My breath hitched and my eyes opened sleepily. Last night's memories about Loki and Ira came flooding back to me, causing a headache to form in the back of my mind. Warmth enveloped my body, making my surroundings seem a lot hotter. I brushed the tangled black hair out of my face and felt someone's presence. I turned to them and leaned on my arm to prop myself up.

Steve's blue eyes gazed onto the ceiling as he lie on the bed in thought, or maybe even almost in a brooding way. He heard me move and glanced over at me, a small smile creeping its way onto his lips. "Good morning, beautiful," his voice scratched at his throat, making it raspy like he just woke up.

"Mornin' handsome," I whispered almost in a daze. I hadn't completely woken up yet, so everything almost seemed like a dream.

He cleared his throat. "Are you ready to tell the group?"

"No. Give me five more minutes right here," I lay my head on his chest and got comfortable. There was so little time to spend with him in this way, so close and personal, that I had to take advantage of it. His muscles tensed and relaxed at my touch.

Steve chuckled, "I like the sound of that." He wrapped his arm around me and kept the other behind his head. He relaxed and his eyes flickered back up to the ceiling. His thumb rubbed small circles on my back, leaving a calming feeling in me.

The scene from last night flashed across my mind. I remembered the pain, the hurt, and how much he trusted me to tell me all of it. This was the first time he's slept next to me. "Did you sleep well?"

"Surprisingly...yeah, except you kicked a lot in your sleep."

I shrugged nonchalantly. "I can't control that. You get what you get. It comes with the whole package when you date me."

"I wouldn't trade you for the world," He didn't hesitate to answer and stopped his motions. Something about the way he said it made chills go down my spine.

His stillness confused me, and I peered up at him, coming closer than I originally thought. My face was mere inches in front of his, so close that I could feel his breath brush against my skin. "You really mean that?"

Steve realized how close we were and a small blush materialized on his cheeks. His body tensed up once again and his fingers started playing with the ends of his hair. His eyes skimmed over my eyes, my lips, and my eyes again. His words barely made it out in a whisper, "Yeah, I do." I took that as a sign to go for it and leaned in closer, grazing his soft lips against mine. So much build up, so many times this could have happened in the past, and now it was finally about to happen. It relieved me and made me nervous simultaneously. I was about to kiss Steven Grant Rogers.

The alarm clock buzzed, causing both of us to jump. Steve hit his forehead against mine on accident and we both groaned in unison. I backed away, cringing at the slight pain. It was a wake up call, that was for sure. Steve hit the snooze on the alarm and stood up, stumbling over his words, "We have to...uh...share...with group..." He blushed more and motioned towards the door before walking out completely.

I got dressed and I tugged the ends of my gloves to adjust them. I wasn't sure if Ira had powers, and since I hadn't touched her skin yet, I was still in the clear. We were having enough trouble with the government and Loki that I couldn't handle learning about a new power and how to control it. That would be too messy.

Clint waved at us from the couch in the training room. Bags curved underneath his eyes, showing how he wasn't getting much sleep. He smiled through the exhaustion and chuckled at what was said. He stopped his conversation with Peter and Bruce to turn to us. "You guys look like you've seen better days."

I rolled my eyes and gestured Natasha to come to the group. She punched and kicked the punching bag one last time before heading over to us. "Where's Tony?" I asked, glancing around the room to make sure we were the only ones there.

"Ask and you shall receive," Bruce spoke up and nodded towards Tony, who wandered into the room.

Tony's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and his mouth twitched up in a sly smile. "Did I really see Steve leave Lilly's room with bed head?"

"Is that right? Did he sleep in your room?" Peter questioned, a little disturbed look took over his expression. He shivered at the thought of it, half in a playful manner and half in disgust.

Nat added in a joking manner, "I bet they did more than just sleep." She winked and laughed, but deep down she knew Steve wasn't that kind of guy. It was fun to mess with him, though.

Steve blushed furiously and I changed the subject by using sign language. Ira is a traitor.

Whoa, wait. A traitor? Clint signed quickly. How do you know that?

Bruce chuckled to himself. Another crazy? She showed some real hostility towards some of us. Can't say I'm surprised.

Lilly found her meeting Loki in the woods. Steve moved his hands slowly.

I added onto what he said. She's been a double agent the whole time. She's deceived all of Asgard and us. Ira's got intel on all of us...our weaknesses, who we're close to the most, everything.

Tony threw in his thought. Here we were worrying about what was chasing behind us and never thought about to look within the group, or the new person at least. Should've seen this coming.

So what's the plan? Twist this all around and capture her for interrogation? Natasha questioned. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, waiting for confirmation from someone.

That sounds like the only plausible thing to do. Steve nodded and signed.

She's in...Peter stopped mid sentence and looked passed Steve and I. All of us whirled around to see Ira standing in the doorway.

"Why is everyone so quiet in here?" She questioned and tilted her head. Her short black hair sat clipped up onto her head and her gray eyes watched all of us carefully.

Busted. Peter signed and glanced around the group in defeat.

Steve's attention focused on the alien completely, "Ira-"

Tony cut him off, "Cut the crap, Ira. We know you're working for Loki."

"Way to keep it subtle, Tony," Bruce sighed. He stayed back while everyone stood on guard to make sure the Hulk wouldn't be unleashed.

All of us rolled our eyes at Tony's forwardness and waited to see Ira's reaction. Her facial expression didn't change, but her face darkened. "I am working for Loki, but I am not loyal to him. I am spying on him to see what he is up to. Sif sent me here to assist you, not the enemy."

"I heard what was said, Ira. You can't fool us anymore," I narrowed my eyes at her and focused on her. All of us stood frozen for a few seconds, anticipating her next move.

Ira glared at us and dove to get anything to use as a weapon. Natasha and Clint took the first initiative to attack. They double teamed Ira before she could get a hold of the bench in the corner and circled around her. Ira glanced between both of them, waiting for the first punch. Natasha kicked her in the stomach and elbowed her in the back, but Ira countered and threw her aside. Clint punched her in the jaw and knocked a tooth out, but she elbowed him in the face, sending him into a daze. Natasha jolted back up and went to pop one in Ira's face. She lunged backwards and Natasha's fist came into contact with Clint's nose, breaking it in half. Nat covered her mouth as blood spouted out of her lover's nose, sending him backwards.

Peter came in and went for a punch. Ira grabbed his arm, twirled him around, and threw him into Natasha, making both of them fall to the floor. Adamantium claws launched out of my knuckles and I sprinted towards her. I slashed her arm and went for her abdomen, but she dodged quickly and the claws got stuck in the wall. I put my foot against the wall to create force against it, but they wouldn't come out. I twisted them in the walls, hurting myself as I did.

Tony pushed the punching bag towards Ira and swiped his leg underneath hers. Ira hit the mat and groaned slightly. The punching bag flew off its hinges, allowing Steve to get a hold of the metal chains at the top. He used his strength to crush the chains into handcuffs and tied them together. Natasha pinned Ira down, flipped her over, and put her hands behind her back. Steve bound her hands and lifted her up. She writhed and tried to escape his grasp, but he held on tightly.

Steve took her to one of the smaller rooms used for holding any hostile people. Since Mystique used to come in and wreak havoc, Professor X put in a sort of panic room to place people in when they got out of hand. Ira fell onto the concrete floor and glared at Bruce and I entered the room. Steve closed the door behind him as he exited.

She spit out some blood after sitting up, "Do you know why you are here right now?" We waited patiently for her to answer, which only irritated her more. "Because I expected you to get captured by the government, or die by the spray of bullets they let out. I should not have underestimated you."

I scowled, clenching my hands into fists, "You're the one that led them to us?" No surprise there. I knew there was someone following us, but didn't think it would be her.

Ira laughed, making her hair fly about her face. Her icy eyes locked onto me as a creepy smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "It was not difficult."

"What's the end game? You two rule the world? How does you being undercover help that cause? What are you going to do to us?" I interrogated her in a stern tone. I wanted to know everything before she got out of our grasp.

She ignored everything and turned her glare to Bruce. Her words swept around the room like a cold wind, "Your mother was murdered because of you. Your dad was jealous of her love for you, and he killed her for it." She wanted to twist the situation around and get the attention off of her. Clever.

Bruce's eye twitched and his jaw clenched. His face slowly turned darker shades of pink. It took a few seconds until he could manage words to push passed his lips, "You have no idea what you're talking about."

I tried to reel the conversation back in. "Why does Loki want to know our weaknesses? Doesn't he already know them? Why does he need some pathetic minion to do his bidding?" I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes at her.

Ira didn't care and moved back onto Banner. "You were a child. How could you remember? She loved you more than anything. She gave her life for you. Your father was a drunk and a failed scientist. Maybe you were meant to follow in his tracks," Ira shot back.

"Shut up!" Bruce yelled, slamming his fists onto the wall. The piece of wall crumbled under his force and caved in.

"Shut up? Just like your mother did when she died? Just like how your secret girlfriend will when Loki strangles the life out of her?" Bruce stayed put for a second until she continued, "Elizabeth Ross....or, you know her as Betty."

Bruce's nostrils flared and his skin turned a bright red. "You hurt her, and I swear to god..."

"What? You'll kill me? Yeah, right," she scoffed. Her eyes held a small gleam of entertainment, even when her face blanked.

Something about her wasn't adding up to me. How did she know that and we didn't? There's no way he would have confided in her. I noticed how angry Bruce was getting and dragged him out of the room. Unleashing the Hulk was exactly what Ira wanted, and being underground was dangerous enough. "You need to calm down. She's messing with you."

"How did she know that? All of that is confidential..." He contemplated for a second and tapped his foot. His hand scraped against the scruff on his face and he ground his teeth in anger. "Nobody knows about Betty. Not even you guys."

I was about to say something until a loud boom came from the room. Both of us jolted from our spots and opened the door. The whole room reeked of iron as blood dripped from the walls. Organs and pieces of Ira hung everywhere, drenching the room in a gross mess. Teeth and hair pieces scattered around the floor and her clothes lie there in the blood puddle. Bruce almost upchucked and stood against the wall, looking at the empty hall rather than the room. Everyone rushed over to see what had happened and I backed away. My stomach dropped and I felt sick.

Peter was the first one that managed to say something, "She has the power to self-detonate? That's awesome!" Everyone raised an eyebrow and side-glanced at him, not wanting to reply to his comment. "What? It is!"

Clint furrowed his brow and closed the door. "She's still alive, right?"

"I'm not even sure," Bruce answered truthfully and cleared his throat. "Maybe it's like a video game. She kills herself and spawns somewhere else."

"If any of that works, that is," Tony put his fist in front of his mouth to keep it semi closed, not wanting to get sick all over us.

Steve hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. The next words that came out of his mouth sounded like he was in defeat, "So in other words, she's gone."

"Yeah, and to who knows where. She's going to tell Loki that we know," Natasha contributed. Her face paled and she turned away, not wanting to think of the scene.

My mind raced and the headache started forming again. The ability to blow up? So what? Can she wake up somewhere else? Is she gone forever? No...I don't think so. I threw my hands up into the air in defeat and sighed. "How come we always get so close to winning and then something like this happens? The tide has changed and the odds aren't in our favor anymore."

Peter shrugged. "Well, we have to change that."

"Change the odds? How?" Natasha looked back at the group and watched us carefully. We all felt as sick as her about this, but we had to do something.

Clint clapped his hands together and his voice raised to give a little life to the surrounding area, "Well, let's start planning and find out."