Present

The walls of the cave that surrounded Tony started to flicker. As if they were holograms losing their power. A loud ringing filled the small area that was now what Tony considered his new living arrangements, seeing as it had been a whole three hours since Loki had set up a new past for the genius to suffer through. With the time Tony has spent waiting for more torture, was able to calculate the time he remained in the cave even with the ringing causing a headache. Now with the cave's metaphorical wallpaper tearing at the seams, it could be concluded that Loki was either playing a new game or he was distracted by an outside force. Even a God can't control all magic at once without struggle. Loki was no exception.

Either way, trick or no trick, Tony knew this was his chance to save himself. Since it seemed no one else was coming for him.

Three Hours Ago

Smoke bellowed for the crash site of the Quinjet that once held the Avengers. Flames cackled on trees that were unlucky enough to have been hit by the debris that went flying once the means of transportation hit the ground. Somewhere in the distance, the Hulk's roar bellowed.

Buried in the ground, half way, laid the reflective metal that was Captain America's shield. A few feet away a well bruised Hawkeye stirred.

"Jet? Down. Team? Down. Motivation to do this job? Waaaay down."

A slight rattle in the archer's throat was noticeable as he spoke. With a wince, Clint pushed his weight forward until he was off his back and sitting with legs straight out in front of him.

"Clint! Are you injured?"

With eyes like a hawk, (no pun intended) Clint spun around to see Thor limping towards him. Hammer nowhere in sight.

"Thor you're hurt. Let me look at it." the assassin shifted his weight to his knees in attempt to stand. The more he moved the more he noticed a sharp pain in his lower abdomen. With a hiss he sat back down and lifted his shirt to reveal a shard of metal lodged in his right side.

"Could be worse. Could've been a paper cut."

With a raised eyebrow, Thor examined the wound. "Paper can cause damage worse than metal? Is that why paper beats stone in your hand to hand combat game you're so fond of when you want the remote?"

"Not exactly buddy. Just trying to brighten the mood. How's your leg?" Clint winced when Thor lightly touched to metal.

"It will heal. Much quicker than you I believe. I might know of some Asgardian remedies that can assist you. I would need the help of Dr. Banner to create them. Can you wait til we find him?"

Clint nodded with a rather unnecessary amount of speed. "Yea buddy. Just help me up and maybe we can all meet up at the main wreckage of the Quinjet. That's what the others would do I assume."

"I am positive the others are alright." Thor beamed.

At that moment, the sound of the Hulk's roar shook the trees near by.

"I am positive the most of the others are alright." Thor said less enthusiastically.

Blood boiled. Not from rage but from concern. Where were the others? Were they okay? One question stuck out to Bruce more than the others.

Did I hurt them when we crashed?

Green eyes scanned the sight before him, as the Hulk tried to control his thoughts before he actually hurt someone he cared about.

With a small sigh resembling a wounded puppy, the monster of rage continued towards the crash sight of the Quinjet, more scared than angry.

Present

"Come on. Do it again. Please. Just prove I'm not crazy."

An unknown amount of time had passed by as Tony pushed his hands flat against the wall of the cave, begging it to flicker away again so he could try to push his way through. Several things could go wrong with this mediocre plan. One, he could phase right through only for the wall to fix itself while he was halfway through. Clint would laugh at the sight of Tony with his torso and up on one side of a wall and his ass and legs hanging out the other.

Risk number two, was that Tony had imagined the whole ordeal and that could only mean he was stuck here forever and losing his mind at the same time. The fear of losing something as important as his mind cause him to release a shaky breath in hopes to rid himself of the thought.

So that left him with risk number three. The wall was actually giving out and very soon Tony would escape only to find everything he knew and loved gone. Part of him tried to believe his team was okay and coming to save him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't trying to find him or that they couldn't find him because they were in trouble.

Concern did not do Tony's heart justice. He was tired. Sick of feeling this way. He knew that the chance of him dying here was high, but his mind wouldn't let him accept it and rest without telling him he had to continue. He had to move forward. He had to be there in case his team needed him more that he needed them.

And so with tired sigh, Tony sat indian style in the middle of the cave, shoulders hunched forward, as he stared at the wall in front of him with a blank stare that sadly showed that for once; the great Tony Stark's mind wasn't racing a mile a minute. Instead it was so damned focused on waiting for that wall to fall.

Two Hours Ago

"Nat! Nat, look at me. Keep your eyes open. I'm going to get you out of here." Steve's voice echoed through the walls of the caved in Quinjet. Deep in the cockpit of said means of transportation, layer the usually calm Black Widow, who was sporting a fever induced sweat while her right arm remained pinned between two unknown parts of the metal around them.

"Find… Thor." Natasha muttered for about the fifth time in between deep shaky breaths.

"No. I'm not leaving you."

Steve spoke as Captain America to make her believe he wasn't worried but of course she could see right through that and tell he was panicking.

"You can't… get me out… need Thor."

Steve raised an eyebrow, unsure as to why she didn't think he could handle bending metal. He had the serum. Sure it would be a workout but he knew he could get her free.

"Nat listen to me. I'm going to climb in there and get you out. Just hold on."

Despite the pain she was in, Natasha couldn't let Steve's stubbornness get him stuck too.

"It's not… what you think. It's Thor… the hammer…"

"The hammer?" Steve looked down as if the ground held the answers. Slowly he pieced together what his friend was trying to say.

Natasha's arm wasn't wedged between parts of the Quinjet. Thor's hammer had landed on her and only Thor could get her out. But, to find Thor, Steve would have to leave her alone.

"I might not be able to get you out, but I can't leave you. I won't have you be stuck alone when you need help." Steve mumbled sincerely, his voice wavering slightly.

"We don't… we don't have time… Tony needs.." a small grunt of pain echoed from the death trap Natasha resided in.

What felt very similar to an asthma attack, nearly knocked Steve into a sitting position. Panic began to crawl at him from all sides as he finally thought about having to choose between two people he cared about.

"I can't do this." Steve whispered so Natasha couldn't hear. He wasn't sure if he was referring to choosing who to save first or just being Captain America in general.

A memory flashed through the blonde's mind, without the help of Loki's magic.

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of , I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

Steve didn't notice Tony's eye twitch before he forced his rebuttal.

"I think I would just cut the wire."

Tony couldn't forget the way Steve flashed a snarky smile at him.

"Always a way out... You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

The last six words rang in Steve's ears. Regret growing with each chime of the metaphorical clock.

Did Tony know he didn't mean what he said that day?

"A hero? Like you? You're a lab rat Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle!"

How could Steve have been so content with Tony's rage towards him? Why didn't he care if he hurt Tony that day? Why did he care now? What changed?

"Nat, I'm sorry, but I'll be right back with help. Just hold on." Steve struggled to get up slightly, as he sprinted towards the unknown.

With heavy eyes, Natasha scanned her surroundings. Blood stained her right arm. She was technically sitting on the wall, on account of the way the Quinjet landed. Off to her left lay Clint's bow and three arrows. At that moment, her mind concluded she could reach an arrow with her foot if needed. Whether the reason was to fend of enemies, or freeing herself to escape. Even though her stomach flipped at the thought, she knew she could survive without her arm if that was what would save her in the long run. After all she's suffered worse pain, she hoped.

Natasha eyed the arrow with concern and determination, unaware of the tired and now less green Bruce Banner making his way towards the crash site.

One Hour Ago

"I guess you could say I'm your backpack now." Clint wheezed slightly as he mumbled into Thor's ear.

It was a funny picture, despite the injuries the had to fight through. Thor treading towards the smoke in the sky, hopefully caused by their means means of transportation, while Clint was hanging like a wet towel over the God's back. His side had stopped bleeding moments ago, but the amount of blood he lost after Thor removed the metal intrusion was really taking a toll on the archer.

Thor ignored the soreness in his leg, while he held his missing friends shield in one hand. It was obvious he was unsure of how to wield said defensive weapon as his skin crawled for his hammer. The only problem was, he didn't know where it was and didn't want to risk causing damage by summoning it. He was also sure if he called for it's assistance, Loki could use that to find him and his injured teammate.

A small chuckle left the God's throat as he listen to Clint babble on. "You are most fun Clint. Even while injured, you keep spirits high. It is no wonder Dr. Banner calls you a clown."

Clint's scowl resembled something between confusion and agreement. Thor knew he wasn't fully aware of his surroundings.

After a few beats of silence, Clint perked up slightly. Almost like a cat when they hear their food being poured.

"Something's in the trees.."

"Yes, possibly a rodent or a fellow bird." Thor grinned at his words.

"Why do you all think I'm friends with birds? Forget, I'm serious. Something is out there. It sounds big."

Thor chuckled, amused by Clint's rambling. "Bigger than me? Worry not Hawkeye, I am one of the mightiest around. Nothing shall harm us-"

"Is Thor praising himself again?"

Both men turned their heads, Clint slower that Thor, to have eyes land on a scratched up yet uninjured, Captain America. He smiled back at them, noticeably out of breath.

"No time to reminisce, Nat needs your help." Steve turned to show them they way back.

"I'll save you Natasha!" Clint shouted as he flailed his free arm about.

Steve rolled his eyes only to have them freeze on his shield. "That's a sight for sore eyes."

"Yes, I believe this suits you better. Have you any idea on the location of the Mjölnir?"

"Sadly yes. We have to hurry." Steve fell back into his Captain America act as he spun around and sprinted towards Natasha's location.

Thor turned his head to raise an be eyebrow at Clint. "What did he mean sadly?"

"I guess we better find out."

Present

Brown eyes fought to stay open as Tony remained staring at the walls of his cave. That was what he called it now. His cave. It was no one else's. Except maybe Yinsen. Other than him, no one but Tony suffered as much as Tony has in this very cave, whether it was was physically, mentally, or as of now magically. Three hours had passed by, unknowingly to the genius, and he had still not moved from his spot. His legs were numb, his skin was pale, his lips were so chapped from dehydration they were often bleeding, and he had become noticeably thinner from lack of food.

'How long have I been here?'

A shaky hand scratched at his unkempt facial hair. Is fingernails felt uncomfortable on his skin because of the length that had been added to them over time.

While staring forward, Tony began to wonder if he had actually been here long enough for his physical appearance to take a negative impact or was it Loki's magic tricking him. Slowly, Tony realized he was thinking again and shook his head, wiping away his thoughts to only focus on the wall. He knew he looked crazy, but he needed out. For some reason he couldn't wait to see Steve.

'I hope Steve and the others are okay.'

Why Steve was his main concern, Tony would never understand, but for now he knew he had to clear his mind again. Only thinking about that wall and forcing himself to stay awake because he just couldn't shake the feeling that the next time he closed his eyes would be when he lost himself, and he couldn't let that happen because then the team wouldn't need him anymore.

Fighting off tears, Tony hugged himself to fend off the cold with a sigh. Eyes locked onto the wall once again as he waited for anything to happen. With nothing left to do but wait, the genius rested his chin on his knees and hummed to himself, the words to a song came out his lips in a subtle whisper, as his eyes slowly began to flutter shut.

"Little clowns… you might just turn yourself around..."