Meanwhile, in New Mexico...

[agent_cupid]

"Are you sure we're in the right spot, Boss?"

Clint eyed the starry sky over their head with a skeptical look as he maneuvered the SHIELD-issued SUV down the abandoned stretch of desert highway. The skies overhead were clear and bright and utterly empty except for a quarter-full moon and thousands of stars. It was a beautiful night - something they didn't see many of when on base in New York City, so it was nice, despite the fact that it was the middle of the night and they were in the middle of the nowhere.

Oh yeah, and they were chasing aliens. Because that was a completely normal thing to do these days.

"How did this become our lives? Seriously? Are we actually out here looking for little green men?"

Comments

[thunders]

Thor came around in a haze of confusion, some small stranger prodding at him, asking something he didn't wish to hear.

"Have care where you... hands..." Thor batted his hands away, or tried to, the effort entirely in vain because the man seemed to have so many hands all at once. He called his hammer to him instinctively, but there was no answering call of magic, and his hands clenched into fists, Mjolnir's name on his lips.

This couldn't be. This couldn't be.

Loki's voice cut through the haze of confusion as sure as any knife, and Thor reacted instinctively, eyes widening. "Brother!"

He reached up to shove irritating the mortal out of the way, scrambled to his feet just in time to see Loki collapse. Pure fury overtook any other emotion and Thor growled, charging for the man who had dared to harm his brother.

[agent_cupid]

Clint had barely registered the second body, trusting that one to Coulson while he felt for a pulse on the one he'd hit. Did he have a pulse? The way he was dressed made Clint suspect that they were runaways from a Ren fair or they really weren't from around here.

And he would have heard about a Ren fair near here by now, they'd been here almost a week. It's not like there was a lot to do for entertainment in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere New Mexico.

Although when he herd the tell-tale sound of a taser, his head jerked up in alarm in the direction of his boss. "You did not just.... Please tell me you didn't just tase the nice alien, sir. Isn't that grounds for... hell, it's not even an international event anymore, is it? What is it now, interstellar? Intergalactic? Interplanetary? This was not covered in the briefing, sir."

There wasn't time for him to get an answer, or even babble out more of a protest, because really, tornadoes and aliens and what the hell was this? Either way, his half-panicking was interrupted by the inert, incoherently mumbling male on the ground in front of him suddenly coming to with a ferocity and lunging at Coulson, knocking Clint over in the process.

Clearly Clint hadn't hit him hard enough the first time.

His foot shot out on instinct, taking the hulking blond man down to land face first in the dirt before he'd even gotten a step. Clint stared down at him in mingled annoyance and horror. "Okay, I'm sorta sorry about that, I didn't really intend to do that, but man, I just hit you with my car, you really shouldn't be moving like that and my boss will tase you. Just as a warning. You might want to stay there till we get this sorted."

Grimacing, Clint rubbed the sand off him and cast a disgruntled look in Coulson's direction. "I think it's a little late for the 'We come in peace' spiel, isn't it?"

[phil_coulson]

He stepped neatly out of the way as the second body fell, reloading the taser as he moved. By the time the man had spit out enough dirt to try getting up again, the weapon was pointed at him. Aliens who looked very human and spoke their language seemed unlikely, but not every Incident was going to be like Roswell. The man, whatever he was, was awfully lively for someone who'd just been hit by a car, not that Coulson was complaining.

"I think that's his line." Coulson replied, nodding at the man on the ground.

He backed off enough to kick a knife away from the darker man's limp hand, noting the sudden tension in the blonde - concern? - confusion and realization. More confusion.

"He's only knocked out and I'd rather not do it again. We're not here to fight." Coulson lowered his tazer again when the man didn't move, though he suspected that had less to do with trust and more with the unconscious brother. He seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes open, let alone fighting. "I think you both need medical attention."

"Do not touch me or mine again again, mortal." He shot Barton a narrow glare before trying to sit up. He made it onto his arms unsteadily before falling back down again muttering something that sounded like a curse. "We have no quarrel... Leave."

He didn't try getting up again. It looked like he was down and out this time. Coulson turned his attention to Barton.

"Check him for weapons. We should have medics here soon." He set to work on the darker one, rolling him onto his side. "Are you alright, Barton?"

[agent_cupid]

Clint's hands were already skimming over the blond giant's still form, searching for weapons and not having much luck. Either he was unarmed or very good at hiding weapons and Clint was a little hesitant to start searching where no man had gone before on an unconscious alien. This day was already freaky enough, thank you very much.

"Sir, I just drove through a tornado and hit an alien with your car. I'm not sure 'alright' encompasses things right now."

Still, he lifted his head and shot Coulson a searching look. "Are you alright?"

[phil_coulson]

"Not exactly how you wanted to spend your vacation?" The tone was apologetic, if not the words. He hadn't expected any of this.

Coulson's lips pressed into a thin line, his hand slightly unsteady as he lifted it away from the unconscious and now fully unarmed man. There were a lot of strange things in the world, he knew that first hand, but that was why he threw himself into his job. He didn't have to worry as much about how he felt when he was too busy figuring out what he needed to do.

He stood finally and brushed some sand from the collar of his suit, the gesture entirely pointless, but it gave him somewhere else to look. "Sure." Relatively speaking. He wasn't unconscious, and that was always a plus.

There were flashing lights in the distance already, coming closer fast. From the comm chatter, it had to be theirs. "Let the EMTs take a look at you too. Then, if you're up for it, we have a temporary base to secure."

[agent_cupid]

"You always take me on the best dates, sir," Clint quipped in return as he dusted the sand off his jeans - a futile attempt, but he tried anyway.

"Also, that was so not convincing. You're slipping, Boss-man."

Clint made a face at the mention of EMT's. "I'm fine. The SUV took the brunt of the damage anyway. And that guy," he added, jerking a thumb at the blond giant he'd accidentally hit. "I can help with the base, though."

[phil_coulson]

"I try." Coulson's response was automatic, and he shook a little dust from his tie before giving up entirely. He still liked the desert more than Starksitting, but not by much.

He didn't respond to the latter part of Barton's teasing, but he took a slow breath so his hands stilled and his features were neutral again long before the first car pulled up. He gave Barton an assessing look and considered arguing, but in the end he just nodded. "Come on then, let's get back to work."