Unexpected

Stuck Feeling Useless

I went back to the relative safety of Selvig's square of light and simply watched as everyone swarmed like a bunch of ants for about fifteen more minutes before a large team led by none other than Agent Clint Barton started marching out of the main room and down the hallway that lead to the black cars. Catching his attention before he left, I called Barton over.

"Be careful will you?" I asked him as he passed by.

"Of course." he answered giving me a half smile before shouting out an order to his men and leaving the main room. They were off to get Loki and the fact that they had finally located him really brought into perspective how far along the plan truly was. The team S.H.I.E.L.D. had created would be pushed to the edge and the Hulk would be released, then Loki, Clint, and the team would return and the invasion would begin shortly thereafter, probably within the same day. So much was going on and there I was sitting in an office chair being blabbered to by Selvig, unable to do anything to help or hinder. Sometimes I seriously wondered what the point of me was.

Once the team left everything seemed to go back to how it had been earlier that morning, busy but not the crazy chaos it had been once they'd pinpointed Loki's location. It was also far emptier in the main room than it had been basically since I had arrived in the underground headquarters. Since they'd gathered or hired so many people, at least a hundred since the day I was put on kitchen duty, it seemed almost empty to me.

"You're awfully quiet." Eric commented after a while of talking about relays or something of the sort.

"Hmm? Oh." I chuckled a bit, "Yes, I suppose I am. I have a lot on my mind. I've asked a lot of questions this morning and I've gotten a lot of answers. It's just a lot to think about, then there's this going on." I waved at the bustling crowd.

"It's exciting isn't it?"

"In a way, though that's not exactly the word I would use." I said giving him a smile. I looked him up and down once more and decided I couldn't stand it anymore. "Selvig. You look worn out."

"I know you're looking out for me, Penny. I appreciate it, but I really don't have the time to take a shower and take a nap like before." Eric replied interrupting me.

"I know, but at the very least would you button up your shirt correctly?"

He looked down at himself and chuckled, "I guess I was in a bit of a hurry."

"Suppose so." I forced a giggle as Selvig started unbuttoning then re-buttoning his rumpled shirt, "When do you think they'll be back?" I asked. The question had been bothering me ever since the team had left.

"Hard to say. They could- hey, would you hand me that pair of tongs? Thanks. They could be gone for something like twelve hours, or they could be gone an entire day or more. I'm not an expert on planes and taking back Master Loki could be time consuming."

Right then Ed and Ben came into the room with the sandwich platters. Noon had snuck up on me. "It's lunchtime already?"

Standing up I went and grabbed Eric and I a pair of sandwiches and I ate with him, sitting in the spinning armchair until Ed and Ben started off with the trays. Following them I walked through the cafeteria, then the kitchen doors. They didn't even really acknowledge my existence until I spoke up and started instructing them on dinner. I informed them that there would be fewer people at dinner today, to which they gave little response, then helped them bake cinnamon rolls for breakfast the next day. Once the cinnamon rolls were baking, I then told them the recipe for a chicken, cheese, and tomato pasta dish. Ben chopped up the raw chicken as I worked on the sauce, and Ed went out into the cafeteria to do more cleaning. Dinner was well on its way when Ben spoke up on his own accord, something he rarely ever did.