Despite everything else Loki had been through one thing was certain, Odin taught him well. Of the lessons Odin had drilled into his head, three stood out as being the most prevalent in his current situation.

Know your audience.

Commit to your lie.

Any good plan serves multiple purposes.

That was why Loki, as Luna, was sitting in Shield's base beside Lockley. Lockley had gained a rather decent amount of esteem with Shield and it's agents in the weeks since she had begun working with them. Loyalty was a high concern among Shield at the moment. With Barton moving away from the organization, Romanov considered compromised after what happened with Magneto (despite them not knowing her to have manifested any power), and the stigma that lingered on Loki's agents, as they were called; Director Fury seemed to be a tad bit paranoid. This paranoia left a large opening for Lockley to slip in, especially when it was assumed she would disappear after taking down Magneto.

Lockley's continued presence among Shield was buying back The Widow's good will by association, not that the woman's own seemingly undeterred loyalty was going unnoticed, but it was certainly underappreciated in Loki's opinion. Bringing in a presence that Shield had been curious over for a while now only increased the illusion that Lockley wanted to be there.

This would also set the stage for Luna to get to know the Avengers. She and Tony had already worked out that he would tell the Avengers (not Shield) that he was involved with Luna. Banner was already aware that something was between them, after all. This would allow Loki the chance to create camradery without the stigma associated with his own form. Loki was also planning to interact with them via his usual methods, but that introduction would be through Thor. It would provide Loki with the chance to know them on different fronts and possibly soften the blow when his identity inevitably came to light. It won't be as if he always deceived them, whether or not they choose to look at it that way.

"It wasn't easy to convince her to make an appearance here," Lockley said. "I promised her that no harm would come to her." It was a good act, the perfect line between Raven's own ideals and those of Lockley. Lockley had made her interest in the mutants known, but not through vocal means, lest someone learn of Raven's disdain for humans. No, she'd made it known by her interest in Agent May and what was happening with her, the continued and increased interaction with Black Widow, the conversations she had with Storm. And now this, since they all assumed Luna to be a mutant. Some assumed the same of Lockley to be honest, but they had no proof other than association.

Fury didn't speak to either of them right away. His eye was taking in everything from their posture (designed to come off as defensive and frightened from Loki, and wary from Raven) to their expressions (nervousness on Loki and confidence on Raven). He wanted the silence to break them of whatever they were holding back, but they were better than to give in to such tactics so easily. Fury had nothing on the All-father as far as intimidating silences and Raven had gotten used to the special brand of intimidation that Doom laid claim to. They were undaunted.

"This is the first I've gotten to meet you," Fury finally said. "Though I've been hearing about you for some time Miss..."

"Luna," Loki supplied.

"Luna then," Fury agreed with a frown. Well, more of a frown. The man wasn't the type to present smiles to his family on Christmas, let alone give them away for free to strangers. "I admit you've been of some curiosity."

"I... anticipated as much," She answered slowly. "That was why I wanted to stay out of the spotlight."

"Oh?"

"I want to help, but... I'm not exactly comfortable with... all of this." She gestured to the room around them, the feeling of isolation and interrogation. It didn't actually put Loki ill at ease, but it would have done so to most people.

"I must wonder what convinced you to come here today." Fury asked evenly.

"She introduced me to an Agent Coulson and he thought it would be a good idea not to make a stranger of myself."

"I hope you can understand why I would be wary of unknown entities. There's been quiet a lot of chaos lately," Fury explained.

"Yes. I hope you can understand why I prefer obscurity." Luna replied in the same tone.

He stared at her a while longer, assessing. "I don't anticipate there being any problems between us."

Fury interrogated her a while longer under the guise of a friendly chat.

Lockley was at the Tower when Tony introduced Luna to the Avengers.

They had planned it out well. Lockley had been mediating between Storm and Agent Coulson since the mutant woman was captured, trying to talk her away from Magneto and convince Shield to give the woman a chance at 'redemption.' She didn't want the woman to be working with Shield, but Loki had told her Director Fury had a habit of taking in strays and sure enough, the woman was awarded temporary Avengers status. Loki had thought it best to have the three of them officially introduced together, partially to keep the Avengers from freaking out and partially to get them acclimated at the same time.

Loki, of course, had taken it one step further.

Lockley and Storm stayed a pace behind Black Widow as she introduced them both to the team. Most of the team, as Thor was absent. "This is Lockley," Natasha said. "She's the one that lead the evacuations during Doom's attacks. We're partners." Lockley tried not to show her surprise show at this proclamation. They had been on missions together, but she hadn't thought that they were a matched pair. Especially not with them both on questionable terms right now for different reason, Raven for her newness and Widow via questionable circumstance and associations. But maybe it was because of those reasons that the Widow had... befriended her didn't seem the right word, but Raven was willing to tentatively label it that anyway. "And this is Ororo, codename Storm. She's being temporarily added to the Avengers."

"Good to have you on the team," Steve greeted warmly, reaching out to shake both their hands in turn.

The two of them just nodded. Stark was the next to speak. "Another person to laze about my tower?" He complained with a grin.

Natasha's lips twitched in what was almost a smirk. "Don't pretend, Stark, you know you love it."

"That I do," He agreed easily. The man turned to face Storm. "I'll have a room arranged for you on one of the lower floors. Maybe with Legolas here," He gestured to Hawkeye. "In fact, that'll just be the Avengers floor from now on. I'll get Jarvis on it. And while we're on the subject of new additions, I've got a few of my own."

"Oh?" Natasha said wearily with a raise of her eyebrow.

Banner's expression turned to one of exasperation and amusement. "Do we need to sit down for this, Tony?"

"You guys have heard about the Wasp, right?"

"The small chick with the lightning bolts?" Hawkeye asked.

"That's the one," A cheerful voice proclaimed as a small waif of a woman entered the room with Luna on her heel. "Hey!"

"Yeah, so I sort of invited her to join the team," Tony said.

"What?" Hawkeye exclaimed.

"Also, you guys remember Luna, right? Healed Nat that one time?" He gestured to Luna as she approached.

"Did you invite her to join the team, too?" Bruce asked wryly. He gave the girl a nod and a small smile which she returned with a grin of her own.

"Not exactly," Tony replied. "More that I invited her to join me..."

"What does that even mean?" Hawkeye exclaimed.

"We're sort of a thing," Tony told them.

"Stark," Natasha said in a warning tone. She seemed to debate the merits of going off on him in front of an audience, which Raven figured was the purpose of making this introduction in front of the new members. The Wasp already seemed to have become friendly with Luna.

And that was when Thor walked into the room. With Loki.

Everyone tensed.

Well, everyone that knew to tense, did so. Natasha seemed to be reaching for some hidden weapon, Hawkeye paled even as he gave into the same impulse to reach for a weapon, though more reluctantly than his counterpart, Banner's entire body became rigid, and the Captain froze in place as if stunned. Even Stark's eyes widened, telling Raven that he was definitely not in on Loki's plan. Just by way of being surprised, she tensed when everyone else did.

And then Thor paused as well, eyes on Storm, Loki stopping a few steps after him to look at his brother. Thor pulled himself together after a moment. "Friends! Loki has come for a visit! I thought it would be good for all of us to get to know one another, but it seems we already have visitors?"

"New members," Tony explained. "This is The Wasp."

"Janet Van Dyne," She said with a smile, stepping forward to shake Thor's hand and then Loki's. "Call me, Jan."

"And that one is Storm." Tony continued.

"Ororo," Storm informed them.

"A woman of the tempest," Thor greeted with a grin. He walked toward her slowly, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it. "A pleasure, my lady." He met her eyes and the air began to feel heavy as if a storm was about to unleash itself in the tower. She held his gaze, seeming almost frozen as she watched him.

Loki was staring at the two of them, but after a moment spoke softly. "Brother."

Thor, reluctantly, broke his gaze from Storm and stepped away. Storm flushed slightly as she seemed to come back to herself, blinking and looking away.

"Thor," Natasha said through gritted teeth.

Luna was already doing what she could to keep the tension at a minimum and made herself less noticeable among the field of triggers she'd orchestrated. She had drawn the Wasp into conversation away from the rest of them and quietly lured Banner over as the two of them exchanged quips.

Raven made a motion to Storm, drawing her away from the others and over to Luna. Better to keep the other woman farther away from the drama of team dramatics and closer to Loki. Luna rather. Raven wondered which one of them was the clone.

"What is he doing here?" Hawkeye blurted out.

"Did I not say?" Thor asked, clearing his throat. He adjusted his stance to be able to see more of the room, trying to keep both Loki and Storm within his sight. "Loki wished to bridge the gap between us. I thought-"

"Worry not, Widow," Loki interjected as he moved slowly closer. "I am not angry for what happened at out last meeting. I understand that you had reason to be skeptical of me. I do hope that you have no plans to do so again, since I have had the desired chat with your director."

"I don't want him here," Natasha replied through gritted teeth.

"Loki is here to make amends," Thor argued, his frown almost a physical force trying to beat them all over the head with his sorrow.

"I'm surprised you aren't all over this," Tony commented to the Captain. "Aren't you friends with the other one."

"I... yes," Steve replied, still seemingly caught off guard. "I'm not against giving Loki a chance, but maybe now isn't really the time," He told them. "We have new team members to worry about and..."

"I do not mean to cause difficulty," Loki said with a sigh. He looked to Thor, a genuinely regretful look on his face. "Another time, brother."

Thor sighed as well. "Allow me to see you out, brother."

Loki nodded, waiting for Thor before the two headed to the elevator together. As soon as they were gone, Natasha turned on her heel. "Stark!"

The man immediately had his hands up in a non-threatening gesture."What? I'm not the one that invited Loki! I didn't even know he'd be here."

"Luna?" She questioned harshly. "How long? And who is she? What-"

"One thing at a time!" Tony insisted. "Not long. I started looking for her after she healed you and we ran into each other sometimes, no big deal. And please don't try to get Shield involved on this, she doesn't want to be pulled into anything like that."

"Sounds like she has something to hide," Natasha replied.

"Sounds like a normal person that has a reasonable fear of weird shadow organizations," Tony rebutted. "Besides, it isn't like this is the only thing we're keeping from Shield," He said meaningfully.

Natasha's jaw tightened. "Not the same."

"Looks like it from where I'm standing," Tony replied. "And anyway, my tower, my rules. Shield has nothing to do with anything that happens here. If you want them ruling over everything you do, then just go back there. If not, you're free to move in here anytime."

"Tell us more about Lockley!" Steve said, trying to break the tension.

Natasha glared at Tony before turning to face Steve, indicating that it wasn't over, but she was willing to let it drop for now.

Tony should have known that Loki would never fail to surprise him. Even when they came up with a plan together, he still managed to find a way to deviate from expectations. Considering how his and Loki's relationship had been from the beginning, he shouldn't have expected otherwise.

He was rather glad when he could slide away from Natasha and move to Loki's side. Well, Luna. 'Loki' had already left with Thor.

As soon as he approached the group of Luna, Jan, Lockley, Storm, and Bruce, the man gave him one of those looks. The 'I will have words with you later' look. Pepper had long ago mastered it, but Bruce seemed to take to it rather swiftly, too. Why was Tony always the one that got in trouble?

He still put on his winning smile as he approached them. "Hey, all! Having fun, yet?"

"I wouldn't say fun," Storm replied. "Who was..." She didn't finish the question, but she was looking toward the elevator. It wasn't hard to deduce who she was asking about from their little display earlier.

"Thor, God of Thunder?" Tony answered. "He's our resident space deity."

"Also a god of passion and the tempest," Luna added. In a sly whisper, she added, "He is also thought to be a fertility god."

Storm looked away at that and Tony wondered if he spied a blush on those dark cheeks, but couldn't tell.

"How do you know so much about him," Jan asked curiously.

Luna gave her a mysterious smile. "Some of us happen to be very wise."

Jan just rolled her eyes, taking it as a joke. Tony was undecided on calling it a boast. "Say, where's your other half?" He asked the petite woman.

"I don't have another half," She answered. "I'm a full half. Wait that came out wrong..."

Luna pats the girl's arm with put upon sympathy. "Now, don't be modest. You should own up to your full half worth."

Tony jumped in before Jan could respond to the teasing comment. "I mean, where's Ant Man? I thought for sure I invited him."

Jan pouted at Luna before giving Tony an answer. "In his lab, as always," She responded with slight irritation. "He's not really the fighting type; he only ever did it so that I wouldn't be by myself. Worry wart. Once I told him that you asked me to join the Avengers, he took the first opportunity to get back to the lab full time."

"I have ten floors of R&D!" Tony exclaimed. "Tell him he's invited. He doesn't even have to be useful, just interesting. And science is always interesting!"

"He spends most of his time talking about ants," Jan replied.

"Hey, I never said that he was interesting, just what he does. He made your suit, didn't he?"

Jan conceded the point via silence.

"I'd love to learn more about his research," Bruce spoke up.

"Now he has to come! It'll be a full out Science Club. Thor's girl can come, too," Tony announced. He only noticed the way Luna's expression froze because he'd begun to watch the god closely. (He had to, when Loki was always pulling stunts like this.) That look... did not bode well, he was pretty sure. He was still watching Luna when the others came over, but looked away when he found Natasha watching him closely. The last thing he needed was to make her even more suspicious of Luna.

"I'd like to hear more about you," Natasha said, staring down Luna. "You didn't seem to want anything to do with us before."

"On the contrary, I had much to do with your group," Luna told them with a smile. "I watched over your battles whenever I could."

"And why reveal yourself now?" Natasha inquired.

Luna looked to Tony before answering. "Anthony convinced me it would be better to openly be allies than to worry about Shield. And I confess to having a selfish motive as well." With those words, she intertwined her fingers with his, squeezing lightly.

Natasha narrowed her eyes at them, but didn't say anything more. Storm tilted her head curiously as she asked, "You were skeptical about them?"

Luna gave her a tight smile as she answered, "Not them. One must consider the actions of the master before allying with the apprentice and that is where my hesitancy lied."

"You were worried about Shield?" Steve asked.

"Wouldn't you be?" She answered with a small shrug. She smiled at Storm, but she didn't say anything more.

"Well, that went better than I was expecting," Loki announced once he and Thor were on the roof. "I expected that the Widow would make another attempt on me."

"You must be careful with your tricks, Loki." Thor informed him with a heavy sigh. "The Avengers are going to be cross with you if you play with them too much."

"Speaking of the Avengers being cross, I do hope that you are planning to utilize some self-restraint," Loki told him.

"What do you mean?" Thor questioned.

Loki gave Thor a flat look. "You think I did not notice that woman is an embodiment of your power? And you were not subtle about the pull between you two."

Thor actually blushed at that statement, looking away from Loki. "I can't ignore her, Loki! She's..."

"Yours, I know." Loki made a dismissive hand gesture at his brother, sighing deeply. "The pull between you two is stronger than the one between Anthony and me. If you were to die, she could be the new God of Storms."

"I realize this," Thor said. "Her energy is very strong for a mortal."

"Think she could lift Mjolnir?" Loki asked with a smirk.

Thor scowled at him. "Do not jest so, Loki."

Loki smiled his sharp smile. "Oh, but brother!"

Thor didn't let him finish, shoving his brother lightly and chuckling. "We shall try this again, Loki. I believe you would enjoy the company of my comrades."

"My comrades would abhor you, Thor," Loki replied with a wide smile. "It's unbecoming of you to try and wrangle an invitation out of me. Subtly is not your strong suit."

"But Loki-" Thor began, but Loki disappeared before he could finish. Thor pouted at the empty air. "That is not very fair of you, Loki."