Chapter Text
The last bits of daylight filtered through the windows onto the old Vanir spell book propped up on Loki’s desk. He was surrounded with pages of notes about the theory behind the spell he was going to attempt. It was advanced, ancient magic that had been lost to time except for the legends of beings that traversed light years in mere seconds by walking the limbs of Yggdrasil. If he got it right, he would be glorious, the first mage in the Nine Realms to world walk in centuries. If he got it wrong, well he didn’t want to think about that. He could end up lost in space for eternity. There weren’t many mages on Asgard and even fewer that would bother mounting an effort to find him if he found him stuck on one of Yggdrasil’s dead branches, far away from Heimdall’s gaze.
Loki summoned his armor just in case. He briefly skimmed his notes one last time then began the spell as the sun set. He opened his eyes and he was suddenly in a vast dark space at the base of an gigantic gnarled tree. The branches kept growing at a monumental rate. Even more remarkable, different branches of the tree looked different. There were branches of a willow tree off in the distance and some branches that appeared charred to his right. Loki quickly began walking the trunk, using his magic to search for the energy of the giant neutron star of Nidavellir, the forge of the dwarves. He felt a pull and walked onto some younger branches of the tree. He closed his eyes and focused on reentering the nine realms and prepared himself for impact.
His fall was much shorter and softer than he anticipated. What in the Norns? He opened his eyes to a well-worn couch made of an unfamiliar material and heard a squawk and the whine of an energy weapon in rapid succession. He looked up and saw a Midgardian with deep brown eyes and a strange, short beard that somehow suited his face. He was truly exquisite, Midgardian or not. The Midgardian’s hand was covered by a red gauntlet that was emanating a powerful, bright blue energy from both the palm of his gauntlet and his very core. Loki continued focusing on his chest in awe, this Midgardian’s heart was pure, raw energy. Loki gasped, recognizing the energy as the very same power he felt when he was walking the World Tree. He realized the Midgardian had been trying to talk to him for the past few minutes and Loki finally caught up with reality.
“Hey, Fifty Shades of Grey, my eyes are up here. I’m going to ask you again, how did you enter my tower undetected?”
Loki put his hands up placatingly. “I apologize for entering your tower uninvited. I was trying a new spell to walk worlds and while I was successful at that I appear to have picked the wrong world.”
The Midgardian was silent for a very long time but ultimately lowered his gauntlet. Despite this, Loki didn’t feel any less safe, while he could easily crush the Midgardian, he felt an unseen presence. Midgard had truly advanced from mud huts and hunting.
“A spell? Like magic? Is this a joke, did Pepper put you up to this? Is David Blaine going to pop out from somewhere else in my lab?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know your references. I am from Asgard. But yes, my magic is real.” And with that Loki teleported from the couch to standing right behind the Midgardian.
“Woah! JARVIS, did you get that? You’re magic and an alien?”
An unseen voice began speaking and Loki jumped. “I have some abnormal energy readings but other than that our visitor appears to be truthful about his magic.”
Loki raised his eyebrows in question. The Midgardian nearly clapped his hands together, and realizing the gauntlet was still on, aborted the motion. Nonetheless, he cheerfully continued, “Introduction time. I’m Tony Stark of Earth. Genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist. And the voice is JARVIS, my artificial intelligence. And you are?”
Loki bowed and responded, “I am Loki, prince of Asgard, god of mischief, skilled mage, and now world walker. An artificial intelligence? You’ve created a living being and an immeasurable power source you can feel from the Yggdrasil” he said gesturing at the power in Tony’s chest. “I see the genius title is well earned, especially for a Midgardian.”
Tony preened at the praise. They spent hours asking each other questions about science and magic respectively. He explained world walking to Tony and Tony had leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling, as if comprehending how big of an accomplishment what Loki had done was. Tony had been a bit touchy about questions about the arc reactor, the receptacle for the unbridled energy within his heart, but had slowly opened up about it when Loki had compared it to magic and explained how it had caused him to fall into Midgard into Tony’s lab. Tony even took him to the roof and showed him the view of New York City. The Midgardians had truly done well for themselves with their so-called sky scrapers and mechanical vehicles allowing to traverse great distances. Soon it was daylight on Midgard and Loki bid Tony goodbye, promising to visit again and bring him some uru to incorporate into his armor. Not willing to risk falling into another unintended realm, Loki called for Heimdall at the top of Stark Tower.