Before I forget – next week's chapter will go up as normal, but then I'm off for 2 weeks. I have to go help run a science fiction convention and there will be no brainpower in me that isn't dedicated to making my nerd community happy and safe. Also, I will be running on literally no sleep and my language circuits will be fried. So, after next week (August 1st), you'll have to wait until Monday the 22nd for me to continue.

I've been warning of a pretty severe swerve from canon to solve the politics problem. Here it is. Crazy, huh?

The song for this chapter is "It's Been A While" by Staind.

Enjoy!

Chapter 17: Consequences That Are Rendered

"I should have retired," Clint grumbled.

"Why didn't you?" Nat asked, lining her shoulder-blades up with his and firing, a familiar pulse against his back.

"Dunno. Farm life's looking pretty good right now."

"We'll get you back to Kansas as soon as we're done here, Dorothy."

Clint huffed a laugh, knowing she would feel it — but, more importantly, she would understand it.

They were in bad shape.

The Hulk had come crashing in a few minutes ago, but he made as much mess as he helped. Eventually they'd gotten two of the Iron Legion drones to lead him away and give him a new target just so he stopped knocking down parts of the ceiling and other levels above their heads.

They couldn't blame the guy for showing up, but this was just not a good fight for him.

Vision had actually stopped fighting and was mostly using his flight and his Mind Stone lasers (or whatever he'd decided to call them; Clint was going with 'lasers' until somebody had a better name) to shore up the structural damage they'd caused thus far. One collapse had driven them out of the missile silo already, and nobody wanted to be under another one.

T'Challa had apparently finished with Strucker, which led to Clint saying "Yay" over comms and he was sure if Cap had heard he'd get a lecture, but he didn't, so who cared? Even with the Iron Legion down here, they hadn't been able to reach Cap, Tony, or Barnes since they wandered off. Normally, by now they'd have sent somebody after them, but they were occupied.

T'Challa had switched to offense, given that he was the last enhanced guy they had down here, and was wearing a Vibranium suit, so that made him ideal for going hand-to-hand with the Winter Soldiers alongside what remained of the Iron Legion. There were still four Soldiers, and that was definitely four too many. So Nat and Clint had taken up sentry positions trying to drive them back with continuous fire without getting hit at the same time.

It would be different if they could move, but they couldn't.

"We're running out of time!" Sam yelled.

Clint didn't look because he couldn't. He was already going to have nightmares from when it happened.

Rhodey was down.

One of the Winter Soldiers had jumped onto the Iron Patriot suit while Rhodey was giving cover, and had jammed a knife into his back. Normally, Rhodey should have shaken off an attack like that — Clint had seen Tony's armors take hits like that a hundred times without issue.

But there had always been rumors about a black market weapons trade that Hydra helped facilitate, and apparently they had gotten their hands on some pretty unusual stuff. Clint privately thought it might even have been something smelted with a little Vibranium.

Whatever it was, it had punched through the armor and Rhodey had just...stopped.

When he'd fallen out of the air with that knife buried up to its hilt in his back, Clint had been sure he was dead. Everyone else had been sure, too.

But two Iron Legion suits had broadcasted JARVIS's voice.

"Colonel Rhodes is alive, but badly injured. He requires immediate medical attention."

Then, two of Iron Legion suits had wrapped themselves around the Winter Solider who hurt Rhodey and self-detonated. It took out even more of the unstable ceiling, but nobody was going to blame JARVIS for doing it.

"Remind me not to get on JARVIS's bad side," Clint had said to himself.

But then, Rhodey was Tony's oldest and closest friend. If he were the AI dedicated to taking care of Tony and all the rest of them, he might have taken it kind of badly, too.

The whole team, in fact, took it badly. That's when the Hulk showed up, green and furious. Even trying to keep things light on comms didn't take out the quiet fury (or not so quiet fury) that radiated off the team. One of their own was hurt, and these bastards who put him there were going to pay.

Sam had stepped out of the fight to do what he could to help Rhodey. He didn't tell anyone anything even when asked directly, but he made it clear that they needed to get him to a trauma team as fast as they could. At this point, Clint was about ready to just pile everybody in the Quinjet and let the Hulk take this place down around Hydra's ears.

But nobody was going anywhere until Tony and Cap and Barnes got back. So they were trapped in this constant standoff and Clint was getting very tired of it.

Suddenly there was a crackle of the comm in his ear.

"...no idea how we're going to explain this but…"

"Cap?" Sam asked. "Can you hear us?"

"Hey, what'd we miss?" That was Tony, and though he was trying to sound flippant, Clint knew better.

"We have a medical emergency," Sam said. "Rhodey's down and he's going to bleed out if we don't get him out of here now."

Tony started rapid-firing questions at JARVIS, which made Clint stiffen. Normally the discussions between Tony and his AI were muted to everybody else due to being contained inside the Iron Man armor where JARVIS filtered the lines of communication.

If JARVIS wasn't doing that, it meant Tony wasn't in the armor anymore.

Whatever Clint expected to see come around a corner, it wasn't Steve running with his shield out followed by Barnes, both of the Maximoffs, and Peter Parker in his Spider-Man pajamas. After that was Tony, and then, of all people not to expect, Loki.

"What the actual hell?" he asked.

"Long story," Cap said, placing himself close to Nat and Clint so he could use his shield to give them more cover. "The twins are gonna help us."

"So am I," Peter said.

"No, you are definitely not." Tony dropped to his knees beside Sam and Rhodey; he reached out and snagged his kid by an elbow, dragging him down as well. "You're staying where I can keep an eye on you before you get full of bullet holes."

"But I can help!"

"For once, child," Loki said, "I agree with Stark. This battle is not for you. However, I will fight in your stead if you wish."

Clint spared a glance to see Tony give Loki a solemn nod. "Thank you."

"I assume you do not mind if these enemies are killed?"

Sam's voice was low and furious. "For this? Take them apart."

Loki disappeared from where he stood.

The Maximoff twins were standing nearby as well, also looking lost. Wanda was staring at her hands, and at where a small pool of blood was visible under Rhodey's armor.

"Go on," Nat whispered to Clint, giving him a shove with an elbow.

"When did I get voted team morale officer?" he asked.

"Because they're kids."

All at once, he realized for the first time that they were. Yeah, the SHIELD info said they were actually in their mid-twenties, but it wasn't about their age. Wanda and Pietro looked like green recruits on their first real mission. They'd fought the Avengers before, and they'd been part of planting a bomb, but this was different now for some reason. And clearly whatever had happened in that other room had shaken something loose.

They looked lost, all their fire and certainty ripped out from under their feet.

Honestly, it reminded Clint of something he'd seen in Nat once long ago. The face of someone who has realized for the first time that they've made a wrong choice, but they're afraid to make a right one.

Suddenly one of the Winter Soldiers popped up and fired right towards their group. Cap jumped to catch the bullets on his shield and Tony threw his body over Peter's, both of them covering where half of the Iron Patriot armor had retracted to give Sam access to Rhodey.

"Go!" Nat said again.

"If I get brainwashed by anybody today, I'm going to kick your ass this time."

She barked out a laugh. "Good luck with that."

Clint sighed and ducked and dodged his way to the knot of them. Without thinking about it too hard, he grabbed onto Wanda Maximoff's sleeve and tugged her back around some better cover, knowing her brother would follow.

"This is all our fault," Wanda said.

Clint took a deep breath.

"Hey, look at me. It's your fault, it's Hydra's fault, who cares? We have bigger problems than you right now, and trust me, that's saying something. Are you up for this? Look, I just need to know what you're going to do now, cause we're fighting a bunch of brainwashed enhanced guys and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense."

He ignored how Pietro snorted in agreement.

"But I'm going back out there because it's my job. And right now you have a choice. It doesn't matter what you did, or what you were. If you want to go out there, you fight, and you help us. Stay over here, you just chill. We'll come find you when we're done and give you a ride. But if you step out into that fight, you become an Avenger."

Pietro took Wanda's hand. "We have these powers. We should use them for good for once."

She nodded. But she looked sideways at Clint.

"Why would you call us Avengers? Until now, we have been your enemies."

"Honestly?" Clint gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. "Because when you ran out here, you two had that kid between you. And if you're willing to protect him, and if Tony and Cap and Loki are willing to let you, then that tells me all I need to know."

Pietro actually smirked. "I would not have expected the Avengers to be so soft, old man." He gathered his sister into his arms. "Let us fight."

"Old man?" Clint objected.

"Try to keep up." And Pietro was gone.

"Don't make me shoot you in the butt, kid," Clint grumbled. But he returned to his spot close to Nat and ignored her cheerful wink.

"Nat." Cap made his way to them. "Do you know where Hulk is?"

"I think so."

He nodded. "You and Vision go get him. See if you can get Bruce back. As soon as we finish here, we need to move. We won't have time to chase him down later."

Clint elbowed her. "You get all the fun jobs."

Vision dropped to join them. "I can lead you to him through my interface with JARVIS. Shall we?"

Nat slung an arm around his neck and let Vision carry her into the air and down one of the dark corridors.

"Black Panther? How's it going?" Cap asked.

"Better with the new additions to the battle," he said. "How is Rhodes?"

"Not good," Sam answered.

Suddenly one of the Winter Soldiers burst from concealment above and dropped down almost on top of Tony, Sam, and Peter. Sam's hands were in the Iron Patriot suit holding Rhodey together, and Tony wasn't in a suit anymore.

Before Clint could even notch an arrow, Peter was on his feet and had picked up the guy and thrown him into a wall. Then he started shooting his Spider-Man webbing at him.

"It's not going to hold!" Peter yelled. "It didn't hold Mister Black Panther either!"

He charged ahead, following up the webbing with a kick. Clint could see the skill in the hit, and yet he could tell from here that Peter was holding back. That he wasn't using what strength he apparently had at all effectively.

So when the Winter Soldier blocked the kick and returned it with a punch that sent Peter reeling, he wasn't surprised. Even if he was infuriated.

But someone else was faster.

Bucky Barnes appeared out of nowhere and slammed his metal arm into the Winter Soldier's face with enough force to stop a train.

"Stay away from the kid," Barnes growled.

"Peter," Tony called. "I've got an idea. Come here."

And Clint breathed a tiny bit of relief, knowing Peter would be distracted so he wouldn't have to see what Barnes planned for the Winter Soldier. Especially with Cap and his sharp-edged shield on his way to back him up.

Peter was maybe ready to be a neighborhood hero; he was not, would maybe never be ready to see someone killed in battle.

For a few minutes, Clint focused only on shooting his arrows, covering the makeshift medical team behind him, and not hitting anyone but evil Hydra enhanced guys. When, finally, Loki, T'Challa, and the Maximoff twins returned to the others, Pietro with a few bullet grazes and Loki looking inordinately pleased, he eased up his watchfulness.

"It is over," T'Challa said. "They are all dead. And Strucker, who killed my father."

The twins looked at one another.

"T'Challa." Steve stepped up to stand beside the twins facing him. "We were wrong. Wanda and Pietro were being used by Hydra just as they tried to use Bucky against us."

Well, that was a lie and a half as far as Clint could tell, but he wondered if T'Challa could.

T'Challa regarded them for a moment, then nodded. "I trust you have killed the one responsible for their involvement?"

"Yes," Wanda said. "And for our part, we…" She held out a hand. "We have made so many mistakes."

"I can't believe we were helping those bastards who were keeping Sokovia under their thumb," Pietro said.

Well, Clint could have told them that. Who didn't know that Hydra was all about the evil, oppressive regimes? Oh, wait. People who live under evil, oppressive regimes don't get taught history. He'd have to get them some books.

T'Challa accepted her hand. "Then you must learn to discern enemy from friend better. In that, I believe the Avengers may be able to help you. But between us, let there be peace."

"Yeah, great and everything," Sam said, "but now that the shooting is over, we need to get Rhodey to a hospital right the hell now."

"What about Nat and Bruce and Vision?" Cap asked.

"We're on our way out," came Nat's answer over the comms. "We'll meet you at the Quinjet."

Sam took charge. "All right. Super people? I need your muscles to carry him on something flat. Rip up a table or something."

Peter darted over to a nearby bulkhead and pulled the flat sheet metal off the wall as if he were tearing wrapping paper. He straightened it with his hands and ran back. "Will this work okay?"

"Lordy, kid," Tony said. "We have got to test those abilities of yours."

Sam and Steve carefully moved Rhodey onto the metal sheet, and Sam supervised while Steve and Barnes lifted him, jogging as smoothly as they could towards the exit.

"I believe I shall take my leave," Loki said then.

"Wait." Peter made an abortive grab for him, as if he wanted to hold on and suddenly thought it was weird or rude. "Can you...not? Um. Just...for a while?"

Loki sighed and looked annoyed even as he nodded, and Clint would eat his bow if that wasn't almost entirely a front.

"Okay, people. People and Loki." Tony put a hand on Peter's arm and started to move. "We've got to go. All aboard the Avengers Express."

Clint was sure this was going to be a long and awkward ride.

He was not wrong.

-==OOO==-

The next six hours were an awful whirlwind. Steve had rarely felt that the world was so heavy.

Having Bucky beside him was the greatest comfort he could have asked for, and even though Bucky was shaken and withdrawn — and he didn't blame him at all given what happened in Siberia — he was still there. Bucky was Steve's anchor as he'd been since they were children in a different New York. So even though Bucky wasn't himself, whoever that was these days, he was here. And it helped.

On the other side, Tony was a legitimate wreck. If not for Peter's presence, Steve was sure he would have procured a truly ridiculous amount of alcohol just to deal. But Peter was here, and so Tony couldn't sink down into that dark place Steve could see tearing at the edges of his soul.

Unfortunately the other person besides Peter who could have pulled Tony out of it was down for the count.

They'd flown from Siberia to Germany where a trauma team was waiting, Bruce assisting Sam as much as he could with the tech in the Quinjet to keep Rhodey with them. Once they got Rhodey into surgery, it took less time than it had to fly there for them to patch him up well enough to travel again.

"You need more than this hospital can provide," the lead doctor had said. "The wound is to his spinal column. We can stop the bleeding, but we are not equipped for this level of trauma. And five of the top spinal and neurological doctors on the planet are in New York. We will make it possible for him to reach them in time."

"Shouldn't we wait?" Clint had asked. "Give him a chance to recover before we transport him again?"

"Neurological injuries are difficult, and time is of the essence. The sooner he gets into expert hands, the greatest chance they will have at restoring any function."

That statement had met a lot of shocked silence.

So as soon as the German hospital could prep Rhodey for transit, they were all aboard the Quinjet once more, heading to New York. All except T'Challa, who took his leave in Germany.

"I will see you again, and soon," he said. "But for now, I feel I should rejoin my family in our time of mourning, and leave you to your own."

Even without him, the Quinjet still felt small and close. It was the big one with different compartments, but Sam and Bruce and the pair of after care nurses who had agreed to fly with them to New York had taken over the bunks area for Rhodey. Clint and Nat were piloting up front, and Vision had opted to sit in the forward seating area with the Maximoff twins who still looked so very lost.

"It is a state of being with which I am quite familiar," Vision had said.

Which left Steve, Tony, Bucky, Peter, and Loki alone in the aft area.

"I can't believe you snuck after us!" Tony finally exploded at Peter. Steve had known it was coming, and so had Peter apparently, because he flinched but kept his eyes trained on the floor.

Peter just shrugged. "I heard you planning. There were a lot of those enhanced bad guys, and I could help."

"It was rather foolhardy," Loki added, leaning casually to one side.

But that only redirected Tony's attention. "And you! How did you know about all this?" Tony ran a hand through his hair. "Not that I'm not grateful you did whatever magical stuff to show up in the clichéd nick of time, but still."

"It is no fault of yours that you could not perceive what was so clear to me," Loki said. "Peter was adamant about not making you aware of his abilities until Spider-Man had proven himself to your satisfaction. So I maintained his illusion for him and offered to give him some little aid when needed."

"JARVIS did say that Spider-Man had been improving rapidly in skill over the last few months," Tony said, looking sideways at Peter. "You seriously went to Loki to be your Yoda before me?"

Peter blushed. "I just...I wanted…"

Tony let out a mighty sigh. "I know, kiddo." He leaned over and ruffled Peter's hair. "I don't want to have that argument again. Just...you can't do things like this. Like follow us on an Avengers mission. You just can't, Peter."

Peter stuck his chin out. "You needed me. It's a good thing I was there, or…" But he trailed off, looking guiltily at Bucky.

"It is indeed fortunate," Loki said. "Without his interference, and therefore mine, I do not believe you would have escaped without an injury at least as dire as that taken by your shield-brother, Stark. And you may not have walked away as allies, either."

"Not the point." Tony glared at Loki. "I can't...Peter, I can't have you going up against Hydra or Winter Soldiers. I just…" He pulled the kid tight to his side. "I'm only barely not freaking out about you chasing muggers here. Please don't add supervillains to your list."

But Peter looked up at him and there was something in his eyes that Steve recognized. It was a look he'd seen before. Not just on Peter; on every single one of his teammates, including the ones from before he went into the ice. That certainty. That dedication. That fearlessness.

"If people need my help, that's where I need to be. Especially when it's my family."

Steve couldn't help but smile, even as it made a part of him ache, too. Because he knew where that path led, and the scars it would leave.

"Kid takes after you, Stark," Bucky said, speaking up for the first time with the ghost of a smile on his face.

"Oh, no." Stark shook his head. "Trust me. This one came that way." He sniffed. "Look, Barnes."

But Bucky looked up and shook his head.

"I'm sorry." Bucky clasped his hands in front of him. "Stark...Tony. I'm sorry."

"Do you even remember them?" Tony asked, soft and sad. And if there was an edge of rage leftover, Steve didn't have the right to blame him for it right now.

"I remember all of them."

Steve put a hand on Bucky's shoulder.

Tony nodded. "It's not...it's never going to be okay. But I think…"

He glanced at Peter. Tony avoided Steve's eyes, but he did hold Bucky's. Steve would have to accept that for now. When Tony spoke, his voice was rough.

"I think I can be mad at Hydra and not you. Going to take me a while. But that's...I can work on that."

"It's more than I deserve," Bucky said.

"No." That was Peter, face set. "It's not your fault, Sergeant Barnes. Hydra did that. Just like you didn't want to hurt Mister Stark when that guy said the words. You wouldn't have done that."

"If you did," Loki said, light and dangerous, "I promise you wouldn't live to regret it."

"Loki, you can't kill people who hurt me," Peter objected.

"Actually, I can." Loki smirked. "Midgard is still under the dominion of Asgard, and our claim over this realm and its people is recognized by all intergalactic ruling bodies. I have every right, by any definition, to do as I please here as regent of Asgard."

"I bet the UN would love hearing that argument," Tony grumbled.

"Ah yes. Your tedious council of squabbling elders that pretends to wield power here." Loki raised an eyebrow. "It is a terrible system, is it not?"

"Hey." Steve felt the need to defend them. "They don't rule the world. It's an international body for cooperation and coordination. All the different countries are still sovereign to themselves."

"Tiresome." Loki let out a sigh of his own. "Dealing with them will be most unpleasant. Fortunately, such will fall to Father and not I."

"Wait, roll that back," Tony said. "What do you mean, Odin's going to deal with them?"

"Oh, was it not obvious?" Loki's face went fat like a happy cat. "Odin and I have a solution for your petty politicians and their dramatic lack of foresight, along with a proposal which shall strengthen Asgard's position overall."

Steve blinked.

But Peter looked up eagerly. "You know how to make the UN okay with the Avengers without all the unhelpful stuff?"

"Indeed."

"Well," Steve found himself saying. "If you've got a better option than what we have, I'd be open to hearing it."

"Put simply, you already have provisions in your laws for what you call overseas military bases — outposts of soldiers providing a protective force on foreign soil who are bound to the laws of that kingdom but which ultimately are beholden to their native land. The Avengers should be considered one such force."

"That doesn't really solve our problem, Mister International Relations," Tony said. "Even putting aside that we're all American citizens except Thor, moving us to somebody else's backyard just changes who would have jurisdiction over us."

"Not," Loki said, "if you were considered to be an Asgardian force placed in defense of Midgard."

"Um," Peter said, "except for you and Thor, nobody is Asgardian. So how would that even work?"

"In point of fact," Loki's smile went even wider. "You are incorrect about that. You, Peter Starkson, are also Asgardian."

"I'm what?"

"He's what?"

Tony and Peter's shocked faces were identical and Steve and Bucky snorted in unison.

"From the instant you lifted Mjolnir without the assistance of the Mind Stone, you have been considered a citizen of Asgard. And such would be true even if the All-Father himself did not see you so fondly as to allow you to call him 'grandfather.'"

Loki was clearly enjoying himself, and Steve was just glad somebody was having a good time. If nothing else, it was distracting Tony from Rhodey's injuries. Tony's face was moving without sound coming out.

"It is an elegant solution to the political games your enemies wish to play," Loki said, deliberately switching topics — probably to be annoying. "If the Avengers swear fealty to Asgard and relinquish their citizenship of Midgard, then your entire party of warriors is no longer subject to any one nation's laws any more than they apply to Thor or myself. Asgard and your UN will make an agreement which other nations may abide by or not to define our mutual responsibilities and liabilities. But if danger comes, and it will, then you will act as Asgard asks regardless of your petty politics."

"And," Peter said, his voice a little thin with surprise, "the world...it would be like if US soldiers on a base in Korea got in trouble. The soldiers get punished according to the agreement, but they could always relocate or go home. The Avengers…"

"Asgard would pay reparations for any acts which were later found in violation of our agreement," Loki said, "but the responsibility would fall upon the throne of Asgard, not yourselves. And your world would not dare cast you or Asgard out entirely now knowing there are thousands of worlds that would pounce should Asgard remove her claim of sovereignty."

Bucky looked at Steve and Steve shrugged.

"I don't know enough about the politics to know…" he said.

"It could work." Tony's eyes were staring into the middle distance. "It'd be a hell of an agreement, but if we got it...it would put us outside the sphere of any one nation's control, which solves the problem with Ross or NATO. It would let us move when we need to move, which solves the problem of the UN bureaucracy. And if we made a huge mistake, Asgard would get the blowback, not us."

"On the other hand," Steve said, thinking fast, "we'd have to be careful about that whole Asgardian sovereignty thing you mentioned. In my experience, people don't like being under the thumb of someone they didn't choose for themselves."

Peter sighed. "Yay colonialism."

Loki shrugged. "I assure you, our agreement would be carefully worded so as not to insult the pride of your rulers. Though if they do not accept the fact of their place in the universe, perhaps they should not rule you. That Midgard is an Asgardian protectorate is a fact whether your planet knew it or not."

"People aren't always rational," Bucky said softly. "Especially when they're scared of a threat they can't fight on their own."

"Indeed. And if they were so irrational as to threaten to punish you or any such nonsense for saving the citizens of the realm, well, they would not make such a threat for long." Loki smirked.

"Yeah, but the thing is," Tony looked up at him, "it can't be you making that agreement. Everybody else still sees you as the bad guy in the Battle of New York."

"I am aware." Loki nodded. "And that is why Odin and I have agreed that he must resume his post as king for a time to ensure this is done honestly." He scowled at that. "I could feign his appearance, of course, but such oaths are binding and it is in poor taste to lie when making them."

"But." Peter rubbed his nose. "Couldn't you make it, like, a condition of the agreement that every nation that signs onto the agreement and the UN forgive you for that stuff? Maybe you and Sergeant Barnes, since he's kind of in the same boat?"

"You," Loki said, jabbing a finger towards Peter, "are more Odin's grandchild than you know. Yes, he has already said as much to me as well. Asgard would offer reparations for my shameful deeds, and insist that no further action be taken against me upon this realm. Such could be extended to others as needed."

"Why would you even do this?" Steve asked, smelling the undercurrent of a plot somewhere. "What does Asgard have to gain from any of this?"

"Two things, captain. First, Midgard is the resting place of one Infinity Stone, and has been home to two more, however temporarily. For that, it must be more closely guarded by Asgard or risk falling victim to an attack by those who seek them."

Loki's eyes flicked to Peter, then back to Steve.

"Second, my brother is fond of this realm and of all of you. The Spider-Child resides here and values your lives highly. That is two princes of Asgard with reason to protect this realm. If you cannot trust in the altruism of Asgard, then trust in the self-interest of Odin and myself. For should any harm come to those under Thor's protection, we shall not hear the end of it for eons."

"And you like Peter," Steve said before he could stop himself.

Loki scowled at him. But he didn't deny it, either.

Peter's eyes went wide like saucers. "Wow, Loki. After helping me so much with Spider-Man and now this. I don't...how do I make it up to you even?"

"You don't, child." Loki looked like he would rather have any other conversation. "Now, before we bespeak your United Nations, Odin and I shall draft a preliminary agreement. Stark, I will accept your counsel upon it as one who knows these matters and the players better than I. Thor will bring you a copy."

"Uh, Thor's not going to do the negotiating, right?" Tony asked. "Because, no offense but he's…"

"Useless. As subtle as his hammer. Utterly unsuited to the games of politics." Loki waved it aside. "Believe me, mortal, I am aware."

"Excuse me, gentlemen." JARVIS's voice came from above. "But I have a message from Miss Romanoff. She has been listening to Prince Loki's proposal regarding the United Nations. She has some specific ideas of what she calls 'levers to pull,' by which I interpret her to mean individuals who can be swayed by non-traditional means should Loki wish to have the information."

Loki smiled. "I believe I could make good use of such insight, indeed. Please convey my appreciation to the Lady Widow."

"Spoken like a true politician," Bucky said, gently teasing.

But Peter was looking at him. "Is that why you helped Wanda and Pietro by talking them into not hurting Mister Stark instead of just...you know?"

Loki gave a tiny shrug. "You will learn someday that for all your strength and power, sometimes the victory comes not by the sword, but by words and cleverness. If you can forge an ally from an enemy, then no blood needs to be shed."

"Or you can make an enemy of an ally," Steve said.

"Precisely."

"It's a good lesson," Tony said. He stood up, patting Peter on the shoulder as he went. "I'm going to check on Rhodey. Back in a minute." And he was out the door in just a few quick strides.

"Let him go, Pete," Steve said just in case Peter tried to follow him. "I think he could use a break."

Peter nodded solemnly. "I know. Aunt May used to make that face right after we lost Uncle Ben."

"It's going to be okay," Bucky said suddenly. "I don't know him well, but Colonel Rhodes seems strong, and he has everything to live for. He'll fight."

"And you?" Loki asked Bucky. "Are you prepared to fight an injury of your own?"

Steve thought for a moment Loki meant the arm, but realized he meant Hydra's programming when he saw how intensely Loki was staring at Bucky.

"Yes." Bucky straightened up where he sat. "If you or somebody can fix me so I can't ever be Hydra's puppet again, I'm willing to try anything."

"Good." Loki's eyes were dark and serious for once. "It will not be easy, and it may even require you to leave this realm for a time. But given that, if you have the will to fight, we will remove the spell."

Steve managed to smile. "If you keep helping us out like this, we might all owe you a bunch of favors," he joked.

Loki smirked back, and Steve wasn't sure if he liked that expression right now.

With so much to think about, it would be much, much later before Steve realized he and Tony hadn't talked. Before he realized he hadn't truly apologized for anything at all.

-==OOO==-

Rhodey didn't really realize he was awake until he tried to rub his eyes and hit himself in the nose with an IV line.

"What…?"

"Hey."

Tony's face swam into view, dark against the white ceiling and the lights. Rhodey's vision was blurry, but he could see that Tony hadn't slept, that his hair was wild, and that his shirt was extra rumpled. Tony held a cup of water to Rhodey's lips for a few moments, and the cool water was a balm on his throat that he hadn't even realized was burning.

"You okay?"

Tony's face twisted as he set the cup down. "You're the one lying in the hospital and you ask if I'm okay?"

"Are you?" Rhodey pressed.

Tony sighed, trying to make it look like he wasn't on the edge of grief. "Yeah. The whole team is. You're the only one who…"

Tony made one of those expressions that told Rhodey his best friend was right on the brink of an emotional outburst he would rather die than let anyone else see. And since this was apparently a hospital and a nosy nurse or doctor might walk in at any moment, Rhodey needed to save him from it or Tony would give himself heartburn trying to pretend to be okay.

"Just gimme the damage," he said.

"Between the knife blade and the fall, your spine got shattered — L4 through S1. Extreme laceration of the spinal cord. Probably looking at some form of paralysis." Tony said it as if he were diagnosing a problem with his tech, and Rhodey knew it wasn't because he didn't care; it was because he cared so much that if he let himself, he'd break.

Rhodey took a deep breath.

He knew he was going to cry later. He'd have a lot of feelings, anger and resentment amongst them. He'd been a soldier too long, and had known so very many others before him who went out and came back forever changed — physically or otherwise. He knew he would have a hard road and his fears and pains would not be his friends on the journey.

But right now, right this second, his best friend, his little brother was hurting far more than he. And if that Siberian mission was to have been his last, then Rhodey was going to save Tony one more time before he hung up his wings.

"Tony," Rhodey said, keeping his voice soft. "Tony, it's okay."

"No, I'm going to fix this," Tony said, because of course he did. "The suit was a big prosthetic for me, so it can do the same thing for you. Might make a bulky pair of pants, but I can work with that."

Rhodey reached out and grabbed Tony's hand before he could get too wild with his gesticulating.

"Tony. Listen to me."

Tony must have been truly shaken, because he did.

"I don't regret it, okay? I don't regret one second I spent as War Machine flying and fighting and watching your back. If I never get out of this bed for as long as I live, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You hear me?"

Tony made a sound like a cough. "But…" And then, very, very softly, "Jim, I'm so sorry."

He could count literally on one hand the number of times Tony had called him by his first name in decades. Hell, 'Rhodey' was so ingrained that that's how he thought of himself, not the name his mom had given him at birth. And so it struck all the harder to hear it break from Tony like that.

"I know, Tony," he said. He reached up until he could grab Tony and he hauled him down by his neck into a hug. "I'm not sorry. And I know you'll have me up and walking again, because that's who you are. But it doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters." And there was the little kid hiding in the great Tony Stark, the kid who'd lost his parents too early, who'd been alone too long. Tears dripped on Rhodey's neck and they weren't his.

Rhodey squeezed harder. "The only thing that matters is that I got to fly."

"You'll fly again. I swear it."

And Rhodey smiled. "I believe you." He patted Tony's shoulder. "Now, quit crying on me and tell me what you already have cooking in your brain to get me out of here. And if you don't order me a decent cheeseburger as soon as I'm allowed to have solid food, I'm throwing a bedpan at you. A full one."

Tony laughed a little brokenly and nodded. "As soon as you're cleared, I'll have an all-American feast waiting for you. And probably a cohort of Avengers wanting in on it."

"Eh, let them wait." Rhodey gave Tony a shake, and pretended not to see Tony's wet eyes as he sat up again. "They can eat hospital food. Or go get their own. It's not like their legs don't work."

That startled a coughing laugh out of Tony.

Rhodey smiled. "Too soon?"

"Oh my god." Tony rubbed at his face, but he finally looked more like himself again.

And Rhodey knew he'd won this battle, at least. And as long as he could keep Tony safe one way or another, he'd learn to make that enough for him.

But he had hope that Tony would give him the sky again. If anybody could, it would be him.

Tony shook himself and pulled out his phone. "Okay. Until cheeseburger o'clock, let's start on Iron Pants-triot Mark 1."

Rhodey scowled. "We are not calling it that."

"What do you want? Iron Britches? War Ma-Jeans?"

"Oh my god, I hate you." Rhodey flopped back on his pillow. "You're the worst."

"Hey, I learned it from the best," Tony said.

And if Tony's jokes were a little too forced, and Rhodey let him go a little crazier on the design than really made any sense, well, they all had their coping mechanisms. Tony's was to build, and Rhodey's was to joke.

But one thing was clear: whatever they ended up with, it was going to have an awful name.