Schism

Thor was amazed at the changes Asgard was going through now that Odin had been repudiated by Gungnir. Most obvious was the change of heart regarding Jotenheim - which was most appreciated as Loki was currently unable to assume his Aesir form as he recovered his magic.

Loki, his brave, cunning, fearless brother had been terrified when he'd been unable to shift out of his birth-form, convinced that all of Asgard would reject him at best and execute him at worst. He'd been stunned that the opposite had occurred. Loki had visitors, THANKING him for protecting Asgard, for saving their queen. It seemed to help speed his recovery. Eventually Loki assumed his Aesir appearance, but it was out of a comfortable habit instead of fear. Thor could not have been happier. 

Loki had finally been released from the healers' care when Heimdall informed them that Tony'd been inquiring after them. Frigga knew her sons missed their friend on Midgard and bade Thor to visit and Loki to resume his post as Ambassador as soon as he felt up to it.  Pleased to be of service to their mother and their queen, they headed toward Heimdall and the Bifrost.

*****

The last thing Tony expected when Point Break and Reindeer Games arrived was a game of "which person had the most ridiculously dangerous few days recently?". It was pretty obvious Loki "won". 

When Loki learned the particulars of Tony's run-in with extremis warriors and Pepper's problem, he didn't hesitate to contact his mother and Asgard's healers. Though they were unable to remove Extremis from her DNA, they were able to reduce its volatility and stabilize it. 

Loki also asked about what might be done to aid Tony in removing the danger of the metal near his heart and the damage to his lungs and rib-cage as a result of the need for the arc-reactor. A trip to Asgard would be needed to find out for sure - Tony's brain "blue-screened" when he heard that... he was going to visit another planet! Holy crap!

It took time to arrange. Healers needed to calibrate their equipment for human physiology - luckily, they were able to use his pre-existing medical information in addition to scans they took of Tony during their time on earth. Pepper managed the legal and SI paperwork to cover the time Tony would be off-planet.

And Tony needed time to miniaturize the arc-reactor even further. He may not need its electromagnetic function any longer without the shrapnel, but resistance to mind-control wasn't something he was willing to give up. After putting up with a hand-sized hole in his chest for years, a centimeter-deep arc reactor was a walk in the park. 

While Tony was preparing for the surgery, Loki and Thor took some time to work with the United Nations to set up Loki's official Ambassador's quarters, to officially recognize Thor and Frigga as Ruling Co-Regents of Asgard, and to begin brainstorming on how to introduce the idea of Midgard's relationship to the Nine Realms to both Earth AND the realms. Tony found it rather mind-blowing, and he was "used" to weird situations. 

Once they had all their ducks in a row, Tony headed off to Asgard with the Norse-Bros. Asgard wouldn't know what hit them! 

**

Thor and Loki stood back and watched as Tony alternately charmed and discombobulated the people of Asgard.

The common folk were excited to meet Thor's Midgardian Shield Brother, especially the one who had basically rescued Loki. The nobility had no idea what to make of him. The Healers found him both endearing and annoying as they worked with him. And once Tony was finished with the treatment and could visit the Smiths - they thought he'd never leave. He even managed to charm the smiths into giving him metal samples to return to Midgard with, and promised to send back samples in return - which was giving Frigga ideas that were sure to turn Asgard on its head. 

It was hilarious!

Loki particularly enjoyed the ongoing befuddlement of Thor's warrior friends. They hadn't recovered from Thor's rejection of their - and his own - treatment of Loki. They were baffled by how easily the people accepted his Frost Giant  Jotenheim heritage. And watching the easy camaraderie between Thor, Loki and "Lord Stark" (yeah, Tony still couldn't stop chuckling at that one) made it worse. It was Tony who suggested why, as they relaxed after dinner the evening before they were destined to return to Midgard.

"They're jealous of you, Loki," he paused as Loki "blue-screened" in response, "well - and now me", Tony smirked, and added "and they're possessive of you, Thor".

"What?" both brothers responded. Tony proceeded to explain, "I learned this the hard way myself, through sheer luck," Thank god for Rhodey, Tony thought.

"True friends are GLAD when you make more friends and have good relationships, etc. Possessive pseudo-friends" (or Family - looking at you Stane) "are threatened by it. They have a zero-sum attitude." noticing the brothers' confused faces, Tony clarified. "they see any gain by another as a loss for them - which isn't how real friendship works." 

Loki looked both surprised and pleased by the information, and Thor looked pensive. "Yeah, Thor. It sucks." Tony patted Thor's beefy arm and gave a small smile in understanding, "but you're not alone, and who knows - Asgard's been shaken up quite a bit lately. Things can change."

Thor smiled in return, as they sat together and enjoyed each other's company. 

*****

Pepper was in shock, and forever grateful that she could manage the extremis in her body because she didn't know what would have happened to her office without it. 

She'd received the file on Tony's parents from Nick Fury, and almost hadn't opened it - she was going to wait for Tony to return. But Fury's words "you need to see this so you're prepared to support him through this," got to her. She called Happy and Rhodes first because the intensity of Fury's statement frankly scared her. If the information was that bad, Tony would need as much support as possible.

The information was that bad.

Pepper waited until Tony reached out to her after he returned from Asgard. She wasn't going to withhold any information, but she sure as hell wasn't going to cut short any enjoyment he was having. There was no way he wasn't on cloud nine after visiting another planet and she wasn't taking a minute of that away from him. 

When Tony got back into business mode, she set up a time for them to meet. She let him know it was important, and it was bad, and that she'd be bringing Happy and Rhodes with her. When his human friends arrived, Pepper told him what Fury had said... what was on the video, what had happened to his parents. Tony asked Thor and Loki stay as well. 

They watched the video together.

Loki put his hand on his brother's arm to settle him as a storm brewed outside the tower. 

Rhodey and Pepper each held a hand of Tony as Happy stood behind them, a solid comforting presence. 

Tony didn't make a sound as tears rolled down his cheeks, and his whole body flinched when he watched his parents die. 

Silence was heavy for several long minutes when the video ended. 

Pepper, Rhodes and Happy surrounded Tony and held him as he collapsed into them, tears on all their faces. 

Tony finally stood, his face a mixture of pain and anger. He looked at Rhodey and Thor and Loki. 

"I need to blow something up." He called his Iron Man suit to him; Rhodey got into War Machine.

Loki and Thor nodded as Loki spoke, "Tell me where you need to go."