I guess I lied. I may be able tp update every day...depending on my schedule. If the interaction between Steve and Willow isn't to your liking, let me know and I can fix it. Thanks to everyone who is reading and adding this to alerts. Special thanks goes to JJwolf for the review! I do not own the Avengers! Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

Loki paced in the hotel room, waiting for word from Ethan. Willow had pushed herself out of the dream once again and as Loki gazed at Drax, who sat on the floor under a table, he knew that Willow would be ignorant in trusting the Avengers. Ethan suddenly came into his line of sight and Loki narrowed his eyes.

"Did I not tell you to return with Willow?" Loki demanded and Ethan bowed his head.

"She has vanished, I am sorry," Ethan said, not daring to look Loki in the eye. Willow was clever.

Before getting a ride on the plane, Willow decided to call Mimi since she hadn't had the chance. Mimi picked up instantly.

"Oh my god, I was so worried about you! Where are you?" Mimi demanded.

"I'm fine, I promise. I have to get out of the city for a bit," Willow stated.

"Ethan was worried about you. He wants to know where you are," Mimi mentioned and Willow frowned. Loki wouldn't find her.

"Don't tell Ethan where I am. I'm with my cousin and I'm safe, Mims." It was hard to dodge Mimi, but Ethan wasn't exactly a good guy at the moment. Hanging up made Willow's stomach twist in knots, but Mimi had to be left in the dark on this one.

The SHIELD base was just as Willow left it. When Willow was presented in front of Director Fury it was another matter entirely.

"You've been keeping things from us, Ms. Crecy," Fury stated and Willow froze. She looked to Clint and he wouldn't even look her in the eye.

"What do you mean?" Willow was trying to figure out what he knew.

"You have something to contribute to the Avengers and I need you to join the team. It's not an option," Fury explained and Willow narrowed her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Willow demanded, raising her voice.

"You can fly, Ms. Crecy, and you're good with a knife. So, I'm making you a part of the Avengers," Fury explained harshly and Willow groaned in anger.

Over the next few days, Willow spent her time working out with Steve, at Fury's request. None of the other Avengers beside Clint and Steve knew that Willow had wings. Willow got stronger and hung out with Steve more often. Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Thor hadn't come and it left Willow to ask after them.

"Stark and Banner are engrossed with their work and Thor is a big guy," Steve said with a shrug.

"Is he better than Loki at least?" Willow inquired and Steve nodded with a grin.

"Yeah, he's a lot better than Loki. How did you manage to spend time with him?" It was a difficult question. Why had it been almost easy to spend time with Loki?

"I guess I wasn't aware of who he was until later on," Willow answered simply. Steve wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"Weren't you the least bit suspicious of him being a villain?" Steve inquired and Willow had to think about it.

"I was suspicious, but I didn't think anything of it at the time. To me, it was like he had a crush. I never thought it would blow up in my face," Willow explained.

"Does Loki know about you having wings? Was that why he was after you?" Steve was pushing it and Willow almost didn't want to answer the questions, but felt she could trust him.

"I haven't unfurled my wings in a few years and he wasn't after me because of that. Apparently, he kept seeing me in his dreams, which is really creepy if you ask me." Steve smiled at Willow's commentary.

"Has he been able to talk to you in your dreams lately? Is that why you unfurled your wings the other night?" Willow's smile faded and she drummed her fingers on the table there were sitting at.

"We've had plenty of discussions in my dreams, but I think the reason my wings unfurled was because I tried to get out of the dream too quickly. We were standing by a pond and I fell in," Willow recalled with no set expression on her face.

There was a knock on the door and Clint entered the room. He nodded in greeting to Willow and then turned to Steve.

"Stark and Banner are here, but Thor's on his way. We're supposed to meet them on the bridge," Clint stated and Steve gave Willow a smile before departing. When Steve was gone, Clint took the seat he was sitting in.

"What's up?" Willow wondered, leaning forward.

"Fury thinks you know something about Loki's plans." Way to be subtle, Willow thought.

"I do, in fact, but I guess they're not exactly Loki's plans. We have another villain on radar and Loki fears him," Willow said and Clint's brow furrowed. He didn't expect his cousin to know something like this.

"When Thor arrives, you can brief everyone on it," Clint resolved and got up from the seat as quickly as he sat down.

Willow was called down to the bridge when everyone arrived. Clint stood by his cousin protectively and Steve stood on the other side, as if they were guarding her. From TV, Willow could make out Tony Stark instantly. Thor had to be the tallest guy in the room and that left quiet Bruce Banner. He wore his glasses on the edge of his nose and wasn't exactly looking at anything in particular. Natasha stood in the back of the room and Willow avoided eye contact. Director Fury came onto the bridge and gazed at his team.

"I contacted everyone because we have a new member of the Avengers. This is Willow Crecy, a cousin of Agent Barton's. She's going to be working with us from now on," Fury explained and Thor gazed at her strangely.

"I have some information, as well, regarding a new villain," Willow spoke up and everyone was surprised, but she continued, "Apparently, his name in Thanos and he's after the Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity Gems. I have reason to believe that he is bringing an army of 'Skrulls'."

"What exactly is a 'Skrull'?" Tony inquired, but no one paid any attention.

"How do you know this? The Infinity Gauntlet is safe within Asgard," Thor said loudly.

"Thanos is going to retrieve it somehow, but even Loki is worried. He said it wasn't safe," Willow explained and Thor was very interested in the conversation suddenly.

"Reindeer Games is back?" Tony wondered and Willow nodded in reply.

"My brother is back in Asgard in the dungeons. Is he truly here on Midgard?" Willow felt bad for Thor. He was genuinely concerned for his brother and yet Loki was malicious.

"I can vouch for her when I say that Loki is back," Clint spoke up and placed a hand on Willow's shoulder.

"Then what's our next move?" Steve wondered and Willow shrugged. She wasn't one to make the plans.

"Thor, what can you tell us about Thanos, the Infinity Gauntlet, the Infinity Gems, and Skrulls?" Fury asked and Thor took a few moments to collect his thoughts. He then explained everything he knew about the four subjects. Willow was surprised he knew so much, but she figured it was because her mortal lifespan. Thor was probably thousands of years old. As soon as Thor had explained as much as he could, Bruce and Tony went into the lab to figure out a way to track down the Infinity Gems.

"Are you going to be okay on your own? I need to go work out," Steve said to Willow and she nodded.

"I can take care of myself, I promise," Willow assured him with a grin. Clint watched quietly as the two exchanged words. Natasha dragged him out of the room to go do something for Fury and that left Willow and Thor alone.

It was quiet at first and Willow was going to leave, but she figured it would be a better idea to stay and see if Thor wanted to talk. Maybe that was the only way to learn more about Loki.

"How did you come to know my brother?" Thor asked suddenly and Willow was unprepared for the questions.

"We first met on Halloween, at a party, but I imagine he was waiting for me. He told me that he'd seen me in his dreams too much, so he ventured here to…well, I don't know what he's going to do. I suggested that he was going to kill me, but he didn't even consider it an option," Willow explained, thinking about the first time she met Loki. He was probably waiting for her at the party.

"Is my brother courting you?" Thor asked curiously and if Willow had water in her mouth, she would have spit it out.

"Oh, god, no, I can't imagine him doing that. We had…something of a one-sided friendship that ended when I figured out who he was." Willow was curious enough that if she saw Loki again, she'd ask him.

That night, as Willow settled down for sleep, she continued to think about her conversation with Thor. He had discussed Loki's life and tried to explain how Loki became so corrupt and hungry for power. As Willow's eyes closed, she smiled at the idea that Loki would make fun of Thor.

Willow was lying on her back, looking up at the dark sky. Stars were shining and it was calm. Something snapped in the distance and Willow sat upright, looking around. She saw Loki coming and rolled her eyes.

"I can't die in real life if you kill me in my dream," Willow said suddenly and Loki began laughing.

"Why would I kill you?" Why exactly would he kill her? What purpose would that serve? Loki would still dream about her.

"I had a lovely conversation with Thor about you today," Willow mentioned and turned her head to look at Loki. He didn't seem fazed by it.

"Is my brother as stupid as I recall?" Loki spat and Willow merely shrugged.

"If stupid is code for caring and nice, then yes, he is," Willow replied and hugged her knees to her chest. She was wearing another gown, but it was a midnight blue color that had two thin straps to hold the gown up. The material was soft and very light. Loki took a seat beside her and looked up at the sky. It wasn't cold out as Willow would have imagined.

"We are looking at your stars, yes?" Loki didn't meet Willow's gaze.

"I think so, but I'm not really good at Astrology," Willow answered and returned her attention to the sky.

"Will you tell me where you are?" A smile came to Willow's lips.

"Are you worried about me? Thor thought you were courting me and I laughed at him," Willow said and met Loki's gaze.

"Courting you would imply something else entirely," Loki replied, smirking. Leave it to Thor to think of such a trivial matter.

"How is Drax doing?" Willow asked to change the subject before it got awkward.

"The beast is well and misses you terribly. I would return him to you, but I know not where you are," Loki said, as if bargaining with Willow. She let out a breath and released her knees to stand on her feet.

"I don't feel like a prisoner with SHIELD now. I've actually made friends with the soldier you despise so much," Willow mentioned and Loki stood instantly. How could she befriend the man out of time so easily?

The scenery shifted and buildings were burning. Dead bodies littered the ground and Willow saw Steve fighting what appeared to be semi-lizard aliens. Loki, at her side, watched as the aliens surrounded Steve and overwhelmed him.

"The Skrulls are mindless creatures who would do anything for their master. Thanos will decimate Midgard and kill all in his path to find the Infinity Gems," Loki explained and Willow turned to walk away, but Loki grabbed her arm in restraint.

"I'm not so weak that I'd stand aside and let this happen. We'll find the gems before Thanos and kill him," Willow muttered, eyeing Loki's hand on her arm.

"You'd die in an instant," Loki pointed out and released Willow's arm.

Suddenly, they were in Asgard. Willow was leaning against the railing on the balcony that overlooked the city. Doors creaked open behind Willow and Loki entered, in his usual Asgardian attire of green and gold. Willow looked down at her attire and frowned. She wore the same colors.

"What are we doing back here?" Willow inquired, turning around to face Loki. She then felt her back ache. Without so much as a 'goodbye', Willow brought herself out of the dream.

Waking up was difficult and Willow took a few controlling breaths to keep her wings from unfurling. Damn, that was close.

Yay! Thor and Willow bonding time! Hehe I'm working on the next chapter now and there's some action ahead! I was thinking about Steve and Willow and debating whether to have them keep their solid friendship or turn it in to something else. Or is it already there? I leave that up to you...the readers.