When the hand that tortures, the flame that burns and the voice that threatens become a gleeful fantasy you know why they say solitary confinement is the worst form of torture.

I'd been stuck in the darkness for more moons than I could remember, without words. I hadn't spoken for fear of retribution so ingrained into me, well no, I hadn't spoken to encourage them to believe my fear. They hadn't bothered with the gag since the tribunal ordered my debt to be paid in screams drawn from my lungs rather than money or labour. The embarrassment to Odin, the son not quite of Asgard who went and ruined everything.

No, the darkness wasn't comforting. The loneliness was crushing even to someone stunned previously, it was as if time was on hold in the space I occupied. It didn't, I'd just been stuck here. Funnily nobody quite knew what to do with me.

So this would be why I was more than slightly shocked when the heaviness surrounded me, the light, an unfamiliar power almost. For a moment I'd been convinced I'd imagined it, that nothing had happened but no, I dragged open the eyes that I'd barely bothered using to be burnt by the light surrounding me.

It was, I inhaled, outside. It was cold and I was outside, in the light but not in Asgard, no. I looked around entirely, I was high on a tower and then it all came together in my head. Stark Tower, Earth and that arrogant man he'd spared with, the one that escaped his grasp. What was he doing here, had I been summoned? Probably not, he was one of the Avengers, unlikely to want anything to do with me. Unless- Oh.

He was bored. The genius in his tower was bored, collar by that insufferable Fury that had gagged him similarly. Not that they were similar in any other aspect but, yes he could see it. Boredom had driven him to extremes, breaking the rules and finding danger or maybe help where he could. No matter, I wasn't game. He'd been half the reason I'd spent the last moons in a dark room without a silvered tongue or scepter. Once an enemy, always one.

With that the door at the end opened, revealing the same vain man complete with a grin of epic proportions, fool.

"Nice to see you Loki." Stark grinned, eyes glinting with primal excitement in an almost sickening sense as I drew up from the crouch I'd arrived in.

"I'd have dressed up if I knew I was off to see the great Mr Stark." I lilted, sarcasm dripping from my words along with the soft smirk. No he would have to try better than that.

He kept approaching, pausing a few feet before me, a good few inches shorter without the suit. Tony looked almost scruffy as the light wind blew his hair across his face but none of it seemed to dull whatever was going on in his mind.

"Looks like the Asgardian don't quite pamper their prisoners, sorry about that." if you'd been watching us from afar you'd assume the topic of conversation was little more than light hearted banter, rather than the warring of words, no you'd never believe it if you could hear the words uttered under the pleased expressions.

"No, they don't." I stated coolly, flicking a greasy strand of hair away from my face where it was landed. "I assume I'm here for a reason other than a chat and since you've come without the armour I assume it doesn't involve killing me." The words flowed as I stepped forward a pace to meet him, ready to assert dominance of the man. So I'd been confined to the darkness for however long and slightly unsteady, but on my death bed I would be worth 3 of Tony Stark, he was little more than the mud off the bottom of my shoes.

"I'm not objecting to killing you but-" Tony's voice was trite, extending his words for their sarcastic purposes, and pulling a false frown in a facade of upset, pretending that killing me would hurt him like killing a good friend. "I really want to pick your brains, and you're going to help me." he stated, not even a quiver of doubt in the fact I would be willing to hand over knowledge to him, fool. He could sent me on a one way train back to my cell if he wanted me to fix the petty planet for him.

"And if I object to helping you?" I asked, almost a threat on my tongue "They've done much worse than kill me, so you can take that suit of iron to me all you please, Mr Stark." I hissed, still managing to keep up the steady smile though, and it still looked like polite conversation as I stepped off past him. It was a twofold action, one I needed to stretch and two it undermined him and his 'palace'. If he thought his concrete walls and Arc core would hold me to him he had a big shock coming.

"You'll want to help me, I can give you something you'd want" Stark stated, spinning on his heels to face me with that massive grin, he was playing his hand and something about his body language suggested it was going to be a full house. "I can put you back anywhere, not just whichever dungeon I dragged you from." With that he came passing beside me, eyes locked on me.

"Deal, Mr Laufeyson?"

Author notes: Again I'm afraid it's slightly short, but tough, I'm lazy but this is the second bit for today so you can't realllllyyyy complain, but you can try. I promise it will heat up soon, as in something more exciting than mental sparing, but there will be a lot of that too! So yes, I love you all please review and set alerts if you like it or not!

Also excuse the many spelling mistakes I'm sure slipped that net!