The one where they all come together, closure is reached and a new future begins.

I must have gone through at least half a dozen titles for this chapter before finally deciding on this one. And it's that so much happens here, at times it seemed like this chapter should have been its own story (several chapters actually seemed like that, but anyway). If you're wondering, some of the other possible titles were: 'Agent 13', 'The Dance', 'The Right Partner', 'SHIELD', 'Protect' and 'Silver Cord', that should give you an idea.

As to why so much needed to happen in this chapter... well, because I needed to have the scene ready for what's to come in the next and final part of the series! But we'll talk about that later.

Enjoy!

Chapter 10. Protect, Live, Love

The wedding of Darcy Stark to Clint Barton in early 2018 was cause for a riot, or rather, the fact that they didn't invite anyone was. Tony Stark in particular seemed to take offense that his oldest child hadn't so much as given him a call before pronouncing 'I do', or that she hadn't allowed him to give her the kind of wedding he thought his firstborn deserved. Never-mind that he had only known she was his for less than six years, or that he himself had married Pepper years prior in a private ceremony in Hawaii that only included those he personally flew to the island.

Darcy had discovered she was Tony Stark's daughter in 2012 when her mother, on her deathbed, finally deign to confess the truth about why she'd treated her only child so coldly during her whole life. The fact that she'd spent decades taking out on an innocent girl the fact that the man she'd slept with did not love her, did not so much as remember her.

In the mid 1980's Daphne Matthews had been a promising law student, doing an internship in a high-end law-firm. She had every intention of becoming a famous lawyer, working high-profile cases; she was a very beautiful woman, well-endowed (as more than one man had told her) and she wanted it all: fame, fortune, a good life. Which is probably why, when the millionaire Tony Stark gave her the time of day she thought all her dreams were about to come true. Her friends tried to warn her the man was fickle, already becoming well-known as a ladies-man, uninterested on anything beyond a one-night-stand. But Daphne was convinced that it either wasn't true, or she could change him. They had an amazing night together in her birth-town of Phoenix, then he left in the middle of the night, and never called her.

At first she'd reacted like any offended woman, refused to admit she cared at all. Instead staying close to her best-friend: Maya Lewis, and her brother: George (who had the hots for her). At one point she even got drunk enough to sleep for him, regretting it almost right away. And then... then she found out she was pregnant. The future she'd once envisioned, vanished in an instant.

She'd tried going to Stark to demand child-support, but after hours of being kept waiting the only one to deign to see her was Obadiah Stane; who looked down at her, as if she were a whore, and told her in a very no-nonsense tone that Starks did not have bastards. In the end George was her only hope. He agreed to marry her, knowing full-well the child wasn't his; then again, he needed help too. He and his sister were part of some cult Daphne didn't understand and they needed a facade they could hide behind: Daphne, and a child, a normal family and life, were the perfect smokescreen for their activities.

Daphne could have had no idea how bad things would get in the following years, but she was desperate. Her father had cut her off after learning she was pregnant, and many of the offers she'd had for jobs upon graduation vanished like smoke once her pregnancy became known. No one was interested in a pregnant lawyer, no matter how promising she might have been.

It wasn't that bad at the beginning. Maya herself was married to a curator in the Smithsonian and they had a daughter called Olivia, Livvie, for short. Maya got Daphne a job as an legal assistant in the same buffet she worked for, it was smaller than what Daphne had once planned for herself, but still better than nothing.

Then, in the 90's, everything had gone horribly wrong: first a supposed drive-by shooting had left George with a painful limp; he'd refused to go to the hospital to get treatment, stating it was dangerous, though he never explained to Daphne why. He'd turned to drinking after that, he'd always enjoyed wine, like his sister and her husband (unlike Daphne, who didn't have a taste for it), but he began drinking beer, being drunk more often than not. He was never violent to her or to Darcy, but still. And with Tony Stark rising to fame, people calling him the richest, most wanted bachelor of America... it was a painful reminder of all she'd lost.

The end of it all finally came in 1995. Maya was supposed to travel to London that day for business. Daphne had finally risen to a full-payed lawyer in the firm, she'd even been chosen to oversee Maya's cases in her absence. It was supposed to be just for a few days, a week at most... it wasn't. The plane never made it to London, some mechanical failure or something, it crashed in the sea, miles away from the UK.

George left that very same night, no explanation, no word said. He simply left and did not come back. And then Rowan wouldn't see her, wouldn't allow the girls to have play-dates than they used to. It was as if Rowan blamed Daphne for something, and she didn't understand what, or even why. (Eventually she would come to realize that the cult had been more than just that, that it was somehow connected to how Maya died, and George had run before anyone went after her. Rowan blamed her, believing she was a part of it too, he never cared for finding out the truth).

Daphne never wanted to be a bad person. She just got frustrated: at the co-workers who were always talking about her behind her back, either because of the sister-in-law who'd died, the husband who abandoned her, or the figure she never recovered after her pregnancy (some said that was why her husband walked out on her). She was constantly upset, and there was no one she could take her frustrations out on... no one but her daughter.

Realistically speaking, Daphne knew it wasn't Darcy's fault, she was just a child. But during her lonely nights the woman couldn't help but think about the perfect life she should have had, and how it had been ruined because of one unplanned pregnancy... In the end it was no surprise to her when Darcy chose to go all the way to Virginia for college. What was, certainly surprising was when Darcy informed her of the debit-card she'd received, a college-fund in her name, created by none other than Rowan Pope...

Darcy knew who the man was, she also knew he hadn't wanted anything to do with her or her mother since the death of her aunt Maya. Still, the funds in the card allowed her to study all the things she'd always anted: like art, politics, languages... For a while Darcy entertained the thought of becoming a lawyer and one day working with her cousin Olivia. (It never happened).

In the end law turned out to just not be her thing. She tried, but it was just too boring. She still studied Politics, which might have allowed her the chance of working with her cousin anyway... until the need for six science credits had her traveling to New Mexico for what was supposed to be six months... and ended with her working for SHIELD.

In 2012, before the alien invasion, right after she'd finished all the basic courses to become an official Agent of SHIELD, Darcy got an unexpected call from the family doctor in Phoenix. It appeared that her mother had cancer, had had it for years and never told Darcy a thing. Not while she'd been in treatment, and not when the treatment stopped working. According to the doctors she had but days left to live. And even then, it'd been Dr. Porter's idea to call her (though Darcy did not know that until she saw her mother's shocked expression the moment her 26 year old daughter stepped into the hospital room).

For almost two days mother and daughter hardly spoke. And then, in the third day, so high on morphine Darcy had serious doubts her mother had made the conscious decision of saying anything, Daphne began talking. She spoke of Maya, Rowan and Olivia, of George, his leaving, of her own pregnancy, the father that cut her off, and of the night spent with Tony Stark...

Darcy felt like she couldn't breathe... for a while she hadn't believed it; though, the more she thought about it, she could remember her father (or the man she'd believed to be her father), had never loved her. She had next to no memories of him, and none of them were good: all being about anger, drinking, insults... it made the young woman wonder if that was why he hated her, because he wasn't hers. In any case that probably explained why when both of her parents had had dark-skin and black hair her hair was brunette and her skin a bit lighter in tone.

Darcy never planned on telling Tony about herself. It had been too long, and it wasn't like she actually needed a father (or so she thought). She hardly knew Tony at all; mostly because of Clint and also because, after Phil's 'death' she'd been chosen to act as messenger between SHIELD and Stark (she wasn't sure if that meant they trusted her with highly important documents, or that they did not trust her to become a field agent... not that she was that interested since her boyfriend had been pushed to quitting).

Then, something unexpected had happened in the winter of 2013. Tony's daughter: Margaret, not even three months old, was admitted into the hospital in emergency. The baby had spend almost a whole month in an incubator, being born at seven months, too small and not yet fully developed (it was a consequence of the radiation poisoning Tony'd once suffered, and possibly Extremis). They hadn't even had her six weeks in the Tower when the new emergency came.

According to the doctors Maggie wasn't producing enough blood, and that was affecting her negatively. They all hoped that it would get better as she grew, but for the time being she would need a transfusion. And that was where the real trouble came: because little Maggie had inherited Tony's blood-type, which was extremely rare. Pepper wasn't compatible, and due to the residual radiation poisoning Tony couldn't donate.

It just happened that Darcy had been at Stark Tower picking up some papers to take to her bosses when it all went down. Worried for the little girl she had decided to go by the hospital after her shift was over. There she learnt what was going on from Happy, who looked kind of lost as he watched Tony pacing from one side to the other, almost stalking; while Pepper cried in a couch. When Pepper's bodyguard told her what was going on Darcy nodded, taking advantage that the Starks didn't seem to have noticed her yet, she went looking for the doctor in charge.

"You want me to what?" The doctor asked after she blurted out her request.

"You need blood for Maggie Stark, don't you?" Darcy said, seriously. "Check mine against hers, I think I might be a match."

"Why would you?" The doctor sounded distrustful. "The blood-type is extremely rare..."

"AB-, I know." Darcy interrupted him, extending her arm to him. "It's my blood-type."

The doctor stopped questioning her then, instead choosing to take her to a nurse who would draw her blood so compatibility analysis could be made.

It was like she expected, she was compatible. An hour later Darcy was donated the necessary blood for the baby, and leaving her contact information for the doctor in case they needed more later on. She just asked one thing of the man:

"Don't tell them who did it..." She asked of the doctor.

"Why not?" The man wasn't expecting that. "I imagine Mr. Stark would like to reward."

"I'm not interested in any rewards." Darcy shook her head. "I did what I did to help that little girl, that's all. Now I would like to go back to my apartment, and my boyfriend."

She wasn't sure if the doctor had spoken in the end, or if Stark simply hadn't been able to stay not knowing who had donated the blood for his baby. In any case, a week later Tony Stark was at her door, looking at her like he'd never seen her before (and considering how often he joked with her when he was visiting the tower, that was simply not possible).

If she were to be honest with herself, she had expected Tony to find out she'd been the donor, sooner or later; what she never planned on, was on him finding out why exactly she'd been so compatible with Maggie. She didn't even know the studies the doctor made had revealed that!

"I'm sorry..." Were the first words out of his mouth.

"What...?" Darcy honestly did not know what to say.

"I have a twenty-six year old daughter, and only now I'm finding out..." Tony began babbling as soon as he was in the apartment. "It's obvious she knows, because she knew she would be compatible with Maggie, yet she didn't think she could tell me..."

"The one time my mother tried, she was thwarted by Mr. Stane." Darcy revealed grimly. "It didn't go well. There was a reason she didn't try again. I myself did not know until last year."

"And still you said nothing..." Tony murmured.

"What for?" Darcy asked, confused.

"Well, I know I'm not what most would consider as the right person to be a father but..." Stark sounded actually hurt as he said that.

"It's nothing against you!" She hurried to reassure him. "I've seen you with Maggie, it's obvious to me you're a wonderful father. It's just... I'm twenty-six years old, it's not like I need a father. I've done well enough all these years without one..."

It was what she kept telling herself, but she knew it was a lie. She did need a father, always had, always would. She was just too afraid to have one reject her, again. And while knowing the George wasn't really her Dad had helped her move on from his abandonment, to then have her real one turn away from her would have been too much.

So they'd taken it slow. They'd started with lunch or dinner once a week, then movie-night one or twice a month. When Pepper found out the truth she received the young woman with open arms. Willing to be a big-sister if not a mother to her.

In the end what stopped Darcy from taking the Stark name wasn't a lack of love or acceptance from any side, but Tony's fears that his enemies might turn against her once they knew Darcy was a Stark. Especially with Hydra, the SHIELD civil war, and the revelation that Howard and Maria Stark's deaths hadn't been accidental, they had been assassinated.

It was entirely coincidental that Darcy and Clint chose to marry just a few months after making her name change to Stark official. Though she chose to hyphenate her surname, to be able to take her husband's without losing her father's. She was too happy and proud of being the daughter of Tony Stark to want to give it up.

As Darcy told it, the team had been in Vegas, wrapping up a mission. It had been mostly an easy one, except for the part where an old 'acquaintance' of Clint's (with no relation to the mission or even SHIELD, at all) had showed up and threatened Clint while he was holding a rifle, having Darcy's back. A fight between the two had broken out. A fight on the roof-top of one of the tallest buildings in Las Vegas. And Darcy had had to see it all from the ground (after she'd finished the mission in a rush when a number of arrows fell beside her).

When it was all over she'd slapped Clint before kissing him almost violently. His response, which even he hadn't planned on, was to ask her to marry him.

No one knew for sure if Clint and Darcy had chosen to marry right then and there, with no one present except their two teammates (Natalia and James) because they wanted to avoid the media frenzy the marriage of Tony Stark's oldest daughter would cause; or if they truly were so lost in each other and the idea of finally marrying that it had never occurred to them. Whichever the case, Tony still made sure of holding a party for everyone in their crazy family. It was the only time Skye allowed herself to be anywhere close to Thor (he and Jane were guests too), though there were so many people she supposed there was no need to worry, and Darcy knew better than to call one of them when the other was close.

xXx

In the summer a good number of members of the rather extended and bizarre family traveled to San Diego, California; not for a mission, but to support another of the family. Dominic Toretto was again racing, legally (they discovered that the pardons Hobbs got for them were blanket pardons, erasing all the crimes they'd once been charged with, including Dom's conviction for aggravated assault at 21). He was competing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, with a car fixed by his own team. They were all there too.

When Dom had invited his youngest sister he wasn't sure she would be able to attend. He knew, better than most, how busy she was. While they were finally done with what some had taken to calling the 'Civil War', the fact that they'd decided to make all their actions public after the last confrontation had only made everything all the more public. Also, so many gifted individuals going public, and standing by SHIELD, wasn't making things any easier. The only benefit was that few people outside of the organization and the family seemed to know the rank his adopted sister held. The fact that she could so easily change clothing and hair-styles, take a different name and practically adopt a different identity also helped. Only the family, Luke Hobbs and Elena Neves knew that Astrid Avery and Cielo Toretto were the same person.

Dom was very nervous. While he'd been racing all the season and had a pretty good record. No doubt thanks to both his racing skills and the work he and everyone else had put into building the car he was using. What he did not know was that Cielo had a double reason for being there. As happy as she was for having the chance of seeing his brother fulfill his dreams, finally, she was also worried about him.

One of her more unsavory contacts (one who knew her as Karen Starr) had informed her that there were rumors in the 'underground' of something happening during that race in San Diego. Wesley had seen an e-mail arrive for Sloan (while he'd taken down the Fraternity, a lot of its structure still remained, as a way of keeping an eye out for anyone he might have missed), of a man wanting to showing a little too much interest in that particular race, and looking for someone to cause an 'accident'. Then, as if that weren't enough, Agents posted around the world who had been tasked with keeping an eye over one or another member of the team since they'd captured Ian Shaw in Spain had all reported someone highly trained spying on the crew. That had been enough to raise red flags in several minds, including hers.

"Why are you giving me this?" Brian asked, looking at the badge in his hand in confusion.

It was a SHIELD badge, a Class C (Class A were the full-fledged Agents, B the official liaisons with other organizations -like NCIS, FBI, CIA, etc.-; and C those that were connected to them but did not usually go on missions, though they were the first ones on call should any local authority require a SHIELD Agent in short notice -as HQs were still in the Playground, in the middle of the Atlantic, and it took time getting from there to anywhere-), Level 7 (because he knew too much of the gifted and the supernatural to be any lower) badge.

"First of all, I know you actually liked working in law enforcement, though after everything that's happened neither the FBI nor the LAPD are willing to take you." Cielo explained seriously. "I also know you're not sure of looking further because you don't want to leave Mia and Jack. This badge makes you officially a part of SHIELD, but your service will be more on an 'as needed' basis. Mostly, if something happens in the area that the people in charge think SHIELD needs to oversee. It will then be your responsibility to decide if a proper team needs to be called. I imagine you mostly will be called if they happen to meet a gifted, or someone who claims to be connected to us in any way. You will have an encrypted phone with access to all of us, as well as several of our regional allies, in case of an emergency."

"Ok, I understand that." Brian nodded. "I even like it. But why give it to me precisely today, and right now. Why not after the race?"

Cielo smiled grimly, she knew Brian would see through her. There was a reason he'd been such a successful FBI Agent until the Braga case threw him back into the Torettos' orbit.

"Because I have very good reasons to believe that something is going to happen in this race; a number of reports that someone has been spying on the team, someone with enough training not to be caught by my agents; and Wesley says someone was looking for a person willing to cause an 'accident' during a race." She answered honestly. "All those things put together paint a really dark picture, as I'm sure you realize. And considering the number of enemies our family has made through the years..." She shook her head. "Since Stark is sponsoring Team Toretto for this circuit it won't surprise anyone to find SHIELD Agents around. But we need to be on alert."

"I suppose Dom knows nothing about it." Brian guessed. "Which means no one from the team knows, otherwise they would have told him already... You do know he's going to kill us when this is all over, right?" He didn't wait for an answer. "What do we know about the threat? Do we even know if it's only one person or multiple?"

"Regretfully we know very little; though what we do know it's no good." Cielo answered quietly. "The person or persons spying on you and the rest of the crew is, like I said, good enough that while the agents I had keeping an eye on you every so often knew they were there, they couldn't catch them; couldn't even get a picture or anything at all. Then there's the fact that the one who wants to cause an accident wants it badly enough to have gone looking for the Fraternity to get someone who would do it; Wesley stopped that chance, but still, it's no guarantee that an attempt won't be made, an assassination attempt that might look like an accident..."

"Like Papa Toretto's..." Brian's gaze turned to steel as he understood the implications. "Not happening." He pondered a little more on what had just been said. "If they want it badly enough and cannot find anyone they might just try themselves."

"At this point that's pretty much what I'm hoping for." Cielo admitted. "If we assume that the whispers of something happening are referring to the accident, there would still be the doubt of if it's the same people who've been spying on you. If it's all one sole individual, then at least that'll help us. Also, the fact that they're acting during a race means Dom is at least the immediate target, which gives us something to focus on." She let out a breath. "Like you said, if they want this as badly as it seems, they will come and try personally. At which point we must catch them."

"Very well." Brian nodded.

They split then, to look for whoever might be responsible of what was coming. Skye had made sure of giving Brian a comm unit, with which he could get in contact with her and the rest of the agents 'walking around' the place.

It took a couple of hours, but abruptly everyone heard a single word come across the channel:

"Shaw!" It was Brian's voice.

Skye reacted instantly, spinning around from where she was and running at her top speed, letting her magic reach and map out the route she needed to take to find her brother-in-law. She found him in a corner of the garage where Dom's car was being kept until his turn came for the last tuning and warm-up lap. What she noticed next was the unconscious body at his feet: a tall, well-muscled man with very short black hair, dressed in a white-shirt, black suit and black tie.

"Brian?" Skye asked when she saw him, gun still in hand (thankfully it was an ICER).

"I saw him slip in here, he was going for Dom's car." Brian began reporting almost automatically. "His phone rang and when he answered he said: Shaw. I knew it couldn't be good, so I shot him."

"Ian Shaw..." Skye murmured in understanding.

"You know who he is?" Brian inquired, completely tense.

"Yes, I do." Skye nodded seriously. "He's Owen's older brother..."

"Owen's..." Brian was in shock. "Wait, you mentioned him when we finished that job in Spain. You told Owen Shaw his brother wouldn't be able to get him out..."

"And I was telling the truth." Skye nodded.

"So he's a criminal too, then?" Brian guessed, signaling to the fallen man.

"It's actually more complicated than that." The brunette admitted, pulling at the loose ponytail in a nervous move.

Brian had no idea how complicated it all was about to get.

It took fifteen minutes or so for the man to wake-up. Skye did not even bother to cuff him or anything. She simply took a seat in a crate, and waited. Brian did not understand what was going on, but he stood beside her.

"I know you're awake." The brunette called, appearing carefree (if not careless). "Ian Shaw... or would you prefer me to call you Frank Martin?"

The use of the second name made the man sit up instantly. His expression twisted briefly; Skye knew he was probably having a hell of a migraine (a secondary effect of the ICER).

"Who are you?" The man demanded. "And what the hell did you shoot me with?"

"She wasn't the one to shoot you, I was." Brian informed him, feeling great pride when he could add. "Agent Brian O'Conner. And seeing how this is my team's garage and you aren't part of my team, you have no business being here..."

"Brian O'Conner... husband of Mia Toretto, father of Jack O'Conner-Toretto..." The man recited in an almost challenging tone. "You are part of the crew that sent my brother Owen to prison."

"So you're the one who's been spying on us." Brian nodded in understanding.

"I needed to see you, your crew." Shaw admitted. "Find out how a group of third-class criminals took down my brother and his team. With his cleverness, his wit and his precision he achieved so much in years; you catching him shouldn't have been possible."

"Precision, yes, that was your brother's code." Brian nodded seriously. "We talked about codes once, you know, how you taught him that every man needs to have a code. Well, our code is about family... and your brother made a huge mistake when he chose to threaten ours."

"Per la famiglia, tutto." The two agents recited in unison.

The man commonly known as 'Transporter' just looked at the two Agents in silence, he still did not know who the girl was, she looked much younger than the blonde man, but there was something about the way she held herself, even as she sat on those boxes, that told the former Special Forces that, somehow, she was the most dangerous one of the two.

"I see..." The man nodded.

He did, it was quite obvious that his little brother had misjudged the group, badly; they were not just a crew, they were a family. Owen had treated them the same way as all who had opposed them in the past, but they weren't playing by those rules, they had their own. It was probably a good thing he'd been stopped before he did anything to the car...

"So you're here because of what happened to your brother..." Skye began in an easy tone, before turning colder. "And what made you think that your brother being in prison was a good reason for you to try and kill mine?"

The older man obviously wasn't expecting that. In all his research he had only found one sister: Mia Toretto... and the girl before him obviously wasn't her... But then he remembered, there had been another: a Cielo Toretto. Had been adopted into the family at sixteen. But in all his research he hadn't been able to find anything about her. It was almost as if she'd vanished into thin air shortly after being adopted, only re-emerging twice and for brief periods of time.

"Cielo Toretto?" He tried anyway.

Skye nodded once, not saying a word.

"I looked into every member of Toretto's crew, I never saw you." The Transporter commented, intrigued by that.

"Most of the time I go by another name." She announced before jumping off the crate, allowing the ease of her life as Cielo Toretto to slip away, and everything that made her an Agent show through. "I am Astrid Avery, Agent of SHIELD... and you, Mr. Shaw, Mr. Martin, whatever name you prefer, made a huge mistake coming after my family. I do not take kindly to the people who threaten those I care for."

"I never intended for anyone to die." The man revealed finally. "If Toretto was really as good a driver as all the reports claim, what I was planning to do to his car wouldn't have done more than make him spin a few times."

"Yes... unless someone else lost control, or simply didn't manage to get away in time." Brian almost hissed. "Then he could have died."

Shaw/Martin shrugged. He had to admit that wasn't something he had considered. He was a master at evasive driving; and as far as he was concerned, if Dominic Toretto was any good he should have been able to handle anything.

"You know, I have the utmost respect for Inspector Tarconi." Astrid said seriously. "I know the kind of things you've done, and that he holds you in high esteem, particularly for the ways you've helped people in the past. The mercenary life you might have lead as Ian Shaw at one point is quite different from the life you have now as Frank Martin... it's why we at SHIELD haven't worried about you in the past. But if you decide to become a threat to my family, like Owen did in the past, that will change."

Shaw/Martin knew she was serious. Regardless of the fact that a mere Agent shouldn't have the clout to threaten him like that, his instinct (the same that had allowed him to survive through all his years in the Special Forces, and later on his time as a mercenary in Europe and the Middle-East) told him that she was being completely serious with her threats, and was in a position to back them up if necessary.

"I suppose I shall take my leave then." The Transporter declared.

He didn't wait for the Agents to say anything, simply snapping his handcuffs open with a move he'd learnt in the army, straightened his clothes, and walked right past them to leave.

A couple of minutes later a voice was heard through the comm. channel:

"Our person of interest has just joined a redhead in a tight dress and they're walking towards one of the side exits." Akela stated from her vantage point, by a ticket-stand.

"What are our orders, boss-lady?" Eyal asked, posted in a corner of the parking lot.

"Stand down, I repeat, stand down." Astrid ordered authoritatively. "Let them leave in peace. Frank Martin and Valentina Vasilev are no concern of us. As long as Ian Shaw doesn't make a reappearance to threaten the Toretto crew, we will leave them well enough alone."

"Very well boss." Eyal agreed. "Lavin out."

"You're the one giving the orders..." Akela added, though she didn't sound as convinced by Skye's decision as the other.

"Does that mean we have to go or can we stay and watch the race?" Another member of the team, Triplett, asked, interested.

"You can stay Trip." Skye told him with a smile. "I certainly plan to." She turned off the comm. "Now we only need to..."

She cut off the moment she noticed just who was standing behind her: Dom Toretto: staring at her with piercing dark eyes; a look that was replicated in Mia Toretto as she looked at her husband.

"Now you need to explain to me what exactly just went down and why you didn't see fit to tell me you were here in a professional capacity rather than just as my sister." The racer said in a very no-nonsense tone.

Skye/Cielo swallowed almost audibly. While a part of her had been hoping that she could avoid the whole episode, the bigger part of her had known she would have to explain things to her brother at one point; she just wished she would have been able to do it on her terms, and after the race (maybe after he'd won he would have been on a better mood). Still, she wouldn't lie to him, hopefully the fact that the danger was past would make things easier... who was she kidding? Dom was going to hate the whole thing no matter what.

xXx

That should have been the end of it, really it should have. Shaw/Martin had been the one wanting to cause an accident, and he was also behind the spying of the team... he should have also been the reason of the whispers in the 'underground' of something happening... Only he wasn't, and no one ever considered that possibility. Which was why, when the first explosion took place, no one was expecting it.

During the first two minutes after the initial explosion everything was chaos. It was how long it took before Astrid got her head in the game, turned her comm. back on and began giving orders. There was such authority behind her words that even the security in the track did what she said, none of them stopping to consider the fact that someone who looked like a girl, whom none of them knew, was giving them orders.

"Deathlok!" Akela called suddenly from her comm.

She and Tripp were the ones closest to where the action was taking place.

"What?!" Several voices called at the same time.

"We have another Deathlok!" Akela announced as she moved. "Antoine is out, got thrown against a column and knocked out. Lavin is trying to down him but it's not working. It's too strong for us... it's too strong for any human, princess."

It was rare for the older Agents, those with previous experience, to call Skye that; the fact that Akela was doing it in that moment was telling. She expected Skye would need her full power to defeat the attacker. The problem was the half-elf did not believe that was going to enough. She stopped running then.

"Listen to me." She called to all agents present at the same time. "Keep him distracted, make sure all civilians get out but, whatever you do, do not engage him. If we're really dealing with a Deathlok he will kill you if you get too close."

"ICERs aren't working!" Lavin yelled from his own comm.

Which meant he either had armor or he was being shot in purely cybernetic parts, the ones that did not absorb the dendrotoxin.

"Boos-lady?" Lavin asked.

"I'm calling in some back-up." Astrid elaborated. "We're gonna need it."

Yes, they would. They would need to fight fire with fire if they hoped to win... or in their particular case: Deathlok vs. Deathlok...

Truth was, that while Skye's body was different in many ways from that of a human, and that certainly allowed her to endure more... she wasn't as strong as a super-soldier. She was half-elf, a race that wasn't made of fighters, elves were more connected to nature, the universes, tended to be spell-weavers or artists; they were lithe, which allowed them to move between trees, or in other environments were most wouldn't find it easy. Jotun... they were tougher, harder, but with that strength came the ice, and the last thing they needed was for the whole track to end up beneath ice... also, the heat of mid-summer wouldn't help her.

Thankfully Mike Peterson was relatively close. It would be Ace's birthday soon and every year the man made an effort to be nearby when it did... even if he never actually visited the boy. Just sending him gifts and voice-mails using Astrid as intermediary. It had happened enough times already that Skye saw Ace as another part of her family. Also, with the boy and his aunt living in Echo Park the Torettos were close enough to keep an eye on them most of the time.

The battle took all of fifteen minutes, once Mike got there; and even there most of that time was spent with Mike assessing his opponent.

Once the fight was over Trip and Akela approached with reinforced cuffs to take the unconscious criminal into custody. He would be sent to FitzSimmons first, who would determine if he could be made normal again; after that they would decide where exactly the man would be sent to do time (he was going to prison on several charges of destruction of property, assault, and probably even attempted murder). Eventually they would find out that he'd been from Cybertech, someone who'd never been Hydra and yet, for whatever the reason, believed so much in the Deathlok project as to willingly become one himself. Col. Talbot was connected too. He'd manipulated the young man and then sent him to attack a public place believing that once the destruction was done he would be able to blame SHIELD; the fact that they weren't capable of really taking care of all their problems. He never expected for there to be Agents in that track.

Once the fight was over and the latest Deathlok was in custody, Astrid had sent the remaining agents to search the motel room where the man had been staying at, his car, and anywhere else he might have been, getting information.

No one tried to stop Mike once the fight was over, though a part of him almost expected it. After all, wasn't he the last remnant of everything SHIELD had fought against for the past five years? Centipede, Cybertech, Deathlok, the Clairvoyant, Hydra...? The only thing he was expecting even less was the brunette woman (not Astrid) waiting for him just outside the tracks. He watched her in silence for a handful of seconds before the implant in his eye drew his attention to the man in SHIELD gear crouched on a tree, holding a bow and pointing an arrow straight at him.

"So you're taking me out, after all..." Mike declared, he didn't sound angry, or even surprised, just extremely tired. "I always knew this was coming... tell me agent, will my son be safe?"

For a handful of seconds the agent didn't understand what Mike was saying, when she finally did she was completely horrified.

"No!" She almost screeched, waving her hands wildly in denial. "I'm not here for that! We're not here for that!" She looked over her shoulder, throwing a dirty look at the archer. "My husband is just a tad paranoid where it comes to my safety."

"Husband...?" Mike had not seen that one coming.

"Agent Darcy Stark-Barton." The woman introduced herself. "The one on the tree is Agent Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye, one of the Avengers. My father would like a word with you."

"Your father?" Mike was completely confused by it all.

"Tony Stark, aka Iron-Man." Darcy clarified. "He's been trying to locate you ever since I first told him about you. He has an offer for you, well, actually two."

"What kind of offers?" Mike inquired.

"The second is a job offer." Darcy told him. "I know Astrid has you in SHIELD's payroll as a freelance agent. My dad would like to offer you a job either as a security consultant, or whatever else we might find that fits you. Maybe some day you will consider joining the Avengers..."

Mike blinked a few times, having a hard time processing what the woman before him had just said, when he noticed something else.

"That's the second?" He asked, confused. "What's the first then?"

"My Dad... we... we would like to offer you a chance to be whole again." Darcy answered, voice growing stronger and more confident as she spoke. "A very select number of people know this, but my dad has the perfected formula of Extremis..."

"What they gave me..." Mike began interrupting.

"It was the advanced version Centipede got from AIM, but not perfect yet." Darcy clarified. "Dad finished it after whole thing went down with Killian and the Mandarin to help Pepper. Even now it exists only in his brain. What FitzSimmons did to you almost five years ago stabilized the more volatile part of the Centipede serum... but it's still not perfected. Garrett got the closest with that drug he found in the para-military base, the GH-321; the problem being that it apparently also took away what little sanity he had left at that point." She shook her head, pushing that thought aside. "What we're offering you is a change for your body to restore itself as much as possible. You would no longer need that armor, or most of the cybernetics... the leg... I'm actually not sure about that one. You've had it for so long, and while Extremis was meant to restore lost limbs, if your nerves have completely adjusted to the cyber-leg, it might not be possible to take it away."

"But everything else would go?" Mike wanted it clarified, it sounded too good to be true. "The eye, the pieces of metal in my head, my arm, my back... it would all go?"

"Yes, all of it, the centipede themselves as well." Darcy nodded. "You cannot go back to being normal, though. Because then the perfected Extremis would be in your blood, and there's no going back from that. But unless you do something to show off what you're capable of; to whoever who sees you, they will see just as a man."

Mike honestly didn't know what to say.

"What about the bosses?" He asked, suddenly thinking about that.

"You shouldn't worry about us, Mike." Astrid was suddenly standing beside him. "You've done so much in the last four years Mike. If we've managed to take down Hydra it was in no small part thanks to you. I would love it if, once you've had this procedure, as well as a long, well-deserved vacation; if you decide to come back, work for us as a full-fledged Agent... that would be wonderful. But if you would rather work in a factory, or in a shop as a mechanic; then you could do that too." She smiled at him. "You don't owe us anything Mike. Though, I think, you owe yourself the chance for a good, fulfilling life... I'm sure Ace would love it if his birthday wish came true this year..."

His birthday wish... for his Papa to come home... it was all Ace Peterson had wished for at every chance, with every birthday candle, falling star, wish bone... for the last five years.

"I think I would like that... yes." Mike told Darcy after what seemed like forever. "I don't know if I will come back to SHIELD afterwards... but I would really like to be a man, to be whole, again, Ms. Stark..."

"Done." Darcy stated with a bright smile.

It wasn't magic, but really, once the decision had been made, it was a done deal.

Skye smiled, already imagining what Ace's face would look like in several weeks, when he saw his father again...

xXx

Late on the night of December 27th of the same year Skye woke up abruptly, and she wasn't the only one, so did Phil, Azazeal, Cassie and the three-year-old Malachi. Neither of them had the slightest idea of what was going on exactly until they joined in Malachi's bedroom, where the boy seemed to be staring straight into the shadow underneath his window, just behind the patch of moonlight that slipped through the blinders.

"Malachi?" Several voices called at the same time.

"Mor..." Malachi called.

"Mor..." Several voices repeated.

It took the length of two heartbeats for the people present to comprehend what the word the boy'd just pronounced meant. And at the same time, exactly when the small bell on the clock down the hall rang midnight, they all witnessed a figure step out of the shadows. At first it seemed almost like a piece of the shadow were detaching itself from the rest, until it took figure, a humanoid, female figure... the woman was tall, and covered in a thick cloak of a blue so dark it looked black anywhere but under the direct moonlight.

"Mor..." Malachi repeated.

"My sweeting..." The cloaked woman called in a thick Scandinavian accent.

"Hela..." Two of the adults called at the same time, one more reverent than the other.

The woman raised her eyes, from the child on the bed, to the adults crowded by the bedroom door. Smiling from the shadow of her hood before pushing it back, followed by the cloak itself, which seemed to vanish into the shadow she'd come from. She was tall, taller than anyone else in the room (about as tall as Loki), with thick luscious curls of obsidian black hair and the same stormy-blue-green-gray eyes of her sister and their father. Her attire consisted of a royal-blue sleeveless dress with a heart-shaped neckline, along with what looked like a translucent gauze-like long-sleeved blue coat; black low-heeled boots, dark gold heavy jewelry on her arms and neckline and a thin circlet of gold and obsidian across her forehead.

"Hela..." Azazeal was the first to dare approach. "Is it really you...?"

"It is really me dereworthy heart..." She called to him, extending a pale hand in his direction.

"My heart's queen..." The man whispered back his own favored endearment, taking her hand in both of his and kissing it reverently.

"How is this possible sister?" Menel inquired, confused.

She didn't even notice when her figure changed from the twenty-something-looking human woman in the mauve teddy and half-opened dressing-robe; into the elegant elven-princess in the lavender colored long-sleeved dress with golden embroidery and golden sandals.

"The veil has torn." Surprisingly enough the answer came not from Loki's oldest daughter, but from the blonde witch by the door and her dark-haired ghost-friend.

Everyone turned to look at her instantly.

"Peggy, the ghost-woman I met back at Mendeham, told me it was written in all the old myths." Thelma explained. "They said that when the child of the Nephelim and a witch was born, the veil separating the spiritual world from the material one would be torn..."

"They also spoke about the army of 200 Nephelim being released upon the Earth and the End of Days coming; two things we know never happened." Cassie added. "The first because the Nephelim have always been in this world, and the second because it had simply nothing to do with the end of the world."

"No, that was just something Odin added because he likes to be over-dramatic... and to prevent good-hearted people from helping us..." Azazeal drawled. "Though thankfully some dared do exactly that." He bowed his head respectfully at the two girls.

"Yes well, it did end up taking three years, but it appears that the veil has truly torn in the end." Thelma commented, nervousness showing.

"It has, but it's not quite as dramatic as Odin made it sound." Hela commented calmly, taking her little boy in her arms. "The dead cannot come back, because they no longer belong here." She touched Thelma briefly. "You are bound to this dimension by your friend, Casarmi, her magic allows you to exist here; but normal souls could never possibly do that. Also, why would they want to? Existing in this plane will never allow them to rest, only Helheim and other such realms will grant them True Peace."

"I'm quite alright where I am, thank you." Thelma declared. "When the day comes for Cassie to depart I may change my mind. But until then I'm quite content with this existence."

Hela nodded, it wasn't like she was trying to push the ghost into choosing different. As abnormal as the whole thing might be, she honestly believed everyone deserved to make their own choices on how to live their lives.

"No, in the end, the veil being torn affects only me." Hela continued. "Which is exactly why Odin tried to hard to prevent it. Because he knows the power I possess. He knows the power all of us children of Loki are capable of; it's why he's tried so hard to keep us apart: Jörmungandr trapped in your deepest sea, Fenrir chained in the darkest forest of Asgard, Sleipnir forced to serve the King of gods as a mere horse, and me... ruling a realm of non-living."

"How could Malachi change any of that?" Phil did not understand that part.

"Simply by virtue of being my son." Hela told him honestly. "While Casarmi gave birth to him... she may be his mother in many ways... he's also mine. He's connected to me, his soul is part of mine. That connection... the best way to put it is to say that his soul has been calling to mine from the very moment he was born, and together his magic and mine has been chipping away at the barriers keeping our realms separate. We wanted to be together, in a very basic level we needed to, so our magic worked on making it possible. But all of this would have never been possible if it weren't for my dearest sister..." She smiled at Menel. "The one Child of Chaos Odin could never enslave... I owe you my freedom, sister-mine."

"You owe me nothing, my dearest sister." Menel replied, embracing Hela tightly. "There can be no debts between family, ever. Seeing you here, with your match and son, it brings me a joy so great; I can only hope the day will come when our whole family will get the chance to be truly united... like we deserve to."

"Like we deserve to." Hela and Azazeal agreed.

They couldn't have known it, but right then, when Hela finally broke free, was the beginning of the end in many ways... though what end, no one knew for sure. Not even the greatest prophetess could have ever predicted what was to come...

xXx

On a certain day, near the end of May of 2019, New York became ground zero of yet another inter-dimensional battle. One no one could have seen coming. The most surprising part was that not only were the defenders of Midgard an eclectic mix of humans and gifted and even a number of 'Travelers', but the same could be said about the invaders. No one could have ever expected the Asgardiand Enchantress sisters to ally with a bunch of intergalactic criminals released from what the League called 'The Phantom Zone' and Doom.

It was a battle on several fronts. The Doombots were providing numbers, which the joint efforts of most members of the Justice League, the X-Men and Agents of SHIELD were doing their best to counter; the more powerful and gifted members of such teams were fighting against the intergalactic criminals. The huge operation was being coordinated from Avengers Towers, by yet another impressive mash-up: Pepper Potts Stark, Jane Foster, Darcy Stark-Barton, Mary Jane Parker, Chloe Sullivan-Olsen, Professor X and Destiny.

To that last group arrived Phil, Skye, Thelma, Cassie, Azazeal, Hela and Malachi, aided in their move by Nightcrawler (they'd been in the Playground).

"Situation." Phil called the moment they could all move again.

"Kal-El, Kara, Cyclops, Phoenix, Storm, Rogue, Wolverine and Magneto are working on getting the Zoners back to their prison." Chloe called from her corner, where she was supervising that part of the ongoing battle. "The moment they manage to herd them all together the Martian Manhunter will activate the crystal that will send them back to the Phantom Zone."

"Impulse, Aquaman, Black Canary, Spider-Man, Shadowcat, Collosus, Angel, Beast, Quicksilver and several teams of Agents of SHIELD are working on getting as many civilians out of the battlefield as they can." MJ added from her own station.

"Cyborg, Goblin, Iceman, Pyro, Hulk, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Black Widow and some more of our Agents are dealing with the Doombots." Darcy offered next.

"Iron-Man, Captain America and the Winter Soldier are dealing with that odd dwarf-looking man Thor called Skurge the Executioner." Jane added beside her friend. "While the rest of our Agents are dealing with what looks like an army of brainwashed men..."

"The Professor is working on finding the way to release them." Destiny added from beside her leader and brother-in-law...

"I would like to help with the civilians." Cassie offered.

"We shall go there." Nightcrawler declared, before disappearing with the blonde.

"Alec is preparing everything to deal with injuries once the battle is over." Chloe said next.

"Felicia is doing the same regarding rescue-crews." MJ nodded.

"What about the leaders of this mess?" Phil inquired. "The sisters?"

"For the time being Lorelei seems content with admiring her army of brainwashed men, while Thor is distracting Amora..." Pepper answered.

Jane grumbled under her breath about that.

"We contacted the Secret Circle before coming here." Azazeal informed everyone. "They're taking position in a circle around the battlefield. Once they're ready Diana will contact me and I will connect their power with mine to create a barrier that will limit the effects of the battle to where it's currently making place; as well as making sure none of our enemies can escape once it's all said and done."

"I, regretfully cannot get involved directly, my magic is still tainted by the long time I spent in Helheim, and using it would be like lighting a beacon." Hela admitted grimly. "If the wrong individuals became aware of my presence in this real things would not go well." She shook her head before adding. "However, I can offer my magic as protection for this building. That shouldn't be enough to call too much attention; and it will allow what civilians are unable to leave Manhattan, to seek refuge right here."

"That would be very helpful." Pepper nodded. "I will inform Happy so he can coordinate our security to help as best we can in the process."

"I guess that means we will be the ones dealing with the Enchantress sisters." Skye declared.

"Is that a good idea?" Darcy asked. "From what I've heard, and we're all seeing down there, things tend not to go well when men try to go against Lorelei."

The lovers knew that was true, but they had an ace under their sleeves...

It was one of their visits to New Salem, to the Secret Circle. Faye was keeping Wanda company, motivating her. Pietro was playing a strange game that seemed almost like catch the flag against the boys, Deborah and Suzan; Laurel and Melanie chose to watch and cheer one side or the other. (It was fair enough as the witches kept using their powers, while Quicksilver would speed off every so often). Skye and Phil, meanwhile, were chatting with Cassie and Diana, two of the three members of the triumvirate that lead their little coven.

"There's something we, or at least I've, been meaning to talk to you about." Cassie said quietly.

"Is it something about you and your magic?" Phil inquired, wondering if he should even be present for that conversation.

"No." Cassie shook her head. "It's something about the two of you, in fact."

That made both Phil and Skye turn to look at the ocean-blue eyed chocolate haired witch. Her silver-blonde, emerald eyed counterpart sitting beside her, looking quite solemn.

"Is anything wrong?" Skye inquired, confused.

"Not wrong." Diana stepped in immediately. "It's just something we became aware of during our first meeting. I wasn't quite sure that we should have kept it from you this long, but there just never seemed to be a good time to bring it up..."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Diana..." Skye admitted.

"We're talking about the Silver Cord connecting the two of you." Cassie went to the point.

"Silver Cord?" The couple repeated in unison, confused.

The two girls moved in sync then, kneeling before the couple sitting on the porche steps, each taking the hands of one of the lovers in theirs, before fixing their eyes straight on the older couple, then they began reciting:

"Vision, sight and deep perception, mystic light and meditation. / Trance or conscious their eyes shall see, the other side, the magic unveiled."

Skye had just opened her mouth to ask what exactly they'd just done when the girls let go of the agents' hands, and moved back, still synchronized. Then Cassie waved for them to look down, at their own hands: it was there, what they'd always felt but never seen, a ribbon made of the purest light connecting the two of them, binding them together. It was what the Secret Circle had labeled the 'Silver Cord'.

"What does this mean?" Skye asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"It means you're soulmates." Diana answered in a scholarly manner. "It means you're destined for each other, always have been, from the beginning of time. Your souls are bound to each other, for whatever lives you might share... you're soulmates."

"Are you sure?" Phil asked, not quite believing just yet.

"Quite sure." Cassie seemed to think it over before explaining. "When I first met Adam, I could feel this pull towards him. Then, when I truly got to knew him that attraction only grew, but he was with Diana, who I'd quickly grown to see as a sister. We fought against the attraction, went as far as swearing a blood oath to never betray Diana... but in the end some things just couldn't be denied. The bonds tying us together were stronger than any human force."

"I knew about the Cord, had read all about it in my Grimoire." Diana added. "I thought it was a legend, we all did, with how rare it was. Until Cassie and Adam described it to us, we couldn't deny it anymore. They described it perfectly, even though neither of them had so much as heard about the Cord before..." She smiled gently. "So I stepped back and let them be happy."

"Did you ever regret it?" Phil couldn't help but ask. "Ever think the decision should have been made by each of you, rather than a mystical force?"

"Never." Diana shook her head confidently. "Because this mystical force is a sign, Cassie and Adam were meant for each other. They are happy together, in a way he would have never been with me, nor I with him. Besides, I cannot complain, there was a surprise destiny had prepared, all for me. I just needed to truly open my eyes and see..."

She didn't say a word more, but no one failed to notice the way her eyes strayed to the amber-eyed, raven-haired, pale skinned beauty talking to Wanda by the edge of the sea.

Phil and Skye didn't ask anymore, just returned their eyes to their respective hands, and the ribbon of light tying them together; the material (even usually invisible) sign of the connection they'd always known was there, always felt in a corner of themselves, but never been able to give a name too. They were destined, they were soulmates...

"Are you ready for this?" Phil asked his beloved as they walked towards the sisters.

He asked it only once; he had no desire to question her power of her convictions; but Thor was out there, in the very place they were walking to, and he couldn't help but remember everything the two of them had done, all the invitations they had turned down, to make sure the god of thunder would never cross paths with the niece he didn't even know existed.

"As much as I would rather keep my existence a secret from him... I long ago swore that I would never allow my secrets to get in the way of protecting those I love, my friends, my family." Skye declared with quiet conviction. "I might come to regret revealing myself to him, especially in such a way, but I will never regret fighting for those I care for."

With that she allowed her image to ripple. Shifting into her true image: that of the tall, athletic, sun-kissed, smooth skinned she-elf, with flashing blue-green-gray eyes and long honey-colored hair in a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She was wearing her battle dress and light armor. No guns, but a dozen knives on different parts of her body, and the shortened version of her staff strapped to the small of her back.

Phil nodded his acceptance before focusing his own gift. Nothing changed physically about him, he still looked like the fifty-something balding brunette agent in a pale-blue shirt with rolled up sleeves, dark slacks and thick-soled shoes; but all around who had even the slightest ability to sense power, could perceive the shift in his, the way it expanded into its true form and potential. At the same time an elegant sword made of the purest metal, with the handle intricately carved with the image of an open-winged eagle, a more stylized version of SHIELD's symbol. It was his blade, gifted to him by Azazeal and Hela, made from the very best metals (from Svartalfheim), forged by the most talented smiths (in Nidavellir), and blessed by the magics of them both, his beloved, and finally Casarmi. Phil was convinced there was no weapon, on any realm, more blessed than his. It was the first time he would wield it in actual battle, though he had trained extensively since it was given to him.

The couple reached Lorelei first. The redhead truly was taking great delight in the chaos her army of possessed men could do; all as they tried to gain her favor.

On their way to New York Phi had asked Skye (who'd learnt of the Enchantress-sisters' work before the Koenig twins did, thanks to a magical message sent by her Adar) if they could expect Sif or some other Warrior to make an appearance any time soon, the answer was no. Truth was that, as bad as it looked to Asgard that Amora was able to help her sister escape prison and then get to Midgard, they simply couldn't afford sending anyone. Any Asgardian arriving on their world would automatically pull Heimdall's attention to the proceeding, and since Loki knew already Menel wouldn't be able to stay away when there was trouble and innocent people in need of protection, it was a really bad idea for Heimdall to be watching...

Skye knew already that Amora was the more powerful of the two, the one that had truly learn battle magic, unlike Lorelei, who seemed to think it was enough to learn how to get other people, men, to do her bidding. It was why it had been decided that Phil would be the one to deal with the younger sister, while Menel went for the older one. With Lorelei the greatest danger was her army of 'followers', but along with his sword, the Director of SHIELD carried a special ICER handgun (special because it had been spelled to refill itself from a specially prepared caché, to make sure he would never run out of bullets).

So the brunette sorceress stood back while her beloved drew his gun and began shooting, men dropping left and right until he had a clear path to the redhead.

"No, no, no..." She said with almost a pout. "That won't do..." She almost glided towards the older Agent. "You shall not shoot me, no..." She placed her hand on his wrist before he could move away. "You shall kneel before me."

A second passed, then two, Phil cocked his head to a side but did not move, not to kneel, not even to lower his gun. That immediately made Lorelei step back in shock.

"This is impossible." She shook her head. "No man can resist me."

"I can." Phil answered cheekily. "You see, I'm taken. And my lady is the jealous type, doesn't like sharing. Neither do I for that matter."

"Love? Love is a lie, nothing more than children's tales." Lorelei snapped.

"I'm afraid your thoughts on the matter are irrelevant." Phil told her quite calmly. "And since our message from your last visit, regarding how much you weren't welcome in our realm did not stick, I will make sure it does this time."

With that, the battle started. And as much as Menel wanted to stick around, not because she was worried about her beloved (because she wasn't, not at all), but because there was something really hot about seeing him go all 'Heavenly Warrior' on her... regretfully, she had her own battle to fight, and she couldn't be late for that. Not when she'd just seen Thor being blown away by Amora... apparently his whole plan for distracting her wasn't going quite that well...

She was just about to reach the elder sorceress, with flashing green eyes, wavy blonde hair in what was probably supposed to be an elegant twist in the back of her head, she was wearing a short (very short) tanned leather with red-accents battle-dress with complimentary mesh armor; elbow-length finger-less gloves and low boots. Showing too much skin, as far as Menel was concerned, especially when she was supposed to be a Warrior (in Menel's fighting attire hardly anything of her body was seen, between the dress, the shorts, high boots, gloves, etc.).

Her attention did not remain on Amora for long, though; as Captain America stopped fighting Skurge abruptly, giving the Enchantress's minion the chance to move in on Iron Man, punching him hard enough to make him crash through the front of a nearby store (the Winter Soldier was still extricating himself from a wall after being thrown himself seconds before). They were all suddenly distracted by the figure that had just been revealed just behind the man-dwarf:

A tall, slim woman, with brown eyes, dark-auburn hair in loose curls to her shoulders, dressed in a crisp white-shirt and an olive-green knee-length skirt and jacket, which looked military. She had an uncanny and almost scary resemblance to Agent Sharon Carter...

"Peggy...?" Captain America asked, almost pained.

"Oh shit..." The Soldier cursed when seeing the image before him.

"This is the gift I'm offering you, Captain." Amora told the leader of the Avengers. "Take your men, walk away, and I'll give your Lady..."

"This is impossible..." James was saying under his breath, unable to take his eyes off the woman all his senses were telling him had to be Peggy Carter.

"This is what you want, isn't it?" Amora continued with her speech. "It's what you've always wanted... the love of your life, young again, at your side... I can give you that, Captain. Just walk away, take your lady, be happy."

The Captain didn't move. It wasn't that he was contemplating the Sorceress's proposal, not at all. Not only was he not that kind of man, but Peggy herself was a fighter, an Agent in her own right, she would never forgive him if he were to betray everything the both of them believed in, even for her. Especially for her, she would hate being the reason he did something like that.

"That cannot be Peggy Carter." The Soldier kept saying.

"I'm afraid she is." Skye declared grimly, reaching his side.

"What?!" James couldn't believed that. "How is that possible? Peggy... she's in her eighties! And she looks it! I know, Steve took me the last time he went to visit her in that home..."

The Home... yes, because Margaret Carter-Phillips was an old woman, senile, unable to live on her own anymore. Sharon Carter, her blonde niece, was her only family and her life as an agent made it impossible for her to be there for her aunt all the time. It had actually been Peggy's own decision, not wanting to make things harder on her beloved niece, or anyone else.

"I don't know how Amora did it, not the getting-her-out-of-the-Home part, and most definitely not the renewed-youth part." Skye admitted with some reluctance. "But that's most definitely Agent Peggy Carter, the original Agent 13..."

Because after Peggy had retired and Sharon had raised in the ranks, the blonde had been called by that same code-name. Some said it was a way of honoring her, her aunt... others saw it as a way of creating a legend, over half a century after the foundation of SHIELD there was still an Agent 13 (making it look like there would always be an Agent 13).

"Can she really do this?" The Soldier interrupted the brunette's line of thought. "Could you do this? Return someone their youth?"

"No, not really." She wasn't quite sure how to explain it. "I... What the Enchantress did is not an illusion. I cannot understand how she did it but... there are consequences for this kind of magic, not just for the one using it, but also the one receiving it. It's like how I can only heal those who are like me, near-immortals, or who already have powers that allow them greater healing than mortals, such as you, Phil, Wolverine, Alec... because what I do when I heal, I force cells to reproduce faster, to restore themselves; and if I do that to humans, I make them age, their lifespan lessens. Healing like that, has a cost." She made a pause before admitting: "I cannot imagine the cost something like this will have..."

That wasn't quite true, she could imagine, she was actually pretty sure what the cost would be, she just couldn't bring herself to say it. Because that cost would be Peggy's life...

Making up her mind in the time it took James to realize that the brunette sorceress knew more than she was saying, and before he could bring himself to question her about it, she went straight to where the Captain was standing, close to Peggy Carter and so lost in thought he made an easy target (it was probably a good thing that Iron Man was somehow managing to keep the Skurge busy for the time being, and Amora was so fascinated by the whole scene she hadn't made a move to attack herself just yet).

"Captain?" She called quietly, standing beside him and keeping most of her attention on the enemies. "You need to get out of here..."

"Look, I don't know who you are ma'am..." The blonde began, her voice pulling him back to their current time and events.

"My name is Meneliel, I'm an ally of SHIELD." She decided to go with that name, considering the clothes she was wearing and the power she was about to show. "My words were not meant, in any way, as an insult, Captain Rogers. But we have to be honest here, you're distracted right now, and that can be fatal in battle. You should take Agent Carter and go." She made a split decision. "Agent Helena Avery is working on keeping Stark Tower safe, to be used as a refuge by whatever civilians cannot leave the area. She could use your help, of both of you."

If she put it that way, the Captain wouldn't be surrendering, he would just be... choosing his battles, so-to-speak. She was hoping that would work.

"Go Cap!" Iron Man called to him. "We'll be alright! I've called some back-up of our own. It's not you but... he's still pretty good."

Menel did not actually get the chance to ask who exactly Stark meant, as suddenly he was there: Deathlok... or at least the man who'd been Deathlok... he looked more like the man Skye had first seen saving a young doctor from an explosion in downtown LA.

"Mr. Peterson?!" She blurted, thoroughly shocked by the man's arrival. "But I thought you weren't coming back to SHIELD..."

"I wasn't... I'm not." The man told her. "After Mr. Stark... Tony, so kindly gave me this gift" He signaled to his own body. "I decided I wanted nothing more to do with SHIELD, gifted, battles, nothing of the sort. And yet... how could I ever look my son in the eye when I see people dying, people suffering, when I know I could do something about it and don't, simply because of fear?" He shook his head. "I may no longer be one of your Agents, ma'am, but I still want to help."

"Everyone who wants to help will always be welcome Mike." She assured him. "I'm glad that you're alright." Her expression turned predatory. "Now lets go kick some ass!"

It seemed almost choreographed: Amora didn't like that her distraction was moving away, she also didn't like that a newcomer, a girl, was taking the spotlight away from her (and the way Thor couldn't seem to stop staring at her just made things worse); so she decided to attack her. The blonde Sorceress threw a concussion wave at the brunette's back, right as Menel spun around, slapping the spell away as if it were nothing (though everyone around could see the way brick and mortar fell at the point where it impacted).

"You do know that attacking someone's back is a sign of cowardice, right?" Menel drawled. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, considering what you've done thus far."

"Everything's fair in love and war!" Amora quoted at her.

"And which is this one supposed to be?" Menel smirked.

"It's a war for love!" Amora responded as predicted. "For the love of my King! My Thor!"

"You do know he's taken right?" The girl couldn't help egging the older sorceress on. "Petite, brunette, chocolate eyes, quite pretty, a lady of science from this realm... I also hear she's the jealous kind, doesn't like sharing..."

"Thor is mine!" Amora screamed, practically whining.

The younger sorceress couldn't help herself, she laughed uproariously.

"What are you laughing about?" Amora demanded.

"Please, if you didn't get a chance in the last... well, several centuries, when he had no one, what makes you think you stand a chance now?" Menel shook her head dramatically. "You're too late lady, you'd do well to just give up and go back home. You might even get lucky and manage to keep your sister free this time if you disappear before you piss me and mine any further."

"The Enchantresses do not surrender, never!" The blonde practically screeched. "Either Thor will surrender his heart to me, or I will raze this realm he so loves to the ground!"

"What is it with Asgardians wanting to destroy our world?" Iron-Man quipped as he took a break from his own battle. "Is this all your fault Point-Break?"

"It's not." Menel spoke again before Thor could even think about it. "It's just bad luck... and a bunch of very complicated stuff you wouldn't understand..."

On the second she meant, of course, her father; but she was so not going into that. No one outside of her family knew about her parentage, and she was keeping it that way for as long as possible.

"And in the end, it's not like she's going to win anyway." She added for good measure.

With that statement, the battle began.

At first the two sorceresses moved slowly, hesitantly, trying each other's defenses one by one. Until they were sure of the best way to fight. Amora had a long Greek-styled double-edged blade, stronger than almost anything, and while it looked fairly long, it was lithe enough she could wield it with just one hand, leaving her other one free to cast spells. Menel, on the other hand, while she had her knives, they weren't enough for a sword like that, she needed her staff, which was strong enough, yet also so long she needed both hands to wield it... on the other hand, her past battles had made it a necessity for her to learn to both wield her weapons sometimes with just her mind (her telekinesis) and to cast through either one of her weapons, or using a hand just for a second, so she still had a chance.

As the two grew more confident in their respective styles, the fight kept going faster, more violent, and also, in some strange way, more enchanting... Everyone around who managed to get a moment to so much as breath couldn't help but look at them. Thor himself could do nothing but look at them. During the whole fight he'd been unable to so much as deliver a good blow to the Enchantress (though that might have been, too, because he was hesitant about attacking a woman, the brunette sorceress didn't seem to have such problems); and what he was witnessing right then... not even the Lady Sif had he ever seen do battle like that (then again, the Lady Sif was no Spell-weaver, so her style obviously wouldn't be the same).

Menel would never admit it out-loud, but she was having fun. While at first she had been so very tense with nervousness and fear; once she got the hang of it all, it was almost easy! Never before had she been able to let go as much as she was right then. True, physical fights were one thing. Her spars with Sif, James or Phil left her satisfied enough, but a magical-battle? That was an entirely different thing. She was much more powerful than any magic-wielder they'd met thus far on Earth, even Cassandra Blake, the most powerful witch in the Secret Circle, couldn't take her; Hela herself was probably more powerful, if mostly due to her age, but while she'd had centuries to hone her magic in some ways, she'd spent those same years away from any kind of fights, and while she still carried chains around her wrists, it wasn't the same; and Loki, being her father, simply didn't dare use all his strength against her.

"You're good..." Amora admitted with no little reluctance in a lull of the battle. "Who are you girl? What is your bloodline?"

"My blood matters not." Menel replied, taking a moment to breathe herself.

"You introduced yourself as Meneliel to the midgardian captain..." Amora insisted. "That is an elven name, a royal name in fact. What is an elven princess doing fighting for these savages?"

"Considering that you, your sister and minions are the ones who began this battle, I cannot help but think you are the savages in this scenario." Meneliel declared, raising her guard again. "Like I said before, my heritage matters little. I am where I've chosen to be, fighting for those I see as mine, and I shall protect them from whoever dare try to hurt them, be they human, or not..."

"You have such strength, such will..." Amora couldn't seem to be able to stop. "You could stand by my side, be my protege, perhaps even my heiress..."

"I already have a family." The brunette practically snorted at the offer. "I have no need for another. Especially one full of crazy women who do not know how to take 'no' for an answer!"

"No one says no to the Enchantress!" Amora claimed loudly.

"So you keep saying, yet from where I'm standing that's exactly what happened." The half-elven princess practically snickered. "You do know that insisting this much just makes you sound more than a little bit... I don't know, clingy? Needy? Downright desperate?"

Amora let out what sounded like a mix of a screech, a wail and a battle cry as she threw herself back into battle, with more viciousness than before. She took the brunette enough by surprise that she went flying at an attack, went through a glass and light-metal bus-stop before ending half-into the wall of a nearby-building.

"I really don't think it's a good idea to provoke her like that..." James commented as he walked towards her, intent on helping her out.

Menel ignored his hand, pushing herself out of the hole her impact had caused, before looking down at her more-than-half-tattered dress. With a shake of her head she made up her mind and pulled at what remained of it, tearing it off the rest of the way. She ended then in the battle-attire she'd spelled (and which she'd kept under her battle dress), the red-and-black tight halter-top and short black shorts, the arm-guards and reinforced boots still remained in place; though the loss of her dress made the dozen knives on her person more obvious to those looking at her, it also made her apparent age (she still looked the same as she had when she was 24... and even then she had not looked her age) more evident.

"You're just a child!" Amora hissed. "There's no way a child can defeat me!"

"I am not a child." Menel denied.

No she wasn't, truth was, she hadn't been for a long time, not with the life she'd had. And yet she didn't regret it either. How could she when that same life had given her so much: the chance to help people, the power to really make a difference in the world, so many people to call family (blood was irrelevant), and a man to love her for everything she was, and whom she loved with the same intensity...

Ever so slowly, the battle around the two sorceress had begun dying down, until the moment came when it was only the two sisters against the not-quite-human leaders of SHIELD

Then, right as Amora was about to attack Menel again, something unexpected happened. There was something, like a ripple of some kind that went through everyone in the battlefield. Menel had no idea what it meant, though the Enchantress apparently did, as she let out a blood-curling scream of rage as she spun around, in the very direction the brunette had last noticed Phil and Lorelei fighting their own battle.

"Morderen (Murderer)!" Amora screeched, rushing off.

A snap-second of astral vision showed the half-elf exactly what had just happened: Phil had won his battle and, knowing that no one would be arriving to take Lorelei to prison again (not that it'd been that effective the last two times...) and that there was no way for any jail in their world to contain her, he'd used his sword to cut her head off (Lorelei had practically begged him to, too, terrified at the prospect of being imprisoned, losing her voice again; far more than she was at the prospect of death).

However, all Amora cared about was that her sister was dead; that sent her into a murderous rage, and in that moment she wanted nothing more than to destroy the one who'd dared kill her beloved little sister. It did not matter that they'd spent centuries apart, that they'd never really been that close after the eldest Enchantress reached her maturity and did not want to play with a little girl like her sister. Lorelei was still her sister, and Amora wouldn't let her death go unpunished.

Not that Menel was going to allow it... especially not when Amora was going after her man, her lover, her Aratoamin... She did not even stop to make a plan, to even think about it, instincts took over as Menel dropped into a shadow, using all her senses to pull her body to the right shadow, rising right behind her beloved's back. There she reached for her closest weapon, the black army-knife strapped to her thigh, before raising it in an inverted grip in front of her chest...

Amora coughed, blood staining her lips, a line falling down the edge of her mouth, a few stray drops actually flying to the front of Menel's chest. However, her attention wasn't on that, but on the blood drenching her hand, the hand she'd been holding her knife with... the very knife that was in that moment buried deep in Amora's heart.

Menel was in shock, so much that for the longest time she did not move. Her hand in front of her, knife held tight in front of her, blood dripping off the blade, her fingers, and even down her arm. Even when Amora fell, eyes empty as the life left her, she still wouldn't move.

Suddenly Phil was in front of her. He didn't say a word, but ever so slowly he pried the bloody knife from her fingers, before using his torn shirt to clean the blood as best he could (leaving him in a white undershirt and somewhat torn slacks).

"Arwenamin..." He whispered.

She didn't answer, she couldn't. In that moment Menel's mind was almost trapped, lost in the loop of those few seconds, from the moment she'd jumped out of the shadow, flicked her wrist, making the knife fly to her hand, reach for it in a back-handed grip, getting it ready in a position just before her chest... a second before Amora tried to rush her beloved. She'd been moving too fast to change course when the brunette appeared; she hadn't even noticed the blade in the girl's hand, until it'd pierced straight through her heart...

Menel had never before killed anyone; in fact, she had made a point of never doing that. Not only because of her father's warning about jotun and blood-lust, but because she simply couldn't imagine herself taking a life, any life.

"Per la famiglia, tutto..." Phil whispered into her ear, embracing her tightly.

Those words made her reacted like nothing else could, she didn't dare move her right hand, not yet; Phil had done his best to clean the blood, but the mark was still there, reddening her skin. Her other arm, though, she wound around Phil, holding him to her as tightly as he was.

Phil was right. Ever since she was sixteen she had ruled her life by those words 'Per la famiglia, tutto...', 'for the family, everything...', the Toretto family motto, Papa's favorite words... Those words had shaped her life. She had said, more than once, that she wanted nothing more than to protect her family, she hadn't been quite sure just how much she was willing to do to protect her family... well, she finally knew. She was willing to not only die, but also kill for her loved ones. Now, now she needed to also be willing to move on and live; not only for herself but also for the very family she loved and sought to protect.

"Thank you..." She whispered, tears falling down her face.

Tears began falling down Phil's own face. For a moment there he'd been so afraid that he would lose her to the trauma of taking a life for the first time.

"Amin mela lle..." Menel whispered breathlessly.

"I love you too..." He whispered back.

Yes, they were going to be just fine.

xXx

In Stark Tower things had been good in some ways, and not so much in others. The moment Hela had laid eyes on the rejuvenated Peggy Carter she could see that necromancy had been used in her. At first she hadn't said anything, until a moment almost an hour later, when she noticed the thread holding the woman fray rather quickly. Peggy collapsed, seizing, and Captain Rogers rushed to her side, calling to her in despair, unable to do anything. Hela reacted instinctively: since arriving to Midgard, since taking the name of Helena Avery-McBain SHIELD had received her with open arms, had given her so much, had become a part of her extended family, as much as they were Menel's.

So, when the magic keeping the auburn-haired agent alive finally snapped, the Queen of the Dead reached out automatically, pulling the thread and tying it to her own magic. It wouldn't last of course, necromancy never lasted, and it was magic so dark that it could end up consuming the souls of those it was used on, if it went on for too long.

"Peggy...?" Steve asked hesitantly.

"She's alright for now captain, but it won't last." Hela said from the side.

"Agent Avery?" The blonde inquired, confused.

"I know you're not aware of this Cap. Rogers, but I'm not human." The raven-haired sorceress informed him. "I, like my sister, am a sorceress. I lack knowledge of what exactly it was Amora did to Agent Carter, though it was very dark magic indeed."

"Can it be undone?" Steve inquired, choosing to bypass the whole 'sorceress and magic' thing and focus on the immediate concerns.

"I'm afraid that is, at this point, irrelevant, captain." Hela said quietly. "Agent Carter is dying, nothing I do or stop doing will change that. All I could do was take the thread of the spell holding her youth, sustain it with my own energy."

"And can you not keep doing that until we find another way to save her?" He asked.

"Nothing can save Agent Carter, not her body at least." The sorceress admitted. "And for the sake of her soul, the magic holding her cannot be allowed to continue for much longer either. If it does you run the risk of her soul burning out. You see death is one thing, but the annihilation of the soul... that is the worst kind of punishment in all the realms." She hesitated a bit, noticing his pain, before adding. "I know this isn't what you like to hear Captain Rogers but..."

"I have to let her go." Steve finished for her.

"I can give you one hour." Hela chose to be direct, time was lacking as it was. "Any more than that would be too risky."

"I understand." He nodded. "Thank you Agent Avery..."

"Call me Helena." She invited him.

She couldn't ask him to call her by her real name, it was too dangerous for anyone to know she was Hela Lokidottir.

"So, one hour, huh?" Peggy chose that moment to reveal that she was awake, she'd probably heard every word of the exchange. "At least we'll finally get to have that dance you owe me..."

"It would be my pleasure Peggy..." He nodded immediately.

xXx

By the time Phil, Menel and the rest of those who'd been at the center of the battle made it to Stark Tower, it looked like a party was mostly underway.

"Somebody makes a party in my tower, and doesn't invite me?" Tony called dramatically.

"Consider yourself invited." His older daughter deadpanned as she walked by, her half-sister in her arms, squealing in delight at all the people around.

"Now why don't you go wash up?" Pepper, walking beside Darcy, insisted.

Tony nodded, signaling for the fighters to follow him to his private elevator. There he directed everyone to separate suites in the residential floors where they could take a shower and see to their wounds if necessary. Pepper and Happy had already made sure everyone had access to clothes in their relative sizes.

Phil held Skye tightly in his arms from behind as they stood beneath the cool-water of the shower (like always, it relaxed her more than hot water, and it didn't really bother him either); the two of them watching in silence as the last remnants of blood in her hands were washed away.

"Never, ever regret fighting to protect what you love." He whispered in her ear. "I know I never will." He kissed behind her ear. "This life, it's what we've chosen. We've chosen to be fighters, to be protectors."

"To be the 'line between the world and the much weirder world'... I know." Skye quoted with an almost melancholic air. "I just... I'd never killed anyone. I've seen people die, many times; but I'd never felt a life disappear, knowing I had been the one to cause it. I just... I wasn't ready for the way that realization hit me."

"And being empathic probably didn't help either." Phil nodded. "I'm not going to tell you it gets easier, because it really doesn't. The day you are capable of killing with the same ease you go buy groceries... well, it's probably the day you decide if that's really the kind of person you want to be, or if it might be best for you to walk away." He shook his head. "We're Agents, and it's true that some times we might have to kill, but that doesn't mean we value life any less. The opposite in fact, we value life so much, especially the lives of innocents, that we're willing to put ours on the line to keep them safe. We're willing to risk not only our lives, but our very minds, hearts and souls to protect those that need to be protected."

"I know." Skye agreed with him whole-heartedly. "But I think that if the day ever comes when killing becomes to me like buying groceries I will need to be taken down."

She said in a light tone, as if it were some kind of joke, but he knew the truth behind it. She'd been able to avoid the blood-lust with this kill, but that did not mean it might stay that way forever. They did not know how it worked exactly; maybe the more she killed the easier it would be, until the blood-lust would fully take over. He hoped they would never have to find out. She made herself a silent promise only to kill if it was to protect family from an unavoidable threat; though that did not mean she wouldn't have to again.

By the time they made it back to the first floor (a mostly empty floor that was being used as the area for the party) almost everyone who'd been fighting was there. Some were drinking and chatting, a few others were watching the city in the aftermath of the battle, people beginning to work on rescue and restoration. A few more were dancing; especially noticeable were three pairings: Logan and Marie, having changed into more casual clothes. The mutant-woman looked as relaxed as Skye'd never seen her before; and the way Wolverine was holding her in his arms, it looked like he'd finally gotten a clue (Skye had known Marie and Bobby had broken up, finally deciding their relationship was more about habit than about love, and that was hurting them both; but she hadn't known Logan was even considering anything).

On the other side of the 'dance floor' Hela was swaying slowly in Azazeal's arms, keeping an eye on the other couple dancing slowly to the music, seemingly lost in themselves:

Peggy was wearing a red dress, it wasn't the exact same dress she'd worn to that pub back in 1944, but the closest thing Sharon had had to it. Nightcrawler had taken her to her apartment in a rush to get it, as well as a pair of heels and some other essentials. They all knew that Peggy was not long from departing, and wanted her final hour to be everything she'd been wishing for and dreaming of since that awful day at the end of WWII, when she'd had to hear the first man she loved get lost in the sea and ice.

"Promise me you won't give up..." Peggy whispered to Steve at one point.

They'd been dancing for several songs by that point, and had no intention to stop, at least not until Peggy was unable to continue.

"What...?" The blonde captain wasn't expecting that.

"I know... I know it hurts, when you lose people you love Steve." Peggy told him soothingly. "I've had to go through it many times in the last seventy-five years. You and James were my first loses, but no my last, not by a long-shot. I've had to see my husband go, my children, my little brother, every single member of the Howling Commandos... I'm old and tired. If you hadn't woken when you did I probably would have left this world years ago. But you did wake up, and now this, as messy as the whole thing might have been, it's given me, given us, the chance to get the closure we couldn't get before. Because right now I'm in my right mind..."

"And I can finally give you the dance I promised you." Steve added, letting out a sigh. "It just seems so... depressing. I've waited so long for the perfect partner and now..."

"Now nothing." Peggy shook her head. "And the only reason you're still looking for your perfect partner is because you're too blind to see you've had it all this time."

"What?!" Steve certainly wasn't expecting that. "What do you mean?"

"I..." Peggy seemed to change her mind in the last moment and shook her head. "I suppose, in the end, it's not my place to say. Hopefully you'll see it eventually." She stopped him from insisting. "Now lets dance," She looked at him through her lashes in a very flirting manner. "You owe me a number of dances still, Mr. Rogers, I'm keeping you all to myself today..."

Tomorrow could worry about itself.

xXx

Eventually the party ended. Hela had warned Steve when the hour was coming to a close and he'd left with Peggy, closely followed by James, Sharon, Sam Wilson and the Stark family to Steve's own suite in the tower. There, surrounded by family (both by blood and choice), Margaret 'Peggy' Carter, the original Agent 13, passed on.

What probably surprised some was that, once preliminary preparations were made for her funeral the next day, the others went back to the party. Everyone began dancing then. Slow, old dances, from the forties, like some unplanned memorial for Peggy. There were so many couples in the dancing floor in that moment, like Tony and Pepper, Bruce and Betty, Clint and Darcy, Thor and Jane, Azazeal and Hela, Sharon and Sam, Akela and Trip, Melinda and Wesley, Jemma and Leo, Victoria and Maria, Charles and Erik, Raven and Irene, Logan and Marie, Kitty and Piotr, Kurt and Ororo, Jean and Scott, Peter and MJ, Harry and Felicia, Clark and Alec, Chloe and Jimmy, Cassie and Adam, Diana and Faye and of course Skye and Phil.

"Are you alright?" Phil asked his beloved at one point.

He was still worried about her having an episode or something due to her actions in the recent battle. Either because of her Jotun or nature, or simply it being her first kill.

"Just perfect." The brunette answered honestly.

And she really was, how couldn't she be when, despite Peggy's passing, in that moment she was surrounded by some many positive feelings? So much friendship, loyalty, compassion, love, even the melancholia took a happy tint when accompanied by all that.

In that moment Natalia was trying her best to dance with Steve, slow dances like that one weren't exactly her thing (she was more tha 'tango' type) but she had been a ballet-dancer once, and hadn't lost any abilities since. Also, according to her it wasn't attractive for a man to brood that much, and he was much too handsome for that.

Wanda was dancing with James, the two joking and laughing as was usual, when the two couples almost crashed into each other.

"Mind if we switch?" Natalia proposed.

"By all means..." James smiled invitingly.

Steve stepped back obligingly before offering his arm to the auburn-haired mutant; what he could have never expected was for Natalia to take Wanda's arm instead of James and pull her away (though not before pointedly pushing James in Steve's direction).

"Subtle much?" James snorted as he watched the two redheads dance away.

Steve just looked at his oldest friend like he couldn't understand, and it almost pained James, to wonder how Steve could really be that blind, when it was so painfully obvious to everyone else. Though he'd never expected Natalia's move either.

"Don't think too hard on it, it'll come to you." Or it won't...

James chose not to focus on it, instead took Steve's still extended arm and pulled his body closer to continue the dance.

"Bucky?!" Steve chocked out, in shock.

"What?" Steve asked, a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. "Oh, don't have a stroke Stevie. It's quite alright. Nothing wrong with just having one dance, right?"

"Just one dance..." Steve repeated, an odd tone in his voice. "Right..."

"I know I'm not what you would consider the right partner but... well, I do try." James admitted, not quite knowing what to say anymore.

Steve's eyes widened abruptly, as if something in his friend's words had suddenly clicked. Still, he didn't say a word, he just pulled James closer and kept dancing. Not like they were going to get arrested just for being two men dancing together, and it was just dancing, right? Right...

A moment came when silence seemed to be expanding, like some kind of ripple. The music did not stop, but couples gradually stopped dancing as they turned to find the origin of the sudden shift in mood. What they got to witness was beyond anything they could have ever imagined: Phillip J. Coulson, the Director of SHIELD was on one knee, in front of his girlfriend of nearly five years, who several people around the room knew by a variety of names, though they could all be put together in one: Skye. There was a ring in his hand, small, and nothing like what most people would expect of an engagement ring, though it is significant to them: It was silver (like the silver cord) and the single diamond on the top seemed to be a strange mix of blue and violet.

"Skye..." He said in a low but clear voice, full of feeling. "You have many names, many titles, but in the end, to me, you will always be Skye. You will always be the amazing girl I met one day in the back of her van, the brave young woman who chose what was right over what was easy time and again. The one who's always pulled me back from the edge... Our lives have not been easy, and I know they'll never be, but I believe that as long as we stand together we can overcome anything so... Skye, Arwenamin, my love, my soulmate, my match... will you marry me?"

Only one answer could be given to that question, and maybe it wasn't enough, it certainly didn't convey the wide array of feelings (all of them positive) the young princess was experiencing in that very moment, but she decided, for the time being, it would have to be enough (until she found better words to express herself):

"Yes."

Clarifications (any doubts after this are always welcome):

The story of Darcy's not-quite-family is heavily based on some characters from a tv-show, the surname happened to connect them, and the opportunity was too good. You don't need to know the show (though, I'm actually curious how many will recognize it), in the end I won't go into that. They exist in the background and that's pretty much it.

I wanted to achieve several things with this last chapter: finally saying outright that Darcy is Tony's daughter (I've had that in my head since Skye's and Darcy's conversation in the last chapter of Lokidottir, but just never could find the right spot to get into it), bringing Hela fully into the picture (she deserved to be there with her family, and I needed her around), Mike needed a chance to go back to his family, and I honestly believe that Stark has the finished formula for Extremis (if only in his head), how else could he have restored his own body after taking out the arc-reactor? (Muscles and bones were missing there), And I think Pepper has it too, that it couldn't be taken out, only perfected enough for it not to be a danger anymore. Regarding Maggie, I wanted them to have a child, and it was a good way for Darcy to connected with them. I also wanted a chance for Phil to face off Lorelei and her magic not to affect him (have been wanting that since I first saw Yes Men, but because of how the situation was with my characters at that point, couldn't do it there). Amora was a convenient villain to have Menel go all-out, and I wanted Skye's whole 'willing to do anything for family' to reach a climax; and to show how she reacted to that (it's part of her character development).

Also, Amora was a convenient medium to bring Peggy (the young Peggy back). And here's where we had a certain... disagreement. I tried making up my mind, tried getting people's opinion, and neither worked. Some don't like slash, some just don't like Steve/Bucky (some probably think I'm downright insane). I will admit that my original plan was a bit different, but once this version of the scene between Peggy and Steve entered my head, I couldn't get it out. The chance for that dance, the goodbyes... I wanted to show that this story isn't just about immortals (or really long lived people) because I've noticed that a good number of my characters are like that), but also about the humans. And in this case, about Peggy choosing to let go, though not before having one last moment with Steve, and imparting a last piece of advice. To those who still do not agree with my suggested pairings, ignore them. I'f you're a fan of Steve/Bucky consider this the beginning of their relationship; if you aren't see the dance as some harmless fun between friends (Wanda and Natalia were dancing too and they most definitely aren't a couple). I probably won't get back into this in the sequel (unless people ask for it a lot), so you most likely have nothing to worry about either way.

Finally, the marriage proposal... I needed to do it! It's important, for the characters, the pairing, and even the story as a whole... and that's all I'm saying on the topic for now.

So, this is it! Astrid is officially over. See ya next week with the first installment of "Meneliel" the fourth and final part of the Menel series (the confrontation with Odin is coming... some probably would say Rangnarok is coming... Oopps... that's it, no more!)

If you want me to write an article-of-sorts with a summarized bio of Skye (if any of you are confused about some part of it, the timing or anything) tell me and I'll add that as a sort-of chapter 0 of Meneliel.

See ya around! Don't forget to comment please!