The wrench hadn't finished in its skid across the floor before Tony had wrenched open the door and left the workshop, to follow the god the old-fashioned way. He was more than tired of the god just beaming out whenever the hell he'd felt like it. The first time he'd done it, in retrospect, had probably been for the best; if Tony had come to his senses prematurely the god may not have been still standing. But this time? No. Tony certainly wasn't finished with the god yet. They were in a closed off mansion, after all; and JARVIS helpfully informed him that he was still within the confines. Tony was rather disturbed by the fact that the house arrest didn't really hold any bearing over the trickster god; considering there had yet to be any lightning bolts from above, Tony had worried more than once that the Heimdall threat was getting stale. Or, worse, that Loki believed the price to be a fitting one for whatever he wanted to accomplish.
Then again, Loki hadn't really done anything to draw the ire of the heavens yet, or if he had, Tony hadn't seen it. Other than hatching a death-eyed snake, that is, but he doubted basilisks had been put into his behavioral clause before getting dropped on earth and ordered to save it. Maybe his reasoning was less the intangible Heimdall threat and more the very real one; he killed the avengers, he likely killed the last hope for the Earth. Thor had said he'd never mentioned wanting the Earth destroyed, merely an obsessive want to rule. Destroying one's own kingdom – even if it wasn't yours – seemed a strange way to obtain what you want. What enjoyment would he gain from gazing at a charred hunk of dead rock, assuming he survived the blast? Where was the fun in crushing people beneath his heel?
It was nothing Tony hadn't rehashed a thousand times before, but with yet another life-threatening object in Loki's arms, he figured it deserved a revisiting.
Loki never cared for locked doors or privacy, so Tony didn't either; JARVIS opened the door slowly to the lower level without a sound. Tony hoped he wouldn't notice. Having the god unpleasantly surprised for once was a situation long overdue.
But, as was becoming commonplace, Tony's wish was not granted. Loki was standing in the entryway, his back to the door, but he clearly had heard the entrance.
"What perfect timing," Loki said, echoing his words from the workshop. Something in his tone made the back of Tony's neck prickle. The god didn't turn around as he continued to speak. "I did hope my emotional speech would have this effect… makes this much more exciting."
Before Tony could regret his decision, the god turned. The death-eyed snake was wrapped in his arms, its head uncovered. Tony felt a shock of horror as he realized what he was seeing; it was far, far too late to close his eyes. The light glistened off the snake's poisonous green scales, but all Tony saw was blackness.
