Loki didn't understand the excited discussion among Dr. Strange, Stark, McGhee, Banner, and Abby, but he did understand the fact that they had struck upon the path to curing him. So when Stark uploaded Jarvis into Abby's computer and Abby put the images of Loki's brain on the plasma screen, Loki felt their excitement course through him. He could be cured today. He could be freed today.
How much time passed before the five seemed to reach a consensus, Loki didn't know. But when Abby approached the soul forge and crouched down beside him, she didn't have to speak for Loki to guess at their conclusion. It was written on her face.
"We figured it out," she told him, her voice filled with exhilaration. "We figured it out, Loki! We're going to have the source withdraw back into itself so Strange can remove it. Your headaches will be gone!"
Loki grinned, hope filling him. "Thank you."
"This research is revolutionary," Strange said. "This will change the world."
Loki didn't care about that. All he cared about was getting the energy source out of his head and being free from Thanos.
"Sir, Agent McGhee's written command is ready for your perusal."
"Thanks, Jarvis," Stark said, moving over to the computer. McGhee, sitting at the computer desk in the adjoining room, looked up and over at Stark.
"You're really going to proofread my command?" he demanded.
"Well, yeah," Stark said. "I did graduate from M.I.T."
"So did I," McGhee challenged.
"Really?" Stark asked. "See, I didn't know that about you."
"Oh, brother," Strange said with a roll of his eyes. "Just do your work, Stark."
Banner noticed the look of slight concern on Loki's face and tried to offer a reassuring smile. "Loki, we got this. You can relax."
Stark, not looking up from Abby's computer screen, asked, "Did you just try to comfort him, Bruce?"
"Work," Strange emphasized.
"Done," Stark declared, pushing away from the computer as McGhee came over. "That command is perfect, by the way."
McGhee's jaw dropped. He swallowed and tried to speak but couldn't find any words.
Stark just patted him on the back. "You're welcome."
****
"Agent Gibbs," Banner said, stepping off the elevator into the squad room. "I need one of your agents to get in contact with the local hospital and request a room for an operation tomorrow. Strange said it's important."
"DiNozzo," Gibbs called as he stepped out from behind his desk and approached the scientist.
"On it, Boss," DiNozzo said, scooping up the phone and swiftly dialing the number for the hospital without a second thought. A momentarily nostalgic expression descended onto his face before he gave himself a shake.
"Well?" Gibbs asked, turning back to Banner. A hushed silence fell over the squad room as everyone paused to listen to the diagnosis.
"We figured out a way to hack the energy source," Banner told Gibbs in a low voice. Bishop, seated the closest to the two, involuntarily rose up in her chair to catch the softly spoken words over DiNozzo quietly speaking into the phone receiver. "Tony and Dr. Strange are sending the command right now. They figured Loki will be ready for an operation to fully remove the source tomorrow. That's why Strange wants to reserve the room now, so he can start first thing."
Gibbs nodded. "He'll have it. How's Loki?"
"Unconscious," Banner said. "We had to knock him out for Tony and McGhee to transmit the command. He had a panic attack when Strange and Abby hooked up the mechanism to send the command Tony came up with to his head. As soon as the command started to send, he freaked out. It was really bad, Gibbs. It was really bad."
"How long will it take for the command to work?" Gibbs asked.
"Not long to transmit, but it'll take a while for the source to obey the command. Tony thinks the energy will be withdrawn by morning for easier removal by the doctor."
Gibbs nodded. "Okay."
Banner started to turn, then stopped. "Gibbs, the source emits gamma radiation. I'm getting ready to run some tests now, but we don't know for sure how the radiation has affected him."
Gibbs felt a chill run down his spine. "Explain, Banner."
"Maybe it works differently for him," Banner said evasively. "He's Asgardian, we're human. But it turned me into the Hulk while Cap became a super soldier. I don't know what long term side effects he'll have, but there's a good chance he'll have them. Good or bad, I can't say, but if he has the side effects, there's a higher probability they'll be bad ones."
"When will you know?" Gibbs demanded.
Banner shrugged. "When I finish with all the tests. I have to wait for the command to transmit before I start, but I don't know for sure how long this will take."
As Banner stepped into the elevator and Gibbs turned to face the squad room, he saw that everyone was looking at him. There was a general apprehension on the faces of the Avengers, but there was worry and fear in the expressions of DiNozzo and Bishop.
And that fear and worry was echoing inside of Gibbs, but he didn't let it show. "He's in good hands," was all he said. "The best. Let them do their jobs while you do yours."
DiNozzo, face serious, turned back to his computer screen, but although Bishop's eyes were also returned to her monitor, her fingers were frozen, hovering over the keyboard. As Gibbs settled into his own desk, he saw her start from her trance and place her fingers on the keys, but she still didn't move them.
Then Barton slapped the top of McGhee's desk, where he was currently working with Romanoff. "Fury just sent over the G.R.A.V.I.T.Y. files."
/**/
A special mid-week update for you guys. So, what did you think? Are you happy that the Doc Squad figured this out? And what did you think about Banner's revelation about the gamma radiation? Do you think there will be side effects or not?
Thanks for reading! Remember to please comment and vote!
Skylar Wittenborn