"Things have gotten about as bad as they can get," Tony said to anyone who'd listen.

"You dumbfuck, don't say that," Clint snapped. "It'll just get worse. And a fucking portal? What is that doing here?"

On an ordinary day Clint's assertion that there was a portal present would have sounded stupid. It still sounded stupid, but it wasn't an ordinary day.

"We have to close it," Natasha snapped. "Has anyone found anything that might indicate a machine or-"

The Hulk crashed into Natasha, having tried, as Bruce Banner, to get closer to the portal sight, which resembled the bottom of a wind-storm, and was thrown off to the side by the force of said wind.

"Nailed it," Tony called.

"This looks familiar," Thor said with a frown. "I shall investigate."

"You're not going to fly into the-" Tony started, but Thor had already thrown his hammer and himself into the wind, and he'd disappeared into the storm. "Yeah, you are, okay. Nobody make plans or listens to Tony. On the bright side, at least nothing's coming through."

"Doesn't mean we don't have problems," Steve said.

An area with a radius of a few blocks in Los Angeles had been destroyed, seemingly by no one. Just a big portal to somewhere.

"Space," Jarvis had suggested when Tony asked.

It would have been impressive had it been not on this planet and they'd known what was going on.

Fury was probably somewhere close by, having a heart attack because this was exactly the sort of problem he wanted to avoid, one the Avengers could not solve.

And then, just like that, the portal closed.

Thor dropped to the ground, hammer hitting and splitting the concrete, hair still blowing in the wind that had died down to manageable levels looking every bit like the hero he was.

A few feet away, the Hulk had become Bruce Banner again and Bruce Banner was half naked and looking very much not like a hero. He looked like he'd been on a three night bender through all of Los Angeles' bars and then some.

Clint, Natasha, and Steve didn't look much better.

"You shut it off," Clint said, staring at Thor.

Thor was staring at the sky. "Nay, friends," he said, "that was not my doing. This stopped on its own."

"What's that?" Natasha asked. She had walked closer to Thor but stopped a few feet away, looking at the ground.

Thor looked down, as did everyone else. Tony gasped. "Jarvis, I'm gonna fly over, take a few pictures."

Thor stood in the center of a circle made up of intricate symbols seemingly carved into the ground. Tony took the images from above and landed next to Thor, who looked shocked.

"What is it?"

"This is the bifrost," Thor said. "The bifrost was fixed, as you know, and whenever one travels via bifrost there is a symbol left behind."

"A byproduct of the bifrost," Tony said, and then snickered. Steve gave him a look of disapproval.

"But no one came through," Natasha said. "And it destroyed a lot of buildings."

"Why would someone turn on the bifrost if not to go through it?" Bruce asked.

Thor looked very, very somber. "If the bifrost is left open long enough," he said, "it can destroy the surrounding area and, potentially, an entire realm."

"And how would you know that?" Tony asked. "Science experiments?"

Thor gave him one of those "quit while you're ahead" looks.

"But who would do that to Earth?" Clint asked.

"I don't know," Thor said. "Perhaps I should take a trip to Asgard and find out. But if Heimdall is not operating the bridge, I do not want to risk going back."

"Understandable," Clint said. "But we need some way to find out."

"Listen," Tony said, "you have two scientists on the team and a Norse God who knows all about this sort of stuff. We're bound to figure out something. Thor, what's this symbolism mean, anyway?"

Thor looked troubled. "I do not know."

"What, they didn't teach you what this stuff meant in Asgard-school?"

"They did," Thor said. "Now that I think about it, these symbols are not Asgardian in nature. I cannot read them at all."

Tony glanced at Bruce. The whole group became dejected.

"Well then," Tony said, "looks like we'll have to pull an all-nighter."

Because if someone had access to an inter-planetary travel device that could also destroy planets (and whose idea was that?), lack of sleep was the least of their problems.

On the list of extremely bad ideas, calling Loki in to deal with an Avengers problem that none of the Avengers could solve ranked near the top. Calling Loki in to deal with an Asgard problem that their resident Asgardian (who also happened to be Loki's adoptive brother, with whom he had major issues) couldn't solve was number one on the list.

Tony did it anyway.

In terms of contacting Loki, it wasn't so much about making a sacrifice and praying to the god of goats as it was about using the number Loki had sneakily left in Tony's workshop (without his knowledge or permission) to send a quick text.

The text only read, "Need help on magic stuff."

That would probably make Loki interested. The bad news part would come later. It served Loki right, really, after he'd kidnapped Pepper. Speaking of which…

"Don't tell Pepper," Tony told Jarvis.

"Sir, that is not the best course of action," Jarvis said. Then, after a pause, "However, if you wish I will not tell Miss Potts unless the situation becomes dire."

"You're learning," Tony said fondly.

"It is my programming, sir," Jarvis replied.

Tony rolled his eyes, placed his phone on the desk in front of him, and waited.

Loki chose to appear at three in the morning, on Tony's bed. Literally. Tony woke from his blessedly dream-free sleep to find someone looming over him. He yelled and tried to sit up, only for the person looming above him to pin him down.

Tony's eyes adjusted and he realized who, exactly, was responsible for waking him up and he groaned. "Loki, get off me."

"You called," Loki murmured.

"Get off," Tony insisted. "This isn't—this is my bed!"

"I hear you take many to your bed, Stark," Loki said.

"Yeah, many, not you," Tony snapped. "Get off. Jerk. I need your help."

"I saw." Loki held up his cellphone, which glowed in the darkness.

"You couldn't come, I don't know, earlier?" Tony asked.

Loki slid off him and sat at the edge of the bed. Tony sat up and ran a hand over his face, trying to wake himself up.

"What magical problem do you face?" Loki asked. Now he sounded bored, perhaps a little disappointed. He was like a cat in need of attention. A cat who only wanted to play games. And kill people.

"So, you know the bifrost?"

Loki stared at him. "Of course I know the bifrost, Stark. Where do you think I came from?"

"Yeah, about that, actually, the bifrost happened," Tony said. "In Los Angeles. No one came out, it was just destroying. And then the kicker—Thor said it didn't come from Asgard."

At the mention of Thor, Loki visibly stiffened. "How does he know that?" he asked.

"Um, he can't confirm it," Tony admitted, "but he did say that the language of the symbol thingy the bifrost leaves behind wasn't his."

"That's ridiculous," Loki snapped. "He speaks the All-tongue. He should understand it."

"Well, do you?" Tony swung his legs off the bed and made his way to his desk, upon which rested his laptop. He opened the computer and found the photographs he had taken. Loki leaned closer to the screen, which reflected off his face, giving Tony the strange impression that Loki's skin was a light, glowing blue. But Loki was focused completely on the photographs. His mouth set into a thin line.

"This isn't possible," he said.

"Well, there it is. Explain?" Tony turned around.

Loki stared past him. "This isn't from Asgard."

"What if it is?" Tony asked. "Thor said he didn't want to travel there because if it was from Asgard travel there could be dangerous."

Loki glared at him. "You idiot."

"Hey, I was right-"

"You knew this would require me to travel to Asgard, and to help your Avengers-"

"I really had no other choice-"

"-to help Thor, of all people." Loki grabbed Tony by the shoulders in a crushing grip.

"Please don't kill me," Tony said. "Besides, you kidnapped Pepper. Because you couldn't just say how you felt. I think we're even."

Loki let go. "Fine. I will help you with this problem, Stark, but don't expect me to help you again. And this is not for Thor."

"Sure," Tony said.

Loki stepped back. "It is for myself, to satiate my own curiosity," he snapped. "Don't forget that."

"Yup, right. Not forgetting." By the time Tony finished speaking, Loki had disappeared. "Rude," he said to the air.

The air did not respond.

Tony didn't tell the Avengers how he was going to solve their problem, only that he was solving. Over breakfast he said that he had a feeling that Thor was right, that the bifrost wasn't Asgard's bifrost. He got suspicious looks from Natasha and Clint, amazed looks from Steve and Thor, and curiosity from Bruce. So much so that after breakfast, Bruce approached him once the others had left.

"How do you know this stuff, Tony?" he asked. "Thor's from there and he doesn't know."

"Well, see, that's the thing," Tony said, "Thor's from there."

Bruce raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, and?"

"And," Tony continued, "and, well, um, sometimes we need a different perspective. He needed another perspective. Yeah. I looked at the photographs and, um, gave them my perspective."

Bruce simply looked at him for a moment. Then he asked, "Do you know who's behind it, then?"

"Uh, no," Tony admitted. "I need some more…perspective."

"Good luck," Bruce said. "And let me know if you need help with that."

"Will do," Tony called after him.

He went back to his workshop to stare at the pictures some more. Then someone touched his shoulder and he jumped five feet in the air, landing back in his chair in an undignified heap. Loki was smirking at him.

"Fuck you," Tony snapped.

"I went to Asgard," Loki said, ignoring him and pacing, "and I had a discussion with our gatekeeper. The bifrost, while recently repaired, has not seen much in the way of use. Thor uses it the most frequently as a means to travel between Midgard and Asgard. The bifrost has seen no other use, certainly nothing unusual. I asked him about the symbols that this other bifrost left behind. He has seen them. Do you know what he said?"

If Tony hadn't wanted to stay alive, he might have said (out loud) that Loki seemed agitated. "No, I don't know what he said."

"He said," Loki answered, "that the writing is ancient. The symbols are ancient, as old, if not older, than the universe itself."

"What."

"Do you know what came before the universe?"

"Nothing," Tony said. "Nothing came before the universe because the universe is the universe-it's everything."

"Darkness, Stark," Loki said. Then he added, with emphasis, "the Void."

"The Void," Tony repeated. Loki nodded. "That's stupid."

"Why?" Loki asked. "Does it not fit your world view? Do you find it hard to comprehend that something existed before the universe?"

"Um, yeah," Tony said. "I'm a scientist. I still don't think magic is legitimately a thing. Are you telling me that this darkness was alive or something? That someone else is trying to destroy the universe?"

"More than one someone," Loki said. "I must find out which one."

"Wait, hold on, this is ridiculous," Tony said. "Why can't it just be another planet or something? Why does it have to be something from before the universe?"

"Because," Loki said, sounding like he was talking to a five-year-old, "the symbols are from before the universe. Only ancient beings could have written them. Come, we must consult Jane Foster." He grabbed Tony's arm.

"Oh sure," Tony said, "it's that easy, it's not like someone couldn't just learn that language like people learn Latin even though it's ancient, you have to have some people who know-wait, did you say Jane Foster?"

Then everything disappeared.

Tony landed hard, cursing as his knees hit the floor. He felt a hand brush his shoulder and heard Loki's footsteps. He looked up; they were in New Mexico, in Jane Foster's lab. He'd been there once before to meet her. Thor spoke very highly of Foster, and while Tony wasn't inclined to take the opinion of someone whose favorite food was pop tarts very seriously, Jane had more than proved herself to be a competent scientist in his eyes.

Which meant, actually, that he wanted Loki no where near her.

Plus, Thor would probably freak out.

Loki had made his way over to Jane's desk, which was a mess of papers. There were two laptops, both closed, lying on top of some of the papers. A blackboard had equations scrawled on it. Tony had offered to replace the blackboard with something better, but Jane insisted on keeping it. She seemed to like getting her hands full of chalk. Or something.

Luckily, Jane wasn't here.

Tony staggered to his feet just as Loki reached out for one of the papers. "We need to get out of here right now," he said in the most authoritative voice he could manage. Loki barely expended the effort to throw him an amused look before turning back to the papers.

Tony groaned and started walking towards the desk, but something gave him pause. He turned towards a second desk, which had a name card, less papers, and a cup of coffee on it. The name card read Darcy Lewis. Tony couldn't help but smile at that. And to think, Darcy had majored in Political Science.

He turned back to Loki, who was now regarding the equations on the board with some interest. "Loki," he called.

"I can work with this," Loki said.

"Since when do you know physics? Or math?"

"I am not an idiot, Stark," Loki said. "I am capable of learning."

"Right." Tony sighed. "Right, okay, but we gotta go because if I recall correctly Thor thought you were a threat to Jane-"

"-and now I need her," Loki finished for him. "I am not concerned with Thor, and if you want my help, you should not be concerned with him, either."

"I made a deal with the devil," Tony said.

Loki grinned. "You are too kind."

Tony was thinking of a response when he heard a door open and two gasps. "Jane, I think someone broke into your lab," came Darcy's voice.

Jane and Darcy appeared, Darcy holding a taser and pointing it at Loki. Jane's eyes moved from Tony to Loki and her expression became confused.

"What is this?" she asked.

"I can explain," Tony said.

Loki turned towards Jane and smiled. "I am Loki. You might have heard of me-"

"You destroyed New York," Jane said, "and you killed a lot of people. I've heard of you. And I don't want you in my lab."

"Someone better explain something now," Darcy added, "or I'll taser him. And let me tell you, this thing took out Thor. It can take out anyone."

Loki regarded the taser with contempt but gestured towards Tony. "If you won't believe me, allow Stark to explain."

"You get one minute," Jane said.

"Whoa, pressure," Tony said, "but okay. Um. I'm sure you heard about that incident in Los Angeles this week, yeah?" Jane and Darcy nodded. "Okay, well, what the news won't tell you is that it was a portal to another world. A bifrost, but not Asgard's. Loki figured out that it hadn't come from Asgard's bifrost and now he needs your help to figure out where it came from. Yeah. That's why we're here. Apparently. So that it doesn't happen again."

"Oh no," Loki interrupted, "it needs to happen again. However, I have a plan for when it does. I simply need the help of Doctor Foster."

"Does this plan involve destroying everything?" Darcy asked. "Because that's not the plan we want to support."

"No."

"Then what is it?" Jane asked. "Thor said you were dangerous, and you proved him right when you attacked New York. You're not a good person. How do I know you're not influencing Tony?"

"Because, um, my eyes aren't glowing blue or anything," Tony said. "Besides, no one's dead. We're having a nice talk."

"What's this plan?" Jane asked, folding her arms across her chest and looking at Loki. If she was afraid it was very well hidden.

"Yeah," Tony said, "what's the plan?"

"You have been analyzing bifrost-like phenomena as your career, am I right?" Loki asked.

"Yes," Jane said.

"In order to figure out where this bifrost is from, I need to analyze it from the inside," Loki explained. "In Asgard there are no such tools to analyze a bifrost simply because they believed, perhaps foolishly, that they were the only ones to have the bifrost technology. Now we know that this is simply not the case. I must find out who is using this technology to wield destruction."

"Okay," Jane said, "it sounds…legit. But there is a flaw in your plan."

"What?"

"You want it to happen again," Jane said. "That kind of destruction…you should be aiming to stop it before it happens again. We can't afford it. People will die. Maybe you want that but I don't."

"How would you analyze it, then?" Loki asked.

Jane turned her attention to Tony. "SHIELD must have data from the event, right?"

"I can find out," Tony said. "Download it for you, even. If you can figure something ot from that, then I would be more than happy to help. Jarvis has the photographs of the aftermath, which we can also use. Can I use your computer?"

Jane nodded.

"You're gonna hack into SHIELD?" Darcy asked.

Tony grinned at her.

"Fine," Jane said. "I don't trust you," this to Loki, "but if you guys can figure this out and stop it from happening again, fine."

"And if it does happen," Tony said, "we should probably analyze it. Also. Um. SHIELD and the Avengers can't know we're working with Loki."

"I don't like this," Jane said.

"Thor can't know either," Tony added.

Darcy put her taser back in her bag. "This should be fun," she said.

Everyone ignored her.

It took Tony half an hour to hack into SHIELD and download all he could find about the bifrost incident to Jane's computer. Loki examined the tools Jane used to analyze bifrost-like events and the information she had garnered from her studies so far. He actually looked impressed, too. It made Tony a bit annoyed. Loki had never looked impressed with his suits.

"See something you like?" he asked as Jane sifted through the data.

Loki's eyes swept the board in front of him. "It seems Doctor Foster is closer to understanding magic than any mortal I have encountered thus far."

Tony scoffed. "That is not true," he said. "That's impossible."

"She would be close to creating a bifrost had she the right technology," Loki told him.

Tony stared at the board. "Okay, now you're just being a jerk."

"Am I?" Loki walked away to check Jane's progress. The two were cordial to each other, but extremely tense in each others' presence. He looked at her computer screen but said nothing, and Jane likewise didn't acknowledge him.

"It's like I'm watching a train wreck waiting to happen," Darcy's voice remarked. Tony turned to find her holding a cup of coffee out to him. He accepted. "Those two are not meant to be in the same room together."

"I didn't agree to this," Tony said. "He forced me."

Darcy raised her eyebrows. "How did he do that?"

"Teleportation."

Darcy feigned a look of sympathy and walked away, handing Loki and Jane cups of coffee. She didn't show fear for Loki, either, which was impressive considering how on edge everyone was.

Loki sipped his drink and his eyes lit up. He sought out Darcy and asked, "What is this beverage?"

"This beverage," Darcy said, holding up her own coffee cup, "is Starbucks coffee. I got you all mochas."

"Too sweet for my tastes," Tony said.

Loki ignored him. "I suppose Midgard has some pleasures after all."

"Are you kidding me?" Darcy said, staring at him. "We could've given you coffee and you wouldn't have tried to take over the world?"

Loki laughed and then said, "No."

"Oh." Darcy looked away and began fiddling with her iPod.

Everyone seemed content to be silent.

Then Tony's phone rang.

He picked up and Steve Roger's voice came through, urgent. "Tony, another portal's opened up. It's in Washington D.C. And it's big."

"Well, fuck," Tony said. "Okay, I'll be there." He turned to Jane. "We got another one."

"Give me your equipment," Loki said.

Jane glared at him. "No. I'll use it myself."

"It's dangerous."

"I don't care."

Loki sighed. "I can see why he likes you," he murmured. Then, louder, he added, "I can enhance your equipment in ways you would not even think of. Give it to me."

"Um," Tony interrupted from behind, "we need to go. Now. I kind of said I'd be there."

Jane hurriedly gathered various tools: cameras, sensors, and assorted bits of technology and thrust them into Loki's arms. Tony grabbed his arm and they disappeared, leaving Jane and Darcy behind.

As soon as Tony put in the earpiece he used during Avengers missions, he heard voices.

"How the hell did you get here?" Clint asked. "You fucking came out of nowhere?"

"Um," Tony said. He stood on the National Mall, not in his suit, definitely not prepared. Clint had spotted him from his perch in a tree. The other Avengers were scattered trying to evacuate people. The bifrost was ahead, looking like a huge tornado in an otherwise clear sky, tearing into museums and government buildings as the radius of destruction spread from its center.

"Where's your suit?" Clint added.

"He's without his suit?" Steve cried.

"Tony, get your suit on or get out of there," Natasha said.

Tony had been smart enough to invent bracelets that could hold a compacted version of his suit. Mark 44, he'd called it. And he'd been smart enough to wear said bracelets on the trip.

Loki had disappeared, which was unsettling to say the least.

"Where have you been?" Bruce's voice came over the intercom.

"Bruce, lovely to hear from you," Tony said as the suit settled over his shoulders. "Any casualties?"

"We've been evacuating buildings," Bruce said. "I've been assigned to video tape." He almost sounded put out.

"Right. Listen, I'm gonna fly into this thing and see what's what. Where's Thor?"

"You can't fly into it!" Bruce cried.

"Thor's offline," Steve said. "He's helping move people. His earpiece broke."

"How?"

"Lightning," Steve answered.

Tony rolled his eyes. Thor, lightning, and technology far too often didn't mix.

"Anyway," he said, "I'm heading in."

"Don't do that," Bruce said. "We don't know what's in there."

"We need you elsewhere," Steve added.

"No, you need to figure out what's causing these things," Tony said, "and I can do that. Jarvis can take readings and the suit'll protect me." He took off and flew towards the bifrost.

"Wind speeds are increasing rapidly, sir," Jarvis intoned. "There is a high concentration of electricity coming from the bifrost."

Lighting lit up the inside of the bifrost. "Right," Tony said. "Hopefully we don't get fried. Any life readings from inside?"

A pause, before Jarvis answered, "One, sir."

"Of course," Tony muttered, and then he plunged in.

The inside of the bifrost was like the inside of a tornado, not that Tony had ever been inside a tornado, but he imagined there was low visibility, lots of debris, and lightning. There was a surprising amount of lightning.

And then he looked up.

Above him stars shown in a night sky despite the daylight hour. They were not Earth stars.

"Jarvis," he said, "take a picture."

"Done, sir."

Tony looked down.

Symbols were carved into the ground, and standing among them was Loki. He was kneeling and had placed his hands upon the ground. Tony flew downwards and landed next to him.

"Loki," he shouted.

Loki ignored him, head bent over his hands. Upon closer inspection, he was muttering something, and the lines his hands touched glowed green. The green glow slowly spread outwards. Jane's tools were scattered at Loki's feet, unmoving but also unused.

It occurred to Tony, somewhere in the back of his mind that Loki might be doing something important. The other part of his mind that really had no clue what was going on decided that reaching out and touching Loki was a much better option.

Loki's arm jerked under his touch, as if in surprise.

And then everything exploded.

Tony was knocked unconscious. When he came to, he was lying on cold rock and everything was dark, like it was night. Except it couldn't be night, because it was day last time Tony checked. Which had been a few minutes ago. In theory.

He sat up and heard a rustling sound behind him.

"Jarvis," he said.

His display screen was heartbreakingly devoid of any data, or anything to suggest that his suit was working.

He stood up, the joints of his suit creaking ominously. He knew that if he tried to run, or fly, or fight, he wouldn't succeed.

"I'm afraid," said a voice behind him, "you'll have to go suit-less."

Tony turned to find Loki straightening up and watching him. Loki made a gesture with his hand and Tony's suit fell off, crumbling to the ground in a pile of metal.

Now it was just cold.

"Hey!"

"It would only be a hindrance," Loki said. "Look around."

"Where are we?" Tony asked.

The sky glittered with stars that were unrecognizable. And then Tony looked around at ground-level and saw that they were surrounded by walls, and the walls were lined with some sort of consul, and these walls were circular. There was an opening at one end and beyond that opening, darkness. Inside, everything was lit by a faint glow.

"The source of the bifrost," Loki said.

Tony looked around and realized that Loki was right. That was really the only thing that made sense after having gone into the center of the bifrost and ending up somewhere else.

"Oh, hell no."

"Oh, yes." Loki, the bastard, seemed gleeful. "Another planet. Certainly not a friendly one."

"This is your fault!"

Loki laughed. "I did not ask you to come with me."

With the sinking feeling of one who is guilty, Tony realized that Loki was right. He'd gone into the storm alone, and Tony had followed. Stupidly.

"Fine," Tony snapped, holding his arms. It was very cold. "What now?"

Loki turned around and held up a hand, shushing him. Ordinarily Tony Stark did not stand for being shushed by other people, but considering they were on a different planet, he was willing to make an exception.

A small wind picked up, rustling what seemed like pebbles.

In a quieter voice, Tony asked, "What planet is this?" He had a feeling it wasn't Asgard. Asgard seemed like it would be more…light.

Loki closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. On his breath out he hissed, "Jotunheim."

Tony shivered.

Loki added, "but there is magic here, and it did not originate here. There is something else. Do you feel cold?"

Tony stared at him. "No."

Loki's answering grin was sharp as a shard of ice. "Nor me. Jotunheim is a planet of ice, home to the Frost Giants-" and here, Tony understood Loki's discomfort with the planet, "-and ordinarily, we would be freezing. But something is keeping us warm."

He glanced up at the stars.

Tony breathed out. His breath frosted. "We're not alone," he murmured.

"Right you are, Stark," Loki said. Then, louder, as if for an audience, "The Frost Giants do not have bifrost technology, have not been able to travel beyond their planet since the last war. They have fallen from glory. This technology comes from elsewhere. This craftsmanship is full of magic, a familiar magic, but a magic not from here."

"From where?" Tony asked.

"The Elves."

And then, something in the shadows moved.

Tony raised his hand only to remember that he was unarmed. There would be no firing of missiles. He was naked. He didn't even have a gun.

Loki sensed his concern and took a step closer. "Stark, do you trust me?"

"No," Tony murmured, because he didn't. He couldn't trust that Loki wouldn't cut and run, or stab him in the back and take his suit as a prize, or simply leave him here to rot on this forsaken planet.

Loki's face remained carefully blank. He didn't look at Tony. "You will have to, now."

"How-" Tony started, but then Loki stepped away.

Everything became eerily silent. Then Loki called out, "I know you are here. Come out and face me."

"Loki," came a voice smooth as silk, "I never expected you to be among those that would defend foolish mortals."

Tony turned in the direction of the voice, along one of the walls behind him. A figure emerged from there, tall and with dark skin and white hair.

"I have my reasons," Loki said. "I do not like to be in debt, and I wished to return a favor. And," he paused, "I was curious."

"This doesn't suit you," said the voice.

"Malekith," Loki replied.

Malekith stepped forward so that Tony got a better look at him. He was an elf, that much Tony could see. He had pointed ears and sharp eyes and he was taller than Loki, which was pretty damn tall. He wore black robes. He might have been an extra on the set of Lord of the Rings.

"It has been awhile, my friend," Malekith said, spreading his arms wide. "But, you don't look happy to see me."

Loki grimaced. "I would not describe are relationship as friendly."

"You and I want the same things," Malekith said. "You want power and respect. I want those as well. We could work together."

In the silence that followed Tony thought that Loki might go for it. Instead he said, "And what is this plan that would win us this glory? I see you have made a bifrost for the Frost Giants."

"Indeed," Malekith said. "They long for revenge against Asgard. I simply tested the bifrost's tendency for destruction against Midgard. They would not need an army, only to open this bifrost on Asgard and destroy it, and then gain the casket."

"There is a problem with that plan," Loki said.

"What?" Malekith tilted his head to the side, curious. "I heard that, as of late, your relations with Asgard have been…unpleasant."

Tony held back a laugh. Unpleasant was an understatement. Malekith's gaze turned to him for a moment before it moved back to Loki.

Loki shifted on his feet. "What happened on Asgard-"

"Stays on Asgard," Tony interrupted. Now they were both staring at him, which Tony might have felt a little more comfortable with if they both weren't space wizards with temper issues. As it was, Tony only stepped in because, well, Loki was doing a lot of talking and not getting anywhere, and Malekith seemed to know how to get under his skin. But he hadn't met Tony. "Look, I don't know who you think you are, but where I'm from family business stays within the family. And you're not even his friend, so you definitely don't get to know."

"And you are?" Malekith asked, raising an eyebrow.

A good question. Tony licked his lips. "I'm helping him," he said. "I have a bit of an interest in Asgard and Earth and I'm not about to give it up to a pack of Elronds."

"Elronds," Loki muttered to himself, incredulously.

"I'm just saying, you chose the wrong planet," Tony finished. "Wrong two planets."

Malekith looked amused, which was discouraging. "Loki, have you really stooped so low as to associate yourself with worthless mortals?"

"Stark is no ordinary mortal," Loki said. And, well, that was encouraging because it was as close to a compliment as Tony would ever get from him.

"I see," Malekith said. "And is he the person you owe a favor?"

"Perhaps," Loki said. "Either way, I have no desire to work with the Frost Giants and certainly no desire to work with you. You have marked yourself an enemy."

"Of your family?" Malekith asked. "Because if you are not on speaking terms-"

"Of me," Loki snapped. "I trusted you, and you hurt-" He cut himself off.

"Thor?" Malekith asked. "Or can't you bear to say his name anymore? Does it hurt you to know that you still care?"

"How does this thing work?" Tony asked, because talking about the other subject was getting really, really tense.

Malekith glared at him, but this look of anger turned into a smile.

Very discouraging.

"Allow me to demonstrate," he said.

A whirring sound started quietly and grew louder and louder and louder. Wind picked up, and the gap between the walls began to glow.

Ice started to creep along the consul, freezing it in place.

The light from the bifrost lit Malekith's face, throwing his mad grin into terrifying relief.

"Please tell me that's not set to Earth," Tony said.

"Oh, it is," Malekith told him, "and I have no intention of stopping it. You see, I am serious about my plan. And I must show you how serious I am."

"You made mistakes," Loki said. "One of them was allowing us to come here." And then he launched forward, hands full of daggers that definitely weren't there before.

He crashed into Malekith, and they both fell against part of the consul. The wind whipped into a frenzy that threatened to suck Tony into the void. He dropped to the ground and groped around until he found the headpiece to his suit.

"Jarvis!" he yelled, tapping the helmet. "Please tell me you're in there, I need help!"

Nothing.

Tony looked up and saw Loki take a swing at Malekith's neck with the dagger, which Malekith dodged by disappearing and reappearing behind Loki. Loki turned just in time to avoid being knifed in the back.

Tony would have liked to do something, but he had no weapons.

Awkward.

But maybe he could do something about the controls. He began to crawl towards them, dragging along a suit glove. He had no idea if the consul was magic controlled or had an actual (if alien) technology to it, but he had to do something other than stare at the two space wizards doing their thing.

He pulled himself up on the consul, slick with ice, and began smashing his glove onto it.

The ice didn't crack. Tony's hand hurt.

"Fuck," he hissed.

He turned around to see Loki lunge at Malekith again. There were puddles of dark liquid on the floor that Tony really, really hoped wasn't blood, but probably was.

Malekith disappeared-

-and didn't reappear.

Loki jerked upright and whipped around, his eyes landing on Tony. He looked pissed off, which was never a good thing. And then his eyes widened-

And hands grabbed Tony's throat and squeezed-

And this was definitely not how he wanted this little adventure to end.

"Give up," Malekith yelled, "or I will end him!"

"Don't end me," Tony yelled.

"Your second mistake," Loki said, too calm for the chaos around them, like he was born to be at the center of mayhem, "is that you allowed me this." And he took out…

A cellphone.

"For fuck's sake," Tony groaned.

Loki pressed the screen and put the phone to his ear.

"What is that?" Malekith asked. "What is he doing?"

"I don't know," Tony answered, because in all honesty he didn't.

Loki snapped a few choice words into the phone—whoever was on the receiving end of the call was probably getting an earful and was very confused about it. Then he made a gesture with his hands and the phone disappeared.

"Perhaps we can do nothing," Loki yelled, "but I know someone who can."

"Wait-" something just dawned on Tony and he felt stupid for not figuring it out earlier-"did you just call Earth from Jotunheim?"

Loki smirked his annoying little I-know-more-than-you-smirk and didn't say anything.

And then Malekith yelled, "I think I'll kill him anyway." Tony felt one of his hands move, presumably to get something unpleasant like a knife.

And then, like in all the action movies, what happened next seemed to happen in slow motion.

Loki disappeared, and Tony saw the glint of a knife and then he was knocked to the ground and the knife skidded across the floor in front of him, glowing in the light of the bifrost.

Tony made a wild grab for the knife, which was unnecessary because Loki had pinned Malekith to the ground so no one was paying attention to said knife anyway.

Still, Tony felt proud as he scrambled to his knees and knee-walked towards the other two so as not to be swept away.

"Hey, fucker, suck on this!" he yelled, and threw the knife.

It missed Malekith (unfortunately) and Loki (thankfully) and hit the consul, skidding along the ice before clattering to the ground.

For a moment, the three stared at each other.

Then Loki snapped, "Idiot."

Malekith laughed, a touch hysterically. "What are you going to do, Loki? We are at an impasse. You can die or join. Forget the mortal!"

"I'm afraid we are not at an impasse," Loki said, far too calm for someone in the middle of a destructive machine, facing an enemy that wanted him dead.

And two objects flew BACK through the bifrost.

Malekith made a heroic effort to get free, and actually knocked Loki back against the ice. Tony grabbed the nearest item, what looked like a gun, whipped around, and shot it.

Wires shot out towards Malekith, hitting him in the chest and he went down.

"Take that!" Tony yelled, more thankful than he thought he'd ever be for a taser, of all things. "You're not dealing with a puny mortal! You're dealing with a fucking genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist and Rock of Ages!"

Malekith snarled and lunged back up, but Tony shot again and he fell down. But the bastard wouldn't pass out.

"Stark!" Loki's voice called, from behind him. "Move!"

Tony stepped aside and looked back. Set against the backdrop of the bifrost light headed to destroy Earth, with, of all things, his scepter in his hands, Loki looked like the fucking bringer of the apocalypse. His expression was one of cold fury, all directed at one person.

He directed the scepter at Malekith and shot pure blue energy at him. It hit Malekith square in the chest and he was blasted back towards the consul, where he lay still.

Then he turned to Tony, the cold fury still present.

"Don't look at me like that," Tony yelled.

Loki turned away and stalked towards the consul. He raised his scepter, flipped it over, and stabbed the pointed end into the consul. Sparks flew, ice cracked, and then the bifrost groaned. Loki stabbed again and again and again, a harsh scream escaping his throat and echoing in the cavernous room as the bifrost winds died down, and the light faded, and then everything became still and dark but for Loki's heavy breathing.

A crack like a gunshot broke the silence, and Tony threw his hands over his head as the walls surrounding them crumbled.

Then it was just the two of them, breathing heavily.

"So," Tony said, "um, I think our ride's broken."

Loki sighed, long-suffering, and turned around. The anger had faded and was replaced with weariness. "Stark, I can travel between the worlds."

"Oh, yeah," Tony said weakly. "Wanna take us home? 'Cause I'm kind of done with this place and I'm not sure how you got that or why I have a taser in my hand and I could really use a-a-"

Loki walked closer. "A what?" he asked, his voice gone soft.

Tony closed his eyes. He felt Loki's hand touch his arm, firm. "-a break," he finished.

Around them, one world vanished and was replaced with another.

They arrived in D.C. Everything wasn't destroyed, but it had been a close thing. Buildings were devastated. The city had been evacuated. Even the Capitol building showed some damage.

They were surrounded by agents and Avengers. The SHIELD agents were quick to cuff Loki, despite Thor's and Tony's protests. Loki made the scepter disappear and then stared down the SHIELD agents as if daring them to ask for it.

Blood dripped from underneath his leathers.

Then came the questions, like why was Loki there? Was he behind it? Where was Tony's suit? Why did Jane suddenly appear in D.C. with her half-finished tech and Loki's scepter, which had been in a top-secret lab a few minutes ago?

Tony felt like collapsing in a nest of blankets, but he looked at the confused and angry faces around him and felt that he, at the very least, owed them some explanation.

"It was an elf," he said.

"Bullshit," Clint snapped. "Did he do the mind thing to you with the scepter? What kind of bullshit-"

"He looks clean," Natasha said, clearly skeptical regardless of the color of Tony's eyes.

"There are no such things as elves," Steve said.

"Elves exist in two realms," Thor informed him. "There are Dark Elves and-"

"Fine," Fury snapped, "there are Elves. That doesn't mean that this fucker," he gestured to Loki, who bared his teeth, "isn't responsible. He wasn't here when the bifrost appeared. He only came after."

"He was in the bifrost. And the elf part is true," Tony added. "His name was Malekith, What happened?"

"Wait!" This from Jane, who was behind several of the agents. She pushed herself forward. "Loki called me," she said, breathlessly, "and somehow I ended up here with his scepter in my hands. I think that was his magic. But he said to use my technology—I've been trying to create a bifrost myself, and he told me how to use it to bring objects through. And I did what he said and I'm assuming that helped him stop the bifrost from the other end."

Everyone stared at her.

"And what happened to that technology, Miss Foster?" Fury asked.

"Doctor Foster," Jane corrected, "and it burnt to ash as soon as objects went through. Which is a shame. I wanted to test it on other things."

"In the wrong hands that technology is dangerous," Thor said, "as we have seen here. Jane-"

"It's fine," Jane said. But she looked a bit disappointed.

"Yes," Loki spoke up from his place cuffed between two agents, "Jane Foster helped save your world."

"And why did you help?" Clint asked. "It wasn't because you like us or anything. There's a catch."

"That is my business, Agent Barton," Loki said.

Fury turned to him. "Look, I've had it up to here with your antics. You're still a threat you escaped from SHIELD, and we don't know that you weren't in line with this elf character. So here's what's going to happen-"

Loki chose this moment to disappear.

"Motherfucker," Clint hissed.

"Hey guys," Tony said. Everyone turned to look at him. "I'd love to chat, and I'd really love to know how Loki does that, but I think I need a nap."

Fury rolled his eyes. "Banner, escort Stark to the nearest hotel."

Stark slept like he was dead that night.

The next morning, over a solemn breakfast of eggs and bacon in a hotel room, Thor asked Tony, "was the elf truly Malekith?"

Tony nodded. He swallowed his eggs and said, "he seemed like a real dick."

Thor nodded. "Yes, that would be him." A pause. "Did Loki say anything?"

"Loki says lots of things," Tony said. "Some of them might have even been sentences."

"You know what I mean," Thor said. "Did he say why he was helping?"

Tony knew the answer to that. He knew he should tell Thor. He knew that Loki probably didn't want Thor to know. Loki wasn't ready for Thor to be on his side, even if Thor had been on his side the whole time.

"He said something about not being Malekith's friend," Tony answered, "and not wanting to work with the Frost Giants. Malekith wanted to work with the Frost Giants."

Thor looked disappointed and relieved at the same time. "I see," was all he said. He stood up. "I must go to Jane. I wish to speak to her about yesterday."

"Take your time."

"Will you be fine alone?"

"Of course."

Thor nodded and left. Tony took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling. The other Avengers had already gone out to start the cleanup, but they had allowed Tony some time to himself. Maybe it was because they didn't trust him, or maybe it was because he had been dead tired yesterday afternoon.

Either way, he was grateful.

"You lied to him," a cool voice said.

Tony nearly fell out of his chair. He jumped up and turned to see Loki leaning against the wall. He looked as tired as Tony felt.

"I didn't lie," Tony said. "I just omitted some details."

Loki considered him for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and said, "Malekith made yet another crucial mistake. Even if he had successfully disarmed us, he wouldn't have brought the Frost Giants to their former glory. They would not have been able to form a complete, threatening army."

"Why not?" Tony asked.

Loki smirked. "Malekith believed that he could steal the Casket of the Ancient Winters, the source of the Frost Giant's former power, from Asgard after destroying it. What he didn't know is that I have the Casket."

"Oh." Tony frowned. "Shouldn't you give it back or something?"

"Perhaps in time," Loki said, "though it is mine by right."

"Right," Tony said, because he didn't know how politics on other planets worked, or the full details about Loki's heritage, and it was something he was too tired to deal with at the moment. Then something else occurred to him. "You saved my life."

Loki took a step closer. "I told you to trust me." And another step. "Do you trust me?" And another. They were almost too close now.

"No," Tony said. "I'm not an idiot."

Loki's eyes studied him, intense. "No, you're not," he murmured. "You have a brilliant mind, one worth knowing."

Tony allowed himself a grin. "Is that a compliment?"

"It's a fact," Loki said.

"Should I trust you?" Tony asked.

Loki's lips thinned. He stepped back. "I don't know," he said, finally.

Tony nodded. "Right. Right. Well, thanks for, you know. Helping."

Loki nodded.

"Are you gonna, um, come back?" Tony asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Back," Loki repeated.

"Well, because you're a pretty smart guy yourself," Tony explained, "and I think that, as you said about me, your mind is worth knowing, too. I like smart people. You know, there's Bruce, who's brilliant and we're really good friends and he teaches me new things and I teach him new things and-"

"I am not Banner," Loki said.

"No, you're not," Tony agreed. "But it doesn't have to be all cloaks and daggers-sometimes literally, which is really not okay-and fighting and half-answers and maybe-favors and non-trust. You could show me what you know and I could show you what I know and you don't have to keep running or hating or trying to kill Thor or whatever it is you do."

Loki watched him for a moment. His eyes looked over bright, but only for a moment.

Then he murmured, "You ask much of me, Stark."

"I know," Tony said. "Yeah, I mean, I have high standards. Sorry. That's how I am. I now the Thor thing would be difficult, I don't know all the details but I know it would be hard, but the other stuff would be a good start."

"For so long," Loki said, "that has not been who I am. Even before."

Tony didn't have to ask before what. He knew before what. He sighed and said, "Well, I have to show my face out there sometime. But, you know, for what it's worth, you make my life a hell of a lot more interesting."

"Compliments will get you nowhere, Stark," Loki said.

"It's a fact," Tony said.

Loki smirked, and then the smirk faded away, and for a moment he looked…longing. And then that, too, disappeared behind a mask of carefully constructed coolness.

"See you around," Tony said, because it was clear that Loki was getting ready to leave. He turned around.

And then Loki's voice, closer, softer, murmured, "Perhaps."

Tony shivered and turned around.

There was nothing but empty air and a lingering chill.