Helping the Enemy

by Izzy Dixon

What if instead of the entire Chitauri race, Tony Stark only destroyed the army branch? What if instead of punishing him on Asgard, the All Father decided that Loki should be punished by them? What if Loki managed to alter the course of the Bifrost and made it back to Earth? What would happen if Tony had a daughter that decided to help Loki hide from the Chitauri wrath?

11. Chapter 11

WE HIT THE DOUBLE DIGITS GUYS! i meant to say that in the last chapter but as i think i said before, i was being hurried off. Anyhow, thank you all so much for reading, reviewing and favoriting! I love you all! A special thanks to Whispers From a Silver Tongue and thegirlpod for being the most frequent reviewers and making me laugh when you do!

As always i own nothing but Toni with an I and the idea. Everything else belongs to Stan Lee and the rest of the Marvel crew!

Enough with my rants! Onto the chapter!

The oldest Stark blinks a few times as the sun shines through his window, making a small groan of annoyance fall from his lips. "Jarvis," he whines as he pulls the pillow over his head and turns to face the other direction. "Turn off the sun, it's getting on my nerves."

"I'm afraid I can't do that sir," the AI responds. "But I could darken the room if you'd like."

Tony grumbles a yes into the pillow and he feels the heat leave the room as the curtains are drawn. A yawn rolls from the back of the genius's throat as he rolls over, throwing an arm out in the direction Toni was supposed to be in. His arm meets with soft, empty sheets and, in the same moment, he's sitting straight up in bed. "Toni?" he calls to the bathroom as he strains his ears to hear any sound that may or may not come from the bathroom. No response. "Toni?" Tony calls again, this time throwing off the blankets and pushing himself from his bed. "Where are you?"

Deep down, he knows he shouldn't be panicking. After all, Toni is a big girl now and she can take care of herself in almost any situation. For the situations she can't handle, he knows he'd be the first person she'd turn to. But right now, his father instincts are kicked in full gear, telling him he needs to find his baby girl and help her if necessary. "Toni!" he shouts, halfway down the staircase that leads to his room.

The TV in the living room is turned on and he can smell the faint traces of pop tarts in the air, but still his daughter is nowhere in sight. Neither is Loki, making the slight panic in his chest grow and shift into mild anger. If that lying bastard even makes an attempt to hurt his girl…

"Sir," Jarvis says sternly, finally managing to yank the worrying father from his thoughts. "Please calm down. Your blood pressure is becoming unstable."

"I can't calm down!" Tony shouts, nearly flipping the table over in his fit. "I can't find my daughter or that damned liar she let in!"

"Toni is fine," the housekeeper assures, earning an unseen look of confusion from the genius. "I have been trying to tell you for a while now. Your daughter is safe. She and Mr. Loki are currently in the gym."

A large sigh of relief passes the Avenger's lips and he feels most of the tension leave his body. Tony raises a shaking hand and runs it through his hair as he turns to the stairwell leading to the other levels of the house. "You're a lifesaver, Jar," he comments to the air, beginning his decent to the fully lit lower levels. The genius finally reaches the gym and stops short, bemused at the empty room in front of him. Suddenly, the small form of his daughter is rolling into the middle of the room, a thin object sliding across the ground beside her.

"Come now, Toni," Loki's smooth voice says as the young Stark pushes herself up, the owner of the body revealing himself with a similar thin object in his fist at his side. "It is a simple concept that you cannot seem to grasp, despite the multiple times I have explained it." The god lifts his arm and Tony sees that he holds a long sword, edge dulled considerably in regards to the current, non-life threatening situation. A part of Tony wonders if he even has long swords in their gym. "It is parry, then strike," Loki explains for the eighth time since they've begun the match. "You are attempting to strike before you parry, leaving your entire body open for attack."

Toni frowns in displeasure as she gathers her discarded blade from the floor. "Sorry for being slow," she says. "Not everyone was raised with this crap to lug around," she waves the sword around the air as the last half of the statement hits the air. Her arm, still clutching the sword, falls back to her side as Loki sets up for another strike. "It's harder than it looks, you know."

"This is fairly simple compared to the weaponry I heard your father created in the past," the trickster retorts, earning a mildly annoyed glare from said father. "Now, return to the proper starting position as I have shown you. We will do this once more before I deem you a lost cause."

"Hurtful," the teen says, using the back of her hand to wipe a bead of sweat from her forehead. "I thought I was doing pretty good there for a minute," she comments, returning both hands to the hilt of her weapon.

Tony pushes himself from the doorway and claps his hands twice, making Toni jump harshly as Loki merely lowers his sword. "I have two questions that immediately come to mind at this sight," the genius says, walking over and placing a kiss on the top of his daughter's head. "Three if you count me asking how the world you managed to get out of my room while I was sleeping," he continues, redirecting his full attention to his sweaty offspring.

A nonchalant shrug pulls Toni's shoulders up as she places a hand on her hip. "You're not as light a sleeper you say you are," she replies curtly. "I mean, you looked pretty happy when I left."

"When did you leave?" the father asks, still examining the fine craftsmanship of the blade in her hands.

Toni lifts said blade in the air and uses the dulled tip to repeatedly tap her chin in thought. "I'm gonna go with about two forty-ish," she answers, still tapping the blade against her lower lip. "Cause Loki finally came and told me to turn down the TV in the middle of Big O about an hour later." Her arms are lowered again and she turns to said god with her hands on her hips again, the sassy side of Toni being seen in the slight jut of her right side and the weird head rolls she lets accompany the sentence. "Which I do not understand because I know I had the volume low. I was straining to hear it myself."

"Then you must be going deaf," the black haired man responds. "I could understand everything that was occurring on screen before I even considered confronting you."

Tony holds up a hand to end the discussion before his daughter could respond, already seeing more sass being poured into this response than the first one. "Anyway," he begins. "Next question: Where the hell did you get the swords? In fact, are those still relevant in this day and age?"

"To answer your first question," the brown haired girl starts, lifting the blade again to rest it across the back of her shoulders. "Loki made them with magic." Upon seeing the look of disbelief on her father's face, Toni nods a few times in confirmation. "Seriously, he just flicked his wrist and POOF! We have swords." She nods her head from side to side with a small eye roll. "Albeit, I'm not sure if they're relevant nowadays, it's pretty cool to learn how to defend yourself with Asgardian weapons."

"And my final question," Tony says, directing his attention to the green eyed man who's remained silent throughout the conversation. "Where the hell is all my equipment? There was a huge boxing ring right here yesterday!"

Loki nods and folds his arms behind his back, blade held loosely between his fingers. "I will choose to ignore the fact that that was more than three questions," he starts, annoying Tony with the fact that he's beginning to adapt some of Toni's smartassy-ness. "And to answer your question, I would ask you to direct your attention to the ceiling."

Bemusement fills the billionaire's eyes as he hesitantly raises his head, jaw dropping at the sight above him. All of his workout equipment, boxing ring and barbells included, hangs suspended in midair. "What the hell?" Tony breathes, still attempting to wrap his head around the scene. "Why's my stuff hanging in the air?"

A smile pulls the brown haired girl's lips up as she too redirects her attention to the floating ring. "Loki's magic is amazing, isn't it?" she replies simply.

The oldest Stark tears his gaze from the ceiling and locks them on the slightly smirking god behind him. "You're doing this?" he asks. "How?"

Loki's smirk widens slightly as he takes a step forward, leveling with the Starks with youngest in the middle. "As Toni has failed to fully explain," he explains, earning an irate side-glare from said teen. "My magic grants me the abilities to perform many simple and not so simple tasks that would take even the most skilled beings several tries to perfect. The spell used in this task was one of the most basic ones I know, only taking a minor portion of my magic and my unyielding concentration in order to maintain it."

"How did you manage to focus on keeping everything floating while fighting with Toni?" the father questions, suddenly worried about his safety in the room.

Loki sees the worry appear in Tony's eyes and a small round of laughter falls from his lips. "There is no need to fret, Stark," he assures with the small wave of the hand. "No offence but Toni is not the strongest adversary I have come across in my many years of travel, meaning I need only focus on the session for short amounts of time. Although I am obliged to complement her on her stamina and her determination in the matter of learning the art of swordsmanship. If she continues in this direction, I believe she many prove to be a worthy warrior."

Tony snorts in amusement before shifting his weight to his other leg and folding his arms across his chest. "There isn't enough time on Earth to even begin teaching Toni how to fully understand sword fighting. Trust me, we've tried fencing multiple times in the past. Never ended well for either of us."

The brown haired girl scoffs in mock annoyance as she places her free hand on her chest. "Rude," she says with a sassy head roll. Her and her father share an annoyed roll of the eyes and Toni turns to Loki. "I say we call it quits," she suggests. "I'm tired and sticky and smelly and I can't take it anymore. I need a shower."

"Agreed," the green-eyed man responds, picking at the mildly itchy fabric of the sweatshirt he wears. "You have pushed yourself hard enough for the day. We will resume our training later."

"I hope you mean later this week," Tony says, cutting Toni off before she could respond. "Because we're heading back to New York later today. Meaning shower fast, pack a few things and get ready to go."

A small, disappointed frown pulls the daughter's lips down as she snaps her fingers. "Darn," she says after a moment to choose her words wisely. "I was gonna take Loki on the beach to teach him how to drive."

"In one of my cars?" her dad questions, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the statement. "You gotta be kidding me right?"

Toni shakes her head. "No way, definitely not one of yours," she clarifies, earning a nod of approval from her father. "I was gonna take that Jeep we have in the garage that no one knows where it came from or why we have it but we just keep it there for some reason."

"I feel like it belongs to someone…" the genius says, turning his eyes to the ceiling in deep thought. "Ok, we really need to get out of here," he comments, snapping instantly from his daze at the sight of a fifty pound weight hanging eight feet over his head. "I don't want Reindeer Games over here loosing focus and dropping something on me."

Loki turns his attention to the man beside him. "As I have said before," he starts. "All that is required to keep you material in the air is a minor level of concentration near the back of my awareness. Our safety is nothing to be concerned about."

"Still," Tony retorts, lightly pushing his daughter toward the exit. "I don't wanna take that risk. Put everything back and we can start getting ready to go."

Toni shakes her father's grip and waits at the base of the stairs. "Hurry up, Frosty!" she calls to Loki as he lowers the ring and other equipment back to their spots. "We don't have all day!"

"No one said you had to wait for me," the green-eyed man responds, snapping his fingers to make the swords disappear. "But I am grateful you care so much to do so."

Toni snorts and cracks her knuckles at her sides. "I wouldn't say I cared that much," she responds. "I'm just so used to waiting for you it's become a habit. But seriously, hurry. I'm starting to make myself nauseous with my BO."

Tony and Loki share a mild disgusted look as Loki steps out from the newly restored gym. The father is the first to snap out of his daze and shakes his head. "I'm just going to act like that never happened and say get in the shower, you nasty, smelly child."

The brown haired girl scoffs and slides past her father, beginning her trip up the stairs as she scratches the side of her head. "I'm going to act like you never said that, you horrible, snobby man."

The billionaire shrugs and follows his child up the stairs. "I'm willing to accept that."

Loki follows the strange family up the stairs and reaches the top as the two walk in their separate directions, Tony going up to his room as his daughter veers off to go to her room. Upon seeing Loki, she stops and motions him forward. "Don't just stand there like an idiot," she teases lightly, continuing down towards her room. "You still gotta get a shower, then we gotta find something to put your stuff in when we go back to New York."

"I am coming," he says; follow the lead of the bubbly brown haired girl. "Not everyone possesses the natural hyperactivity you do, you know. Meaning it takes an actual effort of our part to accomplish things at the speeds at which you can."

Toni snorts and pauses in her doorway. "Walking up the stairs and down the hallway is not a huge effort, Loki-babe," she retorts, a small smirk forming on her lips. "Anyhow, I gotta shower. When you're done, either go up to Dad's room and ask if he has an extra suitcase for your stuff or wait until I get out and let me do it."

A mild hesitance flashes across Loki's face as he reaches for the doorknob to his room. "I would rather you ask in my place," the trickster says. "Your father does not seem to take a liking to my presence at the moment…"

She nods in understanding and folds her arms across her chest. "Ok then, I'll be out in a few. Wait in my room when you finished." The girl slips into her room and shuts the door.

Loki nods and walks into his own room, shutting the door before heading to the bathroom. The water is turned on before he grabs a towel and washcloth from underneath the cabinet, along with a new bar of soap, having forgotten the one he's already used in the other bathroom. He drops his soiled attire and steps in, confused beyond belief at the sudden rush of cold water that assaults his body when he stands under the faucet. The god knows he turned the hot water valve on before he gathered the necessary materials to shower. If so, then why is it cold? It's not like he's human and the cold bothers him, it's the fact that it's supposed to be hot and it's not that's bugging him.

A thought floats through his head and he remembers Toni's prank on Steve, turning off the hot water when he attempted to shower. Either they forgot to turn it back on when he left, or Toni has turned it back off without him knowing. Both options seem plausible given the circumstances, but Loki decides to go with option two. The god snaps his fingers and the water instantly begins to heat up. With the second snap, a small smirk forms on Loki's lips, giving him a mild satisfied feeling in knowing revenge has been served.

He showers quickly and dresses in the same fashion, waving a hand to fix his hair and rid his body of the spare droplets that he missed when he dried himself. The god tosses his dirty clothes in the basket in the corner and reaches for the doorknob, pausing to listen to the terrified scream coming from the room across from his. The smirk widens as he opens the door and knocks lightly on Toni's. "Is everything alright?" he asks, intentionally over adding the false innocence in his voice. "I heard a scream."

The door is thrown open and Toni stands in the doorway, fully dressed with a stunned expression on her face. Loki's eyes examine his handiwork with smug satisfaction. Toni's once straight and manageable hair stands in all directions, the brown and blonde being replaced by bright orange and pink. "Loki!" she nearly screeches, pointing at her hair as the mischief-maker continues to smirk. "What the hell!"

Tony, clad only in a towel and a hurriedly put on sock, slides into the hallway, a thick, wooden hairbrush clutched in his hand. "What's happening?" he asks, failing to notice his daughter. "I heard a scream."

"I believe Toni is having a bad hair day, as one would call it," Loki replies curtly, nodding at the glaring teenager in the doorway.

"What?" the genius says, dropping his arms with a bemused look on his face. "Bad hair day? That's what this is all about." He turns his half glare to his daughter. "Why would you-" The sentence is cut short as the father finally spots the cause of the scream, taking only a second to register and make him double over in laughter. "What the world!" he manages to choke out around the fit. "What happened?"

"Loki, apparently," the now carrot colored girl says, still shooting daggers at the trickster. "Although I have no reason WHY he would do it…."

Loki's smirk turns to a warm smile as he places a hand on Toni's head, patting it twice before letting it rest. "You turned off my hot water," he explains, moving his hand to tap her nose. "Maybe next time you will reconsider before you do it again."

"I didn't do it the first time!" the girl counters, throwing her hands up in exasperation as he father's laughter begins to die down. "I did it to Steve! Ok, I may have forgotten to turn it back on, but that doesn't give you the right to fuck with my hair!"

"That is my way of paying you back for turning my hair that god awful yellow color in your painting session," he replies curtly, earning another chuckle from Tony.

"You turned his hair yellow?" the father asks, clutching his now sore sides. "Why?"

"I was in paint on the computer and I wanted to see how it would look, ok!" Toni cries. She reaches up and clutches a handful of her hair between her fingers. "This is not acceptable!"

"But it is amusing," the god responds innocently. "And easily fixable, I might add. It is another simple spell I have learned when I was just beginning the art."

"Then fix it!" the girl all but hisses, tightening her grip on her hair. "I can't go outside like this!"

Tony shakes his head, still holding back more laughter, and turns to walk away. "Well, I'll let you two settle this out," he starts, readjusting his towel as he flees the scene. "Hurry it up though, we still gotta find something Vixen here can put his crap into."

The father leaves and Toni sighs, lowering her arm and releasing her hair from the death grip she had on it. "All right, Loki," she starts, forcing calmness into her voice. "Fun and game time is over. Change my hair back, we gotta go."

The trickster gives a sickly sweet side smile and tilts his head slightly to the side. "But it is such a vast improvement to your prior appearance," he counters in false innocence, making a scowl form on Toni's face.

"You're such a dick," the angered girl nearly growls, making the smile on Loki's face widen. "You're a huge dick. Oh my GOD!" Once again, Toni throws her arms in the air in exaggeration as she turns to go back into her room. "Fine then! I'm staying here."

Loki chuckles as he watches Toni walk over and fall face first onto her mattress. "You are so melodramatic," he comments, taking a step into the room. "Tis only a jest." The god earns no response, making him roll his eyes and snap his fingers. "There," he starts as Toni's hair falls back into place. "Your hair has returned to its former glory. There is no longer any need to pout." Still no response.

The trickster raises an eyebrow at his host's uncharacteristic silence and walks over to the bed, grabbing and gently shaking her shoulder. "Toni?" That earns a small groan of annoyance from the brown haired girl as she turns over and clutches her pillow, surprising Loki on how easily she switched from enraged to sleeping in under ten seconds.

"Is she really asleep?" Tony, now fully dressed, asks from the doorway. A frown of immense disappointment pulls the father's lips down at the sight of Toni's normal hair. "Damn, and you changed her hair back. I was gonna send a picture to Pepper…." He sighs and walks over, carefully lifting his daughter into his arms as he would a baby before he turns to the black haired man. "Go get your stuff," he instructs. "We gotta go."

Loki nods and brushes past the genius to gather his things, using the same spell from before to string the bags together in the air behind him. "I am ready," he says Tony grabs a random stuffed animal for his daughter to hold.

"Great," the father responds, leading the way down the hallway and out the door. "Jarvis, lock up when we leave."

"Of course, sir," the AI responds, darkening the house as the last of Loki's bags float out the door. "I will speak to you again in New York."

"See you then buddy," Tony says, shutting the door. He listens as the automatic locks slide into place and nods once he feels like everything is secured. After shifting his daughter in his arms, he turns and fishes the keys from his pocket to pop the trunk for Loki. "Put your stuff in there," he says, opening the door to the backseat to put his daughter in. "We'll leave as soon as you're ready."

Loki nods and points to the empty trunk, mentally commanding the bags in. The long string does as instructed and the god closes the trunk once finished. He walks to the front and sits in the passenger side as Tony starts up the car. "Might wanna hold onto something, Rudolph," the genius advises, pulling out of the driveway. "Our flight leaves in half an hour and we're roughly an hour away. I don't feel like being lectured today, so I plan on making it."

The mischief god tightly clutches the door as he watches the speedometer's needle slowly rise; worry etching itself on his face. "Gods help me," he silently prays. "For I may not make it out of this alive…."

Toni groans tiredly as she rests her head against the elevator wall eight hours later. "I'm so sleepy," she whines, listening to Loki mutter the words of invisibility as the metal box rises under them. "Why did I have to wake up? Someone could have carried me."

A sarcastic chuckle falls from her father's lips at the statement, making Toni glare at him from the corner of her eye. "Yeah right," Tony replies. "Carrying you to the car when we left wore me out. So carrying you everywhere else wasn't even an option. Besides, you woke up on your own halfway to the jet, so it's your own fault."

"Meh!" the teen whines again, lifting her head to bang it against the metal. "Damn nightmares! I'm tired!"

"Did you remember to bring your medicine from home?" the god asks at the same time Tony cuffs her in the back of the head for swearing.

"Damn!" Toni responds, earning another cuff from her father. "I did forget my meds!"

"Really?" the older Stark asks as the elevator stops on their floor. "You mean to tell me we just flew across the country and you forgot the one thing that keep you sane?" An aggravated sigh passes the man's lips as he steps out from the box. "I guess I have no choice but to be the good father and go get them tomorrow right?"

The brown haired girl pushes herself from the wall and follows her father out, dragging her feet unenthusiastically. "I'm sorry D-"

A fist comes from out of nowhere as she steps from the elevator, cutting off her sentence as she drops to the ground to dodge it. Loki watches in unseen bemusement as Toni rolls the rest of the way from the elevator as a foot stomps the ground where her head was. The girl snaps an arm out to avoid the next onslaught of hits from a familiar face, never failing to surprise the god on how fast she actually in battle. For every movement the Man of the Hawk's Eye throws at the small warrior, she always has at least two ready to counter it.

It's only when Barton catches her roundhouse kick five minutes later does her mind blank out completely. The agent lifts Toni in the air by her leg and tosses her across the room like a rag doll, earning a surprised yelp from the rag doll herself as her senses return. Toni twists in the air and lands softly on her feet, whipping around to smirk at the man who threw her. "Come on, Clint," she teases. "You use that move almost every time we fight. Get some new material…"

After a moment, the agent returns the smirk and straightens. "I gotta say, Short Stack," he starts, earning a frown from Toni at the name. "You've improved since we've last sparred. I may need to kick it up a notch."

"Or," the hazel-eyed girl says, standing and holding her hands in front of her in a slow down manner. "You could just leave me alone and not try to kill me every time we see each other… That's a good idea."

Clint ponders the option then shakes his head. "Nah, then it'd get boring. I prefer kicking it up a notch."

Toni rolls her eyes and walks over to the shorthaired man, throwing her arms around his back. "Of course you do," she grumbles into his chest. "You always wanna kill me…."

"That's not true," the man responds, returning the hug. "Most of the time I just wanna duct tape your mouth shut to get a few minutes of silence."

A scoff is heard from the girl as she pushes away and starts toward the kitchen. "Jerk," she grumbles, throwing open the fridge as Clint and Loki chuckle in amusement. "Where's everyone else, anyway?" she calls to change the subject.

Hawkeye walks in after her and leans against the counter beside her. "Up in the game room," he informs, snagging the Gatorade bottle from her hands before she could open it. "Tasha's playing Steve in air hockey, so it's a big deal."

"Lemme guess," Toni begins as she shoots death lasers at the brown haired agent while retrieving another Gatorade from the fridge. "Natasha's kicking Steve's ass?"

Surprisingly, Clint shakes his head as he takes a sip of the ice blue liquid, making Toni raise a brow as she sips her own red drink. "Actually, Steve's holding up pretty well," he explains. "His reflexes are awesome and Tasha's been going easy on him. Although I'm thinking she may not be holding back as much as she was a few minutes ago." He pushes himself up from the counter and nods a head in the direction of the staircase. "Come on, Short Stuff. We gotta game to watch."

Toni nods and extends an arm out as she finishes her own swig of juice. "You go on ahead," she says. "I'll be right down. I wanna grab a snack."

A loud, sarcastic laugh is pushed from the archer's chest as he starts his ascent to the others. "It's not like it's gonna help any. You're gonna be short for the rest of your life." A small bag of chips smacks the man on the back of his head, landing with a dull rustle as they hit the ground after.

"I am not short!" Toni shouts, glaring at the archer as he turns and scoops up the bag into his hands. "I'm a perfectly healthy height for my age."

Ignoring the comment, Clint smiles at the bag of potato chips, lifting his head to send the grin in the direction of the still glaring teen. "I love this kind," he says sweetly. "Thank you."

The marksman bolts up the stairs having seen Toni grab a wooden spoon to lob at him next, having heard Thor's story about the first time he arrived on Midgard. Once the man is no longer within her throwing range, Toni sighs deeply and slams the spoon back on the counter. "You may not be overly fond of what I am about to say," Loki begins cautiously earning a side glare from Toni in response. "But I am inclined to agree with the archer in your height deficiency."

Toni groans in major annoyance and allows her head to fall onto the countertop, a harsh thud being heard as her skull meets with the linoleum. "Ouch…" she grumbles after a minute, bringing her head up to rub the now red area on her forehead. "That hurt…"

This time it's the god's turn to sigh, shaking his head at his friend's childish behavior. "Again, you fail to take heed to my suggestion about not hurting yourself for five minutes," he says as Toni lifts the cold bottle to her forehead.

"Shush," she says around a half yawn. "Did you want something to snack on while we're down here?" Toni asks, pulling open the cabinet in front of her.

Loki shakes his head. "My hunger is not terrible," he responds, placing a hand on his stomach. "I should be able to last until dinner. Or, in this case, after dinner when we go into your room."

Toni nods as she grabs a Nature Valley bar from the nearly empty box. "Want something to drink?" she offers.

"Water please," Loki responds, earning another round of nodding from the hazel-eyed girl as she reopens the fridge and pulls out a bottle of water. He takes the cold bottle and twists open the top as Toni showed him when he first arrived, taking a drink and feeling a mild relief as the liquid slides into his stomach.

"Is the bottle invisible or will it look like a floating, self emptying, non-spilling bottle keeps following me around?" Toni asks when Loki replaces the top on the bottle. "Cause if it's the latter, please let me know so I don't have to pull an excuse out of my ass like I do every other time…"

Again, Loki shakes his head, muttering a quick spell under his breath to cast the same spell on the bottle that he used on himself. "The bottle is now under the same invisibility charm I am," he informs. "We are free to regroup with the others now."

"Great," Toni says, walking towards the stairs with Loki on her heels. "Now, please, please, please, don't do anything stupid. There are three people up there you don't know you're here, and I can only almost guarantee your safety against two of them if they wanna kill you. Thor's your own issue…"

"Thor is of no issue," Loki assures despite the mild hesitation in his voice. "As you have said, Thor may overpower me in strength, but I am able to make it up in magic. A simple spell or two will render him useless within the first three seconds."

"Great," the girl repeats just before they reach the top. The light coming from the large game room blinds Toni, causing her to lift an arm in attempt to shield her eyes from the glare.

"Young Stark!" the thunder god cries in joy as Toni finishes climbing the stairs, hurrying over to gather her into his signature bone-crushing hug. "It has been far too long since our last gathering in this manner!"

"Yeah," the brown haired girl says with not nearly half as much enthusiasm as Thor. "I know. Four and a half months is a long time. You know what's longer? Death. Which I will be experiencing shortly if you don't let go."

Thor jumps slightly at the words and immediately releases the teen from the embrace, still holding her at arms length with a happy, toothy grin aimed at her. Loki lets out an unmistakable groan of aggravation at the sight and moves around the two, taking a spot near the crowded air hockey table. "My apologies, young one," the thunderer says. "I am just excited about finally being able to see our fellow warriors gathered in one vicinity. It is exhilarating!"

"I'm sure," she responds, unable to resist smiling back at the blond man's grin. "Plus the whole time gap in realms making it much longer than it actually was. I totally understand."

"Wonderful!" Thor exclaims, grabbing Toni's wrist to lead her to the crowd. "Come! The soldier and the Widow are playing the most interesting game! The black piece floats on air as it moves across the board!"

Toni laughs and somehow manages to shake Thor's heavy grip and stands beside him, taking the spot between the two gods without anyone knowing. "I know, Thor," she responds, watching as Steve successfully managed to even out the score between him and Natasha. "It's called air hockey for a reason."

"Let the man have his moment," Tony says, walking over to place a hand on his daughter's head. "This is his first time seeing anything like this. It's special."

The daughter rocks her head under her father's influence and smothers another yawn, unscrewing her Gatorade to take a sip and hopefully reenergize herself. Despite the comforting presence she had with her father last night, she still only managed to sleep for about half an hour before being forced back into consciousness by a terrifying, but unremembered, nightmare about Thanos. It's something about those hate-filled blue eyes that has her scared, which sucks because blue is her favorite color. That plus the fact that she managed to forget her medicine at home means she's not going to be able to sleep at all tonight either.

"Toni," Natasha says for the third time, finally managing to pull the genius's daughter from her thoughts. "Welcome back to the world of the living," she comments dryly as she earns a response from the girl. "Fun and games time is over. Now we plan."

Tony groans childishly and removes his hand from Toni's head, much to her displeasure, and frown deeply at the mention of work. "But we just got here," he argues. "Can't we wait until later to do it?"

Steve releases the hockey paddle and takes a step away from the table, folding his arms across his tee shirt clad chest. "Natasha's right," he agrees, earning another groan from the tower owner. "We need to figure out who's gonna search where for Loki."

Clint grits his teeth at the tricker's name, still incredibly pissed at Loki for taking his willpower a few months ago. Not that anyone, including Toni, blames him. Clint has always been one for doing things on his own time, not under the command of others. The orders he receives from SHIELD are no different, only giving him a rough lay out on the mission with no specifics on how to pull anything off. Being told when and how to do something is one way to earn you a permanent spot on Barton's hate list. That and hurting Natasha or taking all the hot water before he gets in the shower. "Bastard," he growls, statement going unnoticed by all except the trickster god himself.

With a wave of his hand and simple word, the fire haired woman's hand jerks suddenly, causing her to hit the hockey puck directly at Clint's forehead. The black disc bounces off the archer's head and hits the floor with a dull thud. "What the hell Tasha!" the man cries, clutching his reddening forehead as the rest of the Avengers stare in confusion at the female assassin. "What was that for?"

"I don't know what happened," Black Widow explains as Loki smirks in satisfaction. "It's like my hand had a mind of its own!"

When the words hit the air, Toni turns slightly and glares at Loki, who expertly avoids her gaze by scanning the vast amount of Iron Man memorabilia in the area. "Anyway," she says to change the subject. "Now that Natasha has successfully settled some sort of unseen office war, how bout we get back to the matter at hand?"

"Agreed," the super soldier says, taking another step away from the table, as if another puck were to magically soar from the air and smack him in the head. "So, Thor, Bruce, Clint, Natasha and I have already agreed that he's nowhere in Manhattan. But we're inclined to make another few rounds to make sure. It's only been three weeks and Loki has no money, meaning he couldn't have gotten that far."

Thor shakes his head, earning the attention of everyone in the room. "Not nesaccerily," he disagrees, tone hinting no intentions of disrespecting Steve's assumptions. "Loki's magic has the ability to take him anywhere he desires, be it on Midgard or beyond. For all we know, he could have left this realm and is currently residing safely and happily in another."

Toni has to cover her mouth as a knowing smile twitches on the corners of her mouth, notion being noticed by Loki who shares the look but not bothering to hide it. "Well," Steve continues. "We're limited to what we can do on Earth. Meaning if you want to send another group around the galaxy to look for him once you've finished here, go right ahead. For now, we stick to the states, mainly this one."

"We should break up into groups," Toni suggests, finally managing to school her emotions back into an almost interested stare. "I know it's a childish call but it'll make it easier to look everywhere at once."

Rogers nods at the suggestion. "Which is what I was about to say we do." The soldier turns his attention to the ceiling. "Jarvis?" he calls hesitantly to the air. "Can you put up a map of Manhattan?"

"Right away sir," the housekeeper responds as a light blue area map appears on the wall behind Bruce. "Will this be ok?"

"Yes, thank you," Steve says, sliding around Bruce to be closer to the map. "Ok, so there are seven of us in total, two of which can fly around and give us a bird's eye view of things. Those two will each circle around half the island with the dividing line being here." He pauses to draw a horizontal line just above Midtown. "That leaves five people on the ground. Since Toni can't walk her section alone, due to a prior request put in by her father, she will have two people in a group with her. I'll leave that decision up to Toni."

Toni rolls her eyes and hops up to sit on the air hockey table, being stabilized by Loki when the entire table nearly flips from the sudden added weight. "I don't really see the point in me having a partner since I can clearly handle myself," she starts with a yawn. "But seeing as I'm too tired to complain or care at this point, I'll just go with Steve and Bruce."

The soldier nods and turns back to the map. "Ok then. We'll take the lower half of the island and Clint and Natasha will take the upper."

Tony nods a few times and turns to Thor, who stands mesmerized by the projection on the wall. "Hey, Point Break," he says, waving a hand in front of the thunder god's face to snap him from his trance. "I'm circling the lower half. I wanna be closer to Toni in case they actually find the bastard."

Thor nods a few times in understanding and watches as the map disappears from the wall. "If you wish, Stark," he responds. "Although I may require assistance finding the area in which I am searching."

The billionaire nods again and pats the blond man's arm before turning to the stairs. "I got you, buddy," he assures. "Now, who's up for dinner?"

"Food!" his daughter moans as her stomach releases an agreeing rumble. "I need food!" Her eyes turn dreamily to the ceiling, a trance-like smile pulling her lips up. "I love food…so…so much…"

Bruce shoots a strange look to the girl's father, who shrugs and continues his trip down the stairs. "I'm ordering Chinese! If anyone objects, speak now or forever hold your peace!"

The two assassins follow Tony down the stairs, almost shouting over each other to suggest where to order. Toni's stomach releases another whale mating call before she remembers the granola bar she's almost crushing in her hands. The foil is torn open and a bite is taken from the first bar, doing little to nothing to satisfy her hunger. "When was the last time you've eaten anything, Toni?" Bruce questions, finally speaking for the first time since the Starks arrived. "By the looks of it, I'd say at least a day and a half."

Toni shakes her head as she takes a sip of Gatorade to wash down the granola. "Breakfast," she corrects. "Which was at like…. four-ish this morning…."

"That can't be healthy," Steve comments, walking over to pluck the hockey puck from the floor.

"I'm fine," she says around a mouthful of food, earning a disgusted look from Loki. "Anyhow," she whips around to face Thor, shoving the second bar in the god's face. "Try this."

Thor, now sporting a familiar confused look on his face, hesitantly reaches out and plucks the bar from the foil. After sniffing it and giving it a thorough look over, Thor lifts the bar to his lips and takes a bite, bemusement flashing across his features before being replaced by a mixture of emotions. "It is dry," he says, taking another bite as he struggles to finish his first. "But delicious." He looks down at Toni with a smile. "Almost like pop tarts."

A similar grin fastens itself on Toni's lips as she looks up at the thunderer. "I knew you'd like them." She turns and faces Steve and Bruce, arms extended in a way that almost makes her look like a motivational speaker. "What say we go wait for the food downstairs?"

Another yawn forces past Toni's lips as she finishes pulling her shirt over her head, vision blurring as tired induced tears cloud her eyes. "Damn," she says as the yawn finishes, spotting Loki as he moves in to retake his usual perch on the edge of her bed. "I'm tired…"

"You say that as if it were not obvious already," he comments, picking the last of the Chinese food from the container Toni snagged for him. After lifting the fork to his lips for the last time, he sends the empty box, along with the dirty fork, back to the kitchen to be properly disposed of in the morning. He wipes his hands on the napkin he brought and turns to Toni. "Am I sleeping in here or am I to have my own room?"

"You're sleeping in here," the brown haired girl responds, sitting beside him on the bed before flopping to lie on her back. "Sorry buddy, that whole room thing was only a temporary fix. It's back to hardwood floors for you…"

"Damn," the magic user mutters, mimicking her actions and laying on his back. "I despise hardwood flooring…"

"You say that as if it were not obvious already," Toni replies in a sorry attempt to copy his tone. The two share a quiet chuckle before lapsing into a comfortable silence, both staring at the ceiling in tired interest. "That wasn't nice," the teen says, breaking the silence with a small frown. "Making Natasha hit Clint in the head with the hockey puck… It wasn't nice.'

"Kindness was the last thing on my mind at the moment," the god responds without missing a beat. "I only reacted to a comment he made under his breath."

"Hm," Toni responds hazily, too tired to actually form words. She takes a quick moment to regain a small amount of energy before pushing herself up into a sitting position. "You take the comforter and one pillow," she instructs as she did the first night before standing. "I get the sheet and the other pillow."

Loki pulls a faint smile at the familiar words, also pushing himself to his feet. "I understand," he says with a nod, aiding the tired girl in her attempts to take the comforter off the bed. Once his pile has been established, the god nods in mild satisfaction and turns to Toni, already tucked under the thin sheet that's left on the bed. "Would you like me to charm you into sleep?" he offers, knowing it would be hard for her to sleep any other way.

Toni shakes her head and yawns again, already feeling her lids grow heavy with fatigue. "Just make the nightmares go away," she requests. "Please?"

"Of course," Loki responds, placing a soft hand on Toni's head. He mutters strange words under his breath, making the same pale blue lights dance under his fingertips as before. Toni's breath evens out fairly quickly after that, so Loki knows she has fallen asleep. Smothering his own yawn, the god turns and lies on his own pile, growing annoyed with the hardwood as soon as he does.

Another spell is muttered and a small patch of soft carpet appears under Loki's pile, immediately relieving the trickster of the cold floor. Why he didn't think of this the first night is a mystery to him, but he quickly changes his opinion and blames it on the circumstances of the arrival. With the stress of escape and the magic going into maintaining the cloaking spell keeping him from being found, he's surprised he even remembered where the tower was in the first place. The yawn he smothered before is back with a vengeance and forces its way past his lips, sending a sudden wave of exhaustion over the black haired man. The god's eyes fall shut and his breath falls into a sleep filled rhythm as he too falls into sleep's warm embrace.