A/N: I'm terrible. I'm also incredibly lucky to have wonderful readers such as yourselves. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. :)

A small, pulsing light; light green in color; faint at first but growing stronger with every heartbeat. Dr. Banner, Kat thinks to herself, taking long, even breaths. She sits cross-legged on her bunk, ignoring the constant hum of energy around her and focusing on a single signature. But that's not the one she's looking for. It's close, but not quite the same.

She breathes deeper and tries expanding her consciousness out further, seeking out the energy she needs to find. There's a similar energy signature close to Dr. Banner, but this one is a light blue color, and has a stronger concentration of energy.

Loki's scepter. Kat feels a chill spread through her chest as she reaches her mind towards the source of power. The amount of energy coming off the scepter is staggering, even from this far away. But it gives her a good point of reference to go back to. The hunt for the Tesseract will be much more difficult.

Even though the cube has as much, if not more, energy than the scepter, it could be anywhere in the world. Dr. Banner and Tony were doing their best to narrow down its location, but those efforts were slow-going… and they were running out of time.

From the moment Loki stepped foot on the ship, Kat could feel herself growing sick from the amount of energy pouring off the two Asgardians that now resided alongside her. Whereas Thor was all bravado and strength, Loki seethed with malice and duplicity. She wasn't surprised, given his nature and all the legends about him she'd grown up reading, but it was something far different when experienced in person. It was… terrifying.

Kat couldn't get that image out of her head; Loki's twisted grin the first time she'd set eyes on him. What lay behind that devious façade? She couldn't say for sure… and that's what frightened her the most.

This ordeal would have been much easier with Steve by her side, but she'd thrown that chance away herself a long time ago. Even though they'd both agreed to try and reconcile their differences after this whole thing was over, he was still very distant towards her. Every time she tried to catch his eye, he'd intentionally avert his gaze. She supposed she deserved it, but it didn't make the reality of her situation any less painful.

She took another deep breath and tried once more to focus her mind outward, beyond the confines of the hellicarrier and to the earth below. Trying to find the energy signature of the Tesseract when it could be anywhere in the world was like looking for a piece of straw in a stack of needles. Kat's mind was being assaulted by hundreds upon thousands of energy sources with varying degrees of power, each one vying for her attention. It was taking everything in her power to block them out, not to mention the pain that went along with it.

When she was inside her own head, time seemed to move at a different pace. There were times where she would have sworn she was only Pathfinding for ten minutes, at most, when in reality hours had passed by without her realizing. There was one time, when she'd been searching for a fugitive that SHIELD wanted, that she'd spent so long in her own mind that she required medical care afterwards. Her body had suffered the effects as if she hadn't eaten or drank anything in 3 days. Since then, she'd taken great care to remain aware of how long she spent in her head.

Several more moments passed by without any results, so she decided to take a break and stretch her legs. Slowly, she drew herself out of her mind, and back into the real world. Her eyes opened and she rolled her shoulders, working out the tension and soreness in her limbs. Laying on the bed beside her was a small, leather-bound notebook that she kept her notes in. She glanced at her familiar, looping script:

Start time – 3:23 pm

Kat glanced at the watch on her wrist and groaned slightly; she'd stayed in longer than she intended. Stretching her cramped fingers, she picked up her pen and scribbled hastily on the lined paper.

End time – 6:19 pm

Results: None

For the past few days, she'd been searching independently without consulting Dr. Banner or Tony Stark. Part of her felt like she needed to do this on her own; prove that she deserved the trust and responsibility they'd placed on her. But now… now she was beginning to realize she couldn't do this on her own.

With a heavy sigh, she drew herself up off the bed and stretched her arms over her head. There was a slight chill in the air, so she grabbed a grey, cable-knit sweater from her bag and pulled it on over her tee shirt. Then she headed out of her quarters and through the sprawling ship to the lab where Dr. Banner had settled himself in.

When she got there, she halted her steps as quickly as she could and darted back around a corner, peeking her head out slightly to survey the scene. Steve was there, talking to Bruce and periodically glaring at Tony with a clenched jaw. Whatever they were discussing, she could tell it was serious; there were hot waves of energy rolling off each of them. So much so that she thought Steve and Tony might start punching each other at any moment.

A few more moments passed and then Steve turned to leave the lab, eyes trained on the floor and brow set into a scowl. Kat's heart started to pound as he began walking toward her down the hall. But he stopped mid-step and looked back over his shoulder the other way, towards what she thought was the cargo bay. He seemed to wrestle with himself for a moment, and then strode down the corridor the opposite way. Kat breathed a sigh of relief when she lost sight of him, and came out of hiding to finish her trek to the lab.

Before she'd taken two steps into the sprawling space, Tony was already irritating her with his inhuman perceptiveness.

"So, what's the deal with you two anyways?" he quipped without looking away from his computer screen. "You're obviously some kind of Enhanced, so… did ya know him before he became a Capsicle?"

"Uh… a what?" Kat stammered, caught off guard in a rare moment. She felt her hands begin to shake. How does he know about me?

"It wasn't hard to figure out," he continued, unfazed. "Dr. Banner is undeniably the leading authority on gamma radiation; why would they bring someone else on unless they brought something to the table only they had. Left it at the obvious conclusion that you're… something else."

Kat felt her entire body go rigid at his insinuating tone. A thousand different thoughts were running through her head, but the voice of her Nana rang clearer than the rest of them. "Rise above…" she said, with that sweet smile she always carried. "Their scrutiny can only hurt you if you let it."

She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves and calming her anger all at once. "Not that it's any of your business," she replied in a low voice, "but yes… something like that…" Stark smirked at her slightly, but turned his attention back to the computer screen. It seemed he was done with his questions… for now.

"Have you had any luck, Miss Winters?" Bruce asked from where he sat at the low counter, running a handheld scanner over Loki's glowing scepter. The closer she stood to it, the more its energy began to affect her.

She gave Bruce as convincing a smile as she could muster. "Not much," she replied. "And please, it's Kat." He gave a sheepish smile and turned his attention back to the scepter.

"From what I can tell," he continued, "the energy signature from the scepter is remarkably similar to that of the cube. What can you tell?"

"It's not just that they're remarkably similar," she said, rubbing at her temple, "they're exactly the same. I've never seen anything quite like it, to be honest. Whatever powers these two objects, it comes from the same source."

"That doesn't make sense…" Bruce mumbled quietly.

"The scepter and the cube have vastly different functions," Tony cut in, glancing over at the pair of them. "If they're powered by the same source, it's obviously something extraterrestrial."

"Well, given what we know about Loki…" Kat let the end of the statement hang, dwelling on her own thoughts. If she could find out what powered these two objects, it would help her in locating the Tesseract. And it seemed the only way to find out what was powering them was…

She turned on her heel quickly and headed towards the door. "Where are you going?" Dr. Banner called after her.

"I need to talk to someone," she said back over her shoulder, striding out of the lab and down the hallway with renewed purpose. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she thought about what she was preparing to do. She thought herself brave, but she knew Steve and Director Fury would think her crazy.

It didn't matter. If they were ever going to locate the cube before the other shoe dropped, she had to do this.


The room was colder than she'd thought it would be; but maybe it was just the effect of the icy cold glare she was receiving from the cell in front of her. He was like a feral cat, prowling back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back, a hungry look in his eye and that same smirk plastered on his unnervingly handsome face.

"I had wondered how long it would take you to come to me," he purred quietly. "It seems I didn't have to wait long at all."

"Why don't you cut the crap, Loki?" she bit out in a hostile tone. Kat wasn't in the mood to play games, which was all Loki did. She'd dealt with subjects like him before, just never to this magnitude. "We both know that you're exactly where you want to be. What I don't know, is why."

"Very direct," he chuckled. "I'm impressed. Usually, you Midgardians are too timid to look me in the eye, let alone address me the way you just have. So I have to wonder… what makes you different?"

"I'm not here to talk about me," she said harshly. Loki's bright eyes remained fixed on her as she stepped forward. "I'm here to talk about the cube."

"Isn't everyone?" he asked with a smirk.

"Well, that's the million dollar question… So where is it?"

He let out a bellow of laughter. "I must applaud you on your obstinacy, but I fear your attempt at bravery has fallen short at childishness."

Kat had expected him to mock her. What she hadn't expected, however, was for it to affect her at all. She began to feel her courage wavering slightly; the doubt was creeping in, and the fear was beginning to take hold. It was one thing to imagine confronting Loki, a god of mischief and trickery in his own right, but to actually do it… that was something entirely different.

"Let's return to your original question, shall we?" he continued nonchalantly. "As you said, we both know that I'm exactly where I wish to be. But the more interesting question, in my mind, is why are you here, Miss Winters?"

The fact that he knew her name shouldn't have come at all as a surprise, but it still sent an icy shock through her body to hear the words pass his lips. "I would have thought that'd be obvious," she said, less sure now. "I'm a SHIELD consultant… this is a SHIELD operation. It really isn't that hard of a puzzle to piece together."

"You're right," he conceded, "it's isn't difficult… when you're only looking at part of the entire picture." He was quiet for a few moments, just looking her over in that unnerving way of his. "It's clear that you seem to think you know me, Miss Winters… But here is what I know about you."

Kat couldn't help herself scoffing at that, but she gestured for him to continue all the same. "You think yourself an abomination; somehow unworthy of existing in the same plane as the mortals surrounding you. And so you throw yourself into a life of serving them; of proving that you deserve to live as they do. But it's never enough, is it, Katherine? They still scorn you; despise you; look at you as a monster. You're forced to hide your true power beneath a mask; pretend that you couldn't rule over them if you wished.

"All I want, is to put them in their place. To show them that they are nothing in the grand scheme of the universe, and allow extraordinary individuals, such as yourself, to live in their rightful place. Is that not what you desire?"

The more he spoke, the more Kat could feel his power beginning to affect her. His words sounded like honey, spreading warmth through her chest and over her body. It sounded wonderful, when he said it like that. But there was that ever-present niggling at the back of her mind… that Loki's enticing promises never came without a cost. But she didn't have to let him know that.

"You want to… to set me free?" she said, allowing an air of hope to enter her voice.

A wicked smile spread across Loki's face. "That is all I have ever wanted. There are millions of others like you, Miss Winters. All of you living in shadow; hiding your true selves, all the while yearning for the light. I wish to break your chains."

"Well," she hedged, casting her eyes at the floor, "it sounds good on paper. But how would you do it?" She stepped closer to the cell, almost touching the glass. Loki's power lay in his ability to seduce—not necessarily in a sexual way, but to promise whatever the person listening desired most, convincing them wholeheartedly that he could provide whatever they wanted. But two could play at that game.

He seemed to turn inward for a moment, questioning himself but on what, Kat didn't know. And then, a more genuine smile graced his face. "This cage cannot hold me forever, Miss Winters. When I am free, all you must do is come with me to learn how you can be also."

She waited a few moments, adopting a look of skepticism. "How can I know this isn't a trick?" she asked.

"I'm not asking you to release me. Just to give my way a chance…" He stared at her intently for a moment, and she pretended to debate with herself.

"I'm not ready to trust you, Loki," she said seriously. "I need something more than a pretty promise. Tell me about the cube, and your scepter; where do they come from?"

"Question my brother on that matter," he replied with a smirk. "Realization will come to him, eventually." Loki stepped away from the glass and turned his back towards her, indicating he was done with their conversation.

Kat wasn't even close to being finished with him, but she let it drop, for now. They stood at an interesting position; each needing something from the other. She would need to be careful she didn't upset the balance of power. But how to get what she needed without giving Loki too much of what he wanted?


When Kat returned to her room, there was a note laying on the floor, having been slipped through a crack under the door. She didn't recognize the handwriting, and the message was short.

Need to talk. Cargo bay. 10pm.

Her first instinct was that Steve had left this for her. But why not just come to her? Or ask her to come to his room? There must be something down there that he needed her to see. And whatever it was, she had a feeling it didn't bring good news.

Alright, that's all for this one. Hope you all enjoyed it, and please review!