- Hello. So this is my second long-running fanfiction ever. The updates will be slower than Boreal Involvement, since that is still going strong.

Somes notes:
This is very off-the-map from any of the story lines. AKA AU. If that doesn't interest you, please feel free to move along.

Warnings: There will be graphic scenes and some unsettling flashbacks.

DISCLAIMER: I own no rights to the characters. All rights belong to Marvel.

Epilogue

Loki could almost remember the way through the many gates leading to the Intake Office. He had only been there once before, back when he was fourteen. He was a little surprised he could remember something from nine years ago. It hadn't been a pleasant time, considering he was being forced out of the city against his will.
After waiting in line for what seemed like hours, Loki took the slew of written tests needed to get a city ID. He was surprised at how easy the questions were, and how easily he could lie. The bio-tests, however, were harder to deal with.

Loki bit his lip hard, undressing in front of the two men in their white lab coats. When the doctors reached out to check his body, it took all of his effort not to flinch away or scream. After two years, he still couldn't stand being touched. When was he going to get over it? When did he get to move on?

"Stand still," directed the second doctor, pulling down a scanner from the ceiling. Loki tensed and closed his eyes, forcing himself to stop shivering.

Pretend no one's there. It's just like swimming in the lake. Swimming under the sun.

"You have a lot of scars," commented the first doctor, his fingers tracing the largest one down Loki's back. Loki flinched and nodded silently.

"We have to do a 3D scan for our files. Since you have so many, it's going to take a little while."

"I understand," Loki responded, keeping his eyes closed.

Swimming. Floating in a pool filled with sky. Amora laughing from the shore.

"You're all set. Get dressed and head out to the ID office."

"Thank you," Loki mumbled, grabbing his clothes and quickly stuffing his head through the shirt. He rushed out of the room, feeling like a freed animal. After twenty minutes of wandering the halls, he finally found the sign for the ID office. It was at the end of a long skinny hallway and it was pointing up.

"Uh... okay?"

Looking down, he spotted what could only be called an ominous 'x' on the floor in front of the sign. Loki shifted from one foot to the other, debating whether or not it was a trap.
Loki knew he could move quickly enough to get out of the way if anything fell, and he had long enough legs to jump if the floor gave way. He scowled, and took a brave step forward.
A panel in the ceiling slide aside, and he instantly shot up through a tunnel. The rushing column of air nearly tore his bag from his grip. He spun wildly upward through the shaft, his elbows carelessly buffeted into the walls by the ferocity of the wind currents. With an effort, he finally pulled his arms down to his sides, and squeezed his eyes shut for the remainder of the journey.

There was a sucking sound when he shot out of the tunnel into open air of the rooftop. Loki squinted at the bright city lights, rubbing his bruised elbows in irritation.

"It sucks. Literally."

"Excuse me?" Loki muttered, approaching the kiosk from which the voice had spoken.

"The shaft," the man answered, grinning up at Loki from his seat. "It sucks. I swear I hit something every time I use it. They took out the stairs last year after some old lady sued them for falling down."

Loki snorted and shifted his bag to get out the paper work he needed. "I'm surprised no one has sued them for breaking a leg in there."

"I'll be the first, count on it," the man said with a laugh, taking the papers as they were handed to him. Loki smiled nervously at him, trying not to stare too much.

He was far too handsome to be some intake clerk. He had soft brown hair, just long enough to flip over to the side. He was sporting an interesting goatee that Loki was immediately tempted to shave off. What caught his attention most, were the man's eyes. He was clearly older than Loki, maybe mid thirties. But his eyes sparkled with humor and life.

No one should be this happy working in this kind of job. Loki mused at the prospects of his future workplace. He doubted he could keep a smile on his face for very long.

"Do you need starter credits?" the man asked without looking up from the paper work he was furiously filling out.

Loki frowned, not sure what he meant. "I don't know. I haven't been here in a really long time."

"That's okay. I'll just do it," the man said, looking up at Loki once more. "You're from the Waste Lands?"

"Yes..."

"Why'd you leave Asgard?" he asked Loki, an eyebrow raised. "From what I hear, it's rough out there."

Loki shifted uncomfortably and looked down at his heavily worn-out boots. He responded quietly, "I was forced to leave."

"Were you convicted? Because we don't have any record of that. It just says you left by order of The Three."

Loki glanced up and give him a bitter smile, silently wishing him to stop asking about it. The man clearly missed the message and waited for an answer.

"No, I wasn't convicted of anything," Loki said, his irritation growing. The guy was cute, but his personality was growing stale. "My father threw me out of my home, and out of Asgard."

The clerk sat up straighter, a strange look flashing across his face. "What the hell? Why?"

"I am not allowed to speak of it," Loki said with a scowl.

"Did you hurt someone?"

"No!" Loki hissed. His eyes went wide for a moment, shrinking back from the desk as his anger dissipated. "I just... I kissed someone I wasn't supposed to."

The bearded man stood up and came out of the kiosk. Loki tensed, slipping a hand into his pocket to grip the knife he had hidden away. The man sighed and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and looking Loki up and down. It was clearly not a hostile position.

"You got kicked out into the fucking Waste Lands cuz you kissed someone?"

Loki released his grip on the knife and flushed, looking down at his feet again. "It was not just someone... It was a-a boy."

"So?"

"S-so?!" Loki snapped his head up. He wasn't expecting such a calm response. At the least a sneer, or harsh laughter. The clerk just stood there, looking unimpressed.

"You kissed a guy?" He asked. "So what? How old were you, anyway?"

"I was fourteen at the time."

The man hummed and looked Loki over once more. "Why did you come back?"

Loki smiled widely for the first time since he entered the city. Finally, something he was more willing to talk about. "My old friend invited me back for a visit. I just got his letter last week."

"That's sweet," the man replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Loki frowned and watched him re-enter the kiosk to stamp some papers in a rough manner. Loki couldn't figure out why his manner had changed so abruptly. Anger after hearing of his indiscretion would make sense, not after the good news.

"Here," the clerk said, holding up a card and a few papers. Loki smiled weakly and stashed them away in his back pocket. He hefted his bag and thanked the man once more, turning to head through the final gate into the city.

"Hey!"

Loki stopped, turning to see what the clerk wanted.

"Do you have any place to stay?"

Loki frowned. Why did he care? "I'll be staying with my friend."

The guy frowned at him for a minute before ducking back into the office. A second later he ran out and shoved a scrap of paper into Loki's hand.

"What is this?" he asked, unfolding it to see a string of numbers.

"My phone number. I'm not being creepy, I'm just kinda worried since you haven't been here so long and a lot's changed in nine years. Just call me if you're in trouble." He flashed a grin. "Or come back to the office. I'm here almost every day from six till eight."

"I'll be fine. He isn't that far away from here."

The man frowned again, starting to look irritated. "He doesn't live in the Copper Sector, does he?" he asked.

"I don't see how that's any of your―"

"Oh shit, he does doesn't he? God dammit!" the man snapped. He cracked his back with some more colorful language, looking up as a small craft flew over head. He continued, his voice quieter, "I'll come with you to his house. Okay?"

"Why are you being so nice?" Loki asked, his fingers caressing his knife once again. "No offense, but, my friend told me not to trust government workers."

The guy huffed with laughter, tearing his gaze from the ship. "He doesn't mean me," he said, jerking a thumb at the sky. "He means those guys,"

Loki looked up and frowned. "Who?"

"Oh dear Gods, you're gonna get yourself killed."

Loki scoffed, letting go of the knife to cross his arms. "I am not completely incapable you know," he said, trying to sound more threatening than he actually felt. "I had to defend myself my entire life out in the Waste Lands "

"That's not the point," the man answered sadly. "The point is, here, they don't fight fair. They decide to fuck with you and you try to fight back? They make it so no one ever hears from you again." His eyes went cold, no hint of amusement left. "Look, why don't you just wait a few more minutes. I'll see if I can get off early and I will gladly escort you to your friend's house. Deal?"

Loki frowned. The man had grown more quiet as they talked. The warm laughter and smiles were lost, replaced by dark, pain filled eyes and a tense jaw.

"I do not even know your name..."

The man instantly grinned, his eyes lighting up again as if he was never morose to begin with. "The name's Tony. Tony Stark!" He stuck out a hand to shake Loki's.

Loki felt a smile creep into his face. Tony's moods seemed to be infectious. "Nice to meet you, Stark. My name is Loki, Loki Laufeyson," he replied, shaking the rough, callused hand.

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Laufeyson? You mean the leader of the Vengeful Raiders?"

"The what?" Loki asked, snorting at the name.

"That's what the city folk call them," Tony said with a smirk. "I somehow doubted that's what you guys actually called yourselves."

"We certainly did not."

"So you're Laufeyson's son? Does this make you a pirate?"

"No, and no," Loki answered, looking a little amused at the thought. "We were more like community leaders."

Tony hummed and tilted his head. "You said your father was from here?"

"I was adopted by Laufeyson. I consider him my father."

Tony nodded knowingly and turned abruptly to scuttle back into the kiosk. Loki watched, confused at the sudden end of the conversation. He felt exhausted already just from talking to the man for a few minutes. The lights flicked off and the door slammed shut, Tony quickly locked it behind him.

He came rushing back over to Loki. "Ready to go?" Tony asked cheerfully, wrapping a scarf around his neck.

Loki frowned and looked down at the stranger. People in the Waste Lands never offered help without a price. Loki couldn't see what Stark would possibly gain by helping him out. He knew Loki didn't have any money.

"You do not need to do all this for me," he said quietly.

"Yeah I do," Tony responded, looking up at Loki. The pain returning to those lovely brown eyes.
"Because I really don't want to see you dead."

Edited!

[ I'm still going over my most recent chapter of BI.]

Thanks for reading!