Author's note: I feel like this is kind of a boring chapter, so sorry in advance because nothing really happens XD Just in case it's kinda confusing, the writing in italics is conversations between you and Loki in your minds (spoiler alert! ;)) Hope you enjoy, leave a comment if you do <3 (disclaimer: I would die for Bucky Barnes)

...

For the next week you alternated between training with Nat and Loki, and as a result the only time of the day you weren't tired was the few hours (if that) after you got out of bed in the morning before you started training. After you actually fell asleep sat having dinner one night, a plan was made that you would train in the evenings before you would go to bed anyway as to try and keep your sleeping pattern relatively intact.

You'd been training for over a month with Nat now, and felt a lot fitter and more confident with your physical abilities than you had six weeks ago. As for your magic, it was like a part of you now; you didn't even have to think about trying to summon and use it. Loki was teaching you bigger things now, like how to break a fall with your magic and lift things. Unfortunately, you had to practice these things, and they hadn't come without injury; on several occasions Loki had had to heal you... not that you minded.

You had been spending more time with Loki than anyone else lately, and this had not pleased very many people, namely Tony. Ah well. Thor seemed happy about it, even letting you train just the two of you at times. And you were definitely happy. Granted, you hadn't been overly happy when Loki had told you that the only way to practice breaking your fall with your magic was to jump down the middle of the stairwell of the Avengers Tower (on an occasion where Thor was not present), but generally other than that things had been great. (Practice had begun from one floor up, then two, then three... you were on the ninth floor before the fall had been too much and you'd broken both your legs. That had hurt. Luckily Loki had been able to heal you; it had only taken just under an hour, and lots of swearing. You'd both agreed not to tell anyone about it; Tony and Thor definitely didn't need to find out.)

Probably best of all, you'd worked out how to communicate with Loki with your mind while not letting him fully into your head. It was cool being able to talk without anyone knowing, although most of the time an eye roll was all it took for you to work out what he was thinking. You could also hear snippets of what the others were thinking if you tried, but you didn't want to invade on their privacy too much.

This morning you had decided to give yourself a lie in (your legs were still kind of sore from being broken less than a week ago), and didn't roll out of bed until nearly half past ten, appearing at eleven after a shower with your wet hair tied in a bun on the hunt for food.

"Hey lazy." Bucky was sat at the table eating some toast and looking as though he too had recently rolled out of bed.

"Hypocrite." you replied with a smile, grabbing a piece of toast from his plate, ignoring the sound of protest he made as you looked for something in the fridge.

Settling for strawberries and Nutella, you sat yourself next to Bucky and offered him some in repayment for stealing his toast.

"I should think so." he muttered, grinning as he bit into a strawberry.

You sat talking and eating companionably for a while, and after a bit were joined by Nat and Bruce who for some reason looked quite solemn.

"What's up guys?" Bucky asked.

"Tony's got wind of bad news; we'll be called out later on I expect." Bruce told you.

"Oh, what kind of bad news?" Bucky asked, but you weren't paying attention, having turned your gaze to Nat who was already looking at you.

"You think you're up for it?" she asked you seriously.

"Yes." you replied without hesitation.

"Reindeer Games been teaching you well?"

"Loki has been teaching me well, yes." you said, putting emphasis on Loki's name. You wished they wouldn't call him that, even though he didn't seem to mind.

"Well, it's up to Tony. I trust your judgement though." Nat replied, and you smiled broadly. Time to use your magic for good, and actually use it properly this time.

"So what's going on?"

"It's pretty bad. SHEILD have uncovered an organisation who are developing some sort of AI technology, and weaponizing it." Bruce explained.

"We don't know all the details. It sounds like something SHIELD won't want to get their hands dirty with though; they'll swoop in at the end and take away organisers. If we catch them." Nat added bitterly.

You shared a disconcerted look with Bucky. This sounded pretty dangerous.

"Y/N, you don't have to..."

"No, I'm coming." you told Bruce firmly, who smiled.

"Remember, you need to be careful. This whole business with the group of people out for you... we need to be on high alert. You'll be safe if we don't get disorganised." Nat said to you.

"I'm not stupid, I'm not going to let myself get kidnapped. And I have you guys." you replied positively, seeing Bucky nodding his head next to you.

"Yes, you do, but we can't babysit you while we're trying to fight." Nat told you sternly.

"Yes, I know." you mimicked her tone, earning a scowl.

Fifteen minutes later, Tony entered the room; he looked tired.

"Tony, you can't keep on staying up all night. You look a mess." Nat told him as he came over to the table and sat down next to you.

"God, you sound like Pepper." he groaned, running his hands through his hair.

"She's right. You should listen to her." Nat shrugged.

"I'm fine." Tony insisted.

He didn't look fine, he looked almost like Loki had when he'd arrived, minus the injuries.

"So what's the deal with this robot mission?" you asked, wanting to change the subject.

Tony looked at Nat as if to say 'really?'; Nat just shrugged.

"I suppose you'll want to come along?" Tony asked you.

"Yes, hence why I'm asking about the mission." you said. Wasn't it obvious?

With a resigned sigh, Tony explained what he knew about the organisation and that SHEILD wanted you guys to go in first because you were 'more equipped' to face whatever was in there. Someone called Nick Fury (apparently he was the founder of the Avengers, but you were yet to meet him) had given you the okay to go on the mission, but not Loki. You doubted anyone would have a problem with that.

The rest of the day was spent in nervous anticipation; you couldn't even go down to the training rooms to release some of your pent-up tension because you needed to save your energy for later. Around mid-day most people drifted off to rest before the mission, but you were way too energetic for that. Loki was nowhere to be found and you were too nervous to knock on his door, so you spent the afternoon binge watching Netflix. You couldn't help but find it ironic that you were doing such a normal thing when later you had plans to go and fight a literal robot army alongside the Avengers.

There was a knock at your door around four, and Tony stuck his head around the door .

"I thought you wouldn't appreciate a count down, we're leaving in twenty. Is that okay?" he asked.

"That's great. Thanks." you smiled. He knew you well, you would have hated having a set time to think about all day. You quickly got changed into your gear, (still pleased at how good it looked) and went into the kitchen to have a drink before you left. Bucky and Steve were there with the same idea; Steve handed you a glass of water and you thanked him and downed it immediately. A few minutes later you were joined by most of the others and started heading up to the roof. You were in the elevator and half-way to the roof when you suddenly remembered Loki. You felt like you should have said bye to him or something. An idea appeared in your mind, and while the others talked you reached out with your mind to Loki, who was getting further away as you rose up through the building.

Hey.

Y/N? What are you doing?

We're leaving now, thought I would tell you as no one else bothered.

Oh. Thanks. Where are you?

Nearly on the roof.

That's an impressive range for an amateur.

Yeah, well, it's giving me a headache so I'm gonna stop now.

Good idea. Good luck.

Thanks.

You barely managed to think that to him before the elevator doors opened and you followed everyone out on to the roof, rubbing your temples. That had hurt.

"You alright Y/N?" Tony asked, looking back at you.

"Yeah." you said, jogging to catch up with him.

"You don't need to worry, we've got your back okay?" he reassured you as you neared the jet. It was freezing and getting dark, the weather had caught up with the fact that it was November.

"I have my back too." you reminded him, making him smile.

"I know kid."

In the jet, after you were in the air, Tony was going over the plan again when Nat nudged you gently with her knee. You looked across at her and saw that she was handing you a hairband.

"You'll need it." she mouthed, nodding at your hair which you'd left loose.

You smiled at her in thanks and hastily tied your hair back into a ponytail, making a mental note to put your hair up at the tower next time.

The journey to wherever it was you were going took at least half an hour, and when you landed it was well and truly dark.

"Be careful, mess up whatever weaponry you can find, catch and disarm the bad guys, don't get hurt. Got it?" Tony asked before you disembarked the jet.

"We've got it Tony, you've been telling us for the last half an hour." Steve reminded him, exiting the jet first. The rest of the team followed, but Tony held you back.

"I'm going to be immensely mad if you get hurt or lost." he told you sternly.

"Relax. I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself." you said, equally as stern. Or so you would like to think.

Tony just nodded curtly and herded you from the jet. You couldn't help but feel slightly glad that he was being so protective of you. You'd never had anyone be protective of you before. Focus up Y/N, time to concentrate on the situation in hand. The jet had landed at the edge of a dark looking forest, next to which the silhouette of a large factory-like building loomed out of the blackness. There was no light left in the sky now, and it had started to rain slightly. It was cold outside the warmth of the jet. You thought about asking where you were, but thought better of it after looking around at everyone's faces. The back of the jet closed up and the reassuring hum of the engines ceased; all of a sudden it was very quiet, apart from the trees rustling and the sound of everyone breathing.

Tony gestured everyone to follow him, and as you crept around the side of the building in almost complete silence you felt the first small gnawing sensation of fear in your stomach. You tried to reassure yourself: you had your magic now, and the team. They wouldn't let anything happen to you. Suddenly Tony stopped, he'd reached an abandoned looking doorway. Everyone watched as he tried to push it open, and you fought back a smile and Nat threw him an exasperated look.

'What?' he mouthed, shrugging as if to say: 'it was worth a try'.

He then tapped something on the back of the hand of his suit, and placed it against the door tentatively. It gave a series of beeps, which sounded loud in the silence surrounding you, and then the door emitted a metallic clink and clicked open.

Tony pulled a face at Nat as he detached his hand from the back of the door and pulled it open quietly. You liked the quiet banter that still circulated the group even in stressful times like these. It calmed your nerves. Truth be told, you were terrified, but you weren't going to let Tony know that as he held the door open invitingly for you to step into the dark warehouse.

You had this.