Reflexively Tony put his arms up to shield his face as he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end from the building static electricity. He held his breath and waited for the split second of the lightning strike to enter his body and destroy his scarred heart. He heard the electrical impact, saw a brilliant flash of white light and smelled the burned flesh as he anxiously anticipated the immense pain that followed. Instead he felt nothing.
Lowering his arms from his eyes he saw Loki standing in front of him, small sparks of dissipating current flashed over Loki's body as he fell to his knees in the snow and flopped heavily onto his side.
"Loki!" Tony couldn't believe it. He slid on his knees to Loki's side and turned the injured man onto his back. "You saved my life...?"
Grasping weakly at his burned chest Loki gasped out a response. "You didn't move..." His body began to wrack with muscle spasms and he could barely take in a breath.
"Take it easy!" Tony grabbed onto Loki's shoulders to keep him as still as possible without inflicting further pain onto Loki's pre-existing injuries. "We'll get you some help."
From above Maria's voice rang out. "Tony! Look out!"
He looked up to see Thor standing over him and Loki, the deranged glare of a madman shining in Thor's dilated eyes. As Thor drew back his arm to land a bone-shattering punch onto Tony's skull a loud and familiar roar echoed out across the icy barren land. The roar was followed by a green blur that slammed Thor down into the ground and the two bodies slid away from Tony and Loki.
"Nice timing Banner..." Tony said out loud as he watched the two fighting figures disappear from sight. He returned his attention tot he injured man in his grip. "Loki? You still with me, pal?"
Loki tried to speak but it hurt him too much draw in a deep enough breath to talk. Instead he weakly nodded his head.
Maria had taken the opportunity to slide down the icy cliff side and joined Tony at his side, the black pouch in her hands. She saw the charred wound beneath Loki's injured hand and through the tattered leather armor. She handed the pouch to Tony and gently put her hands on Loki's arms to help keep him still as body continued to twitch from the immense electrical surge that had entered his chest.
Tony quickly opened the pouch and took a small round metal disc from its interior. He opened a panel on the side of the disc and flipped a switch. A light blue glow emanated from the center of the disc and Tony tossed it casually away onto the snow about ten feet away. Taking out a small headset from the pouch Tony pressed a button and made contact with the Tower.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., can you read me?"
'Loud and clear, Sir.'
"How're the readings from the portable gateway?"
'Readings are strong with full power levels.'
"Activate the gateway."
'Sir, might I suggest testing the gateway before-'
"It's called field testing, J.A.R.V.I.S. Do or die."
'Yes, I concur.' The A.I. found Tony's metaphor to be a very apt description of the situation.
Maria spoke up out of both fear and confusion. "Tony, what's going on? What IS that thing?"
"A miniature Stark manufactured Bi-Frost. It can take us back to the tower in an instant."
"Are you sure?" She looked down at Loki, feeling genuine concern for his physical condition.
"No. But we have no choice."
"Yes we do. We can still use the jet to-"
Just as Maria was finishing her sentence Thor's body collided with the jet and sent it skidding from its parked position. The Hulk landed on Thor and the jet with a powerful leap which crushed the dented side of the jet, effectively destroying the craft. A plume of black smoke from the destroyed engine wafted into the air.
"Never mind." Maria corrected herself. "But we should test it first."
"Alright." Tony zipped up the pouch and tossed the object toward the disc. The pouch disappeared in a flash of light. "J.A.R.V.I.S.? Did the pouch make the journey?"
'Affirmative, Sir. The pouch is sitting on the floor of the workshop.'
"Good enough?" He turned smugly toward Maria.
Thor and the Hulk came rolling down the side of the snowy cliff. Large chunks of snow and ice flew in the air as the two continued to brawl.
"Yeah, good enough. Let's go."
Tony and Maria worked together to lift Loki up from the ground. He gasped in pain and began to cough as his body was hefted from the snow. Wrapping his arms around their necks and shoulders, Tony and Maria carried Loki over to the portal.
"Hold on." Tony struggled to hold Loki upright in the snow.
Loki was growing weaker by the minute, the pain from the burn on his chest made breathing a struggle. His muscles would spasm without warning and made moving extremely difficult.
Maria did her best to support Loki's weight without hurting him. She looked at Tony with concern and he tried to nod reassuringly when he saw the worry in her eyes.
Beyond the disc and in the distance Tony watched as the Hulk battled Thor. Snow clouds shrouded the two raging combatants and the sound of the ice cracking during their battle echoed in an ominously foreboding manner.
Tony returned his attention to Loki. "Okay, Loki? Loki, look at me."
Loki lifted his head weakly and tried to look at Tony. His swollen eye made it difficult to see and his head injury only blurred what vision he still retained. The sound of Thor and Hulk battling drew his attention.
"Focus on me Loki." Tony put his hand under Loki's chin. "We can get you back to the Tower, we can get you to safety. You have to trust us, alright?"
Loki gritted his teeth as a wave of pain washed over him. "Thor... I cannot-"
"Don't worry about Thor. We'll take care of him."
"W-we?" Loki stammered.
"Yeah. Bruce is fighting him now and I'm going to bring him back later."
"No. He is m-my Brother. My... responsibility." He let out a stifled moan of pain and clutched at his chest.
"He's also a member of The Avenger's, which makes him my 'brother', too! Sort of... I know it's asking alot from you right now, BUT, trust me. No, trust US."
Loki's legs began to buckle under his own weight. As his fell to his knees Tony guided him down to the ground to ensure that he didn't exasperate his injuries any further.
"Maria?"
She took the cue. "Let's do this, together."
"The medical bay is on the eighteenth floor. Take him there, Pepper can help." Tony hefted Loki up from the ground and took another step forward. "Okay. You can make it Loki. Just one step."
Forcing himself to stand, forcing himself to ignore his pain for a moment longer, forcing himself to trust those he had once considered enemies with the life of his Brother, Loki stepped toward the gateway. "Stark." He looked at him over his shoulder. "Keep him away from... the hammer. And... bring him back, with you."
Tony nodded. "I promise."
Working together the three unlikely allies walked through the gateway. Maria had been anxiously holding her breath and released it as one big relieved sigh when she felt her boot touch the marble floor and not snow. With Loki out of immediate danger Tony gently shifted Loki's arm from his shoulder and looked to Maria.
"Do you have him?"
"Yeah." She wrapped her arm around Loki's torso to keep him standing. "I got this. Go!"
Stepping back into the gateway Tony was met with a blast of cold air and the acrid smell of burning jet fuel. Turning his attention back to the ongoing battle between Thor and the Hulk, Tony planned his next move. "Okay. Keep the arm away from the hammer. Sounds like fun."
In a clumsy, weak manner Loki stubbornly stepped away from Maria and removed her grip from his body. Whether this was from pride or resentment, she didn't know.
Loki stumbled into the workshop of the Tower for only a few feet before his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed onto the marble floor. Maria managed to cradle his head to keep his skull from crashing onto the floor.
"Loki!" She pressed her fingers against his neck to check for a pulse. "Wake up!" He didn't respond, just gasped.
The elevator doors on the far side of the lab opened automatically. 'Medical bay has been stocked in the event of an emergency, Miss Hill.'
"Thanks J.A.R.V.I.S." Struggling with Loki's deadweight, Maria managed to half drag and half carry Loki into the elevator.
The doors shut and the car began ascending to the 18th floor thanks to J.A.R.V.I.S. Maria let Loki's body lay against her own as she leaned against the wall of the elevator car.
'Miss Potts has been informed of the situation and will meet you in the medical bay.'
"Great." Maria wasn't thrilled with the idea of carrying Loki by herself, again.
As the doors opened Loki began coughing, his eyes opened partially.
"Are you awake?"
Loki looked around momentarily before refocusing on Maria. He lifted himself up from his sitting position using his arm and proceeded to pull himself back up onto his feet using the safety rail bolted the interior of the car.
"Easy." She tried to sound calming and reassuring.
"I am..." Loki took in a deep but painful breath. "Capable of walking."
"Okay." Maria didn't believe him but didn't want to offend him either.
On shaking legs Loki walked out of the elevator car and into the medical bay. "Seems familiar." He tried to joke as he leaned against the wall to try and brace himself upright. "Where is... My Brother?"
"Still in the arctic. He'll be fine, but you need medical attention." Maria wanted him to lie down but didn't want to sound worried.
"No, not yet." He wiped a small trickle of blood from his lip. "Not until I know Thor is... safe."
The elevator doors opened again and out walked both Pepper and Jane. Jane was absolutely shocked at Loki's appearance.
"Loki, what happened to you?" She approached him slowly wanting an answer and trying to hide her tears. "Who did this to you?"
Tony began digging through the wreckage of the jet. It was difficult for him to maneuver through the twisted metal but he found bits and pieces of scrap that he could use to 'MacGyver' a weapon of his own. Using a gun that had its clip removed, placing a long metal pipe with heavy wiring and spark plugs on the end into the barrel of the gun and applying a palladium powered battery pack to the handle; Tony created a massively powerful Taser-like weapon.
"This..." He flicked the power on and watched as sparks flew from the metal prongs. "Might work."
He climbed outside the jet and watched the Hulk was thrown, as a roaring green mass, into the icy Cliffside below. Thor, now showing some sign of fatigue and wear, approached the snarling Hulk. Tony could see small cuts and bruises forming on Thor's face, knuckles and arms. Seeing this as a potential opportunity to strike, Tony prepared to jump down and stun Thor.
"Yup. This should work."
...to be continued...