The cool white lights of the laboratory shone quietly overhead as the elevator doors closed.
Tony stood in the center of the living room, took the Sling Ring out of his pocket, glanced at it, thought for a moment, and put it back. Opening the portal without armor would be a waste. He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and adjusted his cuffs in front of his reflection on the glass curtain wall.
" JARVIS, put on your armor."
"Ready, sir." A low hum of a robotic arm starting up came from the basement. Tony slid down the fast passageway from the top floor to the laboratory and stepped onto the circular assembly platform. The Gold-Titanium Alloy armor popped out from storage slots on all sides, fitting layer by layer along his limbs and torso. The Arc Reactor on his chest lit up with a blue-white light the moment the armor closed. The visor descended from above, the eerie blue displays above his eyes activated, and a row of green readiness indicators popped up on the HUD.
The thrusters ignited, and he transformed into a golden-red meteor streaking across the Manhattan night sky.
" JARVIS, what kind of music do you think we should play later? A hero's entrance can't be without background music. And while we're at it, let's switch to Natasha's Quinjet's communication system. Let them hear it too."
"Suitable track selected. Connecting to Quinjet communication channel, sir."
Tony's lips curled slightly behind his visor. He pushed the thrusters to maximum power, and a golden-red streak of light pierced the clouds over the Atlantic Ocean as he flew towards the coordinates Fury had sent.
Stuttgart, Opera Square. Before Tony even landed, he saw two figures locked in combat in the square below. Captain Rogers, shield in hand, was exchanging blows with a tall figure wearing a dark green robe and a golden, horned helmet, though he was mostly taking the hits. Captain America's fighting skills were impeccable, but Loki's strength, speed, and reaction time were all beyond the norm.
Tony lowered his altitude, his thrusters creating a shockwave on the plaza floor. He raised his hand, and the palm cannon hummed as it charged. A blue-white energy beam grazed the edge of Captain America's shield and struck Loki precisely in the chest, the impact sending Loki flying as his back slammed against a stone pedestal.
Tony landed, his armor leaving two shallow marks on the stone pavement. His faceplate snapped open, the miniature missile bays on his shoulders flipped open, and his palm cannons were simultaneously aimed at Loki lay fallen in front of the sculpture pedestal.
He had just taken a step forward when Loki raised his hands, the golden patterns on his armor slowly fading under the plaza lights, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "I surrender."
Tony tilted his head, the energy hum of the palm cannons continuing. His visor closed, and the shoulder missile bay flaps slowly retracted. He lowered his voice, his tone irritated and disappointed. "No wonder that wizard kid didn't come. So boring. I should have stayed home." He stared at Loki's ambiguous smile, remained silent for a moment, then added into the communication channel, " JARVIS, tell Lynn to remind me next time something this boring happens."
Natasha had already opened the Quinjet's rear hatch. Rogers escorted Loki onto the jet, his shield never leaving his hand the entire time; he didn't relax for even a second. Tony was the last to enter the cockpit. His visor popped open, he glanced at Loki, who was being held down in his seat, and silently walked over and sat down opposite him. The Quinjet took off, the roar of its engines changing from a low rumble to a sharp piercing, and the clouds outside the window grew thicker and thicker.
On the way back to the Helicarrier, Tony overheard Captain America say, "Something's not right. Loki's surrender was too strange. That guy's pretty good."
Tony, already annoyed, retorted to Captain America's rambling, "You're so old, yet your skills are still pretty good. What's your secret to staying in shape? Pilates?"
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning cleaved straight through the clouds, a beam of light accompanied by a low, thunderous roar, crashing down from the night sky and striking the Quinjet's rear cockpit door. The impact caused the entire aircraft to tilt violently, the cockpit alarms blared, and the red emergency lights flashed wildly. The rear cockpit door was ripped open from the outside, and a tall figure landed on the cockpit floor. A red cloak, silver armor, and the Mjolnir in his hand crackling with electricity. Thor Odinson grabbed Loki by the collar, turned, and leaped out of the cockpit, disappearing into the clouds.
Tony's visor snapped shut the instant Thor leaped out. " JARVIS, lock onto Thor's trajectory."
"Locked, sir. Tracking energy signature."
Tony walked to the edge of the open hatch, ignited the thrusters, and without turning around, shouted into the cabin, "The fun's starting, I'm going out to stretch my legs," before chasing after them.
Natasha poked her head out of the cockpit, looking at the open hatch and the rushing air, then glanced at Rogers was already strapping on his parachute. "Captain, if it were me, I wouldn't be getting involved in this. They're all from the God Realm, practically gods." Rogers fastened his parachute, picked up his shield, and walked to the hatch. "Madam, there's only one God! And he would never dress like that." With that, he jumped out of the cockpit, his figure quickly shrinking into a black dot in the clouds.
On the cliff face, the night wind howled through the rock walls. Thor landed on a protruding rock, leaving Loki to fall beside him, his back hitting the ground. Tony followed closely behind, the blast from the thrusters sending debris flying. He had barely regained his footing when he heard Thor's deep voice questioning Loki about the whereabouts of the Tesseract. Loki sat on the rock, his face showing no sign of being captured.
Tony watched this from behind his visor and told JARVIS to reduce the thruster power to the minimum.
Just as Thor reached out to Loki, Tony suddenly activated his thrusters to full power, transforming into a golden-red afterimage as he crashed into Thor's unsuspecting side. Using the force, he sent Thor flying more than ten meters away from Loki, crashing into the rock wall and scattering debris everywhere.
"Finally, things are getting a bit fun," Tony whispered from behind his visor, his excitement barely contained. "Looks like it's not as boring as Lynn said. JARVIS, fix the record. Looks like Lynn isn't lying sometimes. Stuttgart was dull, but the follow-up was good."
Thor rose from the rubble, Mjolnir flying back into his hand, lightning crackling across its surface. He looked at Tony, his voice low and warning. "Don't touch me again."
Tony raised his chin arrogantly, and even through his visor, his signature Stark disdain was palpable. "Then don't try to steal my things."
"This is none of your business, Iron Man." Thor gripped Mjolnir's hammer handle and took a step closer. " Loki will face judgment under the laws of Asgard."
Tony raised his palm cannon and pointed it at Thor. "You make him hand over the Tesseract, and I'll let you take him. Until he Tesseract... you'd better not get in the way."
Thor didn't answer. He stared at Tony for a moment, then, without any regard for protocol, threw his hammer. Mjolnir, crackling with lightning, slammed into Tony's chest, the impact sending him flying. He crashed through two pine trees before coming to a stop, his armor carving a deep trench several meters long in the mud. He scrambled to his feet, a row of yellow warnings flashing on the HUD inside his visor; the integrity of his right shoulder armor had dropped from 100% to 87%. Tony, now enraged, said, "Fine. Let's see."
Lightning struck Tony's chest, and the violent lightning surged through the armor into the Arc Reactor, causing the panel values to quadruple instantly, with the overloaded energy filling the entire suit.
He raised his hand, unleashing a full-power palm cannon in response. Thor parried with his hammer, the two energies colliding and exploding in mid-air, the shockwave blasting away all the pine needles within a dozen meters. Almost simultaneously, they concluded that ranged attacks were useless against each other. They charged forward almost at the same time, their armor clashing against the cliff face. Tony's thrusters helped him land every punch with precision, while Thor used pure God Realm power to crush them head-on. The two crashed through half a cliff wall, sending rubble and pine needles flying everywhere, locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle.
Just as Thor raised Mjolnir and Tony charged up his Palm Cannon in preparation for the next round of fire, a Vibranium Shield flew in from the side, landing precisely between the two and interrupting their attention simultaneously. Captain Rogers slid down the hillside, rolling to dissipate the impact upon landing, catching the rebounding shield, and standing between the two.
"That's enough. Stop it, all of you."
Thor glanced at Rogers, then at Tony, and slowly lowered Mjolnir. Tony deactivated his visor, his face full of displeasure, but he didn't charge his palm strikes again. Thor remained silent for a moment, then put away his hammer. He knew he couldn't take Loki away today; with Iron Man and Captain America both blocking his way, even he, the God of Thunder, had to reconsider. He nodded. "I'll go back with you. But Loki must ultimately return to Asgard for trial. That's the bottom line."
Tony and Rogers exchanged a glance. Rogers sheathed his shield and nodded to Thor. The three reached a brief and fragile agreement, and together they escorted Loki back to the Quinjet from the cliff. Inside the cockpit, Natasha looked at the three mud-covered men and Loki, who had been smiling the whole time, and said nothing.