*o*o*o*
When it came time to separate the kittens for the night, they were not cooperative. Loki became a snarling, scratching ball of kitty fury, and Tony meowed in an undeniably grumpy manner. Constantly. And then he began scratching at the door.
"Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow…"
"No, Tony, we're not letting you run around the tower with Loki all night. It's dangerous."
"…Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow…"
"No, Tony."
"…Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow…"
"I've got a bag of treats here; do you want one?"
"…Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow…"
"That door is reinforced steel; you aren't going to be able to claw your way through it."
"…Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow…"
"I've got a mouse! Come catch the mouse!"
I think Steve's getting a little desperate, don't you?
"…Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow…"
"Tony, stop."
"…Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow…"
"Stop!"
Yup, desperate.
*o*o*o*
"Now, brother, there is no need to be upset. You will be reunited with Tony tomorrow."
"Hsssssssss."
"And I do apologize about netting you so, but you were not being very cooperative."
"Rrrrrrr! Hsss!"
"I will *not* be released you until you have calmed down. I have learned patience here on Midgard." You sure about that, Thor?
Sure enough, an hour later Thor was knocking on Steve's door; Loki still bundled up in the remains of his cape.
"…Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow…"
And yes, Tony was still going at it too.
"Hold on!"
"…Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow…"
"Ouch! Tony!"
"…Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow…"
"Gotcha! Come in!"
Thor opened the door carefully, correctly assuming that Tony was trying to make a break for it; fortunately, Steve had a good grip on their transformed team member. "Hello, Thor, what did you need?"
"Perhaps the same thing you need. I fear no peace will be had tonight if we continue to separate my brother from Tony."
Indeed, both Loki and Tony had quieted, and Tony was leaning forward to sniff at the cloth containing Loki instead of gnawing on Steve's hands.
"Hm. I don't want to leave them unattended in the tower, but perhaps one of us can take them both?"
Thor grinned, "Those were my thoughts as well. I will be happy to have them both in my rooms tonight!"
"You sure? Tony can be a handful."
"Mew!"
Thor looked at the bundle of cloth in his hand and smiled wryly. "I believe I can manage, Captain."
Famous last words.
*o*o*o*
Thor's zombie impression the next morning was spot on.
"Hnngh…"
"Good morning, Thor. Something wrong with your helmet?" Of course, Bruce knew exactly what is going on; he just wanted to see if Thor was capable of speech after a night with Loki and Tony. Don't be a troll to Thor, Bruce; he had a rough night.
"Do not wake them," Thor growled (I think that was supposed to be a whisper, but Thor doesn't really do 'whisper') and gently placed his upturned helmet on the table. Bruce peered in, and sure enough, Loki and Tony were curled up together inside. Hulk's "AWWWWW" sounded a bit louder to Bruce this time.
"Cute. They been like that long?"
Thor frowned as he poured himself a mug of coffee. "No." He refused to elaborate, not that he had to.
Once Thor had finished his mug of coffee (and several more), he was more awake, and Bruce was able to request his assistance in the lab. "I know you haven't studied magic as much as Loki has, but you still know more about it than any of us. I'd like to go over my data with you and reference it to what you know about Loki's magic; that OK?"
"Will you require Loki and Tony to be in attendance as well?"
"Not quite yet; Steve can watch them."
Loki yawned. It was adorable. And sinister.
*o*o*o*
Steve was having a grand old time watching Tony zoom around the living room, chasing a sparkly red and gold ball; it really was a lot more entertaining at two in the afternoon than two in the morning.
"Mew! Mew!"
Loki was crouched over the edge of the sofa watching as well. JARVIS had ordered several toys along with the food and litter boxes, but while Tony loved them all, Loki seemed unimpressed. Steve tried to get him interested in a green mouse, but he merely batted it to the floor with one swipe then returned to watching Tony.
Steve felt kind of guilty when Tony rushed over to see what had fallen and Loki pounced on him like Death from Above with a mighty cry that was 80% "utterly adorable" and 20% "Die, mortal!". Steve was about to intervene when Tony apparently gained the advantage and began chasing Loki though the jungle of cardboard.
"Mew!" Steve imagined that meant, "Begone, pathetic Midgardian!"
"Mew!" And that was clearly "I am Iron Man! You will not escape!"
Cap, I think it's time to take a break; you're hearing things.
And hey, there's a visitor! Oh wait, it's Doom.
BOOM!
"Captain Rogers, Dr. Von Doom appears to have fired a missile at the penthouse landing pad. Response drones were able to intercept and prevent 79.3% of projected damage, but he appears to be reloading."
Oh, JARVIS, you alarmist, you.
Steve leapt to his feet, "Alert Thor and Dr. Banner," he ordered intent on grabbing Loki and Tony and locking them in a secure location (the nearest bathroom) before engaging Doom. Fortunately, the noise had scared both kitties away from the windows and towards to sofa, so it was not very difficult to quickly grab them both.
"Already done, sir."
BOOM!
The tower shook slightly and both kittens screamed at the noise. Steve (as per the plan) left them on top of a towel in the linen closet then grabbed his shield; JARVIS locked the bathroom door behind him and helpfully supplied an update. "Thor and Dr. Banner are projected to arrive in 2.1 minutes. Dr. Von Doom appears to have four additional missiles in his possession. He also appears to be accompanied by 24 doom bots."
BOOM!
"Dr. Von Doom has three missiles in his possession."
"Got it, JARVIS. Are the drones holding up?"
"Two of the eight drones remain online."
"Great."
BOOM!
"No drones remain online."
"Wonderful."
SMASH!
"Dr. Banner has exited the building."
"Even better."
I think dear Steve has started to pick up a little bit of snark lately; what do you think?
*o*o*o*