"JARVIS, turn off the music. If you haven't heard me already, party's over." Tony spoke up and crossed his arms as he waited for the command to be executed. Moments later, the music was still blasting and the party still going on. "JARVIS?"
There was no response from his AI and Tony bit his lip in slight worry. Had SHIELD shut him down? Oh shit, was the building surrounded at the moment? Shit. Fuck. They fucked up big time.
He was just about to round everyone up for a plan two when the AI's voice finally could be heard. "Booting up."
"JARV!" Tony said, relieved before ducking into a more private room to talk to his AI. "Show me the surveillance from the past hour, I want to know Barton's location, and I need a suit at the ready."
"Yes sir, should I assume you are aware of the security breach?"
"I thought I programmed you not to restate the obvious," Tony growled. "Now that we have acknowledged the fact that Barton's here, I want to know how the hell Fury got in. I got a nice little virus I want you to give to any of his remaining hackers-"
"Sir, SHIELD is not responsible for my shutdown or security breach."
"Then who is?!" Tony said.
"Are you also aware of Natasha Romanoff's presence in the towers?" JARVIS said, ignoring his last question.
Tony felt himself stop short and drew in a quick breath. "...where?"
Loki stood firmly with his back pressed against the door, staring back at the widow while biting his lip in anticipation. He could feel his heart pumping, the familiar churning in his stomach that he always got when he thought of her, and he felt the icy tips of fear run along his spine. The black widow was perhaps the second avenger that he feared most, behind the hulk of course. No, he didn't fear her physical abilities, he feared her wit. The red head had beat him at his own trade, own talent, own special skill that he was best at. And that was when he still had his magic in place along with his usual strength. Imagine the damage she could do now when he was most vulnerable?
Romanoff stood up just then, her long and elegant floor length dress flowing with her movement. The garment was a deep rich blue that complemented her skin and made her hair appear much more vibrant, almost as if it were fire itself. On an ordinary woman, the dress would have made them appear dainty and fragile. But on Natasha, Loki thought she appeared even more formidable. In his eyes, it was as if the dress concealed most of her deadly venom to the naked eye and that kind of hidden power was the most dangerous.
"I do not wish to speak with you." he said, keeping his voice level.
"But you're going to," she answered matter-of-factly.
The frost giant could feel the usual start of his conflicting emotions. Her words made him angry, but he was reminded who he was facing and he could feel the fear set back in. He wanted to use that silver tongue of his, knock her down a few pegs in a battle of wit, but remembered what his likely outcome would be if he got too pompous.
"How did you manage to get in?"
The two started circling each other around the room. Loki's steps were hesitant; Natasha's stride was full of purpose.
"We have our ways," she replied smoothly. "You're going to have to come with me now. It would be best if you choose to cooperate."
"And if I don't?" Loki almost paused.
She opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her. "I refuse to be taken into custody of SHIELD."
And with that, he made a stupidly rash decision and dashed towards the door. His fingers had just grasped the door handle when his legs were knocked from underneath him and he fell forward onto the door. His nose collided with the hard handle on his way down. Blood spilled from his nose and he slumped to the floor in a pile. Loki jerked his head around to see Natasha subtly moving her leg back in place, concealing the gun and knife strapped to her limb that was revealed only because the fabric of her dress shifted.
"I'm not working for SHIELD this mission," she said as he frantically collected himself as best as he could and attempted to escape again. She pulled him away from the door to pin him down and he began to struggle harder, completely ignoring her words. "Loki, please."
"No!" he shouted. He was not giving up without some type of fight no matter how much pride he lost in the process. In the back of his mind, he blamed his weakness on his failure to regain his magic. His failure would result in his capture and possible execution he bet.
Natasha sighed heavily and firmly pressed her knees against him. "I am not allowed to injure you, but don't think for a moment I won't if it's necessary. Thor wants you in one piece though."
This froze him right in his tracks. He stopped resisting and looked into her serious blank stare. She was lying...she had to be.
"Thor wants me to retrieve you. For what, I do not know, but he wants you. Since me and Clint owe him a few favors...he asked us to get you. I don't like you, but a debt is a debt."
"And SHIELD?" he asked, his voice barely audible.
"Not in any way involved. We are not allowed to go to Fury. We wouldn't want to anyway. We don't trust him completely."
"I don't trust you." he spat.
"That does not matter because you're coming."
A/N: Mmm, sorry for any typos. Felt my muse inspire me for this story so I had to write.
Thanks for 200 followers! Wow, I had no clue this would turn that popular and I'm just overwhelmed with thanks. The lovely reviews also mean a lot to me, so thank you again! (:
EDIT: oops, a few embarrassing typos haha. Fixed it
