Frostbite

Two

There was a light tap on my arm and I opened my eyes once again. Steve was grinning down at me. I smiled and sat up straight. Everyone was still quietly talking amongst themselves, glad that our hunt was over.

"We're almost back to the tower," he told me, glancing out of the window. Tony was still in the pilot seat, being uncharacteristically quiet. When he had finally joined us with Loki's scepter, there had been a haunted look stuck on his face. He wasn't telling us something.

"Thor, report on the Hulk?" Natasha loudly requested, interrupting my thoughts.

"The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims," Thor replied merrily. Nat glared menacingly at him, and Bruce groaned in despair.

"Uh, but not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, uh...wounded screams, mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, and uh... and gout," Thor tried to backtrack pitifully.

"Hey Banner, Dr. Cho's on her way in from Seoul, is it okay if she sets up in your lab?" Tony asked, thankfully interrupting the painful conversation. Steve walked over to conversate with Thor.

"Uh, yeah, she knows her way around."

"Thanks," Tony said, then focusing back on Jarvis, "Tell her to prep everything, Barton's gonna need the full treatment."

"Very good sir," Jarvis replied.

"Jarvis, take the wheel."

"Yes, sir. Approach vector is locked."

"It feels good, yeah? I mean, you've been after this thing since S.H.I.E.L.D collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but..." Tony said to Thor, glancing at the scepter that was sitting only several feet away from us in a locked case.

"No, but this...this brings it to a close," Thor sighed happily.

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for. I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?" Steve scoffed.

"Banner and I'll give it the once before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?" Tony asked nonchalantly; Thor nodded in agreement, "I mean, just a few days until the farewell party. You're staying right?"

"Yes, yes, of course! A victory should be honored with revels," Thor agreed cheerfully, bobbing his head up and down.

"Yeah. Who doesn't love revels? Captain?" Tony knew I was staying for the party; I had forgot to bring it up to Steve. Oops.

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and Hydra, so. Yes, revels," he smiled in amusement. We finally landed, and the ramp was let down. A few of Dr. Cho's people came forward and rushed him off of the jet.

I slowly stood, rolling my shoulders and walking over to the case to haul it down to Tony's lab. Maria Hill, who Tony had hired after S.H.I.E.L.D collapsed, strutted onto the jet.

"Lab's all set up, boss," she reported to Tony, looking as professional as always.

"Uh, actually, he's the boss. I just pay for everything, and design everything, and make everyone look cooler," Tony smirked, approaching where I stood. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Steve glanced at me expectantly as he joined Maria.

I shook my head and said, "Go ahead. I'll find you later. I'm gonna help Tony for a bit." He nodded, and they disappeared into the building. I picked up the case and paused to look around. "Anything else?"

"Nope, don't think so," Tony replied, picking up his jacket and following me down the ramp. The wind whipped around us as we made our way to the door. The sky was rapidly growing dark, and the air was chilly. It was going to storm soon. Tony's shoulders slumped in relief when we finally made it inside.

"Are you alright?" I asked with concern. I reached out to touch his arm, but he shrugged and quickly made a beeline for the elevator.

"I'm great! I'm going to go find Banner and get to work on that scepter. Can you leave it in the lab for me?" he called back without another glance. The doors shut, and I was left standing there alone.

"I'm gonna thump him," I muttered to myself, stalking towards the elevator and jamming the down arrow several times. It was fine, though; I wasn't going to quit snooping and bugging him until he stopped lying to me.