Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers or anything that Marvel owns. Lots of Tony and Alyssa goodness in this chapter. Robert Downey Jnr. is so... YUM ! Fuck whoever said he isn't... I didn't mean that. Just an expression.

AnimeWriterFreak: Thank you for the review ;D Steve/Natasha is like one of my favorite pairings. You'll find out what goes on with them ;) Pepper and Tony did break up. I might go a little more in depth with it but, we'll see in the future.

"As I said, little seductress. Your little group with crumble to dust, just like your sister did." He whispered to me.

"What did he do to you ?" She ground out.

"Nothing, just... Just the blast. Disorientated me." I didn't want to talk to anyone right now.

I had my poker face on since I entered the helicarrier. I sighed to myself. These darn emotions won't get a hold of me.

"Sweetheart, got a moment ?" Stark asked from behind me.

"I have a moment, but I think you're too busy staring at my ass." I turned around to see that my statement was correct. Stark wasn't embarrassed though.

"What ? You have a nice ass." He smirked. He was walked in front of me.

"Did you come here for something other than the view ?" I asked.

His eyes changed. Hell, his whole demonar changed. "Did Loki do something to you ?" He asked seriously. "Don't lie to me either, Alyssa. I'm as good as yourself in detecting liars." I gulped. There was an internal battle going on inside my brain on whether or not to tell Stark what happened.

I, however, didn't decide. The part of the brain that does the talking did. "He-he knew things Stark... Things that S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't know, that Tash doesn't know."

I whispered looking down, too ashamed of what happened.

"Alyssa." Stark said, lifting my chin up to look him in the eyes. "Whatever you did. It was not your fault." He said looking me straight in the eye. His eyes were brown. A chocolate brown. I found myself getting lost in them. The words coming from his mouth weren't even registering with me.

I had a feeling that I was starting to like Tony Stark, he didn't have to know that though. That was one of the reasons though. The other reason... The scene played through my head without my permission.

"Alex ! Get out of here !"

"Listen to your sister Alexandra."

"Alyssa... I'm sorry."

"ALEXANDRA ! NO !"

I shook my head and took a few steps away from Stark. He looked like he wanted to comfort me. Comfort that I didn't deserve. "I have to go, Stark." I said quickly, spinning around to go straight to the deck. I ignored his shouts after me. He wouldn't be able to catch up to talk to me.

I had a feeling that the conversation, for him, wasn't over.

"Aly." A voice called from in front of me. I looked to see Tash and smiled. "We're due in the bridge. Fury is having a little... Chat with Loki." She said, walking in the direction of the bridge. I followed her but didn't say anything, much to her discontentment. We reached the bridge and I looked around to see Thor, Banner and Rodgers.

Thor saw me coming before anyone else and rushed to my side. "I apologize, She Warrior," I gave a confused face at his name for me. "For what Loki said to you.

Whatever it was." I nodded at him and he nodded back to turn and watch Fury's interogation of Loki. I had a feeling Fury would ask me and Tash to go in as well, at different times of course.

"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me." Loki commented.

Fury still looked... Well, furious. "Built for something a lot stronger than you."

Loki grinned. "Oh, I've heard." He turned to the camera. I gulped. Banner was starting to look a bit sad and upset. "The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you ? That you call upon such lost creatures to defend you ?"

"How desperate am I ?" Fury's expression turned from furious to dangerous. "You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you cannot possibly hope to control, you talk about peace, and you kill because it's fun." Fury looked serious. "You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did." He pointed out

"Ooh. It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power. Unlimited power. And for what ?" Loki's expression turned sour. "A warm light for all mankind to share and then to be reminded what real power is."

Fury scoffed. "Well, you let me know if Real Power wants a magazine or something."

Banner smiled sadly to himself. He was trying to lighten the mood. "He really grows on you doesn't he ?"

"Loki's going to drag this out." Rodgers observed. "So, Thor," He turned to said man. "What's his play ?"

Thor had a heartbroken face from what Loki said, but he was coming to his senses. "He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.

Rodgers had a 'seriously' look. "An army ? From outer space ?"

Banner nodded, understanding what Thor said. "So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvieg for."

Thor turned concerned. "Selvieg."

"He's an astrophysicist." Banner thought that Thor didn't know who Selvieg was.

"He's a friend."

Tash decided to explain better to Thor what was going on. "Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with on of ours."

"I want to know why Loki let us take him." Steve asked. "He's not leading an army from here." I nodded agreeing.

Banner shook his head. "I don't thing we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him." I chuckled at the way Banner phrased that.

Thor turned to him, offended. "I don't care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason," Thor agreed. "But, he is of Asgard, and he is my brother."

Nuh-uh. Ain't no way is he pulling the guilt/brother card on me. No way. "He killed eighty people in two days."

Thor gave me a surprised look. "He's adopted." He said hesitantly. I suppressed a smile at that.

"Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for ?" Banner thought aloud.

"It's a stabilizing agent." Stark walks in. I turned my head to look at him. His eyes told a thousand words but he didn't say anything to me, thankfully. He turned to Coulson. "I'll fly you there. Keep the love alive." Stark nodded and walked over to us. "Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D." He turned to Thor. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing." He slapped him in the arm and walked over to where Fury normally stands. "Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open for as long, as Loki wants." Stark turned to the crew on deck. "Uh, raise the mid-mast, ship the top sails. That man is playing GALAGA ! Thought that we wouldn't notice. But, uh, we did." My trainer part of me was furious. He started to get distracted, putting his hand up to his eye looking at the screens confused. He turns to Hill. "How does Fury do this ?"

"He turns." Hill stated like as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which, by the way, it really was.

"Sounds exhausting." He turned back towards the screens. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to," He clicked his fingers together, looking for the right word. "Kick start the cube."

Hill quirked an eyebrow. "When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics ?"

Stark smiled smugly. "Last night. The packet, Selvieg's notes, the Extraction Theory papers." He listed out. "Am I the only one who did the reading ?" He asked.

Rodgers turned to all of us, not wanting to ask Stark. "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source ?"

"He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the coulomb barrier." My eyebrows raised without my consent when he said a hundred and twenty million Kelvin.

"Unless, Selvieg has figured out how to stabilize the quantum thunnelling effect." Stark pointed out.

Before anyone could say anything. "Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet." Stark looked at me, surprised. Everyone looked at me surprised. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything.

"Finally, people who speak English." Stark points to the two of us, grinning from ear to ear.

"Is that what just happened ?" Rodgers turned shocked to Tash.

Stark shakes Banner's hand. "It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous, green, rage monster."

Banner looks at him confused with a sheepish smile on his face. "Thanks."

Fury heard the whole conversation and turned to Stark, Banner and I. "Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping the two of you might join him."

"Gladly." Stark nodded looking at me and Banner.

"Me ?" I asked confused. Fury nodded giving me no other choice than that choice. I sighed and nodded.

"It's ok, sweetheart." Stark wraps his arm around my shoulder. "I'll make sure that Banner behaves like a good boy." He said sarcastically. I heard Banner begin to chuckle. "I'll also get Daddy Fury off your back." I gave him an annoyed look and pushed his arm off.

Rodgers hoped to get back to the point that we were on previously. "Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

Fury shook his head. "I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube." Fury's expression turned to cold. "And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

Thor's eyebrows creased together. "Monkeys ? I do not understand."

Steve jumped in. "I do !" He said proud. "I understood that reference." He smiled proud with himself and turned to Tash she gave him an amused look. Stark just rolled his eyes.

"C'mon sweetheart. It's time to get to work on your wardrobe." He commented.

I sighed. "Stark, call me sweetheart one more time and I will break J.A.R.V.I.S."

Stark gasped "Bold Alyssa !" He exclaimed on our way to the lab. "I thought you were nicer than that, pumpkin." He smirked as he thought of a different name.

"You'll never learn Stark."

"I do actually. I learn quite a lot. I learned all about astrophysics last night. And, I've learned that Capsicle has the hots for Tash." I smirked at his last statement. His look changed to jealous. "I think he has the hots for you too. He a real pedophile y'know ? It's like Edward and Bella. Except you aren't some whiny, whingey, annoying girl who can't act. And he isn't a man that's thousands of years old and sparkles." I felt the corner of my mouth tug upward as we were coming closer to the lab.

"I think he does sparkle... Or did in that ice. Do you think he did, pumpkin ?"

"I don't know, but what I do know is that you watch too much Twilight." I shook my head in amusement.

"What ?" He asked dumbfounded. "It's the best movie trilogy ever." He was laughing by the end of that statement. "Can't even say it without laughing." He commented.

"Guys. I can't work in this hostile environment." Banner playfully glared at us, but he was telling the truth.

"Sorry Banner. We'll be quiet. Won't we pumpkin ?" Stark turned to me.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, hush Stark."

Banner excused himself so it was just me and Stark in the lab. He and Banner had a moment earlier on that I decided to tune out since it was so personal.

"Alone at last, Alyssa." I sighed at my real name. "All work and no play makes Mr. Stark a very unhappy man." He pouted at me walking closer.

"So go play with Rodgers, Stark." I retorted. He didn't say anything but he was coming in right behind me. I gulped and kept my eyes on the work. His arms came beside my body which made my body trapped under his. I didn't stop my work. He brought one hand on my thigh squeezing it slightly. I inhaled sharply and pressed my back closer to his chest. He buried his face against my neck, lightly kissing it. "Who taught you to seduce a woman ?" I tried to distract myself.

"You can't be taught." He mumbled, trailing his mouth from my neck to my ear. "It just comes naturally."

"After years of experience ?" He didn't acknowledge what I just said. His hand glided up higher, wrapping his two arms around my waist, this time burying his face into my hair. We stood there like that for a while. Anyone who might've been watching would've said that they were two lovers that were together for a few years. I'm not sure how much I liked that. But it felt so... Right. I placed my hand over his and began to rub circles into it.

"Stark." I said. His hands gave my one last squeeze around the waist and he smirked. I didn't turn to look at him.

"You said that people named Agent were hard to get, Pumpkin. You're not putting up much of a fight." One of his hands trailed up my arm.

"It appears that my name is now Pumpkin, Stark." I retorted.

"It appears so." He smirked and went back to where he was working. That's when Banner came back in. He noticed my flustered look and Stark's smug look and frowned.

"What'd I miss ?"