A Complicated Web

Chapter Twenty-Three: Loki

By the time the second car made it to Lake Hiawatha, Hiro was asleep in the front seat, Fred in the back, and Kally wide awake next to Baymax. Tony resisted the urge to yawn. He'd felt the necessity of letting Hiro get in some more driving practice on the way, which probably had pushed back their estimated arrival time but it couldn't be helped. He'd needed the cat nap it had allowed him. And the fact that they'd been able to find a real coffee shop with real coffee only an hour or two before arriving helped. All the same, he was ready for some shut eye.

With Baymax and JARVIS keeping Hiro company, along with the occasional comment from Fred, Hiro had managed to drive for a good solid two hours before they had to stop and refuel. He'd gone just under the speed limit, even with coaxing on JARVIS's part, but at least they made it in one piece. Even if the youth had gotten turned around a little for part of his shift.

Gravel crunched as the car pulled up behind the sedan already in the large driveway. They hadn't been able to see it from the street, which was a little reassuring. The porch light of the manor was still on, despite the late hour. Tony estimated it was probably after ten. The sound, not to mention the change in vibrations, woke both Fred and Hiro. The two couldn't help but yawn and try to stretch. Fred just had a harder time with it than the other did.

"This is your vacation house?" Kally asked in awe as she took in the large, two story building. It seemed like the type that looked smaller on the outside than it did inside. She doubted there was too much wasted space, with maybe the exception of vaulted ceilings. The difference between the floors did seem higher than typical.

The front door opened and a butler stepped out onto the veranda. Before anyone else in the car could react, however, Fred had opened his door and was somewhat painfully climbing out. He offered a smile and a fist bump to the man who approached. "William! My man!" he called out with a smile. "Long time no see!"

"Welcome back, Master Fred," William said in an easy but formal manner. "The rest of your party has already arrived and is waiting for you in the lounge. I set something aside for you and your other guests, should you be hungry."

Tony exited the vehicle next, with Hiro rubbing sleep from his eyes as he followed in a close third. Kally exited next, with Baymax behind her. She felt decidedly better than she had a few hours before. The headache had at least subsided to a dull throb, though her skin still seemed to vibrate unpleasantly if anything unexpected touched her. "Natasha here?" Tony asked the butler, not seeing the Avenger.

"Ms. Romanoff is inside with the other guests," William answered. "She would appreciate it if you would join her inside." Leading the way, he held the front door open for all to enter, closing and locking it behind him as he came in after them.

Fred seemed to know exactly where to go, despite having told the others he hadn't been there in years. "Just through here, guys," he called out behind, wincing a bit as he tweaked his shoulder when he looked back to make sure they were following him.

The lounge was pretty grand in size. More like a sort of entertainment room, it had a large screen TV, different couches for lounging, and a few small tables for those who wanted to play various games. High windows lined one side of the room, though there were heavy drapes covering them, off-white in color.

As soon as the others saw them enter, Honey Lemon and GoGo were on their feet. "We were beginning to wonder if something had happened to you," Honey admitted as she rubbed at one eye. It was clear they were all tired. Even Natasha looked a little run down.

"I was getting ready to send a search party out to find you," Natasha commented as she sauntered over to Tony. "What took you so long?"

Tony glanced over at Hiro, who gave a funny kind of wave, along with a hand-caught-in-the-cookie-jar kind of smile. "We had to stop for a bit when Kally woke up. That and I had to let someone else drive while I caught a few Z's. Unlike you, I actually have to sleep every now and again."