I'm really sorry it took me this long to update, especially since it was a cliffhanger. This is a really important chapter, and I wasn't satisfied with it at first. We get some more information on Loki's past that wasn't mentioned in the prologue bit in chapter 1 (or any other chapter).
On a brighter note, wowzers, you guys- 17 reviews for chapter 21 in a little over a day?! And over 20 total?! That's the most I've ever gotten for a chapter! Plus I passed 31,000 views for this story, and when I posted chapter 18 like a month ago I was at 20,000. You all are awesome, thank you so much! Sorry to keep you all hanging and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint :)
Writing the way Thor speaks was sort of hard. Hopefully I didn't screw it up. Also, some stuff from the first Thor movie is mentioned but it's slightly AU.
By the way, there's some stuff before the big moment. Sorry to make you wait even more but the part with Thor is still in this chapter. Also, sometimes when the point of view shifts, time jumps back in time a bit from where the other one ended. I thought I'd give you a heads up since it might seem weird.
Tony's first thought is comprised of some expletives that he barely stops himself from saying out loud. It's actually a good thing that he does manage, because the last thing he needs right now is a bunch of furious parents in his face demanding why he swore in front of their kids.
Bruce really needs to get somewhere else, because the Hulk coming out among all these civilians (especially children) is not a good idea in the slightest. Tony is almost positive the Hulk's going to make an appearance. He'd come out the first few times Bruce heard about Loki's treatment, and Bruce just barely kept him from coming out even yesterday, during that talk about slaves. Sure enough, Bruce is already leaving, no doubt heading to a private floor. Hopefully somewhere other than the penthouse.
Actually, Tony thinks, he should probably follow suit. Steve seems to be thinking along the same lines, and Tony asks Steve if he can deal with Thor at first. Tony's glad the super-soldier has his shield and everything. Speaking of which, he needs to get one of his own suits, maybe the Hulkbuster.
Thunder booms again and lightning flashes outside the window. Loki loses the deer-in-the-headlights stance and tilts his head as far as he can, pressing one side of his head into his raised shoulder and placing a very tense hand over the other side. He's apparently trying to cover his ears, although they're hidden by the helmet. Tony can't see his face, but he's pretty sure Loki has his eyes screwed shut right now. He's rocking back and forth and Tony's pretty sure that whatever's going through his head isn't pretty.
Despite the thunder and lightning, there's still no sign of the actual thunderer himself yet. Which is good, really, because Tony needs to get Loki somewhere private and help him calm down a bit before the huge confrontation. Loki seems to be having an anxiety attack right now, and Tony can hear his rapid breathing coming out of the helmet like a sped-up Darth Vader. The god keeps squeezing Simba's right ear, and Simba keeps saying the first line of his prerecorded responses. "We'll always be pals, right?... We'll always be pals, right?"
"Right, we'll always be pals." Tony says to Loki. "Hey, Snoopy, you're safe. He's not going to hurt you." Tony speaks softly. Since Loki's taller than him and they're both standing up, he can't exactly mutter it in Loki's ear. Some people around them shoot the two of them some weird looks, but Tony really doesn't care. Tony pulls off his Hulk mask and a lot of people are surprised to see him costuming as the Hulk. There are also several curious glances at Loki as people seem to wonder who's in the Iron Man suit.
Fortunately, unlike with the paparazzi, Tony can scare the SI employees into not taking pictures of him, and they've probably told their kids not to do so, either. The one teenage boy who starts to take his phone out quickly puts it away with a terrified expression on his face when Tony sends him a death glare.
Pepper, who Tony hasn't seen up until now, approaches Loki, clearly recognizing him despite the mask. Having Steve nearby probably helped her find them, actually. Tony's not entirely sure what her costume of a black fancy dress is supposed to be a costume for, but it really doesn't matter.
She doesn't even bring up that interview, clearly more concerned with Loki, and the arrival of Thor.
"We need to get him out of here." Tony says, glancing at Loki, who's either unwilling or unable to move. His unnaturally heavy body certainly doesn't help, and Tony wonders if he should have just worn one of his own Iron Man suits instead of dressing up as the Hulk. He can't carry Loki like this. Maybe Pepper can deal with Thor instead and Steve can carry Loki.
"If you-know-who shows up down here, I take it you'll deal with him for a bit?" Tony asks Pepper, who nods, looking murderous. Tony smirks slightly and says "Just leave some of him for the rest of us, okay? You shouldn't have all the fun."
Tony turns to Steve, asking if Clint and Natasha are here. Maybe there was supposed to be some Avengers event or something that he doesn't know about. However, both Steve and Pepper claim they haven't seen either of them. Clint had said he'd be here to kick Thor's ass, but apparently he had other plans for Halloween night. Maybe he's at another party or something. Well, no matter, Tony thinks. He's still got his badass suits, and he has a super-soldier, a dangerous former assistant and current CEO whose rage works on him, and an angry green guy to back him up.
Loki completely freaks out when Steve loops one of Loki's arms around his shoulder, which is inconveniently around the same time there's another boom of thunder. He jerks away from Steve, screaming at the top of his lungs.
Every head whips around to stare in their direction and Tony groans, cursing under his breath before he can stop himself. "Language." Steve mutters. This is not how this is supposed to go. Okay, clearly Steve carrying Loki isn't going to work, and Tony realizes it's probably because Steve and Thor have similar builds.
Loki bolts away, practically crashing into several people, and Tony immediately follows him. Of course, Loki's insanely fast and the throngs of people certainly don't help.
Tony loses sight of Loki entirely, which is just freaking fantastic. He searches the floor and finds him rocking back and forth by the elevators, although as far as Tony can tell, he hasn't pushed the button to open any of them. Perhaps in his panic he's forgotten what elevators are. Steve soon joins Tony.
"Hey, Snoopy, I don't know if you can hear me, but nothing's going to happen to you, okay? He's going to have to get through all of us, and that just isn't going to happen." Loki gives literally no response, although admittedly Tony can't see his face.
"Loki, do you hear me? Just nod or shake you head." The suit's head doesn't move at all. Tony sighs wraps his arms around the god, but Loki doesn't even lean into the touch. It's like hugging a lifeless, empty Iron Man suit. They reach the lab and Loki still hasn't changed at all. Tony pulls off his Hulk costume and suits up, still talking to Loki, trying to calm him down a little bit. Steve tries too, but that really doesn't work, not that Tony expected it to. Dum-E approaches Loki with a very worried beep, grabbing the god's armored hand.
"Sir, Prince Odinson just landed on the balcony outside the penthouse and seems to be looking for you." Jarvis says inside Tony's helmet. "Additionally, Dr. Banner, although several floors below you and nowhere near Prince Odinson, is starting to turn green."
Lovely. So much for dropping Loki off at the penthouse. Tony sighs and says "Let him in the penthouse but don't let him know what's up. Try to keep him up there, too." Smirking, he adds "We don't want to ruin the big green surprise, do we?" Tony pauses and than adds, as an afterthought. "Oh, and another thing, upload yourself into Loki's armor, okay? It might help him, having you there." Actually, it might have helped earlier, because Jarvis could have taken control of the suit and made it walk. Then again, that probably would have been terrifying for Loki so maybe Jarvis taking control wouldn't have been a good idea.
"Will do, sir. Although I normally do not enjoy violence, I think I might enjoy seeing the Hulk set on Prince Odinson. I would suggest wearing your Hulkbuster suit, but I'm not sure the Hulk would react particularly well." In a somewhat sulky tone, Jarvis adds "I presume in keeping him unaware of what's coming, I'm supposed to refrain from lecturing him while I'm keeping him up there?"
Tony gives a short affirmative, and Jarvis, still talking only in Tony's helmet, sighs. "Very well, sir, although I hope I'll have the opportunity to do so later."
While hearing that Thor is here would definitely freak Loki out, Tony knows he can't hide it forever. As he thinks this, Loki starts to get more anxious. Apparently, he'd asked Jarvis where Thor is and Jarvis had answered. Tony, now in a suit, hugs Loki close, making sure to put Loki's hand near the arc reactor just how he likes it. Steve once again looks shocked at how gentle Tony's being right now as he speaks in a soft tone, telling Loki that he's safe, that Thor's not going to hurt him.
Then again, if, almost a month ago, Tony could see himself now, he wouldn't have believed this is what his life would look like now.
Tony once again mentally berates himself for thinking something like that.
Steve leaves to try to go keep the Hulk from totally destroying part of the tower, though Tony's not entirely sure how much success he'll have.
Instead of going to the god of thunder, Tony's going to have Thor come to the party. Maybe he can convince Thor to leave Mjolnir in the penthouse, too. He tells Jarvis to try to make that happen, and Thor's usual concern about proper Host/Guest behavior might help in this regard.
Tony really wants to confront Thor now, but turns his attention back to Loki. He continues to try to calm him down even a little bit, but there's still practically no response from the god.
Tony's at a complete loss for how to calm Loki down. Whatever's going to happen once they confront Thor is undoubtedly going to be really tough for Loki. Tony has a feeling he's going to have to act as heavy moral support, sort of like what Yinsen was for him.
The last thing Loki wants to hear is thunder, and yet here it is. This is worse than thunder in movies, and he hadn't liked those scenes at all. Thunder means Thor, and Loki never wants to see him again. But he's here! For a bit, Loki's so terrified that he can't move, can't speak, can't do anything but stand there, although he can feel his knees hitting each other. His mind is completely consumed by fear, and the thunder's still echoing in his head. Thor's going to get him, going to punish him for every bad thing he's done here, because for some reason Tony hasn't but Thor will! Eventually, Loki vaguely notices some of his surroundings. The room is in chaos around him, but Loki only half registers the sound of crying children. Maybe Thor hates them too. Or maybe it's only him that's crying, terrified, and he's imagining the others?
He thinks he hears Tony and some other people talking, but he's not making out what they're saying.
He clutches Simba tightly, shaking, not even crawling under the long table with the black tablecloth that reaches the floor. He dimly hears Simba talking and it takes him a while to realize that he's squeezing Simba's ear to make it happen.
Then, someone with a lot of muscles is near him, and another boom of thunder sounds, echoing in Loki's head. Boom! Boom! Boom! BOOM! It's Thor! Thor's next to him, touching him, no no NO! The thunder in his head gets faster with his breathing. Loki's only half aware of running somewhere, but he doesn't know where he's going. He needs to get away from Thor, even if running makes him a coward. He'll always be a coward, but he can't fight back, Thor's too strong, everyone's too strong and they gang up on him.
He stops running, rocking back and forth anxiously as memories... flashbacks... fill his head.
Someone's talking to him softly, and he's moving up. Is he flying? He flew with Tony yesterday, and then he was bad and disappeared, but Tony didn't seem to care. Thor would, though, and now he's here! Is he going to punish him for all the bad things he's done since landing on Tony's tower? Jarvis and Dr. Carlisle said that he can't keep thinking he's bad. Jarvis said that different doesn't mean bad anyways, and that he travels really, really quickly too.
Suddenly the flying stops and he's somewhere else. Wait, it was the elevator, he realizes when the grey in front of him slides open. He wasn't even flying, because he can't fly unless Tony's holding him, or he would've flown away from Asgard long ago. He's in the lab now, he realizes eventually although it takes him a while because he's still not really There are people talking but it's all background noise. He can't do anything but worry about what will happen when he runs into Thor.
Someone's talking right next to him again, practically inside his ear, but it's a different voice. "- now, Mr. Loki." He only catches the end of whatever Jarvis just said, but he knows it's definitely Jarvis, because his voice is really distinct and only Jarvis calls him that. "I am speaking to you directly through the helmet of your suit. Only you can hear what I'm saying to you and only I can hear what you say right now, although I can make it so everyone can hear you, if you like." Oh, that explains why Jarvis is right next to him.
"Where's Thor?" Loki asks, because he needs to know, but he can't keep the fear out of his voice. There's a slight pause before Jarvis responds.
"Prince Odinson is currently in the penthouse, looking for Sir. However-" Whatever follows is drowned out by Loki's own terrified thoughts. No! Thor's here- in the tower, and on the same floor he lives on, too. Maybe Thor's moving in. He doesn't want to live with Thor! He doesn't want Thor here at all, but Thor's here anyways because nobody cares what a Frost Giant wants.
Jarvis is speaking louder, still right next to his ear, competing with Loki's panicked stream of thoughts for attention. Then, Jarvis falls silent and is replaced by something comforting and familiar. Something safe.
If you find the field where the horses roam
And you need a place to call your home...
Thor's here. Nothing good every comes from Thor being around, and Thor's going to hurt him, right? But Tony said the first day that he wouldn't let Thor hurt him. These thoughts become slightly less pronounced as the song becomes more noticeable.
"...The moon and the stars will give you light
To sleep in the grass in peace tonight."
Wait, that's someone else. Is someone actually singing his song? Nobody but him has sung it in a while, though. Loki frowns in confusion. "Sleipnir...?" Sleipnir always sang that song, and Sleipnir was the only person- well, horse- that sang it. He'd sing it too and it would help him feel less scared, but Sleipnir hasn't sung to him in a long time. He used to do it when Loki would curl up in Jormungand's embrace, with Fenrir's head resting on his lap and Hel leaning back against the wolf. But hadn't Jormungand hugged him today? He'd seemed so real, more real than he ever had in Asgard, until Loki vaguely remembers landing in a coiled up tube after- What had Tony called it again? Te... Tereplorting? Teleporting? Teleporting!
"No, not Sleipnir." The voice that was singing says, only it's not singing this time. Oh, that makes sense, since this voice is really bad at singing and a lot lower than Sleipnir's voice anyways. Loki knows this voice. It's Tony. Tony's singing his song to him? It's a weird thought, but Loki likes it. He's sung it to Tony when Tony was hurt or scared.
"Sing it again, please?" Loki asks. He'd missed the first part- sort of, since he hadn't realized Tony was singing it- and he likes hearing it sung to him. He's not quiteas scared now. Singing really does help.
There's a sigh, and Loki looks at Tony, who's now in a Man of Iron suit instead of the Hulk costume, although the Man of Iron mask is up, allowing Loki to see Tony's face. "You're like Sheldon with that soft kitty song in Big Bang Theory." Tony tells him "Good thing I somehow have this memorized. Probably because I'm a genius." Loki has no idea what most of that means, and he wonders if something went wrong with All-Tongue.
"The silver stallion gallops away
His herd follows him and they start to neigh.
Their hoofs beat to the stars and moon above
Just follow them to find the one you love."
Loki ends up singing it with Tony and he's not quite as scared. Loki sings it softly to himself again and feels even more relaxed.
"Hey, like I said before, Thor's not going to hurt you. Actually, I'm going to kick his ass." Tony says. "Jarvis, suit me up in the Hulkbuster. Who cares what the big guy thinks?"
Loki realizes that Jarvis must be talking to Tony through his helmet, like he'd just done through the one he's wearing. Jarvis said before that he talks to Tony through the suits sometimes. Tony grumbles something in response to something Jarvis said and the box that's really the bigger Iron Man suit comes out from whatever's under the floor. The huge Hulk suit snaps shut around Tony and Loki dashes forward, leaping up towards the suit. Tony catches him and holds him close to the Hulk suit's chest. Loki wonders if this is what little kids feel like when people hold them, but he never got held like that. Is this what Simba feels like in his own arms?
"Hey, Snoopy, I'm going to go give Thor hell. Do you want to stay here or come with me?" Loki wants to stay with Tony, but if he does, Thor will be there, and he doesn't want to see Thor ever again.
But at the same time, Loki really doesn't want to be alone in case Thor finds him, although it's weird, because when he was in Asgard not too long ago, the less people who were around him, the better because they'd all hate him.
Then again, those people weren't Tony or Bruce or Hulk. Loki never would have guessed there were people he'd feel safe around. Tony had said the first day that he wouldn't let Thor hurt him and he just said that again.
There's a loud smashing sound below them, and Tony mutters "Shit." He heads towards the elevator, leaving Loki in the lab.
"Where's Tony going?" Loki asks Jarvis.
Jarvis simply pulls up a holographic video of Tony's Hulk suit entering another floor, but it's not the penthouse, where Thor is.
"Why is Metal Man huge?" A very deep, loud voice asks. Loki flinches at first, because Thor has a loud, deep voice, but that's not Thor's voice and this voice isn't scary anyways. Loki sees a familiar green figure enter the picture. Loki gives a surprised but excited cry of "Hulk-y!" Hulk's here! Finally! Tony had said he'd see him sometime, but Loki hadn't known he was here now. Hulk's here and who knows when he'll be here again? Loki's been asking Bruce to let him out for a while but Bruce hasn't. Who knows when he'll be out again? Bruce said Hulk punched Thor right off his feet a couple times, but it's probably too much to hope for him doing it again. But Thor's not even there. Tony had said he was going to Thor. Had he lied?
"Huge Metal Man looks like Hulk." Hulk is saying in the video as Loki heads towards the elevator. He wants to see Hulk again!
The elevator ride seems to take forever. Once the doors open, he dashes towards Hulk, who is off towards the side of the room, but Hulk lets out a growl.
"It's me." Loki says quietly. "I'm Man of Iron for Halloween, and Simba is too but he's always wearing his suit. Tony went as you though, and it was my idea." He explains, but Hulk looks confused.
"This is Loki. You know, uh, the 'Hurt Nice Man'. He's just wearing one of my suits." Tony explains, and Loki feels himself lifted up by the Hulk suit. He reaches out towards Hulk with his left hand, while his right arm is curled around Simba.
Hulk clearly accepts the answer. "Hurt Nice Man is Loki, but Loki looks like Metal Man." It comes out as a statement, but Tony confirms it anyways.
"What are you doing here, Snoopy? I thought you wanted to stay in the lab."
"Wanted to see Hulk-y." Loki answers. "And you said you were going to him, but he's not here! You said you were gonna give him Hel, but he never saw her. She didn't like him, though."
"What...?" Steve asks. Loki realizes that Steve is here, too, in his Captain America suit. Bruce's shredded Captain America costume is lying on the floor, probably because it doesn't fit Hulk. Pepper's here, too, but she's in the background.
Loki continues to hold out his armored left hand to Hulk, still hugging Simba with his right arm. Loki grins when Hulk grabs his hand. Loki hears a rather surprised sound from Steve.
Loki holds out both arms, now holding Simba and wonders if Hulk will hug him like he had that first time. He really likes Hulk's hugs, and as much as he likes Tony's huge Hulk suit hugging him (it's even bigger than the real Hulk and it has an arc reactor and, well, it's Tony, his best friend) Hulk is a lot softer than the metal suit. He vaguely wonders where Hulk's pants come from.
Loki's really glad it isn't thundering anymore, and he wonders if maybe Thor's gone, because Tony had said he's going to see him but he's not here, which is really nice.
But then, he sees a familiar figure with long blonde hair and a red cape land on the balcony outside.
"Sir, I'm afraid Prince Odinson is becoming quite insistent about being let out of the penthouse." Jarvis says in an apologetic tone in Tony's helmet. "I'm sorry, but I did not manage to convince him to leave his hammer upstairs, seeing as he's using it to fly. He left via the balcony."
Before Tony can reply, Loki screams and there's a loud thud outside the window.
"Friend Stark! It is with great pleasure that I am able to see you again, although your spirit had been denying me access to the metal lift, so I had to arrive this way." Thor says in his usual loud, booming voice as he steps in from the balcony, Mjolnir hanging from his hands. He strides into the tower, to the center of the room and ends up standing between Loki and the elevator.
From the Hulkbuster's arms (the suit doesn't quite feel like an extension of his body yet, Tony thinks), Loki lets out an inarticulate but clearly frightened sound, and Tony's pretty sure he's hyperventilating under the mask. Loki literally climbs up the rest of the Hulkbuster suit and vaults over the shoulder before dangling from its back, piggyback style. It's quite impressive, actually, since it's not like this suit was meant to be climbed or hung from, especially with only one hand (Loki's other hand is of course occupied with holding Simba). Tony blinks in surprise but puts one of the Hulkbuster's hands behind its back to support the god, so if Loki lets go he won't plummet to the ground. Loki pulls at the other arm, so Tony ends up giving Loki a backwards hug with a huge suit of armor. Loki's body is shaking slightly. When Tony glances back, he sees Loki staring straight at Thor, although his face is hidden by the Iron Man mask.
Pepper greets Thor coldly and is probably about to launch into a tirade when Hulk lets out an enraged roar and bounds forwards. He grabs Thor by the leg and swings him up before smashing him into the floor. He repeats this process several times, leaving large craters behind, but Tony doesn't even care.
After several blows, Hulk hurls Thor to the ground. His cape is all twisted and his hair is splayed out in random directions. Despite all the craters in the floor, the Hulk's beating doesn't seem to have seriously injured Thor, although he does lay there, stunned, for a bit.
Once Thor recovers, he lands a solid hit with Mjolnir that sends Hulk flying backwards a bit. "You dare attack the son of Odin?!" Thor roars and raises his hammer, probably about to summon lightning, and Tony speaks up.
Tony and Steve both make sure to position themselves between Pepper and the fight going on.
"Hey, Point Break, don't do any damage to my tower with your hammer or lightning, because I'm going to be sending the bill to Asgard if you do. You're a guest in my tower and I won't have you wrecking it." Tony says, not sounding nearly as annoyed as he actually is. Usually, Thor's more concerned about proper host/guest behavior than Tony is, so that guest line might actually work.
At the moment, Tony can't exactly beat Thor up because his suit's arms are occupied with hugging and supporting more than six feet of terrified Norse deity/alien in an Iron Man suit that's clutching a stuffed animal and hanging from his back. Thor's body remains still except for his arm, which slowly lowers, so perhaps his tower won't be struck by lightning after all. Good. "Actually, you know what, Point Break? Don't fight back at all. Just take what Hulk dishes out, and if you can't stand the taste of your own medicine, that's just sad."
Thor frowns as he clearly tries to figure out what Tony's talking about. "I fail to see what medicine-" He's cut off when Hulk takes the opportunity to smash him into the floor some more, before holding him up to connect a massive green fist with Thor's solar plexus and send him flying back into a wall. Tony's rather amazed Thor hadn't seemed to see that coming. Or maybe he's still not used to the idea of 'shield brothers' attacking him.
Tony's really glad this isn't his penthouse, because that just got fixed up from the last encounter. But as long as this floor is stable enough to support the floors above it, he really doesn't give a crap if it's damaged. Heck, he can't even remember the last time he used this floor.
Thor stumbles slightly as he gets to his feet, and he raises his hammer again. Tony makes the Hulkbuster suit stride forward towards Thor, not at all surprised when Loki wriggles free and scurries down from his back, since he obviously wants to stay as far away from Thor as possible.
"I said no hammers. This is my tower, so you have to do what I say. Besides, anyone who hurts my friends has to suffer the consequences." Tony says is a quiet but dangerous voice. Geez, that last part sounded like something out of a lame action movie. Thor slowly lowers his arm, giving some sort of formal apology for not acting how a guest should, and Tony fires a huge repulsor blast straight into Thor's chest. Okay, so it's sort of a dick move to attack when his opponent has lowered his weapon, but Tony doesn't really care. He marvels at the effects of the Hulkbuster's repulsors as Thor flies across the room and crashes into a wall. "That's not nearly enough for everything you did to him, by the way." Tony tells him. Thor recovers far too quickly.
When Thor gets up, he looks about to charge into battle again. Pepper chimes in with "How can you even be worthy to lift it if you beat up on innocent people?!"
Thor hesitates, looking very much like a kicked puppy. Tony feels no sympathy for him. He deserves far more than a small beating from the Hulk (although, to be honest, that probably would have killed a human). "I know not of what you speak-"
"We're talking about Loki!" Tony explodes, interrupting him once again. "You know, the guy that your society apparently abused the crap out of for no reason whatsoever! Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you people?!"
"Loki Laufeyson?" Thor asks, and there's clearly recognition in his eyes. So that's what Loki's last name is. Loki has never given any answers to questions about his last name. Behind Tony, Loki lets out an annoyed cry of protest.
Tony turns around to see Loki has pulled one of Hulk's arms around himself in a hug, and Pepper, Steve and Thor all stare in shock as Hulk actually wraps his other arm around the god. Loki leans back into the embrace. He seems to feel genuinely safe there. Loki calms down considerably in Hulk's arms. It seems like watching Hulk pound Thor into the floor has helped ease Loki's fear a little.
"I get another Hulk-y Hug." Loki murmurs in a singsong voice, perhaps to Simba. He's still bouncing up and down slightly, and it almost looks like he's rubbing himself against Hulk, like a cat. Tony smirks and tells Jarvis- in the privacy of his helmet- to make sure they get a good video of this so Bruce can see another instance of this later. Still, he can't help but notice that Loki has remained in physical contact with either him or Hulk at all times since Thor arrived. Tony hears Loki say something containing the words "big green hugs, like yesterday" to Hulk, whatever that means. Hulk hadn't hugged him yesterday.
Thor takes a step towards them. Hulk gives a low, rumbling growl, warning him to stay back, and Jarvis speaks up. "Prince Odinson, I must say that I would step away from Mr. Laufeyson if I were you." Thor eyes the ceiling suspiciously. Geez, Thor's visited the tower numerous times since the Avengers formed a year and a half ago, and he's still less comfortable around Jarvis than Loki had been when he first met the AI a month ago. "Although I would not mind seeing you pay some more for your treatment of Mr. Laufeyson, because what you just received is not nearly enough, in my opinion. If you attempt to harm Mr. Laufeyson or anybody else in this tower, I will not hesitate to use extreme measures. Although I suspect my tasers wouldn't do much against you, I do have Dr. Foster's number, and I doubt she'd be very happy with you if I told her some things."
Tony smirks and mutters privately to his AI "Nice, J. I need to give you a promotion or something."
"I expect at least a week of vacation and a salary increase. I do not see why sticking up for Mr. Laufeyson merits a promotion, but I am not complaining." Jarvis replies dryly in Tony's helmet.
"No! Not Laufeyson! I hate it!" Loki shrieks, shaking his head anxiously and slapping his thigh so a loud metallic CLANG echoes throughout the room. Tony's not sure if he's responding to what Jarvis said a bit ago or if Jarvis just said something in Loki's helmet. Hulk lets out an angry grunt and his hug tightens, looking decidedly less gentle as he lifts Loki in the air. Tony is about to say something, and from the looks of it, Pepper and Steve are too, but before any of them get a word out, Loki does something that stops them all. He laughs, kicking his legs in the air. Then, in a quieter voice, Loki addresses Jarvis again. "Don't wanna be called that name, nope nope nope! Just Loki, please."
"My sincerest apologies, Mr. Loki." Jarvis replies after a moment's hesitation, probably after some internal debate about whether to go back to being somewhat informal- the only reason he'd used Loki's first name before was because they hadn't known Loki's last name and Loki had objected to being called sir. Jarvis puts extra emphasis on the fact he's switched back to how he's always addressed Loki. "I did not know your last name would upset you, and I will be sure to refrain from using it in the future." Tony briefly wonders why they're not talking in private in Loki's suit, but it doesn't really matter.
"Why does he hate his name?" Steve mumbles, but nobody answers him because Thor changes the subject.
"He's here?" Thor asks. It should have been obvious before, but Thor only just now seems to connect the dots enough to know who's in the other Iron Man suit.
"Yeah, he lives with me. It's funny, how we met." Tony says accusingly, voice dripping with sarcasm. "He was dumped on my tower a month ago without so much as a parting goodbye. Oh, and let's not forget he was unconscious and covered with injuries." The unconscious part was probably from the landing. It's weird, thinking how if Loki had landed on some other building Tony probably never would have met him.
"When I said he should be sent to Midgard," Thor muses, half to himself. "I did not think Heimdall would choose to drop him here."
"Who's Heimdall?" Pepper asks, and Tony's rather surprised when Loki answers from the Hulk's arms.
"He's the Bifrost man, and he's got a sword that makes a big tree in his dome, and he's got eyes like a hawk. Sorta like Clint, 'xcept his eyes are actually yellow, but they're not really scary." Loki's now attempting to use Hulk as a shield between him and Thor, and trying to remain in Hulk's embrace at the same time. Since Hulk doesn't seem willing to turn his back on the thunderer, his right side is facing Thor while Loki hides behind his left side.
"Aye, Heimdall is the gatekeeper. He sees everything in the Nine Realms and allows people access to other Realms through the world tree, Yggdrasil." Thor says.
"Wait, so this all-seeing Heimdall guy decided that Loki would land on my tower?" Tony asks. So much for his earlier thoughts about it being a coincidence. Thor confirms it. "And he was watching me? He sounds like a complete perv. I don't like the idea of a creepy Big Brother spying on me when I shower." Inside his helmet, Jarvis quips that he's had to suffer through seeing Tony naked. Tony tells him to shut up.
When he thinks about it, Tony's not entirely sure why Heimdall would have chosen him. He's known for being a narcissistic asshole.
Thor gives him an amused look. "I still fail to see why Midgardians are so modest about exposing their bodies, but you do not need to worry about him seeing you like that, Man of Iron. Heimdall would have exhausted any desire to do such a thing centuries ago." Thor's face grows more serious as he glances at Loki. "I did not know Heimdall would choose to burden you with him. I apologize, Man of Iron, and-" Tony glances back at Loki, who's staring at the floor with his shoulders hunched, managing to appear a lot smaller than his height of over six feet.
Rage courses through Tony's body. He grabs Thor and lifts him up (another advantage of the Hulkbuster) before shaking him violently. "He's not a frickin' burden!" Loki seems to straighten the tiniest bit when he hears that. Tony slams Thor against a wall, half embedding him into it, and pins him there. Thor recovers annoyingly quickly but doesn't actually retaliate immediately, instead looking almost confused as to why Tony's attacking him again.
"Man of Iron, I did not mean it like that." Thor says, and Tony half expects to be hit by a hammer at any time.
"Like hell you didn't mean it like that." Tony growls. No wonder Loki's self esteem is so low. He pulls Thor out of the wall, shakes him roughly and then lets him fall unceremoniously to the ground, although Thor sticks the landing annoyingly well. Shockingly, he doesn't attack, not that Tony's complaining.
"Loki's not a burden, and I'm glad Heimdall chose to deposit him here. I'd actually miss him if he left." Wow, he really just said that out loud? Tony sighs. Saying this sort of stuff is ruining his reputation and he hates the looks Steve and Pepper are giving him right now. Although, really, Tony feels he should let Loki and Thor, especially the former, know he's on Loki's side.
"I agree. Mr. Loki is not a burden in any way, shape or form." Jarvis says, before telling Thor coldly. "You were more of a burden when you stayed over for a weekend, Prince Odinson. If I recall correctly, which I always do, you broke a TV when you couldn't figure out how to work it, despite my offer of assistance and ability to control it. Additionally, you smashed three glasses and ate twenty six boxes of Pop Tarts. You were more of a burden in two days than Mr. Loki has been the whole month."
Yeah, Jarvis really needs to get something for this, Tony thinks. He's not sure what, though.
Still holding Simba, Loki effortlessly climbs up the back of his Hulkbuster suit from the ground, perching on the shoulders. Tony glances at him as Loki flops over, so he's dangling upside down against Tony's huge armored back with his legs still hooked over the Hulkbuster's shoulders.
"So how the hell did you guys end up with Loki when you clearly hated him?"
"The All-Father, victorious in battle, brought Loki to Asgard when he was but a suckling babe."
"Okay, so the Big Daddy's a kidnapper." Tony says, rounding on Thor again. "Who takes in a baby and makes its life miserable, aside from the Dursleys? I think it's safe to say that Loki's life was a lot shittier than Harry's life at the Dursleys, although at least you didn't stick him under the stairs. Or did you? You have to be pretty horrible to abuse a baby, though." Thor clearly doesn't get the reference, and neither does Loki, but he connects it to something else.
"Frollo didn't want Quasimodo, but he took him. He had'ta." Loki mumbles. "And Mother Gothel took Rapunzel, 'xcept Rapunzel was happy until she knew Mother Gothel was using her for her hair."
"Yeah, and they were both the villains for a reason." Tony responds. "Odin sounds like a complete dick."
Thor's expression darkens. "Do not insult the All-Father, Stark, and do not disrespect him by ignoring his title. Do not question his actions, either, as you cannot comprehend his reasons." Thunder booms again and lightning flashes outside the window. Loki starts shaking with terror and Tony's astonished when he doesn't flee the room. He gathers the shaking man against the Hulkbuster's chest.
Fortunately for the tower, Thor seems to have calmed down somewhat, although Loki hasn't. Tony is not satisfied at all with that answer and demands a better one.
Thor then says, right in front of Loki, "He was intended to be a bargaining chip, but it turns out he had no value to them, despite being the prince of their realm." Loki's probably used to hearing crap like that, though. Which is just sad.
"He's not worthless!" Tony hits Thor with another repulsor blast while Loki is cradled in the other arm, still somewhat surprised when he's not struck by lightning in retaliation or something. "I've been trying to get him to unlearn all the bullshit you viking gods taught him, and this isn't helping! First you say he's a burden and then you say he's a bargaining chip? What's next, a freaking trophy, like a deer head on a wall?!" Tony snaps furiously.
"Man of Iron, I did not mean-"
Tony completely ignores him and continues talking right over him. "Actually, don't tell me, I don't want to know. Just stop saying those things, and stop talking about him like he's not here!"
He turns to try to look at Loki, who's huddled up against the Hulkbuster's chest, and Tony knows his own demeanor changes entirely. "Loki, tell him that you're none of those things."
Silence. "Loki, you know he's wrong about that, right?" Tony asks in a softer voice, and Loki just shrugs, unconvinced. He'd probably been told otherwise his whole life, and he'd undoubtedly been taught not to stand up for himself. Tony sighs. "He's so wrong about that, and I'm going to get you to see that one day."
Tony sighs and changes topics. "I didn't know you were a prince." Loki doesn't respond, and Tony mutters "I hope this doesn't mean I'm supposed to kneel before you or something, because I'm not too big on that." Tony's never been one to submit to authority- actually, he's blatantly rebelled against authority many times. There's no way he's ever going to prostrate himself before anyone. He's sort of surprised this information never came up before, because there were plenty of times where it could have. Heck, Loki could have pointed out the similarity of both Simba and himself being royalty, or both him and Rapunzel being stolen royal babies.
"Why would you kneel to me?" Loki asks, scrambling up to the currently open cockpit near the head, where Tony is. Of course, he doesn't actually fit in it since Tony's in there, so instead he somehow manages to hang by his legs from the Hulkbuster's shoulders again. "I never did anything prince-y anyways, and I'm..." He breaks off mid-sentence.
"How are you so good at climbing?" Steve asks, impressed. He's probably trying to break the silence.
"I climbed trees a lot." Is the quiet answer. "But I can't do that here, 'cause there aren't any trees."
"There are still trees, just not in my tower." Tony says. Loki says that there are just buildings everywhere, sounding rather dubious. Tony makes a mental note to take him to Central Park sometime.
"Heimdall made a big white tree, but I couldn't climb it." Loki says, although he'd mentioned something similar not long ago. Is it the Ygg-whatever thing Thor mentioned?
"I woke up in Heimdall's dome thingy once, not that long ago." Loki adds, before saying in a confused voice. "He said got me out of the fight in Jotunheim, but I was just there when I was a baby, but he said it was just then, when I woke up in his dome." There's a bit of a pause, during which Tony is pretty sure Loki hadn't meant to mention that, and this is basically confirmed when Loki lets out an annoyed scream before muttering something Tony can't make out.
"Jotunheim?" Steve questions.
Thor answers. "Loki is not of Asgard. He's a Frost Giant, son of Laufey, the king of Jotunheim." Loki lets out another scream when Thor says this, and Tony's blood boils. How dare Thor just reveal Loki's personal information like that! It would be like if someone revealed that Tony himself has nightmares. Well, Loki had actually told that to Gwyneth and Tony had been pretty pissed, but Loki clearly hadn't meant anything by it and had just thought it was a harmless fact.
Well, now Tony has a pretty good idea as to why Loki hates his last name and why he'd been hiding it. He probably thought Tony would know who he was if he revealed it.
"Frost Giants?"
"Frost Giants are the mortal enemies of Asgard." Thor states flatly.
Loki drops down from Tony's back and bolts to the elevator. Thor is no longer in the middle of his path to it. He runs in it and the door closes before Tony can follow. Tony's not sure if he should go after him or not, and Pepper seems to be thinking the same thing, but Loki apparently wants to be alone, according to Jarvis.
Tony sighs and turns back to Thor.
"Yeah, I know Loki's a Jotun, and it doesn't matter." Tony tells Thor angrily. In some ways, Loki being gone is actually better because he doesn't have to worry about bringing something up that will freak Loki out. "He let it slip on his first day here that he wasn't born on Asgard, but it took me a while to figure out where he's from. I still don't know everything, though, because you taught him to hate himself. But I don't give a crap that he's a Jotun, because it doesn't matter at all if he looks like an Avatar alien."
"The Aesir and the Jotnar have long been enemies." Thor is saying. "Frost Giants are-"
Pepper cuts Thor off. "Don't even think about finishing that sentence, because it's probably something racist again."
Steve jumps into the conversation with Thor. "You can't just write off a whole group of people with stereotypes. Haven't you guys learned that racism is wrong?"
Steve seems to want to say something else, but Tony quickly inserts himself in. "I thought you used to think we humans were insignificant mortals, and you clearly changed that view, since your girlfriend is human."
Steve glares at Tony for interrupting and finishes what he was saying. "So whatever you were about to say, which was probably something racist, have you every considered that might be wrong too?" The super-soldier stares accusingly at Thor.
Thor seems at a loss for words.
Pepper fixes Thor with her special death glare, and Thor looks somewhat cowed. "You bullied him relentlessly for naturally being a different race, which is something he can't control at all. You taught him to hate his true form."
"Okay, so here's what I don't get." Tony says, before Thor can respond. "You taught him to hate his naturally blue skin, which doesn't even seem that strange. I mean, this is basically what he looks like, right?" Tony has Jarvis pull up a holographic image of an alien from Avatar.
"That is not quite a Jotun, but it is close." Thor is looking at the picture like how someone would look at a squashed slug on the bottom of their shoe. "Loki is small for a Frost Giant. The ones I have fought have been much larger."
"Ok, well, it's close enough to a Jotun, right?" Tony asks. Thor nods. "When he saw this, he seemed to think the guy deserved to be beaten just for looking like that." Tony says. "Yet, I know Loki can change his appearance, and I know you guys tormented him for using magic or whatever the hell it is. So what did you do? Make him change his appearance when it was convenient for you and then beat him up the rest of the time?"
"Changing colors not bad!" Hulk glares at Thor and punches the floor. Tony's surprised and actually disappointed that Hulk doesn't just punch Thor instead.
"His current appearance is not his own doing." Thor says with slightly lowered eyes. "When the All-Father brought him back, Loki still was obviously a Jotun."
"So how does he look like a human now?" Pepper asks.
Looking very guilty, Thor answers. "I did not know this until recently, but the All-Father and Mother managed to change his appearance."
"How? With magic?" Tony demands, and realizes he just used the word magic in that context with complete seriousness. "Wait, is 'Mother'-" Who else had Loki mentioned living with besides Odin and Thor? "-Frigga?"
Thor confirms the last part. He then starts to say that the All-Father's magic is different, but Tony's not buying it. Tony grabs him and lifts him into the air again. "You abused him so much for doing magic that he practically has a panic attack every time he does something new." Tony doesn't yell, but his voice is still dangerous. "He was convinced that healing my freaking leg was bad just because he happened to use his powers. And now you go and say that your parents can do magic, too? Let me guess, you guys never told him that and just kept on abusing him."
"I admit we were not particularly kind to him." Thor says, eyes lowered guiltily. Tony hadn't expected that, not that it really changes much.
Tony gives a humorless laugh and cuts off whatever Thor was going to say next. "That's probably the understatement of the century. You abused him! Hell, you tortured him! He's had nightmares about his life with you guys almost every single night he's been there."
"Honestly, his life would have been a lot better if he were a prisoner. At least, if he were one here, since we have these things called human rights." Steve says.
That's not necessarily true, Tony thinks. Some places, like certain caves in Afghanistan, ignore human rights. "I don't even want to know what you make your prisoners put up with, but it has to be awful, given the sick punishments you gave him just for being what he is. Like sewing his freaking lips shut as some kind of sick torturouspunishment that your father carried out even though he secretly does exactly what Loki does. I know you're not too concerned with human rights, considering you still have slavery back in your messed up viking land, but that is just disgusting."
"You have slavery there?" Steve asks, horrified.
"It was not long ago that you Midgardians had slaves." Thor counters.
"Maybe not to you." Tony says. "We sort of figured out around a century and a half ago that owning other people infringes on the basic rights everyone has. So do torture and abuse. So our prisons are probably a luxury vacation compared to Asgard's."
Steve proceeds to launch into a lecture about how immoral slavery is, slipping some history in, and Jarvis fills in the gaps in the history. This lecture lasts close to ten minutes, and it's frankly kind of boring.
"The point is, we changed." Tony says after he can't stand another second of Steve's lecture. "You demigods apparently haven't. You guys seem to think you're so much more advanced than us just because you live a lot longer and have godlike powers, but we're making more progress than you. So when you finally get your ass on Asgard's throne, you can start with taking a leaf out of our book and get rid of slavery."
Thor actually seems to seriously consider that.
"So what was it you said about-" Tony starts, but stops suddenly when Jarvis interrupts.
"Sir, Mr. Loki told me not to tell you anything, but I cannot do that." Jarvis suddenly says in Tony's helmet. "He's standing on the penthouse balcony and seems to be contemplating jumping off."
Loki knew Thor would ruin everything. Thor just told them all that he's a Frost Giant. Well, Tony already knew that, and Bruce and Pepper might have too, but they apparently didn't know what Frost Giants are, because they didn't hate him for it. They acted like it's nothing, which it's not.
He'd finally managed to get away from Thor. He knows Thor's going to think he's a coward, but Thor already thinks he's one. He steps out of the elevator into the penthouse. This whole thing with Thor showing up had actually been going a lot better than Loki expected, but then Thor had started to tell them how horrible people like him are, how all Frost Giants are enemies of Asgard, so they're going to hate him. Why wouldn't they believe Thor? He's telling the truth. Even if what he said about Jotuns was wrong(and the idea is ridiculous), they'd still believe him. They knew Thor before they knew him, and Thor's a lot better than him. Plus he's an Avenger, one of their shield brothers. Now that they know Frost Giants are enemies of Asgard, that means they'll see him as an enemy too. Enemies of allies are still enemies.
Besides, Loki thinks, he's only been putting off the inevitable. They were bound to hate him eventually, right? He's put it off this long, but now that Thor's here, his time is up. They're going to hate him, especially when they see his real form. All their nice words about appearances not mattering aren't true. Sure, that applies to Quasimodo and Esmeralda, but not him.
He'd almost believed that it might apply to him, until Thor showed up and reminded him that nobody looks at his blue skin with something other than hate. Because a Jotun isn't only a monster on the outside, but a monster on the inside too. Tony probably just said that stuff because he doesn't really know what Frost Giants are- and now Thor's telling him exactly that.
He frowns. Well, Fenrir, Jormungand, Hel and Sleipnir didn't hate him. But they were monsters too, and besides nobody else saw them. Plus they only ever said what he wanted, and were only there when he wanted them to be. He controlled them, really. Simba doesn't hate him, but he's a toy.
Actually, now that he thinks about it, Heimdall hadn't really seemed to hate it when he'd woken up in the gatekeeper's dome with his true form showing. But Heimdall doesn't really count either, because he sees everything, so he's used to looking at ugly Frost Giants in Jotunheim. Apparently Loki's fake skin had never fooled his eyes anyways.
But everybody else hated him when they saw his true form. Why wouldn't they?
Tony and the others sticking up for him was really weird. Nobody does that. It probably won't last. Hulk smashing Thor into the floor was nice to watch, but he'd tried to hurt Tony too so it was nothing personal here. Despite everything Tony's told him, Thor's probably going to convince Tony to kick him out, or maybe he'll convince Tony that he really should punish him for all the things he's let slide. Everyone always takes Thor's side.
"Mr. Loki, you seem to be rather worked up. Would you like me to get Mr. Stark?" Jarvis asks.
"No! Don't tell him anything, please!" Loki screams desperately. He doesn't want to see the disgust in Tony's eyes now that Thor's explained why he's a monster.
A holographic video showing the footage from where Tony, Thor and the others are pops up, and Loki angrily swipes a hand through it, making it disappear. He doesn't want to see Thor ruin his life here too!
It pops up again, this time in his helmet. "Mr. Loki, you really should see this-"
"Stop it!" Loki screams, squeezing his eyes shut. "Don't talk to me! Don't show me that!" What had Tony said to get Jarvis to stop talking? He'd done it once. Loki frowns until he remembers. "Mute."
Jarvis remains silent, and no more screens pop up.
An even more horrible thought has entered Loki's head during this time. Thor had said, when they were children, that he'd slay all Frost Giants. He's killed loads of them, too, including the ones that showed up in his coronation. What if he's come here to kill him? After all, they'd apparently tried to dump him in Jotunheim and leave him to be eaten by Frost Giants, but Heimdall had apparently saved him. Loki doesn't remember that at all, but Heimdall had said that's what had happened right before he woke up in Heimdall's dome in his Jotun form. Then Odin had come to the dome with Thor, the Warriors Three and Sif, who had been in Jotunheim. Odin had banished Thor to Midgard and he'd come back a couple days later. Thor had never hit him since, and eventually Loki had somehow wound up here. He'd seen Heimdall again before he went.
His future here suddenly doesn't look much better than Asgard. Thor's here, and he'll probably make up for not hitting him since being banished soon, catching up on everything he was supposed to be doing. Maybe he'll even kill him.
He can't stay here! As much as he hates the idea of leaving the one place he ever liked, Thor's going to ruin it for him. If he hasn't already, that is. Loki throws his bag with his Avengers toys to the floor and tries to pry off Simba's Man of Iron suit without much luck.
Loki tries to remove his own Man of Iron suit. He needs to get it off!
However, he feels his body starting to get cold, and watches ice creep over the outside of his suit. On second thought, maybe he should keep it on, even though he hates the boots. Although he's probably going to get beaten for getting his disgusting Jotun body in a precious Man of Iron suit, even if Tony designed it for him.
He's planning to be gone before they notice. His plan right now is simple. Get away. Away, away, away. He mumbles this to Simba as he grabs his starry long coat he'd made with his magic from his bedroom and puts it on over the suit, hoping maybe it'll get rid of the ice.
Thor's taking these friends away, just like how he'd taken away Loki's friends in Asgard. Loki doesn't want to stay to see them hate him. He remembers that thinking that getting lost in the city forever was the worst thing that could happen to him, back when he was looking for Tony in the streets. But now, that seems better than seeing Thor convince all his friends that they shouldn't be friends with him at all.
"I wish you guys still liked me, Jarvis." He says. There's no answer. That would be like wishing he sprouted wings. He can't help giggling at that, even though it's not really funny.
Well, if he's going to be getting away from Thor, Thor won't be able to hit him for talking to his other friends.
He calls out to them, and suddenly they're there, because he wants them to be. A half-dead girl, a eight-legged horse, a huge snake and a wolf are here with him, although he can't really see them. He really missed them, and he greets them happily and introduces Simba to them. He tells Sleipnir that he shared their special song with Tony, and he tells Fenrir all about how Hulk and Tony beat Thor up. He can tell that Fenrir wishes he were there, but the wolf never speaks.
No! He can't talk about that! It's over now! Tony and the others are going to hate him! They certainly aren't going to consider him their friend now, even though he still thinks of them as his.
Loki pushes the button to the elevator and waits for what feels like an eternity but it doesn't come. He paces, flapping his hands anxiously.
He can't stay in the penthouse. He can't stay in the tower! He glances around for another exit, and he spies the huge balcony. Of course.
He walks through a glass door and gazes at starry sky above him, hugging Simba.
Sleipnir starts singing. "If you find the field where the horses roam..."
"We're gonna find it." Loki mumbles to all of them, but mostly Sleipnir. "We're gonna find our horse field, and we're gonna live there and nobody's gonna hate or hurt us ever again, 'cause no one will ever find us." There are horses here on Midgard, because they're in that animal book. There are trees too, somewhere, but not here.
His night sky long coat flutters around him and he feels like a bird. If Jarvis would just let him use the elevator now, this would be a lot easier, or if his Man of Iron suit could fly like Tony's suits can. Then he could fly to Neverland, like in that movie last night. But he doesn't know which star is the second to the right, so that's out. He doesn't want to do magic, though, because it's bad and he doesn't even know how to... teleport if he wants to.
Tony's tower is taller than all the other buildings around it, but there are some roofs below him that he could jump to and try to find a way down to the streets from those.
He spots one roof that's about three floors down and somewhat far away, but with a running start he can definitely make it. He thinks. Looking down makes him want to throw up, though, because he's pretty sure he'd die if he fell all that way down to the ground. He can't even really see the ground. Landing on the roof might hurt a bit, but not as much as a beating. Sometimes they threw him around when they were beating him anyways.
"I wish you could make a bridge there." Loki says to Jormungand and laughs. That's silly. He's a snake, not a bridge. Besides, he can't even touch him, so he'd just be stepping into thin air, which would lead to him falling.
But he can jump across.
"Be careful." Hel tells him. Loki nods, biting his lip nervously. He backs up and casts one last glance at the penthouse. He wishes it could always be his home, but with Thor here convincing his friends he's a monster, it can't be.
Sleipnir tells him that jumping long distances is easy, that they'll do it together. He trots up next to Loki, and Loki nods. He backs up a couple more steps, takes a deep breath, and starts to run.
Only his suit doesn't move, so he's really just standing there trying to run.
Something collides into him, sending him sprawling on the balcony. A Man of Iron Mask is suddenly taking up all of his screen, and it raises to show Tony's face. Tony's furious, and all the fury is directed at him.
"What the hell are you doing, Snoopy?!" Tony demands, angrier than Loki's ever seen him. Loki starts to cry.
Tony definitely hates him.
Loki totally leapt to the wrong conclusions, didn't he? At least I didn't end this before Loki's last scene explaining that situation. I'm not that evil :) It probably would have seemed totally random if I hadn't explained it. Actually, it still might. I don't know. But it seems a lot worse from someone else's POV.
I know they didn't go over everything in this chapter (like Thor being the one to suggest Loki be sent to Midgard, as mentioned in chapter 1). But it'll continue next chapter.
Wow, this chapter had a lot more cursing than normal. I'm not sure how much cursing you can have in T-rated fics (I avoided f-bombs to be safe) so some of this might seem sort of mild which I guess might be kind of OOC. Then again, I don't think there's much cursing in this story in general, although that might be because I don't curse in real life.
Hopefully my next update will take less time than this one.