Natasha's dreams were full of cold stares and words spoken with malice, bloodied hands and spiteful accusations. Piercing green eyes bored into hers and seemed to be reaching into her soul, threatening to undo her as a person, reverting her back into nothing but a soulless shell. She awoke in a panic, her skin prickling with anxiety and a slight cold sweat already breaking out. As she tried to steady her breathing and calm her racing heart, she realized her hands had bunched themselves in the blankets, her knuckles white with how much pressure they were using to clutch the material. Loki hadn't been the focus of her nightmares for a long time, after things had finally started to go back to normal, her horrific terrors of the green eyed God had started to fade, replaced with older memories or even newer ones. Obviously now that she had learned he could be a threat again, her mind had decided to drag up the images of him snarling down at her from inside his glass prison.

She showered and dressed quickly, though she wasn't running late for the meeting, she wanted to head into base as early as possible since she still technically needed to debrief from her last mission. If the world was not currently going up in smoke and flame, then she would keep a level head and act as though everything was normal. Clint was the only one she saw when she walked into the lounge, but she had a feeling Steve would be in the gym, slamming his fists into the reinforced punching bag that had become as familiar to him as alcohol had become to Tony. Everyone had their own way of dealing with the demons that resided in them and whether each method was considered to be healthy or not, nobody really intervened.

"Are you waiting for me?" Natasha asked when Clint stood up as soon as she entered, straightening his jacket a little. "More or less."He said and the first thing she noticed was the shadows under his eyes. "You didn't sleep did you?" She asked pointlessly, if she even had to voice the question, then the answer was already apparent to her. He didn't reply, just gave a mild shrug and waved his arm in the general direction of the elevator, suggesting they should leave. She was willing to bet that her mind wasn't the only one dwelling on the past horrors of the last visit from a certain Norse deity.

***

Natasha hated getting debriefed, but knew it was necessary and she wasn't the only agent that had to go through it. After a full bodied medical examination and a mildly invasive meeting with a psychologist who pointlessly tried to get into her mind, she made her way to the meeting room. She had gotten most of her paperwork filled out, her official statement had been recorded and only minor details still remained but the call-in from Fury took higher priority than the capture of a notoriously elusive German arms dealer.

"Romanoff, right on time." Fury greeted her with a nod after she had keyed in her code and pushed open the heavy door, stepping into a room that was possibly one of the most secure in the entire base. The door shut with a pressurized hiss behind her and she walked forward to the circular table, dropping into a chair beside Steve. Thor stood beside Fury, dressed in civilian clothing and not the usual Asgardian threads, looking far less impressive and causing the hammer he clutched tightly to appear almost ridiculous. He nodded at her and she returned the gesture, the mere fact that he had not even greeted her with words, showed the seriousness of the situation. "Is Stark not coming?" She asked, looking around as though expecting the billionaire to drop down from the roof or childishly jump out from under the table. Fury clicked his teeth and clasped his hands behind his back, looking about as annoyed as was possible, even though his face was hardly anything apart from neutral.

"Considering the intel I've been given, I would rather not have Mr. Stark here, arguing against everything I say for the mere purpose of hearing his own voice." It was a snide comment, surprising Natasha a little to see Fury so openly bothered by someone. But Tony was not under Fury's control in the slightest and everybody knew it, Tony managed to get under Fury's skin more that he did with anybody else.

"I cannot say for certain if my brother will even be a threat." Thor said out of the blue as the door was opened again and Natasha didn't have to turn to know Clint was walking into the room. "I don't think Loki has come to Earth to enjoy our lovely sunsets." Clint said dryly, taking a seat on the other side of Natasha. "How did he escape?" Steve asked, resting his hands on the table in front of him. Thor frowned and glanced down at his prized hammer, his eyes clouded as though pulling up a distant memory.

"Unfortunately, that is my doing." He said, clearly annoyed at himself. "I… fell for one of Loki's tricks, yet again." He didn't seem to want to elaborate and Natasha could see the flash of pain in his eyes that everybody else seemed to miss. "The tesseract….?" Clint asked, when it became apparent that Thor's story was not going to be continued. "Still safe in our vault." Thor informed the group and there was a general moment of relieved sighs around the room. "Extra security measures have been taken, Loki would be a true fool to attempt theft of anything in the vault." There was a moment of silence as the group tried not to openly insult Loki and his level of intelligence, knowing Thor would react in a negative manner.

"How concerned do we need to be?" Steve asked logically. "To be honest, I do not know much about the purpose of his return here." Thor said quietly. "I do not think he has malicious intent."

"But you don't know that for sure." Fury said, turning to face the muscular God, his single eyebrow raised. "You told me you believe he is searching for something. From the brief encounters we have had with your brother, I'm assuming he won't play nice to get what he wants." Thor's face hardened. Even after everything, it seemed he did not want to think of his brother in a bad way.

"What is he looking for?" Natasha asked, fully aware of the animosity building between Thor and Fury. Her question distracted both men and all eyes fell onto Thor. "That much is not clear." Thor said and Fury opened his mouth to speak, he was used to being in charge and to hold all the cards, he was ready to demand answers. But Thor held up his hand to stop him from talking, though the motion was calm enough, Fury did not look pleased in the slightest. "There is much I cannot tell you." He said looking around at them, "I am asking you to respect this. But I came to offer any assistance that I could."

"When exactly did Loki escape." Natasha asked. Her question brought out thoughtful expressions around the room, no one had bothered to ask anything like that, assuming Thor had come to them instantly. But Natasha had a suspicious mind and she was staring at Thor intently. Mild guilt crossed his face, but he still kept his eyes toward the others. "Almost two weeks ago." He said quietly. Fury had turned away but his head snapped toward Thor immediately.

"That maniac has been loose on my planet for almost two weeks!" He exclaimed, his composure slipping more than anyone in room had seen before. "Two weeks! And you are only just telling us now!"

Natasha glanced at Clint, she could clearly see how much his face had paled at the realization that Loki had been on Earth for such a long time. Danger could have come at any turn. And yet it hadn't. Natasha sat up a little straighter, her strategic mind racing. "Maybe he doesn't want revenge against us at all." She suggested, knowing that such a thought would be on everybody's mind "Two weeks. Two weeks that we had no clue he was here. No extra security precautions have been taken in that time. He could have taken us down on the street, or even at the tower. No one would have been expecting anything. If he really is looking for something, maybe that is his only reason for coming here. Maybe total secrecy is his plan and he has no intention of causing any trouble."

The group listened to her, it wasn't often that she spoke up at meetings unless it was to ask specific questions. She didn't babble her opinions out all the time, so when she did make a suggestion, people usually made a point to listen and take in her advice. But she knew straight away that she hadn't convinced anyone, although that hadn't been her intention, she was merely voicing an idea that had come into her head.

"I'm not taking a gamble on that." Fury said calmly, after considering her words for just a moment. She just nodded silently, taking no offense. "Why have you not asked Dr. Banner to attend this gathering?" Thor asked with a little confusion in his tone. "I was under the impression he had started to work closely with this team?" "That is correct." Fury said almost casually, "But a high priority of ours is still to ensure he keeps away from stress and I can assure you this kind of news would most certainly give him the kind of stress he does not need."

"We can't just keep something like this from him." Steve said with a frown and Fury rounded on him. "Rogers, until we can discover more information about Loki's intentions, neither Dr. Banner, nor Stark are to know anything about this situation. Do I make myself clear?" Fury glared around the room at Natasha and Clint, making it obvious that the order went for them as well. "Yes sir." The group chorused out of synchronization with each other.

Natasha was not happy about having to keep the information to herself. It wasn't that she couldn't keep a secret, she was a spy, secrets were second nature to one such as her. She understood Fury's point, Tony was unpredictable and that made him a liability, Bruce was walking on eggshells all the time normally, adding a threat like Loki in there would only create yet another problem. But they were a team and to function well, they needed to trust each other. When the secrets came to light, no doubt it would cause more drama than if everything had been fully disclosed initially. But orders were orders and Natasha would follow them, no matter how much she disagreed with the way Fury was handling things. Everybody was on edge, unsure of what to do. They were in the dark and that made the danger greater, the potential of undue paranoia becoming another factor. If they couldn't figure out Loki's plans soon, then they were going to be jumping at shadows.