Deliverance

Chapter One – The Plan

The comm link buzzed with life as a message came through. Bruce quickly pressed the button so he could hear the transmission better.

"—there? Hello? Anyone there?" Tony said through the speakers, his frantic voice barely making it through.

"Yes, I'm here," Bruce said, quickly adjusting the controls so he could hear him loud and clear. "What is it?"

"Something... something's wrong." Tony's voice was quiet and breathy. He sounded terrified.

"What's happened?"

"It's Steve... he's not... something's wrong, I don't know what happened... he's different..."

"What do you mean he's 'different?" Bruce asked, leaning closer to the speaker.

He could hear Tony's breath almost constantly catching in his throat as he spoke. "I-I don't know. I was in a room with him, and there was another man, and... and Steve's—" His voice cut off.

Bruce was far passed concerned now. "Steve is what, Tony? What's wrong with him?"

Tony's voice was louder and more panicked now. "He isn't Steve anymore."

One Day Ago – Avengers Tower

Bruce sat at one of the metal desks in the lab, studying Tony's notes about repulsor technology. He found them very interesting, and Tony said he wouldn't mind the extra mind to help him with his suits. He leaned back into the chair to stretch his back, picking up the papers so he wouldn't have to stop reading.

Bruce didn't usually hear much through the thick walls surrounding the lab. The walls had been made soundproof to stop the sounds of blaring music—and explosions. But Bruce never dabbled in that field of science; that was Tony's job.

But today, muffled voices were being allowed to make their way into the vast lab, and they were sparking Bruce's curiosity. He listened closer, placing the papers back down on the desk. He recognized it as Thor's voice now, and he sounded angry. Bruce left the lab in search for the conversation that seemed to be irritating Thor.

He found them quite easily because of how far Thor's voice carries.

Bruce entered the lounge, seeing Tony pouring himself a drink behind the bar, and Thor—looking quite angry—standing on the other side of it, gripping Mjolnir in his hand.

"It's nothing personal," Tony said, shrugging. He took a gulp of his drink before continuing. "He's just not on the top of my rescue list. If S.H.I.E.L.D. has him held somewhere, it's obviously for a reason."

Thor opened his mouth to say something, but he saw Bruce before he did. Tony eyes followed Thor's, and he noticed him, too.

"Bruce! Finally, some sense in the room," Tony said, glancing at Thor pointedly.

Thor's jaw clenched. Bruce cleared his throat and took a few steps inside the room. "What's going on?" Bruce asked.

"Thor's broth—" Tony started, but he was interrupted.

"Loki's back on Midgard, but he's been kidnapped by S.H.E.I.L.D.," Thor said, now facing Bruce.

Bruce took that in for a moment. He wasn't sure if "kidnapped" was the right word or not. "Are you sure he's not there on purpose again?"

"Yes," Thor replied boldly.

"But how do you know?" Tony said. By the look on Thor's face, Bruce came to the conclusion that it was not the first time Tony had asked him the same question in the last ten minutes.

"I'm sure we can figure this out," Bruce said, looking to Thor. "When was the last time you saw Loki?"

"On Asgard, last week."

"Okay. Is there any chance he could've escaped?" Bruce asked, folding his arms.

"Escaped?" Thor asked, tilting his head slightly.

Bruce nodded. "Yes, escaped from... wait, you didn't contain him?"

Thor's eyebrows lifted. "Contain him?"

"Yes, contain him. As in imprison him," Tony said slowly.

"I did no such thing. Of course, he was questioned and held for a few days, but nothing more," Thor said, seeming slightly offended. "He posed no threat to Asgard when he returned there."

"So you're saying he had free rein to do as he wished? To come back here with another army?" Tony said incredulously. His drink had been placed back down on the bar, forgotten.

"You know nothing of what truly happened, man of iron," Thor said accusingly.

"I was there when he tried to take over the entire planet," Tony reminded him. "Who's to say he won't try again?"

"He will not attempt it again, this I can swear to you. He was not alone in his endeavors, and if it had not been for the others, he would not have done what he did."

"That's convenient. The 'others,' sure..."

Bruce decided it probably wasn't a good idea to allow them to continue. "Stop it."

Thor and Tony both looked at him.

"Fighting isn't going to help anything, it never does," Bruce said, looking back and forth between them.

Thor's grip on Mjolnir loosened. "Fair enough. But I'm going to him, no matter if anyone comes with me or not. I was simply giving you the choice."

"Choice to what?" said a new voice from behind Bruce. They all looked to the doorway to see Steve had walked in.

Tony spoke first. "Thor says Loki was kidnapped by S.H.I.E.L.D., and he's going to go and get him." Bruce couldn't help but notice how much Tony sounded like a child who was tattling on someone.

Steve's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would they kidnap Loki?"

Bruce had to admit, that wasn't the question he thought Steve would ask. He was thinking it would be around the lines of what Tony had said, but nicer.

"Because he's a war criminal? Man, am I the only one who woke up today and remembered when he tried to take over the world?" Tony said, obviously worked up about it all.

"That's not what I meant. What I meant was, why did they have the chance? I thought he was on Asgard," Steve said.

"He wasn't imprisoned on Asgard," Bruce said, hoping to stop another on of Tony's jabs.

"Why?" Steve asked, sounding completely calm and curious.

Thor looked over at him. "Because he didn't need to be." He noticed Steve's confusion and continued.

"When Loki was here, when he tried to take over Midgard, he wasn't himself. When he was returned to Asgard, he also returned to his older self. I do not expect any of you to understand this, because you had never met him before and you don't know him. But I do."

"So you're saying he was being controlled somehow while he was here," Steve said.

"Not exactly," Thor said, looking pained that it had to be this difficult to explain. "But something like that."

Bruce listened to Thor's explanation, his mind working through the information and making connections to Thor's behavior during the battle—or what he remembered of it, anyway. He did remember that before Thor had ever tried to fight his brother, he tried to reason with him, as if to try and make him see sense.

"And you said you're going to go and check things out, Thor?" Steve asked.

"Yes," Thor said, nodding once. "I know something is not right, and I must help him."

Steve nodded. "I'll go with you."

Tony nearly did a spit take. "What?"

"We're a team now," Steve said. "If Thor says something's wrong, I believe him."

Bruce could tell that Tony really didn't like the idea. He wasn't even sure if he did.

Tony rolled his eyes slightly. "Fine, then. A team's a team. Count me in."

Bruce exhaled quietly, still unsure about it. But if he was going to be a part of this team, of the Avengers, he had to participate somehow. "I'll keep up the communication in the quinjet," he said. "I don't think I need to be out in the field, especially if it's anywhere near S.H.I.E.L.D.."

Bruce sighed at the newly made plan. He knew something was wrong, but whether or not it was Loki being kidnapped, he wasn't sure.

"Alright then," Tony said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Let's go save ourselves a super villain."