"Sir?"
There was the soft ping of a computer, followed by the sound of ocean waves. Tony breathed in deep and groaned. Morning. Great.
"Sir?" JARVIS prompted again.
"M'kay, geez…" Tony slung his arm over his eyes. He did his very best to ignore his alarm. "Five more minutes."
He listened to the sound of the ocean, waves lapping back and forth against the rocks that held up his home. He tried to match his breathing and go back to sleep, but there was something wrong. There was something - someone? - pressed up against his back. His neck was stiff. His arm hurt. The waves sounded too far away and JARVIS wasn't opening up all the windows to force him awake.
"Stark." Loki's breath was hot against the back of his neck. "Wake up."
Tony blinked away the sleep in his eyes and realized he wasn't at home in Malibu. JARVIS was playing ocean ambiance through the speakers. It was Loki pressed up against him - or rather, wedged between Tony and the back of the couch - and they were in the middle of Harley's garage. It was cold.
"Shit."
Loki's hand fell away from his chest as Tony carelessly rolled himself onto the floor, freeing himself from the limbs he had been tangled in. He lay on the cement for a long moment and stared at the ceiling, absently rubbing at the bandage on his arm.
"Good morning, Sir."
"Morning, J." Tony wiped the sleep out of the corners of his eyes as he sat up. "What'ya got for me?"
"The diagnostic revealed nothing that I couldn't handle."
"Had your morning coffee, then?"
Loki remained on the couch, his head on the armrest as he, too, struggled to face the morning.
"The sun's not up yet, Jarvis. You better have a good reason for waking our asses up."
"It is 3:07pm. The weather forecast for Rose Hill, Tennessee predicts snow throughout the day."
"Oh." Tony shook his head. "Nevermind, then."
No wonder it was so cold. Tony stood up and stole the blanket off the couch, wrapping himself in it and depositing himself on the chair in front of the computer. Loki muttered a quiet curse at him.
"Start talking, bud."
"I've made multiple attempts to contact and locate our friends, but no one has been forthcoming."
"Yeah?"
"Steve Rogers and Agent Romanoff are currently in the Washington, D.C. area, but I cannot pinpoint their exact location. They aren't responding to emergency calls from yourself or anyone else. SHIELD has no reports indicating that they are on a mission."
"What else does SHIELD say?"
"Director Fury was attacked yesterday by an unknown assailant."
Tony's eyebrows shot up as JARVIS opened security camera footage of a street battle. There was an overturned SUV and a man in black darting out of frame; the vehicle was on fire and bullet-riddled.
"And?"
"Records indicate he left surgery a few hours ago. No official result has been submitted, but the hospital is the last known location of Mr. Rogers and Ms. Romanoff."
Tony heard Loki stand. His curiosity brought him near, leaning in and over Tony's shoulder to share JARVIS' report.
"Foul play?" Loki almost sounded hopeful.
"There's nothing indicating that, but I imagine there wouldn't be."
Tony sighed.
"Where is everyone else, then? Do they know?"
"I've located Dr. Banner. He's currently in the Avengers Tower in New York City. Agent Barton is currently off the grid; he hasn't been accounted for in the last month."
"What of Thor?" Loki wondered.
"SHIELD has not attempted to contact Asgard."
"Pepper? Rhodes?" Tony pressed on.
"Ms. Potts is currently at Stark Industries in California. Colonel Rhodes is in a military facility in D.C. As it stands, the armed forces remain uninvolved. But, Sir…"
"Spit it out."
"SHIELD has issued a protective detail for Margaret Carter."
"Peg-?"
"Tony!"
The side door to the garage flung open. Harley ran in, dropping a fast food bag on the table as he began tearing off his winter wear as quickly as he could. He grabbed a remote and turned on an old television. It hummed to life as a newscast faded into vision on the screen.
"Tony, look!"
"-update our previous reports: Captain America has been declared a fugitive of SHIELD."
Tony blanched. Loki laughed.
"At approximately 6:30 this morning, Director Nick Fury of SHIELD was pronounced dead after sustaining a bullet wound." Christine Everheart reported, her pale expression betraying her monotone report. "Captain Rogers is reported to have information involving his assassination and is refusing to cooperate with law enforcement. Secretary of Defense, Alexander Pierce, has issued a statement asking the public to not engage with Captain Rogers and report any sightings. He hopes that this issue will meet a peaceful resolution. Anyone working with Captain America…"
"Jesus." Tony cursed.
Fury was dead. Was it really that cut-and-dry?
"Sir-"
"I know, JARVIS."
"Sir, you have also just been declared a fugitive by the United States Government, in conjunction with SHIELD."
"What?"
"...we're receiving reports that Tony Stark - Iron Man - has also been declared a fugitive." Everheart continued, her finger pressed into her ear piece. "He is suspected to be working with Captain Rogers. With that… footage has been leaked online of Mr. Stark aiding and abetting a known criminal - Loki, of Asgard..."
The network cut to footage from the car chase in New Mexico, obviously filmed from the helicopter that had been on their tail. The audio was garbled and lost to the wind (or made to seem that way) and the video quality was poor. But it was clear that Loki had taken out the police car behind them and they were failing to respond to orders from the helicopter. It was enough to be incriminating.
"Then your precious SHIELD is up to something quite nefarious." Loki decided, a slight smile on his lips. "How interesting."
He paced passed Harley - brushing a chunk of snow out of the boy's hair as he did so - and made his way back to the couch. He collected his jacket and pulled it back on, watching Tony.
"JARVIS, I want answers."
"Is Captain America really a fugitive?" Harley muted the television, rounding on Loki. "Why would he keep information about Fury's death? What's he hiding? Who's the assassin, anyway? It wasn't you, you were here. Is there anyone else who…"
The questions continued. They were met with a mildly perplexed expression and silence. Tony tuned it out.
"Your access to SHIELD's network has been revoked."
"Don't waste my time."
"One moment."
"...You've gotta know," Harley was saying. Loki continued to stare him down, but intimidation wasn't shutting him up. "I mean, you're like, super smart, right? A super villain? Don't you guys talk? Who wanted to kill Fury? It doesn't…"
"Sir, I've gained access to Director Fury's personal desktop. It has yet to be tampered with, but someone is attempting access."
"And?"
"It appears that he suspected someone was after him." Files began to pop up on the computer as they were downloaded and transferred, albeit slowly. "He did extensive research on the subject of the Winter Soldier, which appears to be an enigma within the undercover community. He also attempted to access records on Ms. Romanoff, however-"
"That's a dead end." Tony would know.
"-Yes. But he recently sent Ms. Potts some information regarding Mr. Howard Stark's storage facilities in Washington. For archival and inventory purposes, the e-mail claims."
"That's already done. Has been for years."
"Indeed."
Tony picked up a pen and scratched down a note on a nearby piece of paper. It looked like Harley's schoolwork.
"What else?"
New headlines opened on the computer: Natasha and Maria Hill were now fugitives; Stark Industries was not commenting on his actions; in the interest of public safety, law enforcement was advising that everyone stay away from the Avengers Tower; Asgard had not been reached for comment.
"I recommend you find somewhere to lay low."
"I thought you knew me better than that." Tony spun around in his chair, looking to the other two in the room. "Get me a route to D.C. and make a copy of Fury's computer before they fry it. Private servers."
"Yes, Sir."
"Enough." Loki declared, still focused on Harley. "You may call me a villain, but that does not mean I spend my time with Midgardian criminals. I have no reason to."
Harley scuffed his foot in the floor. "...Sorry."
"Don't apologize to him." Tony stood up and let the blanket fall off his shoulders. He pocketed his borrowed cellphone and the paper he had written on. "All right, kid, we gotta roll out."
"Cheeseburgers." Harley pointed to the paper bag on the table. "And, no. Where are you going?"
"D.C. Where else?" He rifled through the bag and pulled out the contents, tossing one to Loki and the other to Harley. He unwrapped the paper around his sandwich. "Gotta go save the world again."
Harley sighed and sat down on the couch, looking at them both. He was nervous.
"Speak your mind, boy." Loki prompted. He was inspecting his meal, not entirely sure what to make of it. He took a bite and despite the displeased face he made, he didn't discard it.
"If Nick Fury's really dead, and there's really something wrong with SHIELD… What's gonna happen? I mean, if you're all fugitives-"
"Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out." Tony assured him. "Even if it means taking down SHIELD."
"I'll hold you to your word." Loki promised.
"Yeah, whatever."
Tony moved around the couch and ruffled Harley's hair as he passed, eyeing the car that was parked near the garage door. The first time he'd been here, the poor thing had been a hood-up, broken-down clunker. He'd fixed it for Harley after the Mandarin incident.
He finished his burger and crumpled up the wrapper, tossing it at Loki's head. It bounced off his temple and earned Tony an annoyed look.
"C'mon. It's eight hours from here to D.C. on a good day."
"Wait, you're taking my car?" Harley asked, standing up in protest.
"Uh, who fixed your car again?" Tony asked, popping open the driver door. He sat down and grabbed the keys out of the glove box. "I think it was me. Not like you're driving it, pipsqueak."
"Bullshit."
Loki chuckled as he moved around to the passenger's side, sliding in the car with ease. Tony shut his door and turned the key in the ignition. The engine growled to life with a satisfied purr.
"Listen, you," Tony rolled down the window as Harley came up to protest. "I need cash for gas. Open the garage door."
"I don't have money." Harley lied.
"Then steal it from your mom's purse."
"No. Let me come with you."
"We did this last time. You stay here. Keep JARVIS running and call me if anything happens."
"It's my car."
"It's too dangerous for you."
"You don't have any money."
"Neither do you, apparently."
"He's going."
"You really want me to leave him behind?"
Harley sighed and crossed his arms, frustrated. He didn't seem to know what to say.
"Your heroes have been vilified." Loki said, leaning towards the driver's window. "Today is not the day for your glory. Let them fight their battles."
He blinked in surprise, glancing away. He bit his lip.
"I can help."
"You could die."
"Help from here." Tony offered, "You did good. You always do. Keep doing it, but do it here."
The teen opened his mouth to protest once more, but he was cut off.
"Harley." Loki insisted.
With a frustrated huff, Harley would open the garage door for them. He walked alongside the car as Tony backed it out into the driveway, shoving his hands in his pockets to pull out a few crumpled bills to hand over.
"You trust him, don't you?" Harley asked, crossing his arms as the snow fell down on them. Tony tossed the cash on the dashboard. "Why?"
Tony looked up from the mirrors, examining Harley's expression. He felt Loki's attention on him.
"...Listen, kid. Things get complicated when you start sleeping with people."
Harley's eyes got wide and Tony gave him his signature smile.
"Stay safe, Motorbike. You've got yourself an I.O.U."
He pulled out onto the street and shifted the car into drive, revving the engine. Harley blinked and then they were speeding off down the road, Tony's arm hanging out the window as he waved goodbye.