Burning Bright: An Avengers Fanfiction

The Path That She Shall Take

The second the jet's bay door opened, I raced out onto the roof and towards Wolf and Thor. I rammed into Wolf, knocking him a little off-kilter as I wrapped my arms around his middle.

"Wolf! Are you okay? What happened? Were you crying?" I ask in a rush, noting his slightly-red eyes. Before he can even comprehend any of my questions, I release my death-grip on him and turn to face Thor, my fists clenched and eyes narrowed.

"I'm not going to let you hurt him," I state resolutely, feeling my flame sizzle and crack inside of me with anticipation. The rest of the Avengers exit the plane, alert and ready to fight at a moments notice, but don't come near us.

"And I have no intention to do so," Thor replies calmly.

"How can you say that after you flew off with him through a window without a word to anyone else?!" I snap back. My fingertips are smoking slightly and it's taking all I have not to go Girl on Fire mode.

I feel a warm hand settle on my shoulder. I look up and meet Wolf's eyes, which usually seem so bright and warm, but all I can see is a kind of resigned sadness.

"Lila, it's okay. He's not going to hurt anyone."

"But Wolf-"

Wolf slipped his arms around my waist and buried his face in the crook of my neck as he pulled me towards his chest, my back hitting his solid chest.

"Please," he whispered, his warm breath on my neck making a shiver run up my spine,"just trust me."

I slipped out of his embrace and a look of hurt flashed across his face. I smiled and grabbed his hand in mine, twining my fingers together with his larger, calloused ones.

"I trust you," I said resolutely, my eyes locked with his. He smiled a bright, dazzling smile.

"Then trust me when I say Thor isn't going to cause any problems," he said. He seemed to stutter over Thor's name, like it wasn't familiar to him.

I hear Wolf whisper, barely audible, "Uncle Thor."

Wolf probably didn't think anyone heard him, but I know I heard him call Thor his uncle. I wanted to question him so badly, but this wasn't the place nor time. For now, we just needed to figure out why Thor was back so early.

Wolf and I headed over to the thunder god himself, who was surrounded by the Avengers. They were all speaking in low tones and didn't seem to notice our incoming arrival.

"Thor, what did you want with the kid? You're hiding something from us," Steve said.

"I promise my friends, I will answer all of your questions as soon as we get back to the tower," Thor replied. Natasha coughed and everyone seemed to realize that we were right behind them.

Steve gave me a reassuring smile that didn't reassure me at all.

"Well everybody, let's head back to Stark Tower and get this all sorted out."

-oOo-

We were all seated in the living room, everyone on the super plush furniture that was really of no comfort right now. Everyone was on the edge of their seat, all eyes pointed at Thor. I was in between Clint and Natasha on one of the dark leather couches. Steve, Tony and Bruce occupied the other couch while Thor and Wolf each took one of the two recliners. Pepper was sitting on the arm of the couch next to Tony, her hand in his and a worried expression that hadn't left her face since we arrived back at the Tower. Thor was sitting with his elbows resting on his knees, his hands folded under his chin and his face serious.

"When I was in Asgard, I asked my father for counsel regarding Thanos and the Infinity Gems.  Thanos possesses the Soul, Mind and Reality Gems. My father has the last three- Time, Space, and Power- as well as the Infinity Gauntlet. If Thanos gets his hands on the Gauntlet and all six Gems, the universe could be in a dire situation."