Steve and Loki sat up extremely alert when the Tower shook that morning. There was a sliver of fear in both their expressions, but it was quickly masked. Suddenly Steve reached out a hand against Loki's arm, his fingers tapping out patterns pretty quickly again the shirt's fabric.
Loki looked more alarmed as he shared a look with Steve, who just nodded as if confirming something. Very carefully Loki began to weave his magic around the pair and the room. An illusion of the God manifested on the chair Dr. Garrison had occupied the day before, reading a strangely written novel, (it was strange in that it was written in Ancient Norse)
"Sirs, the Lady Sif of Asgard has just arrived and is being led inside by Master Stark, Thor, and Sergeant Barnes. Doctor Banner wanted me to inform you of her presence at this time." Jarvis' voice came over the speaker, the pair quietly thanking the A.I (Loki with words and Steve with a nod) and resumed what they had been doing before the quake.
Steve went back to drawing and Loki went back to playing with the StarkTablet. He was getting slightly addicted to Solitaire, much to Steve's silent amusement. The copy of Loki only moved when turning the pages of his book.
The pair was pretty sure that Jarvis had alerted Tony to the high level of magic Loki was using, but he was also not hiding what he was doing, unless you were the newest guest to the Tower.
Sif and Loki had a long history that held deeper resentment than even Thor thought possible. The God of Lies was not about to make his true presence known to the other Asgardian and it would be a test to see if Thor would "rat him out" so to speak, on his trickery.
Tony was gleefully monitoring the magic use and tweaking sensors all over the place to see if he could change the readings. The engineer was used to spending long nights/days/nights in the lab, but he was starting to reach his limit as well. That evening he was probably going to pass out, it was just a matter of whether that was in the lab or in his actual bed.
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Lady Sif of Asgard straightened from the near collision she had with the roof of this towering building. The All Father was angry that Thor had not brought the traitor back and it was up to her to ensure they all returned in a timely fashion. Thor always had a soft spot for his brother; Sif just hoped it wasn't clouding his judgment on what needed to happen. Asgard needed a strong leader to take over after Odin and pandering to Loki's boy who cried wolf routines would not bring about the peace of mind his people would need from his rule. It would cause more discord and anger from his subjects and possibly throw Asgard into a feud.
No. Thor needed to get his head on straight and figure out what was more important- the traitor or his home world.
A flying metal suit came up to greet her, arms stretched in warning, or threat she couldn't be sure. Sif took up her own defensive position in response.
"Halt! Who cometh onto my Tower?" Came a voice from inside the suit.
/He talks oddly. Perhaps it is a machine?/ "It is I, Lady Sif of Asgard, here to seek Thor, her crown prince and heir to the throne.
Before the machine could respond the door to her left flew open to admit Thor and a man with a lot of weapons pointed at her.
"Hold Shield Brother! This is not a threat, it is the Lady Sif of Asgard." Thor went over to her, arm out in greeting, "What brings you to Midgard? Is Father well? Am I needed back on Asgard?"
"The All Father wishes to know what is taking you so long in your quest to return the traitor. He needs to be dealt with quickly so as to not cause problems for the people of your home." Lady Sif returned the arm shake, getting right to the point of her visit. The sooner she accomplished this the better.
The man with multiple weapons shared a look with the flying machine. "Well," said the machine, "why don't you come on in and we can talk like civilized people."
With that the machine flew back down the side of the Tower and the man with the metal arm gestured for her and Thor to go in front of him. Thor nodded at him and led the way back through the door and down the stairs. The three of them arrived at the floor with a balcony and curious furnishings in record time. There was a man standing by the windows, holding a small rectangular machine and talking to himself, "this is really fascinating. J are you sure we are getting all of this properly? There's nothing interfering with the scans?"
The man gestured for the metal-armed man to join him. The pair staring at the small device in varying levels of fascination, confusion and wonder.
"Lady Sif, these are my Shield Brothers and friends, Anthony, and James. Our other Shield Brother is down on the common floor probably making breakfast. Together we were able to defeat Thanos and his attempt to take over Midgard with the Chitauri."
Sif's eyes narrowed, "don't you mean Loki's attempts to take over Midgard?"
"Much has been revealed since Father sent me here. Not everything is as straightforward as I was led to believe." Said Thor vaguely in response, "Come, let us feast and talk more on this together."
Thor led Sif to another set of doors, which Jarvis opened for him. "The common floor please," said Thor to Jarvis.
"Of course Sir." Jarvis closed the elevator and brought them down to the common floor to eat something with Bruce.
"What in the world is Loki doing?!" Said James loudly after Jarvis informed them that the Asgardians were with Doctor Banner in the kitchen. They were watching the feed from Steve and Loki's room, with the illusion sitting on the chair and Loki and Steve going through a multitude of facial expressions while they stared at each other and Steve tapped his hand against his leg in apparent agitation.
"Jarvis said he created the illusion within minutes of Sif arriving on the roof. Clearly, he did it for a reason, but is allowing us to see them and the illusion at the same time. I think he might be hiding from Thor's friend. I just don't know why."
James shook his head in confusion. Not sure what to think of this new development. This whole situation kept getting weirder and weirder. James debated on what his next move was. If Sif was going to cause problems, then he wasn't sure he wanted to go to D.C to find this Sam Wilson person. Although, James was less worried about Loki and more about Steve, so that left him with quite the dilemma. Unfortunately, they couldn't do anything until the Shield Doctor came and Steve either cooperates or tries to kill them. Again.
The ex-assassin could feel a headache coming on and resisted the urge to pinch his nose in frustration. He tried to think about what Steve would do in his situation. /He would get whatever help I wanted and would do it as fast as humanly possible to make it back to me before too long. /
James knew that to be true. He knew Steve would go to the ends of the Earth to help him if their situations were reversed. /He would probably even feel the same way I do about this whole situation right now. /
"Sir," said Jarvis, "Thor's friend, the Lady Sif, is requesting quite strongly to go to see Loki as soon as possible. She is refusing all attempts from Doctor Banner, or Mr. Odinson to refrain from her plan at this time."
James let out a muttered curse and made his way to the elevator, Tony following right behind, still playing on the StarkTablet and muttering to himself. Almost as if by magic, Tony got a new reading on the StarkTablet that said the illusion of Loki had moved to another empty room on the guest floor. Tony had Jarvis hold off on letting Thor and Bruce know that information but did mention it to James in the elevator.
The pair entered the common floor to lots of heated discussion between Thor and his Lady friend. Bruce was behind the bar, putting together smoothies that he was trying to pack with more nutrients and proteins that would help Steve's system, while also keeping the texture as thin as possible so Steve would be able to swallow them. It was a fine line to try and balance.
The information on Steve's health that Jarvis was monitoring had alarmed the doctor the night before. The regularity of the food was starting to boost things like his heart rate, and core temperature. However, his body was so starved of proper nutrition that what he was in taking wasn't nearly enough to heal his injuries at a safe rate.
It was almost like the serum was going into survivor mode and was attacking all of the muscles and less major organs that it was actually meant to heal in an effort to heal the most dangerous wounds first. Bruce guessed that Steve was probably in a lot of pain and was trying to hide it from them. With that in mind, Bruce made a large batch of smoothies that he was going to try to sneak up to Steve. Although, with Thor's friend Lady Sif trying aggressively to get to Loki the Doctor wasn't sure how to get the drinks and food up there.
James and Tony solved the issue for him, "Ah Bruce! Breakfast is almost done I see! Excellent! Let's take this all up to my room so we can finish working on that project before the SHIELD psych gets here." James began putting the smoothies and breakfast sandwiches together onto trays while Tony went over to Thor and Lady Sif. James also handed Bruce Tony's Tablet, to show him the readings from what Loki was doing.
Suddenly the mounting tension in Bruce was released and he began helping James load up the trays. "That sounds perfect. We can discuss the readings that I got last night and see what course of action would be best."
James' eyes shot over to Bruce in concern, but he didn't react otherwise. Bruce glanced to the Tablet and back at James, giving him a significant look for a brief moment- a clear message that something was wrong, and they needed to talk.
"Thor! Buddy, it's so nice to meet more of your Asgardian friends!" Tony went over to Sif and Thor, distracting the pair away from Bruce and James' conversation. "I'm Tony Stark, the owner of this pinnacle of modern technology you are standing in."
The genius debated making a comment about Sif's pretty perfect looking looks, but Pepper's voice was yelling in his head and Sif was carrying some pretty sharp looking weapons. With some effort Tony refrained from saying something that would get him castrated by two women.
"So, you are the one housing the traitor Loki. I will see him at once." Sif turned her anger and determination on Tony, who forced himself to not step away from the formidable woman.
"Yes. It's come to our attention that not all of Loki's actions were his own and we are looking into his story and situation before sending him back to Asgard for whatever issues you have with him."
"Aye," said Thor, "Asgardian punishment for Loki will need to come second Lady Sif. If we were to wait until after his release on Asgard there is a great possibility that his crimes on Midgard will be things of legend. It would not be fair for these people to not get the justice they deserve as well while we still have the opportunity and while the wound is still fresh."
"And what of your home world? You are growing weak with all this time you are spending on Midgard. These humans are twisting you from the leader you were born to be."
"Hold your tongue Lady Sif. You are a true friend, but you know not what you speak at this time. If you continue in this vain, I will be forced to send you back to Asgard without Loki and with no help from me when your King questions why you failed." Thor's tone went dark, something the others had not heard before and it all gave them pause.
Well, that and he seemed to have turned off the All-Speak filter for his little speech, as the Earthlings couldn't figure out what he said.
The room fell into an uneasy/confused silence.
"Sir's," Jarvis' voice broke the stalemate, "Your project needs to be attended to before more negative readings start coming through. Might I suggest you move the food upstairs so you can attend to it?"
Jarvis' voice got both Bruce and James moving again with the food laden trays. They were in the elevator and making their way to the guest floors before either Sif or Tony could respond to what Thor said- even with Tony having no idea what that was.
The genius waited a beat before interrupting Sif as she was about to say something back to Thor and may or may not have a violent act attached to it to make her point. "Well, I have no idea what you said, but I'm sure a monitored visit with the prisoner would not be out of the question. You would need to agree to a few rules though… sign some contracts, make some blood oaths. The usual."
Thor looked like he was going to protest but a quick look from Tony got him to hold his tongue on the matter.
"I will not sign a blood oath, nor sign this contract you speak of. What are your rules, so I might consider them." Said Sif, appalled at the idea of a blood oath. Like a warrior like her would be so dishonorable.
Tony counted off on his fingers, "One, you make no physical contact with the prisoner. He is not to be handled in any way. You can speak to him but that's it. Two, if Thor says you need to leave the room you leave no questions asked. Three, you have no unsupervised contact with the prisoner. And by supervised, I mean Thor is with you and he is armed, and you are not, in case you try to break one of the other rules. If you don't agree with those rules, then you are pretty much wasting your time here."
Tony considered having Jarvis deploy the suit just from the look Sif was sending him.
"The Man of Iron has a point Sif. This is his home and we are guests here. We need to respect his wishes and show him the honor of our people." Said Thor, his tone in English again, but also a little harder than Tony had ever heard it before.
Sif nodded once and removed her weapons, placing them on the table. When she was finished the three of them went to the elevator, Tony leading the way. "Thor you should go get your hammer from your room and meet us at Loki's door."
Thor could've just called the hammer but seemed to catch on to whatever plan Tony had in mind. He realized with James and Bruce's departure that the others knew something he didn't, and it probably had to do with their guests. He nodded when the elevator opened and made his way to his room at a steady pace. Tony led Sif to the door across from his and the pair waited until Thor had shut his door before Tony announced their presence.
"Yo! Reindeer Games! You have a visitor," Tony's voice carried a little louder than it needed to, but he opened the door and pushed his way into the room all the same.
Loki's illusion was sitting on the chair near a window slowly making its way through The Hobbit. Tony idly wondered where the book came from and made a mental note to ask about it later. It was also not wearing the clothes that Loki liked, just a simple pair of black pants and a gray long sleeve shirt. It glanced up at Tony, with his grand entrance, but returned its attention to the book seconds later. "More Midgardian 'Doctors' coming to learn my deepest, darkest secrets? How drool."
Fake Loki turned a page in its book. And Sif spoke before Tony could get another word in, "No, traitor, it is I, Lady Sif, come to take you back to Asgard so you might face your King's justice."
The illusion turned another page, not acknowledging what Sif was saying. Thor and Tony knew at once Loki was trying to rile her up and it seemed to be working. Sif waited for a beat from some kind of response and when none came, she looked more aggravated than before. "What, nothing to say? Afraid of the punishment you shall receive for your crimes traitor? You always were a coward."
"Ah," said the illusion, still looking at its book, "there is the Asgardian arrogance I knew I would hear. It's hard to find such tones here on Midgard, as the humans don't quite have the same level of grandeur to think themselves as actual gods, although Mr. Stark over here does come very close when he puts his mind to it."
Tony wasn't sure if he should take that as an insult or not, but the slight twitch of Thor's lips that lasted barely a moment helped remove any sting from the words. So far, the God of Thunder was remaining silent, staying back behind Sif but close enough to grab her if she made a move for Loki.
"Hey!" Said Tony indignantly, "Arrogance is a family trait I'll have you know. It's one of my finer qualities!" The inventor was pretty sure his teammates were all laughing or rolling their eyes in the other room.
"If that is all you require, then perhaps it best you take your leave. I am unable to leave this room whilst in the custody of the Midgardians and you have already worn out your welcome." The illusion looked right at Sif while he said this, before turning back to the book and ignoring the trio.
"Come Sif, let us depart from here, as my brother speaks the truth. He is unable to leave his room whilst in the Tower and you have both seen him with your own eyes and spoken to him. Let us feast before anything else is said on this matter." Thor led Sif to the door and to the hall, Tony trailing behind the pair amused at the whole conversation he just overheard. He figured he would make himself something to eat as well, before popping over to see how everything was working out with his Science Bro, the Cap's squared and the real Loki.
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James and Bruce brought their loaded trays to Loki and Steve's real room as quickly as possible, without arousing suspicion from Thor's friend. While Bruce was intrigued about the magic Loki was using to produce the projection, he was also more concerned with the readings coming from Jarvis' scans of Steve. Bruce shared with James the finding from Jarvis' scans in the elevator on the way up, hoping that the ex-assassin could somehow get Steve to agree to some kind of medical treatment.
James could feel himself pale with the information Bruce was giving him on Steve's condition. He even debated with the idea of forcibly dragging Steve to medical in order to get some kind of treatment going. However, James also knew that would be a terrible idea and probably cause more harm than good.
No, Steve needed to go willingly to medical otherwise he could die. As the elevator opened to the guest floors the best ideas James had involved a lot of ranting and forceful yelling at Steve in order for him to agree to get the help he needed. And James also knew from experience that this plan would get him nowhere very quickly.
Bruce knocked on Loki and Steve's door, while James was still debating with himself. "Morning gentlemen! Loki, it seems like you are pretty busy today with all this magic. I hope you aren't straining yourself… too much."
The twitch of Bruce's lips took any sting from his words. The doctor set Loki's tray down in front of the God, while James set the smoothie tray in front of Steve. The two of them shared a look before Loki gave a little smirk and they both started working on their breakfast.
Steve was halfway through his second smoothie and Loki almost finished his breakfast before Loki spoke again. "It would be unwise for us to hide Steven's presence in the Tower from the Lady Sif. While I am not a fan of her, she is a formidable warrior and would likely figure it out on her own. I believe the consequences from that would be too great and cause problems for all of us."
Bruce and James nodded, agreeing with the assessment. "Perhaps we should move the illusion to a different room, so she doesn't learn of the odd connection the two of you share." Said James after a moment of thought.
Loki smirked at James' word, but nodded and with a thought moved the illusion to the room across from Thor. Hopefully that would force Sif to find a room on a different floor, as these were all being used.
Not ten minutes later, the group could hear Tony's voice in the hall, being unnecessarily loud, even for him. James asked Jarvis to bring up the surveillance footage for the room so they could monitor the conversation. Later, Loki would have the illusion move around the room in various ways, so Jarvis could create some feedback loops in case Sif wanted to monitor the "prisoner" on her own.
Jarvis helpfully reminded the group that the newest Shield psychiatrist would be by in a few hours and they needed to figure out how to hold Steve's session this go around. The group thought up some ideas on how to hold the session, but ultimately were coming up short, not sure if the Shield psychiatrist would agree, or if it would be worked out in a way that didn't result in Shield trying to storm the building.
Later, after the brainstorm session, Bruce pulled James down to his lab to talk about the readings Jarvis had been taking on Steve. Bruce shared his concerns about what the readings meant and wanted James' thoughts on how to bring up medical attention to Steve in a way that would make him agree to it. Bruce was concerned with the information that Jarvis was collecting and the resulting consequences for Steve's body if it wasn't properly taken care of. However, short of strapping Steve to a medical bed and forcing some IV's they weren't sure how to get Steve to cooperate.
Jarvis informed the pair that Thor and Tony had somehow convinced Lady Sif to go with him to the streets below and spend the day helping the people who were at ground zero for the attack. Thor had played it off as a way to show her how the people were suffering from the attack, but it was also a good way to have her out of the Tower when the Shield Psych showed up.
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By the time the Shield psychologist arrived the Avengers still at the Tower had managed to put themselves on edge, not sure how Steve would react to this newest attempt at someone talking to him and the fall out that would happen from the meeting. The group decided that Steve would do the session via TV Communication, as the doctor didn't want the Avengers to be present during the meeting and they couldn't guarantee Steve's cooperation. Something about the team influencing Steve's responses or interactions with her.
James personally thought that was bull, but also remembered the lack of people present at his evaluations and held his tongue. Ultimately it was Bruce hinting about getting angry that got the doctor agreeing to their plan. The ex-winter soldier watched the session again from his room, as the doctor sat outside Steve's door, speaking into the tablet, watching Steve's lack of reactions, and jotting down the occasional note.
Loki was up in the penthouse with Tony and Bruce, fixing the hole created when Hulk smashed the scepter's control over his body. Loki had been fighting the control enough that he could complete his part of the plan, but the Hulk had succeeded in knocking his head around enough to let him get full control over his body again. The damage the Hulk had caused had been more than worth being free from Thanos' hold.
It was only when Jarvis informed the trio that Steve had thrown one of the chairs at the wall, right where the doctor was sitting that they went back to the guest suites floor. The wall was solid enough that the doctor was safe, but the chair was completely decimated with the force at which Steve threw it. Bruce was a little amazed that Steve was able to pull that off with how his body was regressing at the moment.
Steve was sitting on the floor in his usual position, content with ignoring the doctor's picture on the screen of his own tablet, which was lying on the floor next to him facing the ceiling. The doctor could barely make out his arm moving as he drew in his sketchpad, and not reacting to anything she said. She made some notes on her pad, using the same shorthand as Garrison when she noticed there was finally movement from Steve in the room.
Said super soldier turned over the Starktablet, so the picture went black. There was very little sound coming from the room, which intrigued the doctor, before finally something crashed into the wall right in front of her. She let out an undignified yelp, dropping both her tablet and pad, and moved away from the door, aware of the fates of her predecessors. James was at her side in an instant, pulling her down the hall and away from the room, a blank expression on his face.
Tony, Bruce and Loki were out of the elevator minutes later. Tony directed the doctor back into the elevator going on about not needing her services anymore. "It's not you, it's us. Really. It's more of a: don't call us and we won't call you, situation at the moment. So, you get to live to doctor another day and we find someone else to take on the crazies."
Before the doctor even realized what was happening, she was being escorted out of the Tower by Stark's security and the building was closing up behind her. Tony had issued a lockdown incase Shield tried to take measures to acquire Steve and Loki based on this incident. The doctor sighed at the situation, knowing she wouldn't get anywhere with the Avengers at the moment and went back to Shield to make a report to her superiors. The so-called- Captain's- aversion to Shield was a nuisance, but it would be taken care of in time.
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Back on the guest suites floor, James and Bruce shared a look before they both led Loki back to the room and consequently Steve, who was again moved into the corner, same as the last two attempts at a session with a Shield doctor. The original super soldier was standing this time, a look of defiance on his features and arms crossed over his chest- both bringing back memories to James of the times he had rescued Steve from bullies in the twenties and thirties.
Steve started tapping his fingers against his elbow the moment the trio made it into the room, sharing a creepy telepathy moment with Loki again as the God suddenly said, "Steven would like to remind you that he is willing to speak with Mr. Wilson, just as soon as you can bring him here."
James looked resigned, yet determined, "are you SURE that you will speak with this Wilson guy if we bring him here?"
Steve turned his attention fully on his friend, nodding once he had eye contact with James.
James sighed and turned, "alright. Bruce, will you keep a close eye on him until I get back? I'll try to get Mr. Wilson to agree to come with me and get back here as soon as possible. I hope I can convince him before the end of the week… so I don't have to resort to kidnapping."
Steve rolled his eyes at James' words, and Loki snorted. "Believe me, Mr. Barnes. If you show Mr. Wilson the paper, he will be more than willing to come here. No magic involved mind you, only what's keeping the paper sealed."
James didn't say anything else in response to Loki, just made his way to his room and packed his bag. He wasn't happy about leaving Steve, especially if Shield decided to be a threat. But he wanted his friend to get better and if this Wilson person could somehow help him, then that's whom Bucky would find.
Tony got James a car and called ahead for his private helicopter to be ready at his airstrip. James would be in DC before nightfall, and he had a safe house already lined up. He would do some more research on this Sam Wilson on the chopper and start his recon tomorrow- starting with the VA that Wilson worked at and moving on to some of his normal routines. He already had Jarvis analyzing any public surveillance that had consistent sightings of Wilson that might give him insight into his normal routine.
"No worries RoboCap, Jarvis will continue to monitor SpaceCap and if anything changes you will be the second to know- as Bruce will be the first, cause he's actually here and will be able to help him. But that's beside the point. You just focus on finding this Wilson guy and persuading him to come back to New York." Tony's babbling was doing little to help ease James' tension over the situation, so he tuned the young Stark out and got into his car.
If James noticed the darkening circles under Tony's eyes indicating his lack of sleeping, he didn't mention it. To caught up in his own mind to talk with his fellow Avenger.
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Back upstairs Bruce got Steve to agree to another check up, after lunch on the commons floors. Loki went as well, but kept his magic cloaking his movements in the event that Sif and Thor returned early or without warning. But as Bruce could see him the scientist didn't comment on the decision. Steve neglected to bring his tablet, either content to let Loki translate for him or just eat in silence. The super soldier was trailing behind the other two only slightly, but Bruce chalked it up to being upset his friend had left the Tower.
The scientist didn't realize that throwing the chair with the force Steve had used was actually hindering his body's attempts at healing itself. Because of this the regression was speeding up just a little more and Steve was feeling that as he walked. Loki also didn't notice anything, as he was focusing on the large amounts of magic he was using at the moment. His body was well on its way to being fully healed, but he also had the illusion to uphold and move around, and he had to continue to shield himself from Sif.
Tony came back to the commons floor and began quizzing Loki on the magic he was using and having Jarvis take scans that he could later analyze. Loki answered some of the questions with as few words as possible, but a look from Steve had him sighing and giving the scientist a little more detail at times.
After lunch and Steve's exam, the same Bruce usually did on the soldier so there were no surprises, the pair decided to head back to their shared room for some time alone. They ended up staying in there all afternoon- sitting in comfortable silence sketching/meditating and took dinner in the room as well. Although that was more because Thor and Sif had returned from their day helping the New Yorkers clean up debris than anything else.
The three Avengers and Sif had a bit of a tense meal. Lady Sif still seemed angry, but Bruce and Tony were having trouble figuring out the source of that anger as the Asgardians barely spoke through the meal. Tony ended up taking a call from Fury, using that as an excuse to leave the room and pulling Bruce along with him. Although the scientist made his way to his lab, not wanting to be a part of Tony's conversation with Shield. Thor helped Sif find a room on a different floor from the one he was staying on and showed her how to work the human devices and technologies with Jarvis' assistance.
As the sun was beginning to set Jarvis informed the Avengers that Clint was arriving and in the elevator. Tony instructed Jarvis to stop the elevator at his lab, where he could talk with the archer and get an update on Phil. Clint had been pretty silent on his end, only really speaking with Natasha via text and after the Widow left on her personal mission, word from the archer stopped completely. Tony was anxious to hear about Phil's condition and get Clint's thoughts on their guests.
Clint got off the elevator at the lab, wearing a blank expression on his face, but holding himself pretty tensely. He looked like he could grab one of his arrows at the drop of a hat, his hand twitching every now and again.
"Phil is awake and able to move around with a pretty good range of motion- especially considering everything that his body has been through in the last two weeks," Clint preempted Tony's question, not wanting to hear the inevitable babble that would come with it. "For some reason he seemed really adamant that we could trust Loki and Roger's story. But he wouldn't tell me why."
Tony's eyebrows shot up at Clint's words, "Really? Has Phil lost his mind? Maybe he needs his head examined. That's pretty odd behavior for him."
If anything, Clint seemed to get tenser, "I want to speak with them. Find out how Loki managed to spell Phil like he did. Because he must've done something to make Phil wake up and react like he did."
"It will have to wait until tomorrow. Thor's got a lady friend over from Asgard. Who is bent on taking Loki back with her ASAP. Loki has been shielding himself from her, but not us; which has been fascinating to study, let me tell you. Anyway, Thor seems reluctant to let Loki and Sif be in the same room, so we are limiting interactions with him until she is out of the building. Thor's somehow convinced her to go out and help with the debris collection and heavy lifting for places that can't afford it. They will be gone most of the day tomorrow. You can ask your questions then."
Clint seemed like he wanted to argue but stopped himself. "…I would like to review some of the footage of the last few days as well. Maybe I'll do that first."
Coming to a decision, Clint turned around and headed for the elevator. Tony quickly told him which floors everyone else was on before the doors shut and Clint was heading up to find a room. Tony pondered the odd conversation they had before quickly losing interest and going back to studying the magic Loki was emitting. He and Jarvis were close to figuring out how he was manipulating the energy for his "magic" of that he was sure. It also gave his mind something else to focus on other than the total blackness that was space as he fell through it back to Earth.