Chapter 14: At his best, Man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst (Aristotle)

Loki would have preferred to follow Dr. Banner. Thor, however, was faster and stronger, and since the younger of the two Gods did not want to cause another scene that might have drawn the attention of the bystanders to them, he simply stopped in front of the stall with the Christmas tree decorations.

Sky blue eyes were locking on emerald green, worry written all over the Thundergod's face.

"Loki…?"

"Thor, please, not now", Loki pleaded, once more trying to pass the Ås, but Thor did not loosen his grip in the slightest.

"Did you use Dr. Banner as bait to…?" the Thunderer asked and realized the same second that this was the worst thing he could have said. A neutral mask slid over Loki's face, and this time he yanked his arm out of Thor's hold.

"I do not have to explain myself to you!" the younger God hissed, pushing away the hand that tried reaching for him again. In a few seconds he had squeezed through the crowd, putting enough distance between Thor and himself to not have to see the accusatory glance anymore. The disappointment in his brother's voice, the assumptions about what was going on before he even knew the entire story, it stung. It reminded Loki of all those times before his fall, of all the time he spent in the palace, in his rooms, separating himself from the crown prince and his friends after once more being belittled, accused of cheating, or simply being bullied.

"Why did I listen to you?" he whispered into his speaker, clutching the phone and shoving it into his coat pocket. Why had he let J.A.R.V.I.S. talk him into taking the big oaf along? Why… why would J.A.R.V.I.S. want… why would he need Thor to come along?

In the light of the recent events it made sense to bring the Thundergod… having as much backup as possible when apprehending General Ross to not only have him off Bruce's back. It was the reasonable thing to do, and J.A.R.V.I.S. was a reasonable being, it was not his fault that Thor was accusing Loki of using a friend to bait General Ross

The man was fully supporting the anti-mutant fraction in the country, not shying away from kidnapping people whose only crime was to carry a mutation that in most cases had not even manifested yet, locking them away, and torturing them, using their attempts to escape, their use of their abilities as excuse to detain them… or worse.

So yes, Dr. Banner had been used.

But not by Loki.

Director Coulson had come up with this plan over the past months, using tiny breaches of the restraining order to add more aggravating stipulations that would make it easier to connect not only the General of the armed forces, but also the private person Thaddeus Ross to the crimes committed against civilians that were based on nothing else than racism.

J.A.R.V.I.S. had been rather insistent taking Thor and the other Æsir along, had only revealed in the limousine what would be happening to Loki. Now that he replayed the one-sided conversation in his mind, J.A.R.V.I.S. whispering to him in his headphones, he could not help but wonder how much the AI had been involved in planning this entire charade beforehand.

J.A.R.V.I.S. could be sneaky. He was acting behind their backs sometimes, but… but he was doing things like… like switching Anthony to decaf after 5 pm, or… or ordering clothes that would fit Dr. Banner instead of being a few numbers to big or made of stretchy material… or sending DUM-E with food when they had spent most of the day in the lab not even thinking about eating, only to have the clumsy thing drop the plate when all of them had realized that they were indeed hungry… and then he would help cajole Dr. Banner into cooking.

The entire plan for this operation had S.H.I.E.L.D. written all over it, but not J.A.R.V.I.S.

But…

"I am sure that once I explain our reasons to Mr. Odinson, he will understand our incitement… Director Coulson asked for my help, and I asked for yours, Master Loki. This is on the director. And on me! Never on you." The phone was vibrating slightly in his grip as the AI tried to get him to answer.

Loki was not so sure of that. Up to now, somebody always found a way to blame everything on him. And in a way, he was also guilty, he had played his role, keeping Banner in the dark.

"Master Loki…"

J.A.R.V.I.S. sounded apologetic, downright desperate even. It had been his idea to take the Thunderer along, pointing out that Thor would defend Banner and their other guests from Ross without even knowing who that guy was. By then they had been sitting in the car and could not really turn back, right?

Of course Loki had hoped that things would go the way they had today. Banner had not noticed anything, nobody was hurt, Ross was in custody, and by the way his phone was vibrating, he was being updated on the ongoing process of a search warrant being executed at the General's offices and home.

Thor was not supposed to be involved as more than an emergency backup. He was not supposed to know that anything was going on at all.

And yet, here he was, fleeing from the blonde God, catching up as fast as possible with the other three of their merry group, joining them with a fake smile and fake enthusiasm, watching Fandral demand the biggest tree for sale on the market.

He tried to ignore the thoughtful glances, the obvious disappointment, the suspiciousness that radiated from Thor as the Thunderer also joined their negotiations, and Bruce at some point cracked enough jokes about guys on Earth comparing their dicks, and not their trees, to make even Fandral blush.

J.A.R.V.I.S. made another attempt to get his attention.

"Please, Master Loki…"

The dark haired God took his headset out of his ear, stuffing it into his coat pocket together with his phone, still holding the device tightly as it vibrated a few more times.

If it was important, somebody would call. If necessary, the AI would find a way.

After all, J.A.R.V.I.S. always found a way.

After this seemingly endless morning and early afternoon, Phil Coulson felt a bit like celebrating. Not only had they finally apprehended Thaddeus Ross. No, they had also managed to locate the not so secret secret base the man had been operating from, had arrested some more people, and, cherry on the cake, had a very, very pissed Elisabeth "Betty" Ross in their custody. Ross' daughter had demanded an army of lawyers, and a bunch of journalists to rip her father a new one for kidnapping her and keeping her a prisoner, most probably intending to use her as a bait to lure out the Hulk.

The new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. tried not to preen too much in front of his co-workers, after all, they were doing more or less the same with Banner. Well, with the slight difference that no-one would make it past Tony Stark and Iron Man should they try to do so openly. He maybe even felt a little guilty for misguiding the man about Ross' whereabouts and intentions, but, well, the end justified the means.

Initially, he had not even planned involving Stark or the computer. J.A.R.V.I.S. was a stand-in for Stark as Iron Man, the machine was steering the armor well enough to be useful in battle now that Stark was benched. The agency had used some fake facebook and twitter accounts to leak where part of the Avengers were headed, some of his agents trying to outdo each other who could write the more hilarious version of "OMG I just saw Thor, and isn't that that cutie Banner with him?"

What he had not calculated in was that Ross might overdo it concerning the people he brought to once more catch the Hulk. Obviously, he had learned nothing out of the green berserker smashing whatever artillery he brought along, and trying it with a bunch of (admittedly highly trained) soldiers seemed more desperate than well thought through.

Coulson had also not thought about the satellite they had chosen to watch the entire ordeal being a little harder to hack than anticipated. Stupid Russians and their counter-intelligence. So he had called Stark's AI, told it about Ross being in New York, that they had been spotted, and that the General had just waited for this occasion to catch Banner.

He might have added some Imagine what could happen then, not really giving J.A.R.V.I.S. a choice to confer with anybody before being dragged into this special op. Imagine what might happen to the civilians there. Imagine what will happen to Dr. Banner. Imagine what could happen to all the alien inhabitants of the tower if Ross is not stopped. Imagine how this might fall back on Stark, not able to keep his charges safe.

J.A.R.V.I.S. was not just any computer, but it was predictable, and if you knew which buttons you had to push, it was just as easy to manipulate the machine as it was to manipulate a real person. Stark was its Achilles heel, J.A.R.V.I.S. would do anything to keep its creator safe.

He did not even wonder that the AI was rather quick to cut their connection as soon as they had Ross. Coulson had learned through other channels that the Asgardians were happily back at the tower with the biggest tree they could find on the market. Phil would demand surveillance later, Stark most probably would refuse to give it to them, and he'd have to get creative again to get the man's help, but…

But also there, he had the perfect means to reach his goals.

Pepper, after all, always managed to make Stark see reason.

And that was just one more reason for him to love her.

Phil Coulson maybe even whistled a little when leaving his office a little earlier than most other days. The main part of the op was accomplished, he had people to take care of the rest. Tomorrow, he would jump into the heap of paperwork that was awaiting him. Tomorrow he would take care of all the other skeletons in Ross' closet.

Today, however, he'd definitely earned a reward…

The reunion with the bots turned out to be a little more emotional than either Tony had expected. T had not planned on ending up as a sobbing mess who was hugging DUM-E and U as if his life depended on it. Dino stood behind him, not really knowing how to react to this development, not that T could've cared less at that moment.

There had been video calls, the bots were fine, according to J.A.R.V.I.S. they were more than relieved that their creator was still alive and over the moon because of the impromptu visit.

T definitely had not planned on losing it after the first enthusiastic beep DUM-E made when he waltzed into his workshop, quipping "Daddy's home, did you miss me?"

The plan had been to arrive at the tower after supervising that their slightly murderous conifer and the ginormous heap of decorations were safely packaged into the transporter waiting at the airport.

The next point on the to do list had been dealing with the superpowered teenagers and a, by now, apparently pouting artificial intelligence who had also complained to Mommy. Pepper had called them when they were still in the plane, asking what the hell had happened that J.A.R.V.I.S. was asking for advice how to make his lapse of judgement of the situation up to Loki.

She did not question why the AI called her. His creator's track record concerning communicative skills to keep an relationship going was not that stellar. She was just not so sure if she was the right person to ask stuff like this, considering her track record.

By the time T and the lovely Miss Potts were done discussing the entire snafu as far as they could, because T officially was still benched and had (also officially) no access to the reports, Dino was pretty sure that poor Phil would have to deal with the Goddess of Wrath descending upon him once he left the office this day.

When they finally entered the limousine, T had gone quiet, clutching his phone, his jaw working as he ground his teeth, and Dino was at a loss how to lighten up this entire situation.

Coulson had used J.A.R.V.I.S.'s protectiveness against him, and while nobody had been physically hurt, there were mental scars to heal. They would have to sort this out once they were at the tower, because it was only fair to not only correct the view Thor had on Loki's role in the entire ordeal, but also Banner would have to be made aware about his involvement.

Yay. Merry Christmas.

That was actually not what he had planned to do over the holidays.

At some point Stark sighed and leaned back against the leather seat, hands folded in his lap.

"I don't even know why I'm surprised. The guy's been working with Fury for so long, for S.H.I.E.L.D. I've always been the capricious, unpredictable, narcissistic diva who would deny any request on principle."

Worry shone in those warm, brown eyes as the engineer turned to Dino, fingers still playing with the cellphone in his lap.

"They never asked for anything. They always just assumed I would say no, they only ever assumed that I would not be accessible for arguments and then started manipulating their way to getting what they wanted."

The agent scooted a little closer, knowing well enough how his best friend felt in the moment, at least about the feeling of being used by others while the assumptions about his personality could not have been more false. As soon as their shoulders touched, T rested his head against Dino, having to wait only a few seconds until warm lips touched his temple again.

"You know that Pepper is on the warpath now. Not so sure if Coulson ever realized that she is the one who raised J.A.R.V.I.S. together with you, and he hurt her baby."

Caressing those indomitable brown locks, Dino closed his eyes, leaning into T.

The other man sighed.

"I… Peps already broke it off over the Extremis debacle. If push comes to shove she always puts me above everything in her life. I want her to be happy, and not end her relationship because…"

"..because Phil is a manipulative bastard who used J.A.R.V.I.S. and sure as hell also would also use her against you if he ever got the chance? That's what you wanted to say, right?"

Dino got no answer, just another sigh. So he answered his own question.

"You always tried to keep anyone of S.H.I.E.L.D. out of your life, Honey, because you knew they would try to manipulate you even if they were close enough to be considered friends. You tolerated Phil because he was involved with Pepper, and believe me, he won't walk away from this unscathed. Pepper loves you, in this strange little sister / everything but incestuous relationship / CEO with benefits / one of the few people you trust 100% kind of way you two have going on. You are family, and you dump manipulative bastards over something like that."

T snorted at that. "Please don't talk about her in the little sister kind of way. The way I think about her legs alone would be highly inappropriate…"

Dino smiled. "Only her legs?"

He was answered with a swat to his chest, and a T who was cheering up a bit. "You've seen, them, right? And don't tell Peps I said that, because those legs come equipped with deadly stilettos even on a good day."

"You gifted most of those stilettos to her"; Dino pointed out, only to have T grin at him.

"Because I happen to like her legs." And it was a good way to console her when he (according to her) had fucked up something like… missing a board meeting, or… creating a prototype for a tablet computer when she'd ordered a new cell phone, and he'd gone big because he could…

"Better than mine?!" Dino fake-pouted a little, almost losing his sincere My boyfriend likes other legs better than mine attire when Happy snorted in the front seat.

"Do you also want the new Louboutin satin collection? She might get cranky if the two of you have the same gift under the tree, though. And I actually found something I think you might appreciate more than 4 inch heels in which you know you cannot walk." The tiny wrinkles around T's eyes made an appearance, the smile finally reaching those warm brown orbs again.

Dino wanted those wrinkles back, and while every other time he would've found some hilarious way to cheer up the mood, this time he approached his boyfriend, sat down on the floor right next to him, and hugged what was not occupied by DUM-E and U.

"I want to start looking for a house", T's rough voice startled him at some point, actually, Dino was not quite sure if he'd dozed off for a while. His answer was a very eloquent "huh?"

The engineer turned around as far as DUM-E and U's clutch around him permitted, clearing his throat and wiping a hand over his face, wiping away some of the tears that had wet his cheeks.

"I… left them here alone. Didn't realize how much I missed them." Yes, DUM-E's arm was a bit uncomfortable as a pillow, and U had rolled on his sweater only an inch away from his thigh so even if he wanted to, he could not get up from the floor. He'd not let go for anything in the world, in the moment, though. And his bots seemed to have the same idea.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. can be with us whenever he wants… I miss DUM-E helping when I'm tinkering around, and I miss U's smoothies…" With a sigh T let his forehead rest against DUM-E's arm.

"I want my workshop in the basement and not 250 miles away…" He wanted his kids… his bots close by, and not in another town, having to depend on what their little brother told them and infrequent video calls with uncle Bruce.

All Dino did was place another peck against his temple.

"We'll stay here until at least New Year's Day. I'll make the lovely Miss Potts look the other way when you sneak into your lab", the agent promised, nuzzling at the other man. They would have to talk about this topic anyway. As much as finding a house would speed up things, remodeling everything would take a lot of time and energy.

Planning everything from scratch, not having to compromise – T could afford it, so why not build their dream house?

Or, why not use one that he already owned? That had already been perfected to fit his needs? Like, maybe, that big-ass tower in the middle of New York?

This discussion would give him a platform to address his not so recent thoughts about leaving NCIS. While, in general, things had become better, with Vance and Gibbs backing him, with people like Dorneget and Jimmy and Delores who made being in the office bearable - the secrecy, the mind games to keep Ziva off track yet still in the loop to use her for planting false information... that was not what he signed up for. Investigating crimes, going up against the occasional terrorist, sure. But he was no spy, he never wanted to be one, no matter how much he loved James Bond movies.

He could be a cop anywhere.

Another brush of his lips against T's temple made the engineer sigh.

"Did you inform the others that we arrived, J.A.R.V.I.S.? I want to get this sorted out as soon as possible, Ross won't destroy our family Christmas."

"I have informed all recent inhabitants of the tower. They are awaiting your invitation to the Penthouse. The tree has been put up in the living room. Miss Potts called to ensure we will wait with decorating it until she has arrived."

J.A.R.V.I.S. still sounded dejected, if he had a body, he most probably would sit in a corner, hugging his knees, and trying to figure out when exactly everything went to shit, and this was one of the few occasions when T regretted not building him one – he sure as hell also wanted to hug his third kid.

Also Dino sighed.

"Let's deal with the teenagers?"

T did not really move his head away from DUM-E's arm.

"Let's deal with the teenagers."