Steve marched Hermione to their cabin and - sigh - bunk beds. They really needed to catch up on some sleep, so maybe it was for the best they didn't have a bed to share. With what was coming, there was no telling when they would have the luxury of rest again, and Hermione was barely holding upright as it was, seriously jet lagged by her unplanned time travel. He even had to help her peel out of her catsuit, not that he minded, but he did have to take a cold shower before turning in himself. However, not feeling particularly tired himself despite the long day, he finally got around to looking at the files Coulson had slipped him when they agreed to work for SHIELD… God, was it only yesterday? It felt like a whole damn week with all that had happened.

But of course the damn files had to be on one of those tablets everyone was so fond of, and it took Steve a few minutes to figure out how to turn it on, find which icons to press on the screen, then panic in his search for the volume button when a video began playing loudly on its own. And boy, was there a lot to learn: Stark's robot was nicknamed Iron-man, and he had built the first model of it in a cave where he had been held hostage and tortured. Steve's stomach lurched at what Stark must have gone through. He knew those scars ran deep after Hermione and Bucky had gone through a similar ordeal, and Stark had not had the luxury of a rescue either. He'd gotten himself out of that hell hole using that gigantic brain of his, losing his only ally in the process. Despite what Stark thought, Steve was sure his father would be proud of him. His own esteem for the guy had just skyrocketed and he had an inkling his annoying humor was just a defense mechanism.

The next file concerned Dr Banner, and nothing could have prepared Steve for it, because it turned out the discreet man he had met was a part-time green… thing. Humanoid in shape, insofar as it had two legs and two arms, but it was all rage and bulging muscles. Steve was going to have to see this one with his own two eyes to actually believe it. How did you go from the diminutive doctor to an angry giant four times his size, then back again? Where did all that mass come from? Where did it go when the rage subsided? Steve wasn't a scientist by any stretch of the imagination, but that simply didn't make sense to him. And what the heck were his pants made of to resist such a stretch? Because Steve wouldn't mind going to the same tailor.

Next up was Thor, who had already visited their planet before, causing quite a stir in new Mexico, but he was indeed an ally if he could believe this report.

Then, there was Rushman, whose name wasn't Rushman at all, but a former Russian spy-assassin by the name of Natasha Romanov, codename Black Widow. Charming. Why did Stark call her Rushman? And why was he always trying to rile her up? Didn't he get the memo about her being an assassin?

And finally there was Clint. Codename Hawkeye, which he hadn't even known. Guy deserved a better friend than he had been in the short time they had worked together. Steve stared at his picture, hoping he was alright, that he wasn't lost to Loki's mind controlling magic. Hermione seemed pretty confident about breaking the spell he was under, but what if he had been forced to do terrible things, to hurt or kill innocents. He couldn't imagine having to live with that on his conscience… Steve sighed. They would have to deal with that problem if and when it came to light.

The last two files were about him and Hermione. He skipped over his own, but knew it had to be detailed to within an inch of his life. However, he checked out Hermione's file. It contained all the personal information she had given to join the army, with her address that of their dingy flat in Brooklyn and listing him as his emergency contact. It made him smile and think of better times when they hadn't known so much loss and pain yet, even if they did have to worry about having enough to eat now and then. The rest of the file was rather spotty and he was relieved to see they had no idea about her true nature, or that she wasn't even from this original time or dimension. If Hermione wanted to share her secrets, he'd rather she did it on her own terms. On the bright side, so far, the future seemed more tolerant about the strangeness of people than it used to be, so he wasn't as fearful Hermione would end up burned at the stake like the witches of old.

Having caught up on current events and then some, Steve caught a few hours sleep after he closed the file, bemused that Fury had managed to assemble such a mismatched set of unique individuals. Loki saw it as a weakness, taunting them as monsters, freaks and loners, but Steve was reminded of the Howling Commandos, and they had been a force to be reckoned with despite being a bunch of loud weirdos.

Unfortunately, the peace and quiet didn't last long. In the early morning hours, there was a sharp knock at their cabin door. Cursing, Steve jumped out of his bunk and opened the door, only to be faced by the nozzle of several guns as well as a confused looking Banner and Stark.

"What's going on?" Steve asked tersely, glaring at the SHIELD agents until they lowered their weapons.

"Well, bit embarrassing, this," Stark replied, but he actually seemed amused as he looked between him and the tablet in his hand.

Banner mumbled under his breath and ran a handheld device over his bare chest and running pants. The doctor checked the readings then shook his head and looked behind him.

"Can I check your room?" he asked, pushing his glasses back up on his nose with his free hand.

"Hermione is sleeping. What's this about?"

"Gamma radiation," Banner said." There's a source right here on this ship. I doubt the Tesseract is in there-"

"Unless you've been a very bad boy," Stark added.

"But whatever is emitting the signal is interfering with our search for it."

Steve frowned, but stepped aside. He wouldn't put it pass Loki to have placed something on their uniforms or in their pockets just to mess with them a bit more. It would be just the kind of trickery he would use against them.

"Bunk beds?" Stark snorted when he saw their sleeping arrangement. "What are you, twelve?"

Steve couldn't help but smile at the comment, Hermione having made the very same to Thor only hours earlier.

"Fury," he said as ways of explanation.

"Spoilsport," Stark agreed. "You know, I have a whole tower if you guys need a place to crash. With rooms you can actually move around in, and real beds. Pepper would be beyond the moon to have Lady Liberty as a roommate."

"Erm, guys?"

Steve and Stark looked at Banner, his device pointed at Hermione. Green numbers flashing on its small screen.

"What does it mean?" Steve asked with a frown.

"Your girlfriend is radiating," Stark said, checking his tablet. "And not in a good way. I think you're gonna need to tell us a bit more about her, because that is definitely not normal."

Hermione's eyes were red and puffy, although Steve thought that had more to do with her crying than being tired. Reality had suddenly caught up with her and she was taking it pretty badly, not that he had been any better. Still wasn't, in fact.

But not only did she have to be woken up when she still needed rest, she also had to be placed in isolation, in a strange machine that looked very much like a modern version of the sarcophagus he had been locked in for his transformation into a super-soldier. According to Banner, it was the prototype for a healing chamber which was padded with several inches of lead, a perfect barrier to block out gamma rays, but with the inconvenience that the occupant had to be put into an unnatural sleep. Hermione agreed immediately because she knew better than anyone how important it was to find the Tesseract as soon as possible. So there she was, asleep in a corner of the lab like one of those fairytale princesses. No matter what Banner called that machine, it looked too much like a coffin in his opinion, and a chill ran down his back every time he glanced that way. On the bright side, Banner seemed satisfied she would not be interfering with their search for the Tesseract anymore. They had reset their computers to do their thing, and now they were all waiting around for a hit on the Tesseract's location.

"Selvig thought the Tesseract was sentient too," Stark said, apparently unable to wait in silence.

"How do you know that?" Steve asked, pretty sure he hadn't been in the military complex that had collapsed.

"You remember that tidbit about hacking?"

"Yeah?"

"That."

Steve nodded in understanding. Seemed you couldn't keep much from Stark. Made him a pretty powerful ally, but a damn annoying friend.

"So you're saying the Tesseract attacked her?" Banner asked as he wiped his glasses on the hem of his shirt.

"That's how she felt it. Schmidt put her in contact with the cube when she was captured and it immediately lashed out at her. She said it had been as if it had drained her of all her energy and tried to fill her with its own power, like… a battery, but it didn't work, although it did change her magic. It's never been the same since. It's wilder, I guess. It sometimes gets a bit out of hand. And she'd been able to draw on the Tesseract's energy when Loki stole the cube, but that was a one off which she can't explain either… She can give you more details when we can wake her up though. "

"The movies about you guys were way off," Stark muttered darkly, probably thinking of his own time at the hands of his captors and how it had changed him. "And the timing… Not that I'm not glad you're here, and you Bruce, but everything is just too damn convenient. Why didn't Fury call us before? When he still had the Tesseract safe, relatively speaking, because he clearly didn't."

"The cube was already acting up when they called me in," Steve admitted.

"So we're just the band-aid to Fury's boo-boo?" Stark said." I feel… used. I don't like it."

An ominous beeping had the two geniuses spring to their feet and rush to their monitors, before they glanced sharply at the sarcophagus and back at their screens.

"What is it?" Steve finally snapped, because as good as he was reading the tension on their faces and bodies, he couldn't read crap from all the numbers on their devices.

"There are several small gamma-ray signatures fast approaching."

"Loki's minions?" Banner asked.

"Makes sense. I'll call Fury," Stark told Banner. "You wake sleeping beauty."

Steve wasn't sure what to do with himself. On the one hand, he was loathe to leave Hermione's side, but on the other, he felt completely useless waiting around for a catastrophe to happen. In the end, the decision was taken out of his hands. While Banner was busy depowering the machine holding Hermione captive, an explosion hit them hard, sending himself and the doctor over the blown out bay window, landing several decks beneath.

Steve groaned, feeling like he'd just gotten run over by a convoy of tanks, but at least the serum would get him through it in a little while. Banner on the other hand… Steve looked around for the other man, blinking against the smoke stinging his eyes. He found him lying only a few feet away, relieved he was still breathing. If he could get him to the medical bay, he'd still have a chance.

However, by the time Steve picked himself up, regretting bitterly not having suited up because his sweats were in tatters, there was a definite green tinge to the doctor's skin, and ripples were running through his body which soon grew, and grew…

"Doctor Banner?" he asked cautiously.

Banner's head suddenly whipped around, green eyes glowering at him. That… was not Banner.

"Hulk?" he asked instead.

Steve had wanted to see it to believe it. Well, now, he could eat his words, because the Hulk did not look friendly at all. He roared and Steve could feel it rattle his very bones. If the rest of the file was correct, he wouldn't be able to stop him, but he could at least lure him away from Hermione and everyone else. He only hoped she was still safe in the lead box.

"You ever play tag?" he asked the Hulk who snorted in response, like a bull about to charge.

Steve turned tail and ran down a narrow corridor. The floor beneath him rattled with the weight and speed of the green monster following him. Steve had thought he was fast as a Super-soldier, but the Hulk was gaining on him. Steve took a sharp left, having a vague idea of the Helicarrier's layout. If he could take his pursuant all the way back to the docking area… Well, Steve didn't want to send Banner overboard, but he would if it saved the rest of the plane's occupants. It was a simple mathematical choice, and, seeing how the Hulk was tearing through the ship with his bare hands, the sooner he was ejected, the better.

Steve made it to the docks, but too fast and with no way to slow down, he barreled into one of the planes before he could stop, leaving an indentation into its side. He didn't worry long about the damage though, because the Hulk crashed into it next, roaring in anger as he tore its wings off to throw at him. Steve ducked out the way but a couple of agents who weren't as fast were not so lucky. The rest of the people who had been working there did not wait long before they ran for cover. Steve edged closer to the landing area, the wind there rushing past his ears making it difficult to hear anything, but he still goaded the Hulk into charging him, throwing both insults and random objects his way. What Steve had not counted on was for the Hulk to throw a plane at him in retaliation instead of charging as he usually did. Steve flattened himself to the floor, avoiding it completely by some miracle. Then he remained where he lied because another plane, this one flying and hovering right behind him, began shooting at the Hulk in rapid bursts.

Enraged, the Hulk ran, his feet making the floor beneath him shake violently. Steve rolled away, a super large green foot stomping a few inches away from his face, making him go cross eyed, before the ball of rage jumped onto the plane to pummel its cockpit, ripping it to pieces. Steve approached the edge, watching in morbid fascination as the plane spiralled out of control, the pilot still having the presence of mind to veer it away from the Helicarrier, before he simply ejected himself. Man, did that guy - or dame- deserve a medal.

The Hulk howled in anguish as he fell, and Steve felt almost guilty at the sound. He could tell himself all he wanted they hadn't had a choice, he couldn't help picturing poor Dr Banner instead of the green rage monster. However, it wouldn't be his first regret or bad decisions, nor the last, he'd wager.

Steve ran back towards the science lab to find Hermione, using the upper decks this time, but it was chaos along the way. Loki had gathered a lot more minions than they accounted for, and they were not like the Hydra goons he was so used to. These soldiers were skilled, highly trained, and focused in a way that made them seem less human. Yet, he knew they were because Clint was one of them now, so he could not bring himself to hurt them too badly.

Once at the lab, or what was left of it, he found the healing sarcophagus still in its corner, in relatively good repair, considering. Unfortunately, it was also empty. Steve bit his lip, examining the thing. It seemed to have been unlocked rather than smashed open, so that meant an ally had let her out, right? Knowing her, she was in the thick of the battle somewhere. Maybe looking for him to scold him for leaving her behind again. Whatever the case, he had to trust in her skills, and do what he could to be useful until they found each other again. They always did, after all.

The more urgent matter right now seemed to be the Helicarrier tilting steadily more to one side. That explosion must have hit one of the rotors, maybe more… Was it going to land? Crash? But what could he do? And the attack, it had to be staged to free Loki. But the problem was the same, and Hermione or Thor were best equipped to stop him. But there was something Loki would want: his sceptre. He wouldn't leave without… and that was something he could take care of. Steve whirled around, looking through the debris for the damn thing. It had been right there with them before the explosion, so where was it now? As it wasn't in the half of the lab that hadn't been blasted through the bay window, Steve looked down into the dark levels below, and lo and behold, there was a familiar blue light shimmering faintly and… moving? Steve cursed. Someone had gotten their hands on it before him, and he doubted it was an ally or they wouldn't be skulking in the dark. With a jump, Steve made it through the broken bay window and down a couple of decks, landing on a metal catwalk in a perfect crouch. One more down and to the right, Steve ran and jumped and swung his way around the catwalks and rails faster than anyone had a right to in the maze of the ship's underbelly, until finally, he landed in front of the sceptre thief, the unnatural blue eyes which seemed to glow in the dark conforming it was no friend. In fact, the man attacked immediately, without hesitation, but with the butt of… a bow?

"Clint?" Steve asked as he deflected the blow.

The man stepped back, his face briefly visible as he swung the sceptre between them, but it had nothing of the Clint he knew: no mischievous sparkle in his eyes, no laugh lines wrinkling his face, no emotion at all in fact. He attacked again, the blade of the sceptre slicing the air with a lethal whoosh where he'd been standing in contemplation just a moment ago.

Steve had to stop him. He couldn't just keep backing up and avoiding his blows. First priority: disarm him. Steve let the next stab miss him by a hair's breadth. Risky, but it allowed him to avoid the sharp blade in order to block the harmless handle against his side with one arm, the other keeping it steady so Clint couldn't pull it back and eviscerate him. Then, Steve simply headbutted Clint into letting it go. It worked. A bit too well in fact, because the poor guy fell back, knocked out cold. Or so he hoped.

"Damnit," Steve muttered as he checked he hadn't actually managed to kill him by cracking his skull.

Thankfully, he was still breathing. However, his own clothes being in tatters, and without much of anything useful at hand to tie up the archer, Steve ripped the bow's string out and tied Clint's hands behind his back. The archer was going to kill him when he learned about that, but it would have to do until Hermione could snap him out of the mind control. Steve didn't want to leave him there however, at the mercy of anyone, friend or foe, so he heaved him over his shoulder and carried the sceptre in his other hand, well out of reach in case he came back to himself.

Halfway back up to the regular decks, Steve felt the axis of the Helicarrier return to normal and its speed steady, then slow down. Looked like they were not going to crash land after all.

One disaster avoided, but Steve wouldn't rejoice too fast. He still had to find Hermione and make sure Loki was still under lock and key.