"Looks innocent enough, doesn't it? But sometimes there are dangers involved that never meet the eye. No matter where you meet a stranger, be careful if they are too friendly"
Just the night before, Tony would have payed no attention the quote. Not only because it was an anti-gay quote, but because he genuinely didn't care, he had his firepower, and his suits, and he wasn't scared of anything that stood in his way. Tony was cocky about things, he imbibed his nights away and tinkered during the day. Tony was the one man that everyone wanted to shake hands with. Virtually every night Tony did get out of his house, he never had to pay, everyone else offered him his drinks. Drinking was fine, but free drinking was the best.
Now though, after reflecting on the quote, Tony realized that he was erroneous for ignoring it. He still didn't care much for gay rights, they were fine to him, but the quote sunk into his bones like none other. Be careful if they are too friendly. Be careful if they are too friendly. He didn't care at the time but kindness was his best friend if he really thought on it. When he was drunk he blew his troubles away, sent them to the wind and very simply let go. If someone was kind, he was polite back, even with all of his sass.
Precisely twenty four hours ago, Tony walked into a bar, even with a five o' clock scotch still burning in his stomach, he was itching for another drink. Tony relished letting go, socializing, making contacts, and that's why he fell under the wing so facilely. Slipping into what he truly thought was a good time, but turned out to be a terrible lie.
The bar in the town's diner was thick with smoke, casual voices, polite voices. He visually examined the familiar faces, few incipient ones as well, but not any more existent than the others. He pushed through the crowd, mind set on at least one drink, just one. Tony knew he might just get free drinks again, but that was frivolous, he had his wallet loaded all the while.
He took a seat near the far wall, this time he genuinely hoped to be discreet, obnubilated, but it wasn't long before another body was found by his side. Be careful if they are too friendly. The new face wasn't talkative, and Tony didn't care, he was too focused on dealing with drinking his own thoughts away, so they ignored one another casually. It wasn't awkward, but normal for a bar setting.
"Tony, nice to see you again-" The tender hovered behind the counter, forearms resting against the marble counter, chest pushed forward and on display for all Tony's heart desired. Tony nodded after the blonde's light voice sounded. The other man ignored completely, Tony guessed he must've been soaked in his own thoughts. "The usual, or something new hun?" She asked, heaving a breath before straightening up to clean off the counters in circle motions with her wet rag.
"It's nice to see you as well, Joanna, How about a Peppermint schnapps, perfect for the holiday." Tony said tierdly, eyeing the lone line of colored lights around the room. Joanna nodded in agreement, chomping on her gum absent mindedly. Tony didn't know the young girl very well, but he knew her well enough to know that every time he ran into her, she would try to talk him up. The girl trotted away pleastently, leaving Tony back to his own thougths. He was sulking, of course, for reasons he couldn't account for, but the mood seemed right for a night out. This was in fact his first night out all month, and he only wanted to drink, not to converse.
The man to his left was deep in his own mind, Tony could virtually feel the energy pulsating from the being. This was when Tony acquired a good visual of the other man. His light blonde hair stuck up easily every way possible, sideways impressively at the ends, his skin pale against the contrasting ebony he was wearing. His dark red scarf was flowing over his neck, his eyes red and from what seemed to be tears and his breathing almost tranquil. Tony could sense his own stare and looked away before The other man could descry. He swallowed and ignored the view all over again. Joanna though, arrived more expeditious than expected with the drink in her hand, a minute integrated candy cane sticking out the top of the frozen cold glass.
"The cane is just for you, I knew you'd enjoy it" She smirked his way and made Tony's eyes fixate on her. Tony couldn't tell if the man beside to him situated himself, or flinched in irritation for the girls presence; but then again, he was endeavoring to ignore the man so he fixated on the girl instead.
"It's perfect, thank you sweetie." Tony took a sip of his drink gently, grimacing scarcely at the delectable burn down his throat. This was perfect, the best drink for his sulking posture. Joanna smiled in self righteousness, settling herself across the counter from Tony. "So-" She started, gazing her eyes over the man. "-I seen you on the T.V Last night." She slurred. It was obvious to Tony that she'd been drinking that night as well. Tony sipped his drink and released a scoff in Joannas direction.
"You mean my court sentence, again, that I got out of-" Tony coughed and sniffed slightly, "-again." Joanna laughed and raised an eyebrow amused.
"You always know how to get out of things, don't you, Tony." She smiled and stood up, continuing her job with the counter cleaning slowly. Tony nodded easily, drinking just a bit more. He stared at the drink, looking at the clear liquid that was almost gone due to his thirst.
"Always." He sighed heavily, sucking the rest of his drink out before putting the candy cane between his teeth. He wasn't drunk, but he could feel it coming on, and quick, he was sensitive tonight, more than usual. It was odd, but he ignored it like he ignored the man at his side. "You know-" He gave the girl an angry, confused look, and she looked straight back. "These glasses should really be bigger, I need more to drink than this pathetic excuse." He sucked the tip of his candy slowly, shaking his glass to hear the well known cling of ice in an empty cup. Joanna nodded fiercely, pulling her hand away from the rag on the counter, crossing her arms over her chest, giving out another scene for Tony to glimpse at. She noticed and smiled contently.
"There are a lot of things that need to be bigger in this world." She started, biting her lip. Tony shifted in his chair and cocked his head to the side, his lips curling into a smirk softly before replying.
"Like?" He wondered. Joanna simply snickered and leaned down, mumbling into the man's ear, his hair tickling her cheek.
"I'm not saying it's small, but i'd like to see how big that c-" She could barely finish before the almost white haired man got both of the two's attention easily by clearing his throat.
"If I dare to obtrude, but nobody optate's to perceive such things." He coughed, looking at the two disgustedly. Joanna fully retreated back, clearing her throat as well before stomping off angrily. Tony looked at the man.
"Excuse me?" Tony turned his full attention to the man.
"You are very well exculpated, but I must verbalize, there are some things that should stay behind closed doors." The man laughed softly, his lips spreading into an immensely colossal toothy smile. Tony didn't understand the persuasive relevancy here. The man ignoring everyone spoke up out of turn. Then here we was, smiling at him, holding out his hand. His smile was as white as the snow on the ground outside of the diner, his casual warm smile blurring everything around the room, even Joanna's stressed, loud voice became nonexistent for a moment. Then again, Tony did take benevolently to friendliness. The now standing and vividly tall man did verbalize his name, but Tony didn't catch the offer, his ears were buzzing for a moment before he was clued in. "Oh come on, you authentically didn't expect someone to be visually revolted by bedroom actions?" Tony shook his head and stood up quickly, pulling the candy cane from his lips, holding his hand back out.
"I'm sorry, I think I missed the name there." Tony forced a smile, holding the man's hand, shaking firmly.
"Ah, yes, My name is Lucious, Lucious Wellington, and might I add, it is a delightful pleasure to meet you." There was a smile again before each of the man's hands dropped.
"I'm Tony, Tony Stark." Tony concluded. There was a hint of destruction in Lucius' smile, one Tony didn't catch until he thought about it later on.
"Oh, I know, Tony." Lucius' voice was lower now, more devious, and still, Tony didn't notice it. Be careful if they are too friendly. "Tony, would you like to see my ship?" Lucius offered arbitrarily. Tony blindly accepted the offer and followed Lucius out of the diner, leaving his candy cane behind on the bar counter forgetfully. Looks innocent enough doesn't it? At the time, for Tony, it was innocent, very innocent, so innocent that even after walking for over an hour to the middle of nowhere, he was still headstrong about the ship Lucius wanted to show him. Be careful..
He woke up, and his brain pounded in his skull, his vision was blurry for what seemed to be forever until everything conclusively focused. He couldn't make out where he was at all. There was nothing in the boxed in room. It was diminutive, minuscule enough that if Tony stretched his arms to either side of his body, he could physically contact both walls. Breathing was choked out of his lungs and he stood, pain shooting through his bones. He didn't recollect last night, or anything that transpired, and this pained him. The room was silent, he couldn't hear anything from outside the walls. The space smelled of his own sweat, and was warm with fear. There were spots in his mind that he could recollect, like when he entered the bar, and met Lucius. He commenced to wonder if he was drugged. He must have been, because these blank question marks
were not explainable any other way. Tony had never gotten authentically drunk enough to not even remember a speck of what happened the night before. His memory might have been weak, but to have blank spaces from just the night before was virtually unexplained. He had to have been drugged, there was no other idea for what was going on.
The room seemed to be silent and dim for hours, to the point where Tony felt his nerves wrecking him, and his sanity slipping away. Just before this transpired, however, there was a marginal clicking sound that was virtually like heaven to his ears. The sound made him clue in to conclusively realize that he'd been locked up for all this time like a canine. Ignoring the clicking, he began struggling with his chains, plenarily brushing off the fact that a wall in front of him was gradually slid open, and his forearms were gripped with intolerance, his body being tugged out of the room. He was too lazy to walk, and too hungover. Tony could customarily handle hangovers, but this was far harder to ignore than any one he'd had before. His senses determinately caught on and he gathered his surroundings quickly. His ears rang from the long silence, but he could faintly hear metal slamming against more metal, kind of like a factory. There was nearly nothing for light, so he could scarcely distinguish the two men dragging him along the corridor. Tony looked over his shoulder to see where he had had been pulled from, a long hallway of grey mechanical doors, making it clear that he was not the only one stuck here; but then Tony thought, What in the hell did they want from him. He hadn't done anything thoroughly terrible in the past year. After all of the close encounters with death, and his long lost arc reactor in his chest, he had done nothing bad. there hadn't been any other terrifying experiences, and even the one Thor told him about that he was not vigilant of until a late Halloween night he had to say in. Whatever he talked about dark elves meant nothing to Tony, but all he knew was that after Thor's issues, he had heard of nothing bad going on, so why did these guys want him of all people?
Tony's arms were forced forward, the chains digging into his wrists, tugging him out of his previous thoughts.
"Here, boys, drop him." a familiar voice echoed through the room. Tony was pushed to his knees, his eyes forced up. Torches burned in the room he was in, he instantly forgot how long the walk was to this place. Tony looked up to catch the crimson red eyes burrowing into his own soul.
"Lucius." Tony's voice was impotent, burned out. There was the dark smile again.
"Yes, that's the title." He chuckled. His body was covered in none other than the tuxedo that tony recollected from the night before. The red scarf was still there, the dark ebony tuxedo jacket and bow tie over the pristine white shirt. Tony's breathing got impuissant again. His whole body felt like tumbling over onto the ground, giving up for forever. Tony realized that he was too old for this shit to be happening to him now.
"Tony." Lucius cleared his throat and stepped forward gradually. There was a throne here, and the deep smell of smoke filling the room. Tony could feel the heat illuminating from Lucius's body when he walked closer, kneeling down to Tony's level. "Since your little toll in Afghanistan, I've been watching you." Tony's breath caught in his chest again. How did he know about that? Not many people authentically knew about that. Lucius continued soullessly. "Oh, my friend, don't be too frightened, This is my job, looking over the soul sellers of this generation."
"Soul sellers?" Tony coughed, catching the red eyes again. Lucius' eyes widened and he stood, nodding gradually.
"Oh affirmative, do you ken how many soul's you've gathered, Tony?" He looked down and waved his hands towards the two ostentatious beings Tony still hadn't made out yet. Tony didn't answer, he left his mouth silent, everything rushing through his head expeditiously. "All of the innocents you and your little super friends have taken?"
"We were fighting against evil beings that wanted to wipe out the entire race, it's better to have a few dead than billions." Tony spat, looking down at the dirt filled ground
"A soul is a soul, Tony" Lucius laughed. "It doesn't matter how many, one soul, two souls, three souls, seventeen thousand souls." Lucius explained, holding a hand to count one two and three, but flailing his hands to exaggerate seventeen thousand. Tony heald his breath this time.
"What about a life saved then?" He looked up to Lucius again, letting his body red against the heels of his feet now. Lucius laughed once more.
"Then that's a job well done, they get to enjoy the cruel sounds of life for at least twenty more years, but death, love, is a gift. A gift from god, but given to none other than good ol' Lucius." His own hands rested on his chest. as he spoke, turning on his heel to step over to a torch on the wall slowly, picking it up easily and walking back to Tony, blowing the fire out quickly before sitting down gently in front of the man. "Take it like this, Tony." Lucius commenced. "I'm the all father, the one who gives, and receives lives. The giver, the receiver, but not the taker. Do you accumulate what i'm saying?" Lucius looked softly at Tony, watching the shaken nod. "So, I give lives, Like this." Lucius held out the torch, his hand as well, but Tony noticed something odd. Lucius' fingers sparked and crackled like the sounds a fire would make, and just before Tony could recall what was going on, the torch was lit again, Lucius giving a warm smile. Okay, so Lucius did just light the torch on fire with nothing but his own hands. Tony couldn't believe it, but he kept his mind focused and watched the man again. "The life will burn until it cannot burn any longer." As the words were spoken, the fire died out, innocently. This was all making too much sense for Tony to handle, but he gathered the information anyway, the fire again being lit back up to life. "And then I can be you. The one that is to take the innocent life." Lucius smashed his palm against the fire, putting out the torch more violently than he really needed to. Tony jumped back slightly before collecting his senses again. There was not even a burn on Lucius' hand. "Then, the soul is put into my debt, being that I am the one that took the life, it would be my responsibility, to save another's life to erase the debt that I have, or to life with the death forever, with a debt that would need to be payed off. You see?" Lucius smiled, taking a deep breath. Tony nodded again, and swallowed. "You have only saved few lives, Tony." Tony took a sharp breath, tears stinging in his own eyes.
"But all of the people in new york, I saved all of them, and that family back in Afghanistan, I saved them too, Pepper, how.." He trailed off. Oh Pepper, he would have killed to see her now.
"But there are far more souls that you've taken than saved Tony, and no good deeds will repay the ones that you owe." Lucius spoke gently, unphased by Tony's realization. "And you have to pay for them, Tony." He said softly, standing.
"Who are you?" tony looked up, his body visibly shaking, and he knew it too.
"Oh, me? I'm Lucius, i'm sure we have met before." He laughed evilly, crossing his arms over his chest. Tony huffed.
"You know damn well that isn't what I meant." Lucius stopped laughing, furrowing his brows angrily.
"Tony have you heard of Lucifer?" Lucius asked. "Oh you know, the Prince of darkness, all that." Lucius stared at Tony questionably. Tony nodded, shamefully, forcing back a sob. The only place he could think of was hell. He must've been in hell, there was no other place. Tony didn't believe in God, or Satan, so this was all too unreal for him to grasp. He usually believed that everything happened for a reason, and a damn good one at that, but this? This was out of tony's grasp.
"Tony, I'm Lucius, Son of Lucifer, the gatekeeper of Hell, the debt collector, do you understand?" Lucius leaned down almost coklily to catch Tony's glare. "Tony, you have a debt to pay, and I will collect it." He grinned heartlessly.
"How?" Tony whispered.
"Give me your soul, or die, It's your choice really." This time Tony stayed quiet, his heart was beating out of his chest, his head aching, his bones burning. He must have fought the night before, nothing else would make his body hurt so bad. He wondered if there was a way out of this, if he could just run, and hide, like a coward. He wasn't giving his own life to such a cold hearted man, so maybe running was truly his only option; but still, Tony stayed completely silent. Lucius circled Tony, awaiting an answer, but both of them were interrupted with the sound of another set of chains.
"Sir, your next appointment awaits." A deep, disgruntled voice sounded. Tony didn't hear the words, but only what Lucius spoke.
"Yes, take this one, we're done here." Lucius sighed, pointing to Tony like nothing new had happened. Tony's arm was gripped with a familiar tightness, being tugged up and forced around to walk the other way. Tony's eyes forced up to the other individual in the room, the one he had not yet seen. Tony's heart stopped and his feet stopped with it. He suddenly lost all importance to do anything as he stared. The man had raven hair, familiar pale skin that synced with gold and green perfectly. He was smiling, cockily, his hair curled down past his shoulders, cheek bleeding, indicating that he'd been in a fight not too long ago. Tony assumed he was fighting with the guards. Tony knew this man all too well, just like the first moments he saw him, there was a long flowing green cape down his back, golden braces up his forearms, but this time, his hands were chained, his relentless gaze strong against Lucius' frown.
Tony was dragged past the man, his own chains sounding through the room. This was beginning to be all too much for Tony, his vision was blurring, and his hearing being overtaken by a ring that he could barely hear over, but what he did hear made him feel something close to humorous.
"How Long's it been, old man?" The all too familiar voice sounded.
"Hush, you unpalatable fool." Lucius shot. The other man laughed deeply.
"You really think you can keep me locked up, after all the work that i've offered you?"
"This is not about you." Lucius sighed.
"Whatever it is about, Lucius, you are wrong, and I will outsmart you-" the voice became all too quiet for Tony to hear, so he couldn't make out anything else, and his body gave in to his own stress. Tony fell into a deep, unpredictable sleep. The last thing he coul dhave though was about the man he just seen. Out of all the places he could have re-met Loki, this place didn't even cross Tony's mind.