When he had heard the tell-tale wheezing of the missile Steve had thought and acted at almost super-human speed, to minimize the damage. His first thought was the shield, the indestructible metal that was their only hope. If he could get behind it, maybe it would take the brunt of the explosion, protect the head and neck at least. It was better than nothing.
Then he thought of Loki. Steve was a guy who valued life above all things and had been chosen for greatness thanks to his self-sacrificing nature. There was no way he was leaving him there to die. He needed to get him out of harm's way, but the man could barely stand, much less walk. And he only had seconds. It was a time to act, not think.
Quick as lightning, Steve took his shield on one arm and grabbed a wide-eyed Loki by the chest with the other and dragged him to the corner of the room, so the blast couldn't send them flying towards the wall. He had just the time to hold Loki to try to shelter him and bring up the shield before hell began. It felt like war.
The explosion sent them flying backwards and they could feel in their bodies being thrown into the wall, their whole bodies felt the explosion. And then the earth stood still and debris, pieces of wood and glass and concrete started falling. Steve quickly placed the shield above both their heads to avoid the damage. He held on to Loki, grateful for the sign of life, for the sound of breathing. We'll make it through this, Steve thought.
After the debris stopped falling Steve left the shield and looked around trying to assess the damage. Most of the walls were still standing, but all the windows had been shattered and there were chunks of wall everywhere. The shield had done a good job protecting their little corner, even if Steve's own legs had many splinters on them. Small mountains of rubble had formed and were still being formed here and there. Steve thanked god for his quick reflexes. If he hadn't heard the wheezing he's probably be dead. He looked at Loki, worried.
"You okay?"
Loki was still trying to take out a shard of glass that had stabbed him in his lower stomach but seemed otherwise all right, even if he was alarmingly pale.
"Yes" He answered, with a strangled voice. Truth to be be told, the explosion had made his entire world blurry and he constantly felt on the verge of unconsciousness. After he took out the glass, he slumped on the floor trying to catch his breath on that dusty environment. It was not as easy as it should have been. Rogers had started trying to free the door, buried under mountains of rubble, to get to Stark and Banner, after calling them and hearing no response, they were his next priority.
And that's when Loki saw him, in the shadows.
The Agent had been told to see if there were any survivors, to communicate the aftermath of the explosion. See if there were any official deaths that should be communicated. He'd been told to be careful if anyone was alive. Told he could be tricked. So he pointed his gun at Rogers, the only one he could see moving. Rogers has been compromised, his bosses had said,if you give him the chance he'll trick and then kill you on Loki's orders. But his hand wavered. This man was a legend.
"It is me you seek, not him." A voice from behind a mountain of rubble said. He pointed the gun there, confused.
Gathering all the strength he had left, Loki appeared suddenly from behind the rubble and quickly took his weapon with his good arm. The agent suddenly saw the one man they's been trying to kill stand, even if unsteadily, pointing his own gun at him.
"If you want to live, Agent, you will say nothing about me or Rogers being alive. Understood?"
The Agent nodded, scared.
Steve was next to Loki now and had seen the whole scene unfold. He took the man's walkie-talkie and saw SHIELD's emblem.
"Why is SHIELD after me?" The Captain asked.
Hadn't he been a perfectly good soldier after all the secrets? After all the things they hadn't told him?
"They say you're mind controlled, a level three threat. Say you'll kill for him. Orders are to wound you and take to HQ if possible, if not to take you down. They... they say is what you would have wanted, if you were in your right mind."
Steve closed his fist, smashing the walkie. Things had gotten so out of hand.
"You sure are lucky I am not mind-controlled because if Loki actually had his magic I would tell him myself to..." Control yourself, Steve. Control. "Just get the hell out of this town, soldier, and find yourself better bosses. Go, before we change our minds."
The Agent ran, and Loki let go of the gun and slumped in the floor again, all the energy from his fighting instincts deserting him, now that threat was gone. He held his head on his hands. He was just so very tired.
"Thank you for that, Loki. That man probably wouldn't have killed me, but I rather not be shot after being... exploded. Thanks."
"I owe you my life. It was the least the least I could do." Came Loki's voice, muffled by his hands. He could feel the darkness lurking again and tried to get up, fight the shadows. As he got up he started thinking.
He thought about the situation he'd just lived. Rogers could have shielded himself if he had left him. Why hold him so tightly when it was obvious they were in this mess because of him? And why was he even alive after so many explosions and anger and enemies everywhere? Would he have to endure this prosecution until one day he could take it no longer? And how long did he have until the next attack? How long until the Avengers thought he was not worth it and sent him back to rot to that cell? Because that was where he belonged. The punishment he deserved. The good days were gone.
No peace for you, mo-
"Loki!" The powerful voice took him out of his thoughts. The blue eyes seemed concerned. "Loki? You with me?"
The captain was bandaging the wound in his stomach, the one from the glass shard, that had bled all over his torn clothes- and was doing so with what looked like part of his t-shirt.
"I need you to focus, Loki. I need you to stay with me, help me. Stark and Banner could be hurt or worse, they need us. I know you're injured and it's not easy but I want you to focus on them, okay? Can I count on you?"
"Certainly."
Before Loki even started to help Rogers with the door, the miracle happened. There was a voice on the other side.
"Is anybody alive out there?" Stark's voice, loud and clear.
"Yes, we're here! God, Stark, it's good to hear you!"
"You too, pal. Just stand clear of the door, ok?"
Both Steve and Loki did so, and suddenly their communication problem was solved when The Hulk completely destroyed the door. Stark appeared behind him, smiling.
"Look at you both! Alive! This is cause for a celebration. JARVIS, a bottle of our best scotch!" Silence. "God, I miss JARVIS."
Stark seemed completely uninjured which was odd.
"How did you..?" The Captain asked but was interrupted.
"HULK PROTECT TONY."
"Hulk is da best." Tony said, smiling. "And I love him to bits. What about you guys? You don't look so hot." He added, taking in the dust, the splinters and the bandaged with a piece of t-shirt injury that decorated his team-mate and... Enemy? Former enemy? Occasional ally? Whatever. Loki.
"Well, our shield was considerably less significant than yours, Stark." Loki mentioned.
"You used your shield? Then you should be glad you're in one piece, that thing is small. Ok, anyway, what the hell was that?"
"It was SHIELD." Steve said, and The Hulk grunted. "But they're gone now, Loki and I scared off the Agent that had come to see if we were really dead. Apparently, they think I'm controlled by the gentleman next to me, with the broken leg and the sliced gut."
"Like you Midgardians say: I could do this all day." Loki said with that mischievous smile of his.
"Did you just joke after a major explosion? Dude, high five!" Stark happily answered.
Steve, practical as always, was not in the mood for jokes.
"So, what are we going to do next? Wherever we go, those damn cameras will follow. And we can't very well plan a take-down with a target on our backs. We need time, and a safe place. Somewhere to rest for a couple days without being attacked or blown up."
"What about underground?"
And, suddenly, Banner was back with them, in his human form, trying to hold together some overstretched pants.
"I haven't told anyone this but... one of the reasons I came here... I have a fortified basement - sound proof, bulletproof - with clothes, food, meds... under this house. After the incident at your house, Tony, I saw that things were starting to get ugly, so I thought of spending down here a couple of days, disappear, to calm myself own, get some rest. I don't like being narcotized much." Bruce had never planned on telling anyone else about his secret bunker, but now the situation seemed quite desperate. And they wouldn't look for them on the crime scene, now would they?
"Sounds good." Steve nodded. A couple of days to rest, heal their wounds and maybe get some more intel on their enemies.
"The opening for it should be somewhere in the floor, close to you, Steve. There is a darker patch on the floor. Jump on it five times, stop, then another two."
Steve moved the rubble, did as he was instructed, and the patch disappeared with an electronic kind of moment, revealing a console with numbers and digits. Bruce moved towards it to type in the password.
"Oh my god, are we the first you bring here, Bruce?" Tony asked, funny. "I feel so special!"
"Do you have no end, Stark?" Steve asked, disbelieving.
"Oh come on, Captain Buzzkill! We made it through the... explosion! I we are going to prepare a kick-ass confrontation to those guys. I hope you have champagne down there, because this is cause for celebration, I insist."
The entrance to the basement was revealed after some sounds. There were some stairs and a darkness, mostly.
"Tony, why don't you do the honours?"
"Secret lair! Yay!"
And down he went. Steve let out an exasperated sigh but inwardly smiled. There were worst people to be trapped with. He followed Stark. Loki didn't know what tot think...Were those men actually going to let him in there? Him? He looked at the darkness, sad. A prisoner again.
"You want me to help you down the stairs?" Banner asked, suddenly. "Because of your leg, I mean. I'm sure you can do it on your own but... I could use the help too, you know, my glasses have been shattered in the explosion."
Banner was offering him a way in which he could accept the help without looking (so) weak. It was nice. But still, Loki was hesitant. Banner spoke.
"I know that place will bring up many bad memories. Dark, with no windows... i know what it's like being caged. But this time you won't be alone. And we will get out."
Dark eyes met green and for a moment, they were both the same. Trapped, hunted, but somehow still free. Still standing.
"So, will you come with me, Loki?"
"It will be my pleasure."
A/N: I told you I would update soon. So penny for your thoughts? Did you like it? I sure hope you did! Chapter 13, let's break the bad mojo from the unlucky number with a bunch of reviews! ^^ And thanks for all the support so far! Sorry for the mistakes, as usual.
You know you want to review!