Working Title : Loki & Annie

105 The Death of a Prince of Asgard

Tony didn't know how someone could be so stubborn. How could this woman want her way despite seeing that Tony was obviously right and she was wrong? It annoyed him and not in the good way. 

Holding Loki close to her chest while patting his back gave Annie's hands something to do. "I thought you were working on a way to get the collar off." 

"I am. But even I need time to test my theory." Tony looked to Bruce who was being zero help as he just leaned against the counter with his arms folded while looking at his feet. "Hey, wanna give me some support here, buddy?"

Bruce looked startled as he looked from Tony to Annie to Loki, then back to Tony. He stood straighter, "Oh, uh, yeah." He nodded while removing his glasses then waved them in tiny motions, "Um, well -"

Tony rolled his eyes, "Yeah, thanks for that. Seven PhDs. Big help." Tony focused on Loki who was dozing. Or maybe not because his shoulders kept rising as they argued, getting closer and closer to his ears. "I can get the collar off but need time. I told Thor the same thing which is I need a couple of days and then the kids free." He tried to keep his frustration from coming out in his voice, he didn't want the kid to freak out. Tony knew he was a jerk, but he wasn't that kind of a jerk. "And that means I need the kid here." Tony gave Annie a hard look, "And apparently that means that you have to be here too."

Bruce jumped in before Annie could say anything, "I hate to admit it but Tony is right." He gave Tony an apologetic shrug at the noise of protest that came from him.

"You say that like I'm ever wrong." Tony folded his arms over his chest.

A twitch of Bruce's lips was his answer to that comment. He looked back to Annie who was looking between them suspiciously which Bruce thought was probably justified. He put his glasses back on while speaking in the same voice he sometimes used internally with the other Guy to try to talk him into calming down. "I get it, you don't know us. But you two were just grabbed off a crowded street in Manhatten by a -" Bruce's face scrunched up, "By a man who isn't going to stop looking for another opportunity to grab you. Or at least get his hands on Loki." 

Tony decided he'd been quiet long enough so he said, "Look, Thor gave you responsibility for Loki to you, right?" He waited until she gave a reluctant nod before adding, "Well, he gave the responsibility of both of you to me." At her look of disbelief, Tony continued, "I know, I think he's crazy too but I agreed to it and I've gotta tell you," He paused to make sure she understood that he was not joking, "There are few things I take seriously but keeping people out of Ross and Fury's clutches is one of them."

There was silence until Annie narrowed her eyes while asking, "You're the same guy," She looked to Bruce for a second, "Guys, who refused to help Loki the last time he was here." She huffed a scoff, "What changed your minds?"

Bruce didn't say anything because he wasn't sure how much he had changed his mind. He still was uncomfortable with the thought of the Loki who had attacked earth suddenly appearing in the Tower. And especially now that Thor was gone. But if getting the collar off was the only way to get Loki back to Asgard or at least off earth then he was willing to do whatever it took. Plus, he didn't like what had been done to this kid even if he was Loki. And he agreed with Tony. Keeping Loki out of Ross's hands was the paramount objective.

After a moment of meeting Annie's eyes, Tony decided to just go with the truth, that rarely worked but hey, worth a try. "I'm tired of having a super-secret government boy band telling me what to do." He saw her confusion, "Well, a super-secret government organization telling me what to do. Believe it or not, there was a time I didn't listen to anyone except myself." Tony paused for a moment when Bruce didn't even bother to smother a rude noise then added, "There have been some incidents over the last two years that have," He shrugged, "Let's say I've become concerned about who I've been shacking up with. I've gotten to the point where I'm hoping to walk away without my dick falling off."