A Child of Mischief (Loki/Avengers story)

7. All Jokes Aside

"They've had to have made a mistake. They can't be serious?" Cora hears a recruit ask another, as they stare at Cora in disbelief from the news they all had just received.

Cora sits on a stack of protective mats, just staring out a window. Trying to come to terms with what has just taken place. Once she and Peter came back in, they had been informed that a group of eight recruits would be going with Thor for a whole month to his home realm of Asgard.

As Thor had explained why this was happening- which is to give the recruits a change of scenery, learn up close and personal about Asgard's culture, and to train to become a full fledged Avenger- Cora had already prepared for someone to excuse her from the meeting, since she doesn't have a pending Avenger status. But, no one did that.

Instead Cora got the shock of her life, when it was revealed that she'd be one of the eight recruits going to Asgard. She, along with Peter and six others would leave for Asgard with Thor first thing tomorrow morning.

"You don't deserve to go to Asgard. You have no type of avenger status. So why don't you just give your spot up to someone who actually deserves it?" A silver haired girl blatantly suggests to Cora, Cora rolls her eyes and hops off the mat and starts to head for the elevator.

As Cora reaches the elevator, she can feel her body tense up, by the time she realizes what is happening, it's too late. She's flung across the training room away from the elevator. The silver haired girl walks to Cora and stands over her.

"What the hell makes you so special? You're nothing, just a useless orphan." The silver haired girl says as she leans down toward Cora and punches her in the face.

"Someone see's that I have a bit of potential, Ruby. Are you starting to feel threatened by me?" Cora asks as she feels blood drip down her face from her busted bottom lip.

"Why you little." Ruby says and then uses her telekinetic powers to throw Cora across the room again, this time making her hit the elevator door hard. The other recruits gather behind Ruby and begin to cheer and make noises.

Just as Cora lands on the floor in front of the elevator, the door opens and reveals a freaked out Peter, agents Hill and Coulson, Thor, and Director Fury.

"What the Hell is going on?" Director Fury shouts as he steps out of the elevator and around Cora. Peter gets out of the elevator and kneels down and helps Cora off the floor.

Peter moves Cora out of the way of the elevator once he helps her up. Agents Hill and Coulson, and Captain Marvel, stand behind Cora after they exit the elevator. Thor looks at all the recruits gathered around, crosses his arms and shakes his head.

"Cora attacked me." Ruby says as she begins to act scared and helpless.

Fury looks between Ruby and Cora, he keeps his eyes on Cora a little longer. Then turns his gaze to Ruby.

"Really Miss Raider, then why does Cora have a bloody lip, and you not have a scratch on you?" Fury asks, Ruby's eyes go wide as she doesn't know what to say.

"Romanov, roll back the security footage and see what happened. Make sure you check the audio as well." Fury says into his microphone, Ruby's eyes get bigger when she hears the word audio.

"Okay, fine. I attacked first. But, only because I got mad at the fact that Cora was picked to go tomorrow. She doesn't do anything, so why pick her." Ruby admits, Cora just stares at her.

"That is none of your concern as to why I decided to pick Cora. She is as much a part of this team as the rest of you. If any of this behavior happens on Asgard, I can assure you, you will be sent back here to have punishment dealt out properly." Thor says as he steps forward toward Ruby and the other recruits.

Cora walks away from the group and past Ruby without saying a word. Just as Cora gets to the front door of the compound, she takes off her bracelet and shifts into running clothes. She puts the bracelet back on as she opens the door and walks outside.

"I'll go talk to her." Peter says, and starts to walk toward the door. Thor grabs hold of Peter's shoulder, and he stops.

"I caused this, I'll go speak with her." Thor says, Peter nods and looks out the window and watches as Cora gets to the track and starts running.

Thor takes his hand off Peter's shoulder, and proceeds to go outside. Once outside, he begins to walk to the track, as he does, he watches as Cora not only runs the track, but jumps over the hurdles that are placed around it. Standing at the edge of the track Thor waits for Cora to pass him, before he gets on the track and runs beside her.

Cora keeps her head down as she runs, she notices Thor start to run beside her, and says nothing to him. After about three full laps, Thor finally speaks up.

"I didn't know, that would be a result of my decision to have you join the group." Thor says not knowing what else to say.

"Why did you pick me?" Cora asks keeping her head down, and stops running.

"I wanted you to have a chance, a chance at truly being yourself, with no limitations and nothing to hold you back." Thor says and raises Cora's right hand and points to the bracelet as he speaks.

Cora puts her hand down and looks towards the compound, once she looks up, all of the recruits scatter from the windows they had been watching from. Thor turns and also sees the recruits all scatter, all except Peter.

"Looks like you have someone on your side." Thor says as he looks at Peter and then looks back to Cora.

"He's like a lost puppy, just wants to follow me around and stay close in case something goes wrong." Cora says, and hears Thor snicker.

"Was that the only reason you wanted me to go to Asgard? To be myself, even though I have no clue who I am, without limitations." Cora asks getting the conversation back on track.

"Mainly, yes. That, and I wasn't the only one that picked you to go. I had copies of each recruits file made, and took them to Asgard. Odin, the queen, and even Loki picked their candidates for this. I had the final say." Thor says, Cora looks at Thor with shock filled eyes.

"Wait... Loki is alive? How, I thought he died when you and him had the first run in with Thanos." Cora questions surprisingly.

"He did, or at least it looked like he did. None of us knows how he came back. All he remembers is having his neck crushed, and then waking up as though nothing had happened. Odin and the queen about fainted when they saw him walk through the doors of the castle." Thor somewhat explains, and looks up to the sky.

"What did you do? When he walked into the castle, I mean." Cora asks, Thor looks back at her, then looks down at the ground, and slightly smiles.

"I just about snapped his neck myself. You see, I thought he had played one of his tricks, where he would fake his death. But, after he had explained what had happened I realized that, that was not the case." Thor says and watches Cora's expression as it does not change.

"How can you be sure, that picking me is the right thing. What if I mess up or lose control?" Cora asks staring at her shoes.

"If you don't feel comfortable with my decision, you can decline it. But, at least think it over for what's left of today. If you choose to come along, then you will be welcomed with open arms. If you choose not to go, then I understand. Just please, think it over." Thor says as he exits the track and heads back into the compound.

"Great, not only will I be a freak on Earth, but I'll be one on Asgard as well." Cora says to herself as she continues to run laps.