Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chaos. Tragedy. Misery.

Those were the three words to describe what was currently happening. It was a typical day for the well-known scientist, Alexander Dahl. Waking up, getting ready for a meeting, attending the said meeting, and getting home to continue work. That was what he usually did, but sadly, there was a change in schedule.

It did not include getting cornered by an assassin sent by those who he used to work for. Definitely not part of the schedule.

Apparently, there have been bombs planted at the base of the building where he was, which explained why there was massive destruction as of the moment.

Dr. Alexander Dahl was trapped under a wall that fell over. His leg was severely injured which hindered his capability to escape and find shelter. He heard footsteps coming his way and was almost relieved, not until the wall he was under was removed and he saw who approached him.

His face paled upon realizing who he is faced with.

"C-Crimson Ace," he dryly let out as he stared at the woman who is pointing a gun at him, ready to shoot.

Before the woman could even pull the trigger, her weapon was knocked out of her hand by a web. In a split second, a young man dressed in blue and red was in front of the injured doctor, shielding him from the woman who posed as a threat to his life.

"I'm not sure you want to do that, madam. I mean, you wouldn't want to get blood on your hands. Not that there isn't blood on your hands right now but—Woah!" Spiderman managed to evade just in time the punch of the woman.

"I guess we can't settle this by talking," he said as he shot more webs at her. The woman just stared for a couple of seconds, eyeing the young man from head to toe, studying him. Spiderman didn't know what to think, so he just shot more webs at her in an attempt to trap her, which was a grave mistake.

The woman had already evaluated the powers and abilities of Spiderman. Once he shot out his webs, she managed to evade it and pull it, making Spiderman tumble to the ground. This gave the woman the opportunity to hover over him and was ready to give him a punch when she was blasted to the wall.

Iron man and a few of the Avengers arrived at the scene just in time to save Spiderman and Dr. Dahl.

"You know, you shouldn't hit a kid or else you'll get arrested," Tony commented before facing Loki. "Reindeer games, get the doctor back to the compound."

Much to Loki's dismay, he did not say a word and approached the doctor, only to be blocked by a force field. His head shot up and saw that it was the woman who conjured the force field, blocking him from getting to the doctor.

With a flick of her hand, the force field then surrounded the doctor and lifted him from the ground.

"Well look at that. Reindeer games got a match!"

"Now is not the time, Tony," Natasha grumbled as she charged at the unknown woman. Loki watched how the force field was still up despite the woman's attention was already on Natasha. Tony and Spiderman, on the other hand, decided to attack the woman as well in an attempt to help Natasha.

Loki focused on getting the doctor to safety. He tried to infiltrate the force field surrounding the doctor using his own magic. He placed his hands on the force field and assessed its strength and properties. As he was almost getting past the barrier, he was thrown off by the woman who managed to get Tony's suit to malfunction and Spiderman stuck in his own web. It was only Natasha and him to stop her from killing the doctor.

Loki got in a fighting stance and charged at the woman who strangely did not move as he attacked. Which was the mistake he realized all too late. He cursed upon realizing that this was an illusion and it was already too late to turn. He found his chest being in contact with the woman's hand, pushing him to the ground. Now on top of him, she pulled a dagger from her boot and stabbed him on the stomach.

Quite ironic, considering the situation the god of mischief was in.

Before she could further do any harm to Loki, Natasha managed to tackle her to the ground. Despite being stabbed, Loki tried to heal himself slowly as he staggered towards the woman who was now pinned on the wall by Natasha.

Natasha glanced at him knowingly and left an opening for the god of mischief to tap into the woman's thoughts and memories.

Loki almost fell to the ground when he saw there was nothing in her memories but torture. This managed to weaken the woman a bit. Before he could further delve in deeper, the woman created another force field around her, pushing Natasha and Loki off her before she jumped off a window and vanished, leaving no trace of her presence behind other than the damage she had caused. Loki was astonished when he felt her push him out of her mind before he could even process her innermost thoughts and feelings.

"Couldn't have done that sooner?" Natasha asked, breathless as she looked at the god who has now fully healed his stab wound.

Loki just shrugged. "Let's get to safety before that woman returns. We aren't really in the shape for another fight."

Natasha went to the doctor who now fainted, probably due to blood loss, but he was still alive. "Mind teleporting us to the compound, reindeer games?"

Loki just rolled his eyes at Stark before flicking his wrist.

—

The woman was now strapped back in the chair at the base. The one she was working for was clearly not pleased as she failed to assassinate the doctor.

"I am disappointed, Crimson Ace. You're our biggest asset. It's such a waste if you couldn't do your mission properly," the man told her, but the woman kept her mouth shut. She knew what was to happen because of her failed mission, so she immediately shut her emotions down to not feel the pain of the torture that will follow.

"Wipe her. Inject her."

Those were the last words she heard before blacking out.

—

Dr. Alexander Dahl was now surrounded by the walls of Tony Stark's tower. The Avengers figured that they needed to keep him safe, as his life was being targeted by an organization.

The doctor was in the medical bay and was awake for a couple of hours now. Bruce was just doing some vital checks when they decided to ask him what happened.

"Who was that?" It was Clint who asked the doctor. Tony managed to get a hold of footage from the building and the Avengers have already watched it. They too were wondering who that woman was. Tony tried running her face through his database, but there was no trace of her identity which piqued his curiosity.

"She's an assassin—soldier, whatever you may call her—who worked for the organization I used to be under," Dr. Dahl explained. "I should have known they wanted me dead after leaving. They couldn't take any risks."

"I'm sorry. Can you give us a clearer answer? Who's they?" Tony asked to which Natasha just elbowed him, eliciting a "what?" from the man of iron himself.

"I used to work for an organization called Mirage. They specialize in enhancing humans and using them to slowly take over the world. They torture those humans and experiment on them—enhancing them, wiping their memory so they will just blindly follow their orders," Dr. Dahl explained.

"Much like Hydra," Bucky absent-mindedly commented.

"How do we take down this organization?" Steve asked as he stood up from the chair he was sitting on and neared the bed where the doctor was.

"I have knowledge of a few of their bases’ locations, but I'm pretty sure they're already moving so I don't know if that would be much of a help," the doctor sighed. "Even if you managed to destroy a base, as long as she lives or works for them, it wouldn't matter anyway."

"She? You mean the magical mortal?" Loki asked, much to his surprise as he did not usually partake in any discussions the team had.

The doctor nodded. "She is one of Mirage's experiments. There are a few more, but the rest are insignificant compared to her as she is the strongest experiment so far, so she is the one valued by Mirage."

"So, kill the girl for the downfall of that organization?" Rhodey muttered.

The team looked at him and raised a brow "What?"

"I am not sure you can kill her," the doctor said shaking his head. "But if you managed to capture her, I can maybe help her turn to your side."

"Yeah, sure. Get the one who tried to kill you to turn to our side," Tony retorted. "Great idea, doctor."

"She isn't always like that. I want to try my best to restore her memories before Mirage wiped them. I was the one who looked after her while they were experimenting on her. I pitied the girl."

"What's her name anyway?" Bruce asked.

"She goes by the name Crimson Ace and has been much like their robot for a couple of years now. They rarely send her on missions unless they are of great value. They usually spend their time experimenting on her, enhancing her, trying to push her physical abilities and powers to her limit as she is by far the strongest one. She has endured a couple of tortures throughout the years already," the doctor explained. "I cannot fully remember in detail, but I do have her files saved in my computer at home. I never gave up on her. Even after I left Mirage, I felt indebted to free her as she once saved my family from being killed on one of Mirage soldier's missions which led to her having consequences. Any display of weakness such as emotion, she gets wiped which leads her to become deadlier each time."

The team went quiet for a few minutes as they were lost in thought. They were thinking about what their next move should be, considering that woman called Crimson Ace will for sure attack once again to complete her mission. The silence was soon broken when F.R.I.D.A.Y informed the team that Nick Fury requests their presence in the meeting room.

"We will leave you, for now, doctor," Tony instructed. "If you ever need anything, inform F.R.I.D.A.Y."

The doctor nodded in agreement before the team made their way upstairs.

—

"Mirage. Should have known," Fury started. "We've been keeping an eye on one of their bases for a while now since there was a strange amount of energy radiating from it. We did not take any actions yet since we do not want to alert them that S.H.I.E.L.D is already aware of their existence."

"What are we supposed to do then?" Tony intervened. "We know this force field lady will come back for the doctor soon, don't we? Any plans?"

Fury paused for a bit, his fingers playing with the strap of his eye patch. "I've been wanting to have that base destroyed."

"The doctor said it would be useless for us to destroy the base. He suggested we get the girl and he'll try his best to snap the girl out of it," Steve interjected.

"Have her here? She's a killing machine! Unless all of you want to die," Rhodey exclaimed, not overly fond of the idea of having the woman in their compound. He saw how much damage she caused to Tony, Nat, Loki, and Peter, and she was only one person. Chills ran up his spine as he thought of worse outcomes.

"Maybe we can at least try." It was Bucky. He didn't like giving out his thoughts during meetings like this, but as the moment, he felt the need to interfere. He had sympathy for the girl even though he has not met her yet. He knew what it felt like to have your memory wiped, to be used as a killing machine.

Steve gently laid a hand on Bucky's shoulder, sympathizing with him.

"Let's not mind the girl for now," Fury said finally. "But I have a new mission for all of you in relation to Mirage."

Fury got hold of a folder and stood up before pushing it towards Steve.

"I want you to sneak into Mirage's base and extract all information necessary from their database. Maybe we can find out who runs the whole organization and ways on how to take them down," Fury explained before pointedly looking at Loki.

The said god was just quietly sitting and listening to the discussion as he read his book. He was not oblivious to the fact that Fury looked at him. Sighing, he closed the book he was reading and raised his eyes to meet Fury's gaze.

"As much as I hate to admit it, you will be playing a huge role in this mission."

It was no secret to the public that Loki was already part of the Avengers. It was already years after the attack on New York. The truth got out that he was under mind control, and Thor took him back to Midgard to redeem himself as ordered by their father. It was already a few years ago, and Loki already proved he has changed, but he still did not get the hang of conversing with the rest of the team. He was only there to help but was not overly fond of the idea of being friends with the rest of them.

A part of him still believed that Midgardians were still beneath him. Only Thor was the one who he occasionally spoke to, and that was only when he needed to.

"What is it that I am required to accomplish?" Loki asked nonchalantly as he lowered the book to his lap.

"We need you to infiltrate the base first, assessing the surroundings. Surely, you won't encounter many difficulties considering your... abilities," Fury stated. Loki tried to hide the subtle smirk that was forming on his lips. The abilities Fury was talking about were his illusions and shapeshifting abilities. He remembered the times he caused mischief around the tower using his magic which got the Avengers arguing with each other and almost breaking up. Almost.

"We need you to locate their control room and help Romanoff sneak in to extract whatever you can from their database. The team will be on guard outside in case things get out of hand."

Loki just shrugged and gave Fury a nod, signaling he understood what the man wanted him to do.

A few more assignments and Fury sent the Avengers off to rest. First thing tomorrow, they are already expected to bring down a Mirage base, and yet Loki was still awake in his room, thinking back to the meeting.

"What if we encounter her again?" Natasha asked pointedly before Fury sent them off. It was not something that is impossible to happen. After all, the killing machine they encountered today was working for the base they were about to infiltrate.

"Do whatever you must. I would want to have her gone, but you did say Doctor Dahl wanted to help her, so it means, bringing her alive if you can," Fury muttered.

"Why don't we have Loki knock her out then transport her back here?" Barton suggested, knowledgeable of Loki's abilities as he was once under the mischievous god's control.

"I could, but I take you have forgotten that she is not only physically enhanced like your friend here," Loki tilted his head towards Bucky, which made the soldier furrow his eyebrows. "She also possesses magic which can rival mine, much as I hate to admit it. The last time I tried to tap into her mind, it only managed to distract her and not fully knock her out."

The rest of the team's attention turned to Tony who called out for F.R.I.D.A.Y. He instructed the A.I. a few things the Avengers did not fully understand. In a few minutes, Tony handed Loki a syringe and a pair of cuffs, which Loki immediately recognized.

"First of all, yes. I'm sure you recognize those cuffs as they were once yours," Tony shrugged as he explained what he had in mind. "I've thought about it. Just inject her with that sedative. That's the one I usually used on Hulk."

The team already understood.

The Avengers, as much as they would not admit, had to rest and prepare. At the back of their mind, they were a bit weary of how the mission will turn out. Who could blame them?

The woman was not only physically enhanced, but a wielder of magic as well.

That enough should surely put a chill in one's body.

The mission was easy. Fury said.

They won't encounter any problems. Fury said.

Well, guess what. The mission is neither easy and they DID encounter a problem.

It all started when the quinjet neared the base and was on stealth mode. Apart from that, they instructed Loki to teleport him and Natasha to the inside of the base already which was easy for the god.

It was easy for him to knock out a doctor and shapeshift into the said doctor that he just knocked out. The only problem he has to deal with now was to find the control room and get Natasha past the staff. He shapeshifted while hiding Natasha's appearance behind an illusion.

They at least already knew what floor the control room was in. It was just that he was separated from the said assassin because, much to his luck, he was the doctor who was supposed to inject something into the girl who they just fought yesterday.

Natasha gave him a knowing look, letting him know she can handle it from here, and that he should now focus on facing the girl. Loki's mind was already planning ways how to inject the girl with the sedative that Stark gave him instead of the ones the staff provided.

Much to his luck, the sedative the staff gave him was also almost the same one Stark gave, only much stronger and will for a sure cause much pain to the woman.

"Doctor, you're allowed to enter," one of the staff told him as they approached a cell. Loki kept a stoic expression as he entered the cell. Upon entering, he saw that the woman was awake, staring at him as he entered the room as if she knew he was coming.

Loki took a few seconds to look at the woman She was strapped to the chair. A lot of restraints were tied around her arms and legs as well as her body. He could see a few fresh cuts and wounds on her exposed arms.

Loki took long strides and in no time, was already beside the woman who just kept her eyes on him. He carefully took out the syringe that Stark provided him and pretended to look at the folders given to him by the staff when he heard a voice.

"You're not the doctor, are you?"

Loki snapped his head towards the woman who still has her eyes on him.

"What—"

"Unless you want to let them discover that you are not the doctor, I would suggest you do what I am doing. I sense you are also capable of this."

Loki stopped and thought for a while. He saw her take a glance at the cameras which were flickering with a red dot.

"Pretend to at least take my blood pressure or something so they won't get suspicious. Check the table."

Loki did not know why he was following what the woman was telling him, or why she has not exposed his identity yet to the one she was working for. Confused, Loki trusted his instincts and decided to follow her instructions.

"To whom do I owe the pleasure of being visited?"

By now, Loki realized that she was communicating with him via her mind, her thoughts, which the god was capable of himself as well.

"What is your name, mortal?" Loki asked through his mind.

The woman scrunched her nose and has her eyebrows furrowed but nonetheless, answered his question.

"I am Crimson Ace," she started as Loki strapped up the sphygmomanometer to her arm. "You can address me as Ace. Don't think I know that your team is just outside the base. Their thoughts are rather loud, considering how far they are. I am surprised myself that my range still reaches them."

Loki almost froze. She knew from the beginning that they were here yet why did she not alert the staff.

"I am a woman of reason. I hear your thoughts and your wish to inject me with a sedative. Carry on so we can leave this place already."

"Why are you not against this?" Loki asked as he removed the sphygmomanometer.

"I have my reasons. Now inject me with the sedative and cuff me before—"

Before Ace could finish what she was saying, an alarm already went off.

"For someone working for S.H.I.E.L.D, you people are not quite discreet," Ace said aloud, sarcastically.  "Unstrap me, but don't inject me just yet."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "And how am I not sure that you will not attack me?"

"Do you really think these restraints could hold me?" she asked with a brow raised. "I could have broken out of here anytime, or even used my powers, yet I haven't. I just want you to unstrap me to show that I do not have any intention of fighting you or escaping."

Loki had his doubts, but his instinct was telling him to do what the woman wishes, much to his dismay. He was the god of lies and mischief, and he sensed nothing but the truth from this woman.

In no time, he already freed her from the chair she was strapped in.

"Let's get going before that assassin friend of yours gets trapped in one of the vents," Ace muttered as she pulled Loki's hand. He did not even question how she knew one of the team loved hiding in vents.

Loki was not the one to be bossed around, yet he was enchanted by how easily this woman could make him follow her.

It was not long when they encountered the Avengers just a bit outside the base, fighting against the Mirage soldiers. These soldiers were also experiments, but they did not possess the same amount of power Ace has. She is not called Ace for a reason.

"Crimson Ace! Enhance the soldiers!" she heard one of the doctors yell, but she only gave them a smirk in return.

"What did he mean by enhance?" Tony shouted while he was battling one of the soldiers.

Loki got separated from the woman, as a soldier approached him and threw a punch to which he evaded. As he kept evading the punches from the soldier, he glanced at his surroundings.

They were outnumbered and for sure, it won't take long before they would get captured. Tony's iron mask was already ripped off. Captain America's face was bloody. The rest were close to their breaking points already when he glanced at Ace.

The woman conjured a force field around her. Once safely in the field, she stared at nothing in particular. But he noticed there was an unusual glimmer in her eyes. All of a sudden, he felt a surge of energy within him. He felt rejuvenated, feeling minimal pain with each punch the soldier threw.

His brows furrowed. He raised his hand and tried using his abilities. He was surprised to find himself manage to easily conjure replicas of himself. It was as if his powers have been heightened.

"Crimson Ace! What are you doing? Enhance the soldiers! Not the enemies!" one of the doctors yelled frantically, noticing how they were soon losing the battle.

A few of the soldiers tried to break through the force field surrounding the woman in an attempt to stop her from helping the enemy, but to no avail, he failed. Loki conjured several daggers and threw them towards the direction of the soldiers attacking the woman. It did not kill them but he managed to cause damage as they were laced with poison.

In a split second, the tables suddenly turned. The Avengers, who were just almost losing a few minutes ago, felt as if their energy has been restored and their capabilities and abilities heightened.

Loki managed to finally knock out the soldier he was fighting with and immediately ran towards Ace who was still behind the force field.

"We need to escape. Lower the force field," he told her using his thoughts. The woman heard him and nodded, making her force field disappear.

Loki grabbed her and in no time, managed to teleport her and the rest of the team back to the quinjet.

Once they were on board, the team was surprised to find that Ace was still awake and was in a fighting stance. Ace just rolled her eyes before she pulled Loki by the arm, taking him by surprise. They thought she was going to attack, but they stopped when they saw her pull a syringe out of Loki's pockets along with the cuffs Stark gave the god.

Confused, the team's eyes widened when she cuffed herself as she shook her head before looking at Loki.

"Catch me, will you?"

At first, Loki did not understand what she meant but was taken aback when the woman injected herself with the sedative. It was strong enough to knock her down despite her enhanced capabilities, so in a few seconds, she fell to the ground and slowly losing consciousness, waiting to hit the floor of the quinjet. Only she didn't.

The God of Mischief caught her in his arms.

—

"What the fuck was that? Why did she not fight back?"

"Language," Steve absent-mindedly muttered at Stark's remark.

"I don't mean to impose, but I think she had no intention of harming us," Loki spoke, which got the Avengers' attention since the god did not like involving himself in discussions, especially when Thor was not present at the moment as he had matters to attend to in Asgard.

"What do you mean?" Natasha asked, not before glancing at the unconscious Ace lying in the medical bed.

Loki also glanced at the woman. Tony decided it was for the best to strap the woman on the bed and put a few more restraints than necessary. Even if she made it clear that she was not going to harm them, he still was not going to put his trust in her.

"She managed to see past my illusions as soon as I entered the room," Loki explained. "She also communicated with me. Telepathically. She knew what I was capable of. And I have a reason to believe that she helped us back there."

"What do you mean?" Barton asked.

"I have heard one of the staff yelled at her. Something about enhancing the soldiers. I believe it had something to do with her magic. Only, she did not enhance the soldiers. She enhanced...," Loki trailed off before his gaze landed on the unconscious woman once again.

Only this time, he was a bit startled to see that she was no longer unconscious after all. She was once again staring at him.

"I see. The iron guy does not trust me yet. Understandable. Could I at least get a drink? I am parched."

Loki just nodded as he went to a nearby water dispenser, filling a cup with lukewarm water before approaching the woman. Getting used to Midgardian technology, he pressed a button that allowed the bed to sit up a bit.

"What are you doing, Loki?" Natasha asked wearily as she watched the god handle the woman with such delicacy in his actions.

Loki shrugged, refusing to answer as he held the cup in front of her lips. Ace just nodded, signaling Loki to tilt the cup so she can get a drink.

They were interrupted when the door to the medical bay opened, revealing a breathless doctor Dahl.

"Ace!" the doctor exclaimed.

"Wait. Are you sure you're safe—"

Tony's protests in pushing the doctor out of the medical bay were cut when the woman finally spoke.

"Doctor, nice to see you again," she said, voice hoarse which was probably from not speaking for quite a while. How long has she been unconscious?

"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked as he neared the assassin who once tried to take his life.

"A bit sore, but you know I can numb myself."

"You do know that's dangerous, right?"

"Very much aware. Safety has long been a stranger to me."

"Okay. Can we just stop for a sec," Tony interjected as he looked back and forth between the doctor and the woman. "Is there something I'm missing? A protocol that I do not recall? The last time I checked, she was a threat to your life. Why are you chatting as if you're long-lost friends?"

Ace can't help snickering. "I guess you have not let the cat out of the bag yet, doctor?"

Loki raised his eyebrows at the woman, making the woman just shrug in response.

"Apologies as I have concealed a few truths from all of you," the doctor said as he tried explaining.

"As you all know, Crimson Ace is a valued possession of Mirage. When I used to work for them, I was the one who headed the experiments on her. Long story short, we had a sort of friendship within the base. She did not intentionally want to kill me. She was just triggered, which causes her to switch. Much like for example, a robot. Once the trigger words are uttered to her, she only follows the orders of those who uttered the said trigger words. She is forced to become obedient. That is why I wanted her alive even if she tried to kill me. I promised to help heal her so she can no longer be used as a weapon by Mirage."

"What trigger words?" Loki almost wanted to throw Stark out the window for the stupidity his question contained.

"Unless you want me to go into assassin mode again, I would very much not like for you to know or utter those words. Like how the doctor explained, it triggers me, tin man," Ace scoffed.

"Hey, I would watch that mouth of yours if I were you. Last time I checked, you are still strapped to the bed. You don't have the upper hand now," Tony retorted, hinting in his voice how he is not very fond of her.

Ace rolled her eyes before managing to break out of the restraints, making the team step back. "Come again?" she smirked.

She noticed how the team became weary and had their walls up as if they are ready to fight. She just chuckled.

"Relax, all of you. I mean no harm. I could have killed all of you a long time ago if I really had the intention."

Tony stood straight and arranged his suit. "At least you're cuffed. No magic for you yet until we know what to do with you. Don't even try to break free from the cuffs. It's sealed with magic that can kill you if you try to remove them."

"Noted, tin man," Ace replied before looking at Loki. "Mind showing me where the kitchen is? I'm famished."

Loki looked at Tony and Steve with a brow raised, asking if he is allowed to do so.

"Are we seriously going to allow her to walk freely, doctor?" Tony asked incredulously.

"You trust her enough?" Cap asked.

Doctor Dahl just nodded before shooting a smile at Ace. "She's harmless."

Tony winced at the adjective the doctor used but sighed as he palmed his face before facing Loki.

"Fine. Show her the kitchen. But don't go outside. You're both dead if you try something funny."

"Yeah, we get it, tin man. Buh-bye," Ace said as she exited the medical bay with Loki following her.

"If it puts your conscience to rest, she and your team managed to eliminate every staff in that base, including their head. Nobody else other than me knows her trigger words," the doctor told the team as soon as Loki left with Ace to show her where the kitchen is.

"I still don't understand why she chose to help us," Steve asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You mentioned her memory being wiped occasionally. Why did she choose to help us when she works for Mirage?"

Alexander shrugged. "I myself do not know. Even when I used to work for Mirage, I always am surprised every time she can remember random details after each wipe. She still does not remember everything, but she manages to remember something. I just don't know why she decided to break free from the organization now. By the way, Loki discreetly handed me this folder when you all arrived."

Natasha reached out to get the folder and opened it. The contents of the folder fell out on the table. It was Ace's files from Mirage. It contained all the experiments done on her from the early 1940s up to the present.

It also showed who she managed to assassinate while working for Mirage, as well as her missions for the past decades. The folder also contained a few background information about the woman.

"Mirage managed to capture her back in the early 1930s. They took her in for her magical capabilities as they found it extremely powerful if they developed her and pushed her to her maximum potential," Alexander explained as he flashed on the screen a digital copy of the files that Natasha was reading. "From what I have heard from Loki, she enhanced your individual abilities. Have all of you experienced any surge of energy during the fight back at the base?"

"Yeah. Strangely, I still managed to have my strength as my suit was malfunctioning," Tony said.

"I felt my stamina increase. I don't even know why the tiredness I felt vanish," Steve then admitted.

Bruce then added. "Loki also mentioned how he felt his magic abilities also heightened, other than his physical abilities."

"That is her main ability that Mirage planned to use for their benefit. I am sure all of you are aware that Ace is not the only Mirage soldier, but she is the most important. She was the one who withstood every experiment. Her physical and magical capacity is quite extraordinary. Imagine having her enhance a battalion. It would make them invincible. Although it is also dangerous for her since the downside of that ability of hers is the pain, fatigue, or whatever weakens the ones she is enhancing will be reflected on her body. And not to say that enhancing others is not her only power. She can create force fields. She also possesses telepathic abilities and can conjure illusions."

"Like Loki."

The team faced the entrance of the medical bay to see the God of Thunder entering.

"I apologize for my unannounced arrival. Heimdall informed me of a new individual in this tower and I wanted to meet her myself," Thor smiled as he walked through the medical bay doors, greeting his fellow Avengers with a wave of his hammer.

"She's with reindeer games right now. We'll introduce you later," Tony told him before facing the doctor. "Continue, doctor."

"Have I mentioned her apathetic power?"

"I don't know about you, doctor. But her powers are nowhere near being pathetic," Bruce said with a tilt of his head.

Alexander shook his head in response and chuckled. "No. I did not mean pathetic. I meant apathetic. She can block her feelings and emotions if she wishes to. That's how she manages to survive long in the base during torture or during a battle itself. She shuts down pain and other emotions completely to not interrupt her missions. The only downside of this is when she pushes herself to much, her own body fails her. Despite possessing magic, she is still a mortal—an enhanced one. She may not feel the pain or anything but her body will naturally shut down eventually, which poses as a threat to her life if she pushes herself too much."

"How does she possess such powerful magic in the first place though is she is just a mere mortal? Are you certain she is only human and not some alien from another realm?" Thor asked out of curiosity.

"Who knows. But to my knowledge, from the tests she went through, she is a mortal. I was not yet alive when she was captured by Mirage so I do not possess the knowledge of her heritage."

Thor raised his brows as the woman crossed his mind. If she is only human, how can she have such powerful magic? How is her body managing to keep up if strong magic flows in her veins? "Does she not know?"

"Yes, I don't know, Goldilocks. Quite unfortunate, isn't it?"

The team turned once again to the entrance of the medical bay to see Ace entering with Loki, the God of Mischief having a stoic expression on his face. Tony unknowingly smirked at the nickname the woman just called Thor.

"Goldilocks?" Thor asked, confused.

Ace just rolled her eyes and shrugged as she took a seat beside Alexander since she was still not comfortable with the presence of the others. Surely, they also felt the same.

"I see you have arrived, brother," Loki sighed at the sight of Thor before taking a seat next to Ace.

"Anyway, do you really not know your heritage, Lady...?"

"Call me Ace," she answered. "And to answer your question, I really have no idea. I have been trying to at least remember something from the past decades now but to no avail, I can't remember anything. I was too weak when I was first captured so any memories I had before the first time they wiped me are long gone. I don't know how, but I just got stronger as the years go by, and I think that is one of the reasons I could still remember tidbits of information despite my memory being occasionally wiped by Mirage. And yes, as far as I know, I am just a human who possesses magic."

"You know what, my brain is hurting from all this talk of magic. Why don't we all just take a break for the rest of the day then talk this out tomorrow?" Tony suggested as he rubbed his temple.

"But what do we do about her?" Natasha asked, looking at Ace.

Ace had her legs crossed as she sat back on the chair, spinning it slightly. Her eyes seemed bored and looked everywhere, but her attention was still on the group. It also did not go unnoticed to the woman that the God of Mischief was eyeing her curiously. She felt something thread-like try to go past the walls she put up around her mind.

"Don't even try, God of Mischief. You can't read my mind," she teased telepathically. She then saw Loki raise an eyebrow at her, feigning disinterest but she was sure she definitely intrigued the God.

Loki just shrugged before replying to her via his mind. "It didn't hurt to try."

The silent exchange didn't go unnoticed by Thor as his attention was on his brother. Even though Thor did not possess the same ability of telepathy, he somehow figured the two were communicating somehow. He was slightly amused to see his brother become interested in something... or someone rather.

Of course, it was not every day that one gets to communicate with you telepathically, so it definitely somehow got points on Loki's good side when someone shared his abilities.

"Ace?"

The woman snapped out of her silent conversation with a certain God when Tony called her name. "Yes?"

"Until we find what to do with you, you will be living here in the tower, Glimmer Fingers. Doctor Dahl has informed us of his intent to cure you from whatever that shenanigan is. But if you cause any trouble, you know where you are gonna end up in."

Ace then raised an eyebrow at the nickname she had just been given by Stark, and before she could open her mouth, Steve intervened.

"Feel free to join training, too, as S.H.I.E.L.D thinks you might be a great addition to the team," Steve started.

"Whatever floats your boat, Spangle pants."

Steve's brows furrowed as he looked down at his pants, shifting uncomfortably but tried not to let it show on his face. He sighed deeply before exiting the room.

The only ones who found Ace's attitude quite amusing were Thor, Tony—who tried to hide it—, and of course, the God of Mischief himself.

——

It was already almost two in the morning when Ace shifted uncomfortably in the bed she laid in. Despite being a dangerous assassin that posed as a threat to the lives of those who resided in the tower, she was allowed to roam around there free and not be thrown in a cell with the agreement of wearing the cuffs they had given her to contain her magic.

With all honesty, she would have preferred a cell over the room she was given. The room was spacious and too comfortable to her liking. There was a television in her room, something she has not seen for quite a while already as she was not really provided with anything for her leisure while she was under Mirage.

She also found a mini-refrigerator in her room filled with a few beers and chocolates. There was also a balcony in her room which gave her quite the view of the city.

The bed she was in was much too soft for her liking as well. Too comfortable. She both liked and disliked it, as she was so used to either sleeping on the ground or on a bed that was not as comfortable as this one. She could not shake the thought out of her head of the cell she was so used to back in Mirage.

She did not actually plan on leaving or sabotaging the organization she used to work for in the first place. She was already numbing herself to the point where she did not care anymore what they did to her.

It was only when someone spoke to her telepathically, telling her that she has to get out and break free from Mirage. Someone told her that they—he—would help her recover the memories she lost during the first time her memory got wiped.

She does not even know why she followed this voice in the first place. She just trusted her instinct. For once, she had a tiny bit of hope in her, something that she already thought she lost a long time ago.

Sighing, she figured she would not drift off to sleep any time soon. She was used to this as nightmares frequented her while she was back in Mirage—nightmares that she can't seem to remember no matter how hard she tried digging her memories.

Ace stood up from the bed and eyed her gloves on the bedside table. She contemplated if she were to wear them or not. Little did anyone know, she did not only possess apathetic capabilities. She was also an empath. Mirage did not know this capability of hers. Even if they did know, they would have deemed this power of hers as unnecessary.

That is why she had a hard time controlling this as she was not really trained to properly harness this ability. She wore gloves to avoid having her hands come in contact with others. Other than this intrudes their privacy, she also found it quite a nuisance on the battlefield.

There was a time when her hand came in contact with a man she shot and was nearly dying. Even though she was not the one injured, she felt the pain this man was feeling. Because of her lack of training in controlling this ability of hers, she just resorted to wearing gloves to avoid any contact.

This time, she decided to not wear them. It was not like she was going to bump into someone in the tower at this hour.

With a flick of her finger, she managed to summon a cardigan from the closet.

She was glad that the floor she was on had a kitchen of its own so she did not have to go down to the kitchen where she was escorted to earlier that day. She neared one of the cabinets and opened it, finding a pack of marshmallows and hot chocolate powder.

She could not remember when was the last time she had something other than just water and the bland food Mirage provided her while she was "under their care", so she was very pleased that she could finally taste something new.

She got a mug and filled it with hot water before mixing in the powder and adding marshmallows afterward. After stirring, she licked the spoon then placed it down as she leaned back on the sink, inhaling the chocolatey scent of the drink she had in her hands.

Ace found herself closing her eyes as she took her first sip from her cup of hot chocolate. The rich flavor of sweet chocolate soon spread through her tongue. She could feel the hotness of her drink down her throat. She sighed and smiled as she relished the sweetness of both the drink and the moment. It was not every day that she feels peace with herself and her surroundings. She was so used to always putting her guard up every time.

As she opened her eyes, she was startled to find a certain God staring at her with such curiosity in his eyes. She was always aware of her surroundings, but now was one of the few moments where she actually let her guard down as she enjoyed the short-lived peace she had. This caused her to drop the mug she was holding.

She was caught by surprise. The mug fell on the floor, shattered. Her chocolate drink splattered and she could feel the sting of its hotness when some of the liquid got on the exposed skin of her feet. She immediately numbed herself to not feel the slight pain it gave her.

Loki then walked carefully towards Ace, who now motioned to pick up the broken pieces of the mug.

"Don't," Loki instructed. Ace then tilted her head and looked at the God who, with a flick of his fingers, managed to fix the mug she dropped, and the puddle to be cleaned.

"I apologize for startling you," Loki started as he picked up the now-fixed mug and handed it to her.

"Why are you still awake?" Ace asked as she placed the mug on the sink. She thought he was already asleep like the others since she could not sense a bit of his conscious mind before she went out.

But then again, she also has magic, which seemed to slip her mind. He could have easily masked the presence of his mind from other magic users that had the same ability as the both of them, which was communicating telepathically and reading minds.

"I have trouble sleeping during these hours, and I take you also have as well? Otherwise, you would not be out here drinking hot chocolate."

"Yes, I intended to stay for a while, but you are now up so I think I should go back to my room now to not disturb you," Ace replied immediately and nodded her head. She side-stepped and was ready to make her way to her room when a cold hand wrapped around her wrist, preventing her from going anywhere.

With this simple skin contact, she suddenly felt a surge of emotions go through her. She could not numb herself as these emotions she was experiencing was not hers, but someone else's. Her eyes shut tight and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest as a chain of curses left her lips because of the unbearable pain she felt.

Grief. Sadness. Betrayal. Self-loathing.

She could feel every emotion Loki has, but these were the ones that kept resurfacing, the ones that were dominant. She could not read his mind, so she was extremely shocked by how strong these negative emotions are and where they stem from. She cursed herself for not wearing her gloves in the first place. If she did, she could have avoided this.

Loki felt a bit concerned when he saw the sudden pained expression that crossed Ace's face as she tried to get out of his grip. He did not know that the longer he held her bare wrist, the more she could feel his emotions.

He would have tried reading her mind to know what was happening, but he could not as the woman had put up a wall around her mind, preventing him from doing so.

With one strong tug, Ace managed to get out of Loki's hold. She bent down and placed her hands on her knees, breathless because of the sudden surge of strong negative emotions that she felt from the god. She could not imagine what he went through for him to have such emotions.

She raised a hand, stopping the God from getting close to her as she tried to catch her breath. Once her breathing was back to normal, she stood up straight before flicking her fingers. In a few seconds, her gloves magically appeared on her hands, shielding her from any possible contact.

"What happened?" Loki asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

Ace just shook her head. "I got a headache for a few seconds," she replied, which was technically not a lie. She did not want to let the god know she just unintentionally intruded on his privacy by feeling his emotions.

Loki raised a brow. Being the God of Lies, he knew when someone was being untruthful to him. He did not necessarily deem her statement as false, but he can't help feeling that what washed over her was more than a mere headache, but he decided to let it go for now.

"So," Loki coughed in an attempt to change the subject. "I am guessing the cuffs do not work?"

Ace tilted her head as she glanced down at the cuffs on her wrists.

"You still possess magic, do you not? Or else, you would not be able to communicate with me telepathically nor summon the gloves you are wearing."

Ace then understood what he was talking about and nodded. "Yes. I thought these cuffs would inhibit my magic. I am quite surprised I can still wield and use my powers."

There was a short moment of silence between her and Loki, as the God just looked at her with such curiosity in his eyes. Ace felt as if she was being observed under a microscope with how the god was looking at her with his scrutinizing gaze.

She knew he could not read her mind which was a breath of relief for her. Ever since he tapped into her memories that time when she was under Mirage's commands, she can't help putting up an extra wall around her whenever the said God was in the room.

She did not like feeling vulnerable in front of a person, much less to a God.

"Interesting," Loki commented. "Last time I was cuffed with those same cuffs, I had trouble summoning my powers. I could still wield magic, but my abilities were weakened. Yet you—"

He stopped for a while, thinking what to say next. "I can feel you are a mortal, yet why do you have the strength that could rival or even exceed those of a God's?"

It was a question Loki meant for only himself. He did not notice that he said that aloud. Before he could make any further comments, Ace spoke.

"Beats me. I don't even know my heritage."

Loki almost grimaced at the term heritage. He was momentarily reminded of his ancestry, but managed to immediately brush off any trace of disdain on his face and maintained an indifferent expression.

"You should rest for now. I am certain that they will request some things of you later today," Loki advised her, deciding it was best for the both of them to not continue a conversation this late and after what happened.

As much as he liked to study this mortal—the first ever to pique his attention because of her abilities—he decided to let it go.

He was not fond of the idea of someone finding his company with hers at this hour. Especially if that someone is Thor. He almost frowned when he remembered how the god of Thunder made comments regarding him and the woman he was with at the moment.

Ace looked at him in the eye and opened her mouth, but no words came out so she decided to just nod in agreement before retiring to her room. Loki, on the other hand, just let his gaze follow her back until she entered her room and close the door behind her.

He sighed before deciding to retire to his own room which was unfortunately just across Ace's.

It was the first in a very long time that Ace managed to sleep so peacefully.

Despite sleeping at nearly three in the morning, she found herself waking up without the usual frown she had on her face. Leaving and destroying the main Mirage base surely did some wonders to her. For the first time in a long time, she felt quite refreshed as she got out under the blanket.

Looking at the clock on her bedside table, she noticed it was already past eleven in the morning.

If she were still back in Mirage, she would have woken up at 5 am out of habit, as that was the time she usually trained. She trained herself from 5 am to 4 pm, with only a 20-minute lunch break in between. After training, she would then find herself back in the labs of the base as the scientists continued their experiments on her.

That was how her aging slowed.

Through the decades, they managed to alter her genetic makeup by inserting a serum Mirage made from a combination of the DNA from a hydra and jellyfish which are known immortal animals.

With a few experiments, they managed to prolong her life span than a normal human being. According to the lab results, they predicted she could last a couple of centuries, if not, perhaps thousands of years.

This did not mean that she was invincible, though. Her aging was slowed and may or may not die of old age, but she could still be killed that is why Mirage took it in their hands to make her almost invincible by increasing her physical and magical capabilities.

They knew how powerful she was that is why they decided they need to have control over her. They tortured her over and over again until she succumbed to their wishes and was programmed—forced—to obey them whenever they utter her trigger words.

Remembering the night before, she now wore her gloves that reached a bit above her elbows, leaving a minimal amount of skin exposed. She did not want to risk unintentionally feeling someone's emotions once more. How she wished she just knew how to control this power of hers properly.

"Looks like someone has taken quite a long slumber." Ace heard Clint comment when she entered the kitchen in hopes of fixing up something to eat for lunch.

"Not as long as sleeping beauty's," Ace muttered as she neared the counter where Natasha, Bucky, and Thor were eating at.

She even heard a soft protest from Steve who was also in the same room knowing the comment was directed to him, but in the end, decided to ignore her and resume reading something in the newspaper, but not after mumbling a few inaudible remarks.

She saw an empty seat next to Natasha. The redhead assassin's eyes met Ace's, which were silently asking permission if she could take the seat. Unlike yesterday, Natasha felt a bit more relaxed in Ace's presence. She still sensed she was dangerous, but her guts are telling her she was no threat to the team. That she was on their side.

Ace let out a breath of relief when Natasha nodded at her and gave her a smile. She happily took a seat next to the assassin.

"Here. It's not much but it will definitely solve your hunger," Natasha said as she pushed a plate of pasta towards Ace. Before the woman could mutter words of gratitude, her stomach growled a little too loud.

She smiled awkwardly out of embarrassment as she shook her head before deciding to dig in. Just like the night before, she closed her eyes in delight as she relished the spicy flavor of the pasta.

A smile then formed on her lips as she took her first bite. She was engrossed in her food, but it did not go unnoticed to her at the stares she was receiving. But she couldn't care less. She was finally enjoying this bit of relief she felt upon being freed from Mirage.

"Are you sure you are an assassin, Lady Ace?" Thor asked which made Ace look up from her food as she chewed. "You're far too innocent-looking to be one."

"Looks can be deceiving, brother. You should know that by now."

The present Avengers' attention was turned to the God of Mischief who just entered the room.

"What he said," Ace chuckled as she swallowed another bite of pasta, pointing her fork to Loki as she seconded his statement.

"It is quite a surprise that you came down for lunch, brother," Thor said, bemused. "What could be the probable cause of your change of routine?"

Loki remained quiet and shrugged as he got a cup out of the cupboard before deciding to make himself a cup of tea.

"Ace, make sure to be ready for later," Steve finally spoke.

"Why should I be, walkie-talkie?" Ace asked, her eyes still focused on the pasta she was eating.

Natasha found it quite amusing to see someone else make up nicknames for the people here. It was usually Tony who had been fond of calling them all sorts of things.

Disregarding the nickname given to him, Steve replied. "Fury and Tony decided to eventually let you join the Avengers. We unanimously agreed that your abilities can benefit the team greatly. But you first need to undergo a bit of assessment before S.H.I.E.L.D will finally test you if you are fit to be an Avenger. They as well as the rest of us want to know how far your abilities can go and how you will be helping the team. Later at five, you will be having your first training with Natasha and Loki."

Swallowing the last bite of the pasta she was eating, Ace sighed. "I feel like I should be honored of being offered a position in your team, but I don't have the energy right now to fake happiness. Call me later. Maybe I can show gratitude."

Ace hopped off the chair before catching a glance at Steve who was displeased at her response. She just shrugged, then faced Natasha, giving her a genuine smile. "See you later. Looking forward to it."

After that, she then walked to the exit of the room, but not before catching the gaze of Loki. She just nodded at him before she left.

"She seems nice. I'm starting to like her already," Natasha said as soon as Ace left the room.

"Will you still like her once she starts giving you nicknames?" Steve groaned as he tried to return to reading the newspaper.

"Come on, Rogers. It's amusing."

"I have to agree with Lady Natasha. I am beginning to take a liking as well to Lady Ace," Thor said.

"Still be cautious of her. I mean, she did try to kill a few of us in the beginning," Steve tried to argue.

"She was not herself, Steve. Give her a chance." This time, it was Bucky who came to Ace's defense.

Steve decided it was better to just remain quiet. He understood where his long-term best friend came from as Bucky also underwent a similar situation under the control of Hydra. He already expected Bucky to have an understanding for Ace since they experienced similar situations.

"Just making sure you guys aren't under her spell. You know her magic," Steve still tried to argue. Who could blame him? He was very open in accepting Ace to the team, but he still felt weary because he saw how dangerous the woman was based on the files Loki brought from the now destroyed Mirage base.

"Cuffs," Natasha reminded as she pointed to her own wrists.

From the corner of his eye, Loki noticed how Thor tried to suppress a teasing smile on his lips.

"I assure you, Rogers, she is not using any illusion on your friends. This is coming from someone who possesses the same ability like hers. Maybe you just need to accept that she is... likable in her own way," Loki commented.

"Brother, is this your way of saying you are also starting to take a liking to Lady Ace?" Thor asked, one of his eyebrows raised as he fiddled with the handle of Mjolnir.

Loki put on a stoic expression and shrugged, then shaking his head.

"Take a liking to her? Not quite. I guess the word you are looking for is," he paused with a raised brow as he tried finding the correct term before turning to Thor completely.

"Intrigued."

And with that, Loki left the kitchen, not failing to notice the confused expressions of Clint, Bucky. and Steve; the smirk on Natasha's lips; and the knowing smile on Thor's lips.

——

Ace did not know how she ended up in one of the laboratories in the tower. She was trying to find a way back to her room when she sort of wandered off. She entered the lab, intrigued by what was inside when she noticed Bruce and Tony working there. Before she could even leave, the two have already noticed her presence.

"Well if it isn't little miss killing machine, what brings you here?" Tony asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. He still did not like the idea of a former Mirage assassin living with them, but he had come to terms that she was indeed harmless as of now.

Plus, she somehow managed to get a few points on his good side with the nicknames she was coming up with. Not to mention, it was not new to him to "adopting" new people in his tower that possessed some weird trait or capability.

"You know, trying to find someone to kill like what killing machines do," Ace shrugged nonchalantly before catching Bruce staring at her with a horrified expression on his face.

"I'm kidding. No need to be scared, human grinch."

Tony could no longer hold in his chuckle. "For someone who had been in solitude for decades, you sure catch up pretty quickly with pop culture."

Ace just shrugged. She did not have any means of knowing pop culture really. She just picked it up on the way to her missions. Possessing telepathic abilities, she basically caught on a few memories of the ones she interacted with, leading her to at least be knowledgeable on what was happening in the outside world.

"Anyway, I was thinking of having you remove this?" Ace said as she brought up her wrist, indicating her cuffs.

Tony's playful demeanor was gone as he raised a brow at the strange request. "Why do you think I'd do that?"

Ace just rolled her eyes in response before she conjured a force field around Tony and trapping him in it. "Because as you can see, it's already useless. Plus, it's uncomfortable under the gloves."

"Why do you wear gloves that high, if I may ask?" Bruce asked her.

She just stared at him with a frown on, contemplating if she should tell him or not when she was distracted by Tony's banging on her force field. Ace let out a chuckle before making the barrier you created around Stark vanish.

Stark grumbled as he got something from his pocket before walking to Ace. "Fine," he said. "Just no funny business."

Ace grinned up at the man as she hesitantly took her gloves off. "Just... Just make sure not to touch my skin," she said, to which Tony just eyed her weirdly before shrugging it off. He made sure to not touch her skin as he removed the cuffs.

Once the cuffs were removed, Ace immediately massaged her wrist and put the gloves back on.

"Thanks, rich boy!" Ace chuckled as she left the lab.

"You know what, Banner?" Tony said as he watched the woman leave the lab. "I think she's not so bad after all."

Time passed quickly. It was almost 5 pm.

Ace was still in her room. She changed the casual clothes she was wearing earlier into something else that was fit for training. She ended up wearing a fitted gray crop top partnered with black yoga pants that Natasha decided to lend her since she really did not have a variety of clothing to begin with.

She also did not forget to wear her gloves. Given this, Tony gladly also let her borrow his card to buy clothes and other furniture she wants to put in her room.

She declined at first and told him not to go through the trouble, but Stark just ended up bragging that money was no trouble for a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist like himself—with emphasis on the billionaire part. She just rolled her eyes upon remembering this, but nevertheless, it caused a smile to appear on her lips.

Having nothing else more to do, Ace then decided it was time to head to the training room where she would be having her first "training" with the Avengers to assess her capabilities. She opened the door of her room at the same time a certain God of Mischief decided to also exit his room.

"Heading for training?" Loki asked as the both of them shut the doors to their respective rooms.

Ace nodded. "Can you perhaps show me the way towards the training room? I still don't know where it is."

"I can. Or do you prefer teleportation as it is much quicker?"

"Whatever is fine for you."

Loki then held out his hand. "May I hold your hand? I need to be in contact with you to teleport the both of us to the training room."

Events of the night before flashed before her eyes as she remembered the emotions Loki felt. She tried shaking the thought off as she nodded to Loki before allowing her gloved hand to take his. Loki gave her a small smile and in no time, they appeared at the training room already.

"Geez! Couldn't have gotten here the normal way?" Natasha exclaimed when both Loki and Ace just appeared out of thin air in the training room.

"Sorry. Loki told me it was easier to just teleport. I also didn't know the way here so yeah," Ace answered as she let Loki's hand go. "So, what are we going to do first?"

"This session of ours will be divided into two parts. For the first part, I will be the one to assess your physical capabilities as well as your combat skills while the second part will be Loki assessing your magical abilities. Sound good?"

"Fine by me."

After a few more exchanges and rules indicating that she was not allowed to use magic first, Ace was now in a fighting stance and waiting for Natasha to strike first. The redhead assassin raised a brow at her, not expecting that she would let her strike first.

Natasha curled her fist and aimed a punch towards Ace's stomach to which the other woman managed to parry by using her arm to throw off the punch. Ace, quick on her feet, shifted her weight on her heels before raising her leg in an attempt to kick Natasha.

The other assassin half-expected Ace to have quick reflexes so she was prepared to block the kick. What she did not expect was for Ace to throw another kick after the first one. The kick made contact with Natasha's side which managed to throw her off balance for a few seconds.

Natasha raised her brows at Ace, who just smiled at her, before smiling back as she was clearly impressed.

A few more exchanges of attacks ensued before the both of them finished.

"You are skilled. No doubt," Natasha complimented Ace as the both of them drank from their respective water bottles.

Ace smiled but before she could reply to Natasha, Loki already called her. Ace gave Natasha one more smile before putting down the bottle and walking nearer to Loki.

"So, what type of magical assessment will I undergo?" Ace asked standing in front of the god with her arms crossed.

She was already sweating. As much as she wanted to take her gloves off, she refrained from doing so as she remembered what happened the night before when her skin came in contact with Loki's.

"I'll freshen up. I'll return later. See 'ya," Natasha bid goodbye as she exited the room. Now it was only Loki and Ace.

"We will not be dueling each other. For today, I just want to assess what you are capable of and how long you can wield your magic as well as how far your range can go," Loki explained as soon as Natasha left the room. "I would first like to discover the range of your telepathy."

"Keep talking to me. Keep this connection as I teleport farther away from you. Is that clear?" Loki instructed via his mind.

"Got it." As soon as Ace replied, Loki vanished from the room.

"A heads up of you leaving would have been nice," she teased.

"What can I say.  I'm full of surprises."

"I thought you're the God of Lies and Mischief? Are you also the God of Surprises?"

"That was a lame attempt of mocking me, darling. Try harder."

Ace laughed at his comment. "Where are you now? How am I doing so far?" she asked.

"Just keep talking. I'll tell you once I can no longer feel your connection or hear you in my thoughts."

A few more conversations were exchanged before Loki was finally back in the room.

"I am impressed, little one," Loki told Ace.

Before she can even oppose to the nickname he gave her (she liked to believe she was not little, the God was just tall), Loki spoke once more. "I was already far from the tower. Approximately a couple of hundreds of kilometers away. You have quite a wide range for a human telepath."

"Next, I would like to test your force fields. Show me what you can exactly do."

She nodded at Loki.

Taking a step back, Ace focused her powers first on her hands, allowing the energy within her to travel to the tips of her fingers. Splashes of purple light streaks surrounded her fingers shortly. Ace then lifted her hand and trapped Loki in a force field.

Loki held out his hand and allowed himself to touch the force field that Ace just conjured. He once again assessed its strength and properties.

"This is different from the first force field of yours that I encountered," Loki commented as his brows furrowed, taking note of the electric properties it contained.

At the back of his mind, he thought this power of the woman can be much more useful than just being a barrier. It can also be used as a source of electricity.

"Oh, you mean this?" Ace flicked her fingers. To an outsider, it might have looked like there was not a change in the force field, but Loki raised his brows in amazement.

His hand was still on the force field. He was now amazed when he felt the familiar magnetic properties he felt the first time he touched her force field.

"Impressive. I see your force field abilities have different variations," Loki complimented.

Ace smiled at his praise. "I can also do this. But first, I need to ask, can you withstand different environments?"

"Yes. Why?" Loki asked with a tilt of his head.

Ace didn't answer but flicked her wrists and something within the force field changed. Loki noticed this immediately, as the temperature inside the force field increased then decreased a few seconds later. Ace raised her wrists and with another flick, her force field disappeared.

"Can you teleport us to the inside of a volcano?"

Loki raised a brow due to the weird request but decided to do whatever she said as this was still part of her assessment. The both of them soon found themselves on the ground inside a volcano.

Loki was not very good with heat, but he stood his ground as he watched Ace flick her fingers again. They were under a dome that she created. Once in the safety of her dome, Loki felt the change in temperature. It became colder. A few drops of lava got on the dome but it did not pierce through.

"I remember having a mission one time where I was trapped in a room where they slowly sucked the oxygen out of it. I managed to stay alive and got out of there because I can create safe spaces within my force fields," Ace explained as soon as she and Loki returned to the training room.

"Am I now going to show you my illusions?" Ace asked after dropping her force field.

Loki shook his head. "We will have to reschedule that some other time, darling. As much as I am looking forward to your illusions, I do not want to tire you out much. Also, you might not have noticed but we have been here for quite a while now. This is enough for today."

"But I can still manage. I am enhanced, you know."

"I have not forgotten. But unlike the training you are previously accustomed to, I do not wish you to push yourself to your breaking point. Magic is powerful and is very draining to whoever wields it. I am sure you can still endure it, but I would like to see your illusions once you are fully rested."

Ace sighed before agreeing. As much as she wanted to continue, she knew she couldn't persuade Loki so she just smiled at him sheepishly as she gathered her things before the both of them teleported back to their floor.

——

It was only 8 pm. Ace was sitting comfortably on the bed in her room with a book in her hand. Back when she was still under Mirage, a few of the doctors slipped a few books in her room (more like a cell) so she would be entertained whenever she was not out on a mission or being experimented on.

As she finished reading a paragraph, someone knocked on the door to her room, snapping her out of her imagination. The door to the bedroom opened with a flick of her wrist, revealing Clint outside her room.

"We ordered some food. Wanna come down?" Barton asked.

Ace was about to decline when she heard a slight growl from her stomach. She wanted to continue reading, but she won't deny a wave of hunger soon washed over her system at the mention of food.

"Okay. Hold on a sec."

She snapped her finger and soon, her book was floating back to her shelf.

"Must be fun having magic. Makes life easier?" Clint asked her as soon as she exited the room.

"Sometimes. Occasionally, it tires me out. Depends really," she answered.

"Should we also call Loki?"

At the mention of the god's name, Clint just shrugged. "I tried knocking. No answer. I don't know where he is."

Ace tilted her head as the both of them entered the elevator. Loki was in his room. She was sure of that since she could feel the presence of his mind lingering there.

She was tempted to reach out to him telepathically but decided against it in the end. She figured he must be doing something or doesn't want to be disturbed for the time being. She then decided she would bring up some food later for him after dinner.

"Natasha told me how well you did today," Clint told her as the both of them waited for the elevator to arrive at their floor destination.

"Oh, it wasn't much," Ace humbly said.

She knew the level of her skill but having someone else compliment that skill of hers was new. Usually, she only received disappointed looks from Mirage, telling her she was still weak and needed to improve.

"Believe me. If Natasha compliments your combat skills, then you're more than excellent. I mean, have you seen her fighting skills? If she weren't my best friend, I would be terrified of her," Clint laughed, but then noticed how Ace shifted uncomfortably beside him. She was glancing here and there, but he knew she was wary of him.

"Hey," Barton started. "Are you uncomfortable with me?"

Ace released a deep sigh. "I'm just... not yet well-adjusted. I am also a bit perplexed by how you and the others have been treating someone like me. I mean, it was only a day ago when I tried to kill Doctor Dahl as well as your friends. I just find this situation baffling at how easily you guys seem to accept me. I don't know for Steve though, but the rest of you haven't been hostile towards me unlike what I expected."

Clint was a bit surprised at Ace's honesty. He was not exactly expecting her to tell him what she is feeling about her situation.

"We're kinda used to it already. You know, with Stark recruiting... unique people," Ace looked at Barton as he continued speaking. "We all have a dark past we wish to forget. Throughout the years, I guess we just managed to learn how to forget it or at least accept it. Heck, I even tried getting on good terms with Loki despite what happened in New York, although I have to admit it took me a year before finally giving the guy a chance."

Clint chuckled as he reminisced a few years ago before smiling at Ace who held a still baffled expression on her face. "Point is, you're here now. Heck, you even helped the team in destroying the main Mirage base. I saw the footage. If you hadn't helped them, they would have lost. Your past doesn't define you. Your present actions do. So don't be so hard on yourself."

Ace was at a loss for words as she did not expect Clint to be kind to her, much less the team. Hearing that, she felt her heart soften at his words. She can't even remember when was the last time someone had been that kind to her. She has been through decades of torture so a simple act of kindness is already foreign to her.

As the door of the elevator opened, she and Clint stepped out and went on their way to the dining area. Ace shot her hand out and held Clint by the arm, holding him back before he could enter the dining room.

"Thank you," she sincerely told him as she smiled.

Clint gave her a nod and smile in return.

"Took you long enough, Merida," Tony rolled his eyes as Ace and Clint entered the dining room.

The Avengers were all there, discussing some things. Ace looked around for an empty seat when Natasha caught her eye and gestured to take the empty seat beside her. Ace smiled at the gesture and thanked her as she sat down.

"Sorry. We didn't get to ask what you wanted. I hope these are fine," Bruce told Ace as he gestured to the food on the table. Pizza, spaghetti, chicken, and many more. Ace even saw a plate of pop tarts on the side.

"No, it's fine," Ace smiled.

Natasha passed her a fork and a knife while Steve passed a plate of spaghetti to her. There was a twinkle in her eyes as she looked at the food that was slowly piling on her plate. It was not much, but she made sure she got a bit of everything on the table so she could try it all. This twinkle in her eyes didn't get past the team.

"I see you like pop tarts as well, Lady Ace," Thor grinned as he saw a small smile form on the woman's lips as she took a bite of the pop tart.

Ace just smiled at the God of Thunder and nodded before getting a bite out of the pizza.

"Slow down, Twinkles," Tony laughed, amused at how Ace enjoyed the food. "There's still a lot so no need to rush. It's like you haven't eaten anything for ages."

The team noticed the woman stiffen at Tony's comment. Steve elbowed Tony because of this.

Ace lowered her eyes as she grabbed a napkin and wiped her lips. "Sorry. It's been a while since I ate food like this."

"Nonsense. Don't mind, Stark. Continue eating," Natasha offered a smile to Ace as she said this before glaring at Tony who held up his hands as if surrendering.

"Been a while?" Steve said, lowering his brows, asking what she meant out of curiosity.

Ace filled up her glass and took a sip before setting it down on the table. Her gaze remained on the food on her plate, her fork toying with the spaghetti. "I was only fed bread and water back at Mirage. Sometimes, nothing at all if I didn't do well."

Silence enveloped the table. Ace could hear the thoughts of pity in each of the Avengers' thoughts as they all looked at her. She sighed before looking up to meet their gaze with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Is it okay if I bring my food to my cell—," Ace stopped and almost cursed before correcting herself. She was so used to referring to her room as a cell since that was where she was kept back at Mirage. "I mean, my room?"

Tony looked at her and sighed before nodding. Ace flicked her fingers and a new plate was filled with food. She wasn't feeling hungry anymore, so she decided to just bring some food up for Loki as a thank you for today's training.

With a final smile to the team, she left the room.

She entered the elevator with a plate of food floating beside her. Once reaching her floor, she made her way towards the front of Loki's room. She held her hand up and curled it, ready to knock, when she stopped. She sighed and lowered her hand.

She didn't know if Loki would even open the door for her considering he did not even answer the door for Barton even if he was just in his room at that time.

She settled to just leave a note with the food. She summoned a small sticky note and pen and wrote a message for Loki, telling him to eat the food she brought up. With another flick of her wrist, the plate of food and the note dispersed into thin air—into smaller particles that can pass through the solid walls of Loki's room.

After delivering the food to him, she turned on her heel and went inside her room to finally get some sleep. The tiredness from the training soon caught up to her as she drifted off to sleep.

"Nice job, Stark," Clint grumbled in annoyance after Ace left the room.

"In my defense, I didn't know," Tony sighed putting his fork down.

Natasha shook her head as she swallowed the pizza she was eating. "She's only been here for a couple of days, but I can see how different she is from the first time we encountered her."

"We talked in the elevator before getting here. She is uneasy and told me how it confused her at us being nice and accepting to her despite what she did," Clint shared with the team. "I told her her past actions don't define her and it's her present ones that do."

"Mirage really fucked—"

"Language."

"—her up," Bruce finished, not noticing Steve's pointed look because of him cursing.

Natasha sighed as she pushed her now empty plate. "She's dangerous. I can see that. But I can also see under that persona of hers that she's fragile. I couldn't imagine what that organization did to her for decades."

——

Days passed by quickly. It has already been two months ever since Ace was welcomed to the compound. She occasionally trains with Natasha and Loki, but mostly with Loki as he can both help her train using her magic as well as training her combat skills since the god also knew how to fight.

It didn't take long for Ace to warm up to the Avengers and vice versa. They all were on speaking and teasing terms already, but she felt comfortable the most with Natasha and Wanda—a fellow magic wielder who was introduced to her days after arriving at the tower. Her friendship with the two women was unique.

Ace was close to both of them, but she had a different bond with each of them. Whenever she was having problems, she always went to Nat first. Despite being older than the redhead, she saw her as an older sister. It was as if Nat had the right words to comfort her.

Her friendship with Wanda, on the other hand, was also like that of a sister. But she had a deeper connection with Wanda since they were similar to each other—both being able to wield magic as well as being experimented on.

"Try visualizing replicas of yourself leaving your body."

Ace was in the training room right now, floating above the ground, with Loki who was teaching her how to manage her illusions. She already knew how but with only simple things. She really has not mastered yet how to make illusions of herself.

Ace closed her eyes and tried to feel her power from within. She could feel her magic flow in her veins as she tried hard to create illusions of herself. She managed to do this one time which was almost believable to the human eye—but not to God of Mischief's eyes who is the master of illusions.

Her breathing became heavier each second as she tried, channeling her energy in her body, visualizing one by one, replicas of herself leaving her body.

"Open your eyes," she could hear Loki say, to which she followed.

Happiness filled Ace's mind when she saw four replicas of herself surround her. She then looked at Loki who was smiling at her approvingly. He has been training her very patiently for the past month. She learned a lot. Loki even managed to unlock new powers in her that she did not even know she was capable of. Her friendship—if you could call it—with the god was a bit weird. She knew Loki didn't trust other people easily, and she knew he does not trust her yet. What was she expecting though? Even those who he lived with for a few years now did not gain his trust, so she was not really expecting to easily gain his trust with only two months of knowing each other.

Despite that, she did know that at some point, she was the person in this tower that the god hated the least. She knew that with how he treated her differently from the others. He still threw a few insults here and there occasionally—let's face it, it's in his nature already—but he was slightly friendlier to her. Whenever there were meetings or small gatherings, Loki tended to gravitate towards her. He tolerated her presence, probably because she was the least annoying out of all the people in the tower even though she tried to tease him from time to time.

It was progress.

Ace liked the idea of slowly becoming Loki's friend, other than the rest of the Avengers. She liked the idea of having friends in general. She couldn't remember when was the last time she had a friend, or if she even had one.

After two months living in the Stark tower, she was continually being treated by Doctor Dahl. He tried to help her recover the memories she lost decades ago as well as cure her of the trigger words Mirage instilled in her. She could still remember the incident last week where she and Doctor Dahl tried to test if she would still be triggered. She was tightly strapped to a bed and was placed in a glass cell. Stark made sure to secure everything before Doctor Dahl uttered the trigger words. Nobody was allowed in the room except for Doctor Dahl. The cameras were turned off. Nobody was allowed to enter or record so that only the doctor would know what the trigger words were.

——

"Покинуть, бессмертный, непобедимый," Alexander uttered slowly, watching carefully how Ace would react.

"улучшить..."

With each word being uttered, Ace felt something in her brain start ticking like a time bomb. She closed her eyes tightly and tried thinking of the happy memories she made in the few weeks she spent with the Avengers.

"пустыня, один..."

Ace could feel how her muscles started to tense as she was slowly slipping out of control as each of the trigger words are being uttered.

"лед, корона..."

Ace could feel the beat of her heart increasing. She was already breathing deeply, still trying to fight against the urge to lose control.

"зима... ночь..."

With the final two words, the ticking bomb in her brain exploded. Her self-control was no longer there and she immediately lost control. Ace looked down and saw the restraints on her body. Her eyes started to glow purple. With a flick of her wrist, she managed to break free from the restraints.

She stood up and slowly walked towards Doctor Dahl, her eyes lacking any emotion that she showed from the past weeks.

"Ваш протеже готов повиноваться," she uttered as she still eyed the doctor who was terrified already. He immediately called for backup. Stark, Natasha, and Loki immediately entered the room and saw Ace, only this time, they were reminded of the first encounter they had with her.

(Your protege is ready to obey.)

——

They took a few days to finally snap her out of it. Doctor Dahl didn't know how Ace managed to snap out of it after being commanded. But Loki suggested he could put her mind to sleep. He knew this failed last time, but he could try again. If he failed, at least he can try calming her down which luckily worked.

"That is enough for today. You did well," Loki instructed in a gentle manner, snapping Ace out of her thoughts.

At his words, she slowly descended. When her feet finally came in contact with the ground, she slightly wobbled when gravity acted on her body that was once floating. She fell on her knees and was breathing heavily. Her magic training today exhausted her greatly as she and Loki both agreed to try and train her to use her powers more efficiently, slowly extending and nearing her limit before she got tired. So far, she can manage to use a significant amount of magic for longer durations without feeling tired. It's just today that she might have pushed herself too much.

Loki was quick on his feet and was soon beside Ace. He gently kneeled beside her and held one of her arms. "Apologies, darling. We went too far today," Loki apologized as he slowly helped her stand up. He teleported her to a near bench in the training room and allowed her to take a seat.

Ace shook her head as she opened her water bottle. "It's not your fault. I should have been more aware of my body," she said before drinking. She let the cold water trickle down her throat before sighing. She was tired but she liked training with Loki.

"Miss Ace, Sir Loki, I have been instructed to remind you of the party later today at 7 pm," the voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y echoed through the room.

Ace groaned. She was already tested by S.H.I.E.L.D and it resulted to her officially becoming an Avenger. That is why Stark decided to throw a party in honor of her joining the team. She tried convincing him that it was not necessary but that man cannot be swayed.

"I guess that concludes our session today," Loki chuckled as he saw the unpleasant reaction on Ace's face. "Come. Let me escort you back to your room."

"You already taught me how to teleport, Loki. I can manage from here."

"You are exhausted. You need to save the rest of your energy for the party later."

Ace sighed and agreed, seeing as Loki would not let her teleport on her own. In a few seconds, they were already in front of their respective rooms. Loki was about to enter his room when Ace held his arm, stopping him from doing so.

"Yes?"

"Will you be attending later?" Ace asked hopefully. She hoped he would because she was sure Natasha and Wanda would be socializing with the guests. Loki didn't really like socializing or parties, but she hopes he would be there so she could at least have some company.

"I am not quite fond of large celebrations," Loki told her. "Even back at Asgard, it was Thor who loved the attention at large celebrations."

"Oh." Ace tried to mask the disappointment she felt at Loki's answer and just smiled at him. "That's quite unfortunate. I hoped you would join me later. But nevertheless, it's okay. Tell me what book you read once I get back, okay?"

Before Loki could even mutter a response, Ace vanished in front of him, making the God frown. He just told her to conserve her energy for the party yet she teleported in her room when she could have just opened the door and walked in like a normal person.

Ace fell back on her bed as soon as she was in her room. It was half-past five. She only had two and a half hours left to get ready. As much as she was tempted to not attend, she knew Tony would drag her out of her room and bring her to the damned party anyway.

She decided to rest for a few minutes before taking a bath since she was sweaty from the training. The cold water on her skin felt good after an exhausting training. The feeling was refreshing.

After taking a bath, she wrapped a towel around her naked body and headed towards the closet where the dress she will be wearing is hung. Ace opened the closet door and entered. The walk-in closet Stark made in her room was close to empty, with only a few dresses, shoes, jewelry in them. She didn't really care but Stark insisted. Pepper was the one who was slowly filling this closet of hers other than Nat. Ace was not close with Pepper but she did enjoy the woman's company as she was too sweet and nice to even dislike.

She soon saw the dress Nat bought for her days ago. It was a red, sleeveless cocktail dress that had a plunging neckline. The front part of the dress was shorter than that of the back which flowed to the floor. This dress was too... showy for her. She tried convincing Nat to choose another dress for her to which the redhead assassin just raised a brow at her and asked why. Ace couldn't exactly tell Nat just yet the reason she refuses to expose too much skin. She still has not told anybody of her empathic abilities just yet.

That's how she ended not getting a dress switch for the night. Luckily, Nat allowed her to wear her usual opera gloves, but in red to match the dress. This somewhat eased her worry of accidentally touching someone. She was slowly getting uneasy with her powers as she discovered she could not only feel the emotions of others, she could also influence them as well. That is why she was extra careful in touching someone.

The team did question her at times on her wearing gloves, but she just told them it was for comfort. They still found it odd but never minded anyway since it is what she wants.

After wearing the dress and gloves, Ace proceeded in wearing the black high-heeled pumps when she sensed Nat's presence outside her door. Flicking her wrist, the door to her room opened just as Nat was about to knock.

"It must be quite hard to surprise you," Nat joked as she entered the room. "I'm here to help you with your makeup. You look gorgeous, by the way. Told 'ya that dress suits you."

Ace chuckled as she stood up and sat in front of the vanity mirror with Nat following behind her. After a while, Nat finished applying makeup on Ace.

"You're all set, miss hot stuff," Nat teased Ace as she gave her a wink. "Have you decided on a superhero name yet? It really isn't required unless you want to remain as Ace or Crimson Ace. But what do you want the people to address you?"

Ace paused and thought for a minute. She didn't want to remain known as Crimson Ace to the public. She didn't like the things she did while she was under Mirage. She wanted a new alias. She wanted to let go of Crimson Ace. After a few minutes of giving it a thought, she smiled when an alias came to mind.

"Enchantress," Ace grinned. "I want to be known as Enchantress."

Nat smiled back at the woman. "Well then, Enchantress it is. Shall we get going to your party now, Miss Enchantress?"

Ace chuckled as she held Nat's arm using her gloved arm before teleporting them to the party.

"Freaking finally!"

Ace and Nat turned their backs and saw that it was Tony who yelled as he walked towards them.

"I'll leave you in his care," Nat whispered before disappearing in the crowd.

"Come on, Twinkle. Let me introduce you to the world and officially dub you as an Avenger," Stark babbled, placing a hand at the small of her back, as he leads her to the stage. "Have you decided on a new alias yet? Or do you want—"

"I have," Ace gushed as she felt both nervousness and excitement in her stomach. "Enchantress."

"Figured. Cute name. Anyways..."

The both of them arrived at the back of the stage. Tony instructed Ace to wait at the back first as he climbed the stage.

"May I have your attention? All eyes on me, please," Tony said into the mic which caused every head in the hall to turn to him. "That's more like it. Thank you."

Tony cleared his throat before speaking into the mic again. "I know there has been a rumor of a new member joining the Avengers for the past month. I will put that rumor to rest by confirming it. She has been trained, tested, and assessed by both the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D themselves. Without further ado, I, Tony Stark, have the honor of introducing the newest addition to our team. May I call up here on stage... Enchantress."

That was her cue. She felt her fingers almost shaking but she managed to hide it well as she walked on stage and went beside Tony. Bright camera flashes ensued as soon as she stepped on stage. Ace inwardly groaned. This event was very much Tony-like. She tried her best to put a smile on her face. It wasn't any longer when the rest of the team joined Ace and Stark on stage. They stayed behind while Ace and Stark were in front.

"You are called Enchantress. Does that mean you have magic?" one reporter asked.

Ace glanced at Tony, who just tilted his head and signaled for her to answer it.

She gulped before opening her mouth. "Yes, I have."

"May we see?"

Ace once again glanced at Tony, asking for permission. She didn't have to do that, but she also wanted to make sure that everything she is doing and will be doing is fine. Once Stark nodded at her again, she raised her hand and flicked her wrist.

Purple sparks soon appeared dancing on her fingertips. She first showcased her ability to move objects. After that, she then showed the press her ability to create force fields. She even instructed Nat to throw a dagger at her, to which her force field managed to deflect. After that, she then showcased her capability to make illusions.

"Not to be rude, but isn't Loki, who is also now an Avenger, also capable of doing the majority of what she did?" one male reporter asked as he raised a brow, not impressed. This question was not only for Ace. It was also directed for the Avengers. "What makes her special? What sets her apart from Loki? Why was she even recruited when you already have a sorcerer on the team? Two at that, considering Wanda Maximoff."

Ace frowned at this. She then felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw that it was Cap. He had an expression on his face indicating that he was not pleased with what the reporter is saying.

"Aren't you a curious mortal?"

Ace turned her head to someone in the crowd. Her brows jumped in surprise to see Loki drop his illusion as he was disguised as one of the mortals.

"I-I just wanted to know what makes her special to join the Avengers. I don't see her purpose if there are already sorcerers on the team with the same abilities she has—"

The reporter was silenced when Loki threw a dagger that managed to stab the reporter in the thigh. Gasps soon erupted. Ace could hear Stark groan from beside her, mumbling curses.

"Enchantress, darling. Why don't you show this nosy reporter what you can do," Loki cooed before facing the reporter again. "Fight me."

"Are you insane? Why would I—"

"You challenged her abilities. I'm just merely here to help demonstrate what she is capable of," Loki sneered.

The God of Mischief turned to Ace once again before nodding at her.

The crowd then watched Ace raise her hand, purple sparks appearing once again, dancing around her fingertips. To the people's surprise, the reporter who challenged Ace moved.

"What the fuck is happening?" the reporter asked confused. Before he knew it, he was already in a one-on-one combat with Loki. The crowd's eyes went back and forth from the fight to Ace who was still on stage.

It soon dawned upon the people in the room that Ace was capable of controlling one's body, which left them all speechless, surprised, and quite terrified. But they can't help admire her powers. The Avengers couldn't hide their smile when they saw the fascination in the people's eyes as they watched Ace.

"That's enough, darling. Come now. Show this mortal what else you can do," Loki instructed once more as soon as the fight ended. Ace understood what he wanted her to do. She levitated off the ground and landed next to the male reporter.

"What more can you do?" the male reporter asked, only this time, he was less rude. He was now scared but at the same time, enchanted by the woman.

Enchantress suited Ace indeed, as she managed to enchant every single person in the room. The crowd watched as Ace bent down and kneeled beside the reporter. His thigh was still bleeding, but strangely, it didn't hurt him.

"I can increase one's abilities, may it be physical or magical. That's why other than I controlled you in your fight with Loki, I also increased your abilities. I reckon you don't even feel tired, correct?" she asked to which the reporter just nodded. "That's my other power. I can also do this."

She laid her hand on top of the reporter's thigh. A purple glow surrounded her hand and after a few seconds, she raised her hand and the crowd saw that the stab wound was now healed. It was as if the reporter was not stabbed in the first place.

"Are there still people here who question her abilities as well as her position in the Avengers?" Loki asked aloud. The crowd was quiet, probably either because of awe from Ace's powers or because they were terrified of Loki.

Loki smirked and turned to Ace who had an eyebrow raised at him, but she had a smile on her face.

"You could have stabbed Tony. I would gladly want him to be the first one I get to control like a puppet," Ace chuckled and communicated with Loki via her mind.

"What a pity. Maybe next time. I just wanted to silence this reporter for underestimating my student."

Loki offered his arm out for Ace. The woman held it, carefully avoiding any skin contact, which was really unnecessary since Loki was wearing his usual Asgardian armor, which meant his arm was fully clothed. She and Loki then walked back up the stage and joined the Avengers.

A few more questions have been asked to Ace, the other questions to the Avengers. After that, Tony then instructed them to now enjoy the party as the question and answer portion is now over and it was time to enjoy.

"I thought you said you weren't fond of parties?" Ace asked. She and Loki were standing by the beverage table, both of them holding a cocktail glass containing martini in their hands.

"I'm not. But it's hard to ignore the presence of stupidity down here that I can't help interrupt," Loki said nonchalantly as he drank the drink he was holding.

Ace also did the same. The both of them weren't worried that they would get drunk. Loki was a God so he was not easily drunk by Midgardian liquors, while Ace was enhanced which also meant her alcohol tolerance was not the same as a normal human.

The both of them were silent for a few minutes before Ace spoke. "Thank you, Loki."

Loki then turned to her. She was not looking at him, but rather at the crowd. Loki noticed a ghost of a smile slowly forming on her lips.

"For what, exactly?"

It was at this time that Ace looked at Loki straight in the eye, not even surprised that he was already staring at her. She just shrugged before looking back at the crowd, now having a full smile on her face.

A few days after becoming an Avenger, Ace already found herself sent on a mission. She was not alone as Fury had Loki come with her. He would have even let Wanda join if she only was not on another mission herself.

The mission Fury had for the both of them was not that grave, which Ace was thankful for since this is her first mission after all. Fury just wanted her and Loki to scout an abandoned building in Westchester County which was only less than fifty kilometers away from the Avengers Tower. They could immediately call for backup or simply teleport back if things go south, which hopefully won't.

Fury told her and Loki that S.H.I.E.L.D picked up strange energy radiating from the said abandoned building, and they wanted to make sure it was not dangerous. If it was, he wanted it destroyed. Who else would be fit for the mission other than her and Lok? Both magic users and well-trained in combat.

"It seems like this is the place," Loki told her as soon as they teleported at the front gate of what seemed like an abandoned factory.

Ace looked at the device strapped on her arm and saw the coordinates. This is the place indeed. The both of them carefully entered the gate effortlessly since it was left open. Once they entered the vicinity, they looked around. Numerous dilapidated buildings surrounded them.

"Let's split up and try to find the source of the energy that Fury is talking about." Loki agreed. Besides, they could easily contact each other through telepathy if things come up.

The both of them split ways, and Ace found herself checking out the northern and eastern part of the large vicinity. Fury was right. She sensed strange energy in the air, its wavelengths colliding with her magic. As she continued to walk, she found herself standing in front of a shabby warehouse. As soon as she touched the door, she could feel the energy radiating from inside the building.

She was about to contact Loki telepathically when she felt something block her string of thoughts from reaching the god. Ace's eyes widened. She became uneasy, but she felt something within her mind, telling her to enter. She carefully pushed the big doors of the warehouse open and slowly walked inside.

To a normal human, the inside of this warehouse would only seem dilapidated and shabby. But to her, an enhanced, she knew something was up. Something was out of place. Just as she was about to run out of the building, a shining blue light caught her eye. Ace found herself turning her head to see a small blue mist in the corner of the room.

"Come, little one."

Ace was sure that the voice that spoke in her head was not Loki's. Her eyes flashed in recognition upon hearing the voice. This was the same voice in her head that convinced her to leave Mirage, leading her in joining the Avengers. She was so lost in a trance that she did not notice she was already close to the blue mist that was now large enough to fit a human. Mesmerized, Ace slowly lifted her hands to touch the blue mist.

"Ace!" She was snapped out of her thoughts when Loki's voice rang through her ears. She looked around and saw the God who was running towards her with a frantic expression. She was confused at first why he looked so terrified but when she looked back at the mist, she understood why.

The blue mist was now sucking her in. It became a portal.

"Loki!" Ace screamed and tried to reach for the god's hands. She succeeded in doing so as she felt Loki's hand tightly wrap around hers, but before the god could even pull her out of the portal's way, the both of them got sucked in.

——

Seconds? Minutes? Hours?

Ace did not know how long she was stuck in the darkness. She was scared as she could not see anything, but her heart calmed a little when she felt someone squeeze her hand. She didn't need to see that this was Loki. The both of them seemed to be floating into oblivion when some strong force pushed them out into the light.

With gravity acting on their bodies that were once suspended into some sort of space, Ace and Loki found themselves clumsily tumbling on the ground. Loki groaned, feeling dizzy when he noticed Ace underneath him. She had her eyes closed and was also groaning because of the full weight of the God that crashed on top of her.

Loki could feel something in him flutter but it was immediately gone when Ace spoke.

"Mind getting off me? God, you're heavier than you look. And that's coming from an enhanced human."

Loki rolled his eyes in response as he stood up. Brushing off the dirt from his armour, he held out a hand to Ace and helped her stand up.

"Where are we?" Ace asked as she looked around. Their surroundings changed. Now in front of them was no longer the factory they were supposed to scout, but a huge mansion instead.

"You may want to take a look at the device on your arm," she heard Loki say.

Her eyes drifted to the said device. A confused frown formed on her face. For some reason, this vicinity matched the coordinates that Fury sent them. But how could that be? This left her confused since a minute ago, this mansion was just the abandoned factory.

"Come inside, little one."

Ace and Loki looked at each other at the same time.

"I think we should enter?" Ace told him, unsure if he would agree to her strange proposition. Little did she know that Loki also heard a voice speak to him, telling him to enter the said mansion as well.

"Let's go."

Ace gulped, unsure if they should do this. But they had nowhere to go at the moment, and the idea of the possibility that the both of them were in another dimension of some sort lingered her mind. It was not impossible, after all. She unknowingly held Loki's arm, feeling safe knowing he was there with her and she was not alone. Loki did not mind this action and just teleported the both of them inside.

They found themselves in front of the huge doors of the mansion which strangely opened for them as if sensing their presence outside. They wearily entered the mansion and was greeted with a huge staircase. At the bottom of the staircase, the both of them were surprised to find a man in a wheelchair, looking at them with a smile on his face as if telling them that he was expecting their arrival.

"Welcome, Aesira. I am glad you could finally make it," the man said.

Ace glanced up at Loki with a confused glance and tilted her head before looking back at the man. "I apologize. I think you have the wrong person. My name is not Aesira."

"I do not. And you are indeed Aesira."

Ace's eyes widened, recognizing once again the voice of the man who spoke to her while she was still under the influence of Mirage.

"Y-You," she stuttered as she looked at the man, who was still smiling at her, in disbelief. "You're the one who spoke to me while I was still under Mirage. Who... who are you?"

The man in the wheelchair neared them, causing Loki to hold his arm out protectively, blocking the man from getting near Ace. The man stopped, while Ace just looked at Loki and ran her hand through his arm, telling him it was okay.

Loki still felt unsafe in this unknown mansion, but he sighed and hesitantly lowered his arm.

The man, on the other hand, held his hand out to Ace as he introduced himself.

"Charles. Charles Francis Xavier."

——

"What do you mean?" Stark asked Fury incredulously.

He and the rest of the Avengers were summoned at the S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters when Fury informed them that some sort of mishap had taken place involving Loki and the newly dubbed Avenger.

Fury massaged his temple in annoyance before signaling Maria Hill to explain the situation to the Avengers.

"Loki and Ace were sent on a mission to discover the source of this strange energy that S.H.I.E.L.D picked up. I was monitoring them the whole time they were out in case something happened. That's when I noticed their heat signatures vanish all of a sudden and I alerted Fury immediately. But after a few minutes, their heat signatures were back. I sent a drone out to check if the two were fine, but here's the strange thing," Maria pressed something on the screen and it showed Loki's and Ace's heat signature. "Their heat signatures are still in the vicinity, but they are not there. I could vaguely even pick up their presence but I'm positive they are still there."

"That's it. I knew it was a bad idea sending Ace out on a mission this early," Stark argued and stood up from his seat. "And to think she is with reindeer games? Could things get worse?"

Steve placed a hand on Tony's shoulder and pulled him back down to his seat. "Calm down, Stark. I'm sure Loki is capable of keeping her safe. And even if Loki is not with her, she can handle it more or less."

"What are we going to do now?" Natasha asked. Her expression was stoic, but under the facade, she was extremely worried for Ace. The woman had grown to be a close friend of hers already and she would hate it if something bad happened to her.

"Banner?" Fury spoke up, in hopes that the scientist knew what to do.

Bruce was lost in thought. He kept thinking about what could have happened to his friends. After much thought and silence, he sighed heavily. "I... I don't know."

——

"Charles. Charles Francis Xavier."

Ace hesitantly grabbed his hand and shook it. "Ace," she introduced before motioning to the God beside her. "This is—"

"Loki. God of Lies and Mischief."

"Now that the introductions are settled," Ace mumbled nervously. "Would you mind explaining to us why we are here?"

"Ah, yes of course. I simply brought you home. Although I did not really plan on bringing your acquaintance with you since this is not his dimension," Charles told the both of them as if it was the most casual thing he said.

Ace once again had a confused expression on her face. "I'm sorry. What?"

"Come with me. The both of you," Charles instructed and lead them to a computer room. He pressed some buttons here and there and instructed the both of them to sit down.

"Currently, the both of you are in Earth-10005 where I live. Your friend, Loki, on the other hand along with your other friends that you left behind, is from Earth-199999," Charles explained. "Not many are knowledgeable regarding this but there are actually multiple Earths. The Earths are just on top of each other but the beings in them do not collide. Think of it as a hologram card where you see different things from different perspectives."

"And how is this Earth my home?" Ace asked, still not processing everything properly. "I don't even remember being capable of dimensional jumping. And I've been on Earth-19999 that you so-called it since the 1940s."

"There has been a mishap. An accident occurred, causing your father to leave you behind a different dimension. Believe me, he was so heartbroken and I have been trying hard to find a way to return you here."

"My—" Ace's voice almost broke. "My father?" The topic of her parents was a bit sensitive to her since she tried too hard to remember her past but she failed.

Charles nodded and held a finger to his temple. "I know who you are, Aesira. If you may, I can help you recover your memories."

Ace just found herself nodding profusely. She felt Loki grab her hand and squeeze it. She looked at him, finding the God to carry a concerned expression on his face. Loki lifted a hand and wiped a tear that unknowingly escaped Ace's eyes.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Loki asked via his mind, blocking out Charles's telepathic capability, making sure only the woman beside him could hear him.

"I'm sure, Loki. I've been longing to know where I came from for a very long time now."

Upon hearing this, Loki gave her a smile of encouragement and nodded his head. Ace then looked back at Charles and gave him permission to continue.

As soon as she nodded, Ace felt as if a part of her mind broke free. She could feel Charles unleash something in her mind using his ability. It felt as if a lock has been opened after such a long time, chains dropping any restraint they held, allowing her memories to be set free—the memories she thought were already lost ever since Mirage wiped her.

Memories of her childhood flooded her mind. Memories of her childhood friends. But most importantly, memories of her... father.

It was only a few minutes, but to Ace, it felt like a lifetime. Once Charles was finished unleashing her locked memories, tears continuously streamed down her face. Her lungs felt like exploding from the overflowing emotions overwhelming her body. It had been a while since she allowed herself to feel such emotions, as she was so used to numb them all the time.

She was too lost in her thoughts to notice the arm of a certain God wrap around her shoulder, while his other hand held Ace's gloved one, rubbing small circled on her palm in an attempt to soothe her. Ace, on the other hand, felt her heart clench.

She opened her mouth despite her throat feeling dry. "I—" she started. "I'm Aesira Jade Howlett."

Charles smiled at her and nodded, happy that she now remembered. "Your powers—you're a mutant just like Logan."

"Where—Where is he now? And my mother? Do you know who she is yet?" Ace asked hopefully. She remembered her past, how she only grew up in her father's care since her mother left her on her father's doorstep for unknown reasons. Despite not meeting her ever, she still hoped she could.

"I am afraid I do not know. He left you in my care if I ever got you back."

Ace looked down and nodded. How badly she wanted to hug her father. It was as if by remembering her past, she was slowly putting the puzzle pieces of herself together. She did not get angry for her father's lack of presence. She understood him. She just hoped she could at least see him before she went home—

Home. She then remembered the Avengers. As much as she was very happy to return to the place where her father once resided, her heart was longing for her new family in another dimension. Despite only knowing each other for merely a month, she has learned to grow and care for them.

Ace looked up and saw that Charles was already staring at her with understanding in his eyes. She did not need to say anything more. He understood.

"I appreciate your help in recovering my memories," Ace started. "But—But I must apologize. I don't think I can live in this dimension. I have been accustomed already to where I'm from—I mean, I'm from this dimension, but you do get that I meant the Earth where the Avengers are?" she told Charles.

The scientist nodded and smiled. "I understand. I already anticipated this so I came prepared. But in case you wish to return here or need to contact me," Charles got a necklace ornamented with a single diamond out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Just channel your telepathic capabilities to the diamond and I will know when you need me. It can open a portal from wherever you are that will lead you back to this very mansion. You are welcome here any time, little one."

Ace opened her palm and let him drop the necklace there. She then looked up once again, her tear-stained face now adorned with a smile of gratitude. Upon wearing it, the diamond of the necklace glowed and she noticed it immediately became purple, the same shade of her magic.

She stood up and walked to Charles. She lowered her body and gave him a tight hug, to which he returned. "Thank you so much, Charles," she whispered as she tightened her hug.

"Well, I guess I must return you both to your respective universes now," Charles told the both of them once the hug ended. Loki wrapped an arm around Ace's waist and pulled her closer to him. Ace raised a brow at his action but made no objections.

The same blue portal that brought them to this universe opened near them. With one last smile at Charles, she and Loki stepped into the portal. Just like how they arrived there the first time, they fell into a pit of darkness once more, but it did not take long when they were pushed once again into the light.

The both of them groaned simultaneously. Unlike the first time, Ace landed on top of Loki, her body draped on top of the god's. Loki felt shivers up his spine when he felt Ace's breath on the crook of his neck. He carefully held her waist as the woman put her hands on either side of the god's head to push herself up. Her breath hitched when she saw the intense gaze he was giving her. Her senses were hyperaware of the small circles the god was making on her waist.

Loki let one of his hands go up to push the strands of her hair that were falling on his face, not allowing his gaze to leave hers. It was as if the both of them were lost in a trance. He even unknowingly cups Ace's face, feeling the warmth of her cheek against his cold palm. The skin-to-skin contact Loki's palm made with Ace's cheek unknowingly activated her power. She felt a feeling of fascination enter her thoughts but did not put much meaning to it, thinking it was her own feelings and not the God's who was still gazing at her.

"WHERE HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?!"

The loud shout immediately got the both of them to separate. They quickly scrambled to their feet as they brushed off the dirt on their suits. Ace feigned a cough while Loki just shook his head and heaved a sigh.

The both of them immediately noticed that they were already being surrounded by the Avengers along with Fury and a few S.H.I.E.L.D agents. Loki and Ace nervously glanced at each other before eyeing the company they had.

Natasha was the one who immediately wrapped Ace in a tight hug.

"You got us worried!" she exclaimed, refusing to let go of the embrace. "What happened?"

Ace sneaked a glance at Loki who was being bombarded with questions by Thor and Steve. The god noticed this and also looked at her as well.

"How do we tell them?" Ace asked.

"It's not my story to tell. Do whatever you wish."

Ace nodded before getting the attention of the team. "I'll tell you all. Let's get home first. I'm tired."

Much to Fury's dismay, he let go of the subject first and decided to interrogate the two of them on a later date, allowing them to rest. Whatever they went through must be tiring since the energy source he picked up was now gone which meant one thing—Loki and Ace were successful on their mission despite the events that had taken place.

"I'm sorry. What are you called again?" Tony asked for the nth time this night.

Ace just rolled her eyes as she chewed on her dinner. She was tired and was slowly being irritated by the questions Stark kept throwing at her, but she couldn't do anything since she did promise that she would answer their questions. The only thing keeping her calm was Loki's hand on the small of her back, caressing her gently. The others seemed to not notice this, and if they did, they just did not mind.

"I'm a mutant, Tony," she explained from what she saw in the memories Charles helped her recover. "Apparently, there are other people like me back in the dimension where I came from. We all have a genetic mutation, causing us to possess a genetic trait called the X-gene."

Ostensibly, what seemed like only an hour or so back in Earth-10005 was already six days here on the Avengers' earth. She could not grasp the time difference. She just understood that time worked differently on each dimension, although she was not exactly sure of the exact calculations. That was why the team was worried about what happened since they could still trace hers and Loki's heatwave in the same vicinity for the past days that the both of them were gone.

"So your powers are from your father and not from Mirage?" Clint asked. Ace nodded.

"Charles, a friend of my father, helped me recover my memories. He is a telepath like Loki and me, and a powerful one at that since he managed to reach me even from another dimension. And from what I remember, there was some sort of accident that left me on this Earth, which is how I was captured by Mirage. I was only a teenager by that time. Mutants' capabilities usually start showing at puberty, which was the reason why Mirage became interested in me since they became aware of my powers. Although I am not entirely sure if I got my long life span from my father or from Mirage themselves, since my father also has an extended life span," Ace sighed as she drank from her glass. "They could not trace my existence or where I came from. They could not find any record of mine since I am not from this Earth. And because of that, they took advantage of my lack of identity."

A short silence passed the dinner table as the Avengers were unsure what to say to that since it was a sensitive topic for her. Luckily, Thor managed to divert the topic and decided to break the silence.

"My brother told me how you chose to go back here even after knowing your ancestry," Thor boomed as he smiled. "We are flattered to know you care for us. We could not imagine what it would be like without you in this tower."

Ace smiled and felt her heart jump for joy. "Of course, what are the Avengers without their Enchantress?" she teased. "Besides, I was bound to return at some point since Loki was with me. I wouldn't want to keep him away from his beloved brother," she elbowed the God beside her in a teasing manner.

Loki rolled his eyes and feigned annoyance, but he was already fighting off a smile from appearing on his lips. "Please, I'd rather be stuck with you in another dimension than go back to my oaf of a brother."

The words slipped past Loki's lips so easily and naturally, that he only realized what his words seemed to imply when he noticed Ace's wide eyes and the reddening of her neck—which he assumed was out of embarrassment.

"I—I meant..." For once, the God seemed to momentarily lose his silver tongue, struggling with his words. He silently cursed himself for allowing those words to slip past his lips without even thinking much about it.

"Aww, brother. It appears as if you have a soft spot for Lady Aesira," Thor teased Loki, using Ace's real name. The God of Thunder smirked as he watched his brother groan and glare at him, but he couldn't care less. He was glad to see Loki slowly warming up to someone in the tower other than him.

Natasha had an amused expression on her face as she looked at her friend and Loki, before noticing the said God's arm resting comfortably on her friend's waist. She smirked, but decided not to join the teasing and expose them. The two were already embarrassed by the simple slip of words, what more will happen when she brings attention to Loki's intimate gesture?

"That's enough. Let the two rest. Whatever they went through for sure exhausted them."

Ace felt grateful for Natasha's diversion of the topic. She did not want to be put in the spotlight with Loki. The two of them were somewhat friends already, and she was happy with that. She did not want the both of them getting awkward with one another just because of the team's teasing.

"See you guys tomorrow," she bid them all before teleporting in front of her room. She took a step back out of surprise when she saw Loki also appear in front of her. It wasn't really strange since his room was just across hers.

"What a day, huh?" Ace tried starting a small talk between them before they headed for bed.

"Indeed. Dimensional traveling is exhausting," Loki agreed. "Well then, best we head off to bed?"

Ace nodded.

"Good night, Lady Aesira," Loki mumbled and faced his door, ready to open it, when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist, causing him to look back at Ace who was looking at him. Her eyes glinted, and before he could say anything, the god was surprised when the woman leaned forward and planted her warm lips on his cold cheek, lingering a bit longer before pulling back.

"Good night, Loki," Ace muttered, letting go of Loki's wrist before entering her room, leaving the God with a quizzical expression on his face.

——

Two days have passed since Ace and Loki's return from another dimension.

Ace was just in her room. She was lying on her bed as she held the necklace that Charles gave her, allowing the purple diamond to dangle in front of her face. An idea came to mind yesterday while she was reading some novel in the library of the Avenger's tower. She thought of returning to Earth-10005 and ask Charles if he could train her in controlling her powers. She knew she could ask Loki for help, but she did not want anybody knowing yet of her other powers, especially Loki since it involved her empathic abilities.

Plus, it would be a great bonding moment with her father's friend. She also wanted to explore as much as possible of her original home before she was left in this dimension. She just had to get Stark's permission first, but she was not sure if he would allow that. As of now, Ace was planning to just leave the tower at night since she knew nobody would bother her at late hours. The only problem with that plan was the time difference. How could she train in another dimension if the time differences are so far off?

A knock on her door snapped her out of her thoughts, causing the purple diamond necklace to slip her grip and fall on her face.

"Come in," Ace said, sitting up on her bed as she scrambled to pick the necklace up and clasp it back around her neck.

"Hey, Aesira," Wanda greeted as she entered the room. Wanda thought how beautiful her real name was to hear, so she decided to use it from now on. "We're gonna order something for lunch in about two hours. I came up here to know what you want."

"You could have asked Jarvis to tell me that. You didn't have to bother coming to my room," Ace pouted. The more she spent time with the Avengers, the softer she became. She made cute gestures and expressions that if someone was told that she was an ex-assassin, they would have a hard time believing it.

"Nah. It's not a bother. Now, what do you want?"

Ace puckered her lips as her eyes squinted, thinking of what food to order. As she listed a couple of menus in her head, an idea came to mind. Her eyes widened and glowed in a light shade of purple, something that happened quite often whenever she is experiencing extreme emotion such as excitement.

"You know, if you guys want, I can cook something for you?" she proposed, looking down as she scratched the back of her ear shyly. She has not cooked for anyone for decades now. The only recipes she can remember were those her father and their helpers taught her when she was young before the accident happened. She knew it by heart but was still skeptical if she could pull it off even after decades of not cooking.

A wide smile broke out on Wanda's face when Ace looked up. "That's better! Do you have the ingredients already?"

Ace shook her head in response. "I have, although it is not enough for multiple people, since I originally planned to cook it for myself. But I can go to the grocery now to get more."

"Great! I'll tell the others," Wanda said as she began walking out the door then she stopped. "You need any help?"

"Nope. I can manage. I'll just get changed and be back before you know it."

Wanda smiled at her one last time before she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Ace immediately stood up from her bed and opened the door to her closet. Since she was just going out shopping, she just threw on a gray hoodie on top of her tank top and a pair of plain black leggings. She chose to wear flats, and of course, she also wore black wrist-length gloves.

Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she went out of her room, only to find Loki entering his.

The God held the doorknob and was ready to enter his room when he noticed Ace exiting hers. He shot a brow up when he examined her appearance.

"Off to somewhere?" Loki asked as he let go of the knob and faced Ace.

The door to her room shut with a thud behind her as she faced Loki. "I'm planning to cook something for lunch for the team," she explained to him, fiddling her fingers. "I'm just buying a few extra ingredients so I can cook enough for us all."

The two of them stood there in silence for a few seconds when Ace decided to speak up. "Wanna come along? You never go outside the tower aside from missions, so I think a stroll would do you good."

"I'm not quite sure. I am not overly fond of surrounding myself with a lot of Midgardians," Loki said slowly with furrowed brows as he looked at her hopeful eyes. "The rest of the Avengers are already too much to handle."

Ace unintentionally grabbed one of Loki's arm using both of her gloved hands. Oblivious to her actions, a small unintentional pout was already forming on her lips. She tilted her head a little as she looked at Loki. "Come on, Loki! Come grocery shopping with me?" she insisted.

Ace noticed Loki look down at something. Following his gaze, she noticed he was looking at her hands that were grabbing his arms. Ace immediately let go as she thought the god was uncomfortable with her being touchy. She slightly felt embarrassed because she slightly assumed she was slowly beginning to be his friend. She must have misinterpreted his actions towards her.

She was about to apologize to Loki and tell him that he does not need to accompany her anymore and that she can just go alone when the god spoke up.

"Okay, I'll accompany you," Loki sighed. He snapped his fingers which caused his Asgardian armour to fade and change into a green long-sleeved, button-down shirt that was tucked in a black low-waist trousers.

Ace looked at him from head to toe, noticing how fashionable Loki is despite being a God that was used to wearing armour all the time. Heck, he had a much better fashion sense than Thor who was the God who frequently is at Midgard most of his time.

Loki noticed Ace's not-so-subtle admiration of his attire and smirked. He took a step nearer to her and held her chin, tilting it up to meet his gaze. "Take a picture, darling. It lasts longer," he chuckled.

Ace was not fazed but his bold gesture and just rolled her eyes before smiling. "Let's go!" she exclaimed. Without warning, she grabbed hold of Loki's arm and before he could say anything, they were already transported to a nearby supermarket.

A few people jumped and gasped in surprise when the both of them just appeared out of thin air, but when they recognized who they were, they began whispering and gushing at the sight of them. Loki paid no attention to the stares the Midgardians were giving him. His focus was just on the girl pulling his arm as they entered the supermarket. Ace knew the both of them would garner attention, being part of the Avengers and what-not, but she couldn't care less as she was excited to cook something for the people she was growing to care for.

They were at the vegetable section when Loki asked her a question. "What exactly are you planning to cook?"

Not looking up from the meat she was examining, Ace answered him. "It's a foreign dish one of my father's helpers taught me when I was young. It's called Adobo," Ace explained as she carefully chose the right cuts of meat to use for her recipe. "It's from the Philippines since that is where the helper is from. I just absolutely loved it since the first time I tasted it. You'll know what I mean once I cook it."

"Let's hope you can cook it well, considering you lack decades of practice," Loki teased.

Ace looked up and rolled her eyes at the God but nevertheless, laughed at his attempt at teasing her. After choosing the meat, they went to buy a couple more things she needed like soy sauce and vinegar. She also got ingredients for braised short ribs in case the Avengers did not like Adobo, but she was almost confident they would love it the same way she did.

Once she was finished shopping for ingredients, the both of them stopped in an empty aisle. She paused before stepping in front of Loki, facing him. "I'm done. Do you want to buy anything?"

"I'm not quite sure. I'm not quite familiar with Midgardian food that I would fit my liking."

Ace once again puckered her lips and squinted her eyes, mimicking the expression she made while talking to Wanda. She was thinking for a moment of a list of food that Loki might enjoy. Unbeknownst to her, the God in front of her tilted his head and smiled at the expression she was making. The word cute shortly graced Loki's mind, but it was thrown at the back of his head as he chose to ignore it.

Ace snapped her fingers, bringing Loki out of his daze. "Aha! I think I know what you'd like. Come on."

Ace held Loki's hand on instinct. She seemed to not take note of her actions, but her gesture was not unnoticed by Loki. Strangely, he liked the warm feeling of her gloved hands around his cold ones. And he can't help imagining how good her bare hands would feel like wrapped against his that he was tempted to pull of her glove and just hold her bare hand. But he restrained from doing so. Loki noticed this ever since Ace stayed at the tower. In fact, looking back, he does not remember a time where she was ungloved. Only that one incident where he found her in the kitchen on their floor the first few nights she was at the tower.

He had a sudden urge to feel her skin against his. He wanted to feel the warmth radiating from her body. He wanted to trap her in a long embrace just to feel the warmth she emitted.

Although Loki did find it strange since he didn't peg Ace for the conservative type, as he reminisced the times he took notice of her choice of clothes. She was always wrapped up, with almost little to no skin exposed. The only time he saw her exposed was at the welcoming party that Stark threw.

"Loki?"

Ace waved her free hand in front of Loki's face, causing him to come back to reality. He glanced down and noticed that their hands are still joined which caused the ends of his lips to almost shooting up.

"Yes? Pardon me. I was not listening," he asked.

Ace rolled her eyes but still repeated what she said as she pointed to the gondola shelves in front of them. "I'm buying you chocolates. Do you prefer with or without nuts?"

Loki just shrugged. "Why don't you choose for me? What do you think will best suit my taste since I am not familiar with this... delicacy that you are pointing at."

"Chocolates," Ace corrected as she picked up a bar. "I'll get you this milk chocolate first. Then you can tell me afterward if you like it or not. Deal?"

"Whatever you please," Loki replied. He watched Ace happily put a bunch of milk chocolates in their pushcart. The both of them decided they need nothing else and decided to pay for the things they got. The two of them still held hands. Ace did not notice this still, but Loki wasn't complaining either.

They soon got to a counter and waited in line. Because they weren't really in disguise, they were soon recognized by people. A few were gushing at the fact that they, people part of the Avengers, were out here shopping at the local supermarket. Who doesn't love a humble hero, right?

Ace noticed a few cameras flash their way, but she chose to ignore it. She just gave a casual smile to those near her. A few moments later, some had the courage to approach them.

"Hi." Ace turned her head and gave a smile at the girl who called her attention. From what she observed, the girl seemed to be a teenager. She was accompanied by her friend who she guessed was the same age as her.

"Hello. How can I help you?" she said politely, feeling a bit uncomfortable since she was not used to the presence of strangers.

"I just have to say, you look more gorgeous in person. Ever since that welcome party that was broadcasted live, I've been a fan," the girl said. "Can we take a picture?"

Ace shifted uncomfortably as she looked at Loki.

"You can say no, you know?" Loki said in his mind.

"But they would be disappointed."

"What do you want to do?"

"Can you be in the picture with me?"

"I'm not sure they would want that."

At this, Ace returned her attention to the girls who were still eagerly waiting.

"Would it be okay if Loki was in the picture with us? I feel more comfortable if he is included," she calmly told them.

"Of course! We would love to have him as well," the other girl replied sheepishly. "We actually wanted one with him too but we are too scared to ask."

Ace grinned at Loki, who had an amused expression on his face as he did not believe someone actually wanted a picture with him. He attacked New York after all, but given it was already in the past and he has already redeemed himself. But he was still astonished.

The two of them stood side by side behind the girls who were readying their phone cameras. Loki could sense the tension Ace was under so he gently squeezed her hand and did the thing he discovered that would ease her. Using his thumb, he gently drew circles at the back of her hand.

Once the girls set the cameras and held it up, Ace already had a calm smile on her face. Loki's gesture indeed did the job of easing her discomfort. The both of them smiled. Once it's done, the girls thanked them so much and even requested a hug, to which the both of them agreed too surprisingly—especially for Loki.

A bunch of other people also wanted to get a picture with them but didn't have a chance to since Ace and Loki were already next in line. The cashier was in awestruck at the sight of the two Avengers. She managed to even start a small talk with them, telling them how she loved the Avengers, as she punched in the things in their cart. It did not take long. Once the cashier told them the amount, Loki looked at Ace.

"How are you going to pay, by the way?" he asked.

Ace snapped and made her wallet appear out of thin air. She opened it and got a card out. "Tony got me a card even if I didn't want one. He kept bragging he is Tony freaking Stark and how rich he is," Ace chuckled. Loki then remembered he was also given a card by Tony was he somehow earned that man's trust. He just did not find it necessary since he never left the tower.

Ace handed the cashier the card. Once they paid for it, she snapped her fingers that caused the paper bags where their groceries were to float. She didn't really want to carry it, and Tony said nothing about using her powers outside the tower so she took advantage of it.

"Do you want to walk all the way back to the tower or should we teleport?" Ace asked Loki.

He took a quick glance at her as the both of them exited the supermarket, no longer holding hands, much to his displeasure. "I think I want to take a stroll for a change. I haven't been outside the tower for long, according to your observations," he said.

Ace was glad to see that she was making progress. Loki was slowly but surely warming up to her. She could now at least assume that she was now the god's least hated Midgardian since he isn't like this around the others—even to his brother. A part of her was feeling happy because they were slowly building a friendship. But a part of her also was taking a liking to the god very much. She did not know why she felt at ease the most when she is around Loki.

Sure, she felt at ease with the rest of the Avengers, but it seemed different with Loki. She loved every second whenever they did something together. Her heart sometimes fluttered at his gestures but made no big deal of this. She just concluded this was normal in starting friendships. She really had little knowledge of friendships and relationships since she spent most of her life working for Mirage, so she put no malice in whatever the both of them are doing. Like holding hands for example.

"It feels quite nice if I must say," Loki said under his breath as he glanced at Ace. "This walk, I mean."

The corner of Ace's lips tugged to form a smile. "We could go on more walks like this in the future if you're up for it."

The both of them were already at a park when Loki stopped in his tracks, causing Ace to stop as well. They were standing on the grassy part and not the pavement so they did not have to worry about blocking someone else's path, fortunately.

Ace tilted her head as she looked up at Loki with a questioning look as to why they stopped. She raised a brow at him and waited expectantly for what he would say.

Loki was at loss for words as he looked down at the woman. The both of them gazed into each other's eyes, their surroundings almost becoming quiet as the two of them looked at each other. He could tell from her expression that she was asking why they stopped, but he had to answer to it. He just stopped walking upon thinking of the future walks he would have with her. Should he tell her he was up for it? That he was looking forward to it?

The wind slightly picked up and kissed their exposed skin. Loki noticed how the gentle breeze managed to blow a few strands of Ace's hair on her face. Ace, on the other hand, was about to remove the stray strands on her face when Loki motioned, raising his arms. His hands neared her face. She looked at him as his eyes traveled to the strands of hair on her face. His fingers gently tugged at the few strands and brush them off her face in a gentle motion.

She could feel her heart pick up its pace but thought nothing of it as she smiled at Loki. She had to admit that she liked the close proximity between them. She interpreted this thought as something else. She shrugged it off and thought of it as a result of her lack of a gentle and affectionate human touch during her Mirage days.

Loki, on the other hand, was about to lay his palm on her cheek, when the both of them were distracted by the sound of Ace's ringtone. The woman chuckled and apologized as she got her phone out of her pocket. As she was trying to navigate it (she did a better job at learning modern technology than Thor or Cap, if she does say so herself), she was oblivious to the warm feelings starting to surface in Loki's stomach.

"Wanda asked if I was done," she told Loki as she put her phone away. "I guess let's teleport back so I can cook? We can take a stroll once again next time if you like?"

Loki found himself nodding. He liked the idea very much.

Ace was in the main kitchen of the Avenger Tower. It was almost noon and she was almost done cooking her dishes. She just now had to wait for the timer to ring. As she waited, she decided to wash and peel the carrot that was accidentally included in the groceries. Once done peeling, she leaned her back on the kitchen counter and munched on the carrot like a rabbit.

Her back was facing the door, but she noticed someone enter but didn't really mind it since it did not register to her as a threat.

"Hey, doll. What're you cooking?" Bucky asked as he stood beside Ace, mimicking her, and leaned on the kitchen counter as well.

"Waiting for lunch to be cooked. Hasn't Wanda told everybody?"

"Oh, right. You're cooking lunch," Bucky said, remembering what Wanda had told them earlier as he looked at the pots and pans. "I can't wait. It smells good already."

"I hope the smell does justice to the taste."

Bucky lowered his metal arm and bumped his shoulder on hers. "Hey. I'm confident it'll be delicious."

Ace laughed as she chewed on the carrot in her hand and just nodded at Bucky before the both of them fell in comfortable silence.

Her friendship with James Buchanan Barnes, or simply Bucky, was no longer a surprise to the people in the tower. They were no longer shocked when the two of them easily connected with one another, given that both of them underwent similar situations, although under different corrupt organizations.

It was one day when Ace went to the practice room to train when she met Bucky. He wasn't hostile to her, but he never did try engaging in a conversation with her during her first week at the tower. Their first encounter wasn't really special, and Ace had not planned on talking to him that day. She and Bucky just happened to coincidentally be at the practice room.

She didn't mind him and just started to warm up.

It was all good until she struck the punching bag with full force, sending it flying towards an unsuspecting Bucky whose back was faced to her. Her eyes widened that day when she saw Bucky fall to the ground because of the impact of the punching bag as well as its weight.

"Dear heavens! I'm so sorry," Ace rushed to Bucky's side and apologized as she helped him up.

Bucky, instead of being angry, was rather astonishingly impressed. He knew she was strong since she was enhanced, but he didn't expect she was this strong. He also chuckled at the old-school expression that came out of the woman's mouth. That was the day that the both of them had a small talk and after that, everything just started falling into place. They clicked. Steve was even glad to see his friend making new friendships with the new girl. He could already see the friendship that will soon blossom.

The ding of the timer signaled that the dish was cooked and Ace excitedly grabbed the pot to pour it in several bowls. What she forgot about was the temperature of the pot. Once she held the pot with her bare hands—she took her gloves off as she didn't want them to be stained with the dish, also she was initially alone in the kitchen so she did not worry—she felt the burn starting to kick in. Upon instinct, she just shut the feeling down and numbed the pain.

After pouring its contents, she placed the pot down the sink and faced the bowls when Bucky swore.

"Shit, doll! Your hand is burnt. Doesn't it hurt?" he worriedly asked as he motioned to grab her hand.

Ace looked at her limb and noticed it before pulling it out of Bucky's reach as she did not want him touching her bare hand. She just shrugged it off as she wore her gloves once again. "It's okay, Bucky. It doesn't hurt. You sometimes forget my apathetic abilities," she joked.

The man frowned at this, obviously not happy with what she said. "Be careful. I know you can numb your feelings but take care of yourself."

Ace smiled and sighed. She felt nice since she was not used to being cared for. "I heal quickly. Or at least quicker than normal humans, so this burn will be gone in an hour or so," she explained to him as she waved her hand in dismissal before switching her tone to a teasing one. "But I appreciate your worry, Mr. Barnes. Your concern is duly noted."

Bucky scoffed but gave her a smile after. He helped bring a few of the dishes to the dining room, which was not really necessary since Ace can just conjure some magic and allow the plates and other utensils to float towards the table. But she allowed her friend to help.

"I just came from a meeting and holy shit, what is that mouth-watering smell?" Tony's head popped in the dining room to see what's up before fully entering. "Is that your cooking that Wanda told us about?"

Ace nodded. "Yup. This one is a dish from the Philippines called Adobo," she pointed to a bowl, then gesturing to another plate. "I also cooked braised ribs in case you guys didn't like this first dish. There's also gravy if you want."

"Something smells good in here," Rhodey said as he entered the room.

One by one, FRIDAY called the Avengers down the dining hall upon Ace's command. They were soon seated and started digging in. As they ate, Ace noticed someone missing from the group.

"Where's Loki?" she asked.

Thor looked up and answered her, not swallowing first whatever food is in his mouth. "He has not come out of his room yet, Lady Aesira. I tried calling him but he refused to come down and join our lovely feast."

Ace frowned at that. A thought passed her mind before disappearing which startled the Avengers. A few seconds later, she appeared out of thin air once again near the table, giving the Avengers another fright. Only this time, she held Loki—who had a scowl on his face—by his arm.

"Jesus! At least warn us when you're teleporting, Tabitha Stephens" Tony scolded Ace. She just laughed at him and muttered an apology before pointedly looking at Loki.

She sat down on her original seat and before Loki could even teleport out of the room, Ace managed to grab his arm and pull him down to sit in the empty chair beside her. "Sit and eat," she ordered as she started filling Loki's plate with food.

"How dare you, a Midgardian, order around a god like myself—"

Loki was cut off from whatever he was saying when Ace popped a piece of the milk chocolate bar they bought earlier in his mouth. Loki glared at her but reluctantly chewed whatever was placed in his mouth. His frown slowly subsided and turned into an expression of awe which made Ace chuckle in delight.

"Is that the chocolate you told me about?" he asked and Ace just hummed as a response.

She just continued eating when she felt the god beside her lightly tapped her arm. She fought the smile that was threatening to form on her lips before looking at Loki with a brow raised. Loki gulped and rolled his eyes at what he was about to do, but never minded in the end.

"Can I—," he scrunched his nose, feigning disdain in his voice. "Can I have more of that sweet thing?"

Ace could not contain it any longer and just laughed at him, earning a groan from the god. She discovered that he could really be cute whenever he was not in a sour mood. "I'll give you a full bar, Loki. But you need to finish your lunch first."

Loki muttered something under his breath and nearly protested but he just sighed before agreeing to eat the food piled on his plate.

"That's what I thought," Ace cheered at her accomplishment before her eyes caught sight of the Avengers. The table was suddenly silent and they were all looking at the both of them in utter shock. "What?" she asked innocently.

They all just shook their head as Natasha had a knowing smirk on her lips while Thor just had a genuine smile.

"I'm gonna pretend that I did not just watch rock of ages follow an order—more so, ask for a CHOCOLATE BAR so nicely!" Tony chortled as he chews on his food. "Wait. I'm not gonna pretend. FRIDAY, send me footage of that part, okay?"

"Already sent sir," the AI responded immediately.

Loki just grumbled as he finished his lunch. He must admit though. He liked the Midgardian dishes that Ace cooked. Of course, he was not going to say that out loud. He was already embarrassed by the chocolate situation. He did not need any more teasing from the team, especially his brother.

"Where did you learn to cook, Ace?" Steve asked as he wiped his mouth. "This is delicious!"

Sam agreed and clapped loudly. "I know right! Like damn, girl. How do you still have those mad cooking skills after decades of not cooking?"

Ace just chuckled at Sam, but her eyes darted to Loki's empty plate. She didn't bother hiding the smile on her lips as she handed a bar of chocolate to the god, earning a delighted glint from his eyes as he took the sweet stuff.

"I learned from my father and a few of our helpers," she answered Steve's question before turning to Sam. "I don't know, actually. I guess muscle memory?" she said unsure before her eyes drifted to Loki who was happily eating the chocolate she gave him.

"If you want more, you can come to my room any time," she communicated telepathically causing Loki to choke on his chocolate.

"Brother?" Thor asked, concerned as he handed a glass of water to him.

Loki looked at Ace incredulously and searched her face for any sort of malice for whatever she said, but he only saw genuine confusion on her expression which caused his face to slightly turn into a light shade of pink. How could he interpret her question in such an... inappropriate way?

Ace looked at Wanda in confusion as she projected in her mind what happened, asking Wanda telepathically if she said something wrong. Wanda tried suppressing a giggle but failed miserably and the team just looked back and forth in utter confusion. Wanda understood what went through Loki's mind when Ace said that, but Ace on the other hand had no idea of the other interpretation of whatever she told Loki.

The team looked at Wanda and seemed to be asking for answers, to which the woman just smiled and shrugged, using her fingers and act as if she was zipping her lips.

Loki just shook his head. Without warning, he teleported back to his room with the chocolate in his hand, vanishing from Ace's side.

"Goddamn, can you teleporters just warn us for once?" Tony exclaimed, shaking his head. "You're gonna give me a heart attack one day, I swear."

——

"FRIDAY?" Ace, who was currently in the library in the tower, called out for the A.I.

"Yes, miss Howlett?" Her heart tugged and a smile formed on her lips upon hearing her father's surname.

"Where's Tony?"

"He's in the labs, miss. Do you wish for me to call him?"

Ace waved her hand dismissively. "No need. I'll just go to him. Thank you, FRIDAY," she said as she immediately teleported to where Tony was.

"Jesus Christ! Can't you enter the lab like a normal person?" Tony exclaimed when Ace just appeared beside him all of a sudden.

Ace grinned mischievously. "Sorry. Can't. Not a normal person, remember?"

Tony rolled his eyes and grumbled as he returned his attention to adding a few modifications to his Iron Man suit. Before Ace could even tell the billionaire what her purpose of visiting the lab was, she was cut off by him."Ah, by the way. Do me a favour and wear that suit, Twinkle," Tony told her as he pointed at something.

Ace turned in the direction where Tony motioned and she saw that there was a one-piece suit in the colors of purple and black.

"It's a suit I designed for you. Didn't want you going out on missions in your old Mirage suit since you're part of the Avengers now," Tony explained as he pressed a button, making the glass surrounding the suit go down. "It's made out of one of my company's impermeable fabrics. It can withstand most damages. I also noticed how you're not fond of exposing too much skin so that answers the wrist-length sleeves. Oh! And how can I forget," Stark said as he picked something out from behind the suit and handed it to Ace. "Gloves."

The woman was speechless as she circled the suit, looking at it before shooting Tony a grateful smile.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Do your thing or whatever," the man said. Ace flicked her wrist and magicked the suit on her body. It fit her perfectly and she was immensely comfortable in it.

"Looks good, kid!"

"I'm older than you, you know?" she answered with knitted brows.

Tony chuckled as he went back to working on his own armour. "You can take that already and use it on missions," Tony said. "By the way, do you need anything? You won't come down here to see me if you didn't."

Ace immediately remembered the reason why she was down here. She cleared her thought and went nearer to him. "Can I return to the dimension Loki and I went to?"

Upon hearing this, Tony got slightly electrocuted by a wire in his suit when he missed because of surprise at her request.

"May I ask why?"

"I figured Charles could help me hone my powers. I know Loki and Wanda could help me that, but I think Charles can do better since he has more idea what my powers are," she explained quickly.

"I'd be fine with that, Twinkle. But what about when a mission arises and you're not here? You are aware of the unknown time differences between the dimensions, right?" Ace nodded when she remembered the six days that passed on this Earth while she and Loki only spent like an hour on the other Earth.

She was silent for a while before an idea came to mind. "How about I go there first today? I'll sit out on whatever mission first that arises during the time period I am gone. I'll go talk to Charles if he can go to this Earth instead while he trains me. I don't know what logic I'm pulling at, but if he spends longer time on this Earth, he won't lose as much time in his Earth. Maybe if he spends a day here, it will only be a second or minute that passed back at his Earth."

"Fair point," Tony agreed. "Okay. Go now. Don't spend more than an hour there. We don't want you gone for a week."

"Thanks, Tony! Gotta get going!" she said and was ready to teleport when she stopped. "Heads up. I'm teleporting," she added teasingly.

"Thanks for the warning," Tony answered sarcastically. And with that, Ace disappeared and teleported back to her room (still in the suit Tony has given her, by the way).

Her fingers fiddled the purple diamond on her neck and wondered how to use this. Charles did say to channel her telepathic abilities to the diamond, but how? With a deep breath, Ace just held that diamond necklace that was still on her neck and closed her eyes. She felt her powers flow through her veins before she made them travel to where the necklace was.

She didn't think it would work. Once she opened her eyes, she saw a portal has opened. Only this time, it was purple. Uncertain but determined, she carefully stepped inside the portal. A pit of blackness engulfed her vision once more, but she had much more control in this portal compared to the blue one she and Loki went through. As she walked in the darkness, a faint light reached her eyes, making her go nearer and finally carefully stepping through it.

"Didn't expect you to be back so soon, Aesira," Charles greeted her as soon as she stepped out of her portal. She found herself to be transported to the dining room in Charles' mansion where he was currently at. "Take a seat."

Ace complied and took a seat near Charles. "I can't stay here for long, so I was hoping you could help me with something," she stated her purpose of visiting immediately.

"Still blunt as ever," Charles chuckled. "What can I help you with?"

"I figured you could help me train my abilities since we're both mutants and you have more knowledge on the technicalities or capacities of my powers," Ace started, not giving the man time to speak. "And I was hoping you could train me back on my Earth? I'd want to train here, but I can't because of the time differences—"

"And you figured that if I were the one who went to your Earth, I wouldn't lose as much time here as you will if you aren't present there?" Charles finished, getting her point.

Ace nodded and waited for him to give an answer.

"I see why not. I don't have company much these days so I can take a few trips on your Earth."

Ace's eyes lit up. "Really? Thank you so much! When do we start?"

"Let me figure out first the approximate time difference from my Earth to yours," Charles said as he pressed a button somewhere, making a holographic screen appear in front of him.

"You spent almost an hour here the last time you visited, correct?" Ace nodded at the question. "How much time was spent on your Earth?"

"Six days," she answered.

Charles quickly did the math. "Every ten minutes on this Earth corresponds to one day back on yours," he explained. "And judging that you spent here for almost a few minutes already—"

"—a day is almost passing back home," Ace finished.

"Now that we've settled the simple math, seeing how little time I will lose back here if I trained you on your Earth, I'll accept your proposition. When do you want to start?"

"Can we start a week from now? I still have something to do."

"And by week, you mean?"

Ace cursed and computed in her head, taking into account the amount of time she spent here. "An hour from now," she answered.

Charles just shrugged. "Fine by me. You must get going now, little one. Wouldn't want your schedule to be messed up."

Ace chuckled finally, standing up and saying goodbye to Charles before opening up a portal back to her Earth.

——

The woman's absence back in the tower was immediately noticed by Loki.

"Where is she?" he asked the only person in the living room which was Stark, much to his annoyance.

Stark smirked, already knowing who the God was pertaining to, but decided to irritate him. "Who?"

"Who else would I be asking about, you daft knob?"

"Calm down, reindeer games. Your nose is turning red. Might call you Rudolf at this point," Tony chuckled as he put down his cup of coffee. "She went to visit her friend from the other dimension."

"She what?" Loki exclaimed upon hearing this. "And you did nothing to stop her? She's gone for nearly three days already!"

"Hey, your girlfriend asked nicely. I complied. Don't get your panties in twist. She did say she'll be coming back."

"She's not my girlfriend," Loki quickly said under his breath, but he found himself squirm a bit because of his statement.

"But you want her to be?" Tony teased more.

The god just growled at the man as he turned on his heel to leave the room, of course, not before turning Tony's mug of coffee into a snake. A satisfied smirk was on his lips when he heard Tony shriek because of his illusion. Served him right.

He was on his way back to his floor when he bumped into Thor.

"Brother!" Thor greeted cheerfully as the both of them entered the elevator. "Have you seen Lady Aesira? The team hasn't seen her for days and Tony seemed to be extremely calm about her absence."

Loki pressed the button to the floor where the library was. "She's back in the dimension where she came from. Stark said something about her visiting a friend. Figured it's the telepathic scientist we met."

"Her absence seems to trouble you, brother," Thor started, carefully waiting for a reaction from his brother.

Loki made a face at Thor before shaking his head. "You observed wrongly. Though I can't say I expected much from your idiocy."

"Hey," Thor bumped his shoulder with his. "You know you can't hide it from me. I've known you for a thousand years now. I can tell you've grown fond of her. The looks you give her is the same look you have whenever you are fascinated by the novels you read."

Okay. Maybe Thor was not fully an idiot. But Loki was not going to admit that. He didn't want anyone knowing he cared for them even in the tiniest bit. He was scared of someone having the power to crush him easily, that is why he refused any sign of vulnerability to slip out. He managed to do that so well, not until Ace came along. He didn't know how. He just found that one day, he became intrigued by this magical Midgardian and soon found himself enjoying her company more and more.

The change, how easily she had him wrapped around her finger—he did not like it one bit, but he could not stop himself. There was something about the woman that just naturally draws him in. He did not know if it's just her pretty face or the sweetness of her voice ringing in his ear. Or was it her scent of sweet vanilla perfume that has got him intrigued? Or maybe it was merely because she was the only one in the tower who never showed any hostility towards him.

Loki's thoughts were interrupted when the ding of the elevator resonated through the narrow walls they were enclosed in. He did not even notice that Thor was still walking beside him to the library. He was strangely silent, probably sensing that his brother was lost in deep thought.

The god of mischief pushed the library doors and as soon as they stepped inside, Loki stopped in his tracks. His feet were glued to the ground.

"I know you missed her even if it was just three days. I'll leave you two be," Thor whispered in his brother's ear as he gave him a pat on the shoulder before leaving.

As if on cue, Ace lifted her gaze to the younger prince's arrival, and immediately, a soft smile appeared on her lips which almost unknowingly made him forget to breathe.

Loki's harsh expression softened as he caught sight of her when a thought came to mind, silently thanking that he could block the woman from reading his thoughts.

Maybe it was that lovely captivating smile.

Loki felt something flutter in his stomach at the thought.

It was still early in the morning, with only a few minutes left before the clock struck eight.

Ace was already up. Usually, people would find her joined by Loki in the library at these hours as they busied themselves in the numerous novels, surrounded by the comfortable silence between the two. But it was different today since Loki was summoned back on Asgard along with Thor for some royal, princely duties, as Ace liked to call it.

That is why she found herself in the small garden Tony had put up for her upon her request. She was watering her plants as she remembered the times during her childhood where she and her father would play in the garden all day. Her mind often seldom wondered where he was now or if he was alive. She was hoping she could see him soon as she missed him dearly. But she knew she had to wait since Charles had informed her that her father was dealing with something rather important.

After watering her plants, she found herself floating above the ground before sitting on the balcony's railings. She didn't know what floor she was on but was sure she was high enough to see almost everything in the city below her. She was not scared since she could just float back or teleport somewhere in case she fell.

Eyes trailing down, she watched the busy city intently below. Her thoughts were all over the place even though the barrier surrounding her mind was still up. Her mind went back to the final assessment with Fury at SHIELD headquarters. She could no longer remember much of Fury's tasks, but she could not forget her last encounter with the man.

(Flashback)

"One last question," Fury told her. Ace was sweating and just nodded, ready to comply with whatever the director required her to do. She underwent many assessments, not only physical but mental examinations as well. As much as she did not like it, she went into a simulation to be tortured for information. They needed to make sure she would not break and divulge any info if she will ever be part of the world's mightiest heroes. She was already used to the torture and just numbed it, helping her pass that assessment.

"Bring it on," she replied to Fury.

"Are you ready to be part of the Avengers?"

Ace's brows furrowed at the question. Was this it? Or is Fury just messing with her? She was not allowed to read Fury's mind as much as she was tempted to, but she could see the seriousness on his face, which made her think carefully of her answer.

It was a simple yes or no. The answer was supposed to be an obvious yes, but Ace's mind decided to take another route that could have possibly risked her chance in joining the team.

"No," she simply answered as she leaned back on the chair, bringing her arms in front of her chest, crossing her legs. Fury raised a brow, not expecting the answer. Usually, the few ones who trained in hopes of getting a shot at joining the Avengers answered with an immediate yes. He was intrigued why Ace said otherwise.

"Why? If no, then why go all the trouble of training?"

Ace uncrossed her legs and sat up properly, looking at Fury eye to eye. "Director, do you remember what you told me when our first heart-to-heart talk happened?"

Fury was confused at first, wondering the correlation of what she was saying to the question he asked.

"If I may?" Ace gestured her mind, asking permission to use her telepathy. Fury was hesitant but decided to nod since it seemed that she already had an answer.

Ace immediately brought the memory to the front of Fury's mind.

"You're strange, seeing as you allowed me, an ex-Mirage assassin, to train and have a chance in joining the Avengers,"  Ace commented as she sat face to face with Fury.

"We all had a fair share of misdeeds. It's up to you if you want redemption or not,"  Fury shrugged.

"Is that all, director?"

"Yes, you may go,"  Fury answered.

Ace stood up and got to the door, with her hand already on the doorknob when Fury spoke again.

"I am looking forward to what you can do. You would be a great addition to the team that keeps Earth safe should you pass. Your capabilities are far useful in keeping Earth safe."

"May I ask why you showed that to me?" Fury asked once Ace got out of his mind.

Ace simply smiled. "I will be part of the team that keeps Earth safe. If the Avengers are that kind of team that protects Earth, then yes, I will be part of them. If they fuck up, I won't partake in whatever they do but will continue protecting the civilians," she explained. "If it makes you less wary, I will still work for SHIELD if something ever happens. You don't have to worry about me going bad."

(End of flashback)

Ace was brought out from the depth of her thoughts when she sensed someone entering the balcony. She turned her head and saw that it was only Peter.

"Hey, Peter," she greeted. "How may I help you?"

"Oh. I just thought I could sling out of the balcony here. Didn't even know you were here. Umm, I could leave if you want. You know I could just find another balcony to jump off—"

Ace grinned at the young boy's rambling and motioned him that it was safe to go near her. "I don't mind your company. Besides, I think I owe you an apology that is two months late. I hope I didn't hurt you the first time we met," she said.

"Don't worry about that, Ms. Enchantress—Ms. Howlett—I'm sorry. I heard FRIDAY call you that—" Peter continued rambling, which just amused Ace.

"You can just call me Ace or Aesira, you know."

"Okay, Ms. Aesira."

"Peter, you can drop the formalities."

"Sorry, Ms. Ace—shoot! I mean, uh."

Ace could no longer contain her laugh. Peter's rambling and mannerisms entertained her. She liked the presence of this young superhero, being reminded of her childhood. Still sitting on the railing, Ace looked down below the city before turning her attention to Peter.

"Care to show me around the city, Parker?" she asked. "I'm bored as hell in this tower, and I feel like roaming the streets."

Ace noticed Peter's eyes light up, clearly excited.

"Holy shit. I'm going to spend time with an official Avenger!"

The woman smiled at Peter's thought but never said anything. She didn't want him to know that she accidentally heard his thoughts. Out of all the people in this tower, she had difficulty blocking out Peter's thoughts from her mind. This boy rambles in his brain as much as he does in real life.

"Are you hungry? We could drop by a nearby cafe if you'd like, Ms. Ace," Peter suggested.

"Well, shall we get going, Spiderman?" she said as she maneuvered her body, so she was now standing on the railing.

"I'm not sure I should—we might attract too much attention if I was also in my Spiderman suit. And it won't help because you're quite popular already—"

"Okay, okay. How about this. Jump off this building with me?" When she saw a flash of uneasiness on Peter's face, she added, "Trust me."

Peter hesitated for a second before climbing beside her on the rail. Ace held Peter by the wrist, and with that, she leaned forward, causing her to fall and tugging Peter with him. Peter was not really scared since he was used to this. What he wasn't used to was the portal opening below them. The both of them fell through, and they found themselves in Central Park in a split second.

"That felt like a roller coaster ride!" Peter exclaimed excitedly as he faced Ace. "We should do that again sometime!"

Ace just chuckled before telling the boy to lead her to wherever he wanted to go.

——

"How long are we supposed to stay here?" Loki muttered under his breath.

Although astonished at his brother's question, a slightly smug smile grace Thor's lips. "I thought you loved Asgard, brother? Have you grown fond of Midgard already?" 

At this point, Loki just decided it was better to ignore Thor. He was not in the mood for teasing. He thought it would be better to just not say anything. Loki promised their Mother, Frigga, that he would do his best to not stab Thor anymore. He didn't want to break that promise to her. Thor was indeed testing his patience. The oaf was getting on his nerves and kept insisting and rambling nonsense about how he has already grown fond of Midgard.

He was not fond of Midgard nor staying in the said realm, per se. Maybe he was fond of a certain Midgardian that lived in Midgard. But of course, he wouldn't say that out loud, or else Thor would continue teasing him, and he was already feeling a bit stabby.

Oh, if only his least hated Midgardian were accompanying him right now here on Asgard, he probably might feel better. He would even gladly tour her around the castle, especially in the royal library, seeing how both of them shared the same love for books.

"Who shares your love for books, my son?"

Loki almost jumped in surprise when his mother appeared, walking with him side by side in the palace halls. He didn't even notice that Thor already left him, probably to spar with either Sif or one of the Warriors Three. He was too engrossed thinking of his least hated Midgardian that he didn't even manage to block his mother out from reading his thoughts.

"Nobody, mother," Loki answered and attempted to shift the subject. "What brings you here in the halls? I thought you were with Odin."

"I was, but I heard some thoughts in the air," Frigga answered as she glanced at her son. "When I figured those thoughts were yours, I found it unusual as you always had blocked your thoughts out from everyone, including me."

Loki remained quiet. He was thinking of a way to change the discussion, but this was Frigga. She sensed and knew of things, and it was difficult to hide something from her. He knew his mother won't let it go, so he just sighed in defeat.

"You probably already heard what I was thinking. Why bother asking?" Loki answered.

"I wanted to hear it from you. I sense you have a lot of stories from Midgard to share?" Frigga smiled as she leads her son to sit on one of the benches in the garden. "Now, I will ask again. Who shares your love for books, my son?"

"A Midgardian I met, Mother," Loki sighed defeatedly as he began telling his mother about a particular woman he grew fond of. "She's not your typical Midgardian, though."

"And does this Midgardian have a name?"

"Her name," Loki paused as he looked at his mother, who had a soft smile, clearly eager to listen to his stories. "Her name is Aesira. Although she prefers to be called Ace. She is also part of Thor's friends' team. She is human, but she is not your typical Midgardian," Loki found himself slowly getting lost in telling his mother all about Ace.

"She's quite peculiar, a mortal with a prolonged lifespan and possesses a great number of powers. She came from another Earth in another dimension, and according to her, she is a mutant."

Frigga smiled as she watched her son continue in telling her stories about a lady named Aesira. He might not have noticed it, but Loki was already telling his mother so much about his least hated Midgardian. Frigga could sense the fondness in her son's voice as he continued. It has been a while since she saw Loki so carefree in talking about someone else, as well as showing emotions. And whoever Aesira was, Frigga took note in her mind to thank her for slowly bringing her son out of the shell that he has trapped himself in.

"You should see her powers, mother. She can also cast illusions like me. But the power of hers I like the most is her telepathy. We can communicate in our minds without others knowing and have a private conversation without others listening. You should meet her someday. She gives the warmest embraces, and I am certain that you will enjoy it as much as I—"

Loki stopped. He noticed the wide grin on Frigga's face. That's when he realized that he already got lost in talking about Ace. He even accidentally told his mother how he enjoyed being enveloped in Ace's embrace. At that thought, his ears started turning into a light shade of pink.

"Continue, my son. Why did you stop?" Frigga asked. "I enjoy hearing you talking about this Midgardian named Aesira."

"That's all, Mother. I—I should stop there," Loki muttered under his breath as he tried to steady the fast beating of his heart.

Frigga lifted her arm, letting her hand gently hold Loki's cheek, to which the God just leaned into his mother's warm palm.

"I can see that she makes you quite happy. You enjoy your stay on Midgard because of her. That is why you want to go back already, am I correct?" she asked knowingly. "You're developing feelings for her, my son."

"I'm not," Loki immediately corrected as he shied away from Frigga's hand, his head turning in the opposite direction.

"Oh, Loki. Why are you restraining yourself from feeling such emotions?"

"I... I'm not allowed to feel such things, especially happiness."

Frigga smiled. "So you admit that she makes you happy."

"That's not—" Loki just huffed and figured he won't just say anything at all.

"You are allowed to feel anything you want, Loki. Especially happiness. You are deserving of it, so do not restrict yourself from feeling so," Frigga said gently. "You're always so perceptive of everyone but yourself."

Loki exhaled deeply, thinking about his mother's words.

"I miss seeing you casting spells, dear," Frigga said, which made Loki look back at her. "Why don't you show me your illusions? Perhaps you can begin with showing me your lady's appearance?"

"She's not my—" Loki stopped and just shook his head before carrying on with his mother's wish.

Unbeknownst to him, Frigga noticed a smile of adoration on her son's face as he observed the illusion of his lady that he cast.

——

"So this is your school? Why are there students? Isn't it a Saturday?" Ace looked at Peter as they stood in front of a building.

"Yup," Peter answered. "Only a few are here. The ones here are part of a club and are probably having a club meeting."

"Do you have a club to attend to?"

"Nope. But I do have something to pick up from my locker. Do you want to walk around first?"

"I'd like that. And if you need me, just call me in your mind. I'll hear you, okay?"

Peter nodded as he entered the building.

Ace was left outside and figured she would just wait there for Peter. She did not want to get lost, plus, she wanted to be here when Peter comes back so the young lad won't have to look for her anymore.

Peter didn't take long, much to her surprise. But she was skeptical of him when he arrived beside her and insisting to just go somewhere else. He looked irritated despite the smile he gave her. She was tempted to read his thoughts but decided against them in the end. She didn't want to upset him if he discovered her intrusion.

"Do you want to meet Aunt May?" Peter asked Ace as they got ice cream from a nearby ice cream parlour.

"Sure. Why not? I'd love to meet the woman who managed to raise such a handsome young gentleman as yourself," Ace complimented the young man with a smile.

Peter just blushed because of what she said as he continued to ramble a few thank yous for finding him handsome and a gentleman.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the apartment. As soon as May opened the door, she was surprised to see Peter accompanying the newest Avenger. May knew who Ace was because of the news, as well as from Peter's stories. She knew how kind this woman was towards her nephew ever since they meet—excluding their first-ever encounter, of course.

"It's an honour to have you here, Enchantress," May started before turning to Peter. "You might wanna warn—"

Before May could even finish her sentence, a loud thud could be heard from behind her. May looked back as both Peter and Ace looked over her shoulder to see what made the noise.

Standing a few inches behind May was none other than Peter's best friend, Ned. He came to visit, but since Peter was still out, he just opted to wait. Clearly not expecting his best friend to bring one of the Avengers to the apartment.

"You're the Enchantress!" Ned exclaimed as he pointed at Ace. "I'm such a big fan! Ever since Stark introduced you to the world, I began collecting your merch along with the others."

"Ned!" Peter tried calming down his friend. May chuckled before leaving the two teenagers in Ace's care.

"Can I have an autograph?" Ned asked despite Peter's protests. The trio found themselves sitting on the sofa as they chatted away.

Ace laughed and appreciated Ned's fondness for her. Looks like she was already growing quite a fanbase of her own on this Earth.

"Sure. Ned, right?" she asked and almost covered her ears when Ned half-squealed. "Where do you want me to sign?"

Peter facepalmed as he watched his friend pick up the backpack that he dropped out of surprise. He unzipped it and reached into it, then pulling out a tumbler. An Enchantress-designed Tumblr. There was a cartoon version of her on the tumbler.

"Can you sign here? I'm sorry. I think I'm annoying you already—"

"You think?"

"Hush now, Peter," Ace patted Peter on his shoulder, indicating that it was okay before getting the tumbler from Ned's hands. She carefully signed her signature on the tumbler. Once she was done, she gave it back to Ned.

"Is that okay?" she asked, making sure she did the autograph part correctly since she was not used to doing it so often. Who can blame her, though? She spent decades working for Mirage, so it's understandable when she could not understand some things.

"It's more than okay! Flash is gonna flip when he sees this!" Ned exclaimed, only to be shushed by Peter, having a hand cover his mouth.

"Who's Flash?" Ace asked.

"Nobody! He's nobody!" Peter answered in a high-pitched voice.

"He bullies Peter at school," Ned informed her.

"Ned!"

"Why does he bully Peter?" Ace asked Ned first as she knitted her brows before turning to Peter. "And why do you let this Flash boy bully you? You have super strength. Why not use it on him?"

"First of all," Peter said before anyone could say anything, then pointed at Ace. "Ms. Ace, with all due respect, you need parenting 101." Ace tilted her head in confusion. "Second of all, I just don't want to get suspended for hurting him or something."

"I'll get back to you with the definition of parenting 101," Ace told him.

"Will you be at the tower on Monday?" Ned asked her.

Ace nodded. "Yeah. Why? We don't have a mission as far as I am aware, so we will be just around the tower that day."

"Ned," Peter said warningly, but Ned ignored him.

"Our class will be touring the tower on Monday," Ned informed her.

"By class, is that Flash included?" Ace asked skeptically, ideas starting to form in her mind.

"Yeah. He will," Ned answered.

"Ms. Ace, whatever you are thinking, don't do it," Peter pleaded.

"So if I'm thinking of not killing him, by your plea, I should kill him?" she teased.

Peter's eyes widened, and he profusely shook his head. "I give up," he said, flailing his arms up as he allowed himself to fall back on the sofa. "Just—Just don't embarrass me on Monday, or I'm done for," he finished.

Ace just gave Peter a knowing smile.

"Don't worry, Peter. Embarrassing you is the last thing on my list," she said before turning to Ned and giving him a knowing wink.

"Make sure to come to visit soon, even if you don't have duties," Frigga reminded her sons for the nth time that day.

The three of them were at the Bifrost, and Frigga was just off to see her sons return to Midgard.

"Behave and take care of your brother, okay?" Frigga instructed as she hugged Thor before turning to Loki.

"Take care of her, okay? I see that she is good for you," Frigga told Loki.

"Oh! Mother knows who Lady Aesira is?" Thor boomed. "You've been telling mother stories about your lady?"

Loki snapped back at him as he let go of his mother's hug. "She's not my lady."

"But you want her to be?"

Frigga just chuckled at the two. Despite being more than a thousand years old already, Thor and Loki still had the habit of bickering like children, but Frigga didn't mind. She knew it was some weird type of bonding her sons had, so she no longer questioned it.

Frigga pulled Loki back and made him face her. "I'm serious, Loki. Remember what I told you. You deserve happiness too, my son."

Loki just sighed. "I will remember, mother."

"Good. Now be on your way, and don't make Lady Aesira wait."

A couple more goodbyes were exchanged before Thor and Loki finally went on the Bifrost to travel back to Earth. Frigga, on the other hand, neared Heimdall.

"Watch them for me, including Loki's lady," Frigga instructed.

"Will do, your highness," Heimdall replied.

——

"For someone who hates Midgard, you sure are eager to get back, brother," Thor teased as soon as they landed on the roof of the Avengers Tower.

"Have you ever heard of character development?" Loki sneered as he marched off the roof in an attempt to get away from Thor's teasing.

"What do you mean by that?" Thor asked as he quickly followed behind Loki, who just entered the elevator.

Much to Loki's dismay, Thor got in as well and still questioned him.

"What did you mean? With what you said?" Thor still asked as he kept nudging Loki by the shoulder.

Loki tried to block out Thor's voice from his ears. The god of thunder was really testing his patience even back on Asgard with his never-ending teasing. Might as well name Thor the god of annoyance since he excelled in annoying him.

It didn't take long when the elevator soon arrived on the floor where Loki's room was at. Before he exited the elevator, he put an arm out in front of Thor to stop him if ever he had plans in annoying him more by going to his room.

"Don't even think of anything. I want to rest," Loki grumbled. "So if I were you, I'd run along now to somewhere because I do not want to be disturbed."

"Not even by your lady?" Thor said smugly as he pointed at something outside the elevator.

From where they were, they had a perfect view of the living room on that floor. Loki's gaze immediately followed where Thor was pointing to. There, asleep on the couch, he saw his least hated Midgardian.

"I heard from Heimdall that she was asleep on the couch during the days we were gone," Thor said as he pushed Loki out the elevator. "If I am correct, she is probably waiting for your return, brother."

And with that, the elevator doors closed.

Loki carefully walked towards Ace, who was snuggled up on the couch. The air conditioner in the room was low, which explains why the woman was wrapped up in several layers of blankets. Upon reaching her, Loki found himself kneeling beside the couch and sitting on the floor as his eyes scanned the asleep figure. He won't deny that he sorely missed the presence of Ace and how he was glad to finally be home.

Huh.

Home. It wasn't a word he would usually use to describe Midgard, but he found himself thinking of it anyway.

There were a few strands of hair that fell on Ace's face, so Loki found himself carefully brushing her hair to the side, completely getting a clearer view of her face. She looked so peaceful sleeping there. Loki himself was tired. Aside from the duties he had on Asgard, traveling via Bifrost was also tiresome at some point. He noticed Ace's gloved hand sticking out of the blanket, and he gave in to his urge and held it. He found himself sighing contentedly as he squeezed her hand, allowing his head to fall on his other arm that rested on the couch, falling fast asleep.

Just minutes after the god fell asleep, Natasha arrived on the floor and exited the elevator.

"Hey, Ace—" Nat stopped in her tracks when she saw the scene in front of her.

Her brows furrowed in confusion, but when she walked nearer to the couch, her expression changed into a delighted one. She secretly got her phone out of her pocket and snapped a quick picture of the sorcerer and sorceress all cozy on the couch.

Nat contemplated waking Loki since he was sitting on the floor but figured just to let them be. She saw how tired Loki looked, and it was evident that Ace was not getting enough sleep. Even if the woman didn't tell her, she knew Ace was uneasy and waiting for Loki's return. Nat wasn't jealous to see how close the god and her friend were becoming as days pass.

In fact, she was pushing the two of them together more. She thought that both of them would do good for each other.

Not wanting to wake them up, she left the room without making any noise.

——

An hour or two had already passed when Ace stirred. She wanted to stretch out her body but felt something wrapped around her hand, preventing her from doing so. Ace slowly squinted, waking herself up. The sleepiness she was still feeling from waking up almost instantly vanished when Loki's sleeping face greeted her upon opening her eyes.

When has he come home? She wondered before noticing her and Loki's joined hands. Upon seeing it, she smiled and squeezed Loki's hand a bit. She found herself staring at Loki peacefully sleeping on the floor and found how uncomfortable this position was.

An idea struck, and she immediately but carefully teleported her and Loki in her room, lying on her bed. She gently fixed Loki's sleeping position, managing to let go of his hand without waking him. When she was contented with how Loki slept, she just sat down beside him with her back on the headboard, not too close but also not too far. She turned sideways to get a good look at his sleeping form.

She noticed how tired he looked. There were already bags forming under his eyes. How long was he and Thor on Asgard? She faintly remembered something about Thor mentioning the slight time difference between the two realms.

"Oh dear," she found herself muttering when she saw Loki frown and slightly flinch in his sleep. She figured he must be having a bad dream, but it was not as intense yet. Not wanting him to wake yet so he could get sleep, she inched a bit further near him and placed her gloved hand above his forehead.

She was not going to read his mind, but she can at least try and replace the memory he had with a memory of her own. This way, she won't see what he was dreaming, but instead just pushing that dream at the back of his mind and replacing it with a far more pleasant memory.

Her hand glowed purple as she did her magic, allowing the memory of her and Loki's slow dancing to linger in his dreams. The crease the god had on his brow now disappeared. A peaceful expression overtook his face as he slept. Ace kept her hand still above his forehead, allowing the memory to engrave itself first at the front of his mind so the horrible dream won't return any sooner.

Once she was finished, she couldn't contain herself and ran her fingers through his hair. She always wondered how soft it was and was not disappointed. Loki's hair was indeed smooth. What was she expecting? He is a prince, after all. Indeed, whatever he used on his hair was fit for a royal like himself.

As she was stroking his hair, Ace almost yelped when Loki's arm wrapped around her lower torso and pulling her closer to him. She was astonished. Not knowing what to do, she just let her hand rest on Loki's back while her other hand continued to stroke his hair.

She did not know how to get out of his tight embrace without waking him up, so she just sat there. She felt strange when her heart increased its pace. Something warm was also spreading in her body as she felt something flutter in her stomach. Ace considered going to Bruce and having her vitals checked because she was unsure if whatever she was feeling was normal.

She could almost feel the warmth spreading inside her reach her face when she felt Loki bury his face on her stomach. She contemplated if she should just wake the god, but he looked so peaceful sleeping like that. She sighed and just figured to come up with an explanation of their current position once he woke up. If he didn't believe her, she can just immediately show him her memories so he would believe her.

Ace won't be able to come up with an explanation anymore since a few seconds later, Loki slowly woke up. He knitted his brows when he saw the surroundings. He was sure he slept on the floor by the sofa, so why was he on a bed? He noticed he also had an arm wrapped around someone, so his eyes immediately shot up and saw that he was embracing none other than Ace.

"Hey, Loki,"  she greeted him with a smile, still stroking his hair.

Loki found the feel of her hands rather relaxing and almost fell back to sleep. But the realization came soon that he was hugging Ace. He sat up faster than Thor could even summon Mjolnir.

"I...How did I get here?" he asked her first.

"I teleported us to my room since I saw that you were uncomfortable back in the living room," she explained as Loki sat properly beside her, creating a bit of distance. "As for the position you witnessed upon waking up, you pulled me towards you. If you don't believe me, I can show you my memories."

Loki shook his head. "No need. I believe you," he whispered in a volume he knew she could still hear. "I must have thought you were my mother. Both of you feel..."

His voice trailed off.

Safe, he was about to say, but somehow the word got stuck at the tip of his tongue.

"How was Asgard?" Ace tried to divert the topic. "Are you hungry? It's already five in the afternoon, and we're having dinner in two hours, but if you want, I can cook something for you."

Loki looked up and saw Ace's caring gaze directed to him that he can't help smile. "I'd love that."

——

Loki was sitting on one of the chairs by the kitchen counter as he watched Ace prepare something for him. It was not much. Just a simple sandwich, but he didn't care much about what he'll eat. He just found himself admiring the woman as she worked her way through the kitchen cabinets in search of the ingredients she'll use to make the said sandwich.

"Before I almost forget," Ace started as she fried spam on the pan. "Peter's class will have a tour in the tower tomorrow."

"Spiderling's class? What of it?" Loki inquired as he sensed that the woman was surely planning something tomorrow that involved Peter's class.

Ace flicked her wrist and cast an illusion around them, an illusion that replayed her memory of her time in Peter's apartment when she had a talk with Ned.

Loki already somehow grasped the gist of what Ace planned for tomorrow during Peter's tour after watching the illusions disappear.

"I'm guessing you want to intimidate this Flash kid so he will stop bullying the Spiderling?" Loki asked, and he was right. Ace nodded as she started to carefully make the sandwich already.

"Yup. I don't want kids bullying Peter. He's a sweet kid, and I'll teach a lesson to whoever tries anything bad with him."

The corners of Loki's lips tugged up in a small smile. "You're clearly fond of the boy, aren't you?"

"Yes," Ace answered as she pushed the finished sandwich towards Loki. "I... didn't have any siblings. Not that I know of. I was alone when I was young, and seeing Peter... I just can't help feeling protective of him. He is already like a younger brother to me, or perhaps a son I never had, if I ever will have one."

Loki hummed in agreement as he took a bite of the sandwich. "I understand. Why don't we devise a plan later after I finish eating?"

"Deal," Ace answered with a grin.

"What plan?" Steve's head popped through the kitchen doors before entering. "What are you two planning?"

"Oh, nothing bad, Steve. Don't worry," Ace grinned mischievously.

Steve shook his head and sighed as he poured himself a glass of water. "I hope whatever you two have in mind won't destroy anything."

"Can't promise anything, Steveroo. After all," Ace hummed happily yet mischievously. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

"I hope I'm not present when whatever plan you two have takes place," Steve said as he walked towards the door.

Loki grinned knowingly at Ace, who returned his smile with a smirk.

"Don't worry, Rogers," he called out loud enough for Steve to hear. "Her mischief will be managed very well... by the god of mischief himself."

——

"Does anybody know what those two are up to?" Steve asked once he entered the living room where most of the Avengers—Tony, Bruce, and Nat—are.

"Who?" Bruce asked.

"Ace and Loki."

"What do you mean? What made you think they're up to something?" Nat asked.

"I walked into the kitchen and heard them talking about a plan of some sort," Steve answered. "Should we stop whatever it is?"

Tony waved his hand dismissively as he drank a glass of what seemed like Whiskey. "Let the children be. To be honest, I want to know what they're up to," Tony shared his thoughts. "Can't wait for whatever mischief they're planning."

"I don't know if that's a good thing that they are bonding or a bad thing since it involves some mischief," Nat muttered to herself.

"By the way, Peter's class will tour the tower tomorrow, and he asked me to tell you guys not to do anything to embarrass or expose him," Tony said.

"We don't have to do anything. That kid will surely be the one to embarrass or expose himself," Banner commented as he stood up, ready to leave the room. "If anything, we should be looking out for the kid."

"What time will the tour start?" Nat asked as she continued to sharpen the blades on the weapon that Ace gave her for her birthday.

"9 am."

"Guys."

Their attention was turned to Wanda, who just entered the room.

"What is it, Wanda?" Steve asked.

"Who is this Flash Thompson? Because I overheard Loki and Aesira talking something about him and Peter," Wanda said with a concerned look on her face.

Not knowing the name, Tony called for his A.I. "FRIDAY, can you search who this Flash Thompson is?"

"He is a student in Peter's class, sir. According to what Ms. Ace has told me, he is bullying Peter," the A.I. answered.

The team looked at each other. As if immediately understanding, what each other was thinking, they nodded. Now, they had an idea what Loki and Ace could possibly be planning, and much to their surprise, they aren't against it.

Little did each of them know that they were planning a separate way to intimidate Peter's bully, as well as help him impress his classmates and increase his morale.

Oh boy. Whoever Peter's bully is will surely get a taste of his own medicine, much worse even. I mean, let's be honest. The last thing you want to be is the Avenger's enemy.

Flash Thompson surely will get a surprise from the Avengers themselves, but unfortunately, not a pleasant one.

"Now remember to be on your best behaviour, everyone," the adviser of Peter's class reminded them.

They were on a bus ride and already near the Avengers Tower. Peter was significantly getting wary the nearer they got to the tower. His hands were on his lap, fiddling his fingers nervously.

"Miss, will the Avengers be there?" a classmate of his asked.

"I am not quite sure. Let's hope, but whether or not they'll be present, I still expect you all to behave," the teacher answered. "It was kind enough of Mr. Stark to allow us in the tower, so we wouldn't want to do something to upset him."

"Why don't we ask Peter if he knows if the Avengers are at the tower? After all, he did say he has an internship there," Flash shouted mockingly. "Oh, wait. That ain't true, I forgot."

"They'll be there," Peter mumbled loud enough for only Ned to hear.

His best friend scooted closer and whispered. "Why don't you just stand up to him, dude?"

Peter just sighed and shook his head. He leaned on the window and proceeded to insert his earphones in his ear, giving Ned the silent message that he didn't want to be disturbed. Peter just hoped nothing embarrassing would happen at the tower that would risk his superhero identity getting leaked. Although he remembered Ace promising him to mask all his Spiderman traces in the building. He trusted her, which eased him a bit. But the uneasiness came back to him when the tower came into view.

"I hope the Enchantress is here," Peter heard Flash say in a flirty manner.

"You do know she's decades older than you." Peter didn't mean to say that out loud. He only meant to say it in his mind. But it was too late now since Flash was giving him the stink eye.

"Shut it, Parker. Nobody wants to hear anything from you," Flash said through gritted teeth. "Besides, older ladies are hot. Out of all people here, I will be the one who she'll most likely notice."

Flash wasn't entirely wrong. Ace would definitely notice him, just only for different reasons.

It did not take long when the whole class was cleared to enter the tower after inspection. Once they were gathered, Wanda walked in with Vision and headed towards the class. A few noticed her presence immediately and began whispering to each other. Peter looked at Wanda and was relieved to see that she made no gesture of recognition towards him. That was until he saw a playful smirk on her lips and the subtle wink she sent his way.

Peter didn't know if he should feel nervous or not at that action.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm Wanda, this is Vision," she introduced herself in such a gentle manner that every student in Peter's class immediately swooned. "Vision and I will show you around for the first few floors. After that, someone else will continue showing you around since Vision and I have somewhere else to be by that time. Now, come along, children."

Wanda was a complete natural with children—teenagers instead—as she led them to the different rooms in the tower, floor by floor. Vision mainly was quiet as he walked—more like floated—beside Wanda. The woman was the one who did most of the talking, answering the students' questions with genuine enthusiasm.

"This is one of the few training rooms in this tower. The others are a few floors up while one is in the basement," Wanda said as she pushed the doors to the training room open, allowing the teens to observe the different types of equipment scattered on the floor. "We have different training rooms, so we won't crowd one if we all decide to train together. Loki, Ace, and I usually train in this room given our similar abilities, and it's nearer to our respective rooms."

"Can we see your magic, Ms. Wanda?" a girl asked bravely.

Wanda smiled at that. "Of course, sweetie," she said and started moving her fingers, picking the girl up gently and allowing her to float in the air. The girl squealed in delight after Wanda set her down on the ground.

"We're doing party tricks now, are we, Wanda?"

The class swiftly turned their attention to the two figures who just entered the training room doors.

"I haven't been informed that we were party magicians now. Did you have any idea, darling?" Loki smirked playfully and glanced beside Ace as the woman nudged him by the shoulder and laughed.

The class was quiet. They weren't afraid of the two but clearly just awestruck. Loki and Ace have made quite a reputation of their own, and the class was simply fascinated. They've never seen beings like them radiate such power and confidence. They were far more different than Wanda, as Wanda held this humble and caring aura around her, where Loki and Ace had a vibe telling you that it wasn't a good idea to mess with them.

"Ah! Perfect timing, my dears. I was about to call you so you can take over the tour now," Wanda said as she neared the both, giving Loki a nod and Ace a hug. Wanda had a knowing smirk playing on her lips. Of course, she knew the two planned something, and as much as she wanted to stay to witness it, she had somewhere else to be.

"Come now, Vis," she called for the synthezoid before the two of them left the training room.

"Good afternoon, everyone. It's a pleasure to have you all here. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the newest addition to the Avengers. You can call me Enchantress. If any of you are curious of my age, just know that I'm over a hundred already," Ace said with a playful smile that managed to enchant everyone in the room before gesturing to Loki. "I'm certain you already know who he is—hey, stop poking me." Ace was cut off in whatever she was going to say because Loki poked her side. The god just smiled at her playfully before gesturing to continue.

"As I was saying, this is Loki, Prince of Asgard, the God of Mischief, also an Avenger."

She was just speaking, yet she managed to get every student under her spell already.

"Ms. Wanda told us she, Loki, and you train in this room," a student asked.

"Indeed we do, little one," Loki answered the question for Ace in such a gentle manner that he already had the girls immediately swoon over him.

"Can we get a glimpse of how you train?"

Ace just shook her head. "I'm afraid we can't. It would put you all at risk."

"Indeed," Loki seconded. "Nobody, even the other Avengers, dares to enter this room whenever we train, knowing how dangerous we could get when training."

The students were disappointed. Ace could see that on their faces, so she thought of an idea to cheer them up. "Why don't we just show you a bit of what we can do? Would that suffice?"

Cheers immediately erupted. Ace eyed Loki.

"Well, Mischief. Let's entertain some high schoolers, shall we?" she told him telepathically.

Loki smirked and answered. "With pleasure, Trouble."

Ace faced the class whose eyes were anticipating what the both of them would do. She raised her hand and snapped, causing multiple illusions of herself to surround the room. Oohs and ahhs could be heard as the teenagers were fascinated.

"Whoever can find the real me that's not an illusion can participate in the next trick we will show you," an illusion of Ace said. "Any volunteers?"

One by one, the students tried to guess which was the real her by throwing a ball as instructed. Many tried, many failed. She chuckled as she created a new illusion and shuffled her illusions. Her eyes scanned the room and pretended to catch sight of Peter. She knew he was here the moment the class entered the building, but she kept the act up of not recognizing him until now.

"Peter, my dear. I didn't see you there," an illusion of Ace said as she gave a grin to Parker, whose eyes were now wide. He didn't know whether he liked the tone of her voice or not as she said his name.

The class was equally surprised as well when Ace knew who Parker was, especially Flash Thompson. None of them believed Peter really had an internship at the tower, much less know the Avengers personally.

"Uh, h-hey?" Peter nervously replied.

Ace chuckled. "Come on. Try to find which one isn't an illusion," another illusion of her said.

"I expect you could recognize her, Parker. After all, she lets you watch her when she trains all by herself," Loki interjected, careful not to call him Spiderling.

With Loki saying this, Peter's classmates looked at him incredulously when the god divulged that Peter was not only an intern at the tower. He seemed to be also close to the ENCHANTRESS herself! Peter wanted to laugh at Flash, who now had a face of jealousy, confusion, and anger.

"Ned, push Peter to the front, will you?" Ace told Parker's best friend sweetly, causing the said best friend to fanboy internally before pushing Peter in the center, now surrounded by illusions. Loki handed him a ball and encouraged him.

Peter was nervous. He did indeed watch Ace train from time to time when she was all by herself. And during those times, she taught him how to spot her illusion. It was not easy to do, especially if you do not have magic, but she taught Peter how to spot her illusion.

Peter looked around carefully as everyone in the room patiently waited for him to throw the ball. He sifted through each illusion, his spider senses working already, aiding him along with the idea of remembering what Ace taught him.

There was a glimmer of purple every Ace had, except for one. The hint of purple the Ace he was now facing was fainter than the rest, and he figured this was the real one. Peter took a deep breath and hoped for the best as he threw the ball in her direction.

Ace smiled as she watched Peter throw the ball. Unlike before, the ball did not pass through her body as she was not an illusion. She swiftly caught it using her hand before nodding proudly at Peter.

"Good job, Peter!" she cheered as she went near the boy and ruffled his hair before facing the students. "For the next thing, we will show you, who wants to participate?"

Many students raised their hands, but one student caught her attention. Ace looked at Loki. Her eyes were twinkling with mischief. Loki nodded knowingly as he went beside her.

"You. What's your name, young man?" she asked, directing her attention to the boy she already knew about—Peter's bully—Flash Thompson.

Flash smirked proudly as he walked nearer to the duo plus Peter, who was in the middle of the training room. He was determined to make Ace like him better than Peter, not knowing that the woman already disliked him from the beginning.

"Flash Thompson, ma'am. I'm a big fan," he said proudly, although he was still nervous. I mean, who wouldn't be when you are standing face to face with the Loki and Enchantress in the flesh?

"For the next thing we will show you, it is somehow similar to our first game," Ace explained as she instructed the class to step back a bit. "Loki will create multiple illusions of Flash here. The rest of the class will have a chance to tell my darling Peter which Flash he will throw a ball at," Ace explained.

Loki started cloning Flash. Seconds later, multiple versions of the boy were around the room.

"Now for the twist and exciting part!" Ace said, eyes glowing with excitement. "As you all know, I can enhance abilities, right?" she asked, and the students nodded. "I will be enhancing Peter's strength in throwing the ball. We'll leave it to everyone to be terrified at the impact since you won't know which Flash is real."

Ace noted how the real Flash's eyes widened, and he started to regret volunteering. She hid her smirk before turning her attention back to the class.

"Of course, I know which one is the real Flash, so rest assured, no harm will come to him."

The teacher didn't know if she should interject, as she was a bit terrified with the playful yet mischievous aura that radiated from Ace and Loki but opted to just let them since they knew better of their powers than she did.

The class began pointing to several Flashes. Each time Peter threw the ball, it always smashed hard on the wall because of his super strength, plus being enhanced by Ace herself.

"That one," a student pointed to the Flash in the corner.

Flash's Adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he watched Peter getting ready to throw the ball at him. The real him. He looked at Ace, who seemed so calm at the situation. Didn't she say she knew which was the real Flash? Why wasn't she stopping Peter? For sure, she knew his classmate got the real Flash by now, right?

Flash screamed in terror as he watched the ball already thrown in his direction, closing his eyes and expecting the strong impact. A loud bang echoed through the room. Slowly, Flash's eyes fluttered opened to find himself surrounded by a force field, blocking the effect of the thrown ball.

"Thank you for participating, Peter," Ace told Parker with such gentleness as she patted his shoulder and ushering him back to Ned before facing Flash with a smile not so genuine. She lowered the force field and gestured for the boy to come near her.

"Thank you for participating, Flash," she said sweetly before lowering her mouth next to his ear and whispered. "Be nice to Peter for me, will you?"

Ace stood up straight, still smiling at the lad, who was now sweating nervously. Flash nodded profusely before he was ushered back to the class.

"I heard a loud bang. Everybody okay in here?"

Oh, things were getting better. The class was starstruck when TONY FREAKING STARK entered the room! Who wouldn't gasp at the sight of the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist himself?

Ace chuckled. She heard the man's thoughts and reason for visiting this floor, which he rarely did, by the way, and it involved Peter. "Everything's fine, tin man. We were just showing the class our powers," Ace answered.

"I have a name, you know? Quite a handsome name at that," he said, rolling his eyes before looking at the class, specifically at Peter. "Anyway, kid, since you're here, might as well ask if you have classes after this?"

Ned was internally fanboying at the events taking place. Tony didn't say a name, but the class immediately knew who he was talking to. Who else other than Peter Parker?

"U-Um, none, Mr. Stark," Peter answered.

"Great. Stay behind after this. I need your intern help with what I'm building. Got that?" Tony instructed.

"Can Ned stay behind as well? I promised the other day when I was at May's that I was gonna give him something today when they toured the tower," Ace asked as she winked at Ned. She didn't want any of the two to be bullied, so she made sure to increase their morale. Ned, on the other hand, was near to fainting already.

"Parker's best friend? Sure. Anyway, gotta go. Gotta do some Iron Man shit," he said before looking at Peter once again. "Say hi to May for me, will 'ya?"

And with that, he left the room and the class in awe.

——

The whole day went with the class touring the tower. They had a quick lunch there as well, as it was part of the tour. After lunch, Loki and Ace continued to escort them to every place in the tower that they were allowed to go. Tony had given them lectures along with Bruce about something science-y. Natasha demonstrated how to hold different types of weapons, such as guns and daggers.

Steve and Bucky showed them what to do in combat. Clint taught them the basics of archery. The class wanted to see Spiderman, but sadly, the superhero wasn't "present," as Ace told them he was currently sent on a mission before giving Peter a subtle wink. On the other hand, Loki and Thor worked exceptionally well together as they explained the history of Asgard and demonstrated their powers—mostly Thor showing off Mjolnir and challenging the students since Loki already showed his powers earlier.

Also, Peter's classmates started being careful around him. Who wouldn't? Every time they met an Avenger in the tower, they knew Peter and treated him kindly as if they were friends. Although Bucky and Sam teased the boy more. But the rest treated him with such care.

Ace was the one who guided them all throughout since she volunteered to be their guide. Also, she wasn't busy. This also meant Loki sticking close to her side all day. The students seemed to understand that the two comes in pairs by now, seeing how close they are and how easily they know each other.

They even caught Loki looking so softly and admiringly at Ace whether she was speaking to him, the class, or was even just eating. It wouldn't be much of a deal if it were someone else, but this is Loki they were talking about. From what they know, Loki showed no gentleness to anyone for the past years he's lived on Earth—except, of course, that changed when the woman joined the team.

Little did Ace and Loki know that their ship's fan club was already getting a lot of following, especially when a picture of them shopping together at the supermarket quickly spread through social media. They had no idea, as both of them were not fond of using a phone despite owning one. They had official accounts, but it was made and handled by Natasha, Wanda, and Thor. The public knew who dealt with the accounts but couldn't help feel overwhelmed whenever one of the three posted a photo of Loki and Ace. Whether it be about them training, smiling at each other, or simply sitting next to each other.

It was safe to assume that the founders of the LokiSira ship were none other than the trio—Nat, Wanda, and Thor.

"Don't worry, ma'am. I'll make sure Peter and Ned get home safe," Ace reassured their adviser as they prepared to leave since the tour was finished. "Ned has already informed his parents, while I already sent a message to May."

"Okay. Thank you again for today, Enchantress," the teacher said as she boarded the bus.

"Today was awesome!" Ned exclaimed as he followed Ace back to the building. "You should've seen Flash's face! He won't bother us now for sure."

"I'm glad to hear that," Ace smiled as the boys boarded the elevator along with her and Loki. They were heading to their floor because she promised to make them snacks, as they were all hungry after a tiring day of touring.

"How was that for the 'not embarrassing you' part, Spiderling?" Loki asked.

Peter scratched his nape as he fidgeted. "It was, um... I," he stuttered before sighing. "Thank you, Mr. Loki, Ms. Ace."

"You don't need to thank us, Peter. We wanted to stop that boy from trying to play any tricks on you from now on," Ace rubbed his back.

"If it eases your feelings, I think nobody would even try on tricks on Parker from now on," Loki replied. "They should know better. Mess with him equals messing with us."

It didn't take long for them to arrive at their floor. As soon as they exited the elevator, Ned's phone sounded. He got it out of his bag and read the message he just received. His expression saddened.

"I have to leave. My parents are just around the corner," he said sadly.

"Don't worry. There is always a next time. You're always welcome here," Ace told him. She remembered the thing she was going to give Ned, so it appeared on her hand with a flick of a finger.

"Here. I crafted this for you, seeing how fascinated you were with my weapons. It's enchanted, by the way. Come back next time, so I can teach you more about it."

Ned's eyes widened, and he hugged Ace. Usually, the woman would just refuse the intimate gesture from people she wasn't really close to. But she adored Ned, so it no longer bothered her, and she returned his hug. She looked at Loki.

"Stay with the Spiderling. I'll escort Leeds until he gets picked up," Loki told her.

Ace smiled and nodded as she let go of Ned and bid him goodbye.

"Come on, Peter. You can watch me make snacks, or you can wait in the living room here," she told the boy.

"I'll just wait here. I don't want to distract you."

"You're no distraction, but if you wish. Just wait for me here, okay?"

And with that, Ace went to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and examined her ingredients before settling to make a simple snack—corn dogs and cheese sticks. She didn't want to make anything heavy as they would be having supper in a few hours.

She began preparing the ingredients, and by the time she was almost finished cooking, she figured Loki had returned since she could hear Peter and him talking about something. She left the stove for a while before taking a peek at the living room.

She saw how Peter was no longer nervous around Loki. He was, in fact, rambling and explaining to him about every science-y fact that he discovered while studying and working as an intern at the tower. On the other hand, Loki could not hide the amusement in his face as he listened intently to Peter. A faint smile appeared on Ace's lips before going back to the kitchen.

She placed the corn dogs and cheese sticks on two separate dishes and carried them to the living room with three glasses and a pitcher of water floating behind her.

"Sorry to interrupt your moment, but here are the snacks," she said as she placed the dishes on the living room table.

"Oh, you're no interruption, Ms. Ace," Peter said as he took a corn dog and ate it happily.

Ace sat beside Loki while Peter sat on the couch opposite them. They both had a happy smile on their face as Peter ate and continued to tell them all sorts of things like homework, his superhero activity until he accidentally mentioned something about the girl he likes.

"Oh, do tell us more, Parker," Ace said teasingly, coaxing him to spill. "What is she like?"

Peter gave up as he swallowed the cheese stick he was eating. "She's... different. She seems to not care about anything in the world unless it concerns her."

Peter continued to describe the girl vaguely, careful in not dropping her name. Ace and Loki didn't bother reading Peter's mind, as they both knew the young man wouldn't appreciate the gesture. Besides, they were both content in watching Peter tell them everything about a certain girl with such adoration and enthusiasm in his eyes.

"She's basically the most amazing person ever! But," Peter sighed. "She... doesn't like me."

Ace frowned. "How do you know? Did you tell her? Did she tell you?"

"No. I just... it's so obvious. She's not interested. I mean, she already knows I'm Spiderman—which she accidentally discovered, by the way, although I'm quite not sure how she did—anyway, the point is. If Spiderman doesn't impress her, how will Peter Parker do?"

"Oh, Peter dear," Ace said as she took Peter's free hand in hers, caressing it ever so gently. "Women are difficult creatures. Believe me, as I am one myself."

Ace heard Loki laugh softly at this, so she just elbowed him lightly before continuing.

"How would you know she doesn't like you if you don't make your feelings known to her? You can't just assume everything just because she acts uninterested in you, dear," she explained. "Some—or maybe more than some—are just as terrified as you. Some women are bold enough to act on their feelings and make them known to you. In contrast, others prefer to just hide it in fear of rejection," she lectured, not noticing the way Loki started looking at her so thoughtfully and in deep thought. "All I'm saying is, if you like her and you think she's worth it, then take the risk. Who knows, the outcome might be splendid. But you'll never know if you don't try. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Peter let the words that left Ace's lips to sink in, clearly in deep thought like the god they were with. The name of the girl he liked came to mind, then a smile formed on his lips.

"Thank you, Ms. Ace. I'll try," he said.

Ace was delighted and gave him a big grin before diverting the topic into a new one. She allowed Peter to tell them about his adventures once more when she noticed that Loki was only half paying attention to the boy.

"Something wrong, mischief?" she asked via her mind, not hinting anything to Peter that she was now only half-listening as well.

Loki snapped his head in her direction. He had not noticed how close they were already, his face only inches away from hers. Strands of her hair, as dark as the starless night sky, could be seen falling on her face that he had the urge to brush them off. He had the desire to run his hands through her hair, feeling the natural curls on the tips that reached just a few inches below her shoulders. Her eyes scrutinized his expression, clearly wondering why he was simply just looking at her and not answering her question.

He didn't notice. He was so focused on her face. His gaze traveling from her round, chocolate-coloured eyes down to her nose. He also noticed how her cheeks soon gained a bit of volume, which was a good sign since her face was relatively thinner the first time they met. Staying at the tower and becoming an Avenger did her good. It seemed to improve her well-being and health.

Loki noticed how Ace parted her lips in an attempt to say something, but the words were lost in her throat, the same way she got lost in his eyes.

"Umm, you two look like an old married couple and believe me even I don't know what that looks like since I don't have parents, but the both of you look like you're about to kiss," Peter said, pulling them out of the trance they were trapped in. "Tell me if you're gonna kiss so I can uh, leave and give you some, uh... privacy?"

"Peter!" Ace exclaimed. She felt a warm blush creep on her neck, but she tried to appear calm. In contrast, Loki just found himself leaning his head back on the couch as he brought his arm over his face in an attempt to cover the redness of his face.

——

Completely unaware of the red light blinking on the CCTV, the trio—Loki, Ace, and Peter—did not know they already had an audience.

"The kid's right, though. Those two act like a married couple. You sure they're not together?" Tony commented as he watched through the security cameras.

The others that were with him were Nat, Wanda, and Thor.

"Not yet, but I hope they do get together," Wanda said dreamily as she continued to watch the screen. "Peter doesn't have parents. I think the three look so good together like a family."

"Indeed. My brother seems happier than ever," Thor smiled.

The four of them just continued to watch through the CCTV, not caring how long they had been there already as they found the trio rather entertaining.

Who knew that spying and matchmaking were one of the Avenger's part-time jobs when they were not sent on deadly missions?

It was the day where Ace expected Charles to arrive any time soon.

She was nervous yet also excited to start training with the man. Her mind was elsewhere. She was distracted as she thought of what to do while training with Charles that she didn't notice her shoulder was already hit by a green blast of magic, causing her to stumble a bit.

"You're distracted," Loki told her. It was clearly not a question with the way how he said it. "Come down for a moment and tell me what's bothering you."

Ace sighed and descended from the air as she walked to sit beside Loki on a bench in the training room. The two of them usually trained with Wanda on this day of the week, but the woman had other plans and opted to not join them today for some reason. They didn't mind, though. Loki and Ace were already comfortable with each other's presence from the numerous training sessions they had.

"Care telling me what is troubling you?" Loki asked once more as he handed the woman a bottle of water.

Ace took it and popped the lid open. She took a few gulps before wiping her lips using the back of her gloved arm and screwing the cap back on the bottle. "I'm just... worried for later. Charles will come any time soon to start training me."

"Then shouldn't you be resting instead of training with me? You should save your energy." Loki half-meant what he said. He wanted to train with her. It's one of his favourite things to do with her, but he also wanted her to rest if she started training with Charles.

"But I promised that I won't stop training with you even if I start training with Charles," Ace said as she leaned back on the wall. "Besides, I like training with you."

Loki raised a brow, amused. "I do too. But you better rest. You know we can reschedule our training days so it won't clash with your training with your other-dimension friend."

"He has a name, you know?" Ace grinned as she leaned her head on Loki's shoulder. She found this position so comfortable. "I'm sorry. Do you mind?" she asked as she looked up to the god.

Loki's eyes traveled down to meet hers as he lightly shook his head. "Not at all."

This was one of the reasons why Ace enjoyed spending time with Loki. He was not like her other Avenger friends. Don't get her wrong, she had a different way of bonding with the others, but she found her moments with Loki rather relaxing. The two of them didn't need to constantly talk when in each other's presence. They understood each other even if the both of them were just quiet and not talking. They loved the comfortable silence they had from time to time.

The silence they had with each other was somewhat a break from the stress they faced whenever they faced trouble.

Sadly, their moment was cut short when a blue portal appeared in the middle of the training room, with Charles in a wheelchair emerging from the said portal.

As much as she found their current disposition comfortable and relaxing, she knew her training would start now. Loki sighed as the weight on his shoulder was gone. He looked at Ace one last time before he motioned to leave.

"I'll go now. If you need me, I'll be on our floor," he said before exiting the training room.

"You two seem closer than I expected," Charles commented as Ace went near him.

Ace just shrugged and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "We are, I guess? I don't know, but he did say, and I quote, his least hated Midgardian, so that must mean we're already close?"

Charles just chuckled at this and let the topic slide.

"Before we start, can you brief me what your powers are aside from telepathy?"

Ace nodded as she demonstrated her abilities one by one. She started by showing him first her force fields. She then proceeded to her illusions and healing capabilities and her ability to control one's body (which she discovered was connected to her telepathy, as Charles explained that she controls the person via their mind and not their actual body parts). Charles was also impressed when she enhanced his telepathic abilities, widening the scope, the reach of his powers.

"Is that all?" Charles asked, to which Ace shook her head.

"There are two more, which are closely connected," she explained. "I'm apathetic. I can numb whatever feeling I wish to numb, may it be happiness or pain."

"That's useful, yet also dangerous, if I might say. Especially if you numb pain, since it's the feeling to indicate if your body can still take it or not. Wouldn't want you passing out during a fight," Charles said. "And the other one?"

Ace was nervous as she took her gloves off. "This one, nobody knows about this yet. Even the Avengers," she said, walking nearer to Charles then taking hold of his hand. "You're feeling fascination and happiness."

"I see. Empathy," Charles said as he understood what her ability was. "Why doesn't anybody know about this yet?"

"I can't control it. That's why I wear gloves often and clothes that expose as little skin as possible. I don't want to invade other's privacy. I can't control this one like my telepathy."

"I assume that's one of the reasons why you also want me to help you train?" Ace nodded.

"I'll start with the basics," Charles began. "You have multiple powers, but from what I observed, they're not on the same level as the others. It seems that the power that you have full control of is enhancement and your force fields. Your illusions seem to be in control, but I think I'll leave your friend Loki to train you with that one. For the healing, we need to hone that power of yours to heal yourself or others in the shortest time possible. It's a useful ability whatever situation happens. We need to work on limiting your use of your apathetic powers while controlling your empathy lastly."

Ace nodded. "What should we do first?"

"What do you want to start with? Which are you most comfortable?"

"My empathic powers."

——

"Again," Charles instructed.

Ace groaned. To learn how to control her empathic ability, Charles required her to allow him into her mind. She did not protest, as she did understand that Charles needed to see if she was succeeding in controlling her powers or not.

Which she is failing miserably, by the way. Ace didn't know how long it had been ever since they started training. Charles tried giving her different instructions to see if it would somehow grab hold of her ability. Still, nothing seemed to work, or she just wasn't trying hard enough.

"Patience, little one. Just think of it like your apathetic ability. Instead of stopping your body from feeling your own emotions and feelings, focus on preventing my emotions from getting to you. Block out whatever I am feeling," Charles told her once more. "Try again."

Ace closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She slowly opened her eyes, her hands shaking as she reached out to take Charles' hands in her own. As soon as the skin on her hands touched his, a surge of emotions went through her body. She cursed herself as she tried to block out whatever Charles was feeling. She even tried visualizing in her head a barrier to stop herself from feeling.

"You're trying to activate your apathy instead of empathy. I sense it. You know it won't work that way, right? You can't numb feelings that aren't your own," Charles reminded her.

Ace let go of his hand and groaned in frustration. "I'm doing something wrong."

Charles was quiet for a moment, thinking of a way to help her control her empathy, when an idea struck in his mind.

"Do you mind if I dig deeper in your mind?" he asked. Ace looked at him questioningly, thinking why he had to, but settled to let him. She didn't mind. She knew she could trust Charles as he let her dig into his thoughts one time. She saw the different mutants he housed and trained. Mutants like her and him.

Ace didn't expect anything special as soon as Charles started searching her memories. What she didn't expect was the effect on her. Charles almost stopped digging in her memories after seeing the countless tortures she has been through. Still, he knew he had to do this to help her control her empathy. Trying a different approach, he tried helping her controlling her empathy by activating her apathy first.

He picked a memory, a painful one, and brought it to the front of Ace's mind.

It was the day when the first attempt to wipe her memory took place. Mirage didn't expect she would still remember anything after the first wipe, so they tortured her by whipping her back, slashing cuts on her body in an attempt to break her until she was too weak to resist. This kept on for days or weeks even, considering the second until sixth attempt of wiping her memory was still unsuccessful.

The subsequent torture was already too much for her. Mirage took extreme measures to fully break her. They were brutal. They kidnapped innocent people. One by one, they brought a person to her cell. They made her watch them as they put a gun to the person's head. Ace had to endure watching the person's fearful, tear-stained face before being shot by the head. Ace had to bear watching the life leave their eyes as the person fell on the floor. Dead.

This was what finally broke her.

On Mirage's seventh attempt, they were finally successful.

As the memories flooded in, Ace almost cried out of pain, as it felt like she was reliving the moments when she was tortured. She did not notice the tears that were already rolling down her cheeks.

"Use your apathy now. Focus on the process on how you activate it," she heard Charles say.

Hesitantly, she closed her eyes and allowed the numbness to take over her body. Tears still kept flowing down her cheeks, but she could no longer feel the pain. It was as if there was a barrier at the door of her emotions, stopping them from flowing freely.

"Open your eyes, little one," Charles instructed after a little while.

Ace did as she was told, and upon opening her eyes, she was surprised to see Charles holding her hand. He was smiling at her and nodded.

"You managed to block my emotions, little one," he told her happily. Indeed, he was right. Ace knew she already wasn't using her apathetic abilities as the remnants of the pain she felt coursed through her veins. Still, she couldn't feel anything from Charles despite her skin being in contact with his.

"Do you now understand what you need to do to block out other people's emotions?"

"Thank you, Charles," she said, smiling as she gave him a hug.

"I think that's enough for today. I think I tired you out too much, in an emotional and mental sense. I apologize for not telling you what I was going to do," Charles said apologetically.

Ace shook her head as she wiped her face clean from the tears. "No, no. I can manage. I have to thank you. I really had a hard time controlling this power. It relieves me that I don't have to be most worried in accidentally invading someone's privacy."

"I have to leave now, my dear. I believe we spent three hours already," he said. "Next time, we'll try training that empathy of yours to manipulate emotions like you told me. Sound good?"

Ace smiled as she gave him a hug. Moments later, after many goodbyes, Charles opened a portal and went back to his dimension.

After the man left, Ace decided to freshen up back in her room. She eyed her gloves as she smiled to herself before stuffing them in her pocket. It instead felt comforting that she was no longer wearing the dreary gloves. She never found them comfortable to wear every day, but she had to. And now, she was glad that she could finally get rid of them.

Upon teleporting to her room, she immediately took a refreshing bath which didn't take too long. She was too tired to spend a lot of time in the bathroom. As she exited the bathroom, Ace made her way to her closet. She opened the door and entered to look for comfortable clothes to wear.

As she opened a drawer, a black tank top immediately came to view. Usually, she would look past this and not choose to wear it as it exposes skin, thus having the risk of using her empathic abilities on someone. But today, she decided to wear it along with black leggings, which was pretty convenient as the weather was warmer today than yesterday.

After she finished dressing and drying her hair, she decided to go down and start cooking dinner for the Avengers. It became a habit of hers to cook for them already, seeing how much they clearly loved her dishes. Every after dinner or whenever she cooked, the plates were clean and had no leftovers.

"Hey, Ace," Nat greeted her when she caught a glimpse of Ace teleporting to the kitchen. "You look... different," Nat said as she examined her get up. She tilted her head as she thought about what was different about the woman today. It wasn't her hair, obviously. Her eyes scanned Ace, watching the woman go from shelf to shelf in the kitchen as she got out the cookware and ingredients she would be using.

That's when it clicked. "You're not wearing gloves today, huh?" Nat noticed immediately.

"Yup," Ace hummed happily as she began cutting vegetables.

"Why do you even wear gloves in the first place? Do you have a thing with germs?"

Ace giggled at Nat's question and just shook her head. "I have my reasons," she vaguely answered. "Can you inform the others that we'll be having dinner at 7:30? I think I'll take longer than usual in cooking."

"Will do. Can't wait to taste what delicious dish you prepare for us this time," Nat answered before heading out of the kitchen.

——

"I offer my assistance, my lady," Loki said teasingly upon entering the kitchen when he noticed Ace finish putting the food on different plates.

"Do what you want, mischief," Ace muttered as she looked for something.

Loki knew she didn't really need help since she could just make the dishes float or teleport to the dining table, but he wanted to help her out in any way he could. When he got nearer, his eyes immediately darted down her hands, noticing that she wasn't wearing her gloves. He became cautious of his actions directly, not wanting to touch her exposed skin as she might flinch away.

Loki diverted his attention on one of the dishes placed on the kitchen counter and was ready to pick it up when his eyes widened in surprise as he watched Ace grab him by the wrist using her bare hands. He looked up and caught her eyes, his gaze scanning her face to try to find any indication of discomfort from the skin contact.

"Not that one. I'm still going to put something in that yet," Ace said as she pulled Loki. "You can start bringing these, though."

Loki was bewildered. But he decided to not question her. She would have told him if she wasn't comfortable with the skin contact, so he concluded that she was okay with it. Although he was still curious as to why he no longer asked. He still had many questions about her that were unanswered, but he would let her take things slow and wait for the day she told him. He had much time to spare in his lifetime, and so did she.

Soon, the dining table was already set. The dishes were already finished and placed. The Avengers entered one by one and sat in their respective seats. Loki found himself in his usual seat beside Ace. He still wondered why she was suddenly okay with skin contact. She didn't even flinch when Tony patted her on her bare arm.

"Who needs a cook when Twinkle here is already an Avenger and a cook in one?" Tony said as he chomped down his food.

"You outdo yourself every single time, doll," Bucky complimented her.

Ace smiled at that. "Thank you, sergeant," she winked.

As usual, the table was nowhere near quiet as the Avengers chattered amongst themselves. Their topics were random, ranging from scientific discoveries to rousing discussions of patriotism to weapons and archery. Ace just listened to them contentedly as she watched them eat her dishes with gusto.

She was already done, but she did not leave the table yet. She was no longer interested in the discussion. Hence, she just took a quick look at Loki before allowing herself to scoot closer to him. Loki noticed this and did not mind. He felt the warmth radiating from her body and found himself inching his seat closer to her as well to the point where their arms were already brushing against one another.

Ace snapped her fingers, making a chocolate bar appear in her hand. Loki's eyes shined with delight as the woman handed it to him. Ace just watched Loki ate the chocolate, occasionally offering her a piece, to which she declined.

"More for me," Loki muttered as he popped one more chocolate in his mouth.

——

Gods didn't really need that much sleep, yet Loki was calmly sleeping in his bed.

That was until he felt a chill in the air.

"No! Please, no!"

"I do not work for anyone."

"Don't shoot!"

"I'm sorry."

Loki awoke at these loud thoughts. He would have brushed them off if it were anyone else, but he recognized the voice in his mind. It belonged to Ace. He immediately got up and tried to find where his shirt was when an ear-deafening scream of agony echoed in the tower. He rushed out of his room and found that the Avengers were also woken up, seeing them already enter Ace's room.

He pushed past his brother, who was blocking the way.

He could feel an immense amount of worry wash over him when he saw Ace continue to scream painfully in her sleep. Her body was frozen, and her muscles were tense. Whatever she was dreaming must be distressing and excruciating. Her nightmare caused her powers to fluctuate, as observed from the events happening in her room.

Illusions started appearing and disappearing. The furniture rattled in place. The team tried to get to her, but a force field was preventing them from doing so. They can't get past it as much as they tried.

The cogs in Loki's mind were turning as he pushed Steve aside. He attempted to feel the molecular properties of the force field, which might help them find a way to pass through it without causing damage. Ace's painful screams rang through his ears as he tried to concentrate.

He brought up a hand and attempted to place it on the force field when surprisingly, it passed through.

"Get to her, Loki!" Thor boomed when he saw that his brother's hand passed through the barrier that Ace put up in her sleep.

Loki did not understand how he could pass through while the others could not, but he pushed it aside as of the moment as he immediately rushed beside Ace. She was still struggling in her sleep as tears continued to stream down her face.

Loki sat beside her, then pulling her body to his, cradling her in his arms.

"Darling, wake up. I'm here. Wake up. You're safe," he cooed as he tried to wake her up from her nightmare. But he could still feel that she was shaking. She was still tense. He was worried already, so he resorted to using his powers on her. She might hate him for this, but he didn't care. He just wanted to calm her down.

"I'm here, darling. You're safe. Stop crying," he continued to whisper as he placed a finger on her forehead.

Despite her powers fluctuating, Loki still had a hard time passing through the barriers in Ace's mind. Several walls were blocking him from specific thoughts, but that was not what he needed. He saw the nightmare she was having, and he, too, almost felt it. She was dreaming about the tortures she went through. Not wanting to prolong her agony, Loki brought forth a memory he found in her mind. It was the same memory that Ace gave Loki when he had a bad dream, but he didn't know that. He thought it was a memory of his own.

He immediately replaced the nightmare with the memory of them in each other's embrace as they danced to the slow music during Natasha's party. He kept this up for a few more minutes as there were still remnants of the nightmare trying to return to the front of her mind.

The screams soon subsided, and only silent whimpers could be heard. She was still in pain but was now more controlled and calm. The illusions disappeared, and the furniture stopped rattling. Soon, her force field dispersed, allowing the rest of the team to go nearer.

"Was she having a nightmare?" Nat asked worriedly.

Loki nodded, not taking his eyes off of Ace, who was still sleeping. "She dreamt of the tortures she went through," Loki informed them. He did not spill any more details regarding the torture as it was too gruesome, and he didn't want the team to worry more.

"I'll stay with her for tonight. You can all retire to your chambers," Loki told the team.

They were hesitant initially but eventually agreed, seeing that Loki wouldn't leave Ace's side. They knew she was in good hands.

By the time the Avengers left, Ace was no longer shivering. Loki was now lying beside the woman. Her head was resting on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. Using his other hand, Loki gently wiped her face dry and brushed off the strands of her that stuck to her wet face. Her brows were no longer knitted, but he knew she still felt bothered.

Loki found himself slowly leaning forward, carefully planting his lips on her forehead as if to reassure her that she was safe.

"Loki?" 

Loki immediately leaned his head back as he looked at Ace, who began to rouse from her sleep.

"How are you feeling?" he whispered. "You had a nightmare. I have to apologize for looking in your mind, but I had to do it to bring up a pleasant memory. I didn't dig further."

Ace was too sleepy, so she just nodded. She felt so drained from the nightmare she had. It felt so real as if she was captured once again and tortured until she broke. She half-figured that her training earlier must have caused this.

"Go back to sleep now. You're safe. I won't leave you tonight," Loki murmured in her ear.

He placed his hand on her back as he pulled her closer. He drew small circles on the small of her back as he lulled her back to sleep. Ace found her eyes slowly fluttering shut as she went back to sleep. She felt so vulnerable right now. Loki knew that, so he ensured he wouldn't leave her until she woke or if her nightmare struck again.

As Ace lets go of the last bit of consciousness that kept her awake, she almost wonders if Loki said something or if it was already a dream.

"Goodnight, dearest. I won't leave."

It was already half-past eight in the morning, yet the lights were still off in Ace's room as per Loki's request to FRIDAY to not wake the girl and allow her to have as much rest as she needed.

Loki woke earlier than usual and didn't get much sleep as he wanted to keep watch in case anything happened. Fortunately, Ace was sleeping soundly after her nightmare and has not moved much from her sleep ever since she calmed down. She was still curled up in Loki's embrace, enjoying the warmth his body radiated.

A few minutes later, Loki noticed that Ace was already rousing from her slumber. Ace's eyes squinted as she opened them, her sight adjusting to the dimness of her room. She felt she was pressed against something warm, and it didn't take long for her to figure out that Loki had an arm wrapped around her. Her head was resting on his chest, as she felt it rise and fall as he breathed.

"Loki," she called out sleepily.

"How was your sleep?" Loki glanced down to get a good look at her face. "Do you want to eat breakfast?"

Ace nodded as she carefully sat down with Loki's help. Her throat felt dry, and her eyes were clearly swollen from crying. She didn't need a mirror to know that.

Loki summoned a glass of water in his hand and offered it to Ace. The woman accepted and drank all the contents in one go. She sighed, feeling better, as she handed the glass back to Loki, the dryness now leaving her throat.

"Come on. I'll try cooking something for you," Loki muttered as he held his hand out for the woman to help her get on her feet.

Ace inhaled deeply as she motioned to grab Loki's hand, and as she did, she felt something.

Worry. An immense amount of trepidation, an emotion she knew that did not belong to her but to Loki. Her eyes widened in horror before shutting them tightly immediately after. She quickly withdrew her hand from Loki's touch, which startled the god. He did not understand why she panicked, so he carefully went closer.

"Darling, what's wrong?" he tried to ask calmly as he reluctantly placed his hand on her bare arm.

Ace immediately felt Loki's emotions once more as his skin made contact with hers, and it terrified her. She tried remembering what she did yesterday to block out from feeling his feelings. But no matter how hard she tried, she failed to do so.

Loki was taken aback when she pushed him away. His feet nearly buckled from the impact of the push. He was slightly hurt to see how she acted, but he knew something was up. He saw how Ace trembled as she wrapped her arms around her as she shook her head.

"Please tell me what's the matter so I can help you, dearest," he tried to talk to her once more.

Ace just shook her head. "P-Please. Just—Just leave me be for now," Ace pleaded. "I'll follow you down the kitchen in a moment. I just—I need to breathe. I'm sorry," she stuttered obscurely.

As much as Loki did not want to leave her in that state, he figured it was for the better since she requested space. He felt something in his chest clench as he left the room, not being able to help her from whatever she has trouble with.

"How is Lady Aesira?" Thor asked him as soon as Loki entered the common room where the other Avengers were.

"She seemed fine when she woke up, but moments later, I do not know why she suddenly became withdrawn from her surroundings once again. She wouldn't even allow me to touch her. But she's coming down in a short while to have breakfast, which reminds me," Loki sighed, lowering his head a bit. "I have to excuse myself from trying and creating something edible for her to consume."

And with that, the Avengers watched Loki depart from the common room and make his way towards the kitchen.

——

Ace managed to calm herself down after a few minutes of convincing herself that everything was okay. Disappointment and bitterness quickly flashed in her eyes as she looked at the gloves she was wearing. She was back to square one. She was disappointed in herself when she found herself unable to control her empathy upon waking up. Having that nightmare must have done something in her mind, thus, messing her control once more.

She groaned in frustration. She couldn't do anything about it yet, and Charles was not returning after a few days. She had to wait for their next training session before telling him what happened.

As much as she wanted to stay in her room for the rest of the day, she remembered that Loki was waiting for her in the kitchen with a promise of making breakfast. At least, the thought of him trying to cook put a smile on her face and eased the bit of tension she was feeling.

Each step she took felt heavy as she made her way to where Loki was, as she was still feeling disappointed. Loki noticed this immediately as soon as Ace entered the kitchen, sensing she was not in the mood as she sat on one of the chairs by the counter. Her gloved hands didn't go unnoticed by the god. He wondered why the woman was back to wearing the gloves since he remembered that she ditched wearing them yesterday.

Did the gloves have some sort of connection to whatever she was dealing with? Whatever it was, he decided that now was not the right time to inquire about the history behind the gloves.

"It's not as piquant as the sandwich you made me in the past, but it still is somewhat... edible?" he offered the sandwich he made and pushed it towards the woman before taking a seat beside her.

Ace smiled at him to show her gratitude. Not wanting to ruin her gloves by picking the sandwich up, she resorted to using a fork and knife to eat it. "Thank you, Loki."

Minutes of silence enveloped the pair. Loki was concerned, but he did not want to ruin the solace their silence provided. He was afraid to say something that might further put the woman in a more sour mood than she already was in. That was until she dropped her utensils with a bit of force before abruptly getting on her feet. She was frustrated. Loki was quick to notice that by her abrupt standing and the crease on her brows.

"What are you doing?" Loki inquired warily as he saw Ace put some distance between them.

"Tell Tony and the rest that I'm sorry, but I need to do this. I'll return in a few days," Ace answered before swiftly channeling her powers on the diamond necklace around her neck.

Loki was confused about what she meant until a purple portal appeared in front of the woman. He was perplexed. He immediately stood up and was quick on his feet to try and stop Ace or at least follow her to wherever she was headed. Still, he wasn't fast enough, as the portal immediately vanished as soon as she stepped in.

Loki cursed under his breath as he hurriedly informed the Avengers what happened.

——

"Charles!"

The scientist was astonished and turned around when he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Aesira, what are you doing here?" he asked as soon as the woman emerged from the purple portal. "Our training isn't in a week in your dimension."

"I need help. I—I lost control of my empathy again," Ace told him and explained the events that had taken place during the previous night until the time she woke up where she discovered she couldn't control her power.

"Oh, dear. I understand that this agitates you, but do not worry too much. This is normal," Charles said gently to reassure her. "You just need more practice. Don't fret, little one."

"Come, Aesira. I need you to wash out your fear," he instructed as he took the gloves off. "Don't be scared. Don't let your fear get the best of you, or else you will have a difficult time in controlling your abilities."

Ace breathed profoundly and listened to Charles' every word. She was determined to control her powers once more before leaving this dimension. She didn't want to go back yet if she still couldn't handle it. Her decision in coming here was rather rash, and Tony would probably flip upon discovering her absence. But there was no longer use in crying over spilled milk. She was already here, so she was adamant about focusing on regaining control. She didn't want to take too long here, as she knew days would pass quickly back at home the longer she stayed.

——

"Still no signs of her returning?" Steve asked Loki and Wanda, but the both of them just shook their head.

A week has already passed ever since Ace's abrupt departure to head to the other dimension. Tony was frantic at first, but Pepper managed to calm him down immediately and told him not to worry much about the woman as she could handle herself. Ace must have had a good reason for leaving. They all just had to wait.

The team hoped she would return soon, as Fury gave them a mission that required her and Loki along with Wanda. None of them had told Fury she wasn't present as they didn't want the man to make rash decisions; if ever he discovered she went off to someplace, none of the Avengers could follow.

Luckily for them, a purple portal soon grew in the middle of the common room. Right there and then, Ace emerged from it. Wanda immediately stood up and enveloped the woman in a tight hug as she scolded her.

"You scared us! Don't go dimension-hopping without earlier notice!" Wanda scolded as she lightly flicked Ace's forehead.

Ace just chuckled and muttered an apology to Wanda before she was called by Steve.

"I'm glad you're back," Steve told her as soon as Wanda let go of the hug. "Fury has a mission for you, Wanda, and Loki."

Ace nodded. "What are we required to do, Rogers?"

"There is a Hydra base that has been showing signs of mild activity recently, and Fury wants the three of you to check it out and inspect if there are any remnants of Hydra around it," Steve explained. "Don't engage as much as possible if there is indeed any activity found. Just immediately report back here once you three are done."

"Noted, Cap. When do we start?"

"Now, actually. That's why we're relieved you returned."

Ace hummed in approval before Steve left the room, leaving the three magic wielders alone. Ace was exhausted emotionally after training with Charles. Even though she initially wanted to rest after coming back, she knew she couldn't. This was the price to pay after abruptly traveling dimensions. Besides, she was still physically okay, so she did not mind as much.

With a quick snap of her fingers, her attire changed into the suit that Tony made for her. She looked at her hands and remembered that the man included gloves in her get up, but she just shook her head and made it vanish. In the hour she spent in the other dimension, Charles helped her regain control of her powers once again. She was more confident in controlling it now the second time around.

"How are you?" Ace didn't notice Loki and was slightly surprised to find her beside her. She didn't even see Wanda leave the room to get ready for their mission, so she was left alone with the god.

She exhaled deeply before facing him and meeting his gaze. "Quite fine. I'm sorry for leaving on such short notice," she apologized once more. She noticed how Loki wanted to touch her arm but was wary, and she felt guilty because she knew her actions were to blame for this.

She initiated the contact by holding Loki's wrist, which startled the god. Ace was thankful Loki didn't further probe her or bombarded her with any questions upon returning. She was not yet ready to tell him and the others about her ability until and unless she was 100% confident that she had complete control of it. She figured Loki might have told the others the same because neither Steve nor Wanda asked her questions of her sudden disappearance.

"I'm just glad you're safe," Loki told her as he took her hand in his, now more comfortably knowing that she won't flinch or push him away. "Shall we get going?"

Wanda entered the room just in time and nodded at the pair. Ace smiled at her before tugging Loki by his hand.

——

"We'll teleport from here. We can't risk damaging the jet in case something unlikely happens," Ace told the both of them as they exited the jet after activating stealth mode.

The trio joined hands and teleported inside the base. They agreed to split up and try to inspect the building as much as they could. Entering the base was easy since they noticed that security cameras were not working, but still skeptical. As they entered, Wanda decided to investigate the outside while Ace and Loki entered the building. Ace floated above the ground so her footsteps wouldn't echo in the hallways that greeted them.

Loki looked at her when they were met by a hallway that split into two.

"I'll take a right. You go left," he told her.

Ace nodded and stealthily split up with Loki. She descended on the floor momentarily, placing her hands on the ground. She channeled her magic to her palms. Allowing it to spread all throughout the floor, she checked for any signs of life. She retracted her hands and continued walking when the only sign of life that she sensed was Loki's. So far, so good.

When she reached the end of the hallway, she was met with a staircase that went down. At the end of the stairs, she could see a door. Ace felt her magic course in her veins as she focused her magic on her hands, ready to fight if something arose.

As soon as she reached the bottom of the staircase, she pushed the door open. A dark empty room came into view. She felt a chill in her spine as she flicked her wrist, commanding the light in the room to turn on.

Shots were fired as soon as the room was lit. She cursed out loud as she evaded the bullets headed her way and immediately linked her mind to Wanda's and Loki's. The two also did the same.

"The building is not abandoned. We need to leave!" she shouted in her mind.

"I'm sort of busy right now? Where's Loki?" Wanda asked.

They heard Loki groan in his mind, and Ace already knew that he was in trouble. She knew Wanda could handle the agents outside since she was sure they couldn't be as many as those hidden in the building. Ace dashed through the hall and ran to the right hallway, where Loki disappeared to.

Loki came into view, and she was terrified to see at least fifty Hydra agents trying to attack Loki with their guns. She immediately channeled a portion of her magic to Loki to enhance him. In contrast, a part of her magic was focused on creating a force field around Loki to help him regain his strength.

Loki was shouting something, but Ace paid no attention to it when she saw his bleeding shoulder. Her eyes darkened as she faced the Hydra agents. Allowing another portion of her magic to travel to Loki, she slowly healed him. It was going to take a few minutes as she wasn't proficient yet in healing, but it was enough time for him to regain strength as she held the Hydra agents back.

She raised a hand and managed to trap a few Hydra agents inside a force field, with the environment inside being deadly as she filled her force field with poisonous gas. No matter how much the agents tried, they couldn't pass through and were slowly losing consciousness.

Ace held out both of her hands. She constructed another force field in front of her to shield her from the bullets. She waited for the agents to reload their guns. As soon as they did, the force field immediately dispersed. She formed a ball of purple magic in her hands and blasted it towards the agents. Some managed to evade it, while some were not so fortunate. This caused a small explosion within the building that had the agents running for their safety.

A single bullet managed to get past her and shot her in the thigh. Her eyes were dangerous as she looked for the person who shot her. She winced in pain a bit before numbing the feeling in her thigh and slowly healing it as well. Her magic was everywhere, and she could not focus on which one to control first, which was why Loki managed to help her since the force field trapping him was gone.

His shoulder has stopped bleeding and has now healed a bit.

A blast of green magic came from his hands as he pushed aside the agents aiming their guns at Ace, who was fighting off another group.

Loki conjured knives and aimed them at a few agents before releasing them. With a few thuds, the blades connected to their foreheads. A few more thuds indicated that they fell to the ground dead, one by one.

Only a few agents remained. Ace then channeled her magic, allowing her mind to connect with the agents before controlling them. The agents were now fighting against one another. This bought her time as she rushed to Loki and pulled him by the hand, teleporting the both of them outside the base where Wanda just finished off the last agent that was attacking her.

Ace grabbed Wanda's hand as well, and instantaneously, they were teleported back to the jet. They immediately got on board and left the base.

Once they were sure they were already far from the base, Ace dropped the illusion covering her body, revealing multiple bullet wounds and cuts.

"Shit!" Loki cursed as he carried the woman and laid her down on a bench in the jet. Wanda swiftly found the first aid kit and was by the woman's side.

"I'm fine. I can manage," Ace winced because of the pain. "Just—Just give me space for a bit."

The two were about to protest but were stunned when they watched Ace take a deep breath. She channeled her energy to search in her body for the bullets. One by one, Loki and Wanda watched uneasily as Ace began pushing the shots out her body. No trace of pain can be seen in her expression, so they figured she must have numbed the pain.

Once she was sure that there were no longer bullets, she took another breath and focused her energy to heal the wounds. She visualized her tissues and muscles connecting and repairing them. By the time the jet arrived back at the Avengers Tower, her body was now fully healed. Although she could still feel the pain of the bullets and cuts that grazed her body after healing, that was not really hard to deal with. At least she was no longer bleeding.

Ace did not allow Loki and Wanda to leave the jet just yet once they arrived home. She made sure to heal them from their injuries—Wanda mostly since Loki was also capable of healing himself.

Once that was done, she took a deep breath and slowly rose to he feet when she wobbled a little. The effects of the mission soon caught up to her, and she felt a little bit tired from the fight and her magic usage.

"You should rest for the day. You did great," Wanda told her proudly, but a hint of worry could still be heard in her voice. "Loki, escort her back to your floor. I'll tell Cap that we didn't get any information and that we just encountered a bunch of agents."

"Wait," Ace stopped Wanda from leaving. She tried to stand up but slightly staggered, causing Loki to wrap his arms around her waist to steady her. Ace mumbled a soft thank you before facing Wanda.

She got something out of her pocket. It was a USB. She held Wanda's hand and placed the USB in it.

"While Loki and I were fighting the agents, I made a clone of mine to find their control room," Ace explained when Wanda's confused eyes met hers. "Luckily, my clone managed to extract information from their database before we left."

Wanda's eyes lit up with surprise. "You're really something," she said in awe. "Alright. I'll go to Steve and give him this while you rest, okay?"

Wanda gave Loki and Ace one last look before she darted off the jet to find Steve. Knowing that Ace was exhausted, he just teleported them to her room. He gently laid her down on her bed once they arrived. He snapped his fingers and changed her clothes into comfortable ones.

"Thank you, Loki. You didn't have to, though. I know you're tired," Ace said as she sat down, bringing a pillow to her lap.

Loki disagreed. "I know you're drained, considering the amount of magic you released back there. This is the least I can do. Besides, it takes more than that to tire a god like myself. You must know that by now," he added with a wink.

Ace just giggled before a yawn escaped her lips.

Loki helped her lie down once again and allowed his fingers to brush through her hair.

"Sleep. You need it," Loki ordered.

"But I still have to cook dinner later," Ace argued. Still, she had difficulty in keeping her eyes open as the tiredness soon was taking over.

"Don't worry about that. I'm sure Stark will understand. We'll just have to eat something different later other than your delectable dishes," Loki whispered soothingly. "He'll understand. Sleep now, dearest. I'll wake you up at supper time. Sound good?"

Ace absentmindedly nodded as her eyes fluttered close.

A pair of gentle lips delicately planted a soft kiss on her forehead as she drifted off to sleep.

Ace came out from the medical bay where Doctor Dahl had just finished their weekly therapy. She was nowhere near cured yet of the effects of Mirage, but at least there was progress. Well, according to Doctor Dahl, that is.

She believed him, though. The nightmares she had when she first arrived at the tower already lessened, and that was a good sign.

As of now, she is currently heading towards the movie room since it was leisure night, and Tony kept bugging all of them to go. He kept insisting that this was a "team bonding" session. If one was missing, he would whoop their ass before dragging them out of their rooms or from wherever they were at unless it was in the movie room.

Ace didn't need to be forced. She enjoyed the instances where she got to spend more time with the Avengers. She looked forward to leisure nights. Watching Tony annoy the others to play or to watch a movie was quite the entertainment she loved. It was hilarious, especially when Loki defenestrated Tony when the man annoyed him very much to the point where he ran out of patience.

Nobody got hurt, thankfully, since Tony's Iron Man suit immediately flew out the window to save him from crashing. It was safe to say that Tony annoyed Loki a bit less after that incident.

When she entered the room, she found the team sitting together on the couch as Tony stood in front. She was the only one missing from there.

"Now that we're complete, I just want to say something first," Tony said when he saw her arrive.

Ace made her way to the couch. Loki looked at her and scooted a bit to make room for her to sit beside him. "Thanks for saving me a seat," Ace whispered as soon as she sat down.

Loki winked at her. "Of course, my lady," he playfully replied.

"Before we start our leisure night, Fury just informed me to prepare for a mission. SHIELD decrypted and analyzed the files in the USB that the magical Powerpuff trio obtained on their mission. Good work, by the way," Tony paused as he gave a few claps while looking at Ace, Loki, and Wanda, to which the three just rolled their eyes in response. "Anyway, cutting to the chase—only a few Hydra agents are left alive and are planning to rebuild their base. They have no idea that we know their plan since Twinkle managed to erase any trace of her copying the files. Fury wants us to destroy their main headquarters, which is located in Boston, Massachusetts."

Tony explained a few more things before finally, all of them was deciding what movie to watch.

The team was divided as they had different preferences, but they all came to an agreement in the end. They unanimously decided to watch Harry Potter. Since they had no missions or important events scheduled tomorrow, they figured they could do a movie marathon until early in the morning.

The team watched in silence as they focused their attention on the first Harry Potter movie. They were surprisingly quiet, and this was one of the rare moments that they actually were in silence.

Ace and Loki were on the corner of the couch, so nobody noticed the pair much. The two of them shared one big bowl of popcorn, which, surprisingly, Loki loved. He liked the sweetness and saltiness of the caramel flavor to the point where the bowl is almost half full by the middle of the movie.

"Popcorn Monster," Ace whispered teasingly in his ear when she noticed how much popcorn the god already ate compared to her.

Loki smiled sheepishly and just shrugged. "What can I say. These are delectable as the chocolates you gave me."

The ending credits of the first Harry Potter ended, and the second movie just started. In between those two, Ace noticed the bowl was already empty. She gave Loki a disbelieving look as she shook her head, sighing. She reached out and got the bowl from Loki's grip, and stood up.

"I'm going to go get more popcorn since someone here is a popcorn monster," Ace told the team. A few of them just gave her a nod in acknowledgment while the rest didn't peel their eyes off the screen.

Ace entered the kitchen, opened the pot where the popcorn was cooked, and refilled the bowl when she felt someone stand behind her. She didn't flinch away since she knew it was Loki based on the scent that filled the room.

Loki just stood behind her, watching her fill the bowl, before deciding to lower his head and lay it on her shoulder. Ace was bemused at this gesture. She turned her head towards Loki. She felt his chest pressed on her back as it rose and fell. She could feel his breath send tingles to the crook of her neck. She sighed, raising her hand nearest to Loki's head, stroking his hair.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Loki hummed. "Resting?"

"Resting? Shouldn't you do that in your room if you want to rest?" she laughed softly, a bit amused by the god but was still puzzled.

Loki shook his head that was still resting on her shoulder before he stood up straight. Ace picked the bowl up and made a move to walk back to the movie room when Loki grabbed her waist and switched their positions. His back was now facing the kitchen counter, leaning on it. The space between them was thin, with only the bowl separating them.

Loki raised a brow and looked at the bowl before getting it out of the woman's grip and placing it on the counter, then returning his hand back to her waist and pulled her closer. Ace was surprised when the god just pushed her head to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Not knowing where to put her hands, she sighed and decided to just wrap her arms around his lower torso.

"What's wrong, Loki?" she asked. The god has been acting entirely... differently since yesterday after their mission. Either he ignores her at some point but then is hugely caring for a few moments later.

Loki sighed as he buried his nose in her hair.

"I'm just—You... You scared me yesterday," Loki mumbled loud enough for Ace to hear.

This was one of the few moments where Loki allows himself to show a bit of vulnerability. He was genuinely terrified yesterday when he saw her fight the Hydra agents. He got even more petrified and worried when he saw the number of injuries she obtained after the fight.

In his thousand years of living, he has never cared for someone like this other than Frigga or Thor. He did not know how Ace even managed to get close to him like this. It also scared him how much he had grown to care for the woman. Caring for another meant giving them the power to hurt him, thereby promising himself to remain stoic and act ruthlessly. Yet what was he doing now?

"How? What do you mean?" Ace brought her hands up and placed them on Loki's chest as she tilted her head upwards to look at him.

Loki gazed at her face with an expression Ace couldn't quite decipher. He just shook his head. "Take better care of yourself next time. Even if you can heal yourself or numb yourself from feeling pain. Be more careful."

Ace just found herself nodding at him before laying her head on his chest once more. They were in silence once again and were just contented being wrapped in each other's arms. They enjoyed the warmth their bodies provided to each other.

While they were in that position, Loki decided to play with her hair. At first, he just stroked it gently in a soothing manner that Ace enjoyed. Then he proceeded to allow her curly ends to get tangled in his fingertips, loving the feeling as he spun the tips. Ace had her eyes closed and enjoyed his caresses. In return, she permitted her fingers to run up and down his broad back. She let her nails lightly draw circles on his back as he was hugging him. She felt Loki shudder because of it and figured he enjoyed the feeling, so she continued doing it.

The two of them did not know how long they spent in the kitchen, just contented in each other's embrace and caresses. The team didn't even bother looking for them and just thought that the two retired to their respective rooms to sleep. They didn't know that the two were just silently bonding in the kitchen.

The faint moonlight managed to shine through the windows of the kitchen, illuminating their bodies pressed against one another.

Loki felt himself relax despite the fast pace of his heart. He was sure it was beating loud enough for the woman to hear. He really enjoyed having her close like this. And he was slowly becoming aware that whatever he felt for the woman was not merely friendship. He knew it was more than that, but he was hesitant to acknowledge it because acknowledging it would only make it harder for him to hold back.