"Man of Iron." Loki spoke pleasantly, as though they were going to tea together. There was a sick grin on his face, as though he had numerous tortures planned for Tony. The stupid arrogant aura around the god hadn't disappeared, in all actuality, it had intensified. Loki continued to speak as though Tony wasn't glaring daggers at him. "It is nice to see that you are in your natural state. That is where you belong, tied and chained to the wall like the helpless little mortal that you are. Doesn't it feel right?"

Tony scoffed, despite the fact that Loki was right in him being helpless. "Screw off, Reindeer Games. I don't know if this is obvious, but I'm getting really sick of this shit with you. Contrary to what you believe, you can't just come in here and do whatever you want."

"Oh, I can't?" Loki grinned wider, rubbing the side of his face elegantly. "I believe that I can, and I did. You are the one that is tied to the wall, and not me."

Valid point. Tony shrugged. "I don't want you tied up anywhere. That just makes me feel as though we're about to do something we're not, and I don't need that unpleasant image in my brain right now. Why don't you let me go and we'll go out for shwarma? My treat."

Loki's face twitched with amusement. "I don't want your greasy mortal meat."

"What do you want then?" Tony felt his face drop to a scowl. He was starting to lose feelings in his arms and hands, and that was a horrible sensation. Plus, he still really needed to piss. He was going to pee himself if he didn't get to a bathroom in the next five seconds- and he really didn't need Loki to have another reason to laugh at him.

"I escaped Asgard, and I am never to return." Loki said simply, gently touching the ruined suits. One finger ran down the metal, the fingernail scraping at the steel. "The rest of it is a marvelous adventure, one that I do not want to tell you. But I needed a place to stay in hiding for the meantime, without Thor knowing of my whereabouts."

"You couldn't have chosen Captain America or something?" Tony snapped, his mouth running on it's own account. "Seriously, there were five of us. Why the hell are you so intent on taking my Tower?"

Loki chuckled. "You are merely a cover to protect me. I wish for you to hide me in your Tower until I feel it is safe to leave once more. Then I will depart from Earth."

Tony couldn't help but laugh at the statement, incredulous about what the dark-haired god was saying. The guy tried to take over the world and failed miserably, only to escape the prison up in the great city in the sky. He was a fugitive now, crawling in the shadows in order to escape the po-po. And out of all the places: his Tower. The same place that he tried to throw Tony out of. There was so much irony in the situation that he could hardly believe it. When Tony's laughter subsided, he shook his head and tried to keep his giggles out of his voice.

"You're joking." he snorted. "There's no way I'm letting you stay here in my Tower. Especially since you're a deranged little god who has a fetish for taking over people's minds. Now untie me, and get the hell out of my house."

Loki's face darkened tremendously. This was apparently not the rebuttal that he expected, and Tony felt a little achieved at that. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious at what was going to happen next. Knowing the god, it was either going to result in him getting backhanded or slammed into the floor. Surprisingly, it was neither of those two things.

The chains holding him to the wall suddenly broke, the metal crumbling as though it was paper. Falling to a useless little metal ball at his side, Tony was finally to bring down his arms and actually rub them, getting some feeling back into them. It was an immense relief, now he felt a lot less confined. A plan was hatching in his mind, a plan for attack. Still rubbing his wrists as though they were aching, his brain was actually moving at lightning speed, trying to decide when he would activate his suit.

"Get up." Loki snarled, snapping his fingers. He looked really pissed off, his mouth tight around the corners as though he was debating whether to backhand Tony to the floor or not.

Pathetically obedient, he got to his feet. Trying to shrug off the discomfort that Loki was giving him, he brushed past the god flippantly and made his way towards the sliding basement door. The door slid open with ease, and Jarvis didn't say a word.

Walking up towards the living room with a sullen god following, Tony couldn't help but stare at the ceiling, waiting for Jarvis to say in that monotone voice that he had cleaned up his override and was working for Tony again, but there wasn't anything from the AI. It was as though he was cut off, or under someone else's control. And Tony was willing to bet big bucks that Loki had somehow managed to hack into the system.

Although he didn't even know how that was possible, considering the god was an alien from the medieval period of the universe. Judging on the way Thor acted when he first saw a television, the people of Asgard had probably never seen a computer or knew anything about AIs. Hell, the concept of a working toilet was probably the newest invention lately.

Speaking of a toilet, that was the first thing that Tony went into. With the silent god sitting on the couch, he quickly made a beeline into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. With shaky hands, he locked the door and then relieved himself, sighing as the pressure in his abdomen decreased. Never had pissing felt so good in life.

When he was done, he washed his hands and looked up in the mirror. The sight made him cringe. He had a bruise on his forehead, right above his right eye. There was a tiny cut on his bottom lip, not that he knew where it came from. He looked like he just got done fighting off bullies on the playground. As he dried his hands off and put the towel on the gold rack, he reached into the cabinet behind the sink.

There was his two metal bracelets, the things that were about to save his ass. He clipped them on, securing them tightly onto the skin. Rolling the sleeves to cover them, he was about to leave the bathroom and face the God, he got a last desperate idea.

"Jarvis." he whispered, hoping that the AI wouldn't sound an alarm throughout the entire tower.

Thankfully, it didn't. Jarvis answered, swift as ever. "Hello, sir."

"Jarvis, what the hell is up with you?" Tony hissed, staring at the ceiling like a complete idiot. He hoped that Loki couldn't hear him, or wonder why he was taking too long. "Who overrode your protocols?"

"That is classified information, Mr. Stark. I recommend leaving the bathroom and obeying Mr. Laufeyson's orders. My statistics tell me that you will be much safer." Jarvis confirmed.

Tony groaned and slapped his forehead with his hand, forgetting that there was a bruise there. "Okay, whatever. You're useless right now, Jarv."

"Always a pleasure, sir."

Muttering curses and other unpleasant things to himself, he unlocked the bathroom door and walked out, expecting to see Loki exactly where he was: on the couch. But of course, there was no God of Mischief to be seen.

Tony stood in disbelief, looking around the living room in a panic. Did Loki seriously just walk out and leave him here? What was the entire point of that, possibly beating him up and handcuffing him to a wall for hours? Did he finally get the hint when Tony told him to get the hell out of his house? He hoped so, he didn't want to see the god's arrogant face for the rest of his life. But knowing that Loki was still out there, free, was enough to give him nightmares forever.

He cautiously walked out in the room, still looking around for him. He didn't even hear the damn guy get up and walk out. It was as though he was some alien ninja, sliding across the floor so that he was both silent and deadly. The thought was almost amusing, if he wasn't a bit tense.

It was as though Loki had never been there. Not one paper had been rustled, there was still a mug of coffee sitting on them, and the remote casually on the couch as though he was about to watch a movie; as he planned that morning. There wasn't even a butt-print on the couch that would indicate someone sitting there.

Tony considered the fact that he might be going insane, little by little.

Before he could go and try to reprogram Jarvis to his normal settings, Tony felt a really strong hand on his shoulder. The force of it pushed into his shoulder blades, making him collapse on to the floor in pain. As his knees fell onto the floor, he turned his head to see his perpetrator. The last thing he saw before the explosion of stars was a black leather boot flying towards him.

It slammed into his face, and the back of his head hit the floor. Tony let out a small grunt as something hard came into contact with his stomach. The kicking persisted, and he started to feel like he was about to puke blood all over the floor. When the painful blows came to a ceasing halt, Tony tried to open his eyes to crawl away.

Coughing, his arms flailed outwards as he struggled, like a fish out of water. Tony turned onto his aching stomach and tried to crawl away, his vision blurring before him.

"No, no no." a sly voice said above him, and Tony's stomach dropped. So Loki didn't leave the Tower after all, he was merely waiting for Tony like a predator to prey.

Tony spluttered, disgusted at the blood that spewed from his mouth. He tried to crawl away from Loki, but he was going as fast as a damned snail. It was as though his energy suddenly drained from his body. He felt a foot step onto his ass, to prevent him from moving any further.

"Tony, please." Loki's voice purred by his ear. A cold hand was running through his hair, gently at first, and then rough. It started to hurt. Tony's head was yanked back as Loki pulled, and a yelp of pain escaped from his throat. Loki continued to speak as though it was an innocent encounter. "Since you were not willing to share your home with me, I will simply take it by force."

Tony grit his teeth against the pressure against his ass and the pain spreading across his scalp. "L-leave me alone." he mumbled. It wasn't exactly the comeback he had in mind, but there wasn't much room for thinking.

Loki smiled at him, green eyes glittering. "I cannot. I have no other choice."

"There's always a choice, Princess." Tony spat, spitting blood in his face. A dribble of pink splattered on Loki's cheek.

The god didn't even flinch, it was though he had gotten the same treatment before. But there was a streak of rage across his face, and before Tony even knew it, Loki backhanded him with one powerful slam.

Tony's head banged onto the floor again, and as he lifted his head to stare at his attacker, there was another blow. And another. And another. After what seemed like an eternity of being pummeled, Tony wasn't coherent anymore. The world was spinning above him in a terrifying tornado. It reminded him of the Chitauri attack, when he was flying up towards the weird blue wormhole, attacking the aliens as he flew upwards..

He coughed and blinked, feeling blood run down the side of his face. Loki still had a good grip on his hair, but at least he had stopped stepping on him like dirt.

"Better?" Loki asked, his voice a gentle soft again. "Will you obey me now, Man of Iron?"

Please make it stop. A voice in his head begged, pleaded with him. The pain was climbing up to unbearable intensities. But there was a sharp sting of something within him that still argued against his pathetic human needs. It was pride. Sharp pride was breaking through whatever pain he was going through. No one tried to break down the great Tony Stark, the billionaire, the genius. Iron Man himself. This was the utmost disrespect.

And that disrespect made Tony angry, more angrier than he had been when New York was being attacked. Who did Loki think he was? Maybe his body was weak and human, but that doesn't mean he'd stop fighting.

He'd never stop fighting Loki, for as long as he lived.

"Fuck off." He spat, despite the blood trickling in his eyes. "I'd rather be dead than obey you, asshat."

Loki's smile dripped off his face. A snarl took its place, with a small shred of disbelief. "You are not as smart as I once thought. Say goodbye to your freedom, Tony Stark."

Tony saw one more fist flying towards his face, and then there was nothing but darkness.

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