[M] Finding Peace [Chaotic Cam and ZeeBat]

[Chaotic Cam]

It had been five years since all hell broke loose. Five years since Loki was jailed, tortured, and eventually broke free. Five years since he found his lover, his once-enemy, who had took him in, cared for him, and actually listened. Five years since his innocence was proven, and he found a place to belong. Five years since he found peace.

The Avengers were currently all settled in Tony's beach mansion in Malibu, relaxed as they could possibly be. There had been no danger, no villains, no fights or any such to call them away. It had been a strangely peaceful weekend, and honestly, they welcomed the break.

"Give it back," Natasha hissed, giving Clint a death stare. Clint just grinned smugly however, and licked the popsicle Nat had taken from the freezer. "I hate you."

"Nah, you love me," Clint replied with a cheeky grin, then ducked as Natasha threw a butter knife at his head.

"Hey!" Tony shouted, as the knife hit the back of his head - luckily it hit him from the side, so he wasn't injured. There'd be a nasty bruise later, though. "No throwing knives in my house!"

"Excuse me, Stark, but I believe my feet are in need of your service. I didn't give you permission to stop," Loki drawled, glaring at his lover. Both Tony and Loki were currently on the couch, and Loki's feet were propped on Tony's lap.

"Pshh, you're such a Prima Donna," Tony replied, glaring half-hardheartedly at Loki, before resuming the foot massage he'd been giving the Trickster God.

Indeed, the atmosphere in the Malibu home was one of tranquility and, dare I say it, domesticity. Even Natasha and Clint - the famed spies and assassins, who were rarely at peace - had let down their guard somewhat. Steve was watching TV, asking Bruce questions about things he didn't understand - which made a lot of questions. And Thor, well, Thor was in Asgard. He and Loki still weren't on the best of terms. It seemed as if everything was going splendid this fine Tuesday morning - that is until a monstrous crash sounded from outside, rumbling the building.

"Suit up?" Tony sighed.

"Suit up," Loki nodded.

[ZeeBat]

Well as we discussed I'm using a new version of Ankh here; Ankhkaldr. I hope things go better here for us too and woo I'm finally posting!

The sky turned dark as with a monstrous crash a rift opened up in the air. The swirling space behind the new scar above the earth groaned painfully with a miasma of colors as a massive shape streaked out of it with a flock of smaller shapes around it that darted quickly to and fro. As the last bit of of them finished coming out the rift started to close, its existence an affront to the world. But the sky stayed dark and clouds now began to gather in what was formerly a clear sunny day.

The great shape could now clearly be seen as some sort of massive alien bird that glowed from within with cold azure flame. Chains dangled from it's form, great links of black steel that were shattered at the ends and sliced from whatever their origins had been as the one they had imprisoned went wild. Around the bird the sky itself was glowing as it's influence claimed territory upon the mortal world, the temperature of the atmosphere beginning to steadily drop as it drew in heat and light. The bird was glowing brighter and brighter now, using its wicked talons to swipe at the tiny shaped swarming it along with firing beams of blue-white flames from it's beak as it screeched.

A closer looks at the small shapes revealed them to be some sort of ugly imp-like things. All pale red with long claws and bat-like wings. They jeered and taunted the bird as they darted around it, some seeming to try gaining back the loose chains while others just played merry havoc. The small things were cleaved apart into bloody chunks whenever they failed to dodge from the striking talons, buffeting wings, or even bit in half when they tried to go for the eyes of the monstrous bird.

Below them the ocean was slowly starting to freeze over as neither side was paying much attention to th emortal world they were in. Instead the bird was bucking in the air as one of the bigger imps had managed to get a grip on the iron bands that were locked around it's neck. Blue flames began to sprout from the ends of its tail and wings as this enraged the bird, its power going wilder as it's flame burned along more and more of it's body, forcing the rest of the imps to back away for the moment.

[Chaotic Cam]

Great post! You don't have an avatar. Put one onnnn, lol. Also have you browsed the site skins at the bottom of the screen? Try 'Aftermath' it's the one I've decided to use, it looks awesome.

---

"Oh Lordy, my sweet freezing balls," Clint moaned, his teeth chattering as they all convened outside.

"Lordy? You've been spending too much time with Steve," Tony said over the comms. "Though I digress, it's cold enough even the suit isn't much protection, and that's saying something."

"Oh shut up, crybabies," Natasha snapped. She was used to the cold, having known her fair share of Russian winters. But the sight before them, well, even she was stunned.

The beach side ocean was frozen over, and frost was building steadily upon what used to be sand, as mist clouded the sky, and snow began to fall. But that wasn't even the strangest thing, no. There was a huge fucking blue bird spewing blue flames from its beak, seemingly having some sort of fit in the sky above them, thrashing about.

"Yeah, I have no idea what protocol is for this," Clint relented. The area they were in was very secluded after all, and no one was currently getting hurt. Blue Bird did seem dangerous, flailing as it was and spewing some sort of ice magic. However, with the amount of monsters and magic they've encountered after meeting Loki, they've learned everything isn't always as it seems.

"I'm gonna fly up there, get a better view," Tony decided, firing his repulsers and taking off. Loki hissed as he followed behind him, quickly casting a warming spell on his idiot lover. The others felt rather useless, as no one else could exactly fly. Natasha cursed, quickly inputting a number on her phone, calling for the Quinjet which was currently on the roof of the mansion.

"Hey, Bird Brain, everything okay? Um, can you even understand me?" Tony shouted, keeping a good distance from the magnificent beast. Tony cursed to himself, realizing it probably couldn't. It was a bird.

Loki, however, was eyeing the scenario with beaded eyes. The other figures were small, too small for a human eye to detect, but Loki could see them. Red, devilish imps. They seemed to be the cause of the creature's dismay, and Loki's eyes narrowed further as he noticed the broken chains. Acting on a hunch, Loki decided to help the beast come what may, and edged closer, ignoring Tony's shouts in his ear, as he began to shoot the demons out of the sky.

---

Yeah, I have no idea what I'm writing now actually, sigh. I mean, the way this is going, it doesn't seem like Ankh will become a prisoner? Well that depends on what you do next. If he accepts the help, or he's too traumatized and confused, and attacks Loki and Tony as well, forcing their hand. Not too happy with this reply.

[ZeeBat]

With it's body now ablaze with cold fire the phoenix brought the air around it to even lower depths for an instant, flinging off the now solid ice body of the imp to the world below. The chains that still clung to it's form brought great pain to it now as the black metal heated up in response to the sudden drop in temperature so that it could not maintain the annihilating aura of cold at such a level for long but it had been enough as it started striking out at the imps again. The pure dark blue feathers where obscured by the fire that now surged over it but it's white blood could be seen matting it some places, for no matter how fierce it was the bird was still one against many.

Sudden faint noise distracted it from it's battle, a glowing eye snapping to look at the faint figures in it's periphery where it seemed the noise was coming from. Observing the figures it noted that they were humanoid, they were flying without wings, and one of them was powerful enough to register against it's pained senses now that they had both come to it's attention. Seeing one of them firing some sort of attack in it's direction the phoenix screeched.

They were dangerous. And that was enough.

Surging upward above the mass of imps for a moment the bird eyed all of it's foes. They could feel the chains straining against their power, the turmoil of what had happened, what they had done, still surged through them. Yet they would not give in, not now when they had come so far. Even maddened by pain as it was this was something they knew from the core of their being. Surging their strength the phoenix began to absorb all the heat that remained in the area again, it's entire body a bonfire of cold flame.

"Perish!"

With a beat of it's wings it unleash a wave of fire at the imp horde and the two humanoid figures before it.

[Chaotic Cam]

Loki felt a strange familiarity the longer he was near the creature, but he didn't have time to ponder on it as he felled imp after imp. The creature was magnificent, yes, and a part of him felt like he recognized it, but - oh damn. Loki's eyes widened as the winged beast turned its eyes upon them, and Loki could tell what was going through the bird's mind in that very instant. He saw pain, and he saw fear. He thought they were foes.

Suddenly a burst of blue flames shot towards him, and Loki gasped as he was plunged into a freezing cold, his breath stolen from him as his blood screamed in his veins, and his skin was frosted over with ice. Unwittingly, Loki began to transform, his inherent being doing the only thing that could possibly save him. Green eyes bled red as blood, as his porcelain skin turned a deep azure blue, scattered with markings that were intertwined on his flesh like a work of art. Loki felt his teeth sharpen, and claws form on his hands and booted feet. And the horns, he had to bite back a scream as they broke through his skin in all of their magnificence. But now, now he could withstand the cold.

Loki let out an involuntary snarl at his forced transformation, momentarily stunned not only by his change but the blinding cold. In this moment of confusion all sane thought fled, and he pierced the beast with his newly crimson eyes. Ignoring the imps who were now surely dead by the frozen ocean, Loki transferred his energy and magic to the winged being before him, hissing as he let out a blast of ice of his own, his Jotunn powers demanding to be let loose in this form, as icy daggers attempted to pierce flesh and feather.

In his anger Loki almost didn't realize his comm to Tony had gone completely silent, and he only realized something was wrong as Natasha's voice screamed in his ear, begging him to turn around. Swiveling, Loki gasped at the sight he saw. The Iron Man suit, encased completely in ice, dropping at a drastic pace to the deathly ground below. Loki felt his heart hammer within his chest, fear taking hold of him as he yelled out in rage, blasting a wall of ice between him and the creature, as Loki quickly materialized from where he had been to the ground, summoning his Seidr to will the air above him to cushion Tony's fall. But his lover was falling too quick, and too fast - Loki realized this would do nothing, and so for lack of anything else, he surged forward, a beam of ice propelling him into the sky, until he caught his lover, grunting in pain as they both fell into the magical cushion, Loki taking the brunt of the fall.

[ZeeBat]

Seeing it's foes still alive even after it had unleashed a wave of it's power the phoenix screeched out with maddened anger again. Shaking off any corpses that remained of the imps that had been harassing him the monstrous bird shattered the ice blast directed at him with a wing. Those before it were surely weakened, but the aura of power he had caught was not dimming. If anything it had grown stronger in some ways, less affected by the field of cold the bird generated by just existing in this form.

An anomaly for very few things could resist the sheer cold that he had released, even if again the phoenix was paying for it as the chains and collars burned against feathered flesh. Blue fire dimming back down to rest at the edges of its wings and tail the bird tried to regain it's footing for a few moments. There were limited times it could force its ultimate power beyond it's bonds but it would continue to do so as much as it could.

Narrowing his eyes the phoenix watched his foes dive down back to the earth. In it's current state the phoenix still possessed no reason but even a maddened mind could see that a weakness had been revealed in this moment. So the phoenix shrouded it's talons in lances of flame then dived straight down with another loud cry of pain and madness. Not bothering to dodge the ice wall before it the bird crashed through it, unmindful of the injuries it received from the impact as it dived at the two on the ground.

[Chaotic Cam]

Pain; white, hot, and searing. Loki let out a strangled gasp as he sat up, realizing he likely had one or two broken ribs due to the crushing weight of the frozen suit, and the velocity at which they falled. He pushed past the pain, however, his worry for Tony overtaking everything, dulling his senses to all else as he pried the suits face plate away, revealing his lovers pale and frighteningly still face. Tony's eyes were closed, and there was blood leaking from his nose.

"No, no, Tony, wake up!" Loki whispered, aghast, his voice raising quickly to an alarming tone. "Wake up you fool!" he shouted, as he began to pry the rest of the suit off, metal creaking and making a screeching sound as it was pried apart by inhumanly strong hands.

"Loki, watch out!" Steve cried in his ear, as Loki quickly whipped around, his eyes widening as he saw the beast crash through the wall in reckless abandon, heading straight towards them. Loki raised his clawed hand, intent on casting the strongest shielding spell he could muster at such short notice, but it was all for naught as the Hulk roared, appearing in front of them and jumping onto the beasts back, ripping out feathers and smashing his fists.

Loki felt a pang of gratitude as he worked quickly, knowing that while the Hulk could handle himself, Tony was running out of time. Luckily the Quinjet appeared in the air then, hovering several feet above him, and Loki surged forward, ice once more propelling him upwards as the flying contraptions doors opened, and Loki deposited his lover inside, where Clint and Steve were already waiting with blankets, both of their expressions full of anxiety as Loki cast a warming spell, quickly thawing the ice on the iron armor as Steve helped Loki get Tony out of the rest of his suit.

Meanwhile, Natasha was at the helm of the Quinjet, and the moment the doors closed she swiveled the aircraft, pointing it's full firepower and guns at the creature battling the Hulk outside. Natasha wanted to start firing, but couldn't due to Bruce's alter ego on the beasts back. She squinted her eyes as she finally noticed the large chain the Hulk seemed to have grabbed onto, her lips quirking up as the green rage giant pulled, simultaneously jumping off the beasts back onto the snow below. Natasha leveled the aircraft right before the beast now, it's weapons pointed straight at it in warning.

[ZeeBat]

Halted from his charge when the massive green thing jumped at it the phoenix screeched in pain as it was battered while veering off its attack to try and shake off its attacker. Yet it couldn't shake off the damn beast and by now the bird's strength had flagged to the point that he couldn't push past his restraints to bring to bear another wave of sheer cold power. It just kept struggling to stay in the air and buck off the thing that was hurting it so badly as white blood continued to drip from it's wounds.

When a massive green hand finally grasped one of the flailing chains the phoenix screeched an unholy cry as the black steel burned once more against it. With his wings and limbs seizing up from the burning pain coming from his neck the bird struggled to remain in the air even as the fire that remained started to extinguish itself and fade from his wings. Then it was sent tumbling when the weight on his back suddenly disappeared and he was violently pulled down as the collar around his neck forced him down to the ground.

With a massive crash the phoenix landed on the ground, limbs twitching weakly from the powerful impact while new rents in it's body bled along with the others. For a moment the bird stilled before shattering into blue and black motes that quickly reformed into a humanoid body where the giant bird once lay. Now it was a young man with black, almost blue, hair who's pale skin was covered in sinister black-green markings. Panting with pain they tried to drag themselves to their knees.

White liquid dripped from the numerous tears and rents of what had been their clothing. Each of their limbs was shackled by familiar-looking chains of black steel and their neck had a black collar on it. Breathing growing ragged the teen bared their teeth with a glare at the green monster that had brought them down, the one that had grabbed the chain that lead to their collar. But when they tried to get to their feet their limbs buckled due to their weakened state and they were forced back to their knees.

"Let go! Get away from me!" They yelled out, still dazed with fear and pain though most of their earlier rage induced madness had faded.

[Chaotic Cam]

Tony wasn't breathing. He was cold, and wet, and covered in ice - and he wasn't breathing. "No, no, you can't do this to me you idiot. You can't leave me!" Loki raged, speeding up the warming process, as a pile of water continued to form around Tony's now un-suited and limp body. Loki felt the tendrils of panic rising in him, as he shifted back into his Aesir form and muttered countless healing spells and incantations over Tony's prone figure. Nothing was happening.

Loki felt a cacophony of emotions. He felt numb, and he felt like the world had been ripped from his very feet, and the branches of Yggdrasil were choking him, all while the Norns laughed on. He couldn't lose him, not Tony. Not this silly smart-mouthed mortal that got on his every nerve. Not this insufferable fool who was as much of an idiot as he was a genius. Not the man who had surely and slowly become a part of him, fused together in more ways than one. Not him. Not him.

He had shown him so many things. He had helped him, had calmed him, had made him whole. He was... he was the only one that understood. He knew him, everything about him, things that no one else did. And he had never mocked, or scorned, or laughed at his pains. Tony had seen himself in him, and Loki had seen likewise. They shared horrors, and fears, and rejection. They shared love, and humor, and understanding. They were two halves of the same coin, and he couldn't lose him.

Loki was on the verge of breaking, as he continued to utter his enchantment, while Steve simultaneously was pressing on Tony's chest, taking special care to avoid the arc reactor. And then, there it was - a small heartbeat. Faint, very faint, but there. Loki let out a gasp of relief as he tripled his efforts, relaxing slightly as the pulse became much stronger, even if Tony didn't open his eyes.

"He's good. You did good, Loki," Natasha whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder. She was kneeling beside him, he didn't even know when she arrived.

All other thought escaped him then, however, as he heard the screech of the beast below, and a resounding crash. Loki's green eyes blazed in fury, and he stood, magic crackling in the air around him. How dare they. How dare they touch what was his?! In a flash Loki was on the ground, eyes narrowing as he saw the creature had transformed into a more humanoid form. As he came closer, the tug of familiarity desperately tried to grab his attention, but he pushed it aside in favor of taking the chains in his own hand, and roughly tugging the creature up so they were face to face, the Hulk slowly transforming back into Banner in the background.

"You dare come into this world and attack what is mine?" Loki hissed, his teeth bared as his eyes raked across the creatures body. He recoiled at what he saw. Marking of the darkest kind, one's he'd only seen in books most forbidden and evil. "Demon," Loki gasped, stunned for a moment, before he let his mask quickly back in place. His grip tightened on the chains, and he knew they hurt. He didn't care for logic right now, or wondering why the demon was wearing them - he only felt pain, and anger, and a desire for revenge.

He raised his hand, palm crackling with green electricity. He had hurt Tony. He was about to lash out when another hand rested on his shoulder, and Loki stilled. Darting his eyes towards the figure he saw Bruce, and the expression he saw there made him sag.

"We're not monsters, remember?" Bruce whispered, a deeper meaning engraved in each word.

Loki sighed, his anger still there, but controlled. His Seidr faded from his hand, and instead he pierced the boy with a death glare, as Steve and Clint came up behind them, the Quinjet having touched down not far away. Loki allowed them to take the demon, both him and Bruce walking close behind, ready to take action if needed, as they boarded the plane, and made the short trip back to the mansion.

[ZeeBat]

Trying to catch his breathe now that his senses were finally coming back to him Ankh barely had the time to see movement by him and register a sense of power before being dragged to his feet. Choking lightly as the collar that has holding him up strangled his breathe for a moment while he tried to catch his feet the phoenix was forced to meet the angry gaze of the being before him. Too tired to even clutch at the chain pulling him up so tightly he met the gaze head on with his own frenzied glare while his markings flashed a deeper poisonous green, as he was unable to speak as he was barely able to breathe.

All he knew was that the man before him was dangerous, and Ankh was surprised that he hadn't been killed yet as he had been recognized for what he was. A demon. Very few beings tolerated those of Gehenna without wanting anything in return and it seemed that this one was angry for what he had done in his panicked state. Ankh had thought that he was on Earth since that was were he bored the hole to when he had broken off. From what he knew the planet was not under the dominion of any powerful lord or empire but perhaps he had been wrong? The angry power he could feel right now reminded him of one of the nobility.

So he just growled as best he could as he braced himself for the coming attack but then they were interrupted by...a human? Confused he watched the byplay between the two, unsure of what was going on but understanding that somehow the one that was about to angrily smite him was convinced not to by a lone human. There was something strange here but as it was Ankh was focusing on just remaining on guard and conscious as his neck burned with incredible pain thanks to the grip on the chain of his collar. The black steel of the pits would hurt him as long as he disobeyed and all he was doing now was the epitome of disobedience.

"Let me go humans." Ankh sighed to the two mortals that were guarding him a while later as they were in some sort of building. "It won't end well for any of you if you try to hold me for long."