Beneath The Bitter Masks

Chapter 13

"What no....." Tony started but was knocked out as was Pepper. Steve was also hit crumbling to the ground. The last thing he saw was Loki giving him an apologetic look as he was taken back to Asgard. Then the darkness creeped in and he too lost consciousness.

Tony woke up with a start but regretted his decision immediately as he felt a massive headache and nausea kicking in. He was given a waste bin and he emptied contents of his stomach which, surprisingly, wasn't much.

"Feel better Stark?" That was Fury's voice. What was he doing in his room? Then the events that happened came back to him. The Asgardians. The fight. Pepper and Loki. Loki was taken away. Oh shit. He finally looked around and realized that this wasn't his room. It was the med-bay. Bruce was sitting by his bed.

"How long was I out?"

"A full day Tony. It's 8 in the morning." Bruce told him. A full day! "Wait why are you guys here? You were supposed to be at SHIELD. Where are Steve and Pepper?"

"Your AI called Stark. When we came here only to find your whole living room looking as if a storm had hit it with you three lying there unconscious. We first assumed it was Loki."

"What? Are you fucking kidding me? It wasn't Loki alright. It was some Asgardian warriors that trashed the place and took Loki away." Tony was mad. Couldn't anyone give Loki a break? Why did everyone always assume the worst in him? Fury didn't spend time with him. He didn't know what he was really like.

"Tony calm down." Bruce softly spoke to him,"Fury didn't say that. Another agent did who only knew that Loki was kept here. We checked the security footage. Steve also woke up and told us everything."

"As for your last question Miss Potts is still resting and Steve is in the training area beating the shit out of some poor ass punching bags." Fury spoke again.

"So now what?"

"Now we wait, Stark."

"Wait? But Loki's been taken to Asgard. Who knows what they're doing to him there. We need to go there and rescue him. He-he.... " Tony started rambling clearly worried for the trickster.

"Tony we can't. We don't have the technology for it. We have to wait for Thor to come back and hope he brings Loki back too. Thor is in Asgard too remember?" Bruce tried his best to calm him down.

Tony knew that Fury and Bruce were right but he couldn't help feel frustrated. Frustrated at Loki for giving up and going willingly. Frustrated at the damn warriors beating them. But most of all frustrated at himself for not being able to protect him. He had promised him that they wouldn't let him go back dammit.

He got up. "Tony where are you going?" Bruce asked worried for his friend. "To my lab." he answered gruffly. If he was going to wait then he was going to work on his suit.
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Two days later Clint and Natasha came back and saw the state of the living room. Tony didn't bother having it fixed being too worried and absorbed in his work. Immediately the two became  worried.

They saw that Tony was working on the arm of his suit his earphones plugged in ignoring everyone and everything around him, looking as if he hadn't slept at all and was living only on coffee.

Steve was drawing or trying to if the pile of paper balls behind him was any indication. Bruce was calmly reading a book but the two spies could see the worry in his eyes.

"Guys what happened?" Only then did they notice the absence of a certain dark haired god. "Where's Loki?" Steve only sighed, put his sketchpad down and motioned for them to follow him.

After two minutes a "What!" came from the other room causing Bruce to look up but then he went back to reading. The three came back, Clint and Natasha feeling as tired as Tony looked.

Clint only asked one thing, "Do you know when Thor's coming back?" Steve shook his head.

Clint muttered something about archery practice and went to the training area Natasha following after him. Steve only sighed and went back to trying to draw.
Three more days passed this way.

Tony kept upgrading not only his suit but also the other's equipment. On the third day they heard the familiar sound of thunder. Tony was firing his repulsor cannon when he heard it and hurried upstairs, his arm still covered in a part of his suit.

Thor was standing on the helipad but Loki was nowhere in sight. Dread began filling up in his stomach and Thor joyously greeted them. "My friends. It is so good to see you again. Again I am sorry for damaging your property Man of Iron. I know it annoys you dearly."

Everyone was looking at Thor strangely making him feel a bit uncomfortable with the looks he was receiving. "Is everything alright?" He walked up to his team looking concerned. "Shall we go inside friends?"

But nobody moved. They were trying to understand what was happening. Not once had Thor mentioned Loki. Natasha remembered very well when he was still in the tower, he would just wake up and the first thing he would ask was, "Where is Loki?" or "How is my brother faring?" But now...now Thor was acting as if he didn't even exist.

Thor was just standing there looking a bit uncomfortable. Tony finally spoke. "Where's Loki?"

At this Thor only adopted a confused look. He looked at the faces of his friends noticing that they were worried. "Do not worry my friends. Loki has been safely transported to Asgard. It was what we agreed on was it not? That Loki would be taken back once the repairs in Asgard were fixed."

Tony couldn't stand it. He fired his repulsor at Thor who flew back and crashed onto a wall.
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Anyone curious why Thor said that? I wonder if this is considered a cliffhanger. I kinda feel sorry for the team. And Thor. Maybe.

Oh and if you didn't understand the days  passing then it's like this:
Tony unconscious =1 day
The retun of Clint and Nat= 3 days after Loki is taken back
The return of Thor=5 days after Loki's taken

That's about all I have to say. Sorry if something confused you. Tell me what you feel about this chapter. Thank you for reading.

Your sincerely,
YeranJ.