2012 Stark Expo (Openish)

[Tony Stark]

This was a big night for Tony, for Stark Industries, for all the shareholders and most importantly it was a big night for the world.

Scratch that; it was a HUGE night.

This Stark Expo was far different from the ones that preceded it. The Stark Expo from earlier years focused heavily on the advancement that Stark Industries was making in munitions for the military. Every year they were showing off the advancements made to missiles, guns, tanks, and all those cools drones the kids in the Air Force love to play with. And while yes, the military contracts where great business for Stark Industries and rose the stock of the company, Tony wasn't fond of the "war monger" label that he had been stuck with.

The media had branded him a merchant of war; something that he didn't enjoy all that much. While he certainly used his charm and charisma to deflect many of the questions, he wasn't to high on the idea of him being some kind of death dealer.

Which is why tonight was not only big for Stark Industries, it was big for Tony Stark. He was finally going to get the media and the, for the lack of a better term, hippies off his back. But he had also, more or less in a round about way, created a new kind of clean and sustainable energy source; the Arc Reactor.

Tony felt something odd in the pit of his stomach as he waited to be introduced, his palms were oddly sweaty and goosebumps were beginning to cover both of his arms. If Tony didn't know any better, he would have thought that he was getting a little nervous.

"Wouldyou look at that? Even The Great Tony Stark gets nervous," Pepper Potts teased Tony. Tony just simply rolled his eyes at his longtime assistant, but she was right. She was always right when it came to Tony. She had known him for as long as he's been on his throne at Stark Industries, she knew everything about it and she knew that he was getting more nervous by the minute.

"When you're about to change the world, you'd get nervous too Pepper. Also, I'm not nervous. I don't get nervous," Tony said, smirking as if nothing was phasing him. Pepper stifled a laugh and just shook her head as she straightened out the bow tie on his tuxedo.

"Sounds like they're ready for you, boss," Pepper said as she made mention to the booming sounds of Tony Stark being announced. "Knock 'em dead out there."

Tony didn't verbalize a response, he merely winked at Pepper as a elevated lift brought him up from underneath the stage right into the center of it. AC/DC's "Back in Black" rang out over the PA system. Tony soaked in the cheers from the crowd with outstretched arms and a billion dollar smile.

Tony took a moment, gazing out towards the thousands of people in attendance for what would become a ground breaking day for the world of technology. After a few moments, the music began to die down along with the crowd as the bright lights shone down on Tony, who was still smiling from ear to ear.

"Thank you. Thank you all for coming to the 2012 Stark Expo. Thank you all for indulging me by standing out there listening to me up here. But tonight isn't about me. Even though this whole shindig is named after me, it's not about me. It's not about you. It's about this world that we live in and making it a better place for future generations. It about making sure that there actually is a world here for future generations," Despite the nerves that were overcoming him minutes earlier, Tony showed none of them as he made his speech.

"I've been called a lot of things; things like genius, mastermind, prodigy . . . death dealer. I've been called things like merchant of war and a war monger. But at the end of tonight, I hope that I change your mind. I hope that this latest discovery by myself and the rest of the Stark Industries staff will put us in a more favorable light. Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring to you . . . the first-ever Arc Reactor!" Tony exclaimed as he proudly introduced the Arc Reactor. The giant screen behind Tony, emblazoned with the Stark Expo logo lowered to show something that resembled a nuclear reactor, but was glowing with a bright, pale blue light.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we at Stark Industries have discovered and created the world's very first clean and renewable energy source. This little baby right here is powering everything that you see behind you and creates very minimal carbon dioxide . . . if any at all! With every company here at the Stark Expo, we are going to combine our visions, pool all of our resources together so that puppies like these can start popping up everyone and bring an end to things like greenhouse gasses and global warming.

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the future. Welcome to the Stark Expo!"

ooc-if you want you're character to be at the Stark Expo, listening and reacting to Tony's speech go for it but nobody will be interacting with Tony, this is merely just some character plot stuff.

[Sigyn Laufeyson]

Yet another trip to Midgard!

Sigyn approved, merely because she was out of Skittles. These colorful little drops of divinity had her addicted when she had first felt their deliciousness on the tip of her tongue. Loki had caught her munching away on them earlier, lying in bed with a book and damp hair, throwing skittles into the air and catching them with her mouth. She had not heard him coming, he had snuck up on her. By all means, had she realized he was watching - or about to -, Sigyn would have made sure he wouldn't see. She was not scared he'd be mad at her for indulging in Midgardian snacks, but she wanted to make sure he would not tease her about it. Well, it was too late for that.

Of course, it was not all about Skittles. Loki had asked her to join her explroing the 2012 Stark Expo. Tony Stark was a big fish in the big pond that was Midgard. Sigyn did not know too much about him. However, this expo was supposed to present the world with an innovation, a scientific creation that had no equal and Loki, being naturally curious about science, had wanted to see what it was all about. After all, Midgard was one of the nine realms.

In her mind, magic would outclass science any time. But as much as ignorance was bliss, it was also dangerous. Sigyn had always wanted to broaden her knowledge. This date, she did not attend as the wife of someone interested, but being interested herself.

Some barely legal, tall, blonde and underweight bimbo had put glasses of champagne in their hands, helping to pass the time until the great Tony Stark would take centre stage and finally reveal what everybody was waiting for. Sigyn was patient as ever, watching the people surrounding them.
"Do you smell that?", she said, pretending to take a deep breath, "I am not sure whether envy or pure awe outweighs the other."
People with great power were blessed with many people that would kiss their arses and lick their feet merely because they were greedy and wanted a piece of the cake. They probably had more haters than that, too. The amount of people that were just honestly curious and respectful was low. It always was.

And then, the chatting crowd grew silent as a man climbed the stage. Tony Stark was wearing a suit that had clearly been tailored for him. His beard was neatly trimmed. He looked very dolled up without even looking dolled up. For a moment, Sigyn thought she could smell the decent scent of his expensive cologne. And oh, the man was a talker! She was sipping on her champagne, being positively entertained as she watched him present himself and his product. People being so outstandingly good at talking were always such a delight. They could even put a tiny bit of fun into the worst discussion. Clearly, Stark was confident, if not too full of himself. But Sigyn was used to those features, wasn't she.

Of course, she politely clapped her hands when the man had finished, gracefully managing to hold her glass while doing so. Her brow was raised as she finally turned to her husband again. "If I weren't so cautious about Midgard, I might even say that I am intrigued."


outfit

[Loki Laufeyson]

A trip to Midgard usually meant Loki was up to no good. The mortal realm ranked rather low on his list of favorite vacation spots. Everything about the place either bored him or grated on his nerves. But there was a use for the realm at times. Though they were mortals, there were some powerful and intelligent beings amongst their kind, and Loki liked to keep tabs on them. They could prove to be excellent pawns in his games.

He had ways of knowing what was happening in each realm and beyond, and so when the year's Stark Expo was announced as debuting a new technology, he had decided to go and see what was what. Science interested him; it was the mortals' attempt at magic. Where he was from, the two were quite the same, but, being largely unable to tap into the magic energies that yet surrounded them, the mortals had to make do with what they could, creating cars and planes and, most impressively, objects that served no purpose other than to blow each other up and compare the lengths of their… firepower. It all made them very easy targets.

However, this time, Loki had nothing in mind other than curiosity in a new technology that could potentially be used in his future planning. It was never difficult to get Sigyn to join him, but he found she usually agreed more readily when the potential for destruction was not close at hand. Besides, she was as interested in learning as he, and so he figured she would enjoy this little outing.

He had entered their chambers to find her with one of those bags of Skittles she seemed to have an ongoing supply of. "A few more of those, and you will be 'bouncing off the walls,'" he had joked, leaning in for a kiss. Then he had told her his intentions, and she had agreed readily.

Presently they found themselves in the VIP section of a grand stadium, among the power players, sipping champagne and watching the expo begin from on high. He had worn a suit, as usual, but with the jacket slung over his arm. Sigyn was also dressed in a nice mix of casual and formal. Loki had to admit, every time they visited this realm, that he did like how Midgardian clothes hugged her form, revealing nothing yet teasing him at once. He often caught mortal men giving her looks as she passed them by. These men always found themselves struck with gruesome visions of their deaths, such that they were quick to reconsider where their gazes traveled.

He stood with one arm around Sigyn's waist and a glass in his free hand. A magic trick here and there had gotten them into the event with no questions asked. No one present knew their names, but, being Midgardians, they were so wrapped up in themselves that none thought to ask. It was for the best, though. Loki did not feel like conversing with these simple-minded creatures.

He chuckled as Sigyn commented on the atmosphere around them. She was right, of course. He had always admired her observation skills. "They complement each other," he noted, gazing out at the crowd. "Here awe and envy are found hand in hand."

They listened silently as Tony Stark, the man of the hour, opened the show. Stark was certainly entertaining, and a man of great intellect. However, the Arc Reactor was what drew Loki's interest. A dark smile slipped onto his face as he listened to the plans for the product. Yes. Bring them into your homes, into your lives. Let yourselves grow dependent and complacent; let them fade into the mundane. Then leave the rest to me.

He had no plans as yet, of course. His hyperintelligent mind was running at full speed, imagining scenarios he could create. Yet there was nothing to be gained from most of it, aside from general chaos, which he always considered a plus. But a plan had to be worth more if it was to be worth his time.

"I am intrigued myself, darling." He shot Sigyn a grin. "I am most curious about the science and applications behind such an innovation." Aside from creating mayhem, Loki simply liked to learn, and he was capable of talking technology with the most advanced of Midgardians. If it existed, he wanted to know about it. That even extended to the mortal world.

After all, there had to be some secret as to how they made those multicolored candies so addicting.

[Sigyn Laufeyson]

Loki and Sigyn did not put up with less than the best most of the times. That's what being royalty for so long would do to you. Luckily, this realm was not exactly famous for its magic and thus, they had managed to be welcomed in this special area without any problems.

Around them, people were cheering for Tony Stark. Some did not mean it, those people holding grudges, fueled by envy and expectations. Tony Stark however, was smiling. For a second, Sigyn thought he was relieved his speech was over, had he been nervous? Possibly, Mr. Stark was quite accustomed to situations like this one. And it didn't really matter to begin with.

The look on Loki's face was relaxed. His pretty features looked calm, but there was always that hint in his eyes. He was the god of mischief after all. Sigyn smiled, turned to him and her back towards the stage.
"I wonder which devious scheme is growing in your mind this time, my love," she said, pursing her lips at him, the ghost of a smile lingering. Loki scheming was inevitable.
"Lacking advanced magic, they need science more than we do. I could not imagine being dependent on a small machine like this, could you?", she asked. Being a sorceress, a lot of things were just so damn easy to her. Moving objects without getting up, creating a light in the dark, when need be, and variou other little amenities.

"Impressive. Truly impressive, a man, suddenly adressed them. He was probably in his fifties, tall and well built, with hair so grey, it was almost white. His sharp features told of wit. Or he was just a master at pretending. His gaze lingered on Sigyn just a second longer than it was lingering on Loki. Sigyn squeezed her husbands arm, trying to subtly tell him to spare this man for now, in case the god of mischief had any intention of reprimanding the mortal. The consequences of stares and looks Loki put upon the spectator were not unknown to Sigyn, she just behaved discretely about it most of the times.
"Impressive indeed, Sir," she said, "Maybe, Mr. Stark just saved our future when it comes to power supply."

[Loki Laufeyson]

Sometimes, depending on what was happening, the mortal realm could be interesting. There were certainly some thinkers among their kind. Some ideas were turning in Loki's head as he watched and listened to Stark on the stage. How many applications were there for a source of renewable, plentiful energy? The possibilities brought a dark smile to Loki's face.

When Sigyn teased him about his scheming, he simply tilted his head slightly, neither confirming nor denying her suspicion. She was right, though. Of course. They knew each other well, after having been together for so long. They had shared secrets no other would hear. The bond between them was unbreakable.

"Indeed I cannot, my love. I have seen how these people cling to their devices. It is amusing, at best." Communication was no problem for Loki, who could send messages telepathically. He could teleport, and make objects move at his will. There was magic in this realm, but the mortals had either forgotten or never known how to use it. It was a shame, as well, for life among magic was pleasant, and did not require the aid of such delicate inventions.

He considered Asgard, for example. There, magic was technology. Magic provided in the same fashion that technology did for the mortals. In Asgard it was not uncommon to see someone fly or vanish or make something move without touching it. Here, such feats could inspire fear, incite riots. He had a feeling the mortals were missing an important point.

A greying man joined them, perhaps looking for conversation. His gaze lingered on Sigyn a moment too long and, having seen that gaze, Loki prepared to give the man his usual comeuppance when Sigyn took his arm. He knew her gesture to be a silent command. So he simply smiled and nodded at the mortal, and pretended to be interested in continuing a discussion.

As Sigyn and the stranger conversed, Loki considered a few different ways he could have gotten rid of the mortal if not for Sigyn's interference. Defenestration was his favorite. Sending a body flying through reinforced glass always made a strong statement. Of course, to save time and reduce damage, he could always simply crush the man's jugular with his bare hands. Or turn him into a cricket. That would be amusing.

But he did none of these, and did not even give the mortal visions of these. Loki was on his best behavior. He had no intention of causing any trouble. Of course, one's intentions did not always reflect one's necessary reactions.

"It is certainly a considerable leap forward," mused Loki, picking up where Sigyn had left off. "One can only hope the rest of society will be as eager to adopt this most beneficial technology." There; with effort, he could sound almost like one of them. He could even sound interested, even as the thought of continuing to speak with this weasel bored him.

"And Mr. Stark is quite the showman. It would seem he has already won over his audience." Loki indicated the stage with a slight gesture of his hand, which still held a glass of champagne. He would rather be learning more about Stark's invention and his intentions for it, but for now, he would humor this clueless mortal while considering the many opportunities for mischief growing in his mind.

[Tony Stark]

Any of those so called nerves were long gone when Tony first took the stage. Someone like Tony Stark does not get nervous often and when he does, it certainly does not last very long.

Tony was giddy, almost like a school girl, as he introduced the Arc Reactor. It had been in development for years and the years before that it was just an idea. Needless to say, it had been in the making for the better part of two decades. It was something that Tony had believed in, something that would cement his legacy as more than just a glorified arms dealer.

The crowd, not surprisingly, his impressed and awe struck as Tony unveiled Stark Industries problem to the energy crisis. For most of them, they had never seen anything remotely close to a clean and renewable energy source. If anything, they had only thought it was a pipe dream. And for the past years, it had been for Tony. Something like this was so huge, so massive that sometimes Tony Stark himself had lost the faith in himself that he could pull something like this off.

But now here he was, standing next to a explosion . . .

. . . wait, that's not right.

Just like it had caught Tony off guard, it had caught the audience off guard. There was a small explosion to the left of the stage, but not near the Arc Reactor. While the explosion was nothing near a mushroom cloud, it was powerful enough knock Tony off of his feet.

His mind was racing, trying to piece together the clues as to why explosions would suddenly be going off in his face and who would want an explosion to go off in his face. Before he could even began to think of the answers, Tony heard gunfire. It was a single shot that echoed from behind Tony.

Thing were moving so fast, it went from something amazing to something horrible in less than thirty seconds and by the time Tony finally collected himself together, Happy had tackled Tony to the ground and was pulling him offstage.

"Happy", Tony said in a oddly calm voice. "Would you please care to explain to me what the hell is happening?"

"Someone's trying to kill you Tony," Happy responded as he dragged Tony off the stage. Tony could hear the screaming and the shouting from the audience. He let out a sigh of relief when he didn't hear any bullet being shot after the one that was apparently meant for him.

"So, I take it that you're sending me home?" Tony asked with no hint of emergency in his voice. Only Tony Stark can crack jokes when people try to kill him.

[Sigyn Laufeyson]

"Yes, yes, he is. But in contrast to many others, he actually is as much of a genius as he says he is.", the man said. He shook his head then, "I'm sorry, I'm Henry Price,". He smiled, offered Sigyn his hand, while he winked at Loki, "Ladies first."
Sigyn was just about to take the offered hand and prepared to introduce herself with an alibi, when a terrible sound interrupted them. An explosion. Instead of shaking Mr. Price's hand, she flipped around, accidently dropped her glass and tried to detect where the sound was coming from. The mood changed into panic in an instant. Mr. Price had crouched down to the ground, covering his head with his arms. Sigyn met Loki's gaze. A blaze of gold burned up in her irises for just a second. She was alerted, cautious. Scared? No, not at all. Sigyn was just not in a mood for pain. She gave Loki a once over, trying to figure out whether he was hurt in any way.

Clearly, Mr. Price did not matter anymore. Sigyn and Loki were in the middle of people, mortals, that were panicking, trying to get out of the location, while the hired guards tried to get the situation under control. Sigyn made a quick step towards her husband, taking his hand. "We should probably get out of here.", she suggested. Her voice was severe, but not urgent. It was too bad, though, she had wanted to learn more about the arc reactor and have a bit more of that delicious champagne.

[Loki Laufeyson]

The drudgery of talking to the mortal named Price was interrupted, thankfully for everyone involved. The wink the mortal gave him, and the snark that preceded the mortal attempting to touch his wife, if even only for a handshake, combined to place Loki on the verge of snapping the mortal's neck when the explosion rang out. The sound of glass breaking was next, accompanied by screams and the sound of a gunshot.

Being who he was, Loki felt fairly comfortable amidst chaos. There was nothing any of the mortals could do to harm him or Sigyn, and he was curious about what was happening. By no means did he plan to investigate the explosion or gunshot, but he did want to see how things might unfold.

He could easily teleport them back to Asgard if need be, or to some other place in Midgard. In this madness, he doubted anyone would even notice. There would be no need to even cover their tracks. But if he had been interested before, he was much more so now.

Sigyn took his hand and suggested they leave. It was a good idea; they were just about the only people left in the room who were not running to and fro or trying to direct traffic. "Must we?" he joked, but began to head toward the exit, still calm among the craziness.

"Where are we going? Home? Out to dinner? Did you want to retrieve some more bags of candy?" He spoke in his usual tone, so incongruous considering the urgency of the moment.

[Sigyn Laufeyson]

She got along in chaos. They were going to be fine, she didn't doubt that. But this day was not exactly turning out as she expected. Seemed like you could not plan occurences like this, could you?

Sigyn managed to step out of the way of a man who was running out in panic. The swirl of her body made her long ponytail swing and in the aftermath, its tip hit her face. Sigyn scrunched her nose. No, she did not fancy staying her for long. Putting herself into this chaos was of no good. So she sighed.

"Are you asking me out for dinner, my lord?", she joked, giving him a mischievous smile. Dinner did sound lovely. There were a few places in this town they had already checked out. He was the man, though, he'd make the suggestion. "Unless you want to watch this for a while longer?" Sigyn knew Loki loved a good panic. But it seemed like security was getting things under control. In the distance, the howling of sirens was audible, so police would be here, soon. Tony Stark had long left the building. There was nothing to gain from this situation, other than feeling gleeful about those who were rushing to get out.
"Hm," she added, pointing her finger to her lip, "You are right, though. I should make sure my candy supply does not run out."
If she was in Midgard already, she might as well stock up.

[Tony Stark]

Tony still wasn't exactly sure what was happening. Happy had told him that somebody was attempting to kill him, Tony was not too pleased about that. While it was fortunate that he escaped with his life, he was upset that someone had the gonads big enough to not only crash the Stark Expo but come close to or actually destroy his baby; the arc reactor. Tony wasn't sure about the fate of it yet and considering that Happy was quite literally dragging him from danger, it made it kinda hard to ask.

"Oh my god! What's going on?!" Pepper was nearly hysterical herself. She was frozen for a moment; frozen out of fear and the uncertain. Someone was trying to not only kill her boss, but someone that she actually held in her heart.

Happy, knowing that now was not the time to ask questions, hurried Pepper along. "Get in the car, Pepper. It's time to go," Pepper simply nodded.

Everything was going so good and all it took was just a second for it to turn into a giant clusterfuck of explosions, gunfire and screaming people. Tony had hoped that security had enough wits about them to get sure the evacuation not only went smoothly, but everyone was able to get back home tonight to their loved ones.

The other thing Tony was hoping for was that the arc reactor survived without suffering even the slightest of scratches.

"Happy, the arc reactor. Did they destroy the arc reactor?" Tony asked as Happy shoved not only Tony, but Pepper, into the back of the car. Tony's sense of worry only grew when Happy didn't respond. But then again, Happy's main worry was that the three of them got out of their with their lives still intact.

Happy swiftly got himself behind the wheel, still not having answered Tony's question. Tony raised himself up off the back seat(Pepper was next to him at this point), leaned forward and asked again.

"Did they destroy the arc reactor? Was that what exploded?" Tony asked, this time his voice far more firm and demanding than before. When Happy still hadn't said anything, Tony's heart was sinking like a ship with a hole in the bow. Sure, the blueprints were still saved and logged in Tony's personal computer system but it could be years before they could get around to building a brand new prototype.

"The arc reactor is fine, Tony. The explosion was just a distraction now sit down and hold on," When Happy finally told him that the reactor had survived the attack on Tony, he could have done cartwheels. However, cartwheels at this time were highly unsafe and presented a hazard to the three of them.

Tony will do a few when he gets home.

"Tony, someone tried to kill you! How can you be worried about the reactor! You can build a new one!" Pepper began to scold Tony.

"Pepper, it took three years to actually build the prototype. It would take another three years to build a new prototype, even longer. A lot of people have put much more than I asked for into that reactor, if we lost it than we would have lost it forever. Now, Happy, get us out of ---- whoa!" Before Tony could finish his thought, Happy slammed on the gas, the car doing a small burnout before actually speeding off.

Flanked by two LAPD squad cars with another one bringing up the rear, Tony could finally loosen his tie and let out a sigh of relief. Or at least he thought he could.

"Umm, Happy, we've got a problem," Pepper said, peeking out the back window. Tony turned, seeing what the problem and was rather concerned when he saw a trio of Kawasaki Motorcycle riding individuals shooting out the tires of the squad cars.

"Boy, these guys certainly are persistent," Tony mumbled to himself.

"Hold on!" Happy exclaimed as he took a sharp right turn in hopes to put some distance between the bikers and the car. The right turn that Happy took was not any kind of a road, but a back alley. It was a tight fit, which was perfect because it forced the bikers to ride with a little more caution and focus on not crashing into something.

Happy took another hard turn, this one a hard left. Once again they were heading down a back alley, but this one had a little more space than the last. However, Happy was successful in taking out one of the bikers as it slammed hard into a brick wall while attempting it's own hard left turn.

"One down, two to go," Tony said. After finishing his last sentence, he was forced to hunch down into the seat as one of the bikers shot out the back window. As Tony hunched down, he also forced Pepper to do the same. He actually even shielded her from any of the broken glass. "Happy! You need to loose these guys!"

"This should do it!" Happy said as he pulled yet another hard right turn. This one was actually onto a paved road, but they were headed the wrong way. Drivers began veering off the road and honked their horns in annoyance. As Happy turned into on coming traffic, one of the bikers attempted to avoid a bus only to crash head on into a car. The wreck was forceful enough that it flipped the biker of his motorcycle and onto the windshield of the car. The biker the rolled off the car, hitting the pavement. He wasn't dead by any means but he had certainly taken himself out of the fight.

The last biker proved to be a little more difficult to shake. Happy bobbed and the biker weaved. Happy made hard turn after hard turn, the biker matching him perfectly. Happy had a hell of a time of getting the biker off the tail, so he opted to avoid the gunfire at all cost. With the SMG the biker had, it proved hard to dodge.

"Just stay down Pepper, we'll get out of this," Tony said, attempting to comfort his assistant and one of his closest friends. Happy turned onto the freeway with the biker and at this point, three LAPD squad cars.

Nothing Happy had done thus far had got this last biker off their tail, so Tony took matters into his own hands.

"Pepper, I need to you take off my shoes and hand them to me," Tony said. Pepper broke free for an instant to look at Tony like he had started speaking Mandarin. When the biker had started shooting again, Tony quickly forced Pepper back down and shielded her from attack.

"Pepper, please just take off my shoes and give them to me," Tony could hear Pepper groan about something, but he wasn't paying attention. The only thing on Tony's mind was getting them out of this.

When Tony felt Pepper shove the shoes in his lap, he held one shoe in each hand. "Just stay down, Pepper," Tony instructed. Pepper complied as Tony rolled the window down. Tony popped up and stuck himself out of the window. With his left shoe in hand, Tony flung it towards the biker. The biker easily dodged the first shoe, but Tony hand thrown the right one so quick that as soon as the Biker was back on track, he was nailed right in the head with Tony's right loafer.

The biker lost control of his crotch rocket, setting it down and sliding a considerable amount before actually coming to a stop.

"Stop the car Happy! NOW!" Tony shouted and Happy did so, slamming on the brakes. The momentarily jerk backwards wasn't something that Pepper liked, but it didn't bug Tony. The only thing that Tony wanted to know was who in the hell was trying to kill him. Tony got out of the car, walking on a very busy highway with a purpose.

Tony grabbed the biker by the front of his leather jacket with one hand and used the other to remove the helmet. "Who are you and why are you trying to kill me?!" Tony demanded.

"We may have failed, but there's more where we came from," The biker said with a smiled before crunching a pill in his mouth. Tony was unable to prevent him from doing so, resulting in a white foam coming out of his mouth.

"Any info?" Happy asked as he approached.

"No. He swallowed a cyanide pill after telling me there's more where he came from," Tony said, still pissed off at the night's events.

"Than we need to go."

"Yeah, let's get Pepper home," Tony said. Whatever or whoever these men were, Tony was quite sure this was only the beginning. "And get Rhodey on the phone as soon as you can; we're gonna need all hands on deck."

-FIN-

[Loki Laufeyson]

Out of the room and down a hallway, down a flight of stairs and through a side exit, Loki let himself and Sigyn be herded out of the area. He felt more inclined to simply teleport out, but the mortals' senses were heightened and now that they were surrounded, he was not as certain about getting out unseen. No matter; Loki's destination was not far away, comparatively speaking. He did consider himself above the mortals, but not so much that he couldn't walk among them when it was necessary.

He took Sigyn's arm as they were escorted out, still walking calmly even as some others continued to push and run around them. It took all of Loki's limited patience not to just throw them all out of his way. But he was in a good mood, and the Expo did not need the added drama of a god revealing himself. So he went along with the guards' directions, making small talk with Sigyn along the way.

"I must admit to being in a mood for Italian cuisine, and I believe I spotted a fairly authentic restaurant some time ago. It is not far away. I do hope you'd join me." He gave her a sly smile. "Of course, we could always simply travel to Italy." Traveling long distances was no problem for a being who could teleport among dimensions.

"There is a convenience store nearby as well. I suspect we could use it to reco-" He broke off his sentence at the sound of squealing brakes. A long, dark-colored car was headed the wrong way, followed by two motorcyclists and some police cars. One of the bikers had done a nasty flip off his vehicle and onto the hood of another. Loki winced at the sight. To a mortal, that had to be painful.

"And I thought we'd left the show behind." He watched the chase proceed away up the street. He was unaware of who had been in the car, but logic dictated that the cleanest answer was the correct one. Yet there was nothing Loki could do, or at least was willing to do, to help. He was as curious as anyone about what was happening, but not enough to blow his own cover.

Fortunately, the Italian place was in the opposite direction. "Shall we, my dear?" he said, taking her arm again and leading her away from the scene, rather than heading towards it. This was unusual for him, but then again, he was in the mortal realm, so his curiosity regarding things that went boom was severely decreased. Besides, they hadn't had dinner or Skittles yet.

[Fin Loki]

[Sigyn Laufeyson]

It was an odd picture: A well dressed couple chatting away, walking patiently, while panic was surrounding them. Sigyn had her arm hooked to Loki's, her bag shouldered and gracefully stepped over the one or other obstacle, in those Midgardian heels she was wearing.

"If you crave Italian food, you should have Italian food, Prince Loki," she teased him. The choice was quite fine with her. She frowned though, pondering whether she wanted to go to Italy. They'd be there within the blink of an eye, it was not a big deal with Loki's ability to teleport them. If Sigyn wanted to swap places like that, she'd always have to use a more or less complicated spell or travel back to Asgard, just to travel back to Midgard right after. Having her husband by her side was quite convenient.
"No, we're good here, I think? It's too early for dinner in Italy anyway," she joked, "I insist on stocking up my supply on skittles, however."
Loki did not forget, of course. Those little drops were her addiction. An addiction she could abandon any time, but there was no need to.

Just when they left however, they witnessed how two motorcycles were chasing an exquisite car. Sigyn raised her brows, stopping. Her eyes were on the chase, that had soon left their gazes.
"Someone seems to have made some enemies," she said. Whoever was in that car - and it was likely Tony Stark - had not only made friends with his arc reactor. Or it was about something else entirely. Who knew? Moreover, who cared?

She smiled at Loki, leaning in to steal a kiss from his lips. "With pleasure, my love."

And off they went for a very quality dinner between a husband and a wife.

[fin sigyn]