Hello there dear reader, welcome to my first Avengers fanfiction! This is kind of experimental cuz I don't really know the characters too well (and the story is unbetaed) but I tried my best to keep them in character (I especially struggled a bit with Loki cuz well... he's Loki?). So basically, this entire story takes place in the alternate timeline a certain trickster created when he escaped with the Tesseract in Endgame, about how the team deals with everything and eventually him. All timelines, however, must once more bleed back into the stream we all know and love.

Just a disclaimer that none of the characters belong to me, and let's get on with the story, I hope you enjoy the ride.

Oh Brother, How Perceptive You've Grown

Tony lounged on the couch facing the broken window, squinting slightly from the sunset filtering through the glass. Really, if Thor would just move over a little bit, the shadow would be perfect for shelter, but alas, the God of Thunder seemed to caught up in his own thoughts to really pay much attention. Opposite the billionaire sat a somewhat rigid and slightly fidgety Bruce Banner, presumably upset, as all of them probably are, by the escape of someone who has just casually summoned aliens and destroyed most of Manhattan. You know, to be completely honest, Tony was also a tad more than a little annoyed by that, only partly because that extremely inconvenient cardiac arrest had been part of what allowed the God of Mischief to escape.

Letting out a sigh, the billionaire rubbed a hand over his face and peered at the oddly sedate thunderer still standing by the hole in his window, overlooking the citizens of New York City as they bustled around, either looking for family members (possibly dead), beloved pets (also possibly dead), or just trying to wrap their mind around what had just taken place in the past 24 hours. To be fair, it did seem a bit out of their world. After all, for all the people know, a random god just showed up out of nowhere, opened a giant, swirling vortex of doom, and let in alien whales that laid waste to their city, not to mention that said god's location is currently unknown and he has access to one of the most powerful creations in the universe that allowed this whole mess to happen in the first place. Well ok, maybe they didn't know that last part. Letting out a sigh through his nose, Tony leaned back and tried to decipher, for the umpteenth time, the puzzle of how exactly his chest machine had suddenly malfunctioned, because sure it's tried poisoning him before, but malfunctioning hadn't really been a thing before today. He didn't seem like that only one confused by the day's events though.

Once they had reassembled to check that everyone was OK and Clint and Natasha had been pulled away by a furious Fury (no pun intended) through their communication chips, probably screaming by the look on their faces, Tony, Bruce, and Thor had returned to a beaten up Stark Tower while the Captain had retreated into solitude with a contemplating look plaguing his features. Why that was, the billionaire couldn't possibly guess, apparently he had sighted Loki, but it wasn't like that really explained anything.

"I apologize, Son of Stark." Tony was pulled out of his thoughts when the god in the room finally spoke. "As an Asgardian, Loki was my responsibility, and not only did I fail as his brother, I even failed in bringing him to justice." The hammer hung limply at his side, as did the god's hands, and Tony could practically see the guilt on his face even if Thor was facing away from him, big guy had never been the best at keeping his emotions off the surface. Quite unlike his brother, if you asked Tony.

"We'll find him again somehow." He looked up, finding that he no longer needed to squint against the light, it seemed that as he was lost in his own mind, night had fallen upon the hectic city. Standing up, the man rolled his neck, the dull cracks echoing in his ears, and moved to press a button on the elevator. "I trust we're all tired, so get some rest, we'll straighten out this mess tomorrow." The elevator dinged open. "J.A.R.V.I.S., take them to their rooms."

"As you wish, sir." The robotic voice responded as the door closed behind Tony, seemingly startling Thor, who was still not used to a voice without a body, but simply sighed before following the instructions that the AI then rattled off to him. Soon, Bruce was alone in the living room, shivering a bit at the cold night breeze that flew through the open (broken) window. He had a bad feeling about that window, but decided to ignore it when J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke once more. "Doctor Banner, this way please." In the hallway to his left, the doctor noted a string of lights that flickered on of their own accord and stood up, silently following the system's directions to his spacious suite in the mansion.

"Goodnight, J.A.R.V.I.S."

'I wish you pleasant dreams, Dr. Banner."

The lights clicked off.

"Mr. Stark, you have a visitor."

Tony groaned, it felt like he had only been asleep for a few minutes, which may very well be the case, since he didn't have the easiest time falling asleep yesterday. "What time is it?" He managed an answer, eyes still not open, a fact that would soon change.

"3:33 a.m." The AI replied obediently.

"Tell them I'm not interested."

"I'm afraid this is of the utmost importance, sir, the visitor appears to be Mr. Odinson's brother."

J.A.R.V.I.S. had barely finished talking before Tony was up and on his way to the main gate.

"In the living room, sir." He screeched to a halt and all but ran in the opposite direction.

"How?"

"I believe the window remains unfixed."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You didn't quite give me the time, sir." The billionaire fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Get the others."

"I have already informed them to assemble upstairs."

The elevator door slid open and Tony stepped into the room to be greeted with an alert Thor and still half asleep Banner. "Where is he?"

Thor replied. "I do not know, friend Stark, the disembodied voice simply alerted me to the fact that Loki is present, so I came."

"J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

"He is in the living room, sir." At the words, the trio scanned the room again, but came to the same conclusion once again: Loki was most definitely not there. Tony suspiciously eyed the walls, whether the look was for J.A.R.V.I.S. or a possibly hiding Loki, he could not say.

"Contact Steve and the others and tell them to get their asses over here ASAP." He noted the confusion on Thor's face at the abbreviation, but wasn't exactly in the mood to explain earthen terms to the Asgardian.

"I'm afraid outside communication is unavailable at the moment."

"What why?"

"Something is interfering with my syste-"

"My most sincere apologies, Stark, but I do believe it has one thing or another to do with this."

Tony was barely fast enough to catch the blue cube that was sent flying in his direction, even then juggling with it for a few moments before he secured it and turned to face his "visitor", only to find Thor already there, face inches away from that of his brother's. The God of Mischief didn't even blink.

"Why have you returned so shortly, brother?"

"I assure you, brother, the passage of time varies greatly from realm to realm."

"Which realm were you-" The God of Thunder suddenly cut himself off, blue eyes narrowing as he studied something in his brother's face, whose grin grew wider by the minute. "Come with me." With a tug, Thor took possibly the Earth's most wanted criminal into the Stark Tower's elevator and disappeared from view, leaving the two remaining Avengers to look on, slightly dumbfounded, Tony still with the Tesseract in hand.

"Sir, override successful." Tony shook himself and looked down to examine the glowing blue object.

"What, you're predicting my moves now?"

"Perhaps."

"Good, get the others, and tell them to suit up."

"Yes sir."

In just a few minutes, Steve had arrived, and the three of them sat waiting for the two agents to show up. They soon did.

"Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff have arrived." The AI announced as the doors slid open once more and the two stepped into the room, Clint still grimacing a bit from the hell that Fury surely put them through.

"Fury is furious." They could tell, from the way the man still rubbed his ears to ease the yelling still ringing in his head. "No pun intended." The Black Widow, on the other hand, was still stoic as ever.

"Mind catching us up?"

Thor slammed the door closed behind them, guilt crawling beneath his skin and anger boiling at the fact that once again he could not protect his brother.

"Your eyes."

"Yes, brother, I have eyes, fascinating."

"They're green." Said eyes rolled at the comment.

"And?"

"They were blue."

His brother almost seemed stunned at the observation, but soon recovered, and when he did, he laughed.

"Oh brother, how perceptive you've grown."

"Enough Loki, no more illusions."

To his surprise, the younger god obeyed, and the facade of health began to disintegrate. As it did, forest green eyes, dulled by a thin layer of sadness, met Thor's own.

"But I'm afraid it's not quite enough."

J.A.R.V.I.S.'s alarms blared, and Thor barely had time to catch and shield his crumbling brother before an explosion engulfed the building.

Alright first chapter! I hope it wasn't too bad, please tell me your thoughts through reviews. For example, tell me if anyone was out of character, or the writing style is off, or maybe you liked it, who knows. Really though, any advice you have please let me though, they not only motivate me to continue with the story, they also help me improve as a writer, so a very big "thank you" in advance to those who would R&R 3

*ahemalsogetreadyforlotsoflokiwhump*