Snowflake

Fury said they'd break him eventually.



Fury said a lot of things. Most of which Tony Stark was reluctant to believe and he usually found a reason not to, sooner or later.



As he just had, once again.



"What is Phase 2?"



The whole scene played in his head again and again. It was hours ago, yet he was still as agitated as he had been the moment they had confronted Fury.



That guy would never change. A man like that, wishing to assemble earth's biggest players? Under his control and his alone?

That could not be good.



Tony did not like it. None of them did.

But all that mattered little. Loki was still a threat, and a great one at that. As long as there was a megalomaniac with godlike powers on the loose  they would have to work together, no matter what. And then there was Hawkeye. As little as he meant to Stark, he had to recognize the implications of him being under Loki's mind control. It was personal, for Fury and the Widow at least. It meant the guy was not afraid to provoke, he was as high profile as it gets and that made him an even more dangerous opponent.



One more thing everyone had unpleasantly been made aware of was the fact, that the guy wanted to be right where he was.

Stark could think of plenty of reasons he might have. Whatever his end game was, it was not going to be pretty. They had already removed Banner from the equation. Or rather, the Hulk, as he had conveniently jumped out of the helicarrier. He was going to be alright, he always was, but there was no way in hell that he had been Loki's only chess piece, was there?

Loki's men, that had come on board, could only have been a distraction at best. But distraction from what? The lack of Hawkeye was irritating. It had to mean something. Why not bring his best agent?

Did he not want to be freed? Obviously not.

They had run countless scans on the ship, looking for him. Looking for the distinct glow, they had gotten from the other possessed soldiers. Nothing.

If he was really hadn't been part of the attack, there had to be more.



It was late.

Genius or not, hours of brainwork did not go by unnoticed and the effect caffeine had on him had been reduced to a fit of misdirected hyperactivity.

His mind did a great job chasing thoughts, it just failed to catch any. Round and round and round...

He had given up and gone to bed, yet sleep failed to come. Surprise. He did not feel safe. Megalomaniac aside, he could not bring himself to trust S.H.I.E.L.D, and being one of their harshest critics, he could not help to think, that it might just be a matter of time before Fury started seeing him as a threat to his cause.



His eyes had drifted close for seconds or minutes, he couldn't tell, and his mind was on the verge of finally finding the long needed sleep, as his stomach suddenly lurched and it shook him to the core.

He hated when that happened. With a frustrated groan he tried to shift, to shake the aftermath of that unpleasant feeling that did not seem to fade as it should.

The unfamiliar pull on the plain tank top he was wearing, surely a remnant of the dream he had yet to enter, finally made him open his eyes.

He blinked in confusion, as his feet found cold steel and the hand that held him let go. He stumbled, completely and utterly confused and disoriented.

He was standing in one of those little jets S.H.I.E.L.D stole his designs for and were now so proud to call their own. He was... standing inside of this jet, as it was flying through the cold night air, and with him was the Widow, Hawkeye and Loki himself.

Confusion and skyrocketing blood pressure left him with the only sensible reaction and he fell to his knees to throw up.



"Teleportation does that to some mortals. Though I would have expected someone, that is used to flying in that awful suit of yours, to have slightly more composure than that."



The familiar drawl he had learned to despise, and he knew he should fear, finally knocked some sense into his caffeinated mind and he did his best to stand up straight and look at the god, who had just finished removing the contents of Tony's stomach off of the floor with a lazy gesture and now grinned at him brightly.

It did a bad job disguising the strain that lay behind those features and even his royal posture seemed less dignified than it had mere hours ago. He looked like shit.



Tony knew he did not look much better and his change in stance reminded him of the fact that he was standing in front of the biggest threat he had faced in quite a while dressed in boxers and a tank top. Not good. Not good at all.

He wore his bracelets of course. Prototype that they were, he still refused to sleep without them. Problem was, the suit was miles away by now. He was helpless. He was so screwed. And the Black Widow seemed to have been reduced to, what did Loki call it, a mewling quim, at the sight of the possessed Hawkeye. The lack of soul evident by the faint glow that glazed his eyes and the complete loss of emotion in his features.

Even Tony could not help but shiver at the sight.



"Oh, don't mind him. I do not plan on creating any more of... those."



He frowned at his creation with distaste.



"They are useful, but... I find them lacking in quite a few qualities, that would make a good ally. I don't care for minions, at this point."



Tony could see the strain on the Widow's face. All her training, all she had every learned in her life, gone. Obliterated by the zombie before them and she struggled to keep her composure. Her failure in doing so all too obvious before the pale eyes of the liesmith himself.



"Free him.", she all but whispered and it pained her to do so. To beg for his life as she had refused to before. But before, he had not stood before her with empty eyes. And she knew those eyes.



Loki smiled, sweetly, and it was the creepiest thing Tony had ever seen.



"I will. As a sign of my goodwill."



He lifted his scepter and drew something from his minions chest, some sort of energy.

The blue glaze was lifted from his eyes and he drew in a breath, as if he had not done so in weeks. And like a man at the verge of drowning, he fell to the floor.

The Widow was there to catch him, but her eyes did not leave the god for one second.



"Goodwill.", she said, "You spoke of a sign of goodwill. What do you want with us?"



Tony felt the need to say something, to contribute to the situation. But all words had left him and though for once in his life, he did not want to draw the attention to himself, he edged closer to the other two and sat down on the cold metal bench at the side of the jet. Hawkeye was unconscious, but otherwise healthy, as the Widow let him know with a relieved smile.

Loki laughed, a hollow sound that failed to fill the room and faded quickly.

Then he did something that surprised them all, he sat down on the floor in front of them, legs crossed and his scepter laid beside him, almost casually.

For seconds that seemed like hours they stared at him. He gaze wandered, oblivious to the stares, and all that was heard was the sound of their breathing.



"Well, this is awkward."



Tony was never one to allow silence to take foot for too long.

Loki's head snapped in his direction, as if he had forgotten all about them, and he smiled wickedly.



"I would have taken you for a man that prefers to sleep unclothed. Think, how awkward that would have been."



Did the God of Chaos just try to break the ice?



"These days, I think I should be a man, that sleeps in his armor. That is really uncomfortable, though. Believe me, I have tried. And I wasn't even sober that time."



"If it helps our conversation, I would at least grant you clothes then."



Another subtle gesture and Tony found himself wearing his usual, slacks and a band shirt. Deep Purple, as he noticed with a smile. Nice.



"Another sign of goodwill? Appreciated. Though I would really love to know, what a guy like you needs it for. You already have the Tesseract."



The last sentence earned him another laugh, it did not sound as amused as the god had intended it to and he frowned as he shook his head.



"The Tesseract does not concern you. Your S.H.I.E.L.D was meddling in affairs, they know nothing of. They could never hope to understand it, let alone use it in any way. You saw what they did?"



The low chuckle did sound like genuine amusement.



"They managed to blow up their entire base and blame it on me."



Rage flashed in his eyes and he willed it away and lowered his head.



"You need not concern yourself with the Tesseract. It is in my hands and I intend to keep it that way. War is coming. That is what should trouble you."



"War?", the Widow inquired.



"I have an army, I made a pact to get it and I find myself unwilling to uphold my end of the bargain. Now they are coming, and I want them gone. As do you. Or at least you should, if you would like your precious earth unharmed. Your leader would rather chase after power he cannot hope to control. Do not let him."



Tony pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. That was too much information and his mind had severe trouble drawing conclusion.



"So you brought us here to warn us."



It was not a question.



"That was part of my intention, yes."



"The other part being..?"

Widow.



Loki looked her over, brow furrowed.



"The other part was... to propose something. An alliance."



A few seconds passed in silence, before Tony's laughter broke it abruptly.



"You killed people. We don't like that. What makes you think that we would just cast aside everything-"



"I did not expect you to!"



His voice was raised, intimidating, coming from a god and Tony fell silent in an instant. Then Loki's shoulders slumped and he drew in a shaky breath. Even raising his voice took more from him, than he had, as it seems, and he contented with fixating his eerie glare on the man before him.



"An alliance."



He continued, quietly.



"I do intend to stay on this realm, for I cannot return to my own."



He frowned in irritation.



"Either of them. I have heard of those so-called villains you have here. One more foolish than the other. Even the ones that claim the title of genius are complete and utter morons in my eyes. I do not wish to be in league with these... creatures. I have watched you, and I know what this one..", he pointed at the still unconscious Hawkeye, ".. knew of you. You are intelligent, not bound by moral and their standards and I do believe you are capable of making your own decisions. So,..."



He looked at Tony, who was currently trying his best to control a laughing fit.



"You..."



The attempt at speech was swallowed by an undignified giggle and he took a deep breath, fingers a death lock on his knees.



"You. You want us to be your... Team? Your... what should we call ourselves? Widow? How about.. Revengers! Or Retaliators! Avengers of the dispossessed!"



She did not seem to be amused by that or the situation in general.

Loki was positively confused. And annoyed.



"I do not understand."



He ran his fingers through stringy, dark hair and let his head rest on his hand in a gesture of complete and utter exhaustion.



"And quite frankly, I don't want to. I do not require an answer right at this moment. All I need you to do is deliver my message. Chitauri are coming, my- Thor will know."



Tony bit back a comment about possessive demigods.



"Also, please have an eye on your leader. He is rash and impulsive and has no idea what he is up against. Do not let him do anything foolish."



He craned his head slightly to face the minion flying the jet.



"Land. Do not let anyone see us."



The man did as he was told and they touched down soon after.

Another one of his men opened the airlock and let them out.

Loki did not stand up to see them out.

The tingling sensation of the shadow of a knife in his back would not leave Tony, as he and Widow left, dragging an unconscious archer in between them.

It was not until they heard the hum of the cloaked jet slowly disappearing into the night sky, that they let themselves fall to the ground and breathed freely and relaxed.



"I thought I was done for.", Tony admitted.



"You certainly handled it with humor."



The Widow did not seem amused by his earlier behavior.



"Oh, oh.. that was caffeine talking. Caffeine, a lack of sleep and most probably shock. Definetely in shock. We should call- ... someone."



"S.H.I.E.L.D might be a good idea. We should go find a phone."



They had been dropped of in what seemed to be a corn field, though lights could be seen not too far away.



"Alright..", Tony sighed, defeated, "I'll go, you stay with Pinkeye here."



She nodded in acceptance, a silent thank you in form of a smile on her lips.



It didn't take S.H.I.E.L.D long to find them, as they were already tracking a signal coming from a Biochip in Natasha's left foot, which seriously creeped Tony out. 'Why the hell would you let them tag you?!'

The jet was of the same design as the one Loki had stolen. It did not put them off for long, as Thor all but stumbled out of the vehicle as it opened, a beaming smile plastered on his face.



"Man of Iron, Lady Romanov! You are well!"



"Yup, alive and kicking."



Tony let the god help him to his feet anyway and soon they were sitting in the jet, on their way back to the helicarrier. Tony could not shake the gut feeling, that something was not right with this picture.





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Am I good or what?

The next chapter will probably be up by tomorrow, I am unusually productive at the moment.

 

And thanks for the Vote, whoever it was :D