Broken Beyond Repair

Chapter 1

As Tony makes his way into HYDRA's base, Thor's voice rings in his ear, reminding him of their mission.

Retrieve the scepter.

Find my brother.

There's no guarantee that they'll find Loki here. They haven't heard word of Loki's status since they handed him over years ago. There's no telling what HYDRA's done to him. He may still be their prisoner, but, more likely, he's their partner – and that's only if HYDRA didn't put a bullet through his skull as soon as they got their hands on him. He could be anywhere; he could be doing anything – or he could be nowhere, which is perhaps a more terrifying thought. Unless they find a body, they'll never know. There will be no proof that Loki's gone, that he's not just waiting for his moment to jump back out and terrorize the world once again.

Tony tries to push that thought out of his mind. He doesn't know if he'll find Loki here. He doesn't expect to, in all honesty. The whole world has seen what Loki's capable of when he's left alone with his scepter. Even a truckload of Nazis have to be smart enough not to take that risk again. So Loki's not his first priority. He's not even a second or third priority. Unless he's given confirmation that Loki is alive, he's the last priority. There are bigger matters at hand here.

He crashes through the window, hovering a few feet off the ground because honestly, flying is so much easier than walking. Immediately, a dozen weapons are firing at him, but his armor was built to withstand much more than that. He lets them have their fun for a few seconds, just long enough for them to realize how incredibly useless this all is, and then he says, in his best Dad Voice, "Guys, stop. We gotta talk this through." He fires off some flares, each one targeting a different gunman and taking them down in seconds. "It was a good talk."

The tiny "No, it wasn't," puts a smirk on his face that he does his best to wipe off. Does anybody else find his quips as amusing as he does? He wouldn't stop even if the answer was a resounding no, but he's curious nonetheless.

It doesn't take him long to find HYDRA's computers, which would probably be his priority number two, though he didn't write out a list before he came. He takes out the man frantically moving files around, then exits his suit, leaving it in sentry mode and using the light it provides to extract as many files as he can.

But he knows there's more. They're not leaving everything out here in plain sight. They have to have been ready for this. It's far from the first HYDRA base the Avengers have torn apart, after all. With a bit of help from JARVIS, he finds a hidden door (yay!). It's dark and gloomy, like a sewer from a sci-fi movie, but that just makes him all the more sure he's going in the right direction.

Though the tunnel is eerily silent, the other Avengers seem to have their hands full, if the ruckus in his earpiece is any indication. He's not overly interested until he hears Steve say Strucker's name, and that captures his attention pretty quickly. This is something he wants to listen in on.

"Where's Loki's scepter?" Steve asks.

"Don't worry," Strucker drawls. "I know when I'm beat."

"Where's Loki?" Thor demands.

"And Loki?" Steve asks, echoing his sentiment.

"You don't have to worry about him," Strucker assures him. "He's been gone a very long time."

"Dead?" Steve asks.

"Dead," Strucker confirms.

And that's the end of that conversation. Some sort of commotion cuts it short, but he's not too worried. Steve can handle himself. Strucker is no match for a literal supersoldier.