Chapter 24 - Tony Stark Asks For Help
"I need a line on Thor and I need it now." Tony said, shooting away from Stark Tower.
"Shall I ring agent Coulson for you sir?"
"Do it."
There was only a few rings before Coulson answered.
"Mr. Stark."
"Agent Coulson. I need to get in contact with Thor. I assume Fury's set up a way to do that."
"Why?" was the simple response, and Tony had to bite back a snappy retort.
"Loki. I need help and Thor is my best bet."
There was a pause on the other end, but a short one.
"We'll get word to him." the line went dead and Tony cursed at the silence.
"Pepper is calling, sir." J.A.R.V.I.S informed him, and Tony felt his irritation spike.
"Ignore."
He flew in relative silence, waiting for some sign from Coulson that Thor had been contacted, and felt himself growing restless.
He was tempted to call Coulson back, see how far he'd gotten in the minute since they'd spoken. Before he could have the number dialled, a form shot out of the sky, headed straight for Stark Tower.
"Looks like we've got company. J.A.R.V.I.S., track Pepper. Is she there?"
"No sir."
"Good. Let's head back."
Tony got back to find Thor waiting outside, red cape catching in the breeze, hammer in hand.
"You requested my presence." he stated, and Tony nodded. "Where is he?"
"I don't know. That's the problem. He got all funny – he started flickering out and he could barely stand, but he made me leave. And out of the blue he seemed to change – stood up straight and disappeared."
Thor frowned, looking past Tony and off into the distance as if he could see things that weren't actually there.
"What happened before that?" he finally asked, "Before the change – did anything happen?"
"He was worried about something. Something about danger, and then he said I was in danger. That's when it started."
There was a sudden stillness to Thor, as if he understood something Tony didn't, and then Thor was before him, gripping his shoulders, expression deadly calm to the point of danger.
"Tell me every detail – nothing is unimportant. If what I think is true, we're all in grave danger."
The idea made Tony furious. That once again, Loki was in danger, front line like always, and here he was stuck as a human, a handsome genius mind you, but nonetheless human, and another god was telling him there was more danger. He was nearing breaking point.
"What the hell is going on?" he demanded, and Thor just gave another grave look.
"I fear Loki did not escape as easily as we'd all hoped."
He was about to ask from what – about to ask why – when Loki's own memories filled his head.
"No." he stated, shaking his head and turning away from Thor. "Not possible."
"But-"
"No!" furious again, Tony turned back, helmet coming down, energy pulsing through the suit, ready to fire. "You and that pet-named hammer of yours were supposed to fix this; you were supposed to make sure this couldn't happen." he growled angrily, not noticing how Thor's hammer was now in hand, defensive.
"We have been trying. Are still trying."
"Well it hasn't been good enough, has it." he was about to fire, he wanted to, oh how he wanted to just blast away at this arrogant idiot, but then he remembered Loki and how he had literally shifted in front of his eyes. Whether he liked it or not, he needed Thor's help. Reluctantly, Tony let the helmet fold back, allowing the energy to drain from the thrusters. Obviously relieved, Thor replaced his hammer at his belt.
"Don't evade this time. I care about him too and I want him back. In order to get him back, I need your help." he said, having a hard time swallowing the fact that he had to ask for help. Understanding pride and it's failings, Thor softened, though his expression remained. "What do you think is going on?"
"I think they've found another way to attempt and make Loki their puppet."