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Janet walked along the flight deck, waiting around for Dr. Banner and Captain Rogers to arrive. She clutched a styrofoam cup of coffee in her hand, a look of concern on her face as she saw Natasha’s stone cold face quickly walking over to her.

“How could you let them take Barton?” she fumed, keeping her calm demeanor. Her eyes stared into Janet’s soul, already thinking of the many ways to hurt her. “If they hurt him, Janet…”

“You really think we let them get to Barton?” Janet asked. “We didn’t let them do anything. We got our asses kicked and Barton turned on us. That’s what happened.”

“Agent Romanoff,” Coulson’s voice called. He and Steve Rogers stepped off of the quinjet together. “Agent Van Dyne.” Natasha and Janet walk toward the two, all of their tension gone. “Captain Rogers.”

“Ma’am,” Steve acknowledges both women, shaking their hands.

“Hi,” Natasha greeted. She turned her attention to Agent Coulson. “They need you on the bridge; they’re starting the face trace.”

“See you there,” Coulson nodded, walking away.

“It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice,” Natasha said as the three started walking. “Thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?”

“Trading cards?” Steve asked.

“They’re vintage,” Natasha said.

“He’s very proud,” Janet added. She looked ahead, seeing Dr. Banner bumping into people while he observed the helicarrier.

“Doctor Banner,” Steve called, getting his attention.

“Oh, yeah, hi,” Bruce greeted, shaking Steve’s hand. “They told me you’d be coming.”

“Word is you can find the Cube,” Steve said.

“Is that the only word on me?” Bruce asked, wringing his hands. Clearly, he was worried about his presence being for something else.

“Only word I care about,” Steve assured.

“Must be strange for you, all of this,” Bruce said, looking around at the helicarrier. People were securing jets and things down, walking around with technology Steve had never seen.

“Well, this is actually kind of familiar,” Steve admitted, seeing a group of agents jogging in a line. It reminded him of boot camp.

Janet got a message from Natasha that the carrier was about to take off. Taking a sip of her coffee, she took a step back, getting the men’s attention. “Gentlemen, you might wanna step inside in a minute. It’s gonna get a little hard to breathe.”

“Flight Mode,” someone over the PA system announced. “Secure the deck.”

“Is this a submarine?” Steve asked as he and Bruce walked over to the edge of the helicarrier.

“Really, they want me in a submerged pressurized metal container?” Bruce asked. The two see propellors starting to spin in the water and lift the carrier into the air. “Oh no, this is much worse.”

Steve and Bruce followed Janet into the bridge. She gets handed an earpiece as she walked away from the two men, who were too busy staring in awe of the place. “Hey, Rayne,” she called, walking to her computer. Rayne looked over from her conversation with Natasha. Janet tilted her head over to Steve and Bruce. “Company.”

“All engines operating,” Maria Hill reported. “S.H.I.E.L.D. emergency protocol one nine three point six in effect.” She looked at Fury. “We are at level, sir.”

“Good!” Fury replied. “Let’s vanish.”

“Engage retro reflection panels,” Hill announced.

“Reflection panels engaged,” a male agent informed.

“Gentlemen,” Fury said, turning around to Steve and Bruce. Still looking around, Steve reached into his wallet and handed Fury a ten dollar bill. Fury tucked the money away in his pocket before acknowledging Bruce. “Doctor, thank you for coming.”

“Thanks for asking nicely,” Bruce replied. “So, um, how long am I staying?”

“Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you’re in the wind,” Fury answered.

“Well where are you with that?” Bruce asked.

“We’re sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet,” Coulson stated. “Cell phones, laptops, if it’s connected to a satellite, it’s eyes and ears for us.”

“It’s still not gonna find them in time,” Natasha spoke up.

“We also have possibly the most eligible person to look for this thing,” Coulson added. Rayne stepped up, shaking Bruce’s hand.

“Seems like you don’t need me, then,” Bruce chuckled.

“We need as many hands on this as we can get,” Janet said.

“You need to narrow your field,” Bruce said. “How many Spectrometers do you have access to?”

“How many are there?” Fury asked.

“Call every lab you know,” Bruce said. “Tell them to put the Spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for Gamma rays. I’ll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?”

“Rayne,” Fury called.

“On it,” Rayne replied. “You’re gonna love it, Doc. We’ve got all the toys.”

“Really?” Bruce asked as they walked out of the bridge area. “Do you have the com-meter sixty-four?”

“Wouldn’t be a lab without it.”

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Loki and Irma walk through the hidden underground base Barton found for Selvig to work in. She sees Selvig’s eyes light up as they walk into the room.

“Hey!” Selvig beamed. “This is wonderful. The Tesseract has shown me so much. It’s– it’s more than knowledge, it’s truth.”

“I know,” Loki answered. “It, ah- it touches everyone differently.” He turned to Barton. “What did it show you, Agent Barton?”

“My next target,” Barton replied.

“Stick in the mud,” Selvig laughed. “He’s got no soul. No wonder you chose this, this tomb to work in.

“Well, the Radisson doesn’t have three levels of lead lined flooring between S.H.I.E.L.D. and that Cube,” Barton snapped. Selvig  walked back to the machine he was working on.

“I see why Fury chose you to guard it,” Loki said to Barton.

“You’re going to have to contend with him sir,” Barton said. “As long as he’s in the air, I can’t pin him down. And he’ll be putting together a team.”

“Are they a threat?” Loki asked.

“If my sister’s a part of this team, chances of them winning are high,” Irma said. “Which is why she needs to stay as far away from the Tesseract as possible. She draws her power from it.”

“And if Fury can get ‘em on track, and he might, they could throw some noise our way,” Barton added.

“You admire Fury,” Loki told Barton.

“He’s got a clear line of sight.”

“Is that why you failed to kill him?”

“It might be. I was disoriented, and I’m not at my best with a gun.”

“I want to know everything you can tell me about this team of his. I would– test their mettle.” Barton nodded. “I am weary of scuttling in shadow. I mean to rule this world, not burrow in it.”

“That’s a risk,” Barton said.

“Oh yes.”

“If you’re set on making yourself known. I could be useful.”

“What do you need?”

Barton walked over to a small case and opened it. He took out a collapsable archer’s bow out of it and flicked it open. “I need a distraction,” he said. “And an eyeball.”

“What kind?” Irma asked, hands on her hips.  “I can go and get it for you right now.”

“I do admire your determination for running my errands,” Loki said, looking down at Irma. “I just want you to keep your sister from accessing the Tesseract. No need to get your hands dirty.”

“I can multitask,” Irma said, putting her hand on Loki’s chest as he began to walk away. “Whatever you do, I do. Wherever you go, I go. That’s what you told me, remember?”

He gave a fake smile Irma couldn’t see the lies behind. “Of course,” he said, pressing his forehead on hers.