Chapter Text
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Tony's feet slipped twice before he could gain purchase against the floor and scramble away from the carnage that had been his North facing view. He slapped at his chest as another shower of electricity and glass burst through the room; feeling relief temper his panic as the cool sensation of armor rapidly flowed over his limbs.
“Pepper!”
She, of course, had launched out of bed as fast as a barely awake woman, in an ongoing relationship with a disaster magnet, could be capable. She screamed as more debris blasted through the room and took out half the ceiling. Spinning in place, Tony caught a huge chunk of concrete and wood – legs braced. At his back, Pepper scrambled through the door while shouting at him.
“FRIDAY, Code 49!”
“On it, Boss”
Though the suit was more than up to the task of holding three times the weight bearing down on him, the shifting load made keeping it all under control far more complicated. Made impossible when yet another blast of electricity turned everything white and promptly set the bed on fire.
“Shit, shit, shiiiit!” The tilting of the ceiling hit criticality and Tony was dropped to his knees, straining, as the floor beneath him began to crack.
“Tony!”
“SHIIIIIIIT-!”
The tilt stopped.
Slowly, the weight decreasing, it began to right itself.
Tony spun his gaze left to right – hovering out from beneath the load the second it was free and raising his gauntlets. He expected to spot an annoyance in a red cloak or, possibly, Wanda; but there was no sign of either magic wielder. However, there was no time to solve the mystery as pain suddenly slammed into his back, with a metal CLANG, and knocked him down to the pavement far below. His HUD displayed the damage as well as the cause – following the path of the huge axe as it returned to its owner.
He groaned – sliding his palms across the asphalt to push himself to his knees. Not far off were sirens as emergency services raced to respond. Somewhere, at his back, screams and frightened voices became audible as tenants from nearby buildings ran towards cover.
Tony shoved himself back towards the sky.
“Okay, time to-OOF!”
Barely ten feet up and a white bolt hammered him back to earth and sent him skidding across the plaza and through an unfortunate Buick. It hurt even to swear so he settled for trying to breathe without shifting what felt like a chest full of glass. And he was so proud of avoiding a hospital this month.
And that was when something that looked like a city bus started a downward arc towards his face.
“Oh...!” He curled, flinched, and... and... blinked. He regretted every bit of self preservation, no matter how automatic, as he winced and looked over his shoulder.
“Oh thank God...”
Pepper, decked out in the violet and silver Mark 49, had caught the bus five feet from impact and, carefully, lowered it to the pavement. The white faced driver stumbled out moments afterward and Pepper checked with him before turning towards Tony.
“Are you okay?” Her hands patted across the scorch marks on his chest plate while Tony tried to see past her.
“Dandy – just some dents and internal bleeding. Help me up.”
She frowned but Pepper helped him stand – Tony grunting and bent at the waist.
There was no sign of further attacks. No lightning. No axes. No Thor. Tony took one limping step to the right – Pepper holding one arm as both of them scanned the sky. The sudden flash through the trees had both of them ducking.
The concussion of sound followed a millisecond later but even with an afterimage burned into his eyes, Tony realized that attack hadn't been directed at them.
“Pep-”
“Come on-”
The both of them shot away from the ground and towards the scorching blasts lighting up the trees towards the middle of the park.
Another explosive burst lit the surrounding foliage in searing white and black shadow cutouts and Tony barely had time to take in the sheared off trunk of an oak as it spun past his faceplate. Chunks of the destroyed tree clattered against his armor as he finally reached the center of battle.
No time for details as more lightning surged into the sky – a branch of energy arcing off to race up his side before dissipating. Pepper was keeping back but had deployed additional repulsors. As the electricity flittered out, Tony raised his gauntlets and... where the hell...?
“Oh shit-” His face tilted up a breath before Thor slammed out of the sky – shattering a crater into the ground and pulverizing a forty foot ring of vegetation. Tony spun back with the concussive wave and heard Pepper's cry through his speakers.
“Pepper!” He battled to find his bearings as pain throbbed through his bones at the violent movements. Spinning around, and beneath, falling branches and giant colds of earth, he raced back towards Thor, along with an unknown individual, grappling together in the middle of a pitted circle of ruin. “Out of the way!”
Ducking away from Thor, the other figure scarcely had time to pull up a shield from nothingness, as Tony concentrated all his spare power to the chest RT and fired.
The blinding beam struck Thor – throwing him backward to crash to earth a good fifteen feet back. Tony was just about to follow up with another blow when, crackling and rumbling, the earth split beneath Thor's body and loops of mud caked roots wrapped around him from feet to throat.
Tony landed hard – helmet peeling back while he awkwardly stepped left, until he could get his feet beneath him, on the uneven ground. Alongside him Pepper also touched down. Her armor was scorched but she seemed okay.
“You okay?” he glanced to the right as she nodded while keeping an eye on Thor.
“I'm okay.”
Both of them then returned focus to Thor, gauntlets up as the mystery figure walked towards them from the treeline.
Tony glared.
“Ah, Stark, well isn't-” Loki's greeting cut short as a blast of energy shot through his chest and blew apart the tree just behind him. The form melted away as Loki's voice spoke once more from behind them.
“Predictably rude. And after all of the help I've provided.”
Tony shifted to keep both Thor's raging form and Loki in view – Pepper doing the same.
“Oh, you're helping now? Was that before of after you broke out of Asgard's penal system.”
Loki grinned. “I got out on good behavior. Who do you think kept your own roof from collapsing on you?”
Tony allowed the power to build in his gauntlets again. “The last time you were here, seven-hundred and eighteen people died. Four-hundred and sixty nine, of those killed, were first responders. You should have burned with Asgard.”
Eyes narrowed, Loki tipped his head. “And what of the hundreds of lives you destroyed in Sokovia? All of those innocent souls sacrificed because you wanted to play God.”
Next to him, Pepper tensed. “Tony...”
“They died because I thought I could make the world safer from monsters like you and your boss.”
Loki chuckled. “Well he isn't my boss any longer. Had a bit of a rough exit interview.”
“Tony!” Pepper was watching Thor; who was straining against the roots imprisoning him. The sound of cracking began to build. Above them, lightning flashed.
Loki also looked up – forehead furrowed and smile melting away. “You know, unless you've got a Hulk in your back pocket, this is about to get messy.”
Tony kept one hand up towards Loki a beat longer. Then, growling, he turned both gauntlets back on Thor.
“I so much as smell pixie dust there won't be enough of you left to put back in a cell.”
Loki bowed. “Duly noted.”
Slipping away from them, Loki circled around Thor – approaching him from his right. The roots around Thor's legs and arms continued to creak.
Tony was prepared for the moment to go to shit. It was a toss up which of the brothers was the greater threat. He considered trying to contact Strange, again, though the wizard hadn't answered the last two attempts. Meanwhile, Loki had approached to within a yard of Thor – the demigod lunging forward and managing to snap several roots in the process. Loki skittered backward and Tony raised his gauntlets higher – Pepper doing the same while letting out a few words that usually littered Tony's vocabulary. He grinned despite the imminent chance of death. Hopefully Loki's.
Seeming to compose himself, obviously wary of the lightning beginning to flicker along Thor's arms, Loki stepped closer.
“Thor...” He reached out a hand, only to pause, curling his fingers down. Thor grit his teeth. Then, suddenly, there was a crash of thunder, that rattled the world around them, and everything lit white.
The HUD display in Tony's helmet flickered and burst with wild color. Pepper shouted before crashing against his side and sending the both of them sprawling. Tony felt a breathless hitch and clawed a handful of ground to pull himself over to prop on his elbows. Another energy waver flooded over them but, clinging to the ground, they managed to avoid the full impact. Still, Tony's ears throbbed and if not for the buffer of his helmet he'd likely be leaking blood from his ears.
It took longer, this time, to lift his head from the dirt. Internal buffers definitely needed another upgrade. Granted his whole body could use an upgrade.
Pepper had been faster to her feet – well, knees, as she was currently leaned over him.
“Friday, open his helmet!”
Tony winced as it peeled away. “God, I'm fine-”
“Fine?” And her face had a conversation he'd heard a thousand times. Tony rolled his eyes.
“Fine-ish.” Pepper took one of his hands to help pull him to his feet. Tony adjusted a shoulder as he got his footing – finally taking stock and only then noticing how dead silent it was.
He turned several directions while looking around – Pepper doing the same – her eyebrows pinched together above her nose. And then Tony looked up.
About thirty feet above them Loki and Thor hovered. Loki's eyes were shut and a hand was pressed flat against Thor's forehead. At the same time Thor had both hands wrapped around Loki's throat; squeezing. Loki was saying something but Tony couldn't hear what it was. The result, though, was a burst of greenish light that broke free between Loki's spread fingers. Thor stiffened – his back arching – and Tony brought up his helmet one more – bracing his feet.
The blast of energy knocked him back several steps and sent both of the gods flying – Thor into a large tree; snapping it off midway up the trunk, and Loki into one of the many playgrounds dotting the park – obliterating everything save for a plastic slide.
Tony looked between the two of them – then at Pepper. She nodded. “I've got Loki.” Her repulsors carried her away before Tony could do more than press his lips together.
“Fuck.” He turned towards Thor while praying the love of his life wasn't about to be transformed into a newt or the Asgardian version of an earth worm.
Thor was half buried under the shattered remains of an oak. Ripples of blue electricity trailed intermittently down his limbs – though he, otherwise, didn't move. Tony hazarded peeling back his helmet while still keeping some distance.
“Hey, uh, Thor? Buddy?”
The groan made him flinch. However, there was no follow-up attack so Tony risked another shuffle forward. Thor curled a finger and Tony stumbled backward about ten steps; hand repulsor up and charged with a high whine.
“Uuugh... Stark. Your weapon screeches like a cluster of leechweeds.”
He was really unwilling to ask about leechweeds and winced away imaginings of something slimy and eldritch-y. So, lips pressed tight, Tony eased forward again – spine stiff.
“You, uh... you with us?”
Thor braced his hands on either side of him as he began to push upwards – a shower of dirt and bark fragments spilling from his shoulders. One hand rose to rub at his temple.
“I confess my memories are difficult to draw forth. My last moment of recall was of felling trees to aid in construction. What follows is...” he shook his head.
Tony was close enough, now, to kneel alongside his friend. “Look, I've had my share of embarrassing black outs after a night on the bottle. You got nothing to feel ashamed about, buddy. Though, I didn't think even that jet fuel, you guys produce, could get you this hammered.”
Thor growled. “Do you truly believe any amount of spirits could inflict such loss of control that I would attack a friend? This was no drunken raving. My mind was overcome by...” he breathed hard.
“By?”
Hollow eyes stared down at his hands as Thor clenched them tight. “Rage.”
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His fingers squeezed against his forehead. Thor could no more eradicate the pain in his head than he could call forth clarity to the ghostly visions that moved through his mind. Even dreams had more substance.
Tony Stark was still near – though his attention was divided as he continually looked towards the distance behind him. Thor was certain another figure had been involved in their battle – Stark would hardly be so undamaged were he fighting alone. The concern that he may have badly injured a friend cut through him and he sat up, groaning, as the pain in his head was joined by other injuries.
“Okay, hang tight, Bon Jovi. Whatever is going on you should probably take a beat.”
Ignoring the advice, as well as yet another indecipherable moniker, Thor pushed himself slowly upright. He stepped in a half circle, once gaining his footing, as vertigo took hold. “Have there not been enough beatings already?”
Tony blinked at him – letting out a small chuckle. “Touche'.”
Some distance beyond, Thor spied a figure moving towards them. No – two figures. He squeezed tight his eyes as a lance of hot agony seared between his ears. He had a distant sensation of Stark settling a bracing hand on his shoulder but the hazy words of concern were lost behind a fog.
The after-image of lightening played in his memory and he recalled a domed window covered in a symbol he thought he knew...
“Are you guys okay?” The voice was familiar – Pepper Potts. He could see her more clearly, now, as she approached. Several steps behind her, walking more slowly and appearing to be in pain, was another. Someone who...
Thor broke from Tony's hold – his axe dropping from his fingers as he stumbled across ravaged earth. Ms. Potts had moved from his path. Meanwhile the other had stopped – hands upraised as though to hold back a surging tide.
“I realize how this looks but I can assure you, brother, this time I hadn't deliberately tried to trick-oof!”
Thor's arms wrapped around Loki – crushing him against his chest while one hand braced against the back of his head. He could feel the stutter of constricted breaths – the pounding of his brother's heart beneath skin that was always a few degrees cooler than the heat of Asgardian blood. Trick it may well be. The ghost image of reddened eyes and malice flushed across his mind. But Thor could not release his hold for all that this being could well be an enemy. He could be embracing his own death yet he could not find the will to care.
“Broth... brother you're crushing me. Thor...”
“I lost you... I... my brother...” Strength fled and Thor dropped to his knees – pulling Loki down with him in a grunt of pain. Thor forced his hold to loosen enough to no longer hurt. Head bowed, he could not withhold the tears that slipped down his face. But, then, he felt a shift alongside him. Seconds later, arms circled his shoulders as Loki returned the embrace.
“It will be alright, brother. I promised you, did I not? The sun rises once more.”
Thor nodded. “So it has.”