Hey All!
So, as you might see in this chapter things skip around alot.
I wanted to make sure to stay true to my promise and get us to the bits where Tony and Loki are reunited as adults but didn't want to leave everyone hanging without the bits that happen in between.
So as of right now Tony's story from the Iron Man film franchise apply. As for Loki, the comic version of his parentage applies: i.e. Odin took Loki as a young boy from Jotunheim when he killed Laufey. Therefore, Loki and everyone else in Asgard knows of his true identity.
Also, I dip my hand into a few pies here, so if you spot some mythology that is definitely not Norse, forgive me :D I am taking some creative licenses with mythological origins here.
In the darkness and the stillness he could smell the wretched stench of blood and feel cold claws wrap around his very soul. There was death here. The body in his arms was cold. But those eyes, those gods be damned eyes, were still open, still staring into his with silent but desperate pleas. Eyes of stunning pale emerald had lost their light.
Fandral lay in his arms and Loki held the man tightly to his chest and screamed his protests to the darkness. To anything that could listen to his epitaph of wails and broken sobs. The blood that stained the ground around them was the deepest of crimson, near black.
This was his fault, he had let Fandral be taken and punished for his escape.
The beautiful pale green that stared back at him slowly began to disappear behind eyelids crowned with beautiful lashes.
Loki woke with a start, the sweat drenching him, causing the light tunic he wore to stick to his skin. He sat up abruptly, completely forgetting his whereabouts, and promptly slammed his head on the overhang of the top bunk. Instantly, he remembered exactly where he was and why the dream had been so significant.
He carefully stood, pulling a worn body from the bed and grabbed his satchel before he stepped from the room, gently closing the door behind him. Tony's soft breaths could still be heard, as could his occasional shifting in his sleep.
The boy had some of the most deplorable sleeping positions that Loki had seen in his terribly long life. With the slightest smile on his face, Loki crept down the stairs and made his way out the front door.
Seconds later he appeared in the yard where he had met Tony only hours ago. He found the freshly overturned mound of earth with ease. There were still boot prints in the earth from where Loki had unwittingly stepped upon the grave. Loki sat atop the mound and reached into his satchel, producing the stone bowl that had so elated the little boy.
Suddenly, a crash from the inside of the home adjacent startled him into a full body shudder and the stone bowl he'd held went sailing to the earth beneath his feet. The crash he'd heard from the house was followed by a mans voice, rough and angry. A woman's voice came and then another crash. Loki cloaked himself in his magick to hide his presence as the man came barreling out onto the massive porch that splayed out from the house.
Howard.
Loki forced himself to remain sitting on the grave as the man took a long drink from the bottle in his hands and punctuated the silence by hurling it across the yard when he had finished off it's contents. The man had bits and pieces of little Tony embedded in him, Loki could see that. The dark eyes that glinted whenever they caught the light, the mussed dark hair, and the fire that burned through the air and intoxicated Loki instantly.
Oh, certainly this was Howard.
The man on the porch looked across the expanse with an expression of deadly calm before turning on his heel and heading back inside the mansion. Loki continued with his process, his hands moving fluidly and gracefully as he spoke ancient, foreign words into the night air. The earth began to shift beneath him and when he laid his hands upon the wet ground he felt a heartbeat pulsing through the dirt.
It did not take long before the lab had dug himself out of the shallow grave and pushed himself into Loki's arms. Moments passed once more, and the two were sitting on Isabel's porch.
Loki began to stroke the dogs head gently while reaching into the satchel once more, pulling out a handful along with that familiar bowl. After a few soft words, the sage began to flicker into with an earthy smell accompanying it. The dog gave a great yawn and laid down, resting his head in Loki's lap. The porch lights spark to life, cutting through the darkness and a tired eyed, confused looking Isabel opens the front door.
"Loki, what is it-"
The residual sleepiness in her eyes dissipated instantly when she saw the dog resting in Loki's lap. Her eyes welled and instead of successfully stemming the flow, the woman began to weep into her hands. Loki kept his eyes on the soft head resting peacefully beneath his touch as he replied, "I thought he finally deserved some good in his life…"
Loki let the sage burn out, the smoke drifting about him lightly. The woman beside him continued to weep, but opened he door to usher Loki inside. She led him to the couch, barely able to contain her sobs as she sat.
Evidently, these were not sudden emotions. There was something deep and haunting behind her eyes when she spoke of Tony and Loki was sure he had broken through to it.
"I try…I try so hard to keep him safe..to keep him from being hurt. I've even tried to have him taken out of there, to live with me, but Howard…Howard is the law. He has the police bought.."
The tears were pouring down her cheeks in torrents. "And there is nothing I can do for him. My Anthony…my baby Anthony."
Loki was unsure of what to do. The situation was so new to him, for on Asgard, he would have simply ordered his guards to take Howard and dispose of him. Or perhaps, something far more nefarious that Loki could do on his own. But Midgard was so much more evil. There were rules and laws that could be easily ignored and circumvented, people who were easily bought, and thus, little ones like Anthony continued to suffer.
Unsure of what else to say Loki simply replied, "I know. It will be alright."
The woman tried to quell her tears and spoke in a broken voice, "Thank you…thank you…"
Loki was rather taken aback by such a terribly overwhelming reaction. In the now familiar way in which she threw caution to the wind, she wrapped her arms around his thin frame and held him as though he were her entire world in that moment. He remained perfectly still for a moment before lifting his own arms and wrapping her within them, mimicking her actions.
A moment later, a snout nuzzled it's way in between them as if the distinctly canine Loki demanded to be a part of the affection.
"Grammy?" a little voice from the hallway came as a sleepy eyed Tony rounded the corner. "Grammy, whats-"
Tony stopped abruptly as his eyes fell on the yellow lab with his head resting in Loki's lap. His eyes nearly bulged out of his tiny head and he abandons his precious Captain America blanket to the floor before tearing across the living room and wrapping his arms around the dog.
Canine Loki lets the chaos of little Tony's discovery flourish around him, rather unaware of what was transpiring. Loki stood slowly, clasping his hands behind his back as he surveyed the scene before him. Isabel and Tony were fawning over the newly resurrected lab, and it warmed Loki's heart. He was happy, contented even, that in some small way he could bring comfort to Tony.
Loki dipped down and grabbed his satchel from beside the couch, then snatched up his cloak that he'd left folded on the coffee table.
Suddenly, small arms wrap around his leg and a chubby cheek is pressed against his hip. He glanced down just in time to see terribly wide brown eyes staring up at him.
"Please don't go, Mister."
Something wrenches within Loki's heart.
For a moment he was tempted to stay the rest of the night, but he knew that no good could come of such a decision.
There were many things he needed to do before the night was over, one of which was gnawing at him desperately to be completed. Loki pulled Tony into his arms and rested the boy gently on his hip much in the way an experienced mother would.
"I must go, Anthony. When I first came here I felt the presence of my pup." Loki glanced at Isabel briefly as he spoke. "I no longer feel such a thing. He is not close to here..and I need to find him quickly."
"Then I'll go with you! I'll help you find him!" The voice was strained and very insistent and Tony struggled against Loki's hold so that he could free himself long enough to retrieve his coat and boots.
Loki held him fast and shook his head.
"It is far too dark and much to dangerous for you, Anthony. But someday, when you are a warrior, a king in your own right, you will help many others. You will be such a brave warrior!" Loki exclaimed with a smile directed at the pouting boy in his arms.
"But for now, you must do your best to listen to your elder mother." Loki set the boy back on his feet and gave his nose a gentle tap. "This is how you may help for the time being."
Tony scowled up at him, a decidedly angry expression on his face, but his dark eyes were brimming with unshed tears. "I'm brave. I could go with you now."
If Loki's heart had wrenched before it was ripped nearly in twain now. In a way, Tony reminded him so much of Fenrir when he was young, so very persistent and ever the fighter.
"I am so sorry, my little king, but no. Someday I will return to visit you, Isabel, and your pup. But for now I must go."
Tony gripped the gods pant leg with as much strength as the boy could muster.
Large tears began to fall from dark eyes as sobs fell from Tony. He had only known the 'magic man' for a short time but already he felt like the man was his greatest protector. Like there was finally someone else in the world who loved him.
Loki sent a pleading look in Isabel's direction as he wrapped long arms around the boy clamped tightly against his leg. He truly wanted to stay and wanted nothing more than to protect both Isabel and Anthony.
"I will always be watching over you, Anthony."
Loki spoke it as though it were an oath. Maybe it was, he was not entirely sure. His heart was beating too fast and his hands were slick with sweat. It was an oath, it was. He would come back.
Tony cried helplessly as Isabel attempted to pry him out off the god. His wails continued to increase in volume as Loki headed for the door. The god clenched set his jaw and feathered the back of a pale hand over his eyes, catching the few tears that had formed there.
"I will come back.."
Isabel called to him from the living room, barely audible over Tony's wails, "Thank you my prince, thank you.."
He closed the door behind him and vanished into the cool night air.
Seconds later, he arrived beside the dug up mound where the yellow lab once lay. He appeared just as Howard stepped out onto the porch for another drink, dark bruises along his knuckles no doubt formed from the abuse he'd dealt Tony's mother.
When he saw Loki appear, he dropped the glass in his hand and it shattered against the stone porch. Loki strode across the yard in four easy steps and snatched the man by his throat, pinning him back against one of the large bay windows. His words were full of malice and wrath, but he made no mention of Anthony, lest it worsen the situation.
"Howard Stark, when it happens, and be sure that it shall, it will appear to happen of natural, tragic cause. The world will write it off as ill fated."
He leaned in close, his glowing eyes meeting darker ones that were eerily similar to Tony's.
"But know that I am fate, know that it is my hand that guides death so swiftly to you." He dropped Howard to the ground, crushing one trembling hand beneath his boot. "Know that when your death comes, mine shall be the last face you see."
The god vanished from the spot, leaving a thoroughly terrified and confused Howard Stark.
Loki was true to his word. He did return to Anthony and Isabel for two years longer, as he remained on Midgard searching for Fenrir. In that time, the three grew as more of a family than Loki had ever known.
Being the orphaned son of King Laufey and nothing more than a debt repaid by Odin, he had little concept of family. When Odin had killed his father in battle and returned him to Asgard as a stolen tribute to his own kindness Loki had vowed to never call him father. Nor would he call Thor or Balder his brothers, nor Frigga his mother.
He was born a Jotunn and a Jotunn he would always be, regardless of the mask of an Aesir he wore.
But with Isabel and Anthony, he felt as though he need never return to Asgard. The only thing that weighed heavy upon his heart was the fate of his lover.
He had tried desperately to reach his mind through the realms to find Fandral but to no avail. When Balder brought word of Fandral, Loki returned to Asgard with haste, vowing to return once more.
This time, when he left, the tears that were shed were not in vain. Tony pleaded with him in the same fashion, clinging to him, a head pressed against his waist now (as he had grown taller in those two years) and words begging for him to stay.
When Anthony was 19 years of age, after he had been dealt years of his fathers bruising hands, the curse took. Loki's curse finally took, and Howard Stark was killed in a tragic, ill-fated accident. Unfortunately, Tony's mother joined him in death a few months later at her own hand.
At 21, Tony took over his fathers company, nearly running it and himself into the ground with the fast pace of his lifestyle. He knew it was empty. He knew it was because he was missing something that he'd only had for a short while. But he kept going, kept pushing for it because maybe there was something out there to fill the void.
And then.
Then life had gotten altogether too fast. The Ten Rings, the glowing hunk of metal in his chest that kept him alive, and the nights he spent in that god damned cave secretly hoping that the man who'd protected him as a child could do the same for him as a man.
But he never came and, as he had learned to do, Tony took care of himself.
He became a hero. A 'king in his own right'.
He joined S.H.I.E.L.D's "Avengers" initiative, much to his own chagrin, and fought against the evil that had once threatened to quell his own life.
Eventually, the man became nothing but a distant memory of yet another disappointment.
When Loki had returned to Asgard, the Allfather's rage had dissipated, and life went about in its usual way. Loki the outcast, Loki Laufeyson, not Odinsson, never Odinsson. He lived like as such and paid no mind to it, his thoughts only on his lover, his son, and the little king from Midgard.
Two days after his return, he was brought to Odin's court and given a bloodied shield and sword. The crest and the colors gave it away instantly. They were Fandral's.
'Lost in battle' they'd said.
'Taken too soon' they'd said.
But Loki knew it was a lie and he had wept. For days, for months he did not know. His brother had tried to console him to no avail. He simply sat in his chambers, his mind reaching across the void for the little boy he'd met only to find silence.
He could not bare to question why. As the years went on, Loki never forgot the little king he'd met, nor did he forget what Asgard had consigned to do to Fandral. He grew bitter with the passing years and was very rarely seen frequenting the magickal sites that he'd often loved. Thor had tried for all the years to get through to him to no avail.
Finally, after thirty years, Loki vanished without a trace. It had been near two years since that day.
Thor had made allies on Asgard and rarely returned to his home realm now, even as the Allfather grew closer and closer to the Odinsleep.
He had taken up with some gathering of warriors there and was now vowed to protect the realm of humans, rather than his home.
Things were not well with Asgard.
Present Day
Tony Stark, Genius, Billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, beloved by the masses and the darling of the modern world of technological advancement made his way through the corridors of the SHIELD headquarters.
He'd barely recovered from defending Manhattan against yet another round of attacks from Hydra, when he was being summoned as Iron Man to defend the citizens of another realm.
One he hadn't known existed up till a very short time ago when he'd met Thor, god of thunder and one of his fellow Avengers. Thor stood, pacing as he waited for the team to Assemble in the bottom most room of the SHIELD headquarters.
The room that had been reserved for every covert meeting for the team led by Nick Fury. When Balder had told him of Morrigan's crows he barely believed him. It was only the fear in his brother's eyes that lit the fire in his gut. War was coming to Asgard. War of untold death, destruction, and chaos.
As he saw Tony Stark round the corner, despite the dire situation he smiled brightly. "Man of Iron! How good to see you well!"
Tony quirked his token half smirk and removed his sunglasses before extending one arm out to give Thor a side ways, and rather awkward, hug.
"Point Break...how've you been?"
The rest of the Avengers began to file in, and Tony acknowledged them with nods or obnoxious comments, whatever he thought would get the best reaction from whoever.
He was a little disappointed that he wasn't late enough to cause a stir but, hey, he'd just try better next time. The group was seated around the conference table when Nick Fury strode in in all his belligerent charisma.
"As Thor may already have informed you, the realm of Asgard is under siege. Since he has aided us in the defense of our realm, I feel like it's only fair that we aid him in the defense of his."
Tony looked up from his cell (he was in the process texting mildly insulting comments to Steve, who had just recently lost his cell virginity) and up at Fury.
"So...what's the plan of attack then? We go to planet Pandora and defend the Navi against the Ewoks and are declared not only gods among men, but gods among gods?"
Thor gave a bit of a chuckle, and Fury eyed him with a healthy mixture of annoyance and amusement.
"That's the plan, Stark. Suit up, you all leave within the hour."
The wind whipped about the mountain and Loki pulled the fur closer to himself and huddled in the depth of the cave that was carved on the mountains face. The Morrigan had left the morning before and had not yet returned. So he waited. Finally the cries of her crows heralded the apparition of the woman dressed in black, her hair as dark as her cloak and her eyes of the same shade. Loki stood as she came forward, her eyes hooded.
"It is done, Liesmith. I have seen the lands of Asgard and its decadence. War will be a good reminder for the Aesir that happiness does not come without cost."
She observed him with a look of lust.
"Nor do I."
Loki met her with a wicked smile, removing his cloak with slow, languid movements.
"As I suspected..."
Loki had forgotten the reasoning behind why he had only ever bedded the Morrigan once before, but as he descended the mountain, he remembered much to his displeasure. Lying with the Morrigan was nothing but fighting for the dominant upper hand, an act one could only assume the crone of war would apply to every aspect of her life. He had journey by foot to the depth of Yggdrasil, and it had taken him a good while to achieve this.
He had thought that perhaps his anger, his rage, and his thirst for vengeance would cool it's fires by the time he had reached the outer realms. He was wrong. And he did not have time to wait that long now. He materialized in his chambers where dust had gathered about the room and as he appeared, it all shifted at once.
Waving his hands to clear himself a visible path through the particles, he ventured into the hallway that was suspiciously empty. Had the
Morrigan begun her red work already?
Had war descended so swiftly upon Asgard?
He chuckled lowly, and allowed his most resplendent armor to appear on his lithe form. He would see this war and the pathetic efforts to stop it. The blood that was shed this day would be in commemoration of his lover and all would know what justice truly was.
