Standing there in the empty corridor with no idea where to go, I decided to test a theory. After walking down a couple random hallways I began to speak to the open air.

"Jarvis? I would like to speak with you if at all possible." Drat. I should have warned the Director about Tony's hack job. There was nothing he could really have done to prevent it though.

"Yes, Ms Rachel?" I couldn't keep the goofy grin off my face at the reply.

"You are integrated with all the security around here, correct? Don't worry, I won't tell Director Fury." Though I really should.

"Yes I am." Tony and his machines were awesome.

"Could you direct me toward the lab where Mr Stark is at?"

"Most certainly." Many turns later I was standing next to an open door through which I could here voices I recognized. "You have reached your destination, Ms Rachel."

"Thank you, Jarvis." I tried to figure out what was going on inside before I entered.

"What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?" Tony got a shake of a head and an eye roll from me.

"Is everything a joke to you?" I decided to intervene here before it became a macho contest.

"No, Mr Stark just takes in upon himself to ease the tension in the entire ship. Of course, he doesn't realize this causes more stress for those around him. Except for Doctor Banner. I hope Mr Stark's attitude is refreshing for him."

"You're tip-toeing, big man. You need to strut. And who are you, pretty lady?" Pretty? Was he just trying to butter me up?

"You need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark," Captain commented before I could try to reply.

"Do you think I'm not?" Tony paused dramatically "Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables. Like you, Missy. Who are you?"

"I'm the neighborhood babysitter. Apparently your usual is too busy today, Mr. Stark." That was a really good retort!

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Captain asked to Tony's gobsmacked face. He was trying very hard to keep his own face blank. Tony had to shake himself a little and even offered me a blueberry before he replied.

"He's a spy. Captian, he's THE spy. His secrets have secrets. It's bugging him, too. Isn't it?" Tony gestured to Banner as he spoke.

"Uh…I just want to finish my work here…" I really wanted to bail the Doctor out, but it was a pivotal moment for him.

"Doctor?" Looking expectant, everyone's eyes were on him as he took time to gather his thoughts and courage.

"A warm light for all mankind. Loki's jab at Fury about the Cube."

"I heard it."

"I think that was meant for you." Banner points at Tony who extends the blueberry packet to him this time. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

"Stark Tower?" I did interrupt this line.

"The one skyscraper with the name 'Stark' labeled across it. You might have missed it looking at all the skyscrapers. You hadn't ever seen one before you woke up, had you?" As he shook his head, Tony tried to comment.

"Its what happens when you spend time as..." I figured the end to that line was not complementary so I sent my biggest glare at Tony. I was pleased to find he trailed off.

"A soldier overseas. Isn't that what you were going to say, Mr Stark? I'm sorry Doctor Banner, you were saying something?" He looked awkwardly between me and Tony and then continued with what he had been talking about before.

"Stark Tower. It's powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for, what, a year?"

"It's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now. That's what he's getting at."

"So, why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"

"I should probably look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files."

"I'm sorry. Did you say...?"

"Yes, Mr Stark has taken it upon himself to make sure SHIELD is not destroying any American liberties. Having a secretive government rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Mr Stark is just a more advanced government hacker. After President Nixon lied to the people, and even lied to cover up his lie, there hasn't been a lot of trust." I tried to explain that while Mr Stark was in some ways doing it for himself, that wanting to know what the government was doing was not a new concept.

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome."

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them."

"Blindly following orders is never the right answer. You should always know why and exactly what you are doing. Blindly following is what regimes want. And SHIELD does have dirty secrets that need to be outed." I turned to Tony. " If they know who shot President Kennedy, I expect to be informed." Speaking to the room at large, I continued, " Now I need to go speak with the other very smart man with self-esteem issues on this ship. Excuse me, gentlemen."

I exited the lab and began to debate with myself whether the Director had given me permission to visit Loki or not. The bigger problem was that I had to speak to Loki. I had prepared something of an outline on the flight to the helicarrier from India, so I double checked and reviewed it. No need to sound stupid in front of the Word Smith. Trying not to think too hard about what I was about to do- this was even more stupid and dangerous than standing between Thor and his brother- I called out to Jarvis for directions. Simply focusing on my speech helped me not to hyperventilate on the way to Loki's cell. I knew he could hurt me, but I did not fear him as god, simply as a sorcerer. I also knew if I showed even the slightest weakness, he would focus solely on exploiting it instead of listening to what I had to say, so I would have to hide my nervousness well.

The SHIELD agents who were guarding the door on the outside simply nodded at my presence and didn't hinder my movements. Talking several deep breathes, I held the last one and charged into the room. Loki's head instantly snapped to look at me, and I did not appreciate his predatory smile.

"You're that little girl from the plane." I simply nodded and steeled myself to begin speaking.

"You know, Loki, there are a lot of religions that have come and gone, especially those with multiple gods. The Greek gods, the Roman gods, the Egyptian gods, the Norse gods: none of them have mass followings today. Some people don't even realize there were Egyptian or Norse gods. So I repeat what I said; why didn't you take this chance to start over? However, that is the past."

"So you are telling me your pathetic planet has forgotten the only intelligence to ever land here? For you ignorance you deserve my rule. I will make sure you never again forget the name of Loki." I simply raised my eyebrow at him and his sneering, condescending tone and ignored him.

"Whether nature or nurture has the dominant affect on a person is a very old debate, Loki. I firmly believe it is how you were raised that determines how you think and act, not who to or how you were born. Of course, I even more firmly believe in freedom of choice. Choose well, Loki No-ones-son."

That was the closest I had gotten to admitting I knew he was a frost giant to his face, so I walked quickly out of the room before he could retort or become angry. Hopefully something had gotten through to Loki. It had gone a little differently than I had ever imagined before I had come to this world. Funny how your priorities and how you interact change when it all becomes real.