Beyond The Stars (UNDER REVISION)

Worst Nightmare

I sit in Tony's lab while everyone talks about Ultron. "He also said he killed somebody."

"There wasn't anyone else in the building."

"Yes, there was." I finally look up from folded arms. Tony flashes up JARVIS. I press my lips together, sad.

"This is insane."

"JARVIS was the first line of defense. He would've shut Ultron down. It makes sense."

I decide to link with Thor, hoping to talk to him. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. To my surprise, he's already back at the tower. I sneak out, joining Thor. He's angry. "Thor?" He ignores me. I follow him in. He grabs Tony by the neck.

"It's going around," Barton says.

"Come on. Use your words, buddy."

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark."

"Thor! The Legionnaire," Rodgers says to get him back on task.

Thor let's Tony go. "Trail went cold about 100 miles out. It's heading North, and it has the scepter." I sigh heavily and press on my temple. "Now we have to retrieve it, again."

"The genies out of that bottle. Clear and present, it's Ultron."

I shake my head and walk out of the lab, tired of the childish blaming game. I would rather work on being more useful in the field. "Initiate training proto-" I remember JARVIS is gone. I sigh, my heart heavy. Walking over to the small control pannel, I press in the number sequence. Suddenly, various doors on the wall opens up. A few training bots come out. I begin my training. After a few minutes, I'm thrown onto the floor. "Fucking hell!" I yell, standing up.

"I could help you."

I turn to see Natasha standing in the doorway. "Oh, hey." I say. She stares at me, waiting for an answer. "Oh! I mean, if it's no trouble, actual feedback would be excellent. JARVIS used to, but..."

"Well, first off, your foot stance is so wrong. You're putting more weight on your front foot, which is why you keep stumbling." I adjust accordingly. "Here," she walks over and stands in front of me. "Take me down. No magic."

"Oh... Alright." I put my hand on her shoulder and sweep her leg out from under her. She uses her other leg to stay up and pushes me down instead.

"So, your foster parents never had a clue that you were alien?"

I look up at her. "N-No.." She helps me up.

"Don't Asgardians weigh more than humans? Wouldn't they have seen that at doctor offices?"

"We do, but we also never get sick, so no hospital visits for me."

"What about when you go hurt?"

"My foster dad was a doctor, so."

"Oh, that's right." She instructs me to work on my punches with her. "Tell me more about Loki? If you don't mind."

"No, it's okay."

"The only time I spoke to him personally, he knew everything about me."

I nod. "He can read minds."

"Didn't that get annoying? He lived with you for a full year, right?"

"Yeah. It did get annoying, but when I asked him to stop, he did. He was actually a very nice guy."

"I can't picture that."

"Because you're only fought him. I talked with him late at night. I read books with him by the fire. I was with him when he experienced most of his firsts. First donut, first Christmas, first movie. It's different. He is... Was different." I realize she's been reading my face the entire time. "He did get power hungry, but can you blame him? He had just found out that Odin wasn't his dad, so the Asgardian throne was taken from him. He was always in Thor's shadow. He never got the change to rule the land he was born to. He wanted to be a benevolent king, but even the most sincere missions require some type of sacrifice." She stops and looks at me confused. "It definitely isn't an excuse for his actions. There is none. I'm just saying that I understand the hurt he felt to have to do something like that. I've felt the type of betrayal he did. I never got the chance to meet my parents. It takes a toll." I sigh and stop punching. "He felt so hated. So alone." I shake my head and look back up at Nat. "Anyways, any more tips?"