A/N: Hey there, everyone! I'm so sorry this took ages to update! I had some really bad writer's block for this fic and I was spending a lot of time on The Balancing Act, my other Sherlock WIP. Thank you all so much for your reviews/favs/follows and patience! I never in a million years expected this fic to get the reaction it has. I'm thoroughly humbled. For those of you who don't know, there is now a WIP section on my profile that lets you know how my writing is progressing. There is now a url for sempaiko's beautiful jumpsuit pic on my profile as well for those of you who haven't seen it, but would like to. Anyway, please enjoy and let me know what you think!

Chapter 5: A Different Direction

When Hawkeye reported to Director Fury about what had happened with Sherlock, he had not entirely expected the reaction that he got. Fury was, well, furious. He immediately ordered Sherlock Holmes to cease his reckless behavior and focus on the reason he'd come to America, saying that SHIELD would take care of investigating Molly Hooper's disappearance. Not surprisingly, however, this angered the consulting detective.

"He thinks I care about his orders, but he is sorely mistaken." Sherlock growled to John as he lay in his bed with a few machines and an IV hooked up to him. He'd only regained speech that afternoon after waking up the morning after the Thor incident to find his body almost completely numb. It would have been hilarious for the others were it not for the seriousness of the situation. "Why can't he see that the missing agents case is clearly linked to Molly?"

"It is?" John asked in surprise and Sherlock gave him a withering look.

"Obviously."

"So that's the bigger reason why you were so eager to get yourself electrocuted? How's that working for you?"

"Well, actually. I can feel myself growing stronger almost by the minute." Sherlock replied matter of factly (ignoring John's implication that he thought the case more important than Molly). It was true. His health was rapidly improving, in fact, it seemed that it was going beyond that. He felt stronger and more alert than he had ever felt in his life. Being attached to all this medical equipment and having to remain in bed was frustrating. "I see no reason why I shouldn't be allowed to get back to work. You've been monitoring me for the past few days and I haven't shown any sign of dying." John was about to reply to this when Sherlock abruptly sat up straight and the doctor frowned.

"Sherlock, what's the matter?"

"Thor is coming." There was a grin on his face as he said it, the grin that meant something new and fascinating had come up. It only served to confuse John further.

"Sorry, what? How do you know?"

"I can feel it like a tingling under my skin. I can sense the energy that emanates from him. It's getting closer. I can smell it now. It's like static and something not from this world. John, this is brilliant!" The detective sounded like an excited eight year old, which was something the blond was entirely used to. Just as predicted, Thor came through the door a few moments later.

"How goes your recovery, friend?" the Asgardian asked kindly. Sherlock gave him a look of pure jubilation.

"Amazing! I've never felt better in my entire life!" he replied exuberantly. "John, detach me from these ridiculous machines! I'm ready for work!" Due to surprise, the doctor did not react to this command at first, but then he hurriedly did as he was asked upon being shot a glare from his friend.

Free, Sherlock jumped up from his bed and went to change, only to find himself on a treadmill a half an hour later attached to a new set of machines with all the Avengers present. Tony and Bruce were both looking at computer screens with increasing fascination.

"You took a huge gamble, man, but boy, did it pay off. You're nearly on par with Cap in terms of physical fitness and you have a slight residual energy coming off of you, the same weird kind that registers on Thor." Tony commented, pointing at the screen in front of him that showed Sherlock's heart rate, blood pressure, and lung efficiency.

"The magic has transformed him into the echo of an Asgardian." Thor explained. They could all see how absolutely thrilled Sherlock was and John frowned. The last thing his best friend's ego needed was for him to be told he was a demi-god.

"Right, now all we need to do is figure out the horrible side affects before bad things happen." Dr. Banner put in, crossing his arms. They all knew why he was saying this. His own experience with the effects of powerful energies on the human body spoke volumes. "Mr. Holmes, could you start running now?" Sherlock did as he was prompted and began to move faster than his slight jog from before. It seemed effortless to him. His eyes were bright with excitement as he ran faster and faster until he was going flat out. Blue sparks began flying from the equipment and the machines malfunctioned. The others started shouting at him to stop, but it took him a moment to register and when he did, he jumped off the treadmill. All the wires connected to him detached and then the room went dark.

"JARVIS!" Tony called and a few moments later, the lights were back on and they could see the repressed expression of intense pain on Sherlock's face.

"Sherlock, are you alright?" John asked, frowning. The detective managed an eye roll before getting out a few words.

"I need...a ground...anything...just.."

"A what?" John, Steve, and Thor looked confused, but the others were already frantically searching the room for something. Sherlock shot his best friend a typical 'your being stupid' glare, but it disappeared when the dark haired Englishman had to stagger over and use a counter to support himself. "Sherlock?!" The doctor made to approach him, wearing a deeply concerned expression.

"STAY BACK IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE!" Sherlock growled and a few thin arcs of blue electricity danced over the surface of his body, making static noises. Suddenly, Natasha paused and turned to Thor.

"Thor, if he grabs your arm and releases his built up energy into you, will you be alright?" she inquired.

"It would sting at most." the Asgardian replied with a shrug. Before anyone could say anything further on the matter, Sherlock took a shaky step toward Thor and grabbed for his arm. The detective gritted his teeth and Thor looked to be in a tad bit of discomfort from the magic flowing like electric current into his bicep. When he was done, Sherlock wobbled to a nearby chair and sat down, looking exhausted. The awkward silence that followed was broken when Clint spoke up.

"I think we found one of those horrible side effects you were talking about, Dr. Banner." This earned him 'no shit' glares from everyone except Steve and Thor.

"If I had to guess, I'd say Mr. Holmes' fast heart rate generated a current." the scientist commented, crossing his arms. "It would be a bit of an understatement to say that that's very interesting."

"Not to mention a cause for concern. It would put a bit of a damper on my day if the Human Generator here were to- I don't know- accidentally destroy Stark Tower." Tony put in and Sherlock managed to find the will in his exhaustion to look over and glower at the billionaire. He couldn't exactly promise such a thing would never happen, but it riled him that Tony had so little confidence in him.

"I'll be fine." the detective rasped. "I just need to adapt." This earned him an amused look from Natasha. She liked it when he defied Tony.

Molly Hooper had no clue how long she'd been trapped in this room, but it felt like ages. She hadn't heard from Loki since their first meeting, but she'd spent a long time sitting in the dark, thinking about everything he'd said to her. Because of this, Molly found she couldn't hate the man. He wasn't the monster the media portrayed him as. He was like Sherlock had been just before the Fall: sad and terrified because he knew that if he didn't reach out for help, he was going to die. However, his methods were incredibly misguided, and Molly thought that perhaps this was all the result of something that had happened to him long ago in Asgard. She wished she had a book on Norse gods and some light to read it by.

Eventually, Molly came to the realization that she wanted to help Loki. Not in the way he wanted help, of course, but in her own kind way.

She opened her eyes when she heard the sound of a candle lighting and soft light played on her eyelids. Loki had come to see her again.

"Hello again, Molly Hooper. For a mortal, you have been handling the situation exceedingly well. But then again, you aren't like most mortals, are you? And most mortals have noticed. It is only the exceptional ones that truly acknowledge you and it has always been that way. Ever since you were a little girl. Do not look at me like that. You know full well that I know almost everything about you. I have been in your mind." the trickster began and suddenly, Molly turned bright red from embarrassment. Loki laughed and grinned. "Oh yes, I know that you were raised alone by your father, that he died when you had just become a young woman, that you lost most of your friends three years ago because they so completely believed a lie, but most importantly of all, I know that your heart belongs to Sherlock Holmes."

"You...you make that sound like some dire weakness to be exploited." Molly replied, trying to regain some of her composure and self confidence.

"That is because it is, Midgardian." Loki said it as if he were explaining a difficult concept to a small child. The pathologist resented this. She was an intelligent, grown woman and after years of being put down by Sherlock, she wasn't going to let Loki walk all over her like the detective had, especially given she was not head-over-heels in love with this man.

"No, you're wrong. It's a strength." The God of Mischief scoffed at this.

"You talk like Sigyn."

"Who's Sigyn?" The question seemed to discomfort Loki and that brought Molly more confidence, but the Asgardian was by no means going to let her get to him so easily.

"An Asgardian whose loyalty and love only bring her suffering in the end."

"Is she someone you love?" Molly asked softly and this hit a raw nerve with Loki. He gave her the most terrifying glare she had ever seen and grabbed her by the neck to hoist her up and push her against the wall.

"You speak too freely, Molly Hooper." Loki snarled. "Have you forgotten that you are my prisoner and are not in a position to be so inquisitive? I could crush you with ease, you stupid, simpering mortal! You know nothing of me!" Molly tried to beg him to stop and let her go, but all that came out was choking noises. Her brown eyes were wide with panic and pleaded for what she could not say. Seeing this, Loki's anger suddenly evaporated at he released her. She fell to the ground, coughing and clutching her throat. The trickster turned his back to the pathologist and spoke softly when her coughing died down. "Sigyn is my wife." he began solemnly. Molly let out a little gasp at this revelation. "And she loves me more than I will ever deserve. You and she would be fast friends." A long silence followed which the brunette spent thinking of the best way to respond.

"Where is she now?"

"Hidden in a place where my enemies cannot touch her. I have no desire to lose the only thing I have left. The only person I truly love." Loki confessed, turning to look at his captive with sad emerald orbs. Molly understood far better now. He couldn't hurt her because she was an echo of his wife, whom he held so dear. She sympathized with this man and she saw that he had a great deal in common with Sherlock. It gave her hope that maybe the detective really did love her deep down in some way. "I am done with you for now." Loki stated tersely before leaving her in the darkness once again.

The first beams of daylight were shining over the horizon as Sherlock, John, and Thor's helicopter landed at the SHIELD base. They'd been ordered to report in the middle of a training session with Natasha, which immediately put Sherlock in a foul mood. He wore an armband that acted as a dampener/absorber for any energy that might emanate from him uncontrolled. Tony had whipped it up overnight in a desperate attempt to bring himself peace of mind, saying that Sherlock was potentially more destructive to Stark Tower than the Hulk.

The consulting detective come 'quasigod' (as Clint Barton had dubbed him) was not the only one in a foul mood when the three men met Director Fury in the aircraft hanger. Said director looked like he wanted to punch someone square in the nose.

"Holmes, what the hell were you thinking!? You do not take actions like that without requesting approval from SHIELD first, do you understand!?" Fury barked, but Sherlock didn't so much as blink.

"Yes, Director, but it hardly matters because unless you allow me to continue investigating Molly Hooper's abduction, you will find your ranks minus a Sherlock Holmes."

"That would be very unwise, brother." an unpleasantly familiar voice called and Mycroft Holmes came into view, sauntering towards them, twirling his umbrella. Sherlock rolled his eyes. "We can't possibly let you get mixed up in anything that is a potential Loki situation."

"Hello..." John greeted, a warning in his tone letting the British government official know that he was entirely on Sherlock side for this one.

"You are the brother of Sherlock?" Thor asked with a frown.

"Yes, Thor, this is my pompous older brother, Mycroft." Sherlock answered, voice dripping with disdain. Thor eyed Mycroft in interest. "What are you here for? Come all this way just to bully me into staying with SHIELD?"

"That's a rather harsh way of putting it, don't you think? Besides, I was curious about your latest near death experience. Has some drawbacks I see. I take it that bracelet is the little piece of Stark Tech that's stopping you from accidentally taking out half the Manhattan grid."

"Today is not the day to needle me. Either you and your new best friend allow me to carry on, or I'm leaving your not so secret, secret agency." Sherlock hissed.

"We can't-" Fury started, but the consulting detective immediately cut him off.

"That settles it, then." Sherlock didn't hesitate to rip the SHIELD symbols off the shoulders of his jumpsuit and toss them aside. Without another word, he and John strode away. Fury was about to give an order to stop them from leaving the building, but Thor put a hand on his shoulder.

"You must let him do this." the Asgardian told the other two men seriously. "He is much like Loki. Do not make the same mistakes I did or he will go down that same path." For a moment, Mycroft just stared at him. Very very rarely did anyone try to give him advice. Then again, he could hardly expect Thor to have a full understanding of who he was and why that didn't often happen.

"And what, pray tell, mistakes did you make?"

"I did not listen. I did not try to understand. I was too concerned with my own goals." Mycroft's eyes narrowed at this and he didn't speak for a few moments.

"Very well, Mr. Odinson. I shall consider it. Good day." With that, he and Fury went on their way.

"For someone who doesn't really hold a lot of power by himself, that was a pretty ballsy move. Kudos." Tony Stark said as he poured himself a whiskey.

"So, what's your plan now?" Steve asked as sat down on the couch next to Clint.

"Yeah, SHIELD's going to come after you. They don't just let people leave, especially not like that." Bruce put in. Sherlock smirked and gestured to Natasha.

"Ms. Romanova and I worked it all out. It's quite simple, really. Child's play to anyone with our resources." This was met with raised eyebrows. "She knows SHIELD inside out. They trust her and she would find it very easy to lead them off my scent while I continue on in the search for my pathologist. Stark, tremendous hacker as he is, could make things even more difficult for them. Meanwhile, the rest of you can play dumb and unhelpful." Sherlock explained as if it was all incredibly obvious. "See? Simple."

"And what will you do when we've got Dr. Hooper back?"

"At that point, I'll have also solved the missing agent problem, Fury will be in a forgiving mood, and I'll be able to return to England."

"I like the sound of that." Tony commented with a grin. This was going to be very interesting.

A/N: There you have it. Sherlock gets a superpower and more of Loki's situation comes to light. I wish I could have made this a tad longer, but my brain said no. I will try to update more quickly this time, but I can't guarantee anything. I wish I could bake cookies for all of my reviewers. I owe you guys so much. ~T.Z.