*smallest spoiler for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but nothing that spoils the storyline of the show*

Two months. That's how long Katya and Natasha had had time off before they got dragged into another fight. 

With the fall of SHIELD, lots of bases and secret facilities fell victim to robbing and escaped prisoners. Lots of HYDRA agents made off with dangerous weapons and went underground, slithering back to into the shadows like the snakes they were. 

They were hard to trace and there were far too many to take on without a team. And that was the thing Katya was lacking. 

SHIELD agents found jobs everywhere else. Some applied to the CIA or another intelligence organization, some dove into a completely different lifestyle, wanting nothing to do with the intelligence business anymore. Others started working for private contractors, and there were even some who turned on their former employer: selling secrets and the tech they had.

Everything had collapsed, and there was nobody to clean up the mess. Like she had suspected, Katya hadn't heard from Fury after that day in the graveyard, which was the last place she had seen him. 

Someone she did get a call from, was another ghost, although this one was quite literally a ghost. 

Agent Phil Coulson, the man she had seen being stabbed through the heart and definitely dying. He called her while her and Natasha were somewhere between Thailand and Cambodia, driving through no-man's-land in an old jeep. It had taken awhile before she had even registered the sound, since nobody had called her for weeks.

To say that hearing his voice shocked her, was quite an understatement. She had almost cried, missing the man more than she thought. He had always been kind of a rock to her, a place of stability and someone she could just be herself around. Just like Fury, Coulson had the tendency to take people under his wing who could use some stability

After the initial shock had set in, he had told her about everything that had happened to him, how he was resurrected and why almost nobody knew about his existence. Apparently, he had been running his own team of agents and was rebuilding SHIELD on his own, with him as director.

He asked Katya if they needed a place to stay, in the hope they would stick around. But she knew that just being there would bring their undercover operation in danger. It felt good to know that SHIELD wasn't completely gone and that it was now in the hands of someone she trusted completely to build it up again, in the right way, but that part of her life was officially over and she had accepted that.

It had been silent after his phone call, and while they were technically on the run, Katya and Natasha were enjoying their life without a job. At least for a while. All the things they never had time for, they got to do now. Actually see the cities they were going instead of being on mission there, doing things because they wanted to and not because they were ordered to, just enjoy each other's company without always somebody around or someone watching. 

But even that came to an end when one morning (at least it was morning in Mumbai) Katya's phone rang again. She had gotten a new one, but apparently, everybody seemed to know her number. 

The air conditioning hummed softly in the silent room, while outside, the endless honking of traffic had never stopped. She turned around in her bed carefully, trying not to disturb Natasha, who had trapped her in her arms and had never looked more peaceful and calm. 

The bright screen blinded Katya as she looked at the caller ID. With the roll of her eyes and a silent sigh, she pressed answer, knowing he would keep ringing her if she ignored him.

''What do you want, Stark?''

''That is no way to greet a friend, Petrova.''  His cheerful voice was too much this early in the morning, but according to the time, it was evening in New York, assuming he was there.

''Oh, I'm sorry. What is it you require, Mr. Stark?'' Katya sarcastically asked, keeping her voice to a whisper. 

''Is your red-haired, scary girlfriend around? This kind of concerns you both.''

''She's sleeping. Lucky for you, you didn't wake her with your early morning phone call, unlike me.''

''Just wake her up and tell her that we have a situation here in New York that we could really use your help on, full team effort.''  There was some rustling in the background, like things getting picked up and moved around. Tony probably called through Jarvis, always the multitasker.

Katya was suddenly interested, knowing that he didn't call her for fun, but he actually needed their help on something. And according to the tone of his voice, it was quite serious, especially if it meant an Avengers Assembly. ''What is it?'' 

''Maybe it's best if my employee answers that question for you.'' Employee? ''Thanks Stark,'' Katya recognized the sarcastic and annoyed voice as Maria Hill immediately. She hadn't known that Hill worked for Stark now, but it made sense and Katya was actually very happy she stayed with the Avengers. They needed people they could trust and Maria was one of those people.

''Katya? Stark is right, we need your help. Remember Loki's scepter? Well, apparently, it fell into HYDRA hands after the fall of SHIELD, and knowing the power it holds and the destruction they could bring with it, we need to find it as soon as possible.''

''Why call us now and not before?''

''We only just found a lead on it. It is not much, but like I said, given the danger it proposes, every second counts. This is definitely an Avengers mission.''

Katya thought about it, like she was contemplating whether to say no, but she also knew the second Stark called her, she was in. The simple life had been fun as long as it lasted, but now, the world needed her again and to be honest, she had missed it a little.

''I'm sorry to pull you out of your break like this, but the team isn't complete without you two.''

''Of course we'll be there, just let me wake up Nat and we'll be there in-'' she looked at the clock on the nightstand, calculating the time it would take to pack everything, get to the airport and book a flight to New York- ''22 hours.''

''Actually...''

Of course there was already a Quinjet waiting around the corner of the motel. It had been one of the last ones to survive the fall of SHIELD, and instead of the giant bird on the wings, it now had a large 'A'. It was a bit much and not inconspicuous at all, but that was Stark, inconspicuous was not in his dictionary.

Katya was surprised to see that even the God of Thunder had made it to Stark Tower before she had Natasha did. Actually, it was Avengers Tower now, with the large sign on the top also being changed to a large 'A'. Again with the subtlety. 

The tower had been heavily damaged in the battle of New York, three years prior, and instead of just repairing the damage, Tony had seen it as his chance to completely renovate the otherwise perfectly good building. So now it held accommodations for every Avenger, with everyone having their own floor and state of the art technology and equipment. 

Stark had thought of everything; new suits for everyone, weapons that suited every Avenger perfectly, just everything you could want or think off was there. Anyone who said Tony Stark only thought about himself, was lying. The man had the biggest heart, he just put up an act for the world to uphold his image and protect himself. In reality, he was one of the best friends you could ask for. 

Although he did get a bit annoying sometimes. 

''Well, goodbye freedom, hello society.'' Katya sighed as the Quinjet landed on top of the tower and she went to grab her luggage, which was nothing more than one bag of clothes. Being a spy meant carrying little stuff so it was easy to move and quick to gather. 

''You sound way too bitter about that,'' Natasha smiled, walking towards the ramp and pushing the button to open it.

''I am,'' Katya pouted excessively. ''Two months without those guys full of testosterone and big egos and now we get all four of them at once. It's a cold shower compared to travelling Asia with you.''

Natasha laughed an airy laugh, stepping down the ramp and moving towards the outer doors of the tower, who were the end of their private time and the start of a new chapter: one as a full-time Avenger. ''Whether they like it or not, they need us. Without us, they would never get anything done.''

''That's definitely true. It's hard carrying this team on our backs.''

''I think you might be overstating things there, Romanoff.'' Steve's voice travelled through the corridor, his feet not far behind. The smile on his face was genuine, but there was also a hint of exhaustion behind it. It undoubtedly had something to do with the search for Barnes, which didn't seem to be going well. 

''Is she though?'' Katya joked.

''Hi Steve,'' Natasha greeted him with a small hug, which was new to Katya and Steve, who didn't see it coming but accepted anyway.

''You guys are looking good,'' he smiled while Katya gave him a handshake. She was happy to see him, but it also brought back a lot of memories she had pushed away. 

''You're not,'' Natasha observed concerned, seeing the same thing Katya saw. It didn't help that Steve was bad at lying and acting, so when his face fell, it became painfully clear that the search indeed wasn't going well. ''Search for Barnes isn't going well?''

''I'm not giving up on him.'' The determination on his face was enough for Katya to believe him. ''He would do the same for me.''

''No Sam though?'' Katya looked behind Steve into the corridor, but the soldier was on his own.

Steve shook his head. ''He's still out there. He's been a huge support.''

Natasha patted his shoulder in a comforting way. ''I'm happy you have him.''

Steve nodded his head in thanks, his head clearly somewhere else than the conversation. Like everyone else on this team, he didn't like opening up about his struggles. A therapist could earn serious money in this building. 

''Are you going to keep standing there, or are you going to say hello to the rest of us too?''

''Clint.'' Katya smiled widely and engulfed him in a big hug, which he happily accepted. Since the moment he trusted her into his home, he had always felt like a big brother, as someone more than just a colleague or a friend.

''Good to see you.'' He broke the hug, keeping Katya at arm's length, studying her carefully. Coming to the conclusion that she was relaxed and feeling good, he smiled even bigger. ''You look great, Katya. Everything went well? No trouble underway?''

Katya shrugged casually, shaking her head. ''No trouble at all. It was actually really smooth.'' Her blonde hair had grown a little longer over the past few months. Nothing too spectacular, but it fell over her shoulders now. She was still doubting over whether to cut it off again or keep it like this. 

Clint started walking towards the main floor, where undoubtedly the other two Avengers would be waiting for them. Katya hoisted her bag further up her shoulder and tried to keep up with his fast pace. ''But I'm ready to go to work again. Retirement is a little too early for me.''

''I thought you would say that.'' The hallways twisted and turned, on both sides dozen of different doors. Some with a tag glued to them, 'storage', 'lab 3', some with windows, but most were just plain black. Learning the layout of this tower would be a bitch, knowing how many floors it had and how many things happened in there.

''So where have you been?'' Clint asked, interested in their adventures. 

''Mostly Asia.'' Katya replied, getting used to her new surroundings, the cameras and the exits. Call it a habit. ''India, Thailand, we even went to Bali, but nothing compares to home and apparently, home is now this ginormous tower.'' She gestured around.

''You'll get used to it. Stark really thought of everything, I think you'll like it here.'' As if on cue, they arrived in the main room. Calling it a living room would be an offence to the gigantic space. Large, high windows covered the outside wall from top to bottom, left to right, giving an amazing view of the city. 

The first thing it did was give Katya flashbacks to the battle of New York, where Loki broke the first version of the wall. But she could imagine that tonight, when all the city lights were on, it would be an amazing view. 

It had a bar, some nice couches, a pool table and even a second floor. It was more of a balcony, overlooking the floor down below. Stark did an amazing job on it, which he knew all too damn well.

Tony strutted down the stairs, arms wide open as to gesture to everything around him. ''Ah the love birds have arrived at last. Like what you're seeing?''

''If you're talking about the room, I do.''

He moved to the bar, which was something you could catch him doing every hour of the day. ''Drink?''

''It is noon, Stark,'' Natasha playfully reprimanded him from behind Katya, but the blonde woman was already walking over to him. 

''I never say no to some good alcohol.'' Katya sat down at the bar, on one of the leather stools and watched as Tony poured some whisky for her. The jetlag was already bugging her, so some alcohol to help her with that wouldn't hurt anyone. 

He placed the glass on the counter with a fancy twirl of his wrist and a bow. ''One drink for the lady.''

''Oh so now I'm a 'lady'?'' She raised an eyebrow on her face.

Tony danced around behind the bar, moving to make himself a drink too. ''I want to keep my guests happy.''

''Guest, lady,'' Katya raised her drink, ''free drinks, what has gotten into you this morning?''

''What? I can't just be nice for once?'' Tony acted all innocent, sipping his drink casually and a little too fast for her liking. 

Katya narrowed her eyes, trying to find some sign of him lying, but there were none. ''Alright, I will accept it for now.''

''My friends!'' A loud voice came from the elevator and Katya didn't have to turn around to know who it was. ''It is good that we are all here together to look for Loki's scepter.''

Thor walked into the room, having surprisingly normal clothes on. It was weird to see the god without his armor on, but Katya liked this homey version of him. Besides, Thor was a giant teddy bear if you came to know him and was overall just fun to be around. 

''Hello Thor,'' Katya said across the room, giving him a little wave when he looked her way. 

''Ah, it is good to see you are back.'' His big grin was warm and open. ''Thank you for helping me. The scepter belongs on Asgard, not in the hands of humans.''

Natasha perked up at the mention of the mission, the reason they were all together today. ''Yeah, where are you with that. Katya said you had a lead?''

Maria, who had walked out of the elevator together with Thor, gave the tablet in her hands to Natasha, explaining what it said. ''We started monitoring HYDRA backchannels right after the fall of SHIELD. A lot of them activated when everyone moved back into the shadows.''

Katya slid off her chair, finishing her drink quickly and joining the others around the couches. 

''There is some chatter about important locations and things being moved, but they are very careful. Nowhere is the scepter specifically mentioned, but every clue, every lead we get could be important and is worth tracing down. The sooner we get this out of their hands, the smaller the risk at a catastrophe becomes.''

Katya peeked over Natasha's shoulder on the tablet, where all kinds of HYDRA encrypted messages had been decoded by Maria, all talking about assets and objects being moved and sold. But nowhere did it say what it was or when it would happen. 

It would take weeks, probably even months, spitting through all these messages, tracing everything back to the source and checking out every location. 

She knew it wouldn't be easy finding HYDRA's most valued possession, but this would be looking for a needle in a haystack. 

Katya sighed and said to no one in particular, ''Well, I guess we're back.''