A/N: Sorry about the late update. I have been exploring the wonderful world of BBC Sherlock fanfiction. For those of you who are fans of the show I'm sure you understand. Anyways here it is. My apologies for any spelling/grammar mistakes, I find myself too lazy to proofread. I also cringe when I read my own writing. Okay enough rambling enjoy, tell me what you think.
There was something about falling through a wormhole. It was almost peaceful. Like those camping trips he and Thor would go on when they were boys. Loki closed his eyes relishing the feeling of weightlessness. He was becoming more and more comfortable with the idea of oblivion. Unfortunately, life never liked it when he was comfortable. A hand tugged roughly on his arm, diverting him from the gravitational pull of the wormhole and through a different portal.
"Wait, why were you falling in the first place?" The super soldier asked, interrupting.
"Aw, c'mon Steve I was just getting into this story." Tony whined, Bruce nodded with agreement.
"Did Thor not tell you about my reign in Asgard?" They looked at him blankly, apparently the god of thunder hadn't. "Well that's a different story, a prelude to the events that involve you, but we'll get to it later. Now where was I?"
"You went through a different portal instead of dissipating into oblivion." Clint supplied.
"Right." Loki winced clutching his chest. A wave of pain consumed him suddenly. The archer turned to the demigod placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You alright there?" The concern in his voice was evident, it made the trickster's stomach twist. He wasn't used to people caring.
"It's just the poison, Barton, nothing to fret about."
"Actually, that is something to fret about." It was Bruce, who leaned forward in his seat, frowning. The dark haired man was worried as well. "Is there anyway to eradicate the poison? It'd be unfortunate if you died before we could here the end of this story."
"There is nothing that can eradicate this poison, if there was I would partake of it happily. Rest assured I wont die from it, if I was I would will myself to stay alive to finish this tale just for you, Banner." He bit out the last part sarcastically. They all still looked unsure. He sighed irritably, running a hand through his hair. The demigod didn't know why but he felt as if he needed to ebb their worry and added quickly, "It should be gone from my body within a few days, if that's any consolation."
"It isn't really. Would it be better if you were laying down?" Steve asked.
"There's nothing that would make poison flowing through my blood stream better, Rodgers." He deadpanned.
"No, I mean would you be more comfortable?"
"I suppose…" What does it matter if I'm comfortable?
"Good enough for me." The blond stood and walked over to him in two easy strides. Crouching down next to the wondering trickster, he picked him up easily.
"What are you doing!? Put me down."
"You told Clint earlier you weren't strong enough to stand. So I figured you wouldn't be able to walk to one of the guest rooms. Tony if you could lead the way." The ins and outs of Stark Tower still confused the super soldier. Tony nodded getting up from his seat heading towards the elevator, Steve followed with Loki in tow. Clint and Bruce looked at one another and shrugged following their friends.
"I hate being manhandled." Loki muttered under his breath.
"Sorry reindeer games, you shouldn't have gotten yourself poisoned if you didn't want this to happen." Tony retorted.
"How in the nine realms was I suppose to anticipate all of this happening?"
"No idea." They all shuffled into the elevator and went down a floor. Tony led them down a hallway to a door on the left. It slid open easily, revealing a spacious bedroom. The whole north was was made up of tinted windows that over looked Manhattan. There was a bed on the east wall, and a door to the bathroom next to it. "Well here we are. Is it to your satisfaction, your godliness?"
The super soldier set Loki down on the bed. "It's fantastic." His voice dripped with sarcasm. He sat at the center bed, legs crossed, back straight. Bruce came over and sat at the foot of the bed mimicking the demgod's position. The archer followed, however he took a more casual position by laying on his side. Steve sat on the edge one leg still on the carpeted floor and the other making a triangle with his foot underneath the other leg. Tony laid down, stretched across the bed parallel to the pillows behind Loki.
"What are you all doing?" The trickster asked eye brows raised.
"While I was hoping you might lay down. It looks like you wont be doing so. We might as well stay here, in case you pass out or something." The super soldier responded.
"If you do decide to lay down you'd have Tony's stomach as a pillow." Bruce added.
"Yeah, please don't. And since you seem to be comfortable, we might as well follow suit. We still need to hear your story remember?" The engineer said.
"Of course. Shall I get right to it then? I was pulled into a different portal…
On the other side were the Chitauri, about seven of them stood around him circling him in. He thought about attacking but even for a god he was greatly out numbered. They studied him carefully for a few moments. Normally he would have attempted to talk his way out of this, but he was not quite feeling himself at the moment. They started to hiss to one another, much to his discomfort, as if discussing his presence amongst them. He didn't comprehend any of it though, not being able to speak their language.
The Chitauri must have found him acceptable for one of them turned to him and spoke, "Son of Odin, we have been keeping a very close eye on you."
"I'm very flattered." He lied, trying to stay the shiver threatening to crawl up his spine. There was something about that slimy, hissing voice that both repulsed and scared him.
"We are in need of your assistance." Of course you do, he thought mentally rolling his eyes. Then the full weight of the aliens earlier greeting hit him.
"When you said you kept a close eye on me, what exactly did you mean?" The surrounding beings let out short hissing noises that closely resembled laughter. It was all the confirmation he needed. "You sent the men with those blue markings." The accusation was met with another round of laughter.
"Silly boy, we are the men with blue markings."
"How-"
"We are an old race of shape-shifters."
"You framed me."
"We showed you what you could be; all the havoc you could wreak."
"I had no desire to wreak that much havoc! You took a harmless prank and snowballed it into a-" A painful cry left his lips as one of the Chitauri from behind placed a hand on his face. Causing every muscle in him to wrench painfully. He fell to his knees, looking up as the alien who was speaking stood before him.
"Do not take such an insolent tone with us, boy. Or the pain will be the least of your problems. As I was saying, we require your assistance." The alien paused, expecting the demigod to cry out in protest. He didn't earring him a nod of approval. The latter continued, "What do you know of the tesseract?"
The trickster had not the slightest desire to answer. Yet his gut told him it would be best if he did. "It's the oldest source of pure energy in the universe."
"Do you know where it is?"
"No. It's location has eluded Asgard for years." He lied. He knew exactly where Odin hid the tesseract and so did the Chitauri.
"You lie. We have found it on Earth."
"How pleasant."
"You will retrieve it for us." The alien ordered. Loki was not fond of being ordered.
"You know for an ancient race of people you are none the wiser. You can't just order me to do your work, as I'd be, and I am, partial to decline."
"What do you wish for in return? We will deliver."
"I'd really like to not go to Midgard and retrieve the tesseract."
"That is not an option."
"Then I suppose we are at an impasse."
"Not quite. We have a way with persuading our guests."
"…well needless to say they managed to convince me to come here for the tesseract."
"How?" Bruce queried.
"It's not important." The trickster replied, his tone hinting that the subject was to be dropped. Yet their expressions of worry got to him. "Lets just say they have a number of poisons that do a number of things. It wasn't until they started making conceivable threats that my resolve to resist started to crumble. I led them to believe their brainwashing had worked and that I wished to rule your realm. Technically, there was no need for an army to do their bidding, but I had devised a plan that required making enough ruckus to get your precious S.H.I.E.L.D. to notice, enough to get Thor to notice. I had been sending doubles of myself with manipulated appearances to gather information. I learned of the Avengers Initiative, all I had to do was get Nick Fury execute it. When I came to Midgard, in the S.H.I.E.L.D. lab, my only targets to put under mind control were Barton and Selvig. The people I killed or brain washed were mirror images of myself. But mind control, for those of you who don't know, which is granted all of you, is very difficult to sustain without corrupting the victim in question. When Barton and Selvig came to, rest assured your archer here gave me hell."
"Came close to skewering his eye out too."
"Right, sure. Anyways, I was spared my eye when I quickly told them my purpose. If I could get Thor to come down here, and for you all to beat me, then the tesseract would be out of the Chitauri's reach. And I, the only one among them that knows how to use it, would be out of their way as well. Their plans to annihilate your planet among others would be completely foiled. Getting everyone to believe that I was a horrifying threat and having Selvig install a way to penetrate the shield around the tesseract and disable the portal were easy enough. The hardest part of it all was figuring out how to isolate the Hulk long enough to establish a mind link. Luckily Barton came up with a solid idea."
"A mind link?"
"Yes, Stark. It's usually used between fellow sorcerers and magic enthusiasts. It links one conscience to another allowing one or both parties to maintain control of themselves when performing a particularly difficult spell. Think of it as one person spotting the other magically. In this case I linked Bruce to my conscience so he could control the Hulk. Did you not think it odd that he was conveniently able to control the beast throughout the whole battle?"
"I just kind of figured…"
"What? That your faith in him alone would be enough fuel for Banner's willpower to control the Hulk? A touching sentiment, Stark- if not a little narcissistic, but completely stupid." The engineer looked a little crestfallen. The scientist was silent through the whole explanation, thinking it all through.
"But I couldn't feel your conscience." He said at last.
"It's not that you couldn't, it's just that you weren't looking for it and therefore the presence of a foreign conscience wasn't there. I suppose it helped that I set up the mind link while you were still the Hulk."
"Does that mean I can't control the other guy without you?"
"No. I severed the mind link just before you threw me around like a ball."
"Why? And sorry about that."
"Not a problem. My magic was running thin."
"So why are you back? Earth's not in danger is it?" Clint asked.
"No. When I went back to Asgard with Thor, I was followed by one of the Chitauri that posed as one of my guards. It almost killed me, fortunately, Heimdall killed the alien before it could kill me. He sent me here to Midgard as this would be the last place they would look for me. I'm here until everything blows over I guess, or until I find away to destroy them. Whichever comes first I suppose. Though why I'm here in Stark Tower is beyond me."
"Let me get this straight, you're here to hide. Fit in with the humans until you can find some way to get the Chitauri off your tail?" Steve clarified.
"That's the plan."
"You need a hair cut." Steve cut in abruptly.
"Excuse me?" The demigod looked over at him in surprise.
"He'll also need some new clothes. Can't go around Manhattan in a tunic and leather pants." The super soldier added.
"There's also the matter of where he's going to stay. Stark Tower is a way too conspicuous place to live for someone who's trying to stay under the radar." The scientist chimed in.
"Not a problem. I have an apartment or two to spare." The billionaire said offhandedly.
"It'll have to be near by, so we can keep an eye on him. Just to make sure we're all on the same page, S.H.I.E.L.D. knows nothing about this." Clint said looking at them. They all nodded in agreement, except for the trickster who was still trying to process their rapid fire conversation. Then after a moment added, "We should probably get him a job."
"I think I need to lay down now." The green eyed god said beginning to feel dizzy. Everyone looked at him, murmuring their agreement while getting up.
"We'll figure out the details in the morning, after you're rested." Steve assured just before they all shuffled out the door. Once gone the demigod laid back heavily, and fell into a deep dreamless sleep immediately.
The four men found themselves back in the lounge, suddenly exhausted. Tony checked the clock it was only nine in the morning, causing him to let out an almost inhuman groan. Bruce looked over at him, haven't had breakfast yet the man was making himself toast. Clint gathered his gear, slinging his pack over his shoulder.
"Well guys, I've got to go report to Fury. I'll be back later tonight though. Coming Steve?" The archer asked turing to the blond man.
"No, I'll stay here. Fury doesn't need a report from the both of us." The super soldier said, making himself comfortable on the couch. The brunet nodded and walked over to the elevator.
"Hold the elevator. I'm heading down to the lab, might as well make it one trip." Bruce said, scurrying over to Clint. He threw one last farewell over to the other two before the elevator doors closed. All was quiet in the lounge until the dark haired engineer piped up.
"Steve?"
"Tony."
"Do you really think Coulson's alive?"
"I think Loki's telling the truth, if only because I trust Clint, so yeah it's possible. But we wont know for sure until we start looking."
"Right. Jarvis?"
"Sir?" The computer program responded.
"I want you to hack S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database, find me anything and everything you can about Phil Coulson."
"On it, sir."