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"You all know each other?" Natasha asked, looking between me, Thor, and Loki.

"Oh, Alivia and I know each other very intimately," Loki's mouth curled into a smirk.

I flushed a bright red and hoped beyond hope that Loki's comment went over everyone else's heads.

"Where exactly does S.H.I.E.L.D. think I disappeared to for three months after what happened last year?" I asked Natasha.

"We suspected you went underground," Natasha answered, "Space didn't occur to us."

"I was eighteen, working at a gas station. Believe me, if I'd have still been on earth, you would've found me." As I spoke, I walked to the front of the jet to peer out the window.

In front of us was nothing but clear skies, and an endless expanse of water stretched out below us.

"Well that makes things easier," Steve said, "A few less introductions to make."

"You'll be helping us to keep him in custody," Natasha informed me, "And once we locate the Tesseract, you'll be part of the team we send out to bring it back."

"I very much doubt the lot of you will be a match against me," Loki smiled, "After all, you seem too occupied fighting each other."

It was then that I noticed how battered up Tony and Thor were. It looked like their introduction hadn't gone very well.

"Ignore him," Natasha told me, pulling me by the shoulder so we both faced away from him.

"I won't speak," Loki said, "I'll stay quiet and enjoy the view."

"I sure hope you're talking about the pretty ocean," Natasha spat.

"Can I suggest strapping him to the roof?"

"My, three minutes in and you're already trying to have me tied up."

"I strongly suggest you tie him to the roof," I said, folding my arms, "Or at least let me singe his eyebrows off."

Natasha turned back to Loki. "Keep talking, and I'll let her."

"Right. You do that and the whole plane will catch flame," Loki chuckled.

Without turning back to look at him, I used my hand to summon a small flame, which I sent in Loki's direction. It flew toward his face, and extinguished inches before making contact.

I smiled, smug. It worked nicely. He didn't speak again for the remaining duration of the flight.

"We're almost there," the man piloting the jet said, after the better part of an hour had passed.

I'd spent the flight seated next to Natasha, stealing glances at Thor and Loki. I planned to corner Thor as soon as I could get him alone. I had too many questions shooting around in my head, I could hardly remember them all.

"Almost where? There's nothing around us but water and sky."

Natasha looked at me and then Steve, the both of them smiling like they were sharing some sort of inside joke.

I frowned, keeping my eye trained on our surroundings. The jet pulled up, and suddenly, a massive platform came into view. It looked like a runway at an airport. I glanced at Natasha.

"Retro-reflective panels," Natasha said, "Helps us to stay hidden when we want to."

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s base is in the air?"

"One of them, yeah," Natasha smiled, as the pilot maneuvered the plane to land on top of the platform.

As the door lowered to open, Natasha led me out, Steve, Tony, and Thor following behind us. Once we'd all exited, a group of what looked like guards poured in to collect Loki. His eyes never went from me as they escorted him out of the jet and off across the runway.

"Come on," Natasha nodded at me, "Director Fury is waiting to speak with Loki, and the rest of us are meeting inside. We'll be able to see what's going on through the cameras."

We all followed her inside. She seemed to know her way around much better than the rest of us. She led us into a large room full of people and computers. We stopped in front of a wide table. I noticed there was already someone waiting there, a tall, serious looking man with glasses. Bruce Banner, I recognized from the photo Natasha had shown me. He'd apparently turned himself into a monster by trying to replicate the serum used on Steve Rogers. I gave him a quick nod.

Natasha pulled out a chair and directed me to sit. I did, as she picked up a tablet and began to swipe and click. When she'd brought up an image, she set it down in front of me, pulling up a chair to sit. The others took up places around the room.

We waited a few moments before there was motion on the tablet. The guards loaded Loki into the circular cage that took up the majority of the screen. Then, a voice came from the darkness. And a man, who I could only assume to be Director Fury, stepped forward.

"In case its unclear, you try to escape—you so much as scratch that glass," he pressed a few buttons, and suddenly, a large hatch opened up to the sky beneath the cage, "It's 30, 000 feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" He shut the hatch, then pointed at Loki, "Ant—" He then pointed to the panel, "—Boot."

A dark laughter came from inside the glass. "It's an impressive cage," Loki said, "Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh, I've heard. A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man. You may consider building one of these to contain your newest recruit. She, too, is known to let her temper get the better of her." He looked directly into the camera as he spoke. "How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill cause it's fun," my stomach ached with nausea as the Director spoke. "You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"Ooh," Loki winced, "It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power—unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is."

Director Fury was silent for a moment. Then, "Let me know if real power wants a magazine or anything."

I held in a laugh as I watched him walk away, leaving Loki. I could tell I was going to like him.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner folded his arms.

"Like a tumour," I nodded.

"Loki's gonna drag this out, so," Steve began, looking up, "Thor, what's his play?"

"He has an army, called the Chitauri," Thor said, rubbing his chin, "They're not of Asgard nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army," Steve repeated, "From outer space."

He looked across the table at Natasha, then at me.

"Honestly isn't the most far fetched thing I've heard the past year," I shrugged.

"So he's building another portal?" Banner asked, "That's what he needs Eric Selvig for."

"Selvig?" Thor frowned.

"He's an astrophysicist."

"He's a friend."

"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Natasha said, leaning forward, "Along with one of ours."

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here," Steve put in.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Banner said, "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him."

"Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother."

"He killed eighty people in two days," Natasha said flatly.

My eyes went wide, and I looked at her, "Eighty people?" She nodded. I looked accusingly at Thor.

"He's adopted."

"Nice job watching him," I shot at Thor.

"I think it's about mechanics. Iridium, what do they need the iridium for?" Bruce asked.

"It's a stabilizing agent," Tony answered, pausing to exchange a few words with someone beside him, "It means, the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D." He paused beside Thor, patting him on the shoulder. "No hard feelings, point break, you got a mean swing. Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants."

He stopped and stood by Maria, who I hadn't even noticed had joined us.

"Raise the mizzenmast, jib the topsails," he called jokingly to all the people attached to computers around us. He pointed at someone. "That man is playing Galaga. Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."

Tony did a slow spin, covering his eye. "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns." Maria answered impatiently, arms folded.

"Sounds exhausting." He stepped up to a screen and began to swipe. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily."

I looked at Natasha raising a brow.

"Hawkeye. He was put under Loki's mind spell and helped him steal the Tesseract," Natasha explained, and I noted the turbulence behind her blue eyes.

"The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density. Something to kick start the cube," Tony explained, tapping the screen a few more times before turning back to face us all.

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria asked.

"Last night," Stark answered nonchalantly.

I chuckled. Was this guy serious?

He looked around at us. "The packet. Selvig's notes, the extraction papers? Am I the only one that did the reading?"

"In my defense I was picked up out of a coffee shop about three hours ago," I put up my hand.

"Little Al is excused," he pointed at me, "I'm disappointed in the rest of you."

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked.

"He'd have to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier."

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect," Stark said.

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet," responded Banner.

"Finally," Tony said, "Someone who speaks English."

"Is that what just happened?" Steve looked as lost as I felt.

Tony and Bruce shook hands and exchanged a few low words.

"Banner is here to track the cube," the voice of Director Fury startled me as he entered the room, pausing in front of Stark. "I was hoping you might join him."

"I would start with that stick of his, it may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYRDA weapon," Steve suggested.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys," Fury said.

"Monkeys?" Thor blinked, "I do not understand."

"I do! I understood that reference," Steve said proudly.

"Shall we play, doctor?" Tony asked Bruce.

"This way, sir," Bruce waved his arm, and the two marched off.

Fury's eyes roamed the table until they found me, "Ms. Byrd. I see you finally took us up on that job offer."

"Well Maria bought me a coffee so I figured I owed her," I joked.

"I'll owe you a lot of coffees for this," Maria responded, smiling.

"My name is Nicholas Fury, I'm the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the reason you're here."

"I'm not sure yet whether to be thankful or pissed at you for that," I said.

"I'm sure you'll figure that out soon enough," he answered, folding his arms, "Romanoff will show you to where you'll be staying."

I looked at her, and she smiled. "Right this way."

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