Author's note: Wow, the response to the previous chapter was just amazing, thank you so much! :D

Anyway, this chapter should clear up some of the questions you guys had about certain stuff, I think… ^^


Uh? Tony's brain had temporarily stuffed Loki into the back office of his mind the moment he came face to face with the unexpected Asgardian intruders, but now the memory comes back full force.

Loki.

"Execution?" he repeats dully, puzzled and alarmed by the turn the conversation is taking. "What do you mean?" His thoughts are racing and he is doing his darndest to make sense out of the whole messy situation. Did something happen to make Odin change his mind about this whole slavery deal? He does remember how Thor went off to Asgard to speak on Loki's behalf before Odin, but converting the slavery sentence into execution was probably not the kind of clemency the Thunderer had in mind, though perhaps death was indeed a step up in Odin's twisted little eye-patched head.

"Were the terms of the sentence not explained as Loki was given over to you?" the Gandalf look-alike says haughtily, white eyebrows wrinkled above a pair of questioning eyes, probably assuming that Tony has indeed been informed but his inferior mortal mind merely forgotten. With that, the old man turns and takes a step to the side, suddenly revealing what his body has previously blocked from view, and Tony lets loose a little gasp at the sight that greets him.

Between two of the Einherjers hangs a limp but very recognisable form, his head bowed so low that his tangled dark hair conceals his face. Judging by the figure's hunched-over position, it's only the steadfast, vice-like grip of the two Asgardian warriors to either side of him that is keeping him in any semblance of an upright position, as opposed to dropping to the floor in an inglorious heap.

And suddenly, it's all making sense to him, or at least it's starting to. So Loki did teleport back here, after all, though it wasn't by his own devices. No, it was Gandalf and his little entourage who had come straight out of Asgard to nab the god at the subway station and then magiced them all back to Stark Tower. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the brief moment they'd spent in some weird cosmic interstice or space fold while going from there to here would have corresponded to the time that Tony couldn't get a reading from the tracker.

And he sincerely hopes there were no bystanders around to see them, or there could be some very uncomfortable questions eventually coming his way, but given that the end station is not frequented by many travellers and is usually deserted at this time of day, perhaps they had managed to perform their little appearing-and-disappearing act unnoticed.

And now, they're planning to take Loki back to Asgard for execution.

Fuck.

"The terms were explained alright, but I think I must have missed the part where it said that Odin's verdict could be arbitrarily turned into the death penalty." His answer is snapped rather than spoken, full well knowing he doesn't like where this is going. Most of all, he would have liked to go check on Loki, to make sure he's not too badly hurt, but something is telling him that showing any concern for him in front of the intruding Asgardian audience would not go over well, and might even serve to make things worse, as bad as they already are. So he remains in place, willing Loki to be as fine and unharmed as possible.

Gandalf draws himself up, mouth a thin line as if it is beneath his station to stand here explaining himself to a mortal. "I assure you, this is by no means an arbitrary decision, Man of Iron." His eyes turns to the god still slumped between his guards, and his gaze hardens. "Heimdall the Watchman has been instructed to regularly turn his far-seeing eye to where Loki is dwelling in the human realm, and report back any breeches of the terms of his sentence. And in the performance of this duty, the Watchman came across the sight of how Loki was no longer with you, but on a Midgardian vehicle of transportation, while you were pursuing him in obvious distress. And as clearly stipulated, an escape attempt means that the sentence will be converted-"

"I already told you, I did not try to escape!" Loki suddenly shrieks in protest, struggling against the strong hands that are holding him in an unrelenting grip. The note of panic in his voice is so painfully clear that it makes something twist inside of Tony, and it's all mixed in with the raging frustration of a born liar who is used to people swallowing his falsehoods hook and sinker, but when he is for once speaking the truth, when it truly matters, no one believes him.

Okay, major misunderstanding here, guys. Tony is about to speak up in Loki's defence, to offer the trespassing Aesir his side of the story, but one of the Einherjer guards is quicker.

"Silence, slave," he barks as he draws a gloved hand back into a fist and lands a punch right into the midsection of his charge, who slips to his knees, gasping and doubled-over in pain.

And Tony sincerely hopes that wasn't the sound of a rib cracking he just heard.

Hot anger flashing through him, he steps forward without thinking, grabbing the offending arm of the Einherjer before it has time to do more damage. The much larger man blinks in surprise at the unexpected intervention as Tony fixes him with an icy stare.

"Hey, Hercules," he says, hostility dripping from every word. "Don't touch my stuff."

The room goes deathly quiet at that and Tony realizes that all eyes are suddenly on him – the four Einherjers, Gandalf, even Loki is staring at him, waiting for his next move. And the big brute whose arm he's still holding onto is looking like he's only inches away from gutting Tony where he stands, just barely being held back by some lofty Asgardian notion that probably forbids an uninvited guest to smite his unwilling host on the spot.

He lets go of the bulging, leather-clad arm, trying to calm down. The only sound is the ragged, uneven breaths coming from Loki, who is still on the floor clutching his midsection, the tension thick enough to be cut into bulky slices with a butter knife.

Okay, so that really got the party started, didn't it.

"Look, I know this might come as a surprise to you all, but Loki is telling the truth here," he finally manages, trying his best to pour oil on the troubled waters before something really nasty happens and someone loses a head. And that someone is unlikely to be either one of the Einherjers or Gandalf. No, getting anyone upset isn't going to help things out here, especially not when his Iron Man suit is out of immediate reach. Darn, why is it that that always happens to him whenever hostile Asgardians show up in his tower?

No one intervenes to add their own commentary to that, so he continues, struggling to control the anger still cursing through his veins. "Loki and I got separated by accident, because some little shit tried to rob me and when I chased after him the Midgardian vehicle of transportation that Loki was in, and that I was supposed to have been on too, took off without me. Mishaps like these are all part of the joy that comes with public transportation, though I suppose it's not something you guys have to worry about in Asgard where you have your fancy horses and carriages and magic dragons to haul you around."

Gandalf doesn't look quite like he understands all the details with the way he's narrowing his eyes and quirking his lips, as if he suspects that Tony is making shit up just to confuse him.

"Are you always this careless in how you handle your slaves?" he asks, clearly not approving of Tony's way of doing things.

He is on the verge of shooting back the obvious reply – I've never had a slave before – but he realizes that might only serve to feed the geezer's suspicions that Tony is patently unsuited to the task of having a slave in his care. And while that perception is probably very correct, admitting to it might mean a death sentence for Loki, so he keeps his mouth shut.

Instead, he points to the piece of metal circling Loki's wrist. "See that little bracelet there? Yup, that's the one. It contains a device that lets me keep track of Loki's whereabouts, and that's how I knew he was back in my tower and not at the station where you grabbed him."

Five pair of eyes are studying the bracelet, some surprised, others more suspicious. One of the Einherjers standing next to Loki bends down to tap a prodding finger against the metal, but makes no further comment on it.

"Yeah, you guys aren't the only ones who know how to make fancy tracking bracelets," he says, crossing his arms in front of him in what he hopes is a show of authority and competence. "If you hadn't gone ahead and beamed Loki back up here, I would have recovered him soon enough, no damage done."

Gandalf's look is still one of disapproval, but finally he inclines his head one or maybe two stiff degrees in reluctant acquiescence. "Very well, then. I see that there has been a mistake, and no breech of terms has taken place. We will take our leave and apologize for any inconvenience caused."

Tony is glad to still be standing on his two feet, given the way his knees suddenly go weak with relief. So at least the old geezer can swallow his pride and admit when he's wrong. Even though he looks like he's just downed a bathtub full of vinegar.

With that, Gandalf urges the warriors along with a wave of his hand. "We will make our way back to Asgard without further ado." He turns to Tony, almost as in afterthought. "I bid you farewell, Man of Iron."

"Yeah, sure, happy flying or whatever it is that you guys do," he mutters, glad to see them go. He can't wait to get these Gladiator rejects out of his tower.

The Einherjers march past him without a word, all clinking steel and creaking armour, when one of them stops in his tracks, turning to face Tony with an icy glare. He thinks it's the same guy who decided it would be a swell idea to turn Loki into a punching bag, but he isn't sure.

"Your slave is disrespectful and insolent," he booms, thundering voice strangely reminiscent of Thor's. "You'd do well to have him disciplined more frequently."

"Thanks for the maintenance instructions, asshole," Tony snaps, though the last word is kind of mumbled. The Iron Man suit is out of his immediate reach, after all.

The blue shimmer of a teleporting fur-clad quintet hasn't even faded before Tony turns to Loki, who is still slumped on the floor, a hand protectively clutched to his side. Air is expelled from his lips in short, ragged gasps, like breathing is an immensely painful activity.

Quickly covering the few steps between them, Tony crouches down next to the god, who slowly lifts his bowed head to give him an inscrutable stare. And that's when Tony sees the purple bruises on the pale face and the split lip and the bleeding cut across the forehead that shadows and distance have kept hidden from view until now.

He winces at the sight. "Damn, those guys really did a number on you, Reindeer Games," he says, unhelpfully stating the obvious, suddenly wishing even more fervently that he could have faced off with the intruders in his Iron Man suit.

Loki doesn't offer him a reply. Which is no surprise; with the possibly cracked rib it probably hurts just to speak.

"Let me take a look at that," Tony offers, reaching out a hand for Loki's shirt. "Might be broken, if that nasty crack I heard was any indication."

Loki's face is strained and laced with pain, but he doesn't swat the hands away as Tony lifts the hem of his T-shirt to reveal bruised and battered skin.

He's relieved that at least there are no visible fractures jutting out under the skin, even though that doesn't mean that nothing's broken in there that might end up puncturing a lung or something. In any case, he's no doctor, so he's hardly qualified to make any judgement on the severity of Loki's injuries.

He lets the cloth fall back, shielding the ugly bruises from view, and draws a heavy sigh. "Alright, I think we need to call on Bruce Banner here," he says, not liking the idea but knowing he has no choice.

Loki's eyes flash at that, and he instinctively scoots back a few inches before the resulting pain makes him freeze in his tracks. "I'll-be-fine," he croaks out, but it's just pure stubbornness talking; there is very little conviction in that tense voice.

Ignoring the god's feeble protest, Tony pulls out his cell phone, flipping it open and scanning through his list of contacts until he finds Bruce's name in the list. He's not leaving Loki untended to like this, no matter what the god might think of it.

Three signals buzz in his ear before a mild-mannered voice picks up at the other end.

"Hey, it's me, Tony. Uh, I kind of need your help with something." He pauses, grimacing to himself. "First I need to know, though, can you keep a secret? Like, a really big one?"


And no, I obviously couldn't resist making that movie reference to Tony referring to Loki as 'my stuff'… So don't blame Tony for that, because it's all my fault. ;)

But seriously, for those of you who might have been rubbed the wrong way by that, the comment is not supposed to indicate any possessiveness on Tony's part, but rather that he is smart enough to realize that it was the best angle he could have gone for to make the Einherjers lay off Loki – reminding them that (as far as their views are concerned) Loki is Tony's property, and they're messing with something that belongs to him without permission. An "oh noes, don't hurt him!" would not have worked nearly as well.

Please review. :)