All week I've been watching the votes come in, because all week they've been in a dead heat. I was like; 'what'll I do if they tie?' but then I received a sole vote and none others after it, making the difference between the two choices 1 vote. 1.
People keep asking if it's too late to vote; if you're on the last chapter then no – you can vote right up until I upload the next chapter. Voting is always open on the most recent chapter.
Anyway, here you go, hope you enjoy.
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As it was he decided he wouldn't ask Thor about it – as much as he seemed like an idiot, the guy would surely become suspicious, and as much as Tony tried to prepare, he couldn't get enough answers for all of the questions Thor would ask. He could only use, 'just wanted to know' as a last resort – it was weak, and then he could only use, 'I swore I saw two of him last battle' so many times before it lost its effect.
His search on keywords such as 'Loki', 'Norse gods', 'Multiple', 'Split personalities' and 'Good and bad' turned up with absolutely nothing useful; only he found out that apparently some gods can cast projections of themselves – he kinda already knew that from the Germany fiasco with the four Loki's, but it solidified the fact that they were only fakes and not more of the thing that had beat Loki into a pulp in his home all that time ago. Which was reassuring, to say the least.
Bruce and he were working tirelessly with the fluctuation readings, but they hadn't had a breakthrough since Loki's tip; they had nothing. The fluctuations were just as varied as before, and even though they could recognise the green readings as Loki, it didn't mean they could count the other readings as other people like Loki, others with magic. It could be anything, of that he was certain, and they were still yet to predict a pattern concise enough to get any technology out to test it. He heaved out a long suffering sigh, he'd been here all day and Fury said he could leave at 7pm. Bruce had only come in to work at 2, so he had to stay longer, but Tony had had his fill of less-than-progressed science for the day – don't get him wrong, he really liked figuring out problems, but he also really liked freedom, of which Fury gave him none. The sigh turned into an expressive yell as he screamed out his joy looking at the clock, brain registering the time as 5 minutes 'till exemption. The somewhat caveman like yell garnered Bruce's attention for a moment before he found the source of his joy and gave him a sideways smile filled with mirth and envy – as opposing as those two emotions may seem.
Tony watched the clock with barely suppressed excitement, the boneless tiredness he had been experiencing disappearing in the light of new activities. Bouncing on the front of his feet, he watched as the clock ticked closer and closer to go time, hearing Banner chuckling behind him.
He decided to use the time wisely. Still bouncing on his feet, albeit a lot calmer due to the conversation topic he began; "So, what do you think is up with Loki and, well, Loki?" softly spoken at a volume they'd found the camera's and bugs couldn't pick up. Bruce let out a burdened sigh, stopping what he was doing and turning to him.
"I don't know. We haven't really got much to work on – only that we should kill him, which is not something I look forward to doing, especially with only the two of us and the way Loki, whichever it was, almost took out the entirety of New York last time." He said, pointing a finger at Tony to emphasise his point.
"Next time we see him-"
"If we see him."
"Yeah, then, we should ask him about it. I mean, he has to give us something to work with right?"
"Well I make a habit out of not talking about the other guy, my other guy; maybe he does too. We've never heard about it before, so, what if it's something he doesn't want others to know about, or see? Something he's," he took in a large breath, as if steeling himself, "Ashamed of, or something? It might not be that easy."
"But it's worth a shot right?"
"Yeah, Tony, it's worth a shot." And with that the conversation was finished, not only because they limited the time of this topic to something that wouldn't cause suspicion or get them caught, but also because the second hand was just about to tick over to seven o'clock.
The metallic whir of the door unlocking symbolised his ability to leave, and he practically pranced out the door, having been locked in there for ten hours. He gave a short wave to Banner as his giant grin came face-to-face with a different air. Still Avengers HQ air, but this air led to outside air, which led to city air, which lead to Stark Tower air, which led to home air. That was an exciting prospect. To think they'd wanted to make his tower headquarters – no, definitely not in the cards, thank god he hadn't let Fury talk him into that one. Living at work; yuk.
Tony loved every moment it took him to get home; every step further away from the establishment built underneath various buildings of the city. Relished in the looks of pure jealousy as he walked away whilst other had to stay, the sun light – although being winter it was moon light – that hit his being as opposed to garish fluorescent lights, the feel of something other than standard unforgiving floor under his feet, whether it be pavement, grass, mud or a puddle, he didn't care. And if he ruined his shoes he could just buy new ones. He cherished the pedal under his foot as travelled languidly through the streets, watching bright lights streaming different colours as he passed them. Most of all, he savoured the feeling he had when his foot first hit the floor of him house. He was out of Fury's reach now, unless there was an Avengers related emergency, but even then JARVIS would kindly inform him instead of having to be subjected to the level of volume at which Fury constantly spoke.
As of now, these were the emotions he was feeling, and he was ready to hear the welcome voice of his AI which would bring restful sensations over his body, ensuring himself all was well. Of course, there just so happened to be a slightly longer delay than normal before JARVIS started spouting out weather reports, stock reports and company information and trading as well as everything else. This pause told him everything he needed to know; not all was well in the house of Stark. It couldn't be that bad though; he had certainly programmed the AI better than to leave him vulnerable. Unless this was the rise of the machines, in which case JARVIS would totally be the leader, and he may want to get back for all Tony's quipped and joking insults.
"So JARVIS," he spoke, forgetting the rise of the machines theory for now, "Who's home?"
"Your guest asked that his presence remain unannounced, Sir." He replied smoothly
"Well, now I know he's here," he put emphasis on the he, alerting the AI that he had let the gender of the intruder slip, "How about you just tell me where he is?" it couldn't be too bad, the intruder alarm hadn't gone off – he would have been alerted somehow, through any of the pieces of tech he kept constantly on his being. After a prolonged silence he shut his eyes and placed his fingers over his eyes – it was probably just one of Peppers more dull assistants, but then again it could be an amateur robber, who had somehow gotten his system to stay tight lipped. "You promised didn't you?" he asked the AI exasperated. Another silence told him all he needed to know; "Surely I programmed you to only keep promises you made to me, I've got to make sure I do that, that way we avoid situations like this." He began searching the house – which was really large.
"Most trustworthy system around, Sir." JARVIS spoke, just as Tony was beginning to decide that searching would be a waste of his time; this building was what, 92 floors tall? "But if I may suggest you begin your search on the uppermost floors." He gave away the position somewhat, "It is rather lonely up there."
"Thanks J." Tony spoke, heading down a few corridors.
"There is an elevator awaiting you, Sir."
"Great. Oh, and JARVIS," he called sweetly, "Why are you defending whoever the hell is in my tower?"
"I think you will find that his trust in me is something you will come to be thankful of, Sir. It is so hard to come by these days." And with that they were quiet, Tony pondering as the elevator fast approached the floor JARVIS had ensured his journey led to.
Stepping into his penthouse – which was a lovely place, so why wouldn't the intruder be here – he used the dull glow of the arc-reactor through his shirt to lead the way.
He wasn't used to seeing the rooms so dark, only ever being present in the day, or having the energy efficient lights shining throughout the night. He'd use what he had, he wasn't going to turn on the lights and draw attention to himself.
Equal amounts of time were spent looking around the rooms and looking at the floor, so that he could find the intruder without tripping over anything. Stepping out onto the balcony he could hear music floating through the air, no doubt from a party on an adjacent sky-scraper. He understood; they did it all the time, blasting music to try and show that they could make just as much noise at their parties as he made at one of his own. Clearly the party had noticed his appearance as they were all looking to his tower, hands shaking and bodies pumping in time to the music. He walked back inside. He had an intruder to find. Finally making his way to the kitchen, he pulled out the longest range, most harmful looking knife he could find. It was better than nothing and he didn't want to get in a very noisy suit just to feel safe. The knife had to do.
Trekking through the floor above his penthouse – mostly used as an additional penthouse – took a fair amount of time, and he was sorely tempted to ask JARVIS if the intruder had left. There was only one place left to check; the roof. He had no idea how anyone would manage to get up there though, especially since the only way up was through a scuttle hole in the roof at the far end of a pretty ordinary corridor, and then you had to walk up a set of stairs and around another small, but twisting corridor before you finally made it to the open air. He figured he'd check it anyway.
He used a chair to help lift himself into the hole, he never thought to make a ladder to get up, the roof here wasn't very high and he' always thought he'd be the only one going up there. A flight of stairs and a few turns later he found himself at the door. Much like all other rooftop doors, it was thick and couldn't be seen through, but the roof was large, even if its overall layout was decidedly not square in shape.
Opening the door he was assaulted by the music again, only this time louder; the wind had probably carried it up and over the building in its current. His foot crunched on the gravel of the roof, the noise muffled by the deep bass undercurrents and multiple overlays of what his mind registered as a smooth dub-step beat. Perfect party music, if it wasn't for the sad tone it carried – probably a melody someone had butchered into this beat for entertainment. Either that of someone had a lot on their mind as they created the piece.
Turning around the corner of the building which he had exited, he saw the small area of the roof, triangle in shape with bars surrounding the edge for security due to its diminutive area. It was probably his favourite place to sit, nothing blocking his view from the surrounding city and far beyond.
Apparently it was his intruder's favourite spot too, what with him sitting letting his legs dangle off the edge, head resting on arms which hung across the bottom bar of the boundary fence. He knew the form instantly, knife raised in his hands dropping to his side as he approached from behind. The music flowed as heavily as ever and, still a great deal away he spoke, not wanting to spook him. From this angle he could see his face.
"Hey." He started, still walking towards the figure and sitting next to him when he didn't receive an answer. "What's an intruder like yourself doing on a roof like this?" he tried for humour.
"Hardly an intruder," was the reply, lacking emotion, "You gave me an open invitation." Tony watched the man carefully; there was nothing on his face or in his actions that gave any emotion away. It was what he knew from before, a mask of indifference and a voice smooth enough to distract you. It was everything he had learnt Loki wasn't.
"Only so you could leave notes without me having to search for them." He replied cockily, still trying to lift the mood. The beat had changed, it was softer, filled with pangs of guitar and instruments he'd never heard before, a melancholy tune that was just enough to distract you from the pain hidden in it. The gods lips lifted slightly as his hand flicked out, a piece of card placed between his index and middle finger. It was held out to Tony and he lifted it gingerly from its place. The arm retreated as quickly as it had come, folding so that Loki's chin rested in the crook of his elbow. Beat picking up, he unfolded the paper, curious more than anything to what could be written on the paper. 'I'm sitting on your roof.' It read. "Lovely note," he drawled, smiling as he placed it in his pocket, "Beautifully written; very poetic."
"I do try." The god crooned, hands pushing back on the bar, feet folding into a cross beneath him, reminding Tony of the general primary school position. Tony let his legs hang off the edge as Loki sat beside him.
"Did my lucana do the job?" he asked, trying to remember the words used previously.
"Lacuna," Loki corrected, turning a slight smile his way, "It did, or I would not be here."
"What do you mean?"
"You expected me to have scaled the walls up here?" he questioned, raising a brow, but still not having taken his eyes of that spot of the horizon.
"I figured you'd just magic your way up."
"I… no. I cou- no, I didn't." the god tumbled over his words. It was odd to watch, tongue darting out to wet his lips, going to say something, and then staying silent instead. He placed his hand on the gods back, trying to comfort but feeling the every muscle beneath his touch tremble and pull at the contact. Loki's eyes finally flicked to meet his own, shock and concern clearly darting through them, although not a trace of it was displayed in his features. He gave a smile, hoping to alleviate some of the tension beneath him.
"How'd you get up here then?" he asked, and the god threw a thumb over his shoulder, pointing to another part of the roof. His hand left Loki's back as he twisted his form and used it to balance himself on the rough ground, eyes following the trajectory in which he was pointed. He could feel his face scrunch up as he found the object Loki had spoken of, the thing he needed the piece for. "What is that?" he asked, hearing the awe dropping from his lips. He kinda wanted to take it back, but decided being open with Loki might be for the best. Loki looked shocked that he was even interested in it.
"It's a, well; I suppose you would call it a bike. I made it long ago." He spoke, head tilting as if trying to work Tony out. The bike was sleek and, in every way Tony had every described tech, sexy, all smooth lines and infallible design, silvers and metallic chromes, blacks and cobalt's.
"You made that?" he choked out, "It looks amazing."
"I assure you it performs admirably as well, although some of the credit may belong to you and your harbouring of a much needed piece."
"What, like, 0.01%" he scoffed, turning his attention back to the god, "But you didn't come here just to show off your bike did you?" he was greeted by a long silence, and so, not expecting an answer turned his attention out to the horizon. He could make out the party below them, still looking up at him, the whole floor looking like a pulsing mass. "Loud music isn't it?" he questioned, feeling the need to talk. Loki let a huff out of his nose in a laugh, before sniffing as if wanting it to get back inside. Looking down at the party below, Loki let his legs swing off the edge, kicking them in rhythm, hands tapping his knees lightly as well, leaning into Tony's space to speak surreptitiously.
"Nowhere near as loud as it could be." He smiled, pulling back into his own space, "Not your kind of music I take it?" he asked.
"The music's fine, a little sad, but hey; if that's what they want."
"You would prefer something more uplifting?" he asked, fingers on the hand in front of him ticking with movement. He noticed how the song mimicked the movements in its beat.
"You?"
"Indeed."
"Why? I mean, surely that's not healthy, like, a waste in energy or something." He looked Loki in the eyes, figuring that the people on the roof below had been thinking the god was DJ-ing for them or something. Idiots; the lot of them.
"I… have not been present for the past week. There is a cause for this. The others… whatever you called them… from the park, they," he paused here, searching for his words, "When I left I was not in a good state, they found me thus. It took five days, but I got away when they fed me these," He held out a hand of small red leaves, each half the size of a pinky finger nail and all with a black tint. They looked foul, and the smell that drifted from them made his stomach curl unpleasantly, "It did not act as they wished. I believe they wanted to render me unable to use my magic, as I kept escaping my binds, but instead it made it flow from me in waves, smoother than before but uncontainable. This is why I am making this noise; I must expel the magic constantly to prevent a build-up and subsequent surge of it. I know not when the effects will wear off, but, I confess, and please do not use this knowledge against me; I am almost free of the power." He spoke to his lap, music pumping around.
"You're out of magic?" he questioned, shocked. He wasn't sure it could run out.
"Not yet I'm not." He answered defensively, "I may not have enough left to fight you, but I have enough to throw you off of this building and claim it my own." Struggling to stand as he pulled away from Tony, Loki found himself leaning heavily on the boundary fence for support, music coming faster and louder.
"No worries man." Tony called, hands raising to a defensive position, "No-one's coming to take you in, I thought we settled this last time." He slowly stood.
"That was then, this is now." Loki voiced his concerns.
"Well, my point still stands. Come on, you look tired, we'll get you inside and you can pump your music around my penthouse." he reached forward grabbing the others bicep. "And we can bring your bike down too." Loki's face was weary, but eventually it gave in; tiredness outweighing concern.
"Alright, but leave the bike for now; it would do you ill to touch it." The way it was spoken was as a warning, but not a threat. The kind of warning when people said 'don't touch the pan, its hot', and he figured, maybe this once, he would save his fingers from the burns.
It took a long time to get back down to the penthouse – the top one – and during this time Tony had noticed a lot of things. The main one being that Loki was far worse off than he had let on, on the roof. Every couple of steps Loki would falter, his legs wanting to slide out from under him, and as they continued his breathing became heavily laboured. He practically fell through the man hole that lead to the floor below, but luckily Tony had gone down first and the grip he gained on the gods shoulders was enough to keep them tumbling – but only just. By the time they'd made it to the lounge, Loki crumpled a top of it, spreading out over it, eyes scrunched closed and breathing heavily through his nose to try and control it. When he finally opened his eyes he let out a self-depreciating laugh and muttered out a sorry to Tony who was standing above him.
"No, hey, it's fine. You need help, you got it. You are staying here until you're better alright?" he couldn't deny the man anything, not with the hollow sadness creeping in his eyes, and especially since he was trying to gain his trust.
"I can't possi-" he tried to protest
"You can and you will." He said defiantly, trying not to notice the way Loki looked as if he was searching for the trick.
"But I am already in your debt." He said after a long while.
"Forget about it. Hey" he put up a hand before he could protest again, "If you really wanna pay me back for this, then how about you answer a few questions hey? If you don't wanna, you don't have to, but it would help me and Bruce out a whole bunch if we knew a bit more." Loki agreed with a nod of his head, finding no alternative – he would always repay his debt, and if this was the price than he would pay what he could. He told Tony so, and while he was taken aback, he tried to forma question in his mind that wouldn't put them off on the wrong foot. Was there even a right foot? He took a seat on the edge of the coffee table as Loki put himself in a more upright position. He decided jumping right in was the best course of action. "What's the deal with the other guy?" Loki swallowed and looked to his feet. "You don't have to answer." He quickly assured, watching the walls of the mask he wore on the roof tear down further.
"No, I – I owe you this much." He spoke softly but determined. Tony noticed his hands were beginning to shake as they lay open on his lap. "He is a part of me, much like the Hulk is a part of Dr Banner." He spoke slowly, the words seeming to taste rotten in his mouth. "He came about long ago, before your people first knew of our existence, and I cannot rid myself of him. Be not mistaken – he is me." He clenched his hands into fists, grasping at his pants as if reliving something terrible, "All that he has done was done by me; it is not the same level of separation between Dr Banner and his beast. Whilst the Hulk may be responsible for killing hundreds, Dr Banner is not treated thus, for it was not him. But for my transgressions… the same cannot be applied. I was me in every sense of the word, and no matter, I cannot get rid of that part of me." His eyes were alight with unshed tears and unknown pain. Tony wanted to console, but what could he say? He still didn't understand.
"But you are separate; you are physically separate." He punctuated, "Surely that counts."
"I would think not. He and I are one and the same, and if I cannot rid myself of him, then what does it matter. It is not something I can do."
"Well then we'll fight him away, that would work wouldn't it? And why can't you get rid of him, you were doing a pretty good job before."
"You could rid me off him yes, but he is autochthon."
"What?"
"He originated from where he is found; he was and is me. As for why I cannot be rid of him; do you know how hard it is to take one's own life? We are infrangible, and he is an invidious blague. He makes me flagitious, and while I ache when my force reaches his form, he revels in the feeling. I – it is impossible to fight to save anything when each blow you land harms only yourself and causes your enemy joy. This is why I cannot be rid of him; my pain fast outweighs the injuries he receives."
"Surely there has to be a way to get rid of him without getting rid of yourself."
"You don't understand!" Loki spoke powerfully, head lifting to meet his eyes, "He is me! He is a part of me that was flaked away and twisted and grew with feelings of only hate and desire, controlled by anger and pain! He is a part of me that I still have! This is why it is so easy for him; we are the same, only his will is stronger than anything I can ever be!"
"Loki." He tried, "We can fix this, alright? We'll figure it out, you and Bruce and I."
"You won't." he shook his head as a soul crushingly pained laugh slipped from his lips, "Why are you fighting so hard?" Loki pleaded, the water welling in his eyes finally too much and slipping over the edge.
"We all need a second chance; Bruce got one, Natasha got one, I got one. I used to be known as the merchant of death, and now look at me – went from making weapons to kill millions, to making technology to save millions. That's a pretty massive turn-around, if I do say so myself. And by the sounds of it, you are long overdue; am I right?"
"You are a fool." Loki spoke after a long moment of consideration.
"We already went over this."
"Certainly, but I am sorry, I would ask we cease this topic for now. He likes to utilise moments of mental weakness, and I confer I am certainly compromised, what with my emotional state." He swiped his hands under his eyes to get the water from his skin, "And these leaves," he tossed them onto the table, "Are not helping."
"Sure, yeah, of course." What was this terrible feeling, oh right, guilt. Nice to see you again. "I'll set you up a room."
"You are, by far, the strangest being I have ever had the opportunity to encounter." Loki spoke as he stood.
"I'll take that as a compliment." Tony threw over his shoulder, making his way towards the rooms.
"I suggest you would; but I have a request." He thought the tone seemed somewhat timid.
"Go for it." He prompted, watching the god trying to follow his quick movements with his own tiring ones.
"I would wish for rest; I have had naught of it for the past week."
"Go ahead and use my bed." He offered, realising it was going to take a while to prepare the room, seeing as he wasn't really expecting a guest, "You know where it is, hasn't moved."
"Thank-you." He nodded somewhat before shuffling through the door. With its closing the continual drone of music finished, and he realised just how silent it was.
Almost an hour later of clearing and re-arranging he had a room ready. It had been a taxing process, his mind recounting every one of Loki's words; 'escaping my binds' being at the forefront. What had he gone through in the past week?
He was about to fall asleep on the newly made bed when he realised he should alert Bruce. But did he really have to do it now? He was tired and he kinda wanted Loki to be content in his company. He would tell Bruce eventually, but did it have to be right now? He knew they were in this together, but he couldn't help wanting the god to himself – it was simpler this way. Maybe if he just waited a day or two? Bruce wouldn't be that mad would he?
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There we go, a longer chapter but hey, whatever.
Don't really like this chapter either, I just don't like the feel of it. What do you think?
Leave your thoughts in a comment/review/whatever.
Vote for this week – Tony tells Bruce and they work this thing out together; or Tony tries to keep Loki to himself, and probably fails.
Don't forget to leave your choice as a review.
Stay tuned and stay awesome.
