The Bargain

Chapter 44: Forty-fourth Installment

A/N: Loki's hot I'm stealing Tony's boyfriend.

Forty-Fourth Installment: The Trap

When the Avengers stumbled out of the shadow, the air felt a little warmer and less cloying, but the darkness persisted. For a second, Tony thought he'd been tricked and automatically squeezed Loki's hand. Loki made a tiny, almost inaudible sound of definite protest or warning (or both), and Tony loosened his hold. He refused to let go.

"We're just in another cave system," Loki said, voice soft. "We're not still inside the shadow."

"Where are we now?" Thor's voice asked from somewhere behind them.

"There's a ruined city right above us," Loki replied. A moment later, soft yellow light flared from a lantern. "This was a sewer system of sorts." He pointed toward a tunnel system that seemed to go on forever. "As you can see, it's extensive."

Tony looked around, curious and actually wishing they had time to explore. "How old?"

Loki's lips quirked in a hint of a smile. "It pre-dates humanity's recorded history. This was once a shining jewel in Muspelheim. However, much like Jötunheimr, it fell into chaos when the Casket of Eternal Flame was taken from the realm."

"When was that?" Natasha asked. Her tone wasn't accusatory.

"Almost five thousand years ago," Loki answered.

Long before Loki was even born. "Where did you find that Casket, anyway?" Tony asked. "And who took it originally?"

Loki's amazing green eyes met Tony's. He deigned to answer neither question and turned away, his hand sliding from Tony's before the man could tighten his grip to prevent it. "This city is—or rather, was—enormous. I cannot use magic to search without alerting the witch to my presence, so we will have to do it the old-fashioned way."

Steve sighed. "Well, then we need to make a plan, first. And a place to regroup. Is the witch going to have spells or enchantments to alert her even if we're not using magic?"

"No, but she will have physical traps," Loki answered.

"Hold up," Tony interjected, putting a hand on Loki's slim shoulder. Any excuse to touch. "Jarvis can pick up heat signatures from a pretty significant distance. How about I just do a flyover, real high, do a few scans of the city?"

His lover gave him his full attention, green eyes contemplative. "How far a distance?"

Tony actually felt butterflies—butterflies—in his gut. "Couple thousand meters?" That's right. Loki is my lover. The more he thought it, the more comfortable the term felt.

Loki's eyes didn't leave Tony's face as he obviously considered the information he'd just been given.

"If you got up there fast enough not to be seen," Steve said after a moment of silence, "that would save us a lot of time."

"There is no sun in Muspelheim," Thor pointed out, "and no clouds in the sky. Stark would be noticeably different than anything that flies in this realm."

It brought up something Tony had considered but never given any real effort. "Soon as we get home, I'm making a damn cloak."

Blinking, Loki seemed to refocus. "A cloak?"

So curious. So sweet. "A cloaking device, princess," Tony said, wanting to kiss him. "Makes the suit invisible."

The moniker, for once, didn't phase Loki. "Similar to the mirrors on SHIELD's sky carrier?"

"In function," Tony confirmed. "I was thinking more along the lines of an EM field that scatters light particles, obscuring the object from most or all of the electromagnetic spectrum."