"You're good?" Tony was leaning on the table in front of me and watched me carefully.
"It's a lot to take in but I am okay."
"You want to wait a few days before telling the rest of the team?" I shook my head.
"What for? They are all kind of involved in this, I guess. The longer we wait the tougher things will get. This way we can find a solution together regarding how we want to deal with whatever there is to deal." He ruffled through my hair.
"Let's get the team up here. Friday, inform everyone we have a meeting in twenty."
"Of course, sir."

Twenty minutes later one by one filled into the conference room. I had reclined into my chair, legs hanging over one armrest and my head propped up on an elbow on the other. Steve and Bucky were the last ones to come in. Apparently they had just finished working out since Steve's hair was still wet and Barnes was rubbing a towel over his wet hair. When his eyes found mine, my heart skipped a beat. Immediately he made his way over and kneeled down in front of me.
"Everything alright, doll?" I took a deep breath. No matter what was going on between us at the moment, I needed a friend right now. And he made me feel safe.
"More or less. Can you just stay here?" He straightened himself but stayed behind me with his metal hand on my shoulder.
"I will stay right by your side. Promised." The glare he shot Loki on the other side of the room didn't go unnoticed by me. On instinct I reached for his hand and he gave it a short squeeze to let me know he was there. Steve slumped down in the chair to my left and laid his hand on my overhanging legs. Both men giving a clear message towards the god that it would be wise to stay on the other side of the room.
"So, what is the big news?" Clint leaned against the wall next to the door with his arms crossed over his chest. Tony cleared his throat and looked at me. I just shook my head, I didn't want to talk. So he explained in a shorter version what he and Thor just told me. Everyone was either looking at me or at the floor. Out of all the looks, I hated the one Loki gave me the most. At some point I had gotten out of my seat, too anxious to sit still any longer. The urge to just leave the room getting stronger every second. Barnes had noticed Loki's gaze as well. He put an end to me pacing around by simply pulling me back first against his front. His arms were firm around me as he leaned down to whisper in my ear.
"Can you manage? Otherwise I'll get you to your room." I gave him a weak smile.
"I think I am good for now. But thank you." The warmth of his embrace was nice and helped to calm me down a little. When I looked over once more, Loki cocked an eyebrow in a mocking way. Without thinking much about it I pressed back into the safety of the body behind me.

"So what exactly does this mean for us now?" Steve watched me carefully.
"That we basically have no idea what to expect at all. If I got Barnes's statement correct, she developed quite the talent for full contact combat. And Banner isn't sure to which degree her body's regeneration rate is to be blamed on her DNA. How fast the gunshot wound healed could be indicating that those abilities are also getting stronger."
"It is extremely difficult for me to manipulate her mind." Everyone turned towards Loki and Bucky let out a low growl. "Somehow she managed to block me off completely. I can barely get inside her head. Even if she knew I was trying to do it, she shouldn't be able to build up more than a little resistance." Loki was completely fixated on me.
"Bastard!", I hissed, which resulted in him grinning proudly.
"Oh, I'd love to know everything going on in that pretty head…"
"If I were in your shoes, I would choose my next words carefully, Laufeyson." Barnes's voice was dangerously calm. Tony cut in before the situation could get out of hand.
"As I said before: we have basically no idea what she is capable of doing. One thing is certain, she cannot fall into the hands of Hydra. And until we know exactly what we are dealing with we need to proceed with caution. I would appreciate it if Barnes and Rogers could train you more thoroughly, dependent on how your skills develop."
"Should her talents really go down that road, I would like to participate in her training. The Valkyries always fought with axes and swords. And I would like to see her at least be able to handle a sword properly." Everyone nodded at Thor's words. I was a little more sceptical. Sure, me fighting with a sword. In my hands a butter knife already became as dangerous as a butcher's knife. Great idea putting a deadly weapon in my hands.
"I think for now that should be all. Everything else we can deal with when it comes to that."

"Time to get you something to eat, doll." I looked up when Bucky's hands found their way onto my shoulders.
"I am in no mood to cook right now.", I mumbled. He smiled at me and guided me towards the door with his hand on my lower back.
"I didn't say that you have to cook. I'll make you something to eat." I looked at him in surprise. Why had I never thought about the fact that he came from a time where practically everybody was able to cook?
"Most of the time it even tastes good." Steve laughed and followed us.
Half an hour later I could definitely confirm Steve's words. Even if it was nothing special, the burgers Bucky put together were the best I ever had.
"This is so good…" I took another bite from my burger and couldn't help the almost obscene moan that escaped me. Barnes laughed at that before his face suddenly went dark with annoyance. What…?
"Maybe I could pull those noises from you as well." I almost choked on my food. Before he could do anything I motioned for Barnes to stay down for now and cleaned my hands on a napkin. I turned around to face Loki.
"The only thing you will ever achieve will be me gagging." His mischievous smile grew even bigger and I instantly regretted my words.
"Hmmm. I think this is not an appropriate place to do that. That is unless you like an audience. I have no problem with somebody watching me." Enough was enough. I made a fist, just like Bucky had shown me, and punched the god right in the face.
"Ouch!" I held my fist against my chest and carefully moved my fingers. Why did nobody tell me that actually punching someone hurt like hell? Loki wiped his fingers across his bottom lip, which had split a little. At least I achieved something apart from hurting myself. He looked at me and opened his mouth to say something. In an instant Barnes had rounded the table and quickly pushed me to stand behind him.
"I swear to God, my patience with you and your bullshit is wearing thinner by the minute. God or not, you come close to her again…" To my surprise Loki just nodded and left the kitchen without another word. Bucky turned around and gently took my hand in his for inspection.
"Let me have a look at that. Can you move your fingers?"
"Yes but it hurts like a bitch…" He looked at me with a soft expression on his face.
"The pain will wear off. As long as you can move your fingers nothing is broken. I'll get an ice pack."

He put the ice pack in a towel, grabbed my plate and maneuvered me over towards the couch. When I sat down my shirt slipped up an inch or two and I hurriedly pulled it back down. But it was already too late. Bucky put my plate on the table and crouched down in front of me. Carefully he touched my side with his metal hand.
"What is that?" I avoided his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. "Doll? Where did you get those scars?" I felt the tears welling up. Could I really talk to him about that part of my life? He already saw the scars…
"This isn't a pretty story, Barnes." He sat down next to me without taking his eyes off of me.
"I don't need a pretty story when I ask you what happened to you. I want to know where those scars come from and why you try to hide them from me. And why you start crying instead of just talking to me. Hey, look at me." He gently took my face in his hands and made me look at him. "You know that you can talk to me about anything, don't you? No matter how horrible, I promise you, it can't be worse than my past."
I closed my eyes, I couldn't bear to look into his if he expected me to talk. When he brought me back to my room after Tony's party he couldn't see the scars in the dark. Pulling up the shirt and revealing the skin to him now took everything I had. His fingers hovered closely over the tainted skin.
"What happened to you?" The skin of my stomach was littered with scars of various sizes. What he couldn't see right now was that my back looked even worse. Slowly I covered the skin again.
"The man from the hospital… Mexico…" The tears now started falling. Without saying anything he pulled me into his lap so that I was facing him. I grabbed the front of his shirt and buried my face in the crook of his neck. I needed time before I would be able to speak. He looped his arms around my waist and pulled me flush against him while stroking my back.
"Take your time, doll. You talk when you are ready. We got all night."

Slight spoiler for those who kept asking: next chapter you will finally find out what happened in Mexico ;)