AN: You know that meme of the two muscly guys' arms? That's Cloud and Steve.

"I've sent Natasha to get the big guy, so you, my friend, are coming with me." Coulson said. Cloud nodded. He didn't know Natasha, and at this point he was nervous to ask. Everyone on the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft carrier spoke her name in a hushed whisper, the legendary Black Widow that everybody seemed to know but him. Cloud was curious to finally be able to meet her soon, but every time somebody spoke her name in reverent admiration he was unfortunately reminded of Sephiroth.

"Where're we goin'?" He asked Coulson as they approached a small plane. Coulson had an odd smile on his face, as though he were thinking fondly of someone.

"We're going to meet Steve Rogers, Captain America himself."

Cloud eyed him, but he felt it would be strange to ask who that was. It was as though everybody on the carrier knew the other Avengers besides himself. He had heard their names here or there, but he had never seen a photo, much less talked to any of them.

Despite Cloud's silence, Coulson seemed to pick up on his curiosity. "He helped stop the Nazi experiments in World War II, almost single-handedly." Coulson clearly spoke with admiration in his voice.

Cloud asked quietly, "So he's military?"

Coulson raised an eyebrow at him. "The 'Captain' part should have tipped you off."

Cloud ducked his head, embarrassed. Yeah, that should have tipped him off. "Oh… right."

Coulson clapped him on the shoulder. "He's a super soldier. Great guy. I'm sure you'll like him."

Cloud disliked the physical contact, but that thought flew out the window after the latter part of Coulson's sentence. "A super soldier?" He asked, faintly, hesitantly. He didn't really want an answer.

Coulson raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, a super soldier."

Cloud's lungs felt like they were full of cotton. "Oh." He breathed. Then this world… did it have mako too? Maybe he wasn't as far from home as he thought. He shook his head, deciding to reserve judgement until he met Steve Rogers. Perhaps they could have a spar, so Cloud could test his strength. Maybe he had been enhanced in a different way.

The ride over the sea took nearly two hours. Cloud sat still, but Coulson wrung his hands. Whether he was excited or nervous, Cloud couldn't tell. The small plane finally landed in an 'airport' as the people on this world called it. Cloud thought it was rather strange that planes were used for commercial use in this world, rather than strictly military transport. He jolted in his seat as the plane finally landed on the asphalt. Cloud stood up and stretched, adjusting First Tsurugi's harness so as to not poke Coulson's eye out. Coulson remained in high spirits as they disembarked and began searching the airport for Steve Rogers.

"There he is!" Coulson… was that a squeal? Cloud shook his head in befuddlement and followed him towards a well-built blonde man, broad chested and with muscled arms. Cloud nearly stopped in his tracks because Steve Rogers was exactly what he had envisioned himself as when he was a child. Well, minus the hair. Cloud's hair had never been that tame, even when it had been short. He felt a brief stab of jealousy as he studied him. Cloud's body had never developed like that when he grew up. Instead he had remained lean rather than brawny, short rather than tall, and pretty rather than chiseled. Still, Cloud was thankful that he was easily able to outspeed his opponents, and that they often underestimated him. It was a key weakness he often exploited.

Steve Rogers had a serious face, but his eyes were kinder than his expression. He didn't smile as Coulson approached, and regarded Cloud warily, but he wasn't uncourteous. "Steve Rogers," He stuck his hand out, "Pleased to meet you."

Coulson's hand was already extended before he reached him. "Agent Coulson, of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Steve's eyes shifted to Cloud, hand remaining outstretched. "And you?"

Cloud considered him a moment, unsure what to think. He didn't like touching people. "Cloud Strife." He finally said. Given the whole situation, Cloud considered himself lucky he hadn't lapsed and added, 'SOLDIER, First Class' onto the end of his introduction. That would have been embarrassing (not to mention a lie ).

Steve retracted his hand, watching Cloud funnily.

"What?" Cloud asked, flustered.

"Nothing." Steve said. He turned to Coulson. "We have somewhere to be, right?"

Coulson nodded and they shuffled through the crowds, back to the private plane. Cloud tried to avoid getting jostled (or jostling anyone with the giant sword strapped to his back), which inadvertently drew Steve's attention to it.

Cloud noticed Steve kept trying to seem as though he wasn't staring at First Tsurugi, but he was failing miserably. Despite himself, Cloud felt a faint blush rise to his cheeks. He tried to keep his eyes set straight ahead, but seriously, Captain America was actually gaping . Cloud had never done will with these types of situations. He wasn't sure what to say, so as they finally got to the hanger, he averted his eyes and mumbled, "Do you… like it?"

Steve's eyes flicked to Cloud's face, then to the large hilt of First Tsurugi. "It's… something."

Cloud was just barely able to refrain from rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. I hate talking to people.

Coulson pretended like he hadn't heard Cloud's terrible attempts at conversation and led the way back onto the plane with a skip in his step. Cloud was further distressed by Coulson's clear hero worship of Captain America, which unfortunately distinctly reminded him of his own misplaced faith in Sephiroth. He prayed to Gaia that Steve would turn out much, much differently.

Once they finally boarded the aircraft, Coulson handed Steve a few documents, leaving Cloud to sit awkwardly in silence while everyone else did something. Why am I even here? Just to suffer? Cloud glanced at Coulson curiously. Does he think that the Captain and I will get along because we both have military backgrounds? No, wait, he doesn't know anything about me...

No matter how often S.H.I.E.L.D. had prodded, Cloud remained tight-lipped about his past. Fury seemed content that he wasn't attacking this planet, called Earth, but he still tried to get answers out of him whenever he had the chance. But, if I'm going to start working with the other Avengers, as a combative team, then maybe I should start opening up more. It was going to be difficult, getting accustomed to working with people other than his friends, and even more difficult to come to trust them. Cloud doubted it would be possible, and even just thinking of fighting with a whole new team just made him ache for home even more. He wondered how everyone was doing. He missed them, more than he could probably ever express. Working with the other Avengers would never be the same as working with AVALANCHE.

"We're about forty minutes out from home base." One of the pilots said. Cloud relaxed a bit, until Coulson took off his headset. Steve was frowning deeply, clearly troubled by whatever he had read.

"So this… Dr. Banner, he tried replicating the serum they used on me?" Steve asked Coulson. Cloud leant forward a bit, although he wouldn't even pretend he wasn't listening.

"A lot of people were," Coulson explained, "You were the world's first superhero." Cloud winced imperceptibly as Steve turned back to the documents. The parallels to Sephiroth continue.

"We thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula," Coulson continued.

At the risk of sounding stupid, Cloud asked, "What's gamma radiation?"

Steve looked up at him, eyebrow raised, and Coulson regarded him curiously. "Gamma radiation. High energy radiation."

Cloud looked away, slightly embarrassed, even though he knew he had no reason to be. "Right." He disliked not knowing things about this world. Cloud decided that now was as good a time as any to 'make friends' with his teammates. "It's… uh… where I come from, we have something similar, I'm- well, I'm not, but- there was a program. Called SOLDIER. It was a military group made of super soldiers. They had a formula using mako… but I don't think your planet has anything like it."

Steve jerked his head sharply. "A whole group of super soldiers?"

Cloud met his gaze, confident in something he knew (for once). "Yes. I think I remember that, in its prime, it had maybe… a hundred? Two hundred? Total. They were separated by how 'super' they were. First Class was the best. Second Class was under that, then Third Class for the lowest level. First Class could… take on a whole army, by themself."

Coulson and Steve exchanged glances. Coulson watched Cloud warily. "This is the first I'm hearing of something like this."

Cloud shrugged dismissively. "It's not really relevant on Earth. That's the only reason I'm telling you is because I know you can't copy it."

Steve seemed to relax for the first time since boarding. He nodded at Cloud. "I can respect that."

Coulson wasn't dissuaded. "And you, Cloud- are you a SOLDIER?"

Cloud tried not to feel affronted. He shifted uncomfortably and tried to keep a neutral face. This was something deeply personal to him, but he was done lying about it. "I thought I was, for awhile. But no."

Coulson and Steve exchanged glances, eyeing First Tsurugi. Cloud wanted to end the discussion, but Coulson inquired, "And the sword?"

Cloud crossed his arms, leant back and looked away. "I'm done talking about this."

Coulson scratched his head and Steve seemed as though he wanted to ask something else, but ultimately they returned to their previous discussion. Steve ran a hand down his face as he reread the notes, as though he was having a hard time believing what they read.

"Banner," Steve finally said, grabbing both Cloud and Coulson's attention, "It didn't really go his way, did it?"

Coulson held onto a support wire as the plane hit turbulence, his expression unreadable. "Not so much. He's got a thing though- he's like a Stephen Hawking."

At both Cloud and Steve's blank expression, Coulson clarified, "Like a smart person."

After a few moments of silence, Cloud raised an eyebrow as Coulson appeared to blush. "I gotta say," he said to Steve, "It's an honor to meet you. Officially."

Steve had a smile on his face that looked about as awkward as Cloud felt.

"I mean, I've met you before," Coulson continued, and at Steve's blank expression, he added, "I watched you while you were sleeping."

Steve froze, the smile still plastered on, and Cloud quietly scooted away from Coulson. The two former soldiers glanced at each other to avoid Coulson's awkward stare. Cloud felt a smile twitch on his lips and nearly laughed. Steve simply seemed uncomfortable.

Steve got up, ignoring Coulson's attempts at recovery, and Cloud settled for coughing awkwardly into his fist. "I mean, I was present when you were unconscious, from, you know, the ice, and well...Anyway, it's just an honor to have you onboard." Coulson finished.

Steve resumed his serious expression. He seemed to be troubled. Cloud was curious about Steve's past, but he knew enough about privacy not to pry, though it seemed to be common knowledge among S.H.I.E.L.D. "I just hope I'm the man for the job."

"Oh, absolutely." Coulson said with utmost confidence. "We made some modifications to your uniform- I had a little design input."

Dear Gaia, Cloud thought, it keeps getting worse the longer he keeps talking. Maybe he would have to reevaluate his opinion of Coulson. Find somebody a little less… creepy, to talk to about his toiletry problems.

"The uniform?" Steve asked. "The one with the stars, and the stripes? Isn't that a little old-fashioned?"

Steve glanced at Cloud's outfit. Cloud shifted in his seat, uncomfortable under scrutiny.

"I like yours." Steve said in response to his unspoken question.

Cloud didn't look at him, but nodded. "Thanks."

Coulson watched the exchange but said, "With the things that are happening… the things that are coming to life… People might just need a little old-fashioned."

Steve didn't respond, and the rest of the journey to base continued in silence.

Loki was shaken by his encounter with Ronan, though he refused to show it. He kept a hand clenched tightly around the spear. He schooled his expression into something hard to read and watched his pawns' progress on the machine.

This cannot fail. I will not let this fail. Because if it does… they're going to kill me.