A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Lose
Green energy filled the cold room that was once Tony’s lab. Slender fingers waved through the air as Loki muttered words unheard by any of the rooms occupants. Thor still remained with his hip clued to the doorway, unable to enter. Steve, now fully use to being in his own body so to speak, sat in the far corner of the room. He made sure to stay closest to a window in hopes that the feeling of being in ice would disappear. Bruce, trapped in the same predicament as Tony, (only with the possibility of freedom keeping him from panicking) was staring out said window that the Captain sought out for warmth, in hopes of catching sight of Natasha and Clint’s return. Tony however, had disappeared after making sure everyone knew he did not approve of the use of Loki’s assistance.
There was no news of a Hulk attack. No alarms blaring, warning the Avengers of a fight with a raged out Bruce Banner. Nothing. And that only unsettled the team, excluding Loki, more. The trickster made it obvious that he wouldn't oppose a few buildings being destroyed, or a few lives being lost. The room only grew colder, no doubt Tony’s mood growing more sour by the minute.
Bruce was the first to break the silence. “What are we accomplishing here? Shouldn't someone being going after Tony’s other half?”
“Thor says Loki can help. That's our move for now.” Steve remained seated, his arms crossed as he spoke. His eyes never left Loki, as if he believed the God would vanish if blue eyes looked away. Which, if Steve thought about it, was an actual possibility.
“How strange. You all trust me so quickly. Yet it took quite a tremendous amount of time for you all to trust one another. Especially the one who hides. He still might not trust me, but part of him does not trust any of you, still to this day.” Loki smirked as he watched his magic cover every square inch of the walls, floor, and ceiling.
The room grew cold again. Loki either didn't notice or just didn't care, but Steve mentally winced. Tony was pissed and they didn't need both halves of Tony on their bad side.
“Loki, we all now you're only helping for some sort of triumph in the end, so I suggest if you still want that, you better speed things up and stop being an ass.” Steve voice grew slightly darker than his usual Captain facade.
Almost as soon as the swear word left Steve’s mouth, the room lost some of its chill.
“Well, dear Captain, magic like this does take time. Believe it or not, this isn't just some hobby. It requires skill, patience, and above all control. I cannot just clap my hands and make what you're asking happen.”
“Brother, are you sure you can even complete the enchantment? It is a rather strenuous piece of, regrettably, dark magic and is hard to accomplish alone.” Thor's voice seemed to bring a sense of compassion into the room, creating warmth around every nook and cranny. It felt as if the concern Thor felt for his brother and his safety had bath bombed the lab instantly. Steve wondered if Bruce and Tony could feel it too.
As if on cue, Tony appeared, face inches from Loki’s. Anger and a hint of fear etched into his features made Steve believe that they now had another furious Tony Stark to face.
“Dark. Magic.”
His words were barely a whisper. Whether they formed a statement or a question was unsure.
“Their only hope is base on dark magic.”
“Tony.”
Bruce, unsure if it would help reached out, ready to stop Tony from lashing out as he floated over Loki.
“Not only that, but you might not be able to get your shit together and actually get the goddamn thing right?” Tony didn't yell. He looked angry, but he never rose his voice. His eyes also never stopped staring into Loki’s.
The trickster smiled.
What felt like hours passed before Tony reacted to the silence Loki answered with.
“Complete your mission. After that you're leaving and I better not hear from you again.”
Loki’s smile never faded. He even rolled his eyes to show he didn't care and in the background Steve felt a pinch of sadness as he realized how little people seemed to care for Tony.
“Go back into hiding. I'll call for you when I'm ready.” Loki turned his back to Tony as he began to concentrate on his magic once more.
“Loki. Enough.” Steve barked from his corner. Eyes becoming impossibly blue that they resembled ice. Thor chuckled in the doorway as he closed his eyes and shook his head.
“Something funny, brother?” venom spat from Loki’s lips as if he just realized that he had Thor as a brother.
With a bright, warm smile the blonde God scratched as his stubble; as if trying to hide his smile only to fail. “You are. Loki, you act like you're high and mighty compared to my mortal comrades, but when you are tested, you become just as petty as the average human.”
Tony, who surprisingly was still visible for the time being, crossed his arms and faced away from everyone slightly. “You trying to call us petty, Goldilocks? If so you can leave for all I care.”
“Metal man acting like a metal child. You call yourself an adult? Is this what Earth's offspring is doomed to become? A temperamental child, forever roaming the planet.” Loki sneered. A flash of amusement went over his pale face as he saw Tony’s eye twitch with anger.
In the background Thor’s chuckled was barely a whispered. Followed by the faint, “He does it again,” as he motioned towards his brother. Loki growled under his breath at Thor’s teasing.
“I don't even understand why you need my help. You already have the dark half of Stark captured here.” Loki grumbled as he went back to work.
Instantly Steve, Bruce, and Tony were crowded around the trickster.
Steve broke the stunned silence first. “What do you mean by that?”
Loki raised an eyebrow at the three men for a moment before he understood their confusion. “You didn't know? Not even Stark himself?”
“Brother, what didn't we know?” Thor boomed from the door, just barely keeping himself from falling into the room.
“Can't you tell? This side of your friend isn't as angry, true. But he's closed off, dark, and what you know as depressed. You thought his bad side was his anger, but really the dark side is the one I saw the first day I met the damned Avengers. It's Stark’s mask. The side of him you all saw everyday.”
* * * * *
“Clint, any sign of Stark?”
Natasha checked her phone for an update from Steve or even Thor for the thirtieth time. To her right, Clint sat with his arms perched on a broken cement wall that fenced in the small building they were sitting in to blend in while they hunted down a Tony possessed Bruce Banner.
“Negative. Any word on-”
“No.”
“Rude. You know one day I'm going to be tired of you interrupting me and I'm gonna leave because of it. Then what will you do without me?” Clint flashed a bright smile while he spoke, eyes still scanning the reported last sighting of “Bruce.”
“I'll throw a goddamn party.”
Clint smirked. “What if you need my help one day in the future? I could go off the grid like Banner use to do before the team and be hard to find.”
“If anyone needed you, they could find you in a Carnival.” the smile Natasha wore was one of her more genuine ones. Even with their situation at hand, Clint could keep her calm which was saying a lot since she could do that on her own rather well.
Before Clint could breathe out his retort, Natasha’s phone vibrated. She pulled it to her ear with a little more force than intended, but if Clint noticed, he didn't and wouldn't say anything.
“Steve?”
“It's about Stark. It's not what you think. You need to-”
“Nat. I got eyes on him. We need to move.” Clint expertly jumped of the concrete wall taking off in a sprint as soon as his feet silently hit the ground.
“We got this Steve. Don't worry we'll get him and fix this.” before Steve could respond, Natasha had hung up the phone and gracefully followed her friend towards the inner city of Kolkata.
* * * * *
Steve threw his phone to the floor as soon as Natasha ended the call.
“Shit.”
“Watch your language, Cap.” Tony said without any real humor to it.
“Shit.” Steve repeated. It all made sense. The Tony they were protecting was indeed more calm and noticeably distant, but the fact that Steve never realized that this was the great to mask of Tony Stark only gave his the feeling of indigestion if he was honest.
Before Tony died, Steve had been lucky enough to see the real Tony when they were alone. The one who wore his heart on his sleeve. The one who spoke his mind when necessary. While to others it seemed like rage it was really the hero in Tony fighting for what he thought was right. It just seemed to be that the half of the man in question that was assumed dark, knew if he played up the anger he could get out and fix what he felt was wrong. The light side of Tony knew he was the “good” half so he made his friends fear him to be a hero one more time.
“Steve?”
Tony’s voice broke through Steve’s train of thought.
“If I'm the bad half, why don't I feel… evil?” Tony asked.
Steve sighed unsure of how to answer.
Oddly enough, Bruce stepped in. “I don't think it's that simple. Bad and good isn't as clear as black and white. Your subconscious must know that the act you always played was bad for you and the anger was you fighting. So to you, fighting is good. It's not a higher being deciding. It's you.”
Tony looked down at the floor still unsure.
“Besides. I don't think any side of you is evil T-Bone.” Bruce smiled.
“This is probably some sort of moral decision I have to make before I completely move on. Like to I have to learn how to be okay with both parts of me or pick one? How does this work?” Tony shrugged as he smiled a sad smile back at Bruce.
Loki then stepped forward. A look of actual concern etched on his face. “Either way, if you want answers, you'll need to figure out what the other Stark-”
Steve noticed Loki freeze as he caught Tony’s eye. For a brief moment, Steve could've sworn that he saw the trickster feel guilt or remorse for the genius. With a sigh Loki continued, shocking everyone with his sudden change of heart.
“You'll need to figure out what the other half of Tony wants.”
Back in the doorway, Bruce noticed Thor beaming as he mumbled, “That's my brother.”
“Okay, what's with the kindness?” Tony raised an eyebrow at Loki.
“A mind is a terrible thing to lose. But to lose half of your spirit is something I would not wish on my greatest enemy.”
When everyone still aimed confused looks at Loki he sighed once again. “Also this whole helping out others isn't too bad. So I guess I'll work on being nice while I save the day better than any of you can.”
“Loki. That wasn't very nice.” Thor grinned from his permanent spot.
“Don't push it.”
“Not that this isn't fun but I really would like to figure all of this out sooner than later. You were brought here to help not, you know, suddenly become a friend or whatever this is.” Tony crossed his arms as he spoke, only to to completely disappear before his last word left his lips.
Loki rolled his eyes and began what appeared to be a new spell. With noticeably less venom in his voice he muttered, “Mortals. Always making things about themselves.”
“Remind you of anyone?” Steve asked voice staying rather neutral.
“That Barton fellow?”
Even if they didn't hear it, Tony’s laugh was obvious. If they based it on how warm the room got after that comment.