Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Thank you: ArainaHaldthin, Avamys, cath-k8, Mrs. Renner, wolftattoo, Guest, fan girl 666, skydancer2ooo.
A special thanks to My2BrownEyes who edited and proofed the chapter.
A.N. There might be some hate for Sif early chapters but she will get the chance to redeem herself, as will Loki. There is a possible friendship between them.
CHAPTER 2
"You may," Odin said nodding his approval.
"For those who don't know me I'm Tony Stark the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist of what you call Midgard," he started earning disapproving glances from the Avengers. "I'm not here to defend Loki per se, but I do have something to say about him; and if I end up defending Loki that's fine too because I like pissing people off."
"Son of Howard," Odin warned.
"Ok, ok," he said holding his hands up in mock surrender. "Um…I don't like Loki. My first meeting with Loki was explosive to say the least. From the start I had him categorized as a mad man on a power trip. But the more I observed him I came to the conclusion that; He's not crazy maybe eccentric but not crazy not by a long shot. Sure he's arrogant; he craves attention by trying to prove his worth. He does that by proving how intelligent he is. And I admit he ran circles around us and enjoyed watching us scramble to find answers and ways to stop him. He enjoys inflicting pain to those he thinks have done him wrong," he said pointing out Loki's narcissism.
"He enjoys the dramatics. He wants to be seen, and he wants an audience and a great monument with his name on it." Tony stopped and turned to look at Loki, who so far remained eerily quiet.
"Then it hits me why I really don't like him. This guy is every bit the narcissist I am. My relative short life mirrors his millennium long life. He reminds me of every fault I have. Loki and I have walked similar paths in life, and even I had my own golden child to contend with."
Tony loathed admitting he and Loki were alike, but he couldn't ignore the similarities. Those similarities caused him to have sympathy for the devil. He turned back towards the throne. "They only difference is I could do what he did and get away with it. In fact I had, and for a long time I did. The people on Midgard called me The Merchant of Death. I supplied Midgard's North American military and their allies with special weapons. I designed my weapons to leave nothing or no one standing within 100-200 leagues. And I was praised for it."
"Impossible!" one of the nobles shouted. Tony looked to Thor for back up.
"It's true, All-Father. Midgardians are not as primitive as once thought. During the Chitauri attack, one of their weapons was unleashed. It would have destroyed everything including Loki and I had it not been for the Man of Iron."
Instant chatter filled the hall about weak Midgardians possessing such weapons, before Odin brought them to a halt once more with Gungnir. "If such things are true, Son of Howard, you have my gratitude for the lives of my sons."
Tony merely nodded. Going back down memory lane made him feel uneasy and remembering the void that had collapsed around him left him shaky, but he had to do this. "In the aspects of making weapons I was successful. The military came to me asking for more, and each time I out did myself, and I patted myself on the back for my ingenuity," almost feeling shame for being proud of his creations.
"Of course someone has to be responsible for the devastation my weapons caused. The leaders of North America take responsibility; because they have to. But it's easy enough for them to justify it. I know I could've had I cared enough. The military just follows orders, so there was no accountability on their part other than to perform morally and admirably. But there were some people who thought I should share the liability, and I would laugh. I laughed in their faces and gave them my sarcasm about being the one who keeps things in order. I didn't care what my weapons were used for. I didn't care who they hurt, who it killed. All I cared about was being the best, being seen, and getting praised; and people hated me for it. And what's worse, some people loved me for it. Even though the people who were killed were from different nations, a few people of our nation cared about their well-being. Not many, mind you, but a few – hippies, peaceniks, you know the type. Actually, you probably don't. Anyway, all I could think about is which lovely lady gets to spend the night with me."
There was more murmuring in the gallery, and then Tony heard it; facepalms from at least two of his fellow Avengers and "STARK" from both one eyed leaders.
"Ok, ok, well anyway I had a big turning point in my life, which could make or break me. It started with me giving a weapons presentation to the military generals and their allies. Once again I went over and beyond their expectations. On the way back to basecamp the convoy was attacked. The military that I fashioned weapons for found themselves on the other side of those weapons I created including myself. The objective of the attack was to kill me, which they nearly did. That was until they realized who I was and the possibilities and advantages it gave them."
Odin, the council, and court were mesmerized by Tony's story so far. Of course Asgard loved any story that involved war and bloodshed.
"I woke to find myself their prisoner, alongside another prisoner who was a doctor and an inventor like me. He was ordered to save my life or forfeit his own. He kept me alive through some unconventional and creative ways. Well how they kept me alive isn't as important as why," he said not wanting to go into detail about the hole in his chest.
"When they finally came for me I was greeted and addressed by a title no one wants to be referred to as: 'Tony Stark The most famous mass murderer in the history of America'. I never saw myself as a murderer but these people said this to me as if it were a compliment. Their leader clarified that 'whoever holds the weapons manufactured by Stark Industries rules the world... and soon, it will be his turn to rule.' My weapons gave leverage to whoever controlled them," he continued remembering just how truly terrified he was in that cave and what they wanted him to do.
"In my captivity I noticed that they already had a lot of my weapons, but they wanted my latest weapon. And they weren't shy about convincing me when I refused."
Quiet whispers of "torture" reached around the hall.
"They took me to a neighboring community and showed me the true devastation of my weapons. In a different country I wasn't the guy who was held in high regard, who was praised, celebrated and honored. There I was the guy who killed someone's mother, father, brother, sister, someone's child, their baby. To them I was the monster. It was different to see things up close, to see the devastation caused by weapons I'd made. Those people weren't soldiers; they were civilians, refugees, and victims of a war that was not theirs," Tony told the court remembering the accusing glares and the cries of hungry children.
"Even if I gave them what they wanted I knew it wouldn't end there. They'd want more. So while sitting in their prison I decided what would be the point. I had resigned myself to die. However the doctor who saved my life saw that something in me that I never saw myself. He saw I had a true gift to give to the world. He saw someone destined for a greater purpose than the one people thought I was capable of; someone strong enough who's going to last. He saw someone who could make a difference. And that was more than what anybody ever thought of me…except myself on my good days" he adds taking a breath to compose himself.
"He saved my life twice; the second time by giving his own. I've honored my gift, and I honor him every time I put on that suit, because I was given a second chance. And maybe I'm up here because I see the same thing a total stranger saw in me as I see in Loki, and I know there is more to him than what people are willing to see."
"Very inspiring, son of Howard, but I think your allies feel differently," one of the council members spoke.
Tony turned looking into the angry faces of Natasha, Clint, and Nick Fury, and smiled. "They're just being self-righteous right now," Tony told them airily. "They forgot they have a past too; don't you Natasha."
Natasha gave him a warning glare, and Tony flashed a false smile. "Agent Romanoff a couple of days ago you made Loki look like evil personified. A couple years ago people thought the same about you. You were a cold blooded murdering assassin. You didn't kill because you had to, and you didn't do it for the greater good; Oh no," he drawled.
"You did it for payment. If the price was right you killed whoever your target was, whoever stood in your way," He paused letting this information sink in with the court, and to Natasha who seemed to have forgotten herself.
"This went on until SHIELD started hunting you. So when you were backed into that corner with no way out they offered you a second chance. The same went for the archer. When the bottom was crumbling beneath you they offered you a second chance. And Bruce you're a good friend but even you made mistakes. You tried to leap natural evolution forward overnight, and it made you a fugitive; granted you had good reasons. However I gotta say SHIELD gave you a second chance; granting they knew where you were and didn't bother to give you immunity until they needed you," accusingly eyeing Fury.
"Look I know what Loki did better than anyone. I mean come on; the guy threw me out of a window. He threw me out of my own window. He threw me out of a closed window, my brand new window at that," he said thinking about his tower…and to sucker Odin into footing the bill.
"Look all I'm saying is our lives don't differ from each other, and at a different place and time it would have been easy for any one of us to become Loki. I'm just asking for you not to look at this as black and white. I'm sure there is a gray area that's being over looked if you know what I mean," he said giving the All-Father a pointed stare letting Odin know he knew the truth about Loki. "Don't write him off as this evil person, because he's not."
Tony heard many scoffs and snorts of disapproval and seethed.
"Okay I'll be honest, you need Loki to take care of these halfwits," Tony said jerking his thumb behind him. The response was immediate. Most of the court was on their feet shouting insults, while others advanced on Tony for besmirching the honor in front of the court. Thor took a defensive stance in front of his friend. The rest of the Avengers went on alert damning Tony for his mouth they knew eventually would get them into trouble.
Once again Odin struck Gungnir as his raised his voice shouting for silence. It took a few moments before everyone was back in their seats and quiet again. Thor went back to post, while Tony continued to stand before the throne looking pleased. However, turning his attention back to Odin his smirk dropped. Odin's face was furious.
"You're acting like a pack of ravenous wolves," his voice thundered across the hall. "You're not on a battlefield, this is a court proceeding. Act like it. And you son of Howard, explain yourself."
Tony licked his lips. It was hell to rehash his memories, but since he and Cap retrieved Reindeer Games from Stuttgart something told him there was more to this story. When he and the others asked Thor about Loki, the Asgardian was a bit tightlipped about his brother. Yet Thor let enough slip for him to put together a theory. While the others were focused on their own agendas every so often he'd make random observations of Loki. The parts fit, but there was something missing. Upon spending a week in Asgard all the pieces finally fell into place for him. Asgard, the so called Golden Realm, was filled with assholes.
"When I came to Asgard I was told to keep my mouth shut and not insult anybody, which could start an interstellar galactic incident. It kinda made me want to actually, but I promised I'd behave. So not wanting to anger your people who wear weapons like bad fashion statements I stayed silent, but when you're silent you hear things. For the most part there was nothing except songs of tribute and drunken tales of war, which is entertaining for a while, and then it gets mind-numbing after hearing the same tale just with different names. And where the hell do you come up with these names anyway? Nevermind. Topic for another day. Anyway, I couldn't find one source of intelligent conversation unless it was kept to the shadows."
Angry hisses filled the room. "Well it's true," he aspirated. "But I also heard blatant disrespect of me and my friends."
Thor grimaced. "Friend Tony?"
"Your people see us as cowards Thor. Steve and Natasha who received strength enhancing serums from their governments are no true warriors in their eyes. A guy who shoots long-range weapons is seen as cowardly because he doesn't engage head on like a fool would. The good doctor;s alter ego fits their mold of brute strength but is believed to be a mindless beast. Then there is me the worst one of all; a Midgardian Seiðr. They looked down on my awesome suit because it reminded them of magic," Tony stroked his hand down goatee.
"Then I realized these war oriented propagandizing people hate anything different and especially the guy who's always going to be smarter than they are…namely Loki. So they will try to rub out anything they think will take away their way of life," he said addressing the warrior's distain for magic.
There were more hisses of anger and whispers of seiðr and ergi, but Tony continued. "They feel so threatened they use bullying tactics to make those who differ from them withdraw to the shadows. I noticed that as long as magic users and the intelligent stay out of sight and stay to the shadows they aren't victimized by cruelty, but Loki defied all of them. so they crucified him with their bigotry."
"Asgard was built on the backs of the strong, not on tricks and magic. Loki was never able to keep pace with the rest of us. It is not our fault he is deficient," Sif spoke up speaking for the warriors.
Tony turned to the woman who had given him nothing but grief since he arrived, but he was about to fix her quick, fast, and in a hurry.
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