"Oh, boy. Not good," Tony said as he looked out the window of the jet, "it looks like the party has already started."

The others glanced out the window and saw a big hole in the compound beneath them. Ultron was already down there. Steve nodded his head firmly, tightening his shield on his arm as he started for the hatch. The jet came to a stop over the roof, hovering what was hopefully a safe distance above the building.

"Let's go!" Steve ordered in a brisk tone. "Bruce! You're on back-up duty, okay?

"As usual," Bruce said with a sigh that was equal parts relief and worry, "and as usual, that's just fine by me."

The rest of the group, sans Bruce and Loki, jumped down to the roof below using Tony's jet packs to control their landing. Loki stepped over to the open hatch and glanced down. The rest of the Avengers landed safely and warily made their way to and down the hole.

"Robert, I think you'll want to stand back," Bruce said from his seat. Loki looked over his shoulder and raised a brow at the other man. "No, seriously. You should step back... unless...? Wait, you're not actually intending to follow them, are you?"

"Bruce..." Loki chuckled and smirked at the other man. "We've already established that I am not from Earth. What else do you not know about me? Hm?"

Bruce opened and closed his mouth for a few moments before letting out a sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose. Loki chuckled and shrugged when Bruce looked back up at him.

"Sorry about leaving you alone up here?" Loki offered in a joking tone.

"Sure you are," Bruce said with a dry laugh before waving his hand. "It's okay. Just make sure you don't get hurt. I'll land the jet a little ways away, and we can meet back up there."

"See ya then," Loki said with a wave before grabbing his own jet pack and jumping down to the roof.

He activated the pack and felt himself practically sail through the air. It felt great. Far rougher than his magic, but still fun. It had been far too long since he'd last gone outside like this. On an adventure. As it was supposed to, the pack jerked a bit, halting his downward motion in time for him to land smoothly. He knelt down and slipped the pack from his shoulders.

Given that it was one of Tony's inventions, the pack then took off on its own and headed for the quin-jet. Loki grinned and snuck over toward the hole. He glanced around briefly to make sure it was clear and then dropped down.

The fight was already on. Loki ducked behind a concrete pillar and then glanced around the corner. Tony was in the process of tossing Ultron across the room. There were several men with guns, their shots being blocked by Steve's shield. Then there was... Loki's eyes widened as something flickered past his vision faster than his eyes could follow.

The Speedster!

That... wasn't good. The Speedster was working with Ultron. If that was the case, then the sorcerer was probably working with him too. Loki looked around the area and smirked when a certain blonde, Norse God of Thunder, caught sight of him. Thor's eyes widened with surprise before he grinned. Loki's smirk started to widen and then faltered when a shadow snuck up behind Thor.

"Thor!" Loki shouted in warning, but it was already too late.

A woman with long red hair touched the side of Thor's head with her hands. Thor's eyes flew wide, and he froze in place. Mjolnir slipped from his fingers, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. Within seconds of having touched Thor, the woman was gone. Seemingly melting back into the shadows.

This is bad... this is Very Bad, Loki thought frantically.

Thor just stayed where he was, unmoving. Unresponsive. Clearly, his mind was trapped. Loki looked around desperately. Where had the sorceress gone? Where was she!?

Loki did his best to stay hidden and out of sight, creeping between the pillars while keeping an eye out for the red-headed woman. His eyes landed on Steve, who had successfully forced back several of the armed men. A pair of delicate hands reached out from the shadows, touching his head much as she had done to Thor. It was too late to try to warn the other man.

Shit! Loki thought with a mental snarl. This is Bullshit!

If Loki only had his powers back. Countering the woman's abilities would have been easy! He could have easily played her at her own game. Trap her in a neat little illusion of his own. But as of right now, he was powerless. Dammit!

He glanced to the side and saw a different red-head. Maybe he could warn her.

"Natasha!" Loki shouted.

"Ro-Robert?!" Natasha shouted in turn, doing a double-take in his direction.

"The Sorceress!" Loki tried to point in the other woman's direction. "Shes-!"

But again, he was too late. Natasha had just barely started to turn toward the new threat when the other woman's hands brushed against her head. Natasha froze in place, eyes as wide and blank as Steve's and Thor's had become.

Loki hissed softly as the sorceress vanished from sight once more. Where could she go next? Who was her next target based on proximity? Left! Loki darted through the shadows and saw her sneaking up on Clint. Loki managed to scramble his way up onto some scaffolding and get above her as she stalked Clint. Right as she was about to touch Clint, Loki dropped down to land behind her and grabbed her by the back of the neck.

"Oh no, you don't," he said with a snarl.

The woman twisted in his grip, turning to face him with a surprised look on her face. She smiled a moment later and reached up to touch his forehead. He caught her wrist in her hand and glowered at her.

"Yeah... how about 'no'?" he said in a stern tone. "You will lift your spell from Thor and the others. Right now!"

"Or else what?" she asked with a chuckle of amusement.

Loki was about to speak when she released a massive shockwave that threw Loki backward into the wall. Clint, having finally dealt with the foe he'd been facing, came running over to help. The woman spun around and shoved him back with another burst of magic. This gave Loki enough time to scramble to his feet and try for her again.

"Clint!" Loki shouted as he worked to distract the woman. "Give her a headache, will you?!"

"On it!" Clint responded.

Working together, they managed to distract the woman long enough for Clint to grab her by the head and smack her head hard into the wall. The woman shouted in pain, gripping her skull as she fell to her knees on the ground. Loki let out a huff as he straightened and stepped forward.

"Sorcery takes a great deal of concentration," he said with a sneer, leaning down to get in her face. "It's nearly impossible to cast with a splitting headache. Lift your spell from the others woman. Now!"

The woman looked up at him with a sneer on her lips.

"Oh, I'll remember this. I'll remember you," she retorted.

A moment later and she was gone, a burst of wind passing them by. Loki cursed angrily. The Speedster had grabbed her. Taken her from the area. A wide-eyed Clint stared at the spot where she had seemingly vanished from before looking up at Loki.

"Thanks," he said with a shrug.

Loki nodded back at him, and they turned to look around the room. It was, in a word, a mess. Most of the room had been demolished. What soldiers had been left had fled the scene. Three of their teammates, Thor, Steve, and Natasha, were slumped on their knees. Their eyes were wide, staring at nothing with expressions of horror on their faces. Tony was nowhere in sight.

"What's wrong with them?" Clint asked, concern in his voice.

Loki remained quiet and stepped toward the closest one, Natasha. He gave her shoulder a small shake. No response. He gently tipped her head up, finger on her chin, and looked into her horrified eyes. They'd flicker, left and right, just a little bit, pupils narrowing and widening in turn.

"It... looks like they are trapped in some kind of nightmare," Loki said softly. "She's... gotten inside their heads."

Clint shivered, and Loki knew that the archer was being reminded of his time under the effects of Loki and the Staff. Loki let his hand fall away from Natasha and ran his fingers through his hair. If only he had his magic...!

"Are you serious?" Clint asked softly. "I mean... is there anything we can do to help them?"

Loki started to answer, only to be cut off by a tremendous rumbling sound. They looked up toward the hole they'd entered in and frowned.

"What the hell was that?" Clint asked.

Tony came flying in, not a second later, landing roughly and stumbling forward. His face-plate lifted, and his eyes looked wide as he looked around the room. Panicked. What would-?

"THE HULK HAS GONE BERSERK!" he shouted. "THOR, I NEED HELP!"

Ah, yes, Loki thought, his own eyes going wide. That would be a good reason to panic.

"Thor is... he's out of commission right now," he said to Tony with a wince. "I... I'm sorry."

"Robert?! What are you-? No," Tony shook his head and flailed his hands back and forth. "Never mind. I'm glad to see that the Hulk didn't smash you into a pulp! He's gone nuts!"

"It must be that sorceress!" Loki said with wide eyes. He glanced at the others and shook his head. "She did something to them. To their minds. She must have done the same to Bruce. Tony... I..."

"Whoa, easy. It's okay!" Tony said with a weak smile. "I'll do what I can to keep the Hulk in line. Though, if you could try to wake Thor up, that would be great, yeah?"

Tony didn't give Loki a chance to respond before he was gone. Loki swallowed roughly and made his way to Thor's side, leaving Clint to worriedly try to shake Natasha out of her own stupor. Thor had slumped down to his knees and back and to the side so that he was leaning against the wall. His body was sparking with random bursts of electricity. His blue eyes, like Natasha's, were wide with some horror that only he could see. His lips were moving silently, almost as if in prayer or denial.

What could Thor possibly be witnessing to frighten him so? Loki shook his head worriedly. It was almost alien to see such fear on Thor's face. Loki knelt down next to him and pressed his fingers to Thor's temple. He closed his eyes and mumbled under his breath. Words that he knew by heart. Words that Frigga herself had taught him. Words of healing and of cleansing the mind.

Loki opened his eyes, and his shoulders slumped. Thor was the same. Loki hissed angrily and shook his head. He looked up at the ceiling, beyond the roof.

"I am trying to help!" he whisper-shouted to the one he knew was watching him even now. "Heimdal, surely, a healing spell would be allowable!"

Silence greeted him, and he snarled. He grabbed Thor by the shoulders and gave him a harsh shake.

"Thor! Thor, you big, stupid oaf, Wake Up!" he shouted as he shook the other man. The Thunder God's head rolled back. "Dammit! Come on, O' Golden Prince of Asgard! It's naught but a simple mind trick! Snap out of it! Are you not the Mighty Thor? Bah! What use are your powers when you cannot even find your way out of such a simple, stupid, trick!"

Loki snarled in frustration, his hand lashing out to smack Thor across the face. Despite the firmness of the blow, Thor remained unresponsive. His head lolled to the side with the blow, his lips still moving silently. Loki hissed and fell back on his heels, covering his face with his hands.

"Shit," Loki said with feeling. "Shit!"

Silence greeted his words, and his head jerked up worriedly. He turned and saw that Clint had carefully picked up Natasha and had her balanced over his shoulder. Their eyes met, and Clint shrugged his free shoulder.

"No luck with him?" Clint asked, jerking his chin toward Thor.

"None," Loki answered with a huff. Clint had apparently been focused on Nat while he'd been focused on Thor.

"We should get them out of here," Clint said with a nod of his head. "I'll take Nat here back to the jet. Pick your poison."

He said the last with a weak smile and a jerk of his head toward first Thor and then Steve. Loki rolled his eyes at that and stood up, looking at the two muscle-bound men before looking back to Clint.

"Mmhmm, I see how it is," Loki said with a weak laugh. "You get to take the dainty little one back, and I'm stuck breaking my back dragging the brick walls back to the jet."

"Nah, I know you're stronger than you look, man," Clint said with a soft laugh as he walked past Loki and patted him on the shoulder. "Grab one of the guys, and then we can move the last one together, yeah?"

Loki growled weakly and rolled his eyes, but he grabbed Thor's arm and pulled the dead-weight up and onto his back. He stumbled backward a few feet and cursed, just catching himself before he fell over.

"Have you put on weight?!" he asked incredulously, despite knowing that Thor couldn't answer him. "I swear, if you gained weight just to annoy me, I'm going to-!"

Loki stumbled slightly over a bit of debris and caught himself with another curse. He jerked his shoulder, bouncing Thor about a bit so that he was settled a little better over his shoulder.

"See, this is what I have always hated about you," Loki continued to rant under his breath as he made his way out of the building. "You always run off, head-first, into trouble. You have to count on others to get you out of the mess you landed in! Nothing but a big, fat idiot is what you are. Mightest hero, my bloody ass!"