A/N: Again, still slightly following bits from the movie

Natasha was just on her way to meet up with Fury when an explosion went off and sounded the alarms.

"We've been hit!" someone shouted as they ran off towards the control room.

She ran faster down the hall until she saw Steve frantically looking around.

"Move faster!" Tony growled at him as he shoved him aside.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Barton," said Tony.

"What? He's back?" Good job, Loki.

"He was seen shooting a bomb-equipped arrow straight at us," Tony explained as he secured a silver bracelet to his wrist.

"Wait—"

"He's against us," muttered Steve as he went to grab his shield.

"Suit up, Spidey," Tony told her before running after Steve to get his Iron Man suit.

She reached into her holster and drew her gun as another explosion sounded. Loki had said Clint was different- had he really turned on them?

"No!"

Natasha heard Banner shouting and immediately knew that this was bad news. Clint could wait-the Hulk couldn't. She ran into Banner's makeshift work area and held up her gun, ready to fire.

"How did you escape?" asked Banner as he grabbed his chest.

"Magic," Loki chuckled as he reached out to grab the handle of his golden scepter. "Tell me, how does one get to see the monster inside of you?" he taunted.

"Loki!" gasped Natasha.

Bruce turned his head to face her. "Run," he mouthed. A greenish tinge coloured his skin and his body began to grow in size.

"Fascinating!" Loki breathed. He was like a child on Christmas. "Let's see how your friends enjoy you when you're mine." He tapped the sharp, silver end of his staff against the Hulk's chest, but before anything could take effect, the beast had grabbed him by the ankle and flipped him around, straight into the floor.

Natasha didn't know why, but she fired at the Hulk, which made him turn his attention to her. "Shit!" she hissed. "Bruce-we're on the same team. It's okay!" Her words of reassurance were clearly ineffective since he charged straight for her.

"Filthy beast!" Loki growled as he leapt up from a pile of rubble. Using the staff's power, he forced the Hulk to freeze in place and he threw a punch at his chest, forcing the monster to stagger back.

Bruce's other half was clearly feeling threatened and swat Loki aside like a fly.

Still, Loki staggered up, appearing to be unaffected by the beating. Right when he stood up, a shot rang out, sending him back to the ground.

"That's for whatever you did to Clint!" she snapped. Smoke billowed from her gun after the shot.

A mouthful of blood was coughed up by Loki as he lurched forward. "Turning against me already?" he asked with a smile.

"Don't act like we were comrades!" she spat.

Thor appeared in the doorway and fixed his blue eyes on his brother. "Loki!?"

Loki's eyebrows knit together. His composure went from cool to furious in a matter of seconds.

"Thor, deal with Banner!" Natasha ordered as the Hulk charged for Loki.

The well-built blonde nodded and threw his hammer at the beast, bringing it to a halt.

"Drop it!" Natasha yelled at Loki, who was eying his scepter.

He willingly let go, chuckling all the while.

She knelt down to his level, pointing the gun directly against his chest.

"Please, do shoot!" he encouraged her.

"Listen," she hissed. Her face was dangerously close to his own. "You're going to take me to the Tesseract," she ordered in a hushed whisper.

His eyes widened in surprise. "So you decide to willingly join me now?"

She jabbed the gun into his chest even further. "I want back what's rightfully mine."

"Then shoot me," he whispered as he leaned into her.

She fired the gun at his side, making sure she missed any vital organs.

He winced from the sharp pain and grasped hold of her arm and grabbed his scepter in the other. Within seconds, they were both transported to Midgard, right on top of Stark tower.

Natasha groaned and brought a hand to her head. "What the hell?" Her head was spinning from the suddenness of their transportation. A bright glow forced her to tightly shut her eyes. It was only when they fully adjusted that she realized their location. "What—…" She looked over the cityscape and turned around to see Loki collapsed onto the ground, blood pooling around him. "Loki?" she exclaimed. She dropped to his side and pressed an ear to his chest. Still beating… "Loki!"

He groaned, then forced himself to sit up. "My body takes time to heal."

She stared at him in disbelief. Any normal person would've been dead after a beating through the floor by the Hulk. These Asgardians must have been something else. Then again, he and Thor were gods.

"Well?" He tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear so he could see her eyes.

Natasha felt her face grow hot under his cool touch.

Loki 's eyes darted off in direction of the device which held the Tesseract. "Go."

Slowly, she nodded and went to closely examine the glowing azure cube known as the Tesseract. Hesitant hands reached out, but couldn't bring themselves to touch the object.

"Scared?"

Natasha forced back a scream as his voice murmured in her ear.

He placed his hands over hers and he manipulated her like his puppet until she held the cube in her own two hands. A gasp escaped her lips as she could feel the memories pouring into her. He was right. Loki had told her the truth… The sudden rush of the memories made her feel dizzy, but it was better than the usual nausea she suffered whenever she forced herself to try and remember things.

"What did it show you?" he asked. He hovered behind her, hands now at his side.

"Everything I was." She turned and brought a hand to his face. "Everything you can be… and everything we can be."

He raised a brow as he curiously eyed her. "What are you implying?" he grinned.

She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth.

Loki felt himself shift backwards. He wasn't sure how to react by her sudden gesture.

Their kiss quickly ended as she frantically drew back. "I… We might make a good team-that's what I saw-"

Before she could explain any further, he pressed his mouth against hers and placed his hands on her hips. "A good team in which sense?" he asked with a smirk. "Companions in battle?... Intimacy?" he prodded.

"Both?" The way her body heated up around him made his touch feel extra cold.

"And whose side are we on?" he whispered.

A silence fell upon them. "The Avengers."

"Full of surprises, aren't you?" he asked, playing with a strand of hair.

"Don't underestimate me," she slyly told him.

"Shall we go back now?" he asked. "I believe I'm in for quite the punishment."

"Let's make them come to us," she said.

His smile widened as he indulged in her frisky attitude. "I wouldn't want to cause any trouble on your behalf."

"Oh," she breathed, "you've already done that." She slipped her hand in between his. "This is Stark's place," she advised him. "He'll come here. They all will."

"What then?"

"We wait," she began. "We'll just have to lie low." She gave his traditional Asgardian outfit a once over, then realized she was dressed in her skintight black suit.

"A change, then?" With the use of some basic magic, he now wore his choice Midgard attire of a black suit and tie with a green and gold scarf around his shoulders.

Natasha stared down at herself to realize that she now wore a skin-tight black mini dress. As impressed as she was, she wasn't sure what to think of her new attire. "What's the occasion?" she asked. It had been a while since she had an opportunity to dress up for something other than a mission.

"We might as well have a bit of fun while we wait for your…" He paused to think of a proper term, "'friends' to show up."

"I'm sure they can be your friends, too, if you play a bit nicer."

He placed a hand on the small of her back and used his cane to transport them to ground level. "We best find a place to stay for the night."

The idea of staying overnight together seemed a bit risqué, but he was bringing out another side of her.

They walked down the crowded streets, looking like any other ordinary couple ready for the night out. As dusk fell, they approached a hotel and Loki ordered a suite, one bed.

As a concierge escorted them to their room, Natasha couldn't help but wonder what was going on in the trickster's mind.

"How long until you think they will arrive?" Loki suddenly asked once they were alone in the room. He strode over to the glass wall overlooking the city streets. There were so many people- all waiting for his rule.

She went over to join his side. "Soon," she guessed. "Why so eager?"

"Curious," he corrected her, his eyes scanning the streets.

As he stood deep in thought, she decided to step out of the room to try contacting Fury.

"Agent Romanoff," he began in a gruff tone. "Where the hell are you? Reports say you were kidnapped…"

She paused to contemplate the situation at hand. She was the real culprit, but she couldn't allow for Fury to know that. "I've located the Tesseract," she began. "I have Loki where I want him and I've gathered useful information…"