Stark Tower (Loki and the Avengers)

Brucies Files

Tony couldn't sleep.

While this wasn't at all in any way unusual, the affect a lack of sleep had on the genius was still annoying.

The scientist was on his second bottle of vodka for that week, which, to be fair, probably wasn't doing much for his apparent insomnia.

"Jarvissssss!" Tony whined, spinning around a few times before he got dizzy and had to stop. "I'm bored, buddy."

"I suggest you stop drinking, sir. And Pepper said to tell you that she believes you require more sleep." Tony growled.

"No taking sides," He said, making his way towards his work desk. "And you're required to take my side anyway, not Pepper's." Tony sat down, bending his knees and allowing gravity to pull him into his chair. He smirked mischievously, reaching towards touch screen and tapping on a folder marked S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Sir, I insist you don't open that folder, you will only cause problems." Jarvis spoke up, his warning falling on deaf ears as Tony got comfortable in his chair and started to explore his new-found toy.

"Seriously, Jarvis. You need to calm down buddy." He took another swig out of his precious bottle. "Brucie made this program for a rainy day." He glanced towards the only window in the work shop, towards the back of the room. Although it was pitch dark outside, Tony could tell that it definitely wasn't raining. Close enough.

Tony messed around in the folder for a few hours, exploring the many, individually encrypted files of S.H.I.E.L.D. and simultaneously editing and improving Banner's various decryption programs.

The scientist had always been easy to entertain, even more so when he was drunk. By the time the sun started to rise in the morning, he was still awake; and still playing around in the S.H.I.E.L.D. folder. Some of the firewalls were easier to crack than others, and some were so well encrypted that Tony had to skip them and make a note to re-visit them later.

As he neared the end of his search, before the other Avengers woke up and wondered what he was up to, Tony saw a folder that immediately grabbed his attention.

He sat up straighter, instantly sobering as he easily got past S.H.I.E.L.D.s meager protection and into the folder.

"What the Hell," Tony stood up, still staring at the screen as the empty vodka bottle fell from his lap and landed with a thunk on the floor beside the desk.

"Is everything alright, sir?" Jarvis said, detecting the distress and panic in the scientist's rising blood pressure. Tony didn't respond, instead rushing from the workroom with a determined glare on his face.

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Tony ran into Cap as he ran through the halls, literally. His face hit a solid chest and he fell to the ground.

"Whoah, Tony. Are you alright?" Steve held out his hand to help Tony up. "What are you," Tony pushed himself to his feet, ignoring Steve's offered hand and interrupting him.

"I was digging through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s folders," Tony started, holding his hand to silence Steve's protests as he continued.

"I know it probably wasn't a good idea, but I was drunk and bored and you know how I get. Anyway," Tony barely stopped to breathe as he tried to get his point across while simultaneously trying to calm the rising panic attack. "I saw this suspicious looking folder, and I recognized the name from somewhere, but I don't remember why it sounds familiar. Something Russian, I think. Maybe Natasha can help, Наказание Локи or whatever, I haven't had time to translate it yet." Steve put his hands on Tony's shoulders.

"Tony, clam down. Take a deep breath." He paused, waiting for Tony to listen to him and regain control. He offered the scientist a smile as Tony's breathing pattern returned to normal. "Okay, now, what are you trying to tell me?"

Tony took another deep breath before looking Steve straight in his eyes and saying, "I found Loki."

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Hey guys! This is my first Avengers fic, and I am fully aware it's not super original. I think I have to.. IDK... give credit of the characters to Marvel. The characters aren't mine, but the story I've put them into is... You get the point