justakidfrombrklyn | At the door of Stark Tower

Which is why there's a punch to the face aimed at him as he actually makes it TO the building top.

Good thing Loki has the reflexes - and expectation of attack - to neatly dodge, and land on the roof.

"Hey! What did I ever do to you?"

Mr. Barnes didn't so much answer as gesture towards the destruction of New York City.

"Wasn't going to give you the chance to do it to anything else."

Anyone else.

Keeping one eye on-- yeah, he's pretty sure it's this universe's version of Bucky Barnes-- Loki takes a quick glance at the mess. Pales a little, and swallows.

"Ah, you're mistaking me for someone else?"

Barnes has a gun trained on him, held in a metal hand visible only in flashes from beneath a jacket and a glove.

"Is your name Loki of Asgard or is it?"

For a second, Loki considers giving one of his other names, but he's trying to turn over a new leaf, and really, denying one's own name isn't a very good idea.

"Yes, but I'm not the Loki you think I am. I think." He's ready with a magical shield anyway, because he's pretty sure he just asked to be shot.

"Then I need you to explain, right now, what you're doing and what interest you have in the Avengers."

In Steve Rogers. Loki can read between the lines. He lives there.

"Roadtripping through the multiverse. The Tower is just a good beacon," he lies easily. "And sometimes my brother lives there."

Beat.

"Your friend is what's generally considered the epitome of physical attractiveness in Asgardia, but he's not my type."

The trigger is partially pulled, not far enough to fire but damn close.

"I didn't ask if you were intending on dating him. What are you doing here, and quit playing bullshit games."

He gives a nasty smirk.

"And if you think HYDRA didn't plan for you fucks and train me accordingly, you're dumber than you look."

"I'm the god of bullshit games; they're not going to stop just because you asked nicely."

And he sincerely doubts HYDRA's ability to plan for Loki, no matter what the universe. His own people can't manage to do that much, and they've been dealing with Loki for millennia.

"Go ahead and shoot me if it'll make you feel better though," he continues. "And then maybe you'll believe me when I say that it wasn't my intention to be here."

He keeps the gun on him but his other hand shifts under his coat to pull out a very different gun which flows with a strange blue light around the metal of its construction.

"Try again."

Because he knew about New York.

Loki rolls his eyes in a very exaggerated fashion, and quietly steps away under the invisibility of his coat - so much easier than doing it himself - leaving a duplicate to continue the conversation.

"I know you don't believe me, but I'm telling the truth," his double says, as Loki moves himself into a less perilous position. He's not terribly worried about the fancy glowing gun, but unlike the normal one, it does seem like it would do a bit more than sting, and. Well. He's still Loki.

The blue gun shifts to follow him, though the main gun stays on the double.

"I don't need to see you. Last chance."

Oh, he's good. And now Loki's curious, and he's really going to get himself shot, but he just can't resist--

Another double, as invisible as he is himself, and right up behind Barnes.

"You sure about that?" the second double says.

Barnes shoots low, obviously going for a crippling shot over a kill shot before an elbow goes for the second clone and the normal gun is fired at the other one. Then he's moving towards where he'd fired the blue gun.

The clones take the hits, the invisible one shimmering into sight, and the first one... Well, if the bullet hadn't (apparently) ricocheted off of his armour, he'd be bleeding most convincingly.

Loki himself drops flat at the shot, moving fast, and the shot still hits his shield, generating a shimmer of green in the air over his head. In the next second, he puts his seven-league stride boots to good use, and switches places with his first duplicate.

"You realise I'm perfectly willing to just talk, right?"

"You realize I didn't go for a kill shot. Or keep shooting."

He keeps a gun on the two who'd been in front of him, ignoring the one who was behind him.

"I just wanted you to know I was serious."

"Of course. If you had actually tried to kill me, I'd be obliged to return the favour."

"I only kill people who need killing," and if that had once been a directive he hadn't decided on himself, that was between him and something a whole lot bigger than Loki.

"I just need to know that you don't need killing. And I want you away from this Tower. If there's a reason you're here, I'll even help you get it done if it means getting you away sooner. As long as it doesn't involve me crossing the Avengers directly."

"Whether or not I need killing is a matter of some debate," Loki replies, shrugging a little. "Personally, I'm against it. As for why I'm here... I already told you that. Roadtripping through the multiverse. It's something I do sometimes. You should try it, it's very educational."

"Do you want to get shot again? I get less polite the more aggravated I get."

Translation: try again.

"Oh yes, I forgot, I'm Loki, I must be here for some nefarious purpose, I couldn't just be, I don't know, having fun, everything I do is twisted up under seven different layers of conniving machinations."

Eyeroll.

It takes a second, two really, and Barnes is watching him the entire time...

But the guns drop.

"You don't get to bitch when you made the reputation all on your own, buddy."

And he sighs.

"Once, just once, I'd like to find a universe somewhere, where my local iteration isn't a villain."

It would be nice. It would give him hope that maybe he can actually be different.

"You ever wonder if maybe the problem's you then? If that's the only thing in common between them?"

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