Imitations Carved Deep: Chapter 1

Wow, I'm getting this out pretty early. I guess I just couldn't wait to see you all again. :) As promised, here is my new Avengers fic, featuring fem!Loki.

Not a Tony/Loki story. Just friendship.

Be forewarned, I have named female Loki, 'Kira', and that is what she will be referred to for a good chunk of the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own them...so sad.

Warnings: Severe angst. Stupid/Bad Thor (temporarily). Torture (in the past). Implied rape (in past). Don't read if any of these trigger.

Not So Much a Damsel in Distress...

"I'm gonna do one final sweep of the tunnels, and then let's call it a day," Tony sent through the comms. It had been a tough battle.

Swarms of rat cyborg creatures came up from long forgotten underground tunnels and had terrorized the city. They had been about the size of fully grown golden shepherds with razor sharp teeth. While the Avengers found them easy to destroy, the sheer number had been a bit overwhelming. However, they were victorious and no citizens had been seriously injured.

That left final sweeps and clean up (which Tony was leaving to SHIELD not matter what Steve tried to say).

"Roger that, Iron Man. The SHIELD clean up crew is insisting that we leave it to them, so we can head back to the Tower once you're done down there. Be careful." Tony's eyebrows shot up under his face plate. Coulson must have told the other agents not to let Cap help out, because he would, all the time.

It had been a day of mixed feelings when Agent Phil Coulson came waltzing through the doors of the Avengers' Tower. Natasha didn't look surprised, and Clint looked like he wanted to both hug the other man and punch him in the face. Steve stuck with the former and offered to sign anything Phil wanted. Bruce smiled, and Tony offered the man a drink. All in all not a bad day, but Tony couldn't help thinking how Thor would pout when he realized what he missed out on.

After the Asgardian prince took his brother back to Dear Old Dad, they hadn't heard from him. It had been about six months, and nothing. Tony and the others speculated that maybe the trial was taking a lot longer than planned, since Loki was a prince. There were probably a lot of channels to go through and- oh who were they kidding? They could only hope Thor would tell them if he needed help, or that he would return when everything was finished.

Tony was jarred from his thoughts when he heard a scream up ahead. If he didn't know any better, it sounded like a woman in distress. The inventor upped his speed as much as he could and went in search of the woman. When he finally found her, well….you could say that she was in distress, but she was handling herself pretty well.

She was surrounded by two of the rat creatures, a third laid destroyed at her feet. The only apparent weapon she had was a crow bar. The slight woman didn't even look up when he came around the bend, but he didn't hesitate to blast the last two monsters away from her. Then she scowled at him. Scowled!

"I had the situation under control, thank you very much." Tony liked her. She sassed him right after being attacked by rat cyborgs. Tony liked her.

"Oh yeah? Then why did you scream? And you're welcome, by the way." Tony landed in front of her and kicked the rats out of his way. The suit lit up the area enough for him to see the woman properly now that he was closer. She was pale (like haven't seen the sun in years pale) with messy black hair and clothes that looked like they hadn't been washed since she lost contact with the sun. Tony knew a homeless woman when he saw one, but this lady was different for some reason. She seemed fully aware of herself and did not care one bit what Tony thought of her.

The woman scowled once again and waved at her bloodied up leg.

"The creatures caught me by surprise and one latched onto my leg before I could defend myself. Mindless beasts." Tony flipped his face plate up and crouched to get a better look at the wound. He was no medical doctor, but he could definitely say that it needed stitches. The woman pulled back from him, and her grip tightened on the crow bar.

"That leg needs some medical attention. I can take you up to the surface and there are plenty of ambulances that can take you to the hospital."

"No." Tony snorted and stood.

"No? Seriously?" The woman glared at him.

"I will not go to a hospital. I refuse. They are not sufficient healers, and they only care if you have a plastic card." Ah. Right. Homeless woman, no health insurance.

"Well, then at least let me take you to one of the free clinics around here." Again the woman turned her nose up at the idea.

"Infection and disease ravage such places. Absolutely not." Tony held back the strong urge to growl.

"Look-" The homeless woman reared back.

"I did not ask for your help! Now, go. Leave me be! I am sure there are multitudes up in the light in need of your assistance." She turned to walk off, but her leg gave out after only a couple of steps. While the woman bit her lip to keep from crying out, Tony still heard the pained whimper loud and clear. It pulled at his poor, superhero heartstrings, and his anger ebbed a bit.

Tony needed to get this woman help, and since she refused to go to a hospital or a clinic, he came up with the next best solution. As the woman tried to use the wall to pull herself back onto her feet, Tony stepped forward to help.

"If you won't go to either a hospital or a clinic, I guess I'll just have to kidnap you and take you to my tower." The woman was in such a shock, she allowed him to pull her up and keep an arm around her waist.

"What?!" For a brief moment, Tony thought he saw a shimmer of gratitude and hope, but it was quickly swept away by suspicion. The woman narrowed her eyes. "Are you attempting to proposition me? Because if you are, I can assure you that I am not of that…kind, and I will cut off your hands should you attempt to-"

"Whoa, whoa whoa!" Tony held his hands in defense. "No propositioning is happening. Pinky promise. Besides the fact that I have a wonderful woman already, thank you very much, I am just trying to help. One of my friends is a doctor and can help you, free of charge, no insurance necessary. You can stay as long as you like, or you can skedaddle as soon as your leg will allow. Either way, I'll feel much better." The woman snorted at his last statement and eyed him critically.

The woman looked between him and further into the tunnels multiple times. It obviously wasn't easy for her to trust Tony, which he could easily understand. However, a lot of blood was coming from her leg, and he would much rather she hurry up than bleed to death in front of him. Finally, she huffed and crossed her arms.

"Very well. I will allow your doctor to treat me, but then you will allow me to leave." Tony nodded.

"Sure, but if your leg needs time to heal and further treatment than a Band Aid, you are staying with me until it's good to go." When the woman opened her mouth to protest, Tony was quick to interrupt. "Hey, c'mon. Think of it. Free medical care. Free food. A nice, clean place to sleep, and you'll totally be safe, because you'll be living with a bunch of superheroes." The woman looked like she really did was to argue.

Yet, at the mention of food and a bed, she seemed to deflate in exhaustion, and the inventor knew he had won. Tony could feel even through the suit how prominent her ribs and spine were under her clothing. Suddenly,

"Iron Man, do you copy? Has something happened?" Tony sighed. He had actually completely forgotten that there were people waiting for him to emerge from the tunnels. Well, better now than later. He looked at the woman the entire time he replied.

"Yeah, Cap. Loud and clear. I'll be right out. And guys, we're gonna have a visitor for a while, so please behave and try not to scare her off." The woman didn't say anything to the opposite while he spoke, so Tony assumed she had acquiesced.

"Her, Stark? What about Pepper?" Tony rolled his eyes at Natasha's jabs.

"Seriously, what is it today? I have not been propositioning, and I have not forgotten that I have a wonderful girlfriend. A beautiful, scary girlfriend." The woman (and Stark really needed to find out her name so he could stop calling her 'the woman') gave him a strange look.

"Who are you talking to?" Tony turned to her and flashed her a charming smile.

"My team. You'll meet them once we get to the Tower." He used that as the landing block for opening his arms. She looked unsurprisingly suspicious. Tony rolled his eyes again. "Look you really can't walk on that leg, so it'll be less painful and a lot faster if I fly us out of here. I promise not to cop a feel." The woman was looking convinced, until the last bit, to which she looked decidedly unimpressed. It worked, however, and she stepped up onto his boot and wrapped her arms around Iron Man's neck.

Tony's face plate snapped back into place, and his arms slid around her waist. She was extremely tense and gave off a bad vibe, making Tony want to loosen up on his grip. If he did, though, she could easily slide off in mid-air.

"Well, if we're gonna be this close, might as well be on first name basis. Tony, Tony Stark, obviously." The woman snorted, and she relaxed some.

"Not so obvious, I can assure you….and you may call me Kira." Tony smiled. The name fit the woman in his arms, homeless for who knows how long yet a bright fire burning in her vibrant green eyes.

"Sir, are you ready? I have taken the liberty of alerting Dr. Banner of Miss Kira's need for medical attention." Tony loved his AI. He needed to give him like a virtual card or bouquet of flowers or something.

"Yep, Jarv. On our way. And remind the others what I said about best behavior. If I hear anyone even suggest Kira's a prostitute, they're out of the Tower." Kira seemed taken aback for a moment at Tony's protective words, but instead of saying anything, she laid her cheek against his breast plate and tightened her grip.

And they were off.

Tony kept his speed reigned in while they were still in the tunnels, letting Kira get used to it, but once they were out, he let loose. The SHIELD team below them seemed to have everything under control, and some Good Samaritans were helping clear out what they could. Tony might have been showing off some, when he picked up speed, but the other reason was that he truly didn't want Kira to bleed out. He couldn't tell how serious it was in the tunnels, but once they landed on Stark Tower's helipad, Kira looked more pale than before.

The other Avengers were already there, waiting for them. Kira stepped down from his boot but swayed dangerously. Steve reached them first and held her up, while Tony got his suit removed. Tony motioned towards the doors where Bruce was standing. He looked wiped out, but willing to help. Steve didn't move right away, however.

"Ma'am, would it be alright with you if I carried you to the medical room?" Kira seemed surprised at the request but straightened and nodded.

"You may." Tony got the distinct impression that Kira was raised in a…privileged household, and he could tell he wasn't the only one. Even as Steve scooped her up and dwarfed her, she managed to looked respectable. The Captain picked up the pace when blood started to hit the floor.

Dr. Banner reached the medical room first and told Steve to put Kira down on the bed prepared. Tony and Cap gathered on one side of the bed, while Natasha and Clint hung back, observing.

"Well, hello Ms.-?"

"Kira. Her name is Kira." Both Kira and Bruce gave Tony unimpressed looks for answering.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark. I may be injured, but I still know my own name." Tony felt duly chastised but didn't step back any. He felt…protective, and maybe a smidgen possessive. It was like he had called dibs, because he found her.

"Well, Kira, can you tell me what happened? Don't answer that, Tony." Kira gave Dr. Banner her undivided attention.

"I was returning home and was set upon by three rat creatures. One of them bit my leg before I managed to destroy it, then Mr. Stark showed up in his…loud manner. He demanded I let him whisk me off to his Tower and doctor. I apologize for being thrust upon you all." No one paid her apology any mind, however. They were too busy glaring at Tony.

"You can't just kidnap people, Stark! Why didn't you take her to a hospital?" Tony opened his mouth to defend himself (even though it would probably just dig himself a deeper hole), when Kira spoke up.

"I refused to let him take me to a hospital or free clinic. I…do not live as regular citizens and lack the required cards and numbers and such. The clinics are infested with disease, and I would not allow him to escort me to one." It finally dawned on the others that Kira wasn't just some hurt woman Tony found walking down the street. She was homeless.

"Now, if you don't mind, I will be…passing out…now." The last thing Kira heard was multiple voices calling her name.

Well? What did you think? Let me know!

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