There were lots of stupid things Tony had done in his life. Arms dealing. Trying to outdrink Thor. Frosted tips.

Trying to stop a god from taking out a chunk of prime waterfront real estate in a rage fit, no matter how justified, was definitely up there. But when were little things like common sense or self-preservation going to stop him?

"We're gonna get her back-" Tony put a hand on Loki's wrist, drawing it back because my god, his skin was tongue on a frozen flagpole cold and it was shaking with a rage that Tony would rather not send him into the wall.

"And how was she taken, Stark," Loki hissed, flicking Tony's hand away so fast his wrist nearly snapped. "How did Doom find her?"

"The guy has tech and magic and he's been trying to….do not nice things to you," Tony said. Best not use the 'k' word at the moment. "We should have kept an eye on her. I know you have magic and what I now realize is a healthy sense of paranoia, but we should have helped."

"How do I know you didn't help already," Loki said, low and menacing, taking a step towards Tony. "How do I know you didn't hand her over to him?"

"Because he's a homicidal maniac?"

Loki smiled, bright and bitter, and advanced towards Tony, nearly pinning him against the wall. "And whatever gave you the idea I'm not?"

"You saving those people from the flying car during that fight, raising a moderately well adjusted preschooler in New York. You know, things you've done." Tony drew in a deep breath, watched as Loki's icy rage began to melt. "And things you're going to do, to get her back, and you don't have to do it alone."

"I-" Loki's nostrils flared and his eyes closed, but his shoulders sank, ever so slightly. "Very well, Stark."

"That's a less than enthusiastic team spirit but it's a start." Tony clenched his fists in victory. "Lemme get the team and we'll give that Haunted Mansion of a Latverian embassy a call." Tony shook his head as he raised a hand towards his earpiece. "Seriously, thinking one of us handed over that little bit of Cap-loving adorableness to Doom. Who would be stupid enough to do that?"

Tony winced as his earpiece squealed in his ear. Either it was broken, or that was the "things are really fucked up" alert.

Well, it wasn't wrong.

"Clint, unless there's an apocalypse on the schedule, you need to get the team here-"

In hindsight, Tony would learn two things: he needed a better brain to mouth filter, and he needed to work on his poker face.

"Wait, what? You did what?!"

It was never hard to find the Avengers. Just follow the trail of carnage.

At least he was on the following side for once, Bruce thought, pushing his glasses back to the bridge of his nose. Not that he expected to stay, well, him, for long. Muffled explosions over the comm nearly drowned out Tony's insistent and increasingly louder requests to hurry the hell up.

"Hey." Natasha sidled up besides him, hand on his arm. He could feel the quiet thrum of the generators at her wrist. Funny how the Other Guy felt less inclined to snap Natasha in half these days.

Baby steps.

"Hey. So, not really Clint's best idea." He tried to make his voice more reassuring, and less gently fatalistic.

"I know." Natasha tensed her shoulders, sighed, looked upwards before looking at him with a flash of remorse to quick and genuine to be feigned. "I mean, I knew. That he was trailing Loki. We - Clint and I - were going to call in SHIELD, rescue the girl." She tilted her head, her bangs sweeping against her raised eyebrows. "I thought Loki would make her a pawn. Turn her into something awful. Can't imagine why."

"You aren't awful. Not anymore." Bruce furrowed his brow, pushed his glasses, which refused to stay in place, back up his nose. "Wait, you thought? Past tense? That seems a little generous."

Natasha tilted her head to the chaos crackling through the speakers. "You don't get angry like that when you lose a tool. He's still evil, but he cares about her. In his own way." She pursed her lips. "If he wasn't lying about that, maybe he wasn't lying about the magic apples either."

"Magic what?"

"Loki ran into me a few months ago. Told me if Clint did anything, he'd feed him these magic apples, make him live almost forever."

"That…seems really nice of him."

Natasha flexed her wrists as the Quinjet began its descent."Well, it was so he could torture Clint and he'd never die."

"Ah." Bruce slowly unbuttoned his shirt, a comfortable button down he'd rather not replace. "That sounds more like our unhinged demigod."

"Yeah. So if…the Other Guy could help save Clint from our mistake-"

Bruce smiled crookedly at the assassin. "I'm sure he'll do his best."

At least Clint wasn't dead.

Of course, Loki's fingers were clenched around his throat and everything was getting grey at the edges of his vision but he wasn't dead. Yet.

He wasn't sure how Loki and Stark had found him so fast - something he'd ask later if he was still alive. Once Loki started throwing him into buildings, Stark was nice enough to summon his armor.

Even that didn't explain why Clint was still alive and not a human pancake smeared against a brick wall. Or why Loki hadn't done likewise to the tourists screaming and fleeing for their comparatively pain-free lives.

And then there was a crackle of white, and Clint could see again. And breathe. Which probably explained the seeing. He rubbed at his throat as Thor pushed Loki, literally, into the bricks.

"Brother, his death will bring you no benefit." Years on Earth and Thor still sounded like someone from Shakespeare in the Park. Clint felt small but strong hands at his back, and damned was he glad to have Nat there.

Maybe she could help him work out the guilt and fear that said Clint deserved something. Maybe not death, but Jesus, he'd let someone even worse than Loki get ahold of the little girl.

"Don't worry, I won't kill him." Loki sneered and looked at Nat - wait why was he looking at Nat - with a menacing smile. "You can ask the little spider, she knows I will keep my word."

Thor furrowed his brows, but had the sense not to ease up on his hold. "Thank you, brother."

Nat groaned, but Clint felt her hands tense, the hum of an electric charge building at her wrists. Clint almost fell bad for Loki if he even tried to go through Nat to get him - not as if Clint would ever let that happen. "Don't thank him yet -"

Hulk thundered down the alley, and snatched Loki out of Thor's hands. Loki's smirk withered and his eyes bulged. Later, Clint would have sworn he heard a muffled yelp. Hulk shook Loki in his giant green hands. "Bad puny god. No hurt Hulk's…"

"Friends," Clint said, voice raspy. Hulk raised a brow, and Clint shrugged, rubbing at his neck. "Acquaintances?"

Hulk grunted. Loki tried to use the distraction to slip away, but the whir of Cap's shield above his head nipped that escape attempt.

"If all of you stop bickering, we can concentrate on the most important thing: rescuing Kara. Loki, that means you don't kill Clint." Loki turned a withering stare on Steve.

"If you had been here earlier, you'd know I have no intention of killing him."

Nat coughed. "At present."

"Fair enough," Loki said.

"Fine." Steve turned his gaze on Clint, and that guilt in his gut just bubbled up. "Clint, we need you to tell us what happened. The truth, no matter how much it hurts."

"I just wanted to keep her safe. I didn't mean for her to get involved-" Clint wanted to look away, but he had to own up to this before he could set it right. "But I did. What I planned to do was hand over Loki to Doom. Let him deal with him, kill him, whatever. And you and Tony could have raised her, or helped her find another family. All I saw in that deal was disaster. And then I went and made it worse."

Tony slid his face-shield back. "You did. You fucked up, Clint. But I am going to save the well-deserved lecture and possible ass kicking for after we rescue Kara."

"I'll do anything." Clint brought himself to his feet. "Go back to Doom, you name it."

Tony shook his head. "What you're going to do is tell us everything about his sadistic funhouse of an embassy, and every meeting you two had. And then you're going to sit at the tower and think about your life choices."

"But-"

"No buts. You're compromised." Clint wanted to have an objection, but maybe Tony was right. And he hated it when Tony was even possibly right.

"Pardon me for deciding how best to save my daughter from your meddling," Loki growled, as the Hulk reluctantly let him slide from his crushing hold. "But I won't be needing help from you. Or any of your traitorous little band."

"Hey." Tony held his armored hands up. "Just because Clint's a bad apple-"

"Come now, Stark. Clint is rotten, down to his twisted little core. I've seen it," Loki said, and his words hit Clint's chest like the tip of the sceptre. "All of you pitiful mortals are, and you were a fool to try to make me think otherwise. I will rescue Kara. I will take her far from your meddling." He took a menacing step towards Tony that made the Hulk growl and Thor lift his hammer. "And I swear, if anything, anything, happens to her, I will kill you all without mercy and without hesitation."

Loki turned his head, focusing eyes bright with unshed tears and barely restrained rage on Clint. "You. You can see them all suffer, beg for me to spare them, offer your life for theirs," he said in a low purr that set Clint's hair on edge. "And you can watch them all die."