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"How did it go?" Coulson asked as Vanessa emerged from the cold basement. "Did you get what you needed?"

"I thought you were watching," she said, rubbing warmth back into her chilled hands. "You told me to get out."

"There's no audio on this thing," he said, pointing to a small screen on the wall. "For all of Stark's technology, he never really cared about his basement, I guess. So, did you?"

"Some," she answered as Coulson relocked the steel door and waved her up the staircase. "It's nothing good."

"Of course not," the older agent snorted. "What did he tell you?"

"That a powerful, intelligent alien race is out there, plotting to destroy the universe," she said, sounding almost nonchalant. Coulson stared at her in incredulity, so she added sarcastically, "No big deal."

"We have to tell the director as soon as possible," he said seriously, ignoring her snark. "Did he say anything else?"

"The Tesseract is only the beginning," she replied wearily. There was a certain surreality to everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, and it seemed that she was only comprehending the fact now. It was evident in her tone. "His scepter has something to do with all this crap, too."

"I'm sending that to DC tonight," Coulson promised. "It'll be examined."

Vanessa nodded, not entirely satisfied with the lack of conclusive answers but there wasn't much she, or anyone, could do about it. "Do you think we can get a few days off before we need to get started on defensive measures?"

"Yeah, for sure," said Coulson, his head bobbing up and down earnestly. A thought, which must have been amusing, seemed to occur to him and he smirked slightly. "'Until such a time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.'"

She quirked an eyebrow. "Fury?"

"Yup." He laughed. "We'll get started working on more defense measures immediately. There are some pretty special things going on already at HQ. And, of course, we have our rapid response team if things happen much sooner than anticipated."

"The Avengers," she mused, a question presenting itself for the first time since the Initiative was revealed. "What's behind the name?"

Coulson shrugged. "It's Fury. What do you ever know?"

She made a sound of agreement. The two agents appeared back on the ground floor of Stark Tower, where Damage Control workers had begun to sweep up the broken glass caused by a Chitauri that had crashed through one of the lobby windows. The creature's body and skiff were being wheeled out in barrows through the front door.

"Anyway, I'll be heading to the Triskelion tomorrow morning," he said. "What about you?"

She tilted her head to one side. "Fury hasn't said anything. I guess I'll come with, though, because he'd definitely want to see me."

Coulson took that in and quickly typed something into his phone. "Great. Now, where's the Tesseract?"

"Er, it may or may not be in a plastic bag at Shawarma Palace." Vanessa coughed. The older agent levelled her with an extremely exasperated look.

"Why didn't you think to bring it with you when you came here?" The two SHIELD operatives exited the tower at that moment, and Coulson's raised voice caused several nearby clean-up workers to look up in curiousity.

Vanessa made another choked noise of apology. "I'm sorry. Well, for leaving a radioactive entity in a bag in a restaurant. I'm not sorry for not bringing it with me, because Thor wouldn't have it."

He inclined his head in question, irritation less obvious in his features but still present. "Oh? Tell me about it."

"He wants to take it with him when he leaves," she said. "Says that we've proven that we're unfit to have it. If you ask me, though, I think he has a point. The thing used to be on Asgard, anyway. We're just putting it back where it should be."

Coulson looked more skeptical about it. "I'm not sure we can make that call," he said contemplatively. "This is a huge decision ー not even Fury would be able to make a decision like this without the Council's approval."

Vanessa shrugged. "Not much we can do if he just, say, takes it to Asgard."

They stepped out from a building's shadow and were immediately assaulted by intense rays of afternoon sunlight, which gleamed off of the shiny glass-and-metal buildings that defined Manhattan. Many of them were still broken and smoking from recent conflict.

Vanessa shielded her eyes from the blinding light, the scars of the battle reminding her of her conversation with the god of mischief and what his revelations might mean for the future. Something powerful and dangerous was lurking in the depths of space, ready to destroy planets with the power of the Tesseract. And what did the cube have in common with the Scepter? Scepter with a capital S, now; she doubted that there would ever be anything else like it.

But she couldn't really bring herself to dwell on the morbid thoughts.

Vacation first, she told herself. Anxiety later.

Like Stark said, they'd earned the leave of absence.

The next day, the Avengers gathered in the middle of Central Park. Miraculously, there were no crowds of reporters or flocks of cameramen when they did so. Vanessa had no doubt that SHIELD probably pulled something to keep people away while two gods teleported off to who-knew-where.

Thor pushed his brother roughly to the middle of a paved circle. The trickster's wounds were healing remarkably quickly ー what were raw, red weals the day before were now a muted pink with new tissue. A metal muzzle had been clamped over his mouth in addition to the heavy shackles, causing Vanessa to frown with distaste. It was dehumanizing, she thought, but she wasn't about to argue with Thor's judgement.

She looked on silently as Coulson and a still shaken-looking Selvig helped Banner place the glowing Tesseract in a strange, cylindrical contraption with copper-coloured handles. They presented it to Thor, who took it with an appreciative smile.

The day before, the god of thunder had declared that he would be taking the Tesseract to Asgard and locking it in a safe vault. No one argued, except for Stark, who had to put in his customary wit. But he didn't really disagree.

That left Fury to deal with Alexander Pierce and the World Security Council, and if anyone could placate a group of five very disagreeable world leaders, he could. Not that it would be easy, of course, but it was a part of his job.

Vanessa turned her attention back to the events unfolding before her.

Thor grasped one end of the device tightly and extended the other towards Loki, who took it with some reluctance. He gave the rest of the Avengers one last grin before twisting the handle, initializing a stream of blue energy from the cube. Vanessa felt the cosmic power ripple over the park, transporting the two to Asgard.

As they disappeared, she could have sworn that Loki's eyes met hers one more time in understanding.

That was what it was, right? Understanding? But she had no idea what sort of understanding they'd came to. Understanding of the threat, perhaps. She still had yet to tell any of her fellow Avengers of the revelation ー they deserved a break longer than 24 hours.

"C'mon, Liang," said Romanoff, snapping her out of her thoughts. "We'd like to get to the Triskelion before dark."

Vanessa nodded, opening the rear door of the black SHIELD sedan but hesitating from getting in. "Wait," she said. "I'm going to say goodbye to Steve."

Barton seemed to roll his eyes behind his sunglasses. "You couldn't have done it earlier?" he asked, without real annoyance. "Make it quick, or we'll just leave you here."

When not under mind control, the agent could be quite humorous and easy to talk to. Vanessa laughed. "Just give me one minute. In the grand scheme of things, we could spare that much time, right?"

Not waiting for another remark, she jogged over to where Steve was mounting a motorbike. Stark and Banner had already disappeared in the former's shiny sports car, and Coulson was waiting at the big SHIELD van, ready to leave with the other agents.

"You're going to be okay?" Steve asked her when she approached. She smirked slightly.

"That's what I should be asking. It's not like I was the patient."

Ignoring her comment, he smiled and revved up the engine. "Well, see you in DC. In a bit."

"You're going to DC? To work with SHIELD?" Vanessa raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "I don't think I'll ever be anything but a soldier."

"Well, SHIELD's a good choice for that." She shrugged. "Now, are you going or not? You revved the engine a little prematurely."

He grinned, swinging one leg over the seat. "Fine, if you want me gone so badly."

"You're going to get fined for not wearing a helmet!" she called after him as he left, envisioning a hilarious scene in which Captain America, in full uniform, was pulled over and issued a ticket. He yelled something in response, but it was lost to the wind and noise.

Vanessa turned back to her colleagues and slipped into the back seat of the car, feeling the cool leather beneath her palms.

"Ready for a road trip?" asked Romanoff. Instead of putting on a seatbelt like a normal passenger would, she kicked back and rested her heels on the dashboard. Vanessa didn't question it. A little comfort wouldn't hurt, and it wasn't like police officers could see into the car with the darkened windows. Besides, the lack of seatbelt was likely because she wanted a quick escape from the vehicle if needed. Paranoia came with the job, and now more than ever she understood why.

"I wouldn't call it a road trip," Barton grumbled, getting behind the wheel. "All I'm going to do is drive for four hours."

"How urgent is it?" Fury asked Vanessa as she blinked the last of the sleep from her eyes. They'd only just arrived at the Triskelion and she had already been peppered with questions that she weren't listening to. "Because if it isn't, go back to New York. They could use a few more agents on scene and according to downstairs, someone from there has been calling the SHIELD office once every thirty minutes asking for you."

She held in a laugh, but it must have still been obvious on her face because Fury raised an amused eyebrow. It had to have been her friends ー her phone had died that morning, before Thor and Loki's depart.

"It's urgent," she said, once she regained her composure. "It has to do with Loki."

The director pondered it for a second, just as the elevator reached their floor. "Fine," he said, motioning for her to follow him into his office. "Let's hear it."

Nick Fury's rectangular office was sparsely furnished, with a few leather couches, a desk, and a large screen that covered half of one wall. The opposite wall was all window, leaving the last two to be bare concrete.

She looked around the simple workspace, running an idle hand over the back of a sofa. "We won't be overheard, right?"

There was the ghost of a smirk on Fury's face. "Of course not. Secure office."

Instantly, the windows blackened and Vanessa could feel the electronic hum of energy surrounding the room. SHIELD soundproofing technology.

Her superior looked at her expectantly.

"I interrogated Loki a second time after the battle was over. He said that there's a powerful alien force out there, more intelligent than the Chitauri," she began, taking on the typical 'mission report' tone. The monotony made everything seem less bizarre, somehow. Loki had presented the information in a similarly detached manner. "They apparently seek carnage, on a massive scale. Loki also said that they required more than merely the Tesseract to accomplish this."

Fury sat down at his desk, drumming his fingers on the wooden top. He was taking the news in his signature manner ー that was to say, wholly unfazed.

"What else?"

"Loki's Scepter might have something to do with all this," Vanessa went on. "Do we know anything about its connection with the cube?"

"The data we have is still in the process of being salvaged," said Fury. "It's making its way out of the Helicarrier's files now and into SHIELD databases. Is that all?"

Vanessa nodded. "Yes, sir. You aren't surprised."

He chuckled. "Why would I be? I've been expecting this for years. You guys, the Avengers, and Phase Two ー both have been solely developed for this purpose. And I told the Council this, too. This fight with Loki, it's a message we're sending out to the world. To all the worlds."

"That we can fend them off?"

"Not only fend them off, but make sure they regret setting foot on the surface of this planet." Fury's eye was still blazing with the joy of their recent triumph and as a result, determination and hope for the future. Even so, the unconcealed faith did little to put the small, pessimistic part of her at ease.

Loki had been so scared.

All of the Avengers were circled around him and Hawkeye had an arrow aimed for his brain, but all he did was laugh, as though he'd only lost a game of little importance.

Whatever out there was much worse.

"But we are taking other precautionary measures, right?" she asked persistently. "The Avengers won't be our only line of defense?"

"We are," Fury promised, taking in the barely noticeable quiver of worry in her voice. "I understand that you've just walked out of a shocking situation, Agent Liang. Aliens invaded and people died. The Helicarrier nearly fell from the sky. Manhattan's in ruins. You've earned a break.

"Go back to New York, take some time off. We'll call you if we need you. And based on what Loki told you, we'll take action accordingly."

She nodded again, this time more slowly. "Thank you, director. I take it that you'll find me something to do."

Fury smiled. "Of course."

And that's how she found herself, a few days later, in a shabby basement apartment on Manhattan Island, wondering how on earth she was going to redecorate the place.

"Fury couldn't get me anything better," she muttered, wrinkling her nose at the damp, musty smell of the place. "Whoever was here before me didn't take care of it well."

A warm, comforting signature came through the door behind her, bringing with it a certain fluffiness, like a blanket. William nudged her shoulder with a grin. "Don't you think about escaping back to DC, now," he joked, dark eyes sparkling with humour. "We'll help you clean up here and then we're going to IKEA."

"Yes, I love IKEA!" Cordelia's shrill tones came through the open doorway. A lanky brunette barrelled into the room and tackled the two, face bright with excitement.

Finally, the last of the trio appeared in the doorway, seeming unimpressed. "Back for an hour, and already leaving me with your stuff," Ryan grumbled with mock annoyance, dragging Vanessa's small suitcase over the threshold. He dropped the case on the floor by the door, running a hand through his short black hair. "Seriously."

She smiled brightly at her friends, ignoring the hot tears that stung her eyes. She wasn't usually the sentimental type, but so much had happened in the last 48 hours that she wasn't sure she came out of it the same person.

"There's so much I need to tell you guys." She blinked away the moisture that none of them seemed to notice. Or at least pretended not to.

It felt good to be ordinary, if only for a while, and she was grateful for the chance.

She didn't know when the next time 'ordinary' would come around.