~~Part Fourteen~~

Nick Fury's face stared placidly at Tony from the monitor. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," he said, "You mean to tell me that Thor brought back his crazy-ass brother to a world he wants to destroy? And almost succeeded?" Fury's voice remained even throughout but Tony could hear the anger there anyways. "Well, yeah, but Thor says he's completely harmless. I must say, I kinda agree with him. I mean, the guy looks brain-damaged. But, you know, better safe than sorry so I figured I'd call you," said Tony, scratching the back of his head. Fury gave him an "are you kidding me?" look and Tony didn't blame him. He wasn't one of those guys that thought about safety, but he had to admit, Loki kind of scared him. He was so different from Thor and he had no problems killing any of them if the mood so took him. Fury's voice interrupted his thoughts when the Director said, "Fine then. But I'm sending Steve over right away," Tony bit back a groan. Steve was currently in New York and he wasn't really sure where everyone else was, but Steve? "Tony? Are we clear?" Fury interrupted again. "Sure sure," replied Tony before turning off the monitor.

The day had yet to start and Iron Man was already tired. Tony prided himself on breaking the ice of any situation but the tension and awkwardness in his roof-top apartment wasn't giving any sign of budging. Of course, it was completely Loki's fault. But also Thor's. The blonde Asgardian was acting all nice and shit to his psychotic brother when all Tony wanted to do was pay him back for the toss out the window. Then there was Jane. Tony wasn't used to censoring himself but he really didn't know how much he should say in front of someone who was in all respects a civilian.

He sighed and stepped into the elevator, leaving the lab behind. Whatever he wanted to say to Fury he didn't want Loki or Jane to over-hear. Well, the conversation didn't exactly include anything covert… but still. When the elevator reached the den Tony stepped out to see Thor staring at him from one of the couches, arms crossed. "Well?" he said to Tony. "Well," the other man repeated, "Steve's on his way," he said, eyeing Loki warily. That blank stare he had was really starting to freak him out.

Steve was walking through Central Park when he got the call from Fury. He was enjoying a relaxing spring day, visiting all the spots he used to frequent on the few awkward dates he managed to procure. Then he got the call and his good mood started to dissipate. He had asked the Director at least three times to repeat himself before Fury told him to shut up and head to Stark. Great, thought Steve gloomily, not only was Loki back but he also had to see the snobbiest man alive.

When the Captain hailed a cab after leaving the park, he decided he would take a detour to his small apartment to grab his shield. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but he figured it was better to be prepared. When he came back down after gathering his equipment, the cab driver looked at him as if he was nuts but silently drove him to Stark Towers. He was starting to feel a little daunted when he spotted the building as the taxi slowly inched towards it. He wanted to get out and walk but he was, in essence, a pretty shy guy. Walking down the street with Captain America's shield was a good way to draw attention to himself, especially since the people in this part of the city probably remembered all too well the last time they saw the shield.

When the cab pulled up to the front steps leading to the tower, Steve saw Tony impatiently waiting there for him there. "Finally!" said Tony. He slipped the cab driver a hundred and told him to scram, obviously in a foul mood. "I've gotta say, Cap, I'm starting to feel a little glad you're here. Thor's been acting all mushy and shit," he said grumpily, leading Steve through the lobby. "He keeps asking me when we're going to give his freaky little brother a brain scan. It's starting to get on my nerves and he only got here last night! Well, my place last night," he started mashing buttons in the elevator before he gave up and ordered JARVIS to bring them to the private floors. "What? When did they get here?" asked Steve. It seemed like too long if Thor was carting Loki around. "Uh…two days ago. He said he landed in New Mexico and they took a plane here," Tony snickered. Steve had to admit, the image of the impatient God of Thunder sitting in a little metal tube for hours on end was pretty amusing. But then Tony's face sobered. "And then, first thing that happens when I wake up this morning is hammer-man's hammer coming towards my building like some psychotic missile," he said gloomily. Steve just nodded sympathetically. Well, he didn't know what to do and Tony certainly wasn't letting him get a word in edgewise.

They finally reached the floor and got out. Steve barely had a chance to look around before he was pulled into a hug. "My friend!" said Thor, releasing Steve and beckoning Jane over to him. "This is Jane Foster," he said, the brown-haired woman holding her hand out shyly. She had heard stories from Erik about the famous Captain America and she was starting to feel a little overwhelmed. Steve smiled at her but turned to Thor, frowning.

"Where's Loki," he said. Thor's own smile fell and he pointed over to where Loki was sitting staring blankly at nothing. Steve beckoned the god closer. "So, uh, how do you know he's not faking it?" he asked. Thor's face darkened. "Why must everyone ask that? I have known Loki my entire life, do you not think I wouldn't know?" he said darkly, crossing his arms. "You haven't seen…you don't understand," the image of Loki lying in a puddle of his own blood, the same deep scratches he still had caused in his own desperation. The Thunderer almost never cried but he felt the tickling sensation at the bridge of his nose that indicated tears before he swallowed thickly and turned away. At that moment, despite their mutual desire for Loki to be gone from their lives, Steve and Tony realized Thor would pretty much do anything for his brother.

Thor visibly pulled himself together. "I came here for your help…A…what was it, Jane? A brain scan or something?" he said, looking helplessly at the woman. She nodded as Tony and Steve exchanged a glance. The Captain saw now what Tony meant when he said Thor was acting mushy. "Okay, man, you win," said Iron Man, holding up his hands in defeat. "Look, you wanna start now? I mean, with the scan?" he asked and the Thunderer nodded, going over to Loki.

The crowd went down a couple levels to Tony's lab. Thor gently laid Loki on a strange chair in the center of a circular space. His brother passively laid back and even the other two men had to admit that it was incredibly out of character for him to do so. "Uh, Thor, you should probably get back behind here," said Tony indicating the low wall surrounding the space. Thor did so and when he stepped off the pad a giant holographic image spread around his brother, blue numbers dancing strangely as the chair leaned itself back. "So…what is it specifically that we're looking for?" asked Steve, staring at the hologram in wonderment. He sometimes hated the future, but he had to admit, the technology was pretty amazing. Thor looked helplessly at Jane and she said, "Well, Thor said that this snake-thing attached itself to the body and…ate it? So I guess we're just looking for any brain damage that might have occurred," she said.

Tony fiddled with some commands on the screen that had popped up in front of him and a 3D overlay of Loki's body lay over him. Another couple commands and Thor was looking at the nervous system of his brother as if Loki himself had disappeared, leaving an eerie-blue mesh. Tony whistled as he zoomed in on Loki's brain. "Well…is there anything wrong?" asked Thor nervously. It was strange to see his brother's head enlarged, orange, and glowing. "Not that I can see but damn look at that activity! I mean, if I didn't hate the guy I'd totally envy him," said Tony, causing the image to rotate slowly. Thor didn't have time to ponder those words as an ear-splitting scream issued from Loki's throat.

Loki had always assume 'swirling darkness' was some sort of metaphor before his daughter bundled up his soul and sent him on his merry way. He'd never really known darkness to swirl but it did so now. The transition between life and death really did pulse and swirl as if it was a heartbeat. It was what he assumed what being in a womb was like.

And then there was pain everywhere. It was still dark, and sort of blue, too and maybe a little orange, and Loki suddenly felt incredibly heavy. His body ached everywhere. He had expected this – Hella had told him that his body had spent a year in extreme agony and it wasn't likely to recover just because he wasn't in it. He let out a surprised scream anyways before he effectively cut himself off and screwed his eyes shut. This new light was pulsing in front of his eyes and it made his head feel as if it was on fire. Where am I, he thought, trying to get a grasp on the sensations. He was half sitting, half lying on something vaguely uncomfortable and he could hear voices in the background.

"What have you done?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Thor, relax,"

"Relax? How am I supposed to relax, Captain?"

Loki groaned. Those voices were splitting his head open. They were familiar and he couldn't quite place them…His eyes snapped open and he sat up. There was his brother roughly grabbing that man – Stark – on the front of his shirt. There was that other one, too and – Loki's eyes narrowed – that woman.

"What the hell am I doing here?" he spat.

Yay, Loki is back! I'm gonna bring the rest of the Avengers back in the next chapter (oh, awkward times ahead!)(I don't consider it a spoiler alert, I mean, it had to happen sometime, right?)

Please review!

~CAK