Calming The Beast

10.

Logan lets out a noise of excitement as she reaches the ladder looking up at the hatch above her. Finally a way out.

"Finally" she lets out relieved and looks back to Bruce. "Come on, let's get out of here" He nods a little but they pause as her comms crackles.

"Agent Coulson is down" Fury announces, Bruce and Logan share a look.

"Paramedics are on their way" An agent points out.

"They're here. They called it" Fury corrects. Logan closes her eyes and sighs before pushing open the hatch above her.

............................

Fury has gathered Logan, Bruce Tony and Steve back into the briefing room everyone there has a look as if in a daze. A look of numb shock is shown on their devastated faces. Logan fidgets with her necklace.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never did get you to sign them" Fury throws Coulson's Captain America trading cards on the table towards Steve. Steve picks them up, stained with blood. "We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, location of the cube, Thor. I got nothing for you. Lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming" Fury takes a breath. "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, Stark knows this, called The Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes" Tony gets up and walks off, not wanting to hear it any more. "Well, it's an old fashioned notion" Fury adds turning away, Logan looks to Bruce who glances back at her.

............................

Tony look at the empty cell container. He stands not saying a word. Steve walks in joining him.

"Was he married?" Steve asks.

"No. There was a uh...cellist, I think" Tony answers.

"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man"

"He was an idiot" Tony corrects.

"Why? For believing?"

"For taking on Loki alone"

"He was doing his job" Steve points out.

"He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have..."

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony" Tony starts to walk away.

"Right. How did that work for him?" Tony asks.

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" Steve asks back, Tony turns around sharply.

"WE ARE NOT SOLDIERS! I am not marching to Fury's fife!"

"Neither am I!" Steve snaps back. "He's got the same blood on his hands as Loki does. Right now we've got to put that aside and get this done. Now Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list..." Steve starts, Tony looks at the blood stained wall.

"He made it personal" Tony mumbles.

"That's not the point"

"That is the point. That's Loki's point" Tony starts to ramble, thinking out loud. "He hit us all right where we live. Why?"

"To tear us apart"

"He had to conquer his greed, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience"

"Right, I caught his act at Stuttgart" Steve adds.

"Yeah. That's just a preview, this is opening night. Loki's a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered..." Tony pauses, his mind catching up, catching on. "Sonofabitch!"

..................

Bruce stands in the ruined lab fidgeting with his glasses, behind him the door opens and Logan steps into the room. She's changed, her clothing is more practical, her boots done up properly instead of hanging loose, her hair is pulled back into a neat ponytail.

"Are you coming?" Logan asks Bruce who glances to her over his shoulder before turning back to the broken computer, he's thinking, going with her, with them, means that he will change, that the other guy will come out, but watching her walk away again, knowing she is walking towards danger, it upsets the other guy, who seems very concerned for her, and he could still come out, either way it seems the other guy is going to show his face. He jumps a little when Logan touches his shoulder and moves to stand at his side. "Bruce?"

"Just thinking" he answers.

"You're not coming with us, are you?" she asks him already knowing the answer, Bruce isn't a fighter, never has been, it's part of why she fell in love with him, he looks to her and offers an apologetic smile.

"I...don't go towards fights, Logan" he admits. "I run away from them"

"You could make him a hero" she tells him. "Let him out for something good..." he looks to her. "Save the world" he smiles a little and nods.

"I could..." he agrees weakly. "I really wish I could be that guy, but I'm not.....I'm...a monster"

"You're not a monster, Bruce, he's not...I've seen real monsters and you are nothing like them...." she assures him.

"It's not just that....there are so many things that stack against this....choice" he touches her necklace and smiles sadly. "I don't like the thought of him being near you" he admits, she touches his arm and smirks.

"Bruce...I can take care of myself, and...he won't hurt me"

"You can't be sure of that, Logan, he's dangerous" he argues seriously. She shrugs.

"He had the chance" she offers. "Before in the...pipes...he was right there, ready to come out....and we spoke"

"He doesn't talk" he argues turning away.

"He does" she argues back, he glances to her. "I asked him if he would hurt me" he watches her a little. "And he said no....and you know what...I believed him"

"I can't trust him, or myself, what if..."

"I'm not going to make you" she assures him, stopping him from rambling. "It's up to you, Bruce" she gives him a small smile, she squeezes his hand and then leaves him alone. Bruce looks around the lab, what's left of it and sighs before pinching the bridge of his nose, the other guy pressing to be out.

............

Logan tightens her ponytail as she walks away from the labs, she takes a breath and shakes her head. What did she expect, that he'd change to be the sort of guy that runs into a fight, when he's never been that guy before. Bruce leaves the lab and follows after her.

"Logan" he calls out, she smiles a little and then drops it as she turns to him. "You're right, it's time....we do something good" she nods and smiles warmly.

"Well to quote my brother" she starts. "They want to fight a war, they can find their own planet. This one's ours, and I say they get the hell off it" Bruce smiles back.