Loki's New Endgame

Chapter1

Everything was going well...

Until it wasn't.

Before Tony knows what's happening, he finds himself lying on the floor, the Tesseract far out of his reach. He groans, gently lowering his head to the ground. God, that hurt. The Hulk really packs a wallop, doesn't he?

For a few moments, he just lies there, staring up at the ceiling. He's too old to be doing this shit. He'll be bruised for weeks from this — if he lives that long. With this Hail Mary of an adventure, he can't say that for certain.

There's a light tap on his shin, and he lifts his head to look...

And Loki is staring down at him, Tesseract in hand, with a shit-eating grin on his face that even his muzzle can't hide.

Tony groans. Oh, great. That complicates things. He pushes himself to his feet, and even standing up, he feels like he has to crane his neck to meet Loki's gaze. Why do gods have to be so goddamn tall? As if the guy isn't intimidating enough with the magic glowy cube and the complete disregard for the sanctity of life.

"What?" Tony asks irritably.

Loki just keeps standing there, silent, smirking.

"You wanna give me the cube?" Tony asks.

Loki doesn't react. Tony lunges for the Tesseract, but the god swiftly moves it out of his reach, his chains clinking as they hit against each other.

"Loki, I need that cube," Tony says. "You want it back? I will give it back. But I need the goddamn cube."

Loki just raises an eyebrow.

"So are you gonna give me the Tesseract or do I have to take it?" Tony asks. "'Cause if I have to take it, I'm not giving it back." But if he doesn't have to take it... Well, hey, this isn't his timeline. If promising to give it back to the genocidal maniac here is what it takes to save half of his universe from a different genocidal maniac's bullshit, he'll do what he has to do.

Loki bounces his eyebrows.

Tony reaches over and pulls the muzzle off of Loki's mouth. Let's try this again. "Are you gonna give me the Tesseract or not, Loki?"

"The Tesseract is not leaving my possession," Loki says.

Tony lolls his head back, exasperated. Then what the fuck is he doing here?

"So if you would like the Tesseract, you will have to make room in your party for another member."

Tony guffaws at that. "You're joking."

"No, I am not," Loki says. "I was willing to go along with this pitiful attempt at an arrest because I saw no better option. Now I see two."

Tony crosses his arms. "And those are?"

"The smart choice would be to take my leave now," Loki says. "I have the Tesseract. I could go anywhere, do anything. But I find myself too curious to leave now, so if you would like the Tesseract as badly as it seems you do, I think we would both benefit from this temporary alliance in our own ways."

"Okay, hold on," Tony says. "There is no alliance. You are the last person I would ever ally with."

"Uh, Tony?" Scott's voice rings through his earpiece. "What's going on? Why are we talking to Loki?"

"So be it," Loki says. "I hope the Tesseract was not an integral part of whatever plan you've concocted."

Tony reaches out to grab it, and again, Loki pulls it out of reach.