*sigh* Frigga was such a badass. I loved her so much.

Basically, it's the invasion of Asgard and the aftermath. And more flashbacks. Seriously, I feel like there are more flashbacks than there is of the movie. But it would take so long to write Jessie's backstory otherwise . . .

Well, we're a good way through now. Enjoy!

***

Heimdall straightened suddenly from where he stood at the Bifrost, then turned and ran onto the bridge. As he drew his knives from where they were sheathed to his back, he leapt from the bridge into midair . . . colliding with a massive Dark Elf ship, its invisibility cloak failing when Heimdall stabbed it. As it flew towards the sea, Heimdall dove onto the bridge again, watching the ship crash into the water. Pleased, Heimdall panted, then paused when he saw a shadow looming. Bracing himself for the worst, Heimdall turned around.

Another Dark Elf ship was approaching, and as he watched in horror, it dispatched smaller ships, soaring for the palace. Quickly, Heimdall ran back to the Bifrost, inserting his sword into place, watching a golden energy shield rise over the city, the enemy ships crashing into it. He sighed in relief -

Only for his worry to come back as the shield suddenly fell, the defenses inside the palace falling, leaving room for the Dark Elves to invade.

***

Odin made his way back to the palace, having seen the Dark Elf ship crash, and his blood froze when he saw the limp, brunette warrior at the foot of a familiar staircase. She was still breathing, but when Odin bent down to check her pulse, she swallowed and breathed her last. "Run, you warrior girl . . . and remember . . . " she choked out before she let out a death rattle.

Odin's eyes widened as he looked up. "Frigga."

+++

"So let me get this straight," Saleen paced the kitchen. Bruce had eventually left to try and talk sense into the rest of the Avengers, leaving the new girls with the new team. "Loki killed you. This Director Fury guy was there when you died. And then suddenly, you're alive again?"

"That about covers it," Coulson nodded.

Saleen pinched the bridge of her nose. "One normal day," she grumbled. "Is that too much to ask?"

"With our luck? Yes," Jessie gave her opinion. "Or were you not aware that Loki is still trying to come after me?"

"Rather hard not to forget."

"Yeah, you said he was after your blood?" the brunette American woman, Skye, asked.

"He's after my mutation," Jessie nodded. "He wants an army of villains where nothing can hurt them."

"An army of evil yous?" the brunette English woman, Jemma, guessed.

"That'll be the day," Saleen snorted. "You could never hurt a fly."

"I'm going to have to learn to if we're doing this," Jessie put her head in her hands.

"Well, Loki sure knows how to pick them," Coulson remarked, checking a tablet he held in his hands. "Saleen Harper, major undecided, interested in computer science and just about any science known to man. Jessie Nightshade, former gymnast, former swimmer . . . " He frowned. "With an unexplained grade drop in - "

"Don't go there," Saleen shook her head.

Coulson frowned, looking up. "Something I should know?"

"No," both girls said in unison.

"OK," Coulson frowned, closing the files. "Well, I suppose that can wait."

"Do either of you have the proper training?" the Asian woman, May, who was also Coulson's second in command, asked.

"I took self defense for a few years," Saleen answered. "I know a few things. Jessie's a natural gymnast, so I expect she'll learn easily, too."

"So why'd you drop out?" the Scottish man on the team, Fitz, asked.

Jessie gave a tense smile. "It's a long story."

"Since you were three years old," Coulson took another look at her file, knitting his eyebrows when he noted when she stopped. "Fifth grade."

"Wonderful, you know everything about me," Jessie quipped.

"Except the sudden grade and interest in school drop," Coulson countered.

"Which until Jessie allows you to know, will not be shared," Saleen said sharply. "Clear, sir?"

Coulson raised an eyebrow. "Crystal." He gestured to May. "How would you feel about working with Agent May so she has a grasp on what you can do, Miss Harper?"

Saleen eyed the older woman before nodding. "I'm guessing I should expect my ass to get handed to me?"

May didn't smile, but there was an amused glint in her eyes. "If you want to be able to fight when the Avengers need you to? Yes."

"In the meantime," Coulson watched the two walk off. "Agent Ward? Work with Miss Nightshade."

Jessie's eyes widened, and she spun to look at the last member of Coulson's team: his specialist, if she remembered correctly. Grant gave her a look before looking back at Coulson, raising an eyebrow. "You're certain, sir?"

"Yes, I'm certain," Coulson nodded, raising an eyebrow back at Jessie. "Will that be a problem, Miss Nightshade?"

He was giving her a way out. Jessie respected him for that, but as she took another look at Grant . . . he was considering her. Not for her looks, but estimating how to work with her. So long as he didn't attempt anything on her . . .

"No, sir," she shook her head. "No problem at all."

+++

"So tell me, Lady Jessie," Frigga said as she kept one eye on the entrance to the tower, Jessie sitting on a bench anxiously. "What makes you so important to my son?"

"No idea," Jessie shook her head. "I mean . . . he was one of three people that kept by my side when Loki invaded New York the second time."

"Who were the other two?"

"My best friend, Saleen." She smiled slightly. "And a man named Grant Ward."

"I have heard of your reaction to the guards who attempted to take you from the healing chambers," Frigga looked at her. "And my son tried to protect you. He protects you as if you were his own blood."

Jessie shrugged. "He's one of the nicest men I know. I trust him with my life. He's like my brother."

Frigga smiled warmly at her confession. "Then he has chosen a wonderful sister."

Jessie's eyes lit up, but it was quickly dimmed when they heard a grunt from outside. A moment later, the doors to the tower swung open. Jessie gasped and stood up, spinning to see a very pale creature with black armor walk into the room, his just as pale eyes locked on her. Frigga stepped in front of her, sword in hand. "Stand down, creature," the Queen ordered. "You may still survive this."

"I have survived worse, woman," the Dark Elf brushed the threat off.

"Who are you?" Frigga narrowed her eyes.

"I am Malekith," he answered, and Jessie's eyes widened, recognizing the name: the King of the Dark Elves. "And I would have what is mine."

Jessie flinched from Malekith's gaze. Frigga looked back at her, gave her a look, then her sword glowed slightly as she swung for Malekith. The Dark Elf ducked out of the way before drawing his own sword. Jessie dashed for a pillar to hide behind as the Queen of Asgard and the King of the Dark Elves dueled, Frigga's sword glowing as she dealt blow after blow to Malekith, the Dark Elf able to defend himself well. Soon, however, Frigga was able to disarm him and place her blade at his throat. Malekith, however, gave her a look that clearly said he wasn't finished. Frigga's eyes widened, remembering the shield guarding the palace had to be taken down from the inside . . .

She spun around, but gasped when she was hauled off her feet by Algrim, gasping as her sword slipped from her grasp. Malekith smirked and stalked towards where Jessie was staring at them, wide-eyed. "You have taken something, child," he declared. "Give it to me." Jessie just glared at him defiantly, backing up. Malekith narrowed his eyes, walking after her and reaching out to grab her -

His hand went right through her, and his eyes widened as Jessie's figure flickered out. "Witch!" he bellowed, spinning around and glaring at a smug Frigga. "Where is the Aether?"

Frigga smirked. "I'll never tell."

Malekith nodded slowly. "I believe you."

Algrim's blade pierced Frigga's back, and the Queen of Asgard's eyes flew wide as she gasped, just as Thor charged through the door, summoning a lightning bolt and aiming at Malekith. The King of the Dark Elves groaned in pain, falling to the side as the lightning caught the side of his face, scarring it horribly. Algrim grabbed him and ran for the verandah, Thor charging after them. Just when he reached the railing, he watched Algrim jump and land with Malekith on their ship. Thor tried to send his hammer after them, but the ship made its escape before it could even reach.

He panted, summoning his hammer back and turning around, only to see Jessie run from where she'd been hiding and skid to a stop by Frigga. "No," she whimpered, shaking her head, eyes wide, Odin stopping, stunned when he saw the scene. "No, no, no, it should have been me . . . "

"Jessie," Thor said quietly, walking over.

"It's my fault," Jessie shook her head, sobbing as Thor bent down to wrap his arms around her, neither of them seeing the tips of Frigga's fingertips glow gold and bronze slightly. "She died to protect me. If I'd been here . . . all I needed to do was hold onto her . . . "

Odin slowly walked over as if in a trance, bending down to take his wife's body in his arms . . . none of them noticing Jessie's eyes flashing the same colors of Frigga's powers as she turned to sob into Thor's shoulder.

***

Sif stood with the other Asgardians, keeping her tears at bay as she watched Frigga's boat be pushed out into the sea. The Queen of Asgard was given full rights as she was sent to the Valar, dressed in her finest armor, her sword in her hands. Sif's eyes strayed from the Queen to where Odin was watching, the King doing a . . . decent job of maintaining his position. As one of the archers lit an arrow to fire at the boat, Sif found her gaze going to where Thor was watching . . . and to the dark-haired girl by his side, tears still streaming down her face, seemingly unable to tear her eyes from Frigga.

Sif frowned as she watched, but somehow . . . she couldn't find it in herself to be angry at the girl. When she'd heard Thor had brought a woman to Asgard, her mind had instantly gone to the woman Thor had pined over . . . Jane Foster, she recalled. But when she'd passed through the throne room to fight the Dark Elves, she hadn't seen a . . . scientist? Wasn't that what Thor had called them? No, the nod she had received from the girl was a warrior's respect. That was when Thor had explained to her later that it was his youngest mortal friend, the youngest Avenger, Jessie Nightshade.

That had surprised Sif. She knew Thor had much respect for the girl, but seeing them together now, the way Thor had his arm around her, the way he was whispering to her, the way he attempted to stop her shivering . . . Thor had no romantic feelings for her. Instead, she felt as if she was gazing upon a very private moment between siblings. And if the legend of the Aether was to be believed . . . Thor could be losing the girl he saw as his little sister very soon.

So Sif took a deep breath and turned to watch Frigga's boat catch fire and go over the waterfall. Thor had already lost his mother. He didn't deserve to lose another member of his family.

***

"Are you certain you wish to do this, my lady?" one of the guards asked as Jessie slowly descended into the dungeons.

"Yes," Jessie nodded shakily. "It's my fault. It needs to be me."

The guard eyed her, then nodded. "As you wish, my lady."

Jessie nodded, then took a deep breath and hesitantly entered the dungeons. She walked up to one of the few cells still occupied. "Loki," she said quietly.

She watched the man's head raise when he heard her voice, and he frowned, seeing her. "I see you're still alive."

She forced out a small laugh. "I shouldn't be."

Loki narrowed his eyes. "You were attacked?"

"Malekith did come for me, yes."

"And somehow, you survived the encounter."

Jessie walked up to the cell, unable to look at him. "There's something you need to know."

She heard his footsteps. "I heard the bells toll," he said, his voice strangely calm. "Those bells only ring for the death of a member of the royal family." Jessie still didn't look up. "You have the gall to come down here and not look me in the eye when you tell me this?"

Jessie mustered up what remaining dignity she had and raised her watery gaze to Loki's steel-like one. "Frigga is dead because of me," she answered, proud of herself when her voice shook only slightly. "I survived because she gave her life to protect me, along with who knows how many others. But if Odin is correct, I don't have long to wait to join her and the others who died protecting a monster like me."

Loki's gaze was frozen as he stared at her. "She is dead?" he repeated.

Was that a slight crack she heard? Jessie swallowed and nodded. "Yes," she confirmed, putting a hand over her mouth. "I asked to be the one to tell you."

"Why?" Loki stared at her, stunned. He had tried to kill her before. Now she had willingly come down here to look him in the eye and tell him the woman that had been his mother had died? "Why you?"

She swallowed. "Because Malekith may have given the order, and that . . . monster might have been the one to stab her . . . but by protecting me, Frigga was murdered." She backed away, her body starting to shake. "I thought you would want to hear it from the one who got her killed."

Loki stared after Jessie as she headed back up the stairs, able to hear her sniffles from where he was in his cell. The sheer courage of the girl . . .

He turned around, lashing out with his powers, sending what furniture he had into the walls. There was something about Jessie Nightshade that reached out to him, and he didn't know what it was . . .

She was dangerous. Much more dangerous than he had thought . . . and he couldn't help but be intrigued.

+++

"I don't know why Coulson put you with me when clearly, you need some of May's stretches," Grant watched as Jessie ran through some exercises in one of the training rooms.

"Gymnast," Jessie reminded him as she finished.

"I remember," he raised an eyebrow as he flicked through the tablet. "A good one, too. So why did you quit?"

"Really?" Jessie gave him a look of annoyance as she moved to one of the punching bags.

"I'm trying to make conversation here, sweetheart," Grant rolled his eyes.

Jessie froze in the middle of putting tape on her hands before she closed her eyes. "Don't call me that."

Grant paused, taking a look at her. "You all right?"

Jessie let out a slow breath. "Just . . . don't call me that."

"All right," Grant shook his head. "No need to get pushy." He put his hands on the bag to brace it. "Go on."

Jessie narrowed her eyes and started throwing punches at the bag, Grant occasionally giving her pointers on how to deliver a stronger blow. By the end of her workout, she was delivering the occasional kick with her legs, Grant nodding his approval as he watched. "Done," he decided, and Jessie backed off, breathing hard. "Tape off. Let's get a target set up and teach you how to shoot."

"I don't need much," Jessie shook her head as she unwound the tape. "My father's currently working at the Pentagon."

"Military family?"

"Lieutenant Commander, Army," Jessie confirmed. "I know how to use a gun if need be."

"I still need to see what you can do. I might be able to give a few pointers."

"Fair enough," Jessie admitted, taking the Glock he handed her, looking it over.

Grant leaned against the wall, watching her as she stood in front of the target, bringing her arms up. "Relax your shoulders," he advised. She nodded, readjusting her stance and rolling her shoulders. A split second later, she heard him breathe in sharply, and she frowned, looking over her shoulder to see him staring at her. "What?"

"Your shirt rode up for a moment."

Jessie realized what he meant a moment too late as he walked over. "No, don't!" she backed away, shaking her head, eyes wide.

"If you got hurt," he began.

"No," Jessie shook her head, swatting his hand away from her. "Don't touch me!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Jessie - "

"What happened to me was from two years ago!" she snapped. "I don't want to talk about it, Agent Ward, so don't try and get it out of me!"

Grant stared at her, eyes wide. "Seventh grade."

"Yeah, what you glimpsed is just part of what affected me, OK?" Jessie glared at him. "That's a hint you get. Tell it to Agent Not-Dead Coulson or not, but you're not getting anything else unless I tell you, all right?"

Grant took a deep breath. "Fine," he ground out, folding his arms.

"Thank you," Jessie sighed, turning to aim again at the target.

She was about to fire when Grant spoke again. "Think about the target as being whoever did that to you."

Jessie tilted her head, then smirked and started shooting, thinking of every player on her school's football team, the mantra going through her head. Rick. Alex. Chris. Jacob. Max.

Out of ten shots, seven of them were instant kills.

Grant whistled, raising an eyebrow. "They must have really pissed you off."

"You could say that," Jessie shrugged as she walked away. She was removing the cartridge when she looked over at Grant. He didn't have to help her, but he was. And if she was going to be working with his team, trust had to start somewhere. "I fell off the beam."

He blinked, looking up at her. "What?"

"Fifth grade, I was doing one of my balance beam routines," she answered. "I fell off."

"You quit because of that?"

"I quit because I didn't just fall. I fell through it."

Understanding came into Grant's eyes. "Your mutation."

"Yeah," she nodded. "That was when I first realized it. Maybe the gene kicked in a bit late, but that was the first time it ever happened. Fortunately, I was close enough that it looked like I just hit myself. But then it started acting up more and more. And I knew that if I fell again, people would notice. So I quit gymnastics. I still kept doing some of it at home . . . but I never competed again." She looked at him and shrugged. "Trust has to start somewhere if we're going to be working together."

Grant considered her, then nodded. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she answered, walking past him to head out the door.

He turned to watch her. "Will you ever tell us what happened to your back?"

Jessie stopped inside the elevator, giving him a look as she pressed the button to head back to the top floor. "You'd have to do something really significant to get that story out of me, Agent Ward," she warned. "It's not pretty."

"I could handle it."

Jessie shook her head as the doors shut. "It's not you I'm worried about."

+++

On the Dark Elf ship, Algrim hovered over his unconscious leader. "I need your strength to reclaim the Aether," he rumbled. "And when you wake up, you will kill them all."

***

And more of the Jessie everyone's come to love is starting to rise. :)

Next chapter: Jessie starts showing something other than the Aether, and quite a big realization is made that no one wants to miss. ;)