The trip back to the Helicarrier is a peaceful one, Iron Fist quietly sitting beside me as I look out the ship Fury sent for us to use to get back. It isn't as large as I expected it to be, only being able to sit about four or five people. I'm a bit surprised to find the person flying the ship is Agent Ana, though. She shoots me a friendly smile as I slip my hood off.
"Nice seeing you again, Aria." She chuckles as I twitch.
"Likewise, Agent Ana! But please don't use my full name, just Ari is fine." I say as I sit down and strap myself into the seats that were set up along the sides of the ship.
"Why? It's a lovely name. In Italian, it means 'melody' no?"
I look down at my hands with a tiny frown. "That's what my mom told me. So what are you doing here? On the round-up duty?" I ask changing the subject.
"No, no," she laughs, turning back to the controls as the ship begins to gently lift into the air. "Actually, this is the last thing I do today before I'm officially off-duty for the night."
A pang of guilt sweeps through me as I look over the drivers' seat. "Oh no! I'm so sorry Agent Ana— If I didn't jump off the ship, you could've been home by now . . ."
"Oh think nothing of it, I volunteered! I think that little stunt you pulled back there shaved off a few years of my life and I just wanted to make sure you were okay." I look off to the side with a sheepish smile, hearing Iron Fist chuckle to himself.
"S-sorry to worry you . . . I would've guessed you guys were used to all that extreme stunts that go around there."
"It's alright, although I've never seen Agent Benjamin turn that particular shade of green before." She snickers. "I'm never going to let him live this down."
"Well, well," I lilt. "Agent Ana I've never would have guessed you for the teasing type!"
"A bunch of us aren't as uptight as you might think." She sings with a wag of her finger. A beeping sound comes from a small device in her ear as she excuses herself to take the call, her voice falling back into no-nonsense mode.
"You seem to make friends easily." Iron Fist comments as I turn to look at him.
"It's no big deal, she and another agent were the ones who first brought me to SHIELD headquarters. I was so nervous and she helped me keep it together when I arrived. Although, the teleporting just brought that back . . ." I mutter, recalling the sensation of my stomach feeling as it was flipping over more times that Anne Marie on the trampoline at Aigile.
"I was too when I first got here, it was a little intimidating in the beginning but the others helped me settle in alright. 'Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking along in the light.'"
I blink, nodding my head slowly as I let his words sink in. "I . . . think I get it. Hey, I've been meaning to tell you something for a while now."
"What is it?"
"What exactly were you doing on my friends' rooftop in nothing but your briefs?" I know it's blunt of me to ask, but I'm curious! It doesn't seem to affect him, as he simply laughs it off.
"The creature we were fighting stuck me to the walls with that black goop. I'm pretty sure I remember telling someone to run, too, but she seems to make a habit of putting herself in danger." I grin catishly at this as he continues. "Anyway, when my teammates got me down, it also happened to tear my suit off. By the way, thanks for the compliment." I feel a blush creeping up to my cheeks as I stammer out an excuse.
"H-hey, if I had known I would have actually met you I . . ." I think about my next words before shaking my head. "No, I would still say it." He laughs again, the sound pleasant to my ears.
"I'll take that as a compliment, too then."
As the ship nears the Helicarrier, Iron Fist places a hand on my shoulder, earning my attention before I completely zone out.
"I believe there will be some things Director Fury and the others will want to talk to you about when we arrive."
"You don't think he'll take back his offer, right?" I gasp, running a hand through my hair. "I've already seen too much, right? You don't think he'll wipe my memory, right?!"
"Relax, it won't be anything like that." He says as Agent Ana announces we are arriving. As we exit, I gulp as Fury approaches, his coat whipping behind him. I can't tell if he's upset or not since he always seemed to look . . . well, upset. I stand up straighter, looking him dead in the eye as I did the only thing I could think of. I bow.
"I'm sorry, Director! What I did was stupid and dangerous and it won't happen again!" I say a little too loudly. I can hear Nova snicker a bit but I ignore him. Fury is silent through this, much to my shock, so I peek up to look at him to see the same stony expression.
"You're right, what you did was stupid and you endangered yourself and who knows what could have happened!" even though he doesn't raise his voice, I still feel as if he's yelling at me. He sighs, pinching the area between his nose before gesturing me to straighten up. "You all come with me to the briefing room."
"What for, Director Fury?" White Tiger asks as he begins to walk away.
"Since Kateri will be joining your team, I think it's about time you all have a little 'talk'." He explains as I gasp.
"Wait . . . I'm in?!"
"Your scores were actually more surprising than we originally thought. With enough training, we can help you focus your skills." He says as we follow behind him.
"Alright! Welcome to the team!" Nova whoops as he flies past us.
"Good to finally have someone with a good head on their shoulders around here." White Tiger says next as she pats my shoulder. "And another girl." She says a little more lowly.
"You'll have a blast, Ari. The training sessions are tough, but worth it." Power Man grins, smacking me on the back a little too roughly.
"T-thanks guys, I'm looking forward to this! I know I got into this to find more information about my father . . . but after seeing what you guys do I'm really excited!" I say with all honesty much to their amusement.
As we make our way to the briefing room, I see Spider-Man waiting for us and upon our entrance, he flips down from his upside-down perch on the ceiling.
"What's the situation? I got here as quick as I could!" he exclaims walking up to us.
"Check out the latest addition to our team web-head!" Nova announces, nudging me forward a bit.
"W-what?!"
"It's good to meet you officially, Spider-Man! I'm a huge fan!" I say shaking his hand.
"Wait, wait, wait— you're in? As in, in?!"
"Don't sound too excited," White Tiger scoffs, taking a seat. "I figure this meeting is for us to 'get to know each other' right? I don't mind, I can trust Ari."
"Me too," said Power Man.
"Eh, whatever." Nova shrugged.
"I agree." Iron Fist nodded.
"The choice is yours," Fury says as he steps out, stopping by the doors and looking at Spider-Man. "That goes for all of you."
The door slides shut behind him and I turn to face the others. "Uh, what's going on? Are we going to do another exercise? 'Cause I have a class trip I have to wake up early for if I want the back seat . . ." I trail off. White Tiger, Nova, Power Man, and Iron Fist exchange a few looks before turning back to me.
"Since you trust us with your identity, we feel we should return the favor." The green-clad superhero states.
"W-what? Are you sure?"
"We'll be team-mates soon, so why not?" Nova grins, taking it upon himself to go first. When he removes his helmet, I feel my jaw drop and I feel like it almost hits the floor as the other followed suit (or un-suit). "Surprise!"
"Ava?! Luke?! Sam?! Danny?! You guys worked for SHIELD this whole time?!" I exclaim, pointing a finger at each of them.
"Heh, I knew you'd be surprised, but you should see the look at your face!" Nova— I mean Sam-- cracks up, clutching his sides as he leaned against the table for support. Now I know why he sounded so familiar! How did I miss that?!
"Shut it you dork, who wouldn't be surprised?" White— I mean Ava says, punching him on the shoulder.
I place a hand on my forehead, feeling a little dizzy at the sudden news. This entire time . . . they were out there saving the world and they never spoke a word . . .
"Are you alright, Ari?" Danny inquires, a worried glint in his green eyes.
"Y-yeah, I think. It's just a lot to take in! The disappearances make sense now . . . you guys were doing all this without telling anyone? It must have been rough . . . I mean, I don't like keeping secrets myself. Crap, I'm gonna have to do this too!"
"Don't worry about it Ari, we'll help you out." Luke grins.
I feel a little bit of relief at his words, the information that my new friends were freakin' Super Heroes sinking in. I look over to Spider-Man, who hangs back, looking at the wall.
"C'mon, Spidey. Are you gonna tell her or what?" Sam asks much to our Leaders annoyance.
"I know, Bucket Head it's just . . ." he lets out a heavy sigh, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks to me. "Okay, just don't freak out . . ." he slips the mask off, revealing familiar blue eyes looking rather guiltily at me, waiting for my reaction.
I stare at him for who knows how long before I blink. "I knew it."
Peter (A.K.A one of my best friends) nearly falls over at my laid-back tone, pointing an accusing finger at me. "What's with that totally blase reaction?! You freak out at the others but not at me?!"
"Dude, do you really think whenever you disappear and Spider-Man shows up I wouldn't notice? Give me some credit!"
"You could at least humor me a little." He grumbles as I laugh and wrap an arm around his shoulder.
I let out a snort before cupping my face. "Ohmygosh! Spider-Man is actually one of my absolute best friends! The shock! The amazement! The confusion!" I go on as he groans and lightly shoves me off him.
"Okay, okay, I get it! Not a word to M.J or Harry okay?"
I zip my lips. "My lips are sealed!"
++++++++++
The very next day, I wake up with a sense of disbelief. I stare at my cracked ceiling, tracing the pattern for the twentieth time since I manage to wake up early for once. I go through the motions of the morning in a daze, packing my things for the trip to the museum along with the watch Fury gave me to keep in contact with the team.
It's so. . . weird.
I never would expect in a million years that this could ever happen to me. After my mom got diagnosed with cancer, going through her treatment and then losing her. . . I wasn't exactly in a good place. I lashed out at everyone, I nearly lost the opportunity to perform at Aigile and I almost lost MJ, Harry, and Pete.
Not once did I hear from Kele and not once did my mom ever spoke badly of him.
I want to know why he left us, even if I find out he has some other family or he's some kind of criminal. I want to meet him and demand to know everything. I look over at the tablet I received that holds the information about my father (also given to me by Fury) and slip that into my bag too. I didn't get around to reading it yesterday and . . . I guess I was a little afraid. I only knew him from when I was still in diapers and that was only as a passing figure. I don't even remember his face.
A ringing from my phone knocks me from my thoughts as M.J's picture popped up on my screen. "Hey Red, what's up?" I say, holding my phone between my ear and my shoulder.
"Uh, Ari? You're up?" she says, shock evident in her tone. I could hear Harry in the background letting out an equally surprised 'Whoa!'
"Yeah, it's freaky! I woke up on time and everything! I'm all dressed and ready to go, too!"
"Well, I guess that makes our morning a little bit smoother, then." She laughs. "Do you want to meet at school?"
"Sounds good, I'll save you a seat!" I hang up the phone, slinging my backpack on and heading out the door. The familiar barking of my neighbor's dog rings in the hallway as it runs up to me on her short dachsund legs. "Oh hey, Channel!" I coo as she barks and rolls onto her back for me to pet her white and brown spotted stomach. I laugh and bend down to scratch her, as her owner's son jogs up, panting.
"H-hey Ari . . ." he wheezes, taking out an inhaler and taking a breath from it. "Sorry about Channel; ever since you watched her when we took our trip, she hasn't stopped running up to your door." He says sheepishly as Channel barks happily again at the attention.
"Oh it's okay, I loved taking care of her. Out for the morning walk?"
"Yep! She got away from me when you opened the door though— are you going to school?"
"Mmm-hmm, field trip. Oh, the joys of high school life . . . see you around Ron, tell your Mom and sister I said hi!"
"Bye Ari! Will do— Ah! Channel, come back!"
I can't help but laugh as she gets away from him again, bolting up the stairs. For such a tiny dog, she sure was fast.
The walk to school wasn't a long one, and I manage to grab a few snacks along the way for the trip (mostly fruit, though) from the corner store and munch on a few grapes as I walk into the school to my classroom. There are already other students there, and I spot Luke, Ava, Danny, and Sam already in their seats, busying themselves until our teacher arrived.
"Whoa, Ari is early for once! Is the world ending?" Sam jokes as I roll my eyes.
"Oh shut it, I actually slept alright for the first time in a long time and it's freaking me out," I mutter sitting down at my desk. "I want to go back to bed, but my body just wants to go out and about!"
"Isn't that a good thing?" Luke asks, turning in his seat to face me.
"But being the sleepy one is my thing! What am I supposed to do? My identity is at stake!"
"'The value of identity, of course, is that so often with it comes with a purpose.'"
I give Danny a blank look. "Ya know, the more I start to get what you mean, the less I don't, Danny." He merely smiles at me as Sam speaks up next.
"So, think of any cool code names for yourself yet? I was thinking something along the lines of 'The robe wonder' or 'The amazing circus girl'."
"Thanks, Sam, but I think I'll pass on those," I say with a blank look.
He shrugs it off, leaning back in his seat. "You'll be back." He smirks.
It got me thinking though, what should I call myself? Fury didn't give me one, so I assume I had the freedom to choose one of my own . . . I wrack my mind for any possible ones I might like, my brow furrowing in thought before I let out a sigh.
"Can't I just be called by my nickname?"
"Aren't you worried about your identity leaking out?" Ava points out, looking up from her textbook.
I don't have much family left . . . and the only ones I would really worry about are MJ and Harry. Considering the rest of my circle of friends are superheroes, I don't really have anything to worry about. "Not really, as long as I don't say my full name, I think I should be fine?"
"That sounded convincing." Luke chuckles. "It's your choice, though, and it kind of fits."
"Ooh, what about 'Slicer'!?" Sam calls out, an excited look in his eyes. "It sounds edgy, and it totally fits your whole arm blade thingy!" he says, motioning with his wrist.
"That sounds like a bad guy's name!" I cry out, as he spends the next half an hour thinking of horrible names for me.
After everyone is fully assembled, Principle Coulson (who I now know to be Agent Coulson—who else had a secret double life here?!) leads our group. No one really knew how we were going to be assigned so MJ and Harry are in another group all together while the rest of us are on the bus we were in now. Peter fills me in on this, stating that Fury wants us to be within range of one another, much to his annoyance.
I take this time to look over the file I brought with me about my father, filtering out the noise from the other students. I can hear Coulson talk about something related to Loki, the Norse God of mischief but I can't focus on that now.
With a deep breath, I power on the tablet, the SHIELD emblem flashing for a moment before the screen flashes white, and a photo of a man pops up, staring straight at the camera. He has dark thick hair, just like mine that barely brushes the nape of his neck and dark brown eyes. He has a strong jawline that was sprinkled with dark stubble and a scar just above his lip on the left side.
Mom was right, I muse. I really do have his eyes. Despite not really recognizing him, I begin to read the information they have on him.
Kele Kateri
Age: 42
Height: 6'
Weight: 170 lbs.
Status: Alive.
Family:
Wife: Francine Castillo Kateri
Height: 5'7
Weight: 153 lbs.
Status: Deceased.
Daughter: Aria Nora Kateri
Height: 5'6
Weight: 137 lbs.
Status: Alive.
My eyes scan over the 'deceased' underneath my mom's name and feel a pang in my heart as I blink back a few tears and continued reading.
My father has Native American roots, both his parents being from a long line of them that lived in in Northeast Arizona, but no further information about his parents or any other relatives he might have. There's a lot about his fight against the Templars, a separate group that was the complete opposite of what The Order stood for. They wanted to control the world under one rule and repress freedom and individuality.
According to this, they were a huge head in the business field and extremely powerful. I remember seeing a documentary about this place and was a little shocked to find out it was the company called Abstergo that produced the majority of Pharmaceutical items that get shipped around the world.
I press the tablet to my chest, looking at the seat in front of me. I'm suddenly nauseous as my stomach drops. Am I getting in way over my head in this? All I wanted to do was to find my father and if I do, what then? Will he ask me to fight with them? Against the Templars? It was already one thing that I already joined SHIELD, so I practically have one foot in the door.
A warm hand on my shoulder snaps me out of my thoughts as I turn to meet the cool green eyes of Danny. Peter, who's sitting to his right glances at me for a second before swatting away Sam's drawing of a 'newly improved costume'.
"Are you alright?" he asks, concern lacing his usual calm.
"Um, yeah. Why?" I say as Peter gives me a skeptical look.
"'Cause you look like that day we cut open those frogs in Bio in our freshmen year. You look like you're about to puke."
Well, he isn't wrong. "I'm . . . reading about my father and it's a bit overwhelming is all."
"You mean that thing Fury gave you? What does it say?"
"He's still alive, which is good, but he has powerful enemies and it doesn't seem to say where he is. Just places he's been to."
"Your father seems like a difficult man to find," Danny begins. "But I believe your paths will cross soon, just give it time."
"Time is what he's had a lot of but you're right; I won't kill myself over this." I look back down at the information, scanning it for anything else that might help me but it was pretty basic. What does catch my attention though, is a flashing icon on the corner of the screen when I reach the end of the file.
"Well? Are you gonna press it?" Peter asks, and I shoot him a look at his nosiness but press it none the less. "Whoa, is that your new suit?" I shrug, pinching the file bigger to get a better look at it.
It's all black, with a tight black suit with crisscrossing belts that hold several pouches-of-who knows-what, the trademarked 'A' being held in the center. Grey accents the outfit on the shoulder pads and knee-high boots. To cover me, a matching coat that billows around the model that goes a little past my waist. Black fingerless gloves cover the rest of my arms, my gauntlets gleaming. A beaked hood covers their face, an image of an eye mask floating near the face for added protection.
"Cool . . . ooh, it says here they added a grappling hook instead of a gun. Thank God, I don't think I'd have the heart to ever use one." I say with a sigh of relief.
"That means a lot, Ari. Thanks." Peter murmurs with a thankful smile. I return it, noting a lot of cool tech that I was given. "Do you think you'll be able to use it? Not to mention all those layers—how the heck are you going to suit up?"
"I've done enough costume changes at Aigile to get by Petey; no worries. By the way, how do you guys manage to suit up? You're always just prepared so I never gave it much thought."
"Well I usually have mine in my bag, I'm wearing it underneath this today—never too prepared, yeah?"
"What about the others?"
"I just kind of . . . happens. You know, I never really questioned it either but it works so I wouldn't question it."
"Fair point."
"Alright everyone, we've arrived at the museum!" Principle Coulson calls out, earning our attention. "Everyone, single file, and don't forget anything on the bus. There's no coming back once we're inside."
"Oh the joy of field trips . . ." Peter grumbles from behind me as he pulls out a juice box.
"Just because you have a bad time on these things, doesn't mean everyone else does," I say as he continues to grumble.
"Why's that?" Danny asks as we step off the bus.
"He has a habit of getting bitten by things, personally I find it kind of amusing. Peter on the other hand . . . not so much."
"I'm just glad I never got any radioactive goat powers from that menace at the zoo." He shudders as I snicker at the visual.
As we enter the museum, Coulson begins to talk about how we didn't put much thought into Gods existing, but ever since Thor arrived, that pretty much changed everything. A lot of things changed after The Avengers showed up after that disaster a few years ago.
Come to think of it . . . wasn't that also caused by Loki? I ponder as I look over an ornate tapestry that hangs on the wall. It seems to depict the relationship between Thor and his brother Loki; they didn't seem to get along very well, but my Norse mythology is pretty rusty.
I wander away from the group a bit as Coulson begins to talk about a rather shiny crown that's inside a glass display. For the heck of it, I activate my Eagle Vision, the world shifting around me and going dark until something strange happens. Well, something stranger.
A golden path begins to spread before me, leading me around a corner and even farther away from the group. I look back to see if anyone is watching and sneak away when it's clear. The path goes on ahead of me, beckoning me and pausing whenever I stop to go around other museum-goers.
It finally leads me to a large roped off-exhibit where a beautiful ornate sword is displayed, buried deep into a large rock. It glows a brilliant gold as I stare up at it in awe, the light almost too bright for me to bear. I shut off my Eagle Vision, blinking away the light as I adjust to my normal sight.
"The Sword of Eden . . ?" I read out loud as I scan the origins. "'A sword wielded by the great warrior Sigmund, he pulled it out of an ancient tree called Barn. . . sto . . . kkr? After Odin, the All-Father embedded it into it.'" I look back up to the gleaming sword, tilting my head a little.
Why would I be led here? I look around again but the path stops here . . .
Well, if something out there expected me to pull that out it has another thing coming. No way was I getting banned from this place— or worse. I turn on my heel, shoving my hands into my pockets as I meander back to the group next to Peter, who's leaning at the back of the crowd and talking to himself again.
"Paranoid about something bad happening?" I ask him as he jumps a little.
"Whoa! When the heck did you get here?!"
"Just now, why?"
"Jeez Ari, we need to put a bell on you or something!" he sighs, placing a hand over his heart.
"My bad, I forgot to make noise again." I chuckle as he sends me a halfhearted glare.
"Where'd you go anyway?"
"My Wander-lust got the best of me and I found a big glowing sword. Typical Thursday if I do say so for myself.
"Wait, what—" before he can finish his question, a blinding light (this time one in my normal vision) flashes throughout the room and in a matter of seconds, utter chaos breaks out. A bone-chilling wind sweeps through us as glass shatters somewhere and when the light recedes, a giant with blue skin and blood-red eyes appears. It gives out a mighty roar as our classmates panic and flee. It starts to smash its icy club onto the ground, making large craters as Coulson herds the students to safety.
"You guys are on." He tells us as he runs behind them. Ava pulls me away suddenly, rounding a corner as the wall opens up to reveal our costumes.
"How in the hell?" I mutter as she begins to suit up.
"A hero is always ready, now get moving! We can't let the guys have all the fun." She smirks as I nod. It's a little awkward at first, what with the suit being a little loose, but as soon as I slip on the hood, it tightens around me, making me squeak. "It suits you, now let's go!" White Tiger nods as she jumps into the scene.
"W-wait what do I . . . do?" I sigh, she's already out of earshot and the others are already springing into action. It's no good though, everything the others shot at the giant didn't seem to damage it at all.
As I stand there dumbly, my bracer beeps, and an image of Professor Connors appears above my bracer. "Whoa!"
"Ari! Good, your com's system seems to be working okay. I've gotten the situation from Agent Coulson. Now, we don't have a lot to go up against Norse mythical monsters—"
"Monsters?!"
"But, we've given you a bit of tech to help you out, did you read the data Director Fury gave you?"
"Uh, yeah, a little. Kind of in the middle of a field trip." I say as I look up in time to see Nova get blasted into the wall.
"No problem, I can patch you through to someone to walk you through it." Another voice, switches to my right ear, this time a female as the screen turns off.
"Heya! The name's Margaret but just call me Maggie! Now, the pouch on your right hip pocket contains specially designed explosives that can be activated via a switch. It won't destroy the thing, but it'll slow it down."
I get the hint and nod, taking a deep breath and dashing to the right of the giant. It spots me immediately and I use my Eagle Vision to find its weak points. I jump high into the air, hopping onto its club (that almost smashed me with mind you) and reaching into the pouch with the explosives. I place one on its arm as it swings at me again but I twist my body to the side to place another one near its neck and left wrist.
Jumping off it, I land in a low crouch, sticking two to the back of its kneecaps. "Everybody get back!" I call out as I put some distance between it and me. "Maggie, which one is it?"
"Right wrist, left side." I nod and press the switch as the giant let out a pained roar when the bombs go off and it goes down, falling down to one knee and holding itself up with its club as it glares at us.
"A-Ari, how did you—?!" Spider-Man stutters as I gesture to my ear.
"SHIELD explosives," I answer, my eyes still on the beast. "It won't last long, though. It's too strong."
"You think?" Power Man snorted as a crash of thunder breaks through the skylights. With a mighty slam of his hammer Thor—The Thor lands in all his godly glory. "Is that—?!"
"Holy crap, it's Thor!" I cry out as I hear Connors chuckle.
"I was wondering where that static interference was coming from . . ." Maggie mutters, sounding a bit displeased.
"For Asguard!" Thor calls out, his hammer lit aglow with crackles of lightning as he holds it up to the giant, encasing it in ice and easily taking it out of commission. "Stay back! This is no place for oddly dressed younglings!" he says as the giant breaks out of its prison.
"Did he just call us younglings?" Tiger says as Spider-Man scoffs.
"Yeah, maybe Nova but that's beside the point! Thor, we can help take down Big-Ugly! Just—"
The Asgardian god holds his hand out to us, glancing back before slamming away a beam of ice that' aimed at us. "I value your bravery, but the 'Big Ugly' as you call, it is no mere thief. It is a Frost Giant and extremely dangerous." He says before swinging his hammer and slamming it into the Giant's chin.
"Should we be insulted?" I ask as the others regroup.
"He has to know we're here, to get insulted." White Tiger scoffs, crossing her arms.
"He doesn't think we're good enough." Power Man mutters.
Well, we are still pretty new, not to mention this is technically my first mission . . . I muse, still feeling pretty shaky. "Thanks for the heads up Maggie, I appreciate it! Tell the Professor my thanks!" I say as Spider-Man gives me a funny look.
"Maggie? Professor Connors' assistant? Where? Hey, did they give you a headpiece? No fair!" I wave him off as Thor whacks the Giant through a wall. It appears to be down for the count as he flies back to us.
Jeez, he's tall. I have to crane my neck up!
"Fortune smiles upon you today younglings. You could have been hurt." He smiles as Spider-Man steps up.
"We appreciate it, but we can take care of ourselves.
"Aye, and I'm sure you'll make fine warriors someday. Go and fetch Son of Coul and tell him the trouble has been dealt with."
Okay, I know he's a god and all, but can he knock himself down a few pegs? Sheesh!
"Wait, wait, wait, Coulson called you in?!" Spider-Man chokes out as White Tiger pushes pass him, pointing a clawed finger at Thor.
"We didn't need you, and if you hadn't noticed, we're a pretty solid team."
"Judging from what I heard, the big guy disagrees." Maggie snickers as I bite the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing.
This sparks an argument between the two, making me let out a tiny sigh as Thor goes back to the fallen Frost Giant. My eyes widen as the monster glows a bright red, prompting Spider-Man and me to yell out at the same time,
"Thor, don't touch that!" we both exchange a look before he swings over to Thor while I run behind him.
"Listen, I don't think you want to touch that—" Spider-Man is cut off by a steely glare from the Asgardian, making him bite his tongue. "I-I mean, don't touch that, Thor, Sir!"
"We think there's something wrong with that amulet, Mister God of Thunder," I add-in, as he glances over us dismissively.
"Stand down. The matter is well in hand, young ones." He grabs onto the amulet as a glowing green light burst from it. I have to shield my eyes from it as Thor let out a pained cry and an invisible force pushes Spider-Man and me back. He manages to catch me, shielding me from hitting the wall as I shoot him a grateful look.
"Thanks, Spidey," I whisper as he nods with a wink.
"C'mon, let's go check on sparky!" he says as we both jogged/webbed over to him. "Thor! Are you— Thor?!"
"That's a Frog!" I exclaim before slapping a hand over my mouth.
"Hmm . . . should we laugh? Or drop in shock?" Spider-Man jokes as Froggy-Thor bites his finger. I bite my inner cheek to keep from full-on laughing as the red and blue-clad superhero sends me a heated glare.
"So . . . what should we do now?" I ask as he has a staring contest with the now two-foot-tall frog-god who slams his hammer down in annoyance, causing the floor to rumble.
"S-sorry," Spider-Man apologizes. "It's just that from this angle, you're a frog!"
"There is only one person who could accomplish such bewitchment . . ." Froggy Thor croaks, eyes narrowing.
"The Wizard of Oz?" Spidey suggests jokingly.
"My half-brother Loki. Our father, Odin, is the ruler of the Asgard and ever since he was a child, Loki has sought that power for himself. There's nothing he won't do to disgrace me and usurp my father's throne and take control of Midgard and the rest of the nine worlds!" He explains, looking over the tapestry that Coulson was talking about earlier.
"Midgard . . . that's our world, right?" I say, the mention of his father, Odin, making me look back to where the sword I was led to before all this happened. I wanted to ask him more about his father, but the question remained unasked as he proclaims he had to return to Asgard as he hops away (quite adorably I might add).
"We get that you're upset at your brother, but shouldn't we stop to regroup?" White Tiger offers as Thor turns back to glare at us all.
"I am still Thor the Thunderer! Loki will face my—" he cuts himself short as he snaps a fly out of the air with his tongue, which makes Spider-Man even more worried.
"O...kay, we're coming with you."
"Where I go, is no place for mere mortals"
"Thor, you said Loki is going after the nine worlds, Earth is one of them so that make is our business." White Tiger adds in.
"There's also the fact that you. Are. A. Frog." Spider-Man stresses, earning a sigh from The Frog Prince.
"So be it." He swings his hammer around, pointing it to an empty space as a shining portal appears; the other side showing a beautiful rainbow bridge leading to a glistening city of gold. "Thou art entering the realm of Asgard, prepare for wonders beyond your imaginations!" he bellows as I stare in wonder at it.
"Cool . . !" I grin, being the first one to step up as we pass through one by one. I'm not sure what is with me and teleporting, but as soon as we're teleported to the golden city, I start to feel queasy.
"You okay, Ari?" Power Man asks as I nod, clearing my throat.
"Yeah, teleporting and my stomach never really got used to each other. Ugh."
"SHIELD?" he asks with a grin. I nod, holding a hand to my stomach.
"I hate that thing too."
As we near the city, we slowly start to realize the pillars of ice coating the building and streets. It was deathly silent, the streets completely deserted. Thor loked around, desperately looking for any sign of life.
"Asgard is covered in ice?" his voice held a hint of derad to it before anger colored his words. "This must be Loki's doing! Beware, young heroes . . ." he says as we start to walk further into the city. "Loki! Come out and face me!" he yells, hopping ahead and suddenly he's encased in ice.
Well, that escalated quickly.
From behind him, Frost Giants begin to sprout from the ground, surrounding us and I turn just in time for us to get encased in an icy prison. A strange pink mist begins to spread inside the sphere, and despite us trying to cover our faces, we're all slowly dropping to the floor. It doesn't take long for my consciousness to slip away.
*********
When I come to, the others are still out cold (puns, ha) and I dizzily sit up, rubbing my head and thankful for the mask I was given since my hood came off. I look around the golden throne room we're in, wondering about the weird obsession with the shiny metal as a voice calls out to me from across the room.
"Ah, I see one of Midgard's young warriors has awakened." A man clad in green and donning a curled horned helmet says in a biting tone. "Welcome, child of The Order." I place a hand on the icy wall, trying to find a weak spot of some kind, but my dizziness is making it difficult to concentrate.
"I'm guessing you're Loki, then . . . how do you know about The Order?" I ask, trying to keep my voice even.
"Oh, you are well known here in Asgard. Do not misunderstand, you aren't renowned but we have dabbled in your group's affairs from time to time. More specifically my father." He frowns, tossing up a green transparent ball that holds Thor.
"Do not heed his words, young one, he speaks with a silver tongue!" Thor warns as he lets out a cry when Loki bounces him against the wall.
"I speak the truth when need be, brother," Loki smirks, catching the ball. "I believe the sword goes by Eden in Midgard, no? My father certainly brewed up a bit of mischief himself with that plot." He muses. "Tell me, why does one so young wish to drench her hands in blood? Surely you know the history with your clan of assassins. It's quite a heavy burden to bear."
"If you think you can scare me, you're wrong," I say as spots on the wall began to glow blue. Good, at least that was going back to normal.
"So you were born with the Sight . . . it is rumored to be connected to the Gods, I suppose that makes you somewhat intriguing." He shrugs. I don't know how he figured that out, but his tone was starting to piss me off. Everything he says just sounds so . . . condescending! I was about to give him a piece of my mind but the others begin to come to.
"Ow . . . what the heck happened?" Spider-Man groans, rubbing his head.
"It seems we were ambushed." Iron Fist states calmly, standing up.
"Ugh, I feel like I just went ten rounds on a rollercoaster, Ugh." Nova says looking a few shades of green.
"Everyone alright?" Power Man asks as White Tiger shakes off her dizziness.
"So, any plans for getting out of here?" I ask, rubbing my temples.
"Working on it," Spider-Man says, turning to face the God of mischief.
"I must apologize for the chilly reception, brother. You had no idea how much work it took to drag you and your hammer here. Do you like my spell of containment? I designed it specifically for you!" he sneers, throwing him at us only to catch him like a handball and twirl him around like a basketball.
"Brother," Thor begins, regaining his senses. "Release me now, or—"
"It was so simple to use your arrogance against you," Loki continues as if Thor hadn't spoken. "You never could resist showing off against the Frost Giants, that's why I made a pact with them. Setting the stage for you to come blustering in was so easy . . ."
I start to tune him out as Iron Fist searches the walls for something. "Weak spot?" I ask as he nods without looking at me. "Five spaces to your left, about shoulder height, the size of Bucket Head's helmet."
"Hey!" Nova shouts as Danny half-grins and he and Power Man punch through the wall, shattering it just as Loki hovers towards us.
"Oh look! Your lieelt pets seemed to have freed themselves!" he smirks.
Okay it's official, I hate this guy.
I sprint out of the remains of the cage, running for the walls as two Frost Giants hone in on me. I dodge their icy beams as I plant two explosives on a nearby pillar, sliding underneath one's legs and setting it off as the rubble crushes the two before they can reach me. My head is still pounding as I flip out of the way of a club that nearly takes my head off.
"Maggie, are you there?" I ask, hoping that I still had some reception here but no luck. "Damn . . ." I try to remember something from the info the tablet held, but it's coming up all jumbled.
Nova manages to get Thor out of his prison, but things aren't looking good for us when the Frost giants begin to corner our group. Even with Thor free, there's just too many of them so Spider-Man orders a tactful retreat much to Thor's disdain as we're teleported out of there, and into three feet of snow.
I shake it off the flakes from my hood, popping my head out from the snow. "You know, that whole teleporting deal is not getting any easier for me." I frown, standing up and brushing the powdery white flakes from my coat.
"What were we thinking? Fleeing from a battle? The son of Odin never—"
"Quit it with the attitude; no one likes to run away!" Spider-Man snaps at Thor. "Personally, the only thing I hate more than running is getting killed! Which is what would have happened if we stayed; we need to play it smart and re-group! Come up with a plan, you know?"
"And who put you in charge?" Nova pipes up as he pops out from the snow. "I was doing pretty good back there!"
"You broke a fishbowl! Ari did more back there and she's still figuring out her tech! No offense." he says, giving me an apologetic look.
"None taken."
"Enough!" Power Man exclaims, breaking the two up. "There's no use in arguing amongst ourselves, it won't help anything!"
"Your words ring true, Spider-Man. Loki has gained an advantage by exploiting my pride and my rushing to battle may have endangered you and the lives of my people . . . "
"Don't be so hard on yourself," White Tiger says. "We all could have handled that better."
"You are Mortals. I am not." he sighs, looking down to the ground in shame. Poor little guy.
"'Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth.'" Iron Fist states serenely.
"You were right, Thor, this Asgard business may have been too much for us to handle," Spider-Man says. "We need to lose that spell Loki put on you."
"I got this! Ava, kiss the frog!" Nova shouts much to her chagrin.
"What?! You kiss the frog!" Ava hisses back as he turns to me next.
"Nuh-uh. I've seen how it works in the movies, Ari, you're up!"
"Anyone can qualify as a Princess, Nova. Give it a shot!" I smile as he frowns at me.
"Hmm, I believe I have an idea and the odds are long, but there may be someone Loki had looked over in his conquest. He may give us the chance we need . . ." Thor then tells us to follow him, not giving us any more information as he flies off ahead.
"Jesus it's cold . . ." White Tiger shivers, hugging herself as I fall into place next to her.
"Wanna borrow my coat?" I offer.
"Won't you be cold, then?"
"Nah, my hood is attached to my suit, plus it's thermal. All I feel is a little chilly." I say slipping it off and handing it to her.
"Thanks, Ari." She says wrapping it around her shoulders with a sigh.
"So, find any new cool tech on you? You know, besides the bombs?" Nova asks from my right. I look through the pouches now that we have some downtime, finding a long metal coil that connected to a few thick metal darts and the pouches that were crisscrossed in an 'X' across my chest held small silver daggers engraved with vines. I also find some round marble-sized spheres that I (hope) are smoke bombs.
Power Man whistles impressed. "They really hooked you up, still have those blades?" I flex my arms, both blades of them gleaming in the light of the moon.
"Don't think these could be useful against glacier hard skin," I muse. "They mentioned something about a grappling gun, but I'm not pressing any buttons until I know for sure. The last thing I want to do is accidentally taser myself."
"That sounds familiar." Nova snickers, glancing over at Spider-Man who shoots him a dark look.
"Hey, I just got the stun webs that week!"
"Yeah, and then you go and electrocute yourself after Connors explains how to use 'em." Power Man adds in. "Webhead smelled like burnt toast for days."
"When we have some downtime you guys have got to tell me every embarrassing detail!" I say, just imagining getting back at Peter for all the pranks he's pulled.
"Ari!"
"Don't 'Ari!' me, I can finally get some dirt on you after all these years. Don't worry though, I won't go too hard on you." I grin with a wink. He lets out a defeated sigh, already dreading it as Thor flies back a bit, hovering a few feet away from me.
"My Brother had mentioned you being part of The Order, the assassins that fight for freedom. Tell me young one, why do you risk your life so?"
I look down at the powdery snow, I know the others already knew the gist of it but even SHIELD knew only so much about the mysterious group. "I want to find my Father. He's been a member of that group since he was my age . . . I don't know if my mom knew about it, maybe she did, maybe she didn't, but all I know is that I have to find him." I explain, placing a hand over my gauntlet. "There's something I promised to do when I find him."
He was silent for a moment before he asked, "Do you know of their Creed?"
I close my eyes, seeing the words in red behind my eyelids. "'Nothing is true; everything is permitted.' Right?"
"What the heck does that even mean?" Nova scoffs, rubbing his hands together to warm them up.
"It differs," says Thor. "The Creed is something that's been passed on for centuries within your ranks. What does it mean to you?"
"I was never one for philosophy, and I'm nowhere near knowing how it reflects me but . . ."
"You are worried that you will have to take on the burden of your Father, yes?"
"'Do not let the shadow of greatness eclipse the light of potential'," Danny says sagely, and I have to wonder if the boy always spoke in riddles around the others.
"Have heart, daughter of eagles, and carve out your own path with your own hands. The road may be difficult, but you have good allies to stand by you. Do not forget that."
He's right. I'm not in this alone, and I'm not my father. I'll just have to take it a day at a time. "Thanks, Thor. And thank you guys, for everything."
"That's what friends are for!" Spider-Man says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Through thick and thin and all that jazz, right?"
"Since we were kids!" I laugh good-naturedly as the god of thunder stops up before a giant mouth of a cave. "Whoa, where are—"
"ARI! COME IN!" I let out a loud yelp, stumbling out of Spider-Man's hold and holding a hand over my right ear.
"Holy— Maggie what the ever-loving hell?!" I exclaim as a sharp ringing noise pierces my ears. The others look back at me, exchanging looks as I apologize for my outburst.
"Oh, you can hear me then!"
"Yeah. I can." Obviously.
"Sorry we were MIA, you can't imagine how hard it is to cut through an entirely different dimension! What's the situation?"
"Thor is leading us to someone who might be able to help, and I could use more information on my gear," I say quietly as we traverse deeper into the cave.
"No problem, have you at least looked through your stuff? We gave you different attachments to add to your grappling hook gun."
"You mean those bolts? What exactly am I supposed to use them for exactly?"
"They range from providing an anchor to create another path for you to walk on, to . . . not so nice things. Your grappling hook gun is located near your left gauntlet and activated by placing your hand over the end of it. The one nearest to your elbow, love."
"Okay. So what, do I just aim and shoot?"
"Yep! Just don't do it in enclosed spaces! No worries though, we'll go through a more extensive run-through with your gear when you guys come back— with yours truly!" she cackles a little, the sound of it making me feel a little worried for my safety. "Well, I can't hold this signal for long but I'll be listening if you need anything, just holler!" with that, her voice cuts off and just in time for us to reach the sound of pounding metal.
The sight of a stocky yet short grey-skinned man greets us as he hammers away at a molten hot sword on an anvil. That must have been the sound we were hearing.
"We have arrived. This is the home of the dwarf Eitri, Master Forger." Thor says as the man lets out a grunt, inspecting his craftsmanship.
"A dwarf huh?" Nova muses lowly. "Lollipop guild, or classic dopey?"
"I'm gonna say classic dopey." Spider-Man replies as Thor hops over to the anvil, looking up at Eitri.
"Master Eitri, it is I, Thor the thunderer, son of Odin the All-Father. I come on an urgent—" Eitri holds up a hand in obvious annoyance, halting Thor (surprisingly) and letting out a tired sigh.
"I am aware of your . . . situation." He says gruffly, his eyes scanning over our group. "No one ever comes here unless they need something. 'Make this', 'sign that', 'pull here', 'fix this'. I knew from the moment you stepped foot in this cave, Thor Odinson." He grumbles, voice graggly. "I made your Hammer the greatest weapon in the nine worlds but did you ever come here once to thank me? No. Not even a single letter! You only come here when you need something." He glowers as Thor looks down, shame evident in his posture.
"Scratch that, he's a grumpy one," Spider-Man utters as the Master Forger continues his work.
"This argument sounds a little familiar . . ." I say aloud as I wrack my brain. "Oh! It was that time MJ and I went to that elderly home to do an article on a retired broadway producer! She thought Red was her niece and started ranting on how no one ever visited her."
"How did you make her stop?" Power Man asks as I shrug.
"She apologized, I think. Then she realized Red wasn't her niece and offered us cookies as an apology. Very nice in my opinion."
"Well we don't have any cookies, but maybe we can take something from Ari's weird life experiences and put it to good use," Spider-Man says leaning down to Thor's level. "Maybe this is where you leave behind that whole arrogant prince thing . . . just sayin'."
Thor thinks about it for a few moments before he makes his way over to Eitri. "I ap— I apologize," he says lowly, but Eitri ignores him. "You deserve the highest of respect Master Dwarf. As the Prince of Asgard, I should have accorded you that respect. For that, I am sorry." he says, lowering his head and taking off his tiny helmet.
Eitri stops his hammering, looking down at Thor with a thoughtful look. "Your current state has taught you some humility. If a Prince can bow to a Dwarf, perhaps there is still hope. Now, what can this Dwarf do for you, my Frog Prince?"
Thor smiles, placing his helmet back onto his head. "We require your talents in defeating my brother, Master Dwarf."
"So you need weapons, yes?" he looks at us all, then, nods his head as he turns back to Thor. "Give me one hour, and you shall have everything you need." He says as he turns away to get to work.
"What are we gonna do for an hour?" I ask, taking a seat on a nearby rock.
"Come up with a strategy to beat that horned creep," Spider-Man says punching his palm with a fist and taking a seat across from me on the floor. "By the way, how are you holding up, Ari? For a first mission, this is pretty intense."
"I'll admit, I didn't even think the first thing I would do would be to stop someone from taking over the worlds, let alone a God. It's a little nerve-wracking." I say, rubbing my hand over my fingers.
"You're doing pretty okay for a rookie." Nova laughs and I roll my eyes at his attempt at flattery.
"You guys can keep it so cool though, how do you do it?"
"Who says we aren't worried?" White Tiger admits, sitting down beside me. "There are a lot of people out there depending on us."
"Especially with all the pressure Fury's putting on," Power-Man adds in, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.
Nova snorts, leaning back against the cave walls with his hands behind his head in a lax position. "Says you guys." He says haughtily. "I'm totally in control of this."
"If your idea of 'control' means to get thrown into the wall and rescue a god turned frog, I worry about our chances. The best fighters are always in control, friend." Iron Fist comments calmly, seated in the lotus position.
". . . Are you implying that I'm not in control or being a saucebox? 'Cuz sometimes it's hard to tell with you."
"What the hell is a 'saucebox'?" I laugh as he points a finger in the air.
"It means a smart-ass. What? I'm trying to expand my vocabulary!"
"Remind me to use that on Harry next time, he'll definitely get a kick out of that one." Spider-Man nods, his mask shifting to hint at his grin.
When Eitri is finally done, he presents us with the weapons he's forged. A bow and arrow for White Tiger, to help her concentrate. Nova gets a halberd that only works with a steady hand. Iron Fist receives a short sword, for him trust his instincts, and Power Man gets an ax that can harness his strength. Surprisingly, I get a pretty cool looking boomerang. It's light, the weight similar to a baseball as I turn it over in my hand.
"You, daughter of The Order, will receive this boomerang, which returns to the user no matter where may be thrown but requires complete faith in one's self. Know where to throw, and it will bring you victory." He tells me and I look down at the glittering weapon.
"Ooh! What about me?" Spider-Man asks excitedly, to which Eitri smirks.
"You already have the power within you, but you must learn to take charge."
He lets out a sigh, his shoulders slumping. "So in other words, take this as a learning experience. . . sometimes it sucks being the team leader . . ." he grumbles. I pat his shoulder a little.
"Come, young warriors, the time is neigh for battle!" Thor says swinging his hammer to open a portal. "You have my thanks, Master Eitri."
"You can repay me by defeating that Trickster Brother of yours." He grins as we each follow Thor through his portal. I brace myself, ready to feel the queasy feeling as we appear once again in the throne room, but it never comes. Instead, we're greeted by Loki, turning to sneer at us when we arrive.
"You again? You really don't know when to stay down do you, Brother? Well, no matter! Frost Giants, attack!" he commands as his army begins to rush at us. We each split apart, White Tiger getting the first few hits with her arrows as I veer off to the left, trying to hold down my breakfast. I activate my Eagle Vision, sections of the wall glowing as I grip the boomerang in my hand.
Here goes nothing! With a swing of my arm, I throw it, the curved piece of metal hitting the lit-up wall parts and bouncing off a couple of pillars as it cuts through the legs of the ones closing in on me. The Giants collapse as I jump to catch the boomerang, Nova flying up above me to slash at one to my right.
"Thanks, Nova!" I say as he gives me a thumbs up.
"Not too bad yourself!"
"Okay guys, let's do this! Iron Fist and Power Man to the left, Nova and Throg to the right! White Tiger, Ari, you're with me, let's show 'em what we got!" Spider-Man calls out as we all nod and Tiger and I follow Spidey's lead as the others go off to do their own combos. "Ari, do your thing! Tiger, this guy's all yours!" he says as I toss the boomerang again causing it to ricochet off two that are ahead of him as she sends an arrow flying, the three giants tripping over Spidey's webs as they fall to the ground with a crash.
Nova and Throg (as the Web-Head put it) knock out the last few remaining Giants as Loki retreats into the chamber Odin is sleeping in.
"You will not stop me . . . I will destroy my father!" the trickster god proclaims, using a glowing green hunk of stone to break down the doors. But before he can enter, Spider-Man blocks his way with his webs.
"See? This is why we can't have nice things, if you keep on breaking doors around here you'll never get that pool you want." He teases as Loki scowls, the stone glowing a dangerous green again. I hold my arm up, ready to throw the new boomerang just in case.
"Stand aside, mortal!" He warns, holding up the stone to zap Throg as he collapses on to the floor. "My father's end is nigh." He grins wickedly as Spider-Man gulps.
"Hey, Loogie! You seriously want to take over the world like this?"
"What are you babbling on about?" Loki sighs, clearly getting tired of his words. Too bad that's what he does best, though.
"They'll never really say you earned it; stealth freezing people when their guards are down? Hiring some snow cones? Big whoop!"
"I've suddenly had a change in plans. You, then Odin, then the Universe." Loki mutters lowly, holding the glowing stone as he steps closer to Spider-Man but he doesn't falter.
"The only way you'd ever get any respect, is to take down Thor who, if you don't remember, is a frog! Big deal all-mighty frog slayer!"
Everyone could see what he was trying to make him do, goad him on into changing Throg back to normal but what we didn't expect was him actually falling for it. In another flash of light, Loki transforms Thor back to his original self, following the plan and playing weak for effect.
"Goodbye, brother!" he glares as Thor pushes himself up. "No one will dare challenge my rightful claim to the—" but before he can finish his sentence, Thor smirks and smashes his hammer on the ground, lightning snaking up on to Loki's arm and destroying the stone he was using with a blinding light.
"Huh, will you look at that . . . the Trickster has been tricked!" Spider-Man says.
"By a mere mortal?!" he growls, his hand glowing a dangerous green but before he can do any damage, Thor grabs him by the collar.
"No, Brother. He is no mere mortal; he is the Man of Spiders!"
Loki turns to glare at him as his giants begin to retreat. "Stay on your guard, Spider-Man, for the rest of your useless life!" he exclaims as he disappears in a flash of green.
"Yeah, yeah. Someone's a sore loser." He snorts as we all relax. Thor peeks into his father's chamber with a soft smile.
"Ah, my father still sleeps. Shh!" he shushes, and leads us a few feet away to open up another portal. Dandy. Another portal . . .
After leaving our weapons with Eitri, who promises us to keep them safe, we're brought back to the museum and I couldn't be any happier. If I go through one of those things one more time I think I might actually hurl.
"Thank you again, young heroes. Your name shall be sung in the halls of Valhalla!" Thor thanks us with a grin.
"I'd be alright with a T-shirt, or one of those weapons!" Spidey says, to which Thor laughs.
"The Dwarfs will keep them safely locked away until you need them once again. But perhaps this will satisfy?" he says gesturing to a smaller portal. "A traditional gift to the heroes of Asgard!"
A two-headed ram with blue eyes and a golden saddle steps through, bleating as its eight legs shuffle across the floor.
"Aww, cute!" I say stepping up to pet it. It leans into my hand, licking my palm.
"Awesome! But how are we gonna share this?" Spider-Man asks as the other's wholeheartedly agree that it was all his.
"As long as I can visit!" I say as it chews on a piece of grass it brought with it.
"Yes!" he calls out, coming over to pet it, only to bite his hand. "Ouch!" he yelps, hopping up and down.
"Huh, déjà vu . . ." I mutter. I guess this means we won't be able to keep it . . .
Author's note:
. . . . Holy schnitzel that was long. Nearly Twenty-Four pages! I think this might be the longest chapter (no promises) so far!
Though that's most likely because it is a canon chapter . . . heh. I'm not sure how many more of the 'canon' chapters there will be in the future, but they will be mostly used for timeline use.
It was pretty fun writing this one, albeit a pain to edit since I changed a few things around from my original idea. I hope you all enjoyed Ari's first mission, even though there weren't many fluffy moments but I assure you there will be in the future chapters! =D
I know I say this every chapter, but I really want to thank you guys for the views/kudos/comments on this story and I'll keep saying it because this story would've probably stayed at chapter one without them!
Have a lovely day you guys!
MissHattress.