The Avengers: Tainted Love

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fandom of Avengers or anything Marvel. I do not own the characters. I make no profit, money, etc. from it. I own nothing. :)

 

Author’s Note: As of April 29, 2012, this fanfic is now on four websites: FanfictionNet, Adult FanfictionNet, Archive of Our Own and Deviant Art.

 

Thank you to my amazing betas, AG and Paradise!!!

 

Thank you to those who review/comment! That means a lot to me! Readers, for your reward, I have made this chapter extra long and it has some “naughty” stuff in it. Enjoy!

 

~*~

 

“You think I’m afraid of you?” Tony challenged. Loki searched his eyes and saw only anger instead of the fear he expected. He felt a strange thrill run through him. He had intended on killing the human if he refused his offer but his lack of fear seemed to change Loki’s mind.

 

“Interesting,” Loki breathed as he watched Tony struggle against him, undeterred by the god’s superior strength. To his surprise, Loki found the sight strangely arousing.

                           

“Put me down you son of a bitch!” Tony yelled. As their eyes locked, Tony noticed a predatory glint shine in Loki’s eyes before they briefly darted away from him towards something in the corner. Without another moment’s hesitation, Loki threw Tony with all his might and watched him collide with the window behind him. In an instant the window shattered and Tony began falling to the street below.

 

Once again, Loki disappeared in fumes and a moment later, a bomb exploded in the office causing the top floor to collapse, taking a few more floors with it.

 

~*~

 

Tony slowly opened his eyes. He felt the gears of his mind shift as he decided whether he remained in his dream or had once again emerged into reality. His vision still blurred at the edges so he focused on the rhythmic beeping he heard. A warm light shined on his face and he turned his head in its direction. The curtains had been drawn back revealing a large window with a view of downtown. He moved his head and looked around the room, and got a strange sense of déjà vu as his eyes lay upon the familiar setting. He groaned in frustration at realizing Loki had put him in the hospital, again.

 

He stared at the ceiling with irritation. He heard footsteps echoing in the hall. His eyes darted to the door knob, watching it turn before Fury walked in, closing the door behind him.

 

“Making a habit of this, Stark?” He smirked as he walked towards Tony.

 

“I hear my next visit is free,” Tony smirked.

 

“I see your humor has recovered, but how’s the rest of you?”

 

Tony wiggled his toes, happily noting he had not been paralyzed. He looked down over his body, expecting to see bandages. Instead, he spotted a cast on his right arm. 

 

“I think I broke my funny bone.” Tony moved his fingers, realizing the arm had not been broken, but merely sprained.

 

“Amusing,” Fury replied with an eye roll. “Do you remember anything?”

 

“I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.”

 

“Would you look at that? It’s also about the same man.”

 

Tony scoffed as he closed his eyes, trying to remember what brought him here. His memory came to him in disconnected pieces. He remembered putting on his power balance bracelet before Loki had hurled him from the window. His stomach gave an involuntary lurch as he glimpsed himself falling to the street below. Fragments of glass sprayed like rain. Some of the shards pierced his skin while others lodged into his body. He remembered panicking as he attempted to call his suit via his bracelet, but before he had a chance to do anything, he felt his head slam into something hard and unyielding. His eyes jerked open as soon as the memory stopped playing. 

 

“Did I hit my head?”

 

“Yes, the explosion knocked you into the nearby building. Lucky for you, Thor was in the area. Your assistant informed us of the security breach at your office and I was able to contact Thor. He caught you before you fell on the ground.”

 

“I just have all the luck, don’t I?”

 

“It seems,” Fury replied, ignoring the intended sarcasm. “You will probably be able to walk out of here tomorrow,” Fury watched the relief flood Tony’s face before he decided to switch gears and inquired, “Do you have any idea why he keeps targeting you?”

 

“His name is Loki,” Tony answered without thinking.

 

“How do you know? Did someone tell you?”

 

“He visited me in jail.”

 

Tony watched Fury’s eyebrows shoot up.

 

“Interesting,” Fury commented as he slowly paced around the room. He looked back at Tony, asking, “Has he visited you here?”

 

“Not unless he changed into a nurse,” Tony grins. At his own statement, Tony finds himself envisioning Loki in a tight white-leather nurse’s outfit for the fun of it; surprisingly, he finds the sight arousing. He slowly fights a blush threatening to overtake his features. Luckily, Fury seemed too wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice.

 

“I’m here to bring you up to speed,” Fury informed Tony, completely oblivious to the devious images in Tony’s perverted mind. “We now know this man is Thor’s brother and that he possesses some type of magic,” Fury paused, observing Tony’s shocked expression before continuing. “We have not located him, but his capture is imminent. We don’t know the specifics, but we know he has plans to destroy this world.”

 

“They’re related?!” Tony seemingly ignored everything Fury said as soon as he found out that of all people, Thor was Loki’s brother. The very notion seemed absurd. The two looked nothing alike and their personalities were complete polar opposites.

 

“Yes, we spoke about that in our previous meeting.”

 

“I must have been unable to attend, being stuck in a jail cell and all.”

 

“I do apologize for that but under the circumstances I had no other choice.”

 

“Were the mirrors your idea?”

 

Fury quirked an eyebrow.

 

“I just thought –”

 

“Stark, I have no time for your jests. We might face a war soon, so when you recover, we will hold another meeting.”

 

“Sure, but I have another question,” Tony grinned. Fury sighed as he looked at Tony, waiting for him to continue. “Again, no flowers?”

 

Fury shook his head in disbelief. Evidently, Tony opted for humor rather than understanding the gravity of the situation at hand.

 

“I will see you at the next meeting,” Fury stated before leaving. Before the door had even closed, Thor slammed it open.

 

“Man of Iron!” Thor exclaimed as he rushed in wearing clothes that made him look more like a lumberjack as opposed to a Thunder god.

 

“So I hear you saved me. Thanks. I don’t think I’d be a good member of the Avengers if I were a vegetable.”

 

“Of course! I am glad that I could aid a fellow comrade,” Thor beamed as Tony’s humorous remark went right over this head. “How are you faring?”

 

“I’m alright, I guess. I get to check out tomorrow.”

 

“That is good news!” Thor slapped Tony on the shoulder. Seeing Tony wince, Thor backed away a little.

 

“I apologize. You are not well.”

 

“Don’t sweat it,” Tony barely contained a laugh at the Thunder god’s almost docile demeanor.

 

“I shall see you soon when we assemble. I wish you a speedy recovery.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Thor smiled before he left Tony’s room. As soon as he left, Tony drifted back to sleep.

 

~*~

 

He had barely walked outside the hospital when Fury received a phone call from Coulson.

 

“What is it?”

 

“We’ve received intelligence that someone has been working with the Red Country.”

 

“How is this news?”

 

“We have reason to believe that Loki and Thor are not the only aliens.”

 

Fury froze as he took in the information. His mind reeled with possibilities.

 

“Brief agents Romanoff and Barton on all that you know and then dispatch them immediately.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Coulson answered before he hung up.

 

Fury slowly replaced his phone in his pocket before heading back to the headquarters.

 

~*~

 

Sounds of metal scraping against metal permeated the otherwise silent room. With one final twist, Tony secured the bolt in place before losing his grip on the wrench. He watched it clutter to the ground before he sighed in frustration. He preferred doing his work primarily with his right hand, but since the doctors insisted he had to wear a temporary cast and carry his arm in a sling, he had no choice but to rely on using his left. He bent down and reached for the wrench before walking back to his desk and running diagnostics on his suit.

 

Ever since he had left the hospital a few days ago, he had been consumed with upgrading his suits. He spent hours drawing schematics, only to scrap them and begin anew. Sure, he had already been working on accelerating the flight speed and adding more powerful tank missiles, but he felt something was missing. He looked over at his power balance bracelet and scowled, blaming it for not working when he needed it most.

 

 He sat down at his desk and began to absent mindedly look through his latest diagrams, frustrated that none of them appealed to him. Of its own accord, his mind began to wander and like an unwanted dream, the events of his last encounter with Loki played like movie.

Something in the memory caught his eye and he leaned back in his chair as he tried to make sense of the events. Loki had seemed determined to kill him if he refused his offer, but at the last minute had decided to throw him out the window. Of course if Tony had hit the ground, he would have died just as instantly as if he had stayed in his office to enjoy the explosion. Why would Loki give him a fighting chance at survival and not simply leave him to explode with the rest of his office? Tony shook his head. Attempting to dissect whatever dubious mind games Loki had concocted would be a waste of time. He began looking through schematics again.

 

“Sir?”

 

“Shhh, Daddy’s working.”

 

“You have a guest.”

 

“Help them find an exit,” Tony snapped as he flicked through his designs.

 

“Are you always this rude?”

 

Tony froze at the familiar sultry voice. He put down his schematics and began looking around his workshop for the source. As soon as he located Loki, they locked eyes.

 

“The Prodigal son returns!” Tony exclaimed dramatically. Loki merely cocked an eyebrow at the reference. He wore his usual armor minus the gleaming staff.

 

“Thanks for the arm,” Tony lifted his cast. “Good thing Thor was there.”

 

A dark expression overtook Loki’s face as he slowly stalked towards Tony.

 

“Who could have guessed you two were brothers? He has such a natural talent for putting people at ease.”

 

“Yes, very much like a friendly dog,” Loki sneered.

 

“Well, for someone trying to recruit me, he’s doing a better job. I doubt he’d throw me out of a window”

 

Tony knew he was pushing too far but for some reason he could not contain himself. Something about Loki and his reactions to his words sent a thrill of excitement down Tony’s spine. He wondered just how far he could go before reaching Loki’s breaking point.

 

“You know, I don’t think I’d mind if Thor was king of our world, too. I hear he will inherit the throne of Asg –”

 

Before Tony had finished his statement, Loki had seized him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. He narrowed his eyes as he watched his prey smile. Due to the strong grip around his throat, Tony had to momentarily cease his verbal taunting. Tightening his grip, Loki became even more infuriated when Tony continued to smile, unabated. Feeling his rage reach a boiling point, Loki threw Tony across the room.

With a resounding thud, Tony landed on the hood of his yellow Lamborghini.

 

“Trying to ruin another one of my cars?” Tony inquired snidely as he sat up. “I have to admit, you do have good taste.”

 

Loki remained standing on the other side of the room, watching Tony like his prey. His silence reminded Tony of a snake, poised to strike but still deciding on the opportune moment to uncoil itself. In a flash Loki appeared in front of Tony and pinned him to the car by his throat.

 

“I’m starting to get the feeling that you’re into choking,” Tony wheezed, feeling Loki constricting his air. Loki simply grinned and Tony felt fear zip down his spine. Loki brought up his right hand and gently brushed his fingers over Tony’s lips, all the while looking at him with a maniacal glint in his eye.

 

“Usually, I get treated to a dinner before –”

 

Loki bent down and bit Tony’s lower lip, effectively cutting off his remark and eliciting an undignified yelp as an added bonus. Loki smirked, obviously delighted to have captured Tony Stark out of his element. With a steady grip on Tony’s neck, Loki used his other hand to trail down Tony’s torso before resting over the zipper of Tony’s jeans. Tony’s wide eyes followed the movement and his tongue stilled in shock. With a grin, Loki began to slowly massage the area around the seam. Tony felt himself harden under the touch and let a small moan escape his lips.

 

Loki moved his hand to Tony’s face, pulling Tony’s lower lip down with his thumb before sucking it gently. Just as he feels Tony relaxing into his touch, Loki bites his lower lip and draws a small amount of blood. Out of shock, Tony almost hits him.

 

“What the –!”

 

Loki cuts off Tony’s complaint with a soft kiss, before pressing his full weight against him and assaulting his mouth. Tony enjoys the feeling of their tongues slipping past each other as both fight for dominance. A few times, Loki catches Tony’s tongue with his teeth and bites down hard enough to draw blood, languidly running his tongue to catch the liquid.

 

Loki removes his hand from Tony’s throat and grips his shoulders instead. Disengaging from the kiss, Loki bites down on the side of Tony’s neck earning a yelp of pain from the pinned man. Before Tony has a chance to complain, Loki vanishes.

 

Dazed, Tony slowly sits up and envisions stars still dancing in his hazy brain which lost track of the situation long ago. He looks down at himself and grits his teeth as he sees the obvious bulge in his pants.

 

“Sir, is everything alright?”

 

“Fine – peachy – great,” Tony stumbles over his words as his mind regains focus.

 

“Ms. Potts is here to see you.”

 

“Tell her I’m busy!”

 

“As you wish.”

 

Looking at the bulge in his pants, Tony decides he needs to fix the situation. He leans back onto the hood of his car and slowly moves his left hand into the confines of his pants oblivious to the emerald eyes still watching him.

 

~*~

 

Tony smiles to himself as he swaggers into the briefing room. Everyone seems occupied, but this fact does not deter Tony from getting the attention he desired.

 

“Hey guys! Miss me?” He asks with his arms outstretched. Thor greets him eagerly while Steve gives him a brief nod.

 

From the corner of his eye, Tony spots Bruce working on something and instantly his smile widens in mischief. He calmly saunters over to Bruce’s workstation and peeks over his shoulder.

 

“What you working on?”

 

“A containment field,” Bruce kept his answer simple as he refocused on the task at hand. Not to be ignored, Tony walked on over to his right and begins to look through the things on the monitor. Bruce attempts to keep his eyes on his screen but finds his concentration slipping as his eyes keep darting over to the undesired intrusion. Bruce preferred to work alone and in silence, mainly because he found people interfering in his work an unnecessary distraction.

 

“Can I help you with something?” He sighed, realizing that his curious guest insisted on meddling in his research.

 

“Just browsing,” Tony hummed as he continued to access random folders and look over diagrams. Bruce closed his eyes for a minute, trying to keep his anger at bay by tuning out the various annoying sounds. Above him, the ceiling fan continued to drone while two of his teammates engaged in a very heated conversation. Numerous automatic doors slid open before closing as various personnel went about their daily business, occasionally shouting across the room. As an added bonus to the already abrasive racket, Tony Stark continued to loudly click through his research.

 

Click – Drone – Chatter

 

Click – Slide – Shout

 

Click – Drone – Shout

 

His eyes shot open and he slammed his hand down onto Tony’s, almost breaking the mouse.

 

“Ouch! Watch it there, big guy!” Tony shouted before removing his hand and massaging it.

 

“I’m trying to work,” Bruce breathed in between the words. “Do you mind?” He grated the last word as he stared at Tony.

 

“Not at all,” Tony grinned noting how he almost caused Bruce to hulk-out.

 

At that moment, Fury walked into the room and after quickly surveying it, decisively announced, “Stark, Thor and Rogers: Grab your weapons and then come outside.”

 

Bruce released a long-held breath as he watched Thor and Steve pick up their weapons from a nearby table before following Fury out the door.

 

“I guess our bonding-time is over,” Tony smiled down at Bruce, a little disappointed he didn’t have the chance to cause Bruce to transform. As he watched Tony walk away, Bruce began to go over some chemical formulas in his mind, deciding what concoction to make and slip into Tony’s drink. Tony walked out of the door and stopped where Steve and Thor had gathered around Fury.

 

“Gentlemen, I fear there are dangerous times ahead. Two of my agents are currently working on infiltrating and getting some information. Dr. Banner is currently working on a possible containment field if we are lucky enough to capture Loki.”

 

Tony watched Thor visibly flinch at the mention of his brother.

 

“I’m going to put the rest of you to work. You will need to cooperate in order to work together as a team.”

 

“Falling in line’s not really my style,” Tony stated as he crossed his arms.

 

“You’re all about style, aren’t you?” Steve shot Tony a glare.

 

Tony looked Steve up and down, his eyes wide with mock surprise.

 

“From all the people around here, who wears the most figure-hugging outfit?”

 

Steve visibly blushed as he looked at his bright red, blue and white outfit.

 

“You people are so petty and tiny,” Thor laughed.

 

“You think? Wait until you see me in my suit and then we’ll see who’s ‘tiny’,” Tony remarked.

 

“Gentlemen, enough,” Fury sighed, closing his eyes with the irritation of a father. “Stark, get your suit and then meet us outside,” he ordered before walking away from the three men.

 

Outside the headquarters, stood a hellicarrier, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most advanced and fortified helicopter. Moments later, Tony emerged with his suit, neatly tucked into a briefcase.

 

“All of your other teammates are currently busy with their own missions. You three will go inside the hellicarrier to an undisclosed location where you can begin your training,” Fury paused, observing the three Avengers who looked back at him with curiosity. I am almost certain that a battle will soon begin and you need to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

 

“So is this a battle royal or something?” Tony asked.

 

“In a way, yes. You will be fighting each other.”

 

“I look forward to this test of strength,” Thor announced as he stood in a regal pose, with his arms crossed.

 

“Good luck in your training,” Fury stated before walking away from the group. The three men looked at each other before entering the hellicarrier.

 

~*~

 

She sat on top of the rafters in a warehouse with the grace of cat and stillness of a statue. Her heart beat remained even. She lost count of the number of times she has sat in a similar position, watching her targets from above.  

 

“Is that the last of them?” a man asks, wearing his finest military regalia, the assortment of medals on his chest giving away his high rank of general.

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

She’s done this so many times before, that she can calculate in her head the best tactic to extract information. The man stands with his arms behind his back, his chest barreled out. He speaks to his men with a condescending tone. Natasha grins before she gives an exaggerated shout and allows herself to fall from the rafters onto the ground below.

 

“Grab her!”

 

She hears the men yell as some position their weapons to aim at her. A few charge at her and she lowers the caliber of her fighting skills.

 

“I want her alive!” She hears the most decorated man yell. From the corner of her eye, she spots another man striding towards her with a chair. She allows them to shove her roughly onto the chair before tying her arms behind her. Outwardly, she displays a hint of a timid agent, fearful of capture. But inwardly, she cannot stop herself from smiling, because she let the men catch her.

 

“You must be the spy from the American organization I have been hearing about,” the general states as he strides towards her. She stares at him, saying nothing.

 

“I do hope you regret your decision for leaving our service,” he snidely remarks. Natasha flinches inwardly. She never regretted her decision to leave after she had witnessed the corruption within. Even so, she feels a pang of sadness. She still holds great affection for her country of origin, but she could no longer serve a government filled with despots who cared more for power and money then for the well-being of its people. To shake herself from her thoughts, she stares at the crates currently being loaded onto the dock. The general follows her stare.

 

“Weapons, of course,” he remarks as he stares at the crate before turning back to her. “I’m sure you already knew that,” he grins and Natasha fights the urge to break free and do some damage. She’s grateful she has amassed a large amount of patience for these interrogations.

 

“Planning for a war?”

 

“Something to that effect.”

 

“I assume you have a benefactor?” She asks, keeping her voice level.

 

“Clever girl,” he remarks, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “But in this case, we are the benefactors.”

 

Natasha sharply turns her eyes to the general. She knew her old organization was up to something, but she had assumed that they were merely trafficking weapons due to a wealthy financier.

 

“We supply the weapons. He supplies our war,” the general grins.

 

Before Natasha has a chance to ask more questions, she hears her cell phone ring. The sound echoes in the spacious warehouse and the men look at the general for their next step. The general calmly walks over to Natasha and fishes out the cell phone. He looks at the name, shrugs and decides to answer.

 

“Natasha?”

 

“Not quite.”

 

The voice on the other line grows silent for a minute.

 

“May I speak to Natasha, please?” Coulson asks politely.

 

“Of course! These could be her last words, so I don’t see why not,” he laughs before placing the phone between Natasha’s ear and her shoulder. He stands back and smiles as Natasha leans into the receiver.

 

“Natasha, this is Coulson –”

 

“Why are you calling me? I’m in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything.”

 

Natasha heard the general mutter “Everything” while looking at his men in confusion. She gives him a glare before continuing to talk to Coulson.

 

“Look, you can’t pull out of this right now,” She states, irate at the fact that Coulson interfered in her operation.

 

“Natasha . . . Barton’s been compromised,” Coulson whispers.

 

Natasha froze at the meaning of the words, before she calmly replies, “Let me put you on hold.”

As soon as the general takes away the cell phone that had been neatly lying in between her ear and shoulder, she kicks him in the knee. His other two goons began trying to attack her but she uses the chair strapped to her as a weapon and sends her assailers flying backwards. One of the men attempts to punch her but Natasha fluidly swings around and used the legs of the chair to break the bones in the man’s feet.

 

Meanwhile, Coulson calmly holds the phone as he listens to the pained screams of Natasha’s attackers.

 

Natasha then does a flip and lands on one of the men, breaking the chair in the process. Once she is free she continues to assail her attackers and only stops when all the men lay unconscious at her feet. She walks back towards the discarded phone and picks it up.

 

“What happened?”

 

“Barton has been caught. I’m not sure how, but they anticipated him.”

 

“Where is he?”

 

“In a cell, somewhere north of the mountains.”

 

Natasha muses on his words. There was only one mountain range and from her days working in the Red Country, she remembers only one base located north.

 

“I know where to go.”

 

“Good. Have you found out anything useful?”

 

“Enough for the time being.”

 

“Alright. After you rescue Barton, head back to HQ. We’ll plan from there.”

 

“Got it,” Natasha answered before she hangs up and strides towards a motorcycle.

 

~*~

 

The three men stood in the clearing as tall trees loom over them. Night had already overtaken the sky, but none of them would be at a disadvantage due to their own unique abilities. Without warning, Tony fires a blast at Steve, causing him to fly a few miles away. He smiles to himself, happy that he could inflict some damage to the most obnoxiously moral soldier he knew. He hears Thor heave a laugh before using his hammer to aim a bream of lightening, which collides with Tony’s armor.

 

“Power at full capacity,” his computer remarks.

 

“How about that?” Tony asks as he tilts his head. Tony glances back at Thor who readies himself for another blow. Realizing that the god poses the most threat, he uses arch reactor to release a blast that sends Thor sprawling backwards. As Thor attempts to get up, Tony fires another blast causing the god to fly backwards again, this time taking a few trees down with him in the process.

Fiery rage has overtaken Thor’s usually placid eyes and he throws his hammer towards Tony. After evading the hammer, Tony laughs, allowing his ego to flare. Before he finishes his own personal jubilation, the hammer returns and hits him in the back, causing him to fall forward. As Tony stands up, Thor sprints towards him, reaches out and crushes part of his right arm.

 

“This armor of yours seems not to be as effective as you believe.”

 

Tony scowls, waiting for an opportune time to wipe Thor’s smirk from his face. Before he has a chance to retaliate, Thor picks him up by his dented arm and throws him diagonally into the trees. Thor’s laugh is cut short by a swift blow to the head by Steve’s shield. Blinded, Thor loses his natural grace and falls over.

 

Steve allows Thor to rise to his feet only to strike again with a powerful punch to the jaw. The personal nature of the attack evokes Thor to momentarily forget his hammer and instead engage in hand-to-hand combat with Steve. As Tony regains his bearings and blasts himself in the air, he watches from above as Thor and Steve engage in a gentleman’s fist fight.

 

“Hey guys,” Tony shouts, hovering over them. As both men look towards the man in the sky, Tony lifts both of his arms and blasts both of them into their own personal 20 foot graves.

 

“Now all you need are headstones!” Tony places his arms akimbo as he laughs, clearly enjoying the upper hand as his ego momentarily repairs itself. From below, Steve launches his shield into the air. Without a moment’s hesitation Tony catches it.

 

“Nice Frisbee!” Tony comments as he turns the shield over in his hands. “Hey Thor, want to give me your hammer, too?” Tony shouts before throwing the shield at Thor, effectively knocking him back into the man-made crater. “That’s for the hammer throw earlier!”

 

While Tony seems preoccupied with taunting his opponents, Steve quickly runs towards where his shield lay on the ground. Meanwhile, Thor finally emerges from the large hole and yells, “Man of Iron! You have almost the silver tongue my brother does!”

 

At the mention of Loki and his tongue, Tony’s mind drifts off to their recent encounter in his workshop. He feels a flash of arousal as he remembers Loki’s languid tongue running over his, so wet and inviting. While Tony’s thoughts keep him preoccupied, he does not notice Steve launching his shield.

 

The shield collides with Tony’s suit, causing him to move backwards. A mere instant later, Thor throws his hammer into the mix and Tony flies not only further, but also upward. Unable to react to such a combined force, Tony’s suit goes offline and his turbo boosters turn off. Tony panics as he begins to spin violently in the air. He curses at his machine, but to no avail. A few moments later, Tony descends sharply into the ground, creating his own crater.

 

~*~

 

She crouches behind an armored car, surveying her surroundings. The biting cold nips at her cheeks and she is certain that her nose has turned a nice pink color. Before embarking on her new mission, she had decided to take the white version of her outfit with her at the last moment. Combined with her white suit, the snug woolen cap that hid her vibrant red hair allows her to camouflage with her surroundings. A few soldiers pass near her, completely oblivious to her presence.

 

She looks past the various vehicles and soldiers, resting her eyes on the building ahead. Years had gone by, but nothing had changed. Granted, her access pass would definitely not work but she still knew all the different passages and secret tunnels within the building. She closes her eyes as she concentrates. In her mind, a map of the building unfolds and she begins to plan her strategy. She only brought her gun and a few bombs, prepared for a very quick in-and-out operation. Barton would seemingly disappear.

 

She rolls under the car nearest to her and attaches herself to the bottom, patiently waiting for someone to take her to her destination. A few moments later, some men came by and enter the car. Within moments they drive her to the building many thought impenetrable. While they park the car, she closes her eyes and an image of her current position appears in her mind. She mentally marks out the cameras, knowing that during the few years that had passed, they had unlikely changed places.

 

She unlatches from the car and softly falls to the ground. She shifts to the left side of the car and pushes herself from underneath it, careful to remain as flat as she possible could. If only the men knew they had parked in a blind spot. She slowly gets into a crouching position behind the barrels and listens for the voices, gouging the proximity of their owners.

 

When she heard the voices going further and further away she looks up and shoots a hook into the ceiling, catching a beam. She quickly climbs up and pulls the rope up towards her, coiling it and storing it in its proper place.

 

She begins to quietly and carefully maneuver herself along the fragile beams. She hears a creak and barely jumps behind a large column before the rafter gives way and falls down. She hears voices draw near.

 

“ . . . what is that?” A cautious soldier approaches, clutching an AK-47.

 

“It looks like a beam fell,” another soldier answers the first.

 

“This place is so old!”

 

“And cold!”

 

Both soldiers broke into fits of laughter before heading back to their previous posts.

 

Natasha stills the beating of her pulse by breathing slowly before continuing on her way. She places a bomb near a place where the beams splintered from both the cold and age, knowing that when the bomb exploded, a good number of the beams would catch on fire, creating an adequate diversion. From the roof she descends into a corridor and slowly makes her way, darting from corners, remaining undetected.

 

She nears the holding cells and after knocking out the guards, she looks around. There were just numbered iron doors with a small opening that would allow the guards to observe their prisoners. As she walked by, she quietly whispers “Clint” hoping that he would hear her.

 

Clint shifts in his cell. He slowly opens his eyes and thinks he hears someone call his name. He decides that he was probably dreaming until he hears his name again. He sits up and rubs his eyes before standing and walking towards the iron door. At eye-level there is a small opening, with bars. He attempts to look through.

 

“Yes?” He quietly asks – his heart beating fast. He hears soft steps approach his door before Natasha’s grey eyes appear before him.

 

“Natasha? Is this a dream?” he whispers. She shakes her head.

 

“Hold tight,” She says before disappearing from view. He hears the scrapes of iron and a lock giving way before the door opens. Instinctively, he hugs Natasha.

 

“Boy am I glad to see you!” He says as he clutches her tighter.

 

“I’m happy to see that you’re fine, but right now we need to get out of here,” she states as she disengages from his hug. She reaches into her pocket and dials before replacing the phone. Within moments, a large explosion echoes throughout the building, reverberating even in the holding cells.

                                                                                                         

“Let’s go – we have less than five minutes to get out of here,” she states before taking his hand and running along the corridor.

 

A few more abrupt turns later, they end up in a tunnel system, beneath the base. Natasha holds Clint’s hand tighter as they run towards the exit. Within moments they resurface and amidst the confusion of running military personnel, Natasha secures a snow mobile. She starts the engine as Clint sits behind her and holds onto her waist.

 

“Take the cell phone from my pocket and send a message to Coulson that you are safe and we are on our way back,” she orders as Clint quickly reaches into her pocket. Deciding that the engine had ample time to warm up, Natasha rides off.

 

~*~

 

After cursing at his suit, the stubborn piece of equipment finally turns on. With a bruised ego, Tony once again takes to the sky, aiming to blast his comrades as far away as possible, with hopes that they would smack against a few trees in the process. As soon as he nears his teammates, Tony descends to the ground and begins walking towards the sparring men.

 

Coulson and Maria Hill both have their eyes glues to the screen intently as the fight between the three Avengers seem to heat up even more. In the stillness of the surveillance room, Coulson’s phone emits a loud beep. He briefly tears his eyes away from the screen and views Clint’s message. He looks back at Maria.

 

“Natasha was successful.”

 

“That’s good,” Maria breathes a sigh of relief.

 

“I think they need a time out,” Coulson states with a nod of his head towards the screen.

 

The three Avengers stand in the clearing, breathing heavily as they eye their competition, each one running their next moves through their minds. A branch brakes and all three men ready their weapons at the intrusion.

 

An agent walks into the clearing and looks at the three Avengers before announcing, “Agent Coulson has informed me that this training session is over. You may take the hellicarrier back to the city and go your separate ways to recoup. Once Agents Romanoff and Barton have returned, Fury will once again assemble you at the briefing room. Until then, you have time off,” he grins.

 

“Well, boys, thanks for the work out, but I’m out!” Tony mocked-saluted his teammates.

 

“Do you even have enough fuel?” Steve asks, resuming his position as the Avengers’ personal worrier.

 

“It’s no problem, I’m sure I can stop by a gas station, stick a pump up my ass and hey-presto!” Tony replies sarcastically. Thor laughs, although Tony knew the god probably did not know what fuel or a gas pump was. Steve frowns but before he has a chance to reply, Tony jets into the air and flies off. He had a bruised ego, damaged suit and he was lucky if he could make it home in once piece.

 

“Jarvis, what’s the fastest route home.”

 

“Due south, Sir.”

 

“Great. How long will that take?”

 

“About two hours.”

 

“How’s the fuel situation?”

 

“The likelihood of you making it home is 40%.”

 

“Thank for the encouragement,” Tony answered sarcastically.

 

“As always, Sir.”

 

Tony rolls his eyes before flying south, being careful to avoid the high trees. He shuts off any unnecessary functions of his suit, hoping to conserve the fuel. He opens his helmet slightly so that he could at least breathe a little, since shutting off the oxygen in the suit helps save energy but also caused him to feel the heat. He flies at a low enough speed so that wind would not tear his face to shreds.

 

As he nears his house he felt his suit begin to break down, signaling the end of his good fortune.

 

“Come on, baby, Daddy’s almost home!” He tells his suit. However, the suit had other ideas and Tony finds himself crashing onto his private beach. He groans from the pain of the impact as he sits up.

 

“Off,” He orders his suit. Everything shut down. He wanted to shout in frustration at realizing he would need to manually tear his suit from his body.

 

Half an hour later, Tony had successfully disengaged himself from his suit and upon entering his lair, he ordered his robots to go back to fetch the pitiful remains. As soon as he sees his robots scurry towards the beach, he bolts up the stairs, eager for a nice shower.

 

As soon as he enters his bathroom, he strips himself of his clothes and climbs into his lavish shower, closing the glass door behind him. He turns on the shower head and lets the warm water flow over his body. He stands immobile, enjoying the sensation of the water flowing against his naked body.

 

He feels a tingling sensation as if someone stood behind him but shook off the feeling and instead concentrates on the feeling of the water. He feels hands grip his hips in an almost feral motion before lips brush against the shell of his ear.

 

“Enjoying ourselves, are we?” The voice asks in a low whisper. Tony opens his eyes in shock and tries to turn around but finds he is unable to move.

 

“Are you using your magic on me again?” Tony asks as he continues to struggle.

 

“Of course, it’s a holding spell so don’t bother trying to move.”

 

“Loki, do you mind? I’m trying to relieve some stress here,” Tony grits his teeth, refraining from shouting at the lunatic.

 

“Shall I help?”

 

Tony feels Loki’s hand encircle his naked member and begin to stroke it gently.

 

“Or do you want to do it yourself again?” He inquires.

 

Tony knew the god was smirking even if he could not see him. He clenches his teeth and feels a blush emerge on his cheeks as he realizes Loki had seen him pleasure himself after he left the workshop. Since he had no other choice, Tony relaxes against the man, whose leather clothing clings to Tony’s wet back. He closes his eyes and tilted his head backwards, resting it on the man’s chest as Loki continues to stroke him.

 

He softly moan as he feels himself harden under the touch. Opening his eyes, Tony watches the slender fingers work themselves up and down his shaft. The touch becomes firmer and faster. Tony feels his breath come out in rasps as his gaze remains transfixed on the pale hand stroking him. His whole body tenses as he closes his eyes, enjoying his climax wash over him.

 

He shudders before opening his eyes to see the hand remained wrapped around his member, his white release dripping off the slender fingers. He allows himself to feel at ease until a sharp bite to his neck brings him back to sobriety.

 

“Ow!” he shouts as Loki begins to suck at the mark he had made earlier, which has since turned purple and would only continue to discolor with the new bite marks.

 

“So delectable,” Loki whispers against his ear. Tony feels Loki’s chest vibrate with his voice and he once again begins to feel the stirrings of arousal. Before he can say anything, the hand around him and the body behind him disappears and Tony feels his knees give as he collapses onto the tiles of the shower. He hisses in pain as a wound on his knee opens up.

 

~*~

 

Lights flicker in the darkness of the tunnel as five identical glass tubes remained embedded into the wall. Within the tubes, the figures breathe through an oxygen mask as needles in their veins pump in nutrients as well as a concoction that accelerates their abilities. Since the tubes are filled with a dank green liquid, the figures also have an oxygen mask, their only link to the outside world other then the needles in their veins. A hand reaches out and scrapes a fingernail against the glass, admiring one of the creations.

 

“Soon my puppets, you will get to dance,” he breathes as five pairs of eyes open simultaneously.

 

~*~

 

Without a cloud in the sky, most people opt to spend the day outdoors. Many sit outside in cafes as they take in the rays of the run. Conversation reaches a standstill as many notice a shadow moving to eclipse the sun. Many people strain to look upwards towards the object and a new wave of conversations start as people chatter excitedly as each person comes up with their own theory as to what the object could be.

 

Gleaming with a hue between grey and silver, the vessel in the sky seems to consist of some type of metal. Many believe that the design fits the description for a vehicle belonging to either the air force or NASA. Others believe that the contraption could be some type of entertaining promotion.

 

Continuing to watch in fascination, the people register the opening belly of the aircraft and little streams of panic begins to stir among the crowd as they watch figures descend from the vessel. As the strange humanoid creatures begin their descent, they begin to fire blasts, not caring if they target buildings or individuals. Initially, the small streams of panic begin to consume the civilians in waves as the strange aliens complete their descent onto the ground. Without any warning, they fire their weapons towards the people, killing many with a single blast. Absolute chaos breaks out as everyone registers the new comers as enemies and people scramble over each other in their attempts to escape the threat.

 

~*~

 

Author Note: This chapter is just a prelude of the “fun scenes” to come. The plot thickens!