, and pain.

After the dust had settled, he had found Loki literally trapped under his hammer and despite the grave situation, he had let out a loud laugh watching his mighty ‘I’m-going-to-be-king’ brother struggle to  get out from under his hammer. It brought back memories of old and how he wished they could go back to those days. Yet they could not, not yet. It would take centuries for their wounds to heal and though he was ready to wait that long, he knew his brother would fight it every step of the way.

Thus was his nature.

“I did not know this would happen, it was an unexpected, yet welcome surprise.” His words rang with truth and instead of getting mad at him and wasting more time, she merely stepped to the trapped God, pulled her foot back and kicked.

Hard.

She smirked as he let out a strangled hiss of pain, his eyes promising retribution. With a dark look in her eyes, ignoring Thor, she squatted down next to him, her hand over his which held his damn staff and whispered low in his ear.

He had been mortified to find himself so easily trapped, it was an insult – no doubt thought up by the all Father, and it made him flush with rage. How dare they?! To make matters worse, his brother found it humorous and the young woman had delivered a solid kick to his side, her powers sinking into his flesh to cause even more damage.

He narrowed his pitch black eyes as her breath fanned over his ear, causing goosebumps to rise on his flesh. He grit his teeth as one small pale hand fisted in his hair and pulled on it, her other hand sizzling over his which gripped his staff.

“Long live the King of Fools.” Those were the last words he heard before she grabbed a fistful of his hair and slammed it into the ground. Darkness consumed him, electric blue eyes dancing in his vision as he gave in to it.

The mewling quim...

Chapter 23

Thor frowned, yet held his tongue, his brother deserved the anger the young woman held for him, this was one time he would not come to his brother's defense. Instead, he watched as she stood up, the staff clutched in her hands glowing even brighter.

Kagome hissed as the magic of the staff tried, even now, to sink into her skin and take her over. With a snort and a flare of power, she smirked as it pulled in on itself. She turned to Thor and gave him a small tired smile, "I think it's about time we wrap this shin dig up." Without waiting for a response, she made her way towards the machine and with a gleeful smile, she jammed the staff towards the barrier, pushing some of her own powers into it, and watched as it slowly, but surely made its way through the barrier.

The barrier sizzled and tried to resist, but she would have none of that, she glanced behind her, and arched a brow, "A little help would be nice." She rolled her eyes as Thor came up behind her and added his Godly strength to her wavering one. It sunk even deeper into the barrier, a hair's breath away from pricing the damn cube, thus shutting down the portal.

"Wait!" They both paused as Tony's loud voice spilt their ears, all but forgetting they had the ear pieces in. With a wince, she and Thor paused their actions, "What?!" She snapped, tired and more then ready to get this whole fiasco over with.

Tony's low chuckle met her ears, "We got a problem, a nuke, heading this way… I have an idea on how to get rid of it though." She grit her teeth, knowing General Fury and his damn council or whatever the hell they liked to be called, had a hand in this.

"Hurry up, then, otherwise, I can't keep my promise, though you better not die yourself." It was true, the damn staff and barrier were draining her power, sucking it from her very soul.

Thor frowned as she settled a bit more of her weight on him, was this staff truly that bad? He was startled out of his thoughts by yet another low dry chuckle from Stark, "I'll try, kitten."

She bristled at the nickname yet said nothing, opting to watch him try and maneuver the damn nuke in his grasp. With baited breath, she watched him maneuver it towards the large hole that had been ripped in the sky. She watched until he became a mere speck in the distance, a large explosion rocked the portal and began to seep into their world with dread seeping into her body she shoved the staff into the damn cube.

She winced as she and Thor were thrown back from the large whiplash of power, his larger body cushioning her fall. Her vision was white for a mere minute before it slowly came back. Her eyes moved to the sky looking for any hint of Tony, and with fear in her blood, she watched his limp armor-covered body fall towards the ground.

Thor frowned as their comrade fell to his death and with a shift, he placed Kagome on the ground and grabbed his hammer fully intent on saving him. He was on a crash course with his precious Stark Tower. With a few swings of his hammer, he was in the air catching the man's limp body and landed with a solid thud back on the roof. He placed Stark's body on the ground gently, not wanting to cause any more harm to the human.

Kagome bit her lip as made her way to him, noting the others had made their way to the roof as well. With a heavy sigh, she collapsed next to him and placed her hands on his chest, wincing as the armor burned her flesh, still hot from its descent from space.

"Come on." It was mumbled, yet they all heard it, holding their breath as she shoved her power into his chest. She could feel the Hulk tower over her, watching as she tried to make the man wake up. Hawkeye and Natasha were nearby, watching her, yet had their weapons poised at Loki should he chose to wake up. Thor and the Captain stood on the other side of Tony, looking down with worried eyes.

Sweat drenched her brow, her powers at their limit, she was not an endless supply of power, even she had her limits. The strain of her muscles protested the way she pushed more healing power into him, willing him to wake up.

Hulk furrowed his brow, noticing the small human child was pushing light into the 'metal man' both were dinged up and he worried. He crouched down behind them and nudged the metal man with a finger, poking him, urging him to get up. When he did not, he got slightly angry and with a loud yell, he watched at the metal man snapped up, his head colliding with the woman-child's.

"What?!" Tony winced as he held a hand to his throbbing head, looking around in confusion at the loud grunt-like yell. He looked around at his comrades, they were all beat up to some degree and gave a cheeky grin, "Now, that's how you throw a party."

She glared at him a hand resting on the now forming bump on her forehead, "Jerk." He merely grinned at her before blinking his eyes bashfully.

"I hope you didn't kiss me, I'd hate to have to break your heart, kitten." She rolled her eyes and slumped to the ground completely drained.

"The only one to have touched my lips today was Loki and he paid for it." She chucked at the huffs and grumbles that followed her statement and let herself be pulled into the Hulk's arms like a small child.

Damn, she was tired.

Chapter 24

It had been only two days since then, the press was still buzzing and politicians fighting, and all in all, she didn’t care. So with lazy languid eyes, she turned the large TV off, letting the remote fall to the cushion of the couch. With a loud yawn, she stretched her body – it was still in pain – before curling up on the large plush couch, “God, they never shut up.”

Tony let out a small bark of laughter, sitting on a black leather couch nearby, a glass of some kind of drink in his hands, “I think you guys need a PR.” He grinned cheekily taking a sip of his brandy, loving the way it burned his throat. He knew Pepper would take care of things on his end, she was doing so now running about and offering apologies for the damage done, promising to pay for it. It wasn’t, like you know, they saved the world or anything…

Bruce merely made a small hmm, his eyes reading over the paper as he sat at the dining room table; he was amazed at all the good press about him, most likely thanks to Tony, and the others. It was a great change from the horrid articles about him being a monster.

Natasha cursed lightly in Russian, sitting in the lap of Clint, they had made up over the time Kagome had been stuck in a coma-like state. Her powers recharging themselves, and it made her smile to see them so close.  Neither were touchy-feely people, so it truly made her day to see them acting like such now.

Steve was sitting next to her on the couch, just relaxing, far too tired to do much else, “I don’t even want to think about all the merchandise that will spawn from this.” He knew his number one fan-boy in S.H.I.E.L.D. would be happy, going out to buy it all and ask him to sign it all.

Tony grinned, “You know you want to play with yourself.” He smiled innocently as the Captain flushed red and thus, another bout of playful bickering was started.

Kagome smiled as they all lounged in the Tony’s home, their now unofficial home base. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s air base was their real one, but it felt cold and dank, but this – this felt like home. She  rolled over and leaned her arms on the back of the couch, resting her head on them and watched as Thor ate the rich man out of house and home (he could afford it). Her eyes shifted to his left were a sulking Loki sat, hands bound in magic sealing handcuffs and a weird metal gag-like mask over his mouth.

It was a required evil, once he had woken up, he hadn’t shut up. Going on and on, ranting and raving about revenge and other things until Thor had placed the Asgardian mouth piece over his mouth. A good thing too, otherwise Bruce would have thrown him about like a rag doll, again. 

How she wished she could have seen it.

She met his angry gaze head on, his black eyes boring into her, he was still mad that she had destroyed the staff, thus nullifying his contact with whomever’s army he had borrowed. She could care less, they didn’t need a repeat performance of the past week’s events.  Plus, he should be thanking her, she doubted even he knew the staff was slowly stealing his powers and life force. It would have killed him, yet she didn’t bring it up. It would put him in yet another foul mood.

She could do without his upset aura throwing a tantrum. She blinked lazily and looked away from him, instead opting to lay back on the couch letting out a low blissful sigh. For now they would rest, the cube was back in the General’s hands; it irked her, but their job was done, for now.

Without the cube, which was on strict lock-down, and the bridge, which Thor had broken a year ago, there was no way to send the two Asgardian’s home. They were stuck on Earth until the council deemed it okay for them to use the cube to return home. The General had surprised her, fighting for Thor to be able to take not only Loki home with him, but the cube as well. The council only relented on one thing, Loki would stay in Thor’s custody, for no  cage they could make would be able to hold the fallen God.

So, for now, they were stuck, lodging with Tony, and until they figured out a way to open a portal to their home world, they had to deal with it. She knew she had some scrolls back at home that might be able to help, but that could wait until later, much later. Once she was fully charged, she was going to work on a seal, to seal away Loki’s powers, and reveal in the way he would suffer, becoming one of the fools he so wished to rule.

No one crossed her and got away with it.

No one.

Chapter 25

Summary:

So it comes to an end, thank you everyone who stuck with me until the end! I love you all!
~W.K.

Kagome sighed as she let herself fall into the plush chair sitting behind a plain wooden desk. She held a hand to her temple, trying to stop the oncoming headache as she grumbled under her breath. Of all the damn jobs they could have given her after ‘The War’, as Loki so affectionately referred to it, it was being the handler of said demi-God and his brother.

Thor was fine, she actually liked him. He was nice, truthful, to the point of being blunt, and over all, always happy. Loki? He was still sulking about his loss and her small binding spell that made him a ‘despicable human’ and would not stop bitching about it.

Ever.

She felt her brow twitch at the low chuckle that came from across the room. She glared between her fingers at the elder man who was sitting at a desk directly across from hers. A smug yet pitying smile on his face, “Shut up, Phil.” The older man only sniggered at her, glad it wasn’t him that had to look over the demi-Gods. Stark was more than enough to keep his hands full, as it was it seemed, he was also now on Bruce-duty since the man was over there almost every day.

She huffed, her bangs rustling with the action and let her hands fall to rest on the arm rests of her chair, her head lulling back to rest on the headrest. She stayed like that, ignoring the worried glances the elder man shot her, she just needed a minute to get over the now constant manhandling Loki subjected her to. It was borderline sexual harassment. Sadly, there was a very big difference between Asgardian courtship and Earth courtship, and how did Thor react to his brother constantly touching her? He thought it was cute!

He encouraged him, thinking it would stop his constant plans for revenge and word domination. She snorted, if anything it would make them worse, he just wanted her for her power, she wasn’t stupid enough to think he really wanted her for her. He was the kind of man who was always thinking five steps ahead of everyone, willing to play any part to get his way. She had dealt with many like him in the past, the only difference was that he had the potential to be changed, though he would fight it tooth and nail.

She had half a mind to tell Hawkeye and let him deal with it, the man still loathed the God of Mischief and was even more pissed at Fury for assigning her to demi-God babysitting duty. Fury’s excuse was almost painfully simple; she was an unkillable miko. She could handle the Gods and if Loki did manage to kill her in a fit of rage, as he was bound to having more of now that he was stuck as a human, she’d come back.

Oh lord, she felt her temple throb at the thought of that day. Everyone had been cross with the man, Bruce had to be sedated before he Hulked out, even Tony was pissed off, using his big man words to tear into Fury. The Captain, ever a gentleman, never rose his voice above a cross tone, though his eyes burned like fire. Her adopted parents were raging for days and still ignored the man unless it was necessary they acknowledge him for a meeting or mission.

 She blinked as a small glass of something was placed on her desk and sat up to look at Phil, her company in such misery. Since Tony had somehow been stuck housing the demi-Gods, on one of the various empty floors of his building, they had become friends. Phil was stuck on Tony-duty and since Bruce and Tony had this weird BFF-smart-people club, he also was responsible for keeping Bruce from Hulking out.

Sadly, Loki loved to push his buttons, still sore for being thrown around like a rag-doll by the ‘mindless beast’, and it just really got annoying. Bruce had gotten used to Loki’s barbs and often treated him like he was a small bratty child, barely paying any attention to the male, which only made Loki try even harder. It got really old really fast, and annoying as hell.

With a blink of her eyes, she looked at the glass sitting almost innocently on her desk, the smell of alcohol wafting under her nose. She arched an eyebrow at the elder man, a small quirk of her lips. “Underage.” She was technically, well her body, not her soul or mind, but she didn’t want the kind man to get in trouble.

Phil merely rolled his eyes. “Drink it, it’ll help, trust me.” He knew it was bad to offer a minor alcohol, but he had seen the day she had, watching it on the screen as he listened to Tony and Bruce talk excitedly about clean energy and other smart people stuff. While he was smarter then the average person, he had to be in order to be a part of S.H.I.E.L.D, he had given up on trying to keep up with them, they were in a league of their own.

With a sigh, knowing he knew how bad her day was, and she still had a damn paper to write later, she grabbed the glass and chugged it, ignoring his small gasp of surprise. Please, Thor loved to engage her in drinking contests, so this small glass of brandy, no doubt taken from Tony’s private stash, was nothing to her. With a shake of her head, trying to dull the head rush, she set the glass down rather roughly and let out a deep sigh. “That hit the spot. Another?”

He laughed at her reference to Thor but nodded pulling up his chair and sat down in it pouring her another glass and one for himself. He knew this was a bad stress reliever, but today had just been that bad, “You know… let’s keep this between you and I?” She smiled, this wasn’t a habit she planned on giving into every time she had a bad day, she’d be an alcoholic in less than a week if she did, but every once and a while and with the right company and it was okay with her.

“Of course, now. Another.”