Braego Thorson's Story

Freya leaned on the rail of the balcony and gazed out into the seemingly endless world of Asgard, her home. Well, partly. Technically, she was supposed to be "visiting", according to her mother back on Earth. Regardless, she'd been there for a little over a week and wouldn't have been planning on leaving if not for the summons she'd received, along with her brother, Braego. She rubbed the pendant around her neck between her rthumb and forefinger. In reality, it was her weapon: the scythe, Gjennemfore. A childhood gift from her father.

She rested her chin on one of her hands and sighed. Where was Braego? She'd wanted to leave for Midgard (also known as the Earth plane) together. Although she wouldn't admit it, she hated travelling alone.

(Don't kill me for the shortness, okay???? XD)

The son of Thor was preparing for his departure. He was in his quarters fastening on his armor. The last piece was his royal blue cloak which he attached to his armor with practiced ease. He turned to grab his mighty weapon, The Bane of Jotunheim only to find his mother holding it in her hands, a sad look marred her otherwise strong and beautiful features.

"My son... Long have I feared this day. That Midgard would call you away from all you've known to champion them as they did your father."

Braego managed a warm and confident smile as he stepped toward her.

"Be at peace mother. I was raised by the two greatest warriors of Asgard. There are few dangers that Midgard can muster that frighten me."

The young Asgardian's words were bold and confident. They reminded his mother much of his own fathers in his youth. Where Braego's response was meant to calm they only solidified Sif's concerns.

"Yes... that is what worries."

She said with blatant concern and love in her voice. With that she extended her hands and Braego's weapon to him.

"May the blessings of the All Father and all the nine realms be upon you my son."

Braego took up his weapon and took comfort in the familiar feel of the handle in his grasp. The weight of it was almost soothing. The Shield Maiden of Asgard, Lady Sif leaned in and gave her son a warm kiss on the forehead before she held his face in her hands.

"Be safe Braego."

He gave her a smile and a firm nod before leaving the room. He made his way through the majestic golden halls to find his sister Freya waiting for him as she gazed out upon the radiance of the Realm Eternal.

"It truly is a sight to behold is it not, sister? You must join me upon the next Odinsleep for after he wakes the most wondrous celebration is held in honor of the glorious dead who gave their lives in the defense of Asgard and have earned their place in Valhalla."

His smile widened as his mind drifted to his first Odinsleep where he fought beside his father for the first time. Odin's lifeblood flows through Asgard, and Asgard is Odin. His power is all, and he keeps the Asgardian realm safe. But once each winter, the All Father must rest and enter the Odinsleep. While Odin slumbers, his absence leaves Asgard vulnerable and this is when the wicked descend upon his kingdom. For seven days, an onslaught of trolls, giants, dark elves and demons seek to take control of the Nine Realms. But they are eternally defeated by the forces of Asgard led by the Mighty Thor. Braego breathed out a sigh of exhilaration at the memory of the glorious battles he had fighting shoulder to shoulder with his father and yearned for many more to come. He turned to his sister and put his hand on her shoulder with a warm smile and a fiery glint in his eyes.

"I long for the day that you may stand beside me in the defense of Asgard little sister. I wonder why your mother does not permit you to come to Asgard during the Odinsleep... it is curious. I've seen you fight, I fear we may have to hold the celebration early for with you in the fray the enemies of the Realm Eternal have little hope of lasting the week."

He said with a laugh at the last bit.

Freya laughed at her older brother's humor. He might be really, really old fashioned compared to those in her world, but he was quite funny when he wanted to be. She shrugged, smiling a bit. "Well, brother, I must be honest. I'll try my best to convince my mother, but there are no guarantees." She paused, then thought for a bit. After a moment, she added, "However, I do believe I might be able to sway her opinion. Odinsleep sounds like fun. I can tell I'd enjoy myself." Freya smiled again and looked out once more over the glorious golden realm of the Asgardians. It was breathtaking, although she'd seen the scape countless times. Ripping her gaze away, she turned back to Braego. "I believe the 'mortals' are awaiting our arrival, brother. It seems most urgent, too. We probably shouldn't keep them waiting much longer."

Braego nodded in agreement as he rolled his shoulder reflexively.

"Right, let us go then."

He said before the two siblings made their way across the goldne city. The destination was the station of the Gatekeeper of the Asgard. The brother and sister entered his chamber to find the guardian staring out inot the Nine Realms seeing only what his eyes could see.

"Heimdall, I need you to open the bifrost. Freya and I must go to Midgard."

Braego said. Heimdall turned with his ever stoic expression.

"Yes I've heard son of Thor. As ever, if you need to return merely call on me and the bifrost shall be open to you."

With that he stepped up to the platform and sank his blade into the great device that opened the portal to the nine realms. Magical lightning arced out from Heimdall's sword and within moments the portal opened itself.

"Step into the portal children of the Odinson."

Braego gave him a nod and turned to Freya.

"Come sister, show me your world."

He said with a smile.

Smiling contentedly, Freya beheld the portal, the mystical bifrost. "Alright then," she said. "To New York." Turning to Braego, she added, "Best to arrive in style, right?" And with that, she stepped into the portal.

They were on a rooftop. Thank God, no freefalling. She wasn't in the mood. Looking about the cityscape, she was pleased to see that the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters building was right across the crowded New York street. Looking to Braego, she said, "Now then, for your first challenge: crossing the street."

In a matter of minutes, they were out of the building and at street level. She stuck close to her brother, making sure he didn't get too angry at the citizens who were shoving and jostling to get wherever the hell they needed to be. Freya led him to a crosswalk, where they waited for what seemed like forever for the light to change to that white figure that was walking, whatever it was called. She fast-walked across the street, indicating for him to do the same. And there before them, was their destination.

Freya cast one look over her shoulder before opening the door and heading inside with her brother.

The utter chaos of the busy metropolis was almost overwhelming. Braego had only visited Midgard a handful of times and never left Freya's home during his visits. Both his sister and Jane thought it safer with his temper and unfamiliarity with human ways to keep him indoors. Everyone that they passed on the street stared at him like he had three heads causing the young man to quickly become agitated but his sister's soothing hand and presence kept him in check. They reached a massive building with more windows than one could count. Even for one accustomed to the towering golden spires of Asgard this was truly impressive. Freya led Braego inside where they were instantly met by a man in a black suit.

"Ms. Foster, Braego. You're late. Right this way."

Without even waiting for a response the man turned and led the siblings deeper into the facility past countless men and woman hurrying about to whatever task they were intent on completing. They were taken to an elevator that after the agent punched in a security code brought them several floors down. After stepping off they were greeted by four heavily armed men. The agent flashed a security badge and the trio passed the first check point. They walked in silence down a long corridor that was well lit with perfectly spaced wall fixtures bathing the entire space in artificial white light. At the end of the hall was a massive metal door. The agent leaned forward and a blue light scanned his retina. The light turned green and sounded off a simple chime and the door opened with a hiss. As soon as the door opened six men, heavily armed like the men from the elevator stopped them. For a second time the agent flashed his badge but this time it apparently wouldn't suffice on its own.

"Security phrase?"

One of the men asked.

"Bucky."

The agent replied flatly. The men stood aside and the agent, Freya and Braego were allowed to pass. The son of Thor stared curiously at the men wondering if they actually believed they could stop him if he'd sought just pass by them. The children of Thor were led down a second hallway identical to the first but this time reached an elevator at the end of it. The agent pressed his thumb on a touch pad beside the elevator doors. Its scanned his fingerprint before opening the doors. Once again the trio all filed into an elevator and were taking down several floors and just like the first time the doors opened to reveal armed guards. This time there were eight of them with guns up and at the ready. One stepped forward and collected the security badge while a second quickly scanned the agent's body. Once the handheld scanner flashed green the man gave the first guard a nod.

"He's clean."

The first guard looked at the agent stoically.

"Security phrase?"

"Howling Commandos."

The agent replied unphased. The eight guards lowered their weapons and stepped out of the way. The agent led Braego and Freya past them and down a set of hallways. This time the halls were significantly dimmer, with black walls and obsidian floors giving everything a much more somber tone. They passed no one on their silent march until the reached a simple set of unassuming doors. The agent opened them and stepped back allowing the siblings to enter. Braego and Freya stepped into a massive room with a huge screen on one wall. A large letter "A" was displayed on the screen. In the center of the room was a huge zero shaped table with only one person seated at it. A unassuming young man who looked unpleased to be there. Standing at one end of the table was a man Braego had met only once and hadn't taken much of a liking too.

"Nicholas Fury..."

Braego growled as almost an insult. Fury just locked that keen eye of his with the young Asgardian's.

"Braego, Freya... Nice of you to join us."

Freya frowned. The ever-so-businesslike Nicholas J. Fury. She put on a small, forced smile. "Nicky. What a pleasant surprise," she said, although there was nothing pleasant nor surprising about Mr. Fury's presence in the room. 

It was a rather state-of-the-art chamber; everything sleek, modern, technologically enhanced. As her gaze passed over the room, she noticed another person in the room with them: a young man that didn't look much older than Freya herself. He didn't look too happy about being there. 

She took a seat in the chair across from the nameless boy and looked at the screen, if for no reason other than just to look at something. She toyed with her pendant again. As she did this, she suddenly wondered what time it was. Morning? Afternoon? Freya frowned screw it. It wasn't that important anyhow. What was important was why her awesome otherworldly family visit had been interrupted. 

"Hey." Jordan said, he saw a look of diastase or some spite from the other young man to Fury. Jordan smiled, at least he wasn't the only one being dragged into this. Jordan looked around the room, it had the large computer screen covering one entire wall, the walls were black bricks, obsidian Jordan guessed. The walls were reinforced by steel beams, the table he was at was a large circle with at least twelve seats at it. The rest of the room was like an office, there were smaller computers around, the one that floated and you could manipulate. Jordan loved those computers.

Jordan smiled wider when he saw the young woman, she was stunning with beautiful brown hair. Jordan got up and walked over to her. He offered her his hand to shake. "I'm, Jordan Banner, nice to meet you beautiful." Jordan said with a smile. Jordan then felt a little better about the new Avengers thing going on, Jordan looked at the young man again and knew who he was, it was the son of Thor. Jordan could tell due to what he was wearing. Jordan's dad and Thor hadn't gotten along the best when they were in the Avengers program and he hoped it wouldn't pass through the DNA.

Freya hesitantly took the other boy's hand and shook it gently. Banner... So this was the son of the Incredible Hulk? She blinked. Her father had never exactly been friends with Dr. Banner. But, this was no time for rivalries to interfere with the introduction of the next generation. She gave a small smile. No one had ever called her beautiful before. She'd never thought herself too pretty, or even cared. But it was nice to be complimented. "Hi... Freya Foster. This is my brother, Braego," she gestured to get older brother. "Nice to meet you as well."

She was surprised she wasn't being all reclusive and shy like normal. Freya wasn't typically good around strangers. Usually, they ended up pissing her off and she got into fights with them. It was nice to meet a decent person every once in a while. 

Lark and her father stepped into the long, tall lobby of S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ and were instantly greeted by a woman in a black dress with black heels. lark had been to the building many times, but this was the first time she had ever seen this woman. The woman extended a stiff hand to Lark and said curtly, "Kit Lively." Lark raised an eyebrow, but took the hand and said, mockingly matching the woman's steely tone, "Lark Barton." Lark looked over at her father who had to suppress a laugh at his daughter's dry humor, but when Lark looked back at the woman, she was glaring daggers at both of them. "Follow me," she said impatiently and began to lead the two down a hallway, passing numerous security checks on the way until they came to a door.

Lark's father looked from the door, to Ms. Lively, and then back again and whispered over to Lark, "Sorry Larky, didn't know the new girl had a stick up her a-" He was cut off as Lively turned around impatiently to the duo and the door opened to reveal a room filled with Nick Fury and three other teenagers. Lark had begun to laugh hysterically at her father and Lively turned impatiently to Lark's chuckling father and pointed down the hallway, telling him that he couldn't be in the room and he would meet the rest of the team down to hall. Still laughing, Lark's father complied and made his way down to the hallway with a small wink to his daughter, while Lark who was still laughing stepped into the room of people with Lively at her heels.

Finally coming off of her laughing fit, Lark looked over at the head of the table to see the director, Nick Fury, and smiled deviously. "Why hello there, Mr. Fury. How's that burn doin' on your arm?" Lark asked. The last time Lark had seen Fury, he had been speaking of how Lark's father and mother might be liabilities to the team. Lark had been so pissed off that she had shot a flaming arrow far enough to not hit him, but close enough for the arm of his suit jacket to catch in flames. Lark smiled at the man who just grumbled a greeting to her and then looked behind her to Lively who walked over to him and they began to discuss something or other. With a sigh, Lark turned to the rest of the room and looked around. "Fun," she stated simply under her breath, mentally predicting that, if they were anything like their parents, a fight would break out between two of them within the course of this meeting.

Braego hadn't been intent on a fight breaking out but the way the son of the Hulk was looking at his sister was making that a difficult feat to accomplish. Braego stood protectively at Freya's side and looked down at the young boy half his size.

"Take a care son of the Hulk. Your father's tale is known well in the halls of Asgard. You would do well mind your gaze around my sister."

The young Asagardian's voice was almost daring the boy to speak up in defiance. He did not know the young man at all but Braego had heard enough of his father. He would not let the monster within him harm his sister. He would tear down the walls of Helheim before he would allow his sister to take pains from anyone or anything.

The 24-CC7 jet got Valentina to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in New York in no time, which did not surprise her for her father and her had designed the engines on the plane. The jet landed on the private strip at the airport, reserved only for celebrities and those with enough money to buy out the entire airport (like Stark industries, for example), and Val got off the jet and walked across the tarmac towards a black helicopter not too far away. She didn't want to waste time driving through traffic when she could simply fly directly to HQ.

Once on the helicopter it only took fifteen minutes to get to headquarters, landing smoothly on the roof of the tall building. A barrage of heavily armed men instantly appeared on the roof, waiting for her to exit the helicopter to ensure it was not some unwanted guest.

"Luke, be a dear and take my suit inside just in case I need it." She said to the tall man next to her. He had worked for Stark industries for a while and was one of the few she would trust her suit with. Currently she was working on completing a suit that would be far more compact, but it would not be completed for a while and certainly not anytime soon if these visits to S.H.I.E.L.D. became a usual thing.

"Of course, Miss Stark." He replied and followed after her as she exited the helicopter.

The men that had surrounded the helicopter lowered their weapons immediately upon seeing them, the younger members in the squad looking slightly uncomfortable as they tried to remain professional despite their desire to take a good look at the voluptuous brunette. Like she had decided upon earlier she wore the low cut black suit jacket which allowed the swell of her chest to be seen quite clearly and also accented her small trim waist, a short black skirt covered the upper portion of her thighs while the rest of her legs were bare. A pair of red pumps were on her feet, making her already tall frame stand at over 6'1, and matched the red lipstick that covered her full lips. Her long dark locks were down in loose voluminous curls, a dash of mascara highlighting her sea-foam colored eyes.

"Miss Stark, if you'll follow me I'll take you to the meeting room."

She directed her attention towards the man who had spoken and gave him a cool smile, "Yes, well, let's get going then." Val said and walked off without him into the building, causing him to chase after her.

"Uh, miss, it's actually faster if we go down this hallway..." He said, gesturing towards a long hallway to their right.

"It's a full minute shorter to go this way and we don't need to deal with the time wasting security procedures. Cut through a few rooms, the laboratory in room 223, and a quick turn to the left then we're there." Valentina said without stopping, heels clicking confidently on the shining floors. She did not need to look at the man trailing after her quick pace to know that he was surprised by her knowledge of the building, especially in the secure area they were in, "Your security system is a little outdated. The Stark RX would have been a much better choice." Valentina added, amusement clear in her voice as she threw open the door to room and followed through. A few minutes later she entered the laboratory as the guard continued to follow after her mutely.

She made her way around the computers, casually making note of the technology S.H.E.I.L.D. was using, and finally through open the door on the other side and excited into the hall. A few doors down she could hear the sound of voices and knew that she was in the right area. Then again, that was no surprise.

"Yes, so, it's just down the hall there." The guard managed, trying to sound like he was the one that had lead her here when it was very much the opposite.

"I've got it from here, sparky." She said cooly, dropping him a playful wink before turning and walking away from him. The sound of voices got closer and she picked out who they were rather easily: Skylark Barton, Jordan Banner, Freya Foster, and Braego Thorson. A few days ago, when she had been told about the meeting, she had taken an afternoon to learn all she could about the sons and daughters of the other Avengers so that nothing would be a surprise. If it was one thing she was good at (and lets face it, she was good at a lot of things) it was being prepared.

The door slid open, allowing her access to the room and she was left with the view of the burly Braego threatening Jordan and flexing his muscles in an attempt to look like the bigger man (no real doubt that he was). Freya stood next to him and Lark sat off to the side looking slightly indifferent about the situation, if not a little pleased with herself.

"Looks like the party has started without me." She commented, strolling into the room and right between Braego and Jordan, "Try not beat each other to a pulp yet, boys. I'd like to get this meeting over with first." She added, taking a seat at the opposite side of the table and crossing her long lean legs before casting a glance at Nick Fury, "Afternoon, Nick." She said, giving him a dramatic joking wink that would have made her father burst out in laughter.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss Stark." Nick replied in his rough voice, clearly unimpressed with the group.

Braego turned at the sound of the newcomers voice. The woman was stunnigly beautiful, with an aluring figure that the love Goddess Frejya herself would have reason to be jealous. Yet her beauty was dwarfed by her bold almost arrogant attidtude. Her voice dripped with confidence with which Braego could see little reason for. She did not have the look of a warrior to him yet she spoke to those around her like she was their betters. Either fortunately for Jordan, Braego or everyone in the room Braego took his attention from Bruce Banner's son and turned it to the captivating Miss Stark. He was bout to speak when Nick Fury finally adressed the group.

"Well now that you're all aqcuainted I'd say it's time we get down to business."

Fury said as he walked out around the table and stood in front of the massive screen.

"Some of you know why you're here."

His eye fell on Valentina, Skylark and Jordan.

"The rest of you are about to be brought up to speed."

His gaze turned to Braego and Freya.

"You're here because of your parents. You're here because of what they are able to acomplish together. We're here hoping you can do the same."

Jordan sat down by Skylark grumbling at Bragoe's failed attempt to intimidate him. Jordan looked to Furry when he began to speak. "Blah blah blah, get to it. What the hell is with the Avenger's logo?" Jordan asked, he was tired of people that didn't get to the point, he hated suspense.

"You are the next Generation." Furry said, Jordan knew that.

"Obviously." Jordan said, he crossed his arms.

"You are the next generation of Avengers." Furry leaned against on of the Obsidian walls and pointed to the huge computer screen. A image of all the origanal Avengers came on the screen, then pictures of them , all the teens of the room.

Jordan was pissed. "This isn't what I signed up for Furry." Jordan said obviously angry.

Jordan felt like killing someone, he told them he didn't want to fight and now he wanted him just because he could turn into a feral beast. It wasn't his thing.

Braego stared up at the image and was unsure of how to feel. A part of him felt overwhelming pride at standing in the same spot his fathers does, another part felt irratation at the entire idea. He'd much rather return to Asgard and prepare for the next Odinsleep. Fury took a few steps toward the table and tossed a manilla envelope on the table.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that Mr. Banner but even your feelings aren't more important than the saftey of the world. Your father may not like it either but he understands that too. That goes for all of you... Let me give you a bit of wise words from a WW2 vet I know. Each of you may have your reservations about working together, working for S.H.I.E.L.D, working with me but the fact is folks we don't have much of a choice. When the fate of the world hangs in the balance it falls on those with the power to make a difference to put their differences aside."

Braego listened to Fury's words and while not likeing the situation he couldn't help but agree with him. He turned to Freya curious of her thoughts.

"What do you say Freya?"

He said in a hushed tone.

She bit her lip, anger dissipating to make way for contemplation. She wanted to go back to Asgard with her brother, not deal with the issues of the general population. Plus, she wasn't too sure how cooperation with these others was going to happen. She had a feeling there would be fights amongst themselves, and that was not something Freya wanted to involve herself with. She muttered her response, "I don't know... what could possible so important that we need to deal with it?"

Freya considered this some more. Her mother was human. If the danger was as urgent as Fury had made it sound... the humans could quite possibly be put in jeopardy, and she owed it to her mother to at least try to do something about it, even though she didn't really want to. She sat back in the chair, worrying a rip in the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "I want to know more," she finished.

Lark chuckled as the taller girl strolled into the room with a confident air about her. Lark had absolutely no clue why, but she like the girl's attitude. Maybe it was because Lark, herself, had a very dry sense of humor, but she couldn't be sure. LarkShe smiled up at Fury's annoyed look at each of them. "Not all it's cracked up t' be, eh Fury?" Lark half-whispered to the man. Fury only looked at her with a bit of distaste and sighed heavily, looking around the room and then behind him to Lively. "This is Kit Lively. While I'm over there making sure that your parents don't kill each other, Ms. Lively will be hear making sure that you don't kill each other."

With that, Lively stepped up to the plate and nodded curtly. "You all have conflicting personalities just as your parents, but I believe that if they can work together, so can you." Lark couldn't help but roll her eyes and looked over at Lively with a chuckle. "Yeah. We're off to a great start," she said sarcastically. Lively glared at her and then back at the rest of them. "Look you don't have to like it, but you must care at least a little about this world." Lark chuckled, but bit her tongue to keep herself from making another sarcastic comment.

If Freya was willing to entertain the idea of working with this team than he would be at her side if for no other reason. Braego crossed his arms over his chest, displeased that Fury could not even take the time to tell them of this venture they would be on himself and instead, delegated to one of his subordinates.

"We have already proven our willingness to fight your battles Ms. Lively. If that were not the case none of us would have bothered to make the journey. Now loose your tongue and speak plain. What threat faces Midgard?"

Braego said, speaking up.

((OOC: In case you haven't noticed, I'm not great when it comes to explaining things, but this idea was created in full by Bromander. (: Thank you so much.))

Lark looked at the guy asking Lively what threat faced 'Midgard' and guessed that he was the son of Thor, since he was talking like that. Lark smiled over at him, thinking that he was sorta cute, and mentally made a note to introduce herself to him later. Lark looked back at Lively, sighed, and said sarcastically, "Yeah, c'mon Kitty, lose your tongue." Lark was effectively ignored as Lively looked to Fury and then back around the room.

"Many years ago, HYDRA was a top secret Nazi organization that some of you know Captain America fought against." Lively paused and looked over at Fury whispering, "That reminds me, wasn't Captain America's son supposed to be here?"

Fury simply shrugged, looking indifferent, and waved for Lively to go on. "We'll bring him up to speed when and if he gets here."

Lively nodded and leaned on the table, getting herself back on topic. "Most think that HYDRA died after Captain America was done with it, and though it is no longer a Nazi organization, they are still doing experiments and fabricating weapons that could possible be used for mass destruction." She stopped and clicked a button on a small remote, causing a fuzzy picture of a building set into the side of a cliff pop up on the television screen. "This is the main base of HYDRA where we think that they are creating one of these weapons of mass destruction. We do not know exactly what this weapon or weapons are, but we do know that it is dangerous as many HYDRA weapons are." Lively paused and looked around with stern eyes. "We need you to destroy whatever this machine or machines are before they decide to use it."

Lively ended her speech and looked over at Fury. As she did this, Lark caught Lively giving Fury a quick smirk as if the two knew something more than they were actually telling them, but then in a second it was gone and Lively was giving them that same stern look. Lark felt a bit curious and suspicious at the same time. Her father had said that they were only there to assess their skills. Lark thought that sending them on a mission this fast was more a mistake than an assessment. Unless, maybe, Fury and Lively really did know what was in that base and just weren't telling them. Lark shook that feeling off and sighed, giving everyone in the room her trademark crooked grin. "Hey, what's one little weapon of mass destruction, right?"

Valentina looked up through thick lashes to see that Braego, the son of Thor, was looking at her. She gave him a half smile, nothing too flirtatious or inviting, and turned her attention back to the two S.H.I.E.L.D. representatives at the front of the room where the Avengers logo hovered. Braego was extremely attractive, no doubt about it, but she already knew all she needed to about him: arrogant, muscle-brained, and always looking for an excuse to fight. She also knew full well that her father and Thor had not gotten along very well, but that could have been said for nearly everyone that her father met.

A moment later Fury launched into an explanation on why they were called to S.H.I.E.L.D., but unlike the others, her attention was not on the screen. She casually looked about the room, listening and watching the physical responses of everyone as the true reason behind their gathering was explained. To everyone she would have looked completely unconcerned, but she was actually intently studying everyone and everything in the room. The problem with being as intelligent as she was, was that she could not shut it off. She was constantly doing calculations, sizing people up, and so on. It had its benefits, but sometimes it was a little much.

Jordan Banner was furious and she watched him with interest, curious to know whether or not he actually had control over changing into his alter-ego, so to speak. She had read that he had the power to change as he pleased, but she wondered if he got agitated enough if he would be unable to stop the transformation.

Across the room she noticed Braego and his sister whispering about what was being said to them. She caught a long dark wave of hair between her fingers and twirled it waiting for someone to speak. Normally she would have interrupted everyone and had her say, but she wanted to figure out the dynamic of the room before she completely destroyed it.

"This is Kit Lively. While I'm over there making sure that your parents don't kill each other, Ms. Lively will be hear making sure that you don't kill each other."

With that, Lively stepped up to the plate and nodded curtly. "You all have conflicting personalities just as your parents, but I believe that if they can work together, so can you."

Val smiled in amusement seriously doubting that this crew could work together. She for one didn’t play well with others, and it was obvious that the same could be said for the others in the room. Though she had not met the boy wonder, also known as Captain America’s son, she doubted she would be too impressed with him either.

"Yeah. We're off to a great start," she said sarcastically. Lively glared at her and then back at the rest of them. "Look you don't have to like it, but you must care at least a little about this world." Lark chuckled, but bit her tongue to keep herself from making another sarcastic comment.

She was unable to stop herself from laughing at Lark’s response and she cast the brunette a look of agreement, finally finding someone in the room that she liked somewhat though she supposed that could change in a flash.

Braego and Jordan voiced their concerns about the information, Jordan less eloquently than Braego, and soon Lively launched into an explanation of their mission. This was what Val had been waiting for, all the previous information could have been figured out by a child.

Turning in the chair, adjusting her skirt as it rode higher on her lean fair thighs, she listened intently as Lively spoke. So they were going after a HYDRA weapon? Her father had been aware that HYDRA was still functioning, but it was incredibly secretive and though he had enlisted his daughter’s help the pair of them had only been able to find out very basic information. It had been a while ago, the last time they had checked on HYDRA, and she supposed a lot could have changed since then.

Once Lively finished, Val noticed her give Fury a small smirk. Either there was more to the story or this was a test to see if the group could work together. If it was the later, she was certain they were not going to pass with flying colors.

"When do we have to leave?"

“Oh, come on now Jordan let’s not just rush into this. Maybe we should have a sharing circle first and braid each other’s hair. You know, really get to know each other before we race off to save the world.” Valentina commented with mock excitement, the first time she had spoken since the meeting had commenced, and turned in her chair to face Fury and Lively. Her expression clearly showed that she thought it was ridiculous to send all of them together on this mission. It was going to be a disaster and she wasn’t about to get herself killed because the boys wanted to have a pissing contest in the middle of the mission.