Loki returned to Stark Tower in the early hours of the morning and was surprised, but not shocked, to find Steve sitting at the kitchen table. It was widely known that Steve went for a run at around four o'clock in the morning every day but it was barely half two and he was already sat there. Noticeably, a coffee mug was in front of him, instead of his usual water or healthy smoothie.
"Coffee doesn't even affect me," Steve said miserably, hearing Loki approach.
Loki had changed back to his usual form straight after his mission and now he was grateful for it, despite the fact that Steve hadn't been scared by his impromptu appearance.
"It doesn't affect me either," Loki replied, sitting opposite the gloomy super soldier.
He conjured up a mug of coffee.
"Here's to early mornings," he said and clinked his mug with Steve's.
They both downed their drinks, with Steve grimacing at the taste, and then sat in silence for a few moments.
What's bothering you, Steve?" Loki asked eventually.
At heart, he was really just an excessively curious young god.
"It's a long story," Steve said.
"I have time," Loki said, waving his hands at their surroundings.
Only Natasha would be up in the next few hours and even then she would only be up at five or six.
"You haven't slept," Steve said, concerned.
"I rarely sleep," Loki replied, choosing to be honest rather than pretending that gods didn't sleep. "Go on, tell me."
Steve hesitated, but then began his tale. It turned out that he'd had a friend, a fellow soldier, back in the '40s who fell from a train and reportedly died. However, Natasha had told him of a weapon, a man, called the Winter Soldier, who fit his friend's description. A man who was kept frozen in time, apart from when he was needed for missions.
"If he's brainwashed, he can be saved," Steve said earnestly. "I need to try, if I can. There are so many times he saved me when I needed help; I need to repay that debt."
"If he's brainwashed," Loki said slowly, tapping his long fingers gently on the table, "I can remove the mental restraints. I can remove whatever programming there is. I can return him to how he was."
Steve looked like he was about to cry from gratitude, almost as if Loki had already saved his friend.
"Would you? I would be eternally grateful," Steve exclaimed.
"We need to find this Winter Soldier first and verify that it's him," Loki said gravely.
Not that Loki wouldn't remove the brainwashing even if it wasn't Bucky Barnes; there might still be an innocent man inside trying to break free.
Steve face fell. It seemed he'd forgotten that part.
"I can try and find him, if you like," Loki said hastily.
Nobody was impervious to Steve's puppy eyes.
"There are things I can do to track him down."
Loki left Steve filled with hope and knew he couldn't let him down. If Thor was trapped inside his own head, brainwashed, Loki would do whatever he could to save him.
But, then again, was Loki only agreeing because that exact same thing had happened to him? Loki didn't know the circumstances of the Winter Soldier's capture and restraint but Loki had been tortured and mind-controlled by Thanos and The Other into doing his bidding, before he had managed to break free and escape from his task: subduing humanity. The Winter Soldier had not managed to escape and had been forced to kill and maim. Loki had to help someone in that situation, no matter what.
He browsed the web, searching for signs of the Winter Soldier in news stories across the globe. Loki eventually found a possible location - Hatvan, a city in Hungary which was just outside Budapest. He gave the map a cursory glance and then teleported.
*
"Where's Loki?" Tony asked. "I haven't seen him this morning. He was meant to return from that weird reconnaissance mission."
"He did return," Steve, who was fidgeting a lot, replied. "He's trying to find the Winter Soldier."
"He's doing what?" Tony exclaimed.
They knew the Winter Soldier was a big blip on SHIELD's radar, especially since what Natasha had told him.
"He's brave," Natasha commented.
The Winter Soldier had shot her, after all.
"Loki's got this," Rhodey said confidently. "A Norse god versus a human - I think I know who will win."
"A Norse god versus a genetically modified human," Clint corrected. "He's a machine, a myth, a menace."
"You just wanted to use alliteration, didn't you?" Tony accused.
"Well, yeah."
Steve stood.
"He's my friend. If Loki can help him, and I hope he can, then I'm going to do what I can_"
He gasped. Loki had suddenly appeared behind the others with an unconscious man hovering behind him. The Winter Soldier had put up a good fight but it took no more than a click of his fingers for the man to be subdued and restrained.
Loki grinned at them all as they turned round, and then winked mischievously at Steve.
"Well, I've found your super soldier."
*****
A.N. Bucky's joined the party!
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Starting Over #2 - Loki
Fanfiction[SEQUEL] Loki has found his place among the Avengers, but when will his luck run out? The sequel to Starting Over.
