Keeper
Keeper of Peace
We all wish for Peace, and for a way to keep it, always.
We knew, from the moment the 'Accords' started, that they were going to be a problem. We were doing good with the Peacekeepers and the UN, with the world-wide alliance, so good that at times we forgot we weren't the only ones out there. In the two years following the fall of SHIELD (and the reveal of HYDRA) things had gone well. Perhaps a bit shaky at first, but it hadn't taken more than six months to stabilize.
Things with the mutant community had mostly settled down since the last big problem with the Worthingtons and their so-called cure (which, as was proven eventually, was neither a cure, nor actually permanent), years before. The Fantastic Four had been mostly retired for a long time, and while the Defenders were a bit of an issue, they limited themselves to their own territory, and so they weren't our problem (not yet). The Avengers were another matter entirely.
They were a problem, and a big one. Their wild chases after what HYDRA Agents still remained loose had brought them to many different places, a good number of them out of our country. With no warning, no authorization, the governments did not like that. And Rogers' hunt for his old friend wasn't any better. It was actually worse, since he never explained to anyone what he was doing in those countries then (doubt very much he'd have been able to explain that one).
We weren't doing much better on our own search; but then again, we weren't trying as hard as we could have either. It wasn't really a priority for us.
One particularly good moment came when General Ross went to jail, finally. Initially we hadn't been too interested in him, other than making sure he wouldn't be able to get anywhere close to the Tower (and of course, the Banners), and then Skye found out, almost by accident, that the man was to become the new Secretary of Defense. None of us were fools, we knew how dangerous that could be, not just for Bruce and his family, but for all of us. Dad actually took a personal interest then, and soon the president was receiving a most detailed file, which included all the illegal acts Thaddeus Ross had committed in his life; just half were enough to ensure he'd never see the outside of a jail ever again. Not even Betty complained when all was said and done (in fact, I could almost say she was relieved, her husband and son were safe…finally); Bruce was evidently surprised, he'd been running from Ross and his men for so long, with no one before dad caring enough to help him… he probably had a hard time processing the change in situation. All in all, we were doing quite well.
When the 'Accords' were first sent to us, we knew it was a courtesy on King T'Chaka's part. They were his idea after all, and he respected us enough to give us a heads up, and to be willing to accept our input. The first thing we had to discuss was the matter of anonymity. Which we did through a heavily encrypted video-call (to make sure no one would be able to hack in and find out what we were talking about)
"I understand wanting there to be accountability, of course I do." I tried to explain things to them. "But this goes beyond that. You know what my husband and I are capable of, just like we know you are more than human as well." I waved my hand in dismissal of their sudden tension. "I have no idea what makes you all different exactly, nor do I care. The fact remains. Whether you plan on signing the Accords in order to do your thing in an international scale, or keep yourself within your own borders, that's up to you. But the things I do, I do them to help. The Accords would require that I sign, with my name. Have you any idea what would happen the moment that became a matter of public record? I'm in enough danger of kidnapping and worse just being the eldest daughter of Tony Stark, if the world found out what I can do? And even if I'm capable of defending myself what about my daughter? Or my little sister? It's one thing to put myself in danger for something I believe in, and an entirely different one to put my loved ones in danger. And what about those who might not have the resources to keep their families safe?"
"What do you propose then?" King T'Chaka asked seriously.
"We propose teams and code-names." My match took over. "Levels of responsibility. Where a team knows all the identities, but the UN connection only knows the identity of the team-leader. If others wish to reveal themselves, they might; if not they have a right to keep their civilian identity a secret."
"What if someone not the team leader commits a crime?" Prince T'Challa inquired, intrigued by the proposal.
"It's the team-leader's responsibility, unless he chooses to take that protection away, if the person in question acted against orders for example." My husband elaborated. "In that case his identity would be revealed in private to the necessary authorities. Then, depending on the crime, and the punishment, a cover would be created to account for the punishment, or their identity would become a matter of record. That, of course, would come in a case by case basis."
The argument went on for a while longer, but in the end we all managed to agree, for the most part. The same level of anonymity would also be granted to all but the leaders of a gifted group: like the mutants, unless they committed a crime.
The hardest part was regarding the magical community. Mainly because, for the same agreement to work for them, first most covens would need to agree to an alliance among themselves, and choose representatives; and they'd have to be willing for their names to be known, at the very least to the pertinent people in the UN. It was a risk, a big one for a society so used to existing in absolute secrecy. But most of them saw that such secrecy just wasn't possible any longer.
No one said it, though I was quite sure we all agreed on whose fault the whole thing was: the Avengers. Which is why it probably surprised no one when Director Ross (Everett Ross, former CIA Agent and the man who'd been put in charge of the new UN group dedicated to dealing with 'superheroes'; his second in command was Agent Sharon Carter, who also acted as liaison with Hill and the PK) decided they should be the first team to officially sign the Accords. Not that his plan stood much of a chance of working considering that Captain Rogers refused to so much as talk about the Accords, much less sign them; and his team followed his lead. We honestly had no idea if they were being horribly blind, willfully ignorant, terribly naïve or just downright stupid (not sure which one would have been worst).
In the end the Avengers were a no-go, but once Ross gave up on that front we managed to gather enough people to make the kind of event he wanted. An event was arranged in the Vienna International Center, a public ratifying of the Accords. So the world could see that superheroes were willing to listen to them, to respect their choices, their freedom, that we were all equal, despite our origins, and our genetic codes.
Maria Hill and Phil Coulson were signing in representation of the Peacekeepers; Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr represented the mutant community, with the addition of Scott Summers and Marie Howlett who signed up as leaders of their respective teams of X-Men; Reed Richards signed for his own team (even though everyone knew who the Fantastic Four were already, they still followed the rules anyway); Daisy 'Skye' Johnson had presented herself as 'Queen' of the Inhumans, specifying that most of them had no interest in any 'superheroing' but all the same she'd also be leading a small team who'd do their best to work with the Peacekeepers; there were of course many others, and eventually a group formed by Stephen Strange, Piper Halliwell, and Cassie Conant presented themselves as representatives of the magical community as a whole. It was certainly a mixed group.
We (the family) had technically signed already. Dad, Bruce, Peter, Harry, Pietro and Wanda were technically PKs, and had formed another sub-team, much like Skye's Sentinels, Rhodey was their leader, as dad had made a suit for him (called it War Machine), and Uncle Rhodey was willing to put his name down for it. Thus, he was the only one who knew who Iron-Man, Hulk, Spider-Man, the Goblin, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch actually were. Helena would be working with Stephen, and thus was considered part of the magical community. While my Maverick and I had no intention of doing any superheroing; we'd signed the Accords under what we liked to call the 'Guardian' clause. It meant that, in case of an emergency we'd do what was necessary to protect those that needed us; but we'd never go looking for a fight. We wanted to shield, to defend, and in my case to heal. The UN was quite happy to go with that. Also, my gift was so rare and so special they were willing to keep my identity as much of a secret as possible, so everyone outside of Ross and the PKs soon came to know me simply as Nightingale…
The event that day went quite well, even with the obvious absence of the Avengers, and I was beginning to believe things might be fine… which was probably why something just had to happen right then: the Winter Soldier was found.
That part at least wasn't too bad. Apparently the Soldier… no, James, James Barnes had been living in Romania for a while. Somehow managing to go unnoticed by both the Avengers and us. He probably would have continued the same way if it hadn't been for that accident. An old building, the kind where no people should live, yet they did, had collapsed. No one knew for sure if Barnes had been there from the start, or if he'd gone in there to get the survivors out, in the end enough people had seen him, until someone recognized his pictures from some of the SHIELD-HYDRA files we hadn't been able to take out of the web.
It hadn't taken long for the authorities to take him in. According to reports he didn't want to go, he'd tried to run away even, but he'd never outright attacked anyone. One of the officers even went on file saying that Barnes could have gotten away if he'd just pushed him a little harder… though that would have thrown him onto the busy street. In the end he'd valued the life of an unknown man over his own freedom.
Dad was all over it, the moment the news reached us. The BARF might have been half-joke when he first created it (a multi-million worth joke, but still), yet once that was said and done, other uses had been found for the device. From studying old fights and tactics, to sharing old memories and even getting over traumas. If that didn't work there was still my magic, and Stephen believed that one of the relics the old Sorcerer Supreme kept in Kamar-Taj might be useful too.
Ross didn't even try to fight us to keep Barnes, especially not after having seen the cliff-notes version of the collection we kept regarding the Winter Soldier's 'programming' (meaning torture and brainwashing). All he asked was to keep everything above board, public records. We knew what he wanted, it wasn't just helping a man who'd been suffering for way too long; it was showing the world that the Accords could help the gifted as much as they helped humans; so those gifted still on the fence wouldn't fear it.
It was a good plan, and then Steve Rogers and his Avengers had to go and ruin it. Or at least they tried. It was a mess. Most of us were still in Vienna, helping guide the gifted who'd arrived after the public ceremony, either to ask us questions, sign themselves, express their doubts, it was all valid, all important. Carter Hall had arrived at one point, bringing with him a young couple, reporters both, gifted both, part of a group that were still on the fence about the Accords; they'd had bad experiences regarding government control in the past, just like the JSA.
Dad and Uncle Rhodey had gone ahead to Germany, to the PK HQs where Barnes was being kept for interrogation, and until arrangements could be made for a flight to NY. That was when the Avengers attacked.
By the time we arrived, it was too late, the attack was long since over. For the most part things didn't seem to be too bad. Ross seemed to have a concussion or something Hill and Coulson were a bit injured as well, Sharon was spitting-nails mad. Barnes was still in containment; apparently by his own choice, as he'd refused to run, even when he'd the chance. Dad was gone…
"What do you mean dad is gone?!" I demanded, the moment that part registered with me. "Where the hell is my dad?!"
"Ms. Stark..." One of the UN representatives.
"I don't want stupid platitudes." I snapped, glaring at him. "I want to know what's happened to my dad and why you allowed it to happen?"
I was probably being unfair, but the idea of losing dad simply terrified me.
"The Black Widow knocked him out and the Falcon took him away." Phil interfered. "When it became obvious they wouldn't be able to take Barnes… Tony got distracted after Sharon was knocked around, the Widow took advantage of that distraction to drug him, knock him out; then the Falcon took him away. It is our belief they intend..."
"An exchange." I hissed. "They intend to make us give them Barnes, in exchange for my dad."
"You know the UN will never agree to that." Hill stated coldly. "Barnes might not be a bad man but this is not how things..."
"Shut up!" The twins snapped at Hill in unison.
"Are you really that cold-hearted lady?" Pietro asked her in a drawl. "I mean, her dad is in trouble and you don't care."
"She doesn't." Maverick stated coldly. "Then again, we've always known that. It's a good thing we've never expected more from Ms. Hill."
"Ms. Stark?" Ross called to me.
When I turned he was looking at me intently, waiting to see what I'd choose. For all intents and purposes, the paperwork to release James Barnes into our custody was signed and sealed already. Which meant that I could very well approve of the exchange; it wouldn't win me any favors and might even make things harder for the Accords, and for my family in general, but I could do it, if I wanted to.
"FRIDAY." I called loudly. "Call Darcy, tell her what's going on. Also, arrange for a Stark-Jet to pick up Barnes and get him to NY asap."
"What are you going to do?" Several people asked me at once.
I ignored most of them, they didn't matter any longer, my whole focus was on my dad, and on what I was about to do...
"I'm going to show the good captain and his Avengers why it's a bad idea to mess with the Princess of Death..."
xXx 3rd Person POV xXx
Captain America and his Avengers entered the Leipzig/Halle Airport in a loose formation. There was some annoyance, that no one seemed to be interested in getting Stark back, not even his daughter or his wife. Romanoff and Barton had been so sure the plan would work. Rogers had felt bad about it at first, but after talking to Stark for just a short while he'd realized the man was nothing like Howard. Howard had been a friend, yet Anthony Stark… it was disappointing for the captain; though perhaps it might explain why no one seemed too interested in getting him back (at least in his head it did).
In any case, he wasn't really worried. Natasha'd had no trouble hacking the UN network and finding out about the plan to put Bucky on a Stark Jet bound for New York. Steve couldn't allow that. He couldn't allow his friend, the only person he'd left of his past, of his happier times, to be taken away, treated like a criminal when he was just a victim… He'd tried to explain things to the people who'd first arrested him, but they hadn't listened. They just kept going on and on about the Accords, and how good they were supposed, they couldn't see how dangerous they were. Governments were corrupt, people had agendas, the Accords would hurt them, not help them; and Captain America would make them see that…
At no point did it occur to Rogers that he'd no idea what the Accords were about. He'd never read them, had never cared to. Truth was that Captain America had believed himself the ultimate authority for so long… he'd heard his own legend so many times he'd come to believe it himself. He'd forgotten that no man is right all the time, that no man can be above all others, that all people are answerable to others…
The Avengers were so sure of themselves… they had no idea what was coming their way.
It didn't take long before they all caught sight of the Stark Jet, parked inside one of the hangars near a corner of the airport. A moment later they noticed something else, the figure standing just outside the hangar itself: Arianna Stark-Hvedrungr. She was standing there, in a short-sleeved, floor length, coral pink dress with a black collar, a pair of silver looking bracelets on her wrists, a pendant around her neck of some bird with its wings spread, her auburn hair down and swaying gently in the breeze, reflective sunglasses on her eyes, though she pushed them up her head soon enough. She looked much like she did in every magazine and TV add where she'd ever appeared.
The second thing the Avengers noticed was that James Barnes was nowhere in sight.
"Isn't she here for the exchange?" Barton asked louder than entirely necessary. "Or does she just not care about her old man?"
"It changes nothing, the jet is right there." Romanoff replied evenly.
Wilson said nothing, though inside he wondered if he was the only one who thought something was way off.
"I suggest you put my dad down captain." Arianna spoke the moment the Avengers got less than six yards away from her.
"Ms. Stark..." Rogers began.
"I said, put him down." There was a hint of steel in her tone.
"Where is Bucky?" Rogers demanded instead.
No answer was forthcoming, the auburn-haired woman just narrowed her eyes. Wilson could have sworn she made him uncomfortable, and she wasn't even staring at him. That was the moment when he knew for sure that, somewhere along the road they'd made a mistake, they had miscalculated or something. Things were not going to go their way, no matter what any of the others thought. He wondered how they could be so blind to it… To the fact that the young woman before them didn't actually look like most society girls, or rich women… no, she held herself like a fighter, like a warrior… Rogers had underestimated her, hell, they all had, and they were going to pay for that oversight.
Finally Rogers did as told and put the unconscious Tony Stark on the ground. What they weren't expecting was when, less than two seconds later, a young man appeared by his side for a fraction of a second, and then they were both gone.
All the Avengers faltered. Arianna just smiled, an almost predatory grin.
"What the hell was that?!" Barton demanded.
"That was Quicksilver." The hazel-eyed answered blandly. "He's with me."
Wilson wondered just how many were with her… Did it even matter?
"Where is Bucky?" Rogers insisted. "Who do you think you are keeping him prisoner?"
"Prisoner?" She almost snorted, almost. "Where did you ever get that idea?" She waved a hand before an answer could be given. "No, honestly. I've no idea where your delusions come from, because that's all they are. I'll tell you this, though. I'm on the side of the law, the opposite side of where you are. I suggest you think it over very carefully before you give a single step more, Captain Rogers. Before you try what you're thinking of trying. You're still in time to walk away. If you don't…"
She didn't finish her sentence, but Wilson didn't need her to. By the way Barton snorted it was obvious that he didn't believe her, Steve's own expression, full of disapproval, of paternal disappointment, it was obvious enough what he thought. Natasha though… she looked cautious. He remembered something she'd said once, when she told them about her time spent as Natalie Rushman, she'd told them about the Stark heiress, who fought better than the so-called bodyguard… not as well as the Black Widow, of course, even if the chick had managed to catch Romanoff by surprise, but still.
"Tell me Captain, do you know what the press calls me?" The girl asked, apropos of nothing.
"Miss Stark..." Rogers began.
"Suppose some call me that." She shrugged, seemingly without a care in the world. "Though it's Mrs. Stark-Hvedrungr nowadays, you know? I have a husband, a daughter too." She shook her head. "Not the point. I didn't mean that. I mean what the press likes to call me. I'll give you a clue, it's connected to the name they used to give my dad, before Afghanistan: they called him the Merchant of Death. Still call him that sometimes… even though SI hasn't produced a single weapon for nearly a decade now..."
Rogers didn't answer.
"Princess of Death." It was finally Romanoff who spoke. "They call you Princess of Death..."
"Exactly!" The 'princess' in question smiled, big and completely fake. "Dad much prefers calling me Angel of Death… though I suppose that's neither here nor there..." Her eyes narrowed the slightest bit before she added. "Thank you Natalie..."
The shock was big enough Romanoff couldn't fully hide her surprise.
"What? Didn't expect me to know?" There was laughter in those hazel eyes. "Please! We knew the moment your name appeared as a candidate to become Pepper's PA. Natalie Rushman… the perfect PA… too perfect to be true, really? Especially considering how especially awful all the other candidates happened to be. I wonder, was that really a coincidence, or did SHIELD fix that so you would get the job?"
"You couldn't have know." Romanoff almost spat. "You would have never given me the job if you'd known!"
"Ever heard the saying: keep your friends close and your enemies closer?" The wide smile was back, though it seemed to be quite real that time, full of mischief and challenge.
"I don't care about any of that." Rogers interrupted. "Tell me where you have Bucky!"
"Oh please! You're beginning to sound like a broken record Captain!" She drawled.
Wilson was about to say something, perhaps try and convince Rogers to try a different approach. When Barton surprised them all by pulling out his own weapons.
"That's it, enough chat." He decided.
Wilson was truly shocked when he shot an arrow at the young woman's feet, though she didn't so much as flinch. Which only seemed to infuriate Hawkeye even more. Enough to make him draw a second arrow and shoot again, higher…
And then came yet another shock, as suddenly Arianna Stark was holding a bow of her own. She shot three arrows in quick succession, one shattered Barton's arrow (something Wilson didn't even know was possible), the second hit Barton in the foot, causing him to curse; while the third landed on the ground, and immediately released a bluish-gray smoke.
"Is that a dendrotoxin?!" Romanoff yelled, shocked. "That's property of SHIELD!"
"Actually it's property of the UN and its Peacekeepers." Arianna informed them evenly.
Barton was unconscious by then, and both Wilson and Romanoff were swaying. Rogers was the only one unaffected, and he was looking beyond surprised by the developments.
"What?" Arianna asked, challenging. "Did you think I was just a pretty face? Here to talk your face off? Or perhaps a distraction?" She rolled her eyes. "I'm Arianna Stark-Hvedrungr. I'm no doll, and no arm-candy. I am the Princess of Death, and so much more you could never begin to comprehend, none of you. You made a huge mistake when you chose to mess with my family, and I'm here to show you just how wrong you were. Thinking yourself above everyone else."
"I don't..." Steve began, but Arianna didn't let him.
"That's exactly what you do Captain." She cut him off. "Fury was an idiot… well, I suppose for all intents and purposes he still is. He gave you too much power, never really taught you how much the world has changed. This isn't a time of war, when you justify everything as necessary for the peace, for the 'greater good'." Her expression twisted a bit at those words. "He especially never taught you that you're not the ultimate authority. You're not judge, jury and executioner, that's not how the world works." She shook her head. "We tried to make you understand. We knew this could happen, you know? Dad had you pegged from the start. But some wanted to believe you could be reasoned with. That once you read the Accords, understood them..."
"The Accords are wrong..." Rogers began, and Wilson could almost hear, word for word, the speech he'd been giving to them all time and again for the last month.
"Are they?" Arianna interrupted him again. "Which part exactly? And how would you know? You haven't read them! You haven't even tried. You're so self-righteous, so delusional, believing that you're always right simply because you're Captain America! That everything and everyone that does not follow your every order automatically has to be wrong. That's monumentally stupid." She closed her eyes briefly. "It matters not. The time for reasoning has passed. You had your opportunity to make things right Rogers, and you threw it down the drain. Now things are very simple. You're a criminal and under UN authority I'm bringing you in."
"Really?" Rogers voice sharpened as he took a stance. "You think you alone can take us?"
"First of all, there's no 'us'." She began enlisting. "At least not on your side. In case you haven't noticed yet, it's just you. Second, I could, if I had to, but I don't really need to." There was a smirk on her face then. "Who ever said I was alone?"
And then they were all there: Iron-Man, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, several agents fully equipped, and even more people in various attires. Individuals Wilson had only heard of, and even more he'd never known existed. He was right, they'd made a mistake; bigger than he could have ever imagined possible. By that point all he could ready do was raise his arms and surrender. No matter what, they were all screwed. Before someone shot him with something in the back that knocked him out the former para-rescue had a couple of seconds to wonder when exactly had things gone so wrong…
xXx Nightingale's POV xXx
After the arrest things were quite insane for a while. I was in no trouble. I hadn't even risked my cover in the end; after all, all I did in the end was shoot three arrows, and talk a lot, the later was no surprise to anyone, coming from a Stark, and the former wasn't that interesting in the grand scheme of things. Apparently rich people were allowed eccentric hobbies. The biggest reaction my archery got was a couple of reporters asking what I liked about it (probably looking for a possible trend coming from my answers) and one inquiring why I'd never done it professionally, to which I explained it was just a hobby, and not something I ever wanted to do formally. Surprisingly enough no one ever thought to ask why I'd decided to take a bow of all weapons with me when I faced the Avengers… and even the 'heroes' themselves had paid so little attention to the details that none of them had realized I hadn't actually had it on me initially.
Really, if the world depended on 'heroes' like them, we'd all be doomed. Thankfully there were many others, people who truly deserved to be called heroes…
The true surprise came from the public response to the Avengers' arrest. After the initial shock and disbelief (which was quickly settled with a huge press conference where Director Ross explained, in detail, everything that had happened that day) the response was quite good. More and more gifted visited the Accords' website to read the online version of the document; we got inquiries about specific details and situations, and many of them began signing. A good number appealed to the Guardian clause; being willing to be on-call, so to speak, in case of an emergency, but not really interested in all the 'superhero business'. There were others who wanted nothing more than to live their lives, though getting in touch with us allowed them to get to know others in similar situations, and form support groups among themselves. For some it might have simply been a matter of knowing they weren't alone…
The rest of the people, those with no abilities, no enhancements, reacted positively as well. They felt safe, and were again willing to believe in heroes, to believe that they wanted to help, and that if mistakes were made, they were just that, mistakes; and if someone committed a crime, there would be justice for everyone. It was what the Accords were about, after all.
Things with Barnes went better than any of us could have predicted. In the end we'd decided to go with magic to deactivate his trigger, but after that the BARF was used to help him deal with at least some of his traumas, enough to allow him to live his life as a free man.
"I… I don't understand." He said one day. "Why are you doing all this for me? All the things I've done, all the people I've killed."
"Are you the Winter Soldier or are you James Barnes?" I asked him, trying to keep things simple.
"I… most days I don't really know." He admitted after what seemed like forever.
"Fair enough." I admitted. "Tell me then, do you want to hurt anyone?"
"No!" His response was immediate and almost visceral. "I've never wanted to hurt anyone! Well, in the war of course I wanted to hurt the Nazis, but they were psychotic murdering bastards, so of course we all wanted to see them dead… but not now!"
"That's exactly my point." I told him, smiling brightly.
"How can you believe in me when most of the time I don't even believe in myself?" He asked in a low, forlorn tone.
I took a moment before answering. Not quite sure what to say to explain things right. And then it came to me:
"May 30th, 1998." I stated evenly.
"What…?" He obviously wasn't an expecting that.
"What do you remember of that night?" I asked in turn.
I could see the moment it hit him, the shadow in his eyes that appeared every time the memories of the crimes he'd committed as the Winter Soldier threatened to overwhelm him. I hated hurting him, but at the same time needed him to understand where I was coming from… where me and my family were coming from.
"I'll tell you what I remember from that night." I went on, trying to keep all emotion from my voice. "I remember a little girl and her father going to a concert in Portland, it ended late, and it was dark when he was driving both of them home through the highway. It'd been a long day, and she was half-asleep in the back-seat. And then, something happened. Something happened that made the car go off the road. The car went into a tumble and in the end was so wrecked that the rescue services had no idea how to even get to the people inside when they arrived. The father was declared dead on site, and some believed the little girl to be as well… until one of the paramedics noticed she was still breathing… It was considered a miracle."
Barnes didn't say a word, but he'd gone very, very pale, and he was staring at me like he'd never seen me before. I lifted a couple of bangs of hair from my left temple, showing a scar I'd there, it was deep, yet close enough to my hairline that it wasn't noticeable most of the time; not unless I made a point of showing it.
"This was caused by the window breaking." I explained. "The glass scratched me while we were tumbling. The seat-belt kept me from being tossed around, but nothing could have stopped the glass. Still, it could have been much worse." I made a pause, looking him straight in the eye before I added. "Especially if the one who caused that accident had gone after me, rather than walking away..."
"You are that girl..." He gasped.
"I am that girl." I confirmed. "And you're the man who walked away. Instead of finishing the job, of killing me, you walked away..."
"I didn't know you'd survive." I wasn't sure if he was saying that to convince me or to convince himself, though I imagined it must have been what he said to his superiors… or would have, if they'd ever learned of my survival.
"You gave me a chance." I told him gently. "I've a feeling that was your choice, not HYDRA's..."
"You were just a child..." He tried to explain himself.
"I was, and thanks to you, I'm alive." I did my best to drive the point home. "I'm here and I have a new family. I have my dad, and little sister, a husband, daughters, friends… I have this amazing life, and it's in no small part thanks to the choice you made that day… You, James Barnes, not the Winter Soldier... So why wouldn't I want to help you now that I have the chance?"
I don't know if that conversation was really all that was needed. It was the last time we touched the topic. We all noticed he kept getting better, and that was good. He would never be the man he was before falling off that train, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. At the very least James seemed to have a better grasp of the modern world than Steve Rogers did…
xXx
The trial of the Avengers was a mess of epic proportions. With Rogers all self-righteous, it drove more than a few people insane. Romanoff and Barton had tried to hide behind SHIELD, except SHIELD was gone, and what they'd once done for that particular organization did not help matters any. Wilson had it a bit easier, since he'd no 'dark past', but at the same time his recent choices put his honorable discharge and military pension in danger.
We stayed away from the proceedings for the most part. Only attending on the days when we were required to either provide testimony or for some questioning. My dad as he'd been held captive for a few hours, and me as I was the one who confronted them in the airport in Germany. There were also questions regarding Bucky's treatment; which weren't easy to explain, especially where it came to the magic used.
It ended eventually. Romanoff, Barton and Wilson managed to make an arrangement through which they joined the PKs (they were lucky Phil up spoke for them). Rogers had been officially discharged from the army; while he hadn't technically been an active part still, he had never been discharged either, or even declared officially dead, after the war (Barnes was in the same boat, though with him that fact had allowed us to have him officially listed as a POW, with all the benefits that implied, medically, economically and everything else). While Rogers managed to avoid jail (no one actually wanted to send a war hero to jail), he was no longer Captain America and would never be again. He was given a chance to build a new life for himself, a civilian life, and that was that.
"You know, sometimes I wonder if all this is my fault, somehow." I didn't even notice what I'd said until the words left my mouth.
"What…?!" My match was beside me in an instant, obviously not having been expecting that.
We were sitting on a swing in the little terrace/garden of our floor in Stark Tower. Helena was with Stephen, apparently helping him with his transition into the new Supreme Sorcerer; Rosie was on the 'school level', something Dad had arranged for after it became obvious that she, Aylen and Robbie were all geniuses; and it wasn't even just them.
"Just think about it." I muttered, closing my eyes tightly for a moment, my own words conjuring images in my mind. "If I hadn't been here, if I weren't Arianna Stark… well, things with Stane would have gone differently for sure, though I have no doubt dad would have handled it. But it probably wouldn't have happened so fast after his return, I was the one who set Darcy and Skye onto his trail, and he went nuts when he found out about that. Without that… Stane might have taken longer before trying again, and by then dad would have had his suit." Something else occurred to me. "And the world would know he's Iron Man… the world would know, and he'd be an Avenger. And maybe this tower wouldn't even be Stark Tower, but Avenger's Tower..."
"Ari..." He began, though I wasn't really listening by that point, half-lost in a world of my own mind's creation.
"If dad had been an Avenger… he'd have never kept quiet about Rogers' attitude." I went on. "He'd have never allowed it to get that far. And if the two of them had been working together to help Barnes… they could have been one team."
"And that team might have broken apart." My love interrupted me. "You're right that Tony would have never allowed Rogers' idiocies. But that doesn't mean the Captain would have listened… and how do you think the revelation of the Winter Soldier being responsible for the death of Howard and Maria Stark would have gone..."
"They could have handled it." I insisted.
"Perhaps." My husband shrugged. "But there are no guarantees. There are no guarantees that things could have been any better, or any worse without you. But my Nightingale, have you thought about what it would have meant for you, not being here? You're the one who brought Darcy and Skye into our insane little family, and with them their little team, and a good deal of what once was SHIELD. You're also the one who made Pepper and Tony see they were perfect for each other. And what about little Aylen? What about the twins? Without you here who'd have talked them down from their irrational fear and hate for all things Stark?" He shook his head, taking my hand in his. "We never talk about this, but we both know Pietro is Rose's match. It's not too important right now because she's a child, her idea of true love is that of family, perhaps a best friend… it'll be a while yet before she'll see him differently. But how would they have ever met if you, if we all weren't exactly who we are?"
He stopped at that, but I could almost hear what he hadn't said as if the words were whispered straight into my mind, my very soul: What would have been of us if you hadn't been here?
So perhaps no world could ever be perfect; perhaps for us to have one thing, another had to be sacrificed. The again, perhaps I simply had too high an opinion of myself… wouldn't be a surprise, I was my father's daughter after all…
And yes, yes I was. I was Arianna Maria Stark-Hvedrungr. After talking to Barnes, after speaking of my old life, and briefly acknowledging who I'd been I'd thought more about it in private. HYDRA was gone, hopefully for good this time; SHIELD was gone as well. Without such threats I could have reclaimed my old life, my old name, everything that had once been mine, my houses in Maine and Wales, the money, and so much more… and yet. They were just things. It's not like I needed any more houses, I had homes and they were enough (and far more important), the money was completely irrelevant to me. Though perhaps the most important part was that I simply couldn't picture myself as Silbhé Arianna Kinross Salani anymore. I hadn't been that girl since being six years old… In that moment, being twenty-eight… I had spent more than three quarters of my life being Arianna Stark; that was who I was used to being, who I liked to be. And whom I'd remain for as long as I could (until the name Stark stopped mattering and all that was left of me was the Nightingale… but thankfully that wasn't something I needed to worry about right then, not for a long time yet, hopefully…).
xXx
We'd known from the start, from the very day when we sat in my bedroom, with my match and I side by side on my bed, talking about our future, that the day would come when we wouldn't be able to hide anymore. And that day came, in the summer of 2020, with a barrage of bullets, plasma blasts, spellfire and so much more… it was the second Chitauri invasion, and Thanos himself was leading it.
The true surprise was for him, though. Between Destiny (Irene Xavier-Darkholme of the X-Men), Muse (Cassie Blake-Conant of the Secret Circle), Phoebe Halliwell (of the Halliwell Clan), Angel (Raina Campbell of the Inhumans) and Chaos Rose (the code-name we'd given our daughter when talking about her gifts) we'd known enough to be prepared when the attack came. Teams of gifted were ready in each location where Thanos's army would attack, the various armies serving as a second line of defense, the human PKs focusing on keeping civilians safe and coordinating with the any gifted fighting.
It wasn't an easy battle, not by a long shot. But we won. It was a decisive victory, the final proof that our planet wasn't weak, wasn't primitive. We were good, we were strong, and we'd fight to protect what we loved…
At some point during the battle, help arrived. An army of Aesir, lead by Prince Thor Odinson, with help from his friends. They arrived to New York, where the main battle seemed to be taking place; where our family was. We didn't cower, though my love and I did make a point of staying out of their way. Helena was with her own match, leading the battle in China, based in Kamar-Taj. Our little Rose was in Stark Tower, she, Aylen and Robbie were officially the last line of defense for the children and families who'd taken refuge in Stark Tower. We weren't really risking them, the Tower was shielded magically thanks to the efforts of one of the magical covens we were allied with, and Iron Soul (Dad's protege, Harley Keener) stayed close to keep any possible Chitauri away from the tower (the shield would last longer if it did not need extra energy to keep direct attacks away).
For the battle my love and I were wearing gray-ish bodysuits from high on our necks to the tips of our fingers and toes, very much like the ones made for most of the PK. Except ours were completely lined in a mix of vibranium mesh and the synthetic version dad had created (the former part of a deal dad had made with King T'Chaka a year or so earlier) (The PK bodysuits only had synthetic vibranium mesh in strategic areas). Over that I was wearing a long-sleeved, knee-length plum colored dress and knee-high leather boots; my long, auburn hair tied back in a bun on the nape of my neck. My husband was wearing a green long-sleeved tunic-style forest-green shirt, with black trousers, black sleeve-less long-vest and leather boots; his own hair was still short and sun-bleached, making him look so very different from the young prince I'd once known (but still my love).
The moment none of us were expecting, or could have ever planned for, was the moment when Thor fell. I felt it, a shift in the air, in the energies, followed by the roar of every single Aesir in the vicinity. For all of three seconds I remained immobile. The Prince of Asgard was not my problem, he really wasn't. We were supposed to be staying away from him. None of us knew for sure what would happen if we were found, if my husband was found, but it probably wouldn't be good, considering the circumstances in which he'd left the Realm Eternal. And yet…
And yet I had memories of Thor, very old memories, of another life, of a time when he'd been a friend, almost a second brother, when he'd been a dear brother to my love… and I couldn't just stand there and do nothing. Before I knew it I'd teleported from my position (giving a quick psychic warning to my match so he'd know where I was going). I landed right beside the fallen thunder god, and the moment I appeared a spear was being swung in my direction.
"I can help him!" I yelled, even as I dropped to my knees and bent backwards to avoid the blade at the end of the spear.
"How?" Sif, standing beside us but moments later demanded.
"My name is Nightingale." I gave them the first name that came to mind (while still keeping my civilian identity concealed). "I can heal him."
Of course they didn't believe me, it didn't surprise me, a gift like mine wasn't exactly common (and a healer who chose to also be a warrior even less). All the same, they didn't get in my way, so that was good enough for me. I had no idea how they'd react once I began, though…
Healing was easy, at least to me. Of course some things required more work than others, and I couldn't actually heal everything. Old wounds, the kind that had already healed (even if they hadn't done so right) were beyond me. Delicate work was precisely that. I could set bones, could reconnect muscles, veins, ligaments, but the nervous system was completely beyond me. I also couldn't heal what I didn't know was there (which could be dangerous when it came to internal wounds). My empathy helped me know when a person was injured, and how badly it was, but there was still room for mistakes, and mistakes could be very bad… I respected my gifts, and the limits they had (the limits I had), but that didn't stop me from doing my best to help as many people as I could.
Thor's wound, while quite dangerous, wasn't that hard to heal. It was bad, and he was losing blood fast enough that he'd die if left untended; but I'd reached him in enough time. No nerves had been damaged, and while his lower left rib had been nicked, it wasn't broken; there was no damage to his stomach or intestines, the worst of the damage was a bruised spleen, a nick to his lung, and the half-severed vein which was causing him to bleed a lot. It took a lot of energy, but I managed to heal Thor alright. He'd need time and rest to recover the blood lost, and would have a notorious scar, but that was it.
I actually swayed when I was done, could feel my body temperature going down to compensate as some of the energy from my match began trickling through our bond. I didn't much care about that, and knew that as long as no one touched me on the face it'd go unnoticed.
"My lady!" One of the Warriors Three exclaimed as he supported me by the arm.
"I'm alright..." I assured him, taking deep breaths to focus. "That took more energy than I thought it would, that's all."
"You're a blessed healer." Sif murmured in awe.
"A mortal as a blessed healer." The Warrior added, the same emotion coloring his voice.
It was a phrase that was soon echoed across the battlefield.
So apparently none of the Aesir had seen me helping others, even though I'd done it a few times. I had no idea what the effects of that revelation might be, but the middle of a battle was not the time to focus on that, so I pushed the thought aside.
"I gotta go." I murmured, half-absently as I rose to my feet.
"My lady! You should rest!" Sif and at least two others called at the same time.
"The battle hasn't ended yet, I have things to do, places to be." I responded.
They were about to say something else, I had no idea what, when my magical senses screamed at me about coming danger. My response was completely instinctive as I pulled a vibranium dagger from the inside of my sleeve, spun around and threw it without quite aiming, trusting my magic to guide the blade. It was enough, I managed to hit the chitauri in the arm, before he could use the weapon in said arm to pierce Sif through. Another of the warriors then finished it off, before retrieving my blade and handing it over.
"That's a very good blade, my lady." He stated solemnly. "May I know your name?"
"You may call me Nightingale." I told him with a shrug.
I walked away then, only vaguely hearing the response one of the other warriors gave:
"Hey! Isn't that the name of the lady Loki used to talk about, the one of his dreams or..."
I didn't hear the rest, nor did I care. I had better things to think about. A battle was still being fought all around me, my match needed me, my family… my friends, they all needed me, I wasn't going to let them down.
Things went well. I found my husband again, fighting close to the twins, who had noticed my departure and made sure to stay close and cover his back if necessary. I took a second to thank them once I returned, before diving back into the melee.
xXx
We won the battle.
No one knew for sure if Thanos was dead or not, but we'd taken down enough of his army we probably wouldn't have to worry about him for a good while; several decades at least, possibly longer. On the one hand, that meant that Rosie would probably be involved the next time; on the other, that also meant she'd get to finish growing up in peace, and there was little I'd ever wanted more than that. With all the gifted around the world, even being a Stark wasn't considered as important as it had once been, the press didn't bother us as much as they used to. That would change, of course, especially since Ross kept insisting on training me to one day succeed him (he'd offered it to Sharon first but she refused, knowing that such a post was mostly a desk-job and she much preferred being on the field).
Two days later we were having breakfast in Stark Tower (I'd spent the majority of the day before in bed, recovering from the extreme drain after the battle and my subsequent overuse of my gift, healing everyone I could, with help from the top limit of elixirs before crashing). I had plans to go to Metro-General Hospital, where most of those injured in the battle had gone. A number of people there knew about me and what I could do (they'd all signed non-disclosure agreements, so as to be sure my civilian identity would be protected); I knew my love would come with me, if only to make sure everything went well. I wasn't surprised by his over-protectiveness, it was only natural with what had happened less than three days before.
All our plans were derailed but a moment later, with the next words to come out of our youngest daughter's mouth:
"Mama! Today I'm meeting grandma!"
I froze, we all did in fact. Since Rosie, like everyone else, was perfectly aware that both the women I'd considered my moms were dead, and she called Pep, Auntie Pepper, rather than grandma, there was really only one person she could be referring to. Loki and I just looked at each other in silence. A part of me wanted to ask if she really meant what I thought she did, how it was even possible; but the answer to the former was pretty obvious, and while the one to the later less so… Rose was a precog, everything was possible.
I never actually went to the hospital that day. It began with me purposefully delaying the simplest tasks, and then when I was finally ready, people kept needing me for whatever the reason. Even dad asked me to give him a check-over! Of course I knew what they were doing, but I really didn't mind. Truth was that I wasn't sure I was ready to face what we were all aware must be coming. It didn't matter how much we might have talked about it, how long we might have known, reality was entirely different from theoretical talks.
In the end the decision to confront reality or not wasn't really mine to make, nor any of ours really. I should have known, that once the Norns decided something must happen… there was nothing any of us could do to really avoid it. Destiny might be flexible, but Fate was another matter entirely, and I understood that. It wasn't even a matter of free will (I believed in that), it was necessity… I knew, I just didn't want to face it sometimes.
I was taking a moment to play with my daughter, little sister and the rest of the children in the Kids' Floor, when FRIDAY's voice unexpectedly called from the speakers:
"Mrs. Ari, a group of Aesir request a meeting." She informed me. "They're in the lobby."
My heart seemed to stop for a beat, and then Rose's squealing distracted me. She was so thrilled about meeting her grandma… a part of me wondered if she was expecting too much, or truly knew something we didn't (wouldn't surprise me, all things considered), a part of me also wondered if the Queen of Asgard was truly on the ground floor. I couldn't think of a time when she'd left Asgard (in my current life, or my previous one).
I was still half distracted by my line of thought as I exited the elevator into the lobby. Rose was holding my hand, and that day we were wearing the same style of dresses, mine short-sleeved, floor-length, coral pink with a black collar (I didn't notice it at the time, but it was actually the very same dress I'd worn that day in Germany, when confronting the Avengers), Rose's was short-sleeved, to just bellow her knees, red with an off-white collar. We stepped onto the ground-floor silently and came upon one thing I most definitely wasn't expecting:
The place was full almost to bursting. The twins were the first to react to our arrival, quickly adopting defensive postures before us. I could barely see beyond them. To the group of about half a dozen Aesir or so, and all the humans surrounding them, a few PKs, though the majority were in fact gifted, friends. And they were all standing tense, as if ready for battle…
"Pietro…?" Rose asked, with obvious confusion.
"Stay back, little rose." He told her. "We'll keep you safe."
"But I wanna meet my grandma!"
Rose's shrill cry had an instant effect, as all noise on the floor ceased immediately.
I reacted instinctively, twisting my hands and calling on a shield as a preventative measure. To my right, Wanda's hands sparked red, ready to throw her magic at whoever might so much as look at us wrong; to my left, Pietro had moved on instinct, scooping Rose up and holding her protectively against his chest, ready to run with her the moment things got dicey. Thankfully, while Rosie didn't seem to quite agree with him, she did not fight him either.
"Someone want to explain what the hell is going on here?"
Dad's voice broke the tense silence as he landed on the door, in his Iron Man suit.
"What are you all doing in my tower?" Dad demanded next.
After the recent battle there was little point in trying to keep the fact that he was Iron Man a secret. Enough people had seen him at some point or another, especially since he'd been forced to take off the face-plate a couple of times, and fully change his suit once, about halfway through the battle, when it got too banged up to work right.
"I swear upon the branches of Yggdrasil that I mean no harm upon you or yours, Man of Iron." It would have been impossible not to recognize Frigga's voice, so full of warmth, kindness, and a core of steel. "I'm here hoping for a chance to meet the lady to whom I owe my sons' lives, an opportunity to thank her..."
I couldn't help but wonder if I'd imagined the plural in a certain part of that sentence, and if it was indeed real, if someone besides me had noticed it.
"If something goes wrong, you run and don't look back." I told the twins softly in Romani, one of the few languages I knew and was fairly confident they wouldn't.
Rose didn't say a word as I walked past her, just looked at me in silence… a part of me wondered if she knew already what was coming. It wouldn't have surprised me, Rose had proven to have a very powerful Sight since the gift first manifested, when she was five. I didn't ask her anyway, instead I took a deep breath and began walking with as much confidence as I could summon. I was Arianna Stark-Hvedrungr, daughter of Tony Stark and Eileen Grayson, I was the Princess of Death, the reincarnation of an elven princess, wife of a Jotun and Aesir prince… I was iron and breeze, magic and light and chaos and peace… I was who I was always meant to be, nothing more and nothing less.
"That would be me, Your Majesty." I called, softly but authoritatively. "I am Arianna Stark-Hvedrungr, also known as Nightingale."
Everyone got out of my way instantly; though I noticed no one moved far; they were all still ready to fight, to defend me and my family if it was necessary. That fact filled me with pride and humility at the same time.
"You've done me and mine, and Asgard as a whole a great service, my lady." The Queen of Asgard stated formally as she bowed her head respectfully at me.
I curtsied back almost automatically, unable to help the feeling that I was missing something, that there was more to her words than just a thank you for healing Thor.
"I am a healer, Your Majesty." I replied serenely. "It's my nature to want to help. And my fortune to be able to do so."
She nodded at me once, saying nothing else, and I still couldn't shake the feeling that she knew so much more than she was saying. I couldn't help myself, and a part of me reached out to my love. I was actually surprised when realizing he was in the room, in a corner, away from prying eyes. I had no doubt that he'd jump to my side in an instant if it became necessary.
And then yet something else happened that none of us could have ever expected (except perhaps the precogs among us…):
"Could I prevail upon you to allow us to see my brother now, my lady?" It was Thor we spoke, voice full of respect and almost… reverence.
"What…?!" I couldn't help but giving a step back at that.
I had no idea what the hell had just happened. The words Thor had just said… they just didn't fit inside my head.
"I was told years ago that a Songstress with a gift for healing would one day save my life, and she would bring back he who I miss most, my dear brother." Thor stated eloquently.
"What brother?" Dad called with fake ignorance. "Your old SHIELD files said nothing about any brother. And I've hacked them enough times to know!"
"He may not have been born my brother, but he's my brother nonetheless." Thor replied evenly, though I could see the tightness around his eyes, sense his tension. "He's mother's son as much as I am, and always will be."
"What cause have you to believe he's here?" I couldn't help but ask. "That he's in any manner connected to me? Or that I'm even this Songstress you mention at all? It's not like I've ever sung before anyone but my closest family, and even if I had, there's no reason for you to have ever heard me do so."
I was missing something, yet I had no idea what. The situation was getting more and more out of my hands with every second, and I'd no idea how to regain control, or if it could even be done.
"Your speech-patterns, for one, my lady." Thor answered, and there was a hint of humor in his eyes, and his aura. "I've noticed that no mortals speak the way we Aesir do, none but you. Also, spell-crafting may not be my forte, but in a thousand years I've gotten to know my brother well enough, I can sense his magic in you..."
That was as far as he got, I could sense the shift in the energies a fraction of a second before Loki appeared beside me. He was still wearing the gray suit with a pale blue shirt he'd chosen earlier that morning, simple black dress-shoes to match. Though I'd no doubt that the moment he sensed any threat he'd summon his battle-attire and begin fighting.
He didn't even get to make any warnings, or threats, or say a single word at all; before my love could even open his mouth Thor was upon him. But the blonde did not attack my husband, no, instead he embraced my match. When the emotions hit me, they did so with the force as a tsunami, for several seconds I couldn't quite breathe, so strong was the mix of relief, joy and love… it was staggering.
"Brother..." It was all Thor said for the longest time.
No one seemed to know quite what to say, even dad appeared to have been rendered completely speechless; something I'm sure my Maverick would have enjoyed thoroughly, if it weren't for the position he found himself in, in that moment.
"Fear not, my lady." Frigga addressed me directly. "No one here will do any harm upon your match, or anyone else among your family and friends."
"And what about those still in Asgard?" I couldn't help but ask, eyebrow arched pointedly.
I believed in her, I couldn't help it; Loki had never stopped loving her, and that love colored my own opinion of her. But that did not change anything about the Allfather…
"Ten years can be a very long time, my lady..." She told me very softly, sadly. "Especially for a parent who believes that their child might be forever gone..."
"That may be so, but what can one expect when the parent in question hasn't shown any care for said child in centuries?" I asked in return, then took a deep breath. "I see no point in embellishing things, Your Majesty. You love my match, I have no doubt about that. But then again, your love has never been in question. Even Thor, while I couldn't be too sure about him, I never stopped having hope. The same cannot be said about the Allfather. The manner in which Loki took his leave of Asgard..." I didn't even want to think about that, the month that followed, or the day he came to me, finally. "To say things weren't good would be an understatement of epic proportions, I'm sure you're aware of that. And that's but the latest example of how your King is. I cannot trust he will treat my husband any better than he did the last time. I will not allow Loki to be hurt by him, directly or indirectly, ever again."
I could see that the Aesir Warriors didn't like my words.
"You don't have to like what I say about your King, I care not for your opinion of me." I told them all calmly but authoritatively. "Remember that this is not your world. Earth is not what it was when we believed you all to be gods. Yes, we are grateful for your help during the battle against Thanos. But that doesn't mean you're our superiors. This is still our world, your King is not our own. And he will never be."
"No, he's not." The Queen agreed before anyone could take offense to that. "He's aware of that, as am I." Her expression softened. "I know there's nothing I can say today that will make you believe that Odin truly regrets what happened that day, and many days before. I can only hope you, all of you, will give us the chance to prove we're honest in our regard, and our desire to reforge the bonds of family that we once believed to be forever lost."
I had no idea what to say to that, I really didn't. And yet, as it often happens, the choice wasn't really mine to make. I could vaguely hear Pietro's wordless exclamation, followed by a half-formed curse (which he didn't actually pronounce, he'd learned to control his vocabulary around my daughter). And a moment later Rosie herself was running right past me, and straight into the arms of the woman who had lowered herself to her knees gracefully just in time to receive her:
"Grandma!" Rosie called brightly.
And just like that, the choice was made.
xXx
As it turned out, some people had known about Loki being alive pretty much since the day he'd landed in my garden (said people being Frigg and Thor and no one else). Though they'd no idea where he might be, thanks to his own magic shielding him from prying eyes. It was upon Rose's birth that even that changed. And not only because of our little one, but because Helena had joined us. Apparently the four of us coming together had created a sort of magical shock-wave that was felt all the way to Asgard.
Odin hadn't known what it meant, not at first, it was Frigga and Thor who first understood, for they were the ones still laying claim to Loki. Thor had wanted to come to Earth the moment his mother knew how to find us, but she managed to convince him to wait, that we wouldn't take his arrival right, not with everything that had happened, and especially not with Rose's recent birth and Helena's return to our lives.
In every battle he'd been involved in, the blonde prince had hoped we'd reveal ourselves (at least to him), yet we never did; it didn't help when he later learned we had actually been there, every single time, and purposefully did our best to stay out of sight. Frigga was the most understanding of all, she was a mother, after all. And, I think, she'd known all along that the day would come when hiding would no longer be an option for us.
All in all, things went quite well. The Allfather knew about us, but he was willing to leave us be, to wait until we were ready to meet with him. Queen Frigga understood we'd no intention of going to Asgard any time soon, not only because we weren't comfortable with the idea of being near Odin just yet, but also because we had family, friends, we had lives on Earth, and weren't about to leave them. In return plans were made for her to visit every so often. Thor was already living in NY, and he managed to convince my love to allow him to visit every so often, he was so earnest about reconnecting with Loki, and getting to know his family. And I think a part of Loki, just like me, remembered how the blonde had been once, in the distant past, how the two of them had been together; he… they both wanted to gain that back, or at least a fraction of it.
The rest of the Aesir didn't quite seem to know what to say or do about us. Queen Frigga had obviously chosen those who at least respected my Maverick to accompany her, so there was no resentment coming from them. I could see the surprise as they laid eyes upon my eldest, when she and Stephen stepped out of the shadows (or the Mirror Dimension) where the two of them, the new Master of the NY Sanctum and Stephen's former apprentice had been waiting to aid us in case a fight broke out against the Aesir; and the wonder as those same eyes turned towards Rosie. Children were something of a commodity in the Realm Eternal, where they all lived so many years, yet their fertility was so limited. I knew that, so it was perhaps not to surprising that most of them looked at my little girl as if she were the greatest miracle ever (I did wonder what they'd say when they eventually learned about her power, not just her Sight, but also her Fire… the time for that would come).
Things weren't perfect, of course not. But we had hope. For the first time since plans had been made and options considered while laying upon a bed in a mansion in Malibu (which didn't actually exist anymore, since the Mandarin had had the whole place bombed, sad as that memory might be) we had hope. And wasn't that fact both incredibly terrifying and absolutely exhilarating at the same time? We had no idea what tomorrow might bring, though I had a feeling it'd be interesting indeed… Then again, life was never anything short of interesting when you were part of a family like our own.