My Avengers (1)

Chapter 26

I grab my head with one hand and slowly push myself up from the pillow.

"Ow," I mutter.

"Hey kid," a voice says softly as a man kneels down next to me.

"Tin Man," my throat is a bit sore and I feel a bit groggy, but I'm glad to be awake.

"How you feeling now?"

"Tired. But the kind of tired you get from oversleeping. How long was I out?"

"About 3 days."

"3 days? What?"

"Yeah, you were wiped out after all that with the cube, and we couldn't wake you up. Figured your body needed the time to recover."

I nod slowly, trying not to move my head too much, "Makes sense. We won, right?"

"Thanks to you we did. And me, of course."

"Of course."

"But yeah. You did it kid."

"And where's Loki now? Where's everyone else? Where am I?"

"You're still in Stark Towers. Or rather, what's left of it. Most of it got destroyed, but we're gonna rebuild it so it's fine. Everyone has split off and gone their own way. They were all asking to see you when you woke up, but I didn't know who you'd wanna see so I sent them all packing. As for Loki, he's back in a cell in Asgard where he belongs."

"You know, he's not all bad."

"Uh, hate to break it to you but yes he is."

"He saved my life. Several times, I might add."

"Hey I fought for you, okay? When I was busy spinning in that goddam rotor, which coulda cut me up like a friggin blender by the way, I was yelling at them to go get you. All of them. Even Fury. Telling just one of them to go and get you from that room. I physically could not come get you. Believe me when I say that, if I could've, I would've. If I could go back in time and do it again, I would do it right and I would get you out."

I look down at my hands, "Why don't the others care as much as you do?"

"I think they're trying to, kid. But they don't know the same shit I know."

"I shouldn't have to open up to them to gain their sympathy. We're supposed to be a team. We're supposed to be able to rely on each other. But we can't."

"You can rely on me."

"Yeah. Me and you. Great team."

"I'm serious. You can count on me. I understand why it might not seem like it, but you can."

"Just feels like I can count on the supposed 'bad guy' more than you lot."

"What is it with you and Loki? What's that all about?"

I sigh, "I dunno. Just some stuff from Hydra. I saw his name is List's head. Like a lot. And then when I looked into Loki's mind, I saw a lot of fear. And vulnerability. I just don't think he's that terrible."

"Do you know how many people he's killed?"

"I don't have an exact figure for you, no, but I also don't care. Those people are dead now, and I'm sure many of them probably deserved it. I just..... I don't think he likes doing what he does. You know? Like he's grown up as Thor's brother. That can't be easy. I can just imagine how much he got overlooked because of it. So now he's going after what he never had. He's not doing it in the right way, but I understand the motive."

"Y/n, what are you saying?"

I stand up from the bed and look down at Stark, "I'm saying I'm not just gonna leave him to rot in a cell in Asgard."

"You know I can't help you with that, right?"

"Wasn't gonna ask you to. And you're gonna forget I told you. Top secret shit, okay?"

"You know you're gonna have to deal with Thor, right?"

"I just took on the Tesseract, something that Thor couldn't do. Dealing with him is gonna be a piece of cake."

"Are you forgetting about that thing he carries around with him? The hammer made from the strongest metal in the universe that no-one can lift but him."

"Eh, I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"You think you could?"

"I didn't say that."

I'm not lying. I don't think he's the only person who could lift it. Whether or not I could, I don't know. But there's definitely more than one Avenger on the team who'd be deemed worthy of the Asgardian throne.

"Alright, whatever," he stands up and starts to walk away from me. "Listen kid, I got a life to get back to, alright? I've got a beautiful woman waiting upstairs for me so we can get on with repairing this place. You're more than welcome to stay here for as long as you need, but don't come to us for help when you go off on this ridiculous quest of yours."

"Thank Tin Man, but I think I'll head straight off."

He stops, and turns back to me, "You can't be serious. You're not fully recovered yet, and you have no way of getting to Asgard."

"I didn't say I was going to Asgard yet. But I don't wanna impose on you any longer than I already have. Besides, I do actually have a home to get back to."

"Oh. Alright. Well, do you want a ride home?"

"And have you know where I live? No thanks Tin Man. No offence or anything, but I like the privacy."

"No no, I get it. Okay then. Well, safe trip home."

"Mhmm. And uh, good luck with all this," I gesture to the space around me. To be fair, this room wasn't damaged too badly.

"Thanks. Thanks kid."

There's a slight pause, then he walks over and wraps me in a tight hug. "You stay safe, you hear me?"

"Yes sir," I grin into his shoulder. "Be seeing you."

He nods once, then turns and leaves the room without looking back.

Time for the next adventure.