"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract." Thor explains his brother's plan as the uncomfortable feeling that Loki caused still remains. I almost want to laugh hysterically, that's how insane everything sounds to me now. Judging Steve's look, he doesn't seem to completely believe it either.

"An army? From outer space?" His voice is serious, repeating the words to make sure that he understood them correctly.

"Chitauri." I let it out with an ironic laugh and just want to hope that I'll wake up from this nightmare but I'd be dreaming too long if it was really a nightmare. Right now, I'm in a room with a super-soldier, a Hulk, a spy and a God. "And I thought the moon landing was unbelievable."

"So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Eric Selvig for." Bruce summarizes with a concentrated look and Thor looks up with concern in his blue eyes.

"Selvig?"

"He's an astrophysicist." The doctor explains shortly and the God nods knowingly with regret. He hoped it wouldn't be the one he knows.

"He's a friend."

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours." Natasha speaks up, clenching her teeth and fists. Maybe she's talking about the arrow man from the computer screen, they seem to have a pretty close connection.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here." Steve questions and I nod agreeing, leaning against the table and folding my arms over my chest.

"Steve's right. It was way too easy to capture him, there must be something behind that. He even seems to enjoy his imprisonment as if he planned this."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him." Bruce scoffs, probably despising Loki the most out of everyone in this room. Understandable, it looked like the God of mischief wanted to provoke him or the Hulk.

"Have a care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother." The blonde God defends his family and Natasha frowns in disbelief from the table.

"He killed eighty people in two days."

"He's adopted." Thor changes his mind within a second, leaving us all in surprise. I still try to figure out how I'm supposed to work with these people on the field excluding Steve.

"I think it's about the mechanics." Bruce assumes, trying to comprehend the psychopath's plan. "Iridium... What do they need the iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent." Someone else clarifies as he walks in with Agent Coulson by his side, talking quietly to him. The familiar look of this man hits me like blow and my eyes widen. Those dark eyes and brown hair, just alone the way he walks and talks reminds me of the one and only Howard Stark. It's like seeing a ghost from the past. "It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD."

"That's the actual person I thought you'd like to meet. That's Howard's son, Tony Stark." Steve whispers into my ear, enlightening me. And now I suddenly remember Howard's words from the night we became good friends. If I ever had children, I would want you to be their godmother. God, if he was actually serious...

"No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing. Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long, as Loki wants. Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails." Tony Stark playfully slaps Thor's upper arm as he continues to walk around and he suddenly stops, staring at me curiously as if no one else was in the room. How well does he actually know me? How much did Howard tell him?

"Tony, is that right?" I ask carefully, not really knowing how to act around him. It's weird to see Howard's son in front of me who's even older than me, if I don't count the years in the ice.

"Dermatologists would be angry at you, icy. Centenarian looks like she's in her mid twenties." He just comments and I tense up at the nickname, feeling an anger coming up because of his arrogance. There's no doubt that this is Howard's son but what the hell did he do to let his child end up like this?!

"I'm 94, not a hundred." I narrow my eyes, trying not to glare at him.

"That man is playing Galaga." He ignores me and I just stare at him in disbelief. "He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did. How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns." A female agent answers with a cold voice while Tony covers one eye with his hand, looking around.

"Sounds exhausting." He shrugs, sinking his hand. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density. Something to kick-start the cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" The brunette woman asks and Stark shrugs again.

"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve wants to know while I'm still processing Tony Stark's existence. I can't believe that he's worse than Howard when I first met him. More childish, already self-obsessed and pretty bold.

"He would have to heat the cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Bruce says and Tony nods.

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilise the quantum tunnelling effect." To be honest, I understand nothing anymore and I'm pretty sure that the others don't get it either.

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet." Bruce considers and a relieved smirk appears on Stark's lips.

"Finally, someone who speaks English."

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asks me insecurely and I just shrug while Tony and Bruce shake hands, showing their mutual respect for each other. I think a friendship has just arisen between these two, thanks to science.

"It's good to meet you, Dr Banner. Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled." Tony's compliment brightens up Bruce' face for the first time. "And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster."

"Thanks." He looks down, the enthusiasm vanishes. I clench my teeth, trying not to say how inappropriate it is to say things like that. Fury walks in, quickly catching up with the ongoing.

"Dr Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him."

"I would start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon." Steve suggests and I already cringe at the name of this organization.

"Or other weapons." I add with a sarcastic smile, reminding him of Loki's words. SHIELD can't be immediately trusted and Steve nods, knowing that I indirectly mean that he should look around a bit.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." Fury refers to the Wizard of Oz.

"Monkeys? I do not understand." Thor frowns in confusion, not being conversant with our literature.

"I do!" Steve announces proudly, making everyone in the room look at him. Tony rolls his eyes. "I understood that reference."

"Shall we play, Doctor?" Stark asks and Bruce nods.

"Let's play some." Both of them walk out to the lab but before they leave, Tony Stark shoots me a comprehensive look that I cannot exactly decipher. I hoped that we could at least talk normally to each other since Howard was my friend and his father but now I don't even know anymore.

"Farrell, if you don't mind, I'd like you to train with Thor meanwhile, Agent Coulson is gonna escort you." Fury commands and I just nod, I wanted to ask Thor a few questions anyway. Before Coulson, Thor and I leave, I quietly tell Steve with a look to search for any suspicious hints.

***

"Lady Eve- "

"Just Eve. I'm not exactly a lady." I correct him and stretch a bit, warming up for the training. Coulson gave me a combat suit that is similar to the one from the forties, almost everything is correct. While Thor and I are in the gym of the helicarrier, Coulson just stays near of the wall, watching us with curiosity.

"Eve." He attempts to adjust to this, it probably sounds impolite for him. "I do not mean to harm you, you shall tell me when to stop. I won battles against creatures you don't even dream of."

"And I'm a woman out of time, I'm not much weaker than Steve. He's got his shield, I've got my electricity." I shrug and look at Coulson. "Can't you remove those bangles already? I think it'd be much easier to fight against a God with my abilities."

"Fury knows the code, I unfortunately don't." Coulson apologizes with a kind smile. "But I'm sure in the future, you're gonna be allowed to use them with Thor and not against him. You both control electricity, he's gonna be your partner on missions when he's on earth."

"Sounds good." I state monotonously, not really liking the thought of the future, it tightens my chest to breathe. "Let's see if I'm still at my best after seventy years of sleep. Ready?"

"Ready." The God smirks amusedly at my first attempt of an attack that he easily blocks with his muscular arm. I step forward and distract him by hitting his chest with my elbow but at the same time, I kick against his stomach. Thor endures the offense and steadies his position with his feet, then he aims at my face but I dodge, blocking his blow with my forearm simultaneously. "Not bad for a human."

"Not good for a God." I respond and he keeps trying to hit me, making me go backwards. A few punches succeed but I suck it up, focusing on dodging. I catch his blow with my hands, his force against mine. The adrenaline gives me strength but not enough to win against the next king of Asgard, I get weaker and start shaking. So I decide to let go, making him lean with his force into the air as his balance wobbles. Taking my opportunity, I step behind him and hit his back with my elbow which leads to his fall.

"I wouldn't crow too soon." Coulson notes and before I understand his message, I suddenly get thrown into the mat from behind and groan in annoyance and pain. Thor smirks, watching me from above.

"You pulled your punches." I tell him and reach for his hand that he offers me kindly to get up. "I noticed. You could've immediately won, instead you gave me a chance."

"It's dishonorable to fight against an unarmed woman, no matter how much of a warrior she may be. But it was quite a pleasure." He reasons. "And Gods are not as strong as you humans may think. We're proud and age slower, of course we're also stronger but that's it."

"You can't bring people back from the death, can you?" A forced but sad smile crosses my lips and he shakes his head. Even though I knew it, I still had hope. How stupid. I shake off the depressing mood, trying to lighten it up with a different question. "Thor, how old are you actually?"

"Over a thousand years old." He now smirks and I raise my brows in the air.

"And Tony Stark said I look young for my age." I sigh, actually I didn't want to mention his name. Everything's just weird and complicated now and this billionaire or Iron Man, that's what Coulson explained to me, just annoys me with his attitude.

"Thor, Eve, Agent Romanoff asks for your presence in the lab where Dr Banner and Stark are working together. It seems urgent." Coulson calls us and we nod. I hope Steve has found nothing and we can trust SHIELD. While the God and I walk toward the lab, Coulson disappears, saying he's needed somewhere else and Natasha joins us on our way.

"Loki's here for Banner, he wants to unleash the Hulk. It's better if we keep Banner in the lab."

"Treating him like a prisoner as well?" I tilt my head, glancing at her. "Agent Romanoff, I don't know if this is a good idea, it's like he'd be as dangerous as Loki. Why won't we just let Dr Banner decide what to do and let him go?"

"To take the risk that Loki's people are gonna find him then? No, that's out of question." She shakes her head and I press my lips together, finding it horrible how they treat him. But they don't treat me much better, the bangles remind me of that.

"I was wrong, director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Steve's voice gets louder as we get closer, entering the room with the scepter, Bruce, Tony Stark and Nick Fury and an awful tension is between them. Before I can question what he means, I notice the Hydra assault rifle on the table which freezes me for a moment, leaving me in shock.

"What the hell is this?" My voice boils up, the hint of anger is audible while I point at the weapon. I shouldn't have trusted SHIELD, is that even their real name?

"SHIELD plans to produce weapons with the Tesseract just like Hydra."

"Something from your time, at least that should be familiar to you." Tony answers with an arrogant tone as Bruce and Natasha start arguing about his choice. Now even Thor and Fury disagree loudly on something and I'm already done with everything but especially Tony Stark.

"Do you treat everyone who isn't as smart and rich as you with this arrogance, Stark? Because of that, people are gonna leave you alone, who would you be then without your lovely audience?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." He shrugs conceited. "I honestly don't understand the fuss about you, you're not as special as the old man had described. The only thing that makes you extraordinary came out of a bottle and some bad weather, just like Rogers."

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you." Steve hisses and glares at him, stepping in protectively. "Leave her alone, Stark, and stop pretending to be a hero. The only thing you really fight for is yourself."

"Look who's protecting his little girlfriend. Adorable." Tony scoffs and I honestly don't get his attitude, it's like he wants me to hate him.

"What's your god damn problem?!" I snap and seriously don't want to waste any more time with this douchebag. "I thought we would have an understanding because of your father but instead you're acting like the biggest jerk ever."

Tony doesn't answer with some intolerable comment for the first time, as if I hit a nerve, and Thor suddenly lets out laughter, being amused by the arguments that are going on. "You people are so petty... and tiny."

"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr Banner back to his- " Fury attempts to command and gets cut off by the doctor himself.

"Where? You rented my room and those bangles that Eve has aren't gonna work on me. In comparison to her, I'm an actual danger." Bruce affirms and I look at him with compassion. He truly doesn't deserve any of this.

"The cell was just in case- "

"In case you needed to kill me!" Bruce becomes louder, quietening the whole room and everyone stares at him. Then he lowers his voice, blurting out the truth. "But you can't! I know, I tried."