A/N: The one I uploaded before was actually not this one. This is an Edit. Hope you don't mind that...
He walked over to the beds and looked at where she'd slept the night before and grimaced. He thought surely that he'd be able to take advantage of her emotions, make her feel like it was nearly her duty to help him escape. But she does not know that I am on the run. She feels she has done her job and now she's leaving because that is all I ever told her I needed. Perhaps I should not have sent her away like that.
Then he truly understood the situation. Why had he sent her away like that? Using magic would surely get him caught. He cursed at his own stupidity. He turned to the door to track her down and erase the memory of the last five minutes.
Darcy's eyes were huge. "Holy crap on a freaking monkey." She breathed. She ran back up to the hotel and stood before the back entrance. She felt her pockets but noticed she was still in her plush pooh bear jammies. She ran back to the car were her purse sat, mutilated Advil bottle and unopened goldfish in tow. She fished through it for the room key. When she felt the slick plastic in her seemingly bottomless purse she sighed with relief. No way was she going to let that occurrence slide.
She ran up the flight of stairs to the second floor they'd been staying on. She tiptoed down the hall, suddenly afraid of being caught by him before she was ready, and approached the heavy door. She slid the key through the electronic lock. But when she reached for the door handle it was pulled open for her, and a cold hand snaked up and seized her thin wrist, pulling her through rooms 205's door frame and into the familiar living space.
"You dare return." He hissed quietly, lips moving imperceptibly and eyes dark with anger.
"Yes." She answered feebly, though his words had been more of a statement and not so much a question. "What… what are you?" she asked. "I mean, not that you look a lot like a monster but humans don't do that." She babbled everything that came to her head, much like she always did in crisis or hard situations. Much like she did when Thor came to Earth. Thor…
"You, you're like Thor. When he came to Earth, he called us mortals." She stammered, and then she realized he wasn't speaking. "Well?!" she squeaked, she'd meant to sound brave, but she was in all truths frightened too much to even consider bravery or courage.
"You know Thor?" there was a look of bewilderment in his eyes. Obviously he had not thought she'd have any acquaintance with the God of Thunder. He searched her, eyes scanning her carefully up and down. She was so mortal, so simple. Why would she know Thor? Then again, hadn't she said 'When Thor came to Earth, he called us mortals'? Of course he recognized the petite physique and the curly brunette locks that came just below her shoulder blades now. As the Destroyer, he'd come to their town to demolish and shatter all. And Thor. She'd spoken above the others, attempting to usher them out of the path of the metal beast.
"Well uh, yeah! And I took him down with one blow so you'd better not hurt me or you'll regret it immensely. Yeah, knocked him cold with just one little tap of my finger." She wouldn't mention that this "tap" had been to the trigger of her taser. Nor would she mention the taser was still in her purse. On the hood of her car. Where she'd left it. Undefended. "CRAP!" she yelled, and ran from the room.
And behind stood a smiling Loki. "Her mind is so open." He smiled then turned to follow her.
"Banner, are you sure this is the place?" Ironman said, "It doesn't look like a place a sorcerer bent on destroying Earth would hide." He assessed the small town. One main street was lined with a mixture of big name places like Walgreens, Radio Shack, McDonalds, and a State Farm office, along with some family owned restaurants and few gift shops that doubled as dress boutiques. It was by far nothing special.
"Yeah, all of the readings came from this area. More specifically the Walgreens." He said. "But I'm also picking up light readings from the Best Western, not that I' could tell you which room he's in. Or how he even managed a room." Banner added the last part, his skepticism evident.
"Well let's check it ou-" Tony wasn't able to finish his sentence because a certain surprised spangly man cut him off.
"The Walgreens?" Cappy asked.
"Yeah, it's a store that sells medication and various goods." While Tony's smirk wasn't visible behind the iron mask, it was certainly audible.
"I know what it is!" Steve growled, "I was just thinking about how there was a crime report issued earlier by the Walgreens. Someone stole a canister of ibuprofen and a bag of Goldfish."
"What would Loki want with Goldfish and Advil? Seriously Captain Rogers, that's pretty obscure I don't think Loki was the criminal in that case." Clint laughed.
"Well, your point is a good one I just thought I'd mention it for odd coincidence purposes." Rogers, was rather defensive in his reply.
"Uh, huh. Well let's park the Quin Jet a ways out, and Tony take off the suit. We don't want to scare anyone or make a scene." Natasha said.
Clint laughed, "Yeah, because the Avengers walking through town in their daily gear is totally inconspicuous."
Natasha smiled, "You're right Barton. How about you and Banner head into town? You're the least likely to be recognized. After all, as an agent of S.H.E.L.D, you don't even exist. And Banner is better known for the… other guy."
Clint smile was gone, just like that. "Now wait a minute."
The only minute I'll be waiting is for you to slip on some jeans and a tee, rather than your suit. And take off your arm band. I doubt archery guards are a bid trend out here." Agent Romanoff was having way too much fun with this.
Banner and Clint strode through town and into the Walgreens, which they noticed was very conveniently catty cornered on the same intersection just across from the Best Western. "It's a small town." Clint shrugged off the strangeness of all the coincidence they'd encountered since arriving… where ever the heck this was.
Banner nodded. They walked around the isles, unsure really of what they were supposed to be looking for. They came to the basic medications isle and couldn't help but stop by the Advil. "Wait a minute." Banner ran his finger through some purple residue on the ground. Most of it had been swept up but little bits had merely been pushed beneath the shelves a by a lazy janitor or whoever had swept last. "He WAS here." Banner practically breathed.
"Nuh, uh! What would the freaking god of mischief want with Advil?" Clint choked, a bit, shocked that Loki had really come into a Walgreens and not blown the whole thing up.
"I don't know!" Banner huffed, "Hey Miss!" he called to an attendant. She approached slowly, swaying her hips and popping her gum.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Did you see a man in here today with long black hair and green eyes?" he asked.
"Uh, huh. Stole some stuff from us and the cameras didn't even catch it so the cops can't do nothing bout it." She drawled.
"Hmm." Banner frowned. "Well that's all I need to know, thank you." He dismissed the girl then gestured for Clint to follow him.
"Where are we going now?" Clint asked.
"We are going to check out the hotel across the street."
They strolled through the Hotel parking lot towards the front entrance, but stopped when Clint piped up. "Wait we need a plan. We can't just walk in and ask if he's checked in, that information is private and they aren't permitted to give it up. Plus he would be using an Alias and depending on how long he's been here the desk manager most likely won't be the same one who assisted him, plus we for all we-"
He stopped talking and stared in confusion as a girl seemed to just appear beside an SUV followed by her purse and what looked like it could be Advil, and what was definitely Goldfish. "The heck?" he mumbled. Banner turned and tried to decipher what was so odd about the scene.
They watched the girl scurry towards the back entrance, slump when she realized she didn't have her key, dash back to her car and retrieve her key with a little hop of joy and relief, only to dart back to the rear entrance and disappear inside.
They walked over to the car and began to inspect the contents she thrown onto the hood of her car. "Why'd she just leave al this here?" Banner asked.
"I don't know, maybe she was really excited about something. Or completely frazzled. You never know." Clint shrugged. "Either way, I think that's a bottle of Advil… And that's a bag a Goldfish." He studied the mutilated canister.
Banner rolled his eyes, not at Clint, but at whatever Loki's bass-ackwards plan was.
"We should take this and hide, wait for her to come back. Maybe he'll be with her, or maybe she can take us to him; in which case this would be good leverage." He concluded.
Banner nodded and scooped the purses contents back into it and then they ducked behind the bushes lining the median of the lot.
A/N: Yeah, I think it'll be wrapping up soon. I never did plan a very solid ending and this story has been a set of very sporadic ideas (if you couldn't tell, already) and I think it'd be best to finish it up. But I'm already plotting out (correctly this time, might I add) another Avengers fic that will be primarily about Loki and Post Avengers drama and such. I managed to see the movie again so now I have a refreshed memory of its plot and will be happy to write a more accurate fic. (Yay!)