"I knew you couldn't live without me," Stark shouted at his phone when he heard Natasha Romanoffs voice for the first time in weeks. "But, and I am truly sorry, I already found a secretary, so I can't offer you the job."

"I don't want a job, did you even listen to me? I want to meet you," Natasha sounded irritated.

"You want a date? Sure, but I already have a girlfriend. And I don't do polygamy," Stark replied, while rummaging through the documents on his desk.

"Grow up, Stark, I need you… and I am not going to repeat that," Natasha barked, and Tony could sense the angry tingle in her voice.

"Fine, fine, polygamy it is. So, do prefer a fancy restaurant, or will we stick with shawarma?" he said.

"Paparazzi-free environment would do. How about your place?"

"Now you crossed the line, inviting yourself in isn't allowed before we've publically announced our relationship. Unless you're called Pepper, and you're not, inviting yourself is off limits." Tony smirked, enjoying the fact that he was annoying Natasha to death. When she growled in response, he decided that it had been enough.

"You can visit anytime you want, but I can't promise a paparazzi-free environment. Although I believe you can find something to solve that problem. When will I be expecting you?"

"Sooner than you wish," Natasha said before she hung up. Tony stared at his phone in bewilderment. After two years, he still hadn't figured out who the Black Widow really was and what she wanted.

"I must say it was very impolite of you to talk to Agent Romanof like that, sir," JARVIS remarked.

"I must say it is very impolite of you to make a remark like that. And she is not an agent anymore."

"My sincere apologies, sir."

"Apology accepted."

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"I must inform you that someone is …" the AI began, but he was interrupted by a loud explosion coming from the ground floor.

"Holy shit, JARVIS, what happened!?"

"I believe we have a visitor."

"Romanoff is going to pay for that!"

"It's not agent Romanoff, sir!"

"She's not an agent anymore JARVIS, how many times do I have to repeat that? She's just Romanoff from now on. Who is it?"

"I can't really make any sense of this midgardian technology," a voice boomed from below.

"Never mind I asked," Tony sighed as he headed downstairs. He found Thor at the entrance hall. The front door lay at his feet and was still smoking.

"They don't sell 'guides to Midgard' on that planet of yours do they? It's not a habit of ours to smash each-others door to pieces," Tony snarled as he kicked aside the remains of his intercom.

"Please forgive me, Man of Iron, as I did not intend to destroy your property. Lady Natasha told me a firm knock with my hammer would open your door for me. She said it was a pretty heavy specimen." Thor looked down at the remains of Tony's door and added: "But perhaps I misunderstood."

"'Lady Natasha' you said? She called you too? She really is into polygamy, isn't she?"

"I have never heard of such thing, but yes, she contacted me on the strange midgardian thing they call 'Jane's smartphone'," Thor answered absently, as he was taking in the environment. "This house of yours is nice. Do all humans build houses as large as their ego's?" Thor demanded. Tony's jaw dropped, not because of the insult, but because he never heard Thor crack a joke before. "Nice one, Blondie, let's go upstairs." Thor looked confused, not really knowing what he did to startle Tony and followed him to the elevator. While they were going up, Thor remarked solemnly: "You know, we have things like this in Asgard as well. I like them better, more colorful and everything, faster as well. Maybe you should get one too?"

"Or maybe I don't. Asgardian is so old-fashioned and – never mind. Speaking about old-fashioned. Did you hear anything from Steve lately?" Tony asked as the elevator reached the top floor and the doors opened.

Thor shook his head: "No, I haven't seen anyone after I left Midgard with Loki." Something about the Asgardians tone when he mentioned his brother, bothered Tony. But he had no time to ask about it, because he spotted a blond woman who was sitting in his sofa. Immediately, Tony started to laugh.

"Good evening Thor, Stark," Natasha greeted them.

"Well hey there Barbie, planning to go incognito as Paris Hilton? The blond really doesn't suit you," Tony doubled with laughter.

"Don't be such a child. Oh and Thor, thanks for the distraction."

For the second time in less than ten minutes, Thor looked like he had no clue of what the other person was talking about.

"I suggest you sit down, we have a lot to discuss. Doctor Banner and the Captain will be arriving soon," Natasha said, smiling apologetically at Thor and still ignoring Tony.

"Hey, why do you refer to them with those fancy titles, and I got nothing more than "Stark" "? Tony protested.

"Because they deserve 'respect', you know what that means? Perhaps you should ask your AI to explain it to you. I still don't understand how you were able to create a robot that's more polite and well-behaved than you are," Natasha replied coldly.

"Tony?" a worried voice came from the elevator, "Tony, someone molested the back door and you'll never guess who I –" Peppers voice died the moment she laid eyes on Natasha and Thor."Ow." She was accompanied by none other than Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner, the latter of whom looked exhausted.

Steve greeted all of them politely, although he looked like he didn't understand why all of them where there at the same place. Banner plumped down in the nearest seat and addressed Natasha: "You better have a good reason to make me fly all the way to New York at this hour."

"You're lucky doc, I'll give you three reasons," she said , while indicating the others to sit down. Pepper hesitated, but one look from Natasha told her she could join them as well.

"So," Natasha started, but she was interrupted, to no one's surprise, by Tony.

"Wait, wait, wait, I am missing something. You are assembling our superhero boyband but you forgot to invite your (he pointed at Natasha) dance partner. What happened? Did he finally tell you that you're a pain in his ass?" Pepper looked like she would have thrown something at Tony if she had the chance, but Natasha chose to ignore him.

"So, I called all of you because we need to discuss something. I believe it would be something that interests all of you, especially –"

"Are you deaf? I asked you a question."

"I am sorry to hear that you left all your manners behind in space when you flew through that wormhole, Stark," Natasha snapped without looking at Tony before she continued, "I thought this might be especially interesting for you, Captain, as it is about someone you might know."

"Natasha, maybe you should…" Steve began, eying at Tony. But the Widow continued imperturbable: "A remaining group of HYDRA soldiers has been discovered in Kazachstan. They are led by a man who's referred to as 'Baron Von Strucker'. As far as I know, SHIELD didn't have any data on him, perhaps they erased it. I hoped you would be able to fill me in, Cap."

"That name is not really familiar with me at all," Steve replied, "I only remember seeing it on a list of supposed HYDRA suspects in de 1940's. But he must be really old by now, so I don't see how he can do a lot of harm."

"Old minds can be great minds," a sleepy Banner pointed out, "But I've heard that HYDRA's days are over. It's been all over the news…"

Steve sighed: "I share your disappointment, Doctor, but this doesn't surprise me. When you cut one head of –"

"Two more grow in its place, yes, yes, we know that, but will somebody tell me –" Tony received a blow to the head from Pepper. "What?" Pepper gave him a meaningful look. "I am sorry, truly, but I don't like being kept in the dark!" Tony complained.

"Well, I am explaining –" Natasha started, but Tony cut her off again. "No, you aren't, you are doing a Fury-impersonation. You call me in the middle of the night, you show up on my doorstep almost immediately afterwards, barking orders and I can't ask you why? And – correct me if I am wrong – I am not the only one who would like to know why you've traded your beloved partner in crime for some blond Barbie-locks?"

Banner leaned forward and yawned: "He does have a point there."

Natasha's face turned as red as her hair used to be: "If you let me finish my – as you call it – Fury-impersonation, you might get an answer to your question. If you still have questions after I am done, you're free to ask." She shot a frightening look at Tony and suddenly turned around to pick up a backpack. She handed it over to Tony and spat at him: "Or, by a second thought, you can read it yourself. At least the file inside that backpack can't get annoyed by you." Natasha sat down besides Steve, crossed her legs and fixed her eyes on Tony. If gazes could kill, he would have been dead by now.

"Midgardian women have bad tempers," Thor whispered. That remark earned him an angry look from Natasha. Tony took the file out of the bag and spread its contents on the table. Both Steve and Thor scratched their heads when they saw the complex markings on several of the sheets of paper, but Banners interest was drawn. He picked one particularly interesting page and started to read. Now and then, he frowned or made confused noises. Tony stood up and went to stand behind Banner, in order to read over his shoulder. When both were done reading, Banner removed his glasses, placed them on the table and rubbed his eyes.

"You found two people with inhuman powers in Kazachstan," he declared.

Natasha nodded: "Their names are Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, but that's about all we know. They are twins and probably born in Eastern Europe. Pietro is able to run really fast, his speed is inhuman. Wanda's powers include a variety of things, she can move things without touching them, she can make sparks appear out of nowhere – but apparently no one knows the true nature of her powers."

"Hold on," Thor suddenly remarked as he grabbed a sheet of paper from the table and held it up in the air, so everyone could see it. "This is my brothers, did you find this as well?" he demanded.

"I'm afraid we did. HYDRA snatched it away under our noses. The weapon was kept at a SHIELD base, and as far as I know, nobody reported that it was stolen. Probably the work of infiltrators," Natasha sighed.

"Before Fury left, he told me he would be heading for Eastern Europe. Maybe this is what he is looking for," Steve began slowly, "Was he the one who gave you this information?"

"No," Natasha's voice was filled with doubt.

"He didn't tell you about that?" Steve asked, clearly surprised.

"Not really, no. I wonder…" Natasha paused. When she spoke again, she sounded a bit uncertain: "Maybe we should talk about this tomorrow. It's already late."

"I thought this was urgent?" Tony remarked.

"It is, but I have to clear my mind before we talk more about this. Can I use one of your guest rooms?" she looked at Pepper.

"Sure," Pepper replied a bit confused, "You can follow me."

"Fine, good night boys," Natasha left alongside Pepper.

"I guess you hit a nerve," Bruce whispered to Steve. Steve sighed: "I am afraid I did."

Hey everyone,

First of all thanks for reading. If you liked this, maybe you should read my one shot 'Where do we go from here?', which serves as the set up for this story. I also want to thank Caitlin Sidhe and wispoD for encouraging me to continue the story.

I hope you liked it!

Hugs and kisses,

Ellyn