A/N: *Updated April 4, 2020*

Warnings: Possible cursing. Mentions of (mild) torture.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Thor.

Full Summary: (Post Avengers) In which Loki unexpectedly falls back to Earth, and causes a bit of havoc in the process. His capture by SHIELD proves nothing if not the fact that he is always planning ahead. His sudden fall from grace in the grips of Earth's Mightiest Heroes is alarming. Who knew the God of Lies still had magic left, or the fact the gods could fall into comas? Thor had some explaining to do. If only they knew where he was.

o-o-o

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;

I lift my lids and all is born again

(I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,

And arbitrary blackness gallops in:

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead

-From Mad Girl's Love Song by Sylvia Plath

o-o-o

It was five in the afternoon on a Thursday, and it was raining. Tony stood on the sidelines of a partially destroyed kitchen, reminiscing, and looking outside into the large expanse of gray and grayer. He thought, with cold fondness, that the sky seemed to be mourning too. Mourning the past, or the future, or something intangible. At this strange notion, his gaze suddenly snapped back to the destruction, to the crater of rubble in the middle of his living room. A reminder.

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. Another thought, then, something funnier: It's Thursday. Thor's day. Tony huffed a soft noise of amusement and stalked toward the cabinets for a refreshment. He wondered if his fine wines and drinks were intact. It was hard to believe they were considering all that had happened, but he had hope.

Tony rummaged through the cabinet, and after finding nothing to drink, gave up. All his determination had gone. He pulled up a stool and practically melted into it. Stooping lower, and lower. Until he had made himself small and could feel the cold surface of his marble countertops sink into his skin.

Before he could fall back into unwanted thoughts, JARVIS cut through the silence.

"Sir, I have been informed to tell you that Director Fury is on the line," he said.

Tony sat up straight at once. All his feelings of defeat had vanished, it seemed, into thin air upon hearing the name. His heart began to speed up, his body prickled, and he rubbed his eyes to see that the last remaining pieces of intact furniture were slowly forming into detailed structures once again.

To allow Fury in, in any way, would surely mean more suffering. Tony resorted to ignoring him.

"Tell him I'm unavailable, for now, and forever."

But Jarvis didn't back down, as his programming allowed such decisions, he pressed on. "I have also been informed that this is of the utmost importance and cannot be put on hold." There was a beat of silence before he added, with some traces of remorse in his voice, "It is unfortunate to say you have to answer. My apologies."

There was no use fighting the inevitable. Tony sighed. There was nothing else better to do. And he thought it would be better to ignore the scalding reminders of his pain surrounding him.

He waved, knowing that JARVIS would sense it.

The lights dampened and Tony moved to face an empty wall. There, in blue light via projection technology, appeared Fury. Cold, as always, and looking like he had more problems to share.

"Tony Stark," he said.

The voice was loud in his ears at first, but JARVIS noticed his discomfort and dimmed the volume down to a tolerable level.

"This is he."

Of course, it was him, but Fury had nothing to say about his snarky comment. He remained silent, which was unusual because he had called first. The silence was a common theme, Tony thought.

"You could've called," Tony continued, testing the waters. "It would've been better if you called."

Fury's eye remained unblinking, but at last, he relented. "The line isn't secure enough."

Tony was offended by this because he had the best technology but chose to say nothing. Perhaps Fury was right. Ever since the attack, no one trusted anything or anyone anymore. Tony began to regret accepting the call now. He wasn't sure he could even trust Fury, not after having been kept in the dark about a lot of things.

Just as it was about to get uncomfortable, Fury announced something that made Tony's stomach churn.

"There's been … activity," he said. It was a bold thing to say, considering that activity could mean many things, and in this case, most likely meant bad.

Tony raised an eyebrow to show interest but wasn't truly invested in anything Fury had to say. This activity, or the notions surrounding it, was unwanted, unwarranted, and most likely dangerous. He wasn't so sure about accepting or even wanting to know. And so, he played dumb to lighten the heightened tension that came along with the whole conversation.

"Is that so? Now, tell me what type of activity it is. Is it sporting activities? Might I guess sexual, perhaps?"

"Now is not the time for your humor, Stark," Fury sniped, playing along. Then he became serious once more. "We've gotten readings and not the ones we'd never liked to see again. They're the same type of activity there was from the Tesseract. The same type when Thor came through the portal."

Tony recoiled slightly at the confirmation, making a face at the memory. "How is that related to me?" The answer was obvious, but he didn't want to involve himself in something that could be avoided. His mental health right now was in a fray, burnt to ash at the edges. It would be best to let it heal.

"It's related to you because you were there when it started. And we need you now," he said.

Tony was always needed. But when he needed someone, they weren't there. This was another common theme. But the weight of expectations lingered somewhere behind his mind. He was needed by the people, and so would need to inquire further. The people needed him, again apparently. This agency needed his help, and he would not disappoint. Maybe this would be the last time he was bothered. And yet.

"No thanks," Tony said nonchalantly. He stood up, rubbing the back of his knuckles with gentle touches. "Listen, I appreciate that you guys went to me because I know I'm amazing—I'm Iron Man—but I'm not in the mood for saving the world again. I'm sorry."

His response was met with hardened silence, thinned lips, and a piercing eye that held no amusement and always seemed to know when to strike and how to strike the soul.

Pepper was going to kill him if he agreed to anything that would put him in danger. Also, he didn't want to do it. He mentioned this of course. "Pepper is probably going to kill me if I wander off to your untrustworthy and secretive facility."

"Ms. Potts already knows," Fury countered as if already found the solutions and answers to all or any excuses Tony was to conjure from the crevasses of his mind. "The rest of the team is being informed too, just in case this turns out worse than we thought."

His answer was no, would always be no.

"My answer is no, I'm not going."

Fury scoffed, trying to hide a knowing smile. "I knew you were going to say that but I already have some agents that will take you to the Helicarrier in about … five minutes. I suggest you clean yourself up and be presentable. I'll see you soon, Stark."

Tony opened his mouth to protest and ask if that was a threat, but Fury disappeared with a small beep and a flash of blue before he could begin to comment on anything that had been said. It was if his fate was decided without his permission, but isn't fate exactly that?

"The call has been terminated sir," Jarvis said, sounding smug and amused for an AI. Tony would need to make some adjustments to fix that.

"I know," he said. Then he pondered just what to do before he would be taken against his will by SHIELD agents.

o-o-o

It wasn't like Tony had much of a choice anyway. The agents came equipped with intimidating arms; guns slung over their shoulders and serious masks over their faces. This act was something Tony would have feared if he had not been a previous producer of weapons of mass description and if he hadn't been kidnapped for real. He knew the guns were meant to incite something akin to fear, or nervousness, but he wasn't touched.

There were three that came for him—young, moldable and cold—that strode onto the empty floor from the platform. Tony found the whole thing hilarious but didn't tease the men for his own sake and safety.

"Mr. Stark, come with us," one said, his voice monotone, very much like an agent of SHIELD. His fingers fidgeted by his side. Now that was alarming.

Tony stood up and followed the men with the guns without uttering a single damn thing. And when boarding the helicopter, Bruce was surprisingly sitting in one of the seats. It appeared they caught him unawares too; he was sporting black sweatpants and a comfy looking sweater with wrinkles. Tony looked down at what he was wearing; he hadn't had enough time to be presentable as Fury had wanted. He wore his usual attire for home, a shirt, pants. Fury could suck it. This would have to do. It wasn't a business meeting after all.

To make things less awkward, Tony decided to engage in small talk, which doesn't seem to work much.

"Hey, Bruce, nice to see you here. Did they coerce you too, or am I the only one who was threatened?"

"I came willingly," Bruce answered, an eyebrow raised. "I had nothing else to do, and I practically volunteered."

Oops. Maybe too direct. Maybe Bruce didn't get his humor. Okay. Moving to the next topic.

"So you know the reasons for being here?" Tony lowered his voice and adjusted his seatbelt. "Something to do with something giving off bad vibes and mojo similar to the Tesseract readings?"

Bruce nodded solemnly. "Yes. Unfortunately. Do you think it's Thor?"

"I hope it's Thor," Tony sighed. He rubbed his palms together in an attempt to find solace. "I don't care if it's one of those Asgardian warriors or whatever, but it better not be another alien attack."

"Nat and Clint are on a mission," Bruce said after a while. "Fury told me he informed them of what was happening, and that they'd be returning soon. Either later today, or tomorrow. I hope they've been thoroughly debriefed … especially Clint ..."

"I bet Natasha and Clint would jump at a chance to get back," Tony said, leaning back in his seat, "I mean, not that I've ever been on any, but I think I'd rather do this than go on a boring mission. Well, everything must seem boring now, compared to what we had to deal with, doesn't it?"

Bruce hummed. "I suppose so."

This guy was not good at small talk, but it didn't matter. "So, what do you think this is about? Fury mentioned energy similar to the Tesseract." The truth seemed to hit him then. "I hope it's not another alien invasion."

Bruce rubbed the back of his head and grimaced. "It spikes every day, but there's no pattern to it. I've spent all my time on this, and the only thing I knew is that they're eerily similar but different enough. I don't even know … Back in Steve's day, this brought bad news and war, death ... Just recently it brought Loki and his invasion. More death. I honestly don't think it's good."

That was not good. From the short time Tony knew him, Bruce was usually an optimistic guy, trying to stay calm even in the worst situations. Seeing him now, tired, even more, tired than even in the aftermath of the battle was worrisome, and not at all comforting.

The rest of the journey, however, was followed by a calm silence. The sky had cleared into a light blue, the humming of the engines, the soft murmurs from the pilots. At one point, Tony even started to become drowsy. He hadn't slept well these past few weeks. It was a relief, and watching cars pass below was a great way to spend the time. Towns whipped by, lakes and ponds faded into the distance, and then at one point, they were over the ocean. Tony checked the hour; it's been at least twenty minutes. Which was strange. Longer than usual. Maybe the Helicarrier had moved to another location once again. Secretive and smart.

Just as Tony readied for a landing, a familiar voice crackled over the comms.

"Tony Stark, Bruce Banner. You have arrived at the Helicarrier."

o-o-o

Fury received them. Being a good host, he waited outside as the helicopter landed. His coat twirled in the wind as Tony and Bruce walked out from its side.

As both approached, he all but yelled, "Hello, gentlemen!" over the roar of the winds and the dying down of the blades. His hands clasped behind his back. "Follow me, please."

When they entered, Tony thought the Helicarrier was as cool as the last time he had left it. Gray, spacious and full of technology that ran in neat pulses all over the ship. Other than the repairs still taking place, and additions too, the surrounding area was the perfect image of normal, as like nothing had ever happened. It was like they hadn't ever been attacked.

As they walked further inside, the narrow hallway opened up into a familiar control room. The large windows framed the sky in front, and it was just as calming.

Arriving at the center, again, stopping at a familiar round table, Tony could tell that Fury was relaxed, or relaxed as could be. His thoughts were confirmed when Fury said, "Good to have you back again." And he sat down on one of the ends and continued. "I was almost afraid you wouldn't come." Then he smiled and nodded, before resuming on a more serious note. "Now that we've said our hellos, I'd like to introduce you to Erik Selvig."

The name sounded familiar, and the more he thought about the worse he started to feel about this whole situation.

"You mean one of the guys that were under Loki's control?" Tony asked. The alarm rang within his mind and through his body recalling that name. Before anyone could answer, he added, "Is it a wise choice to even keep him at home base? By that you're implying, it sounds like something's about to go down. Something serious, not good. Bad. What happens if he's compromised again?"

"Barton turned out okay, didn't he?" Fury raised an eyebrow in a manner that suggested Tony's worry was the most ludicrous thing he'd heard all day, and quite possibly, misplaced. "A good blow to the head—cognitive recalibration—and he was back to being himself. Well, of course except a normal sleep schedule. The same thing happened to Selvig. We've done our tests, and everything seems as normal as can be."

Bruce agreed. "I've been here ever since the attack. Trust me, he's getting better."

Fury stood up. Once again, they were moving. But instead of traveling down another familiar path, they went to another part of the ship. Tony had gotten the layout of the place before when he'd hacked into the mainframe on the first day, but never in person had he gone through here. The opportunity hadn't risen, there'd been absolutely no time.

Bruce walked on ahead, leaving Tony to linger in the back. It seems like he was familiar with this area.

Then up ahead, beyond the glass doors and more furniture, was a wisp of hair.

Just as they entered, Tony had a wonderful idea to ask a sensitive topic. "So how is he in health?" he said in a low voice. He really wanted to know. Just in case, or maybe more out of curiosity.

"In the body, I'm doing alright. Still somewhat recuperating from the effects of a concussion, if that's what you mean," a voice chimed in.

Oh okay. Just his luck, and incredibly awkward.

Bruce and Tony turned. "Hello Professor," Bruce said, reaching out to shake his hand in greeting.

"It's been a while, Dr. Banner. And oh, yes, everything is slowly getting there," his eyes were flying all over the place as he continued to shake Bruce's hand.

Tony noticed this and started to get nervous. Barton hadn't acted like this… still half-crazed. He shot Fury a look because he'd been deceived to think that Selvig was less bad than this. But clearly, he was still suffering, so why was he in an area that had caused it? Fury simply shrugged.

"Hello, Erik Selvig," Tony said, taking the initiative, also reaching to shake his hand even though Selvig was still….anyways, it didn't matter. "This is quite a setup." He looked around at the equipment, at the scattered papers. "Hey, how long have you been here, anyway?"

Fury, who had been watching the interaction, decided to take his leave before things started to escalate to a level he didn't quite understand. "Well, gentlemen," he said, stalking towards the exit. "I hope that you find the problem, properly diagnose it, find out what's causing it, and what the solution is. Have a nice day, hope to hear from you soon."

Tony is left speechless. He hadn't even been properly debriefed, then a bad thought appeared: perhaps he didn't know much either. Fury vacated the room swiftly before Tony realized this, his coat swiping from behind him in a swirl. The glass door slid shut. And once all three were completely alone, Erik finally let go of Tony's hand.

"I've been here ever since the attacks," he said looking around. "They kind of helped me, deciding to give me back the job. I also happened to be there when the spikes were coming through."

"Thor took the Tesseract back to Asgard, but the scepter is still here right?" Tony grabbed a chair with his left hand while Bruce hopped onto a counter. "Loki's scepter seemed to give out this weird feeling when we last. It influences our feelings … " Tony honestly didn't know where he was going with this, yet it was better to ask and answer questions than walk around in awkward tension.

"Oh yes, I remember the Scepter has the power to influence," he chuckled softly before fading into a reminiscing frown, before continuing again abruptly. "But the Scepter isn't the one emitting the signals." Erik's hands were now making motions in the air, and he seemed enraptured in his explanation. "Sure, it emits some sort of energy but not one of the Tesseract. Not exactly."

"Different radiation levels? Composition? What's the difference? Energies maybe, or the fluctuations around it?" Now Tony was interested, and Bruce grabbed a StarkPad from a table and began to skim through it. His fingers tapped and skitter across the screen rapidly.

"What's the difference, Bruce? Pull up the files from the Tesseract, the Loki's scepter and these new waves." Tony hauled himself up, rubbing his hands. Not that he needed it much, but he fetched paper and pencils for the fun of it.

"Wait a sec, I'm getting you the information." He was quiet for a second. Selvig watched him in anticipation as his fingers once more started to move and appeared to dance on the countertop.

"Strange isn't it, Dr. Banner? I found more … unusual things since the last time we walked. Surely, you've never seen anything like this?"

"No..." He swiped his hand in a fluid motion, and almost immediately the clear screens mounted around the room were filled with loads of data. Information was pouring in rapid waves, and Tony looked at it all in awe, trying to grasp it all.

"The difference … I think there's a difference. Maybe except for the levels of energies. The Tesseract has the most, the scepter gave off second-most, and these readings are giving off the least," said Bruce. "And is that what I think it is?"

"Ah, yes," Erik said as he went to a particular screen that captured blimps of some sort. "These new readings are showing levels of an unidentified material."

Okay, so apparently Tony was out of the loop for this whole thing. He wanted to know more. Any regrets he had from the beginning began to fade away, replaced by Selvig's now visible anticipation, excitement. "So what is it?" He asked, wiping away and organizing pieces and chunks of information. "I can't find a classification to determine what the material is … what it's made of."

"It's technically not a material. These waves are similar to when Loki appeared," Erik admitted. "It has the same fluctuations."

"So it's not a physical object like the Tesseract or scepter," Bruce confirmed, his posture now straightening.

That was a relief at least, but it also wrought more questions.

"Yes. they're not physical objects I can hold in my hand. But, I mean this energy was physically coming from Loki," Erik explained. He grabbed a pen and started to draw something before giving up. "In ancient Norse mythology, Loki is known for his magic and powerful sorcery he draws from Yggdrasil."

"I'm going to have to read up on Norse mythology, because I have no idea what you just said," Tony murmured.

Waving a hand to dismiss the perplexed and curious look, Erik continued, "Anyways, now that I'm having a closer look, I think that this force or material or whatever these readings are is his magic."

At the word 'magic' Tony shot Bruce a dubious look, before returning his attention to Erik once again. He simply stared. Not completely unfounded considering everything they had experienced not too long ago, but it was always better to rule out all the impossible explanations and arrive at a plausible one.

"Just think about it," said Erik, noticing Tony's unease. "He, no doubt, has to draw his energy from somewhere, right? But with the energies we're receiving now is similar to the energy radiating off of him—it's inside him. It's different now, these readings look the same but at a closer look, they're different enough."

"Okay," Tony says, tugging at his chin, "but at first, Fury told me these readings were similar to the Tesseract. What does magic—which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist—have to do with anything?"

Maybe this man really was crazy and Tony was the only one who realized it.

"I've seen such things with my own eyes, and like you, I didn't believe it. When Loki appeared, he gave off certain energies, along with the scepter, which was overall low. Lower than this at least. These levels of whatever we're receiving now are almost exactly like what he was giving off. These waves are stronger."

Bruce began nodding in understanding. So these energy readings were originally found coming off of Loki … but they're different … but the same, too ..." Bruce summarized. "So if that's happening, does that mean he's back?"

"Oh … no," Erik dismissed slowly, his hands gripping the edge of the table as he pondered the possibility. "That's simply impossible … Thor took him back to Asgard to be sentenced, right? With all the stories and research I've done, it's clear that he wouldn't be able to escape. Thor has also confirmed Loki won't be coming back, and he's the one who knows Loki the best."

Tony jumped in then, unable to stop his thoughts. Loki managed to escape their most secure facility of SHIELD: the Helicarrier, not to mention when he first arrived and was able to outrun and beat an attack helicopter. It wasn't exactly an impossibility. Now if he had magic, something that Tony hadn't experienced at a full scale and had little knowledge of, it was even more likely. And he voiced them:

"But it's still possible Erik; it's possible because Loki escaped from SHIELD's facility before. He played us, and no doubt he can play Thor, too. Thor kept thinking, throughout the invasion, that Loki could be saved."

Bruce narrowed his eyebrows. "When Loki invaded New York City he was emitting similar energy levels that we're receiving now—which we learned were coming from inside him. And when Loki left for Asgard, the readings vanished with him."

Erik added, "Not to mention since we didn't know much about the energies we played them off, because we thought they were coming from the Tesseract or something. But now the readings are back … "

Bruce and Erik became silent then, their faces turning a pale shade of white; from shock and disbelief. Erik was starting to look sick. His hands were starting to tremble; poor guy. Tony kind of understood his grief, as he himself was thrown out a window by Loki from his own apartment.

"Do you know what this means?" Tony said, the realization now striking him like a wave. "I'm not the only one who's come to the same conclusion, right?"

"It means Loki might come back," Bruce said, nodding glumly. "Or is back. Or something of the same nature is coming back. But the Tesseract is with Thor." He turned back to face Selvig. "Do you know if Fury is still in contact with him, with Jane? Anyone?"

Erik slumped down, too many emotions ran over his face. "Damn," he whispered.

o-o-o

"What's your verdict, gentlemen?" Fury asked as he clasped his hands together.

Tony—from his peripheral vision—saw Bruce brush a strand of his hair out of his face. A nervous gesture. "Well," Bruce drawled out, "do you wanna hear the bad news?"

"Bad news is first because there is no good news," Tony said bluntly. He stared down at the prognostics on his StarkPad and hummed thoughtfully. It was slightly alarming he was taking it this well.

Erik sighed, a hand rubbing at his temple.

"With all the discovery and information we pulled from previous accounts," Bruce continued, shooting yet another scornful look at Tony, "it's safe to say that there's a possibility that something might come back."

Fury let out a breath. "And this is a hundred percent?"

"More like a ninety-nine point nine percent, but yes we're pretty sure. Not to mention, all of us seem to think it's Loki," Tony answered. "Oh, but that's if he's not back already."

"But how do you know it's Loki and not some other space alien," Fury asked. He looked unconvinced as always, especially with Tony. "Maybe it's even Thor."

"We've run the diagnostics. The type and form of energy appeared only when Loki was here, and this is exactly the same, well except for the levels. They're kind of different in a manner of speaking. And the levels now are much higher."

Fury sighed a long deep drawn-out noise. "So what you're telling me," he began, "is that when Loki appeared he brought some type of levels with him and yadda ya yad, but they were low then."

"And when Loki went back to Asgard with Thor, the readings disappeared," Erik added, "which means that either Thor or Loki brought the levels with them. But when Thor came down to earth that one time, we didn't detect anything from him, so it has to be Loki."

Fury had a pensive look on his face. "And what you're telling me, is that somehow the levels we're getting now are higher than before, thus making it Loki."

"We're not exactly sure. But it had similar readings to the tesseract, Loki, and the scepter. I mean, anything's possible I guess?" Tony said, his statement running off into a question.

"Thor would've said something," Fury said getting up from his seat, a look of dismay in his eyes. "At least he would have sent a message if Loki escaped. For sure. Anyways, we're upping our security either way. We're on high alert until this mass of energy clears up."

"Something's coming either way," Erik said solemnly. "Something's coming."

A/N: Hello, my dear readers. Thank you to all who've stuck around. I want to apologize for the long wait, nearly a full year. Also, I want to say that I started writing this story (I think) my freshman year of high school, and when I reread this I felt the need to edit it to remember what I was doing and wanted the older chapters to reflect the new one I'm going to post. I've grown as a writer, but this chapter still has remnants of my freshman self (I didn't want to change it that much). I swear I'm working on updating the other chapters, and I'll post chapter 4 soon. Also if you see any mistakes please tell me, every time I go and post something I see even one mistake I get so embarrassed. Lol. Anyways, thank you again, and stay safe.