Thor paced back and forth in front of the map. "I told you already, Captain. The memories are fuzzy and don't seem to be in order. I have told you what I know. Of one thing alone am I certain, and that is Loki is innocent."

"He killed thousands, Thor." Steve rubbed his hands over his face. "He can't be innocent of that."

"Innocent's probably the wrong word," Tony chimed in. "Pardoned?"

Steve glared at him. "Then that decision should have been made by the whole team, not a small part."

Tony turned in his chair and leaned back, hands behind his head and legs crossed. "Time was of the essence."

"And you didn't have time to call me? What's the point of all this technology if it isn't faster?"

"It is faster, and contacting everyone wasn't the time killer. It was the convincing everyone part."

"So you admit you went behind our backs."

"Gee," Tony slammed his hands down on the arms of the chair and launched to his feet, "I wonder if this conversation would go differently if you were talking to Arriana instead of me."

"That has nothing to do with this." Steve launched off the couch, squaring up with Tony. "There are nine members in this team."

"And five members made the decision."

"Without everyone even knowing it was up for discussion."

They circled each other, only one step below shouting.

"Gentlemen," Thor called.

"What?" they both barked, turning to him.

"I suggest we take a deep breath and attempt to recall that we are all friends and allies here."

The two men glared at each other and then turned, Tony stomping to the bar to refill his glass and Steve stomping to the windows to stare out over Manhattan.

Thor looked between them. He wandered over to the bar. "You must forgive his harsh words, Friend Stark."

Tony leaned on the bar. "For the millionth time, Thor. You can drop the 'friend' title on everyone's name. Not a thing done here. We're not big on titles."

"My apologies, Stark."

"That works."

"I shall do better to remember, but that aside, he only wants to protect your world."

"As if I don't?"

"I did not say that. But you and he approach things differently." Thor watched him carefully. "Correct me if I am wrong, but you usually work alone." Tony shrugged. "And he has long worked as leader of a team." Another shrug. "Then I'm sure it seemed very cautious to consult with four others, but the captain seems to be accustomed to seeking the advise and agreement of all. Neither approach is wrong, but each has its strengths in different moments. From what little I can piece together, time was very much of the essence. I'm sure my delay was longer than you would have liked."

"True. We've really gotta find a faster way to get in touch with you."

"My apologies. If I could make my father see reason that I am a part of a team here and not just doting on my pet planet, it would be much easier. I'm sure our magicians could find a way to wed your technology with our own ways to give you access to me."

Tony glanced at the screens scrolling through data and handed Thor a filled glass.

Thor smiled and lifted his glass in salute. "You will have to acquaint me with your Midgardian liquors. Do you know if they are much like that of Asgard?"

"Triplets didn't say anything about the liquor."

"Come to think of it, I'm not sure they had any."

"Glad to hear it. That could've been dangerous since they don't know how it would effect them."

"Very true. And they were not there for a friendly visit unfortunately. I hope they found Asgardian hospitality up to their standards."

Tony waved aside the comment. "They liked your mom. Weren't keen on your dad. Not a big shock."

Thor frowned. "Hmm... that is worrisome."

Tony took a long drink. "Why?"

"Well, as he is king of Asgard, I had hoped they would find him a good and fair ruler."

Tony snorted. "Sorry to disappoint there, Point Break." He clapped him on the shoulder. "But based on first impressions they sound like they're ready to start a coup."

"That is troubling. I shall have to talk with them more of their impressions while I am here. Things are not well on Asgard and I fear that my father may be to blame." He sighed, took a long drink, and nearly dropped it, coughing heavily. "What is this made of? Bilgesnipe bile?"

Tony gave a wry laugh. "Hardly. If you can't handle that, don't try the cheap stuff."

"What is it?"

"Scotch. It's a whiskey made in Scotland. Don't drink too much. If you think that's strong, you'll be flat on your back after two glasses."

"Oh, no, you mistake me. It isn't a potent libation, only strong of taste. On Asgard our liquors are mellow and warm, or sweet. Depending on the occasion."

Tony quirked a brow. "We might have to talk more about how you make your liquors."

"My sincerest apologies, but I am a poor source of talk. I know only of the drinking of liquors and nothing of their making."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Typical palace brat."

Thor chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder harder than Tony would have liked. "I am afraid that may be very true." He was quiet for a moment as he drank and grimaced. "You might ask Loki. He seems to know odd things."

"Such as?"

Thor shrugged his massive shoulders. "Out on campaign once, he and I were separated from the rest of our company. I had of course been trained to build a fire and shelter as necessary, and hunt of course, but Loki knew how to make the most delicious stew. He knew of tasty herbs and roots in the region and how to find them. I was amazed. Though I must confess I never told him so." He fell quiet for a moment and stared off into the distance. "Perhaps that is what he meant, that he lived in my shadow."

"Oh, I'd bet there's a lot more to it than that, Thor." Rolling his eyes, he refilled his glass and Thor's, and headed for his makeshift command station again.

Thor stood in contemplation for another moment, and then poured a second glass. He paused at the map to watch the blinking dots and then moved over to stand beside Steve, handing him the glass.

"Thanks," Steve said, not looking away from the deepening shadows of the skyscrapers far below them.

"It is beautiful," Thor said. "A different sort of beauty than what I am used to, but I cannot deny the wonder of such a landscape constructed by Midgardians."

"Yeah." Steve fell silent for a moment. "Didn't used to look like this."

Thor watched him for a moment. "Were things much different in your time?"

Steve gave a harsh laugh. "Seems like it, but I guess not so much. Buildings weren't as tall, things didn't move so fast, but people weren't as free and I suppose that's more important than the rest. I'd rather people were free than I felt comfortable."

Thor clapped him on the shoulder. "You are a good man. All should feel as such, but alas I think that is something much too similar between Asgard and Midgard – those in power grow comfortable and perhaps overstep their power even without realizing they do so. I must confess I am one. Growing up in a palace I suppose it would be difficult not to become blind to everything around you."

Steve chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Must have been hard for you, Thor."

Thor threw his head back, letting our a roar of laughter. "A fair hit, my friend. A very fair hit. My life could not be said to be hard. Servants to wait upon me, all the court to lavish praise upon me, and the king himself training me at his right hand." He fell quiet. "But then there are many things I've lost. The most precious I think being an honest voice to remind me of my commonness. That is what I value most about all of you. You are not afraid to tell me your honest thoughts. And what I valued in Loki, I suppose. Though I never told him." He frowned and fell silent.

"You can always do better, Thor. Learning is a part of being human. Or Asgardian, I suppose. I think it's probably the same. When you stop learning you start dying."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, at least for us, if you don't use something, you lose it. Like muscles." He shrugged. "For the average person, if you don't keep strengthening your muscles, they'll weaken. It's the same with the mind. Learning is training the mind, like you train muscles."

"That is a very interesting way of looking at it. I had always supposed that scholars lived longer because they never ventured near anything more dangerous than a cut from the edge of a scroll or neck strain."

"That's a thing on Asgard, too?"

Thor laughed. "Indeed it is. A great affliction of the scholars. Most warriors don't live long enough to have neck strain."

Steve laughed.

"Perhaps that is because warriors do not use their minds much once they have learned the ways of battle and how to wield their weapon of choice." He frowned again. "Maybe if warriors spent more time among the scrolls they would not die so young."

"And if the scholars spent a little more time swinging a sword they might not suffer from neck strain so much."

"Indeed," Thor laughed. "Perhaps we should all learn many trades rather than just one."

"We have a saying that goes 'Jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one'."

"And what does it mean?"

"It means that knowing a little about a lot of things can often be more useful than knowing a lot about one thing."

"Perhaps that's why Loki always seems more clever than I." Thor shrugged. "Or perhaps he's just cleverer than I."

They fell into silence as they watched the minute movements of the ant-like cars far below.

"Come to daddy," Tony laughed as he typed away.

Steve glanced over and shook his head.

Thor looked between them. "It seems to me you are very much alike. You and the Man of Iron."

"Hardly, Thor. I'll grant you he's more willing to sacrifice when the cards are down than I expected, but he's still a rich, egotistical madman."

Thor chuckled. "I'm not sure he would completely disagree with you. None the less, you are both leaders. You merely lead differently."

"What do you mean?" Steve glanced over at him.

"You both lead by example, but you are accustomed to your fellows being close to observe your example and Stark is accustomed to working alone with others observing him from afar."

"You mean doing whatever he wants."

"No," Thor said, "I do not believe Stark merely does whatever he wants. I believe he weighs the effects and outcomes most carefully, but not perhaps in the most friendly way. You are much more like the lovely Lady Arriana. She cares more for the heart than is strictly practical, which is why she works so well with Lady Lizzy, who tends to focus on what is more strictly practical and logical."

"And Michael?" Steve lifted a brow.

"I believe, as Lord Michael put it, he is the cookie that holds the nuts and chocolate chips together."

"I remember when chocolate chips came out in 1941. They were big news. Not that I could have any at first. Not until after the serum."

"Why could you not have these chocolate chips?" Thor asked, glancing over at him. "And what are chocolate chips?"

Steve chuckled. "They're small bits of chocolate? I was allergic to chocolate."

Thor lifted a brow.

"You don't have chocolate on Asgard?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Damn, that's too bad. It's killer diller."

"I am not sure I understand you." Thor frowned. "I'm afraid my Allspeak doesn't account for the many colorful variations in your language."

Steve laughed softly. "Sorry, Thor. Um... chocolate's great. It's a dessert ingredient – sort of creamy and sweet, but dark and earthy. If that makes sense."

"It sounds wonderful. It sounds much like súkkulaði."

"I don't have that neat Allspeak thing. What's that?"

Thor chuckled. "It is a confection made from the milk of the hreindýr and the roasted bark of the kanil tree."

Steve frowned. "Sounds awful, but if I'm honest it doesn't sound that much different than how chocolate is made. It's milk from a cow and the roasted beans of the cacao tree. I looked it up on Wikipedia."

"What is Wikipedia?"

"Did anyone explain the internet to you?" Steve asked. Thor shook his head. "Oh, well, I'm not the man for that job, I don't really understand it, but it has huge amounts of information and Wikipedia is a huge encyclopedia with information on just about any topic. I've been doing a lot of reading."

"Has your world changed so much in such a short space of time?"

"I guess it's not that a lot has changed, but there's a lot more access to information we just didn't have back in the forties. Seems like nobody knew anything back then."

"I still know little of Midgard, though I am eager to learn more. I only know what I learned from Jane Foster when I was here a year or so ago by your reckoning, and the great exploits of my father when he defeated the Jotuns when I was a small boy. About the time Loki was born, or adopted, I suppose."

"I thought I knew more, but I'm realizing that I knew what I was told in the newspapers, not necessarily what was actually going on."

"I suppose there are always two stories to tell," Thor said, glancing at Tony. "The one we wish people to see and the truth that lies beneath." He turned back to Steve. "Much like yourself."

"Meaning?"

"There is more to your dislike of Stark than merely disagreeing about how the decision to save Loki was made. It seems to me something a little more personal."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Now you're being nosy too?"

Thor held up his hands. "I do not mean to make a nuisance of myself. I only wish to help." He watched Steve for a moment. "Though, to make a nuisance of myself, did you and Lady Arriana not have affection for one another? I was certain you admired her."

"She's with your brother now, isn't she?"

"Is it not allowable to take more than one lover on Midgard?"

Steve spun to face him. "No, and are you saying it's normal on Asgard?"

"Normal, no. I suppose it is allowable, but I know of none who do. There are some cultures in other realms that frequently take more than one lover." Thor shrugged. "None the less, perhaps she has taken refuge in my brother's affections because she is unsure of your own. Why not tell her that you love her? If she does not return the affections, I'm sure she will gently tell you so."

"Yeah, it's that part that I'm worried about."

"You fear her rejection?"

Steve was silent.

"Do not let your fear cloud your judgment. I am guilty of that mistake and I'm afraid I have lost the woman I loved." He stood for a long moment watching the sun as it began it's final journey to the horizon. "If ever I were given the chance to see her again, however, I would tell her I love her. That I would spend all the years of my life with her if she would have me."

Steve swallowed thickly and firmly stared at the darkening horizon.

"Sir," Jarvis interrupted their thoughts.

"Whatcha got for me, J?" Tony called.

"Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton have safely landed at LaGuardia airport, sir. They have stowed the SHIELD Quinjet in your private hanger and are currently loading into the waiting SUV."

"Perfect. Calculate time of arrival with current conditions." He spun around to look at the map.

"Twenty-five minutes to arrival at Stark Tower according to current traffic conditions, sir."

"Keep us posted if anything changes, Jarvis." He flicked a few screens away and studied the map for a moment. "How long until Banner lands, J?"

"Two hours and twenty-three minutes, sir."

"Good. We only lost a few minutes with our little snafu."

Steve watched him work for a few minutes, and then wandered over to the bar and grabbed the decanter of scotch. He took a deep breath and walked over and refilled Tony's glass.

Tony looked up, one brow quirked.

"Look, Stark, I still don't agree with the decision to bring Loki here without discussing it with the whole team, but I understand you felt you needed to make an immediate decision."

"I wasn't the only one making it, Rogers."

"I understand. I'm hoping once we have the whole team here we can sit down and all discuss what happened. I'd like to know what information the decision was based on."

"That's for the triplets and Loki to decide." Tony took a long swig from his glass. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention Loki to Barton or Romanoff. Barton's going to be touchy about it and I don't want the triplets caught between Loki and him."

Steve's back straightened. "Stark, he has a right to know."

"I didn't say he wouldn't be told. I just asked you not to tell him. Since I told you guys, the triplets will probably have to tell everyone else."

"You weren't going to tell anyone, were you?"

Tony folded his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair. "Would that bother you, Rogers? If Loki had been in the tower, minding his own business, and you hadn't known about it? Or are you mad that I told you and now you think you can't have Arriana?"

"Don't start that again, Stark."

"I don't consider it starting when I never really stopped."

"Stark..."

"Gentlemen," Thor called. "I think our energies would be better served focusing on our common enemy. We are all wanted by SHIELD, correct?"

They both muttered agreement. Steve turned to stomp away.

"Leave the scotch," Tony said.

Steve met his gaze and walked it back over to the bar and set it back in its place.

Tony snorted. "Nice. I'm completely defeated by you putting the scotch back where I always keep it."

"I don't think it's advisable for you to be drunk right now," Steve said, crossing his arms over his heaving chest as he fought to keep his emotions under control.

"Oh, please, I've done a lot more a hell of a lot drunker than this. At the moment, this is just Jarvis running the show."

"Thank you, sir," Jarvis said.

"I'm just poking around SHIELD's databases."

"Stark, they're going to catch you and then whatever secrecy we have is gone," Steve barked.

"Oh, yeah, they're great at catching me at stuff. Like they caught the hidden virus I planted in the first virus I used to discover Phase 2."

"They immediately caught you infiltrating their systems."

"Because I didn't care if they knew," Tony said. "Once I had the information I didn't care if they knew. Hell, I wanted them to know," he leaped up from his chair, "because I wanted to happen exactly what happened. Fury barges in to ask me what I'm doing. I now can ask all the questions I want. The fact that your inelegant detective work turned something up is a coincidence. And I did it faster, by the way."

The elevator doors dinged.

"Oh, this pissing contest is really turning me on," Lizzy said as the four of them came off the elevator. "Jarvis woke us. He said Clint and Tasha would be here soon."

"Yeah." Tony glanced at the map. "A couple minutes until they're in the tower. Then it's just Bruce we're waiting for."

"What about Fury?" Steve asked. "Do we know where he is?"

"He'll have disappeared underground with the other rats," Tony said with a chuckle. "They'll never find him."

"What's your problem, Stark?" Steve spun around again. "The man risked his life to warn us and you're calling him a rat."

"It's a compliment." Tony dropped back into his chair. "He's a spy."

Arriana helplessly watched between them.

Loki nudged her. Go, he whispered in her mind, you're the only one that can calm him down right now.

I doubt I'll calm him much given... everything.

Well, try anyway. Loki gave her a harder push and pulled Michael and Lizzy down onto the couch with him.

She wandered over, took a deep breath, and put a hand on Steve's arm. He spun to look at her.

"You okay?"

"Uh... yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He ran a hand through his hair. "Are you feeling better?" He wasn't sure, and he didn't want to know for sure, but Steve thought he could smell the heady scent of sex surrounding her. He glanced over at Loki cuddling the other two. He frowned. "That doesn't bother you?"

She glanced over. "Oh, no." Her cheeks flamed. "I'm sure it's an odd arrangement to you. It's not really normal for most, but..." She shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself. "It works for us. Loki loves all three of us equally and we all love him. We all want him to be happy, and we want each other to be happy. There's not really any competition between us."

Steve nodded as he watched them for a moment, and then shook himself. "Do you think Fury needs protection?"

"Huh? Oh..." She looked over at the map. "No, Tony's right. He'll have had at least three or four hiding places prepared for something like this."

"He figured SHIELD would try to kill him?"

"He always figures everyone's trying to kill him," she shrugged. "Cost of being a spy."

"Are you afraid someone's always trying to kill you?" he asked, watching her closely.