Adopted Assassin [COMPLETED]

Chapter 21

.21
BUCKY: STARK TOWER
PRESENT DAY

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"Get - Thor - and - Loki - now," Tessa panted. I had no idea what was happening. She seemed to be in a lot of pain. "Go!" I bolted to the elevator.

"JARVIS, take me to Thor and Loki. Wake them up. Tell them I'm coming. Tell them something happened to Tessa."

"Right away Mr. Barnes."

"Go faster!" I commanded. I felt the elevator speed up. It stopped and I looked out to see Thor and Loki already waiting. I motioned for them to get in the elevator. "JARVIS, take us back."

"What happened to Tessa?" Loki asked. "It is very early in the morning." I told them everything that happened, excluding the part about her lifting the hammer. He paled.

"The queen has contacted her again!" Thor explained. The elevator lurched to a stop and we all raced to Tessa, who passed out while I was gone. Thor picked her up, carried her over to the couch, and set her down gently. Loki did something with his hands and frost settled on her forehead.

"JARVIS, get everyone up here. Now," I commanded.

"Right away, Mr. Barnes," the computer responded.

"She cannot go to Svartalfheim," Loki stated. "She will die."

"Definitely not," I supported. "But, Tessa kept on saying that she would go if this 'queen' wouldn't hurt us."

"She will long to go, brother," Thor said. "Especially if it protects us."

"She will not go!" Loki half-yelled. "The queen is far too dangerous to deal with, even if the prophecy is true."

"What happened?" Tony asked as he and the rest of the Avengers rushed into the room. He knelt by Tessa's unconscious form.

"The woman blackmailed her." I threw my hands up in the air. "She has to go to Svartalfheim and talk to the queen or we all die." Tessa's eyes opened slowly. They suddenly got wide and she sat up.

"I have to go," she said. "I have to go to Svartalfheim. Now."

"This is surely a trap. You cannot go by any means," Thor said.

"No! I'm going even if you don't like it," Tessa argued.

Tony spoke up. "Sweetheart, you can't go. This doesn't seem like a friendly invitation."

"Who cares? I can't lose you guys. Not one of you. Sorry. I'm grounded, I know I am." She disappeared.

Loki sighed and looked like he was trying to hold back a smile. "I see that she has found her teleportation power," he mused.

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TESSA: SVARTALFHEIM
PRESENT DAY

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I ended up in a rocky terrain in front of a castle. I looked down at my t-shirt and shorts. "I'm in another realm. This isn't right. Let's try and have some fun, shall we?" I said to no one in particular. I transformed my clothes into a blue and gold dress that almost touched the ground. I put golden flats on my feet and a black cloak around my shoulders. My hair formed into a braided crown itself. I made a dagger in a sheath appear on each of my thighs. A sword appeared in my hand, hilt decorated with diamonds and other precious jewels. Might as well. I walked in the gates and to the guards. "I am Tessa of Midgard. The queen has requested my presence." They nodded and let me in the actual castle. A guard led me through the seemingly never-ending halls and to the queen, who was seated on a throne. I kneeled before her as the guard introduced me. I should get on her good side and not die, I thought to myself. "Forgive the early visit, Queen-?"

"I am Queen Marieth, young Midgardian." Her icy tone filled the rocky throne room. "Guard, leave us." The guard scurried off. "So, you do have the courage to come to me. I won't have the fun of watching your friends suffer, however."

"Well, I did not want my friends to die. My apologies for ruining your fun," I sneered, bringing out my snarky side. "What is my destiny in Svartalfheim? I belong on Midgard."

"That is where you are wrong, darling. Have you ever heard the name Mary Reeds?" I gulped. The name of my mother. This can't be good. "You see, I went to Midgard 13 years ago and foolishly fell in love with Tony Stark. I bore him a daughter a year later, and he loved her more than he did I. So, I faked my death and returned to Svartalfheim, where I inherited the throne. Don't you see?" She morphed into my mom. "I am your mother. You belong here and you fight for your home."

"Mom." I had tears in my eyes. She opened her arms but I backed away. "You want to kill everyone I love? You want to start a war with us? With the Avengers?"

"You aren't an Avenger. You are a princess. My princess," she said as she morphed back to her true form. "This is what you are destined to be. A queen. A ruler."

"I'm destined to be a hero who saves people. On Midgard. Mom, I'm nothing like you. I have grown stronger, as I was kidnapped by HYDRA. They gave me powers."

"You gained powers when you turned 10. They faked it so you would grow to fear. It did not work."

"You're saying that I was special all along. I would've gotten my powers even if I didn't get taken?" Queen Marieth nodded. Angrily, I let myself go on a rant. "I'm not your princess. I'm not your ruler. I'm not your daughter." She stiffened as I continued. "I'm their warrior. I'm their family. I'm Tony's daughter. You betrayed me as a young child. You're not my mother," I held up my sword, "you're an enemy and a threat." I hissed. Her glare turned to stone.

"I guess that your friends will suffer," Marieth sighed.

"Not today." I used my force field to block guards from coming in. I turned to my mother, who had a spear at her side. "Tell you what. When the war does come, you fight me and me alone.

"I won't resist or let anyone interfere. It'll be just you and me. If I win, I kill you and Svartalfheim leaves Midgard and any other realm alone." She huffed.  "But if you win, you take me prisoner. I will be your puppet. I will be your princess. I will not fight or run away. I will do as you please. Either that, or you kill me. But either way, you do not attack Midgard."

"I will accept that."

"Make the Indestructible Vow. That either you win or lose, you will leave Midgard alone." I smiled. She dropped her spear and I dropped my sword. We walked to each other until there were only inches between us. I held out my wrist and she grabbed it. "I, Tessa of Midgard, make the Indestructible Vow to serve Queen Marieth if she wins the final battle."

"And I, Queen Marieth of Svartalfheim, make the Indestructible Vow that either win or lose the final battle, I and my people shall leave Midgard alone." A golden bond wrapped around our wrists and made a mark on the inside of them. I let go and rushed to my sword.

"If you break it, it will kill you slowly," I reminded her.

"Yes, child. I know. Be ready. For it is coming sooner than you think." She gave me a smile. "I do love you, my child. You know not of the choices I had to make while I was on Midgard."

"But I do know that you are an evil and selfish woman. You care about your own life and its path." I replied roughly. I turned to walk out of the castle when I heard her voice speak.

"Good luck in the battle, my child," Marieth said.

"Luck is the only thing I need." I muttered as I teleported back to Earth.