CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED

Hello! I'm very new to all this and this is my first fanfic. ( well, firsts I have ever been bothered to write out.) please forgive any mistakes, or at least point them out in a review for me!

This will have a M ( mature) rating.

WARNING: some language/ violence.

Disclaimer: I do not in anyway own these characters. All rights belong to Marvel etc.

Chpt 1

( The Hero)

There are quite a few ways to defuse a situation.

Perhaps taunting the green beast was not the correct one.

Loki vaguely recalled thinking this as his skull stitched itself back together. He lay on his back in a crater crafted from his own body. The ceiling was a wash of colors as his mind slowly crawled back into clarity. He felt something of a release as his brain and body healed. Barely managing to sit up, Loki felt pricks of sweat break out over his body from the strain of movement. His mind slowly caught up with the events of the past few months, reliving it with gritty clarity.

"What have I done?"

Several miles off the shore of New York, the Iron Man was chasing a nuclear missile. Tony was never what you would call a 'planner'. He didn't make plans, he put two and two together very quickly, causing stuff to happen. He was a genius, after all.

"JARVIS, keep trying Pepper."
He caught up and flew along the underside of the nuke heading towards Manhattan. He already knew where to put the bomb, just as he knew he would probably have to follow it through till the end. His end.

"You know, JARVIS, I'm usually not this heroic." Tony gritted his teeth, trying to keep the nuke steady.

The AI paused before it answered. "That would be untrue sir. You are, after all, statistically considered a hero."

Tony let out a snort, struggling to tilt the nuke up as he approached Stark Tower. "Statistics..." he replied, his jaw clenching as the portal came closer. "At a time like this?"

Loki lurched over to the open deck of Stark Tower. He grimaced at the destroyed city below him, feeling his body start to shake.

"Don't betray me now, not when I need you most," he hissed.
The god's view was suddenly obstructed by a flash of red and gold going up past him. He jumped back, assuming he was being attacked, only to find that the Iron Man was already far past him. The man was headed straight towards the portal.
Loki was usually one to plan things out carefully. It was in his nature, after all, to lay out long, elaborate tricks. Unfortunately, this time he had no time to plan. If Stark went through that portal, he wasn't coming back unless someone brought him back. Loki didn't feel he particularly owed the man anything, but it just felt wrong.

"Odin be damed..."
He looked around desperately for a means to follow Stark until a group of Chitauri flying towards the tower in pursuit of the Iron Man caught his eye. As they approached, Loki steadied himself and leapt from the balcony on to one of the Chitauri's crafts. The god make quick work of the alien before taking control of the steering, giving the craft a burst of speed with his magic. This rescue was about perfect timing, and he had so little time to perfect it.

Gaining altitude, Tony glanced at the image of Pepper on his suit's screen as it still rang hopelessly. He smiled weakly and thought of how typical this situation was. Of course he wouldn't be able to say goodbye, no one does. Not in reality. Forcing his attention back to portal that drew ever closer, he muttered to himself, "God dammit..."

Tony could see the twisting mass of the portal as it expanded, the darkness spilling through like a stain in the bright NY sky. A calm settled over him, his last few seconds on Earth spent marveling at the way the clouds formed around the portal.

"Here we go, Jarvis," he said before glancing once more at the unanswered call. Passing through the portal, Tony let go of the nuke. He watched it sail past him into the space and hit the Chitauri's main ship far ahead of him.

"Sir, it...a...ple..." Jarvis' connection stuttered as the suit's systems began to shut down. Tony blinked slowly as his thrusters flickered to a stop, his body drifting back towards the portal. The nuke hit the ship at last, an impressive explosion filling the space with light. He closed his eyes and smiled.

Loki reached the portal as the explosion ripped through the main ship. The lighter craft he was on lost its power immediately after the blast, starting to drop from the sky. He gave it one more push with his magic before propelling himself off the ship and into the portal.

On the roof of Stark tower, Natasha Romanoff had watched Tony enter the portal with the nuke. Just was Steve shouted at her to close the portal, a blur of black and green shot past her.

"Are you guys seeing this?!" she shouted into the com. "It's Loki! Loki is trying to escape through the portal!"

On the ground, Steve glanced at Thor, unable to see what Natasha was shouting about.

Thor peered up at the portal and frowned. "Wait here, I shall pursue him."

Steve spoke calmly into his own com. "Natasha, Thor is coming up to handle it. How much time do you think we have?" He frowned and squinted up at the closing portal, just barely noticing the Chitauri craft that was now falling from the sky. The Chitauri that were surrounding him suddenly faltered and fell to the ground.

Steve muttered to himself, "What's going on? Where did Loki go?"

The magnetic pull of the portal left a tingling sensation on Loki's skin as he propelled himself through it. He was slowly losing velocity, already too far behind Stark to reach him before the portal closed. A shockwave suddenly threw Stark right into Loki's arms, sending them both backwards into the closing portal.

"Fjandinn," Loki hissed through gritted teeth.

They weren't going to make it in time. He wrapped his arms around Stark's bulky armor and held on tightly. His eyes shut. They reached the portal just as it closed around them. Loki's body shuddered under an immense amount of pressure as the sound of rushing water filled the air. There was a final pop before the pressure released them, throwing them against something hard before Loki lost consciousness.

Natasha stared up at the closing portal, biting her lip. The Iron Man had not returned before the last dark wisps of magic disappeared from the sky. A rush of wind blew around her as Thor landed on the roof nearby.

"Lady Widow," he groaned, and stood upright, holding his side tenderly, "Has my brother gone through the portal? Did the Son of Stark return?"

Natasha felt a weight drop in her chest, he eyes unable to meet Thor's.
"They're both still in there..."

Edited on Sep/2/2013