"So, you're not with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Rogers inquired of me. We sat alongside each other on the plane.

"No," I confirmed. "I'm a last minute addition."

"Why?"

"Well..." I accessed the tablet, bringing up Loki's profile. "I'm not from here, if you can believe that."

"I want to, but I can't."

"I've actually only been here for a year. I still call it Midgard sometimes, it's an old habit. I'm from Asgard, just like him." I pointed to Loki's picture. "He's the reason why I'm part of this."

"You know him?"

I sighed. I refrained from spilling my life's story to Rogers. Sure, we got acquainted, but we were nowhere near becoming fast friends. "Coulson believes that I may be able to help out, as though I can find Loki and tell everyone what he's thinking."

"Can you?"

I laughed. "No, but I do have abilities, one that involves the mind."

"Prove it."

Don't think you're insane if you can hear me, I warned him. I bit my lip to hide my laughter at Rogers' wide-eyed look.

"Let's not do that again," he said quickly. "Can I see that?" Rogers nodded to the tablet in my hand.

"Oh, yeah, sure." I handed the device over.

"We're about forty minutes out from home base, sir," one of the pilots spoke. They got Coulson's attention; he left whatever screen he was occupying.

I looked over Rogers' shoulder to see him looking at Dr. Banner's profile. It was good he'd moved on from Loki's picture. If I stared at it any longer, I would have begun reminiscing.

"So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?" Rogers asked Coulson.

"A lot of people were," Coulson admitted. "You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula."

I cringed, watching the video of the Hulk creating chaos.

"Didn't really go his way, did it?"

"Not so much. When he's not that thing, though, the guy's like a Stephen Hawking."

Rogers and I both stared at Coulson.

"He's like a smart person."

My attention went back to Banner's profile on the tablet.

"I have to say, it's an honor to meet you officially. I sort of met you. I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping."

I looked back up at Coulson with narrowed eyes.

"I mean, I was present while you were unconscious."

Rogers handed the tablet back to me as he got up.

"You know, it's really just a huge honor to have you on board."

"I hope I'm the man for the job."

"Oh, you are. Absolutely. We made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input."

"The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little old-fashioned?"

"With everything that's happening and the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old-fashioned."

The forty minutes it took to reach the Helicarrier passed quickly. I stood up just before we landed, seeing people in orange-yellow outfits and helmets. I saw various other planes as well. The Helicarrier was in water, like a boat.

Coulson took the lead, leading Rogers and I down the ramp. The fresh air hit me like a tidal wave, as well as the scent of ocean water. My nose wrinkled. If I had known I would've been near water, I wouldn't have dressed in a tank top and shorts.

From the corner of my eye, I saw someone approaching. I knew who she was once I recognized her flaming short hair. She wasn't dressed in the outfit I'd expected, she looked as normal as I did. Did every one of the Avengers look normal? I didn't consider myself one, as I wasn't on the list.

"Agent Romanoff," Coulson addressed her. "Captain Rogers and Kiara Rivers."

"Ma'am," Rogers greeted her. I kept silent.

"Hi," she responded. She looked to Coulson. "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face-trace."

"See you there," Coulson said before leaving us. Agent Romanoff's eyes focused on me.

"Get in line," I spoke. "You're not the first to question why I'm here. Coulson got me."

Once Romanoff and Rogers started walking off, I figured I would explore the Helicarrier. I didn't see much other than planes and people. I wondered what the interior held. I crept towards the edge, seeing how big a drop there was. I stumbled back a few steps.

All of this felt overwhelming. First came the dreams involving Loki, then Coulson came knocking, telling me that Loki was in fact alive and the reason why I recruited to this cause. Now here I was on a Helicarrier about to meet famous names like Bruce Banner and, maybe later on, Tony Stark. If we ever meet, Loki, you are in for a big surprise.

I never thought about it, what I would do if I came face to face with him again. Would I break down in tears and embrace him, hoping that he was the old Loki that I'd come to know? Would I shout at him for leading me to believe he was dead for a year?

"Flight crew, secure the deck," a loud voice erupted.

I spun around to see the orange-yellow suited men securing the planes, some of them were already heading inside the Helicarrier. A low, loud rumble invaded my ears. I inched closer towards the edge, towards the source of the noise.

I swallowed, seeing engines rise from the waters. This doesn't go underwater, it flies.

"Kiara." I jumped when I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. It was only Rogers. "We need to head inside."

"Oh. Alright."

I didn't realize Rogers was alongside Dr. Banner until we were already heading inside. We didn't say a word to each other, there was an awkwardness hanging over us. I didn't blame Dr. Banner, he looked kind of anxious, like he wasn't too happy to be on this Helicarrier.

We met up again with Agent Romanoff, who led us inside. She led us through a slide open door that led to the bridge. I couldn't hold back my awe. This was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. The technology wasn't up to Asgard standards, but it was pretty high-up for the humans.

If I had been impressed with New York, what S.H.I.E.L.D. had easily topped it. There were various workers at their stations. I could gaze out of thousands of crystal-clear windows, all showing me a lovely blue sky and white clouds.

Agents were calling out things related the Helicarrier's takeoff. I took my slow time taking in all of the features. I wanted to remember this so I could retell it all to Todd. He would definitely want details.

"Gentlemen," came a new, low voice.

I turned my attention to a black man in dark clothes that bore an eyepatch on his left eye.

"And ladies."

I acknowledged him with a timid nod. Rogers went up to the man, handing him something I couldn't see. The man approached me first. Here we go again.

"Kiara Rivers," I said quietly.

"Director Nick Fury," he replied in return. "A little birdie told me we were getting someone off the list."

"That would be me. I came here on my own account, with a little persuasion." I stole a look at Coulson. "Coulson thinks I can help you out with Loki."

"Maybe you can explain to me how he could turn a top agent of mine into his personal puppet."

"I'm afraid I can't, sir. To my knowledge, I don't think he can do that on his own unless he learned it over the year I thought he was dead." I swallowed, feeling my throat become dry.

"Here's also a little something for you." He placed a small device in the palm of my hand. "It's an earpiece, something for communication purposes."

I carefully wedged the small thing inside. It was a strange sensation. "Coulson also mentioned something about my wardrobe situation. I know you may not be the best man to talk to about it..."

"That is something you'll have to take up with him, or Agent Romanoff. If you'll excuse me..."

"Yes, of course, sir." I stood awkwardly around, finding Agent Romanoff gazing at one of the screens. It looked to have Hawkeye's picture on it. I pursed my lips. How was it possible for Loki to control him?

I didn't mean to listen in, their conversation happened to be loud enough for me to hear.

"So how long am I staying?" Dr. Banner asked.

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind," Fury assured him.

"Where are you with that?"

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet," Coulson spoke up. "Cellphones, laptops...If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"That's still not going to find them in time," Agent Romanoff murmured.

"You have to narrow your field," Banner suggested. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" Fury asked.

"Call every lab you know. Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Romanoff, could you show Doctor Banner to his laboratory, please? Also, can you take Ms. Rivers with you?"

"Sure. You're going to love it, Doc. We got all the toys."

Once Romanoff dropped off Banner to the laboratory, I was left in her care. She led me to a closet where she tossed me some sort of outfit. It was dark in color with a symbol on one of the shoulders: it was something that resembled a bird, possibly a hawk.

"It may not look comfortable, but it's something," she told me.

"Thanks."

Agent Romanoff waited for me to change, respecting my privacy. It was good to know I wouldn't be the only woman in this group to hunt for Loki. Not that I would've had an issue had I been.

I looked myself down. "It'll have to do."

"So, you're an Asgardian."

My eyes widened at her assumption.

"We've got a file on you, I read up."

"Oh." It was no surprise there was one on me. But the file had to be pretty thin, I didn't tell Coulson my life's story the day we met. "So you must know about my abilities. What you probably don't know is my...my involvement with Loki."

"You make it sound like you really had something with him."

"I knew him before he turned into what you're—we're chasing after." I had to remember I was a part of this, whether or not I was an Avenger. "I don't know what Coulson expects me to do; S.H.I.E.L.D. can find him faster than I ever can. He took a shot in the dark by recruiting me in the hopes I knew him."

"Coulson's no dummy. Well, don't think about turning back. I really don't think you can at this point. By the way, it's okay to call me Natasha." She threw me a small smile. She suddenly put a hand to her ear, I watched her intently. "It looks like we found him like you said, Kiara."

"Where is he?"

"Stuttgart, Germany. Apparently he's not exactly hiding."

"What does he need there?"

"Who knows? We're needed, come on." She brushed past me.

"Hold on, you said we."

Natasha stopped to turn to me. "You are a part of this operation. It's you, me, and Cap."

"How are we getting there?"

"I can pilot a plane and get us there quick. Unless you want to hang around, follow me."

I bit my lip, and after only a minute's debate, I was right on Natasha's heels.