"Nat, I found her! Oh...Oh my God."

     "Is she breathing...Clint, is she breathing?"

     "I don't know, I—"

     "Well, find out!"

     "Steve, I need you to keep her neck still. She might have a head injury."

     "On it."

     "She's breathing, but she's unresponsive."

     "Damn it, Ana, you are not dying on me. Wake up!"

     "We could let Banner give it a try. Worked for me."

     "Not now, Tony."

     "What? It was an actual suggestion."

     "No, we're not—No, Banner, don't!"

     Five panicked voices shouted over one another before the Hulk's deafening roar finally cut through the chaos. Unfortunately for my viridescent friend, he chose the worst possible moment to surprise me. My eyes flew open and my hand shot outwards of its own accord, releasing what I assumed to be a blast of energy, which sent Banner hurtling across the landing pad. The others quickly backed away as I scrambled to my feet and stared at my hand, which appeared to be radiating from an internal source.

     Shit. I wasn't hallucinating.

     "Ana...are you all right?" Steve asked as he took a cautious step forward.

     I raised my hands, then thought better of it and stumbled backwards, "Please, just stay away from me! I—I don't know what's going on, and I don't want to hurt you!"

     "Then we'll figure it out together," he promised, raising his own hands in a placating manner. "I just need you to calm down. Can you do that for me?"

     "I...I don't know," I replied, my voice shaking as my hands repeatedly clenched and relaxed at my side.

     "That's okay, too. We'll just start with something simple."

     Steve slowly sat on the floor, then said, "Let's just start by sitting and taking a couple of deep breaths. Okay?"

     I nodded after a moment, then sat across from him, though I made sure to keep a safe distance between us.

     "Now, just close your eyes and breathe in through your nose, then out through your mouth," he instructed, calmly holding my gaze until I finally closed my eyes. "Now, breathe in and out. In and out. In...and out."

     Doing as he said, I felt my hands slowly begin to relax, moving from their crumpled state in my lap to facing palms-up on my legs.

     "With your eyes closed, I need you to run a mental checklist: Is anything bleeding? Does anything feel broken or bruised? I need you to be truly sure."

     "I...I don't think so," I answered. "My head hurts a little bit, and I think I may have a bloody nose, but overall, I just have this weird...buzzing sensation."

     "Buzzing?"

     I nodded, "Yeah, it's like my whole body is...vibrating. I can't really explain it."

     Steve fell silent before eventually slipping his hands into mine and giving them a gentle squeeze.

     "See? You can't hurt me," he whispered as I opened my eyes.

     I tried to speak for several moments, and when words eluded me, I practically lunged forward and threw my arms around his neck.

     Helping me to my feet, Steve wrapped his arm around my waist and asked, "Do you remember what happened before we found you?"

     "I...I remember Tony flying into the worm—Wait, Tony, you made it out?"

     Stark snorted, "Of course I did. Was there ever any doubt?"

     "Yes," the rest of us answered in unison.

     Looking rather offended, Stark opened his mouth to reply, but Steve interjected, "You were saying?"

     "Uh, yeah...He flew into the portal, and we waited to see if he would make it out. Then...then you told me to close it. I followed Selvig's instructions...I...I broke through the energy shield with Loki's scepter. When...when the scepter and the Tesseract connected, the portal closed, but when I pulled the scepter away..."

     I winced and massaged my temples, "When I pulled it away, Selvig's device kind of...collapsed on itself. The last thing I remember is, is a flash of blue light and...and a burning sensation. Like my whole body was on fire. And my hand. My hand was glowing."

     Turning in a circle, I noticed the armored forms that were now littered across New York City.

     My eyes widened as I grabbed Natasha's hand, "Wait, did we win?"

     Natasha nodded and crushed me in her arms, "We won, сестра."

     "And we're celebrating with shawarma," Tony added.

     I furrowed my brow, "What's that?"

     He shrugged, "No clue, but I've always wanted to try it. There's a joint about two blocks from here."

     I offered a weary smile, "Sounds like a plan to me. You know, assuming the place hasn't been destroyed."

     "We're not finished yet," Thor reminded us.

     Tony looked from the God of Thunder, then turned to the crater where his brother currently resided and said, "And then shawarma after."

     I patted Tony on the shoulder and followed the others into the living room, where Loki was currently dragging himself out of his hole and onto the stairs that led up to the bar. As our shadows fell across the floor, he paused, then sighed and reluctantly turned to face us.

     Battered, bloodied, and bruised from his encounter with the Hulk, and currently staring down the last arrow in Barton's quiver, Loki said, "If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now."

     The Hulk snarled as Tony rolled his eyes and said, "All right, get him on his feet. We can all stand around posing up a storm later."

     As Thor yanked his brother off the ground, Stark turned to the Hulk, "By the way, feel free to clean up."

     "Who, uh, wants to take the scepter?" I asked, my fingers twitching nervously. "I'd rather not take my chances with it."

     "S.T.R.I.K.E. team's coming to secure it," Steve answered just as the elevator chirped to announce their arrival.

     "This is Brock Rumlow," Agent Sitwell said, gesturing to the dark-haired man on his right as his squadron entered the room. "He'll take that scepter off your hands."

     "By all means," Nat replied before joining Clint at the bar as he broke into a bottle of scotch.

     "Careful with that thing," Barton warned as Rumlow took the scepter. "Unless you want your mind erased. And not in a fun way."

     Sitwell nodded, "We promise to be careful."

     As the scepter was secured in an armored case, I poured myself a glass of scotch and downed the alcohol in one, long swallow.

     Behind me, I heard Steve say, "On my way down to coordinate search and rescue."

     "On my way down to coordinate search and rescue," someone echoed, perfectly mimicking Rogers.

     I turned to find Loki had shape-shifted into the captain, though he quickly returned to his normal form and added, "I mean, honestly, how do you keep your food down?"

     As my fists clenched, the dull buzzing sensation that plagued my entire body suddenly grew stronger in my arms, and I looked down to find my hands glowing beneath my gloves. Hoping no one had noticed, I quickly tucked my hands into the sleeves of my uniform.

     Thankfully, when Thor slapped a muzzle over Loki's mouth to silence his brother, I felt the energetic humming in my hands diminish. When I turned to offer my assistance in the search and rescue mission, I ran right into a second armored case, except this one held the Tesseract.

     "Shit!" I hissed as I stumbled backwards.

     "Agent Romanoff?" a man asked, and I flinched before turning to find Rumlow staring at my hands. "You all right?"

     "Fine," I replied, clasping my hands behind my back. "Just had an unpleasant run-in with that thing, is all."

     Rumlow hesitated, then stepped closer and whispered, "It won't be long before they notice. I would get ahead of it before you're forced to 'fess up. Just saying."

     Alarm bells rang in my head, and I took a step back, "Is that a threat, Agent Rumlow?"

     He smiled, "Relax, Romanoff. We're all on the same side, here. No need to take after your sister, unless paranoia just runs in the family."

     "Life has always given us reason to be paranoid," I countered.

     "Touché," he chuckled. "See you around, Romanoff."

     When Sitwell snapped his fingers, Rumlow and his agents returned to the elevator they had arrived in and departed with Loki's scepter. Dragging myself over to the bar, I downed a second snifter of scotch and slumped face-down on the countertop.

     "You think there's a chance S.H.I.E.L.D. won't notice?" I asked when Natasha sat beside me.

     She shook her head, "They keep tabs on everything. You know that. Better to just tell Fury and get it over with."

     I groaned and buried my face in my hands.

     Eventually, I offered a reluctant nod, "I'll tell him once Loki is taken care of."

     As the others stepped into the elevator with Loki and the Tesseract, Nat tapped my shoulder and gestured for me to follow. When I started to cross the threshold, the elevator shuddered and the lights flickered overhead. The others instinctively held up their hands and shouted various warnings as I quickly backed away, nearly tripping over my own feet.

     "I'll—I'll take the stairs," I muttered, offering a small smile as I shoved my hands into my pockets.

     When the Hulk appeared over my shoulder, I asked, "You wanna join me, big guy?"

     He grunted, "Hate the stairs."

     I shrugged, "I know. But we don't have much of a choice, do we? Unless we want our friends to plummet to their deaths."

     He snorted and followed me to the stairwell, where he peered over the edge and groaned, "So many stairs!"

     I sighed and nodded as we began our descent in disgruntled silence. The seemingly endless gray spiral continued to circle downward, and I eventually lost track of the floor levels as we went from one flight of stairs to the next. When I noticed movement over my shoulder, I turned to find Banner had returned to his normal form.

     "Nice to have you back, Doctor," I said, smirking as he gripped his oversized pants. "Remind me to get you a change of clothes once we get downstairs."

     He nodded sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair.

     We walked a while longer in silence, then he said, "Ana, I'm...I'm sorry about earlier. On the Helicarrier."

     I patted his arm, "Forgiven and forgotten, Dr. Banner. You weren't yourself. You didn't know what you were doing. There's no one who understands that better than me. Or Nat, for that matter."

     "Your sister is...something else."

     I chuckled, "That, she is."

     As we neared the final floor, Bruce awkwardly said, "Um, about earlier, when you shocked me—"

     I winced, "I know, I'm so sorry about that."

     "No, no, that's not—I was going to say that it felt like a photon blast."

     "And you have a reference for that, how?"

     "Don't ask."

     I nodded, and he continued, "If it's all right with you, once Loki's taken care of, I'd like to run some tests—I'm sure Stark has the tech for it—just to see if you suffered any alterations from the blast."

     I raised my fist, which immediately began to glow as I replied, "I'm pretty sure there were some alterations."

     Banner chuckled quietly, though when we reached the exit, he paused at the threshold. Remembering he was wearing nothing but oversized pants, I gestured for him to wait and stepped outside.

     Discreetly signaling one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, I said, "Dr. Banner's just inside the door, here. Would it be possible to get him a change of clothes?"

     The agent nodded, "Yes, of course. Dr. Banner, if you'll come with me..."

     Banner sighed and stepped out of the stairwell, offering a small smile as he walked by, "Thanks, Ann."

     "Don't mention it."

     Spotting Tony, I navigated the bustling lobby and asked, "Where's Loki?"

     "Well, Secretary Pierce wanted Loki in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody, but Thor is determined to have him stand trial on Asgard. So, we compromised. They'll turn Loki over to his brother once they've finished debriefing him. Now, I'm thinking lunch?"

     My stomach cramped at the thought of food, "That's the best idea I've heard all day."

     He shrugged, "It's what I do."

     I started to turn away, but Tony placed a hand on my shoulder, his voice low as he added, "And thanks for taking care of Banner. He needs someone to look after him. I try my best, but I'm not exactly the...nurturing type, you know?"

     I mimicked his shrug with a smirk, "It's what I do."

...

     Once Bruce had changed and Steve returned from helping the search and rescue team, we gathered in front of the Shawarma Palace. Or, rather, what was left of it. Despite the shattered glass that littered the floor and the chunks that were missing from the walls and ceiling, the staff ushered us inside and immediately set to work, coaxing the battered kitchen to life.

     The aroma of chicken, lamb, and pita bread soon filled the air, and my mouth watered at the promise of food. In companionable silence, we cleared off the one table left standing and collapsed onto our respective chairs, ravenously tearing at the platters of food as they were placed before us. Each of the gyros were either filled with various meats or falafel, and I sampled each of them, then shoved a handful of French fries into my mouth.

     Pausing to take a sip of my soda, I glanced at my colleagues and found them in a similar state to my own: Absent-mindedly partaking in the meal with glazed-over eyes as the adrenaline of the battle wore off. When the television suddenly switched to one of the local news stations, I swiveled in my chair, leaning against the backrest as I turned up the volume.

     "Despite the devastation of what has been confirmed as an extraterrestrial attack," the news anchor began, "the extraordinary heroics of the group known as the Avengers has been, to many, a cause not only for comfort, but for celebration."

     "It's just really great knowing they're out there," a witness said. "That someone is watching over us."

     "I love you, Thor!" a woman shouted, and I heard the God of Thunder chuckle behind me.

     "I don't know," a man said skeptically. "I don't exactly feel safer with those things out there."

     "It just seems that there's a lot they're not telling us," His wife agreed.

     "Superheroes in New York?" an older, mustachioed gentleman scoffed. "Give me a break."

     "These so-called 'heroes' have to be held responsible for the destruction done to this city," a senator demanded, and I could practically feel the gravity shift as Tony rolled his eyes. "This was their fight! Where are they now?"

     "Taking a break. You're welcome, by the way," I muttered, and Nat snorted.

     "Tough questions are being asked about the Avengers, themselves," a reporter stated. "Their sudden appearance and equally sudden disappearance—"

     "What, this is all somehow their fault?" a woman interrupted, her waitress uniform covered in plaster and ash. "Captain America saved my life. Wherever he is, and wherever any of them are, I would just...I would want to say thank you."

     "Good job, Cap," I said to Steve, who was sitting to my left, and he blushed.

     "Just doing my job," he replied, ever the Humble Joe.

     "Well, you're damn good at it," I added, causing him to hide behind his fist as his blush deepened.

     When the chef appeared at our table, I started to thank him for the food, but a shadow fell across the doorway.

     "Anastasia Romanoff?" an agent said, and I nodded. "Please come with me."

     "May I ask why?"

     "Secretary Pierce would like to speak with you."