reezing. He felt the sudden urgency, and then, everything inside his mind exploded in green.
Chapter Seven
Malachite Fury
There are tales of the wrath of many gods. They all share one thing, however. It is never in one's best interest to incur the true wrath of a god, of any sort. There tends to be extreme consequences. Those that faced Loki and his force in the frosted plains of Jotunheim would know this first hand as they clashed forces with them. The force was small but it was far more deadly than anyone who fought that day would have imagined. A handful of Asgardians, a Jotun traitor and a group of Midgardians would not bring down the forces of Syrus Laufeyson. In the end, as many before him, Syrus would befall victim to his own hubris.
It took a few moments before the shock of where they had come faded from the Avengers' eyes. The place was cold, and appeared to be void of life. As many harsh environments that those present had been in, they were shocked by the sheer brutality of the land around them. Then the silence broke as a thunderous roar resounded beyond the rag tag group's vision. Over a ridge, charged at least six of the legendary frost giants that the Midgardians had heard about from Thor.
Loki stood in front of them and yanked away the cloak he wore. He had no need to hide himself now. Those with him had seen his form, and they still followed him. Fury was not a word that the god used lightly. His hand flashed and a beacon like light rose above him, a shining star of green would alert his enemy that he was coming, and nothing would stop him. Syrus had committed the one thing Loki could never forgive. Of all his long life, his heart was the only thing more guarded than the vaults of Asgard. Syrus had stolen his heart.
Thor was first into action, yelling and sending Mjolnir to slam into a ten foot tall Jotun who was running full tilt at them with what could only be described as six giant ice dogs running beside him. The warriors three sprang into action, along with the other warriors. Of course, Fandrel found himself standing back near Hawkeye. He glanced at the other archer and smirked.
"Ah, young one, care for a bit of a wager?" Fandrel yelled across at Hawkeye.
Hawkeye paused and narrowed his eyes at him. "What you want to wager on, Robin?"
Fandrel smirked. "See how many arrows thy sink into the flesh of the Jotun, and how many thee make fall. I wager I shall fell one before ye," he said, releasing three arrows at once at a coming Jotun with a huge iced maul.
"You're on, Man-in-tights," Hawkeye said with a smirk, leaping down a small embankment and using a frozen rock slab to slide down it to the bottom.
Lady Sif rolled her eyes as she waded right in and took on a smaller Jotun hand to hand, while behind her, Black Widow made good use of their numbers to land shots with her pistols. They'd been loaded with special armor piercing rounds that Tony had created for her, and they seemed to easily pierce the hardened flesh of the icy creatures around them. Hogan and Volstagg had both taken off in flanking positions with a couple of the other warriors each. Bruce had turned into hulk and was wading through throngs of smaller creatures, some the dog like giants and others like human sized goblins. Steve was easily taking on a smaller Jotun in hand to hand, though the sound of his shield ringing from the strikes could be heard over the entire field of battle. For a long while, everyone became lost to each other in flurries of snow, ice, and flying bodies.
Loki had one mission, and that was to end this nuisance of fighting as soon as possible. The longer the battle lasted, the longer Tony had to suffer. There were several times one of the attackers hesitated when they saw Loki in his Jotun form, confused as to who he was. Each time, Loki used it to obliterate them at will. Several times, his clones made foes fall with great ease. It was nearly frustratingly easy and made him even angrier. This Jotun would kidnap his Anthony and then try to defend his new claim with this meager offering of force?
Behind him, the force was encountering little resistance. He looked up in time to see Fandral scaling a Jotun by climbing a ladder of arrows sticking out of the giant's thigh while Hawkeye pelted him from the opposite side to distract him. Frandral leapt to his shoulders and notched three arrows and shot them with point blank force into the base of the giant's neck. His dismount was sloppy, nearly falling flat on his face, Loki noted as he blasted a small pack of the troll like ice creatures from existence completely. It was apparent that their forces were not expecting Loki's Jotun form and there were several enemies that avoided him.
Natasha found herself more than once rescued by Sif's quick swordplay, especially when a pack of the ice wolves closed in on her just as her pistols were out of ammunition. Sif gave a curt nod and waded back into the next pack of creatures. She looked over to see Steve drop one of the bigger giants to his knees after kneecapping him with the shield. In short order, the ten foot tall creature was felled and Steve was moving onward. Bruce had hulked and was tearing through creatures at a frightening rate, his own strength rivaling the largest giants. He had been followed by one of the Asgardian groups headed by Volstagg.
Loki could feel Tony's life flickering. He could feel his fear and more than that, he could feel his anger. Loki smirked. That was expected of his companion. The fear even was not for his own life, Loki knew. It was for Loki. It took them no more than a half hour before the intense battle seemed to dwindle. Creatures ran, wolves yelped and disappeared, and the last remaining Jotun disappeared into the snows that were beginning to fall heavy on the world.
With the foes behind them, there was only one destination. The ruins of the king's throne room. He sensed Tony growing weaker and weaker. The cold was taking its toll on him. He growled as he walked up to a wall with no seams in it. The others made their way up to him and he turned and placed a hand on the wall.
Everything around them burst in a cloud of green smoke as the wall shattered into tiny particulates and the wind blew it away. Inside the room sat Syrus beside a cube that held Tony inside it. His eyes, though were glowing bright green to match Loki's.
"Magic bonds are not that easy to break, Syrus Laufeyson," Loki stated as the glow receded from both his and Tony's eyes.
Syrus looked up and smirked at his brother. "Why, brother, is that any way to speak to me?"
"You are not my brother, just because you are the bastard child of a dead king," Loki snarled, his eyes nearly glowing red with the intensity.
Tony had never seen anything so terrifying. Perhaps it was because he was not only seeing Loki like this for the first time, but he could feel the pulsating and unbridled hatred and anger coming from the furious god. That, more than anything, made the sensation nearly palatable in the room. He shivered and glanced at the smug looking Jotun behind him. Like hell, he was not some princess in distress. He snorted and let a shiver pass him and began to manipulate the arc reactor's tactile controls without looking. From the outside, he looked to be only holding his hands over it. The truth was far more important to Tony Stark.
"But brother, you've got no one else. Blood, is blood, look at you, you are like me, not like these pale, disgusting Aesir who lied to you about what you were," Syrus said, standing up and leaning on the cube containing Tony.
"I am Loki Odinson. I made my choice when I watched Laufey die. Odin did not understand it then, but my choice was to stand with the Aesir," Loki said, moving closer.
"Tsk, no closer, Loki, I know of your tricks," Syrus said and waved his hand and let the cube melt around Tony who looked up with a gasp as a rush of cold air contacted his already frozen skin. Syrus grabbed him up in his arms, wrapping an arm around his waist and stroking Tony's head thoughtfully. If Tony hadn't been so damn cold, he might have done something about that, but he instead kept his eyes closed and concentrated on what he was doing with his hands clutched over the arc. "You see, I have your precious little pet now. And you don't get him back."
Tony felt his teeth starting to audibly chatter. Luckily, the robe, thin as it was, was still closed over him, so his hands were hidden under the folds. If he got out of this with all his fingers and toes intact it was going to be a miracle. Loki growled and took a step forward, but Syrus squeezed Tony's body hard and Tony yelped as something, his hip bone, he thought, cracked. His eyes had flown open and he was staring at Loki and the others now. What? There were so many, and the…the team? Loki'd brought the team? He swallowed as the pain radiated out from where the giant's arm lay across his pelvis.
"Put him down, Syrus," Loki said carefully, his blue toned hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.
"No, no, see, you killed everyone I loved, so you're going to watch as I slowly kill what you love, isn't that the way it should be?" Syrus said, squeezing his arm around Tony again until Tony gasped against the shooting pain. "I'll break every bone in his body first, and through the soul bond, you'll feel it, keenly, and then, as he dies, you're power will be greatly reduced, and you will be helpless."
Tony's fingers flow in the pattern over the arc shakily. This bastard wasn't going to let him go. He had no intention of putting him down until he'd cracked him to pieces while Loki was forced to watch. While the others were forced to watch. He growled under his breath and then opened his eyes to lock eyes with Loki's red ones. He gave Loki a cockeyed grin and panted.
"Don't worry 'bout me, I got this," he said, though it was a lot shakier and a lot weaker than he would have liked.
Syrus laughed, causing Tony to groan as his bones shifted in his grip. "Your princess is funny. He believes he has control over this situation still."
Loki frowned and then smiled and shook his head. "You made one mistake, one huge one, Syrus Lafeyson."
Syrus snorted and stared at the smaller Jotun before him. "What do you mean? If you attack me, he dies. Your magic is useless against me here. And he is a helpless Midgardian."
Loki shook his head. "That is your mistake. He is far from helpless. He is the companion and partner of Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard, and he is also the smartest Midgardian I've ever encountered. He is a match for my wit, my power, and my intelligence. He is not some helpless creature. No, he is much more than that. He is, perhaps, the only creature in the nine realms worthy of my full, undying loyalty and respect. No, you have made a mistake in thinking that the man you hold is helpless. It has been your undoing."
Syrus looked confused and shook his head to respond. However, he was so completely focused on Loki, that he had paid no attention to what his captive was doing. Tony's hands worked flash quick as he yanked the arc reactor out of his chest with one decisive move and slammed the back of the rapidly brightening object into the soft flesh of the Jotun's belly. Blood bubbled around it as everyone shielded their eyes. Loki cast a spell to shield those around him as the arc reactor began emitting brilliant flashes of light, blinding the Jotun as Tony shielded his eyes from it with his arm. He winced as he was let go and met the ground with a crash. There were some other broken things, he thought as he rolled away as best he could. He wasn't sure he'd make it away from the arc in time.
The world seemed to explode in white light and a shrill whine that split the air. Tony blinked and looked up to realize he was looking into a pair of red eyes that he knew. Loki was holding him up where he had fallen to the ground, and Tony could see that there was a greenish, and very familiar shield surrounding them.
"Hey," Tony said. "Sorry I ran out…" he muttered, his breath starting to heave.
Bruce kneeled down. "His arc, he's going to die without it…"
"Got one in my lab," Tony said, looking at Loki. "Do what you gotta do, Lokes."
Loki nodded, closing his eyes and allowing a green glow to encase Tony's body. Instead of fading, it remained around him. Bruce looked up with confused eyes. Loki reached out and took the thermal suit that Bruce was holding and flicked his hand, dressing Tony in the warmth it offered in a flash.
"I've put him in a time stasis. I can hold it long enough to take the Bifrost back to Asgard to his lab," Loki said with a nod as he hefted Tony's immobile body into his arms and turned to look at Thor.
Thor nodded and opened the Bifrost and they returned to Asgard, leaving behind the cold of Jotunheim. Loki had no concern for the "brother" he left behind. In the dark of Jotunheim's chill, nearly dead and very angry, Syrus Lafeyson plotted his revenge should he survive the night. He was unsure if he would, but thoughts of revenge two fold made his pain easier to endure.
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
Loki led the others to the doorway in their chambers where he'd set up Tony's lab for him. He went in and the others followed, amazed at what they saw. It was everything Tony worked with and worked on. All complete and there…
Loki laid him in the chair and looked up.
"JARVIS, where is Anthony's spare arc reactor?" he said. Tony had been able to install JARVIS inside the lab easily enough, but outside the lab had been more difficult.
"Yes, Sir Loki. It is in the drawer to the lower left of the chair. Sir's vitals are unreadable, what is the condition?" JARVIS responded.
"He's in a time locked stasis field, JARVIS," Loki said, pulling the reactor from the drawer and releasing the field.
Tony gasped and coughed as his eyes went wide. Loki patted his shoulder as he manipulated the reactor with his magic, hovering it over his chest as he used tendrils of magic to make the connections far quicker than his physical hands could have. Finally, Tony panted as the reactor clicked into place in his chest. He was obviously in pain, however, from the cold and form whatever the Jotun had done. Loki looked up where Thor watched.
"Brother, please bring Mother. I'll need her help," Loki said to him quietly as he placed a hand on Tony's head.
"No," Tony said, slapping his hand away. "Don't, don't do that. I want to stay awake."
Thor smiled and nodded, leaving quickly to fetch Frigga. Loki sighed. "Anthony, you've broken bones and your fingers and toes are nearly frostbitten off. Let me put you to sleep until Mother and I…"
"No," Tony said, glaring at Loki. "I'm not letting you."
Loki snorted. "You are so stubborn," he growled before standing back and crossing his arms.
"So are you," Tony said, wincing as the weight on what he was relatively sure was a broken hip shifted.
"Indeed, a match true," came Frigga's voice from the doorway.
"Mother!" Loki said, looking up. "I need your help, I have expended too much of myself already to…" Loki said as she put an arm around him.
"Hush, child. You deal with the bones, my son. I'll deal with the cold, as that will take more magic to fix," she said gently.
Loki nodded then glared at Tony. "This is going to be painful, are you…"
"Dammit, Lokes, just do it already and get it over with!" Tony snapped.
Thor stepped back where the other Avengers silently watched from the entry area. Natasha put a hand on Thor's arm and he turned to her.
"He cares about him, doesn't he?" she said softly as Loki and Tony snapped back and forth at each other while Frigga smiled knowingly, her own hands glowing from her work.
Thor smiled. "I do believe that Tony has begun to love my brother. I was unsure. This month has not seen good results between them. I feared the worst, and Tony would choose to leave and abandon my brother. The loss would have devastated Loki beyond anything else."
Steve shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't…I don't understand why Loki…" he started.
"Loki sees beyond what Tony shows him," Bruce said quietly from beside him. "What we never bothered to see. We just…we just let Tony show us who he wanted us to see, and ignored everything that said we should have looked further. Tony asked for help in a lot of ways, and we ignored it," he said, running a hand over his head slowly.
"He never asked for anything," Clint said with a frown.
"He did," Steve said slowly. "He tried so many times to show us he needed us to listen, that he needed a friend. That's what Loki's given him, more than anything. He's given him what we never did."
Thor nodded. "Tony has had to endure much here. It is not uncommon for two males to form a relationship, but it is rare for a prince to take a male companion because there is no chance of children. Well, there is, but that is a complicate ritual. It is even more rare for an Aesir to marry someone of a different realm. Loki, as you see isn't really Aesir, so for him to marry and retain a title… The All-Father promised him some boon I have yet to know."
Steve frowned and looked at him thoughtfully. "A boon?"
Thor nodded as Loki stood back while Frigga continued to treat the cold related problems. "Yes, Loki gave much for Tony's presence, more than what he says. I am unsure what he has been promised, but it has given my brother a strong sense of duty to Asgard, and he has attended his duties and orders quite readily. My brother has never done so before now."
"What could he have been given for him to act that way?" Natasha asked as she watched thoughtfully.
It was obvious that Loki was worried, and even more obvious that he was completely in love with Tony. He would step from one foot to the other and then touch Tony somewhere just slightly, as if to ensure that yes, he was still there, and still alive. He would snap at Frigga for not working fast enough and Frigga would calmly tell him to be patient, a subtle smile on her lips. Tony would snark at him and Loki would quip back something and then he would seem to go back to his worried stepping back and forth. Natasha wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it for herself.
Thor sighed. "That I do not know. I should put you in rooms for the night. Tony should rest once Mother has finished. Come, I will show you to a set of chambers you can use," he said, turning and leading them out.
A few moments later, he left them in an extravagant room with two large beds and a pair of large divans. All four of them were exhausted and each one fell into a deep sleep shortly after Thor had left them to return to Loki's chambers. He returned to find his mother had completed the treatment and was instructing Loki to make sure that Tony went straight to sleep. Thor waited and left with his mother, leaving Tony and Loki to themselves after the incredibly trying night.
Loki watched them leave. He turned to Tony and snatched him up from the seat without a word, to which Tony protested loudly that he could walk just fine, he was just sore. Loki was having none of it and put him down in their bed and crawled up beside him. He snapped his fingers and switched their clothes out for something comfortable for the night. Loki stared at Tony for a long time until Tony rolled his eyes.
"Okay, that's creepy. You still have this stalker thing going," Tony said with a smirk, laying on his back and smiling up at him.
"I was terrified of losing you, Anthony," Loki said quietly. "When you left from here, I was heartbroken, and then you were so frightened and then just gone, I…I've never been afraid before, Anthony."
Tony reached up and cupped Loki's face. "I'm sorry. I just…when you said you loved me…I didn't believe it. I thought…I thought you'd gotten what you wanted, and I'd…I'd just be thrown aside…and it scared me because I…I thought I deserved that fate and I was okay with it. Then, you said you loved me and I believed it and I didn't know what to do…"
Loki smiled and kissed Tony's brow gently. "I know all that and more," he whispered. "Until that moment, I didn't realize what you meant to me. The consummation, that was everything I hoped, but I would go forever without tasting of your flesh if it meant you were to never leave my side again. I would rather have you beside me than be without you."
Tony smiled. "Oh, no, I liked that part, a lot, so yeah, you can taste again, trust me," he said with a wry smirk spreading across his face.
Loki smirked in returned and realized he'd never altered his appearance back. He tilted his head and looked at Tony for a long moment. "You do not see me as a monster like this?" he asked.
Tony sighed. "You're Loki, no matter what color. Though, gotta admit, the blue is kinda hot…" he said, his eyes growing heavy. He yawned and let out a slight squeak that made Loki laugh. Tony smacked him and rolled away from him on his side.
Loki settled in behind him, wrapping his arms around Tony's chest. "That was risky, with the reactor," Loki said softly as he buried his nose in the back of Tony's head.
Tony nodded. "Yeah, figured if nothing else, I'd go out fast, rather than that bastard doing what he had planned," he said, wriggling back into the warmth that Loki's body offered. Loki's skin slowly morphed back to the normal peach and the slight chill he gave off faded. Tony murmured in contentment at the increase in body heat.
"Rest, we'll talk more when morning comes," Loki said, kissing Tony's head gently. Tony hummed in agreement and faded to sleep. Loki, however, didn't find sleep for a long time, instead lying awake, clutching Tony's body against him.
