Reminder that this idea was rubberbandgirlme's
music muse: Kanye West's "Power" and Natalie Merchant's "My Skin" and Woodkid's "Iron"
I haven't seen Thor 2 yet (not available until Nov 8th) so here yonder is all speculation and theory.
I own nothing really, just adjusted/expanded this idea
Earlier….
Tony knew they had hauled Loki off, most likely, to Asguard. But he was Tony Stark, he didn't have emotions; he had money and tech. He'd express himself through his billionaire aloofness and try not to think of that man's soft lips.
There was also Nick Fury who over the last week had barraged him with requests to join the Avengers initiative. Tony ignored them, he'd given Fury his answer and just because Loki was gone it didn't mean he was suddenly in the mood to play the hero.
"Tony!" Pepper called.
Tony pretended not to hear her over his music and tossed a piece of the engine across the room.
"Jarvis mute music." Pepper ordered.
Jarvis complied silently.
"You're supposed to be half-way around the world right now." She remarked. "Your plane was scheduled to leave three hours ago."
Tony didn't give any indication he heard her. Then suddenly he frowned and glanced at her, "Funny, I think it being my aircraft, it would wait for me."
"Tony, I am trying my hardest but you can't pass this up. I've barely subdued S.H.I.E.L.D from coming in here and confiscating all your equipment. This demonstration is vital to keeping Stark Industries afloat and away from S.H.I.E.L.D's grasp. You're just supposed to fly over, show them new weapons and let the results boost the market." Pepper explained impatiently.
"Doesn't it defeat the purpose of having a personal jet if it departs before you arrive?" Tony shrugged. He was getting extremely good at bull-shitting his emotions, so good in fact that he was flying right under the radar at this moment in front of Pepper of all people.
"Tony..." Pepper warned.
He rolled his eyes, "I get it, I'm making your world exponentially suck-ish, but I have actually been working down here." He made no move to leave the workshop and continued to disassemble the engine.
"I could call Obadiah." Pepper noted.
Tony sprung up and bit his tongue to keep from cursing. "Fine." He managed.
Pepper smiled softly, "I'll let them know you're on your way."
Tony grabbed the keys to his fastest car. "Jarvis, get Happy."
"Connecting to an open line." Jarvis obliged.
"Hello?" Happy answered.
"Rev it, I've got to get my luggage to the jet." Stark answered.
"Alright, I'll be down in a minute." Happy agreed.
Tony twirled the keys, "First one there gets a raise." He jumped into the Audi and hit the pedal.
Loki smirked, his so-called-father barely even looked his way during the trial. He stood before Asguard and kept his eyes on him, praying that the old man would look back at him and cower at what he had become. All his fault...he betrayed me, he lied to me. Loki reminded himself. Slightly to the left and behind the throne stood his mother, Frigga. She wore an impressive mask, but Loki knew it was cracking at the sides. Her lips twitched whenever she wanted to speak out against the cruel judgment but she remained silent.
Thor was off somewhere with his ridiculous warriors, yet he had the audacity to claim he cared. Well, somewhat. The first day Loki was back in Asguard he was placed in a holding cell. There, Thor had told him exactly what he thought of him...
"You should know that when we fought previously, I spared you in hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you... If you betray me, I will kill you."
Loki scowled as a snide comment was made in a whisper behind him. He was used to these throughout his life but this one was slightly different.
"They should just send him back to that planet, where he murdered his own. Such a twisted creature to kill his own father." The whispers grew in Loki's mind.
Odin finally turned his gaze upon his son as the trail was close to its end. "Does something displease you?" He dared lowly.
Loki felt himself sneering before he had processed what Odin had said. "Adorable, really. Supposedly I'm the liar and the deceiver."
Odin's eyes grew dark and Frigga's eyes widened slightly in fear for her son in light of her husband's temperament.
"You feel betrayed? After you attempted to murder your own brother, successfully killed your birthfather?"
"Was it not my lineage to be king?" Loki engaged.
"Your lineage was to die!" Odin snapped. "In the cold winters of Jotunhiem. Abandoned. Make light of my sacrifices to raise you as my own, you may, but do not forget who you really are."
Loki balled his fists. "What sacrifices? You say you raised me? No."
"I will not have this disrespect." Odin yelled.
"I will not have this pathetic excuse for parentage be inflated to love." Loki growled.
Odin paled and after a short beat excused the court and retreated from the throne.
Loki was dragged right back into the prison cell he had been staying in for that week.
An hour passed before Frigga came through the doors.
Loki acknowledged her, he owned her that much.
"What excuses you to speak like that?" Frigga asked calmly.
Loki frowned. "What does not?"
"Please do not challenge my sincerity." Frigga crossed her arms.
Loki scowled, "Sincerity? I am not your son and you don't need to pretend anymore."
"Do not try to sway my care with venom in voice." Frigga warned.
Loki tried to keep the anger on his face but it faded as he grew tired. His mother's face softened as well. With the facade broken Loki's eyes darted all over her presence, hoping to discover if there was any lies in her claims.
"Tell me..." She asked, she had moved closer to the glass.
Loki shook his head slowly, "I cannot."
"Then who will you tell?" Frigga sighed, "These things are not to be withheld from those we love."
Loki blinked, "I…" He stopped himself and clenched his fists.
"Are you okay?" Frigga asked.
Loki was startled slightly, he hadn't had someone ask him that since…well Tony. "I am better..."
"How long were you on Midguard?" Frigga asked.
"Months…" Loki replied. It seemed futile to rationalize why Loki felt so distant from that little planet, why he felt so deprived after being taken from Tony. Mere days away from the man, he had survived without the man's presence before…but then he knew indefinitely he could get back to Tony with the flicker of a teleportation spell.
Frigga remained silent, her eyes bright and beautiful as always. It pained Loki to see firsthand how she missed him.
"I never intended on ruling." Loki managed.
"I know." Frigga smiled weakly, "You need not persuade me, I am already on your side…exempting the destruction of Jotuns and Midguardians..…I understand why you did it but that does not justify it."
Loki's eyes closed in attempt to bottle up the rising emotions. "You're ashamed…"
Frigga's eyes widened in confusion.
Loki glanced back at her and believed the silence as an agreement. "That I would go to such horrible lengths, a twisted mind ready to murder those who would seem lesser."
"You have never been twisted, nor a murderer Loki. I am not ashamed of you… I am ashamed of what you've done. Ashamed I could not help you, that you did not come to me for help and that all this time it was all you really needed." Frigga spoke firmly.
Loki could feel the tears collecting in the corners of his eyes as he remained silent. His hands began to shake slightly. He was just so desperate…did she chose to just ignore the monster he was? Was he really a monster at all?
"Loki." Frigga spoke softly. "You are mine, and I am yours, as will I always be. No blood was ever needed to make me love you, neither for Thor or your father."
Loki blinked hard and tried to laugh defiantly. "No, I'm sure my blood would make Odin delightfully pleased."
Frigga shook her head, "He has tried his best."
"I don't need false consolidation." Loki snapped.
Frigga took a deep breath, "It is not weakness to admit that you need help, Loki, it is bravery. You have to face this…I fear you hate yourself more than him."
Loki looked to his feet, his tears blurring his vision and his energy wasted on his previous yelling.
"Loki you are powerful, and so very strong…you don't have to-"
"I AM NOT STRONG ENOUGH!" Loki bellowed. "Whatever I try to do ends up being overwritten as a trick, my intentions and words twisted as lies regardless of who I am. Living in this wretched palace with whispers all around telling me that I MUST be as Thor is only served to alienate me to myself. I do not care what I am anymore, it is but a child's need. I am finished with trying to please others, I will live how I see fit and if it serves to murder or destroy then I revert to what everyone seems to expect of me."
Frigga took a step from the cell wall. She did not seem moved by Loki's violent outburst or temper. It irritated Loki that she could see his facade, always.
Loki glared at her as long as he could before averting his eyes in failure and without another word she left.
Tony grabbed a glass of scotch from his Stark cooler unit. The briefcase-like device was utterly a drunk idea improvised last minute to help promote the new Jericho missile. The weapon was worth the money, but it was over-kill for most of his buyers and he'd need to sweeten the deal. He would never admit to designing his latest weapons as the most reckless but it was how it seemed. Increased firepower didn't always rationalize the need for it.
He didn't overstay his welcome at the base, it had been a long flight of attempting to get Rhodey drunk enough to stop belly-aching about his lateness. His plan backfired as Rhodey became even more focused on his rants about Tony's non-existent self-consciousness.
A short buzz and Tony flipped out his cell, a video feed from Obadiah. Tony cursed quietly to himself. If Pepper mentioned anything he was going to dock her a vacation day.
"Hey Obie." Tony faked a smile.
"Tony." Obie greeted.
"What are you doing up at this hour?" Obie was in fact on his bed with most of the lights off but Tony could tell it was probably very early in the morning back home.
"I just wanted to check in and see about the new demonstrations, everything go well?" Obadiah asked.
Tony sighed in relief, "Oh yeah, it looks like it'll be an early Christmas."
"Waydago my boy." He congratulated.
Stark needed this conversation done, he mentally searched for the easiest way to make his father's long time business buddy hand up.
"Hey, why aren't you wearing those pyjama's I bought you?" Tony asked.
Obadiah groaned quietly, "Goodnight Tony." Without another second passing he had hung up and Tony grinned to himself at his ingenuity. He slid into the back seat of the escorting car and glanced out the window to see Rhodey approaching it as well.
"Tony-" Rhodey began.
"I'm sorry, this is the FUN-vee." He interjected.
Rhodey rolled his eyes, "Fine…by the way, good job with the presentation."
Tony gave a curt nod, "See you back at base."
Present Day
Loki starred at the floor, his mind racing. Anxiety filled his veins and refused to let him rest as night fell. He could't explain it, his magic was flaring at full capacity as he lashed out at anything within his grasp. Furniture shredded and his toe bleeding from a regrettably, clumsy attempt to release his anger. He slumped down to the floor as a strange feeling continued to course through his body. Unexplainable…yet so close Loki was sure he should be defending himself against whatever was doing this to him.
It was strange to think that the Allfather would build a cell that inhibited his magic but allowed that of others inside…it couldn't be another's magic then…
Loki tossed another book carelessly across the Asguardian cell. He had been in this wretched place for months now and he was no closer to actually getting a trail. The Allfather had given him nothing more than a few insults before sending him down to the prisons. Even his mother stopped visiting. He watched the other inmates, their own cells filling with more and more prisoners yet none were added to his cell.
The pressure in his chest kept building, he felt a cold chill inside and he hadn't the slightest idea why. Alone...perhaps. He missed Tony, longed to have that beard drag over his shoulder with a chuckle and a greeting to the dawn that woke him. To have those perfectly calloused hands around his waist and brushing up his chest, attentively exploring every inch of him. Did he love Stark? Did Stark even love him?
Yes.
Loki knew what love was like, even if it was rare in his lifetime to express or feel it...he knew the signs and wished he would be able to see him again. Human years are so short and precious...
The sound of the heavy metal doors to the barracks caught his attention. Dressed in a dark blue robe, his golden haired brother walked solemnly past the mocking inmates who pressed their warted and ghastly faces to the glass to attempt an intimidation. Maybe in Thor's previous years he would have punished them for their slights but not this Thor... He had become the perfect king, grown into the seriousness of what Odin always had wanted.
Loki was too tired to use much venom in his tone but he still managed. "Why have you come here? To mock?"
Thor stopped short of Loki's cell, keeping in distance that face seemed to have faded into a dull and lifeless stare. "No..." He replied.
"Then what brings the crown prince to such lowly matters?" Loki inquired with a sigh.
"Maybe you would like to know, brother... Your mortal lover has been captured." Thor replied with a stern stare.
Loki paused and then laughed lightly, "Stark wasn't anything but fun, Thor."
Thor nodded, "Then you won't be hurt by the fact that he's being violently tortured in some dark cavern." He turned to glance at Loki who's face had paled. The smile completely vacant and his eyes glazed over.
A few minutes passed and Thor sighed, leaving his younger brother to his thoughts, allowing the guards to follow him close behind to shut the golden doors.
Loki glared at the wall, his breathing becoming more rapid as his mind played out the scene within his own mind. His magic was limited...this cell wouldn't allow him to gaze past the stars to where Tony was to confirm or deny Thor's claim...but those eyes, Loki couldn't remember the last time they had been so restless.
Loki kicked the closest thing to him and let out a deafening scream of anger as this only opened his previous foot wound even further. Slowly leaning back as his voice wore out, he let the tears fall down his cheeks as he bit his lip.
He had to get out of this place…now.
He had to get out of this place….now.
Another scream echoed through the large underground cave making his body tense. The cold made him shiver again.
They burst through the metal doors and grabbed him roughly, he clung onto his car battery because quiet frankly it was now his lifeline.
They dragged him to another room and with the basin filled with water Tony cringed. This wasn't real….this couldn't be happening.
Loki gasped as he felt the coldness of water on his face and inside his lungs. But he was inside his cell…
Loki let out a defying scream, whatever tortures they were attempting, he would not be brought down without a fight. He felt a sharp pain in his chest almost like a shock and he yelped.
"STOP IT!" Loki screamed.
Tony didn't care who had said it, the men had left him alone on the floor to catch his breath. It was a loud and powerful voice, it scared him and initially he thought the person would only say it to begin another form of torture. No. They left him alone.
Tony backed to the wall and coughed. "Yensin?" He called.
Loki paused as the sensations of drowning stopped. It had actually worked? Perhaps it was all within his own mind.
Tony was brought back to his own 'room' eventually. Yensin was shaving his chin again.
"Are you alright Mr. Stark?" He asked once the men had left.
Tony nodded, "Someone actually had the decency to leave me alone today…"
Yensin frowned, "What?"
"They were dunking me, then someone told them to stop." Tony shrugged.
"They will do whatever they can to get what they need." Yensin warned. "Find out what that is and you may just be one step closer-"
"Whatever they do they're going to kill you, me…whatever happens I'll be dead within a week anyways." Tony mumbled.
"Dead in a week."
Loki jumped at the voice and growled, "No I won't." Yet despite his own feelings of anger the sinking feeling of giving up filled his body and mind. Loki knew it was alien to him, this was not his emotion. Focusing whatever he could onto those feelings, silently hoping that the cell wouldn't keep him from doing so.
Tony frowned as a defiant emotion began building inside of him. He didn't want to die…not anymore. He didn't want to just lay down.
Loki smiled, the feeling of doubt was out of his system…but just as soon has he had gotten rid of that, fear rushed in.
They shouted a language he did not know. They always did, Tony did his best not to aggravate them further. They covered his head with a bag and shoved him out of the 'room'. Tony began to count.
Loki frowned as numbers began running into his mind, what did this mean? 12 steps forward, 24 left, 4 fork right…
Despite their oddity Loki did not suppress them, he cataloged them for later hoping that they meant something.
The bag was taken off of Tony's head.
Loki shut his eyes momentarily, the bright light had come out of nowhere.
Tony laid eyes upon his weapons. This place had a dizzying amount of his merchandise…
Yensin listened to one of the men and then tapped Tony's shoulder. "He wants to know what you think."
He glanced back to the man who gestured his arms wide as if he was some sort of accomplished buyer.
"I think you've got a lot of my weapons…"
Yensin translated, "He says they have everything you need."
Tony frowned, "For what?"
Yensin was handed something and he nodded slowly, "This…they want you to build the Jericho missile, and when you are done they will set you free."
Tony smiled falsely, "No he won't."
Loki jolted, it was him. He was the one responsible for all of these shared sensations, Tony was alive…and for the moment they weren't torturing him.
He needed to make a stronger connection, he was very sure that Tony wasn't aware of what this was yet. Closing his eyes he spent the last reserves of his energy on reaching out to him.
Tony looked at the massive collection of his weapons. He felt a familiar feeling…the smooth and minty smell? What? He closed his eyes and nodded, "I'll do it."
We have to break free...
Tony was escorted back into his little cave area and once the men had left he let the smile take over his face. He laughed and covered his mouth as tears threatened to spill. He was with him, he heard him and could speak to him….
"Loki?" Tony whispered.
Sorry for all of the lines but I needed em' I worked a long time on this to try to characterize Frigga properly, and also make this development more believable
I really appreciate how popular this fic has gotten and so thanks again for supporting it (even if I still have no idea what actually happens in Thor 2)
Please Review, feedback's essential to this story being properly refined.
