Chapter 4: Mischief Making Heathens
Loki Jr. rode the elevator down and down to whatever level he had randomly picked. He really didn't think this through… Something his father would deathly frown upon. However, his father wasn't here. Therefore, he didn't have to worry about it, right? There was just a small…diminutive…detail that wouldn't let his mind rest. The ache and longing in his heart for paternal love. The second part of him that was his father. He was "Loki Jr." after all.
There was also a strange feeling of…independence from his dad. A sort of detatchment. Ever since their parting, Loki Jr. felt as though he'd become leader of his small, yet filled with love to the brim, family. He had always had to watch out for his sister. Like maybe he was…of higher ranks.
No.
He wasn't allowed to be at a higher ranking than that of his father.
Never.
Not in any of the nine worlds.
None could surpass his father.
Absolutely no one.
Ding!
Loki Jr. felt the lift lurch abruptly to a halt. The elevator doors screeched open before Loki Jr. The view wasn't pretty, nor was it a total waste of space. Loki Jr. stole a glance at the elevator's control panel. BL, it read.
This was the Basement Level.
It was also the Lab.
…
Okay, this is okay, Steve told himself silently. There are only two angrily fighting children running amok throughout the building!
Steve paused his pacing, looked up at the ceiling, and wiped his gloved hands down his face.
"Who am I kidding? This is a SNAFU!" Steve cried out to the vacant room.
Steve then proceeded to slap himself across the cheek and pulled together a steely glare. He stood up straight as a stick as if still at Boot Camp.
"Pull yourself together, soldier, and go, go, go!" Steve lunged for the exit, ready for his mission with a hoot and a holler.
Before he was able to step onto the lift, he found himself nose-to-nose with a lanker frame. A happy guy with a grin plastered on his face from ear to ear. The other man stepped out of the elevator, letting the tiny birdcage free of his heavy weight. He still wouldn't stop smiling at Steve.
"Hello, Patriotic Man!" Thor greeted, his tone only spilling over with contentment. "Are you playing a game of hide and seek with the children? It is a joyous game indeed. It is also their favorite!" Thor was laughing with a sparkle of remembrance in his eye.
Steve swallowed a hard brick that lay at the top of his throat.
"Hi…Thor…" Steve began, almost losing his footing on the completely flat surface of the carpet. Honesty is the best policy…Honesty is the best policy… Steve reminded himself several times, although it wouldn't help his mind or tongue to form words.
"Why do you shake and turn pale, Mr. Rogersson?" Tor inquired, his sky blue eyes glittering with curiosity and his expression impassive.
"Uh…" Steve mustered, his voice cracked and gone like a summer breeze. He was locked in place, staring up at this taller and mightier man.
Right when Thor opened his mouth to speak, the elevator doors burst ajar and Tony popped out. Tony's face was blood red and his arc reactor glowed a bright blue, showing that he was fully-fledged angry. Tony stormed to Steve and poked the super soldier in the chest.
"YOU IDIOT!"
"I beg your pardon, Man of Iron?" Thor took Tony by the shoulder and turned him around forcefully. Tony staggered for a moment dizzily before regaining his dignity. Tony dusted himself off and scowled at Thor, his accusing finger now stabbing the mighty thunderer.
"YOUR STUPID NIECE AND NEPHEW ARE IN MY LAB!" Tony screeched for the whole building to hear.
Now it was Steve's turn to grab Tony by the shoulders and bring him down just a notch. Tony shrugged him off vigorously, snarling curse words.
"Mr. Starkson, please." Thor begged calmly. "Do not worry. I am sure that you haven't built anything harmful to the user or those around them."
Tony paused and his lips curled into a crooked crossbreed between a frown and a smile. His eyes twinkled with mischief.
"Uh, yeah, about that…" Tony began.
Steve stepped over to Thor's side. He gave Tony a scowl and crossed his arms.
"Tony, what did you do?" Steve prompted.
"Indeed, I would like to know as well." Thor pressed.
Tony gulped, "So…what if I told you that I created a Hulk-Gun that used almost as much power as the Hulk to decimate anything it's aimed at and it could malfunction at any second?"
"TONY!" Steve yelled. "Why would you even think about that kind of contraption?!"
Tony shrugged. "I dunno. I did make the Iron Man suit that's fitted to a kid's size…" Tony looked off to the wall over Thor's shoulder and his eyes widened. "OH CRAP!"
"We must get downstairs before-" Thor started to say.
"SIR, THE SOUTH WALL OF THE TOWER HAS BEEN PENETRATED FROM THE INSIDE." JARVIS reported over the intercom in the wall.
"JARVIS, perform security measure double five seven one. Now." Tony commanded the computer system coolly.
"YES SIR," JARVIS replied, obeying his master and creator's demand.
"Alright, guys, let's go!" Tony told the other two as he squeezed past them, his small stature making this all the easier. He got the elevator working and popped right in, the other two following closely. He was closest to the control panel in the elevator because he was the quickest at hitting the buttons. "Awwww!" Ton suddenly broke down on the elevator floor, then stood up again.
"What's wrong, Tony?" Steve asked.
"Oh nothing…I just left Bruce down in the lab with the kids…" Tony tapped his foot impatiently and his eye twitched.
Thor and Steve exchanged glances. Two fighting kids, a Hulk, and dangerously untested weapons? Only disaster could ensue.
When they finally got to the lab, there were two children, but no Bruce. Loki Jr. and Lilli chased each other around beakers and the tables that shook under the vibration. Tony slid to a table's side just in time to catch a container filled with glowing red goop. He cursed under his breath at the two before regaining his posture and dignity. He pointed at them accusingly, making them pause mid-play and stare back at him.
"YOU!" Tony stabbed the accusing index finger farther in front of him, "You could've leveled the whole perimeter with this!" he held up the beaker filled with the destructive substance, making the liquid inside slosh around. "Where's Bruce?!"
"The mad man?" Loki Jr. asked. "I was practicing my conjuring by teleporting him around the laboratory."
There was a whimpering from the corner and the three men turned to see Bruce. He did look crazed with his hands on his head and his eyes wide. Tony dared to approach him, but slowly.
"Dr. Banner, it's okay. It's me, the awesome and amazingly smart Tony."
Bruce eyed Tony, still shaking as he tried to harness the monster inside. From where Steve stood at the elevator, he could see the enlarged blood veins that blemished the doctor's skin due to the increased heart rate. Steve watched as Bruce took a deep breath and tried to compose the Hulk once more, covering his eyes so that he couldn't see his nervous teammates or the nerve-racking one, Tony. When he tilted his head up again, the veins were invisible again and Bruce's eyes changed back to their normal hue. Everyone took deep breaths, glad that the green guy was well under control.
"That was close," Tony stated, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. He whipped around to Lilli and Loki Jr. angrily. "As for you, don't you dare do that again! Do you realize you almost turned us all into dust?! Maybe you should go back behind the freaking dumpster where we found you!"
"Tony," Steve said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.
Thor placed an even larger hand on the opposite shoulder. "Mr. Starksson, perhaps a punishment less brutal would suffice." the large man suggested, squeezing Tony's shoulder persuasively.
"Yeah, Tony," Bruce added timidly from the corner, "Their magic could be used for testing. Teleporting is actually kind of fun after the initial shock."
Tony clenched his teeth as a wave of pain attacked his shoulder, "I…gr…suppose we could…punish them some other…way!"
Thor released Tony and the shorter man staggered forward, clutching his upper arm and wincing. Thor smiled triumphantly while Steve crossed his arms in small satisfaction.
"Okay, JARVIS, you can take the shields down." Tony told the robot and the cheery, disembodied voice came back with a "yes sir". "By the way, has anybody seen Clint or Natasha?"
Everyone exchanged glances and shook their heads.
"I haven't seen them since yesterday." Steve replied, his eyes trailing to a nearby table blankly.
"No duh, Capsicle, we all saw them yesterday." Tony countered. "I wanna know who saw them recently."
"I have not seen our assassin friends, either." Thor put in.
"I've been in the lab since this morning," Bruce said.
…
Steadily, Loki Jr. and Lilli had snuck out of the room and onto the elevator, careful to escape the adults' angry gazes. In the awkwardly cramped space of the lift the children stood in silence until the ding! that alerted them that they were on the desired floor. They gladly escaped the birdcage and flopped onto their uncle's bed.
"It is a good thing that you remembered what floor was Uncle Thor's bedroom!" Lilli said, letting out a breath upon impact with the mattress.
"I suppose it was quite nice that we escaped that horrid mob…and Uncle Thor." Loki Jr. told his sister. He then leaned in closer. "With Uncle Thor around, I do not think that we shall be able to escape."
Lilli came to attention, meeting her brother's gaze. "Why?"
Loki Jr. had had time in the elevator to choose his words decisively and think about the situation.
"Uncle Thor will be tracking us down and keeping Mr. Starksson from throwing us out." Loki Jr. answered. "Our plan to annoy the mortals to the full extent is going to fail."
"Oh…" Lilli sounded flustered.
Loki Jr., picking up on his sibling's mood, decided to change the subject.
"When you were telling me about your dream earlier, what were you about to say?" he inquired, leaning in closer as if about to hear an intriguing secret. In which, it was.
Lilli looked at her hands that were firmly pressed into the mattress and blankets. She blushed slightly and shyly, not wanting to meet Loki Jr.'s eyes.
"Well…I saw Father," she began in a hushed voice, "and he told me that h-he was coming for us. He said that he h-had a plan to take us back and never let anyone take us away ever again. He also told me that we cannot trust the Avengers. Not even Uncle Thor."
Loki Jr. pulled back and patted his sister on the back in a comforting gesture. Lilli leaned in and rested her chin on her brother's shoulder. Loki Jr. felt hot tears fall onto his coat and soak his shoulder.
"Don't you worry, Lilli," Loki Jr. whispered, "when Father comes he will be true to his word. Remember when I promised you that we would see our father again?"
"Mm-hm," Lilli uttered and nodded her head as best she could.
"I did not think we actually would. And now…" Loki Jr. broke off, unable to finish with a cracking voice.
"I understand, Loki." his sister whimpered. "There was also something else Papa told me."
Loki Jr. continued to be comforted by the presence of his sister and asked, "And what was that, dear sister?"
"He has hostages."
….
"Ugh," Natasha muttered as she opened her eyes. She felt like she'd gotten hit by a truck and left in the middle of the street for additional abuse. Natasha fidgeted and tried to move. Wait a second…she couldn't. What the heck was going on? That's when she got a full take on her surroundings. There were boxes and crates everywhere. Classic old abandoned warehouse. But why were they all upside down? She struggled and looked up, only to find that she was looking down at a concrete floor. Natasha struggled and swung back in forth. She could feel extra weight and warmth behind her.
"Hey! Hey! 'Tasha!" Clint's voice rang loudly from behind her, echoing off of the warehouse walls.
"Clint!" Natasha yelped joyfully, happy to hear a familiar noise amidst the entire obtuseness. "What's going on?"
"I don't know, you tell me." Clint joked, "I just woke up a few seconds ago. Ugh, my head hurts…"
Natasha took a look around and rolled her shoulders. There was a high-pitched clinking noise.
"Chains?" she inquired.
She snapped to attention when an evil chuckle could be heard from all around. She scowled at the very sound. Only one enemy she knew had a laugh as annoying as that.
Loki.
Uh-oh! The evil green-clad guy with issues is back! Okay, so, thank you to the one who did review and all of the others who favorited and followed! I've decided that if I don't get any reviews, I will not update. To make things crystal-clear, 3 reviews=new chapter, no reviews=no new chapter. It's not torture, it's just not fair! Ha ha! :)