Chapter 4: Of Friends and Enemies
Tony was fixing a drink at the bar when Fury stormed into the room with Natasha ghosting in behind him. Bruce was sitting on a chair, watching the conversation happening in the holding room.
"Stark!" Said Fury, "Care to explain to me why the God of Lies and that stranger are sitting in a room in your Tower?"
"Well Severus," said Tony trying to get a rise out of Fury, "We were on our way to taking said God to the drop off point, where Point Break would take him back to his home world for a trail, when we were spectacularly stopped by the stranger who clearly doesn't know how to use scissors or a razor. With the help of Barnes, we were able to locate the pair and bring them back here for questioning, since we were not going to be staying in the creepy ruins where they were 'hiding.'"
Fury's good eye twitched, "Why didn't you bring them straight to Shield for containment?"
"Seeing as how the last time Loki was at a Shield Facility it was almost destroyed, Bruce got angry and everyone generally had their asses handed to them, we thought it might not be the wisest decision." Came Tony's quick reply.
Fury was staring at the screen, choosing to ignore Stark's gabs for right now, "So what do we know so far?"
Bruce answered this time before Tony could make a sarcastic response, "We are almost positive the stranger that 'rescued' Loki is actually Captain Steven Grant Rogers, friend of James Barnes and the original Captain America. He somehow ended up a prisoner of Thanos in space because of the Tesseract in 1944 and met Loki when the God crashed on Thanos' planet, becoming a prisoner himself, after falling off the Bifröst when Thor returned to Asgard because he got control of his hammer again. We're still hazy on the specifics of that since neither Thor or Loki has mentioned what exactly happened, and Steve apparently can't or won't talk."
"The Fuck?!" Was all Fury could say. Even Natasha had an eyebrow raised in question.
"Aside from a little magic on the quinjet," said Tony, "that may or may not have been done as an offensive move, both of them have been cooperating extremely well considering the circumstances. I think moving them to a Shield Prison might make that cooperativeness go away in a bad way, and end with a hell of a lot more death and explosions."
"So you're just gonna keep them here." Said Fury shortly.
"That's the plan." Tony said with a slight playfulness to his tone.
"What about Loki's magic?" Said Natasha. She didn't want to be at the Tower if the chance that Loki would be able to harm them with magic. One fight with that was more than enough for her and Clint. Especially after everything the God had done.
"We are trying to get him to swear an Oath to not harm any residents of the Tower." Said Bruce, "That's what James and Thor are down there talking about now."
Natasha still seemed hesitant but masked it quickly. She would talk to Clint and James before making a final decision.
"Turn up the audio Stark, I want to know what the hell is going on down there," said Fury.
"…would do the Oath now," came Loki's voice softly, "but our host seems to have this room on magic lock down. I will not risk mine, nor Steven's safety for yours." He seemed to be closing down that line of questioning with his tone.
"Why is Rogers tapping his hand like that?" Asked Fury, noticing what Steve was doing as the others were talking.
"We think it's a nervous twitch. A response to almost seventy years of torture." Said Bruce, with a little anger in his voice. The thought of someone having to endure that much for so long was upsetting for the medical man.
On the screen there was a pause as Loki took a sip of his water and moved to grab the third sandwich. Thor's next statement though stopped his hand in mid-air hairs above the sandwich.
"Loki, our Father said you were allied with Thanos. That you voluntarily choose to lead the invasion against Midgard."
Loki and Steve both tensed up, the former actually growling at Thor's question. The look of intense hatred on both their faces spoke volumes for everyone watching them. "That man is not my father! How dare you!" Loki actually snarled, "Of course HE would say that about the monster. Well brother," Loki spat the word out like it was causing a fire in his mouth to say it, Steve's hand on his knee looked like the only thing keeping Loki in a seated position, "clearly you have all the information you require. There is no need for us to answer your questions any longer. Get out, we have nothing more to say to you right now."
The pair of them turned their heads away from James and Thor, clearly not willing to cooperate further.
"Wow." Said Natasha as they watched James and Thor share a look before James tried to talk to them again. When that failed, they both left the room, "And here I thought Stark had the daddy issues the size of the Grand Canyon." She turned towards the engineer, "Clearly he has you beat."
Tony was just watching the screen as Loki held his breath and got his anger under control. The look he and Steve were sharing was hard to decipher, but it looked like panic, or worry, or even fear was in their gazes. They both looked resigned to their fate. He didn't even respond to Natasha's gibe at him. Instead he said, "I think they think they might be punished for that little outburst."
Bruce nodded his agreement, "Perhaps a couple of head doctors would be in order as well."
"I'll send some people over from Shield." Said Fury.
"Not right away," Said Bruce, "we need them to trust us first and Shield might be the last thing they equate with trust right now."
"We are missing something. Something vitally important," said Natasha as she watched the pair on the screen. As she spoke Thor came out of the elevator, a distraught look on his face.
"Hey! Don't look upset Point Break! Not everyone can wax poetic all the time. There are just some things that will strike a nerve no matter how it's said." Said Tony, trying and failing to cheer Thor up a little.
"Thor," began Natasha, still looking at the screen, "How did your father know that Loki had allied himself with Thanos?"
Thor had given a vague explanation on the Heli-carrier, but Natasha had other things on her mind, like finding Barton and bringing him back.
"Heimdall, the Keeper of the Bifröst, saw Loki working with Thanos right before he came to Earth. He told Father of Loki's plans and Father then sent me down to try to help stop him." Said Thor, starting to piece together a conclusion he didn't like in the least.
"Is there a way for Loki to hide from Heimdall's sight?" Asked Bruce, wanting more clarification on Loki's abilities.
"He has done it in the past, however if that was the case, we wouldn't have known of their alliance and Father wouldn't of sent me to Earth to help defend it." Said Thor, also drawing the same conclusion as the others even as he spoke.
"So, if this Heimdall guy could see what was happening with Loki right before he came to Earth, wouldn't it also stand to reason he could see what was happening when Loki landed on Thanos' planet like he said he did?" Said Tony, voicing the conclusion they had all come to.
"That is a strong possibility," said Thor, a strange feeling growing in his gut.
"You said Loki was adopted," said Bruce, a strange thought coming to him, "and he called himself a monster just now. What does he mean?"
"Loki was born a Frost Giant on the planet Jotunheim, son of their leader Laufey. Father waged war against the Frost Giants in an attempt to keep them from conquering the nine realms, starting with Earth. When he defeated Laufey and brought an end to their reign, Father found a baby Loki- discarded and left to die in the frozen wastelands, so he brought him home to Asgard. All Asgardian children are brought up on stories of the monstrous Frost Giants, who could freeze you solid with one touch if you were bad, lurking in darkness, waiting to strike out at you, and how our King was able to defeat them. Father used magic to hide Loki's true form and only he, mother, and Heimdall knew of his true origins, until just after I was sent to New Mexico." Thor paused a moment, as if just realizing something.
"To be brought up with stories of monsters, then realize you were the monster they were talking about. It probably did a number on his psyche. No wonder his brain is like a bag of cats." Bruce said thoughtfully.
"But why would he send the Destroyer to Earth after you and your friends in New Mexico? Why not just bring you back when he took over the throne?" Asked Fury, also connecting the dots and not liking the conclusion he was coming too.
"To kill myself and my friends, in order to keep control of the crown as King of Asgard," said Thor, sure of his answer.
"No," said Tony, "you said he has plans within plans. He is a trickster. There had to be more to it than just killing you. There is still a piece of this equation missing. Something we are overlooking. What would make you worthy of your Hammer? What needed to happen in order for you to return to Asgard to help battle the Frost Giants?"
"The ultimate sacrifice," said James' quiet voice over the comms. "You needed to die, or at least be willing to die for those you cared about most in order to prove yourself worthy."
Everyone in the common area froze as things started to click into place.
"Loki didn't want the throne." Said Thor, "he wanted me to return to Asgard because he knew the people wouldn't want him on the throne now that his heritage was known to all. The only way to do that was for me to regain my powers and wield Mjolnir again."
Thor took in a deep breath, "Just like he knew I wasn't ready to be King before the coronation."
Suddenly all of Loki's actions made a lot more sense to his Brother. It also explained the anger and resentment towards him coming from both Loki and Steven. Thor suddenly felt lower than dirt. He could've prevented all of his. He could've done something to save Loki from Thanos' grasp and free him from the torture's he'd faced.
Without a word, Thor turned and moved towards the elevator. When the doors closed, Thor asked Jarvis to take him to the roof. He needed to think and find a way to make this up to his brother.
The others looked like they wanted to say something to the God of Thunder, but no one did. This was all a lot to take in for all of them.
"This is if we believe everything that Loki has said so far." Said Natasha, still not sure she believed this story that was unraveling around them.
"Tasha," came James' voice over the comm, "you saw how Steve used the Hammer." He switched to Russian, "and we both know what it looks like to be desperate to escape a situation that's completely out of your control. Knowing you have no hope of rescue and only an insane plan that will either work or get you killed."
Natasha's breath hitched a moment and she crossed her arms not acknowledging what James said. She knew it was true though, and if she looked closely enough, she could see the same signs on Loki and Steve- she was just having trouble allowing herself to see them.
A grave silence fell over the Avengers and Fury, all caught up in the conclusions they all drew. The group was all watching the screen, as Loki finished his water and Steve picked up the mug of broth with two hands. He took a small sip and grimaced in pain. Without a word Loki held out a hand for the mug and Steve passed it over.
Loki held the mug securely bringing it up to his mouth. He blew over it gently then took a small sip as well, before passing it back over to Steve who looked grateful. Steve's eyes darted around the room quickly, like he thought they might be in trouble for something. When nothing happened, he took another sip of the soup, only this time without the painful grimace. He gave Loki a small smile of gratitude before taking a few more sips from the mug.
"Jarvis," said Bruce, who suddenly thought he knew what just happened, "can you tell us the temperature of the soup that Steve is drinking?"
"The soup was a couple of degrees above room temperature when Mr. Rogers took his first sip. After the cup was passed to Loki the temperature dropped to that of something left in the refrigerator for a few days, around twenty or so degrees cooler." Came Jarvis' prompt reply.
"Why didn't the weapons react to his use of magic then?" Said Tony, slightly worried that the threat they gave earlier might not actually hold any weight to it.
"My sensors have been monitoring Loki in every instance he has been at the Tower. There was no sign of magic being used just then like there has been in past instances when he has used it around the Tower." Said Jarvis.
"Frost Giant." Said Bruce, Tony and Fury all at once. Tony and Fury seemed to be upset that they both spoke at the same time like that.
When the mug was replaced on the tray, a couple inches lower than it had been originally, but nowhere near enough for Steve to be full James had Jarvis open the door.
"What the fuck is he doing?" Fury almost shouted but held back. On screen both Loki and Steve became extremely tense, a spark of fear entering their features before being masked behind defiance.
If James noticed he didn't comment on it. "I have just one more question for you. I promise it's the last one for today."
He was looking right at Loki when he spoke, careful to keep eye contact with the God. Steve had his head tilted on his knees slightly, so he could keep both Loki and James in his sights without moving too much in either direction. The tension in both their forms didn't ease at all; it almost seemed to get worse with James' statement.
"Alright," said Loki hesitantly.
"When you were on Thanos' planet. Were you shielding yourself from Heimdall's view at any point?" James was watching both of their guests carefully for a reaction, knowing this was the puzzle piece the others were missing.
Loki's eyes narrowed, trying to see if this was some kind of trap. He turned to face Steve, who was tapping furiously on his leg with his right hand, the one closest to Loki. Almost hiding the move from James' presence and the cameras. The pair shared a moment of "creepy weird telepathy," as Tony began calling it before Loki answered. "No, from the moment I landed on the planet my magic's main goal was keeping me alive, for which it barely succeeded. There was no energy for me to shield myself from Heimdall's sight… even if I wanted too." The last part muttered low enough that the people on the common floor missed it, but James, having a messed-up version of Steve's serum, heard it well enough.
James' posture became extremely tense at the muttered phrase, which set off more tension in both Loki and Steve, who flinched back and made themselves smaller targets, their breath hitching slightly, without taking their eyes off James' person. James noticed the reaction right away and forced himself to relax, as to not scare his friend and Loki further.
When James could speak without anger in his voice, (it took him a moment) he said, "Thank you." And made his way out of the room. It took over five minutes for Loki and Steve to relax again. Steve was the first to calm down, putting a hand on Loki's knee, which seemed to help the God calm down. His fingers were steadily tapping against his leg the whole time.
Within two minutes of James visiting Loki and Steve solo, he was up on the common floor speaking even as the elevator was still opening; "They are not going to Shield for containment. And they are not staying in that room any longer than necessary."
James had confirmed what they had all wanted to know, fitting the last piece of the puzzle into place.
"So Loki's goal wasn't world domination," said Natasha, "He was looking to open the portal so Steve could also escape from Thanos' hold."
"I think he was also trying to show us how ill prepared we were for an invasion." Said Bruce, "the whole time Loki was here, every move we made was in reaction to something he did. He was two steps ahead of us the whole time."
"That's why he went after Phil," said Fury, "cause you dumb assess couldn't get your shit together and work as a team. He knew you would need an extra push or this whole thing would be a bigger cluster fuck than it already was."
There was a moment of silence before, "Well Fuck!" Which was what everyone was thinking to some degree or another.
After about ten minutes of tense silence, where everyone was lost in their own thoughts Tony was the first to speak, "So, what are we going to do with the boarding situation of our guests?"
After shedding some light on what was really going on through the invasion with the Chitauri didn't make everything better, but it did help alleviate some of the anger from the group.
"Do you even have room for all these people suddenly staying at your Tower Stark?" Came Fury's gibe at Tony.
Tony looked affronted with Fury even entertaining his thought process. "Of COURSE there is room. I built this Tower, literally with my own two hands. Stop trying to take away our people."
"I'm not sure Steve or Loki would feel comfortable staying with another person in the room. Steve and Loki can stay in the rooms across from me," said James, "Thor is also on that floor." The implied, there would be an extra set of hands if something went awry was not said.
Natasha looked between all of them, "I will find my own room."
Bruce nodded in agreement, "I'll also find my own space."
"Well," said Fury, "Seems like you all have this under control. I will send over some Shield personnel in the next few days to start the vetting process." Fury turned and stormed to the Tower in his typical dramatic fashion. If he was rattled by what they had just figured out, he wasn't showing it.
"Bruce, perhaps we could get Steve and Loki to agree to a more informal check up in their new room?" James spoke up again, seeming to take charge of everything.
Bruce nodded, "let me get my bag."
James and Bruce made their way to the elevator while Tony and Natasha stayed on the common floor.
"You don't seem excited about their stay." Tony was having a moment of unusual perceptiveness, so he figured he would try to get Natasha to talk- hopefully without loosing a finger… or limb in the process.
"Not particularly no." Came the quick reply. Natasha seemed amused that Tony of all people wanted to talk with her about this but didn't seem surprised that one of them did. She hadn't been at the ruins and didn't have the full story of events, nor was she as emotionally invested like James or Thor.
Tony nodded, "Well, as of about twelve hours ago, time zones included, I thought the same thing. The only reason I agreed to it was because of New Cap, and the creepiness of where they were staying."
"Perhaps that was part of their master plan. The place where they chose to hide."
"Probably. Looking back, that might've had something to do with it. But that was also a place of importance to the Caps Squared. It was the site where James was first rescued by Cap One point Oh."
"I'm going to need to talk to Clint. He's probably not going to be happy about this."
Tony nodded, "I can't see him being happy with any of this. What did you find out about Agent and this TAHITI thing Fury wanted to do?"
"It's an experimental procedure that will apparently bring someone back from death. Clint was adamant that Phil wouldn't need it. Unfortunately, he couldn't explain his reasoning; it was a gut feeling. He's going to stay with Phil until further notice." Natasha said, trying to wrap her head around all of this.
Tony made a noise, but didn't comment further, seeming to realize the conversation was over for now. "Why don't you go claim a room? Jarvis will tell you what's available and give you some good locations away from our guests. Or you could go talk to Point Break. He seems a bit troubled."
Natasha gave Tony a glare, without any actual heat to it and made her way to the elevator. Tony downed the rest of his drink; he had refilled it once or twice over the last few hours and made his way to the couch. "J, see if you can get Pepper on the phone. I need to give her a heads up about what's happening here at the Tower."
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Thor was standing at the edge of the roof, not looking at anything particular as he thought. If what Loki was saying was true, then Odin had caused greater harm than good where his brother was concerned. And, if Thor was being honest with himself, he had also done much wrong by his brother over the last few years.
All that talk on the Bifröst about being brothers and working together… and here was Thor leaving Loki to fend for himself after his fall. He should've taken more of an initiative to find him. He shouldn't have just left his brother to his fate. Perhaps all of this wouldn't have happened. Perhaps then Loki wouldn't look at Thor with such hatred.
The door behind him opened and the soft steps of Natasha filled the air. "Tony says you are up here brooding."
"I've failed my brother." Was his reply, "I couldn't see past my own arrogance when it came to so many things and Loki has had to suffer for it."
Natasha moved to look out over New York with Thor, "What could you have changed if anything? Clearly, if your father knew of Loki's imprisonment then he thought Loki deserved it, whatever his reasoning. Do you really think he would've sanctioned your rescue attempt?"
"Nay," said Thor, "I don't think I understand Father's relationship with Loki, or his reasons for doing what he has."
There was a comfortable silence, "What are your feelings on Loki being here?"
"I know what it feels like to see desperation for an escape and knowing the odds working against you." Natasha had taken a moment in the elevator to really analyze the situation and what James had said to her. He was right; the two of them had been in similar situations on a smaller scale. If it hadn't been for Clint and Phil…. Natasha wasn't sure what would've happened.
Thor raised an eyebrow at her, seeing the answer for what it was and waited. Natasha took a moment, "Part of me is not happy about them being here. I can't trust their story yet. But another part feels sympathetic because I know what they are going through."
The God of Thunder nodded in understanding, "It would be difficult for us to convince you of the truthfulness of their story, as only Loki and Steven can do that. I understand your hesitation as well. A small part of me still thinks this is just another one of Loki's tricks, a way to get back at me for everything that has happened in the last two years."
"Bruce was right about one thing though," said Natasha, "We were definitely not as prepared for the invasion as we thought we would be."
"The ground has been set for a better comraderance between us all. It would behoove us to continue this journey together in order to be ready for the other threats in the nine realms." Was Thor's reply. "Now, have you chosen a room yet? Anthony has a palace of rooms to select from whilst we stay here."
Natasha's lips twitched up slightly at Thor's little speech, "Yeah. I found one that I like well enough. Beats staying in safe houses and Shield Headquarters that's for sure."
"Then let us depart these upsetting thoughts and move forward towards sleep and tomorrow." Thor was trying to cheer them both up, which seemed to be working. They made their way back towards the stairwell entrance for the roof in comfortable silence, both with a slightly better understanding of the other.
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James moved quickly to Loki and Steve's holding room. He wasn't going to call it a cell. Not even to himself. As he got to the door a snap decision made him knock to announce his presence. He waited a beat, and then had Jarvis open the door for him.
Loki and Steve hadn't changed positions at all from earlier. Although it did look like Steve had finished more of the soup since his last visit and the bread from his plate was gone. James would ask Jarvis later which one of them ate it.
Upon seeing James, the pair tensed up again. He had already said he wasn't going to be asking more questions for the day, so that meant he either lied, or was there for something else. They weren't sure what would be a better option at this point considering everything.
"So, we've figured out the room situation for you both. You won't need to spend the night here, come on." James motioned for them to stand then added, "you're going to be staying at the Tower. In case that was what you were worried about."
Loki and Steve shared a look before standing from their seated positions. Again, they motioned for James to lead the way and started to move towards his position. James however went over to Steve's tray and grabbed the soup. There was still about a third of it left, and James wasn't about to let Steve get away without eating all of it. Steve saw the move and rolled his eyes at his friend, but was secretly pleased nonetheless.
The trio made their way to the elevator in silence. Jarvis opened it up without prompting and when they were all on, began moving up towards James and Thor's floor.
"You'll be staying on the floor Thor and I are staying on." Said James into the silence.
Loki tensed but didn't say anything.
When the doors opened Bruce was standing in the hall, his bag at his side. James led the pair to a room across from his before opening the door for them. "See, a normal room, with a bathroom, bed and everything. So, which of you wants this one?"
Steve and Loki shared another "creepy weird telepathy" moment before Loki answered for the pair, "we would like to be kept in this room together."
"There's only one bed in here," said James, slightly confused.
"That won't be a problem." Said Loki quietly. Steve just shrugged. James looked between the pair for a moment, trying to decipher Loki's meaning. After a beat he shrugged as well and moved out of the doorway so both guests could go into the room.
Steve and Loki walked into the room, Steve a little more cautiously than Loki. Bruce followed them but stopped at the door. "If it's alright, I'd like to do an informal check up. Nothing invasive and I can explain everything that's happening before I do it. If you don't want me to do something you can just tell me, and I won't."
Steve tensed and backed away towards a wall as Bruce spoke, he looked like he wanted to argue but couldn't. Loki didn't say anything, just looking between Steve and Bruce, letting him make the decision. Loki knew that Steve needed medical attention more than he did, but he also knew that he more than likely wouldn't accept it, especially after everything that happened in Thanos' …care.
"Stevie," said James, moving into the room next to Bruce, but not blocking the doorway, "if it helps Bruce can do the exam on me first so you can see what he wants to do."
Steve narrowed his eyes at his friend. When he had been rescued from Azzano, Bucky refused to go to medical. For him to be saying this now meant a lot to Steve because he knew how much his friend also hated doctors. He looked around the room a moment before giving the barest of nods. Loki and James both relaxed some, realizing their friend would be willing to do this.
"Thank you," said Bruce quietly, "why don't you find a place to get comfortable and we can get started."
Bruce expected Steve to move to a chair, or even the edge of the bed. However, Steve took in the whole room for a few minutes before finally selecting a spot on another sidewall, where he had a view of the door and a view out the large floor to ceiling windows Tony liked for all his bedrooms. James moved so he was sitting with his back to a chair, a little way in front of Steve, while Bruce slowly made his way over to the two of them, sitting with his back to the door and completing their little triangle.
Loki moved to the same wall Steve was sitting against, an arm's width closer to the door, giving his friend more space, but close enough to reach out a hand if needed.
Bruce debated with taking everything out all at once or just one instrument at a time. Both options had the chance of giving Steve some kind of panic attack or negative reaction. After some thought he settled on taking everything out but explaining it as he set it down and giving Steve a chance to take in what he says. He had already asked Jarvis to do some scans of his own and leave the information on Tony's personal server in a folder for him under some encryptions.
So, Bruce began going through his bag, selecting the things he would need and explaining their importance to Steve as he went. Bruce was careful to watch Steve's reactions to everything and moved slow enough that he had a chance to take in everything before moving on to the next item. James was also watching the interaction closely, monitoring his friend in the same way.
About halfway in Bruce realized they would need to take Steve's cuffs off to get to his wrist to check his pulse. Bruce finished taking everything out of the bag, closing it up and putting it behind him. He then held out his hand, "I'm going to need to take your cuffs off in order to do the exam."
Steve narrowed his eyes but didn't move right away. After a beat he pointed to Loki's hands which were also still in cuffs, a silent challenge in his eyes and some masked worry that this might backfire on them.
Loki and James' lips twitched at the move. It was so Steve. James was happy that his friend wasn't as broken as he originally thought. It was a good starting point. Bruce raised an eyebrow at the move, looking between the pair and James, who was no help- just sitting there with a carefully blank look. Bruce's own lips twitched before he caved with a dramatic sigh.
"Fine." Bruce then held his hand out for Loki's cuffs. Loki slowly brought his hands up within Bruce's reach, not sure if this was some kind of trick but willing to take the chance to be out of chains for a little while. Without a word Bruce removed the cuffs and put them behind him with his bag out of sight. He then held out his hand for Steve again, silently waiting for him to comply so he could do the same thing. Steve seemed to relax a little and held out his hands for the cuffs to be removed, rubbing his wrists a little when they were off.
Bruce nodded to himself, before grabbing the thermometer from the floor. He showed Steve how it worked and demonstrated on James when he moved his head forward enough for Bruce to reach. Within a second Bruce pulled it away and showed Steve the results. Without prompting Steve moved his head forward enough for Bruce to reach with the instrument. Bruce gently placed it against his head and pulled it away after a few seconds. He looked at the results with a slight frown.
It read 97.0 degrees F.
"Jarvis, is the thermometer broken?" Bruce asked after another second of looking at the results.
"No Sir." Came Jarvis' quick reply.
"What's wrong?" Asked James with a frown. Bruce showed him the results then looked back at Steve who was watching them again with narrowed eyes.
"Trouble already?" Asked Loki, an unusual lilt to his tone.
"I'm not sure," said Bruce, "it might be a result of prolonged time in space. But I can't be sure at this point." He looked like he wanted to say more but thought better of it and put the thermometer away. /Perhaps some other tests will be necessary… Just not right now./
Bruce then pulled out his stethoscope, putting it around his neck. "I'd like to check your pulse, then your lungs and heart."
He took hold of James' flesh wrist and held it, taking his pulse. His heart was racing a little, but it was probably because of the things happening in the last few days. He gave an "all's good." Then held out his hand for Steve's wrist. Again, Steve put his wrist out without hesitation, pulling the sleeve of his jacket back a little so Bruce wouldn't have to.
Bruce held onto his wrist the same as he did for James, again a frown coming over his features. He could barely feel Steve's pulse and what he could feel was pretty slow- slower than it should have been. Bruce's eyes drew together in concern, as he let go. He then held up the stethoscope. "I'm not sure I got an accurate reading on your pulse. Do you mind if I use this?"
Steve didn't move to give Bruce his hand. Bruce gave it a moment before holding out a hand to James so he could demonstrate what he meant. James gave his hand over again without a word. When he was finished Bruce repeated the process with Steve, but even with the stethoscope the results were the same. Bruce made a mental note and added it to things that Jarvis should monitor. /This has to do with the serum and his time in space. Of that I'm sure. /
The exam continued for another forty-five minutes, Bruce methodically going through the process first with James, then with Steve. Tony came in at one point and watched silently before making an escape when his phone beeped. Thor hovered in the hall for a little while then made his way over to his room. If Loki or Steve noticed his presence they didn't comment or react.
Bruce was able to get Steve to take off his jacket, and raise his shirt to check his lungs, heart, ribs, blood pressure, etc. Neither he nor James commented on the scars criss crossing his chest and arms. He was also able to take a penlight to Steve's eyes to check his pupils with no trouble (even though the results were more than a little troubling to Bruce).
It was only when he wanted to check Steve's neck that Steve had a bad reaction. When Bruce finished demonstrating on James, Steve shook his head no when Bruce reached for him. He also pushed himself flat against the wall, moving away without actually moving. Bruce and James both saw the move but didn't comment.
"Well," said Bruce, "I guess we're done for now." He began packing up his things, hesitating a moment before putting the cuffs into his bag as well. James gave a small nod at the move, agreeing with Bruce's decision.
Loki and Steve exchanged a glance but didn't move otherwise, not sure what to think.
"It's getting late, so you should probably get some sleep. We'll be by in the morning with more food." Said Bruce as he stood to leave. James also stood and picked up the mug of soup off the dresser where he left it when he walked in and brought it over to his friend, "You need to finish this Stevie."
Steve took the cup from his friend, taking another small sip as he did. "Now remember, I'll be right across the hall if you need anything. Just ask Jarvis and he'll get me."
With that James made his way out of the room with Bruce, shutting the door behind them.
Jarvis started to dim the lights but stopped them when Steve's pulse started to spike and Loki became tense. He raised the lights a few megawatts then kept them that way. The pair relaxed again when the lights didn't continue to dim.
James and Thor found them both in the same spots the next morning when they came in with breakfast for the pair.
End Chapter 4