Hello there! I'm sorry I haven't been answering you guy's reviews, i've been so busy with other stories and projects. ;_;
I just wanted to give a heads up, this story is coming to an end in about three chapters.
Thank you for reading and reviewing!
[ This is unedited, sorry.]
The sky had never looked so inviting. Actually, that was bullshit. After being locked away in a dark cave, even the hot desert sky looked appealing. Or the forever overcast one in Jotunheim, after being trapped in yet another cave. Or even just your average blue sky, after flying through a portal into alien space and nearly dying. But today, Tony didn't need any special reasoning. The sky just called to him.
I have time before the meeting to fly around a bit.
Loki doesn't need me yet, anyway.
I haven't flown since I got back.
My suit should be aired out.
It's cold out, suit warm.
Tony smiled bitterly and looked out over the city. It figured that they rescued him just in time for winter on Earth. Like he didn't have enough of the snow and the cold as it was.
"I hate everything," he muttered and pulled his coat closer around him. Loki had expressly forbid him from coming out on the roof after reading the entire journal Tony had kept in Jotunheim. The god was under the impression that Tony, plus heights, equaled suicidal thoughts and sudden death. Perhaps laughing in his face was not the best reaction, because Loki looked hurt and a little scared for a few days after that. It wasn't until Tony promised, lied, and pretended to take it seriously that Loki relaxed a little.
So there he was, sitting on the roof, breaking his promise. It was simply a habit he could not shake since he came back from the frozen planet. Instead of falling back into the warm embrace of alcohol or even sex, Tony wanted his quiet seat under the sky. He actually missed the frozen cliff side the he had to climb up using only his upper body strength and one leg. The struggle to the top was made worth it by the release in pressure on his brain.
Being around that thing was exhausting. Batman demanded his constant attention as long as he was awake, and haunted his dreams while he slept. The only thing that helped melt that icy tension in his body was the freedom of outside. Somehow, being up there was enough to dull their connection slightly. That was the only reason he got away with the jump in the first place. As it was, Batman noticed his fall immediately and somehow managed to posses his half dead body and force it to walk back up to the cave. He was like a puppet, with that bastard pulling his strings.
He had kept that part out of the journal. There was no need for anyone but himself to know about that. If he knew, Loki would have been even more upset, untrusting, and maybe a little too neurotic about Tony's safety.
His own neurotic behavior was starting to wear on the others. He still couldn't stay in a room alone with anyone without Loki by his side. The few instances where Loki was out dealing with things, he stayed locked away in the penthouse where he sat there for hours debating whether or not to go downstairs. To brave the fear and the hallucinations for some much needed company. God, when was the last time he watched a movie with them, or ate a meal? He couldn't even remember.
That was another problem, he had been away longer than they had missed him. The group kept quoting things they saw and said while he was gone, then caught themselves and tried to include him in the stupidest ways possible. When that failed, they brought up things he did with them before he left. They could remember what he said, what he wore, his ringtone, even the last joke they shared together.
He couldn't. Every memory with them had been etched away night after night by each torturous nightmare. Meanings became warped, images faulty. Where Pepper remembered Clint laughing with Tony over a prank involving old eggs, Tony remembered Clint laughing at him while he screamed on the floor. Thor would tell them the story of how Tony and he went out clothes shopping, and ended up getting kicked out of six of the stores for various reasons. Tony couldn't remember doing that at all. Although, that one might have been due to the lack of sleep the previous night.
The problem was, the more they tried to bring him back, the stronger the false memories took root. Unfortunately for him, every time Loki dragged him from the penthouse to 'visit' the group, they started right in again. He knew they meant well, but it was literally destroying whatever courage he had just mustered up just to be there in the first place.
Loki understood. Of all the people in the universe, Loki got it. Tony really shouldn't be surprised anymore. It was starting to become more apparent just how connected they were as each day they had done last week had drawn them together more than before his trip to Winter Wonderland. Yes, they still argued, even pulled each other's hair every once in a while, but they were in sync. They moved together, breathed together, thought together. They acted like an old married couple, soft and comfortable. It was like they actually become one. And if Tony was honest, it fucking it scared the ever living shit out of him.
What would happen to me, if I lost him? Would I die on the spot? When Loki lost his soul or whatever, I nearly died with him, and when we got separated recently, it felt like I was running on half power.
But, i'm more likely to kick it, than him.
Disease, suit malfunction, falling piano, I could get hit by a car...
Tony let out an aggravated sigh and watched the puff of breath rise into the cold air and disappear. He wasn't sure if this connection was what he wanted in a relationship, but there it was. Yeah, it was nice to feel Loki when he was near by, and of course the sex was unbeatable, but Tony didn't want to be the death of Loki. Something could happen to his very mortal ass, something he couldn't avoid this time.
Blowing himself up in the lab used to be a minor worry. Now, he actually had to weigh his options and consider the condition he might come out in from each little adventure. So he could die, that wasn't news to him. He had spent enough if his teenage years trying to die by stupid ways to know just how fragile human's really were. But dying meant so much more now, and that thought alone pissed him off. Tony didn't want that kind of responsibility, but he mostly just didn't want his own stupidity to kill the guy he loved.
Which was why he was on the roof, sitting with his legs dangling over the side and a cup of already cold coffee as his only company. Because up here was the only place he could think, and he needed to feel a little threatened for this to work. Tony glanced down past his feet and tried to squint at the people below him. It was obviously too high for him to make out the details, but he liked to pretend all those moving blobs meant something. Like each little dot running across the city represented life. Tony snorted. If Clint were here, he'd make a joke about 'elf eyes' and they would laugh about it. Or Clint would push him off the edge. Either way, totally worth it.
"Stop it," Tony muttered to himself. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to focus on the emptiness in front of him. He had felt it before on the cliff, and he remembered the rush that came with it. Nothing was there to catch him, all he had to do was tip his body slightly and he could fly.
"You would do this to me?" came a small voice from behind him.
Tony didn't move or respond, but instead focused completely on the bond. As soon as Loki had seen him, he felt a burning throughout his entire body. When Loki spoke, it felt as thought cold water had doused the flame. His body grew cold as Loki's sadness took the place of fear.
Well, I guess the experiment is a success.
"Do what?" He asked lightly, turning his head to look over his shoulder at the god. Instead of the disappointed glare he expected, Loki looked devastated. His hair was flying around in the wind, while the rest of him stood frigid. His arms were clenching at his body as if he would blow away if he let go.
"You would leave me?" Loki managed at last, his hollow voice hollow barely audible over the wind. The wind blew the god's hair from his face, showing dark watery eyes. Loki was resigning himself to it, shutting down and accepting Tony's choice. Which was exactly why Tony did this.
With slow, deliberate movements, Tony stood and turned around on the spot before launching himself off the ledge towards Loki. The god almost jerked back when he landed on the roof instead of leaping from the other side.
"Lokes..." He began, reaching a hand out to unfold the god's death grip on himself. "I'm not going to die, and you need to stop acting like I will at any given moment. You really need stop pretending like you accept it, that's just cruel."
Loki continued to stare at him with the same unreadable look. At last, he muttered, "I could never accept such a thing. I would catch you whether you liked it or not."
"Then why do you look so sad? I mean, Christ, you look like you saw me jump already."
Tony was still pulling at Loki's arms to loosen him up when Loki's answer forced him to stop.
"Because you still want to leave me. Even if you do not jump this time, you have done it before."
"That was one time," Tony said with a grunt of irritation, "and I really thought I was trapped there with that asshole forever."
Loki shook his head and retreated into himself more. Tony blinked at him for a moment before he had enough. With a low growl, he pushed the god to the ground and sat on him unceremoniously.
"If you would stop hiding in your little Loki shell and let me talk, maybe you'll understand what the hell I'm actually doing!" he snapped, leaning down over Loki's startled face. The god was gazing up at him, his breath coming in small pants. After a moment, he nodded silently.
Tony sat up, not once taking his eyes away from Loki's face. "I don't want to die, okay?"
Loki opened his mouth to speak and Tony shoved a hand over it. "Let me finish. I don't want to die. One, because I like being alive and listening to good music and eating pizza and kissing you..." His glare softened as he continued, "the other reason is that if something happened to me, I think you would die too. And that, above all else, is the one thing that I absolutely can not accept."
Loki's worried eyes still gazed up at him from behind his hand. Tony clicked his tongue and removed it to allow the god to talk again.
"Why..." Loki began in a weak voice, clearing his throat to continue, "why would I even want to survive your death? Even if I could somehow avoid it, I would be dead inside. You do not know how strong of a presence you have in me."
Tony felt himself beginning to smile. It was't often that Loki dished out some good mushy stuff that wasn't magic based information or part of their 'plan'. "You're a part of me too, you know," he replied. "You're like another arc reactor; pull you out and PLUNK, I'm dead."
Loki winced at the noise and sat up, lacing his arms around Tony's body suddenly. Tony welcomed the hug and fervently snuggled into the other's warmth with a grunt. They stayed like that for a while, just breathing.
Somewhere over the course of the past half hour, Tony's mind had already made a decision for him. Realistically, he knew he didn't have any other choice, but he had to at least asses all his options before choosing.
"I want to try the trials for the sparkle apple," he whispered against Loki's neck.
The god tensed up under him and for a moment Tony thought he had made the wrong choice. Then Loki's shoulders began to shiver beneath his arms, and he leaned back with a frown.
"I'm sorry, was that th—" he stopped when he saw the smile. Loki was laughing, his eyes screwed up and his cheeks flushed pink. "What the fuck? I thought I made you cry. Worry me, why don't you."
Through a smattering of giggles, Loki managed to choke out, "after all the nonsense, you wish to be immortal. Here I had thought... that... that you were going to leave me."
Tony joined in the laughter as well and reached down to squeeze Loki's hand. "I couldn't leave you if I tried." He paused dramatically and slipped into a southern accent. "I can't quit you."
Loki huffed and leaned close to his face, brushing their noses together in an affectionate gesture. "You will truly spend an eternity with me?"
"If you don't think we'll kill each other, yeah. I want to see the end of the universe with you, babe."
Loki chuckled and continued to nuzzle his face slowly. "You and I shall be right in the midst of it, if all the stories tell true."
"Front row seats. Who wish for more?"
"For the universe to not end?"
"That's getting too greedy. Think small. Maybe some popcorn."
"I highly doubt the situation will call for your snack food," Loki replied, tilting his head with a bemused expression. "But I suppose if you must have it, I shall do my very best to provide you with popped corn for Ragnarok."
"If the stories are right, I think you're gonna be a little busy right then. Leave the popcorn to me."
Both of their smiles died about the same time. It was Tony who spoke first, knowing what was coming. "It's time, isn't it?"
"It is time, yes."
With a small sigh, Tony stood and offered a hand to Loki, not that the god needed help getting up. Loki stood in one fluid movement, but took his hand afterwards anyway. There was a warmth in Loki's green eyes that Tony hadn't seen in a while. Things had been shit, utter shit, for such a long time. There hadn't been any time for a real heart to heart or just some simple affection. Everything had to mean something, designed to bring him back to reality and carefully orchestrated to fit his needs. Tony had had enough heavy shit to last a life time. It was time for some fun.
So he enjoyed the moment a little longer, just Loki wanting to be with him forever, and feeling happy about it with no reservations. A little bit of senseless lovey dovey before they got back to work. Just what the doctor ordered.
Tony grinned at the man he trusted with his love and his life. "Well, come on then. It's time for some show and tell."
Loki could not decide what shocked the group more. Either the news of Fury's further betrayal, or the fact that Tony was sitting down with them and eating. In fact, he looked far more comfortable than Loki had seen him since before their separation. He even had some food on his face.
With a smile, Loki leaned forward to brushed off the ketchup from his lover's chin, licking it from his finger without a second thought. As distracted as Tony was by food and present company, the gesture didn't go un-missed. His light brown eyes sparked with a hint of lust, even as he shoved another bite of burger in his mouth.
"Fury actually ordered you to kill Tony?"
Loki turned to the red-head addressing him, his smile turning bitter. "He ordered a supposed agent of HYDRA to kill both of us. You listened to the recording, did you not?"
Natasha shook her head in disbelief. "I just can't wrap my head around it. We didn't do anything so horrible to warrant this. Especially not Tony."
Tony looked up from his food and gave her a sloppy smile and a thumbs up from around the remains of his burger. Natasha looked torn between grimacing at the burger massacre, and smiling at his light heartedness.
"We seem to have struck a nerve by actually stealing Victor Doom from right under his nose," Loki said with a satisfied smirk. He did see that as rather an achievement.
"I'm still sulking about missing that," Tony commented around some fries. Loki plucked one from his mouth and ate it, ignoring the pout from his lover.
"We wouldn't have had to break him out, if you were here," Clint added from across the table. He, too, was shoveling food into his mouth with great gusto.
"True," Tony agreed, "but I'm still sulking."
"We have a few more important matters that deserve your attention," Steve said from the head of the table. He sounded stern, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips. The entire energy of the room felt alive, almost back to normal. All because of Stark's presence.
Loki had thought on it before, but never did he see just how big of a change Tony really made. The past month had provided a high contrast to what the average life in the tower had been. The others had fallen into separate, smaller groups. The two spies stuck together, no surprises there, where as the captain and Thor seemed to band together in some sort of awkward, blond kinship. Bruce had made an odd friendship with the newest member to their group, Dr. Doom. The fellow mass-murder fit in rather nicely with the rest of them, much to the captain's dismay. He had made no clear move to change things, but Loki had heard him complain more than once about letting the man stay. The last time, Bruce had gone slightly green during the argument, and Rogers never brought it up again.
All in all, it was no longer the tight group Loki remember from his first attack. Apparently, no one had anticipated Stark as the glue that held the Avengers together. But he was, somehow, the one that kept them close and the one that drove them apart.
"Stark, you're going to choke," Bruce warned as he leaned over and offered a napkin.
Loki turned away from his inner musings to watch the simple display of friendship. It would have been simple, if Tony hadn't flinched away from every movement for such a long time now. So when his lover accepted the napkin directly from Bruce's hand, the small gasp from the doctor was not unprecedented.
"Thanks, but if I'm gonna die, it should be by this burger. It's the best god damn thing I've tasted in years," Tony said in a choked voice and continued on his quest to demolish his burger without acknowledging Bruce's surprise.
"I am glad your apatite has returned to you, love, but I would rather you not die for something so dull as inhaling victuals."
Tony laughed and, of course, choked on his food. Loki patted his back and relieved him, ignoring the other huffs of laughter from the archer.
"Anyway," began Steve again, "you two clearly have a plan already, so why not share it now."
Loki swiveled in his seat and flashed a nasty grin at the soldier. It didn't unnerve him as much as Loki would have liked. He must be gong soft. "Of course we have a plan," he muttered, slightly put out at the lack of fear he instilled in his...
What?
Companions?
"The plan is this," Tony interrupted, "we meet him in Detroit like we're the HYDRA whoevers and we have a nice chat with the man."
"And this will make a difference, how?" Clint asked, tossing his used napkin into the table and leaning back.
"The difference is, this is the last chat we are gonna have."
His words were met with a startled silence. Clint looked between Natasha and Steve quickly, as if trying to figure out who was going to respond first. Oddly enough, Bruce was the one to take the lead.
"We can't kill the Director of SHIELD, Tony." He smiled bitterly and added, "As much as we may want to."
Tony leaned back in his chair and looked around the room with a steady gaze. His calmness was almost unnerving after such a long period of anxiety. "I didn't mean we would kill him. Not unless he tries to kill us, anyway. I mean," he turned to Loki with a nasty smirk, "he sort of already set out to do that."
"What did you mean, then?"
Tony shrugged. "Just because we can't kill him, doesn't mean we can't put the fear of god in him."
"Not to rain on your parade," Clint interjected, "but didn't we already do that? I mean, the cardboard cutouts aside, we really fucked with them last time. He's still coming, even after all that."
"Mmm, yes," Loki agreed, looking over at the archer. "But last time he wasn't alone in an empty city surrounded by a powerful group of angered enemies."
"So we're threatening him? Nothing else?"
"Nothing else," Tony confirmed. "Yet."
Steve cast a weary look down the table at him, but resigned himself to his fate. "When do we meet him, then?"
"In about an hour."
"What?!" Clint shouted, sitting forward suddenly. "You're telling us an hour before it happens?!"
Tony blinked at him for a long moment. "What's the problem, Legolas? Need time to do your hair?"
Clint hissed a colorful collection of curses at him and rushed off to get his things ready. Natasha soon slipped off as well, giving Loki a rare smile that clearly conveyed her relief at Stark's new found comfort around them. Steve went off to find Thor to fill him in on the plan, leaving Bruce to stare at Tony from the seat beside him.
"Alright, you're burning a hole in my cheek," Tony said at last. "What is it?"
"Tony, you sat here with us and actually ate a meal. In the same room as us."
"So?"
"So?" Bruce repeated incredulously, "so you haven't been able to set foot in a room with the group since you got back, never mind actually letting me sit next to you. I mean, not to draw attention to your previous mental breakdowns, but I'm pretty sure a day ago you would have scuttled out of the room if I even breathed in your direction."
Tony snorted and gave Bruce a sheepish smile. "I'm not magically cured, if that's what you're wondering. Even now, I've got this other version of you standing over your shoulder and saying things I dare not repeat." Tony paused and looked at the thing only he could see. "But, whatever. I just have to take it with a little faith that the nicer versions of you guys are the real ones."
"You're still hallucinating?"
"More or less. It's not all the time..." he trailed off to look at Loki. "There are times where it goes away. But I still see you guy's alter egos when you're around."
"I am sure it will fade, in time," Loki added, standing up from his chair and offering Tony his hand. The inventor turned his gaze up to him and smiled lovingly.
Bruce leaned on his hand, still watching Tony carefully. "So why was today so different, suddenly? What changed?"
Tony stood, still facing Loki, and replied, "I made my mind up about something, and everything just fell into place." He turned at last to look at Bruce one last time. "It all just... lost its importance to me. I'm moving on, the hallucinations can suck it and go home."
Bruce laughed loudly at that before excusing himself to go find Doom.
Alone again at last, Loki pulled Stark against his body and tentatively listened for Tony's inner voice.
"Stop worrying, sexy."
Loki tilted his head with a small smile and thought back, "if I did not fret a little, who would?"
"Only Bruce, Steve, Clint, Natasha, Pepper, and Thor. Maybe Victor, but I doubt it."
Loki laughed softly and placed a kiss on his forehead. "I am glad you are aware of how much they care for you."
Loki felt a wave of amusement over their link as Tony thought to him again.
"They never stop letting me know. I swear Bruce made me over forty cups of tea just last week, and Steve did this weird puppy dog thing from behind a corner to try to talk to me. If I wasn't starving and without my morning coffee at the time, I would have found it cute."
Loki laughed out loud at that and let his hands rest gently on his lover's hips. "Hann er sannarlega hundur, stundum."
"I still see a golden retriever in my mind when I imagine him," Tony said out loud. "Does that make me a bad person?"
"I am sure he would be glad that you even think of him," Loki replied lightly.
Tony was still snorting with laughter when they met the other's in the common room several minutes later. Loki noted that Stark was unable to meet the captain's eye, much to the soldiers dismay and Loki's amusement. Apparently, his brother was away with his Lady. A pity, he would have to miss the fun.
When Tony began to lead the way out of the room, several of the group past confused glances to one another.
"Uh, Tony?"
The inventor hummed and turned around.
"What about your suit?" Clint asked, glancing back the others as if to ask if he was doing right.
"Right... suit," he replied, sounding uncomfortable. "You know, I think we can do this without Ironman. We did agree on not killing him, right?"
Steve nodded but still looked confused at Tony's decision. When Stark returned to leading the way, the captain leaned close to Loki and whispered, "is he afraid of his suit now, too?"
Loki shook his head. He could provide no answer to the question, since he did not know himself. Just a day ago Stark had been complaining that Loki didn't want him flying, yet now he refused his suit. Something was afoot, and Loki was left out of the loop yet again. That was reason alone to worry.
Tony has barred me from his plans before.
But things have changed, he should not be leaving me out like this.
Unless... perhaps, things have not changed?
Maybe I misinterpreted something.
Loki shrugged at Rogers and lengthened his stride to catch up with the receding back of his lover.
"Tony," he called out softly into the man's mind. "Why do you not bring your armor?"
"Are you bringing yours?"
"No, but it is not the same." Loki frowned as he caught up enough to see a determined glint in Stark's eye. When he turned to look at Loki, there was a faint smile growing on his lips.
"I just have a feeling, okay? I won't need it."
Loki sighed, both in frustration at being left outside of his plans again, and for Stark's brainless confidence.
"You will be the death of me yet," he muttered out loud.
"Only if you see popcorn, babe. That's when you know."
Loki jabbed an elbow into Tony's side. "Somedays I want to strangle you."
"Weren't we just talking about this? If you strangle me now, I'll miss Ragnarok." Tony elbowed him right back.
Things began to heat up to the point where Stark threatened him with something called a 'Wet Willy'. Natasha stepped in and separated them just as Tony was sticking a finger in his mouth.
"Children, please," she said, giving them a leveled glare. "Let the adults work."
When everyone turned back to the task of piling into a single van, Loki did not fail to miss the flash of sadness on his lover's face. It was gone before he could comment on it, but he fully intended to interrogate him later.
"Lokes, stop spacing out. We have a traitor to string up."
Loki turned away from his thoughts and followed the rest into the van, a satisfied smirk forming on his face.
"I do believe we will enjoy this far too much," he said with a chuckle.
From somewhere in the back, Bruce replied lowly, "I think I'll enjoy it just the right amount."
Loki's smile did not fade for the rest of the trip.
Of course, he had to pee. It came with the territory, hiding and trying to be quiet. It was just like it did when he was a kid. Hide and seek was always ruined by someone's bladder deciding that you hiding was the opportune time to fill to the brim.
Damn it all.
His leg started twitching an hour in, and only stopped when Natasha appeared behind him on some sort of ninja string and smacked it into submission. After that, it was solid boredom. Bruce was waiting as back up in the parked van behind another building. Loki had gone off to become a slinky red-head so he could arrive appropriately in his HYDRA issue villain car.
Really, what was up with that? Nothing broadcasts how much of a villain you are than expensive black cars with heavily tinted windows. Now a hot red convertible, no one associates bad guys with that. It's almost a Bond car. Really, these guys could take a few tips from Tony.
In the midst of his thoughts, the leg had started tapping again. Only a few seconds later, an arrow bounced off the metal about a centimeter away from his foot. Tony let out a strangled yelp and glared around at the overhead beams, hoping to catch the archer's eye. When he spotted a slightly larger shadow to his left, he promptly flipped it off and went back to his internal musings.
Where was I? Right, so about the cars...
His thoughts were interrupted again, this time by the sounds of someone driving up to the abandoned factory. Immediately, the entire building grew perfectly still, as if even the pigeons sensed something was up. Tony realized that he was holding his breathe and let it out slowly, his eyes following the lone figure as it entered.
Fury looked smaller than he remembered. Then again, it might have been due to his position on one of the rusted walkways near the ceiling. Tony could only hope he was pulling off the shadow routine as well as the others. He was supposed to be in ninja mode, there was time enough for confrontation later.
Luckily, Fury didn't seem to be interested in checking out the building he was in, and started to pace the floor in long figure eights. The man looked nervous, and Tony couldn't decide if that was good or bad news. On the one hand, a scared Fury meant a weakened Fury. But a doubtful Fury meant trouble.
As if hearing the call of chaos, Loki pulled up in the classic villain car, dark windows and a dead silent engine. The leg that slipped out of the open car door should have come with its own saxophone music. It was by far the slinkiest, pale, disgustingly attractive leg Tony had ever seen. Knowing that it was Loki only made it worse.
"Great," he thought to Loki, "now I have to pee, I probably caught TB from the metal shoved into my stomach, I'm hearing Kenny G in my head, and I'm rock fucking hard."
"Silence," was all he got in return, thoroughly killing Tony's small, good mood.
"You're late," Fury called out, at once stopping his pacing to stand in his usual pose. His arms were crossed behind his back, showing his lack of fear, daring you to try anything.
"I am precisely on time," the red-head replied smoothly, the heels of her shoes clicking dangerously across the concrete. "You have not been waiting so long as to begin complaining over nothing, have you?"
Fury sneered at her and stepped forward. "Is it done?"
"As we agreed, we brought you Tony Stark," the red-head replied, gesturing behind her. A large bulky figure ducked out from the back seat of the car, holding a very convincing Tony in his arms. Both characters happened to be figments of Loki's magic, but they were rather convincing.
Tony winced a little at the sight of his own body, lightly bruised and draped over the man's shoulder like a lifeless sack of potatoes. His brain kindly brought the memories of when the darkness hauled him up the cliff, making his own broken, useless legs carry him to the cave. He let out an involuntary grunt at the thought and threw up the mental barriers again.
Loki didn't need to know.
If Fury heard the grunt, he didn't show it. Instead, he was staring almost eagerly at Tony's limp body. "And Loki?"
"We were unable to track him before he fell off the radar again," the woman replied easily, "not to worry, though. We will be there when he returns to his lover's tower."
"I don't want a surprised, pissed off god showing up somewhere along the line and giving me trouble," Fury growled. "Especially if he finds out that SHIELD has Stark."
The red-head crossed her arms and looked at him thoughtfully. "What sort of tests are you planning, Director?"
"Since when do we share our business?"
"If Stark is really this... powerful weapon that you say he is, I believe I have a right to know what your plans for him are. We do not like surprises either."
Tony bit his tongue and sunk down further against the metal grating under him. No one else in the room could feel it, but internally, Loki was screaming in rage. The contempt had only grown as the conversation progressed, and Tony was afraid the mask was going to slip if it went on any longer.
"We're gonna see what makes him tick, and then contain him," fury replied at last, looking uncomfortable with releasing this information to a once enemy. "Stark is too much of a loose canon to be controlled. He'll spend the rest of his days in a padded cell."
"Good," the red-head purred, "that is all I needed to know. Thank you."
Tony sat up on cue, 'thank you' being the code word to start the second half of the operation. Phone in hand, Tony accessed the cameras they had set up around the room and saved the videos to his drive at home. After that, it was a quick upload to the internet. He started with all the social network accounts, and headed to the darker sides of the internet to release other parts of the same video. The trick was to make it obvious that parts were missing from the more public videos, so people got curious and searched for the full story. The more people looked, the more wide spread it became.
Tony smiled as JARVIS confirmed the uploads and started recording the statistics immediately. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and stood up, making his way over to the metal ladder to join Natasha who was waiting for him.
"Ready?" She whispered.
"I'm so eager I could dance."
Natasha spared a moment to give him a look that clearly begged for him not to dance. She slid down the ladder quickly, leaving Tony to clamber down rather ungracefully. Once on the floor, they circled Loki and Fury by staying behind the beams and dusty boxes long enough to arrive behind red-head and the fake Tony.
The look on Fury's face was priceless. Tony's hand itched to snatch his phone up and take a photo. Before he could even get it out, Fury started to yell.
"What the fuck is this?! Stark, what the hell have you done?!"
The red-head stepped back, letting the guise fall away to reveal a much taller, scarier looking god. Tony grinned nastily as it dawned on the Director just what was going on.
"So you set this all up... For what, exactly?" Fury asked, his tone instantly reverting to something calm and dangerous.
Loki was down right growling at this point, and when Fury asked, he snapped. "You have been ruined, you useless sack of filth." He paused, his face contorting further into rage. "As amusing as it is that you even dreamed of killing me, my anger at you lies elsewhere. You dared to lock my lover away simply because you fear him? To break him apart under your scientist's hands, just as you did to us before. Tare you so unlearned that you do not realize the imprudence of these actions? Tell me, do you think yourself a god, foolish mortal?"
Fury shifted his arms slightly towards his guns and opened his mouth to respond before Loki continued.
"You are no god," he hissed, " Shall I show you the true power of a god?"
Loki's fingers were already contorting space, creating sparks of angry green flames. Some of the heavy, metal beams around them were shaking, and so was Fury. It was a tiny tremor, but it signified a win for them. So Tony reached out a hand, and gently touched Loki's shoulder. The air cooled instantly, the metal beams ceased their shaking, and the sparks of angry green died away at his touch.
"It's okay," Tony muttered, pulling the god closer to him carefully. Loki let out a breath of frozen air and leaned back into him. It was so easy to calm him, Tony couldn't help but feel a small thrill of victory even as the god's angry eyes lifted to meet Fury's again.
"Do you see now?" He asked, his voice raw.
Fury looked mildly insulted. "What was I supposed to be seeing? All I see a whole lot of PDA."
Natasha snorted quietly and shot a quick glance up to where ever Clint was hiding, as if expecting the archer to provide a comment.
"You witnessed the power of a god," Loki answered and turned slowly to smile at Tony.
"What?" Fury blinked at him with one eye as his hands inched closer to his guns.
Tony blinked at him too, just as confused. Was he implying that Tony's calming skills were godly? Had he suddenly become Buddha?
Natasha asked before he could get a word in, "Loki, please tell me you're not referring to Tony as a god now? I don't think his ego can handle that."
"My ego is quite sturdy, I'll have you—"
The click of two guns aimed at him stopped his argument. He turned slowly to meet face to face with Fury's anger.
"You will come with me, Stark. I don't care what kind of magic tricks your boyfriend plays, he can't stop a bullet before it reaches your heart." He paused and sent a challenging look to Loki. "So unless you want to try your luck, all of you will stand the fuck down and let him come with me."
Loki and Natasha both tensed, and Tony could hear all of them mentally curse him for forgoing his suit. He would have to make it up to them later.
"No, no, no," he said calmly, brushing past a reluctant Loki. He ignored the hand that gripped his arm and stood fast. "Fury, you seem to be misunderstanding things again."
"Oh? Why don't you enlighten me, Stark?"
Tony gestured to Loki who hadn't let go. "You remember Loki, our resident god of chaos. You should be afraid of him."
Fury scoffed quietly and kept his guns trained on Stark. "He looks more like a trained mutt these days. 'Sides, You guys defeated him pretty easily before."
"That was then. You know, when you used Coulson's death to spur us on? Don't think that will work twice, Patches."
Fury grunted at him and gave no further response other than to press his guns closer.
"Why are you doing this, Fury? Because we're dangerous?"
"Exactly. You in particular. The rest of the team is predictable, at best, but you are almost more chaotic than your pet chaos god here. Plus, you've got the public behind you no matter how much you fuck up. If you think you're not dangerous, you really need to take another look at yourself."
Tony stopped, and actually thought about it.
What was it that made him dangerous? The magic was one thing, some new and unpredictable veritable. But even before that, he had his genius. He could create anything, and he chose to create weapons. He saw his own tools used to murder innocents, so what did he do? He made more. For himself. He knew how to manipulate the environment so that he ended up on top.
"Ah," he said at last coming back to the moment with a small start. "I get it now."
"Oh, do you? Well how nice for you Stark," Fury snapped. "Can we get on with this? My arms are getting tired."
Tony shrugged and stepped forward a little, ignoring the small sound of protest from Loki. He reached into his pocket, and held up his cell phone.
"See this? This is how I'm dangerous." He stopped and grinned, turning the phone on to show Fury on screen. JARVIS, with his keen understanding of Tony's dramatics, began to play the video immediately. Fury's voice echoed out into the room, sounding as nasty and lifeless as it did originally.
"Do you see where I'm going with this?"
Fury's guns lowered to his waist line, his expression dark. "Who has seen this?"
"By five tonight, the world," Tony answered lightly. "The entire world will see you planning to lock away Tony Stark forever. By tomorrow, my loving public will be asking questions. Who is this asshole who wants to take away their precious Ironman? Isn't SHIELD the group that swept everything about the attack on New York under the rug?"
"And my favorite one, from those who have already seen it," he added with a grin, turning his phone to look at the screen, "I quite directly from twitter, #saveTonyStark he's come to our rescue, it's our turn to help him."
Tony made a cute face at his phone. "Aww, look at that. I got my own hashtag. Again."
Apparently, that was the last straw for Fury, because the man raised his weapons and let out a wordless snarl. There was another wiz of an arrow that landed directly in the Directors foot. Maybe that wasn't the best choice, because Fury's first reaction was to squeeze the trigger of his gun. It was as if the world slowed down for a fraction of a second. The bullet only had a short distance to travel from the gun to Tony's head.
As it turned out, Loki could stop a bullet, has as he did with Clint's arrows. Only he smacked it out of the air like it was a bug, sending it directly into the floor.
"Holy shit!" Tony gasped, falling back and ending up in Loki's other arm.
Natasha already had her guns trained on the director. The man was hunched over his bleeding foot, glaring up at them like a cornered animal. Which was what he was.
"Next time," Loki growled in his ear, "You wear your suit. So help me, if you die from something as stupid as this..."
Tony nodded and straightened up. "I know, I know. Sorry."
"This isn't over, Stark!" Fury spit out from the floor. "You think a few hundred fan girls are going to matter?"
"Fury, really, who do you think I am?"
"You're a—"
"I'm Tony Stark," Tony interrupted, stepping closer to leer down at the man, " I'm Ironman, and I have the world in my pocket. Go ahead and try to whine to your contacts in the government. Who do you think they have lunch with to talk about clean energy? Or how about your buddies in the army? Who do you think they get their funding and weapons from? Or how about the number of agents that have been going AWOL from your precious SHIELD? Just who do you think they've been coming to? " Tony smirked and lifted his sneaker to gently poke at the arrow in Fury's foot. "That's right, me."
Both Natasha and Loki looked at him in shock. Tony gave them a look that promised further explanation later and turned back to the director. "Any further questions before I go?"
Fury glowered up at him for a long moment before muttering, " What happened to you..."
"I died. A few times. It puts things in perspective and changes your priorities a little. Namely, touch what's mine, and I will drag your through the dirt until you're six feet deep."
They were back in the van, already heading to the highway before Clint let out an explosive sigh. "Now I see what you meant by not needing the suit. Jesus, Tony."
Tony chuckled darkly. It quickly turned into a snorting laugh and grew infectious. Soon, they were all laughing a little loud, and a little longer than they really should be. But it was alright, because they needed it after all that.
"The pen is mightier than the sword," Tony replied after he managed to find air again, "or in my case, a cell phone is mightier than a metal suit filled with weapons."
There were a few more chuckles at that before they fell into a silence. Tony could almost hear the countless gears ticking throughout the van. At last, Natasha spoke.
"We have done so much that I would never dream of doing even a year ago. Thing's i'm still not sure we should have done." She paused and continued in almost a whisper, "What are we, anymore?"
Tony looked out at the already darkening sky and, for a moment, wished he was up there flying through clouds all on his own. The moment passed, and realized that he hadn't seen a hallucination since they left the tower. Maybe this was exactly what he needed, his team, a mission, something to avenge.
"We're the Avengers," he said to the sky, "There's nothing noble about it, we just do what we have to do to avenge those who've been wronged." Tony glanced back at the silent group and smiled. "Today, that was us."