The Peid Piper part 1

Reality itself seemed to twirl around her, like melted glass, and for a moment everything she could see was a spiral of lights and colors. Then, as suddenly as it began, it was over; the world stabilized again, the colors faded and reality took form once more. The heat was the first thing she felt, her eyes still closed, as the sun caressed her skin. The dry air, full of new smells, was the next.

And when Lorelei opened her eyes, a desert appeared in front of her eyes.

Traveling through the branches of Yggdrasil without the Bifrost was uncomfortable, to say the least, but it wasn't like the possibility to travel through the Rainbow Bridge existed for her. The Bifrost was one of Asgard's greatest strategic resources and as such it was used only by those Odin himself allowed.

It went without saying that a fugitive, like her, would not be granted such privileges.

How things changed, she thought, not without considerable bitterness. Lorelei was once loved on Asgard, respected, envied… But soon Asgard was not enough and she traveled to other realms, acquiring worshipers as easily as she breathed, basking in their adoration. Kingdoms and empires were made in her honor, monarchs bowed to her, offerings filled her palaces from bottom to top… And for that, for being loved more than the Allfather himself, she was punished.

For that, she was locked in Asgard's dungeons, her voice sealed, tossed in a cell like a common criminal. And there she stayed, rotting, for 600 years. Until the Sacking of Asgard. Until the Dark Elves woke up from their slumber and attacked the Realm Eternal, unleashing a Kursed one inside the dungeons. A Kursed who promptly tore apart the cells, trampled the Einherjar, made a trail of destruction within the palace and almost killed the Queen.

But more importantly, a Kursed that had, intentionally or not, released her from her cell.

Escaping the palace amidst the chaos was not difficult, not when every soldier was busy fighting off the invasion; escaping from Asgard, however, was trickier. Yggdrasil's branches were all connected, entwined around the Nine Realms, and those who knew the paths could use them as a way of traveling between the Realms. But new branches grew or changed position, older branches ceased to exist, and the Nine Realms and the Yggdrasil itself were in constant movement.

All it took was one wrong turn and a person could be lost forever amongst the branches of the World Tree. Luckily, Lorelei was no fool and even though 600 years was enough time for the paths to change, she had found her way to Midgard.

It seemed, however, that the branches of the Yggdrasil were not the only things that had changed in these 600 years.

To put it simply, Lorelei had no idea where she was. She knew in which Realm she was in, of course, but Midgard was vast and all she could see around her was a desert. An arid, filled with sand, hot desert. Lorelei could not hide her frustration. Walking was already a task she considered beneath her; walking through that place, under the sun, over the uncomfortable sand was something she had never, in all her long life, thought she would ever do.

Lorelei was supposed to be a Queen! An Empress, adored and worshiped by her subjects, with golden palaces in every Realm, fortune beyond imagination, glory and the love from all beings all around the universe!

She deserved nothing less, she knew it. Lorelei was not only the most beautiful goddess in all Nine Realms, she was beauty personified; her fiery red hair, her bright ivory skin, her emerald green eyes and her lustful body had thrown entire planets into war for the mere privilege of worshipping her. Her mind put scholars to shame, quicker and smarter than the greatest geniuses from all Realms.

And her magical abilities, honed for centuries, were so powerful that few beings would dare to meet her in combat.

Lorelei did not simply believe that ruling the Nine Realms was her right, she believed that the Nine Realms should be honored to kneel before her. But worthy subjects, like children, needed to be taught and the lessons were sometimes difficult to learn. Some would struggle, others would try to close their eyes and there were those who flat out refused guidance.

She learned that the hard way, on Asgard, and she paid the price for her mistakes during 600 years of silence and darkness; she would not commit the same errors again.

More than worshipers, Lorelei needed armies. Powerful armies, to unify all Realms under her command. Armies strong enough to face even the full might of Asgard. And a champion strong enough to gift her the head of the Allfather himself.

That was the real reason why she was on Midgard. Lorelei could, after all, reach any Realm she desired through the Yggdrasil. Realms that were far more advanced than Midgard, with its lower life forms. But Midgard now had something no other Realm had: the last Kryptonian.

Lorelei listened to tales told of this Kryptonian battle against his own people while she was in her cell. She listened to how he defeated General Zod himself, the feared military leader of the now destroyed Krypton, and all his soldiers when they attempted to take Midgard. She listened to how he fought against Thor Odinson during the Convergence Tournament and how he was as powerful as the God of Thunder, maybe even more so. She listened to how he battled against the Dark Elves, side by side with Thor, finally doing what not even Bor Burison could when they defeated Malekith.

If there was one being in the universe Lorelei needed to have so she could conquer the Nine Realms, it was Kal-El. With him leading her army, she would be unbeatable. With him as the tip of her spear, she could defeat and acquire Thor as well. With his strength, combined with Thor's, not even Odin would be able to resist her.

And one way or the other Lorelei would take him, that she promised.

With her goal in mind, Lorelei walked through the desert, cursing Odin at every step; imagining her new champion taking the Allfather's head off proved to be quite an enjoyable distraction, she admitted, but even that lost its novelty after a while. What place was this? In her travels to Midgard in the past, Lorelei had never stepped on such horrid location. The heat was beginning to annoy her; the sun couldn't burn her Asgardian skin, of course, nor make her sweat, but it was incredibly inconvenient nonetheless.

Her heart almost burst with relief when she heard something approaching.

Whatever it was, it was moving fast, filling the silent place with a very loud sound. For a few moments, the sound was all the evidence something was approaching, but soon Lorelei saw a cloud of dust in the distance; it had to be some kind of vehicle. Ignoring her reluctance in performing any kind of tiring activity, Lorelei ran in its direction, her Asgardian's muscles well prepared for such task despite her lack of will.

She managed to intercept the vehicle right at the moment it would pass her; there was a screech as it stopped abruptly in front of her, getting terribly close from hitting.

Lorelei did not recognize the weird metal chariot, but humans were bound to have learned something in her 600 years of absence, she thought, as she analyzed the contraption. It was not a flying vehicle, that much was clear by its incapacity of defying gravity, but it was better than walking. Before the could draw any more conclusions, two doors opened and a man and a woman got out.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" the woman inquired, running to her.

The woman was her inferior in every aspect, Lorelei noticed immediately, taking great satisfaction in that fact even if it was very much expected. A mortal, not even a particularly beautiful specimen, clad in a ridiculous white dress that even the poorest Asgardian would not be caught wearing.

"Are you lost?" the woman asked again, when Lorelei didn't answer. "Do you need help?"

Not even glancing at the woman again, Lorelei turned to the man, relishing at the wide-eyed look he was giving her. Sure, the man was hardly impressive, even the simplest of Asgardians possessed more beauty, but it was a long time since someone other than the prison guards had looked at her like that.

"What is this horrid place?" Lorelei finally asked, her eyes still fixed on the man.

Her exclamation seemed to surprise them.

"Oh! This is Death Valley," the man answered immediately, still staring at her.

Fitting name, she thought, briefly looking around at the desolate land.

"How do you not know where you are?!" the woman asked, apparently worried for her; Lorelei almost scoffed. "How did you get here?"

Lorelei ignored her.

"I am looking for Kal-El. Where can I find him?" Lorelei questioned.

To her surprise, she received only two pairs of puzzled looks. How could these vermin not know about the Savior of Midgard?! Were humans this stupid?

"Kal-El… Wait, isn't that Superman's name?" exclaimed the woman, turning to the man; he was still staring at her, mesmerized, but the question seemed to awake him. He rapidly nodded. "Yeah, I thought so!"

"Superman?" asked Lorelei, confused.

"That's how they call him," the woman explained. "Because he is, well, super!"

Yes, humans apparently were that stupid, Lorelei concluded.

"Where can I find this… Superman?" she demanded.

Again, her question was met with a set of baffled expressions. How could that be?! A man such as Kal-El, with that much power, should have an entire kingdom at his feet! He ruled Midgard! Was it too much to ask for the location of his main palace? The capital of his empire?

"He goes everywhere, really," the woman finally answered. "He flies around the world, helping everyone that needs help."

"He does seem to like New York, though," the man added. "Probably because of all that mess during the invasion."

"New York? Is that the seat of his kingdom?" Lorelei requested.

"Ahhh…" the woman started, but Lorelei had no more patience.

"Take me to New York!" she ordered.

Unbelievably, the two mortals did not obey her instantly, they only stared at her.

"We… We are not going that way," the woman said, hesitantly. "I mean, not even a little bit! We are going to our honeymoon!"

She said that with a very pleased expression, blushing lightly as she glanced at the man.

"Honeymoon?" Lorelei repeated.

The woman smiled at her and grabbed the man's hand.

"We just got married," she said, almost glowing with happiness. "Mr. and Mrs. Mackenzie, forever together!"

Lorelei raised a single eyebrow.

"Is that so?" the Asgardian asked, smiling as well; her smile, however, had nothing pleasant about it. Reaching with her own hand, she touched the man's shoulder, allowing her magic to flow. "Tell me your name."

"J-Jimmy!" he answered, not looking at his wife anymore. In fact, he barely seemed aware that she was even there now.

"Well, Jimmy… Do you love your wife?" Lorelei asked, eyes fixed on his, her voice magically seductive. "Would you do anything for her?"

"Yes, of c-course," he stammered, glancing briefly at his wife. "I love her more than anything!"

The woman seemed to melt when he said that, but Lorelei just smiled.

"Loyalty… I admire that in a man," Lorelei praised. "But do you love her more than me?" she finally asked.

Jimmy Mackenzie, still wearing the same clothes from his wedding, holding his bride's hand, opened his mouth to answer; except no sound came out of it. He just kept staring at Lorelei, mouth wide open, incapable to say anything whatsoever as Lorelei's magic spread through his mind. His bride turned to look at him, her hands pressing his, but not even that seemed to break the trance he was in.

"No," he finally said; his wife let go of his hand, staring shocked at him. "I love you more than I love my wife."

Lorelei almost laughed at the astonished — and wounded — expression on the woman's face.

"I seek passage from this 'Valley of Death' to a more bountiful land," Lorelei said, her voice sweet like honey. "I need you to take me to New York, Jimmy. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes!" he answered, without hesitation.

"Jimmy! What are you doing?!" the woman exclaimed, tears beginning to ruin her makeup. "This-this is not funny!"

Jimmy turned to look at his wife for a second, but his glassy eyes barely registered her; and then, as if he couldn't help himself, he stared at Lorelei again, almost as if his head was moving on its own.

"Then we shall go now, Jimmy," Lorelei stated. She glanced at the woman. "But first I need you to get rid of her."

Lorelei barely paid any attention as her newest slave choked the life out of the previous love of his life, too busy exploring the vehicle's interior to care.

Clark flew over New York's buildings, following with his eyes the van running dangerously fast through the streets, relentlessly pursued by the police. Bank robbers, he knew, using his x-ray vision to confirm that the van was full of armed bandits and sacks of stolen money. Did they really expect to successfully flee after a stunt like that? Even if he wasn't there, the probability of success was almost null.

That particular fact didn't seem to deter the robbers, apparently, because the driver clearly thought he could solve all their problem by going even faster.

It didn't take a genius to realize that a speeding van running thought a packed street couldn't result in anything other than an accident. Almost as soon as the driver tried to turn, the van crashed against a car and flipped over, bouncing against the asphalt violently and without control.

Right towards the sidewalk, where a woman and a little boy eating an ice-cream were.

Without hesitating even for a second, Clark dived, gaining speed so fast that the air boomed around him. He could see the van crashing without control against the ground, leaving pieces of it behind as it advanced; the woman and the kid were frozen in place, both staring wide eyed at the approaching vehicle, knowing there was nothing they could do to escape in time.

And when the van finally reached the sidewalk, ready to crash against the pedestrians, Clark arrived between them.

Using his entire body, he shielded both the mother and her kid, his arms grabbing the van with his Kryptonian strength and actually stopping it midair; he didn't move an inch, but the metal of the vehicle felt the impact, bending as it touched him.

"Look, it's Superman!" he heard the kid yelling happily, to the still shocked and frozen woman. "I knew he would save us!"

As much as Clark appreciated the confidence the boy had in him, it had been a close call; he didn't need to know that, though. Carefully, Clark put the van down, hoping the crash hadn't hurt the men inside too much. They were criminals, of course, but Clark preferred they arrested rather than dead or crippled.

Moving fast, he went around the van and ripped the door out, releasing the driver from the bent metal, doing a quick x-ray scan on him to confirm he wasn't too harmed.

"S-Superman?" the man slurred, clearly concussed. "You're supposed to be in China!"

He rolled his eyes. "Sorry for interrupting your robbery, I just couldn't help myself."

"Superman can fly very fast!" the kid piped up from the other side of the car, happily informing the driver and every bystander.

Putting the man on the street, not before disarming him, Clark moved to release the other men trapped in the back of the van, just as the police cars began to arrive. Distracted, he opened the doors, frowning when one of them actually shot him on the chest.

"Really?!" he complained, looking at the confused and terrified robber who shot him. "I'm trying to help you and you shoot me?!"

He didn't know if it was what he said or the fact that he was Superman, but the man quickly tossed the pistol away, looking more baffled than ever.

"Sorry!" he slurred, trying to get up. "I-I didn't know! I thought you were in China!"

Again, Clark rolled his eyes, pulling the man out of the vehicle.

"Superman can read minds and see the future!" the kid yelled once again to everyone that could listen. "He is always there to stop the bad guys!"

"You can really read minds?!" asked a third robber, as Clark helped him get out of the van so the cops could take them.

"I bet you feel really stupid for thinking what you were thinking right now, huh?" Clark asked, seeing the man pale; of course he couldn't read minds, but the guy obviously wasn't thinking anything flattering about him right now. He turned to the fourth and last robber, still in the van. "And you, over there, put the gun down and come out slowly. You all robbed a bank, caused an accident and almost killed a woman and a kid. Shoot me again and your stay in the hospital will be a while longer, believe me."

The robber, shocked and afraid at how Clark could've know he was reaching for a gun, quickly put it down; maybe he couldn't read minds, but he could see through things. As he turned, Clark was greeted by a crowd of people, everyone holding a cellphone to film everything that was happening, as if the whole thing was a show instead of an arrest.

The cops, at least, were doing their job, even if everyone of them stopped from time to time to gawk at him.

"I trust you guys can take it from here?" he asked the closest cop, making him nod fast.

"Thanks for the help, Superman!" he said, actually shaking his hand. "N-not just today. Crime has been real slow since you showed up."

"That's because Superman is always there to fight for good!" the kid yelled again, beaming at him.

Clark was flattered, he really was, but what exactly had people been talking about him?

"Thanks, Superman," the woman he saved said, still pale, but smiling now. "You saved us!"

He couldn't help but smile back, patting the kid on the head as he did it. The compliments were still a little weird, but he was doing this to help them, after all, and it was nice to see things working out.

As soon as he thought that, still surrounded by bystanders madly taking pictures, Clark heard a very familiar sound in the distance; quickly, he turned around, focusing his vision so he could see through the buildings and far away. And what he saw made him smile.

The Bifrost was glowing in the distance.

Sif had maybe five seconds to ground herself after the overwhelming Bifrost travel before she heard something landing behind her. Or, more accurately, someone. She smiled, turning.

"I was expecting you would show up, Kal, but not that fast," she said, greeting the Kryptonian.

"Sif! I thought it could be you!" Kal said, walking to her and actually embracing her; Sif took a second to hug him back, surprised — but not in a bad way — by the gesture. "I'm really glad you came to visit!"

This reminded Sif the real reason she was there; her excitement in seeing her friend lowered considerably.

"I am afraid I am not here to visit, Kal," she said, her voice serious. "We have a big problem."

"You have a beautiful home, Kal," Sif said, looking around at the room.

She meant what she said, but Midgardian homes were still weird to her. Why did they all live in towers? Kal could fly, that was how they got here, so it was practical for him, but she did not understand Midgardian's obsession with these tower-like buildings. And such small places! Midgard was so much bigger than Asgard, why did they all choose to live side by side, packed like stored pieces of armor in a box? Even the animals on Asgard had more space!

At least it was better than the wood cabins they used to build a thousand years ago.

"Actually, it's not mine, it's from my friend's sister. Well, my she is my friend too," Kal said, as she explored the bright room. "Mine is a lot smaller and not nearly as fancy… And it's being renovated right now. Against my will…" he added in a lower voice.

He shook his head for a second, as if dispelling that line of thought.

"Anyway, would you like to drink something? Eat something?" he asked, opening the cabinets. "We have… Soda and cereal. Yes, she ate everything I bought to make a sandwich…"

Sif did not know who "she" was, but it did not matter right now.

"I do not want anything, Kal, I do not have time to lose," she said, approaching him. That seemed to draw his attention. "A fugitive, a dangerous fugitive, has escaped from the dungeons during our battle against the Dark Elves. Heimdall was able to track her here, on Midgard."

Kal was suddenly serious now. "Do you know where he is?"

"She," Sif corrected. "And no, she has cloaked herself from Heimdall's vision using some kind of magic. All I know is that she is here, in this land."

"New York?" Kal asked, looking around, no doubt using his 'almost-as-good-as-Heimdall-vision'.

"Not here, in this city, but to the East of this continent," Sif explained. "I will search for her trail soon enough, but I wanted to speak to you first."

"Do you need help?" Kal asked, always eager to lend his strength.

Sif shook her head. "That is exactly why I needed to speak to you first: you cannot, in any circumstance, help me. You are not to approach Lorelei."

Kal's surprised expression, despite the seriousness of the situation, at least made her smile.

Before Clark could ask Sif to explain that, he heard steps coming from the outside corridor; he sighed. Well, that would be great.

"Before you go on," Clark started, "my friend just got here. She is… weird, so just ignore her."

Sif frowned, obviously not understanding what Clark meant, but then turned to look at the apartment's door opening. And there was the reason for Clark's warning: Jessica Jones. She entered the apartment with her head lowered, visibly tired because of a long night of work, smelling like the cheap alcohol she had undoubtably mixed in her coffee. She locked the door and turned; that's when she saw them.

Clark could imagine the weirdness of what Jessica's eyes were seeing. In the middle of Trish's apartment, standing out completely from the normalcy of a common day, were Superman and a woman dressed in plate armor, complete with a sword and shield. Not exactly what people would think to find in their homes at 10 am or, really, any other time.

"What the—" Jessica whispered, looking at them wide eyed. "What the hell, Clark? I can't leave for half a day and you're already doing some freaky roleplay sex thing in my sister's apartment?!"

He sighed again, looking down, just waiting for her to finish whatever she had to say fast.

"What's the scenario here?" Jessica continued, tossing her bag over the couch and walking to them. "Let me guess: she is an Amazon warrior and you fell on her island. Is that it? Are you stuck in the middle of an island full of warrior women wanting a piece of Superman? Is that your fantasy?"

Clark turned to her.

"No… But I'm beginning to think it's yours," he said and before she could go on — because she would and that would probably offend Sif at some point — he explained: "Jessica, this is Lady Sif of Asgard. Sif, this is Jessica Jones. Sif here was just explaining to me that we have an Asgardian criminal on the loose."

That cut Jessica's speech short.

"Oh, fuck, not again! Another Loki?!" she exclaimed. "Hell's Kitchen is not ready for that again!"

It was a good question, so Clark looked at Sif, eyebrows raised.

"Lorelei is not Loki," Sif began again, still glancing curiously at Jessica, "but she is dangerous in her own way." She turned to Clark. "Especially with you here."

Again, Clark didn't understand what that meant. What did this criminal — Lorelei apparently — had to do with him?

"Kal, Lorelei is a powerful sorceress, "Sif started, her voice carrying a very serious tone. "That, by itself, is reason enough to be wary of her. But the true reason I want her far away from you and Thor is because of what she can do with her magic: Lorelei's voice bends and shape the wills of men to her own purpose."

Enslave people with her voice? Was that even possible? Clark was surprised by what Sif said, but before he could ask for any clarification, Jessica interrupted.

"She can control people by talking to them?" she asked Sif.

Clark looked at Jessica, searching her expression; the reason he did that was because of how she sounded. Jessica didn't sound skeptic or even dismissive, like she normally sounded about most things.

She sounded afraid; that wasn't something Clark had seen her demonstrate before.

"Lorelei is a master when it comes to controlling minds," Sif confirmed, nodding. "It takes but a word and most men fall to their knees in adoration. If that fails, a single following touch will undoubtably enthrall them."

"I'm not most men," Clark said, not appreciating the fact that Sif was basically forbidding him to help her.

"No, you are not, Kal," Sif agreed. "You are one of the most powerful men I have ever met. And if Lorelei is able to enthrall you… I truly do not know how we can stop you."

Sif looked deeply into his eyes, trying to convey exactly how serious that situation was.

"600 years ago, Lorelei began a quest to conquer the Nine Realms," Sif told them. "Entire civilizations were dominated by her, pitted against each other, as she gathered the armies she needed to face Asgard. Empires fell, families were destroyed, brothers fought against brothers, fathers killed their sons." The Asgardian closed her eyes for a second, breathing deeply. "The things that woman has done, Kal… I lack the words to describe how much I despise her. And the last thing I need is for her to control you."

"Can she?" Jessica asked, her voice still strangely serious. "Are you sure about that?"

"I have never seen her fail to command a man," Sif answered. "Her voice and her touch can work on anyone even remotely attracted to her, but men possess an inherent weakness that women do not share. Even if Kal was not attracted by women — and I know for a fact that he is — Lorelei could use that biological weakness against him. And then she would unleash him upon this Realm."

Clark felt cold by the mere thought of that. He couldn't even imagine what he would feel if someone forced him to hurt people, to destroy, to kill. To make him her weapon, nothing more than sword that she would use to carve Earth and then the other Realms.

His worry probably showed on his face, because he felt Sif's hand lightly touching him.

"I will not allow that to happen, you have my word," Sif promised, looking at his eyes. "But I will need you to swear not to approach her."

"I would be an idiot if I did, after what you just told me," Clark replied.

"Yes, you would, but rationality and emotion are not the best match," Sif retorted. "I need your word that you will not interfere even if Lorelei tries to draw you out. Even if she starts to hurt people. Even if she uses then to lure you."

He felt another shiver at the thought of what Sif described. Could he promise something like that?

"Do you think that bitch will do that?" Jessica asked. "Start torturing people if Clark doesn't show up?"

Sif's eyes became glassy for a second.

"I have seen Lorelei commanding husbands to kill their wives simply to prove that they loved her more. I have seen her ordering fathers to slay their sons and daughters, just because she could. There is nothing that this monster would not do."

She raised her head and looked at Clark again.

"But I will not allow it," she repeated. "Not again. I was the one who brought her to justice 600 hundred years ago and I will do so one more time."

"Are you going to kill her?" Clark couldn't help but to ask.

"I would like nothing more than to take her head off, but the Allfather ordered me to bring her to Asgard alive, so she can rot in her cell for all eternity. I will not fail him." She turned to Clark again. "But I need your word that you will not interfere. I can defeat Lorelei. I cannot defeat her and you together."

Clark looked down for a long while. He didn't like this, he didn't like this at all. The thought that a monster like this was roaming the Earth right now was enough to make him sick, but it was worse than that; it was worse because Sif was asking him to not do anything about it. Could he promise that? To stay away, while that woman hurt innocent people?

Before he could stop, Clark nodded, giving Sif his word; he might not like it, but he trusted her enough for this.

"What about Thor?" Clark asked. "Did you warn him?"

"Thor is safe for the moment, he is in another continent. And Lorelei is not looking for him, not right now at least."

"Why does she want me so much?" Clark asked and his question was met with a pair of incredulous eyes.

"You made an impression," Sif summarized. "You defeated Zod and his soldiers, you fought Thor to a standstill and you had good chances of defeating even him. Do you know how many people can do that?" He shook his head. "Not a lot. If she manages to enthrall you, Kal, she could take entire worlds with ease. She could use you to help her enthrall Thor. With both of you… The level of destruction she would bring is unquantifiable."

Sif touched his shoulder again.

"That is why I will stop her."

Saying that, Sif started to walk towards the window, no doubt to shout out for the Bifrost. Before she could, however, Jessica grabbed her arm.

"I want to help you."

Neither of them knew what to say in response to that. Sif, obviously, had no idea how a human could be of any help against an Asgardian that dangerous and Clark… Clark was baffled that Jessica even cared about that at all. He knew she wasn't a bad person, in fact she was quite the opposite, but he would have never expected her to be so bothered by Lorelei. Jessica corrected evil when she saw it, but she rarely went out of her way to actually do something about it.

"Look, this bitch is bad news for everybody," Jessica started, glancing at him, "especially Clark. If she has her way, Earth is fucked. Superman can't help, for once, and neither can blondie. But I can."

Sif stared back at Jessica, in silence. "I commend your bravery, Lady Jones, but Lorelei is above mortals. You would get hurt for no good reason."

Instead of saying anything back, Jessica simply pressed Sif's arm with her hand, hard; a look of surprise crossed Sif's face.

"I know I can't fight an Asgardian," Jessica admitted, in rare moment of modesty, "but I'm not just any human. Plus, you said it yourself, that bitch will have thralls with her. I can at least beat them up, to let you focus on the real threat."

Sif looked at Clark, as if searching for his opinion on the matter; he just shrugged.

"It's not my decision," Clark said, looking at both of them. He frowned. "I don't like being left out, but I trust both of you."

Still clearly undecided, Sif looked at Jessica. She looked deep into her eyes, measuring her will; Jessica didn't falter. After a few seconds, the Asgardians sighed.

"Very well, you may help me," she said and only after that Jessica released her arm. Sif took something from her belt and presented to Jessica. "But you are not going unarmed."

Clark and Jessica watched, confused, as Sif revealed a small metallic cylinder to them, not much bigger than a dagger would be; they had no idea what that was, until the Asgardian fumbled with it and activated some kind of button. In front of their eyes, the cylinder grew to the size of Clark's arm, the opposite side ending in a spiked, metal ball, clacking with some unknown energy.

It was a mace.

Jessica seemed delighted, her fascinated expression glowing like a kid on Christmas day; Clark, however, was a little bit worried.

"Are you sure you want to give her an Asgardian mace?" Clark asked, as Jessica grabbed the weapon to test it out. "She can already do a lot of damage without it."

"Fuck you!" she pointed out, hitting the air.

"It is not Asgardian," Sif explained, as if that was the problem, "it is Thanagarian. It is made of Nth-Metal, a metal only found on Thanagar. I took it from a Thanagarian foolish enough to challenge me." She looked at Jessica. "It has a lot of interesting properties, such as negating gravity around it and, more relevant to our problem, the ability to disrupt dimensional energy. It can negate magic."

"I can't wait to bash that bitch's head with this!"

Yes, it was a dangerous idea to give that to Jessica, no doubt. Before he could raise any additional concerns, however, Kelex began to ring, as it transferred a call from his cellphone; he raised his eyebrows at the familiar number reproduced on the Liquid Geo's surface.

"Clark, SHIELD has just picked up a Bifrost opening next to New York. Do you know anything about that?"

A sudden idea occurred to him as he heard Natasha's voice; Sif and Jessica needed all the help they could get.

Lorelei was bored as the strange vehicle crossed the Valley of Death. There was absolutely nothing to see, anything to distract her but the ramblings of her newest thrall, Jimmy. She sighed, feeling the wind caressing her skin; if she had no more use for him, this little man would already be dead. Were all Midgardians so boring?

Kal-El would not be, she knew it. A god such as him would fully entertain her, she was certain of it, if not by speaking, then by using his body in different ways. Ways that she had longed for in those 600 years alone. Lorelei had never seen him, that was true, but the descriptions she heard certainly seemed to paint an enticing figure.

She was distracted by the images playing in her mind, that she only noticed the vehicle leaving the road when Jimmy was already turning; a strange building appeared by their side, full of men clad in black clothes, with a sign that said "Rosie's Desert Oasis" on its top.

"I just gotta grab something real quick," he said, looking lovingly at her. "I'll be right back, my love."

Lorelei could not stop her tired sigh as he left the vehicle. Still, at right now she had something to distract her. Looking around, the Asgardian sorceress opened the door and left the vehicle, stretching her long legs as the wind made her green dress flutter. She could feel all eyes fixed on her and that made her smile.

"Hey, darlin'," one of the men said, approaching; he was obviously entranced by her beauty, but his will seemed stronger than Jimmy's. "A gal like you can have any man you want. Why'd you marry that little dude? He loaded?"

As if she would ever marry someone! Lorelei almost scoffed, as she assessed the man in front of her. He was certainly a lot more impressive than Jimmy, handsome even, as far as mortals could be. He was wearing a leather jacket with a boar's crest on its back, with the words "Dogs of Hell" on top of it. Was it a clan of some kind?

"He is not my husband," Lorelei finally answered. "I took him from his bride earlier today. I needed him to provide safe passage."

"You in trouble?" the man asked. "'Cause if you need a place to lay low for a while, this is as good as any."

It was adorable that he thought she needed a mortal to defend her, but before she could say anything, one of those weird two-wheeled vehicles parked all around roared.

"Oh! It roars like a beast," she mentioned, impressed.

"It's a 1987 Heritage Softail," the man answered. "You can hop on mine if you want to feel it roar."

He guided her closer to the vehicle that belonged to him, obviously trying to impress her. And despite the primitive technology in front of her, Lorelei was impressed; it was quite a beautiful machine.

"How grand!" she said, touching it, feeling the cold metal under her skin. She glanced at the man. "What is your name?"

"My men call me Rooster," he answered, pointing at the name printed on his jacket.

"You have men?" Lorelei asked, pleasantly surprised. "You are their leader?"

Rooster chuckled, basking in her attention. "Last time I checked, yeah."

Lorelei smiled at him; then, allowing her magic to flow through her hand, she touched his shoulder.

"You and your men now serve me," she decided, hitting the man with the full might of her voice.

She did not know how impressive him and his men were, but they could not be possibly worse than her current thrall.

"This guy bothering you?!" Jimmy asked, alarmed.

She rolled her eyes; speaking of him, there he was.

"No," she answered, softly. "He is with me now."

"What? No! I'm with you!" Sometimes being adored was such hard work, Lorelei thought. "You said we'd be together forever, remember?"

"I said we would be together until the end," Lorelei said to the pathetic man, staring at him. "It is the end."

Saying this, she slapped his chest with her Asgardian strength; Jimmy's mortal body was simply no match to her. She felt his ribs caving and he flew away, clashing against his own vehicle. He was dead the moment he hit the metal.

Everyone was looking at her with awe and fear.

"Who are you?" Rooster asked, fascinated by her more than ever.

"I am Lorelei," she answered, smiling, as she grabbed his hand and walked with him towards the other men. "And soon enough I will be the Queen of this Realm."

"Do you still want to do this?" Clark asked Jessica.

The three of them were waiting side by side on a deserted runway of the nearest airport, searching the sky for any approaching aircraft. He glanced at Jessica again.

"We are going to deal with SHIELD," he continued. "They might not make any questions right now, but they'll certainly add you to their files when this is over."

She just shrugged. "You can always delete them."

"I can and I will, just as I made it impossible to link our faces and fingerprints to whatever database they might have." He raised a single eyebrow. "But I can't erase their memories. They'll know you exist and what you can do. Are you sure you still want to do this? Don't you want to use a mask or something?"

Jessica met his eyes, completely serious. "No, I'm not hiding who I am. And yeah, I still want to do this. Just… make up some name or something and we'll deal with it later if it becomes a problem."

Clark nodded; he thought for a second. "I'm going to call you 'Jewel'. 'J' for short."

That made her turn fast. "No, you fucking won't! How do you even know about that shit?!"

"Trish talks a lot when she is drunk," Clark chuckled, amused. "Oh, come on, you would look awesome wearing that uniform she made for you! Perfect to fight crime!"

"Yeah, if I wore that thing you wouldn't call me 'Jewel', you would call me 'Captain Camel Toe'!"

Clark actually choked on his own saliva when he heard that.

"I do not understand," Sif interrupted, frowning. "Was your battle suit shaped like a camel? Does that animal have some significance in Midgard?"

He thanked all the gods he possibly could when a Quinjet appeared in the sky, preventing him to have to explain Jessica's filthy vocabulary. The aircraft flew above them unbelievably fast, turning midair to start its descent.

"Kal, something I just remembered," Sif began, as the Quinjet approached the ground, "do you still have that book the Allfather gave you? The one about Kryptonians?"

"Of course!" he exclaimed, as if he would toss that away; it was one of his most prized possessions. "I read it almost every day."

"Did you already try your hand at Torquasm-Vo?" she finally asked.

He widened his eyes when she said that, understanding why Sif made that question immediately. Torquasm-Rao and Torquasm-Vo were both sides of a Kryptonian martial art, one to strengthen the body and the other to strengthen the spirit. Sif herself had helped him learn a bit of Torquasm-Rao before the Convergence Tournament and, as she had demanded, Clark had been training by himself every day.

Torquasm-Vo, however, was trickier. It hadn't anything to do with the body, but with the spirit; in short, it was a magical discipline and Clark had no teacher to show him how to do that.

That didn't mean he hadn't tried. He had read the book Odin gave him several times already and he took special care to learn everything he could about Torquasm-Vo, even if he could understand just the theory. And according to the book, Torquasm-Vo wasn't meant only for attacking, but for defense as well.

Especially, the defense of the mind against any external influence, something that would serve him well now.

"I tried to learn by myself," Clark answered, finally, "but aside from a few meditation exercises, I haven't got that far."

"Nothing in how to defend your mind?" she asked. "That would be useful."

"I agree. And yes, I know how to do it. Or, at least, I know the theory," Clark said, sighing. "The book compared the magical intrusion of the mind with poison. In short, the more 'poison' in your body, the less control over yourself you have. So you need a way to flush it out; Kryptonians can do that by using the energy we gather from the sun."

The Quinjet finally landed, vertically, like a helicopter would, but only Jessica was paying any attention.

"In theory, Kryptonians can force the energy inside us to flow through the body, disrupting any foreign energy in it," Clark continued. "That way, the magical hold is broken or at least weakened. The problem, however, is that you need to have control over your own mind to attempt this, to begin with, and if you are actually being controlled then how could you force yourself to escape?

"I presume the book says how?" the Asgardian questioned.

"It does," Clark sighed, "but I'm not anywhere near being able to do that. The book teaches, via meditation, to create a small shield around a part of your mind. And inside that protected mindscape, you would keep enough memories and force of will to be able to fight off any control. So even if your mind was taken, a small part of it would still work enough so you could escape."

"Can you do it?" Sif asked, going straight to the point.

Clark shook his head. "I can control the energy inside me to flush any magic out, it's really not that different from flying, but I have no idea how to create this protected mindscape inside my own head. I tried, believe me, but without someone to show me how is too difficult. So even if I can fight off any magical control, if I was being controlled I wouldn't want to fight it and, because of that, I wouldn't be able to escape. I rather not depend on this particular skill, to be honest."

Sif sighed, as the doors of the Quinjet opened.

"Hopefully, you will not."

Saying this, she looked at the aircraft, just as a familiar redhead was coming out, her long hair fluttering with the wind. Walking like she was a top model in a fashion show — and she could very well be one, Clark admitted —, Natasha crossed the distance to them, fully clad in her black skinsuit and carrying a lot of guns; she was prepared for battle, clearly.

"Hey, Natasha, how are you doing?" Clark greeted, smiling at her.

Her face lost the serious expression for a second as she smiled back.

"Could be better, without the mind-controlling alien galivanting through the planet, but not bad at all," she said, looking at Jessica and Sif. "Lady Sif, it is a pleasure to see you again."

"The pleasure is mine," Sif said, respectfully. "You fought well against the Dark Elves, it will be an honor to fight by your side again."

Natasha bowed her head slightly, obviously surprised by how much Sif was honoring her; Thor most likely told them several tales from Loki's invasion, Clark considered. It wasn't every day a group of mortals managed to keep up with a god and the Avengers went even beyond that.

Finally, she turned to look at Jessica.

"Jessica Jones, it is a pleasure to finally meet you," she said, nodding again; Jessica, in turn, looked perplexed. "Though I wish it were under better circumstances. We should go out sometime to gossip about Clark."

"You know who I am?!" Jessica finally exclaimed.

Natasha tilted her head slightly. "You're Clark's neighbor and you already met Stark. Of course I know." She stopped for a second, assessing Jessica. "Didn't know you were enhanced, to be honest, but don't worry, your identity will remain confidential, as will Clark's." Natasha looked at him. "We owe you that much."

It meant a lot to Clark that Natasha was willing to do that for him.

"Well, that's a lot better," Jessica said, glancing at him. "You won't have to call me that name ever again."

"Actually, if you are talking about an alias, it would still be better to use it," Natasha advised. "I won't tell anyone about who you are, but as much as I trust the team we are about to meet, they probably will when they are debriefed."

"Great…" Jessica mumbled.

"And you should wear this," Natasha continued, grabbing a small case from her waist.

Opening it in front of them, the spy took what seemed to be a gelatinous membrane from inside, not that different, in Clark's opinion, from a very thin and transparent scaled skin. It looked as if someone had skinned a fish so efficiently, that the skin taken from it was translucid. He had no idea what that was.

"May I?" Natasha asked, approaching Jessica's face with it.

Jessica glanced at Clark for a second, as if asking what the hell was going on, but Clark nodded, trusting Natasha not to harm her. Very delicately, Natasha placed the weird gelatinous thing over Jessica's face, making sure to spread it perfectly over all its surface. Then she took a step back, looking at her work.

As if activated by itself, the membrane glowed blue for a second and then they weren't looking at Jessica's face anymore.

"Incredible!" Clark whispered, finally realizing what the thing was.

"What?!" Jessica asked, unusually nervous as to why the three of them were staring at her, only to be even more surprised when the voice that came out of her mouth wasn't hers.

"It is a Photostatic Veil or, a Nano Mask, for short," Natasha explained, before Jessica freaked out and ripped the thing off. "It can make you look and sound like anyone. Very useful for us in the espionage business."

Before Jessica could even ask, Natasha picked a small mirror from her belt and held it in front of her face. And reflected there, was a face that didn't belong to Jessica. To be honest, it wasn't that different from her, now that Clark was paying attention, but it was more than enough to trick anyone.

"Don't you have some alien tech that does this, Clark?" Jessica asked, touching her own face. "It even feels like a real face…"

"Not that I know of," he answered, amazed by it. He looked at Natasha. "Thank you."

She just smiled, as if she hadn't done nothing that meaningful, but it meant a lot to Clark that she went so far just to protect one of his friends. And, of course, to protect him. If someone managed to find out Jessica's identity and link her to Superman, it wouldn't be that difficult to find out who he was.

Before he could say anything else to her, a very loud noise appeared in the distance; a big aircraft, no doubt.

"I think whoever you called to help us is approaching," Clark said, looking up and far away, to where a huge black plane was flying; he turned to Natasha. "Who are they?"

Natasha followed his eyes to try to see what he was seeing, but her eyes weren't that good.

"They are a small team inside SHIELD who mostly operates alone, in cases SHIELD has not yet classified," Natasha said. "If anyone can help us find this alien fast, it's them."

"Tony could help," he suggested.

"Stark could also meddle and end up mind-controlled," Natasha retorted immediately. "I rather keep the Avengers out of this one, for our safety. The damage the team could cause if compromised is immeasurable, that's why they are being kept out of the loop and watched." She glanced at him. "If it were up to me, you wouldn't be here either."

"Thanks," Clark said, sarcastically.

"I mean it, Clark. This isn't the first time we deal with an enemy capable of controlling people," she said, completely serious. "When Loki attacked, he used that Scepter of his to turn Selvig and Clint hostile. The damage they caused was tremendous and they were only humans. Can you imagine what would happen if you were controlled?"

Clark sighed and looked down, not wanting to have this conversation again. Luckily for him, he didn't have to, because Sif interrupted.

"What do you mean Loki controlled people?" the Asgardian warrior asked. "As far as I know, his magic is not capable of that."

"I don't how he did it, but that Scepter did exactly that," Natasha answered. She also looked down. "It cost us a lot of good people."

The air was suddenly taken by the incredible noise of the big SHIELD airplane they were expecting; the team they were waiting for had arrived.

"I can't believe we'll work with Superman!" Skye exclaimed, almost jumping out of her hospital bed. "And Black Widow! This is like a dream come true!"

"Be quiet, I'm trying to treat you!" Jemma Simmons interrupted, forcing the young woman to lie down. "And you are not working with anybody, you'll stay right here. You are not fit-for-duty yet."

"I'm fine!"

"'Fine' is not the appropriate word to describe your state!" Jemma countered immediately, checking her wounds. "You've been shot twice, had your stomach perforated and a breathing tube shoved down your throat. 'Better' is the more accurate word and that's only because anything is 'better' than the state you were!"

Skye sighed deeply, knowing by experience that arguing with "Doctor Jemma" wouldn't get her anywhere. Still, there was nothing that could stop her giddiness that day, not when she would finally meet Superman!

"Stop feeling happy, it's affecting my tests!" Jemma ordered, drawing blood for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

She rolled her eyes, ignoring the medical advice. Right now, Skye didn't care about her wounds, regardless of how painful they were. Being hurt during a mission, well, it happened; it didn't feel good, obviously, but the world wouldn't end because of it. She was an Agent of SHIELD and being bedridden was not amongst her list of tasks.

Especially when Superman was visiting them!

When Coulson received a call earlier that day, none of them expected that it would be the Black Widow herself looking for him. For one, Coulson was supposedly dead, according to what she was told, and, well, people really don't expect an Avenger to just call them! Apparently, there was a new alien threat on Earth, another Asgardian, and they needed help to find this new foe.

Skye wasn't told much, since she wouldn't be participating because of her wounds, but she knew that Superman and Black Widow would soon come aboard The Bus and they would start their very first mission with them. She could barely hold her excitement!

Jemma opened her mouth to no doubt chastise her again, but the infirmary door opened and both of them turned.

"We're landing now, I thought you two would want to know," Leo Fitz informed them, his Scottish accent permeating every word.

"Oh my god, we're here!" Skye exclaimed, turning to Jemma. "Please, Jemma, you have to let me greet them."

"Absolutely not!" the British scientist promptly denied. "Skye, you can barely walk!"

"Then help me! Please!" she shamelessly begged. "Come on, I'm not asking for much, I just want to see them, then I'll come right back here. You just give me something to the pain and that's it. It's not like I'll get shot again! There is nowhere safest than The Bus!"

That wasn't particularly true, their airplane had been attacked several times already, but it wasn't like someone would shoot her while Superman was there!

"Please!" she repeated herself, using the full might of her puppy-eyes. "Please!"

"Fine!" Jemma snapped. "But afterwards, you will come back here, immediately!"

"YES!"

Skye would've leaped out of the bed right then and there if her wounds weren't hurting so much, but Jemma didn't need to know that. Instead, she extended her arm so Jemma could inject her with some pain medication – that she took without complaining, even with the big needle – and allowed herself to be helped out of the bed, slowly. Then, with Jemma supporting a great deal of her weight, they walked out of the infirmary, following Leo.

The Bus was in the process of landing, they all could feel it, so that meant soon enough Superman and Black Widow would be here. She could hardly believe she would meet either of them; how strange her life had become since beginning to work with SHIELD!

Eventually, Jemma insisting they moved unbearably slowly, they arrived where the rest of the team was. Melinda May, looking as serious as ever, was standing with her arms crossed in front of her chest, waiting; Grant Ward, just as focused, was by her side. Coulson was not there, which meant one simple thing:

He was greeting Superman!