Zuchino sat next to Steve on the plane as they flew over the Atlantic Ocean in a quinjet. They were both watching their own tablet that was playing videos of their teammates in action and footage of Loki from the destroyed S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. From what Zuchino could tell, Loki wasn't much of a hand-to-hand opponent (disappointing, but not surprising). Instead, he used his spear to not only fire off energy blasts but brainwash those he touched with it to follow his command.

He spared a slight glance at Agent Coulson in front of him, who spoke into his headphones. He and the jet arrived a couple of hours after Zuchino and Steve met. Neither of them spoke much, the most being Zuchino teaching Steve the wonders of meditation. Granted, Zuchino did it to curb the constant bloodlust for battle that came with being a Saiyan. But the techniques seemed to put Steve more at ease. There was a silent agreement between the two warriors that they enjoyed each other's company between them.

"We're about five minutes out from the base, sir." The pilot informed as Agent Coulson looked over to give him a nod before walking over to Zuchino and Steve.

"So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?" Steve inquired, still looking down at his screen.

"A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero." Coulson quickly explained. "Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula." Coulson further described before a roar sounded through Steve's tablet.

"Didn't really go his way, did it?"

"Not so much. When he's not that thing, though, the guy's like a Steven Hawking." Both Steve and Zuchino gave Coulson a confused glance. "He's like a…smart person."

"Ah." They both said.

"I gotta say…." Coulson started. "It's an honor to meet you officially. I've sort of met you. I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping." Coulson said, very oblivious to how creepy that sounded. But the snicker from Zuchino clued him in. Steve just glanced down and looked away.

"Reel it in, Coulson," Zuchino advised with an amused grin on his face as Coulson blushed.

"I mean…. I was present while you were unconscious from the ice." Coulson stammered, trying to find a way to not sound like a creepy stalker. Steve looked over to the Saiyan with an "I can't believe this is happening right now" smirk as he stood up and walked over to look out the pilots to look outside of the window. "You know, it's really a huge honor to have you onboard this…." Coulson turned and looked at Zuchino. "To have both of you onboard this…"

"I hope we're the right ones for the job," Zuchino said with a slight nod, standing up behind them.

"Oh, I have no doubt in my mind that you both are." Coulson smiled at them. "Oh, um, we made some modifications to the uniform," Coulson said, getting a glance from Steve. "I had a little design input."

"The uniform?" Steve asked. "Aren't the stars and stripes a little old-fashioned?"

"With everything that's happening…and the things that are about to light…people might just need a little old-fashioned," Coulson said as Steve stared at him and gave a polite nod with a slight smirk.

"Thanks."

"It was my pleasure," Coulson told him before looking back to Zuchino. "We've also come up with a uniform for you."

"From what?"

"The extra Battle Armor you had with you." Coulson reminded as Zuchino thought back and remembered: he gave S.H.I.E.L.D. the capsule containing his uniform to reverse engineer it for them to develop armor for their soldiers and never gave it a second thought. "We designed it to be very similar to your regular armor, but it's far more powerful."

"Interesting," Zuchino said with a small smirk. "But if I hate it, I'll destroy you." The smirk quickly turned to a glare that made Coulson's smirk drop and gulp. Steve, now snapped from his thoughts, chuckled and looked out the window again.

Zuchino then looked past the frightened human to see the massive aircraft floating in the ocean.

"What is that thing?" Steve asked in awe.

"It's called a Helicarrier," Coulson said. "This one is the crown jewel, loaded with everything to make it a portable headquarters." He said before looking to Zuchino. "Bet you've never seen anything like."

Zuchino scoffed a sarcastic "Okay" before he went to gather his tablet and notes.

The jet landed lightly, different from what Zuchino would've expected due to it being a jet, and the back opened similar to a cargo bay. Coulson led Zuchino and Steve to the exit to the waiting workers. "Stow the Captain and Saiyan's gear." He commanded the workers coming to greet them. They nodded before hopping into the jet to do their duty. A woman with medium-length red hair walked up to them from the side. Zuchino recognized her from his files as Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. the Black Widow. One of the most formidable hand-to-hand combatants on the planet and one of the most renowned spies in history.

"Agent Romanoff. Captain Rogers and Zuchino." Coulson said, introducing the duo.

"Ma'am." Steve greeted.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Zuchino added with a small smile.

"You too." She greeted with a smile before facing Coulson. "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the Face-trace."

"See you there," Coulson said as he walked away from them as the group began walking away from the Quinjet.

Natasha looked Zuchino up and down. "Yes?" Zuchino asked with a confused glance.

"You're a lot different than I expected." She said as Zuchino inadvertently let out a sigh. Here it comes. "A lot more human than alien."

"I get that a lot."

"Sorry."

"It's all right. I'm used to it for now; I actually kinda take it as a compliment. But if someone calls me small, they will be vaporized on the spot."

Natasha chuckled at the notion before looking at the Saiyan. "I like you." She looked up at Steve as they started to head in the same direction that Coulson had. "It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"

"Trading cards?" Steve asked, thinking it was a joke.

"They're vintage. He's very proud." Natasha said, staring forward at another man. Judging by his posture and movements, he was obviously nervous as hell and out of place; still, others continued their duties around him.

"Dr. Banner." Steve greeted. It seemed to knock Bruce from his stupor, and he walked forward to shake Steve's hand.

"Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming."

"Word is you can find the cube."

"Is that the only word on me?" He joked as Steve chuckled as well.

"It's the one I care about," Steve stated as Bruce nodded before looking around at the militarized base on the top of the ship.

" Must be strange for you, all of this."

"Well, this is actually kind of familiar," Steve observed, a group of soldiers jogging past him catching his attention. Banner finally realized the figure standing beside Steve.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners, Bruce Banner." Bruce introduced as they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Banner; I'm Zuchino." Bruce's smile dropped instantly.

"Y-y-you're Zuchino?" He stammered out as Zuchino nodded. "But…you look so…"

"Normal?" Zuchino asked, already expecting it.

"Young." Well, that's a new one.

"Well, Saiyans are known to stay their prime for years. Someone quadruple my age could actually look younger than me. Part of the being genetically bred to be the superior warrior race."

"So, how old are you?"

"Definitely older than you would think. Probably by a century, give or take."

"Interesting."

"Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute." Natasha cut in. "It's going to get a little hard to breathe."

"Doubt it." Zuchino doubtfully chuckled.

"Not all of us can be overpowered aliens." Natasha quipped as Zuchino smirked back at her.

"Is this submarine?" Steve inquired, walking to the edge with others.

"Really?" Banner scoffed. "They want me in a pressurized, metal container?" Banner continued as he and Steve reached the ship's edge to see a giant whirlpool next to the boat. However, it was soon revealed as a giant turbine on the boat once it started to lift from the ocean. The gusts of wind hit them at full force as Bruce chuckled, "Oh no, this is much worse." Once their awe subsided, they followed Natasha into the ship.

They made their way through into the mission control of the ship: a large room that contained a large window showing the outside of the room; down on the lower level were dozens of agents in blue suits huddled at their workstations, sounding out reports at random intervals. Fury stood at his station, interacting with the glass screens around him showing various information about the ship. Zuchino looked around the room before settling at the railing, leaning against it with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, feeling out for Loki one last time. Once the reflection panels were up, Fury turned to them.

"Gentleman." Fury greeted as Steve walked over to him and reached into his pocket. Fury stopped as Steve pulled out a small wad of bills and handed him a $20 bill. An amused smile crossed Fury's face before putting it into his jacket and heading over to Bruce while Steve walked over to the window. Hill gave him a slight glance before continuing with her task at hand.

"Doctor, thank you for coming." Fury said, extending his hand. Bruce gave a confused look before taking it.

"Thanks for asking nicely." Bruce snarked. "So, how long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind."

"Where are you with that?" Fury pointed over to Coulson, who looked up from a workstation.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet," Coulson informed while Steve walked over to him, listening and being hopelessly confused. "Cell phones, laptops, if it's connected to a satellite anyway, it's eyes and ears for us."

"That's still not going to find them on time," Natasha said from a little ways away from where she was looking at a workstation screen.

"You have to narrow your field," Bruce instructed before turning to Fury. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" Fury asked.

"Call every lab you know. Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

Fury nodded and looked over at Natasha, who stood from the workstation she was watching. "Agent Romanoff, could you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?"

Natasha walked over. "You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys."

"Really, do you have the com-meter-64?"

Natasha blinked in confusion. "I'm not sure-"

Bruce patted her on the back and smiled, "It's okay, you're still young." With that, they disappeared into the hallway.

Fury walked over to the Saiyan, eyeing his stance. "Glad to have you onboard, Zuchino." He said, deciding to mimic the Saiyan.

"Thanks, glad to be here," Zuchino said, not even opening his eyes.

"Anything?" Fury asked; he knew what the Saiyan was doing.

"Nothing. Loki's ki is nonexistent; I can't get a lock." Zuchino sighed as he looked over to Fury. "Still, this is a nice mission control you have." He said with a sincere smirk.

Fury chuckled. "I suppose not better than what you're used to?"

"Well, so far, I'm not being forced to bow down and call you Lord Fury yet, so I'll say it's a little better." Zuchino snarked as Fury chuckled. Steve joined the duo, leaning against the table as well. Fury gave a greeting look before he smirked.

"How are you two getting along so far?"

"Pretty decently," Steve answered as Zuchino nodded in agreement. "It's nice to find someone who doesn't make modern cultural references every five seconds."

"I try not to," Zuchino whispered as Fury nodded.

"I knew pairing you together would be for the best." Fury stated. "I also have full confidence that both of you will get the Tesseract back without major problems."

"Here's hoping," Zuchino replied, continuing to look forward.

—Two hours later—

Zuchino hovered above the table, meditating once again. Many would stop and observe the blue aura around his body before continuing to walk. Usually, he would meditate in a quiet area away from the humans, but Fury encouraged (ordered) him to remain in the room for when they pinpointed Loki's position. However, he drowned out all the sounds and talking around him. At least until he heard Coulson and Steve walk back into the room.

"I mean, if it's not too much trouble."

"No, no. It's fine." Steve reassured in his friendly voice, despite how uncomfortable he felt.

"It's a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all near mint. Slight foxing around the edges, but—" They both stopped at the sight of Zuchino hovering above the table and the glowing blue light surrounding his body.

"Whoa. Look at him; I bet he's in deep meditation." Coulson whispered Steve, who nodded before Zuchino opened his right eye and looked at them.

"Why yes, it was," Zuchino added as he hovered forward. Stepping down on the floor, he gave an aside glance. "Something I do at least twice a day; helps me keep my ki control and my personality in check."

"Personality?" Coulson inquired.

"My Saiyan bloodlust."

"Ah."

"We've got a hit." One of the agents chimed in as all attention turned to him. "67% match. Wait, cross-checking, 79% match." He informed as Coulson checked the location.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding." Coulson stated as Fury looked at Darkotsu and Steve.

"Captain, Zuchino, you're up." He said as they both nodded as Coulson led the way to the armory.

"Let's get you two suited up," Coulson said.