Loki watched himself fade to dust with a pang of loss. He had had that body for quite a long time. He grew up with it, did literally everything with it, and now it was gone. Just… gone. Crumbled away like it had never existed. If he was looking through his own eyes, they may have filled with tears.

His vision flew wildly as Tony looked around, as if watching the screen of a camera that was tossed in the air.

"What?" Tony's voice echoed through the school gym, muted slightly by the broken bricks that were strewn across the floor. "What-what just happened? Am I the only one who is completely lost?"

Just then the rhythmic thudding of heavy footsteps influenced Tony to whirl around, surprisingly graceful for a man in a metal suit. They watched as Thor strode down the deserted alleyway, his crimson cape billowing in the breeze. He barged in through the hole Loki made, paying no heed to the red bricks laying at it's mouth as he crushed them under his mighty step.

"Where is he, where is Loki?" Thor turned every which way as if his adopted brother was attempting to hide in the empty room. His gaze landed on the shadow-beast, which has not moved. Despair dawned on Thor's face as he caught sight of gnarled hands, dusted in a fine gold powder. He sank to his knee, completely crushing several of the floor tiles.

The God of Thunder turned his fury to the shadow, rising to his feet. Mjolnir crackled and sparked as he thrusted the hammer high into the air, swirling it slightly.

The room darkened and the grimy windows rattled in their frames. Thunder rumbled outside and a deafening torrent of rain tried the roof and invaded through the Loki-hole. Loki knew all too well what this meant.

Here he goes, he thought, glad (for the moment) that it was the metal mortal who currently hosted his life form.

Only he wasn't moving.

What are you doing? Run, you imbecile!

"Loki?"

Don't just stand there, put as much distance between yourself and Mjolnir as you possibly ca-

Thor let loose a roar and brought down his hammer, smashing it into the floor. The impact alone would've been enough to level the building and bury them all inside. For the Thunderer, that would not be enough.

For a split second the room was filled with a blinding white light

The silence that followed was deafening. Tony's ears rang loudly, and his neck was sticky with the blood pouring from his ears.

What is that insufferable noise? It sounded to him as though someone rang a very small bell and placed it in his ear, and the noise was sustained, never fading.

Tony attempted to say something. Well, actually, he did say something. Loki could feel his neck vibrate, but neither of them could hear what he said.

What in Asgard ails your ears? It occurred to him that he still should've heard the mortal's thoughts as he spoke. Surely he did think about what he said, right? Perhaps he could not feel his thoughts because he was still in the shallow reaches of his consciousness, just barely hanging on? If that was the case, then did Stark now know what he was thinking? It was worth looking into. What of it, mortal. Do you follow my musing?

Another attempt at speech.

Loki sighed internally. Think what you wish to say and I will hear you… probably.

At first, there was only silence. Then as he waited, Loki began to hear a slight echo. As he concentrated, he began to be able to pick out certain words.

...How are... alive… teleported… sneaky bastard… no escape… will find you… can't win this one… not even you… keep me from partying.

Apparently he thought Loki teleported. Well, at least now he didn't have to worry about the avengers looking for him where he actually was. This might buy just enough time for him to be strong enough to materialize and… Then what? Keep running?

Loki shook the thought from his head. He will worry about it when the time comes.

Now, he needed to worry about getting the mortal out from under the building. It would be no good if his host was crushed under a leveled building.

He instructed Tony to climb his way out.

Nice plan, genious. Now just tell me which way is up. It was the snarky retort Loki expected, but at least now he could hear the mortal more clearly.

Loki sighed again, and tried to recall which direction would lead them up. Once Thor's thunder hit them, he lost all sense of direction, a fact that was quite irksome. Wait..

Do you not have a magical servant in your armour to tell you the way?

Two things: Number one, Jarvis is an AI butler, not a magic servant. B, he can't tell me anything because His Majesty Your Brother destroyed my ears, and probably my eyes, too.

The Trickster paused, not sure what to address first. After several seconds he said, well rather, asked, Number one and B?

No... yes! Anyway, you're missing the point. Thor destroyed two of my five senses, because he thought you were dead. That gives me every right to blame you. If you don't fix this, I'm going to-

He was interrupted as the dark world suddenly tipped and spun. Both of them were overcome by dizziness. The next thing they knew they were staring at water dripping down splintered drywall, but mostly they could see only an array of black shapes floating around their vision.

Tony spoke again, and though Loki could not hear what he said, he figured it was fair to assume he was talking to his magical servant, because the mask lifted from their face.

No, not our face, my face. Mine.

Heard that, did you? Damn.

Well, you didn't teleport, did you.

Loki imagined pressing his lips together, reverting to his physical habits. No, I didn't.What would the mortal say to Thor?

As if on cue, a dripping wet scarlet cape swished into the corner of vision they had in Tony's right eye. The world tipped again, and Tony and Loki were on their feet, a firm hand keeping them aloft. It vaguely registered to Tony that his armor was gone.

Thor's mouth moved and he gestured around them. Loki burned with curiosity to see what he was pointing to.

What is he pointing at? Look around!

I-I can't… He flopped over, suspended by Thor's hand on his bicep.

Was the mortal dead? Loki didn't think he was dead, but what if he was? Would he get control over the mortal's body? He attempted to move, just a tiny bit, just a twitch of a finger. Nothing.

Tony's eyes slipped closed, leaving Loki completely blind. He could not hear anything other than a loud ringing, he couldn't see, his sense of balance was completely gone, and he was trapped in the mind of a mortal whom was quite possibly dead, for reasons he knew not why. It was just a bit of lightning and thunder, are mortals really that weak?

It's a bit on the short side, but this was a good spot to end it so I cut it off here. I actually have more written already, so chapter three should be up sometime over the weekend (no, Friday does not count :P).

Don't forget to leave a review/suggestion or let me know if I mess up something!

HAPPY 2014!