Here we go; off on a new story! Hopefully you guys will enjoy it!

"Oh, my god!" Jane screamed in horror, eyes blowing wide as she stared at the television screen.

She ignored the Norwegian translation of the American news' segment – similar to what was airing on every television station in Tromso, Norway – as she saw Thor's face flash across the screen. Aliens in Manhattan? Avengers? SHIELD? Didn't Thor know to stay away from those creeps? And what was he doing back on earth to begin with, if not seeing her like he'd promised to – and then not done? And what did he have to do with aliens? What was going on?

For a few of the longest minutes of her life, Jane scrambled around her recently-acquired apartment in Tromso, trying to contact anyone who might know a single thing about Thor's current situation in Manhattan, but she made contact with very few people, and none of them had any answers. The one man she just knew would be able to explain all of this – the SHIELD agent who had nabbed this awesome job for her, Phil Coulson – wasn't even picking up his phone. Finally, she just fell back onto her ratty couch, a solitary tear finding its way down her cheek as she watched the continuous news' story on television and begged Thor to be alright.

Little did Jane know that there were two more women who were feeling the same unique brand of helpless panic at the same time she was.

Pepper Potts was flying over Philadelphia in Stark Industries private plane, surrounded by blue sky and her newest in a string of assistants as both women stared in open-mouthed shock at the footage on the plane's television screen. She squeezed her eyes shut as tears floated in her vision, but when she opened them again, it was only to see the Ironman suit – with Tony inside, she knew – fly across the screen. She was barely able to remain standing on her own two feet.

Dr. Betty Ross was working at her lab at Culver's University in Alexandria, Virginia, when the first noticed the news. Concentrating on her work, she had the volume on the television turned almost entirely down, but one sound managed to make its way through the speakers loud and clear, causing Betty to nearly drop her sample as she jumped. Eyes flying to the television, she immediately upped the volume as she noticed what she thought was a familiar flash of green. And then there he was – the Hulk, the very worst side of the one man that she had never quite been able to move on from. Seeing him in the middle of such a scene of destruction didn't quite surprise her; rationally speaking, she knew he was practically indestructible, but she was terrified for him none the less.

The next day

"So, I tried to kill you again, huh?" Clint asked, eyes on the road behind sunglasses as he drove Natasha to the airport after they and the others had seen Loki and Thor back to Asgard. "Thanks to Loki's mind control."

"Yeah," Natasha shrugged as if she didn't care – and maybe she actually didn't, considering how many times an attempt had been made on her life. "But it's no big deal. I know that really wasn't you."

"You know…" Clint wanted to remind her, but he wasn't good at actually saying it.

Natasha knew what he was going for, though, filling in the blank when she finished, "That you love me too much to off me?" she smirked, taking one of his hands in her own. "Yeah, I do. I think you always have… and I think our relationship was almost uncovered by the others back there a few times."

"Yeah," Clint agreed, not telling her that he was pretty sure he might've actually told Loki about the romantic nature of that relationship.

"That's why I need time away from SHIELD;" Nat gave his hand a squeeze, asking casually, "Are you coming with me?"

"Nah; can't this time."

"Not even to Jamaica? C'mon; we could even do one of those dumb island wedding ceremonies and have a honeymoon. When we got back to SHIELD, we could tell them that we were drunk when it happened and let them think that we weren't really married, then go home and be husband and wife."

"Tempting, Nat," Clint admitted. "Really tempting. But I can't. SHIELD wants to keep me close to base the next few weeks to make sure I don't have any nasty side effects from, you know… Loki."

"Because I couldn't take care of you if you do?"

"Because you'd take such good care of me that we might get it in our heads never to come back after this whole six-month vacation thing that they're promising us while this blows over."

"Hm," Natasha snorted. "We'll see how long we actually get."

A month later

Maria fiddled nervously with the spaghetti on her plate, staring listlessly at it as she sat beside Steve Rogers on his couch while they watched a movie – or he watched the movie and she thought too much.

Taking notice, Steve found the button he wanted on the remote and paused the movie, asking her, "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Don't lie to Captain America; it wounds his delicate sense of integrity."

Maria snorted. When Steve had asked her out on their first date three weeks ago, she had accepted despite SHIELD regulations, and been pleasantly stunned to learn that Cap had a sarcastic side.

"Really, what's wrong, Maria. Talk to me. Is it work related?"

"Sort of," she admitted.

"What does that mean?"

She sighed, giving in and saying, "You know, it's probably not a good idea to start a relationship the week after one of the most traumatic experiences of your life."

Steve paused before asking her, "Are you saying that you don't want to see where this could go?"

"No, I do. That's not really even what's bothering me."

"Then what is?"

Maria chewed on her lip a moment before admitting, "I – I really like you, Steve."

"And I like you too. Is that a problem?"

"For SHIELD."

Then he got it, sitting back and saying simply, "Ah." Then, "We don't have to tell anyone about us, you know."

"But I want to!" Maria exclaimed suddenly. "And that's why it's not a good idea to start a relationship so soon after something so horrible. I know it's not rational to start broadcasting our relationship, but I want to!"

"Then let me put your mind at ease, Maria," he answered, saying in a final tone, "We can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I just agreed to come to work for SHIELD full-time last week; you know that. Now more than ever, we have to keep our relationship under the radar."

An unreasonable surge of anger uncurled in Maria's chest, but she shoved it away and snuggled into her new boyfriend, effectively ending the conversation when she admitted "I know" and played the movie.

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