A/N I'm very sorry it took so long to update…things got a little hectic.
"So, what do we have?" Luke walked down the third aisle of the grocery store, passed the chocolate syrup and looked for anything he could use to make something edible. He had realized that, lately, he had only been eating take out. He wouldn't have noticed at all if some of the customers from the bakery didn't keep hounding him about his eating habits. "Hey Luke, you been eating right? You seem a little scrawny."
He chuckled to himself. He turned the corner and walked down the bread aisle. A few days ago he had managed to buy a few new chairs for his apartment granted, they were fold out chairs, but it was something that added a little character to his home. Something that said, "Someone lives here."
He grabbed a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and some milk and decided that would be enough. Peanut butter is filling right? He shrugged his shoulders, made his purchase, and started his journey back home. The sun was setting beneath the skyscrapers and the trees seemed to wind down, as if they were too damn jaded to care anymore.
He knew the feeling. His boss, he friends at work, even the customers, were always asking him this one thing. "Do you remember anything yet?" Sometimes his co-workers would quiz him on trivia just to see if it would jog anything.
"What about skiing? Do you know anything about that?" One would ask.
He only shake his head.
"Alright, well you're clearly great with people, maybe you were a salesman. Does that ring any bells?"
Again, he shook his head.
Then one by one they'd sigh and go back to their duties, leaving Luke alone with only his thoughts.
Was it bad that he didn't care about any of that?
He shoved his key into the door, and walked into his apartment, and for once, the place looked like it held a human being. There was a ball of yarn loose in the corner and a little ball of fur curled up next to it.
Luke smiled. "Roommate I'm home."
Leon didn't stir. Ever since he got his little friend some toys Leon seemed happier, healthier, and more tired. Well, he was still growing, little guy needed his exercise.
Luke placed his groceries on the counter. "You know buddy, I'm starting to feel bad about all of this." He took out the bread, and peanut butter.
"Doc, the customers, my boss, everyone says that I shouldn't worry about my memory and that it'll come back soon, but…I don't really want it back."
Luke tried to imagine someone…anyone, looking for him, missing him, wanting him back (whoever he was before) but every time he tried…the image just felt false, as if it were a lie he were telling himself.
He opened the peanut butter with a quick twist.
"I mean, is that wrong? I just can't shake the feeling that I'm not missed," he took out two slices of bread, "But the funny thing is…I'm totally okay with that."
He spread his peanut butter against his slices of bread and then, quicker than his cat could blink, flopped onto his mattress.
"You don't think that's weird right roomie?"
"Sir?" Jarvis' voice rang throughout Tony's ears. He could barely move. Steve had been working the team so hard that even his sore muscles had sores. Now, Tony didn't want to call Steve a Nazi, especially considering his history and status as a soldier…but the way he had been acting as of late made Tony want to rethink the good captain's moniker.
"What Jarvis…and make it snappy, your voice is making me sides hurt."
"While I have not found any trace of the magic signature, I have been noticing strange occurrences in the New York area. "
Tony propped himself up from his bed and onto his elbow. "What do you mean?"
"This bakery a few miles away was on the verge of going out of business, but recently the business has picked up significantly, in fact it's gaining in popularity at a rate that is unheard of."
Tony leaned back and thought. If anyone should have known about something like that it should have been him…but then again, Steve pretty much kept them under lock and key with the training, he wasn't even sure what day it was.
"So what? You think this might have something to do with Loki?"
"I am not sure sir, but it is a rather strange phenomenon."
That was for sure. Should they check it out? At worst it would just be a dead end…and it would give them all a chance to see sunlight again.
"Fine. Jarvis get the jet ready. The Avengers'll get to the bottom a this."
After Tony broke the news to the team Steve went into overdrive mode.
"This is it team. This is what we've been waiting for."
Natasha stood up and pulled her hair back. "Hold on Steve. There is a possibility this could be Loki, or it might not be. We can't just barge in an-"
"Widow look, we can sit around debating what to do and let Loki escape again, or we can go and stop him once and for all." Steve was so quick to judge. Jesus, how long had he been like this?
"And what if we're wrong? Then what? We'll bust into some shop and start a scene, which by the way is a crime."
She had a point. Hell, she always had a point.
"Doesn't matter. Once we get Loki everything'll get back to normal."
Had he even been paying attention?
"Capt, that still doesn't"
"Look, we can discuss it after we've checked out Tony's lead. Let's move out."
And that was the end of it. They grabbed whatever they thought would be necessary. Blasters, cuffs, and tracking devices that would locate Loki's signal if he tried to escape again. They crammed themselves into one of Tony's assault vehicles and sped down to the shop. Their mouths grew dry as the approached.
Thor looked at the window, and wrapped his hand around his hammer. He didn't really know what to feel. He was happy that his brother might still be with him, but…
"What if he's still as mad as he ever was?"
There was no traffic, there were no cars to ride against, no people to scream at, just an empty city.
"And here we are." Tony said as he got out of the car. "This is the place where Jarvis noticed the sudden upturn in business."
Natasha surveyed the place, its parking lot was pretty much filled with cars, if they hadn't known better, they probably would have thought it was a dealership.
"So…now what?" Clint asked.
"We go in there, find Loki and bring him out."
Natasha shook her head. "Alright, first, that makes no sense. We don't know if he's even in there, and if he is, we don't know what he'd look like." They had gone over this already. Multiple times. They couldn't just barge in like a bunch of vigilantes. A soft recon approach would be better.
"Natasha, please, we don't have time. We just don't." He had spoken…as if he were their king. "Thor, you'd be able to recognize Loki no matter what right?"
Thor nodded. "I would know him no matter what form he took."
Steve smiled. Excellent "Now, Avengers, let's go."
And with one swift push through the door, they found themselves on the inside of the shop.
It was amazing. Natasha couldn't remember the last time she had seen so many people in one place. Hell, it looked busier than Stark International. People were lined up from the front to the back.
"Damn," Clint said, "They must make some great stuff here."
"No archer, it's…" Thor lifted his face to the sky. "…there's something here. Something that no one has felt in so long a time."
Steve looked around, there were people…smiling. People laughing, as if they were all family.
"This is my brother's doing. He's here."
"W-wait…I don't get it, how? He has his magic back?" Tony asked as he scanned the room, there was still no trace of Loki's signal anywhere.
"No, but chaos goes with him where ever he goes. He may not even be aware of it himself, but it's there. We can all sense it."
"Oh hello." They hadn't realized it, but in no time, the line had shortened, and they were at the front.
"What?" Thor asked as he looked to the young man standing in front of them. His red hair almost glistened like armor.
"I haven't seen you guys before. Well, welcome to our shop. It's wonderful to have you here." He seemed so…familiar.
"L-loki?" Thor asked.
The young man looked around, confused. "Oh, I'm sorry, you must think I'm someone else." He rolled his eyes. "If I had a nickel for everytime that happened…anyway, what can I get you nice people?" He smiled.
That same smiled that Thor hadn't seen in so long. His brother.
"Brother…you're here." A smile began to cross his lips.
"I'm sorry, what?" Luke stepped back.
Steve walked up, he slipped his shield off of his back. "Loki, you need to come with us. Now."
Natasha looked around. The customers stopped chewing on their cake and looked to the front. She heard the whispers, she saw the stares.
"What the fuck do the Avengers think they're doing?"
"What gives Capt the right to talk to someone like that?"
Widow knew Steve heard it too. They all did. She placed her hand on Steve's shoulder. "Capt, maybe we should get out of here."
"No." He shrugged her off. "We've come too far. We've trained too long." He turned back to Luke. "Last time I'm gonna say this. You need to come with us. Now."
"Hey Capt!" Yelled one of the customers. "How about you make your purchase and leave the guy alone, huh?"
But he didn't hear it…or rather, he didn't want to.
"Loki!"
"Sir," Luke began to back away from the register. "I'm very sorry, but you must have me confused with someone else."
And like a serpent to its prey Steve shot his hand and grabbed onto Luke's jacket, and pulled him close. No chance of escape, not this time, not ever.
"You're coming with us."
And then it erupted.
Out of nowhere a plate of Carrot Cake went flying towards the good Captain's head. And then came the strawberry pie, and the iced tea (still in its glass), and the plastic forks. In no time the whole team was under attack.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?"
"What gives you the right to barge in here and put your hands on someone? What you think because you saved the world you can do whatever the fuck ya' want."
"Capt, get yer filthy hands off a him."
Pastry rained down from every which way. There were screams, there were threats to call the police, there was cake everywhere.
"What now?" Tony asked. They couldn't fight these people, their job was to protect them.
"We leave." Natasha said. "Come on." And just as fast as they had entered, they left, leaving nothing but frosting and spilled pie in their wake.
Steve looked back to the store and, behind the closed doors, he heard cheering.