It All Started In A McDonald's...

"OK, so what are we looking for, again?" Peter asked as I got to work picking the lock to the room where, apparently, all Rogers's analogue files were stored. Let me tell you – security in this place isn't brilliant. And I've perfected the art of lock picking to the point where it just looks like I'm using a key – hence never getting caught at school.

See, it was a good idea to bring Peter, mostly because, if Stark saw him with us, he wouldn't (hopefully) be too suspicious of us, since Peter usually kept us in check. Not that Stark ever reviewed the security footage unless FRIDAY thought she saw something suspicious.

"We're wanting files on the threat. Profiles on related attacks. Reports from the people who were convicted not that long back. That sort of thing," Loki said, as I pushed open the door casually like we had every right to be here.

"Right," Peter nodded, closing the door behind him as Loki flicked on the light switch. "And we can't just look on the computer files because...?"

"That requires a password and Stark can track what we've been doing, stupid," Loki said. "Whereas physical files just require a good rummage around."

"Duh," I added, starting to wander.

"Makes sense, I see," Peter nodded, before pausing. "But why do we have physical files as well as computer ones?"

"Because Rogers hates computers, and if there's a hack or a fire, we still have backups," Loki said, opening a drawer seemingly at random (we're making him do the top shelves since he's tall and it isn't fair but whatever). "Now shut up and get looking."

Honestly, I don't know how long we spent looking, because the place was huge – much bigger than they depict in movies. Nothing like a cramped storage cupboard. It was like Stark had said to Rogers, 'hey, what do ya think should go in this big empty room?' and Rogers just went 'paper' and Stark thought that was a sick idea.

I was knackered today, since Peter and I had had a long day at work yesterday, the only difference between us being he'd slept and I'd been on FaceTime with MJ the night before. That had left me in a pretty absent mood, as it were.

I expected to come in here all excitedly and see labels on boxes about really sick missions the Avengers had gone on before I had come. It would've probably been morally wrong to read about, but I wanted to know what happened in the New York invasion, and the Civil War, and the Sokovia thing... they were all so much cooler than fighting a crime boss with wings who turned out to be my friend's ex-girlfriend's dad, though that was cool too.

I asked about the Civil War and Sokovia thing a lot, but I didn't get answered in the way I'd hoped all that much. Loki was about the only person who'd give straight answers, but he didn't know all that much about either of those two instances, since he'd sorta crashed the party without knowing what was going on (that was sorta his thing). I knew Barnes would have some awesome insight into the Civil War case, and Maximoff would have some with the Sokovia one, but I daren't ask either because... well. Y'know. Reasons.

I mean, I had asked Barnes but the look he'd given me afterwards dispersed any future where I'd dare ask him anything about it again.

I'd also asked Maximoff, which had been worse, because she hadn't talked to me for a week afterwards, so I think I may have slightly over-stepped a line there.

We were cool now, and Barnes was same as always, but still.

The one thing I didn't dare do was ask questions about the New York invasion. I had a feeling Loki was more sensitive about that than he let on, and... well, he was already cooped up in here a lot and I imagined the last thing he wanted was to be reminded of that time he tried to destroy Manhattan.