Avengers Prank War: How Thor Joined Steve’s Side And Pepper’s Thoughts

Hullo, everyone! I hope you’re having a wonderful Independence Day, celebrating our freedom and remembering those who fought to get and keep it. Make sure to give everyone hugs today! *throws red, white, and blue confetti* And as many of you know, today is also Captain America’s birthday, so what better way to celebrate than with a prank war snippet? Enjoy! Want to see how it all got started? Click here.

Pepper rubbed her eyes and sat up. The sound that had woken her up came again – Tony yelping. She sighed. He had gone to bed way earlier than usual the night before, so she had been pretty sure something was up. Of course, she had warned Steve of the possibility of an early morning prank.

Pepper put on her robe and headed over to the door. When she stepped into the hallway, she was nearly run over by Tony as  he raced frantically down the hallway.

“Tony…” she called, then sighed. It would probably be a while before she got her answers.

There was the sound of heavier footsteps approaching. Thor rushed into view and slid to a stop in front of Pepper. He gave her a slight head not and a smile of greeting. “Good morning, Pepper. Where–”

Pepper pointed in the direction Tony had gone, and Thor dashed away. She headed in they had come from, and soon another sound emerged: hysterical laughter. She entered the kitchen to find Clint doubled over laughing, Banner hiding a grin, and Steve ignoring both of them as he poured himself a bowl of Lucky Charms.

Pepper put her hands on her hips. “What happened?” She looked at Steve, who was clearly the most sand of the three at the moment.

He shrugged, looking for the milk in the fridge. “Don’t ask me. I walked in on this madness.”

Banner stirred his Coco Puffs. “Well, let’s see. Tony switched out the salt with the sugar, as a prank on Steve, of course, but he clearly forgot that today is Steve’s Lucky Charms day, not his scrambled egg day.”

Pepper rubbed her forehead. “And Thor was the first to find out.”

Banner nodded. “After he dumped half a gallon of what he thought was sugar onto his Frosted Flakes. Thor wouldn’t have known who did it if Tony hadn’t started laughing his head off,” he pointed out, scooping cereal into his mouth. Steve poured his milk and sat down to his cereal.

Clint’s face was cheery red when he finally stopped laughing and caught his breath. “Steve’s gained an ally,” he said, grinning. “At least now it’s two against two.”

Steve began picking out the rainbow charms one by one and eating them. Pepper noticed he was attempting to hide a smile. “Yeah.”

Pepper sat down at the table and poured herself some Cheerios. Clint finally sat down, too, eyeing Banner. “You’re not going to take sides, right?” he asked cautiously.

Banner held up a hand. “I am not getting involved in this. Too risky. And don’t you dare try to get me involved.”

Clint turned his gaze to Pepper, and she leveled her spoon in his direction. “I am the referee. I do not take sides.” She moved her spoon towards her bowl but stopped. “Where’s Natasha?”

Clint shrugged. “Who knows? But she hasn’t taken sides yet, so you don’t have to worry.”

Again, Pepper noticed Steve hiding a grin. She frowned at him, remembering that Natasha had joined his side, but as  soon as he caught her gaze he gave her a quick shake of the head. Pepper decided that if neutrality was not an option, she would definitely be on Steve’s side. She did not want to be going against Natasha.

Clint sighed. “I’d better head to my room. I want to get started at the target range early this morning.” He pushed back his chair and headed off down the hall.

The instant he was out of sight, there was a grating noise overhead. Natasha dropped down from an overhead vent.

“Is the deed done?” Steve asked ominously.

Banner sighed. “How did I know?”

Natasha nodded. “I set up a camera, too. Blackmail.”

“He’s heading there now,” Steve said.

Somewhere else in the tower, there was a high-pitched shriek. Pepper groaned. “Do I even want to know?”

“You know the classic prank with a bucket of water over a door?” Natasha asked. “It’s just that. Except with silly string and water guns.”

Pepper could only sigh.

Avengers’ Isle: Together At Last

Hullo! I totally forgot to post this picture with last week’s episode, made in partnership with myself and writefury! Okay, I confess, all I did was the text. She did all the hard work. 😉 No, I still haven’t seen Age of Ultron. But I did watch one of the trailers again, but with a little twist. XD Okay, back to business. DID YOU NOT LOVE LAST WEEK’S REVEAL? If you need to get caught up, see past posts here.

Tony frowned. He had no idea who this guy was, but he sure didn’t seem like a SHIELD agent. Not that he cared. He was just glad everyone was alive. Well, almost everyone.

He bent down and picked up the red, white, and blue shield reverently. He and Cap hardly ever saw eye-to-eye – scratch that, never – but Cap had been the best man Tony had ever known. And Tony’s last words to the soldier had been angry. How could Cap have been the only one not to make it?

“Tony?” Natasha placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. Loki was untying Thor, and the two were deep in conversation. The others were gathering where Tony was.

“He was a good man,” Tony said, tapping the shield lightly. Natasha nodded in agreement. Banner looked sad. Tony held out his hand and they shook hands. Science buddies back together again. Tony looked over at the guy with the metal arm, Bucky, who was grinning. “What?” Tony asked, frowning. “This isn’t a joke.”

“Not to you,” Bucky said, trying to make his face serious, but his mouth kept twitching. He took the shield from Tony and laid it on the ground. He slammed his metal fist into it, and the sound rang loud through the forest, making the two Asgardians jump in surprise.

“What in the world do you think you’re doing?” Tony snapped, lunging for the shield.

Bucky pulled it out of his reach. They heard approaching footsteps, running at a ridiculous speed. “I thought that would be loud enough to get his attention,” Bucky said, running a finger along the edge of the shield.

Steve Rogers slid to a stop at the edge of the circle. He was barely breathing hard as he looked around. “Well,” he said. “And here I came to rescue Thor.” Then he caught sight of Bucky. “Bucky, I–”

“No time,” Bucky said quietly. “We should get out of here while we’ve got the chance.” He glanced over at Red Skull. “I think he’s gone – for good – but we should bring him with us anyway. And Barton.”

“I want a full report and explanation,” Fury said firmly, staring Bucky down.

“As soon as we’re out of here,” Bucky replied, staring back at him.

They gathered up all of weapons they might need, although Bucky said that the natives would be glad to see them leaving. Bucky picked up Barton, and Thor picked up Red Skull. Bucky led the way through the forest, towards the center of the island.

“So, do you have a boat or something?” Tony asked skeptically, nearly tripping over a tree root.

“Something,” Bucky grunted, barely managing to keep Barton from hitting his head on a tree.

“What kind of something is it?” Tony pestered him.

“You’ll see,” Bucky said. “Unless you keep asking questions.”

Tony shut his mouth and drifted to the back of the line with Thor, Loki, and panting Banner. He couldn’t believe how easy it was for Natasha and Rogers to make it through the thick undergrowth. Even Fury was handling it easily.

They stepped into a huge, empty clearing. Tony gazed around at the circle of green grass, then up at the bright blue sky. “So what now? We wait for a helicopter to pick us up?”

Bucky handed Barton to Steve and pulled a remote looking thing out of his pocket. He pressed a button on it, and right before their eyes, a Quinjet appeared. Tony sighed when he realized it had been cloaked. That was most assuredly cheating.

Bucky turned to Natasha. “It’s all yours.”

Yay! Looks like we’re on our way to a happy ending, finally! But they’re not safe yet… Like for a bag of trail mix, comment for a piece of (late) Tony Stark birthday cake! (It’s not too stale yet…)

Avengers’ Isle: Cognitive Recalibration

Hullo, everyone! I apologize for missing… two weeks? of posts. BUT… it’s a good thing I did, otherwise, well… this wouldn’t have come. I was planning a completely different plot twist, BUT THIS HAS ME SQUEALING AND SUFFOCATING WITH HAPPINESS. (*wink wink*) Just remember this is an alternate universe, so have of the first Avengers movie hasn’t happened, and neither have Thor 2, Cap 2, and Avengers 2. Just a reminder… Carry on, now. New? Read past posts here.

A moan escaped Natasha as she opened her eyes slowly. Her vision came into focus, and her breath caught in her throat. Clint. He stood with two others in the center of the clearing. She was pretty sure that the guy with the red skull was Red Skull, and the other guy looked familiar, although she couldn’t place him. She closed her eyes and did a mental assessment. No broken bones, but her right temple was throbbing and she felt a little woozy. She could feel some dried blood caked on the right side of her face, probably from when she fell. She was tied to a tree, judging from the rough bark.

“Glad you’re awake, Romanoff,” Fury’s voice came from nearby. Natasha opened her eyes and saw that he was tied to a tree near her, Banner on his other side. She turned her head to the right and saw Thor, who was grumbling to himself and tugging on his ropes.

“Barton brought you in,” Banner said, shifting a little in his ropes. “We’re weaponless and outnumbered.”

“And Hulkless?” Natasha asked, lifting an eyebrow. Banner nodded. “This seems like quite a predicament.”

A noise close behind her tree made Natasha try to turn her head unsuccessfully. Something flew into the clearing, straight into Red Skull, knocking him back into a tree. His head hit the bark and he crumpled. Clint leapt into action, an arrow on his bow as his eyes scanned the forest. Natasha gasped as she saw what had hit Red Skull. Roger’s shield. He’s alive.

“I believe you said it would come back to us,” a voice whispered harshly behind her tree.

“I don’t know how he does it!” another voice growled back.

Natasha moaned. Tony and Loki. How had they gotten ahold of Cap’s shield? Barton crept slowly towards them, but with a sudden “oomph” he stumbled to the ground. Bucky stood behind him and relaxed his metal arm, then pulled out a knife and made his way over to Natasha. “He’ll be okay in a minute,” Bucky said. “Cognitive recalibration.”

“Don’t you dare,” Tony said, stepping out and trying to look angry as Bucky approached, but he really looked freaked out. Bucky rolled his eyes and used the knife to start sawing at the ropes.

“You could untie your other friends,” Bucky suggested casually.

Tony looked at him in surprise, then looked behind him. Loki moved into view and shrugged. Natasha frowned at them. “Where’d you get the shield?”

“We found it buried in the sand close to the water,” Tony said, moving over to work on Fury’s ropes with a knife Bucky gave him. “We used it to fight off the walking trees.” He shuddered.

“The what?” Banner said, frowning.

“Mechanical,” Bucky said. “And I put the shield there. You guys really should have left a guard, you know.”

Fury looked just as surprised as Natasha felt. “Why are you helping us?” Fury asked suspiciously.

Bucky straightened as Natasha’ ropes fell away. “SHIELD Agent James Buchanan Barnes, at your service,” he said, bowing.

Yay for the fifteenth Avengers’ Isle post!!! *throws confetti* You know the drill! Like if you want a piece of Avengers’ Isle birthday cake, comment to see Bucky’s SHIELD badge…

Avengers’ Isle: Tic Tac Toe

Hello, everyone! Again, I apologize for not posting a part last week. Time keeps seeming to run away from me. I guess you can expect an Avengers’ Isle post every other week now… but we’ll see.

Red Skull threw aside the stick he was writing in the dirt with, making Banner wince. “Tell no one,” he growled at the guy with the metal arm. Banner was pretty sure the guy’s name was Bucky, but he wasn’t sure. Red Skull wiped out whatever they’d been writing for the past half-hour and motioned for Bucky to follow him out of the clearing. Apparently Red Skull didn’t like being beaten by his minions in tic tac toe.

Banner glanced around. There were still a few natives. Thor was still unconscious, and Fury was leaning his head back against the tree as he slept. How could he sleep?

“Quit staring at me.”

Banner looked away, uncomfortable. So maybe Fury wasn’t asleep. But his one eye was closed, and the other still covered by the eyepatch. “Sorry. I thought you were sleeping.”

Fury opened his eye and looked over at Banner. “You make a habit of watching people while they sleep?”

Banner shook his head. A grunt somewhere in the forest drew his attention away from the director. Two more natives entered the clearing, carrying an unconscious Natasha Romanoff.

“Good,” Fury said, leaning his head back against the tree as the natives tied Natasha to the tree next to Thor.

“Good?” Banner asked. He frowned at Fury. “It’s good that half of the Avengers are tied to trees now?”

“No,” Fury said without opening his eyes. “Good that she’s alive.”

Thor stirred a little and moaned quietly, but didn’t wake up. Banner felt like moaning himself. If he wasn’t in such an uncomfortable position, he’d fall asleep in a heartbeat. He wished this was all over, that he was back in India, working and not hurting anybody, or being hurt.

Red Skull stepped back into the clearing, followed by Bucky. “Well, I trust you two have been resting well, correct?” he asked.

Banner looked over at Fury, who didn’t move. He shrugged. “Not exactly.”

Red Skull sighed and motioned to the clearing. “I’ve been as hospitable as possible.” His eyes went to a spot behind them. “The job’s been done?” he asked.

“Yes,” someone said.

Fury’s eyes popped open. Banner frowned. For once he looked surprised, even shocked. “You’re…”

A guy with brown hair stepped into their view. Banner had no clue who he was, but Fury apparently knew him from the expression on his face. “Miss me?” he asked.

Fury’s eye closed. “Barton.”

Like to wake up Natasha and Thor, comment to start shaking some sense into Hawkeye…

TCWT April 2015 Blog Chain: Hello, Ms. Romanoff

My first time doing the Teens Can Write, Too blog chain… and I’m late. *sigh* Somehow I read that I was to post on the 16th, and I was really supposed to post on the 6th. I take complete responsibility. I was originally planning on doing a letter to fictional couples in general, since I couldn’t think of one in particular, and then… BAM. The Age of Ultron TV spot reminded me of one… and I went ahead and started over. 😛

Dear my beloved friend,

Hello, Ms. Romanoff. Look, I know you have trouble, surrounded by five guys, not to mention all those other SHIELD agents, but please. Could you just settle on one guy? I know you probably never took Tony seriously, of course. I *cough* haven’t watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but from what I’ve heard, there’s a little romance between you and Steve. And then in The Avengers… don’t you remember? Loki saying all the stuff about love and “you bargain for one man” and “KNEEL” and all that nonsense? You wouldn’t even have come in if Clint hadn’t been compromised.

And now the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailers hint at a relationship between you and Dr. Banner. Really? Please tell me you’re not going to fall in love with Thor in Thor 3. Seriously. You switching around from guy to guy is really, really annoying! You really should just pick one and settle down. While still working for SHIELD and the Avengers, of course.

I hope you will seriously take this into consideration. Also, please note that I am fully a Clintasha supporter. Just sayin’.

Yours truly,

Bri

5^th – http://www.adventuringthroughpages.wordpress.com/

6^th – http://www.theworldofthewriter.wordpress.com/ (*cough* 16th…)

7^th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

8^th – http://freeasagirlwithwings.wordpress.com/

9^th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/

10^th – https://erinkenobi2893.wordpress.com/ (Hey, if you liked my letter… she wrote one to Pepperony and Peggy and Steve! 😉 )

11^th – https://introspectioncreative.wordpress.com/

12^th – http://whileishouldbedoingprecal.weebly.com/

13^th – http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com/ 

14^th – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/

15^th – http://ramblingsofaravis.wordpress.com/

16^th – http://www.juliathewritergirl.wordpress.com/ (*cough* And me, too!)

17^th – https://clockworkdesires.wordpress.com/

18^th – http://horsfeathersblog.wordpress.com/

19^th – http://from-stacy.blogspot.com/

20^th – http://semilegacy.blogspot.com/

21^st – http://themagicviolinist.blogspot.com/

22^nd – http://www.pamelanicolewrites.com/

23^rd – http://arielkalati.blogspot.com/

24^th – http://irisbloomsblog.wordpress.com/ 

25^th – http://theboardingblogger.wordpress.com/

26^th – http://allisonthewriter.wordpress.com/

27^th – http://stayandwatchthestars.wordpress.com/

28^th – http://butterfliesoftheimagination.wordpress.com/

and http://abookishflower.wordpress.com/

29^th – http://gallopingfree.wordpress.com/ andhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Book-Gap/603228309718111

30^th – http://hautehealthhails.blogspot.co.uk/

and https://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll announce the topic for next month’s chain.)

Are you doing the chain? Which couple would you want to write a letter to? And, most importantly, who do you ship Natasha with? 😀

Avengers’ Isle: Trail Mix

Well, hello, everyone! If you’ve been keeping up with this series for a while, the title might have surprised you. If it didn’t, you’re either new or you might need a refresher. Either way, I suggest you check out some past episodes here. But Fury’s trail mix is all gone, right? Well…

Steve blinked groggily. He felt like he’d been asleep, like his brain was fuzzy. He was staring down at an almost burt-out fire ,the sun just coming over the horizon. How long have I been out of it?

Everything came flooding back. The memories from after Bucky knocked him out were mixed up and vague. He remembered Thor finding him and offering him food… Thor. He left.

Steve frowned up at the sky. That had been early in the day, the day before. Thor should’ve been back. His spine tingled. What had happened to him?

There was a pail of water sitting next to him, and he used cupped hands to drink some of it. He glanced around, looking for a sign that the Asgardian had come back. He spotted something shiny a few yards away.

Steve stood up and scanned the area carefully. He could only hope it wasn’t a trap. He crept toward it, listening, looking, searching. Finally, he reached it and knelt down.

A frown made its way across his face, and he picked up the object. It was a small package of trail mix.

Steve’s mind whirled. There was no way Thor could have gotten it. Could Bucky have put it there? But where would he have gotten it?

And should he eat it?

He studied the package. It clearly hadn’t been opened. His mind ran through possibilities. Repackaging, resealing, radiation… but none of those were practical. He carefully tore open the package and studied the trail mix. Nothing. He wished he had some of Stark’s fancy scanning equipment.

He took the trail mix back over to the dying fire and began to munch on it. It was overly salty, but it tasted absolutely delicious to him.

And as he munched, an idea began to grow in his mind.

Like to get (virtual) trail mix, comment to eat it with Steve.

 

Avengers’ Isle: In A Pickle

You may have noticed that there are two people whose points of view I haven’t written from yet: Loki and Fury. I haven’t written from Loki’s point of view mostly because it hasn’t been necessary. He’s been with Stark and Natasha the whole time.

But Fury’s different. I haven’t written from his point of view because the task is… well, daunting. But it seemed like the best option. So here goes. We’re going to get some answers this time… New? Click here for past posts.

Fury slowly blinked. The world spun around him. He was standing, something solid at his back. Things began to focus – the trees, the forest floor, the ropes tying him to the unusual, almost oak-like tree behind him.

He rotated his head to the side, squinting to help himself focus. Banner was tied to a tree next to him, out cold. At least he still had his eye patch. He could feel the strap on his scalp.

It took a few seconds for him to remember. The natives had knocked him and Banner out, but not before Fury caught a glimpse of the man who had spoken. Fury closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tree. They were stuck on the island with a monster. And it wasn’t the Hulk.

Banner finally stirred next to him, gradually regaining consciousness. Fury watched him. What had happened back there? Banner couldn’t transform into the Hulk? What was going on here, on this idiotic island? Banner blinked and looked over at Fury before closing his eyes. He grunted as he shifted against his tree. “Well. Seems like we’re in a bit of a pickle.”

Fury looked away and rolled his eye, scanning the surrounding area. “That’s quite the understatement.” He turned his gaze back to his fellow prisoner.

“Well, it’s good to see that you are all finally awake.” The crisp voice with the German accent floated through the trees as the owner stepped into view.

Banner looked shock as he took in the man, but Fury wasn’t. He’d already had time to ponder everything. “For some reason I was thinking that you were dead. I’m pretty sure I heard that from our good captain’s mouth itself.”

Red Skull laughed. “Clearly, he was mistaken.” A few natives stepped into view behind him.

Fury looked at the man doubtfully. “So you’re telling me that the Tesseract teleported you here? To this tiny island?”

“Oh, no, not in the least. The Tesseract deposited me on Vanaheim, one of the Nine Realms.” He paused, watching Fury’s face. “Ah, your Asgardian friend has not mentioned it to you. Ah, well. I’m sure he would explain it better than I could. The Vanirs quickly got fed up with me and therefore worked with the Asgardians to deposit me here.” He motioned around. “It was quite nice of you to stop by here. I never thought I would have company.”

Fury worked to keep his cool appearance. “I’m not surprised those… Vanirs… kicked you off their planet. Seems even aliens can’t stand you.”

Red Skull’s eyes narrowed as best as they could. “They’re as close to human as the Asgardians are. I’m sure your friend could explain it to you, if he were here.”

A form stepped through the trees and approached Red Skull. Fury almost felt like laughing. Now Rogers’ best friend, Bucky Barnes, was alive, too. “The message was sent,” he told Red Skull, who nodded.

A native said something to Red Skull in a language Fury couldn’t understand. It sounded almost like German, but with another language mixed in, too. Red Skull smiled. “Ah, well.” He said something back to the native and turned to Fury. “I guess he’ll be able to tell you himself.”

Four natives dragged an unconscious Thor into view. His head hung limply down, his blond hair dirty and tangled. They leaned him against the tree and quickly tied him to it. Red Skull smiled. “Don’t worry about your other friends. They’ll be joining us soon.”

Fury glanced over at Banner. “I think you’re right.”

Banner frowned in confusion, then nodded slowly. “Yep. We’re in a pickle.”

A like lets you give everyone sandwiches, a comment lets you meet everyone’s favorite Vanir… (Guess who below)

Avengers’ Isle: Separated And Unresponsive

The plot continues to thicken! Even this short post serves to add tension… Thanks so much for all of your lovely comments!!! New? Check out past episodes here.

Thor shot Steve a worried look. The captain had been staring gloomily into the fire ever since he had found him. He didn’t know who this Bucky guy was, but he had certainly had a profound effect of the captain.

Thor had tried once again to retrieve his hammer, but again it hadn’t worked. This island was beginning to give him “the creeps”, as he had heard his fellow Avengers say. It was getting depressing, too, now that the captain was virtually unresponsive.

Thor offered the captain some water from the bucket he had made using a medium sized tree. At least they could get fresh water, even though there wasn’t any food. The captain shook his head, still staring at the fire. Thor frowned. The captain hadn’t accepted any water since Thor had found him, and of course he hadn’t eaten anything, either.

“I’m going to look for food,” Thor said, standing up. The captain didn’t move. Thor sighed and headed into the forest. He was already pretty sure that finding food was hopeless, but it was better than sitting around with the captain.

Thor wandered around, glancing at the various plants and trying to find something he recognized. It seemed so hopeless. There wasn’t even a bug to be seen.

He moved deeper into the forest, doing his best not to touch any plants unless absolutely necessary. A twig cracked nearby, and he whirled around, searching the semi-darkness of the forest. Nothing.

Thor slowly turned back around and felt a sharp prick on the side of his neck. His hand reached for the spot, but couldn’t get there before he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

A like gets you the chance to go check on Hawkeye, a comment lets you give Steve a hug. ❤

I Can Hear The Deadline A-Comin’, It’s Comin’ ‘Round The Bend…

Hello, everyone!

As you may (or may not) know, the deadline for the Super-Duper Fan Fiction Crossover Challenge is quickly approaching. There’s only one week left for you to submit your entries!

If you haven’t started yet, there’s still plenty of time! It doesn’t take very long, especially if you already have an idea. I wrote Pevensie, my Captain America/Chronicles of Narnia crossover, in about half an hour, maybe less. And if you don’t have an idea…

Ooh…

Wait, what? Maybe not…

What if Thor was a baby sitter?

Oh the feels…

Now that we’ve got that over with, let me get to the point of this post. To help you get your writing shoes one, all of tomorrow will be an ongoing word war! Here are the rules.

1. Write for 30 minutes.
2. Figure out your word count.
3. Post the word count in the comments below.
4. Repeat as many times as you want!

No prizes… this is just a fun way to motivate you to write! 🙂

Avengers’ Isle: The Sand In My Hair

Helloooo, readers! I apologize for this being so short and not posting last week, but if I had posted it then, all you would’ve had was the first sentence. 😀 Enjoy! See previous parts here.

Thor might have thought he was on Asgard if not for the sand in his hair. Thor had to admit that he liked his hair, and maybe even took a little pride in how it looked. Just like Volstagg and his beard. Sand in his hair was like food in Volstagg’s beard. Annoying, but inevitable on this island.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes before gazing around. He was surprised to notice that Captain Rogers was nowhere to be seen. Usually he was the first one up, but the captain seemed to have beaten him this morning.

Thor stretched and stood. The fire was nearly out, so he fed it with some wood he and Captain Rogers had gathered the night before. They would need to cook breakfast after the captain came back, hopefully with food. He paused. He hadn’t realized until now, but he hadn’t seen any animals or heard any birds since arriving at the island. Frowning, he switched directions and made his way over to the edge of the water. Some small pools had formed in hollow spaces a little ways down the beach, and he knelt over them. No sign of any fish. No life at all.

A shiver ran down his spine and he gazed up at the sky. Nothing. No birds. No fish. No creatures. No life.

He walked quickly back to the campfire, keeping an eye on it. Where had the captain gone? Now was not the time to disappear. He found himself pacing and forced himself to sit down and think this through. Not thinking was what had landed him powerless on Midgard originally. Good eventually came out of that, but at a price. He must think.

The fire began to dwindle again, so he decided to stay busy by finding some more wood. He headed over to the forest, but froze. A leg covered in familiar blue fabric stuck out of the underbrush.

Thor hurried over and easily uncovered the captain, uprooting a bush in the process. The captain lay on his face, and when Thor turned him over, he found a purplish bruise forming just above his temple.

The captain stirred in his arms and moaned. Thor shook him gently. “Are you all right?” he asked. The other man blinked, looking woozy. Then his eyes widened and he began to attempt to struggle. In his weakened state, it was easy for Thor to keep a grip on him. “What’s wrong?” Thor asked.

The captain gazed around frantically. “B-b… b…” he croaked hoarsely.

Thor’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “B?” He thought. “Bilchsteim? Bifrost? Bruise?”

The captain slumped, a pained look crossing his face. “Bucky.”

Duh-duh-duhnnn…

A like gets you a trip to Asgard, a comment lets Thor and company be your tour guides.