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Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The entire compound was buzzing with panic, every agent on high alert. A voice over the PA system was ordering everyone to evacuate as a helicopter landed. Agent Phil Coulson stood at attention, ready to greet the director of SHIELD. At his side was a young woman with steely gray eyes that sparkled intelligently. Most shocking of all, however, was her bright purple hair--quite unorthodox for an agent. However, the shade was a natural color, and it suited her well.

The helicopter touched down and a tall, dark-skinned man in a black trenchcoat stepped out, along with a well-known agent, Maria Hill. Director Fury strode over to them, not even bothering to exchange greetings.

“How bad is it?”

Coulson removed his dark sunglasses to look the man in the eye.

“That’s the problem, sir. We don’t know.”

The director, of course, wanted to examine it for himself, so Coulson and the purple-haired woman led them to the lab.

“Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago.” Coulson explained.

Fury quickly shot back, “NASA didn’t authorize Selvig to go to test phase.”

“He wasn’t testing it.” the woman interjected. “He wasn’t even in the room. Spontaneous event.”

“It just… turned itself on?” Hill questioned incredulously.

“Where are the energy levels now?”

“Climbing. When Selvig couldn’t shut it down, we ordered evac.”

“How long to get everyone out?”

“Campus should be clear in the next half hour.” the woman reported.

“Do better, Agent Brandy.”

She nodded, and with that, she and Coulson headed off to get everyone out.

“Well, this wasn’t exactly how I pictured my night going.” she remarked.

“Oh?” Coulson mused. “Did you have a date or something?”

Agent Brandy snorted.

“Please, you know how difficult it is for me to even be around people I’m friends with, Phil. I was thinking more along the lines of a bottle of alcohol and some quiet time at my apartment.”

“Ah, of course. Elena Brandy. You did choose that name for a reason.”

“Yep.”

Suddenly, the whole compound shook. Coulson put one hand on the wall to steady himself, the other on Elena’s arm.

“What was that?” she asked, her brow furrowing in concern.

“I think that’s our cue to move double speed on evacuation.”

The building continued to shake, each tremor worse than the last. As they helped several agents move a cart of tech, a particularly bad one sent the cases tumbling down the steps.

“Let’s go!” Elena shouted to the agents.

“No, leave it! Go!” Phil ordered when one tried to gather the equipment. “Elena, come on!” He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the vehicle. They climbed in with several others, then Phil pulled out his walkie talkie, trying to get ahold of Fury. “We’re clear upstairs, sir. You need to go.”

As the drove away, the very foundation of the base rolled, the floor surging and jolting the whole van. Then, they watched in horrified amazement as the entire structure imploded, collapsing in on itself as though the concrete were jello. Unnoticed to the others, Elena paled and looked as if she might pass out from some invisible pain. Once they were a safe distance away, Coulson called on the radio once more.

“Director. Director Fury, do you copy?”

The reply came quickly.

“The Tesseract is with a hostile force. I have men down. Hill?”

The agent’s voice came through, laced with pain.

“A lot of men still under… I don’t know how many survivors.”

“Sound a general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase.”

“Roger that.”

“Coulson, you and Brandy get back to base. This is a Level Seven. As of right now, we are at war.”

Phil glanced at Elena, frowning as he noticed her condition.

“Elena…”

“I’m fine.” she snapped, though her strained tone betrayed her.

Coulson gave her a look.

“You need to get to isolation as soon as possible. That’s an order, Agent Brandy.”

Elena glared, but didn’t offer any more protest. She knew that the situation at hand was much more important than herself, and she intended to prove that to Agent Coulson.

Chapter Text

Once back at the base, despite her protests that she was fine, Elena was escorted to solitary… Well, it wasn’t really confinement. She wasn’t a prisoner or anything, she was just expected to stay where she was until she had a chance to recover. Of course, she lied about how soon she felt better and found Coulson on the phone with Natasha, a good friend of hers and the famous ‘Black Widow’.

“We think so. I’ll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy.”

A pause.

“Oh, I’ve got Stark. You get the big guy.”

Elena snickered as she heard Nat cursing in Russian from the other end. After Coulson hung up, he gave her a stern look.

“I thought I told you to recover?”

Elena shrugged casually.

“I feel fine.”

“But you’re not fine. Being that close to a catastrophe was a huge strain on your abilities.”

“I’m fine. I want to get back to work.”

Coulson decided to drop the issue, for now.

“In that case, you can come with me to talk to Stark.”

She groaned in protest.

“Come on, I am capable of doing things without you holding my hand every step of the way, you know…”

“Elena--”

Holding up her hand to cut him off, she sighed.

“Look, I’m sorry Phil… I just…”

He stepped forward and hugged her briefly.

“It’s not that we don’t trust you, Elena. Quite the opposite, in fact. When I found you two years ago, your powers had nearly killed you. I don’t want you to be put in a situation like that again.”

She nodded.

“I understand. I just wish I could remember something… anything from my past…” She trailed off, then shook her head, pulling herself back into reality. “Let’s go get Stark.”

They arrived in the lobby of Stark Tower, knowing that Tony Stark wasn’t going to pick up his phone. Phil overrode the protocols and broke through JARVIS’s little blockade.

“Mr. Stark, we need to talk.”

Elena smirked as the conversation progressed. The elevator was nearly to their destination.

“This is urgent.”

The elevator doors slid open. Tony Stark looked up, obviously displeased.

“Security breach. It’s on you.” he commented to his girlfriend.

Miss Potts, however, was much more welcoming.

“Phil, Elena! Come in.”

“We can’t stay.”

“Um,” Stark piped up, “His first name is ‘Agent’, and she is ‘That Purple Haired Chick Who Follows Him Around’.”

Pepper ignored him.

“Come on in, we’re celebrating.”

“Which is why they can’t stay…” Tony grumbled with a fake smile plastered on.

“We need you to look this over as soon as possible.” Elena piped up, holding out a file.

Tony just shrugged, rolling his eyes a bit.

“I don’t like being handed things.”

Pepper scoffed at him and politely smiled at Elena.

“That’s fine, because I love being handed things, so let’s trade.”

Elena smirked, watching Tony essentially get told off. As soon as their task was done, she and Phil dropped Pepper off at LaGuardia after some interrogation about Phil’s cellist friend, then they headed to pick up Captain America. Elena was extremely amused as she watched Coulson attempt to interact with his hero.

“I gotta say, it’s an honor to meet you. Officially. I sort of met you. I mean, I watched you. While you were sleeping. I mean, I was present. While you were unconscious. From the ice.”

Elena tried to stifle her laughter.

“You know, it’s really just a… just a huge honor to have you on board, this…”

The blonde man smiled slightly.

“Well I hope I’m the man for the job.”

“Oh, you are. Absolutely.”

He went on to explain about the uniform and such, stuttering occasionally. Finally, Elena spoke up.

“So, Captain Rogers, how are you adjusting to the 21st century?”

The man looked up.

“Please, ma’am, call me Steve. It’s uh, it’s different…”

Elena nodded.

“I can understand that… I woke up two years ago in a SHIELD facility with no clue who I was or even what my name was. I still can’t remember anything…”

The Captain frowned at her, seeing the similarities between them. He opened his mouth to reply, when suddenly, the jet landed. They walked out, Coulson giving orders to the crew that greeted them before he spotted Natasha.

“Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers.”

Steve nodded to her.

“Ma’am.”

“Hi.” She then nodded to Coulson. “They need you on the bridge, they’re starting the face-trace.”

As Phil walked away, Elena grinned at the redhead.

“Heya Nat.”

The woman smiled back.

“Elena Brandy, it’s good to see you…”

Elena turned serious.

“I’m sorry about Barton…”

Natasha’s countenance darkened slightly and she immediately turned her attention back to the Captain, remarking, “It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice…”

Elena went along with the abrupt subject change, giggling slightly.

“I thought Coulson was gonna swoon on the flight over here…”

Natasha raised an eyebrow.

“Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?”

“Trading cards?”

“They’re vintage.” Elena explained. “He’s very proud…”

They spotted Doctor Banner and the Captain chatted with him for a while before Elena and Natasha suggested they head inside. Smirking at the men’s amazement at the flying contraption, the two women led them to the control center. Everyone was bustling around, ensuring the safety of the takeoff and employing the cloaking devices. Hill was calling out orders as everything settled into place.

Elena raised an eyebrow as she watched Rogers hand over a ten dollar bill to the director. Everyone seemed to stare as the Captain passed by, amazed at the presence of a living legend. Fury was chatting with Doctor Banner about something, but Elena went to find Phil. She lost track of him after she and Natasha showed Banner to the lab, but found found him again soon enough. Of course he was chatting with Rogers… About the trading cards, no less. She and Natasha had a bet on how long it would take him to ask, and now Elena was twenty dollars richer.

Suddenly, the face-trace found a match, in Stuttgart, Germany. Elena had never seen this ‘Loki’ guy before, so why did his face seem so familiar as she gazed at the search image? She was so entranced by the raven-haired man that she didn’t even register Fury giving orders to Rogers to move in on Loki.

“Elena?” Coulson called to her sometime later.

She suddenly snapped back to reality.

“Hm?”

“They’ve apprehended Loki and they’re on their way back… Stark finally joined the party. Time to prep for his detainment.”

Absently, she murmured, “A centuries old god is bound to have centuries’ worth of pain and baggage to go along with him…”

“We’ll be keeping you far away from him, in that case…”

Elena looked up.

“Hm?”

Phil frowned.

“Are you alright?”

“I… I’m fine.”

He obviously didn’t believe her, but he let it go. They went off to make everything secure, awaiting the arrival of the ‘special guest’. Apparently, there was a delay… something about another Asgardian. Either way, they made it to the Helicarrier eventually, and Coulson wasn’t taking any risks with Elena. He intended to keep her away from both Asgardians, for fear of her abilities causing her harm, but she insisted on watching Loki’s interrogation.

She wandered around, not bothering to sit at the table in the main room. She looked up as the Captain walked in.

“Steve? What happened out there? You’re a bit bruised up…”

He looked at her curiously.

“I’m alright… Loki just got a couple hits in.” He frowned as Elena winced. “Are you alright?”

She sighed.

“Come here, I’ll be fine if I just get this over with instead of dragging it out.”

Rogers looked confused, but did as she asked.

“I have this strange ability… I’m what they call a mutant.”

She gently touched his cheek, grimacing slightly as the super-soldier’s wounds transferred to her own skin. The Captain’s eyes widened as a bruise appeared on her jaw.

“Was that…? Did you just…?”

“Take your injuries? Yeah. I mean, my powers automatically take on the pain of anyone I’m near, but physical contact allows me to heal. If I just take on the injury, it’s quicker and less painful. And the injuries I take on always heal in less than two days.”

“Wow… That’s…” He frowned. “I’m sorry that you have to feel that all the time.”

Elena laughed softly.

“Oh yeah, hospitals are a nightmare. See, the thing is, I take on any kind of pain. Mental or physical.”

The man immediately stiffened. Elena looked down.

“I’m sorry about what happened to you. It felt awful when you realized…” she trailed off.

Quickly, he changed the subject.

“So, it heals completely?”

Elena sighed.

“No, not quite… I always recover, yes, but there’s always a scar. Even the mental stuff never goes away… It’s always there, in the background. Coulson’s had to set me up for therapy before when it all got too bad…”

“I’m sorry…”

“Not your fault.”

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but just then, a large, muscular, blond man walked in.

“Ah, this is Thor, Loki’s brother. Thor, this is Agent Brandy.”

The giant man took one look at her and froze, the friendly expression freezing on his face.

“Sigyn?” he whispered.

Elena frowned.

“Sorry, what?”

Thor shook his head, seemingly coming back to himself.

“My apologies, but you bear a striking resemblance to someone I once knew…”

Elena winced as she could feel the man’s pain.

“Was she close to you, or…?”

Thor sighed.

“She was Loki’s wife, beloved by all…”

Steve looked incredulous.

“He had a wife?”

“Indeed. He was greatly affected by her death. As were we all.”

Elena was curious now.

“Her name was Sigyn?”

Thor nodded.

“Goddess of healing, and many would say of beauty as well.”

She froze for a moment.

“Healing?”

Steve looked at her curiously, but she shook her head, cueing him to stay quiet. She didn’t want to give Thor any crazy ideas.

“Well… That’s interesting. I’ll keep the resemblance in mind in case we need leverage over Loki…”

Thor nodded, seemingly forgetting his dismal thoughts.

“Indeed, it could be useful to catch him off guard.”

Then, someone pulled up the monitors for Loki’s containment cell and everyone went silent. As Elena observed him, a chill ran down her spine. She could barely focus on the interaction between him and Fury. She was so entranced by the way he spoke, the way he moved, with his hands folded behind him, pacing casually. The way his mouth moved when he spoke, the gentle curve of his lip as he once more displayed that condescending grin…

“Ooh… It burns you to have some so close.”

Why was the growl in his voice so attractive?

“To have the Tesseract, to have power. Unlimited power. And for what?”

That stupid smirk… She wanted to slap it off his face, but at the same time, it was infuriatingly familiar.

“A warm light for all mankind to share.” His tone darkened. “And then to be reminded what real power is.”

As Fury walked away with a final taunt, Loki looked directly into the camera for a second time. Elena shivered as his piercing gaze seemed to send icicles through her soul.

“He really grows on you, doesn’t he?” Banner mused.

“Loki’s gonna drag this out.” Steve started, immediately strategizing. “So, Thor, what’s his play?”

The Asgardian seemed deep in thought as he answered, “He has an army, called the Chitauri. They are not of Asgard, nor any world known.” Thor turned to face them, coming back to reality. “He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.”

Steve looked as if things in the future were getting a bit too crazy for him.

“An army… from outer space.”

“So, he’s building another portal. That’s what he needs Erik Selvig for.”

Thor was immediately at attention.

“Selvig?”

“He’s an astrophysicist.” Elena interjected absently.

“He’s a friend…”

Natasha shifted.

“Loki has him under some kind of spell… Along with one of ours.”

“I want to know why Loki let us take him. He’s not leading an army from here.”

“I don’t think we should be focusing on Loki.” Banner countered. “That guy’s brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him.”

His words rung in Elena’s mind, an idea beginning to form.

“Have care how you speak.” Thor warned. “Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother.”

Nat gave him a look.

“He killed eighty people in two days.”

Thor paused.

“He’s… adopted.”

“What if he isn’t beyond reason?” Elena muttered.

Everyone’s attention was immediately on her.

“What do you mean?” Steve questioned.

“Well…” she began, uncertain now, of the validity of her theory. “With Barton and Selvig, their minds have obviously been tampered with by that sceptre. Loki, however, has had the most exposure to it by far. What if he’s not the leader of this scheme, but merely a pawn? Thor, you remarked how he’ll probably trade the Tesseract in return for this army. Imagine being this head honcho guy… What better way to ensure your pawn doesn’t double cross you? Control his mind.”

Thor considered this.

“He did seem… odd when I confronted him earlier. He was especially bitter and full of hate, as if his worst memories had been brought to the forefront of his mind and twisted so that they seemed far more grievous than they truly were.”

Elena looked thoughtful.

“If I could just get close enough to sense his pain…”

Bruce shook his head, interrupting, “I think it’s about the mechanics. Iridium… What do they need the iridium for?”

Suddenly, a new voice joined the conversation. A very arrogant voice…

“It’s a stabilizing agent.” He paused to chat with Phil about the cellist, then returned to the conversation at hand. “Which means, the portal won’t collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD.” Stark patted Thor on the shoulder as he walked by. “No hard feelings, Point Break. You’ve got a mean swing.” He advanced towards the monitors. “Also, it means that the portal can open as wide and stay open as long, as Loki wants.”

As the man became distracted, Elena slipped away to talk to Coulson.

“Phil, I need to see Loki.”

He looked at her like she’d just said ‘I need to jump off the Helicarrier without a parachute.’

“Why…?”

“I have a theory.”

He sighed.

“Look, if this is about what Thor said--”

“Hang on,” she interrupted. “‘What Thor said’? Were you keeping tabs on me?”

“That’s not the point.”

“Then what is the point?” she demanded.

“Elena, the man in the Hulk Containment cell is not to be messed with. Especially with your powers.”

“Screw my powers, who cares?! If I can get information to possibly save lives, then I need to do it. Any repercussions will be dealt with later. Look, Phil… If Loki is thrown off by my resemblance to Sigyn, he might just slip up. This could be exactly what we need to trap him.”

Coulson sighed, obviously not happy with this.

“I’ll talk with Director Fury.”

Just then, the man himself walked in.

“Doctor Banner is only here to track the Cube. I was hoping you might join him.”

“I’d start with that stick of his.” Steve put in, bringing them back to Elena’s topic. “It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon.”

I don’t know about that,” Fury admitted, “But it is powered by the Cube. And, I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.”

“Monkeys?” Thor asked in confusion. “I do not understand--”

“I do.” Steve jumped in. “I… I understood that reference.”

Elena fought the urge to facepalm as Tony rolled his eyes. Poor Cap was trying so hard… He looked so proud of himself.

Stark seemed to want to move on.

“Shall we play, Doctor?”

“This way, sir.”

And with that, the scientist pair headed off.

“Director!” Elena called.

“Agent Brandy?”

“Sir, I’d like to request permission to interrogate Loki. I believe that I bear a striking resemblance to his deceased wife, therefore giving me the element of surprise. It could be just the boost we need to knock him down a peg or two. And, I have a theory about his behaviour. I believe that the Tesseract and the sceptre may be affecting his mind similarly to Selvig and Barton, sir.”

Fury sighed.

“It’s good in theory, but what happens if he gets into your head instead of you getting into his? What if he tries to convince you that maybe it’s not just a resemblance to his wife? I can’t afford to lose you, Agent.”

Elena sighed.

“Understood, sir.”

Chapter Text

Sometime after her conversation with Fury, Elena was standing around as Coulson explained to Thor the safety measures they’d taken to protect Jane.

“It’s no accident, Loki taking Erik Selvig… I dread what he plans for him once he’s done. Erik is a good man.”

Elena looked up at him.

“He talks about you a lot. You changed his life.”

“You changed everything around here.” Coulson added, moving away from the hub.

Thor sighed.

“They were better as they were… We pretend on Asgard that we’re more advanced, but… we come here, battling like bilgesnipe.”

Coulson and Elena exchanged confused glances.

“Like what?”

Thor looked at them curiously.

“You know… huge, scaly, big antlers…” he described, miming the antlers. When he didn’t get any reaction of recognition, he continued, “You don’t have those?”

Coulson shook his head.

“Don’t think so.”

“Well they are repulsive.” The Asgardian grew more serious. “And they trample everything in their path.” He gazed out the window, deep in thought. “When I first came to Earth, Loki’s rage followed me here, and your people paid the price. And now, again.” Thor looked guilty, shaking his head slightly. “In my youth, I courted war…”

“War hasn’t started yet.” Fury broke in. “You think you could make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is?”

Thor shook his head apologetically.

“I do not know. Loki’s mind is far afield. It’s not just power he craves, it’s vengeance. Upon me. There’s no pain would prise this need from him.”

“A lot of guys think that, till the pain starts.”

“What are you asking me to do?”

“I’m asking, what are you prepared to do?”

“Loki is a prisoner…”

Fury leaned forward.

“Then why do I feel like he’s the only person on this boat that wants to be here?”

Elena coughed slightly, bringing their attention to her. “There is another option, you know…”

Loki paced around his cell, hands casually clasped behind his back. It felt like so many things were running through his mind, yet at the same time, it were as though his mind were totally blank.

He turned around, blinking in surprise when he noticed the woman standing in the shadows.

“How did you do that?”

No answer.

“Only one person has ever been able to truly surprise me before…”

A soft, accented voice replied, “Oh, I know, min kjærlighet…”

He froze, whispering, “Impossible…”

“Is it really, though?”

The woman stepped forward, and Loki’s jaw dropped.

“Sigyn? But… I saw you… You were dead! How… How are you alive?”

It was the first real emotion he’d displayed since coming here and he hated it, but he couldn’t help it. He never could with her … He pressed his hands against the glass as if that would allow to be closer to her, to touch her, to run his fingers through that odd but familiar purple hair.

“Sigyn, please…” His voice broke as he begged for a response, to hear her voice again. “How did you survive?”

She walked right up to the cage, gently laying her hand on the glass across from his.

“Who says I did? Perhaps I am just a phantom, conjured by your imagination…”

Loki deflated a little.

“Indeed…” he sighed. “For that is the only thing you could be…”

The imagined figure of his wife frowned sadly.

“What troubles you, my king? You seem but a shade of yourself. This scheme of yours is taking its toll on your mind. I can sense it.”

Loki smiled slightly, allowing himself a brief musing while this vision lasted.

“You always saw my pain, though it never affected you… And for that, I was most glad. I would never want to hurt you.”

Elena nearly broke character when he said that. It was true, she could see it within him, but she couldn’t feel it. But something was off, as if every good thing had been replaced with pain. Someone had broken this man and put him back together to their will.

Elena shook off those thoughts, focusing on the task at hand and trying to remember everything Thor had told her about Sigyn and the way she acted.

“I know you wouldn’t, min kjærlighet.”

Honestly, she was surprised that she hadn’t butchered the pronunciation of the Norse pet name and given herself away already.

“What has happened to you? You have changed, Loki. This is not like you.”

Loki scowled.

“Nothing has changed, I have simply been shown my true potential!”

Elena shook her head.

“No, that is not it. Someone has twisted your mind. Why do you insist on subjugating the mortals? Why not leave them be?”

Meanwhile, the others watched from the control room.

“She’s a little too good at this act, in my opinion…” Stark commented. “How did you say you met her, Coulson?”

The man was silent for a bit, thinking over the day he’d found her.

“I found her. She was unconscious, half dead. She…”

Something suddenly clicked.

“Thor, do the married women in Asgard wear the colors of their husbands?”

Thor nodded, frowning slightly.

“Yes… Why?”

Coulson looked up at Fury. With a nod from the director, he pulled up some files on the table screens.

“This is what she was wearing when I found her… She has no memory of anything before that.”

Thor’s eyes went wide when he saw the images.

“She is Sigyn…”

“So it would seem…” Fury remarked. “Coulson, get her out of there and away from Loki.”

“What?” Thor demanded. “You cannot do that. Loki was always better with her around, she could help him.”

Fury leaned forward seriously.

“Think about the state of mind he’s in right now. He’s full of anger and every memory has been twisted, according to Elena. What happens if he finds out she’s not Sigyn? Or that she doesn’t think she is, anyway. If he realizes that she didn’t die but was hidden on our world for two years? Who do you think he’ll blame? It could send him over the edge. He may want to take it out on her, or it could lead to an even worse situation regarding his need to conquer Earth.”

The Asgardian seemed disgruntled but nodded.

“You are going to tell her who she is, right?” Tony demanded.

“Of course.” Phil immediately responded with a pointed look at Fury. “She has a right to know.”

Fury glared slightly, but nodded.

“Yes, now get her out of there.”

Elena was feeling more and more comfortable with this game of cat and mouse that Loki didn’t even realize he was playing. She would say something Sigyn-like and he would respond in kind. He wasn’t giving very much away, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t doing all of this willingly.

“Loki… Couldn’t you just stop all of this? Go home with Thor and leave this. I know it isn’t what you want.”

He smiled at her weakly.

“My Sigyn… always seeing right through me. Oh, I would if I could, darling… But I can’t.”

Elena frowned, moving closer to the glass that separated them.

“Why not, min kjærlighet? Who is it that controls your mind?”

Loki began to tremble, barely noticeable, yet Elena could tell he was scared.

“He tore me apart… He unmade me, and I can’t escape…”

He looked at her pleadingly, eyes full of fear.

“Help me, Sigyn… Please… Please save me from him…”

“Who is it, Loki? Please…”

In the midst of her genuine concern for him, she had dropped Asgardian accent. Loki’s eyes narrowed and his whole demeanor reverted back to cold and calculating.

“What have they done to you?”

For the first time, he truly paused to take in her appearance. She was dressed like one of those SHIELD agents… He had been too distracted by the mere thought of her to notice it before.

Elena sighed, knowing that the charade was over now.

“I’m Agent Elena Brandy, of SHIELD. I--”

“No you’re not!” he snarled, slamming his fist against the glass. “They’ve made you think that… But you’re no mortal, you’re mine . My wife, my Sigyn… Yet, like everything else I ever cared for, you were taken from me.”

Elena shook her head.

“You’re mistaken. I’ve been with SHIELD for two years, and--”

“Two years?” he demanded. “What were you before that, then?”

She froze.

“I… I don’t… I’ve not had any memory of that time since Phil found me…”

Loki smirked triumphantly.

“Because you were with me back then. You were the princess of Asgard, and you should have been my queen, eventually… You still can be, darling.” Desperately trying to convince her, he continued, “We can conquer the Midgardians together. With you at my side, I’ll be unstoppable.”

She frowned, taking a breath to respond, when Coulson suddenly came in.

“Agent Brandy, you’re needed on the bridge.” He then cut her off before she had a chance to protest. “Director’s orders. Go.”

“You will not take her from me, you pathetic mortals!” Loki snarled. “You cannot keep her from my side.”

Elena walked away, slightly dazed. She had a major headache as she walked onto the bridge, and she wasn’t really in the mood for a lecture from Director Fury.

“Elena…”

Oh thank God, it was Phil, not Fury.

“There’s something you should know.”

Uh oh. That was never a good sign.

“I think Thor would be better suited to explain things…”

She looked up at the blond Asgardian and the rest of the group. The man took a deep breath.

“You may wish to be seated for this, my lady.”

Chapter Text

Elena willingly went into isolation for the first time in two years. As the others went their separate ways, she was alone, lying on the cot and thinking over what she’d learned. No one had any clue how to recover her memories, not even Thor. She had decided that maybe some alone time would trigger something, anything... So far, she had nothing more or less than she’d had moments ago.

“If I’m a goddess, that means I have magic...” she murmured to herself. “Would Loki have taught me the magic he knows? It seems like something he would do to keep me safe...”

She looked at her hands, trying to draw on anything she could find. This continued for a while, trying and failing continuously until she felt something, a small tugging in her gut.

In her mind’s eye, Elena could see Tony and Cap arguing in the lab. She saw Thor, alone, pondering the situation. All of them seemed to be in pain, mentally or otherwise, and that was what her powers were drawn to. She looked further, trying to find Loki. His pain was rather specific, so it didn’t take her long.

He was pacing in his cell, more agitated than before. Suddenly, he paused, and a satisfied smirk spread over his face.

“There’s not many people who can sneak up on me.”

“Yeah, I’m the only one, so you said...” Elena grumbled as she watched him turn to face Natasha.

“But you figured I’d come,” the redhead replied.

“Nat, be careful...” Elena muttered, as if her friend could actually hear her. “He’s hurt right now, and that makes him vicious...”

“After...” A cruel grin was plastered on his face. “After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend. As a balm. And I would cooperate.”

Nat ignored his snide deductions.

“Yeah, well I’m pretty sure we blew all chance of cooperations when we pulled that stunt with Elena.”

“Sigyn,” Loki corrected snappishly.

“I want to know what you’ve done to Agent Barton.”

Loki shrugged, smirking.

“I would say I’ve... expanded his mind.”

Natasha tilted her head.

“And once you’ve won, once you’re king of the mountain... What happens to his mind?”

Loki’s look darkened dangerously, taunting, “Oh... Is this love, Agent Romanoff?”

True to Natasha form, she shot back, “Love is for children, I owe him a debt.”

Still smirking, Loki backed towards the small bench in the cell, spreading his hands in a gesture that was almost welcoming.

“Tell me.”

His tone seemed inviting, but Elena could he was looking for any sort of foothold to get to Nat. She watched as the redhead talked with Loki, both trying to manipulate the other. It was sad, Elena noted, how much more angry and ruthless their interaction seemed to have made him towards everyone else. There was nothing to be done about it now, though.

As Loki started listing Natasha’s past crimes, Elena felt a shiver run down her spine. No! Bad! She should not be attracted to this kind of behaviour... Was this what Sigyn-her was like? But Thor said that everyone loved her, so surely she wasn’t evil... Maybe it was just the thought that Loki was acting this way because of her . Yes, that was it. It wasn’t the behaviour she found attractive, just the body language, the general air of... possessiveness, you could say.  Loki stood, moving towards the glass.

“Your ledger is dripping . It’s gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer. Pathetic !”

Elena’s heart skipped a beat. She could almost swear he was speaking to his reflection as he spat those last words.

“You lie and kill, in the service of liars and killers,” he continued. “You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are part of you. And they will never. Go. Away.”

Even Elena jumped when he slammed his fist against the glass.

“I won’t touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you. Slowly. Intimately. In every way he knows you fear. And then he’ll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I’ll split his skull.” He paused, then growled, “This is my bargain, you mewling quim.”

Elena felt awful. Not because of the things Loki had said, but because it was her fault that they were said. Loki felt as though his love had been torn from him, leaving him to mercilessly lash out at anyone who presented a target.

“You’re a monster.” Natasha fake-sniffled.

Loki chuckled darkly.

“Oh no.” He brought his hand down to lay flat against the glass. “You brought the monster.”

Then it hit her.

“Oh no...”

Elena needed to get to the lab.

The first thing she heard was arguing. Typical. Then, a pinging noise.

“You located the Tesseract?”

“I could get there fastest.”

“The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it.”

“You’re not going alone!”

“You’re gonna stop me?”

“Oh will everyone please shut up?” Elena demanded.

Everyone went silent.

“Thank you... See what I meant about the sceptre? You guys went all cuttlefish on each other after just a few minutes in the same room with it, imagine what it’s done to Loki’s brain.”

They all remained silent.

“Director Fury.”

The man acknowledged her.

“Now that I’m aware of my... true identity, I think I can help to break whatever spell Loki is under.” Before anyone could interrupt, she continued, “And... If I can convince him to stop all this, I expect him to be given the same benefit that Agent Barton and Erik Selvig will no doubt be given.”

She was met with blank stares and a few wary glances, as though they expected her to go all Harley Quinn and join Loki in his crusade. Except, of course, for Thor who grinned at her welcomingly as though he were glad to see some of her old personality regained.

Fury smiled despite himself.

“I think that can be arranged.”

Bruce muttered in surprise, suddenly realizing where the Tesseract was. Before he had a chance to tell anyone, however, an explosion rocked the Helicarrier.

Chapter Text

Everyone was yelling.

Elena couldn’t understand any of them as she nearly blacked out from the overwhelming amount of pain she was picking up.

Fury was calling to Hill, trying to get ahold of the situation.

“Coulson, initiate defensive lockdown in the detention section, then get to the armory.” He looked over at Elena. “Agent Brandy, head to isolation, now!”

She shook the fog from her mind.

“No, let me help! I’m coming with you either way.”

The director muttered under his breath but didn’t try to stop her.

Everything went from bad to worse when the Hulk showed up. His roaring could be heard throughout the entire Helicarrier as Fury and Elena ran onto the control deck.

“Bring the carrier about to a 1-8-0, heading south! Take us to the water.”

“We’re flying blind,” a younger agent responded. “Navigation’s recalibrating after the engine failure.”

Fury seemed astounded by the man’s dependence on technology.

“Is the sun coming up?” he demanded.

“Y-yes sir...”

“Then put it on the left! Get us over water. One more turbine goes down, and we drop.”

Elena rushed around, helping wherever and however she could, including healing some of the more serious injuries around her. It seemed as though tapping into more of her magic earlier had increased her recovery rate of the wounds she absorbed.

“We need full evac on the lower hangar bay.” Fury ordered.

Hill motioned to Elena to follow her, heading to get everything straightened. As they moved to leave, a small object was thrown at their feet.

“Grenade!” Maria shouted, grabbing ahold of Elena and flipping them both back over the railing as it went off.

A pair of armed men stormed through the door and were quickly taken down by the director. One stray attempted to sneak through, but Elena dropped him with a single shot. As they continued to defend the control deck, a voice rang out over the PA.

“We have the Hulk  and Thor on Research Level 4, Levels 2 and 3 are dark!”

“Sir, the Hulk will tear this place apart!” Hill shouted.

Fury paused to fire a few more rounds.

“Get his attention.”

Elena spoke quickly through the comms.

“Escort 6-0, proceed to Wishbone and engage hostile. Don’t get to close!”

“They are not getting through here...” Fury muttered to himself. “So what the h-”

He was cut off by another explosion. Agents went flying and half the tech went up in flames. It was Barton... He fired an arrow, hitting his mark as the drive started shutting down the other engine.

“Engine one is now in shut-down,” came the PA announcement.

The entire ship tilted to the side, sending everyone sliding across the floor. People were shouting orders all over the place, chaos surrounding them as they started plummeting towards the ground.

“We are in an uncontrolled descent.”

“Sir, we’ve lost all power in engine one.”

Fury sighed heavily.

“It’s Barton...” His tone was resigned but urgent. “He took out our systems. He’s headed for the detention level. Does anybody copy?”

There was long pause, then, “This is Agent Romanoff... I copy.”

“Nat!” Elena called.

The spy didn’t answer. The amnesiac goddess growled in frustration.

“I’m heading to the detention level.”

“No, Agent, I need you here.”

She glared, but stayed put. Everyone continued working, waiting for Stark to get them back in the air. Finally, they stabilized.

Elena suddenly stumbled as she sensed a major amount of pain. It almost felt like...

“No...”

Fury looked at her.

“What is it?” he questioned urgently.

“Phil!”

She took off running, as fast as her legs would carry her, Fury close behind. There was no way she’d make it in time, not with the injuries she’d already taken on...

When she arrived, Phil was slumped against the wall, one of the Phase Two prototypes in his lap.

“Sorry boss... the god rabitted.”

“Just stay awake!” Elena begged as Fury shoved the gun aside. “Eyes on me, I’m gonna heal you...”

“Nah...” he breathed. “I’m clocking out here…...

“Please!” she sobbed, grabbing his hand.

“Don’t.” He stopped her. “You’re not strong enough.”

“I won’t let you die, I won’t!”

“It’s okay, Agent... this was never gonna work... if the team didn’t have something... to...”

He trailed off as his eyes fixed on nothing.

“No!” Elena screamed. “You can’t!”

Fury gently pulled her away as the medical team arrived.

“You can’t, please Phil! No!”

But it was too late. Her first friend and mentor was gone. And there was nothing at all to be done about that.

Chapter Text

Elena stood there in the now-empty hulk cage room, staring numbly at the spot where Phil had died. She couldn’t seem to process that he really was gone. He was… had been like a father to her but now, the man she was supposed to be bound to had stabbed him through the heart.

The conflict was tearing her apart. Would Sigyn have let Phil die? If so, then Elena had absolutely no desire to go back to the life she once knew. But then again, she had told herself from the start not to get attached to anyone or anything. Maybe it was her… Asgardian-ness inside her, but ever since Phil found her, she had always had the vague feeling that everything was so fragile… so temporary. It was why she didn’t believe in love. Not the romantic kind, anyway.

One way or another, Loki had to be stopped. And even if the strange notions inside wouldn’t let Elena believe he was acting on his own free will, she had lost something when Loki took Phil’s life.

Blinking back into reality, she realized Steve and Tony were in the chamber with her. How long had they been here talking? She was surprised their grief hadn’t overwhelmed her when they first walked in.

The pair had just been about to walk away when Steve noticed she had snapped out of her phase.

“Elena? I mean… Si--”

“Elena is fine,” she interrupted dully. “I take it you two have a plan?”

The men shared a glance but nodded.

“Suit up and meet me in the hangar in ten minutes.”

“Whatever you say, Captain.”

Elena could sense him as they approached the tower. No one had ever had such a strong presence like this before…

“Can you get me up there? I just need to get close enough to talk him down.”

“Yeah, no ,” came Tony’s voice over the comms. “He doesn’t know you’re on board and there’s no way he’ll let the jet get close enough.”

Just as he finished speaking, a blast from Loki’s sceptre hit the wing of the plane. Natasha managed to land, albeit rather roughly. Elena rushed down the ramp, formulating a plan to get close to Loki.

But, she realized as aliens began to descend from the sky, there wasn’t enough time. Then the Hulk showed up, and things became even more chaotic. Steve stationed her on the roof with Barton. Loki had jumped off of the tower and hitched a ride with one of those things… The idea was crazy, but she needed to get his attention. It was now or never.

“I’ll be back in a bit, Clint! I hope…” And without even waiting for a response, she took a running leap off of the building.

She didn’t fall for very long at all. It was almost as if Loki had known what she planned to do… His arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly. His touch sent the strangest feeling down her spine, but it wasn’t because she was taking on his pain. In fact, for the first time that she could remember, Elena couldn’t feel anyone’s pain but her own.

The alien’s chariot type transport flew right up to the tower and Loki pulled her off, into the main room where he and Tony had been talking earlier. His hold on her was tight but not uncomfortable, like he was just scared he’d lose her if he let go.

“What were you thinking?!” he demanded.

“I was thinking I needed a way to get your attention!” she snapped, not exactly in the mood to be friendly with him.

His gaze softened and he murmured, “Well you have it now… But please, don’t pull a stunt like that again, darling.”

Elena frowned and slowly pulled away. “Look, we’ve already established that I don’t remember anything… But I know that I am Sigyn. Loki, listen to me, please just stop this… Come with me, help me get my memories back.”

Something in his eyes wavered for a moment.

“I can’t… If he finds out about you, he’ll kill you if I betray him. Besides, you could help me instead. Be my queen, Sigyn. You will be worshipped as you deserve…” He reached out to her, his fingertips brushing her cheek. “My love… please…”

“You killed Phil. I can’t forgive that…”

The flicker in his eyes appeared again, and Elena knew that he hadn't willingly murdered her mentor. But whoever had twisted his mind this way was going to pay for forcing him to do such things.

“Sigyn…”

“Shh…” she cut him off. “It’s going to be alright, I promise…”

And with that, she hit him in the head, as hard as she could, wincing slightly as he fell to the ground.

“I’m sorry about that… Cognitive recalibration.”

His eyes were shut tightly, and a small noise of pain escaped him. Slowly, he looked up at her, and his eyes told her all she needed to know.  The golden armour faded away and Loki staggered to his feet, looking around as if seeing the world anew.

“Sigyn, I am so sorry, I--”

“I know it wasn’t really you. But…” She took a deep breath. “I still need some time to process everything. I’m not ready to be Sigyn yet… Do you understand? I just… I…” she struggled to explain.

Lovingly, Loki brought a finger up to her lips, stopping her in her floundering. “Don’t worry, love… I would wait centuries for you.”

Elena immediately relaxed. “Right… Well… We should go stop the invasion.”

“Ah… yes.”

Chapter Text

In the chaos of the aftermath of the battle, Elena was finding it hard to focus on anything. Tony was clamouring for Shawarma and Loki was making things right with Thor. The thoughts in her mind were overwhelming, and she had a throbbing headache. It was as if Sigyn was viciously attempting to break through Elena’s mind. She needed a break, time away from it all.

In the days following, Loki was taken to a containment cell for psyche evaluation and Elena was called to a meeting with Fury.

“Ah, Agent Brandy. I assume it’s still okay to call you that… Or have you realized your superiority yet?”

Elena laughed softly at his sarcasm. “No sir… I’d prefer to keep the name I know for now.”

The Director nodded, satisfied. “You’re here about Loki?”

“Not this time,” she replied, shaking her head. “I just… I was wondering if there’s still a place for me here. Phil was my Supervising Officer, and…”

“I understand. Rest assured, Agent, there will always be a place for you at SHIELD. Even if you decide to run off and join your husband for a while.”

She snorted at that. “I doubt I would… But until I really become Sigyn again, this is where I belong.”

Fury smiled mysteriously. “I was kind of hoping you’d say that… There’s something you should know. Welcome to Level Seven, Agent Brandy.”

Practically bouncing down the hall, Elena made her way to see Loki. He had been cleared and just helped Banner and Stark develop a device from the Tesseract’s powers to take Thor and himself home. She had yet to tell him of her plan to remain, but she had a feeling he already knew. Reaching his door, she carefully knocked.

“Come in, love.”

“How did you know it was me?” she asked, smirking slightly as she walked in. Loki was lying casually on the bed, reading. He set the book aside and looked up at her happily.

“Telepathic bond. It has to do with our marriage. It’s weak right now, of course, but enough for me to recognize your presence.”

“Ah…”

“But you didn’t come to talk about that. Speak your mind, darling.”

“You seem to know what’s on my mind… I’m pretty sure you already know.”

Loki sighed and nodded. “Indeed, I do. I understand why. I will not claim to be happy about the decision, but I trust our separation will not be permanent?”

Elena smiled softly. “Of course not… Just let me remember a bit more before we go any further with a reunion. Until such time as I feel like Sigyn again, I need to stay near what’s familiar.” Loki looked like he was going to make a suggestion, but she cut him off. “And don’t you dare suggest staying behind with me… You need to see your mother.”

After a slight pause, Loki smiled. “You remember my mother?”

It was Elena’s turn to take a moment. “Yes, I think so… She’s very kind.”

“She always did like you.”

It was silent for a beat.

“When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow.”

She nodded slowly. “I’m afraid I won’t be there to see you off…”

“Oh?”

“I have an urgent assignment, so… This is my goodbye.”

“Ah…” He stood, taking a small step closer to her. “In that case, I suppose… Goodbye, Sigyn. Or Elena , if you prefer.”

“Sigyn is fine from you… It feels right when you say it.”

Smiling slightly, he murmured, “Good…” He took her hand and tenderly kissed her knuckles. “Till we meet again, my queen.”

“Goodbye, Loki.”

Chucking her duffel bag into the back of the black SHIELD van, Elena climbed  into the passenger side.

“So…” she started, glancing at Hill. “Fury plans to send him to Tahiti for recovery?”

Maria nodded. “That’s the plan. Don’t worry Agent, you’ll have your S.O. back before you know it. And maybe even a team thrown in.”

“Cool… Let’s go then.”

Chapter Text

“Phil, did you really have to put a bag over her head?” Elena asked as the man walked out of the interrogation room, leaving Ward and that ‘Skye’ character inside. “Seems a bit extreme…”

“It’s all just for show, Elena. Don’t worry.”

“If you say so…” She leaned forward on the table, watching the footage. “I think I like this girl…”

Coulson smiled mysteriously and merely said, “I think FitzSimmons were wanting to talk to you…”

Elena laughed softly. “Ah, they probably want to run tests on the resident Asgardian. Honestly, their excitement is adorable, and refreshing.” She paused. “Though I can’t believe you actually managed to get May onboard.”

“I told you before, sh--”

“She’s just the driver, I know. When will they be back?”

“Any minute. I want you down there to greet them while I talk to Skye.”

“Got it.”

Later, as they all gathered around the screen listening to the rundown on their target, Elena was slightly amused by the fact that FitzSimmons kept getting distracted by whispering about her.

Then, she was slightly impressed by the new girl when she jumped in about having the audio. And with something new to work on, FitzSimmons were immediately back to normal, on track once more. Still, Elena herself was finding it hard to settle back into her role as an agent, now that she knew what she did.

Once they had a location on Skye and Mike Peterson, Coulson ordered the team to their various positions.

“Phil, if I can take his pain, maybe he’ll calm down, buy us more time…” Elena offered on the way there.

“And how exactly do you plan to get close enough?”

“I was just going to make it up as I went along…”

“You and me both.”

Elena was sitting in the lounge/living room area of the plane, nursing a glass of brandy as she thought over the events of the past several hours. Her life seemed so much more complicated after the… well, the “Loki Ordeal”, as she’d started calling it. It was like her perspective had changed. Things were moving in slow motion and had been fast forwarded all at once. Days and months seemed so short with the knowledge that she’d live for what seemed like forever, yet at the same time, things seemed more predictable now, as if the centuries of life experience she’d had as Sigyn were guiding her.

Whatever the case, Elena knew that this team would be a good place to start in figuring out her new identity. She wasn’t completely Sigyn, but neither was she 100% Elena anymore. Moving forward, she was a new person. And that was okay.

Chapter Text

        “Do you happen to know anything peculiar about your biology that will help us run the tests?” Simmons questioned, poking about as she wrapped a blood pressure cuff around Elena’s arm.

        Laughing softly, she responded, “I don’t remember anything at all, so I’m afraid I can’t help you there.”

        “Right then, I’ll proceed as with human biology, then, and just monitor your vitals closely.”

        “You’re just not allowed to cut me open, no matter how much you want to,” Elena joked.

        Simmons just nodded absently, now focused on her work. Fitz hovered nearby, obsessively fiddling with the monitors.

        “Heart rate normal, blood pressure… normal. Now, I need a blood sample…”

        “That’ll have to wait,” came Ward’s voice. “We’ve got new orders.”

        Elena sighed dramatically. “Sorry, FitzSimmons, looks like you’ll have to wait to poke around.” Detaching herself from all of the wires and straps, she hopped down from the table. “Is Skye going to be tagging along?”

        Ward’s jaw tightened in irritation, but he just took a deep breath. “I’m not her babysitter, ask Coulson.”

        Elena raised an eyebrow, but before she said anything, Coulson walked in.

        “Yes, Skye will be joining us as a consultant, so everyone get ready for her arrival. Again, she’s only a consultant, are we clear?”

        The others nodded their affirmation, then the preparations began. Elena helped out around the lab until Skye arrived. She watched in amusement as FitzSimmons rushed to greet the poor girl.

        “Oh, Agent Coulson told us the news! What a wonderful surprise, isn’t it, Fitz?” Jemma gushed.

        The two chatted at her for a bit longer, tripping over each other’s words.

        “You must be very excited!”

        Skye, who seemed slightly overwhelmed by their enthusiasm, just nodded and replied, “Yep… First day of school…” She handed her box of belongings to Fitz, then stepped back to allow Jemma to lead her up the small, spiral staircase.

        Elena knew that Ward, May, and Coulson were all in the control room, probably debating the status of the team. They cleared out soon enough, however, and Fitz showed Skye where she’d be staying.

        As for Elena, she decided that it was better to hide herself away in her room. This new team was going to take some getting used to.

        What. A. Day.

        Elena had thought that recovering the 0-8-4 would be easy, but instead, the team had been caught in a firefight with Peruvian rebels earlier, and now, Coulson’s ex, or whatever she was, had taken over the plane. This wasn’t exactly how she had pictured  her first real mission with this bunch going.

        Right now, the others were all arguing over whose fault it was and whatnot, each trying to take the blame.

        “This wouldn’t have happened if Agent May wasn’t on the stick!” Skye hissed. “She wouldv’e busted out some of her ninja know-how.”

        Elena smirked as FitzSimmons exchanged a bewildered look.

        “Agent May?” FItz asked incredulously. “No, no, no, she transferred from Administration.”

        “Well, I’ve seen her destroy a guy, so…”

        There was a pause, then the three of them turned to Elena and Ward. She nodded to him in a Go ahead kind of way, and he sighed.

        “You’ve heard of the Cavalry?”

        “Yeah…” FitzSimmons said together.

        “Wh- Everyone at the Academy talks about the st--” Fitz cut off, his eyes widening in realization.

        “She’s the Cavalry!” he and Simmons exclaimed.

        “I told you never to call me that…” May murmured, slowly coming back around.

        Simmons looked at her in awe. “I can’t believe it! Oh, we’re sure to get out of here now. Um, how do we get out of here?”

        May sat up, nodding to Elena as she analyzed the situation.

        “Can’t go through the doors,” she said. “They’re bolted, tied to the pressure lines.”

        “It’s an archaic system, really,” Elena muttered, before she could stop herself.

        When the others stared at her she shook her head.

        “Sorry, I think that was a bit of Sigyn shining through… Continue.”

        May turned to FitzSimmons. “You two geniuses have nothing?”

        “Yeah, well it’s hard to concentrate in these intense situations!” Fitz defended.

        “Hey,” Elena encouraged, “Don’t freeze up. Take a breath.”

        “You don’t need to come up with the whole solution,” Ward joined in, glancing at Skye. “Just… part of it. Right?”

        “Yeah…” Skye said thoughtfully. “Pieces solving a puzzle…”

        Maybe they could come up with something after all.

        “Well that’s clearly the worst idea we’ve heard yet!”

        “But it could work,” Skye insisted.

        “It’s the best option we have,” Elena reasoned.

        Ward nodded. “Reyes is gonna kill us the minute we land, regardless, and blame it on rebels. This way, we have a fighting chance. I’ll take it. What’s first?”

        Fitz had his gaze fixed on the door. “We can’t get upstairs without going in the lab…”

        “And the only way to release the lab doors is from upstairs,” Simmons finished.

        “The first thing is, we’re tied to the cargo door!” Skye interrupted. “So unless you can--”

        She was cut off by a sickening crack from May’s direction.

        “What the hell was that?” Fitz squeaked.

        Elena winced, feeling the secondhand pain. “Her wrist…”

        The poor guard never knew what hit him. May quickly got him out of the way, cracking her wrist back into place.

        “What’s next?”

        “Okay, we’re sure, right?” Skye asked. “Everyone’s sure?”

        “We’re all on board,” Simmons confirmed.

        “Yeah,” said Fitz, “Let’s do this fast.

        “No turning back, no freezing up.”

        “Yes, we get it Ward,” Elena said, rolling her eyes. “If we do, then all of us die.” She was currently, nursing the injury that she had more or less forcibly taken on from May.

        “All right…” Ward said.

        There was a beat of silence as they exchanged a glance, but the moment was interrupted by the revving of an engine.

        “You guys talk a lot,” May announced, before crashing through the lab doors.

        They all quickly went to work, setting the plan in motion. Each of them made sure that they had a belt on, and nobody would be flying away once everything started happening.

        “Simmons…” Elena heard Fitz mutter as he piloted the drone. “Forget what I said before. This is the moment that we’ll regret.”

        The plane shook, and the doors unlocked.

        “It worked!” Skye said.

        “The drop in cabin pressure released the doors!” Simmons exclaimed.

        Elena found their excitement adorable, though maybe poorly timed.

        “Ward and I will take care of the soldiers,” she said, attempting to get them back on track. “You guys get to the 0-8-4.”

        “And Coulson?” Fitz asked.

        “Let’s hope he can handle himself,” Ward replied.

        They had very nearly all died, but it worked out in the end. The team took back control of the plane, and Skye had brilliantly thought up a way to seal the hole with the emergency raft. When they landed, they handed the 0-8-4 over to the Slingshot crew, and a team of technicians came over to start repairs on the Bus.

        Elena followed a tipsy FitzSimmons over to the ramp to watch the blast off.

        “We blew up a plane!”

        “I had a new experience…”

        “Eat that, Professor Vaughn!”

        “You had a new experience… But it was new for all of us!”

        “They’re happy,” May remarked to Elena as she passed.

        Elena grinned back. “I think they’re rather adorable. Like Loki and I, when we were kids.” Her own words made her pause. It seemed that, more and more often, memories came, unbidden, in accidental slips in speech.

        May simply raised an eyebrow, but just as it looked like Ward was about to ask for an explanation, Elena joked, “I better let them run their tests on me later. That’ll make their day even more.”

        “Hey, come on!” Fitz called. “You guys don’t want to miss this.”

        Elena nodded towards the ramp, and Ward and May followed her over.

        “So, it’ll take about 180 days to reach the sun,” Fitz was explaining. “Now, yes, of course, it would have been faster if they’d used hydrogen-fueled APUs, but they’re having fun.”

        “How many of those have you guys had?” Skye asked with a laugh.

        “Sk… Skye,” Jemma chuckled, “It’s important, when in the field, to unwind from time to time.”

        “Yeah, yeah, especially after a hard day of everyone almost dying,” Fitz added.

        “Which doesn’t happen every day, right?”

        “Of course not, Jemma,” Elena reassured.

        Simmons nodded happily. “It’s an anomaly - an irregularity!” she exclaimed, waving her hand. “Not… the norm.”

        “Speaking of not the norm…” Coulson spoke up, “Whose idea was it to blow a hole in the plane?” He eyed Elena with a half smirk. “Your Highness?”

        “Watch it, old man,” Elena laughed.

        But no one answered for a moment.

        Finally, Skye was brave enough to reply, “May said that the doors were tied to the pressurization, so I thought--”

        “So we thought,” Simmons interjected, “It was the only way to release them…”

        “It was everyone’s idea, sir,” Ward said.

        “Yes,” Fitz muttered, “Quite genius, really.”

        Coulson watched them thoughtfully. “Nice work.”

        Teamwork at its finest, Elena thought. It was ironic that, earlier, they had been at each other’s throats, but now, they were eager to claim an equal share in the responsibility of something that they might have been reprimanded for.

        Just then, an announcement sounded.

        “Oh, time for blast off!” Fitz said.

        They all watched as the rocket took off into the sky, as FitzSimmons gave them statistics on its trajectory. It really was a beautiful moment of peace for the group. Elena had wondered earlier if joining this team hadn’t been a mistake. After all, she was in a transitional period in her mental state right now, so it would have made more sense to either stay with her old station in SHIELD and forget about Sigyn, or to have gone with Loki to try to recover her old self. Something new like this should have been too hectic for her in her confused state, but instead, she found that this little family was just what she needed. If she was becoming a new person, as she’d decided, then something new was just what she needed to discover exactly who that person was.