CHAPTER TWELVE

Their flight to New York's LaGuardia didn't take nearly as long as Paige worried it would. The plane was spacious; reclinable cream leather seats two to each side, five rows, with private televisions for each. Paige elected to sit by herself for the flight, chewing on some Dunkin' Donuts she'd gotten at the Terminal and watching Forrest Gump. Sometimes she looked over to see Clint and Natasha playing each other in Chess, or Steve reading his book. But for the most part she minded her own business until they touched down on the tarmac.

"Welcome to New York. Your luggage will be loaded into an SUV and driven to Avengers Tower. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the drive to the gate," said the pilot over the PA system.

Paige clicked off her music. Forrest Gump had ended about twenty minutes before. She stretched her arms and looked out the plane window. Darkness greeted her, and a gentle rain pitter-pattered off the mulit-paned glass. The time on the clock in the plane read 8:42. She yawned.

When the plane came to a stop on the tarmac near one of the gates, they were allowed to leave via a tall set of removable stairs. Three large, black SUVs sat waiting for them. They were hurried into the middle one as the rain picked up. As the cars drove off, Paige quietly drifted off, head against the window of the SUV.

To Clint's tremendous relief, she woke up on her own as they arrived an hour later at Avengers Tower. As she came to, she noticed they pulled into a parking garage below ground. Dozens of sports cars lined the garage. The SUVs stopped at the end of the garage near what looked like an elevator.

The escort agents hopped out and opened the doors for their charges. Clint and Steve got out first, followed by Natasha. Finally Paige made her way out, climbing over a seat and looking around uncertainly. At first she didn't see anything other than sports cars.

"Capsicle and Legolas! And if it isn't Agent Romanoff. You came after all."

"Didn't have much of a choice, Stark."

Paige recognized the voice of Tony Stark immediately. She hesitated for a moment before deciding to walk around the SUV to see where he was. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stood beside the hood of the car.

"Well if it isn't the new kid on the block," said Tony with a smirk. "Welcome to the Tower, Rapunzel."

Clint cracked up at the nickname. "That's a good one. I like it. Rapunzel."

"Hilarious," Paige muttered. "I'm not going to be stuck in this tower, so no Rapunzel."

"Sorry, once I make a nickname there's no going back," Tony fake-apologized. He turned to the others. "Come on, Pepper's waiting upstairs."

They followed Tony into the elevator. Paige tuned out the conversation Tony gobbled on about with Natasha. He pressed "50" and the elevator quickly shot up. It took several minutes but at last the doors opened onto a large multi-level lounge area. The barking of a dog caused Clint to smile wide as they walked into the room.

"Hey, Lucky!" Clint knelt down as a large, hyper yellow lab burst past a few people and toppled Clint. He fell backwards. All his worries melted away for that brief moment.

"The mystery agent brought him over," Tony said, gesturing to Bobbi Morse who sat with Pepper on the couch, and across from them sat Bruce Banner. "Tall, blonde, and deadly over there."

"Tony, talk to Agent Morse nicely please," Pepper moaned from where she sat.

She chuckled. "Bobbi's fine. Really." Standing, she walked over with her martini in hand. "Hey Natasha."

"Bobbi." She nodded in reply. "Thanks for bringing Lucky over."

"Of course." Bobbi smiled down at the dog whose tail had yet to stop wagging a mile a minute. "I came over as soon as you texted."

"Hey guys," Bruce added with a wave. He put down his glass of water. "Been awhile."

"Bruce!" Steve joined him on the couch with Pepper. "Hey Pepper."

Pleasantries were all exchanged except for Paige. She stood leaning against the wall where the elevator opened. She just watched the exchanges quietly, content to have been forgotten.

But Natasha hadn't forgotten her. "This is Paige Wilson. She'll be joining us here for awhile at least." She turned and gestured to the young woman with the glass of whiskey that Tony had handed her from the mini bar. "She's enhanced."

"Welcome," replied Pepper with a nod. "We've got a guest floor ready for you to use until we can finish your own."

"Thanks," murmured Paige with a small, tight smile. She wandered over to the larger group apprehensively. They watched her expectantly, but she just hid her hands in Clint's oversized black jacket she had yet to remove and watched the room closely.

"Do you want a drink?" Bobbi asked, walking over to the minibar to get herself another martini.

She shook her head. "I don't drink."

As they all settled into couches and chairs, Lucky sitting at Clint's feet tail still going, talk turned to Paige and her relation to Thor. Paige didn't miss the shocked expressions that passed over everyone who hadn't already known and she smirked.

"Rapunzel's a goddess?" Tony cackled with a smirk a few minutes later after a drink.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Asgardian, Tony. Partially Asgardian."

"So who gets to tell Pointbreak we found his long lost cousin?" added Tony quickly, ignoring her correction.

"We need to find him first. We have no way of contacting him." Bruce frowned as he played with a cellphone in his hands. "Maybe we could find Dr. Foster? She knows more about Thor's technology than anyone else."

"Or Dr. Selvig?" suggested Pepper.

Bobbi shook her head. "Selvig's a dead end. He's in a mental hospital at the moment. I dropped him off a month ago after he was arrested for running around Stonehenge naked shouting apocalypse nonsense."

Clint frowned as they continued to shoot off ideas. He stared out the window at the large balcony that had been built off the lounge level of Avengers Tower. Lightning swirling around, thunder roared. But the rain had stopped. He stood from the couch and walked to the window.

"I think he's coming to us," he muttered to himself.

Moments later a bright flash of light and a roar sounded as the Bifrost. Clint stood right under the overhang outside the door on the balcony. He smirked.

"Hey man," said Clint as Thor looked around.

"Ah! Agent Barton. It has been too long," replied Thor as he took Clint's hand in his in a traditional warrior's handshake. "Heimdall told the Allfather that I was needed upon Midgard. What is the emergency?"

Clint gestured back inside. "Come on in. We need you to identify someone."

Thor followed him back inside. Everyone watched with varying degrees of surprise, wonder, and awe on their faces. Paige grasped the coat she wore close to her body, hiding herself as best she could. She couldn't risk the magic lashing out.

"We found a young woman, her name's Paige. But according to our tests she is part Asgardian, and related to you," he explained as he led Thor closer to the group. Stopping in front of them he gestured to her. "Do you know of any missing cousins of yours?"

"By the Allfather's beard," Thor murmured. "I cannot believe it."

Natasha perked up. "You recognize her?"

Thor didn't remove his eyes from her. "Yes of course! I know her sister. They call you Paige?"

"Or Rapunzel," Tony chipped in, before getting elbowed by Pepper. "Ow!"

"Yeah, I'm Paige." She stood up. "You said you know my sister? Who am I?"

Thor chuckled. He shook his head. "By the gods I cannot believe this. We have searched for you for years. Not just myself, but your father Od, and before that, Loki as well. They had legions of the Light Elves searching the cosmos for you. And yet here you are on Midgard of all places."

"Answer my question," Paige growled. "Who am I?"

"Pardon me," Thor apologized. "You do not understand. How could you. Growing up among these mortals. You are the Princess Hnoss, daughter of Lady Freyja, Queen of the Vanir, and Od, brother of Odin. You have a twin, a sister named Gersemi."

"That's how you recognize her," Steve realized.

Thor nodded. "They are identical in every way."

"Oh my god, she's literally a lost princess," Tony chuckled. "Rapunzel. I told you."

"Shut up, Tony," Natasha snapped. Then she turned back to Thor. "What do you know about how her powers work?"

"Powers?" He looked at Paige quickly. "Then the prophecies are true?"

Clint rolled his eyes. "Thor, we don't know the prophecies. Explain."

He nodded. "Before I do that, I'm quite hungry. Do you have any of the poptarts I had the last time I visited Midgard? They were delightful." He wandered around the room, looking at the lounge. "Is this a new room, Stark? It is impressive."

"The prophecies. Now." Paige got up from her seat, letting the jacket fall from her arms. She was done playing by the rules of this house. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now. "I'm not going to ask again."

Thor frowned but nodded. "I do not know them as well as the scholars on Asgard or Alfheim. But Freyja, your mother, is very powerful. In order to stop the war between her people, the Vanir, and mine, the Aesir, she married Odin's brother Odr. You and your sister eventually became embodiments of that truce. But beyond that, it was said a piece of Freyja's heart and soul went in to each of you, to you and to Gersemi. To Gersemi went love, beauty, and charm. She has been considered the most beautiful of all the nobles in Asgard or Alfheim since coming of age."

"And into me?"

"Magic, war, and death. The two sides of Freyja, embodied by her two daughters." Thor munched on a cookie he found on the minibar. "I can only assume if you have strange power, that this is why." He turned to Tony. "These are good. Who crafted them?"

Paige didn't respond. She could feel the magic inside her willing its way out, clawing its way to the surface. With her back to the others, she closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Focus on the sounds around her. Too bad there weren't many. No one spoke. Suddenly she felt something brush up against her leg. She looked down. Lucky. A small smile crept onto her face and the darkness crept back down.

She pet Lucky softly. Finally she turned back to Thor. "Are my parents alive?"

"Freyja lives in Asgard," Thor told her, devouring the plate of cookies. "Odr has been missing for years. He went looking for you and never returned."

Paige nodded to herself. She took a deep breath. Finally she turned around back to the others. They watched her intently, and even Tony sat silent. "Can I like, shower or something? I want to go to bed."

Tony got up. "Yeah, sure, I'll show you." He took a last drink of his whiskey and placed it on the table. Then he hurried up to her. "Come on Rapunzel."

She didn't protest. She just followed him quietly into the elevator and he pressed it for "42". It started downwards. When they reached the guest floor, he explained to her that the floor was hers, and where the restroom and bedrooms were.

"If you need anything, just say "Hey Jarvis"," Tony told her, "He'll let you know what to do."

Paige nodded. With a quick thanks, she heard him leave back to the lounge. She could feel the magic again. Grabbing a towel and turning the shower on as cold as possible, she hopped inside and scrubbed herself clean. A good distraction. And then she went to bed.

Thor! Now everyone's together. I hope that was a satisfying reveal. I have so much fun with this OC.

Also, the Rapunzel joke just kind of happened. I didn't plan it. But I think it works.

Hope everyone enjoyed this!

Silz