Clint continued on with his rounds, carrying the tablet as it scanned for the best place to locate the stabilising agent they needed. Finally, he approached the little bubble Selvig was working on noticing the man ordering some of the others around.

"Put it over there," Selvig instructed watching them place it down correctly before turning towards Barton. "Where did you find all these people?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has no shortage of enemies, Doctor," Clint said bringing up his tablet and swiping it to the information page he assembled on the stabilising agent he believed to be the best bet in that portal staying open as long as they wanted. "This the stuff you needed?"

"Yeah. Iridium," Selvig agreed. "It's found in meteorites, it forms anti-protons," he then explained, as it was unlikely the agent actually knew about the material. "It's very hard to get hold of."

"Especially if S.H.I.E.L.D. knows you need it," Clint added.

"Well, I didn't," Selvig pointed out.

*You're an idiot.* S.H.I.E.L.D. had the big guys in now, they would have figured it out in seconds the exact material they needed to start it up.

Selvig noticed that their master was approaching and turned to face him instead. "Hey! This is wonderful. The Tesseract has shown me so much. It’s— it’s more than knowledge, it’s truth."

"I know. It, ah—" Loki paused for a split second, trying to figure out how exactly to word this without giving something away. "—it touches everyone differently." He noticed that Clint was still hovering, and wondered how it had affected him, as he did see a brief link form between them. "What did it show you, Agent Barton?"

Clint grinned, noticing his tablet shined slightly blue before it flashed up with the best location to get the Iridium. "My next target," he smirked.

"Stick in the mud," Selvig said, laughing. "He’s got no soul. No wonder you chose this, this tomb to work in."

Clint looked over at the man sharply. "Well, the Radisson doesn’t have three levels of lead lined flooring between S.H.I.E.L.D. and that Cube," he snapped, watching as Selvig walked away instead of responding.

"I see why Fury chose you to guard it," Loki commented, looking at his little hawk. The archer really was up there among the mortals of the area with the continued level of expertise he demonstrated.

"You’re going to have to contend with him, sir," Clint said, looking over at Loki more clearly. "As long as he’s in the air, I can’t pin him down. And he’ll be putting together a team."

"Are they a threat?" Loki asked. He already knew he'd trust Clint's judgement.

"To each other more than likely. But if Fury can get ’em on track, and he might, they could throw some noise our way," Clint shrugged. It really could go either way. It would be difficult to figure out while he didn't know many of the variables. All it would take is one strong enough push, and it would be a challenging team to defeat.

"You admire Fury," Loki noted.

"He's got a clean line of sight," Clint admitted. Phil was his one good eye. He did admire Fury, and it was for a very good reason that he did. The man had also earned his respect.

"Is that why you failed to kill him?"

"It might be," Clint answered. He is not entirely sure if that was truthful or not. "I was disoriented, and I'm not at my best with a gun."

"I want to know everything you can tell me about this team of his," Loki declared. His little hawk would easily know enough to formalise tactics and strategies against them already. "I would— test their mettle." His lips twitched slightly as Clint nodded. "I am weary of scuttling in shadow. I mean to rule this world, not burrow in it."

"That's a risk," Clint pointed out. He didn't want to lose Loki already, he only just got him back. It had been so many years since he spotted him first sitting up high in the tent.

"Oh yes," Loki agreed. It would be. It would be a massive risk, but one that was needed.

"If you’re set on making yourself known. I could be useful." He wasn't going to let Loki face this by himself.

"Tell me what you need." Loki knew his little hawk wouldn't disappoint. He also knew whatever plan he had was going to go down wonderfully.

Clint walked over to a pile of cases and boxes. Grabbing his, he opened it. Within the box, is his bow. "I need a distraction," He said. He then flicked out his bow and grinned over at Loki. "And an eyeball."

Loki grinned back at his little hawk. He liked the way this plan was sounding already. He nodded for the man to instruct the engineers into creating whatever they needed for this plan to go smoothly.

Clint headed over to explain the machines he'd need for his newest plan to work, pleased when they jumped to it straight away. It gave him a couple of hours to make sure Loki was looking after himself, as well as inform the God about everything he wanted about the Avengers initiative.

Looking at the ration supplies available to them, Clint noticed they had some longer life bread biscuits as well as soup. That would be something reasonable enough for Loki to eat. There was also a bottle of spring water one of the agents must have brought for themselves, which he was also snagging for Loki. He grabbed a chemical cooker and what looked like it was meant to be a curry before heading up to where Loki was settled.

It was a daunting task, especially feeling the heat of the chemical heater through all the layers he wore but soon he was settled where he sat previously, watching as Loki ate his soup. The God didn't even complain about eating from the packet like it wasn't undignified.

They both ate in silence, enjoying the warm food as they looked over the slight view they were able to get through the cracks in the building. It was nice, seeing how high he was, the slight brush of natural light making the white of Loki's skin look a little less unwell. Clint could appreciate how calm everything was when he was up high like this.

"This team, what do you know about it?" Loki asked once he noticed they'd both finished their food for some time. He liked how quiet it was, with his little hawk, no expectation to cower or continuously talk.

"The Avengers Initiative was a program created by S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury to bring together a group of remarkable people to face extraordinary threats." Clint explained. "Fury's original list of prospective recruits included Anthony Stark, Thor Odinson, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, and Captain Steve Rogers once he was located out of the ice. As well as myself, due to being one of S.H.I.E.L.D.s most elite agents."

Loki looked at Clint carefully. He had a feeling the man knew a lot more about the initiative than he should do even being a part of it.

"Due to the events in New Mexico, the World Security Council shut down the Avengers Initiative with the order to relocate the resources into Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. and Phase Two," Clint furthered. "But due to your appearance, Fury is very likely going to be able to revive the initiative and bring them all together."

"Give me a basic overview of each of the candidates," Loki instructed. "I want to know who I will be fighting against."

It was easy to go with Nat first. "Natalia Alianovna 'Natasha' Romanoff, trained by the Red Room as a young child to become a Widow. She is one of the most talented spies and assassins," Clint explained. "Taken to the Red Room by General Dreykov, and briefly lived as the surrogate daughter of Alexei Shostakov and Melina Vostokoff in an undercover mission." That wasn't information that would be able to be used against her, but was relevant enough for him to be able to say it. "She also had a sister from that undercover mission, Yelena, who she misses and believes she helped kill."

"While she worked as an operative for the KGB, I was ordered to take her out. Instead, I made a different call and she defected to S.H.I.E.L.D. by assassinating Dreykov. She is haunted by the fact that the young child, Antonia Dreykov was collateral damage in the attempt," Clint explained. "She is armed with her Widow Bites, as well as her mastery of martial arts. She quickly rose through S.H.I.E.L.D. ranks to become one of their most efficient agents with the code name; the Black Widow."

"So no superpowers or enhancements?" Loki asked, cocking his head to the side as Clint shook his head at him.

"She had a mild form of super serum given to her during training," Clint answered.

"Very well, the next?"

"Anthony Edward 'Tony' Stark. A brash inventor, self-described as a genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist. He has also previously been known as the Merchant of Death before he changed what Stark Industries made," Clint described. "Normal human, in a metal suit of his own creation based on one he made while kidnapped in Afghanistan by the Ten Rings."

*A normal mortal?* These greatest heroes were looking to be some rather basic people to face. Not something that should pose any issues to him. Loki knew the mortals didn't have the capacity to face them without the Cube, but this was a laughing stock.

"He has publicly revealed himself to be Iron Man, although he did find that he was dying. The Arc Reactor within his chest keeping shards of metal away from his heart was also poisoning him, so he created a new element which now also powers his tower," Clint explained. "He is a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as one of their main suppliers for upgraded tech."

"A mortal wounded and reliant on his technology," Loki said, raising an eyebrow. "What are the next ones, little hawk?"

"Steven Grant 'Steve' Rogers, a World War II veteran known as Earth's first hero. Originally a scrawny kid rejected multiple times from the army due to his health issues, he lied on his enlistment papers to get himself in," Clint went on to explain. "He voluntarily joined Project Rebirth where he was the only recipient of the Super Soldier Serum." People lied, lots of times. "This serum greatly enhanced his physical abilities to superhuman levels. Among initial doubts he was made into war bond campaigns as a patriotic mascot with the moniker Captain America."

So he did have a chance in facing a properly enhanced mortal? Loki smirked, maybe there will be some sort of fun. Maybe even some chance in them believing his story.

"After single-handedly liberating allied prisoners from a H.Y.D.R.A. base he was handed his own team — the Howling Commandos — to fight H.Y.D.R.A," Clint continued. "His exploitations made him a living legend to the general public, who still view him in such a manner. On his final mission, he crashed into ice to stop the Cube being taken by enemy hands. Nearly seventy years later, he was recovered alive in the same state he went into the ice."

"Assisted mortals and a man out of time?" Loki questioned, not expecting a reply. "My, how bleak must your options be." His little hawk was showing to be a great source of information.

"Doctor Robert Bruce Banner, M.D., Ph.D., is a renowned scientist. Highly respected for his work in biochemistry, nuclear physics and gamma radiation," Clint said, starting on the next. And gamma radiation was what this Cube released, so it was obvious that he was going to be collected from his isolation. "Banner was tasked by Thaddeus Ross to recreate the Super Soldier Serum that created Captain America. However, Ross elected not to inform Banner what he was creating."

Loki raised an eyebrow. If one mage did that to another, it would be plenty enough to get the mage charged with serious restrictions as well as tarnishing their reputation.

"During the experiment, Banner substituted vita radiation for gamma radiation and administered the serum on himself," Clint explained. The man should have known better, it was common sense number one to not self-trial anything you've created — look where it led the man. "As a result, the mild-mannered scientist found that when angered, provoked or excited, his body and brain would transform into a huge, rage-fueled, primitive-minded creature known as the Hulk."

Clint knew he should have had enough common sense to not make that rookie mistake, but maybe his curiosity got the better of him. Humans were dumb like that. "He has been hiding from the government, and isolating himself, however S.H.I.E.L.D. kept tabs on him. He will be pulled in as the Cube releases gamma radiation which is his speciality."

Loki smirked. "The greatest Midgard has to offer is two mortals, one injured, another with mild enhancements, a monster and a man out of time?" He asked, grinning when Clint nodded. "Oh how they must rely on you, little hawk. You were the ace up the sleeve removed before the game even began."

"I have previously been tasked with breaking into the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and hacking into the Avengers Initiative to test its security," Clint suddenly said. "I did it with ease, without any of the agents realising until it was too late." He was so pleased with himself that day, if not annoyed at how easy it was. He expected a challenge, and faced none.

"My my, little hawk, that shall come in handy," Loki grinned, watching as Clint grinned back at him.

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