Just wanted to say a quick thanks to everybody who has been reviewing, faving, and following. It's an incredible feeling to know that people actually care about what you're doing. So thanks again, and I'm going to try to do daily updates to make up for the three week hiatus I took. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Neither the Avengers nor the beauteous cast of Criminal Minds belongs to me. (Don't get excited, there's just a reference.)
Tony sat on the edge of the leather recliner, bouncing his leg in that irritating manner that Pepper hated. Every minute or so, he would check his watch anxiously, clearly waiting up for someone. So this is what it feels like to wait for someone at a meeting… no wonder the shareholders are always so pissed at me. Not that Tony planned to make a habit of being on time, but this was a special circumstance.
Just as he was preparing to let loose a slew of curse words, Steve and Thor stepped out of the elevator. Steve stepped forward to give Tony a handshake, never having grasped the fact that it was an outdated greeting unless you were at a business conference, but Tony shoved the hand aside.
"So what, did you take the scenic route? What part of 'I need to see you guys, get over here now' didn't you understand? It took you guys forever to get here!" His face was turning a powerful shade of red.
Taking a quick glance at Thor, who seemed equally confused, Steve took a step forward. "Tony, you - what do you call it… texted? - us seven minutes ago. Considering the fact that we were over in Albany, we made it here in record time, thanks to Thor's flying."
Thor gave the Captain a humble smile. "It was my pleasure. Anytime you find yourself in need of Mjolnir or I, simply ask and-"
"Guys! More pressing matters here than your little love-fest. We have a Hulk to find." Tony chose to ignore the Captain's retort on the time.
Thor took an assertive step forward.
"Man of Iron-"
"Tony."
"…Tony, you have heard more on the location of our missing ally?" Clearly, Tony had peaked the interest of both of his companions.
Tony turned away and strode towards the bar. "No, and that's the problem. SHIELD is going too slow." He began pouring himself a glass of Scotch. "Either of you two…?"
Steve shook his head. "Can't get drunk, Tony. I can't count how many times I've told you that."
Thor also declined. "I'm afraid I have no love for your mortal meads."
"Your loss."
Grabbing his drink, thinking for a moment, and then bringing the whole bottle, Tony rejoined the other Avengers by the couches, trying to relax into his seat. "Look, I know we haven't given SHIELD very long-"
"A day and a half." Steve pointed out.
"Fine, fine, a day and a half. But look, I can't just sit idly by, waiting for the phone to ring with news of Bruce. And honestly, I don't think Fury is taking this seriously. I think he assumes I'm just overreacting. I mean, come on, I may be a bit overdramatic-"
"I believe you mean a raging drama queen." Steve added thoughtfully.
Tony rolled his eyes. "Yes, that too, but come on… have I ever been wrong before?" He stopped to think before amending, "Have I ever been wrong about Bruce before?"
"Tony, you don't have to convince us; we're on your side. Something definitely seems fishy, and Thor and I were just discussing how slow progress seems. But what do you want us to do about it?" Steve sat forward, giving Tony an intense look of trust. Tony visibly relaxed a little in his seat, knowing that at least someone agreed with him.
"Well, I think we ought to start trying to figure things out for ourselves. Take the clues we have, try to make a list of possible suspects. Kinda like that show, Criminal Minds? You know the one with that nerdy kid doctor, and Mandy Patinkin, and…"
Steve's eyes glazed over right around the bit where Tony said "that show". Shaking his head, Tony continued. "Never mind. It's not important. But my point is that we need to start investigating this thing on our own, see if we can make some headway. I mean, come on, the genius, the supersoldier, and the Norse God? We've got to be able to make some kind of headway."
Steve nodded in agreement. "I agree. Where should we start?"
"Well, there's motive. But there's only so many reasons someone would take Bruce."
"Experimentation, neutralization…" Steve began counting the reasons off on his fingers. "That's all I got."
Stroking his chin, Tony agreed. "But considering we haven't found a body, killing him is less likely. They would have gotten it over with fast. And it's not like he has access to much secret info worth torturing for. If they wanted that, they'd have taken me. And considering there hasn't been a Hulk out, he must be doing something to keep the Hulk under. My guess is experimentation."
"Okay," Steve said. "So probably a scientist of some sort. And he must have a background in computers; otherwise he wouldn't have gotten into Jarvis, right?"
"Right. Now, keep in mind, the only place where I have Jarvis' blueprints, which the guy would have needed to break into him in the first place, is in my Tower and SHIELD. The latter of course, was not by my hand. Pepper tends to trust a little easier than I do. My guess is the guys got it from SHIELD, because, and trust me when I say this, their defenses are child's play to hack. Even you could manage it."
Trying and failing to hide a hurt look, Steve continued on. "So the guy probably had an affiliation to SHIELD… Tony, I don't know, this is just a lot of guessing."
Tony looked like he was about to start Hulking out himself. "Look, Captain Crunch, we don't have much to go on! For now, we do what we can to guess, narrow it down, and investigate. If that nincompoop Rossi can do it, we can too."
Again, Steve looked thoroughly confused. Tony sighed in exasperation. The soldier really needed to catch up on modern entertainment.
Turning to the God in the room, Tony persisted. "Thor, you agree, with me, right?"
The deity looked up from his lap. "I do not understand, Captain Rogers… something seems 'fishy'? I simply cannot see the connection to aquatic animals to our situation."
As Steve launched into an explanation of the idiom, Tony groaned and stormed out. This was taking too much time, time that they didn't have. Time that Bruce might not have, he thought silently to himself.
"Jarvis, I know you may not be back to specs yet, but I'm going to need your help. We've got a lot of researching ahead of us."