ONESHOT WEEK #1

A/N: Hey everyone, and welcome to Oneshot Week! This is the first story for Oneshot week, and I'm honestly pretty excited. I wanna see what kind of feedback I get from my readers.
Oh, and just in case you don't know: this week is my self-appointed Oneshot Week. I will be posting an Avengers oneshot every day all week, Sunday through Friday, with a surprise on Saturday. You have to wait and see what the surprise is.
But, however, we're also going to be playing a little game, all week. In the author's note of every story, I will be posting a riddle, puzzle, trivia question, or something of the sort that you will have to guess the answer to in your review! And if you get it right, I will give you a clue to the Saturday surprise in a PM (make sure you have PMs enabled!) There will be a new clue every day, so get your thinking caps on, solve the puzzle, and make sure to enjoy the oneshot!
Oh BTW - thanks everyone for participating in my poll! It really helped me! But, I have posted a NEW poll, and I'd LOVE to get some votes! So make sure to check out the new poll on my profile page!
~PJA

PUZZLE #1: A man rides into town on Friday. He stays three days, and then leaves on Friday. How did he do it?

The Final Blow

They are all torn up and scarred after the Manhattan incident. They are tired, broken, and will never be the same again. After parting ways, they all reconvene at Stark Tower, because they are tired of being alone. They realize that they crave the presence of other people after all this time, and each other is all they've got.


It is a quiet afternoon, or as quiet as it gets with Tony Stark around. They are all sitting in a circle of couches, clutching cups of coffee or tea, and in a vulnerable moment for all of them, Tony brings up the incident.

"Thor, whatever happened to Loki, after we sent him back to Asgard?" Tony asks the God of Thunder.

Thor, who is visiting temporarily visiting from Asgard, hesitates before answering. "Loki is imprisoned, under the watch of the All-father. I have not seen him since his imprisonment."

Bruce's fingers clench against the side of his cup. "Man, if I could get my hands on Loki…you don't know how satisfying that would feel. No offense to you, Thor," he adds at the end, motioning to the Asgardian. He nods in understanding. He knows the others have a hate for his brother. He knows Loki has done wrong, but he still loves his brother.

"Bruce, we'd all love to get our hands on Loki and give him what he deserves," Steve says.

"But only one of us can be the one who gets to lay the final blow on him," Natasha says.

Bruce looks down at his feet. "Well then…who gets it?"

It is utter silence for a moment before Tony shatters it. "Me, of course. Who better to deliver it than me?"

"I think it should be me," Bruce says. "I know that the one thing the Hulk wants is to see Loki smashed. Because Loki is a puny god."

"Why must we discuss this?" Thor interrupts, horrified that the conversation has taken this turn. "My brother is imprisoned on Asgard. My father is giving him his punishment. I see no reason to discuss his killing. He does not deserve to be killed, despite all the things he has done."

"Thor, what happens if he escapes?" Tony asks him. "Loki will simply wreck havoc on the entirety of the Earth. And someone will need to stop him, and possibly even kill him. None of us want to kill him, since he's your brother, but if it does come to that, we need to know who will have the job of doing so."

Thor nods, though the last thing he wants to see is his brother killed. "I understand. My brother has wronged you. But I still do not want to see him dead."

Tony pats the big man on the back. "Don't worry. If we don't have to, we won't."

"Do you think it's even possible for one of us to kill Loki?" Steve ponders. "I mean, he's a god, isn't he? Is he immortal? Is it possible for him to be killed like we would kill a mortal?"

"We'll just have to take that chance," Bruce says. "I'm not positive he can be killed, but if the Hulk can beat him to a pulp, I think that says something. Maybe, just maybe, he can be killed by us."

"I think that's a chance we have to take," Tony says, "if it ever comes to that."

"I think I should."

The other five turn their heads to the sound. It's Clint, who hasn't spoken up until now. He has a glazed look in his eyes, and is clutching a cup of coffee in his hand. The others thought he wasn't listening until now.

"What?" Natasha asks him softly.

He turns his head to look at her, his gaze softening. "I should be the one to deliver the final blow," he says, his voice cracked and hoarse. "You know what Loki did to me. I want to deliver that final blow. You don't know how fulfilling it would feel if I was the one to see an arrow go right through the middle of Loki's skull. Or his eye socket."

The room is silent. The others ponder his request. They realize Loki has wronged him the most of all. His mind was controlled by Loki, unable to do anything as Loki worked him as his slave, and could only sit back and watch as his body tried to kill the one person he loved the most. Clint feels the most hatred toward the God of Mischief. If anyone should be the one to deliver the final blow, it should be Clint.

"Alright," Tony says, yet again breaking the silence. "You've got yourself a deal, Legolas. If we need someone to kill Loki, the pleasure's all yours."

Clint grins. "Thanks." He looks out at his fellow Avengers. "Why's everyone look so down all of a sudden? Who's up for a game of Just Dance? Last time I checked, I was trumping you all."

"Liar, Barton. Natasha kicked your ass last time," Tony pointed out.

The grin disappeared from his face. "Only because she literally did so. But I'm definitely trumping the rest of you all this time."

"We'll see about that," Steve said as Clint got up to find the game, thankful for a great family of Avengers who constantly looked out for him.