The Amazing Avenger.
A/N-Thank you to everyone who reviewed and gave some awesome Loki vs. Spiderman suggestions. J They were all really awesome ideas and I will take each and every one of them in consideration in future chapters. A very special thank you goes to Kaisaan Greenleaf for their neverending support in this story since I started. But all the same, I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.
Oh-and I know you all were quite shocked with how I left the last chapter where Steve is concerned. But don't fret my pets…there is a purpose in everything I do. ;) Steve will be alright…trust me.
Recap: Peter struggles with his guilt over the battle with Loki; tensions come to a rolling boil between Tony and Steve and Steve walks away from SHEILD and The Avengers. Now on to Chapter 10.
Chapter 10.
"Peter!" Aunt May exclaimed when she opened the door and saw her nephew standing on the porch, smiling weakly at her and soaking wet from the pouring rain.
"Hi Aunt May." he said softly, as he walked in and she immediately hugged him with all her might, despite the wetness. She had been worried sick ever since she had first seen the news when Loki had attacked downtown Manhattan once again. Words couldn't express the overwhelming relief and happiness she had felt having Peter in her arms again.
When they finally broke apart, she looked at his face. She knew immediately something was wrong with him. But looking him over, she decided that could wait.
"Goodness, you're drenched. You go and get out of these wet clothes and dry up, and I will make you some tea and hot soup. Now go." The tone in her voice told Peter she was not one to be argued with and with a smile, he complied. He knew he had some spare clothes in his old room.
May quickly went into the kitchen and put the kettle on. Peter came out ten minutes later, with dry clothes on and drying his hair with a towel.
"You just sit down at the table and I will bring you out your soup, and don't you dare tell me you're not hungry because I notice you have lost weight." she called out from the kitchen and Peter chuckled at the comment.
"I'm famished, Aunt May." he called back, still smiling.
"Good." she called. "'cause I made you a sandwich, too!" And as she said that, Peter held up his hands indicating that was what he was expecting her to say.
She came in a few minutes later with a small tray and set it in front of him. He smiled his thanks at her and took a sip of his tea. She sat down with her own cup and looked at him.
"I've missed you." she said.
"Me too."
She then looked at the TV in the other room, which was playing the news coverage of what occurred in downtown NY. "Has he been found yet?"
Peter shook his head, taking a bite of his sandwich. "He completely disappeared."
"I saw that."
Peter scoffed, sitting back in his chair, staring at his food as if it were alien. "Yeah, and I'm sure everyone is talking about how I stood there like an idiot and watched him."
May reached her hand out and patted his arm. "There was nothing you could've done, Peter."
"Yeah, tell that to the Captain." Peter replied, looking away from his aunt as he could feel his emotions stir up again.
May didn't remove her hand from his arm. "What's going on, Peter?"
Peter kept his face away, he couldn't look at her. All he could feel was his guilt. May silently got up and sat in the chair next to him and turned his face toward hers, and his tears spilled.
"It's my fault, Aunt May." he said.
May shook her head, stood up, and wrapped her arms around him and he responded by clutching to her as he began to cry, letting out all the pain and the fear that he had let down his team, the anger at Loki, and the grief of what he had heard happening from the stairwell and seeing Steve walk away. The team was falling apart and he was watching it, but didn't know how to help fix it, or even if he could.
May held him until he had cried all his tears away, and when he was done, she sat back down next to him and he told her everything that had happened, starting from when he had first arrived at Stark Tower to Steve quitting the Avengers. As Peter told his story, he himself had become aware of what he had experienced. Despite all that has happened, the past three months had been the best months of his whole life. Whether it be working on the Iron Man suits with Tony, having target practices with Clint and Natasha, Clint showing him how to use his bow, and Natasha teaching him to use a gun, even Coulson joining in at times, jabbing at punching bags with Steve at the gym, having long chats with Bruce in the lab, and even eating boxes of pop tarts with Thor as the blond god regaled him with long tales of battles and his life in Asgard, even ones with Loki, which Peter could see a glimmer of sadness in his eyes when he did speak of his brother, this team of heroes were some of the greatest people he would ever know.
When they did fight, they fought together as a team. The only friction was the rift between Steve and Tony. Peter only wished he could understand why Tony resented Steve so much.
"Clint. Clint, open this door!" Natasha yelled as she pounded on his door. "I know you're in there."
Natasha was seriously worried about him. She had practically blown up his phone and texted him literally fifty times and each time, he had ignored her. Well, she was done with being ignored.
"Clint, I'm going to give you one last chance to open this door." she said with an even, but trained tone. "If it's not open in five seconds, I will force it open."
True to her word, she grabbed her gun from her holster and aimed it at the lock. "One, two, th-"
Her counting had been interrupted by the sound of the chain being unlatched and the door opening. Clint stood, leaning against the doorframe, shaking his head at Natasha, who was putting her gun back in her holster.
"Yeah I knew you weren't bluffing." he said with a half-smile. She rolled her eyes at him and darted passed him into the apartment before he could invite her. As if she ever waited for an invitation before.
"What the hell is with you, Clint?" she asked him, darting around to face him as he closed the door behind him.
"I've been busy." he muttered as he went back to cleaning his bow. Natasha knew that's what he did when he was either troubled or something was on his mind.
"That's bull and you know it!" she snapped. "You've been this way ever since Loki-" and she stopped when she saw him visibly tense at the name.
"You know, Loki got the best of all of us, Clint." Natasha told him.
Clint said nothing, he just kept wiping his bow in his lap, though Natasha could see that he was wiping the same spot over and over. She doubted if he was even looking at it.
"He can't control you anymore, you know." she then said, in a softer tone this time. "He doesn't have that power anymore."
"No." Clint replied. "But he sure knows how to take us down, doesn't he?"
"That's not true." Natasha said.
"Oh no?" Clint asked, and then took his bow and placed it on the counter. "Did Steve not quit the team?"
"How do you know that?" Natasha asked, her brow furrowed.
"Coulson told me." Clint replied, to which Natasha looked down, her mind suddenly brought back to what happened just hours earlier at Stark Tower. She still couldn't believe Steve had lost control the way he did, though she didn't blame him in the least. Stark had had that coming for a long time.
"So Stark finally pushed him, huh?" Clint commented, as if he knew what she was thinking. "How bad was it?"
"It was definitely something you should've been there to see." she answered him with a slight smirk.
Clint chuckled softly. "I admit I am sorry I missed it."
"So why don't you tell me why you acted that way to me on the roof." Natasha told him, her tone serious.
Clint looked up at her then. "Forget it, ok?"
"No. I won't." she replied, walking up to him until she stood right in front of him. Looking him right in the eyes, she asked, "Are you afraid of him?"
He clenched his jaw and scrunched his eyes at her, as though she had spit at him, but she kept her stare at him still. "What the hell are you talking about?" he retorted, his tone cold, but she knew better.
"It's ok if you are, Clint." she told him, but he scoffed at her and turned his back toward her, shaking his head.
"Why in the hell would you even ask me that?" he said.
"Because I know you." she replied softly. "I know what he did to you."
Clint just looked down and shook his head. "No, you don't."
Natasha walked up behind him and Clint could feel her steps. He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw harder.
"Yes, I do." she told him and she wrapped her arms around him, her hands resting flat on his chest as she laid her cheek on his back.
Clint tensed at her touch at first, but then surrendered when she tightened her grip, as if she anticipated his resistance. He took her hands and turned around, meeting her gaze.
"It felt like it was happening all over again." he said in almost a whisper, but Natasha heard him.
She held him then. "I know. He scared me too."
"You know, it's not good to mix aspirin with bourbon." Bruce commented behind Tony as he sat in his lab, trying to open the plastic bottle, but sometimes being intoxicated can limit your ability to perform even the simplest tasks.
"Whoever decided it was a good idea to put childproof locks on these things should be maimed and killed." Tony half-slurred as he finally slammed the bottle down in defeat.
Bruce shook his head and went and opened the bottle with a turn of his wrist. He placed it back in front of Tony, who stared at the bottle like he was mentally trying to stare a hole through it. He then looked up at Bruce. "Thanks." he mumbled as he grabbed the bottle and dropped a few in his hand.
Bruce walked around the table until he got a good glimpse at Tony's face. He hissed and made a face when he saw the result of Steve's handiwork. "Jesus. Have you put ice on that?"
Tony scoffed and swallowed his aspirin dry. "Yes, doctor."
"Maybe you should see one." Bruce said as he walked up to Tony and turned his chin around so he could get a better look at the rather large purple bruise splashed on his upper cheek. His upper lip was also split pretty good and swollen. "You might have a concussion."
"It's nothing a few more of these can't fix." Tony grumbled, holding up his glass.
"I thought you never drank in the lab." Bruce said with a sigh. "Kinda self destructive, don't you think?"
"It's the only place where no one bothers me." Tony answered. "Well, except for Jarvis." He then looked at Bruce. "Excluding you, of course."
"What happened, Tony?" Bruce asked.
"You mean Cyclops didn't already give you the skinny?" Tony sniped as he slid from his stool and stumbled his way over to the sink, where he poured himself a cup of water and downed it. He was beginning to feel sick to his stomach. Maybe he did have a slight concussion after all.
"Yes, they did. I was on a Helicarrier on Ellis Island when I heard of what happened downtown. We were on lockdown, so I couldn't get off. But I want to hear it from you." Bruce replied.
Tony chuckled. "Oh you missed quite a show, my friend. Reindeer Games was just full of fun and excitement this time around." He refilled the cup and took another long drink. "Maybe it was a good thing you weren't there, might've turned you into a puppy or something."
"So I heard, but I meant what happened between you and Steve." Bruce said.
Tony was silent then. He poured the remainder of his water down the drain and let it drop from his hand as he sighed. "It happened the way you heard."
"So you finally had to break him."
Tony turned and faced Bruce, perhaps a little too fast because he had a couple of seconds of dizziness before his vision repositioned itself.
"Look, I already got reamed by Fury and Coulson and even Miss Princess Hardass, so why don't you do me a favor and just save it, ok?"
"I'm just trying to get-" Bruce was saying before he was cut off by Tony.
"Why don't you just ask Captain Sensitive?" Tony remarked.
"I would if I could find him." Bruce told him. "We've already been looking, he's not at his apartment, nor has he been at any of his regular places."
Tony was quiet for a moment, then walked back to his stool.
"I didn't tell him to quit."
"But you sure had a good hand in helping him make that decision." Bruce replied.
"Oh please, I didn't tell him anything he didn't already know!" Tony snapped.
"What is it with you, huh?" Bruce asked, his voice raising as he took control of his already rising anger.
"I don't need this, Bruce." Tony mumbled, his head dropped in his hand.
Bruce took a breath. "Why do you feel the need to alienate anyone who finds it in them to even give a quarter of a damn about you?"
When Tony stayed silent, Bruce just shook his head and turned to leave the lab. He knew he wasn't getting anywhere with him at that time.
"You better get some more ice for that face." he stated as he walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him.
Tony winced at the impact, then went and grabbed his glass bottle of bourbon, swigging the golden brown liquid around. Then, maybe it was from the alcohol or his massive headache or both, but he began to feel violently ill as the contents of his stomach began to rise up to his throat and he rushed over to the sink and purged.
Peter came out of his old room, tip toeing through the dark as to not disturb Aunt May, who was fast asleep on the couch, the TV on the news, as usual. He softly walked over to the coffee table, picked up the remote and muted the TV volume. He then walked over and gently kissed her on the forehead before he covered her completely with her favorite afghan. He looked at her for a couple minutes, then walked over and grabbed his jacket and as quiet as he could, left the house.
He walked down to the bus stop, putting his jacket on and zipping it up, flipping the hood on. When the bus pulled up, he got on and sat in the back, next to the window. Once he sat down, he sighed and laid his head back against the seat, trying to get his mind in a calm state before he got back to Stark Tower. He had planned to get back pretty late, pretty sure Tony was already drunk and passed out by now. He really wasn't in the mood to face him yet. The bus driver announced to the passengers that he had to detour because of the wreckage downtown, and everyone groaned.
Peter propped his elbow on the window and rubbed his eyes. Despite just having woken up, he was still tired. All he wanted to do was get back to the tower and sleep some more.
That's when he saw him. In the middle of his eye rubbing, he caught the gaze of a familiar figure smiling at him as the bus passed.
"Son of a bitch…" he shot up and pulled the stop cord. "Stop please!" he almost yelled, startling his neighbors in the back.
The driver groaned, but stopped anyway, the doors opening and Peter jumped out, looking down in the direction where he spotted Loki. Of course, he wasn't there anymore. Peter ran toward the area, his eyes wandering everywhere. He was pretty sure he wasn't just seeing things, though he hoped that wasn't the case. He had scoured the area until he looked up and saw him again, only this time, he was on a roof once again.
Wasting no time, Peter ran and was about to shoot out a web, but caught himself seeing as he wasn't wearing his suit. Instead, he ran all the way out of everyone's line of sight around the side of the building and immediately jumped on the side, climbing up quickly and making a leap until he landed on the roof.
He saw nothing once he was up there, but he knew Loki would only be trying to trick him. He walked slowly along the side where he had seen him, keeping his eyes and ears open and his senses intact.
"You seem to be determined to find me." Loki sneered, as Peter turned and faced him. "I almost thought you didn't recognize me."
"Oh I know who you are." Peter replied, glaring at the Norse God.
Loki smiled. "I'm awfully sorry to have had to step out early during our last encounter. Seems it took more than I thought to wrangle up your petty mortal friends."
"Seems like you were scared to me." Peter scoffed at him.
Loki laughed at that comment. "Scared of humans? That's quite amusing."
"Tell that to the one who literally wiped the floor with you." Peter shot back, and Loki's laughter died down a bit.
"Ah, the monstrous beast…it's really too bad he couldn't make our little reunion. I would've loved to…how do you Midgardians put it? 'Catch up'?"
"I'm sure he would've liked that." Peter retorted. "But I think you and I should get to know each other better, don't you?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Loki said, his smile returning as he shot out a green glow from his hand, but Peter was ready, already anticipated this move. He leaped clear over Loki's head and stuck on the side of the building next to them.
Loki spun around and glared at Peter. "Impressive." he stated.
"You ain't seen nothing yet, buddy." Peter called out and with that, shot out a web swung down until he met the god and knocked him down, Loki hitting the floor. Peter hit the ground and spun around, only to be met by Loki hard hard right backhand. Peter grunted from the impact and moved to get away, but Loki planted a foot on his back, keeping him in place.
"Stupid mortal" Loki chastised, but Peter struggled from his hold and shot another web at a slab of concrete that wrapped itself around and he pulled it all the way toward them until it hit Loki, freeing Peter from his foot and falling backwards to the ground.
Peter quickly made his way up and turned to look down at the fallen god. "Is that all you got?"
Laughing, Loki got up, but before he could react, Peter was on him. He ran and kicked him hard, knocking the taller man backwards and throwing a hard punch towards him, but Loki blocked it and sent Peter flying through the air with another hard backhand, this time making it hurt. Before Peter could recover, Loki appeared in an instant right on top of him and grabbed the young man by the throat.
"Is that all you got?" he taunted.
Peter struggled under the god, but Loki's weight and strength was too much for him.
"You can kill me," Peter gasped out. "but soon they'll find you, won't they?"
Loki's amused sneer turned into a hard glare.
"T-that's right." Peter coughed. "They'll come for you and soon you'll have more to worry about than just us petty mortals!"
Loki's glare turned dark then and his grip around Peter's neck became tighter. Peter fought as long as he could, but soon his airway was completely blocked, causing him to drift away. The last thing he could see was Loki's cold stare as he faded to black.
There you go guys. Another chapter. J Sorry it took a little while, but hey, life happens. I really hope the Loki/Peter confrontation was good for you guys. Like I said, I have plans for these two.
So I was in the shower today and I got a totally awesome idea for Loki's storyline, which will involve a character who is not in the movies, (as of yet anyway) but is known in the Marvel world. (I'll never tell…) hee hee…I am soooo excited. Can't wait to write it! It will be someone from Loki's past…
Thanks again to all my readers and reviewers. YOU GUYS ARE MY INSPIRATION! (Oh, and to the "guest" who sent me a review with the song, "Baby come back", you, my friend made my day! That was hilarious….and a great idea for a future slash story.) ;)