The Trouble Makers Club

Disclaimers: I do not own Marvel, Disney, or any companies affiliated with the before mentioned companies. All characters -except Mary- are owned by Marvel and it's affiliate companies. This is a work of pure entertainment and no copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: I am having some writers block on another story so I'm writing this to get my brain unblocked. Tony discovers that he has a kid a fully grown up kid. His worst nightmares have come true. Thor has Loki on earth because Asgard is full of jerks. Bucky is there too because Steve loves his Bucky bear. This story is basically why it is a really bad idea to put three insane individuals with the maturity of twelve year olds under one roof. Agent Coulson resumes his role as a glorified babysitter for a Stark.

Warnings: The first official date doesn't go as planned and Mary is having It recorded because a date like this deserves to be recorded. Mary sets her plan into action and Coulson agrees to help. Odin will not be a total d-bag in this story.

Chapter 8: Victory And Defeat

Loki's hair is wet and combed back as he looks at Mary. He's wearing black sweatpants and a green tee shirt. He is cutting carrots as Steve records them with Mary's camera. He looks at the camera and makes a face. "I think everyone knows why I want to kill Thor now."

Mary nods and wheels herself to the refrigerator. "Yeah. Why don't you explain what happened while I get the wraps."

Loki looks at the camera and rolls his eyes. "Thor wanted to cook us a traditional Asgardian dish for mine and Mary's first date. He managed to burn down the kitchen whilst making honeyed rolls. He also managed to flood the kitchen by summoning rain to put out the fire. Not only is the kitchen ruined but so is the entire apartment of the main living floor. His heart is well placed but I fear his brain is lost."

Steve laughs behind the camera as Mary brings over a pack of already made tortilla wraps. "So now we are wearing sweats and making chicken wraps for our first date."

Steve starts laughing harder and Loki looks at him. "Something funny Mr. Rogers?"

Steve looks at them and his voice projects behind the camera. "The first meal you two ate together were homemade chicken wraps. It's cute."

Mary smiles and looks at Loki. "He's right. You helped me make them."

Loki looks at her and smiles when he remembers. "You got me books as a hello gift."

They share a look of fond remembrance and Steve smiles as he zooms in on them. "Cutest couple of the century. Already acting like a couple."

Mary smirks and looks at Loki. "Do we have to feed him too?" Loki laughs and shrugs and she wheels around to get other items.

Loki looks at the camera and shakes his head. "What should we have for dessert?"

Mary wheels up with a head of lettuce. "That will be your surprise from me."

Loki crinkles his nose. "Haven't we had enough surprises today?" He takes the lettuce and begins to cut and wash it.

Mary shrugs and smirks. "Fine. I will eat the entire cheesecake myself."

Loki looks at her and grins. "On second thought I like surprises."

Steve smiles as they talk and help each other cook. They seem content together doing mundane things. Steve follows them when they take the food into the tv room and select a movie. Steve turns the camera off but makes note that the movie is a psychological thriller.

Mary's watch beeps in the middle of the movie and she takes her pills. "Sorry about that. I didn't realize it was this late."

Loki looks at the clock. "Your night time dosage already. I had fun despite all of the unwarranted surprises. Thank you for a lovely evening Mary." He keeps a respectable distance from Mary and waits until Steve takes her to her temporary room before going to his own room.

He reaches into a small wooden box beneath his bed and pulls out a small leather bound book and finds his quill and ink. He writes a few quick words and closes it smiling. He places the book back into the chest and hides the chest once more. He gets into his bed smiling and thanks the Norns that Odin respected Frigga's last wishes.

Tony and walk into the temporary living floor smiling and see Steve holding the camera smiling. Tony walks over and clears his throat. "How did it go?"

Steve hands Tony the camera. "See for yourself. They seemed so content doing mundane and simple things. Loki was nothing less than a perfect gentleman. Despite the rocky start I say they had a great date night."

Tony holds the camera and looks at Bruce. "Dinner and a movie?"

Bruce looks at the camera then at Tony. "I feel like it would be an invasion of privacy but since it is on camera I think we could do that."

Tony and Bruce sit on the couch and watch as Mary and Loki laugh and banter about everything and nothing. They look so young and carefree that is is easy to almost forget the tragedy of their circumstances. It is almost easy to forget that they are trapped in a tower for their safety and never allowed public interaction. A damsel and a prince hidden in a tower to protect them from the monsters beyond the gates.

Tony frowns when the footage ends. This whole situation is wrong. Loki was proven to be compromised and incapable of controlling his actions but he's still trapped because people refuse to understand the simple concept of being brainwashed. Mary's crimes are wanting freedom and having a brilliant mind. "This is wrong Bruce."

Bruce looks at Tony and sighs. He can almost read his mind. He sees the injustice of two young -physically speaking- people trapped in a tower because of unfortunate circumstances but it cannot be changed. "They are making the best of a really bad situation. They are finding ways to work around this protective incarceration."

Tony looks at Bruce. "How long can we protect them? Fury is right. We barely won this round with Hydra. The math doesn't add up. We were out gunned, out numbered, and -with the exception of you- out matched. Bruce what scares me is that Hydra wasn't even trying and this was just a distraction for something bigger."

Bruce looks at Tony and knows his thoughts. "They want Mary."

Tony nods and rests his head in his hands. "That's what it's looking like to me but I can't figure out why. After the massive destruction from her escape what could possibly be worth the risk of her doing it again? What could be so important that they would risk that scale of damage a second time around?"

Bruce looks at Tony and presses his lips together. "This doesn't seem like much but there was a museum robbery in Norway three days before the attack. I caught it on the news but didn't think anything about it at first. A gold box was taken. No one knows what was in the box because no one could crack the lock."

Tony looks at Bruce. "You think Hydra knows what's inside?"

Bruce nods. "I'm willing to put to money on it."

Tony grabs his phone. "Hope Fury is a night owl."

Fury is looking over the reports on the most recent attack when his phone starts ringing. He looks at it and frowns as he answers it. "You better not be drunk dialing me Stark!"

Tony chuckles but sounds serious. "Sorry Patchy but this is business. We think Hydra has some kind of powerful artifact in their possession and they need Mary to weaponize it."

Fury's brows go up and he leans back. "I'm listening."

Tony sighs in relief. "Remember when my Arc Reactor was killing me? Well, while I was going through some of the old man's work I found reference to the Tesseract and where it was found. It was hidden in some dusty house in Norway."

Fury rubs his face. "Your point being what Stark?"

Tony lets out a frustrated grunt. "The point being Fury that someone robbed a museum in Norway and took one thing. A gold Viking Age box that couldn't be opened. Three days later we are swarmed by Hydra. I don't think that's a coincidence."

Fury is silent and begins to type in his computer. He finds the article. "Priceless Box Dedicated to Freyja Stolen from National Museum." He can hear Tony breathing impatiently as he reads through the article. "Stark. Wake up the team. You're onto something."

Tony sighs. "Should Mary be involved?"

Fury looks at the article and taps his fingers on the desk. "No. We need to move her to a safe location off the grid. She's their target and needs to know as little as possible."

Tony swallows audibly. He doesn't have to hear the words to know what Fury means. In case she's captured the less she knows the better. Tony finally finds his strength. "Where would she go?"

Fury taps his fingers and looks at the globe on his desk. "I will tell you when I know. See you all at 0500 hours."

Tony looks at his phone as the call ends. A sense of dread washes over him as he looks at Bruce. "Fury doesn't see an outcome with her not being captured. He didn't have to say it out loud. His choice of words spoke volumes."

Bruce wraps his arms around Tony and holds him. He wants to tell Tony that Fury is wrong but Fury is right. Hydra is too close for anyone to be safe and they are racing closer to their target. All Bruce can do is keep Tony close and comforted and prepare for the meeting.

Hydra has made Mary a light sleeper. The slightest sound of footsteps forces her body into alertness. The common room is full of hushed whispers and light footsteps. She lays in bed until she hears the main door open and close. She waits five minutes and pulls herself out of bed and into her wheelchair. She knows they have made some type of discovery and haven't deemed it appropriate to tell her. "FRIDAY I need all feed from their secret meeting recorded. If they're going to talk about me I would like to know what they're saying."

FRIDAY immediately sends a live feed to her Stark pad. Mary quietly opens her door and wheels out. She wakes Loki and Bucky with the same message. "It's go time."

Loki stands behind her as they wait for Bucky's signal. Bucky waits for the feed to be replaced with a loop of empty halls and nods when the loop starts. Loki uses his magic to cloak them from human sight and everything goes smoothly until Phil is jogging down the hall and stops.

Phil looks in their direction and tilts his head. "How are you invisible?"

Loki sighs and remembers that the DNA used to save Coulson was Kree. Kree are not as susceptible to illusion as the other races. Loki looks at Bucky and when Bucky nods he allows the spell to fade. Mary looks at Loki and he nods.

Mary sighs as she looks at Phil. "We know about the attack. We know it was Hydra. That little meeting everyone is attending is about keeping me away from Hydra. Everyone still believes that I'm in the dark but the truth Agent Coulson is I know far more than they realize."

Phil nods as he looks at her. "Why are you heading towards the holding cells?"

She looks at Phil and her eyes become ancient. "The Hydra agent in your custody may hold valuable information. I need to know what Hydra is building and why they would risk the chance of another Russia occurring. They know I'm dangerous but they must be desperate if they need me to build a weapon."

Phil looks at the three and nods. He looks at his watch and smirks. "You can access the prisoner in ten minutes. I've been called to question him."

Mary looks at him for a moment. "Thank you. All I ask is that when I ask you to put these ear plugs in that you do it." She hands him a pair of earplugs and watches as he takes them.

Phil looks at her and nods. "I will meet you there." He waits until they are gone and continues his jog to his room.

Phil looks at the earplugs as he straightens his tie. His instincts tell him to trust her. His instincts have never failed him before and he knows they won't now. He was right about Loki. Loki did lack conviction because he was mindlessly following orders. He takes the earplugs and leaves.

He is walking to the cell block when he begins receiving messages on his watch. Interrogate him for ten minutes or have audio and visual to the cell cut. It is your choice.

Phil thinks and makes his choice. He nods to the guard and smirks. "Director Fury is in urgent need of information. Please cut off the eyes and ears." Phil watches as the guard cuts off the audio and visual recording feed. The room is now cut off from all security feed. "Thank you agent. I will see you very soon."

Phil looks at the muscular young man restrained in the interrogation chair. "Today is your lucky day. You're going to be questioned by someone scarier than me."

Loki lifts the invisibility spell and smirks. The agent sees the group of three and tries to keep his composure. Loki watches the young man's eyes scan them and finally land on Mary. His expression seems confused but horrified. "Sihf."

Mary looks at her friends. "Perhaps you should plug your ears. This is a sensitive conversation."

Phil watches as Loki and Bucky puts theirs in and decides to follow suit. He's shocked when he realizes that he can still hear. He doesn't say anything but watches Mary wheel towards the Hydra agent.

Mary's expression grows hardened but determined. "You people still call me that. Judging by your expression you know what I truly am."

The agent doesn't say anything. He shifts in his seat attempting -rather poorly- to keep his expression neutral. His silence permeates the room until Mary chuckles darkly. His mask cracks and his fear begins to show.

Mary takes what looks like a tiny music player from her hoodie pocket. She examines it and turns her attention to the agent. "It is too bad that you don't feel like talking. I never wanted to use this again but your people did kill 180 innocent people." She moves a small switch on the device and the agent stiffens.

She watches the agent and waits a few moments for his muscles to relax. She puts the device in her pocket and smiles. "Name and rank please."

The agent looks at her. "Markus Schwartz. I am a captain in Hydra's army."

Mary nods and taps her fingers against the table. "What is your purpose here?"

Markus eyes look alert as he stares at her but Phil can tell that Markus isn't in control. "The High Commander needs his Designer. We were sent to test the strengths and weaknesses of the Avengers."

Mary tilts her head and Phil notices that she's not wearing earplugs. "What is Hydra building that requires me?"

Markus blinks slowly. "The High Commander wishes to destroy the Avengers and SHIELD. He wishes to wipe them from existence."

Mary leans forward and looks at him. "How will he do that?"

Markus looks at her and tilts his head. "The gem in Freyja's necklace. It has the power to control time."

Loki looks horrified. "An Infinity Gem."

Mary looks at Markus and clenches her fists. "How long before Hydra comes for me?"

Markus looks at her. "A week."

Mary sits back and nods. She turns the device off. "Thank you Markus. You have been very helpful."

She nods to the others and Loki recasts the spell. Phil knocks on the door and the guard opens it. "We have everything we need. You can reestablish feed. Thank you."

Phil doesn't say anything. He saw reality hit when she looked at him . Her young eyes filled with fear and sadness as disappointment marred her features. He didn't know what to say.

Loki and Bucky shared look and Bucky goes to his room. Loki holds Mary as she cries into his shoulders. He strokes her hair until she cries herself to sleep. He keeps her close and watches as the Avengers walk in quietly.

Tony looks at Loki and Mary. The redness and puffiness of her eyes tell him the crushing truth. She already knows that her time with them is limited. Tony nods to Loki and Loki holds her tighter.

Tony is an atheist but he does say a small prayer. "If anyone is listening find a way to keep her safe."

A sad voice reaches his ears. A heartbroken man looks to the sky. A father's love shatters the heart of the Gatekeeper. Loki's love fills him with hope. Heimdall calls for his page. "Tell the All-Father that the time of change is come."