1. Unexpected Savior

"Jarvis! Talk to me!"

Fiery flames were surrounding the billionaire genius everywhere his dark brown eyes darted and dark fumes of smoke were filling the air. Just one wrong elemental mixture. That was all it took and now his mansion in Malibu was suffering yet another destructive event. Ever since Stark Tower, Tony would only visit his past home to have a feeling of escape and maybe play around with a few ideas for inventions. However it seemed now that he had gotten a little to risky with his immense freedoms.

"Sir, all emergency calls have been made. A fire and rescue team should arrive shortly." Jarvis's calm voice sounded over the crackling of flames but brought little comfort to the struggling man.

"I don't have anytime to wait! I need help now!" The genius coughed out as he fiercely tried at moving some of the heavy pounds of debris that had fallen on tip of him. Several shards of glass were protruding from various spots of flesh and he felt the warm ooze of thick red blood soaking through his clothing.

"I'm doing everything I can, Sir." Another explosion was heard and more shattering glass, but Tony was focusing himself on removing his legs from a fallen table. It was growing unbearably hot and the task of breathing was proving to be an awful challenge due to the abundant amount of smoke.

The celebrity jutted out a scream of frustration and panic as he lay flat on his back. This could not end well. It seemed his choices were to either burn up, suffocate, or bleed to death. And Tony hated the idea of all options. He couldn't die. Not now, not like this.

"Anthony?!" A voice called out and the sound of more shattering glass was heard. Was someone in his house? Tony opened his mouth to answer the voice but all that came out was a harsh cough. His voice had nearly left him and he could only mutter out a few whispers.

"Fuck..!" This came out in an angered yet quiet choke and Tony was refusing to believe that this was actually happening. His vision blurred and his entire being was throbbing with pain. Tony thought he heard soft footsteps and glass crunching underneath shoes, but it could have just been his frantic mind praying that there could be someone who could save him in time. The defenseless man soon found that he could no longer keep awake and his soft eyelids closed over his glistening brown eyes with a subtle cough, consciousness quickly slipping his grasp.

So this was the mansion where the famous Tony Stark supposedly lived? It was rather large, extremely nice, and had some of the highest technology in all of Midgard. The god of mischief's green eyes gazed around the large house as he looked for any sign of the billionaire living within. It was highly rare that Loki could sneak out of his own mortal house but Thor had been busy and wasn't keeping close watch over him lately. So the trickster took this opportunity try and cause some long needed mischief. It was difficult to ever really get any revenge since his house was in Malibu and most of the Avengers had settle in New York; plus he was forbidden to cause any harm whatsoever with the majority of his powers taken away. But Loki was tired of doing nothing every single day and being stuck alone in some Midgardian house. All he had to do was get in the mansion, intimidate his past enemy, and the god would be able to regain some much needed confidence. Sadly, small amounts of intimidation was all he could do in his current situation, and this was already being quite risky.

The god sat on the soft grass as he played with the golden tie around his neck. Suits were the only mortal clothing he really cared for as he found all other attire to be lacking in style. He would make his move soon enough but for now he just had to wait outside Stark's mansion.

Suddenly, there was a loud and near deafening explosion and the god jumped being completely caught by surprise. Loki instantly stood and examined the mansion as flames began to rise near the back of the building. What happened? The trickster took a few steps back and he carefully watched for any signs of Tony's escape.

Perhaps it was best he retreated from the area now. But as a few minutes past and there was still no one to be seen leaving the explosion, Loki grew concerned. Of course it wouldn't be all that bad if one of the Avenger team member died, but Loki couldn't help but feel as if it was an unworthy death for the mortal.

"Damn." Loki muttered as he couldn't bring himself to walk away. He knew what he had to do.

With swift and purposeful strides, the god moved alongside the mansion until he reached a large shattered window. He took an unsure step inside and his eyes quickly darted around the fuming area. Loki covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve as he ran towards where he believed would be the source of the explosion.

He could tell he was getting closer to wherever the explosion happened as the flames were growing larger. This was ridiculous. He shouldn't be risking his own life just to be sure some stuck up mortal was safe. Right before he was about to turn away, he heard a long and angered scream come from a nearby room. Loki's breath quickened and he wasted no time in running towards the sound of the scream as he rushed past the scorching flames.

"Anthony?!" Loki called out as he dashed past a large glass door. He looked through the door and thought he saw subtle movement and heard aggressive coughing. The god's foot swung forward and he kicked the door in front of him, causing the glass to shatter.

"Fuck..!" The weak choke was quietly heard however Loki couldn't find the owner of the coughs. The god carefully stepped around debris but could not avoid crunching the shattered glass under his feet as the shards were covering the entire area. As his eyes searched for the celebrity, Loki gave a small cough of his own due to the billowing smoke that was entering his lungs, and his eyes began to water from the dry air. Finally, the deity found the wounded man under a large pile of debris. Loki's heart rate quickened upon seeing Tony's condition, flames were surrounding him and he was not even conscious while laying in a small pool of blood.

"Anthony!" With sudden adrenaline, the god forced each piece of burning debris off of the mortal and he threw off his own jacket to wrap around Tony. Shards of glass covered the billionaire and Loki was sure to be careful of them upon picking him from the ground. The god didn't waste a second as he ran from the burning room in the direction he came from. After coming this far, Loki was determined to get Tony out of this alive. And even though a large amount of powers were taken from him, Loki was still an immortal god, far more durable than any mortal. Crashing sounds were heard all around as some areas of the ceiling began to collapse around the flames. However the god was quick and agile, and he swiftly darted out the broken window with the mortal in his arms.

Loki fell on top of the gentle grass. He dropped Tony besides him and took in a breath of relief to have clean air fill his polluted lungs. The deity finally turned towards the unconscious man as he checked to see if he was still alive. Tony was breathing, but it was soft and weak. At least he should be able to survive by this point. A soft chuckle left the god's throat as he was in disbelief of what had just happened. He had actually saved the life of a mortal. Not just any mortal but his own enemy. And for what? What did he do now that Tony was safe?

The sirens of firetrucks and ambulances arrived in a distance and the god immediately stood. There was no way he could allow himself to be seen at the sight of destruction and a soft growl emitted his throat. Even with him saving Tony's life, mortals would be suspicious of the villain over the hero's unconscious body. Loki picked the mortal in his powerful arms once again and he gently secured his jacket over the man's burned and injured body.

This was perfect. Tony was weak, defenseless, and on the brink of death. He was now in Loki's grasp and the god wanted to keep it that way. Loki smiled darkly as he walked in the direction of his own Midgardian house that Thor allowed him to live in. Now that he had Tony like this, he could do much more than intimidate the enemy with simple mischief. Now, Loki could do whatever he pleased with his new piece of needed recompense.