Chapter 3 – Deal with the Devil
Summary: "So, this leaves me with two possibilities," Tony said. "Either Loki's dead and you're some other guy who's wearing his face for shits and giggles, or you're the real deal and you just played an extremely tasteless prank on your brother."
"Hello, Stark."
It took Tony's exhausted mind longer than he would prefer to process what he was seeing, but the moment he did, he snapped from designing a jet engine to battle mode in less than a second. Before he even realized what he was doing, he had already taken two quick steps back and reached for the nearest weapon-like object, which in this case happened to be a half-finished repulsor prototype. He pointed it at Loki's chest and felt a twinge of annoyance when Loki's only reaction was an amused smirk
"Give me one reason, one good reason, why I shouldn't summon the Avengers right now," Tony said, not in the mood for Loki's mind games.
"You owe me a debt," Loki said like it solved everything. "You would break your word if you betrayed me."
Since it looked like Loki didn't come to murder him (at least not right away) and the repulsor wouldn't do much against him anyway, Tony slowly lowered the prototype back to the bench and picked up a random screwdriver instead, twirling it idly between his fingers in a fake display on nonchalance. Loki looked fairly calm for the moment, but Tony still made sure to keep himself within reach of his weapons, just in case.
"It's the strangest thing, you know," he told the god. "I could have sworn that just a few days ago I had your brother break down crying on my couch because you were dead." He shot Loki a look. "It took some persuasion and a lot of booze to get the full story out of him, but he was pretty convinced that you had died in a fight with some dark elf beast-thing on Svartalfheim."
Even now Tony could still remembered it vividly - Thor's grief-stricken face when he had finally realized that his brother was really gone for good, the way his voice had hitched whenever he had pronounced Loki's name, the new wave of tears that started flowing from Thor's eyes when he recalled some of his fondest memories of his brother. Thor had been drunk out of his mind at the time, so there was no way he could have been lying. The guy was 100% convinced that Loki was dead.
And now Loki was here, right in the middle of Tony's workshop, looking very much alive and acting like nothing had happened.
"So, this leaves me with two possibilities," Tony said. "Either Loki's dead and you're some other guy who's wearing his face for shits and giggles, or you're the real deal and you just played an extremely tasteless prank on your brother." He pointed the screwdriver in Loki's direction. "Shitty move, by the way. The guy's in pieces over it. You have a lot to make up for."
Annoyance flickered over Loki's face. "I answer to no one. And I don't owe that oaf anything."
Tony shrugged. "That's your call. I'm not stupid enough to involve myself in your family affairs. Be warned though: when the guy finds out - and he will, you can count on that – it won't be pretty. In fact," he said, picking up his cellphone from the desk, "I bet he would love to hear about your miraculous resurrection. Why don't I call him and tell him right now?"
He barely saw Loki move. One second he was lounging against a workbench a few feet away and the next he had Tony's hand in an iron grip.
"I don't think so," he told Tony almost pleasantly, towering above him. "You will not inform anyone about my whereabouts."
Tony couldn't help it, he smirked at him. Pepper was right when she said he had no self-preservation.
"And I should do that why? Because you said so?"
Loki gritted his teeth. "You insolent-" he cut off and took a deep breath, visibly trying to compose himself a bit. "I did not come here to pointlessly quarrel with you," he said finally, loosening his grip on Tony's hand a little.
Tony cocked his head. "Oh really? Because you're doing a very good impression of quarrelling right now." When a muscle in Loki's jaw twitched, he decided to back off a little. It wouldn't do to piss off the god in earnest. "Why are you here, then, if not for the scintillating conversation?"
"I have come to collect the favour you owe me."
Tony pulled his hand out of Loki's grasp to cross his arms across his chest.
"And what if I refuse?"
"Then the consequences won't be pleasant for you," Loki informed him.
"Let's make one thing straight," Tony raised his chin, feeling a bit resentful that he had to look up to speak with Loki face to face. "I don't respond well to threats and I don't appreciate you showing up in my workshop at ass-o'clock in the morning to boss me around."
"What would you appreciate, then?" Loki asked, cocking his head a bit. "If I came to you like a beggar, groveling?"
Tony massaged his temple, trying to will away the growing headache.
"Right now I would really appreciate it if you just fucked off and left me alone, but since that's obviously not going to happen, you might as well spill. What do you want from me? If you're here for weapons, you're shit out of luck. I don't make those anymore."
And he turned his back on Loki's smarmy face and went to pour himself another mug of coffee. Not the smartest of moves, perhaps, but since it looked like Loki planned to stay for a while, it meant Tony needed to be on the top of his game. And that required coffee.
"Oh, but you do make weapons," Loki muttered, eyeing the Iron Man suits on display. "You have simply stopped sharing them with others."
"I'm not building a nuke for you," Tony told him resolutely, keeping one eye on his unwanted visitor as he poured himself coffee. "There is nothing you can offer me that could persuade me to make one." He took a sip, feeling his body perk up a little from the new influx of caffeine.
"I must say, you do not seem very surprised by my presence here," Loki said.
Oh, Tony was plenty surprised, he just had a very good poker face.
"To be honest, I would be more surprised to find that you were dead. Considering who you are, a stunt like this isn't all that unexpected. And as for you being here, well, I suppose there was magic involved in some way."
"I have my means of finding people," Loki told him with a smirk and all right, that was super creepy.
"You know," Tony said, just to keep his mind away from thoughts of 'oh god, Loki can appear in my house at any time and there's nothing I can do to keep him out', "I'm still half-convinced that you hired those assassins, just to have me in your debt."
Loki's eyes glittered with amusement.
"Your fanciful notions of your own importance are amusing, but no, I did not hire those men. Believe me - if I wanted you dead, you would be dead."
"Well, that's reassuring," Tony muttered, sipping at his coffee.
Loki took a step closer, idly inspecting the half-finished projects on the workbench.
"What if I told you that I will reward you generously for your cooperation?"
"I don't need your money," Tony told him at once.
"I am aware of your wealth." Loki said. "But gold is not what I'm offering. What if I offered to share some of my knowledge with you? What would you say to that?"
Tony took a second to consider it.
"I'd say you're probably lying, trying to get me to cooperate with empty promises so that you can disappear with the final product without actually giving me anything." He gave Loki a look. "I've read some of the legends, you know. They don't call you the God of Lies for nothing."
For the first time since he'd appeared in Tony's workshop, Loki's expression clouded.
"Your so called legends are wildly inaccurate and exaggerated."
"I don't know," Tony leisurely finished his coffee, putting the empty mug on the counter, "I think they capture your general dickishness pretty well."
"So that's your answer, then," Loki said, all traces of good mood gone from his face. "I should have known I couldn't depend on a mortal to hold his end of the bargain." He spun around to walk away, but not fast enough to hide the flicker of hurt that flashed across his face.
Almost against his will, Tony found himself taking a step forward.
"Wait!" He called after the retreating figure. Loki stopped but didn't turn around. "What did you want from me? I can't tell you if I'm willing to work for you if you don't even tell me what I'm supposed to do."
He had no idea what had made him stop Loki from leaving. By all rights, Tony should be happy to get rid of him, but he couldn't help himself. Underneath the usual aura of power and confidence that Loki was trying to project, there was something in his posture that screamed tiredness and resignation, as if he had come to Tony's workshop already half-expecting to be thrown out. Loki looked like a shadow of his former self, a far cry from the egoistical madman who had laid siege to Tony's tower more than two years ago and Tony couldn't help but wonder, how much had changed for the god since he'd last seen him.
Loki slowly turned back, keeping his expression carefully guarded.
"I do not require any weapons from you. I was simply going to request that you make me armour, similar to the one I am currently wearing. It would have to be resistant to magic, so that no enemy spell may touch me."
Tony blew out a breath. "Wow. I never thought I would say this, but I'm not sure if I am able to do that. Magic is a bit out of my general area of expertise. Can't you just go to Asgard and have it made there?"
"That is no longer an option," Loki said in a clipped tone. Tony decided not to ask about that.
"Well, I can certainly try, but I can't promise you anything." Even as he spoke, he was already walking to one of the benches, a thousand different ideas popping up in his brain. "I've never made anything like it." He had JARVIS run a quick scan of Loki's armor and projected it into the space above the table. The hologram gleamed a bright, ethereal blue, dancing under Tony's hands as he pulled it this way and that, exploring.
"The plating shouldn't be that much of a problem, even if the materials are a bit…exotic. I can have the general shape done in a few days. The anti-magic part, however, will be a tough nut to crack." He studied the design, trying to come up with ideas. "I assume you want the armor to be able to block magic coming at you from outside, but at the same time you want to be able to use your own magic without the armor blocking you?" He shot the god a questioning look.
Loki was wearing a strange expression, but carefully slipped back into a neutral mask when he found Tony looking at him.
"Yes, that would be preferable." His eyes flitted from the 3-D design to its creator. "I'm not sure I understand. You were trying to evict me from your workroom just a moment ago, but suddenly you have decided to cooperate. What made you change your mind so quickly?"
Tony didn't think Loki would appreciate being told that Tony felt sorry for him, so he opted for a cocky grin instead.
"I could never resist a good challenge. The technology on this armor of yours is far beyond anything I have ever made, so it should be interesting, to say at least. Maybe I'll even learn something new." A thought suddenly occurred to him and he paused with his hand above the hologram. "Why did you come to me, anyway? I don't know jack shit about magic. I bet there are some elves or dwarves or whatever guys who can do these things a lot better than me."
"I was told that you are the finest armourer in Midgard," Loki said, giving Tony a glance.
The flattery was cheap and utterly transparent, but Tony still huffed a laugh. "Yeah, I guess you can say that. I do have the best suits around here, after all, and there aren't many people who could do what I do. Well, certainly not as well as me."
"I see that you're the very soul of modesty."
"Yeah, it's one of my best traits," Tony replied without missing a beat. "I'm also a genius, incredibly handsome and great in bed, but never mind that. You said we'd have a deal. Am I allowed to make some of my own conditions?"
Loki made a "go ahead" gesture, still busy exploring the hologram.
"All right," Tony said, trying to formulate the words as precisely as he could to avoid creating any inconvenient loopholes. "One: you are not allowed to threaten, harm or kill anyone close to me, or kill any humans in general, unless they're directly threatening your life. I don't care if you're used to killing people when you're bored or whatever, you won't do that shit here. If I hear you killed anyone while you're on Earth, the deal is off."
"Very well," Loki nodded magnanimously, "I will grant you that wish. Anything else?"
"Two: I get to keep whatever technology I develop during the making of the armor. The final product is yours, but I get the know-how." He waited for Loki's affirmative nod before continuing. "And three: no mindfucks. You're no allowed to use any mind-control spells or anything of that sort on me. If I am to work for you, it will be on my own terms, not as some slack-jawed puppet. If I find out that you messed with my mind in any way, you won't like the consequences." Tony raised an eyebrow when Loki nodded for the third time. This had gone a lot smoother than Tony would expect. "So, do we have a deal?"
Loki pulled his hands away from the hologram and nodded.
"Yes, I suppose that's acceptable. In return, I will require your absolute silence. You are not to tell anyone that I am alive or that I am here. I have managed to avoid detection so far and would be very disappointed if my plans failed because of one mouthy human." He shot Tony a warning look before he extended a hand. "Do you accept?"
Tony hesitated for a moment as he went over Loki's words, trying to find any hidden loopholes.
"What happens if I accidentally break my side of the deal? You know, someone like the Widow comes for a visit and figures out that you're here? What happens to me, then?"
Loki's smirk turned very smug. "In that case it will be my pleasure to choose a suitable punishment for you. However, I do not have to worry unduly about your indiscretion – a magical contract does not allow itself to be broken once it's closed. Just like I will not be able to harm you or any of your pathetic humans, you will not be able to disclose my existence to anyone. Such is the nature of our deal. Now, do you accept?"
Fucking magic, Tony thought as he slowly reached out to shake Loki's hand. I'm so going to regret this.
"You've got a deal."
He felt a jolt run through him when their palms touched and had to suppress a shudder when he saw the tiny tendrils of bright red light swirling around their clasped hands. They shimmered in the air for a few seconds before disappearing. Tony tried really hard not to be creeped out by it. He dropped Loki's hand as soon as the god loosened his grasp and took a few steps back, trying to put some distance between them.
The good thing was that he didn't feel any different, but then – if Loki had put some sort of a spell on him, he wouldn't be any wiser, would he? Better stop thinking about it, or he was going to drive himself crazy with paranoia.
"So, that's it?" he asked, just to be sure.
Loki's answering smirk was far too knowing for Tony's taste.
"Yes, our deal has been made. Now it's your turn to fulfill your end of the bargain."
Tony still felt like there was a catch somewhere in there that he had missed. It made him feel on edge.
"So I make you your armor and you then what? Disappear?" Somehow he had trouble believing that.
Loki inclined his head. "Your debt to me will be erased once you have given me what I came for."
Tony leaned his hip against the workbench and gave the god a skeptical look.
"You know, I'm still not entirely convinced that there is a debt in the first place, but whatever. If it gets you off my back, I'll do it."
"Eager to get rid of me so soon?" Loki cocked an eyebrow.
"You have no idea," Tony muttered, turning back to the bench to tinker with the newest StarkPhone prototype. "You know what? Come back in a few days and we can start working on a preliminary design for the armor. Right now I haven't slept for two days and there's like a million things I need to do before I can even think about going to bed, so I really don't have time for this."
He didn't even look back to check if the god had heeded his advice, his mind already sorting through the long mental checklist of things he had promised Pepper he would do.
He had no idea when Loki finally left, but when he looked up from his workbench a few hours later, the guy was gone.
Tony really wasn't looking forward to his next visit.
To Tony's annoyance, the Loki-less state of his workshop didn't last long. When the god next popped up in the middle of the afternoon a few days later, it was all Tony could do to stop himself from throwing a wrench at him.
He had barely managed to finish an engine prototype that Pepper had been grilling him about for the past two months and he still needed to recalibrate the targeting system in his armor and there were about a hundred more things he had planned today that he hadn't managed to get to yet, so the god's visit was really inconvenient. Really, really inconvenient. Tony thought the guy must have a special talent for appearing where he was the least wanted.
Tony didn't even bother to look up at his unwanted visitor.
"What do you want?"
"What? No greeting?" Loki said in fake disappointment. "You Midgardians have terrible manners."
"Nope, that's just me," Tony said and continued tweaking the computer program. From the corner of his eye he saw Loki take a few steps closer before something caught his attention on one of the workbenches. He lifted the cube with Tony's first arc reactor from the table, studying it intently for a few minutes before he put it back.
"I do not know if I should find your lack of alarm at my presence in your home insulting or amusing," he finally drawled
"The novelty has kind of worn off since the last time you were here," Tony told him.
That got him an amused smirk.
"Yes, I suppose it has."
When he didn't say anything else, Tony finally pushed back from the computer and swiveled around to face the guy.
"Is there a point to this visit?" he couldn't help but ask. Loki didn't seem in any particular hurry to leave and his presence was starting to get on Tony's nerves.
"I thought I might come and check your progress on my commission."
"Hate to disappoint you, but there hasn't been much progress apart from what you've already seen. Despite what you might think, you're not the only person who wants something from me. I'll take a look at your armor when I'm finished with my other stuff. That might take a while, thought, because I'm a pretty busy guy."
Loki's smirk disappeared to be replaced by a displeased frown. "I thought you would make my order your top priority."
"Well then, think again." Tony was way past the point where he would be impressed by the god looming over him. Loki tried it now, towering over Tony's chair, but the engineer only gave him an unimpressed look.
"Look, buddy, you're not that special. The world doesn't revolve around you. I will make your armor – eventually – but right now I simply don't have the time for it."
"Then I suggest you make the time," Loki said in a low, dangerous voice. Tony rolled his eyes. Now that he was certain that Loki wasn't going to kill him, the guy's threats had lost all of their weight.
"What did I tell you about the threats?" Tony said. "Don't work on me. Now let me finish this first and if I have time after that, I might take a look at your armor."
Loki still looked annoyed, but finally backed off a few steps and sat down on a nearby bench with a theatrical sigh.
"Very well, I will wait for a while. I would suggest you hurry with your work, however – I am not known for my patience."
"Yeah? That makes two of us," Tony muttered under his breath as he turned back to the screen full of code. Maybe if he worked on it for too long, Loki would get bored and go annoy someone else. He didn't seem like the type of guy who enjoyed sitting still for long periods of time.
Soon Tony got immersed in reprogramming the targeting system and lost track of time. When he finally saved the final version of the code and stood up from the computer, the bench where Loki had been sitting before was empty. Before he could celebrate his successful tactic for getting rid of intruders, however, a sound from the other side of the workshop drew his attention. He spun around to find Loki standing in front of his display case with the Mark I armor, examining it with fascination.
"You're still here?"
Loki spread his arms in a "here I am" gesture. "As you can see."
"You're not going to leave, are you?" Tony asked in resignation.
"No." Loki's shark-like grin made it clear just how much he was enjoying being a pain in the ass.
A few beats passed before Tony gave up.
"All right, come here. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get back to my real work." He waited for the god to cross the workshop and come stand in the open space a few feet away. "Now don't move," he told Loki as he set up the scanners.
"What are you going to do to me?" Loki asked, suspicious.
"Just a scan of the armor." And of Loki himself, but Tony decided to keep that little detail to himself. "What I did the last time was just a surface scan of the general shape, but this will give me more information to work with."
He ran several scans before he was satisfied with the results. As the information started piling up, he pulled up a few more screens into the air to have it neatly organized. When the composition scan came up, he actually blinked. "Huh."
"What?" Loki asked impatiently.
"Oh, nothing," Tony said. "It's just – your armor is made of steel."
"Yes, Asgardian steel," Loki said, crossing his arms. "I could have told you that myself if you had bothered to ask about it."
"No, but it's just- Steel." Tony shook his head. "I thought it would be something fancy like adamantium or some weird alien metal, but it's only steel. True – it's made a little differently than I'm used to, but it's still just simple steel."
"It's enchanted," Loki pointed out. Tony couldn't help but notice that he sounded a little affronted. Good.
"Yeah, it may be enchanted, but the material is still quite basic. Hell – even my suits use something more interesting than this. Your smiths don't have much of an imagination, do they?"
He was rewarded with a scowl that made him grin. Hell yeah, irritating Loki was fun when he knew he would get away with it.
"Anyway," Tony continued. "I suppose we'll spend some time on the design – that's entirely your choice, by the way. Whether you want to emulate the Lord of the Rings, or want some weirdo thing full of gigantic spikes, I don't really care. It's your call." He crossed over to a different screen, making it run simulations of various viable materials. "For now, we can discuss the materials. What do you want? I've got a few different kinds of steel, iron, titanium, various carbon infusions and even gold, if you feel like showing off. I can also make all sorts of alloys, but if you want anything more…exotic, you will have to provide it for me, because there are only so many things I can get here on Earth."
"I can provide you with the materials, if it proves necessary," Loki said.
"Awesome. Just don't tell me where you got them from. There are some things I'm better off not knowing."
"I will endeavor to spare your delicate sensibilities," Loki drawled.
Tony pointed a stylus at him. "Yeah, you do that. So, once you've chosen a design and material, the armor itself should be done in a few days. I'll have JARVIS make the mold based on your sca-"
"No," Loki interrupted him. "No mold, no machines. I want you to create the armor entirely by hand."
"You have to be kidding me." Tony gave him an incredulous look. "Do you have any idea how much work that is? It will take ages!"
Loki only smirked. "I have all the time in the world."
"Well, I don't." Yep, Tony was definitely annoyed now.
"That is your problem, not mine." Loki took a step closer, holding Tony's gaze. "I want every inch of the armor crafted by your hands. I will not be satisfied with anything less."
Tony fought down the urge to punch his smug face. As a distraction, he tried to think of some alternatives.
"I suppose I can build a gas-powered forge and-"
"No," Loki said immediately, "an artifact like this requires fire for its creation."
Tony's jaw actually dropped a little.
"You want me to build a brick forge?"
"Yes, that would be ideal," Loki said with a perfectly straight face.
"You have to be fucking kidding me."
Tony could no longer tell if Loki was serious or if he was just making up random bullshit to mess with him. Either way, he was slowly arriving at the end of his patience. Even though it was barely three in the afternoon, he went to his desk and pulled out a bottle of whisky he kept stashed there. Fuck sobriety, this needed alcohol. Otherwise he might end up putting on a suit and punching a hole through Loki's face if the guy kept this up.
He took a few swigs from it, relishing the burn down his throat. Tony didn't even bother hiding the bottle back in the table – instead he put in on the desk to have it on hand. He strongly suspected it would be needed after Loki left (if he ever did. The guy looked far too comfy in the workshop for his taste). Only when he felt a little calmer did he turn back to Loki.
"You know, this kind of setup has last been used sometime in the Middle Ages. I don't know where you get your ideas about the state of our civilization, but we have graduated from making stuff this way a long time ago. Besides that, I'm the guy with technology. I make computers and planes and space-suits. If you wanted your armor done by an actual blacksmith, you should have gone to some elf or dwarf or whoever normally makes these things for you."
"I already told you that I cannot," Loki said crossly.
"But why?" Tony demanded. "Did you piss off the elves or something? Were you banished for being a dick?"
"No!" Loki snapped. "I cannot go to them because I do not wish for anyone to know that I am alive!"
Tony blinked. "Seriously?" That had been unexpected. "Does that mean I'm the only person who knows you're alive?"
"Yes," Loki bit out. "I have my reasons for hiding that I will not share with you, but essentially, right now you are the only living soul who is aware that I'm not dead."
"Wow." Tony took a minute to absorb that. If Loki was speaking the truth (which wasn't likely, but was still possible), this whole situation had just gotten twenty times weirder.
Why was Loki pretending to be dead? And why was Tony the only one to know about him?
He had so many questions but strongly suspected that Loki wasn't going to answer any of them. He already looked annoyed enough that Tony had managed to get as much from him as he had. A further line of questioning would probably end with half the workshop destroyed and Tony smeared on the wall somewhere. For the first time ever, Tony regretted not having Natasha around anymore, spying on his every move. She would have been able to get it out of him.
Loki didn't pay any attention to Tony's confused state of mind, rambling on.
"So no," he continued, "I cannot order armor from a blacksmith on Alfheim, because I do not wish to be seen there." He pinned Tony with a glare. "Now give me a straight answer! Are you or are you not capable of making it to my specifications? If you are not, this has been nothing but a waste of time."
Tony looked up at the furious man who was now standing less than three feet away. No, not furious, he concluded on a second look. He looked more frustrated than angry. Why did he want the armor so badly? And from Tony of all people? It bugged him. Still, there was a small part of his ego that couldn't help but feel smug that Loki had chosen him for this. Of all the people he could have gone to, he had decided to trust a former enemy. Why?
So far, he had no idea - but, he thought, he might be able to get the reason out of Loki sooner or later, if the stupid forging took as long as he estimated. The guy loved to talk and Tony was pretty sure that with a bit of encouragement, he would spill his motives eventually. People like him always did.
"Yes," he answered finally when Loki started to look like he was going to strangle him if he had to wait any longer. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can make this. It's been a few years since I've forged anything like this by hand," and boy, did he wish to forget all about those particular three months, "but I can do it."
Loki gave him a long searching look before nodding. "Very well. I hate being disappointed." And that didn't sound ominous at all. Not one bit.
Tony was starting to hate this whole stupid project.
"So," he asked with forced cheerfulness, "what sort of material do you have in mind?"
This was going to be a long day.
To be continued…
A/N: Thank you all for your continuing support! I'm so happy you like this story. So far I have managed to finish 12 chapters with two more almost done and I'm having such a great time with this story.
The next chapter will be posted on next Friday, December 12.