2014.01.15 - Fire and Iron

The night is clear and cold, but the temperatures are steadily rising out of the single-digit cold that had gripped the city for the last few days. Streets are dry; ice free, and the sidewalks are filling once again with pedestrian traffic. Neon lights are blaring, and the Men At Work signs are scattered all over, littering the corners, causing more traffic issues than really necessary.

Due to the congestion, the goings on at the Met are a little more understated, and as the day-light funding extravaganza comes to a close and the doors open into the night's air, there are more cars to fill up the streets... stretch limos, barely street-legal performance cars...

And in the middle of it all stands a rather smug looking individual. Loki Odinson, self-proclaimed Laufeyson, stands upon the top steps as people pass by him, dressed in a suit, woolen coat, green and tan scarf, with a cane, looking out on the street before him.

One of those in attendance is none other than Tony Stark. Ever the life of the party, he's working the crowd and posing for pictures. It doesn't strike anyone as strange that he's still got a half full tumbler of scotch with two ice cubes in it in his grip. He doesn't even notice Loki, dressed down for him, in the crowd. It's probably the lack of impressive Asgardian armor. Also, horns. They're impressive and tip most people off to Loki's presence pretty quick. No horns? Probably no Loki. Probably.

Currently, Tony is standing among a small group of college girls (go figure) taking individual selfies with them. No doubt they'll be all over Twitter, Facebook, and SnapChat in minutes.

"So," the Billionaire CEO says casually, "Sorority Soiree this weekend, right? I'll bring drinks and an overnight bag - who's in?"

Absolutely, and that's not to mention Tumblr! The girls giggle, and jockey for prime position, each chiming in with cellphone numbers and promises of an invite because, well, it is the weekend, and they're just back at school, and.. and..

Loki, thankfully, isn't surrounded by such pathetic creatures. He lets the wave of event-goers pass him until he stands alone, that smile playing. There's a shadow, a momentary flickering but one nonetheless as he catches a glimpse of the Stark gathering.

This?

This could be a problem.

But, better to move forward than to have everything land in abeyance--

And with a *crack* of sky, it seems that the heavens have given way to nothingness, and fire... fire begins to fall, slamming into the streets and setting cars on fire, complete with gas explosions.

"What the-"

Tony Stark is perfectly fine to rub elbows, among other things, with the co-eds. The numbers, as they spit them out, are caught by his phone and automatically entered. Consider it a fringe benefit of JARVIS, who is always on and always listening unlike his less evolved, fruit-like cousins. Tony says his goodbyes, and is starting to head to the street where Happy is waiting to take him to the next scheduled event. He makes it about three steps when all of a sudden he hears, "What the-" before the sky turns to a void and begins raining fire. Cars begin exploding. Tony himself, is likewise taken by surprise, but he's not just someone taken by surprise.

Appearing to talk to no one, he backpedals as he speaks to the air, "JARVIS - status report, it's gone black and raining fire. Alien Activity?"

The detours, thanks to Metropolis Public Works, don't do much in the way of helping people get out of the way. There's instant gridlock, and some have (rightly) decided to abandon their cars and run. Fast. Far. Others, of course, aren't quite so intelligent because, well, they are just someone taken by surprise.

Loki looks up in the sky, and his visage darkens. One step, two... and his appearance begins a shimmering shift. He goes from suit, to green and gold leathers, to his full armour, the horned helm the last to appear before he's fully down the steps. He has a sword in hand, and for each fireball that explodes on the street level, a flaming creature seems to walk out, flicking an idle hand at anything that may not be in flames. They're giant-sized, and perhaps one might recognize them as Muspell (assuming of course one witnessed the battle in Central Park earlier).

"Oh dear..." is murmured by the Asgardian Prince. "This might be.."

JARVIS chimes in, and thankfully his even toned, clipped accented voice can be heard above the screaming of those coeds who don't recall the fact that the one person they're with gives them the greatest chance at survival. Not rocket scientists, obviously.

"Sir, it appears they are aliens, but not quite in the manner in which you may assume. Given such a broad definition of the word, I can indeed say with a 100% certainty that they are, indeed, not of this planet."

Thanks, JARVIS.

Tony Stark's eyes narrow at the flaming beasts as they begin to wreak havok on the streets.

Then he sees Loki, and frowns. Aliens and Lokis are not his favorite cocktail.

"JARVIS, we got a New York situation here. Lock in on me and drone Strike Package Liberty to my location. Pony Express it - I'm not undercover here. Tell Happy to get the hell out of here if he hasn't already, too."

With that, Tony takes cover in a doorway and begins to loosen his tie.

Loki steps forward, a staff in hand, and he's scowling at those that are walking out of the flames.

"I am Loki!" is called out, "You will surrender your forces to me!"

"Asgard Prince!" is hissed back, and it could be coming from any one of those giants out in the road, causing much conflagration. Those cars that aren't caught on fire are crashing into one another as drivers are beginning to work out that getting out is probably their best options. Those crowds that aren't getting clear are practicing the time-tested method of extinguishing fires...

Stop.

Drop.

Roll.

JARVIS acknowledges the order with a, "On it's way, sir."

There, in the middle distance where Stark Towers still fills the skyline, a flash of light bursts, and a Pony Express package is sent.

"Time to rendezvous is thirty two seconds sir." the AI says within Tony's ear, "Mister Hogan has cleared the area, although he regrets to inform you that the Bugatti has been destroyed."

"I'll buy another." he says dryly. He's discarded his suit, and rather than underwear, he's wearing a reinforced two piece garment that glows not just from the arc reactor, but rather a circuit pattern that extends throughout.

Meanwhile, several thousand feet above the scene, the outer protective shell blows off and the suit underneath begins to descend under it's own power as if being piloted. Thrusters kick in and it pilots itself to roughly six feet in front of Tony's position. It's the usual red and gold paint scheme, but looks to have far more offensive capability to it. In addition to the bulk, the arc reactor in its chest is far larger than past configurations. It raises it's arms out to either side, and the back of the armor retracts, folds back, and opens.

"About time." Tony mutters, and takes a few quick steps. The last two have him literally step into the armor.

The back of the armor wraps itself around Tony, seals up. Optics and Arc Reactor glow blue, and Tony lifts off. His digitzed voice calls out, "The planet so nice you're trying to take it twice, Loki? Who did you bring this time - rejects from the Dungeons and Dragons edition of The Voice?"

Repulsors are already charging as he prepares to attack.

Loki looks up in the sky as the flaming rocket that carries Tony Stark's tin suit flies by. He takes a deep, audible breath through his nose and exhales, and shakes his head. "This isn't your fight, you in your suit of Iron."

The Asgardian keeps an eye on the approaching Avenger as well as the approaching Fire Giant. Nothing like a two-front battle!

"It is a lovely one, though.. wouldn't you say?" Loki's voice carries for the muspell as well, and in its reply, it flicks a hand, and sets the banners that hang in the front of the museum alight. "Of course," is muttered before the Asgardian raises his voice, "Really. It isn't."

Now, Loki hedges his bets and narrows his eyes before he spins around and 'meets' Tony full on before that first repulsor can get him. Pointing his (sorely lacking a little blue jobby) staff, it delivers a telekenetic punch none-the-less, adding all that flying flame and embers.. with, perhaps a burning rubber tire thrown in for good measure.

Iron Man forgot how hard Asgardians hit. It's not like he's sparred with Thor in a while.

The Armored Avenger goes flying back summersault style. A couple dozen yards, at least, before he can stabilize himself. "Not my fight, Poppin' Fresh? One ass beating wasn't enough for you, you have to try this again this time you gotta bring the Campfire Girls with you? Fine." he raises his arms, the HUD within his helmet lining up multiple targets. Repulsors from the palm start firing in rapid stacatto as rings pop up from the wrists (not unlike Black Widow's stun gauntlets) only these are lined with mini missiles. They're let off the chain in concert with the repulsor fire.

Well, Loki didn't start this fight, but--

Okay, so he's not going to end it so quickly. Nor is this going to end well. At least for the buildings in question. Unlike Stark, Loki hasn't forgotten how much a fight like this ends up hurting.

True to form, Loki is thrown back, only to hit an iron sculpture dedicated to the Advancement of the Arts with a *CLANG!*. Sliding down the few feet, eyes widen and he rolls immediately upon catching sight of a couple of the missiles coming straight at him.  '*BOOM!*'

'*BOOM!*'

"I think you'll be paying for that statue, Stark!" is called out. "Such a generous benefactor you are!"

The fire giants, seeing the beginnings of battle, turn their fight onto the one that is still standing (namely Iron Man). They begin to come out from the streets now.. five, ten, twelve.. okay, thirteen. (A bakers dozen!) Their own attacks are fire, obviously--

And flames begin to follow a path up in the direction where Iron Man is, only to blow as a geyser up. At the same time, of course, there are a couple that fall to the repulsors, and slamming into the road, they are like giant bonfires on Eighth Ave.

Iron Man can be heard laughing a little before saying, "Who do you think underwrote it in the--"

And then the man in the can with the plan is engulfed in flames. Lots of them.

Meanwhile, Inside the helmet..

"Sir, external temperatures are reaching nearly fifteen hundred degrees fahrenheit. If the heat increases by another two hundred degrees, we're going to start losing structural integrity at a molecular level."

Tony's response is to fly up and out of the flames.

Wishing now he'd brought out one of the emergency responder suits that could deal with fires, he starts to fight proactively. Bringing up a target of all the fire hydrants on the block, he targets not all but a few key plugs near the largest groups, leaving some for fire and rescue to use when they get on scene. These he pops with the repulsors, sending large gouts of cold water into the air countering the flame guysers with his one.

Now.. now that Iron Man doesn't appear to be shooting at him again, Loki is picking himself up off the ground and brushing himself off. He takes long enough at it, however, that one of the Fire Giants makes a lunge for the Asgardian Prince. Immediately, Loki whips up his staff, and some of the water that Tony is oh-so-helpfully draining into the city streets is diverted full force against the fiery foe. "So useful. I may not kill you when I finish."

'*HSSSSSSSS*'

Steam rises, but the Fire Giant is cooled enough for Loki to feint up, though he moves low, and takes a swing at the other-worldly creature's legs, sending it to the ground.. on the steps. "You'll play by my rules," is growled through gritted teeth, "Or you'll leave!"

Whirlwinds of steam raise up into the sky and he dodges the gouts, "Sorry if I can't make you the same offer. I get a little plucky when The Littlest Prince isn't going to get his very own world to subject to a magnifying glass and a blinding sun." he fires high intensity beams at a couple of the flaming creatures, hoping that cuts them down some, while yet another takes a blast from the large repulsor on his chest. "It's guys like you that got a c-minus in astrophysics and then pretend to know when an asteroid was going to hit the planet!"

Loki can't help himself, he can't. A potshot at the Avenger never truly goes amiss. At least in his book.

Out comes the staff, and one well-placed aimed shot is sent in the Man in an Iron Suit's direction, pulling up more fire and debris.. and water with it. A laugh comes from his throat as he watches what's left of those still in the area scurry. Off in the distance, yes, is the sound of Metropolitan's Finest.

"That's fine. I understand if words fail you. You should be used to that. Failing."

It's not a second before one of the Muspell's shots comes at Loki. He is flung back, his cape set fire with the unearthly intensity of Hel itself. Cursing, he's working on dousing himself, which gives that fire giant the chance to get a good shot at the Prince... and 'flung back' with some force. Smashing into a light pole, he lies there for a heartbeat before rolling out of the way again, his charred cape looking a little worse for wear.

"JARVIS, can we dissipate these things through the intakes and vents - suck it in, spit it out?"

A brief moment passes before JARVIS responds, "Yes, sir, we can. Our heat will briefly spike, but a majority of the thing will be extinguished as it passes through the cooling system and external heat sinks."

As Loki takes his pot shot, then gets his comeuppance all at once, Tony flies into the creature.

The Muspell is still a moment, before a look of sheer agony crosses for what passes for its face.

Then it begins to implode.

The creature of fire is sucked in through intakes located throughout the suit. Considerably less than the whole Muspell is ejected through vents likewise located throughout the suit.

Tony's armor was glowing slightly red even in the exposed gold-titanium areas of the suit, but that begins to fade back quickly.

"Yeah, because I failed at stopping you the first time around, and I also failed with lobbing a nuke at your out of town friends, and I also just failed at saving your worthless ass from the giant fire monsters you brought with you. Right, I'm real good at failure." a beat pause, "You're welcome."

With the fire giants falling, the few, the valiant few begin to 'beat feet' the hell out. Particularly when they catch notice that their leader just got--

Imploded?

Tactical retreat, that's it.

Gaining his feet just a little slower than he had earlier in the game, Loki looks out at the damage wrought, and that same pleased smile creeps across his face, though devoid of any real humour. He watches as the last couple of stragglers depart, and before Stark can turn onto him, he creates more than a few copies of himself, now out of armour and in that green and gold leather suit he seems to enjoy. "Save? Me?" He has that staff in hand, the sharp edge of a blade at the top. "Metropolis, I think.. but hardly me. If they had a smarter general..." things would have gone his way, he's sure of it!

"But, Iron Man," and the Lokis straighten, that hold on the staff needed, "I think I'll depart here. I understand there is a party tonight."

One by one, the group of Asgardians disappear until there are none left.