"This coming from the guy hanging by a web upside-down?" Tony shot back, though he was grinning behind the faceplate. "Don't worry, we're just passing through."

Right on cue, Steve found the girls and Loki, blinking at them when he found them mostly unharmed. "Elaine? Are you alright?"

Spiderman just shrugged. He wasn't arguing the fact.

"What brings you to my back yard?" he asked. His gaze was drawn to the hostages. "I take it those are yours, then." He shook his head. "Gobby should learn to pick his targets. Or let me hit him hard enough to take him out, one of the two."

"We're fine," Elaine said as she got up and went to him. "This is going to sound weird, but Loki looked after us."

"Yeah, they're ours. He picked a really bad set of hostages," Tony said with a shark's smile. "Don't be surprised if he goes missing." Because Tony had a bone to pick with the man now.

"He... what?" Steve blinked as he looked Elaine over before looking at Loki. The god merely shrugged and moved past him, Kae following quietly, leaving the two alone. "What happened?" Steve looked down at Elaine.

"I won't stop you," Spiderman replied. Hey, if they wanted to take one of his enemies out, let them.

"I told you it would sound weird," Elaine said. "There were guards on us, and one of them tried to rough up Kae for being smart-mouthed, and I don't know, Loki just sort of flipped his shit and beat the guy to a pulp, and then kept an eye on us after that."

"Great. Good to know. Hey, what's your name, kid?" Tony looked at him. He might be useful to keep in mind, in case they ever needed an informant, and someone who could shoot webs.

"...Huh." Steve blinked. "Well, I have no idea what brought that about, but I'm glad." He pulled her closer, keeping an arm around her. "You ready to head back?"

"The papers all call me Spiderman," Spidey replied. He shrugged. "I figure that's as good a name as any." He snorted. "'Course, the Daily Bugle calls me a menace, but that's them."

"More than ready to go back," Elaine said. She relaxed into his side a bit, and looked up at him. "So... we're good? You and I? I mean, our date didn't exactly go as planned..."

Tony snickered. "Trust me, kid, I know exactly how that goes." He thought for a moment before he pushed his faceplate up. "Hey, let us know if you ever need help."

Steve sighed quietly and nodded. "Yeah, we're fine," he said quietly. "That... it wasn't you, Elaine. I just..." He trailed off, not quite sure how to continue, and then he shook his head. "It wasn't your fault Elaine, it wasn't anything you did. We're fine."

"If I ever need a hand blowing something up," Spiderman replied jokingly, nodding. "Seriously, though, I'll give you a call if I need it. You got any sort of bat-signal or something?"

"Then what happened?" Elaine asked. Then she held up a hand. "We'll talk about it when we get back, I get the feeling this isn't something to discuss with the world and their grandmother listening."

Tony snickered. "No, something much more useful: a cellphone. Well, Starkphone really, one of a kind, but y'know. Some of the same functions." He rattled off the number after checking (because he didn't know his own number, why would he?)

Steve nodded after a moment. "Alright. Later, then." He glanced around to start gathering up the others so they could head home again.

"You think I keep a cell phone in this thing?" Spiderman asked, gesturing to his suit. He committed the number to memory anyways. He'd add it to his phone when he went to get his things. His bag and clothes were nearby, webbed into a high corner.

Elaine went over to Kae.

"Come on," she said, "we're heading back." She was quiet for a moment. "And Steve and I are going to talk, and then I'll decide whether or not to go back to our house after."

Tony snickered. "I'm sure you'll figure something out," he said with a grin. "You could always try getting an in with SHIELD. I bet they'd give you an earpiece so you could get in on the action."

Kae nodded. "Alright. Let me know, I think I might head back to the house for a few days myself."

"Maybe," Spidey replied with a shrug. "I'm used to being something of a solo act, myself. But we'll see." He gave an impish little wave. "And I must be off. Walls to climb, excuses to make, I'm sure you understand." With that, he climbed back up to the ceiling, retrieved his things, and left.

Elaine nodded. It wasn't that she didn't like the tower, but she also wanted something more... low-key and testosterone-free.

Tony snorted and headed back over to the others so they could get back to the Tower.

Kae nodded and she was quiet the whole ride back. She glanced at Bruce as they entered the living room, looking at him briefly before she went to go get an ice pack and wait on Elaine's decision.

Bruce blinked when he saw Kae, and did a double-take when he saw she was hurt. Getting up, he followed her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

When they got back, Elaine let Steve have some time to change. Then she went to find him so they could talk.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kae settled onto a chair and cautiously put the ice pack to her face, grimacing. "Nothing to worry about."

Steve looked at her for a moment before he sighed and moved over to her, putting an arm around her.

"Nothing broken?" Bruce pressed. A split lip really was nothing to worry about, but he wanted to be sure.

Elaine relaxed slightly into his side.

"I'll listen, if you want to talk," she said softly.

"Nothing broken," Kae repeated dutifully. "Just a bruise and a split lip. Really, that's what I get for mouthing off." She grimaced again and adjusted the ice pack.

"I... promised Peggy that I'd dance with her," he said quietly. "She was going to be my first dance." He didn't let go of Elaine, though, merely pulling her a little closer.

"You should put a bit of antibiotic on it," Bruce said. "Keep it from getting infected. I've seen it happen before."

"Peggy?" Elaine asked before he brain caught up with her mouth. Then it occurred to her that Peggy must have been his girlfriend before. She bit her lip slightly and unconsciously tried to put a little space between them. "Oh... I see..."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks," Kae mumbled.

"I had a date set with her," Steve said quietly, not letting Elaine get far. "For less than a week after I crashed the plane into the ice. I went to see her grave before Christmas."

For a moment, Bruce looked a bit uncomfortable, as if he wanted to say something more, but couldn't. Finally, he backed off and let Kae do what she wanted.

"That must have been the day I didn't see you until the evening, and you weren't yourself when you got back," Elaine commented softly. She was quiet for a moment. "Is this... going to work between us?"

Kae watched him go, too tired and fed up with things to go after him and try to make things work or make him feel better. She just picked up Bran and cuddled the puppy for a while.

Steve was quiet for a few moments. "I think so," he said quietly. "I mean, I'm willing to try. I don't want this to get between us." Then he grimaced at how corny that sounded, even to him.

"Steve..." Elaine sighed. "I don't... I don't want to spend our entire relationship questioning whether anything I do will remind you of her. I want this to work. I really do." She bit her lip slightly and fought back the prickling in her eyes. "I'll step back. I don't want to be in the way if you're not over her yet."

Steve shook his head. "I don't want that," he said quietly. "I can't forget Peggy, but there's nothing I can do, either. She's my past, and... I've spent long enough thinking about the past. Too long."

"I'm not asking you to forget her," Elaine said quietly. "I just don't want her to get in the way of us. If I have to step back until that can happen, then I will."

Steve shook his head. "She's not... Elaine, you don't have to do that. I don't want you to do that." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I just... I don't know. We just won't go dancing. Not right now anyway."