THERE ONCE WAS A TIME BEFORE AURORA WAS AURORA. Long ago, before Earth even was created, she lived in the stars. Well, she was the stars. She had many names ever since humans came along. She was the sun, Andromeda, Orion, every constellation in the night sky was her handiwork and she shone with pride. No one knew of the creature in the stars for no mythical lore could capture her warm embrace. There was no culture, no story she belonged to. Her duty was not to be known, but to protect her world and all the good it carried. She grew weak when the city of Pompeii was turned to ash, a star would go out with every murder or heartbreak. She watched as parts of her earth burned, her heart shattered with the weight of her creation. A fool would call her a God, but a God had control over her earth, she was simply forced to watch.

Until she could watch no longer. In 2012, there was a greater threat to Earth than its own people. A trickster God from a realm she dared not see had the nerve to cause an alien invasion. He took what was hers in the blink of an eye and she could tolerate it no longer.

She remembered her power flowing through every star in the universe until it all converged and cast her down to the Earth's surface. Among the chaos, she landed in the middle of New York City, in a bursting show of light and colors. She left a crater in the middle of the street, time seemed to stop around her.

A strange man with a glowing heart and suit made of iron was staring at her, she remembered. The iron mask unfolded to reveal an older man with eyes showing a hardened soul. A man she knew had seen too much.

"And what are you supposed to be?" the man spoke with an annoyance yet lack of shock in his voice, "The Aurora Borealis coming to fight the aliens? You with them?"

The stars smiled, a soft glow outlining her figure. She smiled at the memory of her creation, that which most humans called the Northern Lights. She mumbled to herself, "Aurora, I quite like that."

The man looked at her expectantly, "Listen, lady, we already got aliens attacking this place, are you here to kill us or not?"

"You may call me Aurora. I'm here to help. Who might you be, defender of Earth?" she spoke properly, walking over to the man. His face showed no fear, yet for every step she took, he took two back.

"Who's the freaky chick?" a new voice joined. Aurora turned, seeing a redheaded woman in all black. She and Aurora made eye contact before a strange creature, probably the aliens attacking her planet came up behind her. Aurora went to shout but the woman turned around and captured the creature in a headlock before slamming its head into the ground, taking Aurora by surprise. This is not the Earth she knew. Not with creatures running rampant and death and violence everywhere. She was overwhelmed, in over her head. As her mind flared with possibility, so did she as a glow similar to rays of sunlight began to protrude from her form.

Everyone around her was occupied with fighting the creatures and her mind was all over the place. Is this what it meant to be human? For the first time in her incredibly long life, she no longer was forced to watch, she had power. She was here for a reason, she must be. Something greater was threatening her world and now it was her job to defend it. The aliens were closing in on her, enraptured by her glow.

"Enough!" she screamed, her voice echoing far more than any humans' could, something akin to the roar of a lion. She slammed her fist into the ground, rays of light exploding from the cracks in the earth around her and knocking every alien in a ten-mile radius incapacitated. Knowing her peace, it was safe to say none of them were dead for she could do no real harm. The most she could do was make things easier.

"Freaky lady has powers, got it," the man in the iron suit observed before carrying on in the attack but taking time to aim one of his weapons at her, "With us?"

She nodded, a piece of golden hair falling into her face. "With you."

After a moment she sensed something in the air, something connecting with her. A man of light. She knew of no such thing on her Earth, could this be another enemy? No, too gentle. An enemy would never come with a warning.

Then, a man slammed down near her, a large hammer in his hand. She prepared to defend herself, but the man moved the long blond locks from his eyes and smiled at her, "Lady of Light! Have you come to help?"

"I believe so," she responded, ignoring the fact they were in the heat of a battle, "My name shall be Aurora. What may I call you?"

"Thor, God of Thunder," the man, Thor, held out his hand. Aurora was unfamiliar with this custom. Thor seemed to realize this, "You shake it. It is a thing these humans do when they become acquainted with each other. I found it odd at first as well."

Hesitantly, Aurora gripped Thor's hand and shook it. "You are not from this Earth? You are different?"

"I am from Asgard! Of the Nine Realms!" Thor explained with a smile, "The man behind this attack is my brother, Loki, but don't worry, he's adopted!"

Aurora laughed. She had never done that before. A smile graced her flawless features, "I like you, Thor of Asgard." She knew of the nine realms, for her stars watched over them as well. It was familiar to see another with light coursing through their veins.

"I like you, too, Lady of Light!" Thor said with a smile, "Now, shall you join these puny Avengers and I in defeating my brother?"

"Avengers," Aurora mumbled, assuming he must mean the lady in black and the man of iron, "I suppose... I suppose I shall!"

Thor grinned from ear to ear, "Great! Let us fight!"

"Are you two weirdos done chatting?" the man of iron asked, boredom in his tone, "I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew once we aren't in mortal danger."

"Yes, I believe we are done chatting! I like this man for he is much kinder than you, man of iron," Aurora smiled satisfactorily, noting Thor's smirk. "This God of Thunder is a friend of mine."

"Good for you, now go fight please," the man instructed.

And so they did until at one point, there seemed to be no hope. For every alien killed, a hundred more seemed to sprout in its place. Finally, Aurora watched as the man of iron shot himself into the portal the aliens were coming from in an attempt to cut them off from the source. He fell back down to earth barely-alive, but the battle was over. Once the portal was shut, it was easy to pick the enemies off.

Finally, the battle was won. Aurora was weak, she had no idea how human soldiers did this for years. She watched as the heroes who called themselves the Avengers: the man of iron, the woman in black, as well as a large green man, a man covered in stars and stripes, and the man with an eye of a hawk, and of course, Thor, dealt with the aftermath of the battle. As much as she wanted to return her beautiful Earth to the state it was in before the battle, she was weak and could not bear to remain in her human form for much longer.

"I must go," she announced, "Thank you for accepting my help, I will be happy to do it again. Preferably not for another few centuries, however, I must regain my energy."

"You're not going to tell us anything about you?" the man of iron, Aurora believed his name was Tony Stark, "Just gonna explode in a ball of light and leave?"

"Unfortunately, I must," Aurora sighed, gazing at the sky, "It truly was lovely meeting you all, pity I cannot stay for long."

"I am indebted to you, Lady Aurora," Thor nodded, "Hopefully we shall see you again."

Aurora smiled, "Hopefully under better circumstances, but for now, I must return home. Thank you, Avengers, for protecting my creation when I cannot. I shall remember you."

"That's it?" Tony Stark asked, all of them staring at the woman, but she was gone.

Back home in the stars, she was happy to be fully returned to her form. Behind human was fun, but it was unsafe. Hopefully, she never had to do so again, as much as she would like to see her little Avengers once again. Maybe with them, Earth might be okay without her. She hoped. She soon learned, however, that hope never lasts for long.

Aurora: aha maybe in a couple centuries :)

Thor, less than three years later: Hey,,,,,, so,,,,, can ya just come help out just a lil? thx