Tony continued to poke fun at Loki for the entire ride over to the Andrews Air Force base. Loki suspected that it had something to do with the fact that he had ignored Tony's claim over the front seat and had taken it anyway.

"Loki and Bishop, sitting in a tree," Tony sang now. "K-I-S-S-I-N –"

"Will you shut up!" Loki yelled, unable to take it anymore. He whipped around in his seat to face DiNozzo and snarled, "If you don't keep your filthy maw closed, DiNozzo, I swear –"

"Loki," Gibbs said warningly, reaching over and smacking Loki on the back of the head. "Relax. He's teasing you, Laufeyson. No need to overreact."

"I'm not overreacting," Loki insisted, turning to face Gibbs. "I'm not, I swear."

DiNozzo scowled. "Hey, it's just a little fun, Loki. Don't know why you have to get so nasty."

"Because you know that it's all a lie," Loki asserted. "Bishop has already told me that she hates me."

"But that hug said otherwise," DiNozzo said with a wise nod. He reached up and put his hand on Loki's shoulder. "Trust me, Laufeyson, I know how women think. And that one – well, she doesn't hate you."

Askance, Loki narrowed his eyes at Tony and then decided to ignore him. But he couldn't shake DiNozzo's words out of his head. And he didn't want to. He didn't want to.

****

Colonel Rhodes was available when NCIS showed up at Andrews. They were shown to his office by an aide after stating their business and displaying their badges. Gibbs introduced the three agents by their surnames.

"ETCD," Rhodes repeated after Gibbs mentioned it. "Agent Gibbs, that is classified information. You don't have the clearance to –"

"Colonel Rhodes," Gibbs interrupted. "NCIS is investigating the murder of Marine Petty Officer John Samson, and one of our suspects has just ended up dead with a note sitting beside him, most likely scribbled with his dying strength. ETCD was inscribed on that note. And I want to know why."

Colonel Rhodes glanced at Loki and DiNozzo behind Gibbs. "Samson, huh? All right, fine, I'll tell you. ETCD is a new military division I've been starting up. It spans all five branches."

"What's it for?" Gibbs asked.

"Fighting aliens," Rhodes answered seriously.

DiNozzo coughed and Loki started to feel uneasy. He had a bad feeling of where this was leading.

"Aliens?" Gibbs repeated.

"I know, I know, it sounds crazy," Rhodes said, holding his hands up. "But ever since the alien invasion of New York last year, I've been thinking a lot more about how unprepared the military was to deal with it. If it wasn't for the Avengers, we'd all be ruled by that nutcase Loki right now."

Loki told himself not to look at DiNozzo. Whatever happened, he must not look at DiNozzo.

"ETCD stands for Extraterrestrial Combat Division," Rhodes continued, oblivious that his greatest fear was standing in his office. "Samson was my first recruit." He shook his head. "I need this team to protect us. I know Thor took that maniac of a brother back to Asgard, and I hope that he rots in their dungeons, but what if he's got friends? Allies? Whatever it takes, we must be prepared."

Loki couldn't take it anymore. He glanced over at DiNozzo.

Tony was looking at him with a grin on his face, lips pressed tightly together to contain his laughter. When he saw Loki looking at him, he couldn't stop himself and a muffled snort of laughter escaped him.

Rhodes frowned and looked across at DiNozzo. "What's so funny, Agent DiNozzo?" His eyes then wandered over to Loki and he furrowed his brow. "Hey, I think I've seen your Agent Laufeyson somewhere before...."

Rhodes suddenly realized just where he had seen Loki and his eyes widened in panic. He leaped over to his desk and reached for the telephone just as Gibbs' hand came down on his wrist.

"I wouldn't do that," he said warningly.

"Are you one of his allies?" Rhodes demanded. "Are both of you with him?"

"Colonel Rhodes, Loki is working with NCIS as part of his punishment for the attack on New York," Gibbs explained calmly. "He was brought here by Thor and approved by S.H.I.E.L.D. I have the paperwork to prove it."

Slowly, Gibbs reached into his coat pocket and withdrew the copy of the paper proving he had taken custody of Loki. He gave it to Rhodes, whose eyes quickly scanned its contents.

"Call S.H.I.E.L.D. if you're not satisfied," Gibbs suggested. "But Loki is working with us on this case."

Rhodes scowled at Loki, but although he was still tense, he made no move to sound the alarm. Gibbs removed his hand from the colonel's wrist and stepped back.

"I hope this case kills you," Rhodes said seriously to the god of mischief. "You deserve that much, for everyone you killed during your invasion."

"I hope you have a good day as well, Colonel Rhodes," Loki responded as neutrally as he could, but he couldn't remove all the poison from his voice.

"I'm going to need everything you've got on ETCD," Gibbs told Rhodes, turning for the door. "Thank you for your help."

"I'd have thought a former Marine would have been enough of a patriot to have killed the alien who invaded his country."

Gibbs stopped in his tracks but didn't look back. Loki and DiNozzo both spun to face Rhodes, the fury plain on their faces. "How dare you?" Loki hissed. "He was forced to take me. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here right now. He didn't have a choice."

"You don't know what Gibbs has done for this country," DiNozzo snapped. "I'd keep my trap shut if I was you, War Machine."

Rhodes scowled as Gibbs just gestured for his two agents to drop the matter. "Colonel Rhodes, I appreciate your time. Laufeyson, DiNozzo, with me."

****

The ride back to NCIS was taken in silence. When they reached the Navy Yard, McGhee and Bishop had an update for them.

"We got the information on ETCD," McGhee told them. "Although we're still working on getting those files from NASA."

"What've you got?" Gibbs queried.

McGhee and Bishop summarized what they had already heard from Rhodes. "He has five recruits to start with," Bishop told them, avoiding Loki's keen gaze. "Samson being one of them. He's been searching for a replacement for his team."

"So, it's like the Avengers, but Military Edition," DiNozzo interjected.

McGhee and Bishop ignored him as McGhee picked up the thread of the discussion. "We have the names of the other four recruits." He pointed the remote at the screen and four pictures came up.

"First up," Bishop began. "Artemis Drift, a Navy SEAL. She was the second recruit after Samson. Next, we have Crook McCallan, from the Air Force, Zied Ranger from the Army, and Kendra Cook from the Coast Guard. Colonel Rhodes is the head of the Division, and he is still searching for a replacement recruit from the Marines."

"Any information on them?" Gibbs asked.

"Not yet," McGhee stated. "We just got access to the files, we haven't had much time to dig into them yet. We just have the preliminary data." He then yawned widely, covering his mouth with his hand.

Gibbs nodded, noting McGhee's yawn. "Good job. It's late; go home. Come in early."

With a collective sigh of relief, the team began to prepare to head out. Just as Loki was stepping after Gibbs in the direction of the elevator, Director Vance came down the stairs and stood before the team.

"Agent Gibbs," he said. "It has been decided that you may go ahead with your plan for removing the energy source from Agent Laufeyson. He has proved himself a vital asset to your team."

"Thank you, Director," Gibbs said quietly. "Come on, Loki."

Loki followed Gibbs, brow furrowed. "What changed his mind?"

"You did," Gibbs answered. "You earned his respect."

Loki stopped and pondered that for a moment. "Huh," he said. "Saving your life was all it took?"

Gibbs just looked back at him.

"If I had known that being good had its perks, I would have changed a long time ago," Loki remarked as they stepped onto the elevator.

"Would you?" Gibbs asked.

Loki looked at him and grinned with a shake of his head. "No."

Gibbs laughed as the elevator started downwards.   

/***/

I hope you enjoyed that! What did you guys think of Rhodey's small part in Special Agent? And the revelation about ETCD?

Remember to comment and vote! Thanks for reading!

So this week, the question is about McGhee: what do you think of him? Do you like him? Do you not? Let me know your thoughts on McGhee!

Skylar Wittenborn