Chapter 6

Later.

It was not difficult to find Natasha - she was already on the staff of the legal department of Stark Industries, which means that her documents, including "registration" and actual address of residence, were in the database of the HR department of the company. Well, then it was already a matter of technique and Tony's admin account.

The "super spy" lived in a rented apartment in one of the sleeping areas of Los Angeles, it was as easy to break into her apartment as to Stark, although I must pay tribute to Miss Romanoff and S.H.I.E.L.D. in general, they managed to stuff their homes with all sorts of different spy equipment. Sensors, cameras, sensors and other equipment for monitoring intruders and providing them with the proper level of hospitality. The girl herself was serenely asleep in the sleep of a completely innocent lamb. Or a completely shameless bastard, as I claim to be a shameless bastard!

What can I say about her, watching without make-up and peep-holes? Young Scarlett Johansson is young Scarlett Johansson. Against the background of the vast majority of locals, she is really a beauty, although I would not say which is my taste. To "clear my conscience," I decided to look at her memory, just in case, what if we have an embedded double agent here? I wanted to believe that the program of the Soviet super-soldier was not recruited by the announcement, in the sense, purely logically, the question of loyalty should have stood even above the health and initial training of the candidate. In other words, I would not like to accidentally put a sincere patriot and ideological follower of Stirlitz on the compost. Such people greatly impressed me, but ... alas, the truth turned out to be much more unattractive and prosaic. Selling scum is a state of mind. Belonging to the "Office" was an honor, it gave a huge social status, and at the same time guarantees a satisfying future, and dirty work in intelligence did not spoil this picture at all, rather the opposite: traveling abroad, elite parties, chic dresses, expensive drinks, rich and powerful men with whom she can twist as she wants ... Everything was fine with her, until a series of accidents and failures followed, culminating in a generous offer from the opponent of a pack of cookies and a jar of sweeter jam. She hesitated not too long and with great pleasure was sold with giblets. Conscience ... did not torment. Being a good actress and playgirl, Natasha knew how to sincerely believe in each of her roles, and then the role was very convenient and comfortable from the point of view of self-justification: all the failures, problems, accidents turned out (were quickly announced) deliberate intrigues of the "inhuman regime", rich fantasy added colors to the new legend - and now the selfish traitor and scum turns in her eyes into a victim unjustly offended by the "bad state" who had the right to do what she did. Just innocent self-hypnosis to relieve stress, and no cheating, so to speak. True, the lady did not take into account that "new employers" are not your usual "bloody gebnya", for some reason looking for volunteers and patriots for their projects, and she is not Captain America either. In general, they gave her cookies and jam, of course, but she also had to smell the whip. There, both informing former colleagues about the joy with which it was sold, and strict control over activities, including constant observation, and the classical tying in blood, but not anyhow, but former comrades, in a word, worked wonderfully well. So a bunch of tracking equipment was stuck not only to track the guests, but also to keep an eye on Natasha herself.

Well, girl, I gave you a chance.

A short pulse of the Force, and the spy's brains turn into a chopped gruel - magical telekinesis - this, of course, is not a molecular atomizer, like Jean Gray in the third film, but it is also good for something. A couple more minutes of work - and all this fancy machinery goes into a loop, stopping the recording and replaying the same thing - the quietly sleeping Romanoff. But then I carefully and carefully collected all the personal belongings of the spy, made the bed and hoisted a small "table" Soviet flag on it, so to speak, as a small gift for Fury and his team. Let him now run around, be worried, spend the resources of SHIELD in search of unknown red saboteurs, maybe he will not be up to Stark.

As for the body ... finding the Shadow Trail in the city was not difficult. Walking along it with a load is a little harder, but not as exhausting as in the first experience. In short, I doubt anyone will ever find him in the dark, lifeless fields of Svartalfheim ...

The next day, closer to noon.

The troubles with Natasha and the subsequent transportation of the body to the path of shadows further occupied the rest of the night and part of the daytime. He managed quickly, considering that in ordinary space from Midgard to Svartalfheim something about five hundred light years. And yet, by the time I returned to Stark's mansion, Tony didn't look too cheerful. In the sense that the brilliant engineer had already ripped open his eyes, but his whole appearance literally screamed about the most severe hangover, which was greatly enhanced by the greenish pile in the glass, which he choked with a gloomy look on. Even though I tried to conduct a session of studying his memory as gently as possible, my intervention was still noticeable for a worn-out organism.

I didn't see much sense in postponing our conversation. No, it was possible to wait another day or two or a week, when the peasant would support him thoroughly, and comrade Vanko would put his five kopecks into the bowl of Tony's problems, but why torture a good person in vain? Stark has already fully realized the complexity of his position, and there is no point in driving him to final despair in order to gain more attention, I am not some kind of Fury, after all. Yes, and an inventor who has been brought to the handle can begin to chip off such that he himself will be ashamed later - and this is an indicator.

The open shirt did not hide the famous reactor in the chest, around which, with the naked eye, one could notice swollen and blackened veins - a side effect of radiation and his other ailments. By the way, the new substance that he seems to have discovered in the future of this cinematic universe ... I doubt that it could become a "harmless analogue of palladium", since nuclear fusion remains nuclear fusion with all that it implies, but a reactor on a new nucleus could well give more a wide gap in the dimension of the Living Light. Actually, I already had a couple of ideas about what exactly this core should be. I will have to experiment with neutronium, or, as it is called in Asgard, the "core of stars", as well as the metal Uru, mined on Nidavellir, the latter I even have with me - all my armor consists of it. Well, okay, these are all the details, it's time to go on stage.

" Looks like it has begun ... '' said the man into the void, looking at the blood analyzer, which showed 51% of intoxication.

" I would not be so categorical," I threw off the illusion, having already sat down on a comfortable sofa right behind Stark's back. Rather, I threw off one illusion, and imposed another - I would not want to leave traces for security systems that SHIELD can hack.

To his credit, he did not flinch, jump and turn abruptly at the voice, although he tensed pretty much - just as his back straightened and turned to stone.

" What?" Tony turned slowly. "Who are you?"

" My name is Loki. And I can help your problem," I smile modestly. And now you need to play with a cane. What does "no cane" mean? And what are the illusions for? So we are happy to play with the cane pulled out of the air. Alas, my only viewer pretended to see this ten times a day. Tobish did not react at all.

"What are you speaking about?" Stark began hastily buttoning his shirt, professionally putting a nonchalant expression on his face. " I have no problems, and you?"

"There's a couple," I answer in tune. " But let's get back to the question of your imminent death, Mr. Stark. And by the way, you do not plan to leave nicely, having blown up in the laboratory or, for example, having crashed in the upcoming race in Monaco? It's not that I don't understand the fear of painful extinction in my bed, but dying in the presence of a beloved woman, without even explaining to her, is a bad plan."

"Ah ..." Stark was clearly lost in thought. " And what woman are we talking about?"

"So unhappy, twitched, but devotedly protecting your wild head for ten years in a row."

"Ah, Pepper…" Tony put his hand over his mouth impulsively, hiding his involuntary smile, and hastily looked away. Was it just me or was he suddenly ashamed?

" So, getting back to the topic, are you interested in healing or have you already decided everything?"

"Hey! I had no intention of committing suicide!" the indignation is quite reliable, there have not been such plans so far, which cannot but rejoice.

"So that's great!" I happily clapped my hands. "So, the thought of conveying the suit or its simplified analogue to Rhodey also did not visit your head? Gee to sort things out there, like a will transferring all property rights to Pepper."

" I …" Stark moved his hand in the air in a gesture of choosing words, but then turned this gesture into an accusatory finger pointing at me. " How do you know everything?"

" I'm God."

"Um ..." He closed his eyes, tasting the sound that way, smacking his lips. "God… Loki?

"Exactly."

"Is this a joke?"

" How to look, for example, it amuses me very much that a man standing with one foot in the grave will not answer in any way that he wants to live, but everything leads the conversation aside," twisting my cane, I tilt my head to one side. "Admit it, are you a masochist?"

"The concept of "sound caution" is more appropriate here," Stark sipped his water again and winced in pain.

"You carry a nuclear reactor in your chest and personally fly in a tin can to the Middle East to shoot at militants, how do you even know the word 'caution'?" I portray sincere amazement.

"Mom told me in childhood," Tony was a little embarrassed, but he didn't go into his pocket for a word.

"Okay, okay," I raise my hands in a protective gesture, " you are our careful. Are you going to be treated or what? Not that I was in a hurry, but in about three hours Miss Potts will be bursting here, and then before healing you will have to explain to her, because I will not."

" And what are you going to do?" somehow mechanically Tony clarified, whose eyes widened slightly in an obvious attempt to imagine the picture I had drawn in my mind.

"Most likely, to taste the contents of your bar and insert provocative remarks in the right places," I answered with the most honest look.

"Hmm,"the "genius, playboy and philanthropist" squinted. "Can I have an example?"

" Why haven't you got married yet?"

" Um …" straight even somehow perky gained a couple of points of health and energy from a man, while staying to sit still. And then he switched the topic, trying to give himself an extremely businesslike look: "I would like to know the price of the question!"

"Well, the price will not be high,"I folded the index and thumb of my right hand with a pinch, leaving a gap of about a centimeter, showing how insignificant the fee will be, "it will be even pleasant for me to help almost my best adept and follower."

" Adept? Follower?" the engineer did not understand.

" Hey, I am the God of Jokes and Magic, and you are great at both. That speech in the Senate and dunk everyone around in the waste, it was great! I even felt sorry for Hammer. A little bit."

"So," the man rubbed the bridge of his nose, "with jokes, I still understood, but what does magic have to do with it?"

"You see, my little paranoid adept, the concept of "technology" was born in human society, due to the fact that people do not perceive reality outside the three-dimensional space. Within the framework of Asgard, there is no fundamental division into physical and magical laws of being, as well as their opposition to each other, and therefore all areas of knowledge are called "magic". Your ancestors gave this term a color of inexplicability due to their ignorance, but in fact its correct translation in modern terms would be just "science", albeit in a much broader sense. In a sense, the area of ​​knowledge there is not limited to only one physical three-dimensional space. Thus, in your modern terminology, I am the God of Science and I am responsible for design activity to exactly the same extent as for various kinds of mystical aspects of being. So with your genius on the basis of invention, you also enter my diocese, so to speak."

" Okay ... Suppose you are really God," we somehow by ourselves switched to "you", even if there is no division into you / you in English, but by intonation and the very style of constructing phrases, you can always say when the dialogue is "official ", And when he already becomes more personal. It's not that Tony had bothered much with officialdom before, but nevertheless the very fact made me happy "what do you want for your help? Building a temple?"

"Hmm," I thought. "Not a bad idea, but no. A hundred years ago it would have been a good joke, but in modern society the attitude to religion is much simpler, and this will not cause that effect in the Christian world" I allow myself a light dreamy smile dedicated to the image drawn by my imagination. "However," I return to reality, "you almost guessed. I want you to be my Priest!"

"A priest?" Stark asked.

" Well, yes, a priest," I confirm. "The First Priest, to be precise."

"And what should the priest of Loki do?"

"Well," I scratched my chin, - to make fun of others, to make those in power periodically gnaw shields from impotent anger, to shock the audience in style, especially mocking all sorts of destructive tendencies for society, such as degenerate tolerance with its quotas for racial and gender characteristics in cinema. Well, and the little things there: love good drinks, beautiful women, good music, in a word, do not deny yourself anything. Only without sodomy! .. and drugs! I don't like that. After all, what kind of intelligent creature are you if you yourself cannot make your life colorful enough and have to rely on a chemical surrogate?

"That is…" Stark paused, wagging his finger at me again, though this time holding his glass with the same hand. " Will I have to do the same thing that I usually do?"

"This is the point!" I smile enough at the man. "You are my born priest!"

" Is that all? Is that all you need?"

"Well yes. I am God, all these green papers of yours or yellow round pieces are of little interest to me. If you thought that I would ask for your costume, then I need it too unnecessarily, but if I feel like it, we will create it myself."

"So you will create?" He raised an eyebrow.

" Easily! Although I admit" the design is good. I already have a dozen ideas on how it can be finalized in interesting directions, but again we left the topic. So, Anthony Stark, do you agree to become my priest and follow the precepts of Loki, voiced to you by God personally?

"I agree," the engineer replied after a moment's reflection. It was clear that he still didn't fully believe it, but from his point of view, he didn't lose anything, so why not "yes"? Besides, he really hadn't lost anything.

"Heard!" at the same time, I put a dream on my new priest.

So, let's start by converting the shards into something harmless and extracting them, then removing the heavy metals and helping the cells renew themselves. It would be necessary to remove the reactor too, but ... Perhaps I will not. It takes too long to bother with the restoration of flesh and bones in its place, and it is not necessary, it is easier to completely heal the body, and then the energy of the Living Light will itself maintain it in a reference state. If you remove the rest of the negative factors, then it will be enough to heal radiation sickness.

Two hours later. Tony Stark.

"Oh ... what strange dreams have gone ... about the Gods appearing to me, there would be no beauties on the beach, but where there …" The engineer got up from his chair and looked at his watch. "Damn," Pepper's appearance could take place any minute, and she doesn't need to see one man-made drawing on his skin at all.

Dressing convulsively, Stark put his finger to the scanner's needle with a habitual motion.

"The degree of blood intoxication is 0%", - the device displayed the inscription.

" What?" the billionaire put his finger again.

"The degree of blood intoxication is 0%," the device obediently repeated.

Tony convulsively, ripping off the buttons, unbuttoned his shirt and ... did not see the already familiar pattern of black veins.

" Jarvis!"

" Yes, sir?"

" What happened to me in the last two hours?"

"You passed out right in your chair, sir, and then slept calmly all this time, until you woke up with words about strange dreams."

"Have I talked to anyone before?"

" No, sir. At first you swore at the hangover, which should not have happened, since you had not drunk anything the day before, then you said that "it seems to have begun," and just fell asleep."

"So ... it turns out that God really visited me?" the inventor grabbed the disheveled head.

"I don't know, sir, maybe it was just a dream."

"Then how do you explain it?" Stark lifted the blood analyzer.

" The degree of blood intoxication is 0% ... Surprising, sir! I have no explanation for this! But I recommend getting a complete examination."

" Me, by the way, too," came to Tony in a familiar voice from behind, " otherwise curiosity will ruin all the nerves," said ... Loki, saluting him with a square glass of amber liquid.

"Jarvis ..." Tony said slowly, hypnotizing the smiling face of a guest in a cropped coat, "is there anyone with me?"

"No, sir. You are alone. And I want to point out that such questions can be a sign of certain health problems."

"Can't my butler see you?" without listening to the computer, Stark turned to the long-haired brunette, who had already settled down on the same sofa as a couple of hours ago.

"No," Loki confirmed, taking a sip of his drink.

"Why?"

"I don't want him to see me"

"… I see" Tony got up and walked resolutely toward the bar.

" Sir, who are you talking to?" Again let us know about Jarvis.

" I suppose ... with God" replied the billionaire, already filling a glass from the bottle just standing on the table.

"A very original start to the day …"

"Silence!" the inventor interrupted his butler and turned to the guest. "So now?" the taste of whiskey filled his mouth, banishing some of the tension from his head.

" Since you are now my official first priest, I am supposed to give you some parting words …" his interlocutor shrugged his shoulders with a strange emotion on his face. "But since we both know that there is no better way to seduce a person into something wrong than to forbid him, we can do without boring commandments! So," Loki took a sip, f"irst of all, I inform you: some black man with one eye and exorbitant conceit has something left over from your father. I didn't really go into the details, but it seems like Howard calculated the structure of a substance that could become an ideal nucleus for your reactor, but at one time he could not synthesize it. In general, all the tips and directions to the place where everything is hidden, Fury, there should also be a fatherly video message for you. Further: there is a possibility that at the fast races in Monaco one ill-wisher will be waiting for you, thirsty for your blood. He differs from the rest in that he was able to replicate your reactor and make a weapon based on it. My name seems to be Ivan Vanko. Dig into the archives - his father worked with yours, and they worked out the principle of the cold fusion reactor together, I don't know in what proportion. But Ivan is sure that Howard stole the technology from his father, after which he set him up and got him expelled from the country so as not to share. So, what else?" Loki thought, playing with his fingers on the glass. "Oh yeah, take care of the security system, otherwise SHIELD. winds around you very actively. Fury, of course, is a stupid guy, but stubborn, and he really wants to get your technology, ideally, together with you, who owe him endlessly, but you can just like that."

Loki finished speaking and began to study his face with undisguised pleasure, sipping the last sips of his drink with pleasure. And Tony's face was not that he could not, but did not even think about it. It must be admitted that information was dumped on him, perhaps, too much for the mind, unaccustomed to new impressions. The billionaire no longer even remembered the last time he found himself in a situation for which he was absolutely not ready either morally or informationally. Even the hated meetings with the board of directors, for all their intensity, did not bring any new discoveries, because he knew even the most difficult agenda in advance, but here ...

"Okay, Pepper is already in the house, I won't bother you" . Having finished the last drops of whiskey, the guest got to his feet.

"Where are you going now?" asked not at all what he wanted, Stark, although he himself had not yet had time to understand what exactly he wanted.

"For lessons."

"Lessons?"

"I'm working part-time as a history teacher at a private college," Loki smiled discouragingly. "Very fun, if you want to know, but the details somehow later," the empty glass with a weighty sound sank onto the table. "So, I warned you - then you yourself. Maybe I'll drop by for my birthday, be there," Tony was slapped on the shoulder, and the visitor's figure disappeared into golden-green tints ...