The Unsung Avengers

Megan flopped on her bed and heaved a deep sigh, eyes staring at the ceiling in the dimly lit room. It had been two months since the "Lady Loki Incident" and Kerry still didn't know. They had been careful to keep the truth from her, as they feared revealing it to her would spell her destruction. The week afterwards had been nerve racking with all the news reports bouncing around. The desolated forest was hard to hide, and to make matters worse, some teenage punk had caught the whole thing on camera with his phone. Luckily, the quality was poor and it was too far away to see the faces.

In the beginning, Kerry had asked a lot of questions, but when the group continued to dodge them, she eventually gave up. They simply said that they'd taken her to the park for some fresh air after she had fainted and hadn't been there to witness anything. She still suspected something, but for now she let it be, to everyone's relief.

Megan pulled herself up from her bed and walked over to the laptop sitting on her desk in her room. She opened it up and started up YouTube to watch the footage again. She'd seen it many times over in the past couple months; she just couldn't seem to get it out of her mind. She watched the clip over and over again, clicking the repeat button after every play. Tears welled in her eyes as the haunting image of a defenseless girl chased by a raging vortex of a person.
Just thinking of that dreadful day brought tears to her eyes. Every single one of Megan's friends had a special power; an identity. She didn't want to be just getting in the way of a fight; she wanted to be right there helping out her friends in the case of a battle. The thing she wanted most in the world was to be known for something. Her eyes stung and she turned away from the screen.

A small black cat leaped onto the desk beside Megan’s laptop and mewed, concern seemingly laced in the small sound. Megan apologized to the cat—Stark—petting him affectionately before she closed her laptop and walked out of her room to grab her jacket. She decided it would be good to go visit her dearest friend, Tony Stark, since he would always make her feel better. The sky was a light grey and slightly overcast. It had rained the night before, so Megan went back inside to grab a tiny folded umbrella in case it happened to rain on the way.

She walked for about five minutes and soon she turned the corner to see the magnificent Stark Tower. She breathed in the calming scent of the rain and it wasn't long before she hit the front door of Stark Tower and walked inside.

Megan was startled to find Kerry raging towards the door with her eyebrows furrowed in frustration. Kerry didn’t seem to notice Megan as she stormed past her and out the door. Megan stared blankly after Kerry as Tony sighed from behind her.

Megan slowly looked back at Tony. “Umm… Why was Kerry here?”

Tony gave a sad sigh. “She was trying to get information from me about… you know what.” Tony gave a small laugh. “Boy, is she persistent! But good thing I am the master at avoiding subjects and acting stupid.”

Megan’s heart was lifted up a little. Tony always made her happy. “Come on in, Megan.” Tony beckoned to her. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Ah… Tea would be nice right now… Got any plain British?” Megan asked wearily.

“Hmm… Maybe,” Tony said. “I’ll go check for you… I think Pepper bought some a few days ago.” Megan followed Tony to the kitchen and sat on the high stool, elbows on the the granite countertop, her hands holding her chin up. “Ah ha! Here it is!” Tony waved the box and closed the cabinet. “After I found out you liked this kind I had Pepper buy it for you because you come over every once and a while. I thought you would enjoy it.”

Megan gave a simple, warm smile. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it…”

“So…” Tony said as he put water in the electric tea kettle . “What brings you to my humble abode? You want a rematch on that Xbox game we played last week?”

A wave of emotion hit Megan. She swallowed and laughed dryly. “ No… I just want to waste my time doing something. By the way… I was the one who won that match fairly.”

“Oh really?” Tony challenged as he turned up the heat for the kettle. “I think it was pretty legit.”

“Pfftt, yeah, after you finally let JARVIS off of my controller!” Megan said pointedly and Tony laughed.

JARVIS joined into the conversation. “Just so you know, Miss Kennedy, I could easily beat both of you in that game.”

Megan rolled her eyes. “Yeah, says the computer.”

“JARVIS, I will shut you down for a week if you did that,” Tony stated. JARVIS gave an unconvincing “yes sir”. “Oh, JARVIS, how is the upgrade going?”

“Quite well, sir,” JARVIS said. “The feature is 67.83% uploaded.”

“Upgrade?” Megan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah...” Tony said. “I made another suit with stronger, more durable metal ever since… the attack. The one before had gotten completely trashed!” Emotions swirled back up in Megan; it pained her to have the subject brought up, reminding her of how useless she was. “I am downloading better features to have quicker reactions and such, you know… I will be prepared if something like that ever happens again.” Tony sighed, but then perked right back up. “That experience had made us all striving to become stronger than we already are.”

“Yeah…” Megan mumbled, trailing off. And there isn’t anything I can do to prepare for the next attack… I think it would be best if I were to leave… NO. I can’t leave. No matter how useless I am in battle. Kerry would worry and wonder why I’d left, and then she would want the truth. And she CAN’T know the truth…

“Megan!”

Megan snapped out of her thoughts and saw Tony stare intensely into her eyes. He set the cup of tea in front of Megan and pulled up a chair next to her with his own tea. Megan sipped the tea, avoiding eye contact with Tony.

“What’s the matter Megan?” Tony asked, causing Megan to gulp a steamy sip of hot tea. She yelped at the burn.

“What do you mean?” Megan asked, trying to hide it for a moment longer. The face Tony made told her that he wasn’t buying it. Megan bit her lip as emotions built up inside her.

Tony sighed. “Megan, tell me what’s wrong. You know you can trust me.”

That was all it took. It was bursting at the inside of her chest, anyway. Megan decided to let it out. “I’m useless. I did nothing to help you guys defeat Lady Loki. There was nothing I could do to help!” Tony stared at her as tears started to prick her eyes. “I was scared… More scared than I’ve been all my life. My friends were dying right before my eyes… YOU were dying right before my eyes and I couldn't do ANYTHING AT ALL. And Kerry… poor Kerry… Loki has ultimately destroyed her! No matter how well they go together… I’m just not cut out for standing up and fighting against Lady Loki. I will only get killed because… Because I’m weak!”

“Megan…” Tony tried to calm her. “You have us to protect you. And I’m sure there’s some way for you to become strong.”

“But HOW?!” Megan cried out at Tony. “I don’t want you guys to be sacrificing yourselves for me! I want to be able to protect and fight for myself! I don’t have magical powers, a special weapon, or a suit!” Tears now poured from her face. “I’m the most useless friend ever!”

Tony grasped Megan by the shoulders and stared intensely into her eyes—they had a hurt expression. “YOU ARE NOT USELESS! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!” Megan stared back in shock. Calmer, Tony added, “You are not useless… All of us need you. You are the most beautiful, smart, funny, generous person in the world. And you are an important person in my life.”

Megan’s lip trembled and then she broke down crying. She sat there crying in Tony’s arms. She was so hard on herself. Tony made everything right; he knew exactly what to say to help her. She cried out all her sorrow, letting it go.

Megan didn’t know how long she sat there crying in his arms, but she finally calmed down to a quiet sob.

Tony pulled back and stared confidently into Megan’s eyes. “You know what? I’ll train you.”
Megan gazed back, surprised, a questioning look in her gaze.

“I’ll teach you how to fight.” Tony chuckled. “And who knows… You might be able to beat Natasha.” Happiness was returning to Megan, and she started to smile at the thought of being trained by Tony. Tony gave another happy laugh. “I always wanted to have a pupil of my own!”

Megan hugged Tony. “I would love that very much! Thank you, Tony! You’re the best!”

“Whoa! Calm down there, kiddo.” He chuckled again. “This will be fun, I just know it.”
=—= Megan spent the rest of the afternoon thanking Tony and even cheered up enough to take him up on his offer of video games. She wasn’t even bothered when Tony beat her—which he was only able to do because he’d used JARVIS again. The next day, Megan got out of bed with confidence that her day would be the best day of her life, and soon she would become just as special as all of her friends with their skills. She dressed in workout shorts and a T-shirt, then headed off to Tony’s to train with him in his gym.

On the way to Stark Tower, she passed a clothing store and something caught her eye. There, in the display window, was a dress mannequin with an outfit to blow away all other outfits. It was a blue shirt with a black jacket over it, complete with matching pants that weren't too tight, yet were loose enough to be able to move.

Megan really wasn't a freak about clothes, but this outfit would make an amazing costume when she got done training with Tony. She could see herself fighting off evil criminals with the fighting skills Tony was about to teach her. She smiled at her imagined image without noticing. And it took quite a bit of strength for Megan to walk away from the window and leave the amazing outfit behind, but she did, and was soon back on her way to Tony's.

When she finally got there, security let her through the front door and there Tony was, waiting. He, too, was wearing workout clothes and looked ready to train.

"Hey, you're here! I thought you would sleep in or something!" Tony said with a smile as he led Megan upstairs to the gym.

"Are you kidding? I couldn't sleep last night! I am so ready for this!" Megan said, determination flooding with her words.

"Ha! Me too, kid, me too." Tony opened the door to the gym and Megan watched with wide eyes. She had expected an array of amazing equipment to help her train for anything. Instead, there was only a single punching bag in the center of the room.

"We will need to boost your strength before I can teach you any fighting techniques," Tony said, noticing as disappointment marked on Megan's face. Tony laughed. "Training to be a superhero takes a lot of work for some. It's easier for those who have a special skill or something." He put a reassuring hand on Megan's shoulder. "Don't worry. With your determination, you’ll make an awesome fighter!"

Megan smiled and nodded, her confidence returning. The two walked up to the punching bag. "We need to start with the basics… Are you ready?" Tony asked.

Megan hesitated, not quite sure what “the basics” were. Still, the confidence drummed in her heart and she gave a strong, “Yes!” Tony wrapped her hands in some kind of cloth and pointed to the punching bag. Megan looked it up and down. Was she just supposed to… hit it?

Gathering up her fists, Megan faced her opponent—the… the punching bag—gave it an angry face, and threw a punch. Her knuckles cracked on impact and Megan gasped slightly.

“Ow…” she muttered.

Tony gave a sarcastic half smile. “Yeah, that’s about enough to knock down a five-year-old,” he said.

Megan returned his sarcastic glance and turned back to scowl at her target. Drawing back her fist again, she shoved it into the bag. She winced, but refused to acknowledge her pain beyond that.

Tony nodded. “Better.”

Megan punched it a few more times. The pain lessened with each punch. She could get the hang of this. Rapidly, Megan followed a one-two pattern of punches and soon lost herself in it. One, two, one, two—faster—onetwoonetwo.

Jubilant laughter soon cut into her concentration. Tony grabbed the swinging punching bag from behind, bringing the whirling weight to a stop. “Calm down, there. You’ll hurt yourself!”

Megan breathed heavily and looked down at her knuckles. Shoot, they were quite red. Only then did she feel a slight burning on her skin. She looked up at Tony as he handed her a water bottle, which she graciously accepted.

“So,” Megan said after downing the whole bottle in one big swig. “How’d I do?”

Tony looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Pretty good for your first day,” he allowed. “Don’t expect it to get any easier, though.”

Megan nodded, her confidence-high waning, and thought hard for a moment. Finally, she looked up at Tony and said, “I want this. I’m ready for it.” Something in her voice told Tony that she meant it, and nothing was going to change her mind.
=—= “Oh my gosh!” Sarah squealed happily. “You’re training with Tony?!”

Megan smiled and nodded. “He’s really cool about it, too. He keeps saying I hit like a girl, but he’s sure he can fix that.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Tony having the patience to actually train someone is the last thing I expected. You must have a good effect on him.” Sarah nudged Megan with her elbow.

Megan snickered and shuffled her feet as they walked through the park on a beautiful Friday evening. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kerry silently watching as she walked alongside them. Worried, Megan turned her head and gave a concerned expression.

Sarah was still talking. “Of course, you’re welcome to come train with me and Steve when you feel up to it.” Her voice deepened dangerously and she spoke as if giving a threat. “I warn you, though, our training sessions get intense. He’s strong, but I’m fast.” She smiled wickedly.

“Ha, thanks,” Megan told her, then looked back over to Kerry. “Are you ok, Kerry?” she asked.

“You seem kind of down in the dumps.”

Kerry sighed. “Well,” she said, her words heavy. “It’s just… You know, Odin called Loki and Thor back to Asgard. I haven’t seen Loki for a while. They wouldn’t tell me why, but… Oh, I’m sure it’s something important.”

Megan and Sarah exchanged sympathetic glances before Sarah smiled at Kerry. “Yeah,” she said reassuringly. “You know Loki would never leave you for this long unless he absolutely had to.”

Megan agreed heartily. Kerry gave them a weak smile and hesitated before saying, “Guys? I need to ask you something.”

“Yeah, sure.” Sarah nodded and Megan looked at Kerry questioningly.

Kerry continued slowly. “I’ve been letting this slide recently. But, I’m kinda tired of it. I’m tired of being lied to. I trust you guys, but I just need to know.” She paused and all three stopped walking as the tension grew. “What happened two months ago? Why won’t anyone tell me?” Her face was very serious.

Megan was taken aback. She fumbled with her words, not knowing how to answer. She made eye contact with Sarah, sharing the same troubled expressions. But then she watched as Sarah’s face hardened and she stepped toward Kerry. Megan tensed, listening intently for what Sarah was about to say, ready to stop her if she had to.

“I’m sorry, Kerry,” Sarah began. “We shouldn’t have tried to lie to you. You’re too smart for that, I know, but we didn’t know what to do.” She took a deep breath, fixing her eyes on the ground as she did so, sorting out what she was going to say next. “You have to know that we don’t want to hurt you. We want the opposite. We want to protect you—” Sarah raised her hand and continued quickly as Kerry tried to interject “—and I know that you are very capable of taking care of yourself. But really, Kerry. You say you trust us. It may be too much for us to ask, but now you need to act on that trust.”

Kerry looked exasperated, tearing her eyes from Sarah’s face to search Megan's incredulously. Megan smiled sadly, apologetically, and gently nodded. Kerry shook her head fiercely and backed up a couple steps, her face shifting to fury, annoyance, confusion… “Ok. Fine. I have to go home.” Her words were clipped and she turned sharply, not waiting for a response. But as she left, Megan saw one more emotion cross Kerry’s face: acceptance.

Kerry wasn’t going to let this go. Megan knew it. It wasn’t in her nature. She would keep digging at the scab until it ripped open and bled, and she wouldn’t be satisfied until it had. But—at least for now—she accepted her friends’ decision on her behalf. It comforted Megan to know that she wasn’t angry with them, not truly. And when the day came when Kerry finally did find out, they would make sure she was prepared for it, and they would be there for her, no matter what. They weren’t going to let Kerry be torn apart.
=—= Megan had said goodnight to Sarah and gone back to her apartment content and peaceful enough, but by the next morning it had morphed into unease. Despite her newfound knowledge, she was still worried about Kerry, and that worry settled in her stomach. She spent the day doing nothing in particular, mostly socializing with her horde of cats. Sarah always joked that Megan was going to turn out to be a crazy old cat lady, and Megan thought it was a very real possibility. She loved her cats, and they helped keep her calm and happy in stressful times. But not today.

Megan even took a walk around Central Park once, hoping to catch Kerry there. She was disappointed when Kerry was nowhere to be seen, but refused to go knocking at her door. Kerry was having a hard time. She would come out when she was ready. So Megan went back home and buried her face in her pillow. She found herself wishing for some training with Tony, or at least some nice, relaxing game time with him on the Xbox (if you could call their high energy level game time relaxing). She groaned into her pillow, her voice muffled and not understandable, but it was something about that dumb billionaire conference or whatever he’d had to go to over the weekend. She briefly considered calling Sarah and asking to hang out—she even went so far as to pick up her cell phone and press her thumb on the number pad—but she looked down at her scruffy hair and unattractive jeans and decided she wasn’t fit for human interaction. She put her phone down and flopped back onto the bed, completely miserable, and wasted the rest of her weekend vegetating around her apartment.

By Monday, Tony was back, and with him, his training sessions. Megan put her hair up into a ponytail before she walked out of her apartment, not leaving the worm in her stomach that had been eating her all weekend unnoticed. She walked swiftly toward Stark Tower, her heavy footfalls loud and growing louder. By the time she’d run into the security at Stark Tower, her uneasiness that had been with her all weekend had exploded into full-blown frustration.
She punched the punching bag. Hard.

“Woah.” Tony held up his hands in a fake surrender. “Feisty.”

Megan shook her head, angrily punching again and again. “It’s still there,” she spat. “I’m still powerless. I can’t do anything to help. Even after training—”

“Hold up,” Tony grabbed the punching bag and pulled it away from Megan, keeping her from punching anymore. “It’s only been a week. You’re training’s hardly begun. You can’t expect it to make a huge difference yet.”

Megan scoffed, readjusting the cloth on her hands.

“But,” Tony continued, “I think it’s time to move on a bit. Enough warming up. I’m going to teach you how to use those… angry fists.”

From Megan’s frustration sprouted determination and excitement.

Tony pulled Megan aside and did a fighter’s stance. "Copy me," Tony ordered, and Megan followed suit. "Hold your fists up to your face to protect yourself from attacks. Let’s start with what you've been doing." Tony punched out quickly, then returned to his original state. "Jabs. Extend your full arm but make the punch quick. Make sure to rotate your fist so your palm faces down." Tony did a few more jabs, rotating back and forth between his left and right fist. Satisfied, Tony rested. "Now you try."

Megan got into serious mode and did as Tony instructed. He slowly nodded as he stood watching her.

"Good job! Now we can add in hook and uppercut." Tony stood by Megan's side, showing her what to do and correcting her when needed. "You're doing awesome, Megan. I think we can add in kick and defense now. You learn this stuff pretty fast." Excitement bubbled in Megan, making her smile.

Tony showed Megan different combinations for different situations for fighting. Megan's will and drive to learn kept her from running out of energy. Before they knew it, it was dark outside and Pepper had come to see how they were doing.

"Hey, you two! I think you’d better rest," Pepper said from the door. "I already ordered dinner and it should be getting here soon."

"Just one more second, hon!" Tony called to her. "Me and Megan are gonna finish off with a fist fight against each other, then I'll be right over."

"Ok," Pepper said, amused. "Just make sure to take a shower first." She left and shut the door behind her.

"Are you ready for this?" Tony asked.

Megan gave a fierce nod. "More than ever. Don't go easy on me," she warned. Tony smiled, then lunged. Megan quickly stepped out of the way and gave a blow to Tony as she did.

"Not bad, kid. First punch goes to you. But..." Tony kicked out his leg at Megan's to make her lose balance and fall back. "I get the first K.O. " Tony helped Megan up. "Now again!"

This time, Megan launched the surprise attack, hooking Tony in the stomach, blocking a jab from Tony, and lashed out a kick at him, meaning to knock him off his feet. But Tony caught Megan's kicking leg and threw her off balance, finishing her with a jab.

"Second K.O. to me. Remember, kicking makes you more vulnerable to lose your balance.”
"One more time!" Megan gasped. Tony stood back and went into his fighting stance, ready. Megan scrambled up in her stance and concentrated. Determination marked on her face.

Tony made the first move.

Megan was ready.

Tony did a right hook, but Megan's blocking arm was already there. Taking Tony's vulnerable second, she uppercut him in the gut then jumped back in defense. Tony was stunned for the moment but quickly snapped back and attacked. Megan rushed forward, sending all her energy into her fists and attacked back, blocking whatever Tony threw as he blocked whatever Megan threw.

Tony decided to break the cycle by leaping back then rushing forward for a kick. Megan quickly dodged out of the way and as soon as Tony turned around, Megan stuck her foot behind Tony’s leg and punched him in the face, the force making him fall backwards and hit the ground.

"K.O!" Megan said triumphantly. Tony groaned and Megan suddenly realized what she’d done. She quickly went over to Tony and sat next to him, concerned. "OMG, I am so sorry, Tony! I hit your fabulous face! I shouldn't have done that!"

Tony started to laugh, and Megan was a little confused as to why he was laughing. Tony stared up warmly at Megan. "You did good, kid. You just need more practice. Besides..." Tony sat up. "You hit like a girl, so it's not like it hurts."

"OH YOU!" Megan fumed, and punched Tony on the shoulder. "I AM a girl, you derp!" Tony laughed, making Megan's fury die.

"Today you did great," Tony said warmly. "But it's time to get rest. I'm gonna work you hard with the techniques I've showed you for the rest of the week, so be ready."

Megan nodded and turned to leave, but Tony’s voice calling from behind made her stop and look back briefly.

“Oh, and don’t ever apologize to you opponent,” Tony warned in a light tone. “That’s gotta go.”
Megan went home happy. She was actually fighting! She could help her friends instead of being a dead weight! Megan got home, took a nice relaxing shower, and watched an episode of Supernatural with her cat Stark. She slept peacefully that night.
=—= "How's training with Tony?" Sarah asked, ever curious of the developments concerning this particular part of Megan’s life. The trio were enjoying fruit smoothies at the park.

Megan bubbled. "It's going amazing! Tony has taught me so many things these past four days. And because I'm doing so well at learning the stuff, he's actually considering doing special night trainings for me."

"That's wonderful!" Sarah said quite happily. "But, you know… it's gonna take a while before you catch up to me. I could beat you right here and now," Sarah warned.

"Is that a challenge?" Megan asked.

"Maybe." Sarah smiled and cocked her head as she sipped her smoothie.

"Why are you training, again?" Kerry asked. Megan and Sarah snapped their attention to her.
Kerry hadn't talked to Sarah and Megan ever since that little argument they’d had. It had taken all that time till now for them to get Kerry to talk to them, let alone get her to go hang out.
Kerry stirred her smoothie with her straw. "Are you not going to answer me?"

Sarah answered, laughing smoothly. "Ah you know Megan… Always doing something with her time..."

"I was asking Megan, Sarah, not you," Kerry said, her eyes dim. "Why..."

Megan gulped. "Why not? I mean... You know how I'm kinda paranoid about strangers. Tony decided to teach me so I can defend myself."

Kerry shrugged. "Sure, I just don't see why you need to train so hard..." She took a sip of her smoothie. "It's like you’re training to go against something that isn't human." Sarah and Megan froze.

Kerry noticed and sighed. She stood up without a word and started to walk away.
"Wait!" Sarah gasped. "Where are you going?"

"Home," she said, without stopping.

"Why?" Megan called after her.

Kerry stopped in her tracks. She turned her head to face them. Her eyes were hard. "How can I trust you if you aren't honest with me?"

Sarah and Megan were flabbergasted. Stung.

Kerry turned back around and continued walking stiffly. Megan stood up. "Why are you acting this way, Kerry?! Why are you so concerned about an event that happened two months ago? That's in the past! Let it go!"

The smoothie cup Kerry was holding broke from the force of her hand. "Then why...." Kerry trembled darkly. "If it was just an event that happened two months ago, why is it so hard to tell me what happened?!" She threw the smoothie in a nearby trash can and ran off.

Megan sat back down heavily. "What's up with her?!" she scoffed. When no answer came, Megan glanced at Sarah. Her face was vacant, her eyes staring ahead at nothing. No, that’s not quite right. Something in her eyes was so focused, almost as if Sarah had forsaken the senses of her body and turned to something else.

Sarah snapped out of her trance-like state and lowered her head to look at her hands resting in her lap. "It's the darkness," she said quietly. "Ever since it was released, it’s been raging inside her. Kerry doesn't notice, but… it's getting the best of her." Fear flashed in Sarah's eyes. "And it's getting steadily stronger."

Megan blinked at Sarah’s ominous warning. She didn't know what to think.

Sarah’s voice returned, this time devoid of much of the mystery that had plagued her previous statement. This time, Sarah was back to herself. She looked Megan in the eyes, her expression leaving no room for doubt. "And if this keeps up," Sarah continued, "she will turn into Lady Loki on her own."
=—=
"You're particularly fierce today," Tony commented. He took a drink from his water bottle.
"Oh really?" Megan gasped, out of breath. They had just gotten done with another rigorous empty hand combat skirmish. "The fact that my friend problems are the worst in the world... Yeah, I'm pretty upset."

"Kerry?" Tony guessed.

“You would not believe!” Megan said as she drank from her water bottle. “Sarah said her Lady Loki darkness inside her is what’s causing her to be so irritable. I believe it.”

“Makes sense…” Tony said as he walked over to reset the punching bag. Megan’s cell phone started playing the special ringtone of Dean from Supernatural, which meant someone was calling. She noticed the number was Rachel’s, so she answered it with a pleasant tone.

“Hey Rachel! Everything oka…” She stopped mid-sentence and Tony watched her expression go serious. “Yes… Okay… We’ll be right over,” she said before hanging up and running to gather her things. She snatched up her gym bag, but did it so quickly that everything spilled onto the floor of the gym. Megan muttered a string of swear words under her breath as she bent to pick everything up. Tony was already kneeling next to her, helping.

“What’s going on?” Tony asked as he handed her a pair of socks.

“I just got off the phone with Rachel… Kerry hasn’t come home since we got smoothies yesterday. She’s rounded up a search party, and everyone’s looking. So, come on! We don’t have a lot of time.”

“This party… is it catered?” Tony joked. Megan shot him an annoyed look and he grinned sheepishly. “Right… Kerry…Search party… Not catered.”

They cleaned up the last of Megan’s things and started to head out the door. “I’ll call a cab, you wait.” Megan said as she took out her cellphone.

“Uhh, no. We ride in my car,” Tony said as he brought out a tiny key fob and beeped it at the red and black striped Camaro parked on the curb.

“Can we get there fast?” Megan asked.

“‘Can we get there fast?’” Tony mocked in a high-pitched voice. Megan scoffed. “Faster than a cab, kid,” he added as he opened the passenger door for her.

“What a gentleman,” Megan said in an annoyed tone. She realized she had used the “annoyed” tone a lot with Tony. Then again, that’s just about all he did.

“Don’t mention it!” Tony said as he got in the driver’s seat.

“Can we stop at my apartment to drop my stuff off first?” Megan asked.

“Sure,” Tony said as he slid on his sunglasses and sped off from the curb without even looking for traffic. Luckily, today’s traffic wasn’t as bad as any normal day. They arrived to Kerry’s house after dropping Megan’s stuff off at her apartment. They started to knock but Sarah swung open the door and pulled them both inside before slamming it again. Rachel was nervously pacing the floor.

“Where are the others?” Tony asked, taking off his sunglasses and sliding them into his pocket. He realized it wasn’t the correct time to be flaunting his awesomeness.

“They are out looking already,” Sarah said. “Rachel and I were waiting here in case she came back to the house.”

"Why is my sister so stupid? She left her cell phone here!" Rachel blurted in a frustrated tone. "I even called Clint and Natasha to help."

"Steve is asking around, too," Sarah said comfortingly. "We can only hope that nothing bad has happened to her."

Tony scanned the worried faces around the room. “Uh, guys? Don’t get me wrong, I think your efforts are commendable and I’m no fan of the government, but isn’t this the sort of thing 9-1-1 is for? Haven’t you called them yet?”

“No,” Sarah said immediately. Her tone darkened. “She’s in a very unstable state. From what I noticed yesterday, she’s completely unpredictable. She could become Lady Loki at any moment. She may have already. She’s a danger to herself and others.” Sarah paused. “We can’t involve outsiders. Besides, they could hurt her.”

"Sarah, can't you hone in on her with your super-duper ESP thing and locate her?" Megan asked.

"Maybe..." Sarah hesitated. "Rachel... Do you know what kind of places Kerry likes to hide?"
"Umm, well..." Rachel thought for a moment. "She likes to go to secluded areas away from everything. I know she goes in the forest a lot."

"Good place to start. I’ll search there. Care to join, Megan?" Sarah asked.
"Let’s do this quick," Megan agreed. "Before it gets dark."

Sarah and Megan headed into the woods behind Kerry's house. Memories flooded back to them as they saw the broken limbs of trees and crevices in the ground from two months ago. Some magic burn marks remained.

"It makes sense why she would come here," Sarah said. "I can sense her presence was here.”

Megan followed behind Sarah and stared curiously at her back. Without prompting, Sarah spoke over her shoulder, directing her words at Megan without actually turning around. “I know, I know, I should have been doing this earlier, but… I was being overly cautious. If I scan for her with my… what did you call it? “Super-duper ESP thing”? Well, it’s all too easy to link my energy with hers, and if I do that, I might just trigger Lady Loki. But as she is, she’s a ticking time bomb. If we don’t find her fast enough, it’ll happen anyway. So… nothing to lose, eh? We’ve just gotta be careful. Keep your guard up.”

Megan silently acknowledged the warning as a heavy blanket of melancholy enveloped her. Was Kerry really that much of a danger? Was this situation really this dire? It had seemed as if things had calmed down, but…

Megan’s thoughts were broken as Sarah let out a small groan. Megan looked back up to see Sarah shaking something off.

“That way." Sarah pointed further into the destruction, but most of it had been covered by new vegetation.

Sarah led the way, brushing aside leaves and branches and handing them off to Megan to do the same. Her eyes were sharp with focus. Or was it… pain?

Kerry’s that bad?

Sarah stopped slowly, quietly releasing the tree branch she held and using the hand to motion Megan to do the same. Megan quieted her breathing, adrenaline making her acutely aware of her surroundings. Worry, anticipation, fear. Was Kerry okay?

“Kerry?” Sarah called out in a surprisingly clear voice, her tone asking for permission. She inched forward, careful not to snap any twigs beneath her feet or do anything sudden. Megan came behind her, and as she rounded a tree she caught sight of a hammock attached between two trees. On it laid an exhausted looking Kerry. Megan breathed a sigh of relief before it caught in her throat. They had found Kerry, but all was not right. There was something wrong. Something in the air…

“Kerry?” Sarah called again, softly. “It’s just us, Sarah and Megan. You didn’t come home, so we were all… Please, Kerry. It’s alright. Come home.”

Silence reigned and the air grew thick. Well… thicker.

"Look... I'm sorry I yelled at you," Megan said calmly, seeking to lighten the atmosphere with her apologetic words. "That was bad of me."

Kerry started to tremble and Megan and Sarah tensed. Megan quickly continued, “We can leave if you want! But you had Rachel worried. You had all of us worried.”

Megan turned to leave and shot a glance at Sarah when she didn’t move to follow. Sarah hesitated, her eyes darting between Megan and Kerry. Finally she gave in and took a step toward Megan in retreat.

“Don’t go!” The pained gasp sounding from behind them caused them to flinch. What had become of Kerry? What could have caused this?

Megan and Sarah turned back around to see Kerry rise from her hammock, everything about her attesting to the misery she was in. The tears streaming down her face screamed it.

“I’m sorry!” Kerry choked through her sobs. “I don’t know what got ahold of me… I-I couldn’t bare it. And now I’ve ruined my friendship with you. I just couldn’t let whatever happened two months ago slip by for some reason.” Kerry sniffled. “I’m sorry. It’s not worth it. I’ve decided to drop it and trust you. I feel stupid for holding onto something for so long. Please forgive me!”

It was a bit off-putting to see Kerry in such a state, but the overwhelming wave of bittersweet relief washed that away. Sarah and Megan angled their bodies back toward Kerry and approached her, gently wrapping her in warm hugs one at a time.

“Of course we forgive you,” Sarah said as she released Kerry and stepped aside to make room for Megan.

“Yeah, we are seesters, aren’t we?” Megan added. Then, in a more tender voice, “We will always love and forgive you, no matter what.” Kerry’s knees weakened at those words and she collapsed into Megan’s embrace. She sobbed in the comfort of her friends until her tears ran dry.
=—= Kerry paused at the edge of the woods, wiping her eyes again before glancing at her friends at her side. “Do I look like I’ve been crying?”

Megan’s eyebrows drew together in sympathy while Sarah’s raised in a silent, “Well, yes.” Kerry sighed.

“There’s no helping it,” Megan said. “Everyone’s worried about you. You need to let them know you’re okay.”

“We’ll just tell them you caught yourself a cold,” Sarah said as she pulled out her phone and checked for a signal. Her thumbs worked busily as she typed a text letting Steve know they’d found Kerry and that he and the others could meet them at Kerry’s place.

Kerry murmured a small “fine” and the trio started back toward the house looming ahead of them.

Rachel ran to Kerry when they peeked around the front door and swiftly went from crying her relief to giving her older sister a firm scolding. This continued until a knock sounded at the door and Sarah nonchalantly opened it to reveal Steve, Clint, Natasha, and Bruce. Tony entered from the kitchen with a half-eaten cookie in his hand.

“What’s everyone doing here?” Kerry chuckled lightheartedly.

“Everyone decided to go looking for you,” Rachel told her.

“Don’t scare us like that,” Bruce said as he went up to Kerry. Steve shut the door after everyone had entered.

“Yeah,” Natasha agreed. “S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were ready to go look for you, too.”

“Ah, guys, seriously,” Kerry said shyly. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“How could we not?” Clint asked. “You’re kind of part of us.”

"Clint..." Kerry breathed. She closed her eyes and bowed her head. "Sorry for making you worry. Everything is fine now."

Megan caught sight of Sarah’s serious expression beside her amidst the happy reunion. Megan knew exactly what she was thinking and the thought sobered her up, too. Kerry didn’t realize the magnitude of the emergency they had just faced. Regardless of the kind words spoken, the extensive search wasn’t for her. It was to protect everyone from her.

Tony remained oblivious to Megan’s deep thoughts. "Everything will be fine once we throw a party," he chimed. "Come on! I’ll get us some pizza, ice cream and games!" Tony waved at the group as he motioned further into Kerry’s house. "I'm gonna turn your frown upside down!"

The party went on till dark and everyone was content and happy. Kerry and Rachel hardly mentioned the fact that Tony had basically volunteered their house, but were instead enjoying the evening like everyone else. The guests slowly began to trickle out until finally Sarah and Megan were the only two left.

"You sure you're fine now?" Megan asked Kerry.

"Yes, thank you." Kerry smiled sweetly. "I... I miss Loki and Thor, but... Overall I'm pretty good now. Thanks."

"Good to know," Sarah said cheerily, her serious mood from earlier completely forgotten.

"Remember... We are here for you. Whenever you feel like that again, let us know and we'll help you get through it."

"Thank you again," Kerry said, smiling wearily. Sarah and Megan soon left after noticing how tired Kerry was, and Kerry shut the door behind them before trudging to her room.

She stared out her window at the moon. "I know you're watching, Heimdall... Did you tell Loki what happened today? When can he come back..?" Kerry sighed. "Whatever happened two months ago doesn't matter anymore and I'm ready to move on. Tell Loki I… miss him."
=—= "Kerry is much happier now," Megan told Tony at his prompting. It was dark outside and Megan was helping set up obstacle blocks with Tony for the special night training.

"Good to hear," Tony said as they set up the last block. "Now... In a few moments I want you to turn off the lights after I go hide. Empty hand combat in the dark is a little tricky but easier once you get the hang of it."

"What do I do when you turn off the lights?" Megan asked, awaiting instruction.

"I'll leave that up to you," Tony said. "This will be a time for you to learn on your own."

Megan gave an unsure look. Tony smiled. "All you have to do is find me before I find you. Simple as that. Now turn away as I go hide. Give me fifteen seconds or so."

Megan did as she was told and shut the lights off, darkness blinding her and silence surrounding her. Megan was never one to sneak around in the dark like Natasha, Sarah, Clint, and Rachel. Kerry and Loki were like the shadows themselves.

Well, Megan thought to herself. I’d better get a move on because Tony knows where I'm at. I have to surprise attack him first!

Megan stepped forward and instantly ran into a block, the rattling pierced the silent room. She stopped herself from cursing out loud and quickly felt her way around, away from her first spot.
Megan's eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and she could slightly see the blocks. Tony would be coming soon, so Megan went as silent as she could in another direction, looking around cautiously before she moved onto the next block.

Megan decided to stop, not sure what to do. While pondering what to do next, Megan heard a slight sound. It would stop, then go.

That's right! Megan thought. If I listen, then I can hear where Tony is at. No one could walk absolutely silently… well, not big, pompous Tony, anyway. Megan listened intently. The sounds came from behind her. She quietly and slowly looked behind a block. She saw slight movement in the distance. Slowly, silently, Megan tiptoed her way to stalk him.

She followed and got closer and closer to where Tony was going. Megan stopped behind a block, four blocks away from Tony. The noises had stopped and Megan looked around to try to see where he was at.

There was nothing. I suppose that's right, Megan thought. When you hold still in the dark you are instantly invisible. And to make him move... I have to make the first move.

Megan hit the block, causing it to rattle in the darkness, and crouched to the ground. Tony's foot prints sounded suddenly until he came to the block Megan had hit. Tony stopped beside Megan—who, unbeknownst to him, was crouching not a foot away—and looked around. Megan jumped up from her crouch and attacked Tony, making him gasp in surprise.

Megan punched out but hit nothing. She was sent backwards by a kick from Tony, though she quickly regained her ground and forced herself at Tony, sending all her flying energy at him. But Tony easily dodged, pushing Megan along behind him with his arms, making her crash into another block.

Tony laughed. "It's hard to actually fight in the dark, isn't it?" Tony helped Megan up. "But for a first timer, you did really well. Seriously. It's just the fighting part you have to get used to. It helps alot if you sense where the other person is at."

"Thanks, Tony," Megan said, happy with herself. For once in her life she didn’t feel like anyone needed to defend her, to protect her. Instead, now that she had her own fighting skills, she could help herself!

"JARVIS, turn on the lights, will ya?" Tony said. Nothing happened. "JARVIS!" Tony called, annoyed. Still nothing happened. Shaking his head, Tony pulled out his super hytech cell and searched through the files. "That’s weird..." Tony said slowly. "JARVIS is shut off?!" Panic made Tony scramble through his mini computer, typing and searching through stuff, until he pulled up a live feed camera of four people dressed in black in one of Tony’s labs.

"They're hacking my system!" Tony gasped. The light from his handheld device illuminated the worry on his face. "I have to wake JARVIS to shut them down!" Tony did some rapid fire typing as Megan watched the people on screen.

Megan didn’t stop to think about the question of how so many people had managed to sneak into Stark Tower. She was still pumped from her training.

"Or..." Megan said slowly. "We can stop them now." She glanced up at Tony for a moment before quickly running off, being aware of the blocks to the door, not allowing Tony the time to stop her.

Megan quietly opened and closed the door and blinked at the dim lights lighting the hall. She walked swiftly but quietly to Tony’s lab, slinking along the walls and picking up a metal bar along the way. Tony hadn't taught her anything with weapons yet, but she had an idea how to use them.

She stepped quietly down the stairs but stopped when she saw one of the black-clad men standing guard at the wide-open, glass sliding door. Okay, here we go. How was she going to do this?

Megan brought herself low to see where the other intruders were at. Suddenly, all of the lights died—except for the light from Tony’s computers inside and the moonlight from outside. Tony must be taking his tower back. Megan smiled to herself; it was her perfect opportunity to show how much stronger she had become.

Megan jumped to the bottom of the stairs and whacked the guard across the face, knocking him out. She quickly hid herself low to the ground when the others jolted from their places, raising their guard and bringing out their guns. Guns. Oh. Megan wouldn’t be able to do anything if they shot her before she could get near. She had already stupidly announced her presence by her noisey takedown. Now she’d have to be extremely stealthy. Megan waited quietly as one slowly walked in her direction, but Megan slipped around the desk before he could get near and slid behind the others. She clutched the metal bar in her hand and whacked the guns from their grasp.

Without hesitation, Megan attacked them, jabbing, kicking, and punching, clearly winning the element of surprise. They didn’t wait to start fighting back. One kicked Megan in the side while the other punched her face. She fell back but quickly regained her balance, sending rapid fire jabs, each hitting perfect weak points. Their strikes were obviously expertly trained and it took all of Megan’s concentration to dodge them while delivering some of her own.

Cold, hard metal hit Megan in the back of the neck out of nowhere and she crashed to the floor, gasping in pain. Arms grabbed her and yanked her up; she was still seeing stars from the blow to the back of the neck. A man approached from behind her; he held a gun, which was probably what he had used to hit her with. All the black-clad men chuckled dryly. "Oh, who is this? Another one of Stark’s puppy dogs doing his work for him?" They cackled, but it quickly died. The gun was cocked and pointed to Megan's head. She held dead still, frozen in fear.

The one with the gun leaned down, sliding the gun’s point from her head across her cheek to neck. Megan wished more than anything for this torture to stop.

She gulped. "Who do you think you are, breaking into Tony’s lab and stealing his ideas? You won't get away with this!"

"Oh, a girl? What a nice surprise," Gun-guy said. "Maybe I should take you to my place.” He chuckled suggestively. “It’s a nice night, you know. We could—" Megan whipped her leg up and kicked him hard in the crotch. He screamed in pain and dropped to the ground. The two men that were holding her tightened their grip while one punched her in the stomach.

Gun-guy gathered his nerves and stood up. One of the men tried to help him, but he pushed him off and shot an evil glare at Megan, who was now smirking at what she had done. Their expressions were barely visible in the faint moonlight, but it only added to the eeriness.

Gun-guy walked over to Megan and clamped his hand around her neck, lifting her up in the air. She was gasping and her vision started going black at the edges. Desperate, she looked at the ground behind the man and noticed a metal chair. If only she could get to that chair and bash his head in! It was crazy, but she felt like the life was about to escape her at any minute. She closed her eyes and just for a split second, pictured the chair levitating from its spot and slamming over Gun-guy’s head. It brought her a slight comfort, for some reason, to imagine it.
“I’m going to slit your throat while you squirm, beg for air, and suffer, you little—”

Before the man could finish his sentence, the cold, hard sound of metal hitting someone’s skull was heard throughout the room. "GAAAHHH!" He gasped and his grip on Megan loosened. She quickly scrambled away from him and hid behind another desk. "Who threw that at me?!" the man yelled over the sound of guns being cocked.

Megan looked around for Tony, but he was nowhere to be seen. Not in this darkness, anyway. "Get the girl!" A commanding voice ordered. Megan heard heavy footfalls coming toward her.
Megan quickly got up and ran, swinging her hand at them as they neared. Now that she knew Tony must be near, her fear receded. They were a team. They had been training together. They could do this.

"Stay away from me!" she yelled at the men and the desk she hid behind jumped up and flew straight into the bad guys. Megan eyes widened. What in the world?! Was that Tony…? It couldn’t have been.

The man who seemed like the leader stood still, not sure of what had happened. He aimed his gun at Megan. "What are you? How did you do that?" he asked rather shakily.

Megan didn’t know how to respond, but she wasn’t given a chance to, anyway. “It doesn’t matter. DIE, bi—” The last word was cut off by the sound of a bullet exploding out of his gun.
The world slowed. Megan knew that bullet was aimed straight at her. There was no denying it: she didn’t have time to dodge. The bullet would rip right into her head, probably killing her instantly. Nothing could stop that. Megan was staring death in the eyes. She knew her fate. But she refused to accept it.

The room was silent. Nothing could be seen. Nothing could be heard. The sickening crack of the bullet entering Megan’s skull still did not come. Megan stood still, feeling something in her mind.

It was like she was holding something. Smooth and hard. She flexed her hands, but they held nothing. But she felt it. As if she were running her fingers over something, exploring its texture. It felt like...

Megan slowly raised her eyes. There in front of her was a single gleaming bullet floating centimeters from her face. Megan gasped, took a step back, and dropped her arms. The bullet clinged to the ground.

The lights suddenly flashed on, blinding everyone. Megan squeezed her eyes shut, unable to see, though she heard a familiar voice. "Sorry boys, but the party is over."
Tony.

Megan’s eyes adjusted to the bright light just in time to see the men shooting wildly at the Ironman suit, each bullet clanging into the metal and bouncing off harmlessly. Tony reached out and grabbed two of the men by their shirt collars, pulling them together so forcefully that their skulls pounded into each other and they fell to the ground, unconscious. The last man standing looked down at his comrades, then back up at Tony to be met by his iron fist. He swiftly joined his friends on the ground.

Tony muttered something about scratching the brand new suit as he went over to Megan. She stayed rooted to the ground as he held her tight. "Are you alright? What happened to my place? The whole place is turned over!"

Megan looked around, a little troubled, stiff in his embrace. "Do I..." Megan mumbled, but trailed off. "But I did it," she said louder. "Could I…?"

Tony drew back from the hug, confused. "Could you what? What are you talking about?"

Megan’s mind was fogged with confusion and worry. Now that the danger was gone, she had time to think back to what had happened. What had happened? What was that?!

Megan arrived at the only possible conclusion.

"Tony," Megan said in awe. She stared at him in the eyes. "I think… I think I have powers."
=—= Tony set a teacup on the coffee table in front of Megan before joining her on the couch. She murmured a thank you and lifted the hot tea to her mouth.

“Tell me again,” Tony said. “You have what?”

Megan sighed into the teacup. “Look, Tony, I don’t know. I just…” Megan placed the teacup back onto the table and her forehead slumped into her hands. After the intruders had been taken care of, Tony had shooed Megan into a lounging area while Pepper saw to cleaning up. Pepper wasn’t thrilled about it, but Tony had told her that he needed to chat with Megan urgently, so she begrudgingly agreed.

Tony had seen how shaken up Megan had become and offered to make her tea—plain British, just the way she liked it. As he had been fixing the steaming drink, Megan had had plenty of time to think to herself about what had happened. First and foremost: How had she been so stupid? Charging into battle mere weeks after her training began? How could she hope to win against four trained men? If she had been thinking rationally, she would have gone with Tony to get his suit first. Or maybe she should have just stayed where she was and hidden.

It had happened again. Useless. Even after all of her work, Megan had still failed to defend herself. She had taken down one man and was then almost killed at the mercy of the other three. Tony had taken out most of them. Tony had protected Megan.

But it wasn’t Tony who’d stopped the bullet. And, come to think of it, who had hit Gun-guy with the metal chair? Tony hadn’t arrived yet, so it couldn’t’ve been him. And then there was the desk… Megan thought back to the feeling she had had as the bullet floated in front of her. It had felt like it was her holding it there. As if she had grasped it with an invisible hand. She had chalked it up to what had seemed to be the only possibility: that she somehow had powers which she had used to stop the bullet. But looking at it now… she was so close to death. Could she really trust any of her memories from that moment?

Megan just didn’t know. Her body was completely drained of energy. All of her confidence and spite had left her. She finally lifted her head and blew her tea to cool it down.

“I’m sorry,” Tony said. “That was a stressful experience, I know. You should go home. Get some rest. We can skip training tomorrow if you want.”

Megan sipped some tea. Skip training? Crashing did sound good, but…

“No,” Megan said. “I have to keep training. I may not be good enough now… but that’s because I haven’t been training long enough. I have to keep at it. I have to charge forward. Otherwise, I’ll never make it.”

Tony nodded in understanding. He didn’t insist upon further discussion, but he joked lightly with Megan when she started a small conversation. Once Megan had gulped down the last sip of tea, she grabbed her belongings and headed out the door after exchanging quick goodbyes with Tony.

The sky was beginning to brighten by the time she walked up to her apartment building’s front door. It had been a long night. She fell against the door and shoved it open, trudged to the elevator, and collapsed in the corner as it traveled upward. A small ding sounded as the doors opened and Megan stumbled out of the elevator and toward her apartment. She pushed her key into the door and threw it open before slamming it closed again behind her. She fell onto the bed and completely forgot about getting ready for bed. She was asleep the moment her head hit the soft mattress.
=—= Megan was much more chipper the next morning—er, afternoon. Megan had slept in after the late night last night and the sun had been up for hours by the time Megan was getting ready for the day. She decided to wake herself up with a nice jog. That’d get her blood pumping. She had to be ready for the night training she and Tony had planned for that evening—she would surprise Tony with her abilities. Besides, it was nice out.

Megan slipped on her tennis shoes and headed out for Central Park. Her hair bounced lightly on her shoulders as she breathed in the fresh air. It was a warm day for January, but it was still chilly. Megan had thrown on a light sweater, intending on warming up as she exercised, but at the moment she was pretty cold. Megan was thinking about heading back to grab a jacket when she spotted a familiar face.

“Megan!” Kerry called out, waving to her from a bench. Megan smiled and veered toward Kerry, slowing as she neared. Kerry stood to meet her and they both sat. Megan’s arms sprouted goosebumps all over her skin and she rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm up.

“Why are you wearing such light clothing, Megan?” Kerry laughed. “It’s COLD!”

Megan nodded. “I thought I’d warm up as I ran. But I probably should’ve worn something warmer…”

Kerry pulled out a thermos and poured some steaming brown liquid into a styrofoam cup. “It’s hot chocolate,” she explained, handing it to Megan. Megan accepted gratefully. She placed the cup to her lips but drew back quickly as the hot liquid burned her mouth.

“Careful, it’s hot,” Kerry said too late.

“Thanks,” Megan murmured sarcastically. She blew on it a few times , then lowered it to her lap. “So,” she began, “what brings you to Central Park?”

“Oh, I just wanted to think,” Kerry said. “Sometimes the cold helps.”

Megan smiled in understanding. Thinking sounded good right then. The friends sat together for a while, not saying anything but each enjoying the other’s company.

“Hey.” Kerry broke the silence. “I heard there was a bit of excitement down at Stark Tower last night.”

“Oh, yeah. Some guys broke in and hacked the system, I guess,” Megan replied.

“Seems weird, though,” Kerry continued. “I mean, Stark Tower has some crazy security. How’d they get in?”

“I know,” Megan agreed. “I have no idea. I’ll ask Tony at training tonight.”

“Is that still going well?” Kerry asked.

“Yeah. I’ve still got a ways to go, but I’ve come a long way, too. Besides, tonight there’s something I want to figure out.”
=—= “We’re doing the same thing as last night,” Tony said. “Except, well, the… the unexpected ending.”

Megan laughed. “So you’re not expecting any uninvited guests this time, then?”

Tony shook his head as he walked down the corridor with Megan, heading for their training area.

“How’d they get past all the security, anyway?” Megan asked.

“I don’t know, honestly. It’s no easy feat getting into the building without my knowing, but hacking the system? It’s unheard of. We only caught them when we did because we were lucky,” Tony said, then continued. “I don’t know how they did what they did, but they have some serious connections, I’ll tell you that much. Whoever they were.” He shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out after they’ve been questioned.”

“What were they after?” Megan wondered.

Tony shrugged again. “That’s a mystery, too. I think they wanted to download some data from my computer. That’s not odd; if someone gets a hold of that, they could get the secrets to all of my technological wonders. But it didn’t look like they were looking for that.”

“What were they looking for?”

“My… personnel files.”

Megan raised her eyebrows. “Why?”

“Not a clue.” Tony walked through a doorway and entered the training room. The obstacles they had set up last night still stood, ready to be used again tonight.

“We’ll do some warm-ups first, of course,” Tony began. “Punch the bag a few times. Then we’ll get started.”

Soon, the bag had been thoroughly punched. Megan stood in the same spot she had the night before, counting down from fifteen. She reached out and turned the lights off. Nothing but darkness now. No light remained to guide Megan as she turned and crept into the maze of obstacles.

Right, she thought. What am I going to do this time?

Hiding herself behind a block, Megan closed her eyes and gave all of her attention to her ears. She listened for anything—the slightest scuffle, a small intake of breath—that would give her a clue as to Tony’s position. Eventually, she got it. She opened her eyes and turned to her right. Focusing hard, she sensed more than saw movement several yards ahead. A smile steadily spread across her lips. She’d been anticipating this moment all day.

Tony hadn’t believed her last night when she’d told him she had powers. Megan wasn’t sure if she believed herself either, but something had happened in the thick of that fight. Supernatural occurrence or not, Megan was going to find out what it was. And she was going to find out on Tony. By putting herself in another tough situation.

Megan moved swiftly from block to block, careful to make as little noise as possible and staying in Tony’s sight for as short a time as possible. She looked toward where Tony should be, but… Has he stopped? There doesn’t seem to be any movement. Megan was just about to creep forward some more when an arm grabbed her from behind, placing her throat in the crook of the elbow harshly. She was pulled roughly against a solid chest, struggling for breath. How had Tony gotten behind her?!

Megan lashed out, throwing punches, kicks, jabs, anything. She flailed about and successfully landed a few hits, but Tony’s hold didn’t loosen. Finally, as her mind clouded, Megan pulled her trump card.

Opening her mouth wide, she forced her face downward and dug her teeth into the hairy flesh of Tony’s arm.

“Ow!” Tony gasped, losing his concentration long enough for Megan to headbutt him with the back of her head and slip under his arm. She snickered.

“Nice try, Tony,” she said, “but I’m not going down that easy.”

“What, that?” came Tony’s voice. “I would have been disappointed in my pupil if you had. But don’t get too cocky yet.”

Something moved rapidly toward Megan’s face and she narrowly missed Tony’s fist by leaning away. One deep breath later and she was flinging herself completely into the battle. Swipe at his face. Blocked. Aim for his unprotected stomach. Blocked. Dodge his oncoming attack. NO!
Megan took a couple steps backward and tasted the blood as it flooded from her nose into her mouth. She licked her lips and braced herself for another onslaught. But nothing came.

Where is he? Megan searched, eyes narrowed, for any sign of movement. There! She swiped out her feet, aiming for his legs so she could take him by surprise and trip him. But her feet passed through air. She had miscalculated, misjudged his location. That meant…

Megan was vulnerable in that second after her failed attack. She knew Tony was close by. One move and he would have her beat.

That move came quickly. No time to dodge or block. Megan thought frantically. She reached out, searching wildly for something to aid her. She grasped it, something hard and heavy, and she flung it at her opponent. The impact could be heard before the block fell to the ground heavily. Megan took her chance and ran in the opposite direction.

There was no doubt in her mind now. What had happened last night—the metal chair, the desk, the bullet—it had all been Megan. And now that block. Megan had moved it… with her mind.
Megan smiled evilly. She’d have some fun with Tony before finishing him off.

Taking a deep breath, Megan calmed herself and searched for Tony’s whereabouts once again. It wasn’t hard this time; his movements were sloppier and it seemed that he had a bit of a limp. He was moving away from her. It seemed he hadn’t spotted her yet. That’s fine. She’d give him a bone to chew on.

Megan let go of her physical body and entered her mind. Reaching forward, she felt the blocks around the room, moving along until she found one far enough away from herself. She gave it a little shove, making it shake as if someone had walked directly into it. Tony paused for a moment, then headed toward the block. Megan smirked.

Tony reached the block and began scouting the area. Megan pushed another block on the other side of the room. Tony turned quickly, surprised at Megan’s seemingly quick escape. He was halfway to the block when Megan pushed another block. She gave it a moment and put pressure on another block far from the first. She didn’t wait very long before she did it again. And again. Tony had grown completely still, unsure of where to go. Megan reveled in his confusion, but it was time to finish this.

Megan grabbed another block, this time one that stood right next to Tony, and threw it toward him. She heard a gasp and a hard thump as the block fell to the floor. It seems Tony had dodged it. “Tsk,” Megan muttered as she slid a block across the floor. She reached for another and slid it beside the first. She continued the method until she had Tony surrounded in a cage of blocks. It must have been entirely disorienting.

Megan left her post and skulked toward Tony. Along with sensing her surroundings, she used her mind to feel for obstacles in the darkness. She arrived at her destination without problems and lifted herself over her homemade cage stealthily. Two more inches… one… SLAM!
Megan threw a punch into Tony’s perfectly cut jaw and caught him completely off guard. He shuffled backward and knocked into a block, which Megan then lifted up and away from Tony as he tried to lean on it, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud.

“JARVIS!” Tony called urgently. “Lights! Turn on the lights!”

The lights immediately sprung on and Megan closed her eyes tight in reaction. She slowly and cautiously opened them again, allowing them to adjust to the sudden brightness. The first thing that greeted her eyes was the flabbergasted face of her handsome mentor as he lay sprawled on the ground, staring at a block over his shoulder. Megan followed his gaze. The block was at a weird angle. It shouldn’t be able to stand up like that… Oh. Upon further inspection, Megan found that it was, in fact, not standing, but rather floating a few inches above the ground.

“Huh,” Megan said. “Cool.” She dropped the block and it fell to the ground.

Tony watched it fall, continued staring at it for a moment, then shifted his gaze to Megan. “Y-you… That was… you…?”

Megan smiled, half from pity for the shocked man and half from excitement. “I told you, didn’t I?”
=—= The next morning, the Avengers had all assembled and were lounging around a lavish room in Stark Tower at Tony’s request. They’d all been beckoned there, but none knew why. They had only received the vague description of “urgent.”

“All of us are here,” Sarah told Tony as he stared out a rather large window down into the city. “Minus two Norse gods.”

“Feels strange,” Rachel commented from the opposite couch. "It's been so long since all of us have come together. It’s only recently that we’ve been gathering again."

"It's because Loki is gone," Clint said, sitting beside her. Kerry blinked at the mention of Loki’s name. "All of us don't need to babysit him, so after he left, we all went and did our own things."
“Sure is quiet without him,” Kerry murmured to herself.

“What?” Rachel asked Kerry.

Straightening, Kerry spoke louder. “I said , 'Why do you need us here, Tony?’" She smiled. “Are you finally going to tell us the secret to success?"

Tony snorted and turned around to face the group. “Uh, no. Nice try. Instead..." He looked over to Megan. “Er… How do we explain this…?”

Megan rolled her eyes as she stood in her place beside Tony. She scanned the room, searching for a good object for demonstration, and her eyes landed on Steve.

“Throw it,” she ordered, motioning to something at Steve's side. Steve's face grew confused. Motioning again, Megan nodded at Steve's shield. Sarah, who was absently fingering the star at the center of Steve's shield as it lay on her lap, looked up suddenly.

“Throw it at me,” Megan said again.

“Ww-what? Are you crazy? No!” Steve refused. He shared a surprised glance with Sarah.
Megan only smirked slightly, tilting her head. “Fine then.” Megan reached out her hand and closed her eyes, seemingly deep in concentration. Steve's shield began to vibrate and Sarah retracted her hands from it quickly. Slowly, it began to shake more, then calmed down and rose from Sarah's lap. The shield came flying through the air and into Megan's outstretched hand. She opened her eyes.

The room was silent. No one spoke, though such a thing was unnecessary; the shocked faces shared around the room did all the communication more efficiently than the use of words could.
Megan looked at the shield she now held in both hands briefly before slowly lowering her arms. Amazingly, the shield stayed in its place even without visible support. It hovered in the air for a moment before steadily floating back towards Sarah. She lifted her arms and accepted the shield, allowing it to sink back into her lap.

“Telekinesis...” Sarah whispered in awe. Her face gradually lit up. “Oh my gosh, Megan! You have powers!” she said excitedly. She took the shield from her lap and handed it off to Steve before jumping up from her seat on the couch and coming to stand next to Megan. She looked Megan up and down enthusiastically.

Now that the silence was broken, a flood of words burst from everyone’s mouths. Bruce stated that it’s scientifically impossible, but Steve disagreed, having just seen it with his own eyes.

Rachel was telling Clint how she wanted to teach Megan how to wield a bow and train together, though somehow the conversation turned into a debate on the best type of arrows. Kerry joined in with a comment about how the short conversation could have taken such a drastic turn. Natasha questioned Tony on how long this had been going on. Everyone had something to say about this unexpected new development.

“How did you discover your powers?” Sarah asked Megan.

Megan shrugged. “Fighting. I mean, I’m still very new to it and it’s kinda hard to control when I’m not backed into a corner for some reason, but..." She smiled. "Don't you see what this means, guys? I can fight side-by-side with you. I... I won't hold you down anymore. I am part of our team!"

"What are you talking about?" Kerry laughed, rathered puzzled. "You've always been a part of the team. And you've never dragged us down."

Megan smiled back at Kerry, despite the dread of realizing she’d said too much in front of her. "Aw, thanks, Kerry."

The buzz in the room had died down enough for the group to hear the sudden screech of tires and shattering of glass from the city below. Most had hardly blinked when Natasha was already by the window, looking down at the scene below. She surveyed the area with trained eyes. People screamed as gunshots were fired.

"Jewelry robbery. Ten big guys," Natasha stated, turning to face the room.

Steve stood. “Let’s go.” He placed his shield at its place on his arm and was the first out the door.

“It’s New York City! This stuff happens all the time!” Tony called after Steve. “Ya goody-goody vigilante.”

Still, Clint and Rachel followed closely behind Steve. Natasha ran out, shrugging off her jacket to reveal an assortment of guns, with Bruce following much slower.

"Well, looks like they've got it, anyway." Tony shrugged.

"Tony," Megan growled at him. She was practically dragging him to the door. "Don't be lazy. I need to go try my powers! I work best under pressure."

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" Tony surrendered.

They left the room, leaving Sarah and Kerry alone.

Kerry looked at Sarah. "Aren't you going to go?"

"Ah, no," Sarah said softly. She smiled. "They have more than enough manpower to stop those robbers with Steve there. Besides, I have been waiting a long time to relax and this room is a great place to do it. So I’m gonna take what I can while I can." Kerry nodded and the two friends waited in silence.

"You're not trying to get into my head, are you, Sarah?" Kerry asked jokingly. "I told you I didn't eat your last Cap-sicle, if that's what you're trying to figure out."

Sarah laughed. "No, no, I wasn't. I was ‘watching’ what was going on down there..." Sarah
trailed off. "Oh, no..." Sarah pushed herself from the couch quickly and ran to the door. "Steve's in trouble!" The door slammed shut.

Kerry snorted. Was Steve all Sarah was concerned about down there?

Kerry got into a comfortable position on the couch. There was nothing she could do to help her friends, but she knew they could take care of themselves.

"Gee, it doesn't take much to make everyone go away and get you alone," snickered a smooth voice.

Kerry bolted from her couch and whipped around so fast it made her light headed, unbalancing her. Slender but firm arms wrapped around her, holding her up to keep her from falling.

When Kerry's dizziness passed, she looked up, feeling exhaustedly relieved. "Loki…?"

Loki had a concerned look. "Oh, Kerry, my dear... You look terribly tired! Have you really been in that much need of me?" He finished with a small smile.

Kerry chuckled, then sighed. "Maybe. It sure hasn't been the same since you left. You and Thor." Kerry put her arms around Loki in a tight hug. "I missed you so much, Loki." A lump started to form in her throat. "I've never felt so empty," she finished in a choked whisper.

"All of that is going to change now," Loki murmured in Kerry’s ear. "Soon Odin is going to let me visit you again—twice every month—if things on Asgard start to calm down."

"I can't wait," Kerry murmured back. "But then how did you get permission to come here?"

"I didn't." Loki chuckled. "There are other ways in and out of Asgard. But even now my time is running short. Your friends could be back any moment."

"Wait... Don't tell me that you made the robbery happen!" Kerry raised an eyebrow. Loki gave a curt laugh. "Gee, you trickster, you," Kerry muttered, but she smiled.

They held each other’s gazes.

"Well..." Loki said, breaking the warm silence. "Don't worry about anything, Kerry. Everything is perfect." He set his hand on the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. Kerry's heart beat faster as Loki leaned closer and kissed her on the forehead.
=—= Kerry hadn't realized she had fallen asleep, but when she opened her eyes, the concerned face of Doctor Banner stared down at her.

Kerry yawned. "Oh hey. What's up?"

"Kerry..." Bruce said cautiously. "You don't feel... sick, do you?"

Kerry thought for a moment. "No... No, I'm perfectly fine. Happy, almost. That was a very refreshing nap." The more she thought about it, the more it felt like a dark cloud had been removed. Then the memory hit her.

Loki.

Kerry smiled warmly. She sat up from the couch. "Anyway... Where is everyone else?"

"Still out there," Bruce said. "The police have just arrived." Now that he mentioned it, Kerry could hear the sirens wailing.

"Oh..." Kerry trailed off and her mind wandered right back to Loki. She really did feel at peace.
Kerry found Bruce staring at her. " What?" she questioned defensively.

Bruce blinked and turned his face down. Rosy hues appeared on his cheeks. He rubbed the back of his head and shuffled his feet nervously. "For some reason... " Bruce stopped.
"Just spit it out, Bruce," Kerry said softly.

He looked at her in the eyes. "When I’m with you, I can't feel the other guy at all. Absolutely nothing."

Kerry didn’t get a chance to respond as the Avengers and her friends slammed the door open and scuffled in. Every one of them looked beat.Tony came in carrying Megan's limp body.

Kerry jumped from her seat and ran over to Tony. Panic swelling in her throat. "Megan? MEGAN!" Tears started to prick Kerry's eyes.

Sarah put a hand on Kerry's shoulder for comfort. "Megan is okay," she said, a bit out of breath. "She just passed out from using a lot of her new power all at once."

"Yeah. You should have seen her," Tony said with a proud glint in his eyes. "She was pretty good! I taught her everything she knows," he assured them.

"I think she’s surpassed her mentor,” Steve said. “She saved our backs more than once out there. A true team player." Steve sent Tony a pointed look, which Tony simply ignored as he looked away.

"If anything," Natasha added. "Megan was the one dealing some real damage back there."
Kerry felt surprised but relieved at the same time. She watched as Tony set Megan carefully on the couch.

"Well then," Kerry said. "I'm going."

"What?" Rachel sounded surprised.

Sarah looked at Kerry. "Why?"

Kerry shrugged. "Why not? You’ve cleaned everything up nicely. I'm not needed here. Besides, there are things I have to go do while I'm here in the city." Kerry went to the door and smiled at everyone before leaving. "Laters!"

Sarah narrowed her eyes. Something in Kerry's energy had changed. Sitting herself down on a couch again, Sarah followed Kerry out the door without actually leaving the room and latched onto her. She slid on the surface of her mind, moving carefully as she searched for a crack in Kerry’s defenses. Kerry knew her well. If Sarah wasn’t careful, Kerry would feel her moving around in her head. And she would not take kindly to that.

Detecting the desired spot, Sarah dove deeper into Kerry’s consciousness, finding it wrongly calm and silent. Only lively bubbles of happiness blossomed in the still air. Sarah stealthily poked and prodded around the corners of Kerry's mind, gradually freaking out. Where had all that dark negative energy gone? Its absence would be comforting if its sudden disappearance hadn’t be so wrong. It was unnatural. Something like that couldn't just disappear all of a sudden like that. Sarah couldn't figure out the explanation. Unless… Wait. No way!

Kerry was beginning to notice Sarah’s presence. She would have to pull out soon, but just before leaving, she came upon a weird notch in the energy. She reached out and touched it lightly.

Sarah saw a sudden flash of green as the energy leapt up at her and pricked her in warning. Shocked, Sarah withdrew quickly and found herself back on the couch having just jerked backwards and gasped in surprise.

Steve rushed over to Sarah’s side. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Hold on," Sarah said, frustrated. She knew what she was looking for now. One last peek was all she needed. She dove right back into the same spot she had gone in before, swiftly and efficiently, this time digging deeper. Kerry had just left the building. Sarah knew she’d better speed up or she’d lose her hold. "But this is so odd..." Sarah murmured to herself. Then she felt it. The same notch.

The notch had a familiar vibe to it—a magical strum. Sarah drew in a stiff breath. She was right.
It was Loki's magic.
=—= He must have used his magic to seal away Lady Loki for now, Sarah thought rapidly in her head. But the only way to do that was if Loki was here himself with Kerry… So, he was here?
Sarah shook her head and looked up to find Steve staring at her with a concerned look on his face. The others milled around the room, having need of a quick rest after the skirmish down below.

“I’m fine,” Sarah assured Steve. “I was just…” Should I tell them the truth? That Loki was here? She glanced around the room. Her eyes caught on each person briefly as she weighed their probable reactions. No. Too many are too rash. They don’t trust Loki and that will lead to poor decisions. I’ll keep this to myself until I can confront Kerry about it. “I was just making sure the police had it handled down there. No biggie.” Sarah smiled, but she could see by Steve’s dubious expression that he didn’t quite believe her. He wisely decided to let it pass, though.

“Alright. But it was pretty rough back there. You’re not hurt, are you?” Steve changed the subject.

“Ha! As if I’d get hurt in a measly robbery!”

The mood lightened. “Right,” Steve agreed.

A small voice cracked on the opposite couch. “Ow,” Megan said, raising a hand to her forehead as she pushed herself up. Everyone’s attention turned to her.

“You okay, champ?” Tony asked.

“‘Champ’?” Megan inquired. “What’d I do to get called that?”

“You kicked some serious butt, that’s what.” Tony grinned. “I’m kinda proud of you, rookie.”

Megan returned the grin. “Yeah, well, I also fainted.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “It was your first time. Er… second, apparently. Not many people can just jump into the fray like that. You should be proud of yourself.”

Megan thought on that for a moment. “Thanks, Sarah.” She chuckled. “I guess I am pretty awesome.”

Sarah laughed and nodded. However, the conversation was cut short when Tony coughed loudly.

“Glad we’ve got that taken care of,” he said. “Now I’d like to take care of something else. Why are you all still in my house?”

The group looked at each other uncertainly. Tony continued. “I have work to do: technology to invent, boundaries to break, mirrors to stare in!” He paused. “Bruce, you can stay. Meet me in the lab. Everyone else…” He made a shooing motion with his hands.

Sarah scoffed before rising to her feet. “I’ve got things to do, too,” she said. Her words then turned sarcastic. “Although I’m sure they’re not nearly as important as Tony’s.”

Steve humphed his agreement and followed Sarah to the door. He opened it and held it for her as she waved a little goodbye. The others soon followed, Megan taking up the rear. She had just reached the door when Tony called to her.

“And Megan?” he said.

Megan turned to face him.

“Be ready for your training tonight,” Tony finished with a smile. “You’d better not be late.”

Megan returned the smile and slipped out of the room wordlessly. Tony knew what she was thinking, anyway. “No way in the world I’d be late for this.”
=—= “I’m glad you reported this to me,” a voice said through a speaker. “As S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, that was the best course of action.”

Sarah looked at Rachel, then turned back to the hologram of a man to which they were speaking. They sat alone in an enclosed room. No one outside would be able to hear their conversation.

“We didn’t do it as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Coulson,” Sarah said. “We did it as friends. There’s more to Megan than meets the eye.”

Rachel’s head bobbed solemnly. “No one just wakes up one morning and has powers,” she said. “Especially telekinesis, something previously thought to be impossible.”

“We need your help,” Sarah finished. “If someone with ill-intentions finds out about this, Megan may not be safe. We need to know how a human could end up with powers like hers. Or if she’s even human at all. This information could be dangerous in the wrong hands. We have to find it first and protect it at all costs.” Sarah paused for a moment. “Coulson, you’re the only one I trust with this.”

“Understood,” Coulson affirmed. “I won’t tell anyone.”

Sarah and Rachel sighed gratefully.

“One more thing,” Coulson said, drawing back Rachel’s and Sarah’s attention. “Does Megan know you’ve told me this?”

“No,” Rachel answered. “And we convinced the others to allow us to report this to S.H.I.E.L.D. alone. Megan has no idea.”

“Well then, maybe you should tell her.” Coulson smiled his Coulson smile. “I would like to know if she’s interested in joining S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Notes