As you can imagine, I didn't sleep much that night.

Or at all, really.

I didn't go back to the campsite, either, not at first. Not until I got my emotions under control enough to banish the shadows that lingered on my hand. Not until I truly accepted the fact that I suddenly had that ability in the first place.

Once I was certain that I could make them go away and stay away, at least for now, I headed back, battling my own nerves as I did so. These shadows definitely corresponded to the same emotions that my force field did- rage, anger, fear- which seemed to confirm what the Gray had said about these new powers still originating from my nanos. Unfortunately, this also meant that I would be without my old shield while I was getting these new, far more temperamental powers under control. They reacted to the same old emotions, it was true; but they were much more sensitive than my bubble had been.

This would take some getting used to.

Not that I particularly wanted to get used to it, because quite frankly, knowing that I was identified through magic as Fraye was quite the pain in the neck.

Shadow Taming was not a natively Jotun power, nor natively Asgardian. It could never truly be mastered by anyone from those two realms- and definitely not from earth- which meant that, whatever I'd become, it was much different. From what the Gray had been suggesting, this was because I didn't view myself as a human, or a Jotun, or an Asgardian. More than that, I wasn't any of the three, not even at heart.

At heart, I was her.

That's what she tried to make me. I guess she succeeded.

Feeling shaky and cold, tired of battling fear and fury, I stumbled back into camp. Puck and Reggie were fast asleep, Puck next to Bones while Reggie slept on the far edge of the canyon. Katy was awake- she even nodded at me, seeming unsurprised that I was awake, like it was typical for me to take a nighttime stroll while on another world (which probably was true)- and Loki was twitching, sleeping fitfully, his head full of nightmares.

I settled down next to him, kissed his forehead, and closed my eyes, pretending to sleep, hoping that would calm down the terrible dreams in his mind. It did, eventually, but as the night grew darker, closer to dawn, I still did not sleep.

How could I possibly sleep?

My eyes opened again after a while, staring at the sky as it grew darker, then eventually lighter, the sun peering over the edge of the world. This was another test. I knew that much. This was a test to see if I was worthy enough of immortality, though frankly these idiots could see through time and should really know that already.

But the fact that I was being tested gave me a little bit of hope. It suggested that no one, not even the Faden, knew everything about the future. That some things really aren't set in stone.

And I could become a monster, or I could become the greatest queen Jotunheim had ever seen.

And it all came down to what I really was inside.

I looked at my hand, wiggling my fingers in front of my eyes. The darkness had gone away, and all of my too-pale-but-kinda-tan fingers showed up in the dawn light, even though my palm was still burning. I stifled a sigh; I guessed that enough about myself, my personality and my core being had to change that I lost this talent for Shadow Taming before the Gray would accept that I could handle immortality. These abilities of mine had to change in order for me to pass the test.

That's what I assumed, at any rate. With these guys, who even knew what they wanted?

My head kept buzzing, a more comfortable buzz now that my emotions had calmed down. I wished I knew what that buzz was. I wished I knew how to keep these shadows under control permanently. I wished I knew how to be a good parent to my time-traveling kids when I was suffering from serious PTSD. I wished life was simpler.

I wished for a lot of things. None of them came true before the sunrise.

Loki woke up before anyone else, probably because I was awake. His nightmares had faded, but something about having your other half awake sometimes woke you up, too. He straightened up, running a hand through his black hair, which had gotten all messy and tangled in the night. It had grown longer since we'd left Earth, and somehow, with how raw and fragile I felt right now, I couldn't resist reaching out to play with it. I ran my fingers through it, combing it back, and he closed his eyes, relaxing into the touch, all of his defenses dropping. He didn't care if he looked weak, letting me do this. Who was watching, anyway? Katy had fallen asleep again a while ago, Fenrir hadn't been giving us any trouble, and if the Faden were watching from some far distance then who even cared? They could've been watching us for our whole lives for all we knew.

Besides, it was relaxing. To both of us. I remembered coming back from Fraye, being brought back to Earth, and stroking his hair for the first time since I'd been in that chair… and really, for the first time ever. It was the soft feeling that got me, since it was one of the first 'soft' things I'd felt in months.

I'd promised myself to never take it for granted again. This was me keeping that promise, because now those shadows were taunting me again and all I wanted to do was retreat, focus on Loki, focus on the things that made me happy…

His mind, however, seemed far from mine. Sighing quietly, he murmured, "I'm not certain you're correct about Sigil, Frost."

I blinked, my hand halting on top of his head. He turned to me, his face flat but his eyes sad. "If the Jotuns believe that we had anything to do with Kiross' death, particularly with you being a mortal…"

He was going on, but I stopped listening at that point. Seriously? That was what was on his mind?

I tried to listen for a second longer, struggling so hard it felt like sweat would form on my back again, then gave up and growled, "Oh, shut up."

He blinked as I gripped his collar and pulled him towards me, kissing him hard, forcing him to stop talking. Because seriously, it wasn't as though we didn't have enough to worry about right now. And the poor guy didn't even know the half of it.

But he was always worried, so after a moment, he pushed me away, startled and confused. "What was that about?" he demanded. I stuck my tongue out at him and stood up, brushing myself off casually.

"You're too tense," I responded simply. I had to keep things simple, or he'd know that I was lying, know that I was keeping something from him. "Lighten up, blue boy, or I'll make you lighten up. We don't have time to waste on stupid fears."

And I really can't afford to waste any of my limited sanity on the stupid things, I didn't add. His head tilted, his eyebrows furrowing as he watched me. I knew he was questioning my sudden flippancy, especially considering all of the things that had happened yesterday that he was actually aware of: discovering the true identity of our children, realizing I was pregnant, learning who Kiross' real killers were, etc.

But what with this new addition to the crazy-train, I really couldn't afford to be freaked out any more, or to dwell, or even to act like I was still surprised/worried/whatever. Yep, I was pregnant. Yep, all three of my future kids were now hanging out with us. Yep, we'd gotten our crown through some terrible means. We also had a crazed werewolf out there who wanted to kill us, another werewolf as prisoner, and a whole crapton of other crazy things. My life had been crazy from the day I realized that my best friends were spies, super soldiers, cyborgs, and hidden hulks.

I was okay with this. I was okay with crazy. I probably did my best work with crazy.

I can handle this.

Firm in my resolve, I clenched my fist behind my back, even as the shadows began to swirl in the corners of my vision. I banished them, banished the part of myself that loved them, that wanted them there. Banished the Fraye in me and let myself be a good person. A happy person.

And maybe it was a lie. But it was also what I wanted to be, and maybe that counted for something.

Loki scrutinized me for a long time, not certain of what I was hiding but knowing I was hiding something all the same. He rose from his seat on the ground, taking a step toward me, placing a hand on my shoulder that traced up to my neck. Pulling my head forward so that he could rest his forehead on mine, he muttered, "What are you thinking, Frost?"

It was a genuine question- not sarcastic or anything- and I thought over what I could tell him. But I only allowed myself a few seconds for thoughts. I couldn't show signs of hesitation. The Gray had told me to hide this from him for now, and hide it I would. He wasn't wrong about the emotional turbulence being too much for me right now.

"I think a lot of things," I answered in a bubbly voice, then lowered it, trying to make my words smooth and velvety, purring them out. The effect was botched a little bit by the fact that I was also trying to make it sound like a joke. "Like right now, I'm thinking of how gorgeous you look with the sun behind your back like that."

He scowled, in no mood for games. Grumpy guts. Moving a little closer, his face an inch from mine, well aware that he was making my heart race a lot easier and faster than I could ever try and make his, he growled, "Frost…"

"Laufeyson," I corrected, holding up a finger between our faces, which were so close that it was very easy for me to tap the tip of his nose. "There's no one named 'Frost', here."

Someone cleared their throat behind us, startling us apart. Even after all this time together, we still split away from each other whenever we thought someone had caught us together in some compromising position; a side effect from all that time of sneaking around Stark Tower in the old days, trying not to get caught sleeping next to each other.

"I beg to differ on that front," Reggie told us, her staff telescoping out into its full height- bigger than even she was- before she folded it back up again, satisfied that it was working in the way it was supposed to. As we looked at her, she shrugged, gesturing between herself and the drowsy, slowly-waking Katydid. "You couldn't exactly call us 'Lokison' now, could you?"

Lokison. I assumed that was what Puck's last name was. That's how people were named in the other realms, after all; or at least in Asgard and Jotunheim. And I supposed none of them would inherit their grandfather's name, like they would on earth; none of them would be a 'Laufeyson'.

Something about that thought made me choke back laughter, and I pressed my hand to my face, snickering. I'd never known Laufey, not directly, and it would be in terrible taste to laugh about him now, considering that Loki had killed him, but for some reason, the realization that Laufey would actually be a grandfather right now made me want to burst out into giggles. And then I was thinking about how Odin and Frigga were going to be grandparents, and how my mom and dad were going to be grandparents, and how Thor was going to be an uncle, and suddenly the giggles were hysterics, and I was clutching my sides and laughing just a little too hard.

I blame the sleep deprivation.

Loki and Reggie gave me a long, worried look. I forced myself to quell the giggles, swallowed them back, made myself professional. I wasn't sure what came over me; though I'm pretty sure it was the backlash of worrying so much. My emotions had become a yo-yo, a rollercoaster, and I was just along for the ride.

As Katy shook the still-snoring Puck awake, I decided it was probably best if I stayed away from people right now; I wasn't sure any of these people were conducive to a state of good mental health. Family was the number one, sure-fire way to make a person go batshit, guaranteed. Even if your family is comprised of a bunch of aliens.

Hell, especially then.

I rolled my eyes, waved about an airy hand to let them all know that I was okay, like, it's-fine-seriously-I'm-just-having-a-moment-of-stupid-please-ignore-me. "I'm gonna go scout ahead," I told them. "Which way, Reg?"

She pointed in a general direction, but with these mountain paths, there really was only one way to go, so I'm not entirely sure why I asked. I stood on tiptoe to kiss Loki on the cheek, then turned and walked off. Loki waited until I was a few steps away before catching up in a few smooth, casual-seeming strides. He grabbed hold of my wrist, pulling me to a halt. It would've looked like a kind gesture to anyone who wasn't feeling just how tight his grip was.

Pulling me backwards, into his arms, he wrapped one around my shoulders and muttered in my ear, "What are you hiding, Frost?"

Damn. I'd thought I could keep it under wraps for longer than that, at least. I scrambled for a decent response- something that would give him just enough information that he'd stop questioning me, without telling him too much or telling a direct lie- and came up with something unsophisticated, but sufficiently cryptic. "It's nothing you need to know right now."

I felt it register in him, his body tensing up; I hadn't even bothered to deny the fact that I was hiding something. As he opened his mouth to complain, I asked, "Loki, when have I ever hidden anything from you unnecessarily?"

He didn't even lose a beat. "A little more often than I'd like," he responded, his lips so close to my ear that I could feel his cold breath. His tone growing darker, he added, "Because you and I frequently have very different definitions of 'unnecessary.'"

I wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time: get those shadows out of your voice, you idiot, don't invite them into your life, get them out, get them all out.

Still, I remained silent. And when I didn't respond for a long moment, Loki held me tighter.

"Answer me this, Natalie," he ordered. "Will it hurt you?"

"Undoubtedly," I replied, because there was no point in lying.

"Will it hurt you worse if I were to become aware of it?"

"Yes. And it might just hurt everyone else, too." I placed my hand on his arm, still wrapped around my shoulders. "We're parents now, Loki. I have to think of our kids."

He nodded very slowly; I could feel the gesture, he was so close to me. "Does it have to do with your… difficulties?" And he lowered his voice a little more, like he'd fallen into the taboo that we were not supposed to say this name aloud: "Are you seeing Fraye again?"

"No," I answered. "It's not about her, not in the way you're thinking."

He hesitated for a long moment. Then, carefully, he released me. I looked back to him, and I could see it in his green eyes, reflecting an old memory back to me.

Because the last time I'd tried to hide something from him- something serious, something big, something dangerous- it was my Darkest Secret: the fact that I loved him. And it had changed our lives forever; for the better, and for the worse.

"Be careful, Frost," he warned me. His eyes gleamed with danger. But I was the one and only person that he allowed to hide things from him; because I was the one and only person who couldn't, not forever. I nodded tightly.

"I'll do my best," I promised, then turned around and tried not to run away.

And all the while, I kept my burning hand out of his sight, keeping the shadows away from his vision.

Once I was around a corner, out of my family's- and Bones'- line of sight, I lifted my palm to my face and sighed. The shadows were wrapped around my fingers, making little noises that sounded distinctly like cooing, but more tinny, metallic. I lifted them up to my face and studied them, surprised by how much I feared them, surprised by how much I didn't. I mean, right now, they seemed harmless enough. They weren't hurting anyone; in fact, they were protecting me.

I just worried about what would happen if one of the others got in the way while they were trying to do that very job.

"What am I going to do with you?" I asked of the shadows. In response, they flickered and danced, jumping from fingertip to fingertip, and I sighed.

Nothing for it, I supposed. At some point, I was going to have to get myself to a safe place, somewhere that I could be alone, somewhere that I could level some trees without anyone getting mad at me. And then I'd have to unleash them; just to see what it took. Just to see what 'control' meant. That was how I'd learned what to do with the bubble. That would be how I learned about this.

So why not now?

The little voice in my head was curious. It wasn't Fraye's voice, or any voice in particular. It was just a little part of me that wanted to know. It wanted to know about these shadows. It wanted to push them to their limit.

It wanted to see what I could do.

I looked back, over my shoulder. Already, even just thinking about it, I could sense a strong power inside of the shadows, building in the palm of my hand. The burning got hotter, more painful, like my hand was consumed by fire, and the shadows crept all the way up to my elbow. I was all at once repulsed and fascinated. Like when you see a picture of a bug up close: it's completely disgusting, but it's so darn ugly that you can't help but stare at it a little bit longer.

A morbid fascination.

I wanna know what makes up the things that once tried to rip me apart.

There was no one behind me. I did another scan, just to be sure, then ran forward a little further, taking loping strides, my feet sure and steady on the rocky ground. Surprisingly so, actually. I headed forwards, over to a steep cliff face. This place wasn't populated by intelligent beings; none that I'd seen, anyway. No one would be hurt if I flung some shadows over the edge, even if they did somehow manage to make it to the base of the mountain without dissolving.

I closed my eyes, stretched out my hand, and let the emotions build. They were the same emotions that unlocked my force field: rage and fear. Pure rage kept it in line once it was out, but that little element of fear was needed to unlock it in the first place.

The effect was immediate. My hand burned hotter and brighter than before, but suddenly it stopped becoming painful and became kind of a… good hurt. A pleasant ache, like a healing wound or a newfound love.

I opened my eyes. I was kinda forced to; the shadows were no longer confined to my hands anymore, and I could feel them, swirling around in my eyes. That should have scared me. That should've made me start screaming for mommy.

It didn't. It just opened my eyes up to new wonders.

I was seeing through the eyes of shadows, seeing the world as though the sun had been eclipsed, a daytime darkness. And yet, I could see more clearly than the brightest high noon; I could see every little detail in the blackness, every shadow that lurked everywhere, under rocks and in the mountain and under that stream, far down below us. Shadows on the earth, shadows in the sky, shadows in the wind and the water and the trees. Shadows surrounding me.

A shadow in the laugh that bubbled out of me.

And of course, a thousand swirling, writhing shadows on the palm of my hand.

They arced toward the sky in streaks of black lightning, darkening the world in a beautiful, terrible storm. A part of me, somewhere inside, was screaming, screaming at the top of her lungs, waiting for the pain to hit… but the rest of me already knew. The only pain to come was the pain in my hand, which had spread up my arm and was now warming my shoulder. It wouldn't be long until I was consumed by it, and I didn't care. It was a good ache.

It was a wonderful pain.

It spread across my shoulders, down my back, into my chest. I was breathing in the darkness- I've done that before, Fraye moved the shadows in my lungs, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breathe- but this time I wasn't choking. This time, it was… oddly nice.

I didn't realize, not then.

I didn't know that I was losing myself.

The shadows started to spread up my feet, too, building around me, the chaotic storm of fire, burning and brilliant. I'd thought that I was fire before, but I was wrong. This was fire. This was fire in its truest form; fire when the light has extinguished. Fire when it was darkness.

It's so perfect.

My legs were burning, my back and chest and pretty much everywhere else. The fire was spreading to my stomach, and the shadows were everywhere now, all around me, not just spiking out in lightning streaks from my hands but engulfing me, wrapped around me, curling up next to me, wishing for me to love them… and I did… I loved them so much…

And then the fire spread across my stomach, and something snapped.

That buzzing in the back of my head- that buzzing I'd had there for days, that buzzing that I'd ignored, that I'd been pushing aside- changed. All of a sudden, it went from a gentle whisper to a screaming roar, wailing and crying like a siren. I screamed with it, stepping back, and the fire retreated away from my stomach as I banished it, banished all of it, because no, oh no, no please no, the shadows can't go there, don't do it, don't hurt him…

Don't hurt my baby…

I dropped to my knees, arms wrapped around my stomach, pulling in the shadows, inhaling them, swallowing them, spitting them out and making them dissolve, doing whatever I had to, just to keep them away, away from that desperate voice in the back of my head…

Puck… by all the nine realms in the sky, Puck, oh, Puck, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry …

The buzzing didn't calm down. It grew louder, wailing inside my head. It was his voice, my baby's voice, my baby's voice before he had a voice, before he even knew what a voice was. Of course it was. Dammit, how could I have been so stupid! Loki and I were telepaths for realms' sake, and so was Puck, so of course he was thinking, of course he was feeling, of course he was in our heads even before he was even born… Human children had brainwaves in the womb… Hybrids maybe had them earlier…

"Puck," I cooed, once I had choked away all the shadows, once I had reduced the fire, once I had put it all out. "Puck, honey, I'm so sorry…" a sob hitched in my throat. "I'm so sorry, baby…"

The keening took a very long time to die down. I stayed there, still sobbing, and in some corner of my mind found the ability to hope that no one would come across me like this, pathetic on the ground, having almost let the shadows take control of us both. And after the tiny brainwaves in my head had gone back to a gentle buzz, it took even longer for me to calm down. I couldn't breathe. I just… couldn't.

And then I threw up. Again. I wasn't surprised I did; the emotional turmoil was one thing, but I was also pushing all of this while pregnant, so there was that.

Bits of shadow coughed out of my mouth, and I shivered. I hadn't even considered this. I hadn't even thought about Puck. He'd been standing beside me for so long now that I'd forgotten; I was also pregnant right now. Pregnant with him. And he was very vulnerable.

Was it possible? Could this power kill him now… even when he was alive in the future?

"Yes," a gently insane voice said behind me. "I'm afraid the future is never set in stone. You should've been more cautious, Natalie Laufeyson."

For the first time, the voice sent rage running through me, and I whirled on the Gray Man, throwing myself towards him. He allowed me to grab his collar, push him back, hold him against the mountain wall.

I could hear the shadows in my voice, see them in my eyes again, as I yelled, "Then why didn't you warn me about this in advance, you bastard?!"

He didn't move. I knew he was just letting me do this to him, that I wouldn't even have these terrible powers if not for him, that he could dispose of me with a thought if he wanted to, but at the moment, I didn't care. I was furious. And what was worse, the shadows knew it.

I dropped him, looked away and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself. I didn't want to make the same mistake twice. "I didn't… I wasn't trying to let them take over. They just… did." I looked to him again, desperately pleading, "Why didn't you tell me how easy it was to fall apart? Why didn't you tell me that they could hurt my son?"

His eyes were soft. "Because I hoped that you could still see the good in them without my help," he answered.

"What good?" I shrieked. "There is nothing-"

"There is always something. It's your rage and pain that turned them this way. It is your hate that makes them manifest like this."

I snorted, having a hard time believing that. He sighed, taking my shoulder.

"I guess I'll have to prove it to you, then."

And suddenly, the world around me changed.

It wasn't like before, when he'd teleported me somewhere else. It was different; like the world moved, not us. Everything just sort of morphed, new things shimmering into existence while old things faded away, taking hold of the land in front of my eyes. Black glass buildings sprouted out of the ground, and people glimmered into life, the scenery completely altered as I stared, turning around a few times, trying to regain my bearings.

"This is an illusion," The Gray Man told me what I knew I could've figured out for myself, if he'd given me a moment to get over my shock. "An illusion of a memory."

My eyes caught on something, and I froze. His eyes traveled down the same path and he added, "I suppose you can guess whose."

A hundred people were bustling around us, walking around in all directions, going about their daily lives. A hundred people were completely ignoring us, passing around and through us. A hundred people had us surrounded, but it was still the first thing that I saw. The only thing that I saw.

A little girl and a little boy were playing in front of a house. A house that looked a lot like the one I'd been imprisoned in (which must've been a replica of this one). A house that wasn't surrounded by ash this time. They were laughing and giggling together, these children with black hair and eyes, looking so happy.

There was so much life in that little girl's eyes… so much that was eventually stripped away…

Fraye Burns and her brother stood side by side, playing in a street, just like every other kid ever. And neither of them saw me, or bothered to glance my way.

"Shadows are darkness," The Gray said quietly. "But there was once an entire world that tamed them."

Fraye's hands lifted. I immediately flinched, recoiling from the sight. I knew I always would. But she just turned her palms to the sky and took a deep breath, concentrating hard, eyebrows pulling together in a look of rapt, strict attention.

"Do you really think that an entire world was born evil?"

The shadows swirled on her palm, coalescing, converging. And then they froze, splintered, fractured.

And where they were, a black flower, delicate and exquisite in its beauty, rested on Fraye's palms. She squealed in delight, showing off her creation to her brother, who ogled at it with wide black eyes. It was made of a fractured black glass, reflecting all of the colors around it, and yet it somehow looked… alive.

There was life in this darkness.

My hands curled into fists, and I closed my eyes, listening to the buzzing in my head. Still hearing that echoing wail, despite how it had died down long ago. "Stop," I rasped. "Stop it."

There was a pause. And then I heard something- or rather, felt something, something that I wouldn't have been able to feel before, some extra sense that let me know that the magic had been dropped- and I peered out of my eyelids. The illusion was gone. The Gray Man and I were standing beside each other on the mountainside. He said nothing, watching me again. I got the feeling that he did that often, my own personal space stalker.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, my throat feeling thick. This was too much. I was too tired for this shit. Immediately, instinctively, I reached out to brush Loki's mind with mine, to look to him for some reassurance, even if he didn't know what he was reassuring me of. But where his mind once was, there was only a fog.

I felt every muscle tense- this was too much, it was just too much, I couldn't deal with this without him, what was I doing, what was he doing- and the Gray interrupted my chaotic thoughts quietly. "Your husband is fine, Natalie. I cut off your access to each other when it became apparent that you were going to test your new abilities." He quirked an eyebrow, smiling a crooked smile that was just a little too ironic for my tastes. "If I hadn't, he would have both felt your transformation and heard your son's screaming; and I highly doubt you would've been able to convince him that you needed to carry on keeping this secret of yours. Wouldn't you agree?"

I scowled at him- he hadn't warned me about a danger to my child's life, he'd given me creepy shadow powers, and now he'd cut off my access to my husband and was making a really annoyingly good point about why it had to be done, so I was starting to get just a little bit P.O.'d- and then I turned away from him, feet snapping together as I looked in the complete opposite direction from him. "When will you return our 'access'?"

"When our conversation is finished," he responded in a simple, smooth voice. As I fumed, he added, "You needn't worry. He won't question it unless his attention is drawn directly to it."

Just like I hadn't. The Gray Man took my hand, turning me around and leading me forwards with a simple walk-with-me gesture. I obeyed, mostly because I didn't think I had much of a choice.

He talked in liquid words, words that flowed a little more easily than my thoughts currently were. "As I've said before, your majesty, I've given you these powers as a sort of test. But they are also what you are inside." He regarded my profile while I stared resolutely ahead. "Do you truly believe that you are evil?"

When had I ever not believed that? I smirked at him, a deadly little gesture- or it would've been deadly if I'd been anything stronger. As it was, I suspected I just looked cute; like a baby with its war face on- and told him, "Haven't you heard? I've always been a monster."

"Monster Schmonster." He retorted, which sounded unbearably juvenile, but I was hardly going to call him out on it. A person with that much grief in his eyes is allowed to cope as he wishes; including acting like a five-year-old when he felt the need to. "Do you- without any regard for what anyone else has ever said, do you- believe that you are evil?"

Yes and no. I bit my lip, feeling conflicted and hurt and still more than a little angry. I'd almost hurt my son not minutes before. As a matter of fact, I'd hurt Puck- the time traveling version, the Puck as he would be in the future- a number of times. I'd thrown him in prison, for realms' sake. I wasn't a very good person.

"If you met yourself in the street," The Gray added, "Would you trust her with your life?"

Yes and no again. I gritted my teeth. The fact of the matter was, if I met myself on the street, I would have the same reaction that I had towards everyone I met on the street: Are you a threat?

And then I would try to trust my instincts. I would try to trust my gut feeling to tell me whether this person would hurt me or not, whether or not they were lying to me. Except it didn't work that way anymore, because after Fraye, my survival instinct -and a lot of my other instincts- got fried. I didn't trust anyone. Not a single person. I was always just waiting for them to hurt me. The only ones I did trust were the ones that I'd learned to trust before: namely, the Avengers.

Everyone else was a threat.

And had I been wrong? Puck hadn't been evil, but he wasn't telling the truth, either. Tiff had turned out to be a spy. Even Benny was hiding things from me.

Sigil and Avalon had murdered the previous king. Murmur was out to kill me. Fenrir was out to do the same. The whole universe was betraying me left and right, and I was left only with those who stood by me in my darkest times.

Only them.

Not me.

"No," I replied. "No, I wouldn't trust her. I wouldn't ever trust myself."

The Gray gave me a long, hard look. It was a look my teachers used to give me when I gave a stupid answer in class; sarcastic, berating, a little bit of suspicion, like he was worried I was lying in order to make him look stupid.

"Do you trust the Avengers?" he asked, his words a snapping staccato.

I blinked. It wasn't even a question anymore. "Yes."

"Do you trust their judgment?"

"Yes."

"Do they trust you?"

I fell silent. He didn't let me. He just repeated the question: "Do they trust you, Natalie?"

I nodded a tiny, defeated nod. I knew where this was going. "Yeah."

"Then you can't be an evil person now, can you?" he concluded firmly, turning forward, shaking his head. He looked like he'd start muttering under his breath any second now, grumbling things about how I could even say that about myself and how kids these days had no self-esteem (and maybe then he'd blame video games. I wasn't sure, but it seemed that kind of day, that kind of moment; like he was suddenly some crotchety old man who was sick and tired of my generation's BS).

And then, suddenly, he just stopped walking. I pulled myself to a halt beside him, a little thrown.

"Darkness and shadows aren't evil," he said, ricocheting me back again into another mood swing. "The things that hide in them are."

And then he smiled at me- that mournful, grieving smile- and turned away. "Don't lose yourself to the things in the dark, Natalie."

And then, with a ripple in the air, he just vanished.

I swear, if one more person decided to just show up in my life, play some head games, and then disappear again, I was going to clock 'em in the mouth.

What Happened in the Realms

"Boorreedd…" Tony Stark complained, leaning back in his swivel chair and turning it around and around with his feet. "Bored, bored, bored."

His eyes flicked around the room, looking for something to do, something shiny to attract his attention. An old research project flared on one screen, and he glanced over it before pronouncing, "Boring."

His gaze danced over a piece of his Iron Man armor, a repulsor with a minor glitch that he'd been hoping to fix soon. But right now… "Boring."

"Tony," a voice started, accompanied by the sound of the automatic door swooshing open, a hiss of air. Bruce was studying a tablet intently. "I think there might be something wrong with your calculations on-"

Tony barely glanced him over before growling, "Ugh. Boring!" He lurched to his feet, gesticulating wildly. "Everything, all of it, it's so boring! This is boring, that is boring, you are boring!"

Banner looked up from the tablet, blinking once. Seeing Tony's state of disinterest, his eyes softened a little, deciding against becoming offended by his childish comments. He'd realized long ago that it was easier that way. Setting the tablet on the counter, he said, "Pepper still in Europe?"

Tony grumbled under his breath, something that Bruce didn't quite catch but wasn't sure he really wanted to. He nodded in understanding anyway and picked up his tablet again, swiping past the calculations. Pepper had been away on business for a long time, having left Tony behind for 'reasons'. Good ones, Bruce was sure, seeing as Tony had been in a particularly petulant mood lately. "Well, I wasn't going to mention it," he said slowly, "But we've been getting a few unusual reports lately. And by 'we', I mean 'S.H.I.E.L.D.'"

"Boring," Stark said, having fallen back into his seat, eyes back on the ceiling, twirling round and round again.

"Involving those Wolves that Natalie was discussing," Banner carried on, as though he hadn't been interrupted.

There hadn't been any evidence to suggest that they should investigate, but Banner had been considering letting this information slip around one of the spies- whenever they got back from their current mission, anyway- just in case one of them wanted to check it out. Loki hadn't seemed concerned about the Wyr Wolf on Earth- 'Fenrir', was it?- but Natalie had been. And frankly, though Loki might've been part of the team, Bruce trusted Natalie to keep Earth's interests in mind more than he trusted Loki to.

Tony perked up, but only a little bit. "Oh?"

"A few sightings," Bruce told him. "Nothing serious, but… there could be a connection, if Iron Man wanted to check it out."

Tony considered for a long moment, leaning further back in his chair, tilting precariously on edge, until he was liable to fall at any moment. He remained there, perfectly balanced, for a few moments before declaring, "Nope. Boring."

Bruce rolled his eyes.

An alarm went off then, a soft beeping on Tony's computers. Stark lifted his eyes to look at the screens and called, "JARVIS, shut those things up!"

"I'm sorry, sir," the cool, accented voice of the Tower replied. "But it appears there is a problem with the Jotun portal."

Tony bolted up in his chair, leaning forward and clicking on keys. Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering under his breath, "You shouldn't have said anything, Tone, everything bad always happens when you say something…"

Stark either did not hear him or chose to ignore him, instead pulling up the security footage of the steady portal to Jotunheim that he had constructed with Loki's- and a few other Jotuns'- help. It flickered on the screen, shifting colors and shooting sparks.

"That's definitely not supposed to happen," Stark said.

"Is it critical?" Bruce asked warily, stepping forward and peering at the screen. Tony didn't reply; he lurched from his chair and started running out of the room. Taking a quick, calming breath, the exasperated Banner followed a second later.

Stark burst into the portal room a little too fast, almost breezing past it, catching himself on the doorframe and throwing himself into the room. His eyes were wild with excitement, though he still retained his usual swagger once he'd regained his balance.

"What is it?" Bruce asked, wishing he'd had a moment to check the screens a little better so he wouldn't be reduced to asking.

"I have no idea," Stark said, somewhat flatly, like it was just a simple fact. But there was an excited edge to it, and Bruce knew just what he was thinking: whatever it is, at least it's entertaining.

The portal sparked a few more times. Banner eyed it cautiously. "Nothing can get through there, right? You locked it?"

"Locked down tight," Tony agreed. "Nothing in or out. We made it clear to the Jotuns that if they wanted to talk while the royalty was gone, they could go through Asgard."

Bruce nodded. He remembered. He'd thought it a somewhat foolish decision, but it was all S.H.I.E.L.D. would agree to, with Natalie and Loki- the 'lesser of two evils'- absent.

"So what's that?" Bruce asked, quite politely.

Just as a pair of red eyes began to loom in the swirling, bruise-purple colors of the portal.

Tony took a step back, hissing something out of his teeth that was not entirely fit for polite company. He lurched forward to the controls, slamming on buttons. Blue swirled around the red eyes, a face peering out of the gloom. A face Bruce recognized, from a battle long ago.

"Stark…" He said, as the other man kept slapping his hands against the controls. "Stark, open the portal!"

"Are you nuts?"

"Do it!" Bruce snapped.

Tony flinched away from the sound of his fellow Avenger's voice; and for good reason. The ever-calm human hulk had raised his voice.

And the Iron Man dared not disobey.

Giving Bruce a swift look, he unlocked the portal.

Just as a man collapsed onto the floor, screaming in agony.

Bruce immediately knelt beside him, pulling him entirely out of the portal. Barking at Stark to close it again, he rolled the man onto his back and said, "Sigil? Sigil, what's happening? What's wrong?"

The wild-eyed Sigil, feeble and helpless on the ground, swiveled his gaze around the room, checking for enemies. He saw only Stark and Bruce, and his eyes continued to dart between the two as he sucked in painful-sounding breaths, coughing intermittently. His skin steamed, burn marks streaking across his entire body, intermingling with his already prominent scars. There was a lash of blood across his face, and at the sight of him- and at Bruce's command- Stark struggled to lock the portal again. But it was too late; the portal itself vanished in a blink of an eye, swirling in on itself and vacuuming into nonexistence.

Two pairs of eyes turned to Sigil as he panted, looking around between them, his own gaze feral, half-mad.

"Sigil?" Bruce prodded again, a little more gently now that the portal was closed, and the imminent danger was gone.

Sigil stared at Bruce for a long time, as though trying to place him. "Her team," he rasped at last. "The Queen's. You're her allies."

Bruce noted that he spoke first of the Queen, but not the King. But he nodded, very carefully.

Sigil's hand whipped up, gripping Bruce's collar so tightly his knuckles went pale. "They're coming." He rasped. "They're coming."

"Who?" Stark asked immediately, beginning to feel the first thrum of fear.

Sigil didn't respond. He only whispered again, "They're coming…"

And he muttered the words, over and over again, as he slumped into unconsciousness.

"They're not coming back," Avalon pronounced, her tone ringing with finality.

Her twin sighed heavily, closing his eyes and wishing for patience that he did not have. It was so very rare that the two of them fought, but whenever they did, it 'got ugly', as the Queen would have said. Avalon knew people- all people, and their natures- very well. She was a telepath, after all; she was used to being in the minds of others.

But, by her own admission, she could not read the minds of the two currently-missing royals. And so Sigil had taken it upon himself to watch and monitor the Shadowslayers very closely; and thus, he believed he knew them far better than his sister, for once.

And that was why he was beyond certain when he retorted, "They are far stronger than you give them credit for, sister. They will return."

"Not in time," Avalon answered, her voice dark. "You know what is coming for us, for Earth. If those monsters do not find what they are looking for on Earth, they will come to Jotunheim. And the King and Queen will be too far away to stop it."

"They'll return in time," Sigil replied, though even he was uncertain as to that fact. "And if they do not, then Steprin will-"

"Steprin?" Avalon snorted. "You don't truly believe he will be capable of fighting off an invasion, do you? He can barely keep the peace as it is!" She slumped into her chair, staring at the scorched wall (a reminder from an old, failed attempt at magic). "And once they arrive, he'll lose control of the situation entirely." Her red eyes grew slightly distant. She looked exhausted, more so than Sigil had seen in a very long time. His expression softened. She was still his sister, and though they may have their disagreements, he wished for nothing but to help her. They had only ever had each other, for their whole lives. They were the only two people they could count on.

"If only the King hadn't placed Steprin on the throne," Avalon said, very quietly. Sigil stiffened in surprise, but Avalon carried on as though she hadn't noticed. "Putting yet another giant in charge of this world… already, they've forgotten that their true king, their precious 'Shadowslayer' is just like us." She spat the word out: "A runt. Stunted and deformed but wiser and more powerful than any of them."

A nervous flutter stirred in Sigil's stomach. "Steprin wasn't an unwise choice…" he started, but Avalon barked out a derisive laugh, and the words faded.

"Steprin is a giant." She growled. "Just like all of the other giants. And under his rule, everyone has forgotten. The slaves that the Shadowslayers tried to free are still slaves. We are still considered to be a lesser class. If that half-breed was still around, he would be dead by now." She shook her head fiercely. "And when Earth is at war- when the Queen's home planet is seen as being unprotected- that aggression will rise. They will blame her humanity, say that she is a lesser being again. And then they will see us all as that." Her dark blue hands clenched into tight fists at her sides. "And when Earth falls…"

"Steprin will not allow it." Sigil broke in. "He is working towards the goals of the true king and queen; if he sees these things happen again, he will stop it-"

"He will try," Avalon replied simply. "And he will fail." She sighed thoughtfully, leaning forwards and resting her chin on top of folded hands, propping her elbows up on her knees. "We may have to remove him. Place someone else on the throne instead."

Sigil stared at her in shock. "You cannot be serious."

Her eyes slid over to him. She didn't respond, but she didn't need to. The look on her face told him everything. A sick feeling dropped into Sigil's stomach.

"Remove Steprin?" He asked, his mouth dry. Lowering his voice and automatically checking the magical boundaries on the wall that kept their conversation from being overheard, he demanded, "You want us to kill yet another king?"

"He is not the true king," she replied tartly. Her eyes burned with red fire. "I do not take pleasure in the thought, but the fact of the matter is, without Loki on the throne, the job must fall to one of us."

Sigil stared at her. This wasn't like Avalon. This wasn't the sister that he knew.

Or was it? The longer he stared, the clearer it seemed to get. As though he was seeing her with entirely new eyes. And it became clear; he'd been staring through a fog. He'd been looking at Avalon for years without truly seeing her. This, in front of him, was the true her. And he could see it, now: all of those justifications. All of those things that she'd told him, about why they had to kill Kiross- and of course he had agreed, he hated those true 'giants', they had caused him so much pain and misery in his life- they had all been excuses.

She hadn't wanted to put Loki on the throne just to make their lives easier. She'd wanted to put him there so that she could become more powerful.

But it was so obvious that Loki saw right through her, right through them both. He didn't trust them, and it was clear that he never would. That much was made obvious when he put Steprin on the throne, and not one of the twins.

Sigil had not been offended by that. He didn't care if Loki trusted him or not. He didn't want power. The only power he wanted was the power to survive. The power to live in peace.

Clearly, Avalon wished for more than that.

And maybe he would've helped her with that. She was his sister, after all; if his sister wished to be queen, then he would do whatever he could to give her that. To make her happy.

Except…

"I am glad that our worlds are safe."

"Even at such a cost to you?"

"Even at such a cost. I'm an Avenger. It's my job. My duty."

Those words. Those words that Natalie Frost had said to him, after the battle with Fraye, even before she had become a queen.

It was that conversation that had earned Sigil's respect. He believed self-sacrifice to be overrated and somewhat foolish, but in that moment, seeing the look in her eye as she'd studied her own scars… he had, perhaps, understood it. He understood her motivations. He understood exactly what she meant, exactly why she did what she did.

It was in that moment that he had decided he would be just fine, following a mortal queen. So long as it was that mortal.

He disagreed with her on many fronts, and he enjoyed making her life just a little more interesting, putting obstacles in her way and sneaking around her back. But for the first time in his life, he had to admit, he felt a sense of loyalty to his King; and more importantly, his Queen.

Natalie Frost wasn't a natural-born leader. But she had been made into one. And he was certain that she could lead Jotunheim down a prosperous path, if she was given the immortality to do it.

Could he truly say the same about his sister?

But that was hardly the only problem he had with this plan. "But Steprin…" he started. "Avalon, he's our father."

Her lip curled, and suddenly, she leapt to her feet. Her face was wild with fury. "Of course he's not our father! Don't you remember? Our father left us to die in the cold! Our father tried to kill us! He would've let us freeze, would've let the snow bury us! Our parents tried to murder us when we were children! And Steprin would've let it happen, just like everyone else! He would've let us die if we hadn't kept ourselves alive for as long as we did!"

"But he saved us!" Sigil protested, knowing how weak it felt. How weak it was. "He didn't have to, but he raised us. He's-"

"He's not responsible for our lives," Avalon growled. "We are. And we don't need him."

Sigil hesitated. She wasn't wrong.

But she wasn't right.

"I… I need to think on this." He said after a long moment. Moving towards the door, he said, "Don't do anything reckless. We'll make a decision later."

"Soon," She said, her voice a warning.

He stopped by the door, looking back to her. He could see his own features on her face, though the edges were softer. She looked so much like him that he hadn't noticed the hate in her eyes; the hate that, while very much like his, was not quite the same.

But he smiled a little. Because he knew what he'd end up doing, no matter how hard he fought it: exactly what she wanted.

"Soon," he promised, then stepped outside of the door.

Avalon fell back into her seat, staring at the wall yet again. Her eyes traveled along the cracks and crevices, as though searching for answers there. She often did this, stared at the patterns, finding them in the wall and in her own life, and her chair was facing the wall for specifically that purpose.

"I couldn't help but overhear your little dilemma."

Avalon jumped from her seat, whirling around, silver-red magic coating her hands. An Asgardian stood behind her, a very beautiful woman with long, flowing blonde hair kept up by a winged silver hairpiece. Her vivid green eyes shone in the light, glimmering with an obviously powerful magic. Her dress- the same color as her eyes- ended just below her knees, hugging her curves but flowing when she moved. She laughed a floating little laugh, one that fit her perfectly; beautiful, but untrustworthy.

"Please," she said, raising a pale, slender hand. "Must we resort to violence? I had hoped we could speak to each other rationally. One mage to another." At this, she turned her hand palm up, and a vivid green flame burst to life in its center. She crushed it into nothingness only after Avalon had done the same.

"Who are you, Asgardian?" Avalon snarled. "How did you breech these walls?"

"I admit, it was a very difficult task," the woman replied, pushing long, flowing blonde strands of hair over her shoulder. "I almost didn't make it through; but once your brother began having doubts… well, it was only inevitable that he waver."

"My brother does not waver in anything," Avalon growled, her hands beginning to spark. The woman held her hand up again, gesturing for her to be at ease. Of course, Avalon was never at ease.

"I am not accusing him of anything that you yourself have not already thought, Lady Avalon," she said quietly. "Your brother is a talented mage, and a very fine man." Avalon's eyes narrowed; she'd never heard of an Asgardian speak of a Jotun that way.

"But you know as well as I that his heart, unfortunately, has strayed." Holding her hands out in a peaceful gesture, one that was almost supplicating, the Asgardian carried on, "He would give you a kingdom if you so desired… but would he give you this kingdom?"

Avalon fell quiet.

"He is not so ruthless as you or I," the Asgardian carried on. "But then…" she lowered her voice, her words almost gentle. "That is what you love about him, is it not? That he attains… some level of kindness in the world that has given him naught but hate?"

Avalon's eyes narrowed further. "Do not think to presume that you know why I love my brother. Nor that you know anything about him or I."

"It's all right," the woman insisted. "I think no less of him for it, nor you, not in the slightest. In fact… I am here to help you, Avalon. So that he does not have to."

Avalon snorted. "Help? From an Asgardian? Truly I would have to stoop low to-"

"Don't pretend to be like the rest of them, Avalon," the Asgardian female's voice had suddenly become much colder, making Avalon tense up again. "There is no such thing as a superior or inferior species, you and I both know this. There is only power; and you and I, my dear mage, may just be equal."

"Equal? You would presume to be-"

"I am Amora the Enchantress," the other woman cut her off. "Make of that what you will; for I believe my assessment was fair."

Avalon's red eyes widened. Immediately, she looked over the Asgardian once again, taking in the blonde hair and the infamous green eyes that she had not realized belonged to the Enchantress. She was known in Asgard most notably as being a seductress; but any who knew her true nature knew, beyond a doubt, that she was far beyond most mages. Avalon swallowed hard.

"And you would see to deal with me?" Avalon demanded, even more suspicious now.

"I wouldn't see why not." Amora replied, tossing her thick hair again, quite casually. "Your interests and mine align quite neatly, all things considered."

"How so?"

"We both know that Earth will be at war soon. The other mages will see the impending threat before long and warn your acting king and mine. Thor will most certainly rush to defend his mortal planet, as will Steprin, believing that it would be what his king would do. Unless, of course… something were to…interfere."

"What are you suggesting?"

"It's quite simple. Earth is not nearly powerful enough to take on that threat on its own. Without Asgard or Jotunheim involved, humanity will eventually… cease to be. And- should the King and Queen ever return- they shall be too busy avenging the loss of their comerades- fighting a losing battle- to reclaim their throne. Particularly if someone else has already gained the loyalty of Jotunheim. Namely, you."

Avalon snorted. "And how, precisely, am I supposed to do that? They are the Shadowslayers. That may mean nothing on your rock of a world, but on Jotunheim-"

"One of them is also human."

Avalon fell silent, her lips pinching together, pressing into a thin line. Amora smiled, a wry, twisted gesture that took over her entire demeanor.

"Yes… and there are many on Jotunheim who are ashamed to admit that, are there not?" The Enchantress continued. "Of course, most of the planet is in awe; but that can be changed. Collectively, any species is foolish; if one of them starts to believe that Natalie's human nature will be a detriment to your race… soon they shall all fall in line. They'll just need a little…" her eyes started to outright glow. "Persuasion."

Avalon considered this very carefully for a long moment. Then, "And what, exactly, do you get out of this?"

"A fair number of things," Amora replied, waving an airy hand. "Asgard, for one- certain things are in play in order to make it mine, I shall only need your help for one last little detail- and, for another-" the smile on her face turned truly dark now, cloaked in danger- "The satisfaction of seeing that wretched creature's face, should she ever return 'home' and find her planet in ruins."

"Queen Natalie?" Avalon asked, lifting an eyebrow. She knew that the queen had certain enemies- she couldn't have gotten to this position without them- but she hadn't thought the little human creature capable of infuriating someone like this.

"Aye," Amora said, all but spitting out the word. But, after a deep breath, her voice became pretty and perfumed once more. "She and I have… unfinished business, so to speak."

Avalon's eyes narrowed. "And what is this 'one last little detail' that you need my help for, to make Asgard yours?"

"It's a trivial matter, truly," the Asgardian said, pulling herself back to the present. "Some help completing a magic that I set in motion years ago. Your telepathy is stronger than mine, and I have need of it. Nothing more and nothing less."

As Avalon hesitated, the Enchantress carried on, "And truly, if you think of it, it would benefit us both! The Shadowslayers may be flawed rulers, but they set something in play that no one could have anticipated: they united our worlds. With them gone, with you on the throne of one, and I on the throne of the other, the alliance could become stronger than ever!"

"If neither of us betrayed the other," Avalon replied dryly.

The Enchantress all but rolled her eyes. "Please do not patronize me, Frost Mage. You know that I have no intention of betraying you- you are a reader of minds, after all- and I have many ways of ensuring that you do not betray me." She waved a hand about. "And even if one should betray the other, with humanity gone-or severely reduced, at least- Earth is the perfect backup. Either of us could take control with a handful of decent soldiers."

This was not entirely true- or, at the very least, it was an exaggeration- but Avalon saw the wisdom in the Asgardian's words. Nodding slowly, her telepathy reaching out to the other woman's mind, touching on it long enough to assure herself that Amora's intentions were-as far as Avalon was concerned- pure, the Giantess said, "Very well."

The Enchantress' face lit up with a smile. "So we have an accord?"

"We do."

"No."

The sound was but a breath, heard from the other side of a door. Both the Enchantress and the Giantess turned to face it, the little voice declaring disbelief.

Sigil stood in the doorway, his red eyes wide, his hands clenched in fists.

"Sigil," Avalon said quietly. Slowly, she reached towards him, saying, "Sigil, it is all right. It's much better this way-"

"No." Sigil said, more firmly this time, and Avalon realized that it hadn't been denial she had first heard in her brother's voice. It had been a refusal. He was not going to allow this.

"Sigil," she said, a little more strongly herself. "You cannot possibly feel more loyalty to that human girl than you do to your own sister-"

"Her name is Natalie Frost," Sigil replied in a colorless tone. "And whatever loyalty I feel to her is only amplified by your insistence that we betray her." His eyes softened, just a trace, at the look in Avalon's eyes.

"Sister," he said quietly. "You cannot remove Steprin from the throne. You cannot. He is our father. And Natalie… Loki… they are the Shadowslayers, whether we wish them to be or not. They saved our lives. Surely we owe them some kind of allegiance-"

"We owe them nothing," Avalon hissed, and Sigil flinched. This time, her face softened, and she turned away. "Brother, please," she whispered. "For the sake of our race… we cannot allow these… brutish giants to rule any longer. We must encourage magic in the blood of all true Jotuns, we must-"

"Sister," Sigil interrupted in a gentle whisper. "How are we better than they are, if we treat them as they did us? If we stamp out the larger giants in favor of those with magical prowess? Where will it end? How many times has this cycle repeated itself?"

"If never has, Sigil, it never had the chance, we never had the chance."

"Avalon!" Sigil cut her off one more time. "Please. Don't ask me to do this."

Avalon saw it then, the sadness in his eyes. The brokenness. And she knew. She knew what he would do: anything she asked of him. If she asked him to aid her, he would. If she asked him to kill Steprin himself, to murder the Shadowslayers, he would. He would kill them in their sleep, poison them, destroy them all however he could, if she just asked him to.

And he would hate himself for the rest of his life. To the very ends of the nine realms, he would loathe his very existence.

But he would do it.

Avalon took her brother's hand. Gently, she pulled him into her arms. He buried his head in her shoulder, silently whispering pleas for her to stop this, for this to end.

"Okay, Sigil," she said quietly. "Okay. You can do whatever you wish. I won't stop you."

"Avalon," the Enchantress said in a softly warning voice.

"You are a potential ally," Avalon retorted in a growl. "This man is my brother. Do not think that you hold any place in my life above his."

Amora scowled, but Sigil's chest heaved once in an unspent sob. "Thank you, Avalon," he said, in such a gentle voice. "Thank you."

"Always." Avalon replied, turning back to wrap her arms entirely around him, as his were around her. "Always, brother."

She squeezed him tighter to herself as Amora rolled her eyes. "Never forget, brother," Avalon whispered. "I love you so very, very much."

"Never," he repeated.

Just before the fire hit.

Sigil knew that he was burning, burning alive, and he knew who had set the fire.

He knew who had left him for dead.

And so the worst burn was that in his chest, burning him from the inside out.

The fire was wild, devouring all- even that ice which he desperately used to try and quench it- and it would not be stopped. He could do nothing but watch himself burn as Avalon stepped over his screaming body, Amora in tow.

He thrashed on the ground, twisting and seizing, and forced his pain-addled mind to focus on controlling the fire itself, as opposed to trying to stop it. It took all of his concentration, every ounce of his willpower, but he managed to focus it into a number of set points on his body. The least lethal places he could manage.

But then all he could do was wait for the fire to burn out.

And so he sat there, screaming in agony, cursing his own stupidity and the power hunger of the sister that betrayed him. Cursing himself for still loving her, even in this moment of torture.

Because it wasn't the worst torture he'd ever endured.

But she had always been by his side, back then.

Burning and on fire, on fire and burning. It was all he could think. It was everything, for the longest of time, but he waited it out, he knew it would end, because he'd been through this before. He'd gotten these scars before. True, it was much worse this time- Avalon had truly been trying to kill him, had pulled no punches- but nonetheless, it was the same.

Even if it felt endless.

But all fires die out, and all things have an end, and soon enough, the last flickers of light began to fade on the Jotun's body. He collapsed on the ground, his breathing heavy, his heart like lead in his chest, the wounds still gaping, still burning and blistered. But he had no time, no time to recover, no time for anything at all. He knew his sister well.

And he knew what her next priority would be.

Pulling himself to his feet, panting and shivering, in such shock that he actually felt cold, he started moving. Moving towards the portal, desperate to reach it, desperate to go to earth before Avalon closed it off.

And he ran.

He ran with his burning wounds and he cursed her name over and over as he did so, wishing with all of his empty leaden heart that it wasn't so, that this was all a dream, but he knew the truth.

He had been dreaming for years.

Now, he had finally woken up.

Quite the rude awakening. The Queen would've told him to set an alarm clock next time.

He laughed like a madman and ran for the portal. Ripping a gap in space, he threw himself towards it much faster than Avalon would've thought to go, creating a portal to the portal, so to speak.

She arrived in the portal room just as he was stepping through. He knew it was locked, and that she would try to close it behind him, but he didn't care- he was already burning, being trapped forever wouldn't change a thing- and he threw himself inside.

And stumbled, a number of long and agonizing moments later, into the arms of an Avenger.

"He said anything yet?"

"Clint, give the man some time," Steve quietly chastised the archer. "He hasn't even woken up yet."

Clint grumbled, frustrated, and turned to Tony and Bruce. Tony was on his computer, playing some first-person shooter, and Bruce, like Natasha, was deep into a book. "And you're sure he just said 'they're' coming? Didn't give you a name or anything?"

"We're sure, Barton," Bruce replied patiently, turning the page of his book. He had been through far too many emergencies to think that he could just sit in one place for hours any longer. That's not how it worked.

"Guys!" Another voice joined in. All eyes turned to the curly-haired spy in the doorway. "He's awake."

Everyone got to their feet with varying degrees of urgency. Natasha clapped Tiff on the shoulder as they passed through. "He said anything yet?"

"Something about… a wire, I think. Not much else, though."

"Wire?" Barton's eyebrows furrowed. "What in the hell does that mean?"

"Do I look like I know?" Tiff snapped, clearly feeling somewhat pressured. Bruce placed a gentle, reassuring hand on her shoulder as they walked.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "We'll know soon enough."

They entered their 'patient's' room, where two S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors were hovering, trying to check on the Jotun. Sigil was looking at them in a bewildered, what-the-hell-is-this kind of way as the Avengers congregated around him.

"Oh, thank realms," he sighed the words out in relief as he caught sight of the team, his voice sounding crackled and sore. "You're here." He hesitated, then, seeming close to panic, demanded, "Where is Thor?"

"He's on Asgard." Bruce replied.

"We… couldn't get ahold of him," Tony added. "The portal shut down, and the Tesseract's with him, so-"

"No, you must find him." Sigil said, seeming more panicked than ever. "My sister, the Enchantress, they have some… plan for him. They wish to put Amora on the throne, and when they do, Earth will stand no chance against-"

"Woah, there, slow down," Tiff interjected. "Just calm down and take a deep breath, okay? And talk slow. Little words."

Sigil swallowed hard, but followed her advice. "Amora the Enchantress and my sister are planning a rebellion. A coup. They're going to overthrow the kings on their world and Asgard."

"But Loki is king of Jotunheim," Clint put in. "How can they overthrow a king that's not there?"

"He placed Steprin in charge. They do not believe that the king and queen will return from their journey." As a few faces became pale- Tiff's most noticeably so- he added, "The Faden are less than a myth, less than a story. But the road is dangerous. That is always the most prominent of the tale, the danger involved. And I do not trust their half-breed guide."

"He's not an issue," Natasha said confidently. No one questioned her.

"Regardless," Sigil kept going. "If you do not stop them, then Earth will not be able to fight against what is coming."

Clint immediately snapped on the words. "What's coming? What do you mean by that?"

"An army," Sigil said quickly. "Thousands, tens of thousands, I do not know. It is headed for Earth. I do not know when it will arrive- our most powerful mages are only beginning to see it, Avalon and myself and Amora- but it will be here."

"An army of who?" Clint demanded. "Why?"

Sigil shook his head. "I know not why. But they are…" he swallowed. "The shifters of shape. The Wyr Wolves."

"Wire Wolves?" Tiff whispered, as everyone else fell silent. "What the hell is that supposed to be?"

"Fenrir." Natasha whispered.

"Fenrir," Tony agreed, spitting the word out like a curse. "Natalie said she didn't trust him."

"But why would he get his species to invade Earth?" Bruce cut in. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Does it matter?" Natasha asked, her words quiet, her eyes already thoughtful and calculating. "We know that there was a Wyr Wolf in the Frost home. And Loki did trust him; clearly, they have enough information on us and our weaknesses to be a threat."

"And with Natalie and Loki gone, we're down two of our biggest heavy-hitters." Clint added, also looking thoughtful. "Add that to the fact that we can't get in contact with Thor…"

"There could be some trouble," Steve agreed solemnly. Immediately transitioning to battle mode, he turned to Tony and ordered, "Stark."

Tony needed nothing more than that single word, and was already tick-a-tapping on a nearby keyboard. "I've got a number of suits ready and available, and the jets are ready to go whenever we are. Green Bean can handle-"

"Re-establishing contact with Asgard and Jotunheim," Bruce concluded for him, already up and walking out the door, towards the lab. Steve nodded him off.

"Natasha, Clint?"

"Already warning Fury," Clint said. Natasha was nowhere to be found. Taking that to be a good sign that Natasha had already determined her own goals and headed off to complete them, Steve turned to the Shadow Crow.

"Tiff, can you get to the Frosts? Tell them we're on high alert, that they might need to get in touch with their old revolutionary contacts. We might need to do some evacuation, and they'll get it done much faster in a crisis."

Tiff, though she clearly didn't understand the true nature of the threat, immediately nodded and headed off, following after Clint. And then Steve turned to Sigil.

The Jotun mage looked up to him nervously, feeling out of place and exposed. His injuries had been treated, but they were still raw and fresh, grating against him with every breath. As Steve stepped towards him, Sigil resisted the urge to flinch; but Rogers simply placed a hand on Sigil's shoulder- the one that was not burned; or at least, not badly- and said, "Thank you. For warning us." Looking him up and down, the Soldier added, "And for everything else."

Sigil stared at him, and relief enveloped him, an oddly powerful emotion. He hadn't realized just how terrified he was- of betraying his sister, of being accused by these people, of not being believed- but in that instant, it was all washed away. He nodded once, and Steve turned away, ordering, "Get some rest. We'll take it from here."

And Sigil closed his eyes, believing for just that moment that it would really all be okay.

But of course, he was wrong.

What happened on the Faden Homeworld

"What the fricking fricker frick?" I said in a dull monotone, staring at my bare stomach in the reflection on the water. It had been only a few weeks since I'd recently gained my shadow abilities- only a few weeks since Puck had told me that I was pregnant- and already, already, I could swear that my stomach had swelled. Like, a lot.

I rapidly tried to calculate how long, exactly, I had been pregnant, and decided that it was probably only a few months. Not enough to be showing this much. Turning to the side, I stared at my reflection; there could be no denying it. I was really showing.

I'd noticed the tiny bump beginning to form a while ago, and hadn't thought much of it. The morning sickness- which had led to some of the vomiting, I'd realized, if not all of it- had worn off already, but I hadn't really noticed just how large that little bump had been growing.

Pulling my shirt back down over my stomach, I could almost see why. It had been getting somewhat cold here lately, even for me, so I'd been wearing slightly thicker clothing… combining that with the fact that I didn't always get access to a mirror and spent most of my days traveling towards what could easily be my doom, all while trying to control some insane new shadow powers, all of this had kind of slipped my notice.

"I had wondered," a cool voice spoke from behind me, as a pair of arms wrapped around me and stroked my swollen stomach gently. Loki's voice was gentle as he said, "Back when the journey first began. You seemed… different."

I caught the implication and, in a slightly edged tone, asked, "You thought I'd gained weight?"

His eyebrow lifted, and he backtracked, "Oh, barely anything. You're hardly even showing now."

This was a blatant lie, and I felt my lip quirk up at the corner. Seeing the joke in my reflection's eyes, Loki smiled as well, kissing the back of my head. "I was quite glad to see it, in all truth," he told me quietly. "You've been…" He sighed into my hair. "Rather unfortunately thin, since Fraye. I had hoped that it was a sign of your recovery." He chuckled wryly. "Who would have thought that it was a sign of much more than that?"

"Who indeed," I mused. Gently removing his arms from around me so that I could turn around to face him, I said, "Perhaps the half-breeds?" and then, purposely raising my voice, I added, "The very same half-breeds who are trying very hard to pretend like they're not eavesdropping right now!"

"Busted," Reggie's voice came from the trees, followed by a little giggle from Katydid. As the three half-breed children- our three half breed children- came out from the trees, Puck insisted, "We were not eavesdropping. We came to collect you and didn't want to spoil the moment."

Reggie grinned. "Anyway," she said, pointing at my gut. "I hate to break it to you, but you'regonna get a lot bigger real quick. No standard nine-months for you, mother."

"Oh, wonderful." I grunted, causing Reggie to grin and even Katy to give a little smile.

"It was only about five months," Puck muttered. "Jotun pregnancies are usually actually a lot longer than humans'. I don't really freaking know why it worked out that way for me." He jerked a thumb towards his two sisters. "Those two took almost a year."

"Eleven months, two weeks, five days," Reggie recited. "Which you like to remind me of a lot, by the way," she added.

"Ten," Katy agreed, raising her little hand. I stared at all of them.

"Well that sounds like fun times all around," I grumbled, and Loki snickered. Turning a glare to him, I demanded, "What are you laughing about? You're the one who'll have to deal with the mood swings."

"Not to mention the cravings," Reggie added. "What was it, Puck?"

"Non-stop Chinese take-out." Puck said immediately. "I'm not even kidding. I swear, we had Chinese take-out literally every night for a month. Do you know how hard that is to get on Jotunheim?"

"Not very," Reggie retorted, waving a dismissive hand. "When you're an Avenger, at least."

"Oh realms, the Avengers." Puck said, running a hand over his face. "They all refused to take it to Jotunheim, none of them wanted to deal with it, they made me do it, all the time, it was insane."

"Yeah, not me," Reggie said, almost bragging. "Mom had so many different veggies when she was pregnant with Katy that I just straight up ran away from home. Clint had to track me down and bribe me back with ice cream." She grinned.

"Well, at least that's not going to happen quite so badly here," I added, looking to Loki, who was actually starting to seem quite wary. "This place is a little weird, time-wise. We're all aging just a little faster than we should be; it's not so strange that Puck-"

I stopped talking, realizing that everyone was staring at me. Laughing a nervous little laugh, I said, "I mean, it just seems that way, you know? And it makes sense, what with this being the Faden's home and all." They all kept looking at me funny, so I scrambled around for a lie. In all honesty, it had been the Gray who had told me this-that time did some funny fluctuations, that sometimes it moved slower or faster here- but only in a dream, a number of days ago. But I had been taking these dreams quite seriously, considering everything that had happened.

Still, I could hardly tell them this, so, giving them a look, I snapped, "Look, just because you are immortal and can't feel time passing does not mean that the only mortal of this group can't, all right?"

They all exchanged looks, but seemed to buy it. They could hardly refute it, after all, and with the Gray's protection still partially on my thoughts, keeping Loki from knowing my shadowed secret- and all the others related to the Faden- he could hardly deny what I was saying. Relieved, I changed the subject.

"At any rate, we should get going. Where's Bones?"

Puck nodded towards the trees, and the white Wyr slowly emerged, in her larger wolf form for some reason. She had been on edge lately, her hackles up, but though we no longer kept her bound, or even kept that close of an eye on her anymore, she seemed to have lost all willingness to resist us. On the contrary, she seemed to follow along and protect us every step of the way; or, at least, protect Puck, Reggie, and Katydid. I still wasn't altogether sure of the connection between them, but it was obvious that there was something there.

I nodded at her, and she nodded her large head back, her scarred muzzle twitching slightly. Picking my things up from the ground beside the lake- we had stopped here the night before, and I had come here for a few quick minutes of shadow training, only to be distracted by my reflection and my swollen stomach- I threw my pack over my shoulder and told Puck, "Lead the way, then."

He did so, rolling his eyes and gesturing for Bones to follow. The two immediately fell into conversation, though half of it remained unheard, spoken solely in Bones' mind. Reggie and Katydid followed, with Loki and I bringing up the rear; he clasped my hand in his and carried us onwards.

But as he did so, my mind invariably wandered back to the Faden, to the secrets that I was keeping from him, and from all the rest. I had been, surprisingly, getting somewhat better with controlling the shadows. I still wasn't great, mind, but I would sneak off whenever I had the opportunity and practice with the little things, making sure that the shadows didn't take over like the last time. There had been a few near misses and close calls, but for the most part, I could keep the darkness in check. My palms still burned almost constantly, but the shadows no longer swarmed about me without my permission.

We walked for quite a while after that, and yet it felt like no time at all when Katy stopped abruptly. Loki and I were all too used to her behavior by now- when the empath stopped, everyone else listened and prepared for danger. She could sense it coming from farther than we could- and immediately we stiffened. I could feel Loki reaching into the ether for his spear, and I automatically tapped into the emotions necessary to flare my shield; only to remember at the last second and shut down on those emotions entirely.

But neither of the other half-breeds were reacting; or, at least, not in a hostile way. Puck simply looked surprised, turning to Katy.

"Are you sure, Kit-Kat?" He asked. The little girl nodded once.

"What is it?" Loki asked quietly. Puck swallowed. Even Reggie looked a little grim.

"We're here." Puck replied.

"Here?" I queried. "What do you mean, we're 'here'?"

Puck looked between us for a long moment, then, "I mean… we're here."

And then he turned around. It was a blink-and-you'll miss it moment, but immediately the three half-breeds were half-bowing towards the clearing in the rocky surface of the mountain ahead of us. In that second, the once-empty clearing had been filled.

And there they stood.

The White Specter. The Grey Man. The Black Whisper.

The Faden.

Fate itself stood before us, and for the absolute first time in my life, I bowed without hesitation. Loki followed suit. We remained there for a moment, glancing to each other, sweat beading on the back of my neck.

My eyes twitched upwards, just long enough to examine the three before they flickered back to the ground again. In that second, my stomach roiled, rejecting the very sight of them. The Grey Man, fortunately, appeared as he had before; his salt-and-pepper hair swaying in the breeze, his brilliant eyes gleaming. There was no shock there.

But I had never seen the Black or the White (at least, not in recent memory). The White appeared, now, as a woman, her white hair glistening as it flowed all the way onto the ground, her eyes orbs of pure light, her skin itself glowing. I could not tell the color of her skin, or her clothes, for they were all bathed in a brilliant, vivid light. But something about her eyes, those vibrant, brilliant suns, conveyed to me an emotion that I had only learned to expect within the past few days; pure, unadulterated hatred.

The Black Whisper's emotional state seemed no more welcoming than his sister's. His eyes were the black holes to his sister's suns, implosions to her explosions, deep and dark and void of light. He and his sister both appeared young, but his was a cruel and calculating youth. So unlike the Grey Man, who still appeared middle-aged, as though desperate for some distinction between himself and his siblings.

Darkness surrounded the Black Whisper, and when he spoke, his words lived up to his name; quiet yet echoing, they breezed around us in soft tones that were anything but gentle, "Greetings, Family of Frost."

Loki's eyebrow twitched. Immediately, he was wondering why I was the focus here, but just as swiftly he had banished the thought from his mind. I was the one here for immortality, after all, not him, not any of the others.

We remained in our half-bowed position until I heard a familiar chuckle. "Oh, do straighten up. The formalities are hardly necessary here."

I obeyed the Grey immediately, as did my children, but Loki hesitated. Bones, behind us, remained in her bowed position even after my husband straightened. She was shivering, and had shifted back to her bipedal form.

The Grey Man's eyes were soft and open, but the death glares his siblings gave him were anything but. They turned their glares to us after a long moment of him ignoring them, and I flinched under their scrutiny.

Loki stepped forward after a moment, his Silver Tongue called to action. "Mighty Faden," he started, but was silenced by a bark of a laugh from the Grey.

"Yes, Laufeyson, we know why you're here. We know what you come for, what you seek. It is you who does not know: things are already in motion. Everything will come to pass as it is meant to."

Loki blinked, wholly and utterly surprised. I flinched again. Weren't my newfound shadow abilities supposed to be a secret?

But Loki was too busy catching up with what the Grey had said to feel my moment's wariness. "Then…?" He prodded slowly. "Then, our goal is to come to pass? You intend to make Natalie… immortal?"

There was so much hope in his eyes that I actually recoiled when the White snarled out the words that caused them to die. "Do not assume to know our goals, Frost Giant. We are doing as time itself commands; we do not bow to your whims."

She seemed to glow brighter and brighter as she talked, until we all had to turn away. I could feel the shadows inside of my recoil at the sight of her, could feel them rising up to protect me. I quickly shoved them down and spoke as fast as I could. "No one is assuming anything," I promised in a gentle, humble tone. "We are simply… questioning."

"Why ask questions that you already know the answers to?" The Black Whisper demanded. "You are well aware of our plans, Child of Frost. You needn't have come this far; you are already in our grasp." His black-hole eyes narrowed. "Now leave this place. Return to your home worlds."

And leave us in peace, he did not say, but the words hovered in the air all the same. Loki turned to me, questioning.

It's complicated, I told him. I'll tell you everything later. As soon as I can.

Seeing no lie, no guile inside of me, Loki hesitated, but nodded curtly. The three half-breeds had said nothing during this entire encounter, their eyes locked on both of us. Bones still remained in her bow, shaking and muttering quiet Wyr words under her breath.

"Now!" The Grey Man cried jovially, clapping his hands together. "I rather think it is time for you to return home, my favorite Natalie." He winked at me, then, in a grave tone so at odds with his smile, he said something that sent shivers down my spine:

"They need you."

And suddenly, the worlds was full of colors and light, shadow and brilliance, as we were transported somewhere far away…

When the world snapped back into focus, I stumbled forwards dizzily, my pregnant stomach rioting. I almost hurled my guts out in that split second, but the nausea ceased the instant I clasped eyes on my husband, Bones, and my three children. They were all straightening- except Bones, who was on the floor, murmuring to herself with frightened sounding words- and Loki immediately came to my side to assist me.

"Ugh." Reggie grunted. "I know they can make that teleportation easier. Why do they gotta be such jerks about it?"

"Are you all right?" Loki asked, ignoring Reggie's remarks, looking first to me, then to our children. We all nodded- though Reggie's nod was thrown out with a curse- and I found myself looking around.

"Where are we…?" I asked, but no sooner had the words left my mouth then I realized; I recognized this place. This… this was my home, or one of the many.

We were right in the middle of Stark Tower.

"JARVIS?" I asked immediately. "Where's Tony? Where… where's the other-"

I was cut off as my swiveling eyesight finally clicked on the window. Loki's followed suit, but the other four of our party were already staring out of it.

"By all the realms," Loki breathed.

For out below us, the city lay sprawled across the landscape, its usual, unflappable New York self. Except for a few differences.

The first difference: There were sections of the city cordoned off. In some places, the city looked barren, while in many of these barricaded areas, people were packed in densely.

The second, more obvious, more prevalent difference; in the distance, the city was on fire.

Chaos had broken out in New York.

"What…" I breathed, then swallowed. "What happened?"

And from behind me, a voice. I turned on my heel to face it the second the first syllable was uttered, only to be greeted with a familiar face: Tony. Except he was covered in grime and blood, a bandage over his left eye.

"Fenrir happened," he said grimly.

We all stared at him, dumbfounded; except for Bones, whose eyes had lit up at Fenrir's name.

"C'mon, Natalie," Tony said in a quiet tone. "We gotta get outta here."

A/N: END OF BOOK THREE

The next book will be titled 'The Avenging of Farin Lokison", and will be uploaded as soon as possible. I will be writing most of the fourth (and final!) book as I go, as opposed to simply editing things that I have already written, so it might be a bit of a change from the usual. Also, as I said before, my writing style has changed quite a bit, so I apologize for that.

Hope to see you all in the next book, and please review! Thank you all so much for being here with me during this writing journey. :)