"Your hammer is stupid."

"You're stupid."

"You're both imbiciles," a young Loki joined in. "We all knew that so I really don't see what the argument is about."

"Well then you're stupid too," you snapped, sticking out your tongue at your friend. "Just because you two are the sons of the All-Father doesn't mean that I have to genuflect as you pass by and defer to the presumed greater intellect that doesn't even exist. You're just stinky Thor and snobby Loki to me, and that's never going to change for as long as I live."

~~~

"How old were we there, do you suppose?" Thor smiled down at you, looking at a worn picture of the three of you together, laughing like the exuberant children that you were back then. "We certainly were a troublesome three."

"Hmm," you nodded in agreement, "I thought that it would require a greater effort to be banished from the throne room, but your father really didn't care for me much, it would seem."

"Father loved you as his own. That is why you were banished, to teach the greater lesson."

"Which was?" you smirked, pushing the photograph into your pocket, well beneath your dark cloak. "What greater lesson was there for me to learn that you and your brother did not?"

"That the only way for you to sit upon the throne of the king would be on my lap." Thor laughed and lifted you into his arms, swinging you as your voice carried with his, pulling you in for a kiss that was rudely interrupted by a frantic guardsman running your way.

"Sire, I need you to come with me," he panted. "The Tesseract has awakened, and it would seem that Loki is not dead as we were led to believe. He has gone in search of it and the king commands that you should depart immediately."

"Well, isn't that just spectacular timing," you huffed, allowing Thor to gently set you down and taking a step back from him. "Loki always knew how to ruin any sign of fun."

A low growl built in his throat as he looked down at you, reaching up to push a stray strand of hair behind your ear, "I'll not be gone for long. He's likely underestimating me and should not be difficult to apprehend. Should I give him your regards?"

"I can give them myself," you scoffed, "I'll be there with you."

"I don't believe I heard that in the order?"

"Actually, sire, the king did state that you could bring any warriors that you desired," the guard interjected, lowering his head and taking cautious steps back at the glare that Thor was shooting his way. "Apologies, your highness."

Thor knew better than to actually deny you if you were set on doing anything, and the look in your eyes told him that this wasn't something that he wanted to argue with you. He had known you since childhood, and never once did he win a battle when you were determined; as you had grown into an adult, and a skilled warrior at that, his hesitance to fight you had only become solidified. With a shake of his head and a long sigh, he raised his hand for you to lead the way, following you to see Heimdall without another word.

"You know that he's not going to listen to you," you offered, glancing back over your shoulder. When there was no reply, you stopped and turned to face him, putting a hand on his chest gently to hold him in place. "Don't be mad at me, Thor. You know that you need me, but I don't see why you won't admit it."

"He holds no regard for anyone who gets in his way," he finally answered quietly, "even you. That is not something that I care to risk."

"It's Loki. He's not going to hurt me."

"Believe me, (Y/N), at any other time, I would almost like to see him try."

~~~

"So you seem pretty spry, for an older fella," Tony chided, "what's your secret? Calisthenics? Pilates?"

"What?" Steve replied, confused by the one man he had really hoped to spend more time avoiding since joining this group.

"You may have missed a few things, doing time as a...Capsicle."

Steve straightened and lifted his chin with a set jaw, "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell ya."

Before Tony had his last syllable out, the jet shook as it cut through the air, and alarms began to sound throughout its cabin. Steve grabbed a roll bar over his head and Tony's suit magnetized his feet to the floor to maintain their balance, looking towards the roof at the loud thud that startled them both.

"Where's this coming from?" Natasha asked, looking out the windows and reaching out for the panel, her fingers dancing over the controls. Tony slapped the release on the wall to open the rear door, inadvertently allowing Thor to jump inside and grab Loki from his seat. You were directly behind, stepping up to Steve and Tony to keep them at bay.

"Hello, dear," Loki smiled, "I see that Thor still needs his babysitter anytime he leaves the castle?"

"Not now," you smiled back, fully condescendingly, though in the back of your mind, you were actually pleased to see him again after so long believing him to be dead. "Now, gentlemen, if you'll please hold here." You firmed your stance and held your arm forward, your ornate knife drawn and ready to use if either of them should try to challenge you. "Let's do this the easy way."

"Not my style, sweetheart," Tony smirked, closing his helmet. "And as intrigued as you have me right now, I have to respectfully ask you to get your ass out of my way. As fine as I'm sure it is."

"(Y/N), come," Thor growled, snarling back at Tony. "Leave them behind." He pulled Loki along with him, dragging him along the jet floor until toppling over the edge and into the nothingness below.

Tony jumped forward and pushed you aside, using a small blast from his repulsor to stun you, knocking you into the wall and across the bench, long enough for him to advance. "Now there's these guys."

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!"

"I have a plan. Attack."

"Don't worry, (Y/N)," you mumbled under your breath as you pulled back to standing, "he will come easily. We'll be back home before a moment's time has passed', he said."

"Ma'am, are you alright?"

"Stay here, Midgardian."

Steve shook his head and grabbed a parachute, throwing the straps across his waist and over his shoulders. You watched with a raised brow, looking at the man whose musculature nearly matched that of Thor's, but he didn't seem to be a god like any you had encountered. He was a mystery that you would care to solve if there had been more time.

"You might want to sit out of this one, Cap," Natasha called out, still trying to control the plane, "these guys come from legend, they're basically gods."

"Basically?" you scoffed, "I'll have you know-"

"There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." The Captain took several steps forward and was just about to launch himself from the door, when you grabbed his pack and pulled him backwards, dropping him to the floor in a heap.

"Well by all means, let me enlighten you, sir." Taking the front of his uniform in hand, you brought him to stand next to you, his eyes wide with a sense of fear that you found amusing to see in a man of his stature. You could hear his breaths quicken at the realization that you had stripped him of his parachute and that he was about to be tossed out into a freefall.

"I can guarantee you that there is more than one, Captain. And I dress far better than that blonde oaf ever will."

Part 2

After a battle that didn't really even involve Loki at all, but rather Thor and the one Midgardian with the apparently fragile ego and metal armor, Loki had allowed himself to be taken into custody easily, and placed into a heavily reinforced cage on the Shield helicarrier. While agents locked him away, you joined Thor on the bridge to talk with the team there about plans, but your real focus was to get away and to talk to Loki on your own.

"Iridium. What does he need the Iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent," Tony interrupted as he entered, and you couldn't help but roll your eyes just at the mere sound of his voice alone. Your first impression of the man was far from impressive and the tone was grating.

"This is the one who knows all, is that correct?" you leaned in and whispered to Thor. "Or is under the assumption that he does?"

"Yes, so I'm told."

"I don't care much for him. Although the one in the strange suit is a bit of a mystery to me."

Thor spun around and surveyed the group, seeing only Steve dressed in anything other than plain clothing or a Shield uniform, smiling to himself that he would be the one to catch your interest. "Ah, of course. Is it the bulging muscles or the piercing blue eyes?"

"Shut up."

"You shut up. Lest we not forget that you are committed to another."

A wide smile crossed your expression, doing your best to stifle your laughter as to not draw attention, "well, now. I see that it is not only Stark who bears a fragile ego. Does it bother you that I might be able to appreciate another, even if there is no intent of romantic interaction?"

"I...I have no idea of what you mean," he stammered slightly, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "My ego is secure and is in no way affected by Steven Rogers."

"Oh, listen to you. You already know his name, yet you met only a short time ago, which tells me that you are intimidated and have sized up the competition. This is remarkable."

"What I'd like to know is how Loki used it turned two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys," Fury said, looking to each person in the room purposefully, as if he actually expected an answer.

Thor jolted into attention at the Director's question, broken from studying Steve and looking at him with a new consideration at your words, wondering to himself if you were correct in that he saw the man as an adversary. With the current pressures and time constraints to find the Tesseract, it would have to be a topic for a later time. "Monkeys? I don't understand."

"I do," Steve smiled widely, shooting you a small wink when you laughed, earning a hard nudge in the side from Thor that quickly silenced you. "I understood that reference."

With the conversation winding to a close, you took advantage when the group split, taking your leave and following Bruce and Tony out to see Loki despite Thor's desire to keep you away from him. Loki wasn't talking to anyone, but you thought that maybe he would at least give you something, and that you could find a way to get him to crack. "I'm going to keep an eye on those two," you lied, "if they can find the Tesseract then one of us should be monitoring them."

"Agreed," he nodded, though he was clearly skeptical, and hesitant to trust you. "You are to stay away from him, (Y/N). Are we clear on that?"

"Your highness," you groaned, shaking your head in frustration as you bowed slightly in deference, "as you wish." You began to back away, but winced at his sudden grip on your arm, his fingers digging into you with more force than he may have planned, but he wasn't releasing despite the pain.

"(Y/N), I'm serious. This isn't the Loki that you've known since childhood. He's deluded and under someone's control. I will not allow you to be in his, no matter what the cost may be."

You softened your expression and put your hand over his, feeling him release you; he turned it over and laced his fingers with yours, bringing your hand to hold against his chest. You could feel his heart beat, but it was even and steady, and you felt a pang of guilt that he believed your intent. "You worry too much about me, my love. I can take care of myself."

"Of that, I have never doubted." His focus shifted for the briefest second, but it didn't escape you at all. He looked over your shoulder at the super soldier that had taken so much of his attention, despite his best efforts to stay on task with so much going on around him. He didn't actually believe that he had anything to worry about, and you had barely said more than a few words to the man, but he wasn't about to allow that to change, either. He pulled you to him and lifted you from the ground, one arm around your waist and his other hand in your hair as he kissed you deeply with the Captain looking on.

When he released you and set you down, you had to catch your breath before you could say anything, "again with the ego, Thor. I'm getting quite a new understanding of both of my boys today. I can't wait to tell your mother."

~~~

"There are not many people who can sneak up on me."

"You might be surprised to learn that it's easier than you think," you smiled in return as your friend finally looked towards you. "Quite an impressive cage, Loki. You've really outdone yourself this time."

"Hmm, yes, well, I don't like to do anything with less than my all. You know that, my dear."

You took the few steps from the walkway up to the thick glass and pressed your hand against it, running your fingers over the cool surface as he watched, "not built for you, I think?"

"Would you care to join me?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? You've always wanted me to take your side in every fight, Loki, but you never learn. Your side has yet to be the right one."

"Perhaps it is your lack of faith in me that leads you to believe that, (Y/N)," he countered, his voice deepening and losing the pleasantries that you had been greeted with. "I have always been your second choice. I have always played second to him and you will never see me as anything more than barely good enough to be next to you."

"That's not true."

"It is true!" he yelled, rushing forward and slamming his fist against the glass directly in front of you; had the barrier not been there, he would have connected and thrown you across the room with his force. "No matter what I do, your eyes will never look upon me as they do him! I allowed myself to believe that of anyone, you would see me beyond what everyone else sees! It was a lie that I told to console my days that were darker than anything you could ever know, and I have only myself to blame for believing it."

"Loki, listen to me-"

You stopped and grabbed a nearby railing as the helicarrier suddenly shook beneath your feet, and a wide grin grew slowly across his face. It stilled for a few seconds, and you dared to let go, only to feel it shake again more violently before a power surge darkened the room around you. "What are you doing?"

"Why do you assume that it's me?"

"Because it's always you," you snapped, taking a step back and drawing your weapon. The door of his cell opened and the sound of his laughter filled the room with a tone that sent a chill down your spine. Several of his guards rushed in from behind and grabbed your arms, ripping the knife from your hands and tossing it to him. "Like I said. Always you."

"Release her, gentlemen, please," he said gently, "(Y/N) would not hurt me, would you, darling?"

"Try me."

"Oh, I shall." Loki flipped your blade over in his hand and extended it to you, baiting you to take it from him. "Go on, take it. It's yours."

You knew full well that it was exactly what he was hoping you would do; that you would believe him when he said that you could have it, but you hesitated before finally reaching out. You held his gaze but you couldn't read his expression. His eyes were sad as he looked back at you, and he was smiling with a coldness and dishonesty in it that held your guard up. Reaching forward, you barely felt your fingers connect with your weapon when a sharp point pressed against your chest, and everything began to shift around you.

"You will soon understand, my love," he whispered, holding the scepter steady against you. "You will see that your belief has been misplaced, and you will finally know peace."

Part 3

Thor searched everywhere. You had told him that you would be monitoring Bruce and Tony, but when he went to find you just before all hell broke loose, neither of them had seen you since the meeting on the bridge. When he had exhausted every room on every level of the helicarrier, trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, he went where he had known you would be, though he didn't want to believe it. He went to Loki's cell and prepared himself for the inevitable fight.

"(Y/N), I instructed you not to come here. I don't want you anywhere near Loki."

"I remember," you replied softly, your back turned to him as your hands graced over the controls of Loki's cell. "But the days of following your every command like another one of your faceless soldiers is over, darling. I won't be bowing to you again. In fact," you smiled, turning around so that he finally saw the glowing blue of your eyes, "I think I should enjoy seeing you kneeling before me, if you should like to begin now."

"(Y/N)...Loki has taken control of your mind," he began softly, taking slow and cautious steps towards you. "Push him away."

"Why would I want to do that? I see everything so clearly now." You began to match his approach, not allowing him to take the upper hand and taking purposeful strides towards him. "I can see how everyone lives in the shadows of the great Thor, but it's not by the virtue of greatness. It is by the inescapable shadow of ego that crushes everyone in his path. Well, Odinson, I have just stepped beyond the shadow and can see the worlds that you have kept from me for long enough. I can see worlds that you have never known."

"No. This isn't you."

"No, brother, this is most definitely her."

The door to the cage opened and Loki stepped out from around the frame and smiled widely, waiting for Thor to rush him and try to keep in secured. It was exactly what Loki had planned and he was ready; Thor dove at him and passed through the illusion he had projected, only to find that now he was the one being caged.

"Are ever not going to fall for that?" Loki smiled darkly, turning to you as Thor looked on, his chest aching as he watched his brother slide his arm around your waist and lean into you. His lips grazed gently over your collarbone and across your neck, whispering something with a low growl before standing and reaching the panel in front of you both.

"The humans think us immortal. Shall we test that, my love?"

"(Y/N), look at me," Thor called out to you in a quiet desperation to get through to you, "please."

Loki took a step back and rested his hands on your shoulders, his firm grip turning you to face Thor as he requested. Your hand was still on the release button, hovering over the control that would drop him 30,000 feet to his death with a twitch in your hand; somewhere in your mind was fighting back, but the power over you was stronger.

"I'm looking," you replied coolly. "What are you expecting me to see?"

"The one who truly loves you."

A blank smile curled at the corners of your mouth, but it didn't reach your eyes; Thor knew that no matter what he said or did now, it would make no difference. He took a step back and away, casting his gaze to the floor so he wouldn't have to watch what you were about to do. He didn't want to bear witness to the control that you were under any longer; it hurt him too much to watch.

"I'm sorry, Thor," you replied flatly, turning to Loki as your hand pressed the release, "that was never you."

~~~

"He made it personal."

"That's not the point," Steve countered.

"This is the point," Tony continued, "he took (Y/N) with him just to hit Thor where he lives, right? He hit us all where we live. Why?"

"To tear us all apart."

"Yeah, divide and conquer is great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience." Tony mumbled a few incoherent words to himself as he walked around Steve, putting the pieces together in his head. "Loki's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered..."

Steve waited, watching for the answer that had come to Stark but was evading him. Tony's face went blank and slightly pale at the realization of what he had just said, and that he had inadvertently given Loki everything he would need to succeed.

"Son of a bitch."

~~~

Loki stood at the edge of Stark Tower, looking down over the city as the Chitauri army began to enter through the massive portal, smiling to himself at his accomplishment. You had been monitoring Selvig's process, and now that he had the Tesseract doing exactly what was planned, you moved to stand at Loki's side, prepared to fight with him.

"Do they honestly think that they can stop this?"

"Human's aren't exactly known for their intellect, darling," he smiled in reply. "No, they will not stop this. It's inevitable. Once they realize this and kneel as they are told, you will rule at my side as my queen. I have always wanted to give you this, as much as I have wanted it for myself, (Y/N). Does this make you happy?"

"Immensely."

"Loki," Thor called out, completely ruining your otherwise perfect moment of world domination, "turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!"

"You can't! There is no stopping it," he replied. "There is only the war!" Loki took your arm, wrapping his thin and cold fingers around your skin, pulling you in closer and leaning in to whisper, "finish him."

"Of course."

Pulling your blade from its sheath, you jumped down to the lower terrace and in front of Thor, holding a firm stance when he chose to instead take a step back. "I do not wish to fight you, (Y/N). Please, do not make me do this."

"What would you have me do instead? Fight with the team you think you're a part of?" you scoffed. "You really are an imbecile as Loki has always believed. I can't say that I'm not disappointed."

He took a few cautious steps towards you, his eyes never leaving yours as he set Mjolnir on the ground. With hands raised in front of himself, he continued forward as he spoke. "I will not fight you. Do what you must, (Y/N). But I will not retaliate."

"I shall, thank you," you snarled as you lunged forward, plunging your knife into his side between the plates of his armor. He winced only slightly in sharp contrast to the size of the wound, and you couldn't help but be impressed by his control. In a moment of distraction, he took the opportunity and grabbed the back of your neck, pulling you forcefully into him and pressing his lips desperately against yours. You fought him at first, but within seconds, your fight was gone.

"Release her, brother! She is no longer yours!"

The world began to spin again, much as it had at the touch of Loki's scepter. When your knees buckled under the shift, Thor's arms only held you tighter, and his kiss deepened, knowing that it was working; you were coming back to him. As he pulled away, his eyes searched yours for a sign of recognition, and his body relaxed as the eerie blue glow of the scepter's control began to fade.

"That is why you fail, brother," he replied, though he was still looking only at you, "she belongs to no one."

Part 4

Your senses quickly returned and you pushed away from Thor, thrusting your hands out against him angrily with a loud growl building in your chest. "Stay away from me!"

"(Y/N)..."

"Both of you, stay away," you hissed, holding a hand towards each man, "I've had enough and I will not be a pawn in your childish games any longer. A lifetime is enough!"

"Oh, very well done, Thor," Loki called out, pointing his scepter angrily, "you try to help and only make things so much worse. Will the day never come when you learn to just stay out of business that is not yours?"

You closed your eyes and felt your anger growing stronger by the second, and Loki's voice only spread the fire through you. He had overstepped the limits of his relationship with you beyond any hope of repair, and his lack of understanding his responsibility in it threw you deeper into rage. When you finally turned to look at him, standing as if he had already crowned himself king over his subjects, he began to see.

"You," you spat, "you are never to speak to me, speak of me, or so much as think about me again as anything other than the woman who is going to stop you. Do you understand?"

"Do I mean so little to you now?"

"You manipulate me, then have the audacity to ask?"

"I showed you the universe. I showed you a better way...the right way, and this is the thanks that I receive?"

Thor took a few steps to close the space between you, reaching out for your arm, but when you felt the skin of his fingertips graze against yours, you pulled away before he could connect. "No, Loki. The thanks that you receive hasn't even begun yet. But I think it's time."

You heard Mjolnir begin to swing and you burst forward, jumping on the railing of the balcony to climb up towards Loki as Thor took to the air to meet you there. If he hadn't been standing on the landing pad, he wouldn't have had the advantage, and wouldn't have been able to leap from it to land on a Chitauri glider and make his escape with a dark laugh that filled the air around you.

"We need to shut the portal."

"Agreed," Thor nodded, "but the power from the cube is impenetrable. Perhaps Stark has a plan."

You scanned the ground below, searching for the Avengers team and finding them directly below, nearly overtaken by a group of fighters. "Thor, I will fight along side you and this team, but when it is done, I will take my leave of you."

"(Y/N)..."

"You will return to Asgard, and I will find my own way. That's my final say in this, and you would be wise to respect it." You turned to him, just before leaping from the landing with a dark smile curling at your lips as you warned, "your father may not like me much, but your mother does."

~~~

"(Y/N), pleasure to see you again," Steve grunted between strikes, "glad you're on our side."

"Yes, I prefer to fight for the losing team. It's good practice."

"What?" he stopped, aghast as he turned to you. "We're not losing...are we?"

"If this is winning, it's definitely unlike any success that I've seen," you laughed, taking down three more Chitauri as he watched. "Perhaps your strategy is trickery? Let them believe that they are to be victorious before you topple their ranks?"

Steve opened his mouth to retort but was hit from behind, sending him stumbling over his feet and into you. You pushed him back up quickly, spinning him to face his assailant so he could take him to the ground with a hit of his shield. "Are you always so optimistic?"

"I am a realist."

"Guys, I can shut the portal down!" Came Natasha's voice over the comms. "Can I body copy?"

"Close it!"

"No, don't!" Tony broke in urgently.

"Stark, these things are still coming," Steve argued, shaking his head as he watched you continue to fight. You had him completely impressed at your skills, tapping Thor on the shoulder as he paused next to him. "You train her?"

"I've got a nuke coming in, heading straight for the city," Tony continued, "and I know just where to put it."

Thor and Steve exchanged glances and looked to the sky, seeing Iron Man passing over with a missile held over his head. "I did not train her, no," he finally replied, "but I would not willingly choose to cross the woman who did any more than I would (Y/N)."

When the three of you finally had a second of peace, you stood with the two men to watch Stark carry the missile through the portal; you held your breath and hoped that he would be successful, but you also knew that his chances of returning were slim. Steve kept his eyes upward, but Thor turned to look at you, sharing in your doubt that his new teammate would return.

"Close it," the Captain finally said, and it surprised you to actually feel sadness over it, for a man that you didn't even know and who you had judged so harshly when you met him.

"Thor," you whispered, pulling him towards you, "we need to get up there before Loki can escape. He can't be allowed to get away and the Tesseract is vulnerable."

"Go," he nodded, "we will join you...wait, (Y/N), look." He pointed to the sky, watching as Tony's body fell quickly towards the ground with no signs of stopping. "He's not slowing down." Before he could take to the air with Mjolnir to intercept him, the Hulk reappeared as if from nowhere, catching Tony and dropping him safely to the ground only a few feet away.

You all rushed forward towards him; Thor ripped off the face plate of his helmet and Steve checked for breathing, but quickly leaned back, disappointed and sad. Tony had sacrificed himself, and Steve's earlier harsh words to him were the only thing running through his mind now. You wanted to offer words of comfort, but you didn't know him well enough, and anything you may have said would feel awkward. "Captain-"

Hulk cut off your words with a loud roar that echoed through the skyscapers that surrounded you, sending vibrations into the windows and shattering a few from the strength of it. You watched him in awe, having not had the opportunity yet to be so close to the beast, now seeing that he was nothing like you expected, and much gentler than you were led to believe.

"What the hell?" Tony gasped back to life, his eyes frantically searching the faces of the group looking down at him. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me." He looked up at you, calming down with a long exhale and finally smiling, though he still looked fairly shaken by the whole thing. "You, princess. If you kissed me, that's fine. Just don't tell me that any one of these yahoos got to me first."

"Okay," you chided, turning away to find Loki, "I won't tell you that."

"That's not funny!" he called out to you. Now more concerned than before, he looked up to Steve, finding no comfort in the expression he was seeing from him. "Oh, no. Oh, Rogers, don't you dare even joke about that."

~~~

When the team gathered to watch Thor and Loki leave, you were nowhere to be found. Neither of your Asgardian counterparts had heard from you since the battle had ended, and you had no intention of seeking them out. You had meant what you said when you told Thor that you were walking away, though deep down, he had hoped that you had said it only in a moment of anger without real intent.

"So, you haven't heard from her at all?" Steve asked, watching Selvig gently lay the Tesseract in the transport case as Thor held it steady.

"No, and I do not expect to. You may have noticed that she is of strong will."

"I noticed."

"Steve," Thor began quietly, "if you should hear anything, I would like you to contact me. She won't know if you do, I swear. I only want to know that she's safe."

Steve looked back at him suspiciously, as if he knew more than he was letting on. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, but it felt like Thor was goading him for information, trying to get him to break. It made him nervous, lying to Thor; he was one of the few opponents that he considered a real threat.

Steve knew exactly where you were.

~~~

Three years later

"The energy signatures are unmistakable," Bruce shook his head as he pointed to the large screen in the tower's lab. "It has to be the scepter. I can't think of anything else that it could be."

"Then Sokovia is where we go," Steve agreed, grabbing his shield and slinging it onto his back. "Is everyone accounted for?"

"Nat should be here any minute, and I think Thor is on the way, if my message got through," Tony answered. A bright flash of lightening and a loud spark of electricity filled the room, answering definitively. "Okay, great, message received."

"Are you certain that you have found the scepter?" Thor said, skipping any greetings and jumping into action. He had been searching for it himself for too long, and one more false lead would only make him more frustrated and angry than he already was. "Another chase of a trick to throw us off track will not be welcome."

"Yes, I'm certain," Bruce replied, gathering his supplies to leave, "so we need to move."

Each member of the group filed out of the lab making their way to the hangar bay. One by one they entered the quinjet, with Natasha finally arriving and running past Steve to take her place, "sorry! Sorry! The line at Starbucks was ridiculous!"

"You know we have ridiculously expensive coffee here, Romanoff," Tony scoffed. "I don't buy it just to let it go to waste. You've lived here for three years now, learn how to make your own."

"Steve," Thor stopped at the jet door, grabbing the Captain's arm to halt him, "have you heard anything?"

"Actually, I have," he nodded, struggling to hold a straight expression, "I just didn't know how to tell you."

"Is she alright? Has something happened? It's bad, is it not? You can tell me."

"Calm down, buddy. Let's just get on the way and we can talk about it." With a firm slap on his shoulder, Steve pushed Thor inside and into his seat for takeoff. He made his way to the front of the jet, leaning down to check the controls and to input the destination, only to grab the chair and turn it towards the group. "Hey Thor? Can you take a look at something for me?"

"Certainly, what do you need-"

He stopped mid sentence, gaping with wide eyes at the sight before him, his voice completely failed and his breaths caught in his chest. It was all he could do to not get up and leap to the front, but he knew that his legs would buckle beneath him if he tried.

"Welcome back, Thor," you smiled, "so glad that you could join us."