Tony screamed as he felt himself falling. His hands desperately grasping for air as he fell. Bits and pieces of his suit falling off of him as he went. Rain pelted him leaving wet trails. It was the same as the night before. A ball of fire exploding out of the side of Stark tower. His mouth cursing the use of his tech. Fingers fusing with buttons, and a silent prayer being said. As always he froze in mid air unable to move.
Rain hung as a figure appeared before him. "You have no heart." the figure would say, and Tony never could get a glimpse of the silken voiced figure.
He sprung up in bed feeling his reactor buzz, reminding him that he was still alive. Tony was alone as always. Laying in bed with nothing more than his sheets.
"Are you OK sir?" Jarvis asked making the billionaire jump.
"Yes... thank you. Would you contact Bruce for me?" Tony said standing up pulling a pair of jeans on. His hands running through his hair that had become somewhat overgrown.
"Sir it's one a.m. Shall I still contact him?" the A.I. asked and Tony nodded knowing that he would respond to the motion.
He walked into the bathroom, barefeet making soft sounds on the granite floor. His fingers tracing the arc reactor mindlessly as he turned the faucet on and stuck his face in the water attempting to wash the ache out of his skin, the fear out of his soul.
"Bruce is on his way sir." Jarvis said to Tony a image appearing on the mirror next to his face.
"Tony? Are you ok?" Bruces voice spoke, rather groggily, but still Bruce.
"I'm fine... Just need another person here... Ever since Pepper..." Tony said his voice breaking at her name. It been a few years since the attack on the city by Loki, and in the course of it all Pepper had fallen ill. Mentally ill.
"Tony." Bruce said with sorrow. "I'll be there shortly."
"Thank you." Tony muttered starting to walk towards his workshop, the A.I. reminding him that Happy was happily helping him with the company, catching Tony up on all his friend had done with company in the past day. Happy was the perfect business man after having listened to Tony for so many years.
Grabbing a rubber band Tony quick pulled the longer chunks of hair out of his face tieing it up into what the popular culture called a man bun. "Jarvis please present the last suit I was working on."
"You're ninetieth suit?" the AI asked.
"God am I already up to ninety? Yes that would be the one." Tony said with a smirk as he walked over to his free weights starting to do a few reps as the AI cycled through all the suits he had stored beneath his building bringing him the right one.
It had become a routine for him. All his life consisted of was saving the world, working on his suits, scotch, and working out. Sleep was a rare thing that didn't end in a nightmare.
"Let's do this..." Tony muttered under his breath as Jarvis presented him with his latest suit.
Loki screamed as a blade drew it's way across his face leaving blood dripping to the floor. His skin turning a violent blue, his eyes flashing blood red. "Do your worst..." he growled as fists began to beat him. Soon he lay there on the floor of his prison, breathing labored, his tormenter standing above him.
"Do you repent for your crimes against Midgard?" the man growled to Loki.
"I regret the crimes, and poor choices, but I do not repent for something I can not undo!" Loki growled his flesh still a deep blue.
Before Loki could do any more he was pulled to his feet and carried towards his old home. His breath caught in his throat as he was thrown before his adopted father in the hall. All he could do was lay there in a crumpled heap on the floor before Odin growling, his mother gasping at the sight of his bloody and battered body.
"Loki Laufeyson your magic is revoked." Odin bellowed from a top his throne, his staff falling with a thud against the ground. Again Loki felt pain as a part of him was ripped from his bones and gathered into what looked like a golden apple. "Destroy this apple in any way and you will never have your magic back, you will be nothing more than a mortal frost giant."
It took the frost giant a moment to realize he could not turn back to his human form. His hands felt his face, and his small horns. The deep markins standing out from his skin almost painful to touch.
"You shall be banished to Midgard til the day you realize the value of not only your life, but of those around you. Loki, you may realize what you did was criminal, but you have no respect for anything, or anyone." Odin said clearly and Loki looked up at the bigger man.
"Odin, you preach of respect and of the value of life, but you have killed far more than I. You lied of my origin since you found me." Loki yelled before he was whisked away in a flurry of wind. His slender body bouncing in unknown current before he felt himself slam into a hard surface. The smell of oil, and burnt metal filling his nostrils.
Loki attempted to stand only to find himself collapsing once again into a head.
Tony sighed once again pulling back from his work as he heard Jarvis tell him Bruce was there. "Let him in." he muttered softly going back to welding a bit back onto his suit not noticing the body that crashed to his floor behind him.
"Sir?" Jarvis said loud enough to be heard over the welder.
"What?" Tony answered turning everything off setting his welder down. Standing to go grab a tool. "Do you know where I put my three quarters wrench?"
"Next to drink. Sir?" the AI answered as Tony found his scotch taking a big swig of it seeing Bruce walk in the workshop.
"Bruce!" Tony said with a half happy smile.
Bruce stood there blinking in surprise his words catching in his throat. "Um Tony..."
"Sir! I must tell you there is another individual in the building." Jarvis said loudly.
"Where?" Tony asked only to trip over a body as he went to great Bruce.
Tony sat there blinking for a moment before looking at the blue man that he had just tripped over. A pattern etched into the floor. The man groaned before he rolled over, and Tony started to swear scrambling to his feet.
"Jesus! Jarvis!" Tony yelled and immediately his hand gauntlets flew to him pointing directly at Loki.
"What is he doing here?" Bruce asked coming up behind Tony. "Puny god..." Bruce chuckled faintly hearing a whimper from the man.
"Well I sure as hell didn't invite the bastard. Why the fuck is he blue?" Tony swore standing slowly.
"Didn't Thor say something about him being adopted? We should contact him. Ask him a few questions." Bruce suggested squatting down next to the god. Checking the man for wounds finding plenty. "Well he isn't probably going to feel the greatest to begin with. I don't think I've seen this much bodily injury since the big fight."
"Really?" Tony came in cautiously to take a look for himself. His eyes taking in the man's various cuts and bruises.
"Anthony Stark?" Loki whispered looking up at the pair of men above him. "I'm sorry..." he whispered before Loki appeared to have passed out once again.
"What should we do?" Bruce asked, "We can't leave him here. He's not even looking like a human."
"We can put him in one of the rooms upstairs. Jarvis can watch him closer then we can." Tony suggested his eyes wandering over the torn and weathered close, "And probably get him in some different clothes."
"Should we call the team?" Bruce wondered aloud only to receive a glare from Tony. "Just Thor and Jane then?"
Tony nodded quickly his eyes noticing what appeared to be an apple sitting in his scotch glass. It took only a few short steps for him to get to it and he quickly picked it up. The apple was lighter than expected, and Tony let out a loud yelp as it was almost seamlessly vanishing into the tips of his fingers.
"Oh god! Jarvis do a body scan. Bruce I need you to run some blood tests on me stat! Quick let's get this blue bastard off the floor. Grab his feet." Tony instructed as the rest of the apple vanished into his fingers. His skin was starting to crawl as a new sensation started to overtake him, he could his arc reactor starting to hum louder as the light from it became a vibrant green color.
"That can't be good..." Bruce muttered a hand rubbing his face for a moment before he shuffled Loki into a car. "Do you have any smelling salts around here?"
"There are some in the toolbox number six just in case of emergencies." Jarvis chirped in as Bruce nodded going for the item, "And sir it would appear you've absorbed some sort of magical energy."
"No that can't be good." Tony kneeled in front of Loki taking the man's face in his hand as Bruce waved the salts under his nose. It took a sec before Loki's eyes flew open, and startled the two other men with how much of a violent red they were.
"What is that smell?" Loki groaned slowly rubbing his face before something in the god's head connected, "Why am I here?"
"You're one to talk, you appeared in my workshop, which don't go breaking shit. It took way too long to get everything fixed." Tony said before Loki's eyes caught sight of his now glowing green arc reactor.
"The all Father must be messing with me..." Loki muttered attempting to stand before his knees gave way, Bruce and Tony catching him.
"What do you mean?" Bruce said aloud the question that was troubling Tony at that moment.
"Somehow you've gained my magic." Loki said.