[Author Note: *insert keyboard mashing here* You guys are awesome! Over 60 reviews! i thought I would barely break 20! Thank you so much to everyone for reading, it means the world to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
***Spoiler Alert***: Movie-verse spoilers throughout the story. Not everything though, since I had to make some significant changes to accommodate Loki's own plotting and so on.
Please see the Prologue for all warnings and a short explanation of how this story came about. **The following has been added to the warnings: There is torture at the end of chapter seven. It's not too much, but it is somewhat graphic and can be skipped if you are so inclined. However, you will miss a few points on Aiden's character and a realization on Loki's part.
Another thank you to Josh, Rei, Angela and ElrueFaerie for all the help and support! *Sends kisses* All you readers out there! Please comment/review! I would greatly appreciate the feedback.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Avengers, its characters, or its backstory. This is not for Profit, I just like to write.]
Chapter 8
~~~/~~~/~~~
Tony finally stood from his seat, his head in a more organized place and at least feeling less hostile and completely picked apart by a certain Swedish woman. He was about to leave the observatory when he noticed something moving beside him. He looked over in confusion that quickly turned into surprise as what was moving was this weird black smoke that slowly seemed to open to reveal a case with the label 'For Tony Stark' across it. He reached up to his ear to touch the communicator as the case became whole and knelt down to it, "Director Fury..?" he said formally.
"Yes, Stark?" Came his mildly annoyed voice.
"I just received a package, via… I think magic," Tony said.
"On our way," came the now curt reply.
~~~/~~~/~~~
There was a short moment as they all entered the lab where everyone looked to Clint. The archer's stance stiffened as each looked him over before a nod from Fury and Natasha confirm that he was back to himself and no one else. Once his state of mind was affirmed, they had all turned to the case. It had been brought in carefully, using a large pair of tongs after one of the agents with Fury when he arrived had tried to touch it had been shocked to the point of third-degree burns and possible nerve damage. Now it was in the middle of the lab and no one had any idea how to open the thing. It had a seal edge but no clasps or any indication of how to open it. If this was sealed by magic and they tried to force it open, who knew what would happen to them or the contents. There was no way of knowing.
Thor reached out before anyone could stop him and a sharp crack sounded as Thor shook off his hand, though the burn disappeared quickly, "That is definitely Loki's magic. The burn has a very particular feel to it."
"I'm not sure I want to know how you know that," Tony said with a skeptical look at Thor.
Thor shrugged and smiled, then looked back to the case. Tony licked his lips then straightened and said, "Well, this may be the stupid thing to do, but it is addressed to me…" He said as he moved a hand forward.
Tony's face scrunched in a grimace as he touched his hand to the case, fully expecting to be sent flailing and then raced to the hospital wing. Everyone around him held their breath, all poised to react as necessary. Only when his hand touched it nothing happened. Tony cracked his eyes open and looked over at the case, his finger tips on in, barely. He let out a breath and then put his full hand on it, only to pull it away with a surprised, "Whoa!"
"What?" Steve asked with a little jump, eyes wide and fixed on Tony as he examined his hand.
"It tingled…" Tony said, still rubbing his palm.
"It took your hand print," Natasha pointed out, gesturing to the case.
Sure enough, there was a handprint on the case and after a moment it sank into the metal casing, then a sharp click and a tiny hiss and the case popped open. Tony reached forward again and opened it, others still not willing to touch it. Inside were four things:
- A metal bar
- A shard of metal
- A small book
- A map
- And a note
Tony took each out and set the case aside, just to avoid if it was still inclined to burn everyone else still, and they looked over them before Tony took up the note and began to read it, "It seems for one reason or another you will need to find the tesseract. Inside are all the items you need to do so. Good Luck. –Loki."
He could practically hear the relief and pure frustration coming off everyone. Relief that they had something but frustration that it was in the form of a riddle. Fury reached forward and grabbed the map as he growled out, "Well, let's see everything."
Bruce moved to pick up the metal bar, only to watch as the shard magnetized to it once he accidentally put it close to it, "Huh, a magnet," and looked it over. "This is simple enough, same with the metal piece. Not much going on there," he said, shrugging a little as he set them down again.
Tony picked up the book and thumbed through it, specifically the page that was marked. However it was all in… Norse? He looked at Thor and handed it to him, "Can you make out what this book is?"
Thor took it and his eyes widened, "This was one of the books Loki used to take notes in for his spells."
"What about the page it's on, what's that spell?" Tony asked.
"It's a…" Thor shook his head in an endearing manner, "Of course, it's one of the forbidden spells. It's only to be used by our father when it is necessary for banishment, but it suppresses all of an individual's powers or abilities. I was under it when I first came to earth."
"It looks like that map has been marked in specific places," Fury added, looking over each, "And their longitude and latitude listed."
"How does this make any sense though? We have two pieces that are clear indicators, and two that have a strong correlation to one another, but nothing that completely ties the four together," Bruce pointed out, a mildly exasperated look on his face.
"Well, we'll have to take this one piece at a time. Romanov, research each of these points on the map, see what's there. Barton and Rogers, you are to move out to the first, closest point with Agent Coulson. Banner and Stark, I want you on the magnet and metal, see if there's anything unique about them. Thor, can you see if you can get any information on that spell? I know it correlates with the fact that something is suppressing Loki's powers, but we need to find out if there's anything more specific," Fury listed off.
Natasha was already gone when her orders were given and Steve and Clint were on their way to the Quinjet, Bruce and Tony nodded and Thor gave a curt nod, "I'll be on the roof," and left to go outside to make another attempt to contact Heimdall.
Fury looked at Tony, then at his hand that still clutched the note, "That may be a clue as well."
Tony shrugged, "Then it should stay here so we can test it."
Fury watched him for a moment, before nodding and leaving the lab. Bruce watched Tony as he eyed the note, then carefully put it down, almost as if it were made of glass, then set the note Aiden had left with Pepper's picture beside it. To Bruce it was a clear indication that he was setting them in some sense of order, of importance. Equal.
At least while Aiden had them.
~~~/~~~/~~~
It wasn't until Clint and Steve got back from the first location with no evidence of anything that Natasha noticed that the last point she was supposed to research had moved. What was lucky was she had been in the lab trying to see if the magnet and metal piece might have anything to do with the map points. Bruce saw the changed numbers of longitude and latitude and his eyebrow shot up before his hands began flying over his computer screens, "What is it?" Natasha asked, leaning over his shoulder.
"That clever… The algorithm needs base reading numbers from the tesseract or something akin to it to run a successful search, the fact that these readings can have a rather large range depending on if it's active or not doesn't help. The ones that Selvig had noted were either incomplete or jumbled somehow. If I'm right, then if I add…"
Tony had come over to look at the map and then their search and a huge grin came over their face, "Damn, he knew that we'd be searching like this and made sure he had the right numbers, but we only got them when he wanted… That ass."
Natasha gave a soft snort, "You dated him."
"Which gives me all the more right to call him an ass," Tony pointed out.
A grin from the assassin and she touched her earpiece, "We may have figured out the algorithm and the map all at once, sir."
"I hope so, we don't need to be searching each one of those locations just to find nothing," Fury shot back.
"We'll know shortly, sir. I'll let you know when the search is complete," she said and sat back to wait.
The search took about a half an hour. Clint, Steve and Fury gathered in the lab hopefully, while Thor stayed out on the runway, still trying to contact Asgard. When the scan finished Bruce frowned, his expression drawing together, "That can't be right…"
"What is it?" Fury asked, stepping forward.
"Well, there are readings for the tesseract in two places. One underneath New York, which is fairly weak. The other is on the helicarrier," Bruce explained.
Tony let out a little laugh, "Hah, right under our noses, probably!"
Fury raised an eyebrow at him, "Narrow the search, lets find out where exactly."
This search was much shorter, "Well, there's traces of it all over the ship, but the primary place is the ...lab…" Bruce said, letting out a low breath.
Clint frowned, "Is there any way you're interfering with the scan, doctor?"
Bruce shook his head, "No, the equation isn't calibrated for the gamma radiation I put off. I know the figures for that."
Tony stood up straighter as he paused, remembering that the case had been specifically for him. He looked over at the shard of metal. Shrapnel. He swallowed hard and picked it up, "Dr. Banner?"
Bruce looked over, as did the rest of the team, and he held up the shrapnel piece, "Scan me."
Bruce looked at the shrapnel and then at Tony, only to grimly go back to the scan and do just that. He turned and nodded slowly, "It's inside… you."
Tony let out a shaky breath as he put the metal down and scrubbed a hand over his face, then laughed softly, a slight edge of hysteria to it, "I know when the sneaky bastard did it too…"
Fury's eye was locked on Tony before he said, "Then how to we get it out?"
Steve stepped up, "Maybe that's what the last two pieces are for. Figuring how to get it out of Tony."
"I hope so, but I want you in the hospital wing to see if they can surgically remove it," he said, pointing at Tony, "and until further notice, you are on lockdown, Stark," Fury said definitively.
"What? You can't do that!" Tony protested.
"I can and I will," Fury practically snarled, taking a step forward, "Especially when you have one of the most powerful energy sources known to mankind inside your chest."
Tony shook his head, "Only the people in this room know that. Pulling me off anything or putting me under armed guard is just going to be a signal to everyone that something's up with me!"
Natasha was his saving grace at that moment, "He's right sir."
Fury took a frustrated breath, glancing at her before nodding, "All right, but there is to be one of the people in this room or Thor at your side at every moment of the day."
"Even in bed?" Tony said, leaning forward, "Cause in that case-" He started to gesture to Banner, whose face quickly became red at the implication.
Fury held up a hand, "Don't start, Stark," Tony held up his hands in surrender before Fury continued, "Get yourself to the medical bay and see if it can be surgically removed. Dr. Banner, continue looking at the magnet. Thor should be back from attempting to contact Asgard soon. We have the tesseract, so we just need to figure out where Aiden is."
"Well, what about the other energy signature?" Steve offered, gesturing with a thumb to the computer.
Clint nodded in agreement, "His scepter was powered by the tesseract or something similar. That might lead us to his hide out."
Fury nodded, "And you are sure you have no idea where Aiden was heading last you had contact with him?"
Clint shook his head, "I just know the first place was cleared out, as confirmed. Selvig was in charge of where everything for the portal was going and Aiden was taking a different route all together. Neither of which I was given any information on."
Fury nodded, then his frown deepened as Maria came over the communicator, "Sir? Veli wants to speak to you."
"The assassin suddenly wants to talk?" Fury inquired nodding to Tony and Steve to head to medical and Bruce to continue his work, a glance at Clint and Natasha and they were at his side as he moved into the hall.
"It seems so, he said it's urgent," Maria answered.
"Then take him to the interrogation room. We'll be there shortly," Nick said and ended communication as he lengthened his stride.
~~~/~~~/~~~
They arrived in the room and Veli sat calm and impassive as ever. Clint knew who he was the moment he saw him, glancing at Natasha before moving to stand behind Fury on his left, Natasha on his right, as the Director sat down, "I understand you wanted to speak with me?"
"I can take you directly into Aiden's most recent hide out," Veli said, simple and to the point.
Fury frowned darkly, "And you only see fit tell us this now, because…?"
"I was told to," Veli said, still as expressionless as ever.
"By who?" Fury pushed, arms crossing over his chest.
Veli reached forward and set the black ring he wore on the table, "My Lord."
Fury reached forward and took the ring, examining it, "How?"
"Each time another step in events comes to light, I am told what must be done," the assassin explained.
"Then how do I know I can trust you not to take my agents into a trap?" Fury asked, setting the ring back down and clasping his hands before him on the table.
"You have Amilia," he said, looking at Natasha, then Clint.
There was a tense moment, then, "And what if it's the wrong location?"
"I know of the first one that Agent Barton no doubt already had you check out. However, I know of the one where Aiden is now, which is where the women are. I can take you to that one," Veli said, eyes moving between the three of them.
Fury pursed his lip tightly, before finally saying, "You will take Agent Barton and Agent Romanov. You will be given no weapons and if you even take one toe out of line I will hunt you down, Pekkanen."
"Understood," Veli said, looking at Fury squarely before giving a curt nod.
~~~/~~~/~~~
"So that's the Hanging Harbinger, eh?" Clint said as he pulled on his quiver and tucked his folded bow into its holder on his back, along side the quiver.
"It is," Natasha said as she tested her Widow's Bite gloves.
Clint nodded, "So were-"
"Once and only once. Then we tried to kill each other. Called it a draw and went our separate ways because neither of us could really walk," she said, then glanced at him, "Jealous?"
"Just enough," Clint answered, turning to her.
A grin touched at her lips and she turned away, "Good."
~~~/~~~/~~~
They were dropped off in central Manhattan and Veli quickly took them down underneath a large office building and in through a long tunnel. From there it was all climbing around pipes and through cracks. Veli and Natasha held the front with Clint just behind them. It was obvious that had any but Natasha and Clint come they would have been left behind quickly. Veli paused and glanced back at them, "Here," he said simply and leaned out into where they could see a bright light coming from.
Each flipped off their flashlights as Veli leaned into the well-lit room, loud sounds coming from below them as they carefully moved out onto a decent sized ledge. Most of those sounds were definitely not human. The assassin crept out further along the ledge and whispered with a deep breath, "That's new."
Natasha swallowed as she looked down, the room was teeming with creatures, grey and black skin beneath silver toned armor. They chittered and growled between each other, armor clanking as they milled about restlessly, "Chitauri?" Clint asked, barely heard.
"It seems so. I've only had glimpsed words of what they look like from my Lord," Veli whispered back, "But how did they get here?"
As if on queue a glittering of blue light was seen down one of the halls and a muffled scream was heard. Veli's eyes narrowed and he was off, darting over beams and ledges, Natasha hot on his heels and Barton right behind her. They came to a single window that led into a domed room, looking down one saw a strange scene. Runes littered the ground along four lines that passed between four points. Two looked like mirrors, while a third had Aiden's staff and the fourth was Loki. The god was hunched over, gasping for breath around a gag and his hand grasping… No, they were nailed to the end of the stake. His skin was pale with burn marks arched across his back, especially around his left side and long cuts and bruising across his back, probably from a whip or blunt object of some sort. They weren't close enough to tell. His hair hung limp around his face and sweat and blood had left streaks in the dirt that was smeared on his skin.
The god straightened as they saw a tall man with skin similar to the Chitauri, glowing blue eyes, and blacken teeth move forward with a large grin on his face, eyes dancing with glee. Veli pointed to him and mouthed 'Aiden'.
Natasha and Clint nodded and they watched. Aiden moved over to Loki with a smug smile on his face, "Ah Trickster, do you grow tired? I would hope your stamina was a bit higher. There's still so many to bring through."
They watched the Chitauri champion move to pat Loki's head, but the god quickly snatched out from under the hand. Aiden snarled and punched Loki clean across the cheekbone, wrenching his hands on the stakes and making him yell in pain before grabbing his hair and hauling him back by it, forcing him to look up at the warrior, "I think you can withstand a few more."
The altered human released him and stepped away from the circle and soon it was activated again. Flickering blue energy danced across Loki's skin, making Loki scream into the gag again as something glowed in his side as well, and the energy gathered into the stake. Something similar happened to the scepter, before filtering along the runes in the ground. The energy filtered out to the mirrors and shot inward to the center of the room. There was a display of coiled energy and ricocheting bolts of lightening before it dissipated to reveal another Chitauri soldier. Aiden smiled at the warrior and beckoned him over, "Come my warrior. We go to battle soon."
As Aiden left Veli moved and it was Clint that grabbed him. Veli looked back, his eyes stone cold and breathing harsh. Clint shook his head slowly, and motion for the assassin to crouch back down. Veli did reluctantly, eyes darting to Loki before back to them. Clint let go of his arm cautiously before whispering, "I'll make a perimeter. Natasha, you go with Veli to try to get a good look at where the girls are held."
The two nodded and they split. Natasha followed Veli through more acrobatics and tunnels to where a series of rooms were and he whispered, "The one farthest down was converted into a prison block for them," he pointed to the four Chitauri guarding the last cell, "He's replaced the men that were there with the Chitauri now."
Natasha nodded and pulled back, they mapped the path through the old catacombs to the entrance and Natasha saw quickly why they didn't come in that way, it was open and clear, there was no way to sneak in and it was easily bottlenecked. But with the amount of Chitauri that were coming in (she winced at the memory of how Loki as screamed and mentally calculated how long this may have been going on before forcing herself to stop) there would be a small army down here before long. A light chirp in her ear signaled Clint was done and she motioned Veli back. They climbed back into the high ledges and moved back to the crevice they had come from.
Veli held out his hand to them unexpectedly. Natasha frowned and Clint looked at him with his head tilted. Veli raised a brow, "We're taking a short cut."
Natasha took his hand while Clint grasped his wrist, "How does taking yo-"
There was a wrenching motion in their gut as Veli reached for something on the wall and sparks of yellow lanced off his fingers and they suddenly felt like they were falling through the air. Sideways. A moment later Natasha and Clint toppled to the floor and Veli was bending over them, "Welcome to the level four storage room on the helicarrier."
Clint blinked up at him and looked around as he stood, "The hell didn't you tell us earlier?"
"Would you have trusted me to take it on the way down?" Veli asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I still don't trust you to take it again," Clint snapped.
Veli chuckled and followed between Natasha and Clint as Clint reached up to his communicator, "Sir, we're back."
"What? How?" Fury said, irritation in his voice.
"A shortcut," Clint almost ground out, making Veli smirk.
~~~/~~~/~~~
They gathered in the meeting room, Thor being the first to speak, "Unfortunately, there is nothing unique about the spell. It is just that spell and nothing more. It probably only pertains to the fact that Loki's magic is being suppressed."
Clint turned to Thor, "The tesseract can control minds, could it also suppress Loki's powers?"
Thor nodded, "It is possible."
"Then that makes sense. There was something in his side that they were using in conjunction with Aiden's scepter, it had the same blue glow as the tesseract," Clint explained.
"Was it on the left side, just at the waist?" Tony asked, gesturing on his own side.
Clint nodded, frowning, "You knew it was there?"
"I knew something was there. He passed it off as a childhood wound that he just never got looked at," Tony said with a shrug.
Thor looked irritated once more that Tony seemed to know so much about his brother, but Fury quickly took over before the demi-god could get in another fight with Tony, "What about what's inside you, Stark?" Fury asked, looking impatient.
"It's sitting right in between my arteries and my heart. Open-heart surgery, possible artery replacement if they scratch anything. Basically, no," He said, smiling tightly.
Fury nodded, "Figures," and looked back to Natasha and Clint, "what were they doing with Loki and the scepter?"
"They were using them as a way to transport Chitauri in one by one," Natasha said.
"And as torture," Veli added.
Tony stiffened, his eyes darting about for a moment as that sank in. Thor was not so subtle, "They are torturing my brother?" he half roared, a lilt of horror in his voice.
Steve came to the rescue, "Calm down, Thor. Rushing in headlong is not going to stop it."
Thor looked at Steve for a moment, a pained expression moving across his face before he nodded and stood back once more. Clint quickly picked up the line from there, explaining the hideout using old architecture plans Natasha found to show the general layout. Fury leaned forward, "All right ladies and gentlemen. We need a plan of attack, to cut the flow of Chitauri and get the hostages out of there. Clint, anything you notice in the structure?"
Clint leaned forward, "Well, the entrance is small and an excellent bottleneck. "However," he stood and gestured to the main room on the plans, "in the main room there's a large, high ceiling that's the closest point to the surface. If we could find a way to blow out the ceiling we'd be able to just drop in on them."
"But the charges still may not take out the structural integrity," Natasha pointed out, "We'd have to have something come down from the top too."
"I can do that," Bruce said, stepping forward, "I would just let the other guy out over the explosion. Then he could drop him in on them."
Steve turned to scientist, "How would we get you to calm down again?"
Bruce swallowed a little, "Betty."
Steve nodded in understanding. "All right, then how do we manage to get the explosives in the right place without getting noticed?" Fury asked.
"We'd need a distraction," Natasha said, "Aiden stayed in that room a lot and we won't be able to maneuver easily if he's not focused on anything else."
"And sending anything through the main entrance is just suicide," Steve said with a contemplative frown.
"Um guys," Tony raised a hand with an exasperated look, "You realize you have one of the fastest talking billionaires on the planet that's known for playing on his own," and pointed to himself.
"Absolutely not," Fury snapped, "Not while thatis still in your chest."
"He doesn't know, Fury. There is no way he could know unless Loki talked, but if that were the case he'd already be after my ass. Besides, I don't think Aiden would believe him now even if he did tell him," Tony pointed out.
"It would be better if myself or Clint went in," Natasha pointed out.
"And offer him what?" Tony countered.
Natasha didn't answer, her eyes narrowing at Tony as he continued, "Exactly. I can offer him tools, funds, and command without a fight. The man is sympathetic, or else he wouldn't have let Amilia go, and he's kept the hostages alive and untouched as of yet."
Fury closed his eyes in frustration, "Stark-"
"He's right, sir," came Steve's voice.
Tony whipped around to look at the Captain in surprise. Steve gave him a sharp look before turning back to Fury, "If anyone could get Aiden to believe he wanted to bargain or play on his side, then it's Tony."
Fury watched Steve, then Tony carefully, dark eye calculating, "And when we drop in?" He asked.
Clint leaned forward, seeming reluctant with his next words, but speaking anyway, "I can follow him in the rafters. If we use Veli's shortcut again it won't be a problem. Veli and Natasha could set the charges while Aiden is distracted."
Fury looked to Veli, who actually looked smug, and asked, "Can we trust you?"
"As long as it involves, my Lord's life, yes," Veli said without hesitation.
"'My Lord', why do you keep using that?" Tony said, confused.
Thor was the one to explain, "It is customary on Asgard when a warrior is sworn to a royal for them to call them 'Lord'."
"Oh," Tony said, "Seems ancient."
"Perhaps to you, Tony Stark. On Asgard it is a show if respect," Thor countered.
Fury cut any reply Tony had, "Thank you for the explanation, Thor. Now, we have one hour. Stark, you do notleave until I say, understood?"
"Yes sir," Tony said, with a mock salute as he stood, the rest doing so as well.
~~~/~~~/~~~
As the group dispersed to prepare for the ruse, Fury moved out to look out the windows of the helicarrier's bridge, a thin frown on his face. The expression shifted slowly as the director's eyes glinted and he murmured to himself, "So the Avenger's finally come together?" He glanced back over his shoulder as his lips tipped up with a grin, "And here I was beginning to actually think they didn't have it in them."
~~~/~~~/~~~
Maria left the briefing taking slow breaths. The little voice that whispered in her ear, that this information could get her so much with Aiden, was loud as ever. The more valuable the information the higher she got, the more power he gave her. She ducked down a side hall and gripped her head, mentally beating down the voice. She was a step away from owning SHIELD after Fury. She had worked hard for this, blood, sweat, and tears. She was not giving it up! She shook her head and took a deep breath as the voice quieted and she steeled herself before she stepped back into the main hall.
~~~/~~~/~~~
Tony was in the cargo bay confirming his suit was ready to go and fully repaired. As he turned, he jumped when he saw Veli standing silently behind him, "Good hell, Veli, you're as bad as Natasha," he said, holding his chest where the reactor was.
Veli paid the comment no mind, "You need to understand the state my Lord is in."
"He's being tortured, I know," Tony said grimly as he pulled himself together.
"You have been the victim of torture," Tony's eyes narrowed, "But you have not seen someone tortured, correct?" Veli asked.
Tony looked away, but was grabbed by his shirt and pulled forward to Veli, "When you see him, you must not react. You are not trained for espionage, though you're a damned good liar."
Tony thrust Veli's hand from his shirt, "Don't you think I get that? What the hell do you think I'm doing this for? A jaunt down suicide lane?"
Veli looked him over, then said slowly, "He's been gagged so he can scream without being too annoying and without trying to talk his way out of anything. The energy has left burns across his body and he has been beaten, probably wi-"
"Stop," Tony said, his eyes locked on Veli, throat tight and body stiff as he fought the mental image of it.
"You won't be able to tell Aiden to stop," Veli snapped, "So prepare yourself."
Tony closed his eyes and nodded jerkily after a moment. Veli continued.
