I don't own the Avengers.

Duh.

They were ushered in hurrily by Agent Hills. Their spirits weren't lifted by the anxious look on her normally blank face.

Once they were all cramped into the conference room, Fury finally spoke—or at least he was going to before Tony butted in.

"What's going on? Why are we here?"

"Mr. Stark, if you would take the time to listen, you might know. You are here because Loki has escaped."

Almost before he had finished talking, the room erupted into shouts and yells.

"But he can't—"

"How could Thor—"

"Coming back—"

"Reindeer Games—"

Natasha rolled her eyes, put two fingers in her mouth, and blew. The whistle whipped through the room, silencing every one. Bruce was breathing heavily, eyes shut and unmoving.

It was Tony, of course, who first had the confidence to break the silent spell. "Is he coming back? To Earth?"

Fury rubbed his temples and sighed. "Most definitely. But... something about him has changed. We did constant checks on him while he was imprisoned. The week he disappeared from his cell, his gamma signature had increased significantly. We were going to do some tests, but the next day..."

"He might not even return to Earth," pointed out Captain Rogers. "He could find some other planet to take over."

"He will." Doctor Banner spoke for the first time, startling everyone. "Loki basically runs on pride. When we defeated him, it was a huge blow. That was a challenge to him, and he will do all he can to beat that challenge."

"He's right," put in Natasha. "And he'll be fueled by anger, and humiliation."

Steve turned to Fury. "When you said his gamma signature had increased, does that mean he's more powerful?"

"Than ever," confirmed the director, nodding.

"Well, we can still beat him." No one answered the inventor.

"Right?"

"We've got a match."

Steve leaned over the shoulder of the technician who had spoken. "Where is he?"

The young woman looked over her shoulder at the super soldier suspiciously. "Uh, Kansas City. Missouri."

"Oooh! Barbeque!"

"No, Tony," sighed Natasha.

"Barbeque after?"

"That could be arranged."

Everyone turned at the new voice.

"Barton!"

Clint Barton stood behind them, suited up and looking amused. Behind him, and standing several feet taller, Thor, the Norse god of thunder.

Natasha cracked a rare smile and Steve cordially pretended not to catch it.

"It has been long," rumbled Thor, crushing Tony in a characteristic embrace.

"Yeah, um, nice—seeing—you. Again."

Natasha gently pried Tony from Thor. "We doing this, or what?"

Arrows were sharpened, guns loaded, shields polished. Tony oiled the Iron Man suit and Thor sat, staring at Mjolnir, looking increasingly disaproving. Dr. Banner scratched his neck and looked around. "Uh, we really shouldn't be doing this."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Chillax, big guy. It'll be fine. guy hasn't even had time to prepare. No army, no portal, no nukes. It'll ten times easier than the last."

"Except for the fact that Loki is now ten times more powerful."

Tony scratched his head. "No one said ten times."

"I did." Thor stepped forward. "None of you saw him. He is beyond the power of gods. He has mastered control of the elements and he can bring down an army with a wave of his hand."

As if on cue, the Iron Man suit's glowing eyes flickered. Natasha frowned. "Seriously?"

"Yes, well, an actual wave." Thor frowned. "Loki—summons waves. With his... hands. Yes."

"Don't overwork yourself, Point break," muttered Tony. "We still got a lot to do."

"You're right."

The team whipped around, looking guilty as Director Fury cornered them. "But you're not going to be doing what you think."