I was looking at cat beds in Petco when the super soldier tried to jump me.

I had been walking down the aisle and was heading to the next one over when it happened. He had olive skin, a goatee, shoulder length black hair, and dark eyes. I had felt his intent before I ducked to avoid his blow. Thankfully these idiots didn't know about my empathy. As it was, I had enough time to send a text to Loki letting him know what was going on.

I shoved my elbow into his stomach, swung up, and he went through the air, over the aisles, clipped the glass display case that held some ferrets (breaking it and thus letting the weasels loose), crashed through a display of those moss balls that every pet store in America was trying to push as the new pet rock, and landed on his back in the dog aisle. I jumped over the aisle shelves, almost tripped over a couple of ferrets who decided I must have been eager to play, slipped on the water from the bowls that had been holding the moss balls while simultaneously snatching a few of the green fuzzy things up, snatched a handful of leashes off a peg, and tackled the guy just as he got up. He grabbed me and flipped me over, attempting to pin me. And that was a huge mistake on his part.

By the time I caught Loki's scent and realized he'd been standing there for quite a while watching, the guy was bleeding, his breathing was labored, and I had somehow hog-tied him with the leashes and gagged him by cramming the moss balls into his mouth. The ferrets who had been freed were doing the weasel war dance around his groaning, battered form. I gave him one last kick in the side just because I felt like it, then spun around to look at Loki.

Who was about to seriously hurt himself trying to contain his laughter. I knew he knew that it wasn't funny, but sometimes the brain can't help itself. Later on, I was sure I'd be able to see the humor in looking at a big, bad super soldier trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey with a mouth full of moss and ferrets climbing all over him in the middle of a Petco. I was still grappling with the panic attack that rose up after a hostile stranger had touched me.

Really, the guy had gotten off light.

Carol and Rhodey came into the store, took charge of the super soldier, and did their thing. That done, Loki put his arm around me and squeezed me while I still trembled and struggled to regain some calm. "I am happy to see that the training is paying off."

"I honestly don't remember what I did," I murmured, laying my head against his chest.

Loki stiffened. "He made you black out?" He asked in that soft, quiet, dangerous silky voice that usually meant someone was going to die. Or when he used it on me, meant "she is so going to be punished for this after I have calmed down."

"Please let the fearless leaders there handle him. He needs to be questioned, not blown into little chunks some poor minimum wage employee would have to clean up."

"What makes you think I would do something that would be over so fast?"

"Loki...really, I'm fine. Let it go." He relaxed a little. He wasn't going to let it rest completely, but he knew that I needed him more than some super soldier needed to be taught a lesson. He rubbed my back and stroked my hair, and I calmed down significantly. I was starting to gain my equilibrium a lot faster after these blackouts, which were thankfully happening less often.

"This is getting ridiculous. You would think they'd have learned after the last one!" I felt a tugging on my pants leg. I looked down to see one of the ferrets climbing up my leather pants using its sharp claws, making it to the top, and looking at me with those sweet dark eyes. Oof. Right to the heart.

"No," Loki stated firmly. "We already have a cat."

"And whose fault is that, you big softie?" I teased, taking the ferret into my arms and hugging it to my chest, giving it scritches. As of two days ago, we were the proud owners of Heimdall, also named after one of Loki and Thor's deceased friends, a sleek and silent black cat who observed everyone around him with a combination of watchful protectiveness and utter disdain. I didn't say anything when Loki had gone with Bucky to the latter's apartment, and I had resisted teasing him after he brought the cat home. For about a day.

Bucky had decided to keep the last cat out of the litter I had originally talked that kid who had them in a cardboard box in a shopping center into giving me.

"Watch it, Pet," Loki growled. But when I arrived home after work, there was a brand-new ferret cage in one corner, and Heimdall was watching the ferret playing in the tubes Loki had laid out on the study floor. Despite Loki begging me to give her a "proper" (by which he meant Asgardian) name, I decided to call her Chloe.

Two mornings later, I was getting cussed at by a furious super soldier who had tried to rig something to my Rabbit but ended up getting caught in the snare I had put on the car to prevent just that sort of thing. It was a very sneaky, evil spell I found in one of Loki's books. It wasn't one of the spells that had originally been in the text; rather, it had been scribbled in the margin in Loki's handwriting. He had forgotten it was even there. I had decided to try it, and I was admiring the results as the super soldier struggled and spat swears at me.

I had declined the valet's offer to call the police, and had sent the building's security back to their office. We didn't need any help.

Loki sipped coffee as he stood beside me. "I was still a boy when I invented that spell. I used it on Thor once as a prank. When he broke free of it, he chased me around the palace for several hours before Mother put a stop to things and made me apologize. I never would have imagined it would be useful in this context."

I blinked. "You were a kid? Really?"

Loki smiled, pleased that I was impressed, and sipped his coffee again.

Loki had labeled it "The Tar Baby Spell" in his notes. It did exactly what the name implied.

The super soldier's hand was stuck in the passenger side door. Not on the door...in the door. The metal was warped and had melted—there was no other word for it—around the guy's hand, and frozen. The result was a vice grip on the super soldier that not even super soldier strength was able to free him from. He might have been able to tear the door off and gotten away like that, if not for the fact that Loki had spelled the Rabbit to strengthen the metal and structural integrity, and make it heavier. He was convinced my Rabbit would be a death-trap otherwise.

Not that a car accident would do much more than piss me off, but it made him feel better. And the spell meant that the super soldier couldn't rip off the door. It'd be harder to run away dragging a whole car rather than just a piece of it, especially one that had been spelled to be three times heavier than what it appeared.

"I'm getting really, really tired of this shit," I muttered. "And these people are really, really dumb."

The guy was still snarling. We both ignored him.

"I have work to get to," I grumbled, kissing Loki's cheek, then walking around to the driver's side door with my keys.

"Are you not going to release him first?"

I gave Loki a look over the hood of the Rabbit.

"Do you want me to release him?"

I continued to stare at Loki.

He looked back at me, then his eyes roamed over the car, over the super soldier, over the car again. I knew the exact moment when his brain clicked and he realized what I intended to do. I also knew he was torn between feeling almost sorry for the super soldier and collapsing in a fit of giggles.

He cleared his throat. "Right. I shall arrive there shortly, see you there."

I blew him a kiss, got in, started the ignition, ignored the super soldier's suddenly contrite and panicked pleas, and burned rubber speeding out of the parking lot. The Rabbit's max speed was 120 mph, which the guy was more than capable of matching with super soldier speed. I didn't know what he was screaming about, and when we arrived at the Mansion with him begging Rhodey, Bruce, and Steve to get him away from "her crazy ass", I felt he was being a bit over dramatic.

And for once, Rhodey didn't say a damn word.

I had to wait before I could sit down at my desk. Thor was doubled over in my chair laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face. Loki had beat me there, leaning against the doorframe leading into the hall heading towards the back. It was easy to guess what the brothers had been talking about, especially since Thor laughed harder upon seeing me and Loki was grinning like he just received the best birthday gift.

I merely said, "Glad I can be so entertaining. Now get out of my chair before you break it."

Three days passed without incident, and I was grateful for it. I guess that since the third time wasn't a charm, the Power Broker's pets had given up. It was a gorgeous day outside and the weather was calm, so I opened up the windows to let in the fresh air. No one else was in the foyer. Carol and Rhodey were both away on missions, as were Bucky and Sam. It was perfect. Sunny, cool, and quiet.

The sound of raucous cheering booming through HQ almost made me spill my hot chocolate.

Correction: It had been quiet.

I mopped up the mess with a few napkins, and was about to get back to work when I heard it again. My eyes stayed fixed on my screen. I was going to ignore my curiosity and get back to work. I was not going to investigate. I was not.

Another roar echoed throughout the mansion. I sighed and got up.

I followed the sounds of chatter to the home theater in the basement, but before I went in, I pressed my ear to the door. My eyes were narrowed in suspicion as I listened to the sounds behind the door. When I determined that the noise was too loud for anyone in there to pick up on my presence, I silently opened the door and stared.

Oh, no. Oh, God no.

Steve, Tony, Thor, and Loki were in the plush velvet seats watching the screen, which was showing a football game. Not football as the world outside of America thought of it, although I had a feeling that Steve and Tony would get around to introducing the brothers to soccer eventually. This was pigskin, full tackle, American football.

And they managed to get Thor hooked on it. All this time spent on Earth for all these years, and I knew for a fact that Thor had managed not to notice American football. Now...oh God. Tony, Steve, what have you done?!

Thor was really into it, but Loki...I could tell he found it amusing but he wasn't as into it as his brother was. Thank God.

No, I was not a sports fan, and if this had resulted in football taking over my home and relationship, Steve and Tony would have ended up having words with me.

I was about to slip back out when I felt Loki's eyes on me. I knew it was him looking at me because only he could make me tingle when he gazed at me. I glanced at him to see him raise his index finger and wiggle it, beckoning me over. Well, I needed the break anyway. I was halfway down the aisle when Tony called out, "Princess Serenity! You're just in time, the second half's just started!"

"I can't believe I've never seen this before! Tracy, look at it, have you watched football?" Thor asked me enthusiastically.

"Not willingly," I blurted before I could stop myself. Thor let out a bellowing laugh at my words.

"If you think this is something, Point Break, you should see it sitting on the fifty-yard line. I can get tickets for next week's home game," Tony stated.

I had a brief mental image of Thor in a stadium full of fans, hotdog in one hand, watered-down beer in another, wearing one of those hats that had the straws going into two more cans of beer on either side of his head, possibly with a giant foam finger as well. I imagined it when the team opposing the one he was rooting for made a touchdown. The image was nothing short of horrifying.

I had made it to the chair beside Loki's, and he was about to reach for one of my belt-loops to tug me over to him since he had another seating arrangement in mind for me, when it hit.

I staggered, my legs gave out, and I just barely caught myself on the theater seat. Four male voices shouted, and I dimly felt their alarm and concern, but I was mostly occupied with the huge wave that was crashing over me.

Shock. Outrage. Disgust. Not just from one individual. This was collective, from thousands, if not millions of people. The last time I had felt something like this, there had been a terrorist attack somewhere...I couldn't remember where at the moment. This was exactly like that, but there was no pain or terror. Just the massive, massive shock.

"What is it? Is she alright?" Thor asked. "Brother?"

"I'm checking her out, Thor, give me a moment!"

The shouting was not helping matters at all. It took me three times before I squeaked out the word, "V-volume."

"Apologies, Pet," Loki murmured, in a much gentler voice. Tony had muted the TV.

"Tracy? What is it?" Steve asked quietly, kneeling beside me.

I swallowed several times, my head pounding and the room spinning. It took effort again to speak. "News," I whispered. "Check the news."

Tony immediately changed the feed on the theater screen, and it took more effort because my eyes hurt to focus on the screen.

It wasn't the news he pulled up, it was raw footage from someone's cellphone that had been uploaded to the internet forty-five seconds ago. It showed a crowd watching someone running, and something flying at the back of his head as he ran. And right behind him, catching the shield he had thrown, was John Walker.

The man he was chasing fell after being hit by the shield. He held up his hands, palms up, in a gesture meaning he surrendered. But Walker...

He looked enraged, beyond the point of reason. We couldn't make out what he was yelling. He loomed over his quarry, and while the man was pleading with John, hands outstretched with palms up and waving around in desperation, he raised the shield over his head and...

I had to turn my head away, and Loki hugged me to his chest. Steve sat down, hard, his eyes glued to the screen. Thor's hands curled into fists, which crackled with electricity. Tony just stood frozen, watching everything unfold.

The men were feeling disgust, anger, and of course shock. But Steve...oh God, Steve...he was also feeling terrible, terrible anguish.

Thor's rage had made me whimper, so Loki took me back upstairs, found an armchair in the library, and pulled me into his lap. What he really wanted to do was take me home. I had argued with him, and a compromise was reached.

Despite the empathic vibrations feeling like someone was drilling into my skull with an icepick, there was comfort in being around other people during times like this.

The video had been taken in Latvia, where it just so happened Bucky and Sam were on their mission. The guys had stated that they had seen the two of them in the crowd. I took their word for it. I had no desire to see that footage again. I buried my face in Loki's shirt, the dark green silk saturated with his unique ice and peppermint scent. I took comfort in that scent, in the sound of his heartbeat, and the love radiating off him. Volstagg was in catloaf mode on the arm of the chair, his loud purr providing additional supportive feline comfort.

"Jesus," I breathed out. "Fucking hell. Did you see Steve? He was absolutely crushed." It had felt like he was the one who was struck by that shield. I had actually feared for his heart for a few minutes.

"Understandably so," Loki agreed. "At least Stark and myself were able to talk Thor out of flying over to Latvia himself."

"Good thing too, because I seriously doubt Walker would have survived if Thor had made it over there."

"You aren't wrong, sister," Thor himself said as he walked in. "That man might have been an enemy, but he had surrendered. There is no honor in murdering someone who isn't fighting back." He headed to a table which held a small collection of various expensive booze in crystal decanters. He uncorked one, poured a glass, and then tossed the whole thing back in one gulp. "Walker disgraced the shield and title. He spat on Steve's legacy."

I squirmed in Loki's hold. "He's an ass, but I didn't think he was capable of something like that. I felt a degree of emotional instability. It was a huge part of the reason he made my skin crawl. But..."

"That's because the super soldier formula enhances what was already there," Tony said as he entered the library. "Sam called. He gave us a very brief summary of what happened, and then he and Barnes had to resume their chase. Walker is on the run. The man he decapitated in front of the world? He was one of the Power Broker's super soldiers. Lamer Hoskins was killed, but that particular soldier didn't kill him. Hoskins was killed by his buddy, Karli Morgenthau."

Tony pressed a button on a holotable, and an image popped up into the air, a 3D holographic model of the same girl with the mop of curly red hair who had been talking to Sam.

"Did you say super soldier formula?" Thor asked.

Tony nodded. "Sam confirmed it. Walker got ahold of a vial of serum and injected himself with it at some point. That's how he was able to kill that guy in that town square."

"I think I know how Walker got it," I piped up, and I knew I had paled. "Zemo had slipped away from me just before I found Steve. He was in the process of destroying all the super soldier serum those scientists extracted from Steve when Ayo said Walker got the jump on him." I swallowed. "I guess Zemo didn't get all of them after all."

I was starting to feel sick, and Loki poked me gently but firmly in the ribs. "Don't you dare start feeling guilty about this," Loki growled in my ear.

"He's right. This wasn't your fault, sister. You made the decision to save Steve, for which we owe you a debt of gratitude. You have nothing to feel bad about," Thor drank what had to be his fifth glass of liquor. I felt a little jealous. I would have loved a stiff drink, but I couldn't even get buzzed anymore. Even Asgardian alcohol had no effect on me. I laid my head back down on Loki's chest instead.

"Where's Steve?" Thor asked Tony.

"Still in the theater, waiting to hear back from Barnes or Wilson," Tony answered. "They're taking a while."

My eyelids were heavy, and I didn't resist when they closed, allowing myself to be hypnotized by Loki's scent, the sounds of his breathing and heart beating, his touch as he rubbed the back of my neck easing the tight muscles, and thoughts of returning the favor later, pressing down on the cool skin of his bare back as I kneaded and massaged. My mind drifted, circling the edge of the labyrinth. It'd been a long time since I went there, and the tidal wave of emotion that had bowled me over in the theater almost pushed me into it.

It wasn't as bad, but on top of dealing with the aftermath I was now worried about Bucky and Sam. If Walker had taken the serum and had gone off the deep end, he could prove to be a handful.

Bucky...

The jolt of pain smacked me like a Mack truck, and I almost jumped out of Loki's lap like a scalded cat. I would have succeeded too, if he weren't stronger than me. Without thinking, I blurted out "Sam and Bucky are in trouble!"

The men stared at me. I struggled to get up but Loki wasn't letting me go. "You sure, Princess?" Tony asked.

"They're in trouble! They need help!" I shouted in desperation. There might have been a touch of anger there as well. I knew that Sam and Bucky were in deep shit.

Loki eased his hold on me and helped me up. I opened my mouth again, but Tony held up his hands, palms forward in surrender. "Okay, okay, I believe you. Thor, get moving...Reindeer Games, help your girlfriend ou-"

"Jesus Christ, I don't need to be coddled! Portal, Loki! Now!" Yep, I was officially Fed Up.

Loki didn't argue nor dither. He teleported us to the city in Latvia. And I took off like I'd just been sprung from a slingshot. I didn't know where I was going, I didn't know if Loki or anyone else was following me, I was running purely on instinct.

I vaulted over a parked car, weaved around groups of bystanders who openly stared and tried to capture me with phone cameras, and raced down an alley. I dropped down and slid under a large truck—and it was a good thing I was wearing leather pants because anything else would have been shredded along with my skin, got up, and hightailed it towards the industrial area of the city. The whole time the thumping in my brain would not let up. It kept on, driving me with the urge to hurry up.

Most of the buildings were abandoned and in various stages of rot and general disrepair. As I ran, I began to hear shouting, grunts of effort, bangs, metal striking metal, and then...

In movies, celery is used during fight scenes to simulate the sound of bones breaking. If they used the sound bones actually made when they break, movie audiences would walk out of the theater. Bones sound nothing like celery at all in real life. The actual sound can't be compared to anything else, and it is gut wrenchingly nauseating. The scream of agony that accompanied the sound wasn't from Bucky or Sam, thankfully.

I made it just in time to see Bucky pick up Walker, and swing him at the same time Sam jumped into the air with the aid of his rocket pack and slam the shield into Walker's head. All three men were severely banged up, Bucky's arm was spitting crackling sparks, and I saw Sam's wings laying on the floor, each on the far sides of the room away from one another. Holy shit, Walker tore off Sam's wings?!

Walker was moaning, slowly regaining consciousness. I vaulting over the rail, landed on the floor, and stood over him, my hands glowing. "Don't even think about getting up, you piece of shit," I growled. I could feel how hurt and exhausted both Bucky and Sam were, and I was pissed. My stomach flipped at the smell of blood and pain.

It was almost too much for me after everything else I'd been smacked with this evening.

I caught the scents of ice and peppermint, ozone and everything bagels, then heard the distinct noise the thrusters on Tony's Iron Man suit made. The man himself landed beside me, and I heard the brothers come up behind me. Loki's hand wrapped around my arm, and I let him lead me away to allow Tony and Thor to deal with Walker.

I noticed one more scent, and I looked up to see Steve staring at the tableau below him in stony silence. His eyes were riveted on the shield in particular, the vibranium disk covered in blood. I wasn't sure there was an adequate word to describe how he was feeling.