A/N: This chapter almost killed me . I hope you guys enjoy it! Please review :3
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 6
She Will Sink
The noise woke Rhodey from his sleep and made him look around. It was a grinding noise that made him fearful. He went to stand up and cursed loudly when he felt freezing cold water. The two others in the room jumped up as well, cursing colorfully in their native tongue at the cold water. The lights came on and Rhodey saw that the floor was flooded. The door to their room burst open and he saw Steve standing there, Clint and the girls standing behind him.
"Come on, we gotta go," He said waving them out of the room. Rhodey grabbed his shoes and threw them on along with a coat and quickly followed them out of the room. The whole time he wondered where the hell Tony was. He hadn't seen him all day. He'd told Loki where he'd been when he came looking for him and assumed that they were together. He just hoped things turned out okay for them all.
But he had a bad feeling that they wouldn't. They followed the rats down the hallway, the water creeping up on them from behind. They pulled on warm clothes and coats and hats as they went, talking idly to keep their minds off of what was really going on. The unsinkable Titanic was sinking.
The shudder had chilled Bruce Banner to the bone. He carried the plans through the hallway as quickly as he could. His glasses fell down the bridge of his nose and he pushed them up in irritation. He had an idea about what was going to happen and it scared him. If he was right…they were not going to last the night. He clutched the plans close to his chest as he scooted around a pair of people in the middle of the hallway. He prayed to God that he was wrong, that for once he wouldn't be right. But he knew he was. He knew they had no hope.
The shudder passed and the two men nodded to each other. It was time they put an end to Loki's behavior and execute Fandral's plan. Odin threw open the door to the stateroom, catching the attention of a passing steward. The man stopped short.
"Sir, stay inside, there is no reason to panic," He said. Odin held up his hand to stop him from talking.
"Yes there is," He said harshly. "My family and I have been robbed. Get the master-at-arms." The man looked at him a bit flustered. "Now you imbecile!" He hollered making the steward jump and run into action. Odin watched him go before turning back to Fandral who came walking out of the stateroom.
"Things should go smoothly from here," He said with a slight twitch of his lips. Odin chuckled and clapped Fandral on the shoulder.
"Get Volstagg and Hogun out there looking for them again," He said. "You know what needs to be done." Fandral grinned and went back into the stateroom, stopping short when he came face-to-face with a very angry Thor. He smiled at his longtime friend.
"What's with the face, Thor?" He asked, honestly taken aback by his hostile expression towards him. Thor didn't say anything, he merely shoved passed him and stormed out of the stateroom. He ignored his father's command to stop and continued down the hallway. He had plans of his own.
The sound of light laughter and large chunks of ice being kicked around like soccer balls filled the third class deck. Tony and Loki had been participating in the fun for a little while, still oblivious to the danger around them when Loki had mentioned the need to stop by his stateroom for a jacket and to get Tony's drawings. They were making their way up to the first class deck when they passed Mr. Banner, Captain Fury, and a few of the crewmembers. Their worried tones caught their ears and they stood there to listen as they passed.
"Boiler room six is flooded eight feet above the pate," A crewman was saying. "The mail hold is worse. She's completely buckled in the forward hold." The way Captain Fury folded his hands behind his back and his shoulders stiffened sent a chill down Loki's spine and he automatically reached out, his fingers gripping at Tony's for reassurance.
"Can we shore up?" The Captain asked.
"Not unless the pumps get ahead," The crewman said. Fury's face hardened. Mr. Banner took that moment to speak up.
"Have you looked at the damage in the mail hold?" He asked around the crewwoman in front of him, a brunette that Loki vaguely remembered being called Maria Hill. The crewman shook his head.
"No, she's already underwater," He said. The group passed the pair of them without even a single glance and descended the stairs to the third class deck. Tony squeezed Loki's hand as they watched the men leave.
"Shit, this is bad," He muttered looking over at Loki. The taller man looked at him as well, fear showing in his emerald eyes.
"We need to find my mother and Thor," He said softly. "We need to tell them." Tony nodded and they began to make their way to the staterooms.
"Thor, there you are!" Frigga said when she spotted her son on the deck. She came up to him, Pepper and Jane not far behind her. Jane got to him first, her small hand slipping into his. She was shaking slightly, the fear evident in the large doe-like eyes. "What is happening? We felt a great shudder and it's got us all shaken."
"I'm not sure what it was, mother," Thor said truthfully. "But we have other problems. Father and Fandral are planning to frame Stark for robbery." Frigga's back straightened and her eyes hardened.
"That man has gone too far," She said heatedly. She spun on her heal and was about to storm in the direction of the staterooms when Thor caught her arm. "Thor, you will unhand me."
"Mother, I have a plan of my own," He said. "I know what they plan to do with Stark. It would be best to make them believe they've won until the last minute." Pepper smirked and told Jane that they should leave the two to their affairs and practically dragged the young woman away from the scene. Frigga watched the other ladies go before looking back up at her son.
"Very well," She said after a moment. "I pray to the gods that you are right about this, my son. I will not have Loki looking like a soulless shell once again." Thor nodded.
"Neither will I," He said loosening his hold on Frigga. The older woman nodded and allowed Thor to escort her back to the stateroom. Odin looked rather relieved to see that Frigga was safe and with Thor, but he kept a sharp eye on his son. The master-at-arms was looking over the rooms, seeing what was out of place and taking photos for a proper investigation.
Hogun was stationed at one end of the hall near the dining room while Volstagg was stationed at the other. Hogun was the one who spotted Loki and Tony coming from the deck. Loki's eyes hardened and he looked at the grim man with indifference, though he was panicking on the inside. He never let go of Tony's hand, knowing that it would make no difference anymore.
"We've been looking for you, sir," Hogun informed falling into step beside Tony. Loki watched out of the corner of his eye as Hogun slipped something into Tony's pocket. He caught a blue glint and knew exactly what it was-the Heart of the Ocean. This was bad. He would have to play along until it was safe for them.
"We're here now," Loki said with a short nod. When they stepped into the stateroom, everything fell silent. Thor and Frigga were standing together behind a couch, Odin had stopped his pacing and Fandral turned from his conversation with the master-at-arms. All eyes fell to them. Loki stilled himself and met each of them in turn. "Something quite serious has happened," He started finally.
"You're quite right," Odin said taking slow, deliberate steps towards Loki and Tony. "Two things have disappeared from this room tonight. Now that one of them is back," He nodded to Loki who glared at him, "I have a very good idea where the second one just might be." He looked at Tony. "Search him." The master-at-arms and a steward advanced on Tony.
"Oh, what the fuck is this horseshit?!" He exclaimed as they stripped his coat off of his shoulders. While one man went through his coat the other patted him down. Loki glared hard at his father, playing along as though he didn't already know what was going on.
"Father, what is the meaning of this?" He demanded, taking a threatening step forwards. "We are in the middle of a very serious crisis. We have no time for this."
"Is this is, sir?" The master-at-arms asked. Loki turned to see him holding up the Heart of the Ocean. Tony was staring at the necklace with shocked brown eyes. He shook his head.
"That's it," Fandral piped up, coming forward to take the necklace from the other man. Tony lunged at him but was held back by the other two men.
"This is bullshit!" He hollered, his face turning red with rage as he was cuffed. "You fucking planted that you fucker!" His words were directed at Odin. Loki forced himself to look at Tony with a cold expression, hating the way the other man's face fell when he saw it. "Loki…You don't believe them do you?" Loki didn't dare move, nor did he speak. He looked away, his shoulders slumping. He could tell he was playing his part well by the way Tony reacted. "Loki…You have to believe me. They put it in my pocket. I didn't take-."
"Shut up," Volstagg said hitting Tony in the back of the head with his meaty hand. Loki glared at the larger man, but he could do nothing if he wanted to get Tony out of this. "It's not even your pocket." He grabbed the coat and showed the inside of the jacket to Odin and Fandral. "Property of A.L. Ryerson."
"That was reported stolen today as well," The master-at-arms said taking the jacket from Volstagg. Tony rolled his eyes.
"I borrowed it," He explained. Loki bit his tongue to keep from snickering. He'd known Tony had stolen it from the moment he'd seen it on him. It was too long for him and the sleeves came down over his palms. Plus, he'd seen the jacket on Mr. Ryerson a few days earlier while walking the deck. "Loki, you've got to believe that I didn't do this! It's fucking bullshit! All of it!" Fandral rolled his eyes and scoffed, turning to the master-at-arms. Odin and Volstagg had their attention on Fandral and Hogun was taking the jacket from the master-at-arms. Loki took this small window of opportunity to wink at Tony, a small barely there smirk touching his lips. Realization dawned on Tony, making him smirk back. Relief washed over Loki.
It took four men to wrestle Tony out of the room. He struggled against them, fighting and hollered the whole way. Loki's gaze dropped to the floor before rising to look at the two silent parties in the room-Thor and Frigga. Thor winked at his brother and Loki knew that this was going to be much easier than he'd earlier thought.
For once, Bruce Banner didn't seem like the timid and quiet man he usually was. He was anxious and frightened. Captain Fury and Mr. Ismay weren't far behind him. Bruce shoved what was on the desk to the floor and put down the blueprints to the Titanic, rolling out one of them and putting random weights on the edges to hold it down. Fury was beside him while Mr. Ismay paced.
"Water at fourteen feet above the keel in ten minutes," He started, pointing out the different sections where water had entered. "In the forepeak, in all three of the holds and in boiler room six."
"That's right, sir," The crewman on his other side said nodding.
"When can we get underway, damn it?" Mr. Ismay snarled. Bruce turned a hard glare on the other man.
"That's five compartments," He said sharply. He turned to the captain to continue his explaining. "She can stay afloat with the first four compartments breached but…not five." He went on to explain exactly how she would sink. His worry seeped into his voice as he spoke. Fury leaned over the blueprints and looked over them for a moment once Bruce stopped.
"What if we open the pumps?" He asked.
"It would by you time, but only minutes," Bruce said shaking his head, his shoulders slumping. "No matter what we do, Captain…Titanic will sink." There was a beat of heavy silence.
"But this ship can't sink!" Mr. Ismay declared, stepping forward. Bruce turned his gaze to the man, the truth shining in his dark brown eyes.
"She's made of iron, Mr. Ismay," He said calmly. "I assure you that she can sink. And she will. It's certain and unavoidable." He turned back to his blueprints, staring at them. Hoping with everything he had in him that he could find a way, but there was none. All the science and math in the world said the same-Titanic would sink.
"How much time?" Captain Fury finally asked, drawing Bruce out of his thoughts. He was silent for a while, going over the scenario in his head for the correct time, calculating it in every way to make sure he had the right answer.
"An hour. Maybe two at the most," He said at last. There was silence again. Fury stared at the wall, his eye not really seeing the plaster.
"How many aboard, Ms. Hill?" He asked his voice hollow.
"2,200 people on board, sir," Maria Hill answered softly, her hands clenching into tight fists at her sides. Fury turned slowly to Mr. Ismay, a dark look in his single eye. Mr. Ismay gulped in fear of the dark man in front of him.
"I believe you'll finally get your headline, Mr. Ismay."
A/N: Let me know what guys think :3 I'll try to update sooner next time. Please, please, please review!
