The agent finally introduced himself as Agent Coulson on the plane-helicopter he called a Quinjet. It reached higher speeds than any plane he'd been on before, yet could remain stationary in the air, as well as land or take off like a helicopter. If he hadn't become such a grump, Steve would consider himself impressed. They were on their way to a secret military base in the middle of the desert of New Mexico, a remote scientific complex with project Pegasus at its heart to study the Tesseract.

Steve reiterated his feelings that poking at something they didn't understand was idiotic, but the agent just gave him one of his bland smiles that gave nothing away. Those were still a sight better than his predatory smile that gave him goosebumps the way the Red Skull had never managed to achieve.

"Schmidt thought he had it under control." Steve said, angry at being dismissed. "He experimented on it, made weapons with it, but in the end, it killed him."

"The Tesseract killed him? I always assumed you did."

"I watched. He sounded in pain, then he just vanished. Like I said, don't think you're controlling the damn thing. You're not."

Coulson at least seemed to be thinking about it, but since he was just an agent amongst the hundreds other agents they seemed to have in SHIELD, Steve doubted it would change anything.

The complex was huge, even if it appeared dwarfed in the never ending desert. Once on the ground, Steve followed Coulson through the underground tunnel network which criss crossed each other like a labyrinth until he suddenly stopped without warning and looked up.

"Barton," he said.

"Sir," a man greeted them as he dropped from the shadows above.

He was stocky with arms that rivalled his own, and to his surprise, he carried an honest to God bow slung over his back.

"Whose shift is it?" Coulson asked. "And what's the situation?"

"Agent Troy just took over. Cube is still sparking now and then. Doctor Selvig doesn't look worried though. Nothing else to report."

"Good. Why don't you take a break while we have a look at it. And use the floor like everyone else before you give someone a heart attack."

Barton eyed Steve curiously, but nodded at Coulson and strutted off down the tunnel while they entered through the only door leading in or out of a vast hangar. Not a single plane in sight however, but the cube glowed brightly with a whole lot of metal, wires and computers attached to it. A lot of scientists too in their pristine white lab coats. The mad scientist of the lot was easy to spot. Much like Howard, he hovered over everyone and buzzed to and thro, twiddling this and that while spouting enthusiastic nonsense.

"That's Dr Selvig, I take it?" Steve asked pointing at the man in the checkered button up which looked much like his own.

"It is. Do you know him?"

Steve scoffed. As if he knew anyone apart from his babysitter agents, and even those he didn't really know. Steve had tried to connect to a few people though, nothing serious, just the old lady who lived down the hall, the dame he almost always brought his coffee from at that popular place with the star, the Italian guy he brought his newspaper from at the kiosk… But there was a barrier he couldn't get through, a gap in language, references, interests… as if the whole of USA had become foreign to him, and he was Captain goddamn America, which just made things awkward. Not to mention his lack of enthusiasm at living like a normal person. He'd tried, but not really. He was such a hypocrite. His last words for Hermione had been to encourage her to live her life despite being left on her own, having lost both Bucky and himself. In some strange twist of Fate, he was the one alive and alone, his two sergeants forever lost, and yet, he couldn't even bother to try living without them, doing the bare minimum instead.

"Let's go talk to him," Steve said and walked up to the Doctor to introduce himself.

"Captain America," Coulson chimed in when Selvig only looked blankly at him.

"Ah yes. I'll admit I'm more familiar with the Robins than the Howling Commandos. Miss Granger hunted down the Tesseract during World War 2 from what the archives tell me. Impressive work. A shame she never got to study it more in depth."

"I don't think she would have wanted to," Steve said, smiling at the appreciation the man showed for Hermione's work during the war before she became Lady Liberty. "The cube and her didn't get along. It attacked her and she was fairly scared of it after that."

"You talk about it as if it's sentient?"

"That's the impression it left her. Me too when it killed the Red Skull. The attack was too… targeted, deliberate. It obliterated Schmidt and didn't give me so much as a scratch despite me standing right next to it. But it's powerful. It looked as if… "

Steve paused, searching for a way to describe it, finding some amusement at seeing his audience hanging onto his every word when they no doubt knew more about everything than he ever would.

"It was like it opened a gate… a portal directly into space… I could see the stars, a sky of dark purples and blues, and a cold worse that the Arctic waters. And that was in the enclosed cockpit of a speeding plane, mind you. Honestly, I wouldn't tinker with that thing if I were you."

Unfortunately, all the doctor seemed to have taken from his warning was the idea of a gate into space. It had him so excited he had already ran off to gather his flock of slightly less mad scientists to give them new instructions. Steve sighed and made himself go to the Tesseract. It looked as unstable and evil as the time Schmidt had held it. He really wish they would heed his warnings before it caused some catastrophe or other. He could almost feel it coming.

As soon as he'd thought it, a tendril of blue energy leaped from the cube and laced around his wrist. Steve jerked back, but too late, the damn thing had burned him.

"Interesting," Selvig said as he inspected the cold burn it had left him. "Do you think you could-"

"No," Coulson snapped as he too inspected his injury. "Do try to keep the Tesseract under control, Doctor. Captain, I'll show you to the infirmary."

"It's not necessary," Steve objected, tugging his arm out of Coulson's gentle hand. "It'll be as good as new in a couple of hours. I would like to keep an eye on the cube for a bit, if you don't mind."

Coulson pursed his lips but nodded, then pointed to a walkway high above.

"As long as you keep well out of the way."

Steve nodded and made his way up. He had a good view of everything going on from here, the Tesseract first and foremost. He checked his wound now and then. It felt and looked like a burn but wasn't healing as fast as it should. He had the eery feeling the darned thing had just marked him on purpose.

Steve hid the mark from Coulson the next few days, because he appeared to be something of a mother hen to his agents, and had extended that little quirk to him for some reason. No need to worry the man, because even if the mark was still visible, it didn't hurt. Hiding it was an easy task too, because Steve was on his shift up on the walkway to watch over the Tesseract and scientists. He hadn't joined SHIELD, despite Coulson asking him. Repeatedly. But he was understanding enough to let him be a part of the team anyway.

"A consultant," Coulsdon had said with a sigh. "Better than nothing."

Steve liked it up on the walkway. No one to bother him up here, and he could keep an eye on the malevolent object down below. It would act up now and then, but nothing as bad as when he'd gotten too close himself.

"Hey, Cap."

Steve glanced at Barton in confusion.

"Is it 1800 already?"

"Nope," the archer said, popping the P as he plopped down next to him in such a nonchalant manner, he seemed made of soft butter. "But since we take turns at this gig, we never get to talk. Thought I'd come early for a chat. Get to know my partner, ya know?"

Steve turned away, staring morosely at the blue hue of the hangar turned lab. Barton was a swell guy from what he'd heard. Everyone liked him, and Steve had to admit he was funny. He had even surprised a laugh out of him the other day when Steve had overheard him telling Coulson a joke over the com. Steve couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed before that… Might have been before the train, before everything spiralled out of control.

"Cap?"

"Sorry. I'm not much of a talker, I guess."

He could feel the agent's eyes on him, but pretended not to, and thought Barton would get the hint and leave, like everyone else, so he was surprised when he heard him chuckle.

"That's okay. Coulson is always saying I'm a blabber mouth, so I'll talk for two. And I've been dying to ask…"

Interest piqued despite himself, Steve pulled his gaze away from the cube and back to the archer who was grinning at him mischievously.

"Did Coulson ask you to sign his cards yet?"

"Cards?"

"Oh, guess he didn't. Wonder why?" The look he gave him told Steve he knew exactly why he hadn't. "He's got the whole collection of Captain America trading cards. Guy's a real fanboy. I bet he wears Captain America jammies. My bet is he sleeps with a Lady Liberty doll, but I haven't managed to break into his room yet."

Steve winced at the reminder of his lost love. Having their loss weighing heavily on his heart all the time was one thing, like a dull ache than never left, but suddenly having someone conjure the memory of her so vividly felt like a stab that set it bleeding anew.

"Sorry. I always figured the movies got it wrong," Barton said as he read his emotions like an open book.

"Movies?"

"Yeah, you know? A Shadow over Europe, Starry Fields, The Howling Commando's Last Stand, and that old chick flick…" Barton snapped his fingers. "Freedom to Love! That's it!"

Steve snapped his mouth shut. He hadn't heard of any of those. They weren't movies he had filmed with his team in any case, but those had been propaganda pieces more than entertainment.

"They made movies about me… And Hermione?"

Actors playing him and Hermione in love… Honestly, he was torn between horror that people had watched his love life playing out for entertainment value, and a burning curiosity to watch it himself. Had they gotten it right somehow? Did the actress look anything like Hermione? Would watching her help, or just make him more miserable? Bucky had to be in those movies too. He wanted to see his friends so bad… No, not just see them. He could do that anytime with the pictures in History books even if they were a bit blurry compared to nowadays standards. Truth was, he wanted to be with them, so much, but there was only one way to achieve that now.

"Loads!" Barton exclaimed, snapping him out of his dark thoughts once more. "And those are just the good ones. I wouldn't bother with the rest, though. Load of money-grabbing crap if you ask me, but you've gotta admit it ain't easy finding a bloke to play your part."

Steve took out his notepad. He used it mostly to sketch when he got too bored, but for once it would serve its purpose of taking actual notes. He dutifully wrote down the titles Barton had given him, not sure he would ever watch them, but just in case… After that, they talked movies for a while, even if Steve hadn't seen most of those Clint was talking about. He added some to his list he thought he might enjoy, and he had filled two pages by the time Steve left him to go grab something to eat in the employee's cafeteria. He was hungry and felt lighter than usual. Was it just talking to someone? Should he open up more? Take interest in the world around him? Try living? He still didn't feel like it. Why bother if he had to live through it alone?

Once he got back to his room though, the dark cloud of depression fell heavy over his shoulders once more. So, instead of spending the next few hours staring at the bland ceiling, he changed into his running clothes and retraced his steps back to the gym. He knew from experience hitting a bag would do him some good.

But as luck would have it, an alarm started blaring just a couple of hours in, and Steve, who had been so careful up to that point not to break the bags, sent his fist right through it at the sudden, strident sound. The speakers asked all personnel to evacuate immediately, which didn't bode well, and Steve knew with certainty where to find the culprit of this impending doom. He headed to the hangar, bumping into civilians and agents alike as they ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. Not very efficient, but he could understand their panic when he felt the very foundations of the building shake. Steve ran faster, made easier when the flow of civilians dwindled. Agents usually knew to say out of his way.

Steve was proven right in the end. It was the cube. He could see the eery blue light before he'd even crossed the door to the hangar. The darned thing was the cause of all the trouble, not so much sparking now but leaking energy everywhere and looking about to implode.

Spotting Fury and Clint facing the cube console, Steve headed their way and just had time to hear Selvig argue about the Tesseract when the monitors beeped in unisson and the whole facility shook and thundered around them, dust falling from the ceiling. They had to get the hell out of there before the whole complex fell on their heads.

But before he could reach them, a new blast of energy stronger than any he'd seen before from the cube shot across the room. It was like a beam of almost white light, and on the other end, a familiar sight started to take form. Another portal into space, just like the one in the Valkyrie's cockpit.

Steve took a defensive position, half expecting to see the Red Skull step out. He was not far off the mark. When the blinding light of the beam dissipated, it left behind a man crouched on the small platform. Out of breath and smiling like a madman as he unfolded to his full height, but human-looking enough, despite the horned helmet, but more importantly, he was armed.

"Sir, please drop your spear," Fury said while the agents and himself spread around him, guns out, or fists in his case since he had come straight from the gym.

The stranger didn't hesitate, just used his spear to shoot a bolt of blueish energy straight at Fury. Barton was closer and tackled him to the ground in the nick time, so Steve lunged at his attacker instead, one hand immobilising his spear while the other twisted his arm behind his back.

"Let go of your spear," Steve hissed in his ear when he wouldn't let go.

The man was as tall as him, and uncannily strong despite looking so lean. Steve was struggling just to keep him immobile. Was it possible Schmidt had found a new face?

"I think not," the man answered, and to his surprise, managed to twist around, snapping the spear out of his restraining grasp, then using his momentum to swing the blade around at him.

Steve jumped back but felt the burn of a cut across his chest. Bullets began raining down on the man, but incredibly, they stopped and had no effect on him. Steve recognized magic when he saw it. This wasn't the Red Skull, but he might be a wizard from Hermione's world. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be one of the good guys the way he wiped away half the security with his spear, and when Steve tried putting a stop to his rampage once more, the stranger turned on him, smirked, and shot him too.

The horned invader had taken them down within a few minutes.

Thanks to the serum, Steve knew he'd recover, but he doubted the others would be so lucky, and from what he could see, only Clint was still standing between this threat and the Tesseract. That's what this stranger was here for. Steve knew from experience what men like him did with such power, so he got back up, a bit shaky on his legs still, but he could feel the serum doing its work. However, before Steve could instigate another attack, the stranger had disarmed Clint and was pointing the tip of the spear to his chest.

"You... You have heart."

Suddenly, the archer's bright blue eyes turned completely black as if space itself had filled his body, then they became as blue as the Tesseract itself. Clint took the gun when it was handed back to him, but instead of aiming it at his attacker, he holstered it, standing at attention as if awaiting orders from him.

"Clint!" Steve shouted, trying to snap him out of his trance.

The stranger whirled around and aimed his spear at him once more. Steve wished he had his shield. He felt naked without it.

"You won't do," the other man said, looking into his eyes. "Pity."

Steve knew what was coming this time and rolled out of the way of the blue beam. He picked up a gun from a fallen agent on his way to cover and emptied the clip at his attacker, but once more, it had about as much effect as throwing pebbles at a wall. Meanwhile, havoc was being laid to the lab and more people were being killed or turned, bending to his will.

Suddenly, the Tesseract sent another beam of blinding white light, opening another portal. Steve cursed under his breath. It was hard enough dealing with this one, if he had reinforcement, it was going to be impossible to contain.

Steve picked up a large crate, hoping something larger would at least slow the first one down, before the next arrived, but one wave of his spear and the crate was stopped mid-air then thrown back his way with just as much force. Steve avoided it easily enough. Up close and personal seemed to be the only way, so Steve rushed him once more, only to be immediately flung back all the way to the far wall like a bothersome fly. A groan escaped him as he slid all the way down to the floor where he lay in a heap. Damn, that really hurt.

At least the diversion had given Fury enough time to retrieve the cube out of that damn machine before it summoned anyone else, and he was almost out of the room with it tucked snuggly in a safe case. Almost.

"Don't. I will be needing that," the horned stranger said flatly, stepping in his way and making him step back towards the platform.

"This doesn't have to get any messier," Fury said, but given the death and destruction already inflicted on them while this invader from another world didn't have so much as a scratch on him, Steve thought Fury was, quite frankly, talking out of his ass.

"Of course it does. I've come too far for anything less. I AM LOKI OF ASGARD AND I AM BURDENED WITH GLORIOUS PURPOSE!"

Fabulous. Another nutjob. Worse than the Red Skull himself by the looks of it too, but their purpose was always the same: to kill and conquer. However, this one seemed truly unstoppable. Steve had tried and failed several times. Right now, he was struggling just to get back up.

"Loki? Brother of Thor?" Selvig asked, stepping out from behind a desk.

"We have no quarrel with your people," Fury added.

"We're friends. Allies," Selvig said, taking another step closer.

Those words seemed to infuriate this Loki who snarled as he put the tip of his spear to Selvig's chest and turned him too.

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot," he said cooly.

"So you're planning to step on us?"

"I plan to set you free-"

The nutjob seemed about to monologue, as villains were want to do, but someone interrupted him, talking from the platform where Loki had appeared. Steve had almost forgotten about the second portal. Apparently, he wasn't the only one.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

Steve couldn't see who it was, but he knew that tone of voice, that accent, as surely as he knew the sky was blue. He pushed himself past the pain, stumbling like a drunk man towards the most wonderful vision.

"Who the fuck are you?" Fury snapped back.

Loki had his head tipped to the side as he seemed to consider her, his spear already aiming her way, advancing slowly.

"Hermione!" Steve shouted in warning. "Don't let the spear touch you!"

If anyone had heart, it was her. He didn't want to get her back, only for her to be mind controlled by some madman.

"Steve?" she called back, her voice breaking as she tried to look past the other men, searching for him in the gloom of the destroyed lab.

True to himself, Fury used this new opportunity to make a run for it, but Barton shot him, without warning, without hesitation, and Loki advanced on Hermione with determined steps.

"No!" Steve shouted, fear giving him enough strength to run towards them.

He was so close. He would not let anything or anyone keep them apart again. Steve almost caught Loki but he twisted out of his grasp once more like the snake he was, resuming his steps towards Hermione as if he hadn't even noticed him.

Thankfully, she was on her guard now, hands raised and… glowing blue?