"Are you alright?" Steve's voice seems so distanced, even though I can feel his hand supportively on my shoulder. The darkness and memories cloud my mind until I open my eyes, forcing myself to be able to answer at least with a nod. This so called quinjet reminds me of my plane crash, the room is terrifyingly small and I'm scared like hell that it's gonna crash any second, even though I can barely feel its movement. The oxygen leaves my lungs way too fast and I try to steady my breath.

"Yes, just..." I pause, calming myself down. "Just the thin air and... Is there really not another way to get on those helicarriers or whatever they're called? Like a boat?"

"Sadly not, sorry." Coulson apologizes and keeps shooting Steve a gazing look, probably because his childhood hero is sitting right in front of him. I let out an exhausted sigh and lean on Steve's big shoulder as it ironically reminds me how small his shoulder once used to be. I barely got any sleep, I just stayed awake the whole night and stared at the ceiling while memories were torturing me. "We're gonna arrive in a few."

"Do you need water?" Steve asks softly and I shake my head, looking up to him.

"Did you read the files?" I change the topic and sit up, trying to get rid of the fear. "Bruce Banner- "

"-tried to recreate our serum, I know." He nods and probably feels the same odd feeling that I do. The thought that we could've ended up like the scientist sort of creeps us out. "Judging by his result, I can't exactly tell if I can call this a success. But it at least made him strong enough to become potential for this initiative."

"By the way, I should ask for Coulson if you can sign his vintage cards." I whisper quietly while Phil is talking to the pilots. Steve frowns at me and lowers his voice.

"That's weird. He asked me if I could get you to sign the newspaper article about you from the forties."

"We're landing." The agent announces as we just share a silent but knowing look. Who could have known that the agent that is responsible for our case is a fan of us? We get up and leave the quinjet. One of the few things that are advantaged in this time are the comfortable pants and boots that I'm wearing, making it much easier to walk than in a tight dress.

"Well, if this isn't the safest place in the world." I comment sarcastically when I find out that the huge SHIELD helicarrier is located in the middle of the ocean, no land or stable ground are in sight. The fresh sea air is bracing though and agents train on the landing place, reminding me of the old times. Coulson eventually leaves us when he gets called while Steve and I look around in astonishment.

"There was quite the buzz around here, finding you two in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" A red haired woman approaches us with a whimsical smile and notices my confused glance. "Natasha Romanoff. SHIELD Agent."

"Well, I guess then you know who we are." I spare us the whole introduction part, the whole conversation thing doesn't belong to my talents anyway. This entire place already makes me anxious. Continuing our walk, a man crosses our way and I narrow my eyes to recognize him. "Dr Banner."

The man with the dark curls and a purple button-down shirt in a suit notices us. "Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming."

Steve shakes his hand while Natasha Romanoff and I just stand there. The red-haired woman watches him as if he could turn into the Hulk any second while I just assert that he's rather socially awkward. His voice is edgy and stiff, it's clear to see that he's scared of the other guy. Then he suddenly turns around to me, shaking my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Dr Banner." I greet him and he notices the security bangles around my wrists.

"Interesting choice of accessory." He comments as he lets go of my hand and I almost fake a smile.

"Thanks. Apart from the facts that they're uncomfortable as hell, they're proof that SHIELD doesn't trust me and treats me like a lab rat, not to mention stops me from defending myself, they're really nice." I thank him sarcastically and catch Steve's judging look for my sarcasm.

"At least you're not a monster." Bruce Banner responds and although he just tries to comfort me, I simply shrug.

"Depends on the perspective, I guess."

"Word is you can find the cube." Steve glances at the doctor who just scoffs slightly, raising a brow in the air.

"Is that the only word on me?" He refers to the Hulk and I sort of pity him. Everyone is either scared of him or despises him for who he is. I bet that Bucky would have treated Bruce Banner like his teammate because he didn't care about the abilities. I push the thought and name aside before the pain returns.

"Only word I care about."

"Guys, you may wanna step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe." Natasha Romanoff warns us and before we can question that, the helicarrier starts shaking, making me slightly nervous.

"I actually wanted to ask anyway what exactly a helicarrier is. Is this a submarine?" I ask loudly, the start of the engines almost drowns my voice. The wind strengthens and my hair flies wildly in every possible direction.

"Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurized metal container?" Bruce Banner almost smiles at the irony and as the three of us move closer to the edge of the helicarrier, watching how it suddenly starts to lift in the air and leaves the ocean. "Oh, no. This is much worse."

"Apparently, it wasn't enough that I crashed the aircraft into the ocean." I note cynically and feel Steve's hand around my arm, taking me farther away from the edge.

"Is everything fine?" He whispers quietly and nods toward Natasha and Bruce who already head to the facility. We start following them and I answer with a nod. He's the only person that I trust.

"Always." The air is quieter in the facility and I look around. Although I really try not to think of him, I keep imagining how Bucky would have reacted to this place. He'd be fascinated by the new inventions and technology of the excitingly different world.

"Gentlemen, ladies." Fury approaches us on the bridge and Steve gives him ten bucks, probably because of a bet. Then the director walks over to Bruce Banner to extend his hand. "Doctor, thank you for coming."

"Thanks for asking nicely." A hint of sarcasm is in his voice as he shakes his hand. "So, uh... how long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear." He promises and to my surprise, he sounds like a man who keeps his word.

"And when am I not gonna be treated like a prisoner anymore?" I refer to the security bangles while Phil and Bruce Banner talk about some plans and Natasha Romanoff's eyes look longingly at an image of a man with bow and arrow on those computer screens.

"When it's sure that your abilities are needed." He answers and turns around to the redhead. "Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr Banner to his laboratory, please. Miss Farrell, accompany them, Dr Banner is gonna check on your data."

"What?" I arch an eyebrow and stare at him in disbelief. "I thought I was needed on the field, not in the laboratory as a lab rat? And what's about Steve?"

"He's needed somewhere else. I don't just want Dr Banner to find Loki, I also want him to analyze your electricity." He commands and Natasha leads Bruce and me to the lab as I get separated from Steve. The blonde shoots me one last concerned look before he's out of my sight, walking with Coulson to another place.

***

"Do you mind needles?" Bruce asks carefully as he prepares a syringe. The equipment of the laboratory slightly overstrains me, it makes me feel dumb not to understand anything of this century. I've been sitting like a patient in the lab this whole time while he's been working on something to find this God Loki.

"I mind people like Fury." I shrug and roll up my sleeve, the sting of the needle runs through my skin. "Or this stupid technology that confuses me like hell. But needles? I was treated like Swiss cheese in the forties, that's nothing."

An amused smile appears on his lips as he takes blood from me. "At least something that we have in common, but the technology. See this? That's a hologram, pictures and videos can be played on them and they react through touch. Just ask me if you don't understand something." He shortly pauses. "Am I allowed to ask you a question?"

"Go on." I request and am a bit thankful that he at least made an effort to explain something to me. Like Coulson, he seems to belong to the good people.

"What do you miss the most?" It's the first time that someone asks me that, a kind of personal but not rude question. Bruce Banner shows a caring interest which makes me open up a lot more than to my therapist.

"The people I lost, I guess." I admit and press my lips slightly together while he somehow manages to show the elements of my blood on the hologram after scanning it.

"At least you woke up with your boyfriend and not alone." Bruce tries to be optimistic and his hands move over the computer screen.

"Steve's not my boyfriend." I shake my head and think of Bucky. "My boyfriend is dead. Now I'd like to know something, do you control the Hulk or does he control you?"

"Honestly, I don't know." The doctor confesses and doesn't act stiffly anymore. Everyone's been acting edgy around him, treating him like a bomb. "I also didn't know that they'd treat you like this. Your data is completely fine, everything's safe. But I gotta admit the electricity in your DNA is really extraordinary, almost extraterrestrial."

"Extraterrestrial?" I scoff and receive a patch on the little wound that the syringe left. "Now that I know that Gods exist, it almost sounds common to produce electricity. I sort of feel like a small, petty human."

"I wish I'd feel like that about myself." His sentence makes me pity him and I gulp until his eyes suddenly widen and he removes his glasses, not believing what he's seeing behind me. Frowning, I turn around just to see through the glass pane how SHIELD agents guard a prisoner along the corridor. The tall captured man wears dark odd clothes, almost from another world, and his black, long hair just lets his mischievous smirk at us appear more creepy. A smirk from a psychopath.

"Hello." The prisoner mouths silently at me, his eyes are focused on me, looking at me like a predator watches its prey. An uncomfortable feeling settles down in my stomach as I suddenly feel the urge to defend myself. The psychopath is out of our sight and the tensed atmosphere slowly dies.

"Was that- "

"Loki." Bruce runs his hand down his face, massaging his forehead to get rid of the stress. He's probably trying to control himself, trying to hold back the other guy. "I guess we should meet up in the briefing room then."

"Alright." I agree and we leave the lab, heading to the briefing room. Well, more accurately, he heads to the room, I just follow him. Loki somehow left an engrained impression, but maybe because he's also a God. How powerful are Gods now? And can they bring people back from the dead?

"Eve!" Steve calls me when we arrive and the overprotective sound remains in my name, he wears the Captain America spandex suit. "We have Loki now, he's not really different from Red Skull, to be honest. I've met someone you may be interested to meet as well."

"Do you mean him?" I point at the huge blonde man in an odd armor, his muscles are even bigger than Steve's and he looks strong. Apart from him, there's just Natasha in the room. The stranger walks towards me with a goofy smile, the shadow he throws almost ceases the light.

"My name is Thor Odinson, Lady Evelyn. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, the woman that produces electricity." Thor introduces himself and I raise a brow in the air surprised, his voice is loud and filled with pride. "My apologies for my brother's behavior. He can be troublesome."

"You're the God of thunder." I now remember his profile and shake his huge and strong hand. The duty to respect him now grows since he's gonna be the next king of a planet. "I look forward to a good cooperation. Please, just call me Eve."

"Actually, I meant someone else. Tony- " Steve gets interrupted by Natasha who turns off the computer screen to let us all watch Loki in a large glass cell and Fury standing at the control panel.

"In case it's unclear, if you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass..." The director presses a button which opens up a hatch underneath the cage and reveals the dangerous depth from the sky. "It's 30,000 feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" Closing the hatch, he points at Loki. "Ant." Then the direction of his finger lands on the button which would drop the prisoner into the steel trap. "Boot."

"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me." The Asgardian's eyes land on the camera, knowing that Bruce is watching him right now and trying to provoke him.

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh, I've heard. A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?" God of mischief, that's what they call him too and now I understand why.

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did." Fury threatens him and I notice that Thor doesn't even look at the screen, he just listens. It must be hard for him to have a brother like that.

"It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share. And then to be reminded what real power is." Loki's words tense me up and even though I know that he just wants to cause distrust, it somehow makes sense. Can I trust SHIELD? I shoot Steve a look in the exact moment where he glances at me, he must have thought that too.

"Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something." The eye-patched man walks off, leaving the prisoner in the cell who just smirks at the camera again. The screen goes black and strained silence spreads in the briefing room until Bruce breaks it.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?"