A/N: Thank you to everyone who takes their time to review. You guys make my day with your lovely remarks!

…...

Tony backed away as quickly as he could, his back finally hitting the hard, cold wall. The god was nowhere to be seen and the mechanic took a deep breath. Just as he was about to make a run for the door, Loki appeared in front of him. His hands snaked around the smaller man's neck and raised him off the ground, Tony's hands frantically trying to loosen the choking grip. Stepping over to the window, the god of mischief stared down at the long fall from the top floor of Stark Tower, before hurling the man out the window. Tony felt shards of glass cut into his skin but those were the least of his problems. He was plummeting towards the ground but this time, his wrists were completely bare. No suit to save him now. He clenched his eyes shut as his face made contact with the hard concrete.

Shooting up from his lying position, Tony growled. Angrily throwing the covers of him, he stomped down to the lab. "Jarvis, turn on the lights please. And get me an espresso. Actually, make it a double. And turn on some music, would'ya?"

"Of course sir."

…...

"What's that?"

Tony turned his head to look at Bruce. "Hey, you're back."

Bruce smiled and stepped closer to the worktable. When he noticed what looked like small paddle electrodes he moved closer. "What are you working on?" he asked, suspicion leaking into his voice. The engineer smiled up at him and flipped a switch on the machine. It whirred to life, lights turning on in various places. The quiet hum of electricity could be heard and Bruce moved in to inspect the device. "Unless you're planning on switching your current career for that of a doctor's, I don't see why you'd need that."

Tony rolled his eyes and shut the machine back off. "This," he gestured to the machine, "is going to help me sleep."

"How exactly?" the other man asked, one eyebrow raised.

"I've been having nightmares for the last couple of days and I'm sick of it." Tony started to pack the machine up, latching extra components onto the larger box. "So I decided-" he lifted the large box into his arms with a grunt. "That every time my heart starts racing, this-" he hoisted up the machine with a huff and then started walking towards the elevator. "Should wake me up with a light electric shock."

"How light?" Bruce asked with uncertainty, falling into step with Tony. When they got to the elevator, Tony struggled with the machine as he attempted to push the elevator button and balance the device in his hands. Bruce rolled his eyes and pushed it for him and the pair stepped in. "You worry too much Banner. Do you really think I'm stupid enough to electrocute myself? Wait, don't answer that!" he cut in when the other man opened his mouth. "The point is that with this thing, I should be able to wake up before Loki gets a chance to throw me out a window."

"Wait, Loki?"

"It's a long story. Go ask Clint."

…...

It was chilly outside. Bruce shivered and went to grab at the lapels of his jacket, only then realizing that he wasn't wearing one. Actually, he wasn't wearing anything. On instinct, he moved his hands to cover his private parts but after a look around, figured it was pointless. There was no one here

Standing up carefully, he squinted his eyes as he tried to see through the heavy fall of snow. It looked like he was still in New York.

Shuffling awkwardly, he tried to remember what had happened. Obviously, the 'other guy' had taken over but what had happened during that he had no idea. Taking a careful step, avoiding anything that might hurt his bare toes, he started trudging down the street. Maybe Stark Tower wasn't too far away. As he continued to walk, a strange smell hit him. It was a smell he knew well; the smell of fire and smoke. Just seconds after the stench hit him, he saw the dancing flames. A nearby building was in flames but thankfully there didn't seem to be any people inside.

Risking a closer inspection, he took a few steps closer to the building. As he came closer, he realized something was wrong. It didn't just look like the building had burst into flames, it looked like it had been hit by a wrecking ball. A wrecking ball with fists.

As soon as he recognized the telltale signs of a Hulk attack, he backed away from the building. His feet nudged against something soft and when he turned his head he spotted a gray blanket lying on the snow-covered concrete. As he bent down to pull it up, his fingers brushed against the ground. When he stood back up, he glanced at his fingers and realized in horror that it wasn't snow on the ground. It was ash.

In the blink of an eye, the cloud of what he now knew wasn't snow disappeared. What he saw stole his breath. There were bodies scattered everywhere, buildings surrounding the area and farther either in bright flames or completely demolished. "What wonderful handiwork. I must say, I couldn't have done a better job myself."

Bruce swiveled around, shaking violently. He pulled the blanket he was holding over himself but his hands froze when he saw the person in front of him. Loki was examining his fingernails with disinterest, sparing a fleeting glance at the physicist. "What have you done?" Bruce asked, his voice no more than a quiet whisper. The god of mischief heard him perfectly though, judging from his deep chuckle. "Oh, this wasn't my doing. No, this is all your work, doctor."

As Bruce glanced once more at the surrounding destruction, he felt that familiar snap of control inside him. He charged at the god but as he neared his target, everything went dark. The beast kept charging though, tearing at everything it could get his hands on, in hope of finding the demigod. Suddenly, the street lights turned on and the 'other guy' turned around. His harsh, deep breathing was the only sound as he looked at the now-scarlet street. Lying in semi-heaps on the ground were his-Bruce's teammates... or what was left of them...

He noticed the god of lies standing a few feet away, his ever present grin on his face. "Pity. I would have preferred to eliminate them myself."

Loki shrugged and then lifted his staff. With a loud crack, a ray of blue shot out from the staff and hit the building behind him. The Hulk actually refrained from laughing, was he planning to harm him with a measly building? He watched as the building crumpled down but seconds before it collapsed, Banner could feel himself turning back into his normal form. His scream drowned in the racket of the tumbling concrete.

…...

Tony woke up with a start. Ripping the small paddle electrodes off his arm, he shook off the small electric current that had just run through him. Okay, so maybe not the most comfortable wake up call but at least he'd escaped from the dream before Loki had been able to once again kill him off. Stupid son of a bitch.

Running his hands over his face, Tony flipped off his duvet and stepped into the bathroom. Splashing a good doze of cold water onto his face, he took a deep breath. Toweling off the water, he stretched out his arms and glanced in the mirror. Something was off. His arms fell limply back to his side as he stared at the small cut on his cheek. It was barely a graze but Tony still felt his stomach drop.

Right before his homemade alarm clock had shocked him, a knife had been flung at him. Just as it had grazed his cheek, his heartbeat had sped up and he'd woken up. Now, if he wasn't mistaken, and he rarely was, this cut was exactly where the blade had touched his skin.

"Jarvis. Wake everyone up. We have a situation here."

…...

"So, you woke us up, because you got a small cut on your cheek?" Natasha said with annoyance, her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall. Clint was slumped on a kitchen chair, staring at Tony with a murderous expression. Poor guy probably needed his beauty sleep. Banner, he noticed, was looking quite disheveled as in more-than-was-usual-despite-it-being-four-in-the-morning-disheveled. "Look," he began, deciding to start before everyone feel asleep on the spot. "Me, Tasha, Steve and I'm guessing Banner too, have been having... unpleasant dreams lately, to say the least."

At this, Bruce perked up and Natasha's expression softened slightly. Clint still looked like he was going to pass out. "What do you mean by 'unpleasant'?" Thor asked from his place next to Barton. Steve sighed and stepped closer to the group, crossing his arms over his T-shirt- it was sporting a large American flag and had been a gift from Tony who hadn't actually thought he'd wear it. "Thor, is there any way of... of penetrating other people's dreams."

Thor's eyebrows furrowed. "I do not think so... Why do you ask?"

"Because your brother has been showing up in our dreams and it's long passed the time where this could be considered a coincidence." Steve was starting to use his leader-of-the-group voice, making his way to the front of the group, staring at Thor.

The god of thunder froze at the mention of Loki, his whole body tensing. "My brother is being held captive in Asgard," he said angrily and every member of the team raised their hands in defense. "Easy there big guy," Tony cut in as he watched Thor clench his fists tightly. "Look," he started, eyeing Mjolnir carefully where it sat on the living room floor. "This," he gestured to the still bleeding cut on his cheek," was caused by your brother."

Thor opened his mouth to object but once again, Tony cut in. "I don't know how so don't ask me. All I know is that Loki might possibly be able to physically hurt us by hurting us in our dreams."

The god stared blankly at the group for a few moments. Clint shifted awkwardly.

Finally, Thor swiftly turned around and started walking towards the door. "Thor!" Steve shouted after him and the god stopped. "Where are you going?"

"If you believe that Loki has the power to harm you even from the confines of another realm, then I must go see him."

"Aren't you gonna change first?" Clint quipped and Thor looked down at his red pajama pants. He sighed. "Very well. Wait here and I will return to brief you on the matter."

…...

After a few minutes, the team was growing restless, with the exception of Clint who had fallen asleep with his head resting on the counter top. Just as Tony was about to storm into Thor's room and drag him back into the kitchen, the aforementioned god appeared in the doorway. He was clad in full armour and grabbed Mjolnir on his way to the kitchen. The team minus Clint huddled around Thor, who took a deep breath.

"My brother is being held at the far edge of Asgard. If I leave now, I should be able to get to him in a matter of three days."

"Let me come with-"

"I go unaccompanied. Bringing someone with me might upset Loki."

Steve crossed his arms and closed his mouth while Tony huffed. "Right. Because the feelings of the psychopath that tried to kill us, and is still trying, is all that matters."

"I go unaccompanied," Thor repeated, his voice now stern. Tony frowned but Steve simply pushed him away. He placed a hand on the god's shoulder. "Be careful."

Thor nodded. "The same goes for you my friends."

With that, he left. The team stood still for a couple of minutes before finally drifting off to their own bedrooms. Clint was left alone in the kitchen, sleeping peacefully on the counter.

…...

Clint cringed as he received yet another blow. His face felt numb and his throat felt raw and he could hear someone shouting. Struggling to keep his eyes open, he finally saw the face of his attacker. As soon as he recognized the face, the shouts became more clear. "Dad! Stop it! Stop it!" It was his own voice. Suddenly, the blows stopped coming. He looked up and found himself sitting in the middle of the street.

Standing up, he wiped his face with the back of his hand to find that there was no blood. Shrugging it off and shivering at the cold, he started walking. The atmosphere felt eerie and everything felt... wrong.

Out of nowhere, the stench of fire hit him. The air quickly filled with thick smoke and he coughed as he made his way forward. As suddenly as it had appeared, the smoke vanished. Left was a car, mangled beyond belief. Having been seemingly tossed out of the vehicle were his parents, lying on the ground.

"What are you afraid of?"

Clint swiveled around, feeling slightly nauseous. The sound of hisses could be heard all around him and the smoke from before was re-appearing all around him, creeping closer, reaching out it's dark tentacles. The archer reached over his shoulder out of instinct to find that his quiver wasn't strapped onto his back. He looked around frantically for anything he could use as a weapon against this unseen force, finally grabbing a large piece of glass from the car wreck. The edges of it cut into his hands but he felt numb to the pain as he looked around.

"Are you afraid of dying?"

He turned around to face the direction of the voice, but it was hard to tell where it had come from due to the fact that the hissing seemed to grow louder by the second.

"That your worthless human life will come to an abrupt end."

Again he swiveled around, looking for the source of the voice. His eyes were starting to water from the thick smoke and his throat and lungs stung with every breath. "Show yourself," he shouted into the smoke. After a moment of waiting, he could hear laughter. It was followed by a knife heading straight for him. His instincts kicked in and he dropped onto the ground. Through his watery eyes, he saw that he'd dropped straight down next to the corpse of his father.

Clint scrambled back onto his feet with slight panic, snapping his head back and forth, watching for more attacks. In his peripheral vision, he spotted a silhouette. Moving quickly, he was able to dodge the knife that was flung at him. The smoke grew thinner and thinner until finally he could see Loki standing a few feet away. For every step he took closer to the archer, Clint took one back. Soon, the god of mischief had reached the car wreck and was standing over the body of Clint's mother.

He nudged it with his toe, looking at it with disinterest. Clint's grip on the glass shard tightened to the point that it was cutting deeply into his skin. Loki turned his head around briefly and Clint charged. He sprinted over to the god, ramming the shard into the side of his chest. Loki let out a shout and as the archer backed away, the god keeled over. Clint turned around and ran.

He looked over his shoulder and saw the god still lying on the ground. He turned at the next corner and came to an abrupt halt as Loki appeared right in front of him. His breath caught in his throat as something sharp was shoved into his stomach. He stumbled back a few steps, looking down to see the large glass shard protruding from his stomach. The god of mischief continued advancing, a sinister smirk on his face. "What are you afraid of?"

…...

"For the love of god Clint, wake up!"

Clint woke up gasping for air and his hands quickly moved down to his stomach. A pair of smaller hands grabbed his on the way and he moved his eyes to see Natasha. Shifting his vision slightly, he saw that Steve was carrying him and Tony was running right behind him. They were moving quickly down the hall, the soldier's footsteps echoing of the walls, a worried expression on his face. "Just stay with me Clint," Natasha said, gripping his hands tightly. "Just stay with me."

…...

A/N: Remember that thing about the shit and the fan? It happened.