Disclaimer: I own nothing owned by someone else.
AN: Thanks, everyone, for reading and I hope you all have a good time!
Thor clenched his jaws at the elf's last sentence.
"That was years ago. I was a child." He growled at the elf, with anger and frustration in his mighty voice.
"Do not excuse yourself for your thieving ways." The elf said, calmly.
"Hey," Natasha interjected, "This cure we need isn't for Thor. It's for his brother." She said, hoping that might deter the elf's biasness somewhat.
"It makes no difference." The elf said, coldly. "The younger Odinson was even more a thief and trickster than Thor. The two Odinson brothers, they called themselves, for lack of a better title." Did this guy have no empathy or sympathy at all? Natasha wondered… "You must first pay for your deeds…" the elf said suddenly, a glint of malicious joy in his beady eyes.
"And how might I do that?" Thor said, determinedly. Natasha took a deep breath.
..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..
Bruce blinked in confusion at what Steve had just then said to them. Natasha went with Thor. "What do you mean, 'she went with Thor?'" Bruce asked, concern chalked all over his face as he looked at Steve for an explanation.
"That's what Quincy said." Steve said slowly, "She went with Thor."
Tony shrugged. "There's nothing we can do about it. Natasha knows how to take care of herself, so I don't see any reason we should panic and flail our arms about just yet." He said, to calm the wild crowd. No good would come of Bruce in a panicked state, besides maybe a fun tea party with the hulk, if that was even possible and even then it would be stressful; the big guy would probably spill the tea and scald them all, while also cutting himself playing with the shards of the teapot he had broken beforehand. And of course he'd be bound to break whatever he was sitting on and he'd bend the teaspoons. Not as friendly a scenario as one might think when looking from afar.
"You mean… To the Bifrost?" Bruce asked. Shock and worry were beginning to form in his face simultaneously, like a couple of perfect ballerina's doing the same move as one another.
"Guys…" Tony started, "All we can do right now is keep Loki's vitals steady, wait for Thor and Nat to return and play Mario Cart. There's no room for worrying, it's pointless." He shrugged again, hoping he was helping un-tense the situation at least a little bit.
Bruce slouched into a chair. His face hidden by his hand, but Tony would have been able to tell from a mile away that he was stressed as all hell. Bruce looked as though he were holding something back.
"Let's all just reeeelax… 'ight?" Tony said. They had enough to worry about besides the Hulk making a fun entrance uninvited.
Bruce took a deep breath, "She's… she's not even on earth anymore…" he said.
"Yeah, she's… Out of this world. Ay-oh! Amirite?" Tony said. "Too bad I didn't have sunglasses ready for that one."
Steve glared at him. What did he do to deserve Steve's constant glaring, anyway? Tony smirked at him, Steve, which only made the captain look more irritated than ever.
Bruce couldn't think straight. His mind was set only on Natasha and the possible negative scenarios surrounding her safety and so he could hardly listen to a word Tony or Steve spoke. He felt rather guilty for having been so angry at her and he felt like a part of her went with Thor as an apology to not only Thor but him. But the fact of the matter was, she was risking her life. He just knew it. Wherever she was, she was definitely risking her life and nothing could deter him from that thought, try as he might. He knew well she could take care of herself, she had presented this fact to him on so very many occasions. But this seemed new… This was new! She was in Asgard! It was at that moment that Bruce wondered why they were risking so much for their genocide and power hungry enemy. And it was all so frustrating. It wasn't like he could go after her or anything. She was in an entirely different world! All he could do was wait. He felt like walls were closing in on him and he had no escape… No, no… He felt like walls were closing in on Natasha and he couldn't stop it from happening. He couldn't do anything. Bruce let out a cracked breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding so long.
"You know what," Tony started, "Steve, how 'bout you go get some cards and poker chips and we'll all play a marvelous game of poker?" he finished.
Steve quickly left, happy to assist in any way at all. But it was then that he realized he was the errand-boy of the crew.
..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..
"How indeed." The elf said. "That, you will find out as you go along."
"What does that mean?" Thor growled at the elf who had a condescending look on his face, as always.
"Put your hammer down." The elf said calmly, to Thor.
"What? Never." Thor said, clenching his fists, as he held his hammer firm in his grasp.
"You must learn to fight without your greatest weapon, to earn another even greater one." The elf said.
"What does that mean?" Natasha asked. "What do you want us to do?" this elf was beginning to tick her off increasingly fast and she was starting to wonder if they would ever leave this world and save Loki in the first place!
"Whatever plans you have for us, I cannot be without Mjolnir." Thor said.
"But you have no other alternative. I will not give you the cure unless you cooperate."
Thor looked at the elf defiantly before dropping his hammer to the ground. "Fine. But you must be aware that we have a limited time to save my brother, before it is all for naught."
The elf looked at Thor, unimpressed, before stepping away a moment leaving Thor and Natasha alone in the still, intimidating and dim lighted, room.
"Do you have any idea what he has in store for us?" Natasha asked Thor as she looked beyond the direction the elf had left in.
"I'm not certain. Elves can be very unpredictable in the eyes of those foreign to them." Thor said.
"Isn't it that way when any foreigners and non-foreigners interact?" Natasha said, matter of fact.
"Yes, but even more so for the elves. They are a very odd people in everyone's eyes, other than their own eyes." Thor replied.
What did the elf have in store for them? Natasha had no idea, but she had a strong feeling that it would relate to danger, especially with Thor not being able to use his hammer. She had not expected any of this when Bruce had told her they had to go back to New York. Not one inch of this. But, speaking of Bruce, she hoped he wasn't going to go off looking for her. What if he thought she was missing and was worried for her? Natasha did not like the idea of Bruce worrying too much about her. She wondered if he might become the Hulk while worrying about her. No, no… if he noticed she was gone, he would probably think she was hiding from him. She didn't have to worry about him worrying for her safety too much. This made her sigh a sigh of relief. He was probably too busy taking care of Loki, anyway.
..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..
Steve shuffled in, carrying a box of poker chips and cards in his hands. Tony would have rejoiced aloud at the newfound entertainment to help them pass the time but then he noticed Steve was making one of those classic Steve faces again, it was the one where he was about to tell everyone something they did not want to hear but had to hear anyway. Bring it on, Steve. Bring it on.
Steve cleared his throat awkwardly, as he set the poker-set on a table. He then directed his attention to Bruce. "Bruce." He said, letting out another breath. "Bruce, I've been thinking…"
"Really? Wow!" Tony interrupted. "'Didn't know you could do that."
Steve ignored Tony and continued, "Don't you guys think… Maybe, I mean since they're really close friends, maybe we should tell Barton?" Steve said, fidgeting ever so slightly.
"Tell Barton what, now?" Tony asked, puzzled.
Steve paused, "About where Natasha is."
"What?" Bruce choked.
"Why would we tell him that?" Tony asked.
"Well, it's like I said… They're friends. Best friends, even if they don't really talk much anymore." Steve started, "I mean, what if something happens to Natasha, you know… and we never tell him she was in danger in the first place? He would be really angry and guys… he is our friend; we can't just forget about that and we can't forget about all the good he's done. He has a right to know."
"Nothing's going to happen to Natasha." Bruce said, almost defensively.
"Do we need to tell Barton about every single mission she goes on too?" Tony asked. He placed his hand to his ear, as if it were a phone, "Hello? Barton, this is Tony… yes… yes… my days been fine… how are you? Oh good… Look, buddy, I just wanted you to know Nat's crossing the street… nah, no trouble at all… Okay, buddy, bye now. Take care." Tony dropped his hand from his ear.
"This is different and you both know it." Steve said, firmly.
A woofing sound practically echoed in the room, as Asta trotted in, waggling her tail in glee as she went to Bruce's side.
"Who let the dog out of its cage?" Bruce asked, petting the dog as his eyes were fixed on her shaggy fur.
"Oh, my God, Bruce!" Tony exclaimed, "Asta is not an it."
Steve looked at the both of them in frustration, "Guys!" Tony and Bruce both looked up from Asta at Steve who had a cross look on his face especially directed towards Tony, "We need to tell Barton about Nat. He deserves to know what's happening."
Tony glanced at Bruce, who was looking at Steve before looking back at Steve himself.
Tony shrugged, "Fine. Go call him up, then, if you absolutely must. It's none of my business, anyway…"
"Is it all right with you?" Steve asked, directing his attention to Bruce.
Bruce paused a moment before sighing, "Its fine." He said, looking down at the dog again. "You're right, anyway. Barton has a right to know."
..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..
The elf returned, a box with a handle in hand. It was embroidered with strange symbols. He looked at Thor and Natasha calmly as he held the box out to them.
"What's this?" Thor asked as he grabbed the box hastily. He was beginning to grow impatient and Natasha couldn't blame him for it. She'd want to get things done super fast too, if she were in his position. Hell, she wanted to get things done super fast already. She hated to think how Thor must have felt.
"It's not about what it is. It's about what's inside it." The elf said to Thor, the words 'obviously' and 'moron' soaked in his pretentious face as well as his voice.
Thor glared at him as he opened the box.
Natasha stepped next to Thor to look inside. A candle… A candle? And there was a tiny golden box next to it. Probably a lighter of sorts…
"What's this for?" Natasha asked.
Thor gruffly grabbed the lighter out of the box and examined it.
"You should be more careful when handling that…" The elf said.
Thor glanced at him, before placing the lighter back in the box, as carefully as he could, given all the worries he had at that moment.
The elf stepped next to the giant head as he gestured for Natasha and Thor to follow.
Natasha felt a bit nervous stepping towards the giant monster head, but she followed closely next to Thor as she kept her eyes locked on its black eyes.
"You shall enter into the mouth of the beast…" Natasha shivered a little at these words the elf spoke.
Thor was just about to rush into the mouth of the beast, when the elf stepped in his way.
"Get out of my path!" Thor yelled, "If we keep wasting time, my brother shall perish." He practically growled at the elf.
The elf remained un-phased as he looked at Thor calmly. "Time runs differently inside the beast…" he paused, Thor gritted his teeth in frustration, "and an hour there is but a minute here. You needn't worry about time. But I must explain a few things… When you enter, you shall find a dark maze. You must light up the candle to see your way through it, but the candle will melt if you use it too much. Once the candle melts, the lighting box shall also stop working and then you shall have to travel without knowing where you are or where you're going. When you get to the end of the maze, you will find a potion that will cure your brother. Be careful, as there are monstrous creatures inside this maze… If you decide to give up… you can say my name and you will appear back here, but without the potion, of course."
"I am not going to abandon my brother." Thor growled, determined.
"Just in case, my name is Alva." Alva stepped away from the mouth, "may luck live beside you." he said, as he gestured his hands to the mouth.
Natasha glanced at Thor. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. She had realized just then that she had had a feeling they would have to enter this beast's mouth from the very beginning, and there they were. She gulped and her mouth went a little dry. Alright…
She and Thor exchanged looks once more, he had a look of determination and she hoped she looked the same though she could not tell at that moment.
They stepping into the cave-like mouth, into the darkness.
Thanks everyone for reading! (At that moment where Steve 'shuffles' into the room with 'cards' and poker chips, the pun was not intended. I noticed it while editing.)
I hope you all have a wonderful day/night/noon etc. and until next time,
P.H.