I let out a small sigh, surveying the damage that Tony and Loki had managed to cause in the five minutes that they had gone at it. The previously intact warehouse had practically been turned into dust now, and it was somewhat amusing to note that there were several small fires spread out across the room.

I looked over at Tony, who had taken his helmet off and was now glaring at the floor. His features were screwed up into an expression that seemed like anger, but I honestly wasn't quite sure why. I mean, yeah, Loki got away. But everyone here was safe and sound, and I was back with the team, so I was slightly confused.

I felt an urge to go talk to him, but before I could step towards him, my attention was quickly drawn away by the four figures still standing near the doorway. My heart fluttered as I took them in, and I turned to my brother.

"Uh, Clint?" I cleared my throat, and gave a pointed look towards the four heroes.

He glanced over at me, and then at them, before raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, right,"

Clint pulled me towards the group, and I suddenly felt nervous. Wait, why was I nervous? I helped save the world from aliens; I should be fine about meeting other heroes! And still I found myself hesitating. These guys were actual heroes.

"Guys, this is Samantha," My brother introduced me, and nearly shoved me in front of them. "Samantha, well, I think you know who they are." Clint gave a small smirk.

I stared at them, and tried to collect my thoughts.

"Um," My face flushed slightly as I stammered. "Hi."

I was standing in front of the Fantastic Four, the group that was practically a legend, and yet all I could choke out was hi? Great. This just further proved that I wasn't worthy of standing in front of these guys.

There was Mister Fantastic, and then the Invisible Woman, standing side by side. Then there was the Human Torch in a very tight suit, and then the Thing (who honestly, was kind of hard to miss). They stood together as naturally as I stood beside my own teammates, showing that they knew what they were doing, and looked pretty damn impressive while they were at it.

Mister Fantastic stepped towards me, and held out his hand.

"Please, feel free to call me Reed, Samantha," His voice was warm, and it instantly made some of my nerves disappear.

I tried not to seem too in awe, so I quickly met his hand with my own and shook it firmly.

The Invisible Woman held out her own hand next, which I once again took.

"Call me Sue," She smiled, and the way it seemed to reach her eyes made me release the breath I was unconsciously holding. As I thought about it, these guys weren't so bad. They seemed, well, normal.

Someone cleared their throat.

"So, you're the one we've spent the last few hours looking for," The Human Torch spoke up, flashing a brilliant smile. "Pleasure to finally meet you, Samantha. Call me Johnny."

His grin was still in place as he held out his hand, and I couldn't help but to return the smile as I shook it.

I turned to the next member of the team, who was standing there with his arms crossed, and a solemn look on his face.

"I'm Ben," His voice was gruff and his tone was short, and yet somehow he still seemed friendly.

Immediately I found myself liking him, though I didn't know why. I tried to contain my excitement, and instead of embarrassing myself, I simply beamed, and nodded eagerly at him.

"It's an honor to meet you guys, really," I spoke, and Reed just shook his head.

"After what happened in New York? Well, the honor is ours."

I couldn't help the feeling of warmth that washed through me at his words, and I allowed myself a moment to smile, before turning back to look at my own teammates. They all stood slightly behind me, unconsciously forming a little circle around me.

Man, I freaking loved them. I did.

"Reed was the one who managed to track your signature to this warehouse," Steve spoke up, giving a deep nod of respect to the man.

Tony chose that moment to chime in, and his eyebrows raised slightly in an accusatory way.

"Hey, I helped too, you know."

His brown eyes met mine, and I could see how worried he had been. Now, some may accuse Tony of being heartless, but I knew differently. In fact, Tony had one of the biggest hearts I had ever seen. He may try to hide it, but you could always see it in his eyes. They showed everything, and no matter what façade he throws on, there was no fooling me.

Before I could fully form another thought, I shot forward, throwing my arms around his neck in a hug. His armor was slightly uncomfortable to be pressed up against, but it didn't really bother me. His hesitation only lasted a few seconds, before his own arms wrapped very gently around me.

"Thank you, Tony," I spoke softly, knowing that he could hear me.

He smiled.

"Yeah. No problem, kid."

The hug lasted for only a few moments longer, before he pulled away and flashed a tired smile.

As I looked back at Clint, I suddenly felt exhausted. Everything that had happened with Loki and then the Fantastic Four showing up; it all felt too much. Now, I know that things like this came in the job description, but it was still overwhelming.

Loki was gone and I was reunited with the others, so I didn't see any point in staying in this warehouse any longer.

"Well," I spoke up, looking at the people who surrounded me. "I think it's time to go home. What do you guys say?"

Steve nodded in agreement.

"We'll figure out our next move once we're safe and back on board. Some sleep would also be preferable before we run off on any other rescue missions."

I grinned, and looked at Clint.

"Come on, Birdy. Time to go home."

!@#$%

"You got stabbed?"

The time had passed by fairly quickly after that, and before I knew it I was back on the helicarrier. Tony, Nat, and Clint were talking to Fury about what the next move was, while I was sitting in my usual chair at the table, sitting between Steve and Johnny Storm, who I had been making small talk with for the past hour.

My lips turned up into a smile at his most recent question.

"Yep. By an alien."

Johnny smirked.

"Do you have a scar?" He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he stared over at me.

"Nah. And you wanna know why?" I asked, unable to keep the proud tone out of my voice. "I was healed with magic. Genuine magic, used by a god. I woke up without a single scratch. Well in this case, a scar."

Johnny let out a loud laugh, and I oddly found myself liking the sound of it.

"That sounds like the biggest bullshit I've ever heard, Sam. But knowing you guys and what you've seen, I actually believe it." He said.

There was a small scoff off to my side, and I looked over to see Steve. When I caught his gaze, he just shook his head.

"It's good to see you two getting along," He explained.

I was about to respond, when a loud noise made me jump. The door beside us swished open, and Thor stormed through. His face was solemn and closed off as he strode past the table we sat at, and made his way out of the door across the room from us without a single glance in our direction.

"So," Johnny spoke up after a moment. "Is he always like that?"

He turned his head to look at me, but I could only offer a tired smile and a shrug.

"Thor's had a rough day. We all have."

I nodded at the two of them, before I stood and made my way after the Asgardian. The others were still talking to Fury about the arrangements for the teams, so I figured I had some free time.

The door Thor walked through led to another hallway, which was still slightly familiar to me from my time here during the Chitauri invasion. I peaked through every door I passed by, hoping to find him somewhere.

It ended up being the sixth door on the right that I opened to find him standing inside the room and staring out of a window. His arms were crossed, and his hammer rested on the floor near his feet.

I shut the door behind me as I entered, and quietly walked over to his side. We looked to be in some sort of storage room, but the view out of the window was absolutely incredible. We stood in a comfortable silence for a long while, before I turned to look at Thor.

I had always known that he was handsome, that went without question, but as I stared at him, I could swear that he was etched from some sort of marble. Part of that attractiveness came from beyond simple looks, however; he carried himself with a sort of confidence that drew me in the more I noticed it.

When I first met him, I had mistaken it for arrogance.

Maybe I had been blinded by Loki's own opinion of Thor. I fought a grimace as I remembered the trickster's harsh words about his brother. I had been too naïve about this; I had seen Loki's pain over Thor and immediately related it to my own situation with Clint. Looking back at it now, I knew that I was foolish for believing any of it.

Thor was smart, and brave; he was strong, and yet kind.

I smiled to myself and looked back at the window.

"What's Asgard like?"

I tried to put my apology behind my words, and as Thor turned to look at me for a moment, I could tell that he knew what it meant. He stared at me for a moment more, before he too turned back to the view outside.

"It would difficult to describe in simple terms,"

"I've got time."

Thor smiled, and nodded.

"Very well, Samantha."

I crossed my arms, and settled in for his story.

!@#$%^

A/N: Hey guys! So here's the next chapter - I hope you enjoy it. I've planned out lots of things for this story, and since I've seen the new Avenger's movie I know exactly where I want to go with the plot. Prepare for some character development and some new plots thrown in <3 The only thing I'm unsure of is Sam and Loki's relationship. Any thoughts, guys? I was surprised that some of you wanted to see some Sam/Steve, and even some Sam/Tony. Let me know what you think!