CHAPTER 36

Two days later, I was finally let go, and was only too happy to get back down to my lab.

Not that the others didn't protest of course.

They had decided I shouldn't go back down there so soon after the explosion, but I believed that the sooner I got it done, the sooner it would go away.

So yea, I decided to return to my lab.

And it was... Destroyed.

Completely.

And Utterly.

Destroyed.

There was pieces of rubble all over the place, and bits of metal and broken wall scattered along the floor.

And my suits. Were. Fucked.

End of story.

They were broken.

Mangled.

In random heaps.

Littered amongst the debris like they were nothing but rubbish.

Well, that's all they were fit for now.

Jarvis had finally come to the conclusion that none of them could be saved, but happily added at the end that the cause of the explosion was actually, in fact, a minor reaction between two chemicals that I really should have put a lid on.

Fortunately, though, the bots had been upstairs helping Clint build a nest and thankfully hadn't gotten hurt.

Unfortunately, since their main power source was coming from the lab, they were currently offline.

And so, in other words, I had my work cut out for me.

"It's 6pm".

"10 more minutes".

"No".

"Loki".

"Stark".

I glared up at him and he smirked at me, "I'll get Pepper".

I sighed, wheeling myself back out from under the car, and crossed my arms, daring for him to go on.

He stared at me for another minute before frowning, "That threat used to have better effects on you".

"I know" I replied flatly and he smirked again, "Never-the-less, I've got other motives".

"Like?".

"Like... This" He said suddenly, reaching down and stealing my best screwdriver.

My favourite screwdriver.

And nobody, NOBODY, touched my favourite screwdriver.

I slowly stood up, "Give. It. Back".

He laughed, "Not a chance Stark. You promised everyone you'd be up for dinner at 6pm. It is now, exactly, four minutes past six. Therefore, you are late".

"Give. Me. My. Screwdriver" I repeated quietly, taking a threatening step forward.

He took a step back towards the door, grinning like mad, "How about you... Make me".

"GIVE IT BACK".

"NOT A CHANCE STARK".

"LOKI LAUFEYSON IF YOU DONT DROP THAT SCREWDRIVER THIS INSTANC-" I was abruptly cut off as I ran into something hard, making me stumble back and trip, falling to the ground.

Shaking the dizziness from my head, I looked up to find Steve staring down at me concerned, "You ok?".

I grinned, "Just about to murder Loki, so yea, I'm doing pretty good. How bout you Capcicle?".

He stared at me, bewildered, "... I am fine, thank you. Are you having dinner with us?".

"Straight after I murder Loki, promise" I replied, standing back up and he slowly nodded, "Ok... Well... You have fun with that".

I nodded as well, smirking as I calmly walked around him, "Don't worry Cap, I will... LOKI GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE NOW".

Within minutes, the chase was back on.

Running around the corner, I grinned as I spotted the God of Lies only a few meters ahead.

He glanced me and waved the screwdriver in the air, smirking, and I made a lunge at him.

But before either of us could go any further, Loki was abruptly pulled into a tight hug by Thor, who had emerged from the sitting room.

"BROTHER! It is so good to see you again!".

Ever since we told him that his baby brother was back two or three days ago, Thor was ridiculously happy every time he saw him.

Though he did get confused with Loki's new look.

"Thor, my brother, it is lovely to see you too, but if you don't let me go right now, Stark is going to kill me" the God of Mischief replied, trying to squirm out of the gods grasp but to no avail.

Thor stared at him, before looking up at me, "... YOU DARE THREATEN THE LIFE OF MY BROTHER?".

He suddenly dropped Loki, and began marching towards me.

I froze, before quickly walking backwards towards the kitchen, "STEVE?".

"Yes, Tony?" The soldier asked, once I pushed open the door.

I frantically turned to him, "Thor's angry".

And that's when the thunder started.

Fury stared at the three of us.

Loki stood next to him, smirking.

Pepper didn't know wether to laugh or cry.

Bruce was wisely remaining silent.

And Steve, Thor, and I, tried to ignore the glares the two assassins sent us.

"What. Were. You. Thinking?" Fury asked quietly, taking in the scene before him.

Steve had a broken arm and twisted knee, Thor had minor sprains and bruises here and there, and I had a broken ankle, a fractured wrist, and a concussion.

I glanced up and looked at the other two.

They kept there heads down.

Guess it was up to me then.

I turned back to the director and sighed, "So, well, basically, I was working down in the lab when Loki stole my favourite screwdriver. You know, my FAVOURITE screwdriver? Yea. That one. And anyway, I got angry and spent about 10 to 15 minutes chasing him around the house yelling at how painful I was gonna make his death and all that blah blah blah. Then he kind of ran into Thor, who kind of took the death threats seriously, and decided to kill me before I could catch Loki. So then I got Steve and we tried to calm him down but it didn't work, and he might have thrown me into a wall and I maybe threw a bucket at his head and Steve sort of tried to break us apart. Then Loks finally got Thor to calm down and stop the thunder storm above New York which may have possibly burnt down half he trees in Central Park, and, well, honestly? It was the most fun I've had all year... Minus the whole injury part of course".

Fury continued to stare at us, speechless.

Then he abruptly spun around and stormed off, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "I ain't paid high enough to deal with this shit".

And then the 8 of us were left alone in the Avengers Tower.

Grinning, I looked back up at everyone, "... So, about dinner".

They all groaned and sent me there best glares, some with kind have maybe possibly scared the shot out of me, but I just continued to grin.

Because as I told Fury earlier on, this was the best fun I'd had all year.

It was the most fun I'd had in a long, long time, actually.

So maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

I might even give Schwarma another try too.

Because, for now, anyway, I had a family.

I had family, and I had friends.

And I would let nothing get in the way of that again.

So for now, I was pretty much Safe and Sound.

OH MY FRICKIN LOKI!

I CANT BELIEVE IM DONE!

This was the last chapter!

I hope you all enjoyed this story, and who knows?

I might even create a sequel.

Might.

Well, addios for now, I guess.

Rachel :)