After being stripped of everything and tossed into a hot stream of water by humans in giant, blue suits, Loki was ready to kill. Especially when they took his knives. He almost lashed out with magic a couple of times, but barley reined it in.
Steve and Tony were being more compliant, scrubbing their hair and not feeling at all awkward about having their clothes ripped from their bodies and being shoved into what was labeled 'DECONTAMINATION SHOWER.' Loki, however, was extremely self-conscious, plus the water was scalding. After a minute of embarrassing, uncomfortable exposure, the water shut off and three towels were delivered.
The men with the blue suits came back in and took their blood, explaining that it was to test for the fungus. Loki didn't struggle this time, but glared as menacingly as he could. It wasn't helping that he was only covered in a towel.
Tony was oddly silent during the whole process. Steve was stoically silent, but that was to be expected. Finally, after another two minutes of awkward quiet, a screen flickered to life. Instead of Fury's face, however, and image of Agent Hill filled the screen.
"Do we have it?" Tony impatiently exploded with the question.
"No," she answered curtly, "you three weren't infected. However, the rest of the team, including Thor, tested positive. We have started treatment, but it doesn't seem to be working. Even though you guys have tested negative, we can't risk having an open debriefing. Please tell us what happened, and why we have to evacuate half of Harlem to test for Valley Fever." She sounded angry by the time she finished the last sentence.
Steve explained the scouting mission, Bruce's Hulk-out, and the gas. Immediately after she confirmed that his story was over, Hill turned the screen over to Fury. If the situation wasn't so grim, Tony would be joking around with how Fury-ous he was.
"Gentlemen, if you will, please explain why you went off on a scouting mission and entered a dangerous building without SHIELD approval!"
Tony sputtered. "What, like SHIELD's the boss off us now? We've operated the last four months without you guys telling us what to do and what not to do."
"Bullshit. The Avengers Initiative is a SHIELD operation, meaning all of you are under our control. Just because we've temporarily relaxed that control does not mean you guys call the shots. Missions are given by us, and are controlled by us. Thanks to you, we have a possible epidemic on our hands, one that we have no cure for. Any solution for that?"
Loki piped up meekly, just like when he had to speak to the other one-eye in his life. "Sir? Doctor Doom will contact us with a meet place. All is not lost. We can fool him into thinking we're compliant, and then defeat him. Punishing us would do no good. One of his terms was that we are the only ones involved."
Fury seemed to notice the child for the first time. He sighed. "If you were normal agents, you would be suspended from SHIELD and have your memory wiped already. However, you are not normal agents. Return to the tower and stay there until Doom contacts you or us. And do not leave it! Am I understood?"
The three nodded. The screen turned to black.
…
Back at the tower, the remaining Avengers nervously waited. They hung out in the gym, but did three different things at the same time. Tony alternately paced and fiddled with a circuit board he brought up. Steve was beating the sand out of a number of already patched punching bags, and Loki was spearing the wall with his knives. No one spoke.
This went on for hours until Loki heard a voice in his head.
"Central Park. The Great Lawn. One PM. Don't be late."
Voice cracking, Loki repeated the directions out loud.
Steve and Tony both stopped cold and whipped their heads up.
"What did you say?"
"Central Park, the Great Lawn, one PM. The Doctor will give it to us then."
"Okay, let's suit up," Tony said, standing up from the bench."
"Wait, Tony," Steve interrupted, "One PM isn't until tomorrow. Plus, one of his terms was Bruce."
Tony laughed a dry, humorless laugh. "That's your reason why we're not going now? Because we need Bruce's unconscious body? Last I checked, you were the compassionate one."
Steve was about to respond, but Loki cut him off. "Peace, Tony. I can make an illusion of his body. It will be translucent, however, so we need something to 'carry' him on. And before you ask, Tony, we shouldn't rush in now. The only reason he told me the place was because he is prepared. If we rush in again, there's a chance we'll be infected or killed by Doom. All we can do now is call Fury to evacuate the citizens, and prepare for battle."
Tony stood up. "Fine. I'll call Fury."
"Meet in the conference room at nine o clock, sharp," Steve called after him. "That goes for you to, Loki. Until then, get some rest."
Loki walked over to Steve and put his hand on his shoulder gently.
"Steve, what happened today was not your fault."
He sighed. "Yes, it was. I was an incompetent leader. No general worth his money would lead all of his troops into a dangerous building to go after one person. I should have only sent in Clint, or-"
"Let me tell you something. My mother is the queen back in Asgard. She leads armies from Asgard, and Thor and I often fought alongside her to learn the ways of war. Every death count she got weigh down on her, and she constantly beats herself up about it. None of them are her fault, however. Succeed where the queen of Asgard failed. Let it go. We need our leader to be in good condition tomorrow if we are to win. You represent the cattle of Midgardians, so make them proud."
Steve looked wryly at Loki. "You have cows in Asgard?"
He laughed. "Get some sleep, Steve."
…
The next morning around eight-thirty AM, Loki arrived at the kitchen in full battle armor, helmet tucked under his arm. He sat down on a stool and picked at the egg, bacon, and potatoes on his plate. At nine, he joined Steve and Tony in the conference room. Multiple images of Central Park and Doctor Doom were shown on the screens. Steve leaned over the table, which projected an image of the Great Lawn. He tweaked the image a bit, poking and pinching until he looked up.
"Alright guys. At thirteen hundred this afternoon, Doctor Doom will meet us here, at the Great Lawn. We'll have to bring the gunnery with the fake Bruce on it. Loki, how far away can you be and still hold the illusion?"
"Not far enough, it looks like. I'll have to bring the gunnery."
Steve nodded. "I'll help you with it. Tony, can your suit do stealth mode in the trees?"
"Yeah, the Mark 17 should be able to manage that. That reminds me." He turned to Loki. "Yesterday, you just announced the rendezvous out of the blue. How did you get that message?"
"Someone sent the message in my head my magical means."
Steve sighed. "Magical? Doom can do magic?"
"No," Loki started, "It's very unlikely he can do magic. Even if he could, he would need someone to teach him. You need to know what to do in order to pull of a telepathic spell like that. He has an ally."
"Joy," Tony murmured. Out loud, he said, "Any idea who that might be?"
Loki grimaced. "I have one idea. Amora, also called 'The Enchantress,' was banished from Asgard a while ago. She has the motives and the means to defeat my brother and me. Her power level, unfortunately, is currently unknown to me. Please do not question me further."
Steve nodded. "Let's go over emergency escape plans."
…
"Ahhh…" Doom drawled behind his mask, "punctuality. You two are right on time. Now, hand over your weapons, shield, and the boy, and then we can talk." The Doctor gestured to a table, and they set down the illusion of Bruce, Steve's shield, and Loki's various knives.
"Alright, we've given you what you want," Steve declared. "Now give us the antidote."
The knife hit Doom in the neck the moment he faced the pair, antidote in hand. Instead of blood, sparks flew out of its neck.
Loki hissed and made a gesture. The air seemed to shimmer, and a large number of robot Doom clones we made visible.
"Shame," the Doombots chanted in unison, "That is the actual antidote. If you had trusted me, you would have lived."
"Tony!" Steve shouted.
A flash of red grabbed the vial from the robot's hand and flew off, little more than a slit in the sky by the time the robots attacked.
A laugh resonated from the bots.
"There goes your transportation out. There goes your chance to live."
Two weeks off, and only three chapters? Please don't hate me!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I just want to give a big thank you to all of my reviewers. I have over 62 reviews, and I'm thankful for every one. Thank you all so much!