I admit the first chapter wasn't quite how I wanted it to turn out, but I like this one much better and I hope you will too.
Thank you to all who have reviewed or left kudos to the story so far, I'm glad it's getting some attention. Last minute change too, instead of drawling on with the new semi-mystery twins, I decided to pick up from the movie scene where Tony and Loki have their 'talk', and Tony notices a small detail. It'll flip back and forth between Loki and Tony's third person POV's, just to keep any confusion away.
Sorry for the last-minute change, I think this might've been better with explanations along the way.
You'll have to read along to find out more!
I don't own any Marvel characters.
Enjoy!
Stark tower:
"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity." Tony kept walking forward as Loki stalked towards him, slowly.
"Uh, actually I'm planning to threaten you." Loki laughed.
"You should've left your armor on for that."
"Yeah, seen a bit of mileage and you've got the uh…glowstick of destiny." He walked towards the bar. "Would you like a drink?" Loki only chuckled.
"Stalling me won't change anything."
"No no, threatening. No drink, you sure? I'm having one." Loki walked back to the window.
"The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that. What have I to fear?"
"The Avengers." Loki stared at him in confusion. "It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team, Earth's mightiest heroes, that type of thing."
"Oh yes, I've met them." Tony snickered.
"Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction I'll give you that one, but let's do a head count. Your brother, the demigod, the super-soldier, living legend who kind of lives up to the legend, a man with breathtaking anger management issues, a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them." Tony snagged a couple of bracelets, clipping them on as he spoke to the god.
"That was the plan."
"Not a great plan, when they come, and they will, they'll come for you." Tony felt no fear as he approached, but as he got closer and closer to the dark-haired man, he couldn't help but feel something off. He saw it before when he flew in and after knocking out Selvig, Loki had the intimidation down, but he didn't seem hostile, not now at least.
"I have an army."
"We have a hulk."
"Oh, I thought the beast had wandered off." Tony shook his head.
"Y-You're missing the point there's no throne, there is no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it'll be too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect our world, you can be damned well sure we'd avenge it." He took a sip of his drink, and Loki walked closer.
"Avenge? You assume it'll be that easy mortal."
"Maybe, maybe not, but that's the thing about us mortals, we live, we learn, we fight, and whether we live or die, we grow, and then we get stronger." He saw something flicker in Loki's eyes as he spoke, he couldn't read it, but he'd sparked something in the god.
"Truly." Loki smirked. "You may be correct Stark."
"Correct?" didn't see that coming.
"You humans have short lives yet you evolve with each generation, and you as I can tell, are very much more evolved than any of your comrades." Loki's eyes flashed again, and Tony saw it, they flickered from blue to green, and Loki's stance began to falter.
"You ok there reindeer games? Not having second thoughts are you?" Loki's body shook slightly, and then the blue in his eyes returned.
"Oh no, I'm merely enjoying the moment; my army will come, and this world will fall before me." He held up the scepter. "Your friends may come, but how will they have time for me, when they're busy fighting you?" the scepter's tip glowed blue, and Loki pointed it on his chest, but it clanked against the arc reactor. Tony had to hold back his own smirk, when Loki tried again. "Hm, this usually works."
"Oh performance issues, and they're not uncommon, maybe that's why…" he didn't get to finish as Loki suddenly knocked him to the floor.
'Yeah should've seen that coming.'
"Jarvis, anytime now." Loki walked up and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the floor.
"You.." he growled. "Will all, fall before me."
"Deploy!" he shouted just as Loki lifted him higher. "Deploy!" he heard the suit coming, but then Loki's godly strength threw him into a glass window. He yelled as he began falling, but not even a minute later the Mark 7 flew up above him, and he was encased in the armor. Seconds before he could hit the ground he flew up, right back to face the god.
'Hate to do it, but there's no other choice.'
"And there's one more person you pissed off." Loki stared at him from the broken window. "His name is Phil." Loki went to fire the scepter, but Tony beat him to it with a blast from the glove and down he went.
'Now the party begins.' He could deal with Loki later, right now there were bigger fish to fry.
To Loki:
The blast didn't hurt, not really; the mortal had some degrees of power but it wasn't much against a god. Loki stood up, slowly, his body was still weak, but the spell over him kept him going. Yes, he was spelled to obey, but he was still somewhat conscious; the Chitauri leader, The Other, was watching everything from his hellhole in the cosmos, and if he slipped up once, before the humans could fight back, it would be even greater chaos than what was coming.
Flashback:
"You, are ready." The grave voice of the Other reached him, as he laid strapped to a table, his naked body bleeding, battered and bruised, again under the torture of the filth who called himself Ebony Maw.
"I…" he tried to speak, but his voice failed, again.
"You cannot speak, you do not speak, unless we allow it." The Other's horrible hand grabbed his throat, and Loki gasped until he felt his voice return, by a scream of pain.
"Such sweet music." Ebony Maw stepped forward, moving the table to lean upwards until he was tall and erect. "I shall grab him some suitable clothing, and we will give him the scepter." He saw the Other's smile grow wider. "After we finish the job."
'Not again, please not again.' His restraints were removed, and he collapsed to the floor. He gasped, coughed up a little blood, and struggled to stand before someone else came beside him.
"Oh, poor dear." His blood chilled when he felt a hand stroke against his face, a hand cold like death's grip. "I think we might have broken him a little too much." Cold lips brushed against his hear and he shivered.
"My love, we've had our fun with him, now the master wishes to prepare him." She groaned.
"Oh but Corvus, he's so adorable like this." Her hands wove into his matted hair. "He made the mistake of escaping before, yet we found him, and he owes us."
"Technically it was Cull Obsidian who found him, and only by chance from wherever he was hiding." She laughed.
"On the very planet father wishes to send him to, it just makes it easier." Her hand gripped his hair tight, and she forced him to his feet. "After you've finished your task dear, Corvus and I will give you a marvelous welcome back." Blood trickled down his lips, and he spat at her, getting a slap that knocked him down.
"Proxima." Corvus's voice spoke to her as if she were a child misbehaving.
"He spat blood at me, he was a bad boy."
"If he fails his mission, then everything he's been given will be a tickle compared to the master's rage." Ebony Maw cackled.
End flashback:
Every step he took would continue the plan, each step forward, and however many steps back; this wouldn't be a long fight, but it would end only in grief, and multiple casualties. The scepter's hold was still strong, but until it completely broke, he had to keep moving.
"LOKI!" he'd walked out, encasing himself in his golden horned helmet, his battle armor, when he heard Thor's voice; good, the golden idiot survived that fall after all. "Turn off the tesseract or I'll destroy it!" he pointed his hammer up towards the light, towards the portal.
"You can't, there is no stopping it; there is only, the war." He pointed the scepter as he spoke, and Thor took the bait.
"So be it!"
"YAAAAGGH!" Loki leapt from his place, and the battle between brothers began. Thor swung his hammer, Loki blocked and swung the scepter, shot some of the scepter's light which Thor blocked. They kept it up, and Loki could only remember all the times they'd sparred as children. This was hardly an ideal time for memories, but it only drove Loki to keep going.
The carnage around only got worse, the explosions, the screams, the machines firing at anything moving; it became harder and harder to focus, but he kept going. He kept egging Thor on with each hit, and Thor responded heavily with Mjolnir. This was the only way, there was no other choice.
They kept attacking each other, blow after blow after blow, until Thor was able to hold him in place, his own face inches from his.
"Look at this!" he yelled, and Loki looked around, seeing the horrors everywhere. "Look around you! Do you think this madness will end with your rule?!" Loki faced him.
"It's too late." He said it with a heavy breath, things had gone too far already, but how else could he do it? "It's too late to stop it." Thor shook his head.
"No, we can. Together." For a moment Loki wanted to agree, the look in his brother's eyes made his heart thump heavily.
'Brother, forgive me.' He stared and plunged a dagger into Thor's side. The thunderer fell, not hard, but enough.
"Sentiment…" he gave a light smirk. Thor flew at him, they grappled, and then he was lifted into the air before being slammed down. He'd dropped the scepter and rolled off the edge before jumping onto one of the Chitauri machines and chasing down the humans.
'I truly wish I had listened to you both, I only hope in the future, you can forgive me.'
Flashback:
"Now Loki, we've agreed to let you walk around the fields, but please don't go beyond the border. Your body is still recovering, and we don't want to overdo it." He gave her a small smile and nodded.
"Sis let him be, he's been on walks before." She rolled her eyes.
"I know, but never too far, and this time neither of us will be with him." He grabbed her hand, gently.
He'd only been in their care for over a month, they'd found him in their fields, brought him into their home, and took care of him for weeks before he'd woken. They told him they were just farmers, but he could see past the partial truths. They were Aesir, both, but they were different somehow; he couldn't completely see why, but they promised him the truth later.
The days after that were easier, each day they spent healing him; they fed him, told him stories, and it was so odd being around two people other than Frigga, or his teachers, who enjoyed his company.
"It's just to the field, we'll be here if he needs us." The man, Baldur, came over to him and clapped his shoulder.
'I am not a child who needs coddling, but I appreciate the concern.' He signed to them, his voice was temporarily gone, thanks to Maw.
"Just be careful, we'll be right here."
"Indeed, we will." She reached over and kissed his cheek. He laughed and nodded before starting his walk into the fields.
They were both kind, hardworking, he was grateful for what they'd done, but a part of him, the angrier part, kept questioning on whether they'd accept him if they knew what he truly was. A monster, a monster children feared at night, a cast out prince, and a traitor by blood. It only fueled his ire, Odin and Frigga's lies, Thor and his friends' betrayal, and possibly the entirety of Asgard's hatred, was he truly destined to suffer?
'Everything good in my life eventually goes away, will it be the same for them too?' he glanced back at the farmhouse, seeing them talking on the front porch. Regardless of who they were or what they could do, he couldn't dare risk their safety.
'If they find me here, they'll be exposed.' He continued walking forward. 'I can't let them be harmed, not after all they've done.'
He continued walking, slowly, steadily, not bothering to see where he was going. He didn't really pay attention, until he felt a shift in the air around him. He looked down, and then behind him, the farm had disappeared. No, no he'd gone too far, he had to get back in! He tried to walk back in, but nothing happened.
'No, no!' he had to get back in, he had to! He kept trying, several times before his anxiety came back. His breathing began to pick up, his chest felt tight.
"H-H…he…" he tried to speak, to call out, but his voice was still gone. Before he could think, the air around him began to pick up, and suddenly he was knocked onto his back. Above him was a large bright light, and two figures coming down, two very similar figures.
'No…no!' how were they here?!
A hand reached down and grabbed his throat, lifting him up before his arms and legs were restrained. He struggled but it was futile, the arms that held him were too strong. In a flash of light the field disappeared, and he was faced with a very familiar face, and an even more familiar ghastly smile.
"Welcome home, little trickster."
End flashback.
Loki broke out of his own thoughts when he heard a familiar whistle come close to him; he raised his hand, and caught what he saw was, an arrow. How very quaint of the one agent…!
KABOOOM!
Loki didn't register the arrow exploded until his riding machine was suddenly out from underneath him, and he was rolling onto the platform of Stark Tower, again. He took a moment to get up, but then a loud roar made him shake; the beast had arrived. Loki was suddenly shoved harshly into the tower, slid across the floor and some glass, when he saw the beast pound the floor and come towards him again.
"ENOUGH!" he shouted, waving his arms about and the beast paused. "You are, all of you beneath me! I am a god you puny creature, and I will not be bullied by…" he didn't get to finish, as the beast's large green hand grabbed him by the ankles and started slinging him into the floor. He was tossed around like a ragdoll, before the last smash had him on his back.
The pain returned, he couldn't move, he felt frozen, his entire body screamed with agony. He could faintly hear the beast walking away, and heard the words 'puny god', before he let out a long whimper. His vision began to blur, the pain kept on coming and under his hands his clothing felt wet.
'No…no…' he felt blood under his palms, clenching his armor as he was suddenly overcome by darkness.
Meanwhile to Tony:
Tony was flying hard and fast at the nuke, damn the council for letting that thing loose! He would do as the plan stated, fly the thing into the portal, it was the only way since it was rigged to blow soon.
"Stark." The captain spoke to him. "You know that's a one-way trip."
"Save the rest for the turn J."
"Sir, shall I try Ms. Potts?" Pepper's face came up on the screen.
"Might as well." He tried to call Pepper, but she didn't answer. His suit was running low on energy, he needed to get this thing up and out of here fast!
'Sorry Pep.' He thought, the missile went straight up into the portal, and suddenly he wasn't on earth anymore. He caught a glimpse of the stars, the beauty of outer space, and released the missile. He watched as it went for the ship floating above, and the fire consumed it in seconds. The suit's power went out, and he was falling, fast.
He blacked out, how long he didn't know, but the loud roar from the Hulk woke him and the ground shook as he gasped for air.
"Whoa…what…what the hell? What just happened?" he looked around, seeing Thor, Hulk and the captain around him. "Please tell me nobody kissed me?!" They all looked relieved.
"We won…" Cap breathed, and Tony was pleased, instantly.
"Alright, great…great job guys, let's…let's not come in tomorrow let's just, take a day." He panted. "Hey you guys want some shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here, I've never had it but I wanna try." Cap was smiling, good he made the man laugh a little.
"We're not done yet." Thor walked over, Cap seemed to agree, and Tony relented.
"And then shawarma after." The two helped him stand. "Where's Loki?"
"Puny god on top floor." Hulk pointed up towards the tower. "Hulk smashed puny god good." Thor gave a small smirk.
"Nice job big guy, really." Tony felt a little pity for the god, but they could work out the details later. He still needed to check some footage, and then they'd deal with SHIELD. "Hey Thor, as soon as we detain Loki, let's you and I have a chat."
"What for Stark?"
"You'll see, hey Cap signal Romanoff and Barton to meet us upstairs." Tony moved forward, the suit flickered, but its power was still low. The arc reactor was charged though, thank goodness. "Hey Hulk, why don't you and the Cap go first, Thor you take me. It'll be faster than taking the elevator." The Hulk smiled.
"Wait Hulk not so…GAAAHH!" Cap shrieked as Hulk grabbed him and started climbing the walls. Thor held Tony tight, swung his hammer and they went flying. Literally less than two minutes later, they were on the top floor, Barton and Romanoff waiting by the giant broken hole in the window. She had the spear, and Barton had his bow at the ready.
No one said a word as they calmly, quietly entered the room; Tony hated how his favorite bar was trashed, but that's one of the perks of being a billionaire. He could redecorate and find a new look after getting past all the body sized dents in the floor.
"Stark…" Romanoff's voice was quiet but they all heard it.
"Hulk…you said you smashed Loki." Cap looked around, and Tony saw it too.
"Hulk did." The big guy growled. "Puny god no move." There was rubble everywhere, broken glass, and multiple body-sized dents, but no body.
"Yeah, then where is he?"
Ok I feel a little better with this chapter, kinda feels more like I'm on track now. I hope you guys liked the change I put in, I think it'll be better going this way than my original one. I can't promise fast updates like this, but I'll try my best.
Next chapter the avengers and SHIELD look around to find Loki, but they are in for a surprise when they come across how he left the tower.
I would love to hear your reviews/comments! Please take a minute to leave one if you can.
Later!