Here it is! The sequel to "From Where You Are." And yes, it is going to be AU. If you are new to this storyline, I would suggest reading the previous fic to catch up. Otherwise, it can be read as a stand-alone fic as well.

Disclaimer: I do not owe any of the characters mentioned here. They all belong to Marvel.

He leaned against his chair and watched innocently at the crowds. Who was tracking who was the better question he mused with a smirk that appeared on the corner of his lower lip. To the mewling quims, they weren't expecting anything to happen on this ordinary Sunday. The square was packed with the regulars selling their merchandise and produce.

He looked in the direction and saw a flash being reflected off a binocular. He wasn't stupid. Who did they think he was? Ever since his entrance back several months ago, he was on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar. He tossed aside his small coffee cup and blended into the crowd, shifting his way towards the curious source. Indeed, he was going to wipe out the target.

His staff was disguised as his walking cane. Occasionally, he glared out at the crowd, wondering how naïve this population was as compared to his home world. He figured his half brother was out there searching for him at this very moment. With the Tesseract awakening, he realized he could manipulate time once he tested his theory out.

He walked up the narrow thoroughfare and found a flight of stairs. Easily, he skipped up the steps until he found his way though the apartment complex. He tapped a doorknob until the metallic glowed orange and burst through the useless barrier.

His eyes scanned the room as he found files strewn about on the ground. They were indeed his pictures of his many guises. In another stash, the Tesseract in all of her glory with her vivid azure hue.

"Stand down, Loki."

The Asgardian shed his civilian clothes and morphed into his green jacket, while his staff altered to the original form. "Are you sure about this?" He slowly turned around to face his tail. "Well that's an interesting arm you have there…"

"Quit the small talk." He armed the blaster. "I need to bring you back to headquarters."

"Is that so?" He raised in eyebrow, while still casually walking about the room.

Bucky moved in a little closer, still having the laser trained on the half demi-god.

Loki stared at the red light that was aimed over his heart. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Shut up," he countered back.

"As you wish." A blue light rammed into Barnes as he lost sight of his target.

The time for the drop off had come and gone. Her point of contact was nowhere to be seen. The last message she had received was from yesterday that he was at the port fishing. And since then, the message trail grew cold. She downed the last of her tea before heading out, trying to find where her partner may have ended up. Working with him was nothing but a pain, since most of the time, he broke protocol and deviated from their plans. There was no room for deviation in their current mission spec, but it was Barnes after all, and so anything is game.

She had read his file before meeting him for the first time. She read about the incident in retrieving the Black Widow from hostile forces and how he had lost his arm in the process.

Her cell phone rang off and it was from headquarters. "Agent 13 here."

"Did you find him yet?"

"No sir, I'm indeed at the 'port.' I'm going to be at his last location."

"Be careful."

"Will do, sir."

Sharon Carter closed her cell phone and pulled out another gadget from her purse. The computer tech was well adapted to the field despite being in the doldrums of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the past three years, breaking down encrypted firewalls and occasionally tracking drones. When she first told Peggy that she was part of S.H.I.E.L.D., her older sister was less than thrilled to say the least. At one point, she somehow pulled rank and sent her to the doldrums to begin with, hoping that she wouldn't be on the field at all.

She shot a few pictures of the town square and mapped it on her camera. She pulled out Barnes' last know location and spun the image around, looking for possible routes their target may have escaped from. She punched in a few more codes before the security cameras were pulled in the direction of the signal.

Indeed, she didn't like what she saw…Loki.

She fired in a rapid sequence as mannequins appeared from obscure corners. With the gunfire, she heard gasps come from behind her. She placed her Glock down and grabbed at the spare from her belt. Without flinching, she maintained her precision and accuracy.

"Is that the Black Widow?" One of the new recruits whispered to his partner.

The room went silent as another round was fired. By now, the group was breathless for they feared the woman that stood ahead of them. "Focus now," Clint barked back at the new recruits. He glared over his own partner and watched her disarm the two Glocks. She pulled off her protective glasses and tossed them at him.

"Your turn," she mused before staring down the new recruits. She eyed infamous Hawkeye again, signaling to him that she would be seeing him later.

A couple of the keen-eyed recruits noticed a shift in their instructor's demeanor. "Everyone line up at your posts," he blew the whistle to start the exercise. Deep down, everyone knew this was going to be a very long day to say the least.

The cornfields were a distant memory now, as she found herself back in Manhattan. She slipped out of her training exercise and walked about the city until she made her way to the local market that was a block away from her apartment.

"The domestic life doesn't suit you." He found her hovering over the vegetable aisle. "Why did you scare my new recruits? Some of them peed in their pants."

She flashed her emerald eyes at him, "I was training you know."

"Funny."

He grabbed the basket from her hands as they both continued to shop. "I'm speeding up your intake. Fury thinks you can have the exam tomorrow." He reached for a box of granola.

She froze in her steps, "Don't you think you're rushing things?"

"No," he looked at her. "Your times are improving, Tash. And plus, you've been off the grid for eight months now."

"I didn't think you were counting." She eyed him with a hint for tonight's plan, "Let's take it to the mat then."

His gray eyes shifted with mischief, "Game on. Let's skip dinner and go straight for dessert."

"You're so full of it."

Needless to say, the Black Widow dominated the match. Despite his time spent as her sparring partner, she still outmatched him with her agility and spins. Clint pounded his hands on the mat as he gasped for air. The choke hold was enough for him as he laid on his belly in defeat. Somehow his shooting arm got twisted around his back. "You win," he gasped while flipping himself on his back with his arms outstretched. Sweat lined his t-shirt and shorts. He watched her walk off to the kitchen before disappearing around the corner. In the distance, he heard a shower being started.

"Are you coming?" she called out for him.

Flames surrounded her as she felt hands wrap around her throat. Slowly, the smoldering eyes changed to flaming red. "You cannot escape from me, Natalia. Not even in death." He mocked back at her before crumbling into ashes.

She fell onto the ground until all was quiet. The heat died but then there was a sickening sound of footsteps coming towards her. A metallic hand reached out to her.

She bolted straight up. In the darkness, her eyes adjusted. She poked at the sleeping form beside her but he was in a dead sleep. He had one of the bed sheets entangled at his waist line. She gathered a bed sheet and wrapped herself in it before walking out onto the balcony. The humid night air whipped about her wildly, but something wasn't right. A chill ran up and down her spine.

She stared at the city skyline until she heard footsteps come from behind her as a pair of hands found their way to her breasts. He palmed them through the light sheet. "What's wrong?" He whispered into her ear. "Another nightmare?"

"You can say that again," she leaned into him.

To Clint, it felt like he was fighting Alexei's ghost still. No matter how much time had elapsed, it seemed that the Red Guardian made his lasting impression on the Black Widow. "Come back to bed."

She twisted around, while letting the sheet fall from her bare shoulders. "I don't think I'm ready. It's too soon."

"You never know until you try," he smirked.

Thanks for reading! Leave a review please. Until next time…