Note: I don't own anything except Jo and the plot (which will follow the Avengers movie to a point)...I took some dialogue straight out of the movie because it fit the scene so don't kill me over it...Enjoy!

We ended up inside on the bridge and I watched as Maria did her second in command stuff while Fury stood at the helm giving orders. I knew that the Helicarrier would go into stealth mode but I wasn't sure why Steve was handing over $10 to Fury. I made a mental note to ask my brother later about it.

"Thank you for coming, Doctor."

"Thanks for asking nicely. So how long am I staying?"

"I kinda promised him that he'd only be here until we found the Tesseract," I piped up before Fury could reply.

"Then I guess once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear. Agent Rogers seems to have that already planned out."

"Where are you with that?"

I listened as Dr. Banner and Phil Coulson talked the technical aspect of finding the cube. I just wanted to see how Steve was doing and then sleep. I was running on low energy since I couldn't sleep on the jet. Fury sent Natasha to show Dr. Banner his laboratory and I took that as a cue to grab Steve; although Phil had another idea.

"If it's not too much trouble, I mean…it's a vintage set."

"Of what?"

"Captain America cards. Your sister helped me collect them."

He threw me a look and I shrugged my shoulders. Steve promised to sign the cards when they had a moment and slipped away from Phil to join me at the table.

"I'll give you a quick tour of the Helicarrier before I catch a few winks. Dr. Banner sure doesn't talk much but I still couldn't sleep around him after I found out about the Big Guy. Nothing's wrong with being different but it still put me on edge."

"Let me guess, you didn't read the file Fury gave you."

I shook my head and showed Steve the vital parts of the Helicarrier: the cafeteria, the sleeping quarters, the gym, the laboratory, and then back to the bridge. I left him there while I hurried off to my quarters to sleep.

"Rogers, you're needed at Command."

"Just go Trekkie and refer to it as the bridge. So much easier and geekier, Phil," I replied, barely an hour later into my comms.

I splashed some water on my face and hurried to the bridge. There had been a sighting in Germany and Fury was sending a team in to collect this Loki guy. Steve was already decked out in his new suit and Natasha was getting the last little bit of information from Fury. We hurried to the deck and grabbed a Quinjet. On the way to Germany, we didn't talk much. Steve was already in his zone and Natasha never left her zone and she was focused on flying the jet.

"So we snatch him up? I doubt he's going to tell us where it is."

We found Loki standing over the crowd in Stuttgart. Steve did the thing he did best and that was jumping into the line of fire before he thought things through.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everyone else, we ended up disagreeing."

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," Natasha said in the microphone.

Loki tried to blast the Quinjet but she moved it in time. I watched as Steve fought Loki before loud music came over the sound system. I knew who was coming and it put a smile on my face. Tony flew in and blasted the bad guy. The sceptre fell out of his grasp and both Steve and Tony stood over him.

"Mr. Stark."

"Captain."

I shook my head and waited while Natasha landed the Quinjet. Steve grabbed a set of handcuffs and shackled the man's wrists together. Tony handed over the sceptre to me and I knew the man's eyes were following it. I moved it slightly to the right and then the left and Loki's eyes never wavered. It was like he was transfixed.

We took off back to the Helicarrier and I sat across from Loki holding the sceptre. Steve and Tony were up near the front where Natasha was.

"So this sceptre is pretty important to you," I said.

"An insignificant person like you will never understand the complexity of it."

"I don't need to know the complexity of it; just that you really want it back. What would you do if I snapped it in half? Or have Tony blast it to pieces?"

"It cannot be destroyed," he smiled.

The sky in front of the Quinjet lit up like a Christmas tree. We were flying right into a storm.

"Where's this coming from?"

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Tony mocked as Loki wrung his hands together.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows."

Thump!

Something heavy landed on the roof of the Quinjet. The back door flew open and a tall blond guy flew in. He was quick in grabbing Loki and flying back out. Steve barely had any time to take a step before they were gone.

"Who is that guy?"

"Another Asgardian, I believe."

"What is our plan of attack?" Steve asked.

"Attack," Tony replied, flying out the back of the jet.

I took one look at Steve and rolled my eyes. I grabbed the parachute and threw it at my brother. I knew he was going to go after Loki. He was the type never to let prisoners go until they were turned in for trial. He donned the parachute and jumped with his shield held close to his body.

"Just go get him," I yelled after him.

Natasha flew down as close as she could get and we watched as the men fought it out. I kept one eye on Loki who was watching the fight himself from an overlooking cliff. The big blond guy brought his hammer looking weapon down on Steve's shield and the vibration actually shook the Quinjet. The men gathered Loki and Natasha quickly touched down to let them on board.

"Worked all that testosterone out of your systems? You destroyed a section of that forest and if we didn't have better things to do, I would make you plant new trees to replace what you destroyed," I said. "And, no, Tony, a large donation to some save the tree foundation wouldn't have saved your ass from being right beside this brute digging in the dirt.

"I am Josephine but everyone calls me Jo," I introduced myself to the new guy.

"Thor, Lady Jo."

"She ain't no lady," Tony joked.

"Don't forget I have naked baby pictures of you so don't piss me off. I would just like to get back to the Helicarrier and get some sleep."

We made it back but I still wasn't allowed sleep. Instead, while Tony and Dr. Banner got to work on finding the Tesseract, I was stuck on Loki duty. It was my job to push the giant button that would release the cell if he so much as breathed on the glass.

"Let me get some coffee and chocolate and I'll be fine to be his watchdog."

Loaded up with an extra large cup of strong coffee and a large chocolate bar, I made my way to the prisoner. Fury was just finishing up talking to the God when I entered the room.

"Thank you for joining us, Rogers."

"My pleasure, Director. I would have stopped to grab Loki some magazines but I doubt he would appreciate anything we had. No articles about 'How to Murder Innocents'."

Fury left and I settled down in a chair right across from the cell. Babysitting duties were the worst part but someone had to do it.

"You are not like the other Midgardians," he said.

"Yeah, I've heard the speech before. We're Gods amongst insects. We should control those beneath us. Blah blah blah. Save your 'I'm holier than thou' speech. You may be an actual God but that doesn't give you the right for murdering so many people."

"World domination is not so clean cut. Casualties will happen."

"Not when we can stop it. Besides, I doubt someone like yourself could pull it off alone. There's probably a puppeteer handling your strings."

I tuned him out and focused my energy on myself. Over the years, I have managed to trance myself but still be aware of my surrounding area. Since I couldn't sleep, I was hoping this would also help along with the coffee and chocolate.

A couple hours later, Natasha came in to give me a break. She tried to grab my shoulder while I was in a trance but I caught her wrist before she was able to touch me. I stood up and stretched out my body from sitting in the lotus position while in a chair.

"Fury wants to see you briefly."

"Great. Just what I need, a Fury induced headache on top of barely any sleep," I muttered, as I left the room.

I hurried off to the bridge and found Fury standing at his station overlooking everyone.

"Director, Natasha said you needed to see me."

"What is your opinion about the prisoner?"

Whoa, the man was asking for my opinion. He never does such a thing.

"Are you feeling alright, Director? You never really cared about my opinion in the past."

"There's always a first time for everything."

I sighed, "Well, when we captured him he didn't really care about how he was treated or the fact that his brother showed up to snatch him away. His entire focus was on the sceptre. Something in his eyes showed darkness but I can't quite place my finger on what. While watching over him, he would barely move out of his position sitting on the bed but I could feel his eyes watching me.

"I doubt he could pull this off on his own. There must be someone helping him."

"Thor mentioned the Chitauri, a race of alien beings from another realm at his brother's beck and call."

"Can I speak to Thor briefly? He would have insight into who could he helping Loki with this destruction."

"Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way," Natasha said over the comms. "Send Thor as well."

"Can't the guy ever catch a break," I said, turning to leave the bridge.

"Head back to Loki. I want you there to release him if need be. Do not leave your post," Fury ordered.

I waved him off and ran back to the cell. Loki was pacing within the confines of the cell. He didn't seem jittery but almost calm and collected. I walked right up to the door of the cell and watched the God for a moment.

"While you're bat shit crazy, there must be some goodness lurking in there. Call off your alien lackeys and this unnecessary war."

"Your other agent nearly pleaded for me to save one man while you are here to plead for the world."

"I've seen this world nearly destroyed due to wars over my lifetime and do not look forward to the clean up afterwards when we kick your ass and win. So I'm asking you to stop this now before it goes any further."

"Lifetime? Your lifetime does not even compare to my lifetime."

"Yes, my lifetime. You said that I wasn't like other humans and you were right. I was born back in the 1920s. I can't die, Loki, so I've seen the world change with every war that has happened. You may think we aren't prepared to take you and your alien friends on but I know we will do our damned best to stop you from destroying this world. At whatever costs."

"Hmm," he said.

The Helicarrier shook from an explosion. A wide smile appeared on his face and I backed up. There was no way out of the cell but if he had friends coming, then I needed to be ready. I went over to the panel and pressed in my code to prepare the drop. All I needed to do was push the button.

Static and broken communication was coming through my comms and I tried to decipher it. Throwing my comms away, I rerouted the comms to the overhead speakers. I hoped it was just my ear piece that was malfunctioning and I would be able to hear everything that's going on.

"Engine…down."

"Coulson…detention…Jo…" Fury said, cutting in and out.

"Jo what? Bridge, this is Jo," I said, hitting the correct button on the panel to patch me through to the bridge.

I received silence in return so I headed over to the wall and hit a secret button. A small door opened and an arm swung out. This selection of weapons wasn't as big as what we carried in the armoury but it allowed quick access to guns and magazines of bullets. I checked the gun tucked into the back of my pants and grabbed a larger weapon. I threw a few extra magazines into my pockets before closing the door.

"Don't you look stunning, my dear," Loki complimented.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere. If you weren't a God, I would put a bullet through your head and stop this right now. Maybe I should test if Gods are really immortal and press the button. See how you do falling 30,000feet and smashing against the rocks below."

The main door to the detention area opened and a gun peaked through. It was another S.H.E.I.L.D agent so I lowered my weapon.

"I want a perimeter set up surrounding the cell. I bet my life that his friends are coming for him," I called out.

Rather than a reply, I was shot in the chest. I dropped my weapon and staggered back against the wall. I slid down as I pressed my hand to the wound. Recovery from this kind of wound would take me awhile but that wasn't my concern. My concern was the God leaving his cell and crouching down in front of me to watch me die.

I startled alive when someone shouted no. I had no clue how long I was out but I could almost feel Loki still present. I played dead while I tried to gauge what was going on. I barely moved my eyes and noticed Thor now stuck in the cell. Loki was standing over another body barely 5feet away from me. It was Phil and he was bleeding from a wound much like my own.

Loki stalked away from Phil and over to the control panel. Blood dripped from the sceptre as he shared a look with his brother. He lifted the protective cover to the release button and smiled. His long fingers reached out and pressed that button. The cell dropped down and disappeared from sight.

"You're gonna lose."

"Am I?"

"It's in your nature."

"Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky. Where is my disadvantage?"

"You lack convinction."

"I don't think I…"

Phil shot the odd weapon from his lap and I watched as Loki was flung back through the air from the power of the weapon. I sat up and crawled over to Phil. I moved the weapon and ripped open the shirt to look at the wound. His heart was pierced and his blood was gushing out of his chest.

I dug into a pocket and pulled out my knife. I had learned all those years ago that minute traces of my blood wouldn't be enough to help another person. They needed more. Phil watched as I slit my wrist and pressed it into the gaping hole in his chest.

"Trust me, Phil. You'll walk away from this. I won't let that bastard take away one of my friends."

I could feel my skin beginning to knit back together so I quickly took my hand away and used the knife to slit the wrist again.

"Interesting," I heard from behind me.

I was hit over the head hard before being pulled away from Phil. My head spun as I was thrown over someone's shoulders.

"You might be of some use to me," Loki said.