Now it was Loki's turn to laugh, but it was so bitter that Bruce could practically taste it on his own tongue. He must've really hit a nerve. Bruce was playing with fire, antagonizing someone who was so unstable, but this whole ordeal had to come to a head eventually. He just hoped Loki would take his anger out on him and not anyone innocent.

"I fear nothing," Loki spat, sneering over at him. "If you only knew the things I've seen, you would know how ridiculous your statement is."

"I don't doubt that you've probably dealt with some wild things, especially after seeing what you brought here to fight by your side, but I'm still not convinced," Bruce said, trying to move over to an area that was a little less crowded in the small room. "Can you tell me how the end of the battle went, from your perspective? I feel like the others might have exaggerated things, since they weren't there."

"You got lucky while I was distracted," Loki growled.

"Well, that doesn't really sound like the master manipulator you claim to be. And what was it you said about brains over brawn? I guess I don't have to do anything to be more powerful than you," Bruce pointed out.

"Watch what you say," Loki warned.

"Why? Shouldn't partners have this sort of open dialogue? How will we get anywhere if we can't discuss our strengths and weaknesses?"

"I have no weakness," Loki hissed.

"How can you say that? I feel like we just beat you, not too long ago," Bruce shrugged, letting his crankiness take over. He was sore and tired and the shawarma wasn't sitting right in his stomach. Bruce would probably snap at a Girl Scout trying to sell him cookies at this point. "With all your powers and your army and your cunning mind, we still beat you. A group of six people who barely knew each other."

"You don't-"

"And how long had you been planning all this? A man who was just thawed out of ice after decades called out moves on the fly and it was still enough to take you down. Just think of what they'll do now."

"Oh, so now you think I'm afraid of them as well? That just sounds like wishful thinking," Loki smirked, trying to regain the upper hand in their verbal sparring.

"My team is out there right now figuring out a way to bring you down. Taking me made things personal and if you really did hurt Steve, that won't help in your favor either. There is no way you can win this."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, really. We aren't going to let you destroy our world just because you have a grudge against your brother," Bruce snapped. That last statement hit a tender spot, because faster than he could blink, Loki had him against the wall with a hand around his throat.

"Don't talk about my family," Loki ground out, leaning menacingly over Bruce as he held him firmly in place. "I've killed men for less and you are truly testing my patience."

"You wouldn't be so angry if there wasn't truth to what I said," Bruce choked out, pushing at Loki's hands. At what point would Hulk step in and stop this?

"My personal life has nothing to do with any of this. Odin seeing that he put his faith in the wrong son shall be a mere bonus," Loki spat. Bruce could feel himself slipping, but he wasn't sure if it was unconsciousness or the Hulk waiting for him on the other side. He only hoped the damage would be limited to him.

"I'm sorry you didn't get the family you deserved," Bruce gasped, letting his hands drop to his sides. "I understand."

"What do you mean Loki was in there?" Steve whispered, pulling him to a quieter area of the floor.

"Exactly what you just said. Loki was sitting there staring at us through the window like he was the last time we saw him," Tony replied, scrubbing his hands over his face. He was really getting sick of magic and powers. He believed in science. He had to work hard for everything his gadgets were able to do, so for random people to come from space and just have these abilities was not fair.

"But how?" Steve asked, sounding very close to a whine.

"I don't know," Tony sighed, rolling his eyes. Why was he always expected to have the answers?

"Loki has the ability to project multiple images of himself," Thor informed them.

"Well, that's just great," Clint grumbled, throwing his hands up in the air. "Does that mean this Loki is a fake? Did we even catch the real one to begin with?"

"Yes, we had the real Loki at one point," Thor confirmed. "Let me go put my hand through this one."

"Let's not do that," Natasha said, blocking Thor's path.

"Yeah, that sounds really weird," Tony agreed.

"We don't need Shield knowing they are guarding a glorified hologram," Natasha pointed out.

"A what?" Steve asked, with a groan.

"Not important right now," Tony brushed off. "We need to assume that the real Loki is out there and has Bruce. Finding Bruce is still the most important thing, so I think we should continue on with our plan to check out Loki's recently used hideouts."

"I agree," Natasha said, leading them out of the building. There was still so much chaos outside that no one really paid attention to them. A different Tony would've been offended, but now he appreciated being left alone. "Act natural." Tony watched in awe as Natasha seemingly talked a news crew into giving her their helicopter. He knew she was tricky, but this was a lot.

"How does she do that?" Tony mumbled, climbing into the back of the vehicle when she signalled for them to come forward.

"I'd tell you, but then she'd have to kill you," Clint snickered, getting into the front of the bird with Natasha.

"Where to first?" Steve asked, strapping himself in next to Thor.

"Abandoned warehouse just outside the city," Clint called back, powering up the helicopter and lifting it into the air. Tony didn't really have much hope that they would strike gold on the first try, but maybe they would get lucky. They needed to get Bruce back.