Tony shook Natasha's arm. He and Clint moved her to the couch after they determined she was not in an immediate danger and her state was stable. He didn't know what Daddy de Sade had done to her exactly, but it was serious enough for her to not wake up right away. It had been a good few hours now though, and it was a high time for another attempt.

She opened her eyes and blinked the dizziness away. "Where's Loki?" she asked as she sprung up and looked around.

Tony lowered his gaze and shook his head. "I'm sorry. There was nothing we could do."

Her eyes filled with tears despite the obvious attempts to keep them at bay, then she pressed her palms to her face. Clint trudged his way from the kitchen, set his cup down and sat next to her, his arm around her shoulders. "I know. We tried," he whispered, rubbing her arm as she sobbed into his shirt.

All in all, the atmosphere in the room pretty accurately reflected how Tony himself felt. All he wanted to do was go and curl up next to Pepper and let her to rub his sore shoulders and lull him to sleep, forget about what happened, even just for a little while.

But he couldn't. Not yet.

Pepper was on the phone, talking with lawyers and politicians and whoever else might be even concerned about what legal actions they could pursue in a situation like this. This was a major diplomatic blunder of – literary – interplanetary proportions. Loki was officially a refugee seeker, and he was attacked and kidnapped from American soil by the party he sought refuge from. They were in the right, Tony knew. But that still amounted to very little.

Natasha peeled her hands away from her face and sniffed, then her gaze drifted to Bruce, who occupied the other couch.

"Is he all right? What did Odin do to him?"

"He is fine," Tony assured. "Well, as fine as any of us can be right now. He came to quickly, but Clint had to tranq him again, with that Hydra drug we synthesized. It really wasn't the best time for a Hulk episode."

"How about you?"

"I'm good, just some bruises. A couple of cracked ribs maybe. I'll live."

She rubbed her neck, right where one of the guards got her. "They could've killed us," she said numbly. "They would have, if Loki didn't…"

"Yeah," Tony admitted, "I know."

"We did it and Odin just came and…" Her shoulders shook and she fought to keep her breath steady for a moment. "Like we were just some strays who stole his toy."

"I know."

There was silence for a while.

"Do we know why this happened now?" Clint spoke up. "Loki stayed with us for weeks. He was on Earth for over a year. And his piece of shit of a father didn't care. What changed?"

Natasha pressed her fingers to her eyelids. "I broke Odin's magic. The spell reawakened and I had to break it to keep it from hurting Loki again. He must've felt it somehow. That's the only explanation." Her eyes went wide. "Oh, gods," she muttered, "It's my fault. It's my fault all over again…"

"It might be just a coincidence. And even if it's not, it's Odin who acted like a total dick," Clint said and hugged her once more. Tony rubbed his hands on his shoulders.

"Okay," Clint said, "so what are we going to do now? We're not leaving it like this, are we?"

"No," Tony said confidently. "We are not."

Natasha's head perked up. "You have a plan?"

"Sorta? We can't reach Loki where he is as of now and we apparently can't depend on any cooperation from Asgard's side. So, we need to find our own way."

Natasha's eyes narrowed. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to build my own Einstein-Rosen bridge. With blackjack and hookers. Except without any of those two."

"Then what?"

"Then we're going to Asgard. We've already proven we're good at the whole overthrowing governments and revolution thingy and it looks like Asgard is in a sore need of some of that."

It soon became abundantly clear that it was a far-fetched plan. Even with all the details Loki's notes provided on top of the existing research, a barebone prototype of an interstellar travel machine would take weeks, if not months, to develop.

That realization just fell into the aching hole of despair that opened up inside Natasha's mind. She ground her teeth and pushed herself on. The direction didn't much matter, but she knew that she had to keep on moving, or else it would consume her whole, push her into a pit of desperation she wouldn't be able to climb out of. So, she didn't stop.

The next afternoon found them in Stark's office. Tony had just finished a call with the new Secretary of Energy, securing himself priority shipments of lanthanum – the element he used as a base for the new one he had discovered – that he was going to need to build a bigger version of the arc reactor. None of the existing ones were powerful enough.

"You're plotting something," Tony said, looking at her through slanted eyes. "I can tell from your face."

Clint chuckled mirthlessly from his corner, but didn't comment, then returned to balancing the golden letter opener on his knuckles.

"Remember what Loki said? About the paths that connect the realms?"

"Mhm," Tony murmured and raised an eyebrow. "You think you can find them?"

"No idea," she admitted. "I don't even know what to look for. But if I did… Maybe it would be quicker?"

Tony nodded. He didn't need to be told why time was important. Knowing what they knew about Odin and about Asgard, Loki was not having the time of his life right now. If he was still alive at all, but that wasn't a train of thought anyone of them wanted to follow.

"You need my help with that?" Stark asked.

"If you told us what it is, maybe we could calibrate Tony's satellite array…" Bruce interjected.

"I don't know, okay?!" she snapped and took a long breath. "I'm sorry."

Tony waved his hand dismissively. They were all nervous, it was a miracle they weren't at each other's throats all the time.

She cleared her throat. "Maybe if I could speak to someone who knows more about magic? Someone from Earth, who would be more familiar with how it works here?"

"You mean the kid from Sokovia, right?"

"Yeah. You said he teleported away, so he can do this sort of magic, maybe he could help us?"

"It doesn't hurt to try, I guess. But you realize we have no idea where he is, right? He might be anywhere in the world."

"You said he sounded American. And you found Barnes."

"Yeah, okay, that's a long shot but I'll set Jarvis up for surveillance, maybe he pops up somewhere. I'll just make a quick call to Foster first."

"Foster, like Thor's girlfriend Foster?"

"Yep. I'm relying heavily on her research right now and it would all go this much smoother if she could provide input directly."

"You think she would agree?"

"She is a scientist. A dedicated one, too, from what I can tell from her work. Loki's input filled a lot of the gaps in her theory. I can trade that for her assistance, if seeing her life's work developed into an actual, working device isn't enough of an incentive."

Natasha bit her lip. "She's on Thor's side. We don't know what she would do…"

Stark shrugged. "It's not like she can run to him to rat us out."

"Natasha's right," Clint said, putting down the knife. "We need to be careful here."

"Or else what? If she has a way of contacting Thor, I'm all in for it. I don't know about you, but I'm longing to punch him in the face right about now."

"You want another sparring with Asgardians after how the last one has ended?"

"We were unprepared. This won't happen again."

"And you want to prepare how?"

"Tell me, Clint, have you ever given a thought to having your own, shiny Iron Man armor?"

Clint blinked, surprised, then raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it, like, the most guarded secret in the world right now?"

Tony did a weird combination of a shrug and a chuckle. "Yep, so it's up to me what to do with it. And we are a team, are we not?"

She laughed. It was funny, in a way, the trust Stark put in them. But it felt right, too, after everything.

"Don't laugh, I'm making one for you as well," Tony said and grinned, then turned to Bruce. "I'm sorry, buddy, but the best I can do for the big guy is some awesome spandex."

Stark decided to make the call to Foster a video call and projected it on the screen above the desk for all to watch.

Natasha didn't even ask where he got the number from. For all the shit he could pull this was the least surprising one.

The first one went to a voicemail, with an automated message, first in English and then in some Scandinavian language.

Natasha pursed her lips. "Do we know where she is? That didn't sound like she's in the US."

"That sounded Norwegian," Bruce pointed out, "Fury said SHIELD had her posted in some research center there before New York. Maybe she liked it there enough to stay?"

"What time is it in Norway?"

"A bit past eleven pm, Miss Romanoff," Jarvis provided, and Natasha took a second to admire the fact that the AI knew when the precise information wasn't needed. Tony did an outstanding job at programming it. Him. Whatever.

"Shouldn't we wait till morning?" Banner suggested sheepishly. "That's kind of rude to call this late."

"Nah," Tony decided. "It's a life and death scenario, literally, and Foster is a grownup. She can handle being woken up by the Avengers once in a while." He picked up his phone and redialed the number.

The screen remained black for a few signals, then a grainy image appeared.

"Hello?" Foster rasped. A light came on and she blinked a couple of times to get used to it. Her hair was in disarray and her eyes were puffy from sleeping. "Who is it?"

"Good evening, Doctor Foster. This is Tony Stark and I'm calling…"

"Is that the Man of Iron?" came from outside of the frame and Natasha froze. Clint and Bruce exchanged concerned glances. Judging from the dumbfounded expression, Tony recognized the voice too.

"Uhm, was that Thor?" he asked carefully.

"Yeah?" she said and the camera moved away as Foster pulled the duvet up to cover her obviously bare chest.

Thor's face appeared on the screen. His hair was almost as disheveled as his girlfriend's and his beard looked like it had been a good few weeks since it had been groomed properly. He squinted at the screen and his lips parted in a smile. "Friend Anthony!" he exclaimed.

Stark stared back, his eyebrows drawn. "Dude, what the actual fuck?!"

Thor's brow furrowed. "Is something troubling you, friend?"

Tony ran his hand over his face and through his hair. "A hell lot of things, as of now," he evaded. It wasn't hard to guess he was hesitant to say more. Depending on what Thor's role had been in the snatching of Loki, this could mean a lot of different things, for all of them.

Natasha got up and wrestled the phone from Stark's clutched fingers. "After all you and your sorry excuse of a father did to him, he still loved you! And you didn't even care enough to show up!" She was yelling. She didn't care. "How dare you even call yourself his brother?!"

The frown on Thor's face deepened. "Loki is on Midgard?" he asked. He looked absolutely stupefied. He blinked and the video shook, showing a splash of colors, as he jumped out of bed. "Is he there now?"

"Wait. You don't know what happened?"

Thor's face fell. "No. Is my brother safe? Tell me, I need to know!" he pleaded, the thrum of worry in his voice sounding genuine enough for the anger she felt to subside.

"No. He is not. Odin came and took him back to Asgard."

Thor's entire frame deflated as all energy seeped away from his face. "The All-Father is not in his right mind," he said quietly after a moment of silence. "Loki is in a grave danger."

"Yeah, we figured," Tony said, taking the phone back from her hands. "That's why we are trying to do something about it. I was calling Foster to help me with that, but now that you're here you can take us to Asgard."

Thor's eyes drooped. "I'm sorry, friend, but that's not possible."

"Uhm, why?"

"I'm no longer a prince of Asgard. The All-Father banished me. For good this time, I'm afraid. I'm but a mortal now, just like yourself."

"Fuck me," Clint uttered numbly, shaking his head.

There was another stretch of silence, before Thor asked, "Can I come over? Maybe there's something I can do to help."

"I assume no magical flying hammers are at your disposal now?"

Thor shook his head sadly.

"Right. I'll send a jet over to pick you up. Get ready."

Thor and Jane got there four hours later.

Nobody was in the mood for pleasantries, so they just sat around the table and started talking.

Thor went first, barely raising his eyes from the cup of coffee Bruce had made him. He told them about Jane finding the Aether, about their trip to Asgard and the battle that followed.

He told them about the death of his mother and Natasha's gaze lingered on the empty seat that Loki usually occupied. How must he have felt when he found out? Did Odin ever bother to tell him? An image of Loki appeared in her head, mourning his mother, alone in a dark cell, with no comfort in sight. She had to use all her mental strength to push it away.

Thor kept his voice strong and his face solemn when he told them about his companions' demise.

"They died glorious deaths in the battle," he said, "And now they dine in the vast halls of Valhalla, like true warriors."

Natasha bit down the comments that threatened their way to her lips. It was not the right place or the right time for those.

"With the mercy of the Norns, Lady Sif lived," he added. "But we all acted against the All-Father's command, and, so, we were banished from Asgard. And, as my position put the responsibility for the actions of my friends on me, I was also stripped of my powers. We decided it's best for us to go our separate ways. I've been residing with Lady Jane in the kingdom of Norway since then. She taught me a lot about the ways of the mortals."

"Like the fact that we do not like being called mortals," Jane said under her breath.

Yeah, Thor did seem like a guy that would need repetition of some of his lessons.

"That's tragic and I'm sorry for your loss," Stark said, "but doesn't do shit to explain why no one showed up for Loki earlier. If the great king of everything had such a hate boner against your brother, why didn't he come earlier, or, I dunno, sent one of his minions at least? He must have a whole legion of those, right?"

"We didn't know Loki had returned. And I couldn't come to check. The rebuilt Bifrost was nearing completion but had still not been ready by the time I was banished and the All-Father refused to use his magic to send me back again, no matter how many times I asked."

"Well, it seems to be working all right now," Tony said bitterly.

"What about Heimdall then?" Natasha asked, picking her brain for the details. "Can't he see, like, everything?"

Thor shook his head. "No. Loki used the All-Father's magic to shield himself from his sight."

"That's bullshit," she snapped.

Thor raised his head and frowned at her in utter confusion.

"That's not how Odin's spell worked. Loki couldn't access it at all, less alone use it that way."

Thor scratched his chin. "The Aesir magic hold many secrets before mortals still."

"Well, not as many as you'd think," she said cryptically and rolled her eyes at Thor's nonplussed expression. Her resentment was not entirely gone, although it had lessened a bit, enough for the urge to punch Thor in the face to stay at bay, if not to go away completely. Thor was still the guy who had treated Loki like shit for ages, but at least he wasn't purposefully staying away watching him being tormented. "It means that either Odin or Heimdall was lying to you. Maybe both of them."

Thor's shoulders slumped. He looked like a sad puppy. A sad puppy who had been sitting comfortably in his sky castle while his brother had been imprisoned and tortured. No, he did not deserve compassion and ignorance was not an excuse for inaction. "I don't know what else to tell you."

"Well, we don't need talking as much as we need a way to Asgard," Tony decided. "I know you've fallen out of grace and all, but can't you pull some strings to make that happen?"

"I feel like an idiot. The 'old man yells at clouds' kind of one," Stark complained but still stepped out into the middle of the circle the Bifrost beam had burned on the tower's upper deck terrace.

"I cannot be the one to call," Thor explained, once again. "I'm barred from ever entering the Realm Eternal again and Heimdall is forbidden to answer to my calls."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Tony took a deep breath. "Here we go."

For a second, nothing happened, then he raised his gauntleted arm and struck the side of the helmet. The faceplate ground and slid into place. It was one of his older suits and the only one that was more or less ready for action, according to Tony's own words. It seemed like it was closer to the "less" end of the spectrum.

"Here we go," he repeated and turned his face to the sky. "Heimdall, uhm, it's Tony Stark speaking. I'm a friend of Thor Odinson and I need to talk to you. Could you please pop down for visit?"

Nothing happened.

"We will keep it short, I promise," Tony added.

Still nothing.

"Are you done?" Clint asked and looked down over the low banister. "It's getting pretty windy."

They didn't get to hear Tony's response as the air shimmered, filled with sizzling electricity and a rainbow beam reached from the sky and touched down on the roof where the circle was, creating a shockwave that knocked Natasha off her feet and made others grasp for purchase to not get swept cleanly off the roof.

Natasha blinked, as the pebbles the impact tore from the layer of gravel covering the terrace rained around her. Tony's grunt still carried a mechanical tint when he pushed himself up from the place by the wall where the force had thrown him. He had been in the middle of the circle when the beam activated and got the brunt of it.

She looked up. Before them stood a dark-skinned man, tall, broad, wearing impressive golden plate armor and a helmet with two thick horns sticking out of it. His eyes were like two ambers glinting in his skull.

"What's up with Asgard and horned helmets?" Stark muttered. "Seriously, I cannot imagine how that shit's viable to wear in a battle."

"I'm Heimdall, Gatekeeper of Asgard, Guardian of The Bifrost," the man said. "You called?"

They retreated inside, as the wind was indeed picking up, plus they had been making quite a scene.

Heimdall removed his ridiculous helmet before he sat at the table.

"Coffee? Tea?" Tony asked, playing the role of a caring host for the moment. "Something stronger?"

"This is not a social call, Tony Stark."

So, Asgardians could, on occasion, figure out how human names worked, Natasha thought idly.

Stark shrugged and sat down, the chair creaking under the weight of the armor he decided against removing, a call Natasha fully supported.

"Okay. Talk then," she said, sat back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest.

Heimdall raised an eyebrow, and his lips rode up in a smile.

"Your people did a fantastic job at ignoring us for a good part of the last millennium. You wouldn't have come if you didn't have a stake in it. So, spill it. We're not really in a mood for convoluted word games."

"As you so keenly observed, I do have a personal interest in coming here. I believe it aligns with what you're trying to do well enough for us to find a common ground."

"Care to elaborate?"

"The All-Father is old and in his age, he lost his reason. After the untimely death of the All-Mother, he got consumed by grief and it clouded his judgement. Yet, he refuses to listen to the Council of the Elders and the pleas of his people fall to deaf ears, all the while danger is brewing on the horizon. He won't listen to advice that he should allow Thor back; he resents the notion to appoint a different heir even. Asgard cannot stand without a strong ruler and by now it's obvious that it cannot be Odin."

"You're talking treason, my friend," Thor said, his expression guarded.

"My loyalty always has been and always will be to the people of Asgard."

Natasha scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"May I know the reason for your doubt, Lady Romanoff?" Heimdall asked and she couldn't quire figure out the expression on his face.

"Loki was one of your people. You looked at him being tortured and didn't even move a finger. For months!"

Thor opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him, raising her hand in front of his face. "No, let him answer. I want to hear it."

"The All-Father's magic shielded him from my sight," Heimdall lied. It would have been a good effort, really, if she didn't know better.

"Nope. It did not. If you're really as all-seeing as you claim, you know what I can do. You know that I reached him, on the other side of the world. You know how the spell worked. So, I'm going to ask again. Why didn't you do anything?"

Heimdall held her gaze for a second, before he looked down. "We are all burdened with the duties of our positions. My duty was, and still is, to the crown. And there's very little I can do without betraying that duty. Keeping the knowledge of Loki's whereabouts from the All-Father was a risk in its own right."

"So, in short, you decided to sit on your ass and do nothing, because you were worried about your cozy job?" Stark summed up and it was rather close to Natasha's own conclusions. "That's some upstanding behavior, right there."

"You think it was easy to watch the prince I've sworn to protect being tormented?"

"I don't know!" Tony snapped. "Was it?!"

Thor's eyes were dashing between them, growing more and more confused. "Can someone tell me what happened?"

"When we finally found our way back from the other end of space, Loki was seized by a criminal organization called Hydra," she said, taking pity on him. "They kept him for a year before we found him and got him out. It wasn't pretty. And your buddy over here knew all about it. Oh, and by the way," she added, standing up and aiming an accusatory finger at Thor's face, "we just managed to get the goddamned muzzle off you put on him two days ago! And Loki needed to go through a gruesome procedure of fucking dying for that to happen! Does that satisfy your curiosity, your highness?!"

Clint put his hand on her arm. "Nat," he said, "it's not helping."

"I don't give a fuck!" she snarled, and Clint took his hand away. She took a deep breath. Clint was right, it wasn't helping. She sat back down and buried her face in her hands.

"I'm glad Loki had someone to care for him when I wasn't here to do so," Thor said quietly, his eyes on his hands folded on the table. "I thank you for that, my friends."

"News flash, He-Man, we didn't do it for you," Stark muttered and she just blew out a derisive chuckle.

"Where's Loki now?" she whispered without looking up.

"In the royal palace's dungeon," Heimdall said and there was something in his voice that made her shiver.

"Is it, like, a temporary thing?" Stark asked carefully, "I mean, can that change? For the worse?"

"He's been sentenced already," Heimdall provided.

"And?"

"The All-Father decided a lifetime of imprisonment to be the punishment for his crimes," Heimdall announced, then hesitated and the pause curdled the blood in Natasha veins. "He also found it suitable for Loki to remain silenced for it."

A low whine escaped her lungs as her brain compliantly added the cursed gag to the vision in her head.

"No, this is good," Stark said.

Her head snapped up and she glowered at him.

"I mean, it sucks, but it also means that Loki's alive and might remain so until we can improve the situation." He turned to Heimdall. "You were saying something about coups, or have I misheard you?"

Heimdall nodded curtly. "There's a group of concerned citizens in Asgard who would rather see Thor on the throne," he supplied, "and they sought out my counsel and help." He turned to Thor. "I failed you, just like I failed Loki. You came to me for my help, and I denied it. I'm just as responsible for your banishment as the All-Father. This is the time to make it right."

"But I'm a mortal now. And a mortal could never sit on the throne of Asgard."

"You're not," Natasha said, and all eyes turned to her. "I can sense… the magic Odin placed on you. It's… like a damper. It limits your strength and cuts you away from parts of your core. But your All-Tongue still works, doesn't it? Your healing does too, if I had to guess."

Thor's brow furrowed. "It does," he admitted.

"Can you reverse it?" Stark asked. "We could use Thor's right cross if it comes to blows. And, knowing how things tend to turn out lately, it will."

"You cannot," Heimdall interjected before she figured out what to answer. It was hovering around the "I don't know" regions anyway. "Your breaking of the curse was what alerted the All-Father to Loki's whereabouts. Once he sensed his magic being meddled with, he came directly to me and I couldn't avoid to answer any longer."

So, it was her fault, after all.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Stark asked and tapped his fingers on the table. "You bring those 'concerned citizens' here and we figure out a course of action?"

"No, it would draw too much attention," Heimdall said and looked around at the gathered people. "I'm taking you to Asgard."

"Okay," Natasha agreed, before Heimdall had even finished the sentence.

Stark regarded her warily for a moment and no one else spoke.

"I'm going, even if no one else wants to come," she added. There was no argument in this world that would convince her otherwise. Loki was imprisoned on Asgard and she had a chance to do something about it, right now. She wasn't going to waste it, no matter what.

"Don't be ridiculous," Stark said, then added, "of course I'm going too."

She turned to Bruce.

"If there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it," he declared.

Clint was next. He grinned at her. "Do you even need to ask?"

"Okay, that's settled then," Tony said cheerfully. "When do we start?"

Heimdall gave them time "till the evenfall" to prepare and Tony's bickering for a more precise time remained unanswered.

Thor circled around them like a neurotic moth and kept on insisting they'd tell him more about what happened to Loki until Clint snapped and showed him the video. Upon watching it Thor had sworn to "get Midgard rid of all Hydra scum", and, after they told him he was late to that particular party, he mostly just sat in a corner and stared blankly at the floor.

It was not a nice sight. Nicer than the one that had unfolded in Natasha's brain though, so she left him to reflect alone. Maybe something worthwhile would come out of it. She doubted it, although she had to admit that the couple of weeks Thor had spent living as a human did make him mellow out on the unwarranted self-confidence front. According to Foster's words, he even got a job at the fishing harbor, which created a much nicer image in Natasha's mind.

Loki would get quite a laugh out of it.

"Hey, you're still with me?" Stark said, waving a monkey wrench in front of her face. Bruce was still sleeping off the tranquilizer, and the rest was in the kitchen, preparing a meal. She volunteered to help Tony in the workshop, which, so far, consisted mostly of her gaping at a wall, lost in thought.

"Yeah," she sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"What's wrong then?" he asked, then pointed at a part he was fitting into place. "Hold it up, please."

Most of the equipment in the workshop was still misplaced. Stark hadn't had time to return it to its previous state after…

She grabbed the piece of metal and held it up. Tony guided her hand to go where he needed it. "Do you really need to ask?"

He made a sound, something between a chuckle and a sigh. "You want to know something?"

"Depends."

He chuckled again then his face turned thoughtful. He turned on the blowtorch to wield the part in place. "My parents didn't die in a car crash."

She blinked at him.

"It was in the batch of Hydra's files Jarvis decrypted this morning," he explained and fiddled with the knob, adjusting the flame. "They were murdered by Hydra."

"Oh." Fuck. "I'm sorry."

He nodded in acknowledgment, then added, "Barnes did it."

She stared at him, going about his work like he didn't just tell her a man they knew was the one to kill his parents. "You're taking it surprisingly well," she said warily.

"And what would you expect me to do?" The metal slipped and the flame slid over Stark's finger. He put it in his mouth. "Shit," he mumbled.

"I don't know, something rash, probably."

"It's all ancient history now. They won't turn any less dead if I fly to DC and blast Cap's pal off the surface of the globe. After all that's happened, after all we've seen Hydra can do… I don't think I have it in me to hold on to that grudge. He is just as much of a victim in all this like my parents."

He examined the weld with a critical eye, then swatted her hand away.

"That's… astonishingly adult of you, Stark."

"Don't get too used to that," he smirked and replaced the plate in its rightful place, then picked at another, until it came loose. His smile wilted and faded away. "Howard was a shitty father. Not the Odin-level awful, he never even raised his voice to me, but that was mostly because he was never there. Most of what I know about proper family relations I learned from movies."

"Same here," she supplied with a thin smile.

"Look at us, bonding over stunted emotional growth."

"We're doing quite well, all things considered."

"Yeah. I'm flying around in a metal tin, risking my life on a daily basis for cheap thrills, you're a spy with anger issues that could rival Bruce's. That's all just signs of perfectly adjusted adults."

She shrugged. "No one said it's going to be perfect."