Avengers, Loki, and the Wild

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Marvel characters; however, the character, Elsa Wild, is indeed mine. The character, as well as the story, is inspired by a book I read called Into The Wild one year in middle school.

Chapter 1

Loki couldn't help being drawn to…something. He didn't know what it was, but here he was, in the depths of the Earth, trying to find it. Whatever it was, someone, or maybe more than one, buried it, most likely so no one could stumble across it due to it being dangerous or something of the like. Unfortunately for that somebody, Loki didn't much care for possible danger. Loki traveled through an old tunnel, which seemed to be carved many years back by some unknown civilization. The further he walked, the colder it was, something that did not hinder his progress. However, soon, he found the stone of the tunnel turning into solid crystal, which piqued his curiosity. He made a mental note of coming back to collect some, maybe to use in a spell to try to destroy the Avengers or something. He had started to become bored of late. There was nothing his devious mind could come up with. He was out of ideas of how to take over the world for the time being. But, for now, finding out what caused him to come to this place would do for the time being.

At the end of the tunnel, he reached a cavern, the walls and ceiling made of, not surprisingly, crystal, just like the tunnel. However, in the center of the room, was, sitting on a crystal pedestal, a chest-like box. It was old and worn with lots of scratches and carving all over it. At the same time, it was emitting a power that Loki has never felt before. He slowly walked over it, observing the fine runes engraved into it. Tentatively, he reached out and touched the box. Loki could feel the power pulse against his hand, almost like a heartbeat. Suddenly, needing to know, Loki went to open the box…to find it was locked. Not just by one lock, but dozens. Not wanting to give up, however, Loki used his magic to undo them. It didn't work at first. It wasn't until the 11th try that Loki was finally successful. And when he was successful, the lid flew open, shooting a blinding light towards the ceiling, causing him to have to look away, especially in such a reflective place. When the light died, he turned around to see…a woman.

She was a beauty, with long black curly hair and dark red eyes, leaning to the color of blood. Her skin was that of porcelain's doll, it seemed. She wore a heavy velvet red dress and, upon her head, was a gold crown with a single ruby in the center. The woman was definitely a sight to see. She smiled at him with red lips, which, for some reason, caused the God of Chaos to shudder on the inside. He was the Liesmith, so he could see deception a mile away. Just by looking at her face, he realized that she must have been locked away for a pretty good reason. She tilted her head at him, almost making her coy. "So…you're the one I've called to save me from my retched prison, aren't you?" she asked, looking at him, head to toe. Loki raised an eyebrow at this. "And how would you have known to call me when we've never met?" Loki asked her.

The woman laughed with the sound bouncing off the walls all around them. "Because, Loki, I have my ways," she said. Suddenly, she was right in front of him, her lips near his ear. "I can give you whatever you want, you know. I know what you want, what you crave, what you desire most in your life. Please, let me give you your heart's deepest desire," she whispered. She then withdrew from him, waiting for his answer. "And what is my heart's deepest desire?" he asked smartly, crossing his arms.

"To belong, is it not? You wish to be around people who respect you for who you are, for your talents. You wish to not be told who you must be. No, you wish for a place where you are not judged, but accepted. Not belittled, but encouraged. Not hated, but loved," the woman said sweetly.

"How could you give me such? It's impossible," he scoffed at her, which only caused her to widen her smile.

"Because I am Elsa Wild, the rightful queen of this land and a powerful sorceress," Elsa said with glee. Loki observed her, but could not detect a lie. It was tempting. It truly was tempting. That was really all he ever wanted. Not the throne, but to be an equal. Elsa saw the faraway look in Loki's eyes, knowing he had caved in. She approached him and gently placed a hand on his cheek, causing him to be aware of the present. With a gentle smile, she slowly lowered her hand to his chest, right over his heart.

Loki could feel the warmth of magic spread through him. Suddenly, everything started getting blurred, and the last thing he heard was Elsa's laughter.

Chapter 2

"Thor! How many times have we told you to not eat all the Pop-Tarts?" Tony yelled, throwing the empty box at the said god, who was lounging on the couch watching the Disney princess movie Snow White. Thor easily caught the box and crushed it with his hand. "I apologize, friend Tony, but they are just too good not resist," he said with puppy dog eyes. Tony just made a "hmph" sound, pushed Thor's legs off the couch, and plopped down. He grabbed the remote and changed the channel to Thor's disappointment, but he remained silent. Tony was still channel surfing when Steve walked in, eating a bowl of cereal. "Morning everyone," he said with his mouth full.

"Gross," Natasha said, following him into the Stark Tower living room. Right after her came in Clint, who was…well, disgustingly eating a banana. This caused Natasha to go to the wall and hit her head against it before sitting down in an arm chair. "Boys," she mumbled. The others laughed. However, the laughter soon died when the distress signal started to ring throughout the tower. The laughter was replaced with groans. "But it's only 8 in the morning," Tony complained. Natasha, shaking her head, left the room to suit up along with the others. "Why can't bad guys learn to sleep in for once," Tony mumbled.

The sight that greeted the Avenger was definitely something they did not expect. A whole section of the city was completely covered with forest. The scary part was: The trees were taller than the tall New York skyscrapers. And, somehow, vines were reaching out of the growth, grabbing people and pulling them in. Yeah, this is a problem. Thor, using his hammer, aimed some lightning at a tree, but, to everyone's surprise, it didn't do anything to it. It just stood there, mocking them.

Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow went to try to save civilians from being pulled in while Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk decided to try to destroy the forest. Thankfully, at least the civilian front was going well. Of course, until a vine wrapped itself around Natasha's ankle. Caught off guard, Natasha was easily knocked off her feet and was starting to be dragged in. Clint grabbed onto her hand and started to pull her out of the vine's grasp. Steve soon joined. Unfortunately, with their focus somewhere else, they didn't notice the vines wrapping around them. Soon enough, all three of them were in.

At the same time, Hulk went to the forest's edge and grabbed a tree, trying to rip it out of the ground. It was no use. Thor noticed this and was astonished himself. This was enough of a distraction for a vine to wrap itself around Thor's waist, dragging him in. What seemed like billions of vines wrapped them around the Hulk, slowly dragging him in. Not far behind was Tony, who was trying his best to shoot the vines with his repulsor rays, but to no avail. He too was dragged in.

Chapter 3

Thor woke up to find himself on the hard ground, leaves beneath him. Slowly getting up, he looked around, taking in the sight before him. Everywhere he looked, he saw trees. However, these trees were different from the one's he tried to destroy before. These were foreboding looking, with their twisted trunks and lack of leaves. Looking up, he found the sky was a deep grey, almost black. The clouds swirled ominously, but, at the same time, in a weird way, as if magic were…Loki. This must be his little brother's doing. Sighing, Thor looked down at his hands and finally noticed…his hammer was gone. Mjlonir was nowhere in sight. Thor tried to call it to him, which, of course, didn't work. He was without his powers. Deciding to not just stand around, Thor started to walk forward, not knowing where to go. That's when he also noticed his friends were nowhere to be seen. Frowning, he called out, "Friends? Son of Stark? Banner's Son?

Lady Natasha? Anyone?" His only answer was silence. He continued to walk on, deciding to try to find the end of the trees. But, no matter how far he walked, there were still more dead trees. And silence. Trees and silence. Not even a small animal moved. Not even the wind blew.

Suddenly, he heard crying. It was so soft, Thor wasn't sure he heard it at first, but it was there. It wasn't just him. Thor quietly crept towards the noise until he found a figure, sitting on the ground, legs tuck to its chest, against a tree. Crying. "Hello?" Thor asked as softly as he could. The crying stopped. The figure looked up. "Is someone there?" a male's voice asked in return. The voice was familiar. Thor got closer and was shocked at the sight that greeted him. It was his little brother, Loki. Big green eyes looked up at him with fear. "Who are you? You…you aren't here to kill me too, are you?" Loki asked, suddenly struggling to get away. Thor merely held his hands up, showing he meant no harm. "Loki?" Thor asked. Loki gave him a look of confusion.

"Who's Loki?" Loki implored. Thor gazed down at his brother with concern. "Aren't you Loki?" asked Thor.

"I don't…I don't know."

"Who are you?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean-?"

"I just don't know!" Loki jumped up, more tears falling from his eyes. Thor then noticed that he was wearing a simple green tunic, brown pants, and brown boots. His hair was a mess, and he seemed even thinner and more gaunt than usual. Loki looked tired and worn, his eyes…not puffy and red like they should be. And the tears…they were perfect little drops of salty liquid, almost like crystals. This only confused Thor even more.

"Loki," Thor said, reaching out for his brother. This action, however, only frightened Loki more. Loki turned and sprinted.

"Loki!" Thor shouted, running after him.

Chapter 4

Steve opened his eyes to find clear blue sky above him. Quickly getting up, he found himself in a meadow, littered with flowers everywhere, surrounded by forest. After a minute of registering this, Steve soon remembered something important. His shield! He searched for it, but couldn't find it. The meadow's grass wasn't tall, so if it were still here, he would have easily spotted the red, white, and blue disk. Forcing himself to be calm, he looked along the forest's edge when he spotted a girl. She emerged from the forest, wearing a red cloak and holding an old picnic basket. A girl…A civilian!

Steve approached the girl, frantically knowing that he had to get her out of here. "Miss? Miss, what are you doing here?" He asked her. The girl, who was knelt down on her knees, looked up and giggled. "I'm picking flowers!" she exclaimed, holding up a fistful of daisies.

"It's too dangerous to be here. We need to get out," Steve told her.

"I'm on my way to grandma's house! These flowers are for her. She's sick, so I'm bringing her some goodies Mommy baked for her" she babbled, smiling widely.

"Why don't I get you to your grandma's house then?" Steve asked, trying to rush her out of here. The girl shook her head.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," the girl said, looking down.

"Well if I introduce myself, we won't be strangers, right? My name is Steve," he said quickly.

"Little Red," she whispered.

"Little Red? Like Little Red Riding Hood? I've heard that story…"

What happened next surprised him. The girl got up and slowly backed away from him, shaking her head, eyes filled with fear.

"Leave me alone!" she shouted, "Wolfie! WOLFIE!" In the forest's edge, right in front of him, Steve could hear growling. Not wanting to pick a fight, Steve turned and ran off away from Little Red Riding Hood, only to be faced with…

Chapter 5

Tony woke up and automatically noticed something was wrong. He could feel the dirt and leaves beneath. His eyes became wide. He jumped up, suddenly filled with lots of nervous energy. Tony looked around. Damn. His Iron Man suit was gone. His only way of protection was gone. Suddenly, his ears were filled with the sound of stampeding feet upon dirt. He found himself being surrounded by men, all in shining armor, on white horses. One held up a banner with a weird insignia with a red back drop. It was a shield, the upper left corner with a picture of an ear of corn, the upper right corner with a wizard's hat, the lower left corner with a crown, and the lower right corner with a sword. In the very center of it was a tree.

"You sir," a man said, looking directly at Tony. Oh crap. "What are you doing here, so far away from the village?" the man inquired. Tony just shrugged his shoulders. He started to get up, which caused each of the men to draw their swords.

"That is not an answer. What, good man, are you doing here? Are you an invader? A spy? A thief?" the man accused.

"Let us take him to the fair queen!" a knight shouted. The others then raised their swords, shouting some sort of…something in unison.

"Yes! Grab the invader! The spy! The thief!" the man shouted, pointing his sword at Tony. Shit.

Chapter 6

Hell, no, this was not happening. How the hell did her hair get this long? It was, what, about fifty feet long? How did she end up in this freaking tower, with its round and girly room. But, most importantly, how in the world did she, Black Widow, bad ass extraordinaire, get stuck in not just a dress, but the pinkest, most frilly dress she's ever seen in her entire damn life? It was just plain excruciating to look at her reflection in the full body mirror. When Natasha got her hands on Loki, she swore to herself that there would be nothing left of the God after she got through with him. As she thought of the many ways she could torture the Liesmith, Natasha didn't notice the call from outside. It called out again, grabbing her attention. She walked over to a small window and leaned out. At the bottom, thank goodness, was Clint.

"Hello!? Anyone in there!?" he called up to the top.

"Clint! Clint it's me, Natasha! I'm up here!" she called, waving her arms over the ledge.

"Natasha!? Thank God, you're alive!" he shouted.

"Get me down from here!" she called.

"How!?"

"I don't know! Use your arrows or-"

"I don't have my arrows!"

"What?! How could you not have your arrows?!"

"I don't know! My weapons are missing!" Crap.

Chapter 7

"Loki, wait, please! Listen to me!" Thor shouted, running after his brother, ducking and avoiding trees. Somehow, they managed out of the dead part of the forest, and were now in an area where the branches of trees were filled with dark green leaves, the sky sunny and bright blue in between them. Loki was not hindered by the trees whatsoever, being so nimble and fast and such. It wasn't until Loki made a mistake and tripped on a hidden root that Thor was able to catch up. Thor grabbed Loki's shoulders and pressed him against a tree, causing him to cry out in shock. Loki tried to fight back, but Thor was stronger.

"Loki…" Thor started.

"Stop calling me that! My name isn't Loki! You mistake me for someone else," he whimpered at him, looking away. Thor forced himself to calm down. "Then what is your name?" Thor asked.

"I told you, I don't remember! Get your big meaty claws off of me you brute!" he begged, turning his head back to stare at Thor, his eyes big, sad, and scared like a those of an abused puppy.

"What do you remember then?" Thor finally asked.

"How does that matter to you?" he asked, eyes widening even more if that were possible.

"Maybe I can help you find your name. Please, what do you remember?" Thor asked again patiently. Loki was shocked by his sincerity, and decided to answer his question. Thor watched as Loki's eyebrows came together in concentration.

"I remember running away from a man…a huntsman I think. He had his knife against my neck. He…he was going to kill me…but…but he didn't. He said he couldn't kill something so…innocent? Something like that. So he let me go," Loki replied slowly.

"And before that?" Thor pressed. Loki responded by shaking his head.

"I don't remember anything besides that. I just can't. It hurts too much to try," he sighed. Thor finally let go of Loki, who sunk to his knees on the ground, tired from what just happened. Thor had to think. What were they going to do? Is there anything that he could do for his brother? Loki looked up at Thor, who was now deep in thought. He then looked past him and up at the sky.

"We should go. Night is approaching, and the forest is most dangerous at night," Loki said quietly. Thor nodded and helped Loki up to his feet. He allowed his little brother to lean against him as they started to trudge on.

Chapter 8

Bruce woke up tiredly, finding himself in a dark, damp, and cool room. He noticed the walls were made of stone, and in the stone were several areas with chains. He then looked up to find his hands chained to the wall, not allowing him to move his arms no more than an inch. Sighing, he sat back against the wall, all the energy seeming to have seeped out of him. He narrowed his eyes in the darkness, making out a form in the far right corner. The figure moaned slightly, shifting in its spot. "Hey," Bruce whispered toward it. The figure moved a bit more, now knowing there was a presence of another. "Hello?" a too familiar voice asked.

"Steve?" Bruce asked.

"Bruce?" Steve asked in return. The two just sat and stared at each other for a long time. "How did you get here?" Steve finally asked.

"Not sure. I think I was unconscious," Bruce said with a shrug, "You?"

"I was surrounded by knights. I was trying to get a civilian out," Steve responded, "but, get this, it seemed she didn't want to go."

"Really?" asked Bruce, raising his eyebrow.

"Really. And, she said her name was Little Red, like Little Red Riding Hood." That caused both of Bruce's eyebrows to shoot to his forehead. Before he could reply, however, a wooden door that they didn't notice before opened. With the new light available, the two Avengers watched as Tony was violently shoved in, causing said person to fall hard on the wooden floor, causing him to groan in pain. The door quickly closed. Tony, now the new member of the "How the hell did we get here and why" club slowly sat up, continually to groan in pain. "Tony?" Bruce asked.

"Guys! What the hell is…Bruce! Why are you chained up? Shit, we better break those," Tony babbled quickly. He and Steve approached Bruce and tried to remove the restraints, but it was no use. They weren't budging. "Hey, uh, bud? You know what would really help? Maybe if you let the big guy out, we'd be out of here in no time," Tony suggested.

"I'm not risking that Tony," Bruce said, giving him a pointed look.

"Fine, fine, it was worth a try," Tony said. The door opened again, much to everyone's surprise. The leader of the group of knights entered, his helmet removed. They couldn't help but gape.

"Fury?"