Hey all. I hope you didn't wait too long.

Same thing as always: I do not own Marvel.

Chapter 10:

Last Resort

Steve sat at Toni's hospital bed watching her chest move up and down every so slowly, which made his heart beat a little too fast. She had been in a coma for the last few days, and they had no clue of when or if she would wake up. The idea that she might not wake up scared the shit out of him. He didn't know how or when he fell for the rowdy brunette, but he fell hard for her. He didn't know what he would do if she didn't recover.

"Toni," he begged, "please, wake up." His voice was weak. "I...I…" He wanted to tell her everything, but he couldn't tell her even if she was unconscious and unable to hear him. He didn't want her to reject him, because he wouldn't be able to take it. He couldn't believe she would want him over the handsome funny Barnes, who was missing from her bed side. He closed his eyes as he tried to rid himself of the negative thoughts he was thinking. Bucky was his best friend and he would not turn on him, especially not over a girl, but he should be here. How could he leave her alone? Did he not care?

His mind wandered back to how she had gotten hurt. "I failed to protect you," Steve stated, feeling ashamed of himself. He had promised himself when he first met her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her as he could tell even then that she was special, but he failed her and he felt sick. "I'm so sorry." His hid his face his hands as he tried to stop the tears. It was his fault that she was injured. He was too worried about protecting her than the mission at hand and she got hurt because he was distracted.

"How long have you been here?" Steve asking, sensing someone at the door. His eyes were focused on the glow in her chest, which he just learned about. Did she always have that? He wondered. What is the purpose of that?

Bucky stepped into the room and looked at Toni. "A few minutes," he stated softly. His eyes were focused on the many wires connected to her. "Maybe, you should get some sleep."

Steve looked up at Bucky, as he tried to hold back his glare, which he was failing at. He had also blamed Bucky for this, even if it really wasn't his fault. He knew Toni wouldn't blame any of them as injures were common in warfare, and she had agreed to the risks when she went out with them. "I don't sleep much now," he replied bitterly. Ever since he had become a super soldier, many things had changed for him. He couldn't get drunk and he slept less, which was something he was getting used to. "And I'm not going to leave her."

Bucky took a deep breath. "You need to rest," he stated as he folded his arms across his chest.

"I can't rest," he replied with a deep breath.

"She wouldn't want you to worry like this."

Steve was really getting pissed at Bucky. "I'm not going to leave her like you did," he snapped as he stood up.

Bucky took a step back, knowing he couldn't take a pissed off Captain America in a hand to hand fight. "I didn't want to leave her, but there were other lives in danger, who needed me. And besides, she told me to, well more like yelled at me. She's scary when she wants to be." He shook his head. "Why don't you go see Peggy? I know she wants to see you. I can sit with Toni," he offered.

If it was possible, Buck's offer made him angrier. "Why would I leave her with you?" he asked.

He gave Steve a weird look. "You do know that Toni and I-" he started.

Again, Bucky was pissing him off. It wasn't anything official and they were only flirting, which annoyed Steve. He saw her first; plus, Bucky didn't even like her at the beginning. "Then where were you the last few days?" he asked. "You left her again! She was here by herself." When Steve arrived at her hospital bed, she was alone.

"There were other things that I had to do first." He paused as he thought about something. "And aren't you with Peggy or something?" he asked.

"No!..." There was a pause as he shook his head. "No, I am not..." Yes, there was a part of him that wanted to be with Peggy as she was respectful, beautiful and smart. She was the perfect woman, and she was the woman that everyone thought he would end up with. Toni on the other hand wasn't perfect or the ideal woman that people pictured with him. Yes, she was smart, too smart by society's standards for a perfect wife, and beautiful, but she wasn't respectful at all. She acted like a man at times and spoke her mind, even when she wasn't ask. There were people who didn't like it; however, he liked that about her. Yes, she annoyed him so badly, but she also drew him in. He wanted her, even if she would never want him. "We're just friends." However, there was still a part of him that wanted Peggy, and he couldn't forget that.

"That sounds reinsuring."

He looked as Bucky, wondering what made him so special in Toni's eyes. Was it his recklessness? Was it his experience (something that he didn't have)? Was it his jokes? What was it? "Why are you here?" he asked, as he tried to calm himself.

"I came to see her," Bucky stated as he walked pass Steve and to the bed.

Taking a deep breath, Steve eyed Bucky as he took a seat next to her. Bucky reached his hands toward hers, but their hands never touched. He had never seen Bucky like that with anyone and that shocked him. "Why do you even care?" he asked. His voice was soft.

Bucky looked up before looking back at the glow in her chest. "She's special."

"I know." Steve watched her chest move up and down. "And I wouldn't call flirting a relationship," he added.

Bucky laughed. "That's a late response. And we might be something more soon." He smiled weakly.

"You have-" Steve never finished his sentence as alarms started to go off, shocking them both. For a second no one did anything as they didn't know what was going now. Seconds later, something clicked in Bucky's head and he bolted out of the room. However, Steve still couldn't think straight as he watched her struggle. "Toni," he uttered as he eyed the monitors connected to her. Her heart was beating way too fast, and he didn't know what to do, but it didn't take long for someone who did to come rushing in. Bucky followed in right behind the doctor.

"Move out of the way," the Doctor yelled as he pushed Steve out of the way. When he got to her, he lowered the bed, and it was in that instance that her heat stopped which took Steve's heart with it. "She's flat lining. I'm losing her," the doctor yelled to the nurses that Steve didn't notice come in.

Steve popped straight up, soak in sweat. He had that same nightmare many times before and it always felt real to him, but he wasn't sure if it was. There were so many past memories in his mind and it was hard to tell which was real or which was not. He hoped to hell that that memory wasn't real, because if something were to happen to her, he would die. "Maybe, Banner's right," he muttered to himself as he sat up on the couch, which he didn't remember falling asleep on. He had to give it to Toni, as she knew how to pick the most comfortable couches to sleep on. He hadn't been able to really sleep since Toni had disappeared, and he wasn't the only one.

When Banner had brought up the idea of time travel, Steve shot it down, saying it was downright crazy; however, it had merit. His memories from the 1940's, which he wasn't all too sure about, had Toni in them. Steve shook his head. It was those fuzzy memories that made him fall in love with her, even if the present day Toni was an asshole. If it wasn't for the same glow in memory Toni's chest, he would think they were different people. Shaking his head, he tried to get her out if his mind. Thinking about her only made him feel worse.

His tried to think of the other avengers as he tried to clear from his mind. Banner had basically locked himself in one of the many labs in Stark's Tower (Steve knew it annoyed Toni when they refer to it as the Avenger's Tower). Romanoff and Barton were off trying to trace those devices that were stolen from Black Hawk as they could have something to do with Toni's disappearance. Director Fury had some of his SHIELD Scientist and agents looking for some way to get Toni back. Each of them were coming up with nothing.

Steve took a deep breath as he made his way down to the lab that Banner had locked himself in. He should have told Banner the truth when he brought up the time travel idea, instead of keeping it to himself. It was important. He knew he was going to get a lecture when he told Bruce. How could he be that stupid and not tell him about the memories? Shaking his head, he took a deep breath as he arrived at the doors to the lab. The doors were, like Stark's own personal lab, made out of glass; however, they weren't given a horrible paint job. He entered without having to enter a code as no code was required.

Banner was hard at work, trying to recreate the device that Toni made. He had her blue prints, which could've been in another language for all Steve knew, in front of him. "Yes, Steve?" Banner asked.

He took a look the Doctor, who had not looked back. Banner's eyes were focused on the failed object in front of him. "How's that going?" Steve asked, not wanting to admit the truth. He usually didn't do stupid shit as he left the stupid shit to the other avengers.

Banner put down the tools and turned to him. "What's going on, Steve?" he asked.

"I know where Stark is," he revealed as he took a seat in one of the many chairs. To his surprise, the chair was very uncomfortable, and he almost forgot what he was going to say.

"What are you talking about?" Banner asked as he stared hard at Steve.

"I know which time period she is in," Steve answered, explaining everything that he knew, which wasn't all that much. As he watched Banner's face change, he became worried that he would have to fight the Hulk. That was one fight he didn't know if he would win.

"What the hell were you thinking, Steve?" he yelled. "We could have used that information."

"Banner, calm down."

"Afraid of the big guy?" he asked. There was a hint of laugher in his anger that Steve wasn't expecting.

Steve stood up as he didn't want to be sitting if Banner were to attack. He didn't blame the doctor for his anger management skills, because he knew it was hard for him to control the beast. Plus, he had a right to be angry. "I didn't know what I was thinking, but…" He paused so he could breathe and think for a second. "I didn't know what to make of the memories. I had two sets of memories and I don't know what were real. And they are always changing and disappearing." He exhaled slowly as the memory of Toni in a hospital bed filled his mind. "I'm sorry."

The doctor eyed him and Steve wondered what was going through Banner's head. He didn't say anything for a few minutes as if he was trying to think of what to say. Banner took a deep breath. "I bet," he stated. His tone was soft, which surprised Steve. "It's me who should be sorry." He paused. "Time travel is such a tricky thing and there's no telling what she's doing and how she's changing the timeline. I can't even begin to understand what that feels like to have everything change on you."

Sitting back down, Steve took a deep breath again. "I should've told you."

"It isn't a big deal which time period she is in, if I can't get this thing to work," he said as he crossed back to the device, that couldn't hold power at all.

"If this doesn't work? What else is there?" Steve asked. He closed his eyes as he tried to recall a memory of Toni. He couldn't remember anything past that one. He didn't even know if the memory doctor had brought her back. Would any of this be worth it?

"What's going on in your head?" Banner asked as he noticed that he was losing Steve's attention.

"The last thing I remember about S-Toni from that time is her flat-lining. I don't know…." He drifted off as he couldn't finish his sentence.

Banner's face fell as he couldn't take the idea of her dying either. She was his closest friend, and he didn't know what he would do if he lost that. "We'll get her back."

It took Steve a few seconds to respond. "Yes, we will." He smiled slightly as he recalled how stubborn she was. She would be back even if it killed her…he hoped to God it didn't.

*O*O*

Directory Fury was still pissed, but there was hardly a time that he wasn't pissed. However, he hadn't calmed down since he had learned that someone had stolen from SHIELD, from him. No one stole from him and got away from it. To make matters worse, someone was using those items to mess with his team, and no one messed with his team but him. Though Stark annoyed the hell out of him, he wouldn't let anything happen to her, unless she deserved it. He doubted that it would ever come to that, but again, he had to play it safe.

"So did you speak to Thor?"

Fury, who was staring intensely out of the room, turned to see Agent Hill walk into the room. She wasn't his biggest fan, but she respected him, which was all that he needed. "I had, but there wasn't much he could do himself. He had no idea of how portals work, even though he uses one to get here." He took a deep breath. "I didn't think there was anything he could do in the first place."

Maria Hill looked at him sideways. "Then why did you ask?"

He turned back to the window and stared out into the endless sky. "Loki."

That startled her. "You think he can help?"

Loki had been locked up tight since he had tried to destroy New York City. "There's a chance he can help, or if not, there is also a chance he knows who did this." He knew the likelihood that Loki would help them was low and that he would want something in return if he did, but Fury had to do something.

"And you think that's a good idea?" she asked. There was no anger in her voice, but he knew she was pissed that he was trying to get help from Loki, who had almost destroyed New York.

"It's only a matter of time before something or someone that's stronger than Loki comes along. When that does, we'll need all of the Avengers." Fury took a deep breath. "It's for the best."

"All due respect, Sir, but horrible things had been done because someone thought it was for the best."

He turned to her and studied her. If Stark's disappearance (he wasn't too sure about the whole time-traveling idea) and the break in at Black Hawk wasn't related, it would be quite a coincidence, and he didn't believe in coincidences. "What do you suggest I do, Agent Hill?" he asked.

"Do you think Loki is behind this?" she asked, not answering his question.

Fury did not call her out on it. "Anything is possible, but I do not think so."

"You aren't sure and yet, you're going to have Thor bring him here?" she asked.

"No, I do not have any plans on bringing him back to Earth," Fury answered. He wasn't sure there was any cell on this planet that could hold that man, and he wasn't going to take that chance, not for Stark.

"Then how?" she asked, clearly confused.

Fury crossed to his desk and stared at the papers on it. "Loki has the ability of illusions, and he has a vast knowledge of portals that no one else has."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I know."

He looked back toward her. "With Thor's help, he should be able to transport an illusion to Stark using the Bifrost." He could tell she wasn't too sure of the plan.

"What good would that do?" Agent Hill asked.

Fury looked at her, trying to read what she was thinking. "It'll allow us to get some idea of where she is and how we can get her back. We might need her brain for that."

"Okay. And wouldn't Thor be taken a big risk by doing that? He would have to let his brother out."

She had a lot of questions. He didn't like questions. "Thor is looking at this as a chance of redemption for his brother." He took a pause to breathe. "He does, however, understand that this is a risk."

"You're willing to let them risk their home?"

Fury didn't feel guilty about that. Sure, he wanted nothing to become of their world, but he wasn't going to let anything happen to theirs. "Yes."

*O*O*

It had taken a few minutes for Bruce to talk Steve down from his mood and get him out of the lab so he could work. It was hard to do anything with Steve around, which annoyed them both. He knew Steve was feeling useless right as there was nothing he could be doing. Steve wasn't stupid by any means, but he wasn't genius. He didn't understand anything about what Toni was building. Toni and Bruce could have whole conversions in front of Steve with him not having a clue to what they were saying. Toni thought it was funny, though Bruce didn't think so. He took a deep breath as he thought about her. He could keep himself busy, trying to recreate the device, but Steve could not. Steve was good, no great, in the field, calling out strategies; however, in the lab, he was not. They both knew it.

However, with this new information about Steve's memory, there was something that he could do. Bruce had sent him out to draw and/or write everything that he could remember of those memories. If they could get a better idea of what was happening to Toni, there was a better shot that they could get her back.

Bruce turned back to the device, which hated him. He didn't usually projected emotions on objects like Toni did, but he was willing to make an exception for this. This device hated him. He didn't know how Toni was even able to get it to hold power for a second. Jarvis had showed him a few clips of Toni working on it, but it could only help so much. The two devices may look the same but he couldn't get his to work. He looked at the picture. "Even if we could get it working, we would need a lot of power." He looked at the blue prints, trying to look for any clue how she did it. "How did she power this?" he asked.

"Miss Stark has connected the device to an Arc reactor," Jarvis answered. "However, the device drained the reactor and fried all of the circuits, making it impossible to repair."

That startled Bruce. "She connected it to the reactor in her chest?" he asked. He didn't think she would take a stupid risk like that.

"No, she did not but there is no telling what happened to the reactor in her chest, Sir. She did take precautions, but I am afraid that it was not enough."

That frightened Bruce. He knew Toni had programmed Jarvis to have some emotion, but Bruce had not witness them so strongly before now. "What are the chances her reactor survives that?" he asked, looking over the blue prints again.

"The failure rate is calculated at 85.2%."

That was way too high for Bruce's liking, and he closed his eyes as he remembered what Steve had told him. Steve had seen her flat lining, which he was glad that didn't have. "It would be fried much like the reactor upstairs?" he asked.

"I cannot say for certain. She did take precautions, which could have protected it from being permanently damaged."

"How long can she survive without the reactor?"

"Only a few minutes, Sir."

"But she doesn't need an arc reactor, right? I remember her once telling me she was once hooked up to a car battery." Bruce took a seat as he tried to figure out if there was a way he could save her.

"That is correct. And if needed, it can be done again."

"She's resourceful. She'll probably figure it out on her own." He reached for the unfinished, nonworking device. "So if we are able to get enough power to this, we should be able to travel back to Toni."

"Yes, it is possible."

Bruce reached to one of the touch screens monitors and started a few calculations. He needed to how much power this device needed to run.

"Can I suggest to you the same thing that you suggested to Captain Rogers?"

Bruce took a deep breath and looked up as he didn't know where to look. "I don't need rest," he lied. He knew he needed rest just as bad as Steve did. "But Steve isn't resting either."

"Sir,-"

"I know, I know." Bruce stated as he waved him off. He knew he needed to rest, and it would only hurt Toni in the end. She needed him at his best and this was not his best. Closing his eyes, he knew he was tired and his mental functions weren't slipping. "I'll go rest."

"Thank you, Sir."

I hoped you enjoyed the chapter. I know it is a small chapter but I should have a larger one out by Friday! :)...Hopefully anyways. Updated.