"So what are we going to do? Sit here and wait while Loki and his damn mistress try to take over the world?" Tony questioned, leaning against the wall of the living room while looking over at all of us. His short brown hair appeared fluffy and his dark brown eyes didn't lock onto anything in particular. "Jarvis is tracking them right now while I charge my suit. We have time to think."

Bruce left the room at the mention of Ira's name. He couldn't handle it right now. "Our plan should be attacking," Natasha brought up. She played with the wine glass in her hand and drank the rest of her drink.

"We should be telling the government," Peter added sternly. He plopped down on the couch and played with his hands agitatedly.

Clint set Ira's notebook down. The whole thing was written in her language and there was no way in Hell he could translate it. He rubbed his temples. "Telling the government would only make things worse. They would twist it and make us seem like the bad guys here."

"We're getting nowhere if we don't act now," she responded rapidly, not missing a beat. She brushed her blonde hair behind her ear and watched us.

Steve set his hand on my knee and looked at me. He could see my stress. His blue eyes wandered away and spoke up, "Barton is right. We don't even know where they are."

"When we find them, we can make our way there and attack. Until then, we need to know what to do now," I contributed and put my hand on Steve's. His fingers were cold against my warm hand. I pushed my glasses up my nose and found Natasha raising an eyebrow at me.

Tony picked his drink off of the coffee table and took a sip. He started laughing quietly, then louder and louder each second. The group sent him questioning looks and he wiped his mouth. "We shouldn't have trusted her. Since when do we trust anyone?"

"We trust new people. It's who we are," Steve countered. His body tensed up and his eyes locked onto Tony. His lips formed a tight line.

"Maybe that's what we need to change. Put up a front so people that come and lie to us are stuck at the gates," Natasha declared in a solemn tone. She played with the arrow necklace she had on and bit the inside of her cheek.

I scoffed. "That's who we're going to be? Heartless heroes who don't give everyone a fair chance?"

"Oh god," Peter dragged his hands down his face and sighed. "Here we go."

Before anyone could say anything else, Clint threw his hands up in the air. "Well, we all need a break. Anyone up for food? A movie? Something?" Everyone remained silent and he shrugged. "We need to relax. Take the stress off."

"Clint, always thinking of food," Peter laughed and headed towards the door. He licked his lips, "I'm down for that. It sounds good."

Barton rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to take care of my friends, all right? I can be serious, Peter." He put his hand on Peter's back and walked out of the room. All of us glanced at each other before following them out.

Blink.

Why did things have to be so complicated?

Blink.

We thought we were on the right track, and look where we ended up. We're vigilantes working to help a country that doesn't want to be saved.

Blink.

I stared at the blinking light on the computer, which was the only thing I could see. My door was closed, trapping the room in a heavy darkness. I moved around my bed, unable to get comfortable. My mind reeled with disappointment and confusion. She betrayed us. All of us. Ira knows our weaknesses, the X-Men's safe house, and about Bruce's girlfriend.

Blink.

How did she know, but we didn't? It... Something clicked in my mind. My stomach dropped at the sheer thought of it. S.H.I.E.L.D. must have given the government all of their files. That would mean Loki has a pawn stationed within the government.

Blink.

My heart constricted in my chest. We were fools to trust her.

Blink.

Yelling emerged from the next room over. I jolted up from my position and headed toward the source. No one was in or out of this place, so what was happening? Worry filled my mind as I found who was in pain.

Bruce curled himself up into the fetal position, knees tucked up to where they barely grazed his chest. He resembled a giant clenched fist, huddled so tightly in position that it almost looked like it hurt. He muttered words, jumbling them together out of confusion and exhaustion.

I began to walk forward until someone held me back. "Don't. You'll wake him up," Tony whispered. His short black hair fluffed up as if he had been running his hands through it. His brown eyes were red from a lack of sleep, almost pleading me to not do anything stupid.

"That's the point!" I raised my whisper voice and tried to yank his rough hand off of my arm. Why would he let him suffer? Bruce took on enough in life. He deserved a good night's rest during stressful times like these.

"No, he needs space."

I narrowed my eyes and settled down, "Why? Have you even tried helping him?"

Tony got defensive quickly, his face falling into a stern expression. His words hit me like daggers, "Of course we have. Clint went in there once and almost got killed by the big guy. If you go in there, the same could happen to you."

I stopped in my effort to help and looked at Bruce. His face scrunched up in anger and his jaw clenched. My eyes flickered back to Tony, who waited for me to understand the imminent threat of that scenario. I slunk back against the wall and crossed my arms. "How often does this happen?"

Tony hesitated, trying to calculate the nights. "Few times a month, if not more. We have to let him sort it out himself. Intervening only makes it worse."

I bit my lip and sighed. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Of course," he put on a fake smile and patted my arm. "I'll make sure of it. We just can't bring this up to him. None of us brought it up when he moved in, and we're not going to start now."

"Fine," I stated.

"It only happens when he's stressed or hasn't eaten a lot. Other times, it's because of both. The combination really agitates the Hulk. He's used to eating three meals in one sitting and getting his way. We just have to let Bruce work it out himself."

I hung my head and exhaled loudly. Bruce didn't deserve this. He's an innocent man who got caught up in all the wrong things. The only good out of this is he's a monster turned hero. "I wish I could help him..."

Tony set his hand on my shoulder in a comforting way. He glanced away and looked towards the other end of the hall where his room was. "Get some sleep."

"I can't," I blatantly spat out.

He countered the statement swiftly, "Try. We're going to need you energized if something happens." Tony turned on his heels and headed towards his room.

If something happens? More like when something happens... I stood there for a second, trying to make sense of everything. What to do next. How to deal with Loki and Ira. What their plan is. How we counter it while straying away from the American government. It all hurt my head.

I strolled over to Peter's room and cracked the door again so the hall light wouldn't flood in. My hands picked up a chair and set it by his bed. I sat down, ruffling my hair and glancing over at Peter. He was sprawled out, drooling all over his pillow in the process. His hand twitched as it hung over the side of the bed, his fingers curling up tightly.

I needed to protect him. It wasn't just a feeling. It was a mission. Peter meant a lot to me and Hell would freeze over before I let anything happen to him. I also promised Aunt May I'd protect him. He's one of the best things that have happened to me so far. My cousin. My best friend.

Peter's been through so much just like I have. He's lost his parents at once, gained new powers, and tried to make his love life work and failed. He's gone through so much and I don't know what I would do if I lost him. He understands me more than Steve does and holds a special place in my heart.

There's this feeling inside of me...some horrible calling, like an omen. I cringed and shoved it aside. Loki and Ira were going down, and we sure as hell weren't losing anyone to fools like them.

My eyes drooped to a close and sleep finally took over.