They were luckily able to grab Thor before he left for Asgard, and soon they were all in the tactical room planning. Nick Fury strode through the door and Hecate glared at him, eyes turning red. "Why is he here?"
Steve wrapped his arms around Hecate's waist, both trying to comfort her and making sure that she didn't attempt to murder a high ranking SHIELD agent and end up a fugitive. "I'm here because you got your memories and your magic back and there's already a threat coming your way."
Hecate narrowed her eyes, eyes turning a shade lighter but remaining red. "Don't pretend like you care, I know you Fury." He took another step and Hecate took her sword out of the magic vault she'd stashed it in and placed it on the table casually.
Fury stood his ground and merely asked "what would Phil say?" Hecate was behind him in a flash, blade leveled at his throat. "I may be merciful due to my time as a human, but do not think for a moment that I will hesitate to spill your blood."
Fury calmly said "and the real Hecate comes out to play. A merciless god who will not hesitate to slit your throat." The Avengers were silent for a long moment and then Clint said "you're the one who decided to cage a child with a glowing hell-cube you knew nothing about and lie to her about it. I'd be surprised if she didn't try to kill you."
Hecate lowered her blade and said "I see into your mind, Director. I know your intentions just as surely as I know about the bug in your pocket." She dug into the pocket of his trench coat and lifted out a little round disk.
She tossed it to Tony who examined it and laughed, setting it down on the table. "Really Fury? A bug? Why didn't you just ask a question like a normal functioning human being?" Fury carefully said "I didn't think you'd answer honestly."
Hecate stepped back, considering him with ambiguous grey eyes. "He's telling the truth." "I didn't spearhead your connectivity with the cube, Hecate, but it was necessary. You're too powerful for this world."
Hecate laughed and said "go home, Nick." He shook his head and was about to speak again, but Hecate snapped and he disappeared. Steve said "what'd you do?" Hecate smiled "I just sent him home, no worries. I hate the man but never actually pick a fight with the guy who can answer the question 'you and what army.'"
They all smiled and Hecate said "the only problem is we still have no idea how Zeus broke his curse. I didn't make a counter spell so that he couldn't break it." Tony said "well, magic is just complex science. He could have just figured out how you cast the spell and reversed it."
Natasha asked "how did you cast the spell? Energy magic?" Hecate blushed and said "back in those days I was a lot more 'fire and brimstone' kind of goddess. I bound it to something I knew he'd never give up: his powers as a god."
She lifted her hand to show the runes she'd bound it with. "He viewed being King of the Gods and his powers as something that made him superior, so I made it something that he would most certainly never give up." Tony said "so if he gave up his power, then he could be free."
Hecate nodded "and if he gave up his power then he wouldn't have the power to fight me and would have to live as a human. The ultimate revenge for someone that considered himself to be so high above humanity."
Tony said "but once he broke the curse wasn't it... broken? He could assume his powers again." Hecate shook her head. "Not unless he put his power into something to store it and absorbed it again, like I did with my sword. It would have to be something he had an intense connection with, like I did with my sword."
Clint "you had an intense connection with an inanimate weapon?" Hecate nodded "that blade was my only companion through the war. Armor tore, and spells have no real physicality, but that sword kept me as close to human as a goddess can be."
She frowned and then paled, eyes turning a sickly green. "Like the cage he kept me in. He always came to 'visit' and torture me. That cage was a symbol of his power, the basis of his throne so I was always beneath him. After I cursed him I stuck him in there. My final revenge."
Thor said "that backfired quite badly." Hecate sighed. "I was dying of a disease with no cure and it was his fault. Reason, logic, and attention to detail wasn't what I was focusing on at the moment. I just wanted him to feel what I felt."
They all understood and Tony stood up, turning off the planning board and holographic tactical table. "Okay. Bedtime. The homicidal god will still exist tomorrow." They all filed out of the room, exhaustion clear on their faces.
Tony pulled Hecate aside, Bruce following behind. "You okay?" Clint and Natasha lingered for a moment, but left when they saw Bruce nod, that they had it. Steve stood down the hall, but still present. "I'm okay." Hecate said and Tony hugged her. "Bullshit, but that's okay."
Hecate hugged him back and said "I just... it's weird. It's like there's me, Hex who was raised on earth by a Captain America fanatic, and then there's the Queen. This ancient goddess who never really got to live."
Bruce nodded and said "I understand." Hecate turned to hug him, knowing that he more than anyone knew what she was going through. "It just feels like everything is distant. That she, the Queen, is in the back of my mind, and I'm here. Prey."
Tony carefully said "are you saying that your memories are taking on a corporeal mental form?" Hecate shook her head and laughed "I'm being foolish. I believe that the day has simply caught up with me. I just need rest, as do us all. Goodnight."
She turned away, eyes suddenly dry. They all saw as she walked past Steve, smiling at him. He smiled back and said "I'll be there soon, I want to work out for a bit first. Okay?" Hecate nodded and said "don't dally, Captain."
Steve crossed the hall and said "that seem a little funky to anyone else?" As soon as Hecate was gone. Tony nodded but said "no, she's just tired. Bruce and I will go and do some lab work before bed."
Steve nodded and said "I'm off to the gym." Thor said "I will rouse the archer and Natasha and see if they also would like to joust." Steve nodded and they all departed, a suspicious feeling resting in the pit of all of their stomachs.
In her room The Queen watched as magical energy spread across her arms, healing the scars that lay on her skin until it was perfectly clear. "She's resisting." A nymph in the corner of the room, fell to her knees bowing. "Queen Hecate! You live!"
The Queen smiled and said "yes, I live." The nymph stood and said "who is resisting, my queen?" The Queen examined her form in the mirror. "The witch child I took over. She fights strongly, which is why I chose her. Only a strong body could hold my power."
The nymph stood and said "she cannot fight you for long, my Queen." The Queen sighed "that was the plan, but she's a mighty warrior. She absorbed my power and is now using it to fight me. However, she does not have my experience. She shall not prevail."
The Queen sighed and said "I suppose I must converse with her and attempt to quiet her before the Captain returns." The nymph nodded and bowed again "I shall return to Olympus then and tell of your return."
The Queen smiled and said "tell them that their Queen arrives, that Zeus should flee or face my wrath." The nymph bowed, melting away into the shadows. The Queen hovered in the air, a wind picking up as she chanted.
Hecate pounded against the walls of her prison, forcing magic that burned through her, making her cough. The Queen laughed, waving a hand to chain her down. "You should be on your knees when a queen enters. It's only respectful."
Hecate yanked against the chains that held her, eyes burning red. "You're not my Queen." The Queen laughed at the woman at her feet. "I suppose I should thank you for your body." Hecate growled out "don't mention it, parasite."
The Queen's eyes narrowed and she slapped Hecate. "Disrespectful little girl." She waved a hand as she said "you shouldn't have rights to my face. Return to your natural form." Hecate screamed as she changed.
Her hair stayed black, her ears becoming slightly pointy. Her eyes were purple, a shade of violet unknown to humans. Hecate sighed and said "I have too many faces. The silver witch, the goddess, and now this one. I suppose Hecate isn't my name either, is it?"
The Queen said "no, it isn't. Your name was Morgan Fay, named for your ancestor, Morgan Le Fay, sorceress of King Arthur." Morgan's eyes narrowed and she said "I think I'll adopt that rather than the name of the parasitical goddess that took over my body."
Queen Hecate laughed and said "too bad that you'll never have the chance to truly adopt it. They'll never know." Morgan smiled "they're smarter than you give them credit for. They'll figure it out. They'll know that you lied. You didn't create a new body, no magic can do that."
Hecate laughed "see, the thing is. I was awakened when you took out that chip. It was suppressing me along with my power, which I have graciously allowed you to use. The only person that truly would have understood everything about me was Loki, and he's long gone."
Morgan paled "even if Fury tells them it was you, they won't believe him. You pushed him away and they thought it was him." Hecate nodded, mirroring her expressions. "Oh yes. Poor little Morgan."
Morgan shook her head "you can't fool them. I won't allow you access to my memories. You won't know how to act around them. Good luck being me." Hecate laughed "you can only resist me for so long, little witch. Oh," she looked up. "Your captain has arrived. Goodbye, little witch."