Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers or characters. I only own Elizabeth and the story!
Note: Yay, I'm finally getting back into the rhythm. For those of you who have also read my other fanfiction- I'm going to be trying to post chapters back and forth weekly. So if you don't read the other one- you'll get a chapter every other week. Hope you enjoy this! Remember to leave a review if you feel like it. Constructed criticism is always appreciated! See you next time.
Another knock sounds on the door and Elizabeth quickly excuses herself from the living room to answer it- her anxiety dwindling the farther away she gets from Tony. To her delight, it's her dad- Steve! He greets her with a hug, "hey Elizabeth. How was your day?"
"Uhh… it was good. Nothing too eventful." she stares at him and points her thumb towards the living room while mouthing the words "Tony is here".
He looks up in alarm as Tony's voice conveniently rings out from the living room, "is that Steve? Where've you been, Cap"
"Working," Steve calls back. He glares at Elizabeth, mouthing the words, "what is he doing here?" to her.
"Lovely. Working hard to catch Loki, I presume. Why don't you join us in here? Just wanted to catch up a bit and then I'll be on my way."
"Uhh… sure, Tony." Steve then lowers his voice so only Elizabeth can hear, "what the crap is he doing here? How has he not found out about Loki yet? Where is Loki?"
"Calm down, Dad. He's… invisible on the couch or something. I don't know what he did, but I know he's there. Tony has no idea that he's here or ever has been."
He breathes a sigh of relief, "okay, let's go in and act like everything is normal. We need to get him out of here as soon as possible."
"That's what I've been trying to do… let's just go."
They walk out of the entryway and into the living room where Tony is lounging on the couch. His serious face doesn't waver when he sees Steve, he only returns to sitting normally on the couch with a lazy expression upon his face. Steve glances at Elizabeth, who discreetly points her head towards the couch where Loki was. He nods at her and sits on the other end. She returns to Steve's room to gather up her stuff, as she was leaving to head to the SHIELD headquarters soon.
When she returns she finds Tony and Steve making small talk in the living room- discussing the search for Loki and other work-related things. She smiles at Tony and Steve, "is there anything else you need before I go?"
"Are you not staying longer? After all, Steve just got here."
"I was just house-sitting until he got here. I have work."
"Ahh… the sacred work," he says mockingly.
"Well, unlike you, I prefer to help people. Rather than worrying about myself."
"Sorry, forgot you were such a selfless princess like your dad."
"Whatever Tony," Steve says, cutting into the conversation, "you're good to go. I have everything handled from here."
She turns to leave, but only gets a few steps before she hears Tony yell, "what the crap?" she spins around and sees that Loki is now visible on the couch, passed out. 'The stress of the invisibility must have been too much for him,' she thinks to herself. She leaves Steve to calm down Tony while she runs over to check on Loki. She first rolls him over and checks to make sure he's breathing. When she's sure he is, she turns back to Steve who's still in the middle of an argument with Tony, "Dad? What do we do? He's passed out but he's breathing. I don't want to call anyone else cause that could lead to trouble"
"What? You're trying to take care of him?" Tony screeches.
"Yes… It's a long story, I'll explain later." Steve turns to talk to Elizabeth, "call Bruce. He's safe and he'll be able to tell us if Loki's okay or not."
She nods and grabs her phone from her bag, quickly scrolling through her contacts before landing on Bruce's name and calling. While the familiar, yet painful, ringing songs over the phone, she listens in on Tony and Steve's conversation. "What are you doing? He's a freaking criminal! He killed people… he tried to take over Earth. He literally threw me off of a balcony!" Tony yells.
"He's changed! He was literally tortured, Tony, can't you see that?"
"Tortured or not, he deserved it."
"Can you not lower yourself and be selfless for once to take care of someone in need?"
"Not when it's him."
She stops listening when the line clicks and Bruce's voice comes over the phone, "hey, Elizabeth. What's up?"
"Loki passed out and I'm not sure what to do."
"Is he breathing?"
"Yes."
"Okay, stay there and make sure he keeps breathing. I'll be there in 15."
"Okay, but Bruce?"
"Yes, Elizabeth?"
"Tony found out."
There's silence on the phone for a moment, "shoot."
The line goes dead. She returns it to her backpack before going into the kitchen to grab an icepack. She had read somewhere that placing an icepack on a passed out person's head would help till the paramedics arrived. And anyways, Loki seemed to prefer the cold, so maybe this would help in some inhuman way.
She quickly locates it in the freezer and returns to the living room, placing it on Loki's forehead. Then, she turns to continue to listen to the arguments. "This is too much, I'm calling Fury," Tony says.
"Tony, don't, "Steve warns.
"What do you mean "don't"?"
"Tony, you know what will happen if you call SHIELD. What will happen to him."
"I don't care. I've been very plain in my opinion towards him. Whatever happens to him, he brought it upon himself."
"Tony. don't!"
Before Steve can stop him, he grabs his cellphone and dials Fury's number. The line rings and picks up immediately. Tony places it on speaker and watches Steve while talking. "Hello? Tony, why are you calling me?" Fury asks.
"Hi, uh… I'd just like to report that I've found Loki."
"Where?"
"At Steve's apartment, right now. He's passed out, but he might not stay that way."
"I'm sending men over right now, stay where you are."
"Roger that."
He hangs up the phone and gives Steve a passive-aggressive smile. "Now what?"
"I guess…" Steve says grimly, "we wait."
Elizabeth looks at Steve, "you aren't seriously going to just give up, are you?"
"Elizabeth, we have to! SHIELD's coming with their top men. Even with you and me fighting, we have to factor in the other Avengers that they could end up sending and the fact that we'd be carrying a passed out man. It just doesn't work."
"So we just… concede?"
"For the time being… yes. Text Bruce and tell him to meet us at SHIELD."
"Okay…"
She pulls out her cellphone and pulls up Bruce's name again. Then, she sends him the text; Tony called SHIELD. Steve's giving up. Meeting us at SHIELD. Nothing happens for a second, then the read symbol appears, and a "..." appears next to Bruce's name, and a little bit later, a text; this isn't going to be good. I'm heading there now. Should get there a little bit before you, will be waiting. See you soon and stay safe." she responds immediately, "roger that, cya soon.
She puts the phone away and goes to sit next to Loki on the couch. Steve and Tony remain standing, though no longer arguing. Instead, they just glare at each other. In any other circumstance, Elizabeth would have thought this amusing. However, now this was anything but.
After 10 minutes the STRIKE team enters the room. All of them come through the door, prepared with their guns and walkie talkies. They scan the room before picking up Loki and carrying him away. Once they get him out of the apartment, they place him in handcuffs. It takes three men to place the restraints on Loki because of his senseless state. "He's unconscious," Elizabeth thinks to herself as they load him into a van, "why the crap do they need to bind him?" They have Elizabeth, Steve, and Tony get in the other. Then, the long trip to SHIELD ensues.