Chapter Text
“Are you sure this is going to work?”
Tony glared at the screen instead of Steve, who had been asking variations of that question for months. “It’s the same play as what S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted Banner to do in the beginning. Except this time, we lock on to the gamma radiation and redirect the flow.”
“And you’re sure it’s safe?” Clint was pulled tighter than his bow string, regularly shifting his weight from foot to foot.
“Obviously.” Tony paused as Clint fidgeted again, and then added in a quieter tone, “You’re not the only one who wants her back in one piece.”
“One piece might be hoping for too much.” Natasha’s voice was deceptively even. “She’s been held hostage by a madman for almost a year.”
“If that is truly what she is.”
Tony’s frown deepened as he checked levels that didn’t need checking. “It is.”
“I have told you before of the reports we’ve received on Asgard. Even my own men agree that she now accompanies my brother willingly.”
“And I told you the reports are wrong. You don’t know her like we do, Point Break. She wouldn’t do that.”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps she is no longer someone you would recognize.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Steve cut in before Tony could let his temper run his mouth. “First we need to get them both back here.”
“So what are we waiting for?” Rhodey leaned against a table, ankles and arms crossed.
“We’ve locked on to the Tesseract’s signal,” Bruce’s quiet voice came from behind another screen, “But we can’t activate it ourselves. They need to make a jump before we can do anything.”
“Then why exactly are we all here?”
“Lady Sif and the Warriors Three are closing in on their current location. If they wish to avoid capture, they will be forced to flee once more.”
“Should I be suited up for this?”
“Not if everything goes to plan.” Natasha stepped into Tony’s periphery, hand on her chin as she scrutinized the screens. “But stay on your toes. We don’t know for sure what he’s capable of.”
“Or she, if the stories are to be believed.”
Tony felt the thin fibers of his patience snapping. “I already told you-”
A buzzer sounded, and various screens began to flash. Tony reigned himself in. “Showtime, everybody.”
Each of them tensed as Tony and Bruce’s movements became quicker. A sound filled the room, like rushing water, and the air pressure rose significantly. Then, with a boom and a burst of light, two figures appeared in the room’s center. Thor released Mjolnir immediately, launching it into his brother’s chest and throwing the man into a familiar glass cube. He called the hammer back to his hand as Tony hit the button that secured the cell.
Loki safely contained, the whole room seemed to hold its breath as you tore your eyes away from him to look at the rest of them somewhat apprehensively. “Hey guys. How’s it going?”
Tony was the first to break, moving with quick strides to wrap his arms around you in a crushing embrace, not taking note of how you flinched initially, though it didn’t escape the notice of sharper eyes in the room. “What did I tell you about leaving me?”
You closed your eyes, breathing in his expensive cologne and familiarity, and raised one hand awkwardly from your arm’s pinned position to pat his back. “Sorry, Tony, didn’t really have time to leave a note.”
“You’re forgiven.” He released you, only to take hold of your shoulders. “What do you want first? Cheeseburger? When I got back to civilization, the first thing I wanted was a cheeseburger. You probably need a full medical examination, but I can order out.”
“Uh…” Your eyes darted to Loki, who was watching you attentively, a movement Tony did pick up on.
“Don’t worry about him – he’s not going anywhere. Even if he tries to warp out of here, he’ll be redirected right back in there.”
“Oh, that’s… pretty ingenious, actually.”
“Thank you.” Tony moved one hand to your back and used the other to gesture towards the door. “Now, let’s get you out of here and into a burger-”
“Tony,” Natasha’s voice was soft but firm and brokered no argument, “she can’t leave until we know the situation.”
“Excuse me, but we do know the situation. Genghis Khan’t over there stole Gizmo, and we got her back. End of story.”
“Tony,” this time it was your voice, equally as soft but a little less firm, “that’s not exactly the situation.”
His hand fell from you as his expression started to lock up. “No.”
“You don’t even know what I’m going to say yet.”
“Unless it’s that he’s a psychopath who’s been holding you against your will this whole time, we have a problem.”
“Okay. Then we have a problem.”
Tony’s entire demeanor iced over, and he took a step back towards the others, who stood together as if already banded against you. And to the side, waiting with relative serenity in his cell, Loki smiled.
“So the reports are true? You have been aiding Loki in his flight?” Thor, at least, didn’t seem to be on his way to hating you. He sounded more curious than anything.
“I mean… yeah, but-”
“In other words, you’re a traitor.”
You stared at Tony in horror. “What? No-”
“I defended you,” he bowled right over your protests. “No matter what we heard, I had your back. We’ve spent months trying to figure out how to save you, bring you home safely, and now you tell us you’ve been helping this lunatic? After everything he did?”
“I know-”
“Or did you just decide to ignore all that? How he brainwashed Barton and killed Coulson and tried to wipe New York off the map?”
“Of course not-”
“Tony-” Steve tried to break in, but he was on a roll.
“Maybe you just forgot watching him throw me out a window? Or stab Thor? Or directly cause the deaths of hundreds of people? You’d think, if nothing else, at least you’d remember the part where he almost killed you.”
“You know,” the unexpected sound of Loki’s strangely calm voice managed to halt Tony’s tirade, “for someone who purports to care for her so deeply, you certainly aren’t allowing her the opportunity to explain herself.”
“Oh no, Bullwinkle,” Tony jabbed a finger in his direction, “you don’t get a vote here.”
“Please don’t try to help right now,” you pleaded to no avail.
“All I’m saying,” Loki seemed content to ignore both of you, “is if this is your idea of loyalty, is it any wonder she chose to come to me?”
Your body sagged like half your strings had been cut. “Why are you like this?”
“What did you do to her?” Clint’s sudden sharp demand made you jump. He stepped out from behind Natasha to glare at Loki, who turned his admittedly unpleasant smile on the archer.
“Agent Barton, how are you?”
“I’ll be a lot better when you’re locked up for good or dead. Tell me what you did. You got your fingers stirring around in her brain, too?”
“He didn’t do anything like that,” you interrupted before Loki could say something antagonistic. “He doesn’t even have his scepter.”
Still, Clint kept his focus on Loki. “I’m sure he could figure out another way.”
You rolled your eyes, but then shot a glance to Loki. “Could you?”
“If I could, do you think I would be participating in this farce?”
“You let her go, or I swear-” Clint’s hand went to the holster on his thigh, thumbing back the strap, but Natasha grabbed his wrist before he managed to get the gun all the way out.
“That box is so strong even the Hulk couldn’t bust out of it. You really think a bullet is going to have any effect?”
“It would have an effect on my mood.”
Steve said your name, volume restrained but tone sharp. Half numb, you turned your gaze to him. “Don’t make this any worse.”
“Huh?” You followed his eyeline down to find your hand resting on the gun at your hip, and you immediately moved it away. “I didn’t mean… sorry, that was vaguely but unintentionally threatening. It’s just… when I’m nervous... you can’t actually think I would…”
“Maybe we should move this to a less hostile environment,” Bruce said evenly from his place in the corner where he’d been quietly watching the exchange unfold. He looked at you and added, “Tony was right about the medical exam. We can check you out while you tell us what exactly happened this past year.”
At that moment you didn’t think there’d ever been a better man than Bruce Banner.
“What about him?” Clint asked, furious gaze still trained on Loki.
“Like Tony said, he’s not going anywhere. We should keep our focus to one problem at a time.”
Everyone began to file out of the room, and you didn’t miss how they fell into some sort of formation to surround you, whether by design or natural instinct. You managed to catch Loki’s eye a final time, and he nodded once, though you couldn’t be sure if it was in encouragement or gratitude or some other secret signal he’d forgotten to let you in on. Then he disappeared behind the door frame, and you were left to figure out how to explain to your friends that you hadn’t gone full Benedict Arnold.