Author's Note: This story was a request from use jamiehernandez8888. Takes place directly after the first Avengers movie, ignoring the time heist stuff.
Bruce sighed as he walked toward the room Tony told him he could stay in for the night. He actually offered to house him as long as he wanted, but Bruce hadn't given him a definitive answer yet. It wasn't so long ago that he was living his life the way he wanted, off the grid and helping the less fortunate. Now he was back in the city; still helping people, but on a grander scale. It was exactly the life he wanted to avoid.
He'd gone so long without giving into the beast that lived inside of him, always waiting to burst out. Bruce hadn't been exaggerating when he told Steve that he was always angry. And for him it had transcended from being an emotion he felt sometimes to his constant companion. People couldn't always see it on the surface, but it was there.
It was definitely there now, since he'd been all but forced into this situation. He couldn't really blame Shield for needing his or Hulk's help, especially under the circumstances, but it was still frustrating. He was a threat and a menace, until he was useful. Until they could use him. And Bruce hated being used. He would give up his life to help someone, but taking his choice away just felt inhumane.\
And now he was left to decide where to go from here. He couldn't go back to where he was, since Shield knew that location. It would be stupid to go right back to where he could be easily watched. And after the scene they were likely to have caused with all the guns, the people probably would never trust him again. But was there anywhere he could go where he wouldn't be found? Had they really been watching him the whole time without him knowing? Should he just give up on ever having his own life and accept Tony's offer to stay in his tower?
"Excuse me, Dr. Banner?" a hesitant voice sounded from behind him. Bruce whirled around, finding a sheepish looking Captain America standing in the doorway. He hadn't even heard him approach, so caught up in his own head. No wonder Shield was able to find him so easily.
"Captain Rogers, is everything alright?" Bruce asked, taking in the man's appearance. He'd obviously found the time to clean himself up, looking a lot more put together than he had at the shawarma restaurant.
"Oh yes, I'm fine. I just wanted to check up on you actually," Steve said, tilting his head to ask for permission to enter the room.
"Come on in," Bruce said, waving him inside. Steve stepped forward, looking around the room with mild interest. "Tony told me I could stay here for the night."
"Ah," Steve replied, running his finger along the table he passed. "How generous."
"Yes, it is," Bruce agreed, staring at the other man. He'd been pretty stiff on the helicarrier, but this felt exaggerated. "So, you wanted to see how I was doing?"
"Yes, after everything. Turning into the Hulk has got to take a lot out of you. Especially when you do it more than once and go off into battle," Steve said, pausing in front of a mirror. He swept his hair to the side and shrugged before he continued. "How do you feel?"
"Well, I'm a little bit tired, but I think anyone would be after everything. Nothing that a bit of rest can't take care of," Bruce replied, watching curiously as Steve frowned at the television set in the corner before turning his back on it. All the new technology must be overwhelming. "How are you? You may be a super soldier, but all the fighting must've taken a lot out of you."
"I took a couple hits, but nothing I'd write home about. The enemy wasn't that impressive," Steve scoffed, smirking a little bit. Bruce knew fighting in the war was no joke, but aliens probably ranked a bit higher. "Back to you though. Do you think you'd be able to turn back into the Hulk right now, if you needed to?"
"Why?" Bruce asked warily. Never turning again would be his honest preference.
"Well, you never know what's going to happen, right? What if Loki escapes and we need your help?" Steve asked.
"I don't think that's going to happen. I think Shield has a pretty good handle on him for now and I'm sure Thor will take him back home soon."
"Loki is very clever though. Without a doubt the most formidable foe I've ever encountered. It was only luck that we were able to stop him at all."
"Didn't you just say the enemy wasn't that impressive?" Bruce asked, frowning in confusion. Something wasn't right here.
"Yes, I did," Steve grinned, stepping forward to stand right in front of him. "But who said Loki was my enemy?" Bruce was about to yell out for someone or something to come help him, but a hand shot out at an unnatural speed and gripped him around the throat. He tried to let himself fall away and allow the Hulk to rise to the surface, but nothing happened.
"Steve?" Bruce gasped, scratching at the arm of the man cutting off his air supply. Had Loki gotten to him like he had with Clint? Steve smiled, bringing up his free hand and holding it close to Bruce's face. The last thing Bruce saw was a shimmer of green coming from his fingertips and a quiet voice murmuring in his ear.
"Not quite."
"I for one am ready to crash. And by that I mean into my memory foam mattress, not into the ground from outer space," Tony quipped, sauntering toward the elevators with the rest of the team in tow. Well, most of them at least. Bruce had already gone up and Steve had disappeared, probably back to Shield or wherever his apartment was. If it was still standing.
"I should really get going with Loki. The longer he is here, the more opportunity he has for mischief," Thor said, hesitating by the open doors.
"Don't worry. Shield, while being catastrophizing, nuke sending idiots, are pretty good at keeping watch on people. Especially someone as high priority as your brother. I wouldn't be surprised if even Fury had his eye on him," Tony said with a grin, looking around the group for appreciation for his joke. He got none.
"Well, if he does somehow escape, hopefully it's after we can get a good night's sleep. Being brainwashed takes a lot out of a guy," Clint muttered, leaning against the side of the elevator.
"Covering up trauma with humor. My kind of man," Tony nodded, clapping him on the shoulder. "Come on, Goldilocks. I'm sure everything will be just fine." Thor reluctantly got on the elevator with Natasha and they rode it up to the floor he'd sent Bruce to earlier. It was the highest floor without damage and with enough guest rooms for all of them. They could hunker down there for the night then reassess in the morning after they'd had their rest.
Tony breathed a sigh of relief once he stepped onto the floor, finally feeling like he was home and could relax. Out there he had to put on a show, but here he could let his guard down. Well, as soon as he was in the privacy of his own room.
"Jarvis, which room did Bruce choose?" Tony asked, leading everyone down a hallway. He'd told the other man to pick whichever one he wanted, but he hoped Bruce knew not to take the master. That was reserved for him, of course. When Tony didn't get an immediate answer, he looked up in confusion. "Jarvis?"
"Do you think closing the portal messed up the system?" Natasha questioned.
"The elevator wouldn't have worked if it had. It's all connected," Tony mumbled, putting his hands on his hips. He really didn't want to deal with this, but he wouldn't be able to get any rest if he didn't figure out what was going on. "Let me get a computer. I'm sure I have one stashed somewhere on this floor." Tony slowly made his way down to the master suite, hoping he had an old computer in the closet. He could always go to his lab, but that sounded so far away at the moment. All this would take was a few taps and then everything would be back to normal.
Tony walked into the room, rolling his eyes as the rest of them followed. He wasn't sure he needed an entourage, but he was too tired to argue about having an audience. The closet was a walk in and in the far corner of the room and he dragged himself toward it before stopping in surprise. The door was cracked. He never left them open.
"What is it?" Natasha asked, noticing his hesitation.
"That door shouldn't be open." Tony muttered, waving a hand in its direction. Natasha swiftly pulled one of her guns and pointed toward the door. "Overreaction much?"
"After these past few days, I figure I can't be too careful," Natasha replied, jerking her head toward the door. Clint got into a defensive position and Thor just seemed confused, but he still looked ready to fight.
"This is going to be really funny when a cat runs out," Tony joked, trying to cover his anxiety.
"Since when do you have a cat?" Natasha mumbled, carefully approaching the closet.
"I don't," Tony whispered, wrapping his fingers around the knob. Natasha gave him a countdown and when she reached one he threw the door open and ducked for cover, taking himself out of the line of fire. Let the trained fighters deal with the possible threat.
"Oh my God," Natasha gasped, and that didn't sound right. Tony bounced back up from his protective huddle and peeked into the small room. Of all the things he thought he'd find, a hogtied Steve Rogers wasn't one of them.
"What the hell?" Tony mumbled, staring down in shock. Steve was unconscious, at least Tony hoped it was just that, and his mouth was covered. Except it wasn't covered with just anything. It was the muzzle Thor had slapped onto his brother's face not too long ago.
"He's alive," Natasha confirmed as she ducked down to check his pulse.
"Bruce!" Tony yelled, closing his eyes to listen for any sounds in reply. Was Bruce also shoved in a closet somewhere? If he was still here and awake, there was no way he'd ignore the commotion going on now. And he wouldn't have left on his own without saying anything, would he? Not after accepting Tony's offer of a room for the night.
"I couldn't find him anywhere," Clint panted, rushing back into the room. Tony hadn't even noticed him leave. Tony ran a hand down his face, closing his eyes in frustration. Steve was incapacitated, Bruce was missing, and that could only mean one thing.
Loki had escaped.