A/N: Well, after another delay, here you go at last! It's… probably not what anybody was expecting. I'm not too happy about it, but I hope you guys enjoy it all the same.

Sorry for the delay guys! This chapter gave me horrible writer's block. If you want to follow story progress I've got a twitter devoted to babbling about my fanfic, where I'll post news and whatnot about upcoming updates.:) Maybe random teasers, every now and then. It's KylieCUnderwood, if you guys are interested.

Also, 200 reviews. I don't deserve you guys- I love you all, and thank you so much for the support!

SHIELD wouldn't let him off base (just him, as Barton had reminded him on numerous chipper occasions) and Loki wouldn't go without him, so the two of them ended up in a surprisingly lush "guest room" to catch some rest, in order that they may better move after the Nazi hoard hiding in the New Hampshire forests. Which, of course, meant they stuck around the accommodations for a grand total of three and a half minutes while Loki worked his mojo with the cameras, giving them some nice illusions to watch, and teleported them both far enough outside of SHIELD that Tony could call Happy up and get them a ride back to their preferred choice of homestead.

Every single one of Tony's personality files, tests, or quizzes had labeled him as eccentric to the worst degree. He wanted a medal for it, but couldn't figure out how to make the words fit and still be legible from long distances.

"You two look like shit." Happy pointed out encouragingly once they were well on the road, and Tony stuck his tongue out as regally as he could.

"Not so great yourself, Hotrod. Your face get mauled by a cheese grater or what?"

"Nobody told me you'd gotten a cat." Happy's hand brushed the thin, angry red welts across his cheek, glaring at the bumper of the next car as if hitting it at full speed would somehow be the stress-relieving equivalent of running over Loki's cat. "That thing is evil."

"He's expecting a treat. Pepper refuses to catch him what he likes."

"Catch? Did he say catch, Boss?"

"Yup. Loki likes to procure small animals for Fenrir's enjoyment." It was a little disturbing, actually, and Tony had been deceptively delighted at the sight of a squirrel in his home until the cat had pounced it. Loki said it was so Fenrir could grow up to be a proper hunter, not some tame thing, but Tony thought it was just creepy. Especially because their kitten was still a kitten- he didn't look like he'd ever grow beyond basketball size (roundness not included, despite a healthy supply of squirrels).

Loki nodded solemnly, and Happy grimaced and didn't talk much after that. Tony was grateful, but not because he wasn't up for discussing Fenrir's dietary habits- Loki was acting as if today were a normal day and tonight would be no different, humming absently and every now and then pulling Tony toward him for some light show of affection. No eagerness, no nervousness- it was like he'd forgotten they were going after Schmidt in less than twenty hours. Well, it was probably better that way, really. Tony wasn't exactly the "wait and worry" kind of guy, not unless a bottle of alcohol bigger than his head was included, and maybe some pizza and a few long hours in the workshop. All options (except maybe the pizza, if they didn't get mushroom) would be refused by Loki.

At least they were going home. Tony debated calling Pepper to have her meet them there, but he didn't want to see her looking at him aghast when he explained where they would be going that night. No doubt Happy would spill the beans, but he and Loki would be alone long enough for him to think for awhile and decide what to say and how to say it. Or, you know, maybe he'd just get mauled by the cat- that was, unfortunately, a far more likely possibility.

Fenrir came barreling at them like a little furry missile as soon as they'd opened the door, tiny paws thudding on the tile so quickly that the halls echoed with kitten-like thunder. Tony brought his hands up to protect his face, but Loki laughed like a little kid and bent down to catch the feline in his arms, rubbing his belly at ground level before standing up straight and letting Fenrir crawl over his shoulders. The cat's entire body rumbled from how hard he was purring, butting his head against the back of Loki's and tangling his hair together. Loki didn't seem to mind.

"I should have left him with a clone, it looks as though he wasn't paid enough attention while we were gone," Loki crooned, rubbing the bottom of Fenrir's chin with his index finger. "Poor boy."

"I think he just wants food, not love," Tony glared at the cat but was promptly ignored, which was a lot better than having his face scratched open.

"Nonsense, he's had food." Loki tsked, and Fenrir hissed as if in agreement. "I'll get you something to play with later, Fen, me and Tony are busy."

"We are?"

The cat hopped to the ground, looking affronted, and stalked off with his tail in the air. That thing could speak English, Tony was sure of it- and he'd prove it, one of these days, and Pepper would stop calling him paranoid and rolling her eyes whenever Fenrir walked into the room. Demon cat. "Yes, we are." Loki purred, as if the kitten wasn't enough, and grabbed Tony by the shirt collar for a very suggestive kiss. "We ought to get our sleep before tonight, don't you agree?"

As it turned out yes, Tony agreed very much and no, they didn't actually get that much sleep- unless you counted a liberal amount of sex, oral and otherwise, as rest- but the few hours spent unconscious, curled up in each other's arms, were all either of them ever really needed.

As rare as it was, Tony woke up first- some backwards part of his mind setting off an alarm ten minutes early- and despite knowing they should get an "early" start couldn't quite look away from Loki. Watching him in sleep was a guilty pleasure adopted from those early days of meeting, when Loki had spent the majority if his time unconscious and half-clothed in Tony's biggest guest-room. His hair was even longer than it had been then though just as messy in the mornings, which Loki despised and would always repair as soon as possible once he realized it. Personally, Tony liked the way it splayed out, like ink had spilled down the pillow and over his face, shifting slightly because yes, ladies and gentleman, the god of mischief snored.

He was also adorably tired, and managed half a yawn in his sleep before curling up closer to Tony (and Jesus Christ, his grip was tight, it was like cuddling an anaconda) and humming when he found him. It was the opposite of when they were awake, Loki burying his face against Tony's neck, shoulder, chest- always anything he could reach, like he was trying to hide there, and Tony did his best to pretend, in the morning, that he hadn't noticed.

Of course right now, cute and oddly sexy as Loki was being, Tony still couldn't tear his eyes away from the god's stomach. Bruises were still visible along the surface, like lacework, and the skin was hotter to the touch than he was used to. Fucking hell, why'd you have to go and do a thing like that to yourself? He pried himself free of Loki's grasp with great difficulty, and watched the god whine and roll onto his back, grabbing the nearest pillow and cradling that to his chest instead. His stomach was exposed, the blankets barely covering his waist, and Tony bent to kiss the damaged area, knowing he couldn't make anything better. Reckless. Idiot.

Great, now he was starting to understand how Pepper felt whenever he ran off and got himself hurt. Seeing Loki injured, knowing it didn't have to happen, was like having the reactor torn out again. Even worse, knowing that in ten minutes they'd be teleporting back to the room they'd ditched and pretending to have been there the whole while, and then there'd be no more privacy before the war against a troop of fucking Nazis.

"Is there something wrong?" Loki's voice was sleepy, but still concerned. Tony couldn't blame him- this wasn't exactly a normal position.

"Yes," He said, but elaborated no further even when Loki's staring had begun to burn a hole in the back of his head. "Ready to go?"

"Give me a moment." Loki sat up and (predictably) smoothed his hair down, frowning at Tony's concerned look. "What's so fascinating about my stomach?"

"I was figuring out if you were ticklish."

"If I was what?"

"It's a Midgardian thing, just making sure you hadn't caught it."

"I'm immune to mortal diseases, Tony."

"This one's special, it creeps up on all sorts. And there's no cure."

Loki laughed, but made no further comment. He stretched, catlike, and snapped his fingers to clothe them both fully. "I can get us all the way back to base, if you'd rather not wait for Happy."

"Sounds good, just don't exhaust yourself. Big day. Er… night. It's like nine o clock out where we're going."

"Do not worry," Loki chuckled, leaning forward to kiss Tony on the nose-right, that wasn't degrading at all- and take him by the wrists. Something about having a connection to the heart seemed to make it easier for Loki to work his magic on others, so Tony didn't complain and let himself be whisked away by the magic elevator-tube-thing sensation that he disliked so much.

SHIELD's room really wasn't that bad, to be honest, but Tony groaned in annoyance and fell onto the bed all the same as if it were the worst possible place to be. The clock told them they had about two minutes before Fury or Natasha came pounding on the door, telling them it was time to suit up (in Tony's case) and be off. "You're sure you're ready, right?"

"Yes, of course I am. It's a superficial wound you know, darling, it looks much worse than it is," Loki laughed, patting him on the back but not sitting beside him. When Tony turned over to get a look, the god was running his finger over the edge of a dagger that couldn't have been there minutes before, a light glow honing the blade wherever it was too dull. "I will be using my magic more than my body, anyway."

"Well Schmidt's not going to be shooting at your magic."

"Schmidt will be shooting at an impenetrable magical shield, so I'm not exactly concerned. I'm more worried about you- he thinks you're dead, and that suit isn't what I would call subtle. You can't do recon if it will give you away."

"Recon? We're flying in to kill the guy, that's not exactly recon. I don't care if he sees me if he's going to be dead right afterward."

"Assuming the weapon is on base. I have no intentions of letting SHIELD's men capture Schmidt or kill him themselves- I want them dealing with the goons, and the two of us will head after him when he flees. As he undoubtedly will, toward wherever he has his equipment actually housed, waiting for the tesseract. Men like him are too smart to keep all their assets in one place," Loki explained as he let the knife disappear with a soft click like metal against metal.

Tony raised an eyebrow, sitting up but not standing. "You crazy? You were the one who threw a fit last time he got away. What are you going to do if he gets away again, kill Coulson in a fit?"

Loki narrowed his eyes, and for a second Tony was terrified that he would say yes, that was exactly what he had in mind. But he shut his eyes, and when he opened them they were brighter than before, in a safer way. "I have a plan. He will not expect me, or you, if he believes us both dead- so keep your life hidden from him, Tony, please. Then we can destroy Schmidt, and the weapon, in one move."

"So you're going to fake your death? How do you plan to do that?"

"I always have a plan, Tony," Loki turned and planted a placating kiss to drink up Tony's protests before he could make them, tongue rolling over the other's lips and drawing an anticipatory moan. "Just trust me."

"See, god of mischief and trust are mutually exclusive."

"Do you trust me, though?"

"With my life, but not with yours," Or anyone else's. Tony wrapped his arms around Loki's neck to deepen the kiss and used that leverage to heft himself more easily to his feet. "I want to know the plan."

Loki sighed against his lips, pulling away to look down at him properly. "I will tell you my intentions before I act on them, is that good enough?"

"I'm not a very patient person."

"Of course not, can't have you showing any virtues now can we? I will tell you, Tony, but not now. Besides, I do believe we have a guest."

Right on time, a SHIELD agent knocked on the door, loudly and unkindly- clearly he expected them to be asleep, or too busy to hear him. Glad their reputation preceded them, here. Tony opened the door to find a bored-looking goon, nobody he knew by name, tapping his foot impatiently and only sighing when he saw them ready to go. "Iron Man. I'm guessing you're actually ready to go on time, for once?"

"Have I offended you personally at some point in the past? I hope so, if not I'd better get right to that. Come on, Loki babe, the super-special boy band is waiting."

VVV

Banner had gone home at some point while they were off, but Loki was far less surprised about this than was Tony, who actually looked a little disappointed. The others, however, were all gathered in the helicarrier that they would be travelling in, meaning they were the late two to the bunch. Ah, well, more's the pity for them- Loki had no intentions of rushing himself just because they were all so obsessed with their own protocol.

The worst thing about the trip wasn't the length of it (only an hour, but Loki was far too impatient to be dealing with it), or the company, but the suit. Tony was trapped in his armor for the entirety of their trip, and Loki despised that metal case- he couldn't feel Tony through it, couldn't see his eyes or search for the heat of a heartbeat. And… well no, the company was not all that nice, either- they all had mission statements that they were meant to take seriously, and the others did not think kindly of the way neither Tony nor Loki bothered to even read them.

"I mean, come on dude- at least look the thing. Hell, I'm probably not going to listen but at least fake it. What happens if you wing your orders, and accidentally do what you were supposed to do in the first place? That'd suck," Barton warned, waving his finger and clicking his tongue in disapproval.

Coulson reached over, nonchalantly reviewing the team's orders as a whole, and smacked the other man lightly on the side of the head. "Don't encourage him, Barton. This is a mission, not a bad comedy club- you can't go out their without some idea what you'll be doing, you two."

"Oh, and you're expecting the enemy to comply to your mission statement, are you? No thank you, I will trust my own mind," Loki retorted dryly. "How far out are we? Schmidt will notice if we land any closer than two miles, one if we're lucky."

"Ship's going down ten out, you're teleporting us in. All in the mission statement, if you'd just-"

"One at a time, then. I can't bring you all at once," Loki cut in simply, tossing the paper over his shoulder and raising an eyebrow at the frustrated look on Coulson's face.

"'Tasha's tiny, she and Barton should barely count as one person," Tony suggested, voice metallic and crackling in the suit. "I'm sticking on crowd control- the suit can pick up anybody and anything that comes out of that place. Weapons, goons, whatever they are. And, unlike the assassin twins over there, I can pick out what's actually being transported."

"The assassin goons are going to be shooting things inside the building, so it doesn't matter anyway," Romanoff retorted, holstering the guns she had earlier been inspecting.

Tony grinned behind the suit, and she responded with a mocking smile of her own- it was odd, really, how none of them had any trouble guessing what expression he was wearing. Loki hated it, that everyone but Barton seemed to know what he would have preferred to be private knowledge. He didn't want any of them to know a damned thing about Tony, but there was nothing he could do about it here. Coulson, he despised- but Barton seemed fine enough, and Romanoff he even respected on some minor level. He could deal with working with them for awhile. Loki was smart, he knew his own mind, he knew when he was angry at every breathing thing rather than any individual being, and for these last few days he'd felt nothing but hatred toward everything even associated with SHIELD.

And that wasn't going away, so he only grit his teeth and turned away from the whole of them, only responding at all to that metallic hand that wasn't Tony's, but all he could get at the moment. They transferred to some (pointless) smaller aircraft, flew another ten minutes, and landed on the ground just outside some city, which was apparently loaded with enough interference that Hydra wouldn't detect them from within the underdeveloped base they had managed to set up over the past few days. And then Loki had to suffer through grabbing them, one by one, and expending magic he really could not be wasting on taking them in to some of the very convenient cover New Hampshire had to offer. The state seemed to be perpetually green all around, and more often than once Loki startled a moose in his movements, which made the conditions ideal for both Schmidt, and them.

At least there was one thing to be looking forward to, and when they were finally all gathered and waiting Loki was able to act on it. "Well, who's first then?" He wondered brightly, grinning with his teeth at each of them in turn.

"First for wh- Oh, god, no, the Satanic ritual. No, no, not doing it." Barton had a slightly disturbing habit of hiding in rafters and the like- right now he was perched in a tree, pulling up a gathering of leaves to hide behind.

Loki rolled his eyes, resisting the temptation to force him down through magic. "Would you rather face Hydra's guns, then? One drop of blood is hardly going to disturb you for life, it merely allows me to course my magic through your bodies as well as mine."

"Meaning if you cast even one spell, you can affect all of us at once," Coulson clarified, stepping forward so that he stood just beneath Barton's perch.

"Yes, that's the purpose. I won't have to expend the energy or the concentration on affecting each of you individually," Loki spoke quickly, but not so much that it seemed unusual in any particular way. The quicker they did this, the less time these fools would have to worry over the possibilities such a ritual could offer- most of which they wouldn't agree with, really, but were perfectly useful to Loki.

The agent, however, already had an eyebrow raised, and Romanoff was beginning to mirror his distrust. "Meaning you could kill any of us at any point, without even wasting your energy on it."

Loki narrowed his eyes slightly, running his tongue over his teeth in absent thought. Yes, he had been counting on such a handy little side-effect as that, but it would do no good to admit to such. "Of course not. I'll prepare the shield spell now, I cannot merely perform magic from a distance."

"You know what, I don't think I want to take that chance," Romanoff cut in. "How does this work, you cast a spell through the ritual and it affects everyone, not individuals?"

"Of course, I can't merely work person by person, that would defeat the purpose," Loki sneered, which was the unfortunate truth. Unfortunately, that was all he could rely on here- none of them liked him enough for his mellifluous tendencies to do him much good.

"Fine. Then Stark, you're doing this too. As a safe-guard, I'm sure you understand," Coulson smiled a little too sweetly to even be sarcastic, instead looking as if he hoped dearly to be punched across the face.

Loki snarled and drew up straighter, which made Barton shuffle back and glare in turn while Romanoff only shook her head and sighed. "We're not threatening him, Laufeyson. We're just being careful," She elaborated quickly.

They shared a harsh look for a few moments, and eventually Loki nodded, gritting his teeth as unobtrusively as possible. Sedition toward SHIELD would have to wait for a better opportunity, it seemed. "I'm not- Tony has his suit, I only have to cast a spell over the armor. It's easier to protect inorganic material."

"It's fine, babe, I trust you," Tony chirped before any more protest could be made, waving his hand absently with a soft sort of creaking sound. That damned suit… "Bring on the blood- wow, that actually sounds disgusting."

"No. You do not get to set conditions on my aid, agent Coulson- you can accept the risk of working with me, or you can face Hydra's weaponry unaided. I assure you, it makes no difference to me," His breath was little more than a snarl, but it was certainly audible enough.

There was a long space of time where none of them did anything but watch each other, and it seemed as if nobody cared to speak either way. Then Barton hopped down from his perch and whispered in Coulson's ear, shrugging when the agent rolled his eyes at whatever he had to say. "That's an awful idea, but awful's the best we've got. Fine, Laufeyson, get on with it."

Loki was tempted to just say no and get on with it, but he summoned a knife and slashed his thumb all the same. There was a bit of squeamishness all around (though Romanoff was disturbingly unbothered) but within the space of five minutes everyone's body or armor was protected, and the actual plans were ready to begin. Romanoff was heading in first, with Barton by her side in a theoretical sense (seeing as he would be keeping to the shadows, leaving the woman to run straight in- how heroic) while Coulson monitored their situation. Once it was safe, he and Loki would be following- while Tony flew around, watching for soldiers and equipment being transferred out of the building.

Once the agents were on their way, and Coulson crouched low to communicate with them through some earpiece, Loki leaned back against the nearest tree and slid to the ground, eyes shut tight. Tony was watching him with assiduous care, but he did his best to ignore him- until the man bent beside him and clamped a metal hand on his shoulder. "What's up, babe? You've been in a pretty bad mood for the last few days."

"I don't want to be here. I want to go back home," Loki snapped, groaning afterward and shaking his head with a bit of a growl. "No, I want to kill Schmidt, but I don't want to be working with SHIELD to do it. And I want to get back home."

"We will babe, I promise. To my home, anyway, unless you mean, you know, Asgard. I can't really go there," Tony shrugged and pulled him closer, though Loki didn't yet open his eyes.

"Asgard is not home," Loki retorted. "I want to go to our home, just our home. No SHIELD there, no Pepper."

"Pepper doesn't live there ya know, and SHIELD definitely doesn't," That damned suit- his voice sounded wrong, and Loki refused to say another word in response. After a few minutes he got the point and removed the helmet, setting it beside where they sat. "But yeah, we'll be alone for awhile if you want, I can do that."

Yes, he wanted that- and he was scared that he wouldn't have it. That the distrust he was getting from this group would begin to infect Tony, or that somebody like Selvig would tell him what they thought Loki would become after he was gone. And even if they didn't- he was scared that Tony would know what sort of person he was when they found Schmidt, because Loki wasn't going to hold back- he was going to tear the man apart and enjoy it. Scared that Tony would realize who he had rescued that day all those months back, and wish he'd just left him there.

"I'll get you to Asgard one way or another," Loki decided, lifting his head but not looking at Tony in the eye, grinding his teeth in anger or worry. "You would like it- one way, I'll make sure you see it."

"We'd have to get married for that, I think," Tony teased, and then only did Loki turn to him, a wry smile on his lips. "Or you could rob some apples, but that seems a bit risky."

"Idunn's apples are a metaphorical concept, not the actual source of our longevity. They do taste very good, however."

"Okay, whatever, point being humans can't get into magic god-land."

"Like I said, I'll find a way," Loki relaxed into a smile and leaned forward to kiss Tony, an almost soft movement that cut off quickly enough- Coulson, after all, was just feet away. "Those communication devices work both ways?"

"'Course. It's easier to hear what's going on then to respond though- hard not to find the ear piece, but the mic's pretty easy to hide if you get caught. Or decide to fake your death, which you still haven't explained to me by the way."

"It's simple enough- Schmidt has to think he's killed me, then he'll flee with that weapon- leaving us free to go after him and deal with him ourselves. SHIELD won't have a say in the matter." It was better than fighting him here, where the organization could kill Schmidt or knock him out from afar before Loki could play his own hand. No, he wanted no more of their interference.

Tony was looking uncertain, and Loki could only offer an unreadable smile to reassure him. No, he wasn't going to be all too happy with the simplest solution Loki had arrived at, but he would deal with it. Shame, though, that he'd be able to hear it all once Coulson fit him up with a mic. He'd just rip the equipment off, but he was going to need a way to speak with them once he was well and done in there.

Before long Coulson shot to his feet- a signal that didn't need the added beckoning of his hand before Loki was at his side, Tony preparing his suit behind them. "Barton and Romanoff have picked off the main guard. We have eight minutes to get in there before shift changes and the alarm goes off- less if somebody walks down the wrong hallway."

"Easy enough. Have they found Schmidt?" Not yet, they couldn't come by the man until Loki had started on his plan- he wasn't risking this all with improvisation.

"No, they're as of yet undetected and making their way through the building in search of Stark's weapon."

Perfect. "Then we'd better follow, before they take all the fun. Tony, I'll let you know when I've cut off their outdoor surveillance."

Tony gave a two-fingered salute off the forehead of his helmet, and Loki was sure he was winking behind that mask. He wanted to smile in turn, but Coulson was there so he only nodded and turned to the agent, ready to set off.

VVV

They teleported- of course they did, Loki couldn't just walk anywhere these days, could he?- out of sight before Tony could make any parting comments, but he wasn't exactly broken up about it. Far as he was concerned, taking care to say something cutesy in case you never saw someone again usually confirmed that you never saw them again- it was like god liked to write out life with all the favorite soap opera clichés shoved in where least convenient.

So no, Tony really wasn't worried about the simplistic parting, but he was worried about Loki's less than ideal temper. Something was off about him, and Tony didn't doubt for a second that he had one crazed Nazi to thank for all of it. The sooner they got Schmidt out of the way the better, though he didn't think SHIELD would be too happy with how Loki was going to deal with that. Actually, neither was Tony, but what was he supposed to do about that? Loki was going to snap if he didn't vent his anger, and the collateral damage from that was going to be a lot worse than letting him beat the hell out of a supervillain.

"Testing, testing- how's it going out there, robot boy?"

"Don't you have a job to pretend to be doing, Barton?" Tony replied lightly, nonetheless reassured that the team-wide communication was up and running. "All right, let's hear it- how're things going in there?"

"Well enough. We're looking for our weapon now, but I'm doubting it's here. They have some interesting technology however."

"Don't touch any of it, Laufeyson. SHIELD's cleaning this place out once we've done our job- top priority for you is finding out where the tesseract and that weapon ended up."

"Oh now, you're no fun."

But according to Loki, none of what they came by was half as dangerous as the weapon Schmidt had hold of off base. "Nobody's taken anything out of there yet. What happened to those alarms? Your eight minutes are way up."

"Oh, they know we're here all right, they just don't want us to know they know. They still don't know where we are in the building, Clint and Loki've been wiping out the cameras," Natasha explained in a whisper that Tony had to strain to hear, even with the amplified sounds through the comm. "Clint, get the left."

"Come on, that's just easy. Why do these guys always go in pairs?" The archer's whining was only slightly ruined by a grunt of pain and series of muffled thumps that marked the assassin trio working their way through another set of very unfortunate hydra goons. "All right, Stark, we're across from computer room one. What do we need to do?"

"Break in, for one thing. If you're lucky those guys'll have a key card, if not it's up to Natasha. Those locks don't give off a remote signal for me to tap into," Unfortunate, but not unmanageable. "Then find a way to get that USB into whatever computer in there looks most important, and make damn sure you aren't caught at it because that thing's gonna take time to work."

Mostly because it was SHIELD design and not his own, but even so the device was a pretty useful bit of tech. Given five minutes it would rip out all the information in that computer that had any relevance to Schmidt, and send it straight to Tony for review. "Will do. What's up on your end?"

"Absolutely nothing. I've got sensors running non-stop, but there's nothing coming in or out- even underground. There's nothing in that building that Schmidt's worried about you taking, or it'd be long gone by now."

"Or else he's just highly confident that he will defeat us. But no, I do not think that's the case- he never brought our weapon here, it's waiting for him wherever he plans to actually use it. Schmidt is here, though, he's expecting us."

"Okay, what? You mean we just showed up for a meeting with a crazy Nazi? What, does he want us to get a look at his army?"

"This isn't his army. Not all of it- We just walked into a decoy, the real army is off somewhere else, waiting for Schmidt to summon his god," Coulson sighed with much less anger than was appropriate for the situation.

"And you know this how?" Tony demanded, already firing up his repulsors and turning to aim them at what he could see of the building, as if he expected bombs to start going off.

"Because Schmidt's just told us. Don't worry though, Director, we'll get out fine."

Director? Clint started to snap on the other end, but a muffled grunt told Tony that Natasha had covered his mouth, realizing what Loki meant a moment before he did. Schmidt thought Loki was the head of the break-in again, probably believed he and Coulson were there for their individual sources of revenge. A small team only, looking for the tesseract- and Tony had the bad feeling that Loki had let himself be found in the hopes that he would believe that.

Himself, and Coulson.

"Get out of there, Loki. You hear me? He's not part of this."

"Understood, not a word. Really, you think I would tell him anything?"

"Loki!"

"Pardon, I do believe Schmidt would rather we do without these things. Sorry, I'll speak to you later."

Loki's voice was chipper, but no more distant- he was handing off the earphone but not the mic, and Schmidt wouldn't know there was a difference. A crumbling snap told Tony it had been destroyed, and though Coulson was opting for silence now, he could hear the rustle as his tech was passed on too. No more warnings, then, but that also meant Schmidt couldn't overhear anything they said.

"The fuck is going on? Schmidt was on to us?"

"Apparently. Or at least on to them- Stark, we're bailing out. If we invade the computer he'll know we're here, and I doubt anything in there is genuine anyway."

"Yeah, out. Fast. I'm going in there, don't want you to get caught beca-"

"Are you nuts? No, you stay right where you are, Laufeyson can handle himself."

"No, he can't, you know how he is with Schmidt. And what if Couls- oh my fucking god!"

He was tuned in to Natasha and Clint at the moment, so he must have missed something- that was the only explanation Tony could imagine for Coulson suddenly standing two fucking feet away. They both jumped, but Coulson recovered more quickly and cursed, hand flying to where his earpiece was hidden- or should have been. "Damn, Laufeyson… Who's got a reason why Stark's boyfriend decided to stay behind?"

Stay behind. Loki wasn't there. Tony turned, the suit saving him from a whipped neck, and looked back the other way, realizing that Coulson was alone in his reappearance. Thank god the suit had its own oxygen flow, he would have forgotten how to breathe otherwise. Loki, alone with Schmidt-

Planning to fake his death.

"Babe?" The earpiece was gone, there was no point in it, but Tony struggled out the world all the same. "This is a bad idea, Loki, come on."

"Stark, what's going on? What are you talking about?"

"Coulson's here, but Loki's not," Tony snapped. "JARVIS, reconnect me to Loki, right now."

"Sir, Mr. Laufeyson's connection has been lost. Would you like to hear the transmission from his end, or shall I cut-"

"No, do it, I- Yeah, connect. Coulson, tell those two to get out here now, doesn't matter if they can't hear you," Tony demanded, and the man could apparently tell how panicked he was that he merely nodded and turned off to converse. "Play the feed."

"So tell me, Schmidt? What was the point of all this? I've already flattered myself plenty, I know you wanted to catch me here. What is it you want?"

"For someone so smart you certainly are a fool, Mr. Lauson. You have just displayed what you have that could readily be of use to me."

"Magic, yes. You don't really think you would ever be able to use it, do you? Humans can't understand these things." No, Loki, shut up, don't do this.

Schmidt laughed, the sound echoing alongside two sets of footsteps. Clearly they were going somewhere, but where? "Oh, but I intend to find out. You are here to show me."

"Oh, see, that's not going to happen. Nice handcuffs I must say, very lovely, but they can't hold my magic down for long enough." Or at all- Tony had asked once, it was physically impossible to restrain Loki's magic without a magic spell of your own to do it. He was letting Schmidt think he'd caught him, pretending to be at his mercy. Thank god for the suit- Coulson was watching him now, and he didn't want to imagine what sort of expression he was wearing beneath the helmet. "I'll be gone without a word soon."

"You underestimate me, magician. I need not perform your spells, I need only know the limits of a godling's body. Do not look so surprised- I have heard of your tales, Liesmith. Such a shame I have only a Jotun to work with, but you will be close enough to the gods for my purpose." A sharp intake of breath was the only sign that Loki was at all concerned by this new development, but Tony thought he might have passed out if not for the aid of the suit. "I need their compliance, not their life- I must know my limits, after all."

No, no no no- Tony knew Clint and Natasha could hear this, but he ignored their attempts to get through and talk to him. Loki was such a fucking idiot. "Loki, get out of there, right now."

But yeah, he couldn't hear. Loki's voice wavered, but Tony could recognize that it was a false fear- though he doubted Schmidt was so aware. One set of footsteps stopped, and Loki made a huff of surprise- he must have been jabbed in the back, armed guards following them? "I will not allow it- you cannot hold me here."

"Of course I can. Come come, Trickster, you are almost a god, after all. Perhaps your faithful magic will protect you. Enjoy the view, for now."

There was a loud rustle of sound on both ends- the assassins were returning through the trees, and Tony could imagine a bag being shoved over his boyfriend's head. He cringed, shivering at the startled sound of rage Loki was making- it was fake, as was the grunt of pain as he was no doubt jabbed again, but it still hurt. Go on, Loki. Get out, please get out of there. Tony forcd his eyes shut and slammed his fist into the nearest tree- the bark cracked, and the trunk earned a new hole in it, but thankfully didn't topple.

"Tony?" He tensed, realizing the bag was allowing Loki to speak, but barely loud enough for him to hear even through the communication system. "I'm so sorry. I'm fine, just remember that."

Damn it. Tony started to croak out a response but remembered there was no point. Loki wasn't going to hear him until he got out of there- which he would, yeah? Definitely. "I'm sorry."

Tony groaned and swallowed roughly, resisting the urge to just scream in frustration. When he opened his eyes three pairs of eyes were fixed on him, calculating and uncertain.

A/N: Hope you guys liked it! Sorry if it was… jumbled or nonsensical. The next chapter is going to get a little confusing, since it will switch very quickly from PoV to PoV without the usual VVV breaks, to keep things smooth. And, as I think you can guess, it'll be full of violence.