AN: Loki thinks Cloud is pretty and that's all I'm going to say about that

Loki had apparently come to Germany to steal some sort of rare and highly desired element. Cloud didn't care. What he did care about was Loki's speech to the people that he forced to kneel before him. The main message was that they should be happy to lose their freedom and autonomy. It made Cloud sick to his stomach. ("Puppet...")

Needless to say, Cloud was disliking Loki more by the minute.

"You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel." Loki said, sweeping his hands grandly, his horned helmet shining in the streetlight. He spoke as though it were fact, as though it was so incredibly stupid for any of them to think differently. Cloud could barely restrain himself from jumping into the fray, because no, they had to wait to surprise Loki. The problem was that he kept seeing a man with silver hair in place of the 'god' in front of him. Cloud knew that if he could kill Sephiroth three times he should be able to easily dispatch Loki. The only problem was that staff.

One brave citizen stood up, squaring his withered, rounded shoulder and glaring at Loki with distaste. "Not to men like you. Never to men like you."

Loki merely kept a look on his face that suggested calmness, but Cloud had enough experience to know it meant he was boiling on the inside. A bright smile erupted on his face, stretching Loki's cheeks unnaturally wide. "There are no men like me."

Cloud couldn't restrain himself any longer. He had hit his limit. Within less than a second he was behind Loki, sword high over his head as he leapt out from behind the pillar. There was a satisfying clang! And Cloud could feel Loki's helmet give way-

Cloud tumbled to the ground and rolled back into an offensive stance, eyes darting around wildly. Although First Tsurugi was held up defensively, he was still unable to counterattack when he felt the press of cold steel across his neck.

How? How? How? Was his only thought as Loki circled in front of him, a smug expression right at home on his face. It looked far more natural than his smile. Cloud glared, his eyes shining in the darkness. Loki lifted up a hand to his face. Cloud would have smacked him, but that strange spear of his was held closely to his neck, and Cloud knew if he moved even an inch it would slice into his flesh. The mako would quickly repair the fatal wound, but it would take a few minutes for him to recover. That was more time than he could afford.

Where are you, Captain? Cloud's eyes roved around the dark square. He could hear all of the people's breaths as they watched the display nervously. "Your eyes…" Loki said appraisingly, "They're quite beautiful."

Cloud gritted his teeth, trying to think of a way to maneuver First Tsurugi for easy decapitation.

"What, no 'thank you'?" Loki asked, amusement shining in his eyes. His eyes took in Cloud, from his shock of blond hair to his dark boots. He lingered on his earring and his face, before he turned back to the crowd. Cloud glanced around, almost desperately. Now would be a really great time for AVALANCHE to show up. But they wouldn't, because he was stuck on another planet, with another Sephiroth, with a group of people who were supposed to be replacing his friends and who weren't even backing him up.

"Look!' Loki said joyfully, "Look at this man! Is he the best Earth has to offer? Is this the shape of your hope? I don't think so." He turned back to Cloud and continued to stare at him appraisingly. Cloud suspected he was thinking about whether to make an example out of him or to make him a pawn. What to do...

Of course! Why hadn't he thought of this before? A smirk fell over Cloud's lips and his eyes narrowed. Loki stared at him in confusion, before he suddenly yelled, "No-!"

"Fire3." Cloud whispered.

Loki went off like a fireworks display. He didn't even scream. Cloud stepped back, watching appreciatively as the Fire3 did it's work. He picked up Loki's fallen staff, whirling it like a baton. The people began to whisper, then slowly got up, some clapping, some starting to cheer.

Wait… Something's wrong. Loki should be screaming- no, where did he go?! Cloud looked wildly around the bustling square. Had he somehow lost sight of- Cloud gasped in surprise as a piece of cold metal pushed into his side. He looked down and over, catching sight of the protruding golden tip of the dagger before Loki pulled it out, flicking the blood off and onto the pavement. He looked a bit singed, but otherwise fine.

I shouldn't have let my guard down- it does usually takes more than one mastered magic attack to kill a boss…Shit! Cloud kneeled over, clutching his bleeding side. The mako was quickly knitting up the wound, and despite the lightheadedness from blood loss Cloud was able to roll out of the way to avoid Loki's second strike, heaving up First Tsurugi one-handed and assuming a defensive stance.

Loki was grinning.

"I really do like your spirit." He breathed, entranced, before hefting up his spear and charging up an attack. Cloud hefted Tsurugi like a shield, but even as he took his other hand off of his wound to hold up the blade, the hilt became overly slippery with blood. He momentarily lost his grip and the sword dropped down just as Loki finished charging. There wasn't enough time to cast an effective Barrier. Cloud's eyes widened before he closed them, adjusting his blade as best he could and bracing for impact.

The blast never came. With a loud BANG! the blue light rebounded back towards Loki, hitting him full frontal. He fell on his face and the blue light dissipated, leaving Loki groaning loudly on the ground.

"Get out here!" Captain America yelled at the crowd. Many quickly got to their feet, scrambling away while Loki picked himself up. He shook his head, likely to rid himself of dizziness, and narrowed his eyes at Steve.

"The soldier." He said sourly.

The mako had nearly done its job, and Cloud was now well enough to continue fighting. Cloud held up First Tsurugi, coming up beside Steve to protect the citizens fleeing behind them.

"Thank you." Cloud said quietly, glancing at him from the corner of his eye.

Steve smiled. "No problem."

Cloud took a moment to look at Steve's uniform and nearly laughed. The helmet… dear Gaia that's corny.

Loki finally picked himself up and recovered his staff. "The man out of time." He continued, scrutinizing Steve closely. There it was again- Wait. Ice… Out of time… Cloud glanced at Steve, taking his eyes off Loki, and raised an eyebrow. Cryogenics? Like the WEAPONS?

"I don't think I'm the one out of time." Steve quipped. Cloud nearly rolled his eyes. Steve was much farther from Sephiroth than Cloud had originally thought.

Cloud didn't have to look behind him to hear the roar of the S.H.I.E.L.D. hovercraft. Natasha would be piloting it.

"Loki," the speakers blasted, "Drop the weapon and stand down."

Loki scowled, firing another energy blast. Natasha swerved the hovercraft out of the way as Cloud and Steve charged. Steve threw his shield like a frisbee, but it ricocheted off of Loki's glimmering armor and flew back toward him. He caught it seamlessly as Cloud swung Tsurugi at Loki's helmet. Loki simply disappeared into golden shimmering light, reappearing a few meters away. Cloud wasn't going to be thrown off again. He cast Haste on himself, then on Steve, and ran towards Loki, this time swinging low in hopes of injuring a leg.

Loki, it seemed, was also prepared for anything. Despite Cloud's Haste, he was able to get out of the way in time by pulling the same teleportation trick. Cloud grunted as Loki's spear hit him in his injured side once again, but jumped over it when it came the second time. He blocked when Loki swung upwards, which left Steve with more than enough time to fling his shield at the back of Loki's head. It hit with a resounding echo, startling Loki enough that Cloud was able to swing sideways and slice open Loki's arm. Now Loki whirled on him, but Steve took it as another opportunity to attack, this time getting into close quarters. Loki snarled and dodged an incoming punch, blocking the rest with his spear. Still, he was backing up, losing ground. Cloud used the distraction cast Bolt2.

Loki grunted loudly as the lightning hit him, but it wasn't as effective as Cloud had hoped. Unfortunately a few stray bolts had hit Steve as well, and Cloud quietly cursed as he was knocked away from Loki. Cloud was breathing slightly heavier than usual, but this was still nothing compared to Sephiroth. Loki circled him, Cloud keeping him at a distance by brandishing Tsurugi. Loki spared his sword a dismissive glance, raising his eyebrow mockingly.

"Are you a mage or a swordsman, Strife?"

"Does it matter?" Cloud responded gruffly.

"I suppose not. Though, I would have thought you would know Lightning wouldn't work. My brother is Thor, after all."

Cloud silently cursed at himself. He should have considered that. Damn, he was getting sloppy. He saw Steve getting up in his peripheral, so Cloud turned his full attention to Loki in order to divert his attention.

"I've met a couple gods, you know. You don't scare me."

Loki scowled deeply. "Don't I?"

He rushed forward, but both he and Cloud were distracted by a high-pitched whine coming from behind a few buildings. Cloud squinted into the darkness, peering closely but seeing nothing. "What-?"

A trail of sparks fell through the sky as a red-and-gold suit blasted right over his shoulder. He would have probably clipped Cloud's ear if Cloud hadn't been so nimble footed, but even though he managed to dodge out of the way he still stumbled from the force of the wind. Is this an enemy or a friend?

The suit slammed Loki with a beam of energy, and he went flying through the air for the umpteenth time that night. He hit the stairs of the auditorium with a painful crack. Cloud quickly adjusted to the flashy colors, suspicious of the music blasting from unseen speakers on the suit. Several high-tech weapons were primed and ready to fire in a matter of seconds. It was so different from anything on Cloud's world, including Shinra tech, that he couldn't help but stare. Almost everything Shinra built was like a tank, strong but slow and clunky.

"Your move, Reindeer Games," a low male voice threatened from the depths of the suit.

Loki held up his hands in surrender. Maybe he broke a few godly bones from that fall. His golden helmet and armor faded, leaving him in the green royal robes.

"Good move," the same voice said, this time a bit playfully. Is this a game to these people? What was with all the quips?

"Mr. Stark," Steve said, coming up beside the suit.

"Captain… and guy I don't know." 'Mr. Stark' greeted.

Cloud nodded at him. He was a little in awe. Just a little. "Cloud."

"What about clouds?"

Cloud frowned. "No, that's my name."

The suit seemed to shake a little, as though Stark was laughing. "Ah, that's good. I'll remember that. Now, let's get this guy on board."