Hello all! Firstly I wanted to say that if anyone recognizes this story from another account it is because I had posted the first chapter there and then had to remove it, so I apologize to all who had favorited it and set it to their watch on there. I promise you that I won't move it again :)

I hope you enjoy!


Chapter 1

Footsteps echoed throughout the hallowed halls of the palace of Asgard. Two guards walked in step with a man between them, bound at the wrists and with a metal muzzle around his face. Behind them, a hulking man with a scarlet cape followed, head bowed and shoulders tense. The man in the middle of the guards kept his emerald gaze determinedly forward, chin high as though he were being led to his execution, and for all he knew, he could be.

The guards led the two men to a large set of golden doors, inlaid with swirling knots. The doors opened to a great throne room, dark and unforgiving despite its open atmosphere and solid gold interior. They walked towards the large, intricate throne where Odin, the King of Asgard, watched as two of his guards brought forth his son like a prisoner. Odin rose, looking down on him with disappointment.

"Loki, what have you done?" he asked, walking down the steps to the trickster as his other son, Thor, watched carefully. "You unleashed chaos and ruin on a realm that did not deserve it. You killed innocent beings and destroyed their city. Why?"

Loki could not answer, his words rendered silent. He stared up at the Allfather, eyes sharp and unforgiving. There was a heavy silence. Thor walked around his brother to stand near his father, looking at Loki with pleading eyes, begging him to repent. Instead, all he received was a cold glare with no hint of love from the fallen prince that he had once possessed. It didn't even seem to be his brother anymore.

"Because of all you have tried to do; bring forth the destruction of Jotunheim as well as attempting to conquer Midgard and slaying hundreds of innocent beings, Jotun and Midgardian, I now take from you your power," Odin said, raising a hand to his fallen son. "May this punishment serve as your lesson."

Loki's eyes widened in shock and he struggled under the vice-like grips of the guards that held him. Fear flooded through him like ice in his veins, tendrils curling around his heart. His eyes flashed to Thor, who refused to look at him now, jaw clenched and hands fisted at his sides. Loki wanted to speak, to plead with the man he once called father, but no words would pour from his silver tongue, trapped behind a muzzle like a dog.

The air crackled around them as Odin drew Loki's power from his body. Loki's muscles spasmed and his blood boiled. Everything was fire and ice and it felt as though his very essence was being torn from him. He screamed from behind the muzzle, tears forming in his eyes as his armor ripped from his body and his magic sparked, green light dancing in the throne room and bouncing off the metallic walls like lightning. The god's knees buckled and he fell to the floor, the only thing supporting him the two guards holding his arms. This shouldn't hurt. It didn't hurt Thor like this when his power was taken away. But Loki was not Thor. He never would be.

The chains suddenly exploded between Loki's wrists. The god leapt to his feet as he felt Odin's hold weaken, sending the guards that had bound him soaring through the air. They hit opposite walls with a sickening 'crack' that reverberated throughout the throne room. Loki jerked his head up and narrowed his eyes at Odin. The king took a step back, stunned at the power rolling off of Loki. The angry god raised his hands to take off the muzzle. The clasp in the back unhooked and Loki threw it off to the side, shattering it against a pillar.

Instead of speaking to the Allfather, Loki turned his head to look at Thor, who stood rooted to the spot, eyes wide and fearful.

"Know this, brother," Loki spat, green eyes flashing with malice. "Should you try to drag me back to Asgard once more to have my power taken from me, I will never cease to rain terror on those you love on Midgard. Mark my words." With that, Loki disappeared, leaving no trace of himself save for the two guards with cracked skulls and the shattered muzzle that was scattered across the floor, sparking with electricity.

"It seems your brother is lost to us," Odin said softly, staring at the spot Loki had stood.

"He is lost to you," Thor said, not looking at his father. "But there is still hope for me yet." The thunder god walked out of the throne room, footsteps heavy and determined.

Odin sighed, hating that it had come to this twisted battle between himself and his two sons. The king of Asgard turned his gaze to the heavens, mind battling itself to formulate the next plan of action. Loki was his son, by blood or no.

But he must be stopped.


Loki staggered when he landed on the roof of an eighty story office building. He felt like a ghost of his former self, drained and tired and utterly powerless. He collapsed on the hard surface; chest heaving as he tried to suck in air to his lungs, breath coming in gasps, heart pounding faster than it should against his ribcage. Everything hurt. His limbs felt as if they were lead and his bones felt as brittle as glass. He rolled over, wincing as he moved across the rough concrete. His armor was gone, nothing left but leather pants, his boots, and his green and black tunic. He cast his eyes looked towards the sky.

It was night. The sky was black and dark, but below millions of lights shined towards the heavens. Loki looked around as he tried to slow his heartbeat, his breathing the only sound permeating the air from this altitude. He was in the same city he had tried to conquer once before, alive with lights that sparkled from thousands of skyscrapers like some sort of dream. Loki could see evidence of his actions, though, that left scars across the picture-perfect city: buildings had fallen on top of each other, skyscrapers with only half a side, steel support beams sticking out like broken bones, cards flipped, crushed, or just twisted into abstract chunks of metal. A thin layer of dust coated everything, making it appear matte and antique.

The god made no effort to move any more, staying splayed out across roof. Maybe he could just rest here. No one would notice him from this height. But then again, if anyone were to find him he'd be helpless to escape or defend himself. Loki sighed, struggling to lift himself up. He slowly turned himself over and wobbled to his feet, feeling the blood in his head rush to his toes and he swayed, not liking the height of the building at all. He tried to work a simple translocation spell to place him on the street below, but he barely felt a disturbance in the air around him.

"Damn," he cursed. He was stuck on top of the building. Loki looked around for anything to lean against. There was a large metal box near the middle of the roof. He stepped towards it, almost dragging his feet across the floor. It was cool under his touch. He slowly lowered himself down to sit against it, hissing at the pain. It would take a few hours to muster the energy to perform even a simple glamour. He might as well rest and regenerate what power he could.

With that thought, Loki slipped into a light, uncomfortable sleep, resting against an air conditioning unit on top of a building in New York City.


If there was one thing to say about Tony Stark, it was that he kept a good eye on his projects.

There were currently hundreds of men in Stark Tower cleaning, rebuilding, and installing. Tony had a set of plans sprawled out on a table before him in his living room. Each floor was drawn with intricate detail, notes in the margins that only Tony could read. This had to be perfect.

"Hey, you," Tony said, not looking up from the plans as he motioned one of the project supervisors, currently sipping at his paper cup of coffee, to come to him. "What's the progress looking like on the remodeling of levels eighty-six through ninety?"

"Progress is swift. All the rooms are remodeled and painted. We should be installing appliances and lighting soon," he answered. Tony nodded approvingly.

"Keep up the good work," he said, waving the man off. The supervisor frowned, not having been actually looked at once through the entire conversation, and walked away, heading towards the elevator to check on his building team. Tony lowered his hand to the table and tapped the plans once. The floors contracted into small squares on the sheet, each with a symbol on them. Tony flicked through each one, stopping on a square with a shield on it. He tapped it and looked at the blueprints as they expanded across the mat. Certain areas of the plans were green, while others pulsed white, as if pending. Suddenly a refrigerator on the right-hand side of the floor plan blinked and turned verdant, signaling its completion.

"JARVIS?" Tony asked, eyes raking through all of the appliances that had yet to be installed. "Is there any way we can speed this process up? I'd like the tower move-in ready ASAP."

"May I remind you, sir, that your own suite still needs attending to?" Tony looked up from the plans to the mess of a living room. It had barely been touched since their run-in with Loki. There was even still a nice little imprint of the God in his floor courtesy of one big green rage monster. The shattered window was the only thing that had been fixed almost as soon as the battle was over- with bulletproof glass.

"We'll get there when we get there," Tony said, looking back down at Captain Rogers' suite. "Steve's living in a crappy apartment right now and I'd prefer to not let him live there any longer than he needs to."

"Yes, sir."

Tony tapped the upper right corner of the plans. Suddenly, everything on the sheet vanished, leaving a blank navy mat behind. Tony rolled it up and set it to the side, strolling over to the bar to pour himself a drink. He looked at clock on the wall as he opened a bottle of scotch. I was almost five o'clock.

"Nearly closing time, JARVIS," Tony said, pouring scotch over the ice cubes he'd put in a crystal glass. "Why don't you tell the boys down stairs to pack up. I've got an appearance to make."

"Yes, sir."

The appearance in question was a gala in honor of the Avengers saving New York City, or at least, keeping the damage to a minimum as a god ran amok with his space army. Director Fury had called them all into a conference room three days ago, sans Thor because he was playing babysitter back in Asgard with his little brother, and gave them the speech of their lives.

"You all better be on your best behavior at the gala," Fury said. Tony didn't miss the fact that everyone automatically looked at him. He'd attended more galas than anyone else in the room. Contrary to popular belief, he knew how to be good at a party. He just chose not to; reputation and all that.

"Be polite, act like the humble heroes you are. Don't. Get. Cocky." Again with the looks.

"We want the city to like you, especially since a quarter of the damage was your fault," Fury went on. "If they like you, they'll support you. If they don't, S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to get a very big shit storm that I don't want to deal with, so schmooze like your life depends on it. Make friends, offer to help out, whatever it takes to get on the public's good side."

"Why do I feel like we've been turned into prostitutes?" Tony piped up. Natasha raised her eyebrow at him from across the table and Steve shook his head, casting his eyes to the ceiling as if it could get Tony to shut up.

"Be the best damn prostitute you can be," Fury retorted, turning to face the billionaire. "That should be easy for you, Stark."

"Hey now, no need for that," Tony said, putting his hands up in surrender. "I'll play nice." Fury stared at him for a long moment before looking away, eye looking over the other Avengers in the room.

"Enjoy yourselves. You deserve this ladies and gentlemen."

Now it was almost three hours before the big shindig and as Tony took a sip from his glass he heard the elevator 'ping', signaling the arrival of none other than Pepper Potts, who clutched a brown box in one arm and dangled a black garment bag in the other.

"I have your tux for tonight as well as your shoes and those custom lapel pins you ordered," she said as she rushed into the room. Pepper carefully laid the garment bag over the back of the couch and set down a small box on the coffee table. Tony picked it up, looking at it with interest before pulling off the tape and opening it to reveal its contents. Inside were six black velvet cases. Tony picked one of them up, feeling the soft velvet under his fingertips, before prying the lid of the case to reveal a small silver pin shaped like a capital 'A' nestled on top of white satin lining. Its surface reflected the light of the afternoon sun, winking at Tony like it had a secret.

"I think they're very tasteful," Pepper said, looking over Tony's shoulder. "And not as flashy as I expected."

"Not everything I own has to be flashy," Tony argued. "Besides, I needed something to suit everyone's tastes. Would you be a dear and have these delivered to everyone?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark," Pepper said cheekily, picking up the box containing the pins.

"Thank you, Ms. Potts," Tony countered, chuckling as Pepper shook her head, disappearing behind the elevator doors. Tony set his own lapel pin down and picked up the garment bag that contained his tuxedo.

"Well, time to suit up," he said.


All in all, it had been a good night. Everyone loved their pins, which made Tony happy, Steve managed to talk New York City's finest into donating a large sum of money to the clean-up of the city, which made the citizens happy, and the mayor of NYC gave the Avengers team his full support, which made Fury happy.

Now, the night probably would have gotten even better if it weren't for the phone call they all received at three o'clock in the fucking morning.

"Fury!" Tony roared, nearly passed out on his couch in his dark living room, still in his tuxedo. "What the hell is going on that you have to call me at-" he looked at his watch- "three fifteen in the morning?"

"Can it Stark, I don't have time for you this early," Fury snapped, voice broadcasted throughout the room via JARVIS.

"Neither do I. Does S.H.I.E.L.D. not sleep? What are you, fucking vampires? I knew there was something freaky about you people."

"Tony," the inventor heard Steve say. It seemed that Fury had called all of the Avengers. "Loki has escaped." Woah, hold the phone.

"Excuse me?" Tony asked, sitting up slowly. "I thought Thor would have him nice and contained back up in ye old castle."

"Apparently there were...complications," Fury said, tone not pleased in the least. "Thor suspects he's returned to Earth. He'll be weak, but no doubt seeking revenge."

"Well that's just great," Tony huffed, shrugging off his tuxedo jacket. "I just replaced the window in my living room."

"Just keep an eye out for any suspicious activity," Fury said, ignoring Tony. "Thor will try and give us as much information as he can, and be careful. You're all prime targets this time. Debriefing at 9 tomorrow in my office." With that Fury disconnected, leaving a half-asleep Tony sitting awkwardly in his dark living room with his arms half in his tuxedo jacket sleeves.

"Well, I was having a good night," Tony sighed, taking his jacket fully off. "JARVIS, scan the area for any trace of Loki."

"No trace of the Asgardian prince within 100 miles, sir," the AI stated. Tony took that as the O.K. to go back to bed. He unbuttoned his shirt on the way to his bedroom, arc reactor lighting his way with its soft blue glow. He threw his dress shirt off one way and his tie another, toeing off his shoes before shucking off his pants. The billionaire crawled under the sheets of his bed, out before his head hit the pillow.


They assembled in Fury's office at 9 o'clock in the morning the next day. Thor was already there when the rest of the team arrived. To be perfectly frank, he looked like shit.

It seemed odd that a god could have bags under their eyes, but there Thor stood, looking like he hadn't slept in weeks, blue eyes dark and distant, jaw permanently clenched. A muscle twitched in his cheek. He looked like he wanted to take Mjolnir to a mountain and crawl up in a corner at the same time.

"I'd say good morning, but I'd rather stick to reality," Fury said as he strolled in, walking straight to his desk. He sat down in his leather chair and steepled his fingers together, looking at each Avenger with his good eye. "If you were like Stark last night and was half asleep when I sent out the call, Loki has escaped Asgard."

No one looked surprised, meaning that they had all spent the night knowing that the maniac who had wreaked havoc in New York City was back. Tony looked like the only one who got any sleep.

"Thor, what can you tell us about Loki's escape?" Fury asked, looking to the god. Thor flicked his eyes up to look at the director, gaze hard.

"My brother was taken to Odin a few days after we arrived on Asgard," he began, arms crossed firmly across his chest. "My father attempted to take is power away from him. Something happened, something I cannot explain, and Loki escaped. I am sure he is back on Midgard, but he must be weak. Odin drained a portion of his power before Loki escaped, and traveling Yggdrasil without the aid of the Bifrost is strength consuming."

"So you're saying he's no threat right now," Steve confirmed. Thor nodded.

"I do not know how long it will take him to regain what he has lost," Thor said. "But we must be prepared, find him before he can regain his power if we can."

Everyone looked at Thor. There was something unspoken, something he wasn't telling them. Loki was a sensitive subject for him; that they all knew. No one knew the whole story behind their screwed up brotherhood and be damned if anyone asked. All anyone knew was the information in the gods' files, which were pretty thin compared to the rest of them. Daddy issues, trying to take over the throne, jealousy- the usual, but nothing that really gave them the story they wanted.

"Stark, can you develop some sort of scanner that can trace Loki's magic signature?" Fury asked. Well, look who finally wanted Tony to develop technology for them.

"I'm way ahead of you, Cyclops," Tony said, leaning against a file cabinet. Tony had already created a semi-efficient scanner specifically locked onto Loki's individual specs, which Tony analyzed after they sent the bastard home with the help of JARVIS. The ever faithful AI had run scans of the god while he was threatening Tony with his scepter. "All I have to do is expand the radius of the scanner and we'll be good to go. I'll have one on your doorstep by next Friday."

"See that you do," Fury said, looking ready to strangle Tony for the Cyclops quip. Instead he focused his attention on the rest of the team.

"Keep a sharp eye for any signs of trouble," he said. "We'll make sure his ass actually stays down this time. Dismissed."

Everyone paused for a moment before filing out the door, minds filled with thoughts of how they were to run their lives now that there was the threat of a vengeful god looming in the air. Tony saw Steve pat Thor on the arm before he left. Poor guy. He knew what it was like to have a messed up family, but he guessed Thor had him beat by quite a bit. He walked out the door, winking at Maria Hill, who rolled her eyes and looked back down at the tablet in her hands, before heading towards the elevator, catching it just before it went down with the rest of the Avengers team.

"I don't know what it's looking like for us," Steve said, hands in his pockets. Tony just shrugged, standing next to the wall between Bruce and Natasha.

"We got him one time, we can do it again," he said with certainty. "There are only so many hissy fits this guy can make before he's permanently put in time out."

"Let's keep him in the corner this time," Natasha said, arms crossed across her chest. They all nodded, tense and ready to spring back into action.

Avengers assemble again.


Reviews are greatly appreciated :3