Truthfully, Steve wasn't sure what to think of Cloud Strife. He was clearly a soldier, and one from another world to boot. He definitely carried himself like a fighter, and he was proficient in both swordsmanship and magic (at least from what Steve had seen). But he was quiet, withdrawn, and guarded, which is something that wouldn't have gotten him very far in any military. Steve wanted to befriend him. He was pretty sure Cloud already felt like an outcast within their not-yet-entirely formed group, which, from his own life experiences, Steve felt he could understand pretty well, although at least Steve grew up on Earth. Apparently Cloud had grown up somewhere else entirely.

Cloud also had an odd accent. Steve couldn't place it, but it became more pronounced when Cloud got angry. It was definitely noticeable when he used words that didn't quite fit into modern day slang. Like now.

"Could you take off that mask? It's givin' me the heebie jeebies." Cloud said, eyeing Stark's mask apprehensively.

"Oh, the mask? The thing that protects my face in battle? You want me to take it off for you?" Stark replied sarcastically.

Steve felt himself get annoyed on Cloud's behalf, and from the corner of his eye he saw Cloud grit his teeth and simply choose not to respond.

Stark shrugged from within his suit. "Alright, just for you then."

He pulled off the metal helmet, revealing the face underneath. Steve wasn't impressed. Cloud didn't even deign to look at him.

"Really? Now you're just ignoring me? Come on, I took it off to make you feel better."

Cloud glared at Stark. "Shut up. Put it back on if you're going to be this annoying."

Stark appeared to consider this for a moment, putting a hand to his chin. "You know, I don't think I will. What I think, Thunderhead, is that you need to-"

"Just shut up, all of you!" Loki growled. He was clearly humiliated, and apparently the arguing wasn't doing any favors for his mood.

Natasha was up front with another pilot, but even with her headset on she said, "I agree with him. Sit down and be quiet, we'll be back at base soon."

"Fine by me," Cloud grunted. Steve nodded, taking a seat next to him, which left Stark to sit next to Loki.

A few minutes passed in silence. The tense mood in the air kept everyone alert, and even though Cloud had shut his eyes and was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, Steve could see his muscles flex every so often. There wasn't much room to talk in the small space, but even so Steve caught Stark's eyes and gestured to the back of the plane.

"I don't like this," Steve muttered.

"What, is the Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Stark replied.

Steve remained serious. "I don't think it's going to be that easy. This guy packs a wallop." He glanced at Loki, who was glaring at the two of them as though they were the scum of the Earth.

Even though Stark tried to remain nonchalant about the whole affair, Steve could see he was obviously on edge. "Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow."

It took Steve a moment to recognize the backhanded compliment. He furrowed his brows, but before he could respond Cloud interrupted.

"Could you two sit down? You're making me sick just watching you."

Stark crossed his arms. "And what's your problem? The hair gel finally get to your head?"

Cloud opened a shining blue eye, quickly closing it again as he started to turn green. "I have motion sickness. And the hair's natural."

"No way," Stark muttered, but took his seat again anyway. Steve followed. The air was starting to get marginally less tense, but he was still alert. With Loki on board, anything could happen.

The plane hit a sudden bout of turbulence as thunder rumbled outside.

"Where's this coming from?" Natasha wondered.

"I don't care but I want it to stop." Cloud was hunched over, head in his hands.

"You doing okay?" Steve asked, even though just looking at Cloud would answer that question.

Cloud stilled, but managed to raise his head from his hands. He didn't look at Steve, instead focusing on his lap, but he began to mumble, "We have an airship where I'm from. She's great, a lot more stable than this, but-"

Another clap of thunder interrupted him, followed by several flashes of lightning. Cloud dropped his head back down, whispering, "I'll finish later." He looked positively sickly.

Loki appeared perturbed by the lightning, even if Steve could only tell because his eyes widened slightly.

"What's the matter, scared of a little lightning?" He asked mockingly. After all the trouble Loki had put them through, he felt justified enough to do so.

"I'm not overly fond of thunder." Loki responded, seemingly troubled.

Thunder rolled loudly outside, followed by a loud CLANG! from on top of the plane. The whole vehicle shuttered. Cloud groaned loudly, and Steve swore he could hear him cussing to high heaven from under his breath. Tony shoved his helmet back on and Steve grabbed his shield. Cloud tried to reach for his sword, but seeing as he looked like he was gonna hurl any moment, Steve clapped him on the shoulder and assured him, "We'll take care of this."

Cloud frowed and tried to get up. Anything he might have said in protest was lost in the noise of Stark opening the hangar door.

"What are you doing!?" Steve yelled over the roaring wind. Stark didn't reply, instead firing up his blasters as a figure with a red cape landed on the door, golden hair blowing wildly in the storm. The figure said nothing as he hit Stark in the chest with his hammer, knocking him all the way to the front of the plane.

Loki seemed to curl into himself as Steve assumed a defensive position in front of him, but further fighting was interrupted when Cloud yelled, "Wait!"

The figure paused a moment, and Steve's attention was drawn to Cloud's eyes, glowing brightly despite the darkness outside. There's no way that's natural.

"...Thor?" Cloud finally asked. He sounded confused.

"...Cloud." Thor greeted, before turning his attention back to Loki. "I'm afraid I have no time for pleasantries."

Wait, these two know each other? Unfortunately, Steve was distracted enough that Thor was able to smack him with his hammer, leaving him disoriented and further confused.

Thor grabbed Loki by the collar and without saying another thing he leapt out of the plane with his brother in tow. Cloud's eyes widened, and Steve could physically see him attempt to shake off the motion sickness. He was stumbling upwards, but by the time he got his feet under him Stark was already pushing past.

"Nice going, Stormy. If that guy frees or kills Loki, the Tesseract is lost."

Cloud didn't say anything to that.

"Stark! We need a plan of attack."

Stark appeared downright menacing when he turned around, the eyes of his suit glowing brightly against the dark clouds outside. "I have a plan. Attack."

And with that he was gone. Steve whirled over to Natasha. "Don't we have parachutes on board or something?"

"Yes, right beside you. But I'd sit this one out, Cap. These guys come from legend, they're basically gods."

"Not gonna happen. There's only one god, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."

Steve didn't turn around as he leapt, but he did hear the sound of a second whistle coming down right after his. Cloud's hair was plastered to his face by the wind and the rain, but his eyes still shone like beacons in the darkness. They sailed to the ground in silence, prepared for anything.

Loki groaned loudly. His whole body was in pain, though it was nothing compared to the few seconds Strife had set him on fire. Those had been positively awful.

"Where is the Tesseract, brother?" Thor questioned. He was pacing, stupid flashy red cape flapping in the wind behind him.

Loki laughed. Family reunions were always terrible with Asgardians, weren't they? "I missed you too, brother."

Thor's speed increased and his voice was like gravel. "Do I look to be in a gaming mood?" He had his hammer clenched tightly by his side.

"You should thank me!" Loki said, "With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the all-father have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious Earth!" He spat at Thor's feet.

His brother dropped his Mjolnir with a clunk!

Thor, true to the thunderstorms he conjured, stormed towards him and hoisted him up by his collar. "I thought you were dead."

No, Loki absolutely refused to see the hurt hidden behind his anger.

"I didn't know you cared. Did you mourn?"

Thor locked eyes with him. "We all did. Our father-"

"Your father."

Thor was silent, but he put Loki down. Loki scoffed. "He told you my true parentage, did he not?" Loki began to walk away.

"You're still my brother, Loki."

Loki paused. "Am I?"

Thor opened his mouth to respond but Loki held up a hand. "I was never a brother to you, was I? Only a shadow."

"Loki-"

"Enough!" Loki wouldn't hear anymore. "I was nothing but a flimsy shade, always a dark spot on your greatness." He continued, snarling, " I was meant to be king!"

Thor advanced, and the sky boomed. "So what? You will take Earth as recompense to your imagined slights? I think not, brother, because this planet is under my protection."

"Your protection?" Loki scrutinized his 'brother', raising an eyebrow. "I hardly think you're competent enough to protect a puppy! The humans slaughter each other while you sit by, idly, and fret and worry but ultimately do nothing. I mean to rule them!"

"You? Rule them? We are not above them, we are part of them. You miss the truth of ruling, brother. The throne would suit you ill." Thor attempted to clap him on the shoulder, and pretend nothing was wrong and Loki would not have it. He shoved past him.

"I have seen the true power of the Tesseract! And when-"

"Who showed you this power, brother?" Thor asked, and by Odin he had to gall to act concerned . "Who controls the would-be king?"

"I am a king!" Loki shouted, but Thor was already in his face, ready to put him down like it was an instinct.

"NOT HERE! You give up the Tesseract, you give up this poisonous dream! Loki… come home ." Were those tears ?

Loki shook his head and planted a smile on his face, one so strained he was sure Thor would see right through him. "I don't have it."

Thor snarled, summoning his Odin-forsaken hammer, but Loki held up his hands placatingly and explained, "I sent it off, though I know not where."

Thor paused, and threatened, "Listen well, brother-"

He was interrupted and knocked over the side of the cliff in a bundle of red and silver. Loki peered over the side, shrugged, and made his escape.

They landed in the forest and quickly cut themselves loose. Promptly stumbling into a clearing, Steve and Cloud came upon Thor and Stark doing their best to beat the shit out of each other.

"Hey!" Steve threw his shield into the mix, rebounding it off of Thor and Stark. Cloud paid them no mind, instead beginning to search for Loki. He was tricky, and if he wasn't found soon they'd be back to square one. Thus, Cloud was caught off guard when a shockwave of epic proportions knocked him flat on his front.

"What the fu-" He muttered, rolling over and glancing behind him. Steve and Thor had both been knocked to opposite ends of the clearing. Thor's hammer was slightly smoking and Steve's shield had rebounded off somewhere into the dark woods. Grumbling under his breath, Cloud stalked back to the clearing and angrily yelled, "What in Gaia's name is the Planet-damned problem?"

Steve and Thor picked themselves back up while Stark said something snarky in the background. Cloud ignored him, suspecting no good would come from listening to his side of the story. Stark seemed to have a hot temper and an ugly vocabulary he made solely for insulting people. Cloud would give him one last shot before officially putting him onto the Don't Befriend list.

It was Thor who spoke first. "I must put a stop to Loki's schemes, and the metal man is halting my progress. The man with the shield told me to put down Mjolnir."

Stark piped up, "I stopped you because you didn't clarify your intentions."

Cloud rolled his eyes before sheathing First Tsurugi. "So no actual danger, just bad tempers?" Cloud himself had a slow-burn sort of temper, nothing anywhere close to these hotheads. "Fine then. Let's go find Loki."

Nobody protested, so Cloud asked Thor to lead the way to where he last saw Loki. Shortly after that, they found him jogging down the nearest road, hands still shackled. Cloud was tired, so he told somebody else to take care of it while he radioed in the plane. Soon enough they were back at base.

—

Cloud went slack against the wall, rolling his shoulders to loosen the tension. Fury was currently speaking with Loki, in that way Cloud was coming to associate with him, Loki began one of his silver-tongued speeches, which resounded through the whole breakroom from the speakers in the table.

The man Cloud had just recently met, named Bruce Banner, was the probably the one the speech was intended for, but Cloud couldn't help but feel a sort of kinship with him. Desperate… Lost… A thing in place of a man… Not too long ago Cloud could have been described with those words. So, for his own peace of mind, and somewhat for Bruce's, Cloud said, "Turn it off."

Natasha glanced at him before going back to the screen. "I can't. Fury said-"

"I don't care what Fury said. It's better for us if we don't have to listen to Loki any longer than we have too."

Natasha, as well as almost everyone else in the room, stared at him like he was crazy. Cloud decided he was done putting up with any more weird looks today. He picked up his sword and went into the hallway, then forced himself to stop walking so he wouldn't go somewhere alone. Gaia, this place sucks.

He was out there for maybe a minute before the door slid open again.

"Hey." Bruce said, hands in his pockets.

Cloud glanced at him, but continued leaning on the wall in silence. He truly wanted nothing more than a nap (and to go home. But he only really had one option anyway).

"I just, uh… wanted to say thanks in there. I, uh, appreciate it."

Cloud shrugged and closed his eyes to block out the light. Being oversensitive sucked. "It's fine. I did it more for me than for you."

Bruce had nothing to say to that, so he rubbed his arms awkwardly instead. "We should go back inside." He finally said.

"Yeah." Cloud responded, but he made no move to leave.

"Alright, see you there then." Bruce went back into the break room.

I wish… Cloud wasn't sure what he wished. He missed his friends, the kids, the church, everything. But right now, the most plausible thing he could wish for was alone time. Which Fury had banned him from. Go figure. Well, it wasn't like he had ever been one to listen to authority. Cloud went down the hallway, scanning for room to stay (hide) in, but unfortunately he ran into Coulson. Gaia, you have a sick sense of humor.

"Hey, Cloud." Coulson greeted. He glanced over Cloud's shoulder. "Where's everybody else?"

"Meeting room." Cloud answered, before trying to continue on his way. Coulson wasn't having it. He raised an eyebrow, stepping in front of him. The only way Cloud could get through was by shoving him, and he didn't dislike Coulson enough to do that.

"And why aren't you with them?"

Cloud averted eye contact. There really weren't any lies he could think of that sounded plausible enough. Coulson smiled and clapped him on the shoulder, steering him around to the meeting room. Cloud tried to shrug him off but he held on tight and pushed Cloud back towards the Gaia-forsaken door. Cloud scowled as Coulson pushed him through and popped his head inside to greet the other Avengers and Thor.

"Make sure he doesn't wander off anymore, capiche?"

And then he was gone. Cloud felt himself shrink under the attention of everyone, and kept his eyes off of their faces as he slunk into a chair. Steve cleared his throat, and whether it was to take the attention off Cloud or simply get the meeting back on track, Cloud was still thankful.

"Loki's stalling. We know this. But what's his ploy?" The last question was aimed at Thor.

"Loki…" Thor Dan a hand through his beard, "Has an army, called the Chitauri. They are not of Asgard nor of any known world. I do not know where he got them, but I do know that they are powerful. He means to lead them against your people, to conquer and to rule you."

Steve nodded. Cloud was on guard. This was the kind of threat Fury was protecting against with the Avengers, which meant, by extension, it was Cloud's job to fight these things. He probably would have done so whether or not Fury had recruited him. Hopefully they would be easy prey. They couldn't be too different from the monsters back home, right?

"So they're an army… from outer space." Steve concluded.

Cloud's eyes widened minutely. "Outer space," he said, unthinkingly, "like JENOVA?"

Thor whirled on him. "Do not speak that name!"

Cloud glanced at him, but his lips pressed into a tight frown. "So, are they like her?" He asked Thor.

Thor paced, hands clasped behind his back.

"No, I do not think so." He finally said. "They are not even close to as powerful."

Steve held up his hands. "Wait, wait. Who's JENOVA?"

Thor flinched as though he had been struck and everyone in the room turned to Cloud, completely alert, waiting eagerly for him to continue explaining.

Cloud crossed his arms and kicked his legs onto the table. He closed his eyes, deep in thought. "JENOVA. The Calamity from the Skies. She single-handedly wiped out the Cetra on my planet."

Thor stopped his pacing. "The Cetra… are dead?"

Cloud nodded. "The last one…" He stopped for a moment, before taking a deep, calming breath. His eyes involuntarily flickered to the ribbon tied on his arm. "She died recently."

Thor bowed his head, golden hair covering his eyes. "I am sorry to hear that. And what of JENOVA?"

"My friends and I took care of her. Actually, I destroyed the last of her right before I was sent here. Her and her son, I guessed."

Thor sat down, pensieve. "That thing… birthed a child?"

Cloud nodded, mind distant. "Yes… sort of. There were a lot of genetic experiments involved."

Almost everyone in the room appeared somber. The news seemed to bother them all on some level, even those who had little idea of the terror JENOVA had wrecked.

Thor crossed his arms and peered at Cloud curiously. "And you said that you and your friends were the ones to end it?"

"Yes."

Thor nodded his head at him respectfully. "Cloud, you are a much more impressive warrior than I gave you credit for."

Cloud stared for a second before shrugging. "Thanks, I guess."

Steve stood up. His jaw was set in a firm line. "Well, if Cloud took care of this JENOVA thing, and her son on top of it, I'm hoping that we'll be able to get through this okay. But we still have to think about the Tesseract. Bruce?"

Bruce scratched his head. Isn't he supposed to be a doctor of some sort? "I think that Loki is using the Tesseract to build another portal. One to bring those Chitauri, or maybe something bigger, here. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

Thor held up a hand, face troubled. "Selvig?"

He glanced at Cloud, who nodded. He had seen Erik Selvig at the S.H.I.E.L.D. compound, the same place he had also first met Loki. "Loki's got Selvig under his control, using that spear thing of his, I think."

Bruce turned to Thor. "Selvig is an astrophysicist-"

"Selvig is a friend."

Steve interrupted them both. "What I want to know is why Loki let us capture him. He's not going to be leading an army from here."

Bruce twiddled with his glasses, and added, "I don't think we should be thinking of Loki. That guy's brain is a bag of cats."

Cloud glanced at Bruce curiously, unused to the expression, and Bruce caught his cue and clarified, "A strange place."

Cloud snorted, "I'd say a little more than strange. He only speaks in lies."

Thor shot Cloud a dangerous look that he returned steadily.

"Take care how you speak. He is beyond reason, but he is still of Asgard, and he's my brother." Thor warned.

"I know what I said. I have experience with people like him. It's never pretty." Cloud returned. He refrained from adding that the person Loki reminded him of was JENOVA's son. Given Thor's reaction earlier, he was pretty sure that would earn him a quick spot on Thor's hit list, and Cloud had no desire to fight him.

Natasha was leaning over the table, watching Loki's cell, but Cloud had no doubt she had been listening to every word. "Loki killed eighty people in two days," she said, "He's dangerous."

Thor turned away from her piercing stare. "He's adopted."

"Don't use that as an excuse." Cloud interrupted. He had adopted Denzel and Marlene as family, even if Barret was Marlene's father. "Adopted or not, he's still your family, no matter his behavior."

"What would you know of it?" Thor shot at him, affronted.

"I've adopted a lot of kids. Trust me when I say they don't appreciate when you mention it."

Thor furrowed his brows but remained quiet. He seemed to be considering his words. Steve turned towards him and raised an eyebrow. "A lot, huh? You got somebody back home to help you?"

Cloud shrugged. "Sort of. She's my best friend, and we're technically married for tax reasons, but we're not involved. We both just kind of… look after the orphans."

Steve definitely looked like he wanted to ask more questions about Cloud's home life, but Bruce interrupted any further questions. "Back on track. I think we need to focus on the Irridium Loki stole. What could he need it for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent," Stark answered, entering the room as though he owned it. Coulson was beside him, but upon Stark entering the room, swiftly took his leave. Stark put his hands into his suit pockets, looking for all the world like a smaller, darker Rufus Shinra. Cloud nearly had to do a double take. Yeah, that was a definite Rufus pose, if slightly more relaxed. All that was missing was the Turk detail.

"It means," Stark continued, "That the portal won't collapse in on itself like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D."

He tapped Thor on the arm. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You got a mean swing." Thor appeared equal parts confused and flattered.

Cloud wrinkled his nose at Stark's strong cologne. Who is he hoping to pick up in here? Natasha? Cloud suspected she would sooner punch Stark in the stomach then go on a date with him.

"It also means that the portal can stay as wide and open as Loki wants." Stark finished.

"So besides the Chitauri, Loki can also invite other aliens to Earth? Is that what this means?" Steve questioned.

"Bingo." Stark shot finger guns at him before turning to Agent Hill and announcing, "That man," He said, pointing to a crew member Cloud couldn't see, "Is playing Galaga."

Cloud craned his neck while Agent Hill nearly facepalmed.

"What's a Galaga?" He asked Steve quietly. Steve shrugged hopelessly. Cloud let it be, but decided he would have to investigate. It sounded better than any of the Gold Saucer games.

"Richard Burton can get his hands on most of the raw materials pretty easily," Stark said, flicking on a couple monitors after making a comment about Fury. "The only other major component he needs is a power source."

Agent Hill regarded Stark. She seemed somewhat impressed. "When did you become a thermonuclear astrophysicist?"

"Last night," Stark said, stone-faced. Cloud's eyebrows shot to his hairline, though he tried to keep his expression blank. He didn't understand the last part, but it sounded fairly impressive. Maybe Stark was a little more than terrible nicknames and bad jokes.

"Wait, wouldn't that be the Tesseract?" Cloud asked for clarification.

"No, no," Bruce answered, slowly walking in circles nervously, "Loki would have to heat the cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier."

"Unless," Stark added, "Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect."

Bruce quickly picked up on his train of thought. "Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."

"Finally, someone speaks English," Stark said.

"Is that what just happened?" mumbled Steve. Cloud was glad he wasn't the only one who felt a little lost by what had just been said. He was pretty sure they didn't even have half of those terms on Gaia.

"Good to meet you, Dr. Banner," Stark smiled, extending a hand to Bruce, "Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled ."

Cloud felt himself tuning out until he caught Stark finishing with, "-I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

"Quiet, Stark." Cloud said calmly. Stark had done almost nothing but get on his nerves since he met him. "Leave him alone."

"You gonna make me?" Stark shot at him.

"Yeah," Cloud said, getting up and reaching for Tsurugi, "Maybe I will."

"You know what I think, Thunderhead?" Stark asked, stalking up to Cloud. They were the same height, but even Steve, who was taller than them both, felt the need to disrupt the tension. "Guys-"

"No," Cloud said, holding up a hand. His eyes cast a faint blue light on Stark. "Let me hear this."

"I think," Stark said, reaching out a hand as part of his suit came flying towards him, "That somebody's scared of the big, bad Hulk."

Cloud had read about the Hulk, about the destruction he had wrecked across the United States. He knew he had nothing to worry about. "I've killed things much more terrifying than a large green monster." He glanced at Bruce. "Sorry."

Bruce held up his hands, "No, it's, uh, fine."

Stark backed down. "Well," he said, looking around the room, "At least we've got somebody reliable on the team."

Cloud watched him go, taking his hand off of First Tsurugi. I don't know how much longer I can put up with this. He prayed to Aerith for patience.

"If you're done," Fury announced, "The only," he glanced at Stark, "reason Dr. Banner is here is to monitor the cube. I was hoping you could help with that." He nodded to Stark.

Steve jumped in, "I don't know about you, but even though it may be magical, that staff of his looks an awful lot like a Hydra weapon."

"I don't know about that," Fury raised an eyebrow, "But I would like to figure out how he used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys?" Thor asked in confusion. "I don't understa-."

"I do!" Steve interrupted. Cloud figured he would ask later (no need to give Stark anymore leverage).

Stark rolled his eyes in the back of the room.

"I understood that reference." Steve smiled happily. Cloud felt the embarrassment where he didn't seem too.

"Shall we play, doctor? You can tell me what JENOVA is on the way," Stark said to Bruce. Cloud stood up. "Now hold on-"

"Cloud, it's fine." Bruce gave him an easy smile. "I got the big guy under control."

It would be weird to intervene any farther, so Cloud sat down, in spite of his own feelings on Stark's treatment of Bruce. If Bruce said he could handle it, Cloud would trust him to handle it. After all, his friends trusted him not to break down (though he had unfortunately not been doing a very good job of that lately, something he would have to apologize for. He hoped Geostigma would be a sufficient excuse for isolating himself so much. Tifa was so going to scold him when he got back. If- No, he would. He had too).