A/N. Hi everyone! Miss me? I missed this story and all of you guys you review! I'll be honest, I haven't written much (at all) because I've literally been SO busy. I thought around now I'd be less busy but it turned out to be quite the opposite. I did promise to return in December though so here I am, however I'm warning you that updates will be scattered. I'll give you guys two options. 1) I post whenever I can which may be hours or weeks apart (no longer than a month I swear); OR 2) We wait until I have a good chunk of the story written out and then I post regularly. Which would you prefer? As a side-yet-related-note, Around February I PROMISE I will have more time to write but right now I'm just... gah. So much to do! Anyway, I won't keep you guys waiting long. Here's the prologue which i showed you guys a sneak peak last time and the first chapter is on its way today. I hope you guys like it. Enjoy! :D

Disclaimer - I do not own Disney's MARVEL's The Avengers.

PROLOGUE

"Dad, this is the second time in the past year! Honestly, what are you doing with your life?" she asked exasperatedly. She clutched her red leather bag in her lap as she stared at him through the glass wall that separated them.

He laughed joyfully; as if he weren't in jail – again. "Oh Honey, relax." He waved a hand nonchalantly at her. "I'll be back out in a jiffy."

"No one says that anymore," she deadpanned. "And it's been months!"

"I know, I know. My lawyers are still working on it."

"It's going to be really, really tough, Dad. I don't think you're gonna make it this time."

"Have faith in your old pop, huh? Come on Tini, please?"

She sighed. "Da-ad…" she whined.

"Justine." His tone was firm, like he was scolding her. "I will get out of here."

"Yeah, in fifty years," she mumbled under her breath.

"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that. In the meantime, you're watching over my company, right?"

She groaned. "Dad, I'm sixteen! No one takes me seriously and they all think you're crazy for putting me in charge!"

He chuckled. "Well that's because they don't know you like I do. You were born to do this."

"I know. I was born to be your heir, and nothing more."

His smile fell off his face. "Justine,-"

"Just don't!" she exclaimed, standing abruptly. Her chair scraped against the linoleum noisily. "I don't even want to hear you try! You don't even care that you've been in jail so many times that I hardly ever see you anymore! Everyone at school hates me! They all think I'm evil and deranged and I have no friends! And when you come home somehow, you're always so focused on destroying the competition that you completely forget about me!"

"That's not true-!"

"YES IT IS! When you get thrown in jail, you make ME run the company when I'm still in high school! Do you know how hard that is?"

"I thought the school year just ended?"

"You're missing the point!" She stomped her foot, face red. "You have never been there for me! You are negligent and careless and self-absorbed and you are no better than mom!"

He pounded his fists on the table and shoved his chair back, pushing himself to his feet. "Justine Hammer you take that back right now!"

"NO! You can't boss me around anymore! Every decision you make revolves around you and I can't take it anymore! I've never been a factor in any of your decisions so you're not going to be a factor in mine!"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying…" Tears sprang from her eyes. "I'm saying that I don't want to see you anymore!" She grabbed her schoolbag from the floor along with her purse and scurried towards the door.

"Justine!" He yelled, pounding his fist against the glass. "Justine get back here! JUSTINE!"

"Mr. Hammer, I'm going to have to ask you to return to your cell."

Justin stared at the doorway his daughter had run through, chest heaving. He didn't hear the officer behind him. Only when his arm was grabbed did he turn. The man "escorted" him back to his cell as Justin craned his neck to watch the doorway, praying for his daughter to come back – she didn't.

Outside, Justine finally let the tears fall as she walked away from the prison. She turned away the limo waiting for her. She would walk. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Her right hand remained glued over her mouth and nose as she cried and made her way towards her home several blocks away. She knew the city like the back of her hand and could find her way easily. She had always had an astute sense of direction.

With that in mind, she turned a sharp corner and entered an alleyway. It was dark out, but the many lights of New York City kept even the alley illuminated in a gentle glow. She sobbed hard and listened to the rhythmic click of her heels as she walked forward. It was soothing in a way she couldn't explain, but she didn't feel any better.

She was about halfway through her shortcut when she felt herself being thrown to the side. She collided with the brick wall and fell into a couple of metal trashcans, knocking them over and landing in a pile of gross garbage. She sucked in a sharp gasp and tried to push herself up when her body was lifted from the ground with seeming ease. But she couldn't feel any hands or sense someone else's presence; not that that mattered when she found herself suddenly vaulted forward.

She rammed face first into the harsh ground and rolled with the momentum, landing roughly on her back. She groaned as her heart pounded with fear. What was happening? Her head was yanked into the wall and she heard more than felt the hollow BONK in the night. Her hair elastic snapped and her dirty blonde hair fell around her shoulders.

Searing pain erupted in her temples and began to spread towards the back of her head and down the nape of her neck. She cried out in pain and clutched at her hair in a failed attempt to make it stop. It stung in ways she could have never imagined and she could feel her eyes glazing over.

"STOP!" She shrieked. "PLEASE! STOP!" More tears cascaded down her cheeks from the pain and suffering.

An unfamiliar voice echoed in her head, bouncing around the confines of her mind. It reminded her of nails on a chalkboard and the chimes of bells at the same time. Oh God, everything HURT. "It will be over soon, human. You shall no longer feel pain. You shall no longer feel anything at all."

She threw her head back as her vision blurred and she couldn't see anything anymore, despite knowing that her eyes her wide open. She could sense the man's wide smirk and she despised it. "GO AWAY!" She screamed at him.

He chuckled. "I don't think so."

"Who… are… you?" the pain began to subside, and with it, most of her conscious thoughts. It was like her mind was being sucked into a vacuum slowly and painfully until her head was empty. A bright, glowing blue crept over her normally grey eyes and covered them completely. Her face and body relaxed and she slumped against the wall of the alleyway, exhausted.

The voice returned to her empty head, louder than before. "I… am Loki."