Author's Note

And I am back to continue on the fast track to finishing this fic. And, boy, is it going to be fast. This chapter starts the beginning of the final showdown. When writing the ending, I started this chapter and just kept going, writing everything I wanted until I finally finished without stopping to find proper places to break up for chapters. I ended up with, like, 14000 words by the end, I think. This is going to be a wild ride.

Are you ready?

Go onward and enjoy!

It Starts with a Bang

When everyone is called to Stark's lab the next day after the prank, Ari thinks they've been found out and are about to walk to their doom. Maybe Jarvis finally gave in to his programming and ratted them out. Maybe Stark actually figured it out on his own.

She doesn't know, but Stark looks ticked when she and Sideswipe walk into the lab.

Everyone else is already here, besides Pepper who is still secreted away in the penthouse upstairs. Bruce and Jane are looking over one of the satellites lying on a workbench, totally oblivious and uncaring of the state of the lab. Steve looks a bit dumbfounded, staring at all the googly eyes, glitter, and the three painted robots puttering about in the back of the lab.

Thor is a bit apprehensive, though trying not to be. Loki, Clint, and Natasha are completely cool like they've got nothing to hide.

Will and Optimus—in holoform—are here, too, and they're trying not to laugh.

"So, would anyone care to explain?" Stark asks expectantly.

"Sunstreaker is really lucky he's on patrol right now," Sideswipe says along the bond, completely calm on the outside, but Ari can feel a little bit of worry in him.

"Or really unlucky," Ari counters, barely suppressing a smirk. "This is kind of hilarious."

"Stark," Steve says on a sigh, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Did you really call us all here just to find out who pranked your lab?"

"Of course I did! I demand justice for this!"

"No, he really didn't," Darcy interrupts before he can continue, walking into the lab with a tablet held in the cradle of her arm. "Though I won't demand my own justice for the mess on two conditions: I don't have to clean this crap up and whoever did it invites me on the next pranking spree."

Stark squawks. "Don't encourage this! This is my Tower! I'm the only one allowed to do any pranking."

"Stark, please get to the point," Phil says, walking in behind Darcy.

Darcy whirls on him, Jane's head popping up at the sound of his voice as well. "I know you!" Jane yells, arms wrapping protectively around the satellite even though it's way too big. "You stole all my equipment before!"

"Where is my iPod?" Darcy demands, looking about ready to beat Phil with her tablet.

Phil rocks back on his heels, bemused. "Agent Barton notified me of your…situation. It is unfortunate that not all of your equipment was properly returned. You have my sincerest apologies."

"That doesn't put the iPod in my hand." Darcy rounds on Clint, hand on her hip. "You told me you'd find it, bird boy, so where is it? Don't tell me a secret government organization tasked with protecting the world isn't capable of finding one iPod."

"You've got my back, right, Phil?" Clint begs, taking a nervous step back. "Please?"

Phil's mouth ticks up in a smirk, reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out a silver device. "Always, Hawkeye."

Darcy beams, making grabby hands for her iPod. "Give me, give me!"

He hands her the device and she squeals in delight, examining the classic iPod carefully. "Is everything in order?" he asks, trying to hold in his amusement.

"Yep, everything looks alright. It's definitely mine and all my songs are there. I can't believe it still has power after all this time."

"I took the liberty of charging it for you, as a gesture of goodwill. We really didn't mean to keep it all these years. Somehow it ended up in a box of our equipment. I hope all can be forgiven?"

"Yeah, dude, water under the bridge," she says, waving him off distractedly as she scrolls through her playlists and walking away to her workbench.

Clint sags in utter relief. "Oh, thank you, Primus. And Phil. Thank you, thank you, Phil."

Phil's smirk grows. "Anytime, Clint."

Steve sighs heavily. "Can we please get back on track?"

"Right," Bruce says, him and Jane drawing their attention away from the satellite to join the rest of the group. "We've called you all here to let you know that the satellites are finished and to go over next steps."

"How are we getting them into orbit?" Will asks.

"We've made small rockets," Stark explains. "The satellites will be held inside. When the rocket reaches our needed elevation, the satellites with be ejected and power up automatically. Doc Foster will control them from here, initiating their flight path and starting up the scans."

"We've made three in all," Jane says proudly. "One will scan the equator, one the Northern Hemisphere, and the last the Southern Hemisphere. I would have preferred to have a couple more to better guarantee maximum coverage but we figured getting them done faster was more important."

"And how long will the scans take?" Optimus asks.

"Approximately six hours. Of course, that's if Thanos and the Chitauri are in the last possible location the satellites scan. More than likely, we'll find them within anywhere from thirty minutes to five hours."

"Which is why we need to prepare now," Stark adds. "When we find them, we need to leave as soon as possible."

"Right," Steve says, the man Ari has gotten to know over the past several days fading to the wayside as Captain America steps forward. "Then everyone needs to suit up now and keep your weapons close. One way or another, we're bringing the fight to Thanos."

They split up, the Scientists Three going to the roof with Phil and Darcy to launch the rockets while everyone else gets their gear ready. Ari suits up just like everyone else, getting into her N.E.S.T. uniform and making sure she has all of her weapons. Chitauri seem to go down just as easily as humans so she raids the stash of weapons the N.E.S.T. team brought, grabbing some extra magazines for her glock.

Once everyone is ready and the scientists report that the satellites are in position and starting their scans, they reconvene in the common room in order to plan.

Getting there will be iffy. It all depends on exactly where Thanos and his army are. If they're close, they can just drive there. If not, then they'll need to fly. The Starkjet is toast and there's not enough time for Stark to make another one, obviously, so Phil requisitions a quinjet from S.H.I.E.L.D. for them to use. Stark complains, saying it's not as fast as the Starkjet, but it'll have to do.

That doesn't help the Autobots, though. They won't be able to fit on the quinjet, let alone all of the N.E.S.T. soldiers. They'll have to take the carrier plane that they came in, parked at an airfield outside the city. It's slower than the Starkjet but that should be fine. Thanos shouldn't know they're coming so the Avengers can wait on the Autobots and N.E.S.T. to arrive before going in. Still, for the sake of expediency, the Autobots and N.E.S.T. head out to the plane now, waiting for Stark to send them coordinates for a rendezvous.

They'll need all the help they can get to defeat Thanos. According to Loki, he has some very powerful magic, the kind that has wiped out entire civilizations before. So going in without everyone being there would be reckless. Not even Stark is willing to risk it.

Which is why Loki is coming, too.

Stark doesn't like it, Steve either, but Ari tells them that he needs to come. Not only is she hoping that she'll be able to take off his shackles by the time the fighting starts—something she doesn't actually say out loud—but they'll need his expertise. If Thanos is cooking up something magical to fight against them, Loki will be able to identify and find a way to stop it.

This won't be easy, even with the element of surprise. Hope is becoming harder to come by, especially with both Loki and Thor looking so uncertain at their group of warriors.

But they have to try. They have to give it their all. Because if they fail, then all hope is lost for the rest of the universe.

They try to plan out some general strategies but, honestly, without knowing where they're going, not much can be done. They're all filled with the need to do something though, idle hands already looking for a target. Some of them go to find one in the shooting range. Others try to distract themselves, either in front of the T.V. or with patrol.

The Scientists Three plus Darcy go back to the labs, poking at the Chitauri machine again since they still have no idea what it does.

Ari arches her brow at Sideswipe, angling her head towards Loki sitting next to Thor on the couch in the common room. Sideswipe shrugs a shoulder and then nods.

"Hey, Loki," Ari calls from across the room, pushing the button for the elevator.

Loki's head lulls to the side so he can look at her, boredom settling heavily in his eyes. "What?"

"Come on. There's something I'd like you to take a look at."

Loki gets to his feet in one graceful motion, happily joining her and Sideswipe in the elevator with Thor following along behind.

"And what is it that I'm looking at?" Loki asks.

"It's a piece of Chitauri tech," Ari explains, the elevator dropping them off and they head towards Stark's lab. "The Scientists Three haven't had the time to figure out what it is yet, but I figured you might be able to speed things along since science and magic are kind of your things. You know a lot about alien tech, right?"

"But of course," Thor snickers. "Loki has passed many hours in the palace library reading all sorts of books and scrolls. I have no idea how he can sit still for so long."

Loki's stride falters for a second as his jaw tightens and Ari can sense the old tension. And the old hurts. Asgardians believe magic and science to be women subjects. However, Loki loves them, and if Ari has to guess, Thor has often teased him because of it.

This is where the animosity between Loki and Thor first took root. But Thor seems to be oblivious to the mine he just stepped on.

"There's nothing wrong with spending the day just reading," Sideswipe says, stopping just outside the lab. "So long as you have the right book."

"If you say so," Thor says, looking like he is this close to rolling his eyes.

"No, seriously. It can actually be a lot of fun. I mean, you like to tell stories about your battles and all that, right?"

"It is his favorite pastime at feasts," Loki drawls, actually rolling his eyes.

"Well, reading a book is just like listening to one of those stories, except that instead of someone just telling you the story you have to read the words for yourself."

Thor turns pensive, halting in his steps. "And does Midgard have many stories to regal you with?"

"Yeah, tons," Ari pips, excited to corrupt someone to the ways of the bookworm. "When this is all over remind me to find you a copy of Harry Potter. His is one of the best stories I have ever read."

And maybe it will help change his mind about magic.

That's for later though. Right now they need to get down to business while they still can.

They enter the lab where all three scientists are elbow-deep in the Chitauri machine, Darcy sitting atop a nearby workbench handing out tools whenever someone calls for them.

"Is that safe?" Sideswipe asks hesitantly, afraid of stepping further into the room.

"Depends on exactly what that device is," Loki says, curiosity piqued as his eyes rove over the machine.

"Oh, don't worry, chaps, I disconnected the power cell. We're all perfectly safe."

Ari's blood runs cold as Wheeljack's holoform pops up from behind the machine, wrinkled face covered in a green substance she is hoping is just grease and white hair just as wild as it is in his bipedal form.

"Wheeljack, what are you doing here?" Ari asks, equal parts scolding and scared. How long have they all been working together? Have there been any explosions yet?

Are they close to an explosion now?

"I told you no, 'Jack. Remember? I told you not to work with them."

"But…but this machine is so fascinating!" he says, like a kid trying to convince his mom he really didn't draw on the walls. "And we've made so much progress!"

"Relax, Ari, I've got it covered," Darcy says with an unworried smile. "I've been watching them all real close and if anyone misbehaves, I've got my taser handy."

Loki's eyes shoot to Darcy, no longer so eager. "On second thought, perhaps they have this covered."

"Why is he even here?" Stark asks without looking up from whatever he's tinkering with. "Shouldn't he be in his room or something? Put him down for a nap until we're ready."

Loki opens his mouth to say something—probably something very harsh by the murder in his eyes—but Ari beats him to it. "Stark, chill. Loki is harmless. You'd realize that if you'd actually spend time with him, which is what I'm suggesting you do now."

Stark rounds on her, screwdriver gripped in his hand and a cross between horror and hatred on his face, making his eyes dark and his mouth snarl. "Why? I'm not about to spend time with a mass murderer."

"I get that all of you are geniuses in your own rights but so is Loki. And he's actually spent time with Thanos and the Chitauri. He might be able to recognize things when you would not."

"Oh, and now you want to let the psycho near an unknown machine? Yeah, that sounds like a terrific idea. You're just asking for him to blow us all up and escape."

"Escape is not my intention," Loki says, ire still running through his veins but he holds it back. "Nor has it ever been. If I wanted to escape I would have done so long ago. I have counted six opportunities for such since I've been here."

"Right, sure," Stark says, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "So why haven't you escaped, hmm? Why stick around at all? You tried to invade us. You tried to kill us. So it's not like you care."

Loki goes quiet for a moment, probably unsure what to say. There's so much that he could say. None of this arguing would even be necessary if he just told everyone the truth; that the things he's accused of doing weren't even his fault. But he doesn't. Instead, he endures the hatred spat at him in cruel words.

Ari catches Loki's eye, tilting her head towards Stark. Trying to encourage him to finally speak up. There's no reason for him not to, but he just shakes his head, sliding a smirk onto his face.

"What I do care about," Loki says, "is defeating Thanos. I was unsuccessful in delivering the Tesseract to him and taking over this realm. Now, Thanos wishes me dead, or much worse. This venture is my only chance to escape his wrath."

"So you're only interest is in yourself," Stark huffs. "Figures. Do you really not care about what happens to the rest of the universe at all? I mean, you're one of the idiots who live in it, you know."

"Loki," Ari says, almost pleading. She doesn't want him to have to go through this. He shouldn't have to. There's another way—a better way—but he refuses to admit the truth.

"No, Lady Ari," Loki says, with just enough bite in it to make her mouth automatically snap shut. "I will not waste my breath. Let us just get on with this so we can all go back to ignoring each other."

"It's still not happening," Stark insists. "I'm not letting you anywhere near this thing."

"But Tony," Bruce says slowly, shoulders raised towards his ears. "We kind of need the help. We've taken the machine apart and poked at it and we still don't know what it does, even with Wheeljack's help."

"I hate to admit it, but he's right," Jane says reluctantly, tossing a wrench onto the table next to Darcy. "We're stuck."

"Though, really, how bad would it be?" Darcy muses, taser casually held in her hand. "I mean, we've already seen that the standard charge can take him down. If he does anything funny, I'll just taze him."

"And I'll stay," Ari offers, patting a hand against the gun strapped to her thigh like she's willing to use it. Even though she doesn't want to at all. "Plus there's Thor. I'd ask Clint and Natasha, too, but honestly, they could use a break from guard duty. But between all of us, he isn't getting away with anything, right?"

Stark grits his teeth, walking a few steps away and shoving a hand through his already messy hair in frustration. When he turns back, he points a finger at Ari, looking her straight in the eye. "If anything happens, it's on you."

"I am the one responsible for Loki," Thor reminds him. "His actions are on me."

"Yeah, well, this is her stupid idea. Share the blame if it makes you feel any better."

Stark snatches up another tool, turning back to the machine without another word. Jane and Bruce share an uneasy look before joining him, digging back into the work.

Wheeljack just shrugs his shoulders and shoots Loki a smile that makes Ari uneasy. "Well, I say the more the merrier. Come on over and I'll show you what we've managed to figure out."

Loki nods, approaching the machine while sticking closer to Wheeljack's side. Ari isn't sure if it's his easy acceptance or the fact that Wheeljack is a fellow alien, but Loki seems more comfortable with him while shying away from the others. It makes her frown as she hops up on the table next to Darcy, Sideswipe pulling up a stool to sit near her with his head resting on her leg.

Her fingers automatically delve into his hair, sweeping through the strands absently as she speaks across the bond. "I hate this. He was making real progress yesterday, getting along with Clint and Nat. And now this."

"You can't just force them not to ostracize him," Sideswipe replies gently. "It's a lot of very bad history."

"I know that, but that's not what I'm talking about. I mean how he just…takes it. He doesn't try to fight against the accusations or anything. It's like he's perpetuating them. He wants them to keep thinking he's the bad guy. If he's going to change he's got to stop this. He has to admit to the truth eventually."

"I'm sorry, sweetspark, but that's not happening, not until he decides to do it. Not until he's ready."

She sighs, scratching against his scalp on the next pass. He practically purrs in her lap and she smiles, doing it again. "It's just…he's not doing anything because…I think he feels like he deserves it."

"He did a lot of bad."

"But it wasn't his fault."

"I don't think he sees it that why. Like Clint. Except unlike Clint, he's got no one to vouch for how good he is, only a history of bad."

"He's got Thor."

"Yeah, but Loki and Thor seem to have this whole sibling rivalry vibe going on. They see themselves as better than each other and that's going to cloud Thor's view of Loki. Not to mention, the bad history from when Thor was banished. All of that really was all on Loki."

"He has goodness in him though. No one without at least a little goodness in them is capable of walking around covered in glitter without a care in the world."

"I know. But no one else is going to see it until we get him to see it in himself. He just hasn't done it yet."

"Then how do we get him to?"

"I don't know," he says, pressing a kiss to her knee. "That's really up to him."

They lapse into silence, the only sounds coming from the group at the machine. The Scientists Three talk quietly amongst themselves, shooting out theories and discoveries, but Loki hardly talks at all. He listens, though, and observes. He takes in the expertise of the others like a student always eager to learn.

Thor tries to strike up several conversations with Jane but is either given a vague answer or outright ignored every time, the lure of new science enveloping all of Jane's attention. Thor sulks but gives up after a while, instead finding a stool on the other side of Darcy and talking with her—about Asgard, at Darcy's insistence.

Ari tries to pay attention, wanting to find out more about Asgard as well besides the things the AllSpark has shown her, but her mind is abuzz with energy and worry.

Something doesn't feel right to her. It makes her hands twitchy to activate her blades, draw her gun, to do something, but she has no answers, no direction.

Hopefully that will change soon but soon can't come fast enough.

"This is odd," Loki mutters, the first thing he's said in over an hour.

"What is it?" Wheeljack asks, the others glancing at him curiously but Wheeljack being the only one willing to actually address him.

"This power cell you identified, it is much stronger than what this device should actually need."

"How so?"

"It is like…the power of an entire city being used to power one home. The circuits should have overloaded as soon as the device was turned on, but it didn't."

"Meaning something must be using all that extra power," Jane says, catching on.

Stark purses his lips and keeps working, trying hard not to engage.

"Indeed," Loki says. "It is curious. But this entire machine is curious. I still cannot fathom why the Chitauri had it in the first place."

"What do you mean?" Bruce asks, hesitant but his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well, you see this parabola here?" Loki points to the satellite dish on top of the machine, bigger than Sideswipe's head. "It is used for deep-space communication."

"Yeah, that's what I figured when I first saw it," Stark says, no longer able to help himself.

Loki suppresses a smirk. "Supposedly, it is for communicating with Thanos and the rest of the army, but the Chitauri have no need for such a device. They are a hive mind, meaning any communication between the Chitauri themselves is instantaneous. As for Thanos, they have devices directly implanted into their brains to communicate with him. It's part of the hive mind he uses to control them."

"So what you're saying is, this machine is completely pointless to them?" Jane asks.

"Precisely."

"Why did they bring it then?" Bruce asks, brow furrowed as he stares at the machine like it's a puzzle piece that won't quite fit.

"I'm not sure," Loki mumbles, tilting his head in thought. "Unless…."

He squats down, hands plunging into the machine again to fiddle with something. Ari hops down from her perch, curious. He's prying at a large metal panel with his fingers, trying to open a small compartment inside the belly of the machine. "Do you know what's in there?" she asks.

"A communications relay uses a laser to receive and transmit vast amounts of data across solar systems. If this machine really is a communications relay, then this compartment should contain the parts that actually create the laser."

"What do you mean by 'should'?" Sideswipe asks, stepping close to Ari and putting a hand on her waist like he's ready to drag her away from danger.

"Well, hopefully I am wrong." His fingers slip against the metal, unable to find purchase, and he hisses in frustration. "Lady Ari, something to pry this open if you please?"

Ari turs back to Darcy, holding out her hands. "Screwdriver?"

"Got it." Darcy plucks it up and tosses it to her. Ari then hands it to Loki who jams the flathead into the seam of the metal, wiggling the screwdriver back and forth to loosen it. There's a pop and then the panel falls away, clanging against the tile floor.

Revealing a mass of wires connected to something that could definitely be a timer.

A bomb.

They barely have time to think the word before it goes off, an explosion of fire and noise that bursts through the room in a torrential wave. Sideswipe jumps in front of Ari just before it hits and they're flung through the air.

Ari's back hits something solid and she falls to the floor in a heap, head spinning.

There's fire. Heat. Smoke that clogs up her lungs and makes her cough. Water sprinkling against her skin and sirens blaring but all of it feels so far off.

Her body throbs with a deep ache from the force of the blast. She struggles to move against it, to push herself up onto her hands and knees and peer through the smoke. The AllSpark is quick to heal her, making it easier by the second, and the spinning in her head lessens.

"Guys?" she calls out, smoke making it hard to breathe. She was flung over the workbench Darcy was sitting on, it now standing between her and whatever remains of the machine.

She doesn't see anyone else. Sideswipe and Wheeljack she understands. Their holoforms probably shorted out from the blast, but she can still feel Sideswipe. He's panicking but fine, meaning Wheeljack probably is as well. But where are the others?

"Sweetspark, are you okay?" Sideswipe asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ari says, pushing herself to her feet. The sprinklers are spraying water everywhere, dousing the fire that seems to have consumed the entire center of the lab. The machine at the epicenter is only black, warped metal now. She still doesn't see any sign of the others through all the smoke but it's beginning to clear, vents in the ceiling working to suck out all the smoke. The lights are off though, only the soft glow of emergency lights brightening the room. "Get back up here. We need to find the others and get them help, now."

Deep-throated grumbling makes her freeze in her tracks, furiously blinking smoke and water out of her eyes.

Next to the blown-out machine is a huge green figure covered in soot.

"Sideswipe," she says, trying not to panic herself but it's really hard not to right now. "Bruce Hulked out."

"What?"

"Bruce, he turned into the Hulk."

Bruce—Hulk—he stands up from where he was crouched on the floor, curled over with his back facing the machine. Even though he must have been hit the worst, he looks completely fine. Maybe a little dirty but there's not even a scratch on him.

Hulk is over nine feet tall, completely green except for his black hair flopping in his face because of the sprinklers, and he's heavily muscled. He's basically what the bipedal form of a Cybertronian would look like as a human. Except for the tattered shirt that's been reduced to strings and the shorts stretched out to the max.

And when he turns to face her he looks angry. Really angry.

"You need to get out of there, Ari," Sideswipe says desperately. "Now!"

"I think it may be a bit late for that. He's looking right at me and he doesn't look happy."

"Then hide. Stay out of his reach. Do whatever you have to, just don't let him hit you. One swat with his hand could break every bone in your body. I'm not sure even the AllSpark can bring you back from that."

The sprinklers turn off as the last of the fire dies, the vents stopping too as the smoke completely clears. She would have liked to have used the smoke as cover though. Ari swallows heavily, taking a hesitant step back. The Hulk steps forward in response, bare feet crunching over broken glass without even flinching. She holds her hands up, palms out, placating.

Like that's actually going to do anything.

"Hi, Bruce," she says softly, trying to go for a pleasant tone but he just growls at her like he's offended. At least the siren has finally stopped. Yelling would not be a good idea right now. "Uh, Hulk. You like to be called Hulk, right?"

He snorts, giving a firm nod of his head, but she doesn't count it as real progress, not with the way his hands keep clenching sporadically.

She takes a deep breath. "Right. Hulk. It's, uh, nice to meet you. Do you remember me at all? I'm Ari."

"Lady Ari," Thor says somewhere behind her, glass tinkling as he picks himself up off the floor. "I advise against this. Let me handle him."

"You told me about the last time you and Hulk faced off against each other you destroyed part of the helicarrier. Just… let me try." She licks her lips nervously, trying again. "I'm Ari, Hulk. Ari. You remember?"

"Ar…ri," he says, voice so much deeper than Bruce's. He sounds like he's unused to speaking, but, then again, it's not like many people have actually tried talking to him.

Mostly, there's just yelling and guns.

She takes a tentative step forward, staring into his big brown eyes. Eyes she recognizes. They're just like Bruce's so he must still be in there somewhere. "That's right. Ari. Do you remember me?"

He looks uncertain at first, like he'd just as soon punch her as trust her. Especially when he glances at Thor over her shoulder. But Bruce has said himself that he remembers some of what the Hulk goes through. The reverse has to be true, then, that Hulk retains some of Bruce's memories. He never would have worked with the rest of the Avengers during the Battle of New York if he didn't.

He tilts his head and she swears his face softens in recognition. "Bruce and Ari friends."

She sighs in relief, lowering her hands. "That's right, Hulk. We're friends." She's safe now…she thinks. At least, so long as she doesn't do anything to upset him. "Now, do you know what happened to the others? Can you help me look for them?"

He steps aside and points to the ground. She walks towards him, still cautious, and rounds the workbench to see what it is.

Jane and Darcy lie on the ground, unconscious. Ari and Thor rush to them, Thor cradling Jane's small body to his chest while she checks their pulses. She sags in relief. "They're okay. They're both okay."

This is why Hulk was curled over. He was shielding them from the blast.

"Thank you, my friend," Thor says, the softest she's ever heard him. "You saved their lives."

Hulk pounds on his chest with his fist, roaring victoriously.

Ari laughs. "Yeah, you did good. But we need Bruce back now, okay? Darcy and Jane are hurt and he's a doctor. He can help them."

Hulks nose wrinkles like he's smelling something foul but he nods anyway. But before he does anything he asks, "Hulk and Ari friends?"

She smiles softly. "Yeah, Hulk. You and I are friends."

He grins, all white teeth in the middle of a green face and she can't help but laugh, reminded of a little kid even though there's nothing little about him. He then gives a shudder, a pained look crossing his face. Ari steps forward to help him but he staggers away, the greenness fading as his body begins to shrink.

He's just transforming back into Bruce. Trusting Bruce and Thor to take care of the ladies, she looks around, hoping to spot Stark and Loki.

Groaning draws her attention and she rounds to the other side of the machine. Stark lies on the ground, just rousing, with Loki passed out on top of him.

Loki looks bad. Really bad. He's covered in soot and cuts and bruises that are already starting to purple.

"Thor!" Ari yells, sliding onto her knees and carefully rolling Loki onto his back off of Stark. "Stark. Stark! Can you hear me? You alright?"

Stark groans again, getting his hands underneath him to push himself to sitting. Thor rushes over, helping him and looking at Loki worriedly. Stark doesn't look very good either, with a deep gash on his forehead that's bleeding down his face. "I'm seeing double but other than that, yeah, I'm fine."

If he can be so flippant then yeah, he is fine. Ari turns her attention to Loki, checking his pulse and finding it easily. Good. He's alive. But this still doesn't look good. "We need to get him to a doctor."

"I am surprised he survived the blast," Thor says solemnly. "Since he is but a mortal now."

"Jane and Darcy need a doctor, too!" Bruce calls from across the room. He's kneeling next to the unconscious women, looking them over and holding his shorts up with his hands. "I know some but I'm not exactly a medical doctor."

"He saved me," Stark says quietly, looking down at Loki like he's in shock. "He…he jumped in the way. Why did he do that?"

"Loki cares a lot more than you think," Ari says, feeling around Loki's limbs and chest for broken bones. She feels two broken ribs, maybe three. He's lucky that's all the damage he did.

He risked his life. For Stark. For someone who hates him.

Her hands slip down to his handcuffs, debating.

"Ari," Sideswipe says, voice urgent. "I can't get to you. We've got major problems."

"Primus, what is it this time?"

"Chitauri have stormed the building. I don't know what that machine was but it took out the power to the entire building when it blew. They're blasting through security like it's nothing."

She feels pain, an intense fire in her arm that isn't coming from her. "Sideswipe, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Decepticons," he grits out, pain in his voice even across the bond. "There are Decepticons here, too. They seem to be working with the Chitauri."

"Fraggit," Ari says aloud, looking to Stark. "You need to suit up, right now. We've got company."

"On it." He springs to his feet, a little unsteady but gaining balance as he jogs towards the back of the lab. He presses his palm to the wall and a panel opens up, revealing an Iron Man suit.

"Thor, I want you and Bruce to take Jane and Darcy up to the penthouse with Pepper. Keep them safe."

"You have my word," Thor says, returning to Bruce's side and picking up Jane. But he looks back at Loki in concern. "What about my brother?"

Ari turns back to Loki, taking his handcuffs in her hands. "I think it's about time we take these off."

"Then he will need these." Thor takes out two knives from his belt and hands them to her. "They are Loki's, his preferred weapons when he doesn't use magic."

"Thanks," she says as she takes them.

She just hopes getting his powers back heals Loki like it did with Thor.

Author's Note

So, the mysterious machine finally reveals it's purpose: a distraction to enable infiltration. Now we've got all our enemies coming from all sides. So much for their plan of the element of surprise. Thanos beat them to it.

Get used to the cliffhangers. There are several coming.

Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!