Gabriel came to slowly, hearing hushed voices around him first, before opening his eyes to the white blankness of a hospital room, and the voices stopped. He glanced around, and there were several people in suits in various positions around the room, and even, frighteningly enough, two heavily muscled men with guns. Who did they think he was to have set up such a ring of protection?
The agent closest to him was familiar, and after a more careful glance, revealed to be Alivia from the coffee shop that morning. "So, you're into patients and nurses? I think I can handle that…" He tried, his jest falling flat to even his own ears. He fell silent again, glancing about the room. It appeared to be a normal hospital room, despite the abundance of security, and the IV drip in his arm containing a strange, luminescent substance.
"You can leave now." Came a voice, and Gabriel turned to see a figure in black, with an… eyepatch? What, had he been kidnapped by a bunch of secret agent pirates?
"Sir, if you can kindly explain why I am here, I would appreciate it. It's not every day that someone gets abducted by Iron Man and wakes up surrounded by armed men!"
The figure sighed. "Tony was right, you're really milking it. Look, Loki, we know it's you, so cut the innocent doe eyes. We know you somehow managed to slip out of Asgard's grasp. For once the council was right. We should have kept you here."
Gabriel shrugged. "You're spewing fairy tales to me, Captain." He sighed, "What is this stuff, anyway?" The liquid almost seemed drawn to his skin, pulled by an unseen force.
The man was about to answer when the door nearly flew off its hinges. "Fury, I must speak with you immediately." A voice boomed, and Gabriel winced as the blond man entered. God, whatever that serum was, it was giving him a splitting headache.
Gabriel fell back against his pillows as the two men left the room, speaking urgently about something. He sighed, hoping he still had a job after what had happened at the shop. After several minutes, in which Gabriel had considered trying to slip away, the two returned, and Eyepatch removed the IV. "It seems there was a mistake."
Gabriel sat up completely, "You bet your ASS there was a mistake, sir. One of your pet heroes decided that I was a threat, after giving him no threat, no harm. And apparently, one of my best customers works for you. How long have I been considered such a threat?"
Fury shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We want to offer our sincere apologies for what happened, and… as your manager fired you when we took you away, we would like to offer you a job working at Avenger's Tower. Some of the girls, Alivia included, can vouch for the deliciousness of your cooking. You will be completely compensated for any lost salary, and your pay will be considerably more than what you are currently making. We have six super-humans to feed, finding a cook is harder than you'd think. You'd be given your own set of rooms, and help moving."
Gabriel couldn't believe his ears. "Why would you do that? I can find work on my own…" The blond man glanced at Fury, before saying, "Certainly, but would anyone make you so fine an offer?" "Might I have time to consider?" Gabriel asked, getting slowly out of the bed. He nodded. "Of course."
Gabriel stepped shakily to the bathroom just to the left of his bed and closed the door. His head was still buzzing painfully, and he splashed some cold water onto his face, before reaching for a towel. A sudden movement in the mirror caused him to look up, and suddenly his own face morphed before him, into a twisted, evil, grinning mask, eyes gleaming madly. "Take the job. Get me closer." A voice not unlike his own hissed, before it melted away, and Gabriel passed a hand in front of his eyes. "As if my life couldn't get weirder…" He murmured, before stepping out. "I will take the job." He replied. "I'll pack up tonight."
Thor gave him an uneasy look, before clapping. "Well then. We shall prepare for your arrival. I daresay someone shall come to get you tomorrow around noon, yes, Fury?" The other man nodded, and Gabriel made his way out of the room, and was escorted out of the building by a guard.
Gabriel had very little in the way of possessions, and his things were packed quickly, other than the furniture that had come with the apartment and his cat, Sleipnir. He curled up on the faded green couch, the large gray tomcat in his lap. His head continued to ache, and at one point while packing, he fancied he had seen a pair of eyes watching him.
His dreams that night were nothing short of insane, dreams of himself handling knives and daggers and all manner of weapons with the absolute greatest care, lovingly and delicately sharpening each of them, and naming them by strange and fantastical names that he neither had heard before nor understood. He dreamt of blood, death, destruction, lies, and when he woke, he was unrested, and found himself wishing that he had not slept at all. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he sat up and looked at his phone. "Sweet shit!" He yelled. It was already ten minutes to noon. He'd fallen asleep at a decent time, but his dreams had apparently caused him to sleep much later than he ought. He ate a muffin he'd bought a couple of days before, and moved his boxes down to the entryway of the building. He'd wrapped things up with his landlady the day before, and sat there waiting for his ride.
At almost one o'clock, Gabriel was getting impatient, and was considering calling the number on the otherwise blank card, but something held him back and whispered, "Patience." Gabriel was considering taking his things back upstairs and not moving, when a large red car pulled up outside the apartment. "You there, or am I going to have to drive away?"
Gabriel couldn't believe his ears. After what had happened the day before, they had the audacity to send Stark to get him? He opened the door and dragged out his things, Sleipnir bouncing after him. "Where's your driver?" He asked, after he'd finally managed to shove all the things into the back of the car. "Or are you slumming today?" He doubted he owed anything to Stark at this point, even if their encounter the day before had spawned this new job.
Tony raised an eyebrow at him, and grimaced at the cat. "He's going to shed everywhere…" He muttered, "Whatever, it's your cat. Let's go." He ignored the 'slumming' comment. "I thought you'd appreciate having the hottest driver in town, Gabe."
Gabriel shrugged, "Well, when the 'hottest driver in town' is the man who lost you a job you highly enjoyed, it puts a damper on things."
Tony grinned and started the car, turning up the music and revving the engine. "Well, I would say that I'm sorry for what I did… but problem is, I'm not."