justakidfrombrklyn | At the door of Stark Tower

At the door of Stark Tower

He doesn't really have a phone anymore, at least not one that isn't a burner on the end of it's life, and that phone never had the number he needed in it, so he didn't call ahead. Instead, he's just there, heading for the front desk to see if perhaps, just maybe, he has a friend here. Or at least an ally.

"Steve Rogers for Tony Stark, please?"

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Steve, on the other hand, is pulling out his pad and writing down 'Buffy' as a thing to check out. If Loki of all people knew what Tony was talking about, it was probably at least somewhat important.

That is. Adorable. Is he writing it down? It looks like he is; the motions of his pencil look right.

"If you check out Buffy, don't forget Angel, and the comic books too," Loki says. "Unless those didn't happen here?" he asks, glancing at Stark for an answer.

"No, they happened," Tony finds himself replying. And if anything, the Buffy reference is what makes him think that maybe, just maybe, this Loki is telling the truth about being from another universe. The Loki leading the invasion in New York had been more than a little unhinged, and completely disdainful of pretty much all things 'mortal' and 'Midgardian'.

He looks from Loki to Tony and back again.

"I'll keep it in mind. But" and now he's giving Loki the firm look "I'd really like to know what you're doing here of all places."

"Oh, that's simple." Not really, but it can be simplified. "This building, or something very much like it, is a constant across a number of universes. That gives it... Hmm, something like gravity, I suppose, is a good analogy. Travelling between universes isn't a terribly precise business, and so something like this makes for an excellent anchor point, if something goes wrong. Which it must have, if I got pulled out of my travelling spell, with this universe the closest to where I was at that moment."

He pauses for a moment, and licks his lips.

"Or someone did something recently to disrupt time and space around this particular iteration of this tower, in which case I probably should have used a different anchor."

"...I need a drink," Tony decides, heading for his bar. If he's going to try and parse the bullshit from the truth, he really, really does. Need a drink, and possibly an Asgardian, preferably Thor.

There's a look at Tony, because no way in hell would Loki act like he hadn't known about his own 'amazing' schemes. The jerk had looked smug even while Thor was escorting him back to Asgard.

"Yeah, 'someone' did," Tony says, giving Loki a very pointed look. Drink, check.

"Either of you want one?" he asks. Let it never be said that Tony Stark is anything other than an excellent host. When he wants to be.

"Oh for the love of Asgardia." Facepalm x2 combo? Facepalm x2 combo. "Did he really--? Of course he did, what kind of question is that, I know what I'm like. Yes, I'll take a drink, thank you."

Once. Just once is all he asks. One universe. One iteration of himself who didn't spend a good chunk of time being a giant asshole?

Sigh.

Surprisingly enough, Steve actually pats him on the back.

"You know, I think I actually believe you. The question is, though..." and he looks at Loki again, "what kind of trouble do you cause?"

"I'd be interested in that answer, too," Tony says. He heads back over to the couch with a craft beer and a Mexican Coke (despite the fact that Steve didn't ask for one; if the villain gets a drink, so does Captain America, but one of them should stay sober) held by the bottlenecks in one hand, and his drink in the other.

"Nothing like that," Loki says, gesturing broadly out the window, before reaching up to take the bottle.

"But I am the god of chaos; it follows me, even when I try not to let it."

"So what do you think might have followed you here?"

That's the important part.

"Well, nothing that I'm aware of, though now that you mention it, I probably ought to check..."

Loki's eyes go a little distant, as he extends his magical senses, and sips idly at the (quite good) beer. After a moment, he shakes his head.

"Nothing nearby."

Tony sips his own drink, and shakes his head. Steve is doing a good job chatting up Loki; he'll keep his mouth shut as long as he can, and watch for. Something. Lying, trickery, some clue that this Loki is anything other than what he claims to be.

Steve's quiet for a moment, obviously considering something before he speaks.

"Loki, I'd like to ask you a question and I'd appreciate as straight an answer as you can provide."

Loki's lips quirk up.

"Only you, Steve Rogers, would ask for truth from the god of lies. By all means."

He tilts his head towards the destruction of New York City.

"The other you... he was able to do something to people, mess with their heads, get inside and... well, make them into something they weren't."

It's obviously hard for him, but he keeps going.

"If you're really upset about what he did and you want to help... can you undo something like that if it was done to them?"

"Maybe. I would have to see them first, at the very least, but I'd certainly give it a try, especially if it's something Other Me did."

He kind of really doesn't like most of the Other Hims. Doesn't really much like himself, some days.

Okay, that's not something Tony ever expected to hear, and that's not a look he ever expected to see anywhere near Loki's face.

Maybe he was telling the truth, sort of.

He wants to lie. He REALLY wants to lie. But it's not in him, not on something like this.

"Loki didn't do it. But this person... helping them out would help a lot of people."

"And what would be in it for me?" Loki asks, eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

Steve looks at Tony in the suit. Then he sits up a little taller.

"The thanks of the Avengers."

He leans in.

"And I'm pretty sure that means something on your world as well as this one."

Tony gives a little nod; whatever it is - and he can take a few guesses - if it's something Steve wants, it can't be bad.

"It does," Loki allows with a slight nod. "But you're in this universe, and I am normally in mine."

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