So... um... *smiles nervously* I have another super long short story for y'all... I think this one is even longer than the Hunger Games one. So for all those of you trying to stay up for New Year's; here's something to entertain you XD. Enjoy!

-

It had seemed like just a routine mission. Nothing special, just an alert that a deserted HYDRA base had been located just off the west coast.

Thor, Wanda, T'challa, Steve, Vision and Tony were off on some SHIELD-related international and intergalactic peace treaty mess, and Natasha had taken Rhodes with to buy some more obvious clothing, because he kept being overlooked by everyone. Peter was on a field trip of some sort with Shuri, and Scott was at home with his family.

Leaving Pietro, Clint, Sam, Bucky, Bruce and Loki to run Stark Towers.

When JARVIS made the announcement, Bruce had been sleeping on the couch, and Loki opted not to disturb him. The others readily agreed, and Sam decided he'd stay behind with Bruce "just in case".

Leaving Pietro, Clint, Bucky and Loki to take care of the HYDRA base.

As mentioned, it seemed just like a routine mission. Clint knew how to fly a Quinjet, and got them to the HYDRA base in record timing. They landed at a safe distance, slowly creeping up to the fort.

All of the base's shields were still intact, which should've warned them that something wasn't quite right, but Loki easily bypassed the shields, and they moved on.

There were HYDRA sentries walking around the area, which should probably have been the second thing to set the alarms off in their heads. But unfortunately Pietro and Bucky decided they had experience with HYDRA, and Clint and Loki were too stubborn to stay behind.

So they snuck into the base.

Unwise, but there were few people in all the Nine Realms that could've changed their collective minds. Interestingly, the majority of those few people are women (Frigga, Wanda, Peggy, maybe Natasha...) but that's not important at the moment.

They were caught, of course. There was no way Loki's invisibility cloaking could've covered all four of them from HYDRA's advanced scanners, and HYDRA had a few other unexpected tricks up their sleeves, including some traps that didn't need their victims to be seen.

They were caught, and locked up in one of HYDRA's deepest cells.

Luckily for them, JARVIS alerted the other Avengers of their location, and when Wanda failed to reach Pietro they all went to check up on them.

Of course Wanda and Natasha broke them out, accompanied by Steve and Thor. The others deemed that eight Avengers was enough, and stayed behind in the Tower.

The break-out was successful, and soon Pietro, Loki, Bucky and Clint were back in the Tower.

Simple, right?

In fact, almost too simple. You see, I'm sure it was much more complicated than all that. And I'd love to give you more details on Clint, Bucky, Pietro and Loki's break-in, but there's one tiny problem.

They don't remember.

-

Clint let out a soft sigh of satisfaction, relishing the feeling of being well-rested.

Well-rested? That can only mean one thing...

He sat up a little straighter, opening his eyes. The bright light told him that he was correct.

I overslept. They're gonna kill me.

There was a mild panic in his movements as he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

"I'm awake!" he yelped, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the bright light.

"Whoa Clint, calm down," a soothing voice whispered. A familiar voice.

"Have they noticed my absence yet?" he asked, trying to remember where exactly he was supposed to be. He frowned to himself as he realized that he couldn't remember. All he really remembered was that he'd been promoted to archer-slash-acrobat. And then something about a dark cell and superheroes, but that had probably just been a dream.

"Clint, calm down," the soft voice repeated, sounding somewhat concerned.

Clint rubbed his eyes, and they finally managed to focus on the female figure in front of him.

He took in the dark brown hair and worried eyes, and the first thought that struck him that this wasn't his mother.

In fact, he wasn't in his family's small tent in the circus either, as he'd assumed.

He glanced around, taking in the room. A room. With walls. He was sitting on a couch that was softer than anything he remembered, and deep scarlet red. This couch was probably worth more than his family could afford with a year's wages.

There was a hand-painted artwork on the white walls, and Clint bit his lip, wondering why he would be in such a fancy room. There was a wooden floor underneath his feet.

Since when am I tall enough for my feet to reach the floor anyway? The last time I sat on a couch was... ages ago.

Something wasn't adding up, and Clint's need for answers drew him back to the lady in front of him.

"Who are you?" he asked carefully.

A hurt look crossed her face, but she hid it quickly.

"You honestly don't remember?"

Clint shook his head slowly.

"I'm really sorry," he apologized, his eyes darting for an escape route in case she became angry. Everyone always got angry at him, that was part of being a teenager, apparently.

As his eyes scanned the room for the second time he finally noticed the other people. There were three other people on the couch with him; he himself was sitting on the far right. To his left was, from closest to furthest, a guy that really needed a haircut, a guy that really needed to have his hair dyed (who has white hair anyway?) and another lanky figure who's black hair was on the long side, but he looked important so Clint decided that he probably got away with having weird hair because of that.

"Clint," the gentle voice called his attention back, almost as if she was talking to a toddler.

I'm seventeen you know. Not five.

"It's me; Laura."

There was a pleading undertone in her voice, and Clint really wanted to do her the favour of saying he knew her, but he knew it wouldn't be true, and lying was always severely punished.

He shook his head as slowly as I could.

"I'm sorry, I have no idea who you are."

The painstakingly familiar face contorted into a flurry of pity, anger, sadness and fear all at once, before reverting back to her gentle self.

"Your wife."

Clint frowned in genuine surprise.

"I can't be married," he replied matter-of-factly, "I promised myself I wouldn't get married until I'd had my revenge."

There was another flash of pain, and then a light spark of curiosity.

"Revenge on who?"

Clint eyed her carefully, and then shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you. Not with the risk that you'll warn him."

Someone cleared his throat behind Laura, catching Clint's attention immediately.

"If they're all awake, then let's get this interrogation started and over with," the voice stated evenly, and Laura stepped back with a sigh while Clint's eyes widened.

An interrogation? Oh Clint, what did you do this time?

His worries were cut short as he caught sight of the speaker, a man wearing a trench coat that must've cost a fortune, as well as a pretty awesome looking eyepatch. He was sitting on one of those fancy desk chairs; another luxury Clint would never be able to afford. In front of him was a collapsible table - now that was a little closer to Clint's paycheck, although it would take him a few months to gather up enough cash and he had no idea why he'd want a picnic table.

If he owns all this stuff, he must be absolutely loaded with cash.

-

ReWiNd... WinD... wiNd...

Loki wasn't sure when he'd gained consciousness, but he was all too aware of the fact that Thor was shaking him relentlessly.

"Brother, wake up," Thor hissed, "come one, faking your death thrice is more than enough."

"Four times, actually," Loki corrected under his breath.

Thor let out a sigh of relief, and - thank the Norns! - stopped shaking him, although he didn't loosen his grip on Loki's shoulders.

Loki opened his eyes, knowing it was hopeless to continue faking his unconsciousness. He tried to remember what could've happened to leave Thor so worried, but all he recalled was a vague memory of a cell.

Wait, wasn't Thor banished?

It took him a few moments to adjust to the bright light that was his annoying brother (by adoption), but then he noted to his surprise that he was sitting on a couch. A rather plain red couch. There were three other people on it, all to his right.

First a cell, now an interrogation? This had got be the first prank this good in the last half century and I can't even remember it, that's just a shame.

"What did I do?" he asked innocently, eyeing Thor to see what kind of response he'd get.

Thor paused.

"I... I think I'll leave it to Fury to recap that."

Thor doesn't want to repeat it? Wow, I must've really outdone myself. Or they don't have all the details yet. Either way, ten points to Team Loki.

He narrowed his eyes as he took in the room. It was simple enough, borderline plain, and it was decorated in a rather... Midgardian style.

"Where are we?"

Thor hesitated.

"Um... I think I'll leave that to Fury too."

Loki squinted at Thor. He was starting to get the feeling that his oaf of a brother (by adoption) was hiding something from him. And Thor was a terrible liar.

Who is Fury anyway? What kind of name IS that? It's almost worse than Odin. And Odin is a terrible name.

He glanced around the room in an attempt to find the answers that Thor was hiding from him, but all he noted was a rather basic painting - a terrible attempt at forgery and a waste of a good view on a nice white wall. The couch he was sitting on was ancient too, he could feel the springs sticking out a little and it was covered in a film of dust.

Clearly hasn't been used in ages.

Thor was blocking his view to what was in the rest of the room, but Loki could just catch sight of a cheap plastic table.

"We're not on Asgard," he stated, "why has Odin sent us here? Assuming it was him, of course."

"I..." Thor began, but he was saved by Fury.

"If they're all awake, then let's get this interrogation started and over with."

Thor stepped aside with a small wave of relief, and Loki studied the creaky spinning chair.

Useless, old and annoying. Just like the person sitting on it.

To be fair, he was judging the pirate by his eyepatch, but Loki simply didn't have any good experiences with people wearing eyepatches. The man also wore a long, moderately doable trench coat, and Loki sighed in disapproval. A homeless person could've done better.

I'm not the God of Fashion, but if I was, I'd be extremely disappointed.

-

ReWiNd... WinD... wiNd...

Pietro let out a soft groan and the bright light pierced into his consciousness even through his closed eyelids.

"Where are we?" he mumbled.

He vaguely remembered some prison the night before, and something about Wanda being worried.

He sat up straighter.

Where was Wanda?

"Whoa brother, calm down," Wanda's familiar voice whispered soothingly, before adding a few sentences in Sokovian. Her voice sounded weird. What was up the accent? She always had such a strong Sokovian accent when she tried to speak English, but now she spoke it fluently with barely a trace of her origin.

"What's going on?" he frowned.

He opened his eyes, and found himself sitting on a couch. Wanda was a blurry figure in front of him, and he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to see better.

"Pietro," Wanda whispered softly.

The drug began to wear off - wait, I was drugged? - and slowly Pietro became aware of the three other people on the couch. To his left was a tall man with black hair, and to his right -

Pietro almost choked when he saw the metal arm.

A metal arm? Is this the Tony Stark Revenge Recruitment program, because then Wanda and I can pack up and go home, this guy's gonna win. He looks like he could kill your parents and you'd only find out like half a century later.

"Pietro."

Pietro blinked in surprise, his eyes snapping into focus on Wanda.

"What in the name of those flowers you really like was that?"

A frown creased Wanda's face.

"You don't remember?"

Pietro closed his eyes.

"It was tulips wasn't it? Or was it roses?"

His calm voice was a mask for the whirlwind of thoughts zooming through his head at top speed.

Wanda is not talking into my mind without her mouth moving, that's just me going insane. This is just another of those nightmares. Nothing new there.

"Piet- wait, what nightmares?"

Pietro froze.

Did she just read my mind?

"Yes, of course!" an undertone of hurt sounded into her voice as she went on, "do you really not remember any of it? Ultron? HYDRA? The Avengers?"

Pietro let out a low growl.

Oh I remember the Avengers. And when I get my hands on them, they'll all be dead.

A flare of panic sparked in Wanda's eyes.

"No, Pietro! You can't, they're our friends!"

Pietro's jaw dropped slightly in surprise as he glared at his twin sister.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?"

"Technically I didn't SAY anything, I mean..."

Details.

"I said... the Avengers... they're our friends. Pietro..."

She paused, and for a moment she just stared into the distance. Pietro closed his eyes, his mind was suddenly overwhelmed with memories.

Him and Wanda playing around their house in Sokovia.

Wanda picking flowers for their mother.

That kid across the street that was obsessed with playing tag.

The bombing.

Pietro's expression hardened as the picture of the bomb lingered in his mind; he could still see the word Stark as clear as day.

Then him and Wanda being rescued, and swearing to get revenge on Tony Stark.

Then... nothing.

"You really don't remember..." Wanda whispered, her voice trembling.

"I don't remember what?" Pietro asked, and Wanda bit her lip.

"Pietro..."

"If they're all awake, then let's get this interrogation started and over with," a voice behind Wanda spoke up, interrupting her.

Wanda sighed, deciding not to finish her sentence, and stepped back to reveal the man who had spoken.

He had one eye, and an kinda scary-looking trench coat.

If there's anyone that would run a Tony Stark Revenge Recruitment Program, it would be that guy.

-

ReWiNd... WinD... wiNd... (*helplesssss*)

Bucky frowned to himself as he opened his eyes, taking in the white room.

Hospital?

He noted the red couch underneath him.

So nobody sees the blood stains?

"Buck?" Steve's voice asked tentatively, "are you... um... do you remember me?"

"Steve?" Bucky asked, looking up, "what happened, did we wi-"

He froze as he saw Steve.

"What. Did. They. Do?"

"Um... I'm not sure what you mean..." Steve began carefully, and Bucky began to get up, but Steve quickly stopped him.

"Don't get up too quickly, they're not sure if you still have any injuries that need tending to."

Bucky slowly studied Steve, all the way from his shiny boots up to the familiar face.

He sank back into the couch.

"I was going to ask whether we won, but I think that that answer's been questioned."

Bucky paused, scrunching up his eyebrows.

"I mean... that questions been answered."

Steve studied Bucky cautiously.

"So you... remember me?"

"Well I mean..." Bucky paused for a second, "I remember you, just not so... big."

Steve blinked.

"And... muscly."

Steve blinked again.

"And not-skinny."

"Okay okay I get it," Steve smiled, "it's... kind of a long story. Yeah, we won."

There was a mildy awkward silence.

"Where are we?"

"So um... remember SHIELD?"

Bucky shook his head slowly.

"Okay... how about Peggy?"

Bucky shook his head again, slightly more determined that time.

"Steve, the last thing I remember is falling off a train..."

Steve froze, as if Bucky had triggered a sensitive memory.

How could that be a sensitive memory? He wasn't even there.

"...after you refused my attempts at a double date so you could go volunteer under a fake name again."

"Wait... what?" Steve frowned.

"There was a train. I was dropping off some girls at home, it was getting dark. I needed to get off at a stop and almost forgot because some idiot was being... an idiot. Then I fell off in my attempts to get out. Scratched my elbow pretty nastily, too, but at least I was at the right station."

He tilted his head sideways.

"After that, it's pretty much a blank. What'd I miss?"

"Well, um..." Steve began, trying to decide what to answer.

"If they're all awake, then let's get this interrogation started and over with," a voice behind Steve interrupted, and Bucky suddenly realized that they weren't alone in the room. In fact, there were three others with him on the couch, and three others next to Steve, as well as guy in a trench coat behind them.

Steve stepped aside, gesturing that Bucky should probably listen.

Well, this guy doesn't look too threatening, but he has an aura of authority so let's see what he has to say.

-

"If they're all awake, then let's get this interrogation started and over with."

Fury cleared his throat, and was met by eight pairs of eyes. Four worried ones, and four confused slash curious ones.

"Okay," he began, "before you ask any questions..."

He paused for a half a second, but none of them showed any inclination of interrupting.

"...I'm going to sum up the events of yesterday, and then ask each of you a few questions. After that we can see how it goes, I never plan too far ahead with you Avengers because you always thwart my plans anyway."

He waited so see if anyone would react to his half-joke, but only Pietro's gaze steeled for a moment at the mention of the Avengers.

He sighed.

This might just be harder than I thought.

"Yesterday at four PM, the four of you - Clint, Bucky, Pietro and Loki - left the Avengers base..."

Fury trailed off as Clint's hand shot into the air, and Pietro opened his mouth to say something but saw Clint's movement and raised his hand too.

"I thought I'd said to leave the questions until later."

Clint dropped his hand with a sigh, and Pietro persisted a moment longer but then gave in as well under Fury's glare.

"...with a Quinjet..." Fury paused to see if that would arouse more questions, but all he was getting was a confused look from Clint, and intrigued gaze from Bucky, a few impatient glances from Pietro and a bored stare from Loki.

"...to take care of an abandoned HYDRA base. You landed the Quinjet out of their shields' reach, and were captured sometime after that by HYDRA. JARVIS informed the Avengers that you had been absent for longer than strictly necessary, after which Wanda, Thor and Steve -" he nodded to each Avenger respectively as he named them "- and Natasha went to the base to break you out. They succeeded, but it was noted that all of you were acting strangely, so you were taken to a Medical Research team to have you all checked up, and they noted nothing out of the ordinary, other than possible signs of memory erasing. Which is why you're here now."

Loki scoffed.

"Don't you think I'd remember if I had my memory eras- oh..."

Fury ignored Loki's outburst, going on.

"I'll ask you each a few questions, and then you're free to ask questions of your own."

He picked up a clipboard with a few papers pinned to it, and a pen.

"Clint."

Clint jolted slightly at the mention of his name.

"Sir yes sir!"

Laura gently put her hand on his shoulder in reassurance, but it didn't make Clint any less jittery.

"What is the last location you remember being in?" Fury enquired.

Clint bit his lip nervously.

"My family's tent by the circus? Although I have a vague memory of some dark place after that, but I think that was a dream."

"What were you doing there?"

"Sleeping, I think? Or training, of course."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

Laura raised both eyebrows in surprise, and Wanda refused to meet Clint's confused gaze.

"Right."

Fury paused, tapping the clipboard with his pen and jotting a few sentences down.

"Right," he repeated himself, "next. Bucky."

Bucky raised both eyebrows.

"Yes sir?"

It was a question as well as a statement.

"Last location you remember being?"

"The train station just outside Brooklyn, sir."

"What was your business there?"

"I was escorting a few young ladies home, because it was getting late."

"Age?"

"25, sir."

Fury nodded, scribbling down a few notes before moving on.

"Pietro."

Pietro shifted uncomfortably under Fury's gaze.

"Yeah?"

"Last location you remember being?"

"The protest in Sokovia. The... third one in July."

"What were you doing there?"

"Protesting. Duh. It's a protest. You... protest."

"Age?"

Pietro paused, actually narrowing his eyes as he contemplated the question.

"I... I'm not sure. I stopped counting after eleven. Sixteen, maybe?"

Fury nodded slowly, writing more down.

"Then lastly, Loki."

"Prince Loki," Loki mumbled under his breath.

"Last location you remember being?" Fury enquired.

"Odin's vault on Asgard."

"What were you doing there?"

Loki hesitated as he suddenly realized the potential reason for his interrogation.

"I'd... rather not say."

"Loki."

Loki rolled his eyes at the commanding tone in Thor's voice.

"You'll never believe me anyway. I was on my way to send the Destroyer to Midgard."

Thor choked.

"That far back?"

"Thor, I'm almost done," Fury pointed out, tapping impatiently on the clipboard, and Thor gestured for him to continue.

"Age?"

"10,46 Asgardian centuries."

Pietro let out a soft snort of disbelief, but Fury wrote it down without further questions.

Loki raised his eyes to the ceiling.

"Great. Now that that's done and over with, may I ask why you're writing without taking the lid off your pen?"

Fury raised both eyebrows at the agitated Asgardian.

"Because Coulson is taking notes, and his handwriting is something we can actually read."

"Can I ask a question?" Clint asked softly.

"Go ahead, Barton."

"What are the Avengers?"

Fury saw that he had instantly gained the attention of everyone in the room as Clint waited patiently for his answer.

"They're... superheroes..." Fury began, cautiously formulating his words.

Clint and Bucky were already skeptical, but they didn't say anything.

"They were assembled to protect New York from... an attack..." Fury's gaze flashed to Loki, but nobody except Thor noticed.

"And... you know what, I'll just show you the introduction video."

Fury whistled, and a door behind him opened as Coulson walked in, a notepad in his hands as he was still jotting down notes in an attempt to keep up.

He sucked in a deep breath as he finished his sentence, and then breathed out as he drew the fullstop, putting the pen and notepad on the collapsible table.

He helped Fury set up a TV quickly, and they played a short video.

"There was an idea..."

"THAT BUILDING IS COLLAPSING! This is why we lived in tents."

"...to bring together a group of remarkable people..."

"Okay that's mildly interesting. Does anyone know where that Chituari army went, I might know a few... jobs for them."

"...to see if they could fight the battles..."

"Wanda. What the in the name of tulips?"

"...that we never could."

"Steve, what's with the shield?"

The video ended, and Fury took in the confused looks.

"So... I'm an Avenger?" Clint frowned, "how, it's not like I have superpowers."

"You don't have superpowers, but you fight with your bow."

"Is it a magical bow?" Bucky enquired.

"No."

"Does it have magical arrows?" Pietro piped up.

"No."

"Then what's so special about it?" Loki enquired.

Fury closed his eyes.

"Please don't ask me to explain, but trust me. You're all Avengers."

"I'm having a hard time believing that I'd join a team with Tony Stark," Pietro pointed out.

"Or my brother (by adoption)," Loki added.

"And why would I be on a team with superheroes?" Bucky enquired.

"Super soldier," Steve mumbled.

"That and Steve wouldn't stay if you couldn't," Wanda pointed out with a half-smile.

Bucky glanced at his hands, and suddenly seemed to realize something.

"Steve?"

"Yes?"

"Why do I have a metal arm?"

"Um..."

"I know I scraped my elbow, but this is a bit overkill, even for you."

Clint was staring at Bucky's arm in respectful awe.

"That thing must be worth a fortune..."

"Wait, does that mean there's flying cars?" Bucky enquired with a glint of hope in his eyes.

"Well... not in common use," Fury answered.

"Lola can fly," Coulson mumbled.

There was a momentary silence.

"I am assuming from my brother (by adoption)'s presence that we are on Midgard?" Loki inquired.

"Yes," Thor nodded, "indeed we are."

"Midgard?" Bucky frowned.

"Oh my apologies," Loki excused himself, "I believe Midgardians call their planet... Dirt? Sand? Earth? Or was it Mud...? No I think it's Earth."

"Are you suggesting that there's other planets?" Pietro enquired.

"Whole realms," Loki nodded.

"Whoa... that's a bit too much into the fantasy genre," Bucky protested, "the sci-fi I could handle, but other planets? Please don't tell me that travel between them is normal, I'll never get used to it."

"Not normal, per se," Loki replied, "but neither impossible."

Fury cleared his throat in an attempt to break into their conversation.

"I'm glad to see that you're already getting along," he began, earning him glares from both Pietro and Loki, "but if you don't mind, the interrogation is over. You'll be escorted back to the Avengers Tower while we try to figure out a cure of some sort for this memory issue."

His gaze rested on all four of them.

"Try not to kill anyone."

-

The car stopped in front of the Tower, and the reactions were mixed. Clint seemed nervous, while Bucky was in awe of the gigantic building. Pietro just snarled at the Avengers logo, and Loki maintained a disinterested look while calculating an escape route.

Pietro was still trying to regain control over his speed, which was evident as they walked towards the door. Sometimes he'd move in a sudden burst of speed, while at other times he walked at Wanda's side at a completely normal pace.

They took the elevator, and Bucky just watched in total amazement as he realized that there weren't even any buttons.

"Where to?" a voice over the speakers enquired, a voice that sounded naggingly familiar.

"To the living room, please," Wanda spoke up, and the elevator doors closed at it began to move upwards.

"Of course, miss Maximoff."

"Thank you Jarvis."

The elevator doors opened once more.

"...so then technically speaking," Tony went on, "the palladium should-"

He was cut off but a blue blur that knocked him off his feet, pinning him to the floor with its hands around his neck.

"Pietro!" Wanda cried out in surprise, mustering a ball of red energy and dragging her brother off Tony Stark.

"Whoa Sonic, what did I do this time?" Tony enquired, rubbing his throat while Bruce shot a few nervous glances into Loki's direction.

"YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Pietro snarled, and Wanda sighed, holding him back with only a little effort.

"I think we're locking you up in your room until you calm down," she muttered.

She dragged him off while Pietro was still glaring daggers at Tony, and Natasha watched them go with mild surprise.

"Well that was... aggressive. How was your trip to the West Coast?"

Her question had been addressed to the remaining five Avengers lingering outside the elevator (Laura had returned to the farm to watch the children, although it had taken a lot of persuading to get her to leave Clint's side).

"It was... interesting..." Steve mumbled, walking into the kitchen to pour a few cups of coffee.

"That's... a lot.... of tech..." Bucky noted in awe.

"How can any one person afford all that?" Clint asked.

"Um, billionaire?" Tony answered, "plus I invented like half of it myself, so..."

"It's not too bad, for a Midgardian settlement," Loki decided.

Thor sighed.

"You know what, you guys handle them. I'm going to bed, today's been a long day."

He turned around quickly, disappearing back into the elevator with Wanda and Pietro.

Loki blinked as his brother (by adoption) left, surprised that he'd managed to lose him that easily.

"So..." Nat began, taking in the confused looks of the three people still standing in front of the now closed elevator, "...are you guys okay?"

-

Steve explained the predicament to the other Avengers, and they all reacted differently. Tony was surprisingly concerned, and Vision expressed his regrets to the situation in his usual manner.

Bruce was horrified, and had quickly grabbed his laptop to correspond with the SHIELD agents and attempt to find a cure.

Sam was intensely confused when Bucky didn't try to make fun of him at every possible occasion.

Natasha didn't seem too concerned, but everyone saw the worry in her eyes whenever she looked at Clint.

Speaking of Clint; he seemed to cringe whenever anyone so much as gestured into his direction. Everyone knew his childhood hadn't been the best; he'd grown up in a circus, the director of which was far from a nice person. But the usually cheerful and joking Clint was nothing like the skittish archer they saw in front of them now. And he clearly wasn't used to any form of luxury.

Pietro spent most of the afternoon in his room with Wanda, Wanda trying desperately to convince him that they were on the Avengers' side and that she wasn't speaking in some code because they were being overheard. She even switched to Sokovian halfway in a desperate attempt to convince him, and after a several hours of hard debating she managed. Pietro apologized to Stark, but still refused to call him Tony or come closer to him than strictly necessary.

Loki seemed casual and calculating through it all, much like his old self, but everyone who was used to spending time around him noticed the hard edge to his voice. It wasn't like he'd been nice before, but he'd been lenient and sometimes did genuinely nice things. Now it was like he was back to New York, all-out-mean, and overly snobbish Loki. Loki-with-adoption-issues-Loki. Which was why everyone was surprised by how friendly he was to Bruce. He actually made Bruce hot chocolate, although Bruce refused to drink it for fear of poisoning (Natasha ended up drinking it, she said it was pretty good too).

Bucky was... okay with it all. He was still getting used to his metal arm, but he was a lot more cheerful than his usual silent self and listened intently while Steve relayed almost a century of memories to him. Steve danced around the topic of the Winter Soldier though, just mentioning it quickly and moving on. But Bucky didn't seem to mind as long as Tony promised to teach him how the coffee machine worked.

That night, Peter and Shuri were locked out of the Tower for the first time in ages. Tony had decided that it would be safer for them to spend the night at Aunt May's, seeing as how Loki was slightly unpredictable and nobody really knew how Pietro would react.

They weren't given too many details, but T'challa was also told to go with them, and the access to the Tower was solidly locked off as a safety precaution. Clint, Bucky, Pietro and Loki's access to JARVIS was revoked, except for situations such as the elevator.

They were extreme measures, certainly. But sometimes that's just necessary.

-

"Aren't you going to have breakfast, Clint?" Wanda enquired.

It was 11 AM, and most of the Avengers had already wandered into the kitchen to get breakfast. Naturally, Clint was just hovering in front of the table packed with all sorts of food, not sure what to do.

Clint bit his lip.

"Are you sure that's allowed?"

"Clint!" Natasha let out an exasperated sigh, "you live here, you can eat whatever you want whenever you want."

Clint let his gaze wander over all the food displayed on the table, his eyes wide in awe.

"What... what do I usually eat?" he asked softly.

Tony tilted his head in thought.

"I don't actually know for sure, but I suspect you're the one that's always eating peanut butter sandwiches. Unless that's Nat. And you eat a lot of pizza."

"You have peanut butter?" Clint squeaked in amazement.

Tony blinked at Clint.

"I'm a billionaire. Yes, I have peanut butter."

Clint was staring into nothingness.

"That's... that's..."

"Would you like me to make you a peanut butter sandwich, Clint?" Tony enquired, an undertone of amusement in his voice.

"Yes please," Clint whispered in a barely audible voice.

All the remaining Avengers watched in awe as Tony made a sandwich and Clint accepted it from him with intense respect, slowly nibbling at the bread as if it would disappear if he didn't treat it gently. Then he gathered up courage and took a bite.

The look on his face was one of pure bliss.

"It's just peanut butter," Tony mumbled.

Loki rolled his eyes.

"I guess not everyone is used to Odin's extensive banquets. Alright Stark, what do you have to offer that could actually come close to something I might be able to eat without throwing up?"

Tony gave Loki a glare, but it glanced off harmlessly.

"You could try the poptarts," Thor suggested, his mouth filled with one such poptart, "I find them delicious."

Loki stared at Thor with a neutral expression.

"Remind me never to eat poptarts," he mumbled, averting his gaze and allowing it to wander over all the food on the table.

"You eat yogurt sometimes," Wanda knew, "with that muesli in the green box at the back."

Loki seemed to judge the tub of yogurt for a moment before deciding that no amount of poison could kill him anyway, and he scooped a few spoonfuls into a bowl.

Pietro walked into the room, Wanda watching his every move to make sure he didn't... well... disobey Fury's last order.

"What's for breakfast?" he enquired.

"Whatever you want," Tony answered, gesturing to the wide array of food.

Pietro grabbed a box of cornflakes, a bowl and a carton of milk, and sat down.

"...and then you haven't even seen Wakanda yet," Steve grinned, walking into the room with Bucky by his side, "their technology is insane. You loved it."

Several people breathed in sharply in surprise when they saw Bucky.

"Is something wrong?" Bucky frowned.

Wanda shook her head.

"You cut your hair," Loki stated.

"Yes," Bucky answered, "I'm assuming that's still legal in this time period?"

Nobody answered his question, although Bruce nodded slowly.

"It looks good on you," Clint commented softly, "you look a lot more like a charming young man and a lot less like a lunatic... no offense."

Bucky smiled.

"Thanks Clint."

Bucky walked over to the breakfast table, grabbing a plum out of the fruit bowl on instinct and setting his teeth into it.

"Delicious," he mumbled, "you're so lucky to be living here, Steve."

"You live here too, Buck," Steve pointed out, and Bucky grinned.

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting."

Vision phased into the room through the floor, and Clint jolted slightly in surprise, although his grip on his sandwich didn't loosen for as much as a moment.

"Wanda," he began, putting his hand on Wanda's shoulder, "do you know where-"

He stopped when he heard Pietro's low growl.

"Is something wrong?"

Wanda sighed.

"Pietro... you remember Vision, right?"

"Of course he doesn't," Loki grumbled under his breath, and Wanda flicked his arm with a thin whip of red energy.

"He's... my..."

"You're not marrying a toaster."

"Vision's not a toaster!" Wanda protested.

"Fine, microwave then," Pietro rolled his eyes.

"Actually-" Vision began.

"Don't interrupt, Viz," Wanda advised, "look here Pietro. I know you have the protective instincts of a polar bear and the hair to match, but this is my choice. And I like Vision, so back off."

Pietro hissed sharply, but then closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly.

"Fine," he grumbled, "but just... no kissing."

Wanda arched an eyebrow.

"We'll make sure you're not around," she answered.

"I guess that'll have to do," Pietro mumbled, taking another bite of his cornflakes.

-

Two days passed, and slowly Clint, Bucky, Pietro and Loki began to get used to their new surroundings, and the Avengers got used to their strange behavior. SHIELD had not yet come up with a cure, even with Tony and Bruce's help.

Interestingly enough, the four people who had had their memories erased also became a lot closer to one another over those two days. They would find each other without even trying, and spent most of the second night on the roof, just talking.

On the evening of the third day, Loki approached Tony.

"Stark."

Tony turned around from the bar, a glass of something red in his left hand.

"How may I help you, Frosty?" he enquired jokingly.

"The attack on New York..."

Tony's expression darkened.

"Yes?"

"That was my doing, was it not?"

"Shouldn't you be asking Thor this?"

"He refuses to tell me. Which is an answer in itself, but I wanted to hear it from you."

Tony sighed, putting the glass back down.

"Yeah, that was you. But since then, you've helped us out loads of times, and everyone's forgiven you that ages ago."

Loki frowned.

"I tried to take over the planet, did I not?"

"Yeah."

"Then how could you just forgive me?"

"You've proven yourself time and time again. Besides, Thor would kill us if we didn't."

Loki paused.

"What if I were to do it again. What if I were to tell you right now that I have an army ready to attack your Tower?"

"I'd say we have a Hulk," Tony joked.

The smile faded from his face as Loki frowned.

"Loki... I was just joking... are you okay?"

"Later, Stark," Loki growled, pushing past him, "I need to find the others."

Tony watched him go in surprise. What had gotten into him?

-

Loki marched through the passages, his memories flooding back to him bit by bit. The majority had somehow been triggered when Tony had said "we have a Hulk", but a few small details were still coming back to him only now.

"Pietro!" he shouted through the vents, and seconds later a blue blur came to a halt beside him.

"Yeah?"

"I need you to find Bucky and Clint and meet me in the Quinjet Hangar," Loki ordered, "I have a plan."

-

Loki sighed.

Of course he couldn't have expected Bucky to show up without Steve, or Clint without Nat. But he'd still hoped, somehow.

"Can I talk to Bucky, Pietro and Clint... alone?" Loki suggested carefully.

"You think we're trusting you this easily?" Nat enquired, crossing her arms, with Wanda raising her eyebrows in agreement.

"Sorry Loki, but that's too much to ask," Steve shook his head.

"Give me five minutes," Loki suggested, "in that Quinjet, we won't be able to go anywhere. I can't fly that thing."

"Clint can."

"With his memories, yeah. But without?"

Natasha looked to Clint.

"Can you?"

Clint raised his eyebrows.

"A jet? Never."

Wanda sighed.

"Then I suppose we will have to give him this chance."

Steve turned to Wanda.

"Can't you just read his mind?"

Wanda smiled and shook her head.

"You forget that he is from Jotunheim, and has been taught well in magical self defense. That includes mindreading blocks, I'm afraid."

Loki smirked, but quickly hid his satisfaction when he realized that it would only make them more suspicious.

"You get five minutes," Natasha decided, and Loki nodded thankfully, gesturing to Bucky, Clint and Pietro to follow him into the Quinjet.

"So?" Bucky asked once they were inside, his curiosity awakened when he saw the grin on Loki's face.

"I got my memories back," Loki explained, "and I think I could get yours too, with the right trigger words. It'll just take some experimenting."

Clint sat down.

"Experiment away."

Loki turned to Pietro.

"I'm assuming Sokovia has already been mentioned to you?"

Pietro nodded.

"Okay... how about you did not see that coming?"

Pietro was quiet for a few seconds.

"I freaking died."

Loki nodded solemnly.

"Yeah, horrible right?"

"Don't plan on doing it again," Pietro stated.

Loki turned to Bucky.

"Winter Soldier?"

"Who is this Winter Soldier everyone keeps going on about?" Bucky frowned.

"Who the hell is Bucky?" Pietro joked.

"That's it," Loki stated dryly, and they could almost see all the memories flashing before Bucky's eyes.

The first thing Bucky did was curse.

"If I get my hands on those HYDRA idiots..."

"First Clint," Loki ordered, "I was thinking..."

"Budapest," Bucky answered without missing a beat.

Clint froze.

"Bullseye!" Pietro smirked.

"So what is your plan?" Clint enquired, a spark in his eyes as he remembered his family, "I assume Wanda and Steve aren't just gonna let us go."

"I was thinking we could create a small... diversion."

-

Steve breathed in sharply, pointing to their left.

The two women turned to see what he was pointing at, and saw the sparks igniting off the propeller of one of Stark's ancient airplanes as it started spinning. A few of said sparks landed in a puddle of oil, igniting it within seconds.

"Sh-"

"LANGUAGE!"

They ran towards the fire, Wanda trying to contain it while Steve pulled the propeller to a sharp halt, stopping to from starting further fires. Natasha grabbed the hose, aiming it at the flickering flames.

And leaving the short runway open.

The Quinjet took off within moments, catching the trio on the ground by surprise. Wanda tried to contain the fire and simultaneously stop the jet, but she failed.

When the Quinjet was well out of reach, the fire flickered and disappeared in a puff of green smoke.

"LOKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!"

-

At midnight that night, Jarvis alerted Steve, Thor, Natasha and Wanda that the Quinjet had returned to the Hangar.

By the time the worried Avengers had reached the Hangar, the four vigilantes had already left it.

It took them almost half an hour, but eventually Wanda found them on the twelfth floor.

She smiled, calling the other three over.

Loki was sprawled on one of the couches, fast asleep, with his legs on the armrest because otherwise he wouldn't have fit onto the couch. Clint and Pietro were sleeping in front of the couch, wrapped in a big blanket with a box of half-eaten pizza on the table and a movie playing on the TV. Bucky was curled up on one of Stark's big soft living room chairs clutching a plum in his metal hand.

Slowly, Thor, Wanda, Natasha and Steve backed out of the room again, and went back to bed.

In the morning, the main event on the news was a large explosion that had been recorded just off the west coast. Nobody said anything, but everyone could've sworn that four certain people were looking even more self-assured than usual.

-

*Over 7000 words later*

...I guess today I'm just making up for all the shorter chapters XD

Hope you enjoyed it! Please vote if you did, I really appreciate it :D.

~Evanlyn