Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

AN: I am so sorry for the long wait. I have gone to see the Avengers (twice!) and I loved it. I adore it. Honestly, it was the perfect movie. Don't worry, I won't spoil anything. If any of you already have seen it, you're free to tell me what you think of it In the mean time, enjoy this chapter!

Tides Change

Chapter 13

Tony sighed heavily while staring at the bottle of whiskey in his hand. Maybe he shouldn't be drinking, not with Loki upstairs. Then again, perhaps he should make himself a drink just because of the black haired man and while he was at it, he should get Loki something as well. Getting the trickster drunk might just be a solution. It would definitely get him to talk about all of his plans and his troubles and his incredible hatred for Thor. Pouring in a glass, Tony shook those thoughts away. It might not be well for anyone to know what was going on in Loki's head.

Hearing Steve's footsteps approach, Tony poured his friend a drink as well. He knew Steve wasn't the kind of man that often enjoyed alcohol, but he figured that today was a day of exceptions. When he turned around, he found Steve frowning. Tony didn't wait, but handed him the second glass. Steve stared at it for a long moment and then drank it completely empty.

"Well," Tony said, half amused, "another?"

"No, thank you," Steve said, moving towards the couch and dropping down. He wasn't wearing his stars and stripes, but a casual white shirt and blue jeans. Tony could not get over the fact that Steve looked completely different when he wasn't wearing his outfit. He somehow looked smaller. "Have you spoken with Loki?"

"Yes," Tony answered, joining Steve on the couch, "but I'm not sure it helped anything. Why else would I be drinking at this hour of the day?"

"You're always drinking," Steve said in a matter of fact way.

"True," Tony smiled. He emptied his glass and contemplated on filling it up again, but he decided against it. He needed to be sober if Loki decided to screw them over or something. "I just don't understand how one man can hold so much anger. Not even Bruce is that angry."

"What did he say?"

"Like I said, not much," Tony explained, "he talked about hating Thor and wanting to destroy earth because Thor likes it so much. He talked about how he knew I observed him when he was being tortured so that doesn't exactly make me feel safe. Then I almost screwed up by telling him Odin gave us his consent about the torture, but I managed to talk my way out of it."

"You did what?" Steve's back was instantly straightened and his eyes became wide with shock.

"Relax," Tony said, waving away Steve's concerns "he doesn't know anything. He became, not to my surprise, angry which is when the weird part started. His arms turned blue, actual blue. Thor has told us about Loki's true inheritance, but this was the first time I actually saw him in his…what's it called…Jotun form."

Steve only looked at him, his eyes slightly narrowed. "I don't like this, Tony. Loki shouldn't be here and Thor shouldn't have left him here. He is an enemy of this world, but we treat him as if…"

"He isn't our guest, Steve," Tony understood what Steve was trying to say, "and I am sure that this isn't the end of this matter. Loki will get his magic back, he will return to being our enemy and we will be there to stop him when he tries to destroy another city. I just hope that Thor understands that he doesn't have his brother back."

"We'll see when he gets back," Steve sighed, "which should be any minute now."

oOo

Loki was tired of being stuck in Tony Stark's guest room. He was, if only slightly, grateful that he was allowed to stay here, but that didn't mean he had become their puppy. Being in Stark's mansion meant that Loki had access to SHIELD papers, to document not meant for his eyes, even to Tony's iron suit. He should try and make the best of his time here.

With a wide grin, he slipped out of the guest room and made his way downstairs. He had studied this place many times before to know that the most interesting stuff would be in the basement. There had to be a code, however, a password to get inside which was something Loki would have to find first. The best way to do that was to break into a computer. Luckily, there was a computer in every room of this house, but Loki needed one that was connected to JARVIS.

When he reached ground level, he couldn't help but hear Stark's voice as he talked to the Captain. Normally, Loki wouldn't have bothered to listen to the conversation, but there was such a sharp edge to Steve's voice that caused Loki to grow curious. He moved closer to the living room and made sure that neither Steve nor Tony noticed his unwanted presence.

"What did he say?" Steve asked.

"Like I said, not much," Tony answered, "he talked about hating Thor and wanting to destroy earth because Thor likes it so much. He talked about how he knew I observed him when he was being tortured so that doesn't exactly make me feel safe. Then I almost screwed up by telling him Odin gave us his consent about the torture, but I managed to talk my way out of it."

Whatever was being said beyond those words, Loki did not know. He could only hear Stark's words over and over in his head. Odin gave us his consent about the torture. Odin gave us his consent about the torture. Odin gave us his consent about the torture. Loki had known something was going on with the Allfather, he had heard it in Tony's voice earlier, but this…this was not something he had been anticipating. Together with anger and fury, Loki also felt deeply disappointed. Perhaps it was the fact that he had, yet again, been proven right about his so called family. It was proof that no one cared for him, that they had cast him out without a second thought.

Slowly, he stepped back, making sure that he made no noise what so ever. He had to think, he had to process what he had just heard and make up a plan. It was difficult, however, because his mind kept circling around Odin and Thor. Whatever Loki did next, it would be impulsive and it would be crazy, but the trickster didn't care. If only he had his magic now. He would burn down this place and show Thor just how much he despised him. He wanted to kill Tony and Steve, just to hurt his brother in all the right places. He wanted to burn down this entire planet and make sure Odin knew it was his entire fault.

He wanted to burn everything.

When he found his way into a large room that served as an office, Loki quickly made his way towards the desk. All the papers were neatly stacked away, but Loki pulled them closer and searched for anything that might interest him. In the end, it all ended up scattered across the floor. He searched the documents on the computer, but the ones he really wanted to see where all guarded with a password. Loki tried multiple times to break in, but it was useless. He shouldn't have expected anything else. Tony was a genius after all.

When he pulled all the drawers from the desk, he found something he had not expected. It was a small revolver hidden away in a velvet red box and Loki smiled when he found matching bullets. He had never much liked mortal weapons, but with his magic gone, he had no other choice.

As if fate had intended it so, Tony entered right at the moment when Loki had hidden the revolver on him. It appeared Stark had heard noise coming from here which had drawn him closer. Loki wasn't sure whether he was pleased to see Tony or not. He was in the mood for some games.

"Here you are," Tony said carefully, his eyes shifting across the mess Loki had made, "found what you were looking for?"

Loki looked directly into Tony's eyes. He had the advantage on every level and he intended to make the best of it. "Not really," he answered with a devious smile on his lips, "I wanted your files, your SHIELD files, but you protected them too well."

"Thank you," Tony said with a fake smile on his face. He was holding an empty glass in his right hand and his fingers were clenched around it. He was clearly being careful about the entire situation. "I put a lot of work in those firewalls so the fact that you can't break in is truly a compliment."

Loki slowly rose from his seat behind the desk, but never broke eye contact. He enjoyed seeing Tony squirm before him. It was clear that the iron man did not trust him and finally Loki felt that things were returning to normal. "You must be eagerly awaiting Thor's return," he said, "how uncomfortable is it to have me in your house?"

"I won't lie," Tony shrugged, "very uncomfortable."

Loki's smile broadened. "Good because I was starting to fear that you all thought I had turned or something."

"Turned?"

"Turned into something…not half bad."

"Please," Tony snorted, "I make no illusions. You're Loki and you are a trickster, a liar. You'll never be good. You enjoy chaos and war so why would I assume that you had turned?"

"Well," Loki thought about Tony's words, "maybe you don't think so, but Thor is convinced that I will be his brother again. Too much has changed, however. I am not his brother, nor will I ever be. I am not Odin's son and I will never again make the mistake of calling anyone my family. I am alone in all the worlds of the universe, Tony Stark, and I do not make the mistake of believing anything else."

Tony said nothing for a long time, only stared at Loki with large eyes. "You know."

"Yes," Loki grinned, not caring whether Tony was aware of that fact or not, "I heard you. You try so hard to keep the truth from me, but then you go around blabbering with the Captain. You might be a genius, but you can be very idiotic."

Tony nodded his head and Loki wondered what he was thinking right now. Was he scared of him? Did he hate that he now knew the truth? "I don't know what you're thinking right now," Tony said slowly, "but you have to understand that Thor doesn't agree with this, with any of this. He went to Asgard to demand an explanation from your father. He is trying to protect you."

Loki's grin disappeared instantly. Was he truly supposed to believe that Thor would go against the Allfather for his sake? This was the weakest lie so far. "Do you believe me stupid? I had the illusion that things could change, that perhaps not everyone was as hypocritical as Odin, but as time moves forward, I find myself astonished by how rotten everyone and everything is."

"I get that you're angry," Tony said, "you have every right to be, but think about what you are about to do. I understand that you want revenge, that you want us to pay for everything that has happened the past few days, but I am asking you to not make that mistake."

"And what is it that you think I am about to do?" Loki narrowed his eyes, his voice hard when he spoke.

"Something irrational," Tony answered, "something that will ruin everything and there will be no turning back."

Loki nodded, chaos and anger in his eyes. "Exactly," he hissed. He took the revolver from underneath his shirt and aimed it at Tony whose eyes widened in shock and terror. "When my brother returns, tell him that I will not rest until he is ruined. Tell him I won't stop before every person and every building on this planet is burning. Tell him that it is his entire fault."

Loki pulled the trigger and watched how the bullet tore its way through Tony's shoulder. The mortal screamed in pain, dropping the glass. It shattered into a thousand pieces and when Tony fell down, his arm landed on the broken glass. Loki watched without compassion, without feeling anything. He would have enjoyed that sight a few months ago, he would have laughed at Tony's pain, but now he felt absolutely nothing.

He was numb. Even his thoughts had become dull. Loki knew what he wanted, but even with this entire world destroyed, he would still feel numb. That had become his curse. No matter how much chaos he spread, it would never be enough. It could never satisfy him.

He was angry, furious and heartbroken and nothing could ever make that go away. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't try. Maybe, just maybe as he would watch everything burn around him, he would burn with it. And maybe then, only then would he feel something more than what he was feeling right now.

He stepped closer to Tony who was clutching his shoulder. His hands and arms were already red with warm blood.

"When my magic returns," Loki whispered, watching Tony's pale face, "I will make every person involved with SHIELD wish they were never born. I will destroy everything and everyone and I will save Thor for last and when I find his precious Jane," his voice hardened with every word he spoke, "I will destroy her too. So tell my brother that he is in for a treat because when I have done all that, I will turn my gaze to Asgard. That is my promise to you, Tony Stark. I will not stop before everyone and everything is gone and I will make damn sure that you and your precious Avengers can only watch powerlessly."

Tony only swallowed heavily as Loki stepped away from him, his eyes burning and intensely green. Loki could not know what Tony was currently seeing in his gaze, but apparently, it frightened him more than anything in this world.

Loki could only think this; good.