"Oh, I'm not one of Fury's."
Tony, realizing the danger he was in by merely being in the presence of this man bit back a sarcastic, "Duh." Instead, he inched towards the bar, where he'd hidden a gun after Loki's last visit.
"JARVIS, call all the Avengers."
The AI didn't reply. Tony shifted uncomfortably.
"Uh, JARVIS?"
Loki grinned darkly, taking a step forward.
"What's wrong, Stark? Not used to a sudden decrease in power?"
Tony fought to quell the panic bubbling up in the pit of his stomach, remaining silent and continuing his slow movements towards the bar, the gun, keeping his eyes fixed on the god. He decided to take a chance.
"Hey Rudolph, you want a drink?" blurted Tony abruptly.
Loki cocked a well-shaped eyebrow at the billionaire.
"No? I'm having one."
With that, he walked at a normal pace over to the bar. He nonchalantly slipped his hand inside the drawer. In a split second, he raised, cocked, and fired the gun, right at the god's head.
He watched in horror as the god remained standing, examining the bullet pinched between his thum and pointer finger bemusedly.
Tony quickly fired off six more rounds, all of which froze about a foot from Loki, suspended in midair. The gun fell to the ground.
Loki turned to look at Tony and smiled. He began walking towards the genius, plucking the bullets from the air like berries.
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Tony made a run for the elevator, coming to a halt when he found a knife quivering in the wall a mere hair's breadth from his face.
"Please don't," said Loki cooly, as though it were perfectly normal to break into one of the most secure buildings in New York and threaten an international celebrity. "I'd prefer not to have to kill you yet."
Tony swallowed down the lump in his throat and turned to face the smirking god.
"If you're not here to kill me, what are you here for?"
"Actually, I'm here to threaten you."
A laugh escaped Tony's mouth before he could stop it.
"You realize you're attempting to threaten a man who a) has been tortured, b) is a genius, and c) totally kicked your ass last time you were on Earth, along with your smurfs on steroids?"
Loki began walking slowly towards Tony, like a predator stalking its prey.
"Okay, Stark. Being a self-proclaimed genius, tell me: how long would it take for an arrogant billionaire to land, broken and mangled, on the sidewalk if a god decided to throw him out a window, hm?
Tony gulped.
"How long would it take for you to die if I decided to slit your throat?"
Now Loki was right before Tony, pressing the billionaire into the cold wall behind him. His hand came up and coiled around Tony's throat and slowly slid Tony up the wall. Tony gripped the god's wrists, trying to relieve some pressure on his neck.
"How long would it take for you to lose consciousness if I decided to close off your airway?"
Loki's free hand slid beneath the billionaire's shirt, the cold fingers cupping the arc reactor. Tony tensed beneath him.
"How long would it take for the life to fade from your eyes if I decided to yank this from your chest?" whispered the god into Tony's ear.
Tony stayed perfectly still. He knew exactly how long it would take and he was in no position to test whether the god was in a forgiving mood, so he bit his tongue and remained frozen, tense beneath Loki.
"However, I'm not here to kill you. At least not yet."
With that, Loki's hand released the reactor and Tony's neck, and Tony collapsed, panting against the floor.
"Sit," came the god's voice, as he gestured to a couch. Tony complied happily, but stayed as far from Loki as possible.
Loki sank into the chair opposite him, a faint smile on his lips. Tony wanted desperately to smack the arrogant god's smile off his face, but remained seated, not wanting to test the god's temper, seeing as how the god had almost killed him already.
"So, Stark. How are the Avengers these days?"
Tony decided one word answers were probably best. "Good."
"Really?"
Tony nodded.
"Well, it's a good thing I'm here to change that, then. You see, Anthony, I have a new goal. I would like to get rid of anyone who's ever stood in my way on this pathetic realm. And you and your cohorts are at the top of my list. That means you and your team, as well as your respective family and friends. A bit extreme, but satisfying."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Loki laughed. "Because, I have an offer for you."
Tony didn't want to know. He really didn't want to know what this "offer" entailed. However, to keep the god satisfied for the moment, he decided to take the bait.
"What sort of offer, Reindeer Games?"
"An exchange. Your life for theirs."
Tony almost fell out of his chair.
"What?! What do you mean 'my life for theirs?'"
Loki looked at the billionaire, amused.
"Your life. Your freedom, free will, will belong to me, and in return, I will spare your teammates' lives as well as that of their family's."
"Why me?"
Loki actually chuckled.
"Stark. You're a genius, a billionaire, a celebrity, and a superhero. You are the one who blew up the Chitauri, the one who taunted me first out of your pathetic team, the one who dared threaten a god. You have caused me an infinite amount of grief and I wish to repay the favor."
Tony's blood ran cold. "Return the favor." Oh, this did not bode well.
"If I refuse?"
"I will kill each of your teammates, their family, their friends as well as yours. Finally, when everyone you care about is six feet under, I will kill you, slowly and painfully, break you and remake you just to break you again, make you beg for death. And finally, I will grant it."
"If I accept?"
"You will become mine to do with as I wish, but I will spare the rest of yor family and friends' lives."
Tony closed his eyes, thinking in a panic.
"Displays compulsive behavior, has self-destructive tendencies, and displays textbook narcissim."
"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark."
"You're not the one to lay down on a wire, let the other guy crawl over you."
"You better stop pretending to be a hero."
Tony opened his eyes, the usual warmth in the pupils replaced by steely indifference.
"Fine. You have a deal."