"Thank you for staying tonight," Loki said to Natasha as he stood on the balcony and glared back down onto the street.

"That's okay," Natasha said simply, "I could have gone back to headquarters, but then I would have had to watch as the Science Bro's try to figure out what that blip on the radar is," she handed him a cup of tea, "thought you might want this. Try not to hurt yourself."

He took it from her gingerly, "thanks."

"The last thing you need is to be alone with anything sharp," Natasha continued almost sarcastically, "just think about who'll clean up the body." Loki smiled sadly. The way she had said that, she sounded almost like Bella. He took a long sip of his tea.

"What do you know about the blip?" Loki asked Natasha almost suddenly.

"Only where it was an hour ago, why?"

"C- My boss wants me to figure out what it is, too," he told her.

"SHEILD?" Natasha asked, "Stark doesn't want anything getting out, especially to that team you work with."

"It passed Ioh a few days ago," he told her stiffly.

"It's coming up on Mars now."

Loki sipped his tea, deciding instead to think about the blip, "It's moving too slowly for the usual spacecraft," he told her, "unless whoever's driving knows you can detect the ship and that you can do nothing about its arrival."

"Why would 'the driver' drive so slowly?"

Loki looked at Natasha, "whoever it is, they want to intimidate the people of Earth, either that or their hyperdrive is sorely lacking."

"I have to call the Cap, set up a defensive perimeter."

"Where?" Loki looked up to the stars, "you have the whole of space, a technology level that would barely intimidate a primitive planet, and six men."

"We stopped you."

"I let you," Loki replied, "Somehow I do not think that this person cares much for sympathy."

Natasha rolled her eyes, "I still don't believe that," she said simply.

The doorbell rang after a moment, and they both looked at each other, "who could that be?"


He was dressed in full Asgardian garb now as opposed to the primitive dark skins he had been wearing, and he allowed himself to drop down onto the path below. The pavement cracked as he landed on his feet with a mighty snap. He began to walk towards the Washington townhouse with his hammer at his side.

He strode down the path towards the door, knocked casually and waited. A few moments later, the door cracked open and bright light and heat poured out of the building.

He was greeted by a pair of dark eyes, those which belonged to his brother, "you sure took your sweet time," he said bitterly.

"May I enter?"

"I would prefer if you did not," Loki replied snidely.

"We are brothers."

"That was hardly my choice."

Thor took a deep breath, "I have come because Heimdall saw what transpired in Latvaria," he said.

He saw Loki flinch slightly, "you could have stopped it."

"I could not," Thor said simply.

The door opened fully, "liar," Loki sneered between his teeth, "Heimdall saw, Odin must have seen too. You could have saved her, you didn't."

His large shoulders drooped, "Heimdall did not see until it was too late. Neither did Father. It seems that they are both losing their abilities."

"Why did you not come to me before?" Loki asked him, almost pathetically, "I needed you."

"Brother, I know you," he reached into a fold of his armor, "and I know that you want answers," the bundle was a few sheets of paper wrapped around something hard. He handed them to Loki.

"What is this?"

"Some answers, I hope."