Time for Chapter 7 :D We're excited for this one since so much akshully happens in this chapter!

Thanks to sammyxxjames for keeping tabs on us :3 And thanks to leximander for you comment. We're so happy we could make you laugh. As always, thanks to Kiwifruit for consistently making our smiles happen :)


"Oh, c'mon!" Clint whined as I put a kettle full of water on the stove. "I HAVE to be your favorite. We're so good together as a team."

I chuckled. "I don't want to say or do anything that'll get me on Natasha's bad side."

I walked past him to get to the refrigerator for milk.

"You're my favorite non-Avenger! I should be your favorite Avenger. Did all those nights of Rick Rolling Tony mean nothing to you? Oh! It's Stark, isn't it? Him will all that money."

I laughed even louder this time as I closed the refrigerator door. I knew Clint was feigning drama, which made his hysterics even more entertaining.

Before I could get back to preparing tea, Clint grabbed me and wrapped his arms around me. He was no Steve Rogers, but his strength still overpowered me.

"Give me a kiss, and I'll forgive you." he whispered to me.

Before I could say anything or break free, an alarm started to sound off.

"Loki has been spotted. I repeat, Loki has been spotted at the museum of Natural History." Jarvis announced.

"Loki's back?" I squawked.

Clint immediately let me go.

"Go to Banner's lab, Elizabeth!" He shouted. He then ran down the hallway to presumably get his bow and arrows.

As I ran down the hallway behind him, I saw the other members of the Avengers rushing around, getting ready to suit up. I then bumped in to Bruce. I could see Bruce's skin color already changing.

"Bruce, not inside!" I shouted.

He just looked down at me with empty eyes, as his mass became greater. Without saying anything else, I ran past him, slamming his lab door behind me and bolting it shut. Even with everyone rushing about, and Bruce already turning in to the Hulk, the only thing I could think about was calling Theresa and letting her know what was going on. There was no phone down here and I didn't have my cell on me.

Instinctively, I crawled under one of the tables, but from even where I was sitting, I could see the TV. The channel Bruce left it on was the news and I hoped that, soon enough, I could see what exactly was going on.


Loki passed through the halls of the American Museum of Natural History with a satisfied smirk on his face. He'd finally managed to find what he was looking for while on of his shadows moved on its own, seeking what he was truly looking for. Admittedly, the scene in front of him wasn't entirely as he'd been imagining it, but it would more than suffice for his purposes. In this immense room there stood frozen 2 sets of skeletons poised in combat – one long necked dinosaur was rearing back away from an obvious predator. He'd already allowed his magic to scan 4 other great beasts, but this was the predator he'd been seeking. He would have to use his own imagination for some of the finer parts of his plan, but that certainly wasn't a problem for him.

"Your Majesty." He murmured to himself as he smirked at the skeleton of the great predator. He knew his shadow had now found other objects that could help him, so he paused to allow it the chance it needed to magic away what he wanted. As he waited for the chance to use his magic again, he stood and admired the contents of this engaging building. It was truly amazing, the things mortals were showcasing here.

He felt the item he'd been seeking as it slipped through the rift, whisked away by his magic to a safer place. Thus the full force of his magic returned to him. He used it again to scan over these skeletons. "Much obliged." He murmured turning towards the exit. Well, this was certainly a productive trip… not that his intended targets had arrived yet.

"Hey, look! Iron Man's outside!" He heard a child cry from the doorway. The mortals began to clamor outside and he couldn't help but smirk.

"Right on schedule."


"How's it lookin', Stark?" Having Captain America's apple pie voice circulating in his helmet was never Tony's idea of a good time, but that was the cost of being on Recon Squad.

"Nothing doing so far, Captain. Nothing but tourist and excited kids who want… wait… " The HUD display began beeping in aggravation, a figure in the distance was framed in a flashing red box. "Got him." He said. "He's standing in the main entrance… smirking at me like we're old palls." Loki simply stood at the top of the stares, looking at him as though he hadn't a care in the world. The demi-god had adapted well to casual human fashion, sporting snug black jeans, a rich green shirt and a smart black leather jacket.

"That cannot be good." He heard Thor's voice in the distance.

"Tell me about it." He muttered. He switched the audio forward so that it would project. "Please remain calm. We need you to quickly and orderly evacuate these premises." The children were still chattering excitedly, but the adults realized the severity of the issue. They began corralling the kids and hurriedly scuttled away. Some of them, very idiotically, simply relocated to the hot dog stand across the street. Tony slowly propelled himself forward, coming to a nice land next to the equestrian statue of Roosevelt.

"So, they have you playing reconnaissance do they?" Loki called "I would've thought my brother would want to come directly on his own."

"Well, after our last song and dance, we're not willing to take chances." Tony reminded, receiving a nod and an absent shark's grin. "And what happened to not being his brother?" Tony prodded. He watched as Loki's face went slack, his eyes drifting away before the ghost of a smile tugged at the edge of his lips.

"Habit." He said with a shrug, but he sounded dazed. Tony glared at him warily from behind the HUD. With a flick of his pinkie, his outgoing audio went mute.

"You guys seeing this?" He asked. "He looks… I dunno…"

"Tired." Thor supplied.

"Right." Tony switched the outgoing audio on again. "So, what brings you to this neighborhood?"

Loki blinked, looking up at the grand archways above his head. "Oh, I was told that my regard for you mortals is much too low. Do you know this place has a rating of 23 in your Zagat?"

"Yeah? Whaddaya know." Tony said.

"Oh yes!" Loki said with feeling. "They have that…that…giant thing. That Mammoth! And the bear-dog…"

"Amphicyon?" Tony supplied.

"Yes. Yes. Amphicyon. But you know my favorite has to be that Tyrannosaurus Rex."

"Well, this is a great family establishment. Your brother's about 15 minutes out, maybe you could show him." Tony countered, hoping for a reaction.

Loki laughed, a look of nostalgia taking his expression. "Maybe…but Thor wouldn't care for old bones no matter how impressive they are. They're too dull on their own to hold his interest over long." He said staring off to the side. Revelation dawned on his face. "You know what he might enjoy?"

"I have a horrible feeling you're going to show me…" Tony grumbled as Loki's eyes swung back to him alight with mischievous glee.

"Seeing those creatures the way they were when they were alive!"

"Um, yeah, I guess that'd be sort of coolish as long as you can put them on a leash and keep them—" He stopped, a sinking feeling settling in his gut as Loki's green eyes began to flare. Tony swore the statue beside him trembled just slightly from the impact of… enormous footsteps.

"Stark?" Steve's voice was loud in his helmet and Tony couldn't respond. "Stark, what's going on?"

"Mother Puss Bucket." Tony nearly growled. "Can't you see it?"

"Negative. That last surge of magic caused some sort of short. We no longer have a visual."

"He's animated the dinosaurs that were in the museum!" Tony snarled, drawing away as the walking skeletons advanced on him. He was met with silence.

"He didn't." Steve pleaded.

"Holy!" Tony ignited his thrusters, darting away from the gaping maw of a skeletal Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"Tony, what—?"

"I can't talk right now, Capcicle! Rex seems to want to play fetch!"

"Can you lead them into the park?" Steve questioned hurriedly.

"I'm Iron Man, not a Dino-Wrangler!" He complained, but tried to keep himself close enough to taunt the dinosaur without being within reach. "I'll see what I can manage!"

His HUD display fragmented, showing him that Loki was creating more magic. This magic, however, seemed to wrap around him, transforming his modern day clothes into the usual leather and armor her wore.

"It appears they like you." Loki said with a chuckle. He cast another spell, this time sending the magic out to cover the bones that were currently chasing Tony. Tony watched as the walking skeletons were beginning to be wrapped in muscle and skin. Loki was recreating dinosaurs from the blue prints he'd observed from the museum? How… interesting. His HUD display began scanning each figure, bringing up the various names of each beast. Apatosaurus, Allosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Mammoth and…Velociraptors? But… that wasn't right at all…

Once fully re-embodied, the T-Rex let out a defining roar and led the charge. The mammoth trumpeted and began to wander away, probably in no mood to be near such a predator. The Apatosaurus obviously agreed as it hastily diverged from the group and went further into the park.

"Tony, you cannot engage!" Steve's worried voice came over the connection.

"Uh, you wanna run that by me again?" Tony quipped, darting away from another snack-attack from the Allosaurus this time.

"Those skeletons are property of the museum, we cannot—"

"I don't think these guys are the skeletons from the museum." Tony responded, trying to lead them further into the park.

"Can you clarify that?" Natasha asked.

"Look at the list if dinos that are after me!" Tony shouted. "There are no Velociraptors on display at the museum! Especially these! They look like they're copies of.. Jurassic Park. I think these are just carbon copies!"

And then, Thor descended from the heavens, smashing the T-Rex's skull in with Mjölnir. The Hulk was right behind him, lifting the Allosaurus into the air and throwing it. Surprisingly, the beast survived the toss. It reared itself up again and roared at the Hulk in outrage… funny thing, the Hulk just roared back. That made that Allosaurus stare at the green man-thing, sizing him up. The Hulk didn't really care one way or the other about strategy. He just charged again.

"Oh, now that is just sad." Tony said, hovering by Thor. The Thunderer was standing triumphantly over the head of the T-Rex. The Rex gave its last breath and then slowly began to vanish, like dust being blow away by the wind.

"You three think you can take care of the Raptors?" Steve asked from the bay door of the helijet.

"Pretty sure we can manage." Tony said, eyeing the raptors that were circling him and Thor.

"Good. We need to round up the other two."

"The herbivores?" Tony asked with dismay.

"Herbivores or not, they'll only cause a panic."

"Guess so." He pouted. "No worries then, we'll just—"

"Thor! On your 6!" Natasha yelled down.

Time seemed to slow down as one of the bigger Velociraptors broke off from the group and flew through the air towards Thor. Thor barely had enough time to look up before the damn thing was nearly on him. And then, a bolt of blue energy sailed through the air, hitting the beast in the gut. It knocked it back into the shrubbery. All of the Velociraptors keened and contorted as though the spell had hit all of them. They collapsed and blew away as the Rex had, only so much dust being left behind. Thor and Tony whirled to find a very perplexed looking Loki, his hand still raised from throwing the spell. He breathed in and out, dazed shock permeating his expression. His eyes rested on Thor for a moment, and he swallowed harshly. When Thor took a step forward, Loki bolted. He ran, partially using his magic to allow him to dash ahead erratically.

"I think he's heading back to the museum." Hawkeye observed. Thor didn't really need to hear more than that before he tore off after Loki. Tony propelled himself higher to confirm it, but he knew that Hawkeye's instincts were probably right. After a quick confirmation, he dove to follow as well. He needed to get to the bottom of this mystery.

"What could he possibly be after there?" Steve wondered aloud.

"Either way, it looks like we're on clean-up." Natasha muttered, her eyes scanning the treetops for the other two dinosaurs.

Loki sighed as he found his way back to the hall exhibit he'd seen only an hour before. He used his magic to shatter the glass casing around the item he'd had his eye on.

"No time for finesse now." He muttered to himself as he grabbed the ornament. It was a single orb of blue wrapped in a golden wire the flared out at the edges and crossed over the jewel. The plaque underneath where it rested read 'Eye of Odin'.

"Brother, stop!" Thor bellowed as he skidded to a halt at the entrance of the hallway. Loki glared at him and drew back, never turning his back to him but never allowing Thor to get closer.

"Stay back." Loki seethed quietly. Thor paused for a moment to eye him critically, but then he advanced again albeit slowly. "I said stay back!" Loki shouted.

"Aw, but he just wants to reward his hero." Tony cooed condescendingly as he landed just behind Thor. Thor held up a hand, absently requesting that Tony hold his position where he was. "I mean, he should at least say thank you, what with you saving his ass and all." Tony made a show of looking around. "Hey, good to see those skeletons are still here." He murmured.

"I didn't…" Loki began but his words died away.

"Yes you did." Thor murmured, Loki's gaze jerking to him as if startled. "The Man of Iron is right." Thor said with a small smile, ignoring it when Tony asked if he could get that in writing. "I should thank you for that, Brother."

"Oh, Norns! It was an accident!" Loki ranted, his expression growing wild. "I didn't even mean to do it, it was just… it was just…" He swallowed. "Just… reflex." He said shaking his head. Somehow Thor had managed to draw closer. Loki took in a shuttering breath as he hastily backpedaled. "St…" Loki swallowed hard. "Stay away." He breathed.

"You know I cannot, Brother." Thor soothed as best he could, still striding forward.

Loki's face went still as he felt something he hadn't felt in ages. A presence he knew well enough and the surge of energy only accompanied by—

"Get back!" He yelled, using his own magic to physically push Thor back. As far as the thunder god was concerned, it was a mere love-tap. He looked up to his brother who was twisting in place, but not quick enough. A blast of green magic slammed into Loki and sent him flying into the wall besides Thor, then he hit the floor and was hefted up again so that he hit the other two walls as well before coming to a stop in a bloody heap on the ground. Loki panted exhaustedly, his eyes rising from his brother's boots. "Enchantress." He warned, and Thor had Mjölnir brandished and at the ready as the female form began to emerge from the opposite end of the hallway.

"Damn." Tony muttered in appreciation as the curvy blond sauntered forward.

"How dare you attack my brother, Enchantress!" Thor growled.

"You know her?" Tony asked.

"Yes.. the Enchantress, Amora and her body guard the Executioner." Thor practically spat, striding forward to put himself between Loki and his assailant.

"We only meant to aid you, Thunderer." Amora soothed in a tone that was entirely too innocent to be real. "The All-Father has deemed Loki Laufeyson a hopeless cause, and called for his immediate return to Asgard for judgment."

"You lie!" Thor roared. "Our father would never do such a—"

"You could ask him yourself, of course." Amora murmured with a sugary sweet smile. "The magical attack I used should have drained Loki of his remaining magic, rendering him as useless as he usually is."

"Wow…" Tony grumbled. "Look, I'll probably never be in the Loki fan club, but there are things you really just don't say about a guy's brother." Amora's face puckered in obvious aggravation over this mortal's interference.

"She's lying." Loki breathed raggedly. "About why she's here." He continued. Thor's head turned just slightly, his eyes ever on the Enchantress but he was obviously paying attention to whatever Loki was trying to say. "That much is a falsity. The All-Father has made no such decree." Amora's face darkened dangerously as she glared at him.

"Leave now." Thor growled, advancing forward. "Take your wicked intent and go!"

The executioner hefted his great axe, and sliced almost as though cutting through the very fabric of reality. A gaping black hole exposed itself in the middle of thin air.

"Perhaps another time then." Amora cooed with a sinister smile as she and her companion fled through the hole, only for it to sew itself back up again.

"Brother." Thor murmured worriedly, turning and slowly sinking to his knees. Loki had the impression that Thor would have hefted him up and carried him somewhere safe where his wounds could be tended… if Loki would've allowed it. His magic was drained, as the Enchantress had said, but his fist closed tightly over the artifact he'd stolen and he pulled power from it. The Eye of Odin was said to grant power and insight to whoever should possess it… he needed that now more than ever. Before Thor could reach for him, Loki was surrounded by white light and then he vanished.

He didn't see Thor hang his head in defeat… He didn't see Iron Man place a comforting hand on the Thunder God's shoulder.

"Uh, guys?" Hawkeye's voice came over Tony's intercom.

"What?" Tony snapped.

"Geeze. I'll schedule an appointment when I can, okay. But I just thought you'd like to know the other two dinosaurs are dust… one of them without us even touching it."

"Roger that… we need to get back to base and debrief." Tony said.

"What about Loki?" Steve asked.

"We'll tell you in the debrief." Tony said. He had a feeling Thor wouldn't really want to go over this more than once. "Come on, big guy." Tony said. Thor nodded and rose, his eyes falling on the enormous skeletons that had entranced his brother.


Since the commotion with Loki this morning, I hadn't seen the Avengers much. I saw everyone hobble to the kitchen on occasion to grab food, all except for Bruce. Bruce was undoubtedly keeping himself in his lab, probably continuing his research on how to contain the Hulk, or trying to figure out how to detect Loki sooner than when he was detected earlier today.

I stood in the middle of my office, looking around and making sure I had everything done before I clocked out.

As I walked into the hallway and shut the door behind me, a thought crossed my mind. With my powers, I tapped into Mr. Stark's system and talked to Jarvis with my thoughts.

"Jarvis, when was the last time any of us saw Dr. Banner?"

"13 hours, Miss." Jarvis replied.

"Really?" I thought, bringing myself out of the system.

This won't do. I threw my high heels in my room and ran to the kitchen. I looked around and started throwing sandwiches together: cold ones, cheeses grilled, cheese and potatoe salad grilled. When I'd finished and looked at my work, I saw that I had made 12 different kinds of sandwiches, 3 of the same each. We were also out of bread.

"Jarvis, sweetie?"

"Yes, Miss?"

"Please take note that we're out of bread and I need to go out to get more." I said, putting the sandwiches on a big platter.

"Noted."

"Thanks, Jarvis!"

After I had gotten the sandwiches in place, I bounded down the stairs to the basement to Bruce's workshop.

It was really quiet around the base, but I wasn't surprised. The Avengers had just got back from a mission yesterday and had been heavily resting since then. But usually if Bruce wasn't on a mission with everyone else, he held himself hostage in his lab and didn't speak to anyone very often. I worried about m sometimes. I knew that he needed his quiet time so he wouldn't be stressed, but I felt that since everyone was aware of his condition, he could mingle with everyone once in a while. It's not like anyone would make him angry n purpose. Well, Clint might.

I broke my train of thought and found myself already at Bruce's lab.

I lightly knocked on the door with my foot.

"Come in." I heard him say quietly.

"Um, could you please open the door for me?" I asked.

After a few moments, Bruce opened the door. As he stood there looking at me questioningly. I saw that he looked tired and haggard. He had stubble on his face and his eyes had bags under them. His buttoned up purple shirt looked wrinkled from too much wear.

Without saying anything, I gently pushed my way past him with my (luggage). When I got in to the dimly lit room, I put the platter of sandwiches on the nearest table and turned around to face him.

"So what brings you here?" Bruce asked as he sat down at his work table.

"I haven't seen you for a while. I brought you some food." I said, leaning against the table with sandwiches.

"Thank –Thank you, but I—" Bruce waved his hand, denying my offering.

"Look, snacking on candy all day and night is not healthy. I'm not afraid to go doting big sister on your ass. Now eat."

Bruce sighed and slowly walked to the sandwiches. He hesitantly picked up a sandwich, and after inspecting it, asked, "What's this one?"

"That one is grilled cheese and potato salad." I answered.

Bruce took a bite and nodded in approval while chewing, and walked back to his table.

"Well, at least you're eating something." I said, crossing my arms.

Just then, the door opened and Mr. Stark walked in.

"Hey, Bruce, I—" Tony stopped talking and looked back and forth between Bruce and me. "What—" he started pointing at us. "What is this?"

I looked over at Bruce. "Oh, your science boyfriend is jealous."

Mr. Stark grabbed a sandwich and took a big bite out of it.

"I'm not jealous." He scoffed.

Just at that moment, Clint burst into the room and made Bruce and Mr. Stark jump a little.

"There you are!" Clint shouted, pointing at me. "I have a bone to pick with you!"

I started at Clint for a moment. "What did I do?"

"You kissed Steve and took Thor out on a date! Where's my kiss? Where's my affection? What's the deal?" Clint closed his arms and stared at me, waiting for my answer.

"Well, I, uh." I stammered.

Mr. Stark jumped in. "Yeah, what about me?"

I rolled my eyes, hoping that the heat in my face wasn't a blush. "Well, you're my boss."

"Where's my affection?" Clint continued "What do Steve and Thor have that I don't?"

I sighed. I didn't know what to say. I was also tired from working all day and just wanted to lie down for a bit. But I had a small idea.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you guys." I said. I then grabbed a sandwich and turned to Bruce. "Just make sure to eat a little okay?" I asked him. I then walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Walking past Clint and Mr. Stark.

"What—What the hell?"Clint screeched.

Mr. Stark quietly snickered.

"I'm taking a nap." I said, stopping in the doorway.


And...that is all.