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Chapter 2
It was late, late enough to be early morning and the Avengers were finally flying back home from a battle. Some lunatic in Georgia decided that it would be a great idea to create new-world zombie-type creatures. It was a fierce two day battle; two cities were leveled and over a hundred casualties were a result. The Avengers had been running on next to no sleep when Kevin Helgo, residential creep who was responsible for this whole mess, walked out of his "lair" and just… surrendered. He wasn't losing, but he just gave up, smiling while Captain America read him his rights and cuffed his hands behind his back.
"Clint, call S.H.I.E.L.D, let them know to be ready when we get home. Tony, I need you to fly him home with you."
"Why can't he ride with you guys?"
"It's a long drive. We can't risk him escaping," Steve answered with a sigh and Tony rolled his eyes.
"What about Thor?"
"Don't be stupid Tony, he can't fly that far," Clint added, wrapping cloth around his bicep where a shallow cut bled sluggishly.
"Last I checked, I wasn't talking to you," Tony growled, teeth clenched, and turned sharply to Clint. He was tired, so tired, and angry and he missed Pepper and Clint was a loud-mouthed jerk and he just wanted to break something, preferably the pretty black bow Clint was so fond of, and he felt his hands clench and unclench, ready for action when Bruce looked up nervously. Tony sighed in defeat. His friend –possible best friend if he were to think about it- had been through enough stress and Tony would not be the cause of anymore.
"Fine," He grumbled. "I'll take Frankenstein back to the tower but I'm not filling out the paper work."
"Okay," Steve murmured, eyeing his team wearily. "Just- okay- whatever you say Tony."
And that's how Tony found himself flying over cities holding a criminal to his chest.
Tony arrived at Stark Tower just as the sun began to peek over the horizon. He unsteadily stepped onto the balcony and "accidently" dropped the sleeping criminal while he was taken out of his suit. The man jerked upright with a gasp but Tony didn't have to deal with him anymore because S.H.I.E.L.D agents were waiting for him and there was Pepper, leading him up to his room and he collapsed soundlessly onto the bed.
Steve watched Tony fly off then turned to the remaining Avengers. Wordlessly he led them to the truck – a truck, couldn't they have sent something bigger? He climbed in the cab with the S.H.I.E.L.D driver while the rest piled into the back. They quickly made the bed of the truck acceptable; Clint curled into Natasha's side and Bruce used Thor's cape as pillow. With the gently hum of the truck to lull them into sleep, they slept for the entire trip back home.
Bruce was the first to wake upon arriving at Stark tower. He stretched out his aching body and jumped over the side. He saw Steve being gently shaken awake in the cab and he looked down on the two agents and demi-god. Natasha and Clint were curled around each, Clint's arm was wrapped protectively around her waist and his arm cushioned her head and she, in return, had one hand pressed to his chest and the other resting on his hip. Bruce smirked and wondered how long they were going to keep lying to themselves before reaching over and nudged Thor.
"No!" he cried out and lunched up before realizing his surroundings. His shout had awoken the master assassins and they were instantly on guard. Clint was reaching for his bow and Natasha brought the gun from its holder on her thigh in one fluid motion.
They assessed that there was no immediate danger and slowly lowered their weapons. Clint gave Thor a curious look and Thor smiled sheepishly before stepping over the edge.
"My apologies for waking you," Thor said heartily as the two assassins stood and stretched.
"No harm, no foul," Clint murmured throatily, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck. Thor looked confused briefly before shrugging off Clint's strange words and smiling largely.
"Come, now we must do the questioning!"
They followed Thor inside and up to the "S.H.I.E.L.D. level" and were surprised to see Tony already there. The man was notorious for avoiding work but the scientist was sitting in a metal chair, staring through the two way glass at the criminal.
When Tony made no acknowledgment to them, Bruce cautiously stepped toward him.
"Tony?" Bruce reached out and his hand was almost touching Tony's shoulder when Tony sprung from his seat and turned to the group, clapping his hands with his usual smirk in place.
"Alrighty, let's do this. This guy creeps me out way more than he should and he's not staying here any longer than he needs to." Bruce gave Tony a look over and deemed that nothing was wrong with the outside of Tony and followed the short man closely as they made their way into the interrogation room.
Tony stormed in first with Bruce following closely behind. Steve and Natasha were next followed by Clint, who was attempting to explain the phrase "no harm, no foul" to the Æsir behind him. As the Avengers filed in, the man's smile grew and a chuckled formed in his throat.
"Oh good," he chuckled. "I was afraid you wouldn't be here." Then he cleared his throat as if he had the most important thing to say, eyes never straying from the door.
"Your brother sends his love," his tongue ran over his teeth and Steve heard a familiar crunch and lunched forward but the cyanide was already swallowed and the man was gurgling laughter. The Avengers looked over at Thor, who had paled and Mjolnir fell from his grip.
An agent rushed in and ushered the Avengers out. Thor's face crumbled and he looked down at his empty hands.
"Loki –I thought… I thought he would stop all this," he mumbled.
"It doesn't make sense. My father stripped him of his magic. How could he-? Unless…" Thor turned and stalked toward the elevator. The Avengers followed closely behind him. Thor took the elevator to bottom floor and marched outside, staring up at the sky.
"Father," he shouted. "Father I need your help!" Two black crows flew down from a nearby tree and squawked. Thor turned with a smile to his lips.
"Father, I need your help," he repeated at a quieter level and the silent Avengers watched at Thor addressed the birds as if he was talking to the All-Father, and they wondered if he had finally gone mad.
"Will you help us find Loki? It would be easier for you, as your eyes are everywhere." Thor continued, oblivious to the strange looks being directed at him. One of the crows cawed and Thor nodded and gave thanks before they flew off.
"I will have Loki's location before the day's end." Thor said confidentially. At the confused looks he smiled largely. "My father has had two constant guardians over Midgard; the crows. If anyone can find Loki, my father can." Thor proudly boasted.
As it turned out, their favorite villain wasn't too far away and the crows returned within minutes, cawing loudly to Thor.
"Are we ready?" Thor asked, holding out his hand to summon his beloved hammer. Tony jumped and smacked Thor's hand down.
"No! You can march yourself upstairs and retrieve it like a normal human being. It took me weeks to fix the damage you caused from last time."
Thor smiled down at his small friend and walked into the door. When he returned, he found that Tony had his Iron Man suit on and the rest of the team, haggard as they looked, was ready. The Captain stepped to the street and hailed a cab while Thor told of Loki's location and where to meet before attempting to capture him. The Avengers, minus Tony and Thor, started to climb into the back of the small cab when Bruce twitched and gripped the frame of the car tightly. Tony watched with worry and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey Bruce," Tony said, anchoring the shaking man into his human form. "Wanna sit this one out? I mean- you've been through a lot-"
"No," Bruce said sharply. "The rest of the team's just as tired. I'm not staying. It wouldn't be fair." His argument might have been more convincing if he hadn't convulsed sharply during the end, making his voice go soft and weak. Just the thought of the upcoming threat made his hands clench uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry Brucey, but I'm making an executive decision. Stay here and hold down the fort. Do some yoga, bang some drums," Tony nudged Bruce back toward the tower and the cab drove off. Tony jumped into a hover and looked back to his friend. "Just stay out of the weed until I get back!"
Bruce laughed and he could hear Tony do the same on the communicator in his ear as he flew away. Thor gave him a small smile before twirling Mjolnir and jumped off, leaving Bruce to walk back into the tower alone.
Thor and Tony only had to wait for a few minutes at the rendezvous point for the others to show up. Once they were together, they marched into the forest with stealth, but needed not. They could hear Loki's shouts from yards away.
"Fenrir!" he shrieked and the Avengers looked warily at each other. They decided that Thor should lead this, as he knew his brother better, and the Captain fell back without hesitation.
Thor marched on and the Avengers surrounded Loki within seconds. Watching through the brush, Thor saw Loki, dashing frantically, still shrieking the strange name. He was pale, paler than he'd ever been as a child, and rail thin. Thor stepped into the clearing and Loki froze, eyes wide and glistening with unshed tears.
"Brother," Loki fell to his knees. Thor was shocked out of movement at the familiar term Loki refused to say normally. "Please."
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