United States of America

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Benjamin stood in the slightly crowded room, looking about the faces of his fellow Order members. He couldn't help the slight smile that spread over his lips as he did one more scan. Although he didn't like the fact that they had to move, he felt slightly smug to be in a group Victory wasn't. She'd spending basically her entire life teasing him about anything and everything. Thinking she was high and mighty. Yet here he was, part of the group that Victory had stalked across Manhattan to be a part of. He was pulled out of a rare moment of smugness by Astrid's voice.

The woman and her brother Ásbjorn were basically his siblings. He loved them both, even with Astrid's detachment, bitchy disposition the past few years. But she was getting better, and Benji couldn't be prouder of her for it. “Basil and Orfelina are going to be out for a while. Their dads are taking them on a summer vacation, so. Yeah.”

Benji sighed, he'd been looking forward to seeing Orfelina. He'd probably just stand there awkwardly and mutter occasionally in a vain attempt to talk to her, but he liked being around her. She was pretty, incredibly intelligent, nice to him... A wistful smile had adorned his face as he thought, staring at the corner of the ceiling as he remembered the day he'd met her. He'd been floored by her beauty and spent the good part of the next few hours stuttering through his introductory speech and drinking too often as his mouth dried out due to his nerves. He'd gone home that day and fallen onto his bed expecting her to think of him as a complete and utter fool. But that hadn't been the case and Benji had been thrilled to hear that she would be part of The Order.

He was once more pulled from his own thoughts by Astrid's voice, and this time she brought up a subject he wished dearly to never discuss: Loki. The man unnerved him and made his stuttering worse than most times and he often dropped things out of shock when he came too close. He was terrified that the man would do something to him.

“Look. I know Loki's a dick, but maybe you should try and look at things from his point of view. Everyone looks at him like he's a wicked man with a black heart when he's more like an angst ridden red-headed step child. Which one of us here hasn't striven for the approval of our family and friends? He's got really big shoes to fill - Seriously. Can any of you imagine the pressure of trying to be your own person and be known for great things while having Thor as an older brother casting that kind of shadow? All I'm saying is give him a chance. Hell. You've been giving me chances for nearly ten years.”

Benji tried not to shudder and watched as Astrid picked up a tablet, tapping a button to make a television appear. “Just look at the positive reviews for "Joker". People love him. Let us not forget that he's on parole under my custody - Unless one of you want to babysit while I'm on duty...?”

Benji pursed his lips before sighing. Astrid was right, "Joker" was one of the highest ranking Order members, something that Benji couldn't wrap his head around. Swallowing harshly he looked around before steeling his nerves to speak up, "M-m-mayb-be we just n-need to get u-u-used to him being a-around?"

His cheek twitched slightly before he took a step back, half hoping that everyone would ignore what he had just said and went on as if nothing had been said.

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"Good morning Miss. Stark. It is 6:30am on the 21st of June. The sun is already up and it is a nice 18 degrees Celsius outside an a comfortable 25 degrees inside. Pancakes are being prepared in the kitchen for you and I wish to remind you that you need to run a system diagnostics on your limbs later today as Orfelina will not be around for a while and maintaining them will become more crucial than usual. I suggest not hunting after The Order until she returns in case you damage them. I doubt your father would look kindly upon your deceit."

The synthesized British voice of Alexis cut through Victory's sleep. She rolled onto her back, staring sleepily up at the ceiling. Stretching she sat up, watching as her android stepped away from its charging port, metal limbs moving as fluidly as any natural limbs. Blue eyes stared out from the metal face, focusing slightly before the planes on its face moved into a sort of smile, "Do you wish for me to prepare you your coffee this morning?"

Victory swung her legs out of the bed and twisted her back, listening to the air pockets in the cartilage of her spines escape with loud cracks. She sighed in relief as the tension in her back left her and she stood, taking a few unsteady steps towards the door that led out of her massive bedroom. "Thank you Alexis. A chai latte please."

The Android nodded and Victory watched as she walked out of the room, a slight sound coming from the pistons that allowed for the movement. Victory grinned and turned to see her German Shepherd, Schatz lifted its head from the mattress, her tail wagging slightly. Victory grinned at her dog and clapped her hands together, watching as her dog leaped up, tail wagging furiously as she ran to her owner, sitting down with her hindquarters shaking from side to side, tongue lolling out of her mouth.

Victory knelt before her dog, taking its face into her hands and patted her, letting the German Shepherd lick her face as she spoke, her voice babyish as she coddled the spoilt dog, "Yes! Good morning my little Schatz! Did you sleep well? Did you sleep well? Yeeah!" She grinned and got to her feet, skipping towards the large double doors that led to the hallway. Her bedroom, while massive, held relatively little. The far wall was glass, showing off a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline. Large bookcases dominated another wall, an ornate desk sat nearby with a high backed chair that she loved to twirl around in when someone entered, pretending to pet a cat. A couple of cushioned arm chairs sat before a fireplace that was situated in the middle of the floor space. A large walk in closet sat close by her bed and the door to her own bathroom next to it. Her massive four poster bed sat with its sheets advertising her favourite book series, Harry Potter.

She made her way to the kitchen, Schatz trotting behind her before dashing forth as she spotted her breakfast next to the island counter where Victory's breakfast sat, a small bowl of blueberries beside the stack of pancakes. She hopped onto a bar stool before popping a blueberry into her mouth and pulling a pancake onto her plate, hand reaching towards the syrup. "You really think I should give up on joining The Order? They need me to add a little spice to their group. Without me they'll just be Avenger wannabees. And I can't have anyone sullying the good name of The Avengers and therefore my father." She rolled her eyes before continuing, not letting Alexis get in a word edgewise, "I mean... they're all so uptight! They didn't even realize they had found the person to make their group from mediocre to plain and outright awesome. And they kicked me out! Didn't even listen to what I had to offer. Just showed me the door and said 'how-do-you-do'!" She scowled, "So I made a tiny mistake. And they blow their heads!"

If there was something that Victory hated, it was admitting she had made a mistake. The Order would never hear that, ever. Alexis turned and placed her coffee before answering, "I believe that for the time being staying low may be best." The android seemed to hesitate, if Victory didn't know better she would have said that Alexis was nervous about what she was about to say, "Miss. Stark may not agree to this-"

Victory groaned and took a bite of her breakfast, "Oh. Here we go."

"- But it may be best if you try and get into their good books. At least act like your not above them so that they let you in before you decide to climb their ladder too high. Your father was initially denied access to The Avengers himself for similar behaviour."

Victory rolled her eyes, she had to admit though, Alexis was right. She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath before taking a sip of her drink, allowing the taste to wash over her tongue. "How about this? I'll think about it before I go track them down again. hmm?"

"As you wish Miss. Stark."

Junior wandered around after Astrid, his arms folded over his chest and the expression on his face unmoving. He was aware that this was coming and as a matter of fact had a lot invested in how they were all going to be perceived by the public. It called for a lot of sleepless nights, in the past and yet to come he was afraid. Deftly reaching over and plucking a cherry from the bowl he hitched himself onto the counter and took a bite from the juicy, red fruit, his fingers now stained a bright crimson as Astrid made her case for Loki, punctuated by the appearance of a television appearance by The Joker that Junior himself had orchestrated.

He wasn’t a fan of Loki’s, he could say that unequivocally. Anthony wasn’t a fan of unpredictability and preferred the straight forward and direct approach from the people he surrounded himself with. He didn’t exactly relish spending quality time hashing out battle strategy with the trickster god, he was even fairly sure that his mutation would be useless upon the asgardian which pretty much left Anthony defenseless. Sighing, he cast one wary glance towards Astrid and quickly winked before deciding to cast his vote so to speak.

“Benji’s right.” Anthony finally spoke, his big brown eyes drifting from face to face, his gaze finally coming to rest on the man in question himself. “We have to give him a chance to prove himself, it’s not like we were just handed the keys and told to go have a good time while we tried to save the world. We had to earn each other’s trust, so we have to give him the same opportunity. It’s only fair.” The eldest Stark child put his two cents in before shrugging his shoulders a bit as he reached over and stole another cherry from Astrid; he knew that no matter what he said Loki was here to stay. He might as well get use to it and showing his support for Astrid was an added bonus.

“Just let me know before you agree to any interviews. Better still; just don’t talk to anyone with a camera. It’s kind of my job to make sure we don’t come off like militant vigilantes riding on our daddies’ coattails.” Tony casually remarked to Loki with a friendly smile that seemed made for the camera. He was what you called a media liaison, he was the one in charge of the information released to the media and spent a majority of his time speaking to various news channels and newspaper reporters. He also used his mutation to get his point across to the more stubborn members of the media and government with decent results. Anthony was essentially the Minister of Propaganda for S.H.I.E.L.D. and it’d also be a role he’d take on once the reveal took place.


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Amanda rose from her seat and obediently followed along as the rest of the group filed into the kitchen after Astrid, keeping her thoughts about the subject to herself until she fully mulled over the pros and cons. Loki was clever, ambitious and from what she knew he didn’t care who or what he had to hurt to get what he wanted. Something which went against her very fiber of being, yet here she was being asked to trust him. To basically put her life, and the lives of her friends into the hands of a spiteful Norse god who had something to prove. If you asked Amanda it didn’t seem the wisest move but she was rarely asked her opinion on such matters and was use to carrying out orders whether she approved or not. That was until now that is.

Nervously she bit her lip as she watched the flickering screen and listened as Ben and Junior threw their opinions into the ring, Freedom vaguely wondered what Lina and Basil thought, or would say when they returned before her gaze settled onto the niece and nephew of the man in question. Loki was Johanna’s and Gunnar’s uncle and she couldn’t imagine what they thought about the whole matter but figured if anyone was going to be put on babysitting duty it’d probably be those two. There were only a few members of The Order who’d be able to put a stop to Loki if he turned on them and Freedom was fairly certain she wasn’t one of them.

“I wouldn’t say people love him. Infatuated, maybe like all those women who proposed to Ted Bundy, but love is a bit strong.” Amanda replied, her tone a bit more barbed than usual, as she quirked an eyebrow at Loki. Letting out a huge breath she sat up straight and shook her head slightly, her long brown hair curtaining around her shoulders.

“If you think we can trust him, Astrid, I believe you. It’ll just take time to get adjusted, but if he proves himself who are we to deny him, right?” Amanda nervously agreed as she began to absently pluck at the loose thread on her military style jacket.

“Oh, and I’m sorry for talking about you like you’re not here. That’s completely rude of me.” Freedom apologized quietly to Loki, realizing in her haste that even if she didn’t trust the man she didn’t have to act like she was raised in a barn. Amanda was nothing if not properly polite and completely genuine, yet even this event was testing her.

Gunnar Thorson

Outfit

Johanna Thorsdottir

Outfit

The siblings were seated side by side on one of the couches, both dressed in casual Midgardian clothes. Neither sibling had a flare for the outrageous. Their clothes were simple, but comfortable. Their weapons, Gunnar's double bladed daggers and Johanna's sword Norðri, sat at their feet. There was no need to use them at a meeting like this, but the siblings were rarely parted from their weapons.

“Basil and Orfelina are going to be out for a while. Their dads are taking them on a summer vacation, so. Yeah.” Astrid told them. Gunnar nodded, the two worked hard and deserved a vacation every once and a while.
As Astrid moved into the kitchen Gunnar and Johanna followed, falling into place beside the kitchen bench.

“Look. I know Loki's a dick..." Johanna's hand reached out and covered Gunnar's, forestalling any outburst on his part regarding the insult to Loki and by connection family. The comment about Loki was true, he was a dick. He wasn't even technically family, but he had grown up with their father who considered him a real brother, so both Gunnar and Johanna considered him their true uncle. Even if he was an uncle who enjoyed mayhem and chaos.
"He's got really big shoes to fill - Seriously. Can any of you imagine the pressure of trying to be your own person and be known for great things while having Thor as an older brother casting that kind of shadow?" At that last comment Johanna's eyes caught Gunnar's, an understanding passing between the two. They knew what it was like to live in the shadow of Thor, they were his children after all. If it was hard for Loki, Thor's brother, it was just as hard, if not harder, for Thor's children who were expected to be everything their father was.
"All I'm saying is give him a chance. Hell. You've been giving me chances for nearly ten years.” Astrid finished.

Astrid picked up a tablet and tapped on a screen. Johanna turned slightly to see the television rise,
“Just look at the positive reviews for "Joker". People love him. Let us not forget that he's on parole under my custody - Unless one of you want to babysit while I'm on duty...?” Astrid added. Slowly the other members of the Order gave their opinion on Loki. Gunnar and Johanna both remained silent as they considered their teammates answers. They knew just as well as anyone that Loki was dangerous, but they were more than willing to give him a chance to prove himself.

"M-m-mayb-be we just n-need to get u-u-used to him being a-around?" Benji stuttered, his nerves obviously getting the better of him. He stepped back, as if he wanted to sink into the wall and disappear. Gunnar nodded at him, acknowledging his opinion before turning to the next speaker, Anthony Stark Jr. He agreed with Benji's sentiment,
“We have to give him a chance to prove himself... We had to earn each other’s trust, so we have to give him the same opportunity. It’s only fair.” Tony said, receiving a nod of agreement from Gunnar.

Amanda Rogers gave her opinion too, "I wouldn’t say people love him. Infatuated, maybe like all those women who proposed to Ted Bundy, but love is a bit strong.”
Johanna had to agree with Amanda, love was a strong word to use. Besides, what did the public really know about Loki besides what Tony chose to let them know? The Order knew him much better than the public and Gunnar and Johanna had grown up hearing stories of their father's regarding Loki. There was much more to the 'Joker', as he was dubbed, than the public knew. Still, both of the siblings were willing to give Loki a chance.

"My Uncle deserves an opportunity to prove that he is worthy" Gunnar said, echoing Tony's words a moment later. Gunnar turned to look at Loki, "You are being given another chance Uncle, use it wisely." Since Gunnar and Johanna had grown up between Asgard and Midgard their language was less formal than their father's, but there were times when oddities appeared in their speaking, something that the All-Tongue didn't quite help to translate. It resulted in them sounding like normal teenagers most of the time, while at others Shakespearean type language might creep in.
"You are welcome to the job of babysitter" Johanna added to Astrid after her brother had spoken, a small quirk of her lips betraying the amusement she felt at the the term babysitter, especially in relation to her Uncle. She agreed with both her brother's words and those spoken by Benji, Tony and Amanda before him. Loki was tricky and his past proved that he couldn't altogether be trusted, but surely with so many eyes watching him there was little Loki could do to cause trouble, right?

Asbjorn hadn't planned on being at Astrid's today, but then again he hadn't planned on talking about the Order or Loki either. So while others were sitting on the couches, Asbjorn prefered to stand in the comfort of the doorway, the farthest from Loki who was at the other end of the apartment. “Basil and Orfelina are going to be out for a while. Their dads are taking them on a summer vacation, so. Yeah.” Asbjorn winced slightly at the ending of her sentence, once again being reassured that his sister still hated talking to lots of people. At least the apartment was decently clean today.

As Astrid gravitated towards the kitchen, all the others followed including Azzy himself, but this time stuck closer to his sister. So while she began to speak again, Asbjorn quickly grabbed a cherry to hopefully take his mind off of the conversation. “Look. I know Loki's a dick, but maybe you should try and look at things from his point of view. Everyone looks at him like he's a wicked man with a black heart when he's more like an angst ridden red-headed step child. Which one of us here hasn't striven for the approval of our family and friends? He's got really big shoes to fill - Seriously. Can any of you imagine the pressure of trying to be your own person and be known for great things while having Thor as an older brother casting that kind of shadow? All I'm saying is give him a chance. Hell. You've been giving me chances for nearly ten years.”

That last sentence played a melody of pain for Asbjorn's nerves. Instantly, he looked away from his sister, hoping not to catch her eye. It was true, they had been giving Astro time and time again to change and turn back to her original ways. It certainly didn't help that Asbjorn would give her every chance in the world to change for the better, and the entire Order knew it: when it came to his twin, Azzy was helpless. Like a parent that never wants to give up on their child, even when they give up on themselves, Az kept hoping that she would change - even if she hit him more than once in arguments against it. Nevertheless, regardless of that comment, Azzy brought himself back to listen to what the others had to say. Normally Asbjorn would either put his word in first or last, and this time he would be last. He wanted to see how the others felt.

It seemed that nobody would speak at first, but that wasn't Azzy's main concern: it was that Astro was rubbing her scars again. Asbjorn gave her a sharp, quick glance after she stopped, popping another cherry into his mouth. While he had been super excited that Astro finally came out about her forearm scars to the Order - similar to when he did with his fingers - it also caused him some concern every time she would rub them. Call it a nervous habit of his to be concerned. Regardless, she grabbed a 'remote' and flipped on her TV, which came out to reveal news stories of The Joker, which made Azzy's stomach drop. “Just look at the positive reviews for "Joker". People love him. Let us not forget that he's on parole under my custody - Unless one of you want to babysit while I'm on duty...?” For another moment, nobody spoke.

Benji was the first, and Azzy couldn't help but feel concern for the man's nervous face. "M-m-mayb-be we just n-need to get u-u-used to him being a-around?" Asbjorn couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the comment. While many others were agreeing with him, Azzy had to wonder if that was his true opinion for the problem, or a solution to help his own nervousness. Regardless, it went over well with the others. “Benji’s right.” Asbjorn moved his head over to Junior to watch as he looked at all before looking at Loki. “We have to give him a chance to prove himself, it’s not like we were just handed the keys and told to go have a good time while we tried to save the world. We had to earn each other’s trust, so we have to give him the same opportunity. It’s only fair.” While Azzy would have liked to rebuttal such a statement, he couldn't find anything worth argueing with. Anthony's point was solid, if a little odd.

“I wouldn’t say people love him. Infatuated, maybe like all those women who proposed to Ted Bundy, but love is a bit strong.” When Amanda spoke, Asbjorn finally felt like somebody else understood his silent opinion: he couldn't call what was on the TV love, as it would be over with as soon as they were revealed. However, Amanda wasn't finished. “If you think we can trust him, Astrid, I believe you. It’ll just take time to get adjusted, but if he proves himself who are we to deny him, right? Oh, and I’m sorry for talking about you like you’re not here. That’s completely rude of me.” Leave it to Amanda to apologize for something so small. Asbjorn thought that they had all spoken, but he had forgotten about the two whose opinion he feared most: the two he liked to call the Thunder Duo, Gunnar and Johanna.

"My Uncle deserves an opportunity to prove that he is worthy. You are being given another chance Uncle, use it wisely." Obviously Gunnar felt no fear of Loki, as he was a descendant of Thor. You are welcome to the job of babysitter Johanna piped in, before falling silent as well. Now that everybody had finally spoken, Asbjorn knew that he was up. He hadn't drawn attention to himself at all during the meeting, so he wouldn't be surprised if some had forgotten he was there.

"I feel like after such a unanimous agreement, the verdict seems pretty clear. I, however, would like to express extreme concern in allowing Loki to join the Order." Instantly the speech patterns he had grown used to in a court room were used, and he couldn't help it: at the moment, he felt like he was the only one that felt the way he did. The scary part was that he was acting more and more like his father everyday, and yet not at the same time. Nick would never have bothered with such words, and would have gotten straight to the point that a lot of shit could go wrong. Asbjorn, on the other hand, was used to being forced to use such words. "Once the public realizes that the Joker is Loki, the Order will instantly be thrown under a spotlight. Loki is wanted for hundreds of crimes against humanity, and it would fall upon Anthony and myself to somehow sort it out. Thing is, I'm not certain I would be able to beat that many claims as his lawyer, not that I really would want to in the first place." Asbjorn narrowed his eyes at Loki, before continuing.

"However, he is useful to us, and I do agree that we should give him a chance. I'm just here as the voice of doubt, that's all." Asbjorn shrugged slightly, relaxing. "I trust that Astro will look after him, and another chance for Loki may be what he-"

"It has come to my attention that none of you truly understand the position that I have been thrusted into, and your ignorance is beginning to becoming highly cumbersome." A smooth, yet dark and gravely voice came from the corner that many had turned away from; Loki finally decided to speak.

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He had been silent the entire time in his perfectly tailored suit, simply brooding silently on the side. When Astrid stared at him, his fierce green eyes gave her a dull look of mild annoyance. Benjamin Banner nearly made Loki scream with his stutters, as not only was the boy basically useless to him - he could tell that he wouldn't be angered by anything other than death by his scared demeanor - and Anthony's gaze made Loki nearly wish that he hadn't erased his name from the book of Hel. Truthfully, all of the mortals aggravated him in one way or another - Amanda's apology for no reason, Gunnar's belittling tone, Johanna's mockery of his position under the foot of a mortal - or at least, a half mortal. And now Asbjorn Fury, whose insides churned with something that truly made Loki curious and somewhat excited, and his speech actually had some logic - but the ignorance came back in the end anyway.

At the core of Loki's frustration was the fact that these were mortals of great powers, of demi-god like status, and yet the squandered it to save those that would stab them in the back later. Why? What made these lowly humans worth the trouble? Loki wouldn't know, and he assumed that he would never know, which meant he would never go back to Asgard, never return to full strength. Life was low.

"Do no pretend that you all can clearly state that you can trust me - even you Gunnar, your father should have raised you better than to trust me." His eyes narrowed for a moment, before returning to their cold, calculated look. "What you all fail to understand is that whether you choose to accept me is beyond your capabilities and authorities: I am bound here, chained to this plane. I am a shadow of my former self, one devoid of his pride as a god and capabilities as a sorcerer, and it certainly does not help with your mulings over whether or not I should be given a 'chance'." Loki set his jaw, and blinked once slowly before speaking once more.

"So while you may not appreciate my presence, you may find me unnerving, terrifying or 'evil' Loki gave a small smirk at the end, which sent a chill down Asbjorn's spine that made him seriously want to kill that man now. "I am bound to this rock until I am deemed fit to return home, restored to my rightful place." Loki decided to leave out the specifics of the ending, as he knew that Gunnar would not appreciate him 'badmouthing' his grandfather. What a pitiful foot. "I think this meeting has settled all that has needed to be know, don't you think Ms. Fury?" His sullen eyes looked sideways at her, that knowing smirk of 'I know something you don't!' still lingering.

It was then that Loki's mind started scheming again, plans to cause mayhem throughout the ranks. How would Astrid feel if she knew that Gunnar and Johanna were keeping secrets about her heritage? How would Asbjorn feel if someone were to, oh, trigger the darkness in his heart? There was simply so much work to be done, regardless of how weak Loki's powers had become.

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Benjamin was taken aback, eyes wide with shock: People were agreeing with him! It wasn't exactly what he was used to in social situations, people usually didn't take him seriously due to the stutter that often made his appearance. And even around these people who he'd be risking life and limb for he couldn't muster up the courage to speak clearly. It wasn't exactly something that he was proud of considering.

It seemed that after Benji's ice breaker everyone decided to chip in their two cents worth, making the young man feel more at ease that he wasn't the only person who believed that they should give Loki a chance, despite the unease that rolled off him in such waves he was certain the others could physically see it.

This fear of the God of mischief was only confirmed upon him nearly jumping out of his skin as the man in question finally spoke. Benji's heart raced within his chest, threatening to break open his rib cage in its desperate attempt to escape. He shuddered and soon after Loki's speech Astrid basically dismissed them by moving towards her piano where she began to play, effectively blocking out the others in the room.

He stood there for a long moment, unsure of what to do next. Should he stay? Should he leave? Should he bring up something else they needed to discuss? He shuddered at the thought, being the first to talk earlier had tested the limits of his courage. Chewing on the inside of his lip his mind wandered towards their big reveal, his stomach churning as he tried to imagine his father's reaction. Swallowing his pride he walked over towards one of the two people within the room he felt comfortable talking to. He stopped beside Ásbjorn and asked, "What about Victory? What are we going to do about her?"

Gunnar Thorson

Ásbjorn spoke after Gunnar, becoming the first voice to shed some doubt on Loki's acceptance. Gunnar, as much as he hated to admit it, found himself agreeing with Ásbjorn. There was certainly some risk in including Loki, he was hardly the stable member that the group needed. Neither was his history likely to gain The Order any friends if it came to light. Still, based on the opinions of those gathered it seemed that Loki would be given a chance.

And then Loki stirred from his spot at the end of the room, apparently having had his fill of listening to everyone talk about him. Gunnar felt himself stiffen as he waited to hear his Uncle's words,
"Do no pretend that you all can clearly state that you can trust me - even you Gunnar, your father should have raised you better than to trust me." Gunnar said nothing in reply. Trust was not something he easily gave out. In fact his father had warned him about Loki's trickiness. However Thor had also taught his children to believe in their family. Only Thor knew the total number of times he'd given Loki another chance.
Finally Loki finished his speech, directing his final words to Astrid.
"I think this meeting has settled all that has needed to be know, don't you think Ms. Fury?"

Astrid, never one to shy away from a challenge, moved around the counter until she was face to face with Loki. Her words were strong. Gunnar couldn't quite get his head around the threat Astrid made, no more than he approved of the term 'head case'. Still, Gunnar was working on controlling his anger and it certainly wouldn't do if he blew his top because someone insulted his problem Uncle. That done Astrid turned and left the room. A moment later the sounds of piano music drifted through the open doors, clearly indicating where the girl had gone.

With Astrid gone the group seemed to pause for a moment. It was Benji, the quietest and shyest of the bunch, that finally spoke up although only after he had moved to Ásbjorn's side.
"What about Victory? What are we going to do about her?"
The question of Victory Stark was a troubling one. The girl was determined and didn't seem to get the message that she was unwelcome in The Order.
"You cannot talk with her Anthony?" Gunnar asked Anthony Stark. He knew the two siblings were different and they didn't share the same views, however if there was a chance that Victory's brother could make her see sense then why not give it a try? Anthony also seemed to have a way of talking to people that made them listen to him.

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Johanna Thorsdottir

It was a decidedly uncomfortably feeling listening to Loki's speech. Even though he was stripped of most of his powers and banished to Midgard there was still a certain threat about him. He was calculating and knew how to push people to get what they wanted. Johanna could clearly see the impact Loki's words had on Gunnar. Her brother was always the one that was most likely to lose his temper. He appeared to take things much more personally than Johanna did. In fact Johanna was just as touchy about certain subjects as her brother, but she was able to both hide it better and accept that not everything people said was designed to insult.

As Loki finished his speech and Astrid added a threat of her own, Johanna couldn't help but think about the drama that would surely ensue. Loki's addition to their midst was likely to see many relations altered. Astrid, having said her piece, left the room. Johanna's ears twitched as she caught the first notes of a piano piece drifting through the house. Johanna, an adequate pianist herself was trying to place the piece. It was pretty, but Johanna was certain she hadn't heard it before. That was really no surprise. Johanna rarely played anything more recent than 100 years old. She loved the classical musical period and it was mainly pieces from that era that she played.

Her attention was brought back to the present room by the sound of Benji's quiet voice addressing those left in the kitchen.
"What about Victory? What are we going to do about her?"
Gunnar replied with a question addressed at Tony, Victory's brother. Johanna didn't think it would be as simple as talking with Victory, after all if it were wouldn't Tony have done so already?
"We should also consider finding a permanent base." Johanna added after her brother had spoken, "We can hardly continue to use Astrid's home."

Asbjorn hated being cut off when in mid sentence: it was a pet peeve that he got from his demanding father, and one that he felt would never leave him. However, when Loki felt the need to cut in, Az made an immediate exception to his pet peeve. Sure, it still angered him slightly, but he didn't want to pick a fight with a God, especially not one with the name 'God of Tricksters and Evil'. It didn't matter that he had little of his powers left; guys like Loki didn't need any powers to cause destruction.

So as Loki spoke, the unnerved chill remained throughout, even after he had finished. Azzy didn't feel like he was afraid of Loki, more like unsettled. So when Astro went straight over to his face, her own looking pretty darn smug, Asbjorn's look of concern rose; Azzy's protective nature for his sister screaming as she threatened the god. It wasn't that he didn't think of her as capable of kicking his ass, but slandering a god's pride usually had seriously bad repercussions. Just because Loki lost the war didn't mean he hadn't won numerous battles. The damage he had caused still loomed in NYC, with paranoia high enough to rival the Attack on the Twin Towers. Sure, there was also the community effect that brought NYC closer together, but that wasn't Asbjorn's job: he had to look at all angles, see all problems and solutions. Loki's presence felt like a serious problem, one that had no solution.

Once Astrid left, all was quiet once again until the sound of her piano echoed through the apartment. She had been practicing, he could tell by her constant improvements in tempo and dynamics: Azzy couldn't help but smile as he watched from afar. Though, Azzy did notice the lack of... heart in the piece. Slower pieces demanded soul, the owner's very essence to flow, or else they became stale quickly. Azzy thought about going over to give her pointers-

Then Benji spoke, and Azzy was brought back to reality. Now was not the time to go all Piano tutor on his sister: after all, she could school him in most other instruments and vocals - what, it was her power after all. Nevertheless, Benji brought up a point that couldn't be ignored. "What about Victory? What are we going to do about her?" Asbjorn gave a sigh of annoyance at the mention of the wrongly-nicknamed Victoria. She had found their last base, and were using theirs. Ben probably brought her up, however, on his own circumstances and feelings, but they were points nonetheless. Gunnar spoke next, saying the line that they all knew was coming shortly afterwards: "You cannot talk with her Anthony?" Another sigh, but Johanna cut into it with a speech about a new base. Azzy had been thinking about that, so he piped up, turning back to the group.

"True enough - while this temporary base has been working for now, it can't be a long term choice. Problem is, we wouldn't be in this situation if Victory had sniffed us out." He shot a knowing glance at Anthony, since they both knew how problematic their respective sibling could be. Azzy gave a pause, and then spoke again. "Where would be a place that is secluded in New York, and yet not out of reach from the public?" He mused.

---

Loki had made the correct presumptions as soon as he finished speaking: almost in sequence, Astrid casually walked over and stuck her face into his area of space to which he resided in this mortal body. Loki's face remained the same, although her smug attitude did infuriate his inner pride. “You don't scare me. We've already established that. We don't have to trust you because if you step one toe out of line, I'll kill you myself. Now. Whether you like it or not, you're going to be here for a long while. Could be shorter if you weren't such a head case. But you're in dire need of a reality check.”

An eyebrow raised at her statement was all she was given: his expression refused to change from it's small smirk, yet stone-cold features. She continued to speak, but at least backed up to give him some air to breath. “And you seem to be enjoying the good deeds - Or at least the limelight from them. Either way, it's some sort of progress. Loki will remain with The Order. It'll be good for him.”

With that, she turned away: however, Loki did get a little mumble in before she truly left his presence: "There is only one person needing a reality check, Ms. Fury, and you see her when you stare in a mirror." Truly, her entire speech had bored him to tears with its blathering: though he had to give credit to her brash words. Not many treated a god like trash anymore. Besides the point, Loki didn't understand a few things she said, primarily why she would even bother stating that he was going to be there for a while, when he had already acknowledged it. Either Ms. Fury was deaf, was an avid fan of redundancies or felt that he needed to be reminded of what he had already said, but it mattered not. His intentions were not to scare, but to sow seeds of discontent, and she had done her part marvelously. After all, who else could give such a lifeless performance? Even Loki had more facial expression than she did.

With that, Loki listened with only one ear to the dribble that went around. Pointless information, really: the Victory girl was a problem, Anthony was useless, Asbjorn was 'concerned', etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Really not worth a god's time, but what was he to do? Loki's powers were barely even a shadow of his true form, so leaving was barely an option. Granted, he could still shape-shift, which was highly useful for public appearances: he once scared a youngster by simply turning into that one useless scientist Hawking something. Gave him some satisfaction, but barely anything more.

However, when Asbjorn cut out, Loki did have a tidbit of information to share: not that he had to, but there was no need to keep it - after all, he was stuck here. "You cannot have both, young Asbjorn. As I recall, that lady Victory has all of Stark Enterprises to locate you. Either you focus on seclusion, or not." He paused for a second, a smug grin reaching his eyes. "Though, sometimes keeping things secret from another is difficult, don't you think?" He knew that little stab would instantly cause an awkwardness in the air: after all, he was certain that both children of Thor knew of the Fury's heritage, and everybody else always had secrets. "Although, it would certainly help if your Leader would assist more in the conflicts you all face, would it not?" His tone lowered, but he knew everybody could hear him. However, the smidgen of his smug attitude had disappeared, and was replaced merely by an observation which he could not simply ignore. How could one be nominated for leading mutants, when they were not even leading? Even Loki knew - well, was forced to learn anywho - that leading through sheer power meant nothing without example and a few silver words. And yet, there Astrid sat, playing that mortal instrument.



"Get stuffed, Loki." Asbjorn didn't even turn to face him, he just said the first thing on his mind and fell silent soon afterwards - after all, the first part was annoyingly true. Finding a place without Victory finding them would be nigh impossible without a bit of cunning and tech - and Lina was gone for a while.

---

---

Benji couldn't believe his own ears. Were people really agreeing with him? He had to be dreaming, he was tempted to pinch himself to check that it wasn't some kind of illusion. Here he was, with people listening to what he said, despite the fact that he seemed to give off insecurity like a tangible odor. He listened with awe as they quickly discussed what they would do about Victory Stark. The slightest of frowns creased his forehead as Johanna put forward the notion of finding a new base. He somehow doubted, that even with his discovery of the abandoned and decrepit sanitarium, that they would be able to keep Victory out for long. She would find some way to track them down and once more attempt to weasel her way into The Order. And since the direct approach had failed: She was bound to try just about any other tactic.

The woman had an ego to boot and never dealt well with rejection. One could only imagine what would have happened had Anthony decided that he wanted to take his father's place at the head of the company.

Benji blushed noticeably as Astrid thanked him for finding the building, a hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck, "It's no big deal.. really."

As people began to move off to get changed he quickly followed to pull out his own uniform. It was an almost skin tight green suit that he had synthesized to stretch along with his body should he enter Hulk mode. He felt almost silly putting on the mask that covered a large portion of his face. His utility belt carried mostly medical supplies, in case somebody got all beaten up while out on the job.

He was just glad that he was good at this, or else he'd just be that awkward member of The Order that had next to no use out in the field.

---

---

---

---

Victory stretched as she stepped out of the shower, the towel wrapped tightly around her as she stood before the mirror. She searched her face for blemishes, running a finger along the line on her cheek where flesh ended and mechanics began. She grinned, the scar was barely visible, Orfelina had done a wonderful job on it. She'd have to thank her again when she next saw her. She watched as the metal rippled forth, the shiny metalic sheen spreading in segments across the bottom half of her face, pipes coming out of her throat as the respirator began to hiss with each breath she took. A visor unfolded itself from her temples, covering her eyes, a display flickering to life and Alexis' voice echoing in her inner ear, "Systems online. Do wish for me to run a systems diagnostics real quick before you decide to do anything rash?"

Victory rolled her eyes and let the metal retracted to restore her face to its original appearance. She grinned and went about applying the small amount of makeup to her face, accentuating the planes of her face and the colour of her eyes. Pleased she swiftly got changed and walked out into her room, hands on hips. Schatz's ears perked as she entered, head raising lazily as her tail wagged.

She patted her thigh and watched as her dog came rushing towards her, suddenly more animated. She made her way out of her room and towards her own personal workshop, listening to the light hiss of the pistons as Alexis followed her, "I know my brother knows who's in The Order. I know he does. Even if he won't tell me."

"What is it that you are planning Miss. Stark?"

Victory smirked as she entered her workshop, looking about at the myriad of tools and half finished gizmos that littered otherwise tidy workbenches. 'Dummy' lurched to life and rolled across the floor, the single mechanical arm moving almost sluggishly as the three metal rods that served as the robots fingers opened the closed, the cameras focusing as they spotted the trio entering the room. "My brother doesn't need to tell me, I'll just have to spy on him."

She shrugged and took a seat, pulling on a dark pair of visors as she dragged over the her latest gadget. A tiny, remote controlled camera the size of a fly, with the same appearance. She would have it linked to her suit that she could control it from wherever she was and watch its video feed and listen in at all times. Once it was finished, all she had to do was get close enough to Anthony to deploy it so that she didn't have to track him across the country just to spy him.

And then, she'd just wait until he was with The Order and discover who they are and where they are. She would figure out what she would do about getting into The Order after that. And this time, she would have to be more careful, or else they would just reject her again and relocate.

Gunnar Thorson

It appeared that rather than outright attempt to solve the issue of Victory Stark, that the group instead would try to find a new base first. Some ideas of telling the parents had been thrown around, but Gunnar seriously doubted what Mr and Mrs Stark could do in regard to controlling Victory. The girl was selfish, undisicplined and not likely to listen to parents. However, since it wasn't Gunnar's place to question other people's families, especially when his had so many problems, his concerns went unspoken. Instead he left the gathering to change into his uniform.

He reappeared a moment later dressed in clothes of similar design to his father Thor's traditional garb, minus the cape. They were made from Asgardian materials and so were able to withstand the stresses that he would undoubtedly exert on the clothing. Metallic-like plates covered the underside of his arms, they were a handy addition that let him deflect close ranged attacks or long range projectiles if he was quick enough. Hanging from either side of his belt were his double bladed daggers, designed and crafted in Asgard. Each was inscribed with rune-like markings that depicted the blades' story. Gunnar used them not only for physical fighting, but also for directing bolts of lightning.

Gunnar caught Amanda's remark, “I think it would be best if I didn't release anymore photos or videos of our off time. Since we have stalkers and everything, now.”
He nodded his agreement before directing his question at everyone in the room,
"So, what next?"

Johanna Thorsdottir

Johanna's question of finding a new base seemed to be solved quickly. Benji, it appeared, had already spotted a suitable location for the base, a decrepit sanitarium. No doubt it would need work to get it up to standard but if there were ever a group of individuals with more drive then those gathered her, than Johanna would be surprised. She was certain that it wouldn't take long to ready the building to their specifications. As the rest of the gang began to move out to other rooms to change Johanna grabbed one of the remaining cherries and made her way into a back room.

She reappeared a moment later. Like her older brother, Johanna's clothes were Asgardian. Tough, durable and allowing ease of movement, the material was perfect for a being of Johanna and Gunnar's ability, after all her clothing had to be able to cope with being torn at by hurricane force winds as Gunnar's had to cope with lightning bolts. She too had preferred not to follow her father's example and had passed up the idea of a cape, feeling that the extra material would have been more of a hindrance than anything else. Her outfit was close-fitting and had the same metallic accents as her brother. Across her back her magical sword Norðri was strapped, easily accessible should she need it.

Johanna leaned back against the door and waited for suggestions to be put up or orders to be given. Her eyes flicked over to Loki. She had deliberately ignored his earlier words, knowing that the majority of them were designed to simply cause drama. Yet she couldn't deny that some of them had unsettled her.
"...Though, sometimes keeping things secret from another is difficult, don't you think?..."
Those words had surely been directed at Gunnar and Johanna, after all they were both aware of the secret of Astrid and Asbjorn's birth mother. Johanna's eyes had reflexively glanced from Astrid and Asbjorn and then to Gunnar after Loki spoke. Her brother, also able to read between the lines of Loki's words, had done remarkably well in maintaining his cool. Nevertheless the conversation had moved on and Johanna was almost certain that neither Astrid nor Asbjorn had noticed the brief moment.

Asbjorn nodded in agreement as Anthony spoke at length about his plan to keep Victory out of it: while telling his parents was slightly risky, Asbjorn couldn't deny Junior the logic he presented. With Tony and Pepper on their side and not in the dark - bad pun for Azzy to get started on - they would hopefully be able to restrain Victory from her constant interruptions. Well, he hoped anyway. From what he remembered, Tony thought the world of Victory, so it may be a little more difficult to explain that his perfect little angel was actually a scary schemer.

Astro then returned - either ignoring Loki's comments or silently killing him in her mind, he knew not - to agree with Junior, which was actually a first in a while. Not a first that Astro was agreeing, but that she was talking a lot. Azzy couldn't help but beam a little as she went on about how Father was still clueless about the Order and that Benjamin had discovered a new location they could use as a possible base of Operations. He gave Ben a little nod of appreciation when Astro gave her odd thanks, and then there was that awkward silence that followed Astro everywhere. Azzy wasn't sure if it was because of how bluntly his twin ended her conversations, or her mannerisms but these lapses of silence just seemed to write themself.

Suddenly Azzy turned as Astro said something about not working, and getting dressed. Azzy had to admit that he was a little perplexed to this statement, as she was already in clothing, until she returned in her full outfit for Luminesca. Not seeing the logic behind getting completely suited up for combat when they would be just checking out an abandoned building, he nearly piped up only to be cut off by Amanda saying they should all suit up, and then returning in her uniform to talk about stalkers. Azzy, however, remained somewhat speechless as Benjamin, Gunnar and Johanna all got themselves into their 'Order' Uniforms, leaving only Junior, Loki and himself out of costume.

Giving a sigh, Azzy finally spoke, directing it mostly at his sister in playful banter. "Man, you would use any excuse to suit up." He sent her a teasing smile before walking towards a corner that he liked to dub his 'Wardrobe Corner'. In actuality it was the only space in the entire room where a shadow creeped along the wall large enough for him to fit into to allow him to change outfits easily. However, he only used it during special occasions, as today was: he had a court case later on tonight to win, so changing quickly was useful. Reaching the corner, he turned around and backed into it, all while mumbling as the shadows wrapped around him.

"Oh well, guess it can't be helped when the daughter of a billionaire is after you. Maybe we should just send Basil after her: if I do recall, her last reaction was utter disgust." He gave another playful smirk towards the rest of them before he was finished changing and stepped back out of the wall. His uniform was similar to Astrid's in many ways, but at the same time one could notice stark differences. The black full body suit was indeed form fitting, using the same idea of unstable molecules to allow him passage through shadows without any possible screw ups: while they are rare, Azzy has come out of a shadow with his shirt on his legs more than once which gave him the reason.

However, afterwards is where the similarities end: over top of his bodysuit was a black cloak which extended to below his shins. Attached to his body suit (not the cloak, though there was a hood there as well) was a folded back cowl. His dragonhead swordstaff was gone, replaced with with simply an elongated version of the sword strapped to his back (Azzy was pretty annoyed when his costume idea was taken for the game 'The Elder Scrolls V' where it was used by the 'Dark Brotherhood'). The reasoning for all of this extra gear was quite simple, honestly: The cloak shrouded the area beneath Azzy's feet in shadows and darkness, allowing him quick access to shadows instead of having to look. The cowl was used to eliminate light around his face when using his powers, as his was a little more susceptible to light in general when using the darkness. Similar, however, was a voice changer in the section of the cowl that covered his mouth. In

Azzy shook his shoulders a bit to get his clothing into a more comfortable feeling before speaking his reasoning for changing in such a way. "I hope this doesn't take too long though, I've got a court case later tonight that.. well.." Azzy paused a little. "Let's just say I need to be awake to win this one." A hint of anxiety was evident in his last sentence: his next case was with a prestigious councilor of New York, accused of not only swindling millions through his investment agency, but also sexual harassment. Azzy wasn't going to lie, but he wasn't certain that he would be able to solidly win this case with all of the evidence piling against him. However, if he could win the favour of said councilor, Azzy felt that they would be one step closer to announcing their presence to the world with a positive light.

"You know, dear Azzy, that using me just because it's convenient is starting to piss me off." A voice he new all to well rang through his head, which caused him to wince a little internally. "Not the time, Nexus. We can talk about this later. ALONE." Asbjorn could just feel a set of eyes rolling at his statement, followed by a bark of laughter. "Whatever you say runt." Visibly, all that could be told by this mental exchange was Azzy shaking his head a little, like he was experiencing a headache.

---

---

Once again, Loki saw all of the interactions with a form of annoyance, but this time he could tell that his seeds had been sown. Already Loki could tell that Amanda was starting to doubt things, even against her will, and both of Thor's offspring - which would make them his sort of neice and nephew, how cute - were a little edgier now. While some would think that Loki had finished what he had started, he was far from even starting. Loki's head had ideas that were used to conquor worlds and topple governments. Making a few children doubt themselves was child's play, nothing to be worked up about. Heck, Loki didn't really even care. He saw the bigger picture, where he would return to Asgard and claim the throne. Nothing would stop that dream.

Back to this pitiful existence known as the Midgardian reality, it seemed that many of the Order had begun suiting up, talking about a location, Victory being a stalker, mundane topics that did not concern him. Not entirely true: Loki was interested in meeting this girl named Victory Stark, a girl with billions and yet wanted more. She would be of utmost usefulness if Loki could simply get his hands on her. The only way, however, was to play the part of another member of the Order.

Without words, Loki's form began to change slightly, a glimmer around his body as his 'costume' was revealed. In actuality, it was just another suit similar to the one he wore, accompanied with a top hat and the staff he used to attack that one German man back during his attack on New York (good times...) Upon his face was a black mask similar to Astrid's, except overtop of the eyes was a pair of circular sunglasses, making him look like without eyes.

---

---

Benji cut the engine of the motorbike almost instantly as they stopped before the decrepit building. He got off shakily and took off the helmet, hanging it off the handle bar. He turned to face the building, nearly jumping out of his skin as Basil seemed to appear out of nowhere, making a quip about tetanus shots. Benji swallowed, hands shaking slightly, "C-could you p-please n-n-not do that a-again?" He swallowed, crossing his arms to stop the hands from shaking. He was just glad that his mask hid most of his embarrassed blush.

He turned his attention to see the others that now stood about, appraising their new hideout. Many of them had been talking casually on the trip over as they rode on their "sky" road. He noticed with a sinking heart that they didn't seem to be as affected as he had been about the man's sudden appearance. His eyes lingered on Loki for a long moment, his feet taking him away from him as a shudder ran down his spine. He wanted to be as far from Loki as it was possible, and at that moment, that meant getting closer to Basil.

Not long after a more welcome surprise arrived as Orfelina landed on the ground, barefoot, looking about with bright eyes. An almost timid smile took over Benji's features as he watched her walk through the large room. He listened to her talk, the slowly retreating blush resurfacing the moment she mentioned his name, "S-s-s-sure, we c-could get onto t-t-that o-once we g-g-get back h-h-home."

A voice scolded him at the back his mind, telling him to stop stuttering in front of her, that if he continued she would surely see him as an idiot. He swallowed and hung his head slightly as he walked further into the room, eyes flicking to certain points to try and assess the structural weak points and reminding himself to avoid those areas.

Azzy had chatted lightly while riding through the sky on his earpiece, keeping the conversational topics as light and carefree as he could to take everybody's minds off of their apparent problems. Right now was the time to solve their first problem, not bother discussing any other but this one: which was, in fact, getting a new place.

So when they arrived, Asbjorn cut the engine of his car (he wasn't much of a motorcycle fan) and stepped into the ruined building, out came the smooth talker; aka Basil LeBeau. Azzy gave a little bit of laughter at the tetanus remark, before understanding their reason for returning. He was going to say something before a voice made him crane his head up to hear Lina talking about the promise of the building, all while walking on the rafters bare foot. Asbjorn gave a shake of his head as Medico stumbled out a reply back, before Asbjorn went to do his own thing: bylaw and building code inspection. With his knowledge of the laws and whatnot, Azzy wanted to make sure they wouldn't get caught in any extra fees due to legal issues or zoning problems. The thing was that it was pretty apparent that this hospital was going to need a lot of work.

Using the shadows, Nexus hoisted himself up to the rafters where Lina had once been, scanning out the building and making mental notes about certain ways to make the most of it without breaking any laws or such. It was there, however, that he caught sight of Amanda's tormented face and the lowering of her camera. Going back down, as the rest of the team moved away and bunched up themself, Azzy approached Amanda, lowering his cowl with a concerned look on his face.

"You alright Amanda? You seem kind of out of it, distant." What ever she was thinking about, Asbjorn could tell it was eating her up, and he didn't like that one bit. Amanda was the wholesome, optomistic part of the team: if something had gotten her this agitated, yet they continued like nothing happened, Azzy dreaded her thoughts.



As usual, Loki was forced to sit with Astrid as they rid, for fear that giving him a vehicle would create danger or something else ridiculous. It was absurd that this Order was playing it so safe with a God stripped down to a mere man, which made it odd that the only one that had any mild trust with the God of Mischief was Astrid herself. Peculiar, as Loki would say, that she would be the one driving his acceptance forward, when clearly many of them were not in favour. To prove said point, after sauntering into the disgustingly horrible hospital, the man known as Basil or Suspect appeared. Loki instantly caught the scowl that was on the man's face, and gave a little smirk towards him while he did. While a few of the Order had pretty colourful pasts, Basil's was one that Loki felt could be made into a best selling novel to enslave the human mind.

Of course, then there was that flitty girl Orfelina, to which Loki had no reason to care for. She was just crazy, so he let her be: odd for a man who wanted to control the world to call a 'genius' crazy, but it was all perspective. Now people started moving around, but not Loki: no, Loki had to stay right near Astrid almost all the time, which still infuriated him, being leashed to a 'mortal'. Yet he also knew that without her, he would probably be dead, so Loki kept his mouth shut for now, allowing himself to scheme quietly while the rest looked through the dump of a building.

---

---

Benji stood in near silence as they continued to look around the building, it looked more rundown on the inside than it did on the outside. It appeared to be on the verge of collapsing on itself. It would take allot of work just to make the framework stable. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, if only Victory hadn't found their original hideout. But what was past was past, they could only move forward. Plus, the building had potential, it would make an amazing base once it had been fixed up.

So engrossed in his thoughts was he that he missed Orfelina's stumble and yelped in surprise, shock, and if he was honest, fear as she fell onto him. His heartbeat raced, a bright blush covering his entire face as he stopped breathing for a long moment from the fear of hyperventilating and making an even bigger fool of himself than his blush already had. Unlike him Lina laughed at their situation and began to remove herself to get to a nail that had lodged itself into her arm. His stomach churned at the sight, even if it didn't seem to bother her as much as it should. She rolled onto her back, only to land on another nail. He reached over to help her, stopped as a bright light covered the entire building, a vision of what the building could one day become.

It was mesmerizing, truly something to work towards.

As the vision vanished he returned his attention to Orfelina, "L-l-l-let m-me h-h-help y-y-you with th-th-that." He swallowed harshly, feeling his blush deepen. Why couldn't he just speak normally around her?!

Unlike the rest of the Order who could go through with relative easiness, Loki was starting to get mildly annoyed by the amount of creaking that was going on under his feet. Out of all of the people there, he was easily the heaviest - with his Ice Giant heritage, that much was obvious - and the boards protested constantly as his 525 lb body kept taking steps near his 'Guardian'. The fact that he had to stick by her was still infuriating to him, even after all of this time learning about Astrid and her little secrets that he had collected. To Loki, she was simply an interesting mortal with a wonderfully cheesy and unknown backstory, but that was where any form of connection ended. Internally, his vindictive personality was already plotting ways to dispatch of her if he ever got his status and power back.

But at the same time, she was too interesting to get rid of - though the fact that she constantly went out of her way to push his buttons was annoying. But as with all things that Loki had faced, he would persevere past this moment and ascend to the throne as he was meant to. After all, while they may survive a long time, Loki had the upper hand when it came to lifespan; how do you kill a man that has removed his name from the book of Death?

Back to the present, Loki watched with little amusement as 'possibilities' were illuminated by Astrid, the weird child Orfelina laying on the ground with a nail protruding in her back. Truly, he had gotten himself into a freakshow, which made the irony even more thick when he realized that earlier on he had been in control of an alien army. He wanted to give a sigh of annoyance, but he restrained himself: Astrid was too close to him, and would probably beat him for simply sighing. What a weird life he was leading, fearing that a mortal would hurt him. The lack of pride almost made him throw up.

Then again, in the back of his mind, Loki was somewhat glad that it wasn't another of the Order in charge of him. Asbjorn would have been a wonderful candidate, but if Loki failed to twist him to his will he was pretty sure that Asbjorn would just outright kill him, and then Loki would have to go through the trouble of rebirth: and he liked this body. Being under Thor and Johanna would be horrendous, as they both would constantly keep reminding him off his 'duty' and other frivolous matters. Everybody else was incompetent to handle him. So better Astrid than them.

He caught her gaze as she looked away from him, his own eyes furrowing slightly in interest. Just what was Astrid looking at him for? At the moment, he was a shell of himself, a nobody. His pride was in shatters, his powers stolen. All he had was his mind, and he was determined to use it. But the fact that AStrid bothered to even look at Loki was interesting to him, but he said nothing, nor made any indication that he would.



While Asbjorn waited for Amanda to respond, he watched as everybody scurried about: that included Lina on the ground, and Benny reaching to help her up. Thing was, he couldn't stop a giggle from escaping his lips at the entire scenario. There was Orfelina, the crazy, fanatical girl that he grew up with, laying on a nail. Then there was Benny trying to help her up, stumbling harder than a scratched CD. He couldn't help a giggle, which he knew would get stares from both of them. He didn't care though, Azzy wasn't trying to insult or be rude to them, it was all just a circumstantial laugh. Besides, seeing how smitten with Lina Benji was, and his stutter made it all the more funny.

Though the light show put on by Astrid before the moment of giggles was quite impressive. Seeing all of her dreams and possibilities in the form of light and sound was truly wonderful, and he looked over at her and beamed when she finished. Azzy was glad that she was starting to express more emotional values more often, which only meant that she was recovering; even if it was slowly. Each progression was a plus, regardless of how little.

“You know why you're different...You just can't admit it to yourself.” Loki looked calmly at Astrid, donning his Asgardian armor. Astrid herself wore something similar, gold armor trimmed in shimmering blue with a winged half helm. Her hair was let down and flowing as she held her head high. “You don't know anything about me.” She hissed at him, her eyes narrowing as her hand rose to her locket. Loki disappeared and she suddenly felt him behind her, his lips against her ear as he whispered. “I know more about you than you do. Maybe if you ask nicely...” His mocking laughter echoed as he disappeared just as she swung around to hit him. She was left in a mist of nothing, only his laughter.

Monday, July 1, 2013 @ 6:24pm

Astrid lay perfectly still in her bed, her deep slumber comparable to that of Snow White's...Or Odin's. She had slept for seven days with a shimmering field of solid light coating her body like an exoskeleton. How did she manage keeping Loki in the house? Easy - She had Orfelina and Amanda alternate over to keep an eye on him for her. She would have asked the others, but Amanda and Lina felt they were better suited for the job and quickly volunteered.

Azzy had work to attend to, or else her brother would have been her first choice. She knew that Loki made Benji nervous and wasn't going to have the self-important Norse God harassing her brother. She was also under orders to not give Johanna nor Gunnar too much alone time with their uncle, lest he use his guile and play his Sympathy for the Devil card.

Astrid's eyes fluttered open slowly and her stomach began to growl as the exoskeleton faded away to nothing. Her very person shimmered as though someone had turned on a million lights in each one of her individual atoms, giving her a brilliant and multicolored shine as she rose from her bed. A mighty yawn was given as she pulled her hair down and let it brush against her ankles. She sighed, unable to grasp what the hell her dream meant as she pulled on her white SHIELD hoody and black pajama pants.

What the hell could Loki know about her that she didn't? They had been under the same roof for nearly a month and a half, yet she hardly spoke to him about anything. Her brow furrowed as she brushed her fingers against the picture of her mother on her dresser before leaving her bedroom, heading straight for the kitchen.

Amanda and Lina had already left and she didn't see Loki around. She could hear him though. She began to pull out the ingredients needed to make a dinner of steak, black eyed peas, mashed potatoes, and salad.

She was silent as she began to dice onions, several glowing hands flying around preparing everything as she sang softly under her breath. She didn't bother with turning on the lights, using her own glow to see.

---

“Yes!” Orfelina shouted, thrusting her fist into the air as she jumped up. “Check it!” She motioned for the Starks and Banners to join her around the kitchen table where what looked like a taller replica of her lay. “Amelia, take out that can over there.” She pointed to an empty can and watched as Amelia rose up and faced the can.

The android's eyes gave a violet glow before emitting a laser that blew the can off of the counter. “Effective now for offense. Next is her defensive upgrade.” The genius seer turned around and gave a bow before giving an airy giggle. She then checked her watch. “Oh! Vic, I really need you to run down to the physics lab. I left you a gift on my desk.”

She really did, having left a small bag that contained a locket with a picture of the two of them along with their AI units after they had been first built along with a mixtape of their favorite songs as children. But, she mostly needed her friend to leave to speak with the gathered parents about The Order. They had already been previously informed right before Astrid's deep slumber, but Lina had business to discuss as far as resources.

She was sure the others had a few things to say as well. Her gaze fell to Benjamin and she gave her usual adorable smile and giggled before clasping her hands together. She had donned her favorite jean shorts for the evening and black physics shirt that read "Physics Give Me A Hadron". She remembered Benji saying once that it was cute before stuttering an apology and taking off.

Loki had been in the background of Astrid's apartment ever since whoever was watching him had left. After seven days of rotations through Orfelina and Amanda, Loki had started wishing for a personality that was brazen and rude; at least it would be more interesting. Orfelina was too much of an eccentric for his tastes, never really keeping any form of conversation (since that was all he could do with anybody in his pitiful state) and Amanda already had questionable thoughts, but he couldn't use them at the moment. Besides, she was even more boring to strike a conversation with than his 'nephew' and her overly good morality was starting to make him nauseous.

So when he saw a glowing aura emitted from the hallway and into the kitchen, Loki gave a silent sigh of relief. Without Astrid's death threats and stabbing stares, life had gotten easy and dull for the god. Truly, he did find her highly amusing, especially when she was riled up. He remembered fondly teasing her about his knowledge of her heritage without giving anything away, and it was probably the most fun Loki was able to have in such a mundane, pathetic body. But soon it would be time to get his bigger plans rolling, and get himself back into Asgard: regardless of whether or not Odin was willing to let him back in.

That being said, Loki watched from the far corner as Astrid chopped onions in the darkness, as he moved toward her. Loki already knew she could hear him - her hearing was exceptionally annoying - but he was uncertain as to whether or not her sight caught him. So from the darkness, he spoke. "Finally, my watch dog has awoken from her slumber. I was starting to tire of the other two's pathetic attempts at the art of conversation."

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Benji's fingers raced across the keyboard as he ran scenarios through a simulator. It was in the lab or in front of a computer that the son of the Hulk felt truly at home. Here he was in his element and here his almost constant stuttering nearly ceased to exist. Of course it always returned ten-fold when he was facing Orfelina, a slight blush already creeping up his neck as he heard her conversing with Victory in the background. He felt smug knowing that soon gathering in the Stark kitchen would be the parent's of The Order, and she wouldn't have a clue.

He leaned back in his chair, watching as the results lit up the screen of the laptop. He grinned, Orfelina's calculations were flawless as always. He stretched, flinching as the bones in his back cracked. He closed the machine and turned moments before Orfelina spoke, calling those in the room around the kitchen bench where she had been working on her AI. He watched the demonstration with a goofy grin on his face, the blush rising and deepening as he managed to stutter out, "Wo-wo-won-d-d-derful j-job L-lina!" He flinched once more, why couldn't he stop stuttering in front of her? He swallowed harshly, looking at Victory from the corner of his eye as she tried to hide her laughter behind her upraised hand.

Shortly after Orfelina sent Victory off, the woman looked slightly confused, but a grin spread over her features before she left, "No worries, promise we'll catch up later, just us two?"

Benji watched as she left before turning to Orfelina who gave him her most adorable smile. His blush deepened and he rubbed the back of his neck before turning away to put his laptop in a bag and muttering, "H-h-h-how d-d-do you th-think th-this w-w-will go? The S-s-stark's m-may n-n-not b-b-be happy ab-b-bout u-us k-k-keeping V-v-v-v-victory in the d-dark a-about t-t-t-this..." As he finished his stuttering he turned back to Orfelina.

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Victory always loved working alongside Orfelina. She watched as she took a sip from her tea as Orfelina finished working on her AI. She pondered idly why they had gathered in the kitchen of all places, when they had been called together she had expected to be called down to one of the labs. But Orfelina was known for being... quirky. She grinned behind the mug watching her friend's demonstration. Putting down her mug she clapped, covering her mouth with one hand to try and muffle her laughter as the might Benji stuttered like a broken record. In normal circumstances she wouldn't have hesitated to laugh outright, but she knew for a fact that Lina had a soft spot for the stuttering mess, and would get all defensive later when he wasn't around. And Victory wasn't in the mood for another one of her lectures, like the one when she'd gotten the idea to replace her limbs.

"Oh! Vic, I really need you to run down to the physics lab. I left you a gift on my desk."

Victory blinked and put down the mug before smiling, waving over his shoulder as she turned to leave, "No worries, promise we'll catch up later, just us two?"

The moment she left the room a frown covered her face, first the meeting in the kitchen, and now this? Alexa followed her, "I know that look, what are you planning Miss. Stark?"

Victory shrugged, shoving her hands in her pockets, "I have found out next to nothing. Nobody is telling me anything and since I finished my little spy three days ago I think it's time to give it a test flight. Who knows, maybe I'll find something out."

Alexa nodded, "That or Orfelina's now upgraded AI will discover it and destroy it. And then you'll be set back even further."

Victory shrugged and pulled the fly shaped camera from her pocket, opening her hand and watching as it came to life and flew in the direction they had just come from. She watched the video feed in the back of her mind, tuning in the audio feed and lowering the volume. The last thing she needed was to be caught out by not paying attention to those around her.

Upon entering the Physics lab she watched as a few people looked up, quickly going back to their work as Victory headed towards Orfelina's desk. And just as she had said, a gift sat on it with a handwritten label addressing it to her. With a smile she opened it and a locket and a CD greeted her. Picking up the locket she opened it to see the picture within, her shoulders slumped, momentarily forgetting the video feed running through her mind. The picture brought back memories. She hung it around her neck and took the CD, throwing out the wrapping paper as she headed back to her room, putting the disk into her CD player. One of the songs that Orfelina and her and loved a few years ago came through the speakers. She grinned, she hadn't heard this song in a long time, only Lina would think of something like this. Schatz raised her head from her place on the bed as Victory kicked off her boots and sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard.

The visor of her suit unfolded from her skin and covered her eyes, the video feed coming to life before her eyes. Her hand reached out to pat her dog's head, the feed disappearing for a moment as she watched Schatz cuddled up to her side, resting her head on her owner's lap. Victory settled back with a smile, "Now let's see what going on back in the kitchen."

The camera entered the kitchen, quickly sitting on the wall and moving about in random directions as Victory controlled it, hoping that it truly did appear to be a random fly and that it's moves didn't appear calculated. Orfelina was very perceptive in that regard.

To say that it had been a long day for Asbjorn was an understatement. The actual trial had been today (last week was the hearing), with the court ruling in a retrial as the jury couldn't reach a consensus. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he went over his court case once again. He was the lawyer to a businessman named Mr. Ramni, who was being charged with fraud - massive fraud to be exact, over ten million dollars. Yet Azzy had quite specific evidence that had destroyed this arguement, as he had located a trojan virus hidden within Ramni's computer. To quote his computer expert, 'This beauty was hidden so well, even the Greeks wouldn't know they were in'. After he figured out what she was talking about, he used said evidence in what he thought was a fairly flawless deconstruction of the case.

Yet apparently, the jury wasn't too sure about that.

So the retrial was in a few weeks, as apparently a bunch of new cases were being brought to the courts. Azzy gave a sigh and pulled out his phone before getting into his BMW. While seated, he quickly punched out a message to his sister: Hey, you awake yet? I just wanted to know if you wanted me to come over to check up on you before I head over to Stark Tower. Azzy wasn't expecting much of a response, as for all he knew, she was still asleep. It had been his first text to her phone since four days ago.

Starting up the engine, Azzy turned on the automated text reader - so he wouldn't have to read any texts he got, so he was hoping - and drove toward the Stark tower. In traffic, he would hopefully arrive in 15 minutes.

“I'm pretty sure you guys have something on your mind. What's up?” Tony was the first to speak, watching as Orfelina move near Benjamin, Anthony next to Orfelina, Amanda next to Anthony, Johanna next to Amanda, Basil next to Johanna, and Gunnar next to Basil just as Ásbjorn walked in. Steve, Bruce, Jane, and Thor leaned against the table as Pepper and Tony looked around curiously. “Gracie - Do a bug sweep.” Lina ordered her AI as she whipped out her own Howlett Sphere and pulled up the holographic details of Jarvis' system, her fingers moving various formulas around until she effectively and temporarily shut him down. “What's going on? Really.” Pepper seemed to become anxious and worried by the security measures being taken as everyone sort of shuffled their feet. “Miss Howlett, I have located a bug in both the metaphorical and literal sense. Choice of action?” Gracie turned to face her creator, canting her head to the left some.

“Terminate it, please.” Gracie nodded as she acknowledged the command and soon began hacking the bug until it no longer was capable of transmitting video and the audio was distorted and choppy. Orfelina knew that Victory knew and believed it pointless to try and keep treating her like a deluded child, rather believing that it was better to sit her down and tell her why she was locked out. But that would come later. Lina was just as good at hacking as Victory was and knew all of her tricks. She hated having to hide things from her, having gone so far as equipping Gracie with a complete system erase should she ever be counter hacked. “Mom. Dad. There's no other way to really say this. But. We are...The Order.” Junior and the others let a pause linger in the air, watching as Pepper and Tony absorbed the information. “Can't say it really surprises me. The Astro Twins are in on it too?” Tony shifted to cross his arms over his chest as the others nodded. “And...You guys. You already knew?” Pepper looked over at the other parents with a look of confusion as they nodded. “We only just found out last week.” The Captain spoke up but quickly quieted down as Pepper's expression became one of further hurt.

“I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that the security measures are to keep Vic in the dark.” Tony didn't look entirely pleased as the kids before him nodded. Before he could launch into a rant, Orfelina snapped her fingers. “Gracie, playback the video.” The android nodded as her eyes lit up and a holographic screen projected into the air. A video began to play, one that Amanda had captured on the day Victory made her appearance. Tony and Pepper watched as their daughter flew in and immediately attempted to take control of the situation, going in blindly and ending with a disgruntled criminal taking out an entire bank, blowing it to bits. They were lucky that they had gotten everyone to safety in time. The video feed then went on to show Victory stalking up to their previous base of operations and demanding to be placed in charge of the whole operation. The video then began to flicker between various short scenes of Victory's personal rants over the years, many of them directed at Benji.

“It's not that we're excluding her to be asses. It's merely a safety precaution. Until we ourselves get completely organized, get more people on board, and build a stronger reputation...” Orfelina paused and gave a light sigh, letting Junior finish for her. “She's a liability. She doesn't care about saving people, she cares about press coverage. She's only a kid. She only wants to rush in and take charge of something she knows nothing about just to glorify herself and add it to her résumé. If we let her in and something doesn't go her way, she's just going to blow our cover out of spite. S-” Tony held up his hand, demanding a few moments of silence to think. It wasn't that he was surprised to find out his little Victory wasn't a complete angel - Hell, at least one of kids had to take after his personality - it was that she was a younger him times three. “Victory won't get anything out of us...But you should give her a chance. At least try to help her mature instead of locking her out.” The kids nodded solemnly, Junior and Lina exhaling slowly in relief. “Anything you need from Stark Industries is at your disposal. Just not my suits.” As usual, he recovered quickly, walking over to give his son a right hug, patting his back as he exuded pride. There was still a bit of sadness, the Iron Man wishing that his children could follow in his footsteps together.

---

Astrid hardly paid her ward any mind, doing her best to care little for his constant prodding and snarky remarks. What was bothering her was the dream. Sure, Loki had hinted at knowing things about her that she didn't, but how did that correlate at all to her dream? She could see where his teasing and laughter seemed familiar, but her main concern was the fact of her donning what appeared to be Asgardian armor. Why did it feel so natural to her so much that it didn't very much surprise her? The answer was staring her right in the face, but she could hardly believe it. All of the signs were there; From the strange gene that seemingly only she and her brother had to the fact that their mother couldn't be located in any national database. She was surprised that her father didn't run a background check on the blonde woman, but apparently he simply knew that she wasn't a hazard.

She found herself growing increasingly frustrated, unable to come to terms with what the answer could be, seeing it as an impossibility despite how logical it was. Their mother wasn't from this world and she had previously claimed Scandinavian descent. But there was no way that she and her brother could be Demigods, right? Though there was no other explanation for his darkness manipulation and her light as well as their superhuman physical conditions. They already had Orfelina examine their DNA some time ago – Perhaps...It should be compared to that of Loki's and Johanna's and Gunnar's and Thor's. Just a quick blood sample and maybe an examination of flesh and hair follicles.

No!

What was she thinking?!

She simply had let Loki mess with her head and now he had her coming to wild assumptions, playing on her desperation to find out where her mother was and who she really was. That was all there was to it. Loki may be powerless, but his guile was still as present and irritating as ever. She simply ignored him as she prepared the dinner, silently ruminating over all possibilities of who her mother could be. She quickly dismissed the idea of being a Demigoddess shortly after, trying to think of anything but that. Thirty minutes of silence and darkness had passed as she prepared their meal, setting a plate before him. Talk had come about days before she was intended to become his "chaperone", mostly from Anthony Stark Senior insisting that he be locked in a cell to rot and fed molded food. That had only been the least creative and by far kindest suggestion of what he felt Loki should suffer. However, the silent shining star wouldn't have it. She was intently curious as to whether or not he would learn his lessons. She pulled out her phone to see a text message from her brother, sliding her fingers across the screen.

I'm awake and feasting. Come by tomorrow.

She didn't like having people around after waking from her long sleep and was already barely tolerating having Loki around, though she wouldn't admit that he was growing on her. She held her plate and sat on the counter, keeping silent as she ate, often casting subtle and curious glances his way.

When Azzy walked in, the stage had been set for the 'grand entrance', so to speak. After getting his text back from Astro - seriously, she texted weirdly sometimes - Asbjorn gunned it to Stark Tower in the hopes of not being late. When he walked in, Orfelina had finished up a bug sweep of the area. Not wanting to steal anybody's thunder, he stayed to the back of the room, keeping silent and shutting the door with the same level of sound. Tony revealed the big news to Mr. Stark, to which Azzy had to admit didn't look relatively fazed, and voiced his suspicions - though the fact remained that he guessed about 'the Astro twins', even though Azzy was there already.

The rest of the speech was predictable: Stark being told about their distrust of Victory, the full reign of all things Stark, and some pleasentries. Nothing too out of the ordinary, nothing he really needed to get himself involved in unless one of the Avengers or the Order sought him out from the back. Really, he was content being back there, because there was one problem: he was certain that there was something else that should have been brought up at this meeting besides just telling Mr and Mrs. Stark about their identity. Was it about legal procedures? Azzy shook his head, knowing full well he wouldn't forget something that important. So what could it be - perhaps it was about their new location, or- Azzy's eyes brightened when he remembered, somewhat groaning inwardly for forgetting. What had they all forgotten? Loki.

Azzy was truly at a crossroads here: either tell the Avengers that their previous enemy, the destroyer of NYC, was now a member of the Order. Then again, wouldn't that have been simply assumed, as Astro was Loki's parole officer at the moment. Azzy began to muse for a few seconds, before clearing his throat from the back, hopefully getting everybody's attention.

"While I may be out of line, there was one piece of information that Anthony left out." Azzy was uncertain that this was the right choice, but his facial expression gave nothing away. "As you already know, Astrid is the governing body over the Asgardian Loki as he serves his exile. What was left out was that it was by her decision that we... well, allow him to serve as a member of the Order." It was only afterwards that his nervousness came through slightly at the awkward situation that he was posing upon the powerful people around him. If they already knew, then he was being redundant. If they didn't, this could spark a seriously dangerous conversation.



A frown appeared upon the Asgardian's face as he watched her from the utter darkness. Normally he would get a repulsive jab, something such as 'Fuck off' or 'Shut the hell up'. Truly, this was most intriguing for Loki: what could be on his guard's mind that was more important than picking fun at a waste of space such as he? The sarcasm in his own mental thoughts nearly brought an outburst of laughter from him, but he refrained, opting instead to continue to peer upon Astrid's glowering image as she prepared a meal.

The silence continued for roughly thirty minutes - if his ability to read Midgardian clocks was accurate - before she brought him some food, setting the plate before him as she herself began to pick away at the meal she had prepared. Loki gave her a quizzically bemused stare; truly, there weren't many like Astrid Fury. How many others would you know that would willingly look after a mass murderer and God of Evil instead of disposing of him? Not too many. Yet in this fashion, Loki had fewer options of escape. See, he was used to being exiled, thrown in jail, roughened up by others because his nearly flawless plans had been exploited. Escape from prisons and confinement was a cinch. Escaping a willing guardian? Annoyingly difficult, especially without any of his former powers. If Loki was still a god, he could easily wipe the floor with these Midgardian fools - yet that had gotten him in this predicament last time. He had overestimated this primitive power of 'bonding' and 'friendship' or whatever conjured up fantasies these humans liked to believe in.

Loki waited a little longer before slowly beginning to eat, his mind always churning with bemusing curiousity in his new test subject/guardian. Especially with one as interesting in so many fields as Fury - not to mention her brother was also an enigma that would be useful to solve. Loki watched as small glances were sent his way by Astrid, his facial expression refusing to change from its charismatic bemusement. After what seemed like eons to silence, Loki decided to strike up a conversation, the shadows dancing across his face.

"Still musing over trivial matters, Miss Fury? Or is the silence simply because you have finally awoken from a week of slumber?"