la vie en rose.

Ellie had lived in New York for almost twenty-six years and there had only been one other time she'd seen the city in such a panic. Though last time it wasn't because of an alien invasion. Honestly, Ellie had been questioning if all this was real or not for a good half hour before it had really sunk in that it was indeed happening. And most people had a much different reaction than she did to panic like this. While everyone she'd been out to lunch with had run in the opposite direction once the attack started Ellie had right into the middle of the chaos. Not because she had a death wish but because she wanted to help. And because she'd felt in her gut that something big she did not want to miss was going to go down.

That's how she ended up with a plank of wood hitting any alien she could as hard as she could, and she couldn't have been happier in that moment that her dad had insisted she play sports. She may have looked tiny after all, but Ellie was a lot stronger than she looked. And she felt accomplished being out in the battle doing something at least. This was her home after all, and she'd do whatever she had to in order to help protect it.

---

Loki ran his fingers through his hair as he walked around in the cage he'd been trapped in. He was both proud and upset at the moment. After all, he had been captured and locked in a cage, but he'd also sort of done what he'd come to do. He'd gotten the invaders this far and honestly, there were so many of them he didn't see The Avengers being able to stop all of them, at least not anytime soon. And honestly, he planned on finding a way out of the prison soon enough that he'd be able to actually see their downfall. All of those thoughts were what was going through his mind until she walked into the room to interrogate him.

"Sigyn" Loki breathed walking up to the glass door and placing his hand and forehead on the glass to try and get a closer look at her. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I thought you'd died," he said feeling the tears fill his eyes. "Do you have any idea what it felt like to watch you die?!" He finally said a little louder as a couple of tears actually fell from his eyes and he hit the glass with his fist, truly unable to control his emotions, much to his own dismay.

Working for SHIELD had prepared Stephanie Triggs for a lot of things. One of those things was not an alien attack on New York City led by an Asgardian god. Of course, she had known of Thor's existence what with the whole incident in New Mexico, but she didn't exactly anticipate on his adopted brother sending an alien army into Manhattan. Things had been eventful thus far, and it was only Tuesday. She didn't know how she landed the job of interrogating Thor's psychotic brother, but she wasn't going to argue with Fury or Coulson when they asked her to do something.

If she thought that an alien attack on New York was unexpected, she certainly didn't expect the Asgardian to react the way that she did when she walked into the room. What had once been a cool, stern expression was replaced briefly with one of sadness followed shortly after with hurt and slight anger. She tried her best not to show that she'd been caught off guard as she approached the glass cell that the god had been placed in recently. "No, actually I don't, because last time I checked I haven't died before." She said, crossing her arms. "I think you have me confused with someone else, buddy. My name isn't Sigyn. It's been Stephanie Triggs for twenty-seven years, and I'm pretty sure that's all it's ever been. I'm also pretty sure we've never met before."

---

For as long as Thor could understand what a soulmark was, he'd longed to find his soulmate. He spent centuries hoping that he would come across the girl whose soulmark bore his name, but he hadn't thus far. Frigga had seen them meet, though, no matter how hard Thor tried to convince her, she would not tell him when he was finally to meet the girl he was destined to be with. All his mother told him was that destiny would bring them together when the time was right. He already knew that he loved her though, he could only hope that she loved him just as he did her.

When he came to Midgard upon discovering his brother's insane plan, his soulmate was honestly the last thing on his mind. Loki had pulled plenty of stunts before, but this was something different entirely. He knew that his brother disliked Misgardians and found them weak, but this was definitely a low, even for him. As he fought to keep the monsters his brother sent to destroy the city, he and the other Avengers were trying their hardest to figure out how to put a stop to this madness completely. Son of Coul had assured him that the agent they sent in to interrogate his brother was one of SHIELD's best, and he was going to take the man's word for it. Thor had known Son of Coul long enough to know that he was someone that could be trusted.

Loki sighed and pulled away from the glass unable to bear looking at her face any longer. "Oh, believe me, I wish I had you confused with someone else," he told her with his back turned. "Because the pain of losing you once was enough to last a lifetime, and I've been grieving you for what feels like an eternity now. So believe me Sigyn, my dearest wife, you may not remember me right now but I will never forget you," He told her running his fingers through his hair again. Honestly, he just wanted to get some kind of clarity on the situation right now. Nothing was making sense anymore. There had to be some kind of mistake, Sigyn had died, he'd watched her die, and he'd been grieving her ever since. But the girl right outside the glass cage was Sigyn he was sure of it. After all, they had been married and she was the only woman he'd ever loved so there was no way he'd forget her.

"I want to see my brother," Loki demanded with his back still turned. There was no way that he was going to let this woman interrogate him. After all, even if she didn't know she was Sigyn she was the only person would ever be able to get things out of him that no one else could. Well aside from Thor, but his brother's methods for getting information were usually a bit more physically painful. The point was though that Loki was in no way going to let anyone get anything out of him that he didn't want them to know so he wasn't talking to Sigyn. He couldn't even look at her, and he also wanted some answers. Why was she there, how did she get there, and did Thor know this whole time that she was still alive and just living here on earth? Also, why was she denying what he was telling her? So if she had been alive this whole time Loki wanted to know why she'd let him believe that she'd been dead for so long now.

---

Ellie wasn't going to give up fighting until she had no breath left to give, so with her plank of wood she kept on going. She ran in the direction that the aliens were coming from, she hit them when she had a good shot, and she hid when she needed to in order to get a better shot at some of them later. She was also hoping that The Avengers wouldn't see her out there and try to convince her to leave, or worse force her to leave. Because she knew she wasn't invincible so being out in the battle was dangerous, but she didn't want to leave until she knew that all the aliens were gone either. So Ellie kept on fighting, and she let them clear the area's all while hoping she didn't end up being part of the clearing.

She honestly was still struggling to handle that this was actually happening. After all, New York was under attack by aliens, because apparently they exist. They're also not little green men, rather they're big, ugly, and a little scary. This just wasn't something that happened. Of course, she did remember hearing about something kind of similar happening in New Mexico, it wasn't quite as bad but there had been people from other planets then as well. It was just all a lot to soak in, but she was doing her best.

"Woah, okay, listen I think I'd know if I was ever married to someone, let alone if I was married to someone capable of unleashing an army of aliens onto all five boroughs of New York." Stephanie said, unable to help the slight laugh that escaped her lips. This all sounded absolutely insane, not that she was expecting much sanity from Thor's brother when she was asked to interrogate him in the first place. After all, he was responsible for all of the destruction presently occurring in her city. Why he thought she was his dead wife to begin with was beyond her, did she look like her or something because that was fucking weird if she did, but that wasn't why she had come to speak to him anyway. No, Coulson and Fury had asked her to interrogate the Asgardian, and that was what she intended on doing.

She rolled her eyes slightly when he demanded to see his brother. "Well, we don't always get what we want, and your brother isn't here anyway. He's out helping put a stop to the mess that you started out there." She said, crossing her arms. She didn't have time for childish games, and whether he wanted to talk to her or not, she was going to do her damnedest to make it happen. "Now, what I want to know is why anyone would just decide one day to invade another planet."

---

Thor had no idea that his brother was dealing with a ghost from both of their pasts presently. He had been friends with Sigyn, he'd always seen her as a sister. If he had seen the agent that Son of Coul was having interrogate is brother then he probably would think the same thing his brother had: that it was his old friend and that she was somehow alive despite him knowing that she had died a very long time ago. His brother was never the same after the loss of his wife, Sigyn always made him a better person, and the Asgardian was starting to think his brother had started down this path of destruction shortly after her death. He didn't have time to think of his brother's destructive ways though. No, he had to worry about getting rid of all the monsters that had descended onto the Midgardian city with his brother's help.

As he fought off one after another, he shouted to Man of Iron to lure the Leviathans over to him and Black Widow. That's when he saw her. A tiny human, using what looked to be a plank of wood to beat monster after monster off. A smile formed on the Asgardian's face. It was clear that the mortal woman had the heart of a warrior, and he truly admired that, though this was no place for her. She was bound to get hurt if she stuck around. That's when he noticed the Leviathan that was climbing on the roof of the vehicle behind her. She would never spot it and the god of thunder quickly tossed his trusty hammer in the beast's direction, sending the beast flying before it returned to his hand. "Come with me, it's not safe for you here." He told her.

Loki was sure he'd never been more frustrated in his entire life than he was right now. He didn't know what was going on, or why anyone thought it was a smart idea to send this girl in to talk to him of all people. Because he'd seen Sigyn die, he'd held her in her final moments begging for more time with her. Yet this woman was the exact replica of her. "I wasn't always like this you know," he replied quietly. "At one point in time, Thor and I were the same. Both of us just wanted to please our father no matter what the cost. We trained together went into battle together, and he trusted me. Then I met and fell in love with Sigyn and life was nice. Thor and I were close the way brothers should be, I was happy and in love and married to the woman I love. I know Thor was slightly bothered by wanting to meet his own Soulmate but he was still supportive and happy for us. Then she died. I watched her die, and everything that I did to try and save her was completely useless. What's the point in being a God if you can't even save the woman you love?" Loki asked her wishing he truly did know the answer.

"I want to see my brother. And if you and the people you work for want this little invasion to stop you'll get him here. Otherwise, I'm going to sit in here while you all watch your city burn." He told her feeling pretty confident in his abilities to escape tough situations right now that he felt like he could easily escape back out into the city where the invasion was taking place. Or he could be given what he wanted, and maybe let out on 'good behavior' and he'd really think about helping put a stop to the whole ordeal. He was, as far as he knew anyway, the only one who actually knew how to stop it after all.

---

Ellie, the brave girl who was fighting off the aliens as they came at her, the girl who had run into the battle rather than away from it, hesitated for a split second when she saw the man in front of her before she took his hand. She knew that he was going to take her away from the chaos around her, and even though she wanted to stay and fight in her mind it was as if her body was saying something different. Of course, what was even stranger was she knew that she didn't know this man in the slightest but he seemed so oddly familiar to her. That was simply a whole thought she pushed to the side quickly not wanting to get distracted or even end up distracting him and making room for him or a member of his team to get hurt.

So instead of continuing to fight, and more than likely put herself in danger Ellie had listened, and hopefully stepped far enough out of the way that she wouldn't get herself hurt and she watched. She watched as the man with the long golden hair threw his hammer towards every alien that came his way and it took them out. She watched pretty much in shock when he used lightning power to kill more than one at once. Everything really that was going on was a little insane honestly. But then she saw one of the aliens he hadn't noticed, "watch out!" she called towards him as she ran right towards it and made sure she didn't miss as she brought her plank of wood right into it's head, and she hit it until she knew it was dead.

Stephanie doubted that Coulson and Fury knew that she apparently looked like the Asgardian's dead wife. She certainly hadn't anticipated it, nor had she anticipated the conversation to go in the direction that it was going. Hell, it wasn't even supposed to be a conversation, it was supposed to be an interrogation! Conversation and interrogation were two very different things. She couldn't help wondering why he was telling her all of this. Was it meant to throw her off? Maybe she didn't even look like this Sigyn. Hell, maybe he had never had a wife to begin with. He was, after all, the God of Lies. She couldn't help thinking that wasn't the case though. She knew that she should take what he was telling her with a grain of salt still, but he seemed to be telling her the truth.

"She was your soulmate?" She asked quietly. It made sense, but now she also had proof that she wasn't somehow his dead wife. "I don't know if I really do have as much of a likeness to her as you seem to think, but I can't be her." She said as she rolled up the sleeve of her jacket to reveal her arm. There was nothing there. "I don't have a soulmark, I never have." She pulled down her jacket sleeve shortly after, wondering why she was even bothering with showing him. She was sure that Coulson and Fury were wondering what the hell she was doing, but she needed to prove her point, and she hoped that she had. "I'm sorry that your wife died, but I'm not her. If what you say about her is true, I don't think she'd approve of what you've been doing. I'll see what I can do about getting your brother here." Without another word, she turned and headed towards the door to leave.

---

In that moment, the last thing on Thor's mind was his soulmate. With everything that had happened from the incident that left him cast out of Asgard by his own father and now his brother sending all of these monsters to Midgard, he hadn't really had time to think about her. There were times when he doubted that he'd ever meet her, but he always reminded himself of his mother's words. Frigga had seen them meet, he didn't know when that meeting was to happen, but he knew that it would. Right now, his concern was getting this tiny woman to safety though. Wrapping a strong arm around her, he raised up Mjolnir and took to the sky, landing down the street, slightly away from all of the chaos. "You will be safe here." He told her before turning to take on the beasts that Stark had lured to the other side of the street.

Calling lightning down with Mjolnir, he fried two of them with ease, earning praise from Stark. He took down many of the beasts, though he apparently had missed one as he heard the young woman shout to him. Before he could do anything, she was rushing back out into the street using her plank of wood to rid them of yet another beast. The god of thunder watched her, mouth slightly agape. She had shown a level of bravery that surpassed some of Asgard's greatest warriors. It was then that he took the time to really look at her, and he realized that she was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen in the eight and a half centuries that he had lived. An unfamiliar emotion ran through his body and he watched her for a few more seconds before finally managing to choke out a "thank you."

Loki nodded his head. He honestly didn’t feel like talking about this anymore. It hurt to much. And of course, he felt his heart sink a little when she showed her arm empty of the soulmark he knew she’d have if it really was Sigyn. The oddest part was though that Loki knew she was right about one thing. Sigyn would most certainly be upset with the choices he’d made lately. She wouldn’t approve of him invading another world just because he was mad. Honestly, she’d be pissed at him. But really this wouldn’t be happening if she was still alive. Loki would never do anything to hurt her, yet right now if she could see what he’d done she would be hurt.

He hated that this human girl has gotten to him the way she had. But he watched her walk out of the room, likely to talk to her higher ups to see what they could do about getting his brother in there. Which honestly he only wanted Thor in there to make sure he wasn’t going insane about this woman looking like Sigyn.

---

Ellie smiled up at the rather handsome long haired man in front of her, “you’re welcome,” she told him with a nod. “Wouldn’t want you to get hurt or something ya know,” she told him kind of happy she could still be useful, even though she was next to a God of some kind clearly. And the more she stood there next to him the more handsome he looked. It was an odd feeling really, as if her body knew something her mind didn’t. Ellie even found herself gently touching her arm where her soulmark was but quickly stopping herself so she didn’t seem like a nutcase. Plus she had never fully understood the mark anyways.

What was it? What did it mean? It’d been there for as long as she could remember, but she’d never really known anything about it. In a matter of moments though Ellie felt the chaos around her again and had no time to worry about who this man was, or what the mark on her arm meant.

[ sorry if it’s crappy. I’m on my phone. And slightly rushed because I was on lunch. ]

"What the hell was that, Triggs?" Fury demanded when Stephanie walked out of the room. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Why don't you tell me, Nick? Can you explain to me why a Norse god is convinced that I'm his dead wife?" She asked, crossing her arms. She only chose to forego the interrogation because it was clear that she wasn't going to get anywhere with the Asgardian. It was quite clear that he was hung up on the fact that she looked like his dead wife, though she hoped that showing that she didn't have a soulmark had done the trick and he wouldn't think she was Sigyn any longer. If that wasn't convincing enough, she didn't know what was. "Because if either of you could enlighten me that would fantastic."

The expressions on both Fury and Coulson's faces said enough. Neither of them seemed to have an answer for her. "I didn't think so, but figured it was worth asking." She sighed before deciding to get straight to the point. "He's not going to tell us a damn thing unless we get his brother here." She knew that it might seem foolish of her to even think that the Asgardian might actually help them once they did get her brother in the building, but she hadn't exactly expected their conversation to go the way that it had either. She was sort of grasping at straws here, and doing the best that she could to make sure that A) New York City and the rest of the tri-state area wasn't destroyed and B) the world didn't end.

---

A chuckle rumbled through the Asgardian's chest as he looked down at the small woman. He was bigger than the average Midgardian man, so he doubted she was as tiny as she appeared to be to him. Regardless, it was clear that her size wasn't an issue for her. "Your form was rather impressive." He told her. He still couldn't help thinking about just how beautiful she truly was. That combined with the fact that she had the heart of a warrior was enough to almost keep the god of thunder completely enthralled by her. Before he could say anything else to her, Stark was shouting for him. "Hey Thor! In case you've forgotten, we kind of have an entire army of alien monsters attacking the city right now! Stop flirting and move your ass!"

The Asgardian snapped back to attention, and was quick to wrap an arm around the girl's tiny waist as he dove to the side and away from the sewer they had been standing near as Stark shot several of the Leviathans that had started climbing out of it. It was at that moment that the god of thunder noticed his face was extremely close to her forearm and for a moment, time seemed to stop as he saw Thor Odinson written in an all too familiar script there. He was quick to pull her tight against him as he processed the new information. It was her. She was his one. His soulmate. He'd waited eight and a half centuries for this moment. "Ellie..." He said in disbelief. "Ellie Brookes..." Before he could say anything else to her, Stark shouted his way again. "Earth to Thor! I commend you for finding time to flirt at a time like this, but Coulson and Fury are requesting your presence back at the tower."

Loki paced back and forth in his cell for a moment thinking of how he was going to get out. He wasn't meant to be trapped in a cage after all. Plus he wanted to be out there again, fighting alongside the aliens he'd brought to earth. After all, if they were about to take over earth he'd be damned if he missed it. There was also no telling how out of control they might get if he wasn't there to lead them, which was the only reason he'd brought them along. He did need an army, honestly, what kind of ruler would he be without one?

So once he'd fully thought out his plan of escape he executed it to the best of his abilities, which were pretty good. Plus it only took fooling one guard for him to really escape anyways, so before anyone could figure out what was going on he was slipping out of the cage and running towards the outside world where the fight was happening. "Oh, it feels so good to stretch my legs," Loki said to himself with a smile feeling quite proud of himself as he walked further into the battle ready to forget all about Sigyn's look-a-like or whatever the hell she was.

---

Ellie found herself confused and standing awfully close to a man she'd never met who apparently knew her name. "How do you... How do you know me?" She finally asked once she'd found her words. What is going on? she thought to herself wondering who this man was, and how he knew her given she had no idea who he was. Because she was pretty sure she'd remember meeting someone like him, it wasn't every day that someone just controlled the thunder and lightning after all.

"Who... who are you?" She added to her question hoping that he'd actually give her an answer. Ellie also hoped that he'd wasn't about to just leave her here in the streets surrounded by this mess to go take care of something else at the tower, whatever that meant. Honestly, she had questions and she needed some answers.

Stephanie realized rather quickly that she probably should have gone with her gut when JARVIS announced that there had been a security breech. The Asgardian had demanded to speak to his brother simply so he could get her out of the room. She swore and ran a hand through her hair. "You were saying?" Fury asked her with a raised eyebrow. "I'll fix this." She said. Something told her that the conversation she had with the god of lies and deceit hadn't simply been one to distract her long enough for him to think up an escape plane. She didn't know why he had told her all of the things that he had, though she was certain that it had something to do with the fact that she looked like Sigyn. He hadn't seemed so bad, minus the fact that he'd threatened to let the city burn, but that was besides the point. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she wasn't going to wait here in the tower and ponder her mistakes, that wasn't what she was trained for. No, she was going to help put a stop to this.

Once outside, she saw that the chaos within the city had worsened. There were more of those aliens than she was certain any of them had anticipated. "Triggs, what are you doing?" Stark shouted as he flew past, spotting her shooting down one of the monsters. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm helping." She said. "What happened to interrogating Reindeer Games?" He asked as he shot down two of the beasts. "Yeah, about that..." She shot at another Chiutari. Where the hell were they all coming from? It seemed as though when one was shot down, two more appeared next. "Triggs, watch out!!" Before she could do that and process what was happening, she was thrown across the street by one of the aliens, into the rubble of a building. White hot pain coursed through her abdomen, and when she looked down she saw why. A broken metal beam that had been part of the building's infrastructure was sticking straight out of her stomach, having pierced through her back.

---

Thor was in complete disbelief. It was her. He had been waiting for this moment for eight and a half centuries now. This was what Frigga had seen. She had seen them meet. Part of him wondered if his mother had seen Loki destroying the city in an attempt to conquer Midgard, but that wasn't exactly his biggest concern right now. No, it was the woman standing before him who looked even more beautiful now that he knew who she was to him. His eyebrows furrowed slightly when she asked how she knew him and who he was. Did she not know what a soulmark meant.

He held up his forearm and showed her the name that was scrawled there in script. "Ellie Brookes." He repeated her name once more before looking to the sky as Man of Iron flew by. "Tell Son of Coul I will be there soon!" He shouted before turning back to the small woman. "Do you not know what these marks mean?" He questioned just before there was a commotion down the street. Stark was shouting at someone named Triggs to watch out, and he watched as a woman was tossed across the street by one of the Leviathans into a destroyed building. "Sigyn?" He questioned, tilting his head. How was that possible? His brother's wife had died centuries ago.

Stephanie realized rather quickly that she probably should have gone with her gut when JARVIS announced that there had been a security breech. The Asgardian had demanded to speak to his brother simply so he could get her out of the room. She swore and ran a hand through her hair. "You were saying?" Fury asked her with a raised eyebrow. "I'll fix this." She said. Something told her that the conversation she had with the god of lies and deceit hadn't simply been one to distract her long enough for him to think up an escape plane. She didn't know why he had told her all of the things that he had, though she was certain that it had something to do with the fact that she looked like Sigyn. He hadn't seemed so bad, minus the fact that he'd threatened to let the city burn, but that was besides the point. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she wasn't going to wait here in the tower and ponder her mistakes, that wasn't what she was trained for. No, she was going to help put a stop to this.

Once outside, she saw that the chaos within the city had worsened. There were more of those aliens than she was certain any of them had anticipated. "Triggs, what are you doing?" Stark shouted as he flew past, spotting her shooting down one of the monsters. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm helping." She said. "What happened to interrogating Reindeer Games?" He asked as he shot down two of the beasts. "Yeah, about that..." She shot at another Chiutari. Where the hell were they all coming from? It seemed as though when one was shot down, two more appeared next. "Triggs, watch out!!" Before she could do that and process what was happening, she was thrown across the street by one of the aliens, into the rubble of a building. White hot pain coursed through her abdomen, and when she looked down she saw why. A broken metal beam that had been part of the building's infrastructure was sticking straight out of her stomach, having pierced through her back.

---

Thor was in complete disbelief. It was her. He had been waiting for this moment for eight and a half centuries now. This was what Frigga had seen. She had seen them meet. Part of him wondered if his mother had seen Loki destroying the city in an attempt to conquer Midgard, but that wasn't exactly his biggest concern right now. No, it was the woman standing before him who looked even more beautiful now that he knew who she was to him. His eyebrows furrowed slightly when she asked how she knew him and who he was. Did she not know what a soulmark meant.

He held up his forearm and showed her the name that was scrawled there in script. "Ellie Brookes." He repeated her name once more before looking to the sky as Man of Iron flew by. "Tell Son of Coul I will be there soon!" He shouted before turning back to the small woman. "Do you not know what these marks mean?" He questioned just before there was a commotion down the street. Stark was shouting at someone named Triggs to watch out, and he watched as a woman was tossed across the street by one of the Leviathans into a destroyed building. "Sigyn?" He questioned, tilting his head. How was that possible? His brother's wife had died centuries ago.

Loki let himself be consumed by the fighting around him in hopes that soon his brother and the rest of The Avengers would give up and surrender. Though he did know that wasn't likely, he could still hope. He wasn't expecting to see Stephanie out here fighting this battle, of course, he should have known that as soon as he escaped they'd send someone after him and honestly Fury probably thought that she'd be the best one to take him. Or maybe she just wanted to be the one to take him back because she felt stupid for believing him. Either way, Loki hadn't expected to see her, and as much as he didn't want to think of her as Sigyn because that made him weak it was hard not to, they did, after all, look identical.

Then it happened. Loki had actually turned his back on her so he could focus on Captain America instead only to whip around when he heard Iron Man yell to watch out, and when he turned back around he saw everything. Loki saw her get thrown across the street and then he saw the broken metal beam pierce through her and he let out a wail of some sort as he ran to her. "I'm so sorry," he said in a shaky breath as he scooped her up into his arms and held her as close to him as he could. "Stay with me okay," he said looking down at her and feeling his heart breaking all over again. He didn't want to go through the pain of losing her again, but this must have been the punishment he got for trying to invade another world. "Don't close your eyes. Help will be here soon okay, so you just have to stay with me," he told her trying his best not to cry. "Someone help us please!" He called out desperately hoping that this time might not end the same as the last.

---

Ellie was lost for words honestly, this man had her name written on his arm and when she looked at her own arm in comparison his name, which she assumed was Thor Odinson, written on her own. "Should I know what they mean?" She finally asked him pretty sure that she could figure it out on her own given how he reacted to seeing it. But if he did know she'd much rather him just tell her so she didn't assume something wrong. "Because I'm feeling a little out of the loop here. I mean yes I've seen mine multiple times and have always wondered what it meant but no one else I know has one, and no one has ever really been able to give me an answer on what it means," she told him actually glad she might get answers to something she'd wondered about for a really long time.

Ellie noticed that he seemed a little distracted, which was understandable with everything going on, and turned her head towards whoever Sigyn was when he said the name. That's when she saw someone with the strangest headdress on screaming while he held onto the woman who'd just been impaled. "We should help them," she said looking back to Thor and biting her lip. Honestly, Ellie wasn't sure how much help she'd really be but she still felt like she should do something.

Stephanie's hand shook slightly on either side of the piece of metal as she tried to think of what to do. Her training with SHIELD had prepared her for a lot of injuries, but nothing this extreme. There was just...so much blood...and she could feel herself getting more and more tired as the seconds wore on. Everything was sort of going in slow motion now, though she did hear someone let out a wail of sorts and saw flashes of green and gold as someone rushed over. She let out a cry of pain as the person scooped her up into their arms. It wasn't until the person spoke that she realized who it was. Loki. He was the last person she expected to rush to her aid.

"It's okay..." She let out a shallow breath. As he continued on, his words verging on pleading, it all suddenly seemed all too familiar to her. Desperate pleas to stay with him, begging her to keep her eyes open, it almost was like a switch had been turned on in her brain. And she remembered. She remembered who he was. She remembered who she was to him. She was his Sigyn, his soulmate, and he was about to loose her all over again, and she felt as though it was her turn to apologize as she fought to stay awake. "I'm sorry..." She reached her hand up and touched his face, running her thumb across his cheek. "I didn't remember you..." She finally felt it far too difficult to remain conscious as everything faded to black.

---

Thor wasn't aware that soulmarks were strictly an occurrence amongst Asgardians. Granted, he had spent very little time on Midgard, and the concept of soulmates had never really come up in conversation when he was in New Mexico, nor had they come up in New York. Until now. "My mother told me what they meant when I was a child." He told her. "Are you familiar with the term soulmate?" The conversation was cut short, and maybe it was for the best. This wasn't something that should really be discussed in the middle of a battle. He watched as his brother rushed over to the woman. It was clear that Loki knew Sigyn was on Midgard, though he wondered if it was a rather recent discovery. The god of thunder nodded when the brunette suggested they go help. "I'll explain everything later, I promise." He told Ellie before running down the street to where his brother was now cradling the woman he loved in his arms.

"Brother, we need to find her a medic." He said carefully. Stark had come down to the ground and was rushing over just as Thor approached. "What's going on here, Point Break? Do you two know her?" Stark asked. Thor nodded solemnly. "Yes, we do. There's no time to explain now though, Stark. We must get her help and fast or risk losing her again." The Asgardian told his team member before looking to his brother sadly as Sigyn's eyes closed. "I have medical staff on hand at the tower, the best in the country. If anyone's able to help it will be them, but we need to be careful moving her or she'll bleed out here." Thor frowned, knowing that Stark was right. "I can get her to the tower quickly." He told Stark.

Loki let himself cry as he was once again watching the woman he loved die and he couldn't be bothered to stop. It had been hard enough to deal with all those years ago, which somehow made this time much worse. He grabbed her hand when he felt it touch his face and just held it in his own wishing there was more he could do to help her. "It's okay love," he said softly before kissing her hand while he cried unaware of people surrounding him. Honestly, he didn't give a damn about the war anymore. He didn't care about any of it. Loki simply wanted someone to help Sigyn.

"Take me with you," Loki told his brother, "because I'm not leaving her. Not again," he said knowing full well that Thor understood the pain this was causing him. After all, Thor had been there the last time he'd dealt with this, and if this time there would be a different outcome Loki would be there to see it. "And I don't care what has to be done as long as it saves her,"

---

Ellie was familiar with soulmates. It had always been a concept explained to her that when you found your true love they were your soulmate. And honestly, she'd never really understood it because people claimed to be in love with someone else all the time and most of the time they didn't last. Take her parents, for example, they'd both claimed to be in love and to be the other's soulmate because they loved one another that strongly yet they'd gotten divorced and it wasn't pretty. So while she was familiar with the term and had always hoped that one day she would find her true soulmate if he was out there anywhere, she'd kind of given up on the whole idea of it after all the failed 'soulmates' she's seen.

Ellie nodded in understand before following Thor over to the man crying over the woman in his arms. She didn't know what was going on apparently any more than anyone else, but she was curious. However she could also tell that now wasn't the best time to ask about it, after all, the woman was bleeding a lot and clearly needed major medical attention asap. So Ellie stayed quite and let Thor handle the situation hoping that he truly would explain everything to her soon because the more she stood around around him the more she felt confused yet comforted in an odd sense all at the same time.

[I'm going to gold off on Steph/Sigyn for now since she blacked out]

Thor knew that there was a great deal he would have to explain to Ellie, and he planned on keeping his promise and explaining everything to her, but he needed to make sure Sigyn got the medical attention that she needed. He could see clearly how much blood there was, and if she wasn't seen by a doctor soon enough then the chances of her dying would be even higher than they already were. He had seen his brother go through this once already and, despite everything he had done, he wasn't about to let it happen again. Sigyn had also been his friend, she'd been like a sister to him, and if she could be back in both of their lives then he'd do whatever it took to save her life.

The god of thunder nodded his head when Loki told him to take him back to the tower with them. "Tell him to call of the Chitauri." Stark said from behind them. "That won't be a problem any longer, Stark. My brother will ensure that no more destruction occurs to your city." Thor told him before turning back to his brother. "We cannot waste anymore time. We need to get her help now."

[ sounds reasonable ]

"Take my staff and command them to stop, then you can close the portal with it as well," Loki told them willing to end the fight and whatever else it took in order to save his love. Something he never thought he'd have the chance to do again. And Loki would be damned before he let anyone or anything come between them. "Do you think the doctor here on earth will be able to save her?" He asked his brother seriously because, well, the earth was advanced for humans but Asgard had been around much longer so he wanted to be sure. Again though, Loki was more than willing to do whatever it took to save her.

---

The day just seemed to get stranger and stranger to Ellie. First, there was this whole alien attack, to begin with, then there was Thor in general, then there was Thor knowing her name because apparently, he was her soulmate, and now there was his brother who was apparently the one responsible for the whole thing. But clearly, his brother cared deeply about someone enough to change his ways because there he was calling off the attack, or at least telling someone how to stop it. And honestly, she felt bad for Thor's brother. Even though he caused this whole thing clearly this woman meant a lot to both of them and it would suck for them to lose her again, though that also didn't make much sense to her.

Thor wasn't at all surprised that his brother was willing to put his plan for world domination to an end. He truly had been a different person when Sigyn was alive. He slowly became the man who resented their father and looked down on Midgardians as time wore on, but the god of thunder already could see a difference. He was giving up everything to ensure that Sigyn survived this time, and Thor was willing to make sure that happened as well. He'd seen how his brother was after losing her once, he couldn't imagine how he'd be the second time around.

"I think that Stark must have some of the best medical staff there are as he said, and that they'll do everything in their power to save her." He told his brother before turning to Ellie. "Meet me at Stark's tower. I can explain everything then." He smiled at her before using Mjolnir to get himself, his brother and the woman he considered a sister to the tower. It was clear once they arrived that Stark had already notified them ahead of time that they would be arriving shortly as Sigyn was quickly taken away. Thor grabbed his brother's arm, knowing what he would likely do. "Give them time to do their job, brother."

Loki sighed and let Thor hold him back as the doctors took Sigyn out of his arms and away to where he couldn't see her anymore. "I just hope their best is good enough to save her," he said softly running his fingers through his hair and his hands over his face. "I just can't lose her again," he added before he even happened to look down and realize that he was covered in her blood which made his heart hurt a little bit more. If he was covered in this much and she'd already lost blood before he'd reached her then how much had she really lost? And was it too much for her to come back from? Honestly, Loki was positive he was going to be in panic mode until he knew for sure what the outcome would be.

---

Ellie watched as Thor took his brother and the woman up into Stark tower, then she smiled as the rest of The Avengers looked towards her looking almost as confused as she felt. "Do you need a ride?" She heard Iron Man ask her holding out his hand towards her. "Yes," she replied nodding her head and taking his hand and trying not to freak out too much when he pulled her close and took off into the air, which was easily the quickest way to get there. "Thanks," she told him once he'd dropped her off and directed her on the best way to find Thor and his brother, whom she was looking for.

"It's really her then?" Thor asked his brother. To say that he had been shocked to see Sigyn here on Midgard was an understatement. He had wondered if she was just a cruel reminder to her brother of what had once been, but the way she had acted just before giving in to unconsciousness had said otherwise. If anyone knew the answer to that question, Thor figured it was his brother. Loki seemed to be the only one who hadn't been surprised that she even looked like Sigyn. Thor didn't know how this was even possible, but if this woman really was Sigyn, he hoped that she and her brother were being given a second chance. He hoped that she would bring the good out in his brother again, and that he would stop with these crazy stunts.

The worst part was not knowing what was happening. The god of thunder knew that he could trust Stark's medical staff, however, that didn't make waiting any easier. "She'll be fine. She has to be." He said just before there sounded as though some sort of commotion was happening behind the closed doors. A few more Midgardians in all white rushed into the room as beeping sounded from the machinery Thor assumed was inside.