Used some of the Avengers' dialogue in this bit, purely so that the chapter flows better, but it will be the only bit I use directly from the film. Went to see Iron Man 3 the other day and it was soooo good. I thoroughly recommend you go see it as soon as you can!
Loki stalked towards me, his expression unreadable, and beckoned to me to rise. I glared back at him, shaking my head furiously. As weak as I felt at that moment, I wasn't about to let him order me around like his personal servant, and yet, I had this strange urge to lift myself up and take him into my arms. I shook my head at the thought. No, Freyja, you're not going to let Loki win this one.
"I have ways of forcing you to get up, but I'm sure you'd rather not experience them," Loki growled at me, motioning once again for me to rise from the floor.
"I'm interested to know what these ways are," I managed to choke out, not breaking eye contact with him.
"I refuse to waste precious time arguing with you. Now, get up or I will make you."
I sighed, not wanting to make the situation for myself more dangerous than it already was.
"Fine. But I demand that you tell me why I have become your prisoner."
"You are in no place to make demands, mortal," Loki retorted sharply, and lifted me off the ground by my arm.
I snatched it away quickly and followed him as he took to the stairs, only just noticing that he was wearing a floor length cloak the colour of emerald and that it was a perfect match to his eyes. I had seen him wear a similar garment back on Asgard many times, it being a symbol of royalty and respect, but now it reeked of fear and power, especially when coupled with a horned golden helmet which I had seen him wear on many occasions. After acknowledging his attire, I also noticed that in one hand he carried a long sceptre. At one end it extended round, encircling an alluring azure gemstone, similar to that blue cube Fury had been talking about. It was almost hypnotising, and as I stared at it, my feelings towards doing what Loki wanted me to do intensified.
Loki stopped when we had reached another room in Stark Tower. It rose even higher above New York City, and looked almost the same as the room that I had previously been imprisoned in, apart from the fact that this had a miniature bar on one side. He led me through the room and whilst gripping my shoulders, pushed me down on to a cream coloured sofa. Loki then proceeded to tie my hands together with an invisible chain. It was powerful magic, and if I had my strength back, I would be able to break them. Unfortunately, I had to endure the feeling of weakness for a while longer.
"Is this really necessary?" I asked, tilting my head towards the invisible chains.
"I can't risk you escaping now, can I?" Loki smirked, tipping his head close to mine so that our foreheads were almost touching.
I didn't answer him, instead entirely focused on resisting the impulse to grab him by the hair and press my lips to his. I bit down on my lip, ignoring the pain as my teeth pierced the skin. It was the only thing to stop me from giving in completely. That and my burning hatred for him.
"It may be best if you stay hidden for a while," Loki glanced over to the city and then placed his gaze back on me, "I have business to attend to."
Loki waved a hand over me and I felt a cool sensation trickling over my body. It didn't take long for me to realise that he was using the same invisibility spell that I had used on myself earlier. I didn't know whether to be furious that he had so much physical strength to be able to perform it with ease, or thankful that at least no one would be able to see me in such a state. He then cast his cloak and helmet aside with a look of irritation on his face. Perhaps they weren't as comfortable to wear as he used to let on.
I saw Loki leave me and wander over to the glass, as if he was waiting for someone. Soon enough, my suspicions were confirmed as a blur of red and gold came whizzing through the sky at an ungodly speed and landed on a ledge that was connected to the room from the outside. My favourite person had arrived.
I watched as Tony Stark shed himself of the suit using a peculiar device that seemed to have come from the ledge itself. He looked his usual self, although there were traces of fatigue around his normally bright eyes, and there was a small bruise on his left cheek. The threat of Loki taking over his beloved world had obviously taken its toll on Tony, and I found myself pitying him…but only slightly.
"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," Loki's eyes fixed on Tony as he entered the room through an opening in the glass wall and made his way to the bar.
"Hmm. Actually, I'm planning to threaten you."
"You should have left your armour on for that," said Loki, pointing his sceptre towards Tony, who agreed with him.
"Yeah. It's seen a bit of mileage and you've got the glow stick of destiny."
I saw Loki smile at this, clearly pleased with himself that he had acquired such a magnificent staff. The smug look on his face was enough to make anyone want to slap him.
"Would you like a drink?"
Typical. Only Tony would offer the most threatening man on the planet a drink before an important battle.
"Stalling me won't change anything."
"No, no. Threatening. No drink? Are you sure? I'm having one."
Loki paid little attention to Tony's words, deciding instead that the view outside the window was more interesting, but it was clear that he was trying to hide the unease on his features. I could sense that he was concerned about something. Perhaps the realisation that he could possibly fail had dawned on him.
"The Chitauri are coming," he growled, walking closer to the window pane, "Nothing will change that."
The unease on his face suddenly disappeared, becoming ice cold and superior.
"What have I to fear?"
"The Avengers," Tony replied, and smirking slightly.
At this, Loki's expression twisted into one of confusion, his brows furrowing. I shifted uncomfortably on the sofa, the chains that looped around my wrists were rubbing and I could feel that they were beginning to slice into the skin, blood trickling down them and onto my knees.
"That's what we call ourselves. We're sort of like a team. 'Earth's mightiest hero's' type thing."
"Yes, I've met them," Loki was smiling now, almost as amused at Tony's statement as I was.
"Yeah. It takes us a while to get any traction; I'll give you that one. But let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demigod," Loki scowled at this, but let Tony continue, "A super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend. A man with breath-taking anger management issues, a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them."
"That was the plan."
"Not a great plan," Tony stated, taking a big gulp of alcohol, "When they come, and they will, they'll come for you."
"I have an army."
"We have a Hulk."
"Oh I thought the beast had wandered off," Loki replied as Tony strolled towards him.
"You're missing the point. There is no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top."
No, I thought to myself. There definitely would not be a version where Loki came out on top. But there would be a version where someone else would, and it certainly was not the Avengers.
"Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it."
Loki's eyes narrowed, something that was becoming a regular occurrence for him, and strode forward, getting even closer to Tony.
"How will your friends have time for me when they are so busy fighting you?"
Loki brought his sceptre up and rested it on his chest, directly in line with Tony's heart. There was a small clunking sound as the sceptre hit a metallic material. Something had obviously gone wrong, and Loki repeated the action.
"This usually works," he muttered.
"Well, performance issues, it's not uncommon. One out of five-"
Tony did not get to finish his sentence as Loki's hand shot up to his throat and threw him across the room. He landed roughly on the stone floor, but appeared to be unhurt as he lifted himself off the ground, mumbling words I could not comprehend. But Loki was not finished with him. He grabbed Tony by the chin this time.
"You will all fall before me," Loki spat.
"Deploy," Tony managed to choke out just before he was thrown through the glass.
I watched in horror as the glass shattered and Tony was sent plummeting to the city below. It angered me that I was unable to move, and even though Tony and I weren't exactly fond of each other, I had never wished that upon him. I was even more shocked when something shot out of nowhere and hurtled out of the broken window. Loki turned his head towards where I was sitting, looking as confused as I was.
"And there's one other person you pissed off," announced a familiar voice.
Tony had appeared suddenly, hovering outside in the Iron Man suit that encased his body protectively. I'd never admit it in front of him, but he was one hell of a genius.
"His name was Phil."
Loki sneered, raising his sceptre, an iridescent blue glow radiating from it, and pointed it towards Tony. However, he was not quick enough, being blasted backwards from a ray of energy that fired from Tony's palm. At the same time, there was a deafening whirring sound that came from the top of the tower, causing Tony to look up in what could have been alarm, and disappear quickly after. Loki remained on the ground, struggling to recover from the force of the blow. I needed him to recuperate if I was going to get out of the chains.
"Loki," I hissed at him, "Get up!"
A feeling of light-headedness had descended upon me once more. I had not fully noticed that the metal shackles around my wrists were cutting in deeper than I presumed, and as I gazed at them, I realised that the blood was no longer trickling down my wrists, but flowing out steadily. Though I had experienced many sightings of blood on the battlefield, I could never stand the thought of my own. As soon as I saw the dark liquid beginning to pool in my lap, I felt my stomach turn, and prayed that I would not fall unconscious again. Unfortunately, it was as if the gods had heard my prayer and had just laughed. The darkness enveloped me yet again, and I hoped that I would not have to experience another painful memory of the past. But of course, my wishes never came true.