A/N: In the late future I will probably rewrite all this story's chapters, (and every story i have ever written) because damn. This story is cringy as hell, idk why all of u people like it. BUt anyways, thanks for the love. SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE TOO,, I HAVE FINALS TO STUDY FOR AND PROJECTS DUE LIKE, BY FRIDAY

Warnings: feels. I will try feels in this chapter . . . .

Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers or Supernatural

Thor's face crumpled with grief as soon as Gabriel had said, "I saw your brother. You know, in paradise, because he's dead."

His grip had tightened on his hammer, which indicated he was angry. The way he slouched meant that he was also sad. Then, Gabriel remembered about feelings, and then he cursed at himself. Emotions. Loki had feared them too.

Okay, so maybe it hadn't been the best way to phrase it. Gabriel coughed and started over. "I went to go see your brother up in Vanilla or whatever you call it."

But Thor remained stiff. "Oh," he said. The light mood and the shine in his eyes that had emitted when both had started talking, was now gone.

Gabriel was about to open his mouth but Thor cut him short. "You speak of my brother so . . . loosely. Was he that of unimportance to you?"

"Loki was important," Gabriel said impatiently. "He was there when I needed a vessel."

Thor let out a growl. "Loki was more than an empty shell for you to take over."

Gabriel let out a dramatic sigh and rolled his eyes while Thor breathed loudly. "I thought we were over this. Man, what is it with you people and grudges, huh?"

Thor snorted, and Gabriel realized he couldn't work like this.

It'd be better to start from the beginning. So, he whirled his fingers in the air, and suddenly Thor was standing by the window again. It was 2:30 once more.

Gabriel coughed behind Thor, stomped in place and sighed. "Yo, Thor, whats up?"

Thor slowly turned. He nodded. "Gabriel," he said.

Gabriel swiftly walked towards him. "Boy, do I have news for you."

Thor nodded again. "And what news do you bring forth? You seem . . . urgent."

Gabriel smacked his lips and tried to find a way to carefully word the sentence, 'I saw your dead brother.' He smiled and with all sincerity said, "I went to visit Loki."

Crossing his finger and hoping that Thor wouldn't break a vase, Gabriel waited. And when Thor simply knit his eyebrows and his pressed his lips into a thin line, Gabriel knew he was in the clear.

"Loki is ...dead," he supplied. "Or have you lied?"

Gabriel shook his head. "He's dead alright," he waved the thought off and continued on hurriedly. "Yep, but anyways, I went to visit him in ….Valhalla? He's doing pretty good. He wanted me to look out for you."

Thor smiled sadly and opened his mouth to say something.

Gabriel smiled too, because he could feel the vibrations.

And Fury burst in the room. His face looked awfully smug and his footsteps echoed. "You little son of a bitch," he stated. "I know what you did. You did that mojo, hocus pocus thing like Obi Wan Kenobi did with those Clone Troopers when entering that city."

Gabriel crossed his arms. "Yeah, I know that part of the movie, but I have no idea what youre talking about."

"How can we even trust you when you can influence the mind? Just like Loki," Fury said sharply. "You know, I'm starting to think that maybe you aren't who you say you are."

Gabriel sighed at turned to Thor. "You know, that's why it's sometimes better to wipe their memory instead of simply changing stuff."

Fury stood stiffly. "See? Thats what Im talking about."

Gabriel raised a finger to his lips and looked at Thor. He cracked his neck and snapped his fingers.

Fury's eye twitched.

To Thor, it didn't seem like anything had worked, but Gabriel knew it had.

He heard his voice in his won head, to which he almost flinched. Just smudged some rough edges. Thor began shifting his feet and he threw a glance to Gabriel. "I'm leaving . . . "

"Listen up, buddy," Gabriel snapped, ignoring the fact that Fury still had a scowl on his face. "If it weren't for me, you'd all be dead already."

That wasn't necessarily true, but no one had to know that. "So don't you go on comparing me to that messed up trickster." He turned to Thor. "No offense, but we all know you're brother was a nut job."

Thor squinted, but otherwise he let it pass. "I am leaving," he repeated.

"Yeah, well anyways, bye-bye." Gabriel strummed his fingers on the glass. He turned his attention to Nick. "Remember the thing I told you about Saint Nick. I gotta look for things, like the Tesseract, which you don't have. And somehow lost. Don't tell your boss though."

"How the hell did you even know we lost it, hm? Did you take it Gabriel? You know that that thing can take you down, that's one reason. Things with power, only want more power."

Thor raised an eyebrow. He was close to the door.

Gabriel sighed. I didn't tie all the loose ends, so bust outta here before it gets ugly.

Thor looked away and quickly made his way to the door.

Gabriel turned to Fury. "That's true," he said. "But don't go pointing fingers just yet. I'm a celestial being, a special son of God. An angel. An archangel."

Fury looked unimpressed. "Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Well, duh. I knew it was gone, because I felt its power diminish. Imagine being a magnet. The closer you are to another magnet the stronger the power."

Fury sighed. "I need to get the Board involved, I think."

Gabriel rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No you don't. You want them to kill somebody for answers? Listen, I'm not telling you to control and watch every one of your men, but if I'm not straightforward, you won't get it."

He stood up and faced Fury. Eyeing him for a second before continuing, he said, "Humans are sly and smart creatures. Feed them lies and they'll follow whatever they find appeasing. Check your men, Nicky. Some of your men aren't called deceivers, liars, traitors for no reason."

"Is this about Natasha?"

"What in dad's name would this be about Natasha?"

"She's a spy. And you've taken an interest on her."

"And you think Natasha might have stolen it? "Gabriel snorted and shook his head. "Angels don't fall in love, Nick. It's happened, and it would cause chaos. If it were me, especially me, then evn your Avengers would be too weak to stop my kid."

Fury smiled. "You said you were a Trickster right? Aren't you Chaos?"

Gabriel nodded, getting ready to jump. "Maybe."

When he disappeared, Fury called pulled out a disposable flip phone. He pressed some numbers and someone picked up. Their voice firm and ready

"Agent Hill?" he said. "Keep tabs open on all of our own. Make sure they're not doing anything they aren't supposed to be doing."

o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o

About two weeks later when Gabriel was up to it, (because it wasn't like he forgot all about the outside world or anything) he decided that it was time to visit the rest of the Avengers and announce his return in person.

He stood up slowly from where he sat, and took one last look around.

As he coughed and began rubbing his hands, he was filled with a bit of nostalgia. The penguins here reminded Gabriel of his brothers. Huddled up together, following the leader, and protecting the younger ones.

He wanted to stay, but he was sure that Nicky was bound to get all antsy if he disappeared again. But he could make a clone . . . Nah.

Taking one last sharp breath in, he snapped his fingers. Some penguins squawked in surprise to find that the man that had visited them, was gone and a small burst of warm air had resulted in his departure.

o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o

When Gabriel arrived, he found that all the Avengers were still in the process of getting up. Some were either still churning under their covers, or actually asleep. Gabriel looked around the empty kitchen, and waited on the shadows of the living room.

He watched some cars pass, blah, blah, blah, and when he was tired of waiting, he sped it up a little.

Now, Steve and Clint were taking showers. Tony had quickly scampered away to his lab, and Bruce was reading in bed. Natasha was the first to have gotten up out of her room. When she had finished drinking her small portion of coffee, she sat down on the couch to read.

Not the person he been looking for, but she´d do. Gabriel hopped down from where he was sitting, made himself visible and got ready to trot to her.

Natasha turned slowly. He smiled, and opened his mouth to speak but suddenly, he was stopped when an arrow flew into his chest with a large thwack! The impact was strong, strong enough that Gabriel almost fell backwards. Once he had gathered his bearings he stood up straight, only to be knocked again with another arrow. This time on his forehead.

Natasha glanced in the way the arrows had come from.

Gabriel all but ignored that one arrow that stuck out from his head, and he looked down instead, inspecting the arrow in his chest. Then, he glanced around and narrowed his eyes.

"Um . . . that was rude?" he said as he yanked the arrows out. "You ruined my shirt."

"Jesus, Christ!" Clint exclaimed, from the edge of the hall. He was in a fighting position, his hair was wet, and he had a bow in hand. "Give us a little warning next time, Gabriel! We're all still half-dead. I thought you were Loki for a sec!"

"I am in his body," Gabriel stated. "Mix ups are expected, but come on. I've been with you for what? Months?"

"You were gone for a long time this time, almost all the times actually" Steve commented, walking past Clint. "If I had my shield, or if I was more tired, I probably would've thrown my weapon at you without hesitation, too."

"Geez, guys. Glad to know you trust me."

Clint sighed dramatically.

"Steve's right. You were gone for awhile," Natasha said, once the commotion had calmed down. She lowered her book. "We all thought you were dead. Or just simply gone."

Gabriel scoffed and mended his shirt easily. "Oh, yeah. Fury started yelling at me that I was gone for so long. Blah, blah, blah. Now that I think about it, I kinda forgot that where I traveled to, time passes differently." He cut himself short.

Steve opened the fridge. "So it's basically like Asgard, kinda. Thor told us that time is quicker in Asgard."

"Yep. Oh, where is he by the way? Saw him a couple of weeks ago."

"You visited Thor a couple weeks ago?" Steve asked. "But not us?"

"Yep, now goodbye again. I need to do stuff," Gabriel said. He turned around.

Natasha was the one who stopped him, grabbing his wrist. "You can't just leave again. This is becoming a bad habit. thing. Fury told us we needed to work with you, and it seems like your not cooperating."

"He lost the Tesseract," Gabriel blurted, to focus the attention off of him. He flicked his wrist and video called Fury while everyone looked baffled.

"I'm busy," was the first words Fury said. He had his usual stoic face, only, he looked pissed.

"How in the absolute fuck did you guys lose the Tesseract?" Clint asked. He shot a look to Natasha. "What do you think about this?"

Natasha shrugged. "It better not be in the enemy's hands."

"It's probably in the enemy's hands," Gabriel conutered. "Some sort of enemy."

Steve looked dumbfounded. "Then what the hell is locked up in the secure vault?"

Fury sighed and rubbed his head.. "Oh. Did Gabriel tell you? One question at a time."

Gabriel raised his hand. "Anyways, did you take the advice I gave ya Nick?"

"I took precautionary measures," Fury answered.

Steve glanced at both of them. "What are you two talking about?"

Gabriel sighed. "Its top secret Stevie." Natasha keep an impassive face, but Gabriel caught the look she shot to Clint. "But it's all good. Were trying to find the Tesseract. Well, I, am trying to locate it."

"How did no one notice at all?" Steve asked. " . . . did someone take it?"

Right now, lounging under the sun in paradise and eating a bucket of ice cream was the exact thing Gabriel needed right now. But he needed to find the Tesseract.

He rubbed his nose and said, "Okay, peace, I'm out. Fury keep an eye out, and don't worry about me. Nat, dont worry, okay? This is not becoming a thing. I just got stuff to do. "

Fury opened his mouth, probably to make a remark, but Gabriel conjured up a cotton candy from his side and managed to shove it into his mouth where he was. (It would be for fun.)

And the last thing he saw was a wide-eyed but laughing Steve and a half-choking Fury on the screen.

o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o

His journey had taken him to Europe, where he didn't find anything. And then Antarctica, and then other places, but he still didn't find anything. He;d even checked the bottom of the ocean to no avail.

He had only been gone for three days when he was summoned. The spell itself was horrid and it sent him spinning all over the place.

He landed to the unknown with a loud umpf! And his nose on the floor.

"We were worried about," Thor said. "I was able to find a spell that would summon you."

"That's the exact thing I told you not to do. Do you even know how to properly perform a spell?" Gabriel asked. He raised an eyebrow. "You messed up in more ways than one, buddy."

Thor shuffled his feet and shot a look to Bruce. "No," he said.

Bruce shrugged. "We found some things online."

"You could've killed me, you know. I was sleeping,too."

"I thought angels didn't sleep," Tony called out from the kitchen.

"And you thought wrong, Tony," Gabriel shot back.

"You should be thankful-" Thor began.

"Um, yeah no. I was looking for a Tesseract and I could've just appeared here on my own will. Or if you guys prayed to me, I would have appeared too."

"The Tesseract is gone. You are powerful enough to kill a whole city, but you haven't found it yet. Are your claims even true?" Thor challenge. "I know others who would find it."

Is this about Loki? Gabriel wondered. "DId I ever say I was powerful enough to kill a whole city? It's true, but the Tesseract . . . is being hidden from me."

"You are not powerful."

"I am."

"I believe you're an angel but not of the high ranks. You should be powerful enough to find it. I bet my life that Loki would have sensed something."

Gabriel's eye twitched and Bruce quickly walked out of the was this close to give Thor everything he had. Spitting and cursing and shoving down loads of sour candy down his mouth was what was going to follow soon. But it didn't happen, (unfortunately.)

It was then when he felt a sudden tug that left his vessel frozen for a split second, his anger for Thor dissipated. Gabriel squinted and looked around, just in case someone had tasered him or something, but no one was even close to him as Thor was.

Tony sat up, eyes focused. "Are you okay, Gabriel?"

Gabriel was about to snort, say he was fine, but that was when another tug hit him. This time it was a small pinch. It hurt. Not enough to cause any damage, but enough to cause suspicion.

"Its okay," he reassured, and furrowed his eyes in concentration. "I got it covered."

"I didn't ask if anything was fine," Tony said. "I was asking if you were okay."

Another tug. On his back this time. Gabriel closed his eyes, trying to find the source of the disturbances. He didn't see find or see anything, but definitely felt it. "I need to go," was his answer. "Something's wrong."

Thor opened his mouth, but was met with a small whoosh of air.

It didn't take long to find the source of the problem. It was a surprise, actually. It was almost as if someone had baited him right after his argument with Thor..

Gabriel inspected the Tesseract. It was just sitting there, blue and electric and all that jazz. Gabriel knew it was a trap. Obviously. But again, this thing could put him out of commission for a while. It wasn't like he could not grab it. It was right there, within his grasp.

He decided to do something else first. He whisked up a phone and dialed Clint, because he'd seen a glimpse of his number somewhere. It was seconds when Clint picked up the phone.

"Who is this, and why do you have my number," he said.

"Hey, Clint," Gabriel replied nonchalantly. "I think I found something."

There was a startled silence. "Gabriel? How'd you get my number?"

"That doesn't matter. Listen," Gabriel circled the Tesseract and checked if there was anything suspicious like spells for banishing sigils around, "I found the Tesseract."

There was rustling at the other end. "Wait, let me put you through to Fury."

He shook his head despite that Clint wouldn't see it. "No time, pal. Listen, tell Brucie to hook up one of thingy majigs cause I'm bringing it back."

"How did you find it anyways?" There was more mumbling from the other side.

"Well, it's right here. I think it's a trap," Gabriel whispered.

Clint shushed everyone at his end, and lowered his voice. "It's a trap?"

"Probably. I mean it's just sitting there in an empty room. I don't feel anyone else."

Clint breathed in and was probably about to say something but the Fury's voice came through. "You still planning on bringing it if you thinks it's a trap?"

"Of course I do. Traps don't scare me, the give me more excitement actually."

"Alright, then grab it."

Gabriel smiled. "Hey, Nicky. Don't you care if I get hurt or captured? Im vital to you."

He smiled to himself and reached out to touch the Tesseract. He lifted it up, and weight it with my hand. "Well, it seems like all is clear. Im holding it."

"Okay good," Fury said.

Gabriel opened his mouth to make a smart remark (like always) but was suddenly struck with a blinding blue light; rendering him (his vessel) unmobile. The power sizzled through his body and left him twitching on the ground.

He wanted to throw up as darkness started to envelop his eyesight. His body felt like liquid, and he didn't react enough to escape the vessel itself.

There it is, he thought. The so called trap.

The phone that had cluttered to the ground was still open. It was silent, but Gabriel knew the others were still on the other end.

"Heyyyyy guyyss," he slurred. "Somethin´ happen."He began to drool then. Oh, no. It wasn't humiliating at all. Having an archangel trapped, not to mention drooling like a baby.

And as his vision started to fade in and out, he heard something. "Take his body and stash it somewhere," were the last words he heard. It was followed by a image of Thanos flashing in his mind.

"With you gone, they will all fall."

Okay, so maybe he hadn't thought this through.

o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o

When Gabriel opened his eyes, he was met by darkness, and a foul smell. He gagged and said, "Jesus this place smells like socks!" From behind him, he heard movement. "Hey, I don't got all day. Fight me like man!"

Gabriel shifted a bit where he was tied up, but his legs felt like noodles, and his arms were not doing any better. Great. Where was his coat, anyways?

"Hello, you," a voice said. It was a man with blue eyes. But a natural hue of blue. "My boss requires your utmost cooperation for this to be as painless as possible."

Gabriel tilted his head and squinted, trying to get a good look at the figure that was partially hidden in the dark. "You being controlled? You working for the purple bald guy?"

The guy lifted his eyebrows and snorted. "Noooo, I'm working with the boss on my own free will. Well, it's also because I want to kill you."

Gabriel snorted too, and ignored the way his vessel felt weird. "You do realize that whatever you do to me, won't affect me? You can't hurt me."

The guy sighed and pulled out a bag. "Yeah, so I've heard. But . . . " he popped open his case and pulled out a silver blade. "I also heard that this can hurt you. Maybe even kill you."

"Where'd you get that from?" Gabriel asked slowly. He'd forgotten about his angel blade.

"Don't you hate it when people rifle through your pockets when you're unconscious?" Then the guy laughed. "You know, for someone as powerful as you, I'd suspect you wouldn't be carrying your wearpson around in your pockets."

"Oh, I know," they said. "The Tesseract can't hurt you, but it can leave you paralyzed. I heard it felt you were choking." And then he pulled out Gabriel's angel blade which should NOT be in his hands. "But this can hurt you."

Okay, so maybe Gabriel was screwed.

o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o

The first time he appeared, was out the corner of Gabriel's eyes. It was on the fifth day of his imprisonment. (He was counting every second, and he wondered if Natasha was pissed.)

He'd been seeing things for a while, and he wondered if it was because of what they had done to him. The whole process made him feel . . . human. Everything felt icky and clammy.

At first it had been dark, pitch black as it could get in a basement with one small window. But then the sun had come up, and hours had gone and went. Gabriel had been thinking of 100 different ways to kill his pictures with a rubber band alone.

And suddenly, there was a large intake of breath.

"Hello?" The voice said. It was soft, but firm. "Anybody home?"

At the exact instant the vessel had taken in a breath, Gabriel already knew who it was. He opened his mouth instantaneously. "Did you do this to me?" he asked, his tone icy. "Did you capture me? Trying go finish the job?"

There was a chuckle, and a figure moved in the darkness. "No, I didn't capture you," they replied. "I'm not trying to finish the job either."

"Come out here and face me, coward! Let me have a look at you."

And then out from the shadows stepped out an all familiar vessel. An an even more familiar grace inside. "Hello," they said.

Gabriel was twisting in his chains. "You set this up didn't you?"

They smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Oh, yes. Please. Enlighten me Lucifer."

. . . .

The second time hadn't been better.

Lucifer laughed his way through the process all while Gabriel yelled.

. . . .

The third time, Gabriel had been partially unconscious. And Lucifer had been babbling about Dad, which was a rant that made no sense. Gabriel was glad he had not been awake for it.

. . . .

The fourth time Lucifer appeared, he hadn't really done anything. He smiled, and nodded to himself all while Gabriel thought of another 100 ways to kill his captors. He also wondered it Lucifer was in it too.

And Gabriel only thought of 2 ways he could successfully kill him.

. . . .

The fifth time Lucifer appeared took Gabriel by surprise. He'd been beaten and cut with his own angel blade and was feeling down in the dumps when a voice cut through his thoughts.

"I can't help you," Lucifer said, plainly, and suddenly. HIs voice almost seemed glad.

Gabriel squinted, trying to see through the darkness and blood that covered his eyes. "I wouldn't have thought so," he said sarcastically.

Lucifer leaned against the wall and sighed. "You have to get out of here by yourself. I don't want to scare you, but . . . if you don't, you're going to die soon. And then you're friends are going to die soon, too. It'd be humiliating if you died, too."

"That's reassuring," Gabriel scoffed. "Why are you talking now?"

Lucifer shrugged. "You seemed lonely."

"I'm not lonely, I have those guys who come once a week to beat me up."

"I can't help you," Lucifer repeated.

Gabriel knew it be worth a try, so he asked, "Can I ask why you're not willing to help?"

There was silence, and although Lucifer broke into a wide smile, Gabriel couldn't help but feel weirded out. "You're mind is powerful, you know," Lucifer said.

"Yes, yes. I know that," Gabriel snapped. "I'm asking you a question. Why can't you help me? If I'm going to die soon, anyways, then why don't you just come here and finish the job?"

Ignoring everything Gabriel had just said, Lucifer continued. "You're powerful enough to stop time, create illusions. You can transform into anyone, you can go anywhere, and you can do so many things I don't even know about. You know how to hide for centuries, too."

The last comment stung a bit, but Gabriel pretended he wasn't affected. "What's your point in all of this?"

Lucifer walked up to him. Smiling sadly, he reached out to touch Gabriel's cheek. "You're powerful enough to create illusions, too."

"You just said that," Gabriel said tensely. "Are you trying to irritate me?"

"You make illusions so real, you can touch them. Solid ones."

Then, Gabriel felt a choking sensation and tugged on the chains. He tried not to splutter, but failed miserably. "What? No. But-"

"So, what do you think I am?"

And with that, Lucifer came in contact with Gabriel's vessel's skin, and his hand went right through. "But if you're mind is scrambled enough," he said softly, "the illusions are still there, but they're not solid."

Gabriel felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something that even he felt. "So I'm hallucinating. You're not really here. You're a figment of my imagination."

Lucifer smiled again despite the troubling situation. Gabriel's vessel heart lurched painfully, because it was something Lucifer did. Smile, even in the worst situations.

"That's right, little brother." Lucifer turned and he laughed wholeheartedly.

Gabriel clamped his eyes shut with so much power it actually hurt, and when he opened them, Lucifer was gone.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The next best option Gabriel had was to get in contact with the people who could get him out. He was losing energy, and patience, fast. He couldn't save himself —which was horrid and shameful because he was an archangel— so he had to get others to do it for him,

Clint was no go. He would feel violated if Gabriel appeared in his mind Bruce . . . Gabriel's presence could trigger the Hulk. Tony was also a no. (Gabriel did not want to see the inside of that guys mind, and he didn't have time for his humour or dumb questions.) And he just didn't feel like going to Steve, so Natasha was his only option.

It took time —too much of it— and concentration.

He was able to intercept her dream plane on his fifth try.

. . . . .

Natasha had been dreaming, (of course.) She'd been in a white forest, running and looking back every once in a while. Although Gabriel would've liked to see the outcome, and it seemed like she was having an . . . okay time, he didn't have time.

So he simply changed it, and the white surroundings immediately morphed into a dark basement. She almost ran into wall.

"Hey, Nat," he said frantically when Natasha looked around quickly. "Psstttt!"

She whirled around, eyes deadly and body stiff. She was breathing hard and drops of sweat ran down her face. It took her two seconds to realize who it was, and when she did, she said ". . . Gabriel." She frowned and started looking him up and down. "I'm . . . hallucinating?"

"You're asleep," Gabriel corrected. "And I'm in your dream. Well I changed it, to suit my standards. It doesn't matter."

Natasha didn't seem convinced. "Why are you here?" she asked slowly and crossed her arms. She wiped of some sweat.

"Why not? Listen, Nat, I need your help. Look, Im stuck," he answered. He shook his chains for good measures. "See? Are you seeing this?"

Natasha surveyed the surroundings from Gabriel's memory. "I can see that," she said finally. "Okay . . . what now? What am I supposed to do? Apparently I'm dreaming."

"Yes and No. I'm showing you what I see."

"A dingy basement."

"Ecastly, and I know that you don't believe this is real," Gabriel stated, because it was a fact. "Man, Nat. You're supposed to be the one with the brains in the group. I mean, you're not the science smart like Tony and Brucie, but you're the one who thinks things out and puts things together. You know I'm an angel right? I can get into people's dreams. That's what I do."

"Where are you then?" she asked. "First things first."

He tried to shrug. "Ummmm. What I do know for a fact, is that I am somewhere in . . . the United States. I need help."

Natasha sighed. "You're going to have to be more specific if you're real, and if you want us to help find you."

Gabriel felt the hair on his skin rise. A deep rumbling came from somewhere. "Yeah, if I can, I'll get back to you."

The rumbling grew nearer and Natasha was trying to steady herself. "What is that?" she asked, crouching. "An earthquake?"

He didn't answer her question, instead rapidly giving her details. "Keep an eye out for anything unnatural," he said. "Dead birds, earthquakes —not earthquakes in your dreams, ummmm, beams of light . . . stuff like that. Okay? Okay?"

"Wait, so this is real?"

But Gabriel wasn't even able to answer before he was yanked back to reality. A rush of disappointment and other feelings like dread filled his body. He didn't even have to open his eyes to know that a face towered over his.

"Well, Gabriel," they said. "I know you're awake, okay? Let's not make this difficult and let's try this one more time. "

Gabriel shook his head and kept his eyes closed. "No thanks," he said.

They made a deep cut on his cheek and sighed with distaste. "Well, then, you know what's going to happen."

"Oh boy, sure I do."

And he braced himself.

A/N: I didn't ... like this chapter ... not to mention that I had a severe Writer's Block and was battling a cold.

Anyways, I started to write another fanfic with Loki in it. I posted it already. It's called Melt into the Shadows (And Weep). For any of those Loki fans out there, it's for you.

Reviews are appreciated. ;)