I opened my eyes to see a bright light, am I dead? No way, I wouldn't be in heaven. I sat up from where I was laid and rubbed my head to which I found a metal head piece on me, what in the world? I looked down at my body and I was dressed in a toga, is it a fancy dress party?

"How're you feeling?" I looked up to see three of the most attractive women I've ever seen walk up to me,

"It's so nice to finally meet you" one said as I looked at all three of them confused as to what they mean, "Allow us to introduce ourselves, I am Eirene. This is Dike and Eunomia" she introduced,

"Arielle" I muttered as all three stood and gleamed at me, "Where am I? Surely I can't be in heaven" I chuckled as the three looked amongst themselves.

"We have a message from your Mother" Dike said, my Mum? She's dead?

"But we think it best that you hear it from her for yourself" Eirene smiled as a light appeared behind her and a woman stepped out. She had long, golden, curly hair which fell mid back and a beautiful set of eyes, one grey eye and one green. Freckles filled her face and she had a structured jawline which was accompanied with a large smile.

"Arielle, my beautiful girl" she smiled as she walked towards me, a white dress hung from her shoulders.

"M-Mum?" I stuttered as she opened her arms, I wasted no time in running into her arms and pulling her into a hug, "I can't believe it's you" I whispered,

"Arielle, I've been watching you from up here. I am so proud of the woman and warrior you've become" she stroked my hair as I held her tighter, "Your Father would be proud too"

"Am I dead?" I asked as I pulled away from her and she threw her head back in laughter,

"No darling! You're home! Do you not know where you are?" she asked as she looked around, I followed her eyes but there was nothing but white, I shook my head at her and she smiled, "You don't see anything" she said as I nodded, "That simply means you are not ready to come home, my dear"

"What do you mean home? If I'm not dead then where am I?" I questioned as Eunomia stepped forward,

"You're at the gates of Mount Olympus Arielle!" she smiled,

"Oh sure I am! Honestly, I thought my mind couldn't come up with anymore weird dreams but here we are" I laughed, "Dressed in togas with a woman so stunning she puts Beyonce to shame, I can't believe I thought for a split second you were my Mum!"

"Arielle, I don't understand. Do you not know your heritage?" she asked as I shook my head, she raised her arm and behind me grew a stone bench, "Come sit" she smiled as she guided me to the bench, "You girls can go now. I've got this" I went to look up at the three women who had greeted me but they were gone. Where the fuck did they go? What kind of voodoo trickery is this? "Arielle. I came down to earth 25 years ago to capture Medusa after she swore to wreak havoc down there, I met your Father. I didn't mean to fall in love, in fact I swore I never would... Love didn't interest me but your Father he... He was amazing. I ended up staying with him for a while, we even got married and then you came along. After you were born I wanted to stay with you all, I really did but Zeus had ordered me back u-"

"Zeus? As in the God Zeus?" I chuckled, "You're having me on" I began to laugh hysterically,

"SILENCE" she ordered as my mouth was muted suddenly. What? I couldn't speak, nothing was coming out of my mouth, "Have you never wondered why your middle name was Athena?" she asked as I shook my head, "It's after me, darling... Did your Dad never tell you?" she asked as I went to speak but again nothing came out, "Oh, sorry. You may speak now"

"What in the world was that?" I asked, "My Dad had to leave me when I was 2 to protect me from some Nazis... I've not seen him since" I added, "Wait if you're Athena, that that makes you..." Sudden realisation hit me and I stood up and bowed to her,

"Arielle stand up, Goddesses do not bow" she laughed as my head shot up to her,

"G-G-Goddess?" I stuttered,

"Why yes, you're the daughter of me. Why wouldn't you be a Goddess?" my head started to spin, what the fuck was happening? This had to be some kind of dream... Surely? "I know it's a lot to take in Arielle and I would love for you to stay a while longer and explain but the people of earth are calling out for you" she said as I furrowed my eyebrows,

"What do you mean?" I asked as she waved her hand up and a cloud rose, showing footage of me in a hospital bed with Bucky sat beside me holding my hand and Sam behind him.

"I just wish there was some sign she could give us to make us know she's OK and she's coming back" Bucky whispered as he looked up at Sam, Bucky looked like he'd not slept for weeks, what in the world was he doing?

"I-I-I have to show him I'm OK" I turned to see my Mum smiling at me, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it, I turned the favour and looked back at the cloud to see Bucky now watching me,

"Bucky what is it?" Sam asked,

"S-S-She squeezed my hand... She's going to be OK" he whispered as the cloud dispersed,

"Mum I have to get back. I need to see them all" I ushered as she smiled at me,

"Of course my child, I have to warn you. The journey back will be a difficult one. But you have the blood of a warrior in you, you can do this. Just tell me you want to be back on earth and I can send you there" she said as I pulled her in for a hug,

"I want to be back on earth Mum. I want to go back" I whispered as everything went dark.

"I'll help you, my girl"

***

Bucky's POV

I had to admit that it felt nice to have a shower, I had shaven and washed and was now back on my way to see Arielle, everything was going well, she was coming back to me- I mean us. As i passed the meeting room Nat called me in,

"Hey what's up? I was just heading back down to Arielle" I said as she glanced at the screen in the room. On there was several photos, of Elle, what did those bastards do to her?

"Bucky they- they tortured her" Nat said as I watched the screens, videos played of a woman in a lab coat beating Elle, my blood began to boil

"Is that the best you've got?" she said through the camera,

"It gets worse" Tony said as he flipped to another screen, I watched her get pushed into a room, her hands running along the icy worktops, "They've used to many different techniques" a morbid silence fell among the room as we all watched Arielle stand in the middle of the room looking around until she saw the camera. She cleared her throat before starting to sing, why in the world was she singing? It suddenly dawned on me why,

"She was torturing them herself" I muttered as Steve looked over at me, "S-She was playing them at their own game... Tony, how long does she sing for?" I ask as he pauses the video,

"Morning till night everyday, except when eating" he flicks to the next video of the room with a coffin in. A man comes and opens the coffin, leaving food on the floor and I watch as Elle climbs out and begins to eat, "They did this for a whole week, only allowed her out to eat..." The next video showed Elle in a room just like the ice one except she began to strip her clothing, Tony paused it before she could become indecent.

"She sang Club Tropicana and sunbathed the whole way through" Wanda chuckled, the rest of the room joined her until the next video played and there she was, strapped to a chair with headphones on singing out loud, the next one played and she was tied down with a cloth over her face, Tony didn't play the video and just kept his head low,

"What is this?" Vision asked as we all looked at him,

"They waterboarded her, gives the person the feeling of being drowned..." Rhodey told him as we all looked at the screen. I want to kill those bastards for what they did to her. Another video showed her strapped to a chair as they placed what looked to be headphones on her temples and sent shocks of electricity through her.

"I-I need a moment" Nat said as she walked out of the room, I followed after her and watched as she began to cry, "How could I let this happen to her?" she asked I pulled her into a hug,

"Hey, it's not your fault shhh" I soothed as the redhead sobbed in my arms, "Think of how worse it would've been if we weren't there to get her" I assured as she pulled away from me and nodded,

"I just can't imagine what she's gone through, they starved her and didn't let her sleep for nine days Buck.. NINE days, if we'd have just come sooner all this would've been avoided" she wiped her eyes and looked at me, I should tell her about her squeezing my hand. I want too, but will she be mad for me not telling her sooner? Will it give her false hope?

"You know she's going to be OK, I swore she squeezed my hand today" I told Nat as she smiled at me, "She's a fighter. Just look at how she handled everything Nat, she managed to torture them more than they did her" I assured,

"I'm just worried about the psychological damage Buck, what is she going to be like when she's alone?" She had a point, we couldn't be there 24/7 and I've witnessed first hand a panic attack she's experienced,

"She's got all of us, we'll look after her... I'm going to head back down anyway, I think we can finish our book today" I smiled as she nodded, "You're more than welcome to join"

"I-I can't see her like this Buck, I'm sorry" she stuttered as I nodded,

"It's OK Nat, I'll let you know if anything happens" she smiled and walked back into the meeting room as I jogged down to where Arielle was, I opened the door and saw Sam sat next to her crying,

"I just want you to come back to us Ari. I miss winding Tony up with you, I miss your laugh... I want to go for ice cream with you and be with you everyday." Is he in love with her? "Come back to us all Ari, you're one of best friends... There's different types of soulmates on this planet and it's you. You're my bestie soulmate. We've got our whole lives to live together. I came up with a great prank for you to do on Tony. You need to wake up so when we grow old we have each have our own children who will be best friends and continue the legacy." I had no idea they were this close. "You need to wake up because we all miss you. No on has been the same since you've been gone. Bucky doesn't leave your side, I had to force him to shower and shave" he chuckled, "Steve hasn't slept, he feels like it's his fault. Nat's not her badass self. Tony doesn't stop drinking. Clint has gone on a mass murder of HYDRA agents. We need you Ari, you've become the Avengers glue since you got here and we're all crumbling without you. Loki doesn't even try and play tricks anymore because everyone is so upset. Wanda doesn't smile anymore... Even Vision is down. You can't come into our lives, make everything better and then just leave. You've made each person better, heck I've never seen Bucky communicate with everyone before but he does when he's around you. You make us all so happy. Please come back" I opened the door fully, acting like I hadn't just listened in on his heart to heart.

"Hey man, any progress?" I asked as he wiped his eyes and turned around to see me,

"Nothing yet. Doctors came in to check everything and they did some physio with her legs but that's about it" he told me as I sat down on the opposite side of her bed, facing Sam.

"She's going to be OK Sam... She's got to be" I assured him as he nodded.

***

It's been a week since the hand squeezing incident. There's been nothing since then, no signs of life or response from her. Morale in the team is down and Clint is still nowhere to be seen, last we heard he'd taken down 4 HYDRA bases on his own. Steve had managed to pull me away from Elle occasionally for a walk around the compound but I never stayed away for long, she could wake up any day now and I promised her I wouldn't leave so I need to be there. It was around 10 at night now and we'd just finished reading, Sam had brought me down a camping bed a while back so I could sleep here too so I placed the book on the table and laid down. The clock ticked beside us as I closed my eyes and tried to sleep but it was no use, no matter how much I tossed and turned I couldn't get comfy.

"NO!" Elle screamed as my head jolted up, "L-Leave me alone" she muttered, it was another nightmare, her body began to shake and I got up and held her hand,

"I'm here doll, I'm here it's a nightmare" I soothed as she continued to shake and fought against the blanket that was laid over her. I sat on the bed and laid her on me, holding her tight to my body, "It's OK Elle, I've got you" I whispered as a tear ran down my cheek I couldn't bare to see her like this. I couldn't wake her to stop the dream, instead I had to sit here and watch her suffer.

"Bucky help me p-p-please" she whimpered as another tear fell, I'd not heard her say my name in over 3 months, my breath caught in my throat as I wrapped my arms around her,

"It's just a nightmare Elle... It's just a nightmare" I told her as her shaking calmed down. I just wished she'd wake up, I could look into her eyes and tell her everything going to be OK. That I'd protect her from anything. Her body once again fell limp in my arms and soon enough the nightmare was over, I laid with her for a while, just watching her face as she slept and before I knew it I'd fallen asleep.

***

I woke up to the doctor entering the room and smiling at us both,

"Another nightmare?" she asked as I nodded,

"I just wish I could wake her from them. It's horrible being so useless" I admitted as she came and recorded the information on the monitor,

"It'll get better you know. She won't be like this forever" she told me as I nodded and looked back down at Arielle's face, her eyes still closed. I placed her kiss on her forehead and slipped out from under her, ensuring she was in a comfortable position on the bed.

"I'll be back in a minute darling, I'm going to go grab some food" I told her as I left her room and went upstairs to the kitchen. Doesn't look like anyone was awake just yet, I grabbed a few pieces of fruit and looked at the clock, it's 8AM, explains why no one is up yet. I jumped down the stairs back on my way towards Elle, as I entered the lab doctors began rushing around,

"I need as many hands as possible in the operating room. NOW" the doctor who has been looking after Elle shouted as she looked at me, "Something's happening" she said as I dropped my fruit and ran towards where Elle was being kept. Screams were coming from the room,

"You!" I shouted at a man running past, "Go upstairs and let everyone know what's happening!" I ordered as the person nodded,

"We can't get the door open!" the doctor said as she tried unlocking the door,

"Move out of the way" I said as she nodded and stepped to the side, I brought my arm down on the handle and flung the door open to see Arielle... floating? People ran in the door after me and watching in awe at the girl floating, machines beeping rapidly around heras she began to glow, like literally glow. "W-What's happening?" I asked the doctor beside me who shook her head,

"I have no idea. I-I-I've never seen anything like this before" she responded as a man went to grab her from the air, as his hand reached out for her a force pushed him back into the wall. Tony ran into the room and froze in his spot,

"B-Bucky. Tell me I'm sober and you're seeing what I'm seeing" he said as I looked at him, I saw Nat, Steve and Sam running into the lab too, their eyes widening at what was happening.

"Her heart rate is through the roof but we can't get to her!" the doctor shouted to them as Nat sent me a worried look. I watched Steve walk towards her only to be flung back himself.

"Steve!" I shouted as the rest of the team entered the room, the glow from Arielle's skin got brighter and brighter until it hurt to look, "We don't know what's happening" I exclaimed as Thor and Loki's mouths dropped. They began to walk towards her,

"Thor stop! We can't get her!" Nat shouted as they both looked back at us and smiled,

"We can" Loki smirked as they both got at either side of the bed.

"Are you ready brother?" Thor asked, looking at Loki as he nodded. "On three! One... Two... Three!" he shouted as the both grabbed Elles hands. The light began to dim slowly and her screams died down. Nat ran to the bed as she dropped onto it, clothed in armour? "It can't be" Thor exclaimed as he examined her clothes,

"Arielle!" she gasped as she shook her, I looked around the room. Everyone was speechless, what just happened? The doctors crowded around her, making sure none of the needles that were in her body had come out or broke when she shot upright, her eyes a brighter shade of green.

"ELLE!"

"I need everyone to clear out while we run tests" the doctor said as she looked at us all, "Look we don't want to overwhelm her. I need everyone to clear out" she added as we looked between each other,

"Guys she's right. Come on" Bruce said as he began to pull everyone away excluding Nat. The door was practically slammed in my face as I turned around to Thor and Loki, apparently so did everyone else.

"What the fuck was that?"

***

Arielle's POV

"You don't feel light headed at all, any nausea?" the doctor asked as the shined a torch into my eyes, I shook my head and they looked me once over again, "Right well. I want to take some blood, run a couple of tests but I suppose after that you'll be free to go." she said as she grabbed a needle from the cart and took some blood from me, "I'll leave you two to catch up." She sent smile mine and Nat's way before leaving the room. I was suffocated by Nat pulling me in for a hug.

"I'm so glad you're back" she sniffled into my hair and I smiled and hugged her tightly,

"Me too Nat, me too" I said as we stayed hugging for a moment, I pulled away and looked at her, "I-I met my Mum."

"What? How? What do you mean?" she asked as she sat down next to the bed,

"I-I woke up in a bright room. She explained everything, it sounds crazy Nat but my Mum's a Goddess" I told her, wow I sound bat shit crazy. "She came down to earth to sort something out and fell in love with my Father, after she had me she was called back up and hasn't been able to come down since" I explained.

"Well it'd explain the get up you're in" she motioned to the armour that was on my body and I looked down at what I was wearing. "Does this mean you're related to Thor and Loki?" she asked as I shook my head,

"If my history is correct there's no relation. They're norse Gods, my Mother is Athena, Goddess of War" I informed her as she smiled,

"I'm just glad you're back. I couldn't care if your Mother was Loki or a homeless person. I've missed you" she pulled me into another hug as I chuckled. "You've been asleep for three weeks, it's just good to hear your voice."

"It's good to hear your voice too Nat" I smiled as I wrapped my arms around her,

"Let's go see everyone. I know they're dying to see you. Bucky never left you side, Sam and Steve visited everyday" she explained as I chuckled,

"Sure just, help me walk for a bit. My legs are numb slightly" I chuckled as she helped swing my legs over the bed and stand up. I wobbled slightly but Nat put both her arms around me.

"I've got you" she assured as we walked out of the door and towards the lift. It didn't take long before the doors opened and we stepped inside and pressed the main floor button. "Can we have a girls night when you're recovered? We can stay in if you'd like and watch films, I just want to spend time with you"she asked as I nodded,

"Of course we can. We'll get Wanda in on it too" Oh how I've missed this place, it was so much better than that cell. We got to the floor and I hobbled over to the sofa in the living room.

"I'll text everyone and tell them they can come, I sent them to their rooms until you were either properly walking or just sat down. Chances are you'll get knocked over with this lot" she laughed as she pulled out her phone and texted everyone. It took fifteen seconds before Sam came bursting through the door and dived on me. "BE CAREFUL!" Nat shouted as I chuckled and hug Sam back,

"I've missed you so much" he sobbed as I held him in my arms, I heard the door open once more and Steve and Bucky bounced on the sofa also, resulting in a big group hug.

"I want in on this too" Tony laughed and before I knew it everyone was on top of me and we were having a big group hug.

"I told you all not to overwhelm her. Get off" Nat ordered as the group scrambled off me, I looked over at them all and smiled,

"God I've missed you all" I chuckled as tears filled my eyes,

"Speaking of God. Do you care to explain your little floating, light shenanigan?" Tony asked as he sat on the table. I smiled at him and looked over at Thor and Loki,

"Did you guys know?" I asked as they shook their heads,

"We had no idea. A half Goddess half human is not something we've ever come across" Loki informed me,

"I'm sorry. Did he just say Goddess?" Wanda asked as I nodded,

"Holy shit"

"What does he mean Goddess?"

"How did you find out?"

"Do you have abilities then?"

"What happened after you were taken?"

"GUYS!" I shouted as they all fell silent, "I promise I will answer all your questions as soon as possible but at the moment I'm hungry and I want to change" I said as I looked at the armour on my body. "Wanda, Nat. You care to help this cripple up to her room?" I asked as I looked at them and smiled, Wanda held out her hand which I gladly took as she pulled me up. With Nat and Wanda on each side we walked out the room and waited for the lift once more.

"How long until they reckon you'll be able to walk on your own?" Wanda asked,

"They said a couple of days, I reckon I'll be walking on my own by tonight" I chuckled as we got in the lift. "Do you fancy a girls night out when I'm back to myself again?" I asked, "I actually for once in my life really want to go out to a club and just dance" Nat gave me a funny look,

"Are you sure you're Arielle? Did they change your brain or something?" she sassed as Wanda and I chuckled, "Really though, you don't have to say you want to go out just for us."

"I'm not, I want to get really drunk and dance the night away... Now are you in or out?" I questioned as I looked at them both,

"Oh we're in! No need to ask us twice" Wanda smirked as we got to our floor. I was taken to my room and there I found some clothes to change into,

"How do you even hang up a suit of armour? Like the hangers will break if I hang this up" I chuckled as I held up the clothing, Wanda and Nat shrugged their shoulders, "I'll leave it on my bed for now. Are there any questions you two want to ask before we go downstairs?" I asked them both as I sat back down on my bed,

"Yeah, like what in the world happened whilst you were out? How did you find out you were a Goddess? What're you the Goddess of? Do you have a title like Thor and Loki? Do you have any abilities?" Wanda asked with a giggle,

"The only way I an describe it was like a dream. I woke up in this place which was just white to three women who introduced my Mum. She told me about how she fell in love with my Dad and had me then had to go back to Mount Olympus. She showed me the room I was in whilst Sam and Bucky were there... It was like an outer body experience, it was so weird. As for abilities I have no idea, my Mum did do this weird thing where she said silence and I couldn't speak even though I tried" I explained as Nat tilted her head,

"You know. When everything went on with the abduction, you told Steve to stay... He claims he wasn't able to move from that spot no matter how hard he tried. Do you think you may have the same power your Mother did?" Nat asked as I shrugged,

"I don't know. If I do I have no idea how to control it. I told the people to leave me alone and let me out many times but they didn't. As for the whole title thing my Mum said I was a Goddess, she didn't say what of. I'm not sure how Greek mythology works, if they pass down their title of if their children have different titles. I do hope to find out with a bit of research though" I told them as they nodded their heads,

"How're you coping after what they did to you?" Nat asked,

"I'm OK. I managed to get through it, eight out of ten times it wasn't that bad what they did to me" How was I feeling? I feel like I should be more traumatised after what happened to me but in reality I felt fine.

"Arielle, we saw what they did to you... It's OK if you're not fine you know" Wanda assured as I looked up at her.

"I promise you I'm fine."